Wednesday, February 02, 2005

RESULTS! Month 1

At the beginning my goal was to fit in my skinny pants and get down to a weight of 84kgs (from a weight of 88kgs)

My skinny pants fit, though not as well as I would like. I wasnt the button to hover nicely under the button hole before I do them up. It is about 1cm away at the moment.

My weight on Day 29 was 83.6 kgs. Success! 4.4 kgs!

You might want to know how my other half went. She lost 2 kgs. She was not happy with that, though I was not surprised as I stuck to the rules more adamently than she did. Still, 2kgs is not too bad and if she loses another 2kgs this month it will show.

It has not been THAT hard to keep to the rules. The hardest one to keep to is the 7:30 rule, but I am convinced it should stay as it prevents me from snacking when I am home alone at night.

So what do I do now that I know the rules might work? Change them! This is to incorporate what I have learnt over the past month and to make them a little more easy to live with on a day to day basis.

The rules are -

1) Don't eat after 7:30pm

2) 45 mins exercise 6 days / wk: I have upped this from the previous 30 mins

3) Forbidden foods limit: At this stage, I can have one forbidden item (cheese, chocolate, nuts) once per week. Not one of each.

4, 5 & 6) Energy requirements, Fat requirements, Protein requirements: These are now part of the rules which I must obey

7) Nothing in pantry > 10% fat

8) One meal / wk not counted: This replace the eat out once a fortnight rule. When applied, I will assume the day kj, fat and protein intakes is the max allowed

9) Weights 3-4 days / wk: Weight training is now required. I did it previously, but now it is a rule. I usually go 4 times a week.

10) Don't read scales: This is the best rule of all. The last time I read the scales I was 4kgs hevier than I am now. Might powerful motivation!

One last thing. I will only be blogging my results on a weekly basis. Daily recording is very time consuming. I hope that the feel of the site is not lost by me changing to this new format.

Week Four - Analysis

Week 4 was, in all, a good week. Kjs went down to 9,040 and Fat was a low 34g. Protein was almost acceptable at 67g.

I have become progressively better at monitoring my Kj intake over the course of the four weeks. Fat has been universally low over the four weeks.

Day Twenty-seven and Twenty-eight (Week Four)

For some reason, I did not keep records on The Rules for this day. I can still quote my energy and fat intakes, though.

Day 27: 7,010 Kjs, 31 gms fat

Day 28: 9,727 Kjs, 9 gms fat

As you can see, this was a nice recovery from the very average day 26.

Day Twenty-six (Week Four)

Australia Day. Now this was a dietary disaster. Went out to eat - which I was allowed to do once a fortnight, by which this complied - but I did not count on the size of the servings. Massive entree of Ceasar and a resonably large serving of Gnochi Calabrese. And did I stop there? No way! I shared sticky date with the other half as well.

This is why I avoid eating out.

13,033 Kjs, 84 gms fat

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = FAIL

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = NA

No cheese = FAIL

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = PASS

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = PASS

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = NA


Day Twenty-five (Week Four)

Not a great day, but no disaster either. When I have the other half over, it would seem I eat more. Sure enough, it was the combination of her home cooked dinner plus some tzatsiki and bisuits that put me a little over.

10,725 Kjs, 38 gms fat

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = PASS

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = PASS

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = NA

Day Twenty-four (Week Four)

Just about the perfect day. And Protein was above requirement as well.

8,191 Kjs, 32 gms fat

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = PASS

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = PASS

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = NA

Monday, January 24, 2005

Day Twenty-three (Week Four)

Another lo kj day on the back of yesterdays personal best. Anything under 8,000 kjs is pretty serious stuff. THe day was high in protein, too, due to lots of yoghurt and chicken.

7,935 Kjs, 21 gms fat

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = FAIL

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = FAIL

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = NA

Sunday, January 23, 2005

Day Twenty-two (Week Four)

Something seems wrong here. 6,660? Really? As far as I can tell it is correct. I has a busy day. I really did not stop. So I was limited in the main to the three meal day. Lunch was particularly light, and using 1/2 a cup of brown rice with the Japanese Curry is paying dividends.

