Diary of The Recovering Fataholic. May 2014. No2

This is the home of the random musings from the “Recovering Fataholic”.

I have turned a corner, had an epiphany, been bollocked by the doctor, call it what you want. The news she gave me while I was lying in a bed in A&E recovering from a pulmonary embolism frightened me into action. I was a 20 stone (126kg) mess and dying of liver disease.

I am following a low carb lifestyle because my doctor said that if I don’t, I will lose my liver and by default – my life. I reckon I kind of need that major organ, so I decided to follow her instructions. You can read the story that scared me on the other page above.

May is not a great month for me normally. So many birthdays among my relatives and I am always tempted by birthday cake. Hardly the best low carb food and a definite no-no as far as the doctor is concerned. She banned me from cake, bread, pasta, rice, cheese, alcohol, the list goes on. So I started this month at 106kg. And here we are at the 29th of the month and my weight today was 106.5kg.

So am I bothered? Well no not really. I got myself into this mess and I am getting myself out of this mess, one day at a time. Sure it’s May and my folks want to celebrate their old age, why wouldn’t they ? And who am I to rain on anybody’s parade? So I had a piece of birthday cake or more. But it was always one piece only and it was always the only bad thing I had that day. You see I am following what I call a “Pay Attention” diet. You can too it’s a doddle. And I will lose that last 0.5kg very soon and very easily.

Follow my blog and I will show you how you can do this too – through my postings. It’s not rocket science. You don’t need to be rich. But you do need to want it enough to do it. Not just pay lip service to it. Which is the biggest hurdle by far for you while you read this. I bet just talking about cake got you thinking about sweet things and here you are reading about being good and losing weight and all you can think about is cake. That’s the first hurdle. Stop that and you are on the first rung.

I use FatSecret to record what I eat and thus control the intake. This is the biggest single mistake you are all making when you start dieting for weight loss. Not knowing how much you really weigh and not recording what is being put into your mouth is what got you into the mess in the first place. Time to grow some faith in yourself and time to get started.

I don’t do anything special. I am not a member of a special gym or do much in the way of exercise to lose weight. I just take care of the food I eat now. You can do this too, it is so easy.

Low Carb Kippers

Try this: my doctor told me to begin by eating fish for half the week. Make that mean whatever you want it to mean. I took it to mean eating steamed/poached white fish with vegetables (I’m not allowed potatoes though) for tea. I have a hob-top steamer (old school) and boil the kettle to kick start it with some pre-heated water. In this I can put all my prepped veg and fish into one container and 20-30 mins later its food time. If I don’t fancy steaming or if it’s lunch at work I am looking for then I often put a can of tuna on top of a half a salad bag from the supermarket (top with a tablespoon of mayo or other low carb sauce) and for breakfast I am now well used to eating kippers or mackerel. I like it grilled to crisp it up but its up to you.

 

Adding my allowance of only 2 eggs per day to the kippers or chucking in a couple of basic mushrooms really mellows the flavour but open the windows!

Eating fish is easy but the biggest mistake you are about to make is to think fish fingers count. Listen very carefully to this – processed is banned. If it has been messed with so it doesn’t look like fish then it is not a food you should eat because you cannot control what additives are used in it. Fish in it’s natural form is cost effective for your health because it is so easy to digest, low in fat, low in carbs, calories and tastes great and most important of all you are 100% in charge of what goes into your body. This is the first lesson in learning how to “Pay Attention” to what you eat.

Low Carb Diet Cod Loins – A personal favourite for healthy eating

Try it – I double dare you. One month. You can do this. Moderate everything else. Avoid the complex carbs like bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, porridge, flour and so on. And don’t eat red meat (except bacon). Beyond that it’s your call. Eat as much as you need to but don’t be a glutton. It’s that attitude that got you in this mess in the first place and your head is the first place to begin this low carb way of life.

 

 

Only in your head can you begin the process of “Paying Attention”.

Let me know how you get on?

Diary of The Recovering Fataholic. May 2014.

Well today this fatty visited the hospital emotionally fully armed for another round of nagging from the pious.

