When you cannot weight any longer.

i think this is my most embarrassing photo ever [and for me, that’s saying a lot].

i call it my fat face photo and i keep it to remind me of a time when my face was about as wide as it was long.

This is me in Umtata in 2002 and clearly it wasn’t an epidemic of weighty proportions, because by Umtata 2003 i’m looking pretty healthy and average sized again…

In fact, there is the smallest chance that it was just some weird camera setting, cos all my pics from that trip make me look scary fat in the face, but i don’t have any others that do.

Although that could be the trip where Lays had a special Star Wars promotion happening and we ate like 40 packets to collect them all [that did not end well and i will spare you the details because i promised i would not bring that up again!] which may in some small part have something to play with 2018’s No Potato Chips fast.

But i digest. The other main reason for me wanting to do something about my physical appearance is hockey. Yes, i run at men with sticks. But a lot of the time i just walk at men with sticks and hope nothing too serious will happen from letting this particular one get away.

i have already taken an active step towards sorting that one out by joining masters hockey which is for over 35s [and we have a 70+ year old on our team who i’m pretty sure i could take in a 100m sprint!] because i really was not keeping up with the main league teams. But a huge part of me also would like to get and be more fit just in the day to day.

But is it even possible? Well this guy seems to think so:

Chris Pratt, formerly from the hilarious sitcom Parks and Recreation and now Guardians of the Galaxy and the reboot of the Jurassic Park series, is honestly another inspiration for me.

Because if Andy Dwyer can become buff, then surely anyone can become buff. Or me at the very least. Not that i’m going for buff as much as keep up with the fifty-year-olds on the hockey field. But i want to be able to hold an axe like that in a picture one day without toppling over backwards.

Ending 2017 well

With huge SHOUTOUT thanks to tbV, i am well on the way.

We declared October ‘Healthy Eating and Exercise month’ and came up with an eating plan complete with regular meals and healthy snacks throughout the day [we count a piece of 81% organic dark chocolate as a healthy snack just FYI] and committed to walking a lot more.

i started some irregular Tuesday morning walks [we probably get it right closer to twice a month] with my mate Charles every Tuesday morning at 6.30am and Val and i typically do a Wed afternoon/early evening walk [greenbelt, Newlands Forest, Muizenberg to Kalk Bay…] and possibly one other.

i was also introduced by my mate Mahlatse to a guy called Shaun T:

Now Shaun T likes to make me hurt, and he does it with a smile on his face [thanks a lot, Mahlatse, i owe you one!]

But in the very best of ways. Mahlatse and i started on a Mon to Fri workout program called Insanity Max and the idea is that it is 30 minutes of high-intensity exercise and you push yourself until you reach your limit [Max Out] and then write down the time and continue the program and try do better the next time. Only problem is that once i have reached my max [usually between 4 and 8 minutes – don’t tell Mahlatse!] i don’t have anything left [it’s my Max, yo!] and i have to lie down and recover for about half an hour… but for me it’s the idea that i am doing high-intensity workout for a couple of minutes a day and trying to do better than before.

At the beginning of October i weighed basically 97kg and as of yesterday i weighed just over 93kg [we are not too convinced of the accuracy of our scale but as long as i am using the same scale a downward trajectory feels good] and i am hoping to flirt with the eighties [everyone LOVES the eighties] by the end of Jan.

Lastly i have two hand weights that my mate Duncan gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago and after about six months of meaning to assemble the second one [Val assembled the first one a while back – they were dessembled in one of our moves] i finally got to it a week or so ago and so have been doing a bit of regular pumping with those every day…

Also on the cards for next year is drinking alcohol again, but also not eating potato chips/crisps, and since i don’t do too much of either of those anyways, i am hoping they will balance out.

What makes it easy

# As with anything, an accountability person or people, makes life so much easier. With Insanity Max it actually started out with i think five of us on a Whatsapp group and the idea is that you post a pic of what you look like each section. i have definitely been the most regular in the picture posting, but that hasn’t mattered for me because it has been a form of accountability. i need to let the group know that i did this today. And then tbV and the eating and the walks and trying to be better on portions or going back for seconds [especially withn Christmas feasts and birthday month ahead of me – if i can navigate those well, it should be smooth sailing in 2018]

# Having a goal in mind. i have always felt like 100kg for me is a moment of panic and need to get serious about this, although i have never [on our scale at least – ha ha] hit that. But having consistently been around 95kg’s for years and starting to see myself edging towards the 100 mark helped make doing something about it a reality. Now i have the definite goal in mind of being under 90kg and so recording my weight once or twice a week and watching the progress is hugely helpful for that.

# People telling you that you look good does not hurt. While being obsessed with weight and looks or anything like that has never been my vibe, when a mate or family member comments on the change, it is a bit of a pat-on-the-back boost that carries you for another day or so. Especially when it’s been from people who haven’t known that i’ve actively been working behind the scenes. No, i’m not looking for any more praise cos i honestly am super happy with the journey so far and just the right amount of people have commented, so save yours til i break that 90!

The walking has honestly been the easiest and the best part of this – although you can even ask tbV now that nine times out of ten i probably don’t feel like a walk and might give some attitude or a moan [i am trying to be better] but once you get me out there i enjoy it – it saves money on coffee and food when you meet with people – it is a great opportunity to catch up with friends you haven’t seen for a while – and Nature! So win-win-win-win.

How about you? Anything you are trying or needing to try or want to get going in terms of your body or eating habits for 2018? Just get started and find someone to do it with you. Park runs are a thing i have yet to try but they seem like a win. Some form of regular intensive workout if you can’t afford the gym or don’t want to. Being better around food.

Under 90kgs? Check in with me at the end of Jan and see how i’m doing. i can’t weight!