A long 7 days

I’ve had it in my mind for a while , I’m gonna try this soon . Fuck it , after this cruise we’re doin this ! Actually , if you rewind back as much as 18 months I knew that the balance of scales were outta whack here . This joint ……. there are a lot of oddities about living here . Of course there’s been culture shock , and some of it I’ve been ready for , but this wasn’t one . … Where are all the eaters ? We are in America , the fattest nation on earth . You know ,the biggest loser and my 600 pound life and all that stuff you see back in Australia ? Not in Hermosa , not in the South Bay . Everybody’s so god damn normal , actually they’re better than that …….they’re lean . I’ve always been a devotee to staying healthy and keeping my weight in check but this place makes you self examine your eating practices. Doesn’t anyone drink ? What do they do for food ?

I’m one of those guys who’ll take a sneak peak at myself as I pass a shop window . “Shit ,looking good today Howie , if I could only shrink the head .” Once landing here and getting to know the lay of the land you tend to gravitate to the beach front . This is where I’ve found myself getting the biggest reality check . Men my age are fit . Theres fuckers with abbs , some into their late 50s with bodies of 20 somethings . At school pick up 90 % of fathers are flat stomached . For the first 4 months I got fit and joined them . but then it slowly crept back on . I mean ….. it’s the beer here ….there’s so much of it ,and it’s fucking cheap …and looking like I did above wasn’t easy . The burgers ! They’re awesome and shit do I have to eat lean , run , gym and surf all the time to stay this way ? I love …love …love a nice beer , a bag of salt n vinegar chips , a sunset to gaze into and then more beer and a rack of ribs with macaroni cheese to follow . Since this photo I think I’ve added 15 or maybe more pounds in the last year and a half . What’s compounded on this is the course I’m doing ;massage and sports treatment . Everyone in class is lean , some are vegetarians and everyone is diet conscious and knowledgeable. My teacher is 52 ,is ripped , doesn’t drink and devotes his life to his body.My often partner ( female ) is a weight lifter and is built like a male ufc fighter, the other guy in the class would have skin folds at 10% or less , and the other 3 girls are goddam yogis . What a boring lot . The main problem has been that I’m often picked out as the life model and I’ve gotta get the gear off and show the beer pack off .

Yep this picture is a fair indication of where I’ve come to , back from a cruise and it’s time to take action …… a cleanse and then a Keto diet .

I don’t want this to be some boring diet blog , I’m doing this out of vanity and curiosity .

1st night in , I go to bed peckish . We’ve started with the Whole Foods cleanse and detox , which stipulates eating clean to give it its best chance of working . Day 2 and it’s berries for breakfast , salad for lunch and roast vegetables for dinner , no starch , no sugar , no dairy , no meat . I go to bed starving . Day 3 I wake at 431am with a ripping headache . Same food as the day before , but I treat myself with green tea …a lot. The headache persists all day and I feel thoroughly shit . I go to bed starving . Day 4 ( Wednesday) I wake up and feel pretty clear . Still I’d love a coffee . The diet stays the same but we have veggie burgers today ( no buns ) . I go to bed starving . Day5 I wake up extra clear and feel lighter . The berries are un appetising but they do a surprisingly good job of filling the gut and hunger doesn’t creep back in until midday . The hunger pains don’t subside through the rest of the day , they’re always there . Food , fuck that’s all I think about , all day long .

The cleanse finishes today and thank Christ .We added protein in the last 2 days and I’ve gotta say I feel really good and have lost a bit I reckon . There are things that comes with this though . You shit well ,always green and fibrous and not much smell , and you empty right out . This is what helps you feel light . You drink a lot and feel thirsty , drinking more fluid is what dissipated the headache . The food deprivation was torture , and I can honestly say I thought about it all day . Also the loss of concentration , the cloudiness combined with an intense headache was fucking horrible in the 1st three days .Not drinking killed me , especially when you look in my fridge

The poor little babies get a weeks reprieve .

It’s over now , but now it’s time to try Keto . No bread , no starch , low carbs and with fat replacing sugar , at least that’s how I see it . No matter the diet I’ll be drinking next weekend . Don’t worry I’ll bore you with a report on the Keto later in the week . Until then ……keep eating .