The Deadly Cs

I know it's boring and doesn't go hand in hand with loving food (or writing a food blog), but I'm officially on a diet.

The last time I was on a diet was in 2003 - it lasted two months, I lost lots of weight, but was utterly miserable. So I've avoided them ever since.

However, whilst most people diet and watch what they eat before a wedding, I did the opposite. I drank and ate more than ever. The food was just because I love food, and always manage to find any excuse to eat more (such as planning a wedding)

But the drinking was tactical. The run up to a wedding often leads to excessive boozing, hen does (multiple), celebratory nights out and also the drinking in the quiet of home, trying to drown away the stresses of planning the biggest day ever.

For me, it was the hen do. I was determined to be the last girl standing and therefore decided I needed to get my alcohol tolerance up. I do not advocate excessive drinking, or think its big or clever, but I have become a lightweight in my older years. That, along with the combination of my boozy mates, student siblings and bridesmaid who is obsessed with shots, meant that I was more worried about being drunk and asleep by 8pm than walking down the aisle.

So I trained up. And drank. Every night. For a month. Hubby also jumped on the bandwagon. We weren't drunk every night, but I had at least 1 glass of wine (sometimes 3!). And you know what. It worked. They tried, but whatever they gave me to drink, I managed and more. And I was the last one standing - YES!! However, you can imagine what this did to my waistline.

Then came the honeymoon, which was wonderful, but spending a week in new York is not conducive to healthy eating. Couple this with a week in an all-inclusive resort where champagne and cocktails were free-flowing 24 hours a day!

So after 2 months of half-hearted going to the gym and trying to avoid chocolate, I signed up to a personal trainer. Who took one look at me and said 'sweetheart, your problem is the carbs'. As if I didn't know that - the girl whose favourite meal is lasagne, chips and garlic bread, it was always going to be the carbs.

So my diet consists of avoiding the 3 deadly Cs - carbs, cheese and chocolate. I mean, that is pretty depressing. But I've been doing it for 2 weeks and you know what, it's not been that bad. Eating out is a bit more challenging (but Bincho last week was fine!) and I'm already a bit bored of chicken and salad, but I am feeling fresher and more lively so must be doing something!

So I'm determined to eat well and great food, and find great places to eat where I can avoid the Cs. I will find them, and talk about them and maybe help some other miserable people on diets find a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

Who knows if it will work, or how log it will last, but I will keep you posted!