Having started on Monday morning, I gave up on Lipotrim the next evening, Tuesday night.  After trying the Chicken Soup flavoured shake – it was vile – I went to take care of some work related matters and when I came back I had a ham sandwich.  

That was that.   The next night, I came from Bantry to Macroom to weigh in at Weightwatchers.  I had lost all of two pounds for my two days of starvation.   

A week passed.  I repaired my bike and went for a couple of cycles.  I managed to stay away from alcohol almost completely and cut out the late night snacking as well as the midday chocolate and crisps.  

And when I weighed myself on Wednesday at WW, I was down 1.5 pounds.   That’s me down to 20 stone five and a half pounds.   Another six pounds and I’m under the twenty mark.  That will be a start and it’s a worthwhile target for the next fortnight….

Because I’m taking in water at a rate of two or three litres today, I appear to have put on weight.  However that’s a temporary phenomenon and as my body gets into the routine more completely later on this week, that too will pass. 

The great problem with this all or nothing approach, at present, is the way in which every sight, sound, smell of food reminds me that I’m only one bite away from breaking the spell.

I have been tempted throughout the day – but I’ve remained steadfast.  

Day one down, two days to go until the ketones start flowing.

I cleaned the shaker in which this dieter’s brew is mixed and then filled it with the 450ml of water required for the mix.  I added the mix – the strawberry flavour – and shook it until it appeared completely mixed. 

It took three swallows to empty the container – approximately one pint.  Not too bad.  But then again it’s not a pint of perfect ale….

Anyhow, it’s started.   And that’s the important bit.

It’s called Lipotrim – and it appears to be the ‘diet’ version of liposuction.  Basically I cause my body to burn up layers of fat which have been building up on my belly all my adult life to date. 

I came into a small windfall recently and I intend to make it count. 

My aim is to get from size XXL to size L – from exceedingly extra large to merely large. 

In terms of Kilos, that means dropping from 134.25 kilos to below 100.  Or from 21 stone 1 pound to approximately 15 stone.  And to do that in as short a timespan as is healthily possible. 

Between 2004 and 2006 I managed to drop more than four stone from 21 stone 12.5 pounds to 17 stone 8 pounds.  This weight loss was chronicled in a newspaper which was published at the time, Daily Ireland.  The newspaper went bust.  And so did I.  What I mean is that I went into reverse.  And I’ve been putting on weight since. 

It almost broke my heart to see it happen -but at the same time I couldn’t counter it.  The weight just kept coming back. A pound or two became a pound or ten.  Then it became a stone and then a stone and a half and two stone and three. 

Anyone who has lost weight will know the story.  Many will have lost weight and gained more again quicker than they lost it.  

I haven’t quite exceeded my previous weight – but I don’t intend to.  

For reasons of vanity and health and the desire to see my two children grow to adulthood and beyond, I am shouting STOP! 

I want to fit into clothes I bought previously.  I want to be able to cycle to and from work.  I want to be able to go out and enjoy a few sociable drinks without having to worry about what it does to my waistline. 

A friend of mine, C, has tried lipotrim and it appears to be working for him.  I’ve tried Weightwatchers – and it worked for a while.  But it’s too laborious.  There’s too much mathematics involved – calculating the amount of points you’re taking in and so on.    

And while I enjoy attending the meetings, especially when the weight is being lost, I do think that the focus of WW is women.  

The hell for leather approach of liptrim appeals to me – it appears to be more manly. 

Lipotrim consists of two shakes a day plus as much water, milk less tea and coffee as you want.  And that’s it. 

Now, as I sign off, I’m going to have a glass of good wine. Then to bed.  And then to rise – and the game is on. 

To state the obvious, this is a bag of potatoes.  Potatoes have been, to a certain extent, implicated in my current overweight state.  But now they’re going to be part of redemption.  This seven pound bag of potatoes will be the measure of my success or failure at my latest pursuit.  I am currently at least fourteen bags of potatoes too heavy.  When I have lost seven pounds, this photograph is going to appear.  When I lose seven more pounds, the second bag will appear and so on.  Potatoes will set me free…..