Its an example of how much land is needed to feed a family of 4. (Answer approx 2 acres). No details on land quality etc. but intersing nontheless.
Monday, April 15, 2013
How much land to feed family of 4
Changing tact on my usual posts I felt I shoudl add this graphic onto the pages
Its an example of how much land is needed to feed a family of 4. (Answer approx 2 acres). No details on land quality etc. but intersing nontheless.
I found this image at this site http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2011/08/21/self-sufficiency-how-much-land-to-feed-your-family/
Its an example of how much land is needed to feed a family of 4. (Answer approx 2 acres). No details on land quality etc. but intersing nontheless.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Wednesday Apr 8 .. a new diet plan
Ok, so its been 2 months since my last posting on this.. Just though I'd fill in whats been happening.
As I mentioned in my last post.. I was a bit dis-illusioned with the progreess of the diet, in particular my inability to control my eating on my off days..
As a result I've abondoned the 5-2 diet plan, and have embarked ona completely new diet.
Introducicing the all new 6-1 diet plan.. (Books, t-shirts, ,baseball caps are in the pipeline )
I figure, that one day of fasting per week is enough, and I don't tend to binge as much.. I used to find the Monday fast day quite do-able (fact today is a Monday and so I'm fasting today). The 2nd day of fasting (normally Wednesday) was always more difficult. As well as that, it was the days after my 2nd fast day where I'd go 'caveman' on the food and devour everything... and so I've dropped the 2nd day of the fasting.
Thinking about it, another approach could be to change the 2nd fasting day to later in the week, so I have a bigger gap between fasts.. However that doesn't site well with my social calendar, so its out..
So far I'm finding this 6-1 diet better.. There's still some binging, but its less mega than before, and of course I still harbour great plans of controlling that better.
However the good news is that some weight has gone.. I weighed myself about 3 weeks ago and I was 102.2kg. Thats almost 4kg lost... I don't know when this weight came off, as I hadn't been weighing myself regularly before then. It may have all occuring during the 5-2 phase
Yesterday I weighed myself again and I was 101.8kg. .. so I certainly haven't put it on during the 6-1 phase, and that's despite some big meals, and some chocolate binging over Easter.
So I'm going to continue with the 6-1 diet for a while more.. My current goal is 98 kg (15 stone). That would be put me lighter than I've been in about 15 years.So we'll see if I make any progress on this.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Why eat when you're not hungry?
Why would you eat when you're not hungry?
This is the question I have to keep asking myself. If I stop and think about it, I will come to the conclusion I am not hungry.. But if I don't stop and think I will often keep snacking.
If there is food somewhere around me, then I have a Homer, "Eat the pudding" moment. This might be just after I 've eaten (and before the food has had time to register with me). My wife has described what happends to me in these times, as an eating frenzy, and I can't really disagree.
To try to describe it, its like a constant battle to impose my rational mind's will over my sub-conscious mind's desire.. and if I have been hungry previously in the day (or days before), then the sub-conscious desire is much stonger, and I end up eating a lot more..
Logically it would seem like the bodies natural reaction to a period of low food. Consume as much as possible when there is food, for tomorrow there may not be.. and it makes sense in a world where you may have to hunt for your food. Unfortunatley I haven't adapted to the ways of the food rich world in which I live.
Managing this 'binge' desire is ultimately the key for me to be successful on this 52 diet. So far I haven't succeeded, but I'm hoping that by trying to get my rational/ conscious mind involed more often I can, 'talk myself out of eating'.
For example today I'm having my usual porridge for breakfast (Of course on my 'off' days my porridge is sweetened and has with more milk than my 'fasting' days).. Its a big bowl of porridge, bigger than the bowl that lasts me all morning and afternoon on my fasting days, but on my 'binging' days I could devour it all in seconds. Today I manged to stretch it out over the morning.
However I did devour my lunch a bit early and uncomfortably quick.. I quickly followed it by 2 oranges. Delishious, but not needed.
So now I'm writing this self reflective piece as an excercise to banish subconscious mind, and to get back in control.. The other thing is, that it gives the food I just ate some time to register with my tummy, and now 30 minutes after eating I'm starting to feel full again..