So there we go - a new kj record!

6,660 Kjs, 24 gms fat

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = PASS

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = PASS

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = NA

Week Three - Analysis

Kjs are consistenly coming down each week - 11,128, 9,952 and 9,646 respectively - as I get used to eating less. Fat came in a little high at 41g and that is due to the shocking 108 ingested in hot chips at the beginning of the week. Proteing has come in ok this week, due to the more regular using of protien shakes. I have been using a water/milk mix to keep kilojoules down.

I am itching to get on the scales. My not-fat-now pants do fit, but not as loosely as I would like. But I have been very good over the last three weeks and would be disappointed if at the end of next week - when I am due to jump on the scales - that I did not come in a few kilos lighter.



Day Twenty-One (Week Three)

Put this low fat day down to dinner. Essentially, chicken, pasta and tomato and not much else. And I passed the 7:30 requirement because I was back in the studio again, finishing off that demo.

9,167 Kjs, 17 gms fat

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = PASS

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = PASS

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = NA

Day Twenty (Week Three)

Low kj day, reflecting that the pantry is getting empty and it is time to go shopping. It is true - when the cupboards are bad I eat less. Means that I am not that diciplined, I suppose.

8,709 Kjs, 26 gms fat

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = PASS

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = PASS

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = NA

Day Nineteen (Week Three)

Failed on 7:30 again! No real excuse - I was fiddling with my PC until a bit too late on in the piece. Then cooked up a bit of spaghetti bolognaise. I am finding the pasta is quite high in kjs. But I refuse to eliminate this staple from my diet, even though some weight watching gurus advocate giving it up.

10,180 Kjs, 29 gms fat

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = FAIL

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = PASS

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = NA

Day Eighteen (Week Three)

Got stuck into some fairly fatty (though still under 10%!) tsaziki dip, which inflated fat intake just a bit. The pass on the 7:30 rule is explained by the pre-pepared meal: Japanese Chicken Curry prepared a couple of days earlier.

10,523 Kjs, 42 gms fat

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = PASS

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = PASS

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = NA


Day Seventeen (Week Three)

Had a few strawberries after 7:30. Strawbs contain very little energy content. But a rule is a rule and I broke it.

9,630 Kjs, 30 gms fat

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = FAIL

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = PASS

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = NA

Day Sixteen (Week Three)

A good day to follow the bad. Did a demo with the badn today, so had to go to Subway to eat something not bad for me. Hence the fail on the bread rule. Also had a quick light nibble when I got home, late at night.

8,616 Kjs, 32 gms fat

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = FAIL

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = FAIL

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = NA

Sunday, January 16, 2005

Day Fifteen (Week Three)

108g fat! The problem here was hanging out at my sister's and having chips with the kids. And you know, it wasn't even the 400g of fat that cost me. It was the two potato cakes whic cost me 44g fat. If I had known that I would have got steamed dim sims instead. We live and learn.

Still, my energy intake was ok, surprisingly. I read in Men's Health recently that if you had to choose between sugar and fat to choose fat because it keeps you satiated for longer. Perhaps this helped.

The after 7:30 snack was just 1/2 a punnet of strawbs. Nothing dramatic, but worth noting.

The bread fail on this occasion was a Subway Veggie Delite. Still a very option, and about my only healthy option, given I was out and about for lunch.

10,042 Kjs, 108 gms fat

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = FAIL

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = FAIL

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = 2 glasses

Week Two - Analysis

Things looke better this week, despite the occasional blowout.

Average Kjs were 9,952 - 5% below the 10,500 Kj limit. Fat intake was 32g, which is in line with what I require to attain a 10% energy intake from fat. Numerically, the big problem was protein intake, which was 18% below the target of 70g.

The 7:30 Rule was again tough to stick to, with only a 3/7 success rate. Alcohol was also an issue, with wine consumed throughout the week in excess of the 1/2 bottle wk requirement.

