Rock Bottom? The Only Way Is Up

“Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life” ~ J K Rowling Today I weigh 18 stone 7lbs (259 pounds 117.7KG) more than I have ever weighed in my life (including full term pregnancy). How have I got here? Eating too much. Drinking too much. Dieting too much. Many moons ago, probably around 1988 I weighed around 10 stone 7lbs and joined Slimming World for the first time. That is my goal weight now. In those days there was the red and the green day. I totally misunderstood the concept and though all red and green food was free and only the 2 for yous were restricted (I think they’re called Healthy Options now) consequently I gained in my first week. I use this analogy to kind of explain where I’m up to. I decided a long time ago that dieting was making me fat(ter). My last big push to lose weight was when I entered The Outlaw in September 2012. I was 17 and a half stone and I lost a stone and a half in 6 weeks by training consistently and fuelling for hunger. Then I lost my job. It’s the reason the wheels came off the wagon but shouldn’t have been. I had more time to train and should have used it as a time to focus and channel my frustrations into building a healthy body. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. The weight crept back on I’ve done no training to speak of and gained another stone since I started my current job 11 months ago. Obviously it’s the job to blame or should I say the amazing free lunches that are provided every day. The job has led me to study Mindfulness, Neuro Linguistic Programming, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy all in an attempt to sort out my own head. A very good friend of mine introduced me to a Virtual Gastric Band Hypnosis. The App was £4.99 but the first track was £0.99. Not wanting to waste £4 (bearing in mind I’ve wasted absolute thousands of pounds on weight loss gimmicks and gizmos in the past) I bought the first track. I then bought the first track to the Bikini App. I then bought the full VGB App and the full Bikini App and the Reduce your Alcohol. I’m waffling I know but what I’m getting at is I’ve overloaded body and mind and ended up achieving nothing. I work colleague has gestational diabetes. Being really cocky I asked her to test my blood sugar. It was 28.7. I was mortified and managed to get an appointment with the diabetic nurse the following day. We established that had that reading been correct I would have been very unwell and was probably caused by sugars on my fingers (from eating dried fruit and nuts) . I’d had blood tests a couple of days previously:- Gamma GT 80 (should be between 7 and 46) HBA1C 40 (OK) Fasting blood 6.3 (should be less than 6) Cholesterol 5.3 (should be less than 5) 3.1 (ratio fine) Blood Pressure 160 over 120 I expected this to be the wake up of all wake up calls. I desperately wanted her to say “Stop drinking and lose weight Lynne or you will die.” This wasn’t the case. My results are not that bad however she made no bones about if I continue my present lifestyle it won’t be long before she is making that statement. So what am I going to do? My counsellor has been ill for a few weeks but we had an incredibly productive meeting on Friday. Work lunches – I explained “everyone” ate the work lunches and it would be frowned upon and considered rude if I didn’t. She made me realise that it’s far better to upset work colleagues than end up dead. Yes I know over dramatising but I need all the help I can get. The hypnosis is undoubtedly beneficial however I need to establish which one will help me most. She’s asked me to associate wine with bleach. Alcohol (in excess) is a poison. Whilst wine will not cause my organs to melt in the same way that drinking bleach would if I can hold on to that visualization it’s going to help. Here are the Sue Peckham and James Holmes guidelines:- Eat what you want NOT what you can You want to be a slim, fit healthy person so you want to eat the foods that Slim, Fit Healthy people eat. Your body knows what it needs to stay healthy. Listen to your body. Depriving yourself of certain foods only increases your desire for those foods. You always want more of what you believe you can’t have. There are no forbidden foods, just some foods that are healthier than others. Eat whenever you are physically hungry, every time you are physically hungry but only when you are physically hungry. Ignoring your body’s natural hunger can lead to overeating and fat storage later on. Eat SLOWLY Slow your eating speed down to a quarter of what it is now. Put down your knife and fork between mouthfuls and ensure your mouth is completely empty before you take another bite. If you’re still eating too fast then try changing your knife and fork over into the other hand or eat with chop sticks. When eating a sandwich or biscuit etc, put the food down between mouthfuls. After each mouthful ask yourself “Am I still hungry?” As soon as you even think you are no longer hungry STOP eating. Your body will tell you when you have eaten sufficient. Always leave some food on your plate. When you are hungry again later you can eat some more but make sure you STOP eating as soon as you even think you are no longer hungry. So at 50 my goal is to weigh 10 stone 7lbs and my dream is to be medication free. Many lessons learned, living in the present is a gift, I am hopeful of a bright future

The Once And For All 26 Week Plan

Yup folks we’ve been here before. The diet to end all diets. The birth of a new me. The simplest eating plans. The starvation plans. The deprivation plans. The sensible sustainable lifestyle changes. The change one thing…Need I go on?

