Move over Lance.... I'm coming through

Lance Armstrong that is, of course. As of today I've graduated to cyclist. After picking up my bike on Sunday I christened it with a lazy 2 hour ride today. That's right 2 hours, fair-dinkum I can't remember the last time I exercised for that long. Not surprisingly, I am totally wasted tonight and may very well need a wheelchair tomorrow but it has to be good for me.

I never really planned today's marathon it just sort of happened. The problem was I kept thinking about all the sausage rolls and mini quiches I ate in the press box at the Gold Coast on Saturday night. That, and the thousand beers I drank till three in the morning while watching the Socceroo's fail the final test in Qatar. Or maybe the full hangover breakfast I consumed on Sunday morning. Are you getting the message.

It's fair to say it wasn't my finest weekend performance of this new journey. Not to worry though, one of the promises I made myself was to keep living my life (within reason) so as to be able to maintain the changes long term.

You see, the thing about me is I'm a bit of an all or nothing kind of guy. I tend to go hard at things at a hundred miles an hour and then be hard on myself when I can't maintain it. This is far too important to fail so I'm working on a different approach this time. I've decided to allow myself the odd slip-up and not give myself a psychological beating when I do. Hopefully with this more sensible approach the changes I'm instituting will be more sustainable.

So another little milestone today. One month of the blog already gone (collective groans of disappointment).

So let me institute a new initiative to celebrate the passing of such a milestone. The end of month review!

So lets look at the January statistics:
1. Close to 10kgs and 10 cm lost in 31 days, not bad, not bad at all.
2. A semi-regular exercise routine instituted, Go Me!.
3. The corporate collapse of Coca-cola Amatil and Kentucky fried Chicken (really it's not my fault).
4. And the most impressive stat for last, 20 blog posts in 31 days.

All in all a pretty good start, I think. Perhaps the biggest challenge starts now. In professional sport they call it the second season blues, when rookies with impressive stats fail to maintain their good form the next season. so it's time to knuckle down and make sure I avoid the second month blues.

Oh yeah that's not me in the pic by the way (shame on you if you think it was). I just think fat people on bikes look funny so I'd add some visual imagery

Over and out

P

January...the end is nigh

So that's it. the final weigh in and measurement for January is is the book.

And the result is.

123.7kg, which is a loss of 9kg for the month.
123cm, which means 10cm off the waist and well on the way to those 34 inch jeans.

It's a pretty satisfying result and the challenge is now to sustain it and put up good numbers for February.

Oh yeah I've decided to add in the grams to the weight figure. If is good enough for big fat TV losers its good enough for me. That, and I hate rounding up!!

All-rightty-then I promised a short post and there you have it. Now get lost and enjoy your weekend.

P

POETS Day

I do like Poets day. Surely you understand my reference, if not go here you un-australian joker http://www.poetsday.com/. Obviously it doesn't mean quite as much since I'm not working a Monday to Friday gig at the moment, but it's still a great day.

The extra good news is I've survived another Friday Golf Club session. Only a couple of beers and no fat filled dinner aftermath. I even went a bit further today and switched from the traditional Carlton Draught schooners to the low-carb option, Pure Blonde. While I don't know if it make any difference, I'm certain it can't be a negative move.

Ok, I just consulted some websites. The jury is in and the verdict is "better" but not by a long way. The reality is the beer has only one third of the carbs of my normal beer but it still contains 75% of the calories of a Carlton Draught, so I won't beat myself up over my beer choices.

I'm back on the exercise train today, my muscle strains seem to be on the improve and I think I'll take notice of the early niggles sooner to avoid the painful aftermath. I pick up a second hand bike tomorrow from a mate who owns a bike shop. He reckons it's pretty good and hell, it's only costing me a few beers so here's hoping it's ok. It wouldn't take much to be better than the crappy thing I've been riding this week anyway.

