Follow Dr Joshi's 21 Day Plan

thank god. I’m not quite sure what to think about this. I think there was nothing wrong with the diet, it’s just that something went really wrong with me at the start of the second week and that ruined the diet. I seemed to balloon and just everything was a bit wrong. I don’t know. I’m pleased that I’ve been able to give up sugar for 3 weeks. I had some chocolate and ice cream yesterday… it was SO sweet. I won’t start eating sugar again. I’ll go for another three weeks at least. My skin improved a lot in the last three weeks and this morning it’s looking really bad, no doubt it’s because of the sugar yesterday.
I’ll start eating fruit and all veg again, but limit my intake of wheat and stay off sugar and processed stuff. Will try to limit coffee too…

this morning I’m exactly the same weight as I was on the first morning of this diet. WTF? I’m so disappointed.
During the first week I counted calories and definitely should’ve lost weight. The second week, I decided not to count calories because i thought I’m eating right, so I should lose weight anyway and I’m not going to eat much more than I did the previous week and also because I have a tendency to get obsessed with calories.
Last week, there were a couple of days when I ate too much, but still not that much. It could also be PMT and I didn’t run or cycle as much last week as I did the previous week. Maybe it’s because I ate too much fat. I think my liver is not very good at processing fats at the moment. Now that I really think about it, it might be those peanuts. It happened to me before. I ate lots of peanuts and then my digestion just stopped working for couple of days and I had liver pains. It might be that.
This week I try to keep my fat intake to minimum. Also, coffee is so bad for the liver so need to stop that. I just find it so difficult to be perfect. If I don’t have coffee, I need to have something else. The reason I drink coffee more than ever now, is because i can’t have anything else! Must be strong… after this cup, no more this week. Not sure if I should speak to my doc about my liver…. need to think about that.
I’m going to be gutted if I haven’t lost any weight by next Monday!!

This week has been difficult and I’m glad it’s over and I feel more positive about the third and final week. I couldn’t run or cycle all week, I had PMT and felt bloated and horrible. I feel like I’ve put on weight!! I ate a few things I shouldn’t have and I ate too much fat (though good fats, but still, I’m meant to detox my liver!)
Today I feel things are starting to get better and next week will be good. I went for a run first thing this morning and that felt fantastic. I’ve done some shopping for the week and am planning to make that nice coleslaw for lunches again. Still have to go to a healthfood shop and farmers market to pick up a few more things.
I’ve come this far, so I really don’t want to ruin things now. I want to have a good final week so that by the end of it I’ll feel like this really was worth doing.

Yesterday and today have not been the best. I’ve had the worst PMT ever and just want to eat, eat, eat. Yesterday afternoon I received some news that made me really nervous and stressed out and that just made things worse. I can’t stop eating. Though I’ve eaten too much, at least I’ve not cheated too much. The worst thing I’ve had is salted peanuts (organic, no additives). Today I did cheat properly and had a diet coke… that is bad. In my defence, it’s the first time that I totally break the diet rules, so I guess I can forgive myself. My stomach hurst because I’ve eaten so much. Too many bananas is no good for ones digestion!!

I’ve felt lethargic and heavy. I’ve been completely out of energy, to the point that moving my arms was an effort. I thought it was all PMT, made worse by the fact that I’ve had no coffee in few days, but I realised this afternoon that I’d forgotten to take my medicine for at least two days, possibly three! Weird, usually I’m really good about it. So no wonder I felt like a dead fish. I’ve taken it now and my energy is slowly coming back. I’m hoping my body, including my digestion(!!!), will be back to normal tomorrow!

Actually, yesterday and today are the first really bad days I’ve had. It was really hard not to buy chocolate today. I mean REALLY hard. I’m glad I’ve been strong enough to resist the temptation. I hope tomorrow will be easier!

