Wednesday Weigh-In 10 July

Not a whole lot to be excited about so far as the weigh-in goes today. After a number of weeks of seeing the numbers go backwards, this week they've flatlined. Considering the food and drink excess of the weekend that I described yesterday, this doesn't come as much of a surprise and I've certainly no complaints. 

Apologies for the sideways shot - No Gain

So the positive spin is that I've still lost 12lbs over the past 6 weeks, I've completed a 5k run and according to one colleague at least, I'm visibly slimmer. No need to change what I'm doing at the moment then, just carry on with what has served me well to date. 

The first challenge of the week comes today when there is a buffet lunch available at a meeting I have at work. Restraint in the face of a table full of food is not one of my strong points! On Friday lunchtime I know I will be eating out ahead of a meeting and have already been carefully running my eye over the menu so that I have a good idea of what to get, rather than find myself plumping for a giant mixed grill or something equally daft. A bit of forward planning never hurts.

Without a birthday to justify diet breaking this week, I'm hoping to get down to 16st 6lb ahead of next week's weigh-in. That would mean 2 stone have been lost since the start of the year and then I can focus on shedding the last 13lb of my original 41lb weightloss target. All being well I'll be doing my second 5k ParkRun on Saturday morning and will be interested to see my progress on the initial run last weekend. If anybody fancies joining me, head to Black Park ahead of a 9am start and register online at Parkrun.com

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Birthday blitz

It is safe to say that I'm glad I'm not the Queen. Having two birthdays a year would make it doubly difficult to keep restraint over a birthday weekend. I became another year older on Saturday (but not necessarily wiser) and justifiably decided that I'd step back from the diet and enjoy myself. By Sunday night, bloated didn't even come close to describing how I felt.

The weekend had started so well. On Saturday morning rather than enjoy the luxury of a lie-in, I joined my local ParkRun even and completed my first ever 5k. I'll freely admit it was a struggle at times, and on several occasions I had to slow to walking pace to get some air back into my pathetic lungs, but in a time of 30:06 I completed the course. Here is my result on the world wide web for everybody to see

Now, several things annoyed me about the run. Firstly, the fact I had to keep taking breathers highlighted that my overall fitness level is not great. I knew this already but it was flagged up to me in a big way, and has cast some doubts on my ability to run a 10k in late September. Lots more training to be done between now and then I think. Trying to maintain a steady pace without an LED panel telling me how fast I am running proved difficult and I think the next time I do the run I'll have to be wary about not running too fast, and if that means pootling along rather than using up energy to overtake other runners then so be it. Finishing directly behind two 14 year olds was a bit of a kick in the teeth, while the time when it came through was a touch irritating, given that had I shifted myself around the circuit in 7 seconds less I'd have broken 30 minutes.

Still, it was a first effort and once I get to know the course a little better and become more practiced at running outdoors I can see my time improving. I've noticed further up the leaderboard is a former colleague of mine who consistently finishes around the 27 minute mark. Maybe next time I'll look out for her and follow her around the route.

So, once the run was over, a bit of a free for all took place over the rest of the weekend. Bacon butties, birthday cake, Pimms, BBQ, afternoon cider, it all added up to a weekend of gluttony. More than ever I've come to appreciate the value of sticking to a regular once a week weigh-in, because at varying points in a 48 hour period I saw a 9lb differential on the scales. What will count is what I see in my bathroom tomorrow morning, and thankfully I've had a couple of days to work off the excess with the usual lunchtime treadmill action. Monday's effort was a bit of a struggle but today went much better.

With the birthday out of the way, I can concentrate on my weightloss goals as well as upping my fitness. Since mid-May I've come quite a long way, losing the best part of a stone and going from utter novice on a treadmill to running a 5k. Things are definitely moving in the right direction, and a colleague remarked at me earlier today that I had lost weight. Always nice when other people notice a difference.

