Here I am at the end of the 28 day kick start diet. I followed the diet almost to the letter. I didn't eat the desserts when I wasn't hungry and I swapped the dinners to different nights occasionally.
I can report a 6.2kg loss for the 28 days. That equates to an inch off my hips and two inches from both my waist and bust. Though that doesn't take me down a dress size, it does mean that my clothes are fitting more comfortably and in a couple of instances are getting a bit on the loose side.
A couple of friends that I hadn't seen in a while have commented. One asked if I'd lost weight, the other stated that I was glowing. Since my family who see me every day haven't noticed any change in my appearance it was nice to have confirmation that there is some outward sign of my efforts.
For myself, I feel more energetic (my runs seem a tiny bit easier) and I'm sleeping better.
So was it a success? By my arbitrary weight measure-yes. I did lose more than the 4kg I decided would indicate success. (I chose 4kg because any sensible diet should result in at least a 1kg per week reduction).
Was it worth the effort and monotony? No, I didn't reach the 7kg loss that would have made that worthwhile. (I chose 7kg because it would mean a 1.5-2kg loss on average per week).
Though I am happy with the result I don't think I would do the full 28 days again. Most of the weight was lost in the first week, during the extremely low calorie phase. I would repeat that week as a kind of detox if I'd been over indulging or perhaps if I hit a plateau for more than a month. But the other 21 days didn't really pay off the effort.
Overall a positive experience but I'm not entirely sold on fad diets yet.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Still Kicking
Week 3 of the kick start diet has been more interesting as far as food goes. The variety has been good and the recipes not too hard to follow. No obscure ingredients or unusual preparation methods to complicate life.
I didn't follow the week to the letter, skipping most of the suggested desserts. Not because I'm trying to keep calories down but simply because I wasn't hungry. Also, my water intake remains low. I'm completely out of the habit of drinking during the day-something I'll have to get back into.
Things have stalled on the weight loss front. Though I haven't gained, which I thought I might, neither have I lost anything this week. While that's no surprise it is a little disappointing.
So I'm on the final stretch now.
I didn't follow the week to the letter, skipping most of the suggested desserts. Not because I'm trying to keep calories down but simply because I wasn't hungry. Also, my water intake remains low. I'm completely out of the habit of drinking during the day-something I'll have to get back into.
Things have stalled on the weight loss front. Though I haven't gained, which I thought I might, neither have I lost anything this week. While that's no surprise it is a little disappointing.
So I'm on the final stretch now.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Kick Start: Phase 1 Complete
I've finally finished phase one of the kick start program and I can't tell you how glad I am to see the end of my soup days. While the soup is really quite nice (kind of like a minestrone without the pasta and beans) eating it almost every meal, every day for two weeks wasn't easy. By day ten even adding different herbs couldn't make it more appetising.
So has it paid off? Yes, I've lost another 1.5kg. As anticipated the loss has slowed down considerably but the other expected side effects failed to appear. I've had a small break-out on my forehead but my skin has stayed otherwise clear, I've not been particularly lethargic or headachey and I haven't developed any illness.
I'm still a little sceptical that the six kilos lost so far will stay off. I'm sure much of it has to be water weight because while I've been eating so much soup my fluid intake has tapered right off. I usually carry around a water bottle but I haven't been for the past couple of weeks. I just wasn't interested in drinking much. I suppose the fluid content of the soup was putting me off a bit.
Now I'm in phase two of the program I get to eat a lot more normally. And by normally I mean I can serve the rest of the family the same food that I'm eating, which should make life a little easier on the home front.
With the increased food intake I expect weight loss to slow down even more and I wouldn't be too surprised if I experienced a little gain this week (disappointed but not surprised).
So has it paid off? Yes, I've lost another 1.5kg. As anticipated the loss has slowed down considerably but the other expected side effects failed to appear. I've had a small break-out on my forehead but my skin has stayed otherwise clear, I've not been particularly lethargic or headachey and I haven't developed any illness.
