Having bought the 3 Week Diet and read the Diet Manual, it became clear that some planning and preparation were required prior to starting on the diet plan, so I thought it might be helpful to share my thoughts and experiences through this 3 Week Diet Blog.
The diet starts with a detox phase during which you can eat as many as you want from the list of allowed vegetables, so the first stage was to work out what meals we could make using those veggies. The manual prescribes the cooking methods which can be used and these are: steaming, microwaving or just have them raw. It therefore seemed to be a good idea to decide which veggies to have at which meal and – mainly – how to cook and flavour them and make them taste interesting. I’m not a great fan of raw vegetables (particularly in the depths of winter) and really didn’t want to face a day of just munching on uncooked, unflavoured veggies. I’m happy with the odd carrot stick but have never really got round to crunching away on broccoli florets. It became evident that an online shop, with a delivery date before Day1 was in order.
I have to confess that I don’t plan to follow this diet religiously but intend to make a few minor tweaks that seem to sit within the “spirit” of Brian’s plan. For example, although the list of allowed vegetables does not include salad items such as lettuce and celery, I can’t believe they should be excluded when squash are on the list, so I plan to include them in my diet. After all, a salad comes in very handy as a lunchbox item for taking to work.
Similarly, I decided to extend the range of cooking methods to include making soup. I always find that making soup is not only therapeutic what with all that chopping and stirring, but a great way to include vegetables that I’m not really keen on. It has been proven that soup helps keep you feeling full for longer (I’m definitely up for that) and when it’s cold and frosty outside, a bowl of soup is just what you need to keep warm.
So my top tips for preparing to embark on the 3 Week Diet are these:
- Do a mealplan for at least the first week: this will
- remove the “what am I going to cook tonight” panic and the “pasta’s quick and easy” default;
- ensure you have something organized to take to work for lunch;
- help you build a shopping list;
- Do the shopping before you start
- an online shop is great as you won’t be tempted by cakes and pastries;
- you’ll need far more vegetables than you think you will;
- Make sure you have plenty of herbs (dried or fresh) to add flavour rather than carbs to your dishes;
- Remove temptation: clear out the fridge of anything not allowed and hide any leftover Christmas chocolates for the odd treat to be had in a few weeks’ time;
- Take and note down a set of measurements such as weight, body fat percentage, BMI, waist and hips. This will enable you to see the progress you are making in real terms;
- Remember it’s only for 3 weeks!
Good luck!