Post 20 - End of Week 4

The last couple of days have been a little pay back for the Chinese treat on Saturday night.

On Sunday I went for a fast paced walk/run with the dog for around 2 hours and yesterday (Monday) i hit the gym for a pure cardio session comprising of rowing machine, static bike, cross trainer and treadmill (15 mins each).

I have stuck rigidly to the program with MonaVie shakes for breakfast and lunch, snacks of fruit (usually grapes and apples) and healthy evening meals comprising of meat and vegetables with little or no carbs.

I expected the worst after the last week where my eating wasn't as good as it could have been but really pleased to say another 3 lbs lost.

So we are now at the end of the 4th week or 1st calender month and that is 22lbs lost.

My weight is now 16st 8lbs (232 lbs or 105 kg)

Post 19

I had a bit of a treat last night at the Chinese restaurant and as it was an 'all you can eat' affair I probably over did it a little so this morning was time to get out in the cold and burn it off.

I went out for a run/power walk with the dog and covered about 5-6 miles at quite a good pace. I certainly got the blood flowing and burned the food from the day before off!

I was curious to see what impact the diet and exercise regime along with the MonaVie trial has had on the size of my body in physical terms. I knew that my clothes were feeling looser and more comfortable but when you see yourself every day in the mirror it is hard to judge what change has taken place.

I therefore got my wife to take some pictures this morning in a similar position to the start photos and I even wore a pair of pyjama bottoms and stood in the same pot in the kitchen so that I could draw comparisons as closely as possible.

Here are the start and week 4 photos side by side to see the difference;

I am pleased with the results so far - as you can see, some of the bulk from my middle has gone and I am looking a lot 'flatter'. In addition I have lost some size from my face and neck and although you cant see it here, my legs have trimmed down and got a lot stronger.

Here's looking forward to the next 4 weeks to see the next comparison!

Post 18

This week has been another difficult one on the program for me.

All started well on Tuesday with an early gym session followed by the normal routine throughout the day however Wednesday and Thursday were spent away from home on a residential training course which made it far more difficult to stick to.

The morning shake was pretty straight forward as it could be done in my room and I could miss breakfast with the other course attendees. The daily routine from then was not so simple because it was centred around the classroom and central dining area so I just had to pick the more healthy option available which meant salad at lunch time and fish and vegetables in the evening.

Not too bad but at the same time not easy to abstain from the constant flow of coffee and biscuits or cakes being bought in for each break during the day.

I made an attempt to get some exercise but the gym (if you can call it that) was about the size of a normal car garage and most of the equipment was broken so I resorted to running up and down some steps to get my heart rate up along with a few sit ups and push ups.

Friday was back to normal with a decent 50 min cardio session in the gym on the cross trainer and treadmill, 2 MonaVie shakes for breakfast and lunch and a nice chunky chicken and vegetable stew for dinner along with a blueberry and skimmed milk smoothie for desert and a treat of cheese and biscuits.

Today has been far better with a 2 hour walk this morning with the dog and the rest of the day spent in the workshop preparing my motorcycle for a show next weekend.

Tonight we are out with friends for a Chinese meal so it will be interesting to see what healthy options I can find on the menu.

I may have to work extra hard on my morning walk/run tomorrow.

Post 17 - End of week 3

And the results from our judges are in..........another 5 lbs this week!!!!

That's 19lbs in 3 weeks.

I am now 16st 11lbs (235lbs or 106.5kg)

Post 16

I have had a good day today!

I started with my shake at about 08.00am then had an appointment with a knee specialist mid morning.

Some years ago I had an ACL reconstruction in my knee following a sporting injury. recently I slipped and twisted the knee quite badly. We have been concerned that the reconstruction had been damaged along with the MCL and after some weeks in the gym and walking I am almost pain free with exception of the odd twinge here and there.

It seems that I still need a MRI scan to check that the screws and the ACL are sill attached correctly but the MCL tear looks like it will be OK and some work will the physio should sort it out.

Touch wood, the worst case scanario might be the need for a bit of key hole surgery to clean up the cartlidge as there is clearly some loose bits in there.

