Hi
Apologies I've not posted for a while - September seems to have flown by.
Having officially said goodbye to running for the year, I've turned my attention to trying to shift some weight.
As my exercise post-marathon has been sporadic at best, I've put on a fair bit of weight in the last 4 months. I've spent a bit of time trying to ignore it but predictably that hasn't worked very well so now I'm actively trying to do something about it.
Obviously there are a number of benefits to this. Being able to fit more comfortably in the clothes I own is one. Not feeling knackered every time I have to exert any kind of energy is another. And keeping my diabetes under control is probably the biggest benefit I'll get. I've got my annual(ish) review at the hospital in October (I rescheduled from September because I knew I'd get a kicking) and so being in a bit better shape when I go will be good news.
My plan is fairly simple - try and lose 2lbs a week between now and Christmas. The means I should lose about 2 stone by December 25th which would be pretty good. I know the reality of that will be a bit different but it's worth a shot. Weight is generally easier to lose when you're carrying a lot extra (as I am at the moment) and I know that come mid-December, I'll be into Christmas mode, but it's worth a go.
I'm using MyFitnessPal to track my calories and exercise on a daily basis. If you're unfamiliar with it, you give it some information about yourself (height, weight, age, gender) and then tell it how much you want to lose and at what rate (between 0.5lbs and 2lbs per week) and it calculates a daily calorie allowance for you. There's the option to add exercise into the mix as well.
Based on my current and target weights, I have a daily calorie allowance of 1440 per day (though I earn a few extra each day from exercise). While that sounds like a fairly low number, it's essentially what I eat most days as long as I cut out the snacking that I'm incredibly prone to.
As I mentioned in my last post, I've invested in an exercise bike and I'm trying for 2 sessions per day on that to aid weight loss and boost fitness. At the moment I'm doing 20 minutes 6 mornings a week and between 30 to 40 minutes each evening. On average that burns off about 550 calories per day.
After one full week of calorie counting I didn't lose any weight, but I'm attributing that to a general 1 week lag in diet/exercise showing in my actual weight. Hopefully Saturday morning will show a reduction when I step on the scales.
What I have noticed is that my blood sugar levels have come under control very quickly and that my reliance on insulin has reduced significantly. I'll talk more about that next time.
I've made my daily diary available for public viewing if you're so inclined. As with the running, making this a bit more public gives a bit of added motivation so I hope you'll forgive the slight dullness of this post. I've got some more interesting ideas kicking about for future blogs - don't worry.
Finally, the title refers to the fact that this blog is one year old now. Thanks to every that's read some or all of the posts. Hopefully you'll keep coming back.
Take care
Andy
No comments:
Post a Comment