Week 97

0.4lb gain

Hmmm.

I'm wary of that figure. I find it very difficult to believe I put on less than half a pound in this past week. I can only assume my body isn't showing up yesterday's over indulgence to the point of feeling ill yet.

My guess is it will show itself next week, along with many more goodies needing to be eaten over the next 7 days.

And yet, and yet... you know after yesterday I find myself craving fresh vegetable soup for lunch. Which I will probably have before tucking into a whole pile of things I shouldn't.

Much as I love this time of year, it's a nightmare for the health conscious. I mean, if you were weaning yourself off cigarettes, it would be a hell of a lot harder if there was a major smoking festival every year that everyone celebrated and was sponsored by all the big tobacco companies.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 12st 10.6lb – 178.6lbs
Body fat: 23.5%
Total Weight Loss: 96.4lbs

Week 96

0.6lb loss!

Woohoo!

After last week's lunch, a scone while out with Maggie during the week and flapjack in a cafe with the kids yesterday, not to mention the occasional nibble of extra bits here and there, I was truly expecting to have put on, rather than lost half a pound.

However, other than these bits I acknowledge, I have been staying on track. Gone are the days when if it all went pear shaped at lunchtime then I would write off the day, or if I blew it on Friday then I could kiss goodbye to the weekend.

One of the most powerful mindset shifts has been the idea that if I over indulge on one meal, I can immediately get back on track with the next. I'm no longer feeling the self loathing at having over-eaten, that the rest of the day (or week) is spent stuffing my face in a way that is almost self abuse and punishment.

Statistical Significance: It's week 96 and I've lost about 96 pounds. I don't imagine the numbers of weeks and weight are ever likely to coincide again.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 12st 10.2lb – 178.2lbs
Body fat: 24.1%
Total Weight Loss: 96.8lbs

Week 95

0.6lb loss!

I'll take that and be very happy with it. To be honest, I thought I might have gained another half pound this week. Christmas nibbles are starting to appear all over the place. In fact I have a Christmas lunch with some business colleagues this afternoon.

And last Thursday was the final class of the Philosophy Evening Course I was teaching, so Maggie made a chocolate cake for me to take in. It went down exceptionally well.

At this time of year I'm more than happy not to have made a gain. Maybe I'll get through Feastmas yet without going back over the 13 stone mark...


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 12st 10.8lb – 178.8lbs
Body fat: 23.3%
Total Weight Loss: 96.2lbs

UPDATE
I had way too much to eat at that Christmas lunch. So much, in fact, that I was in serious discomfort. Gone are the days when I could eat 3 large courses and not suffer. In a pleasant Scottish hotel with a menu thrust under my nose, the patterns in my brain laid down from the days when I was 275lbs, became the path of least resistance. Suddenly I'm ordering food with abandon.

The starter itself - a large bowl of cullen skink with a bread roll - would have been slightly more than I usually have for lunch on its own. Halfway through the main course I'm aware that I'm already full, but I'm not going to stop. And hey, it Christmas! There's no way I'm not having a pudding, no matter how large it is or how stuffed I feel.

...must... have... shortbread... with... coffee... ...

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I felt ill, yet completely unable to stop myself.

I didn't have dinner - still far too full - and had a lighter breakfast than usual this morning.

I'd like to think I won't be that stupid again for a while, but in this month there are no guarantees.

Week 94

0.4lb gain.

A few extras, not enough activity. Sounds about right.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 12st 11.4lb – 179.4lbs
Body fat: 24.4%
Total Weight Loss: 95.6lbs

Week 93

0.8lb loss!

I'm pleased with that. What with this stinking cold all week and the fact that when I went down to Chesterfield to see my Dad at the weekend, my eating was a bit dodgy, I was fully expecting to stay even or possibly put on half a pound or something.

However, as has become the way, even when we do relent and have fish & chips, we stop there and don't let the eating spiral out of control. The next day we're straight back on it.

The cravings haven't been anything like as bad as a few weeks back. It seems that crawling through that period of a couple of weeks of intense cravings, but not giving in to them, has paid off and it has become easier again.

Maggie is on a serious drive at the moment. Although I don't mention her often on this blog, and I will never post her weight, the fact is that we've been doing this together. And while I have lost 96lbs since we began, she has also lost 93lbs. Between us we have lost an entire overweight adult.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 12st 11lb – 179lbs
Body fat: 23.9%
Total Weight Loss: 96lbs

Week 92

0.8lb loss!

Still on the way down. I'm firmly under the 13 stone mark and, for those who prefer their measurements purely in pounds, I am now (just) under the 180lb mark.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 12st 11.8lb – 179.8lbs
Body fat: 23.6%
Total Weight Loss: 95.2lbs

Week 91

1.6lb loss!

Hey hey hey! We're cruising! All that resistance to the cravings is paying off again. 2 weeks weight loss in a row and I am now definitely under the 13 stone mark!

I'm now only 5.6lbs away from the 100lb loss. I think it's unlikely I'll reach it before the gluttenous season arrives, and if I do, I won't stay there for long, so it could be well into next year before I confidently cross that barrier. But the better I do this side of Feastmas, the less far I'll have to travel on the other side.

Feeling good.

And...

Statistical Significance:
I was doing a rough calculation the other day when I suddenly realised that when I crossed the line of losing more than 91.6lbs (4 weeks ago), I had actually lost 1/3 or my original bodyweight.

I am now 2/3 of the man I used to be!


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 12st 12.6lb – 180.6lbs
Body fat: 24.5%
Total Weight Loss: 94.4lbs

Week 90

1lb loss!

A week of crawling up the walls, frequently curling up in the foetal position, and periodically trying to chew my own tongue off rather than submit to the cravings seems to have paid off with a 1lb loss, barely a couple of ounces away from the 13 stone mark.

