Week 6 – Surprisingly still going

Now I must confess – I have been surprised by many things with this diet. I am surprised that it is actually working, I am surprised I am finding it relatively easy but most of all I am surprised that I am still continuing with the diet. Let me explain. In the past, every other diet that I have done I have seen some good results over the initial weeks. As I mentioned in my very first post I have dieted many times but only properly succeeded (success being a decent amount of weight lost) twice. Every other time I have started a diet, of which I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count these on, I have had good initial success only to lose commitment or get bored after several weeks. I believe both of these come down to one simple thing – I can’t envisage any of my previous diets becoming a “way of life”. It is a term I have come across lots over the last few weeks with the intermittent fasting diet – way of life or WOL.

Even when I lost lots of weight in 2002 and 2007 these diets did not become a WOL… but a way to lose weight. Those diets, along with the many failed attempts, I haven’t had the inclination to continue in the long-term, or to allow my passion/addiction to food be balanced by my needs, and ultimately every time I have come off the diet and the weight has gone back on.

Now I am not saying with all certainty that I guarantee this time will be different, but week 6 sees me crossing the first major hurdle, that is that I am still going after this length of time and see no sign of abating in my efforts. I have made good progress so far, I am enjoying the way the diet fits into my life, I am enjoying the positive comments I am receiving, I am enjoying this blog and, I suppose most importantly for achieving with this diet, I look forward to my fast days.

The problem with Atkins, Dukan, weight watcher et al is that you are constantly monitoring what you eat. either you CANNOT eat such and such or you need to count this or limit that. With this fast diet there is none of that – I just limit my food intake several times a week… the rest of the time I can eat/drink what I want. OK this last part is not entirely true – I can’t just not eat for 2 days a week and chow down on mcdonalds for the rest of the time – I need to be relatively sensible, but to be on a diet where on my fast days I can eat decent food such as steak or sushi, and on my non fast days eat liberally and well and just attempt to eat healthy, I can certainly see success continuing and becoming a WOL.

My Week So Far

I was working Tuesday but have been off on annual leave since then. 6 days leave equals 14 days off in my job so I am half way through. We aren’t going anywhere but stopping at home, spring cleaning and making preparations for the baby due in June. I fasted on Wednesday and the following Monday but, again, only semi fasted on Friday.

I am finding this Friday fast is too difficult when at home on a Friday. I will continue with the 4:3 when I am working on Friday afternoons but if I am at home I will only fast throughout the day and eat/drink what I want in the evening. I am tailoring the diet top work for me as I learn more about both the diet and how I wish to continue.

My non fast days saw me eating pretty healthily – its great to be at home with a pregnant wife who is trying to eat good nutritious food. That being said, on Saturday We took our daughter to a 4 yr old friends birthday party – after going nuts in the gymnastic club the children were ushered into a side room for their party food and, bless the birthday girls parents, they put on a load of sandwiches, crisps, biscuits, cakes for the adults… It would have been rude not to sample them all!!!

I have been very good with the gym also.  (Tue) 45 min Insanity session (Wed) 45 min Body Attack + 1.1 mile run, (Sat) 1 hour Body Combat class, (Mon) 45 min Insanity class followed by 1 hour Body attack class (this is known at the gym as doing a double!!!

Fast day food

I have decided, well my wife has decided, that I should add a fast day recipe to my blog each week. We will aim to add a different recipe each fortnight, although some weeks we may add one weekly and others not for a few weeks. This week is Our Veggie Curry.

Weeknight Veggie Curry …. Serves 2-4 

Ingredients

1 x tsp coconut oil (40 Kcal)

1 x Onion (chopped) (35 Kcal)

2 x cloves of garlic (crushed) (10 Kcal)

1 x thumb sized piece Ginger (Grated) (20 Kcal)

2 x Tbsp curry paste of choice – ours tonight is Rogan Josh (195 Kcal)

200ml sachet coconut milk + same amount of Water (or Stock) (360 Kcal)

A small bunch of Coriander (both stalks and leaves) (0 Kcal)

1 x Tbsp tomato puree (15 Kcal)

2 x medium Sweet Potatoes (320 Kcal) 2 x peppers (colour of choice) (40 Kcal)

1 x Aubergine (Eggplant) (20 Kcal)

1 x Courgette (40 Kcal)

1/2 punnet mushroom (10 Kcal)

1/2 head broccoli (50 Kcal)

Large Handful Mange Tout (25 Kcal)

Large Handful baby corn (20 Kcal)

Salt Lemon Juice

Total Kcal = 1200

This means that you can have 1/4 of the total pot for 300kcal and allow yourself a small portion of rice… or just have 1/2 the pot (600kcal) for your daily (male) allowance.

