I didn't walk yesterday morning as it was the 1st, which means end of the month reports starting at 7am. So instead I went for my walk in the evening. Since there was no rush to finish I thought I would take a slightly longer walk and headed for the graveyard. Unfortunately when I got to the entrance it was closed, so I walked up the footpath next to the 2 graveyards leading to the next estate/mini suburb, an for the first time realised that the graveyard to my right was actually fairly big! The round trip for the walk was 1.18km, and I felt great when I got back!
So this morning once I eventually dragged myself out of a lazy morning in bed, I put on my walking boots, and headed for the graveyard again. This morning the graveyard was open and I decided to go have a look what the far side of the graveyard looked liked. I walked all the way round the outside of the graveyard. I saw some graves for some people who "Died in Action in France". Wow! I didn't think I would see anything quite that interesting! Also, I'm not sure what today is, but the graveyard seemed to be a hive of activity. Is it like this every Saturday morning?
Some how the app on my phone pauses itself , so I lost a little distance and time, and somehow managed to teleport myself to a different place in the graveyard! :p
Anyway, it was twice as far as I was meant to walk today, but I really wanted to have a look at the graveyard. My total recorded distance was 2km! It took me 26 minutes to do the trip. I really enjoyed it, and I'm hoping I can fit this walk in to my schedule every day soon.
I felt a little tried after but my back was fine the while walk. My calves were complaining about half way, but they eventually walked up and felt great at the end o the walk!
Thank you Steve for taking it upon yourself to appoint yourself as my personal trainer! The last month and a bit has already had a dramatic effect on my life, body and fitness! As my personal trainer though, you have automatically signed yourself up for whichever physical challenge I choose to do at the end of this all! No "going-back-sies"!! (Make sure you fix the vote for your preference! :p)
Saturday, 2 April 2011
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Target Weight Physical Challenge
This may well be putting the cart before the horse, and I know I have a long road to go, but I have started thinking I would like to set my self a MASSIVE challenge to Celebrate achieving my target weight.
Something that not only would I never have been able to accomplish in my current state, but also something that most people may never get to do in their lifetime.
Obviously losing the amount of weight I need to lose is a MASSIVE challenge all on it's own and my target weight is years away, but I just really want to set myself a "Bucket List" worthy physical Challenge to do if I make it!
So over the last 2 days, I have mentioned it to a couple people, specifically saying, "I wonder if I could train to swim the English Channel?" Obviously most laughed at the idea, and some suggested alternates like doing an Iron Man or running the London Marathon. Thinking tonight I came up with Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro too.
I know its way to early to start thinking seriously about something like this, but is 1 of those 4 even realistic? So I thought I would pose the question in a in the form of a POLL on my blog (Top Right) and let you guys vote to either bring me back to reality, or guide me to 1 of the 4.
Some details:
1. Swim the English Channel. The English Channel is 34km (24mi) wide at the shortest point, from Dover to Cap Gris Nez and would take anywhere between 11 and 16 hours. Sea temp = 15°C. Risks: hypothermia, cramp, jellyfish, raw sewage, commercial ships, ferries, quick changing weather. Can rest, but can't touch a boat and have to exit the sea yourself to claim success.
2. Run the London Marathon. 42km (26mi) around the Thames, Blackheath to the Mall.
3. Do an Ironman Triathlon. 3.86km (2.4mi) Swim, 180km (112mi) Bike and 42km (26mi) Run, raced in that order and without a break. Strict time limit of 17 hours to complete the race, between 7AM and Midnight. Mandatory swim cut off = 2 hours 20 minutes, Bike cut off time = 5:30 PM, and all finishers must complete their marathon by midnight.
4. Climb Mount Kilimanjaro. At 5895m, Mt Kilimanjaro is Africa's highest peak. 6-7 day trip walking an average of 6hr/15km a day, except for the summit day which is 14hrs/27km up and down.
5. Shut up, be realistic and just focus on losing the weight! The 4 previous options were the outrageous late night ravings of a FAT madman! :P (Choosing this requires you to post a more realistic physical challenge in the comments.)
Something that not only would I never have been able to accomplish in my current state, but also something that most people may never get to do in their lifetime.
Obviously losing the amount of weight I need to lose is a MASSIVE challenge all on it's own and my target weight is years away, but I just really want to set myself a "Bucket List" worthy physical Challenge to do if I make it!
So over the last 2 days, I have mentioned it to a couple people, specifically saying, "I wonder if I could train to swim the English Channel?" Obviously most laughed at the idea, and some suggested alternates like doing an Iron Man or running the London Marathon. Thinking tonight I came up with Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro too.
