I stood on the scales yesterday, it wasn’t a great outcome….159lbs, that’s 11 stone 5 lbs, or apx 72kg. I think this is the most I have ever weighed (certainly the most I have weighed myself at), and to be honest I don’t look that bad. the thing is, I know I am too heavy (hence the weigh-in in the first place). I also realise that weight isn’t everything, and so I measured myself as well. I’m about 2 inches thicker in my belly to ass zone. I could still kid myself that I have just put on muscle and got stronger, but the fact that cellulite has made a reappearance, and I generally feel more squishy then the time has come to admit that I am getting a bit fat.
Now there’ll be some of you out there that weigh the same or more and are perfectly happy, so this isn’t an OMG 11+ stone we’re all mega fatties post. What this is is an acknowledgement that it is really easy to undo hard work with minimal thought and effort.
Between March and September this year I worked really hard. I started the FASTer Way To Fat Loss* because I knew I was carrying too much fat around my mid section and it was contributing to my overheating issues when running. I reviewed my way of eating, transitioned comfortably to intermittent fasting (not eating until at least 12pm each day), despite having been a firm breakfast eater all my life, and I started doing additional exercise. Until this point I had only been running and doing some yoga, but I started doing HIIT, lifting weights, doing a zillion squats. It worked! I became fitter and stronger, running became easier and I slimmed down and toned up. I felt good, I looked good and it was all great.
Then it all got a bit crazy. Since the beginning of September I have done 6 overseas trips with work, spent 2 weeks working away in the UK and a long weekend in a car crewing the Boyf on his Chained adventure. It started with a reduction in runs, but that was OK, I had just done a race covering 90km (56ish miles). It was OK not to do as many HIIT workouts as I was tired from travelling. It was OK to grab a large Starbucks latte while travelling even though it was before 12pm. Oh and of course it was OK to eat pizza, because pizza’s delicious. Then I got a cold, so I couldn’t train even though I wanted to. I was washed out, snotty, lacking in energy and whilst the will was there and I did put in a run, I soon realised I had regressed and the snot returned.
Result, I am at least a stone heavier than I was in August, I am a lot rounder and squishier and whilst being this weight and shape is fine for day to day life, it isn’t fine for the plans I have for next year. In my current shape there’s no way I will be able to survive the South Downs Way 50 in the 13 hours allowed, especially if it’s even half as warm as it was when the Boyf ran it earlier this year. It’s time to take action, and that is exactly what I am going to do.
From this point onward I am firmly back on the FASTer Way To Fat Loss plan (even though it’s my team Christmas night out tonight), which means black coffee this morning when I get into London (no sugared lattes anymore even though it’s “red cup” season). I will be doing all 5 workouts each week (even if, like today I need to shuffle them to fit in work meetings away from my home office). I will be following the runs on my brilliant TrainAsONE schedule (I am committed to 4 runs a week, the plan may tweak that down depending on its mood…..I will just do as I am told). I will not be ordering Dominos for at least a month.
So there we have it, I have realised I am not in a place I want to be from a weight/shape perspective. It’s impacting on my life. I hereby take control of my life, my health and my happiness and will make the positive changes I need to return to good shape and better running fitness!
Do you struggle with balancing food, exercise and your health? Do you have a cut-off point where you’ll realise things are slipping too much and then take action to improve matters? Or do you just buy bigger clothes? Let me know in the comments!
I always seem to gain a bit of weight in winter but most recently I haven’t had the best conditions to exercise and haven’t had the most supporting environment for myself so I gained more weight than I should have (living with my future in-laws at the moment!). I am currently not happy with my body as it is but I am doing my best not to gain any more weight although with Christmas that’s almost impossible! But I hope that in the New Year my circumstances will change and I will have more control over my environment and hopefully that will help with motivation as well.
Hey Petra,
I can definitely see why you are finding it tough at the moment. Hopefully the new year will give you the chance to exercise a bit more, and fingers crossed for a Spring shedding of weight as well