I weigh a bag of dog food less

7kgs that is my number.

On Monday I moved into week 3 of the #brainsurgeonsdiet #16weekchallenge with a whopping 7kg loss in the first 2 weeks.  Seven kilograms ..... damn that is almost a bag of dog food ... and you know how you lug that around the supermarket ... which means that my spine, legs and feet are now lugging around a bag of dog food less.  Hear that sound?  It is my spine applauding in gratitude.

Now given that I would like to lose 21kgs (even if it means I have to finally reach this after the challenge ends) .. the amazing thing is that I am a third of the way there and that is a huge mind motivator.  Every other diet had me losing 0.3kg and then 0.1kg per week which made the 21kgs look like Mount Everest.

Perhaps that is the thing .... the word DIET.  That is where it went wrong.  A long list of may and may not eats which sometimes had me feeling so deprived and sorry for myself that when I crashed ... I crashed big.  This was usually followed by "oh what the hell let me leave this punishment".

This is where Dr Adriaan changed everything for me.  I have now read the book at least a half dozen times .... because his crucial words are BRAIN and LIFESTYLE.  I admit I wondered if my brain could be trained ..... but it could ..... it learnt that food can be controlled, that urges can be controlled, that I do not have to be deprived and desolate ..... that less food would lead to more exercise.  Brain & Lifestyle I tell you again.

Yes I have stuck to it faithfully .... I carry his book and my notebook with me everywhere.  As I lose weight I recalculate the kilojoules I may eat daily, according to the formula he gives you involving weight, height and age.  Obviously I eat less as I weigh less.  I eat a minimum of 2000 kjs less that the maximum amount I am allowed daily ... because if you don't, you stay the same.  I have accumulated in excess of 32 000 kjs of "eating less" every day.  It is my Bank and I will be able to draw from it should I get the chance to go to a helluva event where I cannot gauge the portion sizes.  Is it a pain?  No ... I have a little scale in my office and one in my house ... but after eating 100g of watermelon ten times I know exactly where it fits in the cup.  It is only really meat and protein as well as veg that needs to be weighed ... and you learn that size too.  You become familiar with the kjs of coffee, milk, sugar and all the other things you eat.

Do I have something sweet?  Yes.  I would sell my soul around Easter for those white Beacon eggs with the chocolate inside.  To eat one I have to use up 342kj.  I am happy some days to do so.  The choice is yours.  Yesterday I decided to give up a whooping 1100kj for some Smooch frozen yoghurt.  It was lovely, but left me with such a sugar high that I not only felt a little nauseous, but also could barely keep my eyes open.  A month ago I would have been able to knock back 5000kj of it without hesitation.  So it is not really worth the kjs.

Exercise ... had you asked me 3 weeks ago I would have sighed, moaned and rolled my eyes.  My exercise involved walking from the car to my office and from the couch to the fridge.  Seriously.

I have since taken a one hour bootcamp class, I have taken a long walk most nights at a swift pace, I walked 3.2km in one brisk go two nights ago and have now decided to swim.  Not up and down in the 3m pool, but in Hillcrest pool which is 50m long.  I last swam that length in 1983 when I captained the school swimming team ... but I figure that since I swam for 8 years, surely I can catch up again now.  So I have a monthly ticket, my daughter's swimming cap and goggles and tomorrow I will jump into the pool like that little child in the Jungle Oats advert.

My kids still look a little like "Bambi in headlights" when they see this array of exercising.  My son says he hears the words coming out my mouth but somehow he is still astounded.  My family, best friend and boss are cheering me on like a "ra-ra" team and my boss notices the weight loss even though he sees me every day at the office.  On that point let me tell you .... you need a cheering squad.... because you want to have the change noticed. My chef daughter returns from CT in 3 weeks time for a 4 day break ... man I cannot wait to see her face at the airport when she sees me.

So I enter week 3 .... keen ..... I look forward to Mondays so I can hop on the scale .... I am wearing clothes that did not fit a month ago .... I have no more daily headaches ... I sleep like a baby and I don't feel on the verge of cardiac arrest anymore.

So me?  I am in it to win it.  I am living proof that Dr Adriaan was right .... stick it out ... train your brain "Question:  How do you eat an elephant?  Answer:  Bit by Bit".  Amen.

till next week
c'est la vie xxxx