I'd like to think that there will come a time when I'm not bothered by cravings for perhaps months at a time. But there are times that it feels like the rest of my life will be spent wanting an extra portion, fighting with myself over whether to have a scone if I'm out for a coffee, and eyeing up my children's desert while slavering into my beard.

Is there anyone out there who can truthfully tell me that there will come a time when the cravings will completely disappear?


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 0.2lb – 182.2lbs
Body fat: 24.5%
Total Weight Loss: 92.8lbs

Week 89

0.6lb gain.

Oh that could have been so much worse.

Considering the birthday cake, not to mention the lunch out and the large quantity of home baking my son did for me, I would not have been surprised to see a 2 or 3 pound gain this week.

However, since Thursday we have been almost detoxing. Maggie has been extremely strict about out eating and we have been filling up on almost entirely fruit and veg. Maggie's been making me fruit smoothies for breakfast with my muesli, thick vegetable soup every lunchtime, and we've been having high-vegetable-content vegetarian meals for dinner.

Despite my cravings being all over the place, we have only ended up snacking in the evening (one of the biggest demons) once, although it's been bloody difficult.

So I'm more than happy to settle for only half a pound's net damage this week.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 1.2lb – 183.2lbs
Body fat: 25.4%
Total Weight Loss: 91.8lbs

Week 88

1lb gain

As predicted last week, the sub-13st didn't last. A big lunch with fellow blogger Dr Maroon (Soup & Roll followed by A Feast of Fish), followed by a huge meal out with the family last Thursday ensured I wouldn't be losing anything this week. Then there have been the depressive bouts which have led to a couple of bowls of evening ice-cream (I know, I know). All in all I've got off pretty lightly with only a 1lb gain.

And as it's my 40th birthday tomorrow, I fully expect a couple more pounds to be added next week too.

One odd thing I noticed with my new scales this morning, was that despite going up by 1lb since last week, my body fat seems to have increased by one whole percentage point, which seems a bit extreme for a gain of 0.5% of my body mass.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 0.6lb – 182.6lbs
Body fat: 25.4%
Total Weight Loss: 92.4lbs

week 87

At least 1lb loss!

We've bought new, slightly more accurate scales.

Given that the last ones could vary by up to 2lbs just by climbing off and back on again, we could only ever try and guage the general trend rather than feel that we had a completely accurate sense of our weight over the past 87 weeks.

For a while we've been considering the idea of a new set of scales, but as well as buying ones that measure in increments of 0.2 of a pound, these new ones also measure body fat percentage.

From what I can make out, weight and BMI are only any good as a rough guide, particularly when you are very overweight, but as you get closer to the "ideal" area, body fat is a more accurate measurement of health. According to these scales my body fat is 24.4%. I now need to go and find somewhere on the Internet that will tell me what that really means.

Anyway, the upshot of the new scales is that I've lost an extra pound and a half. I stood on the original ones which placed me at 13st 1lb (lb down from last week - woohoo!), but these new ones put me at 12st 13.6lbs (181.6lbs), which is under the 13 stone mark.

The idea that I am now 12 stone something almost brings a tear to my eye, although I can't imagine it staying there for long - I'm out for lunch and dinner tomorrow, and it's my 40th birthday next week, so I guess I'll be flicking back over the 13 stone mark for a wee while.

But just to taste 12 stone something is quite incredible for a man who started this journey at over 19½ stone.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 12st 13.6lb – 181.6lbs
Body fat: 24.4%
Total Weight Loss: 93.4lbs

Week 86

Even.

I'm happy enough with that. After the drop last week I was fearful it was an anomaly, but it even flickered briefly to 13st 1lb, so I'm not worried now.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb - 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 2lb - 184lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 26lb
Total Weight Loss: 91lbs

Week 85

2lb loss!

Frankly, I'm in shock. There is no way I should have lost 2lbs this week.I was fully expecting to have put on 2lbs, and feared it might even have been 3.

Although I'd been really good all week, trying to make up for the Wedding Anniversary blow-out, I knew this weekend was never going to be anything other than a write-off.

It was my father's 70th Birthday so we drove down to see him on Saturday (stopped by the police en-route - see my main blog for more details on that). Maggie pre-prepared much of the food and finished cooking it when we arrived. 3 very large courses, including a huge Maggie-made chocolate-hazelnut meringue to die for.

The following lunchtime we were cooked a large Sunday Roast with apple crumble for pudding, and when we got home, my emotions and sugar levels were so all-over-the-place that I couldn't help eating a pound of Quality Street.

So how the **** did I manage to lose 2lbs?

The ony things I can think of are that on Saturday night I was awake from 3am for 2 and a half hours, radiating enough heat to power a small village, and also I was drinking copious amounts of coffee to manage the 500 mile round-trip, because Maggie doesn't drive.

So either my metabolism has speeded up, or the fat faeries have been harvesting during the night.

I am truly baffled.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 2lb – 184lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 26lb
Total Weight Loss: 91lbs

Week 84

2lb gain

Well, I wasn't expecting anything else to be honest. It was our wedding anniversary on Thursday, and a friend agreed to babysit the kids on Friday so we could go away if we wanted. So we spent the night in Durham (beautiful city by the way).

It also meant that all day Friday and Saturday we were almost permanently in cafes or restaurants eating food or drinking coffee. There was never any hope of keeping the weight off.

This weekend we're visiting my father to celebrate his 70th birthday, so I'm not holding out any hope for next week's weigh-in either.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 4lb – 186lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 24lb
Total Weight Loss: 89lbs

Week 83

1lb loss!

Well there's a surprise, especially as Saturday night I caved into 3 of Maggie's home made, fresh out of the oven, rock buns, and we shared a 200g bar of chocolate.

Mind you, the complete blow-out was probably only 1,000 calories each, which is nothing compared to the 3,000+ calorie blow-outs I would regularly have when I was so much heavier.

It's been an extremely tough week, but while it feels that at times it's been a constant struggle, the reality is I've only really had one blow-out and I've more than made up for it by being vigilant the rest of the time.


