The Beginning

2009 was a year I will never forget. Still hurting from loss of my father at the end of the previous year, priorities in my life had taken a huge shift.

One of the highlights of my year was a trip to Romania helping a charity called Habitat for Humanity to build new houses for local orphans. What I saw there will stay with me forever, not least the enduring sights of this wheezing hulk scrambling up and down ladders and squeezing onto scaffolding.

In December 2009, my wife Debs and I went on holiday to Thailand. We had the most amazing time and met some wonderful new friends. When I got home, like most people, I uploaded the photos to the computer.

What I saw made me speechless.

The old adage about the camera adding 10 pounds must have come to bear on these photographs. Were 4 cameras trained on me? I knew I was a big guy, but not like that. The difference between my own body perception and the reality was immense. I had no idea I was just so, well, huge!

I knew immediately something had to be done. My health was suffering, my heart starting to flutter, and I'd already had an "in-denial" run in with my GP over very high blood pressure. Thoughts of my health immediately made me think of Dad. I really had to change.

I had followed diets before, but each time had failed after 4 or so months. Previously, I'd set myself weekly targets, forecasts, projections of the exact date I would reach my goal weight, everything. The Project Manager in me just wouldn't lie down! I had to have programmes, plans and projections. In the end, I had lost a few stone before falling behind and ultimately giving it all up as a bad job and putting the weight back on.

If I was forced to guess,I would say I've probably lost 10 stone in my life in 3 or 4 bursts, but have regained it. Why, I couldn't say. Probably some combination of psychology, boredom, chasing targets, short term thinking.

This blog will set out the results as I strive to have a "normal" weight for the first time since 1995. I'm making this all public so that you, my friends and family, can keep me motivated and on track.

It's probably worth saying that I've set this blog up in early July, so ignore the dates on the posts for now and rely on the headings to the posts themselves!

January 2010

I'm hoping that this blog will become a monthly record of my thoughts as I work on my weight over the coming year. I'll public some personal statistics. I'll also give a running commentary on my weight changes (hopefully a loss every time!)

I was torn. I knew that I had failed diets in the past, but my entire character is built around structure. I needed some kind of organised system to my food intake.

This time, I wanted an entire lifestyle change.

It would be no good if I was to do the same things I had done previously over and over again. I quickly realised that setting my tendency to set weekly targets was disincentivising me. Once I had started to slip behind the (somewhat arbitary) target, the thought of having to lose the normal amount of weight (which was hard enough) PLUS some extra was a big problem.

So out went the target date, and I knew that this was about the long term - quite frankly, this was the rest of my life.

So I made small changes. I would walk more, and quicker. I would not see "being out of breath" as a bad thing. I would cut down on the crap food, and reduce my alcohol intake.

My plan was to see what a month of cutting back would do.

Weight

So here's what the sadists out there have been waiting for; my starting weight.

January 1st 2010: 18st 0lb

For a 5'10" man, this put me firmly in the category of morbidly obese. Wow. I had a problem. By making the small changes I outlined above, this is what happened.

February 6th 2010: 17st 1.5lb

I was now simply "very obese" rather than ready to drop, but I still had a long way to go.

February 2010

After the success of January, I became more and more convinced about the "diet" being less than a bandwagon to jump on and off. It really was about a change of lifestyle, and that I should learn to adapt to the various things life tends to throw at you. OK, so my weight will go up and down, but I could learn to save some calories ready for the odd weekend out.

I signed up to a low-fat diet by following the WeightWatchers plan, which had worked well in short bursts for me in the past. WW assigns "points" based on a combination of calories and saturated fat contained in whatever you eat. The more calories, the more satfat, the more points it contains. Everyone gets a certain number of points a day and it's entirely up to you to decide how to "spend" them.

It's surprised me still how many points so many of the things I take for granted have. The first things to go were bread and chocolate and I stopped taking sugar in my tea.

A spoonful of sugar contains 25 calories. 4 cups of tea a day equates to a hundred calories. This is approximately 5% of the total calorific intake for a man. Shocking!

It was amazing what effect small changes could have.

