WEEK 1
Well thats the first week in, time for a review. I will split it into two sections, fitness and nutrition.
FITNESS - this has been a let down, mostly due to the bad weather. But I cant use that as an excuse. So i will head out tonight running. As I only completed one part of my running plan I will start again from scratch. I also plan to clear out my garage tonight so I can make room for some kettlebell swinging!!
NUTRITION - This has been better than fitness, but is still no where near where I should be. I haven't written up a proper eating plan. I am not controlling my calories, I am still guessing. Where I have made progress is my mental state. Now when I eat something, I think of the good it will do me, and more importantly the harm it will do me. My biggest issue this week has been due to poor planning of meals, I have been going into starvation mode. But I know I am doing it, and I know how to solve it, I just need to concentrate on sorting out the meal plan. Last night was spent making meals for the next couple of days. I will get there eventually!
Below are my new stats for the week
Age: 39Height: 5' 9"Weight: 225 lbs% Body Fat: 28.6%Lean Body Mass: 162lbs Fat Mass: 63 lbs
The change is purely down to me using the accumeasure fat calipers, as my old calipers broke. These should be far more accurate. I am going to measure myself every night, but only to put the practice in so i can get as accurate a reading as possible!
All in all I don't want to beat myself up too much for the last week. My mental attitude is better and that is a big step forward. I didn't expect to lose any weight as I had a day out on Saturday with beer involved, but that's gone and I don't plan any more alcohol until the New Year. This week is another new beginning!

Yesterday i started my 6 week running routine, Christ it was hard work near the end. I also done what was even harder, i took some photos of myself as a reference. Nothing brings it home more than looking at those photos. i will post them up here but not yet. i took a photo with a newspaper to show the correct date, and will use this as my bench mark. i also took some base stats for me to work on. They are

Age: 39
Height: 5' 9"
Weight: 225 lbs%
Body Fat: 32%
Lean Body Mass: 153lbs
Fat Mass: 72 lbs

Now the first two i cant doing anything about, but the rest will get addresses. I used a set of skin thickness calipers to work out my body fat, i don't know how accurate they are but they will do me. I will measure myself each week. So 72lb of fat to burn off. Last night was a start, unfortunately a woman crashed her car into mine last week and I have injured the finger on my left hand. This will restrict the weight training i had planned, and also the swimming I was going to do, but i cant keep putting this off, so i will do what i can. i have the hospital tomorrow so hopefully the finger is on the mend.
My aim is simple, 2lb a week every week, with no lean body mass lost, and ideally body mass increased due to muscle gain. I know that wont happen straight away, i need to work at it, as I still don't have the nutrition side nailed down yet. Yesterday I tried 5 small meals and the culture change is huge, and will have an impact on my home life, but they understand.
Starting now is also significant because I didn't want to wait until the New Year as I would just put on even more weight over the holidays, not what i want!!

Run Fat Boy Run

I have come across an ideal running plan to get me started. it covers 6 miles and takes someone who is a poor runner into someone who can run for 30 minutes. This will be stage 1. The plan is

Week 1
Monday - run 1 min, walk 2 mins, repeat 10 times
Tuesday - rest
Wednesday - run 1 min, walk 1 min, repeat 10 times
Thursday - rest
Friday - rest
Saturday - run 1 min, walk 1 min, repeat 15 times
Sunday - rest

Week 2
Monday - run 2 mins, walk 2 mins, repeat 6 times
Tuesday - rest
Wednesday run 2 mins, walk 2 mins, repeat 10 times
Thursday - rest
Friday - rest
Saturday - run 2 mins, walk 1 min, repeat 10 times
Sunday - rest

Week 3
Monday - run 3 mins, walk 3 mins, repeat 5 times
Tuesday - rest
Wednesday - run 3 mins, walk 2 mins, repeat 6 times
Thursday - rest
Friday - rest
Saturday - run 5 mins, walk 1 min, repeat 10 times
Sunday - rest

Week 4
Monday - run 6 mins, walk 3 mins, repeat 4 times
Tuesday - rest
Wednesday - run 5 mins, walk 2 mins, repeat 4 times
Thursday - rest
Friday - rest
Saturday - run 8 mins, walk 3 mins, repeat 3 times
Sunday - rest

Week 5
Monday - run 8 mins, walk 2 mins, repeat 3 times
Tuesday - rest
Wednesday - run 10 minutes, walk 2 mins, repeat 2 times
Thursday - rest
Friday - rest
Saturday - run 20 minutes
Sunday - rest

Week 6
Monday - run 12 Min's, walk 2 Min's, repeat 2 times
Tuesday - rest
Wednesday - run 15 Min's, walk 2 Min's, repeat 2 times
Thursday - rest
Friday - rest
Saturday - run 30 minutes
Sunday - rest

All this effort to go from walking and being out of breath to being able to run 30 minutes will take combined just over 9 hours of my time over the next 6 weeks. Not much is it. It also means i can work in other exercises such as kettlebells without impacting on my time too much.

