Well, it's been far too long between posts and not a whole lot of joy in the weight management department.
Am working longer hours at work because we're entering a critical phase in the Project and the first part of this phase needs to go well lest the rest of it be negatively affected.
In other news, the baby's room is now pretty much ready, my wife's baby bump is coming along really well (although being a woman with a small frame, she's STILL smaller than me!) and she's counting down to when she finishes up at work. All very exciting!
My main focus on eating well and losing weight is now tied up between getting the rest of the house ready (cleaned up and cleared out) and making sure things go well at work (still a bit of uncertainty there, which having things go poorly for me will NOT increase my chances of being kept if things change).
I don't have a weight measurement to report as such, just that I haven't forgotten about this blog.
Showing posts with label Self Improvement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Self Improvement. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Long time working, losing ground
Well, it's been a while since my last post and a lot has happened.
I've actually put on 0.2 kg, so I'm not overly happy with how my weight is going, but I know that I've not been eating the best (I had two birthday parties to go to on Saturday alone) and I've also not taken the time to exercise.
On the home front, however, I've been making good progress. I've sold a total of twelve things on eBay and have averaged about $50 per sale for my old Super Nintendo (SNES) and Nintendo 64 (N64) games. I had listed sixteen items last week, but shouldn't be surprised that most of the Nintendo DS games didn't sell as the market is currently flooded with them (they are still current) so I think I'll store those away until their value has increased a bit. I've pretty much sold all of the games I was planning on selling (will still keep some as it'll be handy to introduce children into computer games without having to fork out hundreds of dollars for the latest system), only a few left.
I'm now planning on using the fifty free listings per month that eBay allows and going to start listing other things as well, like books and DVDs. Looking through my garage and book shelves, there really is such a thing as too many things.
Another positive is that we've now taken delivery of the cot and so the process of converting the study into a nursery. We're a little early (4 months to be exact) but the way I see it is the more we do now, the less we do later. Also, there's no point in hanging onto the study for another four months when it'll become the baby's room for the next 18 or so years, so there's really no point in delaying the inevitable.
Anyways, today is Monday 31st of March and my current weight is 112.2 kg (1.0 kg lost, 32.2 kg to go).
Looking at the fact that since starting this blog I've only actually lost 1 kg, I'm really going to have to start making some big commitments... but that is a post for another day.
I've actually put on 0.2 kg, so I'm not overly happy with how my weight is going, but I know that I've not been eating the best (I had two birthday parties to go to on Saturday alone) and I've also not taken the time to exercise.
On the home front, however, I've been making good progress. I've sold a total of twelve things on eBay and have averaged about $50 per sale for my old Super Nintendo (SNES) and Nintendo 64 (N64) games. I had listed sixteen items last week, but shouldn't be surprised that most of the Nintendo DS games didn't sell as the market is currently flooded with them (they are still current) so I think I'll store those away until their value has increased a bit. I've pretty much sold all of the games I was planning on selling (will still keep some as it'll be handy to introduce children into computer games without having to fork out hundreds of dollars for the latest system), only a few left.
I'm now planning on using the fifty free listings per month that eBay allows and going to start listing other things as well, like books and DVDs. Looking through my garage and book shelves, there really is such a thing as too many things.
Another positive is that we've now taken delivery of the cot and so the process of converting the study into a nursery. We're a little early (4 months to be exact) but the way I see it is the more we do now, the less we do later. Also, there's no point in hanging onto the study for another four months when it'll become the baby's room for the next 18 or so years, so there's really no point in delaying the inevitable.
Anyways, today is Monday 31st of March and my current weight is 112.2 kg (1.0 kg lost, 32.2 kg to go).
Looking at the fact that since starting this blog I've only actually lost 1 kg, I'm really going to have to start making some big commitments... but that is a post for another day.
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Two steps forward, one step back
It's been two weeks since my last weigh in and I was justified in being nervous: I had put on 0.3 kg in weight.
Having focused on all of the different things in my life (career progressing training, getting my house ready for baby and other things) I had neglected both my diet and my regular walks.
The up side was that I've finally completed over a week of training which has taken me away from my usual duties (my job is such that I'm still expected to complete those duties, despite being on away on business related training) which will keep my busy with catching up on the back-log, but at least I'll be back in the driver's seat.
One of the downs I had was that a friend's ashes were placed in his family plot last Friday. He'd passed away late last year from cancer and it was very upsetting for all who knew him to lose him. True to his character, he never told us he even had cancer because he probably didn't want to burden his friends with his problems. He was a great person and he'll be sorely missed.
On the up side, I've rounded up most of my old video games and have started photographing and cataloging them in preparation for posting up on eBay. I'm not sure how I'll go, or even if I'm doing it right, but time will tell.
