7th Feb, about 7 months on.

Not on the diet.  The last official weigh in was 13 stones 11 pounds. That was last week I think.

I thought the start of a new year would be a good time to lose another stone.  I was wrong.  It’s cold and miserable and due to other distractions my mind isn’t where it should be.  I bought a weeks worth  stage 2 but ended up having loads left and not losing any weight.  So, for now thats it.

I’m not really keeping my eye on what I eat either.  I’ve pushed the boat out pretty far.  Pizza’s and curry have been on the menu, so have tic tacs and my real weakness, refreshers bars.  But, there’s been little pastry and bread, no potato or pasta or other shite convenience snack rubbish.  Except for scotch eggs.

When it comes to being an example to others.. well that’s debatable.  All I know is the no wheat and low GI diet seems to work for me.

 

6 Months and 8 days.

I came off the Cambridge sachets in the first week of November and agreed to reconvene with my CDC on the first Monday of January.  My ‘sign-off’ weight was 14 stones dead.

For the following two months I ate pretty well as when I felt hungry with the following general exceptions:  I ate a portion of porridge for breakfast from the leftover sachets of CD stuff and when that ran out Quaker Oat So Simple.  I discovered that the flavoured ones are more palatable when eaten using water only, so I usually have sultana, raisin, cranberry and apple flavour.  They are 134cals when used with water.  I have also been eating A LOT of cauliflower.  I havn’t been at all inventive with it but it acts very much like potato does- as a bulking agent.   All meals made at home have been very low carb affairs and the ‘above ground’ veg rule still applies.  Oh, and no fruit.  IF I’m out and about I might get a bacon and egg butty and chuck the bread out, a scotch egg, some sliced ham and veg leaves or some other single serving unit of food.  If it comes bound in bread or pastry I usually peel that away and eat the filling.

I have eaten pizza and pasties on occasion either because I fancied one or there really was nothing else available although these have been infrequent.

And I have also done some extensive trials into the effects of alcohol consumption on a low calorie diet:)

I’ve been to the gym as often as possible that probable averages 3 times a week and done the usual 45 minute spinner/leg exercises.

So I consider the last two months a continuation of best-practice low carb existence where possible with treats thrown in.  Monday January the 10th’s weigh in saw me at 13 stones 13 pounds and I felt heavy so next weeks normalised dietary weight could see me around 13:10.  I hope so, anyway.

I’m looking to shed another 7 to 14 pounds in the next couple of months.  I don’t want to go at this in a big way like I did with the first 2 stones.  As we move towards spring, as the daylight gets longer I want to do more exercise outside.

Week 13, day 2

Yesterdays weigh-in was 14 stones 3 pounds which is 4 down on last week.  I commented I felt heavy last week and the drop kind of reflects that.

Ive done another graph to show the trend and it shows the weight loss per week easing off.

I’d have to look back through my posts to be certain but I think I came off SS on week 8 and that could also explain the tail off.  The breaks in the trendline are simply that I didn’t get weighed those weeks.

Week one is actually week zero, as it were.  The starting weight.

3 and a half stones in 3 months.  By any standard it’s impressive and I do not consider I have starved myself or avoided some of the foods that would be frowned upon by those more fastidious than myself.

I need to watch alcohol, though.  I think I am teetering on the edge of ketosis and last night I had a bottle of wine.  Today I felt a bit wooly, and not in a hangover way, either.

I conclude that from now on,  alcohol if for weekend/carb-up days when ketosis is well out of the way.

I visited a customer today who recently signed up to Weight-Watchers.  While I don’t want to denigrate anyone’s efforts to lose weight, she seemed quite pleased that she’d lost a couple of pounds last week.  Explaining, while tucking into a baked potato with some weird white stuff on the top.

Each to their own, I suppose.

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.

Day 55

All this week I’ve been on the 1200 calorie plan.  I think it’s step 4 but I’m not sure.

I haven’t weighed any of the food items before eating.  As a general rule I’ve eaten good quality meat and broccoli, green beans and cauliflower with every meal.  As you can imagine it’s not been the most inspiring of menu’s although, to be fair, I’ve had worse.  I bought some mustard (the lowest carb one I could find) and a pepper and chilli grinder to spice things up a bit.

Except for the bottle of wine on Friday and the vodka and Princes low sugar juices on Saturday this week’s been pretty low key.  I shared a bag of sour jellies at the Rock Band gig mid week and had some nuts last night.

On the subject of nuts, I tried a bag of roasted and salted soya beans, which were next to the nuts in tesco.  Looking at the stats they are pretty good.  Low fat and carbs, high in protein and fibre.  They taste like a cross between pistachio’s and those roast corn things and are quite nice.  My Noot says I should eat some almonds if I’m peckish but I couldn’t find any.  I’d be interested to see how they stack up against the soya beans.

Anyway, my back’s righted itself so I’ll be down the gym again next week.  I’m going to stay on the same eating plan next week as well.

Day 54

All this week I’ve been on  the 1200 diet.  If I’d have been exercising then I’d probably lose a few pounds.  As it is, I buggered me back up while I was away so, except for an evening on Rock Band I haven’t done any exercise.  As a result, this weeks weigh-loss will no doubt be compromised.  Still, if it’s not going back up then I’m happy.

I’ve just read a BBC news article about the ‘exponential’ increase in the use of gastric bands to ‘help’ reduce weight.  It’s amazing that so many people seem to think it can help them reduce weight but are utterly ignorant to the fact that the shit they were eating got them there in the first place.  As it happens, it can help but I know two people who are just as big now as they were before they were fitted.

Being very fat, like obese, is a psychological condition, not a physical one.  These people, and I include myself before I start getting any more hate mail,  have emotional baggage that needs looking at before they start to address weight loss.  Gastric bands are a sticking plaster.  They do not get at the route cause of why people are massively overweight.  My advice to anyone who is depressingly fat wanting to lose weight is: look at your head before you look at your body.  It’s likely that once you start dieting your psychological well-being improves simply as a result of purging the body of all the toxic crap you’ve been eating for years.  So, if you start in the right frame of mind things are likely to get very much better.  It did for me.