Well that's a first, I completely overlooked writing my post for the week. I put it down to the head full of stuff I have at the moment. I am sure you can understand and forgive me. Right now I am a little over a week out from my competition and I can sense changes going on in my head. No doubt entirely appropriate when you list some of them. Do I have time to make weight? How's my fitness? How to train to prepare but avoid injury? Plenty of others too. I think the challenge is to sort, prioritise and focus on gaining clarity on those that are important and relevant and ditching the rest. I have some time and space on my hands this week so I'm still feeling good about it all.
Weight this week really hit a roadblock. I lost nothing at all and that really did my head in for a day or so. I am starting to believe that it is more than just a plateau and is in all reality my body having reached it's limit as far as weight loss goes. At least in terms of my current methods. I don't have the time now to mix it up, so it's a matter of working with what I've got. It leaves me with a pretty tough challenge of dropping 2-4kg to make weight depending on how I fare in the next week. I have plans in place and will do everything I can short of setting myself up to be completely wasted in the effort and unable to perform. There are some sensible strategies I can employ to make weight. If it was 24 hours between weigh in and competition I would hold no concerns. Switch that to 2-3 hours and you have a completely different story. This week will have a fair amount of time devoted to finalising the plan of attack on this front. As with all aspects of this endeavour, I can only do everything in my power to make it happen. After that, the result is not something I have the final say in. Let the fun begin!
There's nothing of significant worth to fill the partially blank page I am staring at right now. I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing. In some respects all those thoughts floating around in my head I mentioned before are clouding things, however, I'm not massively concerned about that at present because I know it takes me a while to process things and to be fair, there are some things looming large that it's reasonable to expect deserve a good amount of thought. The potential realisation of the significant goals of weight loss and competing in Mixed Martial Arts at the same time is immense. Also, this sport of MMA I have found to be a remarkably emotional experience. Both in terms of myself as an individual and towards that of the people that I have met, trained with and so many that have helped me along the way. I'm not sure I want or would be able to articulate it all even from the perspective of doing it justice. I guess time will tell how that works out.
Short and sweet this week. No point in padding things out unnecessarily. Maybe things will flow better next week!
A big man's journey to light heavyweight.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Week 29 - What On Earth Are We Doing To Ourselves
I am still in the race to make weight at the moment. A 700 gram point in time loss on the scales, but, perhaps more surprisingly, a full 1 kg average loss over the week. Very encouraging. My hard work in this area appears to be paying off. Can I win the race? I guess time will tell. With about two and a half weeks to go, I am getting close, without being terribly confident. Perhaps I just don't want to jinx myself.
I did try a 1 day trial of a pre match day diet that my Dietician gave me this week. It was relatively straightforward and left me with a good amount of energy the next day. I will dive into it a little more deeply in a future post, but, suffice to say, it was remarkably effective in terms of dropping weight in a single day. In the 24 hours between weighing myself, the difference in my weight was a 1.8kg drop! That is not a drop that would stick so to speak and it would be just targeting a point in time, pre-competition weigh in, but, pretty amazing really. Not something I would do all the time, as it was not nutritionally sound in the long run. But, there was nothing wrong with it for a single day and it would be suitable the day before competing. I am going to give it another try next week and will perhaps dive more deeply into it here then.
Turning to a bit of nutritionally based social commentary now. I have long believed that particularly western societies have been allowing themselves to be poisoned and slowly killed by the pervasive nature of unhealthy foods and their profit hungry manufacturers. Food is not even the word I use to describe that class of consumable item these days. The documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead coined the phrase that I use now, 'food like products'. Let's face it, what natural food comes in the shape of a pringle? But, for me at least, there is more to it than that. Like cigarettes or excessive alcohol (let's face it excessive anything!), eating these things is very, very bad for us. There's just no good to it. To the point of being so bad that it can lead to health conditions associated with being overweight or obese that kill us. How is it that we allow these artificial food like products to be so pervasive?
