My weight-loss diary
Neill O'Neill
Week 2
So, seriously, how much soup can one person consume? A awful lot it seems, because as my days on Motivation pass, I’m seriously perfecting the knack for making what I’ve christened ‘sinless, calorie free, keep-me-alive soup’.
It doesn’t say anywhere that soup has to be a mainstay, but it also doesn’t say it can’t be, and that’s good enough for me.
Week two and I’ve lost a further three pounds, not bad they tell me, but if I’m honest, it felt like a bit of an anti-climax all the same when I shifted double that on week one. I know that is being foolish. Sustainable weight loss is not achieved by rapidly shedding the pounds by whatever means necessary. Remaining healthy while on a dietary plan means adhering to a bit of medical science too. Three to four pounds is typically what a male sticking to Motivation should lose in a week, and as I didn’t cheat (seriously) I am right on track.
Remarkably, Motivation is allowing me to fulfill my hectic schedule without ever feeling hungry, tired or drained – and in truth my productivity levels have soared. A lot of this is that up to now I was not stopping to eat or eating regularly, but pigging out on one massive meal in the evenings (I bet the take aways in Westport miss me) – and then across the road to Centra for a splurge on a few treats. I was being too good to myself. The treats weren’t treats anymore. They were as regular as the nine o’clock news. I’ll admit, in the first week or so I did have cravings at that time of the evening, and they were hard to resist at times.
Normally, I might have spent a Saturday in October checking in with my vintner friends, or dodging any sort of work after a week in the office. Remarkably, though, my new-found stamina saw me spending six straight hours labouring in the garden, getting it ready for winter. Admittedly, it might not have taken as long if had I not neglected it this past while, but it was still tackled and meticulously completed. I then went and made soup (again) and went to bed.
I’ve been sleeping particularly well since I started Motivation, and last week I tried hard to up the water intake to the two litres a day, but I still fell short on the exercise promise I made myself. The relationship between water intake and weight loss has been an eye opener, as has Motivation itself, which has made me understand so much more about food and weight than I ever thought could make sense.
I feel it necessary to address the notion that Motivation is expensive. Sure, it has its costs: there’s no such thing as a free meal (drumroll!), but in summary, I was spending more a week on junk than the course costs. It is also difficult to monetise feeling and looking healthier. Just think of the value of your good health. Priceless right? And weight-related illnesses like diabetes and high blood pressure could cost you everything in the end. It’s a no brainer really.
Neill O’Neill has signed up to a six-week weight loss programme with Motivation Weight Management. Follow his progress here every week.
