2021
This was actually the very first time i had both consciously and concertedly dieted in my life interestingly enough - for my body has been fortunate enough to have been blessed with a fairly high metabolic rate...
...And of course in my younger years i have been fairly sporty - with golf and table-tennis (in my teens), and squash and running (in my twenties and early thirties) playing by far the greater part of such a relatively sporty life...
...And in my mid to later life i have walked a lot - much preferring to walk (or cycle) than to have caught busses or trains, or indeed called upon the services of taxi drivers - unless it has been otherwise necessary of course...
So, what caused me to decide to diet, one may reasonably enquire...
Well the realisation that i had accumulated rather a lot of extra weight over more recent times (not just during Xmas as i had earlier rather errantly stated) came whilst laying on my side whilst in my bed - whereby i noticed that my stomach was somewhat large and tight...
...Which in turn caused me to step onto my rarely used scales to assess the damage so to speak - whereby i realised that i weighed at least 12lbs more than i would otherwise wish to weigh...
So, how to go about dieting...
Well the first thought that came to me was that i rather obviously needed to eat both less, and more healthily - and that the later in the day that i started eating, the easier it would be to eat less...
So, if my memory serves me correctly, i started off by eating my pre water-steeped cereals for brunch, rather than for breakfast - which equated to sometime after noon, and then extended it to around 3 o'clock in the afternoon and beyond...
Later, after realising that soup for my final meal of the day (circa 8 - 9pm) caused me to wake up feeling not so great, i decided that the pre water-steeped bowl of cereals would sit rather better on my stomach (as well as being a rather slow energy converter apparently) if i made that the final meal of the day - causing that rather fundamental change to come into effect...
Within the first few days i realised that my body wasn't really calling for too much food at all, so the consuming of much less food was quite easily established - so the first week of dieting, especially, proved to be quite easy really...
It was probably only during the second half of the second week that i found myself waking up feeling hungry - and then, once i had started the day, i noticed that a cup of Earl Grey tea very much seemed to quieten such hunger pangs and put them very much on the back burner so to speak...
(I actually started my diet continuing to have a cup of coffee first thing in the morning, but after a week i decided (in the name of further detoxing) to drink Earl Grey tea instead (no milk or sugar, and with the teabag only lightly immersed in the cup of pre-boiled water)...
So, what type of daily pre water-steeped cereals do i eat, one may reasonably enquire...
Well i buy two types of 'Dorset cereals' - the 'simply delicious muesli' and the 'simply nutty muesli'...
And what do they actually contain / consist of, you may further reasonably ask...
Well the 'simply delicious muesli' contains wholegrain oat flakes, wholegrain wheat flakes, dried fruit (raisins, sultanas and chopped dates), barley flakes, wholegrain toasted wheat flakes, sunflower seeds and nuts (chopped brazil nuts and roasted whole hazel nuts) - and the 'simply nutty muesli' contains wholegrain oat flakes, chopped dates, barley flakes, wholegrain toasted wheat flakes, wholegrain wheat flakes, nuts (chopped roasted hazel nuts, whole almonds and chopped brazil nuts), and sunflower seeds...
And how do i prepare such a bowl of cereals???...
Well, before i go to bed at night i fill my breakfast bowl with 50% of each variety mixed together, and i use a knife to cut the assorted nuts (and some of the larger pieces of chopped dates) into much smaller (and thus much more easily digested) flakes/slivers/pieces - and then i simply add some tap water, stir it up a little, and leave it all to steep overnight until i am ready to eat it the next day/evening...
So, plenty of healthy nutrition - with the oats barley and wheat being good for cleaning the walls of the blood vessels apparently, and thus increasing their capacity to transport blood, and thus helping to reduce one's blood pressure...
...Which is all rather good if, like me, you have previously been prescribed a daily 5mg tablet of 'Anlodipine' for apparently the rest of my life - something that i decided to stop taking possibly a few years ago now (i don't like taking prescribed medications, as i, rightly or wrongly, am of the opinion that such things can't be particularly good for one's body generally, especially if taken continuously on a long-term basis)...
So, what else did i eat on a daily basis???...
Canned fruit mainly (sliced/halved peaches, mangos and mandarin slices) - plus the occasional can of vegetable type soup, and occasional pieces of Ryvita with a fairly light spreading of peanut butter, and a small/medium sized banana on one occasion, and a satsuma on the occasional days, until the four that i had left from over the Xmas period were consumed...
And how much walking exercise did i do on a daily basis???...