Statistical Significance: I have now reached the 6 and a half stone mark (stones and half stones are very important in UK weight measurements)

Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 2lb – 184lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 26lb
Total Weight Loss: 91lbs

Week 82

Even.

My eating this week has been as good as it's ever going to be. I didn't eat anything I shouldn't have so I was a bit disappointed not to have moved on the scales.

I'm not going to reduce my food intake any further - the whole point of this approach is that I eat sensibly and healthily, and not get involved in temporary starvation modes which don't work in the long term. My eating pattern needs to be sustainable indefinitely.

It is disappointing to think I might have plateaued on the weight loss where the eating is concerned, as I'm still up to 2 stone overweight. But as I've hovered around this weight now for the best part of 3 months, I have to consider the possibility that I've gone as far as I can by food alone.

This means, of course, that I have to up my activity levels. With the ongoing sense of tiredness, I might not be able to do much about that until I make further progress with the doctor about getting to the bottom of the cause of it. I should be having more blood tests in the nexst week or two.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 3lb – 185lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 25lb
Total Weight Loss: 90lbs

Week 81

1lb loss...

...just.

The scales flickered up to 13st 4lbs, but settled on 13-3 more times than not.

This puts me back down to the lowest point I've been since I started out on this journey, equal to where I was just before I went to France 10 weeks ago. For a while I was beginning to doubt I'd ever get back here.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 3lb – 185lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 25lb
Total Weight Loss: 90lbs

Week 80

2lb Loss!

Phew! I'm heading back in the right direction again.

To be honest I think there was just something of a blip last week. Even taking all excuses into consideration, I still didn't really see how I could have put on a pound. And despite the fact that I've been on track this week, I have still strayed by 2 scones and a piece of birthday cake, and still not had much more activity that picking my daughter up from school, so I don't see how I could have lost 2 lbs.

It seems far more likely that I was even last week and lost 1lb this week, which would still put me in the same place, but would make more sense.

I'm going to have to invest in a slightly more acurate set of scales.


NEWS EXTRA
Just found a link on Sir Squishy's Blog, that was discovered on Sir Twice the Man's blog, that goes through to an article featuring The Knights of the Round Bottoms:

http://calorielab.com/news/2006/08/16/diet-blogs-knights-of-the-round-bottoms-share-solace-in-camraderie/

Cult status soon...


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 4lb – 186lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 24lb
Total Weight Loss: 89lbs

Week 79

1lb gain.

Bollocks!

I thought I'd done well this week. I've only strayed off course with a scone, a bowl of ice-cream and extra garlic bread. That's it. Normally that would be easily absorbed. At worst I would stay even. So to have put on a pound feels deeply unfair - as if there is actually fairness in the universe - why do I cling to the hope, despite all the evidence to the contrary?

OK, let's get a grip. If it's not really the food then it has to be the activity, or lack thereof.

Ah well, that seems more likely.

Truth is, with this B12 problem and feeling a general sense of tiredness most of the time, my activity levels have dropped off considerably. There are days when I don't leave the house, and when I do I'm not walking about that much.

Still, weight gain for 2 weeks in a row is not good, even if I have an excuse. I'm going to have to be a bit more vigilant I think.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 6lb – 188lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 22lb
Total Weight Loss: 87lbs

Week 78

1lb gain.

Bollocks.

I had done well most of this past week. Saturday, however, contained a "Chocolate to Die For" cone from the Cream O' Galloway visitor centre, which is damn fine ice cream. That would have been containable, however, as we managed to avoid any kind of spiral in behaviour.

Of course I'd forgotten that it was also my father-in-law's 85th birthday on Sunday, so as well as eating more than usual at dinner, Maggie had made a rather tasty birthday cake and there was enough for seconds...

But the final damage was done yesterday where not only did I meet up with a friend for lunch, but we had a family meal out in the evening too, and I cannot eat out yet without going overboard.

Statistical Significance: it is exactly 18 months since we began this new way of eating.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 5lb – 187lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 23lb
Total Weight Loss: 88lbs

Week 77

2lb loss!

Woohoo! It works! The system works! I DO know what I'm doing. Stay on track for the week and the results show. And considering my activity levels have been only slightly above zero I have even more to be pleased about.

OK, of course my system of focusing on healthy eating works, otherwise I wouldn't have lost 89lbs or been able to keep going for almost 18 months. But every time I put on a pound or two, even though it's because I caved in to the old eating patterns, there's always a slight fear before I stand on the scales that maybe it won't have worked this time.

You'd think it would get easier.

Actually, it is considerably easier than when I first started, but I don't know whether it will ever cease to be a problem altogether.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 4lb – 186lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 24lb
Total Weight Loss: 89lbs

Week 76

2lb gain.

While of course I'm disappointed, I'm not altogether surprised. As I mentioned last week, I'd been contending with dodgy eating patterns and Maggie's birthday; this week the eating patterns fell apart.

Saturday reached the peak of destructive eating. I knew that if I started the 200g bar of chocolate then I would end up finishing it. I knew that if I had ice-cream for pudding then I was setting up a sugar craving where I would end up eating chocolate later in the evening. I knew that if I finished the Chinese take-away I would want ice-cream to finish with. I knew that if we bought a Chinese take-away for dinner then I would eat far too much - at least twice the amount I normally would, if not more, plus prawn crackers. I also knew I'd end up having a really lousy night's sleep with all that extra sugar and fat trying to metabolise itself.

Yet I still agreed that we should get a Chinese take-away for dinner because it had been a tough week, Maggie's mother had been taken into hospital and no one felt like cooking.

The reasons were justifiable enough, but once the decision was made, the outcome of gross over-eating was inevitable.

Part of the self-loathing at my behaviour stems from this - at all the points along the way I knew exactly what I was doing and what the outcome would be. And because I knew, the feeling is that I should have been able to do something about it, to stop it from happening. Yet all I could do was sit back and watch as it all unfolded before me with a sense of complete inevitability.