Method

Sweat onions in coconut oil until soft but not fried.

Lower heat and add garlic and ginger.

Add Curry Paste – Lightly sweat for a few minutes for flavours to combine being careful not to burn the bottom as burnt curry paste is bitter and generally rancid.

Add coconut milk and as much water (stock) again and bring to a boil.

Whilst heating – chop stalks off coriander (maybe a few leaves) and add to pot.

Also add tomato puree.

Add vegetables in order of cooking times – In our case Sweet Potatoes, Peppers, Aubergine, Courgette, Mushrooms then Broccoli.

This way the longest cooking items are nearer the bottom and completely covered in liquid, the items with less cooking time may not be completely submerged but will steam throughout cooking.

Also add a large pinch of salt.

Turn heat down, cover, and simmer for approximately 25 minutes.

After 15 minutes add the baby corn and mange tout.

After 25 minutes …. TASTE!!! Not eat but taste – is it spicy enough for your liking? Does it require more salt? Maybe some pepper? A squeeze of lemon or lime? Basically experiment different tastes so it is right for you.

Also check doneness of the vegetables – especially the longer cooking veg such as sweet potatoes – although over cooking them will result in mushiness and a thickening sauce.

Once cooked dish up, No frills, just put in a bowl and add coriander leaves.

Weigh In

I have felt my body change this week, feeling stronger as well as ever so slightly leaner. I also know that losing weight is confusing and it may mean an increase in the scales due to muscle gain or water retention in my gym-sore muscles. Either way I am pleased with my week.

INITIAL WEIGH IN      17ST 0

LAST WEEK               16ST 3.5

TODAY………………..16st 2

WOOHOO………OVER A POUND LOST – i know it is slow progress but I keep saying to myself what will my results be like in 1 week, 1 month , 6 months….. exciting times. So I said I am feeling leaner, and have received positive comments on how I’m looking so time to get the measuring tape out again.

DATE	19 Jan 2015	10 Feb 2015	24 Feb 2015
WEIGHT (KG)	108	104	102.5
WEIGHT (STONE)	17st 0.25 lbs	16st5.0lbs	16st 2.0lbs
NECK (inches)	16.25	16.00	15.8
CHEST (inches)	44	43.5	43
STERNUM (inches)	41	38.75	37.5
HIPS (inches)	44	43	42
WAIST (inches)	40	39.5	39.25

Some great numbers this week – both weight and measurements down – feeling very positive and looking forward to the week ahead.

Richard

Some great numbers this week.

Week 5 – Surprising results

Just a quick update today – lots going on.

I felt during this week that there would be a considerable weight gain. I didn’t complete all my fast days and have been terrible on my non fast days. I have been in the gym occasionally but not the personally set minimum of 4 days – basically I haven’t been too happy with my progress and don’t expect to see great results.

After Tuesdays weigh in I was supposed to be in the gym, but realised that I had too much to do at home so didn’t go. I ate liberally and well throughout the day.

Wednesday was a fast day – I was off work and did a 45 minute body attack class. Straight after the class I went into the gym, and ran 1 mile on the treadmill (08 mins 47 secs… not bad) – no food throughout the day until a large veg curry in the evening.

My wife makes GREAT curries…. loads of veg so well under 600kcal

Thursday I was at work on a morning shift. I had my typical egg on toast for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and a healthy dinner, no exercise so came home after work and lazed on the sofa.

Friday was a fast day, on a morning shift at work, no exercise…. AND A FAILED FAST…. I didn’t eat all day but smashed through my kcal’s in the evening…. as with a few weeks ago we had dinner with friends, they made homemade burgers and chips… I had two… combined with bowls of crisps, and dessert… it was yummy – and as with a few weeks ago I don’t mind failing my fast in this fashion. Oh… I also drank lots!!!!

Saturday was a day off work, I took my daughter to swimming and ballet classes in the morning then I came home and lit the BBQ. I made slow roasted beef short ribs which take about 5 hours on a low and slow fire…. which leaves time to drink lots of beer whilst watching the England Rugby game. The meal wasn’t too bad!!!!

Sunday I was back at work and on an eating day. No exercise, pancakes for breakfast, sandwich for lunch and a big dinner at work.

Monday was my final fast day before weigh in. I did an hour Body Attack class and did not eat till work later in the day – a courgetti-spaghetti meal made by my great wife (she is a great cook… have I mentioned that???) No pics though!!!