I've decided to drip feed my games onto eBay as I don't want to overload myself with having to package and mail out fifty different packages to fifty different address in a single week. I'm also thinking about potential buyers who may not be able to afford to buy multiple items from me in a single week.
So far I've listed five of the items and, if that all goes to plan, I'll probably post up ten per week until I have sold all the games, at which point I'll start putting up other items around the house to clear out, like books and DVDs.
With all the stuff I'd amassed (extra weight around my belly aside) in my years of living at home with my parents I'd say that, if I sell 40 items per month I should be inventory free by about November... of 2025!
Of course there are many things that I'll want to keep for sentimental value, other things that I'll keep to let my children play with, but I really do have a lot of stuff that is just taking up room that perhaps someone out there may want.
Anyway, I've made good progress in my way forward, just not in the weight department. I must get back to watching what I eat (not easy on training when so much temptation!) and going for walks. Hopefully we won't have too many more hot days left this year.
Today is Sunday March 9th, 2014 and my current weight is 112.0 kg (1.2 kg lost, 32.0 kg to go).
Having focused on all of the different things in my life (career progressing training, getting my house ready for baby and other things) I had neglected both my diet and my regular walks.
The up side was that I've finally completed over a week of training which has taken me away from my usual duties (my job is such that I'm still expected to complete those duties, despite being on away on business related training) which will keep my busy with catching up on the back-log, but at least I'll be back in the driver's seat.
One of the downs I had was that a friend's ashes were placed in his family plot last Friday. He'd passed away late last year from cancer and it was very upsetting for all who knew him to lose him. True to his character, he never told us he even had cancer because he probably didn't want to burden his friends with his problems. He was a great person and he'll be sorely missed.
On the up side, I've rounded up most of my old video games and have started photographing and cataloging them in preparation for posting up on eBay. I'm not sure how I'll go, or even if I'm doing it right, but time will tell.
I've decided to drip feed my games onto eBay as I don't want to overload myself with having to package and mail out fifty different packages to fifty different address in a single week. I'm also thinking about potential buyers who may not be able to afford to buy multiple items from me in a single week.
So far I've listed five of the items and, if that all goes to plan, I'll probably post up ten per week until I have sold all the games, at which point I'll start putting up other items around the house to clear out, like books and DVDs.
With all the stuff I'd amassed (extra weight around my belly aside) in my years of living at home with my parents I'd say that, if I sell 40 items per month I should be inventory free by about November... of 2025!
Of course there are many things that I'll want to keep for sentimental value, other things that I'll keep to let my children play with, but I really do have a lot of stuff that is just taking up room that perhaps someone out there may want.
Anyway, I've made good progress in my way forward, just not in the weight department. I must get back to watching what I eat (not easy on training when so much temptation!) and going for walks. Hopefully we won't have too many more hot days left this year.
Today is Sunday March 9th, 2014 and my current weight is 112.0 kg (1.2 kg lost, 32.0 kg to go).
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Of opportunities and compromise...
I'm very depressed at the moment.
February has been a huge month for me both personally and professionally in that this month my workplace has received word that we'll continue to operate for another two years at least, which is far better news than those poor workers at Qantas received last week, I found out a former work colleague passed away late last year and I didn't even know about it and I've passed on the career opportunity of a lifetime for various reasons.
My work situation pretty much speaks for itself in that our organisation in general is only assured of another two years of operation, after which deep cuts may take place with myself being included. That's what makes my third reason so hard to swallow.
I was basically offered an on-going position working in a rural area for what would be a hefty salary increase, would be a secure position for life and would give me the opportunity to move up greatly in my career. The two catches are that it would mean my wife wouldn't be able to continue to work in her current job (five hour commute) and we'd have to move away from our respective families (about five hours drive away).
The point about her job is a bit of a sticking point for me because, due to the lower cost of living in this town, if we were to move we'd be able to easily live on my salary alone, would even be able to put money away and I've just got this feeling that once my wife's got our baby in her arms she's not going to want to go back to the stress of working, not even part time. In our current location we could afford for her to take some time off when the baby is born, but with all of our current financial commitments (mortgage, gas, electricity, etc) we'd slowly be going backwards.
Like anything financial, once you start going backwards the momentum builds and continues to snowball until big decisions are forced to be made ie downsize house or move to a cheaper area.
I'm feeling depressed because on the one hand I want to provide for my family and give them the kind of life that they deserve and give my wife the option to be a stay at home mother, but on the other hand the easiest way for me to do all that would be to commit her to being a stay at home mother and, worse, take us away from our family support network at the same time. This being my mother-in-law's first grandchild, I don't think I'd ever get forgiven.
