Psychological Progress and Dining Out Anxiety

Hello there! Long time, no blog.  In my defence I have been pretty ill - not seriously ill, but just frustratingly coldy, watering eyes, both nostrils totally blocked, dry skin and exhausted.  Added to which I have been massively busy with work as well.  I work three contracts at the moment and the one that needs most work and I enjoy least is coming up to it's deadline - so hooray it'll soon be over, but boo, I still have loads of work to do.

The only upside of being ill is that I have had no appetite.  To be honest I made myself a mega curry on my PV day that I was really looking forward to and I couldn't taste a damn thing!  Well, a little bit, I did make is quite hot.  Whilst we're here can I take a moment out to talk about the joy of curry?  You may remember a few blogs ago I was talking about missing out on curry night, so had been waiting patiently for cruise so I could make one.  I used the Thai Taste curry pastes, they're a God send for Dukanettes (ingredients in their Thai Red curry paste; Garlic, Dried Red Chilli, Lemongrass, Salt, Onion, Small Red Chilli, Galangal, Kaffir Lime Peel, Spices) so you can see, no sugar and no oil, which are usually in most brand curry pastes.  Also, you can pick them up from most supermarkets for around £1.80, which will give you 2/3 servings.  

All Hail to the Curry Paste

I also made some cauliflower rice (google it, it's so easy to make) so I felt I wasn't missing out.  Hallelujah! That stuff is good and works just like normal rice in soaking up sauce and bulking out meals.

Anyway,  I've been doing some thinking about my Dukan journey... 

I daily prepare food for non-Dukan dieting people, handling bread, cheese, fruit, etc. All the tasty contraband.  However, I found recently that being near it has stopped affecting me.  Maybe this is just a temporary higher plane of being virtuous, whilst I'm motivated by speedy weight loss (half a stone down in 11 days) but I thought it was going to be such a problem! In the first week I felt weary every time I passed on my old food habits.  When I first got ill I thought 'if I was well I'd be trying to "feed this cold", eating loads and having a massive hot toddy with loads of honey and whiskey to knock me out at night'.  Yet at this time I have, I hope for the future too, no desire to do any of these things.  I found myself quite content with my allowance.  

I think tonight and this weekend my resolve may be seriously tested.  I'm going out for dinner tonight with my family.  This includes sister #2.  Sister #2 and I used to be best friends but as of Christmas she has decided she doesn't want to speak to me.  I don't know why.  At first I was really hurt and upset and I still am but now I am also angry (and hurt and upset!) in a kind of 'how dare she treat me like this' sort of way.  The bigger part of me understands that something must be wrong in her life for her to be like this, but the smaller part of me thinks that the bigger part of her should know better! 

Anyway.  In a very British way, I loathe awkwardness and confrontation.  This is the classic moment I would glug away a big glass of wine to take the edge off.  Additionally, her husband is taking us all out to dinner at Prezzo who are all about the pizza, pasta and cheese sauce.  Oh!  I'm trying to work out what I can eat, luckily it is a PV day, all the same, whatever I have will be sans sauce.  I'm worried that my deeply kind, perpetually concerned father will try earnestly to make me (a) drink and (b) eat lots.

Added to this - my parents want to cook dinner on Saturday (a PP day) I will write more then, but I'm feeling just a little bit tired of it all already and they haven't even arrived yet!!

Any tips on coping with family / dining out?

Sorry I've neglected you, I've missed you though!!

Snotty Fatty. Xx