My morning weigh in was 13st 12lbs today. For the first time my weigh starts with a 13. My target weight originally was 14 stones until I realised that it still left me outside the healthy BMI range. Now that I have set myself a goal involving climbing hills on the bike I need to go a bit lower. However, with Christmas coming it could be hard to be completely abstinent. I have decided to go into management, i.e. start eating again around the middle of December. I should be 13 stones plus or minus a couple by then.
It is possible that my first meal could be some turkey on Christmas Day. Looking at myself now, although I have a gut, it's small and needs toned more than anything else. My face, chest, arms and legs do not need to get any thinner, just my bum and belly.
Using the BMI calculator on the Lighterlife website I now have a BMI of 25.14. All I have to do now is lose one more pound and I am healthy. I now have a BMI below the UK average of 25.4.
Of course, this is based on my morning weigh in, not my official clothed and fed Tuesday night weigh in.
Sunday 25 November 2007
Day Two Hundred...
I've made it to day 200. Some how these round numbers always seem to spur me on. It's been an interesting ride and there's a little more to go. I've just reread my post for my 100th day and was a surprised I didn't make more of it. I just wrote a couple of short paragraphs.
So, after two hundred days of starvation how do I feel?
Great.
I have achieved every goal I've set myself and am still on target. I am now motivated to move on to some serious challenges with my attempts at the Alpine climbs in the summer but am really looking forward to it. I've lost over 10 stones, dropped 10 inches from my gut and started to exercise seriously. It's been great.
I awoke early, as usual, got into my cycling gear and headed off to Richmond Park. I pushed it a bit harder on the way there and was a couple of minutes faster than last week, but I didn't feel any more tired. That made me confident that I could beat my previous time of 3x10km laps. Unfortunately a dreadful wind meant that even though I tried harder than my 1st effort my time was almost exactly the same. The wind also turned my feet into ice blocks.
After my laps I had a bit of a stretch and headed for home. I really pushed the pace up and was surprised at how much energy I still had left. I guess I have to try harder on the laps.
I went shopping with the missus in the afternoon. We bought Guitar Hero 3 and spent the rest of the night playing rock tunes. I went to bed pretty tired.
So, after two hundred days of starvation how do I feel?
Great.
I have achieved every goal I've set myself and am still on target. I am now motivated to move on to some serious challenges with my attempts at the Alpine climbs in the summer but am really looking forward to it. I've lost over 10 stones, dropped 10 inches from my gut and started to exercise seriously. It's been great.
I awoke early, as usual, got into my cycling gear and headed off to Richmond Park. I pushed it a bit harder on the way there and was a couple of minutes faster than last week, but I didn't feel any more tired. That made me confident that I could beat my previous time of 3x10km laps. Unfortunately a dreadful wind meant that even though I tried harder than my 1st effort my time was almost exactly the same. The wind also turned my feet into ice blocks.
After my laps I had a bit of a stretch and headed for home. I really pushed the pace up and was surprised at how much energy I still had left. I guess I have to try harder on the laps.
I went shopping with the missus in the afternoon. We bought Guitar Hero 3 and spent the rest of the night playing rock tunes. I went to bed pretty tired.
Wednesday 21 November 2007
Day One Hundred and Ninety Six... weigh in
This week has been a pretty slow week in terms of losing pounds. I have been the same weight, every morning sine last Friday and so didn't expect much from this week's weigh in. Therefore, I was surprised and delighted to chalk another 4lbs off my total. My new official weigh in is now 14 stones and 3lbs. This means I have now lost over ten stones and also now weigh under 200lbs. I haven't been this light since secondary school.
I am still freezing cold. This change in the weather does not agree with me at all. Even at home with the heating on full I find myself shivering and needing to wear extrea clothes.
I visited the gym at work to have a chat about joining and seeing one of the intructors. Unfortunately they were all busy givinh classes as it as lunch time. I've arranged to go back another time. I am looking for a plan to help me get the fitness required to get me up some serious mountains on the bike.
I am still freezing cold. This change in the weather does not agree with me at all. Even at home with the heating on full I find myself shivering and needing to wear extrea clothes.
