84 Kilos and counting

Posted on by • Posted in Health • Tagged , , , , , , , , , • 94 Comments

I am going on a diet, there I have said it. It is now out in the open and I will probably regret telling you.

I have decided to lose some a lot of weight because, I have read:-

Cognitive reflection’s funny post about joining a fighting class, in the hope of losing some weight and nearly getting himself thumped.

Also Duffer’s thread on the British Expats forum, entitled Fat people I need some help.

And finally, because I caught a glance of myself, in the mirror as I left the shower. I managed to realise it was me, before I started shouting to Mrs Sensible, “Help help there’s a naked fat man running amok in the house”.

I apologise that this is not a very Italian themed post, and I will try not to get too graphic.

I didn’t think it was possible for a simple bathroom fixture, for example a set of weighing scales, to induce a near heart attack. But they did. This morning I weighed myself at seven in the morning (84 kilo), ate a little breakfast and just before I cleaned my teeth I weighed myself again. One small bowl of cereal using low fat milk had increased my weight by two kilos. TWO KILOS!!!, as I stood in the bathroom thumping my chest trying to restart the heart rhythm, I kicked the scales and then stood on them again; the scales dropped from 86 Kilos down to 80 kilos. So the foul tasting low fat milk really works.

The bathroom weighing scales have been thrown in the bin.

I have now successfully completed 24 hours on my diet; no chocolate, wine, biscuits or beer have passed my lips.

My favourite biscuits and Chocolate. Did you know Fiesta bars are 8% alcohol?

My favourite biscuits and Chocolate. Did you know Fiesta bars are 8% alcohol?

Full of good intention this lunch, I went for a walk to the local café. I normally drive home and raid the fridge and drink a little wine. However while I was sat drinking my low calorie drink, Mrs Sensible called me with the “where are you and have you eaten the salad I left in the fridge for you?” Ooops, I tried to pacify her, by explaining about my 12 minute walk and that I wasn’t drinking a glass of wine. Needles to say she was not very impressed. I am glad I didn’t mention that it was so hot I was eating a Magnum to cool down.

Tasty but 15.5 grams of fat

Tasty but 15.5 grams of fat

I have also invested in a brand new set of weighing scales, not the old spring type that you can achieve your desired weight by leaning slightly to the left or the right, but electronic ones. They not only tell you how heavy you are, they also tell you how much of your body, is pure unadulterated fat. I am not sure if it distinguishes between fat and saturated fat, I know from the Magnum bar that there was 15.5g of fat and 11.2 grams of dreaded saturated fat, in that cooling delicious ice cream.

My scales are posh, but this is a better picture

My scales are posh, but this is a better picture

Because the new weighing scales are complicated and the instructions are in Italian, I have used google translate to understand the user instructions. The, input your height and age, so that it can work out my height to weight ratio so that it can work out how fat I am allowed to be was easy. I have thought about lying to it and imputing that I am six foot three, and then telling the truth after I have lost a bit of fat. But as a black sheep I know I will get caught. After the input instructions, the Google translate sounded a little strange, it started babbling on about standing on the scales buck naked so the scale can electrocute my feet by battery, to work out my fat and water content. I might have to ask Mrs Sensible about that one.

Apart from scratching and laughing the only exercise I do is walking to and from the car. Before you lot start shouting, I did spend the weekend digging the vegetable plot over, and then two days walking around like an old man, moaning every time I had to stand up.

So please use the comments for advice on how to lose weight.

94 thoughts on “84 Kilos and counting”

  2. You need 100 calories for every pound you weigh. This is your basal metabolic weight. So if you weight 130 pounds (60kg) you can eat 1300 calories to maintain that weight, if you are sedentary (which a lot of us are). Work out what you want to weigh in pounds and eat 100 calories for every one of those pounds. You should lose weight pretty quickly. Buy a calorie counter and record everything you eat. Don’t worry about your fat percentage on those scales. They are not accurate and can be influenced by your hydration level. As a lifelong dieter, I salute you brave soldier and wish you well!

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  3. I have a love affair with Italian food so I know if I ever lived in Italy my weight would be more of an issue for me. Here’s what helps me. I drink a large glass of water before eating and any time I think I am hungry, sometimes that’s all I need. I eat slowly so my stomach can tell me when its full. Studies say it takes 15 minutes once full to send the signal to our brain. And finally, I only eat real food. Good luck.

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    • I need to eat slower. When I was young, if you didn’t eat fast my elder brother was bound nick my burger or sausage. It is a habit I need to change. 🙂 I didn’t know about the 15 minute rule, but it makes sense.

