Being an Ex-South African, I was used to eating all sorts of weird an wonderful things, that normal human beings find disgusting, revolting and absolutely unbelievable. I am of course talking about things like “Biltong” and “droewors”. We are raised on that stuff! There is nothing better for a teething baby than a nice piece of dry “Billie” (yes, I do apply the same logic when it comes to my own daughter).
Me with my "Braai"
Except for the very well known SA Delicacies. Afrikaners in general are in love with rich food and are absolutely addicted to eating. Things like 1kg+ rump or T-bone steak, or milk tart or “koeksusters” and not to even mention “Pap en Wors” (maize porridge and beef-and-pork sosages) are but a few favorites. I believe that this disorder is started with the words that struck fear and respect into every South African child’s heart at one point or another: “Jy sal eet wat die pot skaf” (loosely translated:”You will eat what is prepared”) and “If you don’t clean your plate, you will not get desert.” or if there is no desert: “You will sit here until your plate is empty… Children in Ethiopia are starving and you don’t want to eat your food…”
Now, I agree that this kind of thing isn’t bad for a child. I mean children, (at least when I grew up) are physically, a lot more active than adults. They are also still growing. The problem is that at some point it’s not fun to play or run any more and they stop growing, but they DON’T eat any less… PROBLEM!
This problem usually surfaces it’s ugly head around the age of 20 to 24 years. At 18, I was a very fit, lean and strong athlete. I was Provincial Judo Champion in my age and weight class. I was 1.83m tall and I weighed a mere 78kg. For some bizarre reason, I stopped exercising and continued eating. At age 22, I was a Large 98gk. I was still fairly fit, but the little exercise that I was getting, didn’t match up with my out of control eating habits. I Joined a gym to exercise and get some proportion back, but all that happened is that I grew a lot of muscle and I sped up my metabolism (Bring on the food!). When I eventually quit the gym, it caused a downward spiral. I gained weight again.
South African greeting card
In January 2009, a mere matter of months before my 30th birthday, I pushed the scales to a very scary 122kg. I have decided then and there that I was going to change my ways and lose some weight. I now had a baby girl that was depending on me to be around, as well as a high cholesterol level and a bad habit of over eating and under-exercising. A very bad combination.
Right around the end of January my wife showed up with some books and charts that she had borrowed from a friend. This lady had lost 9kg in 9 weeks and was still going strong, without exertion or any starvation. She was on the weight watchers program. When I heard that, I was jealous. I had, at that point, already lost 3.2 kg (by excretion, starvation and attempted drowning), since the shocking weigh-in. This was a matter of 4 weeks in which I took a 2km walk every morning, with our yellow lab, Austin (Powers), 40 crunches and 20 push-ups. I was about ready to loose it again. I was hungry and grumpy and my muscles where constantly aching.
South African greeting card
My wife read through the booklets and laid out a new eating plan for us. We weighed and measured and calculated. At first I thought that I would never be able to survive on the recommended food allowance, and that I would have to starve myself again to get the results that I wanted. Boy was I wrong! The first 3 days, I wasn’t able to consume all the food that I was allowed. After the first week I couldn’t wait to get on the scale! I was feeling great. Of-course I had reduced my walks to 3 per week, due to the rapid seasonal change taking affect, So I weren’t expecting a miracle. At weigh-in I was pleasantly surprised to have lost a massive 3kg. The guys and gals at weight watchers know a thing or two about the human metabolism.
Week 2 on the program didn’t go quite as well as the first week, I only lost 1.5kg and in week 3 I los another 1.5. By end of week three I had completely stopped my exercise routine. I now only walked the dog over weekends and the occasional good weathered day. Daylight came to late in the mornings and in the evenings there was not enough time. With the exertion level now at nil and my metabolism redefining my feeding cycle, I started losing less per week. It had dropped to a steady loss of between 400g and 1.2kg, depending on how much I cheated over weekends.
Now after 3 months on the program, I am much more relaxed. If I don’t cheat too much, I will actually loose weight. At this point I have realized that losing weight is not a race and it is not something that happens over night. You have to work at it if you are to exceed. I have now lost a total of 10.2kg. I am feeling great. I actually had to go and buy new pants for work, because my old ones were falling down, even with my belt tightened to the new extra notch. I have actually dropped my pants size from a 42 to a 38.
Unfortunately I am not allowed to disclose the details of the Weight Watchers diet, like the formulas that are used to calculate how much food you may consume in a day, or the formula to calculate the points total of an Item of food. What I can do though is point you to a couple of websites that Have the formulas published. I can also publish my eating plan. Please see the bottom of this post for some useful links.
The following menu should only be used, as is, if you are Male, between 25 and 35 years old and weigh between 100kg and 130kg. Also, please consult your GP before following any diet-, or exercise program.
Eating Plan:
Breakfast [7:00 am]: A bowl of cereal(Preferably Weet-bix or Pro-Nutro or Bran or Oats) . Measured to the portions as stated on the box (preferably with skimmed milk, but if your like me and you adore milk and dispise milk flavored water, ordinary milk will do too) OR Scrambled eggs (made with 2 eggs and skimmed milk and NO butter. You have a non-stick pan, don’t you?) on dry loast. Both options can be had with water or tea or coffee or juice.
Morning Snack [10:00 am]: Two fruits (Apple, banana, peach, kiwi, mandarin, etc.) and a small tub (150g) of light yogurt. Add a glass or two of water.
Lunch [12:30 pm]: 4 Rice cakes and a small tin of tuna, salmon, or chop-chop chicken. Add some water (preferably in a glass or cup)
Afternoon stack [3:00 pm]: A muesli or nut bar, preferably the ones WITHOUT the yogurt or chocolate trim.
Dinner [5:30 pm]: (Whatever the wife makes.) Check it against the Points matrix to see how much it will “cost” you. Usually, we would have Tuna salad, or smoked chicken wraps. Salmon on rice with veggies are also good (watch those portions). Don’t forget to chase the food down with a glass of water… or two!
Did you know: You can have as much vegetables (The green and yellow ones, like broccoli, cauliflower, grean beans, peas, carrots) as you want. As long as they are steamed or lighty boiled and seasoned to taste (NO SUGAR OR MAYO!)
Supper [7:30-8:00]: If the remaining points allow, A cup of coffee or tea with up to 2 malt biscuits. Add another glass of water.
That’s it. There are no other tricks, or hidden secrets to it. If you ad some exercise to the program, you’ll get even better results, but that is entirely up to you. Remember that no one knows you better than you. If you have the will to use this program to change your life, then the information is out there. If you feel that you need some help with this, then I suggest that you join the on-line program or even one of the meeting groups from weight-watchers. And if you feel that you are happy with yourself just the way you are, then GOOD FOR YOU!
Whatever you decide. Good luck to you and good day!
Kiwianer
healthyweightforum.org/eng/articles/weight_watchers_points
Wikipedia.rog article on Weight-Watchers
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Hang in there you’re doing so well – also I am loving your site (you are an inspiration!)