Back at it again!

Back at it again!

Well, it has been some time and that time has been full of many ups and downs! Although these were not the GOOD KIND! Mostly it was my weight going up and my motivation going down!

Bullet points of what has happened since I last posted here:

• I not only went back to my starting weight of 184kg (405lbs/29st) but surpassed it to nearly 200kg (440lbs/31.5st)!
• In January 2021, I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes!
• I became as sedentary as I ever was and started getting issues with my knees, ankles, and tendons in my feet.
• I have also in that time tried various different types of diets "on my own". Sometimes with good 20kg losses, and other times with little to no losses or other negative physical effects!
  Some examples are Banting or Keto Diets and I even spent a couple months on a CRAZY Carnivore diet with a great 20kg loss, but a few negative Mental/Emotional results, as well as some unexplainable issues with my feet...It literally felt like I was constantly walking on nails!?
• In 2018 we bought a van and converted it to a campervan, and it started getting me out of the house and a little less sedentary!

However, I'm back at it again! At the beginning of August with my doctor's approval, I went back to Slimming World to do their Extra Easy "Diet", despite my heavy reliance on a lot of their "Healthy Carb" Free Foods.

It's taken me a month to find the confidence to share this journey again. Partly, because I wanted to make sure I found my determination to see this through again. It's embarrassing planning to start this journey, sharing it with friends and the rest of the world...and then Failing spectacularly...
But, I found a lot of determination and motivation in sharing my weight loss journey in the past, and now confident enough to share and look for the support I enjoyed the last time! So thank you in advance to anyone reading and willing to support me on this journey again! I almost feel like I can't do this without you!

Results so far

Starting Weight (04/08/2021): 28st 4.5lbs (179.8kg/396.5lbs)

Week1: 28st (177.8kg/392lbs) = 4.5lbs loss

Week2: 27st 10lbs (176kg/388lbs) = 4lbs loss

Week3: 28st 0.5lbs (178kg/392.5lbs) = 4.5lbs gain

Week4: 27st 8.5lbs (175.3kg/386.5lbs) = 6lbs loss

I'm listing my results in Stones and Pounds because this is the measurement Slimming World uses by default.

Slimming World

A very brief and simplified description of what I understand about Slimming Worlds Extra Easy "diet" is there are essentially 4 types of food:

Free Food
- Everything sugar free with less than 2% Fat. That is a dangerous over simplification, but some examples of Free Food are Potatoes, Lean Meats, Rice, Pasta, Veg, Eggs, Fruit, etc
- This needs to make up at least 2/3 of your plate for Breakfast, Lunch & Supper

Speed Free Food

- These are Lower Calorie foods like Veg and Fruits, although not ALL are Speed. Example Bananas, Corn, Potatoes, etc

- This needs to make up at least 1/3 of your plate for Breakfast, Lunch & Supper

Healthy Extras

- These are Calcium and Fibre option foods. Mostly I get my Calcium from Dairy products and my fibre from grains.

- These foods are weighed/measured to both ensure that you are getting enough Calcium and fibre, and also that you are not getting TOO MUCH!

- You need to have 2 A serves (Calcium) and 1 B serve (Fibre) EVERY DAY! And any more than that you have to count as SYNs!

SYNs

- These are anything that doesn't fall into Free Food/Speed Free Food and Healthy Extras, counts as SYNs!
- A "normal" sized person on the diet should aim to not have more than 15 SYNs a day. But as a male and at my size, the website calculates I could have up to 37 SYNs a day...Although 95% of the days I never have more than 15 SYNs anyway!

- Slimming Worlds app and reference material has SYN values for almost every product from most Brands or even Take Aways listed for you to help calculate and track your SYN count every day!

Due to the reference material, it is important to actually be a registered member of a Slimming World Group. However, I find it VITAL to be a member purely for the weekly weighing and accountability at the group for what your weekly result is. Yes, there is a little pressure and stress when you have not lost, but there is also great support and encouragement to fuel your motivation and determination to stay strict to the plan!

Please note my description of Slimming World's diet is extremely simplified and personal to me and is in no way meant to serve as a guide or template to anyone to try to do this diet without access to Slimming Worlds' amazing and detailed reference material or the vital support of attending weekly group meetings!

Exercise

Aside from Slimming World, I am also stepping up my Physical activity to get myself fit. My intention was to start slow like I did in 2011! But what started as short gentle 10 minute walks, have quickly become intense 30 to 50-minute walks. I'm a sweaty, panting mess when I'm done, but I'm really enjoying it and although have achy muscles most of the rest of every day, I actually feel energized by the exercise and will continue to push these to longer and longer walks till I can start running and have lost enough weight that I feel confident enough to get on a bicycle again. 