Weight Change

I started tracking my weight every week at this point. These are my weigh-in results - I weigh myself every Thursday morning before breakfast on the same scales in the en-suite bathroom. I've also set alongside some comments I made at the time of recording my weight

11th February: 17st 0lb

18th February: 16st 11lb "Delighted. 3lb in just a week. Look forward to more of the same. Target is 16st 9lb for next week - should be OK as I'm just under the 16.11 ;-)"

25th February: 16st 7.5lb "What?! Too much to be believable I'm afraid. Although I know I've genuinely stuck to [WW] points this week, 3.5lb is a little on the high side. Expect 0.5lb next week, if anything."

Measurements

Not content with measuring what I ate and what I weighed, I thought it would be helpful to me to take some critical measurements. This is important for keeping up the morale when the weight loss isn't as expected!

Here are the starting points in all their glory...

Waist 122cm
Chest 114cm
Calves 45cm
Neck 46cm
Upper Arms 34cm
Thighs 61cm

March 2010

By March, I was well on the way and enjoying losing weight. The first compliments had started coming in - the odd puzzled look followed by "Erm...have you lost weight?" This is where you start to really get a good feeling about it all; people noticing, nods of approval - all make you feel great. The buz you get is better than any chocolate eclair!

At this time, I had become interested in local politics and my spare time was taken up with the various activities that entails. I was beginning to test the hypotheses around lifestyle changes, and the fact that life would throw the odd obstacle in your way. This was the test of where I could learn to accommodate nights out and weekends away.

Weight Change

4th March: 16st 6.5lb "Another pound is really good when I thought last week's was a rogue reading. Again, I'm happy with that, particularly when there was a big night out last Friday! I kept to my points exactly over the whole week. Soon to hit 16st, into the 15s and then it's gym time!"

11th March: 16st 6lb "Half a pound this week, which is OK considering the Lynyrd Skynyrd concert. (It's actually 0.8 pounds, but rounding errors make it 0.5lb)".

18th March: 16st 4.4 lb "Still on a downwards trend. Another big weekend using our auction voucher at the posh hotel, and still managed to lose. Clothes getting looser, face looking thinner. Measurements this week on Sunday. Really pleased with the way this is going. Wonder if I'll get into the 15's by the end of the month?"

25th March: 16st 2.8lb "Marvellous. Fantastic. Really pleased with this one. I feel much better and my clothes are starting to get loose. I suppose that an unforeseen effect: the fortune I'm about to spend on new clothes! The 15's are not so far away - a couple of weeks maybe?"

I was increasingly body conscious at this time, and I was nervous about hitting the gym. I was also worried about how much work I could realistically put in. More about this later!

Measurements

Waist 117cm (-5cm)
Chest 114cm (n/c)
Calves 44cm (-1cm)
Neck 45cm (-1cm)
Upper Arms 31cm (-3cm)
Thighs 61cm (n/c)

April 2010

This month was going to prove be my biggest test so far. I had committed to running a General Election campaign for a local candidate, and I knew the change to my routine (coupled with invitations to regular nights out) was going to push my willpower to the limits.

On the other hand, of course, I was increasing my cardiovascular activity pounding the streets delivering leaflets and talking to people on their doorsteps. It is surprising how much all this adds up.

In the end, it was simple. I had to keep telling myself that the whole philosophy was: "This is the rest of your life."

Watching what you eat is something normal people do all the time; I just needed some guidance and re-eduction as to what to avoid.

Simples?

Weight Change

1st April: 16st 0.6lb "So close to the magical 15's. But never mind. This is a good loss this week. I stuck exactly to my points for the week, and this is the result."

8th April: 15st 13.2lb "Down into the 15s now. Really happy. Lots more compliments and am getting into smaller clothes. Starting to see some bone structure in my chest as well :-D Stuck exactly to my points this week as well - some activity points gained by the leafletting activity of the First 72 Hour campaign."

15th April: 15st 12.8lb "Another good result following what was, quite frankly, a ridiculous idea to eat half a 12" pizza on Friday night. Doh! Amazed I lost anything to be honest!"

22nd April: 15st 9.8lb "A bogus reading?"

29th April: 15st 9.2lb "Delighted that last week's apparent bogus reading was not far off the mark. More compliments this week. Am starting to enjoy this!!"

