2020 weight loss and fitness accountability club

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,539
Here it is. I have no excuses. Others might well have. I'll be posting initial stats actually when 2020 start but I know my goals (currently)
1) Sub 189lbs (probably) because
1a) Get into my favourite jeans. Weight is not necessarily a good metric on its own. But it can be a good marker. As well as slimming down a bit, I want to...
  1. Reduce body fat. My scales current say about 17.5% No idea if that's actually right, but happy if the scales go sub 15%.
  2. Increase my aerobic fitness. I would love to comfortably run 5k in about 35 minutes, but I have no idea if that'll be possible with my hip (and fit) but wish me luck

All of these are subject to change as I'm not going to beat myself up as some of these goals might be medically impossible....

I totally need to reduce my booze intake (which will help with all the rest) but that's a serious one.

Initial target is Easter which is about 14 weeks. Should be OK as I need to lose about 14 lbs....

C
 

JonW

Member
Messages
3,259
Well done for starting this C - I’m in need of doing something so will definitely be joining in.

The easy thing for me to do would be to go teetotal again, as I know this works in terms of me losing weight. However, it’s not sustainable, and what always happens is that once I start drinking again, all the lost weight piles back on.

As a result, I think I might try something different, and my current plan is to try and follow a few simple rules

Rule 1 - Every week should have more days that I exercise than when I don’t
Rule 2 - Every week should have more days that I don’t drink alcohol than when I do
Rule 3 - I will maintain a food and drink diary every day.
Rule 4 - The exercise I do should include at least two weights sessions per week
Rule 5 - I can only drink alcohol if I have exercised that day, and my food diary is upto date...

What do others think about these? is there anything you would add?
 

empzb

Member
Messages
229
I'm in for this year. Brief background of my life and where and why I'm in for '20.

Started off in the gym 10 years ago, weighed under 10 stone at 6 foot tall. Basically malnourished.
5 years back was a lb under 15 stone, about 15pc bodyfat. Looked great but couldn't run or sustain it so dropped to 14 stone for a half marathon.
Then had kids and been hovering at 13 stone ever since, but hardly been in a gym for 4 years so the dad bod is in full flow and my middle spread is pretty bad.

Starting to feel it now. More lethargic and tired - and want to get fitter so I can keep up with dads at sports day which will be starting next year. My wife is also going to join me to drop baby weight from #2.

Goal wise.
Eat cleaner. I have a sweet tooth like no other, just yesterday I almost ate a whole gingerbread house to myself.
Prepare more food. We end up getting takeout for convenience 2 or 3 nights a week. Will prepare more for during the day and have more fresh for evenings.
Eat less meat. I've already started this and have meat free days. No real reason apart from I eat so much and neglect veggies.
Exercise more. I used to want to be big and lean. Now it's just for health and performance and if I look better then great. May sign up to a 10k or half marathon next year.

Now I've started trying to get in to wine the above is probably more important than before! Will see if I can keep this up, some may depend on wife and kids so I'll drop in from time to time. If anyone wants any diet or training advice, let me know as I wanted to be a PT in my gym days so happy to pull plans together for you.
 

2b1ask1

Special case
Messages
20,220
Well done for starting this C - I’m in need of doing something so will definitely be joining in.

The easy thing for me to do would be to go teetotal again, as I know this works in terms of me losing weight. However, it’s not sustainable, and what always happens is that once I start drinking again, all the lost weight piles back on.

As a result, I think I might try something different, and my current plan is to try and follow a few simple rules

Rule 1 - Every week should have more days that I exercise than when I don’t
Rule 2 - Every week should have more days that I don’t drink alcohol than when I do
Rule 3 - I will maintain a food and drink diary every day.
Rule 4 - The exercise I do should include at least two weights sessions per week
Rule 5 - I can only drink alcohol if I have exercised that day, and my food diary is upto date...

What do others think about these? is there anything you would add?


For me; 1 & 2 are a given; got shot of those drink demons many years ago!

