Day 46: In which I congratulate those who have finished and declare my love affair with milk

Firstly, congratulations to the 10 PCPers who finished yesterday. YAY!!!!!

It's been really inspiring and motivating following your progress while I embarked onto the project.

I am now, exactly where you were 45 days ago, which was day 1 for me! That seem like such a long time ago too!

This week has been eventful for me too. I went to American Apparel mid-week and tried on these beauties


I was so shocked when the size I would normally go for (27inch waist) was too roomy and the 24/25 inch waist was a perfect fit. Really, really shocked!

So that was a great boost, although they are stretch jeans so much better accommodating anyway! But I didn’t care about that minor point.

I've a new found love for my jump rope. I've just found such a good rhythm now and I'm able to concentrate easier and I trip up so much less. This week has been such an all round improvement to my workout.

Other news. I rediscovered a love for dried dates, but they must produce SO much sugar during the drying process because I ate two or three in one go the other day and got instant indigestion. So I’m kind of off them again.

It's interesting to see how my body responds to foods that I’ve reintroduced since the PCP. Some things taste better, stronger, more complex. For example since the PCP I have been absolutely in love with milk. I never particularly liked or disliked it before the PCP. But now I absolutely savour the taste and really relish every last drop.

Milk is so underrated!

I L O V E M I L K !!!

Another great thing I use on the PCP are frozen packs of mixed summer fruits; redcurrants, blackberries, blackcurrants and raspberries. The amazing thing about these bags of about 500g is that the flavour and colour of the berries once defrosted are so intense and deep, yet they’re frozen!



They last, well, forever and there like £2 a bag!!!! So much cheaper than a fresh box AND they are locally produced AND they are great thrown in the blender for a quick, beautifully pink smoothie!!!

Or once I even mixed about 2 tablespoons full with honey, mashed, spread on toasted brown bread and put under the grill for a healthy jam!

Just imagine the other things you could do with 'em! Oh the possibilities!!

Day 42: A PCP foodie accomplishment

I don't want to blow my own trumpet, but toot toot toot!!

We had friends over for dinner last night and I made the best prawn curry I've ever made.

I think the secret to a good curry is taking your time and not rushing it. That's the best way to get the full depth of flavour out of the ingredients.

The great thing is, and this is probably what made it such an accomplishment, it's got no salt whatsoever and hardly any oil. So it is of course PCP friendly.

I know it looks a bit "swampy" in the picture but these really don't do it justice! And anyway it's the taste that matters.

Here's how to make it:

2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 whole peppercorns
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
Small amount of ginger or 1 teaspoon of powdered ginger
4 cloves garlic, crushed
4 shallots
2 small Cyprus aubergines chopped roughly into squares (these are about 6 inches long)
50grams fat free Greek yoghurt (optional)
1 tablespoon tamarind paste or lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
300 grams king prawns
1 bay leaf
Bunch of fresh coriander for serving

[These are rough measurements as the bare minimum of ingredients you should use, but do experiment with them according taste. I normally add more than this in terms of spices.

Also, the honey is added to balance out the sourness of the tamarind/lemon juice. So add this according to your taste.

The curry should be sweet and sour with a kick of heat!]

Put a tiny amount of olive oil in a heavy based pan and coat the cut aubergine in the garam masala. Once the oil is hot, cook the spiced aubergine for about 15 minutes or until the skin is tender.

Whilst this is cooking on a low heat. Put the coriander seeds, cumin, peppercorns, cayenne pepper, paprika and turmeric in a spice grinder or mill and grind as finely as possible.

Add the crushed/chopped ginger and garlic and about 4 tablespoons of water to make a paste. Stir and set aside.

Once the aubergine is cooked add the finely chopped shallots and stir fry until the shallots are translucent. Add the spice mix. Stir fry for 2 minutes.

Now add 150 ml water cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer vigorously for 10 minutes.

Add the bay leaf. Add the yogurt and the tamarind/lemon juice and honey. The yoghurt might curdle slightly but this is fine, once the curry is taken off the heat it won’t be noticeable.