This is the question I have to keep asking myself. If I stop and think about it, I will come to the conclusion I am not hungry.. But if I don't stop and think I will often keep snacking.
If there is food somewhere around me, then I have a Homer, "Eat the pudding" moment. This might be just after I 've eaten (and before the food has had time to register with me). My wife has described what happends to me in these times, as an eating frenzy, and I can't really disagree.
To try to describe it, its like a constant battle to impose my rational mind's will over my sub-conscious mind's desire.. and if I have been hungry previously in the day (or days before), then the sub-conscious desire is much stonger, and I end up eating a lot more..
Logically it would seem like the bodies natural reaction to a period of low food. Consume as much as possible when there is food, for tomorrow there may not be.. and it makes sense in a world where you may have to hunt for your food. Unfortunatley I haven't adapted to the ways of the food rich world in which I live.
Managing this 'binge' desire is ultimately the key for me to be successful on this 52 diet. So far I haven't succeeded, but I'm hoping that by trying to get my rational/ conscious mind involed more often I can, 'talk myself out of eating'.
For example today I'm having my usual porridge for breakfast (Of course on my 'off' days my porridge is sweetened and has with more milk than my 'fasting' days).. Its a big bowl of porridge, bigger than the bowl that lasts me all morning and afternoon on my fasting days, but on my 'binging' days I could devour it all in seconds. Today I manged to stretch it out over the morning.
However I did devour my lunch a bit early and uncomfortably quick.. I quickly followed it by 2 oranges. Delishious, but not needed.
So now I'm writing this self reflective piece as an excercise to banish subconscious mind, and to get back in control.. The other thing is, that it gives the food I just ate some time to register with my tummy, and now 30 minutes after eating I'm starting to feel full again..
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Wednesday Feb 6 .. Fast day 8
So I'm now finishing the 4th week of my fasting, and I can safely say I've lost no weight. The reason I'd imagine is my binging on my off days.
I'm going to try to give it another few weeks to see if I can mange to keep the off days under control, since on the flip side I don't find the fast days too hard really, and in fact feel quite good on them.
What doesn't feel so good is the off days when I just cram myself full of food. .Whats strange is that I'm aware I'm doing it, but I just seem to almost watching myself from an external view.. I've often had days like those, tin the past but recently I have been able to avoid them ..
So for now the goal is to try and get my conscious brain to take over from my unconscious binging brain on my off days.. Perhaps even writing blog entries on the off days might help focus...
This week, meals were pretty similar.. Porridge in the morning/ afternoon, and fish for dinner. Tuesdays off day wasn't too bad, as usual its the stretch from Thursday to Sunday is the problem. THis week again won't hep with my 'hectic' social plans. (3 dinners out, drinks one night, and a breakfast and afternoon tea are all on the cards.. Great.)
I'm going to try to give it another few weeks to see if I can mange to keep the off days under control, since on the flip side I don't find the fast days too hard really, and in fact feel quite good on them.
What doesn't feel so good is the off days when I just cram myself full of food. .Whats strange is that I'm aware I'm doing it, but I just seem to almost watching myself from an external view.. I've often had days like those, tin the past but recently I have been able to avoid them ..
So for now the goal is to try and get my conscious brain to take over from my unconscious binging brain on my off days.. Perhaps even writing blog entries on the off days might help focus...
This week, meals were pretty similar.. Porridge in the morning/ afternoon, and fish for dinner. Tuesdays off day wasn't too bad, as usual its the stretch from Thursday to Sunday is the problem. THis week again won't hep with my 'hectic' social plans. (3 dinners out, drinks one night, and a breakfast and afternoon tea are all on the cards.. Great.)
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Wednesday Jan 30 .. Fast day 6
So first fast day of the week went fine, as it normally does.
Yesterday (Tuesday) I was ok.. There was s strong temptation to inge but I was able to keep it under control. and had a ok day, plus my weekly run. The run is great for getting me out of the house and stopping me from snacking all evening long. Howeer it does also mean that when today on my fast day, I'm quite a bit hungrier than I am on Mondays.. As a result Wednesdays are always more difficult.
We'll see how the rest of the week goes, but I feel that this build up of hunger on Wednesdays doesn't help me for the rest of the week.
