Splodge's Diary

I actually got a bike a while ago on a previous fitness frenzy, with the intention of cycling in and out of work, but after two or three near misses I abandoned it. I don't want to lose weight by having a leg amputated. I live in the city and the buses share the cycle lanes, keeping in from a bus means going into slopey drain whch makes the back wheel skid - ok i'm exaggerating, it's not all like that, but there's enough of it on my journey to put me off cycling in the dark at any rate. For the next couple of months I leave for work in the dark and come home in the dark - maybe I'll give it another go in Feb/March when it starts getting brighter again. There's no reason I can't have the odd go at the weekends now though, if for no other reason than to break things up. I'll give it a go for the few days over Christmas when the gym is closed, now that I'm a little fitter it might work out a tad safer.

I think a lot of my frustrations with the gym exercises is that I'm so bad at them. I know I shouldn't be pumping sweat after 5 minutes and it shouldn't be a struggle to spend 15 minutes on an exercise bike (sore arse excluded). Maybe as time goes on it will get a little less frustrating, if I can get to a level that someone my age should be.

I'd prefer to do running. I have a bit of arthritis in my hip. It's not too bad, but enough to prevent me running for the moment. I'm hoping when I lose another 20lbs or so and build up the muscle in that area through exercise, that it might be able to take a few miles.

On a darker note I just ordered my Christmas Cheeses. 1.5kilos of cheeses varying between exteremely fattening to super duper ultra fattening (anyone who has dropped a crumb of Delice de Bourgogne cheese on a piece of paper will know what I mean). Hell I like cheese. And I will share ... some of it. Just in case that wasn't enough I threw a slab of Breton Pate in as well. It just winked at me as the man was writing up the order.
 
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Day 44 - 15 December
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Exercise
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35 min walk at Lunch


Feed
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Breakfast: Pineapple Juice, Porridge w/honey
Morning Snack: None
Lunch : 2 bowls fresh veg soup
Afternoon Snack: Cappuccino
Dinner: Chicken Curry w/rice
Evening Snack: salty onion flavoured snack thingies - only a few
Alcohol: None
Calories: 2300

Tuesday and Friday are my rest days from the gym, but I had the gym gear on ready to go for a bonus session (acknowledging time will be tight and i'll probably miss the odd session over the next fortnight) only to be roped into a mass parcel wrapping session. Still, another task down. Ate well enough (despite sampling some ugly snacky thing) and got a decent walk in for an off day. Two good days down, five to go. Skinny by next Monday.
 
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Day 45 - 16 December
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Exercise
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7 x(1.5 slow 0.5 fast) exercise bike
7 x(1.5 slow 0.5 fast) cross trainer
3k row

7x10x2 weights
35 min walk at Lunch


Feed
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Breakfast: Pineapple Juice, toast w/marmalade
Morning Snack: None
Lunch : 2 bowls sweet potato & carrot soup
Afternoon Snack: Cappuccino
Dinner: Chicken Curry w/rice
Evening Snack: None
Alcohol: None
Calories: 2100
 
Day 46 - 17 December
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Exercise
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7 x(1.5 slow 0.5 fast) exercise bike
7 x(1.5 slow 0.5 fast) cross trainer
3k row
4k arm power

7x10x2 weights



Feed
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Breakfast: orange Juice, bran flakes
Morning Snack: 3 x cappuccino (small)
Lunch : boring plain no fat ham sandwich
Afternoon Snack: Cappuccino
Dinner: 2 prepepared salads - crayfish w/spicy sauce and rice + smoked salmon salad & dressing (800 cals between them)
Evening Snack: None
Alcohol: None
Calories: 1800

Really gave the training a good go. I was a tiny bit low on the calories but it didn't really feel like it especially as the salads were so bulky. 4 very good days gone, 3 to go. Skinny by Monday. I just added up the calories on my Christmas cheeses. 6600 calories. Plus another 1200 odd in the paté. I really will have to share. This was bought as just one (well two) of many types of snacks over the Christmas Week, In a week when I'd expect to be eating more than ever, excluding snacks, and drinking like a fish. Is there any hope for me? I suppose at 3,500 calories a pound I can afford to give up two or three pounds over a few days as long as I get straight back into harness afterwards. Mind you the two or three pounds are a lot harder won back than they are to put on.
 
