25kg to lose

Day 2 - The curry of temptation

2007-07-24T11:13:00.001+01:00

OK, so I did not survive last nights curry feast. After standing in the kitchen for an hour with Emmas curry simmering beside me, the temptation was just too much and I had to have a second helping. So wasted effort yesterday.

Back on the wagon today. The only known blip on the radar is the after-work drinks on Thursday. This penguin might be harder to shift than the last one.

Day 1 of Penguin 2

2007-07-23T12:34:00.000+01:00

For the last few weeks I have been just eating sensibly and keeping the exercise up. The result is that I have maintained the lower weight of 105kg for several weeks without doing anything drastic.

Another week, another penguin. This week I will try to break the 100kg barrier. Jack is away at summer camp until Saturday so it seems like a good chance to have a push. Tonight I am going to Emma's place for curry and Thursday night there are drinks after work. Other than these exceptions I should be able to do a week of Modifast meals with morning and afternoon walks, weights and swimming.

Day 11 - Ups and Downs

2007-06-28T23:56:00.000+01:00

Last night I managed to swim another 3.5Km. A huge effort given I did a light weights work out during the day. Another perfect day as far as eating is concerned with no slips. Was really happy with how the day had gone.

Then came the night. I woke at 4 in the morning with a numb left arm and a ache in my chest. My pulse was weak and erratic. Not a good sign. As with most men, I put it down to some muscular ache and got out of bed, went to the loo then downstairs for a drink. After a while it settled down and I went back to bed. This morning I looked it up on the web. The symptoms seem to point to Prinzmetal's angina which usually appears at rest, "typically when asleep, waking the patient". Not a good thing. So no coffee today and I ate a normal lunch and dinner. Treatment is usually by a course of nitrates as it is not due to a blockage like normal angina but seems to be linked to a chemical imbalance. I should probably have been doing less exercise.

My theory is that with a couple of normal meals, I should be back on track and then start again tomorrow, with a little less exercise. If it happens again, I might have to brave the NHS.

As a consequence, I have created an emergency call list including both London and Australian numbers. Tomorrow I will circulate this, including to the school, after-school care, neighbours and, of course, everyone on the list.

Day 10 - The penguin lives

2007-06-27T09:42:00.000+01:00

Wednesday morning and a solid 104. The penguin lives!

The next marker is the magic 100Kg. The Ton. The Big One. The 3 digit club.

Going to do more weights today plus swimming tonight. Doubt I will get the 3.5 Km of Monday night as the weights seem to sap my endurance. Will give it a good try though.

Long live the Penguin

Day 9 - Side effects

2007-06-26T14:28:00.000+01:00

Arse firmly back on the wagon and I am feeling the first of the side effects. Have a headache and am excessively cold. Need to put my jacket on in the office and my hands feel icy. Both of these I have had before as the body gets used to the lower calories and increased water. I think the headaches are made worse by the addition of coffee. Had a black coffee today and while it was drinkable, I really prefer it with some milk. With the headache I have now, I might have to cut it out all together for a while.

I have also had a little Eczema on my right hand. Looks almost like burn marks. I thought that was what they were at first. These started at the end of last week and after eating on Saturday night and Sunday morning, seem to have settled down. I will definitely keep an eye on this. Could be a show stopper.

For now it is headache tablets and 'suck it up'.

The big swim

2007-06-25T23:31:00.000+01:00

Had a great zero slip day. Shakes at all the right times and no evil foods. I did not do much weights as I was finishing up some work and had the Gas Men in the kitchen for a good portion of the day.

Tonight I made up for it by managing a 3.5 Km swim. Did it in 500 m sets every 9 minutes with a minute rest between. Absolutely shattered now though. Feel very drained. Hopefully going to resurrect the penguin soon.

Day 8 - Death of a Penguin

2007-06-25T11:38:00.000+01:00

Monday morning and the reality of the weekend staring at me from the scales. The penguin was slain. I buckled under the overwhelming pressure of the Hunt BBQ. Burgers, mushrooms, prawns... I am only human. I did stick to water, rather than beer and avoided the bread.

The following morning, we had left overs for breakfast.. Yum.

As we were out on Sunday, the vote was for KFC for lunch. I managed to avoid this completely and just had my optifast bar and some of the lettuce from Jacks burger. I did drink some soft-drink, but tried to stick to the diet variety.

Dinner on Sunday night was pizza as usual and I had a few pieces and some chicken nuggets.

The upshot of all of this was a 1 kg jump on the scales this morning. I had only just reached 105 and this morning, after all the slip ups of the weekend, I had only put back 1 kg. Not too bad.

Today, of course, I am fully back on the wagon. The penguin will live again soon.

Day 5 - First marker

2007-06-23T09:52:00.000+01:00

Hooray. Hit the first mark of 105kg this morning. Stood on the scales 3 times to make sure. I know this is a small victory and that it is only water loss, but I am on the way.
I am now carrying 5 Kg (or 11 pounds) less around. Which is the average weight of an Adélie Penguin. Why a penguin I hear you ask, well it is the first thing that pops to my mind when I think of 11 lbs.

My plan for swimming today has come undone as I see there is a text from Emma sent at 4am saying she was still not in bed. Jack and I will go it alone.

The biggest threat to the penguin though, is the BBQ today at Greenhithe. Save The Penguin will be my battle cry.

Day 4 - Mexican no Eaty

2007-06-22T11:48:00.000+01:00

Had Tony and Emma over last night for Tacos. Apart from a few corn chips, I managed to keep myself pure. YAY.. Big thanks to Emma and Tony for being understanding. Emma is on Day 4 of giving up smoking. Keep the faith girl!! We are cheering for you.

I tried the scales this morning, but they were being stubborn. Still 106. Will push hard today with lots of water and weights to see if I can crack 105 tomorrow.

Planning to go swimming on Saturday morning, then another temptation session planned for the afternoon. Going to Greenhithe to see good friends Steve and Michelle. They are planning a BBQ. I can smell it already.

Day 3 - Night Survival

2007-06-21T09:54:00.000+01:00

Managed to avoid dinner last night but for a chicken nugget, only to have a glass of Cider in the evening. Not a huge blowout, but enough on a zero tolerance diet. Scales this morning came in at 106 Kg. Only 1 Kg to go to hit the first of my 5 markers.

Went swimming last night and managed 2.5Km though I did notice that my speed and stamina were definitely down. I put that down to the weights I had been doing throughout the day and the fact that I am in the first stages of the diet.

Have Tony and Emma coming for dinner tonight. Already thinking of the temptation of eating with them. I can survive the mornings and days almost without trying, but as has always been the case, the nights are my nemesis. Emma knows of the diet so I may get a reprieve. Only 1 Kg to go.. Have to focus on that.

Day 2

2007-06-20T13:14:00.000+01:00

Didn't go for run this morning. Woke up with my arms and legs like lead. Too sleepy. I am working from home today, so I have been setting the Oven timer for every 30 minutes and been doing weights; alternating between arms, legs and stomach.

