Run Fatboy Run

I'm not quite sure at what point it was that I became fat. When I started primary school all those years ago I was pretty skinny. By the time I left that school at the age of 9, I had chunked up considerably, to the point that when getting changed for PE class, some of the other boys encouraged me to move my arms inwards, compressing my chest and making what they thought looked like a pair of breasts. They found it funny and that early age I learned to laugh at myself.

As I grew older, progressing into secondary school I was always the fat kid. The fact that I was usually the tallest in the class probably meant I got away with quite an easy time of it. I was never really bullied, though there were one or two characters who made my life less easy than it needed to be. Towards the end of school, the 6th formers took over for the day as part of a long running tradition. In the performance we put on, a take off of TFI Friday was staged. You won't have to guess too hard which role I had. Yep, I was the Fat Lookalike, a role I embraced standing in front of 900 or so people declaring I was a fat Mr Warren (sports/japanese teacher). It was always easier to make a joke of my size rather than do anything about it.

At university, I became affectionately known as Big G. When I got back into watching Slough Town after I graduated, I adopted the forum name BigFatRebel (Slough are nicknamed The Rebels), which seemed pretty appropriate. It was a persona that has hung around even to this day, with my Twitter account using the name and the blogger account from which these posts are generated from called BFRweightloss. Even thought I've lost the weight, the name has hung around as some sort of security blanket.

And yet despite outwardly being the typical 'jolly' character that is stereotyped about a fat guy, I was never really happy. I hated having to buy new trousers, either because I'd bust a seam or because my mammoth thighs rubbed together creating holes. For years I wouldn't sit on a toilet seat for fear of breaking it. Having to order clothes online because no high street shops stocked my size was pretty horrible. But rather than do something about this, instead I chose to eat and got bigger.

It took someone very special to get me to change my ways. I hate to think of what sort of state I'd be in right now if my gorgeous wife hadn't seen past my size and unlocked my heart. Probably on a Sky Living programme about a big guy who can't leave the house and needs to have MRI's at a vet because I'd be too big for the ones at hospital.

So I lost weight. This year has been a good year for me to date. More than 3 stone lost and heading towards my lightest as an adult. And to provide the exclamation point, in the last few months I've discovered running. Readers of this blog will be sick of me going on about it, but it has become an important part of my success. Today I did something that wouldn't have been possible in the past. I participated in the Moor Park 10k, and while I await the official time, know I crossed the finish line with 56.something minutes on the clock. The cherry on the top comes in the form of my colleagues and I collectively raising more than £900 for charity, which we're hoping will nudge up to four figures.

I've achieved my weightloss goals for this year, and now completed a life goal to run a 10k. Not bad for a fatboy. Time I moved on and got myself a new name.

Runner 1226 - with a medal for finishing the race

Bloke in the middle used to be 24st - well done to my colleagues too!

Wednesday Weigh-In - 25 September

One week on from passing my 15st 7lb target, and it would have been very easy to relax after months of dieting. I could have treated myself to something tastily unhealthy. I could have made a serious dent to the booze supply my gorgeous wife stockpiled last week when there was a pricing glitch at Tesco. But I didn't. I declined the offer of takeout on Friday night, not wanting to impair my running on Saturday morning. I chose not to buy something quick, easy and overpriced at Waterloo station on Monday and waited until I got home to have some lunch. You don't just need discipline during a diet.

Instead I've kept things going, the result of which is another 2lbs lost, following on from the 4lb loss last week. I'm now weighing in at 15st 2lb, the lightest I've been for 4 years.

Those numbers keep going down

I head into my debut 10k in better shape than I expected when I first signed up to it. I recorded another PB for the 5k last Saturday and look forward to the challenge that Moor Park brings this weekend. My colleagues and I are rather overwhelmed by the generosity our friends, family and workmates have shown in supporting us in raising money for the Lynda Jackson Macmillan Centre. We're now well past £500 and may yet raise a bit more. Thank you to readers of the blog who have donated. If you've not yet done so but would like to, head over to www.justgiving.com/teampcc

Whatever happens on Sunday, I'm proud of my acheivement. I knew the weightloss would happen as I've made a diet work before, but the running was new territory. I'm still learning and won't always get it right, but Sunday does not present me with any fear or apprehension. I've been building towards this over the last few months and have the chance to do something I've never done before. Bring it on.

In Autumn 2006 I weighed 24st and looked like this

This weekend I'm 9st lighter and running a 10k

Proof if you need it that you can make changes in your life for the better.

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Wednesday Weigh-In 18 September

260 days ago I set out on a mission. I wanted to lose weight and slim down to the size I was on my wedding day in 2008. YearOfTheDiet was born to allow me to record my progress as I aimed to shed 41lbs and share anecdotes with anybody who may be interested in the dieting exploits of an overweight bloke.

