I first started trying to reduce my weight by following a 1940’s WW2 rationing plan back in 2006…. I did quite well on my first attempt and managed to cook and eat strictly by my Home Front recipe books for about 4 or 5 months and lost 57 lbs…. Of course when I went back to normal modern day eating which included high fat and processed foods the weight soon crept back up again.. At least this proved to me that my theory worked.
During the 1940s Experiment I have never counted calories…..I have my ration allowances for the week put aside in my cupboard and my fridge (oh the luxury of it all) and I make do with that to build my meals on. There are no crisps (chips), large quantities of meat, huge amounts of butter or cheese or eggs and a limited amount of sweets (candies)..
I was reading through the very first attempt back in 2006 which I documented with an audio diary- I think I will start doing that again or a video diary or something as it is very helpful indeed to put your thoughts out there, get them out of your head, be silly, be sad, be honest.
CLICK HERE FOR DIARY< PHOTOS< AUDIO< VIDEO from 2006
Of course it’s difficult when things go wrong, when you fail, when your personal life affects your weight loss and lots of people know about it. However I look on anyone who reads my blogs and ramblings (of an affectionate but insane woman) as friends and we all need friends to help us get through our days, months, years and life.
CLICK HERE FOR A DISCUSSION ON 1940s FOOD– My daughter Hobbit Em & I in 2006
And of course audio allows you to be silly and have an audience… I love singing retro songs… I guess one day I’d love to have the guts to get up and sing, just be brave enough to do it for fun. For now it’s fun just singing in the bathroom or the kitchen or singing when the kids start arguing and ignore all the “Oh Mum shut up”…s. Mum doesn’t care- it’s called escapism..
CLICK HERE FOR A LITTLE RETRO SINGING from CHICAGO– at the end of this short audio log from 2006
BTW- the good news is over the last 4 weeks I have dropped 15 lbs… (the last 2 weeks I have been back to eating 1940s)!! Yay!!!
Congratulations on losing again! Great for you! I’ve been reading your blog for several months now. I too am fascinated by the WW2 rations and other struggles the great people of Britain faced during those horrid times. And I am also considering using the rations to reduce. Already am eating many more vegetables, but cutting down on eggs is very hard for me. Thanks for being the inspiration to try! And keep up the good work, Carolyn – you certainly deserve to be the “true you” inside your body.
Congratulations on the weight loss! Keep up the good work. 🙂 I think I’ll try and work to a ration-book style of doing things, but with one aspect at a time. Cheese rationing, for example, is something I think I can work with. Then I can move on to doing that and maybe sugar. Inspirational!
KB xx
Hi Carolyn 🙂 what a fantastic Blog!!
I was hooked for the whole night last night and I love this concept! Thankyou so much for all the time and hours of hard work you have put into making this, you have done suh a great job so far and would love to be able to start reading new posts from you.
I too need to shed some exra poundage and love this era and all of its home front/ social history. It must have been fate or something because I’d dug out my ‘Food Facts for the Kitchen Front’ recipe book to give me some inspiration for filling, but healthy and frugal recipes and tips. I love to cook (love to eat even more!!no surprise there!!) and when i came online last night and googled for ‘WW2 ration recipes’ you were one of the first results!!
I’d love to know how the other ladies are getting on who said they too would follow the ‘ration eating plan’ . It’d be so cool if we could all do it together and know we had some ‘R.E.P’ buddies to turn to when things got tough (as I’m sure they will when the sugar and fat cravings start to kick in!!)
Again, heartfelt thanks for all your hard work, please come back (if at all possible) and continue your good work.
Love
Ceilidhgirl in Glasgow, Scotland xoxoxoxo