A New Low for Christmas

The good news for Christmas is that my weight has absolutely plummeted. I can't quite believe it myself but the numbers come in at a weight of 73·7 kilos! That's a massive 1·9 kilos, over four pounds, weight off in a week and easily the lowest I've been for years!! I was actually able to put on a pair of trousers I bought in the mid-Eighties, although I couldn't quite get the whole fly zipper shut. But almost.

The other figures are less dramatic: BF is 27·3% (down 0·6%) and the TBW is 48·7% (up by 0·4%). The near-starvation version of the Tapas Diet regime I've been following lately has really paid off.

I've never eaten less on Christmas Day than the little i've eaten today, determined not to ruin the good work. After our traditional Sunday Egg and Bacon sandwich, I didn't eat again until after some friends and their kids came over to visit about sundown but even then all I ate was two nibbles of English sausage; a couple of crackers and an apple. On Christmas Day! Insane - as was the amount of Corona beer, Tequila slammers and Spanish Cider we got through. Happy Days!

Fancy Living

I spent most of Christmas Eve dealing with technical problems as my computer attempted to commit suicide and all I ate all day was two slices of toast for breakfast and a Granny Smith apple for supper. Fancy living, huh?

Thin Friday

Three slices of brown toast, one with Boquerones and two with English Oxford marmalade; and some leftover Chicken Curry is ALL I ate today.

Boquerones and Tuna Salad

Three slices of brown toast; a chunk of Chapata bread with Turkey and Emmental; Boquerones and Tuna Salad; a Satsuma; a second Turkey and Emmental Chapata Chunk; and ten Ritz crackers are all I ate today.

Finger Rolls

Two slices of brown toast for breakfast; a finger roll of Boquerones; a finger roll with Turkey slices and Emmental; another Boquerones finger roll; two Bourbon biscuits; one Satsuma; and three Weetabix ( those darn after midnight munchies again) are all I ate today.

Damned Post-its

Unfortunately the Post-It on which I wrote today's consumption has vanished and as I'm writing this retrospectively a week later, I can't remember all I ate today. I sure hope that means not a lot!

The one thing I am sure of is that for the main meal of the day we had some Hake cooked with Red Peppers, Tomatoes, Onions and Garlic with Salad and Patatas Bravas and it was delicious!

Tortilla Hake Satsuma

Still stunned by yesterday's weigh-in result, I have to try and eat even less than before. I'm rather surprised not to have had any health problems yet with the relatively small amount of food I'm eating these days. The only thing at all that I've noticed is that occasionally one or other of the three middle fingers on my left hand kind of locks in the folded position, especially when I've been using my hands for heavy lifting or other jobs that require a lot of force. A couple of friends have said that is a sign of lack of salt and one of them, who used to work out a lot, says I ought to have some isotonic drinks to keep my body's salts and minerals levels up. I'm going to try one and see what happens.

On the food front, all I ate today was a quarter of a 20cm Spanish Tortilla, some Hake & Potato Salad; one German "Knopper" brand Hazelnut wafer biscuit; one slice of toast with Boquerones (we've now discovered there are also Boquerones with garlic, parsley and olive oil added to the "vinagre" which are even better than the merely pickled anchovies we were eating before. Ultra yummy!); another slice of toast with Emmental; two Weetabix; and a Satsuma.

Major Bummer

I am absolutely gutted to learn that after practically starving myself to death all week, my weight has gone up. Yes, it's true!

The horrible numbers reveal that my weight is 75·6 kilos, up by 700 grammes from last week. Puzzlingly, my Body Fat (BF) and Total Body Water (TBW) are unchanged at 27·3% and 48·3% respectively.

The rest of the day is all about trying to keep positive after these really disappointing numbers. After the traditional Egg and Bacon sandwich, all I ate today was a cereal bowl of Chicken Curry and Salad, no rice; fresh Pineapple with a small pot of Rice Pudding; two slices of toast and twelve Ritz crackers.

