Wonderful Week
Weigh Day #8
Wonderful week! That lovely feeling when you have a good week despite being a little wobbly and eating some wrong foods. I’m beaming!
Weight – 128.25 Kilograms, 20.23 Stone, 283.29 Pounds
Weekly Weight Loss – 1.2 Kilograms, 2.64 Pounds
Total Weight Loss – 9.45 Kilograms, 1.48 Stone, 20.83 Pounds
BMI – 39.4 (Obese), Total BMI Loss – 3
Check Your BMI
What A Wonderful Week!
Slow But Firm Progression
Another week rolls by. Another kilo gone. Naturally delighted but also aware of so much work ahead. I’m on a two-week roll. The loss was about what I expected. Had a few biscuits Monday and Friday. That never killed anyone. A lovely feeling to get through the week unscathed given how busy and stressful work’s been and temptations all around! Society has made it very easy to cave in like a house of cards.
Government Hypocrisy
The government are forever bleating on about obesity and whilst there are signs of tackling the problem, they still allow our brains to be firmly washed over Christmas. I suppose if retailers were barred from brainwashing then tax revenue would take a serious hit! Since starting this blog, I’ve begun to study the ‘other hands’ constantly working on our brains. And we have to be strong, sometimes ridiculously strong. My insomnia, which was a serious problem for the first month, has all but disappeared. I’ve learned to live with hunger and reprogrammed and control myself. I understand how difficult this is.
Work Hard
It’s funny because I’m not working as hard at this as I feel I should be. That’s a really good sign my obsession with food is over. I think I’ve developed a fear of what I was before. My step count probably could be a little better but as I don’t use steps as a weight loss tool, I’m not too bothered. I do around 5000 steps a day. My beautiful wife, Larice, bought me one of those fit watches for Christmas which I am looking forward to getting stuck in. Everyone is different and you have to find what works for you. Maybe because I’ve always been obese, weight loss is still relatively easy compared with those who piled on weight later in life after being lighter when young.
The human body is a complex beast. Be patient and don’t give up. Any weight loss is a gain. Moderation is the key here and I’m learning to live with moderation. When you have a wonderful week, grab the experience with both hands and embrace!
A Day Descends
I’m posting this Sunday for good reason. Yesterday’s daytime went swimmingly well. I took Bowie for a lengthy road walk as usual on a Saturday whilst the girls went shopping in the city centre. I had a normal breakfast and they brought me back a Yorkshire pudding wrap for lunch. We’d shopped online so no grappling with the store. As darkness descended, things took a wobbly turn. I’d all but written my weekly weigh-in blog by 3PM. I stopped to listen to Cambridge United beat Blackpool 2-1, fully intending to finish proceedings in the evening. When the match finished, I felt knackered and had a power snooze. Larice and I settled down to watch a movie (AI Artificial Intelligence) and quickly made the executive decision to order a takeaway
We ordered the same as two weeks ago and it tasted as fantastic as two weeks ago! Last night got worse though. It’s that time of year when Christmas brings foodstuffs into your dwelling you don’t normally have present!!!!
Chocolate Gate
My stepdaughter, Juliana, handed me this rather large slab of chocolate yesterday morning. An interesting project to undertake. What to do with it? My initial thought was “Oh shit!” as in a past life, I’d have heartily consumed in front of the TV. In one go. Admittedly, I’ve not purchased a bar this big before. The close-up photo doesn’t do it justice. Trust me, it’s massive. And I love Dairy Milk. I grew up eating the stuff, but not in such an extended form though! A small bar with a glass bottle of Coca-Cola! And a straw!
Of course, the natural thing to do would be to think to yourself, “I’ve had a wonderful week and I’m going to jolly well eat the lot!” On reading the label, I noticed that eating the whole thing would be an eye-watering 1900 calories. I could if I so desired, ditch food for a day and just eat the chocolate. In my food addiction days, I never thought to look at the packaging so wouldn’t have noticed the information regarding the BeTreatWise.net website and that five pieces, which is classed as a portion, is 160 calories. Be Treat Wise is an interesting read. Good luck trying to reduce the amount of chocolate kids eat though! I’m going to take a leaf out of the Treat Wise book and be careful with the chocolate.
