Half a Stone in 5 days

Hello Lovely Readers


Well ... I weighed in this morning and ...

...I kind of expected it - I did eat that baguette after all - you guessed it; I didn't lose weight yesterday. I don't mind too much after all I have lost 7lbs in 5 days which I am really happy about. As Sue says, http://thehowlowcanyougofooddiary.blogspot.co.uk/ and of course Zoe Harcombe agrees with her, it's Fat meals that shift the weight, not the carb ones. So, as I go on to phase 2 I am going to try and eat more of the fat meals and restrict the carb ones. It will be interesting to see if this does make a difference.

So, have a great weekend

Love Mrs Thrifty

xxx

This is my menu planner for this week:

Harcombe Diet – phase 2 – week 1 F = fat meal C = carb meal
Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Saturday	F Poached eggs + tomatoes	F Goats cheese salad Strawberries + cream	C Quorn chilli + natural yoghurt + tomato salsa
Sunday	C Fresh fruit + natural yoghurt	F Salmon fillet + steamed vegetables	F Poached eggs on spinach
Monday	C Porridge + natural yoghurt + blueberries	F Salad Nicoise	F Aubergine gratin
Tuesday	C Porridge + natural yoghurt + blueberries	F Mackerel salad	F Creole fish casserole + green salad
Wednesday	C Porridge + natural yoghurt + grated apple	F Feta + olive salad	C Butternut squash curry + brown rice + natural yoghurt
Thursday	F Herb omelette + tomato	F Prawn stir fry	C Quorn bolognaise + buckwheat pasta
Friday	F Bacon + egg/scrambled egg	C Baked potato + low fat cottage cheese + salad	F Baked fish + steamed vegetables

Day 5 - phase 1

Good Evening Lovely Readers


I lost another pound yesterday which I am really happy about. Weight loss so far = 7lbs in 4 days (plus 4lbs not gained from the original 12lbs I lost).  It is the last day of phase 1 and to tell you the truth I couldn't be happier - I am ready for the next phase and proved this by "cheating" tonight.

I did okay all day but then Mr Thrifty and I spent all afternoon in the garden and I was tired. So when I went in to make our dinner, I couldn't be bothered to go to the effort of making a salad and instead I warmed up some mini baguettes and we had those with butter and sardines. Oh well.... it could have been worse (I think).  I will wait until the morning to weigh and see if the demon white bread made a difference! I'll let you know.

Interestingly, it filled a hole but I really haven't missed bread at all. Back on track tomorrow..

Love Mrs Thrifty

xxx

Day 5

Porridge + natural yoghurt

Egg + salad

Grilled sardines + green salad

Day 4 - phase 1

Good Morning  Lovely Readers


I have awoken to a beautiful sunny morning here is Suffolk and that always makes the world seem brighter - don't you agree? I have lost another pound, so that takes my total in 3 days on phase 1 of this diet to 6lbs. I am only 1lb off my original SMART target and so I have added another ticker to my side bar ready for tomorrow (hopefully)... have you got yours yet? I do like to see a visual display of what I have lost. 

St Jacob's Menonite Market, Ontario - see my other blog for my recent trip.

I have tried so many diets over time - in fact, there possibly isn't a diet I haven't tried..... but this is working for me and I don't feel cheated or hungry. How are you finding it? Today's menu is at the bottom of the page.

Have a great day

Love Mrs Thrifty

xxx

Day 4

Tomato omelette made with 2-3 eggs, knob of butter, ½tsp herbs, ground black pepper

Chef's salad: a large mix of salad leaves, beetroot, tomato, cucumber, radish + spring onions, with hardboiled eggs and/or feta cheese + olives. Olive oil and black pepper for dressing

Stuffed peppers: boil 50g dry weight brown rice, stir-fry chopped mixed vegetables (not potatoes or mushrooms) in olive oil, then mix the rice and vegetables together and fill a deseeded pepper shell. Bake in a medium oven for 20-30 minutes until the pepper is soft to the touch

5lbs - 2 days

Good Morning Lovely Readers

I have now lost 5lbs in 2 days - actually I have also lost 0.2 of a pound (my scales are digital) but I will save that towards tomorrows lost to keep in round pounds. So again I say, if you follow the rules, this diet works. How are you doing? I would love to hear, so do leave me a little comment to let me know your progress.

New to the Harcombe Diet? Here are the rules for Phase 1

Rules for Phase 1
● Unless specified, eat as much as you like so that you don't start to feel hungry.
● You're allowed to eat unlimited unprocessed meat, fish, eggs, salads and vegetables, apart from potatoes and mushrooms. Mushrooms feed Candida albicans, while potatoes are very high in carbohydrate so they encourage Candida albicans and hypoglycaemia. Olives and tomatoes are also allowed, as is olive oil for cooking and dressings.
● You can have 50g brown rice or rice pasta per day or 75g porridge oats.
● No caffeine is allowed. But you should drink about 1.5 litres of water, herbal tea, decaffeinated tea or coffee (without milk) a day.
● And no sweeteners or sugar-free drinks - they can stimulate the insulin mechanism in a similar way to sugar and just perpetuate your desire for sweet things.
● Unless specified, all foods can be cooked in any way - roasted, fried, grilled, baked, poached etc.
● You can snack between meals on vegetable crudités or natural live yoghurt, but try and get used to eating just three big main meals a day so your body has time to digest them properly. Make meals as regular as possible so your body feels no need to store food.
● If you're following the fixed plan, you can switch around any of the meals - as long as you're only having one meal a day with rice, rice pasta or porridge oats.

Have a wonderful day - I am off to Norwich to find out about laser eye surgery ...ooohhh scary!

