I am going to spend a month (or perhaps longer, or shorter) on the Atkins diet whilst continuing to ride my bike as an experiment to a) shift some stubborn fat and b) measure the impact of a low carb diet on cycling performance.
I will be keeping a diary here of my diet, exercise, performance and of course, my weight and any thoughts or reflections on the experience.
A few declarations;
- I am not training for anything so my riding is purely for fun, and at an intensity 'I feel like doing'
- I will be doing circuits and weights during this period, I am not doing cycling alone
- My fitness levels are low compared to my best, so I would expect it to improve over time
- I have been getting back into shape for 2 months proper.
- I gave up smoking (this time for the rest of my life) in January, so may see performance increases through better lung health over time
I no longer own a working HR strap, I gave up on HR, grudgingly, last year and have never missed it. You use power to measure and guage effort, HR is redundant and an unreliable measure of performance in my experience.
I reckon my FTP is probably about 230, best ever is 295 after 9 months of heavy training. In truth I am untrained and relatively out of shape at present. But can ride happily for a couple of hours at a normalized power of about 195w. I have no performance targets, just expect to improve over time.
I'm 88kg and so my target is 78kg, but will be delighted to get to 80kg and keep muscle on. Will review if want to continue when I hit 80kg. By the charts 75kg is a healthy weight for me at 6ft 1", but I generally carry 70-72kg of muscle mass so lets play it by ear.
The sudden drop in weight in the pink line above was a weigh in after a long ride, it is an anomaly of dehydration. Every time I step on my scales they update the charts, I could remove the reading but generally I like to be honest with my data.
* if you find this statement contentious then read "Good Calories, Bad Calories", or just ignore this blog :)
Monday 11th June - Weight 88.0kg
Sleep: 8.5hrs, Feel: back still sore and tight hams, legs fatigued from yesterday. Weather: Heavy rainstorms. Work: Day off. Ride: None.
07:30 Get up. Weigh in.
08:30 Decaf coffee with cream (not milk) and no sugar. tastes revolting. Will breakfast after shower.
10:00 Breakfast: two eggs (sloppy scrambled) with pepper seasoning and two bacon rashers (grilled).
10:00 half pint water (300ml).
12:00 half pint water (300 ml).
13:00 Lunch: Ham omelette, 3 eggs.
13:00 half pint water (300ml)
16:50 Yet another half pint water (300ml)
17:15 Dinner: 4oz Beefburger, 2 bacon rashers, qtr avacado, 1 large flat mushroom, iceberg lettuce leaves.
Mild headache and seriously missing a proper coffee. Not hungry though. Bought some psyllium husks and some multi-vitamins for tomorrow. Won't be riding tonight since the weather is absolutely appaulling.
Tuesday 12th June - Weight 88.4kg
Sleep: 10hrs (!), Feel: Splitting headache. Weather:Heavy rain. Work: City.
06:15 Get up. Weigh in.
06:20 pint of water, 2 ibuprofen
06:30 2.5 scrambled eggs (sharing 5)
06:30 Decaf coffee with cream.
09:15 2 small glasses of water
10:34 2 small glasses of water
10:45 Bristol Scale 3, smallish.
12:30 Venison steak green salad, melted gouda cheese, very very light dressing of mustard and redcurrant made with olive oil.
13:00 2 small glasses of water
14:00 2 ibuprofen, 2 small glasses of water. headache really strong.
15:30 Atkins Chocolate and Orange 'Advantage' protein bar
18:30 Fillet steak, prawns in garlic, mushrooms, 3 small heads cauliflower.
18:30 pint of water
21:00 Bed.
Wednesday 13th June - Weight 88.4kg
Sleep: 8.5hrs, Feel: Sprang out of bed, milder headache. Weather: Sun (!). Work: City Ride: None, felt too fatigued tonight (plus its bootcamp/circuits tomorrow which are always killer).
06:00 Get up. Weigh in.
06:20 Pint of water. Multivitamin.
06:30 2 fried eggs, clean ham, mushrooms.
06:30 a mouthful of revolting decaf coffee and cream.
09:00 2 small glasses of water
09:40 2 small glasses of water, 2 ibuprofen
10:00 Bristol Scale 1, 1 pellet of dark matter. Need to eat my psyllium husks!
10:30 2 small glasses of water
13:00 Venison steak green salad, melted gouda cheese, no dressing. (I know, again!)
13:00 2 small glasses of water
14:00 2 small glasses of water
15:00 2 small glasses of water
16:00 2 small glasses of water
19:00 Ketone test: 0.4g/L, Glucose 0 g/L. woot!
19:30 2 small chops, bacon, spinach salad and a mushroom
19:30 pint of water
Today was hard, searing headache and felt very hot. Both subsided towards the evening then returned after eating. Suspect need more water, although urine is almost clear.
Thursday 14th June - Weight 87.6kg Ketones: 0.2-0.3g/L
Sleep: 8hrs Feel: No headache. Sprang out of bed at 5am. Weather: Cloudy. Work: City.
No chance to ride tonight as its Circuits with Surrey Fitness Bootcamp tonight. Last ride was Sunday, but headaches and fatigue have kept me off the bike the last 3 days. Will get out on Friday for a tempo ride, as now feel pretty good.
05:00 Get up. Surf web, LA has finally been charged by USADA. better late than never.
05:30 Weigh in. Woot, promising. Ketone assessment. Still not dark purple.
05:30 Pint of water. Urine is clear, so not dehydrated, just keeping topped up.
06:15 2 fried eggs, 2 bacon rashers
06:15 Pint of water, 2 heaped teaspoons lepicol (Psyllium Husks). OMFG that is horrible, don't dissolve like drinking water filled with sand. Nearly vomited 3 times. It better work.
06:15 Multivitamins
09:20 2 glasses of water
10:30 2 glasses of water
11:30 2 glasses of water
13:30 1/2 roast chicken (clean) with olive and feta cheese green salad.
13:30 2 glasses of water
14:30 2 glasses of water
15:30 2 glasses of water
16:30 2 glasses of water
18:30 Atkins "choc chip" Advantage Bar
18:30 inch square cheddar cheese
19:30 Bootcamp - solid leg session, best session performance yet, instructor congratulated me on a great session. So much for Atkins damaging explosive power and fuelling intense workouts.
20:50 2 small burgers with melted cheese and salad.
22:00 Bed.
Friday 15th June - Weight 87.8kg Ketones: 0.6g/L
Sleep: 8hrs Feel: ok, bit dehydrated. Tired but alert. Weather: Cloudy. Work: Half-day today
06:00 Get up. Weigh-in and Ketone test.
06:30 2 fried eggs, 2 grilled bacon rashers
06:30 decaf coffee. Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf. Surprisingly good, but small cup not mug.
07:15 Bristol Scale 3, 1 regular broken into 3.
07:15 Small glass of water, multivitamin.
09:05 2 small glasses of water
09:45 Black Olive and tiny piece of feta cheese.
10:00 2 small glasses of water
10:05 Bristol scale 3, 1 medium.
