Yes, I’m off on my travels again! This time it’s sunny Egypt for some scuba diving. It’s a real privilege to be returning to the Red Sea where I did my initial diver training many years ago, offering divers some of the best diving that this planet of ours has to offer.

It’s only over the last couple of years, since starting LCHF, that my interest in diving has been re-kindled. Like any other exercise when I was overweight, diving was simply too much of a challenge for me. I also knew from my training that being overweight sharply increases your risk of DCI and CNS toxicity, so I simply didn’t want to risk it. Now, thanks to LCHF, that’s all changed; my weight & fitness are back to levels that they were 30 years ago and I’m ready to “take the plunge” once again! (I still have my wet-suit from those pre LCHF days which was a struggle squeeze into back then. It now fits me like a glove!)

From an LCHF point-of-view Egypt will be “challenging”. Although some of the traditional dishes are excellent, most of it is VERY high carb, as witnessed by Egypt’s current obesity epidemic. Add to that the fact that I will be isolated on a boat throughout my entire stay, as well as pork being virtually non-existent east of Greece, and I’ve got my work cut out to remain fully ketogenic throughout my entire stay. So what’s the plan??

As usual I’m going to keep things simple, namely:

• Omelettes for breakfast: Available virtually anywhere in the world and hence, so long as they’re not fried in cheap, inflammatory vegetable oils, I should be OK. This will set me up nicely for the day. Failing that, it’s the good old boiled egg which I will probably make into deviled eggs myself, at the breakfast table.
• Lunch: Hopefully breakfast will be sufficient to allow me to skip lunch altogether, even on 4 dives/day. I am even willing to go slightly into energy deficit if I have to i.e. burn stored fat during the day, allowing me to lose some more weight, which would have the added benefit of getting my waist closer to that “magic” 90cm level :))
• Dinner: Will have to play this one by ear. I’m expecting some locally caught fish from time to time e.g. Barracuda, Red Snapper, Grouper, etc., which would be just fine. I am also expecting some traditional dishes which tend to be “dry”, grilled meats, with very little fat, and so I will probably have to find plenty of olive oil or a fried egg or 2 to go with it in order to be fully satiated.
• Drink: There’s plenty of bottled water on board and, as usual, I’ll be popping zero tabs for mineral replacement and plasma volume maintenance, very important in the heat.
• IN EMERGENCIES: I will be taking a small supply of dry-cured pork sausage with me in my suitcase, just in case!
• Supplements: I will be supplementing in the usual way. However, I will not be taking any vitamin D with me for obvious reasons: I’ll be getting it FOR FREE from the Egyptian sun! Note: I am currently NOT taking any magnesium due to the fact that I am not suffering from cramps anymore.

Finally, since I’ll be out on the open ocean for most of the time, I am not sure if I will have an internet connection to be able to blog live, as I did in Crete, but if I do I will! If not, I’ll be providing a full report when I get back..