Damage Limitation

Buon Giorno fellow dieters, I am back. Still feeling quite sore after my hernia repair operation on Friday but very pleased with the results so far (photos later). As I am back in the UK without my highly sophisticated scales then it is just a simple weight reading today .....19 stone exactly or 120.6 kg. I am actually quite pleased even though it is only a 2 kg loss since my last weigh-in. This is because I spent 10 days in Prague for a major system upgrade & given the fact that we were working over the weekend and long hours with only fast food to eat as well as some alcohol consumption it could have been far worse. I certainly realize that it is very difficult to maintain a Dukan diet when you are not in control of preparing your own meals and even when I ordered steak & vegetables at the hotel it turned out that all the veg were cooked in oil & butter. I was quite pleased when one of my colleagues said that he had ordered me a healthy meal of meatballs when we were working on the Sunday - just turned out it was a 12 inch subway with meatballs and thick sauce and cheese!!! (well the intention was good)

When I returned from Prague I had gained 4 lb in weight so this has had to be lost again - funny how it is easier to gain weight than to lose it :-( (But I did have a good time ;-) )

And so after Prague it was back to the UK for the repair on my umbilical hernia; whilst I have had this for many years it is only since I have lost this weight that I felt it would be OK to undergo a general anesthetic. 24 hours in and out and the result is a massive improvement - photos below from Thursday evening compared to yesterday!

 Before

 After

I will have a nice 4 inch scar running up my stomach but if anybody asks me how I did it I will say it was a knife wound from when I was saving a kidnapped damsel from Mexican bandits so don't mess with me LOL

Unfortunately my exercise will be limited to gentle walking over the next few weeks as the healing process takes place.

Considering I spent 10 days in a hotel with a lot of entertainment and put on 4 lb I was quite pleased & I did manage to exercise a bit of control so here are my top tips for business travelers to prevent piling on the pounds.

1. Continue to drink the recommended daily allowance of water 1.5 litres
2. Walk as much as you can. On previous visits I have used taxis whereas this time I walked to the metro & therefore covered an extra 2 km each day
3. Avoid bread & potatoes as much as you can
4. A hotel's buffet breakfast means you can normally select a relatively healthy first meal of the day but avoid the fruit juices, they are full of sugar
5. Rather than using a work restaurant, visit the local supermarket to get your lunch & you can control what you eat
6. It is very difficult to avoid alcohol but I tried to drink alternatively with sparking water
7. Stay focused & positive with the knowledge that a couple of days on pure protein after you return should help you shed any excess. 

Monday 17th March 2014

Top of the morning to you - well it is St. Patrick's Day.

Well, sorry I have not written for a while but I have been away a bit and also very busy & also nothing significant has happened over the last few weeks that I urgently needed to share with you. OK let's start with the facts & figures.

Weight - 122 kg (16.6 kg lost so far)
BMI - 38.9 (44.1 starting)
Body Fat % - 54.4% (66.1% starting)
Body water % - 32.7% (24.1% starting)

So good steady progress although no dramatic drops anymore.

So is the Dukan diet right for you? If you like chicken, fish & eggs every day then it is fine, if you don't then look at alternative diets. Also it is not cheap as you are buying a lot of fresh meat and fish: One tip is to buy fresh whole chickens and then strip it yourself (losing the skin of course), this can be kept in the freezer for when you are ready - this is a lot cheaper than buying chicken fillets. It also can get a bit repetitive but keep focused on the long term benefit as you chew your chicken for the 30th day in a row. I did make a sweet chilli sauce comprising of white wine vinegar, stevia (sugar substitute), garlic & lots of crushed chilli - it certainly added a lot of flavour to the chicken and I had to drink a pint of water to keep me cooled.

But it is not all boring, yesterday I had a nice breakfast having discovered (thanks to the wife) Turkey Bacon, slightly smoked. It is less than 2% fat and tastes very good so it was a bit like having an English breakfast.

Have to admit that my living room is more looking like a gym with my spinning bike, weights and now....an exercise bench which I got for €10 at a flea market. Heaven help me when I eventually leave Germany & have to take this back to our house in the UK - extension required I think. The bench is really great for sit-ups as I really struggle doing these flat on the floor at the moment.


My workout session normally lasts for about 60 minutes now which includes 20 minutes of spin-cycling at a speed of ~ 18 m.p.h, a number of different weight sets, and sit-ups/press-ups/step-ups. Just increased the weight on two of my exercises which is a challenge.

Now wearing my smallest pair of suit trousers & work shirt now - hoping that these will last for a while before I have to start shopping again.

Well my food tip for the week is curly Kale (I can already envisage my wife making rude faces already). Kale is one of the world's healthiest foods and has many benefits. I have copied the link here for more information but here is a good overview of the nutrients.

All About Kale

Monday 24th February 2014

My 5 year old nephew walked through our front door on Saturday morning, poked my tummy & said "Your tummy is getting smaller" - from the words of children :-)

OK, some stats firstly

Key indicators:

BMI - first time under the 40's (39.4) - down 10.7% since start - target 25
Body Fat % - 55.5% - down 16% since start - target 25%
Body water % - 31.9% - up 32% since start - target 55%

It has been a relatively relaxing & quiet week as I have been on holiday and was able to spend the time with the family during half-term. Meant that I had access to the running machine rather than the pavements of Agger which also means that you can watch TV whilst running. Have decided that cooking whole chickens & dividing it up for meals is far more economic than buying chicken fillets & it is a lot more tasty - & the dogs/children get to eat the bits that I cannot eat.

