Wednesday 24 November 2010

Fitness: Day 10 of CAD

And the crappiness continues......
I am up another pound today, WTF??????????????????????????
This is the one of only two diets I have stuck to completely and I am absolutely gutted by this reversal of fortune.
Anyway, I will continue for a while longer but, if I keep gaining weight, this experiment may come to a premature finish.

Tuesday 23 November 2010

Fitness:Week 2 of CAD: Disaster!!!!!!!

I am gaining weight.

Last week I shifted 6 lbs for an average loss of 4lbs. I stuck to it diligently over the weekend and stepped on the scales with eager anticipation on Monday morning, only to find that I had put on a pound and this morning I have put on another.

Ordinarily this would send me into a bingeing spiral but I have held out until my reward meal which I will be eating very soon.

However, I am gutted to say the least. I am following the plan to the letter and eating the same meals as last week, but it is, so far, not having the same effect.

Maybe last week was too good to be true.
I really hope that's not the case......

Thursday 18 November 2010

Fitness: Days 2+3 of C.A.D. : Ding Dong the Wicked Witch is Dead!!

The Wicked Witch in question is my unending hunger during days 1+2 which, as the title suggests, has now left the building...... or at least my belly anyway :)

So Wednesday was a completely different experience. I woke up, worked out (Jackie Warner DVD) and felt a lot less hungry than I do on a normal morning when I finally got around to eating breakfast, which was celery and cottage cheese.
I ended up eating lunch about 4 hours later (can of tuna, low fat cream cheese, chopped gherkin-all mixed together. It sounds gross but it's actually really nice I promise) which again is pretty good because I am usually famished after about 2 hours.

Anyway, I didn't post this wondrous turn of events yesterday in case it was a one off, but, today I had a knackering shopping trip and didn't feel that hungry until I was pretty much on my way home.
Usually a trip to town warrants a bit of a blow out on my arrival home involving any goodies I've picked up (thank you Savers and Greggs!) but today I put my treats in a bag, put them to one side and made myself a CAD appropriate lunch - tofu, low fat cream cheese, chopped gherkins - safe in the knowledge that they would be in for a world of shit in a few hours!

So as I type this I am looking forward to a nice big supper - cumberland sausage in a giant bap, chips, cheesy crouton salad and as many chocolate chip cookies as I can eat.
BTW, I am down another 2 pounds............. Best. Diet. Ever.

Tuesday 16 November 2010

Beauty: Evolve skincare:Daily Detox Facial Wash and Multi Action Double Cream.

Wow, 2 posts in one day, even with The Hunger. Although, it does give me something to do while I wait.
Anyway, enough famine- induced digressions, on with the first impressions....

My main first impression is that they are a bit smelly. I know that sounds silly but I didn't realize how much it would bother me to use a product that smells weird.

Daily Detox Facial Wash:for normal/oily skin types:
So far, I think it's ok but that is all. Like I said, it smells odd, weird apples, but it cleans my skin well enough and doesn't seemed to have caused any breakouts. However, last night I started getting some soreness around my eyes after I washed my face. It may be a coincidence but I will keep you posted.

Multi Action Double Cream: for normal/dry skin types:
Again, it's ok, not great and not very economical because I find that I have to apply two layers of it to stop my skin feeling tight. I would normally have bought the oily skin version but I dread to think how much I would have had to use of that version.
Then, like the wash, the smell is odd. I once read a review where someone had written that the product smelled like dust. I know understand what she meant. There is also an undertone of powdered milk. Random.

I know this preliminary review doesn't sound very promising but I am going to continue to use the products to give them a chance to have some sort of effect. As for the sore skin, I am hoping that it is merely due to the (horrendous) drop in temperature we have had in the UK recently but, like I said, I will update when I know for sure.

I was lucky enough to get these products on clearance in John Lewis, Cardiff so there may be some left if you want to give them a go. Sadly, they did not have the cleansing balm which I really wanted to try, but the two products I bought came to just over £9 in total which is less than the normal cost of the face wash alone so it is definitely worth checking out if you have ever been interested in this brand.

