I weighed myself this morning and the scales show that I’ve made it to my goal weight of 12 stone 4 pounds! That means I’ve managed to lose 14 pounds in 2 months! Not only have I made it to my first goal but I think I’ve done it in a way that is sustainable as part of a “normal” life (I’ve been out and had a few beers, I’ve ate things normal people not on a diet eat for dinner, my exercise regime hasn’t taken up too much of my time). As a bonus my body fat percentage has gone from over 30% to around 16%. Along the way there have been a number of things that have really helped me to drop the weight, this is the top 5 things that have helped me to lose those 14 pounds in 2 months:-
1. Don’t drink calories. This is a really easy one to stick to, just drink plenty of water instead of your normal juices and pop. One drink can contain as many calories as a whole meal, stop drinking calories and you will feel the benefits. If you’re going to drink alcohol then I found a session and then get over it was easier to combat than drinking 1-2000 extra calories a day in wine as some people do.
2. Eat what you like, BUT IN MODERATION. I’ve not done without anything for the last 2 months. Whilst I have eliminated chocolate from my diet the truth is I don’t actually like the stuff that much. I have ate other snacks (not forgetting the 24 packets of mini cheddars in 1 week), the key is to eat what you like but not so much of it.
3. Exercise is very important. Within a week of started at the gym I was mentally feeling much better, I still get a buzz out of it now. Besides the happy feeling I know that my body is burning many more calories a day, increased metabolism is just one of the benefits of a regular exercise regime.
4. If your body says no it means no. On the one night I went overboard with the beer I did try going to the gym the next morning. I could hardly breath (turns out I’d picked up a chest infection walking home in the cold) but persisted for a whole hour. The end result was a week having to rest up with no exercise. If I would have listening to my body I could have been back feeling better within a few days and that week wouldn’t have been such a disaster.
5. The grill is your friend. Finally although you should be able to enjoy the food you like (including the occasional fried steak, yum) changing from frying to grilling food can make a huge difference. About 4 weeks into my plan I decided to stop frying meat and using the grill instead, not only did my stomach not feel so bloated but even after a large meal I felt good to go. If you want to insist on frying everything then remember that you’ll need to drink even more water than normal, fat needs water to be digested and if you’re going to be eating the extra fat from frying food then keep pouring in that water!
So one goal down now it’s time to set another. I’ve decided that my second target is going to be to lose another 6 pounds (bringing me to down to my fighting weight of 11 stone 12 pounds). This time I’m only going to give myself a month to do it. Considering I’ve only been averaging 1 pound a week for the past few weeks this is going to be tough. I’ll be sticking to my original 3-2-1 plan to help me along the way. Looking at long term goals I think one of them is going to be to make it to Peel in the Parish Walk, that’s a walk of about 32 miles. Ideally I’d also like to be able to stop for a few beers on the way 
