Friday, February 06, 2009

Bearable Lightness of Being

I decided not to mention it here when I first started (in case I ditched it as quick as I started!) but I've been dieting this week. Not excessively or weirdly. No "Isreali Army Diet" or Eat Only Bananas In The Morning type malarky, just covering the 5 food groups, eating smaller amounts, no takeaway, less fat, less sugar, less carbs in general (especially in the evening). Basically an informal version of the Weight Watchers I did some years back. I still have all the points guides and stuff, and kind of winged it.

Anyhoo, I eschewed the Company Sweetie Jar and kept to the path of righteousness even when Fat Food Friday rolled around at work. (This week was fish & chips, so I opted for grilled fish and a salad with balsamic dressing.) A normal day for me this week has been a poached egg and toasted English muffin for breakfast, a couple of plums and a small tub of no fat yoghurt as snacks during the day, a wholemeal sandwich (no butter) with some shaved ham, cucumber slices and tomato for lunch, and for dinner a small chicken breast or lean steak with vegetable and/or salad and 'lite' dressing. Maybe another piece of fruit or yoghurt in the evening. (And avoided watching anything food related on tv.)

Judging by my demi-accurate bathroom scales I've lost over 2 kilos this week. After the first week it should settle down to about a kilo a week. I don't have heaps to lose, about 7 or 8 kilos to get back to the goal weight I was a few years ago. I got a shock when I discovered my blood pressure had climbed even higher recently, so any weight loss should help that. If I can brave the heat that's forecast for this weekend, I might go and buy some more accurate digital scales.

So. I made an awesome veggie bake for dinner tonight! I coursely grated a large zucchini (courgette), salted it and put aside in a sieve to drain for a while. Then I coursely grated a carrot into a bowl, added half a finely chopped smallish onion, a chopped spring onion, some of my favourite All Purpose organic seasoning and some pitted and sliced black olives. Then I rinsed, drained and patted dry the zucchini and chucked that in with a couple of spoonfulls of low fat cottage cheese, and lastly 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites loosely beaten. All that went into a super cute 1 person casserole I bought at Target the other week, which I had sprayed lightly with olive oil spray, and baked in a moderate oven for about half an hour. Until everything was cooked through, the egg was set and the top was browned. It was great! Next time I might add some parsley, maybe some chilli... or capers...

I promise not to turn this into a Diet Blog, but I'm stoked that I lost some weight this week and thought I'd share. I feel like I've flipped the switch in my brain that goes from comfort/boredom eating to being more disciplined. Huzzah!

6 comments:

Ur-spo said...

good luck !
I start a diet as soon as this holiday ends.
Far too many eggs.

Michael said...

Keep posting these! I'm looking for inspiration. Will not be getting obsessive (again) either, but my PANTS ARE TOO TIGHT.

And congrats!

Anonymous said...

Well done Andrew, keep up the great work. Sounds like a really sensible regime with all the 5 food groups covered.

Michael Guy said...

Healthy choices are smart choices. Cliche, yes, but you are seeing the results.

My dieting hurdle is the eating from boredom thang. You'd think there'd be something better to do with my mouth and time.

M-H said...

You and me both, boyo! I was horrified at my weight on a recent drs visit. I have a target of 15 kilos to lose. First week=2. Second week=2. Aiming for 1k a week, like you. My biggest problem is that in summer I love to eat mayonnaise, and low-fat just doesn't cut it. I use it instead of butter in sammies, then I add a splodge to the salady goodness of the filling as well. And then there's my super-creamy potato salad - about half mayo by weight I reckon. So my method is simple: almost no mayo. Cut out the choc after dinner. Lots more veggies. Aim for around 1500 - 1750 calories a day. And keep the exercise vibe strong. So far so good.

Anonymous said...

I find hummous to be an excellent butter substitute. Tasty and Low GI.

(Of course, my weight is obstinately refusing to budge, but I do enjoy my hummous. I also recommend hummous on steamed veggies.)