Day Fourteen (Week Two)

This is the start of a very average couple of days. Kj intake is not too bad, but is in excess of my limit. Fat content is quite high. The reason is the celebration of a monthly-anniversary (if you get my meaning). The other half got home a bit later than would have been required to get in dinner before 7:30. And we had home-made pizza. And some wine.

10,603 Kjs, 57 gms fat (Assumed, see above)

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = FAIL

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = FAIL

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = FAIL

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = FAIL

Friday, January 14, 2005

Day Thirteen (Week Two)

Had by eat out night for the fortnight. Indian it was, and nice too. I did not really count Kjs so I thought it best to go with my max kilos as to not affect the overall averages too adversely. Fat too was not calulated, so I have put it in as 15% of total Kjs.

I am busting to weight myself. I mean, how do I know if all of this is working?

But if it is working and I can hold off the scales until the end of the month then the gain will be more significant, leading to even better motivation. If I am not travelling so well at this stage, I will be demotivated.

Stay off the scales ... stay off the scales ... stay off the scales ... stay off the scales ...

10,500 Kjs, 50 gms fat (Assumed, see above)

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = PASS

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = FAIL

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = NA

Thursday, January 13, 2005

Day Twelve (Week Two)

A chance for a great day was passed up when I ate a small tin of tinned spaghetti. Didn't effect the Kjs or fat so much, but it was after 11pm when I ate it.

Having no problem sticking to the fat limits. Kjs are also towing the line nicely. Protein is a bit of a problem and I am struggling to get in the amounts that I need. Today protein intake was 53 grams. My required intake is at least 70 grams. This is indicative of the whole of this week.

9,955 Kjs, 18 gms fat

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = FAIL

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = PASS

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = NA

Wednesday, January 12, 2005

Day Eleven (Week Two)

That pesky bottle of red is finished now, so there wil be less rules I am susseptible to fail! I would have been better off tipping it down the sink. Still, my Kjs have been satisfactory, even including the wine, so I haven't quite fallen off the wagon.

Also had some after 7:30pm olives. Not fantsastic.

I will say that I have snuch a my skinny pants on for a try. Much better. 11 days ago it was a real effort to get them buttoned up. This morning, they went on without too much trouble.

10,340 Kjs, 31 gms fat

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = FAIL

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = PASS

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = FAIL

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Day Ten (Week Two)

I find myself consuming less and less in energy without really thinking about it. Day 9 was only 8,266 Kjs and 20 gms fat (I know, I forgot to blog it) and today is low again. Actually, day 10 could have been a bit lower, but I had two glasses of wine. I only had the two glasses of wine because I knew I was so much under my daily target of 10,500 Kjs - I am not sure whether I should feel guilty about that or not. Time - in particular 2.5 weeks time, which is what is remaining in the month - my skinny pants and weight will tell.

The down side is that my protein intake is down. My target is 70 grams of protein a day and these low joule days have coincided with very low protein days (about 50 grams). I am concerned this willl have an impact on muscle retention, so if the trend continues this week, I will up the protein ante next week.

9,604 Kjs, 22 gms fat

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = PASS

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = PASS

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = FAIL

Monday, January 10, 2005

Day Nine (Week Two)

Had a great day on the Kjs without really trying. The down side of this is that I was very low on protein (for building and maintaining muscle). Still, given that this first month is about losing mass anyway, I am not overly concerned.

I got a comment from sapere aude who pointed ot that all of this seemed all a bit complicated. I can see how it looks that way. I keep a tick off sheet to help me to keep track of how well I am sticking to The Rules and a spreadsheet to help me keep track of what I am eating and how many Kjs and fat are in each meal. If I get enough requests, I will put a link to it on this blog.

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = PASS

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = NA (Day off)

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = PASS

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = NA

Sunday, January 09, 2005

Day Eight (Week Two)

It was a late start to the day: Breakfast wasn't till 11, lunch wasn't until 5, so Dinner wasn't until 8.

And I got through 3/4 bottles of wine. Oops. But the good news is that, food wise, I was so good that even the wine (at about 2,400 kjs a bottle) did not put me over 10,000 kjs.

