...And Weight Loss For All

Just under a kilogram this week - a tiny bit disappointing, but I did have a big meal mid-week to celebrate reaching my half way point. Not much else to report really - a pretty average week, just keeping on doing my thing and trusting the process. Only 2.3 kg to go until I go from obese to overweight!

Don't ask me how I managed to have such a massive loss this week (my second biggest since I began) I did everything as I normally do, but still managed to lose quite a generous amount. I did have one day where I was feeling a little ill, and didn't have a lot to eat. Perhaps that caused a large loss. I'm not complaining though, I'm happy that the time gap is widening and that I only have 900 grams left to reach my halfway goal. I can do that!

 A better result this week. However, I'm a little concerned that the buffer zone between my weight and the remaining time is so close. But, at least 1 kilogram a week is still a viable option at this point.  I have 2 weeks to go to reach my half-way point goal of 115.4 kg by July 7th, meaning I have to lose 1.3 kg a week. I have managed to do this before, so I'm going to stick at it and work hard over the next 2 weeks so that I can reach my goal.  Wish me luck!

Really over this whole diet thing right now. Sick of it, over it, ready to quit. I'm NOT going to quit, but I'm just feeling so done. I'm feeling depressed and angry, and really can't be bothered with it.  But, tomorrow is another day.

A pretty ordinary result this week, but I was expecting it so I'm not that disappointed.  I probably overindulged for my birthday, plus I had one day where I lost track of my calorie intake, and another day where illness prevented me from getting enough exercise in. Most of the other days were fairly productive however, with low calorie intake and high calorie burn, so in essence I have probably lost more than this - but only after putting a little on to begin with.  As usual though, a loss is still a loss, which is positive.  4 more weeks to go before I reach my half way point, so there's still plenty of time to reach that goal - 3.7 kg is doable! If I do reach that goal, I might treat myself to the big dinner I didn't get for my birthday. The next big celebratory goal is August 11th when I hope to reach 111.9 kg, which would see me go from 'obese' to 'overweight'. I will still be overweight at 100kg, so I'll be looking to get to at least 93 kg at some ...

Now that I have gone past the point of reaching my birthday goal, I'm having a lot of trouble getting back into the swing of things. I expected a little difficulty of course, given that my birthday involved some indulgence and no exercise, but I feel like something big has changed, and I am struggling to get re-motivated and to stick to my plan. I'm predicting a gain this week, and I won't be surprised at all. Upset, but not surprised. On Tuesday I lost track of my calorie intake, but yesterday I ate well and walked over 20 thousand steps. But, today has been a complete failure.  A migraine forced me to call in sick to work, and therefore I've had no exercise. The resulting depression has caused me to eat a little more, which has made me even more depressed.  I feel like this week will be a complete write-off, and I'm sure my halfway goal is dead.  Still, I keep on moving forward. 

Well, I've learned something today - I definitely can't eat like I used to. My plans for a day of indulgence were cut short after 2 meals, which filled me up so much that I simply couldn't fit in dinner! My wife and I could barely get through even half of the cheesecake, but what we did get through was quite delicious. Having reached my goal of losing 10+ kg, I decided to drag out the 2 large bags of 'someday' clothes that I have purchased over the years - items that were too small when I bought them, planning to lose enough weight to fit into them 'someday.'  To my surprise, I managed to get quite a few articles on, including 2 T-shirts that are at least 5 years old. I thought I'd never get them to fit to be honest, but I'm happy to say that they finally do!  I might even need to buy even smaller versions some day! 

Today (June 1st) I am 44 years old (176 Seasons!) Those who have been watching know that I have had 3 goals for todays date. Here are those goals... And this is what I did to them... Get it? I 'smashed my goals.' 😏 I'm a little surprised that I lost as much as I did this week, but then again, I have been working very hard and focusing on this moment to not only reach my goal, but to beat it.  And I did it! Today however is a day for celebration, and this decadent little morsel is going to help... Turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself! My next goal is the half-way point of my journey, which will occur on July 7th. This will be almost exactly half way between when I started and when I hope to finish. My goal for that day will be 115.4 kgs, meaning I have 5 weeks to lose 4.4 kgs. Very doable! When that happens, I'll be posting side-by-side comparison photos with my starting out shots. Hopefully there'll be a visible difference!

 In my last post, I lamented that the week just passed would not be successful.  Well, I suppose the old 'don't count your chickens' adage has proven right, as this was my most successful week in a while! How I did it, I don't know. I had three days of lost calorie tracking just because a bad mood, so I was expecting a gain - especially after feeling so fatigued lately. However, I did have one work day that was particularly busy, and ended up getting over 20,000 steps!  Anyway, here we are! So, for my birthday celebrations, I need to lose... 0.3 kg for 1 cheat meal, and a total of 10 kg loss. 1.1 kg for 3 cheat meals, and my reached goal of 120 kg 1.2 kg for 3 cheat meals and a home-made raspberry and white chocolate cheesecake! Sure, I'd have to make it myself, but it will be worth it. My energy seems restored this week, so I'll be working hard and thinking of the cheesecake  and watching a live show ! 

