15 kg and 3 months later
After three months I’m going to finish up with this project. I have reached my goal. 15 kg of weight I shredded and this without too much effort. I’m sure that most of you won’t want to read my daily routine and if you do, you’ll find that I didn’t really go out of my way to have any special diet. You’ll also see that I stopped the every other day 24 fasting on day 76. Neither did I do any 24 hour fasting periods during my work as a tour guide. Overall, it was a pretty easy going project and yet very successful. Okay, if you really scrutinise my project you’ll find that it took 30 days longer than originally planned, but hey, that’s allowed.
A whole new me
If you read part 1 of this post, you’ll know that I’m on a 62 day journey to lose 13 kg. Important for me is, that I focus on weight loss at the same time as focusing on keeping a good quality of life. Beginning of February I weighed 83 kg. This was the point when I got onto the brakes.
Day 32 – morning weight 76.3 kg – 0.1 kg
It’s a fasting day today. For dinner I had two very thin slices of whole-grain rye bread with cooked ham and a very nice mixed salad.
Day 33 (Day 1 of tour) – morning weight 76 kg – 0.3 kg
I did really hope that I was going to be in the 75 kg terrain, but to be honest, I’m very happy with the 76 kg as well. Today, I’m starting a 7 day tour. This means that I’ll have to adjust my fasting rhythm. If you read part 1 of this experiment, you’ll have seen that I did this once before. Instead of fasting every other day, I’ll now eat two meals every day. I’ll skip breakfast, have a light lunch and a dinner. After dinner I’ll fast for 16 to 18 hours before I have lunch again. The last time I did that, I lost 1.5 kg within a week. Let’s see how it works this time around. I won’t be able to weigh myself during the week in the hotels. The next time I’ll weigh myself will be Tuesday week.
For lunch I had a rather large bowl of vegetable soup and two slices of Irish soda bread. For dinner I had a burger with cheese, crispy bacon, tomato and lettuce. I went for a 20 minute cycle and 30 minute walk.
Day 34 (Day 2 of tour) – next weighing on day 41
For lunch I had a minestrone soup with a slice of fresh soda bread. For dinner I went for a home made burger with bacon and cheese and a nice side salad. You see, I do have a balanced diet 😉
Day 35 (Day 3 of tour) – next weighing on day 41
For lunch I had a beautiful vegetable soup with three slices of soda bread. I think that it was one slice of bread too many. For dinner I opted for a Caesar Salad with grilled chicken.
Day 36 (Day 4 of tour) – next weighing on day 41
For lunch I had a ham salad sandwich. For dinner I treated myself to a sirloin steak with chips, mushrooms and a pepper sauce. Before dinner, I had a nice brisk 45 minute walk in Limerick city.
Day 37 (Day 5 of tour) – next weighing on day 41
For lunch I had a so called Cold Seafood Trio with salad. It consisted of a nice portion of each grab meat, prawns and smoked salmon. A nice portion of mixed salad and two slices of soda bread. For dinner I had an awful Caesar Salad. I went for a nice little walk at Dingle harbour after lunchtime.
Day 38 (Day 6 of tour) – next weighing on day 41
For lunch I had a seafood chowder and two slices of soda bread. The Fishermen’s Bar is still closed for the winter. I therefore ate in the purple bar across the street. I was there a few weeks ago and it was quite nice. I went out for dinner and had a beefburger with bacon and cheese with a nice little salad on the side.
Day 39 (Day 7 of tour) – next weighing on day 41
Whenever I have lunch in Cashel, I have to go to the Bakehouse on Main Street. It’s a beautiful little walk in bakery. On the ground floor you find exactly this, a little bakery and on the first and second floor you find seating and a buffet. Whether it is freshly baked bread, rolls, cakes, tarts or quiches, in the Bakehouse you find absolutely anything your heart desires.
That’s exactly where I went for lunch today, to the Bakehouse. I had two freshly baked slices of whole wheat bread. Between those slices there was some home cooked ham and coleslaw. For dinner I had a beautiful Caesar Salad with grilled chicken.
Day 40 – next weighing on day 41
I had a vegetable soup and a slice of soda bread for lunch. It must have been the smallest bowl of soup I ever had. For dinner I cooked a pork chop with some courgettes, sweet corn and a potato.
