Tale of the Tape Week 6 (?)

All the feasting stopped my fat cells from further shrinkage last week but this week my fat cells are back on track. Although my powder blue circa 1961 vintage dress doesn't quite fit (especially around the upper arms, oddly enough), it fits better. As the fabric is a bit scratchy, it will have to fit perfectly before I actually wear it. (When did I buy that dress?)

A friend wrote to ask if I am still on 800 calories a day, and I must admit that I am hazy on that point. (I'm not even sure if this is the end of Week 6.) Every once in a while I try to total things up with the aid of calorie counters on the computer, but as Hemsley + Hemsley don't believe in calorie counting, their cookies mess things up. Although naturally they have more nutrients, ground almonds are higher in calories than wheat flour. 

Generally I stick to the following guidelines:

1. No cane or beet sugar, and honey, maple syrup and date syrup are only for Hemsley + Hemsley recipes. 

2. Don't eat more than two Hemsley + Hemsley cookies a day. 

3. Don't eat anything made from white flour and eat as little potato as can get away with.

4. Include half an avocado in lunch. 

5. Consume full-fat yogurt and if I consume milk, full-fat milk.

6. Oily fish at least twice a week. 

7. Think protein. 

8. If get the munchies, drink a glass of water or cup of herbal tea.

9. If still have the munchies, eat a small handful of nuts. 

10. Eat blueberries every day, preferably in oatmeal porridge. 

11. Drink water all day, either cold or made into herbal tea.

We should be eating more veg. I will have to make veg more of a priority when I go to the supermarket. We are eating more soup, especially now that I have fallen in love with the "Pablo's Chicken" recipe and need something to do with the drumsticks. (The most economical way to buy free-range chicken is in big packages of thighs and drumsticks, which are sold separately from the much more expensive breasts.) 

Benedict Ambrose is still losing weight and closing the husband-wife weight gap, which I find slightly annoying but what can I do? Men lose weight faster (and with less effort) and they gain muscles faster (and with much less effort) and that's just the way it is.  

Two or three weeks ago I bought a digital scale that was on sale at Tesco; it is our new toy. I plugged the number it read this morning into the National Health Service BMI tool, and the NHS says I am (finally) once again at a healthy weight for my age and height. Hooray, hooray!

That said, I shall continue not to eat sugar and other simple carbs at least until my mother, wonderfully thin from months of daily cardio and tomato sandwiches, arrives for her holiday. As I have no tremendous exertions awaiting me, I can't think of a reason to eat simple carbs. It would be different if I were going to Quebec or France because in those happy nations there are croissants it is a crime not to eat.