Week 20 – Journals and Photos

Week 20 started with an air of optimism. I was feeling better after an awful cold and had rediscovered my love of training.

I had a long chat with Luke about setting some new targets. My weight has been stuck at 10st 6 for a while.

Now, my rational self knows all about the weight loss myth and I know that the weight on the scales is meaningless. However, I’m the sort of person who needs goals.

I told Luke that I’d like to be 10st. He suggested that instead we should aim for a scales weight starting with a 9, even if it’s 9st 13.

Luke explained that there are a couple of ways that we can achieve this – eat less with the same amount of exercise or eat the same amount and exercise more.

I’m happy with what I’m eating. I’m not feeling like I have to be strict with myself. It’s rare that I’m manically hungry these days and I no longer have any food cravings. So decreasing my food intake isn’t really an option. Also, I like the fact that I feel free to eat what I fancy, don’t count “calories” or worry too much about portion sizes. If that changes then I think that this process will become a bit of a slog. I can cope with the exercise and evolving diet if I can eat whenever I’m hungry.

So that leaves me with option 2 – exercise more. Luke is of the view that an extra 30 minutes cardio on the days that I don’t weight train should do it. That means getting up a bit earlier a couple of times a week and sitting my arse on the exercise bike. It’s not terribly onerous.

We have agreed a deadline of 15th September for my weight to start with a ‘9’.

Day 134:

Today has been a bit of a wipe out. I met some friends for brunch and made a good menu choice (smoked salmon and scrambled eggs). Everyone else was eating croissants and ordering toast so in a moment of idiocy I ordered gluten free toast with my eggs.

It wasn’t particularly nice, even with a healthy dose of marmite, and I only ate one slice.

It has been a very hot day and I didn’t feel like lunch.

Dinner was healthy. My dad’s potatoes (dug up 30 mins before we ate them) continue to get the better of me. But I only had one and I avoided the butter this time, so as I sit and write this I’m not suffering with a runny nose.

I had some 90% chocolate after dinner and it was simply too sweet.

I’ve eaten Lindt 90% chocolate pretty much every day for the last 134 days. It is my post dinner treat and I love having a cup of herbal tea and savouring each tiny bite. However, I’m starting to think that it might be time to say goodbye.

Day 135:

Today has been a good day. An excellent walk with a friend over the Clent Hills first thing; a hot date on the stairs with a new Dyson when I got home and a lazy afternoon.

The Nush yoghurts are a revelation. There is no added sugar other than the blueberry puree and I don’t find them too sweet.

My veg intake could have been better. I must try harder tomorrow.

Day 136:

Today my knickers fell down.

I really, really, really didn’t want to do cardio after a long day at the office but I played the “just 10 minutes” game. I did an hour and felt great.

Day 137:

I ran out of courgettes (zucchini) for my morning ‘Zoats’ so on a whim I substituted carrots. They were very nice and I will definitely make them again.

I spent the day contemplating whether my new breakfast recipe was automatically called ‘Coats’ but ultimately decided that the best name is ‘Carroats’.

Dinner was a vegan recipe box made by Lovely Girl #1. It was really nice but the teriyaki mushrooms were too much for me – too sweet – and I had tummy ache for the rest of the evening.

Day 138:

The Glorious 12th! And my Lovely Girl #2 is 17 today.

This means that she gets to choose dinner…two starters followed by home-made spare ribs with dauphinois potatoes and creme brûlée. The custard was made with coconut milk and was low sugar. My mum had made caramel for the creme brûlée which she cooled and ground into a powder before caramelising it on the top with a blow torch. I didn’t have the sugar topping.

Day 139:

I had an easy day in light of the crippling heat. I could, and should, have drunk more water.

Day 140:

The day started with a 6:30 zoom workout with Luke followed by the end of 5 months progress photos (see below). I can’t believe that I have stuck to this for 5 whole months! I WISH that I’d known in the early 2000s what I know now, and that I hadn’t spent the last 18 years being fat

By lunchtime I was hungry. My dad’s garden was full of runner beans and I had homemade curry in the freezer. It was a quick lunch but with hindsight a mistake as I had dreadful tummy ache all afternoon.

We’d been invited to mum and dad’s for a pizza party to celebrate Lovely Girl #1 getting her A level results and into her first choice uni. My mum made the most spectacular cauliflower pizza base with ground almonds.

The weather finally broke and we had a massive thunderstorm in the middle of dinner. The heat was unbearable and I couldn’t eat much.

End of Week 20 Progress Photos:

For the last 140 days I have worked harder than I ever have before. My diet has evolved to the point where I don’t really want to eat fruit anymore and I am thrilled with the results.

I still have to remind myself that even though I’ve “only” lost 1 stone 2 pounds (16 pounds) the scales weight doesn’t reflect how much muscle I’ve gained. There are those who would say that I could have ‘lost’ more weight, much more quickly by just dieting; but that would completely defeat the object of what I’m trying to achieve.

The focus of this experiment was to reduce my risk of cancer (and age associated illnesses) and get as strong as possible to reduce my risk of injury as I enter my 50s.

I feel better than I have felt in decades. Every single squat and deadlift has been worth it. I’m amazed that I’ve been able to get here without getting injured, which is entirely down to Luke’s brilliant training schedule. I am eternally grateful to him for his endless patience and putting up with me.

I won’t ever go back to the life I lived pre-lockdown and I’m so excited (and impatient) to see how I look in another 5 months!

Side Quest Progress Photos (end of week 6):

I’ve been really pleased with my side quest photos. As the weeks have progressed and I’ve lost more and more body fat the changes, whilst wearing my normal kit, have become less obvious.

The side quest (of trying to fit into small sized Sweaty Betty power leggings) has helped to show the week by week improvements. I don’t think it’ll be long before I need a new side quest!