So today, after indulging for 4 days on a press trip to northern France – well really I should be honest and say over-indulging – I am starting my French diet with a 4 day fast!
This is not something I’m doing lightly or that I particularly want to do but I have reached the stage where I can’t eat another macaron without feeling guilty about the pounds I’ve piled on. This is taking some of the enjoyment out of eating for me so I need to take drastic action.
Since I’ve been in France I’ve learned to cook. My neighbours, friends and even the bread man who delivers the bread every day have all helped me to develop my skills in the kitchen. Last year the OH (other half) joined me (Chef v Chef) and it was rapidly apparent that he had a real talent for cooking – unlike me. I have somehow managed to burn a jus to the point where it caught fire in the pan and we were seconds from disaster; I’ve burned meat in the oven; my macarons had such a nuclear and unusual appearance that neighbours came and took photos – they had never seen anything like it.
The OH though just seemed to get it right – every time. He has since taken over all the cooking in the house except for the Sunday roast – a British tradition that we have kept and that I know how to do standing on my head.
The problem with the OH cooking is that he has trouble working out portion sizes and he has got so good at making cakes and pastries that I’m feeling the strain – literally against my buttons and zips.
This press trip to northern France has been an opportunity to enjoy local cheeses like Maroilles, Bergues and Fromage Fort de Lens (strong cheese of Lens); traditional dishes like Carbonade Flamande – beef cooked in beer with brown sugar (delicious but can you image the calories) and fabulous little cakes and pastries and it has tipped the scales for me.
So for 4 days I can have nothing but water, black coffee and fruit tea – it is going to be very hard.
After that I can go back to eating normally but will be fasting two days a week – not completely I can have limited calories. That means I should be able to eat what I want and apparently fasting a couple of days a week like this also bring health benefits though the big benefit for me will be being able to feed my hunger pangs without having pangs of guilt. It’s not really a diet so much as a way of life – or at least that’s the aim, wish me bon chance!
A bientôt,
Janine
