Finally, I am in control

Well it has been just five days since Operation lose 5 stone began and I have mixed feelings today. This may have something to do with having to pull out of the 2 Castles 10k this morning at the last minute, so to say I am disappointed and frustrated is an understatement! 

Since I came clean with myself, and all of you, that I have had difficulty controlling my diet things have been getting easier. I think the most important thing that I say there is control; I need to remember that it is solely up to me what I buy in the Supermarket, what I cook and what goes in my mouth. I know this may sound really easy to those of you that don't have an unhealthy relationship with food. To me it’s not just a simple case of buying, cooking and eating that I have to think about. It’s also ignoring the marketing that is used to get you to buy the products; reading past the "low fat/ half fat /0% fat /low calorie/ good for you" rubbish that is all over the packaging and pretty much every food advert anywhere, and educating myself on the actual ingredients. 

I believe that control is the most important thing that I personally need to think about. It is really important that I and I alone control what goes in my mouth. 

An easy way if doing this is by preparing all my meals and snacks myself, rather than letting others plate it up or buying pre-packed sandwiches from the Supermarket. This is especially important when going out to eat! It is a sure fire way of having that control taken away from you with the portion sizes, that they will pile on your plate for you! I'm quite worried about this as I much prefer having a nice meal out as opposed to a night in the pub! In fact I'm due to go out this Friday, for an Indian so this will be my first test! 

I refuse to stay in and not socialise so controlling my own portion sizes and making sensible choices when I am eating out is something that I need to get used to!

My PT Oli has given me lots of advice as regards to my diet, the main things being eat lots of protein, about 150g per day, keep well hydrated and also cut the carbs. Now, I know many of you will question this, but to be honest, carbs don't really agree with me anyway and also, I'm not cutting them completely; I'm just not eating them after lunch and making sure that what I do eat is whole grain. As diet is the most important thing that I need to concentrate on, I found that I had a lot of brain clutter, being told one thing then another by somebody else. Everybody having their own opinion and ideas was confusing so I decided to buy Bob Harpers "The Skinny Rules." 

Now, I have to admit, I don't like the title, the word skinny does not say healthy to me (obviously a marketing thing) but I trust Bob, who doesn't?! The book basically gives you 20 rules to follow and gives you explanation as to why. When I read the book everything completely made sense, for example, Oli had told me to drink water and ignore the flavoured waters or squash, no added sugar or not! Apparently your body isn't clever enough to know that the squash is no added sugar, so your pancreas releases insulin, and you stop burning fat, and it makes you hungry, Bob agrees, he wasn't making it up - hooray! (I bet I'll pay for that comment tomorrow!) Now, the problem here is that I hate water, you can say that it doesn't taste of anything as much as you want, as far as I am concerned, it tastes like swamp. I guess this is something that I need to get used to! 

So some of the rules in the book:

• Drink a large glass of water before every meal
• Eat protein at every meal
• No carbs after lunch
• Learn to read food labels
• Get your portion sizes right
• Go to bed hungry
• Eat your vegetables
• Sleep well
• Plan one splurge meal a week

Obviously, he doesn't just list the rules and expect you to get on with it. Each rule is explained in detail and backed up with research and facts which make you understand the reasons why you should follow them. After reading this, everything makes sense, I now have zero brain clutter and everything is so much clearer. Brain clutter by the way causes anxiety, which can lead to depression and binge eating.

 As well as the set of rules, Bob has included a 4 weekly plan in the book, which I have decided not to follow (what was I saying about control earlier? No thanks, I'll read the rules and decide on my own meals!). Also there is a really good section with recipes which I have found particularly helpful for the variety of food that I can chose from whilst keeping my protein and vegetable intake up and carbs low.

 I'm not going to say that I have found the last few days easy with my diet, but I have felt very satisfied that I have been in control and there have been no temptations, secret trips to the shop for sweets or raiding the cupboards gone 9pm. 

 So, so far so good, I am finally in control!