day 6

Day six and it's still going well, i'm not even feeling hungry..
Here's the food plan..



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Breakfast:

1 1/2 oz Fruit and Fibre..
4 floz Milk
Low fat yoghurt


Lunch:

200 ml soup of your choice, i'm having lentil and bacon, it's a large tin so will either share with hubby or have rest for lunch the following day.

Dinner: - Turkey Burger

4 1/2 oz Mince Turkey
1 oz chopped red onion
1 egg white
Pinch of mixed, any herbs will do
squirt of tomato puree
pinch of salt and loads of pepper (i love pepper)
1oz low fat cheese.. place on top of burger when burgers are cooked.

combine all the ingredients, roll mince into burger shapes and griddle or grill, what ever you prefer.. I'm making largish burgers which will take approx 8 mins each side to cook.

Serve with a nice mixed Salad...


Snack:
A nice large cup of tea and a slice of wholemeal toast.. I don't have it with butter just a thin spread of low fat Jam.. feels like a real treat :-)

Day 5

Weekend's nearly over, blimey where did it go.. Time just flies doesn't it.. ??

It has been a tempting day today, i did have the pork dinner but the temptation of the rich rich gravy and left over roast potatoes was really difficult. I could have just sneaked a little spud and dipped it into that gravy...but i didn't. oh and the Yorkshire pud (kids always have Yorkshire puds with a roast) left on the side would have been a delight dipped in that gravy.. but i didn't do it.. drooling now, really drooling... God it had better be worth it when i step on those scales... Deprivation is not a good thing is it??

So the start of the week, what to eat... well here it goes.. This is what i will be eating tomorrow.. Is that another sign of getting old, knowing in advance what I'm having for dinner for the whole week.. Of course it isn't, i'm on a diet...arghhhhh..

Breakfast:

2oz Porridge
1 Banana


Lunch:

Scrambled egg
salt and pepper to season or to taste
1 egg
2 tbs semi skimmed milk
2 slices of wholemeal spread - toasted

mix the egg with the milk and zap in the microwave stir and serve

Dinner:

Thai green curry - yum yum yummeeeeeee
10z basmati rice - uncooked weight - cook first and then reheat
1/4 tim Reduced fat coconut milk ( found a tin in tesco for 49p)

1/2 tbs Thai green paste
405 Chicken fillet - cut into bite sized pieces (large pieces for my mouth then)
2 courgettes - Sliced
2oz Mange tout


Pour coconut milk into a wide pan, add curry past and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken and poach for 10 Min's turn just once.

add the courgettes and simmer for another 5 minutes, finally add the mange tout, simmer for another 5 mins and serve with the rice, which you would have cooked ages ago..

Snax:

4oz unsweetened popcorn. I have the salted stuff from Tesco ( yes i shop at Tesco, how did you guess??)

Oh i have noticed that my jeans are feeling a little more comfortable.. that's a good sign.. 2 more days and then i will tell you how much i have lost...

Day 4

It's still only Saturday but i'd thought i'd get a step ahead on my food plan

I'm really hoping it's gonna be a dry day tomorrow It would be nice to take the boys for a nice long walk before getting stuck in the kitchen cooking dinner and making puddings.. No pudding for me :-(






Breakfast:
2 slices of wholemeal toasted bread teasppoon of low fat spread 1 tsp low fat peanut butter


Lunch:
200ml bowl of soup of your choice, i'm having Lentil and bacon...It's a large tin so i'll have the rest tomorrow..
2 slices of wholemeal soup
1 yoghurt - everyone else will be having either homemade lemon meringue or banoffe today so i think i'll save my yoghurt for my pudding... don't want to feel left out eh!




Dinner: Pork chop dinner 40z lean pork chop
2oz's carrot
1 tbs apple sauce
brocolli - normal portion size aspargus -
4 stalks 1 small baked potato
3tbs gravy

grill the chop and cook the veg like you normally would serve and Enjoy ..


Snackette:
2 Ryvita 1 tbs reduced fat hummus

I hope the next couple of pictures are not going to tempt you into eating some calorific pudding today, they wont' bother me in the slightest..


One of the two pudding's i'm making today..

Won't be having any of this, then again to be honest i'm not a pudding person..









Won't be having any of this either..am i bothered?? Not in the slightest - I make puddings but i'm not really one for eating them.

I shall stick to my little pot of low fat yoghurt and enjoy..:-_

Day 3

The diet is going well so far.. ..Food has been really nice and tasty plenty of it too.

so what are we having to eat today.. here it goes

Breakfast:

2 Weetabix
with 4floz milk
1 banana




Lunch: Egg Sandwich

2 Slices of wholemeal bread
1 boiled egg
1 tbs of light mayonaise (tesco own tastes fine)
Some mixed salad leaves or just iceberg, up to you really



Snacks: Have these whenever you like, I tend to get peckish at around 21.00 - 21.30 so i have mine then.

