Showing posts with label diet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diet. Show all posts

Friday, January 16, 2009

Like sands through the hourglass - the end of "Sophia Loren".


The hourglass has officially run out. Research into the shape of women in the UK has revealed that women's waists are 16cm wider than they were in 1951. We are also taller but have shot up less than we have shot out.
"Whereas size 12 was once the average, today's female is edging towards a size 16 and the classic hourglass shape is on the decline."
Dr Ian Campbell, president of the National Obesity Forum, insisted the cause could be summed up in one word - affluence. "It is not that people are greedy or lazy. It is just the whole change in our lives. Calories have become very cheap and exercise has become expensive. We have developed a culture that encourages eating. But we are working long and irregular hours and eating processed foods. Exercise is expensive because we are short of time so it is convenient to drive or use public transport rather than walk."
Studies have also found that "the traditional pear-shaped female form, where weight is carried on the hips and thighs, is on the decline and women are turning apple shaped - with growing beer bellies, a trait usually associated with overweight men... which is less healthy because it means they carry excess fat around their abdomen which can lead to heart disease and diabetes."

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Ow, my liver: It's too fat.

With just 17 days to go until the big day, I am resigned to the fact that a dramatic 20 kg weight loss before the day just isn't going to happen. instead I have found myself to be...ahem... the heaviest I have ever been by 10 kg. 2 weeks ago weighing in at 97kg, I immediately began walking my hubby-2-be to work each morning (30 min) and running/walking 30 min each day on the treadmill. I jumped on the scale today...

...and I have put on 1kg!

WTF!? (again)

This is so UNCOOL. I think my body is broken. Seriously. Surely?! Come on - a 200g loss for my troubles??? Even a maintain? But no...

So i took some action and I have bought some Dr Sandra Cabot meal replacement shakes and I'm gonna give them a whirl. they come witha nifty little meal planner sheet too, which looks pretty easy, and hey - at least then I dont have to worry about weighing/measuring/eating wrong size portions. Then at least I can say 'Well, it's not my diet" if I gain more weight (GOD FORBID).

Sandra Cabot wrote the Liver Cleasing Diet, which is basically an institution here in Australia among nutritionists and naturopaths... You guys heard of it overseas??? Anywho, it's pretty hard to stick to, but it's only for 8 weeks and it gets easier as you go. It's like a big detox. My hardest thing is giving up wheat products and dairy - OOOOHHHH dairy. That bit HURTS! Not for Laura tho - she makes me sick; she's just so damn dedicated to veganism and getting healthy. You go girl!

Hopefully more positive things to report next post.


Tuesday, January 06, 2009

My husband is a health hazard.

Reading Cranky's blog and Laura's had me yelling "YES! YES! YES!" at my computer screen this morning. Does your boyf/hubby sabotage your best efforts to be fit and healthy too? I swear to god, since Ben and I got together, I have put on 10 kg - Disaster.

So, I'm gonna read a few of their tips and try to put them into progress....

"I suppose I could call it 'doing Atkins'..."

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Kore wa nan desu ka? (Translation: what is this?)

On my never ending quest for weight loss related answers, I have been excited to discover that my little redneck town has finally begun to grow up and mature - ladies and gentlemen: We now have an Asian Grocery Store!!! Ben and I were chomping at the bit to get down there and have a look!

OMG. It's a veritable smorgasboard of unusual, pungent, exotic, un-translatable gastronomic treasures...
ok, so it's really pretty tiny comparitively, but people: this is a tiny town on the south coast of Australia where the closest we come to culture is Friday Night Chinese at the Bowling Club.
Ben and I have made it our goal to try something new each time we go there. We search the shelves, alternately gasping, scratching our heads, and peering at kanji characters, and then admit defeat and ask the friendly cashier what the little-brown-rolly-things-in-salt are.
I've noticed a few things that may be of interest to my fellow weightloss-ologists out there:
1) An absence of chocolate and dairy products. None. Not one. Interesting...
2) Most snack foods in the Asian Grocery are of the low-GI persuasion, for example; salted sunflower seeds. By the time you nibble the hull of the seed, there aint much seed there. High effort: Teeny tiny morsels.
3) More savoury and salty than sweet. Lots of rice crackers, meat, fish, beans, rice noodles, vegies, preserved fruits, dried EVERYTHING.
Right now I am cooking some sushi rice, and Ben is making instant chicken and onion ramen...

