31/01/13 Weekly Update

Hello again!

This week was a bit of a challenge, a lads weekend in Nottingham meant making & packing 3 days worth of food and making sure I kept close check on my timings.

It went off mostly without a hitch, I avoided drink completely but did have a few diet cokes. I also had a salad on Friday night that wasn't strictly on the plan. The seafood and salad itself would be a perfectly fine phase 2 meal but I think the dressing contained something quite sugary. It's amazing but after a couple of months without certain types of food I can instantly pick them out when I smell/taste them.

We also got lost on the way to the restaurant so that was an hours walk in the snow (good for burning calories) It then really started to snow, everyone in Nottingham jumped in a taxi to get home so the delay to get one got ridiculous and we decided to walk back too.

So all in all I would hope it balanced out.

drum roll.............................1.3kgs

Not the best week, in fact it's equal my lowest loss in a single week I have had since starting the diet, however I'm not down, it's still a great loss for any diet. When I lost 3lbs in a week on Weight Watchers I was well chuffed so why should this be different.

So on to another week, going to keep this one absolutely tight and see if I can push the loss up towards the 2kg mark. 1.8 to go till phase 2!

I think it's my doctors review next week so will update on any developments then.

One thing I do know is that my blood pressure has gone from 157/99 (which is borderline for medical treatment) down to 120/85 (which is only marginally above the normal range). So that's a massive result in itself.

So lastly an update on the graph......

Cheating on Alizonne

Hi all,
          Thought I'd share some thoughts on cheating.

Lets face it Alizonne is a pretty restrictive diet, existing solely on flavored powder plus a bit of veg is hard, especially in social or business situations. So IF you have decided that you absolutely must cheat, there are some ways of doing it without really screwing yourself over.

I think the best way to cheat on Alizonne is to have a day at 1 phase below you current level. e.g. if you are on phase 1, have a phase 2 day.

This means that you gain some extra freedom to eat some of the things you are missing but aren't going to drop out of ketosis like you would by say eating 2 king size snickers.
I'll admit to doing this a couple of times when times got tough (phase slip I mean, not the snickers!)

The next best way to cheat is to have more protein from any source. Your choice but the leaner the better. Oh and I mean good quality meat so not a cheap burger or turkey twizzler. Those things are poison, plus are loaded with carbs. Again the goal here is to relax the calories and fat restrictions slightly to remain in Ketosis, albeit at a reduced calorific deficit.

So on to the cheats you should absolutely avoid and this is simple to sum up, Carbs!. Anything with a lot of carbohydrate will instantly remove you from Ketosis. My understanding of the biology here is limited but I believe this diet works by creating a very low baseline level on insulin. That means your body effectively switches to fat as it's fuel rather than carbs. Introducing carbs instantly creates an insulin spike which stops the fat burning process. Apparently it takes 3 days without carbs to switch back so it's costing you 3 days of potential weight loss, Alizonne food and therapy costs.

Cheating ain't cheap

I hope that this has been helpful for those of you that occasionally need to bend the rules to keep on course (I know I am one of them). I think the real secret here is always to remain in control, If you are going to cheat, fine, just make sure you still keep control of your portions and what you eat and it shouldn't rock the boat too badly.

Good luck!

24/1/13 Weekly Update

Quick update as I'm on the road this weekend.
1.3kg off this week, not the best but a loss is a loss.
Next couple of days are going to be hard since I'm away with the lads but everything is packed up so I won't be short of food.
Need to loose 1.9kg this week to stay on projection. It's doable but going to be difficult
Graph will be updated early next week when I get home!
Ill try to get another picture soon since the last was a couple of weeks ago...

UPDATE.........

Here is last weeks graph

16/01/13 Weekly Update

S'up y'all

Slightly earlier update this time as I usually have my weigh-ins on a Thursday. So imagine my surprise to be 2kg off this week!

This makes a grand total of about 2st in 6 weeks.

If someone told me it this is where I would be now back in early December I would have laughed in their face.

I have been seeing the number on the scales drop for a while, then after a few weeks delay I started loosing some inches but this week I have noticed something else.