But enough negativity... I'm starting today with a cup of tea to help the morning hunger. That way I can defer my porridge (yes I know, I have no imagination, but in my defense its quick and easy to prepare) until 10:30 / 11 am.
My problem later in the day will be that I have offered to bake something for a charity bake sale at work, so somehow I'm supposed to bake a cake, and not eat it.
At the moment I'm planning on making these...
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2011/02/whole-lemon-bars-recipe/
They sound good... and I can look forward to tasting them tomorrow.
I've been following Monsieur Lebovitz' blog for a couple of months (after his pages kept appearing in my search results... No wonder I'm overweight) . I've already tried these Ginger Crunchs, and while my results didn't look nearly as good as those in the photos, they were fairly straightforward to make, and tasted good.
Yesterday (Tuesday) I was ok.. There was s strong temptation to inge but I was able to keep it under control. and had a ok day, plus my weekly run. The run is great for getting me out of the house and stopping me from snacking all evening long. Howeer it does also mean that when today on my fast day, I'm quite a bit hungrier than I am on Mondays.. As a result Wednesdays are always more difficult.
We'll see how the rest of the week goes, but I feel that this build up of hunger on Wednesdays doesn't help me for the rest of the week.
But enough negativity... I'm starting today with a cup of tea to help the morning hunger. That way I can defer my porridge (yes I know, I have no imagination, but in my defense its quick and easy to prepare) until 10:30 / 11 am.
My problem later in the day will be that I have offered to bake something for a charity bake sale at work, so somehow I'm supposed to bake a cake, and not eat it.
At the moment I'm planning on making these...
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2011/02/whole-lemon-bars-recipe/
They sound good... and I can look forward to tasting them tomorrow.
I've been following Monsieur Lebovitz' blog for a couple of months (after his pages kept appearing in my search results... No wonder I'm overweight) . I've already tried these Ginger Crunchs, and while my results didn't look nearly as good as those in the photos, they were fairly straightforward to make, and tasted good.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Monday Jan 28 .. Fast day 5
Again I'm glad to be on a fast day anfter a weekend of epic binging.
This constant binging on my off days is a big problem.. I'm going to try and stick with this diet for a bit longer but I have to get my off days under control.
Certainly last week, Monday was fine, and I didn't binge much on Tuesday. Perhaps that was partly the problem, as I was at my most hungry on the Wednesday.
Its back to basics today. Porridge. This time made partly with tea. I've cut down on the amount of salt I add, and at the moment I'm missing it, as its markedly tastless despite the tea infusion.
I'm also rolling out 2 new teas to my inventory. A Rooibos, and a green tea. The rooibos is robust enough to stand on its own... I have yet to try the green tea, but I'm mildly concerned it won;t taste of anything.
This constant binging on my off days is a big problem.. I'm going to try and stick with this diet for a bit longer but I have to get my off days under control.
Certainly last week, Monday was fine, and I didn't binge much on Tuesday. Perhaps that was partly the problem, as I was at my most hungry on the Wednesday.
Its back to basics today. Porridge. This time made partly with tea. I've cut down on the amount of salt I add, and at the moment I'm missing it, as its markedly tastless despite the tea infusion.
I'm also rolling out 2 new teas to my inventory. A Rooibos, and a green tea. The rooibos is robust enough to stand on its own... I have yet to try the green tea, but I'm mildly concerned it won;t taste of anything.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Wednesday Jan 23 .. Fast day 4
Monday and Wednesday look like been the preferred days for fasting.
Monday is ideal as I normally feel like a bit of a detox after the weekend. Wednesday is the next best as we often go out for dinner, or visit friends/ family on the other days. So this week I'm 'on' these days.
Yesterday was a bit of a success. Up until now I had been binging heavily on my off days. Yesterday was the first day I didn't. Partly because I raided the house of all 'goodies'. Snacking on raw carrot doesn't seem like such an appealing prospect. We did go out for dinner yesterday too, but it was a tapas style resturant so we didn't have too much.
BTW I'd highly recommend Dax (we were in the cafe/ bar section). They have a full restaurant downstairs but the bar is good for a casual nibble and a few wines. Its especially good value if you have a deal such as the ones often on here.
