DAY 3!! Cauliflower Mash! THD

Day 3 and I am feeling better and better. It’s crazy!! I can’t explain to you how I feel. It’s like I feel lighter, I don’t have this heavy feeling like I’m carrying an extra 20kg’s with me on top of my own weight that I need to lose. I feel a little tired, but that’s because I went to bed late. But in today’s Email it said that we have to go to bed earlier, and I am ALL OVER THAT!! J

I have cheated a little though, I don’t think we are allowed to eat honey really, but I really needed something warm in my hands and to drink. I opted for Vitals’ Fruit infusion Green Tea with a teaspoon of honey in it, and I was actually pleasantly surprised. I always had the green tea in my cupboard from previous failed diets, and I was never disgusted by it, but I never loved it either and was always pining away for my beloved coffee!

This time around I drank it, I liked it, I enjoyed it…. And you will not believe this, but I (the coffee addict QUEEN) didn’t miss my coffee! Yes that’s right, I didn’t miss it!!

No don’t offer me a cup of coffee because I WILL take it! But I am at a stage where I won’t attack you to get hold of your cup of coffee anymore. I see this as progress J

Hubby is once again doing this diet with me. He claims it’s because he wants to support me (and I really do appreciate the fact that he isn’t eating all sorts of sweets and take a ways etc) but he has lately eaten a TON of ginger biscuits. Once he starts, he cannot stop until it is all done. And I made a lot. Oopsie. So he wants to lose some weight too.  He claims that he isn’t addicted to coffee though (I sorely beg to differ, but to each their own J ) so he is drinking coffee, with honey in it instead of sugar. And he says it isn’t too bad. He could totally deal with it J  I figured if I get to the point where I’m willing to sell my dog for a cup of coffee, I will have a cup with some honey in. but I’m not there yet! I will wait for that day to come, and I’m excited to say that I think it won’t come at all. But let’s not count our chickens….

Last night Hubby and I made some supper together. We made Pork chops in the oven with some oven roasted asparagus and baby marrows. It was our first time roasting baby marrows, I usually throw them into chicken pots and stuff like that, but I have never roasted them before. So hubby cut them up and accidently over salted them ha-ha! His face was hilarious!! We ended up roasting the baby marrows a bit too much! But it was still actually very nice.

But the main attraction was the cauliflower mash. I figured I will try to make this, because it might seem like we are having real mash! Here is what I did.

I filled a pot with some water and put the cauliflower pieces in with some salt and let it boil until it was very soft. (I let it boil for about 25 minutes to be hot when the rest of the food was done) I then strained the water from it and put it back into the pot.  I added some Robertson’s chicken herb spice (you can add anything you like really) some pepper, salt, a teaspoon of garlic and about 2 teaspoons of margarine. And mashed it.  VOILA! You have cauliflower mash! Nothing difficult about it right?

The funny thing is that it didn’t really taste much like cauliflower. It felt like we were eating mash! Unbelievable what it did for our psyche. We felt like we were really eating mash and afterwards we felt very satisfied. Usually with other diets if we couldn’t have potato or carbs with our meals, we felt horribly cheated. It didn’t feel like that at all this time around.

One thing that I will change is to rather steam the cauliflower; so that it doesn’t end up being watery at all. You want that creaminess. We had the creaminess, but it had a bit of water to it too. OR after you mashed it, you could put it back on the stove and just let the heat evaporate the water.

We didn’t do it because the rest of the food was ready and we didn’t want it to get cold. AND we were STARVING!!

 

So there you have it. Do cauliflower mash and you will feel like you just had some carbs! Crazy how our minds work sometimes! I love it!

Tonight I’m thinking chicken, and carrot chips… but I’m still deliberating.

If you have any good ideas for food replacements or unusual recipes, please share it with us! I’m very keen to try new things! J

Bacon and Egg "cupcakes"

Day 2 and so far things are going great. I am feeling a little weak, but not nearly as bad as all of the other diets I’ve been on. Usually by day 2 I feel so horrible and lethargic and depressed that I would start plotting my way out of the diet.