11:00 2 small glasses of water
12:00 2 small glasses of water
14:30 Cheddar Cheese cube - starving hungry!
14:30 Atkins Advantage "Chocolate Brownie" bar
14:30 3 small chicken satay (clean)
14:30 pint of water
15:30 decaf coffee. Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf.
15:30 Gouda babybel.
16:00 2 burgers, mushrooms and ice berg lettuce.
16:05 pint of water
16:20 Bristol scale type 1, 3 conkers.
16:40 pint of water
On childcare duties so tonight is an upper body strength workout which is basically delts, biceps, triceps, traps, pecs and finish with some alternating farmers walks to get the forearms burning. Back is off limits for a couple more weeks as it recovers from injury. Legs are shot from circuits last night.
20:00 Upper Body Strength - would say strength probably down 10% and explosivity (is that even a word) is lower than normal. Adrenalin from doing it watching England in the Euros may have helped to counter. Got through workout, despite starting with a feeling of dread and weariness.
20:00 3 pints of water during workout.
20:50 20g Protein bar.
23:00 Bed.
Saturday 16th June - Weight 87.1kg Ketones 0.2g/L
Sleep: 7.5hrs Feel: legs wiped out, tired. Weather: Rainy. Today; Referee course at Sutton and Epsom RFC
Celebrate the positives -- I have lost a stone since the beginning of April; from 14st 9lb to 13st 9lb and have also put on muscle mass, especially in legs. Woohoo!!
06:50 Get up. Weigh-in. Ketone test. - Disappointed to see ketones gone down, but uber hydrated.
07:15 Bristol scale 3.5, soft, 2 medium.
07:40 2 fried eggs, 2 grilled bacon rashers.
07:40 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf with small drop of cream.
07:40 Pint of water.
09:00 Bristol scale 3, 1 regular.
09:30 Referee ELRA L1/2 training course till 3.30. Spent morning in classroom, and afternoon playing 'structured contact' got a bit fruity now and again and we all took turns to referee the games from lineouts, scrums. No problem whatsoever with energy levels and actually, really enjoyed it physically -- so the idea that Atkins impacts this is bunkum -- the rucks and mauls were pretty competitive and gave as good as I got.
And one other thing, I seem to no longer feel hungry.. is liberating!
13:00 750ml water
13:00 Half Chicken drumstick, spinach/rocket salad, 5 feta cheese cubes, 4 olives.
14:30 500ml water
15:00 Advantage 'chocolate indulgence' protein bar.
17:00 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf no cream. hey, weaning off sugar AND milk!
17:30 Pint of water.
18:00 3 egg omelette with bits of ham. Need some fibre soon!!!
18:00 pint of water.
21:30 2 ibuprofen anti-inflammatory, took a knock today, teres major/minor in trauma, will be fine tomorrow.
21:30 pint of water.
23:00 bed
Sunday 17th June - Father's Day - Weight: 87.5kg Ketones: 0.6g/L
Sleep: 7 hrs Feel: Up and at it, muscle strain around infraspumatis/teres/lats (?), suspect I have cracked or bruised a rib too, even remember who did it. Weather: Sunny/Clouds. Today; An hour of temp / recovery depending on how upper back feels.
06:15 Get up. Weigh in, Ketone test.
06:30 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
07:30 2 fried eggs, 2 grilled bacon rashers.
08:00 Pint of water, multivitamins.
09:00 Pint of water
11:00 Tempo Ride (if you can) ride for an hour. Legs were not recovered and desperately fatigued, lungs fine but on deep breathing pushed against my bruised rib. I did the same ride last Sunday with almost the same preceding workouts and power was 10% higher:
The black line is today. I am hesitant to blame the Atkins nutrition since I'm feeling pretty battered today, but perhaps recovery time is affected too. Need to do more riding. And also compare with after induction when you can eat more carbs. Still it burned 560 cals, which will have to be fat, so can't be too bad. Although Dr Phil Skiba tweeted me to say that Atkins or any low carb diet has devastating effects on power production, and it gets worse the farther you are above dead easy. Good job I like riding around dead easy then! ;)
12:00 Pint of water
12:30 Chicken satay stick (clean'ish)
13:00 4oz fillet steak, rocket salad, large flat mushroom, feta cheese and black olives
13:20 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
17:00 Chicken satay stick, again.
17:45 2 fried eggs, fried with butter and salted liberally.
17:45 Twinings Raspberry and Ethenacea herbal tea (no caffeine)
18:00 God I could murder a pack of digestives! .. but keeping to plan wins.
20:30 Small bit of cheese, what am i a mouse?
20:30 Pint of water. kidneys are aching. might go to bed to stop thinking about chocolate and biscuits.
21:45 Bed. Avoided temptation.
Sleep: 8 hrs Feel: Ribs still very painful. Weather: Heavy rain. Work: City.
06:00 Get-up. Weigh in. Ketone test.
06:15 Twinings Raspberry and Ethenacea herbal tea
06:30 2 fried eggs in butter pinch of salt and 2 grilled bacon rashers.
06:45 Pint of water and multivitamins.
10:45 Tazo teas "Hibiscus blend" herbal tea.
12:45 Half chicken, spinach salad leaves, 5 olives and 5 pieces of feta.
12:45 2 small glasses of water
14:30 2 small glasses of water
15:30 Tazo teas "Passion" herbal tea.
16:30 2 small glasses of water
18:30 GBK 6oz burger with bacon, avocado and mushrooms, green salad with chirizo, small flakes of blue cheese and white asparagus.
20:00 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
20:00 Atkins Advantage "Fudge Brownie" bar.
20:01 Sated and very happy.
21:30 Bed
Tuesday 19th June - Weight: 87.2kg Ketones: 0.6g/L
Sleep: Disrupted 8 hrs Feel: Ribs improving, tired. 2days constipated. Weather: Sunny! Work: Off
Will ride today, not working, sun is shining and England are playing Ukraine tonight. Happy days.
07:15 Get-up. Weigh in. Ketone Test.
07:30 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
07:40 Bristol scale 2, regular. Thank christ for that, been 2 days.
08:15 2 fried eggs in butter, pinch of salt and 2 grilled rashers of bacon.
08:15 Pint of water. multivitamins.
09:00 Bristol scale 1, 2 nuts.
10:35 Pint of water.
11:00 Cup of twinings Echinacea and Raspberry herbal tea.
12:15 Bike Ride - Noodle in the sunshine for a couple of hours. Legs had no residual fatigue but power did not come easy, 200w felt like threshold and was happy to noodle around. Burned a bit of fat and lift the soul. Here are the stats:
14:15 Small Glass of M&S Diet Lemon and Lime drink (no aspartame, uses sucralose).
16:10 Cup of twinings Echinacea and Raspberry herbal tea
16:20 Very hot walk to healthfood shop to get some ground flaxseed. somehow driving to a healthfood shop seemed a touch hypocritical given its only a mile or so away.
17:00 Another *chilled* small glass of M&S Diet Lemon and Lime drink
17:30 Pork chop, broccoli and cauliflower with 'flaxseed and oxo gravy' .. gravy may need a rethink!
