Day 4 - Food Diary

As always and as promised, here is the completed food diary for day 4 of my journey, some tasty things on offer tonight, check out the recipes if you haven't already! If there's anything you want to know about, just send me a message, there's a contact form on the home page. :)

Slightly over my sugar and sodium (again) goal, really need to start keeping an eye on that.

Flabs Away!

Sticky Chilli Chicken with Noodles

Another delight this evening was the Sticky Chilli chicken, mmm so good, it's best described as having a very woody, oriental taste, with a bit of a kick from the fresh chilli. The chicken, in my opinion, is best to be charred a little, to give it more of a Barbeque taste, but of course not necessary, the crunchy mange tout and the yellow peppers mixed with the chicken and noodles, were just really tasty, definitely a worthy winner, I've yet to find something from Slimming World that doesn't taste great!
I have to admit, for this being a Chinese dish, I Wasn't overwhelmed, it was tasty, spicy and sweet and had a lovely oriental vibe, but it didn't really feel that Chinese-y to me, albeit still very nice indeed, if you want to be adventurous, you could always serve it with some salt and pepper chips.

The Ingredients:

For the Chicken

4 Chicken Legs (We used Breast)
Frylight
4 nests Medium Egg Noodles
3 Bell Peppers nice and colourful (we went for yellow)
1 Pak Choi chopped (Personal preference, but we didn't use this)
1 bunch spring onions chopped
1 pack Mange Tout
1 pack Sugar snap peas (Again we didn't use this)
2 Limes

For the Chilli Sauce

4 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp Rice Vinegar
2 tbsp Granulated Sweetener
6 tbsp Tomato Puree
4 Garlic Cloves minced (finely chopped is fine if no garlic press)
2 tbsp Fresh Ginger grated
2 Limes (juice of)
1 tsp dried chilli flakes

1 pinch of fresh chilli
300 ml Vegetable Stock (300ml boiling water & 1 veg stock cube)

The Method:

This is not my recipe, so to comply with Pinch of Nom's Terms of Service, I can't post the full recipe, it's really easy to follow, click HERE to view instructions on how to make this deliciousness!

The Verdict:

That was so much easier than I thought!

So I'm just back from the gym after being away from it for a full week, my nerves were probably at their peak, however, I got through it and went in, this time I got a couple of looks as I walked in and peoples heads turned, this again may have just been an innocent look, sometimes we can't help ourselves to look when someone walks into a room, there were no obvious signs that this was anything malicious, but me being me automatically assumes the worst. I sheepishly go and put my bag into the locker and crack on, what came next really, really surprised me.

This is the first time I've noticed a real difference in my ability at the gym, in previous days, I very much felt that awful burning  and aching sensation in pretty much a few minutes, but as time went on, I was absolutely fine and could manage so much more than I did in previous times, my legs just didn't ache at all for maybe the first 10-15 minutes, then it started, this was a weird sensation, not one I've ever really felt before, albeit made me very proud of my achievements. I also noticed that my heart rate was taking slightly longer to reach Moderate-Peak, not sure if I'm just imagining it, but if I'm not, then this change has come about pretty quickly, and I've surprised myself, if this is what happens after just 3 days, then imagine what would happen after 2 weeks.

I definitely managed to do more than I ever have done today, with the exception of not being able to do much on the Elliptical at the end (LOL), but not only did I manage to do more in general but I managed to do it for longer at a slightly quicker pace, something I'm going to slowly build on. One thing that I haven't changed in all of the days, is the level of the incline I set on the treadmill, I use a 4% incline, which I will slowly start to increase, this makes it a tougher workout, sometimes it feels like I'm clambering up this really steep hill and believe me you can feel the pinch after you've walked at an incline for a while.

As stated previously, I use an Apple Watch S3 to track my workouts and calorie burn, etc. Whilst I know that the Calorie burn maybe slightly overestimated, I've calibrated my watch to make sure it's as accurate as possible, I believe the margin of error is around 5% so not too bad, you may think that the calorie burn is ridiculously high, but I have a lot of weight behind me and it's easier for me to burn more calories because of my size and the amount of effort required would naturally be greater because it's a tough job being the fat kid.

So, I plan on sharing my exercise activity report from my phone for future workouts, the distances and speeds seem relatively low, but I also do have a bad hip and suffer from a couple of other ailments that I'll share with you later on in the journey. Please cast judgment aside, in the grand scheme of things, I know this may not seem like a huge workout to you, but to me it's huge, and I sweat from ear to ear.

Flabs Away!

Today's Workout

Day 3 - Food Diary

Another day completed, under my calorie goal again for today, I'm getting quite used to this now. Something we struggle with is trying to find the right things to eat after the gym, I don't want to be eating back those calories, so tonight and because of how late we got back, it was a ready meal, I know not the best, but we will endeavor to find something better moving forward, I've heard high protein stuff is best, so watch this space!

Flabs Away!

