Addicted?

Why do we spend billions on pills and potions to lose weight, when the simple act of eating a healthy and balanced diet will do the job?

I've now been eating healthy for 12 weeks and my carb cravings have gone. I wondered if that might be at the heart of the issue. If found that researchers at Harvard Medical School have reported that the effects of the sharp rise in blood sugar and the subsequent fall activates the same part of the brain as emotion and addiction.

It appears like our brains have evolved to reward us when we eat high calorie foods. This is great for a primitive ancestors, for whom food was difficult to come by. Where a rare honeycomb would be an energy dense treat, but we can get sugar filled sweets every day. Our brains seem to override our common sense and we keep eating.

When given the choice between a salad and a bar of chocolate, most people with weight issues would pick the chocolate. Whilst the salad tastes good, our brain sees the calorie rich sweets and starts to release the reward chemicals, giving us little choice in the matter. Combine this chemical assault with emotional issues that can be subdued with food and we have a recipe for disaster.

I know I have certain foods that I couldn't just eat a single portion. Biscuits being the number one culprit. So when I embarked on the Slimming World plan, I went 'cold turkey'. I know that on the plan you are allowed a little of what you like as syns, so you don't feel deprived. But eating two chocolate digestives, leaving their remaining 25 friends in the packet would have been too difficult. Bread, pizza, sweets and chocolate all went the same way, out of the house. I have to admit the cravings for these foods was difficult for the first couple of weeks. Sugary stuff was the first thing I realised I wasn't craving around week three. Bread took a little longer, but now I no longer feel I NEED to eat any of it. I still enjoy the taste of bread, but am happy with a single portion as part of a meal.

The problem with a food addiction is that you can't easily go tee total in the same way someone with a problem with alcohol or drugs. You need food to survive and it is woven into the fabric of our society. Eating with family, celebrating with food and socialising with friends. It is hard to escape. Fasting is a very severe step for most people and therefore not an option. Enter the weight loss pills and supplements. If you could pop a single pill every day and still indulge your brain's constant need for calories whilst remaining at a healthy weight, lots of people would sign up.

I would like to see a study where subjects were deprived of refined carbohydrates for a period of time, in a rehab type environment to confirm my suspicions that the carb craving can be broken, like an addiction. I think that whilst it is possible to do at home, the distractions of family, friends and the environment would make the task too difficult for most people. Once the research was complete and people knew for certain that, for example, six weeks of a diet free from over processed or refined carbohydrates would make it easier to eat a healthy diet for the rest of their lives, they would be more determined to see it though.

After losing eighty one pounds so far and feeling comfortable with the food I'm eating, I wanted to see what effect eating chocolate would have on me. I bought one of my favorite bars (Boost 12.5 syns) and tried it on Wednesday. Apart from thinking it was a waste of my syn allowance, I found that it was not as nice as I remembered. In the past I could quite happily have munched through a four pack. One was more than enough. Part of me wanted it to taste nasty. In reality it just tasted like a lump of sugary chocolate, not unpleasant, but not something that I'll be rushing out to try again. Could it be that I have broken the addiction? Now to sort out my emotional relationship with food.  

Week 11 weigh in: Mind blown

I still can't believe what the scales said this morning. Neither could my consultant, which is why I got weighed twice, just to make sure that the number was correct. In week eleven, when the rate of weight loss should be slowing down a little, I lost eight pounds.

Eight freakin pounds! I still feel like jumping up and down I'm so happy. It looks like the extra effort in the gym, combined with the slimming world eating plan paid off this week. I've now lost eighty one pounds since I restarted this quest to get healthy. I've lost over ten inches off my waist and dropped four shirt sizes.

This week saw my book gain an extra sticker, my five and a half stone award. I don't know about slimmer of the week though. Although I stayed to group, I had to leave five minutes early for an appointment. So I don't know if I won that, or even if I qualify because of leaving early. Will find out next Wednesday.

 This week has been the first week where I feel thinner. I know I've posted previously about feeling better, fitter and happy that clothes are getting big. But this week I found that I could look in the mirror and see who I used to be starting to emerge, rather than the ugly lump of lard I couldn't face in the mirror. I know I still have a long way to go, with another 160lbs to lose, but now I just look like a large bloke, not the poster guy for triple bypass surgery.

For my self imposed challenge of losing 100lbs in 100 days, I have just 19lbs to go in the next 22 days. Still a tall order, but if it was easy it wouldn't be such an incentive when I'm at the gym or fighting the bad eating habits. It does seem silly that I'm working so hard, for a t-shirt that I've designed myself. But it is working for me, its a goal with a non food related reward at the end. I know that to make my goal, I can't have a single bad day. I have to exercise or be active almost every day. I know I cannot sustain this level for ever, but for the last 78 days, I've been breaking old habits and making new ones. On the 3rd of October, when my challenge ends, I will be thinner and fitter and hopefully free of a lot of my bad eating habits.

A couple of days ago, I found myself thinking about what I was going to eat, once I could relax my eating plan on day 101, but I couldn't think of anything more decadent than a cheese and ham sandwich. Fast food, sweets and chocolate all seemed to turn my stomach. So I didn't start to obsess about the sandwich, I made a Slimming World friendly version. Bread roll from my healthy extra, cheese from my A choice, 3 syns of low fat mayo with lettuce, spring onion and lean ham, all free on a red day. It was delicious. It looks like I might be able to sustain this lifestyle long term, which is really what I'm after. I'm starting to see my new lifestyle emerge from this 'diet'.

HIIT me

High intensity interval training or HIIT is a bit of a buzz work right now in the fitness world, as it is claimed that it gets you fit faster and melts fat off your body in a short time. So I decided to look into it.

It really does work. I joined the gym three weeks ago so that I could get access to equipment that meant I could exercise harder without further damaging my back or knees. At that point I could just about manage 40 minutes brisk walking. My first workout on the cross trainer totaled 40 minutes at a low intensity. Three weeks on after incorporating HIIT on the cross trainer I now routinely complete a 90 minute workout four times a week in addition to my walking.

So here is how to do it. Find a cardio exercise you enjoy and get up to speed, you should be working at about  75% of your capacity for about 3 minutes, then for 30-45 seconds, go as far and hard as you can. At the end of the sprint, drop back down to your 75% for a couple of minutes, then repeat the sprint / active rest cycle for about 20 minutes.

Here is a quick bit of advice though, if you are new to fitness, then make sure you wear a heart monitor, learn your maximum heart rate and don't overdo it. This is a stressful way to work out, but you will improve quickly.