Feeling very sluggish though, plus now my arms and legs are quivering.

Fat and in London

2007-06-19T15:52:00.001+01:00

Here I am in London. A year after I arrived, I have suffered 13 Heathrow Injections and am now due back at the Optifast Alter of self-starvation. This was not meant to be a regular thing, but here we are again. Starting weight is 110 Kg so I have 25Kg to lose. I am going to tackle it in 5 Kg pieces this time. My first goal is to get to 105.

While here I have been swimming 2-3 times a week. I swim for nearly an hour and have usually manage 2.5 KM with the odd 3KM for good measure. I have also been doing a very sporadic weight work out. This will have to become a set programme, rather than just doing a few reps every now and again.

On top of the swimming and weights, I found the best way to supplement the torture of quitting food was to go for a half hour walk every morning, or as often as possible. This means getting up earlier which is against my religion, but so is being a whale. If I can just do it tomorrow morning, then I am on the road.

So that's it. Lets get starving again.

Last Entry for now..

2006-03-16T13:40:00.000Z

This will be my last entry for this blog. I have enjoyed writing here and the diet did work. I lost 18 Kg in 12 weeks and have managed to keep 12 off over the last 3 months.

There main reason for killing this blog is the name. FatStew was meant as an outlet to ensure I stayed on a pretty strict diet program and as such it was pretty one-dimensional. It is also not the most positive name and so I have created a new blog called PapaStew which I feel more comfortable with and where I can blog about much more interesting things than starvation.

I hope you have all enjoyed my many musings and will read PapaStew if you get a chance.

Thanks once more for all your support.

London or Bust

2006-02-21T22:56:00.000Z

So here goes. I am moving from Brisbane to London. How is that for a reward? Ok. It doesn't count as a reward as I am going regardless. I was thinking of giving someone my passport with a goal weight no-return policy, but whoever I gave it to would cave and give it back.

Regardless, I am back on track and determined to drop another 23 Kg. I am currently 108 so I have crept back up from my last drop off point. Observant people will point out that this is still 2kg heavier than my original goal, but hang it. I want to succeed rather than miss and give up.

In terms of the trip to London, I have passports for myself and my son, and the tickets are bought and paid for. I am leaving on the 23rd of June and will be having a farewell bash on Saturday the 17th of June... All invited. There will be "green death"as well as the usual fun things.

Back to the Optifast diet; this is day 3. Day one was marred by headaches, even after waterpolo. As required, I am not exercising this week to ease into it.

Congratulations to AB who is also losing his shadow and had dropped 15kg when I last spoke to him. Congrats also to all the others I have spoken to in the last few weeks who are fighting gravity. Don't give up and let the Earth win.

A better reward

2006-02-02T04:46:00.000Z

As suggested by Jodi, the final reward was just not inspiring enough. While I will need a new wardrobe once I reach goal, this was just not interesting enough for me to push the limits.

So here is the new goal. Target weight = Overseas trip. I am in the process of organising passports for my boy, so this is a real possibility. More than a possibility, this is a done deal. Using this as an aid to the diet thing might just be enough to help me stick to it.

Today I had coffee with my Dad rather then lunch. It helped that he is also on a diet, so it suited both of us. Interesting side note, when I mentioned to Dad that I might be going overseas, his reaction was that he would miss my son. Not really a big deal, but interesting that this was his first reaction.

I slept in this morning and missed the walk and because of coffee with Dad, I didn't go for a swim either. I will have to go for a walk later tonight. Now that I have a goal to focus on, maybe I can do what is required.

See previous round

2006-02-01T06:03:00.000Z

So I find myself back up to 108 and not happy about it. Seems that when I took the break over Christmas, there was not a lot of change. In fact my weight only went up by 2 Kg. Since then I have been trying to get back into the swing of things and failing. Failing sounds OK when you think that having a complete only had a small influence on the weight. So trying to be good and failing should be somewhere between being on-track and on-a-break. NOT SO...

Doing the thing half-hearted is damaging in more ways than one. Firstly you get the start-up headaches etc again and again. Worse than that, it appears that doing it half-hearted is worse than not doing it at all. Bugger...

Is this what others on this have found? If you are not strong enough, or circumstances prevent you from devoting yourself to this fully, you could be worse off than if you just ate sensibly.

I have been down the pool swimming laps every day this week. This morning I also went for an hour walk as well. According to the HRM, I expended 640 Kcal this morning walking and 751 Kcal at lunchtime swimming. According to the Optifast Packaging, each one is 152Kcal which makes a perfect day 456Kcal. Effectively that gives me a 935Kcal deficit before you take into account that it takes energy just to survive.

Surely this means that the energy must come from fat reserves. Here's hoping.

So far this week there has been minimal cheating. 2 pickled onions and 2 slices of toast with extra-light cream-cheese. (The Helgas bread had to be eaten.) Now there is no obvious temptations in the house. I still struggle with sitting at the table while my boy struggles through dinner. I guess this is my biggest trial at the moment.

Day 2 - Zero Tolerance week continues

2006-01-17T02:00:00.000Z

Went home last night and fell into bed and slept for half an hour. Got up and did some bouncing. (Tramampomoline for Christmas) and crashed about 9.30. This is an unheard of time for me to go to bed and I was up at 5.30 as a result. I don't mind the early to bed, early to rise thing. It makes it easier to go for a walk in the morning. Something I should probably get in the habit of, rather than staying up till 1 or 2 in the morning.

So... Anyone else hungry?

First challenge - Birthday Lunch

2006-01-16T01:30:00.000Z

Only a few hours into the program and I am reaching a hiccup. Lunch with a friend for his birthday. THE PLAN: Have my shake before I go and order a diet coke. Wherever we go, that will be available and no cheating. ZERO TOLERANCE.

Underestimate and fail

2006-01-15T22:30:00.000Z

Wow.. That was an experience. I completely underestimated how hard is was to restart the program. I didn't lose any weight and in fact put on 2 Kgs. I was still recovering from my illness which was leaving me very tired. I just couldn't get myself out of bed in the morning to go for a walk. I even took Friday off work, partly because I was so tired through the week. Sickness aside, the reason I couldn't stick to it was that I didn't give it the respect it deserves. I thought that I could coast through it again. Guess not.

In order to start and stick to this program, you have to be committed. Totally committed. (Many people say I should be.) No luke-warm, half-hearted attempts. You have to be ready to suffer and have the program in mind at every hiccup point in the day. The hiccup points are the times when you are most likely to slip. For me that is in the evenings. It is easy to be strong in the morning, it is even pretty easy to be strong at lunch time. Where the rubber meets the road is when you get home and are presented with temptations or when you go out with friends for a meal.

No temptation should be taken too lightly. Each evening is going to be a struggle and each outing a challenge. It does get easier after the first few weeks, but there is no denying that the first week is a kicker.

I know the benefits, I know why I am doing it, but when the temptation hits, it is easy to start questioning your reason. Why would I do something so silly, lets just eat.

