A little background for context:
I’m a 48 year old mother of two teenagers, battling middle aged spread. I was slim when I was in my twenties, but since then it’s been a never ending fight to keep myself at least somewhat of reasonable weight. At the time of starting this account I fall into the overweight category, with a body fat % that is apparently defined as obese. I’m also very unfit, with a lifestyle that can at best be described as sedentary, thanks to a 50 hour a week desk job.
My aim with this diet is to get slimmer and fitter – I have 20kg to lose. (That’s 44 pounds or 3stone 2lbs for those of you that prefer those measurements).
For the sake of my own sanity I’m going to start with an 8 week sprint. The reason being it seems manageable to start out with that timeframe in mind. I have no illusions that you can lose the kind of weight I have to lose in that timeframe, so after 8 weeks I’ll take stock if this is the diet for me and how successful it’s been.
A few things I want to point out. I have a family I need to feed and still have to cook for them. This means my meals will sometimes be a little odd as I mix the parts of the family meals I can have with bits and bobs to use up the rest of my calories.
I will aim to eat balanced, nutritious meals, but sometimes I will fail. I know this, I’m human so please don’t let it bother you.
I’m taking a decent multi-vitamin. I’m hoping this compensates for where I slip up.
I know there is a trend for beautifully photographed food designed to inspire you. I’m not that person. My meals are thrown together after a 10 or 11 hour workday, and I’m sorry to say I have no time to make them pretty. I hope that the representation of reality that the images give in some way compensates for their lack of beauty.
So, let’s begin.