I know its way to early to start thinking seriously about something like this, but is 1 of those 4 even realistic? So I thought I would pose the question in a in the form of a POLL on my blog (Top Right) and let you guys vote to either bring me back to reality, or guide me to 1 of the 4.
Some details:
1. Swim the English Channel. The English Channel is 34km (24mi) wide at the shortest point, from Dover to Cap Gris Nez and would take anywhere between 11 and 16 hours. Sea temp = 15°C. Risks: hypothermia, cramp, jellyfish, raw sewage, commercial ships, ferries, quick changing weather. Can rest, but can't touch a boat and have to exit the sea yourself to claim success.
2. Run the London Marathon. 42km (26mi) around the Thames, Blackheath to the Mall.
3. Do an Ironman Triathlon. 3.86km (2.4mi) Swim, 180km (112mi) Bike and 42km (26mi) Run, raced in that order and without a break. Strict time limit of 17 hours to complete the race, between 7AM and Midnight. Mandatory swim cut off = 2 hours 20 minutes, Bike cut off time = 5:30 PM, and all finishers must complete their marathon by midnight.
4. Climb Mount Kilimanjaro. At 5895m, Mt Kilimanjaro is Africa's highest peak. 6-7 day trip walking an average of 6hr/15km a day, except for the summit day which is 14hrs/27km up and down.
5. Shut up, be realistic and just focus on losing the weight! The 4 previous options were the outrageous late night ravings of a FAT madman! :P (Choosing this requires you to post a more realistic physical challenge in the comments.)
Swim and Salad and Blog
Went swimming again tonight. I felt like a good work out, so I tried to swim some fast lengths as opposed to the normal slow lengths.
I'm still not sure if it's better to do it slowly with no breaks and get more lengths done, or to swim faster, with breaks and less lengths..? But I think my heart enjoyed the work out tonight!
I got home feeling a little peckish, and did my usual "Open the fridge and wait for something to jump out and welcome me back" routine.....and I caught a glimpse of Mr Carrot in the veg drawer looking a little unloved. So I pulled him out and had a bite and then remembered a salad I made 1 night to go with my Fish dinner: Grated Carrot and Apple with a squeeze of Orange Juice! It's my own recipe and I can't vouch everyone will like it, but I love it, so I made myself a small bowl. Yum Yum!
As you may have noticed I had a little mess around with the layout of the blog too. I think it looks much better and fits together much better too. I spent about 20 minutes working out how to get a RSS feed to my Runkeeper Profile. I'll see tomorrow if it updates properly, but the RSS Feed hack I had to follow to get it working, seems to have done the trick. Now we have good visibility of the exercise I'm doing. :)
I'm still not sure if it's better to do it slowly with no breaks and get more lengths done, or to swim faster, with breaks and less lengths..? But I think my heart enjoyed the work out tonight!
I got home feeling a little peckish, and did my usual "Open the fridge and wait for something to jump out and welcome me back" routine.....and I caught a glimpse of Mr Carrot in the veg drawer looking a little unloved. So I pulled him out and had a bite and then remembered a salad I made 1 night to go with my Fish dinner: Grated Carrot and Apple with a squeeze of Orange Juice! It's my own recipe and I can't vouch everyone will like it, but I love it, so I made myself a small bowl. Yum Yum!
As you may have noticed I had a little mess around with the layout of the blog too. I think it looks much better and fits together much better too. I spent about 20 minutes working out how to get a RSS feed to my Runkeeper Profile. I'll see tomorrow if it updates properly, but the RSS Feed hack I had to follow to get it working, seems to have done the trick. Now we have good visibility of the exercise I'm doing. :)
Monday, 28 March 2011
Week3 Pic vs Week8 Pic (2 Stone Difference)
I have had a couple friends asking wether I can tell the difference or not at the 2 Stone mark. I didn't think I could, and really 2 stone of the 14 I need to lose, isn't exactly much! But I showed a couple friends and they were adament that there was a difference. Now they got me believing there is a difference, so I thought I would post the photo I took in week 3 with the photo I took from the same laptop camera at roughtly the same distance, slight difference in lighting.
Karen thinks I should take a photo every week same position / distance / camera, and make a movie of it at the end to see how my face changes. I might give that a go, but I am rubbish at remembering to do stuff like this, so we will have to see how it goes.
Anyway, here are the 2 photos. First the Before:
And now in Week 8:
What do you guys think?
