day 34 : morning post

mass: 83.1 kg
% lard: 17.6%

breakfast: 3 x poached egg (pepper & green Tabasco); coffee

So that is it for the planned part of my diet. A big drop this morning. The olives from the previous day were really dragging me down yesterday morning. A big 'movement' yesterday during the morning sorted that out.


A great result! I have a rugby match today, hence I stop today instead of tomorrow. I want to eat before the match to avoid the cramps I have seen during the month of this diet. I also want to drink a load of beer afterwards...

A summary of the month will follow tomorrow. 

day #33 : wrap up

Lunch: tuna (in brine, as usual); bean/bean/lentil salad

Dinner:  roast chicken; roast vegetables

Snack: none

I weighed myself just now, as I am going to bed. 84kg / 15.3%. It makes such a difference to do the weights in the evening. Obviously these measures do not count towards anything, as all measures on the chart are from the morning, just after I get up.

day # 33 : morning post

mass: 84.0 kg
% lard: 18.6%

breakfast: 3 x poached egg (pepper & green Tabasco); coffee

The weight is up. That was a pretty solid chili and quite a few olives yesterday evening... The lard mass stays surprisingly flat, despite the fluctation in percentage. This says something for the accuracy of the scales perhaps.

day # 32 : wrap up

Lunch: tuna (in brine, as usual); bean/bean/lentil salad

Dinner:  chili with loads of vegetables

Snack: olives with peppers; 10 x almonds

Went to the gym as delayed at work. A couple of laps around the usual weights circuit.

day # 32 : morning post

mass: 83.1 kg
% lard: 18.8%

breakfast: 3 x poached egg (pepper & green Tabasco); coffee

Perfect job with the new egg poachers. The trick was to add a little olive oil and leave them in the pan before adding the eggs. Add the eggs to the hot poachers and put the lid on the pan. Easy.

day # 31 : wrap up

Lunch: tuna (in brine, as usual); bean/bean/lentil salad

Dinner:  roast pork; roast peppers/onions

Snack: none

That's the roast pork finished after 3 days. Very nice it was too. Vegetables roasted in the tin in the oven are the best. Is there a better way to cook veg, plenty of onions and garlic included.

day # 31 : morning post

mass: 83.3 kg
% lard: 18.6%

breakfast: 3 x poached egg (pepper & green Tabasco); coffee

New egg poachers (an ebay purchase) were not a success. The eggs were stuck and under-cooked. More oil and more time for the next attempt.

day # 30 : wrap up

Lunch: tuna (in brine, as usual); bean/bean/lentil salad

Dinner:  roast pork; roast peppers/onions

Snack: whole avocado; 10 x almonds at 1600

Rugby training this evening. A beautiful evening for a run around, even if the ground is really too hard for rugby at the moment.

Pleanty of water during and after. And finally now a glass of red wine.

day # 30 : morning post

mass: 83.8 kg
% lard: 19.1%

breakfast: 3 x poached egg (pepper & green Tabasco); coffee

The weight is back right down. This has a lot to do with my late run yesterday evening (it was after 2230 when I got back).

week #4 : this week's bullets

Things I learned this week...

- fatter
After 4 weeks, the big thing that I have realised is that I was much fatter than I imagined at the start. Also I took some new photos. I am still fatter in photos that I imagine! The harsh lights in my bathroom are much less flattering than the perfect lights in my mind...

- notice
Not one person has commented on my weight loss. I move in manly circles (!) so perhaps this is not unusual, but it does make me wonder if the loss is all in my mind. Luckily I can refer to my total inches, total weight and % lard numbers.

- stop
I wonder when I will stop this diet. I am thinking that I will remain on a modified version now for the foreseeable future. The first target has been hit (19% fat) and I really think that I can hit the second (15% fat), which is a level I would be happy to maintain.

- routine
Once I am not at work, things are much more difficult: Easter weekend, work trips. Luckily I don't get out much.