In the last few days I haven’t made as big an effort with food as I did in the beginning of this diet but it’s still gone ok. I’ve kind of got used to the idea that I’m not allowed to eat certain things and quite happily stick to what I’m allowed.
I haven’t been perfect, but that’s ok, Dr Joshi says it’s ok not to be perfect, a little slip here and there won’t ruin the whole diet. So the few pieces of weetabix minis I had the other day didn’t really do much harm (they didn’t taste that nice anymore anyway). I also had a tin of tuna the other day and only later discovered that tuna is banned. I made some popcorn at the weekend, the old fashioned way in a big pot. Dr Joshi says nothing about popcorn but corn is allowed so I figured if i make it with just a little bit olive oil and no salt or anything, it should be ok…. it was yummy anyway! In the future I’ll definitely have that as a treat rather than crips. Interesting thing is that it doesn’t actually take any longer to make than microwave popcorn.
I’ve also been drinking coffee. I didn’t have any for few days and, I must say, felt much better but today I had some again. The problem is that when I have one cup, then I need another one and another one… So tomorrow it’s no coffee again and try to stay that way for the last 11 days.
I made a lovely shepherdess pie the other day and tonight I’m making falalels (oven baked), hummus, salad and roasted pumpkin. I’m a HUGE falafel lover but this will actually be the first time I’ve made them myself so it’ll be interesting as I tend to be quite a tough customer…
I still haven’t experienced any major detox symptoms or changes, which kind of annoys me. I think I’ve lost some weight but haven’t actually weighed myself since last week because not being able to run makes me feel really heavy and I want to avoid disappointment. I’ve had a few spots, actually one was MASSIVE and I feel like my skin is getting better, but it’s still far from perfect. I’m sure the excessive coffee drinking today and yesterday haven’t helped… I’m not feeling well actually….

I’m so pleased that I’ve manage to go without sugar for 10 days. The last 11 days I’ll try to go without coffee too. It’ll be so good for me.

Good day again, ate pretty much the same as I did yesterday. The salad is now all gone, hurraah! It was lovely, but after four days I’m looking forward to something new. I’ve found some new salad ideas, so will try to come up with something interesting tomorrow. Was planning to make shepherdess pie for dinner, but husband had to eat out again, so just made some scrambled eggs (no milk) and veggies for myself.
Didn’t have any german rye bread and the bloating went, so that’s good. I guess I have to go easy on that stuff or take a few days break. I had 3 bananas, that’s probably too many, eventhough they were small.

Today’s been a bit more difficult that the previous day in that I’ve found myself thinking about all the foods I’d like to have, healthy foods, that I can’t have. Or just little side dishes, like just one piece of wholemeal pitta bread with hummus and veg. Pleeease. Just a little something… But I feel strong enough to resist the temptation, especially since the things I dream about are things that I hardly ever have anyway, so I think why would I have the now? If I haven’t had them in the last four weeks, why couldn’t I go without them for another three weeks?

I was not feeling the happiest today, kept on thinking about yesterday and finding more things that irritate me, so that was perhaps not the best for my diet. Plus, I drank a few cups of coffee again, this was purely because I was so angry in the morning and thought ‘don’t you dare tell me I can’t have a coffee today’ I was actually too scared of myself to argue back. Seriously.

I got through today and tomorrow is going to be another good day. I hope I’ll start feeling/seeing some results soon! 17 days to go (still?)

Zonino! I made it to day 3! Supexiting. I can now reward myself. Lucky me, a new Boots has just opened nearby, so will go there tomorrow.
Today was pretty good. The fridge was still full of leftovers so I ate more or less the same things as yesterday, which was convenient. Must make something new tomorrow, though, I don’t want to get bored.

Things almost went wrong after my interview. On my way home I was really tempted to go to a shop and buy junk food, mainly chocolate and just stuff my face, but I managed to come straight home. I had a cup of coffee and then another one, which is not good, but better than a big binge that would’ve totally ruined the whole diet and made me feel like a complete failure.
I am still fighting the urge to go and buy chocolate, but I feel that I’m winning the battle. Just a moment ago, when I was making herbal tea, I accidentally opened the wrong cupboad door and came face to face with husband’s box of weetabix honey and nut minis. I almost reached for it to get one or two, but then I stopped and reminded myself of how bad sugar is for you. I’m proud to say that after asking myself if I really wanted to ruin my diet, I managed to (reluctantly) close the door. I feel good about it now.