It works by creating an oxygen deficit in your muscles during the short bursts of high intensity work, this oxygen is replaced during the active rest periods. It keeps your heart rate up and both these actions require large amounts of energy. If you have reduced your calorific intake, your body has to burn up fat to provide the energy. A second way your body burns even more fat is through an effect called post-exercise oxygen consumption, or to give it it's nickname, Afterburn. This afterburn continues to burn fat for up to 48 hours as your muscles replace the missing oxygen and glycogen energy stores.

For those of you who don't have the time to spend hours in the gym, 20 minutes of HIIT 5 times a week, providing it's combined with healthy eating, is all you need to do. You can really burn through that lard, as you can burn more calories with a 20 minute HIIT workout, than you can by spending an hour on a treadmill. If you combine it with weights / resistance training, you will get even better results.

Week 10 weigh in

After ten weeks of following the slimming world lifestyle my weight loss is still going strong. Another six and a half pounds gone, bringing my total to seventy four pounds of lard shed. This week I received my five stone award and slimmer of the week.

As I get lighter each week my calorie requirement drops, to continue with the big losses each week I have two options, either drop my calorie intake further or increase my activity so that I burn more calories.

For this lifestyle to be sustainable for the rest of my life, restricting my calories any more will make it too difficult to maintain for a prolonged period. That means I need to get more active. So I made an appointment with one of the trainers at my gym and asked them to help me figure out a good weight loss workout. Because of my spine injury, I am restricted in which equipment I can use safely. The plan combines 48 minutes of cardio, with 4 sets of strength training and I warm up and cool down by walking to the gym.

The cardio workout is all on the cross trainer, split in to 3 x 16 minutes. The programs are all set up for interval training. The strength training is all on static machines to protect my back, whilst I am slowly improving my core muscles. The strength exercises are all focused on chest, back and arm muscles. I don't need a leg day yet, carrying an excess 200lbs everywhere I go, makes everyday leg day.

I'm now on my second week with this workout and all is going well. My weight loss is on track for my 100 lbs in 100 days challenge. I have 26lbs to go in the next five weigh ins. I've designed a t-shirt as my own award for completing the challenge and am all ready to order it on the web, but I've just had to recycle a second bunch of t-shirts that were too big, so I have no idea what size shirt I'll be wearing in a months time.

Life is starting to get back into a routine again so I hope to be posting more regularly, with more healthy recipes, tips and advice.

Week 9 weigh in

Another six pounds lost this week, taking my total at week nine to 67 pounds! I was surprised to see my run of slimmer of the week beaten this week, but I was really pleased. One of my fellow slimmers put up a seven pound loss in group this week and the smile on her face was awesome. So this week I came home with only two stickers for my log book, my four and a half stone award and Slimmer of the Month award.




This week in group we voted for the Woman of the Year award. It is an award for the person who has inspired fellow members on their weight loss journey over the past year. Our consultant read out the names of each nominee and gave them a rose, with the winner getting a rose, an award and a winner's sash. The lady who won really deserved the title and has achieved a lot over the last couple of years, but the thing that struck me was the look of accomplishment on the other nominee's faces. It really meant a lot to them to know that other members had felt compelled to nominate them, and that their contribution to the group had been noticed.

I found that in addition to my fixation on the achievement awards I work hard to attain each week, I really do get something special from the group meeting. From insight into other people's struggle with food issues, food ideas, triumphs and failures, every story shared in group does help me to stick with the plan and to not lose sight of my goal of developing a healthy relationship with food.

To all the ladies in my group, you all deserve an award for being an inspiration each and every week. Thank you.

Exercising on an empty stomach

There seems to have been a shift in thinking amongst the fitness gurus about the benefits of exercising on an empty stomach after they discovered a report in the Strength & Conditioning Journal. The cherry picks data from various sources to support it's own argument. The main data source is two studies that used just six and seven moderately trained athletes respectively. Such a small sample size cannot yield any significant results as the variation amongst the six subjects would cloud the statistical results.

The fitness gurus that just regurgitate the headlines forget to consider that the studies were conducted on people with low body fat. There are hundreds of studies that show when an individuals body fat drops below optimal levels, some muscle mass is is consumed during exercise. For those of us with lard to spare, the chemistry is different. Firstly we burn through any glucose left in the blood, then the hormones tell the liver and muscles to release the glycogen stored in the liver and muscles. Once that is used up, excess fat is burnt.

When you exercise in a fasted state, your body is already releasing the growth hormone that is used to repair your body. This means that you can work at higher intensity levels, build more muscle and your body gets more efficient at burning stored fat for energy. You also release more fat oxidising enzymes, which is the scientific term for burning fat.

There are also studies that show that endurance athletes who train on an empty stomach perform significantly better on subsequent fed races, as their bodies learn to switch from burning food energy to fat stores during long endurance races.

For my own testing, I worked out on Friday after eating a balanced lunch and performed well. This morning I worked out at 10am, after not eating since 4pm yesterday and the post workout report from the gym's computer system showed that today's work out was at a higher intensity and I burnt around 23% more calories during my 45 minute workout. I know that my sample size of one is statistically insignificant, but I will switch between fasted and fed workouts and record the results to see if the data shows any significant variation in performance levels.

Working out hungry may not suit everyone, but if you feel it works for you, then stick with it. For any weight loss or fitness subject out there, there will be people that say it works and those that say it doesn't. We, the unfit masses, need to exercise our brains as well as our butts to sift through the good and bad science to find out what applies to us and what applies to the elite athletes, on whom most of the studies were based. Whatever you find, sitting at the computer reading about it, ain't gonna shift the excess pounds. Get up and get active.

