21 one days of melting fat away

 We are almost through January and it feels like the corks popped yesterday. The good thing about speeding time is the fact that goals are reached in the wink of an eye too. I finished off my third week of 500 days without poison, and if anyone told me before the start that I would be feeling this good after only three weeks I would have rather believed that the Bulls could beat the Stormers!! 

I sleep great, I haven't been nauseous in over two weeks, absolutely zero headaches and I am extremely energetic. What is most astounding is that all the gout in my hands and thumbs have totally hit the road. 

My training is going great. I have not skipped any session. My total for the week was just over 45km and the month so far is almost 112km. I am not tired at all and I am still holding back for the first three months. I am slowly adding weight training and core workouts to my sessions. 

My blood pressure was a great concern. It was super high at the start and I am so relieved with this week's results. It is dropping fast and remember I have not touched any medication of any sort since 2022. It is still high at the diastolic side. It will hopefully hit the correct level. Within the next few weeks. 

I am super chuffed with my progress regarding my weight. In three weeks I have dropped an astounding 10.8kg or 24lbs!!! I am eating plenty of animal fats, meat and little bit of veggies. I must admit to this: the less veggies I eat the better I feel! I will post the 7 meals I've had at the bottom. What is interesting is that I am rarely hungry.

I have broken through the 85kg barrier for the first time many years!

I've had plenty of vitamin D reload in the sun, totalling out at 150 minutes!! Bring on the health!!

My diet for week three:

15 Jan: 17:00 spinach flash fried with onions tomato garlic and coconut oil. Tacos: shells made with melted cheddar cheese. Filling beef mince with garlic ginger onions, salsa tomatoes onion basil, sauce double cream plain yogurt with lemon juice paprika. 

16 Jan: 18:00 baby marrows fried in coconut oil with onion tomato garlic ginger and dressed in double cream plain yogurt. Chicken breast fried with coconut oil and onions. 

17 Jan: 1 pm (ate earlier to have a longer fast tomorrow)bacon, 2 x eggs fried in bacon fat, spinach quick fried in onions tomato garlic ginger and bacon fat/butter dressed in double cream plain yogurt. Leftover mince and chicken heated up. 

18 Jan: 15:30 two fried eggs in salted butter. Spinach flash fried with onions tomatoes garlic ginger in leftover fat from yesterday's beef mince dressed in double cream plain yogurt. I love this and will eat it every day! Ox liver fried in coconut oil with onions garlic and ginger with lemon juice and vinegar. 

19 Jan: egg on avo with cheese, fried chicken livers in onions paprika garlic ginger. Fried cabbage in coconut oil and salt. Leftover beef liver from yesterday. Blue cheese.

20 Jan: 14:30 ate two eggs in coconut oil. Made chicken butter curry in onion garlic turmeric paprika ginger cinnamon fried in butter. Double cream yogurt.

21 Jan: 16:30 pork belly on bbq with salt pepper and lemon juice. Green beans in full cream underneath the pork to catch and cook in the dripping delicious fat. Some Greek salad. 

Finding the rhythm - week two

During the second week of my 500 days journey, everything settled into normal mode. I was feeling stronger and stronger, I am extremely positive and I was starting to look better. My nausea and insomnia disappeared and I was looking forward to the future. 

After week one I lost 6.3kg which was obviously more than I have anticipated. I guess if I can keep on dropping around 1.5kg per week I will be very happy. 

The guy in the picture is slowly melting away. What I hated most about being overweight, was not the always being hot part, not the getting sick often part, not the constant feeling shit part, but the absolute below-par quality of life I was living. I was never a dude who could just sit still and watch others play, yet there I was sitting like an old man constantly observing and not participating. If I did it was only for a few moments. Also during this time, my knees went bad, my shoulders deteriorated and I began getting pain in my thumb joints. No more. 

I wanted more. I was better. Hence the 500 days!