I visited the gym at work to have a chat about joining and seeing one of the intructors. Unfortunately they were all busy givinh classes as it as lunch time. I've arranged to go back another time. I am looking for a plan to help me get the fitness required to get me up some serious mountains on the bike.
Sunday 18 November 2007
Day One Hundred and Ninety Two...
I awoke in the morning quite tired and thought about dozing, but I'd laid out my cycling gear the previous night and was determined to get out for a training run.
I had a shake, dressed, filled my water bottle and started off for Richmond Park. The park is almost exactly 5 miles from my home so I am well warmed up when I arrive. I decided to cycle anti-clockwise this time and started my time trial. Each lap of is 10km and my training run is 3 times round. This gives a total of nearly 30 miles which is a decent session as I try to get fit.
My total for the three lap was 1hr 25mins and 17secs which is pretty poor for a decent cyclist, but I was happy just to finish to be honest. A few of the climbs are pretty hard when you've only had 125 calories for breakfast and you burned more than that before you even started the time trial. I'm looking forward to a time where I can actually have some spare energy in my system.
Before starting for home I had a little stretch and phoned the missus to ask here to run a bath. My feet were absolutely freezing and I could think of no better way to get some life back into them than a nice bath. The rest of my body was fine, the lycra tights and the new jacket seemed to keep the elements out.
When I got back the missus had run my bath and I dunked myself for about half an hour relaxing all my muscles. I was surprised that although I was tired I had no aches or pains.
After getting dressed we took the tube into town where we looked at clothes. I got a new suit. I ended up going for a Ted Baker which after trying many others was an instant favourite. It fits snugly and will give me room to shrink a little. My current shape required no additional tailoring, but they assistant said if I continue to shrink they'll take it in at no charge. That gave me the piece of mind to go for it.
When we got home I listened to Scotland lose to Italy on the radio and was a bit gutted so we went to bed early and watched a movie with the missus on the laptop before falling into a deep sleep.
I had a shake, dressed, filled my water bottle and started off for Richmond Park. The park is almost exactly 5 miles from my home so I am well warmed up when I arrive. I decided to cycle anti-clockwise this time and started my time trial. Each lap of is 10km and my training run is 3 times round. This gives a total of nearly 30 miles which is a decent session as I try to get fit.
My total for the three lap was 1hr 25mins and 17secs which is pretty poor for a decent cyclist, but I was happy just to finish to be honest. A few of the climbs are pretty hard when you've only had 125 calories for breakfast and you burned more than that before you even started the time trial. I'm looking forward to a time where I can actually have some spare energy in my system.
Before starting for home I had a little stretch and phoned the missus to ask here to run a bath. My feet were absolutely freezing and I could think of no better way to get some life back into them than a nice bath. The rest of my body was fine, the lycra tights and the new jacket seemed to keep the elements out.
When I got back the missus had run my bath and I dunked myself for about half an hour relaxing all my muscles. I was surprised that although I was tired I had no aches or pains.
After getting dressed we took the tube into town where we looked at clothes. I got a new suit. I ended up going for a Ted Baker which after trying many others was an instant favourite. It fits snugly and will give me room to shrink a little. My current shape required no additional tailoring, but they assistant said if I continue to shrink they'll take it in at no charge. That gave me the piece of mind to go for it.
When we got home I listened to Scotland lose to Italy on the radio and was a bit gutted so we went to bed early and watched a movie with the missus on the laptop before falling into a deep sleep.
Thursday 15 November 2007
Day One Hundred and Ninety...
I'm wasn't at work to do as I had to go to an appointment with the missus. Once we were done we caught the tube home stopping off at Sloane Square for a look round the. shops.
I fancied a new winter jacket. I had a great waterproof warm parka that I loved and needed to find a suitably large replacement. In the end I found a very snug North Face jacket that should see me through this cold snap and beyond.
A good friend yesterday told be he's planning on getting married next month. This is obviously all happening very fast. He's asked me to be his witness at the registry office, so I guess I'll need to get myself a suit. I had a look today and saw some lovely ones. There's a Ted Baker and a Reiss one that I'm very tempted with. I guess I'm going to have to leave it as long as I can so I am close to my finishing weight as possible. I don't want to spend a whole load of cash on a suit for it not to fit me a month later.
