Taking the strain

While we were in the pub, we were talking to a friend who was finding it difficult to lose weight. She explained that she had not lost weight one week and explained what she had eaten. She had followed our advice on making a good gravy. When she didn't lose weight, her diet teacher said she shouldn't make gravy like that, as that was where all the fat is! This was the reason given for her not losing weight.

We must explain that to make gravy with the juices gives the gravy a wonderful flavour. BUT we remove the fat from the juices first. We use a fat separator to do this, it is fantastic. It costs a couple of pounds and we would not leave home without it, although we haven't got as far as taking it away on holiday with us yet! The strainer does all the work, and you simply fill it up and pour out the juices from the spout which comes from the base of the jug. The fat layer is visible and remains in the the jug. Here's the pic:

If you don't have one, you can always do what I used to do before coming across this little gadget. I poured all the juices into a jug, popped some ice-cubes on top and put in the fridge. The fat would set at the top of the jug and I would take this off. You will be left with the wonderful stock which may be like a jelly. This can become gravy simply by adding some water (maybe from the cooked vegetables), reducing down and if you like, adding some flour to thicken. You can always save the fat (especially if it's beef or duck) and use to make fab roast potatoes and even cooking yorkshire puds. Yum yum. And we DO eat this sort of food over the weekend at times!

Back to our friend. Having made the mistake of not removing the fat from the juices, her lack of weight loss was blamed on this one incident. I do not believe this was the only reason for not losing weight. She went on to say she had been counting her "points" and must have gone over her allowance. The main problem, we feel is the confusion that dieters seem to have when following a diet telling you to count up your day's intake in another language. Diets take control of your eating. IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE EATING YOU CAN NEVER BE IN CONTROL. Just turn the packets over and read the calorific value. Understand the amounts you can eat in relation to the amount of calories you can consume each day. It's simple - eat more calories than your body is allowed and weight will go on. There is no secret. Take control.

I would like to see our friend succeed on her diet, but too often she seems disappointed and doesn't understand why she is not losing weight. She says she has been good and sometimes says she just gives up, why bother. She is trying to live life around the diet, and we suspect her lifestyle doesn't like the diet that much. Our philosophy is to eat really good food around our lifestyle and not follow any diet. When we have reached our targets, we do not need to come off of a diet, but continue eating the same way, just more of it.