This was a great week. I woke up early each day. I did all my training, which totaled almost 39km of walking! See pic below. My knees already feel better and so does my shoulder. I will slowly start introducing weight training during week three. 

I am eating like a champ, and I am still 100% clean on my food. I will post my 7 meals at the bottom. 

I am overflowing with vitamin D and I guess it also contributes heavily towards my positive attitude. 

I was very concerned regarding my very high blood pressure. When I took it this week it is slowly starting to drop. I am taking absolutely no medication. 

 

 As you can see it has dropped quite a bit and I am much more positive about it!!

Looking at the before/after pics, I am so pleased at my progress over just 14 days! I am on the right track and I am slowly starting to feel 17 again!

My weight has been dropping steadily too:

During week 1: 95.4 - 89.1= 6.3kg. 

During week 2: 89.1 - 86.8= 2.3kg

Total: 8.6kg in two weeks. 

My training for the week. It can be viewed in more detail on Strava under Jacques Redelinghuys. 

My diet was as follows:

Day 8: 3 pm braaid a pork chop with thick fat, homegrown green beans slightly fried in fat with salt, garlic, and lemon juice. 2 fried eggs with garlic, cucumber tomato salad with double cream yogurt, and apple cider vinegar as dressing. 

Day 9: 6 pm green beans lightly fried in fat with onions and garlic. Ox liver marinated in double cream yogurt milk and vinegar, fried with onions and garlic. Cabbage salad with little bit of carrot, raw onion vinegar garlic salt and spices.

Day 10: Food: 3 pm grilled 3/4 chicken, creamed spinach at Padstal pub with my brother during sparkling mineral water. 

Day 11: 7 pm beef mince fried in beef fat with onions, garlic, and tomatoes. Homegrown green beans and a cucumber/tomato salad. 

Day 12: 18:00 ox liver fried in coconut oil with onion, two eggs, spinach, cucumber, and tomato salad with Apple cider vinegar. 

Day 13: dried wors and full-fat cottage cheese. Beef mince fried in coconut oil garlic and onions with paprika and.  Baby marrow fried in coconut oil with onions garlic tomatoes and double cream yogurt. Cucumber tomato salad with Apple cider vinegar. 

Day 14:14:30 lamb on spit, lots of fat. Greek salad with heaps of olives and feta cheese! It was divine. 

My total time in the sun was more than 3 hours. 

Looking forward to the third week and thank you for following my journey. 

Be strong, live hard. 

Tri

The first week - 500 Days

We exited 2022 with a memorable party, playing beer pong and loud music, drinking some fine whisky and wine. Probably much more than what health advisors would recommend, that's for sure! Just before midnight Jolene made us some coffee and I asked for a double tot of Jack Daniels with mine, as I knew my journey would be a long one. As I started sipping on the hot joy, we realized that the countdown to midnight has begun, and just before they shouted ‘happy new year’, I took one last sip and flicked the full cup of coffee mix out on the grass. A waste I know, but such was my seriousness with not cheating even in the most insignificant way. 

The 5-day fast:

The following morning I wasn't feeling too well, a hangover to kill a bull was fighting me. I just had to wait on father time to deal with it as I was not to consume anything. I started my 5 days without any food or drinks, only water. I jumped on the scale and it clockedd me at 95.4kg or around 210 lbs. 

It was a cloudy day and we just cleaned around the house a bit and watched some movies. Later the afternoon we took the dogs for a 3km walk, as one if the rules are to train for 500 consecutive days for at least 30 minutes. 

I had to take some before pictures, which look a bit shitty taking in account the crap physical shape I am in. I will post them nonetheless because they will look very different in a few weeks. 

Just to show in what bad shape I was for the last few years, here is my blood pressure:

Any doctor would certainly faint to see how reckless a life I was living. I was putting everything on the line with this challenge, and I want to see if I could turn my health around by just healthy living, eating and exercise. The day went okay and the hunger wasn't too bad. I was drinking my electrolytes (salt, potassium chloride, bicarb of soda and Epsom salts) mixed with 2 liters of water. 

