Day 20: Lunch

Cheating Again!!!

Today was the 75th Birthday of my grandmother-in-law, and we had thrown a surprise party for her.  My plan was to be good yesterday so that I could cheat today, but as you've seen from yesterday's posts, that didn't quite work out.  My plan was then to try to be good today, but that soon went to pot too!  Unfortunately, where I was helping out with organising on the day, I didn't diligently take snaps of everything that passed my lips, in fact hardly anything, but I'll try to give you an honest account!

Above is an example of the sort of thing that was in abundance and I can safely say I will have eaten around 10 of these mini treats.  I also had a glass of champagne and 2 pints of sparkling elderflower cordial, but the rest of the time stuck with cups of tea (it was a very hot day, 28 degrees centigrade, and it was non stop!).

There was also buffet food, which I ended up having for both lunch and tea.  I honestly can't tell you why there's no snaps of this, looking back I can't remember!  Must try harder next time.  They say with food diary logging, like the apps on your phone that track calories etc, that it's not the things you track that do the damage, it's the things you decide not to, as it gives you free reign.  This is the case here too, and there's less excuse as a little photo with your phone is quick and easy.

The buffet I had was mainly coronation chicken, sausages, some quiche and salad.  I did manage to steer clear of the breads and pastas.  I figured if I was going to be naughty, I wouldn't be wasting it on those foods,  I'd save it for the amazing puddings on offer!  Speaking of those, I think I probably had 3 bowls of Eton Mess!  If you haven't heard of it, it's a simple but delicious dish; meringue, strawberries and whipped double cream.

We'll see tomorrow what the damage is in terms of results!

Day 18: Lunch

Spinach and basil salad, with tomatoes, green peppers and tuna.

I was super prepared for my trip into London.  Went to the shops with my sister the night before and made my salad fresh that morning.  I also took a small bag of almonds to snack on through the day and a 2ltr bottle of Evian.  Traditionally, this would be my downfall.  Any trip out for the day would automatically trigger some form of eating out and that would normally end up being something tasty over something nutritious.  This didn't take too much effort, tasted great and saved me a fortune!  It definitely pays to be prepared.

Day 15: Snack

Handful of almonds.

No time for lunch again today.  This got me through without feeling too hungry.  

As I look back at this blog, I can't believe how many lunches I've missed!  This is not at all normal for me.  In fact everyone who knows me, knows me to be a pig when it comes to food.  I'm notorious for being able to polish off a lot, and to do it time and again.  Since I've changed to this more whole food and high protein and fat diet, my appetite is far more under control, which is great!  I'm not battling to eat less.

Day 13: Breakfast

Scrambled eggs, vine tomatoes, chives and black pepper.

Just trying to add variety and flavour.  This worked really well.  Don't know why, but I find if I mix the ingredients together it's more appealing and tasty!  Psychological?  Maybe.  Works?  Definitely!

Day 12: Lunch

Braised oxtail, steamed carrots and broccoli.

Back to the diet....

This oxtail was fantastic.  Just braising/stewing in a pot of stock or even water makes this melt in the mouth tender and absolutely delicious.  It is such a cheap cut of meat, but when cooked right is great.  It's very fatty, so you will end up discarding some, not sure health reasons, but for the fact that a big lump of boiled fat just isn't that palatable.  So good and so cheap that we'll definitely be revisiting this.  It also struck us that this is so tender that, if like us you struggle to get your young children to eat meats because they just can't chew it easily, this might present a real solution.

Day 11: Dinner

Roast lamb, new potatoes, broccoli, carrots, Yorkshire puddings, and stock.  Accompanied by a glass of red wine.

Out at my father-in-laws for a big family dinner.  I decided at the start of this project that I wouldn't be precious about it.  Nobody like that person who is a pain in the arse to feed and makes a point of letting everyone else know what's wrong with there diet!  That and the fact that Yorkshire puddings are one of my favourite things ever - my willpower couldn't take it!