Day 41 – morning weight 74.8 kg – 1.2 kg
The moment of truth. To be honest, I actually thought that I had put on some weight. To find out that I had actually lost 1.2 kg is a nice surprise.
Today is a fasting day. After having had two meals a day for the last eight days, I have to admit that it wasn’t an easy task to be fasting again. For dinner I cooked some liver and roast onions, a potato, cauliflower and broccoli.
Day 42 – morning weight 74.4 kg – 0.4 kg
I had a Full Irish for breakfast, which consisted of two black pudding, one sausage, one rasher, one fried egg, baked beans in tomato sauce and one slice of toast. For dinner I had a home made beef burger with cheese and salad. I washed the burger down with a pint of Franciscan Well Rebel Red Ale – after all, it’s St. Patrick’s Day.
Day 43 – morning weight 74.6 kg + 0.2 kg
Well, that’s one of those things. There are days when you put on weight and you don’t really know why and then there are days when you lose more weight than expected and you can’t explain this either. I guess, not everything always needs an explanation. Last night I went for a brisk 52 minute walk with the odd sprint. Sprinting is a new development. I’m not really wearing the right shoes for that, but for now it is okay.
Today is a fasting day. For dinner I had pan fried hake with some cauliflower, broccoli and a boiled potato. I did a nice brisk 51 minute walk.
Day 44 – morning weight 74.2 kg – 0.4 kg
For lunch I had a vegetable creme soup with a slice of soda bread. For dinner I had yesterday’s hake with some green asparagus and a potato. After dinner I went for a brisk 50 minute walk.
Day 45 – morning weight 74.1 kg – 0.1 kg
Today is a fasting day. I had a very active day. For dinner I treated myself to a double Angus burger with bacon and cheese (Burger King). After dinner I went for a brisk 50 minute walk.
Day 46 – morning weight 73.8 kg – 0.3 kg
For lunch I had a really nice mushroom soup with two slices of Irish soda bread. For dinner I decided on a Greek restaurant. I have looked forward to a nice authentic Gyros for ages. The result was very disappointing. There was no salad with it and inside the pita bread I found some chips. I guess the chef wanted to give the pita bread wrap some volume. The problem is, that it was a reputable place.
I’m back on the road, which means that I can’t weigh myself until day 54. Hotels don’t have bathroom scales. As before, I’ll skip breakfast and have two meals a day. I don’t want the weight-loss project to interfere with my work.
Day 47 (day 1 of tour) – next weighing on day 54
For lunch I had a beautiful vegetable soup with a slice of soda bread. At dinner time I was actually really hungry. I opted for a home made burger in a bun with cheese and bacon. On the side I had a bit of a salad.
Day 48 (day 2 of tour) – next weighing on day 54
For lunch I had a poor little vegetable soup. The soup itself was actually quite nice, but there wasn’t much of it. I guess the restaurant had decided to put me on a diet. The soda bread was of very poor quality. It’s rare that I’m that disappointed from food. For dinner I had a chicken Caesar Salad. Again, the salad was extremely small. I don’t know what happened today, but I just didn’t get the portions I wanted to sustain myself. I guess I have to make up for it tomorrow.
Day 49 (day 3 of tour) – next weighing on day 54
For lunch I had a carrot and parsnip soup with a slice of soda bread. The soup itself was nice, but again, there was hardly any soup. For dinner I opted for a sirloin steak with mushrooms, chips and pepper sauce.
Day 50 (day 4 of tour) – next weighing on day 54
For lunch I had a cold seafood trio, consisting of prawns, smoked salmon, grab meat, mixed salad and two slices of soda bread. For dinner I had a poor Chicken Caesar Salad without the traditional Caesar dressing.
Day 51 (day 5 of tour) – next weighing on day 54
For lunch I had a seafood chowder and two slices of soda bread. For dinner I had a home made burger with a side salad.
Day 52 (day 6 of tour) – next weighing on day 54
For lunch I had a beautiful brown bread sandwich (freshly baked loaf) with home cooked ham and home made coleslaw. A real treat. For dinner I had a lamb shank with mashed potatoes and gravy. The lamb shank was okay. Very disappointing was, that there wasn’t a trace of vegetable to be seen anywhere.