I am really cold tonight, but am feeling good that I am buying normal size clothes. My new jacket is a medium, although my suit size is still on the large side. I am a 42 chest and a 36 waist. I reckon a 40 chest and a 34 waist would be perfect for me. I'm hoping in four weeks I can get down to that size. I this this is an attainable goal. About three weeks ago I got some sale trousers in Next for £5. I bought them in size 36 and a pair of 34s too. At the time I couldn't fasten the 34s, but now they go on in relative comfort, so I should manage a 34 in 'posh' trousers.
I fancied a new winter jacket. I had a great waterproof warm parka that I loved and needed to find a suitably large replacement. In the end I found a very snug North Face jacket that should see me through this cold snap and beyond.
A good friend yesterday told be he's planning on getting married next month. This is obviously all happening very fast. He's asked me to be his witness at the registry office, so I guess I'll need to get myself a suit. I had a look today and saw some lovely ones. There's a Ted Baker and a Reiss one that I'm very tempted with. I guess I'm going to have to leave it as long as I can so I am close to my finishing weight as possible. I don't want to spend a whole load of cash on a suit for it not to fit me a month later.
I am really cold tonight, but am feeling good that I am buying normal size clothes. My new jacket is a medium, although my suit size is still on the large side. I am a 42 chest and a 36 waist. I reckon a 40 chest and a 34 waist would be perfect for me. I'm hoping in four weeks I can get down to that size. I this this is an attainable goal. About three weeks ago I got some sale trousers in Next for £5. I bought them in size 36 and a pair of 34s too. At the time I couldn't fasten the 34s, but now they go on in relative comfort, so I should manage a 34 in 'posh' trousers.
Wednesday 14 November 2007
Day One Hundred and Eighty Eight... weigh in
Just a quick update before bed.
I lost 3lbs this week. Unfortunately this left me 1lb short of my 10 stone target. However, my 139 pounds total is not too shabby.
We talked about where we want to be in future in the class tonight and all I could think about was the goal I've set myself in getting up L'Alpe d'Huez. The enormity of it scares me a bit. I hope it spurs me on rather than causes me to freeze.
I also asked my counsellor to order me in my management book as I reckon in a month or so I'll be ready to start that journey. My BMI is now 26 and is just above the magic 25.
For the first time I am now getting people telling em not to lose anymore weight. When I explain that I am still at least a stone and a half overweight nobody believes me. I am now 14 stones and 7 pounds. I can actually lose 4 stones and still havea healthy BMI. My goal is just to be healthy for the New Year.
I lost 3lbs this week. Unfortunately this left me 1lb short of my 10 stone target. However, my 139 pounds total is not too shabby.
We talked about where we want to be in future in the class tonight and all I could think about was the goal I've set myself in getting up L'Alpe d'Huez. The enormity of it scares me a bit. I hope it spurs me on rather than causes me to freeze.
I also asked my counsellor to order me in my management book as I reckon in a month or so I'll be ready to start that journey. My BMI is now 26 and is just above the magic 25.
For the first time I am now getting people telling em not to lose anymore weight. When I explain that I am still at least a stone and a half overweight nobody believes me. I am now 14 stones and 7 pounds. I can actually lose 4 stones and still havea healthy BMI. My goal is just to be healthy for the New Year.
Tuesday 13 November 2007
Day One Hundred and Eighty Eight...
A spooky thing happened to me today.
I was in the lift on my way to a meeting in a building I used to work in. I saw one of my old colleagues in the lift and said Hi. I got a polite 'Hi' back, to which I replied 'how are you doing?' The guy looked completely confused.
I asked, "you don't recognise me, do you?" He didn't. When I explained who I was he was amazed.
I didn't think I'd changed that much.
I was in the lift on my way to a meeting in a building I used to work in. I saw one of my old colleagues in the lift and said Hi. I got a polite 'Hi' back, to which I replied 'how are you doing?' The guy looked completely confused.
I asked, "you don't recognise me, do you?" He didn't. When I explained who I was he was amazed.
I didn't think I'd changed that much.
Day One Hundred and Eighty Eight...
I ordered a whole stack of books the other day from Amazon in an attempt to get some motivation on my new goal of climbing some serious alpine hills on the bike.
