How I reliably lose half a kilo a day and I hate dieting.

Here’s the formula.

Nothing to do with Jenny Craig, Diet Shakes or anything else. I designed it myself over a long time. It works. There is some austerity involved but it’s a myth that you can lose weight without some austerity and regulation.
The level of austerity here is manageable and easy to maintain. This is my exact program. It may sound simple but it took me years to figure out. It’s absolutely worth the effort.

Goal and Motivation:
I don’t know about you, but I want to be ass-kickingly fit into my 60’s. Goals and motivation are obviously important.

I’ve done the 600 calorie a day diet shake program and it’s extremely effective for weight loss. Downsides are that the shakes (especially Optifast shakes) are expensive. You don’t have enough energy to perform complex or physically demanding tasks and your food cravings are going to be off the charts. My program is way more manageable and it can be maintained long term. You should shoot for a 10kg weight loss over about 8 weeks.

I add the approximate calories I consume and exercise I do with the corresponding calorie burn. I caution that if you deviate significantly it doesn’t work. If you go out and have a big restaurant meal during a 24 hour period your weight will likely increase. Weight loss is all about establishing a routine and replicating it exactly. It’s like fine tuning a lens. You do a lot of testing to get the focus absolutely perfect and then you don’t change that setting.

Once you adapt to this you will not be suffering or desperate for junk food, random snacks and so on. Don’t think misery and austerity; think exhilaration and physical and mental vigor. Don’t just think of the destination, embrace the journey.

One of the toughest aspects of this is being aloof from what everyone else is doing or eating. In a family or social environment that can be pretty challenging. Try to fly under the radar but if people want to know never tell them it’s about weight loss only: that sounds too vain and cosmetic. Tell them it’s a health issue, not a vanity issue.

1. The Golden Rule of losing weight is that you have to weigh yourself and take a fasting blood sugar level every morning when you get up. Buy a day to a page diary and record the results, irrespective of how unpalatable they might be. Hiding from the truth doesn’t change the truth and your scales and glucometer won’t lie to you or try to flatter you. I’ve kept digital diaries in Microsoft Word. Trust me, in this regard, the old tech of a pen and paper and a nice traditional diary works best. I tend to make some analytical notes as well if I screw up or if something is particularly effective.

2. I take breakfast at 6am. There is a principle called the 16/8 principle where you eat in an 8 hour window. It’s a good strategy and works well. My breakfast is pretty simple: A big bowl of porridge. I make mine with traditional oats (5 star health rating and only $1 for a 1kg bag of the no name supermarket brand which are just as good if not better than Quaker or the other expensive branded oats). I also make them with a little himalayan rock salt, golden or white Quinoa, a sliced banana, some honey, walnuts or almonds added while cooking. It’s a complex, to die for oatmeal which beats all your expensive designer muesli brands hands down. If you add some cinnamon it’s also a natural blood sugar control item.

Coffee: Most people are going to go crazy without a coffee. I have a Nespresso machine. I use two capsules intensity 12, otherwise the coffee tastes insipid compared to a good barista coffee. I like cappuccino so I make mine with milk. I use a teaspoon of Ovaltine (which I think you can buy anywhere) as my chocolate sprinkle. This is important: you only have one meal a day with significant calories, carbs and discretionary foods like some chocolate taste.

I estimate I consume about 1,000 calories for breakfast.

1-2 hours post breakfast: I swim 1500 meters at about 70% intensity. I’m 62 and I don’t think a lot of people my age can do this – maybe 3% of the adult population would be capable of doing a 1500 meter swim. I’m just making the point that if you can manage it, do some form of exercise and preferably vigorous. I think an hour in a gym or on a rowing machine might be the approximate equal. I’m neither a gym junkie or a fitness fanatic but if you’re sedentary it’s going to be a gradual process to work yourself up to the universally recognized levels of exercise for decent health.

I swim 1500 meters in about 30 minutes. Here’s a really cool site which calculates the calories you burn with lots of different exercise. This is a calorie burn of about 500 calories but varies according to the time I take. I’m a strong swimmer but the current world record of 14.31 is simply superhuman.

caloriesburnedhq.com/

Post swim recovery: I usually need something. I take a 150 calorie high quality protein drink. Muscle Milk does the job and is available most places. It’s 160 calories and almost no sugar.

www.musclemilk.com/product/muscle-milk-genuine-protein-sh…

Hydration: I drink about 2 liters of water a day.

2PM Meal: I eat something resembling the meal in this photo. I don’t always add almonds or have a meal this size unless I’m doing another session in the pool after this meal.
Here’s another example: This has avocado, which is a super food but has a fair few calories.
www.flickr.com/photos/mahamantra1/38826817231/in/dateposted/

I would suggest that if you have Type 2 Diabetes or are pre diabetic that you locate Bitter Melon and add it raw to this meal. Don’t forget to remove the seeds and pulp. It has natural blood sugar control properties. If you’re eating this, a couple of points:
Blueberries are a super food. Not only that, they add a sweet element to this meal. The meal itself is a combination of raw and lightly steamed non starchy vegetables which are highly nutritious, healing and will not cause a massive spike in blood sugar. I usually sprinkle with some black pepper, little Himalayan salt and some non fat Italian salad dressing.

Ok you’re finding this too hard:
This meal is super important. It heals and gives your body a rest. It’s very low in calories, sugar and carbs and it even tastes great. Still, if you are finding it too austere, give yourself permission to eat something like this on the odd day.

Recipe for Super Pasta:
Buy the best Pasta you can get. In Australia that’s Vetta Smart Pasta and boil it as per instructions. You can figure out quantities. I’ll just tell you what goes in. It’s simple to make this in about 15 minutes.
vettapasta.com.au/vetta-smart-pasta

Steam asparagus and broccoli or broccolini while the pasta is cooking.

You’ll need a punnet of cherry tomatoes, cut them in half

You’ll also need a can of diced Italian tomatoes, and half a jar of a nice basil pesto.

Once the pasta is cooked and you’ve added the tomatoes, diced tomatoes, asparagus and broccoli, add some pepper and salt, as well as a little Tobasco if you want some spice.

Finally, add a bag of some dark green leafy vegetable like baby spinach etc. Here’s one I recommend in Australia (yes, we have the world’s best supermarkets and I’ve been everywhere).
www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/638169/woolwort…

It cooks down and makes a delicious, super healthy pasta. Don’t eat it every day, because it ups your calorie count. In my case I’m going to follow it with a 1km swim, so weight loss is really about calories in vs calories burnt.

A typical daily adult burns 2500 calories a day. Try to get your calorie intake under 1500, add some intense exercise for at least an hour, and you are going to lose weight.

You may not follow this every day but at least try to achieve some kind of weight loss goal. Take a day and have a healthy pasta or some type of meal that isn’t a nutritional disaster. Weight loss is a challenge and if you blow away a lot of
your progress with a session of binge eating it sucks.

Calories afternoon meal = approximately 300 (500 with half an avocado added)

Food as sustenance and healing
Almonds
Broccolini
Cherry tomatoes
Blueberry
Spinach
Carrot