Ons day two I woke up at 5am and was a bit tired as I battled to fall asleep. I was feeling much better and the hangover was something of the past. I was feeling hungry and just sat outside when the others were cooking. I went out wearing just short pants, and on a lovely sunny day, I got great sun exposure 15 minutes front and 15 minutes back. I did my 3km walk and weighed in at 91.5kg, 3.1kg down. 

Day 3 I was feeling very energetic and I felt great. I mowed the lawn, cut down some tree branches, went for my 3km walk and got my tan in. I weighed in at 90.6kg, 4.8kg down. 

On day 4 I was a bit nauseous, could have been from alcohol withdrawal, but nonetheless I wasn't too concerned. I completed my training and vit D reload. I broke through the 90kg barrier with 89.5kg, 4.8kg down. 

The last day of fasting has arrived and my mind started playing it's games. I knew I was going to eat the next day and oh boy I was suffering! My energy levels were really low. I nebulized with saline as I do every day. Did my training, unfortunately it was cloudy and had no sun exposure. My weight was 88.4kg, 7kg down. 

Then day 6 came! Eating time! I really battled to fall asleep during the fasting phase, hopefully it will improve within the following days. I did my walk although it was raining, lovely!

With the re-feed I gave myself a 6-hour eating window. I didn't want to just shove down a lot of food as my intestines were totally empty and they had to start up again slowly. I had some cheddar cheese which I chew until it was totally liquid before swallowing. Then I wanted an hour and had some scrambled eggs. I felt very good and my stomach comfortable. Three hours later I had ox liver with green beans and spinach. I was a happy man. 

The last day of the first week has arrived. Food is amazing and I was feeling revitalized. Now I was on a one meal a day eating plan, with only one hour within which I could eat. 

Food: 18:00 mealtime. Pork chop, two eggs, green beans with garlic, tomato + cucumber salad with double cream plain yogurt + apple cider vinegar. 

I did a 5.4km walk. Here are the weeks training:

I will from now on only post my weight weekly. Here are the before/after pics for week one:

All in all it was a tough, yet very successful week!

 

500 days without poison

 Once I hit the age of 50, I realized the actual speed at which time flies. It is absolutely ridiculous! In the blink of an eye, another year had flashed past and here I am on my way hurling down on 52. What I miss most is being active, I page through the pictures of events and people and such challenges sadly just evaporated from my life. I am a challenge type of guy. No absurd task and I lose interest. 

Welcome to my fresh undertaking: 500 days without poison. 

Mission summary:

500 days, one meal a day, train 500 days, no chemically fragranced products, no alcohol, no processed foods, no starch, no sugars, only carbs from mostly green vegetables.

Why:

Most challenges I have found on social media, for example, were done over short periods of time and were mostly created to prove a point or to test a method briefly. I want to commit 100% for 500 days to fully experience the long-term effects and true changes taking place. If it isn't beneficial to my health, then I will scrap it. The word ‘poison’ refers to any aspect of life or substance which can cause illness, possible bodily harm, or hinder our performance physically, psychologically, and emotionally. That which isn't a necessity for healthy living. 

Myself:

As I've said above, I am a 51-year-old male living in SA, I was very active until around 2009 when my circumstances changed and my life went from healthy to unhealthy. I went from playing under 21 provincial rugby for then Transvaal, playing golf off a 4 handicap, doing provincial cross country, being Northern Gauteng provincial duathlon champion, doing a 10:17 Ironman, doing a 2:47 Cape Argus and always weighing between 72 and 78kg, to being an unhealthy, chronically sick 106kg slob. My business' tanked and I was living in extreme depression, masking it up by drinking a lot and consuming a load of weed. 