They all arrived at work on Monday and I carried them home. I don't normally have a lot of time to read books so I wasn't really sure when I'd get a chance to bury myself in them.
They arrived packaged up in a nice box which was great for carrying them home. Except that I didn't have any gloves and my hands were freezing. This is really weird for me. I never get cold, but on Lighterlife, I've been freezing for a while. I need to get myself a big jacket and look out my snowboarding gloves.
I decided that the best way to warm up and guarantee I got to read was to run a bath and stay in there for as long as possible before going to bed. The plan worked. I managed to read the whole thing, finishing just before 12. I then drifted off to some great sleep.
I read Flying Scotsman by Graeme Obree. You may remember him as the guy who built his bike from an old washing machine and proceeded to become world champion and smash record after record.
It was a great read. It was great to just spend time with my head buried in a book. I do not do enough of that these days.
They all arrived at work on Monday and I carried them home. I don't normally have a lot of time to read books so I wasn't really sure when I'd get a chance to bury myself in them.
They arrived packaged up in a nice box which was great for carrying them home. Except that I didn't have any gloves and my hands were freezing. This is really weird for me. I never get cold, but on Lighterlife, I've been freezing for a while. I need to get myself a big jacket and look out my snowboarding gloves.
I decided that the best way to warm up and guarantee I got to read was to run a bath and stay in there for as long as possible before going to bed. The plan worked. I managed to read the whole thing, finishing just before 12. I then drifted off to some great sleep.
I read Flying Scotsman by Graeme Obree. You may remember him as the guy who built his bike from an old washing machine and proceeded to become world champion and smash record after record.
It was a great read. It was great to just spend time with my head buried in a book. I do not do enough of that these days.
Saturday 10 November 2007
Day One Hundred and Eighty Six...
I was desperate to get out on the bike today, but since I had no decent clothes that fitted me I decided to go to decathlon and get some gear instead.
I got a nice jacket and a pair of lycra tights. Yup, lycra tights. I can't believe I am going to end up wearing tights. A couple of months ago I wouldn't dream of wearing them and now I'll happily go out in public with them on.
Someone asked me if I had a before and after picture. I haven't posted one of those on here yet, so it seems like a good time.
Here's me a month before starting Ligherlife weighing 24 stones and 6 pounds. This was a dress up for work day for comic relief.
And here I am today at around 14 stone and 10 pounds. I put on my new tights and jacket...
Tomorrow I am off to go indoor skydiving. Right back at the start of the programme I tried to find things to to that I couldn't do when fat. Skydiving is one. The missus decided to treat me to some lessons and tomorrow is the big day. I'm really looking forward to it.
I got a nice jacket and a pair of lycra tights. Yup, lycra tights. I can't believe I am going to end up wearing tights. A couple of months ago I wouldn't dream of wearing them and now I'll happily go out in public with them on.
Someone asked me if I had a before and after picture. I haven't posted one of those on here yet, so it seems like a good time.
Here's me a month before starting Ligherlife weighing 24 stones and 6 pounds. This was a dress up for work day for comic relief.
And here I am today at around 14 stone and 10 pounds. I put on my new tights and jacket...
Tomorrow I am off to go indoor skydiving. Right back at the start of the programme I tried to find things to to that I couldn't do when fat. Skydiving is one. The missus decided to treat me to some lessons and tomorrow is the big day. I'm really looking forward to it.
Day One Hundred and Eighty Two...weigh in
This weigh in marks 1/2 a year on Lighterlife.
Forgive me if I sound smug... I have completed 6 months of this crazy diet without ever cheating. There have been ups and downs, but I've managed to focus and stay on track.
This week's weigh in showed another loss of 5 pounds. In total I have lost 136 pounds. I now weigh under 15 stones. With any luck I will lose another 4lbs this week and maybe go through the 10 stones lost barrier.
I am delighted.
As part of my plan to cycle up Alpe d'Huez I decided to splash out and buy a road bike. My mountain bike is not the machine I want to go up these alpine roads on. I bought a Wiler Mortirolo as it fitted me very nicely and was, quite frankly, the best looking bike in the shop. I'll post a picture soon.