- myself
Even though I am aware that I am pretty much talking to myself here, this blog really keeps me on track. I do not want to see a big bump on my graph, or an entry saying I was weak and scoffed something I shouldn't. The mental side of a diet is interesting. It is more than half the battle.

day # 29 : wrap up

Lunch: lean mince & onions; bean/bean/lentil salad

Dinner:  roast pork; roast vegetables

Snack: none!

Probably not enough water been drunk today. It has been hot and a bank holiday. The routine is lost on days like these.

The bike is in the garage for a service tomorrow, so dropped the car off and ran back in preparation tonight (so I can use the car after I drop the bike off). That's an 11km run which should get the metabolism  working a little. It was a bit of a struggle, even more than 2 hours after the roast pork...

day # 29 : morning post

mass: 85.1 kg
% lard: 19.4%

breakfast: 3 x poached egg (pepper & green Tabasco); coffee

First day of the final planned week. After a monstrous Easter rest day (chocolate, ice cream, beer, tacos, fruit juice), the weight has gone through the roof!

week #4 : this week

Not a bad week, especially considering it is easter and a bank holiday. Most of the loss was in the last 2 days. I have dropped the treadmill in the gym to do more weights. I hope that this will halt the lean mass loss (if the fat % are to be believed).

start weight:   91.0kg
after week #1:    88.8kg
after week #2:    85.8kg
after week #3:    84.2kg
after week #4:    83.8kg 
week 4 loss:  0.4kg 
total loss:   7.2kg

The weight loss has slowed. This is to be expected after a 4 week period. I also had 2 days this week (Tue & Fri) where normal routine could not be followed. Maybe this also contributed to the % lard improvement.

start % lard:   23%
after week #1:   22%
after week #2:   22%
after week #3:   21%
after week #4:   18.6% 
week 4 loss:   2.4% 
total loss:   4.4% 

The  % lard figure is still finally encouraging. The firs target has been hit. Out of curiosity, I weighed myself after work, but before dinner (when I am normally hydrated) and I saw 16.8%.

The mass (yellow) and fat % (red) graph is below, also showing linear trend lines (detailed charts from the links at the top of the page)...

Exercise this week:

Monday : gym (weights circuit, 2 laps)
Tuesday : rugby (aerobic running session)
Thursday : rugby (aerobic running session)

day #28 : morning post : rest day

mass: 83.8 kg
% lard: 18.6%

breakfast: 3 x poached egg (pepper & green Tabasco); 4 x americain pancake; coffee

The end of week 4!

Lunch: tuna /140g in brine); bean/bean/lentil/pea salad

Dinner: barbecue chicken, lean burger, sausage; salad

Snack: avocado

It has been lovely here for the past few days. Today was up around 25 in the shade. Despite a storm towards the end of the afternoon, we lit the barbie for the first time this year. Not too much of a problem with this diet really: chicken and a very beefy burger with crunchy salad. Easy!

day # 27 : morning post

mass: 83.4kg
% lard: 19.4%

breakfast: 3 x poached egg (pepper & green Tabasco); coffee

I can see a vein on my upper arm! I though it was a trick of the light yesterday.

The lines on the graphs are suspiciously on linear trend. What will the final reading of the week bring?

day # 26 : wrap up

Lunch: curry wurst; sauerkraut; water

Dinner:  chicken in tikka marinade; big stir-fry veg

Snack: avocado; teaspoon of peanut butter; Chinese grass jelly

I was in Germany today. There was no opportunity to have something bean-based. I avoided the bread, beer and potatoes and went for curry wurst. The sauce had some sugar in it, as did the Sauerkraut I reckon.

Still ... best of a bad job.

The grass jelly is cleansing for the system apparently.

day # 26 : morning post

mass: 83.8kg
% lard: 19.6%

breakfast: 3 x poached egg (pepper & greenTabasco); coffee

day #25 : wrap up

Lunch: tuna; bean/bean/bean/sweetcorn salad; Nando's hot sauce; pickled onions

Dinner:  pork chop; corn on the cob; asparagus

Snack: 6 x small sun-dried tomato; 10 x almond; remains of bean salad from lunch

Rugby again this evening, as we have our final couple of matches of the year coming up. The corn on cob was my post-workout treat. Nice too.

