Before and during - so far so good.

[Pommette]

. . . i've got resistance bands to use when sat at my computer
an 'easy shaper' (looks like a long pole with resistance bands on the end) which i'm using to work out my arms
a powerball for wrists and forearms and also hand grips

I spend alot of time sat at my computer so I thought if there was anything I could do whilst sat there would be great.. every little helps
Back to the gym tomorrow, can't wait to get back into it. And I wonder how many people are going to be joining up for their new years resolution ?

Here's to a healthy new years x

Oh - I spend lots of time on my PC too, anything I can do for my floppy bingo wings whilst there? They are the one bit of me that I'm not happy with :cry: I've tried the milk bottle lifts and whilst that worked to start with has ceased to have an effect now.

 

[Malc-D]

guess you just have to mix things up a bit, try something slightly heavier.. have you thought about resistance bands (super sized elastic bands) i just sit the streaching with them, arms feel stronger not sure about the toning up as yet.
can't wait till tuesday so i can go the gym and get weighed in, and see what the damage is i have to work off .. then see a trainer about toning up. been forever since my last session

never mind, i wish you good luck with everything

 

[Princess_1989]

Congrats! X

 

[nearly]

I love the photo you prepared. V funny idea!

It would be cool if there was a weight-loss ticker that showed the weight you lost and then what things weight that same weight!

 

[Malc-D]

i'll have to look into making something like that, the next time i get bored

not due another pic like that till june/july tho.. wonder what things i will have lost by then oh my

 

[caaatrin]

Wow! Have read a lot of comments on this feed and am truly feeling inspired! Thanks!

 

[Malc-D]

no need to thank me, or anyone thats commented on this page.. thank yourself when you hit target

you can do it, just keep going x

 

[susieb33]

Brilliant, brilliant post Malc. The only thing I would disagree with is



People say that getting your head round losing weight is half the battle - which is sort of what I think you are saying.
I actually think it's more than that.
GETTING YOUR HEAD ROUND LOSING WEIGHT IS THE WHOLE BATTLE.

If you're head isn't in the right place you might start the diet and the exercise plan but you'll soon drop off the wagon.
You have to WANT to lose weight - not just need to.

As I said earlier, there are so many people on Minis that lose 5 or 6 stone, just to see them back again 12 months later as they've put it all back on. Usually because they never really got their head around things in the first place and couldn't keep it there afterwards.

You have done so well over that last 2 years to have lost in excess of 10 stones. And I don't see any reason why in 2013 there will be any reason why you won't achieve those goals . . . except the chin ups one! They will get easier the smaller you get (less weight to lift up and down ) but I reckon you either have the technique or you don't . . . not to mention the triceps! My hubs has never managed a single one in his life as he just cannot work out how to do them! And he's a skinny fit bloke!

Good luck Malc and have a great 2013

I completely agree with you... I have lost 8st altogether on two separate diets... 4st - 15 years ago counting cals on my own and with WW 10 years ago another 4st. Now I am at it again with SW which I find so much easier to follow as it suits my way of eating.. so far having lost 5lbs.. All those years ago I was fitter and younger, went to aerobics 3 times a week, also Salsa and Ceroc for 15 years but now as I am nearing 60 I am finding the exercise so much more difficult with joint pains etc. But... it has taken me about a year or so to get back into a mind set where I can deal with food and my health... Having had depression for 3 years it was hard to get motivated by now I am raring to go... once the weather is better I can get out more too.

Its not really a case of "having all the gear but no idea"... I have a pretty good idea of nutrition and what is good for you my eating habits had got sloppy and not being prepared beforehand makes you just "make do".. not a good idea is it. This Website is brilliant for motivation and good ideas for meals. I know feel in more control and want to go on being that way and not let food control me.

Well done for all the inspirations on here... You wouldnt recognise people from before.. thats what I am looking forward to, the surprise on peoples faces when I havent seen then for a while... although you do get comments that they hope you arent ill.