I took it for a few laps of Richmond Park and it's gorgeous to ride. However, I was a bit cold at the end of the trip so I guess I'll need some warmer cycling clothes. Obviously I have none that fit me anymore.
Forgive me if I sound smug... I have completed 6 months of this crazy diet without ever cheating. There have been ups and downs, but I've managed to focus and stay on track.
This week's weigh in showed another loss of 5 pounds. In total I have lost 136 pounds. I now weigh under 15 stones. With any luck I will lose another 4lbs this week and maybe go through the 10 stones lost barrier.
I am delighted.
As part of my plan to cycle up Alpe d'Huez I decided to splash out and buy a road bike. My mountain bike is not the machine I want to go up these alpine roads on. I bought a Wiler Mortirolo as it fitted me very nicely and was, quite frankly, the best looking bike in the shop. I'll post a picture soon.
I took it for a few laps of Richmond Park and it's gorgeous to ride. However, I was a bit cold at the end of the trip so I guess I'll need some warmer cycling clothes. Obviously I have none that fit me anymore.
Day One Hundred and Seventy Five...weigh in
After a 3lbs loss last week I was hoping for a bigger loss this week and I got one. It was back to 5lbs. I am really hoping for big losses at the moment. I am hoping to get into management before xmas so that I can have a slice of turkey on the 25th.
I have now lost 131 pounds.
I have also decided that my final goal on my weight loss journeu is to climb L'Alpe d'Huez on my bike next summer. This will be hard. Very very hard. I have decided to start light training immediately and will make this training a lot more extreme once I am eating again.
The Tour de France go up Alpe d'Huez on the 23rd of July and I'd like to try to do it on the day before or the day after. This does not give me a lot of time to get fit. The weight loss will simply not be enough. I'll have to rebuild my fitness and my muscles from scratch.
I have now lost 131 pounds.
I have also decided that my final goal on my weight loss journeu is to climb L'Alpe d'Huez on my bike next summer. This will be hard. Very very hard. I have decided to start light training immediately and will make this training a lot more extreme once I am eating again.
The Tour de France go up Alpe d'Huez on the 23rd of July and I'd like to try to do it on the day before or the day after. This does not give me a lot of time to get fit. The weight loss will simply not be enough. I'll have to rebuild my fitness and my muscles from scratch.
Athens
We arrived into Athens in the early afternoon and managed to find our hotel in the middle of the city fairly easily.
My mate had booked ups a twin room. When we arrived we thought we got a double, but on closer inspection it was two singles pushed together. The room was as cheap as chips and was pretty decent. Once we separated the beds a little and unpacked we wandered off to see Athens.
We just walked about. I was interested in a couple of pairs of shoes and a watch, but we didn't see much either of us fancied. The weather was nice and warm without being too hot, although Ian, being a Highlander (and not on LL) thought it was boiling. I actually wore a jacket as I still have cold hands and a lower core body temperature than I am used to.
Once we'd wandered around and got our bearing we went back to the hotel. Ian knew I would not be eating and drinking and was happy to have a takeaway sandwich for his dinner.
The next day we decided we'd go to visit The Acropolis. This historic site is probably the most important thing to see in Athens. Since it was a good day we decided to walk from the hotel and soak up some sun. There was a lot of work going on as they are renovating the museum and repairing the sites. Here are a couple of shots of the Parthenon.
That was about as good as I could get without all the builders in the way.
In the afternoon we went to a restaurant so Ian could have some dinner. I munched a bar from my shirt pocket and had a litre of water. He had lamb souvlaki and baklavas for desert. I was jealous but not even a little bit tempted.
After wandering back to the hotel we decided to leave to go to the fotball stadium to watch the Aberdeen vs Panathaniakos match. On the way we passed many riot police with shields and well used batons. They also had what looked like tear gass grenades. It was very disconcerting. In the ground our support had a netted off area behind the goal, again it was very intimidating. The match went off without incident and although we lost 3-0 and took ages finding our way home it was a good night.
Back at the hotel I raided the vending machine for more water, mixed up my last shake and went to bed.
My mate had booked ups a twin room. When we arrived we thought we got a double, but on closer inspection it was two singles pushed together. The room was as cheap as chips and was pretty decent. Once we separated the beds a little and unpacked we wandered off to see Athens.
