The Early Weeks
August 2015 - July was the realization month. As I already mentioned why I decided to lose weight, it was time to take action. I had actually peaked at over 94kg before I started: enough was enough.I made 2 life changing habits, making a conscious effort to move more and to eat less. My weight loss goals were set for the rest of the year and set about the task setting smart targets to achieve my micro goals along the way.
It was tough. Keeping my step count up was not that difficult in normal day-to-day life since I have a dog: no excuses for not walking.
Eating less was more difficult. I was "souping" a lot. Probably too much in hindsight, but I had certain food types, such as fruit and vegetables, that I allowed myself to eat as much as I wanted. I suppressed my appetite by drinking water like a boss.
Halfway Point
10 weeks into my first phase of "dieting" or life changes and I had reached half my goals already and was well on track to get to the ultimate goal for the year. My belly was beginning to reduce in size at last.To the End of 2015
The next 10 weeks was the build up to my end first stint of dieting. Things progressed well. I had a sticky patch in the middle where my weight flat-lined but I built up momentum again and manage to exceed my targets.I did this by eating more super foods and lots of soup, walking a fair bit and trying to get more rest overall. You can see how I achieved my goals in 2015 here.
By week 20 my belly had reduced by such an amount that I could in fact fit into my kilt again, just, and my suit was manageable again. That said, it was slightly uncomfortable when I was out for a meal wearing it.
Early 2016
The next 20 weeks would be more of the same although by that time I had a splurge in Thailand and recovered. I soon realized that I perhaps didn't need to lose quite so much weight and that I should really consider taking in some real exercise.At week 28 I had re-lost the weight I gained over the holiday, see below also, slowed down in actually trying to lose weight. It was quite steady and I had reduced the amount of souping considerably.
At this point I was only contemplating exercise. It would be another 4 months before I actually made the effort to break a sweat.
In May, the end of my second stint of 20 week dieting ended. I managed to get to a total loss of 20 kg over the 2 periods. And was delighted. Now I could relax and normalize myself into a regular eating and exercising routine.
Breaks & Vacations
But then along came the vacations. The trip to the UK was no different to the jaunt to Thailand: my weight always seems to go up. By week 50 I was 3 kg over my target weight having already lost 2 kilos. This included a few weeks of home gym exercising too.I decided that I would need to continue to the "diet" for as long as it was comfortable to do so. I chose to aim to get the weight back to around 75 kg so my BMI would be on or below 25 - normal for my height.
From week 50 to week 73, which was my final weigh in for the year, things were fairly consistent. No big gains or losses over the time. I guess my body was adapting, and perhaps my stomach getting smaller over time.
2017 - Normality?
2017 kicked off with the inevitable weight gain as all vacations seem to bring. I got a new gadget and am tracking new measurements. I have no real goals this year except for being normal.The final 7 weeks, to get to 80 weeks were fairly normal. Regular walking and watching what I was eating and I have maintained my weight levels. The effort is not too great, although in a way it is a constant battle. I do miss ice cream and crisps. Oh, crisps!!
My Belly
My gut has reduced in size, I feel the capacity to eat has reduced also. My trouser size has gone from 36 to 32, I'm not wearing XL t-shirts anymore and it is time for a new belt again. BMI has over time gone from obese to normal...I wish I had better stats or pictures to share at this point. As I said before, I'm not in front of the camera often. Maybe this year there will be more snaps.
Next Steps
As stated earlier, normality.I should exercise more and I know I will always have to be careful what I eat. But I can cope... I'm sure.I will start posting some of the recipes that have helped me along the way, and if you would like to contribute please fire off a comment below and I will get in touch.