But today i finally saw a ray of hope glimmer across the horizon of despair that has been my life since October 2012. My doctor smiled at me and was proudly announcing how well I had done with my recent weight loss. She further added how pleased she was to note that the fatty deposits laying around my liver had reduced dramatically, which she put down to the heavy use of fish in my diet and lack of unnecessary carbs. And on top of all that – for the first time in 2 years my blood result was today “within the normal range” which means all of this. Eating this weird diet and following this odd lifestyle continues to be worth doing because I was the one who fixed me. Yay me! 🙂

So what is the bad news doctor? I’m thinking… here it comes… I have to hop on one leg for the next three years and only eat scorpions for breakfast? Or some other extreme punishment?

Liver with Cirrhosis

She told me that having cirrhosis of the liver is a lifelong commitment. It will never heal so I continue to run a risk whenever I put bad food in my body from now on. So I must continue with my diet and in addition to all of that – – I now have to “sweat” for a 30 minute period each day. And she left it hanging there. Out there. For anybody to comment on, a bit like I just did.

 

 

 

I can hear all your thoughts crashing in right now. The funny ones, the innocent ones and those who are just downright rude! You can stop that right now. (Laughs out Loud). As if having stinky wee wasn’t enough for this woman, now she wants me to stink of body odour too. Oh well, it is all for a good cause eh?

So I got the debris away from the treadmill this evening. It’s funny how houses have a sort of creeping ivy system in them where if you put something down in an ordinary house after a few days it will have an odd item on it, like an empty mug. Then after a few weeks it has notes, magazines, junk mail and screwdrivers lying on it. Where do they come from? Who goes around with a shopping basket of common household items in it and just lies them on blank surfaces for no good reason. Leave something untouched in  an ordinary house for more than a few weeks and you face having to do battle with triffids to reclaim it from the bowels of damnation!

Where was I? Oh yes treadmill. I got the treadmill out and bent down to put my trainers on and got cramp in my left shin area. Followed swiftly by cramp in the left calf. So it didn’t matter where I stood trying to ease the muscle I was in agony and irony all at the same time.

I sound like a Paul McCartney song don’t I? So I gave up the vain idea of exercise for tonight and decided to celebrate my measured success at having lost over 3 stones so far and not having had alcohol since 2012, (apart from a pint on my birthday and a glass of champers on Christmas Day), nor all those other niceties that make life bearable like toast, by having a couple of lines of Bournville Dark chocolate. I have put it back in the cupboard and it shall stay until June. *pat self on back*

The doctor still wants me to keep going with the weight loss until I am under 12 stone. That’s 4.75 stones I still need to lose. But to be honest I remember saying that in a blog near the beginning of my journey back then and while it spooked me then and if I’m honest still does a bit, I know I have already achieved something worth fighting for and that is my health.

I am not about to stop now. This is probably the easiest way to diet I have ever found, in fact I am not actually dieting. I don’t know how to tell you guys who think I am but I am just paying attention to what I eat and making sure I record everything that goes in my body into Fat Secret so I can track my loss. If you recall from my earlier posts I call this my “Pay Attention” diet. Record what you eat and your failings will emerge. Nothing could be simpler for me. How are you doing with your diet then?

Eat well and lose weight? It’s easy the low carb way.

If you want to ask about the diet I am on please feel free to email or whatever below:

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Low Carb Diet Menu for day 01/05/2014

I was feeling quite lazy when it came to eating yesterday. Much like any normal person I can sometimes be a little too busy to mess about with picky food regimes. Today’s menu (below) shows the low carb food I have eaten yesterday. I ate the same things only because I was too busy to bother being different.

Low Carb Cod Loins

The low carb fish was microwaved at 1.5 minute intervals, turned and cooked again. I didn’t count how many minutes it took, I just did this until it was cooked. It’s not rocket science and you don’t need permission to be smart for yourself. The sauce was out of a squeezy bottle and the salad was prepared by a supermarket in England called the Co-Op. How lazy can low carb and low fat dieting be right?