17:30 Pint of water
19:00 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
19:00 Atkins advantage chocolate decadence "protein bar"
22:00 Bed, England thru to quarter finals against Italy, avoiding Spain.
Wednesday 20th June - Weight 87.2kg Ketone 0.4g/L
Sleep: 7hrs Feel: Ribs still very sore. Weather: Sunny Work: City. Can't believe my weight is so stable, suspect I am doing something wrong here.
05:00 Get up. Ketone test.
05:30 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
05:50 Bristol Scale 2, 1 regular
06:15 2 fried eggs in butter, 2 bacon rashers grilled.
06:15 Pint of water. Multivitamin.
06:54 Bristol Scale 2, 1 small
09:05 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea
09:30 2 small glasses of water
10:30 2 small glasses of water
11:30 2 small glasses of water
12:30 2 breasts of garlic chicken, spinach leaf salad with feta and olives
12:30 pint of water
14:00 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea
15:00 2 small glasses of water
16:30 2 small glasses of water
18:45 Evening Ride Windy, stream of midges in eyes, nose and mouth and had no power. In short it was grim. Atkins might be good for burning fat, but for riding a bike it sucks. Power is down more than last time, here are the awful stats, and it felt much harder;
When I get to a reasonable weight I'm ditching this. It probably works well for women that don't exercise too strenuously but for a weekend warrior it is a disaster.
18:45 Atkins 'chocolate indulgence' "protein bar"
20:00 2 burgers, 2 eggs, flat mushroom.
20:00 Small glass of M&S Diet Lemon and Lime drink
20:10 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
22:00 Bed
Thursday 21st June - SUMMER SOLSTICE - Weight 86.5kg Ketones 0.4g/L
Sleep: 8hrs Feel: Tired, muscles spasms in back still bad, need physio. Weather: Dreary Work: City
06:30 Get-up. Weigh-in. Ketone test.
06:35 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
07:15 Atkins Advantage 'Chocolate Decadence' bar. <-- no time to make breakfast
09:00 2 small glasses of water
09:00 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea.
10:00 2 small glasses of water
12:30 Venison steak on green salad and melted gouda cheese.
13:00 2 small glasses of water
14:00 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea
15:00 2 small glasses of water
16:00 Atkins Advantage 'Fudge brownie' bar
18:30 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
18:30 chicken satay stick
18:45 3 egg omelette with cheddar and ham, green salad
18:45 small glass of M&S diet lemon and lime drink
21:00 Atkins Advantage 'Chocolate Decadence' bar
22:00 Bed
Friday 22nd June - Weight 86.0kg Ketones 0.15g/L
Sleep: 10hrs, disrupted Feel: ribs still hurt, dehydrated. Weather: Howling a gale Work: WfH
08:30 Get-up. Weigh-in. Ketone test. Had a nice lie in, as working from home today. Bliss.
09:00 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
09:45 2 fried eggs in butter, 3 grilled back bacon rashers
10:00 Pint of water, multivitamins.
10:40 Bristol Scale 2, 1 regular 1 small.
12:00 Ham and Beef slices with rocket salad, small crumbles of Saint Agur and black olives.
12:30 Twining Ethenacea and Raspberry herbal tea.
13:30 Atkins Advantage 'Chocolate Decadence' bar
15:00 Pint of water
17:15 Mug of Tazo "Passion" tea. Have my own stash at home now, thanks to Amazon.
18:45 Fillet steak, garlic prawns, flat mushroom.
19:00 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
19:00 Atkins Advantage 'Chocolate Decadence' bar .. need to get a better 'dessert' option..
22:00 Bed
Saturday 23rd June - Weight 86.5kg Ketones 0.15g/L
Sleep: 7hrs Feel: ribs hurt, nicely hydrated. Weather: Grey.
05:00 Get-up. Weigh in. Ketone test.
06:00 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
06:40 Bristol Scale 4, very large. woot.
07:00 2 eggs scrambled with butter, 2 rashers of bacon grilled.
09:00 Mug of Tazo "Passion" herbal tea.
10:00 Pint of water, multivitamins.
12:45 3 egg omelette, Chirizo slices with Mushroom and a little cheese. yum.
13:09 Bristol Scale 2, 7 small (almost 1 large that broke). I know this seems obsessive, but is one of the biggest issues I heard about the Atkins and want to keep track of how bad it really is.
13:25 Pint of water
15:00 Mug of Tazo "Passion" herbal tea.
Am desperate to eat something but can't find anything in the house that appeals. I can understand why so many people fall off the Atkins diet due to boredom with the food. I could kill for a chocolate digestive. Frankly, if the results on Monday aren't encouraging I'm gonna ditch this.
18:30 Chicken Fajitas (with a lettuce salad, not tortilla); Chicken, spices, tomato, onion, garlic, peppers, guacamole, cheese
19:00 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
19:00 Atkins Advantage 'Chocolate Decadence' bar
22:00 Bed
Sunday 24th June - Weight 86.1kg Ketones 0.0g/L
Sleep: 8 hrs Feel: Back very achey and sore, ribs still very painful Weather: Pissing down. again.
Well I don't know** what has apparently* knocked me out of ketosis, probably some sugar in the fajita mix. Any diet that is *that* sensitive to what you eat is just not worth the hassle. Its not like I'm morbidly obese anyway. I think as well as being last day of induction, this is the last day of Atkins too. I can lose a kilo a week on a normal diet, and still have energy to ride.
* My reading when I got up yesterday was also 0, but after a couple of hours I retested and saw that pinkness. Since it measures excess ketones that are present in your urine it could just be low when I first wake up. Either way, I've been testing the same way since the beginning and its showing 0 right now.
** Well, I posted a note onto the Atkins Bulletin Boards to share my experience and it would appear that the Atkins Bars are notorious for this, and worse they shouldn't be used in Induction (!) despite the packaging clearly stating they are. So, having spoken with my wife, we have decided to repeat week 2 of induction and this time, no bars will be allowed. I'm kinda cool with this but kinda gutted since I have a pack of extremely chocolatey biscuits in the cupboard to help kick start some carb-loading ;)
06:15 Get-up. Weigh in. Ketone test.
06:30 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
07:15 2 fried eggs, 2 grilled bacon rashers
07:15 Pint of water, multivitamins
09:15 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea.
10:00 Atkins 'breakfast bar'
12:00 Pint of Water
14:00 Beef slices, saint agur and green leaves, a few black olives.
14:00 Pint of water.
15:30 Tazo "Passion" herbal team
18:00 Omelette lasagne -- lasagne meat sauce (mince, onion, tomato) in layers of omelelette.Not that far off being like a normal lasagne and was pretty tasty. And a green salad.
18:20 Small glass of M&S diet lemon and lime.
20:00 Another .. Tazo "Passion" herbal team
22:30 Bed. Late night watching Footie, it was awful.
Induction Phase - WEEK THREE (Repeat 2 NO BARS!)
