Back in 2019, through a combination of diet and exercise, I managed to lose a whole bunch of weight. In early 2020, however, I got told that I’d had another recurrence of my cancer. Worse, and because of the coronavirus lockdown, I would not be offered surgery to remove this new tumour. This weighed very heavily on my mind, to the point of depression. And, unfortunately, with depression came weight gain. Well, I’ve managed to somewhat tame the depression, which opens the question: which diet shall I do this time…
The diet I did in 2019 was one of my own devising. I’d read that porridge (oatmeal) tended to keep you feeling fuller, for longer, and I liked the sound of that. As such, I based my diet around this principle and ate two meals of porridge each day. The middle, main, meal was just a sensible, balanced evening family dinner. In and around all this porridge, I played hockey during the season, and cycled the rest of the time.
And it worked really well.
Sadly, though, I will be unable to return to this particular diet format, for three reasons:
- I really can’t face any more porridge.
- I now have arthritis in my knee, meaning exerting myself on a hockey pitch is no longer a viable option.
- Seriously: no more porridge!
So, given that I can’t go back to what worked so well last time, I need a new way forward.
I also need for this new routine to be reasonably exciting because, frankly, I find long term diets boring. And, once boredom kicks in, then the diet starts wavering, which is very seldom a good thing.
Another reason that I need there to be an element of excitement is that I no longer have a clear-cut reason to lose weight. In 2019, the reason I needed to lose weight, was so I could try and play Masters hockey for Wales. Now, of course, the arthritis means that playing competitive hockey of any sort is off the table.
In fact, the arthritis means that there are no serious physical challenges available to me. Which, in turn, means that I can’t use any physical goal as a motivating force to need this to be successful in a diet…
And while I fully understand that being lighter is hugely beneficial to my health, this isn’t a specific enough goal. I mean, of course I’ll lose weight at some point, but that doesn’t mean I have to do it now.
My mind is a strange and convoluted place!
Anyway, in an effort to make sure I lose weight throughout 2021, I need a way to motivate myself. An angle, if you will.
Source: Spashlearn.com
My first thought was to try one of the common commercial diets, one with a built-in support network. Just pick one and go for it. And it doesn’t really matter which one it is, because no matter what the diet, if you stick to it, you will lose weight. However, the important thing is to find the one that works best for you, as an individual. And that meant there was a good chance that I wouldn’t find the most suitable diet for me, on my first attempt.
And that led me to realise that there’s no reason why I have to stick with the first diet I try. After all, a lot of these diets talk of progress within 12 weeks. So, why not work my way through two or three of these diets, 12 weeks at a time?!
Which, in turn, made me think about involving my blog…
I genuinely feel that one of the reasons that my 2019 diet worked so well for me, was that I shared my progress on here. Doing so meant that I couldn’t just give up on a whim, because it’d make me look bad. As such, I stuck with it for longer than any diet in my life before.
Logically then, if I want this diet to also be a success, it makes sense to blog about it…
This time, though, I can try and offer something back.
I’m sure that there are plenty of people like me: wanting to start a diet, but not sure which one to go for. For example, and just by doing the barest research into Noom, which I’ll come on to in a minute, I’ve been pointed towards the following diets:
This are a dizzying array of options, and I’m fully aware that I’ve barely scratched the surface…!
The reason that I was researching Noom, was because there have been adverts for it all over my social media feeds for months. As such, it seemed like a good a place to start as any. In reality, though, all that looking into Noom proved was that I am completely out of touch with the current diet market.
Noom, for example, turns out not even to be a diet, per se. It’s more a guided change in lifestyle…
Which is great.
For which you’ll be charged around £40 ($55, €47) per month…
Definitely more expensive than I was thinking but, ultimately: money well spent, if it works.
Not that I’m saying that Noom is the right option for me. I’m simply highlighting that I’ve got no real preference about the particular diet that I do, moving forward. I am, and not for the first time, blissfully clueless!
Which brings me back to seeing if I can offer something back. While, at the same time, keeping 2021’s weight loss journey exciting. Okay, maybe not ‘exciting’ but certainly interesting…
If anyone has a diet that they think might work for them, but they want to hear more about it before they commit, then let me know. I’ll do the diet for 12 weeks and then blog about how it went: weight loss, energy levels, exercise requirements, costs, etc.
An audit, if you will.
And, unless whichever diet I end up on turns out to be my perfect fit, I’ll try another diet, after that first 12 weeks is up. And, who knows, maybe even another one after that…?!
I mean, why not, right? It’s not like I’m in any major rush to lose this weight. And trialling a new diet every 12 weeks is certainly going to be more interesting than two bowls of sodding porridge a day for 10 months.
Anyway, that’s my current thought…
If anyone wants a diet tested, then I’m your man. Just let me know in the comments, below.