Monday is ideal as I normally feel like a bit of a detox after the weekend. Wednesday is the next best as we often go out for dinner, or visit friends/ family on the other days. So this week I'm 'on' these days.
Yesterday was a bit of a success. Up until now I had been binging heavily on my off days. Yesterday was the first day I didn't. Partly because I raided the house of all 'goodies'. Snacking on raw carrot doesn't seem like such an appealing prospect. We did go out for dinner yesterday too, but it was a tapas style resturant so we didn't have too much.
BTW I'd highly recommend Dax (we were in the cafe/ bar section). They have a full restaurant downstairs but the bar is good for a casual nibble and a few wines. Its especially good value if you have a deal such as the ones often on here.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Monday Jan 21 .. Fast day 3
So , its my birthday today and I'm on a fast day.. Its not ideal, but by the time you get to my age birthdays aren't a great reason to celebrate.
As it happes as a present I was treated to a night at a luxury hotel, here in Dublin, and had a splurge of a dinner with matching wines at Patrick Guilbauds (Irelands only 2 Michlin star restaurant).. [Juicy Gossip..Danel Day Lewis was dining at a nearby table in anticipation of the European Priemier of Lincoln ]
That coupled with a complete pig out on Friday, and so, in a way it's a relief to be back on a fast day.
I'm sticking to the tried and tested formula.. 60g of porridge. For variety I'm mixing it up with both pinhead oats and normal rolled oats, and for that spicy taste explosion I broke in a clove... Mmm Mmm
This afternoon has been tough. For a start its a snow day here today and I'm working from home. That's tough for me as I tend to nibble a lot more when I'm at home.. On top of that someone (who'll ermain nameless) decided to roast a chicken earlier today.. When the aromas of a roast chicken are permeating the house, snacking on cold porridge doesn't quite hit the spot.
Its now 17:17 and I'm starting to feel quite hungry.. Dinner will consist of the Basa (frozen fish) with fish stock, ginger chilli and veg that I had last week, and after all the rich food of the last few days I'm looking forward to it..
I'm going to try and hang on til 18:30 or 19:00 before diving into it to help make the evening more bearable..
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Tea
Ì've already mentioned my new-found appreciation of tea and its hunger quashing
But it looks like there some additional benefits
Its been noted as an appetite suppresent
http://voices.yahoo.com/6-ways-supress-appetite-naturally-without-76752.html
also here (but this is specifically about Green Tea which I'm not drinking) http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/diet-tips/top-25-natural-appetite-suppressants?page=15
Apparently it will slash my risk of stroke.. Definitely a plus.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2259550/Tea-How-cups-day-slash-risk-stroke.html
But it looks like there some additional benefits
Its been noted as an appetite suppresent
http://voices.yahoo.com/6-ways-supress-appetite-naturally-without-76752.html
also here (but this is specifically about Green Tea which I'm not drinking) http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/diet-tips/top-25-natural-appetite-suppressants?page=15
Apparently it will slash my risk of stroke.. Definitely a plus.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2259550/Tea-How-cups-day-slash-risk-stroke.html
Fast Day 2: Jan 17
So whileI didn't have a complete pig out yesterday, I definiately had a partial pig out (scone, danish pastry, mince pie left over from christmas), so its actually feels good to be back on fast today.
So I'm returning to the salted, spiced, and non sweetened porridge. Mmmm
Again sarcasm aside its not bad at all.
I'm on pinhead oats today (aka stell cut, or Irish oats) since I noticed per 100g they had slightly less calories than the normal porridge oats (according to their respective nutritional information panel's anyway). Plus been bigger I figure they may prove more satiating throughout the day.
Theres an increased cooking time with pinhead oats (20 minutes vs 2) , but I've found that pre-cooking them (2 minutes in the micorwave, and let them cool naturally) works fine. So I usually just cook mine the night before.. Then add some milk the next day when I'm eating.