As with most monumental decisions it starts with Lesley. Her plan of plans started in January and lasted for 10 weeks in which she lost 2 stone. Then she fell off the wagon but hasn’t put anything back on. Her idea is that she needs to dedicate 26 weeks, that’s half a year, to getting where she wants to be. Once she’s there she will be able to maintain it.

Wonderful idea, me thinks. So off I trot and get the calendar. 26 weeks last Friday will be Morgan’s 4th birthday. Perfect timing. When I told my Mum I was pregnant with Morgan she was mortified “You’ll be the oldest and fattest Mum at the school gates and he’ll get teased relentlessly.” Well there’s nothing I can do about the oldest bit.

I’m pretty hacked off in most areas of my life at the moment. All I seem to do is train, go to work, act as taxi service to the kids, waste a couple of hours or so on the computer, watch whatever’s on the telly at 9pm, consume far too much alcohol and fall asleep in the chair.

What don’t I like about that life? Pretty much all of it except spending time with the kids, training and work (I actually love my job – just not impressed with the pay).

So how do I make it change? I thought triathlon training was the magic cure and it was for a while when the pounds were dropping off, when I wasn’t drinking and when I was getting quality and quantity of sleep. So let’s start there.

I Lynne Evans do solemnly declare that I will dedicate the next 26 weeks of my life to getting me where I want to be:

1. I will not drink alcohol
2. I will drink 2l of water a day
3. I will exercise for 6 hours a week (including core exercises)
4. I will get my 5 a day
5. I will banish take aways, chips, pastry and pizza
6. I will stop wasting time on the computer especially Tri Talk and Facebook
7. I will keep on top of my self-employed work
8. I will plan quality time with the kids
9. I will plan quality time with Mark
10. I will have quality time for ME

So there you go.

Well the weight loss plan… Don’t want to do it on a wing and a prayer but don’t want to be too regimented either.

The action plan for this week was wheat free, snack free, alcohol free and generally healthy eating. Done quite well until I had this flash of “Oh my God!” I’ve been having fruit and fibre for breakfast which contains….wheat. Water has been filling me up and then yesterday we get the “boil your tap water” warning. Wouldn’t really be a problem but as every where’s sold out of bottled water and I don’t really want to give Morgan boiled water for his juice I’ve had to do without.

Not done any training this week as my hip’s still a bit sore after doing Chirk on Sunday. The rest won’t do me any harm at all as long as I train consistently from tomorrow. Got in touch with Lance “the ironman” tonight who’s agreed to give me swimming lessons Saturday morning.

Went to the Doctors last night. He’s sending me to Audiology for a hearing test. He thinks I may have thrush in my oesophagus (antibiotics in January) so I’ve got anti fungal tablets and gastro resistant tablets. He also gave me a prescription for Tramadol so I can cope with back pain.

So back to the 26 week plan – 3lb a week = 78lbs = 5stone 8lbs. Starting weight of 15stone 10 WILL see me at 11stone for Morgan’s Birthday even allowing for a tiny blip.

WATCH THIS SPACE.

1st March

Wrote this one and not sure how it didn't get posted but... here goes

Don’t really know where to start with this one.

Was very focussed, Did the training, got the early nights, ate what I should, except for fish and chips from the chippy last Friday, didn’t drink alcohol and LOST 9lbs. I was absolutely extatic. It wasn’t difficult. I wasn’t hungry and I felt so much better except…

I was bloated. Something I learned which I found really strange was to do with bread. OK I know wholemeal is better for you than white but I thought I was being really good by paying extra and having good quality “seeded” bread. What the book basically said was “read the label” make sure the main ingredient is wholemeal, wholewheat or better still stoneground flour. Without exception when I checked the labels of the seedy stuff in Tesco the main ingredient was wheat flour.

I ate lots of bread last week and was convinced that’s why I felt so bloated.

I decided to do the Atkins for a week.

Yup I know, I swore I wouldn’t but I really was quite “desperate” to shift a lot of weight quickly. I haven’t been bloated, my concentration in work has been fantastic, exercise wise I’m flying, I’ve lost another 3lbs but I’m terrified of making myself ill so on Saturday I’ll start something else. Not quite sure what yet.