I am drinking Genmai cha, which is a green tea with roasted brown rice. It's yum - kinda like a nutty, 'cooked' taste on top of normal green tea. It's very smooth too, not bitter at all.

Yes, in order to ' the full flavour' it, the brewing needs to be swift. LOL don't ya just love Engrish?

I also bought this "3 Ballerinas" tea which appealed because Hey, 'ballerinas': They're really thin. Unfortunately upon closer inspection, I think the more apt connection here is that the tea contains mallow and senna; senna being a natural laxative. "Excess consumption may have...."

More adventures from the Asian grocery to come...

Finally, a pic of me snuggling my gorgeous little orange man, Henry. Can you believe someone gave this little guy up and couldn't bond with him?

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Back on Weight Watchers... *sigh*

God - it's like this roundabout I cant get off. I'm so uncomfortable. My pants are so tight and I'm tired of sweating between my rolls. I just wanna be comfortable in summer dammit!

So.... back to counting POINTS. Again. *groan*

I'm trying to write down my points, but maybe if I blog them...?

So here's the running tally for today:

Breakfast (weetbix + honey) 4
Goulbourne Valley (GV) Fruit Snack 1
Coffee 1
Apple 1
Salad roll + swiss cheese 4
Snack Right biscuit 1.5
Total so far = 11.5 / 18

It's so hard to avoid temptation. I realised last night, that if someone "offers" me food, I say yes. Completely without thought. Like reflex. Why is that?

My psychologist - lets call him Dr Tony - gave me a big sign that says "Psychologist Says NO (thankyou)" to hold infront of my face if anyone asks me to take on something new in the next few months. Isn't that awesome??? Because I have trouble saying 'no' to things, and thus end up totally stressed and over-committed; this gives me an excuse.

Maybe I cant say no to offered food for the same reason???

Monday, September 29, 2008

Day 1 - hungry but determined.

Stomach feels flatter.... but that maybe because there is nothing in it!

Feel hungry - not eating carbs is so... unsatisfying. However, rest assured that when I am feeling hungry, my body must be burning something - so if there's no food/carbs in me, it must be fat right??? right???

hum.

Thank the gods for Coke Zero - a legal sin.

Stuck to the plan today -

vanilla shake for breakfast

piece cheese and slice of ham for snack

iced green tea (homemade with no cal sweetener)

caramel shake for lunch

boiled egg for snack

coffee (Lfat milk) + strawberries

sml tin salmon + cup of tea

pork and vegies for dinner

whittakers choc almond bar

ok... the end was a bit dodgy, but I chose the smallest bar I could with the most nuts. Hey, it's mostly almonds really, right??? right???

you can see when I get the nibbles - after lunch before dinner (bout 4pm). But I stuck to it - I'm proud of myself.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Such is my desperation.

I'm doing something I said I wouldn't do. I'm having meal-replacement shakes.

Yes - I know. You'd normally find me up on my soap-box waxing-lyrical that "they're not a long-term solution" and "they dont change your lifestyle or encourage better choices" etc etc. I hear you. But at the moment, I'm clutching at straws. My pants are tight, my wedding is nigh, and I am the heaviest I have ever been in my life.

I'm in serious 'damage control' mode.

Basically I wanted to eliminate the thinking for a little while. I dont want to count calories/carbs/points/fat grams. I'm suffereing diet burn-out, but I need to lose weight before it gets seriously outta control.

So the plan is simple. Very very simple.

shake for breaky, shake for lunch, fruit/veg only in between, and lots of water.
My very long-suffering and infinitely-understanding fiance has not scoffed at my little sachets of chemicals once (to his immense credit), and has once again said "ok, so i just cook you exactly what I'd cook us normally, I just put carbs in mine not yours, right?"

Thank god for Ben. Each time I have cried over my weight, or had a binge, or presented him with some new eating plan; he never laughs or judges. He simply nods understandingly and says "What can't I cook you now?" or "Ok, great. So what recipes are out there for meals involving just egg whites and grapefruit?"

You're a star, Benj!

Ok... not thinking about weight loss or food or counting or fat. Just drinking my shakes and sticking to the deal.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Holy Morgan Spurlock, Batman!

