Military Diet - review and weight loss results after 3 days

This is the kind of diet I've always avoided, but it's perfect for my blog - it's an online craze making big calls on what it can achieve in terms of weightloss: up to 10b in 3 days. I thought I would give it a go. I was also very keen to investigate any drastic diet that included ice cream every day!

I used the diet plan from this source, which has really helpful information on substitutions (I'm vegetarian so needed to make a few).

http://blessedmommy.hubpages.com/hub/Lose-Up-To-10-Pounds-In-3-Days-On-The-3-Day-Diet

 It was really easy to buy everything I needed, all the meals are simple. Two things that struck me are that the diet is very high in dairy (especially for vegetarians substituting cottage cheese for tuna), and very low in vegetables. It's not the way I usually eat at all.

Breakfast on the first day was delicious: wholemeal toast with peanut butter, half a grapefruit and coffee.

Lunch was bland but fine.

Dinner (with my tofu 'meat' substitute) was also yummy, and dessert - apple and banana (which I warmed) with vanilla ice cream was a real treat!

The first day was really easy and I felt full with no temptations to snack or cheat.

Day 2 breakfast felt balanced - dry toast, egg and half a banana - and I was full till lunch, which, with a huge portion cottage cheese, was also filling.

My issue on day 2 was lack of energy without the coffees allowed. As it was a busy work day and I was falling asleep at my desk, I gave in and had a cup of tea with a drop of milk which perked me up.

I was starving by dinner and ate my tofu frankfurters, carrots and broccoli, and banana and ice cream.

I went to bed really early and work up in the night coughing tonsil stones, which I rarely get. All this dairy doesn't suit me!

Unfortunately breakfast on the last day involved a huge piece of cheese, which wasn't what I felt my body needed but was at least appetising with a small app and crackers.

Lunch was small and bland, just one egg on toast. I had a major energy slump, like the day before, and ended up drinking two cup of tea. I was also unable to turn down the office chocolates I was offered and had two chocolates.

Dinner was the strangest yet this day - just cottage cheese (tuna on the original plan), ice cream and banana. I ate this and went straight to sleep at about 7.30pm.

I woke up this morning and had lost 5lb, I'm quite happy with that considering I ate so much ice cream. It's a long way from 10lbs - I did have some minor cheating though so maybe they made all the difference!? I don't think this is a very healthy diet, I don't really feel good now - I wouldn't recommend it.

Update: a week and a half on, I have maintained 4lb of this weight loss after returning to a normal diet which I'm quite pleased with.

Finally...5:2!

I'm back and it's been a little while. My attempt to plan out 100 days of healthy eating, and to keep my tracking my food choices for that long, sadly failed. I just don't have the discipline! Like the fact that, at the age of 27, I've learnt I can't just go to the supermarket like a normal human and buy a packet of biscuits BECAUSE I WILL EAT THE WHOLE PACK, I'm discovering a new fact about myself. I don't have lon-term discipline. While I can be very enthusiastic and dedicated in the short-term - perhaps the reason I'm fascinated by diet trends offering speedy results - it's not sustainable for me.

Which is why the 5:2 diet seems to be perfect for people like me. (And with the popularity of miracle diet seekers/perpetual yo-yo dieters out there - hello readers - I know I'm not alone). We get to be super-super-healthy and efficient for one day, then we're back to normal the very next day - until the next fast day!

There are all kinds of benefits to intermittent fasting, which unusually for my blog, I'm not going into. I usually love examining the nutritional benefits of diets, but not so much with this one. I was fairly cynical to begin with, and I'm still not entirely convinced it won't turn out to be another faddy unhealthy Atkins diet. But, two fast days and a lot of excitement in, it's EASY (for my eating style/personality at least). I must be one of the last people to try this - even my parents did it for a while!

Although I've done juice fasts and know I can deal with short-term hunger, I've managed to get a fairly balanced diet on my fast days, with three meals and a snack. On my fast days I've conveniently fed myself with some UK staples:

Total 0% yogurt 170g pot
M&S Blueberry pots
Pret egg & spinach protein pots
Pret veggie sushi protein pots

(Hmm... a lot of pots) With all of the above around 100 cal - except the blueberries which are less - and a few almonds and goji berries here and there, I've been able to keep full and nourished on the go.

