Dave - Journey to lose 180lb from June 2018 (Target achieved in 52 weeks)

I've been less about the weight in the past couple of months and focused more on the fitness so my diet has gone out the window! My weight has fluctuated and I haven't stuck to any real plans. I do however know where I'm going wrong again so less of the protein bars full of sugar and more sensible snacking and the weight will come down again.

Yesterday I did hit one of my biggest goals I set myself a while back and something which I thought I would never have in me. I cycled 100 miles!

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As you may have noticed, I am back!

So Summer 2020 to Oct 2021 saw me lose myself quite badly. The big cycling efforts I previously mentioned carried on for another 6 weeks and I did 2 more 100 mile rides in my Charity challenge. What happened after that was I lost my love for cycling as I pushed myself too hard over a week. Not only that but the increased effort saw me relax my eating and drinking and I started feeling like I could eat anything because I was burning off so many calories cycling. When the cycling stopped, the eating habits didn't. I also returned to drinking alcohol on a weekly basis and this continued into 2021 and then escalated in the summer this year when I returned to playing cricket full time which would result in 4-6 bottles of beer after a game, cycle home, walk to the local shop and pick up a bottle of rum or gin and finish that.

So... October, my mates wedding, my line is drawn, this will be my final night out and then I need to sort myself out. I got smashed, I had a good time, I stuck to my plans.

Previously I joined Slimming World online. It worked for me. I hit target and was too scared to join the local group and my membership lapsed as I didn't want to pay at target. I lost touch with the ways. This time, I decided to join my local group. Just like before, I didn't feel at ease doing this. Will I be the only man. Will people judge me. Will I know people and feel ashamed etc. I told my wife I'm going to the group and couldn't really get out of it after that, she was as surprised as I was when I told her.

Group week 1, small chat, me and 4 other people joining, weigh in, sit down, lady I sit next to "I recognise you", turns out she saw my pics on social media 2 years ago and is a friend of a friend. End of session it's weigh first weigh in time, lady on the scales is also a friend of my family. This isn't going how I had hoped... First weigh in, 21st 4.5lbs. Much worse than I had hoped, I had run scared of the scales at home for months.

9 weeks in now and I've shifted 3st 8.5lbs of that thankfully. It's been a mixed ride. The first few weeks I really felt unwelcome in the group. The reality though, it was just me thinking the worst and thinking I wasn't welcome. Week 4 was a real icebreaker when I won Slimmer of the Week (again) and a few of the ladies started shouting how men always lose more and it's unfair etc. I needed that!

I'm still not overly keen on the group setting. I do like getting the ideas, I really dislike the going around and saying how much people have lost and asking how they are feeling and how do they want to do next week. I don't like talking in front of people, I'm happy to sit there and just listen to how others are getting on and take back a bit of inspiration.

I'll probably be posting here a bit more to keep my head in the game! I'm officially 4st off target currently but similar to when I started SW a few years ago, the goal weight I'm not sure on still and more so now than I was then, how I feel about my health is more important. The numbers on the scales are not important to me, getting back to a healthier lifestyle and into my old clothes is where I want to be.
 
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As you may have noticed, I am back!

So Summer 2020 to Oct 2021 saw me lose myself quite badly. The big cycling efforts I previously mentioned carried on for another 6 weeks and I did 2 more 100 mile rides in my Charity challenge. What happened after that was I lost my love for cycling as I pushed myself too hard over a week. Not only that but the increased effort saw me relax my eating and drinking and I started feeling like I could eat anything because I was burning off so many calories cycling. When the cycling stopped, the eating habits didn't. I also returned to drinking alcohol on a weekly basis and this continued into 2021 and then escalated in the summer this year when I returned to playing cricket full time which would result in 4-6 bottles of beer after a game, cycle home, walk to the local shop and pick up a bottle of rum or gin and finish that.

So... October, my mates wedding, my line is drawn, this will be my final night out and then I need to sort myself out. I got smashed, I had a good time, I stuck to my plans.