Monday 25th June - 2 WEEK WEIGH IN Weight: 86.1kg (lost 0.4kg in week 2) Ketones: 0.05g/L
Sleep: 8 hrs Feel: Ribs still very painful. Weather: Sunny Work: City.
06:20 Get up. Weigh in. Ketone test.
06:30 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
06:45 1 egg fried, 2 bacon rashers (ran out of eggs)
07:00 Bristol Scale 2, 1 regular
07:00 Pint of water, multivitamins
09:00 2 small glasses of water
11:00 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea
13:00 Bottle of spring water (8oz)
14:10 Ham and Beef slices, Saint Agur, Lots of green leaves, Olives
14:30 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
15:00 Pint of water.
Searing headache. (I do get migraines occasionally, especially when the weather changes rapidly. Just gone from Sun to Overcast humidity). Trying to avoid taking an ibuprofen.
16:00 Pint of water.
16:00 Small lump of cheese.
Headache still quite bad.
17:00 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea.
17:30 Snake and Pygmy with bacon and mushrooms. 1 "Cup" of Broccoli.
17:30 Pint of water.
21:30 Bed.
Tuesday 26th June - Weight: 85.9kg Ketones: 0.05g/L
Sleep: 8, disrupted hrs Feel: Achy all over, back not happy, ribs not happy. Weather: Cloudy Work: City.
06:15 Get up. Weigh in. Ketone test.
06:20 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
06:30 Bristol scale 2, 1 regular. passed easily.
06:40 2 fried eggs, 2 grilled bacon rashers
06:50 Pint of water, multivitamins
09:00 2 glasses of water
11:00 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea.
11:30 2 glasses of water
12:00 2 glasses of water
12:30 Venison steak and green salad.
13:30 2 glasses of water
13:45 Vicious stomach cramps, terrible burning sensation from stomach
13:50 Bristol Scale 1, 2 small nuts, Hard to pass, but forced to try and relieve pain
14:10 2 Ibuprofen (256mg each) glass of water
15:00 Stomach cramps subside
15:30 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea
16:00 2 glasses of water
17:15 50cl Sparkling Buxton spring water
18:30 Chicken Pocquiet brie and tomato with bacon and cup of broccoli.
18:41 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
In an effort to get the bowels moving again I made an impromptu dessert, I am calling it "Raspberry Shifter", in the vain hope it might get my bowels moving more; 1 dessert spoon of ground organic flax seed, 1 dessert spoon of organic greek yoghurt, 4 raspberries. It breaks the rules for induction in some respects, but impossible to send me over the 20g carb limit for the day.
19:15 Portion of "Raspberry Shifter"
21:00 Bed. Knackered.
Wednesday 27th June - Weight: 85.7kg Ketones: 0.05g/L
Sleep: 10, disrupted hrs Feel: Alert, Ribs better but still painful. Weather: Sun/Cloud Work: Bristol.
07:00 Get up. Weigh in. Ketone test.
07:10 Portion of "Raspberry Shifter" .. last nights seems to have got things started, but no movements yet.
07:30 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
07:45 Pint of water, multivitamins
08:00 2 fried eggs, 2 bacon rashers
08:25 Bristol Scale 1, 10 nuts. hard to pass.
09:00 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea.
10:00 Bottle of Water
12:30 Lime and Coriander chicken fillets with parmisan, saint agur, olives and lots of leaves, also added a couple of cocktail sausages chopped.
13:00 Half a cup of Tazo "Passion" tea (went cold)
15:00 Bottle of water
17:00 Lump of cheddar
17:10 Plain Shifter (flax/greek yohurt) try and get bowels moving!
18:00 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
19:00 4oz Steak, Prawns and large green salad
19:00 Small glass M&S diet lemon and lime (sucralose).
19:20 Stuffed!
21:30 Bed
Thursday 28th June - Weight: 85.2kg Ketones: 0.05g/L
Sleep: 8 hrs Feel: Possibly dehydrated, urine slightly darker than normal, but still very light. Ribs still painful. Weather: Sun/Cloud Work: City.
05:40 Get up. Weigh in. Ketone test.
05:50 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
06:15 2 fried eggs, 2 grilled bacon rashers.
06:15 Pint of water, multivitamins.
06:45 Bristol scale 2, 1 regular.
09:00 2 glasses of water.
09:30 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea
10:00 2 glasses of water
11:00 2 glasses of water
14:00 Chorizo and cheddar 3 egg omelette and green salad (finishing off a random selection of leaves)
14:00 Pint of water
15:15 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
16:00 Pint of water
17:15 Peppered lemon chicken, 2 cups brocolli.
17:30 Plain "Shifter", probiotic organic natural greek yoghurt 1 dessertspoon and 2 dessertspoons of ground flax seed
18:00 Pint of water
21:00 Pint of water
22:30 Bed
Thursday 29th June - LAST DAY!!! - Weight: 85.1kg Ketones: 0.05g/L
Sleep: 8 hrs Feel: Good hydration, urine clear. Ribs improved. Weather: Windy and Cloudy Work: Wfh.
Sam and I have decided that today is the last day of Induction (and Atkins for that matter), it has been great and we've seen real changes, but want to get back to a wider food choice and treats. We will still ration the carbs and avoid caffeine and sugar altogether.
It is my birthday weekend and we're off to do all sorts of groovy things. I'd rather enjoy dim sum and beer without fretting about Atkins diets. Not to mention birthday cake :) Will post a review of the 3 weeks tomorrow, when the final number comes in.
06:40 Get up. Weigh in. Ketone test. Ketone was very, very marginal.
06:45 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
07:45 2 fried eggs and 3, yes 3 grilled bacon rashers. hungry this morning.
07:55 Bristol Scale 1.5; 1 large broke into 10 nuts.
08:30 Needed another Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream this morning!
09:00 Pint of water, multivitamin
10:00 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea
11:20 Bristol Scale 2, 3 smallish. Feel "unbloated" for first time in a while.
14:00 Butcher's Blowout - 3oz thin sirloin steak, 2 full rashers of streaky bacon, 2 "old english" sausages (rusk content ~ 3g), fried egg. flat mushroom. .. this was absolute bliss!
14:30 Pint of water
15:00 Overcome with fatigue and tiredness, like a wave. Lunch must be something to do with it!
16:35 Pint of water
18:00 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea
18:30 Pint of water
18:30 Refused dinner -- still feeling stuffed from Lunch!
19:30 Last chance to eat.. Pan-fried scallops and tiger prawns in garlic and chilli, green salad with olives and feta.
19:30 Raspberry shifter - heavy on flax seed, 4 raspberries
19:30 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
19:30 Stuffed. Reckon I must be out of ketosis, I've eaten too well today ;)
Saturday 30th June - RESULTS - 85.1 kg - 8 pounds lost in 20 days
Now given I had struggled to lose weight for the preceeding couple of months that is pretty amazing. Will post a more considered review of the experience later today.
HAPPY.
I will be keeping a diary here of my diet, exercise, performance and of course, my weight and any thoughts or reflections on the experience.