The weigh-in comes tomorrow and I'll accept whatever the outcome is. Last Friday morning I was looking good for another loss, but then the weekend happened. I've lots to be positive about rather than dwell on a temporary predictable blip. All being well I'll be doing the 5k again on Saturday and my aim will be improvement on my previous time.

Mind over malaise

So, after 'resting' the last couple of days to allow my leg a little time to heal, I was very much looking forward to attacking the treadmill today at the gym. My kit was packed in my bag and I'd even parked up next to the sports complex this morning to ensure that I would go. However, as the morning wore on, apathy and indifference began to enter my thoughts. Did I really want to do this today? Why not just pick things up again on Monday?

As I walked to my car I was still undecided. It was very much a question of take it or leave it. And I left it. Rather than go to the gym I headed to a well known supermarket chain to get a father's day card. I then drove back, parked in the exact same spot, and utterly disgusted at myself I took my gym bag out of the boot and did some training after all.

Dieting can be an easy thing when you're motivated. Making sure you stick to it on those days when you really can't be bothered are the ones that can decide how successful you will be. Today was a small moral victory, mind over malaise. Here's hoping that I won't have to fight with myself too often

Three Reasons to Feel Good

After my calf tightened up at the gym on Tuesday, I've spent the last couple of days away from the treadmill. As much as it has been a good chance to rest up, I've missed going. Rewind the clock to a few weeks back and I never thought I'd be saying that! My leg feels a lot better this evening though so I plan to squeeze in a little bit of huffing and puffing (aka running) tomorrow before the weekend kicks in.

The fact that I've dropped the physical part of my diet regime has not meant that I've given myself a green light to ignore the eating bit. I've added some fruit to my daily routine (who doesn't love peaches!) and enjoyed a fat free yoghurt with my lunch, but nothing that it going to substantially deviate from the three meal a day plan.

There was a brief moment of temptation at work today, when I was presented with a large box of Swiss chocolates from some very grateful students I've helped to secure jobs. These were very quickly offered to colleagues throughout the office and I'm pleased to say that I was able to keep my hands away from them. As my newest reader (big hello to Emma in Warwickshire) pointed out, this gave me three reasons to feel good. Receiving the chocolates in the first place was great, and a lovely gesture that was as unexpected as it was welcome. Secondly, in giving the chocolates to my colleagues, I was able to turn the tables and be the person providing the gift. And finally, I can be all smug and sanctimonious that I was strong willed and able to resist. Yay for me.

Would indulging in one chocolate have hurt my diet in isolation? No, of course not. Would one have led to another, and then probably more? Undoubtedly yes. I look forward to the day when I manage to find that balance where I can enjoy a treat and trust myself to leave it at that. Until then, I'm sticking to Plan A and abstaining from bad stuff wherever possible.

Seeing is believing

This evening when I sat down to eat dinner, my jeans started sliding down. My wife enquired if I was showing off because my waist has got smaller, which I laughed off. That hadn't been my intention - I'd simply forgotten to transfer a belt from my work trousers. However, thinking back now on that comment, I'm raising a bit of a smile. A few weeks ago I would have struggled to wear these jeans at all. Tonight, I need a belt to stop me flashing a builders bum around the house.

My 4 month old then celebrated with me by sharing a little bit of milky vomit on my jeans, which was most generous of him.

It does make me wonder though. I know that running is great for weightloss, but how will a prolonged period of running over the next few months (assuming I maintain current enthusiasm) affect my body shape? I'm not expecting miracles - having scaled down to 14 1/2 stone in the past I know that my tummy resembled a saggy Tesco carrier bag rather than a well chiselled six pack, courtesy of retaining the body skin of a 24st bloke. However, in the course of dieting back then, I rarely hit the treadmill, preferring instead to use a cross-trainer or exercise bike for cardio work, mixed with fixed weight resistance training.

