Well after last week's big loss I was hoping for more of the same, unfortunately it wasn't to be - just 0.2lbs off this week! I blame it on the Chicken Fajitas that I had for dinner on Monday, the night before my weigh-in, also on the fact that Monday was a bank holiday so I was able to have a few beers throughout the day. Hopefully I will lose more this week!
As you know, I ordered a new Kettlebell last week, which arrived on Thursday. It's 12kg, which feels quite a bit heavier than my original 7.5kg 'bell - I suppose that is because it is quite a bit heavier. After doing my first session with it on Friday morning it occurred to me that it would be very tiring to have to carry it around with me all day, then it occurred to me that I've actually lost slightly more than the equivalent of 2 of them!
That's all for this week - I'm a bit disheatened by the tiny loss this week and connot think of anything further to add, apart from that I won't let it get me down and I will lose more weight at next week's weigh-in!
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
Weigh-in - Week 44
Well I'm really please this week as I have lost 3.8lbs to bring my current weight down to 17st 2lbs. I think this is probably my biggest loss since I started the Weightwatchers plan! I think the weight loss gods are trying to make up for the gain I had last week!
I've got a couple of mini-goals coming up:
I also had a pretty good NSV this week - my wife bought me a couple of pairs of shorts (just in case we have a summer this year, she does like to be prepared). One pair had a 38" waist, while the other pair had a 36" waist, she was expecting to have to take the 36" ones back - I said no, it'll be the 38's that have to go. I was right :-) I was so pleased that I got a new pair of jeans too!
On the exercise front, I've continued with the Kettlebell routine, but I've now increased the press-ups to 7 reps on each circuit and am up to 25 seconds of the plank on each circuit. I've also ordered a heavier Kettlebell, which should arrive tomorrow. I'm really beginning to feel as though I'm acheiving a reasonable level of fitness now, although with all the blubber I'm carrying I don't expect any visible signs to show.
I've also cancelled my subscription to Weightwatchers as I've found an iPhone app that can track my points just as effectively as the WW app, but it doesn't cost me £10.00 per month. The points database seems to be a bit better too. I think Weightwatchers are not offering a big enough price differential between the online membership and the full membership to make online membership worthwhile when there are other resources available. I also think that they ought to offer a "couples" membership at a reduced rate as £20.00 per month for 2 people to access exactly the same resources is a bit steep in my opinion and must put a lot of partners off joining.
Anyway, bye for now - I'll be back again next week - will you?
I've got a couple of mini-goals coming up:
- Get into the 16s (and also my 8th silver star). - just over 2lbs to go.
- 16st 11.2lbs - 20% from my starting weight - 4.8lbs to go.
I also had a pretty good NSV this week - my wife bought me a couple of pairs of shorts (just in case we have a summer this year, she does like to be prepared). One pair had a 38" waist, while the other pair had a 36" waist, she was expecting to have to take the 36" ones back - I said no, it'll be the 38's that have to go. I was right :-) I was so pleased that I got a new pair of jeans too!
On the exercise front, I've continued with the Kettlebell routine, but I've now increased the press-ups to 7 reps on each circuit and am up to 25 seconds of the plank on each circuit. I've also ordered a heavier Kettlebell, which should arrive tomorrow. I'm really beginning to feel as though I'm acheiving a reasonable level of fitness now, although with all the blubber I'm carrying I don't expect any visible signs to show.
I've also cancelled my subscription to Weightwatchers as I've found an iPhone app that can track my points just as effectively as the WW app, but it doesn't cost me £10.00 per month. The points database seems to be a bit better too. I think Weightwatchers are not offering a big enough price differential between the online membership and the full membership to make online membership worthwhile when there are other resources available. I also think that they ought to offer a "couples" membership at a reduced rate as £20.00 per month for 2 people to access exactly the same resources is a bit steep in my opinion and must put a lot of partners off joining.