Big Mac & Fries Fakeaway

So our evening meal tonight was a Big Mac & Fries Fakeaway, don't get me wrong it isn't really that close to a Big Mac, or the fries, but it's a tasty treat that tasted as equally as good, the burger sauce, is pretty much spot on if you get it right, you may find that you need to tweak the spices to get it to your taste, it's a little bit of trial and error, but so so worth it!

We couldn't find any wholemeal rolls (part of healthy extra), so we used some Brioche Buns that were in the freezer, this is not how you are supposed to do it and it did make this meal slightly unhealthy, but in future, we'll make sure we have the right stuff in. Nevertheless, the burger was meaty, juicy, well seasoned and was a bit of alright!

Ingredients

For the burgers:

450g (1lb) of extra lean ground beef (less than 5% fat is best)
1/2 tsp of fine sea salt
4 Whole Wheat rolls

For the burger sauce:

2 tbs of half fat mayonnaise
6 tbs/90ml of fat-free plain yoghurt
½ tsp of paprika
¼ tsp of mustard powder
¼ tsp of onion powder
2 slices of pickle, diced
½ tbs of sweetener

Tip: We found that by using 6 tablespoons of fat-free yoghurt, there was an overpowering Yoghurty taste, we reduced this to 2 tablespoons and doubled quantities of the spices, this gave it a rich and intense flavour (more like burger sauce than Yoghurt with a bit of spice)

For the topping:

1 cup (240ml) of shredded iceburg or romaine lettuce
1 small white onion, finely diced
4x30g (1oz) of cheddar, sliced - (Healthy Extra)
2 slices of pickles

For the Fries:

We just used the Slimming World Friendly Chip recipe from earlier on, click HERE to view the recipe and the instructions, let me assure you they taste amazing!

The Method:

This is not my recipe, so to comply with Slimming Eats' Terms of Service, I can't post the full recipe, it's really easy to follow, click HERE to view instructions on how to make this deliciousness!

The Verdict:

Day 2 - Food Diary

Another day is done and all is great! I may have slightly overindulged during work last night, I had a full fat can of monster and half a bag of Malteser Buttons, but I also had some grapes, that's not going to do me any favours in the long wrong, as I doubled my sugar goal, this is not going to be the start of the plan going downhill, not after just one day, it's a slight blip, and all temptation is now gone, because I have nothing as bad as that in my bag or in the house, I still came under my calorie for the day which is the main thing, but must try harder in future.

P.S. If you're wondering why Breakfast is missing, it's because I didn't have any, and tend not to after a night shift.

Flabs Away!

Back at it tomorrow!

Pretty much a week later, I'm feeling ready and now in the right frame of mind (ish) to head back to the gym, we're going to be heading there tomorrow night again. The main crux of the aches and pains have gone from my left leg, but I still can't fully bend it without it being uncomfortable, therefore it's the right time, hopefully the least of the eurgh can ease overnight.

I must admit, having a week off from the gym, has been slightly depressing, I have found little to do with my nights, whereas I would usually be doing something to improve myself. It's been so long, that the nervousness has built again, I saw a few familiar faces when we went last time, and I don't want them thinking we were there for a couple of days and then just gave up. So my motivation for going to the gym is severely lacking, I'm not as optimistic as I once was, however once I get stuck in and get started, I'm sure that will pass. I honestly feel like I'm going to be back at square one and feel like any improvements or progress I've made over those 3 days will be lost, on the flip-side, maybe my left leg especially has strengthened enough for it to take a bigger impact, we will see and of course you will be first to know! 

Flabs Away!

Pulled Pork, and BBQ Sauce With Slimming World Friendly Chips

Pulled Pork, Chips and Grated Cheese

This is absolutely breathtakingly amazing. I'm not even exaggerating, we've had this about 4 or 5 times now, and every time it gets even better, the flavour is so rich, tangy with a hint of spice, and when you melt cheese over the top of it, aah it's just so good! This does not feel like something that would be that good for you, it's so fulfilling, you simply have to try it!

It may look a little bit sloppy, but let me assure you it's one of the nicest tasting meals you'll ever try.

Pulled Pork Recipe:

For the Pork: 

1.5 kg Pork Shoulder (Any Pork is normally fine as long as quantities are correct)
2 Brown Onions chopped
2 tbsp Schwartz Perfect Shake Classic BBQ Seasoning
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
250 ml Beef Stock 1 stock cube  dissolved in 250ml boiling water
1 tbsp Black Pepper

The Amazing Seasoning!

For the BBQ Sauce:

1/2 Brown Onion
2 Garlic Cloves crushed
1 can Chopped Tomatoes
1 tbsp Tomato Puree
1/2 Lemon (juice of)
1 tbsp Schwartz Perfect Shake Classic BBQ Seasoning
1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 tbsp White Wine Vinegar
1 tbsp Franks Hot Sauce
1 tsp Mustard Powder
1 tsp Granulated Sweetener

Tip: Some of these items are hard to find, we had more success with the more expensive supermarkets, such as Sainsbury's, Waitrose, etc.

Tip #2: With the quantities above, this makes the recipe fairly spicy, if you don't like a lot of spice, ease off on the hot sauce, bear in mind the Schwartz BBQ Seasoning also has its own spice.