And so another week begins and another chance to do the program. This week I am going for total commitment. Zero tolerance. For me, this is the only way I can stick to it in the early stages. The original reason for this blog was to vent my frustrations and keep me on track. Guess I will have to use it again.

Lets go.. Zero Tolerance for a lighter 2006.

Week 1 - Again? or just a New Year

2006-01-08T22:28:00.000Z

My last entry was on the 28th of November in 2005 and it is now the 9th January 2006. I was planning on starting again last Monday, but I was very sick and spent the entire week asleep in bed.

So how bad was Christmas for you? Did you stack on the weight? Hope Santa was good to you.

For me, I did put on some weight. I weighed in last Monday at 106Kg which I thought was not too bad seeing I had only been exercising a few times in over that time. I no, I didn't count eating, drinking, shopping and opening presents as exercise, though my 6 year old burned a few calories ripping paper on Christmas morning.

This morning the scales were even more kind showing only 104 Kg. So this is the starting point for this phase of the operation. I still have more than half-way to go from the original starting point. Where will I end up this time? I am still going for the 83 Kg to get the supposed normal BMI. The first 12 weeks got me 18Kg lighter, so is it possible to lose 21 in the second 12 weeks?

Will I lose 4 Kg in the first week like I did in week one? That would be good. One week to be make up for the 4 I slipped. I am not upset at having the break. It was interesting to see how my weight would fluctuate with a 'normal' diet and lower exercise total. I am happy with the result. With a little more exercise I am sure that I would have maintained rather than increased. This is promising for when I get the magic number. It means I may even be able to maintain the correct weight for longer than a week.

Thanks for to all those who have bugged me to get started again. I am extremely blessed to have so many friends who help kick me in the arse.

Week 11 - What a difference a week makes.

2005-11-28T12:10:00.000Z

So how much do you regain if you have a week of eating and no exercise. The answer is 2 Kgs. Today I weighed in at 100 Kg again. Back in the ton club. Not thrilled with that, but it could have been worse. The next experiment is to see how hard it is to get back on course.

Today being day one was quite easy, though it was not a fantastic start. My best mate left for Ireland and we sent him off with Pizza. Very tasty pizza. I was not starving nor did I desperately want it, so I guess the first few days might go easily.

I guess it is only fair that I put this picture up. This is how much a week of no exercising and proper food has cost me. I am now running, walking and.. well.. everything else, with this extra weight. Walking starts tomorrow morning and swimming will start this week as well. Lucky me.

Day 76 - A week resting

2005-11-26T01:00:00.000Z

OK. So I was sick on Monday and it has been raining in Brisbane all week. The upshot is that I have been eating normally, although in small amounts and not exercising. In effect, having a week off. I got my suits back from the tailor and they look much better now. I stood on the scales yesterday morning and they registered 98 Kg. This is an unofficial weighing but it seems that having a week off has not been too disastrous.

Next week I will have to get back into it but the week off has been good for my spirits and not too bad on the waistline.

Thanks for all the support comments added to the blog. I am interested in who else has a 12 week make-over blog. If you post the blog name I will upload it, or you can send it to me if you want to keep it more private.

I am interested in seeing how hard it will be to start up again now that I have been resting and eating. Will the exercise be as hard as the first time? Will I get headaches and hunger pains? Or will it be a lot easier to get back on the horse?

Week 10 - 20kg and ready to quit

2005-11-21T12:10:00.000Z

So here I am, 20Kg lighter than when I started (that's 118-98 for those who don't remember) and I am ready to throw in the towel. I have been crook today, but I am so over this. I went for a run this morning and headed back after only 20 minutes. Like I said, I was not feeling great but I think that was only part of it. I have never been a runner and going out every morning is crushing me. Ok, so maybe its the tummy bug talking. Maybe that's why I lost the last few kg too. I fell off the wagon on the weekend and thought I would be back in triple figures.

I have also noticed that no-one joined in the stretching. Am I doing this by myself again? Has everyone else seen sense and chucked in the towel? How do you find motivation when you are the only goose still pushing on?

I took my suits in to the tailor last Friday to have them altered. I was starting to look like a boy who had borrowed his Dads suit. I am committed to not putting the weight back on, but I am finding Act 2 even harder than the first half. I know I look better for the loss, even people on the track have commented, but each day is getting harder.

If anyone is still reading this and has something constructive, please add it. What I really need is a cattle-prod to stop me from whining so much.

Day 66 - Needing a rest

2005-11-16T10:50:00.000Z

So how are you all going? Are you sick of this already? I know I am, but I will keep on going and I hope you will too.

This morning it was pouring when I woke up and I didn't go for a run. Not because it was raining, I can always use the treadmill though I hate that, but because I was too sore to run. Last night my whole body was aching so much that I had to lie down for half and hour. I had pushed myself too hard with the Sunday run. So instead of running this morning I slept a little and then did a big stretching session. I have been ignoring my stretching for about a week and I felt much better after a good stretch. I also felt like I had a lot more energy. I guess that was because my body was expecting to be sweating it out on the track instead of just sitting and stretching.

Are you doing the stretching you should? LIAR!! You are not. None of us do enough stretching. Much of our back, neck, shoulder and everywhere-else pain comes from overly taut muscles. So stand up where you are right now and touch your toes. How did you go on a scale of 1 to 10? 10 being you can comfortable rest your nose on your knees with your palms flat on the ground and 1 being "toes? I have toes?".

When I start stretching I am usually a 3 (I pull up about 3 inches from my toes). When I finish stretching I am about a 6 (I can wrap both hands around my feet at the same time). Remember to do your quads, stomach, and chest. All the big muscles. (No Murray! Put it away; that is not a muscle.)

Send in a comment on how you feel now and another on how you feel after doing a 10 minute stretch, 3 times a day for 2 days. I will do the same as I know I need it.

And as for my slackness this morning, don't despair. I went for an hour run tonight to make up for it. No rest for the wicked. (or should that be blubber enhanced)

Week 9 - Half way there

2005-11-14T12:03:00.000Z

Well it is three weeks late but this morning the scales registered 100 Kg. Strange that although I wanted to get out of the tonne club, I was focusing on the magic number 100. I should have been focusing on 99. Oh well. Either way, I am over halfway there with 18 Kg behind me and only 17 left to go. Phew...

At this point I would like to thank the following in no particular order.

Piglet for joining me in the early days of shaking.
4Q for helping keep me sane in the first few weeks.
Jodi for insightful comments.
Andre for giving me a focus other than food.
Muzzle for the humour.
S&K for general support and helping feed boy when I was to lazy to cook.
The other S&K for putting up with Drunk Stew around the world.
R&J for being there when I needed you.
M&M for letting Hunter keep me on the straight and narrow on Sunday mornings.
SJ for being a little tower of strength.
JMF for pushing the limits (its 100 cm as well)
C&R for always being there.
And anyone else I cannot think of due to being so skinny...

I have been exceedingly lucky to be blessed with very supportive friends and family which has made all the difference. I guess the blog helped as people have seen not only the results, but the journey and been understanding.

