I dont Like Mondays

Given that I missed my third running outing on Sunday, I completed a third Pattern #1 on Monday.

I did this again at 1pm and went down the nature trail. Apparently this trail is part of a larger circuit set up by the town council called the Bingham Centenary Walk but I cannot find any further details on it. Plan to pop out today to the library to see if they have a map.

Monday's outing was good. The nature trail is in an old railway cutting so I am protected from the elements somewhat.

Next outing tonight. I am going to watch Nottm Forest vs Swansea so will park 1 mile away from the ground to get a 2 mile walk in!

Official log:-
Completed: 1xPattern 1
Total Time: 40 minutes

End of Week 3

So Week 3 is the week i actually started to do some running by following Pattern 1.

On reflection i enjoyed it - however it made a real difference running during the day on a nature trail vs. at night on the roads.

I planned to do my third outing on Sunday but it didnt happen due to me feeling a bit under the weather after a friends birthday on Saturday (you can see from my weekly summary that my calories went OTT!). I tried to 'be good' but it is tough!

So, dietary summary for the week below - i managed to survive the weekends excesses by balancing out the weekdays so overall on target for the week (note:- my weight is still exactly the same however :( is this because the running/walking is building muscle which is heavier???)

Kids Today

Successfully Completed a second 'pattern 1' outing today at about 2pm

Great to run in the day as i was able to run along the nature walk which is normally too dark. However work often does not give me the opportunity.

I inadvertantly managed to time my run with some kids leaving school (don't they leave early!). I ran up the nature trail towards 3 kids, they could only have been about 12-13 but as i passed they started to take the mick! maybe it was my hat and gloves! I turned 'round as if to give chase and 2 run off but one put his arms out wide to encourage me...

...now there is very little chance of me giving chase as I would look ridiculous (and what would i do if i caught him anyway; which is unlikely!) I would never had done the same thing at his age to a bloke out running - i would have received a thump! Do these poor buggers receive thumps regularly enough at home for it not to matter anymore??

aaah, the risks of going outdoors - i'll survive!

As for the run/walk - felt much better today. Possibly because it was light and i could run on softer ground. Starting to actually look forward to Sunday's outing!

Official log:-
Completed: 1xPattern 1
Outing Time: 40 minutes

The Agony & The Ecstasy

Tonight I donned my running shoes, new watch (with light) and reflective running top (recently liberated from JB sports) and set off on the first stage of the Running Pyramid.

Remember, running Week 1 involves following the set pattern 'Run 1,1,2,2,1,1'; with a 2 minute walk between each running section - Total 8 mins running....

How did it go?

Hard work to be honest. I have never really been into running; i also suspected that my build was not tall and lithe enough (excuse alert!).

I did an 8 minute walking warm up and then started off...the hardest part was the second 2 minute running section (and the force 9 gale blowing!).

Anyway, i did it...each journey starts with the first step. My plan is to complete another pattern on Friday. However, this time I will do it at lunch so i can go 'off road'.

Official log:-
Completed: 1xPattern 1
Run Time: 30 minutes

6 Ways to Lose Weight.....Not!

ok, this is why i signed up to Nutracheck. However I made one fatal error - not recording the food as i went...

...because i had a really busy week out and about, i recorded my eating on my PDA in notes with a plan of updating Nutracheck each night. However that didnt happen of course; I ended up doing it all on Sunday morning.

Hence the title - if you're gonna put on weight then over eat all week! simple!



You will see the Sunday involved a panic to put the week right (and get ready for the 'fat boy's club' challenge).

Running starts this week...

A Deal too Far!

oh dear...in a slightly drunken stupor i have made what could be a rather rash bet :o

A friend of mine who is of a similar shape and size announched that he was dieting. So I saw this as an opportunity to have a 'get fit buddy'. The problem is is that he lives about 15mins away in the car and i know that eventually this will be a barrier (excuse) not to meet up and train...so....

...i thought it would be a good idea to have a challenge. We both have £50 down on who will loose the most weight by the 1st March! He is coming over later for an initial weigh-in

What have i let myself into????

On another note, an interesting idea here for building up that extra muscle

Back on Track...

YES!

A good day today - completed a 2 mile walk down to the train station and back. I am on Jury service from next Monday and I am planning on walking to and from the station every day! That should kick start my fitness!

Caloris & Fat intake good today too. Got to keep it going!