The Method:

This is not my recipe, so to comply with Pinch of Nom's Terms of Service, I can't post the full recipe, it's really easy to follow, click HERE to view instructions on how to make this deliciousness!

Tip #3: Serve with 30g of Grated Cheese (Healthy Extra) for some cheesy awesomeness.

Slimming World Friendly Chips:

The Ingredients:

1-4 Potatoes (The more potatoes the more chips)

Sea Salt 

Cracked Black Pepper 

Fry Light (Or equivalent low-calorie spray)

The Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180-200 Degrees

2. Peel and Cut Potatoes into evenly cut chip-like blocks and place into boiling water

3. Par-Boil the potatoes (around 3-5 minutes should do the trick)

4. Place the chips into a bowl, spray with fry light (generously) and sprinkle on the salt and pepper

5. Spray an oven tray with fry light and place on the chips evenly spaced

6. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked black pepper, and place into the preheated oven

7. Cook for approximately 25-30 minutes, flipping the chips in between

8. You are looking for a slightly browned, golden colour, or cook to your liking. 

The Verdict:

First day done!

So that's the first day over and done with, not a bad start, food was absolutely amazing, in under the calorie goal for the day, I seem to always be coming over my Sodium goal even when I did this for a short while before, hopefully, the amount of water I drink will offset some of that, if not we might have to think about an alternative if it causes an issue, hopefully not. I'm not feeling weak or hungry or any of those things, I feel well-fed and all in all, still feeling pretty positive.

This is the full food diary for today.

Flabs Away!

Chinese Salt and Pepper Chicken with Egg Fried Rice

Chinese Salt & Pepper Chicken - The Recipe and the Verdict!

Salt & Pepper Chicken, Fried Rice & Curry Sauce 

Wowzers! This is a Slimming Eats recipe (who are awesome, you should definitely check them out).

This is such a fulfilling dish, it has the right balance between spice, sweetness, and saltiness, it's perfectly accompanied by the Egg Fried rice, which is made even better with the addition of some Curry Sauce! This is a firm favourite of ours.

This can be made in the Actifry if you have one, or if not, you can cook the chicken in the oven and toss all of the ingredients in a Wok or a large pan afterward.

What are you waiting for, go out get the stuff and start making it, you will seriously not regret it!

Nom Nom Nom Nom!

Salt and Pepper Chicken Recipe:

The Ingredients: 

Chicken:

8 chicken thighs (approx 650g), cut into chunks (we used chicken breast)
4 tbs of cornstarch (cornflour in the UK)
Salt and Black Pepper to season
1 egg
Low-Calorie Spray Oil (Frylight is perfect for this)

Vegetables:

1 red onion, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic minced

1 red chilli, sliced
1/2 red pepper
1/2 green pepper
1 small carrot, julienned (or sliced into thin matchsticks)
1/4 cup (60ml) of chicken stock
1 tbs of soy sauce
1 tbs of rice vinegar
2 spring onions, sliced

Salt & Pepper Mix:

2 tsp of fine sea salt
2 tsp of black pepper
2 tsp of Chinese five-spice
2 tsp of sweetener

Tip: For more of an intense flavour, double up on the spice, we did this and it was amazing! 

The Method:

This is not my recipe, so to comply with Slimming Eats' Terms of Service, I can't post the full recipe, it's really easy to follow, click HERE to view instructions on how to make this deliciousness!

Egg Fried Rice Recipe:

Ingredients:

White Rice (320g) - We use Boil in a bag for easiness
2 tbsp of Sesame Oil (or enough to coat)
1 Egg (whisked)
Handful of Spring Onions (to serve)

Tip: Ensure the egg is whisked thoroughly beforehand, so you don't try to just crack the egg in the pan)

The Method:

This is not my recipe, so to comply with Slimming Eats' Terms of Service, I can't post the full recipe, it's really easy to follow, click HERE to view instructions on how to make this deliciousness!

Curry Sauce Recipe:

Ingredients:

Mayflower Curry Sauce Mix

80g of Mayflower Curry Powder (It can be Medium, hot or extra hot)
300ml of Boiling Water

The Method:

1. Pour 80g of Mayflower curry powder into a heat-safe container.
2. Add 300ml of boiling water to the mixture.
3. Stir thoroughly until all lumps have gone, and you have a smooth consistent texture.
4. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes before serving.

Note: We find this to be a slightly thinner curry sauce then we're probably used to, but that's normal. It still tastes amazing, and adds a lovely punch of flavour to the Egg Fried Rice!

The Verdict:

Diet Plan (Next 4 weeks)

8th July - 4th August 2019 

So it's official, today is the day the diet starts, we have enough stuff bought in for the next month, including a giant bumper selection of meats, they messed up and gave us double the pork, so we have like 9 packs of 4 instead of 3 packs of 4, cha ching!

I'm going to be sharing with you all daily what I have to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks etc. And I'll share screenshots from my app daily, so you can track my progress along with me.