Part of the problem at my size being on a bike is that I feel way too top-heavy and the simplest of corners make me feel like I will topple over, So I have set a goal to start cycling when I reach 162kg (157lbs/25.5st), which is a 10% weight loss and is also the weight I was when I started cycling in 2011!

My Goals this time round

Weight

I have set my target at 120kg (264lbs/18.9st). A 60kg (132lbs/9.4st) total Loss!
I feel like this is when I was happiest and fittest and was the most sustainable weight I was at last time. Although I did drop down to 109kg (240lbs/17.1st) as my lowest weight in 2011. I didn't feel comfortable then! I struggled with energy and fitness, and struggled to maintain that weight! At 120kg I ran a half Marathon and did a LOT of cycling which was definitely sustainable!

Fitness
I want to be able to do long hikes around the world. Up and down Mountains! The First 1 I have set as a Celebratory hike/van trip: Walking the West Highland Way in Scotland!

I want to be able to get on my bike and cycle for 40 odd miles as a daily exercise routine.
I want to be able to run 5km a couple times a week....especially when it rains! I recall the amazing "highs" I had running in the rain. I literally had a "mantra" and emotional reaction to seeing it raining outside: "It's raining! Time for a run!" ...ok...weak as far as a mantra is concerned...but it had an amazing power to get me out of the house with my running shoes on! :P

How long will it take?

Honestly, I have no idea! 

Last time I lost on average 6.35kg (14lbs/1st) per month.

But, I'm 10 years older and have diabetes...I'm not sure which one of those is responsible...But I am losing weight slower this time around!
Also, I know it is almost cliche to say this, but this time around, I honestly want this to be a lifelong change and not just a time-based target!

How you can help me

If you had read this far, I thank you and ask you as a show of support and encouragement to me, that you:

1. Like my blog posts and/or Facebook posts every time I share them. I will try to post updates at least every week and share my activities via Strava on Facebook.
2. Follow my Blog.
3. Share it if you like, or if you think it may help someone else
4. Comment some encouragement or share your own success stories
5. Fellow Strava users can follow me on Strava via this link: https://www.strava.com/athletes/198477

New Year, New motivation/determination

I feel like I dodged a bullet, no wait, Scud Missile today on the scales! The home scales battery has been flat, so haven't weighed myself at home for over a month and last weigh-in in group was 4/12/2013 when I put on 10 lbs after being away for 2 weeks!

Since then I lost the plot completely and have avoided going to group taking the month off mentally and physically, committing to get back on plan today (again)!

In that month "away", I ploughed "mouth first" into:
- COPIOUS amounts of bread/toast, baguettes and crumpets
- VARIOUS lazy McD meals with the kids
- VARIOUS lazy Subway lunches with Karen Pienaar Dalldorf
- VARIOUS South African sweets, chocolates and crisps
- VARIOUS helpings of trifle, cake and cream, ice-cream, chocolates, dry roasted peanuts, crisps and sweets
- 2 x Christmas Parties
- 2 x Chinese Take aways
- 2 x Christmas dinners (1 with friends and 1 at home)
- 2 x bags of Thornton Toffees
- a treat with my teenage boys to Red Hot Buffet
- a lazy KFC night last night
- an anniversary weekend away
- and pretty much anything else that was going.

To say I didn't know the meaning of NO this last month the moment anything popped into my mind or was offered, is no exaggeration, and if I did say no, it was only because I was already stuffed full of NON-FREE foods, and that eating any more be have been nothing short of attempted suicide!!

HONESTLY, without any hyperbole, I was expected to get on the scales today and gain 1.5 or 2 stone in that month! The conversation in the car enroute to weigh-in with my friend Estelle went something like this:
If I have gained more than 2.5 stone I'm going to cry.
If I have gained 2 stone I wont be surprised.
If I have gained less than 1.5 stone I'll be SHOCKED!

I got on the scales to a 4 lbs gain! WHAT!? How is that even possible?!?!

But I'll take it with thanks and a massive sigh of relief and focus forward with motivation and determination!

Update

Still going strong, but need to get out and exercise if I want to get my fitness level back to were it was!