Previously I joined Slimming World online. It worked for me. I hit target and it no longer worked for me and I felt a bit like I never really did SW and it don't count in their program because I didn't join a group. I lost touch with the ways and got a bit annoyed with them. This time, I decided to join my local group. Just like before, I didn't feel at ease doing this. Will I be the only man. Will people judge me. Will I know people and feel ashamed etc. I told my wife I'm going to the group and couldn't really get out of it after that, she was as surprised as I was when I told her.

Group week 1, small chat, me and 4 other people joining, weigh in, sit down, lady I sit next to "I recognise you", turns out she saw my pics on social media 2 years ago and is a friend of a friend. End of session it's weigh first weigh in time, lady on the scales is also a friend of my family. This isn't going how I had hoped... First weigh in, 21st 4.5lbs. Much worse than I had hoped, I had run scared of the scales at home for months.

9 weeks in now and I've shifted 3st 8.5lbs of that thankfully. It's been a mixed ride. The first few weeks I really felt unwelcome in the group. The reality though, it was just me thinking the worst and thinking I wasn't welcome. Week 4 was a real icebreaker when I won Slimmer of the Week (again) and a few of the ladies started shouting how men always lose more and it's unfair etc. I needed that!

I'm still not overly keen on the group setting. I do like getting the ideas, I really dislike the going around and saying how much people have lost and asking how they are feeling and how do they want to do next week. I don't like talking in front of people, I'm happy to sit there and just listen to how others are getting on and take back a bit of inspiration.

I'll probably be posting here a bit more to keep my head in the game! I'm officially 4st off target currently but similar to when I started SW a few years ago, the goal weight I'm not sure on still and more so now than I was then, how I feel about my health is more important. The numbers on the scales are not important to me, getting back to a healthier lifestyle and into my old clothes is where I want to be.
Thanks for sharing your story thus far. I took my eye off the ball saying just one wont matter, before I knew it I had spiralled out of control. All the 8 stone I lost I put back on then some. But this time round I am determined not to fall into the same pitfalls. I use online SW as I couldnt book up the courage to go to group. For me I would be too nervous even now to do my weekly weigh in. Doing it at home suits me and less pressure but I admire your courage to take the first steps into the group often the hardest.
 
Thanks for sharing your story thus far. I took my eye off the ball saying just one wont matter, before I knew it I had spiralled out of control. All the 8 stone I lost I put back on then some. But this time round I am determined not to fall into the same pitfalls. I use online SW as I couldnt book up the courage to go to group. For me I would be too nervous even now to do my weekly weigh in. Doing it at home suits me and less pressure but I admire your courage to take the first steps into the group often the hardest.

It's hard isn't it! It took me a while to go full off the rails. I fluctuated for a while whilst being slightly on plan but mixing it up and then I found the booze again and that was me done.

I think the online plan could still work for me but I remember hitting target before and you have to go to group after doing that to weigh in, I thought I might as well start from there and it will push me a bit to stick to it. It's working wonders for me so far thankfully.

The one thing I will say, weekly weigh in I have found far less daunting than I was expecting. I kind of thought you were on like a stage in front of people and weighing so everyone can see how you've done but unless you sit within 10m of the scales you have no idea how people do. I'm still not a fan of going around discussing everyone but you can always walk out of group before this to avoid it!

I see you're doing well again on it now though? Have you found it easy to get back in to it knowing where you previously got to? It's really helped push me on knowing I can do it and how much happier I was.
 
How was your weekend Bert? Have you managed to rekindle your love for the bike?

Booster Jab on Saturday and managed 30km a few hours after that but it wiped me out. Sunday I just felt shattered all day and did nothing! I did another 30km this morning and 15k steps walking around Hever Castle with the kids so I think the crappy booster feeling has gone.

I got straight back on the bike when I restarted SW in October, the graph below shows how it's gone. A lot more consistent on the bike since then. The bigger weeks are mainly flat cycling and the lower weeks will have some more climbing in. I'm really back in the swing of things and rarely miss a day on the bike at the moment.


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Pretty much all of my cycling is still done on a turbo trainer using zwift. I do intend to get back out on the road a bit next year but the convenience of the garage outweighs going out on the road still.
 