Karen thinks I should take a photo every week same position / distance / camera, and make a movie of it at the end to see how my face changes. I might give that a go, but I am rubbish at remembering to do stuff like this, so we will have to see how it goes.
Anyway, here are the 2 photos. First the Before:
Weigh-In Week 8
Week 8 is a bit more like it! 6 lbs loss!
Awards this week:
2 Stone Award eventually! 3rd week lucky!
After 2 bad weeks only losing 2 lb each, I'm back on the slimmer of the week!
And for the second month in a row (and only my second month on it) I won Slimmer of the Month!
That brings the total to 2 stone 5 pounds (15 KGs / 33 pounds).
Started at 28 stone 13 pounds
Currently 26 stone 8 pounds
Short Term Target 26 stone 0 pounds (Should reach this by 11/04/2011)
Long Term Target 14 stone (hope to reach this by 01/02/2014)
Here's the Graph:
The losses have gone as follows:
Week 1: 4.5 lbs
Week 2: 3 lbs
Week 3: 6 lbs
Week 4: 4 lbs
Week 5: 5.5 lbs
Week 6: 2 lbs
Week 7: 2 lbs
Week 8: 6 lbs
Mini target set as 2 lbs to get that 2 and a half Stone award!
1. Definitely more swimming that just the once from last week.
2. Walking is going up another notch. Im doing 600m with Tuesday and Thursday "Tempo" days - Basically Slow then fast then Slow finish. Or something liek that :P
3. 100% Food Optimise as always!
4. Still try get as many Super Speeds in each day as I can.
5. And Keep up the Focus and Positive attitude that's making this all sooo easy.
AND Last but not least, I really feel the need to Thank my LOVELY, CARING WIFE, who helps keep me motivated EVERY DAY. Cooks 90% of my Slimming world meals during the week, and Believes I can do this! I really wouldnt be doing this well without her! I love you Karen, and thank you very much!
Awards this week:
2 Stone Award eventually! 3rd week lucky!
After 2 bad weeks only losing 2 lb each, I'm back on the slimmer of the week!
And for the second month in a row (and only my second month on it) I won Slimmer of the Month!
That brings the total to 2 stone 5 pounds (15 KGs / 33 pounds).
Started at 28 stone 13 pounds
Currently 26 stone 8 pounds
Short Term Target 26 stone 0 pounds (Should reach this by 11/04/2011)
Long Term Target 14 stone (hope to reach this by 01/02/2014)
Here's the Graph:
The losses have gone as follows:
Week 1: 4.5 lbs
Week 2: 3 lbs
Week 3: 6 lbs
Week 4: 4 lbs
Week 5: 5.5 lbs
Week 6: 2 lbs
Week 7: 2 lbs
Week 8: 6 lbs
Mini target set as 2 lbs to get that 2 and a half Stone award!
1. Definitely more swimming that just the once from last week.
2. Walking is going up another notch. Im doing 600m with Tuesday and Thursday "Tempo" days - Basically Slow then fast then Slow finish. Or something liek that :P
3. 100% Food Optimise as always!
4. Still try get as many Super Speeds in each day as I can.
5. And Keep up the Focus and Positive attitude that's making this all sooo easy.
AND Last but not least, I really feel the need to Thank my LOVELY, CARING WIFE, who helps keep me motivated EVERY DAY. Cooks 90% of my Slimming world meals during the week, and Believes I can do this! I really wouldnt be doing this well without her! I love you Karen, and thank you very much!
Weigh-In Week 7
Week 7 brought me a loss yet another dissapointing 2 lbs!
That brings the total to 1 stone 13 pounds (12.2 KGs / 27 pounds).
Started at 28 stone 13 pounds
Currently 27 stone 0 pounds
Short Term Target 26 stone 0 pounds (Should reach this by 18/04/2011)
Long Term Target 14 stone (hope to reach this by 01/02/2014)
The losses have gone as follows:
Week 1: 4.5 lbs
Week 2: 3 lbs
Week 3: 6 lbs
Week 4: 4 lbs
Week 5: 5.5 lbs
Week 6: 2 lbs
Week 7: 2 lbs
Mini target set was only 1 lbs to get that 2 Stone award that has been eluding me the last 2 weeks!
Decided this week that I needed to get back to Swimming. The walking is great and its certainly accomplishing loads, and I don't intend to stop walking, but swimming will help a lot more in the weight-loss department!
That brings the total to 1 stone 13 pounds (12.2 KGs / 27 pounds).
