Week One/Day Seven

Disaster has struck!

Let it be known that on the seventh day the dieter did sin!  I hold my head in shame!

                      I know, you think I’m terrible don’t you?  It wasn’t my fault, honest!

BREAKFAST:

Poached egg

1 slice Wholemeal toast, no butter

Cup of tea with semi-skimmed milk

MY LUNCH BOX TODAY CONSISTED OF:

Cherry tomatoes

Watercress

Cold smoked mackerel fillet

MY CHEATS CONSISTED OF:

Week One/Day 6

Do I really want to write this post?  I imagine you can tell that something is amiss with me today!  Well, yes, I am not a happy bunny!

I awoke, as usual this morning, and just as I have for the last five days, I jumped out of bed and onto the scales, only to find that my day was about to go downhill.

I can’t believe it, but it’s true – I weighed my self this morning and guess what?

I’ve put on, yes you heard correctly,

I’ve put on one pound

I now weigh in at

10stone 10pounds

I don’t mind admitting I was gutted.  I thought the world had come to an end!  Putting on one pound?  Why?  I’ve followed the diet as much as possible, I haven’t cheated, I’ve completed 30 minutes of exercise every day?

WHY?  WHY?  WHY?

I was really upset yesterday when I weighed myself and I hadn’t lost any weight, I’d just stayed the same, but today, adding pounds is not supposed to happen.

So, I sat down with my cup of tea and my shredded wheat and tried to figure out where I’d gone wrong.

Bread

That could have done it, or

Rhubarb pie and cream

Now that could definitely have done it,

but as I began to go through the things I’d eaten and the activities I’d completed, I began to wonder if it was just a bad day for my system.

I have been known to have a very sluggish system – sorry, but it’s true.  I can go for a week without visiting the bathroom for a No 2, sorry, toilet humour was never my strong point.  And yes, it had been about 3 or 4 days since I had been, so to speak.

Then I looked at my diary to check again what foods I’ve been consuming and low and behold, I noticed that I am due to start a period in the next two days.  Sorry folks but I was grasping at straws!

But they do say that prior to a period some women suffer with water retention and not going to the toilet – well, where is all that food going – nowhere!

Well, you could say, today hasn’t been too good a day, what with the weigh-in going against me, and the thought of another day of veggies, I felt a little downhearted to say the least.  But I lifted my head and thought, ‘No, I’m in this for the long-haul, so pick yourself up chezzymac and get a wriggle on’ , and that is what I did.  So here is the run-down of my day today………..

BREAKFAST TODAY WAS

Wholemeal Shredded Wheat

Semi-skimmed milk

Half teaspoon sugar

MY LUNCH BOX CONSISTED OF:

Week One/Day Five

What Progress?

Oh dear, what did I do wrong?  It was all going so well.  Mind you, I did think yesterday’s loss of three pounds was a bit excessive so I suppose I shouldn’t be shocked.

My weight loss today was a big fat…….

NOTHING!

ZERO!

ZILCH!

DIDDLY-SQUAT!

NADA!

I cannot tell you the disappointment that came over me when I saw that I still weighed

10 stones and 9pounds

I’ve been asking myself all day ‘What did I do wrong?’

I don’t really think I did anything too untoward during my day’s intake of food.  I know that I had some bread in the morning, white bread at that, and I did have pastry in the evening, both of which are frowned upon, but I stuck to my lunch box through and through.  Mind you, if you remember, I did start having pickle with my box!  Maybe I over did the pickle?  That’s it!  The pickle was the culprit.

Well, I must admit I felt a definite wobble this morning after my weigh-in.  I could hear in my thoughts the words ‘Why bother?’ and ‘Well, that’s it then, it’s all over now’ .  I had to really fight my demons all day to stop myself just giving up and going for the biscuits and cake to soothe my dented ego.

But I didn’t!

I was good, really I was!

I went straight to the book and read Simon Lovell’s immortal words………………..

BELIEVE!

Believe in this diet.  Believe in your efforts.

Believe in me (Simon).  Believe, above all, in you (me) and your 

abilities!  We’ll get there!  I (Simon) promise!

Well, what more did I need?  I was spurred on to keep trying and keep trying to keep away from the biscuit tin is what I’ve done all day…..Simon also went on to tell me to ‘Get off my bum and jog around the couch ten times – which was fun – for the neighbours who happened to pass my window at the time!

Well, I somehow managed to muster the energy to do a little jogging on the spot, I tried hard to ignore my disappointment at not losing even half a pound and I got on with my diet plan.  I think I deserve a medal but that’s another story.

If anybody out there is interested, today I ate:

BREAKFAST:

Wholemeal Granola with semi skimmed milk

Cup of tea with semi-skimmed milk

MY LUNCH BOX 

Today I filled it with:

Roast chicken breast

Cherry tomatoes

Celery

Carrots

Lettuce

EVENING MEAL

Lean rump steak griddled (no fat added)

Sweet potato wedges

Normal potato wedges (both roasted with a little olive oil and paprika)

Stewed Rhubarb and custard

Throughout the day I have been drinking water, tea and one small milky coffee with half spoon of brown sugar

MY ACTIVITY SESSION

I completed 30 minutes of aerobic activity using a sculpting loop (and if I am able to walk in the morning I will be very surprised)

Well, I’m sorry that I didn’t have better news for you, but I suppose for day  five of a new diet plan, losing five pounds still isn’t too bad.  If I was losing weight at a faster rate than that I would be wondering whether it was healthy and also whether the weight loss would be sustainable.