Welcome back, Bert. Good to read what's been going on.
 
It's been approx a month since I checked in here and I've managed to lose a stone in that time.

3 months in group and 3 Slimmer of the Month and down 2 sizes in tops.

The biggest plus though are my fitness levels increasing considerably. I'm cycling 7 times a week and my average weekly distance over the past 4 weeks is 262km. 3 months ago I was doing 30-45min rides, feeling uncomfortable and averaging between 20-30km. I can now knock out a 50km flat ride in 75mins and the main thing stopping me from doing more is time rather than fitness. 2 x school runs + 5 days work and then a weekend doing stuff with the kids. I manage to get an hour in most days and then 3 days per week 45-60mins of weight training which I'm still trying my best to work out a routine which suits me but there are so many differing opinions! My current approach is focused on Mon/Weds/Fri weights focussing on upper body with a bit of leg work on Friday. This is going to change in the next week as I've signed up to a PT research program on leg work and will need to do what he says which I think may be a few days of legs per week but without weights.

I'm also on the verge of starting park run again as I'm feeling it's achievable again.

I'm also not expecting another slimmer of the month! The amount of people joining group the past 2 weeks is unreal. I expected an influx of people being January but wow. First week weigh in last Tuesday and something like 20 stone off in total with many people hitting 5-7lb. I expect that'll remain high throughout Jan and possibly Feb for some too as we have some quite big new members, hopefully they stick around and do it.
 
Great work a stone lost in a month shows the work / eating plan is paying dividend. I do sw online and I too have noticed a big increase in new users and returners during January. I have many health issues and exercise is a big downfall of mine as I can't do it most of the time my body will not let me. But do it when and if my body is willing. But I can do more that I could 14 months ago so I am pleased overall. Keep up your good work, slimmer of the week here we come
 
Great work a stone lost in a month shows the work / eating plan is paying dividend. I do sw online and I too have noticed a big increase in new users and returners during January. I have many health issues and exercise is a big downfall of mine as I can't do it most of the time my body will not let me. But do it when and if my body is willing. But I can do more that I could 14 months ago so I am pleased overall. Keep up your good work, slimmer of the week here we come

Thanks!

I think that's the good thing about SW, the exercise part of it is something that isn't required but if it's something you're interested in it does work well together.

Tested positive for covid today so we'll see how this progresses and how it affects my exercise.
 
Sorry to hear you have covid, I contacted it just before Christmas. I still haven't quite got my sense of taste and smell back properly. I hope you get well soon and only have it mild like I did.
 
Thankfully I'm pretty symptom free. My chest feels a bit tight but I'm not sure if that's the cold thing I've been fighting for a bit.

My daughter had a high temp, headaches and was tired and she tested positive first. My wife and son are so far negative.
 
I only had the symptoms of a cold for a few days, to be honest I have had worse colds in the past. I counted myself as so lucky to have it mildly. Ironically on the day I came into contact with it I had had my booster. They were just realising that our protection from the vaccine was waning much quicker than anticipated so I must have had minimum protection left. I so hope the rest of the family escape from the covid. In my home just husband and I. Fortunately he didn't get it. mind you we slept apart, and I didn't want to see another rubber glove or disinfectant for days. I did nothing but disinfect any possible surface touched. Believe you me there is so much you touch without thinking. We kept a part as much as possible. Then when doing my dressing on my legs we both masked up and wore surgical gloves. It was such a long 10 days we barely spend a night apart so sleeping alone was strange poor dog was torn which bedroom to stay in so in the end divided her time giving me the lions share which is surprising seeing as she is my husbands shadow and partner in crime
 
So.... I've woken up (barely slept to be honest!) with a runny/blocked nose, headache, chest hurts and slight sore throat. Me and the wife did PCRs yesterday as she was convinced we would both get negative and we weren't sure my laterals were accurate with their faded line, she has a lot more symptoms and has been negative on lateral every time.

We both returned positive results.

I was intending on doing an intensive cycle today and then low weight high rep weights this evening but I'm going to change that to a low intensity cycle and do the same with the weights but for less time probably.
 
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