What I’m getting now is worth so much more to me than what I’ve given up.

Although on separate sides of the pond, my brother Steven and I both excelled at physical endurances today. He completed the Watford Half-Marathon in 1 hour and 58 minutes while I cycled 34km today to The Palmiet River and back to Pringle Bay. Previously cycling about 20km was my record. I mention this because it proves that we Berkman boys have the genes of athletes and what I had to do was to shed excess weight and get fit to succeed at it. I was pretty tired when I got home but not so tired that I couldn’t have done an extra 10km which is what I’ll aim for next time. Maybe this time next year I will also be able to run a half marathon.

The most extraordinary thing about this is that in May 2012, when the picture of me was taken in The Maldives, not only would this have been impossible for me but I would also have considered you crazy for even suggesting it. If ever you needed proof that what nothing is impossible, I must be it. The second image was taken in Pringle Bay in January 2013.

On re-reading Prof Tim Noakes’ thinking, http://bit.ly/YiiSbr ,I’ve stopped eating porridge for breakfast and instead eating eggs or left-over supper. He also suggests that the notion of eating three meals a day may not be the best for us and admits that he is experimenting with just one meal a day or only eating when hungry. Broadly speaking, a low carbohydrate diet is the single biggest change to previous eating plans and I believe 100% that this has been the key to unlocking my 70kg weight loss. But, and here’s where I’m rethinking things, I used to routinely start my day with cooked oats porridge, a table spoon of dried cranberries and half a banana and I’m also not having artificially sweetened drinks like Sprite Zero which had become my tipple of choice to see if my body functions even better because of it.

Another article, in Time Magazine, http://ti.me/128JDDW suggests that the time of meals may make a significant difference to weight gain/loss and repeats the old age wisdom that we should breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper.

I’m also reading Breaking The Food Seduction by Neale Barnard which suggests that there are addictive substances in dairy and meat as well as the better known ones in sugars. So, if I follow their plan, I’ll end up eating mung beans and tofu instead of meat and dairy which, frankly, doesn’t appeal to me.

I mentioned in a previous post that I’ve been sexing up my broccoli with a peanut butter sauce. I know that most brands of peanut butter contain sugar but as I only use about two tablespoons for 700g broccoli I don’t think it is too worrying. What is worrying, however, is that I find myself craving peanut butter which makes me think that perhaps Prof Noakes is also right in suggesting that peanuts are not good choices in terms of their carbo-load.

Now that I’m working to maintain my healthy weight and increase my cardio fitness and muscle strength, this goal has replaced the desire to eat and drink the things I once loved. What I’m getting now is worth so much more to me than what I’ve given up. If you also found a way of internalising this it may help you on your journey to a healthy weight.