There is a TV show called "My 600 lb life" which follows a year in the life of Americans who weigh ~ 600 lb and normally have gastric surgery. The one point that I took away is that it is absolutely essential to have the total support of your family & friends when doing a dieting challenge. One lady had a husband who preferred "larger women" & he did not support her weight-loss to the point that when he picked her up from hospital after her gastric surgery he stopped at a fast food establishment & then got her to hold his burger - BA****D! She is doing very well though even without his support but it does make it a lot easier if you have the support! http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/my-600-lb-life 

Another couple of tests to pass this last weekend. Firstly I went to watch Worcester Warriors play rugby against Sale Sharks. Traditionally rugby matches are where you have a few beers before & after the game but I stuck to the diet coke & coffee but OMG the way Warriors played I needed some beer - luckily my brother made up for me in the drinking stakes :-)

Sharks on the way to another score!

Saturday evening we went to a friend's birthday party and there was a wonderful wine tasting event organized but I had already elected to drive and managed to enjoy having a sip of the different wines without drinking each glass. Also managed to keep my hands off the large buffet with some very tempting cheeses!

The ten hour journey back from Worcester to Bonn is always a challenge but had an appropriate stock of proteins with me having stopped off at Tesco on route - however my car now smells like a fish market as I ate a seafood salad on route. Have to confess that I did have a glass of Rioja after the drive as I needed to wind down after the trip.

Quite difficult to find the next appropriate milestone so I will guess that I will switch the weight to imperial (19 st 6 lb) and have the target of moving into the 18's as the next one. Guess that this will most probably take about 3 weeks. Also happy to have made the first step towards having my umbilical hernia repaired by talking to my Doctor who has referred me to a consultant. Need to meet with him to find out what weight he wants me to reach before he is prepared to operate. I really hope that it is a relatively quick target to achieve as I would love to have this done before the summer holidays so I don't get the child stares again.

The good news as I write on day 49 of the diet is that I am still as motivated as day 1, maybe even more so as the results are noticeable, and look forward to the future.

February 17th 2014

You may wonder why I have started with a picture of Sainsbury's in Bracknell - well, I owe big apologies to any shopper with mobility issues who may have been shopping there at Saturday lunchtime - to be revealed later!

Well, all I can say about this week is that I got through it without any major damages. Unfortunately I am without my special reading scales this week so it is a weight only reading of 125.6 kg. This is a 0.5 kg drop from last week but a) I am not surprised and b) I am lucky I did not increase.

Left Bonn at 7 a.m. on Thursday morning for the first leg of my 3 day drive - 1250 km to Narbonne in the South of France. Freezer bag all prepared with all necessary food supplies for the next 3 days. Nightmare journey with torrential rain & high winds for most of the trip but arrived at 6 pm. After checking in at the hotel and getting sorted I thought that I deserved a glass of wine so I went to the bar. I had a small pitcher of vin rouge & refused the menu as I had a bag of cold chicken waiting in my room & "Non monsieur, je ne veux pas le petit dejeuner demain". Really tested when the guy sat opposite me had a plate of French cheese delivered B*****D but I gripped my knife strongly & resisted the temptation to go & stab him.

I hope you choke on your Camembert!

Had my cereal for breakfast although the milk was starting to taste of bit iffy along with some eggs that I had boiled the day before - another strange smell! Spent 5 hours dismantling furniture and loading the car and then set off on leg 2, a short 700 km this afternoon. Opened up my cool bag to have a very late lunch & decided to close it quickly as it did not reveal pleasant odours. Once again having arrived at the hotel I decided that I would try something off the menu so without asking what it contained I selected the Salad de Langres (town where I was staying). Ah, the salad constituted a lettuce leaf and half a tomato with a large piece of French bread covered in goat's cheese - not the best combination!

6.30 departure on Saturday morning after emptying the rest of my cool bag (well, not so cool bag now) in the bin. 7.15 & the result of me eating cheese & bread for the first time in 6 weeks meant that I had to take an early pitstop at a service station! I also needed to buy something to eat as I had a very long jorney ahead of me so I bought what looked like the least damaging product which was two mini rolls with ham. B****r, I forgot that the French liked to add loads of mayonnaise & I really did not enjoy the greasy texture. Another 4 stops between Langres & Calais as the bike rack kept on coming undone - not a happy driver. Needed petrol as I was going around the M25 so I stopped at Cobham services. Also needed to have some lunch to keep my energy up as I was fading rapidly and at least I could check the ingredients this time. A fairly innocuous looking chicken sandwich which I ate after leaving. Then the traffic came to a halt on the M25 just as my tummy was starting to say, "what have you done to me?!" After 30 minutes of sitting in stationary traffic we started to move and I came off at the next exit in absolute agony knowing that there was a Sainsbury's store about 20 km away - ah, the link is starting. Hand-brake turned in the car park & quick walked with pained face into the customer toilets. WTF!!! The one toilet in the men's section was occupied. No choice - disabled toilets ahead & empty. Well I am very sorry to anybody who visited in the next 2 hours & I would not be surprised if the store was not evacuated.

The moral of the story is that on the Dukan diet food products that are not allowed & introduced very slowly & carefully after you have reached your target weight & I can now see why!

