The Diet Continues but the blog dries up

Well – the blog entries dried up when we went south to Perth, last Sunday. Today is Saturday, some 6 days later.

We managed to live off Rice cakes, alfalfa sprouts (in a bag and growing as we travelled), water and bits and pieces. Basically we managed to keep on the diet and totally avoided bread, sugar, dairy, alcohol, caffeine and all the other bad stuff – a good way to celebrate the completion of 30 days diet. The yoga was mre difficult but we were getting walking in and had a great ferry ride back to Orkney, with Rachel confident to not take any motion sickness tablets.

Now we are back to work and it is busy, but the good eating is becoming a habit so we are now looking at 2 years! I’ve taken to doing yoga in strange places, when convenient – this has been a real success.

That all said, I need to explain that while Rachel is being 100% on this diet, I am only involved to “support her” and to benefit from avoiding crap and so eating the food my body deserves – and only that. That means that I have eaten a bit of cheese and pasta – because it was a gift:

We had some wonderful guests staying with us (see www.couchsurfing.com) who were so sweet and considerate, bringing gifts and food and helping out – in return for a place to stay and our company. They even cooked a special cheese and pasta free meal for Rachel – but though I have been eating the same as her they did not realise this and cooked me a special, Alpine macaroni cheese dish. So, it being after the 30 days, I relented and ate it. The next day we were back to our vegetables and prawns and so on – but good to find I had no detectable reaction to any of it … no bloating or lethargy or whatever might have been possible.

All good news. Rooibos tea, without caffeine, is the best. That and water is all we drink. Oh, tell a lie, nettle tea also. Today I picked meadowsweet and chamomile so will be drying those for use later in the summer. The nettles are good for cordage now.

Other news – the dig at Ness of Brodgar is getting interesting (and thanks to good weather is a happy place to be). I’ll be doing some demonstrations down there – when I have a day off from tours and fire making lessons. Must go now, got preparations to do for tomorrow.

I’m having the day off – flies, couchsurfers, back ache

The wind has died down – a rare occurrence here in the northern isles – so now the air feels warm, oppressive and heavy. The flies are airborne and I am reminded of life “down south”. We used to have whole summers like this – the drone of distant lawnmowers, hiding in the shade, the salty sting of sweat in the eyes and the buzzing of flies. I’d almost forgotten about that life.

Today I am resting, after a busy three days non stop, teaching survival and visiting the ancient sites of Orkney with a nice couple – the winners of Survival International raffle prize – 3 days with me – woo hoo.

I feel a bit grumpy due to straining my back while lunging for a ball this morning – and so today I am resting carefully. Met up with two really nice Couchsurfers just now – sadly we were too busy to host them but at least managed to say hello – I showed them Barnhouse village – often overlooked by tourists.

The diet continues – I’ll write it up later.

Did yoga this morning after a 3 day absence – too busy working and sleeping – and hit by hay fever – but now paying for the inactivity with an aching back. Sod’s law. Yoga felt really good too – so I am a bit pissed off.

Still, mustn’t complain. Mum is still in hospital and cannot walk – so that must be hell for her. I feel really sad for her – such a rapid loss of independence – I hope they can fix her – but hope fades with time.

Back to swatting flies and sipping rooibos.

The Diet – days 19,20,21 – highs and lows without sugar, caffeine, alcohol, bread, dairy

Rachel has just measured herself after almost 3 weeks. She has lost 2″ around her waist, and an inch off her thighs – and is beaming, radiant and alive! Now I have to confess a bit of over eating. I found myself not eating much during the days but come the evening being very hungry and so mistakenly having food late at night. My metabolism and brain were certainly working to compensate for a loss of certain foods and calories – things like savoury pastries, rich in fat and white flour.

I am not going to measure or weigh myself until day 30. That said, it is important to remember this is not a weight losing diet – the toning and weight loss is a bonus.

Read this blog about how Scotland is turning green.

We feel good – energised, happy, motivated, alert. Things are seeming to go well and the diet is part of that. This is what I have been eating:

(Day 18 addendum)

Had the indulgence of popcorn late at night – home made with no salt but a bit of butter. Didn’t need it and regretted it, tasty though it was! (With hindsight, I realise how small a quantity of corn it was but still, not good to eat late at night – though I now (writing on day 21) feel the odd treat and rule breaking is ‘healthy’).

Day 19

I think I ate everything today! Started with yoga and went for a walk too, in the rain. Gathered cotton grass – see other post.