The Science
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Usefulness of routine periodic fasting to lower risk of coronary artery disease in patients undergoing coronary angiography. Horne BD, May HT, et al. Cardiovascular Department, Intermountain Medical Center, Murray, Utah, USA. American Journal of Cardiology, 2008 Oct 1;102(7):814-819. ⤴
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Adult growth hormone deficiency - benefits, side effects, and risks of growth hormone replacement. Reed ML, Merriam GR. Geriatrics and Extended Care, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Madigan Health Care System, Tacoma, WA, USA. Frontiers in Endocrinology (Lausanne), 2013 Jun 4;4:64. ⤴
Basal growth hormone concentration increased following a weight loss focused dietary intervention in older overweight and obese women. Miller GD, Nicklas BJ, et al. Department Health and Exercise Science, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA. The Journal of Nutrition Health and Aging, 2012 Feb;16(2):169-74. ⤴
Sex differences in anxiety and depression: Role of testosterone. McHenry J, Carrier N, et al. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 2014 Jan;35(1):42-57. ⤴
Beneficial and adverse effects of testosterone on the cardiovascular system in men. Ruige JB, Ouwens DM, et al. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2013 Nov;98(11):4300-10. ⤴
Andropause or male menopause? Rationale for testosterone replacement therapy in older men with low testosterone levels. Cunningham GR. Endocrine Practice, 2013 Sep-Oct;19(5):847-52. ⤴
Effects of testosterone and progressive resistance exercise in healthy, highly functioning older men with low-normal testosterone levels. Hildreth KL, Barry DW, et al. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2013 May;98(5):1891-900. ⤴
Effects of Ramadan fasting on 60 min of endurance running performance in moderately trained men. Aziz AR, Wahid MF, et al. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2010 Jun;44(7):516-21. ⤴
Hormonal responses and adaptations to resistance exercise and training. Kraemer WJ, Ratamess NA. Sports Medicine, 2005;35(4):339-61. ⤴
Testosterone physiology in resistance exercise and training: the up-stream regulatory elements. Vingren JL, Kraemer WJ, et al. Sports Medicine, 2010 Dec 1;40(12):1037-53. ⤴
Exercise in the fasted state facilitates fibre type-specific intramyocellular lipid breakdown and stimulates glycogen resynthesis in humans. De Bock K, Richter EA, et al. Journal of Physiology2005 Apr 15;564(Pt 2):649-60. ⤴
Increased p70s6k phosphorylation during intake of a protein-carbohydrate drink following resistance exercise in the fasted state. Deldicque L, De Bock K, et al. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2010 Mar;108(4):791-800. ⤴
Metabolic responses to exercise after fasting. Dohm GL, Beeker RT, et al. Journal of Applied Physiology, 1986 Oct;61(4):1363-8 ⤴
Alternate-day fasting in nonobese subjects: effects on body weight, body composition, and energy metabolism. Heilbronn LK, Smith SR, et al. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2005 Jan;81(1):69-73. ⤴
Training in the fasted state facilitates re-activation of eEF2 activity during recovery from endurance exercise. Van Proeyen K, De Bock K, et al. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2011 Jul;111(7):1297-305. ⤴
Training in the fasted state improves glucose tolerance during fat-rich diet. Van Proeyen K, Szlufcik K, et al. 2010 Nov 1;588(Pt 21):4289-302. ⤴
Effect of training in the fasted state on metabolic responses during exercise with carbohydrate intake. De Bock K, Derave W, et al. Journal of Applied Physiology, 2008 Apr;104(4):1045-55. ⤴
Effects of caloric restriction and overnight fasting on cycling endurance performance. Ferguson LM, Rossi KA, et al. Ferguson LM, Rossi KA, et al. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2009 Mar;23(2):560-70. ⤴
Adaptations to skeletal muscle with endurance exercise training in the acutely fed versus overnight-fasted state. Stannard SR, Buckley AJ, et al. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 2010 Jul;13(4):465-9. ⤴
Beneficial metabolic adaptations due to endurance exercise training in the fasted state. Van Proeyen K, Szlufcik K, et al. Journal of Applied Physiology, 2011 Jan;110(1):236-45. ⤴
Effects of caloric restriction and overnight fasting on cycling endurance performance. Ferguson LM, Rossi KA, et al. Ferguson LM, Rossi KA, et al. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2009 Mar;23(2):560-70. ⤴
Using molecular classification to predict gains in maximal aerobic capacity following endurance exercise training in humans. Timmons, J.A., Knudsen, S., Rankinen, T., et al. Panum Institutet and Center for Healthy Ageing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Journal of Applied Physiology, 2010 Jun;108(6):1487-96. Epub 2010 Feb 4 ⤴
Effects of Ramadan fasting on 60 min of endurance running performance in moderately trained men. Aziz AR, Wahid MF, et al. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2010 Jun;44(7):516-21. ⤴
The effect of ramadan fasting on physical performances, mood state and perceived exertion in young footballers. Chtourou H, Hammouda O, et al. Asian Journal of Sports Medicine, 2011 Sep;2(3):177-85. ⤴
Ramadan fastings effect on plasma leptin, adiponectin concentrations, and body composition in trained young men. Bouhlel E, Denguezli M, et al. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 2008 Dec;18(6):617-27. ⤴
Effect of carbohydrate ingestion during exercise on post-exercise substrate oxidation and energy intake. Melby CL, Osterberg KL, et al. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 2002 Sep;12(3):294-309. ⤴
The protein-retaining effects of growth hormone during fasting involve inhibition of muscle-protein breakdown. Nørrelund H, Nair KS, et al. Diabetes. 2001 Jan;50(1):96-104. ⤴
Intermittent fasting does not affect whole-body glucose, lipid, or protein metabolism. Soeters MR, Lammers NM, et al. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2009 Nov;90(5):1244-51. ⤴
Protein feeding pattern does not affect protein retention in young women. Arnal MA, Mosoni L, et al. Journal of Nutrition, 2000 Jul;130(7):1700-4. ⤴
A controlled trial of reduced meal frequency without caloric restriction in healthy, normal-weight, middle-aged adults. Stote KS, Baer DJ, et al. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2007 Apr;85(4):981-8. ⤴
Protein pulse feeding improves protein retention in elderly women. Arnal MA, Mosoni L, et al. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1999 Jun;69(6):1202-8. ⤴
Splanchnic and leg substrate exchange after ingestion of a natural mixed meal in humans. Capaldo B, Gastaldelli A, et al. Diabetes. 1999 May;48(5):958-66. ⤴

At the gym

I joined our local gym today. I was going to try to hold off spending the money, but pounding the pavements was starting to take it's toll on my joints. Whilst I was unfit, hauling my ass round our little town was exercise enough, but all that walking over the last eight weeks has improved my fitness quite surprisingly. I found that I wasn't able to push myself or my heart rate into the ideal fat burning zone by walking. The pace I need to reach now puts too much stress on my overloaded joints and spinal injury.

The cross trainer, pictured to the right, is a great bit of kit. It gives a whole body workout without the jarring impacts of a treadmill or pavement or the numb butt of the exercise bikes. The fluid elliptical movement of your feet is similar to running and works the same lower body muscles. The longer two pole handles are linked to the foot plates and allow you to push and pull working you upper body. You can also let go of the handles altogether and work your core muscles as you constantly adjust your balance whilst moving.

The machine also has several resistance settings, that mean you can use it as a warm up exercise, as your main workout or as a cool down machine. Personally I use it as my main workout as I walk to and from the gym as a warm up.

For my main workout I did 3 fifteen minute sessions. Each session I set the machine at a low resistance and pace myself so that my heart rate holds steady at 120 bpm for five minutes. I then double the resistance and pick up the pace for a minute, pushing my heart rate out of the aerobic zone, up to 150 bpm into the anaerobic zone for one minute, then drop the resistance and speed, so my heart rate drops back to 120. After two minutes at 120 bpm, I repeat the faster pace etc until I've completed 15 minutes. I take a short 3 minute break, grab some water and then repeat the exercise again.