Friday Breakfast was the usual Fruit and Fat Free Yogurt (1 for Cherry Underlay) for Breakfast. I had Salad for lunch and 2 Mugshot Thai (1 Syn) for a snack. Supper was Slimming world burgers from extra lean mince (A serve Cheddar, B serve slice of bread, 6 Syns 2nd slice of bread, 2 Syns SaladCream).
Syns =  10 Syns

Saturday Breakfast I had A huge Omelette with Onions, Peppers, Mushrooms and Tomatoes with Ketchup (2 Syns). Lunch I had 2 Thai Mugshots (1 Syn). Supper I had Steak, Peppercorn Sauce (2 Syns), SW Chips and Salad. Some salted Popcorn as a Cinema Snack (12 Syns).
Syns = 17 Syns

Sunday Breakfast was Fruit and Cherry Yog (1 Syn). Lunch was Cheese and Broccoli Pasta (1 Syn) and Sauce and Salad with Croutons and Dressing (8 Syns). Supper was So Juicy Chicken (2 Syns) with Rice, Gravy (2 Syns), Cauliflower LowLow Cheese (3 Syns).
Syns = 17 Syns

Managed to get a short walk in this morning. Need to just get into the habit of doing it EVERY morning!

Weighin and update

So first day back on the official scales at Slimming World on Wednesday night and I got a little surprise...I weighed myself at home before going and posted on here that I was weighing in at 26st dead, but when i got on the scales at Slimming World, it recorded my:

Current Official start weight 25st 9lbs.

So 5lbs lighter than my home scales are saying, which is good, since that means its 5lbs less to lose, but sucks since previous my home scales and Slimming World scales agreed exactly. Oh well, not that it matters.

The first day back on it went fairly well to start...with some Melon, Grapes, Banana and Pear with Fat Free Muller Light Yogurt for breakfast and Tomato, Lettuce, Croutons, Dressing and Peppered Smoked Mackerel for Lunch and Pork Chops, SW Chips and SW Peppercorn Sauce. Unfortunately thats when it went wrong. The kids got home from Trick or Treating and Dylan was "kind" enough to give me the Curly Wurlys he got because he doesnt like them and he knows how much I LOVE them! However, they were the little ones, so not too bad and at least thats Halloween behind me! :)

Total syns for the day: 17.5
Croutons: 6.5
Dressing: 2
Peppercorn Sauce: 2
Curly Wurly: 7 (3.5 each)

I did miss my walk yesterday and not yet been out today, but I will take Kaydee out for a walk for lunch today!

And I'm back again!

Ok, so I've been a bit more off than on the last year, and as a result I've put a lot more on than off!

I originally started this at 28st 13lbs
I'm currently weighing 26st dead (on my scales at home)

I'm sat here waiting for the time to pass before going back to Slimming World for the first time in 3 months. It's been a crazy 3 months! I know work has actually got in the way a lot and I always feel bad blaming work for not looking after my health, but the last 2 months have been the worst ever because I decided I was going to leave my job and work for myself so that I could STEAL my life back and focus on the things that are important to me: Family, Health, Cycling! I have been working nights and weekends setting things up, and on 18 October I eventually made the break!

It's been a busy first week working for myself, but I have eventually got control of things and been getting out walking as a start to my fitness and ready to commit to this for good.

In the last 3 months I put on another 2.5 stone, which has further trashed any fitness I had! I am even getting the back pains I used to get at 29st when walking as little as 1km! :(

LUCKILY.... I know a guy ....
He lost almost 12 stone in 12 months.
He went from not being able to walk 1km without pain to completing the Leeds Half Marathon (23.1km) in 2 hours 3 minutes.
He also did a Duathlon Classic, 10km run, 40km cycle, 5km run.
He did 131km around Brands Hatch as part of a Charity ride.
This guy KNEW how to eat healthy, think healthy and exercise healthy!
.....he said he would give me some tips and pointers....so it shouldn't be a problem.

As my first goal I'm setting to give me something to focus on, I'm going to join a Charity Trek up Machu Picchu in July 2014.
http://mptrek.weebly.com/index.html
I'll see what other physical challenges I can throw in my way as I regain some fitness.

I'll update my Official current weight after my Slimming World weigh in in a couple hours.

Another good week

Short post tonight as I'm sat in group, and will probably be busy when I get home and forget to post!

Very happy with a good 4lbs loss this week! Total of 10lbs lost since going back to group and getting on my bike again!

Current weight is 23st 8lbs

The bad stuff:
Didn't eat much on the weekend
Snacked a bit the last 2 days
Missed 2 rides due to broken chain

The good stuff:
Completed a full Food Diary
Rode every day I had a working bike!
Made some good choices even when heavily tempted
Lost 4lbs!

Very happy and still very motivated! Got to get to 20st and get on that road bike!!