Basketball sign on is on the agenda in the morning and again I've stepped up to coach for another season. It's U16 girls this season and I'm hoping with some substantial weight loss and improved fitness I can get a bit more involved with the girls at training. As much as my busted knee will allow anyway.

After B'ball it'll be off to the Gold Coast for the weekend. Naomi and I will catch up with friends and I will cover the A League match at Skilled Park for the Sunday Mail again. A nice Sunday on the Goldy will be just the ticket to reward me for a week of hard work modifying my terrible lifestyle.

OK for those of you that desperately wait for each Saturday's weigh in result I promise to do a short post tomorrow morning before basketball.

Here's hoping for a positive result.

P

Survivor...Public Holiday (maybe the next series)

Yes, it is true I have survived the Aussie Day Holiday intact and successfully avoided the thousand beers and thousand sausages that I have traditionally consumed on this most holy day. It sort of helped not having committed to a set program of events therefore I was a little more in control of the ultimate outcome.

I'm starting to get a little edgy about Saturdays weigh in. I've been really good this week and I'm hoping that's reflected on the scales.

The last couple of days I've had to forgo an exercise session (unless you count WII tennis) as my body is reminding me it's 39 & 11 months (not 40 yet!!). After two fairly intense exercise days Monday and Tuesday I've been limping around a bit today thanks to a few sore spots. I'm beginning to realise my knee problem has more of a grip on me than just the pain in the joint. Because its been stuffed for so long I have no muscle mass in my right leg at all, so when walking or cycling my right leg seems to pull up sore much faster. I had a calf cramp halfway through my walk Tuesday arvo which came on the back of a ride earlier in the day. The cramp has turned into a bit of a corky and is very tight. I'm hoping to be back moving again tomorrow.

On the positive side, this lifestyle change has dragged me kicking and screaming into the kitchen more regularly. As much as hate cooking, I have to prepare more meals at home to better control what goes in my gob. I managed a half decent Fillet Mignon with vegies tonight and got thumbs up from the kid, so that's a win.

If you own any shares in Coca Cola Amatil, then you may have to prepare yourself for a profit downgrade in the near future. With my dramatic drop in consumption this month I can't see how they can avoid it, so don't say I didn't warn you. If you get questioned for insider trading though, you didn't hear it from me!

With less than a month to go until my birthday I've penciled in a short term goal weight of 119kg or less. I'm sure if I stick to my guns this will be achieved. If I can get there I'll be 18kg under my heaviest day and well on the way to happy-time.

So considering I opened with the Survivor theme I guess I should close with it as well.

The tribe has voted and I'm still in the game. So I'll grab my torch and return to camp.

Next time on Survivor: The Saturday weigh in!

P

Pub lunches

Oh how I do like pub lunches. But they really do challenge one's willpower during these difficult times. The problem you see, is they often come with a beer or two or four. Stop me anytime. And that's the problem right there, the stopping part. As promised I am continuing to live my life by accepting invitations such as today's pub lunch but it really does make the rest of the days food intake all that more important. Having said all of that I'm having a pretty good week so far so the odd small steak at the pub should destroy the hard work.

Well its Australia Day eve and I'm hoping to get through the festivities with minimal damage. I was hoping to go for a ride tomorrow but I did another one today and think I've strained a quad. Bugger. I'm sure it won't keep me out long though.

I have to say the cravings have abated a little this week after the psychological shocker that was last week. I've got a bit of a morning fruit routine going and it seems to fight off that old 10am hunger pain that used to send me straight to the bakery. Good news for my waistline not so good for Brumbys. Sales must be down a bit I reckon.

This weight loss thing seems pretty good for the wallet to I reckon. As I lose weight my wallet seems to gain it, nice little ancillary bonus there.

OK, short post tonight, time to retire to bed and a book. I'm starting another Cormac MacCarthy novel. Note to others who haven't read his stuff, keep a dictionary handy. The guy has a grasp on the English language I'm still trying to comprehend, but he does tell a good yarn.

Nighty night

P

On the treadly

OK, welcome back to life as a fat bastard.

