Archive for Health
Weight Loss
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I posted an entry a few weeks back saying that I would not regularly make comments about my weight loss. Having been silent on this subject for a few weeks I’ve now decided I’ve reached a pretty reasonable milestone on the weight loss journey.
I’ve eating healthily for the last few weeks using the myfoodiary.com tools and been quite successful. When I started losing weight I was clocking in at 115.5kg (or 254.6lbs).
After following a sensible eating programme I’ve managed to reduce my weight to 108.4kg (239lbs), which is a significant improvement for me.
Weight isn’t everything though and one of the greatest successes for me is that my muscle mass has increased as my body fat has decreased. So it isn’t a simple case of losing weight for me, but my body composition is key to the whole endeavour.
The great thing is that using myfooddiary.com means that I can still eat anything I want. I’ve had my mexicana cheese, I’ve had cream cakes, but I’ve also had a healthy balance of fat, carbs, and protein. The thing about this type of weight loss approach, certainly in my experience, is that it is sustainable. It has not been hard, and I’ve not had to give up anything.
I did give up alcohol, however that isn’t because I was largely concerned about the calorie content, even though booze has a lot of calories in it. I don’t drink because of the effect alcohol has on my body and my brain.
I certainly won’t lecture anyone else on their choice to drink as this was a very personal choice for me, and it is a permanent change. I also haven’t missed alcohol at all, which in some ways had surprised me. Equally, I haven’t found there is a huge social pressure for me to drink. I believe that this is partly my use of language, because I deliberately use the words “I don’t drink”, not “I’ve given up drinking”, or “I am giving up drinking”. By choosing my words carefully impacts the way other people view my non-drinking.
So overall I am seeing some serious physical changes, and I think that my body now looks different in the mirror. After all, I’ve lost 7.1kg (15.6lbs, over 1stone) and I am really pleased with that. If I lost another 7.1kg in the next 8 weeks I’ll be down to 101kg. My “ideal weight” is around 85kg. So I need to stay the course with this.
I’ve put a link here to my weight chart page, which I will update weekly, but I’ll update you again at the next significant milestone.
Building a New Body – Day 4
Posted by: | CommentsHaving written in here several times about doing some amazing new workout routing, going to the gym and getting fit I’ve still failed to lose weight.
Rob's Belly
So I think I finally found an answer to my problem, which is the Body-for-life challenge. This is an exercise and diet plan developed by Bill Phillips and it spells out in 84 days how to get fit, healthy and reduce your body fat. The thing I am good at is following simple instruction and when it comes to body-for-life you can’t get much simpler. I bought the book, and also the “Success Journal”. The Journal isn’t cheap but it allows you to record everything your doing, and make sure you’re staying on track.
I’m only on day 4 but there’s nothing more motivating than having specific goals that you can focus on. I’m not weighing myself every day, but my weight is dropping rapidly, as is my body fat percentage. It’s really pleasing to follow a simple model of exercise and diet which just works.
One thing you have to do with this too is plan out your meals ahead of time. That really does stop all that junk snacking, and because you eat so frequently you never feel hungry.
Anyway I’ll keep you posted on how I get along.
Write What You Eat: Part 2
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Some time ago I wrote about the importance of keeping a food journal and noting down everything you eat. This strategy is very useful and helps me think about exactly what it is that I am putting in my body.
To start 2009 on a better track I have started keeping a new food journal, called MyFoodDiary.com. This is an online service that helps you track what you eat, and more importantly shows you the nutritional content of the food. This is very helpful if you want to know how much saturated fat you’re eating, or if you need more carbohydrates.
There is a daily report that tells you how you’ve done an gives you specific data about your progress. The feedback system of smilie faces is quite helpful and tells you where you’ve been bad, and where you are doing really well. I find this particularly helpful as I am one of those needy people who wants constant praise for my achievements. I have also found that by pre-programming what you’re having for dinner that day you can work the rest of your meals into that.
