Day 10

Weight: 13 st 9.6 lbs
Weight loss: 0.6 lbs
Weight loss this week: 1.8 lbs in 2 days
Weight loss to date: 9.4 lbs in 9 days

Breakfast: scrambled egg and smoked salmon; mug of tea

Lunch: pack of flame-grilled chicken slices; glass of squash

Snack: 3 seafood sticks

Dinner: 2.5 homemade beefburgers with an oat-bran galette and tomato sauce; strawberries and a vanilla mullerlight  yoghurt; diet coke

Verdict: Steady weight loss today, which is fine.  Should have been out to lunch and an afternoon's shopping with a friend today but it didn't happen, so no temptation there then.  Burgers were nice!

Day 9

Weight: 13 st 10.2 lbs
Weight loss: 1.2 lbs

Weight loss this week: 1.2 lbs in 1 day
Weight loss to date: 8.8 lbs in 8 days

Breakfast: cottage cheese omelette; 2 mugs of tea

Lunch: roast chicken salad; 1 banana custard mullerlight yoghurt; glass of squash

Dinner: chicken tikka with oat-bran galette onion bhajis and yoghurt sauce; strawberries and fromage frais; glass of squash

Verdict:  Nice surprise on the weight-loss front today.  Would be great if I could keep this up! Walked the prom this afternoon, so finally did some 'official exercise' rather than wandering round the shops, or gardening.  Do feel slightly hungrier when I'm not just eating pure protein - although maybe the walk sharpened the hunger feeling. Otherwise, no problems - I'm finding the diet surprisingly easy to stick to.  We have promised ourselves a 'reward' night out when we make the next 'stone' barrier (my other half is doing this as well) - roll on 12 st-something and a proper curry! (Yes, I know, we'll spend the next two days getting back under the marker weight again!).

Day 8

Weight: 13 st 11.4 lbs
Weight loss: 0.4 lbs
Weight loss to date: 7.6 lbs in 7 days (week 1)

Breakfast: oat-bran galette with scrambled egg and smoked salmon; mug of tea

Lunch: pack of flame grilled chicken fillets; 3 seafood sticks; 1 mandarin mullerlight yoghurt; mug of tea

Dinner: prawns stir-fried with onion, mushroom, pepper, courgette and carrot; 1 banana custard mullerlight yoghurt; diet coke

Verdict:  I guess this is the sort of level of weight loss I need to get used to - can't really expect to carry on losing  nearly 8 lbs a week (in my dreams!).  Pleased with how the first week has gone though.  Into week two now, and may be away for a couple of days so how we handle that will be interesting. 

Day 7

Weight: 13 st 11.8 lbs
Weight loss: 1.8 lbs
Weight loss to date: 7.2 lbs in 6 days

Breakfast: scrambled egg and smoked salmon with salad

Lunch: pack of chinese spiced chicken mini-fillets

Snack: seafood sticks; diet coke

Dinner: stir-fried beef with onions and mushrooms; roasted carrots; diet coke

Verdict: Really pleased with today's weight-loss - didn't get round to the oat bran today, and for various reasons haven't drunk very much either . . .  but did successfully resist all the temptations offered on the supermarket shelves!

Day 6

Weight: 13 st 13.6 lbs
Weight gain: 0.2 lbs
Weight loss to date: 5.4 lbs in 5 days

Breakfast: oat-bran galette; fried egg; 2 slices of honey-roast chicken; a smidgeon of tomato sauce; mug of tea

Lunch: prawns with salad leaves and tomato and a couple of seafood sticks; pint of squash

Afternoon snack: 1 cherry mullerlight yoghurt; 1 seafood stick

Dinner: trout; wilted spinach in a rather unpleasant yoghurt sauce; broccoli with a little light mayonnaise; strawberries and vanilla mullerlight yoghurt

Verdict: Not happy with the weight gain - but I think it was probably down to eating salty smoked fish late in the evening (it was 9pm by the time my other half got back from fishing), i.e. this is almost certainly 'water retention' . . . Attack phase over anyway - got to buy some veggies and salad today :)  It was nice to be able to have something other than protein, but must admit I did feel a little hungrier.  Must also give up on trying to create sauces, they don't tend to work very well!

Day 5

Weight: 13 st 13.4 lbs
Weight loss: 0.6 lbs
Weight loss to date: 5.6 lbs in 4 days

Breakfast: omelette made with chicken slices; mug of tea

Lunch: oat-bran galette; prawns; sauce made from greek yoghurt and a teaspoon of tomato sauce

Snack: 4 seafood sticks; 1 mandarin mullerlight yoghurt; galss of squash

Dinner: 2 smoked haddock fillets with yoghurt sauce and a poached egg; 1 vanilla mullerlight yoghurt; diet coke

Verdict: Last day on the 'attack' phase, again can't say I had any mad cravings for carbs, or ever felt really hungry.  The lasting impact of eggs for breakfast is one lesson I will definitely take with me from this - I'm soon hungry again after toast or cereal, but on this diet don't get any hunger pangs until at least lunchtime.  Looking forward to eating some veggies though!

Day 4

Weight: 14 st 0 lbs
Weight loss: 1.8 lbs
Weight loss to date: 5 lbs in 3 days

Breakfast: scrambled egg and smoked salmon; 2 mugs of tea

Lunch: 1 small pack of barbecue chicken slices; pint of squash

Dinner: 2.5 homemade beefburgers with an oat-bran galette and tomato sauce; strawberries and a vanilla mullerlight yoghurt; pint of squash

Verdict: That's more like it!! Hopefully should dip below the 14 stone mark now within the next couple of days - which will be good psychologically - but I guess I can't expect to go losing nearly 2 lbs every day :( Felt quite thirsty today, drank a lot of squash in between meals, but again didn't feel hungry at all. Went off-diet with the tomato sauce and strawberries - fingers crossed it doesn't have too much of a negative effect.