So, there we have it folks, my journal for day five.  I will be back tomorrow to report on yet another day of chezzymac’s adventures on her 28-day lunch box diet.

Till tomorrow

Sleep tight

chezzymac

www.easiestwaylose10pounds.com 

Week One: Day Four

Well folks I’m back to give my daily update and review of this the Lunch Box 28-day diet plan, and I can tell you straight off that it is actually working and I am beginning to lose weight.

Go on, take a guess at my weight today!  Do you think I might have lost another pound, or do you think I’ve stuck at 10stone and 12 pounds?

Well, I am very pleased to report that ……………………………….another drum roll please…………

I have lost a whopping

3 pounds

My weight is now, wait for it

10stone and 9pounds

 That’s a total of 5 pounds of excess weight lost in 4 days

How pleased am I?  You can imagine how motivated I feel right now.  However, despite my rapid success to push the scales in the right direction, I have had really strong cravings for carbohydrates today.  I could have easily wolfed down a packet of biscuits or half a loaf of bread with bread and jam.  But don’t panic – I didn’t!  I have been very good.  Mind you, I have used another of my coping strategies, which you can find more of on my website (plug).  I have constantly had to try and distract myself from plundering the depths of the cupboards in order to find high fat, high sugar snacks.  I really don’t know how I have done it to be honest with you.  It would have been so easy to succumb.

Anyway, let me regale you with my food intake for the day.

BREAKFAST:

I enjoyed a bacon roll, two rashers of smoky bacon grilled on a white roll with some added ketchup.  Not really that healthy but very nice.

MY LUNCH BOX TODAY consisted of:

Roasted vegetables; parsnip, carrot, sweet potato, squash, swede (I was very good and roasted it yesterday evening in readiness for today’s lunch box)

EVENING MEAL:

Steamed salmon

Pasta

Cheese sauce

Small slice of Apple and Rhubarb pie with cream

My activity today has been:

leg raises x 50 each leg

crunches x 100 completed in sets of 20

squats x 50

push-ups x 50 completed in sets of 10

side stretches x 40, 20 each side

and I used light weights to complete; 50 shoulder lifts, 50 arm curls and 50 circles holding my arms straight out to my sides.

Nothing I did really raised my heart beat.  I took my time to complete each exercise because I haven’t done any for ages and I didn’t want to overdo it on the first attempt.  It did feel good though to be doing something.  I might even do another exercise DVD this evening. I have a new dance exercise DVD which I would like to dust off and have a go at – I must have bought it over 6 months ago.  You know, those purchases which are made with all good intentions.

Back to the book.  Today I thought I would take a skim through Simon’s book to look at what he has to say about Carbohydrates.  Chapter 5 is where I found the answers.  Simon tells us that the reason for limited carbohydrate in the Lunch Box Diet is to do with ‘working out what your daily calorie requirements are’.  He does go on to say that if you wish to lose weight, the equation (what goes in must go out) must be adjusted accordingly without sacrificing important nutrients.

He does say that when on the Lunch Box Diet, you should stop craving junk food (refined carbohydrates) such as biscuits, crisps, crackers, white bread, etc.  He goes on to say that a lot of the carbohydrates that most people consume are empty-calorie foods.  Admittedly they do provide satisfaction in terms of flavour, but in terms of nutrition the do nothing for you.  We do get reminded by Simon, that all the veggies we are eating during the day, are actually carbohydrate, but they are good types.  I feel so much better now!

Simon boxes the Good Carbs, the Bad Carbs and the Ugly Carbs so that it is easy for us to recognise which is what!  The good carbohydrates include; veggies, fruits and wholegrains.  The bad carbohydrates include; cereal made with refined white flour, crackers made with refined white flour, pasta and packaged pasta dinners, white rice or packaged rice dinners, stuffing made from refined white flour, non-wholegrain breads and non-wholegrain noodles.  The ugly carbohydrates which Simon strongly tells us to avoid at all costs include; biscuits, crisps, cakes, sweets, chocolate bars, pastries, fast food (such as burgers, pizza, chips), deep fried food (such as fish and chips, fried chicken), full english breakfasts and creamy, sugary desserts.

Oh dear!  I think I should have read the book more closely before starting the 28-days.  My free meals, breakfast and my evening meal, have all included something from either the ‘bad’ or the ‘ugly’ group of carbohydrates.  I am beginning to feel my motivation wane!  The free meals are what keep me going.  However, I hear what Simon is saying, and I should try to make the effort to prepare more healthy breakfasts and family meals.  This, I can see, is going to take a bit more planning than I usually make.

Simon does, at the end of the chapter, say that you can’t ever, ever have any of this stuff.  He says that now and again you can, but just not every day.  He says that the Lunch Box diet is designed to retrain your taste buds so that you enjoy foods that are nutritious and good for you.  He suggests that if it proves to be difficult to cut out these foods from your daily diet, then you should try to eliminate one at a time.

Oh well, the man tells it like it is!  I feel that I have heard it all before though.  Diets are diets when all said and good, and they all really follow similar rules, calories in versus calories out, daily exercise will buy you a few extra nibbles per day and certain foods contain good calories and certain foods contain bad calories, it is really up to the individual to be strong enough to make the right choices and cheating is only cheating yourself.

