Week One – in which I lose 8lb and manage 1326 steps whilst driving my car

Ok, so first week wasn’t too bad. Going back to reality the week after New Year is never brilliant but fortunately the week was planned to have me mostly working from home – a good place to be, I thought, when starving and irritable.

I’d decided to kick off the plan with a detox. 4 juices a day, no solid food, no caffeine, no fizzy drinks, no alcohol – not that I drink. I gave up alcohol 9 years ago when drinking too much of it landing me in intensive care. In fact that was the last time I really lost any weight. The NHS ‘Nil by mouth’ diet is f**king amazing, you can lose nearly three stone in as many weeks!  And don’t get me started on the wonders of morphine…but that’s another story.

Juicing then…in 3 days I consumed by body weight in the juice of green vegetables and fruit. Ok, maybe not my body weight, that would be ridiculous, but I’m pretty sure that weight for weight I lost more pounds than the volume I drank. And, here’s the shocking bit, IT WAS EASY! A few light headed moments, but not a single hunger pang, not once. If you want to try it I recommend you check out;

http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/  and watch his film, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead – unlike the title its an inspirational, fascinating and at times emotional viewing.

https://www.juicemaster.com/ and if you ever get the chance (and the money) go and stay at Jasons retreat in Portugal – 7 days of nothing but Juice, exercise and sun (I went two years ago. I skipped the exercise but loved the sun bit).

Days 4 to 7 I shifted to CLEAN eating. Which means I can eat anything I want as long as its low sugar, low carb, low dairy, not processed / packaged and cooked from scratch.

Meals & snacks include avocado, eggs, seeded non gluten toast, home made granola, an AMAZING chicken satay and Vietnamese salad, Chili con carne and brown rice (brown rice is surprisingly good), homemade soups, salmon and broccoli, fritatta, crispy sweet potato chips, kale crisps, nuts, rice cakes and peanut butter, paprika and lemon chicken. Not too shabby.

I’ve walked too. The exercise bit is the thing I’m dreading the most. So I’m breaking myself in gently. The fitbit helps – although the little messages telling me to ‘feed me another 146 steps’ frequently provoke a ‘oh just fuck off!’ response. My record so far is 8000 steps, and given that took a good 90 minutes of walking I have no idea how I’m actually gonna find the time to walk the target of 10000 steps – but I’m sure I’ll get there.

Here’s some of the weeks moments and leanings;

1. I hate beetroot. I’m choosing not to include this liquid mud in my regime going forward.
2. I bought a diet plate. Its 10 inches across, but was very upset to discover the bit you actually fill with food is the size of a normal side plate. Shit.
3. According to my fitbit I managed 1326 steps..driving my car! RESULT!! I didn’t even break a sweat. I got this.
4. Thanks to a friend on FB I was led to http://www.helohealth.co.uk/  While I haven’t yet embarked on the 3 month challenge the concept and recipes are seriously good.
5. In weak moments I just thought about the 800 or so people that saw my post about my 52 in 52 commitment. Turns out my pride/ego is much bigger than my appetite.
6. Rooiboos tea is just about palatable without milk…but ‘fruit teas’ are a new kind of hell.
7. I was introduced to this guy via fb https://www.davidkingfitness.com/ He sounds all kinds of great (which is a shame because I know I’ll end up hating him) and gave me a boost just talking to him. I’ll be working with him a bit later in the year…I’m saving him for when I hit THE WALL (anticipated time of arrival..about March).
8. If I walk anything over 4000 steps my ankles feel like they’re trapped in a ski boot that’s 2 sizes too small. Not that I’ve ever put on a ski boot – that’d be way too physical for me.
9. A friend sent me Tim Ferris’ book 4 Hour Body http://fourhourbody.com/  I skipped straight to the chapter about the 15 minute female orgasm. Obviously.

10. Overall – I LOST 8 POUNDS!