I actually feel lighter, I find myself running up stairs and walking faster. This may sound stupid but even standing up is different. I put the effort in I expect it to require and I'm on my feet really quickly wondering what just happened.

Thinking about it I suppose it makes perfect sense. The muscles in your body have to perform a certain amount of work to make you move about. When you are heavier they will become stronger and get tired more quickly because of the extra load. As that load reduces there is more potential left over for other things. I reckon that by the time I'm 13 stone I'll feel like running everywhere like some Yorkshire Forrest Gump!

Anyhow, here's an update graph....

 

Till next time.......

This week's update

This week I have lost 1.9kgs. A good loss considering I have been ill for a couple of days and not done much exercise.

I suppose a small amount of this could be muscle loss but its hard to care in the grand scheme of things.

And as promised here is the updated graph.....

If I keep up this rate of loss I will achieve my next goal of 95kgs (15st) some time in the next 2 weeks and then my further goal of 91kgs (BMI<30) in early February.

GO GREEN LINE! GO!!

Photo update

Got a mate of mine to take a photo of me tonight.

An interesting idea

Hello again!

I had an interesting experience over the holidays which I have just remembered to get down on here.

While I was at a get together, someone asked me if I could have a little cheat, think it was a piece of Christmas cake. Something in my brain said Fat me wants it but Thin me laughs at your Christmas cake with it's poisonous yet crumbly Wensleydale sidekick!

Fat me

I assume a lot of you are like me and are loosing a fairly substantial amount of weight to lead better, more fulfilling lives. Changing something like this is a big step, one that I have wanted to do all my life, succeeding will definitely change me as a person. Even now I feel different than I did at the start, I used to say if I can loose the weight and now it's a when.

So while it borders on schizophrenia, I would suggest creating in your heads what the thin you will be like.
What does thin you do at the weekend?
Will thin you meet someone new?
Will they enjoy playing sports with the kids?
Think of all the things you are going to be doing and adventures you will have.

But before you dismiss this as just some rather clumsy cliche, think about the psychological usefulness of this act.

1. By separating out your good habits from the bad, you are analysing your life and what needs to change.
2. By creating thin you, you are creating a goal far richer than a number on a scale. It's the life you want and deserve.
3. Thin you has never failed. Fat you may have been stronger up to now but that has changed.

Thin Me

I'm no psychologist but that seems like some pretty good justification to me.

Anyway that's enough of the scary and rhetorical workings of my mind.

1 month review

Update after my first review with the Doc and Thursday weigh in.

So every 4-6 weeks I have an update meeting with the Doctor to make sure everything is going ok. We chatted about the few things and here is a quick summary.

First off I have revised my final weight loss goal.
I mentioned in my initial weight loss consultation that I thought a reasonable goal was 13 stone. Strange as it sounds this seemed like an insurmountable amount of weight to loose, I haven't been this weight since I was maybe 13.
The hawk eyed amongst you may have noticed that the blog banner proudly states I'm going down to 76kgs (12st) This is because when I got a few weeks into the diet & it actually worked I started thinking, what the hell lets go down further!. But having had my consultation with the doctor we have decided for it to stay at 13st. I have a big frame (especially my chest/shoulders) and we thought it unlikely that 12st would be a healthy or maintainable weight for me.

Other than this is was all standard stuff, blood taken to make sure my liver/kidneys are functioning ok as well as some other tests. My blood pressure has dropped (can't remember the figures) from the high end of healthy much closer towards the middle range. We also discussed the standard stuff like headaches/tiredness. Basically lethargy is usually caused by you having used up all your energy from exercise so make sure you have an extra sachet (basically what I have already found out for myself).
Dizziness when standing or when moving around is due to a salt deficiency. I have only had this on a couple of occasions, usually when I wake up in the morning. I then take my salt pill first thing so this passes quickly.

