For as long as I've been an adult I haven't looked like the person I felt I could be. For the majority of time I have been overweight or obese, however, due to my build (1.81m and broad) it hasn't always been immediate obvious. Needless to say, being shirtless or changing around other people has always made me uncomfortable.
There have been times of losing weight, once down to 89kg, bookended by sharp increases - once topping 120kg. The confusing aspect for me is that with a lifetime of playing sport I'm quite knowledgeable when it comes to fitness and exercise, I know what I should and should not eat alongside how to workout.
My crux has always been sugar and sweet foods, I could literally eat them all day. Full cake? No problem, 250g of chocolate? Easy work. Horribly unhealthy, deeply embarrassing and a source of internal shame.
Fast forward to June 4th 2023, I had enough of feeling rubbish, avoiding photos and mirrors - I stepped on the scales.
118.8kg. Fuck. Nearly as heavy as my heaviest ever weight, albeit 5 years older. I resolved there and then to change things, lose some weight but do it in a sustainable way. Previously I saw short term success with LCHF but like many extreme diets, I couldn't stick it and once that happened the weight piled back on. This time had to be different and possible to maintain for the rest of my life. I decided on Four key measures:
- Consistent calories tracking with a maximum daily consumption of 2200
- Using a whoop band to give myself an estimate of calories burned on a daily basis with additional benefits of sleep and strain tracking
- Non negotiable attitude to exercise 5 times a week, whether irs a run, walk, gym, cycle, kayak etc, just something to move each day. Having a desk based job doesn't help in this respect!
- Weigh myself everyday
- Sugar, sweets, cakes are a treat to be handled as such, not eaten everyday.
So, here we are 11 weeks later and I weighed in this morning at 99.5kg. It was a mental breakthrough to finally see double digits on the scales. I appreciate that this rate of weight loss goes against every advice regarding sensible rates of loss but honestly, I feel pretty good, I eat most things I want as long as its within my allowance and my fitness has gone through the roof:
5k time down from 32 minutes to 22;49. One half marathon. Over a thousand km cycled. Hundreds or miles run. Epic kayak trips. Home Kettlewell workouts. Long hiking trips in the mountains.
It's been tough, at times emotional and frustrating. There have been ups and downs, including a plateu in weight but I kept pushing and eventually things moved. My weight loss journey is far from over but I am now feeling that an end goal is within touching distance.
The obvious question is do I feel this is sustainable long term? Yes I do, especially considering an increase to maintenance calories, better visualisation of weight long term and building fitness into my daily routine. Thankfully I also have a supportive partner who joins me on runs and cycles, she's also seen a loss in weight of 4kg.
I just wanted to share not only in the hope of motivating or showing its possible, but also illustrating the amount of work it takes to lose this much in a short time frame, not fun and I would recommend to anyone on the fence about dieting, start now, don't wait.
Would I recommend my approach? No, it's risky in terms if injuries and commitment but if you can stick it the results are clear.
So, ending on a few takeaways...
- Be consistent, results don't happen overnight, but they don't have to take forever
- Pick an approach you can keep for the rest of your life, or atleast adapt into an approach you can keep.
- Motivation will get you started, discipline will keep you going
Good luck everyone, keep going and inspire each other
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