Well i started off going for two walkies per day for the first week, which equated to 2.25 hrs of actual walking time per day - and then went for three walkies per day (3.25 hrs) for the following six days - followed by four walkies per day (4.75 hrs) for the following five days - followed by five walkies the next day (5.75 hrs) - and 6 walkies on the penultimate day (7 hrs) - and finally one long (equivalent to six of my longest walkies) continuous (from 9:05am to 4:35pm) walkies (7.5 hrs) on the final day (rather aptly perhaps, self-named my Forrest Gump Day)...
It is probably worth stating that my walking pace was of a fairly brisk nature btw (for me at least) - even though sometimes it would start off at a less than brisk pace, until my body had warmed to the task at hand, so to speak...
And what about the calorific daily intake of food???...
Well the daily calorific details, from start to finish, were as follows...
Week 1: 1468, 1360, 1360, 1456, 1367, 1080, 1080 - week 2: 1060, 1020, 1448, 1534, 1220, 1100, 1020 - week 3: 1334, 980, 820, 820, 820, 820, 820...
And the details/specifics of my daily intake???...
Well they were as follows...
Week 1...
21/1/2021
1 morning cup of coffee upon awakening + 1 bowl of cereals at noon + 1 can of vegetable curry + 4 Ryvita's with a peanut butter spread
22/1/2021
1 morning cup of coffee upon awakening + 1 bowl of cereals at 3pm + 1 can of vegetable curry + 4 Ryvita's with a peanut butter spread
23/1/2021
1 morning cup of coffee upon awakening + 1 bowl of cereals at 2:50pm + 1 can of peach slices + 4 Ryvita's with a peanut butter spread
24/1/2021
1 morning cup of coffee upon awakening + 1 bowl/can of peach halves at circa 3pm + 1 bowl of cereals + 2 Ryvita's with a peanut butter spread + 1 bowl/can of vegetable soup
25/1/2021
1 morning cup of coffee upon awakening + 1 bowl/can of peach halves at circa 2pm + 1 bowl of cereals + 1 bowl/can of vegetable soup with 2 slices of raw Ryvita
26/1/2021
1 morning cup of coffee upon awakening + 1 bowl/can of peach halves at 4:30pm + 1 satsuma at circa 6:30pm + 1 bowl of water-steeped cereals at 8:30pm
27/1/2021
1 morning cup of coffee upon awakening + 1 bowl/can of peach halves at 4pm + 1 satsuma at 7:30pm + 1 bowl of water-steeped cereals at 8:30pm
Week 2...
28/1/2021
A morning cup of Earl Grey tea + a 3:30pm bowl/can of mangos + 1 bowl of water-steeped cereals at 8:30pm
29/1/2021
A morning cup of Earl Grey tea + a 3:40pm bowl/can of peach slices + 1 bowl of water-steeped cereals at 8:30pm
30/1/2021
A morning cup of Earl Grey tea + a 2:40pm bowl/can of mangos + a 6:30pm can/bowl of country vegetable and rice soup (with an added clove of diced garlic and two pieces of raw Ryvita's) + a bowl of previously water-steeped cereals at 9:30pm
31/1/2021
A bowl/small can of mandarin segments at 12:25pm + a bowl/can of mangos at around 4:30pm + a small/medium sized banana plus two slices of Ryvita spread with peanut butter at around 7pm + a bowl of pre water-steeped cereals at around 8:30pm
1/2/2021
A bowl/can of lentil and vegetable soup (with i diced clove of garlic added) and two slices of raw Ryvitas at 2pm + a bowl/can of lentil and vegetable soup at 4:45pm + a bowl of pre water-steeped cereals at 7:45pm
2/2/2021
A bowl/can of lentil and vegetable soup (with 1 diced clove of garlic added) and two slices of raw Ryvitas at 1:45pm + a satsuma + a bowl of pre water-steeped cereals at 8pm
3/2/2021
A bowl/can of peach halves at 1:45pm + a bowl of pre water-steeped cereals at 8:30pm
Week 3...