I don’t really feel any different. I have a few spots and I’ve slept a bit better in the last 2 days, but nothing else. I feel quite bloated, which I think is the bread. I won’t have any tomorrow (I’m out of it anyway) and see if it makes any difference. Also, really need to work on leaving coffee out. I give myself until the end of this week…

18 days to go – that’s nothing, is it?

Another good day. I haven’t had any problems adjusting to the diet yet and I don’t think I will as long as I have plenty of nice things to eat. At the moment my fridge is full or yummy stuff, I don’t think it’s ever been as full!
The only time I had mild chocolate cravings was after dinner, which I often get. I like something sweet after dinner…
I was really tired today, but I think that’s more down to lack of sleep than the diet. I had too much coffee… I’ll work on that tomorrow and Thursday. Maybe just have one cup in the morning tomorrow (because I have a big interview at lunch time…) and then nothing on Thursday.
I wanted to make millet porridge for breakfast but realised that for that you need millet flakes, which I don’t have. So I just boiled some millet, then mashed it with a banana and added some cinnamon and nutmeg. That was really yummy. For lunch I had the same salad as yesterday and for dinner I made (heart shaped) chickpea burgers, rice with broccoli, home made hummus and more coleslaw style salad. Again, very yummy. I had carrots and sugar snap peas with hummus as a snack in the afternoon too.
Right now, I don’t actually feel like I’m on any diet or following a special plan. I think it’s because there’s plenty of really nice foods in the house. I’m going to look for more new recipes tonight.

So far so good… I still have couple of hours before bed time, but I think I’ve survived day 1…
It’s been a good day. Not too happy with my breakfast – I had some gluten free muesli, with a banana and youghurt. I don’t really like the muesli, but I have it every now and then when there’s nothing else available. It’s ok with a banana. Lunch was coleslaw type of salad with german rye bread, avocado and buffalo mozarella (that, cottage cheese and natural youghurt are the only dairy allowed). I really enjoyed the lunch. The salad was lovely and different from what I normally have. I never really buy cheese, so the mozarella was a real treat and it goes so nicely with avocado.
I was meant to cook dinner, but husband had to work late so I just had more of the salad, rye bread and hummus, which I also made earlier today.

I also made an effort to go out before lunch, which was a great thing to do. I really need to make an effort to go out every day, even if it’s just to cycle around the block.

I did have 2 cups of coffee today, but that’s ok. The main thing is that I didn’t have any sugar. I think I’ll allow myself to have a coffee tomorrow too and then on Wednesday leave that out.

I love it that so many other people here are on some sort of a diet/health kick or trying to avoid sugar. I find that so motivating. I also have my ‘motivation list’ which I read first thing in the morning and again at lunch time, to remind myself why I want to do this. That helps a lot. I have twenty more days to go. i can do this.

because I feel it’s really vital for my motivation to make it through the first day, and then the second and third. After that, it’ll get easier. If the first day doesn’t go according to the plan, that’ll be disastrous. I know this from experience. I know for some people it works to do things like this little by little, but for me it’s all or nothing. I either do it correctly or I do it really badly. I can’t just have one square of chocolate, I need to have the whole bar or even two. That’s why I need to aim to eat no chocolate at all.
I really need to do this, my body needs it and so does my mind.
So, it is very important that I feel super motivated on Monday and stay in that frame of mind all day. Tomorrow I need to think of ways to find that motivation. I’m thinking I might make a vision board of some sort, of healthy looking people, active people etc. And come up with some sort of a visualisiation for myself. Make some sort of list of reasons why I want to do this, how I’ll feel in 21 days time if I do this versus if I don’t do this.
Any other ideas or advice, anybody! Please! I’m desperate!