140 days (to a better me)

140Days

140Days

New member
Hello reader,

I started on this site in August last year. Back then I weighed in at 258lbs and was lacking in motivation and commitment. I began my 140 days but simply lurked on the forum, making very little progress until mid-september when I stumbled across a Diary that inspired me beyond belief (you know who you are). I actively began scouring this site and even ventured into the chat room, meeting some wonderful people in the process.

This was the motivation I needed and soon the pounds began dropping off as the weeks flew by. By December 2008 I had already began to get some great compliments from people I work with regarding my weightloss. Things were looking great!

Then came the end of my work year, a multitude of work social dinners and family affairs. Christmas followed that with four seperate 'family meals'. It was all to much for my resolve and my diary entries stopped. With that my daily reminders, encouragement and motivation went out the window.

Now I find myself four days into the new year. Recharged and back on track. I have lost some ground, but am prepare to work really hard to make it work; I have reset my 140 days and my ticker, and this time it will be 100% from the very start.
 
Paul... its great that your back!! I also dissappeared from the forum around the holidays.. things seemed to get out of control to a point that I couldn't handle.. and I gave up.. But I'm coming back full force this year!! We can definitely do this.. we just have to say on track!!!

Amanda
 
Welcome back brother!

I was wondering if you were gonna resurface... Glad you're back with renewed determination.

Lets keep each other honest okay bro?

good to see ya!
 
Haven't seen u on in a couple days.. I hope its bc you've been too busy exercising and getting ready for the new lifestyle!! Hope all is well!!
 
Wow... talk about irony.

I got the offer to go on a fishing/camping holiday 10 days ago and I had great plans or getting back to nature and being healthy. A group of four of my mates and I set off for a great summer trip.

Beer. My worst enemy. Lots of it :( No escape.....

Here I am again at day er... well not to sure. Just got home. I am wracked with guilt, and have been for the last few days... but there is nothing I can do to avoid what has happened.

I know I said 100% right from word go, but life has a funny way of blindsiding you on a sunny thursday afternoon.

Now I am back, 3 weeks left of holiday and tons of physical jobs to be done around the house. My wife is 100% into her fitness program and she is blowing me away with her commitment. From this moment on, for me, this house is a house of change...
 
Well paul glad your back.. its ok that you got detoured all that matters is ur back and ready to get back on track!! hope all goes well!!

Amanda
 
Day 14: Tuesday

It's been a productive couple of days since my last entry. I have built a nice deck area out the back of the house with trellis sheltering. ll the gardens are finished and looking good. Still a few jobs left to get done, with only 2 weeks left of my holidays.

Excersise has consited of fairly intense physical activity outdoors, but the full treadmill/weights has not yet kicked in.

I have been slack with my journal entries, but Today I am writing up a weeks program and will be doing the same each sunday for the week ahead. I intend at least a short entry each night and have set my phone alarm to remind me.

Getting back into routene is the hardest part...
 
I had great day today.

Last few weeks I have been feeling down, gutted with the loss of momentum as well as the weight gain as a result of a collapsed fitness program and diet. It's just like the old me, to give up and go back to old ways when the going gets tough... but the last few days have seen my motivation return with a vengence.

I managed an hour and a half on the treadmill whilst watching "The Last Legion" on TV; ok film, but it was a great workout after so long. Straight away I felt the 'good feeling' of doing something proactive. Managed to follow up with a half hour 'back into the saddle' session of weights (upper body).

Eating last 2 days has been bare minimal (within calory range) and mostly consisting of protein. I need to get rid of the weight I gained as quickly as possible so I can maintain my weekly 2.8lb target loss; a lot more achievable that my 5-6lbs target toward the end of last year LOL

On a different tact, back in August I had been toying with the idea of making a video diary of my weightloss journey. I even filmed the first three weeks, but then lethargy set in and it wasn't until late october that I got back into the swing of things. Now, continuing from where I left off, I have started week four. I know technically it's not actually week four, but my weight is the same and I have even more drive to see it through! I watched it again tonight after adding this weeks footage; Quite brutally honest and rather frightning (and with a humourous theme), but come week 20 I will be where I want to be, so the first few weeks will be of great comparitive value.

When this 140 days is done, I intend to post the video as a sort of 'public accountability' and a personal reminder to ensure that I never go back to where I was...