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Day 47 - 18 December
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Exercise
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35 min walk



Feed
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Breakfast: scrambled egg w/toast
Morning Snack: None
Lunch : 2 bowls ugly soup
Afternoon Snack: None
Dinner: Pizza
Evening Snack: Extra fat crisps
Alcohol: 4 glasses wine - booooo!
Calories: 3500

Boo! Not thin by Monday.
 
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Day 48 - 19 December
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Exercise
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7k exercise bike level 12
1k cross trainer level 14
5k row level 10


7x10x2 weights



Feed
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Breakfast: orange Juice, bran flakes
Morning Snack: None
Lunch : 2 ham/salad sandwichs w/soup
Afternoon Snack: Cappuccino
Dinner: Chilli Con Carne
Evening Snack: None
Alcohol: None
Calories: 2200
 
Day 49- 20 December


Sunday Triathlon Number 2
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5km Exercise bike level 10 - 11.53
3km Row level 10 - 12.40
0.8km Cross Trainer - 13.37

Total Time : 38:10
Previous best : 40:01

I don't know that I want to put in that level of effort again. T'was very sore. I knew I was going to take a lump of time off the row, given that on my first effort it was only the second time I'd used the machine and I'm only getting the hang of it now. On the bike, I started off much faster than usual and then had to suffer it out. I'm sort of limited on the cross trainer as when I go too fast it bleeps at me that my heart rate is too high. Much as I'd like to go faster, I think avoiding a heart attack is more important.
 
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Day 49 - 20 December
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Exercise
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Sunday Triathlon.



Feed
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Breakfast: orange juice
Morning Snack: None
Lunch : Mussels in creamy broth, Pork belly + fries + veg, stewed plum creme brulee
Afternoon Snack: Cappuccino
Tea: Crab gratin
Evening Snack: Big lump of chocolate
Alcohol: 1 Glass Wine
Calories: 2900

Day 50 - 21 December
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Weigh in : 256
Loss on Week : 4lbs
Total Loss so far: 19lbs

A more than dodgy end to the week but somehow it ended up in a big loss. I shouldn't have put on 2lbs last week so maybe I just weighed in at a good moment this week and a bad one last week. Sadly I had a sneaky weigh in on Friday morning and weighed 253lbs. That might have given another person just the shot in the arm required to have a perfect weekend, but it appears to have had the opposite effect on me.

Whatever way I look at it, I'm going to weigh more next Monday. I'll try and limit the damage by being extra good for the next three days, and make an effort to at least get a bit of a walk or a cycle in every day. It won't be as bad as other years, but it still wont be good.

Best I can hope for this week ...

No drifting into Christmas grazing mode before Thursday.
No grazing on stuff I don't really like (i.e. chocolate/salty greasy snacks).
Share the cheese (generously).
At least 1 glass of water with/between every glass of wine.
 
Splodge said:
On a darker note I just ordered my Christmas Cheeses. 1.5kilos of cheeses varying between exteremely fattening to super duper ultra fattening (anyone who has dropped a crumb of Delice de Bourgogne cheese on a piece of paper will know what I mean). Hell I like cheese. And I will share ... some of it. Just in case that wasn't enough I threw a slab of Breton Pate in as well. It just winked at me as the man was writing up the order.
Click to expand...

hahaaa! Greatest thing I've ever read... I'm not a huge cheese person, but I have the same problem with chocolate :rolleyes:
 
I never had a sweet tooth, but my beloved wife does, so I still end up eating any chocolate\sweets\dessert\cake\bun that ends up in front of me. I really should be able to target this sort of grazing as easy gains, but it doesn't always work out that way.