Anyway as I said at the beginning I was lucky to have got away without gaining weight last week & my resolve is even stronger than before. It is my youngest son's 15th birthday today & I really hope he has a lovely day and enjoys the cream eclairs, chocolate birthday cake & dark rich chocolate mousse because I will be enjoying my cottage cheese & chicken again.

Monday 10th February 2014

Well Good morning everybody. Let us start firstly with the weekly readings.

Weight - 126.1 kg - down 12.5 Kg since start and exactly 50% towards first target
BMI - 40.7 - down 3.4 since start or a 7.8% reduction
Body Fat - 58.1% - down 12% since start
Body water - 30.0% - 24% increase (improvement)

And as a graph

Two major milestones this week, firstly reaching the 50% target in 5 weeks and secondly in the stones/pounds scale my weight beginning with a 1 - the first time for a very long time. However this is the point where the graph flattens out as it is definitely getting harder to shift weight now so I think the most I can expect is 1 kg a week from now on. One thing that my sister-in-law pointed out is that muscle is heaver than fat so the BMI reading against target needs to be taken in conjunction with body fat %. The thing about BMI is it purely uses two parameters weight & height which on their own are not meaningful measurements. For example Dan Cole, the England rugby prop [please note that I used an England rugby player for this comparison even though my rugby allegiance is to Wales; this is because after Saturday's performance I would have called them many names] is shown as obese when you enter his weight and height (BMI 33) - do you want to be the Doctor who tells him this?!

It is also funny how your body can have very different readings two days in a row. Yesterday my BMI was 0.6 lower than this morning's reading and I was on a pure protein day yesterday and did over two hours exercise and my reading was higher this morning! This is the thing about diets and also why so many people give up quickly if they do not see quick results. It has to be a long term project and designed so that the weight does not pile-on as soon as you come off the diet.

However a diet does not need to be boring & as long as you are prepared to accept that there will be certain foods that will never be good for you then you can still enjoy your meals. On Saturday night I had a traditional British roast and apart from not having potatoes it was the same - remember unlimited protein; it even looks good as well.

One of the hardest challenges for me is during long car journeys and eating appropriately. My trip from Worcester to Bonn on Wednesday was 9 hours and I had prepared my chicken & ham for lunch but the body needs something else to keep alert. In the end I had 2 cans of Red Bull zero which I do not think is the best substitute. This week I have the same when I will be driving 2664 km from Thursday morning to Saturday afternoon. Not only will I be driving 900 km per day approximately but I will try & have to take as much of my food as I can for the 3 days. Even more so there will be little time for exercise & I will be staying in hotels!

I did feel smug on Friday when I visited our offices in Maastricht as our host said we have a very nice canteen here. I had my lunch  box of cottage cheese & chicken and as I watched my colleagues eating chips & bread rolls & thick sauces I did not mind...non, je ne regrette rien :-)

This weekend was a stay in Germany one and I did my visit to the leisure centre on Saturday morning. I went into the pool and pulled on my swimming goggles - I suddenly realized my eyes were not covered properly. I had only bought with me my running headlight instead of my goggles - people must have thought that I was very strange wearing a headlight in the pool!

Anyway I swam 20 lengths and it was time for the pool fitness to start. A nice couple of exercises with some classical marching songs being played over the speakers. Then the next song came on and it was......The Smurfs!!!

Not only this but as part of the exercise routine we had to hold a finger on top of our head and turn around. All I can say is that I really hope that they did not have a video camera recording as this would have been classic YouTube content! A couple of songs later was "Always look on the bright side of life" and we skipped up & down the pool whistling away - Ministry of Silly walks, here we come.

Saturday afternoon was the first time that I used my spin-bike properly and OMG my butt was so sore after 20 minutes & this is even with a silicon saddle. However 8 km cycled & had a Bond movie playing.

On Sunday I was very disappointed when I got to the pool to read that it was closed for the day for essential maintenance, beneath the notice it said "Thank you for your understanding" - SORRY I did not give you my understanding. So I decided to go out for my run as it was a sunny day, although cold. This is the first time that I have done the trip in daylight & it was so much more pleasant being able to enjoy the scenery. Looking forward to when the longer evenings return so I can do this in light after work.

Anyway after the embarrassment of my first selfie wearing my swimming hat & goggles, I thought that I would share another one (Oh no I hear my wife saying :-) ) - this is one to show that I have finally met a part of my body that I have not seen for a long time :-) ........ my chin!

Have a great week campers.

Monday 3rd February 2014

Well, four weeks into the diet today and I am still as motivated. Better progress this week again as I have lost 1.7 kg - unfortunately I am not with my scales that does the BMI readings etc. so these will need to be added next week.

So it is exactly 11 kg lost since I started the diet which is 44% towards my first target (sponsorship goal of 25 kg) which I am so pleased with after 4 weeks. Some quite remarkable centimetre losses off certain parts of the body (take that smile off your face please ladies :-) ) A quick summary which are not so easy to see in the graph:

Tummy - 12 cms
Waist - 15 cms
Neck - 6 cms
Chest - 14 cms

Enjoyed going through my wardrobe this weekend and seeing which clothes I could fit into again - think I might need a new pair of swimming shorts before summer holidays though as I suspect they will drop off very quickly when I dive into the pool LOL

I have to admit that I had a glass of wine on Saturday & Sunday night but I did not feel too guilty as it was only one glass and it lasted me for 90 minutes and I did definitely not feel the need for anymore - this is good progress as it shows that I am becoming more disciplined & certainly not dependent anymore.