Today officially marks the day when I hit my target. I wanted to stand on the scales today and take a photo of my feet stood either side of those magical numbers telling me I am 15st 7lbs. However, I've not been able to do that, as I've gone that little bit better.

I needed to lose 1lb. I lost 4. Go me!

While my weightloss goal has been reached, this does not signal the end of the diet. I've every intention to keep this blog going until the end of the year, and maybe even beyond. More importantly, it isn't enough just to lose the weight; it is about keeping it off. This is the third time in 5 years I've got down to this weight and I really don't want to have to repeat again in the future. Therefore my aim now is ensure that this is the norm, rather than something I achieve once in a while.

To do this, I plan in the short term to continue to diet. 15st 7lb was the first target, but I can easily create another. It would be nice to dip under 15st. I've briefly been under 14 1/2 stone before. I've got to get down to 14st 8lbs before the stupid BMI scale tells me I'm a normal weight rather than overweight! I'm not daft enough to starve myself chasing an unrealistic size. My body shape will never have me as a bean pole and the saggy skin I have in places from years of obesity aren't going to just magically disappear, so don't expect me to be modelling for Calvin Klein any time in the future. But it is realistic for me to lose a bit more and while the lbs are still dropping off relatively easily, why stop?

The running will continue too. I rather enjoy my Saturday morning exercise and with the 10k just days away, I'm in no position to start wildly celebrating my weightloss. I'll probably allow myself a few cheeky rewards when that is done and dusted but until then I intend to stay focused and true to the diet.

41lbs (and a little bit extra) gone. If I can do this, so can you.

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Persistence is key

A few days ago I found myself talking to the mother of one of my friends. She'd not seen me for a while and so came out with a question that I'm getting used to answering. 'Have you lost more weight?' I was asked. After giving a positive reply the inevitable follow up question came my way - 'How do you do it?' At this point I declined the invitation to plug Year Of The Diet as I'm not entirely sure that wading through 9 months of blog articles would come up with a satisfactory answer to the question. Instead I summarised in a single word what I think has been the secret to my success. Persistence.

Throughout this process I've been trying to identify what works for me, and persist with that formula. It is all very well just saying eat less, exercise more, but if you don't find a sustainable diet plan for yourself or discover something that makes you want to pull on your sweatshirt and cause yourself pain, it is unlikely that the success you crave will be forthcoming.

On the food front, I've kept things simple. Cereal for breakfast, a large but light lunch and a proper sized dinner. Alcohol restricted to a couple of drinks on a Saturday night. Takeout restricted to a once in a while treat. Minimal snacking between meals and of course Subway is dead to me. I'll admit that there are days when there is quite severe deviation from the plan. Only a couple of days ago I had what is best described as an "off-day". My little one delivered a rude awakening at 4am and decided that he was not in the mood to allow me to go back to sleep. I thought middle of the night feeds were well behind us but on this occasions it was a question of needs must. I conked out on the lounge floor some time around 5.30 before my eldest came down at 7 wanting breakfast and getting ready for school. What followed during the morning was a recipe of crisps, biscuits, yoghurt, before eventually my compulsion to eat ended after a monster 6-egg omelette filled with mushrooms, green and red peppers and spinach for lunch. For the rest of the afternoon I enjoyed that mega bloated feeling!

Despite the off-day, things will get back to normal. My diet thus far has worked and for it to continue to be effective, I must persist.

The same goes for exercise. I have to remind myself from time to time that I am still very much a novice when it comes to running and learning as I go. Last Saturday I got things pretty wrong with my 5k. Pre-race I was talking to one of my office colleagues about work and the discussion got me thinking in such a negative manner that when it came time to set off, I was angry. Rather than harness this and channel my frustration at recent events into a positive force, I rather erupted and set off at what for me is an unsustainable pace. The net result was a very demoralising last 3500 metres and while I still got round completing the course in a decent time, I was left feeling pretty disappointed with how the run had gone. The following morning, rather than take up the welcome option to head back to bed for an hour of catch-up sleep, I instead opted for a run around Slough Industrial Estate, deliberately pacing myself with a view to find a rhythm I could work with. And while my run ended well before my intended finish due to fatigue (running back to back days not ideal) I proved to myself that I could do this.

