Week 7 – a weak week

All things considered it has not been a great week for my diet. I said last week that this is usually the time of a diet I come off the wagon… I see some success, feel better, and think “job done”. That hasn’t really been the case this last week however, I haven’t stuck to the plan as religiously as I have done in the past. There are reasons though….(aren’t there always!!!)

I was relatively pleased with Tuesdays weigh in – followed that by Body Combat (45 mins) and good food throughout the day. We have had a friend stay with us this last week so Tuesday night saw us crack open a few bottles of wine. Once everyone had cleared downstairs I watched a game of football I had recorded earlier so had a fairly late night….

Wednesday I was booked into Body Attack (45 mins) at 10am. After my late night previously I was up at 7am to take my daughter to nursery – upon returning I had a little lie down and woke up at 10:20am – missed my gym class…. not happy!!!! This was a fast day, and one with a (mild) hangover – I was fairly useless all day and when it came to dinner smashed my 600kcal allowance so a double whammy of failure… no gym, failed fast!!!!

Thursday was a non fast day and I did manage to get to the gym for an Insanity class (see below). So back to some exercise but again ate and drank liberally… oh the joys of being off work!!!

Friday was my 2nd fast day of the week. I did not do any gym, partly as I don’t like the Friday morning classes, and also because we had a Doctors appointment for my (now 23 week) pregnant wife. After this we took our daughter  to Windsor Castle for a day out. After touring the State Rooms we went to a hotel over the road for afternoon tea – This was designed as a special treat for our daughter and it was, she loved it…. unfortunately for me it meant I broke my fast…. I know I didn’t need to eat it but it looked and was delicious…. no gym, failed fast!!!!

Not been a great week so far – maybe the weekend will be different. hmmmmmmm

Saturday was our daughters swimming and ballet classes – which I took her too after a nice breakfast of Hot Cross Buns! After these classes I took her to the cinema and brought an enormous box of popcorn… I didn’t really want a big box but was talked into it by the salesperson – and to avoid her eating too much I ate loads!!! Saturday evening we had a Braai (BBQ).

Sunday was slightly more sedate – with an afternoon roast dinner, Beef, potatoes, carrots, cauliflower etc

So 6 days in, 2 gym classes done, 0 fast days fully completed, 1 day top go….

Monday – time to get back on track – double gym class (Insanity – 45 mins / Body Attack – 60 mins) no food all day and a light dinner – homemade tomato soup and half a tuna sandwich.

So on the face of it I have inadvertently done a maintenance week  – that is following the 6:1 format of the diet and my (personally) assigned 4 sessions of exercise…. throw in 3 x BBQs, several bottles of wine and a few cans of beer it’s not the sort of week I am impressed by, nor the sort of week that will see me losing weight constantly over the coming months – but the numbers will not lie so we will find out later.

Exercise

I have talked a lot about the different types of exercise classes I do over the last few weeks and will discuss them in more depth over the coming weeks (when not giving out a recipe)

This week I will talk about INSANITY. I first found the exercise program on a TV shopping channel and subsequently found the DVDs for sale at a car boot. The premise is of High Intensity Interval Training – I’m paraphrasing here… usual interval training has you work hard for a short period of time followed by a longer period of rest and repeat – this program flips it on its head so you work hard for 2-3 mins then rest for 30 secs then repeat. The beauty of it is that it uses no equipment at all – everything is done by using your body weight for resistance – press ups, burpees, tuck jumps, running on spot, star jumps … all those horrible things we have done in the past – but put together in a format that is fun and hard – oh so very hard. The guy that “stars” on the DVDs is called Shaun T – an American trainer, ex track athlete and dancer – ripped to shreds and very motivational – even when you are just in your front room!. The DVD program is designed for you to do daily for a period of 60 days – I have never made the full 60 days – partly through injury, partly through shift work commitments – but also because I like to do classes at the gym and I find it hard to do both (although it has been known). So I was very pleased when my local gym started to do Insanity gym classes. These follow exactly the same format and the classes last between 30 and 45 mins. I worked out the other day that a 45 min class has you working for about 35 mins – The classes you do at home run for 45 mins to 60 mins but I find I work harder at the gym as my sofa isn’t so close so I can’t rest or pause the DVD if needed – that’s the beauty of gym classes – the instructor is in the room and there is often someone to match yourself against – to compete with. This isn’t saying I don’t work hard when I am at home – I do – but I certainly work harder at the gym.

