From scrambled to creme

I know I've been extremely tardy with my blogs posts and I apologise for this. I have started writing my novel (nothing about dieting) and just haven't found the time. Anyway, the long and the short of it is the Dukan has been very good to me. So much so I have managed to lose just under 2 stone since January. Reaction has generally been very positive, although now I am getting comments like 'don't lose any more weight'. I'm not sure whether this is aimed at my general health and well being or due to other people's insecurity.

I don't want to weigh any less but am actually finding it hard to come off the diet – weird I know. I have had a couple of slip-ups. Easter was one. I bought three Creme Eggs and then my ex bought me an egg with chocs inside, which was a turn up as he never bought me one when we together. Anyway... I scoffed the chocolates on Easter Sunday and then the next day ate the entire egg in about half-an-hour and then tucked into the Creme Eggs! My kids were looking at me strangely – Lucy even commented that I didn't need to eat all of it in one go (I wonder where she'd heard that one!). But in fact I did. I needed to get it all out of my house! I didn't even enjoy them that much and felt very sick. That is the downside of the Dukan. It has ruined treats for me. I am now 'allowed' now eat a certain amount of carbs every day (I don't), some hard cheese (I don't) and a piece of fruit (again, I don't). I'm also allowed two celebration meals and some alcohol each week - I have had a few glasses of wine, but haven't really gone for it after vomiting after my birthday celebrations in March. This is obviously a good thing and much healthier, but as for the rest of it, I'm not really sure where to go next. Now I sound like I'm whining, but all is good and I won't hear anything bad said about Dr D.

New habits are hard to break

Today I had my first carbs since Jan 1st – that's 8 weeks by my reckoning and its been far easier living without them than I thought. So much easier, in fact, that's it taken a lot of persuasion, by concerned friends (Hannah in particular) for me to eat them again. I conceded with some wholemeal spaghetti with my bolognese sauce tonight. It was good, but not that good. After my plateau of last week, I did weigh again on Saturday and had lost 2lbs, so that means I'm just a 1lb off my target. I know I should stop now, but it's very difficult. I don't want to go back to what I was eating before I started this, so I'm doing a kind of half-way house Dukan thing. It mainly involves eating galettes for breakfast, soup for lunch and chicken/fish/ham with salad or veg for dinner. Healthy huh? I don't miss the carb element, so I'm not going to eat it. Hannah is very aware of my propensity for extremes and that's why she's concerned about me missing a major food group from my diet. Maybe I'll just have it now and again when it fits in with a meal - a bit of wholemeal pasta, brown rice etc.

Oh what a difference 8 weeks makes...

I was talking to a bus friend today who, when noticing my sports bag, asked me if I went to the gym everyday.

'Not quite,' I replied. 'I do have Fridays off.'

She looked at me as if I a little crazy. She ramped this opinion up to completely mad when I then told her I had given up alcohol and cigarettes and had been on the Dukan for two months. It does sound slightly mad.

It's my birthday on Friday and my previous celebrations have entailed me getting completely slaughtered, sending inappropriate texts and chucking up on the train home and not remembering how I ended up in bed.  Most people are expecting me to do the same this year and I'm really worried about it. I wonder if anyone will notice if I sip non-alcholic cocktails? Wish me luck.

Bruised but not broken

Things aren't going quite as planned in the land of Dukan. I had my usual weigh-in this morning and for the first time since starting this diet 7 weeks ago, I have lost nothing. Not one tiny ounce. To say I was gutted is an understatement, but the frustrating thing is, I don't really know why. I blame the glass of wine I had with Glenda, my Dukan buddy, on Friday night. It was my first taste of alcohol since January 1st and I must say it tasted good. But not that good that I had any more than one. No, I went on to Diet Coke and then COFFEE! Yes, coffee, in a pub. I can't believe that that one glass of vino would have thrown the whole diet off, especially as I have stuck to everything else religiously, even upping my gym/swimming sessions to six a week. I just don't get it. Anyway, I am at the weight that was recommended on the Dukan website, I just wanted to go a bit lower because I am slightly mental. And when I set myself a target I like to reach it, hence the disappointment.

So the next stage is called Consolidation where you can have 2 celebration meals a week (anything you fancy), eat a piece of fruit and 2 slices of bread a day but continue to have one protein-only day a week. What I'm planning on doing is to not have the fruit (because I don't like fruit much anyway), not have the bread (because I haven't missed it) and have protein and veg everyday bar one. I'm not sure about the celebration meals yet either. The way I'm feeling right now, I haven't got much to celebrate.

Finishing line

I know it's not a good excuse, but I have been very busy over the last week or so...busy with work and busy watching Wales win the rugby! But I'm here now, and hopefully heading into the last week of this phase of my diet. I must admit, I have struggled over the past two weeks. I seem to hungry more and more and I'm really missing treat food, especially when I'm at home. Nothing beats an afternoon on the sofa drinking tea and eating cake. I've been drinking the tea, but eating...ham, or yogurt! In fact last week I was so keen to end this phase that I chucked in a couple of extra protein-only days just to get closer to my target weight. I'm not sure it made any difference though, as I lost the same amount of weight as I have done every week for the past month, and my daughters weren't in the least bit impressed by my chomping on bits of chicken while waiting for James Morrison to come on last Friday!