• mango and banana
• aubergine (egg plant), spring onions, egg, winter greens, cumin, salt and pepper, stir fried. Tasty.
• crisps - ready salted (potato chips) bought. Very salty.
• Popcorn and brazil nuts – snacked on popcorn Rachel made and couldn’t resist a handful.
• lamb chop with broccoli and borlotti beans with garlic – tasty!
• late night snack – banana and raspberries in left over natural yoghurt.

That is two nights on a row where I ate calories late (after 10pm) when I should have just had a drink and gone to bed – but hey, no one is perfect .

Day 20

I was determined to eat at proper times of the day today – part of the reason for eating late had been being behind all day – working late and not stopping to eat. Never-the-less, I still have avoided the “forbidden foods”. A diet that allows crisps and popcorn and meat and butter is a cool diet in my book – but cutting out wheat flour and sugar pretty much stops casual snacking and fast food, from sandwiches to chocolate bars, cakes to meat pies – all safely out of bounds! (Richard, take note!).

Started with yoga (Rachel was getting bored but as the weather was wet, I insisted)

• mango with porridge and linseeds
• haddock in an egg and gram flour (chick pea) coating, seasoned, with prawns, green beans and garlic
• 2 rice cakes with hazelnut butter
• a pear
• 4 rice cakes with houmous (new batch, very healthy and “garlicky”), and raw red pepper, courgette (zucchini I believe in USA), celery and alfalfa seeds.

How do you spell houmous? Hummus? Homous? Homos? I have seen it many ways, reflecting the different languages of the Mediterranean, I guess.

Ours is made with chick peas (organic, bought dried), soaked and boiled in the pressure cooker with a bit of salt, bay leaf. The chick peas are then blended with a couple of spoons of tahini (sesame), garlic, lemon, cumin, black pepper, olive oil and water (stock).

Day 21

Woo hoo – it goes well. I got up at 6:45 feeling alive and refreshed – that is new – possibly because yesterday was such a good day and possibly because the days are just beginning to get a bit shorter so I can actually sleep at night, it getting dark for a couple of hours!

Not done the yoga yet but plan to.

• Pear and banana with beremeal pancake for breakfast (Bere is a simple form of barley grown here).
• Now about to have 2 rice cakes covered in hummus / houmous and the same vegetables as yesterday: pepper, courgette, alfalafa.

How do I feel?

Great! Slimmer, more energised, healthier. I have a nice pink tongue, clear skin, sparkling eyes, healthy stools or poo if you prefer. I go daily as before. This diet is less of a change for me – for Rachel it is a huge change. What is most different for me? No tea, far less casual eating, far smaller portions, no snacking when out shopping (bargain / reduced price foods – I got fed up being a waste disposal unit for the supermarkets!!!), awareness of what I eat and keeping a diary, of sorts, less salt, more vegetables, less water, less bloated, less farting, more energy, feeling good about myself! Oh, and spending less money!

Next Entry – The diet continues

The Diet: days 16-18 – Expanding range but not waistline

Malcolm eyes cows on a walk - are they food?

The last 3 days we’ve eaten more as we work to beat the 3rd week demons trying to get us to slip – “yeah, you’ve proved you can go without, so why not have a treat?“, as my metabolism realises I am losing weight.

Fresh air walking Orkney beach

Day 16

• yoga and a walk
• banana
• alfalfa, egg and bacon – woo hoo
• houmous and 2 rice cakes
• natural yoghurt with bran fibre, linseed and walnut
• lentils, rice, salmon, houmous, leek, peas, onion, garlic, cashew nuts, aubergine
• snacked on salted cashew nuts

Day 17

• yoga, then ‘catch’ in the afternoon – diving all over the grass
• mango and banana
• leftover houmous, rice and lentils, with alfalfa
• 2 rice cakes
• 2 lamb chops, green beans
• yoghurt, raspberries and an apple

Day 18

• walk up hill, later played energetic catch / goalkeeping
• mango then porridge
• smoked salmon, bit of leftover rice and lentils with houmous
• prawn stir fry – green onion, egg, onion, garlic, cabbage, peas, sunflower and sesame seeds

Noticed my tongue was a bit furry – maybe due to dehydration or maybe something I have eaten – so need to watch what happens – since I have reintroduced many foods. Cleaned teeth but I never scrape the tongue – don’t normally have to – Rachel does though.

Not eaten any processed food, fast food, sugar, alcohol, bread, milk, caffeine in the last 18 days – and the only dairy has been some farmhouse cheese and some natural yoghurt – but never the less I cannot get complacent – my body is having to adjust but after years of eating more than this it now is playing tricks on me – craving large portions of meat and classic roasts, pies and pastries and indian curries – but no way!