Weigh In

INITIAL WEIGH IN  17ST 0

LAST WEEK              16ST 2

TODAY………………..16st 2.75

So a 0.75 lb weight gain….ARRRGGHHHHH

Need to find some positives…..

I jumped on the scales at the gym on Tuesday morning – These are the scales which show height and weight, and calculate body fat percentage – below are three slips – one from the beginning of my journey (Week 2), one from last week and one from This week.

s

So where are the positive – Whilst my weight has indeed gone up by 0.3kg my body fat % has dropped by 0.6% or 0.3kg.

I can only surmise from this that I have started to put on some muscle – it is not an excuse but if my body fat has gone down by 0.3kg and my weight increased by 0.3kg then that is a gain of 0.6kg somewhere…. Some probably is muscle, some may be water retention after the heavy bout of exercise the day before.

Either way there are a few positives from this week – Im disappointed that I didn’t stick to the diet as well as I have done in the past but will not slip this week and look forward to next weeks results.

Richard

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

Week 2

How Has My First Week Been?

Its been a great week. I have found my fast days relatively easy – I did struggle with last Wednesdays but having made it through and looking back I realised that the hunger only lasted a short period and it was more a mental challenge than anything else. Both Monday and Friday went well so I am pleased with the week.

So the food and exercise…

Monday – 1 hour Body attack class (about 800 kcal burned) and  fajitas in the evening. I allowed myself some lean steak with the mix and we had them in lettuce leaves instead of wraps – easily under 600 kcal.

Tuesday – 45 mins Body Combat class (about 600 kcal burned) and normal eating.

Wednesday – 45 mins Body Attack class (about 600 kcal burned) and a kebab (just chicken – no pita) for dinner – again easily under 600 kcal.

Thursday – round of golf (so a 5 mile walk or so) with normal eating.

Friday – no exercise but just had an evening meal of lean steak, corn on the cob, asparagus tips and tomatoes – love that I can have a meal like this on my fast day and still be doing the diet right!!! Looks great…

Saturday and Sunday I purposefully ate whatever I wanted along with drinking beer and wine and no exercise – I wanted to see if concentrating for the 5 weekdays and being ‘naughty’ on the weekends would have an effect – this isn’t my plan every weekend but it will be nice to know for the future.

Monday (week 2) – 1 hour body attack class – worked in the afternoon and just ate Brendas’ (my wife) home-made meatballs, in a tomato sauce with courgetty-spaghetti  (1 x courgette sliced into thin strips resembling spaghetti and steamed) – only about 450kcal.

Tuesday morning WEIGH IN……

Weigh In Explained

I believe that the time you weigh in, along with where and on what scales are very important to seeing the correct results.

My scales at home aren’t particularly great – having them set up in one bathroom (with a lino floor) can give me a weight as much as 7 lbs less than if they were in the other bathroom (with a tiled floor). For the most accurate results I have decided to take the higher reading and even go as far as ensuring the scales are in the exact same spot every time.

What day to weigh in? I initially thought that I would be weighing in on a Monday morning – however I put some thought into this and decided that this will not give me a constant reading – let me explain. Sunday will always be a normal eating day, however depending on what I am doing I may eat at completely differing times or even amounts. If I am at home we may have a full blown Sunday Roast at about 2pm with a light evening meal. If I am working I will have a normal sized lunch followed by dinner sometime between 7 and 8pm. We may have guests over for dinner or go to the pub…. all variances which could skew my weigh in on a Monday morning. Mondays, however, will ALWAYS be a fast day so I can guarantee that on a Tuesday morning I would have eaten a low calorie meal the day before. Therefore always a constant and I should see no peaks or troughs in my numbers for unknown reasons – the scales will not lie and I will have my true weekly weight.

