Day 2: Oh Nurofen, Where Art Thou?

The sugar withdrawal headache really kicked in today. It hit a peak about 3pm and I was desperately pulling my office apart searching for any sort of pain killer when one of my colleagues came to see me. I think it fair to say that I almost took his head off. It probably did look quite odd. My desk had the contents of my handbag plus two desk drawers worth of detritus on it and panic was setting in as I was down to my last hope – the bottom drawer that I never use...

He looked a little shaken and slightly concerned as I told him I was busy and would find him later. I had my priorities and it didn’t include discussing the latest design details of the project we were working on when I was suffering the revenge of the biscuit addiction.

Eventually a member of the team I work in realised I was in distress and came in with a selection of over the counter medication. I was so grateful I could have sobbed.

I then went and apologised to my colleague, citing major headache as an excuse. He took it well, although I suspect he now has me labelled as “highly strung”, really he should have me labelled as “biscuit deficient”.

Be happy.

Miss D.

Weight today: 12 stone 10.8lb

Day 1: Oh McVities Where Art Thou?

It’s Sunday, and it is Day 1 of the biscuit famine in our house. The remainder of a box of biscuits we had at Christmas has been wrapped and stored at the back of the most awkward cupboard in our kitchen. I am going to have to be desperate to get all the pots and pans out in order to get at them. Fundamentally I am lazy, so they are fairly safe.

Today has been another day of planning. I work in an office with multiple sandwich bars literary outside the door, so the temptation to wander out and buy a nice baguette for lunch is huge. They are all made freshly and taste wonderful, but I dread to think how many useless calories there are in them. So, I channelled the spirit of Nigella, although to be fair I am probably more the Swedish Chef from the Muppets, and made all of my packed lunches for the week. They are now nestled in our fridge ready for me to grab in the morning. I know I am going to find the lack of Hobnobs a problem tomorrow, so I have bought some nice fruit to see if that eases the pain. I rather like grapes as they are a little like sweets, and also kiwi fruit.

The old advice that if you deny yourself something you want it all the more seems to be holding true. Biscuits and all things sugary are at the forefront of my mind. I fear I may even dream about them tonight. Is it possible to lose your sanity due to lack of biscuits?

Be Happy,

Miss D

Today's Weight: 12 stone 10.8lb

Day 0: The Grand Plan

Well. Here I am. All 12 stone 10.8lbs of me, if my bathroom scales are to be believed. Like most people who struggle with their weight, I have read many diet books and even tried some of them. All of them a waste of precious time, money and effort and one in particular, a source of deep misery and several hours in the bathroom after a nasty smoothie incident.

The fact is, that being overweight, whichever way you cut it, is not healthy. Having seen my Dad suffer at the hands of cancer purely down to lifestyle choices, I am determined to get this right this time. I have been mulling this over for several months and decided the only way to really make permanent change, was not to follow a set of arbitrary rules someone has thought up, but to create my own diet plan which suits me and how I live.

So, how did I get to this point? It is a bit of a long story, but it starts with a virus in the early 90s, I was very poorly and it took me several years to really recover. I won’t bore you with the details as there is nothing duller than other people’s health problems. However, the long and the short of it was that I stopped being as active as I once was, and my body is very efficient and stored lots of lovely fat away to help me get through the tough times. I am now in my mid 30s, and I need to shift it, otherwise I will be at risk of all sorts of nasty ailments as I start to age.

So, first things first. I am going to make some obvious changes which I know I need to deal with. The first is my biscuit consumption. I like to think of myself as somewhat of a biscuit expert, particularly those of a chocolate variety. I eat far too many, particularly in the office. It has to stop. So, to show myself I do actually have some will power, I am going to go without biscuits for a whole month...

...Sorry, I had to have a little rest there for a while, I became a little wobbly at the thought.

I am also going to weigh myself every day. I know this is a little controversial, and I will discuss this in later posts, but I think it will help me be mindful my plan each day.

Finally I am telling nobody, other than my DH, that I am doing this. I think this will also support what I am aiming for, and again, I will write about this at a later date.

Now, I need to go and mentally prepare for the great biscuit drought of 2012...