Image by blacknight via Flickr
I’ve been on this diet now for three weeks.
That’s 21 days of eating and living differently.
- I now have breakfast every single morning. At the weekend it’s scrambled egg on toast, while during the week I usually stick to weetabix and some fruit
- Lunch is no longer a roll – it’s usually soup and bread with some fruit and yoghurt
- I’m keeping a closer eye on my coffee intake and am drinking more herbal tea (vanilla tea rocks!)
- Dinner is quite varied with salads and pasta or pitta bread stuffed with something tasty
- I’m cooking every single day
- My fridge is nearly always full
- There’s always plenty of fruit in the house
- I’m spending more on groceries, though since I’ve cut out junk food, takeaways and am sticking to meal plans that dictate when I eat, I’m probably spending about the same amount of money per week. Possibly even less.
- I’m eating less red meat. I still have mince in pasta sauces etc., but a lot of the time it’s either chicken or tuna that gets used. I’ll have to see about adding in some turkey as well
That’s 21 days of not eating:
- takeaways (I only miss them when I’m tired and hungry)
- pizza – I really miss them!
- junk food
- sweets (I didn’t eat them much anyway)
- chocolate (I do get pangs from time to time)
And the results?
To be honest I think it’s too early to tell.
In terms of weight loss I’ve dropped about 6 kg since I started (about 13 lbs for those of you sticking to Imperial). My BMI is dropping, but it’s still far too high.
So I’ve still got a very long way to go.
Things I need to do?
I’m still not exercising enough and I need to get motivated to move my lazy ass and walk or do something.
Food and eating is under control, though I’m already beginning to get a little bored with some of the options I’m being given on the Tesco Diet, so I might need to either switch the plan I’m on (they’ve got plenty to choose from) or start swapping in more low calories options from other recipe sites and sources.
I also need to try and sleep more. Seemingly getting more sleep is meant to help. I can’t see myself doing a Cinderella every night, but if I can try to get to bed before 1am most nights then it would be a move in the right direction.
Well done that is way better than me – I am impressed! That is a sensible amount of loss to be honest. If you go faster than that it is not sustainable. What you do have to do is exactly what you get some more sleep. It is really really important – at least 7 hours average will help make a difference – 6kg in 21 days is nearly a stone Michele!!!
Irene
Thanks, though speaking to me of “stone” is like speaking Chinese 🙂 I’m metric only!
Thanks for your comment
Michele
I work in metric too normally but I always compare back to stones when it comes to dieting – seriously to see how much you have lost pick up a 5Kg bag of potatoes! It’s heavy and that is how much less weight is on your joints.
And for anyone who thinks I am being one of those PMA people I have a serious number of kg to lose too so I know exactly what it is like. Damn now I feel like I am not taking it seriously enough 6kg is good going!
Irene
Well I need to keep losing weight. Though I’ve found weighing myself every single morning is helpful, as I can easily see fluctuations across the week.
Michele
you mentioned that you’re watching your coffee intake. why? does that affect weight?
I mostly drink herbal teas, but do have two or three coffees a day.
Kae
Most of the diets seem to either cut out coffee entirely or reduce it. Herbal teas are “free”. This article hints at the “why” http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Herold6.html
Thanks for your comment
Michele
My trainer said limit it to 1 a day if you can’t live without and max of 2 cups of tea preferably herbal. It’s tough to stick to though.
Irene
I’m “allowed” up to 5 coffees a day – thankfully 🙂
Michele
This limited coffee stuff smelled like horse manure to me, so I checked with the brother- a dietitian – as to the veracity. His take: black coffee is calorie free, the stimulant effect is so weak as to give zero benefit. Anything which makes sticking to a diet less pleasurable is stupid. Zero caffeine is usually a mark of a quack diet, save in very particular medical condition diets.
I’d have to disagree. Cutting out coffee entirely would probably be a bad idea, but the side effects of caffeine are pretty clear:
See http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002445.htm
It clearly refers to moderation etc., which is exactly what I’m doing ie. cutting back my caffeine intake to a much more moderate level
Michele – there’s a world of difference between cutting down on Caffeine/Coffee intake for health reasons, as per the AMA, and removing it from diet for *dietary* reasons, as per the “cleansing” woo in the link you previously posted. Removing is as part of a dietary regime has no known benefits for dieting whatsoever.
I’d also point out that, despite the aura of “oooh side effects” in the linked NIH article, normal sane caffeine intake has few effects on health, and may even act as a preventative against certain types of bowel and stomach cancer.
Oh, just also wanted to congratulate you, both on your progress and on your candour about the process of dieting as you perceive it. Well done on all counts.
Ah yes but for women there is the added benefit of cutting back on caffeine when combined with lots of exercise it results in faster elimination of cellulite which traditionally isn’t a mans issue – give up completely and you will have withdrawal headaches for about 2 weeks hence the mid morning coffee is still allowed! I have seen it done in isolation only giving up caffeine and exercising more marked difference to skin