All the Gear, No Idea

This is a local saying; basically meaning that someone (i.e. me) has all the equipment but no idea how to use it!

I am saying this as I have just purchased a running jacket with hi-vis so i dont get flattened during my runs & walks. A bit extravagant as I haven't really started yet but i dont want my mind to be making excuses like 'you dont have the right gear'!

Started afresh with Nutracheck this week although two days in meetings in Belfast eating hotel food has sent me over my limits. I will be trying harder to catch this up before the end of the week.
2 mile walk planned for today and this will be a real test of nerve as it is chucking it down outside!

Week 1 Wash out :(

ok, ok, hardly an auspicious start i know, but week 1 turned out to be a real turkey.

I did my walking quota though with another 2 mile, 40 minute walk on Saturday. However my food and alcohol intake went off the scale over the week and I have been too embarrassed to completed the info on Nutracheck...

...so I have decided to start anew this week -starting today. Updated Nutracheck (although alarmed to see how many calories in my two pints of Guinness!).

I am in Ireland for two days so will try my best to be good.

Walks planned for Wed & Fri - planning to complete my 2 mile circuit in 30 mins instead!

Btw, what calories benefit to I get for 2 hours of vigorous Wii Sports Tennis???

Stumbling At the First Hurdle :(

Oh Dear...

I knew that my job (which involves a fair amount of travelling & hotels) would cause me some problems...sounds like an excuse is rapidly approaching!

3 days in France turned out to be exactly what I suspected; 3 days of pastries, fingerfood, alcohol and late nights. Oh and did I mention the terrible food? I thought that french food was good???! Three visits to France in the past month have shown me that that is not the case.

So, too much beer, too much crap food and no updates to Nutracheck.

The good news is that i did at least manage to fit one walk of 2 miles in! I have one more planned for tomorrow and that should fill my quota for the week.

Really disappointed by my lack of will power this week (not helped by the lack of food options in the hotel in my defence).

Anyway, not giving up, back on the wagon tomorrow!

Kindred Spirits

Now that have started this blog, I have been researching other people trying to a similar thing.

Steve Pavlina (who I mention below) has a great forum for people seeking help on the road to self improvement.

A couple of interesting posts i found on there include Paul Piotrowski who looks to have had a similar idea to me (click the link) - hopefully he is up for some mutual support!

Someone also directed me to this article. Now if anyone (including me) needs some motivation, this guy's story should surely be enough?

Week 1 Starts off in Style!

Ok, time to start taking this seriously.... >:)

Completed a 2 mile walk at brisk pace (including some hills) at lunchtime. Took me about 40mins.

The Good?
- feeling energised (cheesy californian life-coach type of word but accurate all the same!)
- satisfied that i have dragged myself out into pretty rotten weather (cold, high winds, drizzle) and completed the route!

The Bad?
- due to the cold wind, my ears were aching for 10-15mins after - maybe i need a hat...
- due to my poor walking shoes, my feet a bit sore, so running shoes next time.

The Ugly?
- off to France tomorrow for 3 days on a 'conference' - probably should read 3 day p*ss up so I am packing my walking gear AND i must stick to my calorie limits (just beer then ;))

On another note, no sign of the pedometer yet. I wonder if i can tell how many times it has been handled by the score when it finally arrives....

...will attempt to post from France, so catch up soon

And so ends Week Zero...

Why Week Zero?

Well , mainly because I wanted to ease myself into this new regime. If I went from slob gluttony to starvation diet + 3 hours running a day I would soon fail!!

I always saw Week 0 as a week of conditioning; mental more that physical. The physical side has played a part though, as you can see from my summary below.

In overview, week 0 started well, but the weekend's festivities and foul weather took me off track slightly.

I did manage to take the kids swimming this morning and then had a vigorous walk around Ikea for an hour (two laps of the store!).

I am going to sign up to Nutracheck on Monday, as i like the interface and I have found it works for me so far. Shame they dont support windows mobile yet :(

3 vigorous walks planned for next week - first one for tomorrow lunch time regardless of the weather (i think!).

Anyway here's my week 0 summary, and here's to week 1!

Initial Weekly Status Update

As part of my progress I will publish a weekly update.

This will show

- my weight improvement
- a running log for the previous week
- a Diet & Exercise summary from Nutracheck (assuming i keep it going and subscribe).

So to kick off Week 0:

- Weight: A foot-dragging 14 stone
- Log: wed - 20 min walk; Thu - 20 min walk; next planned for Saturday
- Summary:

Getting It Together...