Tuesday morning….WEIGH IN

INITIAL WEIGH IN  17ST 0

LAST WEEK              16ST 5

TODAY………………..16st 3.5

SO THAT’S OVER A POUND LOST…… FAB RESULT CONSIDERING A 2 AND A HALF DAY FAST WEEK AND QUITE A LOT OF BOOZE!!!! VERY VERY HAPPY.

So with these results I thought I had better try on my shirt again……. the final picture is Tuesdays pic!!!

SLOWLY BUT SURELY GETTING THERE – probably half way in terms of amount of weight lost before the shirt fits well….. very positive about the coming week.

Thanks for reading

Richard

Week 4 – Struggling On

So I am a day late writing my entry this week – no real reason – just been very busy with everything else that goes on in life.

My week started, as always, after weigh in. I was pleased with last weeks results – if I were to lose the 2 lbs I lost last week every week then I say to myself “just think where you will be in 2 months, 6 months, 1 year etc.” I have come to terms with the fact that this will be a way of life not some quick fix gimmick diet.

Last Tuesdays weigh in was done very first thing in the morning as I was on a morning duty at work. I said a few weeks back that morning duties made fast days longer and harder – in fact I was wrong – Im learning that the difficult days are normal eating days when I am up very early – this increases the length of time that I can eat so I am making a conscious effort to not eat until my first morning break so no toast at home at 5am and certainly no snacks on the way into work.

Wednesday was an afternoon at work, and after a 45 min workout in the morning I pushed through until 8 pm for my dinner of Marks and Spencers soup and a side of sushi = 480 kcal.

Thursday was another late shift so after morning gym I ate well and relatively healthily – all except for one trip to the staff tuck shop for some chocolate… not denying myself entirely on this diet – but naughty all the same.

Friday was a day off – and a fast day. It was easy to keep busy as earlier in the week I thought it a good idea to drop my Iphone and smash the screen. I was booked into the Kingston Apple store for a repair so did a morning workout and drove to Kingston. The repair took a few hours so I walked round the shops – and this got me thinking about temptation. I realised that about 50% of the stores I visited (inc. TK Max, John Lewis, Bentalls, Lakeland, Chelsea FC Store) had some form of food for sale…. not great when on a fast day and amazing how much more I notice what food is available when not eating!!! I brought a piece of Rump steak from the Kingston market which we would have for dinner. My usual fast day steak dinner – ensure the steak is lean, add mushroom, corn, tomatoes and asparagus. Unfortunately the steak was terrible – not great when your only meal of the day disappoints.

Saturday and Sunday were morning duties at work as well as eating days. No exercise, usual eating at work followed by a meal out with my parents on Saturday night (Pub fish and chips) and a BBQ Sunday afternoon (Rack of Lamb, Stuffed Pork Belly and veg)

Monday was a day off – I was in the gym in the morning then spent a few hours in the afternoon doing DIY. My wife will tell you that I am no good at DIY and generally steer clear, but thanks to a kitchen leak I had no choice but to be on my knees for several hours fixing some flooring. It certainly allowed the day to go quickly. Dinner was take away…. not ideal as I couldn’t ensure my calories were low – that being said my wife (now 20 weeks pregnant) had had a spectacularly tough day and I felt treating her to her favourite take out (Momos, Staines) was the right thing to do…. although when I say treating her – i think she paid!!! I stuck to food which, when I have seen them in the shops are low cal, sushi, and pork dumplings and Pak Choi with some duck. Probably over 600Kcal but not much and combine it with the work I had done today along with knowing my wife was pleased to be eating it was fine by me.

Tuesday morning….WEIGH IN

INITIAL WEIGH IN  17ST 0

LAST WEEK              16ST 6

TODAY………………..16st 5lbs

So one more pound lost – my smallest loss so far…..BUT A LOSS.

Not a brilliant result but I am feeling great – I actually feel like I have lost much more than this so thought I would get out the tape measure for the first time in 3 weeks and see my measurements….

DATE	19 Jan 2015	10 Feb 2015
WEIGHT (KG)	108	104
WEIGHT (STONE)	17st 0.25 lbs	16st5.0lbs
NECK (inches)	16.25	16.00
CHEST (inches)	44	43.5
STERNUM (inches)	41	38.75
HIPS (inches)	44	43
WAIST (inches)	40	39.5

So losses across the board – particularly impressed with the sternum number. I have NEVER lost weight so slowly, nor inches so slowly, on a diet – but the system works so I shall persevere!!!

Another week coming up where I don’t think 4:3 will be possible. Wednesday will be fine, as will next Monday – but Friday we have plans – Same as a few weeks ago I will persevere, as much as I can throughout the day only to eat in the evening. Other than that it is work, gym, fast, be a husband, a dad and ensuring I write this on time next week… enough to be keeping me occupied!!!

