Food

Back to the grind: January guilt and the cheese baby

~ eaton24 ~ Leave a comment

 (When work events feature a cheeseboard like this one, it’s hard not to conceive a cheese baby)

I’ve been a very bad faster. The ‘oh I’ll treat myself to a bit of a break from fasting over Christmas’ mentality hasn’t done me any favours. As they say- ignorance is bliss. Or at least, it is until in one of the family Christmas photos it looks like you’re about eight months pregnant ( and no. That one is NOT going on Instagram). While at this current stage in life I find it far more preferable to be ‘with cheese’ than ‘with child’, it was still a pretty major shock. So this and the fact that last week I was in Bulgaria on an all-inclusive skiing holiday playing the game of- let’s see how quickly one can shove goulash, feta bread and spag bol in ones face before hitting the slopes again- has not stood me in good stead to kick start 2016 in any remotely slender state.

I’d managed to avoid the scales throughout the Christmas period until yesterday when I had to lie down in order to relinquish the subsequent shooting pains up and down my arm. I’ve put on about 10lbs. Shit.

But hey. It probably would have been more had it not been for the skiing and I did have a bloody good Christmas. If anything, living the 5:2 lifestyle for the past 13 months has taught me that weight is actually quite easily controllable. So it’s time to once again grab the reigns of weight management I think, starting with my first returning fast day today of coffee, banana, Bovril and salad. It’s actually pretty good to get that virtuous hunger feeling back again.

So to all my fasting friends, followers and dieters in general, my cheese baby and I wish you all a slightly belated Happy New Year. Let’s get back to the grind.

p.s fasters, dieters and friends. If you do enjoy reading my blog, please, please use the following link to vote for me in the UK Blog Awards. Go on. I’ll love you forever…
http://www.blogawardsuk.co.uk/ukba2016/my-entry/eaton-eating



 


Vote for me now in the UK Blog Awards #UKBA16

			

	


				
					


	

			
Silver service, smoked mash and why the 5:2 feast days are essential for hospitality professionals
		

			

					

				

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Today I find myself in York. I’ve never been to York before. I’m up here for two days with work attending an industry trade show with my boss. If I haven’t mentioned it before, I work in the events and hospitality industry (or, more specifically, I work for a PR consultancy specialising in this sector).


During the past 2 years of working in this industry I’ve learned that having a flexible diet regime is absolutely essential. Hospitality and events industry professionals are absolutely spoiled when it comes to food, be it an awards event with a sit down 3 course dinner, reception drinks with canapés or a breakfast meeting,  amazing food is pretty unavoidable. I’m fairly convinces that my 2 year introduction to the world of work in this field is what made me put on 2 stone in the first place. So needless to say, in terms of dietary choices, we’re in need of a little give and take which is exactly what the 5:2 offers.


Being a massive fan of food anyway, I absolutely love this about my job (although I would like to just note here that PR people aren’t just all about schmoozing, boozing and fine-dining- contrary to popular belief). The featured picture shows one of the many courses I enjoyed during a press lunch at one of our client venues in London last summer. This involved silver service, something called smoked mash and there were cloches present (if you know what a cloche is then you know more than I did before this experience!)


My point is, that when it comes to hospitality clients, the phrase ‘It’d be rude not to’ really does ring true. I was once attending a meeting in Kent for one of our catering clients, having already eaten my sensible fasting day lunch of a sushi snack pack and diet coke on the move, I was greeted with a spectacular spread which my client referred to as an ‘executive lunch’. Needless to say, this sent my fasting day into oblivion. At that moment I learned that client meeting days, it’s fair to assume, will not make for good fast days.


The beauty of the 5:2 diet though, is that tomorrow offers another opportunity for a fresh start and a fresh fast day, no guilt necessary. Non fast days are great, but the odd feast day (the ones where you can relish the fact that you work in such a great industry, not worrying about what the 3 course lunch and copious amount of red wine might have added up to in terms of calories) are absolutely essential. This is what makes the 5:2 diet a lifestyle choice, not a diet.


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A day in the life of a 5:2 faster (Part 1): The fasting day
		

			

					

				

						 ~ eaton24			 ~ 3 Comments					

				

		
Many people I meet are shocked when I mention I do the 5:2 diet. There is a general perception that the 5:2 is quite ‘intense’. Those who have never heard of it seem to believe that they would perish if they attempted to live on 500 calories for 2 days a week. The funny thing is I can actually remember having a similar reaction when I first heard about the 5:2, thinking it would never be something I’d have the motivation to do, wondering what people could even eat on a ‘2’ day. Since I first heard about the 5:2 a couple of years ago, perceptions of it have changed. Generally now it has become so popular that most people know someone who is on the 5:2, or a friend of a friend and by and large, the reviews are pretty favourable. But I still get asked the question; “how do you survive on just 500 calories?” to which my most common answer is: my body has simply got used to it. It has become a habit, and not even the type of habit that is tedious and annoying. People look at me like I’m a Martian when I tell them I actually find my fasting days really refreshing. Because we are of a generation and culture who eat so frequently and have such an epic fear of hunger, people believe that we 5:2ers must spend our fasting days curled up in a corner in a semi-human state, incapable of normal interaction. This is not how it goes. I’ll walk you through a typical fasting day: Continue reading →

			

	


				
					


	

			
Confessions of an angry eater: comfort food and why we crumble
		

			

					

				

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A good friend recently reminded me of a time when we would sneak off to MacDonald’s after a bad day, order a big mac meal (usually large), have a good old moan and gorge on the terrible, terrible excuse for food that is Maccy d’s. We coined this as an ‘angry eating sesh’. It became a bit of a problem.


