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

Just finished week 3 (in fact today is the first fast day of week 4 for me)

I've easily lost a pound a week, my mood is really bright and chipper, I enjoy the menu planning that's required for 2 days, and then love having fewer restricitions the rest of the time.

I had my cholesterol checked this week - 5.2, spookily enough, but the pharmacist said that while ideally you'd want it under 5, the ratio of my good cholesterol to the bad stuff is spot on.

My fast day heroes this week have been:

1. Tom Yum paste. A tablespoonful is 15 calories, made up into a soup with loads of veg (sliced mushrooms, shredded cabbage, spring onion etc) takes it up to about 40-50 cals. I added in some cold slivers of beef, which made it 123 per portion. Served with some finely chopped red chilli, coriander leaves and a squeeze of lime. I'm going to try variations with chicken or shrimp. You could leave out the meat for a vegetarian 50-cal soup, or bulk it up with a nest of egg noodles (mind you, 170 cals for one nest!) for a more substantial bowl.

2. Anchovies. These pack a taste punch way above their weight. 2 anchovies are about 13 calories, and are plenty when snipped into a salad, or to nicoise up some steamed veg with a few black olives as well. Also good for your oily fish omega oils, but really high on the salt/ sodium scale, so dont eat the whole tin.

3. Microwavable saucepan. I use these to prepare my evening meals. A chopped leek, some baby courgette rounds, a few mushrooms, half a pepper, diced. Add a splash of water and a few herbs, and blast in this baby in the micro for a few minutes.

4. Aunt Bessies frozen carrot and swede mash. 45 cals for 100g, great substitute for mashed potato.

The English vet, Buster Lloyd-Jones always insisted on a 6:1 diet for pets - food on 6 days and total fast the 7th. After a while he adopted this diet for himself as well and recommended it.

He died when he was 66, but as someone who had suffered from polio as a child this should probably be considered a grand old age.

That's really interesting, Gnomon, I hadn't heard that before!

Not sure Max and Mini would be terribly excited by that plan though.

I know my s would riot. I shudder to think what would happen to us.

My grandfather's dog never got fed on Mondays, either.

Cue the Boomtown Rats.