This weekend I re-read some of my most recent posts, a little reminder of where I am. I covered diet, and with that i know what I need to do. I also covered metabolism, and that is linked to diet(frequent meals) and also to exercise. So what will I need to do with that? Well lets start with the kettlebell. I will use this for strength and cardio vascular exercises. I will also start hitting the pavements with some running. Cycling might not be a great option with the dark nights and colder weather, and I will also do some swimming. One option i haven't considered recently is going to the gym. I don't like the gym, never have. But I have to build muscle to increase my metabolism, so maybe I don't have that option. Will i write out a plan? I don't know, it seems the one thing i am good at is breaking plans!! I will look at other options as well, like walking. I was out this weekend and it was great just to get some air into my lungs. Anything else? One thing i will look at is taking part in some sports. Football would be beyond me just now, but is a future option, but maybe badminton or squash. Lets see.

Its been nearly two months since I last posted a blog. A lot has happened in the last two months, and my plans have been side railed. My good friend Pat passed away, and that really took the wind out of my sails, then Kims dad was diagnosed with lung cancer which has spread to his brain. But this isnt the right place or time to discuss my feelings at this time. This blog was set up for me to track my fitness progress, and it diverted away to a sound board for me to gripe about life. So its time it got back to being what it was supposed to be.
I have done very little exercise lately, my diet has been poor. Loads of excuses, none of them valid. I re-read my recent posts, and have now got back on track with my earlier aims. I now feel ready to start again.
One thing I havent done with this blog is post any photos, so to change that I am going to post up photos of myself in all my glory, another reminder of why i wanted to start all this. I can then use it as a visual benchmark of where I started. it wont be pretty. But I think by getting it out there it will make me more determined to change. Another big factor is I will be 40 next year, and i dont want to start another decade out of shape. I suppose as I get older health and fitness become even more important, i need to keep reminding myself that!!

Diet

Diet is going to be my biggest problem, i know, because historically it has been my biggest problem and i cant see how that is going to change. I have looked to see why i have such an issue with food. I can remember as a kid scoffing chocolate biscuits before my parents got up out of their beds! I can remember it pissed them off. i can't remember why I had such a hang up with food. But I continue to try and beat it.
My diet will consist of enough calories to keep my metabolism working hard, but not too much that I start to store more fat. The principal of cutting 500 calories a day by reducing intake by 250 calories and 250 calories burned through exercise is still a good benchmark, but my diet has to contain the right foods, the right balance. But strangely the biggest challenge will be to continue eating all day, splitting into 6 meals a day. The body takes 2.1/2 hours to digest a meal, so i am looking to eating every 2.1/2 to 3 hours. This should mean the metabolism is getting maximum energy from food, the right food. One problem is my lack of real knowledge of food. I need to read up on proteins, carbohydrates and fats so i know what i am putting into me is the right foods!
One challenge will be eating out. Aisha likes a MacDonald's now and again, maybe once a month. Taking her and Kim out without eating will be a real challenge. But one i feel i am ready for.

Metabolism

I have been doing research into how I can increase my metabolism for weight loss. One is by energy intake, ie food and drink, the other is by exercise. The key is to get the right balance of the two, so i lose weight while my metabolism increases.
Last night I read about the zig zag effect. its where you have a few low calorie days followed by a couple of high calorie days. The theory is that a few days of low calorie intake burns body fat, and before the metabolism can adjust to this new low intake a high calorie day or two increases the metabolic rate, ensuring fat is burned even faster. whether or not this works I don't know yet, i haven't done enough research, but it would make sense as to how I am not hitting 20 plus stones. I know My diet has been bad in the past, and I look at very fat people wondering, on the basis of how much i eat, how much they must put away! Maybe the difference is that most weeks i would start of with great intentions and this would fizzle out. Maybe i was on a zig zag diet without knowing it!!
To get my metabolism going I need to keep exercising, that I know. And one routine that stands out is kettlebells. I think the key with them is they give you a cardiovascular workout while building muscle. Building muscle is going to be key, as this will also increase the metabolism. I want to burn fat, and only fat.
i also need to understand my diet better. when i started this I hoped to keep my diet healthy, without having to make too many changes. This approach was wrong, I need a complete overhaul. The hearty meals is great, but I need to split that into 5 or 6 small healthy meals to get my metabolism going. I am researching how best to do this.
The final thing I am looking at is improving my sensory acuity when it comes to my body. I am going to chart this, and measuring will help, but if i can improve how I understand my own body, and what works and doesn't work for me, then i will have a better chance of succeeding.