This changed on the 1st of January 2023. I have watched a truckload of videos on health, read numerous books, and tried a few diets here and there over the last decade, yet I never took a decisive decision to permanently give up the things in life which held me back. Through all this, I've had one issue: who and what do you believe? I just cannot relate to a social media influencer with 20 million followers as we don't live in the same world. They promote millions of supplements and products, and every day there is a new weight loss secret revealed, which makes it seem like a fancy marketing advertisement, rather than being about genuine PERMANENT health solutions. In today's world, it is difficult enough just to buy fuel and pay for electricity, not to mention being able to afford a gym membership, expensive food, supplements, etc.

I am therefore submitting myself to this experiment, this journey in such a way as to keep it easy, simple and affordable. I, a normal overweight dude from South Africa on the wrong side of the aging timeline, will be my own lab rat. You can follow my journey here and decide for yourself. If you feel you don't have the energy to try again, if you are at that stage where you know you've had all these dreams and you have messed up, I was there for the last 3 years straight, then I am doing this for you. I will keep record of how I feel every day, how I change physically, my health, all the food I consume, and also my training journey. If you want to join in at any time during this journey, please contact me and we walk the walk together at trijackal@gmail.com. We can be better. What exactly am I going to do?

The mission:

I am going on a 500-day straight plan. Zero cheat days. Not even a bite of pizza or a sip of soda. On the 1st I started with a 5-day water only fast to reset my immune system and got myself down to a good default level. During this fast, I did light walking, no high-intensity stuff. After the fast, I will keep training easily for a month and then pick up the intensity very gradually. After fasting for 5 days (strictly only water), I have moved on to intermittent fasting, a one meal-a-day eating plan. Of all the diets I've tried over the last decade, intermittent fasting and keto/banting have treated my body very well and made me feel super and strong. I will try to eat roughly at the same time every day around 6 pm, but if I should have a day where I have to eat in the morning because of a function or such, I will do so, but then not again for the rest of the day. Strictly one meal per day not spread out over more than an hour.

I will only consume the following: whole meats (venison, beef, pork, lamb, fish, chicken) with lots of fat. Free-range and substance-free are ideal, but it is also then extremely expensive, therefore if I'm not able to afford free-range, I will buy what meat I can from reputable farmers/shops. NO processed products, no msg, no fake meat. 

I will eat the following vegetables (many of which we grow our selves), all as per the banting green list: green leafy vegetables, green beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, garlic, gem squash, kale, leeks, lemons, lettuce, mushrooms, olives, onions, all peppers, radishes, rocket, spinach, spring onions, tomatoes, aubergine, baby marrows, blueberries, strawberries, almonds. Together with this, I will also consume black pepper, ginger, turmeric, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, olive oil, coconut oil, and naturally caffeine-free tea like rooibos and apple cider vinegar. There will be some I have not to mentioned here, but I will name them as we go on. We grow our own spinach, green beans, baby marrows, tomatoes, chilies, cucumbers, and strawberries, all pesticide free. 

I will NOT consume any of the following: no carbohydrates outside of the above mentioned list, no fast food, no artificial sweeteners, no sugar, no pasta, no alcohol, no processed foods, no fruit, no juices, no seed oils, no stimulants like caffeine, etc. 

In my general day-to-day living, I will make the following changes:

No smoking (I was never a smoker), no meds and over-the-counter pills, only those subscribed to me during an unfortunate emergency in an ER or hospital. I will not use any products containing carcinogens like chemically scented soap, shampoo, washing detergent, deodorant, toothpaste, etc. I will swap the products out with safe, homemade products which I will make available as I test and develop them throughout this journey. No tap water, no fluoride, no vitamins or supplements. I will eliminate anger and stress as much as possible.

Fitness and general health:

I will train 500 days out of 500, unless sickness, an emergency, or tragedy prohibits me. 

My training will include weights, HIIT, endurance, and yoga, of at least 30+ minutes every day. More about this as the journey goes on. 

Of all I have said, sun exposure is very important to me. Every day during which we have sunlight, I will lie in the sun wearing just shorts, 10 minutes front and 10 min back, reloading my vit  D stores. 

