New Beginnings- Week 8

This final week has taught me that losing weight is not easy, but doable. And it takes time and perseverance. The good news is that I haven’t put any weight back on and have ended the 8-week journey at 88kg. The other health stats remain the same and in good stead. I haven’t given up though. The 8-week period may be over but the journey continues. The only difference will be is that there will be no weekly updates.

I have learnt a lot during these 8 weeks, for example, I have learnt about which carbs are good for me and which are not. The foods that have protein and nutrients and wholesome goodness. I have got used to not eating bread or potatoes for weeks at a time. I don’t miss sandwiches and instead will go for a piece of fruit when feeling hungry. Apples and oranges are my favourites. I like bananas, but I’m not allowed these as a diabetic because of the spike in sugar and carbohydrate levels. My smoothie drinks consisted of either oat milk or unsweetened almond milk with a scoop of Nutriseed powder. I would add blueberries or a couple of small strawberries for flavour. I am also an Indian and for obvious reasons, curries and rice and chapattis are a staple diet, but I have managed to cut down by nearly 75% on my Indian food consumption. I eat a lot more salads, and try and make vegetarian or vegan items to go with the salads. For example, vegan sweet potato burgers or beetroot burgers. And stuffed mushrooms with a hint of garlic are my favourite.

I intend to carry on with my diet and exercise routine. And I have signed up to complete 10000 steps a day for the month of March for the Marie Curie Cancer Care Charity. I hope to raise £2000 for this challenge and look forward to any donations to reach my target. Please visit JustGiving and donate to Anil’s fundraising page. Many thanks in advance for any donations received.

Finaly, I would like to say that it has been a great experience sharing my journey with the outside world and showing my vulnerabilities in public. The encouragement I have received has been nothing short of fantastic. So Thank you all for being part of life and I will connect again very soon with another new adventure or something I have already done…eg, My National Trust Journey, that I started in 2020.

Looking forward to sharing some amazing photos of sites I have visited and stories of tbhe places I have been to. Until Then……….!

New Beginnings-Week 1

Today, January 3rd, 2022, I have started what I said I would do, and that is to lose weight and reverse my diabetes. My current weight of 91.2 kg will be brought down to 80kg in eight weeks following Dr. Mosley’s advice in his book “The 8 week Blood sugar diet”. The book sounds very logical in its approach to weight loss and sugar control, as explained in detail by Dr.Mosley.

I am almost a vegan, not fully converted yet so I am having to amend or change some of the recipes provided at the end of the book to suit my lifestyle. But I will keep to the minimum of 800 calories and allow up to 1200 calories on bad days. Coupled with exercise and good eating habits, my target should be reached.

I’ve been a diabetic since 1992 and determined to get off the tablets completely and the two daily injections which work in combination with the medication. I managed to get in more than my 5000 steps daily target by doing an average so far of 6900 with a maximum of 9000. Light to moderate exercise daily for fitness and the all-powerful positive attitude. Nothing ventured nothing gained, right.

This is the day one log. Starting weight 91kg, Blood sugar level at 8.9mmol, and blood pressure at 115/77 with a pulse rate of 79. So a good start to the day, and have almost reached the daily calorie count of 800.

I didn’t cook today as I ate out at a family member’s house. But tomorrow will be different.

A very good start to my sugar check this morning. It was at 6.1. That made me happy. I was on track.

I was up quite early so I decided to do half of my daily walk in the morning for 15 minutes and 3000 steps. Nearly there, but just under by a few 100 steps. Not to worry because I had all day to catch up.

By lunchtime, I had run a couple of errands and then had a Greggs vegetable bake and cinnamon tea followed by a satsuma. I was warned by someone not to drop down to an 800 calorie diet as it would prove to be dangerous due to my diabetic condition, so I have allowed myself to go up to 1200 calories.

I managed to finish all my steps by 7.30pm and had walked for a total of 45 minutes. And also burned about 300 calories in the process, but I broke my target and achieved 7144 steps. Hooray for me. Self-appreciation for self-encouragement. And what interesting food did I have for dinner?

I made myself a Tofo salad. I marinated the tofu in soy sauce, salt, black pepper, and achar(pickle) masala, drizzled it with some olive oil, and air-fried them. Yum. I had the tofu with a portion of little gem lettuce, 1 tomato, cucumber, grated carrot, green pepper, and edamame beans, topped with vinaigrette. Yum again.

Now, I have to be creative tomorrow…….So instead of writing daily, I think weekly will be more digestible(no pun intended). From day three, I had to be more careful as I was constantly thinking of food and what I could eat that would not pile on the calories. I have started to munch on cucumbers, carrots, sugar snap peas to avoid the carbs and maintain my sugar levels. I was advised to increase the daily intake of calories from 800 to about 1500. That is why the weight loss has slowed. I managed to lose 1 kg, but it’s a start. The exercise is going well with the achievement of more than 5000 steps a day. I have been averaging 7000 steps and also 15 minutes on the static bike.

All in all, I’m pleased with my first week’s progress, although I didn’t lose the expected 2 or 3 kg. But positively thinking, making the start, and maintaining the momentum in the first week has boosted my confidence. I know I can do it too. Week two to follow….