 

[Pommette]

I completely agree with you... I have lost 8st altogether on two separate diets... 4st - 15 years ago counting cals on my own and with WW 10 years ago another 4st. Now I am at it again with SW which I find so much easier to follow as it suits my way of eating.. so far having lost 5lbs.. All those years ago I was fitter and younger, went to aerobics 3 times a week, also Salsa and Ceroc for 15 years but now as I am nearing 60 I am finding the exercise so much more difficult with joint pains etc. But... it has taken me about a year or so to get back into a mind set where I can deal with food and my health... Having had depression for 3 years it was hard to get motivated by now I am raring to go... once the weather is better I can get out more too.

Its not really a case of "having all the gear but no idea"... I have a pretty good idea of nutrition and what is good for you my eating habits had got sloppy and not being prepared beforehand makes you just "make do".. not a good idea is it. This Website is brilliant for motivation and good ideas for meals. I know feel in more control and want to go on being that way and not let food control me.

Well done for all the inspirations on here... You wouldnt recognise people from before.. thats what I am looking forward to, the surprise on peoples faces when I havent seen then for a while... although you do get comments that they hope you arent ill.

Well done for getting back on it chica. SW imho is the best plan ever. YOU CAN DO THIS!

 

[Malc-D]

couldn't agree more, sw is an amazing plan for me ( but what ever works for you, works )
i know it's not going to happen overnight, and i don't expect it too. for the last 3 months i have gained and lost the same weight, so i haven't really lost anything, but i'm not bothered, i know most of it is because of the crappy weather and not being able to get out properly and xmas dinners etc.. but that doesn't mean i'm going to stop or quit, just means i have to get back on it and chip away again .

good luck with your weight loss guys you can do it x

 

[The Caretaker]

Well done Malc, you have done an amazing thing and you should be incredibly proud, really well done.

 

[Malc-D]

A huge thanks for all the comments guys.

Just an update as what’s happening with me and my weightloss.

I set myself some 2013 new year’s resolutions:
· Wear medium t-shirts by xmas
· Wear size 32/34 jeans by xmas
· Lose 1 ½ stones by xmas
· 100 push ups by xmas
· 25 pull up’s by xmas
· And to run a marathon on a cross trainer by xmas.

So, so far I’ve had no weight loss but I am losing inches; so I am losing waste not weight, I have just started wearing 36” inch jeans (from next), which I am very proud of and I hope that by xmas I will be in the 32/34’s. I’m in large t-shirts but they are slowly becoming a bit loose, but medium is still a bit tight.

I am doing a push up challenge every Saturday night, were I will sneak into the hall and see how many I can do, I haven’t set myself goals for how many to do each Saturday night, or a certain amount by a certain date,my only goal is to do 1 better then the week before and if I can’t hit 100 by xmas, I’ll hit it by the xmas after. My total so far is 55 but it’s a killer and I can’t see myself progressing any quicker in the near future. Back to the gym to work on my arms

As for the pull up’s after talking to my trainer about it, I have decided to drop from my goals for this year (maybe next year) I realised Inever had the upper body strength and wouldn’t have it by xmas, on top of that would be the weight I still have and even if I lost more weight it would still be a struggle to achieve it this time, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t achieve it sometime in the future.

My cross training is going well, I have managed to get up to37.5Km so only about 5K to go to hit the marathon, I normally do these long runs once a month either on a day off from work or a Saturday morning, I haven’t hada long run since November so I am easing myself back into it, but I would hope to be on target for the marathon by June, then after that I would like to start trying for a marathon on the treadmill eventually working up to doing a run on a real road, start with 5K’s, 10K’s and then maybe a half marathon / full marathon sometime next year.

Since October I have lost nothing, literally 0 just a lot of small gains and losses. But I’m not worried about it. I knew that at some point I would hit a plateau and I was just waiting for it. I was happy that I never gained over Christmas and at the end of January I had a long weekend in London which involved the unhealthiest food I have eaten since I started this healthy living journey. But with all the walking around and exercise I managed to do whilst in my hotel room, I think I balanced it all out ok.

I have a trainer review at my gym next week, were my numbers (blood pressure and bmi) are taken and a review of my exercise plan. I have asked if we can change things up a little so I can concentrate more on the toning and hopefully that will help get rid of some of the loose skin that I have.