I based the workout on interval training, although at a slightly more relaxed pace and intensity, as I'm guessing workout facilities in the local heart attack ward are a little sparse. You calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. The idea fat burning zone is 55 - 65% of your maximum, the anaerobic zone is between 65-75%. Shorter sessions of interval training has been shown to be more effective than spending hours plodding along on the treadmill. Ideally it should be one minute at high intensity, then two at a lower intensity for about 30 minutes. Although my fitness level has improved significantly, I'm no where need ready for very intense levels.

As my fitness levels improve, I'll up the intensity of the intervals to maintain the optimal fat burning effects. As my core strength improves I'll be able to add weights into the workout to push the muscles that don't get pushed hard enough on the cross trainer.

Week 8 weigh in

Well this week seemed difficult, but the scales still rewarded me with another 5lb loss, taking my total now to 61lbs in 8 weeks.

I say difficult because I had some mysterious illness that hit over the weekend. It felt like a cross between flu, without the snot and being drunk. I also developed the desire to eat, even when I didn't feel hungry. Luckily there was no junk food in the house, and I was in no fit state to drive to the shops, so I couldn't do that much damage. By Monday I was feeling great again and back on plan.

I read somewhere that when you are eating a high fat / calorie diet and your liver and kidneys can't cope with the high influx of chemicals and toxins, it will store some of the fat soluble chemicals in fat cells. When you start to burn the stored fat, the toxins are released and the liver then does it's thing. I wonder if this brief 'illness' wasn't just my body opening up a new strata of lard and the stored fatty toxins from a couple of greasy kebab, chips and garlic bread meals making an unwelcome return.

This week was the first week when I didn't manage to get another weight loss award and the sticker for my book, but I have been more active over the last few weeks and was awarded my bronze F.I.T. award. This award is for increasing your physical activity and sustaining the level for four weeks. Over the last month I've managed to do at least two bouts of gardening and at least 3, 15 minute walks each week. To get my silver award I need to step my activity levels, so that I'm exercising for at least an hour and a half each week, split into 3 sessions.

So to save my poor knees and the town's pavements from my constant plodding, I'm joining the gym tomorrow. I'm luck in that our local gym doesn't tie you in to a lengthy contract, you can just pay for each month you use the facilities. From previous health kick I found I enjoy the elliptical or cross trainer. It provides a good cardio workout, with almost no strain on my knees or injured spine. I'll report in later in the week with a progress report.

Week 7 weigh in

It's Wednesday again and that means off to group to get weighed. To say I'm overjoyed with my loss this week is somewhat of an understatement. Week seven saw a seven pound loss. This got me my four stone award. Another certificate for my motivation wall and a sticker for my weigh in book.

I'm now at the half way point of my 100 pounds in 100 days challenge with 44 pounds to lose by October 3rd, in fifty days time.

The sun is shining so I'm going to hit the garden, destroy some weeds and burn off even more of this lard.

Does my bum look big in this?

My wife went after my favorite t-shirt the other day with a pair of scissors. It's now enjoying life as her night shirt instead of , as she refers to it, part of my badly dressed scarecrow ensemble. After losing a lot of weight, my clothes don't fit me very well. I know I've still got a long way to go, but it turns out, it took quite a bit of fabric to cover the 50lbs of lard I've shed so far. My jeans are only held up with a belt and the aforementioned t-shirt looked like I was a kid wearing his dad's shirt.

Whilst loose fitting clothes help conceal unwanted bulges, baggy clothes do you no favours at all. If anything they can make you look bigger than you actually are. They are also quite uncomfortable. My jeans had an extra 3 inches of fabric on the waistband, that bunched up under my belt and dug into me when I sat down.

I'm guessing I'm not the only (slightly less) fat bloke out there that has older clothes, in smaller sizes, that were grown out of, in the pursuit of ridding the world of pepperoni - one pizza at a time. So out came the storage boxes and we began mining the strata of clothes that had built up over time. At first I felt a little down by the thought that I had put on the weight in the first place. Thinking about each year that I added more clothes to the pile. But then remembered that I had managed to undo the last couple of year's excess in six weeks. In another couple of months I'd be down to the fashion mistakes of the 2010 layer or possibly lower.

It would be nice to go shopping for new clothes, but as we are on a budget this will have to do. The other thing I don't like about clothes shopping at my size, is that the high street shops don't cater for big chaps. You get dirty looks just approaching the door. There are a few specialty stores, but they know they have a captive market and seriously overprice their stock. I'll go clothes shopping in the new year when I'm back into sizes that don't need a number in front of the XL on the label.

After trying on many different t-shirts, shirts and trousers I felt great. I now have some clothes that fit properly and feel comfortable. My neighbour stopped my a couple of days ago and complimented me on how well I looked. The strangest discovery is that I feel thinner. I am aware that the main reason I feel thinner, is the weight I have lost, but now that my clothes fit me, it makes me feel thinner.

I have found that having clothes in a smaller size is a great motivator. I have another reason to stick to my plan and lose more weight. To renew this feeling I have by getting into a smaller pair of jeans.  

100 Day Challenge

After last week's weigh in, I decided to set myself a challenge to keep myself motivated. I had already lost 49 pounds in six weeks and it occurred to me that it might be possible to try to hit the 100 pound loss in 100 days. At that point I had fifty eight days in which to lose another 51 pounds.

I know this is a very tall order, but if you have read previous posts, you might have noticed I like targets and awards to work towards.

So far it has had the desired effect. When the late night munchies hit, I just ask myself if the snack I want is worth the empty calories, compared to the feeling of completing my challenge. I know on the Slimming World plan, the idea is never to go hungry and that with all the free food and syns, there is always food available and sweets and other tasty snacks are doable, in moderation. The plan is a simple way to limit calorie intake, making the weight loss program easier to follow. It is also supposed to teach you how to make better food choices. I feel that eating because the food is available is not a good habit for me to continue with.

Our bodies are much better at knowing what food we need to survive than we think we do. One in four people in the UK are now obese, that's pretty damming evidence that we are doing something wrong. Our bodies have evolved to store fat when food is plentiful and to use that fat in times of famine. We don't normally experience famine in the western world, just food - available 24 hours a day.

I bet you have heard that if you skip a meal or two your body will go into 'starvation mode' and you will stop losing fat and your body will start to consume lean muscle. Think about that statement logically for a moment... When no food is around, your body will ignore body fat, an easily available energy store, in favour of destroying the muscles that it needs for you to be able to hunt down food. It doesn't make sense does it? The 'starvation mode' story is actually based on misinterpreted science. During 1944 the University of Minnesota conducted a study on the effects of near starvation on healthy volunteers. The story arose from this study. What the story fails to account for is that when body fat falls below 5%, then lean tissue is consumed. Many studies have shown that when body fat is above 20% in men and 25% in women, the body consumes fat when calorific intake falls below the bodies metabolic requirements.