Well, I think I might go for a late evening walk, the weather is cool but pleasant and I feel like I need to escape those ugly little carbs that are still calling to me.

Till tomorrow then, sleep well my friend

Chezzymac

www.easiestwaylose10pounds.com

Week One/Day Three

Hello everyone,

Well, day three into the diet and I am still on track.  I nearly succumbed to a bag of galaxy discs today when I went, funnily enough, to buy more salad ingredients.  The chocolate was half price, what girl could resist, so in my trolley they went!  Of course, as usual, that voice in your head starts – ‘You shouldn’t be having those’, ‘I know’, I answer, ‘Put them back then!, ‘But they’re half price, and I’ll just put them in a dish at home, I won’t eat any’, ‘You know you will, put them back, it’s cheating and you’ll feel really bad’.  Well, this went on for around 6 aisles before I grabbed the bag from the trolley and threw them onto an empty shelf (as I looked around to see if anyone was watching).  God forbid I should get caught cheating – well, you never know who reads my posts.  But eventually I managed to extricate myself from the shop and instead I opened a bag of cherry tomatoes and proceeded to eat most of those on the journey home.

I bet your wondering about the weigh-in, aren’t you?  Well, are you thinking cup half empty, or cup half full?  I shall put you out of your misery………………………

Woohoo!

For the second time

I’ve lost another pound

Yes, I know, I’ve lost weight and now my weight is 10stone and 12pounds.

How do I feel?

Bloomin Marvellous!

That little black dress has my name on it!

I must admit, I was a little surprised at having lost another pound, and yes, I do realise that it is probably water that I’m losing, but how good does it feel when you see that all important weight-loss registering across the display panel of your scales?  As I said, and I don’t mind repeating it – BLOOMIN MARVELLOUS!

So, what have I been eating today?

BREAKFAST:

I started off with a lovely breakfast which consisted of the most wonderful…..

2 rashers of smoked bacon (grilled)

2 eggs (scrambled with a little butter – I still can’t help it)

1tablespoon of baked beans in tomato sauce

I can tell you it was scrummy, and I enjoyed every little mouthful.

THE LUNCH-BOX:

My lunch box today was made up of lovely fresh, crunchy salad and vegetables, but today I also added a sauce, well chutney to be precise, but what a difference it made.  The lunch box contained…..

Cherry tomatoes

Cucumber sticks

Celery sticks

Carrot sticks

Green beens (raw)

Handful of seeds (pumpkin and sunflower seeds)

1 tablespoon Chutney

EVENING MEAL:

My Evening Meal was delicious too.  I don’t know, but somehow my food is actually starting to taste good.  My evening meal was…….

Medallions of pork tenderloin (griddled)

French Beans (steamed)

Roast potatoes x 3

Dijon Mustard sauce (homemade)

Fresh cherries eaten from the punnet (gorgeous)

My activity for the day hasn’t happened yet, I just haven’t managed to put 30-minutes aside to do it, honest.  But, I do intend to do a 30-minute exercise DVD which I know will get my heart rate up and help tone my muscles.

I have been drinking some water, some cups of tea with

semi-skimmed milk and really that is the extent of my food intake.

I haven’t been counting calories, but maybe it would be interesting to have a look at the last few days and calculate my calorie intake, just to see that I am actually eating enough calories to maintain my metabolism.  I certainly don’t want to alter or diminish my current metabolic rate so I think it may be wise for me to keep an eye on everything.

It’s really strange, but this diet plan doesn’t ask you to measure or weigh portions of food, count calories or cut anything out as far as your breakfast and evening meal are concerned.  It does ask that you try to make those meals as healthy as possible but for some people what does healthy mean as far as portion control, etc.

Simon Lovell, the author of the Lunch Box Diet, advocates choosing a rainbow of colours and flavours for your lunch box because it will add aesthetic appeal and provide optimum nutrition.  He breaks down each group of foods that you can choose from when filling your lunch box into colours, for example, under the food group, VEGETABLES, he first talks about raw versus cooked, and advises us to use raw vegetables wherever possible, and for those vegetables that need to be cooked, light steaming is the answer.  For colours Simon breaks the vegetables down as follows:

RED

Beetroot, peppers, radishes, rhubarb, tomatoes and watermelon

ORANGE AND YELLOW

Carrots, pumpkin, squash, sweet potatoes, sweetcorn

GREEN

Avocados, Artichokes, Asparagus, Broccoli, Swiss Chard, Pak Choi, Baby Spinach, Lettuce, Radicchio, Tat Soi, Watercress, Kale, Dandelion greens, Endive, Rocket, Mangetout, Peas, Sugarsnap peas

WHITE

Cauliflower, Leeks, Mushrooms, Parsnips, Shallots and Onions

INDIGO AND VIOLET

Aubergines, Cabbage, Turnips

Simon goes on to advocate that fresh is best, which I suppose is common sense, but he also says that tinned is fine if it keeps you from the pastry counter, but that you should read the labels as many tinned vegetables contain mono-sodium glutamate, butylated hydroxytoluene, xanthan gum or tartrazine. Simon explains that these can be cancer causing agents if eaten on a large scale and therefore they are not something you would want to put into your body.

