Eat it Don't Eat it

Two months ago I started on a diet. Well I had put on a lot of weight recently and was suffering from fluid retention. To be honest I was starting to feel like a walrus :o(

I happened to stumble across a book called "The Waterfall Diet", I've been on diets in the past and even been to the dietitian but still couldn't really shift any more than 8lbs, now that was depressing!  So I have to say I didn't get my hopes up for this one either. You have to read most of the book to get a basic understanding of food and how it might be affecting you. Then you have to prepare yourself and your food cupboards for the diet - this took me 2 weeks to do. There are 3 phases to the diet and I have just entered Phase 2.
Phase 1 you have to cut out coffee, salt, sugar, fat, white flour, wheat, dairy, eggs, yeast, red meat, drink and food additives, which takes a whole chunk out of what you were used to eating. I thought geez what can I eat, what's left? Plenty! fish, chicken, vegetables, fruit, brown rice etc and the key is drink lots of water to flush out your system.
I usually have porridge with fruit,(made with water) or a fresh fruit salad for breakfast.  Lunch can vary but it is usually a salad or sandwich with homemade spelt flat-breads, dinner can be anything from fish with tatties & veg to chicken stir-fry with rice .I drink water and snack on redskin peanuts. I have tea with rice milk, because soya has gone onto my no-go list.
Phase 2 (just started this) you re-introduce potential allergens, wheat, yeast, dairy and eggs.  I've just done wheat and started to bloat after day 3 so stopped it. I knew that pasta was something I had to avoid anyway. I can get away with eating it on the odd occasion, like when out for dinner for example or if I make soup using a stock cube.

Phase 3 of the diet you will follow permanently.

In the first phase I lost 9lbs in the first week and gradually lost more, slowly week by week. 2 months later I am 20lbs lighter.  I'm not going to the gym. I take the occasional walk and maybe cycle once a week weather permitting :o) so if you're feeling bloated and have swollen hands and legs this may be for you too. It's tough to start with but you have to stick with it and portion your meals properly.