Media outlets have been reporting about a Virginia man lost about 80 pounds in six months by eating nearly every meal at McDonald's. Not Big Macs, french fries and chocolate shakes. Mostly salads, wraps and apple dippers without the caramel sauce.
Coleson tipped the scales at 278 pounds in December. The 5-foot-8 Coleson now weighs 199 pounds and his waist size has dropped from 50 to 36.
Good for him. He lost weight, but simply losing weight does NOT imply the manner by which one went about it is healthy.
Anorexics lose weight.
Cancer patients lose weight.
Aids victims lose weight.
Weight loss is often a side effect of an illness and not something we would want to suggest people inflict upon themselves simply as a manner of losing weight. In the same regard, eating unhealthy foods and ellicting the side effect of weight loss isn't something to be celebrated--or recommended.
Eating Apple Dippers every day from McDonalds instead of a REAL apple? Why would anyone do that? Unless one was a "business man" looking for media exposure and possibly a Jared-style endorsement deal? Slice a REAL apple and stick it in a baggie for ONE DAY, see what you get, but apparently with Ronald McDonald's magic touch, their apples don't turn brown. Gee, I wonder why?...

Each day, 50,000 shiny, fire-engine-red Gala apples work their way through a sprawling factory in Swedesboro, N.J. Inside, 26 machines wash them, core them, peel them, seed them, slice them and chill them. At the end of the line, they are dunked in a solution of calcium ascorbate and then deposited into little green bags featuring a jogging Ronald McDonald.

From there, the bags make their way in refrigerated trucks to refrigerated containers in cavernous distribution centers, and then to thousands of McDonald's restaurants up and down the Eastern Seaboard. No more than 14 days after leaving the plant, the fruit will take the place of French fries in some child's Happy Meal.

But if Beyonce does it....?

Sometimes even Beyonce feels too Bootylicious.

Here's a lovely example of Hollywood Diet-related-madness I found on the Inter-web:

"Former Destiny's Child singer (Beyonce Knowles) who has a very successful solo singing career as well as an acting career is well known for her bootylicious body and not exactly the kind of woman we'd expect to use a diet like this but Hollywood makes for strange bedfellows. I suppose I could fast for 10 days too if somebody was paying me several million dollars for the look!

So here it is, the Maple Syrup Diet, which can supposedly be used for 3-10 days safely. This diet isn't new. The naturopath, Stanley Borroughs, developed it back in the 1950's. Be forewarned: a "cleansing reaction" is often noticed in the first two days. (That's diarrhoea to you and me.)

Take a clean jug and pour in the following:

3 Quarts of Water

1 Cup Lemon Juice

1 Cup Pure Maple Syrup (not maple flavored, but the REAL stuff) or molasses

1 Teaspoon Cayenne

Shake it all up and drink 8-12 glasses a day.

Warning: You will experience cravings, aches, pains, mental irritability and fatigue. These are symptoms of your body's detoxification. (Not to mention the taste!!!)

It's recommended that whatever you do, do not go directly back to a rich diet after your time on this fast. In fact, the best thing to do during a fast like this is to start setting your mind to healthy eating so that when you go off the fast you can start fresh on a healthy nutrition plan that will keep you body clean and strong. To ease out of the fast, do the following:

On the first day after your fast, drink unsweetened fruit juices. For details, click here.

On the second day, you can begin to eat soup.

On the third day you may begin to eat light foods. Whatever you do, do not "wake up" your digestive system with high fat foods. It could be a very painful awakening."

Yes: The painful awakening could go like this: "Oh my god, I've managed to do this hollwood style eating-disorder diet for too many days!!! I cleased my body of toxins, fat, AND MY BRAIN!!! Lucky I live in Hollywood, and having a brain is actually a handicap! Phew. Now... when is my botox appointment..."

Shame Beyonce, shame.

Monday, September 22, 2008

A Timeline of Fad Diets - history repeating itself.