The job itself is also a very interesting one with big budgets, lots of growth opportunities and, most of all, lots of autonomy and the opportunity for me to actually be the one making the decisions for a change. In short, I'd be able to become one of only two senior people in my field in a small region. My cousin who has a very big entrepreneurial spirit lives in a small town and thrives because, as he puts it, "I'd rather be a big fish in a small pond than a little fish in a big pond".
I put it to my wife that we could always treat this as a seven year plan (as the bulk of the interesting work would probably be coming to an end by then) and we could move back to Melbourne so she could go back to her full time job just before her seven years leave could run out. The simple answer was that she didn't want to live in that small town, regardless of what freedoms it could provide her from having to work, even if it meant we could have several more children without having to balance when to have them with when would fit in with work.
This opportunity is a one time thing, so if she changes her mind in six months then the ship will have already sailed. My biggest dread is that in six months time she does just that, then get annoyed that I didn't try hard enough to convince her to go in the first place.
I'm not sure if this is a common thing with wives, but my wife has a habit of running around doing things, then if it happens to cause her problems it's my fault.
An example of this is that our house has locks on every window. She was worried that we'd get robbed by someone breaking the window and unlocking it so she locked all the windows, gathered up all the keys and put them in one place when I wasn't home. I didn't notice she'd done this until I wanted to open a window and she grumpily went and got a key for me. Fast forward several months and she's now forgotten where the bulk of the keys are and the only keys we have to open the windows are the few that she'd fetched shortly after hiding them.
Today, my wife wanted to open a window and promptly yelled at me with "why are all the windows locked?!?" That was my cue to go and fetch one of the few located keys. She believes that the obsession to lock things comes from my side because I have a compulsion to lock doors (mainly front doors) because to leave them unlocked is to ask for uninvited guests in. She grew up in a small town (different one) and her family doesn't really worry too much about it unless they're going out or at night.
I guess I'll have to just accept that my situation in that I'll have to stay in my not-so-secure job to allow us to stay in the location my wife wants to live and hope that I'll still have a job in two years time if she changes her mind and decides she wants to stay at home longer than she's currently planning to.
I just hope that I'm not going to look back on this passed opportunity as a mistake on my part. Only time will tell...
February has been a huge month for me both personally and professionally in that this month my workplace has received word that we'll continue to operate for another two years at least, which is far better news than those poor workers at Qantas received last week, I found out a former work colleague passed away late last year and I didn't even know about it and I've passed on the career opportunity of a lifetime for various reasons.
My work situation pretty much speaks for itself in that our organisation in general is only assured of another two years of operation, after which deep cuts may take place with myself being included. That's what makes my third reason so hard to swallow.
I was basically offered an on-going position working in a rural area for what would be a hefty salary increase, would be a secure position for life and would give me the opportunity to move up greatly in my career. The two catches are that it would mean my wife wouldn't be able to continue to work in her current job (five hour commute) and we'd have to move away from our respective families (about five hours drive away).
The point about her job is a bit of a sticking point for me because, due to the lower cost of living in this town, if we were to move we'd be able to easily live on my salary alone, would even be able to put money away and I've just got this feeling that once my wife's got our baby in her arms she's not going to want to go back to the stress of working, not even part time. In our current location we could afford for her to take some time off when the baby is born, but with all of our current financial commitments (mortgage, gas, electricity, etc) we'd slowly be going backwards.
Like anything financial, once you start going backwards the momentum builds and continues to snowball until big decisions are forced to be made ie downsize house or move to a cheaper area.
I'm feeling depressed because on the one hand I want to provide for my family and give them the kind of life that they deserve and give my wife the option to be a stay at home mother, but on the other hand the easiest way for me to do all that would be to commit her to being a stay at home mother and, worse, take us away from our family support network at the same time. This being my mother-in-law's first grandchild, I don't think I'd ever get forgiven.
The job itself is also a very interesting one with big budgets, lots of growth opportunities and, most of all, lots of autonomy and the opportunity for me to actually be the one making the decisions for a change. In short, I'd be able to become one of only two senior people in my field in a small region. My cousin who has a very big entrepreneurial spirit lives in a small town and thrives because, as he puts it, "I'd rather be a big fish in a small pond than a little fish in a big pond".
I put it to my wife that we could always treat this as a seven year plan (as the bulk of the interesting work would probably be coming to an end by then) and we could move back to Melbourne so she could go back to her full time job just before her seven years leave could run out. The simple answer was that she didn't want to live in that small town, regardless of what freedoms it could provide her from having to work, even if it meant we could have several more children without having to balance when to have them with when would fit in with work.