Sheepish Hello

It's been my 1st real week at it again after some time! I never really consciously stopped going to Slimming World. Life/work kinda just kept getting in the way, but more so, I was letting it get int he way because I knew I wasn't focussed and committed to eating healthily or getting out on my bike!

2 weeks ago I started getting real depressed about the state of my health again, but knew I was taking Karen away for her birthday to the seaside, so I put off making a change till we got home. First thing I did when I got home was climb on the scales! 24st 13lbs! WHATTTTT!!! :(

At my lightest after starting at Slimming World I weighed 17st 4lbs. Last year this time I was 17st 12.5. So 7st on in a year! More frightening than that though is the fact that over the winter I did hardly any exercise and my fitness has plummeted! Last year this time I was doing 100km rides. Now Im struggling to finish a 16km ride!

So, Sunday with the seaside trip behind me I resolved to get back on it and put my health first again! I could have waited till my first weigh-in to stick to plan, but I decided Id probably only put on another 10lbs in the 3 days, so I cracked on straight away.

Step 1, stop snacking!
Step 2, Healthy food choices!
Step 3, STOP snacking!
Step 4, back on my bike!
Step 5, SERIOUSLY DUDE...STOP SNACKING!

By the time weigh-in rolled round Wednesday night I had shed an unofficial 9 lbs weighin in at 24st 4lbs. Good start! Now keep it up for a week!

It wasn't the greatest week to be honest!
THE BAD STUFF:
I had the odd bit of Synable chocolate, but Friday night with guests I also had some Chocolate cake and cream. Then after Karen's "ladies night" ladies went home....someone left a bunch of mini sausage rolls! NOOO..I should have thrown them in the bin! Instead, I snacked on them all through Saturday! Saturday night, date night, Karen and I went to movies and I ended up scoffing a 2 scoop ice cream with fudge sauce! :( The odd day I even had some crisps! ("I thought I said stop snacking!")
Then yesterday I had a weird day. I had to go to London for work, so I had loads of fruit in the morning, skipped my packed salad and had a packet of crisps for lunch!? Huh? Supper was a couple pieces of tikka chicken breast and about a quater small bowl of Tikka Pasta and couldn't eat any more. That's it!?
THE GOOD STUFF:
Although I did lots of snacking this week, by comparison to the last month or 2, I avoided a lot more snacking than it would have been! *pat on my own back* --- but I still got to reign it in if I want the weightloss not only to continue, but continue hard and fast to get to 20stone and get on my Road Bike again! (That's the goal by the way...20stone = Road Bike...til then it's slogging away on the mountain bike!)
I managed to get out on my bike 4 days this week, aiming for 6 next week.

I really wasn't expecting to lose much today at my 2nd weigh-in due to all the bad stuff and the scales telling a sad story last I weighed myself on Sunday, but I weighed in at 23st 12lbs tonight giving me a very lucky official 6lbs loss, but also add to that the unofficial 9lbs loss before first weigh-in and that's an unofficial 1st 1lbs in 10 days! Exactly the motivation and confidence I needed to spur myself on.

I knew I would get back to blogging once I felt confident this was a real honest return to plan, but I didn't think I would manage 1st 1lbs in 10 days, and has convinced me I'm back.

Someone told me this morning (paraphrased): "You've done it before and you have the tools, you can do it again!" and that is exactly how I feel. I know exactly what to do, and how to do it, and know that if I put my mind to it, I can do it again! Especially since I'm already 5st lighter than I was when I first started this!

NOW KEEP IT UP FOR ANOTHER WEEK!

FYI: in the past I spent a lot of time writing my blogs to a format, tracking my progress in detail in each post. I don't intend to do that again this time. I just want to speak my mind, mention my weekly and over all loss since starting again and perhaps since the very start and mention the highs and lows of the week. But I'm a sucker for detail, so it may stray in from time to time.

Also, in the past I spent a lot of time converting stones, pounds and kilograms....I cant be bothered this time. Either google or calculate the figures! :P Slimming World works in Stones and pounds, so thats what Im going to mention!
However, here are some markers for anyone that doesn't work in Stones and pounds to use for some mental arithmetic:
1lbs = 0.45kg
7lbs = half a stone = 3.175kg
1st = 14 lbs = 6.35

And some of my weights, past, present and targeted that will get mentioned:
Start = 28st 13.5lbs = 405lbs = 184kg
Previous Low = 17st 4lbs = 242lbs = 109.7kg

Current = 23st 12lbs = 334lbs = 151.5kg

First target = 20st = 280lbs = 127kg
Goal = 14st = 196lbs = 89kg