Like boarding a train - once on, you're there for the duration - the point of choice is before you take the first step. After that it's too late.


Still the last day or two we've been back on form. Over the past 5 weeks I've only made a net gain of 3 pounds which could have been so much worse. But it is disappointing to think that I'm back where I was 9 weeks ago.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 6lb – 188lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 22lb
Total Weight Loss: 87lbs

Week 75

I have no idea how much I weigh as hoards of grandchildren have descended on the house. OK, some might consider the word “hoards” to be a slight exaggeration for “two”, but the impact is the same. With my stepdaughter and children staying with us, the household has almost doubled in size meaning that the kitchen, where we usually weigh ourselves, is constantly occupied, or likely to be invaded at any point, by children, grandchildren or adults.

"Well why not weigh yourselves in the bathroom like most people?" you may well ask. The answer to that lies in the fact that there are very few level floors in this house, and even fewer that aren't carpeted. The readings on the scales can vary depending on where we place them, so in order to keep a consistency we place them in the same place in the kitchen each week for our weigh-in.

To be honest, I'm not optimistic that I would have lost anything anyway, due to the fact that it was Maggie's birthday on Friday (cue lots of cake and treats) which followed a week of varied eating patterns while we tried to re-establish the food stocks after being away.

So, next week there will be no excuses and my weight will be posted whatever it is.

Week 74

1lb gain!

Yes folks, I'm back from 2 weeks in France, eating baguettes and croissants and drinking French wine and I've only put on 1 pound!

Woohoo!

Who's the Daddy?

Woohoo again!

Post holiday analysis reveals that although we ate far more white bread and cheese, it wasn't on top of anything else.

The simple fact is, that my standard healthy eating patterns mean that I can lose between one and two pounds a week, especially if I don't cheat and I'm a bit more active. So I can actually increase my food/calorie intake by up to 30 - 40% and stay at the same weight. Obviously in the long term I don't wish to stay at the same weight, but it does give me a bit more built-in flexibility on a 2 week holiday.

And it was all about damage limitation again.

We might have had a day where we had large croissants for breakfast and a large hunk of baguette & cheese for lunch, but then we'd have a good vegetable based dinner and we managed to avoid getting back into the habit of evening snacking, which was always the killer.

It also helps that, as Fatmammycat pointed out would probably be the case before I left, we were inevitably more active. OK, we weren't surfboarding or mountain climbing, but walking round towns, strolling along beaches and visiting ruined castles is more active than the usual pastime of sitting in front of the computer or the TV.

So by continuing to eat healthily when we could, we had enough leeway to have some real treats, often on a daily basis.

We are feeling so pleased with ourselves, and it reinforces the idea that we have genuinely found the route that works for us.

I think I will allow myself a wee *smug* moment :)


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 4lb – 186lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 24lb
Total Weight Loss: 89lbs

Week 71

3lb loss??

3 pounds in one week is stranger than the 2 pound gain last week. However, I think I know what's going on. Last week I'm pretty sure should have only been a 1lb gain. When I weighed myself later in the morning out of curiosity, I saw that I was a pound less. The scales had been flicking between one and the other earlier on and in these cases I always count the higher figure.

This week I've been extraordinarily good. My eating has been superb and I have fought off every temptation. The result could account for a 2lb loss. All in all I think it's just evening itself out and the net result is that I'm one pound lighter than I was 2 weeks ago, which is fine by me.

However, things are not likely to stay this way as we are off to France for 2 weeks. I don't intend the eating to get out of control, but this is a country where butter, cream and cheese are a way of life, not to mention large quantities of red wine. I have to accept that I'll be likely to gain a few pounds while I'm away, but my intention is to try and work on damage limitation. If I only gain 4 pounds instead of 8, then that has to be good.

Statistical Significance: I have now lost 90lbs since I started out.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 3lb – 185lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 25lb
Total Weight Loss: 90lbs

Week 70

2lb gain.

2 pounds??? Oh c'mon! Iknew it wasn't going to be a loss this week, and I feared I might gain one, but two?

Bollocks!

I blame my son's birthday, primarily. He insisted on a "party spread" which means a buffet-style help-yourself assortment of pizza, crisps, things fried in breadcrumbs etc.

There are 2 major problems with this type of food:

1) Any buffet-style layout is fatal for me as I cannot "see" how much food I've eaten. My stomach won't tell me until an hour later, by which time the damage is done. And of course you can refill your plate as often as you want

2) This kind of food comes under the category of "trigger food" - high fat, high salt stuff that means once started I cannot stop

3) (Ok, there are more than 2 problems) - it throws my system out and the next few days will be wobbley at best.

4) (I seriously underestimated the number) - birthday cake - enough left over to have the next day too - choclate, thick, rich, chocolate, sweet (I mentioned chocolate didn't I?) cake with icing and chocolate.


So bingeing on all this meant that Saturday was not good and I kept scanning the kitchen for extras and Sunday was a complete disaster with my emotions all over the place, culminating in the consumation of a large bar of chocolate I'd been given for Father's Day.

Actually, when I write all this down, I'm beginning to think I got off lightly with only a 2lb gain...


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 6lb – 188lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 22lb
Total Weight Loss: 87lbs

Week 69

1lb loss!

Another surprise loss this one, as at least twice over this past week I've had a buffet-style dinner that was high in processed foods and I've definitely over-eaten. The problem with a pick 'n' mix type of meal is that I invariable pick a lot more because I can have seconds and even thirds. Unlike a standard plate of food, I can't "see" how much I've eaten. And as I have a delayed off-switch that doesn't tell me I've had enough to eat until an hour later I end up feeling bloated and uncomfortable by the time my stomach catches up with my eyes.

So why have I still managed to lose a pound? In fact, how come I've been losing weight over the past few weeks when I've felt I probably shouldn't?