Also, no cramp. Maybe my supplements are have the desired effect.

day # 25 : morning post

mass: 84.2kg
% lard: 19.8%

breakfast: 3 x poached egg (pepper & greenTabasco); coffee

I reckon we can call that target 1 hit! The old scale is showing 20%...

Maybe we'll wait one more day for confirmation.

What is interesting is that the shape of the graphs is the same for this drop of 1% as for the last 1% (see lard chart link attop of page).

day # 24 : wrap up

Lunch: tuna; bean/bean/bean/sweetcorn salad; Nando's hot sauce

Dinner: stir-fry beef & big veg

Snack: none

day # 24 : morning post

mass: 84.4kg
% lard: 20.6%

breakfast: 3 x poached egg (pepper & greenTabasco); coffee

I have a new scale! It another Tanita: UM076. It weighs a little lighter than my previous one, confirming the margin of error I found on the scale at the gym. The old one had me at 84.8kg this morning.

The main difference is that it has a decimal point in the fat measurement.

My first impression is not great though. It is very sensitive to leaning forward, which makes you lighter! You have to stand bolt upright to get a consistent reading and only look down once the weight is done.

I suppose that changing the scale at this point is not the best for consistency, but the motivation part of seeing the fluctuation in fractions of fat % is more important.

day #23 : wrap up

Lunch: parma ham / salad sandwich in french bread

Dinner: meat / vegetable-packed chili

Snack:10 x almonds; whole (under-ripe) avocado at 1600

Oh dear. I was at an external meeting today, scheduled to last all day, including lunch. Sandwiches had been ordered. So the choices:
  - eat a sandwich
  - pick the contents out of a sandwich and leave the bread
  - don't eat

I did not want to starve. I did not want to draw attention or be completely uncouth. I chose to eat the sandwich (and it was delicious too!).

This is the first time that the diet has proved any kind of problem. Normally there is a an option to just avoid the problem part...

Ah well, I did not pig out and it was rugby tonight so the small amount of carbohydrate (it was a small sandwich) came in handy. Cramp for the third week in a row: stomach. It was very warm and we did a lot of sprints. It is still related to the diet though, as I never cramp at rugby training.

day # 23 : morning post

mass: 85.2 kg
% lard: 21%

breakfast: 3 x poached egg (pepper & greenTabasco); coffee

day #22 : wrap up

Lunch: tuna (140g in water, as usual); bean/bean/bean/sweetcorn salad; pickled onions; Branston

Dinner: bowl of chili (lean mince; veg; red kidney beans)

Snack: remains of bean salad from lunch at 1600

That was the last of the Branston pickle. It is a sweet pickle and I will be avoiding it in future. The pickled onions stay though: I'm loving them!

Also, I found the calcium/magnesium supplement that I was looking for. It is a dissolve under the tongue sachet, which is unusual. I am going to take this at night. The theory is that I will not piss it straight out that way. I drink so much water during the day, it would be flushed out...

day # 22 : morning post

mass: 85.4 kg
% lard: 21%

breakfast: 3 x poached egg (pepper & greenTabasco); coffee

Yes, I enjoyed my rest day! Still stuck at 21%. Not sure that my binge really is converted to fat already...

It was pancakes for breakfast, tortilla wraps for lunch (ham & mozerella & onion), chicken roast for dinner (with a couple of potatoes. I even managed 2 beers during the afternoon after a hard session painting some concrete walls outside.

Oh yes, and something for the breath: Cachou La Jaunie. It does contain sugar, but it's mostly licorice and the whole super-strong lot only comes to 6g a packet.

week #3 : this week's bullets

Things I learned this week...