The Lunch Box Diet book also  includes chapters on:

Carbohydrates; the good, the bad and the ugly

What’s for dinner, Honey?  This chapter provides tips for the meals either side of the lunch box.  He even gives ideas for the family evening meal so that it too can be healthy but also workable for the rest of the family.  He calls it, ‘Reinventing the Family Meal’ and to give him his due, he does come up with some interesting ways to adjust the family dinner without the children complaining.

Simon has also come up with a section which he names ‘How Much Can I Cheat?  A great title and it includes some tips on how to avoid cheating, for example, if you’re the type to eat while watching television, then do something while you’re watching such as the ironing.

Thirsty?  This chapter provides ideas for what to drink during the day, and it is nice that he tells us water is great for drinking throughout the day, but he also gives some alternatives.

Beyond Weight Loss  Now this chapter is where Simon sells us his ‘added benefits’ – that healthier new you.  He talks about energy, hair, skin and nails, heart health, hormonal balance, cancer prevention and exercise.  I will go into more detail as the days go on.

The book ends with Simon’s suggestions for a 28-day plan, but he does say that you are free to put together your own combinations, and  he then goes on to give us some lunch box recipes, some of which I will share with you over the days of my own 28-day diet plan.

The last thing Simon does is sign off by asking users of the diet to Let him know what they think’, for which he provides a website address.  He encourages you to write in and share recipes, experiences and to use the Lunch Box Diet community for support and motivational advice.  I really think that is a great ending.  I will try out the Lunch Box Community during my 28-days and we shall see what level of support they can offer.

All in all I feel it has been another good day.  I know that I nearly cheated, but I didn’t!  I lost another pound in weight!  I have eaten healthily and I must say I am starting to feel as if I have a little more energy.

Let us see what tomorrow brings.

Well, I’m off to do my 30-minutes of activity.  I shall report my progress again tomorrow, so until then, bye for now!

Keep thinking of me – all those positive vibes are very appreciated.

Lots of love

Chezzymac

www.easiestwaylose10pounds.com

Hello everyone, and welcome back to my daily journal where I am writing about my experience of trialling the Lunch Box 28-day Diet Plan.  I have been very good again today, no cheating (so far) and I have good news too.

But, oh the trepidation stepping on those scales this morning – gosh it seems such a long time ago now (I am writing this journal at 8pm GMT simply so I can feedback the whole day’s events to you)  I awoke at 7.30am and thought about having a cup of tea and taking it back to bed with me, but then I thought – ‘I mustn’t have anything to eat or drink until I’ve weighed myself”, so after a trip to the bathroom (sorry, too much information, I know) but I have to give myself a fighting chance of losing a bit of weight, don’t I?  Anyway, I pulled the scales out from under the bed, I tapped on them to wake them up, and I said a little prayer……..up I jumped onto the scales, eyes closed —————— will I have, won’t I have?  Drum roll please

Woohoo! I have actually lost 1 pound

I thought I could hear orchestras playing and fireworks skimming the skies and poppers popping.  Okay, I’m going a bit OTT.  But golly gosh, I now weigh-in at 10-stones and 13-pounds.  A great start I think!

Today, has been okay, as far as energy levels go, I think I can truly say that I have been okay.  I will tell you what my diet consisted of today.

Once my weigh-in was complete and I’d stopped dancing around the room (they say small things, don’t they?) I decided to think about what I could eat today.  I must admit, I didn’t feel ravenous, which is surprising because I really did cut down on my food intake quite drastically yesterday.  Going from huge sandwiches, cakes, big roast dinners and puddings, down to a bowl of cereal, a box of rabbit food and then a modest meal, I really thought I’d be more hungry, but no.

Anyway, off I trotted to the kitchen, like the cat that got the cream, amazing what a buzz losing a pound of weight can deliver.  I decided to have a small portion of fruit salad and a poached egg on a slice of wholemeal toast, with a thin slavering of butter (I just can’t help it!).  I then decided to make up my lunch box for the day’s grazing to commence.  I filled the box with the following ingredients:

Carrot sticks

Cucumber

Raw Green Beans

Raw Broccoli florets

Water Chestnuts

Celery sticks

Yellow Pepper cut into sticks

2 slices of ham

NO SAUCE

I didn’t open the lunch box until around 1.30pm, simply because I wasn’t really hungry, and every time food came into my head, I had a glass of water first, see, I’m making use of some of the marvellous tips I have on my website – come on, give me a break, if I don’t give myself a pat on the back for things, who will?  Anyway, as I said, it was around 1.30pm before I opened the lunch box and started to nibble.   I was also surprised when I realised that I wasn’t going to finish the lunch box today either.  Now, I’m in two minds about why I didn’t finish it – one half of me is saying ‘You didn’t finish it because the food in the box didn’t really turn you on’, but the other half of me is saying, ‘You didn’t finish it because you were listening to your body and you kept nibbling just enough to take the hunger pangs away, not enough to feel full’.  Whichever of the two thoughts, grazing worked and my stomach simply didn’t need all of the food in the box, however, I think  I shall have to try and decipher which is the true reason sometime during the next 26 days.

My evening meal consisted of pasta with a bolognese sauce, no cheese.  It was followed by a small pot of yoghurt – strawberry flavour.

For my activity today, I again went for a power-walk around the village which, walking quite quickly, took me around 30 minutes.