When I got to Black Park yesterday morning I was determined to have a better run. I opted to leave my headphones at home. I didn't bother with the RunKeeper app. With the 10k only a couple of weeks away I had this marked down as a training run in which I could go along comfortably rather than chase a PB. It was just me against the course, albeit with about 350 or so other people. Setting off at a steady and measured pace, I soon found myself running alongside a ParkRun veteran, with more than 250 runs under her belt and someone I have found overtaking me towards the end of most of my runs to date when I have been wilting. I decided at that point to use her as my pacesetter, and for the first couple of kilometres let her dictate my pace. All was going well and I felt that I was running somewhat within myself. Usually between the 2nd and 3rd km markers I find myself slowing to walking pace to catch my breath. Not this time though. Feeling good I decided to up the pace a little and run my own race, leaving the pacesetter behind. For the first time I completed the circuit without walking and my reward for running non-stop was slicing 23 seconds off my personal best, breaking 26 minutes to boot. I clocked 25:57, more than 4 minutes quicker than my first effort a couple of months ago. Had I kept running alongside the veteran, I'd have finished just outside my PB, so probably just as well I changed tactics.

The time was an added bonus to be honest. I hadn't set out to run a PB, but it came to me as a result of my running persistence. The most pleasing aspect was that at the end of the race I felt really good and could have run for quite a while longer which bodes well for the 10k. I need to get out and do a longer training run this week to give me a better idea of what to expect, but things are pointing in the right direction.

This week could see me hit my target weightloss. If I don't quite manage it, I know that sooner or later I will. Persistence has been the key to my success to date, and persistence will be key to achieving future goals too.

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Wednesday Weigh-In - 11 September

One week into this daddy day care gig and I think it is time to take stock of how things are going. Heading into my additional paternity leave there was several things that caused me concern which could have had a negative impact upon the diet. Firstly, losing my regular access to a gym. Secondly, losing a daily routine. Thirdly, boredom leading to the fridge.

On all three counts I have to say so far so good. I do miss the buzz of hitting the treadmill in my lunch break but I can't really say that I've been lacking in exercise. Like a geek I measured out the route to my son's school using the RunKeeper app, and it told me that it is 1.04km. Multiply that by 4 for two return journeys per day and multiply the sum by 5, and that means in a typical school week I will now be covering 21km on foot. With a pushchair no less. It is a different sort of workout to what I'd get through 20-25 minutes three times a week at the gym, but certainly not to be sniffed at. Throw in my regular 5k doing the Saturday morning parkrun, and an additional run I managed on Sunday to help with my 10k training, and you could easily argue I'm more active now than when in work.

Going from a regular routine of breakfast-work-gym/lunch-work-home to a blank page could have been challenging. As it has turned out, the lack of routine has just meant creating a new one. Getting both boys ready for the trip to school. Identifying windows to give baby his meals and tend to his medical needs. Picking up after school and getting the boys fed and ready for bed.

With all of that there has been little time for boredom. A spot of gardening, doing laundry and a bit of hoovering help pass the time during days when I've not organised anything else. I've had coffee mornings with a former housemate and former colleague. Pottering to the local shop and library. The only day where I've noticeably consumed more than usual was on Saturday when as usual I was famished after doing the 5k and plundered the Walkers multibag.

So with my initial fears allayed, how are things going on the diet front? Well, with boredom alleviated, and gym trips subbed for schoolrun on foot, I certainly wasn't expecting to gain weight over the last 7 days. The scales for the last two Wednesday mornings have told me I am 15st 10lbs. This morning they told me this.

So very close

The weightloss continues. I'm so close to my target of 15st 7lbs I can almost taste it. 40lbs down, 1lb to go. Another good week and hopefully I'm hitting that mark. So much of my motivation for losing weight this year has revolved around my boys. It would be a nice way to reach my goal with a little helping hand from the daily school walks with them both.

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Wednesday Weigh-In - 4 September

My eldest began his first day at school a short while ago this morning and for the next two months I am a stay home dad with my youngest. No more Monday morning blues until the clocks go back. No more commuting in school traffic. It all sounds great and I'm grateful for the opportunity to spend quality time with the little one, but there are implications for my diet. No more lunchtime trips to the gym. Restricted opportunities to go running. Sitting dangerously close to the kitchen throughout the day.

Losing the regularity of working life will present a challenge. I'm going to have to install routine to my days to ensure I don't find myself bored and reverting to old habits. Sure I've got a beautiful nearly 7 month old to keep me occupied, but he isn't going to physically keep my hands out of the biscuit tin.

Coming off a long weekend at a Haven with the family, I anticipated putting on a little bit of what I lost last week. Nightly drinks in the showbar, sandwiches rather than salads, and no running since last Wednesday pointed towards weight gain. That didn't happen though.

No score draw

I've somehow managed to stay the same as last week, which is an unexpected bonus, giving me hope that this two month hiatus from the world of work need not see a reversal of weightloss fortune. I'm going to miss my regular trips to the gym, but will make do with walking to and from school twice a day, plus whatever exercise I can fit in during the day with the little one in tow. It looks like a nice hot sunny day, so may try to get some gardening done to burn a few calories.

So a new era is under way. With only 3lbs to go before I hit my target, it'll be interesting to see how long it takes to reach the goal under these different conditions.