The 5:2 Diet - Week Three

The 5:2 Diet Week Three (AKA Intermittent Fasting).

Success for this is and oddity as it's Xmas and I'm not at work where it's easier to not eat constantly and to eat better as meals and snacks are planned and not a matter of convenience or accessibility.

However I have beent through a fat and sugar Xmas dinner, lunch and leftovers for a eek or so and managed to keep the fasting days under 600 calories and maintained at 91/92 Kilos in weight with exercise.

Feels more like maintaining than losing weight, again it may be more effective over time and when there is less temptation for rich food (My fridge was filled with containers of Russian Fudge, Chocolate Brownie & Rocky Road) which I have been eating but also not gaining weight again on top of that.

Another week or so and then on to the final quarter of my year long dietary experiments.

Must organise a GP check up and copare general health and fitness to before I started all this.

The 5:2 Diet - Week Two

The 5:2 Diet (aka Intermittent Fasting) Week Two.

This week has been a more successful in that I tired to eat closer to the limit to avoid overeating/overcompensating afterwards and succeeded. Last week I went from 90/91 to 94 because I ate quite a lot in the weekend and constantly snacked, which is something I have not done in a long time - over 9 months now.

This week I managed to move the fasting days and keep non-fasting days on a more sensible level - despite the claim you can eat whatever you want, that is obviously not true but you can eat sensibly and at normal levels on your off days.

I moved the fasting days to allow for a family meal with the in laws, Xmas BBQ lunch at work and will do so again this week to allow for Xmas day feeds as well.

This week finished the second day at 91.3 - regaining the ground slipped away from last weekend.

Over time I suspect this is very effective provided you also are sensible on your off days. I have had takeaways twice this week (first time in a while so close together) and still managed to keep losing, but also noticed that a couple of times I stopped eating because I was full. The trap not to "push past it"  to finish whats on your plate.

Max also losing weight, this diet seems to work well for her and does not mind it as much as the daily restrictive one.

The 5:2 Diet - Week One

The 5:2 Diet (aka Intermittent Fasting): Week One

I have started the 5:2 diet, the basic concept is that you fast for 2 days out of every seven. On those days consume less than 600 calories. The only other caveat is that you don't have the two fast days consecutively.

So I chose tuesdays and thursdays as it's a lot easier to achieve it when I am at work.

Day one was surprisingly easy and I had less than 100 calories for the approximately 36 hours (from 9 pm to 9 a.m the day after the fast day) and felt little hunger at all. The second day which  was only 24 hours later was lot more noticeable assumably because I had just done one and therefore had less  in the tank. Again I could easily get through the day but I consumed around 500 calories the second day because I needed to, which was fascinating. I can see the people who do alternate day fasting working a lot harder on those off days.

Interesting for me these days are the weekends, as I relax my diet I notice that the less busy I am the more I tend to consume without thought. I Can easily put on 1-2 kilos every weekend if I am eating with zero inhibitions, which I have been doing to see what happens, and so I can see that this diet is most effective if you don't over-react at the end of you fasting period.

The first fast day took me back from 92 to 91 (as the previous weekend I had gained 2 kilos) and the second fast day took me down to a new low of 90.3 kgs.

However in the last couple of days (Friday and Saturday) I put on another 2 kilos - aided by the lack of exercise - I have been to a Xmas party and too busy or suffering from bad timing - to get on the bike for a few days.

With attention to the snacking, the uncontrolled elements and a resumption of daily exercise I can see this being very effective.

The Double Diet Week 5 (AKA the Week off)

The Double Diet Week 5 (AKA the Week off)

Decided after about 9 months of serious attention to diet to avoid thinking about dietary rules and just eat normally for a few days - up to a week before the start of the next diet.

Max broke her part of the double diet after about two weeks and gave up on the broader terms and just vaguely stuck to the spirit of the diet and lost a couple of Kgs though not enough to trigger an accomplishment in her own view.

On my part even though this week I relaxed the rule and ate without much thought I still avoid overeating and cannot consume as much as I used to. I also can't eat heavy carbs - or not that much anyway before feeling full a lot faster and have developed a pattern of lighter dinners and heavier lunches anyway. Also high sugar items like Soda, Sauces and Sweets are too much more thatn I can handle these days and leave me feeling a bit sick so I leave them alone in general.

Previously the idea of sharing a chocolate bar seemed an anathema, a waste of time as I'd want  a whole one anyway. Where as now I can be satisfied with a bite or a smaller half and still feel satiated. This is a good thing. I think I appreciate food a lot more now without the need to overdo it to enjoy it.

Surprisingly I have lost another 2.5 kilos, starting the diet at 93.2 (on average) hit 90 kilos for the first time yesterday, last night in fact after my 40 minute stationary bike ride.

Starting on the tenth I will be trying the IF Diet - which seems like a good idea and an extension of a number of timing ideas around food that I have picked up along the way.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/9480451/The-52-diet-can-it-help-you-lose-weight-and-live-longer.html

The Double Diet: Week Four

The Double Diet Week Four.

Weight loss is still happening and the only restrictions are the no carbs after lunch and no snacks. Exercise has not changed 45-60 minutes per day on the exercycle (depending on what I am watching).

Lowest recorded weight 91.1 Kgs - but it goes up and down during the week as all the diets have so far.

Not much to report this week as none of this is new and my partner in crime this month seems to be losing weight too - but she has little to lose compared to me.