A few declarations;
- I am not training for anything so my riding is purely for fun, and at an intensity 'I feel like doing'
- I will be doing circuits and weights during this period, I am not doing cycling alone
- My fitness levels are low compared to my best, so I would expect it to improve over time
- I have been getting back into shape for 2 months proper.
- I gave up smoking (this time for the rest of my life) in January, so may see performance increases through better lung health over time
I no longer own a working HR strap, I gave up on HR, grudgingly, last year and have never missed it. You use power to measure and guage effort, HR is redundant and an unreliable measure of performance in my experience.
Baseline after two months
I have been reasonably successful in the last two months, going from riding in agony to riding with a smile on my face and shifting from 93kg to 88kg. Here are a couple of charts for a baseline. Please note I have not ridden higher than a tempo ride hence the fairly low power charts, I will be continuing to do this. I am not training for anything and frankly just don't need the pain of an FTP test!I reckon my FTP is probably about 230, best ever is 295 after 9 months of heavy training. In truth I am untrained and relatively out of shape at present. But can ride happily for a couple of hours at a normalized power of about 195w. I have no performance targets, just expect to improve over time.
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| Working on fitness/weight started April 1st 2012 |
The sudden drop in weight in the pink line above was a weigh in after a long ride, it is an anomaly of dehydration. Every time I step on my scales they update the charts, I could remove the reading but generally I like to be honest with my data.
Induction Phase - WEEK ONE
Starting today I will be on my induction phase which is basically 2 weeks of virtually no carbs (20g a day), no caffeine and just leafy/green veg and salads with any meat. Eggs are good so I'll be sick of omelette by the end I suspect. Its gonna be a phase to switch to fat burning from carb burning as a primary source of energy*, and also to get me off my caffeine and carb addiction and by all accounts is really hard work. I love to eat meat, so we'll see.* if you find this statement contentious then read "Good Calories, Bad Calories", or just ignore this blog :)
Monday 11th June - Weight 88.0kg
Sleep: 8.5hrs, Feel: back still sore and tight hams, legs fatigued from yesterday. Weather: Heavy rainstorms. Work: Day off. Ride: None.
07:30 Get up. Weigh in.
08:30 Decaf coffee with cream (not milk) and no sugar. tastes revolting. Will breakfast after shower.
10:00 Breakfast: two eggs (sloppy scrambled) with pepper seasoning and two bacon rashers (grilled).
10:00 half pint water (300ml).
12:00 half pint water (300 ml).
13:00 Lunch: Ham omelette, 3 eggs.
13:00 half pint water (300ml)
16:50 Yet another half pint water (300ml)
17:15 Dinner: 4oz Beefburger, 2 bacon rashers, qtr avacado, 1 large flat mushroom, iceberg lettuce leaves.
Mild headache and seriously missing a proper coffee. Not hungry though. Bought some psyllium husks and some multi-vitamins for tomorrow. Won't be riding tonight since the weather is absolutely appaulling.
Tuesday 12th June - Weight 88.4kg
Sleep: 10hrs (!), Feel: Splitting headache. Weather:Heavy rain. Work: City.
06:15 Get up. Weigh in.
06:20 pint of water, 2 ibuprofen
06:30 2.5 scrambled eggs (sharing 5)
06:30 Decaf coffee with cream.
09:15 2 small glasses of water
10:34 2 small glasses of water
10:45 Bristol Scale 3, smallish.
12:30 Venison steak green salad, melted gouda cheese, very very light dressing of mustard and redcurrant made with olive oil.
13:00 2 small glasses of water
14:00 2 ibuprofen, 2 small glasses of water. headache really strong.
15:30 Atkins Chocolate and Orange 'Advantage' protein bar
18:30 Fillet steak, prawns in garlic, mushrooms, 3 small heads cauliflower.
18:30 pint of water
21:00 Bed.
Wednesday 13th June - Weight 88.4kg
Sleep: 8.5hrs, Feel: Sprang out of bed, milder headache. Weather: Sun (!). Work: City Ride: None, felt too fatigued tonight (plus its bootcamp/circuits tomorrow which are always killer).
06:00 Get up. Weigh in.
06:20 Pint of water. Multivitamin.
06:30 2 fried eggs, clean ham, mushrooms.
06:30 a mouthful of revolting decaf coffee and cream.
09:00 2 small glasses of water
09:40 2 small glasses of water, 2 ibuprofen
10:00 Bristol Scale 1, 1 pellet of dark matter. Need to eat my psyllium husks!
10:30 2 small glasses of water
13:00 Venison steak green salad, melted gouda cheese, no dressing. (I know, again!)
13:00 2 small glasses of water
14:00 2 small glasses of water
15:00 2 small glasses of water
16:00 2 small glasses of water
19:00 Ketone test: 0.4g/L, Glucose 0 g/L. woot!
19:30 2 small chops, bacon, spinach salad and a mushroom
19:30 pint of water
Today was hard, searing headache and felt very hot. Both subsided towards the evening then returned after eating. Suspect need more water, although urine is almost clear.
Thursday 14th June - Weight 87.6kg Ketones: 0.2-0.3g/L
Sleep: 8hrs Feel: No headache. Sprang out of bed at 5am. Weather: Cloudy. Work: City.
No chance to ride tonight as its Circuits with Surrey Fitness Bootcamp tonight. Last ride was Sunday, but headaches and fatigue have kept me off the bike the last 3 days. Will get out on Friday for a tempo ride, as now feel pretty good.
05:00 Get up. Surf web, LA has finally been charged by USADA. better late than never.
05:30 Weigh in. Woot, promising. Ketone assessment. Still not dark purple.
05:30 Pint of water. Urine is clear, so not dehydrated, just keeping topped up.
06:15 2 fried eggs, 2 bacon rashers
06:15 Pint of water, 2 heaped teaspoons lepicol (Psyllium Husks). OMFG that is horrible, don't dissolve like drinking water filled with sand. Nearly vomited 3 times. It better work.
06:15 Multivitamins
09:20 2 glasses of water
10:30 2 glasses of water
11:30 2 glasses of water
13:30 1/2 roast chicken (clean) with olive and feta cheese green salad.
13:30 2 glasses of water
14:30 2 glasses of water
15:30 2 glasses of water
16:30 2 glasses of water
18:30 Atkins "choc chip" Advantage Bar
18:30 inch square cheddar cheese
19:30 Bootcamp - solid leg session, best session performance yet, instructor congratulated me on a great session. So much for Atkins damaging explosive power and fuelling intense workouts.
20:50 2 small burgers with melted cheese and salad.
22:00 Bed.
Friday 15th June - Weight 87.8kg Ketones: 0.6g/L
Sleep: 8hrs Feel: ok, bit dehydrated. Tired but alert. Weather: Cloudy. Work: Half-day today
06:00 Get up. Weigh-in and Ketone test.
06:30 2 fried eggs, 2 grilled bacon rashers
06:30 decaf coffee. Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf. Surprisingly good, but small cup not mug.