As well as recording your body statistics you can also record any activities you may have done, and these are offset against your daily caloric intake.
I’ve tried some other systems like this, but I haven’t found any which are as easy to use as this one. The simplicity is the thing that makes it work for me, and there’s no excuse when you’re out and about, because the mobile version also works brilliantly on my mobile phone.
If I had one criticism is that there localisation to metric isn’t consistent. Sure you can put stuff in manually in grams instead of lbs, but it would be nice if this could be more slick, as I don’t have a clue what “cups” are or “oz”.
The food database also has an amazing range of things in it already, but be cautious as I found the nutritional differences between a US bagel and UK bagel to be quite different. I currently prefer adding my own items to the database, as the Tesco.com web site a lot of nutritional information right there about all their products, even the the loose veggies.
Even with the horrible exchange rate I still believe that $9 a month is good value, and it will ultimately help me achieve my goal of getting back to my skinny self.
It’s all coming off
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This week continues to be a positive for my fat loss goals as I stepped on the scales this morning to find that I had lost weight over this last week. My weight is down another 0.6kg, and my body fat percentage has dropped once again. What is great is the fact I am losing fat, and my muscle mass is going up, mainly due to my diet which is far more sensible now. My energy levels feel a lot better too, and I am not so tired all the time.
I’ve not completely given up drinking but I am limiting what I have. I went out with some colleagues the other night and had a few pints of beer, but didn’t over indulge myself. However having missed the last train home, I ended up catching a different train, and had to walk about 7 miles in the freezing cold as I couldn’t get a cab. So I probably burned off a couple of pints with that activity.
The exercise is the next thing I need to get on track. I have been hitting the gym about twice a week, and I really need to up my game if I want to keep seeing these muscle gains continue and watch the fat drop off.
I am pleased with the continued results so I will make sure I keep it up.
Back on the Wagon
Posted by: | CommentsI am just in the process of changing hosting provider for my blog and as a result have had a look back through some of my old postings which sit in the fitness category. What I noticed was that I started out with great intentions, but something (usually an excuse) would stop me from making the changes I needed to. It was either a timing issue, or a work pressure issue, or something else.
The number of times I have started doing a new fat loss, or exercise programme I haven’t succeeded, but I haven’t stopped starting a new thing or trying again. They way I look it at is when I’m dead or stop trying then I have failed. So far I’m not in either of those places yet.
So I wrote that posting about being really angry and needing to lose weight, then I started keeping a food journal and being mindful of my weight. My only real lapse has been on Friday this week, where I had a bottle of wine and a pizza. I’m not depressed about it though, it happened and I’ve moved on, getting back to healthy eating the very next morning.
This first week has been quite challenging in terms of pressure at work, some long hours and some travelling. Despite this, I have managed to still lose 1.1kg (2.45lbs) and best of all 0.9% body fat. Losing almost 1% body fat in a week is brilliant for me, but the real plus for me is that I have gained muscle and that just makes an amazing difference to me. Knowing I’m not heading back to being some sort of scrawny bean pole makes me feel really positive.
I am eating about 6 times per day, but I am keeping a track on what I eat very closely balancing the various things I need. I am using the Promax meal bars at work just because it is convenient, and I’ve cut down on the coffee I am drinking. Adding more protein rich foods in my diet and reducing fat and carbohydrate seems to be making a positive difference.
I have started to have a few headaches, which I think is a combination of all the nasty toxic stuff coming out of my body, plus the reduced caffeine intake. If I’m honest I’m probably feeling a bit of stress from work too, but I am not using a bottle of wine to sedate me after a hectic day. The alcohol doesn’t even make me feel drunk, it just relaxes me completely and I usually end up going to bed. Its not exactly the healthiest way to go about dealing with stress.
