Day 15

Finally I know my weight. It is 200.3 kg. That is 441.6 lbs for the Americans, or 31.5 stones for the British and Irish who may end up here by some way or another.

Due to my size, I don't completely trust measuring, as we may measure different lines every week, making my cm's jump around. Weight, I believe, is a much more sure way I can use to track fat loss. That, and my clothes.

A lot of people believe this diet will cost them more than the standard way of living. I found, however, that it costs me less. Yes, we had to pay quite a bit at the start for all the things we don't have (xylitol, avocado oil, cocnut oil etc.), but once all that was bought, everything became cheaper. We spend almost no money on bread and milk (a liter of milk now lasts almost a week, in the past we used between two and four litres a day, and now we buy no bread at all), saving us a lot of money. A lot of money is also saved from not buying take-away food over weekends like in the past. A McDonald's meal for each of us would almost cost R300 total for all four of us. Not to mention what Nando's or Steers would cost us if we're shopping on on a Saturday and are looking for a quick meal. We also bought at least 10 2.5l Cokes a month, often more. All of this now is money not spent.

So, if you want to do banting, and you think you won't be able to afford it, believe me when I tell you you can! You already buy veggies and meat. Keep your meat as it is (only choose more fatty cuts if you can), and up your veggies. Don't buy any grain, rice or sugar products, replace your margarine with real butter, and make a few other small changes (use coconut oil, olive oil and xylitol instead of sugar for example), and you are set!