The main thing is that losing weight and getting more strength in my legs is going to ease the stress on the knee significantly.

This afternoon I went for a light jog/power walk in celebration and managed to do a fair bit more jogging than I have been able to do in months.

lunchtime snack was followed tonight by a chicken stir fry with noodles.

On sunday we had a photo taken at the dinner table and I think you can see the weight loss is showing in my face already!

The picture in Dinner suit was taken mid December at an awards night and the other one was taken on sunday. It is nice to start seeing results!

I am looking forward to tomorrow morning (week 3 weigh in) as my clothes are telling me that its been a pretty good week - Hope I'm not too disappointed!

Post 15

It has been quite a difficult few days, starting on Friday with a work trip to London that meant having my shakes out of order because of being away from anywhere to prepare it at lunch time.

Not too difficult getting lunch, in fact I had a nice Thai noodle soup for lunch followed by a Natural yoghurt with granola, banana and honey - very tasty if you are ever in Euston Station! The issue was that it was about 3.30pm before I had chance to eat after my first shake at 7.00am and just an apple in between. By the time I got home it was about 7.30pm and I really didn't want to eat so late so I must admit I missed the shake out completely.

Saturday was spent outside marking out a motorcycle event in the morning and back in time for my lunchtime shake. I was feeling a bit guilty as I had missed the gym on both Wed and Fri during the previous week so I decided to go for a fast power walk which turned into a walk/jog for 3 miles in the afternoon.

We then had friends staying and whilst I was really proud of sticking to water all weekend it was not easy eating with everyone when my wife had prepared some great Mexican food for everyone. I stuck to some Fajita mix again and kept off the cheese so although it was hard, I felt strong for not coming off the wagon!

Sunday started with a shake and a good 3-4 mile walk with the dog followed by lunch at a nice restaurant in Worcester. I had Minestrone soup followed by Salmon Risotto and a small cheese board - not too bad but felt that I could have done better if we had eaten at home - still, nearly 3 weeks in now and hardly any 'sins' so i think you have to take the odd treat to help keep on track!

Post 14

The last couple of days have been really good.

I feel like I have loads of energy and a few people have commented that they are noticing a difference and that I appear to be more awake (dont know what that says about what I normally look like though).

I got past a difficult day yesterday with relative ease. Every few weeks I have to go to London with work for industry meetings and the normal day consists of a coffee at the station, full english breakfast on the train, coffee during meetings with a working lunch of sandwiches and cake then more snacks and a beer or wine on the train on the way home followed by evening meal when I get home.

Yesterday I had my MonaVie shake in the morning with a large glass of water, on the train I then felt full enough to pass on the breakfast and took a bottle of mineral water instead of coffee. At lunch time I took the mushroom soup option with a small chicken salad sandwich and more water then on the way home I had an apple with another bottle of water. As I had eaten at lunch time I had my second shale in the evening after walking the dog for an hour.

I went to bed satisfied and proud of myself and for the first time did not return home tired and feeling bloated after the London trip.

Today I did my early morning gym session and had my 2 shakes for breakfast and lunch, supplemented with an apple and some nuts as snacks. Tonight I had Chicken Fajitas without the tortilla wraps so basically chicken, onions, peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes with spicy seasoning.

Tomorrow is another London trip so I am going with confidence that I can function without changing the current routine. The other thing that is worth noting is that the walking up and down stairs for the tube and the 1/2 mile walk to the office was a breeze as I had so much more energy that normal.

It really feels like it's going well and I am motivated as I am seeing and feeling the results!

Post 13 - End of Week 2

Weigh in this morning and very pleased with another 5lbs weight loss.

I am now 17st 2lbs (240lbs or 108.8kg)

That's a total loss of 1st (14lbs or 6.3kg) in 2 weeks

Post 12

It's Tuesday morning, 17th Jan 2012 and 2 weeks since I started.

I know the first weigh in took place on the 1st of Jan but I actually started on my first day back to work which was Tue 3rd because there were some unfinished Christmas Fayre that needed polishing off in the cupboard to remove temptation!