07:15 Bristol Scale 3, 1 regular broken into 3.
07:15 Small glass of water, multivitamin.
09:05 2 small glasses of water
09:45 Black Olive and tiny piece of feta cheese.
10:00 2 small glasses of water
10:05 Bristol scale 3, 1 medium.
11:00 2 small glasses of water
12:00 2 small glasses of water
14:30 Cheddar Cheese cube - starving hungry!
14:30 Atkins Advantage "Chocolate Brownie" bar
14:30 3 small chicken satay (clean)
14:30 pint of water
15:30 decaf coffee. Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf.
15:30 Gouda babybel.
16:00 2 burgers, mushrooms and ice berg lettuce.
16:05 pint of water
16:20 Bristol scale type 1, 3 conkers.
16:40 pint of water
On childcare duties so tonight is an upper body strength workout which is basically delts, biceps, triceps, traps, pecs and finish with some alternating farmers walks to get the forearms burning. Back is off limits for a couple more weeks as it recovers from injury. Legs are shot from circuits last night.
20:00 Upper Body Strength - would say strength probably down 10% and explosivity (is that even a word) is lower than normal. Adrenalin from doing it watching England in the Euros may have helped to counter. Got through workout, despite starting with a feeling of dread and weariness.
20:00 3 pints of water during workout.
20:50 20g Protein bar.
23:00 Bed.
Saturday 16th June - Weight 87.1kg Ketones 0.2g/L
Sleep: 7.5hrs Feel: legs wiped out, tired. Weather: Rainy. Today; Referee course at Sutton and Epsom RFC
Celebrate the positives -- I have lost a stone since the beginning of April; from 14st 9lb to 13st 9lb and have also put on muscle mass, especially in legs. Woohoo!!
06:50 Get up. Weigh-in. Ketone test. - Disappointed to see ketones gone down, but uber hydrated.
07:15 Bristol scale 3.5, soft, 2 medium.
07:40 2 fried eggs, 2 grilled bacon rashers.
07:40 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf with small drop of cream.
07:40 Pint of water.
09:00 Bristol scale 3, 1 regular.
09:30 Referee ELRA L1/2 training course till 3.30. Spent morning in classroom, and afternoon playing 'structured contact' got a bit fruity now and again and we all took turns to referee the games from lineouts, scrums. No problem whatsoever with energy levels and actually, really enjoyed it physically -- so the idea that Atkins impacts this is bunkum -- the rucks and mauls were pretty competitive and gave as good as I got.
And one other thing, I seem to no longer feel hungry.. is liberating!
13:00 750ml water
13:00 Half Chicken drumstick, spinach/rocket salad, 5 feta cheese cubes, 4 olives.
14:30 500ml water
15:00 Advantage 'chocolate indulgence' protein bar.
17:00 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf no cream. hey, weaning off sugar AND milk!
17:30 Pint of water.
18:00 3 egg omelette with bits of ham. Need some fibre soon!!!
18:00 pint of water.
21:30 2 ibuprofen anti-inflammatory, took a knock today, teres major/minor in trauma, will be fine tomorrow.
21:30 pint of water.
23:00 bed
Sunday 17th June - Father's Day - Weight: 87.5kg Ketones: 0.6g/L
Sleep: 7 hrs Feel: Up and at it, muscle strain around infraspumatis/teres/lats (?), suspect I have cracked or bruised a rib too, even remember who did it. Weather: Sunny/Clouds. Today; An hour of temp / recovery depending on how upper back feels.
06:15 Get up. Weigh in, Ketone test.
06:30 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
07:30 2 fried eggs, 2 grilled bacon rashers.
08:00 Pint of water, multivitamins.
09:00 Pint of water
11:00 Tempo Ride (if you can) ride for an hour. Legs were not recovered and desperately fatigued, lungs fine but on deep breathing pushed against my bruised rib. I did the same ride last Sunday with almost the same preceding workouts and power was 10% higher:
12:00 Pint of water
12:30 Chicken satay stick (clean'ish)
13:00 4oz fillet steak, rocket salad, large flat mushroom, feta cheese and black olives
13:20 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
17:00 Chicken satay stick, again.
17:45 2 fried eggs, fried with butter and salted liberally.
17:45 Twinings Raspberry and Ethenacea herbal tea (no caffeine)
18:00 God I could murder a pack of digestives! .. but keeping to plan wins.
20:30 Small bit of cheese, what am i a mouse?
20:30 Pint of water. kidneys are aching. might go to bed to stop thinking about chocolate and biscuits.
21:45 Bed. Avoided temptation.
Induction Phase - WEEK TWO
Monday 18th June - 1 WEEK WEIGH IN Weight: 86.5kg (lost 1.5kg in week 1) Ketones: 0.4g/LSleep: 8 hrs Feel: Ribs still very painful. Weather: Heavy rain. Work: City.
06:00 Get-up. Weigh in. Ketone test.
06:15 Twinings Raspberry and Ethenacea herbal tea
06:30 2 fried eggs in butter pinch of salt and 2 grilled bacon rashers.
06:45 Pint of water and multivitamins.
10:45 Tazo teas "Hibiscus blend" herbal tea.
12:45 Half chicken, spinach salad leaves, 5 olives and 5 pieces of feta.
12:45 2 small glasses of water
14:30 2 small glasses of water
15:30 Tazo teas "Passion" herbal tea.
16:30 2 small glasses of water
18:30 GBK 6oz burger with bacon, avocado and mushrooms, green salad with chirizo, small flakes of blue cheese and white asparagus.
20:00 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
20:00 Atkins Advantage "Fudge Brownie" bar.
20:01 Sated and very happy.
21:30 Bed
Tuesday 19th June - Weight: 87.2kg Ketones: 0.6g/L
Sleep: Disrupted 8 hrs Feel: Ribs improving, tired. 2days constipated. Weather: Sunny! Work: Off
Will ride today, not working, sun is shining and England are playing Ukraine tonight. Happy days.
07:15 Get-up. Weigh in. Ketone Test.
07:30 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
07:40 Bristol scale 2, regular. Thank christ for that, been 2 days.
08:15 2 fried eggs in butter, pinch of salt and 2 grilled rashers of bacon.
08:15 Pint of water. multivitamins.
09:00 Bristol scale 1, 2 nuts.
10:35 Pint of water.
11:00 Cup of twinings Echinacea and Raspberry herbal tea.
12:15 Bike Ride - Noodle in the sunshine for a couple of hours. Legs had no residual fatigue but power did not come easy, 200w felt like threshold and was happy to noodle around. Burned a bit of fat and lift the soul. Here are the stats:
12:15 750ml water.
14:00 Atkins advantage chocolate decadence "protein bar"
14:15 Ham and beef slices with rocket, water cress and spinach green salad leaves, few bits of feta and those good old black olives.14:15 Small Glass of M&S Diet Lemon and Lime drink (no aspartame, uses sucralose).
16:10 Cup of twinings Echinacea and Raspberry herbal tea
16:20 Very hot walk to healthfood shop to get some ground flaxseed. somehow driving to a healthfood shop seemed a touch hypocritical given its only a mile or so away.
