Month: November 2008

So the observant amongst you will have noticed something about yesterday’s blog update. No, I’m not referring to the fact that I promised a non-Lesamy post and didn’t deliver[1], I’m referring to the fact that I slipped in an extra little bit of info, almost without comment. I gave my current weight[2]

Well aside from the fact, as M. pointed out that with my references to 10% and how much I’d lost you could work it out anyway, I just felt that maybe it was time to own up. I wanted to use this blog to track my progress, but my vanity/embarrassment was such that I didn’t want you to know how fat I actually am until I was a lot nearer my target weight. It’s easier to admit to having been 22 1/2 stone from the vantage point of say, 16, than it is to say this is what I am now.

Anyway, that and the fact that I was re-reading Lesamy posts, and that it’s monday and I need some words to go alongside my figures for this week, made me decide to take a look back at Lesamy so far and review against my original goals:

I’m doing a few minutes worth of exercise morning and evening. I intend to start slow and build up, so maybe in 3-4 weeks I’ll increase the number/duration of that.

Exercise is one area where I’ve made the biggest changes. I started off walking up and down the stairs 5 times, morning and evening. I did that because I was embarrassed to do anything outside and I had no equipment or anything. I expanded to doing walks into town, then around the park, then longer walks. At a certain point – after a fall actually – I gave up the stair walking and I added in 10 press-ups and 10 sit-ups every morning. These days I average 60-70mins of walking a day.

I’m cutting out snacks and having just the two meals a day that I theoretically already have – lunch and evening meal. I plan to add breakfast in at some point but it’s never been a major meal for me and I don’t want to change too much all in one go so I’m leaving that one until later.

I have stuck to this. I added in breakfast fairly early on when I discovered that the sit-ups were easier after I’d had something to eat and drink. I’m also eating better now, eating more fruit and veg and cooking properly some rather than none of the time.

I’ll aim for ~1800 calories a day most days with the occasional (no more than weekly) cheat day of 2300.

I aim for exactly 1800 calories a day. I will avoid going over by even a few[3] but do my best to use up as many of my calorie ‘budget’ as I can. Usually I’m within 10. I haven’t had any cheat days per se, though I’ve been out for a couple of meals when I go ‘off the clock’ (though with a vague eye on portions).

I’ll expect the progress to be slow, aiming at no more than about 1-2lbs or 1kg loss a week.

I’ve averaged 1.9kg or 4.2lbs a week. My lowest loss was 0.6kg and my highest 3.2kg. I am starting to drift downwards to that mythical 1kg/week figure.

I’ll only weigh myself once a week (and more and you get discouraged with progress or frustrated by fluctuations)

I’ve only weighed myself on one day a week, but sometimes more than once on that day and then taken the best reading. But I’m sort of over that now. I’ve found the best time to weigh myself (after my evening walk but before eating) and I’ll stick to that.

I’ll expect the occasional set back but won’t be phased, will carry on, and will seek support and encouragement.

I haven’t had any real set-backs. The week after my weekend away when I’d apparently lost nothing was a bit of a shock but mostly I’ve lost more than expected each week. Support and encouragement has been mixed. Here and on the Ship I initially received affirming comments but I think people got bored with me. But knowing I’m going to post every week means something to me. The other source of encouragement has been M. who asks me how it’s going and is always pleased when I’m doing well.

My goal initially will be a 10% reduction. Doing this by Christmas is achievable.

I hit 10% (130kg) around the end of October. My next milestone was 127kg because that brings me beneath 20stone. I hit that today (yay!). By Christmas? Well it depends on how much I slow down but I think I’ll be under 19stone and possibly nearer 18 than 19 by then. We’ll see.

It’s been both different to how I expected and in some ways not so different, easy in ways I thought it wouldn’t and harder in ones I didn’t think of. But I know I can and will keep going. I’m in a rhythm now and it’s working.

So, as I said above, I’m now 127kg or 279lbs i.e. 19st 13lbs. That’s a loss this week of 1.5kg or 4.2lbs and a total loss since I started of 17.1kg or 37.7lbs.