Another first today. Today I got on the bike. I have a cheapo crap bike bought off the internet and is about as good to ride as a 1950's billy-cart. So for my first ride I decided to ride to a bike shop and investigate buying a new bike. Setting aside the fact that I really can't afford one, I figure I can pay it off by riding to Uni two days a week and avoiding car and parking costs.

The ride was amazingly hard work thanks to the incredible crapiness of my transportation and the fact that The Gap is the HILLYEST suburb in the world (I'm aware it's not a word but no other word would aptly describe these hills). Despite the obvious problems I felt pretty good after it and followed it up with a short session on the heavy bag this arvo, God damn, listen to me I sound like a bloody fitness fanatic (well almost).

I've decided to be pretty hard on myself this week with regards to the diet after being a bit slack last week. I'm seriously keen to drop a kilo or two by the end of the week. So far so good on that front.

As for the life front outside the obvious bulge battle, I had my most productive week so far in my drive to become a journo. The week just gone I managed to get five articles published in both the Courier and Sunday Mail which was very satisfying.

The most amazing thing of all happened on Saturday night while covering an A League match at the Gold Coast for the Sunday Mail. I was there early so I chatted to some of the other journo's while we waited for the match to start. I'm generally pretty up front with the other journos about the fact I'm doing the job as a student/freelance journo. But while speaking to the AAP journo he asked my name and said he recognized my name from the Courier Mail. I have to say it was a nice feeling at the time.

To give you an insight into how hard it is to get a job in this industry. I'm doing about 40 hours work a month at the moment, gratis. I was actually offered payment for the soccer gig on Saturday night but turned the minimal fee down to guarantee more work and build up credibility points. I'm hoping it might fast track me into sport sooner rather than later. Every Journo and Editor there says I'm going about the the right way so only time will tell.

Officially one month till I crack the big 4-0 so it feels good to be on a path back to health. I already feel like my energy levels are picking up so that's got to be a positive.

I'll do my best to avoid a blow-out on Australia Day, but it would be bloody un-Australian not to have a few beers and a snag or two, and I'm not going to be called un-Australian.

Alrighty then, that sounds like just about enough crapping on for now. Don't forget to tune in next time, same bat time, same bat channel for the next exciting episode of 'Who wants to be a skinny bastard'.

See ya,

P

Oh my head....

Wow, you know when a quiet drink turns into as loud one. Yep that was last night... After working pretty hard this week to stay on track, I managed to consume copious amounts of alcohol and I guess calories in my lazy night at the pub. Fortunately I managed to limit the damage to grog and only had a minimal dinner along the way. Maybe that's why my head feels the way it does, not enough inside to soak up the grog.

So what does all this mean for this weeks weigh in. Well officially there's no weight loss although it seems the gut measurement has dropped this week, go figure. I'm actually down about half a kilo but because I'm rounding to the nearest kilo the official number remains the same.

I thought I'd be more disappointed by that result but to be honest I made some decisions this week that probably cost me a kilo or two but I'm ok with it. In the past I've tended to turn certain situations into complete blowouts and this week I avoided that so I'm happy with that.

I had a great week at the paper this week and managed to get 4-5 bylines (haven't checked today's paper) and have jagged a good gig for tonight. I'm off to Skilled Park at the Gold Coast to cover the A League soccer tonight so I've got some homework to do this arvo so I know what the hell I'm writing about.

So it's on to week four and I'm determined to record a good result to finish off the first month. It'll be somewhat challenging with Aust Day in the mix but again I'll need to try and limit the damage on Wednesday.

I hope you're all getting an insight inside the mind of a Fat Bastard by reading my dribble each week I know its helping me stay on track.

Talk soon

P

And the show marches on

I'm back.

Sorry for the delay but it's been a bit of a busy week.

When I last wrote I was pretty flat, but this week at the paper has helped me gain a little perspective on what its really like to be doing it tough.

