Harry's 2018 "Hit the Target" Fat Loss Plan

11/10/2018: 158.8lbs

Wow. I should add, this past week I've been getting back into Muay Thai training 2-4 times per week. No doubt that has contributed to the rapid weight loss this week in conjunction with the diet.

Today, I still feel good. Although my neck and upper traps are a little sore due to working on clinching in Muay Thai last night...

I received a delivery yesterday of some 100% grass fed minced lean beef which I tried last night, and I must say it tastes better than the supermarket stuff. A bit pricier, but health is wealth - I've never begrudged paying more for healthy food. It also seems to be more filling as well, perhaps due to higher nutrient/micronutrient density?

I decided to search for an online butcher as my research has found that much of the beef one can get in the UK is grass fed anyway, though with winter approaching, it seems unlikely that grains aren't used at least some if the time. Also, regarding price, having this grass fed beef delivered to me only costs an additional ~15% on top of what I'd be paying for the supermarket stuff anyway. This seems to me a good investment. I'm also only trialling this for a week or so, as I'm planning to adjust my food choices a bit at some point next week.

Jolly Day tomorrow. I aim to maintain relatively sensible food choices and don't want to embark on a junk food binge - to be honest, right now I just really fancy some porridge... And maybe some pizza... More than anything though I'm excited for drinks at the evening wedding reception.

Also, given that I've ploughed through a couple of weight targets this week due to delaying my Jolly Day, my plan is to see how my weight fluctuates at my Saturday morning weigh-in before confirming my next target. Basically, as long as I jump back up to more than 160.5lbs, it'll be business as usual, but if I'm any less than that, I will skip the 160.5 target and readjust for 159 to be the next target.

Fabio says not to skip targets/Jolly Days in an attempt to be a hero, so I hope that I do shoot up to more than 160.5 on Saturday, and I also hope not to have to delay a Jolly Day so much in the future.

 

12/10/2018: 159.2lbs (Jolly Day today - finally)

So this morning I went to the shop to get one or two things to have on my Jolly Day, including some full fat yogurt, and some chocolate to add to my porridge (because why not?).

Well, I first had a serving of full fat yogurt mixed together with the remainder of a pack of muesli/granola I had from the last Jolly Day, with some honey drizzled on top (very tasty). What I then did was take a bar of chocolate and have a bite. Honestly, it tasted pretty sickly and I couldn't finish it, so I threw it away. I hate wasting food but I'm definitely happy with how my palate is shifting and I've got more of a taste for whole foods rather than stuff that's massively processed. Though admittedly this leaves me a little lost on what my 'cheat foods' should be now...

Perhaps lots of cereal and yogurt is all I really crave..? I'm thinking what I might do for lunch, is get some fries from Five Guys, take them home, and cook up some of my minced beef with some veggies. I'm just wary that while I don't want/feel the need to go crazy, I also don't want to not take advantage of the chance to refeed and 'treat myself' nicely while I can!

More importantly though, it is the special day (wedding) of my friend, and I'm wishing them all the best and looking forward to many glasses of red wine tonight!

 

13/10/2018: 161.8lbs (next target is 160.5lbs)

Last night was a lot of fun. Though admittedly I had a pretty vile hangover this morning.

In terms of food over the course of the day, the main guest stars were crusty bread and butter, yogurt, and a bit of cake, as well as some porridge with melted chocolate mixed in.

Given the rebound in weight that I had today, I'm continuing as normal with my next target being 160.5lbs, despite having already dipped below this point, though this was only because I delayed my Jolly Day so much.

As such, I suspect I may hit the next one or two targets (and subsequent Jolly Days) pretty quickly, though I'm not concerned by this, as I've no doubt the strict nature of this protocol will regulate this for me pretty soon.

I understand now though why postponing Jolly Days is somewhat frowned upon, as it certainly could throw a spanner in the works, and was definitely causing me to feel less than 100% in terms of energy - I was okay, don't get me wrong, but I just felt a bit slow and lethargic at times.

Nevertheless, I feel mentally stronger and more disciplined for having postponed the Jolly Day.

 

14/10/2018: 163.6lbs

Bit of a shift up, no doubt due to being dehydrated yesterday and today less so.

 

15/10/2018: 163.6lbs (not a typo - exactly the same as yesterday)

I'm not gonna lie, I'm struggling today - I really feel like eating something like lentils or a higher quantity of nuts à la Warrior Diet... I could murder some yogurt maybe as well...

I'm gonna try my best to ride the wave to see if these cravings subside. I've no idea where they've come from, though I suppose I can take some comfort from the fact that I'm craving relatively 'clean,' whole foods, which was one of my goals in starting this plan (to reduce sweet/junk cravings).

I'll drink another coffee and see how I feel... Today is the first time I've felt like I might fall off the wagon.

 

One of the things I credit for helping maintain my body comp is that I expect to feel hungry between meals. Even if I'm breaking them down into small meals throughout the day I expect my stomach to rumble at least 2x a day. This is sort of liberating as I eat what I want and don't worry about feeling satiated. Only if I'm bulking will I feed myself at the first sign of hunger.

I remember being really drawn to sweets and junk for years. I still do enjoy some chips every now and then but I don't eat any candy - chewy granola bar is the closest I come now. I applied some of the old meditation awareness to how I feel after eating specific foods and realized the candy literally left me feeling unwell after eating a bunch. I don't look at it the same way anymore.

Coffee can be a real help...

 

An update - the day following my last post I came down with some kind of bug/flu/virus...

To cut a long story short, I was bed-bound for a week with the most horrendous stomach cramps, zero appetite and barely enough energy to sit up for a drink of water...

I'm all good now, and have been eating mostly similar how I was on the HTT plan, but with the addition of legumes (lentils, kidney beans, and chickpeas mostly). Much like Tim Ferriss' Slow Carb Diet, with a Warrior Diet eating schedule.

In terms of body weight, I haven't weighed myself since being ill, and to be honest I don't really want to just yet.

It's a shame that this has happened as the protocol was working nicely. However, a positive to take away from the three weeks on the HTT plan is that I really don't crave junk food very much at all. Since getting better I've had one bar of chocolate, but have otherwise eaten 'clean'.

I think I will continue with my Slow Carb/Warrior Diet-esque way of eating for a few weeks before re-assessing what further changes/goals (if any) I will set myself.

Thanks to everyone who has read this log.