Day 62 - Starch Solution

Today’s stats:

Well, today is the 14th which means I have now been on the Starch Solution (or at least a close approximation) for two full months. I say close approximation for the simple reason that I have indulged in some things that are not really approved by Dr. McDougall. For a start, I drink the occassional coffee (espresso, sugar but no milk), a beer perhaps once or twice a week, and have on a few occassions hit the old energy drink habit (usually after feeling really crappy or a migraine). That said, to the best of my knowledge I haven’t:

1. Eaten meat (beef, pork, fish or chicken etc)
2. Consumed dairy (milk, cheese or yoghurt)
3. Eaten eggs
4. Consumed any “added” oil (although it is possible some sneaked into pre-prepared bread or something)

So I have not been a pure McDougaller. I’ve not knowingly broken the rules, though I have twisted a few. I think I’m good on the main points and I recognise the risk in what I’m doing with the others. Given what I’ve read, seen and heard, the alcohol and the occassional energy drink are not really anything to be overly concerned about. Would it be better to abstain? Well, yes, but is it going to do me material harm? I’m not 100% sure but I’m not overly concerned.

Let’s do a quick compare:

Well, it looks like the results are pretty conclusive. In two months of following the majority of the Starch Solution, I have lost nearly 10kg with very little in the way of effort. My BMI has dropped 3.2 points, taking from obese to just overweight and my body fat percentage has dropped by 4.6%. This is pretty epic given how little effort has been required. It’s true going out to restaurants can be a bit fiddly but it’s really not that big a deal. In fact in a few weeks my company will have its annual Christmas dinner. They have managed to arrange a Starch Solution approved meal for me. I’m really grateful for that and it shows that it is possible to live this way, if it’s something you really want to do.

The Chart So Far

I thought I’d include the chart to show how although the overall change is pretty impressive (at least I think so), it came about as a large number of small changes. You can also see how my weight fluctuated up and down constantly. Despite that the trend did its job and generally apart from a couple of occassions the trend showed a consistent decrease in weight.

The Next Step

I plan to keep on eating this way and continue the experiment. My near time goal is to hit 86kg by December the 4th. This was my last known “stable good weight” and it will be a milestone for me to be able to return there. However I plan to continue on and get my weight down to 80kg. I’d really like for that to happen by the end of January in time for Chinese New Year, but I reckon that will be pushing it. Still we will see how it goes.

We’re also going to have a family buffet on Christmas which is at the Hotel Icon. It will have a lot of most definitely non-approved foods - in fact I suspect most will be disallowed. That said, even Dr. McDougall has some turkey on Thanksgiving. Christmas for me is the big festival of the year… will I partake in some of those foods? Right now, I honestly don’t know, although I’m leaving it open as an option. I suspect I won’t bother, but who knows. This diet approach is primarily for health after all, and a single day of splurging (which, let’s be honest is not a good idea) is unlikely to cause me any problems. We shall see, but I never claimed to be Vegan - although, that is also subject to change :)