An interesting article on a blog I have never heard of came across my path this week via someone that trains where I do. It's worth a read and you can do so here - LINKY. The article illustrates quite well what we are confronted with every time we walk into the supermarket. Aisle after aisle of food like products that have had millions of dollars between them spent on making us want to buy them, over and over again. None of them nutritious or good for us in any way. I don't drink or smoke. Never have. My biggest problem in terms of my health has always been, like many I suspect, my weakness towards food like products that I know are bad for me. I have paid the price with years of being overweight and/or obese. Years of being genuinely more than unhappy, sad, grumpy and generally less than what I could have been. This from a supposedly educated man, who, in demographic terms should be at the top of the spectrum. That's one big point isn't it. We're supposedly pretty smart, or at least we like to think so. So why is it that we do it to ourselves?
A sad reality of what this scenario can mean when magnified to an extreme level was made clear to me last year when I travelled to the Northern Territory on a work trip. I was fortunate enough to travel to Bathurst Island. There I visited one of the Indigenous communities that has staff from my work in it that my work area is responsible for supporting. There are various government programs in place within the community. One of which is called the Community Store. Part of a broader initiative to provide a supermarket like store for the local community. A positive, harmless initiative on the surface of it. But, what I saw was a knock on effect that I would not have ever expected.
Ponder this for a moment. When confronted with a supermarket full of healthy foods interspersed with food like products, none of which you have been exposed to whilst growing up, what do you think might happen? From what I understand, what did happen was that the local people didn't know what to do with things like vegetables, cans or any other of foods that might make up a consistently healthy diet. It was not in the frame of their experiences. They were out of context for the people. As a result, they chose to take advantage easily accessible prepackaged food like products. What does this scenario add up to? Chronic diabetes.
There is a specialist renal unit on the island, servicing a population of around 1,500 people. The kidney issues created through poor diet choices and the resulting diabetes are so problematic that it is a necessity for the highly specialised services to be hosted on the island. Subsequent programs around making healthy food choices, how to prepare the foods available in the community store and a more appropriate range of products are now in place. The food like products are still there, but, they are less prevalent and their product placement is such that they are inherently less appealing. But, seriously, is that not just an appalling example of our consumption driven, self indulgent madness! That's before I even dive into the self righteousness of our cane toad like cultural insertion of our values into the very same community that this also represents. However, that is an entirely different thread of social commentary...
So what is my point? I'm mad that we accept the consumerism based on our own greed that deems it acceptable to mass produce products that are simply just not any good for us. So detrimental to our health that we are regularly confronted by statistics telling us how overweight and obese we are in our self proclaimed successful society. It bugs me ok....I got sucked in....did you? I declare here and now that I will not be sucked in again. Not to the point where I backslide into obesity. I'm not perfect and will eat food like products from time to time in the future I am sure. But damned if I won't be putting in a great deal of thought into what I buy and fuel my body with from here on out. I am choosing food. Real food. What about you?
I did try a 1 day trial of a pre match day diet that my Dietician gave me this week. It was relatively straightforward and left me with a good amount of energy the next day. I will dive into it a little more deeply in a future post, but, suffice to say, it was remarkably effective in terms of dropping weight in a single day. In the 24 hours between weighing myself, the difference in my weight was a 1.8kg drop! That is not a drop that would stick so to speak and it would be just targeting a point in time, pre-competition weigh in, but, pretty amazing really. Not something I would do all the time, as it was not nutritionally sound in the long run. But, there was nothing wrong with it for a single day and it would be suitable the day before competing. I am going to give it another try next week and will perhaps dive more deeply into it here then.
Turning to a bit of nutritionally based social commentary now. I have long believed that particularly western societies have been allowing themselves to be poisoned and slowly killed by the pervasive nature of unhealthy foods and their profit hungry manufacturers. Food is not even the word I use to describe that class of consumable item these days. The documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead coined the phrase that I use now, 'food like products'. Let's face it, what natural food comes in the shape of a pringle? But, for me at least, there is more to it than that. Like cigarettes or excessive alcohol (let's face it excessive anything!), eating these things is very, very bad for us. There's just no good to it. To the point of being so bad that it can lead to health conditions associated with being overweight or obese that kill us. How is it that we allow these artificial food like products to be so pervasive?