I'm thinking this is about my ideal weight now - around the 90 kg mark.

A couple of diets from now (4 to go I think) I will hit a fairly extreme one (the raw food diet) and may lose more - but not expecting that to be the new weight - just more like a new low and then put some back on and come back to around this size which is comfortable.

Next Month either Gluten Free or Intermittent Fasting.

The Double Diet Week Three

The Double Diet Week Three.

Not much to say this week, because I am returning to two old diets doubled up and because I have lost a fair amount already, it's not that this month is either hard, surprising or even that effective - though I am losing weight still it's just much much slower, as it should be as I am around the 91/92 kilo mark which is a pretty healthy weight.

Not sure I agree with the whole BMI thing as I have yet to understand why the BMI is a good weight. It may make mathematic sense, biut you have to take the benchmark for what is healthy and good for your height as a goal? The two may have some bearing on each other in relevance terms, but how that leads to a healthy weight?

Anyway - Max is in Melbourne and still on the diet, bigger lunches and carb free dinners with no snacks. Helps she still has a cold so a bit easier to stick to a diet in a city so driven by food.

Lowest weight for me 91.6 KGs (it goes up and down during the week)

The Double Diet: Week Two

The Double Diet: Week Two.

The Low Carb/No Snack diet continues.

Returning to the no cards after lunch has been harder this time as I have a lost less weight to lose so I feel much hungrier when in the evening phases than I did the first time. That was also a few months and 20-25 kilos ago.

Max has had a rough week of it as she had a nasty cold and still dos so the temptation to eat high carb and snack foods is higher for her, interspersed with periods of not wanting to eat at all due to being ill.

She's coming right and is getting used to the low carb/no carb dinners and snacking is the easy part to cut out, though old habits of long use like a cup of tea and a snack at night is a reflex action. Fortunately since I usually make that tea and snack, thats easy for me to help her avoid.

She has not weighed herself (or if she has she has not told me yet) since beginning but I'd be surprised if she hasn't dropped a couple of K's already from being sick as well as the diets.

Her challenge will be next weekend when she's in Melbourne. All her high carbs will have to be breakfast and lunches, dinners will have to conform. Not that hard to do when you think about it but in a city such as Melbourne where the food is so great that will take some will power.

And big lunches.

Lowest recorded weight this morning 92.2 Kgs.

The Double Diet: Week One

The Double Diet: Week One.

After the success of the dieting up until this point and the relative ease of most of this Max has decided to join me for a diet challenge for this month (on a less extreme version than some of the upcoming diets I have planned).

So with that in mind we are on the Double Diet. It's two people together on two dietary restrictions at once. Two of the more effective restrictions  that do not have a massive effect on any desire to eat or compensate have been locked together so that we can do a month to good effect.

So I am resurrecting the No Carbs After Lunch Rule, and combining it with the No Snack Rule.

Max had a weigh but a gentleman never tells so you'll have to accept my word for any weight loss Max will encounter.

I on the other hand did drop a couple of kilos on the no snack/3 meals a day diet and am around the 93 kilo mark on average. Lowest recorded weight 92.6 KG earlier last week.

Though that diet was impossible to keep to when sick.

3 Meals a Day: Week Four

3 Meals a Day: Week Four.

Have not stuck particularly well to the diet this week, because I had a virus (Norovirus most likely as it was going around) and for a couple of days I barely ate at all - and what went in came out again in short order.

However despite this, because I wasn't eating much for about 4-5 days I lost another 2 kilos - not the best way to lose weight as I felt terrible - which I have avoided on dieting so far.

I also wasn't exercising for those days - I was knocked about fairly hard by the virus.

Next diet starts in 6 days or so.

The Scottish Nana diet - breakfast, main meal at lunch, a lite dinner (soup or salad basically) only.

Lowest recorded weight 92.5 Kilos.

I didn't have a goal weight in mind when I started this, but there is a part of me now very keen to get below 90 kilos again.

It's been a while.

The new pants I bought a week or two ago are now a little looser, not falling off - but definitely loose. Should buy that new belt, none of mine fit.

3 Meals a Day: Week Three

3 Meals a Day Week Three:

Today marks the first time in 7 months that I have broken a diet. Technically it's not much of a break as I have not eaten things I am not supposed to - but that I have missed a meal in this case breakfast - possibly followed by no lunch and dinner.

However I had always sad the only time I would consider a break in diet was if I was unwell - so mark that as a good excuse - I have a stomach bug of some ilk (it's been through max and the kids already - now it's my turn) and food and I are not on speaking terms today.

Still the same weight, 94 kilo range. 3 meals a day and nothing else does not make you hungry and seems to manage a stable weight quite well. I suspect if combined with a more restrictive regimin like Vegan or low-carb it would work effectively to aid loss, but I can pretty much eat anything as long as it comprises one of my meals (and no disguising loads of snacks as a meal).

Going back to bed...

3 Meals a Day - Week Two

3 Meals A Day - Week Two.

I've reached the halfway point of my dieting adventure, with just over 5 months left to go. Not quite sure what will be next on the diet front or if I need to start repeating myself - simple, easily digested diet plans are hard to come by and I have no interest in Aitkins or Dukan or anything that requires much thought.

Week two progresses - the hardest part as expected is remembering to eat breakfast. I feel like I want/need snacks between lunch and dinner, but not at night and not before lunch. So far so good I have managed to eat 3 meals a day and zero else for a couple of weeks now.

