IAmGoingToTri's Diary

Entry #5

Which day of your journey is this?
This is day 25.

What are your weight stats?
SW: 98.0 kg
PW: 97.0 kg
CW: 95.8 kg
GW: 78.0 kg

Are you making progress?
Yeah! I am back to my lowest weight this month. I exercised a lot yesterday, I burned close to 4000 calories in total that day, enough to compensate for two cheat days.

Which habits have you built from the beginning of this journey?
  • Updating this diary at least once per week
  • Running 3-5 times per week
  • Drinking more water
Which habits are you in the process of building?
  • Cooking healthy meals at least once per week (next level: 2 times per week)
  • Eating no fries
  • Drinking no alcohol for at least 30 days (start: july 24. next level: 2 months)
  • Eating no chips
Which habits will you start building from now on?
  • Cycling twice per week (next level: three times per week)
Which habits do you plan to build eventually
  • Reduce time using technology (phone/computer/etc)
    I am working in IT and I tend to spend a lot of my free time using my computer as well. I want to spend less of my free time at my computer, and replace it with activities that add more value to my life, such as cooking, exercising, socializing, etc.
    • Do one tech-free day a month (next level: 2 days per month)
    • Do one tech-free evening per month (next level: 2 evenings per month)
  • Start doing strength training 1 time per week (next level: 2 times per week)
  • Greatly reduce sugar intake
    A lot of people nowadays experiment with eating no sugar for a while, and I hear a lot of people who have very intersting experiences with it. I want to give this a try to. I may start all these habits at once, or I may gradually reduce my sugar intake.
    • Stop drinking soda
    • Stop eating chocolate
    • Stop eating cake
How do you feel?
I feel good. I want to exercise, I will do 8 kilometers of running and 15 kilometers of cycling today.

Do you have anything else to share?
Yesterday, after eating healthy and exercising a lot, I felt great! This gives me the confidence that I may be able to accelerate my weight loss rate to 1 kg per week. Anyways, I will just try it and see how it goes.
 
IAmGoingToTri
Yea I do enjoy it, but I can not run big distances without walking a bit to take a rest. I hope I will build more stamina to run without stopping eventually. I cant really see much difference so far. I even think I got bigger. Im happy that you started to see difference :). You are losing fat. that is important. Good luck
 
Entry #6

Days since started
This is day 26.

Weight stats
SW: 98.0 kg
PW: 95.8 kg
CW: 95.2 kg
Milestone 1: 95.0 kg (end of July, rate: -0.7 kg/week)
Milestone 2: 90.0 kg (mid September, rate: -0.8 kg/week)
Milestone 3: 85 kg (end of October, rate: -0.8 kg/week)
Milestone 4: 80 kg (end of December, rate: -0.6 kg/week)
GW: 78.0 kg (end of January, rate: -0.5 kg/week)

Making progress?
Yeah! I am at my lowest weight in the last 6 months. Looking forward to cross the 95 kg line, will probably happen in a few days.

Habits that I have build since I began
  • Updating this diary at least once per week
  • Running 3-5 times per week
  • Drinking more water
Habits that I am building from now
  • Cooking healthy meals at least once per week (next level: 2 times per week)
  • Eating no fries
  • Drinking no alcohol for at least 30 days (start: july 24. next level: 2 months)
  • Eating no chips
  • Cycling twice per week (next level: three times per week)
Habits that I will start building from now
  • None (working on enough habits for now)
Habits I want to build later
  • Reduce time using technology (phone/computer/etc)
    I am working in IT and I tend to spend a lot of my free time using my computer as well. I want to spend less of my free time at my computer, and replace it with activities that add more value to my life, such as cooking, exercising, socializing, etc.
    • Do one tech-free day a month (next level: 2 days per month)
    • Do one tech-free evening per month (next level: 2 evenings per month)
  • Start doing strength training 1 time per week (next level: 2 times per week)
  • Greatly reduce sugar intake
    A lot of people nowadays experiment with eating no sugar for a while, and I hear a lot of people who have very intersting experiences with it. I want to give this a try to. I may start all these habits at once, or I may gradually reduce my sugar intake.
    • Stop drinking soda
    • Stop eating chocolate
    • Stop eating cake
How I feel
Fine

Some thoughts
I watched this video and my conclusion is that I am already following all the advice that she offers, so I am on the right track (I already knew that of course ;)).
You may notice that I added some milestones to my weight stats. I wanted to have a basic planning, an idea of how it could go, that I can use to judge whether I am on track or not. I took into account that the weight loss at first may go easier/faster, and that later on it will be harder/slower. I will use these milestones to motivate myself to continue going. It's nice to break this long journey into smaller steps, it makes it more managable. However, this planning is not set in stone and I am not going to force myself to stick to it to the letter, because I mainly want to focus on building good habits, not on the numbers, because I think that if I look to the numbers too much I may be tempted to make unhealthy/unsustainable choices, for example not eat for a whole day to accelerate weight loss.
 