The best bit is that I’ve told people how much I weigh, and they can’t believe it. Last time I was overweight people used to call me “Jabba the Gut”, which inspired me to lose weight because of the humiliation/shame factor. This time around people are nicer because I dress for my size instead of kidding myself, and therefore I don’t look overweight in clothes, particularly as I wear a lot of black or navy colours.
I look at this way at the end of the day, I’ve only got this one life and one body, and I need to take care of it. I don’t get to trade up after a few years, and replacement parts are never as good as the original ones. I need to keep it fully serviced, fuelled and running on clean energy.
October Fitness
Posted by: | CommentsThis last week hasn’t been great in terms of my fitness, but even as I write I am sitting here in my workout gear getting ready to go down to the gym (at the end of the garden) and do my workout.
My greatest problem is that been that I have been eating and drinking all the wrong things, including too much coffee. I am going to have to get my act together and start keeping my food diary again and focus on doing a proper job losing weight.
I really struggled with the idea of doing before/after pictures, and I’ve taken a tentative step to publish them online. These were actually take on September 28th, 2008 so I’m nearly a month on and the question is really about how much progress I have made?
Well as of this morning the result of the last 5 weeks are as follows:
- Body fat reduced by 0.7%
- Muscle gain 0.4kg
- Weight loss 0.3kg
- Waist loss 5cm
My motivation is fluctuating and get really frustrated because I am easily tempted by old habits. If I am going to sustain this weight loss then I really need to think about how I break out of my old patterns of behaviour. The frustrating part is in the last 5 weeks I have been doing ok, and screwed it all up this week, with two pizzas and three bottles of wine and NO exercise at all. My only defence is that the other aspects of my diet have been ok, so it’s very easy to see where I need to get back on track. It’s not like I have been eating right and working out, and some mystery reason is causing me to gain weight, and the cause is totally obvious.
What surprises me is that when I cut out these comfort foods, I find myself developing physical stress responses to not having the foods, such as headaches etc.
So my next plan to keep myself motivated is to post a regular weekly item on how I am progressing, and I would love it if you could help me in by sending in your comments and thoughts to help me through this. I want to get back to my fit 32" waist again!
How much is that in lbs?
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The first question Julie asked when I told her this morning I’d lost 1.5kg this week was, "What’s that in lbs?". After a number of false starts I am determined to get fit and healthy again, and this time I have thought through what it is I am trying to achieve, so I’m confident that my goal can be achieved.
I’ve started eating sensibly and I understand what I should be doing to eat properly. I have done this before so I know exactly what sort of things are good for me and which sort of things are bad for me. For example, I had a nice pizza this weekend, and still managed to lose weight, but the rest of the week I have been exceptionally good with the rest of my food. It is about getting the balance right and not starving myself to death. However when I consider how many of my calories were coming from alcohol I’m not surprised I was gaining weight.
I think what has been frustrating is that this chest problem has limited my ability to any exercise, something which I really miss right now. I have tried to do some exercise but have really struggled to do just a half hour workout. I am also convinced that my immune system is less effective since I’ve been overweight, and is probably not helping my ability to recover.
I’ve taken pictures of myself (the dreaded before photo), because I want to be able to see the difference, not just measure it with a tape. I’m not sure what other people see, but I think having to buy larger trousers and jacket is not a good sign.
My initial target is to lose 10cm from my waist in 12 weeks, and I’m off to a good start this week as I’ve lost 2.5cm in the space of 7 days. I’m using my Tanita body fat scales to keep track of my weight, body fat and muscle mass, as well as measuring my waist.
I’ve got some medication to help clear up my chest problem, and I’m glad to say I don’t have asthma. However 7 weeks on I’d be really glad to get back to my normal exercise routine, as the current situation is quite frustrating.
Write what you eat…
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On Sunday night I had my last bottle of wine for a while. At 800 calories a pop, I cannot achieve my goal of losing weight whilst I guzzle back a couple of bottles of Pinot Grigio every weekend (and occasional week night).
