Eat less. Move more. Er, that’s it…

At the start of 2011 I made a rash declaration, that I would lose 25lbs by Easter. I failed.

Although I did lose 15lbs in the first few months of the year, it was as though I then plateaued, with no means or will to reach the summit. I felt healthier and happier, my clothes fitted better, what was the problem?

Then I had a health check at our local surgery, where they genuinely seemed quite impressed. My stats were much improved from the start of the year – more lean muscle mass, less fat, lower blood pressure, better aerobic capacity, and so on. But my cholesterol remained stubbornly high. If anything, it was higher than a couple of years ago. Apparently it’s not enough to put me into any kind of risk category, but it still concerned me. My Dad and indeed Rachel’s Dad both have a history of heart disease, and this figure of 7.1 was the slowly-increasing blot on an otherwise clean bill of health.

And all the while in recent times I’ve been feeling my age. First my Achilles and then this year my 42-year-old hip told me that any lingering ambitions towards running should be seriously reined in. My hamstrings and hips frequently ache, usually not much more than a dull background stiffness, but sometimes quite a bit more. Every time I see cosmetic ads about the visible signs of aging, I can only think that the invisible signs are the ones we need to worry about…

A couple of months ago, Rachel and a couple of friends decided they wanted to take collective charge of their own fitness and health. Rather than pouring money into clubs like Weight Watchers or Slimming World, they started using a free fitness/diet website. Multiple studies have indicated that the simple act of keeping an honest and comprehensive (admittedly two very crucial descriptors) food diary significantly improves weight loss over and above any other initiatives. This website and its very usable mobile version has kept them focused.

Record all your food (calories in) and your exercise/activity (calories out). And if you consistently eat fewer calories than your body burns off by just doing stuff, you will lose weight. Rachel and her friends meet every week for a chat and put a couple of pounds into their communal jar. They each know the others’ goals (weight loss, fitness etc) and as such can ‘reward’ themselves when they achieve their goals.

I’ve become a sort-of unofficial member of this club, and since October I’ve lost a further 10lbs. Portions have got smaller. I consciously park further from my office, so that I have a steep hill to climb when I go back to my car at the end of the day, and go to the gym two or three times each week. There’s no complicated diet plans involved, just eating less and moving more, most days. As 2o11 comes to an end, I have lost 25lbs, and it feels terrific. People have commented. I fasten my belts two notches tighter, shirts that hung loose are now tucked in, trousers that were uncomfortable now feel loose. I need some new clothes.

A visual history...

I’ll be honest, in the last week or so the inevitable Christmas period of gourmet family gatherings have taken their toll. I like cheese and spiced ham and bread sauce and cheese and roast potatoes and cheese, sometimes on the same plate with a large glass of three of wine. At the same time as this gluttony, I’ve been pretty inactive: the most challenging activity has been carrying piles of plates and food from the kitchen to the table.

But I’ve started this weight gain from a far lower base. I still weigh 2olbs lighter than 12 months ago, and I feel confident I can lose this additional Christmas weight. Importantly, I’ve put on weight through ‘abnormal’ behaviour, rather than the other way around. In 2011 my ‘normal’ lifestyle has evolved into something that includes regular exercise and smaller portions at mealtimes. Our everyday diet still includes cheese, eggs, meat and fish. It doesn’t feel like I’m depriving myself. I still enjoy a good blow-out dinner party, or a takeaway, or a few pints. I know that I have to make an effort to be healthy, because I’m worth it.

The visible signs of aging that matter aren’t wrinkles around the eyes. I can make some difference to them with a good diet, plenty of water, exercise and sleep. More important was my bulging waistline, the silent creep into larger sizes, a long-term acceptance that I can’t move like I used to.

Forgive me for shoe-horning the wonderful Matilda! musical into everything, but there are lines that make so much sense…

…just because you find that life’s not fair it doesn’t mean that you just have to grin and bear it,
If you always take it on the chin and wear it nothing will change…

Don’t make a rubbish resolution next weekend that won’t make a difference. Last year I tried to be bold, and only partially succeeded. But because my resolution was about things that really matter, my health, well-being and self-esteem, I didn’t shrug off the failure.

 

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I feel fine…

Barring some unfortunate gastric illness or emergency surgery,  it doesn’t look very likely that I will achieve my boastful pledge from New Year to lose 25lbs by Easter. We have a couple of quite ‘big’ weekends between now and Easter, which might well put paid to my ongoing efforts, and recent weeks have been extraordinarily hectic and more than a little stressful, which has again tested my willpower and determination.

Despite this apparent ‘failure’ and in the best spirit of my natural marketer’s optimism, I prefer to accentuate the positive…

• I have lost 15lbs, and maintained that, and I feel much, much better for it.
• I really enjoy going to the gym, because I can sense a definite improvement in the weights I can lift and both my endurance and speed on the treadmill.
• I also love listening to my favourite cinephile podcasts at the gym, namely Filmspotting, Wittertainment, Sound on Sight and Jeff Goldsmith’s excellent interviews with writers, actors and directors. I’ve learnt the awkward way not to listen to comedy at the gym: bursting out laughing is a pretty dangerous thing to do on a treadmill, or while you’re trying to do situps. Not a good look.
• I have lost 15lbs while not seeming to ‘try’ that hard. My main dietary changes have been nothing more controversial than stricter portion control and fewer ‘bad’ snacks. Now that spring is definitely sprung here in the UK, I’m anticipating the salad season to wean me off carb-rich soups, pasta and bread…
• I’ve literally been able to tighten my belt an extra notch.
• Several people have commented positively that I look slimmer or healthier.
• I don’t feel the need to leave my shirts untucked outside my jeans.
• I actually like going to the gym first thing in the morning, and the extra energy this seems to give me during the day.
• I’m looking forward to a few evening runs in the warm Spring sunshine.
• I like knowing that I can enjoy a ‘big’ weekend of gourmet food and drink without piling on the pounds forever. I know it’s within my power to lose that weight again pretty quickly.
• I will feel less self-conscious this summer on the beach (vanity, thy name is Chris).
• I feel confident that although I might not reach that 25lb goal, I will be able to lose 20lbs and maintain that level…

So, have I convinced you? I feel better physically now than I have done in years, and it’s helping my state of mind too.