Day 53 – next weighing on day 54
This morning I opted for a “small” full Irish breakfast, which consisted of only one rasher, one sausage, one fried egg, one black pudding, a few mushrooms, a few baked beans in tomato sauce and one slice of toast. For dinner I had a lamb burger with a generous side salad.
Day 54 – morning weight 73.2 kg – 0.6 kg
To only have lost 0.6 kg after eight days is very disappointing for me. I didn’t really do anything different this time around than what I did on previous tours. Maybe I was just spoiled in the past. I was losing weight really nicely. Never mind. I guess it could be worse. Losing 0.6 kg is still better than not losing weight at all. I’m still on the right track and will just keep going.
Today is a fasting day. For dinner I tried a new place. I had a medium hot “Peri Peri Chicken Burger” and three quite hot little chicken drum sticks. After dinner I went for a brisk 52 minute walk.
Day 55 – morning weight 72.6 kg – 0.6 kg
0.6 kg weight loss in one day is unrealistic, but that’s what my bathroom scales showed this morning. I’m sure this will be rectified tomorrow morning.
For lunch I had a sandwich with brawn. For dinner I had a freshly made burger from my butcher. I only noticed at home that the burger was a half-pounder. On the burger I had a slice of crispy bacon and melted cheese. All this between a spelt bun went down like a treat. After dinner I went for a brisk 52 minute walk.
Day 56 – morning weight 72.8 kg + 0.2 kg
I expected my weight to rectify itself. To put on 0.2 kg wasn’t too bad, considering the food I had yesterday. Today is a fasting day. For dinner I had three chops from a rack of lamb. On the side I had some roast vegetables, spinach and mashed potatoes. After dinner I went for a brisk 52 minute walk.
Day 57 – morning weight 72.5 kg – 0.3 kg
I lost 0.3 kg. I have a feeling that I’m kind of stagnating. I don’t seem to get anywhere. In eleven days I’ve lost 1.3 kg. That’s just not good enough. For today, I decided to do a semi fasting day. For lunch I had three hard boiled eggs. This definitely made me feel full. For dinner I had rolled hake fillets filled with seafood mouse. Don’t ask me what the mouse consisted of, I never asked my fishmonger. With the fish I had a potato, roast root vegetables, spinach and stern turnip. It was a beautiful dinner. After dinner I went for a brisk 52 minute walk.
Day 58 – morning weight 72.2 kg – 0.3 kg
Now, that’s more like it. I guess my body needed a bit of a kick-start. I day fasting, one day semi fasting and I shredded 0.3 kg.
Today is fasting day. For dinner I had a fish cake in a bread roll and a beautiful side salad with it. After dinner I went for a brisk 52 minute walk.
Day 59 (day 1 of tour) – morning weight 72.2 kg +- 0 kg
I’m on tour again, which means I’m switching to two meals a day daily and no weighing until I’m back from the tour, which will be on day 64.
Today I had a seafood chowder and a slice of soda bread for lunch. For dinner I decided on a McMhor, which is a beautiful McDondald’s burger, which is only on the menu in Ireland for a limited time.
Day 60 (day 2 of tour) – next weighing on day 64
For lunch I had a Cornish Pasty and for dinner a home made burger with cheese and bacon.
Day 61 (day 3 of tour) – next weighing on day 64
At lunchtime I decided on a small bowl of vegetable soup with a slice of soda bread. For dinner I opted for a Chicken Caesar Salad with bacon and garlic croutons. This morning and afternoon I “had” to taste some crackers with cheese. I’m on the road with an agricultural tour and this tasting comes with the job.
Day 62 (day 4 of tour) – next weighing on day 64
For lunch I had a huge seafood chowder with two thin slices of soda bread. For dinner I opted for a Chicken Cajun Caesar Salad. In between I had a few pieces of raw milk cheese and a piece of chocolate.
Day 63 (day 5 of tour) – next weighing on day 64
Today is a fasting day. For dinner I had roast pork with Spätzle (German pasta), gravy, celery and carrots. After dinner I went for a brisk 52 minute walk. I wonder what the scales are going to tell me in the morning.
