Week 1- Diet Update! Eat Less and Move More
So I headed into week 1 full spirited and ready to go. I wanted to cut out chocolate/high sugar snacks and drink more water. My basic idea for the week is to eat less and move more. I also decided to lower my carbohydrate intake, for at least the first week. Choosing healthier choices seemed like a good choice to start with!
My goal was to lose 3lbs. After all, week 1 you lose a lot of water weight, so 3lbs seemed realistic.
I chose to do my day 1 photos as well as weigh myself...
Breakfasts
For breakfasts, I generally stuck to a breakfast protein shake, as it is quick to make, and you can drink it on the go.
To make the breakfast shake, I blended in a nutribullet:
1 x banana
1 x scoop of chocolate protein powder (I use whey protein)
240 ml water
2 tablespoons oats
It tastes delicious and literally takes like a minute to make.
At the weekend, I had a little more time, so I treated myself to fried mushrooms followed by full fat greek yoghurt with blueberries. (I try not to measure too many things, otherwise it can get obsessive!)
Lunches
For lunches, I generally had leftovers from dinner. If I was out and about, I would take with me a little lunch box of healthy snacks, preventing me from wanting to binge eat chocolate.
I discovered Deliciously Ella apple and raisin bars- gluten free and vegan friendly apparently. They taste a little bit like apple crumble, so I was happy.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away- and they keep you all and satisfy your sweet tooth!
Dinners
Monday- Bolognese with courgette spaghetti. I make my bolognese using passata- avoiding the added sugar a jar provides. The base is: onion, carrot and celery, fry it for a few minutes, then add the mince and garlic. Cook until the mince has browned. Sprinkle on some Italian mixed herb, add a dollop of tomato puree. Finish it off with a carton of passata and extra water. Leave to simmer. For the courgette spaghetti, I just peeled to courgette repeatedly. Yummy!
Tuesday- Lamb cutlets with vegetables. I made mash potato for my partner, but stuck to the carb free dinner for myself. (I generally tried to avoid evening carbs, sticking to having them at lunch time.
Wednesday- Chilli with lettuce instead of rice. I discovered the rice alternative when a friend used it. Lettuce actually tastes nice with chilli, I don't even really miss the rice. You could of course switch to brown rice instead. I make my chilli in the slow cooker.
Thursday- Jamie Oliver's recipe for pork with chickpeas. Using pork loin is new to me, I have decided to try and cook new things- so I browsed the web for recipes. This looked fairly healthy, and the chickpeas provide extra protein! I found the recipe here (of course, mine did not look the same, I also substituted the rainbow chard for spring greens, because even Waitrose seemed to not supply chard!):
Friday- Mediterranean chicken. I was at a loss what to cook today. We had chicken breasts and then a load of random vegetables that we get delivered from riverford every 2 weeks.
Saturday- Steak night! Yummy fillet steak that my partner tastily made. We have homemade wedges and broccolini and asparagus as a side. A very balanced meal, a lovely treat, and a nice way to celebrate the weekend.