It takes real will power to keep going

Go back to the start of the diet blog entries here.

Next Entry: Days 19-21

Days 12 – 15 (Alfalfa Sprouts) Diet continues on my own

The days have been good, I have felt continually strong and awake, but with Rachel being away I have had less inclination to cook, hence the large number of Alfalfa sprouts I have been eating.

Orkney Moorland by our House

The diet continued but I was either too busy or bored writing this up – so here is a condensed summary:

Day 12

Is like a rest day, after a couple of hours work and cleaning the house, I am now sipping rooibos tea and reading. Today I have had -

• mango
• 2 rice cakes, rest of the lentil soup, cheese (farmhouse) and another tomato and lettuce.
• haddock, alfalfa, lettuce
• apple

(The cheese yesterday and today breaks the diet of no dairy but it is no big deal as the reason for cutting out dairy was – Rachel: yeast Me: fats. It was the right thing to eat in the circumstances, though too salty now).

Missed out on yoga yesterday, only doing a shortened version of stretches and poses, for 10 minutes. Not done yoga today yet either! Will do. The rain has started, so will stay in and relax! Make a fire kit for Bob.

Day 13

My notes say:

• banana and kiwi
• salmon and leeks
• yoghurt (natural) with raspberries, almonds
• tuna, sweetcorn and alfalfa

Got a walk and yoga in and worked.

Day 14

• alfalfa before yoga. Felt good!
• banana
• tuna, mayo and alfalfa, again!
• pork chops with more alfalfa - some day.
• a few mixed nuts

I read once a guys belief that you could live long term on only sprouted alfalfa seeds – and though I haven’t tried it, I’m getting closer. In his case, he carried it in his rucksack, sprouting in a jar in the warm dark of his pack. He refreshed it in mountain streams and kept a steady production going – for an estimated cost of 18 pence per day – back in 80’s money. It stuck in my head. Perhaps the internet will reveal who he is and how he got on?

Day 15

Rachel is home. We did a good yoga session but after the porridge.

• porridge, with linseed and sunflower seed – the first in two weeks.
• 1 rice cake with houmous and alfalfa
• white fish in dill and oil marinade, pan fried with leeks, alfalfa and broccoli
• another rice cake with houmous, 2 actually, and no sprouts!
• snacked on a few cashew nuts (salted)
• just had hot water and lemon - nice to have lemons again.

Still only drinking water. This diet is saving lots of money – and thus transportation fuel and plastic wrapping, let alone helping us feel more energised and slimmer.

Tesco is now open up here – a new store replacing Somerfield, who replaced Morrison who bought it from Safeway. All in three years. There is also a Lidl that opened last year, plus the Coop. Whilst I will not have a total ban on shopping in the big market – Tesco – it will be a rare thing and will have to be when the item cannot be found more locally, in family run stores, is grown close to here, is not wrapped in plastic, and I am more positively disposed to the whole Tesco family – who were corrupt and supported Thatcher and I am finding it beyond me to forget this. We use the Coop.

See later posts about Orkney Zero Waste.

Next Entry

Days 10 and 11 of diet (spotted a whale though!)

So, the diet is now in a boring phase – however, I spotted a whale last night when I was on the cliff tops (Yesnaby, west Mainland, Orkney). Also got really really close to lots of seals, some only 10 feet away. Beautiful.

The weather has been warm with a southerly airflow, so mild but breezy. Good for sitting outdoors, whether playing with the cats, watching Oystercatchers fight and flirt, or the marine mammals. Now need to visit the puffins and spot an otter, to complete the season.

Anyway, food:

Day 10

• banana
• 2 boiled eggs, smoked salmon and salad
• 2 rice cakes with cheese (first cheese for nearly two weeks)
• figs, tomato, banana, walnuts, corn (tinned, without sugar)

Day 11

• pineapple, alfafa sprouts
• hot smoked salmon, cheese, oatcakes, lettuce, tomato, lentil soup (with guests)
• haddock, alfalfa
• mango, banana, raspberries
• packet of crisps (end of work)

Day 12 is like a rest day, after a couple of hours work and cleaning the house, I am now sipping rooibos and reading.

so far today I have had – mango, 2 rice cakes, rest of the lentil soup, cheese (farmhouse) and another tomato and lettuce.

Missed out on yoga yesterday, only doing a shortened version of stretches and poses, for 10 minutes. Not done yoga today yet either! Will do. The rain has started, so will stay in and relax! Make a fire kit for Bob.

