Fast Diet - Week 8 - #LoseDayTuesday

Starting week eight of the 5:2 Fast Diet!! To find out more about it, read my original post here.

My scales are broken.

Well they must be because they haven't moved in TWO WEEKS!!!! Last week wasn't surprising at all, I replaced all the water in my body with eggnog, but this week I was kind of expecting to see the numbers go somewhere (with crossed fingers that the destination was down!!).

This past week I was a little more mindful about what I was consuming, largely because I could barely walk, let alone run up and down stairs for 30 minutes to burn off something yummy. A few years back I fractured my sesamoid bone in my foot and every now and then it flares up and simple things like walking (and even sleeping) are disturbed and very painful. So I guess I did less incidental exercise during the week, but on the weekend I swam some laps at the pool and did my regular reformer pilates.

I ate fairly well on my non-fast days however if I knew I was going to indulge (Maze Grill Thursday night for Husbands birthday and a delectable seafood night on Saturday) then I would eat way less during the day. I am really trying to strike a balance so that I can still enjoy the things that make me happy. This is why this diet works for me. I've never been good at depriving myself all the time for 3 months or so to try and lose weight, it is just so against the grain that I could never stick to it. There's nothing wrong with enjoying good food, and this diet allows me to still do that, I just enjoy a lot less of it now!!

I don't have a week of temptation ahead of me so I fully expect to see some changes on the scales next week! That is unless an old theory of mine proves true....that all I need to do is LOOK at donuts and I put on weight!! (I'm in the process of tidying up my Pinterest boards so have spent a lot of time looking at incredible gluten free food I want to try out over the Christmas period!).

One thing I have mastered is not eating until much later in the day now! My first taste of food is now about 3pm, although one of my fast days I just didn't eat all day until 8pm. My husband wants to know what happened to his wife, the one who had to eat within 30 minutes of waking up!! It helps me so much though, because as soon as my belly gets a whiff of food, it wants more...

So onto the meals from a fast day...

Lunch - Spicy tomatoes eggs (Shakshuka)

I saw this one in the Fast Diet Recipe Book and it looked so tasty, but the name was not so... Shakshouka! This is why I renamed them spicy tomatoed eggs! 

This recipe is in the Leisurely Breakfast section of the recipe book, but I'm definitely not hardcore enough to consume cayenne pepper for breakfast, so I made this dish as a late lunch. I don't have a small pan that I could make a one serve in, so just made the double, and my husband was creative with his potion later on (mixing through pasta of course). 

Recipe Post HERE

Dinner - stuffed chicken breasts (skewered Italian)

My good friend Holly first introduced me to stuffing chicken breasts a few years ago and now it is one of my favourite ways to enjoy chicken! This recipe is a slightly healthier version to what I usually make though, but it is still delicious and thanks to the fresh tomato it doesn't dry out even though it isn't wrapped in prosciutto.

Skewered Italian (from Fast Diet Recipe Book)

Flatten a chicken breast and top it with 1 chopped large tomato, a few basil leaves and 2 tsps freshly grated parmesan. Season, roll up and secure with skewers. Bake for 15 minutes or under a grill or until the chicken is cooked through.

The recipe calls for this to be eaten with either tender stem broccoli or dry-griddles courgette strips, and so I went with the courgette. I'm not sure if the calorie count included the courgettes or not, but if not, its only an additional 20 calories, so its not a big deal!

Drinks

Creme Caramel herbal tea x 2 (4 calories) and not nearly enough water. I think because I wasn't as active I wasn't actually thirsty, but I think it may be contributing to why things aren't moving, my body feels like it has to retain the water since I'm not giving it any. It's funny isn't it, that in giving your body more water, it retains less. Odd but true. 

Total calories for the day = 442

Exercise

Reformer Pilates and swimming laps at the pool. When my foot issue made walking difficult I decided that I should try swimming some laps instead. So on Saturday we went to the pool. I haven't swam actual laps since I was pregnant so it was fun to be back in the water. I love swimming, it feels very natural to me, and even though I haven't swam in two years, I kept up with the fellas in the "medium" lane, so that's not too bad! Distance swam - 1km. It felt great to be exercising without hurting my foot, hip, back or sciatic nerve (oi, I really need a new body, this one is faulty!!). 

Weight loss?

Total loss to date = 2.7kgs (5.95lbs)

I feel more okay about it this week (partly because of everyone's encouraging comments/tweets/emails last week, thank you!!!) but was still hoping for a bit of a loss. But I feel like I'm getting into the groove of still allowing myself treats, but then adjusting my other intakes so that it doesn't tip the scales for the day! 

Goals for the coming week

A new section this week, but I think I want to really articulate what I've learnt from the previous week to focus on in the coming week. For this week they are:

• More water more water more water
• Swimming goals - 1.2km
• Midweek exercise - just an at home pilates/resistance workout
• Alcohol free 4 nights not just 3

Have you recently started the Fast Diet?? Are you enjoying it? Having much success? I love hearing how other people are finding it, it seems to be working for pretty much everyone who tries. I follow some really great people on Instagram and Twitter, some of their progress photos are amazing!!! 

I hope you have a great week!! 

Psst!! If you are looking for a little more meg-made, I'd LOVE for you to follow along!