Well, I must admit I am fairly pleased up to now.  I have managed to stick to the diet plan and I have actually managed to do 30 minutes of exercise each day and I have lost 1-pound in weight.  I can’t wait for tomorrow.  I just really wonder if the diet isn’t going to be a little monotonous, eating vegetables and salad throughout the day.  We will see, but for now, everything is on track.

I think I will re-read some of the chapters in the book and tomorrow I can give you a little more information on the diet itself, just so you don’t get bored too.

Well, that’s all for now and I will see you all tomorrow.

Thanks for joining me again

Love always

Chezzymac

www.easiestwaylose10pounds.com

First things first!  My starting weight and measurements.  Oh dear, oh dear, I really need to be brave for this bit as it really is quite hard to share what was, for me, a real shock, or maybe I should consider it a wake up call.  Whatever way I try to package it, the results of my weigh-in this morning really hit me quite hard.  My weight at Christmas 2011, was 9 stones and 7 pounds.  I felt quite happy with my weight and didn’t feel I needed to lose any, nor gain any pounds. What happened?  How did it happen?  Why did it happen?  And, more to the point, where was I at the time?  

I know one thing, I must have been in total denial, and like the proverbial ostrich, I must have had my head stuck firmly in the sand.  Read on to see why I am feeling so disgusted with myself.

Today’s weight              11 stone

Measurements:

Waist – 32″

Hips – 39.5″

Bust – 37″

Left Thigh – 22.5″ / Right Thigh – 22.5″

Left Arm – 12″ / Right arm – 12″

Today’s Calorie Intake = 1250

Today’s activity = 30 minutes power walking

Meals Eaten Today

Breakfast:  

Bowl of Whole Grain Shredded Wheat, Semi-skimmed milk, 1/2 teaspoon white sugar, cup of tea with semi-skimmed milk.

Lunch Box: 

Sweetcorn, Carrot Sticks, Cherry Tomatoes, Sugar Snap Peas, Poached Chicken Breast – no sauce.

Evening Meal:

Lamb Rump (griddled), New Potatoes (boiled), Carrots (steamed), French Beans (steamed) 

Fresh Pineapple

How I Coped on Day One:

My feelings on this, the first day of my diet diary have been mixed.  Yes, I was horrified at seeing how much weight I have put on in such a short time.  Eleven stones?  How can I not have stopped that from happening?  Why did I allow it to happen?  So many questions whirled through my head for most of this morning, until I realised that, eleven stones is the reality of the situation and I have to come to terms with it and stop procrastinating and do something about it. The thing is, if I am honest, I knew all along that I was piling on the pounds. I knew, only too well, that the type of food I’ve been eating and also, just how much food I’ve been eating over the last six months were unhealthy and if continued the end result would be inevitable.  And it is now my reality and I am appalled.

I can tell you truthfully how I have spent most of the today chastising myself – gosh, if only you could of heard the conversations I was having with myself in my head – the language – my mother would be shocked.  The rants and the tirade of abuse I have thrown at myself today – all justified I know, but where would it get me?  It suddenly dawned on me during my power walk around the village that I really needed to change my mind-set and change it quickly, or I would be on the slippery slope to a binge eating session, which, of course, would do me no favours.  I needed to come to terms with my current weight, and do it now – and then I suddenly realised that I needed to stop focusing on my current weight, e.g., eleven stones,  and start to focus on my weight loss goals and the weight I want to be.

So, that is what I did, my self-talk started to include some positive affirmations, I also began to try and calm my brain using some meditation and breathing techniques and when I arrived home from my walk, I was feeling a lot more positive and much more motivated.  I had a smile on my face because I felt like I had made a start.  Okay, I’m not happy at being 11 stones, but at least I’ve made a decision to not dwell on that aspect of today and just try to concentrate on being happy that I have started the journey back to a healthy weight.  

How have I found the food today?  Well, when I awoke this morning, my first thoughts were of dread, dread at the thought of having to eat vegetables from a lunch box for most of the day.  If I am totally honest, my thoughts were already drifting towards cheating – you see, I knew I had croissants in the larder and stupidly, I even thought that I could eat them (with lashings of butter and jam, of course) and not tell anyone.  That is crazy, I know!  How weak would that have made me?  But food, I’m afraid, does make me a weak person, and I find it very, very hard to resist my cravings for high fat and high/bad carbohydrate foods.  

Do you find that hard to believe? I suppose you do.  I can virtually hear the shocked thoughts you must be having right now?  I think I could even go as far as to guess at what you must be saying to yourself………does it go something like this?  ’But she writes about healthy eating, diets and fitness.  She should know all about how to eat healthily and what is required of a person in order to lose weight.  So, how come she is finding it hard to put into practice what she knows?’  It’s so embarrassing, it seems like I  can hear it echoing loudly through the web.  I hold my hands up high, because when it comes down to it I do have eating behaviour problems of my own, which, by the way, I have never hidden from you.

It is just that, trialling this diet is going to expose me and my problems to the world, and that is something I will also have to find ways to deal with.  Maybe I should think of the next 28-days as therapy (laugh out loud!)  You can all become my therapist, but seriously, I do thank you for supporting my blog/posts and my website.  Knowing that I have your company on my 28-day journey means a great deal to me, and I appreciate your kindness when I open up to share my FULL experience of being on the diet, warts and all.

