My Favourite Three P's

I really do like to eat and one of my favourite dishes has to be any combination of  my Three P's: Pork, Potatoes and Peas or Pork, Peas and Pasta.  Some lovely pork shoulders or chipolatas seasoned and sliced  with garlic and butter...yum.

Well, at a regular gathering recently for us women at re:view and our ever-growing base of friends, one friend walks in looking amazingly slim and trim (nearly back to pre-baby weight).  After a fun game of guessing how she did it--no, she wasn't with a tape worm, and she did't catch the ever-elusive-but-highly-sought-after tummy bug--she told us about her secret weapon...a book of all things! (and, for the record, she did not eat the book)

"Stop Counting Calories & Start Losing Weight: The Harcombe Diet" by Zoe Harcombe teaches its followers to lose weight and keep it off by following three phases of eating designed to keep the hunger bug at bay and reduce your cravings.  Thus, one can stick to it and eventually lose weight. Phase 1 is just five days long and is similar to the popular Atkins Diet.  It kick starts your body to a new way of eating.  From what I've seen of friends who've done it, very short and effective.  Phase 2 brings in more variety of food and continues the war that started in phase1 of attacking the three food cravings which the book focuses on, namely Food Intolerance, Candida and Hypoglyceamia.  Phase 3 continues the work of phase 2 but with even more freedom of foods.  Harcombe calls it cheating without gaining weight (I'm still a bit fuzzy on this one, but I already like the sound of it).  By this point, I assume one will have already gotten used to a new way of eating and having seen the impressive results (weight loss, feeling great, lots of attention from the husband) know what works for their body.

I've seen the proof in others who have followed in our pioneering friends' footsteps and joined the Harcombe bandwagon.  What appeals to me is that, save the first phase, there are no restrictions (!) to what youcan eat, nor are there any quantity restrictions (!!).  Instead, this diet gets one to think of things like GI and how one mixes carbohydrates and fats and proteins...or rather how one doesn't mix the three-hence my goodbye speech to my favourite Three P's.

Also, as the good old metabolism slows down to snail pace and the love handles and back fat start to take prominence, the Harcombe Diet promises to be the one that will totally revolutionize the way I've been looking at food and provide me with a way of eating for life without completely missing out.  I'm not one to go on diets, but wish me luck as I embark on this one..many a friend have gone before me and I look forward to it.  Look out for a future post titled 'My Favourite Two P's'!

Table for One

It takes a certain amount of thick skin to walk into a restaurant, a proper one and book a table for One. Yes that's right, I'd like a table for one, no I'm not expecting a friend or a date or some other random companion, just planning to eat a nice meal, with a glass of wine on my own.
With an hour to kill before a play I decided to go and eat at a  restaurant and found my experience suprisingly comfortable. The waiter who welcomed me was very polite and showed me to my table, there was none of this removing the second chair or shouting to his colleagues that there was a loner in the house that we often find in films. Infact I found another lady also eating alone albeit with a newspaper for company. There was probably a slight unease on my part as I found it difficult to take my time and savour my food and wine alone. There are no conversation fillers to go with the slow and deliberate chewing, no comparing notes or eating off your companion's plate. I found myself eating much quicker and was quite eager to get the bill. The other diners were also completely oblivious or maybe even indifferent to my dining experience and I probably could have stayed there for much longer without any issues whatsoever.
Things have clearly moved on and eating out alone need not be a dreaded experience. Obviously its preferable to share a restaurant experience with friends or partners but should you find yourself alone and keen to enjoy proper food, then fear not, pop into any restaurant and book a table for one....as loudly as you please. Then sit down....take your time and enjoy!!