But not this one! I feel like I can carry on. Here and there I do have a little moment where I am overcome with a sweet-crave. Just a cup of coffee with some sugar in would be nice, or sometimes I freak out and see myself jumping into a pool of chocolate… She said it’s normal though, so I’m not booking myself into a mental hospital just yet. J

I am in a bit of a predicament, because she said we have to cut out whatever we are intolerant to for at least the first 5 days. So NO DAIRY AND NO WHOLEWHEATS for me. This forces me to be creative with my food. So I made THIS…….

 

It’s an egg and bacon cupcake…… no it's not...… It’s an egg and bacon cupcake without the flour.  It’s basically just eggs and bacon…

Here’s how you make it:

What you need:

5 free range large eggs

4 strips of unprocessed bacon (ask your butcher to cut you some)

Garlic

Salt, pepper, peri-peri and chicken spices

A mixing bowl

A whisk

A muffin pan

A normal pan

You chop up your bacon into pieces (any size you want) and put it in a pan on high heat. Pour your spices on to until you are satisfied with the taste. (Peri-peri spice, chicken spice, salt and pepper)   And fry your bacon until it is done. You can choose if you want it crispy or not, that’s up to you, if you want it crispy, just keep frying. Once you are satisfied, put aside. Switch on your oven to 200 degrees celsius.

Then break your eggs into a separate clean bowl, add some peri peri spice, salt and pepper and some garlic. You can add whatever else you like. You can add cheese if you don’t have to cut out your dairy, you can add celery or anything else really, it’s all up to you mkay? Mkay!

Whisk it all up and fill your cupcake hole only a quarter to half of the way, you don’t want to put too much in.

After you have filled your cupcakes holes about half way, you then add your bacon. Just scoop it in little bits at a time, to ensure that you have even amounts in each “cupcake”. I used a silicone tray, if you don’t have one, either use cupcakes cups or spray your cupcake tray with some oil or butter etc. otherwise your egg might stick to the bottom (I don’t know, I haven’t  tried it in a normal pan yet.

Chuck it in the oven for about 15 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius.  They will start ballooning up. It will look like this….

 (sorry, I couldn't get this one to rotate)

You will see they are starting to tear apart at the top, then you know it’s ready.

When you take it out, it deflates again.

But it’s SO tasty!!! Give it a try. And let me know what you think J

Tonight I am aiming to make Pork chops with asparagus, roasted baby marrows and cauliflower mash. If everything works out, I will tell you all about it tomorrow J

I will leave you with a tip: If you feel like you are craving something, and you feel like you really really need it right now, get up and brush your teeth. Your craving should immediately subside. Try it, it works for me. J

The Harcombe diet 30 day Blitz! - Here we go!!!

Tomorrow is the start of the Harcombe Diet 30 day Blitz and I am super excited to get this started. I decided to do a recap post just to make sure that you have everything you need to start this diet successfully :)

There are a few important things to know:

This diet focuses on treating three conditions you may have. They are called Food intolerance, Hypoglycemia, and Candida. 

You can read all about these conditions on The Harcombe Diet Website.

 

Things to remember are:

If you have a food that you are intolerant to, cut it out of your diet for at least the first 5 to 7 days. This one is tricky for me! I have to cut out all whole wheats and dairy. ( BIG SIGH )

Be honest with yourself on which foods you are addicted to and do not eat any of them during the entire diet, even if they are allowed foods. ( my addiction is COFFEE ) A whole month without coffee!!!! I am probably going to rip out my own hair before the week is out! 

Do not eat your carbs and proteins at the same time. 

DO NOT GO HUNGRY!!

You can create your own meal plan or you can follow the meal plan they provide. You will receive the meal plan and all other info as soon as you register to The Harcombe diet 30 Day Blitz. 