1820 Vinegar and Water Diet
Made popular by Lord Byron
1825 Low Carbohydrate Diet
First appeared in The Physiology of Taste by Jean Brillat-Savarin
1830 Graham’s Diet
Only legacy: Invented Graham crackers
1863 Banting’s Low Carbohydrate Diet
“Banting” becomes a popular term for dieting
1903 Horace Fletcher promotes “Fletcherizing”
Chew food 32 times
1917 Calorie Counting
Introduced by Lulu Hunt Peters in her book Diet and Health, With Key to the Calories
1925 Cigarette Diet
“Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet”
1928 Inuit Meat-and-Fat Diet
Caribou, raw fish and whale blubber
1930 Hay Diet
Carbohydrates and proteins not allowed at the same meal
Dr. Stoll’s Diet Aid
First of the liquid diet drinks
1934 Bananas and Skim Milk Diet
Backed by the United Fruit Company
1950 Cabbage Soup Diet
Flatulence is listed as a main side effect
Grapefruit Diet
Also known as Hollywood Diet
1960 Zen Macrobiotic Diet
Created by Japanese philosopher George Ohsawa
1961 Calories Don’t Count Diet
FDA filed charges regarding diet’s claims
1964 Drinking Man’s Diet
Harvard School of Public Health declared diet unhealthful
1970 Sleeping Beauty Diet
Individuals heavily sedated for several days
Liquid Protein Diets
Liquid protein drinks were low in vitamins and minerals
1981 Beverly Hills Diet
Only fruit for first 10 days but in unlimited amounts
1985 Fit for Life
Avoid combining protein and carbohydrate foods
Caveman Diet
Foods from the Paleolithic Era
1986 Rotation Diet
Rotating number of calories taken in from week to week
1987 Scarsdale Diet
Low-carbohydrate, low-calorie diet plan
1990 Cabbage Soup Diet
Diet from 1950s resurfaces on the Web
1994 High Protein, Low Carb Diet
Dr. Atkin’s version
1995 Sugar Busters — Cut Sugar to Trim Fat
Eliminates refined carbohydrates
1996 Eat Right for Your Type
Diet based on blood type
1999 Juice, Fasting and Detoxification
Perennial dieting favorites reappear in combination
2000 Raw Foods Diet
Focuses on uncooked, unprocessed organic foods
2001 High Protein, Low Carb Diet
1994 diet updated
2004 Coconut Diet
Fats replaced with coconut oil
2005 Cheater’s Diet
Cheating on the weekend is required
2006 Maple Syrup Diet
Features a special syrup-lemon drink

Thanks to The American Dietic Association for this timeline.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Weight-loss "No Man's Land"

Hello (hellohellohello)

Is any one out there? (outthere?outthere?outthere?)

I think I've found the diet-void! (oid!oid!oid!)

I am in a rut. I've entered Rutsville - Population: Me.
It's Rut-tastic.
I'm Rut-alicious.
Go directly to rut: Do not pass go, do not collect 200 calories.

Here's the thing, it's like when you're about to do your HSC at the end of high school, and you know you should be studying, but your brain is just burnt-out and in automatic-pilot mode. Like when you just stare at the books, and nothing happens.

That's me.

I KNOW the wedding is 4 months away. I KNOW I should be dieting. I KNOW I have infact PUT ON weight. And my mind just shuts down.

Diets dont work. Exercise hasn't worked. I don't know how to just "be healthy and normal". So my brain has just stepped out. I see all these dieting/foodplan/exercise plan options, and I just think: "Which one should I pick, when I know I'm just going to hate doing it and not lose weight anyway?"

I think I may be.... giving up. That's a scary prospect. Cause if I give up; that means I'm gonna be "the big girl" forever. No "hooray, hooray success" stories. A fat girl wedding dress. No walking into my 10 year high school reunion and watching the jaws drop. No wonderful day where I sweep in to the room in a size 10 dress and 'stick-it' to all the superficial men that rejected me 'cause I was too fat.

Feeling like this forever. Because I know what i should be doing, and I just cant do it. I mean i KNOW I should eat 1400 calories a day and exercise for 30 mins everyday and eat 30g of cereal and a banana for breakfast, chicken and salad for lunch, and 100g of lean meat with salad for dinner and drink at least 2L of water a day and limit caffeine and sugar, and cut out soft drink and processed and refined foods....

I KNOW ALL THAT.

But when I do do it, life sucks, and it doesn't work anyway.

So now what?

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Drugs are bad, Mmkay???

I'm on the drugs. I'm on the drugs. I'm on the drugs. (That killed River Phoenix! - For you Tism fans out there.)

Day 1 of the mysterious bipolar drugs... I have gone through the cacophany of reactions, Folks. But they tell me this is normal. Let me give you an example.

