Operation Abs: 6 weeks in

I can't believe it's been six weeks since I started Operation Abs - it's whizzed by. I must confess, I've fallen off the wagon a little lately, giving into those nasty little chocolate cravings when I know I should just be riding them out. But other than that, I've stuck to the plan - no rice, pasta, bread, potatoes or coffee.

I learned early on that talking about my diet to people (especially when eating out) only results in one of two reactions:
1) I get the outraged lecture: 'You're NOT on a diet! Do you think you're FAT?!' (N.B. if you do this, stop it. It's annoying. No, I don't think I'm fat. I'm not on any sort of crash diet. I'm healthy. I feel good.)
2) A pitying look followed by a rather horrified 'So... what do you eat?!'

Of the two possible reactions, I prefer the second. It gives me a chance to explain to people that I'm eating just as much as I used to, I've just replaced the yellow and white stuff with green stuff.

For the visual learners among you (remember that?), here's a typical day in the life of my diet:

Breakfast

This is actually my largest meal of the day - grapefruit, cereal and a small smoothie. I only eat oats and fruit at the start of the day, and I need quite a bit of food to stop me wanting to snack before lunchtime. I don't have time for porridge in the mornings, so I switched to Oatibix pretty early on (with the approval of PT), replacing the soya milk on the original list with rice milk. I did discover coconut milk suitable for cereal, but my local supermarket have stopped stocking it, boo!

As I'm no longer on coffee, I make up a Thermos cup of peppermint tea to get me through the tube journey to work, and I try to finish a litre of water before lunch as I find it stops me wanting to snack. Admittedly, this sometimes results in me necking half a litre of water before I eat my lunch - I'm not very good at the whole water thing.

Lunch

Lunch for the last six weeks has been variations on this salad. Rocket and spinach, roasted chicken breast, beetroot, avocado, coriander

Dinner

This is pretty much the same dinner I was eating before Operation Abs started, except I'd have some potato salad and maybe a slice of garlic bread with it. I've cut those out and upped the amount of veg on my plate. I'm eating red meat about once every 10 days-2 weeks, but most days, it's salmon:

Apologies for yet more appalling photography, I must learn

how to use the settings on my camera

My main problem comes after dinner. I get a craving for something sweet after a meal, which would usually be satisfied with a couple of biscuits and a cup of green tea in life before OA. But I'm yet to find a suitable replacement, and as lovely as peppermint tea is, it isn't a biscuit.

But you want to hear about results, yes? Well, let me get this out of the way first - I don't have abs yet (as you'll have seen from the Moonwalk pictures). This is because I've slacked off on the exercise front, there's no other excuse for it. PT is killing me once a week, but in between those sessions, when I'm on my own, I've been bad. There, nothing like a bit of public shaming to make me pull my socks up.

Even without doing as much exercise as I should be, I'm seeing results. So far, I've lost two inches from around my belly, and an inch from my waist.

And on top of that, I feel good. I'm less tired (no need for coffee - take that, Starbucks), I'm less moody, I sleep better, my skin has cleared up and I don't have that horrible mid-afternoon slump that can only be cured by a visit to the Desk of Filth.

I've really surprised myself by sticking at this for so long - but it's been so easy. For me, the key has been to think about all the good (and tasty) things I can eat, rather than the bad (and admittedly, tasty) things I can't. Eating out has been a bit testing at times, but I can usually find something on a menu to suit my diet. Or, in the case of Sunday lunch a couple of weeks ago, I can give Al my roast potatoes and take his veg. Everyone's happy.

If you're thinking of following a similar diet, I'd encourage you to give it a try. Take a look at the list PT gave me to start off with, and make as much as you can out of those foods. Now, by no means am I a nutrition expert, but please don't think about it as not being able to eat certain foods, you'll just drive yourself crazy. Remember, you have a choice in what you eat, and you're just choosing to eat food that will make you feel good! Don't forget to let me know how you get on!