1 week in, I've lost 6lb. I exercised intensely twice, but I had a huge burger and fries on one of the days, and a big bag of Cadbury's giant buttons on another. LIVING THE DREAM.

Day 8 of my food diary

I have to admit, I'm not taking this seriously enough. I havent been able to exercise properly recently because of ongoing problems with my legs - I have really tight calves which have caused some tendon iritaton and generally make moving around uncomfortable. I'm checking in with my PT to see him this week and will crack on with eating healthily. Today was a bit of a disaster!

Breakfast: Cappuccino and a toffee/banana muffin

Lunch: Spelt toast & avocado, an instant noodle soup from Itsu with added organic mixed frozen eg

Dinner - kind of spread through the afternoon and evening: (I'm almost ashamed to type) an entire packet of chocolate digestives and a cup of tea! I'm blushing right now. BAD GIRL!


I'm nearly 10 days in to this shebang and need to star making a REAL EFFORT!

Day 7 of my food diary

Hangover breakfast: My homemade, hopefully healthier version of an egg McMuffin - a wholemeal sub with fried egg and cheddar slices

Sack: Vanilla iced skinny latte from Starbucks

Lunch: Amy's vegetarian chilli with avocado and baby spinach

Dinner: pub trip for friend's birthday - 3 glasses of prosecco, and chips with ketchup and mayo in the pub; a birthday brownie

Day 6 of my food diary

I woke up in agony from skiing the day before and booked a sports massage. I could barely walk!

Breakfast: Spelt toast with avocado

Lunch: A very naughty cookie from Ben's cookies

Dinner: Sauteed kale and a vegetarian schnitzel

Alcohol: 2 glasses of wine and 2 cocktails

Exercise: Just hobbling around with aching calves...

Day 5 of my food diary

Today was all about exercise - I had a one day skiing course at Snozone in Milton Keynes, a real snow slope under an hour from London. I wasn't a natural skiier at all and found it really hard, but I hope to keep taking lessons and improving. After seven hours on the slopes I was exhausted!

Breakfast: Cappuccino and egg and tomato breakfast bap from Pret

Lunch: I refuelled at a restaurant in the complex. I was totally starving and ate a veggie burger with chips plus unlimited salad from the salad bar (I hose crunchy veg without dressing). I drank a diet coke.

Dinner: My new favourite egg recipe which can be adapted with whatever greens you have available. Sautee half a leek in olive oil until soft then add kale/spinach/pea tendrils, then make a well in the greens and crack an organic egg in. Fry until set. Delicious mix of proteins and leafy greens!

Snacks: Just a skinny cappuccino  on the train back to London

Alcohol: 2 glasses of wine while relaxing in a hot, soothing bath in the evening!

Day 4 of my food diary

This morning I had my weigh in for the beginning of the 100 days. I'll be weighing myself every week to track progress. I had an unpleasant surprise with the results:

weight 168lb, BMI 25 and body fat 30%

Today I was off work so visited my favourite gallery, the Wallace Collection, stocked up on my favourite NARS and Charlotte Tilbury makeup and did chores like organise my room and renew my phone contract (yawn). My meals were less structured and more of a 'treat' as it was my day off!

Breakfast: Grande vanilla soy latte from Starbucks

Lunch: Tofu with spinach and coconut rice from Busaba Eathai

Dinner: Amy's vegan chilli with half an avocado

Caffeine: 2 coffees

Alcohol: 1 glass of rose

Day 3 of my food diary

Today after work I went to see the Charles Rennie Mackintosh exhibition at RIBA (what a cool place - and I highly recommend this free exhibition!) before going to the beautiful bar at Zetter Townhouse for my friend's birthday.