My workouts at home has changed, I am still using resistance bands, hand grips and a power ball. But now I have started something totally new and I love it, I am doing this 5 times a day and even in the hotel in London and all you need is a deck of cards. There is an exercise for each suit and you complete the amount of the card, Aces are 11 and royal cards are all 10. And I’m also hoping to average around 10 times in the gym a month, which is totally possible so I’m increasing my exercise a lot compared to last year.



I’m still getting people coming up to me and commenting on my loss, since we only get a uniform in work once a year and it’s now on the baggy side no one in work has mentioned it for a while, but recently I went to a 40[SUP]th[/SUP] birthday party of one of the women in work, it was an opportunity for me to dress up as I don’t get out much (by choice, rather go the gym these days) and I received a lot of comments on how good I was doing, how proud they are and how proud I should be. There was even the wife of a work friend that I haven’t seen in nearly two years and I was talking to her for 10 mins and after I left she asked her husband who I was she was shocked when she found out itwas me.



I’m feeling a lot healthier; this is probably the healthiest I have ever been. I know that when I was 15/16 I was in 44 inch pants for school so this is the thinnest I have been in my adult life. I’ve still got abit to go, guessing at 1 ½ - 2 stones (roughly) but I’m in no rush as I know that I will get there eventually.

No pressure, no stress.

As always, congratulations on your weight loss, I’m sure you are doing amazing too.

Keep up the amazing work.

Remember that you will get there eventually, just take each day as it comes and have fun.

Malc x

 

[Pommette]

Malc - you are looking fantastic! and woo hoo to 36" jeans. That's a great achievement.

I too got really stuck for about 8-10 weeks when I was about a stone from target. Nothing seems to want to shift.
Then I just started losing again having not doen anything differently. Weird.

Loose skin. Hmmmmm I've lost nowhere near as much as you and yes I have some too. It has got better over the last 12 months but I don't think it will ever go completely unfortunately so I'm learning to live with it.

Keep up the good work and you'll get there.

PS See the chin-ups are still on thelist. Any progress yet?

 

[Malc-D]

thanks hun

i managed 5 pull ups / chin ups but after a talk with my trainer we decided it would be nearly impossible for me to do it as i didn't have the upper body strength and still too much weight on me. so it's off the list for now, but not forever, i will do it at some point.

as for the loose skin, i know it sucks.. but i am starting to save money aside incase i need surgery to have it removed but i'm hoping i can get rid of most of it with exercise.

 

[KsMum19]

Wow realy inspired me today! You've done fantastic. Congrats!!! X

 

[Malc-D]

Thought I would update this with what's going on with me lately.

Just to keep myself motivated I thought I would update this every other month, regardless if anyone reads it or not. My own personal motivational diary

I've had a few changes happen over the last few months, my gym workout has changed. I am now concentrating on toning and am putting muscle on, so my weight loss has slowed down a lot but I am still losing fat and waste even if my weight is staying pretty much the same. (which is confusing to me lol)

I'm feeling a lot more positive about myself then I was towards the end of last year, I have my motivation and inspiration back. Just a shame it took nearly 6 months to get my head back into a good place.

As for my new years resolutions:

· Wear medium t-shirts by xmas - I can get into mediums, but tight, fingers crossed by xmas
· Wear size 32/34 jeans by xmas - I am now wearing all 36" jeans from the shops I buy from, a few of them have room and a couple are snug. still on track for xmas.
· Lose 1 ½ stones by xmas - Still a long way to go because of putting muscle on, probably about a third of the way there.
· 100 push ups by xmas - Every Saturday night I get in the hall and try my best, I've managed 85 at once, fallen off the wagon a little here or there, but will start again tonight
· And to run a marathon on a cross trainer by xmas. - oh that, ermmm DONE



The cross trainer only lets you run for about 3 hours and 20 mins, so had to split it into two parts. 37.5 + 5k = 42.5K or 26.4 miles (0.2 of a mile over a marathon )

works out around 3 hours and 55 mins and I burned 2332 calories, I am still knackered now over a day later. but it's a huge achievement for me.

I remember the first time at the gym I ran 2K on the cross trainer it took me over ten mins and I was in pain for a week, 2 1/2 years later I've ran a marathon on it.

