Posts
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What have I done to deserve this?
I was having a Pet Shop Boys moment this morning when I wrote this. I haven’t listened to their stuff for years so I’ve no idea why today. Anyway the loose connection with my diet is that I had a full English breakfast this morning. And I don’t really deserve it.
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Tales of the Unexpected.
I’ve managed to stay on the OMAD diet since the 17th. I have not deviated from the food part. Unfortunately this week I have deviated on the booze part. I’ve drunk some wine - nothing terrible, but too much for someone on a diet.
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One Week Along.
One week has gone by and I’ve managed the OMAD diet with no booze. I’ve also done some press-ups and weights each day. And I’ve not been sedentary, although I could have done better.
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Three Days In.
It’s day three of my One Meal a Day challenge and I’ve settled in. On day three I’m already in ketosis. But I felt rather hungry this afternoon.
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Enough is Enough. OMAD.
Join me this week on a One Meal a Day challenge! I’ve decided that enough is enough. I was in Lille earlier this week and succumbed to the large business lunches. Three courses with wine. On Wednesday I took the evening off, had a dinner at the Barbican on my own in preparation for a new start.
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Number Go Down. Please.
It looks like all is lost to be frank.
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The Full English.
On my recent holiday in Southbourne, I enjoyed a full English breakfast every morning. There’s a nice café overlooking the sea and it’s rather pleasant to have breakfast there. On my return, I have found a new café not too far from home where the breakfasts are good. And I’ve got into the habit of popping out on cheat day for a breakfast.
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No Rest for the Wicked.
As I ordered my cheat dinner of KFC with extra chicken last night, I realised that today was going to be a tough day. The first day after a cheat day can be tricky. Purely because one must get back on the wagon after a day of freedom.
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Least Impact.
I went out and cheated last night. Again. Last night I met some folks at a PGP key signing party. Yes it sounds exciting doesn’t it? We met together, checked government-issued IDs and signed each other’s PGP keys.
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Pathetic.
I wasn’t sure whether to bother writing an entry this week. It’s another tale of lack of commitment to the cause. Here’s the thing. The food I eat is usually the right food. But there are three problems this week.
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Dazed and Confused.
From a work perspective, it was a productive week. The team moved servers without too much hassle. We also reorganised a comms room in preparation for a bigger project. And bizarrely everything came back online without any problems.
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Back in Ketosis.
I’ve bought some ketosis test strips and I’m burning fat according to the tests. So in some sense I’m making progress. But I’m still breaking the rules daily.
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The problem of travelling.
I don’t get out very much in my impending middle-age but when I do go out, I go out. You will recall that a chance encounter with Petunia resulted in an unintended glass of wine. Well, July and August had many similar incidents.
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Reboot progress.
I have not updated this blog as much as I would like. The fact is this blog has become a bit of a “side-quest”. The real quest is to lose some weight and get fitter. Sometimes writing about it can get in the way of getting the real quest done.
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August Reboot Coming.
In July I gained a kilo of fat. This must have happened during my holiday and the conference the following week. I was slack. Also I’ve been quite slack generally. I had slightly too much wine and too many peanuts between meals. I’m not getting enough downtime from the computer either. So I need a reboot.
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...More Unchartered Heights of Disgrace.
Well I took a week off and I haven’t measured my weight since. I had a great holiday. We walked lots and cooked fresh fish from the fish market. I managed to get some writing done and take a break. This week I’m back at work and I attended a conference in Brussels. Unfortunately it was a carb fest. And as with most conferences I go to, I had a few drinks.
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Q2 2024
Here is a comprehensive list of my food intake, ketones, weight and exercise for Q2 2024.
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Where have you been then?
It’s been a month since I posted on this blog. I have been very busy. I’ve taken a lot on. I’m taking French and Russian lessons. I have two Russian conversations partners. And I’m trying to finish a section of a book. Also we’ve upgraded the blockchain software twice in one month. Did I mention that I have been very busy?
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Another Month of Mediocre.
The story of May is like the story of April. Very little progress indeed. May is a month of bank holidays. I burnt two passes. And I had some wine too.
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Going Through the Motions.
I’m not talking about swimming in a particularly dirty river. I’m talking about turning up, giving the activity lip service and not putting the effort in. I’m afraid this describes my approach to dieting now.
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A Week of One Meal a Day.
I feel much better. My head is clearer and I have more energy. But I’m eating less. Last weekend I switched back to One Meal a Day because my progress stagnated in April. I’ve also (mostly) quit drink again.
