Before and after pictures

The obligatory before and after pictures.

The before picture was taken June 09, the after picture June 10.

Even I am shocked at the difference!

I Did It!

Today Is a very good day.

On April 21st I blogged that I was on a lose weight effort.

This all started back in February, I was feeling quite unwell and so decided to go to my doctor.

The truth of the matter is I hadn't been looking after myself at all well for many years, it caught up with me.

The doctor ran every kind of test imaginable to see if there was any underlying illness or condition, he tested for so many different things including some I'd never heard of before.

Happily every came back fine, my problem was my weight and fitness. Prior to seeing the doctor I had already decided it was time to do something about it, he just gave me the kick to do it.

So, Mid-February I set myself a target of getting fit and losing 5 stone.

I am delighted to say that as of today (July 7th) I have reached that target. I have lost the 5 stone.

I am now within the "normal" range on the BMI chart - I was well in the "Obese" range when I started.

It has taken just over 20 weeks, so on average I've lost 3.5lbs a week.

My method has been fairly simple. "Eat Less, Move More"

Restricting the number of calories I consume per day to a maximum of 1,500 and going to the gym every day whenever I can (I'm averaging 5-6 times per week)

In addition I'm walking wherever I can and I've bought a bike for longer distances.

Coventry taxi firms are suffering as a result of my lack of trade, as are pubs and restaurants.

I'm still allowing myself alcohol at weekends and the occasional meal out, but going to the pub 3-4 times a week and eating out or getting takeaways 3-4 times a week have stopped.

I now feel fantastic, my fitness has improved massively. I have energy, I feel revitalised - I'm a new man.

When I was in London for a few days recently, I went running down the Embankment. I never thought I'd be doing that.

I have now set a new target of losing a further 1 and a half stone. This will put me well below mid-way on the "normal" range on the BMI chart.

I should hopefully achieve this by the end of August, then we're going to go on a beach holiday in September to celebrate and I will no longer feel like the fattest person who has ever been on a beach.

So today I am feeling very good about myself, lots of self congratulation - the work is not done though, the hardest part will be sustainment - not allowing myself to get back into bad habits and putting the weight back on.

Now I just need to give up smoking....