An interesting article on a blog I have never heard of came across my path this week via someone that trains where I do. It's worth a read and you can do so here - LINKY. The article illustrates quite well what we are confronted with every time we walk into the supermarket. Aisle after aisle of food like products that have had millions of dollars between them spent on making us want to buy them, over and over again. None of them nutritious or good for us in any way. I don't drink or smoke. Never have. My biggest problem in terms of my health has always been, like many I suspect, my weakness towards food like products that I know are bad for me. I have paid the price with years of being overweight and/or obese. Years of being genuinely more than unhappy, sad, grumpy and generally less than what I could have been. This from a supposedly educated man, who, in demographic terms should be at the top of the spectrum. That's one big point isn't it. We're supposedly pretty smart, or at least we like to think so. So why is it that we do it to ourselves?
A sad reality of what this scenario can mean when magnified to an extreme level was made clear to me last year when I travelled to the Northern Territory on a work trip. I was fortunate enough to travel to Bathurst Island. There I visited one of the Indigenous communities that has staff from my work in it that my work area is responsible for supporting. There are various government programs in place within the community. One of which is called the Community Store. Part of a broader initiative to provide a supermarket like store for the local community. A positive, harmless initiative on the surface of it. But, what I saw was a knock on effect that I would not have ever expected.
Ponder this for a moment. When confronted with a supermarket full of healthy foods interspersed with food like products, none of which you have been exposed to whilst growing up, what do you think might happen? From what I understand, what did happen was that the local people didn't know what to do with things like vegetables, cans or any other of foods that might make up a consistently healthy diet. It was not in the frame of their experiences. They were out of context for the people. As a result, they chose to take advantage easily accessible prepackaged food like products. What does this scenario add up to? Chronic diabetes.
There is a specialist renal unit on the island, servicing a population of around 1,500 people. The kidney issues created through poor diet choices and the resulting diabetes are so problematic that it is a necessity for the highly specialised services to be hosted on the island. Subsequent programs around making healthy food choices, how to prepare the foods available in the community store and a more appropriate range of products are now in place. The food like products are still there, but, they are less prevalent and their product placement is such that they are inherently less appealing. But, seriously, is that not just an appalling example of our consumption driven, self indulgent madness! That's before I even dive into the self righteousness of our cane toad like cultural insertion of our values into the very same community that this also represents. However, that is an entirely different thread of social commentary...
So what is my point? I'm mad that we accept the consumerism based on our own greed that deems it acceptable to mass produce products that are simply just not any good for us. So detrimental to our health that we are regularly confronted by statistics telling us how overweight and obese we are in our self proclaimed successful society. It bugs me ok....I got sucked in....did you? I declare here and now that I will not be sucked in again. Not to the point where I backslide into obesity. I'm not perfect and will eat food like products from time to time in the future I am sure. But damned if I won't be putting in a great deal of thought into what I buy and fuel my body with from here on out. I am choosing food. Real food. What about you?
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Week 28 - An Amazing Insight
Again I was almost at a loss for something to write about this week and had completely forgotten about writing tonight until just now! Which is absolutely extraordinary given how close I am to my competition and everything that is going on around that. I guess that there are parts of that process that are still being worked through in my head without anything ready to be articulated in a meaningful sense. There's plenty of time for that to come.
I have been really concentrating on 'eating clean' as I call it for the past couple of weeks as I know it is a serious challenge for me to make the weight required for my competition. That magic number is still looming large over me. I feel as though the work I have been putting in on the diet and nutrition front is really paying dividends. This week's spot check weigh in saw me hit 96.7kg. Astonishing really that at this stage I can see an 800 gram loss in the week. To top that off even more, my average weight dropped by 900 grams in the week. It is the largest single week loss I have seen in both measures since week 20. Very encouraging indeed. I cannot say it has not required an enormous amount of discipline and thought, but, now is the time for such things. This is a pretty serious endeavour for me at this point after all. If I am going to be the best me I can be on that day in September, then I have to end each day being able to look in the mirror and know that I have done absolutely everything I could have in that day to be successful. Even if that means that the best thing on that day was to rest. Isn't that right coach?
