Day 1 Week 1

I try not to buy diet books.  They always disappoint - either they're the same old thing in a different package, or they just don't work, or look so badly researched that I'm not even going to try them.

However, what I did pick up this week was the latest edition of The New Scientist, which featured an article on a possible link between obesity and alzheimer's disease.  Because Alzheimer's runs in my family, I've kept an eye out for any research that suggests preventative measures.  This article ticked that box in a big way, and also noted other possible links including stroke and heart disease (which also run in my family, especially stroke).  Having read it, I bought the next diet book I saw, and this turned out to be the unpromisingly titled Six Weeks to OMG by London-based sports scientist Venice A. Fulton.  The book is written in the style of all successful self-help books, full of exclamation marks and enthusiastic statements of the obvious.  However, I was looking for anything that contained a programme, and this book does.  I've tried to lose weight and get fit plenty of times, and without a detailed plan, I tend to drift off course.

This is a seriously eccentric plan.  It combines several conventional ideas with some that are entirely new to me.  The dietary advice is pretty normal - low carb, high protein, plenty of low carb veg, some fasting (skip breakfast), and forget the low fat advice but do stay away from all forms of sugar, especially the sneaky ones with names like high fructose corn syrup.

The exercise plan is not onerous at all, but it contains some truly weird advice.  To get a flat tummy, I am to blow up a balloon 20 times, ideally just before bed.  In the mornings, I have to take a cold (room temperature) bath.  Apart from that, I must do three sessions of exercise per day, including the occasional session of weights (3 times per month ideally).  Eating and exercising are spaced out so that the pattern is exercise - wait - eat.

I'm going to give this a go - why not?  I find weird ideas oddly appealing, and this at least has some familiar aspects that I've tried successfully before, such as the low carb advice.

At the moment I weigh a shocking 168 lbs (76 kg) - the most I have ever knowingly weighed, outside pregnancy.  The last time I went on a serious diet and exercise regime (many years ago) I weighed 66 kg.  Shrinking my belly has enormous appeal, but the main motivation is my brain.  I would rather die of just about anything than get Alzheimer's Disease.  I just hope no one comes up with research later on to suggest that major fat loss increases your chances of developing the disease.

My plan is to keep a record of my progress through this blog.  For one thing, it might help me stay the course.  Also, if it's successful, I'll appreciate having the record of what happened if I ever have to do it again....