Eienstoptomism insanity

There should be a word for the surge of optimism one gets on the first day of a new diet, the feeling of confidence that this will work just like the book says, the weight will fall off and I’ll be thin for my sister-in-law’s wedding this summer. Perhaps we could call it Eienstoptomism*, as it appears to re-emerge undaunted despite the fact that the previous umperty-two diets have been nothing like the book promises. The feeling is similar in emotional tone to the happy certainty that this year I will blog regularly, despite the fact my last post was back in June, bloptomism perhaps.

I’m currently experiencing a happy surge Eienstoptomism with a side of bloptomism as I’m on the first day of the fast, or five:two diet and I’m excited enough to write about it. Technically I’ve been on the diet since last Tuesday when we got back from our Christmas hols but as the premise of the diet is to eat normally for five days and drastically restrict calories for two days, I feel like today, my first fast day, is the starting point.

I’m allowed 500 calories to consume however I like on a fast day but fewer meals are recommended as it is the breaks between eating that tell your body it’s fasting, as I don’t get hungry in the morning I’m going to have my breakfast as a very light lunch, and then have dinner after work. I’m also intending to do another fast day tomorrow, people generally take a break in between the two fast days, but I like the idea that if we can power through for two days then it’s over for the week. Another benefit that I see is that following this diet will automatically give me two dry days a week, ticking off another health target at the same time.

I planned, shopped for and pre-cooked food where possible yesterday as normal, the planning for the fast days were a bit more complicated as everything had to be calorie counted and as men get 600 calories and women 500 I had to essentially work out four separate days. I got round this by giving us different breakfast allowances, 300 for my husband and 200 for me, so we can have dinner together. This is what we will be eating over the next two days:

Today:

Breakfast no. 1: 100g low fat Greek yogurt, 100g strawberries, ½ teaspoon of vanilla paste and ½ teaspoon of balsamic vinegar (156 calories)

Breakfast no 2: Spiced pear porridge from the Fast Diet Cookbook (299 calories), although I think my husband took the calorie allowance and grabbed something at the coffee shop

Dinner: Chicken parma (120g chicken breast, ½ onion, clove of garlic, ½ tin tomatoes, squirt of cooking spray, 50g mozzarella) (330 calories)

Tomorrow:

Breakfast no 1: 2 eggs scrambled with 2 tablespoons of cottage cheese (200 calories)

Breakfast no 2: As per yesterday

Dinner: Medium baked sweet potatoes with 25g goats cheese and two rashers of bacon (lean only) (320 calories)

Wish us luck!

 

*”Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Albert Einstein