So I have started keeping a food diary again using a similar format to the Fatmanslim one. I think I picked the right time to start because not being at work this week means there are less distractions and I can get my eating habits embedded. However, I am looking forward to the instructor at the gym giving me some grief when I get back. Going forward I will refer to her anonymously as Sarge. Sarge is a pretty good motivator who just lays in on the line, but somehow in a nice way. I must be a pretty easy client, because I know all things I should do and she holds me to account and makes sure I do them. It’s also nice to have a bit of enthusiastic support at the same time.
Anyway… back on topic. I’ve been writing this food diary so I can monitor what I am eating. When you have to write down everything you eat, it really makes you really think about what you’re putting in your mouth. I’ve been scoring my hunger on a scale of 1-10 (taken from the FMS programme), and that way I know I am eating for the right reasons. I’ve seen Paul McKenna use a similar method, when he talks of “Eating consciously”.
Food is the fuel for the body, so I am also being careful to fill up on cleaner fuels rather than poor quality ones. Since I’ve been eating mostly carbs up until this week I thought it was time to throw in some protein, and some fibre, and green stuff. The sad thing is we buy tons of veggies every week in the shopping, nice fresh ones, and by the end of the week have chucked most of it in the bin because it’s gone off and not been used. Even worse, I really do like courgette, asparagus, mange tout, and all the things we buy.
In short, things are going really well so far this week. If I lose a bit of weight then great! Otherwise I am just feeling generally more alert, less tired and not so dependent on caffeine to get me through the day.
I just joined a gym
Posted by: | CommentsI’ve been battling with my weight for a little while now, and the worst thing is I know exactly what I am doing which is causing me to be overweight. I now have the opportunity to use a gym through work which costs me nothing and is barely a few steps from my office. So all my excuses about exercise just evaporated.
The best thing of all is that there is a really nice gym instructor who will kick my ass and hold me to account when I go off the rails. I showed her a food diary that I kept during may, and she immediately pointed out almost everything I ate was carbs and hardly any veggies. Which when you’re vegetarian is a pretty damning statement to be sure.
It’s not like I don’t know this stuff, I’ve just been kidding myself about it. I am quite simply making the wrong choices, it isn’t complicated. Eat crap, get crap results.
So I have been taking advantage of this new facility at my disposal and I just jumped on a couple of machines doing about 30-40 minutes exercise in the morning. That is the easy part out of the way though, as I now need to get my food under control.
I decided to take a multivitamin, which I am hoping will help boost a few of those key nutrients my body currently craves. That way I can ditch the peanut butter sandwiches, and late night sessions of toast and Marmite.
So I am really going for it this time, I cannot afford to be this unhealthy or unfit any more. I will write more about my progress.
Lisa Mullen | Weekend to End Breast Cancer 2008
Posted by: | CommentsThis posting is more of a response to an email I got asking for my support, so let me start with a quote from a scientist quite relevant to the topic.
Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained. – Marie Curie
Pink Ribbon – Breast Cancer AwarenessJulie’s cousin Lisa (lives in Canada) has joined a team which is undertaking a 60km walk in Vancouver. Yes that’s right I said 60km not the usual 5km jog that we British do for our charitable works. For those working in the old system 60km is about 37 miles, and I only hope that Lisa is getting expert advice on how not to get blisters on her feet.
For women, breast cancer is one of the most common cancers and over 41,000 women are diagnosed each year as well as about 300 men. – Macmillan Cancer Support
Two people in my family have been affected by breast cancer, as well as other cancers. The more knowledge we gain about this disease the sooner we will fine a cure. I am only thankful that I haven’t lost anyone to this disease in my lifetime.
I know it sounds like another tin rattling exercise, but when you know someone how has had their breast removed, or undergone chemotherapy I think you’d change your attitude pretty quickly.
There are many great cancer charities around the world, and I’m supporting Lisa and the Weekend to End Breast cancer because it affects everyone whatever country you live in.
So please visit their TEAM PAGE by following the link and donate some cash to help save a life.