Choose fitness, choose sensible eating habits, choose being active and outdoors more. It is the way forward. Honest.

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Fitter, Happier…

So, after my bold New Year Resolution to lose 25lbs by Easter, and the subsequent encouraging early progress, it was perhaps unsurprising that my campaign to Get Healthy would stall a little.

Despite some unrelenting workload pressures, I’ve been keeping up with the exercise, and really enjoying it. The weights I’m shifting on the machines are increasing, the distances, time and intensity of my efforts on the cross-trainer have improved signficantly. I’ve started trying out more ‘interval training’ with shorter bursts of intense effort in between steadier work, and I think that’s paying dividends. Inspired by my wife’s recommendation of her Pilates class, I’ve swapped my usual sit-ups for The Plank, an exercise that not only strengthens my core (apparently) but aptly describes how supple I am…

But it seems that exercise is only half the battle. Since my initial success at shedding half a stone, I’ve enjoyed a couple of gourmet/gourmand weekends. We banished the post-Christmas blues with a long-promised meal at The Chef’s Table, our favourite local eatery. Michael Bedford is a fantastic cook, his sourdough bread has to be tasted to be believed, and this was a terrific evening. We’ve also been to visit Rachel’s sister in London and for a slap-up dinner with friends. All of these occasions put paid to Good Work During The Week, not only for the calorific intake, but also the accompanying alcohol.

In the end, for me it’s a question of portion control, and willpower over snacking. There are often cookies and doughnuts available in our office, and as one of our clients is Walkers Crisps, we’re never short of a few packets… I do my best to resist, and try to keep a stash of fruit on hand.

Nevertheless, I’m really pleased that after a couple of ‘stagnant’ weeks I’ve lost another few pounds, now up to 10 in total, so am still just about on track for my goal. Besides the weight loss I’m definitely feeling healthier and fitter. I’m recovering well after exercise, and am even enjoying going to the gym at 7am!

Hopefully as I’m improving my workouts and building my stamina I can burn a few more calories that way, and I can ‘stay strong’ against temptation! Next week is Half-Term, and we’re off for a couple of days to take advantage of a cheap break deal, will visit Wisley and Leeds Castle in Kent.

We’re all really in need of the break, and I need this week to recharge mentally. I’ve not been blogging much in between work, the gym and other things, so I might even try to get on with a series of linked posts that have been in my mind since I started this blog. You’ve been warned…

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I’m going to lose 25lbs by Easter…

Right. This is it. Definitely. Enough is enough. I tweeted and posted a Facebook status about this on New Year’s Eve. So it’s official. And now this makes it even more official. If that’s possible.

I am going to get fitter and lose 25lbs by Easter 2011.

I ran the London Marathon in 1998. I’d never run seriously before, in fact at school I hated ‘cross-country’, despite being reasonably fit through playing rugby and hockey. But I stuck to a training regime and found that lots of exercise enabled me to eat like a horse (albeit a carnivorous horse) and still lose weight. By the time of the race I weighed around 12 stone (172lbs), probably 10-15lbs below my ‘normal’ weight.

I’ve been gaining weight and losing fitness gradually during the last decade. The blissful comfort of marriage, my natural foodiness and love of cooking and eating, a daily commute of an hour each way, two young children and my own laziness have all contributed. For the past couple of years I’ve hovered around 200lbs +/- a few…

Officially this makes me ‘overweight’, but probably not so much so that I need to be really concerned. Apparently I carry it well. I watched Trinny and Susannah take on Jeremy Clarkson, and I accepted that my trousers should go up a waist size, I tucked my shirts in a little less.

But there’s a history of heart disease in my family, and I know I have high cholesterol. I like eating salads, pulses, oily fish, porridge and other things that are good for that, but I also like less healthy things like pies, cheese and wine.

mmmmm - pies

Over the last 6 months I’ve gradually gained another 10 lbs, so that for the first time in my life the scales start with a ’15′. I weighed 210lbs / 15 stone on New Year’s Eve 2010, and I don’t like the way that makes me look, or the way I feel.

It first really struck me a while before Christmas, while I was watching the films about Jacques Mesrine, starring Vincent Cassel. The young Mesrine was a slim, attractive firebrand. But after years of apparently successful bank raids he got used to lying around and cooking fine foods, and especially in the second of the two films, we see him wandering around his apartments, belly hanging out. Vincent Cassel put on 45lbs to play the role, and evidently they shot the film in reverse chronology, so he could lose the weight gradually and keep filming. Anyway, those shots of his middle age spread touched a nerve…

To be fair, I've never been this slim...

Put down the Big Guns, and I'll try to outrun you...

And so enough is now enough. I am actually going to lose weight and get healthy. My main aim is to be 185lbs by Easter; that’s 25lbs weight loss in around 17 weeks. My BMI would then be marginally over 25. If I can maintain that, maybe I’ll try for a little more, but to be honest I’ve not been consistently that weight for nearly 10 years.  I don’t want to live on a permanent diet, so I’ve started going back to the gym. Once I’ve got into that routine, maybe I’ll start running again.

This is going to happen.

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