I’ve written about my June Project (staying off the alcohol) in three posts so far; check out Taking Those Big Decisions, TTBD2 and TTBD3 for the full story. On the whole, I think it was a success. I had one planned day-off on 16 June, and I slipped slightly last Saturday, when I had two beers with dinner at Pizza Hut. The rest of the month, nothing. So, the June Project continues but is now joined by the July Project.
The June Project had two aims; the first was really financial - I needed to stop spending so much money in pubs at the weekends. Thankfully, that’s worked. I say thankfully, because the bike’s just gone in for some work and a new rear tyre. The June Project has helped me save some more money towards the bill.
The second aim, though, was to try and lose some of the extra weight that I’m currently carrying around (that might be working, too, as my jeans are definitely a bit looser) and it’s this aim that the July Project seeks to continue.
I wrote in Taking Those Big Decisions about a dietary supplement called Konjac Fibre; this is derived from the Japanese Konjac plant and it’s primary constituent - glucomannan - has been recognised for many years as a slimming aid. The way it works is two-fold; firstly, and most immediately, when taken with plenty of water (the correct way to take it) it swells to many times its original size and helps to give you a feeling of fullness. Secondly, it can help to keep your blood-sugar level at normal, thus meaning you don’t get the hunger pangs you normally would. In addition to this, by being a good source of dietary fibre, it helps to keep your digestive system functioning properly. Keeps you regular, as they say.
So this is the what I am now using. As from yesterday, I am taking two capsules before breakfast (at the ungodly hour of 6am), three before lunch and five before dinner. It’s only been two days, but I have already noticed a difference in my hunger responses - I still get hungry around the same times as before (breakfast 6.30am, lunch noon-ish and dinner around 7pm) but I am not needing to eat as much to feel full. All I need to do now is get in the habit of preparing smaller portions. And yes, it does keep you regular.
Studies have shown that taking Konjac Fibre in this way for three months can result in an average weight loss of six pounds (just under 3kg) with no other changes in lifestyle. So far, I’ve made one change - giving up drinking - and another has been foisted on me by my local supermarket; they didn’t have the cereal I normally buy when I did my monthly shop on Monday, so I’m using a different one. Looking at the product labels, I see that by using this cereal for a month my sugar intake will reduce by nearly 1.5kg. With that in mind, I see no reason why I shouldn’t have lost two stone (nearly 13kg) by the end of the year. I’ll keep you posted.
- - - - -
Konjac Fibre is recommended by leading nutritionist Patrick Holford in his series of FatBurner Diet books. Check out this link for some more information from him about losing weight.
