Regime Change in the Harrop/Greenwood Household

We went to see a nutritionist on Saturday, because we've been exercising regularly and eating relatively healthily for quite a few months now but over the past couple of months we haven't lost any weight or, more importantly, body fat. The nutritionist said we need to regulate our blood sugar levels by eating more regularly - three smaller meals and two snacks a day, rather than three full meals - and by eating protein with complex carbohydrates, which helps break down the sugars more slowly so you have energy for longer and the sugar doesn't just turn straight into fat (one of the principles of a low-GI diet). She isn't at all keen on low-fat foods because she says they tend to have a high sugar content (which, having looked at the labels of the low-fat foods I've been eating, is absolutely right), and she's all for raw ingredients, so you know exactly what you're eating. So we've been out and bought muesli, natural yoghurt, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, oat cakes, brown rice... Rob's looking forward to the new eating plan; he gets to eat more porridge and nuts, which he loves. I'm not sure how I'm going to fare, though, but I'll give it a go. And of course, if it all goes well, we'll get to shift some of that stubborn weight around our middles (this is where the sugar-turned- to-fat settles, apparently).

So, it all starts tomorrow - well, we couldn't start it on a bank holiday weekend! We had our last few days of eating up all the naughty food in the house this weekend (I'm eating the last of the wine gums as I type) then the big weigh-in and measure-up is tomorrow morning. We're going back to the nutritionist in a couple of weeks to check on our progress. Wish us luck!

PS: On a not entirely unrelated note, if you haven't seen the advert for the Skoda Fabia yet, check it out here - click 'Baking of' documentary then click View the TV ad. Genius!