20th January 2014 - Two weeks in

Why oh why does January take so long to sort itself out and bugger off?

I mean seriously, this month is bloody long.

It feels longer because I'm dieting too. Every day, watching my calories and (especially at work) watching other people eat what they want when they want is getting annoying.

However, it's not all bad. I'm no longer so tired on the walk to and from the office every morning. It's an inconvenience I'd rather not have, but it's largely a positive one because it's forcing me to walk a couple of miles every day. The inconvenience I still can't stomach is the distance from my desk to the tea room at the office I'm working from now, but I'm sure I'll learn to live with it (or crack up and melt down in a caffeine deficient moment).

The diet itself is going alright. I've cheated a couple of times but I'm still making more sensible choices. For instance, where if I was really being lazy and wanted a takeaway, I'd order a whacking great big pizza, now I'm ordering chicken kebabs, which are better for you. They're still not great for you, but it's better than all that bread and cheese. On the one occasion in the last fortnight where I did get a pizza, it made me so ill (from the grease, I'm assuming), that I have no desire to have another one any time soon.

The food I'm making on a nighttime is getting better too. A particular favourite that I'm enjoying is Gammon steaks, sweetcorn, new potatoes, pineapple and dry fried eggs. It's so very simple, but so delicious and filling. The main one I'm enjoying is my home made bhuna curry. Adapted from the recipe I used to make a fish curry for a party before new years, I've made it a couple of times now and with chicken it's just amazing. Very filling, very tasty and great for these cold nights.

This morning, I weighed myself for the second time. I didn't weigh myself on the first week of the diet for reasons that I can't quite remember, so last week was the starting weight for this bout of dieting.

This week has me dropping 5lbs which I'm over the moon at as I wasn't confident I'd lost any weight at all this week. More impressively as well, my wife, who has always struggled with diets, has lost too. So we're in it together and losing together. This has made me very happy indeed.

For this coming week, I'm going to be starting my exercise regime up again, starting with a run tonight. It's been about 6 weeks since i was running properly so if I'm honest, I'll be amazed if I can manage more than a mile and a half, but we all have to start somewhere. Hopefully I can be back up to 3 mile runs in a few weeks.

July 1st, 2013 part 2

Wasting time is a waste of petrol. And dinner.

So this is it. The weigh day at the end of the month.

Given how badly I've been eating over the last fortnight and my lack of exercise, I was prepared for the worst. So I step on the scales and:

25st 12lbs

That means in two weeks I've not lost anything. In better news, it means I've not gained anything either. I know, I'm as surprised as you are.

That means in a month I've lost a flat stone. It's not as much as I wanted to lose, however, I'm not going to argue considering I only actually tried for half of that time.

I'm counting it as a win.

In other news, I don't think I'm over the sickness bug I had last week. When I was at the gym, I was halfway into my warmup when I had to stop. I was dizzy, nauseous and didn't feel grand. When I stopped the machine, I took a swig of water then immediately had to run to the toilets and throw up. I felt fine before I went on the machines, so I don't know what triggered that off.

Suffice it to say I'm a little disappointed and feeling rough.

I was planning on doing P90X tomorrow night but it looks like I'll have to put that on hold for now.

This week is the work event I have been building up to and it is the North East Chilli Fest so I won't be dieting or exercising for the rest of this week. Given how I'm feeling, I'm not going to go crazy and binge on junk food, I'm still going to eat sensibly, but I'm not going to be as fastidious as I have been about eating.

Next Monday I'll be setting myself another 4 week target to see if I can drop some more pounds.

In retrospect, maybe I should have weighed myself after throwing up... I might have weighed less...

June 17th part 2

Yes, we're here again, another Monday, another moment, another moan and another weigh in.

Lets get straight down to business. My measurements are:

Weight: 25st 12lbs

Chest: 50"

Stomach: 60"

Biceps: 13.5"

Thigh: 31"

So in two weeks I've lost a mammoth 13lbs! That's 1lb shy of a full stone lost. Immense! I've never lost weight like this. I suppose I've never worked this intensely or strictly either, but hey, I'm over the moon. I need to work harder this week to lose 8lbs to keep me on track for my unofficial 2 stone in 30 days target (I don't actually have a target for this first month, just to lose as much as I physically can) but I'm not dwelling on that right now.