17:00 Another *chilled* small glass of M&S Diet Lemon and Lime drink
17:30 Pork chop, broccoli and cauliflower with 'flaxseed and oxo gravy' .. gravy may need a rethink!
17:30 Pint of water
19:00 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
19:00 Atkins advantage chocolate decadence "protein bar"
22:00 Bed, England thru to quarter finals against Italy, avoiding Spain.
Wednesday 20th June - Weight 87.2kg Ketone 0.4g/L
Sleep: 7hrs Feel: Ribs still very sore. Weather: Sunny Work: City. Can't believe my weight is so stable, suspect I am doing something wrong here.
05:00 Get up. Ketone test.
05:30 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
05:50 Bristol Scale 2, 1 regular
06:15 2 fried eggs in butter, 2 bacon rashers grilled.
06:15 Pint of water. Multivitamin.
06:54 Bristol Scale 2, 1 small
09:05 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea
09:30 2 small glasses of water
10:30 2 small glasses of water
11:30 2 small glasses of water
12:30 2 breasts of garlic chicken, spinach leaf salad with feta and olives
12:30 pint of water
14:00 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea
15:00 2 small glasses of water
16:30 2 small glasses of water
18:45 Evening Ride Windy, stream of midges in eyes, nose and mouth and had no power. In short it was grim. Atkins might be good for burning fat, but for riding a bike it sucks. Power is down more than last time, here are the awful stats, and it felt much harder;
18:45 Atkins 'chocolate indulgence' "protein bar"
20:00 2 burgers, 2 eggs, flat mushroom.
20:00 Small glass of M&S Diet Lemon and Lime drink
20:10 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
22:00 Bed
Thursday 21st June - SUMMER SOLSTICE - Weight 86.5kg Ketones 0.4g/L
Sleep: 8hrs Feel: Tired, muscles spasms in back still bad, need physio. Weather: Dreary Work: City
06:30 Get-up. Weigh-in. Ketone test.
06:35 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
07:15 Atkins Advantage 'Chocolate Decadence' bar. <-- no time to make breakfast
09:00 2 small glasses of water
09:00 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea.
10:00 2 small glasses of water
12:30 Venison steak on green salad and melted gouda cheese.
13:00 2 small glasses of water
14:00 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea
15:00 2 small glasses of water
16:00 Atkins Advantage 'Fudge brownie' bar
18:30 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
18:30 chicken satay stick
18:45 3 egg omelette with cheddar and ham, green salad
18:45 small glass of M&S diet lemon and lime drink
21:00 Atkins Advantage 'Chocolate Decadence' bar
22:00 Bed
Friday 22nd June - Weight 86.0kg Ketones 0.15g/L
Sleep: 10hrs, disrupted Feel: ribs still hurt, dehydrated. Weather: Howling a gale Work: WfH
08:30 Get-up. Weigh-in. Ketone test. Had a nice lie in, as working from home today. Bliss.
09:00 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
09:45 2 fried eggs in butter, 3 grilled back bacon rashers
10:00 Pint of water, multivitamins.
10:40 Bristol Scale 2, 1 regular 1 small.
12:00 Ham and Beef slices with rocket salad, small crumbles of Saint Agur and black olives.
12:30 Twining Ethenacea and Raspberry herbal tea.
13:30 Atkins Advantage 'Chocolate Decadence' bar
15:00 Pint of water
17:15 Mug of Tazo "Passion" tea. Have my own stash at home now, thanks to Amazon.
18:45 Fillet steak, garlic prawns, flat mushroom.
19:00 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
19:00 Atkins Advantage 'Chocolate Decadence' bar .. need to get a better 'dessert' option..
22:00 Bed
Saturday 23rd June - Weight 86.5kg Ketones 0.15g/L
Sleep: 7hrs Feel: ribs hurt, nicely hydrated. Weather: Grey.
05:00 Get-up. Weigh in. Ketone test.
06:00 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
06:40 Bristol Scale 4, very large. woot.
07:00 2 eggs scrambled with butter, 2 rashers of bacon grilled.
09:00 Mug of Tazo "Passion" herbal tea.
10:00 Pint of water, multivitamins.
12:45 3 egg omelette, Chirizo slices with Mushroom and a little cheese. yum.
13:09 Bristol Scale 2, 7 small (almost 1 large that broke). I know this seems obsessive, but is one of the biggest issues I heard about the Atkins and want to keep track of how bad it really is.
13:25 Pint of water
15:00 Mug of Tazo "Passion" herbal tea.
Am desperate to eat something but can't find anything in the house that appeals. I can understand why so many people fall off the Atkins diet due to boredom with the food. I could kill for a chocolate digestive. Frankly, if the results on Monday aren't encouraging I'm gonna ditch this.
18:30 Chicken Fajitas (with a lettuce salad, not tortilla); Chicken, spices, tomato, onion, garlic, peppers, guacamole, cheese
19:00 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
19:00 Atkins Advantage 'Chocolate Decadence' bar
22:00 Bed
Sunday 24th June - Weight 86.1kg Ketones 0.0g/L
Sleep: 8 hrs Feel: Back very achey and sore, ribs still very painful Weather: Pissing down. again.
Well I don't know** what has apparently* knocked me out of ketosis, probably some sugar in the fajita mix. Any diet that is *that* sensitive to what you eat is just not worth the hassle. Its not like I'm morbidly obese anyway. I think as well as being last day of induction, this is the last day of Atkins too. I can lose a kilo a week on a normal diet, and still have energy to ride.
* My reading when I got up yesterday was also 0, but after a couple of hours I retested and saw that pinkness. Since it measures excess ketones that are present in your urine it could just be low when I first wake up. Either way, I've been testing the same way since the beginning and its showing 0 right now.
** Well, I posted a note onto the Atkins Bulletin Boards to share my experience and it would appear that the Atkins Bars are notorious for this, and worse they shouldn't be used in Induction (!) despite the packaging clearly stating they are. So, having spoken with my wife, we have decided to repeat week 2 of induction and this time, no bars will be allowed. I'm kinda cool with this but kinda gutted since I have a pack of extremely chocolatey biscuits in the cupboard to help kick start some carb-loading ;)
06:15 Get-up. Weigh in. Ketone test.
06:30 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
07:15 2 fried eggs, 2 grilled bacon rashers
07:15 Pint of water, multivitamins
09:15 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea.
10:00 Atkins 'breakfast bar'
12:00 Pint of Water
14:00 Beef slices, saint agur and green leaves, a few black olives.
14:00 Pint of water.
15:30 Tazo "Passion" herbal team
18:00 Omelette lasagne -- lasagne meat sauce (mince, onion, tomato) in layers of omelelette.Not that far off being like a normal lasagne and was pretty tasty. And a green salad.
18:20 Small glass of M&S diet lemon and lime.
20:00 Another .. Tazo "Passion" herbal team
22:30 Bed. Late night watching Footie, it was awful.
Induction Phase - WEEK THREE (Repeat 2 NO BARS!)