Now that the pleasantries and backslapping is over, it is time to get serious about Act 2. While I did reach the target it took 3 weeks longer than anticipated. I can write off 2 weeks to life's hiccups and the 3rd week to the fact that the original goal was 30Kg. Halfway should have been 15Kg not 18Kg.

While the hiccups may not repeat, the extra weight I have to lose will. So I have 17 Kg to lose and 6 weeks before Christmas. Not that I plan on bingeing at Christmas, but it is the temptingest time of the year. If I managed to push hard through Christmas then I could reach goal by New Years, though I know from experience that the last few Kilos do not budge lightly. It's kind of like the more you lose the more time the weight has been there and the more stubborn it is to move.

What the hell. I will keep on through to Christmas and see how I pull up. I am now exercising 8 hours a week(In the zone of course). 1 hour a day and 2 hours on Sunday. Adding Sunday increased my weekly total by 30% which was the push for halfway, though those that saw me on Sunday will agree that I was not at my most chipper.

Anyway.. Thanks everyone for the support so far and keep tuning to FatStew..

Day 61 - Old Habits and New Habits

2005-11-11T00:45:00.000Z

Thanks for all those who commented. I especially liked the suggestion for the Nordic goddess. While I admit that the halfway reward sounds better than the final reward, I figured there was no point in buying new clothes while I am still dropping in size. Also I was not sure where the final mark will be. I have set it at 83 Kg as this is the highest weight that the BMI scale says is healthy, but I am not confident in hitting that mark. Partly because it is quite low but mostly because it is so far from where I started.

Finding it hard to get motivated? Staying in bed an extra half hour rather than sweating like a pig? I can't imagine why that would be...

It is now more than 60 days since I started this odyssey and I wanted to talk a little about habits. I have been walking for one hour in the target zone for 6 days a week for more than 3 weeks now. The experts will tell you that it takes 2-3 weeks for an action to become a habit, but I can tell you that after 3 weeks, I am still forcing my lazy arse out of bed and onto the track or treadmill. For a couple of days last week I actually woke up and got out of bed without too much difficulty, but this week has been a push every day. So if you are finding it hard to get into an exercise habit, just remember that you only have to do it today. Tomorrow is another day, but don't worry about that. Just do it today, now.. What are you waiting for.. Get out there.. Come to think of it, I should be out there as well. CYA.

Week 8 - The Ton Club

2005-11-07T02:14:00.000Z

It is now week 8 and the scales are still going down, though slowly at the moment. This is due in part to an active social life. On Saturday night I was drinking home brewed ginger beer at a mates place. Very nice. I am keen to hear how other shakers are going. Weight today was 102 Kg. That is 16 Kg from the starting point and time to see the milk bottles again.

I have been in the ton club (over 100 kg) for quite a while and now that the needle is hovering so close to that magic mark I think I will make a big effort to hit the mark this week. It is only another 2 Kg away and with a focused effort I reckon I can crack it. I will have to put in a big effort the following week as I don't want to drift back into it. This will be a big milestone in the blog. I was hoping to have reached it earlier, but reaching it at all is a good achievement.

I had set this as a reward level and was going to look into buying a motorbike once I had reached it. As an added incentive, I would have to sell it if I drifted back into the club. I am not sure about this now. What do you think? Should this be the reward or is there something else I should do? The reward for the goal weight is a new set of clothes so it cannot be that.

Day 54 - Step up the pace

2005-11-04T01:48:00.000Z

Congratulations to those brave souls who have come out of the closet and are public shakers. I was hoping that a few more people that I know are shaking would put their details up, but maybe that is a bit scary. I know for myself that being a public shaker is much easier than doing it in secret. There is more support and people tend to look at you less strangely when they know you are not embarrassed by it.

I have had to step the pace up on my daily walking. I was rained out today but managed 45 minutes in the zone before I was forced back indoors. I guess the success you have with this diet is like anything else you try. Your success is inversely proportional to the excuses you will accept from yourself. This morning I could have stayed in bed. It was raining and I have a split in my foot that was making it painful to walk. I have a goal though and do not accept these things as excuses.

Don't I sound like the reformed fatty. I think that is even worse than the reformed smoker. I preach here but no where else. I don't want to be one of those people who take the fun out of eating a double-dipped extra-large donut by saying "Do you know how much fat is in that?". But here I can get on my soapbox and you can ignore me if you want.

Anyway, what I was going to say was that I have stepped up the walking to a light jog. I am trying to keep thumper ticking along higher than 125 bmp. This is only 5 higher than before, but it means I start jogging sooner. I have not changed the setting on the watch so I only get the annoying beeps if it gets down under 120. This is much more enjoyable and results in my punching the watch less. ("Stupid watch") How is your exercise going? Are you starting to see the worrying signs of fitness?

Week 7 - Grinding on

2005-10-30T23:32:00.000Z

Well done to those who are shaking their way to a better figure. I am grinding on and have now reached the staggering weight of 105 Kg. :-( I did weights 3 times this week and am hoping that this is some of the reason that I only lost 1 kg last week. It couldn't be the wedding I went to on Saturday night where I ate yummy food. Nor could it be the 2 hotdogs I ate on Sunday followed by a BBQ at my brothers. Do you get the feeling I need to get refocused?

I am a bit disappointed at the level of response from the shakers out there. I know there are more of you than the brave people who have already left their comments. Come on!! Don't wither away in private.

I have been asked by a few people about the heart rate monitor that I use. I have had a few different brands and can only recommend one; Polar. There are a swag of models and more features than you can shake a stick at. The only thing I use in mine is the set target zone and the time in zone. Most these days have an "Own Zone" feature, but I found that too distracting. I set the zone on my watch to 120 min - 160 max and leave it at that. It makes it easy to use. I strap it on in the morning, hit go and run till it stops beeping. (It beeps when you are under or over the set zone limits) I then walk till it beeps again, then do a small run to maintain the zone. When it says 60 minutes in the zone, I head home. Easy.

If you are looking for a heart rate monitor, I will keep an eye out for any good deals. If you find a good deal, then make sure you let us all know.

Day 47 - Loud and Proud

2005-10-28T04:18:00.000+01:00

It has come to my attention that there are a few closet shakers out there. If I can bear the burden of public scrutiny, then so can you. So cast off the cloak of anonymity and tell the world that you are a shaker and proud of it.

OK. So maybe you don't have to give your name, but I would like to hear from others out there who are on the all-you-can-drink (as long as its water or diet shakes) diet. Let me know the following. (I have written out mine so you can copy it into your own comments and just fill in the details.

Name: Stewart Fleming AKA Fat Stew (Optional if you are chicken)
Date Started: 12 September 2005 - 6 Weeks so far.
Start weight: 118 kg
Current weight: 106 kg (12 Kg down so far)
Weigh in day: Mondays (In the morning after my walk and a shower)
Goal weight: 83 Kg
Weight to lose: 35 Kg
Shakes per day: 3 x Optifast (well I will be back on Optifast once I finish the Optislim rubbish)
Current exercise: Walking for 1 hour/day in target zone. (120-160 bpm)
Biggest temptation: Potato chips (I crave the salt) & Evening times.
Goal reward: Nothing but spandex. :-) New wardrobe (and some clothes too) and a motorbike. I love losing skin.

