A little later than planned, this update on my exploits with coconut oil is ok, yes, overdue. In summary, three weeks ago I accidentally discovered the benefits and reported joys of coconut oil, and ventured into a whole new world of ideas on the uses of said oil.

Last time I wrote here I listed a number of uses of the oil and left it that I would report back on my findings... So here I go...

1. Add a teaspoon to your morning porridge. This is now an everyday occurrence and makes my oats totally creamy, coconutty and silky smooth, I love this!

2. Add a half a teaspoon to your coffee. For me, not so successful - when you add the oil it instantly melts but like a real gravy, the fat is left floating on the top of the coffee, which goes against what your brain believes is the right thing to do when you go to drink it. The taste is pleasant though, and a great side effect is that you get a lovely lip gloss added free with every mouthful. Also, it seemed I didn't need sweetener to make the coffee less bitter tasting. So if you can tolerate the oily feeling and the floating film then this might work for you.

3. Use it as a replacement for butter in baking. This is a no-brainer as the coconut taste is not even noticeable once mixed with the other baking ingredients. Plus, the effect of the oil seems to work jus the same as butter, so yes, good for baking.

4. Use as a facial moisturiser. Well I never! I've now been doing this for the full 3 weeks and I can homestly say that my skin on my face and under my chin feels a whole lot smoother, tighter and I haven't had a single breakout now since the week I started using it. I call this a result! I mostly use it under my eyes and leave it on quite thickly right before bed, and just put a thin film over the rest of my face & neck. Plus, I've also started using it all over my body after my shower, which is quite luxurious and smells quite scrummy! I would definitely recommend this!

5. Use as a hair conditioner. I have only tried this once, but believe me heathen I say that the day after I used it in this manner, I went to work and got the most comments I've ever had about my hair in a day. And from blokes mostly too! This has got to be a good thing right?! I've yet to try it again but I have recently given some of the oil to my mum who is suffering from slight hair loss at the moment, probably due to the concoction of drugs she has to take for her Oarkinson's disease, but I'm hoping it will at least make her FEEL like her hair is thicker and better conditioned, even of it's not helping it stop falling out. I will report back on this next time.

I think that summarises the uses of the oil that I have tried. One of the supposed benefits was that it would give me bags more energy but I'm not sure I can report anything that would substantiate this claim. This is partly because I am still probably not getting enough sleep on work nights, so I'm still finding myself with heavy eyes for an hour oS so in the mornings and sometimes after lunch too. For the first week I thought it was working but since then I have not been convinced. I have also been taking a capful of Source of Life vitamin & mineral supplement ever morning, which was also claiming similar benefits, but again I can't swear I have had any improvement. More sleep would help I'm sure.

The other major benefit I was hoping would work for me was the speeding up of the metabolism. I had my thyroid blood test 2 days after starting the oil and so I have a baseline, but my levels we slightly high so I have increased my dose of levothyroxine tablets slightly, so my next test will be a little bit biased as I have changed tablets as well as adding the coconut oil. Either way, in the 3 weeks of using 1 tsp a day I haven't lost a single pound. Oh well!

And so that wraps up coconut oil for now. I am continuing to use it in my porridge every day, but the teaspoon full may not be enough to give me any actual health benefits. The face & body moisturising use will also stay.

On to other things, training-wise... I'm now 7 weeks into the Jamie Eason Live Fit trainer program, over half way. I have definitely improved my muscle tone in my arms, shoulders, legs, back and bum, but still my main stumbling point. When I look in the mirror I don't have much of a problem with most of me, but my middle cation just still has too much flab going on. I might even say that the muffin top has maybe grown slightly. Now I know on this program people experience weight gain n the first phase, which I haven't, but they also experience weight loss moving into the second and third phases, where I am now. So what's going on? Ok, I'm not following the program diet to the letter but I am still continuing to repeat well, and am having protein plus complex carbs at each meal, so what am I doing wrong? Maybe the tummy is the last area t respond for me, and maybe ot'll catch up, but at the moment I'm having thoughts telling me that if it's not working eating so well then I may as well just eat some crap too, as I wasn't doing any worse a few months ago really. I know this is not the attitude to take but it gets to you when you try your hardest and just don.'t get the result you were hoping for. So what to do? I have tonight ordered some Conjugated Lineoic Acid capsules, which are supposed to block the fat cells from storing fat, and hopefully therefore reducing your body fat, particularly around stubborn areas like the stomach. So, in a few days I'll be starting those and I shall report back on whether it's a help or a marketing scam!

So until next time I shall keep training and keep eating well and no doubt keep having the odd square of dark chocolate to keep me sane... I'll see you next time.

Janice