Into Week 13, start of the third six week phase. Current stats are as follows:

Weight: 15 st 6

Gut girth: 45.5 inches / 116cm

Yes, I've ended up putting  a pound back on - I let the diet slip last week. Well, it was my 40th birthday after all. Still, 15st 6 was my original target for Phase  2 and I've still managed to achieve it - so I'm not too unhappy.

Fitness-wise, I have to say I don't think I've gained very much. Still, I'm steadily building up the trampoline work, which has to be done slowly to avoid aggravating that hamstring. I'm still only doing 30sec stints, but this week I'll be doing five of them, and by Week 18 I'll be doing ten. Then in Phase 4 I'll steadily increase the length of the stints, from 30 secs apiece to three minutes apiece. I'm also supplementing the trampoline work with a short session of the light aerobics and, as before, I'm, doing cardio 3x per week and weights 3x per week.

So, targets for this phase. Hm. Well, I'd like to say 15st 1 for the weight. That would mean a full stone off from my starting point, and one third of the way to my final goal. Buuut...I'm not certain I'll make that. So I'm going to say 15st 3 as a 'minimum satisfactory' achievement, with 15st 1 as the 'ideal' target. Yes, I know a lot of people will say I'm not trying hard enough, but I say better to set realistic targets that I've got a very good chance of meeting, rather than ambitious ones that I may not hit - that would just be demotivating. And so long as I'm getting lighter over time - even if only slowly - that's still progress, right? I'll only really have failed If I'm no lighter at the end of six weeks than I was at the beginning. So long as I'm making progress over time, doesn't matter if it's slow. It only matters if there's no progress at all. 

As for fitness...well, again, no ambitious targets.  The target is simply to be doing ten 30sec trampoline stints per cardio session by week 18 (and maintaining the rest of the cardio session at the same level as before, so 15 mins of light aerobics for a total of 20mins exercise). That sets me up for the increase in intensity I'll be targeting in Phase 4.

Strength is holding steady. I'm now benching 56.5kg for sets of 7  - which means a theoretical 1RM of 68kg, or 150 pounds. Modest enough, but close to my starting point of 70kg / 154 pounds - and I intend to get back to that starting point in this six-week phase. All other lifts are the same as before and again, the target is simply to keep them that way.  

So, on with the show. 

Into the last week of the second six-week phase. Weight on Monday morning was 15st 5, so slightly ahead of target for this phase, and ten pounds lost since the beginning - almost a quarter of my original target of 42 pounds. Strength seems unaffected in most lifts, and in terms of the bench press, I'm making progress back to my starting point - currently lifting 56.5 x 6, which gives a theoretical 1RM of 66kg, but I'm steadily working towards 58 x 7, which would give me a theoretical 1RM of 70kg - right back where I started, but hopefully at a stone lighter in body weight by the time I reach that point.  

Where I am falling down is on the fitness side. I haven't made much progress there. I am steadily increasing the trampoline work, though, and the hamstring seems to be handling it. Right now I'm doing four 30sec trampolining stints as part of my 20 min cardio session, but I'm increasing that by one stint per week, so by the end of Phase 3 I should be doing ten stints per cardio session. Then in Phase 4 I'll increase the length of the stints gradually, so that by Week 24 I should be doing sets consisting of three mins of trampolining, one min of rest, 5x in a 20 min period, plus an extra ten mins of light aerobics after that. Even that will still be a relatively modest workout, but one I couldn't have hoped to have attempted on January 1.

So, I do have a plan on the fitness side, while on the weight loss and strength sides, everything is pretty much going to plan at the moment. Very slow progress, but definite progress - especially on the weight loss front, where I'm almost a quarter of the way towards my goal

Haven't posted for a while due to work pressures. Suffice to say, weight last week was 15st 7, and this week it's 15st 6. That meets the target for this six-week phase, with still this week and next week to go. Any further loss would be a bonus. Still moving in the right direction, a bit at a time.