Last weekend was challenging because my daughter was home from University with her boyfriend and my wife usually gets treats in for the return of the prodigal daughter. The cream eggs, fried breakfasts, pizza's, Chinese and roast dinners were a big temptation but I weathered the storm well and I think it is down to the fact that I do actually feel quite full on the MonaVie shakes, plus a good supply of grapes to nibble on when everyone else is eating goodies!

Sunday lunch was OK, I had chicken and vegetables and left out my normal big plate of roast and mashed potatoes. I still felt like I had eaten a sunday roast but actually felt good in the knowledge that it had been healthy too! Missed the desert and had a low fat yoghurt but that was enough to be honest. Oh, and a much smaller portion than normal was all I needed.

Yesterday I went to the gym and had a good cardio session on the cross trainer followed by stomach and shoulders work in the gym.

Evening meal lasy night was the leftover soup from the weekend and my wife is preparing another vegetable based stew today for the next few days as that seems to be really good winter warmer food that is low in carbs and fat so fits nicely with the program.

I posted in an earlier post that I had to contend with cakes and biscuits at work, well one of the girls had a birthday and instead of the normal cakes she was thinking of me and bought this in instead - seems like everyone is trying to help!

Results of the week 2 weigh in to follow!

Post 11

Its now Sunday afternoon and i'm sitting down having a relaxing afternoon by the fire after a good bit of exercise this morning.

Over the last few days since my last post things have gone well.

I had a gym rest day on Thursday because I was aching a bit from a little too much arm work and felt that I needed to have a recovery day.

Nothing to comment on the food front as the daily routine of a morning MonaVie shake followed by a snack of fruit or nuts, a second shake at lunch time and a second snack late afternoon is simply working well for me and I dont feel any real pangs of hunger or that I am actually dieting.

I get more and more used to water each day and I feel that it has now replaced coffee quite easily.

Thursday night I made a large chicken and vegetable soup (shredded chicken off the bone from a roast that my wife cooked earlier in the week for herself with cauliflower, carrots, onions, leeks and brocolli with loads of seasoning, herbs and some stock). I had that for dinner on Thursday but it would also serve for main meals over the next few days.

Friday was back to the gym with a simple cardio workout of 30 mins on the cross trainer followed by a session of exercises on my waist (side bends with weights, leg lifts, sit ups and twists).

As we had family over on Friday night I chose to have a small treat for my evening meal and had some bolognese sauce (still pretty healthy as it was cooked with lean mince, peppers, onions and mushrooms) as well as a couple of slices (4 actually) of cheese pizza.

I think you need a treat every now and again but in moderation and as i would normally have had spaghetti with my sauce and polished a whole pizza to myself I saw this as moderation and still not too far off the plan.

Saturday and Sunday have followed quite a similar pattern with a good long walk with the dog in the countryside for about 90 mins each day at a brisk pace (certainly quick enough to maintain a good increase in heart rate and build a bit of sweat up).

I managed to keep to the shakes for breakfast and lunch whilst the family were doing cooked breakfasts and still didn't feel like I was missing out because I was satisfied and am feeling the results.

Saturday night I returned to the soup that I made on Thursday with grapes and a very small slice of cheese cake for desert.

This afternoon we are having a family roast dinner but I will be having chicken and vegetables (no potatoes or roast vegetables). I still think that you can select the more healthy options and eat with everyone else without preparing separate meals. I have instructed my wife to give me 50% of the portion that she would normally put on the plate though as I just dont think I need to eat as much as I used to do.

I am looking forward to next week and Tuesday's weigh in as I feel in myself that more weight has come off. I obviously cant expect to lose the sort of weight that I lost in week one but I seriously think that around 3-4 lbs per week would be a good loss and provide about 1 stone per month of weight loss - that would be such a good result!

I took out the tape measure today to see if there has been any movement in the physical size that I need to shift and I'm please to say that I have lost 1.5 inches from my waist, 2 inches from my chest and an inch from my neck in just under 2 weeks. (so much for the new shirts I bought at Christmas - at this rate they will need replacing before too long!)

Post 10

So today was the 2nd visit to the gym this week and it has gone quite well.