I've spent the last three days interviewing people who have lost their houses and all their possessions and have little hope of ever fully recovering. I've written a short yarn for tomorrows paper about a man who lost his house to the flood last week. While that's bad enough this came on the back of a cancer diagnosis mid last year and the loss of his job 3 days before Christmas. This is only one of the tough stories I've heard this week and it's helped me realise that I have little to complain about.

So moving right along, my shoulder dramas have eased. It looks like I pinched a nerve or similar because after struggling all Sunday night I woke up Monday and it had improved markedly. Happy, happy, joy, joy. I've had a pretty decent week in terms of diet and even did an exercise session today.

I feel like overall I've done a reasonable job this week so here's hoping for another positive result on Saturday.

Oh yeah I fitted back into a shirt I like today so I must be getting somewhere.

Till next time

P

Bugger

Why is it when I try to do the right thing its steps back and kicks me in the arse?

Not very happy as we speak. You may recall yesterday I mentioned that Naomi and I were going to shoot some hoops today because we hadn't been able to get there during the week. It's always been one of my favorite things after a lifetime of playing and watching basketball. These days my dodgy body makes it a bit hard but I try to have a go from time to time.

Most of you would know about the the problems I have with my knee, well unfortunately I also have a fairly well screwed right shoulder that gives me pain fairly regularly but I tend to work around the discomfort and restriction. Normally when I enjoy a shoot around I'm careful not to take any long shots as to stress the arthritic joint. Unfortunately today while haven't a lighthearted game of one on one with my daughter something has popped and now I can't lift my bloody arm. Hence BUGGER.

It's just bloody frustrating because I've been using the punching bag for workouts due to my knee problems but now even that's off the agenda for a while. Between you and me it's quite hard to exercise without using your arms and your legs!

I keep promising myself that I have to keep this thing light and entertaining so people continue to read, so I'm sorry this is a whinge-fest today but I'm really not in the mood for humour.

So as I approach my week at the paper I'm hungry, frustrated and in pain. Yey what a start to next week.

CYA

P

24 more weeks and I'll be halfway

Well I guess today's title says it all today really. I've been pretty stringent this week what I've eaten but despite a solid 2 kilo loss, I'm in emotional struggle-town at the moment. I guess it will take a while to change those bad habits built up over such a long time and the last few days have been tough. Most of the time I've felt like saying screw it and heading off for a junk food fix. But again thanks to this commitment I remain on track despite the obvious frustration.

It's been a really weird week around here as I guess you would understand. The local crisis has brought parts of the city to a standstill and you see the best and worst of people in these instances. The best of course is all the people looking to put their hands up to help total strangers rebuild their lives. The worst on the other hand is the looters and to a lesser degree the panic buyers who have cleaned out the shops with food they just won't need.

The diet this coming week will be a bit tougher thanks to the fresh food shortage we are now experiencing. All the supermarkets and greengrocers have empty shelves so its a case of make do with what you can find. I have a reasonable amount of frozen veg in the freezer so may have to make do with that for the moment.

Can't wait for Monday and the week in at the paper as it will surely take my mind of this eating crap and get me a week closer to my goal.

Please bear with my whining today, I guess that's the emotional roller-coaster I promised in the first post. I think I'll try to shoot some hoops with Naomi tomorrow to de-stress a little after we had to cancel the same plans earlier in the week as the rain tumbled down and the floods began.

All in all its a positive week on the results front. I'm officially 6 kilos lighter and 3 cm less girthier (yes I know that's not a word but it should be) than I was on January one, so it's onward and upward into week three we go.

P

Back to normality

Well the flood peak has passed, but for many of my fellow locals the heartache that is the 2011 flood is only beginning. It's been weird living here in Brisbane during this period and watching the drama unfold on the box with many others around the country, while not being directly affected myself.

As for my New Years Resolution, well it's fair to say it has remained on track despite the extreme circumstances. As I go to air tonight I have survived another Friday arvo without falling of the wagon so tomorrow's weigh in should be a true reflection of the week that has passed.