Weight remains steady on the 94 Kilos range (depending on the time of the day). But I have also eaten out a few times with a visitor in the house and had wine and cheese with meals - neither of which are in my normal diet.

The picture above refers to me having to buy new clothes this weekend. I was down to one pair of pants that still fit me without falling off (even with the belt on it's last loop). The last size I officially bought was 104L pants (42) and when trying on clothes yesterday I tried 40's (too loose), 38's (too loose) and settled on 36's (92's) which are comfortable but I can still say are not tight. Ineterstingly the cut of the leg made a huge difference. Boot cut and skinny I could not get over my thighs and calves, and the waist was smaller somehow even though I had the same apparent size.

So new pairs of jeans and 6 inches or 12 cms approx different from 6 months ago.

3 Meals a Day Week One

3 Meals a Day - Week One

The rule, must have 3 meals a day and nothing else to eat. So a little more than a simple no snack diet, breakfast must be consumed in some form every day.

This is a challenge for me as I am so not a breakfast person. When Harry is back from School holidays I suspect I will find this even harder as I struggle to get up get the kids ready, get myself ready, get him to school on time and then get to work as well.

But so far so good. Unlike the Vegan diet where I was still snacking, but the food I was eating filled me up less, this diet actually reduces the need for snacks or reduces the desire for snacking.

Sometimes a bit of will power is required, I have a friend visiting and she brought chocolate (Haighs From OZ - yumm-o) and that does not form part of a meal, so Max and the kids luck out there! I'm not overdoing the meals, I've only had dessert the once when the family was over for dinner and it's not a regular part of any meal I have had for years.

I'm not tempted to over eat to compensate, and with exercise burning up extra calories as well, this seems to work as a balanced diet.

Lowest weight 94.3 Kilos, so instead of plateauing or gaining slightly - which I suspected may be a result - I have actually lost a kilo and a half this week - partly from Vegan and partly from changing to this diet.

Very first day off Vegan? Bacon and egg sandwich - mmmm Bacon....

Vegan: Week 4

Vegan: Week Four

Vegan is a very effective if somewhat limiting diet, but it does force you into a pattern of acceptable eating very quickly and has a noticeable and almost instantaneous effect. There is  plenty to choose from and it's not massively hard to find things to eat, but with limited choices you find yourself repeating your dietary choices more often than you would - so the psychological factor of eating loads of lentils, felafels and vegetables is always present and to be watched for.

However despite that it's very encouraging to be losing this kind of weight and not feeling ill effects other than dietary boredom. Often the response I get is "of course you will lose weight, you can't eat anything" which is not true, I still eat meals of a decent size and snack as well, just on a much reduced list of available foods.

The photos above show me at various stages, the fat photo was from May last year I think - and I was close to that in weight (if not heavier as I struggled with even my XXL t-shirts some times) and over 126 kilos (to my knowledge), The middle photo was on the 21st of June when I was 108 Kilos and the last is me in my schmancy new compression gear this week at 96.0 Kilos approximately 30 kilos (probably more than that) lighter than picture 1.

5 more days on Vegan and the to the 3 meals a day and zero snacks diet, which is diet number 7.

Vegan: Week 3

Week 3: Vegan.

Definitely feels like a diet and am hungry a lot of the time now a few weeks in. Food doesn't seem to satisfy me that much, like I can eat a lot but it never seems to be enough. So while I am still losing weight (hit 96.8 at my lowest this week) and sticking to my diet whenever I finish eating I feel like I want more.

So I snack out on popcorn and nuts and all sorts of vegan friendly and relatively healthy options, but my body does seem to be telling me something, that Vegan is not what it wants.

I don't see the sense in a Vegan diet on an ongoing basis, but it is certainly effective for short term weight loss.

What will I take away from this diet? Probably if I ever want to have a crash diet where I have the sole purpose of short term weight loss then this would be an easy enough - if dull choice based - diet to stick to, even with the snacks.

I suspect that the excess snacking is driven by exercise as well, reduced caloric intake with added caloric burning (45 minutes a day on the bike) is probably creating that desire, or perhaps adding to it - not sure of the benefit/balance factor of them together - but it's still very, very interesting to watch your body go through this.

Feel fantastic though with self esteem and body image at an all time high.

Vegan: Week Two

Week Two Of Vegan.

Second week of Vegan passes and with it a couple of kilos. Slowly but definitely am losing weight again, Where I was 99-101 a couple of weeks ago, this week am 97-98 kilos.

Vegan is a hard choice, often limiting the range of food I can choose from. I note that while I am not having too much difficulty finding things to eat, it is a small list of things I choose from and get repeats pretty often.

Felafel, Lentils, Vegetables and Fruit. The other good thing is the Indian, the Mexican and the Fusion/Cafe near work all offer Vegan alternatives and dishes and I have tried most of them so far ad not yet got to the Hare Krishna place further up K Road.

Couple more weeks of this and I should have lost approximately 30 kilos since I started....

Week One: Vegan

Week One of Vegan started 5 days ago and unlike last month I really feel like I am on a diet this time.

The picture above (minus the Avocado which I don't care for) is what I am making for my dinner tonight, Quinoa Burritos!