Anyway, bye for now - I'll be back again next week - will you?
Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Weigh-in - Week 43
Well it's not a good result this week, I've regained the 1.2bs that I lost at last week's weigh-in. I'm really at a loss to explain why as I have been tracking everything as accurately as possible and I haven't exceeded my allowances. I've also exercised regularly - 3 times on the crosstrainer and 3 times with the kettlebell. All I can do is continue to track, continue to exercise and hope that next week's weigh-in result makes up for this week's dissapointment.
having mentioned my exercises, I feel quite proud of myself that I have now increased my press-ups from 5 at the end of each set to 6! I intend to increase this by one each week until I reach 20. I've also increased the reps I do with the kettlebell for the one-armed rows and the kettlebell presses from 5 to 10. I think I really do need to invest in a heavier bell as I think this one is a bit too light for me now I've got used to what I'm supposed to be doing with it. I can get a 12Kg one from Argos, But I am worried that I might find this a bit too light, after all the guy on the cubedwellerfitness site, that I got my kettlebell workout from, recommended men to start at 16Kg!
That's all for this week!
having mentioned my exercises, I feel quite proud of myself that I have now increased my press-ups from 5 at the end of each set to 6! I intend to increase this by one each week until I reach 20. I've also increased the reps I do with the kettlebell for the one-armed rows and the kettlebell presses from 5 to 10. I think I really do need to invest in a heavier bell as I think this one is a bit too light for me now I've got used to what I'm supposed to be doing with it. I can get a 12Kg one from Argos, But I am worried that I might find this a bit too light, after all the guy on the cubedwellerfitness site, that I got my kettlebell workout from, recommended men to start at 16Kg!
That's all for this week!
Tuesday, 17 April 2012
Weigh-in - Week 42
Well I'm posting on time this week, which must mean that I have lost weight - 1.2lbs! I'm very pleased with that - it's not a big loss but, at the same time, it's big enough to be worthwhile. I could do with improving my average weekly loss to around 1.5lbs, as this is what I need to be doing to reach my, rather loose, target of about 15st 7lb by the time I go on holiday in August, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.
This was made much easier by not having any food & drink related events to attend, so I was able to track correctly and ensured that I didn't overindulge - I was even able to have a couple of Scones with jam and Clotted Cream for my lunch on Saturday and still stay within my points allocation of 47 dailies plus 49 weeklies!
In fact this week was remarkably easy and I even managed to have 24 Weekly Points left over by yesterday, I don't normally have so many at the end ofthe week, so this is something of an acheivement.
My exercising has also been going well, although I did miss out my Crosstrainer on Thursday, which I took as a rest day (I normally have my rest day on Sunday). I still managed to do 3 days on the Crosstrainer and 3 days using the kettlebell. In fact I've amended my kettlebell routine slightly by adding 5 press-ups and 15-20 seconds of "the plank" at the end of each set. I'm really very pleased about doing the press-ups as, not so long ago, I could barely manage 1, never mind 5 at a time. Obviously, as time goes on, I shall add more reps to the press-ups and more time to the planks (I started at 15 seconds a tome and am now doing 20 seconds, so I'm already improving).
I've come to the conclusion that the 7.5kg kettlebell is already too light, so I'm going to be looking for a heavier one at the beginning of May. I'll probably go up to 12kg as I don't want to run the risk of hurting myself if I'm getting any of the exercises wrong. If anyone wants to see what I'm doing with the kettlebell, I posted a link to the beginners routine I'm following in an earlier post, but here it is again:
Beginner's Kettlebell Workout
It seems like a reasonably safe introduction to the kettlebell, so I'm happy to continue with it but if anyone has any suggestions of anything better, please feel free to comment here on the blog or in my thread on the WeightWatchers Men's Arena.
That's all from me for this week, so 'till next time just keep on losing!