Measurements

Waist 111cm (-11cm)
Chest 114cm (n/c)
Calves 44cm (-1cm)
Neck 43.5cm (-2.5cm)
Upper Arms 30.5cm (-3.5cm)
Thighs 57cm (-4cm)

It seemed as though I need not have worried. Throughout April, I lost over 5 pounds, at an overall rate of about a pound a week.

A pound a week doesn't seem like much, but is a good sustainable rate at which to reduce weight.

May 2010

By the end of the General Election, I was physically and mentally exhausted. Suddenly, weight loss was not my main priority and I was worried that I had lost motivation.

This is where the new mindset helped. What was I losing motivation of? Nothing. This was an entire lifestyle change, so there was nothing particularly that I needed to "stop".

My social life was getting back on track. Two good friends were getting married, and there was of course the mandatory stag event. I wasn't expecting much by way of weight loss results throughout the month.

Weight Change

6th May: 15st 11lb "Campaign Week. No tracking, lots of beer, restaurants, greasy breakfasts. 2 and a bit pounds on from last week is not a bad result!"

13th May: 15st 9.6lb "I'm not getting back to where I was before all the excesses of the General Election. OK with that. Just need to get back into the habit of point tracking. It's surprising how quickly one can get out of the habit - and what happens when one does!"

20th May: 15st 9.4lb "Weight has yo-yo'd in the past few weeks due to GE campaign (breakfasts, pub, etc) and a big stag do last weekend. To have still lost anything is impressive!"

27th May: 15st 8lb "Back on the downward trend. Holiday next week though. Will have to get weighed on Wednesday morning and pretend it's Thursday."

Measurements

Waist 111cm (-11cm)
Chest 112cm (-2cm)
Calves 43cm (-2cm)
Neck 44cm (-2cm)
Upper Arms 31cm (-3cm)
Thighs 56.5cm (-4.5cm)

This are charts of my plotted weight loss to date as I record it.

I'll include the latest charts every month in new posts from now on:

(click to enlarge)

Isn't it funny how the mindset changes?

Towards the end of May, I noticed I was the same weight I was on 29th April. In the past, I'd have become annoyed; the fact I hadn't lost weight would have put me behind my monthly target (remember those?!) I would have lost interest and given up.

But now, I had a different logic.

DESPITE all the late nights, the beer, the sausages and the stag do, I haven't put any weight on.

I was looking forward to June. Debs and I booked a long needed holiday to Rhodes and this would help me to understand how I could cope with no weight or food tracking at all!

A final note: The law of unintended consequences

In May, I put about £200 worth of clothes into a bin bag for my Brother in Law; clothes that I bought within the last 6 months but which are now far too big for me.

I've also spent hours of time and another £200 trudging round the Designer outlet village buying new clothes that actually fit!

They don't tell you this when you sign up!

June 2010

The holiday was amazing. We were away for a good week and a half, and returned recuperated with batteries charged. The best thing was being able to take my T-shirt off around the pool and not be so self-conscious that I had to keep my arms folded; I had grown used to such protective self-conscious actions.

Of course, at this point, I'm still very overweight, but not as much as I have been. My own image of myself is improving; I have more energy and can concentrate more.

Work was incredibly busy before and after and a focus on weight loss wasn't the main thing on my mind. This is probably evident in the lack of comments in the weight records below.

In June, I hit the infamous plateau. This happens when your body has finally adjusted to the new regime and your metabolism switches accordingly. When this happens, it is time to try something new. So, when a timely flyer dropped through the letterbox with a special offer from the gym, I took this as fate and paid them a visit.

Weight Change

3rd June No measurement. On holiday.

10th June: 15st 12.8lb "Holiday weight. Love it.Not to worry. Back on plan now. Will have to start thinking about the gym soon."

17th June: 15st 10.8lb

24th June: 15st 10.2lb "I've joined a gym. This plateau thing is a pain."

(click to enlarge)

You'll note immediately that the graph can be divided into two sections. The clear weight loss in the first section, leveling off about 1/2 way along.

The key for me here was to understand that this plateau was a long-term. To be able to go on a stag do and a wedding reception and not put masses of weight on was a big deal for me.

Measurements

Waist 110.5cm (-11.5cm)
Chest 114cm (n/c)
Calves 44cm (-1cm)
Neck 44cm (-2cm)
Upper Arms 31cm (-3cm)
Thighs 56cm (-5cm)

Despite the mind tricks I've been playing with myself, just two pounds in an entire month is not good enough. It seemed at this point I had run out of excuses.