4/2/2021
A bowl / small can of mandarin segments shortly after noon + a bowl/can of mangos + two Ryvitas with a peanut butter spread at 4:45pm + a bowl of pre water-steeped cereals at 8:40pm
5/2/2021
A bowl/can of lentil & vegetable soup (with a diced clove of garlic added) at around 2pm + a bowl of pre water steeped cereals at 8:40pm + a cup of Earl Grey tea
6/2/2021
A bowl of pre water steeped cereals at 8:45pm + two cups of Earl Grey tea
7/2/2021
A bowl of pre water-steeped cereals at 8:40pm + two cups of Earl Grey tea
8/2/2021
2 tablespoons of Metatone liquid tonic + a bowl of my usual pre water-steeped cereals at 8:45pm + two cups of Earl Grey tea
9/2/2021
2 tablespoons of Metatone + a bowl of pre water-steeped cereals at 8:40pm + two cups of Earl Grey tea
10/2/2021
A bowl of my usual pre water-steeped cereals at 8:30pm + two cups of Earl Grey tea
And how did the weight loss proceed, and how much weight did i lose in total???...
Well at the completion of the first week i lost 5 lbs in weight - and at the end of the second week i lost a further 5 lbs - and at the end of the third week i lost a further 6 lbs...
What i noticed (as expected actually) was that the more weight i lost, the more effort i had to make in order to lose increasingly more weight...
The reason for this, within my untrained/unqualified mind at least, is that the longer the fat stores have been in place within/around the body, the harder it is to shift/lose, in terms of weight loss - whether this is actually true or not would probably be best answered by a qualified weight-loss professional i guess...
So, in total, i lost what i would personally consider to be a very commendable 16 lbs in weight over the three week period that i had assigned to such a dedicated and concerted weight loss regimen...
And what were my start and finish weights???...
Well my fully naked/unclothed weights were 12 st 6 lbs at the start - and 11 st 4 lbs at the end/conclusion of such a dedicated and concerted dietary regimen...
So, over a three week period, i had reduced my weight by 9.2% in total (well i think that's the percentage anyway lolz) - or to put it another way, i only weighed 88.5% of what i had weighed before starting such a dedicated and concerted dietary regimen (of that i can be fairly certain lolz)...
I actually lost slightly more weight than i had originally 'planned' / had in mind at the start - however, closer to the end i reasoned that if i lost slightly more, then i could treat/reward my body for its ongoing efforts afterwards (like building in a margin of safety of sorts, if you will)...
So, as an overall visual summary, the following comprises the more easily digested factual details of such a three week regimen...
Week No. Average Calories Per Day Length Of Time Walked Weight Loss Achieved
1 1311 15.75 hrs 5 lbs
2 1200 25.00 hrs 5 lbs
3 916 39.25 hrs 6 lbs
So, as you can hopefully more readily see/appreciate, an increasing amount of walkies effort, alongside a decreasing amount of calorific food/energy intake, was needed/required in order to lose increasingly similar amounts of weight per week...
So hopefully my blood vessels are now less clogged/restricted than they used to be - and therefore my blood pressure (without the use/aid of prescription tablets) hopefully correspondingly lower than that which my GP had previously considered to be potentially dangerously/problematically high...
...And given that this is indeed correct, then there is now much less chance of me having a stroke and perhaps ending up in a wheelchair (a possibility that my GP had conveyed to me prior to me eventually agreeing to her rather persistent requests for me to start to take the prescribed dosage of daily tablets required to reduce my then blood pressure to safer levels)...
...And given the fact that my GP was in actual fact correct in such a diagnosis, there is now a far less chance in me burdening an NHS hospital with my in-patient presence - plus the fact that i am also less burdensome to the NHS in terms of the costs of such previously prescribed (and later abandoned) blood pressure relieving tablets...
...So, with the above in mind, yes Boris et al, such walkies were, possibly most obviously, rather essential ones (smile) - and let's face it, if i was the owner of a rather energetic dog, then there would have been absolutely no problems whatsoever, within such a respect, would there...
So what else was to be gained from such a three week diet one wonders???...
Well firstly was the fact that i most obviously strengthened my body, and thus hopefully made it a more robust vehicle of personal expression - as well as stream-lining it of course...
And secondly is the fact that such ongoing efforts required a certain strength of mind to accomplish - so a possible/probable further strengthening of mind will have hopefully taken place / resulted...
And thirdly, there are the mindfulness factors to be taken into consideration - primarily mindfulness of body (as well as ongoing mental states also of course - yep, your body will most definitely be registering its objections within/through the brain/mind upon occasion), whilst walking especially one would most readily suggest...
Which in turn can lead one to discuss one particular Spiritual component in particular - that of the Healer...
An unusual thing to bring up for consideration within some peoples minds perhaps, but never-the-less one that i have been aware of for many a year now...