The planned timeline is working well, however I am finding that I want more than 50 mins workout once I get going but that is probably helping me from actually doing too much and not be able to walk or lift my arms the next day!

Yesterday dis the cross trainer for a 15 min warm up then did weights on my legs (quads, hamstrings, calves and some seated leg press) and chest (bench press and flys) - the weights I am doing are fairly basic with a weight of roughly 60% of my max capability and 3 sets of 10 reps on each. I finished off with some sit ups (3 sets of 15) and 10 mins on a static bike to warm down.

Today was quite similar with 15 mins warm up on the cross trainer followed by a bit more on my stomach/trunk (sit ups, twists, leg lifts, side bends) some work on arms with bicep curls and lat pull downs followed by 15 mins on the bike.

I didn't feel tired yesterday as a result of the exercise and earlier start and the MovaVie RVL shake fitted into the schedule perfectly because I could make it up in seconds and drink it in the car on the way to the gym.

I did take a mid morning snack of nuts and raisins to keep my energy level up after the exercise but lunch time soon came around and the second shake filled me up again.

I am taking on more water now and getting though about 2 ltrs of water during the working day.

People at work have taken me off the coffee round now so have stopped asking me if I want a drink which has helped because it means less decisions to make about whether I want one or not!

Last night I ate chicken stir fry followed by a yoghurt. This was a pretty normal meal for us any way so no need to change that too much.

I started to feel tired a little earlier as I expected, so went to bed around 9pm and slept right through to the alarm at 5.45am - first time in ages!

Post 9 - Fitting the gym into the daily work routine

After last week's success even though I really haven't done much exercise I decided to start with a gym programme this week to keep up the momentum, especially whilst I am feeling so good about how its all going.

I work an hour from home so the daily commute at each end of the day doesn't usually leave much time or much of an inclination to get to the gym after work as I generally get home about 6.30pm and once I have eaten it is more like 7.30pm.

I therefore decided that a morning session might be easier to fit into the daily routine. Part of the staff benefits of working at my current company is a membership at a leisure centre near to work, so the plan is to leave home at 6.00am, arrive at the gym at 7.00am, work out for about 50 mins which gives me time to cool down, shower and be at my desk at 8.30am in time to start work.

I think 3 times per week will be realistically achievable and I will still be able to fit in the off site meetings that I need to attend and still achieve the goal.

The workouts that I am planning will be largely cardio to begin with in order to support fat burning and as I am carrying a knee injury they will be very low impact with a little weight work to help build core strength and a base level of fitness that I can increase as the time goes on.

Post 8 - Week 1 Done

Well, that's the first week over!

I usually find that the first 2 weeks of something new are the hardest. Mainly because it is a change of habits and your body seems to remember what you were doing before so the most important thing is to see results to make it worth while.

I got on the scales at 5.45am this morning because it was my first day of going to the gym before work. The result certainly made this week worth while..........drum roll........

I lost 9 lbs in my first week!! Now weighing at 17st 7lbs (245lbs or 111kg)

And here's the proof - (I plan to weigh in each Tuesday morning and will take a photo as evidence of how its going - same scales, same place, same clothes so its a consistent comparison)

Post 7 - Nearly the end of week 1

Its now Monday morning and tomorrow will be the weigh in for the end of week 1.

The last few days have been quite good, I am getting used to substituting two meals per day for the MonaVie RVL shakes and not feeling too hungry, although I expected to feel like I was missing something after all the poor eating and snacking that I am used to.

On Thursday last week I had an appointment after work that would have meant getting home late so I chose to have a shake for breakfast, some soup with a granary roll for lunch and the second shake for evening meal which worked quite well. I also went for a walk for 30 mins at lunch time instead of sitting at my desk.