Day 3

Weight: 14 st 1.8 lbs
Weight loss: 0.4 lbs
Weight loss to date: 3.2 lbs in 2 days

Breakfast: 2 egg omelette with cottage cheese and 2 slices of honey-roast turkey; 2 mugs of tea

Lunch: 1 smoked mackerel fillet; cottage cheese; 1 cherry mullerlight yoghurt; pint of squash

Dinner: tandoori chicken with oat-bran galette onion bhajis and cottage cheese; 1 vanilla mullerlight yoghurt; diet coke

Verdict: Little bit disappointed with a measly 0.4 lb weight loss after yesterday - but then at least it is downwards - did eat a lot of 'fatty' fish - and of course the strawberries . . .  Otherwise no problems or cravings, and the onion bhajis were really nice!

Day 2

Weight: 14 st 2.2 lbs
Weight loss: 2.8 lbs
Weight loss to date: 2.8 lbs in 1 day

Breakfast: scrambled egg and smoked salmon; 2 mugs of tea

Lunch: oat-bran galette, with smoked salmon and quark and a smoked mackerel fillet; 1 mandarin mullerlight yoghurt; 2 mugs of tea

Dinner: baked salmon; stir fried prawns with a little onion, seasoned with garlic, soy sauce, paprika and chilli flakes; 3 teaspoons cottage cheese; 1 mullerlight yoghurt and a few strawberries; diet coke

Verdict: Really pleased with the first day's weight-loss, although I expect some of this would have come off whatever.  Again, haven't really felt hungry today as such and didn't really miss the carbs or the alcohol - although I guess at some point temptation will come my way.  Hope the strawberries don't derail things too much - but I have a fruit cage full of strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries and blackcurrants - can freeze the blackcurrants and gooseberries, but would far rather eat the strawberries and raspberries fresh - although I may make jam for consumption post-diet in the dim and distant future.

Day 1

Well this is me at my starting weight of 14 stone 5 lbs (which I think is probably a little high, courtesy of the carb-fest I had over the weekend) i.e. it 'should' go down quite quickly!

Am planning to post pictures at two-weekly intervals, wearing the same outfit - would hope you'll see the incredible shrinking woman as time goes by . . .

So - what did I eat today? 

Breakfast: an oat-bran 'galette' (a kind of french pancake) with a fried egg (sinned and had 1/2 teaspoon of tomato sauce as well); cup of tea.

Brunch: 5 small slices of honey-roast chicken; 1 cherry mullerlight yoghurt; bottle of water

Late lunch: pack of chinese spiced chicken mini-fillets; 1 vanilla mullerlight yoghurt; diet coke

Dinner: beef stir fried with onions and a forbidden mushroom (that happened to be lurking in the fridge) in a Greek yoghurt sauce; fried turkey steak; remains of the diet coke

Supper: 2 small slices of honey-roast turkey wrapped round cottage cheese with chives (didn't really 'go' that well mind you); diet pepsi

Verdict: Not a bad day on the whole - didn't have any real cravings for bread or potatoes, and didn't feel particularly hungry at any stage, but we'll see what tomorrow brings . . .

Day 0

Well, here we go - another diet blog to add to the thousands probably already out there (including at least 2 with  a title very similar to 'What Sarah Ate Today') - I hope that this one actually lasts past the first couple of posts!

I've been trying to lose a bit of weight off and on for years now - largely without a great deal of success, although Weight Watchers does work for me if I have the willpower to resist eating too much!  This year the diet has however been particularly unsuccessful, and if anything I've managed to put about a stone in weight on.

I know what I'm doing wrong, I know what I should and shouldn't eat, it's just doing it . . .

Anyway, came across a new diet in the local bookshop the other day - The Dukan Diet - despite the tag line ("5 million French people can't be wrong" = not really the way to sell something to the Brits!) did end up buying it (although for a much cheaper price on Amazon).  I liked the idea that it takes you through the dieting stage, to a diet designed to consolidate your weight-loss and keep the weight off in the long term.

Tomorrow will be Day 1 on the so-called 'Attack' phase - where you can eat as much as you want of '72 protein-rich foods' - i.e. meat, low-fat dairy, fish, and eggs - no carbs at all - and for me that means none of my three favourite things: bread, red wine and potatoes.  I'm hoping that these kind of strict rules will keep me on the straight and narrow!

I'm planning on sticking to this for five days, before moving on to the 'Cruise' phase where you alternate pure protein days, with protein and vegetable days - again you can eat as much as you want, but no fat, alcohol, or starchy foods such as my beloved bread and potatoes.  Have already decided on one cheat though - in that I'm going to allow (in moderation) certain verboten foods that happen to be growing in my garden at the moment - strawberries primarily to start with, but also peas in due course, and potatoes (the latter I'll have to be particularly careful with).

Anyway - we'll see how this goes.  I've made this blog public in an effort to keep myself honest - kind of hope nobody ever actually reads this!!

Wish me luck.  S

P.S. Should have said - have spent the last couple of days indulging all my carb cravings - bread; pizza; cake; mashed potato; chips; red wine (although that's not exactly unusual); curry; Pringles; etc.  As someone pointed out to me, there is something rather perverse about stuffing yourself with a bunch of fattening foods prior to starting a diet!  I enjoyed it anyway, and feel ready for a little self-denial - so we'll see . . .