On the Alizonne plan you are given projected weights as you progress through the plan. I was projected to be 98-100kgs this week and weighed in a 99.4 so bang on the money!
I can't describe how happy I am to be right on the projections having come though Christmas and New Years without cheating. I did have a couple of days where I went to phase 1/2 to keep me sane but at least I didn't drop out of Ketosis. I think this is now my default cheat day system. If I get really hacked off with the Alizonne foods I might treat myself to a phase 1 or 2 day. Not technically in the rules but far better than reaching for a Toblerone. I'll do a separate post on Alizonne cheating some time.

Because of the revised goals above and now knowing all the figures from my previous weigh-ins, I have updated my tracking chart.....

 

I am now about 37% to my target weight. My next 2 big targets are to get to 15st (95kg) and then to get my BMI to 30 (about 92kgs). Which, according to a rather outdated system of measuring how fat you are, means I am medically no longer obese. WIN!

Motivation pt1.

Hello again!

I said in a previous post that I would try to put down some thoughts about motivation IF I could avoid it sounding preachy.

Well the best way I can think of doing that it just to relate some of my own personal experiences and thought processes and if anything is useful to you then great.


I have been overweight & therefore dieting pretty much my whole life. I was sent to see a hospital dietitian when I was a kid and then have tried all sorts of diets with varying degrees of success over the years. I have been for a liposuction surgery consultation (which I decided not to go ahead with) and have seriously given consideration to a gastric band.

I would guess the question going through your minds might be: Why would someone who is obviously unhappy and considering such drastic measures to correct a weight problem, not be able to find the motivation to fix it through diet & exercise?

Well I think motivation is very much at the heart of it.

I am a person who needs results to remain motivated, if I stick to a diet for 2 weeks and loose next to nothing I get very disheartened, this doesn't mean that I instantly reach for the biscuit box (I am too resolved to believe that that will help anything), but it does mean that I might revert to my standard eating pattern which I know holds my weight steady.

My brain has been so filled with information about weight loss from different, and sometimes contradictory, sources that I loose focus on the main goal. If I don't loose weight for a couple of weeks I think my body must be in starvation mode so I eat more, If I loose weight rapidly I think I must be loosing muscle so I eat a greater proportion of protein. Occasionally I will have a prolonged period of success and I think "Cracked it!" so I carry on doing exactly the same exercises and eating the same foods. Then suddenly it will stop working and again my motivation dissipates.

So that's how I loose my motivation, how about how ways to increase it.

1. Find a plan that you know works

There are thousands of different diets out there which offer varying degrees of success, Talk to your doctor about your options. I have found that weight watchers/slimming world diets work, they are cheaper and easier to fit into your life than other systems. Atkins worked for me but I had serious doubts about the health implications of removing so much healthy foods from your diet. As mentioned in my previous posts I am currently on the Alizonne program which is working well for me right now. It is isn't cheap but I have never eaten more healthily.
Which ever route you take it is important to have absolute confidence in the plan that you choose, after all you are placing a lot of trust in this system, you should know it works.

2. Make sure the plan fits with your personality and lifestyle

My limited success with the weight watchers plan is due to my problems with moderation. I would rather be told to have no alcohol all together rather than a couple of units but you can then drink more if you save up points from your food. My natural tendency is to move a lot of points around in the system so I can still go out and have a big night out at the weekend. It's pretty unlikely you will loose a significant amount of weight a week if you are out on the sauce regardless of what my points say.
My point here is to make it as easy as possible to integrate the plan into your life.

3. Tell all your family and friends and work mates what you are doing

I was initially hesitant to tell people when I stared on a plan because it would be embarrassing when I failed. That is staring from a very negative place. Their support is what will see you through the shitty times when you feel like quitting.
The second reason is that if you tell people up front what you are doing, they will not offer you food you can't have.

4. Try on all your clothes

Seriously! try on everything you own. Arrange them in your wardrobe from what fits on the right, down to what doesn't on the left. Try to get them in order of size as best you can. There will be one piece f clothing that just fits, put this right in the middle.
Then every week try the next item to the left. As you loose weight you will see the right side of your wardrobe fill up and the left side empty. I find this to be a massive motivator.
I have taken this one step further and bought a shirt and pair of trousers that are way too small. The idea being that I have my goal shirt & goal pants. The idea behind all of this is to stop weight being about the scale and more about how you look.