Seriously though – let me remind you all that I am not on a diet because I am fat. My weight loss is merely a by-product of the regime my doctor has put me on. I am forced to eat this way on doctors orders. I have been eating like this for some three months now, (I began this low carb diet on 31st January this year when I weighed 117.5kg). I am due to be reviewed in a couple of weeks but after three months I now weigh 107.5kg. My main worry is the blood tests. What impact on me will there be if the doctor tells me the regime had not affected the unusual blood results I have been producing. What if she tells me I am going to have to go on the liver transplant list? What happens to somebody who has a liver transplant? What happens if none can be found to match my specific type? It’s not about dieting for me. I have a far more powerful motivator. Fear!

This is what I ate yesterday. I enter everything in Fat Secret which is a food diary app that can apply to most common dieting styles like calorie counting or low fat or low GI etc. You will have to spend a moment looking at the numbers for them to pop out at you. I am not gonna treat you like you’re stupid. I just did a copy/paste from my site.

These are the totals for the day:
Fat Carbs Sugar Net C Prot Cals
62.28 25.79 8.25 17.90 164.71 1344

Breakfast 15.36 3.05 2.29 2.96 15.19 218

Tesco Chestnut Mushrooms
92 g
0.46 0.37 0.18 0.28 1.66 15

Scrambled Egg (Whole, Cooked)
2 large
14.90 2.68 2.11 2.68 13.53 203

Lunch 6.14 8.30 2.40 6.30 51.04 307

Co-Op Sweet & Crunchy Salad
1 pack
0.40 7.00 1.40 5.00 1.30 40

Hellmann’s French Dressing
1 portion, 15 g
4.00 1.30 1.00 1.30 0.50 43

Steamed or Poached Cod
220 g
1.74 49.24 224

Dinner 7.56 8.30 2.40 6.30 91.32 491

Steamed or Poached Cod
400 g
3.16 89.52 408

Hellmann’s French Dressing
1 portion, 15 g
4.00 1.30 1.00 1.30 0.50 43

Co-Op Sweet & Crunchy Salad
1 pack
0.40 7.00 1.40 5.00 1.30 40

Snacks/Other 33.22 6.14 1.16 2.34 7.16 328

Brazil Nuts
50 g
33.22 6.14 1.16 2.34 7.16 328

Low Carb Diet Menu For A Day 28/04/14

My weight has been fairly static recently. But having kept it off I am confident the downward trend will recommence any time soon. I’ll keep you posted.

A short note on the subject of those horrible sugar cravings: I manage to get rid of my sugar cravings by giving in to them. Don’t deny that you want sugar. Just eat some chocolate (try a small bar from a corner shop instead of a giant slab from the supermarket). I find that when I’ve done that I can say to myself “right then, no more until next month”. And dumb as it sounds it is actually working. I have given myself permission to admit that I have these cravings and to admit that I called them “treats” when in truth they were just “poisons” for my poorly liver. So after accepting this truth I found it easier to handle and easier to quit for the month, knowing I could give in next month if I had to. Feel free to see my constant weight loss since January if you think I’m kidding. My diet is all in my mind. Bet yours is too.

Anyway here is an example low carb diet menu for a day

My Food Diary: Today, Monday 28 April 2014. The first set of numbers is the totals for the day.

Fat Carbs Sugar Net C Prot Cals
29.49 47.88 25.39 40.43 166.80 1156

Breakfast 15.78 7.85 2.11 7.85 16.72 245

Scrambled Egg (Whole, Cooked)
2 large
14.90 2.68 2.11 2.68 13.53 203

Sainsbury’s Chunky Vegetables
1.1 x 100g
0.88 5.17 5.17 3.19 42

Lunch 9.50 9.60 3.40 7.60 39.01 282

Co-Op Sweet & Crunchy Salad
1 pack
0.40 7.00 1.40 5.00 1.30 40

John West Tuna Chunks in Brine
138 g
1.10 36.71 156

Hellmann’s French Dressing
2 x 1 portion, 30 g
8.00 2.60 2.00 2.60 1.00 86
Add Item

