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!
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.
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
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)
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.
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!
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.....
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.
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.