Richard

Week 3 – work in progress.

So after such a successful start to my diet I didn’t expect week three to be difficult – However there were some subtle changes to my week which seemed to make it all a bit harder. No excuses here – just a true portrayal of my journey – some weeks will be tough, but if I can make it through the tough weeks then doing this for long-term gain should be a doddle!!!.

TUESDAY – After my successful weigh in on Tuesday morning followed by my Body Combat class and secondary weigh in (see Week 2) I came home and knew I was allowed to eat whatever I wanted – that being said I was off work for the day, the joys of shift work which I go into below, and being at home meant I was away from all kinds of temptation – I had to eat what was in the cupboard. I had a tuna wrap for lunch and Brenda (my wife) made minted lamb chops for dinner. I certainly didn’t go over my TDEE and may have suffered for this over the next few days. Otherwise I spent the day doing a few chores (mostly ironing) and writing my previous blog entry.

WEDNESDAY –  was my 2nd fast day of the week – I was on a morning ‘spin’ shift at work so was up just before 5am. A big change for me with this diet is that I now can’t get a ‘snack’ on my drive into work. I don’t think I ever consciously realised I was doing it but I used to always stop at a service station on the way to work to get a newspaper and then very often (though not always) buy something to eat. Usually something small like a bar of chocolate, but sometimes other things like a croissant or a flapjack. I have noticed now that for the past three weeks I don’t do this, even on my non fast days, so if all else fails getting this terrible trait out of my system will be a great thing.

Being up at 5am for a fast day makes it an incredibly long day – and having your first break in the subsidised work canteen where you have to walk past the hot food (bacon, eggs, sausages, fried bread, mushrooms, toast etc) then on past the cereals to get to the coffee stand is a bit of a bugger – but blinkers on I get my coffee and enjoy my break. The rest of the work day is spent just avoiding the regular temptations around (vending machines, tuck shop in break room etc) and dealing with the hunger pangs. All followed by a 70 min drive home past 3 service stations, it was a great feeling to arrive home mid afternoon having successfully negotiated the day without eating. The next few hours were a breeze as I knew I was just getting closer and closer to dinner – a delicious beef casserole with wild rice – tough to know the exact calorie content but we were certain that it was below 600kcal – maybe even a touch below 500kcal.

No exercise this day as I am up even earlier tomorrow and tend not to exercise in the afternoon if that’s the case.

THURSDAY – a 6am start at work so a 4:20 alarm call – made it to work without a snack from a service station (yay me). Worked the first session until 7am and again went to the canteen – this time I didn’t walk past the hot food stand and enjoyed scrambled egg on seeded toast. Again a change to my usual eggs, bacon, sausages etc so even though on a proper eating day I remained sensible. Due to the number of staff in on Thursday, and thanks to me being the early start, I was able to get away from work and back home in time for the lunchtime gym class. On Thursdays this class is called Insanity. For those that know it then great, those that don’t I will give a complete run down in a later post – but for now lets just say it is 30mins (sometimes 45 mins but this was the express class) of pure torture – High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) using just your body weight. Class completed I was back home and not due in work until Monday. Lunch was another wrap and dinner a very mild chicken and random veg curry.

FRIDAY – MY FIRST FAILED FAST DAY…..HOWEVER…..

I knew this would be the case. We had dinner plans arranged, and as I don’t get every weekend off, having a Friday free for dinner and seeing some old friends is a rarity. Knowing this I kept myself busy all day, housework, washing, more ironing, vacuuming… just keeping busy really…. but no food. That evening we went to Wagamamas (a Japanese style restaurant)  in Walton with Gavin and Amy. We haven’t had a decent night out with them in ages and they loved seeing the changes to our daughter. I didn’t deny myself anything off the menu but did not drink alcohol. It was my first meal out on a fast day and I was prepared that I wouldn’t stick to my 600kcal limit but drinking booze wouldn’t have allowed me to remain anywhere near it. I also noticed that menus don’t tell you the calories on a meal – a bit annoying for this diet. I was fairly certain that my main course of beef teriyaki dumburi (beef brisket in teriyaki sauce with sticky white rice) would have been close to, if not under, my 600kcal and decided to also add chilli squid and some dumplings – I have just looked on their website and found out the main was over 1000kcal and almost 600kcal for the sides…. whoops!!!! Still, as I said, I knew I was eating out and that this week wouldn’t be the full 4:3 I had done the previous week and I feel I limited the losses by fasting during the day so effectively I have had two full 36 hour fast days and one 24 hour…. a small price to pay for a great evening out with friends.