Monday 25th June - 2 WEEK WEIGH IN Weight: 86.1kg (lost 0.4kg in week 2) Ketones: 0.05g/L
Sleep: 8 hrs Feel: Ribs still very painful. Weather: Sunny Work: City.
06:20 Get up. Weigh in. Ketone test.
06:30 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
06:45 1 egg fried, 2 bacon rashers (ran out of eggs)
07:00 Bristol Scale 2, 1 regular
07:00 Pint of water, multivitamins
09:00 2 small glasses of water
11:00 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea
13:00 Bottle of spring water (8oz)
14:10 Ham and Beef slices, Saint Agur, Lots of green leaves, Olives
14:30 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
15:00 Pint of water.
Searing headache. (I do get migraines occasionally, especially when the weather changes rapidly. Just gone from Sun to Overcast humidity). Trying to avoid taking an ibuprofen.
16:00 Pint of water.
16:00 Small lump of cheese.
Headache still quite bad.
17:00 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea.
17:30 Snake and Pygmy with bacon and mushrooms. 1 "Cup" of Broccoli.
17:30 Pint of water.
21:30 Bed.
Tuesday 26th June - Weight: 85.9kg Ketones: 0.05g/L
Sleep: 8, disrupted hrs Feel: Achy all over, back not happy, ribs not happy. Weather: Cloudy Work: City.
06:15 Get up. Weigh in. Ketone test.
06:20 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
06:30 Bristol scale 2, 1 regular. passed easily.
06:40 2 fried eggs, 2 grilled bacon rashers
06:50 Pint of water, multivitamins
09:00 2 glasses of water
11:00 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea.
11:30 2 glasses of water
12:00 2 glasses of water
12:30 Venison steak and green salad.
13:30 2 glasses of water
13:45 Vicious stomach cramps, terrible burning sensation from stomach
13:50 Bristol Scale 1, 2 small nuts, Hard to pass, but forced to try and relieve pain
14:10 2 Ibuprofen (256mg each) glass of water
15:00 Stomach cramps subside
15:30 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea
16:00 2 glasses of water
17:15 50cl Sparkling Buxton spring water
18:30 Chicken Pocquiet brie and tomato with bacon and cup of broccoli.
18:41 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
In an effort to get the bowels moving again I made an impromptu dessert, I am calling it "Raspberry Shifter", in the vain hope it might get my bowels moving more; 1 dessert spoon of ground organic flax seed, 1 dessert spoon of organic greek yoghurt, 4 raspberries. It breaks the rules for induction in some respects, but impossible to send me over the 20g carb limit for the day.
19:15 Portion of "Raspberry Shifter"
21:00 Bed. Knackered.
Wednesday 27th June - Weight: 85.7kg Ketones: 0.05g/L
Sleep: 10, disrupted hrs Feel: Alert, Ribs better but still painful. Weather: Sun/Cloud Work: Bristol.
07:00 Get up. Weigh in. Ketone test.
07:10 Portion of "Raspberry Shifter" .. last nights seems to have got things started, but no movements yet.
07:30 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
07:45 Pint of water, multivitamins
08:00 2 fried eggs, 2 bacon rashers
08:25 Bristol Scale 1, 10 nuts. hard to pass.
09:00 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea.
10:00 Bottle of Water
12:30 Lime and Coriander chicken fillets with parmisan, saint agur, olives and lots of leaves, also added a couple of cocktail sausages chopped.
13:00 Half a cup of Tazo "Passion" tea (went cold)
15:00 Bottle of water
17:00 Lump of cheddar
17:10 Plain Shifter (flax/greek yohurt) try and get bowels moving!
18:00 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
19:00 4oz Steak, Prawns and large green salad
19:00 Small glass M&S diet lemon and lime (sucralose).
19:20 Stuffed!
21:30 Bed
Thursday 28th June - Weight: 85.2kg Ketones: 0.05g/L
Sleep: 8 hrs Feel: Possibly dehydrated, urine slightly darker than normal, but still very light. Ribs still painful. Weather: Sun/Cloud Work: City.
05:40 Get up. Weigh in. Ketone test.
06:15 2 fried eggs, 2 grilled bacon rashers.
06:15 Pint of water, multivitamins.
06:45 Bristol scale 2, 1 regular.
09:00 2 glasses of water.
09:30 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea
10:00 2 glasses of water
11:00 2 glasses of water
14:00 Chorizo and cheddar 3 egg omelette and green salad (finishing off a random selection of leaves)
14:00 Pint of water
15:15 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
16:00 Pint of water
17:15 Peppered lemon chicken, 2 cups brocolli.
17:30 Plain "Shifter", probiotic organic natural greek yoghurt 1 dessertspoon and 2 dessertspoons of ground flax seed
18:00 Pint of water
21:00 Pint of water
22:30 Bed
Thursday 29th June - LAST DAY!!! - Weight: 85.1kg Ketones: 0.05g/L
Sleep: 8 hrs Feel: Good hydration, urine clear. Ribs improved. Weather: Windy and Cloudy Work: Wfh.
Sam and I have decided that today is the last day of Induction (and Atkins for that matter), it has been great and we've seen real changes, but want to get back to a wider food choice and treats. We will still ration the carbs and avoid caffeine and sugar altogether.
It is my birthday weekend and we're off to do all sorts of groovy things. I'd rather enjoy dim sum and beer without fretting about Atkins diets. Not to mention birthday cake :) Will post a review of the 3 weeks tomorrow, when the final number comes in.
06:40 Get up. Weigh in. Ketone test. Ketone was very, very marginal.
06:45 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
07:45 2 fried eggs and 3, yes 3 grilled bacon rashers. hungry this morning.
07:55 Bristol Scale 1.5; 1 large broke into 10 nuts.
08:30 Needed another Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream this morning!
09:00 Pint of water, multivitamin
10:00 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea
11:20 Bristol Scale 2, 3 smallish. Feel "unbloated" for first time in a while.
14:00 Butcher's Blowout - 3oz thin sirloin steak, 2 full rashers of streaky bacon, 2 "old english" sausages (rusk content ~ 3g), fried egg. flat mushroom. .. this was absolute bliss!
14:30 Pint of water
15:00 Overcome with fatigue and tiredness, like a wave. Lunch must be something to do with it!
16:35 Pint of water
18:00 Tazo "Passion" herbal tea
18:30 Pint of water
18:30 Refused dinner -- still feeling stuffed from Lunch!
19:30 Last chance to eat.. Pan-fried scallops and tiger prawns in garlic and chilli, green salad with olives and feta.
19:30 Raspberry shifter - heavy on flax seed, 4 raspberries
19:30 Waitrose individual filter colombian decaf drop of cream
19:30 Stuffed. Reckon I must be out of ketosis, I've eaten too well today ;)
Saturday 30th June - RESULTS - 85.1 kg - 8 pounds lost in 20 days
Now given I had struggled to lose weight for the preceeding couple of months that is pretty amazing. Will post a more considered review of the experience later today.
