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!