Started at 28 stone 13 pounds
Currently 27 stone 0 pounds
Short Term Target 26 stone 0 pounds (Should reach this by 18/04/2011)
Long Term Target 14 stone (hope to reach this by 01/02/2014)
The losses have gone as follows:
Week 1: 4.5 lbs
Week 2: 3 lbs
Week 3: 6 lbs
Week 4: 4 lbs
Week 5: 5.5 lbs
Week 6: 2 lbs
Week 7: 2 lbs
Mini target set was only 1 lbs to get that 2 Stone award that has been eluding me the last 2 weeks!
Decided this week that I needed to get back to Swimming. The walking is great and its certainly accomplishing loads, and I don't intend to stop walking, but swimming will help a lot more in the weight-loss department!
Saturday, 19 March 2011
Walking is going great!
This is kind of embarrassing to explain like this, but it was the highlight of my week "New Lifestyle"-wise.
A couple of months back, I really couldn't walk far at all, and the simplest little walks like to and fromt he doctor would be a huge effort. I would be huffing and buffing like made when I got there and by the time I got back my legs and/or back would be hurting, and I don't live very far from my doctor! the church is next door to the doctor, and I would never walk to church because by the time I got there I would have broken out in a sweat! Very very embarrassing, I know. But...
This is the 1 thing I am LOVING about the "diet" and the walking. I am becomign a normal person, slowly but surely! I can actually walk again without feeling like im dying! Walk to the doctor and back, no problem, walk to church and back...no problem. Every morning part of my conditioning I walk 500 meters. Now I know thats really isnt much. but trust me, that would have been an effort before. now, its easy.
Anyway, this week I had to get the car's light fixed while I was up in Leeds. The garage didn't take a card, and I had no cash on me, so I needed to get some cash from a ATM. The closest 1 was about a half a mile uphill into the city center. a few months ago, I would never have even considered to walk it. I would have left my phone with the garage and said Ill be back with t he cash and used the car to stop outside the bank. Not this week! While he was still fixing the lights, I walked into town, drew the cash and walked back, without the slightest back pain and no sore legs, not even out of breath!
It really is an embarassing level of fitness I have IMPROVED to, but it is an improvement, and it feels great! My focus of this "life style change" is shifting, from just losing weight, to WHY I'm losing weight, and also to getting fit! How did I let my body get like this? 17 years ago I would have walked for miles! I played Rugby 2 or 3 times a week, played Volleyball 3 or 4 times a week, even got up int he mornings to go play squash because it was the only time I could fit more sport in! Then played some kind of sport (atheletics, swimming, rugby, soccer, squash, tennis, gymnastics) in the afternoons as part of the degree (Human Movement Science) I was doing. I want to get to that sort of fitness again...or at least as close to it as possible!
It's cheesy to say.... But... "I FEEL ALIVE!"
A couple of months back, I really couldn't walk far at all, and the simplest little walks like to and fromt he doctor would be a huge effort. I would be huffing and buffing like made when I got there and by the time I got back my legs and/or back would be hurting, and I don't live very far from my doctor! the church is next door to the doctor, and I would never walk to church because by the time I got there I would have broken out in a sweat! Very very embarrassing, I know. But...
This is the 1 thing I am LOVING about the "diet" and the walking. I am becomign a normal person, slowly but surely! I can actually walk again without feeling like im dying! Walk to the doctor and back, no problem, walk to church and back...no problem. Every morning part of my conditioning I walk 500 meters. Now I know thats really isnt much. but trust me, that would have been an effort before. now, its easy.
Anyway, this week I had to get the car's light fixed while I was up in Leeds. The garage didn't take a card, and I had no cash on me, so I needed to get some cash from a ATM. The closest 1 was about a half a mile uphill into the city center. a few months ago, I would never have even considered to walk it. I would have left my phone with the garage and said Ill be back with t he cash and used the car to stop outside the bank. Not this week! While he was still fixing the lights, I walked into town, drew the cash and walked back, without the slightest back pain and no sore legs, not even out of breath!
It really is an embarassing level of fitness I have IMPROVED to, but it is an improvement, and it feels great! My focus of this "life style change" is shifting, from just losing weight, to WHY I'm losing weight, and also to getting fit! How did I let my body get like this? 17 years ago I would have walked for miles! I played Rugby 2 or 3 times a week, played Volleyball 3 or 4 times a week, even got up int he mornings to go play squash because it was the only time I could fit more sport in! Then played some kind of sport (atheletics, swimming, rugby, soccer, squash, tennis, gymnastics) in the afternoons as part of the degree (Human Movement Science) I was doing. I want to get to that sort of fitness again...or at least as close to it as possible!
It's cheesy to say.... But... "I FEEL ALIVE!"
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