I'm not going to bore you with reviews/recipes of our lunches, it's going to be pretty basic stuff, ya know Jacket Potato, salads the odd pasta dish, but I will share with you our evening meal, the one with all the calories muhahaha! Feel free to tell me off if you see anything naughty, but I'm going to try my hardest.

We have agreed that one of our favourite things is Sunday Lunch, so we are going to aim to have a Sunday lunch every, well Sunday, we're going to pack it with vegetables and use as much low fat, reduced salt and sugar ingredients as possible, but it will likely be the most carby, naughty meal we'll have and as such, I don't feel you really need a review of that, as we don't follow a recipe and it's just something we know how to make, therefore this is our Naughty but mindful meal.

So here is the next 4 weeks of dinner, sorted and in a handy little list, I shall review each one for you, the recipes are not mine, so I can't post the full recipe, but will provide links and ingredients, and any tips we've found along the way to make it taste that little bit better.

P.S. Calories are an approximation, I've tried to get them spot on as we're measuring our food, but may be slightly out, no one can be perfect.

Evening Meal Plan

Week Commencing 8th July 2019 

Monday 8th July - Salt & Pepper Chicken, with Egg Fried Rice & Curry Sauce (677 Calories)
Tuesday 9th July - Pulled Pork & BBQ Sauce with Chips (726 Calories)
Wednesday 10th July - Big Mac & Fries Fakeaway (345 Calories)
Thursday 11th July - Sticky Chilli Chicken & Noodles (719 Calories)
Friday 12th July - Black Pepper Beef with Egg Fried Rice (481 Calories)
Saturday 13th July - Chicken Alfredo with Tagliatelle & Cheesy Garlic Bread (373 Calories)
Sunday 14th July - Roast Chicken Sunday Dinner (Our Naughty but mindful meal)

Week Commencing 15th July 2019 

Monday 15th July - Nando's Peri Peri Chicken Fakeaway with Spicy Rice & Salad (557 Calories)
Tuesday 16th July - Lemon Chicken Goujoins, Salt & Pepper Chips & Curry Sauce (760 Calories)
Wednesday 17th July - Slow Cooked Teriyaki Pork with Egg Fried Rice (518 Calories)
Thursday 18th July - Spaghetti Bolognese (350 Calories)
Friday 19th July - Mac and Cheese (436 Calories)
Saturday 20th July - Chicken and Sweetcorn Lasange (550 Calories)
Sunday 21st July - Sunday Lunch (Naughty but Mindful)

Week Commencing 22nd July 2019

Monday 22nd July - Singapore Chicken Noddles (532 Calories)
Tuesday 23rd July - Stove Top BBQ Chicken & Chips (400 Calories)
Wednesday 24th July - Pizza Topped Chicken (298 Calories)
Thursday 25th July - Tangy Chilli Beef Noodles (420 Calories)
Friday 26th July - Melt-in-the-middle Bacon Cheeseburger & Fries (410 Calories)
Saturday 27th July - Mega Stuffed Meatballs in Tomato Sauce & Pasta (600 Calories)
Sunday 28th July - Sunday Lunch (Naughty but Mindful)

Week Commencing 29th July 2019 

Monday 29th July - Chicken Fajitas (240 Calories)
Tuesday 30th July - KFC Zinger Burger Fakeaway (351 Calories)
Wednesday 31st July - Stir-fried Beef with Ginger and Spring Onion (321 Calories)
Thursday 1st August - Sticky Chinese BBQ Pork (212 Calories)
Friday 2nd August - Slow Cooker Crack Chicken & Rice (400 Calories)
Saturday 3rd August - Classic Chilli & Rice (420 Calories)
Sunday 4th August - Sunday Lunch (Naughty but Mindful)

So there we have it...

So there it is, I mean this is a pretty solid menu plan, however it may be subject to change, but I'll be posting my review of all of the meals daily, one thing that's important when dieting is obviously having moreish tasty food, right? Absolutely! The Sunday lunch thing will more than likely change, it's just an excuse to have family round and indulge in some naughtiness (especially the yorkshire puddings), if this hampers progress, or becomes too much of an issue, we'll cut it out, but we shall see how things go, it's important to have a treat to look forward to, or you'll go insane.

Anyway, that's enough from me, hope you're hungry, because I certainly am!

Flabs Away!

Diet Starts Monday...

'We'll Start on Monday, yeah?'

All good things, start on a Monday right? Well at least 99% of dieters have at some point in their lives said 'Oh, we'll start on Monday' and Monday never comes, or Monday turns into Tuesday, etc. etc. I really wanted to avoid starting this on a Monday and kind of break that habit, however, that's not how things have panned out, over the past week we have been eating more healthy, but we didn't want to waste food, so we got rid of all of our nasty foods, by get rid of, of course I mean shovel down my throat as quickly as possible, you know the usual stuff, Pizza and Nachos (Oh the cheesiness). The reason we didn't bin it, is because we don't particularly want to waste money and the majority of our stuff is frozen and not really suitable to be given away, we also wanted one last hurrah, before we set off on this part of our journey, you might think that's an awful idea, but it's kind of an education in itself. I realise that I'm spending a while trying to justify eating unhealthily and well, that's the problem we're trying to sort, anyways food was nice, ha! 

