Taste

Diary of a first time dieter
As I am completely obsessed with food and don’t consider a meal complete until I have had
dessert, dieting has never been something I have dared to try but as I reluctantly hit a milestone
age this year I decided maybe now was the time to ditch the cakes and instead reach for the celery
snacks. I kept a food diary to track my progress:
Day 1
Day 4
I made some overnight oats before
bed last night so I have these
for breakfast. Off to a good start!
I get Gabriella’s snack ready for
school and sneak the last of the
pack of oreos in her lunch box to
avoid any temptation later. I think
the secret to the healthy eating
is to plan ahead so I make a big
batch of carrot & coriander soup
to last for lunch all week. Have
a bowl of this for lunch and the
remainder of the fruit salad I made
for Gabriella’s snack. So far so
good, this is going better than expected.
Plan to make spinach gratin
for dinner but then things start
to go off track...Rob has an email
to say the local pizza delivery is
doing a 241 deal. I’ve been good
all day so maybe a little pizza
wouldn’t be so bad Pizzas arrive
and I realise Rob has ordered family
size pizzas which are the size of
a hula hoop. All will power goes
out the window and I eat the
entire thing, trying to make myself
feel better by thinking it would be
worse to waste it
Day 2
After yesterdays faux pax I am
determined to make today a fresh
start. I start with a small bowl of
fruit & fibre and a positive attitude
to go with it. I get started on the
magazine to avoid distraction until
lunch time. I go to heat a bowl
of carrot & coriander soup when
Rob decided to take me out for
lunch since he has a day off work.
I am easily persuaded and we
head off to Usategui. I intend to
have
a salad but again willpower is
overruled when I see the chuleton
gazing at me when I walk
in the door. “Small, medium or
large” the waiter asks. Before
I can respond Rob orders two
large steaks and a salad and wild
mushrooms to share. The worlds
biggest T-bone steak arrives... 1kg
to be exact and somehow I manage
to eat the entire thing. I try
to make myself feel less disgusted
by leaving the chips. Steak can’t
be that bad can it Later on that
night greed prevails and the last
box of mince pies lurking at the
back of the goodie cupboard start
to creep up in my thoughts. Since
I haven’t had anything for dinner
maybe just one wouldn’t hurt.
Diet WILL start tomorrow!
Day 3
I fill myself up with a bowl of
porridge to last me till lunch. I
get called away to a last minute
meeting in Mijas where I end
up grabbing a sandwich from a
cafe to curb my hunger pangs.
Another day goes by, another
day the soup is left untouched in
the fridge. I end up making the
spinach gratin we were supposed
to have for Monday for dinner. It
doesn’t quite leave me satisfied
and those mince pies start to call
to me again. Wish someone else
in this house would just finish
them off!
Start the day well. Fruit & fibre for
breakfast and finally have some of
the now not so appealing soup
for lunch. Gabriella gets home
from school and wants to do
some baking so we make some
cupcakes. I let her lick the bowl
to get it away from me but again
willpower gets lost in translation
and I eat a cupcake (or two if I
am being totally honest. I meet
a friend for a drink at night time
and end up devouring any type
of snack that the waiter seems
to bring to the table in a never
ending supply. One glass of wine
leads to another and before I
know it we are heading to Mc-
Donalds for a tipsy snack at 1 in
the morning. I don’t even like
McDonalds!
Day 5
Don’t want to talk about it
Day 6
Yesterday was a disaster filled with
a slightly fuzzy head requiring
lots of hangover fuelled treats,
needless to say none of them
involved 1 of my 5 a day or the
long forgotten dreaded soup that
is still lurking at the back of the
fridge. I finally admit defeat. I love
food too much so why put myself
through torture of denying myself
the things I love, not having them
only makes me crave it more so I
decide to give up on the diet. After
all, my best friend is a personal
trainer, maybe she can get me
in shape. Now where did I leave
those mince pies...
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