Sorry those of you I have neglected. You've always been there for me, and I kinda feel like I've let you down :( It's been a strange time for me, but rest assured the old Paul is back and kicking again! I will be catching up on all of your exploits (and for some of you, that is pages and pages LOL) over the next couple of evenings...
 
140Days said:
A group of four of my mates and I set off for a great summer trip.
Click to expand...

I started to trip out over this until I looked over and was reminded you are in the Southern Hemisphere, heheh!

Fishing + Men = beer. I am sorry you felt very guilty about it. :grouphug:

Hey don't forget, this isn't an all-or-nothing, temporary THING, Paul--you're making over your lifestyle. Right? Give yourself some leeway and don't be worried if you need a week or two to maintain what you're doing and stabilize not only your weight but your habits. The perfectionist approach has such potential to fall apart; mid-ground seems safer. SOME people can stay on a linear trajectory of consistent weight loss and good habits, but they're few and far in-between; I know I have spent the past 2 years stopping from binge eating and binge drinking, with setbacks and failures all over the place--sometimes full on benders! But I'm closer and closer to the Better Me who eats moderately and doesn't stuff herself, who gets enough sleep MOST of the time, and who only drinks too much for a few weekends before drying out for a month or so. I dunno what I'm trying to say exactly, maybe I'm just saying All Or Nothing sucks ass and won't work, man, I know this! I SEEN it fail, in multiple people over the years. So keep your motivation up! And be kind to yourself :)

Glad to hear your wife is doing great! :D
 
Looks like you have you mind set and thats great!! Just stick with it you can do!! And if aren't able to make your goal in 140 days don't give up it think it seems possible but we all know how life sometimes gets in the way. But either way stay strong!! We can do this!!!
 
Yo Paul!!! Sorry it took so long to get over here and post!!! Glad you're back bro!!! You totally have the mindset this time!!! You will stick to it, be accountable, track your progress, learn from past mistakes, plan excercise and meals in advance, and MASTER this new LIFESTYLE!!! Learn it... live it... love it!!! You will stick it out this time, you will change your old "bad" habbits into good ones!!! POST!!! BE ACCOUNTABLE!!! DO THIS` FOR YOU... YOU DESERVE IT!!!! :cheers2: <<---- NOT BEER my man!! :D

Great to have ya back!
 
Had a mixed day today.

Great physical activity. Along with a solid half hour on the treadmill and a good weights (UB) session, I went Geocaching with the wife and found five of them; all involving lots of walking/hiking)
....but my car died on the way home. I had to get AA to come and tow me the hour drive home :( Looks like a blown head, which seems to be a reoccuring theme for cars I own.

Two gone the same way in as many years...

On the positive side, I have a work car, otherwise this could be the end of my mobility. Unfortunately I am only supposed to use it for work related journeys, so we are down to a single car between us for personal use. It will be a challenge for the next 6 months (at least) but I know we will cope.

Food intake has been great today. Six smaller meals, nicely balanced. Not feeling hungry at all.
 
Curvie Girlie said:
I started to trip out over this until I looked over and was reminded you are in the Southern Hemisphere, heheh!

Fishing + Men = beer. I am sorry you felt very guilty about it. :grouphug:

Hey don't forget, this isn't an all-or-nothing, temporary THING, Paul--you're making over your lifestyle. Right? Give yourself some leeway and don't be worried if you need a week or two to maintain what you're doing and stabilize not only your weight but your habits. The perfectionist approach has such potential to fall apart; mid-ground seems safer. SOME people can stay on a linear trajectory of consistent weight loss and good habits, but they're few and far in-between; I know I have spent the past 2 years stopping from binge eating and binge drinking, with setbacks and failures all over the place--sometimes full on benders! But I'm closer and closer to the Better Me who eats moderately and doesn't stuff herself, who gets enough sleep MOST of the time, and who only drinks too much for a few weekends before drying out for a month or so. I dunno what I'm trying to say exactly, maybe I'm just saying All Or Nothing sucks ass and won't work, man, I know this! I SEEN it fail, in multiple people over the years. So keep your motivation up! And be kind to yourself :)

Glad to hear your wife is doing great! :D
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You are completely correct, of course Curvey, I am simply caught up in the renewed motivation (and loving it). The best thing about starting this journey properly back in late october is the fact that I have altered my eating for the better. Nothing but healthy food, but only when I have my rigid discipline going. It's the only way I could stave off the booze and maintain the physical activity. I would have benefitted from a few years military service as a teenager LOL

Alcohol and me don't go well together.. that's a lie. We do, famously...but the results are messy as a standard; Yes, I have had a long and often enjoyable romance with beer, but it's time for a serious break up. I need to settle down with Healthy Lifestyle. That's the only way it'll work for me. Drinking or Weightloss and a better body: All or nothing.