On the inches, it's a definite torso reduction which I'm happy about, however, it's not coming off as quickly as I was hoping. My body appears to want to trim fat from other areas first before it starts majorly eating away at the enormous deposit around my midsection. Stupid body.

My biceps and thighs are becoming more muscular, hence why they're not reducing. I'm already starting to see the difference in my biceps as the definition is starting to come in and I can feel the muscle is more solid even when I'm not tensing it.

Now, for the weekly picture. As usual, avert the gaze of small children as it may scar them for life. You've been warned:

Scanning between this weeks picture and last week's, I'm starting to notice differences. I can definitely see that it's coming off my face. I can see my jawline returning and the bit below my chin tightening up a bit. My stomach is continuing to raise as well. This is why I think I'm not losing any inches off my belly, I think fat is going, but as the shape changes it's artificially keeping the circumference the same.

What you can't see in that picture is that I'm also beginning to notice definition around my collar bone and in my neck. My calves are also becoming more defined as I continue to walk and gym. I'm in that wonderful phase where I'm starting to notice the changes every day. 

Today I even had my first clothing victory. My work trousers got ripped in the washing machine last night (God knows how) and were in no fit state to be repaired. As an interim measure, my wife suggested I try an older pair which I had all but abandoned as they no longer fit me. So I tried them on and lo and behold, they fit me. A touch on the snug side but they still fit me. I'm counting it in my book.

There's nothing greater when you're on a diet than being able to get into a garment that you've not worn in years because it was too small. I remember when it happened to me last, it was amazing.

I have several target clothes of varying sizes that I can't wait to get back into. They are (in no particular order):

- My leather jacket

- my good suit

- a black Basick Records T-shirt

- a pair of shorts that irritate my wife no end

- an old Newcastle United replica kit top from the 2004/2005 season (I think? It's the one with Northern Rock written in blue)

- a pair of jeans that I've had for about 8 years that still have the tags on and have never once fit me

- two going out shirts, both black

They're all different sizes so I'll hit different garments as I go an post pictures as I fit into each one.

I've blathered on enough for one night, so I'll wrap this up. Overall, I'm pleased with my progress so far. Hopefully I can maintain weight loss, even if its not at this level. Any weight loss is good weight loss

June 10th 2013 part 2

Ah, weigh in day.

On my last health kick I elected to do fortnightly weigh ins because I was working at a much gentler pace (I.e, eating normally), however, being on such a limited time frame, I have no choice but to weigh in every Monday. So here it goes:

Weight: 26.1 stone

I've lost half a stone. In a week. 7lbs, in under 7 days! Mint. But it doesn't stop there, no sir. There's also my measurements:

Chest: 52"

Stomach: 61"

Bicep: 12.5"

Thigh: 31"

So, from last week, that's 2 inches off my chest, one inch off my stomach, an inch off my arms and an inch increase to my thighs.

So despite my thighs getting bigger (putting that down to all the walking and cardio work building muscle) it's still a net reduction in body mass, which is aces in my book.

So there, proof that this ridiculous diet regime works. At this rate, I stand to have lost two stone by the end of this month, which if I can achieve would be amazing.

As per last week, here's a photo for the comparison gallery:

Now, what I noticed scanning between the two pictures is that my stomach has changed shape, so although its only an actual inch reduction in size, it's beginning to lift up slightly, which is what happened last time I lost weight.

The biggest problem I have with my midsection is my hips. They're such a stupid shape. Honestly, my body is mental. Those are what give me grief trying to get clothes to fit, so from tomorrow I'm going to attack them in a significant way.

Tomorrow, as well as the walking, the diet and the gym, I'm going to start P90X high intensity training. Hopefully that should shock my midsection into buggering off.

Regardless though, I'm still happy with my progress this week. Hopefully next week I can report just as good news.