Day 64 – morning weight 71.5 kg – 0.7 kg
700 g is not too bad. Considering that it gets more and more difficult to lose weight, once you’re lighter.
For lunch I had a beautiful vegetable soup and a slice of soda bread. For dinner I had two small slices of roast pork, some Spätzle and some carrots with celery. After dinner I went for a brisk 52 minute walk in the lashing rain.
Day 65 – morning weight 71.4 kg – 0.1 kg
Today is a fasting day. For dinner I had some roast chicken with one white potato, one sweet potato, some corn on the cob and a bit of gravy. After dinner I went for a brisk 52 minute walk.
Day 66 – morning weight 70.8 kg – 0.6 kg
For lunch I had a slice of toast with butter and Marmite. For dinner I had some roast chicken with a roast potato, a sweet potato, some broccoli and gravy.
Day 67 – morning weight 70.7 kg – 0.1 kg
I meant to have a soup for lunch, but I couldn’t find a soup anywhere at the arrivals of terminal 2 at Dublin Airport. How sad is that. Instead I ended up eating a small Irish breakfast, consisting of one rasher, one black pudding, one sausage, scrambled egg, baked beans and one slice of toast. For dinner I had the best home made beef burger in years, topped with bacon and cheese served with a nice little side salad.
Day 68 (day 2 of tour) – next weighing on day 75
I’m back on tour, which means I will eat two meals a day and have 16 – 18 hours of fasting periods between the last meal of one day and the first meal of the next day.
For lunch I had a beautiful sweet potato, coconut and coriander soup with a slice of beautiful soda bread. For dinner I, once again, had a home made beef burger with bacon and cheese.
Day 69 (day 3 of tour) – next weighing on day 75
For lunch I had a rather skimpy little seafood chowder with two small slices of brown bread. For dinner I had a very tasteless chicken Caesar salad.
Day 70 (day 4 of tour) – next weighing on day 75
I had a carrot and parsnip soup with two small slices of soda bread for lunch. For dinner I had a small little home made beef burger with bacon and melted cheese.
Day 71 (day 5 of tour) – next weighing on day 75
For lunch I had a “seafood trio”, which consisted of prawns, crab meat, hot smoked salmon, mixed salad and two slices of soda bread. For dinner I had a Chicken Caesar Salad.
Day 72 (day 6 of tour) – next weighing on day 75
For lunch I had a seafood chowder with two little slices of soda bread and for dinner I had a rather tasteless burger with bacon and cheese and a very blunt side salad.
Day 73 (day 7 of tour) – next weighing on day 75
I had a vegetable soup and two slices of soda bread for lunch. For dinner I had McDonald’s McMhor.
Day 74 – next weighing on day 75
Today is a fasting day. For dinner I had roast beef with two small roast potatoes, gravy, spinach, carrots and beans. After dinner I went for a brisk 52 minute walk.
Day 75 – morning weight 69.8 kg – 0.9 kg
I wasn’t really hungry at lunch time and ended up having a huge pot of coffee and a blueberry muffin. I really enjoyed that. For dinner I had some roast beef, two little potatoes, spinach, carrots, beans and gravy. After dinner I went for a brisk 52 minute walk.
Day 76 – morning weight 69.3 kg – 0.5 kg
I’ve decided to pull the brake a bit and not do the 24 hour fasting. nyore. I’m doing quite well. I’m only 2 kg short of my goal and should achieve that easily by having two sensible meals a day.
Today I had a carrot and parsnip soup with two thin slices of soda bread for lunch and for dinner I had some nice hake with two tiny potatoes, roast carrots and parsnip. After dinner I went for a brisk 53 minute walk.
Day 77 – morning weight 69.3 kg +- 0 kg
For lunch I had a beautiful mushroom soup with a slice of soda bread. I found this really beautiful French Café not too far from Dublin’s Grafton Street. For dinner I cooked a chicken curry with brown wholegrain Basmati rice. After dinner I went for a brisk 52 minute walk.