During all this I will monitor and give feedback on the following: my hair, I will measure and compare the color to the current color. My skin, I have a lot of spots on my skin through years of toxic sunblock and hours of overexposure to the sun due to my sporting background. I will see how it improves if any. Nails and teeth. I have high blood pressure, which I will monitor as well. My lung health isn't the best because of previous bad working environments, I will let you know how it goes. Then obviously my weight and daily energy levels, sleep patterns, etc.

At the posting of this I am currently on day 13. I have not cheated in any aspect and I feel like a new person already! I will post my first weeks experience shortly!

I am looking forward to sharing my journey with you all, lets do this. 

Be strong. Live hard. 

TriJackal

HOLD ON LIFE DOESN'T WAIT

Some might say tough, I would say time for change.  Our business has closed down due to the bad economy and these last few months were really tough.  Fighting as we may, we just couldn't keep our heads above water.  Our house is sold and now we are entering a future which is unknown to us!  I have never been afraid of change and are eagerly moving forward with great expectation.  Through all this I was not able to keep training and almost everything stood still for a while.

In the mean time I have started a new organization and it is called Operation Blanket.  Our main objective will be to give a hand to people around the world who have lost everything due to unforeseen circumstances.  We are non-profit and our official website will be up and running before the end of the month.  The temporary spot is www.operationblanket.blog.com or on Twitter as operationblanky.   We have already helped an old age home which was destroyed by a fire.  Around 90 old people lost everything they have owned and 18 died that sad night.  We will keep in touch with them to supply food, etc as we can.  We will also start fund-raising for the very bad floods in Pakistan.  15 million people are affected and we will help with food, etc as much as we can.

With the family it is going great.  Tianari has taken up dancing and within 3 weeks were by total surprise allowed to enter for her dancing exams.  We never thought she would be able to do it and her teacher couldn't believe it too.  She did very well and will now lead her age group in their year end show in the civic center.  Very proud and I have to say that she works extremely hard!  Every day our home is filled with singing and the bouncing around as she practices her new moves.

Weasel is getting so strong and sometimes I have to do a reality check to remind me that he is still only 12!  He rides me out of his slip on the mountain bike and runs a sub 40min 10k as if it is a morning jog.  This weekend will be his first race in a long time and he is so looking forward to it.  Now we just hope for a safe and incident free ride.

I have been going seriously for my 6th week now and have kicked the alcohol habit in order to reset a few healthy lifestyle habits in the process!  After 7 weeks of not drinking I have gone from 87kg to 79,8kg and have not missed one training session.  My sleeping and eating patterns have both returned to normal again and without the booze I find that I recover faster and also that my form improves much faster.  I am healthy, feeling good and have much less ugly fat flab plastering the sides of my body!  I am looking forward to entering an Ironman event again, but it will only be in late 2011 because that is how long I will take to be fit enough to achieve my goal.

Thanks for reading and remember to be strong and live hard!!

TriJackal

TIRED LEGS

Good to be writing again. It's just so hectic that I don't get around to putting fingers on the keyboard. But, here I am jotting down a few words. So far I have had a great year experience wise...not only experience in the wisdom sense, but also in the 'it is an awesome ride so far' sense. Never have I had such a great time with my boy and also never have I enjoyed sport as much as I do now. And to see Wessel have this much fun is just the best thing ever.

At the Gauteng triathlon champs he comfortably won his age group. He did have a tough time with the swim and obviously came out of the water almost stone last, but he had a very strong ride on the bike and just had to hold position on the run. He is currently 12 years old and competing in the 12 - 13 age group. Thus he will be competing in the same age group next year, but have a better chance at the title. He is preparing for a tough SA Tri Champs later in March because of the children being a year older than him, but it will be a very good experience and a big challenge. It will be key to first have oodles of fun and secondly to learn as much as possible.

