I discovered that if I gave up rice, pasta, bread and potatoes, I lost weight. However for a couple of years I attempted to eat a low carb and low fat diet. This was extremely boring (and, as it turned out, unnecessary) and resulted in me frequently regaining 14 – 20 pounds (6 – 10 kilograms) whenever I stopped the diet and spent a few weeks or months eating bread and potatoes again.
Once I hit the age of 49 and my mid life crisis well and truly kicked in :), I decided there must be a way of doing this right. So I looked all over the internet and bought a book on low carb gourmet cooking. I then started adapting the recipes and then inventing my own. Since then I have remained at 11 stone (I am 5 feet 8.5 inches tall) having previously been 15 stone.

The general principles of the low carb gorgeous food eating plan are:

1. It is low carb not zero carb. The easiest way to start is to allow yourself 3 treat meals a week where you eat anything you like. I used to have pizza on Friday night, toast on Saturday and potatoes with Sunday lunch. I don’t bother now as I prefer the gorgeous low carb food anyway. I also start the day (before my bacon and scrambled eggs with mushrooms, tomatoes and basil leaves) with a bowl of bran cereal and semi-skimmed milk. I also use high carb ingredients like treacle,very sparingly, because they are so brilliant for certain dishes.

2. It includes lots of vegetables. Up to 10 portions a day. This keeps your digestive system regular and provides essential vitamins and minerals.

3. It restricts fruit a lot. Many fruits are full of sugar (fructose). I use lots of lemons in cooking (and in gin and tonic :)) and quite a lot of apples & oranges in cooking as well. I do not drink fruit juices or eat any other fruits (although berries are supposed to be relatively low carb so are probably ok)

4. It is high in protein, but eaten with lots of vegetables.

5. It utilises a lot of spices and flavours. Cinnamon, vanilla and mascarpone cheese add sweetness to dishes. Cakes, pancakes and gingerbread are made with ground almonds in place of flour.

6. There is no restriction on portion size. The dishes are so satisfying as the high protein keeps blood sugar very stable, that you will naturally stop eating when you are full. You will also stop craving carbs and getting low blood sugar.

Once I work out how to make low carb bread and chocolate cake, I will post up the recipes 🙂