Of course, the temptation is to stop fasting and go and relax a bit. But it is not the right thing to do.

This morning I weighed in a 82.8kg, which means for the first time in a long time my BMI is under 25. This means the NHS thinks I have a healthy weight. It is the lowest I weighed for some time.

I was not desperately hungry today, so I’m getting used to the fasting. If I keep going like this, all will be well. So it is worth it.

Here are the rules of Lent 2026, repeated from a previous post. From Ash Wednesday and until Maundy Thursday (2nd April):

• One meal a day (OMAD), usually taken late afternoon or in the evening.
• On most days, the meal will be low carb.
• On one day (usually Saturday) I will have a cheat meal.
• The following exceptions are allowed:
• • A bulletproof coffee (coffee, butter, MCT oil) in the morning.
• • Porridge 1-2 hours before working out with my personal trainer.
• I will go to the gym 3 times a week and get on the exercise bike 4 times a week. At the gym:
• • Tuesday: Legs with trainer.
• • Thursday: Upper body with trainer.
• • Saturday: Cardio, shoulders, abs solo.
• • No alcohol whatsoever, even on the cheat day.

I write this on Saturday morning (21st February) and I’ve adhered to the rules so far. I’m in ketosis this morning. This evening, I will have fish and chips, and a pudding. Tomorrow I will be back on low-carb regime.

On Ash Wednesday, I began to get hungry around 1500, but I can cope with it because I’ve done OMAD diets before. It’s easy once you get started. I felt a bit under par on Friday morning until I got up and got going.

I had porridge before the workout on Thursday, but I have not had any bulletproof coffees yet. It’s not a rule, but I’ve cut back on coffee, limiting myself to 3-4 mugs a day. I was drinking 6 and I suspect this was disturbing my sleep. I trained upper body despite an injury from two weeks ago. This week, we were deloading. Next week, we get back to normal.

Today, I feel more energised and awake. The benefits of less are often more.

Anyway, so that we have some sort of measurement, here are my statistics from Ash Wednesday. Let’s see what happens. The body measurements are approximate.

• Weight: 85.9kg, 19.7% Fat (16.9kg), 76.3% Muscle (65.5kg).
• Biceps: Left 33.5cm; Right 33.8cm.
• Thighs: Left 54.8cm; Right 56cm.
• Waist: Upper 101cm; 96.5cm.

These measurements are somewhat inflated because I had bloat from my holiday. The waist measurement concerned me (38”) quite a lot! My weight dropped to around 83.7kg by Thursday this week. Anyway, let’s see how we do.

The weeks between January and Lent were always going to be relaxed. In January, I didn’t drink and dieted. In Lent I will do the same but harder. I’ve had a couple of drinks in February, but I’ve maintained everything else - more or less. But I didn’t expect a setback.

Last week, I went to London to meet colleagues for dinner. It was a wet day and there was water everywhere. On the way to the tube station, I slipped on the escalator. For a millisecond I was completely airborne. I landed on my left arm and legs, just above the ankles. Then I realised I was approaching the end of the escalator, so I pulled myself up swiftly using my left arm. A gentleman informed me “it happens, don’t worry” and handed my water bottle back to me from the floor.

Immediately I felt grazed. My right arm and legs met the metal escalator. But having got on the tube and back to the rail station, I decided this fall warranted an extra mini bottle of wine. All felt normal at this stage.

Then I woke up in the morning. There were no bruises or grazes, but my left arm felt very strained. I would like to say it was from working out but it wasn’t. It must have been from the quick action to get upright on the escalator.

And today, almost a week later it is still sore. Yesterday, I popped into the minor injury unit, only to be scolded for not going to my GP. The nurse checked a few things out, informed me that it wasn’t broken and told me to take pain killers. Next time I will apply the leeches at home. When you get to my age, the next fall could be the last one… A bit of sympathy would have been nice.

Anyway, it means I can train my legs but not my upper body. And I’m frustrated because I’m making progress. This weekend I’m going on holiday. When I get back, I hope my arm is back in condition. Also, when I’m back, I will be eating only one meal a day for Lent. Hopefully all will be well!

Then I will go on holiday to Spain. I’m looking forward to this. I’ve only been to Spain once and that was for a company due diligence. I spent most of the time in a document room reading IT documentation. It’s time to see a bit more of Spain and definitely time to go to the coast.

After the holiday, I will be straight into Lent. Here is what I’m doing:

• I will have a cheat day and pancakes on Shrove Tuesday.
• Starting Ash Wednesday and until High Thursday (2nd April), I will be eating only one meal a day.
• On most days, the meal will be low-carb. On one day (usually Saturday) it will be a feast where anything goes.
• The exceptions will be a bulletproof coffee (coffee, butter, MCT oil) in the morning and porridge allowed 1-2 hours before working out.
• I will go to the gym 3 times a week and get on the exercise bike 4 times a week.
• I will not be drinking (during Lent).

This is going to be tough for me. I’m going to have to be careful working out and dieting hard at the same time. But I need a period of strictness to reset myself. Until then, see you in Lent.

