h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm pretty stuck for ideas on what to write about today.

I watched a film last night but can't really review it beyond: Homefront - it's exactly what you'd expect from a Jason Statham film. Which is fine cos that's why I watched it

I ate mushy pea curry with boiled potatoes & cauliflower. It was lovely. Today I plan to build a roast dinner round Linda McCartney red onion & rosemary sausages, which are also lovely.

I'm having a vegetarian day, which means I get to have cheese on toast for tea tonight - this always seems very naughty but in fact it's a measured amount of cheese, there'll be lots of tomato & spring onion, and the toast will be 2 slices of wholemeal bread from one of those small loaves, and it fits in with my eating plan perfectly. It's still a treat, though, and that's what counts - feeling like you're not restricted just because you're on a diet. It's how I've managed to stick to it for over two years. Let's spin the statement "I've only managed to lose just over two stone in that time" into "I'm over two stone lighter than I was in 2012".

For me that's a real achievement. I have a notebook upstairs in which my husband & I noted our weight every week. There were several periods of dieting in the book, but my weight at the very first entry and my weight at the very last entry about five years later varied by only a couple of pounds. On one diet which lasted six months I ended it 3 pounds heavier than when I started . So losing and keeping off over two stone is a major accomplishment and I really believe I'll get there in the end on this plan.

I've been overweight my whole life. During my teens I would be constantly on a diet and lose nothing, whilst watching my brother eat three fried egg sandwiches BETWEEN MEALS. I drew the genetic short straw by taking after my dad whereas he takes after my mum's side of the family. There's only a very small, petty part of me which chuckles now when he talks about how frustrating it is to try so hard to eat the right diet but still not manage to shift the middle age spread he suddenly developed around 40

And on that note, it's time for lunch.

Deb

I'm fed up with diets, (no pun intended)
I've decided I'm going to eat once a day whether I need to or not.

I still eat three meals a day, plus small snacks between them. The snacks are smaller than they used to be, but they're still there. A pick-me-up, however small, is good for morale.

My doctor says that carbs are my problem, so I've carved out small bits of them here and there, trying not to sacrifice any of my meals or snacks. My breakfast banana is gone forever. I replaced it with boiled eggs or Greek salads with a little chicken. A teaspoon of lemon juice serves as the "dressing" for the salad. I dropped some cereal varieties that had high sugar content, replacing them with the ones that had the least sugar. I'm still eating the same *amount* of cereal, but it has fewer carb calories than before.

You mention two slices of bread with cheese on, BMT. That would be my entire day's quota of bread. Fruit is also limited to two pieces. The only fat sources smiled on by the Nutrition Police these days is monounsaturated oils, so I snack on peanuts and small crackers. I count them out a the beginning of every day, so as not to overindulge.

That is impressive indeed, deb

Also illustrates that the situation is not as simple as the powers that be would have people believe - metabolism differences definitely do make a difference...

My disability (cerebral palsy) means I use up quite a lot of energy just by sitting still, never mind moving around, so I do need to keep my energy levels up, and I do try to eat 3 meals with snacks in between, too Just that it gets boring sometimes to be almost constantly having to think about what to eat so it is easy to forget...

I'm not keen on meat sausages, but I am quite partial to veggie sausages, and those Linda McCartney ones sound tasty - I shall look out for those

I eat turkey sausages. They're fine. With prepared foods like sausages, the ingredients are apt to be things that you would not be able to grow in your garden or find in the produce section of your market. Preservatives? Nitrates? Emulsifiers?

Soy products are fairly high on the allergenic list. The Linda McCartney sausages have soy, plus gluten. Some people will simply be unable to enjoy them because of the side effects.

BMT, the trouble with diets is you can't just go cold turkey. I gave up smoking 14 years ago and it was great because I just didn't smoke again. That doesn't work with food, you've got to keep "using".

Paul, those two slices of bread are small ones, about the equivalent calorie-wise of one normal sized slice. I don't normally eat bread, it's one of my overeating triggers so I usually use the bread part of my daily allowance as crispbreads or cereal bars (which double as a bar of chocolate replacement).

Sacha, the Linda McCartney red onion & rosemary sausages are a little bit like stuffing. I love them and usually have at least one meal a week including them.

Deb

Some suggestion for snacks:

sweet: A87820284

salty: A60321007
Some could not be approved by your weight watcher, but, think they are a treat.

I lost weight when pregnant, I had to eliminate animal fat, except fish, and sugar. I also had to eat five times and check the size of portions. I lost about 15 kilos in 9 months.

Yeah, that is true that food problems are extra difficult, because you can't just ignore food and think of something else instead...

I have one or two allergies, but mostly I just don't like certain food, so that limits me for starters... Soy is good, but it isn't the easiest thing to digest so I don't eat too much of it in any one week.

I do like stuffing, though, so those veggie sausages do sound good

[Amy P]

Maria, that nut cake sounds gorgeous! And the savoury link has me drooling as I'm going for a tapas meal tomorrow night

Deb

Me alegro que te guste! I´m glad you like it!

Stuffed eggs, mushrooms al ajillo, and figs and ham would probably be okay on a educing diet as long as portions are not too hefty.

There's an antipasto bar in the store I get groceries from. There are about a dozen varieties of olives, plus spicy feta cheese, artichokes, marinated mushrooms, roasted red peppers, and pickled vegetables. None of the foods are high in carbs, and few have much fat. The little fat that's there is olive oil. Few of the foods are calorie-dense, so they're likely to fill you up without giving you a lot of calories.