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Toying with tofu and dreaming of egg custard

23/ 1/2008

IT’S BEEN a trying week of no chocolate, no curries, no pizzas and barely any wine, but I’m celebrating.

When I stepped on the scales after the first seven days of my Slimming World regime, I’d lost 2lb – not bad at all, according to leader Laura Sousa.

She tells me that for someone who hasn’t got much to lose, I’m doing well.

I agree – I’m now 10 stones 10lb and feeling the healthiest I have in quite some time.

But although the diet clearly works, it’s not as easy as the jargon-filled booklet would have you believe.

According to the guidebook, which tells me what I can eat (fruit, veg etc) and what I can’t eat (everything I’m craving), apparently I shouldn’t ever be hungry because whenever I want to eat I can snack on fruit and other ‘free’ foods.

Now that’s all well and good, but I’ve blown a full week’s wages on strawberries, blueberries, plums, nectarines, grapes and bananas and, while they’re delicious, they’re just not filling the gap.

I want a big fat slice of cheese on toast, not another handful of berries.

In theory, eggs and Quorn are also ‘free’, but I can’t exactly set about hard-boiling an egg or frying up a sausage while I’m at work.

My other main concern is with the bizarre spray I’m supposed to fry my food in, instead of olive oil. I have no doubt that it’s virtually free of fat and calories, but the ingredients list reads like a chemistry text book.

I find myself wondering what’s actually worse for me – a generous glug of olive oil or a cocktail of (albeit fat-free) artificial junk.

That’s not to say the plan’s all bad, far from it. It clearly works for those who’ve got the discipline to follow it to the letter.

I’m eating mountains of fruit and veg and I’m barely drinking alcohol at all. In fact, during a session in the pub on Friday night I only had four gin and slimline tonics, which would have been previously unheard of. As a result, my head’s clear and I’m leaping out of bed as soon as the alarm goes off.

But I can’t pretend that I was happy toying with tofu and green peppers while my friends tucked into a huge Chinese takeaway on Saturday. And although last night’s leek and potato stew was tasty enough, it would’ve been so much better with a big fat slice of bread and butter. To top it all off, food has started taking over my mind. Last night I dreamed about eating a family-size egg custard, and I don’t even especially like egg custard.

With the pounds coming off though, I don’t mind the food cravings or the odd nightmare. It’s getting easier as the days go on and the memories of a paneer and mushroom balti fade into the dim recesses of my mind. I just hope that this week, when I’m back on the scales at Bamford Bowling Club, I’ve got at least another 2lb to show for it.

For more information on Slimming World classesm visit www.slimmingworld.com or call Laura direct on 0161 655 4543.

LINK: Jeni's slimming diary