Well, to be honest it was a bit of a mixed week last week. I failed to meet the calorie limit for the week overall – my average in the end was close to 2500, so actually more than last week. That was partly due to a binge on Friday – there was free grub on offer at work….  I did manage to stay under the limit on some individual days, i.e. Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, and fairly close to it on Monday, but I went quite a way over it on Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Must try harder.

The good news is that I seem to have lost more weight anyway – today’s weigh-in showed me at 15st 12. I’m definitely on a downwards trend, averaging a weekly loss of around one pound. So long as I can keep that up, I’ll be happy….but I think I’m going to have to be stricter about the calories if I’m going to keep it rolling.  

The cardio sessions increase to 18 mins this week – I completed all three sessions again last week, and I also fitted a walk in on a couple of other days. I’m definitely a touch fitter, though Wednesday’s episode with the bike showed me just how far I still have to go. Still, progress is progress, and I’m definitely moving in the right direction, even if only slowly. 

Well, after Monday's positive post, I had an experience yesterday which showed me just how far I still have to go.

As I said Monday, I'm already starting to get bored of the cardio I've been doing and I've started looking for alternatives. So yesterday I thought I'd give the real bike a go.

I took it across the footpath on our local park - a distance of about 0.2km. Since it was a slight downward slope in that direction, I was able to freewheel most of the way. Not much of a problem.

But then coming back the other way....a mild uphill slope....now that was a problem. I had to stop four times. I made it, but I was really struggling, and puffing like a steam train.

200 metres of very mild uphill gradient. It felt like I was attempting 20 miles.

Yes, I'm starting to get a little fitter, coming from complete rock bottom. But this little incident showed me just how unfit I still am.

I'm not going to let it discourage me though - on the contrary, it's a challenge.  

Beginning of week four. Looks like the weight loss wasn’t an illusion – at today’s weigh-in I was down to 15st 13. That’s highly encouraging, given that I didn’t think I was far enough in calorie deficit yet to be losing weight. Of course, it’s just a very small start given that I have forty-odd pounds to lose, but it is a start, and it’s a psychological boost to see the scale weight drop below 16st.

I came in under my target daily calorie average last week – I averaged 2400 (estimated). This week the daily calorie target will be 2250, and if the weight loss continues, I might keep it at that for a few weeks. Of course, it will probably eventually stall, and at that point I’ll need to cut calories further, but until that happens, why make this harder than it needs to be? Also, I actually don’t want to lose weight too rapidly – a pound or two a week is the ideal. 

Strength seems unaffected so far, and I actually think fitness is improving a bit, too. When you start at such a low point of course, it isn’t hard to make a small improvement. This week the three cardio sessions go up to 16 minutes each. I’ve been consistent about doing those so far, but I’ve been a bit hit-and-miss about fitting a walk in on the weights days. I need to try to do a bit better on that score – six days with some kind of cardio is obviously going to produce better results than just three.  As far as the main three cardio sessions go, I’ve found myself varying it up a little – bike then aerobics every time is already starting to get a bit boring, so mixing in other stuff like five minutes of walking followed by a bit of running on the spot, step-ups etc. is a way of adding in a little variety. I figure that, so long as I’m doing some form of light to moderate cardio for the required amount of time, it doesn’t really matter what it is - what matters is that I’m consistent about doing something for x number of minutes three times a week.    

I’ve cut my heavy weights sessions down to what I believe to be the bare minimum to maintain strength. Heavy exercises include bench press, barbell overhead press, dumbbell overhead press and deadlift, each performed for a couple of sets 2-3 times per week with near max weights (except for the BB OHP, where I keep the weights some way below max for fear of another back injury). That’s it for the heavy stuff, and such a routine would obviously be no good for actually adding strength, but I believe it’s enough for maintenance (if strength does start to drop I’ll have to rethink that obviously). On the other hand, I’ve also started doing a light dumbbell workout for high reps (goal being to build muscular endurance) and I’m about to start throwing a little bodyweight stuff in too. Pullups and chins are out of the question for the moment (still too heavy) but press-ups, situps and chair dips are all possible. I’m going to start very small, with just a few press-ups and situps at a time, but gradually build into a short bodyweight circuit, which I’ll probably append on to my cardio sessions rather than do on weights days.  