So we have stockpiled on Herbs and Spices as a lot of the Slimming World recipes require a lot of these, we've also bought lots of fruits and vegetables, as well as water, water is the most important part of any diet. Bye bye, sweet Coke nectar I'll miss you. We've also bulk bought some meats from Muscle Foods, they sell massive variety packs of meat, at reasonable prices, we've used them always, to be honest and they've always been pretty spot on, if you're interested in what they have to offer just click above and away you go (By the way this is not a paid placement or anything, just a recommendation for something we use and enjoy). Slimming World has a huge and diverse range of recipes to choose from, I tend to find they are more Asian-orientated, which is completely fine with me, I love Asian food, that's why I weigh the size of a house-end, I have a weakness for Chinese Food (Who doesn't). There's absolutely nothing to say we can't have Chinese, it's just about limiting yourself, not overindulging and it helps to work some or all of it off too! 

How I'm feeling...

I'm not just saying this, but I feel completely positive and really optimistic, it's the first day of changing something huge, for what I hope to be the rest of my life, I really want to look in the mirror one day and think, wow instead of avoiding even glancing in a mirror everywhere I go, it's a problem as they're all around, I get it, I know that a lot of people don't like what they look like, but for me it's a bigger problem, I get nervous in situations where I meet new people because of my weight, I get nervous and feel really embarrassed going to eat in a restaurant, about how I look to others, so much so that I get palpitations, I hide it well, but inside I'm completely melting down, I have absolutely no confidence, this has been a problem for as long as I can remember, which I guess is why my social circle is so small, and I avoid leaving the house if I can help it. I know I shouldn't care about what people think of me, but realistically I do and can't help it, I'm forever pleasing others even if it means not pleasing myself. But enough of that, I'm feeling great about starting this fresh diet and I'm honestly so looking forward to the meals we have planned, which of course I'll share with you. 

The Plan...

I use an app called MyFitnessPal to track all of my meals, drinks, and snacks. Now I do work night-shift, so that's a whole other problem in itself, but to keep things simple, a new day is Midnight-Midnight, regardless of whether I'm on shift or not. We have recipes planned from Pinch of Nom and Slimming Eats. My calorie goal is 2360 per day, which I know is just slightly less than the recommended daily amount, but I was probably eating and drinking in excess of 4000+ calories and beyond, so it's a huge step in the right direction, however, my personal goal is to stay below 2000 calories a day, at least for now. I am mindful that I have 15 'Syns' to use on Slimming World, but will also try and limit these as best as I can. I also use an app called SlimIt which tracks your daily Syns, so I'll be keeping a beady eye on that. Now technically speaking, when you workout you burn off calories, and therefore this frees up those calories, I'm going to limit myself in this as well, don't want those calories to be eaten up again, however it's important to replace what's been lost during exercise, so I'll always aim to eat a little something afterward. 

What's on the Menu?

On the Menu for this evening is Chinese Salt and Pepper Chicken, with Egg Fried Rice and Curry sauce. Surprised? It comes in at 677 Calories for everything, compare that to the real thing, and you're probably looking at, at least a 300-600 Calorie reduction, let alone the reduction in fat content, I'm so excited, we've tried this before and it was nice, but tonight will be even better. Stick around for the verdict a little later on this evening.

Flabs Away!

Guess who still aches?

Meeee! Still no better, 4 days into rest now, I'm so annoyed with myself because I honestly enjoy going to the gym so much, I like the sense of accomplishment and I love the feel and sometimes I'm so in awe it's unreal. 

The good news is, that the Diet starts tomorrow (Typically on a Monday wehey), so that's exciting, whilst the achiness calms down (in fairness it has reduced, but I'm still hobbling). Want to at least get one part of it going correctly, I could be eating cleaner whilst I'm not at the gym, its a no brainer and a win-win.

I'm actually so excited, because the food plan we have sounds amazing, I'm salivating at the thought. 

Flabs Away!

So it just got worse...

The pain is absolutely horrific now! Ha what an absolute numpty. It's just in my left leg, the aches and pains in my right and feet have eased overnight, but this left leg feels like I've pulled every muscle in it, then it's been removed, twisted, deep fried and stuffed back in without it being stitched up. I mean that's a bit of an extreme description of how I'm feeling, however let me tell you it's legitimately that bad.

Apparently there's a condition called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) which sounds pretty familiar right now, apparently when you rip the muscles during workout, there can be a delay in the peak pain, yup sounds like me.

It's going to be at least another day or two before I head back to the gym, remember guys don't overdo it, small steps, small improvements.

I don't want to bore you with telling you I'm in pain everyday, so I may go slightly quiet, whilst I recover from my stupidity, but don't worry, I'm still here, still planning on getting this thing done, I want to introduce the exercise and activity first, so I can build up a routine, then introduce the diet, not wanting to overdo it and put my body into severe shock, slowly, slowly catchy monkey.

Flabs Away!

Ouch!