[1]or did I? Actually I wrote the update but haven’t posted it yet. I’m trying this new thing where I treat reviews like proper writing and so that means editting which means I don’t just through it up straight away.

[2]Except of course that since it was yesterday, it was really the weight on my previous weight day. I didn’t lose 4lbs in sleep last night.

[3]I allowed myself to go over by 36 calories today as a treat for hitting my target milestone. That allowed me to mop up the gravy from my yummy beef-in-ale casserole with an extra slice of brown bread.

Firstly apologies for not writing sooner. Weighing day is Monday and so it’s almost Lesamy week 9. There are reasons for missing the first couple of days (celebrating M’s birthday and wanting to get a competition story in on time) but after that I just got lazy.

Secondly apologies for not writing any non-Lesamy in such a long time. I do plan (famous last words) to do a review later today.

Motorway Driving

I managed to make it to my mid-twenties before starting to learn to drive. It took two years and four tests to pass and then, because I decided that a computer was a better waste of money than a car, I didn’t drive again for six years. At that time I’d just got a new job and was about to move ‘down south’ and I figured I’d need a car. So I got one and took a couple of refresher lessons. Fortunately it all came back pretty easily.

However on the day I was due to actually move I got up at 6am. Why? Because I wanted to make it out of the city before the traffic got too bad, and also to get as far as I could before the motorway traffic got too hectic. I remember joining the motorway for the first time, it was deeply scary. Everyone was going so fast and there were huge lorries everywhere. But I eventually calmed down and got used to it. After a while I was zipping along, moving in and out of lanes as needed. Motorway driving it turns out is easy.

And on my regular trips back up north I experience a small version of that first experience. The first few minutes are a shock to my system (the rest of the time I pootle around town and make runs to the supermarket but not much more) but after that it becomes easy again. In fact it becomes boring. It’s usually a trip of at least four hours and ninety minutes in you can guarantee I’ll be thinking, ok I’m bored with this now, I just want to be at my destination. To keep myself busy I’ll mentally calculate my average speed and my expected arrival time based on that.

And this – I know you were wondering – is where it is like Lesamy. Initially I had some fears and some issues – look back at my first post about results and how I agonized that I was going to miss comfort eating – but then it sort of became easy. I got into a routine, I was exercising and enjoying it, I was getting to recognise that feeling ‘full’ was not the same as feeling so stuffed like you couldn’t eat another thing. But, it’s a bit boring. I can walk down the supermarket aisles and not worry that I’ll falter with all the things that are nice but that I can’t really afford (calorie-wise), but there is a sense that I’m just faithfully carrying on, day after day, focussed on targets, constantly re-calculating expected dates of reaching such-and-such a weight, or expected weight at Christmas.

Many Miles to Go

I’m sure part of this is the same as with the driving. I’ve still got a long way to go before I get there. Getting there, means something different with Lesamy anyway as I’ll then be faced with the challenge of maintaining, which while I’m not quite sure what it’ll look like yet, will I’m sure still involve some walking past nice food a lot of the time. Another thing is that whilst I cherish my spreadsheet there’s a lack of visible progress. At least to me. I have lost more than 10% of my bodyweight, had to go down a few of belt-notches and abandon at least one pair of trousers, but I look in the mirror and I don’t see much difference. M. says she does, and that should mean something because she doesn’t see me every day.

I’d love, though, for someone who doesn’t know I’m doing this to stop me and ask “have you lost weight?” Hasn’t happened yet but I think it will. It’ll probably happen when I start to have to seriously down-size my wardrobe.

But lest I seem too pessimistic I know I can do this. It’s just a question of keeping going, not giving up. I have given up on a lot of things in my life, but I never once turned around, left the motorway and came home.

This week I lost 1.1kg, 2.4lbs. Total loss so far 15.6kg, 2st 6lbs. Current weight 128.5kg, 20st 3lbs.