9,715 Kjs, 21 gms fat

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = FAIL

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = PASS

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = FAIL

Saturday, January 08, 2005

Week One - Analysis

I only started measuring energy and fat intake on day 4, after having a partial fall off the wagon. Whilst I assume that daus 1-3 were all 'good' days, I have eliminated them from week one calculations because I did not keep any records.

Average Kjs: 11,128. This is not great, but only 6% above my target of 10,500. I am confident that I can get week 2's energy intake levels down to such a level as to bring this result into line by the end of week 2.

Average fat intake: 34 gms. This is just over 10% total energy intake via fat and is a great result considering the 78 gms on day 4 which started this whole energy/fat counting process.

The Rules: I have adhered reasaonably well to The Rules. The 7:30 rule was the main concern with a 3/7 (43%) success rate. Only once was fat consumption an issue.

I am already considering some changes to The Rules to make them more effective. The changes I am contemplating are:

1) No Cheese, No Chocolate, No Nuts, No bread to be combined into a 'No forbidden foods' category. A list of forbidden foods would become the item(s) that must be excluded from the diet. The problem I can see with this is that some forbidden foods are good for you (like nuts, especially almonds) and never eating your favourite food may trigger a binge at some point. I will try to think of a way to structure the rules to allow health levels of 'forbidden' foods.

2) Add the energy and fat counts to The Rules. I need to create the calculation to find one's appropriate energy intake to facilitate weight loss. This figure can then be incorporated into The Rules' tick off sheet.

3) Increas the 30 mins cardio to 45 mins cardio. I heard somewhere (actually, it was the trainer on Channel 9's Extreme Makeover) that the body does not really start burning fat till after 30 mins, so an extra 15 mins might prove helpful.

However, I will not consider making any changes to The Rules until after the first month. The Rules are based on an hypothesis which can only be tested using a consistent methodology.

Day Seven (Week One)

I ended up doing the right thing and had lights all night. It is a fairly small gain and I realise I would have been better off not drinking at all, but a man has to live.

It was a very late night, so the beginning of Day 8 started quite late.

11,550 Kjs, 24 gms fat

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = PASS

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS (and PASS for the whole week. In fact, I did 7)

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = PASS

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA (So far so good. I am due to eat out Indian next week)

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = PASS (Had 6 Hahn Lights @ 2,700 kgs. Hence the very average kj figure above)

Thursday, January 06, 2005

Day Four (Week One)

So I beat the 7:30 blues, but I found some dip in the fridge ... fatty dip with 40 gms of fat in it. And I ate it all! It was at this point I decided to watch my energy and fat intake. For the record - 12,979 Kjs, 77.55 gms fat. The kjs aren't great, but they aren't too bad. But the fat is pretty bad. So you know, I have set targets of 10,500 kjs and 33-50 grams of fat daily for myself. The 10,500 kjs comes from the Men's Health internet site which suggest that is what I should intake in order to lose 1/2 a kilo a week (I am hoping exercise will take care of the rest). The 33-50 grams of fat represents 10-15% of total energy intake, as suggested by the book Fats and Figures.

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = PASS

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = PASS

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = FAIL !!

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = NA

Day Three (Week One)

Man ... the 7:30pm rule is tough! It was only an apple, but it was after 7:30, so I have to put it down as a fail. Oh, by the way, the NA are NAs because they apply to weekly or fortnightly rules. Look for updates at week's / fortnight's end.

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = FAIL

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = PASS

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = NA

Day Two (Week One)

Day two was weight-in day. This was to avoid weighing in with all the heavy food in our guts from a big New Year's session. I weighed in at 88 kgs. Target weight ate the end of the month is 84kgs.

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = FAIL

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = PASS

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = NA

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = NA

Day One (Week One)

I am doing this retrospectively, so I can't tell you why I missed two of The Rules.

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = FAIL

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = PASS

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = FAIL

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = NA

Day Six (Week One)

This is the first real time blog (ie not retrospective). I am busting to weigh myself but I have held off. The thing is I think I am losing weight, but I am not sure. My belt hits a tighter notch than it did before (if only just). And maybe me cheekbones are sticking out a little more. Or maybe I am just trying to rationalise this blind obeying of The Rules!