So I've only gone and done it haven't I, completely buggered me left leg, I can't even bend it, can't find a place to get comfortable, even when lying down, like what a goon, why would you do that to yourself man Dylan? Today was meant to be a rest day anyway, but it's more than likely going to be a rest few days, exactly what you want when you're trying to lose weight time off from losing weight. Ugh! My own fault, no one to blame but me! Grrrr...

I strongly recommend that you ease into your exercise routine, build up slowly, don't push yourself when you've already pushed yourself, no matter how crappy of a workout you think you've had, if you elevated your heart rate into that Moderate-High Zone, and are sweating and out of breath, that's a basic indication that it's working. The more sweat the better!

Flabs Away! (Eventually)

Feeling Dissapointed...

This was definitely the shortest stay at the gym, I realized very quickly that I should have stayed at home, but continued anyway against the best advice of Kirsty, one day she's just gonna punch me straight in the face for ignoring her advice, but by then I'll be slender and I'll be able to dodge it like Neo on The Matrix (I haven't actually seen that by the way).

It started off absolutely fine, a little ache here and there 15 minutes on the treadmill with me flicking the incline between 2-4% throughout at a steady pace, not too slow that I feel like I'm crawling, but enough to pump my heart rate into that moderate and above zone, coming off the Treadmill was fine, no issues at all, in fact, I felt so confident I jumped straight onto the Cross Trainer without much of a rest in between and went to ham on the Cross Trainer, I was so stupid to do this, but I thought you know what I'm going to push myself a little bit further today, in hindsight this is not a good idea when you already ache from the gym session the night before and something I'm keen to avoid in the future. So after about 3 minutes, I'm done again, legs absolutely aching, again like jelly as I step off the machine, but did I stop there? hahaha no, that would be too easy, onto the bike I go again giving it some ham, again equally not a good idea, this particular bike feels easy, because you stretch your legs out, but wow can you feel it in your legs and hips.

I ignored all of the warning signs before the Gym and during exercise trying to do too much too quickly, I know things won't change overnight, but in the moment determination takes over and I just powered through the pain, it's my 3rd day I should be building myself up and not trying to train like Mo Farah.

However, with the pain, I'm in now I honestly don't think it was worth the effort, it probably hasn't done much for me, moving forward I am going to just build myself up, take it easy and make sure I get a good workout and benefit from each one of them.

Flabs Away!

As Promised, here's the update!

So it's not my imagination that I ache, but I don't ache to the extent where I can't get off my chair, also I committed a cardinal sin and googled it and the advice on there basically said if you ache just a little, it's fine to go back to the gym, it may in fact help.

So 9pm this evening, we're heading back and gonna pump some iron (I'm sorry I know that is sooooo cheesy).

I Shall update you all once I get back, or possibly in the morning depending on whether or not I'm alive afterwards, the only thing I've committed to for 3 days in a row is a takeaway, so this is new territory for me.

Flabs Away!

Day two at the gym...

So we just got back from the gym and I still have not managed to complete that beginners bloody workout, like why can't my legs just act normally and not want to run away and hide in a corner, jeez should it even be this tough?

The one change I made tonight was that I stupidly increased the incline to 5% and also the speed, to something I could manage for a few minutes, this instantly killed my legs and when I stepped off the Treadmill I literally thought I was going to faint, there's a fine line between being determined and doing too much, I'd love to be in a position where I can run for 5 minutes straight without getting out of breath, but that seems like a long way away, it will get better though.

I then moved back onto the bike, took a leisurely ride to the land of Gym (how exciting right), and then sat down for about 10 minutes before moving onto the Cross Trainer, hey I managed an extra minute this time, and even went back on the treadmill for a couple of minutes, I mean they had virtually no resistance, but it made my heart rate go to the maximum, made me sweat several hundred gallons and naturally made my legs as always feel like they're about to fall off.

I didn't feel too great this time, in all honesty, I felt really weak, I'm not sure if it's because we went a few hours after food, or I pushed myself a bit harder, or a combination of everything but it didn't feel great, I felt like shakey, weird considering I kept myself hydrated throughout because I know how important that is. Gonna have a Tuna Salad sandwich to perk me up.

I ache from head to toe, might have to have a rest day tomorrow, but will, of course, keep you all updated.

Flabs Away!

Wow that was HARD!

The burn is unreal!

So I did it! I went to the gym for the first time in years. I'm pretty sure I drove as slowly as possible, trying to maximize the time before I actually walk in, but I did it, we got there for just after 9pm. The Pure Gym app has this really cool feature that tells you how many people are in the gym, and it told us that there were about 90 people in, 90 people aaargh! In reality, though, it was much less.  After composing myself in the car for 10 minutes, we finally went in and in all honesty, it was mostly fine. You could tell that we had no idea where anything was because we spent about 5 minutes just looking around like lost sheep. First thing I did was buy a padlock, why are those things so bloody complicated? It took me about 15 minutes to figure out how to change the code, not user-friendly at all. I was sat in the changing rooms for a little longer than I think was needed, again composing myself to actually go out and get something done. I did feel a bit intimidated as there were several lads in the changing rooms in close proximity, the best way to describe them is to say that they were chavs, Nuff said. One of them who happened to be really slender said 'Here man, I'm so fat', I'm not really sure if that was a blatant dig at the fat man sitting in the corner (me) or if he genuinely thought he was fat, my guess is the former. Anyway, I know this is bad but this is a sign of how unconfident I am, I waited until they left before I left the room, Kirsty was slightly annoyed for making her stand around like a lemon for ages #SozPet. 