As for this not getting on the scales thing, I'm not convinced. As you know I failed dismally by weighing myself only 36 hours after promising not too. However, I have remained strong until now. What I wasn't ready for was the constant anxiety that comes with not knowing. Hear me out. When I get on the scales daily I often see a loss which gives me some incentive for the coming day, but this week I've struggled with the feeling that I don't know where I'm at. I'm worried that if I get on the scales and fail to lose any substantial weight then it will have a negative effect on my psyche.

Lets just hope it's a good result then hey.

Next week I'm working at the paper, which should be good because I will be able to focus on something far more important than my personal journey. I'm hoping I get the opportunity to do some post flood stories and will be floating (no pun intended) a number of different ideas I have to the editor. It's a bit of a battle being a 40 odd year old student sometimes when you go to work and half the staff are younger than you with 10 times as much experience. I'm hoping they don't palm me off to the side because of the pressure they're under. I'm guessing many staff will be off dealing with their own personal drama's so it may be an opportunity for me to get some decent copy published. What's the Chinese saying? "Crisis = Opportunity".

So the Saturday weigh in looms. I must say I'm a little edgy but still looking forward to it (the anticipation is killing me). Let's hope it's a positive result although in the bigger picture it doesn't really matter because I'm in this now for the long haul.

For those of you looking for a little light relief, please feel free to read the online mag I write for, www.biscuitmagazine.com.au. I have a few pieces in this month and it continues to be an entertaining read.

OK that's enough crapping on for now. Please tune in tomorrow night for the second 'Official Weigh In', oh yeah and for Danny, the 'Gut Measurement', I never knew he loved my gut so much. Yes come to think of it will be somewhat sad to see it go after 20 odd years of hard work.

Until tomorrow.

P

Water water everywhere

Sometimes circumstances render stuff like this blog fairly irrelevant in the big picture of life and death, but a commitment is a commitment so I'll press on. The last two days have been a little stressful for everyone here is Brisbane. Early Tuesday when it was raining about 80mm an hour in the Gap we were concerned that the floods would gobble up properties in our street. Fortunately the rain subsided and we came to realize our little creek was not really tidal and only floods when the rain doesn't stop, so that worry was gone.

One neighbour wasn't so lucky however. The creek did rise and become a raging torrent for about 8 hours washing away the council retaining wall and tons of soil that was holding his 75000ltr pool in position. The neighbourhood lept into action yesterday and today with 6 men including yours truly carrying and positioning over six hundred sandbags up the washed away bank in a desperate attempt to stop his pool falling into the creek. I'm glad to say the immediate danger of that occurring has passed but with major rain events predicted for the end of the month we may have only delayed the damage.

With all that physical labour I felt any extra exercise was superfluous so I enjoyed couch time in between the work. I've also been pretty good with my diet now for nearly two weeks. I have also managed to avoid hopping back on the scales and can only hope for a good result on the scales on Saturday.

I'm beginning to think I'm winning the craving battles. I have only had one can of coke in ten days which, for anyone that knows me well, knows that is an achievement. So its more of the same for the next few days and then hopefully a good result.

Next week will be something different as I'm working at the Courier Mail for the week. I can imagine I'll be running around a bit doing post flood stories so I'll have to avoid the temptation to eat on the run. It'll be a good test run for a normal week rather than staying home alot during the Uni break.

Anyway, it's back to the round the clock flood coverage in anticipation of the 4am peak.

Let's hope for the best and a swift clean up operation and here's a coupke of pics from our neighbourhood working bee.

Bye for now

Testing times

Ten days in and the testing moments aren't finished yet. Have to say today was tiring, frustrating and annoying. I pretty much felt like pigging out from this morning until now. The good news is I didn't. I couldn't figure out how I would explain it here so this idea must be working. I did skip exercise today but I don't think that's the end of the world, I'll pick up the slack tomorrow.

