The Lunch Box 28-day Diet Plan
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
easiestwaylose10pounds 