Next month. The gym beckons.....

July 2010

July has been quite simply, an outstanding month.

The gym has really kickstarted my weight loss and I've crashed through a number of weight loss goals. Debs and I signed up for the gym at the end of June. After two inductions and some time getting used to the various equipment, we have spent time with our trainer developing our training plans and been given some pretty challenging goals. Nevertheless, the workouts are strangely addictive, and even on our rest days, we find ourselves itching to work out.

If you are interested, this is our gym: Burntwood Court

In addition, I've studied more about the diet I've been following. Weightwatchers has been good so far, but I'm concerned that it concentrates solely on saturated fat, to the exclusion of other factors such as protein, carbs and salt. By tracking what I eat in a different way, I have found myself with more energy and am less beholden to one constituent of food.

I would say that this new way of tracking is something I can do for the long-term; WW is likely to be something I would become bored with once my goal is reached. I'm still in this for the long-term, it's just a different way of looking at things.

Weight Change

1st July: 15st 7.2lb "3 pounds this week. My biggest loss for a long time. Have been going to the gym for a week and a bit now, so something is obviously working!"

8th July: 15st 3.8lb "Got to be happy with that. The gym is really working now (judging by the aches and pains) and I've crashed through my official 10% barrier. Never thought I'd see this. A few milestones are coming up: 14s, into the "overweight" and out of the "obese" category. and getting to the same weight as I was when Debs and I first met. Ahhh."

15th July: 15st 1.8lb "I really seem to have overcome the plateau now. My weight is tumbling pretty quickly, and I'd be amazed if I wasn't losing body fat % too. I've a few mini-goals coming up such as (i) sub 100 kilos (ii) 14 st something for the first time since 2002 (iii) the weight I was in 2001 when Debs and I met (iv) sub 200 pounds. Have an appointment at the docs this week to check on BP and cholesterol. This will be useful to see if all is OK health-wise."

22nd July: 14st 13lb "Today is the day that I say goodbye to 15 stone. In addition I have officially become "overweight" rather than "obese". I have reached, roughly, the halfway mark. Today feels good."

29th July: 14st 9.2lb "Big loss this week. A new regime; a wave goodbye to the "low fat" diet and concentrating on calories, carbs, protein, salt. This will be a much healthier way to lose weight and I'll be able to look at other important dietary content."

(click to enlarge)

You'll note the reference on 15th July to a Blood Pressure check. Last Christmas, my BP had moved into the "almost needs medication to get it back to normal" category. Happily, the latest check seemed to suggest it was moving in the right direction and, whilst still slightly above what it should be, is approaching normality.

I still have to recognise that,despite the good work, I am very overweight and have a long way to go to reach my ultimate goal weight.

Measurements

Waist 104cm (-18cm)
Chest 108cm (-6cm)
Calves 42cm (-3cm)
Neck 42cm (-4cm)
Upper Arms 30cm (-4cm)
Thighs 51cm (-10cm)

As you'll no doubt see, I'm considerably smaller this month that I have been before. Clearly the new regime works!

I'm now in a position to start creating my weight loss rules. No doubt I'll add to these as I go on:

Paul's Weight Loss Rules

#1 Do not spend your time on faddy diets. The simple fact is that you have to burn more calories in a day than you consume to lose weight. Any diet will work if it follows this rule.

#2 Exercise. Go to the gym. If you think you are too fat to go, you are not. People will respect you for recognising that you need to be there.

#3 Lose weight in the kitchen and build muscle in the gym. The calories you burn in half an hour of running are miniscule. Lower your calorie intake; use the gym to build and maintain muscle and this will increase your metabolic rate and make you more efficient at burning calories.

October 2010

I haven't posted for a while; apologies for the lack of updates!

The past couple months have been quite unusual. All part of what life does to you, but trying nonetheless. Debs has been into hospital for a major operation, and so the disruption to normal schedules, eating patterns, exercise, etc. has had the effect of halting my weight loss.

The structure I put around food and exercise means that I haven't put any weight on, so we say thank you for small mercies. In addition, my measurements in the important areas (waist) continue to fall, and in other important areas (chest, biceps, thighs) continue to increase!