I'm still a little sceptical that the six kilos lost so far will stay off. I'm sure much of it has to be water weight because while I've been eating so much soup my fluid intake has tapered right off. I usually carry around a water bottle but I haven't been for the past couple of weeks. I just wasn't interested in drinking much. I suppose the fluid content of the soup was putting me off a bit.
Now I'm in phase two of the program I get to eat a lot more normally. And by normally I mean I can serve the rest of the family the same food that I'm eating, which should make life a little easier on the home front.
With the increased food intake I expect weight loss to slow down even more and I wouldn't be too surprised if I experienced a little gain this week (disappointed but not surprised).
Monday, November 14, 2011
Getting My Groove Back
I've been a little dissappointed in my last couple of runs so it was nice to finally get back to form yesterday. It was overcast and humid but I took it slowly and managed to get through the full half hour without any problem.
On the diet front, today is day 14, my last soup day. Thank God. I'm so bored with the soup.
On the diet front, today is day 14, my last soup day. Thank God. I'm so bored with the soup.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Diet Update
Conditions for my run today was much better. The sky was blue, there was a light breeze keeping the temperature reasonable and I was dressed appropriately. Yet somehow the idea of running for half an hour made me nervous. So I set out on a shorter 2km route and jogged along at my accustomed slow pace and made the distance without any problems. But still the idea of running for thirty minutes fills me with dread. It's nonsense because I know I can do it, I've been doing it for months. It's a mental hurdle I have to get over not a physical one.
On a dietary note, I'm about halfway through week 2 of the kick start diet and I think I know how this diet works. Not only is the soup very low calorie leading to an extreme calorie restriction but the monotony turns you off eating altogether. Late last night I was feeling hungry. This diet discourages hunger-it's one of the things about it that I think is good. According to the rules of the diet if I feel hungry I should eat-soup. As much as I want as often as I like. But I simply couldn't face another bowl of kick start soup, so I didn't eat at all. And there's the secret. If I was truly hungry I wouldn't have hesitated to eat the soup.
On a dietary note, I'm about halfway through week 2 of the kick start diet and I think I know how this diet works. Not only is the soup very low calorie leading to an extreme calorie restriction but the monotony turns you off eating altogether. Late last night I was feeling hungry. This diet discourages hunger-it's one of the things about it that I think is good. According to the rules of the diet if I feel hungry I should eat-soup. As much as I want as often as I like. But I simply couldn't face another bowl of kick start soup, so I didn't eat at all. And there's the secret. If I was truly hungry I wouldn't have hesitated to eat the soup.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Running On Empty
Since I completed the C25K I've maintained the habit of running three days per week. While my speed remains the same slow jog it was back at the end of week nine, I still manage to complete the full half hour. So I was very surprised when I barely made the fifteen minute mark today.
Even though I had set out at my accustomed leisurely pace I started to feel tired at around the ten minute mark. Believing the fatigue to be mental rather than physical, I plowed on thinking I'd work through it, until just past the fifteen minute mark where I well and truly hit the wall. I literally couldn't run another step. I stuttered to a walk and scanned myself searching for the problem.
I was mildly out of breath but certainly not gasping or panting. I'd worked up a light hairline sweat but didn't feel overheated. The usual suspects (feet and left knee) were all in good order-no pain or stiffness. Even my left hip didn't hurt any more than usual (it often aches while I run but the exercise seems to loosen it up and it won't bother me again all day).
Finding nothing overtly wrong I picked up the pace, but only to a very slow jog, and a couple of minutes later was back to walking. I'd be surprised if I actually ran more than six or seven of the following fifteen minutes. The entire experience was quite disheartening.
Any number of factors could have contributed to the exhaustion. I didn't sleep particularly well last night. I was inappropriately dressed for the weather (it was overcast and threatening rain when I left so I wore long warm pants but once under way I discovered it was warmer than it looked). Conditions were warm and humid, not typical of this time of year. All of these factors may have contributed to my lethargy.
But I strongly suspect that the kick start diet played a large part. I've been following this very low calorie diet for over a week now and though I have ample fat stores I think the exercise was just a bit too much for me at my current intake level.
Maybe this was just my first 'bad' run. I've heard they happen to everyone occasionally. But the timing seems a bit too coincidental.