Dinner 4.21 16.43 7.88 10.98 104.07 538

Steamed or Poached Cod
445 g
3.52 99.59 454

Tesco Pak Choi
175 g
0.35 3.85 2.10 2.62 30

Turnips
130 g
0.13 8.36 4.94 6.06 1.17 36

Sweet Red Peppers
70 g
0.21 4.22 2.94 2.82 0.69 18
Add Item

 

Nothing complicated. No starving myself. All very easy to cook. Breakfast was cooked in a small frying pan without the need for oil. Lunch came in a can and a bag and a squeezy bottle. Whilst dinner took the most time to prepare I had to chop a pepper, peel and chop half a turnip and chop 2 pak coi pieces. Unwrap the cling film off my cod and place them all in my stove top steamer (cheap and simple). I steamed for about 20-30 minutes.

Some of you have been asking me to say what low carb or low fat foods I eat through a whole day instead of just putting down example meals. Well generally speaking I eat what I want within reason. All I do that’s different to you is that I am bothered enough to record everything in FatSecret. A great little app. Here’s a pdf of that menu above Food Diary 280414

Low Carb Cod Loins

Eat Chocolate And Lose Weight? Admit It You Hate Me Don’tcha? #24 Apr 2014

I lost weight again. I have now gone down to 107.6kg and I have lost an X too. Instead of being an XXXL – I am now an XXL. Woo Hoo! 🙂

If I keep going just a bit further I will drop to less than 17 stone. That is a whopping 3 stone off since this all began. To put that into perspective that’s 3 car tyres removed from my body weight.

I can’t honestly say the restrictions my doctor put me on have in any way hampered my love of fish and vegetables but with Easter comes the temptation of chocolate. So what I did was give in to it. I had a little chocolate.

They say a little of what you fancy does you good. In this case it was obviously meant in a morale boosting kind of way. I am now completely over the chocolate cravings and am back on the low carb band wagon once more.

Eat chocolate and lose weight? Admit it – you hate me don’tcha?

 

 

 

Low Carb Diet Menu for a Day

Lost weight again. Now down to 108.9kg. I’ve lost 8.6kg since February. Some of you have been asking me to say what low carb or low fat foods I eat through a whole day instead of just putting down example meals. Well all I do is record everything in FatSecret. A great little app. Here’s an example of a day’s menu for me:

To read the numbers below remember this pattern — Fat – Carbs – Sugar – Prot – Cals

Breakfast Totals 15.78 7.85 2.11 16.72 245

Scrambled Egg (Whole, Cooked)
2 large — 14.90 – 2.68 – 2.11 – 13.53 – 203

Sainsbury’s Chunky Vegetables
1.1 x 100g — 0.88 – 5.17 – 0.00 – 3.19 – 42

Lunch 14.54 – 8.32 – 2.30 – 36.98 – 329

Tesco Lighter Than Light Mayonnaise 1 tbsp, 15 ml
0.80 – 0.90 – 0.90 – 0.00 – 14

Co-Op Sweet & Crunchy Salad 1 pack
0.40 – 7.00 – 1.40 – 1.30 – 40

Smoked or Cured Ham 160 g
13.34 – 0.42 – 0.00 – 35.68 – 275

Dinner 16.74  – 15.50 – 6.75 – 43.61 – 384 (Shared this meal with my Wife)

Tesco Chicken Breast Fillets (130g) 1 breast, 130 g
3.40 – 0.00 – 0.00 – 37.40 – 180

Tesco Pak Choi 100 g
0.20 – 2.20 – 0.00 – 1.50 – 17

Tesco Closed Cup Mushrooms 50 g
0.25 – 0.20 – 0.10 – 0.90 – 8

Aubergine 100 g
0.19 – 5.70 – 2.35 – 1.01 – 24

Tesco Red Pepper 1/2 pepper, 50 g
0.20 – 3.20 – 3.10 – 0.50 – 18

Philadelphia Simply Stir 100 g
12.50 – 4.20 – 1.20 – 2.30 – 137
If you must snack – try nuts; Brazil, Hazel Almond almost any kind will do. They are great low carb value for money! Or if yoghurt is your thing how about a plain greek style with a teaspoon of berries like raspberries or blueberries. It gives me that surgaryness I crave whilst being kind to my liver.