Today was another day without lunch.  I'd been helping my father-in-law on a big clear up project and had been doing heavy lifting on a field in the middle of nowhere all day, truly brutal work.  I had drunk 3-4 litres of water and still felt slightly dehydrated as it had been a hot day, and I had taken a couple of handfuls of mixed nuts to try to keep me going, which it did just fine.

With dinner, I toyed with being good, but eventually gave in!  Although the rest of my day hadn't been a cheat at all, I decided I would make this my treat day and go all out, hence potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and fruit salad for pudding.  After that there was also some vanilla ice cream that wasn't pictured.  All in all very enjoyable!

Day 10: Dinner

O'Hagan's Sausages, sweet potato wedges, roasted peppers and broccoli.

I have an admission to make as well....  I actually had another sausage and a few more sweet potato wedges!  As you can tell from my post, I didn't manage to have any lunch today.  Just got too busy with work.  Pleasantly surprised at the fact that I managed to go through without feeling ravenously hungry.

Something that I've just realised is going to prove useful from this type of food diary being created is that it's quick and easy to review your food choices.  It's just struck me that I've eaten far too many sausages this week.  Will be making a concerted effort to reduce this, even though they are lovely!!

Day 7: Out for Coffee

Americano with cream at Costa.


Was taken for a quick coffee in Costa by a client after her session today.  Steered clear of lattes and cappucinos, and asked for a coffee with cream.  Obviously not a popular request as she tried to top my coffee up with squirty cream!  It also always strikes me how big the servings have got now, I had a medium and it came in a soup bowl basically, whilst a large pretty much resembles a bucket!  Is this a symptom of Starbucks coming in and bringing with it American sizing?  It is just too much!  If I had have gone for a medium latte I would have consumed just over 202 kcals and just under 14.8 grams of sugar, as it was I had just over 104 kcals and only 2.3 grams of sugar.  Even more interesting though, and this is for everyone who tries to be virtuous with a skinny version of their favourite drink, is that if I had chosen a skinny latte I would have consumed 114 kcals and 16.4 grams of sugar.  When you think back to what I mentioned about the importance of insulin control to weight loss, then you can see why skinny drink variety not only doesn't help but actually worsens the scenario by increasing the glycaemic index and load of the drink.


Personally, I'm a big fan of visiting independent traders and finding a new experience, with the possibility of finding a real gem with amazing food and/or drink.  The excitement of the new experience is great, but admittedly it's tempered by the risk of finding an absolute dive with appalling food.  Living in a town like mine I also appreciate the fact that it is not just a carbon copy of every other town in the land, with chains dominating the high street.  Don't get me wrong, I don't actually have a bone to pick with many of the chains and I can also see the appeal, but if you value variety and the ability to develop a relationship with someone local who puts their life passion into their business venture, then you have to put your money where your mouth is and support them so they don't die out!  It is a risk, it doesn't offer the comforting consistency of a trusted national chain, but to my mind I think the rewards infinitely outweigh the risks.


That being said, I have to commend Costa on how good their nutritional website is, where I pulled the above data from.  It is very transparent, very easy to use and enables and encourages customers to take more control of their diet.  To my mind, that is a very good thing.

Day 5: Dinner and Drinks and a Technical Hitch

Unfortunately I have no pictures or Foursquare check in to show you from my consumption at my friends engagement party as my phone died whilst out for the evening!  So the above was a picture I pulled from their website.  The venue was called the Fulham Wine Rooms and it was a fantastic place if you like wines.  What the picture above shows is a set of fridges stocked with white, rose and red wines all kept at appropriate temperatures.  You can buy a card and an amount of credit and just help yourself to a glass, choosing a taster, a small or a large glass serving of the wine of your choice.  It is a great concept and a real winner in a group setting.