I have to say that I have not done much exercise over the weekend but now the spinning bike is in the back of my car my next challenge will be to assemble it when I get back to Bonn (based on my DIY skills this may be more of a challenge than the exercise itself!

Food Tips: I have not tried this myself yet as it is quite difficult to find but will definitely give it a go (extracted from Dukan website).

Considered a weed for a long time, purslane is packed with nutrients.You've finished your Attack Phase so here you are in the Cruise phase where you are allowed vegetables. Now the moment has come for you to discover purslane. Purslane is a perennial plant, considered for a long time to be a weed that would grow anywhere. Until the day when it was discovered that it was one of the key, indispensable foods in the diet of the people of Crete, a civilization with the lowest death rate due to heart disease (lower even than the Japanese). As far as I am concerned, and I'll say this quite openly, purslane is a phenomenal food. Not only do I suggest that you eat it but that you grow it too. Buy a few seeds from a local nursery and off you go. Very soon you'll have enough to make a salad. You just have to keep cutting it and it'll grow back. You can also try it in soups like watercress. Purslane contains soluble fibers just like oat bran and apple pectin and can therefore help your body absorb excess calories. It's very rich in omega 3, excellent for fighting stress and promoting good sleep and because of this it cuts down on emotional eating due to stress. If from today on, you get into the habit of eating it regularly, you can expect to reach a slimmer figure!

Anyway tiddly-peeps, off to work but good-luck in any diet you are trying 

Monday 27th January 2014

Well I was gutted this morning. The scales only showed 0.9 kg drop in a week with all my other readings dramatically slowing down. Partly my disappointment is down to expectations as my weight loss has been so dramatic since the start. I guess my body is getting used to being deprived of fat & sugars so it is resisting slightly. Also last week I hurt my back slightly and could not do my run for three nights and I had to miss my lunch twice which does not work as one would expect - you need to feed in the proteins. However, as my wife said to me if I lose 1 kg per week this would equate to 3.5 stone still lost by the time we go to Tunisia on our summer holiday.

Anyway here are the readings:

• Weight - 129.3 Kg - down 0.9 Kg in third week
• BMI - 41.8 - down 0.2 in third week (End target - 25)
• Body fat % - 60.7 - down 0.1 in second week (End target - 25)
• Body water % - 28 - up 0.1 in second week (End target - 55)

The good news is that there is still drops happening from all my measurements and I hope, as my sister-in-law says, that maybe the fat is being converted to muscle although I would expect to see this reflected in my BMI measurement.

I also think this shows the absolute importance of exercise coupled with a diet. By missing my run for 3 nights I am sure impacted on my rates.

Anyway, enough about statistics & readings - this weekend I stayed in Germany so had plenty of time for activities. Went to the swimming pool on Saturday and decided to join in with the pool fitness class even though I was about 20 years younger than any other participant. The lesson ended up with having to hold the hand of a partner and doing a waltz in the water. She was talking to me a lot in German and I had to tell her that I did not speak very much. I feigned it well as I am sure she was asking me out for a drink LOL.

Also discovered that there is a golf driving range only 300M from my apartment - I have not really played a lot of golf in the last 7 years as even the driving range in Belgium cost a fortune. Have to admit that I was very pleased with the way that I hit the balls and for my first 47 out of 50 had about a 98% success rate. Then the golf pro came and stood in the bay next to me and my last three shots were abysmal - pressure.

I have to admit that my hernia even causes the adults to stare at it when I went into the pool/spa/sauna at the weekend - the problem is that now I am starting to lose some weight from my stomach it is becoming even more pronounced! 

I guess they have all watched Alien with Sigourney Weaver (no, not that part) and think that there is an alien in my stomach trying to get out.

Anyway this is number one on my priorities to get fixed.

Whilst it is obviously sad to be apart from the family during the week it means that my wife does not have to suffer with all the fish I eat as she hates it. Mackerel, crab & prawns on Sunday! 

Also be glad to get my new exercise bike as it was very cold & unpleasant running last night & I did not see one other person which is not normal. 

Anyway onwards & upwards - have a great week

Wednesday 22nd January 2014

Well hello peeps. Sorry I have been away for a while but travelling & technology failures have thwarted me! Well firstly to the results of week 2.

Weight - 130.2 Kg - down 3.5 Kg in second week
BMI - 42.0 - down 1.2 in second week (End target - 25)
Body fat % - 60.8 - down 2.9 in second week (End target - 25)
Body water % - 28 - up 2.1 in second week (End target - 55)

And the graph with all measurements

Milestone of the week - weight dropped into the 20 stone readings (20 Stone 7 lb)

Target milestones for the coming week (hopefully)

Weight out of the 130's in Kg
Body Fat % into the 50's

The great news is that I am still feeling extremely motivated and comments from friends & colleagues spur me on. I know that the rate will decrease but providing I continue to lose I will be happy.

The 4 Km walk is definitely becoming easier & quicker. Will need to either increase the distance or speed to continue the same benefit. Very excited as well as to alternate exercises and protect myself against extreme weather my Mother has ordered an early birthday present for me and I am getting an exercise bike. Absolutely brilliant value at Amazon with a 71% discount!

The biggest challenge will be carrying it from my car to my apartment as it weights 40 Kg!

