It is amazing what accountability does to one’s whole demeanour. My sister needed some encouragement to go the Banting way and I was so happy, I jumped at the chance to mentor and accompany her. I say mentor only in that I have been doing it for 4 months and have lost 14 kilos and am so in the groove now, it feels solid, and it is a treat to help anyone to achieve something at which we are both working.  This is not unlike going to gym with a buddy. You can talk the same language about muscle building and toning, groan and moan when you are taking strain, appeal for help when you need a lift, and generally be there for each other. Here we talk nutrition, weight correction and general health.

Sis and I have both had weight issues most of our grown-up lives. We both suffer from the apple shape, insulin resistance marker tum and are both very keen cooks. This has led to many calories over the necessary and the proof is in the size of our clothes. Too big! In the past we have talked about doing a project together which involved writing, and what better project than this. With this we can reach and teach others as well, those who are walking the same journey to Oh-So-Sassy!

I have been on go-slow for a fortnight now. Not stalled, but the weight loss is crawling along. I decided to start at the beginning again in order to make sure my system is truly changed and is a roaring fat-burning furnace! So I am joining my sister with that goal in mind for both of us. She will now have the delight of all that water weight loss in these next two weeks. Hopefully I will drive those ketones on and out and stoke my furnace once again.

The first two weeks are what I call Austerity Fortnight. A bit like Atkins induction when I did that some years ago, except no dairy, no nuts and lots of fat. Nothing but eggs, fish, poultry, red meats, venison…anything under the protein column on the Green List in The Real Meal Revolution by Tim Noakes et al, and vegetables from that same list. That’s it. And of course fats. Coconut oil, butter, ghee, lard (pork fat) and tallow (beef and mutton fat). Drinks include water water and water, herb teas, preferably green tea or rooibos/redbush with a slice of lemon and/or mint, and ginger tea which I make with slices of fresh ginger steeped in boiling water which I keep in a flask and drink as needed. Another drink I keep on my desk from which I frequently sip, is filtered water with apple cider vinegar. The benefits of ACV are too numerous to mention here, so I will save that for another post. Just believe me when I say it is good for you!

The Sisters Day 1:

 Lamb Fingers with Kale and Egg Scramble spiced with Turmeric, Black Pepper and Cayenne

This was my meal number 1 in the mountains of Limpopo Province and Sis had eggs and bacon and a grilled tomato in Scotland. We will both be making bone broth tonight, mine in my slow cooker and hers on her new AGA! Bone broth is my chosen top-up food or snack mid-afternoon if I get the slightest bit peckish. I decided that bone broth was the easiest way to keep my fat intake up without having to even think! So instead of a cup of coffee or tea, bone broth is it. And water, or have I said that already?

We leave 6 to 8 hours between eating because we eat breakfast to satiety. This I learned from my mentor, Charles Lubbe from The Big Breakfast Banting Debate on Facebook. Eat until you are FULL! And he means really full. By the way, if you ever want a really good Facebook Banting Group you cannot go wrong with Charles’s The Big Breakfast Banting Debate. He has all sorts of good information at his finger tips and the support is awesome.

Tonight’s meal for me will be a handful of spicy beef meatballs, salad dressed with olive oil and lemon, with a gorgeous mix of broccoli, cauliflower and courgette, while Sis will be eating pork with crispy crackling and buttered spinach for her supper in the Northern Hemisphere.

This in from Scotland:

What a fabulous idea. Ever since I moved to Scotland I have felt quite far from my sister, and now we have the same goal! What a pleasure, and the fact that I have been on a different diet and not really lost a thing, and that M has lost 14kg’s means it works. Sure I am in trepidation, my basic lifestyle has been vegetarian most of my life, but I do enjoy meat. I have been eating low fat EVERYTHING and was surprised to see what a challenge it is to find full fat milk/cheese/yoghurt in the shops.

So now for my comments very quickly! I am not properly prepared for the austere 2 weeks, the only thing that is working in my kitchen is the new AGA, the worktops have not been installed and I have bought loads of cheese! I have also not been able to get into the kitchen to put the pork roast into the AGA! There are workmen sanding the bamboo work tops so I cannot do anything. I might land up having cucumber and boiled eggs for supper tonight. I have learned my first lesson in Banting, BE Prepared!

I did walk to the butcher and buy some lamb bones for a broth which I will put in the oven when the workmen have left. The broth is a basic one, a few sticks of celery, a carrot, 6 black peppercorns, an onion and a clove of garlic.

My tea of choice will be green or ginger tea, I am not really keen on herb teas, but will aim to try some new ones soon.

I love it! Here’s to our journey to Slim and Healthy…

Rocking with The Real Meal Revolution!!!