Love Mrs Thrifty

xxx

Day 3

75g porridge oats with water + natural yoghurt

Egg salad (packed to go) natural live yoghurt

Grilled sardines + a large salad

Lose 4lbs in 1 day!

Good Morning Lovely Readers


Just a quick post to let you know that when I jumped stepped on the scales this morning I had lost 4lbs! I am thrilled to bits. 

This means I have another 3lbs to go to get down to my pre-Canada weight. I have to admit that I was very naughty out there, and when I came back too... I am talking butter tarts (yum), cookies, maple syrup and pancakes, cookies, cup cakes, ice cream (oh my, that was good!), cookies, and Tim Hortons at every stop! Did I mention cookies? Oh yes, chocolate too! There, that's my confession and it cost me 5lbs in Canada and 2lbs since arriving home. I need this diet and IT WORKS!! I must admit that I am surprised that I lost 4lbs in just one day, but there you go, what more proof do you need that this diet works.


Today, when the tidying jobs are done, I am going to do some sewing to keep my mind off food. Do remember though that you don't have to be hungry on this diet - in Phase 1 you can snack on veggies, natural yoghurt, and even slices of meat if you are not vegetarian. Today's menu is at the bottom of the page.

Have a great day

Love Mrs Thrifty

xxx

Day 2

Eggs+ tomato

Salad Niçoise: a tin of tuna or a tuna steak on a bed of salad. Hard-boiled eggs, olives and anchovies are optional. Olive oil and black pepper for dressing

Brown rice (50g dry weight) and veg (not potatoes or mushrooms) stir-fried in olive oil

Phase 1 - round 2

Good morning Lovely Readers


Well, I am back and raring to go... this is it! Phase 1 - 2nd time around. Are you in? If I need to snack it will be on natural yoghurt, cherry tomatoes and cucumber sticks. Drinks: water and herbal teas.


My first goal is simply to get off the weight I gained in Canada. My weigh-in today revealed that I am 8lbs heavier than when I went so that's the goal - a SMART target. I use SMART targets on school and for anyone who hasn't come across them they are:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant or Realistic 
Time-bound
The theory is that a goal must be realisable within a short, specific time frame to be achievable. In other words, if you have 5 stone to lose then do it in small steps. If you are paying off a mortgage then £500 is a good goal, not £200,000 straight away. De-cluttering a room or an area of a room is a manageable target; a whole house in one go probably isn't. The goal should be good for you. So, some people might feel able to clean a whole house in one go; others might need to tackle one drawer or shelf. A SMART target means that we are more likely to achieve because we see success. 


On my internet wandering I found the weight loss bar you can see at the side of the page. The great thing about this is that you don't have to display your weight if you don't want to. You can add BMI and waist measurements if you choose and there a lots of great designs to choose from.


If you want one, you can access it here:
http://www.tickerfactory.com/ezticker/ticker_designer.php?type=3


Good Luck if you are starting or continuing with the diet .... see you later

Love Mrs Thrifty

xxx

Menu today:

Day 1

75g Oats with water (not milk) + natural yoghurt

Tomato + herb omelette with a large side salad; natural live yoghurt

Grilled trout with any amount of vegetables (not potatoes or mushrooms).

Starting again

Good Morning Lovely Readers


Well needless to say I DID put on weight in Canada! However, I am thrilled that it was only 5lbs and not the whole 12lbs that I had lost. I am back on the diet on Monday.... are you in? Or have you been good and are still on it? I'd love to hear how you are doing...

Canadian Butter Tart 

Love Mrs Thrifty

xxx

12lbs in 9 days!

Good Morning Lovely Readers.... and my apologies for not blogging yesterday

We went out for lunch with the family so that I could see them all before my trip to Canada, and we did go a bit off track....

Meals - Day 4 (phase 2)
Breakfast - natural yoghurt + strawberries, blueberries + raspberries, boiled egg
Lunch - vegetarian breakfast (restaurant meal ..... not strictly diet because we had toast AND butter with protein)
Dinner - falafel sandwich (wholemeal pitta bread, felafel, shredded iceberg lettuce + yoghurt dessing) - if you haven't tried these they are to die for.......

This morning we are off to Hearing Dogs in Bucks to drop Zena for some booster training and then heading for Gatwick tomorrow where Mr Thrifty will drop me to start my journey to Canada. My diet is now on hold until I return, although I am hoping to be careful while I am away.

Weight loss to date: 12 lbs!

Take care and keep going if you are on the diet - see you when I get back in 2 weeks

Love Mrs Thrifty 

xxx

Day 3

Good Morning Lovely Readers

Just a very quick post to let you know today's menus - I have a hundred and one things to get done today...

Meals - Day 3 (phase 2)
Breakfast - yoghurt + fruit
Lunch - cheese salad
Dinner - ratatouille + brown rice
Snacks - if needed - natural yogurt/fruit/veggie sticks

Are you on the diet yet?

How are you doing?

'Til later

Mrs Thrifty

xxx

Phase 2

Good Evening Lovely Readers

Day 2 of phase 2 and all going well here at diet-city! I will only post my weight loss once a week from now on as I expect it to slow down now that we are in the 2nd phase of the plan.

Meals  Day 2  (phase 2)
Breakfast: boiled eggs
Lunch: cheese salad salad, natural yoghurt
Dinner: butternut squash curry + brown rice (left-overs)
small portion of 85% dark chocolate and some strawberries
Snacks: if needed - natural yoghurt + raspberries/blueberries

If you want more information on this diet, do go and have a look at Sue's blog - she has written fabulous explanations over there...
http://thehowlowcanyougofooddiary.blogspot.co.uk/

Bye for now

Love Mrs Thrifty

xxx