The South African Cycling Champs went really well. I am so proud of him for bringing home two silver medals. He was the only child in his age group to stand on the podium for both the time trial and road race. The time trial was very impressive. Because it was his first time trial against the clock we weren't sure how to approach it. We got it wrong for the first 3km and he went out a bit too slow. He also didn't follow the shortest route and he stuck to the left side of the road riding through every puddle of water and heap of gravel. I was driving the back up vehicle behind him, but he couldn't hear me shout because of the 20m gap and wind combination. I also only noticed cracks in the Zipp 404 tubby rear tyre and decided to let him ride with a normal rim. He learned a lot that day and, all of the above concidered, to still only lose by 17 sec was a very very good result against a guy competing in his 3rd SA Champs.

The road race was on a very flat course and with Wessel not being the fastest sprinter in the world, I knew that this was going to be a tough one. There was a slight hill about 11km from the finish, but with their gear restrictions and light body weight a break was just impossible. Four riders managed to break away and had a sizable gap as they approached the finish, but the winner was just too quick. Wessel miss timed his sprint with a few meters and he just couldn't glue himself to the winners wheel for a pass. I was still very impressed that he was able to drop the the third guy during his effort to latch onto the front guy.

Athletics. The track and field is almost at an end and he will be competing in the Provincial finals this weekend. I am very impressed with his times, but during the last race I noticed that he was looking tired. I am tuning down the training a bit and giving him a rest now. It should be fun and thats how I will keep it. He hasn't got the leg speed to be a factor at SA's on the track so we will rather focus on the Tri- and Duathlon races. We will use the 1200m over the weekend as speed work for SA Tri Champs on the 20th.

Tianari did very very well in the 1200m as well. On the last lap she was pushed by another athlete and she stepped inside the track. She was given a red flag and after the race her medal was taken away and she couldn't proceed to the Provincial finals. Her and my heart was broken and many tears were shed. She is so talented and came this far without training one step! I love you my girl and just keep on being the the ray of sunshine that you are...

With all the triathlons, athletics and cycling races the children are competing in I don't get to training myself! This weekend I am missing the long ride AGAIN! But, I won't choose training above my wife whom I have not seen a lot over the last 4 weeks. I will just wait for this month to pass and then decide from there. In the mean time I am just ticking over the kilometers and see what the future brings. I only have another 6 - 9 years with these little dudes in the house and I want 100% time with them.

All the best out there with your ventures. Good luck to all my buddies out there competing in Ironman events and also in the Cape Epic. May the hours of training pay off and may it all be worth it at the end. Keep up the hard work.

Be strong. Live hard.

TriJackal

CHANGE IS SUPER

Having a child is one of the most amazing things that can happen to any two people. But, the impact it has on lifestyle, habits, routine, responsibility and finances is huge. Does this suddenly make having children a bad thing? No never! Yet it does require planning and a decent affordability study! What makes life such a brilliant venture to be a part of, is our constant hunger for improvement. What makes us different from our feathered and four legged friends is that we need improvement, constantly! We cannot just be satisfied and sit. Well, maybe some of us can, but I can't.

Recently I have sat down and made a list of the 5 most important spheres in my life where I can possibly improve. Relationships, work, health, assets and the world. Taking each of these, I sat and really honestly (not to be revealed on this blog!) analysed myself in each of these. How can I improve my weak points and through this make each of these five points life changing. I am working at it now and I really hope that in the next few months that I will reap the fruit from these wonderfully green growing trees.

Just a thought, take it, leave it.

Two weeks ago I also analysed my running style and thought that it too can improve drastically! Please don't laugh at me, but I am so convinced that I am onto something that I will continue with it for another month or so! My knees feel great. My foot injury just disappeared. And my times are tumbling! I did not read anything, I did not get a tip from anyone, I just looked at it logically and made a few changes. My calves are taking a hammering and are a bit stiff - thats it.

As soon as I think that I have mastered it I will inform you where to go and buy my book! Hehe, just a joke. I will share soon.

Have a brilliant life filled with the wonderfulness of change and improvement. Life's gggggod!

Be strong.

TriJackal