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A Graveyard of Empty Bottles.
Yeah. April could have been better. We groaned about it last week (I’m using the Royal We of course). Let’s not groan about it again. Here are the graphs:
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Urgent need of a reboot.
April has not been a good month for progress. Most of the numbers have flatlined. Or I suppose you could say they have stabilised. The key differences are the reintroduction of alcohol and a second meal.
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Miracles do happen.
It was a disruptive week for me. I flew to Zurich on Sunday evening, stayed in Zug for two days and then took the train to Paris on Tuesday. Then I managed to get sick. I still have a sore throat. There’s yet another bug going around. It is making me tired and (more) grumpy.
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Domino Foods and Red Wine.
Oh dear. I had a bit of a disaster from a diet perspective this week. I went out two nights in a row. And I drank red wine. I’m not going to tell you how much, but it was enough.
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Two Meals a Day.
I had a blow-out on Easter Monday. I took a complete break, had plenty of carbs and plenty of wine too. But on Tuesday I got straight back onto the wagon. Since then I’ve been eating two low-carb meals a day. I’ve also made sure I walk or get on the exercise bike five times a week. And I do some light weight training three times a week.
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Q1 Results
I am very pleased because I’ve had a successful quarter. I started in January and I was 90.4kg. I’m now 82.1kg. I’ve lost over 5kg in fat. I can now fit into my 36” jeans again. Job done.
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OMAD Q1 2024
Here is a comprehensive list of my food intake, ketones, weight and exercise since 3rd January 2024. I’ll continue to update this whilst I’m on One Meal a Day. My food is usually taken within a 1-2 hour feeding window late afternoon.
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The Rules for Q2 2024.
- Two meals a day, six days a week.
- No starchy carbs, sugars, etc except for one cheat day a week (usually Saturday or Sunday).
- Bulletproof coffee in the morning is optional and doesn’t count as a meal.
- Exercise five times a week. Either 30 minutes on the exercise bike, a swim or one hour walk.
- Light weight training three times a week.
- Alcohol is allowed on average once a week. 250ml red wine maximum.
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Last week of Lent.
As I wrote last week, I’ve flatlined. Oh well. It would be nice to break the 82kg barrier before the end of Lent, but I doubt I will.
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Flatlining.
I managed to keep on track despite a short trip to Switzerland. I travelled on Wednesday evening and managed to get to a good restaurant before it closed. I know the menu and staff well enough that I can eat within my constraints. The following day, I had bun-less burgers and a salad.
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That's not the way to do it.
Top-down, there was nothing wrong with the previous week for dieting. But the truth is I have been ill. There is a horrible bug going around now.
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Pass the wine, Petunia.
I’ve had a successful week. I travelled to Zug and Paris, and managed to stay on the diet. I flew to Zurich, got the train to Zug and after 2 days got the train to Paris. I returned on the Eurostar on Thursday night. Here are the statistics. There were no scales at the hotels, so no weight measurements.
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Mega Ketosis.
Is that the correct phrase? Should I hyphenate it? Should it be a word? I’m not sure it’s important. Anyway, I measured roughly 8 mmol/l this morning for ketones which is unexpectedly high. I was also informed this week that I have acetone breath. I haven’t been eating nail varnish - this is another sign of ketosis.
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Stir fry reboot.
I’m feeling a little under par again. So last night I reset myself with a beef overload. In the picture there is 500g of beef mince with stir fry vegetables. Also there’s a two egg omelette hiding underneath everything.
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Shrove Tuesday Crash.
I got up yesterday, went to the shop and bought croissants. I had them for breakfast with scrambled eggs, coffee and grapefruit juice. They were awful. The “fresh” croissants in the shop were not fresh. In fact, they were probably made last week in a bakery miles away. So I bought a packet and that was a mistake. Once you’ve had fresh ones in Paris, the experience is not the same.
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Festum Ovorum.
I’ve sort of been doing Lent since January 3rd, to the point that it would not be clear what I should give up next week.
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The rhythm has begun.
I beginning to feel that I’m getting somewhere. As I write this, I have been seriously dieting for one month. And I intend to go through to at least Easter. Once I “finish”, I will switch to a more regular low-carb diet.
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January was a success.
I pleased to say that January has been a green month. To summarise my progress:
- I have exercised 5-6 times a week, either on an exercise bike or walking for an hour.
- I have not had any alcohol since 2nd January, except for a planned exception on 20th January.
- I have lost approximately 2kg of fat.