So there you go. Copy the above if you are a shaker and let the world know you can shake with the best of them.

Day 44 - And on and on

2005-10-25T07:26:00.000+01:00

One thing about this diet is that you see results. As regular readers know, I have never claimed that this is a lifestyle, but more a remedial solution to an existing problem. As such it works and works well with the occasional speed bump presented by life. (Getting sacked and Indy.) The lifestyle part comes later and involves eating smaller amounts of better quality food and maintaining a regular exercise regime.

I appreciate the comments put forward on yesterdays question about the huge amount I have now fallen behind. As crazy as it sounds, I am tempted to throw it in and go back to eating. It was only a small temptation, but the desire to start eating again is pretty strong. I will take your advice and go hard for another 6 weeks. I am sure that I will not reach the goal in that time, but every Kg I drop is one less holding me back.

I had the opportunity the other day to purchase a similar product from the chemist. This one was called OptiSlim. The boxes are the same shape, the information on them is in the same spots, but this one was $2 per box cheaper. I didn't buy it for price but more for curiosity. I have heard that curiosity killed the cat, but in this case, it merely poisoned it. These should only be taken by people who love powdery half-cut chocolate muck. It is fowl. I will drink them as punishment for failing to stick to what I know, but I will not enjoy a single one. If you want to do this diet, pay the extra few dollars to get the real one. It may not be fine cuisine, but compared to the recycled toilet water the other brands offer, it is a delight to the palate.

Week 6 - Time heals all wounds

2005-10-19T00:37:00.000+01:00

It has now been 4 weeks since I was thrown from the bike and the wounds are healing nicely. I have created some before and after photos so you can see the difference a few weeks can make.

I spent the weekend at the Indy 300 on the Gold Coast and was presented with evil food options. In fact the food there was totally crap. The best on offer was the Four'nTwenty pies, so the weigh in today was always going to be bad. 106 kg. Same as the last 2 weeks. I was surprised that it was not worse than that, but I did spend most of the Indy weekend walking and sweating. I swam in the surf for about 1.5 hours on Saturday and Sunday, but I ate meat pies and other rubbish. Guess it all evened itself out.

I am still at a loss with regard to employment or my lack thereof. I still come up with ideas for the product I was working on, but cannot do anything about them now. Their loss I guess. It is time to let it go and move on. I will begin to start looking for work again this week.

The goal of this diet was to lose 35 kg in 12 weeks. This was always going to be a stretch goal as even with medical assistance I only managed 28 Kg in 12 weeks last time. So now that I am half way through my 12 weeks and have only managed to lose 12 Kg, I am supposedly going to lose 23 Kg in the next 6 weeks. This would be a stupid target if I wanted to retain my health, so what to do? Give me your thoughts? How much extra should we add to my sentence for my indiscretion? 2 weeks? 4 weeks? An extra 4 weeks would take me through to the end of 2005.

Week 5 - Nothing to lose

2005-10-16T23:20:00.000+01:00

Well, I fell off the wagon on the weekend and weighed in this morning at 106 kg. Same as last week. I couldn't sleep and spent the weekend looking like a lost puppy. I guess I am not as easy going about the loss of my job as I made out on Friday. It was hard to get out of bed this morning and I spent 10 minutes just thinking about what to wear. I really wanted to put on my suit and go to work. I really was enjoying the focus that work was affording me. I liked that I had a job to do and that I could do it really well. I know that in the end it is just a job, but I was enjoying working with people who wanted results. Results that I could deliver.

I did not walk on the weekend as it rained all weekend. Great for drought burdened Queensland and kind of indicitive of my mood. This morning I will go for a walk and try to undo the damage of the weekend. It is hard to keep motivated with the diet when I feel so crap. My drive and ambition were all tied to the project I had been assigned. I guess it will take time to redirect my thoughts in another direction. If anyone needs a slightly used IT manager...

Day 33 - So long and thanks for all the fish

2005-10-14T04:44:00.000+01:00

Well today has been an interesting day. I have purposely not written about work here as this was about my diet. But today, after 5 months working for my company, I was sacked without warning or notice. I was asked to take all information off my laptop, hand over all passwords and leave. I guess there can be no confusion in that. Feedback from management up until today was that things were going well and that I should just keep doing what I was doing. Guess I am still in shock. Kind of puts a downer on your day.

So where does that leave the diet? There is no excuse for falling off the wagon. For the last month I have stuck to it and seen very good results. I expect that with more free time on my hands I will have to be careful not to be around food. It would be all too easy to use this as an excuse and have a meal, but one leads to two and I am better than that.

For those wondering, no, I have no idea what I will do now. I was enjoying the challenges of the job even though some of the tasks were a stretch. I believed that I could make the company a large amount of profit and still do. I cannot believe that I am sitting at home writing this. If anyone knows of an IT job going in Brisbane, please let me know.

Day 32 - An hour a day

2005-10-13T01:01:00.000+01:00

Wow. I cannot believe that I have been doing this for a month already. I am now definitely in full swing with a 60 minute walk every morning. I am still able to keep to a brisk walk as long as I start with a jog and wake up Thumper.

It is interesting to see the type of people on the track. I would have to say that I am one of the youngest out there and I am no spring chicken. (No rude comments you lot.) Is it that when you get old, you like getting up at sparrow fart and going for a walk? Or is it that going for a walk every morning is a very good way of making it to old age. Maybe getting up early and walking makes you prematurely old and these poor old specimens are actually young folk who have spent too much time on the track. I may have to keep an eye on this.

I am finding that I am tired through the day. Could be that I am getting less sleep or that I have little spare energy after my walk. Either way, it is only 10 am and the floor under my desk is looking very comfortable. Thump Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

4 Weeks - Stay on target, stay on target.

2005-10-10T00:05:00.000+01:00

Weigh in this morning and the scales are reading an amazing 106 Kg. So that is 12 Kg in 4 weeks. The target was to lose 35 Kg in 12 weeks. One third of the way and I am right on target.

Went walking for an hour on Saturday, Sunday and this morning. Saturday was a lovely day, everything went well. My walk on Sunday was nothing like that. Thumper just did not want to cooperate. Nearly every lap around the track I had to break into a jog. Not a pleasant walk at all. This morning (Monday) everything was cool. Into the zone very quickly and stayed there for the whole hour.

As I have said, my indispensable trainer is the heart rate monitor. Without that, my Sunday walk would have been a waste of time but a lot more enjoyable.

Success breeds success. Losing 12 Kg in 4 weeks means I have a lot at stake and am not going to fall off the wagon. It also means that my exercise is easier on all my bits. I am not saying that this approach is right for everyone, but for me, if I can see the scales going down and my belt tightening, then I will keep going. Mind you, had there been a low flying duck around on Saturday night, he would have been going home crotchless.