2 Ryvita with 1tsp Low fat Peanut butter
I didn't eat my banana at breakfast so i can eat that later tooooo..
2 mandarins


Dinner:

Chicken Risotto:

1 tsp of olive oil
2 oz's Chopped onion
1 Clove of garlic
3 oz's Chicken Fillet
1oz risotto rice - such as arborio (uncooked)
1 pinch of dried thyme or any herb of your choice
1/3 pint of chicken stock
20z's peas
3 tsp's grated parmesan

Heat the oil in a large pan
add the chopped onion and garlic, cook until onion becomes translucent.
cut the chicken fillets into strips and add to onion
brown the chicken pieces all over,
stir in the rice and mix well
add the herbs of your choice
add the stock a little at a time, stirring gently all the time
wait until each addition of stock has been absorbed before adding more, takes about 15 mins
after this time, add the peas and allow to simmer for 2-3 mins

OK

Ok so i didn't have the Ben & Jerry's frozen Phat Phish frozen yoghurt.. I know it's not diet food and although I tried kidding myself it was ok, the children told me otherwise. How can Frozen yoghurt with marshmellow and biscuit bits be good for dieting?? I did try and convince them that i would not have eaten the nice bits and just stuck to the yoghurt but was not convincing enough...Then again, could they have just wanted it to themselves... mmm who knows..lol.

so we had the Fruity curry for dinner, yes all of us....Verdict.. Thomas (18) really enjoyed, i think Amy liked it too, Hannah (15) was not to keen, she ate the chicken but left the rest... Oh well, never mind.. Me and Alan liked it... I did serve Nan breads and poppadums with the curry to fill it out a bit..

Day 2

I'm not really great at blogging, hubby and children blog all the time, so i thought what the hell..if you can't beat 'em then join them.

I decided to try the Low GI diet again because it worked for me .. As on any diet, you are encouraged to drink lots of water... 1.5 litres of water when you only drink a small amount seems loads.. For the first couple of days of drinking so much, i pee like a racehorse (sorry, too much information) But you soon get used to it, drinking not peeing :-) There are many benefits of drinking water here are a few: aids weight loss, helps our gut work more efficiently, hydrates your skin.. More information can be found on the world wide web... have a look when you get a minute

Breakfast:

2oz Fruit & Fibre - I buy the Tesco F&F, it's £1.49 for a large box

4 floz milk

Lunch: Scrambled egg on Toast - yummmm

2 slices of wholemeal bread
1 egg
2 tbs of semi skimmed milk
1 tsp low fat / reduced spread
one cal spray - 4 squirts should do it
1 Low fat yoghurt for afters, not sure I'll have that but might if i'm still hungry..

Heat a large non stick pan
in a bowl, whisk the egg with the milk and a little pepper.. you can add some herbs if you like
add the low cal spray to your pan, pour in your egg mix, don't stir until the egg starts to set..
serve with the toast and butter

Dinner: Chicken curry - tasty fruity chicken curry.

1oz uncooked brown rice

1/2 teaspoon of garam masala

1/2 teaspoon of cumin

or just use a teaspoon of curry powder

1/2 an apple - cored and diced

2 spring onions - sliced

3ozs mushrooms - sliced

1/2 oz sultana's

4oz chicken fillets / could use quorn fillets - sliced into strips

1 tsp lemon or lime juice

1 tsp cornflour

100 ml of apple juice - cheap stuff will do.

Cook the rice as per packet instructions

Heat a large non stick frying pan over a gentle heat, add the spices and toast them for 2-4 mins.

Add the apple, spring onions (white bits, keep the green bits for garnish) mushrooms, lemon juice and virtually all of the apple juice, leave a little bit in the bottom of the glass, say 2 tablespoons worth.. Bring to the boil

Add the chicken and sultanas to the mix and simmer until chicken is cooked, this will take around 15 mins.

Remove chicken from pan and keep warm.

Blend the cornflour with the remaining apple juice and add to the mixture, stir until sauce thickens..

pour over your chicken and garnish, serve with your rice ... and enjoy...

Snack for today is......... 4oz Low fat frozen Yoghurt. I have only found one supermarket as yet that sells this, it's Tesco and it's Ben and Jerry's Phish food. It's not low fat but will have to do..

If you know of anywhere that sells low fat yoghurt then please do tell, Thanks


If you have decided to follow this diet but don't see anything you fancy on this menu then, why not wait a week or so when there will be more choices..

Day 1...

Ok so tomorrow will be the first day of the diet.. I have posted my meal plan so i can be organised... I do like a glass of red wine so i wont be giving that up, unless of course i don't lose weight then i will have to seriously re-consider .. But for now...the wine stays. :-)

I really would like to lose about a stone in weight, I'm not going to broadcast how much i weigh but i think in reality setting a sensible goal for myself which is achievable and realistic should make it easier to stick to. We will see... So here it goes... My food plan for tomorrow ad follows (Amazingly, i have most things in the house...)

Breakfast:

Apple Muesli

Ingredients:
2 oz porridge oats (dry weight)
1 medium size apple - grated
5 fl.oz semi skimmed milk
4 dried apricots (optional, could even save these for a snack)

Mix the oats, apple, apricots and milk in a bowl and leave in the fridge overnight. Or just eat it..That's what i do, taste pretty good.

Breakfast in a hurry.

ok so we don't all have time to mess about with all of the above so try this..

