Week two and things have changed considerably. After the euphoria of a very good first week yesterday's weigh in was a huge disappointment for me. I have stayed at 18st 3lbs while Mrs Dim has lost a further four pounds, in fact four and a half pounds. Making her total loss eight and a half pounds and mine ten. Bizarrely it seems that the reason I have not lost weight this week is because I am not eating enough. "Really!!!??? Four Chop Lenny is not eating enough?" Yes... that is Dr Dee's diagnoses. More vegetables she says... "I'm going to sprout bloody feelers soon." and more fats she says. The fats help grease the tubes apparently. Two hundred and fifty of my allotted twelve hundred and fifty calories can be good fats. I'm using cold pressed rapeseed oil (Canola to the Americans.) I've been using a lot less. It could also be that my body is going into starvation mode at the moment and storing fats.
Dr Dee
(not a real doctor)
Well whatever the reason I'm annoyed that Mrs Dim has done much better than me this week, yet she has eaten more and had carbs. (Though I did have one slice of wholemeal toast on thursday and one slice on saturday.) So this week my aim is to once again stay completely off of the carbs... eat more green vegetables than I have been, and eat a little more of the good fats. The one thing I really have to say is that I do not feel hungry at all, and that I have not had any cravings. This comes as a real shock to me... I've never been on a proper diet before... I have no idea how my body usually reacts to getting less calories. My blood sugar levels have once again been excellent, though occasionally have made me feel "Jittery" so I'll eat a couple of walnuts or almonds or an apple to help regulate that feeling. Regulating the ole bowels is still an issue, but hopefully will resolve itself this week.
Whilst I could view this week as a set back, the reality is I don't, I knew week two would be more difficult, but I've got used to the regimen and I am adapting my habits. I'm out walking more, and I feel physically more able. I'm also sleeping better. However if I start sprouting feelers... Dr Dee will be in trouble.
I should point out Dr Dee is my sister... and whilst not a real Dr she is now the font of all knowledge when it comes to diets... She should be, she has been on so many. For example I never knew that Vegetables count as carbs too, that leeks have more carbs than lettuce for example. She's visiting us at the moment and looks great.
Yes it's that time of year again when "Celebrities" enter the jungle to moan and groan about eating rice, beans and camel toes. There is an obvious joke in there about eating camel toes, but I am not going to be the one to make it. Food is always an issue in IACGMOOH. Crocodile I assume is much like Alligator, which I've eaten before, Ostrich steaks are lovely, and I've even had a bit of skippy as well... I'll pass on the brains and turkey balls... This year I genuinely feel the pain of the Jungle contestants... Why? Not because I'm starving like they are... not because I'm obsessed by food, as they are... (Though I guess I am a bit) Not because I look better in a bikini than Matthew Wright ( I have bigger Moobs) But because of the constant Iceland Adverts in between. There's something wrong with me when I'm looking at those adverts and thinking Yum! Cherry chocolates and a pastry ring stuffed with minced beef, fish fingers with chips and mushy peas.... I've not shopped in Iceland for at least twenty years. (Mainly because I live in Ireland... but hey... That would kill the joke) ... And here's why.....
Kerry Katona advocate for Iceland - Before.
and after.
Ok I'm being facetious, but it's been a tough week. In fairness I was fine until Thursday, then driving back from Galway I had an urge to eat... The hunger was upon me. Not bad I suppose... 11 days into a diet and my first real hunger pangs. Once I got home I shovelled a handfull of wallnuts into my gob , and a thin slice of good ham. However I still felt hungry. That night dinner was a stir fry, lean pork, courgette, beansprouts, onion and peppers. i was still hungry. A few more wallnuts and an apple and I was finally sated. However I couldn't resist hitting the bathroom scales. BIG mistake... They always say you should never weigh yourself more than once a week... and they (Whoever they are ... self appointed a**holes) are right. I was weighing in four pounds heavier than Monday. What the... ? ? How many calories are there in a wallnut? Equally despite doubling my dose of Restoriix... which is supposed to detox and cleanse you... I hadn't been to the "Dunny" for two days. Oh the drama!
Then Friday came....
A Micky Flanagan moment.
Yes... dear readers... It happened then... the Restoriix gave me a seismic bowel movement. A tidal wave of do do did did flood the bowl. Not once, not twice, but thrice. OMG as the youth of today might say, did I feel better after that. So ignoring my advice to not weigh myself more than once a week I got on the scales this morning to see that I weigh 18st dead. I'm wondering if I should phone the Guinness book of records... However... Mrs Dim has also had a tough week. Being insulin dependent she did discuss her situation with a dietician at our pharmacists. The ever so helpfull O'Donnell's in Westport... They really are great. It seems that the problem for diabetics is that we should have carbs in some form each day. The aforementioned, bread, rice pasta... However wholewheat varieties and in very small portions. Perhaps it was the Restoriix, or perhaps it was the reintroduction of carbs into the diet, but on Friday I had a late breakfast, with one slice of dry wholemeal toast... So was it the fibre that moved me, or the Restoriix? Well I think we have to give this one to the Restoriix as the gap between the carbs and the caboose was only around forty minutes... and my digestive system does not run that fast... However I do feel so much better by re-introducing a small amount of carbohydrates to my diet... and so does Mrs Dim. The carbs have really steadied her glucose levels as they were dipping too low... and mine have been steady all week.Now officially weigh in is Monday morning... so the above weights are unofficial, but should I remain 18st dead that's a loss of 13lbs in two weeks. We shall see.