I did however fail at one of my earlier undertakings today. Despite promising to avoid the scales for the week, I succumbed after only 36 hrs and got on today. Needless to say I paid the penalty for my insolence with a 1/2 kilo gain on the dial. I guess that serves me right for my impatience. Ironically, my eating had been as good during that period as it has since the start, so I guess that's why weekly weigh ins are better

It's just one of those things I guess. I was having a bad day and was looking for re-assurance in all the wrong places. At least I'll be in less of a hurry to get back on before next Saturday.

I'm going to contact a mate who owns a bike shop tomorrow and look into getting myself a tredly. My dodgy knee seems to be struggling even on short walks so hopefully the lower impact of riding will give me another alternative to the heavy bag workouts.

I had those bloody daydreams today of fast-forwarding six months or so to skip all the hard work and enjoy a fitter, healthier me. But alas I woke to the reality that this journey has but barely begun.

If my dodgy body feels up to it tomorrow Naomi and I will head to the PCYC and have a shoot around on the basketball court. This is always a much more enjoyable fitness session for me.

OK time to close the book on day 10 and look forward to a more positive day tomorrow.

cheers for now

P

Rain rain go away

Fair dinkum, I know we were in drought not long ago but enough is enough, this rain is ridiculous. For those of you not in the Sunshine State (tongue firmly in cheek) it hasn't stopped raining here since.....since......well forever. Anyway it bloody seems like it.

The crap weather has restricted me to inside duties but fortunately I've managed to focus pretty well on what I stick in my gob during this period.

I feel like I'm getting through that craving for everything crap period and each day it seems a little easier to stick to the task at hand. As of today I've managed six consecutive days of exercise (I think), there may have been a day off in there but I'm not sure, either way I'm feeling a bit better for it.

I want to thank a mate of mine, Dave, who this morning sent me a pretty inspiring document about the joy and fragile nature of life. It was written by a mutual work colleague of ours who last year survived a serious heart attack at the ripe old age of 50. He talked about the feelings he experienced while the attack took place, and conveyed the false promises and half measures that he had continually made to himself over the years. He explained how these half arsed efforts to reform his destructive habits had led him to this moment, where now his life was in the hands of others.

Fortunately, he survived and has decided to pen his story in the hope that others can realise sooner rather than later how precious life is and how quickly it can disappear.

I thank both him and Dave for forwarding it to me. It's given me an extra spurt along on my own journey back to health.

On a positive note, I managed to stay off the scales today despite walking past them ten times and nearly succumbing. I made the seven day commitment yesterday and I'll do my best to keep it.

Thanks also to Heidi (you know who you are) for your inspiring little story, which made me hunt through the wardrobe and find those 34 inch waist Levis and hang them up in the bedroom as a visual reminder of my goal.

As promised I will be adding in photos to the blog to alleviate the boredom that comes with these things. As I have recently bought a scanner for home, I thought I'd prove to you all that I wasn't always an overweight broken down old fart. In fact I was quite the athlete.

Enjoy



Just click to enlarge

And the number is.........

Woo Hoo I made it. One week down only 51 to go. Geeze when you say it like that it's a bit off-putting. So I guess you're waiting with abated breath for the week 1 numbers. Oh, hang on I've already put them at the top of the page, silly me. Yes it's true, a lazy 4kg's week 1 is the correct result, and a good one at that.

I can only imagine what will happen if I actually have a fail free week. Now before anyone starts and tells me it's unhealthy to lose weight too quickly. No I'm not starving myself (and if you think I am, have you met me?). I guess it's bound to come off fairly quickly at the start when you consider where I'm coming from. From a diet of fast food and sugar fuelled drinks with zero exercise to a low fat, low sugar existence with regular exercise, well you do the maths.

What I'm actually doing is taking the best bits of all the weight loss techniques I've failed at over the years and I've had an epiphany.

If you eat healthy food and burn more calories than you eat you'll lose weight.

Yep, I know it's hard to believe but it's true. I was thinking of marketing the idea but I think it's already been done.