This was made much easier by not having any food & drink related events to attend, so I was able to track correctly and ensured that I didn't overindulge - I was even able to have a couple of Scones with jam and Clotted Cream for my lunch on Saturday and still stay within my points allocation of 47 dailies plus 49 weeklies!
In fact this week was remarkably easy and I even managed to have 24 Weekly Points left over by yesterday, I don't normally have so many at the end ofthe week, so this is something of an acheivement.
My exercising has also been going well, although I did miss out my Crosstrainer on Thursday, which I took as a rest day (I normally have my rest day on Sunday). I still managed to do 3 days on the Crosstrainer and 3 days using the kettlebell. In fact I've amended my kettlebell routine slightly by adding 5 press-ups and 15-20 seconds of "the plank" at the end of each set. I'm really very pleased about doing the press-ups as, not so long ago, I could barely manage 1, never mind 5 at a time. Obviously, as time goes on, I shall add more reps to the press-ups and more time to the planks (I started at 15 seconds a tome and am now doing 20 seconds, so I'm already improving).
I've come to the conclusion that the 7.5kg kettlebell is already too light, so I'm going to be looking for a heavier one at the beginning of May. I'll probably go up to 12kg as I don't want to run the risk of hurting myself if I'm getting any of the exercises wrong. If anyone wants to see what I'm doing with the kettlebell, I posted a link to the beginners routine I'm following in an earlier post, but here it is again:
Beginner's Kettlebell Workout
It seems like a reasonably safe introduction to the kettlebell, so I'm happy to continue with it but if anyone has any suggestions of anything better, please feel free to comment here on the blog or in my thread on the WeightWatchers Men's Arena.
That's all from me for this week, so 'till next time just keep on losing!
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Weigh-in - Week 41
This week I'm happy to report a completely unexpected loss of 1.8lbs at this morning's weigh-in! Why, I hear you ask, is the loss so unexpected?
The answer, I'm afraid, is that I have really struggled to track over that last week AND I have struggled with my exercising too.
It all strated on Thursday, which was my 51st birthday! I really felt like having a day off the Crosstrainer, so I didn't bother with it at all. Then I was taken out for lunch by my lovely wife (who is walking on crutches at the moment following an operation on her knee) and my wonderful 12 year old son. Unfortunately lunch was at a Thai Restaurant and consisted of a rather nice all you can eat buffet, followed by a very fattening desert (chocolate pudding with bits of Crunchie bars in it).
Then, on Friday, I decided to skip the kettlebell routine as I was playing 9 holes of golf with my son and my brother-in-law. This was followed by a pint in the bar, then a lunch at my mum's. In the evening neither my wife nor I could be bothered to cook, so it was chicken & chips from the local chippie for dinner.
On Saturday I did at least manage to do the Crosstrainer and I think things were a little better points-wise, although I did have some beer in the evening.
Sunday was another bad day as my brother was in town, so we all went to my mum's for a slap up Sunday lunch to celebrate our birthdays - another one impossible to point.
Monday would have been ok, but for the nachos with cheese and jalapenos that I shared with my son in the cinema (The Pirates - it was very funny!). I did at least manage to do my kettlebell workout.
As you can see it's been a very difficult week and I am truly at a loss to understand how I could have lost weight after a week like that. I can only assume that, as I knew that most of the food wasn't going to help me, I must have subconciously been reducing my portion sizes to compensate.
As a result of this week's loss, I have now lost just over 50lbs and am at around the weight I was when I got married in June 1998. My next mini goal is to get under 17stones - I will be very pleased if I can do that by the end of May (and extatic if I can do it sooner than that)!
Also, as a result of this week's loss, the number of Activity Points that I earn for 30 minutes on the crosstrainer has reduced from 9 down to 8!
I'll report back again next week.