Go for it, you know you want to.

My low carb diet diary #23 Apr 2014

I am NOT on a diet: Last week I was 109.9kg. This week I am 109.2kg. I have lost 0.7kg in 7 days. I have also lost an “X” off my clothing. Now I am only an XXL not an XXXL. That is great. Putting clothes on from the wardrobe knowing I am going to fit them. It certainly makes me feel better about myself. It boosts my self-esteem. It urges me on to do this some more.

Since I was put on this regime that is “not a diet” I have lost a staggering 8.3kg in 2 whole months. That’s 18.29lbs which is 1st and 4.25lbs.

The app I am using to monitor my low carb and low fat input which is called FatSecret lets me do weigh in recordings whenever I want. Sure it nags a little – but it’s okay. It tells me I will be at my target weight in 3 months at this pace. I had to put in a target weight so I told it I wanted to be 100kg (15st 10lbs) because I couldn’t think of any target that really mattered to me.

I am paying attention to what I eat and sticking to the regime my doctor gave me. I could quite easily slip and on occasion I allow myself to do so BUT, (and it’s a big BUT for a reason!), I am only letting myself do this once a month. So last month I had some chocolate – a Crunchie bar and about 7 Minstrels Buttons. I did this to fix the craving and not to treat myself. I haven’t done that since and will not do it again this month. I have given myself permission to eat food without considering it a reward for hard work or success. That was the old me. The alcohol drinking, pizza chomping me that is being re-trained. I am still a “recovering fataholic” I don’t suppose I will ever stop that part of me from existing but I am taking it one day at a time. And one kilogramme at a time.

I had KFC chicken on Friday just gone. Only original recipe cuts and with as much skin removed as I could peel off. The breadcrumbs are bad for my regime. I don’t eat KFC fillet strips for just that reason. The chicken is nicer but the breadcrumbs are a killer for weight gain! I NEVER have fries nor drink nor sides. And I’m losing weight. I watch what I eat go into my app. A lot of people pretending to diet say to me “I watch what I eat” and I have to laugh when I reply so show me your records and they say well I don’t record it – I’m just careful. That is how you fool yourself folks. You lie even to yourselves.

People say to me “I haven’t got time in the morning to cook all that” or “what do you eat?” like I am following some magic plan they can buy off the internet or shopping channel but this is just simple old me being strong because if I am not I will shut down my liver. What part of your body is crying out to be healed by you?

Stop it and get it all recorded whether its an app or a paper diary it doesn’t matter because only when you pay attention, only when you know what you are putting into your mouth, (over months not hours or days), will you understand what you are doing to yourself.

Low Carb Dinner Recipe – Poached Cod & Eggs Yum!

My wife went shopping for sundry foods a few days ago and found a terrific bargain price on cod. She phoned me up straight away to see if I needed some more cod in the freezer. Well to be honest I did and the price was irresistible so she brought home 2 kilos of cod loins. At first I thought it was going to be the dregs off the factory floor, re-pressed together or some sort of fiddle but this was the genuine bona fide deal. Fresh smelling cod loins and good sized pieces it was too. It was quickly wrapped into Mario sized portions and bundled into the freezer until this morning when I thawed a piece for my tea tonight.

I like my fish steamed or fried normally but recently and in honour of the whole low carb ideology I have begun to poach my fish in a large open frying pan, (coz I’m lazy).

So anyway cod loins are so easy to cook. Fish is great low carb diet value food because it is not just a tasty meat but it also feeds you iodine you wouldn’t otherwise get, is incredibly low fat and low in carbs and easy to cook. It’s about the best food there is for a low carb diet. As usual with my recipes I used what was to hand in the freezer. I used broccoli and cauliflower because they are low carb options compared to some of the other frozen veg you might buy like carrots and peas. As long as you check what you are eating into whatever food diary method you use (FatSecret in my case) and record the nutritional info you should be okay with most any veg.