It'll be interesting to see how my next run goes. I'll report back later in the week.
Even though I had set out at my accustomed leisurely pace I started to feel tired at around the ten minute mark. Believing the fatigue to be mental rather than physical, I plowed on thinking I'd work through it, until just past the fifteen minute mark where I well and truly hit the wall. I literally couldn't run another step. I stuttered to a walk and scanned myself searching for the problem.
I was mildly out of breath but certainly not gasping or panting. I'd worked up a light hairline sweat but didn't feel overheated. The usual suspects (feet and left knee) were all in good order-no pain or stiffness. Even my left hip didn't hurt any more than usual (it often aches while I run but the exercise seems to loosen it up and it won't bother me again all day).
Finding nothing overtly wrong I picked up the pace, but only to a very slow jog, and a couple of minutes later was back to walking. I'd be surprised if I actually ran more than six or seven of the following fifteen minutes. The entire experience was quite disheartening.
Any number of factors could have contributed to the exhaustion. I didn't sleep particularly well last night. I was inappropriately dressed for the weather (it was overcast and threatening rain when I left so I wore long warm pants but once under way I discovered it was warmer than it looked). Conditions were warm and humid, not typical of this time of year. All of these factors may have contributed to my lethargy.
But I strongly suspect that the kick start diet played a large part. I've been following this very low calorie diet for over a week now and though I have ample fat stores I think the exercise was just a bit too much for me at my current intake level.
Maybe this was just my first 'bad' run. I've heard they happen to everyone occasionally. But the timing seems a bit too coincidental.
It'll be interesting to see how my next run goes. I'll report back later in the week.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Kick Start Diet
Things have been holding steady for me on the weight loss front for quite some time now. I'm half way to my goal weight and I've hit a plateau. This wasn't entirely unexpected and I kept up with the regular exercise and sensible eating whenever hungry in the belief that eventually I'd start to lose again.
That hasn't happened. In fact, after the October birthday marathon week I gained two kilos. With the ten kilos I'd regained back in March, and spent most of this year relosing, fresh in my mind I decided the time had come for drastic measures.
I remembered Alex talking about the kick start diet and thought something like that might be worth a try. Later, at the supermarket checkout, I saw New Idea magazine had a 28 day kick start diet booklet attatched. I've always been wary of fad diets. Why spend a lot of time and effort losing weight that I'll only put back on the minute I deviate from some ridiculously strict plan? But I decided the universe was trying to tell me something. I bought the magazine and read through the diet.
It did seem to be very similiar to the diet Alex tried. At least the soup recipe and first week eating plan looked the same.
When I stepped on the scales after a week of sensible eating and exercise and saw that the two kilos I'd gained hadn't budged by even a gram my mind was made up. I decided that I would follow the first seven days of the kick start diet as a detox then return to sensible eating at the end of the week.
I began my first fad diet with the idea that a one kilo loss would be a success and a two to two and a half kilo loss would make the monotony of it all worth while.
By day four the soup was getting a bit dull but I perservered and it paid off. Here I am on day seven and I can report a loss of four and a half kilos. I am both surprised and delighted. I suspect that much of that number is fluid loss but even so the psychological benefit of seeing the scales finally move is huge.
I have now decided that I will continue to follow the diet for the rest of the 28 days. Even though that means repeating week one's soup fest for another seven days. I expect the weight loss to slow down considerably now I'm past the initial fluid loss and I wouldn't be at all surprised if I put a little back on as I continue.
I've decided that for me to consider the 28 day kick start diet a success, I must have lost four kilos in total by the end of the month. And if I am to consider it worth the monotony, I must lose at least seven kilos by the diet's end.
I will report my progress over the next three weeks. For now I'm off to chop vegetables. I've got to make some soup.
That hasn't happened. In fact, after the October birthday marathon week I gained two kilos. With the ten kilos I'd regained back in March, and spent most of this year relosing, fresh in my mind I decided the time had come for drastic measures.
