Update on Montignac

So it's been nearly two months now since I started trying to get rid of my beer belly. The last time I blogged about it, I was rather frustrated by a lack of progress.

But progress there is now! I just got on the scale and I am now 83.1 kg, that's 5.3 kg less than when I started. I can now tighten my belt further and indeed some of my trousers are now feeling a wee bit too large. 5.3 kg lost in 2 months is not amazing but there were a few parties during that time for which I made exceptions and I didn't really have to go out of my way. In fact, that's what's very good with the method: it's easy to follow and sustainable.

Montignac, 12 days on

At the beginning of last week, I decided to follow the Montignac method to try and lose my beer belly. I lost just over 1kg in the first week but realised that, as I was buying my lunch from shops surrounding the office, I had no way to know the exact list of ingredients that went into my food and therefore no way to check that I was really following the method. So I decided to sort out my own pack lunch to make sure I knew exactly what I was eating. This meant doing more comprehensive and careful food shopping at the weekend, which was a bit of a pain but hopefully it would be worth it. As a result, I lost another 200grams on the first day but regained them over the next few days. I finish the week today the same weight as I started it: 87.3kg. That's not very promising and quite frustrating. I'll keep trying for a few more weeks just in case my body needs a bit more time to adapt. After that, if it stays the same, I'll just go buy an ice cream and dump my Montignac books in the (recycling) bin.

Getting Rid of the Beer Belly

Since I moved to the UK, I've been steadily acquiring a beer belly. Even without my mum telling me so (which she does every time she sees me), I've wanted to lose it for some time. Now the problem is that I've never been keen on weight loss diets because most of them are just unsustainable in the long term as they require you to give up entire food groups. But lo and behold, I was recently introduced to the Montignac method and I like his approach. I mean, someone who includes unpasteurised cheese, foie gras, dark chocolate and wine in a weight control diet (note: weight control, not crash weight loss) has to be a genius!

The whole concept behind this diet is the Glycemic Index of food ingredients. So, yes it is related to the Atkins and GI diets but is done is a way that seems more sensible to me. And, as Michel Montignac is French, he bases everything on eating good food and enjoying it which makes it that much easier to follow. Having said that, I will probably not be all plain sailing: I'm not sure how difficult it will be to cut down on stuff like beer, potatoes and bread. On the other hand, it will get me to cook more and experiment with food, which can only be a good thing.

To follow progress, I'll try to weigh myself every day. The starting position today was 88.4kg, for a BMI of 27.6, which is squarely in the 25–30 Overweight bracket.

Stay tuned to see if I can get myself into shape!

Obviously, this post is completely unrelated to the previous one.