On Friday I had shakes for breakfast and lunch, supported by snacks of nuts and an apple which stopped my energy levels dropping in the afternoon. On the way home I called at the gym (first time in about a year I think). Nothing heavy just 15 mins on the bike followed by some static weights on chest and shoulders and some quad and hamstring exercise as I need to build my legs up to help with my current knee injury. I then finished with 10 mins on the cross trainer. 45 mins in all but felt good for getting the first visit out of the way. For evening meal I boiled up some vegetables (carrots, parsnips, leeks, onions and sprouts) and then made a soup with rice, tomatoes and beans. This has lasted me all weekend as my main meals and I have felt full and satisfied without feeling the need to snack.

Over the weekend the food intake has been the same with shakes for 2 meals and my home made soup for the other. I have has a couple of low fat yoghurt's and some grapes too. Exercise has been OK, I took the dog out for a couple of hours for a fairly quick paced walk on Saturday and did some jobs in the garden and washed my motorcycle on Sunday which kept the heart rate up for a couple of hours.

I have coped with this first week pretty well. I am struggling drinking water but I think that's only because I am so used to sweet coffee and sugary soft drinks. I am already feeling that my energy levels are increasing and this week I am planning to focus a little more on exercise to support the change in food consumption.

I am looking forward to the weigh in tomorrow morning as I need the motivation that it is working to keep me going.

Post 6 - MonaVie Trial Day 1

When I got home last night a parcel was waiting for me that included a month supply of MonaVie RVL Premier weight solution shake mix.

I thought I might as well get straight into it so today was day 1 of the trial for me!

I mixed the first shake this morning, very simple, 8oz of water and a scoop of powder into a shaker and away you go. It mixed pretty well and the taste was pretty good to be honest. It wasn't too powdery like some of these mixes I have tried before and a reasonable chocolate taste (maybe this will assist my choccie cravings!)

Drinks today have been limited to water again, still a bit of a headache but I feel that it is not so bad today.

As I wasn't going home after work this evening I decided that I would have soup and a granary roll for lunch and then have my second shake after work on the go which worked quite well.

For snacks I had an apple and a handful of nuts this afternoon and I haven't felt hungry so it has been a promising start.

What I do need to get into the routine (and quickly too) is a bit of exercise as I need to raise my heart rate for 30 mins per day as part of the trial. This will start tomorrow with a trip to the gym after work and some longer walks planned for the weekend.

I will keep you posted!

Here is a pic of the shake mix - good branding I think!

Post 5

So, 2nd day done and its been an interesting start to things....

My routine has changed so it has been a challenge getting into the swing of things.

I have forced myself to eat breakfast and made a concious effort to get a healthy lunch

Both days I have had Cornflakes with semi skimmed milk to start the day and had home made soup from the organic deli in town with wholemeal bread for lunch.

The biggest change has been cutting out coffee and replacing it with water, in fact I have had a bit of a headache and I have put that down to removing the caffeine from the routine. I bought a litre of mineral water on Tuesday morning and keep that bottle on my desk with the plan of ensuring that I drink at least one full bottle of water each day. So far so good.

The biggest challenge will be keeping away from the cakes and sweets and the first day back to work was no exception. This is a picture I took of the meeting table just a few feet from my desk on the first morning at work - I am clearly going to have to be strong on this!

Evening meals have been healthy with Cottage pie on Tuesday and a chicken and vegetable curry with boiled rice on Wednesday.

Post 4 - MonaVie RVL Trial

I have been looking at nutrition and what sort of vitamins or nutrients I should be taking to supplement the change in diet that I am going to go through to ensure that I am getting all that my body needs.

I had heard about MonaVie and their health juices that use Acai berries along with a blend of fruits that are supposed to provide nourishment - This is what they say about their juice...

From powerful antioxidant support to joint health, MonaVie products provide the nutrition you need for a healthy and active lifestyle.

Featuring a synergistic fusion of 19 fruits from around the world, our body-beneficial products feature a delicious blend of fruits designed to nourish your body with powerful antioxidants.

See their website here

Anyway, Caroline Sandiford (of the famous Jim Sandiford motorcycles) is a distributor of MonaVie and is a friend on Facebook. She recently posted that MonaVie RVL - a weight management product that was launched in Canada and the US, was soon to be launched in the UK and they were looking for candidates to trial it.