So far the diet has consisted of lentil and felafel based meals, salads and vegetables. It's a little more limiting than previous diets and I feel like I am dieting again, which I did not on the dairy free month. For the last 4 weeks I hovered between 99 and 101 kilos off and on even with the daily exercise on the stationary bike. I was eating more food to make up for the energy expended on the bike so that kind of makes sense that I was in some kind of stasis.

I'd be surprised if a couple of kilos aren't gone in the next 3-4 weeks though.

One limiting factor is finding food from public spaces, K Road is easy enough if I want to hit a Hare Krishna or Vegetarian place (there are a couple) but when work provided lunch yesterday I did go find my own food as vegetarian pizza and sandwiches both have cheeses and butters - and I'd rather find my own food than pick others apart.

Will be interesting to see how frustrating this diet becomes, even though I suspect it is very effective.

I don't think Vegan makes any sense as a lifestyle choice, but it does obviously take stamina and willpower to stick to it.

Dairy Free: Week Four

Dairy Free: Week Four

In a few days I'll be off Dairy Free on it's own and progressing to Vegan (Fully Vegetarian + Dairy Free essentially) which should feel like a real diet - whereas Dairy Free on it's own has not really.

Had Soy Milk for the first time last night, for no other reason than wanting to try it and see if the new stuff tastes better, which it did. So at least for the remainder of this and into next month I can go back to a proper cup of tea.

Gotten a bit over Black Coffee and Green Tea.

Weight has stayed at 99/100 kilos rather steadily but my snacking at night has increased substantially without any effect on my overall weight thanks to the exercise each day (though I suspect burning all those calories is what's making me hungry).

I may have to try moving the exercise to first thing in the a.m. which is the optimum time for maximum effect, but not being a morning person coupled with being a VERY LATE night person might make for an interesting change for me. Maybe if I can get into it as a habit for a week or more then I can form an earlier to sleep habit?

Dairy Free: Week Three

Dairy Free Week Three.

I do miss cheese, I didn't eat a lot of it - but now that I can't have it - I want it. Same with chocolate, I eat very little of it to keep processed/excessive sugar from my ongoing diet, but even a square looks tempting to me. Same with Milk, I have been taking my coffee black for three weeks now and I don't see the point.

Not sure I see the point in a Dairy Free diet at all. Still worth trying and sticking to it, obviously I make the commitment and stick to it for the month but not a diet change I'd recommend as it seems to make little difference.

Am still in the 99 Kilo range, lowest point 99.2 ks. I suspect that any loss and maintenance is coming from the 40 minutes of stationary biking 6 days a week - not from the non-dairy elements.

Sadly I'm looking forward to Vegan (which includes non-dairy in it) as it will feel like a proper change and will have more of an impact than 4 weeks of no cheese, butter & milk.

Dairy Free Week Two

Week Two of Dairy Free passes without incident.

This is the dullest and most uninteresting of diets and seems to be having little or no effect really. I can't say I see the point in it unless you are a serious dairy consumer at full-fat levels, or are lactose intolerant.

Then again if you were Lactose intolerant you probably would not consume that much anyway.

Rather than feeling like the diet has an effect - it's more like I'm avoiding things that are just in the way. Butter, cheese and milk.

Annoyingly Feta is still dairy by definition so my favourite salad is off the menu.

It will be a lot more effective when coupled with Vegetarian to make Vegan, and while that should work due to the very restrictive nature of the diet, I struggle to see the point of it.

Good things to note outside of Dairy free. Daily exercise = 40 minutes minimum on a static bike at 75% resistance setting (6/8) and my fruit consumption has increased with fresh cut pineapple as my new favourite snack food.

Weight = 99.6 Kgs this morning - it fluctuates around the 100 mark during the week so have been at this level for a couple of weeks now.

Dairy Free: Week One

No Dairy: Week One

Doesn't really feel like much of a diet based on one week of it. Am at 100 Kilos still, dipped slightly below last week but seem to have stabilised for now on this diet.

Basically the challenge is as much as the Sugar Free diet, as Dairy seems to creep its way into many, many things. But unlike the previous ones this seems to not really make any difference to anything other than I am avoiding it.

As I have not just returned to a full sugar, carb heavy, snack heavy diet anyway the weight is not coming back on in any significant way. But based on one week so far this seems the most pointless of diets I have tried so far.

Combined with vegetarian to make vegan will be interesting and much more effective I think. The transition back to meat seemed irrelevant really, it just came back in quietly and did not go whole hog on it - and felt no need or desire to have it again, I just added it as an option.

Though I seem to be more tolerant of fish now for some reason.

Vegetarian: Week 5 (last day)

Vegetarian: Week Five (Last Day)

100 Kilos? Missed it by THAT much! As of this morning am officially in the double digits with a 99.8 weight.

Vegetarian is the lowest amount of effort required and the least satisfying of the diets so far. I don't miss meat per se, but it's harder to feel satiated with a purely veg diet.

On the last notch of my second belt, so if I lose a couple more kilos I may actually have to buy a new belt. Likely I'll but some new clothes anyway as most of my go to shirts and t-shirts are very loose on me to the point of being annoying.

Next month (i.e. Tomorrow) Dairy Free. 

Vegetarian: Week Four

Vegetarian: Week Four.

This morning I hit 100 kilos, a couple more weeks of this project and I should be consistently in the double figure range.

Vegetarian is not hard at all really as I have mentioned before. But. And the but is significant.