I am already thinking about day 7. I play in a band and two of our members are leaving for Germany. There will be drinks to be had. Will I pike out and drive (instead of drinking)? Will I drink without restriction? I feel it will be the latter. According to Fats & Figures, 1 stubbie of light beer is 160 kJs ... not too bad. A heavy is 567!. I might have to have a look at a six pack of Hahn lights to see what the damage will be.

Oh, by the way, I have a tip for Melbournians (I live in Melbourne). I am probably the only Melbournian to admin that our whether sucks. So much so it can affect your ability to exercise out in the open. To get around this, go to the Bureau of Meteorology radar site. This is a radar that will show you when rain is due in your area. So even if the skies look a little too grey to go outside, you may find that rain is not due for some hours, allowing you to get some outdoor exercise in.

9,938 Kjs, 34 gms fat

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = PASS

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = PASS

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = NA

Day Five (Week One)

That damn 7:30! I was at a couple of friends' place ... and we can get a bit chatty. I bolted home but didn't get my food in till 8:30.

Oh, by the way, exercise for me usually means walking, but on nice days can also mean riding the push bike. The bike ride is almost always 30 mins. I try to walk for 45 mins. Still, The Rules only require 30 mins, so I will only recognise a pass or fail based on that.

The lower than usual Kjs might be down to the dinner I ate - San Choi Bou (spelling?) and some stir fry vegies. I had no guides as to the energy and fat content so I had to estimate. TIP: It helps to eat things you can measure. Look at the box/packaging before you throw it away and do some calculations based on that.

10,047 Kjs, 26.97 gms fat

Don't eat after 7:30 pm = FAIL

30 mins cardio 6 days / wk = PASS

No cheese = PASS

No chocolate = PASS

No nuts = PASS

No bread = PASS

Nothing in pantry > 10% fat = PASS

Eat out once a f'night = NA

Don't read scales = PASS

1/2 bottle wine p.w. = NA

The Rules

Don't eat after 7:30pm

I never really believed in this rule, I mean fuel in, fuel out, right? I mean, your car uses the same amount of petrol throughout the day no matter what time you drive it. Still, many people with more knowledge than me espouse this approach, so I though it was worth a run

30 minutes cardio 6 days a week

This is a standard. I have read that the body doesn't start buring fat until at least 3o mins exercise. We'll see.

No cheese

No chocolate

No nuts

These are my temptation foods. Cheese is about 20-30% fat. Chocolate is 30-40% fat. Nuts are 50% fat. And I can eat them the live long day. So, they are out.

No bread

I love bread. I even make bread. And I don't mean with a machine. Still, I eat too much of it so it is out. The only exception to this rule is the bread around a wrap. I mean, there are so many healthy wraps around that it is stupid to rule them out.

Nothing in the household with more than 10% fat

My will power at home is weak, but it is strong in the shopping centre. So, I choose not to take any food which could be construed as fatty into my home so the temptation does not exist.

Eat out only once every fortnight

This rule was introduced to keep my better half in check. She loves to eat out and would happily do so three times a week, even though she is a great cook. The problem with eating out is that you can't be sure of what you are eating. I mean, how many Kjs are in your Rogan Josh at your favourite Indian place? Who knows. (As an aside, the better half and I tried to get onto My Restaurant Rules with a concept to get around this problem of eating out. Obviously, it did not get a run)

Don't weigh yourself

This is a move to help keep motivation up. Slight losses in weight may make you think that you are succeeding and don't need to diet an further, even if you are nowhere near your goal. Slight weight gains may make you feel you are failing, which can also make you fall off the wagon

Limit wine intake to half a bottle a week

Personally, I don't think the amount of alcohol that I drink will affect my weight too much. Still, better to be safe than sorry.


A chart was made to help monitor our progress in adhering to The Rules. I will share the results of my chart with you on this blog.