Adding to the desire to achieve my immediate goals, the thought occurred to me over the past few days that right now is the fittest, leanest and most disciplined I have ever been, period. I may not have the athleticism of my youth and could surely not perform the physical feats I could back then. But, I am at a point now where for the first time I actually have a chance to be 'the best me I can be'. In mind, body and spirit. A deeply meaningful opportunity that I am both grateful for and proud of, even though the end is only in sight and not achieved. In reality though, with the work I put in each and every day, I feel like it is true every time I wake up at the moment. Each day, I am the best I can be on that day. Exciting or what?
I came across a video today that lead me to a whole series based on a UFC fighter named Alistair Overeem. He is a man that I have admired and been somewhat puzzled by at the same time. He is a singularly impressive specimen of physicality and his performances in competition can be almost breathtaking at times (as they have been for many of his opponents I am sure). The puzzling aspects from my perspective are no doubt more to do with only having an outsiders understanding on his last fight. Me being completely ignorant of what his world is like.
The video I have embedded below I found to be an absolutely absorbing insight into what he went through in his latest UFC fight. One that he was heavily favoured to win, but, lost. It is perhaps his candid openness to have the before and after footage presented like this that left me so enthralled. It also gave me a fantastic look at what someone in his position goes through. I found it to be well worth the 20 minutes investment.
It is episode 3 of what looks to be a documentary series made on Alistair. I highly recommend watching Episode 4 that was released only today as well. It goes through his efforts towards his latest match, looming large on the horizon. Absolutely engaging! For me anyway. To let the world in like that. Amazing.
I have been really concentrating on 'eating clean' as I call it for the past couple of weeks as I know it is a serious challenge for me to make the weight required for my competition. That magic number is still looming large over me. I feel as though the work I have been putting in on the diet and nutrition front is really paying dividends. This week's spot check weigh in saw me hit 96.7kg. Astonishing really that at this stage I can see an 800 gram loss in the week. To top that off even more, my average weight dropped by 900 grams in the week. It is the largest single week loss I have seen in both measures since week 20. Very encouraging indeed. I cannot say it has not required an enormous amount of discipline and thought, but, now is the time for such things. This is a pretty serious endeavour for me at this point after all. If I am going to be the best me I can be on that day in September, then I have to end each day being able to look in the mirror and know that I have done absolutely everything I could have in that day to be successful. Even if that means that the best thing on that day was to rest. Isn't that right coach?
Adding to the desire to achieve my immediate goals, the thought occurred to me over the past few days that right now is the fittest, leanest and most disciplined I have ever been, period. I may not have the athleticism of my youth and could surely not perform the physical feats I could back then. But, I am at a point now where for the first time I actually have a chance to be 'the best me I can be'. In mind, body and spirit. A deeply meaningful opportunity that I am both grateful for and proud of, even though the end is only in sight and not achieved. In reality though, with the work I put in each and every day, I feel like it is true every time I wake up at the moment. Each day, I am the best I can be on that day. Exciting or what?
I came across a video today that lead me to a whole series based on a UFC fighter named Alistair Overeem. He is a man that I have admired and been somewhat puzzled by at the same time. He is a singularly impressive specimen of physicality and his performances in competition can be almost breathtaking at times (as they have been for many of his opponents I am sure). The puzzling aspects from my perspective are no doubt more to do with only having an outsiders understanding on his last fight. Me being completely ignorant of what his world is like.
The video I have embedded below I found to be an absolutely absorbing insight into what he went through in his latest UFC fight. One that he was heavily favoured to win, but, lost. It is perhaps his candid openness to have the before and after footage presented like this that left me so enthralled. It also gave me a fantastic look at what someone in his position goes through. I found it to be well worth the 20 minutes investment.