3 never going to happen; don't have the time or inclination for that.
4 I do a LOT of manual work so don't have a need in normal life for weights but watch this space as the kayak training ramps up!
5 see 3

So until the New Year. binge away!
 

empzb

Member
Messages
229
Excellent, that raised a smile :)

That was on top of numerous chocolates in the day and 2 portions of trifle. Had an 1/8th cake the day before with chocolate, mince pie and half a try bake, the first half on Christmas eve and some birthday cake. Granted this is just because it's there and Christmas, and mother in laws birthday, but if there is cake, sweet stuff, or ice cream in the house - it gets eaten pretty quickly o_O
 

philw696

Member
Messages
25,113
I'm hoping there will be no excuses as 2020 is Wedding Season first my niece and then my daughter's so I want to look as good as I can for my age.
Work has always kept me fairly okay and used to do a fair bit of Enduro riding but since breaking my collar bone and selling the bike in NZ I have retired from that.
So eat less and aim for 10,000 steps a day.
Fingers crossed :)
 
Messages
6,001
Don't get hung up on the 10,000 steps thingy
It was only a marketing ploy by a Japanese chap to sell his fitbit or whatever (according to Dr Michael Mosely anyway) and has no medical support at all. However staying mobile and walking more is desirable so go for it if the 10,000 steps kicks you up the bum
 

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,539
Don't get hung up on the 10,000 steps thingy
It was only a marketing ploy by a Japanese chap to sell his fitbit or whatever (according to Dr Michael Mosely anyway) and has no medical support at all. However staying mobile and walking more is desirable so go for it if the 10,000 steps kicks you up the bum

WHS^^

C
 

zagatoes30

Member
Messages
20,758
I'm in, one of the reasons for moving to Ireland was a healthier lifestyle

So my objectives

  1. No takeaways - much easier as the nearest is over 6 miles away and they don't deliver
  2. More exercise, regular beach walks with family and dog, get the bikes out and get some miles in
  3. No alcohol in Jan, done this for a few years. Now I have to drive back from work no more quickies on the way home but also cut down the drinking at home the rest of the time
  4. Diet, last year I found the 5:2 diet OK although I only cut back to 1000 cals on the 2 days, also need to eat more fruit and veg.
  5. Enjoy life, stop chasing the rat and let the buggers drown by themselves. Get the garage built and the retirement business up and running over the next 2 years so that I can retire by 60 (wife not keen)
 
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philw696

Member
Messages
25,113
I'm in, one of the reasons for moving to Ireland was a healthier lifestyle

So my objectives

  1. No takeaways - much easier as the nearest is over 6 miles away and they don't deliver
  2. More exercise, regular beach walks with family and dog, get the bikes out and get some miles in
  3. No alcohol in Jan, done this for a few years, but also cut down the drinking at home the rest of the time
  4. Diet, last year I found the 5:2 diet OK although I only cut back to 1000 cals on the 2 days, also need to eat more fruit and veg.
  5. Enjoy life, stop chasing the rat and let the buggers drown by themselves. Get the garage built and the retirement business up and running over the next 2 years so that I can retie by 60
Sounds like a brilliant plan Andy.
 

D Walker

Member
Messages
9,827
I decided not to wait - did 60 mins on my bike on Zwift today... and as expected all fitness has evaporated!
Ditto, did an hour on my bike yesterday, **** numb, fingers numb, Back ache due to hip....but I will get on it again tomorrow as we have friends coming, which is a guaranteed food and drink fest...
I need to exercise more, not so hard fro Apr to Sept, can’t bring myself to join a gym tho
 

Mr K

Member
Messages
321
Hello folks, I've not been around for a while, partly because I've been focussing more on running than cars.

I started doing parkruns nearly 3 years ago in my mid 50s. First one took 36mins, with no prior running (at least recently), just regular brisk cycle commutes of 13 miles a day. 9 months later, after doing training runs once a week plus the parkruns I got my time down to 24 mins (Ipswich - hilly course). So I'd thouroughly recommend getting yourself down to Harlow parkrun at 9am every Saturday. Lots of people walk round, or do a run-walk-run. The slowest in Harlow take nearly an hour, so you won't be last!
You can't underestimate how motivating your results e-mail is. That's the fitness sorted, and yes, forget the stepcounting nonsense - unless you're a couch potato and need to start by just walking, in which case you need couch-to-5k.

Weight next - mine was stable for years - ate what I wanted, cycling helped me keep it stable. But I had a bit of a spare tyre - not great to be running 5km carrying an unecessary stone around. So I decided to lose it. I've lost around 5kg (11lbs}. It's been hard, harder than the exercise. Bear in mind that a 5km run uses about 1 mince pie. Exercise is not the prime way of losing weight. I started by eating less every day. We're creatures of habit, so cut out something like 5-10% every day. That's not too hard. This lost me about 4kg, then I stabilised. To lose the next kg I did something like a 5:2, basically sitting there painfully hungry a few times a week. That's hard initially, but you adapt.

I'll be continuing this year, aiming for 23min 5k and no flab...
 

JonW

Member
Messages
3,259
23 mins for a 5k at 50+ is blooming good... I would really like to get back to running 5ks and up, as I really enjoy it, and it’s great in terms of being able to do it anywhere...