The beginning

It started like so many other weight loss attempts do: as a New Year's resolution. My better half and I were putting on weight and we knew it. When I met her - two-and-a-half years earlier - I was a healthy 83 kgs. By the end of 2004 I was almost 32 years old and, worse, I had ballooned out to 88 kgs.

Part of that had come slowly: the move from 83 kgs to 85 kgs took the better part of two years. But after deciding to work from home my weight had ballooned. In 4 months I had put on another 3 kgs taking me to 88 kgs.

This may all sound rather pedantic. What is a kilo here or there, right? Well for starters, I am 182 cms tall. Roughly, I ought not be more than about 83.5 kgs at any point in time. At least not according to any chart I have seen relating to height / weight stuff.

Another reason is that just 4 years ago I weighed 81 kgs. At that stage, I had been going to gym four days a week for about three years. And I mean every week. I lived in the UK (I am an Australian and currently live back in Oz) and did not own a car., which meant plenty of walking. Sure, I still go to the gym. But not as religiously as I used to. Sure I still walk about. A bit.

But the main reason I look at my weight carefully is that I have previously been very overweight. I was an athletic teenager, but for some reason I stopped doing all the athletic things I used to. Between the age of 17 and 24 I went from 76 kgs to 98 kgs. That is a lot of person.

I wish I could blame genetics or a poor metabolism for this weight gain, but the truth is that I ate like a pig and did no exercise. When my parents came home from grocery shopping I would get stuck into the mini cholocate chip cookies they'd buy. I told myself that a handful wasn't too bad. But years of practice meant that I could fit 13 mini chocolate chip cookies in one hand. I ate cheese half-a-very-large-block at a time using a peeler. I ate a whole tub of Homer Hudson chocolate rock twice a week - on Tuesdays and Thursdays as best I recall.

At the age of 24 I knew I had a problem. Sure I had known for some time that I was overweight, but the snide remarks that reminded me that other people knew too. One day, driving through a shopping centre, I cracked a hissy fit at another driver. I can't remember why, but I am sure it was for no valid reason. I was yelling away at her, using choice profanities, when a guy at an ATM yelled out 'Shut up you fat c!@#!'. Unusually, I was not angry at the guy. Instead, I remember thinking 'I am sitting here in my car and this guy can still tell that I am fat. Boy, I must really be fat.'

Lots of people who lose significant amounts or weight have this point of realisation. I have a friend who once was about to make fun of someone she saw in a shopping centre because the person was fat. Very fat. Just before the words came out she realised she was looking at a mirror. Today, this friend is quite lean.

My car park incident changed things. I did not eat any chocolate chip cookies. I did not eat any chips. I did not eat any cheese. I happened to sell my car and this led to more walking than I was used to. I did not weight myself, though this was more happenstance than by design.

At the age of 25 I decided to join a gym. As part of their assesment of me, I was weighed. The scale stopped at 83kgs. I went from 98 kgs to 83 kgs without really realising it. As far as I could tell, I did not do anything drastic. I just stopped being a pig and a sloth.

For me, losing weight meant a little deprivation and a modicum of exercise, but nothing so drastic as to make the compromises unbearable.

To summarise the last seven years of my life I went from 98 kgs to 81 kgs to 88 kgs. At 88 kgs, I was panicky.

As for my better half, I do not know what she weighed when I met her, though she was a slight, petite girl. I do not know what she weighs now - she will not tell me. She is visibly less slight than she was when I met her.

Both of us find apperance in important, both for ourselves and each other's sake. So we made a vow. The vow, like so many other people's vows that New Year's Eve, was to lose weight. Our difference was that we would not do anything so drastic that we would not be able to adhere to it. Instead, we would encorporate what I knew about good eating from the weight loss experience I had previously and from research I had done subsequently. We would abide by The Rules for one month. My target weight is 84 kgs - or to lose 1 kg a week for that month. My other target is to fit into a pair of pants I have which are the 'I am slim now' benchmark. If I abide by The Rules and meet my targets, The Rules must work.

So what are The Rules then? Read on, my friend ... They are contained in my next blog.