Day 8-10

Big changes this weekend, wouldn't you agree? Sure we are not supposed to take any pride in the pounds we've lost during week one, but it is certainly encouraging to see everybody reporting they occupy less space in the universe. I myself lost two kilos. The weekly photo somehow fails to reflect this big change I report subjectively, but accurately shows a mild shrinkage of my chest and a mildly thiner face.

That said, I think today (day10) I understood why Patrick said not to take any pride in the lost weight of the first week. I feel that if last week there wasn't much problem eating half, this week I'm starting to find it very hard to eat the prescribed amounts. It's like eating twice what I ate before starting the PCP! And of course, that vertiginous, counter clockwise trajectory of the needle of the bathroom scale halted! I'm steady on 75, which means I'm not putting up weight. I find it weird to eat that amount of vegetables for breakfast. This morning I felt a little nauseous and couldn't clear the plate. The workouts are coming along, except for the inclined pull ups and the da vincis. I can do sets of 3 or 4 inclined pull ups, which means that instead of doing three sets, I have to do four in order to finish. And I cannot do 10 da vincis in a row (only 6 or 7), which means an extra set right there as well.

The jumps are coming along fine. A former PCPr, Sean, commented on my previous post that I should share any advise as he remembered that rope jumping was often frustrating for him and might be for some of you. That was very flattering but I am by no means proficient (neither at rope jumping nor at giving advise). I can tell you that it is useful to keep your wrists always at the same height from the ground and distance from your body. I also think that as you get tired, the rope trips down in your feet, which I compensate by looking at a fixed point and keeping my chin up. The length of the rope is also very important. Mine is a bit longer than it should. I was told by a friend that you should step on the rope and bring up the hadles up all the way to your sternum. Above that point, the rope will be too long for you.

My wife and I are having fun cooking a lot. Yesterday we put some whole peppers, eggplants and red onions directly on the BBQ until they were black. Then we peeled them and the taste was fantastic. This is a great tip for cooking a lot of veggies all at once without loosing their flavour and then conveniently store them in the refrigerator. So go ahead and try it! The eggplants almost become like a natural butter spread.

Last but not least, another psychological trick I'm determined to try. Yesterday I said to myself, OK, since you were never in the army, you are going to do the PCP as if you were in your own military service. You will not question authority and you will be obedient to not get in trouble. Maybe that's being too hard on myself, but for those of you who are prone to self endulgement like I am, giving yourself a categoric command might do the trick to keep you away from a cold beer and stuck in your chair until you finish your PCP meal.