Wednesday
5pm: take little purple pill
6pm: nausea
7pm: eeeww-feeling
8pm: head ache
10pm: zonked

Thursday
7am: WIDE awake.
10am: MANIC
11am: Wheeeeee!!!
1pm: Stop the world, I wanna get off...
3pm: Zzzzzz
5pm: Anxious anxious anxious!
6pm: Late! I'm late! F--K!!! Late! *foam, snarl*
6:30pm: Took second little purple pill.

Wow: Can't wait til I start taking TWO a day!!!

...and diet: What diet? If only I had the willpower of Laura - she puts me to shame! You are so inspiring, Girl! No; today i relate more to Shauna: The thought was there...

Damn you, Twix Bar!!! Damn ALL the Twix Bars!!!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Calling in reinforcements.

So in the absence of any former success (long-term) in the weightloss department, I've decided to opt for the last resort. The only thing I know of that I haven't tried. I'm calling for back-up:

I'm getting a shrink.

Well, I've asked my doctor for a referral letter anyway. Dr K is an absolute legend, and has helped me manage my depression thus far, but I need to get over this last hurdle; how to deal with things without turning to my crutch of choice: Chocolate.

Now; I know it might shock you, Dear Readers, but this will be my first visit to a psychologist. I am packing it. I'm gonna have to actually tell someone the TRUTH about my relationship with food. My relationship with my Dad? My relationship with myself? Oh god... I don't know if i can do this! I mean, I know I dont want to be a "fat bride" in January, but maybe if I just keep burying my head in the sand and pretending to do weight watchers when eveyone is looking but actually eating about 10000 calories a day, you know, the way I've been doing for the past 10 years, maybe... this time I'll magically lose 20kg...? No...?

Ok. Maybe not.

The problem is: I am depressed. And I live a VERY full-on stressful lifestyle. My days consist of running between teaching children, riding horses, going to theatre meetings, doing theatre, trying to be a runner, and sharing myself between my family, my partner's family, 2 dogs, 2 horses, a canary and 5 fish. Conversations in my head usually go like this:

Me: I need chocolate.

Myself: why?

Me: Cause I want it.

Myself: You're freakin' 20kgs overweight! You dont need chocolate, you just ate an hour ago, and it's not going to help you lose weight - which will ultimately make you more unhappy!

Me: ...shut up brain.

Myself: Come on... if you dont have chocolate...um... you can have a ...a... delicious... carrot.

Me: Pfft, how often has that line worked?

Myself: Ok ok, how bout this. You could go for a walk! That would make you feel better!!!

Me: Are you kidding me? that's the best you can do? I want chocolate - sweet sweet snuggle up on the couch-better-than-sex chocolate, and you suggest exercise??? The thing I hate most? we've talked about this: Exercise endorphins are a myth.

Myself: Hmm.

Me: AND if I eat this chocolate, I may put on 4kg in a week, and feel more depressed later, but for NOW (and that's all I really care about) I can just sit down and do something nice like eating chocolate and not think about all the other things I have to do today.

Myself: ...but...

Me: Are you still here? Shut the hell up.


It's a pointless conversation. Followed by one that goes like this:


Me: Ohhhh why did I eat that whole block???

Myself: ...*ahem*

Me: Yes I know I KNOW! I shouldn't have done it! It was like a thousand points on weight watchers, and I'll never work that off. It tasted good for about 2 bites, then I just couldn't stop! I didn't want to go do washing or walk on the treadmill, so I sat and ate the rest. I am SO hopeless. No wonder I'm so fat. I'm gonna get so big, I'll be one of those horror-story people who get so fat they cant get out of their custom-built arm chairs and need to be sponge-bathed and pee through a tube... Why cant I diet??? Why dont I love salad and exercise??? Why cant I be one of those people who doesn't really care for chocolate? (freaks.)

Myself: ... well if you'd listened before...

Me: Are you still here? Shut the hell up.


*sigh* I'm going to be fat forever.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

starting to lose focus

I put some weight back on, and n0ow I feel disheartened. This is kinda what happens with me - a viscious cycle. I experience success, then I slacken off a bit, then I put a bit of weight back on, then I feel disappointed, then I put MORE weight on from comfort eating. Bad cycle.


Connie's wedding is in 2 weeks and I am desperate to lose SOME weight before that. Plus the city to surf is coming up, and I'm only gonna be making the run harder for myself if I am heavier.


The last run I did was REALLY hard. I really felt like I was going to faint and/or be sick. I must be the only person on earth who can train for weeks and actually be LESS FIT than when they started. I'm going out with the school kids again today... we'll see how it goes I guess.