Yesterday I was worrying about how I will handle Fridays because of the traditional arvo drinking and the aftermath (see last post) but today I've decided it's a good thing. Here's the thing, Saturday afternoon is my weekly weigh in time. That's right, all I need to do on Fridays is remind myself that if I fall off the wagon tonight it'll come back to punish me tomorrow and I'll be right. It's bloody genius I tell you, I don't think I could have planned it better if I tried.

I've decided to post some photos over the year as well to complement the dreary text that I'm sure you'll all get bored of after a while if you're not already.

One positive of this experience should be that I have clothes for just about every weight range from now until I reach my goal. I have my heart set on getting back into my pair of 34 waist Levi's. Amazingly, I was wearing them only 12 years ago, see I haven't always been a fatty. Please don't tell me this wardrobe will be out of style either because I hear retro's back.

Ok that's enough dribble for now, it's back to the grindstone for week 2.

Talk soon

Ah Friday

One day away from the first official weigh in and I'm fairly satisfied with the week just passed. I definitely could have done a better job on some days but having completed an exercise session three times and eaten fairly well for most of the week I'm hoping for the loss of a couple of kilos. Truth be known I've been on and off the scales all week. This is a habit I know I have to get out of as its really a self defeating process. Every time I haven't lost anything or put on a few grams it is dis-heartening. So after Saturday's weigh in I will aim to stay off the trusty scales for the next seven days.
Friday provided the challenges I had expected and I'm fairly happy with how I've handled them. To elaborate, Friday afternoons I generally catch up with a few mates at the Ashgrove Golf Club for beers. Normally, after 3-5 schooners the will-power wilts and I partake in a fairly greasy Friday night take-away dinner. Tonight however, I exchanged heavy beer for light and left before the will-power had totally disintegrated with the result being a take-away free evening (yey one for the good guys).
I will endeavour to dig up my tape measure and add gut measurements into the blog this weekend. This is as important as the weight as far as I'm concerned as I have about a ton of clothes which can re-enter the rotation as I lose kilos. In my current student life the value of reusing old clothes cannot be underestimated.
While I've promised myself I wouldn't get ahead of myself in this process I have decided to set myself a 2 month goal weight. This will coincide with my 40th Birthday and subsequent gathering. I'm aiming at 123kg or under then by Feb 26. If achieved, (sorry I mean when achieved) it will mark the first 10kg off this over sized frame and a nice birthday pressie to myself.
OK so tune in tomorrow night for the first OFFICIAL Weigh In in the Road to Redemption.

The good, the bad and the ugly

You know those days when you experience the full range of emotions and you're wrecked by the end of it. Yep that was today. From the diet perspective today was the good, I managed to eat well all day bar a couple of beers tonight and get in some work on the punching bag and as a result was primed for my 'date night'.
Yep after an inordinate amount of time on the bench tonight I re-entered the fray with a date I had been looking forward to for a few weeks. After and extended period of internet courtship, mainly due to my Xmas travel arrangements, we finally met tonight. Unfortunately, this is where the bad headline comes in. Yeah she was nice, yeah we got along OK, but it seriously lacked the spark I'd hoped for after such a good phone relationship. What a bummer, after which of course I was left with the crappiest of all dating jobs, the 'brush-off'.
No need to ask what the ugly part is then is there. I was planning to let her know tomorrow but she jumped the gun with a post date text so my hand was forced and the deed was completed tonight.
This bloody internet dating thing is so hit and miss. You never really know anything until meet so it's best to get that out of the way very early.
Historically this type of romantic disapointment would have a negative impact on my food intake but not any more. this is the new Smeato and its nose to the grindstone again tomorrow, I can feel a couple of kilo's are on the way out this week.