Another Day, Another Diet

To get the day started, there's two slices of toast, one with Spanish Paté. The Spanish make lots of wonderful food but two things they can't make at all well are cakes, which are mostly focussed on sweetness not flavour, and paté, which is universally thin and spongey and not at all like those delicious thick creamy patés produced in Belgium.

Later on, I had a cereal bowl of Basmati Rice and Chicken Curry with as much salad as I could fit in on top; a slice of toast with Smoked Peppered Mackerel; a bowl of fresh Pineapple with Crema Catalan; two slices of toast; and two biscuits.

Boquerones

I'm still trying to force the pace on my weight loss now, I'm so desperate to get down to my 70 kilos target. All I ate today was two slices of brown toast; a finger roll with pickled anchovies (henceforth Boquerones); another finger roll with Emmental; four biscuits; two Weetabix; and a clementine.

Mexican Tuna Salad

No breakfast today cos I'm feeling bloated but later I had a Mexican Tuna Salad with Sweetcorn and Kidney Beans with some more salad and strips of Emmental and Boquerones plus a single slice of wholemeal bread, all drizzled with Olive Oil. Yummerific! I think I'm becoming addicted to the little fish, they're so delicious, which is a total surprise cos the more well known reddish brown anchovies are so fiercely salty.

Later nibbles of one chocolate, two slices of toast with wood-smoked Peppered Mackerel, three biscuits, half a dozen Ritz crackers, one Bourbon biscuit, and some fresh pineapple complete all I ate today.

Lubina

Ursula and I share two large croissants for breakfast, one plain and one chocolate.

Later on, around 4pm we have a beautiful meal of Lubina, a kind of Perch I think, with Salad and a jacket potato. And that's it.

Rollmops

Three small slices of toast; a cheddar cheese and potato salad sandwich; a delicious Spanish bread roll shaped like a globe artichoke, halved and covered with salad and some more of those delicious pickled white Anchovies, mmm-mm! They remind me of those Northern European style Pickled Herring or Rollmops as they're called and are taste-ariffic! Much later on, a small croisssant and a bowl of cornflakes complete the day's consumption.

Monday Monday

Breakfast is three medium slices of buttered white toast, then nothing til late afternoon. That's when I shared a Feta Cheese and Bacon Salad with Ursula, then later still I had half a 20 cm Spanish Tortilla with a chunk of baguette and Cheddar Cheese.

One Clementine; two biscuits; a Granny Smith apple; and two Coconut chocolates completes the day's gorging...

Sunday Fun

One of the great things about visiting is the change from the old routine, the different lifestyles mixing. Today we are get pampered by not having to cook, just tucking away a delicious breakfast of two Fried Eggs with three slices of toast.

Then we go walking for miles all round Torremolinos town. It's a beautiful day and after touring the street market and the sea front, we all grab a prime table in one of the many busy street cafes and share Tapas of Boquerones and Patatas Bravas con Alioli, which is just a fancy way of saying spicy fish and chips!

Later on, after returning to Torrox Costa, I ate only two crumpets; half a Clementine; some Profiteroles; a single dry cream cracker; a finger roll with Cheddar Cheese; and two Weetabix.

It's A Record!

I can't believe it! Finally, after almost twenty months of of more or less continuous dieting, I have at long last managed to break the 76 kgs barrier! Not just broken it, absolutely smashed it, with my weight coming in at 74·9 kgs, down a massive 1·3 kilos in a week!! All hail the Tapas Diet!!!

My Body Fat has gone up significantly, rising to 27·3% from last week's 21·3 but my Total Body Water is down to 48·3% from an already low 56·2%, but I'm too excited about the weight loss to worry about what that means.

Seafood Surprise Saturday

We're off along the coast today, visiting good friends in Torremolinos but I still need to keep the diet going. Breakfast is three slices of toast, two with cracked pepper cheese.