This opportunity is a one time thing, so if she changes her mind in six months then the ship will have already sailed. My biggest dread is that in six months time she does just that, then get annoyed that I didn't try hard enough to convince her to go in the first place.
I'm not sure if this is a common thing with wives, but my wife has a habit of running around doing things, then if it happens to cause her problems it's my fault.
An example of this is that our house has locks on every window. She was worried that we'd get robbed by someone breaking the window and unlocking it so she locked all the windows, gathered up all the keys and put them in one place when I wasn't home. I didn't notice she'd done this until I wanted to open a window and she grumpily went and got a key for me. Fast forward several months and she's now forgotten where the bulk of the keys are and the only keys we have to open the windows are the few that she'd fetched shortly after hiding them.
Today, my wife wanted to open a window and promptly yelled at me with "why are all the windows locked?!?" That was my cue to go and fetch one of the few located keys. She believes that the obsession to lock things comes from my side because I have a compulsion to lock doors (mainly front doors) because to leave them unlocked is to ask for uninvited guests in. She grew up in a small town (different one) and her family doesn't really worry too much about it unless they're going out or at night.
I guess I'll have to just accept that my situation in that I'll have to stay in my not-so-secure job to allow us to stay in the location my wife wants to live and hope that I'll still have a job in two years time if she changes her mind and decides she wants to stay at home longer than she's currently planning to.
I just hope that I'm not going to look back on this passed opportunity as a mistake on my part. Only time will tell...
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Putting my past behind me
One thing that is going to change when the baby comes along is that I'm going to lose my study (really just a computer on a desk), as it's the only other 'bedroom' in the house that has an air conditioner and considering that whole week we had temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, I wouldn't want to have my child getting too hot next summer. We do have another bedroom, but with the double bed in there for guests, there's no room to fit a desk.
On top of this, it made me realise that I'm also not going to have any time to play computer games much any more with a bouncing baby in the house. I do know of a couple of fathers who still play computer games but, to be perfectly honest about it, I notice that their down time comes at the expense of time with their children or friends. One guy I know even goes so far as to say to his stay at home wife that he's "had a long hard day at work and deserves some personal time".
I don't know all the background to their situation, perhaps he's helping out at home every other night of the week, but I don't ever want my wife to feel like I'm home and not available to be involved.
That was when I realised that my whole life is going to change for the next 20 to 25 years at least. When I take stock of all of my old computer games and gaming systems I realise that, for the most part, the next time I might really be able to sit down and play any of them I'll be approaching 50!
Ignoring the distinct possibility that some or all of the equipment might cease to work without some kind of overhaul after that time, I'm not sure I want to be playing Mario Kart when I'm pushing 50.
That's why I've made a rather big decision, one that I never thought I'd ever make (especially without any sort of ultimatum from my wife), I'm going to put all of my games and gaming systems for sale on eBay.
It just occurred to me that my children aren't going to be interested in playing such old games when their friends will probably all be playing the X-Box 5 or the PlayStation 10 by then and for me to hang onto them on the off chance that I may get around to playing them again some time is just stupid.
This isn't a criticism of guys who've still got all their old games from when they were 10 years old, it's just that I see these games and honestly think that my time and attention will be better spent on getting high scores in real life, by leveling up in real life and not by being the best in a digital world where only people over 30 who happen to have played those specific games (and can remember them!) can appreciate what that meant.
There are so many things that I need to do in order to improve myself for my career and my home that I can't be sitting down and chilling out playing old games for hours on end. The common feeling I get with playing these old games is that it's great to begin with, but then the feeling that I've already accomplished those things creeps back in and I lose interest about 90% of the way through.
I'm thinking that the money I raise from the sale of my games can go towards the baby, but having looked at the cost of most of my games online (anywhere between $5 and $100), I don't think I'll be fully paying for my child's University degree, but it may pay for his or her first bed, desk or computer.
The added bonuses of all of this is that it'll clear out some space in my house (which will make my wife happy) and I'll have less distractions around the house, not that I play the games much anyway.
It'll be a bit of a long process to catalog the games (photograph, work out condition, etc), but I believe that it's the right step forward.
My wife will be unaware of what is going on because I know that she's always maintained that I should keep personal things, but I just feel that it's time for me to let go and do so in a way which will help us financially at the same time.
I'll may follow that up by selling my comic book collection, although I'm a little less inclined to do that because my son or daughter may be interested to read them. I know I was interested in reading all of my father's old MAD magazines, but perhaps that's just wishful thinking...
On top of this, it made me realise that I'm also not going to have any time to play computer games much any more with a bouncing baby in the house. I do know of a couple of fathers who still play computer games but, to be perfectly honest about it, I notice that their down time comes at the expense of time with their children or friends. One guy I know even goes so far as to say to his stay at home wife that he's "had a long hard day at work and deserves some personal time".
