Week 102

1lb loss!

I'm pleased with the pound loss. It's been a tough week emotionally, with declining health issues for Maggie's parents and my own battles with trying to make sense of my existence in the universe.

There have been plenty of time that I've wanted to wolf down the entire contents of the fridge, freezer and food cupboards, but at the back of my head has been the voice that is determined to try and keep some kind of control. So on the couple occasions where I have indulged, I've managed to keep them contained, and I feel pleased about that.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 12st 11.8lb – 179.8lbs

Body fat: 23.9%
Total Weight Loss: 95.2lbs

Week 101

1lb loss!

It's not been an easy week, but I have managed to stay on top of the cravings.

Always for me, the problem is stopping eating once I start. By far and away my greatest ally (beyond my wife, that is) is fruit & herbal tea. I'm a fan of the red fruit (strawberry, blackcurrent, raspberry etc) ones, with my favourite being blackberry. I can't stand perppermint or camomile, which is what everyone seems to have in their cupboards if I visit them and ask if they have anything without caffeine.

I boil the kettle and pour the water over a blackberry teabag just before I sit down to eat, so it's ready to drink straight after breakfast, at the end of lunch, after my dinner and in the middle of the evening after I've had an apple if I really need to snack.

This works well on a several of levels for me.

1. It delays the amount of time before I can put food back in my mouth, thereby allowing my brain to catch up with my stomach and realise it's eaten

2. It washes away any food bits left in the mouth that are continuing to trigger the cravings

3. As time has gone on, it has become a ritual of ceasing to eat. The more often I do it, the stronger it reinforces the signal to stop.

I should stress that these are "herbal infusions" and not flavoured teas, if you go looking for them in the supermarket.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 12st 12.8lb – 180.8lbs
Body fat: 24.3%
Total Weight Loss: 94.2lbs

Week 100

1.4lb loss!

Back on track!

It's been a tough week but I'm delighted to have just scraped back under the 13 stone mark, which is a good place to be as I reach Week 100.

Writing week 100 feels a bit weird. Triple figures.

Just as well I wasn't expecting it to be a temporary diet.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb - 275lbs
Current Weight: 12st 13.8lb - 181.8lbs
Body fat: 24.5%
Total Weight Loss: 93.2lbs

Week 99

0.2lb loss!!!

What the...

I was awake early this morning, so long before Maggie and I had our weigh-in I wrote a piece containing all my excuses for putting on more weight this week - so much for lines in the sand, the problems of out of control cravings following a fortnight of eating fattier, saltier and sugarier foods etc.

I was completely and utterly expecting to have put on weight this week; the only question was going to be how much.

And yet, here I am, 0.2 lbs lighter than last week. I do not understand.

There are 3 possibilities, one of which involves benign deities, so perhaps there are only 2.

The first is that my metabolism has speeded up with all the extra food, so I am in fact burning up more than usual. I know the metabolism can slow down when you reduce your food intake, so this might be a possibility.

The other is that it's not been as bad as it seems in my head. The reality is that while there have been at least 3 evenings of pure gluttony I probably still don't eat as much as I did in the days before the change in lifestyle, and I've been almost angelic through the daytime.

Could it be a combination of metabolism and an over inflated sense of what I've eaten, or has the same God that allows war, death, famine, torture, tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes and daytime soap operas taken time out of His busy schedule to allow me to eat a bit of extra chocolate and not pay the consequences?

Hmmm...


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 1.2lb – 183.2lbs
Body fat: 24.0%
Total Weight Loss: 91.8lbs

Week 98

4.8lb gain!

Oh for F***'s sake.

I knew I'd put on a few pounds, but 5? This takes me up over the 13 stone mark and places me back where I was at the beginning of November.

Sigh

OK, I know this is the gorging season but I've tried to at least be aware of what I'm gorging. However, it's been the evening eating that has really taken its toll as old habits of out-of-control eating have returned.

By saying to myself "Hey, it's Christmas! It's OK if I eat snacks while watching TV or DVDs in the evening" I've set myself up to fall straight back into one of my worst battlegrounds. Not only is the evening the worst time of day to be eating, but it's when my resolve is at its lowest and trigger foods set off binges that can only end in feeling ill.

But no more. I draw a line in the sand right here and will not be moved! Today I return to a healthier way of being!

What's that? Maggie's going to make bacon and French Toast using a brioche loaf for lunch? And she's still got some goose fat left to cook the roast potatoes in for dinner tonight?

OK, tomorrow I draw a line in the sand and will not be moved...


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 1.4lb – 183.4lbs
Body fat: 24.1%
Total Weight Loss: 91.6lbs