There are still conflicting views on what is the best diet to go on. The Golden Rules that Paul McKenna teaches make absolute sense. The eating what you want, when you want but being aware of when you have had enough… but sometimes you are just too hungry to eat consciously. But that’s a failing of the diet plan you really have to learn your body’s messages.

Then there’s the whole community, Weight Watches approach which makes perfect sense to follow a diet plan, count points so that you can eat what you like, within reason and be part of a group where you are supported and encouraged.

The only diet that actually works for me is the Atkins Diet, so that’s what I’m back on. But it’s the weekends where I always struggle and then fact the Monday / Tuesday trying to get back into ketosis (the fat burning state). Anyway I have a goal for the next 10 days and that’s to fit back into my dinner suit for a black tie do.

I doubt that I am alone in my, what seems like and endless struggle with my weight, but I have piled it on over the weeks leading upto Christmas. I am currently at 18 stone and 4 pounds which is 4 pounds heavier than when I started off a year ago. Not too great! But along the way I have learnt a lot about losing weight and various methods that do and don’t work.

I started off with the Golden Rules to Losing Weight with Paul Mckenna which did work but I found that I just didn’t stick to the eating consciously part which meant I was eating as much as I had been doing. I had always managed to lose weight on the Atkins Diet and I was back on it by March. I managed to lose some weight but was shocked when I went to the doctors for a cholesterol test and was told mine was much higher than it should be. So I decided that it was more important for me to try and have a healthy diet of lots of fruit and veg. This made me feel generally better and healthier.

One big health push was stopping smoking back at the end of June which is still going well. I have also learnt on the way a lot about diet pills and it is one thing that I am considering as my next option, so I may be trying out Acomplia some time in 2007… but for now I’m doing a few weeks of the Atkins.

I have for the past few weeks been back on the Atkins diet in a vain attempt to slim down a bit for when I go away at the weekend. I must say that I have tried to be strict with what I am eating but sometimes it’s hard to cope.

For instance what do you do if you are out visiting a stately home (like you do with your family on a weekend) and it gets to lunchtime. The only food available to eat in the cafe/restaurant is the typical snack food such as sandwiches, crisps, cakes etc. So the other weekend I slipped up. Yes, I should have taken some food with me but I’m not that organised. I have also been having the odd glass of white wine in the evening as it’s been so hot, which probably isn’t helping. I am though in ketosis so it must be working.
So anyway it was suggested to me that some of my excess weight may be caused by water retention. This does occur in the female side of my family, so maybe it happens to me as well. So yesterday I started taking water tablets, cautiously at first as I was slightly apprehensive. Anyway yesterday I needed to go to the toilet a few more times than normal and lost 4lbs. maybe then I do need to get rid of my excess water?

On Saturday I did have a blow out though when the company went on a night out to a local village. They were holding a horse racing night in support of the local cricket club. It was the sort of fun night where lots of beer is drunk and you bet on wooden horses who move across a board on the turn of a card. A bit difficult to explain but I did well out of the evening backing 6 winners out of the eight races and when the company bought a racehorse in the last race it romped home in first. The downside of the evening was that the Atkins diet was blown out of the window, with lots of beer drunk, crisps and the traditional pie and pea supper. (for those not familiar its a pork pie with mushy peas – delicious!)

So since I had slightly fallen off the wagon on Saturday and on Sunday I felt a little worse for wear, as the evening carried on into the early hours with an Xbox contest with the guys from work at my house, I decided to have a day off the Atkins diet. The highlights of the day were bread, mashed potato and chocolate pudding and custard…yum! Yesterday (Monday) was a day more in control of my food…normal breakfast, sensible lunch and no evening meal as I was doing my radio show and didn’t feel particularly hungry. I think because I have done the Paul McKenna diet for a while now, and I am used to the Atkins diet I am now sort of combining the two, which seems to be working, as when I got on the scales this morning I was down to 17 stone 1 pound. That last one pound is all important as I haven’t been below 17 stone for over a year now I think. I certainly haven’t been this weight for a long time and my favourite jeans that have been comfortable on me for ages and now starting to slip off me.

When I got back from New York I had only put on a pound from my previous loss so was back up to 17 stone 7 pounds. But I am guessing that last week I had put on a bit more, especially due to the amount of Hershey chocolates I was eating. I just felt really bloated again. So the good news is though that this morning I stepped onto my new scales and I am down to 17 stone 3 pounds. (and yes I did check my weight on both sets of scales so I that knew that it wasn’t just faulty new ones!)

This is so good…talk about motivating! In 3 days I have lost at least 4 pounds. I know that quite a lot of this initial fast weight loss tends to be fluid, but still I am heading to that 17 stone mark. Once I get below that there will be nothing stopping me reaching 16 stone and so on.

I am very pleased really with my overall progress since the start of the Paul McKenna experience back on the 9th January and so far have lost 11 pounds. I also know that if I really push hard at the diet I will be able to lose more over time. I think for me this boost on the Atkins diet is what I needed to get me going again…and who can say no to bacon and egg for breakfast each morning!

I have decided to go back on the Atkins diet for a few weeks to shed a stone or so, to give myself a head start. I know from previous experience that the Atkins diet is fairly easy to stick to and that it does help weight come off. The weekend on the Atkins diet was fine as you are in a sort of controlled environment. I ate lots of protein and good vegetables such as brocolli. This morning when I woke up to have my scrambled eggs I felt really good and full of energy. Since I have been on the Atkins diet a few times I have managed to build up a good selection of tasty meals that use the key ingredients to maintain the low carb diet…so we shall see. The hard part is being at work when you are tempted by doughnuts and cakes that are doing the rounds. So far I have resisted though.
I have a meeting planned in Europe mid week so that will no doubt put a spanner in the works, but I will try to stick to the Atkins diet where ever possible. As long as I keep my carb input down to a minimum I should be able to get back into the swing of things fairly easily. I then plan to revert back to the Paul McKenna diet/lifestyle change when I have got rid of the excess weight that I just want gone.