Mix well then simmer again. Add the prawns and stir frequently until cooked.

Remove the bay leaves. Serve. Garnish with the fresh coriander. Done!


If you want you can add an egg/egg white portion to the curry too. The curry should end up with a thin consistency and normally soaked up with rice but broccoli or cauliflower are no-carb substitutes.

Yum!

Oh! And my friend’s wedding was great! Thanks for all your advice guys. I really appreciate your comments.

Dinner was much easier than I expected, a lot of rocket salad and balsamic vinegar and roasted veg as the veggie option, which I ate happily. I steered clear of anything which was too heavy, sugary or calorific.

And the wedding cake? Well it was gorgeous and knowing my friend I knew it would be chocolate rather than the traditional fruit cake.

Here's what it looked like. Nice huh?

I was told it was tasty too but I was happy to appreciate it aesthetically.

Day 38: Help wanted!!

Need some advice guys!

I'm going to a wedding this weekend, what am I to do?

What am I to do about dinner and dessert and wedding cake(I bet it's going to be a nice one too)??

I can't weight my food. I can't sit there and push my food around on my plate. I can't predict what's going to be given to me. I won't be served eggs, that's for sure.

Help!

What would you do in situations like this where you really have no say whatsoever in what you're given to eat?

What shall I do?

What would be the best approach for the day, given the nature of the event?

Hopefully I'll be served some veg with dinner that I can eat, maybe some fruit with dessert....

Who knows....?

Day 37: Awake from my slumber....

Well I'm back after my cold - yippee!

It was just a cold, but I think I made the mistake of continuing fully with the exercises instead of giving myself a break and I believe for that I paid a price.

On day 5 of the cold I was so tired that I slept for a couple of hours in the afternoon.

I w a s j u s t s o t i r e d.

But when I awoke I felt so much better. No PCP workout that day either and I think that was a good decision because the next day I was all better again :)

Actually, towards the end of last week I was feeling a bit disillusioned with the PCP and fed up with the diet. And quite frankly, annoyed with Patrick. I just didn't see any visual improvement and why was I getting a stinking cold??? I should just do things my own way!

BUT, I must say, after I recovered from my cold I felt AMAZING! My friends and I went out on Saturday night. I was the only sober person, of course.

We stayed out late and I was SO full of energy!

When I first stopped drinking I found going out in the evenings boring and I'd get tired around 10.30. I'm finding that now, I just don't get that fatigue anymore.

I'm not saying I can stay up all night or anything; when it's bedtime I get sleepy like anyone else but I just feel more in control of it.

When I am awake, I'm really awake!

And if I'm not yet ready to go to sleep, I don't get sleepy. It's weird. I cant explain it. But I know I feel good.

And I kind of exaggerated about not seeing any differences. This week, other than the high energy levels, I've noticed real physical change; my muscles, especially in my arms are very noticeable to the touch (I still can't beat my boyfriend in an arm wrestle but he is about 6ft 3, so I've come to terms with that.)

And actually, some trousers I haven't worn in about a year are about an inch and a half too big around the waist.

Also my asana, when I get round to doing some yoga, just feels deeper and stronger. I'm much more confident when going into a pose and holding it. Even though I haven't been doing as much yoga lately, I somehow can still get to some good deep stretches.

And I was really please after I saw my weekly photo (I was secretly dreading it!) but I can SO notice the difference now.






So I've finally woken from my slumber and have a new lease of life!....

























































Other things;
(i)5 eggs a day? WHAT?! That's all I'm saying,

(ii) Pistol squats are EEEEEVIL (also strangely fun (?)) and,

(iii) Bicycle is such a killer!!

What mean masochist invented these torture techniques?

Day 29: One whole month done! And autumn's really here.

So, I live in an arty, bohemian town in North East London and I'm lucky enough to live by Broadway Market where I headed on Saturday to collect my treat.



(Oh look, there's my yoga studio in the background behind the florist!)