Breakfast/ lunch
60g pinhead oats
a good pinch of salt
a dash cinammon
a sprinkle allspice
Water (4x the volume of oats)
Splash of low fat milk (about 50ml)
~ 250 cals
On top of that I drink a lot of water.. Plus my saviour so far, black tea. I find drinking black tea definitely eases the hunger pangs
So I'm returning to the salted, spiced, and non sweetened porridge. Mmmm
Again sarcasm aside its not bad at all.
I'm on pinhead oats today (aka stell cut, or Irish oats) since I noticed per 100g they had slightly less calories than the normal porridge oats (according to their respective nutritional information panel's anyway). Plus been bigger I figure they may prove more satiating throughout the day.
Theres an increased cooking time with pinhead oats (20 minutes vs 2) , but I've found that pre-cooking them (2 minutes in the micorwave, and let them cool naturally) works fine. So I usually just cook mine the night before.. Then add some milk the next day when I'm eating.
Breakfast/ lunch
60g pinhead oats
a good pinch of salt
a dash cinammon
a sprinkle allspice
Water (4x the volume of oats)
Splash of low fat milk (about 50ml)
~ 250 cals
On top of that I drink a lot of water.. Plus my saviour so far, black tea. I find drinking black tea definitely eases the hunger pangs
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Jan 16: day 2
So I made it through the day yesterday. Mainly thanks to the substantial dinner. In fact based on that I feel this diet thing shoudl be a doddle.
Last night I went for a 5km jog.. It was quite slow but I did feel a bit tired at the end of it. That may or may not be related to the diet. I often feel quite tired at the end of those jogs
Totay is one of the 5 'off' days so I can pig out.. I'm going try to be sensible but its 12 noon now, and I've probably gone over the 600 cals I had yesterday.
Last night I went for a 5km jog.. It was quite slow but I did feel a bit tired at the end of it. That may or may not be related to the diet. I often feel quite tired at the end of those jogs
Totay is one of the 5 'off' days so I can pig out.. I'm going try to be sensible but its 12 noon now, and I've probably gone over the 600 cals I had yesterday.
Jan 15: Update 2
I managed to make it through the day more or less following the diet.
For dinner I had the folowing substantial looking meal thanks to my wife..
Fish filet poached in fish stock, with rice and veg... spiced up with some ginger and chilli.
On thing I remember from previous diets is the lack of taste of everything. Boiled veg and poached fish doesn't sound appetising but you'd be wrong.
Actually it was really tasty.. you wouldn't know you were eating a calorie restricted dish. The key things are..
For dinner I had the folowing substantial looking meal thanks to my wife..
Fish filet poached in fish stock, with rice and veg... spiced up with some ginger and chilli.
On thing I remember from previous diets is the lack of taste of everything. Boiled veg and poached fish doesn't sound appetising but you'd be wrong.
Actually it was really tasty.. you wouldn't know you were eating a calorie restricted dish. The key things are..
- Seasoning.. These come almost for free. salt, pepper, spices, ginger and chilli all add up to big flavours.
- Fish stock (knorr stock pots) for an extra flavour kick. Could use other stocks here instead..
- Small portions of rice (30 g) for calories.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Jan 15: 14:30 update
so far so good..
After some consulatation with my mentor (wife).. I've decided not to eat the lunch I had planned.
Theres a couple of reasons for this.
After some consulatation with my mentor (wife).. I've decided not to eat the lunch I had planned.
Theres a couple of reasons for this.
- The lunch was not prepared to be just 300 odd calories. I just grabbed some leftovers from the fridge in a panic this morning before I left for work
- A couple of glasses of water and cups of tea have managed to stave off the hunger pangs I expected throughout the day so as a result ..
- I still have some porridge left for later in the afternoon
- Having a later 'dinner' (and I use the term loosely) would be a better option especially since I'm due to meet friends for our weekly jog..
Jan 15: Fast Day 1 11am
In anticipation of my first fast day I had a bit of a pig out the night before.. Probably not the best approach to take..
So I was a little more prepared last night and got breakfast and lunch ready.
Breafast is a mouthwatering 50g of porridge (~ 180 cals).. plus slat and cinnamon for a taste explosion!!Mmmmm
I left it slightly less than the 300 cals allowed since I will be adding some milk plus my lunch is not quite as measured out.
Anywho its now 11am andso far I'm not doing too bad..