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Weigh-in - Week 39
Good news - another 2lbs lost this week and I'm feeling pleased. I have to admit I was getting a little downhearted when everything was going so slowly at the beginning of the year, but now I seem to have had some good losses and no gains for the last few weeks. This 2lb loss puts me down to 17st 6.7lbs, which means I have been awarded another "Silver 7 Star", making 7 in all, a total loss of 49.2lbs! Oh, and my daily points allowance has just gone down to 47.
I'm now just 0.8lbs away from my next mini goal, which is 17st 6lbs - the weight I was when I got married on 1998!
As you will know if you've been keeping up to date with this blog I added in a "kettlebell" workout to my weekly schedule last Wednesday. I have to say my thighs were in agony on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, so much so that I couldn't do another kettelbell workout until Sunday, although I was able to force myself on the crosstrainer on Thursday & Saturday (I even got a new personal best on Saturday). Luckily there is no pain from Sunday's workout, so I expect to be able to do the kettlebell every other day from now.
I also managed to get out for 9 holes of golf with my son on Sunday, we both played rather badly, but when I checked my scorecards on my iPhone I discovered that we hadn't actually played since April 9th last year - it's no wonder we were a little rusty. I'm hoping we can get out for another round on Saturday, but if not I'm taking a day off for my birthday next week and we'll get a round in then. I'm really very keen for William to play golf as often as he can as it is a great game and I think he has the potential to be quite good at it (certainly a lot better than me!).
I haven't added anything to me repetoire of recipes this week, so I've had to make do with the South American Chilli, Steak in Ale Stew and a couple of other of my staples. I have to say I really am eating a lot better than I was before I started my "diet". The food I'm eating is generally much more tasty, is definitely healthier and I am almost never hungy! This weightwatchers plan is to be recommended to anyone that enjoys their food.
See you all again next week after, hopefully, another good loss!
I'm now just 0.8lbs away from my next mini goal, which is 17st 6lbs - the weight I was when I got married on 1998!
As you will know if you've been keeping up to date with this blog I added in a "kettlebell" workout to my weekly schedule last Wednesday. I have to say my thighs were in agony on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, so much so that I couldn't do another kettelbell workout until Sunday, although I was able to force myself on the crosstrainer on Thursday & Saturday (I even got a new personal best on Saturday). Luckily there is no pain from Sunday's workout, so I expect to be able to do the kettlebell every other day from now.
I also managed to get out for 9 holes of golf with my son on Sunday, we both played rather badly, but when I checked my scorecards on my iPhone I discovered that we hadn't actually played since April 9th last year - it's no wonder we were a little rusty. I'm hoping we can get out for another round on Saturday, but if not I'm taking a day off for my birthday next week and we'll get a round in then. I'm really very keen for William to play golf as often as he can as it is a great game and I think he has the potential to be quite good at it (certainly a lot better than me!).
I haven't added anything to me repetoire of recipes this week, so I've had to make do with the South American Chilli, Steak in Ale Stew and a couple of other of my staples. I have to say I really am eating a lot better than I was before I started my "diet". The food I'm eating is generally much more tasty, is definitely healthier and I am almost never hungy! This weightwatchers plan is to be recommended to anyone that enjoys their food.
See you all again next week after, hopefully, another good loss!
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
My Kettlebell Workout
For those that are interested the new workout that I did this morning can be found here:
http://cubedwellerfitness.com/2011/04/kettlebell-routines-beginner-workout/
I started off with 5 minutes on the crosstrainer to warm up then did:
10 x Kettlebell Swings
5 x Figure of 8 in each direction
10 x squats
5 x One Arm Rows each arm
5 x Floor press each arm
I repeated that 3 times then finished with a 10 second plank (pathetic, I know).
It didn't seem all that energetic in the video, but I was sweating by the end.
The guy in the video suggests that men should start with a 16kg kettlebell, but I was using a 7.5kg one and that seems like quite enough for me to be starting with. I think any heavier and I would risk injury if I was to get these exercises wrong - maybe I'll get a bigger one in a few weeks time.
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