 Some mixed emotions about this weeks weigh in. It's a loss, so I'm happy about that, of course. Any small victory should be celebrated. I am however a little upset that it wasn't a larger loss. But, I have to keep 2 things in mind... 1. I lost a day of progress due to delaying my weigh in. 2. I severely over-indulged on my wife's birthday. I don't regret #2 however! We had a mouth-watering pizza followed by a home-made chocolate cake which was amazing. The one thing I'm still trying to figure out however is the fluctuations due to water retention. Like last week, I did a pre-weigh in weigh in on the day before. Sunday's result was 122.2, and today's result is 122.4. I don't think it's really possible to gain 200g of weight overnight, so it must be retained water. I'm going to look up some tips for how to make sure I'm in top condition for weigh-ins so that I can avoid water weight. In the meantime, onward and upward! I have 13 days to lo...

Only 2 weeks left until my birthday, and my weight loss result for the day will affect how I celebrate! 120.9 kg or more - no cheat meal.  120.8 - 120.1 kg - 1 cheat meal. 120 kg - all cheat meals. 119.9 kg or less - all cheat meals including a home-made dessert!  My prediction at the moment is I'll be between 120.1 and 120.8 kg. However, I'm not quite confident in that until I get tomorrow's weigh in result. 

Given that my mini goal was to reach 123kg or less by my wife's birthday (which is tomorrow) I've decided to postpone this week's weigh in until then, so it will be one day late. I don't think it's going to make a lot of difference anyway, I'm pretty sure that I've failed to reach the goal, perhaps even encountered a slight gain.  Oh well, no sense being depressed about it now. I'll wait for tomorrow to be depressed about it. 

 Another good result this week...so why do I feel disappointed?  I'm on track to reach my first mini-goal, I only need to lose 0.5 kg this week which is quite achievable.  Hopefully.

 The Easter weight gain has gone, and the plateau has been conquered! It's just a shame that I had that little bump in the road that stalled me for a little while, however at least I am back on track and continuing to lose. As I go along, I've given myself a few mini goals.  My wife's birthday is in 2 weeks, so my goal is to get to 123kg by then. Should be a fairly doable one! After that, my birthday is in approximately 5 weeks away, so I'm hoping to get to 120kg by then. Another doable one, hopefully I can even get to 118 or 119.

 Well, the inevitable has happened. I've gained weight. I should not be surprised in the slightest, given the circumstances outlined in my previous post. However, I didn't think the gain would be quite so much. But, let's look at the facts... 1. For 3 out of 7 days, calorie intake went untracked. 2. For 2 out of 7 days, I didn't meet my step and calorie burn goals. I really do have nobody to blame but myself, and yes, I'm depressed and angry at the result. But, this is not going to achieve anything. I just have to get over it and work harder from now on.  I take console in the words of Neil Peart, who wrote in the lyrics of 'Far Cry' by Rush... 'One day I feel I'm on top of the world, and the next it's falling in on me. I can get back on. I CAN GET BACK ON .' I just need to move past this plateau and keep on moving!

 Last week, I was pleasantly surprised to have achieved a loss of a lot more than I thought I would get. This week, I will be unpleasantly surprised to achieve a gain. There are 3 reasons for this... 1. With Easter upon us, the obligatory consumption of chocolate has commenced. I'm trying not to partake too much, but temptation is rife. 2. After a curious mid-week weigh in, I discovered that I have not lost any weight since my last weigh in 4 days ago. I believe that I have hit the dreaded plateau that strikes everyone at some point in their weight loss journey. 3. My wife and I are having a night away for the Easter weekend, which will involve a few meals in restaurants. I have been dreading the loss of knowing my consumption intake, and having to estimate what I will be consuming. However, I'm taking solace in the fact that once this week is over, I know that I can regain control. After Easter, chocolate is banned in the house. I will be doing my best to smash through the pl...

Okay, so that's a Dream Theater lyric and not a Metallica one, but it fits this post so well. Today I experienced one of the worst panic attacks of my life. My heart was racing so fast and I was so full of adrenaline that I felt like I needed to run at top speed.  I'm feeling a little better now, but that was scary. Hopefully a good night's sleep will calm me down, and prepare me for the weigh in tomorrow morning. 

Today, I am miserable. There's no particular reason for it, it's just one of those things that happen when dealing with depression. Some days my mood will swing, and for no good reason whatsoever, an unbearable sadness comes over me.  Moods such as this will often see me relapse and ruin my diet by indulging in unhealthy foods, but I have stuck to it and have resisted the temptation to binge.  Still miserable! 😂

First results are in, and they are looking good! And so they should, I've put in a lot of hard work, and I deserve this.

Tomorrow will be the first weigh in of many along my journey. I'm a little nervous, but positive that there will be a good result. I've been working really hard on counting calories and keeping up my exercise (walked for 2 hours on Friday!) so I have earned the inevitably positive result that I'm going to get!