Days 26-28: what can I eat?

Dieting always has this frustration - what can you eat?  Each new programme has new rules, and either it provides menus you know you won't like, or nothing - so you have to invent your own, potentially quite unlike what you're used to eating, and not matching what's in your kitchen.

With that in mind, what I offer as diet foods on the OMG programme are unlikely to suit everyone, or even many.  Nevertheless, I'll share with you some of my favourites, which you can take or leave.

Breakfast

Black gold for breakfast

Breakfast is so easy!  You have a cup of coffee, black.  That's it - you're not supposed to eat until 3 hours after your morning exertions on the OMG diet, and that means skipping food at breakfast.  My advice: buy the best coffee you can afford, and invest in a decent coffee maker - pictured right is my Aeropress, which I highly recommend for a smooth, rich, relatively low-acid cup of the black stuff.

Lunch
Home: cheese omelette.  You need to count the carbs in cheese, but there's not that much in an omelette.  I'll usually have some green veg with this, or perhaps an apple or some grapes (if you have fruit, you have to count those carbs though).

Work: salad with protein and nuts.  Salad greens don't count on this diet, so they're a good thing to fill up on if you like them (I certainly do).  Add a convenient source of protein - cold leftover chicken, a tin of tuna fish, some smoked trout, or whatever works for you.  Then sprinkle with nuts - walnuts are particularly good for this as they're fairly low in carbohydrate - not something you can say of most nuts.  If at home, I drizzle with "Good Oil" - a brand of oil that is very high in omega oils.

Supper
I often have the same things I'd have for lunch.  However, if I have time, I'll fry some fish and serve with a squeeze of lemon, or roast a chicken stuffed with herbs and butter.  I like to have sauteed greens - spinach, kale, chard, or whatever is available fresh.  On Sunday I try to do a proper roast joint with "meaty" vegetables like broccoli.

The principles of this diet are pretty simple: make sure you get plenty of green veg (not beans, just leafy greens), and fill the other half your plate with meat, fish, or tofu.  You can use all the herbs, spices and salt you like to add different flavours, and you can fry, roast, or do whatever you like - fat is okay on this diet.

Snacks
Once again, this is an easy one - no snacks allowed!  So have another cup of coffee.