I remembered Alex talking about the kick start diet and thought something like that might be worth a try. Later, at the supermarket checkout, I saw New Idea magazine had a 28 day kick start diet booklet attatched. I've always been wary of fad diets. Why spend a lot of time and effort losing weight that I'll only put back on the minute I deviate from some ridiculously strict plan? But I decided the universe was trying to tell me something. I bought the magazine and read through the diet.
It did seem to be very similiar to the diet Alex tried. At least the soup recipe and first week eating plan looked the same.
When I stepped on the scales after a week of sensible eating and exercise and saw that the two kilos I'd gained hadn't budged by even a gram my mind was made up. I decided that I would follow the first seven days of the kick start diet as a detox then return to sensible eating at the end of the week.
I began my first fad diet with the idea that a one kilo loss would be a success and a two to two and a half kilo loss would make the monotony of it all worth while.
By day four the soup was getting a bit dull but I perservered and it paid off. Here I am on day seven and I can report a loss of four and a half kilos. I am both surprised and delighted. I suspect that much of that number is fluid loss but even so the psychological benefit of seeing the scales finally move is huge.
I have now decided that I will continue to follow the diet for the rest of the 28 days. Even though that means repeating week one's soup fest for another seven days. I expect the weight loss to slow down considerably now I'm past the initial fluid loss and I wouldn't be at all surprised if I put a little back on as I continue.
I've decided that for me to consider the 28 day kick start diet a success, I must have lost four kilos in total by the end of the month. And if I am to consider it worth the monotony, I must lose at least seven kilos by the diet's end.
I will report my progress over the next three weeks. For now I'm off to chop vegetables. I've got to make some soup.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
November 1st
I blogged a few weeks ago about having pneumonia but persisting with the 17 day program, then fell out of the blogosphere (insomuch as I'm in it to begin with) because apparently this is a bug with a nasty legacy. I've been off work for the past four weeks, and though I have high hopes of going in this Friday, the odds of me successfully seeing out my six rostered nights is slender, given I needed a nap this afternoon after babysitting for a friend for two hours. I'm also a little compromised by the fact that I finish work Thursday morning, then head out to the UK Friday lunch time, so if I push too hard I'll relapse while I'm overseas.
More relevantly, for the purpose of this blog, is the effects this has had on my intake and exercise. In the latter camp that'd be a full month of nothing - until a week ago I had to lie down to recover from the arduous labour of taking a shower - certainly the first time warm running water has made a chest infection feel worse. I start breathing heavily with really modest amounts of exercise, and though I'm making myself walk for half an hour a couple of times a day I think pushing it would be a bad idea at this point.
I have no real appetite and intermittent low level nausea, and after a week of eating less than 500 calories a day I decided to eat whatever I felt like. This has mostly been convenience-type stuff, mostly because the idea of preparing anything makes me feel tired. So though I haven't stepped on the scales for a while, I suspect there won't be a pleasant surprise awaiting me when I do.
I also think that isn't the best time to be too stressed about my mass - as I improve my focus will be on regaining cardiovascular fitness, with diet a secondary tier. According to my doctors people who've have mycoplasma pneumonia can be affected for up to six months, especially if they try to get back to normal too quickly. So for the next wee while it'll be slow, gentle steps. - Alex
More relevantly, for the purpose of this blog, is the effects this has had on my intake and exercise. In the latter camp that'd be a full month of nothing - until a week ago I had to lie down to recover from the arduous labour of taking a shower - certainly the first time warm running water has made a chest infection feel worse. I start breathing heavily with really modest amounts of exercise, and though I'm making myself walk for half an hour a couple of times a day I think pushing it would be a bad idea at this point.
I have no real appetite and intermittent low level nausea, and after a week of eating less than 500 calories a day I decided to eat whatever I felt like. This has mostly been convenience-type stuff, mostly because the idea of preparing anything makes me feel tired. So though I haven't stepped on the scales for a while, I suspect there won't be a pleasant surprise awaiting me when I do.
I also think that isn't the best time to be too stressed about my mass - as I improve my focus will be on regaining cardiovascular fitness, with diet a secondary tier. According to my doctors people who've have mycoplasma pneumonia can be affected for up to six months, especially if they try to get back to normal too quickly. So for the next wee while it'll be slow, gentle steps. - Alex
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