Meanwhile .... I'm fifty one years old and still can't tie my shoe laces... any room for me in the jungle?
So how much have I lost?...... How much has Mrs Dim lost? All will be revealed...
First here's a picture of a plate of food.
Chicken Fajitas with Lettuce, Courgette and Puy Lentils.
What I learned from Friday's dinner is that you shove Puy Lentil's up your.... Well in fairness they were bought in a packet that you microwaved, and I should know better. They were supposed to be tomato and basil flavour. However I think they tasted more like puke, and believe I could do a better job with lentils... So maybe that's a task I shall undertake later this week. My thanks to my friend Sarah - Lou for suggesting grated cauliflower as a rice substitute, I shall try that later this week. The fajita's themselves were lovely, dusted in Cajun spices and a sprinkle of cumin and chilli. Fried in a spit of coconut oil, which despite being a calorie monster is - according to the boffins at Ariix - full of good fats. That's why the onions have a nice glaze on them.
Now here's another plate of food.
Granola with Strawberries and Raspberries
This has been breakfast twice this week. Lizi's Granola with unsweetened Soy milk and fresh strawberries and raspberries added. Yes you read that right... Soy milk... Fatboydim is consuming faddy foods... and kind of enjoying it. This particular brand of breakfast cereal is incredibly delicious, above is a 40g serving.
The weekend was a little bit boring with no football, international friendlies don't do it for me... oh ok ok ... I'll get to the point.... I know you all want to know... So how much have I lost?
I started the week at 18st 13lbs... Today I weigh in at 18st 3lbs - That's a loss of 10lbs in one week.
Compare to Mrs Dim who has struggled a little, but I must stress that she is insulin dependent and on a new hormone treatment for diabetes which makes weight loss more difficult. It would be indelicate of me to give you her weight... so I will just say Mrs Dim lost 4lbs this week. Which is still excellent.
So without the drops, but with the caveats mentioned above, we have been eating the same food yet there is a 5lbs difference in weight loss. It's imperfect science of course as I'm male and only on tablets for my diabetes. Both of us have experienced the benefit of solidly low sugar levels in our blood this past week.
As I stated at the start of this blog, I have never sustained a diet before, usually I'm like Jesus Christ in reverse... I give up and die on the third day... Seven days in I feel fine, I don't feel hungry, I have not had cravings, I have eaten some unusual foods for me... But you know what... If I can do it then anyone can.
From my sister that is... So some errors and omissions to deal with. Apparently I called the drops Slender-"Lix" and apparently they are called Slender-"Riix" So the best way to remember this is to not think of Obelix:
Obelix - Big, Fat Gaul.
But to think of Asterix:
Asterix - Annoying Little Gaul.
So it's Slenderiix.
Slenderiix - Not to be confused with Gauls at all.
I also said it was three months my sister has been on the diet... It's actually only Nine weeks... So what I should have said is that she is in her third month dieting.
So how have I been getting on... My poo isn't as loose as I expected. Yes it's time for Gillian McKeith to make an appearance:
Gillian McKeith poo expert. Though some just think poo.
In fact everything seems fine. I'm not that hungry, haven't had cravings, and in fact sometimes feel quite full. Now it is a very different story for Mrs Dim. She's really struggling, she's had a sneaky cereal bar today for example and she now hates my sister and me... for well everything. So what's making the difference... Is it the drops? Or is it the fact that I'm making a public fool of myself via this blog and my videos.... Number two is on it's way... Video I mean... Not toilets. It could be either, as public humiliation is a good motivational tool for the dieters armoury. However I genuinely have not been hungry, and would have to entertain the possibility that the difference between my situation and my wifes is that I am taking the drops and she isn't. (After all I'm humiliating her through this blog too)
Todays Breakfast was: Turkey Rashers, Scrambled egg (mixed with water) Mushrooms and tomatoes. Todays lunch was Falafel. Tonight I'm cooking a Turkey curry. I have to say I do miss rice though.
So the second video is uploading to YouTube as we speak... A link to it will be placed here as soon as it is ready.... And here it is....
So far it's been an easy enough ride. Perhaps all diets are like this when you're motivated to do well. Though I'm not so sure I would be doing so well if the GBBO was still on TV. The Great Irish Bake off finished this week too... but in fairness I think even I could do better than those contestants.
Here is a photo of yesterday's breakfast:
Breakfast Day 2
It's a two egg omelette with half a tomato, one slice of non-processed good quality ham, one mushroom and red and green pepper. I added a small drop of water and a pinch of salt to the eggs before whisking. I lightly coated the pan with cold pressed rapeseed oil using a pastry brush. Around 240 cal.