It is episode 3 of what looks to be a documentary series made on Alistair. I highly recommend watching Episode 4 that was released only today as well. It goes through his efforts towards his latest match, looming large on the horizon. Absolutely engaging! For me anyway. To let the world in like that. Amazing.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Week 27 - A New Door Opens
It's getting closer to my competition date and weight has become an even hotter topic than usual as it's starting to develop into a closely run race. 95kg is the target with a view to dropping water weight for the remainder as I have no doubt explained before. My single point in time best morning weigh in this week was 97.5. I saw lower on the scales after training sessions, but, that is of course not the point. It represents a drop of 600 grams and my average for the week at 98.8 also fell by the same amount. I felt good on the day at 97.5 which is important because I need to know what weight I am at whereby I still feel like my physical performance will be spot on to compete. Four and a half weeks to go and the weight race is heating up.
This week my coach gave me yet another book to read! You think he'd know by now that I only read books for him....I guess he does, doesn't he... The book is called "Zen in the Martial Arts" and it is written by Joe Hyams, who I was saddened to read passed away in 2008.
Well, it may not be a big statement in considering the actual volume of books that I have read, but, suffice to say, this one is way, way up there on my list of best books. Whilst reading it, I was trapped in a desperate struggle with myself. Half of me wanted to ravenously consume every word as quickly as possible. The other half wanted to read each one of the short sections individually, then put the book to rest for a week or two while I considered the meaning and impact. I don't think there was a chapter in it that did not resonate with me in some way.
In answer to the internal struggle of how best to read the book, I compromised. I spread out the process over a few days. Each time I read a section, I forced myself to put the book down for an indeterminate period of time to contemplate what I had just read. The approach satisfied neither side of the struggle fully, but, it was the best I could do at the time. I know it is a book that I will be reading many times. This allows me now to take a patient approach on later passes through its pages. A process I am very much looking forward to undertaking.
So, what's the big deal? As with every movie, book or form of artistic expression more broadly, appeal is subjective and this may not be everyone's cup of tea. For me, the concepts it relayed were just so readily identifiable with aspects of my own experiences and thoughts. Even those for which I had until this point not allowed myself to fully explore or even tried to label. It appealed to the intellectual and spiritual parts of me in equal measure. I am a man of faith and there are some challenging aspects to exploring some of the concepts in the book in terms of my existing beliefs. However, I am convinced that none of them are unresolvable and are actually quite complimentary when attempting to dive into the complexity of the human condition.
Perhaps the reason that I have identified so much with what is in the book is that over the past 12-18 months, I have experience a lot of personal growth. You might even say that I have finally come close to growing up, which is interesting to think about as I close in on 40 at a speed approaching that of light more so than sound. The personal growth has all been internal for the main, but, has directly impacted outwardly how I interact with people and life in general. I realise now that my weight loss has been a part of this process, as the deep seated unhappiness I felt whilst overweight was a real roadblock to any sort of growth. This book has offered me a pathway to progress that journey and reassured me that my Martial Arts can also continue to be a great vehicle for this endeavour.
In terms of what it is all actually about....well it's all pretty much in the title. It is a collection of snippets from the author's perspective of his various Martial Arts masters' teachings of aspects of Zen Buddhism and how they can be applied to the practice of Martial Arts and life more broadly. Now before my beautiful wife runs off screaming, I am not converting to Buddhism in the same way as I didn't convert to Islam when I studied it at University nearly 20 years ago. I do appreciate critically however, the opportunity and methods of self reflection and discovery that some of the principles explained present and how they might be applied to continuing to improve and grow myself. I'll repeat that this is of course all subjective and whilst the book spoke to me, it may be devoid of meaning to a lot of people. But, that is ok too.
An example of how I related directly to the messages in the book is captured in the image below that I put together today. When I say I put it together, I found what I thought was a superbly meaningful and appropriate image on the internet and added the quote from one of the pages of the book over the top in an editing program with a view to sticking it up in my office in direct line of sight. I am entirely devoid of artistic creativity and it is in no way possible that I could have produced the image myself. But, I know what I like! I have many images up on my positivity wall at work. Some inspiring words that are scientifically proven to engender positivity here and there too. This one has taken the prime slot on the wall.