Yes I am thinking about food all the time but thats not too different from everyday for me.
I've just eaten half the porridge and am trying to keep the rest for later when I think the real hunger pangs will kick in. The probelm now is one of self control. Now that I've tasted the porridge (surprisingly not that bad without any sweetener), I'm craving a whole lot more food... If I can get over the next 30 minutes I'm hoping those cravings subside..
So I was a little more prepared last night and got breakfast and lunch ready.
Breafast is a mouthwatering 50g of porridge (~ 180 cals).. plus slat and cinnamon for a taste explosion!!Mmmmm
I left it slightly less than the 300 cals allowed since I will be adding some milk plus my lunch is not quite as measured out.
Anywho its now 11am andso far I'm not doing too bad..
Yes I am thinking about food all the time but thats not too different from everyday for me.
I've just eaten half the porridge and am trying to keep the rest for later when I think the real hunger pangs will kick in. The probelm now is one of self control. Now that I've tasted the porridge (surprisingly not that bad without any sweetener), I'm craving a whole lot more food... If I can get over the next 30 minutes I'm hoping those cravings subside..
Monday, January 14, 2013
52 Diet: Calories and Recipes
Heres some details I pulled down from various websites on calorie counts, and some recipes that sound good. I'll probably try to add to this page as I go
Porridge..
1 cup porridge has 607 calories..
so ½ cup (78 grams which is pretty big) has 303 cals…. That’s made with water..
can add salt and spices no sugar though
Could use sweetener.. and reduce
amount if using milk.
78 cals per egg.. so 2
Banana 105 cals for medium.
220g apple = 116 cals
Orange 86 cals for a large orange
Carrots: 128 g 52 cals… http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-carrots-i11124
Pears 96 cals
Recipes
More recipes and another blog
http://www.tinnedtomatoes.com/2012/08/52-diet-menu-options.html#.UOawKndAZD8/
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5:2_diet
http://www.tinnedtomatoes.com/2012/08/52-diet.html
http://bradpilon.com/weight-loss/the-52-diet-my-review/ (Note this site promotes a related diet EatStopEat)
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5:2_diet
http://www.tinnedtomatoes.com/2012/08/52-diet.html
http://bradpilon.com/weight-loss/the-52-diet-my-review/ (Note this site promotes a related diet EatStopEat)
5 - 2 diet
Another day and I'm starting another diet. This time though its going to be different. For a start I'm going to try an actual diet. I'm going to follow the 5- 2 diet, and I'm going to use to build recipes for fast days here. Second I'm going to write about it in this blog. While its true that nobody actually reads this blog, I still think that the actual task of writing about my progress shouldhelp to keep me motivated.
First some background. The 52 diet is a diet mentioned on the Horizon program Eat, Fast & Live Longer in August 2012, in which the dieter follows a strictly calorie controlled diet for 2 days per week (2 days on 5 days off). In it the presenter tries a number of different diets with the goal of increasing life expectancy, disease resistance, and quality of life. My main goal however at the moment is weight loss. The other beneifts are icing on the cake (which your allowed on 5 days per week). Some links are listed below
The first day was a bit of a false start since I had nothing prepared so I'll have to defer till tomorrow to start
I'll be documenting my progress in the blog here (Click here or on 52 diet label below to see all posts).
My starting point:
40 year old male. Weight 106 kg / 233 lb / 16.6 stone
Note If you were looking for the calorie count and recipe information I've moved this to here
First some background. The 52 diet is a diet mentioned on the Horizon program Eat, Fast & Live Longer in August 2012, in which the dieter follows a strictly calorie controlled diet for 2 days per week (2 days on 5 days off). In it the presenter tries a number of different diets with the goal of increasing life expectancy, disease resistance, and quality of life. My main goal however at the moment is weight loss. The other beneifts are icing on the cake (which your allowed on 5 days per week). Some links are listed below
The first day was a bit of a false start since I had nothing prepared so I'll have to defer till tomorrow to start
I'll be documenting my progress in the blog here (Click here or on 52 diet label below to see all posts).
My starting point:
40 year old male. Weight 106 kg / 233 lb / 16.6 stone
Note If you were looking for the calorie count and recipe information I've moved this to here
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