Problematic Foods
Caving In
Unfortunately, the problem with foods like chocolate is they’re so damn addictive. When you think about it, eat too much and chocolate becomes very sickly. Though for us addicts, we just want to gouge the lot. Slurping the sickly substance and letting it squirm away inside. This newfound me doesn’t think of food like that any more. And I’m glad Juliana gave me the chocolate. This is a test! When I was resisting chocolate last week at work, I had the fear that should I eat one then I would consume many more and, like on the night shift, a couple of weeks ago, I would have an episode of out-of-control eating.
After the takeaway was heartily consumed, in front of the telly as well (breaking protocol for the first time in months!), the chocolate started gnawing away inside. That horrible churning feeling when something niggles away. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow. I caved in and ate 10 pieces. 320 calories. What surprised me was that I went back for another 10 pieces and stopped after consuming those. Even better, I regretted the second helping. Something I never thought would happen to me. The second helping felt sickly. I totted up the daily calories and was slightly over my limit but no major damage was done. It’s nigh on impossible to be perfect every single day so when you do wobble, embrace instead of descending. Shit happens! Giving up is the easy option and will make you dreadfully unhappy!
Control
So much of this journey is about having the right mindset. I used to be so out of control, I would barely need an excuse to start gorging. That was a horrendous place to be. I’m now in a situation where I’m comfortable with food and having food around me. I never thought I could be this way. I feel I might crack at any moment which kinda keeps me on edge but the benefits are beginning to show and feeling fitter, better, and happier and my clothes starting to loosen. The next step is for people (bar Larice) to start saying I’m looking thinner. This has not happened yet as I still have a long way to go!
Bowie appreciates his treats as we give them sparingly. Each episode is a learning curve. I analyze everything. This helps enormously. I simply don’t want to go back to the person I was. If I take my eye off the ball, I could well do that. But, I have changed in attitude like I’ve never changed before. Even when I lost a lot of weight in 2009/10. I took my eye off the ball and over the years slowly but surely put it back on. It’s a cliche but this IS a lifestyle change.
Long Way To Go
My current weight is 128.25 kg. The photo above was taken June last year in Berlin (next to David Bowie’s old apartment!) when I weighed 118 kg. So another ten to go before I hit that weight! Each milestone is a challenge. I never did write down that list I wrote I was going to last week! One of the main things I’ve learnt is you have to stay on this 24/7, don’t let up. Try not to go even one day without counting. And if you do, don’t beat yourself up. Beating yourself up over failure will do you no good whatsoever. Accept you are not going to lose loads every week. Accept you are going to fail some days. We are human! Embrace a wonderful week. Keep finding what works for you. When you hit walls, break them down!
Stay Strong!
I know that’s easier said than done. Especially given Christmas is in overdrive. Think of Christmas as a right nasty pest who gets in the way. Christmas seems to go on forever. Normally, by this point, I’m in full eating and drinking mode. How strong I’ll stay over Christmas is anybody’s guess! I’ve got four days off work. If I have another wonderful week, then I’ll be tempted to switch off the app and celebrate the birth of Jesus with hearty food and alcohol consumption. On the other hand, a huge chunk of me feels this might undo two months of good work. The reality is I don’t know but one thing is sure, I will report on whichever path I decide to take.
Moderation
I think that will be the key to getting through Christmas but I know what I’m like. In the last two months, I have changed. My wife cannot believe the changes. She never thought I could do this and at least doesn’t have to hide snacks! Maybe I’ve gotten rid of that hideous part of my persona that wants to do nothing more than eat, drink, eat more, drink more etc. I won’t know until I let my guard down. Can you really crack a serious food addiction in two months? Can you really change your habits so quickly?
Whatever happens, it’s imperative I weigh myself next Saturday and the following Saturday. We don’t bother with new year so that’s not a problem and I’m working on New Year’s Day. The feeling of a wonderful week is becoming encased in my memory. It’s a good feeling. A much better feeling than gorging and its aftermath. Christmas is pesky but use it to your advantage. Enjoy some of the ‘good stuff’ just not too much!
Summary
More weight loss and a wonderful week. Determined to keep it going for another week and hopefully shed another kilo before dealing with Christmas. A slight blip last night might hamper proceedings but not too much I think. There are many mountains to climb. Take each challenge one step at a time. Raise a glass to another wonderful week!
