This could change your life

[fraggletits]

Anyone doing Zoe Harcombe?

I would never have known about her had I not tried her diet that was serialised in the news of the world magazine 3 months ago.

It appealed to me because it was proper food, no calorie counting - but I was going away on hols so decided to do a kerry katona last blow out and then I'd start it when I got back.

I've bought the book and am so far 5lbs lighter and I am only on day 4 of the 5 day kickstart. Phase 2 looks really good and Phase 3 is a return to completely normal eating and drinking with just a couple of simple rules to follow.

It's brilliant. I can't recommend it highly enough. I thought I was a hopeless big dinner portion fan - a crisp and chocolate addict with alcoholic tendencies. But she has just blown all that apart for me. (It's more than just a diet - it's an explanation of why we crave things and why we feel helpless - phase 1 and 2 eliminate these cravings pretty painlessly so that by phase 3 you can eat all the things you used to but with a couple of simple rules and with a new found awareness and control over food, gained from phase 1 and 2)

She's got a couple of websites - one under zoe harcombe, one under thedietguru I think.

Hope this helps anyone struggling with calorie counting and exercise

Zoe says that"Nuts are protein, fat and carbs in high quantity". She advises not to eat in Phase 1 or 2 because you are mixing fat and carbs. They can be eaten in phase 3, she says they aren't necessarily bad but should be avoided whilst losing weight. However, if in phase 3 you feel the need to snack, better to be nuts than crisps and sweets.... by that time you won't want crisps and sweets anyway!! trust me.

That's great to link us to others. She's just not known enough by people yet

I've done my Tesco order and am starting again tomorrow - can't wait!! 5 days phase 1 then start phase 2 properly this time as haven't done it yet.

I don't mind the kallo with yoghurt - i know what you mean though, it's a bit rice-cakey! it'll be better to have berries and yoghurt or porridge in a weeks time

A few months ago I was on the Rosemary Conley low fat plan. I was eating her recommended substitutes for crisps and chocolate which when as zoe says you actually read the ingredients of these things, it's like a chemistry lesson - - and I was miserable, craving junk, feeling hard done by. I know candida has been a thing for me as she described. I was exercising every other day and in 2 weeks I lost 1lb.

To lose all those cravings, to lose the weight easily and painlessly, to lose the thrush!! to have clear skin and to wake up feeling like I've had a proper sleep is a true gift

I agree Fraggle...I have tried and failed at so many diets before and I can honestly say this is the only one so far (its early days) that I have felt like I'm not actually dieting. Even though I haven't lost much weight yet! the amount of people who have commented on how shiny my hair is is unbelievable, and like you say my skin is so much healthier. They are just the changes on the outside. Just imagine whats going on inside. Here's to a new healthier us X

Why is yoghurt allowed but no other dairy?

"Eat as much natural yoghurt as you like as it kills off bacteria in the stomach and combats bloating"

Natural low fat live yoghurt is the only dairy allowed in phase 1 (which is 5 days long) because phase 1 is all about killing cravings for junk (sugar, processed foods) - milk/dairy has sugar in it in the form of lactose but I think it is in it's lowest form in natural live low fat yoghurt and the live part of the yoghurt is good for helping 'clean you out' in the early stage.

After that in phase 2 dairy wise you are allowed low fat cheeses, skimmed milk, yoghurt in any quantity.

(Has to be live yoghurt)

Cross posts fraggle

Welcome EldonAve - You are only supposed to have Natural live yoghurt unless you are intolerant to dairy products. I think you are allowed it as it helps to fight Candida. Candida makes you crave the foods that feed the yeast, therefore it is important in phase 1 to take action to fight this. Hope that helps?!

Oops sorry cross posts (lots of!)

another thing - regards to phase 2 and dairy - you can have full fat cheeses and creams with meat and veg (so fish in cheese sauce, or steak with cream sauce) and if you're having a carb meal like a jacket potato or pasta and you want dairy with it, then that has to be the low fat variety like cottage cheese.

HTH

Well end of Day 2 and I've managed to stick to it so far. Much less craving today, but very tired, irritable and headachey. Had lamb chops and veg for dinner. Even more live yogurt (fat free) - hope I'm right to take ZH at her word on this!

The book's arrived at last so I'm going to get stuck into that this evening.

Agree with you on the Rosemary Conley thing fraggle. I did lose weight on that years ago (pre-wedding so big motivation which helped, plus I was working out a lot) but it's definitely not sustainable and is full of junk. I've also tried Beyond Chocolate (terrible idea, great fun but of course didn't work) and, as previously mentioned, Neris & India's so-called Idiot-Proof Diet (went thru hell, lost nothing and felt extremely unhealthy). The only other healthy and effective diet I've done is Low GI - I shed most of my post-baby fat on that and it's so balanced I could do it while BFing. Only thing is it's full of beans and stuff which, although I really like them and they're very filling, are very bloaty.

So here's to this one - I have high hopes ...

Just had another look at your meal plans, fraggle. That's a lot of cooking! 3 times a day some days - ? You're a better woman than me! I'm hoping I can build up a reasonable stash of soups in the freezer for my lunches, otherwise I'll never leave the kitchen!

lol franch - yeah that looks like a canteen menu! I was just suggesting things there. For me when I did phase 1 I just had

fried eggs and bacon for breakfast just all cooked in one pan while the kids ate their cereal - pretty quick and easy

I made her curry and that lasted me all week as it was huge - either as curry and rice for lunch or as an accompaniment to a pork chop or something in the evening

haven't done anything like the macaroni cheese I suggested or veg chilli or jacket potatoes yet,(as haven't done phase 2 yet) though I'm alright at shoving a potato in the oven and dolloping cottage cheese on it when it's done!