- longer
The daily weights are not so important. It's the end of the week and the overall trend that matters. A bad morning weight could be demotivating otherwise.

- breath
My breath is minging. Not sure what to do about this. It seems to be my reaction to the diet. Mouthwash helps, but not for long. The bad breath is coming from deep within it seems.

- cramp
I am still suffering from cramp: mostly after exercise, but also sometimes just when I am sitting at my desk. I read in the book that is likely due to the water loss taking electrolytes with it. I have some magnesium/B6 supplements for now, while I seek out the calcium/magnesium version. Avocado also seems to help.

- poo
This diet does strange  things to my rhythm, particularly towards the end of the week, followed by a (ahem) spectacular performance with very solid results. No problem and no discomfort, just strange.

- temptation
I felt some pangs of longing this week for a piece of cheese. It must be the 3 week itch. I didn't cave I am happy to say.

- left
Only two weeks left in the scheduled plan. I have yet to hit my first target, despite better than expected weight loss. I will continue until the first two targets are met, so this is likely to be extended. Just need to find small adjustments to increase strength to speed up the % lard change...

week #3 : this week

Not a bad week. Most of the loss was in the last 2 days. I have dropped the treadmill in the gym to do more weights. I hope that this will halt the lean mass loss (if the fat % are to be believed).

start weight:   91.0kg
after week #1:    88.8kg
after week #2:    85.8kg
after week #3:    84.2kg
week 3 loss:  1.6kg 
total loss:   6.8kg

If I was still thinking in stone, that would be 1 stone lost since the start now. This is getting close to the 13 stone limit I was considering at the beginning (82.7kg). I am interested to see what happens, so we continue to the projected end of the planned period on 1 May. I don't suppose it will be too hard to gain some wait after the diet relaxes a little in May!

start % lard:   23%
after week #1:   22%
after week #2:   22%
after week #3:   21%
week 3 loss:   1%  (though we have seen 20% on the scale this week)
total loss:   2% 

The  % lard figure is still disappointing. We have seen 20% on the scale one morning this week, so if it follows the pattern from the last two weeks we should consistently hit it during this week...

Also did the total inches (centimetres in fact), and this came to 356, down from 360 week 2; and 376.5 at the start.The loss is from my middle; and some from my legs.

The mass (yellow) and fat % (red) graph is below, also showing linear trend lines (detailed charts from the links at the top of the page)...

click to enlarge

Exercise this week:

Monday : gym (weights circuit, 2 laps)
Tuesday : rugby (aerobic running session)
Thursday : gym (weights circuit, 2 laps)
Friday : gym (weights circuit, 2 laps)

day #21 : morning post : rest day

mass: 84.2 kg
% lard: 21%

breakfast: 3 x poached egg (pepper & red Tabasco); 4 x americain pancake; coffee

The end of week 3!

day # 20 : wrap up

Lunch: 4 egg omelette with onion filling

Dinner: chicken in curry paste; vegetable kebabs; whole avocado

Snack: teaspoon peanut butter (no sugar nor additives)

day # 20 : morning post

mass: 85.0 kg
% lard: 21%

breakfast: 3 x poached egg (pepper & red Tabasco); coffee

Weight back on trend, % lard disappointingly above it. We've said it before: dehydration.

Another explanation for the 1kg drop: poo. I'll mention this in the week's summary tomorrow.

day #19 : wrap up

Lunch: tuna (140g in brine); bean/celery/pea salad; whole avocado water

Dinner:chicken in curry paste; vegetable kebabs

Snack: 10 x unsalted almonds at 1100.

Squeezed in another 40 minute session in the gym at lunch time. These sessions feel much easier than the ones that included a high intensity run on the treadmill. It's a different kind of exercise...

Incidentally, the balance in the gym showed me at 85.7kg before exercise, ie. after the morning's, coffee, water, etc..