So, I will need to be utterly anal (something I strangely enjoy) with my routenes for the next 17 weeks, after that I will ease off and practise Maintainance and the new way of life I have rehearsed over the 20 week buildup.

Not sure if that made any sense, it's late and I am exhausted from my lower body session (extra due to free evening and boredom).

As always, Thanks for being there girl! You guys keep me honest!

PS- Wife (Tina) says "Hi" but is to committed with her own forum (fertility friend) to post her healthy lifestyle/weighloss thread on this site. We both get so much from our repective sites!
 
i_will_not_fail said:
Looks like you have you mind set and thats great!! Just stick with it you can do!! And if aren't able to make your goal in 140 days don't give up it think it seems possible but we all know how life sometimes gets in the way. But either way stay strong!! We can do this!!!
Click to expand...

Thanks for sticking with me Mandy!!!

I set the 140 days more as a goal rather than an unchangable end-of-all-things.

Dreams are something we wish for and have no expected time frame, but goals are specific things within a specific timeline. I need that sort of 'running out of time' motivation to keep me on track.

I am taking this initial journey one week at a time and filming myself during and at the end of each week. The first 3 weeks have already seen me notice some changes. Not enought to go "wow" but they are there.

The thing for me is... time is something I have loads of. I start work at 9am and finish at 3pm. I have weekends free and get 14 weeks holiday a year. Far too much time on my hands... I need (and thrive on) routene; nice anal repressive routenes to keep me on the straight and narrow. Sure life throws the odd curveball (ie my car dieing today) but that should be no excuse to me.

Gosh, now I am ranting LOL

Anyhow, thanks as always for checking in on me so much... best of wishes for your team challenge. Hopefully I will be in your team for the next one!
 
jzthedetermined said:
Yo Paul!!! Sorry it took so long to get over here and post!!! Glad you're back bro!!! You totally have the mindset this time!!! You will stick to it, be accountable, track your progress, learn from past mistakes, plan excercise and meals in advance, and MASTER this new LIFESTYLE!!! Learn it... live it... love it!!! You will stick it out this time, you will change your old "bad" habbits into good ones!!! POST!!! BE ACCOUNTABLE!!! DO THIS` FOR YOU... YOU DESERVE IT!!!! :cheers2: <<---- NOT BEER my man!! :D

Great to have ya back!
Click to expand...

Glad to be back DZ!

You have that wonderful knack of knowing just what to say!

I have spring-cleaned the spare room and plastered the walls with pages from my Body For Life book. All the exercises I can manage with the equipment I have got. I have made an A4 sheet for each week covering food intake (plus shopping list), water consumption and exercises. I have filled one for this week and next in advance. Planning my workouts extensively is something I haven't really done before and it's probably the reason my sessions take so long.... but today I raced through with only a minute between sets.

I am BACK IN THE SADDLE Brother!!!!
 
Day 15

Sheesh, more posts today than I have made in the whole month LOL

Did a weigh in this morning and forgot to post the results. After my hiatus early December, my weight increased from 222 pounds to 233 pounds :(

Today, just a few days back in the saddle, I am already at 228lbs. Six more to go and then I am back to where I left off YAY!
 
You will kill it Paul, you had terrific determination before you went mia for a bit... Just get back where you were mentally. I have complete faith in you, I know you can do it when you set your mind to it, I've seen it!

Sorry I haven't been in here much, I'm kinda busy lately with challenges, both here and in my own life...
 
A new journal for a new year...that's a cool idea :)

You and I are kinda in the same boat right now...I have 5 more pounds to get back to where I was before the holidays too. And also I'm shooting to lose 50lbs before my birthday in May....not quite 140 days but I liked your idea of breaking it down into chunks of time :) I get so many good tips from you guys in this forum!
 
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