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My Keto Buddy has FAILED...
I regret to inform that my keto buddy has failed in her task of keeping on the straight and narrow this month. For the purposes of this blog entry, we will call her Petunia. And she has been drinking.
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The Rules for February. And Lent.
I set myself an initial set of rules for January. And more or less I have followed them. The biggest failure is getting out of the house daily for a decent amount of fresh air. But I have exercised and I have followed the diet.
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I've been kidding myself.
As I’ve written before, I was definitely relaxed towards my diet since September. After my trip to San Francisco, I was not able to get back on the horse. But actually it was worse than that.
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A proper cheat day. And a dog.
Maybe the ketosis strips have worn out. The result this morning is 0.5mmol/l. I expected zero. Here are the week’s statistics:
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The plateau.
Last week we spoke about the dip. I'm definitely in it on the diet. And I need to keep my head down to get through it.
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In desperate need of carbs.
My progress continues to be good. My weight measurements today are the lowest since December. Given the sudden drop today, I’m expecting them to go up a bit this week and the normalise.
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The Dip. First cravings.
I went to London yesterday to meet a few people in person. I always get tired when I travel to work, partly because I’m not use to it. I generally work from home. All I could manage last night was to eat dinner and watch the recently restored Rambo First Blood.
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So far, so good... so what!
I’ve completed the first week of dieting in the new year. And I’ve had a good week, at least since 3rd January.
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Starting again in the New Year.
Since I last wrote, I’ve written a prescription to myself to have a break. I had three work Christmas meals in December and it was too much for me. And since the 19th, I’ve been rather relaxed about what I eat.
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I've given up beer. More or less.
When I went to University I was a lager and white wine drinker. When I left University I was a real ale and red wine drinker. Who says University doesn’t have its positives. I got a degree as well.
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The run up to Christmas.
It’s a difficult time of year for dieting. There are Christmas parties and social occasions. These parties usually involve booze and food.
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A Better Week.
Actually a much better week. On the way home from Paris, I ordered an exercise bike. It’s Black Friday weekend. If you are pondering whether to buy one, now is the time.
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Lack of Discipline.
When I started this diet blog, I wanted to hold myself accountable to an audience. Well, it hasn’t worked. And, in particular, this week it hasn’t worked at all. It all started on Monday when I left for a business trip in Paris accompanied by my wife.
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Back on the wagon. Sort of.
I’ve been absent from this blog for 2 weeks. The truth is I’ve been mildly sick. I caught a horrible cold on the way back from Morocco. It disappeared and then reappeared on the way back from Zurich last week. On the aeroplane, I could not clear my ears during landing.
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Pancakes.
It’s too soon to report any progress since my last post, so here is a picture of some pancakes that I don’t deserve. I’m having an undeserved cheat day today and will rejoin the wagon tomorrow.
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Morocco. Whoops.
I have not followed the diet for over seven days. We flew to Marrakesh last Tuesday. We visited Casablanca, Rabat and Fes. Then we returned this week. Actually it would have been possible to diet, at least at breakfast time. All the hotels we stayed in offered omelettes and plenty of options in the evening.
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Former Glories.
This blog is a tale of misery so far. I’ve made no progress this week. In fact, I’ve ended the week heavier than I began it. My ketosis strips have gone grey and are unusable. The only good news I have is that my fat weight has reduced slightly.
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Oh dear.
I’d like to say that I have had a better week than last week. But I cannot. I completely ignored any rules last Sunday. We went for a long walk and had a scone with jam. In the evening we had a take-away. Oh dear.
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Complete Failure.
I’ve suffered from a complete failure to follow the diet this week. I could show you the statistics, but it would be easier to upload a red image.
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Domino Foods.
I have finished the second week of the diet. Well at least the second week that I’m telling you about. And more or less it has been a good week for food. But not for drink.
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The Rules.
Perhaps it is not clear from the posts to date which diet I’m following. So let’s summarise the rules here. I’m following Tim Ferriss’s Slow-Carb Diet - more or less.
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First Week. First Results.
I had hoped to post sooner. But it was not to be. I’ve had a reasonable start to the new diet. More or less, I’m doing enough to get going. Here are the statistics:
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Start Again. Try Harder. Take Longer.
I started this year with good intentions. I intended to diet, write and exercise. Well, it was not to be. In February, I followed Lent. One meal a day (OMAD), no alcohol, no carbs except on Sunday. By the end of March, my weight was 83.5kg and my clothes were comfortable. And then we went to Miami.
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