It's very hard to stay full. As time wears on through weeks three and four I seem to be less satisfied that I am full on the Vegetarian diet. Meat is obviously quite heavy and filling, and when it is not included in the diet I find that I tend to want to snack more during the day and on weekends.

I'm still sticking to the lower carbs, lower snacks and lower sugar variations to my on going diet but for the first time the diet is making me actually feel hungrier (with the exception of the very first week of this project).

Still being aware and not caving into the feeling is usually enough. I do have to watch myself in the weekends as access to more food and easy snacking is much higher than when being distracted by work.

I did note that on the days I got up before 5 a.m. (which oddly I did twice this week) any delay to getting food really strains at lunch time and found myself seriously tired and hungry by 11 - which is when I usually eat. Though this week the schedule I had for some urgent work stuff made my timing all go out of whack.

5 more days of vegetarian. Not sure there will be a takeaway from this diet, while I am still losing weight for now, it's more likely drawn from the other good habits not from vegetarian per se.

Oh and the exercise is probably helping. I have started back on the stationary bike - 42 minutes per day. 42 minutes being the average length of a standard hour of television without ads. I watch one episode of a TV show while biking - keeps me distracted enough and from being bored.

Vegetarian: Week Three

Vegetarian Week Three:

Closing in on 100 Kilos, and then double figures. Currently 101.8. The vegetarian diet not hard in the least, 3 weeks in and other than the occasional reminder that I'm not having meat (ordering fish and chips etc..) it does not feel like I am on a diet at all. 15 more days and does not feel restrictive in the slightest.

Lentil burgers are one of my favourite dishes, followed by Felafel rissoles in Pita Pockets. This diet works as meat is a substantial portion of the meal, but coupled with the dietary habits taken from the previous months (no snacking, low to no added sugar, reduced carbs at night) it adds to a continuing weight reduction.

Not really thinking about this diet at all and am thinking more of what to do next. Options are dairy free, gluten free, 3 meals a day and Vegan. Vegan is likely a no (or not right now) as it's Max's birthday within the next diet range and we're planning on going out and I'd like to eat more than a garden salad if we go to a restaurant.

Vegetarian: Week Two

Vegetarian - Week Two. This seems like the easiest and least impactive of the diets I have trialled so far. It's not hard in the slightest and seems to come with no cravings, no losses or issues attached.

Simply removing meat is not hard at all. I was a vegetarian for a year or two when I was in my late teens, and I don't even think about it.

I have kept up with a reduced sugar, carb and snack regimen - but without removing these things entirely. I don't bother snacking after dinner any more and a cup of tea is about it for me generally. I did have a small salted popcorn when at the movies the other night, but only because it was free with La Premiere. They offered me a free drink as well but I just went water.

I was 102.8 Kilos this morning and was finally able to fit the t-shirt you see above.

I bought this on sale for $99 in Sydney over 10 years ago and it has NEVER fitted me. I bought it thinking that one day it might because I loved the shirt design that much (That's John Coltrane if you don't know) and it was half price at $99 - the most I have ever spent on what is basically a t-shirt.

I have been trying it on once a week for the last 6 weeks or so and this morning when I put it on it felt like it fit properly and I did not feel like a sausage in it.

Aspirational clothing, this is the one I wanted more than anything else.

Vegetarian: Week One

Vegetarian Week One:

Vegetarian is not really that hard, I was a vego for 2 years or so in my late teens. There was not a real driving force behind it other than curiosity and to prove that I could. This transition is going to be the easiest as up and down the road where I work there are Vegetarian, Vegan, Hare Krishna and Indian places to eat.

Whats more fascinating is that I'm kind of in training for a diet a few months from now. Vegetarian this month, No-Dairy next month and then after that the big one - Vegan. I suspect that one will suck majorly and hence I'm kind of in training for it. So I have been a vego for 4 days now and other than wanting to try the Crack Pie from Hard Luck Cafe, I haven't really had to think too hard about it. I eat salads and vegetables more anyway, and when I was eating meat I was not consuming that much of it as I fill up very quickly.

The return of carbs to my diet in the afternoon/evening has almost created a zero sum in that the meat has gone so they kind of balance out.


On the too much information side though my weight has now reduced by another kilo, clocking in at 103.2 kilos this morning, down from 104.0 last night. However since losing a bit of weight an reducing my intake considerably and for better foods, my regular toilet schedule has changed. Where it was very regular on a daily basis, the frequency has halved and my body seems to be expelling less. The weight loss pattern now staggers around the expelling of waste as well as a general reduction as my diet has improved markedly. So some days I stay the same and 2 or 3 times a week I make a jump down (or should that be dump?).

No Carbs After Lunch: Week Four

No Carbs After Lunch Week Four.

This diet has become a slightly different diet than when I started it. It's still bound by the no carbs after lunch rule, but it would be more truthful to say that it has become the big lunch small dinner diet.

More often that not the dinner meal (with the exception of being sick) which I have not been skipping but committing to eat every day, has become a regularly small meal. So usually that means a salad or a soup or if I'm hungry sometimes both.

The hard part is avoiding bread which feels so natural with soups. Particularly my go to soup which is Tomato Soup with chili added and grated parmesan (fresh) cheese swirled in.

Even so this diet continues to add (or subtract) from the weight loss figure depending on which way you look at it.