When to weigh in? I was told by the course facilitator when I first did weight watchers that there is an optimum time to weigh in – again keeping everything equal and its some advice I will stick to…..

After a wee but before a cup of tea!!!

This wilL also work well with my shift work so if I am up and out of the house before 5am, and stick to the above, the reading shouldnt be too different to a normal 7am weigh in.

Any other weigh ins? Well yes…..

There is a proper weigh in machine which gives weight, weight, BMI and body fat percentage at my gym. I used this last week immediately after my Body Combat class on Tuesday. Again, in the interests of consistency, I plan to use this after each Tuesday morning combat class. I appreciate it will have some variances (amount of sweat during the class, water intake also etc) but the body fat % will be an interesting figure to follow. I can’t always make Body Combat due to work so some weekS (maybe two in a row) I will miss this weigh in, but when im in the class I will weigh in after and post my results.

Talking of results!!!!!

THIS MORNING I WEIGHED IN AT 16ST 8LBS

THAT’S A SIX POUND LOSS IN JUST OVER A WEEK.

I HAVE LOST ABOUT 1/2 INCH AROUND MY 4 MEASUREMENTS

And the gym scales say my body fat % has dropped from 27.4% to 25.5% (it also states I have grown by 3/4 inch so treating these with a pinch of salt.

GREAT FIGURES especially as I wasn’t on my game fully over the weekend. A long way to go but a cracking start…. now – how close to my ‘shirt’ target am I???

Thanks for Reading

Richard

Week one continued

Week one – Tue-Thu

Tuesday and Thursday were normal eating days but on both days I exercised – On Tuesday I managed a Body Combat class. Similar to the previously mentioned Body Attack in that it is exercise to music, but Combat utilises moves from boxing and martial arts – trust me – shadow boxing is HARD work. Today I played 18 holes of golf – basically a 5 mile (or so) walk! But have eaten liberally and well.

Wednesday was tough – I woke up hungry – a horrible start to a fast day. I then did a Body Attack class and came home even hungrier – I was determined to prove to myself that the coping mechanisms provided in the book would see me through to dinner – I knew I had to go out in the afternoon for a few hours to collect some furniture and just spent the rest of the day doing things to keep my mind off food – drinking water when the stomach grumbles came certainly helped, but I found the best thing was getting my mind fixated on something else – I did the ironing and watched some TV (joys of a day off work), and got through to my furniture excursion, by the time I got home I knew dinner was just a few hours away and successfully saw those hours through.

I now know that even on the hardest days I can work to the plan I have set myself…. good stuff.

For dinner we had a kebab…. WHAT I hear you shout…. well let me explain. I basically had chicken and salad. My usual order would be a large chicken kebab, in a pitta bread, a side portion of chips, garlic mayonnaise and some Burger sauce. On Wednesday I had just just the chicken and associated salad – it was almost as tasty and as usual, I knew the next day I could eat more luxurious food. Total calories we worked out at about 500.

The Science of Weight Loss (In my words)

I have read many books over the years on how to lose weight, Atkins books, Dukan books and now the 5:2 books. I know each diet works as I have had success on each (albeit initial success on the 5:2). However, my belief is, even though they are differing diets, they all use the same science behind their weight loss and that is that they get your body to use body fat as its source of energy, a process known as KETOSIS.

Please don’t take what I am about to say as complete scientific fact – this is purely my interpretation of the texts as I have read them in the past.

Our bodies burn energy in everything we do – even simple states such as breathing, heart beating and eyelids blinking use energy (I think the amount of energy our bodies use to provide these basic functions is known as our Basic Metabolic Rate BMR). Then as our bodies move more and do more strenuous activity – more energy is required – eventually getting you to a point where there is a certain amount of energy our body requires to do all of the things we ask of it. This is known as Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). So where does this energy required come from.

