Losing inches & keeping myself to myself.

I am a tad bored with my blog. I am thinking of starting up a new one where I can be a little bit different, but I haven't completely sorted it out yet. I think that one of the reasons I haven't been here much lately is because I have been doing other things ...

I had always thought that I would be a slightly overweight person - not massively, but increasing with age. As time has gone on I noticed my tummy changing to a little bit of a barrel shape and thought that the change was just life. I have tried diets every now and again and realise that food has always been a very important part of my life - as both a comfort and a pleasure.

However, I started a new regime in November and I am the fittest and slimmest I have been in a long time. I will probably write about this new way of life, because that is what it is, at another time, but suffice to say for now I am eating less, eating far more healthily and exercising nearly every day. Weight is dropping off me, as are inches. So far I have lost 3 inches around my waist, 3 inches round my hips and 4 inches round my boobs. Its brilliant!

The photo below is me after a work out - knackered. But happy! I am enjoying working out rather than sitting at my laptop!

The photos below are my usual landscapes. I just love the countryside around where I live and am always stopping to take pictures, particularly of the sky.

I haven't joined up to the 365 linky because last time I did the code messed up my blog, but if you go to The Boy and Me you will find links to other blogs who are taking part.

I am finding myself distancing myself a little bit from the world of blogging. There are some lovely people and some interesting blogs out there, but there are also lots of people who seem to be all about "me, me, me". I have tried in the past to be supportive, to link to other blogs, but recently I have been irritated by people who just don't seem to reciprocate. I'm not saying that this applies to anyone you know, but I think that if I back off a bit and just enjoy writing and posting photos as a diary for myself then I won't get annoyed.

Having said that there are also a core of very lovely, kind and genuine people out there who support me come rain or shine and have done for a long time. Perhaps I just need to be picky and enjoy those people?

Its easy sometimes to feel a bit left out of the "blogging world". But if I keep myself to myself and not expect to be part of it all then I won't be disappointed. Am I sounding curmudgeonly? I hope not. 

The Fast Diet ... week 5 and life is feeling fine!

Its a lovely sunny day and my mood is sunny too. Not only did I spend all yesterday afternoon planning my lessons for this week, leaving me feeling rather satisfied and smug, but I have lost weight and lowered my BMI. Woohoo!!

Since I have been on Dr Michael Mosley's 5:2 Fast Diet it has been, as they say on the telly, a journey! I have just about got myself to the the right place with the whole thing, after a month of experimentation. And, at last, the weight is starting to come off. Not only that, I feel so much better in myself. I have lost that bloated, fat feeling and feel so much more alert in myself too.

The interesting thing about eating a reduced calorie intake twice a week is that I don't feel the need to overeat the other 5 days. In fact it has made me more aware of what I am eating and I am enjoying a far healthier diet purely because that's what I fancy.

Yesterday I made flapjacks ( blinking delicious I am told!!) for my Book Club. I didn't eat any as it was my fast day, but had thought that I would have one this morning with my coffee for breakfast. But, actually, I'm not bothered. I've given them to my boys as part of their packed lunch and I had a bowl of porridge instead.

I have read interesting reviews on the Fast Diet which are scathing, but for me the diet is working. It fits in with my lifestyle, is flexible, does not deny me the enjoyment of food and has resulted in me feeling a lot healthier, cleaner ( if you know what I mean?) and generally happier.I don't think being hungry twice a week is a killer and you'd be amazed at how filling a big bowl of salad can be at only 50 calories.

I have put my stats on my Fast Diet page on the tabs above, but over all I have lost a couple of pounds and 2 inches off my waist. All good. I am looking at this as a way to live my life forever - not as a quick fix fad.

If you are just starting or about to start? Good Luck!! Experiment to see what suits you and keep going if you don't lose weight immediately. Its not all about weight loss, its about a healthy life!! And as I said at the start, my life today is looking decidedly sunny. Woohoo!!!

     I am so thrilled to be on the shortlist for the Lifestyle Category of the BiBs. If you could take the time to vote for me by clicking on the badge to your left I would be really grateful!! Voting closes on 12th May. Thank you!!!

Horizon and Dr Michael Mosley's 5:2 Fast Diet ... starting week 3.

So ... today is my 5th fasting day since I started Dr Michael Mosley's Fast Diet 2 and a bit weeks ago. I am determined to follow his programme, not only to lose weight, but to benefit from the amazing differences it appears to make to a person's chances of developing heart disease, cancer, diabetes and Alzheimers.

I have read his book and then re-read parts of it, but until last night I had not watched the Horizon documentary in which he first put forward his thoughts. My old blog friend Urban Cynic suggested I watch to get a fuller understanding of his ideas and I am grateful for the advice as I found the programme very interesting and it has made me even more determined to continue.

It is an hour long documentary, but it is well worth watching. The results of fasting seem really quite startling and the effect on the human body quite remarkable.

I am still experimenting with a way of fasting that suits me. I have had days where I felt fine, days where I felt ravenously hungry. Today I have had a glass of water and a mug of chai black tea. I don't feel at all hungry and plan to wait until I do feel that I need something and maybe have a couple of poached eggs, possibly some nice crunchy raw carrots or a tuna salad. I don't want to spend my day obsessed with food!!

It is interesting to see how many hits my posts on this subject have received and also how many people I know are actually following the plan. I have not heard a single bad review. Everyone I know who has started it has felt the benefits. I think its a case of being flexible, listening to your body and experimenting to find what suits you.