Part of the philosophy I have developed over recent months has been centred on maintaining a positive outlook. I allow myself to vent periodically as I think that it is important. But, when that need has been satisfied, I like to acknowledge the aspects of those issues that have led to the vent, put them to one side and take up a positive course of action. That is my approach when challenges, difficult or aggravating confront me. More broadly I keep my mind in a positive place as much as I have the discipline to maintain. I'm pleased to say that with practice that discipline has increased over time. That's not to say it is necessarily hard work all the time. Sometimes it is natural and effortless. However, there are occasions where conscious effort is required to maintain a positive mindset for the benefit of others and myself and it goes without saying that I am not always successful. I can say that the approach has made my life better without question. At least in my own mind.
Of course there is far more to it all than that, but, I think you can get an idea from that and the image here of what I mean. My beautiful wife, the one who knows me best, will no doubt read this at some stage and hopefully she will have seen the changes too. Even if in the daily routines of life, the gradual nature of the changes over time has left them somewhat indistinguishable.
As late as yesterday I really thought that I had nothing to write about this week. Opening up like this in some ways makes me wish I was still in that place. This post is confronting like last week, but, in a completely different way. All good for growth I guess.
Well, it may not be a big statement in considering the actual volume of books that I have read, but, suffice to say, this one is way, way up there on my list of best books. Whilst reading it, I was trapped in a desperate struggle with myself. Half of me wanted to ravenously consume every word as quickly as possible. The other half wanted to read each one of the short sections individually, then put the book to rest for a week or two while I considered the meaning and impact. I don't think there was a chapter in it that did not resonate with me in some way.
In answer to the internal struggle of how best to read the book, I compromised. I spread out the process over a few days. Each time I read a section, I forced myself to put the book down for an indeterminate period of time to contemplate what I had just read. The approach satisfied neither side of the struggle fully, but, it was the best I could do at the time. I know it is a book that I will be reading many times. This allows me now to take a patient approach on later passes through its pages. A process I am very much looking forward to undertaking.
So, what's the big deal? As with every movie, book or form of artistic expression more broadly, appeal is subjective and this may not be everyone's cup of tea. For me, the concepts it relayed were just so readily identifiable with aspects of my own experiences and thoughts. Even those for which I had until this point not allowed myself to fully explore or even tried to label. It appealed to the intellectual and spiritual parts of me in equal measure. I am a man of faith and there are some challenging aspects to exploring some of the concepts in the book in terms of my existing beliefs. However, I am convinced that none of them are unresolvable and are actually quite complimentary when attempting to dive into the complexity of the human condition.
Perhaps the reason that I have identified so much with what is in the book is that over the past 12-18 months, I have experience a lot of personal growth. You might even say that I have finally come close to growing up, which is interesting to think about as I close in on 40 at a speed approaching that of light more so than sound. The personal growth has all been internal for the main, but, has directly impacted outwardly how I interact with people and life in general. I realise now that my weight loss has been a part of this process, as the deep seated unhappiness I felt whilst overweight was a real roadblock to any sort of growth. This book has offered me a pathway to progress that journey and reassured me that my Martial Arts can also continue to be a great vehicle for this endeavour.
In terms of what it is all actually about....well it's all pretty much in the title. It is a collection of snippets from the author's perspective of his various Martial Arts masters' teachings of aspects of Zen Buddhism and how they can be applied to the practice of Martial Arts and life more broadly. Now before my beautiful wife runs off screaming, I am not converting to Buddhism in the same way as I didn't convert to Islam when I studied it at University nearly 20 years ago. I do appreciate critically however, the opportunity and methods of self reflection and discovery that some of the principles explained present and how they might be applied to continuing to improve and grow myself. I'll repeat that this is of course all subjective and whilst the book spoke to me, it may be devoid of meaning to a lot of people. But, that is ok too.