When we eat carbohydrates (sugars) our body turns these into glycogen… these are stored in the liver and are used as our primary fuel for everything we do. If we starve our bodies of these sugars then our body will continue to use the stored glycogen until it has run out – at this point our bodies will convert to a state of ketosis – a state where, as mentioned, it uses its fat stores for energy. The Dukan diet achieves this quickly by not allowing you ANY sugars – just a pure protein diet. The Atkins diet does this slower – typically 3-4 days or so – by allowing us to eat 20g of carbs per day. We are then asked to continue starving our bodies of said sugars for a prolonged period of time to continue to burn body fat for fuel – the longer we stay in this state – = more fat lost. The rate at which we are in Ketosis can be easily checked. You can purchase Ketostix from most pharmacies or through Amazon. These are little sticks that you urinate on which detect the amount of Ketones (a by-product of Ketosis) you are passing through – the darker the colour change the more fat you are burning for fuel.

Sounds simple…. and it is in writing – however they are very difficult diets to stick to. They are not socially conforming for a start, so if we ever go out for a meal they are incredibly hard to cater for – especially Dukan. More so, they deny us things that our bodies (well certainly mine) have become addicted to – Carbs…. be it bread, pasta, potatoes, sweets, chocolate, crisps, alcohol – the list is endless, and eventually we will crack.

When I lost all the weight in 2007 it was done quite quickly courtesy of the Atkins diet and lots (and I mean lots) of exercise. I was cycling 20 miles a day, swimming 1 mile and walking for 2 hours. My body was burning fat at an astonishing rate – but it was not achievable long-term as I wanted the things I craved, and the maintenance portion of the diet still didn’t really allow me these things as and when I wanted them.

So why is all this important

Well I found out recently that the 5:2 intermittent fast diet ALSO puts me into Ketosis.

Saturday and Sunday were normal eating days – I was working both days and ate porridge, sandwiches, chocolate and had wine with my main dinners. All non-diet foods – foods very likely to fill my glycogen stores to their max!!! On Monday I fasted, but exercised for 1 hour in the morning – I did not eat straight after, in fact I left all my calories until dinner where we had a meal without any carbs. That evening I used the toilet – and on the shelf in my eye line was my Ketostix, stored away after my last failed Atkins attempt, and decided to use one to check my urine…. LOW AND BEHOLD I WAS IN KETOSIS. After one day fasting, with some exercise thrown in, I had visual confirmation that my body was burning fat as its fuel source. Great news…. the diet is working – whats more, on Tuesday, I didn’t deny myself anything (but managed to stay within my TDEE). I was out of Ketosis by Tuesday evening – I followed the same pattern yesterday (Wednesday) of fast diet with exercise in the morning and was in ketosis again by lunch time.

I seem to have finally found a diet that allows me to eat what I want (just not all the time) and allow me to burn fat for fuel (just not all the time). I fully appreciate that this will mean my body will not shrink at the rate it did in 2007 – but fore-warned is fore-armed and I am prepared for a long drawn out battle – AND WILL COME OUT VICTORIOUS!!!!!

No weight checks today – leaving that for Monday

Thanks for reading

Richard

5:2 Week 1

Welcome back – Thanks for reading

I am calling this week 1 of my Blog. Last week shall be my Week zero – a testing week to see whether or not the 5:2 diet will be achievable for me… and you know what – I reckon it is…

I fasted on Wednesday and Friday last week. Both days were work days, Wednesday was a morning shift (0700 – 1400) and Friday an afternoon (1400 – 2200). Fasting both days was easy – I had very few problems which is amazing considering the temptations there are at work (more about that some time soon). I then ate liberally but healthily on Saturday and Sunday. I weighed myself this morning and weighed 17st 0.25lbs. Great going – almost 4 pounds lost in 5 days BUT THIS IS WEEK 1 SO THIS SHALL BE MY STARTING WEIGHT thus so far… ZERO POUNDS LOST.

So this is it – the start of my diet. And that means weighing myself, taking measurements and the wonderful ‘before’ picture. All of which are below. Now, I wouldn’t subject any of you to a picture of me in my boxers but have something else in mind which links in nicely to the following.