Day 78 – morning weight 69.5 kg + 0.2 kg
200g up or down, it will be fine at the end, I’m sure about that. Let’s see that I’ll lose 500g over the next eight days. I’m back on tour, so the next time I’ll be able to weigh myself is eight days away. I’ll stick to two meals a day.
This lunchtime I had a mushroom soup and a slice of soda bread. Dinner was a bit messy. Due to the fact that my group arrived at my usual dinner time, I had to improvise. I had a McDonald’s McMor at 5:30 pm, which is much too early and because I was afraid to be too hungry in the morning, I had a 37g cheese and onion Tayto crisps at 9:20 pm.
Day 79 – next weighing on day 86
For lunch I had a nice vegetable soup with two slices of stale soda bread. For dinner I treated myself to a sirloin steak with chips, onions, mushrooms, salad and pepper sauce.
Day – 80 next weighing on day 86
I had a seafood chowder for lunch. The chowder was not really nice, it was too thick and creamy. The soda bread that came with the chowder was cut too thick and wasn’t really nice either. The food at the Cliffs of Moher is not really anything to write home about. For dinner I had a chicken Caesar salad.
Day 81 – next weighing on day 86
For lunch I had a “seafood trio”, consisting of some prawns, smoked salmon, grab meet, salad and a slice of brown soda bread. For dinner I had an awful burger with cheese and bacon (Killarney Court Hotel) and a withered side salad. After dinner I did a 60 minute walk.
Day 82 – next weighing on day 86
For lunch I had a small mushroom soup and a slice of doughy brown soda bread (Muckross House Cafe) and for dinner I had a nice enough home made beef burger with cheese, bacon, onion ring and a side salad with coleslaw.
Day 83 – next weighing on day 86
For lunch I had a vegetable soup and a slice of doughy soda bread. For dinner I opted for a home made burger with cheese, bacon and a couple of small onion rings.
Day 84 – next weighing on day 86
For lunch I had a beef and vegetable soup with a slice of soda bread. For dinner I again opted for a home made burger with cheese, bacon and a couple of small onion rings (same place as yesterday).
Day 85 – next weighing tomorrow
For lunch I had a vegetable soup with a slice of soda bread. For dinner I decided on fish and chips with a bit of a side salad.
Day 86 – morning weight 68.7 kg – 0.8 kg
For lunch I had a tomato soup with a slice of soda bread. For dinner I had a lamb burger in a bun with a salad. I enjoyed a couple of pints of red ale with my dinner and after that I had a couple of glasses of whiskey.
Day 87 – morning weight 68.3 kg – 0.4 kg
For lunch I had a seafood chowder with a couple of tiny slices of soda bread. For dinner I had some grilled hake with grilled vegetables and a small little potato.
Day 88 – morning weight 68.8 kg + 0.5 kg
This morning I spoiled myself with a Full Irish Breakfast, consisting of two sausages, two slices of black pudding, baked beans, one fried egg, two slices of bacon and two slices of toast. For dinner I had two southern fried pieces of chicken.
Day 89 – morning weight 68.4 kg – 0.4 kg (Tralee scales)
For lunch I had an interesting sweet potato and ginger soup with three tiny slices of soda bread. For dinner I had a Quarter Pounder with bacon and cheese from McDonalds and the piece of southern fried chicken I had in the fridge from yesterday.
Day 90 – morning weight 67.8 kg – 0.6 kg (Tralee scales)
For lunch I had a “seafood trio” consisting of salad, prawns, grab meat, smoked salmon and two slices of soda bread. For dinner I had a special edition chicken burger from McDonald’s. After dinner I went for a brisk 54 minute walk.
Day 91 – morning weight 67.6 kg – 0.2 kg (Tralee scales)
For lunch I had a seafood chowder and a slice of soda bread. For dinner I had a home made beef burger with bacon and cheese with a salad. The burger was great, the salad was bland – a bit of a dressing wouldn’t have gone astray.
Day 92 – morning weight 67.7 kg
This is the end of the project. I lost nearly 15 kg over a three month period. That’s enough. For now I have to try to keep the weight off, which means I can eat a bit more than recently. I’ll most probably stick to my routine and treat myself to the occassional ice cream or other sweet.
I’ll drop a line in a month time or so and let you know how I’m getting on.
