Week 12 day 3. Possibly.

I’ve lost track of where I am at the moment what with my Noot going away on holiday and me getting the flu.  This week could even be week 13.

Nonetheless, I had the first weigh-in for 3 weeks.  I have lost 2 pounds, although I commented to the Noot that I was heavy after a week of relative excess.

This raises an issue about the cost of the Cambridge diet.  SS costs over £50 per week.  I am currently on step 4 which is 2 shakes and meals and the CD cost is £25 plus whatever I spend on real food.

Now this eating regime works reasonably well for me because, to be fair, I don’t weigh any ingredients so can only guess at the calorie intake.  I think it’s reasonably flexible and notionally easy to get on with (as opposed to weighing every single bit of food-which I simply cannot be arsed with).  The only fixed calorie intake is from the shakes.

What I am getting at is, simply that I am spending £25 a week on low calorie breakfast porridge before spending the same amount on food for every other meal of the day.  This puts me in a bit of a dilemma.  I really like the poridge and find the sachets convenient but while my nutritionist has to make a living I cannot accept that I will be spending £25 a week on porridge for what could be months (at a 2lb/week fat loss).  The economics are simply wrong.  SS if the fastest way to lose weight and cost-per-pound lost is most cost effective.  When you add an exercise regime things get a bit clouded.  I am aware dieters do SS and exercise although It didn’t seem to work for me.  Upping the calorie count has helped the exercise at the expense of weight reduction.  I’m not inclined to change, though.

So if you know of a way of getting a load of nutrients from a slow release carb based breakfast food, let me know.

Oh, currently at 14st 6lb.

Day 68

My possible headache due to ketosis turned into the worst bout of flu and/or a chest infection on record.  I have been bed ridden for four days solid with a temperature of 39 degrees.  Today is the first day I’ve felt like doing anything.  I’m still feeling very wooly although comparatively speaking, I’m much better.

This sorry episode raises two very important questions:  has the diet in any way compromised my immune system and secondly, as I have had zero appetite what are the best foods to eat to maintain reserves of energy and nutrients when one may be a bit ‘under the weather’?

On the subject of foods; in desperation I went out and bought the usual crap because it required no preparation or imagination to eat (it would certainly contain plenty of calories).  This included 2 double cheeseburgers (one I ate straight away the other I couldn’t face until later), choc chip ice-cream which I mostly ate and some Muller light yogurts which I did get through.  The unsuccessful attempt to down tangerines was rigourously rejected so I didn’t try another.  I did manage orange juice, though.

Even though my Noot said I should come off the diet if I get ill I’m pretty sure she didn’t mean do this.  To be honest I couldn’t face the shakes either so it was more out of desperation than any desire to eat shit again.

This week’s been a write-off, then.  I’m on my own until the third week of September which means I should have been off the Plan altogether next week.  As it is, I’ve got nearly all this weeks shakes to get through.  As it is you won’t be hearing from me for a few days.

Day 64. Week 10, day 2

Well, much to my dismay my apparent weight loss was 6 pounds this week.  That’s a lot to lose in a week on a 1200 cal a day diet, even with moderate exercize.

I’m concerned that I’m not eating enough calories for the amount of exercise I’m doing and I’m losing body tissue (not fat) as a result.  So I’ve that to sort out.

Today I have a headache and I’m stiff and tired.  Now this could be the effects of teetering on the edge of ketosis although I can usually taste it when I am and at the moment I cannot.

Other than that, it”s business as usual although I have noticed a reduction in potty time frequency, probably as a result of eating more protein foods.

Out of interest, here are the food stats for the CD food sachets and my nuts of the moment, soya beans.

I have been trying to find a substitute for the CD porridge and sadly can only come up with some Tesco ‘healthy eating’ porridge oats with wheat bran and ‘prebiotics’, whatever they are!  I want to know: when did food without sugar or containing fibre suddenly become ‘healthy’ rather than just ordinary?  I can confirm without milk it tastes pretty awful and is not fortified with any nutrients.