Next Entry

Munching Almonds on day 9 of diet

Hey – day 9 and feeling good, not missing tea or caffeine, dairy, or wheat or even oats, let alone the other stuff which I have not had for years, like sugar or alcohol! Today has been a blast – yoga and really energetic football!

Today I had simple food:

• breakfast was a banana
• then we did a good yoga session before going shopping
• returned and had smoked salmon for lunch, with tomato and lettuce leaf
• played football and worked up a great sweat, and hunger
• had 2 rice cakes – plain – and needed the energy!
• supper was a small portion of lamb with broccoli and avacado and celery
• now munching a handful of almonds

only drunk water – or water with lemon all day. Feeling good!

Next Entry

An interesting day (8) as Rachel reacts to some food

So, today we reintroduced a little of the foods we often eat, including tomato and oats. We are not sure of the cause but Rachel’s face is red and she is restless, her mood altered – and we suspect the food for we cannot think what else.

We are about to do some yoga – which couldn’t be done this morning because I had work to do (on a Sunday!) teaching fire making (by friction – see other posts on this blog). The weather is mixed but enough to deter going out for a walk as now the rain and wind make us huddle indoors. We could walk but Rachel hates the cold and damp conditions.

• Breakfast was a banana and rooibos tea. Rachel had mango.
• lunch was a vegetable stew Rachel made, with the usual rice cakes and last houmous and some alfafa.
• teatime snack was a banana, followed by a tasty treat: natural yoghurt with vanilla, walnut, popped rice and linseeds.
• supper was the vegetable stew again but with tomato and oatmeal thickening it.
• I have also just nibbled a few almonds (and felt much more satified afterwards).

So, we need to analyse what was in the veg stew, and maybe the yoghurt (all home made) and see what, if it is food, is causing the reaction. The list of possible culprits for her include:

• tomato puree
• oatmeal
• butternut squash
• orange pepper (capsicum)
• vanilla escence (unlikely)
• linseed (unlikely)
• yoghurt (unlikely)

I am feeling good, a little bloated and fancying a nice cup of tea or an apple or something with fibre. Last night I had a few handfuls of fibre to help move things along, as I like to go every day – but I guess, if you eat less, you poo less. You also spend less! I see excess fat as money wasted! Or maybe waisted.

Next Entry

Day 7 of the diet …

… still avoiding all the bad things – sugar, wheat, dairy, salt, alcohol, yeast – well I think so. It gets a bit boring but for the record, last night I had millet with courgette and walnut. Quite tasty.

Today, Day 7:

• Banana for breakfast followed by yoga
• Snacked on 2 rice cakes with houmous and alfalfa, plus celery and tomato.
• Late afternoon we returned home hungry and had 2 more rice cakes with cashew butter, and a little lentil soup with salad leaves.
• This evening we had a prawn stir fry, with broccoli , onion, garlic, cauliflower, cashew and one egg. Used olive oil and a little sesame oil. But still I felt empty and have just had another rice cake, with houmous and alfalfa, and bran fibre with a little natural yoghurt.

So, it seems I may be avoiding certain foods, and gradually reintroducing some but in terms of the quantity I cannot call this a diet in that I am again eating a lot. Seven days and I am losing the will power to overcome hunger. Feel a bit low and in need of a good walk! Watched rubbish films instead and generally lazy. Tomorrow I have to work all day, so I will need to make effort to get back on track.

This I think is in part because today it was cool and rained, we did not go for a walk other brisk exercise outside – and had work to do that interupted the day. I will try hard to tomorrow eat less and exercise more, because I am worth it.

Next Entry

Losing track, day 6 of diet, I think …

OK - yesterday finished off with chicken and cabbage but it tasted bland. Even eggplant with it couldn’t improve our spirits. Watched Super High Me on film. Slept well but woke late.

Friday (day 6), a late start. Water with lemon. Walked for an hour or so, with some stretching because of yesterday’ s games.

• Water is all I’ve drunk for days now
• Breakfast was a banana and a mouthful of mango
• Lunch was 2 ricecakes with houmous
• Snacked on a bit of smoked salmon and another ricecake, and a few walnuts
• Supper has been 3 bowls of lentil soup, made with chicken stock, onion and carrot.

Late snack is about to be a big mouthful of alfalfa sprouts I have been growing!

That’s all.

Still no hint of sugar, wheat, gluten, dairy, alcohol, chocolate, etc.

Next Entry