I'm Karen. When Kate mentioned the 3 week diet to me I volunteered to test it out. My niece is getting married in the summer and knowing that there's no way of avoiding being in the wedding photos, I am determined not to be horribly embarrassed by them this time.
I've tried many different diets, but they've never worked out well. I've also tried exercising and that's been good for a few weeks until something happens which makes it difficult to fit into my crammed schedule. Then the exercise gets dropped. After all, it's not like I enjoy it 🙁
So now I'm the biggest I've ever been. I really notice that all my clothes are tight. My blouses strain across my bust if I stand with my shoulders back, so I have to be a bit round shouldered to preserve my modesty. I'm on the end hole of my belt. And when I bend down to tie my shoelaces, I have to undo the button on my waistband! I suppose more that that though, I just generally feel lethargic, and slightly out of sorts. I put it down to carrying all this extra blubber around.
So I'm hoping for a significant weight loss. I know that after dieting a few pounds usually creep back on, but if I lose enough weight even if I gain a few pounds I'll still be much slimmer than before. And 21 days is doable. Although I don't have huge amounts of willpower, I think if the weight drops as promised, then I'll be able to keep it up.
At the initial weigh in I was resigned to learn that 44.7% of my body was fat. I know that for optimum health it should be 20% – 30% for a woman so I have a way to go. My BMI of 31.5 was also solidly in the obese category. If I can make it to merely overweight by the end of the 3 weeks, it'll be a good start!
If you want to follow the diet with me, you can get it here
Intial Weights and Measures
Weight
| Stones/lb | lbs | Kg | |
| Weight | 13st 12lbs | 194 | 88.18 |
Starting Body Fat (top) and BMI Values (Bottom)
Fat Loss Monitor Measurements
| % Body fat | BMI |
| 44.7 | 31.5 |
Tape Measurements ( I measured in cm and have converted approximately to inches)
| Waist | Belly | Thigh | Upper Arm | |
| cm | 90 | 110 | 70 | 35 |
| inches | 36 | 43.5 | 27.5 | 13.75 |
Body Fat Measurement Notes
Of course the measurements depending on where round the body I take them, so for the arm and thigh I've picked handy moles as markers to try and ensure that I measure always in the same place.
For the body fat measurements, as you can see in the picture above I have one of those little machines where you enter your vital statistics, hold the handles and it uses a tiny electric current to measure your % body fat and calculate BMI. It's not suggested in the instructions, but I thought it would be interesting – and perhaps add motivation.
The one I have is very similar this Omron Body Fat Loss Monitor from Amazon – but a much older model.