Day 26 - I'm counting the beat 2 3 4 5

2005-10-07T00:15:00.000+01:00

The heart is a wonderful thing. For years people have referred to Little Stew as having a mind of his own and from the age of 16 till ... well ... now, that may be true. But my heart (Thumper) really does march to a different drum to my mind. Sometimes it will jump up and beat like crazy and other days it will want to stay in bed even though I am running around the track.

The reason I bring this up is that while doing the program at the Wesley, I was told that there is a magic fat-burning heart rate. Now before you take my word as Gospel, there is probably tons of info on this, but what I was told was that, for me, if I keep Thumper going between 120 and 160 beats/minute then I was burning fat. Any faster and I was burning sugar and increasing fitness. Any slower and I was just enjoying the walk but with little benefit.

My training buddy is a heart rate monitor from polar. As the weight drops, I curse the thing more and more as I have to jog more to keep Thumper above the lower limit. But without this little device, I would not know whether I was performing in the right zone. Some mornings it takes me 10 minutes to get into the zone so that I can drop back to a walk. Other days I am in the zone as soon as I leave the house.

This morning I walked for an hour in the zone. I try for 30-40 minutes per day, but will walk mornings and nights for 30-40 minutes in case I get to tired or life gets in the way and I cannot go out either night or morning. That way I don't feel guilty if I sleep in or there is too much fun to be had in the evenings. This is a critical part of the program and without my training buddy, I don't think I would get the prolonged results required to hit the target.

Day 24 - Lets go for a walk

2005-10-05T05:18:00.000+01:00

Hooray. Went for a 30 minute walk last night and 40 minutes this morning. It was great to get back out on the track. I walked as a moderate pace knowing that it had been a week since I had been out and not wanting to put any undue stress on my still-mending knee.

I must say that walking with music (iPod) and walking without are two totally different experiences for me. Walking with music I find I walk faster and the journey is over quicker. Walking without music I think about the day to come and get loads of creative ideas. Of the two, I think I enjoy the longer, creative journey to the mindless, tuneful walking. Is this something others have experienced or am I alone in my single mindedness?

I have been asked about cost for the program. I originally did the program through Wesley Hospital and this was quite expensive. I think it was around $1800 for the course plus the supplements. I had fortnightly blood tests and weekly visits. The supplements are now available from nearly every chemist and so I am doing this program unaided. I think the blood tests, etc was because it was a new program and we were the guinea pigs. Now that it has been shown to be safe, everyone can get it.

The program is simple. Drink 3 shakes a day and drink lots of water. Do this with some moderate exercise for 12 weeks and you will lose weight. There are more instructions in every box of Optifast you buy including free foods. These are things you are allowed to eat while on the program. For myself, I stick to the no-food policy and it works for me.

Week 3 - 8 Kg missing presumed lost

2005-10-03T02:47:00.000+01:00

Weigh-in day again and the scales are telling me that I am now 110 Kg. That is 4 x 2 litre milk containers. I don't feel any noticible difference, though my pants are a bit more roomy. I will say that seeing the scales this morning helped in the morale department. I did not manage to exercise last week as my knee was still very sore. An excuse I know, but this week I will be back into it.

Had my sons fete on Saturday and for the entire day I was either working on or helping with food stalls. I survived right till the end when someone offered me a free sausage on a bun. Mmmmmm. I don't feel bad about that. It was all that I had to eat all day (I didn't have the lunch shake) and that night I was back on the wagon.

Last night I was tempted again by the processed meat bags. This time in the form of Hot Dogs. I had two with a few wedges and sour cream. I should have only had one, but two came on the plate and they were very good. I didn't have any of the chocolate cake for dessert though. An easy victory as I don't really like cake. To wash down the Hotdogs I had two beers and they were GOOD.

So my weigh-in this morning was on top of food and beer last night and no exercise for the week. I am happy with the results and am going to Go For Gold this week.

Oh, and for those gruesome people who wanted pictures of my injuries, I updated the post below. If you have a weak stomach, do not scroll down.

Day 17 - A Hard Days Night

2005-09-28T07:31:00.000+01:00

Quite depressed about not losing any weight last week. I could understand only losing a little as I had a few meals, but not losing any was a hard blow. Suffered last night. All I could think about was food. Even had a headache for the first time in a few days. Felt very sorry for myself. Who cares if I'm fat? Why bother? All I want to do is eat. It wasn't even that I was particularly hungry, I just felt down and wanted to eat. Therapy eating. My stomach wasn't cramping, I wasn't light headed but GOD I wanted to eat something.

This morning I snuck a look at the scales again and wonder of wonders, I had lost 2 kg overnight. How did that happen?? Well I can think of a couple of things. The main one is that the swelling in my knee and arms arms has gone down so I am not retaining fluid in these parts. Sound plausible? It might if you saw how much my knee was swollen.

Anyway, pushing on through. Seeing the scales take another dip has been good. I am quite prepated to suffer and endure if there is results. If there are no results, then whats the point. I guess thats why I like this form of weight loss. You can really see the results, so the hardship is justified.

Day 16 - Low on the Hog

2005-09-27T02:28:00.000+01:00

Well I had a hard week with 2 birthdays and a trip away. I was also in a small motorbike accident. Excuses, excuses... I know you are all wondering how the qweigh in went. The good news is that I didn't put on any weight, the bad news is I didn't lose any either. I ate on the Wednesday night, Friday night and Saturday night. No breakfasts or lunches. I had some cheese and crackers on Sunday night but no real dinner.

A whole week of no breakfasts or lunches; only 3 meals in 7 days including going for a 6 hour bike ride and I didn't lose anything. Bugger. This week, no cheating.

It gets worse though. I can barely walk as I took all the skin off my left knee and it is quite badly swollen. This means that I cannot walk, ride or swim. I am too sore at the moment and do not expect to be much better till at least the weekend.

Of course I know you are all concerned but there is one thing everyone wants to know. "How bad is the bike?" Well the place I had hired it from has insurance but the excess is $2000. But it was not that bad. I was going slow when she went over so I got change back. $150 change. OUCH. If only we could put some bandages on the chrome and it would heal.

So a good week for celebrating, but a bad week for my weight and skin.

Day 12 - I want to ride my bicycle

2005-09-23T08:37:00.000+01:00

Sorry for the lack of entry yesterday. I was out on a hour bike ride. Push-bike, not motorcycle. By the end of it I had to stand as my bum was too sore to sit on the saddle. And before all the smart-arse comments come in, yes there was a seat on the bike. Rode from Stafford to the Boondall wetlands centre and back. It sounds like a big ride and it was, but my six year old managed to do it as well so I am not patting myself on the back too much.

By the time I got home I could barely walk. Totally exhausted. The reason I bring this up is that instead of my shake for dinner, I had reheated ribs. No extras, but I really needed some proper food. You will all be pleased to know that I felt bad afterwards. Well, only a little, mostly I fell in to bed and slept.