Here’s what I did…

Today is 23/03/2014 I put about half an inch of water freshly boiled from the kettle into a frying pan and immediately put the heat on to about half power and waited. I was looking for a gentle bubble only. Once I got that I nudged it down another bit until the slow bubbling stopped almost completely. Then I knew the water was perfect for poaching fish. I placed my very thick piece of cod into the water. Because it is a loin it has no bones or skin but cooking this way it really doesn’t matter what your fish looks like. Cod with a skin on works just as well in a poaching scenario.

I don’t time stuff, I work on how it looks – with fish you just have to be patient. When it looked cooked enough to survive the process I turned it over to cook the other side of the fish.

While that was going on I grabbed 2 eggs from the fridge and measured out around 100g of my frozen broccoli and cauliflower mix I picked up from the local supermarket. I began by nuking the veg for 2 minutes then drained the subsequent water away and let it stand until the fish was done. Once the fish was ready I drained the loin fillet and nuked the veg for a further 1 minute. Steam rising? Great! Ready to eat! I got the fish onto a plate and then comes the tricky bit. Poaching eggs in water. You have to be very controlled when you do this but it’s great fun when it works well. Tonight, for me, it worked really well. The eggs were runny soft and perfect. I put the eggs over the fish and plated up the veg.

Nuking the veg left it tasting really fresh. Not sure why. I’m just saying.

I forgot to photograph the plated food, I was really hungry, sorry. So here’s a photo of some cod:

Low Carb Cod Loins

Low Carb Dinner Recipe – Poached Cod and Eggs

This yielded me a good amount of food on a plate and filled me right up. It gave me the kind of thump in my belly that I need to feel “right.” I guess once I have lost the weight I will inevitably face another demon – portion control!

But me being me I still managed to have a lovely dessert about an hour later! A yoghurt and some low carb, low sugar almonds.

I have had to figure out how I can have satisfying meals with a low carb count. There isn’t a fancy low carb recipe book for me to follow, no fancy articles in the Sunday Papers to cut out and keep. This meal plays to my favourites and delivers bags of flavour and it works because the zero carb fish gently poached in water works by adding moisture easily to the bite bringing the whole mouthful together beautifully. I’m eating this on a Sunday evening. And again please notice the limited washing up! Easy. Just remember that if you want to add other veg the greener it is the better it is for you – keep it green to keep it keen on carb values.

Low Carb Dinner Recipe – Poached Cod & Eggs

• Prep time around 10 mins
• Cooking time (combined) around 30 mins. Wasn’t really counting.

Here are the Nutrition Values for this great low carb dinner:

Fat – 13.31  Carbs – 2.55  Protein – 85.21  Calories – 492

• Ingredients:
• This is what I had this time around – it varies:
• 310g of Thick Boneless and Skinless Cod Loin
• 110g Supermarket Frozen Broccoli & Cauliflower
• 2 Eggs

Put it all on a plate and do it!

Don’t forget to weigh ingredients into the pan using scales and record each ingredient into the app or diary of your choice.

This dinner has the added nutritional bonus of being low salt and low sugar too. This fabulously low carb dinner came to under 3 carbs for what turned out to be a real gut full of food. In fact my whole day was very low carb. 

Remember – I live in England and wherever you are reading this from your local supermarket might not stock the same stuff that I used so just remember it is possible to make your own. Just gather the veg you like, and follow my method and you’ll be on your way to a great meal.

I use an app to record all my food intake called Fat Secret it is just like a similar one my friends use called My Fitness Pal – both seem to work well and give you a wide raft of diet information and functionality. One of the main reasons I use it is to record the big ingredients like the meat, fish and the veggies but it also lets me take stock of the sauces, dressings and condiments which sneak up on you while you’re trying to add flavour to bland foods. Its great for making me pay attention to what I eat.

I am after all is said and done not actually dieting. I am following a “pay attention diet plan” which has a happy side effect that means I am losing weight. Read my personal Low Carb Story to get a proper understanding if you want or have the time.