First Impressions...

So there was certainly a lot of equipment, there are plenty of Treadmills, Cross-Trainers, Bikes, Ellipticals, Steppers, rowing machines, etc. They are all evenly spaced out and there would be plenty of choice for a busy gym. The gym is split into two parts, Cardio is in one section, with weights being in another, as far as I can see for the weights section, it pretty much has everything you could need, including monkey bars, free weights, benches I don't even know what half of the stuff is, but it all looks well maintained and there's plenty of it. There's a small cycle studio and another studio, for some of the classes that are carried out, like step aerobics or something like that, there's also a couple of sections where you can rest, accessible water and vending machines, etc. The water isn't the best, it's room temperature at best, and it's a water fountain rather so it's awkward to fill up bottles, almost makes me feel like they deliberately don't have chilled water and make it as awkward as possible so you use the vending machines, but I'm not spending £1.50 a time on a bottle of water, so it's something I'll just have to put up with. 

The Workout (if you would call it that)...

Going from having basically zero activity to trying to complete a full workout is theoretically hard, but in practice, it's even bloody harder. My Pure Gym app has a couple of walkthrough programs, and the first is an introductory one, it starts you off with a 20-minute exercise, 5 minutes of walking on the treadmill with an incline of 4-10%, then 5 minutes on a bike at level 6-12, then 5 minutes on the Cross Trainer between levels 8-15 finished off with another walk on the treadmill for 5 minutes again on an incline of 4-10%. It's pretty easy to change incline/resistance level, it's just one tap of a button either on the handlebars or on the display on the front of the machine. Soooo... I started off on the treadmill as advised, and I was like yeaaaah this is fine, oh how wrong was I, I changed the incline to 4 after a few seconds, and my legs felt like they were trudging through 50cm of mud climbing up the steepest hill in the world, you might think that's an exaggeration, but it wasn't. I did manage to hold on for the full 5 minutes, in fact, I managed around 7, other people around me were like running full pelt for 20 minutes straight... how in the world. So legs like jelly it was time to move onto the bikes. Due to a broken hip, I've had pins in it since early 2006, so I naturally have restricted movement, I am also flat-footed and have one leg shorter than the other, so I feel the pinch probably a bit more than others, for this reason, I can't manage the upright bikes (just yet), so I opted for the ones where you extend your legs, I managed around 5 minutes on this, but only at a level 3 difficulty, half of what the 'Beginner' course expects you to do. Cross trainer time yay! When I went to the gym back in like the pre-historic days, I was an absolute beast on the cross-trainer, I could easily go full pelt for 5 minutes on a fairly difficult resistance. So I step onto it and my brain has an instant meltdown and I can't figure out how to go clockwise instead of anti-clockwise, so I kind of end up just looking like a bit of a muppet trying to find my feet, but I get there and I can only manage 2 minutes, the burn in my legs are unreal, 2 minutes at a slow-steady pace and then the machine beeps at me and says 'Please Pedal Faster' it's at this point that I know I'm done, I could barely even step of the thing my legs were wobbling like Mr. Blobby rolling on the floor, but with a bit more wobble, sit down time it is. Workout over. I suppose for a first time back at the gym and being a bit on the large side you could classify it as good, but naturally, I was disappointed, for the first time I realise how unfit I am and in that moment, I can't see it improving, but I know these things take time. The app told me I should aim for 'Moderate' activity level, which is the equivalent of being able to ask a question but not hold a conversation, let me tell you I couldn't even let out a squeak, so it was full intensity all the way and the sweat, oh the sweat! After resting and being blasted by the Air-Con in the car, I felt amazing, as small as it is the accomplishment and the feeling is just something else, it's worth doing it for that alone, definitely something I want to continue, but I'd be lying if I told you that I didn't ache.

So that's day one done of exercise at least, I want to develop my confidence at the gym before I go full pelt with the diet changes as well, we are still being careful with what we eat, but I just want to get a feel for it and try to develop a routine, so I know I'll stick to it. 

Anyway, I'm sure you're sick of my waffle, so here's to tomorrow! 

Flabs Away!

First Day, Gearing up for the Gym...

So I'm off to the gym... 