So going to bed hungry will not cause you to stop losing weight. One pound of fat contains 3600 calories, more than a days worth of energy for a healthy person. I've made friends with my hunger and learnt to tell the difference between habitual hunger, emotional hunger, thirst that gets reported as hunger and actually feeling hungry.

I'm not issuing a challenge to anyone else, this is a hard task I have set myself. I am working with my GP and I have a lot of weight to lose. I'm eating a healthy, balanced diet, rich in the essential micro nutrients needed. If you do attempt this, I urge you to find medical supervision (although some doctors need to be educated in the science of weight loss, rather than what they learnt from the University of What Everyone Knows). I have nine weeks left to lose 51lbs, I'm 100% on plan, I've gotten more active and am ready to step up the exercise next week by hitting the elliptical trainer at the gym.

Week 6 weigh in

I had my first wobble this week after the weigh in. Which considering I lost another 4lbs this week seems ridiculous. I mean I've lost 49lbs in six weeks. But after the last two weeks of losing 7lbs each time, four pounds seems like a blow, considering that I have stuck to my eating plan 100%.

I didn't mention my feelings at group as my fellow slimmers would just think I'm nuts complaining about a huge loss, which in reality it is, but the four pound loss still affected me. I have talked in earlier posts about how I am an emotional eater and that I used to use food to help cope with situations I didn't or couldn't face. Today was the first time I considered using food to treat how I was feeling.

I didn't reach for the chocolate biscuits or pizza though, I faced the problem and talked it through with my lovely wifey. She reminded me of how I was six weeks ago, how proud she was of what I have achieved and that I'm starting to return to my old self. To put the loss into perspective she encouraged me to go out to buy twelve, two liters of pop so that I could see for myself what 49 pounds looked and felt like.

One liter of water weighs one kilogram and body fat weighs about 0.9kg per liter. For the sake of a quick demonstration a full two liter pop bottle is close enough in size to see what 2 kilos of fat would be like. So I loaded up eleven and a half bottles into four carrier bags and lifted them up, but only just. I know that the weight was distributed over my whole body and not concentrated on my hands, but it was still shocking to feel all that weight put back in one go.

My wife then challenged me to carry the whole weight upstairs. On my first attempt I didn't even make the first step. I could only manage half way up on my second attempt before I gave up, sweating profusely. This was the thing that snapped my out of my destructive thoughts. The craving for junk seemed to disappear as I put the bags down.

So for next time I get upset over a weigh in that wasn't what I was expecting I need to remember the following list;

• Body weight fluctuates daily. If my weigh in had been the day before, or the day after, I will weight a different amount.
• I'm exercising more. As I get more active, my body composition is changing. Sore muscles hold on to water, so if I pushed myself to exercise harder, my weight may not be 100% accurate that week.
• I'm feeling better and experience less pain from my spine.
• Get the scales out and fill up my back pack with the weight I've lost so far, then try carrying it, it's a great wake up call.

I need to make sure that I focus on how good I feel from the weight I've lost and the healthy food I'm eating. Whilst the numbers on the scale give me measurable goals to work towards, how I feel each day should be my reward and incentive. 

They only want to detox your wallet

How many times have you been told or read in a magazine that you have to detox to be healthy? Would you believe me if I were to tell you that cleansing and detoxifying are just a marketing terms to help detox your wallet?

The detox fad has gained a lot of ground lately and the list of products, plans and treatments you can buy is astounding, considering none of them are based on actual science. There is a medical term 'detoxification' which describes the treatments to rid the body of actual life threatening toxins such as lead and other heavy metals for example. The detox advocates would have you believe that you need to periodically cleanse your liver, kidneys and gut for optimal health.

Your body encounters all kinds of chemicals, both naturally occurring and synthetic. It does an excellent job of processing these chemicals, separating beneficial chemicals from the harmful ones. Your body then eliminates anything it doesn't want or need via the liver, kidneys, bowel and skin. Nothing gets stored for periodic cleansing by you. If you eat a balanced diet, don't over-do the booze and obviously don't smoke, your body will work fine. When you constantly barrage it with junk, your digestive organs need to work hard to process the food. Which is why cleanses and detoxes appear to work, for a week or more you live a virtuous life of pure detox water, detox treatments and other wallet lightening procedures. In turn for laying off the junk, your body responds by working normally. Two weeks after your detox, and you are eating the same junk as before, you feel like you need to detox again.

You will notice that the detox advocates and salesmen warn about all the harmful toxins that collect in your body, but fail to mention what these toxins are called. They just make sure that you know you shouldn't have them, because they have been linked with illness and cancer. If you do some research into detox therapy, you won't find a single clinical study that shows a link between a detox system, specific toxins and links to clinically demonstrable effects. It is all just the placebo effect. I'm not saying that this isn't good, we humans have an inbuilt belief that we accumulate badness in whatever form and need to make amends for it. The cleanse is just another way we 'pay' for our unhealthy lifestyle.

Try this free 'detox' system; for the next 10 days, you are only allowed to eat food in the following ratio. 50% vegetables, 25% carbohydrates and 25% protein. There are no bad carbs, no bad protein and no bad fats. You cannot drink alcohol for the next 10 days and limit your coffee and tea to just 2 cups, which can only be drunk before 6pm. For the rest of the time just drink water or sugar free soft drinks (without caffeine). If you still need to snack between meals, follow the same 50-25-25 rule, so if you have to eat that snickers, balance it out with some fruit or veg. Restaurants are off limits, without exception, they will add salt, fat and other unnecessary ingredients to your food to make it taste 'nice'. (Also avoid diet meals from supermarkets like the plague, low fat does not equal healthy, when they add sugar and salt to compensate for the flavour lost from removing the fat).  

After 10 days your digestive system will feel just as good, if not better then after your detox. Your wallet will not have lost weight, but you might have.

Week 5 weigh in - Woohoo!

Woo-freakin-hoo!!! Another amazing 7 pound loss this week. That brings me up to a total of 45 pounds in five weeks. Three stone three pounds in 35 days. Twenty kilos in a month(ish).

This week I struggled to get all my award certificates on the kitchen cupboard door. I got my 3 stone award, my Club 10 award, Slimmer of the Week and Slimmer of the Month awards.

Another achievement this week too, I walked to group rather than take the car. Ok, so the whole trip is only a bit over a mile, but considering last month walking round the supermarket felt like it would kill me, I'm over the moon.

As much as I don't want the weight loss to slow down, I might have to slow it down a little so I don't get lynched by the ladies in group. Who am I kidding, I want more stickers... so planning another big loss in the coming week.