Just purchased a Pedometer on ebay to track steps during my walking phase. This should help me add the exercise into Nutracheck each day.

Good news is that i have sold another of my old books on Amazon. Another walk to the Post Office at lunch is therefore required!

Burn More, Eat Less

How many diet/fitness books are they that basically repeat and redress this obvious mantra? I suspect that i dont need to drop certain food groups or starve myself for weeks on end.

Surely a simple reduction in serving size coupled with not eating obviously unhealthy foods will be good enough...oh, and sustainable for the long term?

The reason I am writing this blog is mainly as a promise and commitment to myself. It would be great if people read this stuff; even better if someone wants to follow my journey with me, but it is really about using the power of writing stuff down to drive my commitment...

...so assuming that works, I am going to follow a similar approach to food. I have just signed up to a 5 day trial to Nutracheck. This is in essence an online food diary focussed on UK shopping and products. I'll let you know how it goes!

The Journey Begins....

Before I press on with today's post, perhaps a little about me would help position my challenge...

ME

My Name is Scott, I am 39 years old, married with two gorgeous kiddies - a girl of seven and a boy who is 3.

I work within software sales, so i am often out and about and staying in hotels (which doesn't help the weight watching!)

I have just tipped 14 stone, I am 5'10" tall but of quite a large build.

What do I want from this routine? My high level goals are:-

- to get under 13 stone
- to be comfy in 34" troosers
- to be able to run 20 minutes without stopping (for walks I mean, i won't be charging headlong across busy junctions!)

I would like to achieve all this by the end of March 2008!!!

I plan to follow the Pyramid Run-Easy approach from Bob's book once i have my walking phase completed (more on this in a mo)

The Pyramid Approach involves the following programme (hopefully i am not contravening someone's copyright here, so let me know!)

Initial weeks involve 2 min walk breaks between runs...

wk1 - Run 1,1,2,2,1,1 - Total 8mins
wk2 - Run 1,1,2,3,2,1 - Tot 10mins
wk3 - Run 1,2,3,3,2,1 - 12mins
wk4 - Run 2,5,5,3 - 1.5min walking breaks - 15mins
wk5 - Run 2,5,8,3 - 1min walking breaks - 18mins
wk6 - Run 2,3,10,3 - 1min walking breaks - 18mins
wk7 - Run 4,12,4 - 1min walking breaks - 20mins
wk8 - Run 3,14,3 - 1min walking breaks - 20mins
wk9 - Run 2,16,2 - 1min walking breaks - 20mins
wk10 - Run 20mins!!!

Seems improbable as i sit here now that i will a/ not quit and b/ run 20mins non stop!

So i remember an article by Steve Pavlina on '30 day changes'...his theory being that if you do something for this period it will become habit.

So, to get my muscle strength up and generate the habit of going outside 3-4 days a week I am about to start a 4 week routine of walking for 20mins every other day.

I have loaded these tasks in 'Remember the Milk' so i have them in black'n'white and I am raring to go!

ps. i have actually done my first one today; walking to the Post Office and back - my bloody calves are killing me!!!

Next walk planned tomorrow as I am off to Northern Ireland for the day Friday so I won't be back 'til late

No More Mr Fat Guy....

Ok...here's the scenario...

I am nearing 40 and have been kidding myself, for some time actually, that i am becoming 'rounder' due to mother nature's influence on a man of my age.

However this Christmas has tipped me over the edge to a new level (read lower level) - which involves a whole new larger trouser size :(

Now over the years i have tried all sorts of get-fit/slim activities. Some have worked, most haven't...well see if you can spot a pattern:-

Worked:
Five-a-side Football (soccer for US friends) - got too old and too many injuries
Karate - broken fingers and broken nose eventually turned me off!

Not Worked:
Squash - tendonitis injury finished this off
Running - never liked it at school, too hard!
Tae-Bo - bored

and so on....

Now as you can see I am pretty handy with the excuses, so this blog is to 'encourage' me to keep up a new routine. Please feel free to add comments to keep me going (or otherwise!).

I have decided to take up running as it is cheap, easy to start and should help me achieve my goals. I am going to follow The Runner's Handbook my Bob Glover and the advice therein. Please feel free to follow me on my journey and howl loser! if I dont keep it up..

...tomorrow, Goals and the first four weeks...