Week 6 - closing in on half way

As the graph above shows my weight is down again this week. According to my spreadsheet I am 43% of the way there. Based on progress to date it should take another 7-8 weeks to reach my target.

Monday this week I was offered Danish Pastries first thing, there was a box of Roses on my desk when I got back from lunch and someone brought cakes back from a meeting. I was starting to think that it was "tempt John until he breaks" day but I managed to resist and Diane got the chocolates.

Back on topic - I am planning to take some shots next Tuesday/Thursday lunchtime as I try to make more use of my free lunchtimes (i.e. not Monday/Wednesday/Friday when I'm at the gym). If something decent comes out of the trips I'll post them here.

I had to laugh

During the weekend I took Charlotte to a birthday party at a local science centre. I had 2 hours to kill and decided to take Lewis swimming.

Every time I take the kids swimming both Charlotte and Lewis come along and we are limited to things we can do without abandoning Charlotte. This weekend was different, Lewis and I could let rip and not worry about Charlotte drowning.

The beach leisure centre in Aberdeen has the small flume next to the pool and then 3 larger flumes in a separate area. There are 3 flumes : The Tube, The Pipeline and Wipeout. Lewis and I went down The Tube separately in the inflatable rings and both had fun as we leisurely slid down.

Next we tried the Pipeline with Lewis and I going down together. The flume is much longer and faster than the small flume and I could feel Lewis' heart pounding as we plummeted down the tube.

I took it easy the first time and sat up a few times to slow us down. The second time however I stayed horizantal for longer and Lewis started saying "Dad sit up! Seriously Dad sit up!." when we got to the bottom Lewis said "didn't you hear me saying sit up?" to which I replied "oh I thought you said lie down :-)". We went on the flume several more times (we had a book of 10 tickets and going down together counted as 1 trip) and we had a great time with me upping the speed each time. Later Lewis and I went down the small flume which now seems like a little kids ride.

I got a small glimpse into how Lewis was feeling when I foolishly went down the Wipeout. There is a sign at the top saying "Only to be used under supervision and stuff about keeping your chin on your chest and arms folded". At the start I felt myself falling forwards towards the top of the flume as I plunged vertically downwards. The water sprayed up and I felt myself turning over on to my front, then before I knew it I was coming to the end and created a huge splash as I hit the run off channel - it lasted for what seemed like 5 seconds and certainly got my heart racing. On the up side I soaked a pool attendant who was standing at the bottom near the run off channel - I assume she wasn't expecting anyone to be stupid enough to try the Wipeout.

Ever decreasing me

I realise that I billed this blog as being a photography blog but I thought I would share my current weight loss experiences with everyone.

I started at 105 kg and have chosen 90 kg as my target weight. At 90 kg my BMI would still be above 25 but I would be lighter than I have been for decades so it is a realistic target. As I am a numbers and goal orientated person I then created a spreadsheet with 105 kg at week zero and 90 kg at the end of week 30 (the plan line in the image above). That plan would involve losing 0.5 kg each week which is achievable. My aim was to stay ahead of the 'easy' 30 week schedule and on current progress it should take me 12-15 weeks.

I weigh myself each Wednesday at the gym in the office where I work and so far have managed to lose 5 kg (a third of the way to my target). I am going to the gym 3 times a week doing a 500 calorie workout each time and combining that with a manageable diet of cereal for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, an evening meal and only fruit in between. Oh and breathing deeply when Diane eats Doritos and sour cream dip.

I have a couple of rules of thumb to keep me on the straight and narrow. If I ever see anything really delicious which is going to set me back I always remind myself that each treat will add days to the whole process and if I just stay focused the ordeal will end sooner. The other rule of thumb is whatever I manage to do once at the gym (say 20 minutes on the hill program at 11kph) is a line in the sand and I never go backwards. Every so often I increase the duration, incline or speed but never reduce it. During the hard moments I remind myself that I have done it once so I can do it again.

Not sure if the above has made me look like some kind of exercise/diet nut but it works for me. I had a bit of a wobble 2 weeks ago when my weight had remained the same but I was still ahead of schedule and so I just carried on.

Tomorrow is weigh day again so fingers crossed.