Copyright Mario Chappell 2014

My low carb diet diary #22 Mar 2014

This is not a low carb posting. It’s just a blog posting about my hospital appointment.

The last time I went to see my doctor she told me she would get a scan of my liver sorted. That was January.

My appointment came around today (March) and so I went to the hospital for what was loosely described as an ultrasound scan.

I waited around for ages in reception, overhearing conversations from about 5 different languages, none of which were English. I would feel upset about that except I speak Spanish fluently so I am that “bloody foreigner” whenever I am with my Mum and we want to talk about the English people nearby.

Anyway I got called in and when I was in there I got gel liberally smeared about my midriff and then the doctor did her thing and ushered me out. She scanned my liver and my spleen.

I swear I waited for about an hour and was dealt with in 10 minutes! No wonder they call it the “waiting room”. Gotta love the British NHS

Apparently my liver consultant will get the results and decide if she wants me to come in or not, as she pleases.

I feel like a cow some times. Honestly…

 

My low carb diet diary #21 Mar 2014

Today I am past another low carb diet hurdle.

I had a lot of trouble getting away from 113kg. Well I have done it and this morning recorded 112kg for the third time. Brilliant. Now look at this YouTube clip then read the rest of this blog:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW-pQwJTjck

The app I am using to record my low carb food intake and weight history is called FatSecret. You can find it on the internet along with a bunch of other apps. It isn’t unique – but for me it’s my “best buddy”. It keeps me where I need to be – mentally fixed on the goal.

My goal is to give the “Liver Witch” some blood at the end of this three months period which doesn’t make her nose wrinkle when she reads the results. I’m staying on this low carb regime because she told me to and I am motivated for that sole purpose to keep going. I am not looking past the prize right now, too scared to be honest with you.

But I am left to wonder how many others can say they really stick to their low carb diet or low fat diet. I know when I was trying to actually diet I was rubbish at it. The odd indiscretion as a meal would lead to an indiscretion as a day and then a week and so on, you get the picture. It is too easy when you are dieting to say “one won’t hurt” or “I’ll restart the diet tomorrow”. And in terms of marketing and media these platitudes will work to sell proverbial ice to Eskimos or in truthful words – the usual crap to the masses. They use fancy words and pictures to hook you in to this fad or that fad. But please just stop and think a while. Can you really stick to it? If the answer is yes, with effort, then don’t do it guys. Don’t fool yourself into getting fatter. You will just feed the bank balances of those who market the dieting products at you.

I have lost a whopping 14kg by not dieting. By just “paying attention” to what I am eating.

I cannot underline enough how easy this really is. You just record it all and get ready to be honest with yourself. Record the chocolates, the cups of tea and milk, the biscuits, the sandwiches, the butter in the sandwiches, the relish in the sandwiches, every little thing you consume, no matter how small, record it right alongside the main meals. You cannot pay attention if you don’t know what you are doing.

Then figure out what makes you fat by looking at the proportions of food types you are consuming. I was ordered onto my low carb regime by a doctor who left me in no doubt as to why I have to do this but along the way I have studied my own results and found that I used to eat too much carb and fat and protein mixed together.

Now I eat mainly fish and vegetables. Whether it is 350g of steamed cod and vegetables or a can of tuna and salad leaves or a bag of prawns cooked in butter with chopped garlic pieces, fish is fish in my book and it lets me snack on stuff my previous diet would have a heart attack over like peanuts. You see fish and vegetables are low carb options that are also low in fat. I decided unilaterally that it would be healthier to keep the fat content down. I noticed (using Fat Secret) that my daily fat intake was well over 100 so I just decided to lower it.

These days my body seems to be in a constant state of ketosis. My wee smells awful but the weight is melting off me. I have nothing but praise for a regime that allows me the option of eating large portions of food I love and still losing weight constantly. Other people are noticing too. My clothes have become baggier. My default belt notch recently moved one spot along, people are complimenting me. And I am not even dieting in the traditional sense.

Isn’t it time you stopped dieting too and just learned how to pay attention instead?

You should, shouldn’t you?