Week 40 (12 to go)

Well, this week i had a self imposed increase. The weekend started with a few too many after work drinks and pizza on Friday night which continued through the weekend. On Saturday after the kids soccer we were heading home just after lunchtime. I had refereed my daughters game and have had a hankering to try one of the Hungry Jacks "Big Jack" burgers, so I figured I could fit that in and make up the difference through the week.

Well, firstly the Big Jack did the same as what Hungry Jacks always did to me. It tasted good while eating it, made me want ice cream or something sugary after it and sat like a brick in my stomach for the rest of the day. After going 40+ weeks without Hungry Jacks, this was the reminder why I shouldn't go there again. I also want to call out something I spoke about in a previous post. The desire to eat bad food after eating fast food was nearly overpowering. All afternoon, while I felt full and sick with a weight in my stomach, I craved a sundae or block of chocolate. Thankfully we did not have any in the house, but the after effects I felt, even after going 40 weeks on this challenge, was surprising. It is easy to see how staring on the fast food spiral can easily get out of control.

As a result of my bad weekend, my weigh-ins for the rest of the week were something to behold. I peaked at an increase of 3.1kg from last weeks weigh-in before my diet and exercise re-leveled things. the numbers are below as they will be lost in the weekly tracking I do for this challenge.

All in all, while this week was a negative one against the challenge, I think the weekend binge was something needed for mental stability. It made me feel better while i was in the weekend, served as a good reminder of how things were after and strengthened my resolve to get back on track to the end.

In positive news, my Physio has given the all clear for weigh training and has even upped the ante for me. First session will be this afternoon - hopefully it is the thing to kick start the losses again. I need it as now i am 0.8kg behind target with just 3 weeks to make it up!

Week 39 (13 to go) - End of Month 9

Well, here we are 3/4 the way through the challenge and I am still just staying ahead of target. This month was the beginning of the plateau, the one I knew was coming but did not want to acknowledge it. I was able to lose 1.7kg this month - an ok outcome, however the target was 2.7kg. Fortunately I had built a bit of a buffer in the previous months, so the kilo missed was manageable. This was definitely a warning shot that I will need to do something different to try and achieve the targets for the last 3 months.

There is little to talk to about this week - on point on diet again, no weight training (physio delayed until next week). I will be looking at changing my routine to include some different cardio options this week to see if I can get the numbers moving down again.

Time to talk results for the 3/4 mark. As mentioned previously, I am still ahead of the line by 0.2kg. My physical measurements are plateauing also, however I still had losses around my waist and chest, which is a positive. Numbers and Graphs below. I have also uploaded the mandatory photo comparisons showing start, 3 months, 6 months and finally 9 months. Enjoy!

Week 38 (14 to go)

Back on track, down an even 1.0kg this week and that was after smashing a pork knuckle and 1l stein of cut beer on Sunday. I am back to being 0.3kg ahead of target moving into next week which is an end of month weigh in - which is a good place to be.

This week started with a bang, with 6 hours of digging, shoveling, lifting, compacting and laying block work for some side stairs out the back. This was tiring work and I restrained myself sufficiently on the Friday to not hammer the 5-6 beers my body was asking for. I followed this up on Saturday with kids soccer and again remained on track as far as diet goes - however with urges for lots of meat and beer. Come Sunday the urge to eat meat and drink beer was too great, so we relented and went to the German restaurant for lunch - which filled me enough for dinner also.

Outside of that lapse, i was on point with my food intake for the rest of the week, and again saw the 3 day retention after the beer before dropping back to where i am today.

On exercise, the Physio has given some good strength exercises for my shoulder and is hopeful for me to get back to weight training mid next week. I will stay the course on his exercises and hopefully get the all clear to start with weights again shortly.