Beyond the goal !!!

Enjoying a meal with my wife Sue

This weekend I have tipped the scales at an amazing 69.5 kilograms, which is remarkably better than I had set out to do, at the start of the year.

Amazingly my target was to be 76kg before our holiday to the Lake District in September, but as it went so well before going to Scotland in April, the goal was changed, and this weekend I have hit that goal with weeks to spare.

The weight I am now, is comfortable and from now to the end of the year my goal is to maintain this weight until the start of 2016.

There are people that lose weight and become hooked into the obsession of losing weight, you know the people, that look gaunt and haunted, as if something more sinister is going on in their life.

Officially according to the BMI scale, I am overweight, but that model sets weight to ridiculously low levels in the opinion of many, including myself. My GP reckoned I was halfway there at my last visit in June, when I weighed 73kg, even though I was fully dressed with steel toe capped safety boots on.

My wife Sue has been an excellent companion and supporter of me through the weight loss, and she admires my focus and willpower, but it was achieved with her.

Going back to my GP a spin off to the weight loss is a lowering of my blood pressure tablets, although I will return next week to ensure the new reduced medication is hitting the right levels, it is very unusual for people that take high blood pressure tablets to come off them completely, but then that was never one of my goals.

So what is the secret to my weight loss? (13 kg in just over 7 months)

• Be honest with yourself
• NEVER miss a meal
• Count calories and learn where your big intakes come from (mine was snacks and drinks)
• Have a guilt free day at the weekend (mine is Saturday)
• Set realistic goals
• Know where the limits are

If you watch the calories and become more active, the weight will shift, quickly at the beginning, but more slowly later. There will be plateaus along the way and the occasional gain, and remember to live and enjoy life.

Like others before me, I have brought weights, skipping ropes etc you need to find what works for you. I have been playing badminton some weeks, as a stand in for someone who could not play, that is less gentle than is first thought. My main activity is indoor climbing at Reading Climbing Centre.

Climbing has been a very enjoyable form of exercise, and as the weight comes off, the more supple I become and the better I have learnt to climb. The strength to weight ratio has significantly changed, adding to a much more enjoyable climb.

So that's it in a nutshell, all I need to do is look over some figures of where I was in January and where I am now, and maintain it.

For the record this week, I have enjoyed an apple turnover (496Kcal) a magnum (250Kcal) and a can of Guinness; all of which were earned through hard work in the garden, and through climbing and badminton. 

Sadly there is no six-pack to show off; The drink only comes in packs of four LOL

This was my other secret to losing the weight recently, 

putting up a new fence and re-doing the patio in preparation for our "Summer House"

Thanks for reading. 

It also helps having one of these, to keep you occupied

Blue 

our infamous 

German Shepherd

@BluetheGSD