An example of how I related directly to the messages in the book is captured in the image below that I put together today. When I say I put it together, I found what I thought was a superbly meaningful and appropriate image on the internet and added the quote from one of the pages of the book over the top in an editing program with a view to sticking it up in my office in direct line of sight. I am entirely devoid of artistic creativity and it is in no way possible that I could have produced the image myself. But, I know what I like! I have many images up on my positivity wall at work. Some inspiring words that are scientifically proven to engender positivity here and there too. This one has taken the prime slot on the wall.
 |
| Click me to make me bigger |
Of course there is far more to it all than that, but, I think you can get an idea from that and the image here of what I mean. My beautiful wife, the one who knows me best, will no doubt read this at some stage and hopefully she will have seen the changes too. Even if in the daily routines of life, the gradual nature of the changes over time has left them somewhat indistinguishable.
As late as yesterday I really thought that I had nothing to write about this week. Opening up like this in some ways makes me wish I was still in that place. This post is confronting like last week, but, in a completely different way. All good for growth I guess.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Week 26 - Time to Reflect I Guess
A good week on the scales this time. I recorded a 700 gram loss at the lowest weigh in for the week as well as a 600 gram average loss. For the first time my average weight for the whole week was under 100kg! Cue happy dance promised last week.... At 99.4kg, it was well under at that. Interestingly, after a training session this week, I weighed in to check what sort of rehydration I needed to undertake and I registered 96.7kg! Obviously that meant a fair bit of water to take in, but, it also shocked me at just how low that number presented. It is good in so much as it gives me an indication of what water I have available to me to lose, but, blew me away at the same time. Given that my scales way over half a kilo over as far as I know, realistically, I was closer to the 96kg mark. Encouraging to know that I have 5 weeks before weigh in and I am getting close.
Week 26, as the title says, means that I have now been at this for 6 months. I have to say that the time has flown. I guess I must have been enjoying it too much! 6 months....it does lend itself to one pausing to reflect on the journey travelled thus far. So please indulge me to go through some of the highlights to this point. I don't want it to be a bragging exercise. More an exercise in positive reinforcement. A statement that says, you know what, keep on truckin' because what you are doing is going ok.
The story so far:
Now here is where I get a bit brave. Then and now photos. The before and after if you will. My coach asked me if I had any photos of me before, even from earlier this year. The answer for most overweight people is no. For me it is very, very few. Those were all taken under duress. To this day it is not something I am even remotely comfortable with. I imagine it is the self image issues that come with being overweight all of your life.
Week 26, as the title says, means that I have now been at this for 6 months. I have to say that the time has flown. I guess I must have been enjoying it too much! 6 months....it does lend itself to one pausing to reflect on the journey travelled thus far. So please indulge me to go through some of the highlights to this point. I don't want it to be a bragging exercise. More an exercise in positive reinforcement. A statement that says, you know what, keep on truckin' because what you are doing is going ok.
The story so far:
- Weight
- Start 121.1kg (Feb 2013)
- Today 98.1kg (-23kg)
- - 43.9kg from all time high weight (142kg as far as I know, a few years back. Come close to that since then too.)
- 17.5% body weight lost in the past 6 months (33.3% from all time heaviest)
- Measurements
- Chest - 108cm (-13.5cm)
- Waist - 94cm (-25.0cm)
- Hips - 103cm (-16.0cm)
- Some things I have done for the first time along the way
- Let's just put MMA down as one big one with more to come!
- Chinups (5+)
- Pullups (5+)
- Rope climb floor to ceiling (biggest smile ever)
- Headstand (1+ minute)
- Handstand (1+ minute)
- Reverse wall walk to handstand (2 minutes)
- 3 minute bridge (had some to give but time was up!)
- 40 pushups in 1 minute
- Tons more than I can list here.
Now here is where I get a bit brave. Then and now photos. The before and after if you will. My coach asked me if I had any photos of me before, even from earlier this year. The answer for most overweight people is no. For me it is very, very few. Those were all taken under duress. To this day it is not something I am even remotely comfortable with. I imagine it is the self image issues that come with being overweight all of your life.
I am going to put myself out there a bit with a few images. Click on them if you dare to make them bigger....not that I can get any bigger in them....I don't know if I have any from when I was my biggest at 142kg. Having said that, I am not sure that I am not at least that in some of these because scales were not something I frequented in those days.
I have training early tomorrow so as an excuse to run away now, it's as good as any. Maybe I will even come back and post something next week if I can face it. So here we go.....
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