January 2015 diet blog - part 2

'It's now January 13th and yesterday my weight just pipped under the 90kg mark (89.9kg). I feel this is a bit of a milestone and definitely progress in the right direction and proof that I am shedding a few kilos. I expected the first few kilos to come off easily as it would mostly be a literal reduction in my stomach content from the last few weeks over eating and probably some water weight coming off too but it's all good to me!

The weight loss has made me more determined to clean up my diet and the few things that I have been eating that are not particularly clean are hopefully now done with. For example nutella - the jar is finished so I will try not to have any more, mayonnaise - also the jar is finished so I won't buy in anymore. 

One thing I want to remind myself is that often cheating on this diet is just not worth it! Last night after training I had a fruit snack and started winding down. For some reason I decided I wanted something else to eat. I wasn't hungry, just habit kicked in. In the end I had some bread with olive oil and pesto. In the grand scheme of things probably not that bad but it really did nothing for me and I regret it now but hopefully I can remember this and not do it again. 

One revelation to me has been creamed coconut! It's the flesh of a coconut blitzed and compacted into a block. I like to break bits off and mix into a paste with some water for a dash of milk and mix into brown rice or stir fry for a lovely coconut rices taste. 

Update January 19th

This week hasn't been so good. My weight has stabilised at around the 90kg mark which I'm quite sure is due to my failure to commit fully to the diet. 

I broke a few of my own basic rules this week such as late night snacking (even if it was only on fruit). I have also been tempted a little by some treats that have been around the house such as a couple of cookies that my wife brought. Yesterday I had a family lunch which was a roast dinner and an ice cream pudding, I knew it was coming up so I planned for it to be a treat/cheat meal but the problem was I added a few other treats in that I didn't really need and it's obviously reflected in my results. 

Partly due to last weeks poor showing and partly because I had planned to do it at some point anyway I am going to try the next five days 100% clean. Monday 19th to Friday 23rd I will aim to eat only meat,  vegetables, fruit and rice. No carbs after 5pm and nothing after 8pm. It will mean being well prepared with having appropriate food available and possibly taking some food with me to late evenings at work so I can snack just on my time cut offs. 

Update Jan 20th

Halfway through day 2 and things are going ok. Yesterday I had a piece of fruit and an espresso for breakfast. Them I had a coffee mid morning and an apple as a snack. Lunch was chicken breast, brown rice, sweet potato and green salad. Another Apple as a snack mid afternoon and then dinner of pork chop, sweet potato and green salad. 

Today's breakfast was a porridge pancake and honey washed down with espresso. Lunch was pork chop, brown rice, potato, sweet potato and green salad. Another espresso after lunch and dinner will be chicken breast, brown rice, sweet potato and green salad. As a dressing I have used a little olive oil and lime juice with some creamed coconut. 

Right now I'm really craving something sweet but a piece of fruit later on will have to do. 

We are now approving Thursday lunchtime and all good so far. My only minor blemish in the diet was a little stock I added to a curry I made yesterday. I also broke my after 8pm rule on Tuesday night by having a salad made from spinach, pea shoots and rocket with radishes, drizzled with olive oil and lime juice and little chicken and sesame seeds. 

Even so, my weight is down to about 89kgs now so it is coming off. My energy levels feel fine too and I hope to get some decent training sessions in today and tomorrow. 

Saturday morning is here and I'm reflecting back on my weeks challenge. Yesterday was a nightmare day in general. We went out early to our baby scan so I had a breakfast of espresso and some fruit. After the scan we stopped at a coffee shop where temptation was all around me. I had another espresso whilst my wife tucked in yo a cappuccino and a crepe with nutella. I did however eat the almond biscuit that came with my espresso. For lunch I had a small salad of spinach and iceberg with an olive oil, pesto and lime dressing and some chicken. I then went out to start a trainng session in my shed. This was a complete disaster as my iPod didn't want to work, neither did my heartrate monitor or the video I was going to use to train to! I packed in the session with the plan to try again later. We then went off to look at new cars for the wife which took way longer than it should and meant that we didn't have dinner until almost 9pm. Dinner was a shepards pie I made with beef, sweet potato, butternut squash, a little stock, some other veg and sliced potatoes on top (instead of mash which would require butter and milk) it was delicious and I had a helping way larger than I should have. 

Anyway, I'll give myself a 7/10 for my weeks efforts and I think I will do it again on Monday. As for this weekend I will treat myself a little bit. I've already had a macchiato coffee this morning (so a little bit of foamed milk) and I'm having my own homemade pizza tonight. I use tortilla wraps as the base to make a healthier alternative and I make my own sauce using tomato purée and pesto mixed together. Also I tend to use more mozzarella cheese and minimal grated cheese. I usually accompanie it with a green salad.