Day 50 - 21 December
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Exercise
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15 min exercise bike level 13 - 5.27km
15 min cross trainer level 15 - 0.77km
15 min row level 10 - 3.3km
7x10x2 weights
35 min walk

Feed
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Breakfast: orange Juice, bran flakes
Morning Snack: Cappuccino
Lunch : 2 bowls veg soup
Afternoon Snack: Green Tea
Dinner: great big steak, mashed potatoes , carrots, asparagus, red wine jus.
Evening Snack: None
Alcohol: None
Calories: 2200

I had a good tough workout although I really do struggle when I'm on the 3rd day training in a row. I had intended doing tonight and tomorrow as well at the gym, but I'll have to take a break tonight. I might do an extra bit of walking instead. I could have eaten less steak, but nearly all my days calories were in that meal so no harm done.

My fat intake is still level with my carbohydrate intake according to Fitday.com - I'll have to address that in the new year. 40fat/40carb/18prot/2alc over the last 2 months.

On the plus side, I'm quite impressed with myself for still keeping the enthusiasm going into day 50. I just need to follow through now with another 50 days and there should be a significant, noticeable difference in my appearance and health. For the moment I'm still as fat as a pig and the search continues for the first budding semblance of a muscle.
 
Splodge said:
On the plus side, I'm quite impressed with myself for still keeping the enthusiasm going into day 50. I just need to follow through now with another 50 days and there should be a significant, noticeable difference in my appearance and health. For the moment I'm still as fat as a pig and the search continues for the first budding semblance of a muscle.
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Thats sooo good to hear :) 50 days is great to still have enthusiasm at.. I'm only at ohhh like 2.5weeks?? I, too, have yet to notice a difference, but I'm sure it'll happen, therefore I refuse to quit :) I hope you at least feel good, or better, about yourself and things in general... I know that my mood and spirits seem to be a little higher after I work out, even if I sometimes didn't want to in the first place!
 
Thank you for visiting! I just tend to write grouchier than I feel. I'm really quite pleased with myself that I'm gaining a bit of fitness. I feel sore most of the time. All of the time actually. 50 days in a row. I don't see any point in doing easy training and I train frequently enough that I haven't fully recovered from the previous session before the next session. I don't like being sore, but at the same time it acts as a reminder that I'm achieving far more fitness wise than I could have imagined 8 weeks ago. Not that the sore is very sore any more. Already I'm beginning to recover a little better.

Day 51 - 22 December
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Exercise
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25 min walk (to collect my cheese)
35 min walk

Feed
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Breakfast: orange Juice, bran flakes
Morning Snack: Cappuccino
Lunch : 2 bowls veg soup
Afternoon Snack: Green Tea
Dinner: Spagghetti & meatballs
Evening Snack: None
Alcohol: approx 1 litre wine
Calories: 2800
 
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I'll admit that I don't know a ton about the personal training and muscles and stuff like that, but after working in a health food store for 5 years, I DO know you need to get some protein in when you're done with your workouts... you have about a thirty minute window to get it in there to help repair closing muscle fibers and whatnot. Should help a little bit with both the fitness and the soreness.
and a liter of wine?! Dannng. If I did that, I'd be on my ass, lol.
 
a liter of wine?! Dannng. If I did that, I'd be on my ass, lol.
Click to expand...

Now there's a coincidence.

I was a bad boy again yesterday. I'm ceating a hole in my journal, neither I nor anyone else wants to read up on my premeditated 5 day binge. I will return on the 28th as if nothing had happened, only heavier.
 
Day 64 - 4 January
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Weigh in after 9 weeks: 266
Gain on fortnight : 10lbs
Total Loss so far: 9lb

The bad...