I ended up having six small (125ml) glasses of various red wines, all of which were good, and a couple excellent.  I had been desperately searching around beforehand for something half decent to eat as I'm no heavyweight when it comes to holding my drink!  Didn't manage to, but was really glad when I met the couple in question at the bar and we started ordering food from the menu.  It was a tapas style meal, and we had a selection of cured meats one of which was Iberico ham.  This ham, I'd had before in Seville, Spain and it is without a doubt the very best cured meat I have ever tasted.  If anyone knows of  one better I want to know as I need it in my life!  I also had whitebait fish, some sort of chilli spiced octopus, roasted and stuffed pimiento peppers, king prawns with chorizo, and I had one piece of garlic ciabatta.  The food was fantastic quality, and apart from the garlic bread, actually all within limits on a normal day.  I did ruin it on the train home however by buying a steak and ale pasty, which I'm disappointed with myself for!  It's a typical weakness for me; getting drunk = getting munchies = eating bad food!

Day 5: Drink - a lesson to be learned

This Is Water orange and lemon drink.


I was on my way into London for a friends engagement drinks, and decided to take a long walk from the train station to the venue.  It lasted about 40-50mins and it was quite a balmy afternoon in London.  I was a bit rushed as I wasn't sure where I was going and had cut it quite tight if I were to get lost.  On passing a Tesco's Local I nipped in to get a drink.  As it was a cheat day, I really fancied something refreshing and fruity.  I didn't go for any of the fruit juices as I could only see the cheap concentrated varieties, but in a moment of rushing and despite knowing better I picked this up as it looked good.  I paid for it and set off on my journey again.  Whilst drinking, I thought I'd read the nutrition label to see the calories I was taking in via this cheat drink.  160kcals roughly, isn't actually too bad, but I was really disappointed to see that sugar was added to the mix.  


It just goes to show, don't judge a product by it's packaging!  They know what they are doing and package a product to directly influence you in your decision making process.  Premium packaging often doesn't mean premium product and they will obviously always sell you the upside.  Although it tasted very nice, it's not something I'll be buying again.

My thoughts on food

I've read about and studied nutrition over many years as part of my degree and work.  Up until recently I've found that what I learned either had little practical application or fell into the common sense category.  I could tell you a fair amount about the biochemistry of food metabolism, but for whatever reason it had never made me modify my eating habits for the better.  With hindsight, I have a nagging suspicion that I never truly believed in all that I was being taught.  I've read several books of late that have sparked my interest, ignited my passion and make total sense to me on every level.  These books are:

• The Great Cholesterol Con by Dr. Malcolm Kendrick
• The Diet Delusion (UK)/Good Calories, Bad Calories (US) by Gary Taubes
• The 4 Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss

Some fairly sensationalist titles in there, but they are great reads; can get a little heavy, but only in parts, and all have been impeccably researched.  What they all have in common is the fact that they are derisory of the nutritional and medical advice that is mainstream at present, and of the system that has embodied it.

To cut a long story short, they emphasise the of psychology of eating and our relationship with food, and most importantly they discuss sugar.  I am utterly convinced, as are they, that sugar is the worst thing in our diet, not fat.  It is sugar that has been manipulated and increased most through the recent years of food processing, and it is sugar that is making us all fat.

All that being said, I love sugar in all its wonderful forms!  That's partly why I know it's so true.  Think about it, when you crave something what is it you crave?  It's certainly not a juicy steak or tuna mayo despite the fact that I love both those things.  For me it's usually cakes, biscuits or bread; foods that are highly processed and very high in easily digestible carbohydrates, or sugars for short.

This is the battleground for my healthy eating project.  I aim to be more conscious of what I eat and to commit to that behaviour in the long-term, hence the flash diet project.  I also aim to reduce my intake of processed foods and refined carbohydrates.  I will be following the dietary advice laid out in the books by Gary Taubes and Tim Ferriss.  I've had a go at this before, and was pleasantly surprised both by the results and the ease of continuation.  I can't honestly tell you when or why I drifted from it, I think it may have been Christmas, but that is why I need to tackle the psychology.

Wish me luck!  And share your stories, thoughts and questions with me.  The more the merrier as far as I'm concerned!