Well, I’m going on a bit much now, sorry!  But there we go, my first day is nearly over, thank you for letting me chat like this, I think it has helped to off-load my thoughts, feelings and emotions (however, I do realise you didn’t have much choice in the matter).  Tomorrow is another day however, so I will bid you all goodnight and I will see you again tomorrow.  I wonder if it’s too soon to see progress, I do hope not.  I for one am going to go to bed tonight and dream of at least one-pound being lost - what bliss!

Till tomorrow then. Best wishes

Chezzymac

www.easiestwaylose10pounds,com

Hello everyone! I am on a plan……..a 28-day plan! It says, that if followed to the letter, I can lose a stone in the 28 days, so I thought I would put it to the test and I also thought, you might like to follow my progress. Then, if it works, you too might like to try the diet plan to help in your weight loss programme.

Well, I suppose you want to know more about the plan? It is called the ‘Lunch Box Diet’ and it has been developed by a gorgeous looking guy named Simon Lovell. Simon describes himself as a leading fitness expert and former fast-food junkie. He also describes the 28-day plan as ‘super-easy’ and by following it I will be putting a ‘smile on my face’ and a ‘spring in my step’. What more can a girl ask for?

Other descriptives used to promote the 28-day diet plan include:

• A flexible plan that will suit your lifestyle
• The fat stays off and you’re never hungry
• No calorie counting and no stress
• More energy, every day
• Vegetarian friendly
• Improved hair, skin and nails
• Mouth-watering recipes
• Feel fresh, vibrant, slimmer and full of energy in just 7-days, guaranteed.

You can see why I decided I must put this diet plan to the test, and as I am around a stone over-weight, it seemed ideal.

The book itself is quite plain. The cover is mainly red with black and white writing. The first line states; EAT ALL DAY, LOSE WEIGHT, FEEL GREAT! Then the title, in a large font but all in lower case, ‘the lunch box diet, with a strap line of ‘LOSE UP TO A STONE IN JUST 4 WEEKS’. Simon’s picture is on the back cover with the claim ‘DIETING’S NEVER BEEN SO SIMPLE – AND IT’S ALL DOWN TO A SMALL PLASTIC BOX!

When you open the book, you find a short write-up about Simon, telling us the story of how he was a bullied computer ‘geek’ and ‘fat fast-food junkie’, but that he managed to flip his life around and now works as one of the (quote) ‘hottest’ personal trainers and nutritional advisor around, stripping weight from anyone in his path. It also goes on to say that Simon is a co-founder of the Weight Loss Academy at Bovey Castle in Devon. So I shall also be looking into some more information on the boot camp they run there so that I can pass it all on to you.

After the acknowledgements page, which reads a little like a speech at the golden globes award, you come across the Secrets in the Box mantra. Interesting! And here it is for you to repeat at will…….

Let my wobbly belly never fall below my waistline again.

On this path, despite previous efforts, I shall not be stressed, hungry, count my calories or make silly meals.

I have broken from the unhealthy grasp of eating only meat, sipping water, munching a lonely carrot, spooning baby food, cabbage soup or any other unsustainable fix.

From this day forward I shall live life, be vibrant and energised.

When I reach my goal I will stand tall, proud and full of zest and share with others, as they look on with envy, the words:

‘The secrets in the box.’

I understand, as well as anyone, that when you develop a new diet you have to promote it in a positive way, and that most diets come with some degree of hype, but this diet really does push the boat out. The book is full of positive affirmations, positive statements congratulating you along the way, promises of how the diet will change the way you think about food and it even hints that it could make your life more exciting – all through building a relationship with the author which he strongly states ‘is going to be very important to your success’.

Simon Lovell starts his story by sharing his experiences of being overweight, eating unhealthily and snacking on chocolate bars, he goes on to tell of his turning point when he was bullied at school and because of that he decided to join a kung-fu class. His instructor introduced him to weight training and he soon started to build muscle and lose fat, which he said enabled him to attract more girls. He developed the diet plan by accident really – he used to give a simple three-page document to his personal training clients, and soon found that through their success at losing weight, others started to ask for the diet and ‘voilà’ the Lunch Box Diet was launched. The diet was launched on the internet as an ebook, where it started to get reviewed by women’s magazines which led to the diet being printed as a book.

So what is the Lunch Box Diet? It is based on eating a normal breakfast and dinner but then you ‘graze’ your way through the rest of the day. The concept is, you fill a lunch box with healthy foods, and the book gives you lots of ideas for lunch boxes, and then nibble on the contents throughout the day. The book recommends eating something from the box every hour or so, but you should only eat until satisfied, not until you’re full.

The focus is obviously on the lunch box which should contain 60% vegetables, 30% protein and 10% salad dressing or condiments, again, the book gives you ideas for each food group. The only thing I thought the book missed was giving a guide for portion sizes or calorie measurement. I suppose though that I should be grateful that I don’t have to count calories – it has in the past always seemed so boring and I have been guilty of guessing weights, etc., so maybe it’s not such a bad thing.

Thinking about the good things about this diet, I realise that, in theory, it should suit my eating habits. I hold my hands up and admit, I am a ‘snacker’, and I simply love picnics, so I think the flexibility this diet provides and the personal choice I have for what foods I include in my lunch box, should make it pretty easy to stick to. It will also, hopefully, stop me eating the bad snacks that always seem to be around when I get a dip in my energy – and it really is oh so easy to reach for the biscuit tin. I just have to reach for the lunch box instead. Let’s see if it will be as easy as it sounds.