You will also receive a workbook that you should print out. This book will help you to remember what worked for you and what didn't, it's a great way to track your weight loss, it even has space to write down your cheats for the day. You should receive it as soon as you register. If you are not sure what i am talking about click HERE to see. 

If you want the links to the Registration or the Meal plans, please read my previous post with TONS of information for you by clicking HERE and HERE.

If you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to comment below and I will try to answer them for you. 

Or go to The Harcombe Diet Website for more information. 

To everyone starting this diet tomorrow: Good luck!! And don't forget to make this challenge fun for yourself. It might get hard, but hold on to your inner strength! And if you cant, reach out, phone a buddy, comment on this page or talk to your dog? Do whatever you need to do to draw the strength together to keep carrying on! We can do this Ladies! (And gents) :) there's no reason a diet should be punishment, we are allowed to have fun while dieting, we are allowed to enjoy ourselves! Contrary to popular belief, fun and diet can go together :)  

     And NEVER forget to be PHAT and FABULOUS NO MATTER WHAT!! :) 

 

 

 

Harcombe Diet starter email

For those of you wanting to join me in The Harcombe Diet Challenge, or if you are just interested in knowing more about it, please please please do yourself the favour and go read up about it on Zoe Harcombe's website. It really is a wealth of information,but it is vital for you to know everything there is to know about this diet. 

I have received my first email after registering and i want to share it with you, so that you can have a good idea of what to expect. I hope all of this info helps! Once you register you should receive this kind of email too! As well as receiving an email every day from the 1st of July to tell you everything you need to know and do for that day! :) I'm very excited to start this!  Click on the links provided to see the possible food menu for the next week. Remember that you can swop out certain stuff, just be careful not to mix your proteins and carbs together. 

