Tuesday 26 January 2010

Run Fat Boy Run

I don't run, never have. That's not strictly true; I probably last ran when I was about 24-25 and that was only over distances of 20-30 yards; cricket was a nice easy game.

Back to the point; I know I'm overweight, I know I could do with losing a few pounds but making the effort to do so is........well an effort.

But knowing I was probably going to get on the TGO Challenge (yes; it another TGOC post, expect more in the coming weeks), I decided to try and lost some weight and doing some actual walking looked like a good idea.

So back in September; I started walking to work, two days a week. The distance for each day was just shy of 6 miles; 5.9 to be exact.

I did this for 9 weeks which added up to 108 miles. 108 MILES!

The weight must of been dropping off me; right.

WRONG!!!!!!!

In all that time and mileage I lost 5 pounds.

I did feel fitter but not losing weight is the biggest issue for me.

I do like the odd bag of crisps and bit of cake but I cut these out during the 9 weeks and ate sensible food during the period, as I really wanted this to work.

I can see why people can get frustrated with diets and give up.

Anyways from next week I'm starting out again and hopefully I can lose my 2oz a day.

8 comments:

  1. It is fitness and stamina that is the most important. I shall be training more than usual this year and much of it will be on a bike!

    Remember that the days are long on the Challenge. Start early and take regular rests when you need to and don't skip of food and snacks. It won't get dark until after 10.00 in the evening and you'll find that you can walk long distances that way.

    You cover long distances by walking long and not by walking fast.

    Don't worry about altering your plans as you walk. With the route you are taking you should always be able to find somewhere to camp if you have to pull up short. You can always throw in a long day if you feel strong!

    Don't rush the first few days. The Knoydart has a habit of tugging at the heart! You'll want to go back but savour it while you can!

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  2. Absolutely perfect advice form Andy there, George. I think that losing 5 lbs in 9 weeks isn't that bad actually. It's more likely to stay off too, lost gradually.

    Try and get away before 8:00 each morning - then by lunch time you should have the bulk - say 10 miles - of the mileage sorted - so just 5 or six to do in the afternoon.

    Oh - and Andy's right - eat like a horse on the Chally as a reward for all the effort beforehand - you will not be gaining any weight on the walk however much you eat!

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  3. Hi George. This may help, it may not, but it worked for me.

    Firstly, I've never done an "organised" diet in my life (you know, going to group meetings, motivational talks, paying people...), but a couple of years ago my wife got talking to some people at work about Slimming World, which they were attending a local group for. One of them had a spare book which showed how some meal plans worked out and we looked through it and worked out some of the common themes in it:

    1. Reduce fat intake, try to eliminate saturated fats completely.
    2. Don't mix animal protein with carbs in the same meal. Veg protein with carbs is fine (e.g. mushrooms, chick peas and Quorn).
    3. Cut out alcohol
    4. Bread's generally not good (for some reason which I still can't fathom)

    Now, from that base, one point most of these diets seem to promote is that if you don't have some sort of treat, you end up falling off the wagon pretty quickly, but the key was moderation, understanding the content of what you're eating. My big vice is chocolate, which is loaded with sat fat, so I know I have to take it easy.

    We never joined classes or went to any meetings, just took the principles on board and changed our diet. The result of this was that I lost over 2.5 stones in just over 6 months. More importantly, it's changed how I look at food and how I eat - so I'm not yo-yoing (on diet, off diet, on diet) and as a result I've stayed within plus/minus 3 pounds of my target weight for the last 18 months. It's not a quick fix but I've felt so much better for it.

    One thing I was surprise at was that extra exercise didn't seem to make any difference to how quickly I lost the weight. Could have been I was doing the "wrong" sort, but that was a new thing for me - I'd never lost weight before through diet and not exercise, but this is the one that seems to have stuck.

    If you want to know any more just drop me an email (link's on my website). And, of course, I wouldn't advocate trying to stick to this while doing TGO Challenge!

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  4. Hello George. I wouldn't feel too bad about things. If you've lost 5lbs and more importantly FEEL fitter, then I'd say you're not doing too bad.
    Reminds me, I've dropped off the wagon gym wise. Changed office locations and my weight has drifted up a bit. Must do something about it.

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  5. If I need to lose weight I eat the things I like within a balanced diet BUT I count calories. This has always worked for me if I have needed to shed some weight.
    Due to all the sitting around since my cycling accident last June and the over eating from boredom -I found myself with two and a half stone to lose at the beginning of December. After eight weeks I have lost two pounds each week by counting my calorie intake.
    At my age and weight etc I need 2456 calories a day just to maintain my weight. As 5oo calories a day is equal to one pound a week I need to reduce my food intake to 1456 calories a day(1000 calories a day less ) in order to lose two pounds a week. It really is as simple as that-the difficult thing is sticking to the plan. Two pounds a week is the max you should aim for each week any more and it is too fast.
    But don't confuse weight loss with fitness-however the two things together make it easier to climb a hill either on a bike or on foot. I feel that lightweight backpacking should always start with our own weight. Just count the calories of EVERYTHING that passes your lips and then when away on the TGOC eat as much as you want. Best of Luck !!

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  6. Thanks for all the advice guys :-)

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  7. One thing I've had great luck with is a weight vest - the extra 10 kilos or so tricks your body's set point a bit and adds to the physical conditioning. They look more than a little "dorky" though and might cause some stares.

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  8. dont forget that muscle weighs more than fat so those walks will of been turning leg fat into muscle hence why you didnt lose as much as you thought.i actually gained weight when i started doing exercise.
    mike

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