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  4. I’m told it’s easy … eat less, move more…. Yes, easy to say, but not so easy to do!
    How about brushing your teeth if you feel hungry – I find I don’t want to eat when I have just brushed my teeth. 🙂 Also, sometimes we mistake hunger for thirst, so if you feel hungry have a glass of water and see if that helps.

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  5. I’m not saying I recommend it, but I had to cut out wheat and dairy for a while last year (long story, and really not that easy in Italy!) and I lost 12 kilos in a couple of months. Just eat lots of grilled meat, rice, vegetables and fruit, and you can even have a bit of red wine…

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      • The pizza was the most difficult part for me, I was so excited when I could eat it again! You can get rice pasta though, which tastes pretty much the same. I just found it so embarrassing going into great little restaurants and having to ask for grilled chicken and vegetables…

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  6. Move to Latvia. I’ve lost around 5 kilos since coming back from England in September. Also, you seemed to lose 6kgs just by brushing your teeth – maybe you’re not fat but just have a lot of plaque build-up? (You also may have to change your message post to ‘as soon as I finish my salad I will respond’) 🙂

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  7. Smaller plates. Due to lack of shelf space (yes really) we only have little plates and I refuse to buy more until we’ve renovated. So our tiny plates are toppling over with food and everyone thinks they have loads to eat. Simple!

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  9. I put on a couple of kilos while on a motorbiking holiday in Sardinia last week. I look rather podgy round the waist now, so it’s back to my zumba classes to exercise it all off. Normally works too.

    More exercise and healthy eating should be sufficient to find your ideal weight. Says she with a glass of rosé and bag of mixed nuts to hand… It’ll take a while… 🙂

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  10. Oh good for you! My husband and I like to talk about losing some weight, though I have a feeling he is just humouring me. At the moment, nothing has happened yet and we are still “talking” about it. Now if only all that”talking” was enough, we’d have achieved our weight goal by now!

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  12. I know exactly how you feel about wanting to be slimmer for summer! I think I would have a lot of trouble dieting if I lived in Italy, I love Italian food too too much and I know I couldn’t and wouldn’t want to give up red wine and chocolate! In fact if I had to choose between the two I’m afraid the chocolate would have to go!!! 🙂 Good luck! 😀

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  13. I was never one for cutting out foods that I like, but limiting portion sizes of wheat and/or sugar heavy foods, and how often you eat them, really helped me. Have it less often, in smaller quantities, but better quality – that way it doesn’t feel like deprivation, and can actually feel like a treat 🙂 Also, as other have said before me, more water.

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    • I have had to cut out foods, there is no way I could eat half of a pizza diavola and leave the other half for the next day. At the moment I am eating grilled chicken with salad, and grilled or steamed fish with salad. uffa!

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  14. OMG! I SOOOO relate to this post!! I lived in Italy for a year, and came home to NY and as my sister put it I was ” well fed” … I had gained 20lbs! (I think that’s about 10klg) I exercised my butt off! I did boot camp style classes and got really into yoga and started distance running. I have lost all the Italy weight now but it took me about 4 or 5 months to actually keep it off and maintain my weight.

    Good luck! And best advice I was given is to find what works for your life style.

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  15. I’ve learned to never deny myself anything because the minute I say I can’t have it, I want it, I want real bad! Seriously, I keep a food diary. It’s helpful to keep one that includes calories but I have found that the mere act of having to record what I’m eating is enough to help me abstain. Many a time I have refused a chocolate treat because I did not want to log it in my diary. How is Mrs. Sensible with her diet? It helps if your partner is willing to adjust their eating habits too. Good luck, amico.

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    • I use myfitnesspal.com too. I have the app on my iPad. It’s a great app. The database is huge and it’s pretty easy to log your food and exercise, especially if you have routines. A little perk is once you logged your food and exercise for the day, the app will tell you how you will weigh in 5 weeks if everyday is like that day. So if I’m good, it’s an incentive because I get a positive message about my diet. If I’m bad, it helps me put on the brakes 😉

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  18. The only thing that forced me to loose weight was chasing after a toddler all day. 30 pounds, uhh I mean 14 kilos, so far.

    What are you doing with all that excess high fat food in the house ?

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  19. Apparently new studies suggest sugar is the culprit and not fat because we’ve been eating low fat foods for decades and the obesity epidemic is worse. What do low fat foods have more of? Sugar. Because when you take the fat out the food tastes like crap so they have to put something in it to make it edible.

