DAY 5

If I have to even look at another piece of Smoked Salmon I might have to stab myself in the leg with a fork. I have just finished breakfast – I have taken the liberty of halving the quantity as I simply cannot face another 85g portion of Boursin first thing in the morning. Things I am craving, in order of seriousness:

Orange Juice (don’t normally even drink it!)

Tomato and Basil Soup

Grapes

Melon with Parma Ham

Spiced Chickpea Salad

A Strawberry Ice Cream Cone (don’t even like strawberry ice cream that much!)

I can’t carry on with my list, it’s too tortuous! Thank GOD I pop into the Educogym daily for my session – I’m starting to really look forward to my visits. I think if I was ‘going it alone’ I may have given up by now, but seeing someone every day (Zana et al at Harley Street) makes it feel as though I wouldn’t just be disappointing myself, I’d be disappointing them too! Silly, I know, but it’s working.

Today’s session is arms again and the weights are a killer but I plough on through. Zana probably can’t believe quite how weakling my arms are – I really can’t wait to get them stronger and more shapely. If I could transplant anyone’s arms onto my own, it’s probably be Jennifer Aniston’s. She has a cracking pair.

No blips today in terms of energy; Prawn Cocktail with a ridiculous amount of sugar-and-carb-free Mayo for lunch, Mexican for dinner (minus the tacos, rice, salsa and kidney beans..) and off to bed feeling nice and virtuous!

DAY 6

Am I?….is it?…could it be that….I’m actually HALF WAY THROUGH? No way! I have some serious cravings, but I think I can do this. There’s no post today which means I can lie in without having to have one ear open for the doorbell. I wake up at 10.15am and then remember that I have to go to Educogym. Yes! On a Sunday! Breakfast is a fresh, large hen’s egg sent back from my father-in-law’s with Spousal Support. Obviously he sent more than one egg – but I just decided to eat one of them, and I’ll tell you why: every meal’s ‘protein’ portion has to be accompanied by a certain amount of fat. There’s some ratio thing going on but I haven’t the willpower to sit down and work it out. Anyway, two eggs and two rashers of bacon must be accompanied by either: 45g cream cheese (barf!), 45g walnuts/pumpkin seeds/pine nuts (more barf!) or half an avocado. None of these are appealing to me when I wake up and – to be quite frank – I’d struggle to get through that much fat and protein! So it’s half-portions for me and I get on with those very well indeed. 25g of walnuts is do-able, as is one quarter of a large avocado.

Today’s 15 minute workout is back and chest and I honestly nearly cry – it’s brutal. You wouldn’t think that you could push your body so much in just one quarter of an hour – afterwards I’m utterly shattered! A nice feeling though, as I amble back down Harley Street in the sunshine. I catch a glimpse of my arms in a shop window turning onto Regent Street and they look ten times more svelte and lean than they did this time last week. I’m thoroughly, utterly impressed. I have always believed that most people (including myself) fail on health and fitness plans because they lose motivation after a few weeks – days even. With this 12-day plan, there’s no time to lose motivation; you start to see results before you’ve even wobbled in your dedication. It helps, also, that you’re checking in each day – it makes the process feel almost all-consuming…which would be terrible long-term, obviously, but for a 12-day kick-up-the-arse, it’s perfect!

By 5pm I feel shocking. I sit at the computer researching low-carb plans and something called ‘low-carb flu’ (also very kindly mentioned by a reader) – it’s just something you have to deal with. Some people’s bodies take longer than others to adjust to not having kilos of unneeded sugar dumped into them every week! I’m surprised at myself because my diet was pretty good already, so I wouldn’t have thought the change was too great…but then I remember all the fruit juice, tomatoes, cereal and toast that I used to eat. In small amounts, admittedly, but I suppose it’s still a constant sugar input!

Tomorrow will be testing; I’m shooting all day and then I have a casting afterwards. I’m dreading it in case I feel weak. I’ll have to take a packed lunch and an emergency ‘small meal’ – which will no doubt have to include Avocado, as I’m never eating nuts ever again. If I need a small sugar-fix tomorrow in the form of some fruit or whatever then I will have to just do it, as I can’t be flaking about on a fashion shoot feeling light-headed!