Interesting things to note are that my shows and socks are getting looser, not something I had considered that I put on weight in my feet? However shoes are now looser and some socks I have to replace as they slip off my feet inside my shoes, which is weird. Also as I have a nasty cold at the moment so I feel less and less hungry and have to remind myself to eat more, which is kind of odd too.

However hopefully this cold will be gone by the weekend and I'll be back to normal (as normal as things are right now).

Current Weight 104.8 kgs.

Next diet: Unknown, either zero dairy/vegetarian or 3 regular meals a day zero snacking.

No Carbs After Lunch Week 3

Week 3: Continue to lose weight and clothes are getting looser and in some cases not fitting anymore. Clothes I have not been able to wear for a while are now either fitting or too loose. A shirt I had to wear at my sister in laws wedding in February but I could not because it was too tight, now hangs on me. I have not tried the replacement shirt I bought which was bigger yet.

The lunches I am eating are getting bigger and breakfast is making an appearance again. Dinners are getting smaller and I am eating more salads and light meals without ever skipping meals. Often it means that I have the meat and veg and then carry the carbs as leftovers for lunch the next day. For instance roast beef last night with vegetables, hold the mashed potato and had re-heated with leftover meat and veg. So each meal is consumed twice.

Money wise this is a good thing as I eat a lot less to start with, junk food lasts a lot longer now that I am not really consuming it. Leftovers are often there unless we have people over so I can go a whole week without buying lunch, and more often will only buy lunch when meeting someone.

Evening cravings and habits for food seem to have disappeared all together - the thought no longer occurs to me - not sure when this started but looking back am not thinking about it - or if I am it's momentary and forgotten.

Not sure how much of this diet will carry through, carb reduction maybe? Not sure - but won't need the excess of chips, bread or whatever else fillers comprise my old diet.

Have lost 20 kilos in 11 weeks.

Lowest weight was this morning at 106.6 kgs

No Carbs After Lunch Week Two

Weighed myself this morning and was 107.9 so thats 18 kilos so far, and if you want to see what 18 kilos missing looks like - see above. May 2011 on the left and this morning on the right. I've had to retire a belt, some pants and other items of clothing (no tent jokes please) and while that is the most unflattering pic I could find, it's good not being that big or unhealthy...


No Carbs After Lunch end of Week 2.

Well it's not that hard to remove carbohydrates, per se - it's more a matter of what do you put in it's place. So far the only real challenge is for Max as she thinks about salads and vegetables so I'm not just eating meat during the week. During weekends when I cook it's a bit easier to plan and avoid carbs for after lunch.

Snacking in the evening has not made much of an appearance, though if I do have a snack it will be a fruit based one. Well into my third week now and dinners seem to be getting smaller with my appetite, I start to struggle to finish a large meal and so I just stop and the leftovers go for lunch. I still have carbs with lunch, like chips or rice or whatever - but all the dietary changes I have been making around sugar, timing and carbs are all adding up.

No Carbs After Lunch: Week One

No Carbs After Lunch.

The rule: After the midday meal have no more carbs. All grains, potatoes, rice, bread, sugars and anything vaguely carb-ey is gone. Breakfast and Lunch can be as carb-ey as I like, but then no more.

So bascially dinners are meat and vegetables and/or salads. No bread rolls, no chips, no rice etc...

Because I had stopped snacking after dinner about 5 weeks ago, the transition to no carbs was pretty simple. The desire to have potato chips, or popcorn or whatever is gone already - and then it's just a matter of adjusting to no carbs in the meal.

When I had roast chicken the other night that meant that when I was clearing away the dishes I saw the leftover spuds in the dish and wanted them - but not until that moment. Those leftovers went into my lunch for the next day so I consumed carbs at the appropriate time.

Visiting with other people or going out is a bit of a management issue - but I just eat what I want to anyway with little or no qualms on that so for me it's fine.

Interesting that in the last 4 days I have lost 2 kilograms, this seems to be more effective and easier than the Zero After Seven Diet. Though this may be an anomaly.

Need to buy a new belt, the last notch on this one is getting loose.

Zero After 7: Week 4

So after 4 weeks of zero calories after 7 pm I have slowed right down but am still losing weight, just much slower. Am down to 111.2 as at this morning and 110 is knocking on the door. Even though weight loss is not the primary goal here, it's becoming more and more a matter of focussing on that, even though that was not what drove me to try this.

In 2 days time I'll swap to the next diet and drop the time limit concept. But I will keep the no snacking in the evening time. Whatever my last meal is that will be it, no snacks or any food regardless of the time. Cups of tea or coffee or drinks are fine (as I am still on the low to no sugar intake anyway).

The next diet is no carbs after lunch, so carb for breakfast or mid morning snacks are ok as is lunch, but after that it's carb free. So likely meat and two veg for dinner, no rice, no spuds and no pasta.

We'll see after that but am thinking 4th month will be vegetarian and 5th Vegan.

Zero After Seven: Week 3.

After the end of the second week I appeared to have plateaued and stayed at 112/113 for just under a week before I started back down again. This morning I hit 111.5 kgs and have settled in to the new routine for no eating after 7 pm.

I still have a lower than usual sugar intake (for me) and cannot stomach very sweet things, or if I do in small amounts only. It's good that the desire for that sweetness can be fixed with a small amount, not eating loads. I square of chocolate will suffice and then any desire is gone.

