The rot stops here

[JP1]

ANZAC Day I found out exactly how unfit I was.. maybe I will go into details in a few weeks but I resolved that I had to 'stop the rot'.. I've gotten myself progressively more and more unfit over the past two years after almost four years of being fairly content with my relative fitness..

So I resolved to start my new 'fitness' schedule on May 1st starting at 103.5 Kgs - yup I really have let myself go especially the last eighteen months and I have approached my previous heaviest.

The good news is I know what works for me dietry wise, the bad news is that I am one of the laziest people about when it comes to exercise. Won't go into the specifics rights now as to what I intend to do to remedy that but as of today I have started.

In the past six days I can report that I have had movement on the weight front. Will officially weigh in again on Weds after a week with more information but just want to get the ball rolling on this site straight away.

I have had great success in the past using this place as a motivating tool to keep me honest - though as well l have had a couple of complete failures too. I don't need luck with this, I just need to be honest with myself and this is the start.

[Blitz]

Good on you for coming back each time and making these changes.

You certainly have the skills to lose the weight but to use a sporting analogy; whilst your beginning and middle game is impressive it seems that its the end game that is letting you down. Your approach is all about getting the weight off without too much thinking about keeping it off. Here is a question that may be helpful to ask yourself..."Do I view my weight as a project or as a lifestyle?" Projects came and go out of your life but lifestyle IS your life.

What I've read about successful weight maintenance and from my own experience is that the way to permanency is through vigilance of a constant healthy lifestyle. The key to a constant healthy lifestyle is finding ownership of it. It has to fit either who you are or who you are becoming. For you I suspect where the rubber meets the road is what place exercise plays in your life. You have to find a form of exercise that you can get into or something that you can put up with for the rest of your life. For me I like jogging but hate the time it takes out of my day, I enjoy swimming but don't want to do it every day (again it takes up too much time). I can tolerate the exercise bike (but don't "enjoy it") but I know that 90 minutes each day will keep me on the right path. I can watch TV or a movie while doing it and can do it at anytime of the day without having to work my life around it. So I mostly use the exercise bike and throw in jogging and swimming when I want. That is what works for me.

I have found drawing a line on the sand is very helpful. I have a band range of 3 kilos that I stay in. As soon as I approach my upper limit I will nail the number downwards. I weigh myself every day - that way I stop the rot before it becames a serious problem. I recently went on holidays for a week. During the holiday for the first time I went over my line...needless to say I jumped on to it and brought it back under control pronto. Holidays can mess your routine lifestyle around but it isn't an excuse.

I hope this didn't sound too much like teaching grandma how to suck eggs. I figure you know most of this at some level but if the hampster keeps going round and round that same wheel, occassional it might be useful to point to the door.

Wishing you all success.
Kim

[admin]

Great to admit and understand then address the issue JP..... exercise is hard and coming into winter it can be demotivating, but good for you to being there now.
Kim, thanks for sharing the 3 kg rule.....what a great ruler. Hope others use this in future.
Sharrelle

[JP1]

Startg 01/05 - 103.5 Kgs
Wk 01 08/05 - 101.3 Kgs
Wk 02 15/05 -
Wk 03 22/05 -
Wk 04 29/05 -
Wk 05 05/06 -
Wk 06 12/06 -
Wk 07 19/06 -
Wk 08 26/06 -
Wk 09 03/07 -
Wk 10 10/07 -
Wk 11 17/07 -
Wk 12 24/07 -

[JP1]

Busy at work this week but anyway only a day late with my update..

OK real briefly, gonna do it a bit different this time. A mate of mine who is very fit is scheduling my exercise and 'commenting' on my diet. I know what works for me there so no shakes.

Re exercise (from Monday) we have started with 7.5 klms a night brisk walk to start, last night did over 10 as we had to cut previous nites walk down because of downpour, l was happy to keep going but he wanted to cut it short

As well he is insisting l drink 2 litres of water a day which l haven't particularly done in the past so we will see where that leads. I had the impression that this water intake has initially gained me a bit of weight but obviously over time this will even itself out.

So thats it, I'm 100% motivated, next stop 90's

JP

[JP1]

Good on you for coming back each time and making these changes.

You certainly have the skills to lose the weight but to use a sporting analogy; whilst your beginning and middle game is impressive it seems that its the end game that is letting you down. Your approach is all about getting the weight off without too much thinking about keeping it off. Here is a question that may be helpful to ask yourself..."Do I view my weight as a project or as a lifestyle?" Projects came and go out of your life but lifestyle IS your life.

What I've read about successful weight maintenance and from my own experience is that the way to permanency is through vigilance of a constant healthy lifestyle. The key to a constant healthy lifestyle is finding ownership of it. It has to fit either who you are or who you are becoming. For you I suspect where the rubber meets the road is what place exercise plays in your life. You have to find a form of exercise that you can get into or something that you can put up with for the rest of your life. For me I like jogging but hate the time it takes out of my day, I enjoy swimming but don't want to do it every day (again it takes up too much time). I can tolerate the exercise bike (but don't "enjoy it") but I know that 90 minutes each day will keep me on the right path. I can watch TV or a movie while doing it and can do it at anytime of the day without having to work my life around it. So I mostly use the exercise bike and throw in jogging and swimming when I want. That is what works for me.

I have found drawing a line on the sand is very helpful. I have a band range of 3 kilos that I stay in. As soon as I approach my upper limit I will nail the number downwards. I weigh myself every day - that way I stop the rot before it becames a serious problem. I recently went on holidays for a week. During the holiday for the first time I went over my line...needless to say I jumped on to it and brought it back under control pronto. Holidays can mess your routine lifestyle around but it isn't an excuse.