 

10% Benefits

I've done a bit of reading about the benefits of losing just 10% of your body weight and I thought it would make a great blog post.

First the medical benefits;

A healthier heart. With less you to lug around your heart doesn't have to work as hard, this can lower your blood pressure. Also to lose the weight, you will be eating healthier food, lowering your cholesterol.

You will reduce your risk for developing diabetes. Fat interferes with your bodies ability to regulate insulin.

A decreased risk of some cancers, studies have shown that reducing body fat can lower the risk for breast and colon cancer.

A healthier gallbladder. A diet rich in fatty foods puts a strain on your liver and gallbladder. Take it from me, when it goes wrong it can really hurt. Especially when the gallstones block your pancreas and you spend a week in intensive care.

Less pain. Our bodies were designed to carry a little fat to see us through the lean times, but not to waddle us into obesity. Reducing your body weight by 10% can significantly lighten the stresses on your joints.

Now for the other benefits;

Better sleep. Many obese people develop obstructive sleep apnea, and never know it. Every night your body fights for oxygen as your airway closes from the effect of fat weighing down your neck muscles, closing off your airway. Although you don't realise it, you wake up momentarily to gasp for breath. This broken sleep contributes to the lack of energy you may feel.

More energy. I thought this one was being over exaggerated, but having lost over 10% of my body weight now, I can vouch for the validity of the claim. I'm not going to be running the London marathon any time soon, but walking is becoming a pleasure rather than a source of pain. I wake up feeling ready to take on the world. I just need to build my stamina levels up to match the energy I feel I have.

And finally one for the guys, did you know that fat cells produce estrogen? The more fat you have, the more estrogen you can pump into your system.The more estrogen the lower your sex drive. So reduce your body weight by 10% to really kick start your body.

Maxx's Spicy Marinara Sauce

I thought it was time to post another recipe and I remembered last night's dinner. This is a recipe that I came up with many years ago when looking for something to eat a couple of days before payday. The cupboards looked bare, and the fridge was almost as bad. All I had was pasta, a carton of passata, an onion and a bell pepper.

They say necessity is the mother of invention, and I needed some dinner. I added some garlic, herbs and a little chilli and really enjoyed the result.

Ingredients

• 500g carton passata
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tbsp chilli sauce
• 1½ tbsp basil.
• Pasta - use a shaped pasta that will 'hold' the sauce

How to

1. Saute the onions and peppers in a non-stick pan. Using a good quality pan means you don't have to use oil. If you don't have a good non stick pan, use low calorie spray oil, like FryLight
2. Add the garlic and fry for about  30 - 45 seconds
3. Add the passata, chilli sauce and basil, allow to boil then reduce and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes, stirring occasionally
4. Boil the pasta, as per the packet cooking instructions.
5. Plate up the pasta, spoon over some of the sauce and garnish with a little grated parmesan cheese.

I have a couple of variations of this recipe. If I'm looking to add a some more protein to the dish I'll add chopped bacon (with the fat removed prior to cooking), or chopped ham or if I'm feeling decadent, I'll chop up a Peperami and fry that off with the onions.

I normally keep chopped onions and peppers in the freezer, so making this is really quick, I can be eating in fifteen minutes. That's faster than phoning for a take out.

6 times more fat than a Big Mac

Today I found out I am 72% lard. I bought a set of scales that not only tell me my weight, but it also measures body composition. I am 72% fat, 25% lean muscle and my body contains 33.9% water. I also now know my resting BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is 3106.

So what does this all mean and does it really matter? Well, at week 3 weigh in I lost 4 pounds, which I should really be happy about, but I know in the early stages of weight loss, I can lose more. I know I didn't consume more calories during the previous week, as I document every calorie that goes in to my mouth. I'm guessing that because I have lost a fair amount of weight, I'm more active. This will probably have led to either a slight increase in muscle mass, or more likely water retention in sore and inflamed muscles that have been used for the first time in over ten years.

The body analyser scales give me another metric against which I can chart my progress. Each week before I go to the group session and get weighed, I'll jump on my scales and take a reading for the week. That way I'll be able to see the ratio of fat to muscle change over time. I'll be able to track the impact of new exercises that get added to my activity list and the water levels will let me know if I'm retaining water.

I specifically chose the Salter Body Analyser Scale as it also calculates BMR. I've mentioned metabolic rate in previous blog posts, but in a nutshell it is the amount of calories your body burns over 24 hours to keep you alive. As long as I consume less calories than my BMR, I'll lose weight. Adding exercise or more activity into the equation will increase the calorie deficit and boost weight loss. At the moment my average daily calorie consumption is 1500. Over a week my body needs to find 11300 calories just to keep me alive. Each pound of body fat contains 3600 calories, so just existing I should lose about 3.5 lbs per week.

By adding more activity like walking further, more housework and gardening will boost my weight loss and in a couple of weeks when I've shifted a bit more weight, I'll hit the gym.

The Ultimate Weightloss Secret Finally Revealed

Here it is, the weight loss secret they don't want you to know. Diet food manufacturers try to hide it behind fancy marketing. Diet gurus with books and weight loss programs to sell, wrap it up in convincing pseudoscience and cherry picked studies. Even the trustworthy pharmaceutical industry don't really want you to know what I'm about to tell you...

Eat a healthy, balanced diet, that contains a mixture of carbohydrates, protein, fiber and fat. Make sure you consume less calories that your body needs and you will lose weight. It really is that SIMPLE. You don't need to exclude food groups, there are no bad foods, just too much food.

You could lose weight if you ate nothing but chocolate, but at 540 calories per 100g, you wouldn't be able to eat much. Ok so the chocolate example wasn't brilliant as you wouldn't end up feeling great due to the lack of macro-nutrients, but it is possible. Your body sees food as fuel; carbs, protein and fat all get broken down into glucose. If you consume too much food, your body stores it as fat. When you don't eat enough food, your body metabolises the stored fat to produce glucose. The reason I said at the start about a balanced diet is that the different food types are broken down at different rates. Fruit and carbs are broken down easily, proteins and fats take longer. If your whole meal is turned to glucose quickly, your blood sugar increases and your pancreas pumps out insulin to tell your body to store the glucose as fat, to bring your blood sugar down. Eating a balanced diet makes sure your body has a constant source of fuel over a longer period of time, no sugar spike, no fat stored.

The reason the fad diets work is that behind all their rules, you are reducing the amount of calories you eat. The eating plan rules or strange eating habits have a placebo effect, tricking you into thinking that, because you are eating differently, you are being good and losing weight. In reality you are just setting yourself up to fail. There are two reasons why fad diets don't work in the long run, firstly they are either difficult to maintain or the food is just unpalatable. Secondly you don't learn to eat healthy food, so when you reach your desired weight or lose the will to continue, you go back to your old unhealthy ways. Start eating a healthy and balanced diet to lose weight, you will find that there is so much choice in what you can eat, how good it tastes and there are no bad foods.