Sticking to the food on the diet plan is getting easier all the time and I am not missing any of the banned products. Managed to enjoy a family roast but was not tempted by the potatoes or sausages which was great. I did have a minor digression and had a couple of glasses of wine but this is tolerated as a minor deviation on the plan and providing it is only every two weeks it will be fine. The important thing is that the diet needs to be long term & sustainable and that means that I am not going to be a Nun and have nothing to drink but be very sensible (mind you I did just read about the Nun giving birth so not sure if the analogy is quite right!)

Long car journeys are also quite challenging & I must remember to take allowed snacks with me or else I will end up stopping at a service station & getting something naughty.

Planking is now up to 40 seconds and running up the 20 steps at work are relatively straight forward. Just to add to my picture from last week this is what I am no longer carrying so it should be easier.

Due to my company restricting the use of a lot of external websites it will become more difficult to publish things so bear with me as it is unlikely to be a daily blog at the moment - happy dieting campers!

Been so busy at work today that had no time to really think about much. A lot of congratulations for the 10lb that I lost last week. I had a personal message on my kitchen table this morning. It read "Dear, David, thank you for giving me less work. Love, your heart". We may be a bit glib about 10lb but this is what I not carrying anymore after 1 week.

Think about carrying this around 24x7 - it is a lot of effort.

Slight disappointment that my weight was static this morning but this is all due to expectations. On many other diets, my weight has stayed the same or even increased. If I carry on with my routine - diet & exercise I am absolutely convinced that all my targets will be reached.

I mentioned reaching my first milestone yesterday. I think you need to have a large number of milestones on a long "project" like this so you can celebrate successes on route - although not with champagne. This is no different when I am managing a large programme at work; you need to have milestones to check your progress.

There are 3 things that I have realised today.

1. I am not alcohol dependent! 
2. My body responds well to a proper diet
3. Fad diets will not work in the long term

Whilst out running tonight I started to see snow flakes in my running headlight. Luckily it did not develop & even more so it has been a very mild winter so far so outside exercise has not been thwarted.

I mentioned medical conditions and this is one that I really hope I can get sorted out. I have got an umbilical hernia (A hernia occurs when an internal part of the body pushes through a weakness in the muscle or surrounding tissue wall) and it sticks out like a nose from my tummy button. When I was on holiday in Spain the children stared at it as they walked passed me so we have a bit of fun and added eyes and a mouth to it which got even more stares LOL. Losing weight will not repair it but it will make it safer for me to have a general anesthetic to get it repaired.

Now planning for my trip back to the UK tomorrow night & the 4 meals I will need to prepare at breakfast to cover the 36 hours ahead. Looking forward to seeing all the family but will need to be really strong-willed to not be tempted by anything at home.

Week 2 - Tuesday 14th January 2014

It is a very quiet day for diet news today so maybe like some tabloid newspapers I may have to make some up :-)

I achieved my first weight-loss milestone this morning which was great but will not be revealed until the weekly weigh-in.

I may have mentioned before that we need to eat 2 tablespoons of oat bran per day to help digestion. I tried a new recipe this morning and it ended up looking like a severe accident - did not taste too bad though. I am eating so many oats that I think I may start growing a mane and a tail - neigh.

Now starting to run up the 20 stairs between the 3rd & 4th floor in the office. Unfortunately the positive health effect of this is negated by the fact that I am actually going out onto the balcony for a cigarette - my next challenge.

I must remember not to bring in hard-boiled eggs for lunch. My colleagues have politely not said anything but all the windows are now open!

I was walking down the High Street a couple of weeks ago and a "Chav" came up to me and said "you're fat"! I immediately replied to him, "you're ugly but I am losing weight, you can't change your looks" (OK, I admit, freedom of the press).

As I was reaching my 2 Km marker on my run where I turn around I saw some lights jogging towards me. I did not want to immediately be overtaken so I carried on until they passed me. I noticiced it was a couple jogging whilst pushing a pushchair - I wasn't able to catch them up although I ended up adding another 400 metres in distance.

I had a baked aubergine for dinner. Basically take a large aubergine (eggplant) insert some deep slices and stuff some garlic cloves and bake on a high heat. Very filling and extremely healthy and lots of benefits, I have reproduced an article from BBC good food below.

Nutritional highlights

A 100g serving of raw aubergine provides:

25kcal	1g protein	0.2g fat	6g carbohydrate	3.4g fibre

Research

Aubergines are an excellent source of dietary fibre. They are also a good source of vitamins B1 and B6 and potassium. In addition it is high in the minerals copper, magnesium and manganese.

Aubergines are rich in antioxidants, specifically nasunin found in aubergine skin - which gives it its purple colour. A potent antioxidant and free radical scavenger, nasunin has been found to protect the lipids (fats) in brain cell membranes. Cell membranes are almost entirely composed of lipids and are responsible for protecting the cell and helping it to function. The lipid layer is crucial for letting nutrients in, wastes out and receiving instructions from messenger molecules that tell the cell what to do.

 Research on aubergines has focused on nasunin.  It is not only a potent antioxidant, protecting the fatty acids essential for healthy brain function, but it also helps move excess iron out of the body. Althoughiron is an essential nutrient, necessary for transporting oxygen in the blood, immune support and collagen synthesis, too much iron is not recommended.

Aubergines are high in fibre and low in fat and therefore recommended for those managing type 2 diabetes or managing weight concerns. Initial studies indicate that phenolic-enriched extracts of eggplant may help in controlling glucose absorption, beneficial for managing type 2 diabetes and reducing associated high blood pressure (hypertension).

