6 months….

So 6 months ago i made the first post about how my life was going to change. And change it has. I will run through some stats in a bit but my life has really changed. I feel better. Even though I always feel tired, i know that i can accomplish more than what I did when i started. I feel better in the morning after a work out and the same in the evening. I can walk & run however I want and i dont have a problem (although we wont go into hills right now) with feeling like I am going to die after the first 10 seconds.

Don’t get me wrong, this has not been an easy 6 months. I started this journey with a Groin Injury, and I have had niggles in my legs and knees and joints ever since. But I continue to follow the motto that keeps me going. I am pretty sure I have posted it here before, but when Navy Seals go through their training they are told time and time again. “The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday.” It pretty much means that yesterday was only easy because it is over. Each and every Day is a new challenge that I need to work through and get past so that I can continue on in life.

I have met some amazing new people who I never thought I would meat. They help me every day in getting through all of this and I have to thank them as without their help, I wouldn’t be here. I know a lot of people come up to me every day and say how good I look, and it is reassuring to know that all of this hard work I am putting in is working.

But day in and day out, I just have to keep myself going. I test myself all the time with little things to keep myself going (and this is apparently a good thing). But as this weight loss challenge starts to come towards its end, a new challenge begins. And thats keeping it off. Its going to be a whole new challenge with a whole new way of thinking. I need to be able to manage it all, I am sure I can do it, I know you will all be there to help me to.

Now for some stats.

Weight:
6 Months ago i weighed 172kg. On Monday at the last weigh in, I weighed 117.5kg Thats around a 55kg loss in 6 months. Thats a LOT. There is a backpack at the gym that is full of weights, it couldnt fit anymore at 45kg. Probably need another one to get the rest of it in. I still have that remaining 17.5kg to lose but thats a challenge I know i can do. I have had my ups and I have had my downs. Ive had weeks of 3kgs of loss and I have had a week of a 300g gain and that really affected me. I have had to try and get my mind around not getting on the scales every day and then beating myself up over every little thing. Its all in your head!

Fitness:
6 months ago when I first started. My trainers took me on a 2k walk and timed it to see how long it would take. Took me about 30 minutes. Thats pretty slow. These days, my 2k PB is 15m 30s This is still not as fast as people I know but this is a good improvement for me. 6 months ive knocked that time in half. I couldnt walk that far when I started. 2k was killing me, I have more and more gone up and up in my distances. I started doing 2k on the treadmill every evening. then up to 2.5k, then 3k, then 3.5k. Its now up to 4k in around 43mins. I have started to walk longer distances, Around christmas time I did a 5k walk in the morning and it took about an hour. I didnt even realise I had walked that far it was my trainers way of introducing me to distances. Then I started walking 7.5ks, then 10ks, then 11k, then 12.5k and I have done one 15k walk. I am now on average walking 10k in around 1hr 34min. I have walked on my own a lot but a few people have come with me and I really thank them for this. You guys know who you are and when you walk with me, it takes my mind off the usual things I do when i walk and thats beat myself up over everything.

Eating & Drinking:
Last year when I was in the USA you would of seen some of the foods I had eaten. Loco Moco, Mixed Plate, Giant Cheeseburgers, Pancakes the size of dinner plates or man hole covers. I have had to move away from those foods. The foods I love. Because they would put me in a grave earlier. But eating healtheir doesn’t mean that I have had to give everything up. I can still eat (hell I feel like i eat more these days then I did before) but I have had to adjust these eating habits and just replace things. Getting hungry, have a snack of some fruit. Need something sweet after dinner, some diet jelly should do it (ps i am addicted to it now, Aeroplane Diet Jelly ftmfw). Adjusting recipes so that I can try and still have those things I love while still being healthy. I have almost given up alcohol (1 drink in 5 and a half months) and I don’t really miss it. Don’t get me wrong, there is no way I would go fully sober. But i think I will need to go back to the way I used to drink years and years ago. And that is drink for the taste, not for the alcohol. No more binge drinking. This means the return of the high end booze for me really. The more exxy the booze the less of it I am going to drink. Seems good on my brain but not good on the wallet unfortunately. But then i would only be having one or two drinks.

So there you have it guys. 6 months down and many more months to go. Thank you all for your support, god knows I have needed it!