1066 All Stars

Food Diary

Breakfast - 120ml Alove Vera Gel, 2x Garcinia Softgel Tablets, 1x Therm Tablet, water, 300ml Lite Ultra Shake (with skimmed milk)

Lunch - 2x Garcinia Softgel Tablets, 1x Therm Tablet, 300ml Lite Ultra Shake (with skimmed milk)

Dinner - Medium sized jacket potato with turkey steak, grated cheese and side salad (approx. 600 calories), 2x Garcinia Softgel Tablets

Evening - water

Snacks - Fibre packet with water

Free Foods - 1x apple, 2x plums

Drinks - 8 glasses (circa 3l) water

Exercise - 60 minute walk

Weigh In

Last weight - 11st 3lbs

New weight - 11st 1lb

Thoughts

My thoughts are a little scattershot today so this might jump around all over the place.

* I woke up feeling pretty good this morning. I didn’t feel hungry and the shake was well received (the switch to skimmed milk offering no noticeable change to taste), although I did have a small headache, perhaps a reaction to the absence of sugar and caffeine.

* Day 3 weigh in shows 2lbs lost so far. It is difficult not to be disappointed having seen other people achieve drops of 5lbs or so. I expected more, given that I have already achieved this weight with my own eating and exercise plan.

* This disappointment manifests in a few different ways. The first was a fleeting thought of just chucking the whole thing in, wondering if it was a waste of time. Then, I started to think back on the weight I put on over Christmas, the ‘if only’ brigade telling me that if I hadn’t have eaten so much I might already be under 11st. Finally, my mind tells me, ‘hey, you should have eaten more over Christmas, then you might have seen a significant weight loss now and not have been such a miserable git.'

* This mindset also projects forward. Day 3 means the introduction of a proper meal, something I had been looking forward to. Now, that enthusiasm is tempered as the extra calories will potentially cause my weight to standstill or, even worse, increase.

* …and breathe.

* Some context. To start with, these statements are needlessly judgemental. At a starting weight of 11st 3lbs, I am only a couple of pounds above my short term target of 11st. I simply don’t have that much weight to lose which makes it unrealistic to expect the pounds to come dropping off.

* Also I must remember that this is day 3. I have no intention of judging my other goals (skin, mind) until day 9 therefore it is unfair to start judging weight on day 3 in isolation.

* Weight is also just a number, it should be seen in the context of measurements which have seen subtle drops.

* Finally, I must repeat one important fact to myself; this is not a weight loss plan, this is not a weight loss plan, this is not a weight loss plan…

* I was nervous about making it through the work day with its time triggers of when I would usually eat. There were some early morning hunger pangs but these were easily resisted. They were almost like an echo or memory of my daily routine, my body expecting to eat because that’s what I usually did, even though I wasn’t truly hungry.

* I did start to get hungry late morning, the free foods coming to my rescue. There does come a point though where you have to make a choice. You can either sit with the ‘woe is me' feeling of being hungry or just accept that there is nothing more to eat right now. A reminder then that part of this plan is about breaking old, unhealthy habits and establish new, healthier alternatives. The shake for lunch, when I would usually have my biggest meal of the day, was tasty and satisfying and in fact allowed me to fit in virtually an entire lunch break of walking as I could have the shake at my desk. I actually found myself looking forward to it, knowing I was having something filling but not fattening.

* Despite everything noted above, I am really positive. I have a tangible sense that I am taking control of my health and wellbeing. Whatever number the scales may conjure, I feel pretty good about that.

* A noticeable positive; my energy levels and concentration appear much improved. I am often tired during the day at work but today I felt energised, right through the afternoon and into the evening. It will be interesting to monitor if this is situational or recurrent.