The only thing that I can think that I've been doing differently over the past couple of weeks is that I've become more regular with my Tai Chi. During the winter I can go a week at a time without practicing Tai Chi, but with the great weather we've been having recently I've pretty much been doing it every day. Maybe that's what's making the difference.


Statistical Significance – I have now lost over 40 kilos

Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 4lb – 186lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost: 24lbs
Total Weight Loss: 89lbs

Goal Weight

I just received a comment on my I Am Overweight! Woohoo! post from Sir Squishy, saying:

I just re-read this post for additional motivation.....just curious, what is
your goal weight?

I started to answer in the comments and then realised that my reply might in fact make a better post for this blog, as the answer is not as straightforward as it should be. Strange though it may seem, I've not actually had a goal weight as such.

My main aim when I embarked on this new way of living and eating was to become healthier. Losing weight was always a side effect of that rather than the main goal.

At 5 feet and 7 inches tall, my ideal weight for my height is supposed to be about 10 ½ stone (147lbs). The upper limit, allowing for a broader bone structure is about 11 st 5lbs (159lbs). Even at my leanest, as a fit teenager working as a landscape gardener, I was about 11st 4lbs (158lbs), so 10 ½ stone has never come into the equation.

Therefore, to get to about 11 ½ stone should really be my goal. From the viewpoint of over 19 ½ stone, however, this just looked laughable. I could not for the life of me imagine losing over 8 stone in weight. 8 stone is also 112 pounds, which is the amount in a British “Hundredweight” – hence the title of this blog. I discovered shortly afterwards that the US Hundredweight is a more obvious 100lbs exactly, although even that seemed like an impossible dream.

So when I set out, my feeling was that if I could get down to about 15 stone (210lbs) then I would be more than happy. At the point that I actually reached that weight back last October, I was approached by Sir (now Lord) Chubalot to join the Knights of the Round Bottoms. Up until then, this semi-ironically title blog was just being used to collect and store specifically weight-related blog entries. Now however, I started to keep a weekly log of my progress online as well.

As the weight has come off, so my idea of what weight I might be able to reach has shifted. Having passed the 15 stone mark, I then started to think about 13 ½ stone (189lbs). When I was I was in my early to mid twenties I was about this weight and I thought I looked fine. In addition, I’d worked out that at this size, I would no longer be categorised as “obese”. However, I have now passed that marker too.

12 ½ stone (175lbs) now looks like it might just be possible – and of course that is 100lbs. If I achieve that then I might even get a mention in Twice the Man’s hall of fame, although my efforts pale into insignificance next to his

Might I actually reach 11st 5lbs – 4lbs beyond even the British hundredweight?

Well, to be honest, I’m not going to lose sleep over it. If I’m eating healthily and I get my activity up to a healthy level, then my body will settle at whatever weight it should naturally be, whatever the charts say.

Naked in the mirror, I still have man-boobs and a belly, but I can now fit in clothes without an ‘X’ in the size. I look around at other middle-aged men and most seem to have at least the size of belly that I do, so I no longer look like a Fat Man. I look average. Some time in the next week or two, my wife and I are planning on visiting a gym for the first time, just to see what it involves and to get an idea of how much benefit we might gain from going there.

Even if I didn’t lose another pound, the fact that I have lost 88 is enough to feel I can’t complain.

The fact is, there is no end to this, and that makes a goal weight more or less redundant. Even if I reached 11st 5lbs, I wouldn’t stop eating healthily. As I have remarked before, this is NOT A DIET, it is a way of life.

Mind you, I don't know at what point I'll be able to move from Sir to Lord Man Boobs - when I've lost 100, 112, or 116 (meaning I'm no longer "overweight")?

Week 68

1lb loss!

Very surprised at the loss this week as not only have my activity levels been very low, but I had a blow-out on Saturday.

Actually, when I say blow-out, what I really mean is I had a full 100g bar of dark chocolate because, well because of a lot of reasons which primarily meant that I felt too low to be able to say no.

And yet, even in that dark place of "I'm bloody well going to eat something and no one's going to stop me," I still found that part of me was working on damage limitation in a way I would never have managed before.

Wandering around the supermarket, I decided that a large tub of prawn cocktail and a large bag of crisps (potato chips for you US types) was just going too far, especially as I knew I'd want the chocolate afterwards anyway. So I just went for the chocolate.

In the end the damage was only 500 calories (if you're counting) rather than about 1,500 if I'd followed my old ways. And given my lifestyle now, 500 calories can be absorbed quite easily across a week.

In my head I'd had such a huge fight with myself that the whole thing seemed much bigger than it was. In the end I still lost a pound this week.

I don't intend to make a habit of it, but it does show me that I can be a bit more forgiving of myself sometimes.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 5lb – 187lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 23lbs
Total Weight Loss: 88lbs

I Am Overweight! Woohoo!

(Imported from Rambling of the Bearded One)

Not a common whoop of joy heard in this day and age, admittedly, but I am a happy man. In fact, it turns out that I’ve been overweight for a few weeks now, but I hadn’t checked a BMI calculator recently.

BMI is the Body Mass Index and is essentially a ratio measurement between your height and your weight (you can check yours out at http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/interactiveTools/bmi.aspx if you’re curious) and so can be used as a rough guide to how fat you are. It is only an approximation though - if you are an athlete, for example, then you will get a false reading because muscle weighs more than fat.