What will I consider Success?

I have been thinking a lot about this over the weekend. Would success be reaching the top end of the healthy BMI range….25. This would require a loss of 29 kg or just over 4 1/2 stone. Possibly achievable but a target too far off to currently comprehend. Would success be an arbitrary number somewhere in between such as 1 or 2 stone, or a milestone, say sub 100kg. All successes I’m sure you will agree but as I discussed in my last post I need intrinsic goals to work towards. And I have an idea…..

When I lost lots of weight in 2007 the lightest I got to was 14st 10lbs. I was running 4 times a week and felt great. Prior to losing the weight, as previously stated, I was very big – therefore so were my clothes. I clearly remember one Friday night my friends came to pick me up for a night out and they ridiculed me (as only friends can) for still wearing the clothes I possessed and wore pre-weight loss…. I looked like I was wearing a tent. After some banter about my obvious lack of style, my mate Will took off his own shirt for me to wear that night (what he wore after that I can’t remember??). I have known Will for many years, in fact we played rugby together at numerous clubs, me mostly as prop forward and him as either scrum half or fly half… that should tell you all you need to know about our differing body types. To not only attempt to borrow, but to actually fit into and subsequently wear out, one of his shirts made me quickly realise I needed a shopping trip.

The majority of clothes I purchased in the following months no longer fit so now reside in a big plastic box in the loft, and I have chosen 1 of these shirts as my ‘goal’ shirt. It is a nice black dress shirt, Pierre Cardin… so branded but nothing special. I wore this shirt out once and I remember exactly where and what happened that night so it has some history. I wore it to dinner with 2 of my friends (Will and Brad) and their girlfriends…now wives, and this is the night in late 2007 that they talked me into running the London Marathon with them 4 months later. I somehow managed to actually put on weight whilst training for the marathon so never wore this shirt again.

To have it as my ‘goal’ shirt will ensure a goal that I know is achievable, one that if I reach (sorry… when I reach) I will know that not only the diet is working, but also I have committed myself to eating properly as well as exercising well. I do not just want to do up the buttons. I want to be able to wear this shirt to work – an environment that doesn’t play too kindly on someone dressed like an idiot. As you can see below there is plenty of work to do – but I aim to take progress pictures as well as update my numbers as we go on.

Today

Today is a Fasting day, but I’m doing something new – something I didn’t do on my fasting days last week. I have been to the gym. I’m not particularly good at having proper workouts in the actual gym, I find I work hard – but get lazy and quit when I feel like I have had enough. Therefore I partake in exercise classes. My gym is Spelthorne Leisure Centre and they run various classes. Most are based on the Les Mills exercise regime. Les Mills are a company which provide choreographed exercise to music group fitness classes… todays’ was Body Attack run by the brilliant Michelle Laurie. The 1 hour class consists of mostly cardio tracks with some strength resistance and core work thrown in for good measure. I was a regular last year but this morning was my first class for about 6 weeks and I surprised myself by not only completing the class, but finding the strength and power to still be achieving sets of burpees followed by a tuck jump in the 50th minute. Lots of sweet, lots of hard work, and I’m guessing a 700-800 calorie burn. All without eating!!!!

Reading the fast diet book and seeing the forums at http://www.thefastdiet.co.uk, exercising on your fast days should improve your results considerably. I fully understand that this will be a long process and should only expect a 1-2 lb loss per week, but whilst I’m feeling active and fully committed I don’t see any issue with working hard and pushing the boundaries right now.

Dinner will be vegetable fajitas. Lots of veg, fajita spice all wrapped in a lettuce leaf – easily keeping within my 600kcal allowance so can allow myself a snack if the need arises – if it doesn’t then I can have two fajita lettuce leaf wraps!!!

Fortunately writing this has helped with the hunger pangs over the last hour or so which is exactly one of the things I want from this blog – a nice distraction to food. A non-fast day tomorrow (not sure I like the term ‘feast’ day as the literature suggests) and back fasting Wednesday.

