The diet appears to work. update

This morning I was 77.3 Kg, so, so far so good. I think the key to success, at least so far, is to have a wekly allowance of key foods, so that, a bit less now means more later. Don’t buy anything just because it’s cheap, because then you’ll eat it, buy what is on your list. The limit for meat is 7 euros, about £5.60 so that means if it’s a pack at £ 6, you can’t buy it. Our bill is less than it was, at around 60 euros a week, including non-food items. We don’t buy any take-aways or spend any other money on food.

The diet appears to work.

I have personally been trying the diet I have recommended, or at least as near as practically possible. We have allocated for the 2 of us, per week, 200g of bacon, 100g of butter, 500g of cheese, 200g of lard or oil, 8 litres of milk, 500g of sugar, 10 eggs, 7 euros worth of meat, a tin of fish, fresh mackerel, a meal of fresh fish, liver or 6 sausages, unlimited homemade cereal bread, a bagette, dried fruit, oats, 2 bowls of corflakes, 2 bowls of unsweatened muesli, a bottle of orange juice, a 7 cups of cocoa, and 7 cups of coffee, unlimited vegetables, and flour, but only one large fruit, say a nectarine or banana, per day, plus a punnet of strawberies or rasberries per week, 2 whiskys. We didn’t eat all of the allowance, and only the butter, required careful managing.

Result, lost about half a kilo per week, now 80.5 kilos, so we’ll see.

Trans-fats

Lets start to work out what we should eat to stay healthy, and a normal weight, and we’ll see why most of us don’t in fact eat like we should.

A few facts. The present diet in England is more fattening than a 1950s diet and probably not any healthier. Overall health has improved, but this can be explained by improvements in medical techniques and particularly a reduction in infant deaths. The ending of coal burning in cities has eliminated smog. Petrol no longer contains lead. Cars are also built to be safer, and regulation has improved driving standards. Less people smoke.

Certain elements of the traditional Mediterranean and French diets seem to lead to lower levels of heart disease.

There is no evidence that a 1950s diet wouldn’t maintain a steady weight and health standard. Of all the debate about fats, there is one definate conclusion. Trans-fats cause disease. You get them from manufactured food, from restaurants and supermarkets. Food  direct from the farmer, or your garden does not contain them. They should be banned.