All fired up

I’ve just spent the last hour and 20 minutes surfing the web and reading various blogs having something to do with weight loss. I have to say they’re mainly written by women and very few men seem comfortable enough to write about their experiences, but that’s just my search results: your mileage may vary.

One thing that has happened is that it’s fired me up to get up and do something, instead of whingeing about it. I can’t start running races tomorrow and I can’t really take up serious weight-lifting, but I sure as hell can do some very gentle yoga and some equally gentle walking. I have to be patient enough to allow a very small amount of activity start to take effect. Then I can up the intensity bit by bit.

I took an enneagram test online which suggests I’m a type 5; the investigator. I guess I tend to live in my head more than my body and that’s part of the problem. In fact, most of the time I feel like I’m a brain with a body hanging down off it. It’s pretty weird to feel that way, actually!

So, I’m going to adapt a few of the ideas I’ve seen on other blogs and apply them here. I’ll start posting my activity, food consumption and results and hopefully the shame of broadcasting this publicly will make me a little more accountable. That’s the idea, anyway.

Here goes.

Height: 5′ 6″
Age: 47
Weight: 23 stones 6 pounds, or 328 pounds for American readers.
Short term target: 20 stones or 280 pounds
Mid term target: 18 stones or 252 pounds
Long term targe: 16 stones or 224 pounds

I’m realistic enough to accept that I may never again weigh under 12 stones, as I did for my wedding and thought I was fat then! Honestly, right now to get to 20 stones would improve my health enormously.

I certainly won’t weigh myself every day because that can be counter-productive, but I will weigh myself once a week. I suppose my clothes will tell me whether I’m losing fat.

Please join in and help me if you have a few minutes spare every week. If I don’t post, or I seem to be going off the rails please make an encouraging comment. I’ve decided that when I reach 18 stones I’ll give away an Apple iPod (Nano) to one poster whose name will be selected in a draw. You have to make an encouraging post though!