It's taken a bit longer to get used to no snacking in the evening, with the urge (but not hunger) to snack only really disappearing in the last couple of days. My craving for sweet things took less than a week to disappear, whereas the desire to snack later in the evening about 3 weeks.

Not sold on the idea as a dietary control mechanism, it seems that it helps form good habits, but in conjunction with the low, low sugar diet it helps manage intake. If it were just used on it's own, I'm not sure how effective it would be.

Hard one to get used to, unlike the sugar free.

Takeaway from this will be no snacking in the evening, when dinner and dessert (if we have one) are done then I am done for the evening.

One more week then no carbs after lunch for a month.

Am also reading the Omnivores Dilemma by the excellent author Michael Pollan which may provide some insight into dietary habits.

Zero After Seven Week Two

End of Week Two and I have been still losing weight - which is a good sign.

I have kept my sugar intake low and have cut all intake after 7 pm.

On occasion this becomes a problem when working late or out at other peoples places for dinner. The weight fluctuations are interesting as I have been plotting myself throughout the day and night regarding weight changes. Lowest weight is in the morning (after bowel and bladder evacuations) and it goes up and down by a range of a kilo and a half over the day. So where I was 113.6 last night I was 112.3 the next morning. Then as I eat and move about the weight comes back on and raises during the day and starts to subside again at night, with the most significant loss being overnight.

I suspect that going forward what I'll do - much like reducing the sugar intake - is cut out all evening snacking instead of having a hard and fast time limit.

So regardless of when dinner is - keep dinner and desert as the last thing I eat and no more snacks in the evening or night.

Meanwhile clothes getting looser, weight receding towards 100 kilos and self esteem rising.

Current lowest weight recorded 112.3 Kgs

Zero After Seven: Week One

Week One: Diet Number Two - Zero After Seven

The Rule: Zero Caloric intake after 7 pm each night. All food and drink (except water) to be consumed before 7 pm at night.

The Theory: Is that your body processes a lot of weight loss in REM sleep and you always wake up lighter than when you go to sleep etc... so if you eat in the evening what you are doing is queuing up food and energy to be burned off and depending on your snacking habits (mine were significant) you can loose weight more efficiently this way by burning off the days food rather than the excess you put in at night.

Week one is not proving to be hard, but it does require some vigilance to combat habit rather than desire. I'm not hungry in the evening but I have urges to go and get a snack because I am in the habit of doing so. Watching movies, TV or working on the computer are often accompanied by snacks and breaking that pattern is the hard part - it's not hunger driving that.

Interestingly I am still very, very low on sugar consumption so that is helping keep the weight loss going anyway, so I'm not really sure how effective this is but it seems to me to be a good habit to get into - getting rid of ill timed caloric intake.

There is a fascinating book on the subject of your body's daily rhythms I read a year or three ago that looks at this (and other) rhythm patterns and how to manage them to your advantage (science not belief - it looks at the chemical patterns of activity and consumption and peak efficiency times for the body).


Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream
By Jennifer Ackerman

On the subject of low sugar intake - yesterday I was shouted a hot chocolate from Hard Luck Cafe downstairs at the office, and it was rich, creamy and thick and absolutely fantastic.

However

I felt sick for 2 hours or so afterwards. After 5 or more weeks without a heavy sugar diet the first real overdose of sugar was an awful experience I cannot see myself repeating. I had set my target at less than 80 grams a day, I'm less than 30 most days - I cannot stand the results of putting that much sugar back in my system.

Still loosing weight - 115.9 last time I weighed myself a couple of days ago.

Sugar Free Week 4

End of Week 4 and I finally bought some scales in the weekend. The last time I weighed myself (which was several months ago) I was over 126 kilos, and now (as shown above) I am 116.7

Sugar Free certainly seems to be having a positive effect. I have one more day off the sugar and then on Thursday I'll be starting a new month and a new diet.

The next effort will be twofold, well from here on in I will be watching my sugar intake regardless and keeping it under the RDI for sugar every day.

From Thursday onwards I'll be having zero calories after 7 pm each night and seeing what the effect of that is.

I'll do a final weigh in on Thursday morning and set that as the bench mark for the next diet effect.

Feeling good right now and that's motivation to keep going, I don't feel the need to count down to when I have sugar-rich foods again. I'd like to think that my first brush with sugar will be random and not planned, but it is top of mind right now.

Sugar Free: Week 3

Sugar Free End of Week 3 - 7 more days to go to make it one month (10th to the 10th).

Still no idea what I have lost in kilos or percentages, still have not bought a set of bathroom scales. People have been mentioning that I look smaller and svelter, but I take that with a grain of salt as most people are aware of what I am doing. Likewise I discount my own perception of being lighter and feeling better as no one is as prone to confirmation bias as the interested party.

However I am passing the belt test - see above. The bottom red line is where I am wearing it right now and the top rather worn looking notch is where I was a few weeks ago.

I have had a couple of times when I was tempted kind of... once when I was handling my daughters ice cream, no cravings until I got some on my fingers and automatically licked it off, that was a hefty reaction. The second was when breaking off a bit of chocolate for Max having a cup of tea, and a sliver fell to the bench and I would normally have just picked that up and popped it in my mouth, and though I knew I was not going to I could feel an almost autonomic action of doing so, like my hands wanted to do it. It ended in the bin though, not in me.

Am disturbed by the lack of sugar free products and even when this is over I know I cannot really go easily back to the pre-diet levels where I had no idea what I was consuming.