So, I've got just 3lbs left to lose which is great, but I am very worried about what I'm going to eat next. I feel like I've been so controlled and careful, it'll seem odd being able to eat fruit and bread and even have a glass of wine. And I haven't a clue what I'm going to have for breakfast. I love my gallets (sweet and savoury) so much I think I may carry on with them. It'll be another learning curve – me learning how to be balanced for a change.

Lucy was doing work experience this week and I met her for lunch on Wednesday. It was a protein-only day so I checked out the menu of the restaurant we were going to and I saw they served half a chicken. Perfect,  I thought. It was, although I did some strange looks from my fellow diners and then had to sit through Lucy eating waffles and ice cream for pudding. Very painful and I don't even like ice cream!

Food envy

I have to admit it, I am struggling. Yesterday, despite losing more weight, I had my first doubts about seeing this through to the end. I was hungry most of the day, despite having a delicious lunch of galettes, ham and two poached eggs – kind of eggs benedict sans benedict. Dinner was two pieces of cajun chicken with Dukan mayo and a yogurt, but I did go to bed feeling a bit peckish. Then this morning I saw Imogen eating peanut butter toast and almost jumped her for it. At lunch, I went up the staff canteen to heat my soup and was looking at what everyone else had on their plates. But not just looking, staring like a crazy lady. I'm have also developed a new taste for coffee. I used to just have the one latte when I got into the office. Now I'm having one at all sorts of strange times of the day. I think I'm enjoying the strong taste as everything else is quite bland, but also it seems to fill me up.

Anyway, after an encouraging chat with my colleagues, I've decided to continue, especially as I only have 5lbs to lose to reach my target weight, which should only take me just over two weeks. I think I need a few treats this week so have talked a friend into taking me for some sashimi one lunchtime. Hopefully I won't be disappointed by fish again.

I need help

One of the best things about doing things about doing the Dukan is trying lots of different food. Well, trying to come up with different ways of eating the same food really! I've never been much of a fish eater. I always think the hype is better than what you end up with. My repertoire extends as far as salmon, tuna, swordfish and maybe mackerel on the barbie, so not very far at all really. So this week I decided to be a bit more adventurous and try sea bass. Everyone is always going on about how lovely it is and as I shelled out almost £5 at the fresh fish counter in Sainsbury's I hoped it would live up to its reputation. I did a bit of research on the internet about how to cook it and came to the conclusion that simply does it. I seasoned it, added a few herbs and a squeeze of lime juice and set about pan frying it. The recipe said it would only take a few minutes and that the skin would be lovely and crisp. Well, most if the skin came off in my not-very-non-stick pan and when I started eating it, I discovered that it needed a bit more than a few minutes, as most of it was still raw. Luckily it was a protein and veg day, so I had spinach, carrots and French beans to fill me up, but I was very disappointed. I know it was probably down to my poor cooking, but it didn't actually taste of anything!

I had another disaster earlier on in the week when I attempted to cook some homemade fish cakes (salmon and tuna, naturally) on my lean, mean, grilling machine. I bought it years ago at a sale at work and up until starting the Dukan it had laid dormant in the back of a cupboard. It has really come into its own over the last few weeks, but not with these fish cakes. Bearing in mind I can't use any breadcrumbs or flour to coat these cakes, they ended up sticking to both the top and bottom and produced what I can only describe as a fish mush – quite a tasty fish mush though.

One bright note was Friday when I tried a pickled egg for the first time. They were serving them in the staff canteen with the regular fish and chip lunch. It transpired that no-one in the office had ever eaten them, so we sent poor Yasamin up to buy a few (and a gerkin for me). After assuring a few people that she wasn't some mad pregnant lady with weird cravings, she appeared with the eggs. I was pleasantly surprised - it was a tasty vinegary egg and finished off my smoked salmon and galettes lunch off perfectly, as you can see.

Oh and by the way, I've lost another 2lb this week!

To drink or not to drink

I'm not going to lie, and most people who know me will acknowledge the fact that I like a drink or two. In fact, at the back end of last year I had very little control over the amount I was drinking. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't turning up pissed for work and would only occasionally have a glass at lunchtime, but every evening would see me tucking into a bottle of wine. I have been through the mill a bit emotionally over the past few years and I liked the numbing effect the alcohol gave me. What I didn't like though was the pounds it added to my figure and the unpredictable edge in gave my moods. It got to the point where I would have to make sure I did anything that required concentration before I started on the wine. This would include making the dinner, writing or even reading the paper. I would very rarely stay awake beyond 10pm and then be awake at 3 or 4am with alcohol paranoia.

'Yeah, yeah, read that so many times before', I hear you say...and I agree. And you would of also read/heard about the many smugs who have had a dry January. I have done it a couple of times before, but it was so much easier this time. I'm sure it was down to me doing the Dukan. The changes in my diet have been so extreme that I haven't missed alcohol at all, I was too busy missing carbs. But everything has seemed so much better. I feel more in control, have more time, sleep better and spend more time with my kids. In fact, Imogen actually commented on the fact that I was still awake at midnight on Saturday and not asleep on the sofa!

The problem is January is over and I am now really scared to drink again. My friends are already talking about going out on the piss on Saturday and I really don't want to. I never thought I would turn down a big night our or be a victim of peer pressure at this stage of my life. And sadly the main reason is I don't want to mess up my diet. I am only 7lbs off reaching my target weight and I know that if I get back on the drink I won't lose weight this week. I also don't want to be that person I was last year. What to do? Piss my friend off or follow my heart? I think I'll suggest a movie!