What is the most important thing though is that the reduction in fat over my body has started to reveal some real muscle definition. I've got a better upper body shape than I've had in a long time (ever?!).

Two things they didn't tell you about this weight loss thing:1. You will be cold. Very cold.2. The lack of padding when you sit down will make it very uncomfortable3. It will cost a fortune in clothes.

Taking the last point, I'm now just about getting into size M clothes. Quite remarkable. I have also nabbed Debs' favourite Lynyrd Skynyrd t-shirt that she bought this time last year in Manchester. I can now fit into her old clothes. (Settle down at the back, thank you!)
Otherwise, lots more confidence, more compliments and I'm able to tell people that I've "lost 4 stone".

Weight Loss

My weight loss has slowed considerably now, as might be expected so far in. I've decided not to do weekly updates but I'll keep you posted on my end of month weight.

Here goes: 13st 12.2lb

So from the end of July, 3 months ago, I've lost just 11lb at a rate of about a pound a week. It's still not a bad to keep up consistently, although it does feel that the whole time has been spent on a plateau.

Body Measurements

Waist 100cm (-22cm)

Chest 104cm (-10cm)

Calves 41cm (-4cm)

Neck 41cm (-5cm)

Upper Arms 31cm (-3cm)

Thighs 53cm (-8cm)

Paul's Weight Loss Rules

#4 Watch your Salt Intake. Salt is an absolute killer when it comes to weight loss and measurement. The more salt you take in, the more your body retains water. Since most of what we eat and excrete is water, this has a massive effect on our measurement of weight. Remember that it takes 3500 calories to add or lose a pound of fat, which is a big deal.

#5 Enjoy Yourself. You'll very quickly find your taste buds reactivating. If, like me, you were very obese, your sense of taste will have diminished. Add that to your new found culinary skills and you'll find this whole healthy living thing a pleasure. It most definitely is not "hard work".

November 2010

Back in September, my sister and I decided to raise some money for charity. She challenged me (in the way only siblings can) to enter a 10K road race in Lincoln. Challenge accepted! Bear in mind that I haven't run in any shape or form since High School, some 25 years ago.

Since then, my efforts at the gym have been solely focussed on this race in April 2011. I have increased my interval training, which has in turn significantly lifted my heart rate when working out. I run intervals for about 10 minutes, alternating between a walk, and running at between 11 and 12 km/h.

A couple of weeks ago, I went for my “cardio day” at the gym. I do about 20 mins of cardio every time I go (usually 3 – 4 times per week), but every so often I set aside a session to just run and swim for a combined total of about an hour. Rather than my usual intervals, this time, I decided to see what I could achieve at a slower speed. So I set the treadmill at a steady 9km/h and started off. 17 minutes later, I decided to call a halt. 17 minutes and 2.5km later! And I could have gone on, but I wanted to do my swim. For another half an hour!

Since then, I have run faster and for longer, with a PB of 3.2km in 22 minutes, no stops.

I can't describe how I feel. All that training and all that effort seems suddenly very worthwhile.

I'm still receiving a lot of comments, now towards the “wasting away” end of the compliment scale. People I haven't seen for 4 or 5 months double-take. It's an incredible buzz and highly motivating.

Body Measurements

We bought a body fat measurement scale this month allowing me to track more than just weight. Looking back at measurements and using online calculators, I've discovered the following:

On 21st Feb, my weight was 234lb with a BF% of 34.8%. This equates to 81.4lb fat

On 18th November, my weight was 193.4lb with a BF% of 22.8% (44.1lb fat)

Therefore, my total weight loss over this period was 40.6lb, and 37.3lb of that is fat. Pretty good.

Waist 98cm (-24cm)

Chest 104cm (-10cm)

Calves 42cm (-3cm)

Neck 40cm (-6cm)

Upper Arms 30cm (-4cm)

Thighs 53cm (-8cm)

Goal Setting

Time, I think, to set my ultimate goal. I'm not going to set a timescale because I think that will put unnecessary pressure on me. I'm not going to change my eating or exercise habits to meet an arbitrary deadline, so it will be what it will be.

But my goal is this: Weight 168lb and BF of 15%.

From where I am now, this means losing a further 25lbs in weight, with 19lb of that in fat. I expect I'll be there sometime next summer.