Next week when I move to the next diet and have zero food or calories after 7 pm I will add to that not exceeding the Recommended Daily Intake for Sugar. According to consumer.org in order to maintain a weight of 120 kilos I need to not exceed 130g per day - or just over 3 cans of coke. If I wanted to maintain a weight of 90 kilos, it would be 107g.

I think I'll try and keep it under 80. Considering I have been around zero (from refined sugar) then it seems like a good thing, but I will also count natural sugars which will make it harder as they will eat up a fair amount of that. 12 grams per orange and up to 15 grams per apple. If fruit and juice play a daily part then I think it should be easy to maintain on top of whatever diet I am on next.

Will definitely buy some scales in the weekend.

Sugar Free Week 2

Week 3 is much, much easier as I have established a pattern of finding foods that are suitable and the craving for things like sauces and normal bread is diminishing.

I'm not craving sweet things like chocolate or lollies, in fact they seem the easiest to get rid of so far. It's all the foods where sugar is listed as an ingredient and are savoury.

Again, 3 weeks in and I'm shedding some weight - no idea how much, but i feel lighter and better overall.  Now I need to find me some scales and see how much I may be different from the last time I weighed myself some 6 months ago.

I've also started cutting back on eating in the evenings, and reducing snacks. Given that next month it will be zero calories after 7 pm every night, regardless of whether I go out or not.

I've also noted that I can stop eating whenever I want. I can be full or partially full, I feel no compulsion to finish whats on my plate even if I like it. At lunch yesterday I skipped my fries and got them to take away and had them as a snack later on. Previously I would have eaten all of that, with sugar rich tomato sauce and then had a snack or two later. And probably a cup of tea/coffee with biscuits too.

Week 3 has already begun, I'm over halfway and feeling good. Pretty sure that when this is over I'll be much more conscious about sugar content all together even if it's not zero, but will try and keep it low.

No calories after 7 will be interesting. Have to get drunk early and cruise through the night when Newby is back for the obligatory catch up session and night out.

Sugar Free Week One

Blog Week One: 126 Kilos (Well I was last time I checked, I'll go with that)

Diet One Week One: Sugar Free

The day after Easter I started Sugar Free and weird psychological effects started happening - I was feeling hungry because I was obsessing about sweet things, and I am now obsessively checking the labels on everything.

The Rule: No Added Sugar. Natural Sugars are ok, but am still going to watch I don't overcompensate. If it has over a gram per serving of natural sugars I will avoid. Everything else I'll be going by the ingredients list on the label. If it has sugar as an ingredient or anything that sugar might be masquerading as (fructose, dextrose, sucrose etc...) then it's off the list.

So the first few days and all I want is bread. Not chocolate or sweets or anything else, just bread. I tried Gluten free for a month a few years back and had exactly the same issue. Commercially made bread is abundant in sugar, lots of things are.

Fresh fruit and loads of non ready made things for me it seems. So it's fruit and veg, easy enough - but no sauces as most have them in it.

What I was not expecting was Corn Chips. Corn Chips have sugar in them. So do any potato chips other than plain ready salted ones.

Week one and I feel lighter and a bit healthier already. Probably mental, but there you go.

Also hungry a lot.

Did I mention hungry? Again probably mental as I am not skipping meals and they are not small, just hard to choose.

The Premise: 12 months, 12 Diets

So my great plan for self improvement didn't really gel that well, not for lack of willpower so much as lack of focus.

I learned basic Spanish, but got easily distracted. I wrote every week for a while, but soon reverted to review writing only which comes in fits and starts, and didn't really get off the ground in the exercise stakes mostly because I find exercise really, really dull.

A few weeks ago though I read an article about how sugar was poison and evil and in everything, and while I didn't agree with the premise I was curious to see how I would survive without it. So I decided after Easter that I would try life Sugar Free for one month and see how that goes - I will probably lose weight, and I will probably go nuts for sugary stuff afterwards and put it back on again - but mostly I wanted to know what it was like.

So my best motivation it seems is rabid curiosity and stubbornness.

So I started living Sugar Free from Tuesday 10th April 2012. The last thing I had was a Cadbury Creme Egg at 9 pm on Easter Monday, cold from the fridge.... mmm I can still almost taste it.

2 weeks in and while I'm fairly sure that the effects are somewhat psychosomatic, I feel lighter and healthier than I did two weeks ago. Wether this is a placebo effect because I believe I should feel a change or not is irrelevant, this is not trying to be scientific. I feel better - I'm accepting of that and don't care why so much as enjoying the feeling.

So then I was talking with a woman from my work who heard this diet where you eat whatever you want but you can't eat after 6 pm. Curious. Maybe I'll do that next thought I...

And there we have it 12 diets over 12 months, a new one each month.

The point is not to lose weight (though bonus as I probably will on most) or to prove one better than the other - but just because it seems like and interesting thing to do and I'm kind of stubborn enough to pull it off.

The Rules:  No stupid or harmful diets, like a water only diet, or remove all carbs (you do need some) or anything like that. Not going to worry if I accidentally consume something I shouldn't - but will consciously avoid the avoidey bits of the chosen diet for the month. I'll choose a diet based on it's interest to me, not on it's supposed efficacy and I'll mark any weight and attitude changes and any challenges in this blog as I go.

I'm almost two weeks in and I'm hungry.

Wayne.