However, we weaned ourselves off, joined the gym, and you’ll be pleased to know that neither of us were hurt or became clinically obese in the process (my nameless friend is also now a fellow faster and doing extremely well).


This led me to think about the concept of ‘comfort food’ and why we turn to food when life gets a bit shit (sorry- no other language choice would fit the bill here).


Apparently the fatty acids in certain foods function as a mood enhancer, which would explain the cravings for comfort food when we feel low. More recent studies however, have claimed to disprove this, meaning that the whole concept of ‘comfort food’ is potentially a bit of a deception. It’s difficult to know how comfort food really affects our emotions but it’s likely that our attitudes towards it will stay the same as long as the very name ‘comfort food’ exists. It is one of the many justifications we use when we slip-up, and as long as we are human, we will slip up.


I am definitely guilty of turning to food after a bad day. This week I crumbled. I momentarily fell off the 5:2 wagon. My justification is that ‘it’s Christmas’.


Yes I’m disappointed in myself, but I’m still a firm believer that everything in moderation is key. This is essentially what intermittent fasting is all about. Comfort food shouldn’t be too harmful as long as portion control is adhered to. I’ll be back to the fasting days in a week, but in the meantime I intend to eat, drink and be very very merry.

			

	


				
					


	

			
The mince pies are everywhere and I can’t get out: A brief survival guide for festive fasting
		

			

					

				

						 ~ eaton24			 ~ 3 Comments					

				

		
Fasting days at the moment seem to be a little more torturous than normal. I’m putting this down to the season of ‘merriment’. With mince pies in the cupboard along with cheese, pate and all sorts of other goodies, events such as Christmas ‘lights on’ festivals and pubs with open fires beckon and tempt us with the promise of mulled wine and comfort food make fasting days tougher than ever. In fact everyone in the office today is a walking, talking mince pie..


As I’m not really a big breakfaster on a normal day I find the fasting days more of a challenge in the evenings. Hot soup at lunch generally keeps the hunger gremlins at bay until about 1700 hours at which point I HAVE TO EAT SOMETHING NOW! Or somebody gets hurt.


I’ve come up with a little routine which helps me curb the temptation during cold wintery evenings:


    

  1. Eat something– Protein is good if you have enough calories to play with. The other night I had roast trout fillet on a bed of spinach leaf and plum tomato salad, a little feta and olives and a lemon and dill dressing. I didn’t go to bed hungry- which is always the aim.
    2. 

  2. Avoid the TV– at this time of year the adverts alone are enough to make me want to break a fast. I have been known to uncontrollably shout ‘I WANT CHOCOLATE BAUBLES’ at the telly in response the one of this year’s supermarket advertising delights. You know the one.
    3. 

  3. Read a book– It’s always good to stay distracted. At the moment I like to indulge in a trashy Christmas novel (a guilty pleasure). Alternatives if you’re not the bookish type are: magazines, newspapers or doing a spot of online Christmas shopping for an extra sense of accomplishment!
    4. 

  4. Peppermint tea– Mint is apparently an appetite suppressant. It could be the placebo effect of course, and it isn’t quite the same as having a proper brew (white, one sugar) but it seems to work for me.
    5. 

  5. Have a bath– This is probably my favourite part of the fasting day evening (or close second after the bit that involves eating). I’ll play my favourite new itunes purchase and wallow in bubbles and self pity. It’s blissful.
    6. 


			

	


				
					


	

			
5 things I’ve learned from 5 months of the fasting diet
		

			

					

				

						 ~ eaton24			 ~ Leave a comment					

				

		
I’ve been doing the intermittent fasting diet since July- a total of just over 5 months. For those that don’t know- this means 2 days per week of reducing calorie intake to 500 per day. Here’s a rather self-indulgent little review in the form of 5 key things I’ve learned from the experience.


#1 Food is really pretty awesome isn’t it?


It’s about discipline. Having the self-control to forgo the office biscuit stash when it does the rounds, means that yes, I am thinking about a large slice of chocolate and caramel tart by the end of the day. However, when tomorrow comes and I’m no longer worrying about calorie counting, I will be partaking in said chocolate caramel tart. I might even have it for breakfast. Most importantly it will taste AMAZING because I’ve realised that food is awesome.


#2 Going to the gym on a fasting day is a very silly idea 


On one miserable fasting Monday I went to the gym after work. Monday is the day that the local Henley-on-Thames sprogs have their after-school swimming lessons, before crowding into the showers. I think I’d probably managed to burn more calories than I had consumed on that day and was therefore dizzy and shaking. The aforementioned sprogs VERY nearly witnessed a naked woman collapsing in the middle of the shower alley. Potentially a scarring situation for everyone involved. Enough said.


#3 Eat sushi 


Sushi is my little lunchtime survival kit. It’s low calorie and it tastes awesome, especially with wasabi, and it is filling. I highly recommend the Shapers range at Boots, which are normally under 200 calories.


#4 Trying to do 2 fasting days in a row is also a very silly idea


This week I tried to do 2 fasting days in a row. By the end of the second day my blood sugar levels were horrifically low and I was utterly incapable of human interaction. My loving boyfriend had to put me into solitary confinement because everybody looked like steak.


#5 Don’t step on the scales every day


The 5:2 isn’t just about weight loss. When I first started fasting I weighed myself every day. Having a little internal celebration when I stood on the scales one morning, followed by a funeral the next, is not so fun. I’ve found that a weekly weight-check gives a much better indication of progress.