Getting the diet right, get the exercise moving and enjoy life to the max
Click here to follow the res of My Weight Loss Journey
In all my previous attempts I had managed to lose between half a stone and a stone off, but this time, once I got the calorie counting going. The weight started to drop off pretty quickly, under 16st by the end of Jan, under 15st by late March, counting calories religiously plus going to the gym 2 or 3 times a week and walking 10000 every day.
Running the boys football team was a huge motivation, now I was fully involved in the training, working out and running with them. It was exhilarating to enjoy sport again. Showing them how them what was needed and it inspired one of the other coaches to start on a weight loss mission as well, so we drove each other on giving each other support.
My wife had also started a diet in February, using an approach developed by a clinic. It was brutal with all sorts of packaged food that she had to eat, I couldn’t contemplate taking that approach but having 2 of us focused really helped. As that diet progressed she moved on to stir fries and other menus they provided which were more palatable to we started eating similar foods.
Previous attempts at running had just produced injuries, but this time I was dealing with them, I spent a fortune on physios to help me get over problems and made sure I had a more balanced approach to the gym and exercise, this really helped for football.
Mindset changes
In 2017 I had been building up my exercise level anyway, but what made a difference this time was:
- Not giving up when I hurt myself and dealing with some fundamental problems as I knew this was the way to avoid joint pain.
- Counting calories intake in a structured way through the app.
- Having a long term goal that was 9 months away rather than having a 6 weeks blast.
- Having the weekly support of mates who were on the same journey as me.
My diet was never that bad, after dreading the Atkins Diet book 20 years earlier, I had always avoided processed food. Takeway foodwas the exception but having kids does bring some dodgy snacks and other temptations within reach, like finishing their meals !
Beer fridges are dangerous
Thinking back, the arrival of the beer fridge in my garage in 2009 didn’t help much. I enjoy a cold beer after a busy day but the issue was probably the size of my portions and I would stock up on high carb food like potatoes and I love bread so these were the sacrifices, I didn’t go cold turkey but I could see the consequences when I logged the food.
A few other things like biscuits, I just didn’t realise how many calories lurk in stuff like that, cereals for breakfast was another challenge, in fact, places like Lidl have so many tempting food so cheap its really difficult, but as I’ve learned they have cheap really good stuff as well so I eat a lot more protein and fruit now.
I very quickly understood what was going on, there were foods that had to be abandoned that were the source of my problem, rice, pasta, potatoes and bread had to be minimised, but I replaced them with protein heavy food. It sounded decadent having salmon for breakfast, but from place like Lidl, it didn’t cost much, it just meant planning.
Firstly its important not to get hungry, so you have to plan the day and the easiest way to do that is have a routine, so this is roughly when I have?
Daily food routine
Breakfast I normally have 3 eggs, boiled or scrambled, a kiwi and an orange but no toast.
Lunchtime I eat lots of protein, especially king prawns for lunch, they are very low on calories and filling, a 200g packet in Lidls is the same price is a sandwich. It’s a bit trickier when I’m not in the office but would still hunt down something like chicken. I’d supplement this with fruit and a protein bar.
Evening is more protein, fish, steak or chicken, with stir fry vegetables supporting it, mushrooms, spinach and peppers are almost zero calories so you can eat as much as you want.
By early May I was feeling absolutely great, my weight was heading for 14st and I got the surfboard out to and had a trial run at Newquay, I was going to Bali
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