Day 62

I’ve been doing more reading up on the effects of low calorie diets and exercise.

It seems that you need to do a mix of resistance and cardio training to maintain muscle tissue.  If you do more cardio or distance training then the body is more likely to turn muscle into an energy source.

This is obviously a problem, for two reasons.  Well obviously you don’t want to get physically weaker as a result of exercising, do you!  Also, as muscle is heavier than body fat then you may see that you are losing weight but not actual body fat.  Which is obviously bad.

I also read that if you lose only a couple of pounds of body fat a week you are more likely to maintain the muscle you do have.

I’m also going to spread out meals more evenly rather than have 4 a day (2 shakes and two meals).  While the sachet idea of the CD diet would be useful here at the elevated calorie count it would become prohibitively expensive and you can only have  a maximum of 4 a day anyway so the other calories have to be supplimented by regular food.

Which brings me to the next subject.  After next week I will be coming off the CD diet altogether.  That’s not to say I am giving up on dieting- far from it.  The CD diet has done two things:  It has enabled me to lose the best part of 3 stones in weight, in less than 3 months, quickly and safely.  As a science exercise in itself, it has been quite enjoyable.  Yes, that is the correct word.  It has not been the hardship I expected although it’s not been a jog in the park either.

The second, and most important thing the Cambridge Diet has done for me is make me realise is what a significant impact the food I have been eating has had on my body.

I’ve learned and now understand what the right food types to eat are, how to manage the amount of calories I eat, all without weighing a single item.  I haven’t been a saint: I’ve eaten curries, sweets, fruit juice, a bit of kebab the other night, I’ve had alcohol and at the moment I’m sucking on a Smint.

What I can take away from ‘dieting’ is that diet’s do not have to be a bastard.  If you eat the right food groups you don’t actually have to diet at all (in terms of calorie control) but for those people who still don’t get the idea about sensible (as opposed to healthy) eating for fat control then it’s just not going to work.  Or, if it is, you’re going to be dieting for a long time.

Now, all this might sound a bit blog-finale.  Not really.  I’m moving on into another phase beyond ‘strict calorie control’.   I won’t be eating any pasta, bread, baked potatoes, oranges or peas, because I can get along quite nicely without them.  Ok, there’s nothing quite like the taste of marmite on fresh crusty bread but, as my apparent wheat intolerance dictates, that’s one of life’s simple pleasures I can live without.

Do I have a prediction for tomorrows weigh-in? Well, of course.  My hardest to get in trousers are actually fitting nicely now as opposed to two weeks ago and I can’t believe how toned my leg muscles look, which kind of indicates I’ve lost some fat somewhere (although I’ve still got a fair amount sloshing around the middle).

2 pounds, possibly 3.  In terms of fat loss, it’ll definitely be something!

Day 59, Week 9- day4

It’s now Thursday morning, and as I’m sure you realise I’m a bit behind with the blog.

Last Monday’s weigh-in was pretty much as expected.  No weight loss.

I did notice, however, that my exercise warm up is taking longer which I would presume is an indication that my fitness level is increasing.

This week I am, once again on 1200, plan 4.  The diet is more of the same: fish, beef with cauli and broccoli although I have green beans and a cabbage to mix with it this week.  Eggs will also be on the menu, as is the old favourite, cottage cheese.

I’m still not weighing anything but I am trying to keep the portions close to that intended.

Well, that’s it.  This week is pretty much going to be a ‘keep my head down and get on with it’ routine.

I’ve been researching training regimes and I have decided to change my workout.  Instead of a steady heart rate workout for 45 minutes I’m doing intervals of heavy resistance for about 20 minutes then another  30 odd minutes on the treadmill at a steady pace.  I don’t think the other routine is working although I maybe should have given it more than a couple of weeks.  I’m also not doing the same routine every day- it’s legs today, upper tomorrow, then back to legs.

As I head towards the weekend, I don’t feel any lighter and my waistband confirms this.