June 25th, 2013 The Harcombe Diet® 30 Day Blitz Eat Naturally, Move Naturally

Preparing for your 30 Day Blitz It’s just a week to go before the start of The Harcombe Diet® 30 Day Blitz and this first note is here to get you - and your kitchen - ready for success. We also thought you'd also like a heads up on what's coming to you daily during the first 30 days of July (July 31st you should be celebrating!) Each day you'll wake up to an email with a variety of diet, health, activity and motivation tips. There'll be bonus content daily - videos, podcasts and blogs - to support the key message of the day and to help your learning and motivation throughout the month. It is, of course, difficult to pitch this right for everyone - some of you will be Harcombe experts and others will be Harcombe virgins :-) Some of you will be virtually Paleo, some veggie. Some of you will be marathon runners and some of you might think Sky Sports counts as natural activity ;-) We'll be trying to make sure we cater as much as possible for as many of you as possible. Please join with us and embrace what you can and adapt where you can't - and share your inventions and experiences with the rest of us. We're all in this together. For those of you who like meal plans (called "planners" in Stop Counting Calories & Start Losing Weight!), we've done a 7-day plan for omnivores and a 7-day plan for vegetarians.You can download a copy here. If you're the person who likes to plan meals ahead, now is the time to use the plans - either to the letter and repeat as desired - or to use them as a base for your own weekly plan. If there's a breakfast that works for you - stick with it, or alternate a couple. If you know you're not going to eat fish, and our challenges can't tempt you to try, then get your fish-free meal plan sorted. The "flexis" can use the plan for ideas and/or keep the Workbook allowed foods list to hand and rock and roll as 'lastminute.com' as suits you. So, onto your prep work before starting next week. First, your kitchen. You’ll need to purge your kitchen of any lingering junk that you are keeping. Not having junk options available makes it much easier to resist those foods if you get the cravings for them at 4pm, or when you get back from work, or if you get bored. Diligently work through your food cupboards and fridge and throw out all of the items listed in your workbook. THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS. THERE ARE NO EXCUSES. ALL THE JUNK MUST GO. Restocking. Whichever day you do food shopping, use it to restock your cupboards and fridge with the foods on the list in your workbook. Always go for the best quality you can afford and remember this doesn’t mean the most expensive. Rolled rib of locally reared, free-range pork is currently less than £5/kilo at our butcher. Best fillet of beef is, by comparison more than £40/kilo. In season fruit and vegetables are also far better value than exotic fruits flown in from overseas - they are also a far more natural resource. Getting YOU ready. You will achieve far more and have a lot more fun if you find yourself a buddy to do the program with. Some habits will be harder to break than others and having a friend that you can talk to will help you through these obstacles. Choose a buddy who has similar interests and health goals to yourself and make a commitment to each other that you are there to support and help each other, not to criticise and lead each other astray! Getting a local buddy will have benefits for exploring the local area and some of the activities. If you can't think of anyone near you, do try to find a buddy in the club (www.theharcombedietclub.com/) Scout out your local area. Over the next 30 days you’ll be returning to a more natural way of eating and moving and, so, you should start thinking about where you will get your food from. Supermarkets are convenient for staples, but you’ll get far better quality and range from a butcher, greengrocer etc. Go and find your local butcher, farm shop, free range egg supplier, local organic supplier or farmers' market and see what produce is in season. There’ll be no need to visit your gym, but you will be doing some outdoor activities. If you live in an urban environment, take some time over the next week to locate your local park or open green space. Work out a route, or a few, that would take you 30 minutes to walk. Stairs are good modern substitutes for natural up and down walking, so we'll be making good use of stairs over the next 30 days. Be aware of any stairs that you can access - at home or at work, on the tube or in shopping centres. If you live in a more rural environment, find a local forest or open field that you can use freely. If you work from an office/factory/other building, use a lunch break one day this week to identify a couple of places where you could take a walk during your lunch or other break. See if there are stairs nearby for use during the day and find a quiet area where you could do some stretches - maybe there's an area just outside your workplace, or an unused office, the top of a stairwell or even the restroom. Finally, get some comfortable shoes/trainers for your leisure walks and activities and a pair of tracksuit leggings or shorts and a lightweight top that doesn’t restrict movement. Keep your activity kit clean and dry so that it’s always comfortable to quickly change into and, for the 30 day period, keep it readily accessible so that you don’t need to spend time looking for your shoes or t-shirt. p.s. Here’s a Top Video for the day to help get you ready for the last diet you'll ever need:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5CeeawiW7Q See you next week. To your very best health Zoë, Andy & Olly www.zoeharcombe.com www.theharcombedietclub.com www.instinctive-fitness.com Copyright © Zoë Harcombe and Andy Harcombe 2013

Email: clubadmin@theharcombedietclub.com

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The Harcombe Diet

LADIES!! I am so angry with myself. I had this HUGE post all set and done and posted and I have no idea what I did, I obviously tried to be fancy (yay me) and it all just disappeared!! I want to cry!! but I wont, I will just pick myself up, dust myself of and try try again! ulgh!

okay so here goes...