As we apparently/allegedly have Guardian Angels and Guides accompanying us throughout each of our Earthly sojourns/incarnations, so do we also have various Helpers apparently - and at least one of such Helpers is our Healer...
So, perhaps it is no surprise that whenever i detected the arising of certain twinges / potential problems within my body (most especially during walkies times), i have always non-verbally asked for / requested Healing for such detected (mindfulness of bodily states/sensations) twinges / potential problems, in order that they did not worsen and thus potentially compromise my then ongoing weight-loss efforts...
...And guess what - such twinges / potential problems (within knees, ankles, hips etc) were promptly dealt with...
...To the effect that they rather promptly receded rather considerably - often completely disappearing in actual fact...
...Mere coincidence??? - when repeated on an ongoing basis??? - i very much doubt it, do you???...
So, why not try it yourself sometime and see what happens - not forgetting to non-verbally thank such a possible/probable Healer immediately afterwards of course - it is only good manners to do so after all, is it not...
And i think that comprises the end of such a blog sharing folks - and if any additional/omitted thoughts should come to mind at a later date, then i will of course add them in the form of an addendum, most probably...
Oh...
That fast huh...
Yep, you guessed it - just as i was tying the laces on my shiny(??? - oh i need to treat them with that clear stuff wot is in one of them tins innit - thanks for the Reminder) new boots the words 'pranic energy' came clearly to mind - reminding me to mention that bit too...
So, let's go with the post-walkies flow, why don't we...
Yeah, so a number of days before bringing such a dietary regimen to its completion i began to wonder how i was eating so little, but feeling so good / relatively energetic - on some evenings (much later on within such a dietary regimen) i actually felt like i could have gone to bed without eating a solitary, evening, meal (breathtarianism here one possibly comes lol)...
Sure, i was awakening feeling rather hungry during the latter days, but shortly after thusly awakening (and after sipping some Earl Grey tea for my stomach to enjoy) such hunger pangs duly receded into the background - and even though i sometimes started the day feeling rather tired, the further i progressed into the day the clearer my mind would become and the more energised my body would seem to become also...
And yes, i know - at least some of that late evening serving of water-steeped cereals would possibly be laying rather dormant in my sleeping body, only to be rather eagerly processed upon getting up and starting my day...
But hey, my next such solitary daily serving lay in the comparatively far distant future of the day, from my body's perspective anyway - and by that time i was exercising it for an increasing number/amount of hours/time per day...
So how was i able to continue in such a determined and relatively care-free way, i found myself thinking...
It was then that i started to take the pranic energy factor into account...
A subject that i had read about many years earlier - and an energy that i had felt/experienced during the time period when i had regularly/daily practised Tai Chi qi gong (the shorter form) exercises/movements...
So, pranic energy (also known as chi btw) is was then, determined i, rightly or wrongly - leading me to the conclusion that the chi/pranic energy within my etheric(???) body must be flowing both rather healthily, and rather abundantly - mystery solved perhaps...
Oh - and there is something else that i should include also - don't expect to lose more weight for your ongoing efforts every single day...
During the final twelve days of such a three week dietary and exercise regimen i decided to weigh my body every single morning (fully clothed (same clothes), rather than naked btw) - below are the daily (first thing in the morning) weight readings that i recorded...
31/1/2021 - 12 st 4 1/2 lbs
1/2/2021 - 12 st 4 1/2 lbs
2/2/2021 - 12 st 3 1/4 lbs
3/2/2021 - 12 st 3 1/4 lbs
4/2/2021 - 12 st 1 1/4 lbs
5/2/2021 - 12 st 1 1/4 lbs
6/2/2021 - 12 st 1 1/4 lbs
7/2/2021 - 11 st 13 3/4 lbs
8/2/2021 - 11 st 13 3/4 lbs
9/2/2021 - 11 st 12 1/2 lbs
10/2/2021 - 11 st 11 lbs
11/2/2021 - 11 st 9 1/4 lbs
So, as you can see, there were four occasions whereby my bodily weight was recorded as remaining the same (on the 31/1/2021 & 1/2/2021 - on the 2/2/2021 & 3/2/2021 - on the 4/2/2021 & 5/2/2021 & 6/2/2021 - and on the 7/2/2021 & 8/2/2021) - so rather than possibly losing heart, view such static weight days as a normal/natural part of the dietary process - or better still (if you tend to be over-sensitive regarding such matters), simply weigh your body on a regular periodic (weekly) basis...
(https://www.ourquantumparticulates.org/videos/the-walkies-diet)