Feeling pretty good (apart from my bum) and am looking forward to a great weekend. Am renting a Harley Softail Duece and riding up to Malany along the Dayboro Road. Staying at the Novatel Twin Waters on Saturday Night and then riding around Somerset Dam and Wyvenhoe before heading back to Brisbane on Monday morning.

I hope that as well as reading my babbling that you have a quick look at the comments. There have been some excellent posts and I will talk about them more next week. There will be no entries for the weekend, but I will be punishing the scales again on Monday so stay tuned for a laugh.

Day 10 - Celebrations

2005-09-21T03:15:00.000+01:00

I find it interesting to see the comments on yesterdays entry. Chocolate was really a no brainer but the processed meats was a surprise. Keep the comments coming in.

Apart from being my birthday and equinox, today is also International Peace Day. Saw a doco on it last night where for one day a year the UN try to negotiate a halt to all conflict around the world. May not sound like much, but to Care and Red Cross, this means they can plan to move supplies to areas otherwise unavailable. It was organised by a film-maker who wanted to see what it would take to pass a UN resolution. It turns out that it takes a few years of negotiations and backing from some major players.

Went for an hour walk last night and another half hour this morning. This is a lot easier now that my feet are coping better. I am still getting lethargic around 7-8 pm. This is when I get home from my walk and I have used all my energy reserves. I guess that by day 10 dayI should be in the swing of things. I am surprised that I didn't have more troubles adjusting. I am sure that this was more trying last time, but physically, I am doing fine. I am even doing well mentally. I'm as mental as I usually am. I mostly feel positive, though today I am a little down. Birthdays will do that to you.

Now that you have outed yourself on your weaknesses, how will you cope with them. If you are a chocaholic, (Which I have heard is the worst of all. They see results using herion addiction drugs have a similar effect on chocolate addicts.) then what are your methods for stemming the tide. For me, I have no chips in the house. This removes the temptation. I will also never buy any. So the only time I am tempted when visiting friends. What do you do?

Day 9 - Snacking, the progressive killer

2005-09-20T00:06:00.000+01:00

Went for an hour walk last night and another half hour this morning. Thanks to stretching and advice from Uncle Wicked, my feet are performing reasonably well. Maybe carrying 4 kg less is helping them to cope. I know I will not be able to keep up 1.5 hours per day, there is still life to be had, but if I can do as much as I can while I have the opportunity, then the down times shouldn't matter so much.

On the decision of dinner, I decided to have a Rib feast at my place tomorrow night. That way I can check what's involved. Also makes it easier for those with kids. I also decided to go to the Marriott for seafood on the Friday. If I stick to the seafood, then it is all 95 to 99% fat free with bugger all sugar.

Yesterday I posed the question, what is your danger food. I guess I would break it down into two areas for myself. The snack food and meals. Snacks are what you eat watching a movie or the footy. Potato Chips are a big killer for me. I can take or leave chocolate and most sweets. But chips; if they are there, I eat them. I love the salt, the flavour, the texture... Better stop before my drool kills the keyboard.

When do you snack? Are you a grazer, snacking whenever you feel like it or do you prefer to snack with friends? I am more an event snacker? In front of the TV or sitting with friends. What is the answer? In front of the TV is easy, just grab a bottle of water, but what about the social snacking? What do you do when people reach for the chips, cheese and crackers or whatever tasty morsel is chosen as a nibble? What do you do?

Week 1 - 4 down, 31 to go

2005-09-18T23:47:00.000+01:00

Monday morning and the official weigh-in. And the winner is... (imagine a drumroll here)... 114 kg. Thats 4 kg less than last Tuesdays result. This is despite having two meals over the weekend.

Saturday night I had some friends around for dinner and not to appear inhospitable, ate some prawns (no sauce), seafood extender and green salad. All this sounds OK, low fat yet tasty, but then I had a piece of rocky road. Extremely evil. And so I fell off the wagon.

Sunday I had the monthly family BBQ with my brothers. A very relaxing and enjoyable time. Again the seafood extender and green salad featured heavily, but whats worse, I was tempted by a small piece of lean, un-marinated steak. Yum. I also had 3 chicken kebabs. 2 small pieces of chicken on each with capsicum, onion and mushroom. Again, sounds pretty good, but that bloody Rocky Road appeared again and sucked me in. 2 pieces, double yum.

So 2 meals and rocky road aside, I still managed to lose 4 Kg since last Tuesday. Equivilant to 2 x 2 litres containers of milk pictured here. So if I carry these around for the next week , I will be placing the same weight on my feet, knees and other sensitive joints. At my age, everything becomes a sensitive joint. In 12 weeks time I am hoping to be carrying around 17 or 18 of these. Thats 2 full crates of milk!!!

This week I am back on the wagon and hoping for another good result. My foot is feeling better following an examination by Wicked who caused lots of pain, but showed me where to work on fixing the problem. Thanks Uncle Wicked.

More exercise this week and no cheating. This may be difficult as it is my birthday this week and I was planning on going for a meal with friends. What do you all think? Should I plan something else, go and abstain, go and eat lean or splurge for a night? Post your comments. Personally I would rather splurge or plan something else, but I am open for comments.

What is your temptation? As well as commenting on the upcoming anniversery of my deliverance, I am interested in hearing what you are tempted by? Is it sweet, drink or savoury? What is the thing that would be the worst for you on a no-food diet.

Look forward to reading those comments.

Day 5 - Sleepless in West Chermside

2005-09-15T23:32:00.000+01:00

Couldn't sleep last night except for my usual 1 hour snooze from 6 - 7 pm. Went to bed at 10:30 and got up around 11:30. My stomach sounded like a pool pump when the level has dropped. Tried to sleep again from 2:30 but probably only managed a few hours even then. But strangely, I don't feel tired this morning.

Last night I was very weak. At one point I felt I could not lift my arms. I also had emotional runs. Crying and generally feeling like total crap. I didn't go for a walk or ride. I just didn't feel up for it. My foot was aching and still is this morning. But I made it.

I have now gone 4 days without food. The thought of food and even more so, the smell, drives me to distraction. I am not busy enough at nights (or during the day for that matter) and so I dwell on my hunger. Thoughts like "Only 80 days to go" can be very depressing when all you can think about is not eating. Still, another dawn is another day less I have to endure. I have had very little pain from headaches and only a few stomach cramps. All told, it is the emotional and intellectual part that I am struggling with rather than the physical part.

I would like to thank those people who have seen fit to comment on this blog. The comments help and I read them several times a day when things get tough.

Tonight my son, J returns from a week at his Mums. This means I will have to start being around food. Cooking for him, ensuring he eats and then throwing out any leftovers. The first and last will be the hardest. Cooking without sampling and throwing out food when I could eat the plate.

Losing the will to live

2005-09-15T04:43:00.000+01:00

I can hardly walk and my head just wants to hit the desk. Feel super-low on energy. Can't imagine why.

