The Ideal Diet

In my Trolling around the internet I came across the The North American Association for the Study of Obesity

An abstract from an article written from their studies on hundreds of dieters who have successfully loast weight and kept that weight off contained the following

Still, only a minority consumes a low-carbohydrate diet. Despite changes in the diet over time, the variables associated with long-term maintenance of weight loss were the same: continued consumption of a low-calorie diet with moderate fat intake, limited fast food, and high levels of physical activity.

Now that was a surprise to me considering the uptake of the low carb diets such as Atkins and South Beach ... A recent TV programme put the success of the Atkins diet to the increase of protein which trigger the bodies "I'm full" response much earlier.. It also meant that your body stayed in the full state longer ....

Taking that a little further then having foods that are Low Glycemic(1) ,which also assists in you feeling fuller longer, along with a good intake of protein must be a good approach to longer term weight loss.... Complex carbs are not the enemy. Simple carbs like the sugars and processed flours we see so much of in our foods are .. That and our natural propensity towards such food stuffs....

(1)Not all carbohydrate foods are created equal, in fact they behave quite differently in our bodies. The glycemic index or glycemic index or GI describes this difference by ranking carbohydrates according to their effect on our blood glucose levels. Choosing low GI carbs - the ones that produce only small fluctuations in our blood glucose and insulin levels -

Fitness Blues

I'm worried about my fitness. While the main reason for my recent weight loss has been my undertaking a re-haul of the 1/2 acre garden I have, I do not see any great increase in cardiovascular fitness. This weekend we grabbed our cameras and headed for the Orongorongas. A protected native forrest area that we love to walk though ...Native orchids flower there and our native Tui birds and bell Birds were out on mass beside the carpark feeding off the native flax bushes in flower and full of nectar there.

Now while we did eat a hastily made up picnic (as in not so healthy but it aint the 3rd Jan yet) prior to walking, by we had walked 10 minutes or so of gentle hill I was already tired and panting. McDinzie was happily bouncing around like a mountain goat and she's definately not a slim girl...the difference between us was very apparrent.

I think part of the problem was the fact that we've done little in the way of exercise this past week ...The weather turned on us in cruel but accurate timing meaning our first weeks holiday weather was pretty much rain every day.. And of course Christmas and visitors added to the problem of lack of exercise... So my poor old body was not ready for an exercise start...

I set the alarm this morning. Not for the usual 5:45 work day alarm but for a more friendly 7am alarm... At least this morning I was up at 7 (ish) instead of the 9:30-10 ish the past week.. I dragged poor mcdinzie out of bed as well and we walked the dogs which is always a good start to the day ... But that is by far not enough to build up my cardiovascular endurance....Longer faster hillier walks are needed at the least ...

So in the next day or so I must work on my overall exercise plan and goals and get serious with it....Weight training, Cardio, and stretching all need to be worked on ...

Pre Prep for food allocation

I've taken time out for compiling a shopping list for the main dinner meals for my first week ... All meals are in the 300-400 Calorie range. Breakfasts are always a problem for me ... Usually my breakfast is a large flat-white coffee. Which at leasts gets me the equivalent of a glass of milk a day ... It's usually the only coffee I have in a day ... The rest of my drinks being water or black tea or green tea. Or some herbal tea ....The thing is in the mornings I just cannot get cereal of any kind down... Just don't like it then... I like cereal be tend to eat it in the evenings ... From what is written (as in yes I've readit ..But no I didn't keep the reference to where) a protein meal in the mornings is the best option to set you up for the day. So maybe eggs, or Baked Beans which I like a lot. Funnily enough research from the University of California (ref. Aus. Mens Health magazine Dec07) determined that men need an additional 50% more of the Vitamin B compound Choline.. 850 milligrams of Choline a day being the recommended intake now for men. That can be satisfied by having 2 eggs a day... Funnily enough the next best source of Choline is Bacon (hmmmm Bacon) so Bacon and Egg is a very tempting breakfast ... Except for the calories of course ... 2 eggs being around the 160 cals just to start .....

So for now I think I've agreed on poached eggs for breakfast alternated with Baked beans on some days to relieve the bordom...

The Dinner menu for week 1

• Pumpkin, Chickpea and Cauliflower Curry (With Chicken)


• Slow Cooker Beer Braised beef


• Chicken and Bacon Paella


• Meatloaf (healthy version at 290 cals a serve)


• Kumara and Chickpea Soup


• Mushroom and Spinach Risotto


• Lamb Ragu with Pasta

The intent is to try them and decide if we like them enough (taste, Filling ease to cook etc) and build up at least 2-3 weeks of meals we can enjoy and are low cal and healthy... As I read more on certain foods I will include them into my diet..

Fat Man Thinner and the 12 month Plan

I'm already losing weight. Over the past couple of Months I've lost 6kg. I'm too scared at the moment to stand on the scales incase I've gone up at all over the Xmas break. There is a good chance (high probability). I have having eaten large breakfasts and the usual Xmas fare....

My goal is a big one. To lose 50kg in 12 months ... "Aim for the stars" they say so that is the goal. It won't be a disaster if I only lose half of that. 25kg is not insignificant ... But 50 is better :O)

Along the way I want to change not only my diet but my partney McDinzie's diet as well.. It is her choice as to whether she loses weight this year but I am hoping we will at least both be eating a much improved and healthier diet as habit by the year 2008 is out.

Also along the way as the two things really do go together I want to get fit. I want both of us to get fit. Fit enough to do the day-long tramps in the forrests of New Zealand we used to do a few years back ... There is a lot I would like to do if I could get myself back on track here ..My fitness at this point in time is shockingly low .. If I can improve significantly then I will do more tramping and maybe go back to the Karate I loved doing so much in my teens and 20s.. Surely there must be classes for the old sods that is more than the exercise Tai Chi advertised everywhere these days ...

Add to that I really must get serious and look for a new Job ...I'm being taken for a mug where I work currently... .It's time to move on. Not for anything though. I intend to be selective and go for the right job for me... I want to do this before next June..


Goals for 2008

1. Lose 50kg
2. Walk the 2 hardest walks McDinzie and I achieved when we were fitter.
3. Join a Karate Club
4. Walk the Hump Ridge track next Xmas 08 (this is a 3 day walk)
5. New job

In new Zeland we have a public holiday on the 1st and 2nd of January. Knowing this my year will start on the 3rd Jan. I may as well accept that now.

I refuse to fall into the traps of these 'fad' diets .. I have and will continue to read up on lastest findings from research looking for anything that may assist me along the way ...but I do intent to do nothing more than good old boring calorie count and exercise to get the weight down .... At this point I need to think about how I record my progress ...

Here's to a successful 2008 for everyone ....