I don't know all the background to their situation, perhaps he's helping out at home every other night of the week, but I don't ever want my wife to feel like I'm home and not available to be involved.
That was when I realised that my whole life is going to change for the next 20 to 25 years at least. When I take stock of all of my old computer games and gaming systems I realise that, for the most part, the next time I might really be able to sit down and play any of them I'll be approaching 50!
Ignoring the distinct possibility that some or all of the equipment might cease to work without some kind of overhaul after that time, I'm not sure I want to be playing Mario Kart when I'm pushing 50.
That's why I've made a rather big decision, one that I never thought I'd ever make (especially without any sort of ultimatum from my wife), I'm going to put all of my games and gaming systems for sale on eBay.
It just occurred to me that my children aren't going to be interested in playing such old games when their friends will probably all be playing the X-Box 5 or the PlayStation 10 by then and for me to hang onto them on the off chance that I may get around to playing them again some time is just stupid.
This isn't a criticism of guys who've still got all their old games from when they were 10 years old, it's just that I see these games and honestly think that my time and attention will be better spent on getting high scores in real life, by leveling up in real life and not by being the best in a digital world where only people over 30 who happen to have played those specific games (and can remember them!) can appreciate what that meant.
There are so many things that I need to do in order to improve myself for my career and my home that I can't be sitting down and chilling out playing old games for hours on end. The common feeling I get with playing these old games is that it's great to begin with, but then the feeling that I've already accomplished those things creeps back in and I lose interest about 90% of the way through.
I'm thinking that the money I raise from the sale of my games can go towards the baby, but having looked at the cost of most of my games online (anywhere between $5 and $100), I don't think I'll be fully paying for my child's University degree, but it may pay for his or her first bed, desk or computer.
The added bonuses of all of this is that it'll clear out some space in my house (which will make my wife happy) and I'll have less distractions around the house, not that I play the games much anyway.
It'll be a bit of a long process to catalog the games (photograph, work out condition, etc), but I believe that it's the right step forward.
My wife will be unaware of what is going on because I know that she's always maintained that I should keep personal things, but I just feel that it's time for me to let go and do so in a way which will help us financially at the same time.
I'll may follow that up by selling my comic book collection, although I'm a little less inclined to do that because my son or daughter may be interested to read them. I know I was interested in reading all of my father's old MAD magazines, but perhaps that's just wishful thinking...
Mixed news on several front, but an opportunity for a new start
Well, I weighed in this morning and was happy and sad. I was sad because I had actually put on 0.1kg over the last two weeks (weighed in at 111.7 kg). I was happy because I've been extremely stressed out at work with everything going on and the uncertainty in my company and was overeating and didn't have any time to do my usual exercise, so I was actually expecting to have put on more.
Well, since this is two weeks of time I've actually lost, but I've also managed to go backwards.
Based on my original goal of getting my weight down to 80kg by the time my first child is born, I'm going to have to increase my average weekly weight loss to 1.4 kg per week (up from 1.3 kg per week).
It's not massive, but it has highlighted to me how losing only two weeks in this marathon means I'm going to have to get more focused and work harder than before.
I have to put these past two stressful weeks behind me, focus on what I need to do to achieve my goals and to keep moving forward.
Today is Sunday February 23rd, 2014 and my current weight is 111.7 kg (1.5 kg lost, 31.7 kg to go).
Well, since this is two weeks of time I've actually lost, but I've also managed to go backwards.
Based on my original goal of getting my weight down to 80kg by the time my first child is born, I'm going to have to increase my average weekly weight loss to 1.4 kg per week (up from 1.3 kg per week).
It's not massive, but it has highlighted to me how losing only two weeks in this marathon means I'm going to have to get more focused and work harder than before.
I have to put these past two stressful weeks behind me, focus on what I need to do to achieve my goals and to keep moving forward.
Today is Sunday February 23rd, 2014 and my current weight is 111.7 kg (1.5 kg lost, 31.7 kg to go).
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
A quick update with some bad news...
I failed to weigh in last Sunday due to being interstate. I considered weighing myself mid-week, but I'll either get my hopes up or get disappointed in the lead up to next weekend's weigh-in. For now I'll have to assume that all the food I ate whilst away was somehow countered by all the walking I did.
Just a quick note for anyone thinking of going to Sydney, Australia. If you can help it, DO NOT catch taxis, especially from the airport. My flight was delayed by an hour, so I got in after 11pm and was too tired to argue with the taxi driver when he tacked on an extra $10 onto the taxi fare. $48 to drive me 15 minutes to the centre of the CBD at 11pm on a Wednesday night with virtually no traffic around? Yeah right!