If we look at Simon’s principles behind the diet, I would suggest that he is trying to get people to raise their metabolism through eating the snacks in the lunch box all day. Eating small, healthy snacks regularly throughout the day will provide your metabolism with enough energy for it to start working faster and the effect will be weight-loss. This diet sounds really good because it seems it will be easy to follow because it isn’t restricting the foods I choose to eat, I can eat all day if I want to, I don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen preparing odd recipes and I can take the lunch box with me wherever I go so I won’t have any excuse to stop at the convenience store and buy a Mars bar.

My only dread is that because of the lack of guidelines and the apparent freedom I have to choose what food and what exercise I do, I just hope that I can find the right balance and that I won’t lose motivation. I think sometimes that I need to have quite a strict routine so that I have guidelines in which to work. On my own anything could happen.

Question:  What is – The Easiest Way to Lose 10 Pounds?

Well! What is the easiest way to lose 10 pounds? Do you know, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if you knew the answer better than I, but no, don’t tell me – well not yet – I feel that I need to find out for myself. What is the information being offered to those who ask that very same question?

I know for a fact, well I use Google Analytics just like most website owners, that thousands of you are using this very phrase to search for that magic diet plan, that quick fix weight-loss pill or that simple yet effective exercise circuit that will help you lose those mystical 10 pounds. I say ‘mystical’ because it always seems to be the number of pounds people want to lose, not 7 pounds, not 14 pounds, but 10! Again, I ask, why? Why is there this magic number of 10 pounds?

Well, lets just see what my search skills uncovered shall we?

Wow! Google Search gave me 39,000,000 results for the phrase ‘The Easiest Way to Lose 10 Pounds’. That’s a lot of people trying to give an answer, I didn’t realise I had such a lot of competition for your attention. Well, I think I should start off by first of all saying a huge THANK YOU, and WELL DONE for choosing to read my post!

Put a massive smile on your face and start to feel the energy flow. Why, you ask? Because, you can relax a little because I am going to try to reduce how difficult it can be for busy people like you to trawl through the masses of information on the net. I understand the tough demands on your time and my aim is to help and hopefully I might make a few friends along the way. Well, buckle up and let’s make a start……………….these are my findings.

If I break down the question into the most important factors, and try to interpret what it is we (that is the royal ‘we’) are asking, we seem to want the following from our search:-

We want the process of losing 10 pounds to be ‘EASY’ – In other words, we don’t want to have to alter our normal routine, do any extra food shopping, stand in the kitchen for hours cooking, eat salads and weird vegetables every day, spend hours exercising or cut off a part of our anatomy.

We want to ‘LOSE 10 POUNDS OF WEIGHT’ This means that the spare tyre that is starting to appear around my middle should disappear overnight and I want a flat tummy, pert boobs, shapely legs, a waist that my partner can’t keep his or her hands off and I desperately want the clothes in my wardrobe to fit me and look immaculate. Not a lot to ask really……………tee hee!

Well, I suppose the next question that needs to be answered is how much time have you got to lose these 10 pounds in? The diet plans, reports and tips that line up, page after page (I must ask, does anyone ever bother with the search results on page 2 and beyond? I’d be surprised if they did! I’ll put a vote thingy at the end of the post – just to see whether you do, or not! I think it would be interesting to find out!) anyway, I digress, back to time frames that are offered for you to lose the weight, which seem to range between periods of 3 days, 7 days and a month? I know, I know, I said I would try to simplify it all for you, but come on, there are over thirty million search results to read, but anyway, okay, let’s determine that you want to lose 10 pounds in one month (we should always try to live life a little healthier – but don’t worry, at the end of this article I will list the quicker ways for you – just in case you’re desperate)

I had better get straight to the answer – or you might click off before you get to the good bits……………..and then nobody will be the wiser.

Here goes, drum roll please……………………………….the easiest way to lose weight is…………………………………..????????? Who really knows?

That’s right, I couldn’t find one simple answer, just lots of tips and, of course, lots of diet programmes which promise miracles at a price.

I think I’d better summarise the main points that I found and list them for you…….you can then use the list as a starting point for your new weight-loss plan:

1. Plan to lose 1-2 pounds per week, a) because you need to lose weight in a healthy way and b) in order for you to sustain the weight-loss and the best way to lose weight is slowly.

2. First off, you need to calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) This will give you the amount of calories you need to consume just to maintain your current weight and maintain your normal bodily functions.

3. Once you have your BMR, aim to eat 500 calories a day less than your BMR figure. This will be enough to lose weight gradually and not be detrimental to your metabolism

4. Take a few minutes at the end of the day to plan your meals for the next day.

5. Learn how to graze. Eat 5 to 6 small meals per day, try to eat them at the same time so your body gets into a routine and the calories are divided equally throughout the day and try and practice portion control.

6. Eat a fibre rich breakfast

7. Choose good carbohydrates over bad every time.

8. Cut out bad calories

9. At every meal, try to fill half your plate with vegetables

10. Each meal should include vegetables, protein, fruit and water

11. Do some light to moderate cardio exercise for 30-50 minutes, 3 to 5 times a week.

12. Do some light weight training to tone muscle

13. Weigh yourself once a week ONLY and try to weigh yourself at the same time of day

14. Reduce your alcohol intake – they are just empty calories

15. Drink plenty of water or green tea – cut out sodas and alcohol

16. Try to get plenty of sleep

17. Soothe your sweet tooth with some stewed fruit or eat a few jelly beans instead of your usual chocolate bar

18. Book in for a sauna, steam room and massage once a week as a treat for keeping to the plan

19. Book yourself a colonic treatment (if you dare)

20. Start taking a multi-vitamin supplement

21. Ignore the first food that comes into your mind (cravings) – think thin and stay positive

22. Give yourself a pat on the back for every pound lost

Well!  How was that?  Did I answer the question? Are you ready now to lose those 10 pounds? Are you motivated to start tomorrow? No? So what more can I do to help?

