Our intrepid columnist Emma Cossey takes on week 2 of the Special K Plan.
Day Eight
Breakfast: Special K Fruit & Nut clusters
Snack: Cherries
Lunch: Special K Sustain
Snack: Carrot sticks and a smidgen of houmous
Dinner: Steak and vegetables
Feeling: Virtuous
Weight: 171lbs
Exercise: 20 minute power plates class and 15 minute dog walk
Had a lovely feeling of smugness today, as I managed to keep to the plan without feeling the urge to cook up a family sized batch of pasta and cover it in cheese. I even managed to enjoy an afternoon workout and a dog walk. It's definitely getting easier the longer I stick to the diet, although I'm still dreaming about two of my favourite men. Ben and Jerry...
The fridge and the cupboards are looking a bit bare at the moment so, after browsing the recipes and suggestions on the forum, I've put together a shopping plan and list for the next few days. Knowing what my next meal is and having a snack on standby seems to reduce the temptation from the evil Chocolate Biscuit Tin.
Day Nine
Breakfast: Special K Sustain
Snack: Banana
Lunch: Special K Fruit & Nut clusters
Snack: Sugar snap peas
Dinner: Baked gnocchi with spinach
Feeling: Happy and full
Weight: 171lbs
Exercise: 15 minute dog walk
Woke up and skipped to the kitchen, feeling positive after a good couple of days. Annoyingly, that little needle on the scales refuses to budge, regardless of where I move it to in the bathroom.
What? You don't do that? Oh.
Anyway, today I tried out the recipe on the site for the baked gnocchi with spinach, which is perfect for a carb-lover like me. I usually just buy gnocchi ready made and ready to pour into a pan, so the concept of making them from scratch was a bit daunting. Particularly given my dodgy cooking skills. Thankfully they didn't take long at all, and the instructions were really straight forward. Definitely one I'll be cooking again I think.
Day Ten
Breakfast: Special K Fruit & Nut clusters
Snack: Grapes
Lunch: Special K Fruit & Nut clusters
Snack: Banana
Dinner: Chicken and vegetables
Feeling: Happy!
Weight: 170lbs
Exercise: Power plates class
I may have developed a slight addiction to Special K Fruit & Nut clusters. I woke up this morning actually craving a bowl of it. I'm entirely aware how sad that sounds.
A busy day at work today so I didn't have much time to think about food. Dinner was a quick chicken and vegetable dish before heading out to the cinema. It's either that or a fatty hot dog, so I plumped for the healthier option.
I decided to give up caffeine, and particularly Diet Coke, at the same time as doing this two week Plan. I think that might have contributed to my initial exhaustion on the plan, but I've felt like my energy levels have been really steady for the last couple of days. Well worth doing, even if I was a bit grouchy the first few days.
Day Eleven
Breakfast: Special K Fruit & Nut clusters
Snack: Smoothie
Lunch: Sandwiches and snacks at Aigua Media HQ
Snack: Nothing
Dinner: Special K Sustain
Feeling: Exhausted but motivated
Weight: 170lbs
Exercise: Walked around London a bit...
Today I made my way into London for a meeting with the other Aigua Media writers. I've swapped the second Special K bowl for dinner, rather than lunch, so I was free to enjoy the food they ordered in for lunch. As dedicated as I am to the plan, the idea of eating my cereal when everyone else is enjoying a buffet of finger food. I caved a little when the M&S chocolate bites were passed around, but really who can pass those delicious bites up?
I've been feeling a bit off all day, and a growing headache meant a fuss free dinner was the ideal dinner. Eating cereal for dinner is a bit odd though, and I missed the hot food element.
Day Twelve
Breakfast: Special K Bliss chocolate and strawberry
Snack: Strawberries
Lunch: Special K Sustain
Snack: Carrot sticks
Dinner: Beef stew with baked banana for dessert.
Feeling: Lighter
Weight: 169lbs
Exercise: Zero
Almost hugged the scales this morning when they showed a weight loss of 5lbs so far. Managed to fit into my jeans yesterday without the use of an industrial sized shoehorn, which is something of an achievement. I had my doubts after that stubborn needle refused to budget over the last few days, so it was a relief to finally see some movement.
Seeing as the weather has been, for want of a better word, crap, I indulged in a warming beef stew for dinner. Nothing better than a bowl of stew in front of a stack of DVDs for the evening. Also discovered the joy of baked bananas, with a tiny bit of Nutella down the middle. Yummy if you're desperate for a sweet treat.
Day thirteen
Breakfast: Special K Fruit & Nut clusters
Snack: Woke too late. What? It's the weekend!
Lunch: Special K Fruit & Nut clusters
Snack: Crudities
Dinner: Double date at a curry house
Feeling: Bloated but content
Weight: 169lbs
Exercise: None
On a budget at the moment so spent the day chilling out with my sister and catching up on a mountain of magazines and trashy TV. Usually we'd have stocked up on stodgy food to graze on throughout the day, but I've managed to convince her to join me on the eating plan, so we're keeping each other on the straight and narrow. Just.
The evening bought a double date with Peter and his friends. We usually tend to go for a curry, where my usual order includes creamy calorie-filled korma chicken and a huge keema naan. This time though, I stuck to chicken tikka pieces (free of sauce and grilled rather than fried) and skipped my naan. Also did a little research before I went, and discovered that poppadoms are surprisingly low in calories. The same probably couldn't be said for the mango chutney and that yummy minty drip.
I've been finding that, probably due to the smaller meals, I tend to get fuller much faster. Hopefully this will enable me to stick to smaller portions going forward.
Day Fourteen
Breakfast: Special K Fruit & Nut clusters
Snack: Plums (fresh from the garden!)
Lunch: Special K Sustain
Snack: Nothing
Dinner: Nandos chicken pitta
Feeling: Good!
Weight: 168.5lbs
Exercise: Nothing much
Lovely day today, watching a Come Dine With Me marathon and getting a few bits and pieces done. We've got a mini fruit and vegetable garden going, so I indulged in some plums, fresh from the tree, which was a sweet treat (with a great "I grew it myself" afterglow).
During the evening I popped to Nandos with Peter for a chicken pitta, followed by a trip to the cinema (I know, again! We're film geeks). Nandos is surprisingly a healthy dieters dream restaurant, as a chicken pitta with peas and a corn on the cob is much healthier than a trip to Pizza Hut with all the trimmings. Obviously stealing chips from your bloke's plate totally doesn't count as part of your meal...
Conclusion
My Monday morning weigh in revealed that I'd lost 6lbs in 2 weeks, almost half a stone! Those jeans I desperately wanted to fit into are now part of my daily wardrobe again, and I'm really pleased.
Some things I've learnt over the past fortnight, which might help if you want to take on the two week Plan.
Hunger. You'll probably find yourself feeling hungry for the first week of the plan. In my case, I think it was because my stomach was all stretched out from big portions, so needed to adjust back to smaller meals.
Water. Drink as much as possible. It will keep hunger at bay, help you determine whether that tummy rumble is actually just thirst, and give you a steady energy source.
Socialise. Don't avoid any opportunities to eat out, just choose sensible options once you get there. If you're going to enjoy a glass of wine or a cocktail, bear in mind that you're eating less so you're likely to get tipsy faster.
Measure. Measure your waist, thighs and arms at the start of the plan. You might have a few days where you don't lose weight, but you lose inches instead.
Variety. Get a few different varieties of Special K, so you can avoid food boredom.
Check this out: Two weeks on the Plan: Week One