The taxi industry lost out on one customer because all weekend I went everywhere either by bus or walking. Even the times when I had to walk more than nine blocks to get to a bus stop! I even caught the train from the city back out to the airport when the time came. Even a local tourist information person told us to avoid them like the plague, and she apparently has friends who drive taxis there!
Otherwise I had a good weekend, albeit a slightly damp one with all of the rain which poured down. Ironically, living in Melbourne which is supposedly the home of changeable weather, the first ray of sunshine I saw in four days was in Melbourne the afternoon I got back.
Anyway, work has been a very stressful time with announcements coming about the possible future of the company. It wouldn't be quite so stressful, except the management seem to feel that too much communication is better than not enough, even if that communication has absolutely no new information.
It's been hard not to be tempted by bad food, especially since we've been having so many staff farewells for people who are clearly jumping ship because of the uncertainty.
I wonder, if/when I leave will it be before so many people have left that the company simply stops putting any kind of effort into farewells? That happened at my last company. When I started at my last company we'd all get taken out to lunch if someone who'd worked there longer than 12 months left. By the time I left (after eight years!) all I got was an exit interview and I had to email around to see who wanted to join me at the pub. Admittedly, upon realising that there weren't that many people who were going to miss me made leaving easier to take.
I've always been a person who gets stuck in my comfort zone and the thought of moving companies makes my skin crawl with the uncertainty. I bumped into some people who were left from my old company and they told me I left at the right time. Hopefully I know when the right time with my current company is, although I hardly want to leave my current uncertain environment for and even more uncertain one.
I guess only time will tell where my current journey will take me, although hopefully I'll be able to remain focused on my current goals and lose my extra weight in time for the birth of my first born child!
Saturday, February 8, 2014
The first weigh-in: so far, so good...
Well, the first week has come and gone and my first weigh-in has happened. I felt like a person on the Biggest Loser heading towards the dreaded scales.
My official weight at the end of the first week: 111.6 kg, which is a first week loss of 1.6 kg!
So, after only one week, with a few minor changes to my lifestyle, I've managed to lose my target average weight. I can't say that I didn't feel just a little disappointed because I was hoping to lose more in the first few weeks than the average given that each kilogram is harder to lose than the last one.
I can admit to myself that I slipped up more than once, made a few questionable meal and snack choices on a couple of days, which wouldn't have helped my cause, but there's always room for improvement.
For now, however, I can sit back and consider it a job well done for the first week and it's now for me to plan my weekly meals so that I'm not tempted to stray into easy (junk) food territory again.
Today is Sunday February 9th, 2014 and my current weight is 111.6 kg (1.6 kg lost, 31.6 kg to go).
My official weight at the end of the first week: 111.6 kg, which is a first week loss of 1.6 kg!
So, after only one week, with a few minor changes to my lifestyle, I've managed to lose my target average weight. I can't say that I didn't feel just a little disappointed because I was hoping to lose more in the first few weeks than the average given that each kilogram is harder to lose than the last one.
I can admit to myself that I slipped up more than once, made a few questionable meal and snack choices on a couple of days, which wouldn't have helped my cause, but there's always room for improvement.
For now, however, I can sit back and consider it a job well done for the first week and it's now for me to plan my weekly meals so that I'm not tempted to stray into easy (junk) food territory again.
Today is Sunday February 9th, 2014 and my current weight is 111.6 kg (1.6 kg lost, 31.6 kg to go).
Thursday, February 6, 2014
He falters, yet gets back up...
Well this week has really been a mixed bag.
For the whole week I've been going for several walks, even in the 30+ degrees we've been having, which makes me sweaty enough just standing around, let alone purposely walking in it!
I was doing so well with my plan to not eat desserts at all until this morning. My company (who shall remain nameless) gathered everyone in the office into a central place to give everyone the not-so-good financial results of 2013. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good either.
Not going into any more detail than that, I fell off the wagon and bought a piece of slice. After I'd eaten it I felt really bad about compromising the progress I'd made all week. Resolving to try something else the next time I'm feeling bad about my job, I chalked this up to experience and moved on.
I was so tempted, given that I'd just broken my resolve once, to just write the whole day off, but I didn't. I made one mistake and I need to move on. The last thing I should do to myself is 'punish' myself by giving in to more cravings and setting myself back.
It's only three more days before my first weigh in and I'm sure I've made at least a little progress.
I've purposely avoided trying on any of my shirts that don't quite fit me (picture a tight shirt on someone with the body of Zach Galifianakis) and I feel that if I try them on too soon and they're still too tight I might get disheartened. I know I shouldn't expect big results in my first week, but in my experience in any diet or change in lifestyle, the most weight is lost in the first few weeks. If the changes I've made don't result in much weight loss at all, then I can hardly expect for it to get better later on.