Starting from a smaller waistline this time around, coupled with several years of not being as big as I once was, maybe the results of my anticipated weightloss will produce something more aesthetically pleasing than just happy bathroom scales. Time will tell I guess, and seeing will be believing. In the meantime, I won't complain if my jeans occasionally slide down - beats the hell out of busting your trousers down the seam!

My trousers last December - split at a petrol station

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Keep on running

Tomorrow is the first Wednesday in a while I am looking forward to. Over the past week, I've stuck to my guns by keeping to a three meal a day no snack diet plan, and got off my flabby backside and exercised. Lots of it too. I've run on six out of seven days and quite unexpectedly I am starting to enjoy it. Things are becoming that little bit easier every time I hit the treadmill, presumably because my body is adjusting to being used rather than abused, while my pathetic lungs are showing signs of playing ball too.

How do I know that things are improving? Well, having taken snaps of the workout summary most of the days I've been at the gym, I can monitor my progress and the images tell their own story. The first was my session last Friday when in just under 24 minutes I covered 3.53km in a mixture of run and walk. The second pic shows my workout today, when in a similar time of just over 24 minutes I managed an additional half a kilometre.

Gym on Friday

Gym on Tuesday

Simply put, I've been able to increase the intensity of my running, both by upping the pace (I now run at 12k/h, walking 7k/h) and by being able to maintain running for that little bit longer. My aim now is to extend my running time, building up my stamina until I'm able to run 5km flat without needing to slow down to catch my breath.

Physically I'm feeling better for all this exercise. I thought I may have a few aches and pains from running, but barring some slight tight calf muscles, I'm feeling good and hence able to run again the following day. I'm expecting to see a weight loss when I get on the scales tomorrow which be welcome. The challenge is to replicate the past 7 days so that it becomes the norm rather than the exception.

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The Power of Three

Don't worry folks, I'm not about to break into a blog article about that wretched Charmed programme that I occasionally have inflicted upon me. No, the title today refers more to looking at exercise in a cumulative manner.

As regular readers will know, I've been trying to get into an exercise regime. I've not been very good at it so far, but today marked my third straight day of going to the gym.

I'm not there to work with weights. I'm focusing on cardio to aid my weight loss while hopefully raising my atrocious fitness level in the process. Earlier in the year I pledged to run a 10k before 2014, and while I'm a long way from that yet, every little bit of running helps.

It can be quite disheartening to find yourself huffing and puffing after a relatively short distance. As an overweight guy with a touch of asthma, this comes around quite quickly for me. However, while I'm in no condition to run the full ten k's at the moment, I can look back on my combined efforts of the last three days with a small amount of pride.

This is for several reasons. Firstly, I keep going back for more. At the moment I'm focused and determined, which makes it so much easier to pull on the trainers and shorts. Secondly, I'm already starting to feel better for it. A sneak peek at the scales would tell me I'm already better off than I was at the last weigh in, which will hopefully .be confirmed on Wednesday. But it is not just the potential weight loss that is making me feel good. The getting off my backside and physically doing something is working too. Going in my lunch break helps break up my day and gives me a boost for the afternoon that sitting quietly in a lunch room can't match.

But perhaps most importantly, when combining my exercise over the last three days it adds up to a much more impressive total. By my flaky Friday night arithmetic, approximately 75  minutes on the treadmill, over 11km travelled, more than 1100 calories burned. Granted a fair chunk of this was achieved with warm up and warm down walking, but any way I look at it, this was the most productive week of exercise I've had this year, barring the 15 mile charity walk. And I've not destroyed my feet in the process this time!

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Going into the weekend there will be some old demons to conquer. I won't have the gym readily available for a start, so will have to see how motivated I am to be active at home. Can I avoid my bad habits of eating too much? Do I have the will power to keep that 8 pack of bulmers untouched?

I guess we'll just have to see. My early success in January was achieved through consistency. If I can keep to my diet plan and maintain regular exercise, I know I will succeed again.

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