Aubergines may also help to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. These positive effects are likely to be down to nasunin and other phytochemicals in aubergines. (Source: BBC Good food)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The only other time I have really eaten aubergine before is deep fried and added in a moussaka - not so good!

Up to 30 seconds of planking now so body strength is increasing.

Adios, amigos

Week 2 - Monday 13th January 2014

Monday 13th January 2014

Well the day has arrived and my first official weigh-in...and here is the result

That is a weight loss of 4.9 Kg or 10 Lb in week 1. Of course a lot of this will be water content but the real indicators are the other readings from the scales..BMI, Body Fat %, Body Water %.

BMI - down 2%
Fat - down 3.6%
Water - up 7.5%

A long way to go before targets reached but it is a motivating start. The other area that I am monitoring are a number of body measurements as it is amazing from where weight is lost. Quick snapshot.

You may note that I have not included one appendage in the measurements as I really hope that this does not get smaller LOL

It really is the small things that make a difference. On Saturday I visited a shopping arcade and the shop I needed was on the first floor. Rather than taking the elevator I took the stairs and this was almost without thinking.

First day of pure protein & veg today so I have got a small salad (no dressing) to go with my protein at lunch and then I will have some broccoli with my chicken tonight.

Need to be really forward thinking this week. On Thursday I will drive to Calais from Bonn after work, stay in a hotel & then drive to Worcester early on Friday morning. This means that I will need to take lunch, dinner & breakfast with me. If you do not plan then you can easily be led into temptation by arriving at a hotel having had nothing to eat and not being able to find any suitable food. This links to the 7 P's P**s poor planning prevents p**s poor performance - performance being continued weight loss.

Major accident on the way home from work tonight so I did not get back until 8.45pm. I needed to have my dinner and it would have just been too late if I had gone out for my 'run' so I had to skip it this evening but I did feel guilty.

Confidence Tip: One gets accustomed to being considered a 'fat slob'! Not only do you need to manage your eating, drinking & exercise routines but I think you need to change your mindset. Last weekend I shaved on Saturday and Sunday which is very unusual. I walk around the office with my blazer on (which I can do up now), stand upright & have purposeful strides. Just these things alone bring me confidence and I am starting to think, I look good - even though there is a long way to go. People will notice it as well.

Days 6 and 7

The weekend 11th & 12th January 2014

Following my extended exercise yesterday evening I slept for an undisturbed 10 hours, cannot remember the last time this happened. As decided earlier this week I am going swimming this morning. Imagine my shock when I went from the changing rooms to poolside & was suddenly confronted by 30 German ladies doing pool fitness! No other man in sight!!! I guess they realized that I felt embarrassed as there were a few smiles, maybe even a few in sympathy. Perhaps the sight of me in my gear was a shock for them - LOL

I have not really done swimming as an exercise for many years but the benefits of swimming are well known and the water buoyancy is great support for your muscles & bones.

Sorted out my wardrobe...how many odd pairs of socks can one have? I can understand it when there are many people sharing the same washing cycles but I am on my own here in Bonn so I suspect it is Dobby, the Harry Potter elf, who is sneaking in & hiding them. Why am I writing about socks? Well even household chores consume energy and therefore rather than sitting down & watching the football, I am sorting out clothes whilst listening to the football on the radio.

I am considering Saturday evening as my treat meal night and I am having surf & turf...a nice steak with a salmon fillet.

I have to note that the Dukan diet is not cheap if you use the big supermarkets but the discount supermarkets offer you the opportunity to get most items at very good value. As long as you do not mind long queues, no customer service and haphazard displays!

First real signs of weight-loss showing. I can do my blazer up again, my watch is not pinching me and an extra hole in my belt required. Also my stomach is feeling tighter due to the abdominal exercises. This is so motivating.

Leg muscles feeling quite stiff on Saturday evening so restricted my walk to only 2km tonight - no point over doing things in week 1. Some people ask me what should a walk for exercise mean? Well, any walking is exercise but I try & do it a bit more than taking the poodle in the park on a Sunday afternoon . Normally when I have completed my 4km I have a light sweat sheen on my forehead and I can feel my muscles over the last 500M. Certainly at my current weight I would not be inclined to increase the speed to a light jog as I do not want to have a heart attack in the German countryside!

Sunday morning I went back to the swimming pool again. Luckily I was not confronted by 30 German ladies doing pool-fitness again. After the proper swim I had a bit of luxury and had a spa followed by a sauna to relax my weary muscles.

I have a number of medical conditions that are heavily influenced by being overweight. The first is Sleep Apnoea - basically it is a condition where you stop breathing many times overnight and wake up in the morning feeling as tired as when you went to bed. It is also extremely dangerous when you are driving as you just drift off to sleep. I have mine controlled by wearing a mask at night using a constant air pressure machine. The condition is  prevalent in overweight middle aged men - hey that is me! I really hope that this disappears when I weigh less.

This is a picture that one of my kind colleagues took of me before I was diagnosed with sleep apnoea and thus before I started wearing a mask!

I have been asked to write a guest blog for a friend of mine who has over 60,000 followers on the motivation behind my diet. I will share the link when it has been published.

Just done an hour's ironing - another 60 calories consumed.