Let’s have a quick review of what I set out to do:

1. No alcohol until February

I have not had an alcoholic drink since January 4th. I managed to go out to dinner and not drink. I managed to have a dinner party and not drink. The guests didn’t drink in solidarity. The only alcohol I used was for gravy and that would have been burnt off. So this is a success.

Generally I’m feeling more awake and I procrastinate less as a result. But I can’t say I feel amazing. In fact, I’ve had a bit of fatigue and some headaches, particularly in the second and third week. The last weeks of January were better.

I will be having a drink on Sunday 1st February. For sure.

2. Low-carb diet with cheat day. Avoid takeaways.

I also managed to follow the diet, pretty much to the letter. McDonalds decided to put a bit of ketchup on my bunless burgers despite asking them not to. But that’s not the end of the world.

Today I have avoided carbs mostly, but had porridge to fuel my workout. This evening, I will probably break the diet with a soup containing potato, but the soup will be excellent.

I avoided takeaways in that I didn’t order anything to the house at all. I went out for Fish and Chips with family one evening, and I ate in restaurants occasionally. But it was all low-carb and never taken away.

My weight and fat numbers haven’t declined as much as I like though. I’m living a nomadic life this week so I haven’t been able to take a weight measurement. I’m comfortable in my clothes though, which I wasn’t two weeks ago.

3. Gym 3 times a week. Exercise bike 3-4 times a week.

Despite something knocking me for six in the third week of January, I managed to go to the gym 3 times a week. I postponed a session but managed to catch up. I’m making visible progress despite the numbers not showing it. I need to stick at it.

I also got on the exercise bike 4 times a week (check), starting with 30 minutes and moving up to 35 minutes. I find this boring until the 20th minute or so. I try to do other things like reading newspapers but this distracts me from working hard on the bike.

I’m sleeping well, but my dogs are waking me up more often and this is breaking my sleep patterns. One of them is ill and it isn’t her fault, so I just have to manage this.

4. No unnecessary purchases

More or less. If I broke a rule, it was probably this one. I was in TK Max with my girlfriend looking at clothes. And I bought some stationery that was on sale. Whoops.

Usually when I restrict my purchases, I buy one or two things on the first of the month or around pay day. I bought 3 records, a beard trimmer and a briefcase. I did this a bit earlier than I should have done.

I also bought “Number Go Up” because I finished a book in Zug and needed something else to read. I’m reading a lot more because I’m not drinking and I’m less tired in the evening.

But generally, I was not out every day buying lots of unnecessary rubbish.

5. Writing and studying

Here I could have done a lot more. I did do some study for the AWS Networking Specialty exam, but not enough. If I did nothing else outside of work, I could take the exam in February, but it isn’t going to happen.

I practiced bass guitar - Back in Black, Badge and Iron Man.

I did some writing, but it was mainly for this blog and releasing a new edition of Learning Russian Verbs.

I did very minimal work on my new book and I should have done better. The problem is of course focus. I should really be doing that and nothing else, but variety is the spice of life.

Conclusion

So all in all a successful start to the year for diet and fitness. I’m making visible progress in the gym. If I’m failing, it is setting myself too many things to do outside of work. I need to focus on one thing at a time.

What went well (so far):

I’ve stuck to the diet. I haven’t had an alcoholic drink since 4th January. I used wine in two meals (jus and gravy), but the alcohol content would have been burnt off.

I’ve been to the gym three times a week. Even one week where I got knocked for six by something, I was able to make up the lost session. Before training, I’ve eaten porridge, even on a normal diet day.

I’ve avoided takeaways. I haven’t had anything delivered. I have been to Chipotle and also to a Fish and Chips restaurant with family. But the key point here was to avoid low quality takeaway food.

I’ve done some AWS training. I could have done more, but at least I did some.

What didn’t go quite so well:

I haven’t really lost much weight. Despite going to the gym three times a week and using the exercise bike four times a week, my weight hasn’t changed.

I have not done enough work on my new book. It’s top secret of course, but it involved working on a Windows laptop this month. I cannot stand Windows. I could not get docker working properly on the machine, at least for what I needed. So perhaps I will give up on that piece and focus on the important bits. I need to get into the writing floor. I have too much on the platter outside of work to get going on this and in February I need to do better.

What is left to do:

Keep going: I’m travelling this week to Switzerland. I need to get to the gym at least once during the visit. Fortunately, there are gyms with day rates near where I’m staying.

One nice meal out in January: I’m going to do this on Sunday 1st February instead.

Clear the platters: There have been a couple of things that are getting in the way of getting bigger things done. One is my Learning Russian Verbs book. I’ve rereleased it with a new cover and for some reason, Amazon won’t let me release the hardback cover. It’s a fiddle and a distraction. Clearing out the old stuff is important to make room for the new.

Have a holiday in February and prepare for the next phase: I’m going away for a weekend in February, and I will relax my diet without going too far. On February 17th, I will celebrate Shrove Tuesday and from the 18th, I will be on a strict one meal a day diet until Easter. This will be harder than January was.