Since I have been eating avocado and a few almonds, the cramps in my calfs seem much better, I think a magnesium/calcium supplement might be a preferred solution when I find some.

day #19 : morning post

mass: 86.0 kg
% lard: 20%

breakfast: 3 x poached egg (pepper & red Tabasco); coffee

Well I was not expecting that: down to 20%. The weight is hovering between 85.8 & 86.0. More readings fell on the latter, so we'll take that.

This is the kind of change needed to hit my target. The weight work seems OK. It is a 40 minute session (excluding changing, shower, etc., obviously) so not too time consuming either.

day #18 : wrap up

Lunch: shop ham salad; whole avocado; water

Dinner: steak strips, roast chicken; stir-fry vegetables

Snack: 10 x unsalted almonds at 1000.

Gym was good at lunch time today. Sadly work issues mean that I am still working now...

day #18 : morning post

mass: 85.6 kg
% lard: 21%

breakfast: 3 x poached egg (pepper & red Tabasco); coffee

The weight/% looks back in balance. The values are right on the linear trend lines (see the chart links at the top of the page). I just wish the % was heading south a bit quicker. This figure is so important as it it is used to create the lean mass figure too.

I weighed myself in the evening at the end of last week and saw 20% on the scale. As a result, the absolute figure has a lot to to with the time of day (as we already knew, and confirmed by the Tanita link in Sunday's bullets) and so the split of fat/lean mass is not that accurate.

Today a weights session in the gym is planned.

A new chart with lean mass on top of lard mass to give total mass (I love graphs!)...

day #17 : wrap up

Lunch: tuna (in water 140g); bean/bean/pea/celery salad; water

Dinner: steak strips, roast chicken; stir-fry vegetables

Snack: 10 x unsalted almonds at 1600.

I felt a bit hungry today. No cheats though. And just polishing of my glass of red wine.

day #17 : morning post

mass: 85.4 kg
% lard: 22%

breakfast: 3 x poached egg (pepper & red Tabasco); coffee

A post-rugby training upset: fat back to 22%. Must be dehydration. This the same pattern that I saw last Wednesday, following Tuesday night rugby training.

The slow change in fat % is causing some disappointment still.To keep myself going, I remember that I have not been this light this century.

Things continue to go in the right direction.

day #16 : wrap up

Lunch: tuna (in water 140g); bean/bean/pea/celery salad; pickled onions; water

Afternoon:  tuna (in water 140g); whole cucumber; Nando's hot sauce

Dinner: roast chicken with roast vegetables (all together in the oven)

Additional late afternoon protein (tuna) meal in an attempt to avoid cramp at rugby training this evening. The Nando's sauce is very hot and contains no sugar. A rare sauce that's not a cheat!

Unfortunately I had cramp again.

A look around on other blogs and forums shows that this is a common issue caused by magnesium or potassium deficiency. Next week I will be topping up on avocado during Tuesday afternoon...

day #16 : morning post

mass: 86.2 kg
% lard: 21%

breakfast: 3 x poached egg (pepper & red Tabasco); coffee

day #15 : wrap up

Lunch: tuna (in water 140g); bean/bean/celery salad; pickled onions; water

Afternoon:  remains of bean/bean/celery salad

Dinner:  chicken casserole with loads vegetables in the pot; water

Went to the gym and did two laps round the circuit: 6 weights machines (two leg, two arm, two back/abdo); elliptical trainer; cycle.

Off for a glass of red wine now.

day #15 : morning post

mass:   86.8 kg
% lard:    21 %

breakfast:    3 x poached egg  (pepper & red Tabasco); coffee; water

Back up 1.0kg after yesterday's rest day.

week #2 : this week

start weight:   91.0kg
after week #1:    88.8kg
after week #2:    85.8kg
week 2 loss:  3.0kg 
total loss:   5.2kg

A big drop this morning was not expected (but welcome). 3kg this week is incredible.

start % lard:   23%
after week #1:   22%
after week #2:   22%
week 2 loss:   0%  (unchanged from week #1, though mass of fat is less)
total loss:   1% 

The  % lard figure is disappointing, considering the weight loss I am seeing. If this is correct, this would bean that the fat loss is around 2kg, meaning 3kg of lean mass lost. Visually, this does not seem to be the case. At the moment I am putting it down to my scale. I need to get hold of a different scale to check.