I definitely feel more alert, less sluggish and really don't feel the need or desire to fill myself with rubbish food! I will measure and weigh myself tomorrow and see if I have lost any weight, but, to be honest, having watched Horizon last night the weight loss side of this is the least important thing. As I head towards 50 I want to be as healthy as I can be both physically and mentally. I will check back here soon!!

Dr Michael Mosley's Fast Diet ... I have begun!!

I am currently sitting at my laptop in the kitchen eating a bowl of porridge. It is delicious! It is also my breakfast of choice these days, even on my fast days. ... Yes, I did say 'fast days'. I might have to explain that ...

I had noticed a couple of friends at work looking particularly well and rather slimmer than usual - not that they were particularly overweight to start with - and I mentioned how well they looked. It turns out that they had started Dr Michael Mosley's Fast Diet and were enjoying the benefits of said regime. At first I was skeptical  but as the book was selling for only £2.95 and my friends were so enthusiastic I bought it, read it and decided to try it for myself.

Now you may be thinking "fast?? That sounds a bit radical and unhealthy" but this idea is not about starving oneself. It is also known as the 5:2 diet or eating plan and involves intermittent  low calorie days. The book explains far more eloquently than I can here how it works, but, briefly its like this ...

In days gone by we humans would eat well some days because we had hunted well and then we might not eat as well or at all for a day or two. Over the last fifty years or so we have, in the Western world, developed a grazing habit. We are rarely hungry ... we eat because its time to eat and we eat portions that are too large. We eat too much meat, too much processed food. Dr Michael Mosley researched into the history and science of fasting and came up with the Fast Diet idea. This was not a flash in the pan and he self experimented with startling results. Not only did he not die of hunger, but as well as losing weight  ...and  most important of all, his blood test results revealed fascinating changes in his make up:

• His fasting glucose levels had gone down. 7.3 down to 5.0
• 
  
• His cholesterol levels had reduced.
• 
  
• His Triglyceride level had gone down ( high levels are associated with increased risk of heart disease) 1.4 down to 0.6
• 
  
• His IGF-1 level had reduced from 28.6 nmol/l to 15.9 nmol/l (I am no scientist but this is apparently a measure of cancer risk and may also be a marker for biological ageing)
• 
  
•  His BMI had gone from 26.4 to 24
•  His body fat from 28% to 21%
• His waist size from 36 inches to 33 inches
• His neck size from 17 inches to 16 inches

He looks upon this scheme as not so much a diet as a way of life forever. You eat normally for 5 days a week and then on 2 days you eat a quarter of your normal daily intake. For normal daily intake women should be eating about 2000 calories a day and men 2400. So, on split days you eat 500 calories as a woman and 600 as a man.

I started the diet last week. On Monday I ate porridge for breakfast with a teaspoon of honey and a cup of peppermint tea. This came to just under 200 calories. The trick (probably a bad word that and not terribly scientific!) is to leave 12 hours between your intakes of food so for the next 12 hours I drank water and peppermint tea only. Then I ate an Innocent curry which I knew was 316 calories. This was yummy but not ideal as I don't like eating foods I haven't cooked myself from scratch, but the range is fresh and I wanted to be absolutely sure of the calories.

I have to say I found that first day quite hard. I felt ravenous, but my hunger reached a certain level and then got no worse. I did get a headache, but I think that's because I didn't drink enough water. I was determined to reach the 12 hour mark and felt quite a sense of achievement when I did. Cooking my curry I looked at it in my bowl and was amazed that even after one day of fasting the quantity looked huge!! I savoured every mouthful ... chewing slowly and enjoying every burst of flavour! When I finished I felt really full ... bizarre!!

The following morning I woke an hour earlier than usual and felt oddly alert and full of energy. I can't quite explain it, but all this week I have felt somehow ... cleaner, more awake. And although this was not a fasting day I had no desire to cook a huge fry up for breakfast. On non-fast days you can eat what you like, but I enjoyed my normal healthy fare. I did get a twinge of guilt as I made myself a milky coffee, but then remembered that on this day I could drink milky coffee if I wanted. The feeling of glee was lovely!!

My second fast day was Thursday and as I was at work all day it was somehow easier. I suppose the trick is to just keep busy. I made sure that I drank lots and the dreaded headache did not appear. In fact I felt great! I ate 500 calories again and it was definitely enough. The great thing is also that even when you feel hungry you know that tomorrow you can eat normally again. Anyone can make it through one day can't they?? And you feel a sense of achievement when you do finish the day.

Before I started I measured myself ... weight, waist, hips and I also treated myself to a posh weighing scale which measures fat percentage, water, bone, muscle. I worked out my BMI and, as I already knew, I am obese. God, but that's hard to write ...

I am not going to reveal my measurements to you yet, but I do plan on keeping this blog updated with my progress and opinion and if it goes well I shall reveal all!! Stats that is ... don't get too excited. One of the things that I really like about this is the health benefits that the plan appears to have. I am heading towards 50 and if I can reduce my weight while at the same time reducing my risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes then that is fantastic. I also love food, love cooking so this will enable me to still enjoy the odd cheese board without pangs of terrible guilt. The strange thing is that I don't crave anything at the moment, other than healthy foods ... 

So ... my thoughts on the Fast Diet at the moment are very positive. If you are doubtful then I recommend you read the book and perhaps keep checking back here to see how I do!!