Science is great, and every day scientists are discovering more about how we digest food, but if we cherry pick parts of the research and invent diet plans based on the latest research, two things will happen. The author of the latest eating plan gets rich and you stay unhealthy. For thousands of years humans have eaten the food that was available and survived. Today we have food available 24-7 and we are fatter than ever. Our bodies evolved to take advantage of times when food was plentiful and store excess calories as fat. So once the food became scarce during the winter months, we wouldn't die. In the developed countries we just don't encounter food scarcity any more. We keep stocking up our winter fuel stores for a winter that isn't coming.

Now if you have read my previous blog posts, you will know I'm following the slimming world plan. I know I'm paying a company to follow their diet system, but I found that I need the feeling of obligation to do well at the weigh in. It fires up my sense of competition and that helps motivate me. The plan is also based on the principal of eating a balanced diet and learning better eating habits.

So there you have it, the ultimate weight loss system. Proven by ten thousand generations of our ancestors. Eat too much and you will get fat.    

What I eat

I thought I would post what I ate on a typical day. Whilst I'm basically following the Slimming World plan, I do tweak it a little, and I'm happy with the weight loss. You may see different results if you eat the same as me.

I took a random green day and original day from my food log spread sheet. If you have read earlier posts you will know that I don't eat at set meal times, only when I'm actually hungry. I also typically eat smaller portions that the Slimming World recipes indicate. Once I feel full, I stop eating, if there is food left on my plate, I'll reheat it later for my next meal, or as part of leftovers in the next day's menu.

Green Day

I typically start eating between 10 and 11:30 am. On the day I chose 35g of porridge oats (B healthy extra) made up with 175ml skimmed milk  (1/2A healthy extra)  and 50ml water. I sweeten the porridge with some artificial sweetener and 2 tsp of golden syrup (2 syns). Whilst I wait for the porridge to cool down a little, I have a banana.

After a couple of hours, I had a large handful of grapes and a Muller light yogurt. I know lots people automatically reach for yogurts whilst trying to lose weight, but I actually like the stuff.

My next meal was a Batchelor's cheese, leek and ham flavoured Pasta 'n Sauce (1 syn). I add chopped leek to the packet and once it's cooked I add a handful of dry fried onions, 27g of chopped, well cooked bacon (3 syns - all fat cut off prior to grilling) and 15g of grated strong cheddar cheese (1/2A healthy extra) , with a liberal sprinkle of cayenne pepper.

My last meal of the day was a spicy tomato and bacon pasta. I chopped up an onion and yellow pepper and dry fried them in a sauce pan with a little crushed garlic. Once they were starting to brown, I added 100ml of passata and 55g of grilled bacon (B healthy extra). I also added a dessert spoon of hot sauce and the same of dried basil and simmered for 10 minutes. Whilst this was cooking I boiled up 75g of fusilli lunghi pasta. I garnish with 10g of freshly grated parmesan cheese (2 syns).

Red Day

I prefer eating mostly green day foods, but I find I have a better weight loss if I throw in a red day or two. I do find however red days can be quite high in salt, so I make sure I don't have one too close to weigh in day, as I don't want to be retaining excess water from the extra salt I've eaten.

Yesterday was a particularly enjoyable red day as it included my current favorite food, chicken and bacon quesadillas. So after weigh in, there is a group meeting where the consultant gives us food tips, recipes and a pep talk for the coming week. Feeling peckish half way through, I had an apple and a banana.

I was hungry once I go home at 11:30, but had forgotten to get the bacon out of the freezer the night before. I had a fat free Greek style lemon yogurt (1/2 syns) some fresh pineapple and a banana.

By 2:30 I was ready for food, so I made my chicken and bacon quesadillas, to save a couple of syns I use 45g of cheese (1 A healthy extra and 3 syns). I've also started to add a chopped tomato to the recipe, to increase my veg intake a little. I count the wrap as a B healthy extra where the official plan says it's supposed to by synned. As I mentioned earlier, I tweak the rules slightly, but the tweaks work for me (38 lbs loss in 4 weeks) but this may not work for you.

After spending the afternoon in the garden hacking back the hedge, I had a Slimming World Hi-Fi bar that was given at the group meeting that morning (3 syns). I usually don't bother with these bars as they are quite small for the syn value, but it made a nice change.

By 7pm I was hungry again so I had bacon, syn free sausage, 150g baked beans (B healthy extra) and an omelet made with onion, sweet peppers, cheese (A healthy extra) and a large dash of hot sauce, 1 butter bud (1/2 syn) and a pinch of freshly ground black pepper.

I've also gotten into the habit of eating my last meal around 7pm so that I go to bed just as I start to feel hungry again. Your body uses a lot of energy to digest food, going to sleep on a full stomach means your body is working hard whilst it is supposed to be resting and repairing itself.

I know the plan says you can eat unlimited free and super free foods so you never have to feel hungry, but the plan is still basically a simplified way to limit calorie intake. I have taken the time to learn what my body is telling me and to tell the difference between hunger induced by thirst, boredom, emotions and actual hunger. I also make sure I don't over eat at a meal. I try to eat more slowly and stop once I feel full. Being properly hungry when you sit down to eat makes the food seem to taste so much nicer.

Week 4 weigh in

SEVEN freakin' pounds lost this week! Sept, sieben, sewe, siet, that's right another seven pounds lost, taking my total weight loss to 38 pounds, earning me my two and a half stone award and two more stickers for my collection. I won slimmer of the week too.

I knew I could lose weight fairly quickly but to have lost thirty eight pounds in four weeks of healthy eating has astounded me. I know that all of the conventional wisdom says slow and steady or you will put it all back on again. The main reason why people who lose large amounts of weight quickly regain the weight, is because they crash diet for a short period, lose the weight and then go back to their old unhealthy eating habits. I'm not on a diet, I'm eating healthy food, which I plan on eating for the rest of my life. I have however made a choice to completely cut out take away food for the next year to help speed up my weight loss.

I want to say that I enjoyed every tasty calorie I ate on my journey into obesity, but in all honesty, a lot of what I ate was just stuffed in my face mindlessly as I watched TV or sat at a desk working. Whole packets of biscuits would disappear as eating was easier than feeling. I'd rather get food delivered than cook, convincing myself that the diet would start tomorrow or after the weekend. After five weeks of eating proper food, I can honestly say I don't miss junk food in the slightest. Last night my wife asked for a McBurger and salad for her dinner, the thought of that grease sodden food actually turned my stomach. The smell from the drive though was even worse.