I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it and, for now, I'll have to continue to brave the hot weather we're expecting here in Melbourne over the next week with an average of 35 degree Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit for those people so inclined) to keep up my walking!
Monday, February 3, 2014
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
Doing some simple calculations I've worked out that in order
for me to achieve my desired weight loss (33.2 kg or over 29% of my current body weight) in the time frame given, I’m going to
have to lose 1.3 kg per week on average.
The reality of the situation is, however, that this weight will most likely
be easier to lose at the beginning and much harder the closer I get to my goal
weight. To account for this I’m aiming
for at least 2 kg of weight loss per week for the first few months, which
should make up for the later months when the weight loss plateaus and I have to
do more to keep the weight loss going.
As a kind of a mid-way goal I've set for myself, I’m aiming
to get my weight down to 95 kg by the Easter weekend (starting Friday April 18th)
as I usually go somewhere with my family for a day where there’s a heated pool
and, whilst I know I’d still be classified as overweight at 95 kg, I’d at least
like to be able to show off my progress.
I’ll still probably be one of the biggest people there, but at least I
know my weight will be tracking in the right direction.
My weigh-ins, rather than being a daily affair (which I’m
told can fluctuate quite wildly, which can de-motivate), will be done on Sunday
mornings, with the results being uploaded to this blog when I get a chance.
I've decided that, as far as diet goes, I’m not going to do
anything drastic but rather cut out things I know I shouldn't have and cut back
other foods as time progresses and if I see a plateau forming. So far I've cut out soft drink, my morning
piece of slice and my afternoon ice cream.
I don’t always have those things and I don’t drink much soft drink, but
my weights been slowly creeping up and little things like these have all done
their bit to make me the overweight man I am today.
I also went on three walks today, each lasting about half an
hour. Given our weather of late I don’t
know if I’ll be able to keep that level of exercise consistent every day, but I’m
feeling good because I’m off to a good start.
How good this start is will ultimately be reflected in my Sunday morning weigh-in weight…
Sunday, February 2, 2014
The dawn of a New Time
Let me start my first blog post by welcoming anyone who has bothered to check this out.
This blog has been started as a kind of log in my personal weight loss challenge which has been fought over the years, some years successful, other years not so successful.
My tipping points came this weekend for a number of reasons, which I'll get to as time goes on, but this first post will be about a couple of events which have caused me to realise that enough is enough.
I weighed in this morning at 113.2 kg, which is the most I have ever weighed. On top of that, my BMI (based on my height of 182 cm) is 34. According to the BMI calculator I used I'm classified as obese and my healthy weight range should be between 61 - 82 kg. Now I have very wide shoulders, so I don't seriously think getting my weight down to 61 kg is safe, but at the absolute least I'm at least 31.2 kg overweight.
I've also been struggling to find clothing that fits me in my cupboard. I've always had a system going in my cupboard of sorting clothing based on size. As my weight goes up I gravitate towards the few shirts that still fit me and as it goes down I stop wearing the larger ones because they become too baggy.
Lately I've been finding my options more and more limited due to this being my heaviest weigh in ever and, not only don't I want to go out and buy more comfortable shirts and pants, I don't want to admit to my wife that that's why I want new clothes.
I've always hated clothing shopping, but never more so than when the reason is because I'm too big for my current clothes.
Another thing that has me fired up is that for the third time in my life I broke a bed frame. I just sat on the bed as I usually do and the timber supporting the planks of wood just gave way. This wasn't helped by the fact that two metal screws had to snap to make this happen.
The other two times I'd broken bed frames were within a few weeks of each other and occurred when I was travelling internationally in a country where the average weight is a lot less than Australia. At the time I wrote it off, but I still took notice.
Upon returning to Australia I took it upon myself to lose a lot of weight (I got down to 86 kg) and was at my lowest weight just in time for my Debutantes ball. After that I slowly put weight back on and would oscillate between 95 and 110 kg over the years, with my weight going down in time for certain milestones (being involved in others weddings) and would slowly rise if no new events for which to look good arose.
My last big effort was for my wedding day. I undertook a very strict diet and exercise regime which saw me lose about 14 kg in about 12 weeks. I swore this time I'd keep losing the weight, even though the unrealistic diet was not maintained, or at the very least keep my weight down. I let myself go starting on the honeymoon which was a few months long.
My biggest reason I actually haven't yet mentioned: fast forward several years to now and my wife and I are looking forward to the birth of our first child and I don't want to be "big fat daddy" or even "big daddy". I want to be the best father I can be for my unborn child and to me that means being fit. I want to be able to keep up with him or her when she gets older and starts running around. More importantly, I still want to be around for all of the major events in their life, like when he or she turns 18, gets married and has children of their own (hopefully not necessarily doing all three in the same year!).