On a final note I had over 60 views of my initial blog, and that was without putting it on Facebook, so if you are back many thanks for reading and if you are new then welcome. Knowing I am putting it all out there in words, thoughts and now pictures is really giving me the drive to continue and succeed … Long may that drive continue.

DATE	19 Jan 2015
WEIGHT (KG)	108
WEIGHT (STONE)	17st 0.25 lbs
NECK (inches)	16.25
CHEST (inches)	44
STERNUM (inches)	41
HIPS (inches)	44
WAIST (inches)	40

So it turns out I don’t yet know how to add tables to this blog…. something I will work on when the hunger pangs strike in the future – but this will do for now!!!

And now the photo…..

So there we have it – that’s as close as I can get the buttons together – check back to watch that gap close!

Thanks for reading.

Richard

My First Diet Blog

Hi. I’m Richard and I’m fat!!! Well they do say the first course of action to addressing a problem is to admitting a problem.

I’m going to lose weight (honest) and have decided to write about my journey. Having never written a blog before I have no idea about the correct terms or etiquette so if I make any errors along the way I apologise here and now.

So why a blog?

I’m viewing this as a glorified diary… One that will not only chart my progress but also keep me honest and true about my journey. More than that, if I actually get anybody read this I hope to gain a sense of responsibility to my readers to ensure I stick to the plan and continue to succeed…. Put simply I hope to use it as a tool to help myself and you never know, maybe eventually inspire others.

Who am I?

Well as I said at the beginning I am Richard. I’m a 35 year old male from Staines just outside of London. I am married to my fabulous wife and we have a 3 year old daughter… oh and another on the way. I’m an Air Traffic Control Officer based in Swanwick (Hampshire) dealing with flights into Heathrow, London City, Biggin Hill as well as all the helicopters over central London. I enjoy playing golf, 5-a-side football and exercise classes as well as watching a multitude of sports. I like to BBQ, although, as my wife is South African, I had better refer to it as a Braii. I do an excellent slow roasted pulled pork as well as, what some friends refer to, as the best steak ever.

So am I really fat?

I know I’m overweight. The day before I started this process I weighed in at 17st 4lbs. I’m 6ft tall in the morning and this equates to a BMI of about 33… According the BBC webpage (linked into their recent Horizon diet program) this classes me as VERY OVERWEIGHT!!!  My waist is 40 inches and the most concerning number is my belly – the circumference over and around my belly button (my hips though I can’t remember seeing them) is 44 inches. But they are just the baseline figures, as with most things there’s more to it than that.

I have always been a big guy, taller than most at school I was first choice 2nd row in the rugby team. Over a period of 5 years I eventually ended up as a prop forward most likely courtesy of my weight gain in my late teens. Simply put I’ve never been the small guy. With this I generally carry the weight well… People are often surprised (or they feign surprise) when they find out my actual weight, in fact my wife thinks I believe I am fatter than I actually am!! Even so, I am still the guy “affectionately” known as big rich…. Or by one friend as “phat phucker”, terms of semi endearment which any overweight person will tell you just eventually become part of the norm… Disliked but accepted!!!

I rarely search for clothes below XL,and like others I’m sure, generally shop a size up to ensure the clothes aren’t too tight fitting… Thus fat revealing. I can just about buy clothes off the peg but need to shop in store as they need to be tried on  so Internet shopping is a no no.

I get tired. Whilst this is annoying when walking up a few flights of stairs… It’s incredibly depressing when I decide not to do things with my daughter. Whilst I do active things with her, in the interest of “warts and all” honesty, have I ever gotten her to play with a puzzle rather than take her to the park….. I’m afraid to say yes. Something I don’t like about myself at the moment…. But something I’m determined will not be an issue as she grows older.