5 day binge turned into a two week binge
Drank at least 1 bottle, more usually 2+ per day
Ate everything in sight, whether or not I really wanted it.
Have done 2 gym sessions in the two weeks, other than that barely got off the sofa.
The house is still packed with food. It was like we prepared for a siege.

The "being positive"...

I feel like I never want to see an alcoholic drink again
I'm bursting to get back into the gym routine again, which surprises me a little
I ate a lot of salt and very little water over the last two weeks (ok that should be in the bad section) so I'm guessing a sustained effort over the next two weeks will bring the scales down a fair whack.

Whatever way you look at it, 9lbs in nine weeks is a poor return in the light of the big effort I put in during the first seven weeks. Even if I can keep that miserly average going for the next six months I'll still be heading off on the summer holidays lighter, and immeasurably fitter than I've been in 10 or so years. I can't keep setting myself easy goals and then fail to meet the though.

I'm only going to weigh myself on the first of each month from this point on.

1st February I will weigh no more than 254 (oh God, one months hard work to get back to the pre Christmas weight)
1st March I will weigh no more than 244
1st April I will weigh no more than 235
1st May I will weigh no more than 226
1st June I will weigh no more than 218
1st July I will weigh no more than 210

I will get at least 7 hours exercise a week, health permitting, at least 4 hours of which will cause sweat.
I will abstain from all alcoholic beverages for the next six months.
I will not eat salted nuts\crisps\snack food for the next six months.
I will not eat sweets for the next 6 months.
I will not add sugar for the next six months.
I will not add butter for the next six months.
I will not eat anything deep fried for the next six months.
I will eat a good breakfast every day. Never skip. Never eat crap.
I will eat 2 bowls of soup when at work for lunch. Otherwise will make my own, buy good quality refrigerated or, at a pinch, get a healthy veggie meal.
I will use a smaller dinner plate when at home.


(aspirational)

I will always choose quality in food over quantity.
I will learn to prepare healthier "treat" meals.
I will accept support gratefully from the family, but will avoid being evangelical.
The Friday after a perfect week I will get a treat. Treats are not necessarily food, and definitely not fattening, and don't break any of the above rules. Lack of perfection means no treat.
 
Glad you're back :) just keep trekkin, even with the bad stuff over the last two weeks, at LEAST you were able to find positives out of it! I ate and drank and was WAY to merry the last coupla weeks, but on the upside I kept workin out so I maintained. Normally- Ugggh. I LOOK at the stuff i wanna eat and gain. Bleh.
i also dig the Friday after treat rule :) good idea!
 
I like the Friday treat rule too. I enjoy reading about your meals -- they sound so good. And the espressos /cappuchinos. I used to be a coffee afficionado until I became supersentive to the caffeine -- decaf is not the same.
 
Day 64 - 4 Jan
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Exercise
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65 mins cardio
6 x 2 x 10 weights

Feed
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Breakfast: Bran Flakes
Morning Snack: espresso
Lunch : 1 bowl homemade beetroot soup
Afternoon Snack: espresso
Dinner: Chilli Con Carne
Evening Snack: None
Rules Broken : None
Alcohol: None
Calories: Not counting anymore, I've a fair idea where I should be. Today was low.

Thanks for the replies. Reading back most of my positives seem to centre around how good things are going to be in the future and the bad stuff centres around what has already happened. I wouldn't mind switching that round "I've had a brilliant month, but there are challenges ahead next month".

I think a lot of my problems with weight loss stem from the fact that it is so easy to get back on track again, I don't take going off track seriously enough.

For example, over a year ago I finally gave up smoking. Till that point I must have given up smoking at least 100 times (not exaggerating) in the previous 5 years. It was at the point that I'd save a cigarette to have a last final one at the bus stop before going into work on Monday morning. Really savour every moment of my last ever smoke. On the bus, I'd be so pleased with myself, thinking of all the money I'd save, all the health benefits, setting an example to the child, yadda, yadda, yadda. At the end of the fifteen minute bus journey I'd get off the bus, take ten steps into the local shop and buy a pack of twenty. This actually happened three or four times.