Well, I thought 'why not?' so I gave my details to Caroline and yesterday I received an email from Steve Jones, the General Manager of MonaVie UK to tell me that I had been selected for the trial.

I am told that I should be receiving the product this week and I am excited - this could be just the thing to help me kick start things and who knows, it might be something that will help me achieve what I am aiming to do. (Get healthy and lose some weight!)

I will now be able to BLOG my daily/weekly progress during the trial, what I have done and how I feel as well as my ongoing diary.

Watch this space - it could be interesting

Just as a taster, here is a link to the MonaVie RVL Weight Management site in the US

Post 3

So I took some embarrassing photos today - the ones that you put on the fridge to stop you sneaking in there and pinching food between meals!

I also took measurements of my body to see how my body changes shape under a different diet/health/fitness program.

These are the awful start point and for me, as bad as it is going to get!

I will take reference pictures throughout the year to see how it is going and how things change - perhaps each month will be a good timeline for pictures and measurements but I will update the weight each week to track progress.

So here's the start point;

Neck - 17.5in
Chest - 48.5in
Waist - 44.5in
Right Bicep - 14in
Left Bicep - 13.5in
Right leg (quads) - 22in
Left leg (quads) - 24in
(Difference in leg size is down to a knee ligament injury that I sustained about 4 weeks ago and have been protecting the joint for some weeks so expected some muscle wastage)

Weight - 18st 2lbs (256 lbs or 116kg)

.....and this is how bad all that looks!

Post 2

In order to look forwards I also need to look back and I have given some thought to my daily routine as this is clearly not helping me. My general weekday routing goes something like this;

6.15am Alarm (hit snooze button)
6.30am Alarm 2 (get up)
6.30am - 6.50am (toilet/shower/shave/dress etc)
6.50am - 8.00am (travel to work)
8.00am (1st coffee - white with 2 sweeteners - no breakfast)
8.00am - 13.00pm (approx 4 coffees and most days a couple of biscuits or a pastry/cake)
13.00pm (lunch - normally a large ham roll or a pasty from Greggs and a bar of chocolate)
13.00pm - 17.30pm (2-3 coffees and often another piece of chocolate)
17.30pm - 18.30pm (travel home)
19.00pm (evening meal - usually quite balanced with lean meat and vegetables prepared by my wife or food like Fajitas, Encheladas, spaghetti bolognese, cottage pie)
19.00pm - 23.00pm (approx 2-3 pints of fruit cordial and possibly a late desert like yoghurt or rice pudding)
23.00pm (bed)

Clearly the issues are that I do not have breakfast, I drink too much coffee (not enough water), eat too much cake and chocolate and dont do enough exercise!

This will be the basis of my changes;
1. eat more frequently and ideally not so late at night
2. make snacks more healthy
3. drink more water and cut down on coffee
4. more exercise (at minimum 30 mins of cardio 4 times per week)

Post 1

I have always had a challenge with my weight.

It was never too much of an issue when I was younger because I was always pretty active with cycling or other sports and then I joined the Army and whilst food and booze was on tap, I had to keep fit so I could always burn it off.

Over the last 10 years or so I have worked in office based jobs and had to make more of an effort to either keep fit or control my waistline.

As I have an extremely sweet tooth and not a huge amount of will power I have found that there was always cakes for someone's birthday or chocolate being passed around at work and it was easier to say yes than no. At the same time, working fairly long hours also made it easier to say no than yes to the gym and these two things combined have led to an increasing waistline and steady increase in weight.

Being 6ft 2in tall and of a fairly large frame, it was easy to carry some of the excess but more recently I have noticed it in my fitness and health with more frequent breathlessness doing low levels of physical activity, generally low energy levels and I seem to be picking up colds and flu viruses that are going around where once upon a time I was the one that was never ill.

I have tried diets before, cut out this or that, do more exercise, eat more of this or that - it usually results in a bit of weight loss then reverting back to old habits and with that put the weight back on and a bit more on top.

I know this will be down to me and the key will be to change my relationship with food and exercise to build a different balance and routine into my life.

I am planning to continue this BLOG throughout 2012 as a diary of what I do, how I do it and what the results are.

Here goes!