Battling Through The Day

Sunday is thought to be a good day to begin your diet because you can have a lie in, which makes the day shorter. Is this rubbish? Let’s follow this typical slimmers day and see the sort of temptations we face:
10.00am. Rise and shine. I tell myself I’m going to be good ALL day today. I have a coffee first to take the edge off my appetite. I then have 1oz of cornflakes and a splash of milk with no sugar (what a sacrifice!) Followed by one slice of toast topped with grilled tomatoes. I tell myself how good I am!

10.30am. I start thinking about what I can have for lunch. Food is constantly on my mind. By the time I have finished studying a lo-cal recipe book, I’m positively starving! I then decide to have another cup of coffee to take the edge off. Right, now to start the housework, taking my hunger out of the vacuum cleaner!

12.30am. Eventually I return to the kitchen, open a packet of slimmer’s soup, followed by two crispbreads spread with cheese and a tomato. (I am now feeling positively angelic)

1.30pm. My Mother arrives and asks me if I would like a walk to my brother’s house. What a life saver, it’ll get me out the house. I grab my coat, the children and off we go. Company always takes my mind off food, providing of course, I don’t arrive at my brother’s at meal time. My niece offers me a pineapple cube, I debate whether one won’t hurt? I then refuse to increase the size of my halo!

4.30pm. I leave my brother’s to go home and prepare the Sunday dinner. I slice my beef so thinly that it looks twice as much, pile my plate full with vegetables and measure 3 tablespoons of gravy. The moment has arrived, I sit down and eat my dinner very slowly, savouring every mouthful. With low fat ice cream to follow, I feel very full and very, very self righteous.

6.00pm. I use my favourite diet trick and make my daughter clear the table AND make sure that all the leftovers are thrown away.

7.15pm. I pop to visit my friend, who greets me with a classic “Oh hello, I was just going to have some apple pie and cream, would you like some?” Help! I’m really full but my eyes are always bigger than my belly! With the greatest willpower in the world, I refuse, telling her I’ve just started a diet. All the time though I’m keeping an eye on the pie! We stand chatting and she starts preparing the cat’s tea, a plateful of chopped ham and pork.

She says that she had tried a new brand for the family this week and that they didn’t like it, so she was giving it to her cat. Well, I had to try it just to see what this particular brand tasted like, didn’t !? “It isn’t very nice is it? I said, while savouring every mouthful. We carry on chatting, while I’m still conscious of that apple pie. In the end, I can’t stand it any longer and have to ask her to put it out of sight.

8.30pm. I arrive home, still craving apple pie. I knew if it had been in my kitchen I would have eaten it. I ask my daughter to make me a cup of tea and to bring me just one Morning Coffee biscuit. I drink my tea and nibble my biscuit very, very slowly. I now feel I could eat the whole packet and wished I hadn’t given in to one! My will power saves me again though and I resist!

9.00pm. I watch television and the channel with adverts showing all the fattening foods! I flick over and it is a cookery programme! I think I’ll do my ironing!

10.10pm. Supper time, almost made it through the day. For my supper I have another packet of slimmer’s soup.

10.45pm. Off to bed after what has seemed like a VERY long day. I lie in bed with my halo shining thinking of my new motto, to indulge is to bulge!

MEMBERS TIP : If you go through your dieting week with no problems, but you know that you are going to struggle on your particular bad day, save your cheats for it. You won’t then feel deprived – which could lead to you straying off the dieting path.