I think it is important to 'treat' yourself as you start to progress and lose weight. Whilst the spa and the sauna were included in the entry price of the pool, it did seem like a luxury. Also tomorrow I will wear a shirt to work that I have only worn once because I grew out of it. And thinking about the long term target I will need a new wardrobe, but this time I will be able to shop at High Street shops rather than "Shop for the larger gentleman"!

It is amazing what an appetizing meal you can create using only protein and no-fat dairy products; this is my Sunday evening meal. Curried chicken and prawns with noodles (Konjac Shirataki)

Tomorrow the big weigh-in and measurements will be revealed

Slimming Tip: Green tea is a very good dietary aid and it also helps digestion. I don't like the drink very much personally but try to have a cup a day.

Day 5

Friday 10th January 2014

Slight disappointment on the scales this morning as there was a slight rise, not through eating/drinking anything wrong but maybe (hoping) a slight metabolic blip! To be honest one should not step on the scales everyday as you are more likely to have a pleasant surprise through a weekly weigh-in but in week 1 it is quite exciting.

Was quite excited to find that this blog had been cross-referenced in the Customer Service People weekly newsletter; my job is heavily (LOL) involved in Customer Service technology solutions.

I had the first observation that I had lost some weight, from my HR Director no less!

The sponsorship keeps on coming in and I have now raised nearly three times my initial target through online donations & offline pledges Sponsorship Link - thank you so much everybody.

This is quite a nice little device that we were given at work but I am sure can be purchased relatively cheaply. It is a pedometer basically which shows step count, miles walked & calories consumed based on your initial input information. It is amazing how the distance builds up over the day, especially if you use the stairs and how many calories you can lose through natural exercise.

Rather than writing each day my diet from now on as it will be quite repetitive I will make core observations. All the allowed foods on the Dukan Diet can be found on their website Dukan Diet
They say that eating fish is meant to 'improve intelligence' so I reckon that by the end of this diet, Einstein's IQ will be way below mine LOL.

The first evening of the weekend 'home-alone' and still feeling very motivated. Positive encouragement from my wife and brothers gives me moral support.

1 1/2 hours of exercise this evening including 15 seconds of planking - I think I will rename it to 'sheer hell' though.

Food Tip - this is far easier if you live alone or do not have to feed children but I have removed all bad (not-allowed) items from the house now. Not that I have yet been tempted but just in case!

As internet access is more limited at the weekend I will share my weekend blog on Monday so to all my readers, have a great weekend, and if you are trying to do the same as me....stay motivated & 'Bon chance' as they say in France.

Day 4

Thursday 9th January 2014

My body is definitely adapting to the increased exercise. No sign of aching in my leg muscles after my walk last night; must have had a bit more of a disturbed last night though as I did not feel fully refreshed but this is natural as your body undergoes a major change.

Without going into Too Much Information the bathroom visits for 'number two's' are interesting. Now it is a short trip with no odours whereas previously my family had to wear a surgical mask and carry a can of air freshener if they made a visit after me - they will be very happy when I come home next weekend LOL

My delivery of specialist diet products arrived last night. Whilst most of the things that you eat are available from the large supermarkets there are a couple of products that are harder to source so I got these from the Dukan Shop One of the core basics in the first two phases of the Dukan diet is that you do not eat carbohydrates or sugar. On your pure protein days this is quite a challenge as meat and fish on it's own does not seem to be a meal even though you are definitely full. One product that I have bought is called Konjac Shirataki. They are basically Japanese noodles with no/low carbohydrate or calories and are made from the Konjac plant which is similar to Yam; they can be used as a substitute for pasta. There are also a number of side benefits as well including potentially reducing the chance of getting type 2 diabetes; full details can be found here Konjac Shirataki I will let you know what I think when I use them tonight.

So my first real challenge/test is approaching this weekend. From Monday to Friday I am in the office and busy with work so I am fully occupied. With my family having recently moved back to the UK and my office being in Germany it will be difficult to return home every weekend. Having had a 3 week break over Christmas I have decided to stay in Germany this weekend. I need to keep myself fully occupied though as I know that boredom will lead for me to start to feel hungry. Therefore I have drawn up a list of activities that I could do over the two days.

• Clean the car inside and out
• Rather than a 4 km active walk take a longer stroll in the lovely countryside around my village
• Go swimming
• Clean my apartment
• Do lots of ironing
• Do the paperwork
• Sort out my wardrobe
• Complete my weekly learning (will reveal at a later date).

I may have to warn the residents of Lohmar if I do go swimming though LOL

Water - Soooo important. Essential to drink at least 1.5 litres of water each day & preferably not more than 2 litres. This is needed to flush out the toxins (ketones) that your body is creating through the dieting process.

The weather is decidedly unpleasant this evening so transferred my exercise indoors. I do suggest getting changed into sports gear though as it makes you feel more like you are at a gym. Who needs an expensive step machine? Doing a hundred step-ups at medium speed is very challenging!

Right here is an interesting one - planking! Looks easy but it isn't!!!

The 30 Day Plank Challenge will send your core strength through the roof! Yes, all you have to do is HOLD this position, nothing else! It looks pretty easy, but it isn't!