Finally, and the most horrible to talk about…. I sweat…. A lot!!!! Last summer we were at a friend’s house for a BBQ. It was very hot and we were all having a fun day…. After a few beers Cloughy (the host) and myself decided to play headers with a football…. Within 10 minutes I was completely drenched in sweat. Annoyingly I’m not completely unfit, what I do possess however, is my own personal-under-skin-thermal-insulation-blanket…. Lose weight, thus lose that blanket and sweat less.

Lets just say that in answer to my initial question… Yes I am.

Dieting History

I am known as an habitual Fad dieter. When I told colleagues I was embarking on a new diet the general response was “which one now?”.

I have also had success with diets but have never seen them through to true completion… Generally referred to in most diets as maintenance.

The two main success I have had have been through the Atkins diet which I will talk about shortly. But I have also had varying degrees of success following WeightWatchers, Slimming World, Dukan Diet and the 8 hour diet. All totalled I have probably lost 20 stones over the course of 13 years only to find myself back where I started.

I know how to lose weight, I know how hard it is, and I know the REAL ABSOLUTE 100% secret….

EAT LESS AND MOVE MORE

Unfortunately that is so much easier said than done.

I can’t just lose weight by having that as my only goal. I’m not wired that way…. I need an intrinsic goal, something material to work toward.

Back in 2002 (age 23) I was applying to become an Air Traffic Control Officer. I had passed all the rigorous stages of application and only had a medical standing between me and starting my training. I went for the medical and was told my weight was a health problem and I was going fail. According to the company website in excess of 10000 people apply for 120 placements each year, and I believe the Doctor knowing this and understanding how far in the process I had come, did me a favour and gave me 3 months to shed some weight. I immediately started on the ATKINS diet and 3 months later had shed 3 stone. An intrinsic goal led me to lose the weight – I got the job. Once the goal was achieved I came off the diet and guess what…. eventually the weight returned.

In 2007 I was at my heaviest – I topped the scales at 20 stone … big big numbers. I was also very unhappy. I was single and bored with who I was, I wasnt exercising at all and was privately very concerned about my health. On top of this all my close friends were getting married and having children – I was being left behind. Something had to be done. I knew that losing the weight would give me renewed confidence, potentially meet someone and generally feel better about myself. Again I did the ATKINS diet and this time lost over 5 stone. It was a massive turning point in my life which culminated in 2 amazing events. Firstly  meeting the woman who would become my wife… would I have been in the position to meet her if I hadn’t lost the weight – I doubt it. Secondly I got fit – so fit that in 2008 I ran the London marathon. 9 months previous I couldn’t run the length of my (relatively short) street. However – again the weight has crept back on… not all of it – but enough.

So why can I lose it only to see it go back on – simple – the ratio between calories in and calories out changed from a positive effect to a negative one.

Nowadays I’m very happy, with a wonderful wife, beautiful baby girl and another child on the way, fully qualified at work in a profession I love, excellent work life balance with great friends to boot…. all in all life is fantastic…. except for the figure on the scales.

AND WHILE LIFE IS SO GOOD WHERE IS MY MUCH REQUIRED INCENTIVE TO LOSE WEIGHT???

Health, family, longevity, clothes, fat jibes etc havent stopped me reaching for the chocolate bars up till now – maybe this blog will be the difference??!?!?

So which diet this time?

I plan on intermittent fasting. I had previously seen the Horizon documentary by Michael Mosley but wasnt in the right frame of mind to start a diet. Also, I never start anything on January 1st – My only New Years resolution is not to make any resolutions except for no new resolutions the following year…. So I decided to start mid Jan. Having purchased the fast diet book On Monday I quickly realised that there is no time like the present to start so had my first fast day on Wednesday and am now on my second today (Friday). Currently it is going well and I am motivated albeit hungry – another reason to write this blog is for something to do when the hunger pangs strike. I’m doing a slightly modified version that I feel will work for me…. I will be fasting 3 days a week so essentially a 4:3 diet – this will allow for 1 failure per week (sometimes life will get in the way) so at the very least I will be achieving the 5:2 standard. I will come back to discuss how my fast/feast days are going as well as activity levels and thoughts throughout.

Richard

17st 4