So, at 5 feet and 7 inches high, and weighing in this morning at 13 stone and 6 pounds (188lbs or 85.275kg), I have a BMI of 29.44466. This means that I am now Overweight and no longer Obese (as I am in no way athletic). The chart looks something like this:

Less than 20 – Underweight - everyone thinks you look like a model, but you’re actually very unhealthy
20 to 25 – Ideal weight - you are at the right weight for your height, will probably live longer, but worry that your bum looks too big because society tells you that you should be underweight (“You can never be too rich or too thin” - Nancy Reagan)
25-30 – Overweight - you eat too many snacks and takeaways and don’t exercise enough
30-35 – Obese (Class I) - now you’re getting into dangerous territory that could be seriously affecting your long term health. You’re probably struggling to find anything that fits you in a high-street shop
35-40 – Obese (Class II) - specialist "outsize" clothes shops are becoming the norm, but you despise the fact that they insist you look like your granny's sofa cover.
Over 40 – Morbidly or Severely Obese (Class III) - also known as “Extremely Obese” or “Pathologically Obese” – chances are you’ve been dieting all your life and/or have problems with food addiction and emotional eating patterns that are now way out of control. Jogging trousers are just so much more comfortable.

15 months ago I was 19st 9lbs (275lbs) and had a BMI of 43, at which point Maggie and I started a new way of life. The idea was that we would eat healthily (plenty fresh fruit & veg), cut out processed foods and certain fats, avoid trigger foods (ones that set off cravings) and stop snacking in the evenings.

The main aim has always been to be healthier and the weight loss has been a side effect. THIS IS IMPORTANT. We are not on a “diet”, and when we reach an ideal weight we will continue to eat healthily and will not return to old eating habits. This is a way of life.

It means that we have a bit of cake when there’s a celebration; we sometimes go out for meals; on occasion we get a takeaway; but we are careful not to let these things get out of control. And very importantly, we enjoy good, wholesome, tasty food. Maggie is an excellent cook and very creative. These days instead of using those skills to make cakes and puddings, she’s using them to improve our health. Maggie doesn’t want me discussing her weight with the world, but I will say that she has lost a similar amount over the same time period.

In fact, the other day we were looking back through our early photo albums and came to the conclusion that we now weigh more or less what we did when we first started going out together. 15 ½ years to put the weight on, and 15 ½ months to get back again.

It doesn’t stop here though. We are still overweight, we are not as healthy as we could be, and the next stage will be to start upping our activity levels a bit more.

But I am no longer “Obese”. I am “Overweight” and I think that calls for some kind of celebration. Unfortunately it can’t be with a chocolate cake…

Week 67

1lb loss!

And I've just discovered that I'm officially "overweight", and have been for a few weeks! Wow, I'm no longer "obese"!

I think I'll need to write more about this.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 6lb – 188lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 221lb
Total Weight Loss: 87lbs

Week 66

Even.

It did flicker on to 13-6, but settled at 13st 7lbs. My scales don't measure 1/2 pounds so I'll have to say I'm even this week.

Mind you, considering the size of the Chinese takeaway last night, and the fact that on Thursday Maggie made some home made chocolate ice cream to celebrate the fact that it was 1 year since we moved here, I did wonder whether I was actually going to have put on a pound. So I'm not complaining.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 7lb – 189lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 21lb
Total Weight Loss: 86lbs

Week 65

1lb loss!

I wasn't that sure that I'd lose anything this week. Other than a piece of birthday cake for my mother-in-law's 86th I have been very good with my eating, but I've not exactly been that active. So I'm quite happy to accept the one pound loss.

Mind you, half of that is probably down to me cutting my beard so much shorter...

Statistical Significance: I'm now exactly 13 and a half stone, and I've dropped below the 190 pounds mark.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 7lb – 189lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 21lb
Total Weight Loss: 86lbs

Week 64

1lb loss!

That was a little unexpected. I was pretty sure I’d be even this week. I wasn’t too well last week and so haven’t exactly been active. However, it evens up those weeks where I was trying really hard and nothing happened.

CONVERSION TABLE
I'm pretty useless when it comes to working things out in Kilos, so over on the right I've inserted a pounds to kilos conversion table that I picked it up from http://www.metric-conversions.org


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 8lb – 190lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 20lb
Total Weight Loss: 85lbs

Week 63

1lb loss!

Statistical Significance: I have lost exactly 6 stone.

OK, for Americans and Europeans the archaic measurement of 1 stone = 14 pounds might seem to be a bit of an odd thing to use as a marker. But here in the UK, everyone measures themselves in stones, so it is a major cause for celebration when you have lost one.

However, what is far weirder than this imperial measurement is the fact that it is also the same amount of weight as my 10 year old son. The idea that if I picked up Rogan and then stood on the scales, I would weigh exactly the same as when I began this healthy eating lifestyle is incredibly difficult for me to really get my head around.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 9lb – 191lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 19lb
Total Weight Loss: 84lbs

Week 62

2lb loss!

Weyhey, woohoo, wiyi...

In addition to the weight loss, I punched an extra hole in my belt this week. This means that I'm 9 holes further down on the belt than I was when I started out on this healthy eating way of life. Getting the ruler out I discovered that this translates to 8 and a half inches off my waist over the past 14 months!


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 10lb – 192lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 18lb
Total Weight Loss: 83lbs

Week 61

Even.

A little disappointed - I know I went over the top with a big meal out last week, but I have been reasonably active since.

However, I would like to say a huge

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

to Lord Chubalot, for achieving his target weight - the founder of the Knights of the Round Bottoms, and the first of us to succeed.

I doff my cap to you sir.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 12lb – 194lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 16lb
Total Weight Loss: 81lbs

Week 60

2 lb loss!!

WooHoo!!

I'm under the 14 stone mark - I'm now 13st 12lb.

That also means that I've crossed the 80lb weight-loss barrier too!

Time to celebrate with a large chocolate fudge cake...

...oh.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 13st 12lb – 194lbs
KoTRB Weight Lost : 16lb
Total Weight Loss: 81lbs

Week 59

Even again.

I can't believe that only 2 slices of cake (on separate evenings) and one lunch out (which was still quite healthy, if on the large size) have prevented me from losing any weight again, so I must conclude that once again it's down to lack of activity.