I don't want to keep being the guy that always thinks that there'll be time to lose weight later and going on a crazy diet to achieve results, but being unhealthy and unsustainable. I know that the baby won't be doing much running around for the first year of his or her life, but I'm done with putting it off. If I can't find the time to get myself into shape before the baby arrives, what chance will I have to lose it when I'm either out at work or home changing nappies!
My plan over the next 6 months is to get my weight down by 33.2 kg to 80 kg, so that I'm in the 'healthy weight range' as listed on the BMI website linked above. I'll be posting updates on this blog of how I'm going and what I'm doing. I don't really have a firm plan for what I want to do, but I know what I need to do and I know that I need to start now.
If you're still reading, thank you for reading all of the above, I look forward to hearing from you and I wish you all well with your own personal self improvement goals!
Today is Sunday February 2nd, 2014 and my current weight is 113.2 kg (0 kg lost, 33.2 kg to go).
This blog has been started as a kind of log in my personal weight loss challenge which has been fought over the years, some years successful, other years not so successful.
My tipping points came this weekend for a number of reasons, which I'll get to as time goes on, but this first post will be about a couple of events which have caused me to realise that enough is enough.
I weighed in this morning at 113.2 kg, which is the most I have ever weighed. On top of that, my BMI (based on my height of 182 cm) is 34. According to the BMI calculator I used I'm classified as obese and my healthy weight range should be between 61 - 82 kg. Now I have very wide shoulders, so I don't seriously think getting my weight down to 61 kg is safe, but at the absolute least I'm at least 31.2 kg overweight.
I've also been struggling to find clothing that fits me in my cupboard. I've always had a system going in my cupboard of sorting clothing based on size. As my weight goes up I gravitate towards the few shirts that still fit me and as it goes down I stop wearing the larger ones because they become too baggy.
Lately I've been finding my options more and more limited due to this being my heaviest weigh in ever and, not only don't I want to go out and buy more comfortable shirts and pants, I don't want to admit to my wife that that's why I want new clothes.
I've always hated clothing shopping, but never more so than when the reason is because I'm too big for my current clothes.
Another thing that has me fired up is that for the third time in my life I broke a bed frame. I just sat on the bed as I usually do and the timber supporting the planks of wood just gave way. This wasn't helped by the fact that two metal screws had to snap to make this happen.
The other two times I'd broken bed frames were within a few weeks of each other and occurred when I was travelling internationally in a country where the average weight is a lot less than Australia. At the time I wrote it off, but I still took notice.
Upon returning to Australia I took it upon myself to lose a lot of weight (I got down to 86 kg) and was at my lowest weight just in time for my Debutantes ball. After that I slowly put weight back on and would oscillate between 95 and 110 kg over the years, with my weight going down in time for certain milestones (being involved in others weddings) and would slowly rise if no new events for which to look good arose.
My last big effort was for my wedding day. I undertook a very strict diet and exercise regime which saw me lose about 14 kg in about 12 weeks. I swore this time I'd keep losing the weight, even though the unrealistic diet was not maintained, or at the very least keep my weight down. I let myself go starting on the honeymoon which was a few months long.
My biggest reason I actually haven't yet mentioned: fast forward several years to now and my wife and I are looking forward to the birth of our first child and I don't want to be "big fat daddy" or even "big daddy". I want to be the best father I can be for my unborn child and to me that means being fit. I want to be able to keep up with him or her when she gets older and starts running around. More importantly, I still want to be around for all of the major events in their life, like when he or she turns 18, gets married and has children of their own (hopefully not necessarily doing all three in the same year!).
I don't want to keep being the guy that always thinks that there'll be time to lose weight later and going on a crazy diet to achieve results, but being unhealthy and unsustainable. I know that the baby won't be doing much running around for the first year of his or her life, but I'm done with putting it off. If I can't find the time to get myself into shape before the baby arrives, what chance will I have to lose it when I'm either out at work or home changing nappies!
My plan over the next 6 months is to get my weight down by 33.2 kg to 80 kg, so that I'm in the 'healthy weight range' as listed on the BMI website linked above. I'll be posting updates on this blog of how I'm going and what I'm doing. I don't really have a firm plan for what I want to do, but I know what I need to do and I know that I need to start now.
If you're still reading, thank you for reading all of the above, I look forward to hearing from you and I wish you all well with your own personal self improvement goals!
Today is Sunday February 2nd, 2014 and my current weight is 113.2 kg (0 kg lost, 33.2 kg to go).
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