2 slices of wholemeal Bread
1 banana
1 tsp of cinnamon

toast the bread
slice the banana and place on bread, ( i use a fork and mash the banana) sprinkle over the cinnamon...
tastes good... :-)
This is very tasty without spreading butter but if you must - spread your butter sparingly using a tiny tiny tiny amount of spread...

Lunch:

Pitta Pocket..

Whole meal Pitta Bread
1 1/2 TBS (yes tablespoon) reduced fat Hummus
mixed salad

Fill that Pitta pocket right up... yum yum yum

I love Pitta Bread, it's pretty versatile, mind you i must confess to liking it more when it's been filled by the lovely man at the kebab shop... Blimey, i've not even started my diet and i'm craving Kebabs.. Oh Dear!!!

Dinner:

Chilli Con Carne:

This recipe is for one person - if you are making it for more then just times ingredients by number of people ..

1 oz of brown rice.
3oz Lean minced beef ( you could you Quorn if you like)
3 oz's Kidney Beans, canned and drained
1/2 clove of garlic
1/4 onion
1/4 diced pepper
1/2 tsp olive oil
1 small tin chopped tomatoes (227g)
1 tsp tomato puree
1/2 beef stock cube
1 tsp chilli powder (might wanna add more if you like it hot)
1/4 tsp of drinking chocolate
1/2 Mixed Herbs

Heat the oil in a non stick saucepan and cook the onion until softened.. Add the garlic and diced pepper and cook for another few minutes.

Add the minced beef, brown and then drain off the excess fat..
stir in the rest of the ingredients, cover and cook fora 20 - 30 mins...

Here's my snack: Not sure when i will eat this but i know i will...

1 ryvita
1 tsp peanut butter...

You will need to make sure you drink plenty - 1.5 litres of fluid, that does not mean wine, beer, etc... Try not to drink loads of tea and coffee, i will be drinking a max of 8 cups a day..not 8 cups of tea and 8 of coffee but a total of 8. Try and switch to skimmed milk in your hot drinks..you will get used to it in no time...

Well that's my food planned...What are you having??

Here we go!!

Ok so i'm blogging a diet plan,.. I have tried many a diets in my life, from Atkins diet, Slim fast, low fat, low carbs, smoothy diet, special K, Rosemary Conley. The list goes on... I am now going to follow the GI Diet, i have tried it before (it does work) and i'm going to do it again. By blogging my diet, i will have a daily online record of my food consumption

I am not going to pretend that i'm an expert because i'm not.. This diet is for me and anyone else who wishes to follow. I guess i should just advise that if you are going to follow this diet, please consult your GP first...I will not be held responsible for anyone else other than myself...


Well here it goes...the boring bits.. Have to start somewhere eh..

What is the GI Diet?

GI stands for Glycemic Index and is a measure of the impact of food on your blood sugar. Foods with a high GI tend to quickly raise your body's blood sugar levels, by contrast foods with a low GI will raise them more slowly and over a longer period.

Eating lots of high GI foods has two disadvantages:

1) The rush of energy given by high GI foods does not last and is soon followed by an energy lull. So you get hungry and want to eat more.

2) After eating high GI foods you will have a lot of readily available energy in your blood. Your body will use this energy first rather then other stores of energy like body fat. This makes it harder to loose weight.

How can the GI Diet help weight loss?

By eating meals that have a low GI you will feel less hungry. This means that rather then controlling your cravings for food by will-power alone your are controlling them by satisfying your body. On the GI diet your desire to snack or over eat should be greatly reduced, therefore by eating fewer calories you can control your weight.

What does the GI diet look like?

People on the GI diet will tend to eat meals that consist of foods with low GI and will be encouraged to avoid high GI foods. However mixing low GI foods with high GI foods lowers the GI of the whole meal, this can make it much less restrictive than other diets. Low GI does not always mean low fat, so it is advisable to watch the fat content in your meals.

What foods can't I eat?

On the GI diet there are no foods that you can't eat but the secret is eating more low GI foods than high GI foods.
The main thing is not to over-eat and the purpose of the GI diet is to help you achieve that. It is important that you watch the portion sizes of your meals and try to keep them down.

A list of Low GI foods

Food	GI
Roasted and salted peanuts	14
Low-fat yoghurt with sweetener	14
Cherries	22
Grapefruit	25
Pearl barley	25
Red lentils	26
Whole milk	27
Dried apricots	31
Butter beans	31
Fettucine pasta	32
Skimmed milk	32
Low-fat fruit yoghurt	33
Wholemeal spaghetti	37
Apples	38
Pears	38
Tomato soup, canned	38
Apple juice, unsweetened	40
Noodles	40
White spaghetti	41
All Bran	42
Chick peas, canned	42
Peaches	42
Porridge made with water	42
Lentil soup	44
Oranges	44
Macaroni	45
Green grapes	46
Orange juice	46
Peas	48
Baked beans in tomato sauce	48
Carrots, boiled	49
Milk chocolate	49
Kiwi fruit	52
Stoneground wholemeal bread	53
Crisps	54
Special K	54
Banana	55
Raw oatbran	55
Sweetcorn	55