I already knew my indulgence was going to be a cupcake from my favourite stall in Broadway Market.






Naturally, I had to go for the lemon vanilla cupcake which is my favourite, but you can see that the choice is overwhelming and it took my about 5 minutes to decide which one I wanted.

I really enjoyed eating it actually, but afterwards I felt so underwhelmed by the lack of satisfaction.

I felt guilty because; a)I had been doing so well without sugary snack and I kind of felt let I'd gone off track a bit b) it wasn't satisfying at all! I much prefer my yoghurt and berry milkshake!

I also felt a bit 'speedy', presumably from the intense sugar rush which my body probably didn't miss at all. Now I know how kids feel when you give them a Mr. Whippy and they start instantly going mental around the house or garden - beating up their younger siblings! (I started play-wresting with a friend and I fell and cracked my elbow onto the corner of the Play Station 2, Owch! It hurt so much!)

The worst thing, which I'm now over, is that for a few hours afterwards, I started craving sweet and salty snacks. Up until now I haven't done so, but as soon as I re-introduce sugar, my body says "Yeah, I remember that! Can I have some more please?". I got a bit moody afterwards and felt a bit deprived.

I'm glad to say I'm back on track now. I can watch my boyfriend munch mini orange KitKats all weekend and I don't feel envious at all.

I've picked up a bit of a cold though. The temperature in the UK has dropped noticeably in the last few days and it's much sharper. It's clear that autumn is here.

[London Fields]



I've gone all sneezy and have a bit of a sore throat - Gimme sympathy!

But seriously, I'm fine, I'm eating more oranges than before and summer berries so I'm sure that will help!

PS. Well done to the rest of my team, we've done 1 whole PCP month! YAY!

Day 23; Other great things to do with the daily dose of eggs!!

Mmmm, eggplants!

Day 22: Shout out to the veterans!

For my PCP inspirational figure I chose the professional dancer Darcey Bussell.

As a child I wanted to become a professional ballet dancer and I've always admired the way ballet dancers exhibit so much grace and elegance through movement, yet at the same time so much strength and stamina.

At the outset of the PCP, my goal was to combine my yoga practice with the strength training of the PCP to develop the perfect balance of strength and flexibility, just like a ballerina.

I still want to achieve this but at the same time, the more I get into the PCP and the more veteran PCPer's blogs I read, the less motivated I get by my inspirational figure and the more motivated I get by the "regular" people who have completed the PCP and now look amazing.

They are not celebrities or professional athletes or dancers, but real people and they are inspiring because despite the demands of their daily lives, which involve raising families, work commitments and other everyday goings on, they were/are dedicated to achieving exactly what I want to achieve for myself.

And most of them have already done this.

So I've kind of forgotten about Darcey over the few days since starting this.



However I came across this hot chick in one of my boyfriend's graphic novels (yep, geeky) and whoa, would I love to have definition like that!


X-Men, Storm

Day 17: Tom. Ketchup Sample #1

I think I might have just made a PCP friendly ketchup! This is the best I could do so far;


1 heaped tablespoon of tomato puree
1-ish teaspoon of cider vinegar (best to just add this to taste)
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon honey (just to bring a little sweetness!)






Okay, so I know it doesn't have the nice viscosity and silky, smooth appearance that bought ketchup has but hey it's healthy, so there!

And the beauty of it is that it's quick (that's why they call it ketchup) and you can change the ratio of ingredients to suit your taste.

And it was fun making it!

Other things I did consider adding but didn't;
paprika (more for aesthetics than anything, for a warmer colour)
garlic powder and onion power (these are in the ingredients of packaged ketchup, but I don't have any at home and have a feeling these things might have added salt)

I also want to try a version that's cooked and reduced down. That might enhance the flavours more.

So please try it for yourself and tell me what you think and, tell me if you add anything else to the recipe. I'm thinking of having it with some sweet potato wedges and steamed lemon sole and veg.

And Patrick, you need to create a PCP recipe book!!!