Fatmammycat has been giving me lots of support and encouragement over the past few months, and it's greatly appreciated. She has also been constantly nagging (in the nicest possible way) for me to get out and exercise. She is, of course, perfectly right and I'm glad she hasn't given up on me. But this is one are that I really struggle with.

I've never been much of a fitness or sports fanatic and have some serious psychological blocks against exercise.

Part of it is laziness, but I don't think it's the whole story. Some of it is to do with the fact that I have managed this far without getting involved in it, and partly it has to do with childhood experiences (see the latest entry on my main blog, PE Teachers Are Demons From Hell). But if I had to sum it up in one overwhelming word, I would have to say "daunting".

Fatmammycat suggests I start with a one-hour brisk walk a day. From her perspective it is nothing more than the next step up from walking to the car. But for me it feels like she's asking me to run a marathon or climb Everest and it fills me with utter dread.

Lord Lessismore has suggested that I get a friend to join me and I could see how that would work. The main problem there is that I don't have any that live closer than 100 miles away.

So I feel completely on my own with this, trying to tackle a demon that has no discernable shape and I don't know how to get a grip on.

It's sunny just now. I think I'll go for a 35 minute walk and think about it.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 14st 0lb – 196lbs
Total Weight Loss: 79lbs
Weight Lost since joining the Knights of the Round Bottoms: 14lb

Week 58

Even.

No gain, no loss.

I thought I might do better, with only 2 scones blighting what had otherwise been an exceptionally good week, but I guess the fact that as far as being active goes I've barely moved much more than from one seat to another, I can't expect huge progress


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 14st 0lb – 196lbs
Total Weight Loss: 79lbs
Weight Lost since joining the Knights of the Round Bottoms: 14lb

Week 57

1lb loss!

Although frankly I'm a bit surprised at that.

We did go out for a meal on Friday night and got well stuffed and there have been one or two other wee treats. I was expecting, hoping, for an even weight, so was quite surprised to find myself with a loss. But I'm not going to complain!

Statistical Significance:
This puts me at exactly 14 stone


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 14st 0lb – 196lbs
Total Weight Loss: 79lbs
Weight Lost since joining the Knights of the Round Bottoms: 14lb

The Perfect Diet

(Imported from Ramblings of the Bearded One)

I have finally conceived of the perfect diet. It's simple, it's easy to remember, it requires no charts, calculations or complex points systems.

It’s the Eat As Much As You Like So Long As You Don’t Like What You’re Eating Diet.

Because you can eat as much as you like, you’ll never need to go hungry; but because you’re not allowed to eat anything you like the taste of, you’ll have to avoid all the chocolate, crisps, sweets and home baking products that pile on the pounds. You’ll steer clear of large portions and you’ll never be tempted to have second helpings.

But what if you find that you start enjoying the delights of hitherto unpalatable foods? Simple – eliminate them from your diet.

It can’t fail. You will lose weight and never be troubled with comfort-eating again!

Anyone want to offer me a book deal?

I could start a Channel 4 TV series with this one. Oh yes. Gillian McKeith watch out – there’s a new food guru in town…

Week 56

1lb loss!

Still keeping on track.

What has helped give the process a significant boost has been the shift in thinking about how we reward ourselves, often with food, for feeling bad. This has the potential to set up a cycle of feeling bad, just so that we can justify our eating "treats" or cheats. I've written more about it on my main blog under the title "Rewarded For What, Exactly?" if you're interested.

Statistical Significance:
I can't seem to find one this week, however, one I missed last week is that I've now dropped below 90kg, so that will do.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 14st 1lb – 197lbs
Total Weight Loss: 78lbs
Weight Lost since joining the Knights of the Round Bottoms: 13lb

Week 55

3lb loss!

Woohoo!

This week I've been eating healthily the whole time and my meals have been tasty, filling and healthy. I've also been a bit more active.

There are no secrets - cut out the processed food from your life; eat brown instead of white; avoid the trigger foods (for me that means bread, crisps (potato chips), sweets (candy)); and eat plenty of fruit and veg.

And surprise, surprise, the system of focusing on healthy eating rather than dieting, that has accounted for all the weight loss to date, is working again.

After the struggle of recent weeks I almost wept with relief this morning.

Statistical significance
As well as dropping below the 200lb mark again (198lbs), and reaching my lowest weight since I began this way of eating 55 weeks ago, being 14st 2lbs means that I have lost 5 and a half stone since I began. For those not used to stones, each half stone (7lbs) is a significant marker.


Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 14st 2lb – 198lbs
Total Weight Loss: 77lbs
Weight Lost since joining the Knights of the Round Bottoms: 12lb

Week 54

1lb gain.

Bollocks.

What can I say? A Chinese takeaway, a scone with the coffee in the cafe (twice in fact this past week), Maggie's comfort baking (see last part of Bruce's Stone entry on my main blog), and last night, because Maggie is in Glasgow all day today, we celebrated pancake day.

At least I can see why the weight went on.

On a //lighter note//, //heavier note//, different note , I would also like to take the time to welcome Lady Lean and Twice The Man, Esquire to the Knights of the Round Bottoms. I have added permanent links up on the sidebar and will be popping over at least once a week to see how they're getting on.

UPDATE
It appears there's another Knight on the scene that I'd missed, so welcome Sir Squishy!


Statistical summary:

Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 14st 5lb – 201lbs
Total Weight Loss: 74lbs
Weight Lost since joining the Knights of the Round Bottoms: 9lb

Week 53

Even.

Actually, all I can say about this is "phew".

To be honest this past week has not been good. Stresses from the previous week have escalated and I'm aware of just how difficult it's been to not fall apart completely.

I'm hoping that I should be able to get back on top of things this week, and see if I can drop belwo the 200 pound mark... again.

Statistical summary:

Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 14st 4lb – 200lbs
Total Weight Loss: 75lbs
Weight Lost since joining the Knights of the Round Bottoms: 10lbs

Week 52

1lb gain.