I hope this didn't sound too much like teaching grandma how to suck eggs. I figure you know most of this at some level but if the hampster keeps going round and round that same wheel, occassional it might be useful to point to the door.

Wishing you all success.
Kim

Fair cop guv, what can l say? Yup l know the scoop and knew what ramifications of taking my eye off the ball were going to be..

Re your loss, Wow! brilliant stuff and it must have turned your life around, I've basically only ever been at the just wanting to be a bit healthier/look a bit better stage, it's never been more than that to be honest, I've always been mentally fit at the very least from way back in my Army days which has helped me physically when my body might have wanted to say no - anyway thanks for your advice, l will of course take it on board.

[JP1]

Great to admit and understand then address the issue JP..... exercise is hard and coming into winter it can be demotivating, but good for you to being there now.
Kim, thanks for sharing the 3 kg rule.....what a great ruler. Hope others use this in future.
Sharrelle

Thanks Sharelle, yup have addressed my exercise issues, need to be accountable to someone other than myself there, reckon that will work for me as I like being set targets. Hopefully it will work for me.

[Blitz]

Well...you copped it with style.

Actually you have raised a very valid and interesting point. What is your goal? For some it is just to lose a few pounds, others; it's about fitting into a wedding dress or getting great looking for an event like a holiday or class union. For myself, it was a all or nothing proposition. I never attempted to lose weight before I did because I wasn't going to do that diet cycle that I had seen so many other people do. I wasn't prepared to play around with it...either I did it or I didn't do it - no messing around. So when I finally decided that it was time, I committed 100% to it.

You bet it has turned my life around! I've lost more than half my original weight (56% actually). I've read a few books where people claim to have lost half themselves only to find that they have fudged the figures and really lost less than half. One guy on a web site made same the claim, it was only when you read the fine print that you discover that he refers to half his fat content not his entire body weight! My lifestyle has changed. My wardrobe is new. My health is fantastic. My wife is having an affair with another bloke - me! A couple of months back I was making a salad up and my wife was reflecting that before I wouldn't even eat "rabbit food" and now here I was actually making it (and my own recipe too!). The only thing that I regret is losing my belly button (had a belly hernia repair after I had lost the weight and the surgeon removed about 2-3kg of loose skin...and my belly button). It was a nice belly button...made by a doctor locally famous for his tying of newborn cords.

Wishing you success...towards YOUR goals.
Kim

[JP1]

Startg 01/05 - 103.5 Kgs
Wk 01 08/05 - 101.3 Kgs
Wk 02 15/05 - 99.9 Kgs
Wk 03 22/05 -
Wk 04 29/05 -
Wk 05 05/06 -
Wk 06 12/06 -
Wk 07 19/06 -
Wk 08 26/06 -
Wk 09 03/07 -
Wk 10 10/07 -
Wk 11 17/07 -
Wk 12 24/07 -

Good week and back in the 90's.. up to 10 klms a night walk and a few hundred metre jogs, long way to go but I am getting there..

[Blitz]

Excellent job! You were focussed and worked hard to achieve your mini goal.

You writing about walking/jogging at night made me nostalgic. I remember walking at night (and in the rain too...it isn't as bad as people think) and slowing building up my jog distance. I used the distance between lamp poles as markers. I vividly remember the nights when I first jogged half my usual route and then all of it (and also increasing the distance of my route). I also became interested in the secret life of cats at night...a pleasant distraction when things got tough!

I think the two things that most people over look that are essential for efficient weight loss is water intake and sleep. I really struggled making sure I drank enough. I was often light headed when getting up from a seating position too quickly; a sure sign that I wasn't drinking enough. I found flavouring the water with a little lemon or orange juice helpful. Sleep was no problem...I was so tired I just crashed. It did stop me from being such a night owl though. I have noted that given the same exercise and food intake with the only variable being how much sleep I've had - that a good night's sleep gives me a better weight loss.

Doing it well JP
Kim

[JP1]

Startg 01/05 - 103.5 Kgs
Wk 01 08/05 - 101.3 Kgs
Wk 02 15/05 - 99.9 Kgs
Wk 03 22/05 - 99.5 Kgs
Wk 04 29/05 -
Wk 05 05/06 -
Wk 06 12/06 -
Wk 07 19/06 -
Wk 08 26/06 -
Wk 09 03/07 -
Wk 10 10/07 -
Wk 11 17/07 -
Wk 12 24/07 -

Nowhere near as good as I would have liked due to major blow out last weekend.. having said that pounded the pavement every day and up to 10K's including over 2K of jog last night.. see how we go next week..

[Blitz]

Probably building jogging muscles as well. A loss is a loss...it is always better than a gain!

These "blow outs" remind us how costly they are to our progress. Keep this one fresh in your head to help you fight off the next temptation.

Happy jogging...good work.
Kim

[Dolly]

Great work JP, you're doing an incredible job.

[Sanov22]

Good on you JP

I remember you from when I used to post on here regularly. I'm in a similar situation, - have lost a significant amount of weight in the past and used this forum with great success, then got slack and now pushing my heaviest ever

You've made a great start, and its good that you're already motivated... I find I need to just make myself do it for the first 5kgs or so before I really get into it... starting is the hardest part, once you're in your weight loss routine it's almost easy

How long do the 10k walk/jogs take you?

[admin]

Welcome back Sanov.....hope you stick around.....all the best.
Sharrelle