It all started with painful feet. I had corns, the physiotherapist told me. I think it was due to wearing croc shoes and ignoring the hawthorns that pricked the soles of my feet through the plastic. We have a hawthorn hedge lining our garden path you see. Great for hedgesparrows and cat defence. Not so good for thorny walking. Bluntly, the physio told me it was because I was overweight. Oh. Complacency flew out of the window at that point. She advised me to shift it via "The Fast Diet" as advocated by Michael Mosely on BBC2's Horizon programme.
Feeling both humbled and miffed, I watched it on Iplayer when I got home and refrained from a biscuit with my herbal tea as I sat, contritely, at the computer.
Now 2 months later, I am a convert. I can eat what I like (always healthily I hasten to add but greedily I reluctantly admit) five days of the week but on two days I restrict myself to 500 calories for each of those days.
I haven't found it that hard. It helps that when you are hungry (oh yes, you do get very hungry), you can tell yourself that you can have whatever craving is plaguing you in whatever quantity you want the very next day. Psychologically, I find I can tolerate that much better than the continual tedium of measuring and counting with normal diets. It's boredom that makes me give them up, not a lack of discipline.
I started the diet in December and lost half a stone in 3 weeks. Then Christmas came. We had lots of visitors to feed and I came down with a vicious form of flu on Christmas eve. Normally herbs will fend this off, no problem. This time, thanks to the check out lady in the supermarket who coughed, sneezed and wiped her snot over my vegetables, we all got it. Me worse than anyone. I was really ill for weeks, with asthma (something I've not had before but runs in the family) and bronchitis. If I went out (and there was snow continually on the ground or lashing sleet), I was set back a few days. I used steam inhalations, my Blue's and Flu's tea and lots of Tranquillity tea with honey. This was better than anything for the wracking cough that kept me awake at night. By mid-January I was fine again and had no need of antibiotics, steroids or inhalers. Elderberry and other herbs had got me through.
So, I returned to the Fast Diet. I had gained a couple of pounds lolling about on the sofa watching old movies and eating chocolates while I convalesced but they went on the first fast day. I'm now actually enjoying the fast days. I get a bit of an adrenaline rush and feel high and light - partly because my halo is blinding. Then I appreciate my food even more on the feast days. Everything tastes wonderful and I don't stuff myself so much now. I'm aiming to lose another stone. I'll keep you posted.
Michael and Mimi of The Fast Diet website recommend two meals a day. I fast on work days and find the gaps between meals too sugar-dropping. Here's a typical day for me:
Breakfast (100 calories) : 1 egg omelette in tiny amount of olive oil with tomatoes and garlic.
(Strong flavours like acid tomatoes and pungent garlic really help to make you feel full. I fry the little baby plum tomatoes - maximum flavour ones - until they are a little caramelised, then add the garlic for about 30 seconds and swirl in the seasoned whipped egg). I have this with some Ricore - magnesium rich chicory coffee from France.
Lunch (150 calories) : 1 bowl of a beany soup.
A favourite recipe is:
1 onion,
2 cloves of garlic
6 big carrots
Thyme and sage (or dried mixed herbs)
1 teaspoon of turmeric (fantastic colour and highly anti-inflammatory)
Seasoning
1 can of canneloni beans
Saute diced onion in tiny amount of olive oil, add diced carrots and crushed garlic. Sweat for 5 mins to get maximum flavour. Add water (stock is too dehydrating for me but it's up to you) and herbs. Cook for fifteen minutes on a gentle simmer. Blitz with a Billy liquidiser stick thingy until smooth. Return to pan and tip in the drained beans. Warm through. Sprinkle over chopped fresh parsley or coriander or chives - or all of them.
Enjoy.
This lasts me well into teatime but sometimes I might have a small apple or orange to tide me over.
Tea time (250 calories) :
1 small fillet of skinned salmon
1/2 bag of ready prepared bean sprout stir fry vegetables, add other vegetables at will - red pepper for colour, spinach, but nothing carby like potatoes
1/2 teaspoon of shoyu (rich soy sauce)
1 level dessertspoon of cornflour
1 teaspoon of tomato puree
Any other spices that you like - coriander, cumin, turmeric, paprika, fennel etc.
Black pepper
1 red chilli
1 thumb of fresh ginger
2 cloves of garlic.
1/2 teaspoon of olive oil
Fresh lemon or lime juice to serve
Chop the chilli, ginger and garlic. Grill the salmon for about 10 minutes or until done. Meanwhile toss the vegetables with the garlic, chilli, ginger in a non-stick wok for about 3 minutes. In a mixing jug stir the cornflour, seasoning, shoyu and spices with about 250 mls of cold water and add to the wok. Stir until the cornflour thickens and then stir a bit more so that it all cooks through.
Serve the salmon, with a wedge of citrus, on top of the steaming fragrant vegetables and tuck in.
This sounds like a lot of food for one day but, amazingly, only adds up to 500 calories. You will be hungry but you will feel great and insufferably holy. It's a good feeling - and it's only for one day.
I do this every Monday and Wednesday.
It's the only diet that has given me such quick results. I'm happy to continue to employ it until that stone is just evaporated energy in the cosmos.
I'll keep posting daily menus here on this blog.
And post the weight loss.
Oooh, I've just realised what a public commitment that is!
My washing line covered in snow! Note hawthorn hedge!
The Radical Herbalism Gathering will be held on Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th June 2013 in Compton Dundon, near Glastonbury in Somerset, UK.