So I have my gym membership sorted and my chosen one is Pure Gym, primarily because it's cheap, cheerful and has some pretty decent reviews. It also happens to be located within a Tesco so that's massively convenient, for picking up the quick snack...oh right yeah, maybe not. This will be my first time in the gym since 2008, that's pretty shocking. Now we are heading to the gym around 9pm this evening, to try and avoid the bulk of the people (If you pardon the pun). It goes without saying, I am incredibly nervous, I'm frightened and every bone in my body is trying everything to put me off the idea. I feel like I'm heading to a Job Interview and there's still several hours to go before we actually leave, I am physically shaking at the thought of walking in the gym, and getting judged instantly, but I know this is something I need to overcome, everyone is there for the same reason (I hope), but if I even get one innocent look from anyone, I would probably have a cardiac arrest on the spot, that's not even an exaggeration, so I hope they have a wall-mounted defibrator. Breathing exercises are absolute bull and don't do an actual thing, how the hell can one take a deep breath for like 30 seconds, for the average fat person, this is like only having one slice of cake...it just can't happen.

P.S. if you click the Pure Gym link above, as it's my referral link I may win a free prize, hopefully, it's not a cake, that would be a bit of a bummer. 

Cost and Equipment

So the cost for the actual Gym Membership was £10.99 with a £10.00 joining fee, which means you have to pay £20.99 on the spot instantly for your first month, this is a monthly recurring subscription and will come out of our account on the 28th of the month. (this may vary). Other Subscriptions vary, however, we purchased the 'Off-Peak' subscription, meaning we are only allowed access to the gym between 9pm-6am Monday-Friday, but at any time on weekends, other subscriptions (which are typically more expensive) are available and include any time access, multiple gym access and a 'Bring a Friend' scheme for example. 

The second thing we bought was a water bottle, we opted for a 500ml bottle, for the convenience of it being able to fit in cup holders, it has a lockable flip lid, with a carry strap for ease of use. It also has a water measurement indicator on the back, so you can keep track of your water intake during workouts, it's a pretty sturdy water bottle and has been going strong for pre-gym use anyway. The cost of this was £8.99 and was bought from Amazon, the particular bottle we opted for was this one.

The third thing we bought (which is completely optional) was a quick access fob to the gym, this cost £6.00, this is to save us from having to type in a long pin code every time we access and leave the gym, you simply hold your fob against the access point and...voila you're in!

You also need some sort of bag, to carry your gym stuff in, if you want a change of clothes or to swap into a different pair of trainers/shoes or something like that, then it's the perfect thing to carry them in. We already had a couple of gym bags that we bought a few years ago with the intention of using...HA! that happened. But they can be picked up for about £4.00 or even less if you look in the right place. If you don't have the budget then a bag for life or even one of those extortionate 5p plastic carrier bags will do, I mean you might look like a bit of a muppet if you take in your giant Lidl bag for life, but very effective all the same. 

We also plan on buying a padlock when we get to the gym, for storing bags, coats, and keys etc. These can be bought from the Pure Gym vending machines for £5.00 and there's a choice of colours woohoo. 

You are also going to want to take some form of towel or wipe(s), this is to wipe down gym equipment once you've used it, to remove any sweat (and from me, there'll be bucket loads), there's nothing worse (I would imagine) than sitting in someone else's bodily fluids, like ew. 

I would also strongly recommend investing in a fitness tracker, I'm lucky enough to have an Apple Watch, which is an amazing activity/fitness tracker, but expensive all the same. You mainly just want something to track your heart rate, calorie burn and it will also give you a sense of achievement. These can be picked up for as little as £10.00-£15.00, or even less if you come across a bargain, if you want something with more features or you love a brand, I've owned a Fitbit Blaze a Samsung Gear Fit 2 Pro and most recently an Apple Watch Series 3. I've found both the Fitbit and the Apple Watch to be most accurate for step counting at least, as well as heart rate. However, you can never go wrong with a Fitbit and some of them have amazing features now such as onboard music and contactless payments etc. 

If you want to listen to some banging tunes, when you're heading to the gym, then I would obviously take some headphones or earphones, whatever your preference. I currently have some BeatsX headphones, they have awesome sound quality, pretty decent noise cancelling and get around 7-8 hours of wireless play from a full charge, they also connect both to my watch and my phone, so it's a win win, of course, there are cheaper wired and wireless headphones available, so whatever tickles your pickle. 

Final thoughts...

So I'm absolutely S*itting myself, as much as typing this blog post has been therapeutic, I know it's nearly now, if you have any ideas of how to get rid of pre-gym nerves, then please let me know, Aside from hibernating, hiding or faking my own death I'm completely out of ideas. I hope I can one day build the confidence to walk into that gym with my head held high because that would just be the best feeling. Thanks for listening and thanks for your support if you've made it this far. 

Flabs Away!

Welcome...

Whale hello there...

Hello and a huge fat welcome to my brand new blog, if you're new here (and you probably are because this is the 1st post), you should check out this page. This will give you a broad oversight into what I am trying to achieve with my blog.

I wanted to start off by saying that this is an incredibly personal and challenging thing to start and there will be ups, downs, moans and possibly some rants, I'll try and keep it as friendly as possible. This blog and the process that I'm going to follow is massively out of my comfort zone, and I honestly don't know how it will go, I don't like the way things are right now and things need to change, that's my goal. 

So sit back, relax and follow me on this journey. 

Flabs Away!