Here it is, September and the seventh month of doing this food plan and intermittent fasting. It is a lot slower now, but feels like a way of life I can keep up. I’m down 18.3 kgs since I started in February. I barely seem to be losing but I skip breakfast most days and have become so used to the type of food that I adapt and make up my own a bit now.

That was last night’s dinner – delish. One of the biggest hurdles to this particular way of eating/fasting is that many of us have a tendency to want to see result quickly. I am realising that what is actually happening is that I am finding out how much food I actually need to eat as opposed to what I am used to. It is surprisingly less than I have been accustomed to eating. Whenever I feel I have not moved anything off for a while, I skip lunch too, and yes, I feel it and my stomach complains loudly (!!) but I sure appreciate dinner that night.

Unlike every other diet I’ve been on I want to lose this weight and keep it off, so I actually need to go so slowly that I am still enjoying my meals and the occasional treat, and if there’s a birthday, celebrate it.

I keep a mental note of the cafes I can get to on my bike trips that cater to gluten-free or keto dietary needs, and if I arrive at lunchtime, I choose the salad options rather than the carb ones. The longer I go without indulging in my old favourites like doughnuts or cake, the less I actually feel like them. True. I certainly don’t miss the feeling I had after I had over indulged in something fatty, gluten-y and sweet. . . The sleepiness that follows and the heaviness around the abdomen.

Next week I head off on a nearly month long journey around the South Island by camper van. I am hoping that I will be able to maintain much of what I currently do: peppermint tea in the morning for breakfast, and perhaps my main meal of the day will be at lunchtime when I stop on my journey. Which means that I will make a small easy meal in the van at night wherever I park.

Watch this space.