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  20. Why not try the FAST Diet? You restrict your calorie intake for just 2 days a week and eat normally for the other 5 days. Just type in 5:2 diet or the Fast Diet into Google for information 🙂

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        • It drives my wife up the wall, when I say something cost 30 pounds instead of 30 euros. I know we use euros, but sometimes the mouth works faster than the brain.

          And 70 miles an hour makes sense, what is 120 kilometers????

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            • Neither have any Italian drivers……

              They drive faster then the guy in front of them.

              I watched a BMW tailgate a police car on the motorway near Naples. Eventually the police car moved over and the BMW accelerated away.

              After looking at my wife’s driving licence, I asked where do they write additional points…. she said she didn’t know. I have asked 2 other Italians and they didn’t know either.

              Speeding is as natural as eating pizza here.

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  23. Always remind yourself that muscle weighs more than fat. All my life I tried gaining some weight so I wouldn’t look like a living skeleton. Well, I’m now at what should be my perfect weight, except it didn’t settle where it was meant to go. A disproportionate amount decided to settle around my waist and create a ring of blubber. Be careful what you wish for!
    And thanks again, for following my stories at 1950 Suburban Adventures.

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    • Oh yes, and old Chinese proverb..

      The trouble is I don’t want to spend my life looking like a pot bellied pig…. wearing sunglasses.

      I found your posts funny. I will read some more tonight.

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  24. gosh lots of good advice in all those comments PN… sorry can’t help as I have been trying (unsuccessfully) to lose weight. I find that it helps if it’s not in the house ( “it” meaning the biscuit, the cake, the chocolate etc). Mr C has lost a lot of weight by cutting sweets (he has a VERY sweet tooth) and replacing them with fresh fruit. Good luck, hope you don’t meet that stranger in the bathroom again 😉

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  25. Greetings, oh repentant Walkers crisp convert. Good luck to you; motivation is the key. I found motivation via cholesterol problems, gave up fat in my diet and lost 10kg. Reducing fat but not removing it entirely is helpful; once the first few kilogrammes shify, the motivation to continue kicked in. Keep us posted!

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  26. 30 minutes of running at least 5 times week and after a month you will feel the change 😉
    Plus you need to eat small portions if 5 meals per day, every 3h. Breakfast, small snack, larger lunch, snack and light dinner. Works any time 🙂

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    • Hi Monika, This sounds like very good advice.

      The problem is I am a tad lazy at the moment. Last year we played running around the village every night. This year has been a bit difficult so no running.

      I struggle with breakfast, my stomach doesn’t start to function until about 10 am. But as soon as 10 arrives I could eat a horse, dog and cat.

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      • You sound like my English husband 😉

        To be honest I understand what you mean, I am lazy too. With me it was that one day a moment came when I knew I need to start doing something – running, exercising, anything and I followed 🙂 First few times were like hell, I could keep running for 5 minutes maximum and looked like a large pink sausage afterwards but I can’t describe even how good it made me feel that I actually did it. Now I exercise 7 times a week and it feels quite great actually.

        Dieticians say to force eating breakfasts if you are not used to them, not sure if this works though (I am currently working on my husband’s habits 😉
        They also say to write down everything you eat, when and how and then eliminate one problem (i.e. one item from the menu, wrong time) per week until you reach what you are happy with.
        Anyway, good luck 🙂

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        • First the good news, I have lost 1/2 a kilo in the past 5 days, a kilo would be better. The bad news is I found the wine bottle, while I was grilling my chicken breast. SO this week I have sneaked, I glass of white wine and one grappa.

          I really can’t do breakfasts. I have started to take a piece of fruit to work and eat it mid morning.

          Exercise… arrrgh. If it stops raining today I will run around the village.

          Thanks for the good luck

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          • A glass of wine is not bad 😉
            Take it easy and you will get there and find your own way.

            By the way, my fitness guru says you should avoiding counting kilograms and switch to measuring yourself. Apparently this is a better indicator of loosing weight. She also recommends to photograph yourself before and compare this regularly with reality 😉

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            • Mrs Sensible took some photos at the beginning of the week. I didn’t breath in or anything!!!
              I think I will leave it a couple of weeks before we take any more.

              I like the measuring bit, I forgot to do that.

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  27. After 4 days of pigging out in Engalnd I returned to Paris over a kilo heavier! Damn those steak and kidney pies and chips and jacket potatoes and English beer and wine and chocolates etc etc. I should go on a diet but . . .

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  28. Living in Italy around absolutely scrumptious food and wine … I do wish you Best of Luck! Alternatively try Dr Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer’s ‘The Fast Diet’ book … it works and for more things than just food/weight issue -:)!

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