Also did the total inches (centimetres in fact), and this came to 360, down from 376.5. I think I need to check that too! Let's see next Sunday morning.

The graph is below, also showing linear trend lines...

Something else new this week was excercise. I am asking myself if this was the reason for the greater weight loss this week.

Monday : gym (20 minute treadmill + weights circuit)
Tuesday : rugby (pretty light session)
Wednesday : bike ride (10km to pub; 10km home again)
Friday : 12km steady run (late evening)

week #2 : this week's bullets

Things I learned this week...

- sweetcorn
This not good for Slow-Carb meals. I have been including this in my bean salad. I was using onion during the first week, but bad breath was a problem. Something crunchy is required to replace it in the bean salad: celery, radish?

- measuring
 For fat % measuring at home, this is interesting (from the Tanita website): baselines & measuring.

- social
Sometimes you just have to have the evening off and be sociable. It's a slippery slope as the pub is absolutely full of the things we just do not need, besides the beer: crisps, scratchings, salty nuts, junk food. No real damage done this time though.

- tea
Tea without milk is delicious, but do not make it too strong.

- exercise
Exercise has a real impact on the following day's measurements. The slow-carb diet is not the best for aerobic exercise.  

day #14 : morning post : rest day

mass: 85.8 kg
% lard: 22%

breakfast: 3 x poached egg (pepper & green Tabasco); 4 x pancakes; coffee

It was one of those mornings when I had to keep weighing myself to confirm the reading for the second day in a row...

Rest day, so pancakes for breakfast! Still went with eggs first, as soon as I got up.

day #13 : wrap up

Lunch: tuna (in water 140g); bean/bean/sweetcorn salad; soy sauce; water

Dinner:  roast pork; roast vegetables; water

Hot day and cut the grass this afternoon. A beer would have been nice afterwards. Icy water was surprisingly satisfying in its place.

day #13 : morning post

mass: 86.4 kg
% lard: 22%

breakfast: 3 x poached egg (pepper & green Tabasco); coffee

It was another one of those mornings when I had to keep weighing myself to confirm the reading...

The big drop must be related to yesterday's evening run. On the other hand, I saw a 1kg drop last Saturday (day #6) too. Either way, we can probably anticipate a bit of an upswing tomorrow morning, as we saw last Sunday.

day #12 : wrap up

Lunch: tuna (in water 140g); bean/bean/sweetcorn salad; soy sauce; water

Afternoon:  remains of bean/bean/sweetcorn salad

Dinner:  roast pork; roast vegetables; water

Since the car was at the garage, ran 12km this evening (after dinner) to get it. Is it my imagination, or do I have less wobbly bits?! Photos & total inches pending...

day #12 : morning post

mass: 87.4
% lard: 22%

breakfast:    3 x poached egg  (pepper & green Tabasco); coffee

Back on track after Tuesday might's deviation from the plan. I could perhaps expect to be a further 0.2kg down this morning without it, but all is still well.

day #11 : wrap up

Lunch: tuna (in water 140g); bean/bean/sweetcorn salad; pumpkin soup (home made)

Snack: pickled onions

Dinner: chili con carne (lots of red kidney beans)

day #11 : morning post

mass:   88.2 kg
% lard:    21 %

breakfast:    3 x poached egg  (pepper & green Tabasco); coffee; water

Last night's beer/sauerkraut messed up the figures: up 0.6kg, down 2%...

day #10 : wrap up

Lunch: tuna (in water 140g); bean/bean/sweetcorn salad; Branston pickle; water

Dinner: beef with chili; stir-fried vegetables

Cheat: 4 x pint Hoegaarden wheat beer

Snack:  Sauerkraut 

Went out to the pub to watch the football. Resulted in 4 pints of beer. To mitigate (a little) I rode my moutain bike there and back, which is about 10km each way. Worth the damage. And at least I avoided crisps, nuts scratchings, kebab-on-the-way-home, etc..