I cannot believe it is still only day 4. Feels like I have been hungry forever. Dreaming of food.

So why should I do this rather than a more moderate diet. I guess the most compelling reason for me is that this has worked before. And how much ihave to lose. If I told you to go and exercise every day with 35 kg of water on your shoulders, you'd say no and for good reason. Ankles, knees and other body parts are not meant to take that kind of abuse. It is easier to stay slim than get slim. At least that is what I am hoping. As a smaller person it is easier to get into motion. To start exercising. As a lard butt it is nearly impossible to get your fat arse out of the chair.

Feeling a little bettter. Writing here does help. Guess this was a good idea. At least the Blog was.

Day 4 - Sore Feet

2005-09-14T23:37:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was a perfect score. Zero cheating and 1.5 hrs walking. My feet, however, don't agree. I am limping around the office this morning. Feels like I have bruised the bottom of my left foot. Very painful to walk. I went for a walk this morning, but had to head back after 20 minutes because of the pain. I put Voltarin on it last night and soaked it after the walk which helped, but I may have to give away walking in favour of riding for a few days.

Last night I dreamt I was eating. I felt really bad that I had fallen off the wagon. I think I actually felt worse when I woke up and realised that I hadn't cheated but was increadibly hungry. Did you realise that to ch"eat" you need "eat"? I guess whoever came up with the word cheat was on a diet. And lets not get into the word diet. The only thing to do in that situation is go for a walk.

Yesterday I went to the Rockmans store across from the Mater hospital and bought a heap of Reebok gear. I have never been one for labels, but I must admit that this stuff is pretty good. I can definetly tell the difference between Reebok and Lowes. Ended up spending over $200 and walked out with shoes, track pants, a jacket, a beanie and socks. A good score I felt as the shoes alone were supposed to retail for $220.

Day 3 - Exercise, Diets evil twin.

2005-09-14T01:50:00.000+01:00

Today I met Diets evil half brother; Exercise. No wonder these are the first two letters in DEATH. Went for a walk. Actually, while I make it sound like I hated ever minute, it was actually pretty good.

Got home last night and fell asleep for half an hour. I had decided to go for a walk and my body retaliated by taking a power nap. When I awoke, I was super-groggy. I pulled on my shoes and walked out of the house yawning every few steps. Halfway round the first lap I was walking briskly and feeling quite determined.

Walked for an hour before I started to feel a bit sore. Now I had not planned on walking at all in the first week, (as per instructions from the Wesley) but with an extra 5 kg added to my target, I thought I better get into it.

This morning I went out for half an hour. Was quite sore at the end of it. I guess the hour the night before was probably a bit to hard for a first outing. But I will try and go again tonight.

Talking about yesterday, no headaches, no pains and only a minor bout of hunger. A fantastic day compared to the expected problems. Not sure why. There is no way I could be getting used to it already. Maybe because I had been up late? Maybe because Australia lost the Ashes and my body was feeling sorry for me.

Hope today goes just as well.

Day 2 - Come on Aussie

2005-09-12T23:35:00.000+01:00

Last night I was up till 1.30 am watching Australia lose the ashes for the first time in 16 years. In my own little test, there was some cheating when I was offered and accepted some microwaved chicken strips. Though nice, I don't think I should have accepted.

News just in: The official weighing was held this morning with a surprising score of 118kg. Thats right. You heard it here first. Add another 3 to the original total. Guess the last weekend really added to the tally. A spokesman for the accused said that this will not alter the current game plan but provide even more incentive to stay on track.

118. I have just visited the Optifast web site and in particular the "Is it right for me?" page. This has a BMI calculator which with a height of 184 cm (72.44 inches) and weight of 118 kg (260.15 pounds) gives a BMI of 34. This was confirmed with another BMI calculator. By playing with the figures, I worked out I either need to grow an extra 34 cm taller or weigh in at 83 kg to achieve an acceptable BMI. So I am obviously considering purchasing a large rack. (You have a dirty mind!) So my original goal of 30kg just got increased to 35 kg. Bugger. Maybe I can mix and match. Wear high heels to give me a few inches and chop off a limb.

35 kg in 12 weeks. Actually I am not as concerned with the time but more the result. As a footnote, according to the BMI calculator, I would still be in the normal range if I weighed just 63 kg. Thats 55 kg less then now and still normal. I'd be able to slide under doors at 63 kg.

Headaches already

2005-09-12T07:29:00.000+01:00

4.30PM on Day 1 and already I have a headache. In the past I have tried to avoid taking painkillers for the headaches, but I think I might try some panadol to get me over the hump.

I remember the first (and only successful) time I did this diet, they gave me appetite suppression tablets which helped with the headaches and the lethergy.

Sharyn has said she is also joining in the diet and will post comments accordingly. Good on you Sharyn. She wants to go for a walk tonight, but I am aware that this can make me feel worse in the early days of the diet. As my body gets used to the lack of FAT and SUGAR then I can start the light exercise part of the regime.

Hunger strikes

2005-09-12T04:30:00.000+01:00

It is 1.30 PM on the first day and already the hunger is here. I have had 2 Optifast drinks today and about a litre of water already. Am feeling quite flushed. (Warm)

Have not got a headache yet, but my tummy is grumbling. Am drinking more water to quench the hunger.

I have noticed that when I have done this in the past, that evenings are the hardest time to stick to the diet. When there is no food around, like at work, it is relatively easy to stay on track. I think this is because the decision to go out for lunch is a obvious one and can be avoided. It is when I am home and surrounded by lots of food that the wheels come off the wagon.

I have not really spoken about my reasons taking this extremeI course of action. I guess it has to do with the success I felt the first time I tried it. Lost 5kg in the first week and nearly 2 every week thereafter. I was able to get out of bed easier. In fact, I was able to do everything easier. Even my walking became easier. I guess it is hard to do anything with an extra 30kg around your neck. That is 15 x 2 litre milk cartons. Wow. No wonder I feel like crap now. My body is trying to cope with being a permanent milk maid for 15 families.

I am also hoping that this blog will help to keep me on track. By adding to this everytime I feel tempted, I may stay on track longer and overcome the first week hump.

Day 1 - It begins

2005-09-12T00:30:00.000+01:00

After a weekend of drinking my way around the world and eating the finest in seafood from the Marriot in Brisbane, I decided that it was time to do something serious about my 115kg frame.

For the last few weeks I have been feeling the ill effects of too much weight and too little exercise. Now has come time to do something about it.

I know it is going to be tough. I have done it before and managed to lose 29kg in 12 weeks. Now I just have to go through it again. I will be using the same method as before as it seemed to work. Food for the next 12 weeks will consist of 3 x Optifast and a minimum of 2 litres of water per day. I am expecting headaches, hunger pains, light headedness and many more fun symptons.

I put out the challenge to anyone who want to join in this little starvefest. 12 weeks from now we will all be a little thinner, a little lighter and probably ready to eat the crotch out of the nearest low flying duck.

I will endeavour to keep the posts accurate to Australian Time and so keep the comments in order.