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.

One of my frustrations with exercise equipment is that it has to live somewhere and occupy space. This exercise bike folds away and hides in a cupboard. It unfolds and I use it next to the coffee machine. Every morning, with a Bulletproof Coffee, I start the day with a 30 minute exercise bike ride. And this week it has made a big difference.

I’m back from a business trip in Zurich and I have remained in ketosis for the whole time. We had a strategy session in the hotel and I was able to book low-carb meals in advance. I only made three mistakes (only three?!):

  1. Drinking too much wine for a dieter at the staff event on Thursday;
  2. Eating too many peanuts at the staff event on Thursday…;
  3. Drinking too much coffee on Friday.

But none of it mattered. The Thursday event knocked me down a few rungs on the ketosis ladder, but this morning I’m back. Here are the statistics:

My weight is down. My fat level is down. I’ve remained in ketosis for the week. Here is my test result this morning:

Now a bit more detail. On Monday and Tuesday, I was working from home. It’s easy to diet at home. On Wednesday, I flew to Zurich late afternoon. On arrival, I went to McDonald’s. This, no doubt, seems counterintuitive to dieting. But you can order burgers without the buns and they are 100% beef. They are actually quite difficult to digest but the meal works when there are no other options.

I had a small glass of wine on the aeroplane and another when I arrived at the hotel. I am allowed 250ml of dry wine on the diet. (The observant reader will notice this is the rule I break the most.)

The following morning I woke early and went to the hotel gym. I managed 30 minutes on the exercise bike before a breakfast of bacon and eggs.

The waiter helped me at lunch and I got something compliant. Similarly at dinner, the staff were able to remove the sauces and potatoes from my plate.

In the evening, I went to the staff event. I had one small glass of prosecco at the Apero but had no wine with dinner. After dinner I relaxed and had some wine.

Yesterday was a similar story although I felt quite ratty throughout the day. The meeting had a lot of sessions and I needed to concentrate. I drink more coffee in these circumstances.

The trip home was not straightforward. The taxi ride to the airport was frustrating. I managed to find a salad at the airport. The flight went smoothly but on arrival, customs decided they didn’t like my luggage. The luggage was, of course, fine. Then the taxi ride home took three times longer due to an accident.

None of this made me feel well and when I arrived home I went straight to bed. I assumed that I would wake up this morning feeling ill. Actually, far from it. I feel pretty good. I suspect I was having either a reaction to lots of coffee or to ketosis.

I will leave you this week with a picture of some pancakes. This time I deserve them. I’m off to London shortly to write an article about beer. More on this another time.