After our arrival there's lots to eat: some crackers and cheese to start; a fabulous Seafood and Mozarella Salad with whole Prawns, Gravad Lax and some fabulous pickled Anchovies. These last are nothing like the brown salty things you make of as anchovy; these are Spanish Boquerones, solid white flesh filleted clean but with the skin left on and pickled in white wine vinegar and olive oil. They are absolutely fantastic. The whole meal is drizzled with Olive Oil, which I'm starting to love more and more.

Later nibbles of Goat's Cheese and Apple Slices, a horrid Spanish cake (the Spanish can't make good cakes) and a delicious juicy Clementine complete all I ate today.

Toast - The Final Frontier

Two small white toast; another toast with Cracked Pepper Cheese; two crumpets; a chocolate dessert; a bourbon biscuit; two slices of toast with thin BBQ Turkey and Emmental Cheese slices; a Granny Smith apple.

Pineapple Thursday

Three Weetabix with fresh milk, a teaspo0on of sugar and clouds of Cinnamon; three small chunks of buttered Chapata bread;fresh Pineapple with Caramel Cream; a side plate of Salad and Chicken Curry.

Bland Wednesday

Two slices of buttered white toast; one slice of toast with Cheshire Cheese; another toast with Cracked Pepper Cheese Spread; three biscuits; a Cheshire Cheese and Potato Salad on brown bread sandwich; two chocolates.

White Toast Tuesday

Still aiming for starvation this week, in a desperate bid to break the 76 kilo barrier. So all I ate today was three slices of white toast with paté for breakfast; a side plate of Chicken Curry and Salad; two chocolates; a Granny Smith apple; two Weetabix with Cinnamon; and three biscuits.

Cereals and Finger Rolls

Breakfast is two Weetabix, followed off and on throughout the day by: a finger roll with Extra Mature Cheddar Cheese; another finger roll with Tuna Fish; two chocolates; a finger roll with Cheddar and another with Chimichurri Turkey and Potato salad; and a coconut chocolate. And that's all I ate today.

Inching Forwards

The Great Sunday Morning Weigh-in ritual gives the following results:

The Scales Say

Weight: 76·2 kilos down 100 gms

BF: 21·3% down 0·3%

TBW: 56·2% up 0·2%

So I've managed to lose 100 grams in a week; that's about 4 ounces, aka not a lot! Just got to keep on reducing the consumption, that's all.

So what did I eat today in the face of these figures?

An Egg and Streaky Bacon Sandwich for breakfast as usual of course, just to get the day started. Then, later on in the afternoon, I had another of my great food inventions (see Fried Egg Omelette and the even newer Truffled Turkey with Boiled Egg Eggburger for other awesome new food inventions), the tastegasm that is my Cheshire Cheese and Old English Orange Marmalade Sandwich!

It's even tastier than it sounds; the rich, crumbly texture and salty yet subtly lemony flavour of the cheese combines incredibly with the bitter sweetness of the Seville Oranges and is a hideously unhealthy but totally mouthpleasing monster munchie of the highest calibre.

After that afternoon delight there was a vast amount of nothing but later in the night I had two biscuits and a coconut chocolate; a sideplate-sized portion of ChimiChurri Turkey (Pavo) and Mixed Salad; two chocolates; and a Granny Smith apple.

Cheese Chocolate and Chili

Keeping the pressure on my diet rather than my stomach, I'm determined to keep my consumption down. With that in mind, all I ate today was a Cheshire Cheese and Potato Salad sandwich; two chocolates; a cereal bowl of Chili con Carne; and three biscuits.

Toast Chili Cheddar

One slice of toast with Paté and another with Garlic Cheese; a bowl of the homemade Chili I made on Wednesday with a slice of brown; two biscuits; a Cheddar Cheese (new extra mature stuff from England) and Branston Pickle sandwich on brown; two Custard Creams; and two Bourbons is all I ate today.

chocolate Chocolate CHOCOLATE

Two brown toast with paté; a Ham and Potato Salad on brown sandwich; two chocolates; a small chocolate bun; two chocolates; a chocolate yoghurt; and a slice of brown bread dunked in the Chili I've cooked for Ursula, who gets home from snowy England tomorrow, are all I ate today.