On an upside, I get bad bloating. No - that's not the upside!!! The upside is, I was reading about Irritable Bowel Syndrome and decided it may be why I'm feeling bloated alot. I bought some IBS Support capsules at the chemist recently just to give them a try, and I actually haven't felt bloated since I started taking them! Huh?! Maybe all that time, that was it? *fingers crossed*


I weigh-in again tomorrow - I hope I have better news for you then!


BTW - have you seen The Penguin Chronicles? It's the site for people like me (and you?) check it out. "I am a Penguin - hear me roar!". Love ya work, John!

Monday, April 14, 2008

Check out EXTREME PETE!

This is the coolest dog I've ever seen!



Hmm... so what else is new? Um I have been diligently walk/running on my treadmill most days, if i dont do that, I walk my dogs, do the NYC ballet workout, or go to pump class.

Have still only lost 1 kg, but I remember this happening last time I went on a health kick, So I'm not really worried. I'll just keep doing it because it's good for me! :)

Have been trying to eat well... but... yesterday Ben brought Maccas home for lunch, and i ate it - of course (ZERO willpower), but then I ran on the treadmill. It was HARD yesterday for some reason. I still did 30 minutes of walking with s lots of 2 minute runs, bt they nearly killed me yesterday! then we had a healthy dinner: And I ate half a packet of chips. Not a small packet either. Dammit. Trouble is, Ben loves his junk food and I dont wanna deprive him, but I just have NO willpower round any of that stuff. I'm like an alcoholic in a bar.

Any suggestions anyone?

Maybe if I find a low fat alternative I can whip out if he's eating stuff like that, so i dont feel like I'm being left out...?

So today I'm detoxing. I've had fruit for breakfast, fruit and vegetable juices all day, and green/herbal tea. I've made sushi for dinner, and I bought a punnet of strawberries for dessert.

I've walked to dogs this morning, and I plan to do the NYC workout this afternoon. So I'm doin' ok. Nothing to show for it, but it feels good to be doing good things for my body.

So I've been researching wedding colour schemes, and at first I wanted either pink/chocolate brown, or turquoise/chocolate brown...


So I asked Ben what colours he liked, and of course he said: Red and Gold.
Eek.
Okay... So I did some web-surfing and I think I may have found a compromise...
A cherry blossom theme - Mostly pale pink, brown and white, but with red and gold accents.
This would be good because I have a fascination with all things Japanese, and Ben does too. I LOVE cherry blossoms, and I hate the thought of a big frou-frou bouquet, but would not be opposed to carrying a sprig of cherry blossom. We're thinking April wedding (2009), which is also the right time of year.
I was watching Memoirs of a Geisha the other day end even though I LOVED the book, but was disappointed with the film, there are a few scenes where you can see the colours I mean...


Here's a cherry blossom themed wedding, but I think I'd want it paler, and softer pink than this.

More like this...
What do you think?



Saturday, June 16, 2007

Confessions of a yo-yo dieter.

So in my quest to become a svelte equestrienne (yeah right) and not look like this



I have embarked on many (some quite ridiculous) diets. Here's a few:

1) The all-soup diet (you spend all day pee-ing, and by about day 4, you NEVER want to see a bowl of soup again)
2) Weight watchers (Got tired of spending my life walking around with a calculator round my neck)
3) Atkins (constipated. Didn't lose a thing.)
4) vegetarianism (felt ok, but didn't lose a thing)
5) The only eat an apple a day diet (ok I invented this one as a teenager. It worked until I passed out one day at school, and everyone found out I'd been starving myself)
6) The No Sugar, eat every 2 hours diet (weight exploded! "Oh, my meals were meant to be THAT small...")
7) The oranges-only diet (VERY similar to the 'eat an apple a day diet'. Mouth ulcers and BAD acne breakouts)
8) The raw food diet ("I'm STARVING! Dont stand too close or I'll gnaw your arm off!")
9) The "To-hell-with-it" diet. (Ate anything I wanted. Which was basically anything that wasn't tied down. Put on 20 kg)
10) The "To-hell-with-it" diet - mark 2. (Tried to eat nothing all day, and log onto pro-ana websites for 'Thinsperation'. Realising I didn't even have to willpower to hate myself that much, made me hate myself.)

So, conclusion: Diets don't work. I dont know what does, but if I find out, I'll let you know, ok?