Dieting From Home

The change from 800 kcal/day to 700 has had effects.  No particular hunger.  It may be psychological.  But I do feel that I am restricted by the diet from normal activities.  I walk around my neighbourhood and see other citizens enjoying food, beer, snacks.  They laugh and they smile.  They are enjoying life. I have become mindful of the act of eating - and aware of the phenomenal plenty  of a typical grocery shop. I've now consciously witnessed a similar luxury of life that this Western world economy provides. Restaurants and fast-food.  Kiosks and bars.  Each competing in their niche, providing us with a way to push back the stress that economy necessitates for our roles in it.   But I can't participate. That exclusion is palpable.  It's a loss that is disappointing.  The feeling of weeks without this part of life seems a measurable reduction in my life experience.  But it also reveals to me the remarkable power th...

Last weekend we went to a great Sichuan restaurant in Paris' Chinatown - which, by the way, is the biggest in Europe.  Most residents are actually from Vietnam, Laos or Cambodia (though of Chinese ancestry).  Tian Tian Wang  however is a legitimately Chinese establishment. I did my best to keep to my diet, however I had no real way to determine either the true caloric content of what I was eating, nor the quantity.  But I felt  I was over-eating and simply the sense of fullness I had after the meal, I had to admit, confirmed the fact. Lamb hot-pot Of course, there's no disaster in breaking the diet in such circumstances.  I simply go on with the same routine as the previous days and forget this slight aberration to have a good time with my family - no drama.  Yet, I felt the need to compensate. Beyond that, I'd realised my rate of weight loss had tapered somewhat.  I'd expected this, but I'd been pleased to see it hadn't happened as early as I'd ...

I have passed the half way mark.  That is if I decide to end the diet at the advised 12 weeks.  I may not: I have a weight target.  Initially I stated 80Kg  - in fact I'd like to get to 78Kg.  I expect that may take a week or two more than 12 weeks. During the 6 weeks I have lost 13.8Kg.  That constitutes a successful diet.  I have maintained it without particular effort; without suffering significantly.  It has required a little discipline.  For instance, last weekend I went with family and a friend to Marseille.  Of course we ate out.  In social environments there is some pressure to join in whatever festivity is occurring.  I think this is primal - part of what it is to be human. At one restaurant, Carlotta With , seeking something low-cal/low-carb I chose their roast cauliflower.  But of course, being baked, it is (deliciously) covered with oil.  I ended up eating half (doggy-bagging the rest).  I ate the rem...