*Sigh*

It has been a tough week, without a doubt. I can look to the large fish supper I had last week, and the 100g of chocolate I had on Sunday evening, but these in themselves wouldn't have accounted for the gain.

Truth is, I've been having the extra helpings, and snaffling left over roast potatoes on the tray while putting my plate in the sink. Things like this have been ongoing.

With the anniversary of my mother's death, alongside a lot problems with my in-laws (Maggie's mother has gone into a nursing home while as Maggie's father has been struggling to cope - they are both in their mid-80s), I have been surrouned with a sense of loss. With this kind of hollow feeling in my stomach, no matter how big a meal I've just eaten, there is an intense need to plug the gap with more food.

It's the old dangerous cycle again. Especially when I give in to sugary stuff, because although it fills the hole temporarily, as you get the sugar drop afterwards, the hole seems bigger and in even greater need of stuffing full of food. The most effective way to deal with this is to not start. However difficult it feels at the time, I have to remind myself that trying to stop afterwards is nigh on impossible, so I shouldn't start in the first place.

Get thee behind me Chocolate!

But, as I say, it's not just the blow outs, it's the constant extra nibbles which you don't even count.


However, on the upside, tomorrow is 1 year since I began this healthy eating way of being, and in those 12 months I have made a nett lost of 75 pounds. And as I tell my wife on weeks when she struggles, we can't get hung up on the weekly weigh in - it's the overall trend that counts.


Statistical summary:

Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 14st 4lb – 200lbs
Total Weight Loss: 75lbs
Weight Lost since joining the Knights of the Round Bottoms: 10lbs

Week 51

1lb loss!

I AM NOW BELOW 200 POUNDS!!!

Woo Hoo!


Statistical summary:

Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 14st 3lb – 199lbs
Total Weight Loss: 76lbs
Weight Lost since joining the Knights of the Round Bottoms: 11lbs

Week 50

1lb loss!

That's me back down to exactly 200 pounds - where I was back at the beginning of December, 8 weeks ago (week 42) - which was the lowest point I've been to since I started this.


Statistical summary:

Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 14st 4lb – 200lbs
Total Weight Loss: 75lbs
Weight Lost since joining the Knights of the Round Bottoms: 10lbs

Week 49

2lb loss!

Well it looks like I'm back on track now. I'm down to the weight I was about 2 months ago and if I lose one more pound then that returns me to the lowest point I got to before the gluttenous season started to take effect.

2 more pounds and I drop below that 200 barrier.


Statistical summary:

Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 14st 5lb – 201lbs
Total Weight Loss: 74lbs
Weight Lost since joining the Knights of the Round Bottoms: 9lbs

Week 48

Even

No loss and no gain this week. All things considered I'm not too unhappy about that. Maggie's burst of baking (see Baking a Cake on my main blog) meant that I was forced to endure warm home made scones and chocolate cake for a couple of days, and we discovered a few goodies left over from Xmas that had to be finished up.

I'm hopeful that the last of the excesses have passed and this week we should get back on track in a more straightforward way.


Statistical summary:

Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 14st 7lb – 203lbs
Total Weight Loss: 72lbs
Weight Lost since joining the Knights of the Round Bottoms: 7lbs

Sitemeter

Although I created this site back in August, I really have no idea if anyone actually looks at it, other than myself, fatmammycat and one or two of the Knights of the Round Bottoms.

So I've got round to adding a visitor counter. Because I have no idea how many visitors this site gets, I have started it at zero (or 1, as I guess I'm the first one to look at it), and I'll just see how it goes.

This is a move based in curiosity rather than part of an overall strategy to help me boost my ratings, as my main blog, http://kimayres.blogspot.com is where I post most of my stuff. This site is here for me to keep a track of my weight and post stuff about eating and health as and when I think about it. It will stay here regardless of visitor numbers.

When I started this site, I did hope that more people (or anyone really) would start posting comments on the posts about healthy eating and the dangers of dieting, (see right). But either everyone agrees with me or no one's looking.

Now I can find out. Really should have done this months ago.

Week 47

3lb Loss!?

I know last week that I thought I'd be just looking at stabilising this week, but to be honest, when I stood on the scales this morning I was fully expecting to have gained another pound or two. I had to re-check several times before I was prepared to believe that I'd actually lost 3 pounds.

With my stepdaughter staying with us (see main blog) and all the stresses that have accompanied the fact that she was beaten up by her partner, my eating has not been good. Most evenings I've ended up snacking, which is a major no-no, so I find it almost impossible to believe I can have lost weight.

Only 2 possible explanations I can think of, other than the scales are broken, and that is either my metabolism has actually speeded up as my body has gotten used to a higher level of eating over the past few weeks (seems unlikely), or the stress is working off more calories than I'm compensating for with the extra food.

I don't know, sometimes weight loss feels more like a lottery and this week I just happened to get lucky.


Statistical summary:

Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 14st 7lb – 203lbs
Total Weight Loss: 72lbs
Weight Lost since joining the Knights of the Round Bottoms: 7lbs

Week 46

3lb gain!

OK, so now I'm back up to 14 stone, 10 pounds, but I'm still under the 15 stone by a few pounds. I figured there was a good chance that I would gain up to half a stone (7lbs) over December, but it's only been 6lbs, so I should consider it some kind of achievement.

I'm not worried, to be honest. It's not like it means I have to endure a diet I despise for longer; the reality is that I enjoy my healthy eating regime. Because it's a lifestyle change and not a temporary diet, now the gluttonous season is over and I can cut out the crap again, I should start losing the weight once more.

Give me another week to stabilise and then I'd be surprised if I don't start losing a few pounds again.


Statistical summary:

Starting Weight: 19st 9lb – 275lbs
Current Weight: 14st 10lb – 206lbs
Total Weight Loss: 69lbs
Weight Lost since joining the Knights of the Round Bottoms: 4lbs