Breakfast: scrambled eggs

Lunch: homemade sandwich brought into work - vegan BLT on spelt bread

Dinner: Pret egg and cress sandwich (the healthiest thing they had left at 7.30pm)

Midnight feast: Waitrose lentil & spinach curry (a microwave side dish I had in the fridge) and a small slice of spelt toast with avocado, cherry tomatoes

Snacks: Radish, celery, baby carrot and celery crudite; an apple; a few mixed nuts and 2 squares of Lindt dark chocolate

Alcohol: 2 cocktails (definitely contained sugar) and 1 glass of white wine (spaced out with plenty of water)

Caffeine: 2 skinny cappuccinos, 1 black tea, 1 tea with a dash of milk, 1 green tea

Exercise: None, but I wasn't too sedentary - I walked to a few different places.

I give myself 5/10 having 4 main meals (2 dinners!) and drinking too much alcohol and caffeine. However my meal choices were healthy.

Day 2 of my food diary

I got into the swing of new sensible routine today, slowly incorporating some of Marilyn Glenville's principles to help me in my 100 day transformation.

Food: For breakfast I had scrambled eggs and roast tomatoes.

For lunch I went to delicious local restaurant The Natural Kitchen and had 3 salads from the salad bar: broccoli, courgette with feta, and chickpea salad. I shared a citrus tart with my friend for dessert.

For dinner I made sweet potato fries, a quorn burger and a mixed salad.

For snacks I ate celery and radish mid-morning, an apple mid-afternoon and several mixed nuts with a couple of squares of Lindt dark chocolate. I also ate some dark chocolate M&Ms at work.

Exercise: 30 minute walk home from earlier tube stop

Caffeine intake: 2 coffees, 1 black tea, 1 green tea

Water intake: 2.5 L (plus the above drinks)

Supplemets: I took 3 x Nutri Support, 3 x Amino Support, 2 x Phytophanere (my hair & skin supplement)

A post especially for apple shapes! Dr Mailyn Glenville diet plan

This post is about my latest diet book, Fat Around The Middle by Dr Marilyn Glenville, a hormone specialist.


Apparently my body looks kind of like this - heavy on top and thick around the middle, with Kate Upton as the human model:

Kate's weight has fluctuated over the years, and while she owns it whatever her weight, she does look lovely a little lighter, proving that even a dramatic apple shape can look slim and toned.

(Of course, not all apples have such big boobs and such thin legs. However I am one of the apples that do have these attributes and it gets quite annoying as my body looks so uneven).

I was really happy to find a book especially for apples. There is a lot of scientific information in the first part of the book about why the body clings onto tummy fat - it's largely to do with 'stress' on the body and the hormone cortisol, as well as the importance of stabilising blood sugar.

The book is an interesting read, and it boils down to a few key elements for a 3 month plan. Firstly some diet rules:

• no alcohol
• no caffeine
• no white/processed carbs
• no sugar
• (no fun)
• protein at every meal (to slow digestion)
• snacks between meals to keep blood sugar steady
• avoid milk, red meat and chicken while eating more eggs, fish and nuts

In addition there's

• exercise - we need to build muscle to raise metabolism
• a programme of supplements

I have ordered the supplements formulated by the author from the Natural Pharmacy. Caffeine and alcohol are the hardest thing for me to give up so I'm going to consciously reduce them but can't cut them out for 3 months, nope. One coffee a day surely can't hurt!

100 days to FIT

It's the first post of 2015 on my blog (is it really the end of March already?) and I'm ready for a new challenge! It was the Spring equinox yesterday which means I am out of hibernation and starting to think about summer holidays... the best time to start a health kick!

This glittery little thing just arrived in the post and I'm visualising myself - minus 20lbs - in it, drinking a daiquiri in a beach bar somewhere:

100 days starting tomorrow (31st March) takes me to 1st July which is the perfect timescale for a fitness overhaul. I'm excited to see what can be achieved in 100 days.

I have some new ideas to try in the period - of course. I'll do separate posts on them and track their effectiveness. One is Dr Marilyn Glenville's advice from her book Fat Around The Middle (I'm an apple shape so my tummy and back are my main problem areas - and coconut oil which I have just begun taking to help my metabolism.

So I'm currently sipping a glass of sparkling rose and planning ahead for when the clock starts 12, 100 days will be started and I'll do some photos, measurements, and - God help me - a weigh in. I might cry.