I’ll publish some more stats about January another time.

But the negative is I feel tired. I’ve increased my exercise and I use an exercise bike four times a week, along with three gym sessions. I’m getting enough rest, except last night when I went to a comedy club.

I’ve kept to my rules more or less. The only one I’ve broken is my “unnecessary purchase rule.” I was in TK Maxx, and I saw some notepads on sale… whoops. No matter. I will use them someday.

I’m writing and studying, but I haven’t been able to get onto my new book project (top secret of course). I’m stuck getting an edition of Learning Russian Verbs out there. I want to publish the hardback with an index and currently the Leanpub process is stuck. The team are working on it.

Anyway, here are the statistics for now:

Also, my dogs can’t sleep either and they insist on getting up several times a night. One has a stomach upset - I found out by not letting him out at 330 on Wednesday morning. He left he a huge present in the dining room.

I’m seeing traces of ketones in my daily ketosis test, so my conclusion is that I have Keto Insomnia. This is a first world problem for a dieter. There’s also Keto Flu. But both are signals that your body is moving towards a fat-burning state.

So that’s all good I suppose. That said I feel completed stuffed today and I need to muster up enough energy for a leg session at the gym. Oh. I can at least concentrate on what I’m doing.

I didn’t go to excess this Christmas. I drank some wine, enjoyed some beers and had a bottle of port in the house. I ate too much chocolate and had too many days off the diet. But nothing particularly bad.

In August, I started training at the gym with a trainer. Since September, I’ve been training with him twice a week. We do one session of legs and one of upper body. I could do more of course.

A new year brings a new start… Really, I want to continue but be stricter. So here are the rules of January, starting on the 5th (and not including 1st-4th):

1. No alcohol until February.

I will not be drinking any alcohol in any form whatsoever for the rest of January. I will not be buying any or keeping any in the house. I’m planning to go out once or twice this month, but I will not drink.

In February I will be going dry for Lent. I’m going to follow a stricter diet.

2. Low-carb diet with cheat day. Avoid takeaways.

Usual rules. Low-carb food during the week and Sundays. That means meat, eggs or fish with vegetables. No rice, pasta, potatoes or bread. No fruit and milk. I will drink only black coffee, herbal teas or water.

On days with my personal trainer, I will also have porridge with a banana and honey to prepare for the workout.

On Saturdays (or maybe the odd Sunday, but only one day a week), I will have a cheat day, but I will be careful not to eat too much.

I will have one nice meal out in a restaurant. And I will avoid takeaways, limiting myself to two in January.

3. Gym 3 times a week. Exercise bike 3-4 times a week.

I will go to the gym 3 times a week. I will go twice with my personal trainer and a third time to work on my core.

I walk the dogs regularly, but it isn’t enough. I need to do more cardio work. I will get on the exercise bike 3-4 times a week.

4. No unnecessary purchases.

I have too many books. I have too much stationery. I could probably write 4 books on the stationery I have. Recently I started to collect vinyl records. I already have too many. I need to use and listen to what I have already. And not buy anything in January that I don’t need.

If I need a book for work (unlikely), I will buy it. If all my pens break (unlikely), I will buy a new one.

5. Writing and studying.

Last year I had to put down a writing project for several reasons. I need to start this project up again. I need to finish a new edition of Learning Russian Verbs. I want to have an early draft by the end of the quarter, but that will be hard.

Last year I left getting an Amazon Web Services certification far too late. This year I want to take two further exams. I’ve started studying for one already. But the key here is doing some writing or study every day where possible.

And that’s it. I will measure the diet items on this blog as usual. And hopefully I will keep myself in check.

That’s because most projects hit what we call The Dip. It’s also known in business as the Trough of Disillusionment (see Gartner Hype Cycle). This applies to everything from business projects, relationships, new gym regimes and diets. In the Dip, we start to question what we are doing. It has started to feel hard, and the initial enthusiasm has worn off.

And the temptation is to “start again”. Abandon it because it got too hard. Reboot. It feels good right? Well of course it does, because starting something new feels good.

So, what do we do about it? From management courses we learn that the best way to overcome the Dip is to have clear objectives and enough support to achieve them. Let’s apply this to the diet and gym.

When starting a new diet or gym regime, there are usually clear objectives. “I want to lose 10kg.” “I want a six-pack.” Extra support is not usually needed because the enthusiasm is there to get started. But then after a week or two, it starts to get hard. The enthusiasm disappears. But suppose you had the support of your partner, a friend or a personal trainer? Maybe that would get you through the Dip.

The key is to keep focused on your objectives. Get more support if you can, such as a personal trainer or a gym/diet buddy. Help yourself by removing food or drink from your house that won’t help. Disappear for a bit if friends are putting pressure on you to stray from your diet or routine. Hold yourself accountable by talking about what you are doing publicly. Once you are through the Dip, you can support yourself more. The new regime will become the habit.

Oh, by the way: I’m “starting again” this year, but with a diet and approach that I know will work. But really, I’m continuing what I was doing last year, but I will be much stricter.