Year of the Diet

Tuesday, 2 July 2013

The Running Man

Just over half way through 2013 - Year of the Diet, and I'm reasonably happy with how things have gone so far. I've said goodbye to 24 of the 41 lbs I plan to lose, come through the traumas of a new addition to the household and have got my fitness regime up and running after a slow start. My aims between now and the end of the year are to push on towards 15st 7lb and focus upon getting my body into condition for tackling a 10k at the end of September.

With my 33rd birthday on the horizon, today I got an early present, in the form of a new pair of running shoes. I've been getting by with a cheap pair of trainers the last couple of months but as I'm starting to take things a bit more seriously I decided it was time to get myself more suitable footwear. These little beauties came into my possession early today.

Birthday present - thanks mum!

My plan is to break them in with a couple of trips to the gym on Wednesday and Thursday, rest up on Friday and then use them in my first timed running event since coming a distant last in the 400m at Sports Day in 1995. I'm making my debut in the local ParkRun event, and the world will be able to see how I get on with my first 5k run.

If you're not familiar with ParkRun, check out the link. They are free timed running events that take place across the country. Participants register their details online, print out their personalised barcode and take it with them on the day. Once you've completed your run, your barcode is scanned and your time is recorded.

Rest assured, I'll let you know how I get on. Before that though attention reverts to the Wednesday Weigh-In. Check back here tomorrow to see if I've managed to build upon the success of the last 4 weeks.

Friday, 28 June 2013

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The last 36 hours have provided a snapshot of the highs and lows of dieting. There have been some moments to be proud of, times when temptation has been given into, and times when the shackles are well and truly off. We'll think of them in a Clint Eastwood inspired analogy - quite simply The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

Lets start with The Good.

I've upped my game somewhat in the exercise stakes. As regular followers of this blog will know, my secondary aim for the year beyond achieving target weightloss is to run a 10k race. This goal is getting closer to becoming a reality as I'm going to be joining a number of my office colleagues in participating in a run towards the end of September. I've got about three months to get myself conditioned and I've every intention of doing myself justice and not just finishing the race but also breaking the 1 hour mark.

Yesterday my plan for the gym was to reach 5k. This was achieved, though it did require slowing to walking pace several times to catch my breath. However, 5k was travelled and just inside half an hour, which at this stage I was very pleased about

Thursday's trip to the gym

I went back to the gym again today, and tried to see how far I could get without slowing down. I managed to run 3k straight before I needed a breather. As you can see, 5K was notched up again. It was probably not wholly advisable to duplicate the training on back to back days, and I may well pay for it over the weekend, but I am happy to have hit the mark again. Laterally thinking that is 10k run - but combining the two sessions and running them back to back rather than with a 24hr gap will be a challenge

Friday's trip to the gym. Same distance, a touch faster

The Bad came in the form of dinner on Thursday night. After a stressful day for my other half, I very quickly and without hesitation agreed to buy take out for dinner. Pizza Hut was ordered and it goes without saying I devoured mine. I've learned in my many efforts to lose weight that on the times when you do give into temptation, you can still do a bit to help yourself. Rather than have deep pan, I opt for the Italian base, and I tend to go for a pizza with spicy toppings. I do enjoy the taste of jalapenos, but they also serve a purpose of ensuring the damage is minimised by staying in the system for a shorter period of time. You know what I mean, and I'm not going to spell it out!

A treat after a rough day is not a bad thing. I'm not one of these people who justifies what they eat by the amount of exercise they undertake, but I imagine that 5k either side of an unhealthy dinner will provide a little more leeway than if I had just gone ahead and scoffed my face.

Yes, I had a lot more to eat than a BBQ dip

The Ugly is a reflection of where I'm at this evening. Left to my own devices, bar the company of my kids, I've cracked open a beer to round off a long and tiring week, after a long and tiring week the week before. One has already become two. How many more are drunk will determine just how ugly things become.

There is cold, and there is Damme Cold

Beer and pizza are not traditional friends of weightloss. The fact I've exercised a bit doesn't really excuse them, or make for a balanced diet. What damage is done we'll have to see come Wednesday for the next weigh-in. But for now, I'm going to say cheers, enjoy a cold one and then face the weekend where I hope to restore some level of order in my food and drink consumption.

Wednesday, 26 June 2013

Wednesday Weigh-In 26 June

My first weigh-in in two weeks and the results are positive. In the last fortnight I've managed to lose 3lbs taking me down to 16st 10lbs. At nearly the midway point in 2013, this means I'm the lightest I've been so far, and therefore back on track after several indifferent months. Over the last 4 weeks I've said goodbye to 10lbs which I'd gained since early March.

Last time they said this was 6 March

What makes this particularly pleasing is that over the last week I've spent 5 days overseas on holiday. I don't know about you but for me this usually means relaxing a little too much, eating and drinking more than necessary and coming home with a bloated stomach. I know that after my last overseas holiday, taking advantage of going all-inclusive meant that I returned a larger man than when I departed Stansted.

So what was different this time? Well, for a start staying in self-catering accommodation allowed for a certain amount of control in terms of consumption. Sure, I found myself eating crisps and chocolate things every day, and enjoyed 2-4 cans of beer a night, but there wasn't anything over the top. The main reason though why I feel I didn't gain weight came down to the holiday venue itself. We travelled to Disneyland Paris, and as anybody who has ever been before will know, there is a hell of a lot of walking to be done! It would have been interesting to measure out the distance between the car park and entry to the resort as simply doing that a couple of times a day would have racked up a few kms. Throw into the mix of either pushing around a pram weighed down by a 4 month old, plus a couple of bags, or carrying a cream-crackered 4 year old as a passenger, and I can say that I got a bit of a workout, even if it wasn't a full-on cardio session down the gym.

What was perhaps noticeable during the trip was that my stamina remained high throughout the stay. Rewind the clock to the start of the year when I was heavier and I'm not sure I'd have been able to get through the early starts, long days, lengthy drives, hours of pacing and getting up the next day to do it all again. My family needed me to be full of energy on this trip, and I met that challenge.

Despite getting back home late on Sunday night, I made myself go to the gym on Monday. It wasn't the most productive session I've ever had, but I was pleased to have the dedication to go, when fatigue was telling me to stay away. I'm going to have to up my game with the running side of things as it looks like I'll be joining a number of colleagues in running a 10k in late September. Three months to get ready, but so long as I physically hold up between now and then, I see no reason why I can't notch up this achievement.

So nearly at the half-way point in Year of the Diet, I'm feeling very positive. My initial goal to lose 41lbs and get down to 15st 7lb is looking reachable. I know I can get there and probably surpass the target before the end of the year, but equally I'm aware the demons are never far away. If I do the right things more days than I don't, and can keep up my exercise, I back myself to get the job done.