And here is a photo of yesterday's lunch:
Lunch Day 2
What you have there is about 40g of Bresaola, air-dried salted beef in wafer thin slices. Baby leaf spinach, lettuce, tomato and shaved carrot. I also juiced half a lime with around a teaspoon of rapeseed oil, a handful of fresh coriander leaves and a few drops of Tabasco. Oh and around half a slice of the ham as above. That's around two hundred calories... And the dressing was so nice I licked the plate afterwards... Naughty me.
Here is yesterday's dinner:
Dinner Day 2
So this is for two. It's a chilli with very lean organic ground beef (5% fat) around 250g, 200g fresh black eyed beans, that I soaked overnight, a fresh tomato sauce that I prepped from fresh tomatoes, chillies, onions and garlic, fresh baby leaf spinach and coriander wilted into the pan. I would say this is around 300 Calories. The diet recommends that you don't have beans and meat together. Probably overloads protein. Spices used include lemon juice, chilli, paprika, a lot of cumin. Salt and pepper.
Oh and I did add a Knorr stock cube... one of the gelatinous kind... which actually means the calories would up a little... So lets say this dinner was 350cals.
On top of that I ate an apple, two strawberries and a couple of raspberries. usually I don't do fruit unless it's in a pie with cream.
The main thing is the lack of carbs. Not missing them yet... But here are some things I am looking forward to:
Being able to sit on a Ryanair plane and being able to easily put on my seatbelt.
Being able to wrap a towel around myself after a sower without bits showing ... Ewww!
Being able to sit on a chair without my arse going numb.
Fact of the matter is I'm a writer in my day job, writing involves sitting at a desk and typing into a computer, much as I am doing now. Working from home my daily routine is as follows:
I roll out of bed mid-morning, trundle into my office and make stuff up for a few hours, you know the kind of thing - Character A is having an affair with Character C, Character B finds out and plots to murder character A and C with a frozen Salmon. Then eats the evidence. My wife brings me tea, maybe a toasted bun... then late morning I'll have my shower and think about making breakfast. Toast and marmalade, cereal or a bacon sandwich, (rasher sandwich here in Ireland) and to US readers not the stuff you call bacon either, but back rashers, middle rashers, streaky etc... Aggghhhh! Drooling just thinking about it........ Anyway.... if there's chocolate in the house then a Walnut Whip or a Fruit and Nut bar may be consumed in addition to the bacon sandwich, cereal or toast. Once I've eaten it's back to the coal face of the computer screen to make more stuff up. Character A finds out about frozen salmon plot and calls police. I'm a screenwriter if you haven't guessed by now.
Lunch might be a cheese sandwich or coke and some crisps. Then it's back to the computer, making stuff up and procrastinating on that social networking site... yes that one. I'm poking people all day and being an obnoxious keyboard warrior posting all my opinions about stuff I like. Looking at cats that look like German dictators... Looking at posts that say you must watch this and ignoring posts that threaten death if I do not pass them on. It's a hectic roller coaster ride. I go back to making stuff up. What if it was a leg of lamb instead of salmon? God I'm obsessed with food.
The big meal of the day is dinner... and in my house ... I'm the chef... that meal can be taken any time between seven and ten o'clock at night. Big portions of good quality home cooked food, with a bottle of beer. Then maybe watch some TV... have cups of tea with a biscuit or two... or should that be packet or two... and of course at some point during the day a doughnut or cake of some kind has been consumed. I watch TV until around one in the morning, whilst playing Plants v Zombies on the iPad and then trundle upstairs to bed.
That's my typical day. No exercise. No set meal times. Nothing is balanced except my belly on my knees. (I exaggerate for comic effect, I haven't seen my knees for years.)
Let's rewind for a moment, some three months ago. My sister, who lives in the UK, has always been a big lady, she has always been a yo-yo dieter, she has tried all sorts of diets and at various times has been a member of Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and ... well to be honest I've lost count of the diets she has been on, sometimes they would work for a short period of time, sometimes they wouldn't, but always the pounds would pile back on. It's just the way it was.... Yes "was"... because things have changed. She found out about Ariix and their Healthy Living Plan. At least I think that's what it is called. Now at this point this blog is beginning to sound like an advertisement... it's not... it's what she did... and three months later shes lost over two stone in weight and is feeling happier and healthier. Some of you reading this will know my sister and can vouch for the change in her.
So my sister being the lovely elder sibling that she is, wanted me to try the regime. Ariix products are expensive and I'm between jobs at the moment so she is paying for the supplements and my part of the bargain is doing this blog. However I am going to be completely independent and unbiased about my views. I'll tell it like it is.
So please bookmark this blog and come along for the ride. Check out the videos, the first is below, and let your friends know. If this stuff really works we'll see that together. If it fails or I'm a weak willed, lily-livered failure, we'll see that too. I don't know what will happen but the diet starts today.