I know!

Do you want to know the most successful way to lose weight quickly? I have been doing more searching on your behalf and this is what I came up with………………………….

According to the top diet sites, the very best way to lose weight and keep it off is to:

Adopt a positive attitude:

A positive attitude is very important for successful weight loss and weight management. To lose weight you must make a commitment and be determined to stick to it.

To control your weight you must:

Eat fewer calories or burn up more calories than you need. The best way to lose weight is to do both.

Determine your BMI:

This will gauge whether or not you are overweight. To calculate your BMI you can find a BMI calculator on my website, just follow this link, or you need to multiply your weight by 703, and divide the answer by your height in inches. Divide this figure by your height again.

(Weight in Pounds x 703) / (Height in inches) = BMI

Having a BMI over 30 places you at risk for developing obesity-related medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and coronary artery disease. A BMI over 40 indicates that a person is morbidly obese.

Determine how many calories you need:

Calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), again you can follow this link and use the BMR calculator on my website. This will measure the number of calories your body requires to maintain it’s current status (weight). To lose weight you need to subtract 250 calories per day to lose ½ pound per week, or subtract 500 calories per day to lose 1 pound per week. For example, if your BMR is 1750 calories, you would need to reduce that calorie intake to either 1500 per day or 1250 per day, depending on how quickly you want to lose the weight.

Keep track of your progress:

A food journal will focus your attention on your eating habits and help you to assess the food choices you make. I know that it’s a chore, but it works!

Eat sensibly:

Try to eat a well balanced diet. A good plan is to use the Food Pyramid (download available here) The pyramid will help you to get the proper balance of foods and improve nutrition. Don’t try and starve yourself thin, it really doesn’t work in the long term.

Include at least half an hour of exercise every day if you can:

The most popular form of exercise used by people trying to lose weight is walking. Walking can be performed anywhere and at any time, you don’t really need any special equipment either. I know of many people who go for a walk most lunch times with their work colleagues, or maybe you could find a local rambling club or simply take a walk with your partner after your evening meal. The only thing I would say is, if you can, try to intensify the experience by power walking some of the time, or walk backwards (be careful though) or even side step/skip. It will all add up to making a difference to your weight.

And finally…………………………………………

Stop with the denial!

This is a direct message from me, Chezzy Mac! And yes I am going to give you some straight talking:

~Stop fooling yourself~

~You can’t get away from the fact that losing 10 pounds quickly

is going to mean making CHANGES to your lifestyle~

~Sorry, but losing 10 pounds ISN’T going to happen overnight~

~And, you WILL have some knock-backs~

~But, if you COMMIT yourself to working at your goal to lose 10 pounds, you will eventually find that beautiful body you are dreaming of, and along the way there are some unexpected benefits~

More confidence

Raised self-esteem

A beautiful new body

A healthier heart

Reduced risk of developing disease

You will have more energy and be stronger and healthier overall

Gorgeous hair

Skin that is radiant

Nails that are strong and healthy

Lower cholesterol levels

Improved bone health

A better hormonal balance

I am not going to list all the different types of diet you could use to lose weight because I think you will already know most of them, however, I have written reviews for most of the main diets currently in vogue and if you would like to read them you can find them all on my website www.easiestwaylose10pounds.com.

For your information though, about 50% of people lose weight on their own without any type of formal diet programme or help, so that should be encouraging because it means you are free to put together your own combination of meals.

Well, again, I am going to say that I’m sorry. I understand that I probably haven’t given you that magic answer you were looking for – you know, the one that says you can eat chips, chocolate and cake, sit about watching soaps and lose 10 pounds by the afternoon – I know, I know, I wish it were true too. But then again, I still wish I had a fairy living at the bottom of my garden who will grant me three wishes every day – Ooooooo I can get so lost in my imagination…………………………….sorry!

Okay, I’ve pulled myself together, just in time to say thanks for keeping me company again, I really appreciate your friendship and your comments.

Don’t forget to vote on whether or not you read past page 1 of Google Search results, I will put the results on my website.

I also want you to know that if I do find a new, fun, easy way to lose weight, quickly and healthily, I promise I will share it immediately with my followers and hopefully, that includes you…………well, it will if you click on the ‘FOLLOW’ button.

Well, love you and leave you. Till next we meet……….poetic too!  What next? Oh! I know what next!  Don’t forget that if you subscribe to my website, which is FREE by the way, you can get a FREE download of my new ebook: ‘Ucan Control Your Eating‘ and a FREE weekly NEWSLETTER – what more could you want

Best wishes, speak again soon and lots of love

Chezzy Mac

www.easiestwaylose10pounds.com

PS. Nearly forgot! If you happen to know of an easy way to lose 10 pounds quickly and want to share it with us, you can post the details of ‘how’ in the comments box below. Thanks again    x