Entry #6

Days since started
This is day 27.

Weight stats
SW: 98.0 kg
PW: 95.8 kg
CW: 96.0 kg
Milestone 1: 95.0 kg (end of July, rate: -0.7 kg/week)
Milestone 2: 90.0 kg (mid September, rate: -0.8 kg/week)
Milestone 3: 85 kg (end of October, rate: -0.8 kg/week)
Milestone 4: 80.0 kg (end of December, rate: -0.6 kg/week)
GW: 78.0 kg (end of January, rate: -0.5 kg/week)

Making progress?
This week I did a lot of exercise on Sunday and Monday. I did not exercise on Tuesday and Wednesday (I was not feeling well today). It was probably well to take a rest. My weight is slightly higher than the last time, but this is meaningless. I had some salt with my food, this probably explains it.

Habits that I have build since I began
  • Updating this diary at least once per week (4 ???.)
  • Running 3-5 times per week (2 ??)
  • Drinking more water (4 / ?)
Habits that I am building from now
  • Cooking healthy meals at least once per week (next level: 2 times per week) (1 / ?.)
  • Eating no fries (1 / ?)
  • Drinking no alcohol for at least 30 days (start: july 24. next level: 2 months) (0 / ?)
  • Eating no chips (0 / ?)
  • Cycling twice per week (next level: three times per week) (1 / ??.)
Habits that I will start building from now
  • Swim once per week (0 / - )
    This is my lowest-priority goal, I am allowed to skip it if it is too much. I already have a lot of new goals, I want to be careful not to overdo it. So, if I don't do this it's no problem, but if I manage to do this I get bonus points! ;)
Habits I want to build later
See entry #5

How I feel
Still slightly ill, but a lot better then this morning. I should be better tomorrow.

Some thoughts
Tomorrow I will stay in a hotel with a pool, and because I do triathlon and in less then 3.5 weeks I have a competition (and it's months ago since a I trained my swimming), I should grab the chance and go swimming again. Before swimming I will run 8-10 kilometers.

From now on, I will add checkmarks (?) to my habits. A checkmark means that I have been succesful in this, once for each checkmark (so multiple checkmarks mean that I have done this multiple times). If there is a dot (.) behind the goal, it means that I have succesfully completed this habit for this week. The number before the checkmarks stands for the amount of weeks in a row that I have succesfully completed this goal (it goes back to zero if I miss a week).
 
Entry #7

Days since started
This is day 30.

Weight stats
SW: 98.0 kg
PW: 96.0 kg (previous weight)
CW: 96.0 kg
Milestone 1: 95.0 kg(end of July, rate: -0.7 kg/week)
Milestone 2: 90.0 kg(mid September, rate: -0.8 kg/week)
Milestone 3: 85 kg(end of October, rate: -0.8 kg/week)
Milestone 4: 80.0 kg(end of December, rate: -0.6 kg/week)
GW: 78.0 kg(end of January, rate: -0.5 kg/week)

Making progress?
I have not made any progress since my last post 3 or 4 days ago. I did not exercise and I ate slightly too much.

Habits that I have build since I began
  • Updating this diary at least once per week (4 ????.)
  • Running 3-5 times per week (2 ??)
  • Drinking more water (4 / ?.)
Habits that I am building from now
  • Cooking healthy meals at least once per week (next level: 2 times per week) (1 / ?.)
  • Eating no fries (1 / ??)
  • Drinking no alcohol for at least 30 days (start: july 24. next level: 2 months) (0 / ???)
  • Eating no chips (0 / ?.)
  • Cycling twice per week (next level: three times per week) (1 / ??.)
Habits that I will start building from now
  • Swim once per week (0 / ?.)
    Bonus goal
Habits I want to build later
See entry #5

How I feel
I feel ok. Slightly tired, but I don't have any responsibilities tomorrow, so I have time to rest. I feel less stressful then before, which is ok.