Starving when I got in and cold Sauerkraut is filling the hole right now.

day #10 : morning post

mass:   87.6 kg
% lard:    23 %

breakfast:    3 x poached egg  (pepper & green Tabasco); coffee; water

No cheats whatsoever, but fat % back up to 23%. Not good. Weight down another 0.2kg. This is not the result I want to see: it's destroying the trend on my lard chart! However, the weight is going in the right direction. My belt is looser on the same hole. All is well.

The exercise must have an effect: gym Monday; and rugby last night. Nothing more until Friday, when I will do a light circuit, just to get the heart beating a bit faster.

day #9 : wrap up

Lunch: tuna (in water 140g); bean/bean/sweetcorn salad; Branston pickle; water

Pre-Training:  bean/bean/sweetcorn salad

Dinner: chicken marinated in Vindaloo paste; roasted vegetables; lentils

Rugby training tonight. It was by no means a hard session, but I had cramp at the end. I never normally get cramp. I need to eat something else before the next session...

I had my dinner as soon after training as possible.

day #9 : morning post

mass:   87.8 kg
% lard:    22 %

breakfast:    3 x poached egg  (pepper & green Tabasco); coffee; water (lots)

The weight loss continues. Not sure what to make of the fat figure. It is borderline 22%/23%, but settled on 22% for 3 of the 4 weighings this morning.

I am more than happy with the weight loss, but my target is based on the fat figure...

day #8 : wrap up

Lunch: tuna (in water 140g); bean/bean/sweetcorn salad; water

Snack: pickled onions

Dinner: roast chicken; roasted vegetables; flageolet vert

The big glass made drinking a lot of water easy at work. I particularly like St Yorre sparkling water.

Today was also the first exercise day. I wanted to get my heart working, but also to test out my back for the first time. We have nice, well equipped gym at work, with a Milon Circuit.

treadmill: 20 minutes / 5110m from a standing start.
weights: 1 circuit + repeat 2 x arm/chest machine

All felt OK. I will lay off the back extension, as this seems to strain my back.

I feared that I would have no energy on this diet. The opposite is true. In fact I am full of beans (ho ho)!

day #8 : morning post

mass:   88.2 kg
% lard:    23 %

breakfast:    3 x poached egg  (pepper & green tabasco); coffee; water (lots)

After my rest day, my weight actually went down 0.4kg. I suppose this was a hydration thing, as my fat % went up 1%...

First day back at work today. I have my big water glass. I have my bean salad and tuna. I have my big jar of pickled onions. I'm ready!

Also this week will see the addition of some exercise. We will see what effect this has.

week #1 : this week's bullets

Things I learned this week:

-change
Adapt what you normally eat; and what the family eat where possible.  The good thing is I can eat mostly what they do, apart from the rice, pasta and potato. I never ate much fruit anyway. The big change is eggs for breakfast, but I really like it.

- easy
 If it's easy it's no problem. Bean salad is a couple of tins of beans, a tin of sweetcorn and some seasoning. It's done in 5 minutes (and enough for the next day too). Serve with some tinned tuna: 1 minute. And maybe some frozen vegetables: 10 minutes. Keep the bean salad in a tub in the fridge and there's no excuse for eating something else.

- habit
Get in a routine. Even after my short time trying this diet, I like the routine: breakfast (up - eggs - coffee - water); lunch (bean salad - veg - tuna- water); dinner (whatever everyone else is having replacing rice with beans). Once again it's easy if you don't have to choose.

- beans
Beans are good. I actually like beans. There are loads of different types, so try some different ones. Some are not right, such as the Portuguese lupin beans I had mid-week. Still, it was worth a try.

- water
Drink loads. After beans, a few glasses of water make you full for ages. Also, loads of beans seems to make you thirsty.

