Trying to look good with so much going on!

I've told you all quite a bit about my efforts to lose weight this year. I have been doing The Fast Diet, as have quite a few of my friends.  I've found it quite easy.  On fasting days - two a week - you just don't think about food.  You have decided you are not going to eat and that is really powerful.  Until last week I was doing really well.  But last week I did my two fasting days and then on my five eating days I just couldn't stop eating!

I think The Fast Diet works if on the other five days you stay within the normal ranges - 2000 calories for women - but I obviously didn't!  This coupled with the fact that Heather and I only managed one run last week meant I put on 2lbs!

This was not good!  I'm trying to lose weight so I look good in my new dress for my husband's Birthday party in less than three weeks!  So drastic action was required.  Serious cut back on calories this week!!!  Yesterday I fasted and I'm going to try to fast again today and tomorrow, then eat sensibly for the rest of the week and only allow myself to be naughty at dinner on Friday night - as I'm going out and Supper at Heather's on Saturday night.

I'm also going to run a minimum of three times this week and walk the dogs as much as possible.  We had a really good run last night.  5.2 miles and it was easy!  We could both have carried on so bring on Wednesday!

Last week seemed like a quiet week socially - probably only because I've been doing so much with the girls lately and last week we didn't actually have an evening out together.

On Friday I went to the races - Cheltenham Festival - but the weather was horrible!  We did however see Will and Kate.  We were literally stood two feet away from them as the police cleared the steps so that they could come through.  They are both so skinny!  I'm just jealous!!!  She is very pretty though!  So that was quite exciting but other than that I can't say it was my best day at the Races!  I didn't even wear my racing coat.  I just opted to wear my horsey Eurostar jacket which is one of my favourites.

Friday evening my friend Jane came for supper and Rich lit a log fire so we were really cosy after a day spent in the rain.

On Saturday evening Rich and I went out to supper and it was an evening with a difference!  I wore black skinny jeans (Gok at Sainsburys), my black ankle boots (Stylist Picks) and my new red jacket!!!  I bought it, or rather Rich bought it for me, from the Joules stand at the races.  I love it.  It's styled on a hunting jacket.  It's so cool!  And it was half price!!! Yay!  Still expensive I guess - reduced from £179 to £89 but well worth it because I do love it!

 

 We decided to go to Broadway.  I'd seen a restaurant on Trip Advisor called The Workshop which is a sister restaurant to Russells in Broadway - which is absolutely lovely.  So we parked the car and sheltering under our massive brolly - yes it was still pouring with rain - we tried to find it!  It turns out it closed back in November!  To be replaced by Russells Fish and Chip Shop!

We decided to give it a go!  It's quite . . . basic in it's furnishings but was quite busy too.  Always a good sign!  We both ordered the "half pint of prawns with saffron mayo" to start and they did actually come in a half pint glass tankard.  And they were delicious!  I had the fishcakes to follow.  Again delicious and packed full of fish rather than potato.  And they served Prosecco too!

The choice of desserts however was uninspiring - ice cream or . . . ice cream.  So we went across the road to the Broadway Hotel.  I haven't been there for years but its lovely now!  And with the rain still bucketing down outside it was lovely to relax on a comfy sofa by a blazing fire with a glass of bubbly and dessert.  Definitely want to go back and eat in the restaurant.

Whilst relaxing there I came across this article:  

So Girls - get out your red lipstick and your eyebrow pencil!!!

My week ended with another high calorie outing but it was way too good to miss.  My friend Sarah had invited a few of us to afternoon tea.  We have become addicted to the concept of afternoon tea having been out to various placing - The Frogmill being the most recent - and really enjoyed it!

We had a lovely afternoon.  Sarah had made scones with jam and clotted cream, Victoria Sponge, Vienese Whirls and Flapjacks and it was all yummy!  She even sent us home with a party bag of cake!!!  Result!

The Fast Diet

Whilst in Sainsbury's a few weeks ago I bought a book called The Fast Diet.  There's been a lot written in the press about this diet after the Horizon programme - Eat, Fast, Live Longer was aired last year.  Dr Michael Mosley investigated the benefits of fasting, not for weight loss but because of the health benefits and life extension.  He was 55 and mildly overweight, like most of us!  His father had died in his early 70s of complications associated with diabetes.

Whilst making the documentary he had an MRI scan.  This revealed he was thin on the outside but fat on the inside.  This is the most dangerous sort of fat, visceral fat, because it wraps itself around your internal organs and puts you at risk of heart disease and diabetes.  He also had blood tests which confirmed he was heading towards diabetes with a really high cholesterol score.

Dr Mosley followed conventional advice but it made little difference.  He discovered that intermittent fasting had massive health benefits and trialled his own version - the 5:2 Diet.  After three months on the diet he had lost 19lbs and his blood indicators had improved massively.  So much so that his wife - also a doctor - was astonished.  She regularly saw overweight patients with a blood profile similar to that of her husband's and none of the advice she had given them had made anything like the difference that the Fast Diet had made.

The science behind the diet is that animals out in the wild have periods of fast and feast.  This is also how we are genetically programmed.  Our bodies and our genes were forged in an environment of scarcity, punctuated by the occasional massive blow-out.  These days we eat all the time!  Dr Mosley's research found that fasting can improve mood and protect the brain from dementia and cognitive decline.  It reduces IGF-1 thus reducing your risk of a number of age related diseases such as cancer.  It increases insulin sensitivity which reduces your risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. And you lose weight!

One way to check your BMI - a predictor of your likelihood of developing heart disease, is to measure your waist around your belly button.  Your waist should be less than half your height.  In a study of over 45,000 women followed for 16 years the waist to height ratio was an accurate predictor of who would develop heart disease.

Are you convinced yet?  Are you concerned about your weight?  Do you want to stay healthy so that you can enjoy your retirement?  Either way, READ THE BOOK!  This is just my synopsis.  For less than £4 I suggest you buy it and make your own mind up.  I'd suggest it's money well spent.

SO WHAT IS THE FAST DIET?

Basically, for 5 days a week you eat normally and for two days a week you fast.  It doesn't matter which two days you fast - whatever fits in with your lifestyle.  On your fasting days you are allowed 500 calories for a woman and 600 calories for a man - a quarter of your normal daily allowance.  You should try to consume food that makes you feel satisfied i.e. high in protein with a low glycaemic index.  You consume these calories in two meals.  This can be breakfast and dinner or brunch and dinner. You can drink tea and coffee without milk and are encourage to sip water throughout the day.

I having been doing it for several weeks now.  several of my friends are also doing it too.  I'm not finding it difficult.  Actually I find fasting days strangely liberating.  When I am on a diet I find I'm constantly thinking about food and what I can eat to stay within my designated calorie allowance or points.  On fasting days I just don't think about food.  I have lunch and dinner but on some days I could happily skip dinner.  I feel so much better.  Im losing weight and in the meantime I'm eating what I want so that girlie suppers or dinner out with my husband is a joy.  I can engoy the food and the wine and not worry about my weight.  Result!!!   If you decide to try it please let me know how you get on with it.  And good luck!