I should also mention that these products are organic and paraben/sulphate free.

If you do try them, or have already tried this range, let me know how you got on :)

Fitness: Day 2 of C.A.D.

Today I am crotchety. Not a little bit, but massively. I could quite happily hurt someone right now. Well, maybe give them a slap or a pinch anyway... :)
I am HUNGRY!!!!!

Today I ate:

Breakfast: cottage cheese/cucumber - hungry immediately afterwards :(
Lunch: mixed salad, cheese - same thing, seriously, does this stuff really fill people up?????

Tonight I intend to eat:

fish fingers (no, I am not 4 years old!); lots of veggies with butter and pepper; and a big old pile of chips with, possibly, a giant nougat bar for dessert (old school, I know).

As you can see, I am testing the "eat whatever you want" rule to the max.

However, even though I am only supposed do a daily weigh in for the purposes of a weekly average weight measurement,  I felt I should let you know that I am actually down 2 pounds from yesterday. I am surprised because I ate a lot last night, but there we are, long may it continue....

Hopefully, the crotchetiness will have dissipated a little by tomorrow and I will feel up to a longer, more informative post. :)

xxxx

Monday 15 November 2010

Fitness: Day 1 of The Carbohydrate Addict's Diet......

Ok, so, I have had a problem with food and eating for literally as long as I can remember.
Objectively speaking, I have never been massively overweight, even though I might have felt enormous (a UK 14 at my smallest and a UK 16/18 at my biggest) but the daily mental battle that I face just to keep at this size is becoming overwhelming.

I have worked out regularly for about 8 years. Sometimes I have even managed to eat well at the same time, and it is during those fleeting, magical times that I have experienced true freedom.
Then it is gone, and I cannot find my way back.

Last week, during some moment of kismet, I remembered a couple that appeared on Oprah a really long time ago. They were talking about their diet plan, which involved 2 low carb meals a day and 1 meal, lasting a maximum of 1 hour, during which you could eat whatever you want. Yes, you did read that last sentence correctly.

Anyway, I couldn't remember the name of the book or the couple but a couple of Google searches later I had found Dr Richard and Dr Rachael Heller and their book, The Carbohydrate Addict's Diet (for the bargain price of £1.01 on amazon, let's hope it's not money that would have been better spent on chocolate).

I have to admit that I did jump ahead to the nitty gritty of he diet so that I could complete my supermarket trip appropriately but now, having reading the scientific reasoning behind the book, I am actually quite excited to get started in earnest.

In the book you will find quite a few case studies, both of the Hellers and many of their successful clients. They all read very encouragingly with such quotes as "now I know what normal feels like" and " I feel like I can think now. I don't feel driven".
Chances are, if you are reading those quotes and wishing you could feel that way, you will probably score fairly high on their Carbohydrate Addiction Test. I scored highly enough to be considered "severely addicted", lucky me, apparently you can't get more addicted than that....

Now on to the diet itself.
They advise that you pick breakfast and lunch as your non-carb meals leaving your carb hour for the evening and I would have to agree with that logic, because, usually, the later in the day, the worse my cravings are.
Here's how today went:
Breakfast: cottage cheese, cucumber
Lunch: salad, cheese, soft cheese (as a dressing because I didn't have any oil. It actually tasted good!)
Supper: chicken in a bun, steamed veggies, chunky oven chips. Bassetts Nougat (for dessert).

I severely underestimated how much food I should have in my first and second meals and felt ravenous by about 5pm so a bit more practice is neede to get correct portion sizes but overall it was ok. No miracles have happened yet because I still feel like eating right now but the "entry plan" last 2 weeks so I shall give it my best and hope that my body responds as it should.

I should mention at this point that this plan is not for everyone. If you have no problem with carbs it probably won't help you but if you do then it might be exactly what you need.

I will explain a bit more about the chemical/hormonal aspects of this plan as the days go on so if you want to know more about and whether or not it helps me, keep coming back :)
xxxx