- taste
Green Tabasco is my friend. Pepper sauce or chili sauce livens even the blandest bean salad up. Olive oil, wine vinegar, salt and pepper: all essentials. If it's too bland it's going to be difficult.

- hunger

Eat enough. Eat plenty of beans and follow it with water. Drink lots of tea. It's excellent without milk; and some infusions are really nice. Drink coffee.

- snack

 Pickled onions and sun-dried tomatoes really take the edge of any hunger pangs. They taste lovely too.

- record

Just keeping track helps a lot. This blog is for me. If anyone else gets something else out of it, all the better. 

- fruit
No fruit? Who'd have thought?!

week #1 : this week

start weight:   91.0kg
after week #1:    88.8kg
loss:   2.2kg  (2.2kg is 2.4% of original body weight)

start % lard:   23%
after week #1:   22%
loss:   1%  (1% less body fat is a proportional drop of 4.3%)

The graph is below, also showing linear trend lines...

day #7 : morning post : rest day

mass:   88.8 kg
% lard:    22 %

breakfast:    3 x poached egg  (pepper & green tabasco); coffee; american pancake x 4

The anticipated upswing came: +0.4kg from yesterday. The trend over the first week is still excellent (see the chart).

And it is rest day today, hence the pancakes!

day #6 : wrap up

Lunch:   tuna (140g in water); bean/bean/sweetcorn salad; grilled veg; coffee

not my chili!

Snack:   pickled onions

Dinner:   chili con carne; avocado

Treat:    glass of red wine

I made the chili with lean beef mince, tinned tomatoes, tinned red kidney beans, some chili spice mix, and loads of fresh chilies. Even though I say it myself, it was delicious!

Tomorrow is rest day. It will not be binge day, but I will be enjoying a beer and a piece of cheese at some point which are pretty much the only things I've missed. It feels weird to have this day. It's almost a problem as it feels like it may undo the week's good work.

On the other hand, I hope to be as motivated to start again on Monday as I was to start last Monday, refreshed after my rest day...

day #6 : morning post

mass:   88.4 kg
% lard:    22 %

breakfast:    3 x poached egg  (pepper & green tabasco); coffee; water (lots)

That's -1.0 kg since yesterday. I weighed myself 4 times to check that figure, but it's true.

I am not sure how to account for the big drop. It is Saturday and so I was up an hour later: 0800, instead of 0700. No cheats yesterday, but the beans were very salty. Could this have an effect? Is it just water?

My wee was not very green, so I am apparently not dehydrated. We will see if we have an upswing tomorrow...

day #5 : wrap up

Lunch:   tuna (140g in water); bean/lentil salad; grilled veg; coffee

Snack:   pickled onions

Dinner:   roast chicken; roast vegetables

Treat:    glass of red wine

The bean salad today was made with Lupin beans. The first time that I have tries them, as they caught my eye in the Portuguese aisle at the supermarket. You can eat these with the skin or without. I ate them with the skin. They came in a salty brine and so they needed a good soak before using. They would be better as a snack, as they are a bit hard for the salad, as well as being too salty.

I also had flatulence for the first time. I will be avoiding Lupin beans in future. Pity I had the other half to eat tomorrow. They went in the bin...

It's the mental part of the diet. I like bean salad, but not that. If I dread lunch it's always going to be a problem.

Same goes for the wine. It was delicious!

day #5 : morning post

mass:   89.4 kg
% lard:    22 %

breakfast:    3 x poached egg  (pepper & green tabasco); coffee

So that's +0.2kg from yesterday (doh!) but the fat % clicked down to 22% for the first time (yay!).

I do not take the first reading from my scale, incidentally. I weigh myself three times in a row: reset scale, step on, read, step off, reset, step on, and so on... This should hopefully improve the consistency of the readings. They should all be the same.

Total loss is still 1.6kg after four days, which is amazing. I know it was probably mostly retained water (or something) to start with, but still the trend is a good one.