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 I adore Karachi chicken. Beautiful and spiced, tomato base and perfect with a bit of rice or with some sort of bread to scoop up and munch away at. Unfortunately to make it authentically you need to use a fair bit of ghee and oil and that adds a lot of calories. Including the mini Peschwari naan and the rice, this plate was around 600-650 calories and it definitely doesn't feel as low as that. It's a belter of a recipe that I recommend if you need something that feels a bit naughty whilst on a calorie deficit. Ingredients: 600g boneless, skinless chicken thigh fillets (trimmed of any visible fat or gruesome bits then diced) One thumb sized piece of ginger (grated) and one piece about half the size of that (cut into fine juliennes) Five fat cloves of garlic, crushed or grated One onion Three green chillis One tin of peeled plum tomatoes 1tsp ground coriander 1tsp ground cumin 1tsp cayenne pepper 1tsp sea salt 1/2tsp ground black pepper 1/2 tsp garam masala 1tbsp fat free natura...

I'm properly happy to be corrected, but I truly don't think that cooking healthily is too tricky. If anything, it's been a source of real fun for me to take the things that I love eating and finding ways to cut the calories and fat from it whilst keeping it as a tasty, satisfying option. I've said before on this blog but I've failed many times at losing weight before this attempt and this tie it's stuck, and this is the attempt where I've stopped trying to deny myself the foods that I love. During the first lockdown when everything was closed, I tried to replicate things I got out and about - not trying to make them healthy like I do now - but looking to scratch the itch that wasn't otherwise available. Big Mac - got it down to a fine art. Starbucks Cinnamon Swirl - you betcha. Pizza - I'd challenge anyone to a cook off for that. Cooking healthily but in a satisfying manner kind of follows the same method; take what you can't have (much as I'...

  That's me above. Hello! Nice to meet you.You're looking well.  That was a photo of me on the 1st of January 2022. Aroundabout mid day, away to take part in the Loony Dook where everyone runs into the sea and has a swim to welcome the new year. I'd been playing a bit of fives before this for a few weeks but my diet was its old self and not quite what it should be, to put it nicely. I forgot to take a proper, official "before" photo or set of photos for when I started the Man v. Fat football programme and so the above is really the best comparison I have. I'm glad I have it; it shows off me at near enough my heaviest I've been, I was around 20st and 9lb at that point. I don't know precisely as I can only go from when I weighed myself shortly after Christmas so it's a few days out, but never mind. There are points when you've embarked on your new lifestyle where it seems hopeless. Your clothes are still tight, your cravings are at their absolute...

We all love good food, am I right? (I mean, of course I'm right, it's something we live with every day so you have to enjoy it).  One thing I've done on my journey is to find ways to eat the dishes I love, but tweaked to fit in with the new lifestyle we're enjoying. If it feels more like a regime than a lifestyle then it's tougher to stick to. I love chicken pasta alfredo. Creamy, cheesy pasta, spiced chicken breast and a mountain of parmesan. Big, hearty and welcoming. Problem is that the requirements to make a creamy, cheesy pasta is a lot of cream and a lot of cheese. Butter too. Delicious it is, healthy it ain't. Here's the good thing - every so often it's fine to have the full fat version as an occasional treat. If you're wanting to fit these things into everyday, then you need to be a bit clever and this one is my own recipe. We replace the cream and butter and the like with fat free yoghurt. It's not quite the same but it's more than g...