Posts
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Lent Reflections.
I’ve finished dieting for Lent. I broke my fast, or rather the rules, last night in the pub with two small glasses of red. Let’s just say the pub didn’t have a wine list. And the “vintage” on the bottles was the best before date. Anyway, it did the job.
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The Final Push.
It’s the final week of Lent and I’ve managed to follow my rules so far. The final push should be easy. I intend to go through the week until Good Friday, when I will break my rules with breakfast.
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Flickers of Hope.
I got on the scales this morning and they flickered between 79.9 and 80kg. Why does moving from 80 to 79.9 feel better than moving from 80.1 to 80? Purely in the mind, I guess. The point is that I’ve shifted a significant amount of weight, and you can see the difference too.
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Number go up!
I’ve broken my seed oil rule without realising it. Yesterday I made an excessive amount of chilli con carne, enough to see me through to about 2028. I jest of course. But it was a lot. Whilst I was in the supermarket picking up sour cream, I bought a tin of refried beans. Also, I bought 100% chocolate to add to the chilli to thicken it up.
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Carb Crash!
I got up early yesterday and lots of things done. I gave the dogs a long walk. By around 2pm yesterday, I was good for nothing. I was hungry, to the point that I could not cope.
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I'm hungry!
It started yesterday when I was walking the dogs at lunchtime. I’m beginning to feel hunger. To be clear, not cravings - actual hunger. But that’s okay, because today I will have a massive cheat meal. I haven’t decided what it will be yet, but I will have pancakes for dessert.
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Ketosis strips.
I used to get up in the morning and take a ketosis reading. More often than not, the reading would not be particularly high. This morning, I took a reading. Not surprisingly, I’m in ketosis.
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Rambling thoughts of a middle-aged fellow on a diet.
As I write this it is Wednesday morning, and I’ve just pressed “post” on the Cravings article. This is an addendum to it.
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Cravings.
I’m surprised that I’m not craving any naughty food or alcohol. I’m surprised because usually I find getting onto a strict diet difficult. But I’ve settled straight into a One Meal a Day diet, and I seem to be on track.
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Cast Iron Geezer.
Does the title mean I’ve used cast iron? Or is the title an adjective? Well, I’ve got a new frying pan. And it’s made of cast iron. And I’m already surprised how easy it is to use.
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First Lent Cheat Day.
I’m allowing myself one cheat meal a week and this will usually be on a Saturday. Yesterday, I managed to hold out until about 1600. I had a huge meal starting with soup and two rolls. Then lamb with minted potatoes and vegetables. Then two slices of cheesecake.
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The First Week of Lent.
After two days at the beginning of the week of not following any diet rules, I started again on Wednesday. On Shrove Tuesday, I started with two egg McMuffins and for lunch I had a sandwich. Then in the evening I had a chicken burger and some pancakes.
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The Calm before the Storm.
On Wednesday I start again for Lent. So, I decided this morning to have a break.
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What Have I Done to Deserve this?
I have a cold and I’m having trouble getting going today. I’ve cancelled appointments. It’s 0 degrees outside and I suspect the sudden drop in temperature is causing everyone to get ill.
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Starting again at Lent.
January and February were diet disasters of the Clarkson double-denim variety. I’m going to start again at Lent. In fact, this is precisely what I’m going to do:
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This is the Price of Failure, Mr Bond.
“I’ve made mistakes”, A-Rod
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If at first you don't succeed, lower your standards.
Some adjustments are required to my Q1 2025 rules. These two in fact:
- If I’m having a morning meal, it will usually be eggs.
- No alcohol, but… see below.
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The Wettest January on Record.
Dry January? Ha ha ha. I just counted the number of bottles of wine I had in January and it was around 11. So much for that then. But does it really matter?
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Greetings from Amsterdam.
It will be a carb-fest. It always is. The moment I arrive on the continent, I find it difficult to stick to any diet. So, I’ve given myself a break for two days instead of one this week. Do I deserve it?
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I was going to write a book. Then I didn't.
I have aspirations to be a writer in my spare time. I’ve recently published a book on Russian Verbs (see Leanpub or Amazon), so I’m nearly there. My original idea for a book was a novel about someone who could not quite hit the mark. I abandoned it.
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Where is January going?