I am SO SO SO excited to share my new adventure with you! BUT first, just a little update on how I have been since the "Eat your heart Out" challenge. For those of you that don't know, my first challenge to kick off my weight loss adventure was the "Eat Your Heart Out" challenge and you can read up all about it here. so the update is that i'm right back to where I started in weight! (sad face) BUT every day is a new day and we all make mistakes and we just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming swimming, just keep swimming! :) SO to the future I look and I am SO excited, because I found something worthy of excitement! YES my friends it's called The Harcombe Diet!! This woman is a genius! It took me a while to get my head around the whole idea, but I like it! I accidently came across this diet when I roamed around on my ipad app store. I found it in a cute little app called "In Shape Pro" they have the free version too, so go check it out, its very helpful in so many different ways. I love it. .... so yes, I came across the Harcombe diet on that app and it started me thinking about the whole concept that she has. and I decided to look a little further into it on her website which you can see here.  Here's the kicker, Calorie counting is WRONG!!! if you dont believe me, go read what she says! She has a wealth of information and it all makes so much sense. as I was reading it I was thinking to myself, "howcome have I not thought of this, this is so logical" and then it reminded me of a little Pinterest incident that I had:
My sister has very thick and curly hair and she's forever obsessed with straightening it, but having to straighten that hair of hers takes up to 2 hours. NOT something you want to spend your time on everyday. which is why she doesn't.  I don't know why she obsessed about it, I am inlove with her hair ( I have naturally straight hair ). so I find this post on pinterest that says; Add two tablespoons of brown sugar into warm water, shake it up until the sugar dissolves, put it in a spray bottel. spray it onto damp hair and brush it through and leave to dry. you will have silky straight hair with no heat at all. so I saved the pin with the intention to share it with my sister later on. luckily I forgot about it, because without looking for it, another pin pops up to say DO NOT TRY THIS.IT DOESNT WORK. obviously I was very interested in why this blogger said so and went to her blog.  I got such a fright and wanted to double over in laughter at the same time. To see the results click here. I love the fact that this blogger takes the chances so that we don't have to :) so brave! I'm so glad I didn't share that pin with my sister, she would've killed me!!! :)
but I realized that sometimes even the most logical things evade is when our pursuit is desperate enough. I know how badly my sister wants a way to get her hair straight without the tons of effort, so without thinking it through logically, I, for one, thought that the sugar and water idea is great, even though I KNEW what sugar does when it dries up! haha! it's kind of funny! Same with the diets, we actually know that these stupid low calorie diets won't work, but without realizing it we evade all logic and go for it anyway! STUBBORN!! I love Human complexity! :)
so after doing as much reading as I could, I was still a tiny bit nervous of tackling this diet, I felt like I needed to learn and know more. I subscribed to her website for free and then I went scratching around and found these freebies on her website. they are so informative. some things are a bit difficult to get your head around at times,  the medical and technical jargon made me feel like a tiny bit of an idiot at times, but then she does explain it in more understandable terms afterwards :) so just keep reading it, nice and slow, and you will be just fine. :) download your freebies up there where it says freebies in orange or over here.
I was thinking about everything and contemplating putting my own meal plan together before posting all of this info on the blog, because I just wanted to make certain I was on the right track, (I was a bit scared that I would eat the wrong things without realizing it) when an Email came through. I think God knew I needed some help! It was an email from Zoe Harcombe. She united forces with Instinctive Fitness and created what they call The Harcombe Diet 30 Day Blitz. Each day they will email you with suggestions of foods and recipes that you should eat, they will give you an exercize program as well (keeping in mind that these exercizes are to help you move your body in a natural way, not to push you to some ridiculous limit) and they give you inspirational information as well. so which is perfect because we dont actually have to do any of the planning ourselves except to prepare the food we are suggested to eat. isn't it wonderful? no more counting all your calories and doing math in your head the whole day long, no more weighing your food! you are going to eat MORE and be healthier and LOSE weight! after reading everything I also decided to buy myself one of her books! I'ts called, "Why do you overeat? when all you want is to be slim." It is a fabulous book and it read so easy, it's clear and fun to follow, you also get to understand more about Zoe's past, which is very helpful in this diet :) she also has other books available as well as dvd's, all available here. I bought this ebook on Amazon.

Phew! okay that was a lot of information! you now have all you need to read up on what this diet is all about! :)
The diet starts on the 1st of July 2013. If you want to join me on this challenge ( and I really really really hope that you do) please subscribe to it here! for free, in order for you to receive the emails daily. Also if you don't mind too much, please comment underneath if you are going to join me on this challenge! :)

So here is to NO MORE calorie counting, eating MORE whilst getting HEALTHIER and LOSING weight!! WHOO HOOO! I say this is worth trying! :)