Low carb / Maffetone / other regimes

[El Gordo]

FC Vaduz ...I'll be looking out for their results from now on!  

Sadly, you won't find the Brack League (Swiss Div 2) on the BBC website -- an outrage that I've brought to their attention, though they've not yet responded to my complaint. The Liechtenstein game deserves a higher profile, as few would surely deny. So far, Vaduz have won 1 drawn 1, which is reasonable.

All that said, I'm toying with the idea of switching my loyalties to Luzern, a well-run club with a smart stadium, just 45 km / 40 mins drive from here. Managed by Markus Babbel, ex-Liverpool, Bayern, German international.  Should be a good omen though my German colleagues tell me that despite his legendary status as a player, he's been the kiss of death at the three German clubs he's coached.

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What's the situation with sweet stuff? All fruit OK, anything containing flour out, but otherwise fair game? (chocolate, ice cream, syrup, etc?)

Are you concerned about the amount of fat you're eating?

PS - why the butter-frying? Is vegetable fat too high in carbs?

Fruit is fine, Dan due to the fibre you consume with it. Fruit juice (unless it's very pulpy) and other sugary things are basically out, at least whilst you're on your way down to your target weight. I guess I don't consume much in the way of simple sugars anyhow, so it was never a big deal for me, but I do eat chocolate in moderation. 

Butter just tastes bloody good. High fat is not an issue. Cheese is great, too. It's carbs that are the enemies here, not calories, as such. There are loads of documentaries on the subject now, such as "Cereal Killers" or any of those American anti-sugar movies, or the Dr Michael Mosley programmes. They all pretty much say the same thing: sugar is the enemy, not fat.

Fry up, it's good for you. But go easy on the bottled sauce.

I'm not eating a lot of fruit. I'll come back to it, for sure, as whole fruit is still classed as 'good carbs', but I'll wait until I've dropped a few more kilos. That said, berries are OK in moderation. Being cherry season, the local farms have tons of them for sale, so I've take the pragmatic decision to reclassify them as berries. So cherries and strawberries are my luxury snacks, but that's about it. Bananas and apples, my usual staples are out for the moment.

Yes, the high fat thing is counter-intuitive, but if Prof. Tim Noakes is urging me to enjoy my butter-fried mushroom and Brie omelettes, who am I to disagree?

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Let me preface this by (again) saying that if you do not know your cholesterol level and your blood pressure, then you are bloody stupid. These are the two leading indicators of coronary risk and you absolutely need to know what they are. For all its undoubted and undisputed benefits, running simply will not prevent you keeling over from a heart attack if you have a genetic predisposition for it; which is why you absolutely must have an annual check-up if you have even a slight familial history of heart disease. No question. Just fucking do it.

Good advice, I'm sure. Last time I checked my blood pressure (just before I started this regime), it was a fair bit higher than optimal but from past experience, this is/was a reflection of my lethargy and weight, and will come down fairly steadily. It probably already has. I will check tomorrow. 

As for cholesterol, erm, sorry, failed on this one. Failed to check, I mean. I'll see what the good Doktor Müller has to say.

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I am in France for 3 weeks. Si not giving up bread any time soon

Nice one. Let me know if you're straying over near the Swiss border.


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So anyway,  I'm still going strong, though I had a bit of a plateau week or so. Not helped by a total lack of exercise. But the weight is still nudging down. Day off tomorrow for Swiss National Day, which I plan to mark with some sort of attempted jogging activity. Will almost certainly be a rather weedy run-walk but I have to start somewhere, and at least I'll feel a bit more deserving of the traditional fireworks later on.