We just walked about. I was interested in a couple of pairs of shoes and a watch, but we didn't see much either of us fancied. The weather was nice and warm without being too hot, although Ian, being a Highlander (and not on LL) thought it was boiling. I actually wore a jacket as I still have cold hands and a lower core body temperature than I am used to.
Once we'd wandered around and got our bearing we went back to the hotel. Ian knew I would not be eating and drinking and was happy to have a takeaway sandwich for his dinner.
The next day we decided we'd go to visit The Acropolis. This historic site is probably the most important thing to see in Athens. Since it was a good day we decided to walk from the hotel and soak up some sun. There was a lot of work going on as they are renovating the museum and repairing the sites. Here are a couple of shots of the Parthenon.
That was about as good as I could get without all the builders in the way.
In the afternoon we went to a restaurant so Ian could have some dinner. I munched a bar from my shirt pocket and had a litre of water. He had lamb souvlaki and baklavas for desert. I was jealous but not even a little bit tempted.
After wandering back to the hotel we decided to leave to go to the fotball stadium to watch the Aberdeen vs Panathaniakos match. On the way we passed many riot police with shields and well used batons. They also had what looked like tear gass grenades. It was very disconcerting. In the ground our support had a netted off area behind the goal, again it was very intimidating. The match went off without incident and although we lost 3-0 and took ages finding our way home it was a good night.
Back at the hotel I raided the vending machine for more water, mixed up my last shake and went to bed.
Day One Hundred and Sixty Eight...weigh in
First of all I have to again apologise for the lack of updates. I am now giving up on trying to daily post and will now officially just update it when I can be arsed. Hopefully this will make me post more often, as I've been put off writing as I had so much to catch up on.
Work was crazy. We had our worst ever failure since I started nearly eight years ago. Everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong. I forced myself to leave the office to make my Lighterlife class at 9pm and I only just made it. I had to leave the room to attend a conference call which was embarrassing. However the problem for resolved around 10pm and I managed to lose 3lbs this week. I guess that is a positive outcome. My new total weight loss is 126lbs.
My friend was flying down from Aberdeen that evening so we could head out to Athens the next morning. The missus went off to the airport to pick him up while I was in class. Unfortunately his flight was delayed by an hour or so and he didn't arrive back to our place until around midnight. He hasn't seen me since I started Lighterlife so was completely gobsmacked when he saw me. He actually thought I looked a bit ill. To quote him, "you look like a cancer victim".
I was completely knackered after a stressful day, but the truth is I have stated to look a lot more tired recently. I have more lines around my eyes and they are more sunken. I knew this was coming. I have an uncle who lost several stones Lighterlife and he also looked drawn and gaunt towards the end and continued to look slightly sickly for around a year. I think it is the loose skin on your face just not looking right for a while.
Anyway, I wasn't really up for chatting as our taxi was picking us up at 5.15am the next morning so we both went straight to bed.
Work was crazy. We had our worst ever failure since I started nearly eight years ago. Everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong. I forced myself to leave the office to make my Lighterlife class at 9pm and I only just made it. I had to leave the room to attend a conference call which was embarrassing. However the problem for resolved around 10pm and I managed to lose 3lbs this week. I guess that is a positive outcome. My new total weight loss is 126lbs.
My friend was flying down from Aberdeen that evening so we could head out to Athens the next morning. The missus went off to the airport to pick him up while I was in class. Unfortunately his flight was delayed by an hour or so and he didn't arrive back to our place until around midnight. He hasn't seen me since I started Lighterlife so was completely gobsmacked when he saw me. He actually thought I looked a bit ill. To quote him, "you look like a cancer victim".
I was completely knackered after a stressful day, but the truth is I have stated to look a lot more tired recently. I have more lines around my eyes and they are more sunken. I knew this was coming. I have an uncle who lost several stones Lighterlife and he also looked drawn and gaunt towards the end and continued to look slightly sickly for around a year. I think it is the loose skin on your face just not looking right for a while.
Anyway, I wasn't really up for chatting as our taxi was picking us up at 5.15am the next morning so we both went straight to bed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)