It may sound cheesy or cliche, but to be honest I don’t really care. Into my third week of the journey to rediscover the real me and I feel great. The most satisfying thing is the consistency level I have managed to maintain so far. I am still prepping all my food which is the key to me achieving my goals. No matter how tired I am at the end of my day, I hit the kitchen and get prepping. For extra motivation and satisfaction, I am also preparing my children’s lunches at the same time. Win, win. 🙂

So I won’t keep you in suspense regarding week two’s results. Monday morning was weigh in time once more. With the past always lurking in the subconscious I always feel a little anxiety before jumping on the scales. The old “fear of failure” part of me still longs to be heard. However for now he remains just a bystander. So back on the scales I went and here were the results.

A loss of 1.1 kg in week 2. In the spirit of staying fully transparent, at the very first moment or two there was disappointment. I was hoping for a bit more, especially after a 6 kg loss in the first week. But I have been down this road enough times to know how dieting and weight loss goes. It can go up and down and the first week you always lose the most. So upon a brief moment of reflection I was happy once more. One kilo, one week. That is the target, target achieved.

I want to address some reader feedback now. I am so happy that you are all following my journey and in some cases embarking on journeys of your own. Keep in touch and keep it up. Together we can support one another in helping to reach our goals. One lovely person asked me how exactly do we calculate how many calories we burn off in a day. Or what should our calorie intake be. In general terms, for a man you should consume 2500 calories per day, and for a woman 2000. However, that is if you want to maintain your weight.

For weight loss, you need to go the extra mile. At the moment my target calorie intake per day should be 2100 calories. But on most days I fall slightly under 2000. It is important you don’t go crazy and put yourself in danger by setting a target that is too low or unhealthy. The body needs a certain amount to function properly. I use a great app, which I subscribe too that helps to monitor my calories and my weight. Without it, it would be so much more difficult. It’s called myfitnesspal and you can learn more or start using it by clicking on the following link:

https://www.myfitnesspal.com/

Another reader also inquired as to what my daily food plan is? What foods am I preparing for the day and what is my general rule for dinners? Considering my diet is a calorie deficit low carb diet I try and stick to some general rules. Of course I prepare all my food in advance. From day one I have not spent a single cent buying lunch or any snacks on the fly. It’s either prepared or I wait till home. That is the rule.

So on an average day I try do to the following. Breakfast: Usually a small tub of 0% Fat Greek Yogurt and a teaspoon of honey. Now, be careful. Most honey is not really honey. Check the label. You want something that is 100% pure honey from bees. That’s breakfast. I have a mid morning snack which is usually 2 or 3 hard boiled eggs. Lunchtime is always a salad with a different proteins. Be careful with the balance of your salad. If it only has two leafs of lettuce, it’s a stretch calling it a salad.

My salad is usually half lettuce. Its very filling and has virtually no calories. Great dieting tool. To that I add, cherry tomato, cucumber, sweet peppers yellow or red, green olives and either Tuna, Smoked Salmon or Chicken Thigh. I make sure that my protein is 200 g or less. I finish it off with 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Pretty simple. It is quite filling and quite refreshing. So far I have not yearned for anything more. M

My mid afternoon snack is always a fruit salad. 2 to 3 pieces of fruit, usually consisting of Granny Smith Apples, Oranges, Grapes or Mandarin Oranges. Occasionally if I get the munchies or my body is craving something more I keep some tinned soups for emergency. Sure, its processed and not the ultimate in fine dining, but as a quick snack it is calorie friendly. Also, some nuts, celery and carrot and hummus are great snack alternatives.

Well, I don’t want to make each one of these blog posts to long (even though I could write on the subject for hours). So I will tail it off here. Once more, thank you for all your messages of support and for following my journey. Please, don’t hesitate to hit me up with any questions that you may have, I will either answer them directly or put them as a feature in next weeks blog. If you are on your own journey, keep strong and keep talking. Both to yourself and others. 🙂

P.s. I also got back to the gym this week, felt great. More on that next week…