Some thoughts
So, as you can judge from the "?" marks, building my habits has not gone very well in the latter half of this week. The main reason is that I put my full attention of my work, which demanded that. I was very stressed out of it, and I wanted to make sure that I finished my project well. Fortunately, that happened, and to be honest I don't regret putting my priorities on my work and "sinning" in eating/not exercising. It was the right choice. Now I have more time I want to pick up on my goals again. So, let's do that now.

So, first, let's assess the damage. The worst case scenario is that I gained 200-300 grams in the last days, which can be burned of in a day. Another thing is that I have to re-start with building some habits, but others still went well. If I get back on track now, it will be fine. So, the damage is not serious, but it can be if I let myself get carried away by it. I think these days will always happen every now and then. Of course it is good to try to prevent them as much as possible, but I think it is even more important to learn to recover from it quickly. And that is what I want, every kilogram that I lose is a step forward. I already lost two kilograms, and it my sound weird, but I already notice the difference in how much energy I have and how easy it is to move (climb stairs, run, walk, etc). I think this is not only because of my weight loss, but also because of the habits that I am working on, like exercising.

Interestingly, I had the same issue last week because of exactly the same reason; working on this project in a new city. And I recovered from that in a day. I exercised for 2.5 hours on Sunday; I ran 10 km and then I cycled 25 kilometers. That worked well (and I enjoyed it a lot), so I will do it again tomorrow. I will stop drinking alcohol again, and not eat any more fries. You can see that I broke those habits (of not consuming those things) not once, but multiple times this week, instead of correcting myself after one time. I think it is because I feel like, if I break my rules once, all is lost. That is of course a lie, and I am glad that I realize that again.

I will also make an exercise planning for this week. I'll cycle twice, run three times and as a bonus I might go for a swim.

Well, that is all. It's not that hard to get back on track after all, this feels very doable.
 
It's good to see that the good habits you are developing are already building your stamina & helping you move closer to your goals. It is very doable Tri.
 
Thanks a lot cate! :)

My weight today was 94.6... so I did lose weight in the last days after all! My goal was to weigh less than 95 kg before the end of July, so I am on track. I hit my first milestone!

Let's go to the next one... <90 kg in 6 weeks. I will have to lose 4.6 kg, and I lost 3.4 kg in 31 days. If I maintain this pace I will be succesful (3.4 / 31 * 6 * 7 = 4.6).
 
Last edited:
Hello :D. I just want to update you and happily I can say that I lost 2.5kilos in 2 weeks. Amazing, I took some advices from people on this forum and changed my diet. Diet is number 1 priority to lose weight and not training. Im amazed :). Congratulations on your milestone buddy. That is awesome
 
Hi Andrej! Thanks for your update, that is great man! :)

Advice from people is very important, especially for learning proper nutrition/exercise. I learned a LOT from people on forums like this one!

It think the it's about 2/3 diet and 1/3 exercise. So yeah, I agree that diet is more important than exercise. The main reason being that if you find it hard to control yourself and that you tend to overeat, that exercise will not help, because you'll just eat more food to compensate for the burned calories. But, if you manage to get your diet in check, then exercise can really boost losing weight. I recently had some days that I ran about 10 kilometers and cycled 25 kilometers, and I burned about close to 2000 calories, which would be 250 grams of fat loss.

Thanks for you kind words, I am very happy that I hit this milestone, I will continue until I am done! :)

Good luck to you too, keep me posted!
 
Entry #8

Days since started
This is day 32.

Weight stats
SW: 98.0 kg
PW: 94.6 kg (previous weight)
CW: 95.5 kg
Milestone 1: 95.0 kg(end of July, rate: -0.7 kg/week)
Milestone 2: 90.0 kg(mid September, rate: -0.8 kg/week)
Milestone 3: 85 kg(end of October, rate: -0.8 kg/week)
Milestone 4: 80.0 kg(end of December, rate: -0.6 kg/week)
GW: 78.0 kg(end of January, rate: -0.5 kg/week)

Making progress?
Not in terms of weight, but judging from my activity yesterday I am sure that I am losing weight. My weight tends to fluctuate, sometimes by more than 2 kg. This is not fat gain/loss, but mostly water/food.

