Day 86

I get a lot of questions from people regarding how much have I lost, how long have I been banting, what do I eat, etc. Most of that (if not all) are all contained in my blog, but it takes a lot of reading to get all of it. So for all those people asking those questions, here is a short history.

In February, 2012, I was diagnosed with heart failure. I've not had high blood pressure, or cholesterol problems. My heart failure was a direct result of sleep apnea, which in turn was a direct result of my weight. Funny thing is, I've never been a fat kid. I've always just been short for my weight. :-)

Some point last year my wife tried to convince me to try banting. The biggest problem I've had with it, what would we eat for lunch. Had I only known...

Earlier this year my wife tried again. I was sick and tired of always feeling sick and tired, and was willing to try anything. But before I tried this, I wanted to check it out. And I did. For more than a month I've searched the net, reading studies, watching video clips, reading articles. And the more I researched, the clearer everything became.

At the end of May, we packed everything that was not LCHF into a box, and gave it to my sister-in-law's maid. And we then bought everything as per the lists in the RMR. I was still unsure about lunch, but I had a feeling that I would not need to eat anything. I was right.

After a good breakfast, we only started feeling peckish by around 3 pm, so I took a piece of biltong from my biltong case and divided it between the four of us. It easily kept us till dinner. In the days following we always had bacon & eggs (in some form or another) for breakfast, sometimes with half an avocado with. Sometimes we would have a piece of biltong, or a few cherry tomatoes, for a snack around 3. I also bought a bag of oranges, and had an orange every three or so days. Dinner was protein, with two or three veggies. And it was nice NOT to feel guilty when I load my veggies with butter. I always loved butter in my veggies, and now I know why. My body knew what my mind did not: Fat is good for you!

I could not weight myself when we started banting on the 1st of June. I also could not weigh myself on Sunday, June 8th. Finally, on the 15th of June, I could weigh myself. I clocked in at 200.3 kg! Looking at the amount of weight my wife and girls lost over the first two weeks, I believe I was around 205 kg when we started the diet. In the following weeks, this is how I've lost:

• June 15 - 200.3 kg
• June 22 - 197.7 kg
• June 29 - 195.8 kg
• July 06 - 193.8 kg
• July 13 - 193.5 kg
• July 20 - 191.2 kg
• July 27 - 189.8 kg
• August 03 - 188.6 kg
• August 10 - 188.1 kg
• August 17 - 185 kg
• August 24 - 182.3 kg

Right now I feel better than I have felt since even before being diagnosed with my heart failure. I have already lost 10% of my body weight in fat, and I can feel it. Getting up from the couch is not a struggle anymore. Going to the shops with my wife is something I've thought I would never be able to do again. Now it is a reality once more.

I still have lots of weight to lose, but the rate at which I am losing it right now, I will be at my target weight much sooner than I ever thought possible. Thank you, Prof Noakes, for showing me the way. If it was not for you, I would probably never have discovered this wonderful lifestyle!