I did have a couple of rice salads but cooked 100g of brown rice one evening and kept it in the fridge. Then when I was making whatever for the DD's like pizza with chopped toms and cucumber on the side, I'd just take half the rice and add some chopped veg....bit of olive oil...easy!

Dinner easy too really - a grilled pork chop with some veg cooked in one pan not too taxing

I am at home with a baby who sleeps at lunchtime though so it's not too bad. If I was out to work I'd need to plan and prepare a bit more I think -

Enjoy the book though Franch! I felt miserable the first couple of days of phase 1 - but then by day 4 I knew I was onto something

Couldn't resist weighing again this morning - have lost another 3lb! That's 5lb in 2 days! Incredible. There is obviously something in this. Honestly I never lost a thing on low carb, which others seem to find so effective, so my hopes were not very high. My motivation is soaring!

Thanks for the reassurance about your domestic goddessliness fraggle

Only thing is I'm weeing for England - up several times in the night which is very unwelcome when you're this shattered. But worth it

Wow Franch that is brilliant news!! Congratulations You might lose a stone in 5 days!!

Are you weeing lots because you're drinking lots of water? I can end up a bit housebound in the day if I drink lots of water as i just constantly need the loo. Annoying but it really speeds up weight loss.

So far this morning I've had some bacon. Tesco's turning up soon - think I'll have a grilled salmon steak with salad for lunch and pork chops and fried courgette and runnner beans for dinner.

Have a good day everyone Hey Fimbles how are you?

Thanks fraggle!

Yes drinking lots as instructed!

Hi everyone. I can relate to the loo thing.! Haven't left the house for days, I have never drunk so much water!! Fantastic news Franch on the weightloss. You must be feeling really great. Congratulations!. I am a bit miffed now that you have all lost so much on phase 1, puts my 2.5lbs to shame. However, to date (sneaky weigh in this morning) I have lost 5lbs - will be first week of phase 2 completed on Friday, so it is coming off slowly. The thing is, it is really strange..but I don't really seem to be that bothered, as I feel really well. On other diets I would be obsessed by the fact I wasn't losing but this new way of eating has taken over my life and even though I'm not losing quickly it doesn't seem to matter Weird!! Still haven't been near the crisps cupboard or the biscuit tin. Fraggle you are a wonder for finding this! Keep up the good work everyone.

Hi Fimbles - that's brilliant news for you too 5lbs in what, 10 days? Even if it's not masses it's still more than you could expect on a low calorie misery diet and like you say you're enjoying it. It's obviously going to be nice and steady for you which is great.....at least your losing!!

Yeah I agree fraggles, well done fimbles! As I said I thought the low GI diet was great at the time (bloating aside), but on that I was losing 1lb a week!

Yes I did low gi as well franch when dd1 was 1 and we were going on holiday - it did work but I know what you mean about the bloating! and it took quite a while - it must have been nearly 3 months of dieting and exercise to lose a stone and a half.

What I love about this is that you're not obsessing about portion size or weighing food so it can quickly become just a way of life and there's no need to exercise - she just recommends exercise for toning if you want. I'm happiest about that I think - I kept telling myself I was really enjoying slogging away to exercise dvd's - not practical when you've got a baby to look after!! I will still do exercises for toning though but think I'll join a pilates class once a week or something and that will be it!

Hello - can I join in?

I started following this on Monday from the article in She magazine...so early days yet.

Thanks for all the hints and tips here.

I only want to lose a few pounds and a bloated tum after our holiday where I had loads of bread and wine.

Does anyone know how much 50g of brown rice weighs when it's cooked please? I'll have a veg curry and rice tonight, but I don't want to have to cook two separate lots of rice so that everyone else can have unmeasured portions.

I'll take my veg curry out and then add in some cooked chicken for the rest of the family.

I had a three-egg omelette this morning, and tbh I feel a bit sick now - I've been eating a lot so that I don't feel deprived/hungry by mid morning, but that was just greedy!

Welcome TDMIC - Its good to have more people on board. How are you feeling on day 3. Sending my love as although I didn't find phase 1 difficult I felt pretty rough for the first few days, but then I had a lot of crap in my system to detox. Hope you are feeling ok. Can't help with the rice weight I am afraid..sorry..I just weighed my 50g in my own saucepan so I knew I had the correct amount - the rest of the family have white rice anyway, whereas I obviously had to have brown. Little do they know with the next grocery shop they are being converted too Keep in touch.

Thanks everyone else for your support on my not so massive but reasonable 5lbs loss. We seem to have a great support thread going here and are all doing so well. Lets keep at it. We can all do it this time!

Hi TDMIC!

I just tried to find out weight conversions between dry and cooked rice for you but with not much luck - it was getting very complicated! Like Fimbles said just do your own in your saucepan - maybe a bit of a faff but that's what I do as well.

I stuffed my face at the start as well as didn't want to get hungry but I'm happy with one egg these days, my appetite has definitely decreased

Fimbles 5lbs is more than reasonable!! You've only just started

Actually I don't think we've said how much weight we all want to lose if that helps at all?

I've got 2 stone (well, 1 stone 10lbs)

Thanks both - I feel fine, healthy and my stomach is less bloated. I have done detoxes before and don't consume loads of caffeine now, so I don't think the caffeine-withdrawal headache affects me too much now, although I do feel a bit tired.

I've just had a huge salad and chicken for lunch - it makes me realise that carbs are a bit of a state of mind - you think you need bread, but in fact I don't miss it that much. I won't be hungry for hours now.

Although if dh appears with a ciabatta from our local farm shop, that probably would test my willpower.

I'll weigh my portion of rice after cooking it tonight and will post on what the cooked weight is.