I'm thinking that maybe I could do a real one for next year, I have to think about what training I would have to put in for it, and if I could physically cope with running on the actual roads. I still have a bit of a way to go with my weight loss, i'm guessing about 1 1/2 stone even though by the 'doctors scale' it's more like 3. but I am going till I am happy with my loss, not what some expert that has never met me has said.

Guess I have to think of something to add to my list now this is done.. Think I need something else to get done by xmas lol

You can achieve anything if you put your mind to it, never give up

Good luck and congratulations with your weight loss, you can do it

 

[Pommette]

Just to keep myself motivated I thought I would update this every other month, regardless if anyone reads it or not. My own personal motivational diary

I'm still here - even if noone else is!

I've had a few changes happen over the last few months, my gym workout has changed. I am now concentrating on toning and am putting muscle on, so my weight loss has slowed down a lot but I am still losing fat and waste even if my weight is staying pretty much the same. (which is confusing to me lol)

TOTALLY Normal! As an ex-PE teacher (& fitness fanatic) I can tell you that muscle by volume weighs about 18-20% more than fat.
So if you are reducing fat and toning muscle that is absolutely normal

As for my new years resolutions:
· Wear medium t-shirts by xmas - I can get into mediums, but tight, fingers crossed by xmas

Hey - that's 8 months away. No problema - as they would say here

· Wear size 32/34 jeans by xmas - I am now wearing all 36" jeans from the shops I buy from, a few of them have room and a couple are snug. still on track for xmas.

I vary in size - even in the same bleddy shop.
Standard M&S - I take a size 14 t-shirt
M&S Woman - size 16
Per Una - size 18
Why can't shops be consistent?

· Lose 1 ½ stones by xmas - Still a long way to go because of putting muscle on, probably about a third of the way there.

Weight is NOT the issue. Go for size chico - and you are on track for that.

· 100 push ups by xmas - Every Saturday night I get in the hall and try my best, I've managed 85 at once, fallen off the wagon a little here or there, but will start again tonight

AND ?????? You are almost there. Just get back to it or I'll come an give you one on these

And to run a marathon on a cross trainer by xmas. - oh that, ermmm DONE

. . . works out around 3 hours and 55 mins and I burned 2332 calories, I am still knackered now over a day later. but it's a huge achievement for me.

I remember the first time at the gym I ran 2K on the cross trainer it took me over ten mins and I was in pain for a week, 2 1/2 years later I've ran a marathon on it.

Yay yyyyyyyyyyyyyyy . . . FANTASTIC time and well done!

I'm thinking that maybe I could do a real one for next year, I have to think about what training I would have to put in for it, and if I could physically cope with running on the actual roads.

Running on the roads is VERY different.
Do they do fun runs in a local park near you? Start with a 5k and then gradually build up the the 10k.
Loads of people say this the best way to start!

I still have a bit of a way to go with my weight loss, i'm guessing about 1 1/2 stone even though by the 'doctors scale' it's more like 3. but I am going till I am happy with my loss, not what some expert that has never met me has said.

Malc - don't know how old you are. But . . .
You deffo need to go by what YOU feel is right.
By doctors scales I am still roughly a stone overweight and 2 stone above the weight I was at age 21.
BUT . . . that was at 21.

BMI is not the best measurement tools and can be adjusted for age.

Age	Normal BMI Range
Under 45	20 to 25
45 to 54	22 to 27
55 to 65	23 to 28
Over 65	24 to 29

So bear that in mind and deffo go by your size - it is a far better judge.

You are doing SOOOOOOOOOO well. Keep it up!

 

[Malc-D]

Thanks hun, and your right.. I should be going by size and how I feel and not about the weight I am, I just think I have it in my head that I still need to lose weight even tho I am getting healthier and fitter with the muscle.

I guess I am still falling into that trap of 'you must weigh 'x' amount. And this is how you must look etc.. I don't think it's just a problem women have. I think a lot of men get it too where they feel that they have to look and dress a certain way.. but I don't think men will talk about because it would look un-manly.

thanks for the kick up the bum

 

[Spanx]

Wowzers - just come across this thread and have to say you have done brilliantly. Love your realistic goals and that you are focusing on the whole, not just the scales... Huge congrats for running a marathon, that's some going! Look forward to seeing your progress, keep it up!

 

[Pommette]

Malc - it's a couple of months since your last update. How're ya diddlin?