Slimming World has an award called Club 10, which you receive when you lose 10% of your body weight. I'm a couple of pounds away from it now and am really feeling the benefit. When you are morbidly obese, simple jobs are difficult if not painful. Losing 10% of your body weight feels like you have been given a massive injection of energy, without the painful needle. I'm not going to run a marathon any time soon, but I feel like I could. I want to get active and it's only the buggered nerve in my spine that is slowing me down. But even that has gotten better. I've been able to reduce my intake of pain killers and can stay active longer between breaks.

That's enough of sitting on my arse writing this blog entry, the lawn needs mowing and weeds need pulling and I have plenty of calories that need burning.

Making time for food

The events of the previous three days have been somewhat unexpected and really hectic. Getting healthy would have taken a back seat if I had been less prepared. Eating healthy does take a lot of work, planning meals, shopping, preparing ingredients and cooking. Unhealthy foods are easy, grab a ready meal and nuke it, or the nice people on the other end of my phone will bring me pizza.

We sit down once or twice a week and plan out meals for the next few days, where possible we cook large batches of freezable meals, so it doesn't feel like we spend hours on end in the kitchen every day. I also chop up a lot of the veggies we buy and freeze them in recipe friendly portions. That way when I don't feel like all the hassle of cooking or when I return home, ready to tear chunks off a scabby horse, a nutritious meal is only minutes away.

This week I've had little time to cook, so microwaving portions of chilli and spaghetti bolognaise have saved my sanity and diet. On the days where I have been able to cook fresh food, I found that chopping all the ingredients I would use for the entire day, in the morning before I got busy, meant that when I got hungry, I could pull all the ingredients out of the fridge and whip up a masterpiece in minutes, just like the TV chefs and their dozens of little pots of ingredients (you can guarantee they don't have to do the washing up afterwards).

Another tip for when you are too busy to buy healthy food, is to let someone else do the shopping for you. Here in the UK our main supermarkets allow you to shop online and have your food delivered. The delivery prices have dropped to just a pound for certain days of the week and in some cases free if you spend enough. I've found I can do a week's shop in about a third of the time on my computer, with the benefit of never having to go near the chocolate biscuit aisle.

I've not managed to get out and be as active as I would have liked this week, but I've still managed to stick to the healthy eating plan and am looking forward to getting my 2½ stone award and my precious sticker at tomorrow's weigh in.

Diet coke chicken

I was skeptical when I first heard about this recipe, as far as I was concerned the only thing I ever mixed with coke was vodka. But several friends were raving about the full fat version after trying it at a friends braai (South African BBQ). So after a little research I came up with my own low fat version.

Once it was done it looked like a conventional chicken in a sticky sauce, so I manned up and tried it. I now see what all the fuss was about. The coke turns into a very pleasant sweet sticky sauce, but the Worcestershire and soy sauce take the edge off the sweetness and add depth to the flavour. The addition of the fresh chilli made it perfect.

Ingredients:

• 1 red pepper, 1 yellow bell peppers, chopped
• 1 sweet red pepper, chopped
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1-2 fresh chillies, finely chopped
• 4 skinless chicken breasts, cut into pieces
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 4 tbsp tomato purée
• 8 tbsp passata
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 330ml can diet coke
• 200ml chicken stock
•  

How to:

1. Dry fry the peppers and onion in a large non stick pan for for 2-3 minutes
2. Add the chicken to the pan and continue to cook for 4-5 minutes, or until lightly browned.
3. Add the diet coke, stock, passata, tomato purée, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and dried mixed herbs and stir well
4. Bring to the boil, cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the veg is tender
5. Serve with rice and steamed veggies.

This is a simple to make dish that tastes a whole lot better than it sounds. I like spicy foods, so you might want to reduce the amount of chilli you use. It also reheats well, so you could prepare it early in the day and just nuke it in the microwave when it's time to eat.

Staying motivated

After this week's weigh in I found my motivation levels had dropped. I know that a four pound loss would be a dream come true for most people, but having done this all before and had excellent results I felt kind of cheated. So I looked back at my weight loss journal from 14 years ago to see what I did differently.

It turns out that my weight loss slowed on week three back then too, it accelerated in week four and then settled into a five to six pound average loss each week. I'm also fourteen years older, less active and have to be careful of a damaged disc in my spine. I'm feeling better about my perceived lack of achievement. This made me think about motivation and if I felt knocked back after this minor hiccup, then how would I cope if I were to not lose weight one week, despite doing everything right?

I know that weight loss is essentially a simple calculation, consume less calories than you use and your body uses the stored fat to make up the energy deficit. Your body however does some strange things and your weight fluctuates daily, so you could be unlucky and get weighed on the day your body decides it needs to hang on to some extra water for whatever reason. Knowing this doesn't help my comfort eating brain, so I decided to make a disaster recovery plan to boost my motivation.

• Recognise your progress. Last week I calculated my weight loss in cola bottles then went out and bought that many bottles and was amazed at what it felt like to carry them all at once. Today I would need to add another two liter bottle to that load.

• Visualise your goals. I have a spread sheet that I record my progress on, with intermittent goals marked on and a forecast of when I could reach my goal if I lose five pounds a week. I did a second calculation based on an average of four pounds a week. It wasn't that much different when I think about my ultimate goal. I'll only get there if I stick to it and the desire to not go back to how I felt last month is stronger than the need for a consoling chocolate bar.

• Take it one day at a time. I didn't wake up fat and unfit, I managed to get here by a tough regime of overeating, sofa bashing and carefully selecting exactly the wrong foods. Getting fit can take just a long, tough regime of under-eating, pavement bashing and carefully selecting all the right foods to eat.

• Don't think it, do it. Rather than just sit there worrying that I've eaten something wrong, or a new food I added to my menu was the cause of my lack of progress, I should get up off my arse and do something. Do some chores, go for a walk. I'm already feeling the benefits of my weight loss in simple things like walking, go enjoy these new feelings. Strangely once I start doing something and feel good about myself, I feel motivated to continue and this feeling persists for quite some time after. 

• Perspective. I need to remember that this is not a diet, this is normal life now. Sandwiches are no longer considered a staple food group. Chocolate is an occasional treat, not an essential source of calcium. As nice as pizza and junk food is, waking up each morning in less pain, with a clear head, higher energy levels is so much better.

• Refocus. To anyone watching me walk through our village, I'd probably be dismissed as just a fat bloke walking about. I need to remember that if they stopped me and I told them what I had achieved in three weeks, they would be amazed, changing their perception of me. I need to change my perception too. 

As the quote in the picture says, it doesn't get easier, I just get better. The longer I stick with this, the more weight I will lose and the better I will feel. The cravings will subside, the old habits will be broken. I'll learn to replace comfort eating with better coping strategies and it will all seem easier because I'm better.