Day 1 - 20 seconds (managed 15 seconds - exhausted)
Day 2 - 20 seconds
Day 3 - 30 seconds
Day 4 - 30 seconds
Day 5 - 40 seconds
Day 6 - REST
Day 7 - 45 seconds
Day 8 - 45 seconds
Day 9 - 60 seconds
Day 10 - 60 seconds
Day 11 - 60 seconds
Day 12 - 90 seconds
Day 13 - REST
Day 14 - 90 seconds
Day 15 - 90 seconds
Day 16 - 120 seconds
Day 17 - 120 seconds
Day 18 - 150 seconds
Day 19 - REST
Day 20 - 150 seconds
Day 21 - 150 seconds
Day 22 - 180 seconds
Day 23 - 180 seconds
Day 24 - 210 seconds
Day 25 - 210 seconds
Day 26 - REST
Day 27 - 240 seconds
Day 28 - 240 seconds
Day 29 - 270 seconds
Day 30 - PLANK FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE!!

Benefits of Plank Exercise:

*It strengthens your lower back
*It develops your core muscles – which include the abs, back, hips and the butt.
*Helps you to avoid injuries and encourage good posture
*Can be done anywhere
*Develops your abdominals by targeting the rectus abdominis

Daily Food intake

Breakfast

Special porridge
Mackerel fillet with LF cream-cheese

Lunch

LF Cottage cheese with prawns
LF Natural yoghurt

Snack

4 slices of extra lean turkey

Dinner

Tin of tuna in brine
Salmon fillet
Konjac Shirataki (Tasteless really, most probably will not bother too much).

Motivational Tip - I think to succeed at a diet you need to have a goal/objective. The only other time that I was really successful in losing a lot of weight was before my wedding when I lost a similar amount to my current target. I knew that I would be in a lot of photographs and I wanted to look good on our special day so that was my motivation. Unfortunately about 7kg went back on immediately after during our three week honeymoon in Jamaica :-)

This time I am using fund-raising for my chosen charity JDRF as my objective, as well as obviously trying to become lighter & fitter. By sharing my weight & my goals with friends & colleagues who know my weight and are supporting me through sponsorship means that I cannot fail!

Day 3

Wednesday 8th January - 2014

Got a better night's sleep last night although having just gone to bed I realized that I needed to submit my online progress report to the team at www.dukandiet.co.uk so had to get up and complete before retiring again. I really did feel refreshed waking up this morning and this is most probably due to the fact that whilst alcohol can make you fall asleep quicker, one does not get a good quality of sleep. Also whilst driving to work I had to take evasive action to avoid a head-on collision with a car that was overtaking illegally; I think if I had imbibed the night previously then my reactions would not have been so fast.

I know that a lot of people complain that they are so busy at work that they do not have enough time to do any exercise - been there, done it. It may be more of a challenge to get to a gym regularly but there are certain small steps you can take during your every day working routine that will help. This morning I walked up 62 stairs from our reception to my office. I was slightly out of breath when I reached the top but made a relatively quick recovery. This will be a good benchmark to see how I progress with my fitness as I lose weight.

I have been thinking about some of the harder challenges that I will face in the future. My role at work involves a lot of travel in Europe and also globally. Just before Christmas I spent 10 days in Pune, India as a key customer to one of my suppliers. The guys wanted to entertain me every evening as well as staying in a six star hotel with a wonderful buffet breakfast and a special VIP dining room where there was a choice of 5 different curries for lunch - I do not dare to think how much weight I added during those 10 days!

Luckily for me in the first quarter of the year we have a travel freeze to protect our revenue so the temptation will not be there. However the time will come when I need to travel again and this is the time that I will need to be very prepared and also strong-willed. Luckily at that stage there will be Protein-Vegetable (PV) days and I think that I can get most restaurants to cook me a steak/fish with veg/salad but NO sauce or dressings!

With the combination of allowed foods you can certainly create some tasty meals, lunch included prawn, cottage cheese & chives - it was yummy & filling.

Appetizing Lunch

Felt a little hungry mid-afternoon so I have 6 slices of extra lean ham. The good thing with this diet is that you are not restricted to a daily calorie intake providing you religiously stick to the allowed foods - as this is a protein week it has to be a protein based food with less than 2% fat content.

A much drier evening although a bit cooler so the 4K walk was very pleasant, followed by 15 minutes of light weights. A lot of people are put off going to the gym because of the monthly cost and contractual commitment as well as potentially being laughed at by others. Personally I do not think you need to go to a gym (unless you want to be into serious body-building, maybe later LOL), as the equipment you need is mainly around your house...the walk outside, the steps etc. However I did buy a dumb-bell set which would allow me to keep toned. Not an expensive addition, the set below cost me £37 at http://www.amazon.co.uk/York-20kg-Cast-Iron-Dumbbell/dp/B000N3T0VE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1389253956&sr=8-2&keywords=dumbell+sets

Spent the rest of the evening reading and listening to the radio but 100% not missing a glass of wine!

Food during the day

Breakfast

Special porridge
Mackerel fillet
Low fat cream cheese with chives
Coffee

Lunch

As per picture, low fat cottage cheese with chives and a pack of prawns

Snack 

6 slices of extra lean ham

Dinner

2 chicken breasts in my own marinade
Low fat yoghurt

Tip of the day #2

One of the problems of dramatic weight loss is loose skin. When I am driving to work I exercise my jaw and chin which hopefully will let me get rid of my double/triple chin and keep the skin toned when I do lose the weight. I grit my teeth together, pull my lips out as far as they will go, dip my chin to my chest and and then lift my chin up as far as it will go. I repeat this 20 times. I do get strange looks from other drivers though LOL

Please Note. A lot of the slimming & exercise tips that I share can be found on www.dukandiet.co.uk so I am using the ones that I utilize in my regime.