The problem was I was making a daily, or even minute by minute, decision not to smoke. It means you have to make a decision every time you feel like a smoke, sometimes you're strong enough, sometimes not. If you are not strong enough there are no reprocussions (sp? that looks wrong), you just start again next monday.

To be honest it was a mixture of luck, illness and a similar forum to this in the nicotine avoidance area, that got me off. I had a dose of flu and couldn't smoke (I actually nearly passed out trying to), and that got me through the first couple of weeks, then I wanted to continue passing the milestones on the forum and soon enough reached a position that by taking a cigarette I would be blowing the opportunity of a lifetime and two or three months abstinance (sp again?).

It's pretty much the same with the diet. It's very easy to take a 10 minute break from your diet while you cram down 2000 calories worth of pizza. But no harm done, your back on track straight afterwards, right? Until I can see this truely as a lifestyle choice rather than pay lip service to the notion, I'm not going to succeed. I really need to put myself in a postion that I am making 1 decision whether to break the diet and fail (being sure to make the right one!), rather than make multiple daily decisions to keep going and do it properly (does that make sense?)

I'm hoping the meals will start to sound less exciting henceforth. I'm really impressed with the beetroot soup I made at the weekend - and apparantly it's very healthy, especially liverwise where I need a boost.

As for the coffee, I use a Nespresso machine with the capsules. They are a bit of a compromise between real coffee and easy coffee. Quite a decent compromise in my opinion. The problem is I made a pact with myself to use fake sugar instead of real. That is a compromise too far, it turns the espresso into crap. It works ok with cappuccino, but the milk in that is worse, diet wise, than the sugar. I'm trying to get used to just having it as nature intended now, adding nothing, which beats the fake sweetner option but just isn't the same. I suppose when I get used to it I will be amazed I could ever stand it with sugar in the first place.
 
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Day 65 - 5 Jan
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Exercise
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1 hour walk

Feed
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Breakfast: Bran Flakes
Morning Snack: None
Lunch : 2 bowls chicken and Mushroom soup
Afternoon Snack: None
Dinner: Cottage Pie + asparagus
Evening Snack: Diet fizzy
Rules Broken : None
Alcohol: None

I bought a new gadety weighing scales yesterday, inspired by another thread and the need for some level of accuracy. After exhaustive tests, it seems my other scales was weighing me 9lbs light. I've lost as much (or as little) weight as I had allowed for, but now I'm lumbered with an extra 9lbs to lose. Load it on, no trouble to me.

The good news is that I've actually "lost" 5lbs since Sunday according to my old scales.

The targets have to change though, I'm still aiming to be 210 by the 1st July. It's a bit severe looking a climb but now that I've gone obsessive it should be doable ...

1st February I will weigh no more than 260
1st March I will weigh no more than 250
1st April I will weigh no more than 240
1st May I will weigh no more than 230
1st June I will weigh no more than 220
1st July I will weigh no more than 210

And I'm abandoning my rule about weighing in every month. With my new fancy scales I won't be able to keep off it. Anyhow this is what it is telling me ...

Weight 270.0
Body Fat 33.6%
Visceral Fat 21
BMI 40
BMR 2329
Muscle Mass 34.7%
Body Water 48.6%

I'll have to figure out what it all means when I get a chance, although obviously none of it is going to be good. At first glance between body fat, body water and muscle mass my body seems to add up to 117% which seems odd. I'm reassured that the weight is more in line with previous medical checks and the scales in the gym though.
 
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those types of scales are not very accurate for BF% so take the figure with a grain of salt but they are ok to track changes if you try weigh under the same conditions each time eg. same amount of food eated, time of day, amount of exercise beforehand. Here is a basic guide to what the bodyfat % means
 
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