DEFoW - week 1

So if you read my last post you'd know what DEFoW was...the Don't Eat FOr Winter method of weight management. I hate using the word diet as it now has connotations to weight loss and points and calories, etc.

So week 1 was eventful. The first few days were fine...no problems and managed to stay on track. Thursday was always the hard day for me as this was the stage where previous efforts came to a halt as your body depleted in reserves. There was a slight feeling of that this time but that only goes to show firstly that it isn't a Ketosis method of weight monitoring and second that I must be doing OK.

Friday...the first day of exercise so I went 16 miles on my bike...5th time out this year. Windy and cold but short enough to go with. I went with the suggested carb-first switch on the day. It's not pleasant and I discovered my body doesn't work that way. I need to load the previous night...not load that morning...lesson #1. So I switched around that evening and went on the carb-biased feed that evening. One of the UKs best ever cycling climbers, Robert Miller, said that your performance tomorrow is based on what you eat today. And he's right. The next day was equally windy, if not stronger winds, but I went 22 miles. All good, if not less restricted in the gut region by a lighter feed, and only had a protein/fat based breakfast. Some top pro cyclists do this for weight loss - a plain omelette then 5 hours up in the mountains...albeit with energy bars and gels to keep them company. I had the trusty bananas and energy gels if required.

So if I'd have been on another method, I may say...this doesn't work for endurance sports. But the "why" lets you experiment with what works for you with the understanding of what it is that you want to achieve.

But then the inevitable occurred. Got up Sunday morning...wasted. Not enough fuel from Saturday. How? Well, 2 reasons as it happens. Firstly, I didn't plan the days feed after the breakfast. Home-made soup and brown seed roll at lunch time which was inadequate considering the efforts earlier with lasagne in the evening followed by a small portion of yesterdays cabbage and potato. Considering I had, if you believe these things on Strava, burned 700 calories, I probably didn't have the base calorie intake as it was this depletion left me wanting. Secondly, I have an intolerance to potatoes but I had taken them for 2 days running. Plug = pulled.

So the learning curve, and lessons for this week:

Plan the day

Avoid the spud

Weight-wise - no change but I'm not concerned these being brutally honest. I feel like I've more energy because I'm eating more, if not still insufficient for the requirements on some days. But that's the joy. Learning. I also feel lighter - in the regions where it is typical not to feel light...the gut.

Below is a screenshot of the plan and list which I'll monitor for this week. Any alterations will be made and we'll take it from there. Here's to next week.

Back again...different bell focus

It's been a while. Too long. If you've read my recent post (recent...huh!!) you'd know why. But all seems OK again.

So...back to doing something more useful again...something less stressful, less competitive, less constructed and defined...the bike!! Let the wind blow through my hair while it still exists.

But wait...I've been here before. And it isn't pleasant starting out again. OK, not strictly starting out again but kicking off with regular miles. But there was always something missing with the bike. And that was the weight. I'll never be small. I'll never be light but it would be good to be lighter. It helps...boy does it help!

I've tried all of the diets - no carbs = no energy. No breakfast before going on a bike = dangerous ground. Stay away from refined sugar = yeah, OK, but what if you needed it? You're a protein or carb type person...spare me with the americanism on what is how you live. Where do these people get their ideas. Paleo - OK, has merits but is grossly unsustainable. Go calorie deficient and you will lose weight...only 5 Mars bars a day allowed...no, that doesn't work either. I wanted to eat, not be a part-time mathematician. Try this "food substitute"...you know the one...nothing to do with herbs at all. It's hardly what you'd call natural and in reality is one step away from a pyramid scheme. Nope...I completely failed.

But then there's something different. Someone, finally, describes how your body works. And describes it like a person, not a chemistry graduate. And shows that it can be done...and doesn't say do what I do without showing you what happens first...and doesn't give you a diet plan to follow because we're all different but gives you the information you need...and doesn't give you ingredients that are difficult to come by...and doesn't want you to be come a mathematician. That there is DEFoW, or Don't Eat FOr Winter.

http://www.donteatforwinter.com/

Cian Foley...someone I met while Kettlebell lifting. A quiet sort of a fella. Unassuming. But determined. As with most sports it's now obligatory to connect on Facebook and other social media outlets. Cian seemed to be up to something. Yeah, kettlebells...but he was telling everyone what he was doing. Nothing new there...but he was telling before he did it. And how it worked/didn't work. Then we started to see the six-pack. Urgghhhh! Please.

But he was doing everything...running, social responsibilities, working, family life, competing...where was that energy coming from? Ah, he must have a high metabolism. I asked him about what he was doing.

I messaged him on FB Messenger in January 2017...I couldn't keep up with his messaging about the discoveries he was making on his path to fulfilment...the best way to get the benefit out of his fuel. He was enthusiastic. I wondered if he'd ever put it in writing...I now have his book on my desk. It's also available for the Kindle at Amazon. For the first time I understood why your body works the way it does. How it retains weight...we're all primitive. Once you understand, you can achieve.

So I started out on this journey. It's not a one-size-fits-all diet plan...in fact it's not a plan at all. It's the "why" of weight loss control. But the "Why" is important. It's now down to the how. And each person is different. I'll give a progress report in the next post.