THE FORKNCORK DIET - formerly 'Inspiration Needed'

[bigjoe]

bbc1 had an excellent program about dieting last night. very scientific in its approach with a top 10 tips. worth trying to catch on the iplayer if you can. main point was not to skip meals.

[Diapason]

main point was not to skip meals.

That's me sorted, so.

[Ernie Whalley]

Good man, Phelim.
My new digital scales has arrived. I plugged in all my data and pressed 'Go' and already the bastard is lying like a politician in a bragging contest.
"I am WHAT weight? Feck off!"

[Hanna]

I'm refusing to get back on my scales till I've lost some weight.

[bigjoe]

another tip was to go from a 12inch plate to a 8inch plate for all main meals.

[DonalH]

Ok guys, thats the first week done and things are looking pretty good.

A few things first ;

1) Thanks for the huge support, nearly all my meals this week came from this thread. Dinner has been superb every day and the soups - in particular the roast fennel and tomato (Burkean :-) ) - were sublime.

2) I have weetabix or porridge and coffee for breakfast. That is it. For lunch I have a bowl of soup and a slice of brown bread, or a couple of poached eggs or a chicken sandwich. I have bowls of satsumas and pears that I eat a few times a day and I drink about 2 litres fizzy water and a few cups of tea a day.

3) I have had no alcohol.

4) I have not exercised. I will soon though.

5) Below are my seven meals for this week. All were great but in particular the marinated chicken stood out and the baked beans were a big surprise (will post the recipe some time)

Seared rare tuna with cannellini bean stew & spinach
Lamb karahi, garlic nan bread
Pepperpot beef
Lasagne and salad
Roast chicken marinated in chilli, garlic and basil (Yotam Ottolenghi book "Plenty") With fruity cous cous
Boston Baked Beans, poached egg, soda bread
Thai red chicken curry & brown rice (used less curry paste and one of the tiny tins of coconut milk)

I'm looking forward to next week but would like it if anyone have any main course salad ideas?

6) I'm not going to give my starting weight - I need to keep some shred of dignity - but in the first week, with a small amount of effort I lost 4.5kg. That's nearly 10lbs !!

[Hanna]

Well done Donal, that's very impressive!

[italian foodie]

Donal I love Gino's green bean & goat's cheese salad with lemon and mint dressing, I often have it when I'm low carbing! I can post recipe if you like? Minestrone soups are great too and they fill you up.....

Good snacks for me are oatcakes with hummus or unsweetened peanut butter (an oatcake had never touched my lips until this diet)

L

[Melendez]

Probably not the most suitable place to ask but ...

Has anyone ever tried the Tefal Actifry Low Fat Electric Fryer (or equivalent) that got a mention in the Irish Times mag yesterday.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... pareie-21/

Its an expensive bit of kit and I can't see that using it will generate 1kg of chips of any respectable quality in a teaspoon of oil, but if it did it would be well worth the cost

[DonalH]

Donal I love Gino's green bean & goat's cheese salad with lemon and mint dressing, I often have it when I'm low carbing! I can post recipe if you like?

L

Brilliant, love to get it. The war office is getting tired of my tendency to put chilli garlic and ginger in everything at the moment.

[burkean]

6) I'm not going to give my starting weight - I need to keep some shred of dignity - but in the first week, with a small amount of effort I lost 4.5kg. That's nearly 10lbs !!

You lost WHAT????

Christ, you should be giving me tips, not the other way round.

[Ernie Whalley]

Porridge for breakfast last 2 days.
Supposed to be good for cholesterol.
Hadn't eaten it for years and even then I used to load it with half a tin of Fussell's condensed milk.
I now take it with a dab of milk and a small pinch of salt.
Pretty penitential stuff and how anyone can claim to like it - much less pay for it in a cafe (like my sister-in-law) - is utterly beyond me.
Is it doing me any good? Dunno.

[Hanna]

I hear you Ernie. I know if you eat enough porridge, you'll live forever (or something). Or, at least it'll feel like forever.

I've no comprehension of people who say they "lllllllllllllllllllooooooooooooooveeeeeeeeeee" it.

[Melendez]

I make porridge with whole milk, add blueberries until they are just at popping point and add a good squeeze of honey at the end. It's not low fat or low calorie but not dreadful either. The point is is that it's slow release energy so you shouldn't be tempted to snack until lunchtime. I quite like it.

Maybe it's hogwash, but I believe taking porridge regularly helped me give up smoking 2 years ago. There's no scientific evidence it helps, that I know of, but it does get regular mentions from giver-uppers that they thought it might have had a positive influence.

[unclepat]

Firstly Donal - seriously well done, that's a huge achievement for the first week. One small tip though, switch to two litres of still water per day instead of sparkling - lower salt content and kinder to your guts!

Ernie - I'm feel your pain with the porridge. I've started eating it again and make it with just water. It feels like breakfast time in a Victorian prison.

[DonalH]

Soak the porridge overnight. Even made with water it then tastes creamy.

I agree with Melendez on the full milk bit. Let's face it, none of us are trying to lose the last few ounces to fit into a size zero frocks. Lets pick the low hanging fruit first.

[Ernie Whalley]

Lunched on smoked chicken breast*(my own), plus salad of rocket and cherry tomatoes dressed with olive oil/white balsamic. No bread. Did have a cappu though but I'm restricting it to one such a day.
* chicken was spatchcocked, flattened then smoked, roasted 240 degs over a bed of Lapsang souchnong and orange slices, with a little 5-spice rubbed into the skin. A long-time favourite.

[burkean]

Ernier - what sort of a smoker do you use and do you do this outdoors etc? Would be very interested in the method.

[petitechef]

Donal that's brilliant!

[Ernie Whalley]

Burkean, if you click 'chicken' on the tag cloud on the home page the recipe 'Smoked Chicken' the recipe containing the methodology will come up. I vary the spices from time to time. I use a roasting tray and trivet in my fan oven. These days I've upped the setting to 240C because I imagine (probably wrongly but it seems that way) that the ESB have turned the available power down to conserve supply. At the lower heat (220) the chicken is slightly juicier though, so I may go back to it.
The tea and citrus contributes a pleasant, mild smoke. If you were using smoking sawdust - which I've done from time to time - I'd recommend something like a Brooks smoker (try fishing tackle shops), or a big old biscuit tin. I now use my pizza oven, which needs a few cracks filling after a hard winter.
Lining the base of the roasting tin with foil enables you to throw out all the crap in one go - recommended!

More chicken last night - the legs rubbed with various hot spices, roasted and eaten with stir-fried veggies + chopped mango and half my usual portion of rice. I did allow myself a small blob of plain yogurt and a little lime pickle. I chucked away the crispy chicken skin where, I'm told, the fat lurks - how self-denying is that!?
No booze for 3 days now.

Anyhow, well done, Donal mate. I can't compete but I'm pleased enough with the 5.4 lbs so far. Onwards and downwards.