Ciao for now

Home Sweet Home

Ahh, finally home to a night in my own bed after three weeks away. While I do enjoy my trips home its bloody nice to get back into my own bed after sleeping around for to many nights. I'm starting to remember why I don't drive back to Canberra anymore, that drive is a killer.
It appears consecutive eight hour plus days on the road also provides quite a challenge for this venture. It's simple maths really.
Driving (V) X Hours (H) X Days (D) / (Exhaustion (H)+ Bad Habits (B))= Failure (F)

So: ((V x H) x D)/H + B = F

Suffice to say the last two days will not be my finest in this quest to a better life. All is not lost though. four days remain in the week and I'm back at my home ground so let the shedding begin in earnest.

Planning on hitting the boxing bag tomorrow. I did a bit last year but will try to increase my workload and regularity.

OK its late, I'm stuffed and sweaty and a humid Brisbane night awaits me so its off to bed.

Bring on Day 4

Day one 364 1/2 to go

Geeze this seemed like a good idea at the time, now I'm starting to think again.

Only kidding I think it'll be at least a week before those regrets start stacking up.

For the record I've been getting progressively fatter since I was about 18 I reckon. Of course there have been brief interludes of success when I've managed to drop weight, but like many people I've struggled to keep it off.

Unlike my other failed attempts in the last ten years in particular, my body is now telling me it's now or never. I've never been the greatest physiological specimen but recently even the things that have been working well are beginning to complain.

I've been reading Ben Cousins biography over the last week and I'm feeling motivated to get out on the training track and bust a gut. I'm also feeling like doing some lines and dropping a couple of 'E's before bed but I'll try to suppress that urge. Despite all his issues, I have to admit when that bloke set his mind to something he would stop at nothing to achieve it. I'll try to emulate that part of his psyche during this year.

Feel free to offer up alternate role models for me but I reckon 'ol Benny boy' will be hard to beat.

It's the last day of my Chrissy holidays today and this afternoon the family will get together for the last time before I head back north. This is the first challenge for my year long odyssey. History tells me that these are one of the many events where my food and drink choices have taken a back seat to fun and frivolity. I'm not Robinson Crusoe in this department though. With respect to a few siblings that have managed to control themselves most of my family has dealt with weight issues at some point.

If you could see my five brothers you'd know what I'm talking about. Being one of six boys, four of whom are of an impressive size, some think we'd give the Wallabies scrum a run for their money. Now regardless of our national side's struggle at scrum time I'm sure people are commenting more on the height and girth of our crew than any specific shot at our tired international forward pack.

So wish me luck it begins today.

God I'm hungry

P

Enough is enough

Hello and welcome to Road to Redemption.

It's New Years Day 2011 and I've decided that enough is enough. While I've never been one for resolutions, I think the time has come to acknowledge the elephant in the room.

I'm fat. Yep I'm bloody fat and bloody sick of it. No more lies, no more excuses I'm going to bloody well do something about it.

AND YOU! The wonderful inhabitants of the cyberspace dimension are going to help me (I hope).

But how can I help I hear you ask?

Well nothing could be simpler, just read, yep that's it just read. Of course feel free to comment if you like but that's completely up to you. You see, I'm the sort of bloke that needs to be held to account. Without someone looking over my shoulder asking if I really need that Mars bar I tend to take the easy option.

So who wants to read another boring blog about salad and bloody spin classes. Not me. I agree, that's boring as bat shit! So this blog will not be about what I ate for breakfast or what exercise I did last week but about the day to day struggles of a fat man and the emotional roller coaster that is 'Weight Loss'.

There will be the odd reference to food and/or exercise if it's relevant to the day's events but I hope to take you on what I think should be an interesting journey full of challenges and hopefully success.

I'll do my best to post daily but understanding the challenge that this presents I'll promise to post a minimum of three times weekly until Jan 1, 2011.

So that everyone understands the challenge I've set myself here are the stats:

Current Weight: 133kg
Highest weight: 137kg
Goal Weight: 81kg (top end BMI for my height)

So here's the deal in a nutshell. I'm giving myself 52 weeks to lose 52kg. That's a kilo a week for those that failed grade two maths. I'll add in gut measurements soon just to make sure I completely humiliate myself.

Bring it on.