I’ve also started barbell squatting again but very light (just the bar). As I say, I’m wary of hurting my back again (doesn’t seem to be a problem with the deadlift but it is with heavy squats) so I’ve no plans to go heavy. I know heavy squatting is highly recommended, and that’s great if you aren’t prone to back injuries, but when you are it just isn’t worth it. Instead I’m going to go for high reps. Once I hit sets of around 20 I’ll start adding a little weight to the bar.      

So, progress is beginning to be made….

Checking in for the start of week 3. The weekly weigh-in showed a drop of one pound. Not reading too much in to that, however. I doubt I’m actually losing fat just yet as my calorie intake is still too high. It’s more likely just a fluctuation in water weight or something. Still, I guess it helps a little psychologically to see the scale weight drop a little – even though I know it probably doesn’t mean much at this stage.

Last week’s calorie average was just over 2600, so I came in well below the target. This week the target drops to 2500 – which is the recommended daily intake for a male. I think I’m getting close to the point of being in calorie deficit - should get there within the next couple of weeks.

I also made the planned increase in the cardio session, which is now up to 14 minutes total. Nothing much else to report, except that everything is pretty much on track. 

Week two, day one. I got weighed this afternoon, and the number is the same as last week – 16 stone 1 pound. That’s no biggy -  as I said before, I don’t expect to be losing any weight just yet.  

Last week I averaged just about 3000 calories per day according to my log. Of course, that’s based on estimates, given that I don’t have exact figures down to the last calorie for everything I ate. I’m not going so far as to weigh every bit of food I eat. I know some people do that, but from past experience, estimates are generally good enough for me. Anyway, I stayed within the limit, which was good, but it hasn’t started to get tough yet and I’ve so far only needed a very modest amount of self-discipline to stay on track – which will change as the restriction becomes tougher. Hopefully easing in to the diet will make it less of a shock to the system.

Today the calorie limit went down to 2750, and the cardio session increased in length by two minutes. I don’t really feel any fitter yet, but hopefully by the end of the initial six weeks I will, even if just by a little.

Onward!

Day one. I’ve just completed my first cardio session, which lasted a whole ten minutes, and believe me, that was enough for now. It wasn’t very intensive cardio either, but hey, got to start somewhere. It consisted of five minutes on the exercise bike and five minutes of light aerobics (don’t laugh, I needed something gentle to start off with and this stuff fits the bill).

At this point, it’s almost a rehab programme rather than a fitness regime. Still, we all have to start somewhere and for me, right now, that starting point is very low. It’s not where you start, it’s where you end up, right?

Here’s my planned cardio programme for the first six weeks. I intend to do this three times a week. I’ll be doing weights on the alternate days to maintain strength – and possibly trying to fit a short walk in on those days too, just for a bit of extra exercise. Sunday is a rest day. 

After that, I’ll start increasing the intensity – maybe by starting to replace the light aerobics with something more strenuous – and once I’ve made the workout more intense, then I’ll further increase the time. But for now, building up to 20 minutes of light cardio is the very first step.

The other thing I started today was, of course, the diet. As with the cardio, I’m starting light. My target calorie intake for today, and for every day this week, is 3000. Yes, that’s still quite a lot, and no, I won’t lose weight at that, but it’s a starting point for a gradual downwards adjustment. I know from experience that if I try to cut the calories too far, too fast, I’ll just be bloody hungry, and that’s a recipe for failure. So 3000 a day it is for this week, as a starting point to get myself back into the habit of calorie counting. Next week it will be 2750. The eventual target is 1800 per day, and I’ll most definitely be losing weight when I get to that point.  

Finally, I decided to do a bit of a ‘detox’ too. I’m slightly sceptical as to how beneficial these things actually are, and I won’t be going so far as the green tea, lemon juice and all that jazz. But I’m going to aim to drink a full gallon of water per day for the next three days. Hopefully it will flush the old system out a little. No doubt it will make me pee a lot too, but hey, that’s kind of how ‘flushing out’ works, right? And no beer for a few days….

Happy New Year! The programme starts tomorrow, but for today, I thought I’d establish a baseline. I want to keep a record of my starting point, so here it is (measurements taken today):

Weight:  16st 1 / 102 kg (Yikes, even more than I thought!)

Gut girth (won’t call it a ‘waist’…): 121cm / 48”

Trouser size: Well, I can just about squeeze into a 38 waist, but it’s uncomfortable and, to be honest, I’m really a 40….or 42. :o  

Chest: 115cm /42”

Upper arm: 36cm/14.5”

Thigh:  60cm / 24”

And a couple of photos:

Disgusting, huh? How did I let myself get in that state? Well, time to do something about it.