Habits that I have build since I began
  • Updating this diary at least once per week (5 ?)
  • Running 3-5 times per week (3 / ?)
  • Drinking more water (5 / ?)

Habits that I am building from now

  • Cooking healthy meals at least once per week (next level: 2 times per week) (1)
  • Eating no fries (0 / ?)
  • Drinking no alcohol for at least 30 days ((re)start: august 1. next level: 2 months) (0 / ?))
  • Eating no chips (1 / ?)
  • Cycling twice per week (next level: three times per week) (1)
Habits that I will start building from now

  • Swim once per week (0 )
    Bonus goal
Habits I want to build later
See entry #5

How I feel
I feel ok. Again a bit stressed, I have to go to work now and make sure that I finish before the deadline, which is in 1.5 hours. Should be doable.
I also feel that I used my muslces yesterday, because they are a bit sore (not too bad though). It's a nice reminder of my activity yesterday.

Some thoughts
Ok, so after the second half of last week (when I broke my routine) I am now coming back. I did my first run, my longest run in more than six months... about 12 kilometers. Not only that, it also went really well, it was easier to run than in any of my previous runs this year, and I also think I ran faster. Because I still have to exercise at least 4 times this week (2x running, 2x cycling) I think it's good to make some kind of planning:

Monday: running (12 kilometers)
Tuesday: running (10 kilometers)
Wednesday: cycling (30 kilometers), optional: swimming (1 kilometer)
Thursday: running (12 kilometers)
Friday: cycling (30 kilometers)
Saturday: kayaking, optional: running (6 kilometers)
Sunday: recovery day

A lot of cardio... which of course is necessary for my sports. I want to add some strength training eventually, but I will only do that when all other sports (running, cycling, swimming) are really part of my routine.
 
Always good to notice your body getting fitter! The advantage of doing so many different kinds of cardio is that you should be building muscle as well.
 
During my first runs I took breaks between running. As time passed, I took less and less breaks, and now I don't take breaks anymore. I my running speed varies between 10-12 kilometers per hour, with short sprints of 13-15 in between.

I must say that I am a natural good runner; I am sure that when I am done losing weight, I can do a 5k in less than 20 minutes, perhaps eventually in less than 18 minutes. I base that on previous running times (when I was lighter) and extrapolations of that data (so taking into account additional training and weight loss). That gives me hope to keep on going, that I will get faster over time. When I started I struggled to do 9-10 kilometers per hour, and like I mentioned I had to take breaks in between them. That was quite frustrating, but the belief that I would get faster if I just kept going... well... kept me going. So I encourage you to do the same. Don't judge yourself for not being fast. Don't judge yourself for taking breaks. Just push yourself to go running and to do your best at your runs, and you will get better.

Just to compensate for the bragging... something that I am not good at: I am a natural bad dancer! ;)
 
Thanks LaMaria, I sure hope so! :)

And thanks Butterfly88, I am sure that this will work too! The only question is how quickly I will lose, which is mostly dependent on how much I am able to motivate myself to push my boundaries further and further (with the goal of changing unhealthy habits to healthy ones).
 
IAmGoingToTri said:
Thanks LaMaria, I sure hope so! :)

And thanks Butterfly88, I am sure that this will work too! The only question is how quickly I will lose, which is mostly dependent on how much I am able to motivate myself to push my boundaries further and further (with the goal of changing unhealthy habits to healthy ones).
Click to expand...
we will always be here to motivate you :D
 
Thanks Andrej! I will do the same for you! ;)

Ok, so I feel the temptation to skip my bike ride today. I have my excuses ready: I did not sleep very well, I have a massive tooth ache because on of my wisdom teeth got pulled (fortunately the painkiller work sufficiently now), and my bicycle has some issues (only minor ones though). However, I don't think these excuses are good enough to deviate from my schedule. So, I will finish my work in the next few minutes, drive to the bicycle repair shop, get the repairs and start cycling right after that.

Note: there are circumstances that would convince me to skip exercising. Today's circumstances are not sufficiently serious to do that. I have a goal in mind, and if I allow myself to change my place with every bump on the road that I meet then I will never get there, or at the very least much later.
 
Don´t do too much after having a tooth pulled - no need to risk the wound opening up. Especially don´t keep your head too low while biking.
 
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