I was relatively successful this week. On Tuesday, I went to a comedy night. I intended to have one glass of wine towards the end, but ended up drinking one my wife didn’t want. So that’s 500ml of wine in total. When I’m being strict, I mark up to 250ml as amber and anything over that as red. Ideally, I should not drink except on cheat days of course.
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Failure to Avoid Seed Oil.
One of my rules this year is to avoid seed oils. I’ve done this to date by cooking in butter, lard and tallow. Sometimes I use olive oil. Unfortunately, yesterday I forgot to check. I had horseradish sauce yesterday and it contains rapeseed oil. Oh dear.
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A Successful Start to the Year.
Since Sunday I’ve been a good boy. I’ve stuck the diet and I haven’t had a drink. I’ve also had a walk or been on the exercise bike four times this week. I will do the fifth time today. I’ve also stuck to the rules more or less. I’m also in ketosis.
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Do I miss drinking beer?
It’s been over a year since I had a pint of beer. The last time I had a beer was at a home-brewers meeting. We tasted many barley wines and many other concoctions. Most of the home-brewed beer was good, as was the beer from the pub downstairs.
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Preparing for 2025.
There’s no point in making new year’s resolutions. They are usually too ambitious. And if you fail, you tend to abandon all hope. It’s better to think of the first quarter and define achievable goals.
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Whoops!
Well, ‘tis the season to be jolly. Fa la la la la, la la la la. Etc.
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Getting there, more or less.
I appear to be back in the game with my weight approaching what it was in April. Hooray. The problem is I need to spend this week travelling. Fortunately it’s the last big trip of the year.
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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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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, Waiter/
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 them KetoBuddy. And they have 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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Lent 2021 - The Meals
Here is what I ate during Lent 2021.
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Lent 2021 - Finality
The final period of Lent 2021.
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Lent 2021 - Fourth Eleven
The fourth eleven days of Lent 2021.
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Lent 2021 - Third Eleven
The third eleven days of Lent 2021.
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Lent 2021 - Second Eleven
We move into the second eleven days of Lent 2021.
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Lent 2021 - The First Eleven Days
In this series of articles, I have reproduced my Lent diary from 2021. During Lent I followed a simple set of rules:
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Crash!
Saturday 25th July: There was rain forecast but I still decided to go out on my bike. I had a full English, then tea with my parents in the morning along with copious amounts of cake and set off with a view to doing 100 kilometres on my bike. However, the universe had other plans for me.
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540 Kilometers later
In the last week of May, I rode my bicycle from London to Brussels stopping in Amsterdam and Turnhout on the way. The ride was in aid of Make-A-Wish, a children’s charity that grants children with life-threatening illnesses their dreams. From a personal perspective, I was very pleased with the ride. I did not have to walk up any hills with the bike and I logged some good average speeds.
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100 days on the Slow Carb Diet
After 100 days on the Slow Carb diet, I have lost 10kg (22lbs) and reduced my waist to 36" clothing. I've decided to stop for a little while. I finished at lunchtime on Friday 19th October and celebrated with pie and chips, a cupcake and a cup of tea. In fact, I took the weekend off. Here are some thoughts about the diet.
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Slow-Carb 100 - Day 9
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Slow-Carb 100 - Day 8
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Slow-Carb 100 - Day 7
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Slow-Carb 100 - Day 6
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Slow-Carb 100 - Day 5
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Slow-Carb 100 - Day 4
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Slow-Carb 100 - Day 3 (Rest)
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Discipline
The hardest thing about his diet is the 6 days of discipline. I’m sat in a country pub looking at 5 barrels of real ale and I cannot participate as it is not my day off. Still I can enjoy a glass of red so I should be happy with that.
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Slow-Carb 100 - Day 2
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Slow-Carb 100 - Day 1
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Preparing for the first day
The internet is a wonderful life-changing thing. I ordered my slow carb groceries for London on the internet whilst sitting in Sofia. All that is left is to pack it up for work tomorrow. These are the foods that I have bought:
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What is the Slow-Carb Diet?
I have just finished reading Tim Ferris’s book The 4-hour Body. Part of this book recommends the Slow Carb diet as a way to lose weight. Tim also has a summary on his blog of the diet: How to lose 100 pounds. Essentially the diet is this:
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How to lose weight
Eat less, get off your fat arse and exercise
- Larry Winget
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