Originally posted on 22nd April 2020
I really don’t want this blog to focus on dietary stuff but with this COVID-19 situation resulting in the cancellation all bike races and events, I’m at a loss for bike specific content. As mentioned in a previous post, my intention is to get faster and fitter on the bike but with being stuck at home I am still able to continue with my healthy and not so healthy eating….
After a very indulgent Easter long weekend including Indian takeaway X2, beer, chocolate and binge watching Netflix I think I have come out the other side without piling on the kilos. In fact, just over a week later I have recorded my lightest yet on the scales. I had prepared mentally for the Easter long weekend and made an agreement with myself that I could fall off the wagon but only so far. Some people dieting have a ‘cheat day’ each week where they eat whatever they like in order to more easily maintain their healthy lifestyle on the other days. I’m no dieting expert but I think that a weekly day of poor eating is not a great idea and I prefer to keep my indulgent days far less frequent. Although, this is not always possible. I have also maintained a no animal/dairy products policy when I’m falling off the wagon so the indulgence part is limited to added oil, salt and processed foods.
In October 2018 I started weighing myself most mornings at the same time before breakfast and I have continued this activity for a few days each week. I have at times tried to reduce my weight before long bike rides and I’ve unsuccessfully tried intermittent fasting for short periods. Although I’ve not placed much importance on losing weight its been great to have the data to see the result of cutting out oil and dairy and increasing starchy carbohydrates. One point I would like to make here is that everyone is at a different stage of their journey and I’ll talk about being ready for change in another blog post. Anyway, on 22nd Oct 2018 I weighed 78kg but this could have been a scale malfunction as around that time I was mostly 76kg. I hit 77kg on 7th Jan 2019 and hovered around 74-76kg until I started the whole food plant based diet in Dec 2019. From 75kg on 6th Dec 2019 I have steadily dropped to 67.1kg on 8th April 2020, a few days before the Easter long weekend. After the long weekend on 14th April 2020 I weighed a hefty 67.9kg and the day after that, still 67.9kg. A week later, again without even trying to lose weight, I have dropped to my lightest 66.7kg this morning (22 April 2020). So it seems that my weekend of death by food – ok maybe a slight exaggeration – has not ended too badly.
I’d like to thank my amazing wife and the following establishments for a very enjoyable Easter weekend:
Chefs of Tandoori – biggest and best selection of vegan Indian food in Adelaide
Bridge Road Brewers – not Coopers Pale Ale but still very nice