The Weekend – I was off work this weekend which doesn’t happen too often so I was able to do the Saturday morning swimming and ballet duties for my daughter. Once all that was complete I came home and lit the BBQ – we cooked ribs, steak and sausages and the wife made two salads, one with carrot and coconut and the other with rice and lentils. They were delicious and very filling resulting in a whole rack of the ribs being left over. We worked quite hard on our outdoor space and I drank beer whilst working and some wine with dinner. Sunday was a relaxing family day – we took a long walk round the shops in the morning after coffees at one of the multitude of coffee shops in Staines town centre. One of the things I am loving about this diet is that I can still occasionally enjoy a latte!!! We came home and I did another BBQ – this time using my weber (a kettle grill) to roast a whole chicken along with butternut, potatoes and roasted onions. As a side we had cauliflower so a big Sunday Roast but not overly bad… We ate about 4pm so for an evening treat I had some of the leftover ribs from yesterday!!

No exercise on either day – I don’t think it too fair on my 1/2 way through pregnant wife that I disappear for an hour or two on the precious weekends I am actually off work.

Monday – a new week begins with a fast day. I am working in the office today putting together a training package for the Special VFR sector at work (basically how all the helicopters fly in and around London). I’m not used to office work – In fact I do the job I do just so I don’t have to work in an office – so tend to keep them to a minimum – that being said it does change the usual working day to keep things interesting. It meant, as it says, being in an office all day – in this case a room with a computer and just me – I could so easily have eaten and no one would have been any the wiser…. but I stuck to the fast and saw myself through to dinner. No exercise again due to my working hours and home duties so I only managed the gym twice in the last 7 days, which is annoying as the minimum I try for is 4 sessions – I wonder what effect this will have on the scales. Dinner was leftover from yesterdays BBQ all cooked up in a curry with some wild rice – keeping well under my 600kcal limit.

My Work Schedule 

I wish to discuss working schedule so you can better understand the challenges it gives – along with a multitude of positives.

First thing to note is that I live 70 miles from work…. and drive each day I am working. The 140 mile round trip is the best part of 2.5 hours just sat in my car. Fortunately I do most of my driving outside the main commuter rush hour so rarely am I sat in traffic.

Mornings start at 7am and finish at 2pm and my cycle starts off with 2 mornings. This leads straight into 2 afternoons which run from 2pm-10pm. These are the core watch duties – the other part to the cycle for the core watch is 2 night shifts – these run from 10pm – 7am so the full 24 hours period is covered. However, as the amount of air traffic drops significantly during the night the number of people required to work these shifts is reduced. Therefore, instead of a set of nights you may be rostered for either afternoon or morning spin shifts. These run on from your core 4 days either straight into 2 more afternoons or (as our rest hours are regulated) a day off followed by 2 morning duties. Then I am given 4 days off (3 if on morning spins as Ive already had one of them) This equates to a 10 day rolling roster so If I am on a morning on the 3rd of the month then I will also be on a morning on the 13th and 23rd. We as a business are ‘open’ 24 hours a day , 7 days a week , 365 days a year so weekends, Bank Holidays, Birthdays, Weddings – you name it – you may be working!!! In fact I worked last Christmas Day ….

Weekends are also hit and miss – I may be off the entire weekend, I may be working one or both days as a morning or one or both as an afternoon – it just depends how the cycle falls – hence I’m quite protective of the time I do actually get off with the family.

On the plus side – when I take 6 days annual leave I then get 14 days off (4 usual off days + 6 days leave + 4 usual off days).

How does all this relate to the diet – simple really – as I don’t do the usual Monday – Friday 9-5 job I can’t plan weekly and do the same thing week in week out. So I am fully prepared that some weeks will be harder than others, some weeks I will be in the gym lots and other weeks limited. My fast days may be on morning duties, afternoons, nights or days off – there’s no standard and I will have to endure/enjoy each occasion.

Weigh In

I was working Tuesday morning and out of the house at 6am so my weigh in is on my scales at home very first thing.

INITIAL WEIGH IN  17ST 0

LAST WEEK              16ST 8

TODAY………………..16st 6lbs

ANOTHER GREAT RESULT – 2 POUNDS LOST…. CONSIDERING I DIDNT GYM AS MUCH AS ID HAVE LIKED, AND ALSO BROKE MY FAST DAY ON FRIDAY I AM REALLY HAPPY…..

TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS SO FAR….. 8 POUNDS

THANKS FOR READING

RICHARD