Day 1 - Attack PP

I have three goals. On each one I have 5kg (11 pounds) to lose. I think my first goal will probably be relatively easy, the 2nd goal a bit harder and the third... will be a tough journey. A journey I've taken before but never reached the destination.

In NZ at the moment it's the end of winter and it would be so fantastic to reach at least two of my goals by Christmas. It will be a tough road to travel though as typically my life goes into crazy mode in November with family life, hubby away, magazine to layout, deadlines to meet, not to mention Christmas, but this year I need to come first. I need to do this for me!

I'm not planning to weigh myself every day like Dukan suggests, I'll leave it for once a week. I vow to be honest when I cheat and have bad days and continue this blog until I reach my final goal (this may take years but I'm committed to losing weight once and for all and then keeping it off within a few pounds).

So today I ate a lot of ... eggs, chicken, beef, I went for a walk in the sun (rare sunny winters day) to the beach and I've mixed my oatbran with meatballs, might try a out oatbran porridge tomorrow for breakfast. I think I'm only meant to do attack for 2-3 days, which is good as I'm craving veges already. I feel the carb crash headache coming on and am feeling a bit shaky as my body realises I'm changing things (you'd think my brain would have warned my organs days ago).

I'm getting those feelings of doubt darting about... Can I do this? Will I be able to stick with it? YES I CAN! When I was having my baby earlier this year, the same feelings charged into my head but I kept saying out loud 'I can do this', I must remember to do the same thing with my diet.

I've got lots of home made pre-cooked food in the fridge now that I can just grab on the run, I'll stock up on more tomorrow at the supermarket. Off to plan my weeks meals now, I'm sure that will help me stay on track (being organised).

SYL (see ya later)

Dukan Diet Eve

I'm all ready to start and I'm very excited. Bring on the weight loss. I caught sight of myself in a mirror tonight (I've avoided them a lot lately) and the sight was very motivating for my start tomorrow. I have spare tyres and muffins where they were never meant to be.

I've got my oat bran, chicken, mince, eggs all ready to go. Now what shall I eat for my first Dukan breakfast?

The most challenging thing about tomorrow will be fitting in my 20 minutes of walking. See you on the other side!!!

... 2 days to go

2 days to go... and for some insane reason I'm baking and eating far too much sugar. Which will come back to haunt me when I start on Sunday, as my body will go through a sugar craving session which involves a major headache. Not quite sure why I'm doing that to myself.

I'm actually one of those strange people that loves diets with strict rules, if it's too relaxed I'll cheat. Also I've found out by doing past diets with calorie counting or writing down everything that those diets aren't for me either. So Dukan's idea of eating as much as you want within a strict list of foods is exciting. I don't have to feel hungry, that in itself is a huge plus.

I don't actually like the word DIET but I'm using it in this blog as it's quicker to type than 'changing my eating to improve my lifestyle'. I know this 'diet' isn't just a 6 month thing, I've really got to change my eating for life. I'm not saying I'll never eat cake or fish'n'chips again, but they shouldn't be in my daily diet or weekly for that matter. I need to make a change and find a sensible way of eating so I don't inflict these crazy insecurities and ways of eating onto my daughter (4 months old). She is going to be my motivation to get myself sorted.

What I'm probably going to find the hardest over the next few weeks is cooking for my family and myself, two different meals. Once things get a bit more relaxed I'll just be able to eat the meat and green vege portion of the meal and leave the carbs but to start with I'll have to be super strict and careful.

... the countdown is on ~ 3 days

On Sunday, I'll be starting the 'ATTACK' phase of Dukan's diet. Protein, protein and only protein, oh plus a few tablespoons of oat bran (must add to shopping list). No limits on how much I can eat - yay, so long as I stick to the prescribed list of foods.

So chicken, beef, eggs and Fish, here I come!!

Also I must do 20 minutes walking a day (minimum) so will have to squeeze that in somewhere between my infants naps and my preschoolers kindy.

Time to make a shopping list...

... a year later ...

Wow, what a year. After trying for ages my husband and I got pregnant with our second baby and I didn't feel dieting was the right thing to do during pregnancy (or eating low-carb) so needless to say, the weight has piled back on! BUT I'm ready to shed it again. Especially now that I have a daughter who I don't want to pass on my weight insecurities to.

I just read the Dukan Diet and i'm keen to give it a go. It's low carb and seems something that would be enjoyable as there is no counting calories or recording (YAY)... so I'll blog my journey, mostly for myself, but also to help other or be helped if it works out that way :-)

I'm starting Sunday - 4 days to go!!! Now I just need to get organised with all the right foods.

Low-Carb Pizza with CHEESE/EGG base

100g approx cheddar cheese grated
100g approx mozzerella grated
3 eggs lightly beaten
1 t garlic powder
1 t basil or pizza herbs

Mix the cheeses, eggs, garlic powder and basil well. Line a 16-inch pizza pan with baking paper or spray. Evenly spread the cheese mixture in the pan, almost to the edge, making it as thin as possible. Bake at 200C 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

In the meantime, heat your toppings in a frypan (I use things like bacon, onion, mushroom, pepper, etc....) and grate some more cheese!
Once cooked, top your pizza base with a bit of tomato paste and your toppings then finish with cheese. Put back in the oven on GRILL and cook another 5 -10 minutes until cheese is melted!
ENJOY!

Low-carb way of life

I've been low-carbing for about 3 months now and I LOVE IT! It stops me binging and putting on weight!
Anyway I thought I'd start collecting recipes for food I really miss. Kind of like an online recipe book. Some of these will not be my own recipes, just ones I've found and modified from others (thanks!!).