Start Again....

Yesterday I weighed….

16stone 3lb

Well that’s that then. I’ve put on everything I’ve lost plus 3lb in a week. Why? Guess I was lulled into a false sense of security. By being able to eat what I wanted, when I wanted and still consistently lose 2lb a week had an absolute gorge and basically gained 11lb in a week.

Was a massive slap in the face but I think the wake up call I’ve needed. Chirk is 10 weeks yesterday. I weighed 15stone when I did it last year. I am undoubtedly much fitter but there’s no way I’m going to make any impact unless I lose at least 3 stone (yup in 10 weeks! If 11lb can go on in a week it can jolly well come off in a week!)

So where do I go from here?

Got all the books out yesterday. There was much weeping and wailing. The Atkins I know delivers the most dramatic results but I am so terrified of making myself ill. Best option, me thinks is Rosemary Connelly’s GI Jeans, plus all the Paul McKenna “techniques.”

Saw a lorry this week with “One life! Live it!” That’s what I wanted on my wrist band. I ended up with “U only have one life.” Not as articulate but the same sentiment? I watched an old “A Touch of Frost” on Saturday night. There were two paedophiles who wore elastic bands around their wrists. A self hypnosis tool of when they had the urge, touch the band. Ok my mind is warped I am no paedophile but using the Paul McKenna technique of touching third finger and thumb in a moment of weakness, my one life band will become my crutch.

For a long, long time the plan has been to do a very specific 10 week Olympic triathlon training plan in the 10 weeks prior to Chirk. I am absolutely determined to follow it. I should have swum this morning I ran instead. A 5k Time Trial. It took me 40minutes. I have 10 weeks to take off 10 minutes. I really struggled. I am capable of running almost double this distance over a much harder route. The excess weight made a huge impact. Losing 3 stone will have an even bigger impact.

The plan – no alcohol, early nights, 6 days a week “hard, consistent” training.

I share these photos with you because I need to see how bad I’ve let things get.

Weeks 4 & 5

Two weeks! Too Long!

And today I weighed 15stone 6lbs.

I’ve lost 2lb a week which I can’t complain about but no doubt will. Lesley has lost 22lb by doing low carb and my manager has lost 10lb by doing the Celebrity Slim shake and soup regime.

1. Eat when you’re REALLY hungry


2. Eat what you really want


3. Eat consciously


4. Stop When You’re Full


5. Drink Water

I’ve consumed vast quantities of alcohol. I’ve had several take aways, including fish and chips, but basically I have stuck to the above and I have lost weight.

I’ve got into the habit of eating breakfast. A 2 minute dinged Oat so Simple is easy to fit into the morning routine. Slight problem was when I had oatcakes for lunch and excruciating stomach pains in the afternoon (oat overload!) settled over a day or two and I do feel better for it.

Exercise has been non existent. Wait for it, two really good excuses. The knee – not good. Knew I’d have to rest it for 2 weeks. When I say rest though, I mean not run. I did intend to use the gym and swim but that’s where the other excuse comes in, the weather. Ice and snow. I have been able to get to work and get the kids to school (theirs was the only school open on one particular day!) but… the side roads have been pretty treacherous. I’ve played dancing on ice on several occasions. Last Thursday in particular dropped the big kids off at their Dad’s, approached the main road braked and continued to be propelled forward with a horrible crunching sound. Luckily there was nothing coming but rather scary.

I really “suffer” when I don’t run. I initially had the knee problem, then my hip hurt and because I didn’t run, the ankle I broke when I was pregnant with Morgan became swollen (it’s a circulation thing!) So that’s the physical side. The mental bit is that I have all the PMT symptoms and although I know I haven’t got BSE I really do turn into a Mad Cow.

Mark’s reaction is:-

“ For fcuk’s sake Lynne will you get out and run and come back in a better mood?”

Morgan made me laugh but gave me the kick up the arse I needed:- “Have you got a baby in your tummy Mummy?”

“No Morgan, why?”

“Because Auntie Corrine (playgroup supervisor) has a big tummy and she’s got a baby in hers”

Well… come hell or high water I was running yesterday. The forecast wasn’t too bad and I thought as long as we didn’t have a hard frost I’d be ok.. It had snowed overnight which was good as it had obviously warmed up and I could run on the fresh snow. I thought it was impossible for anyone to run any slower than I usually did. I was wrong. I was just extremely grateful for my tenner trail shoes. They were just the job. A work colleague had misjudged a kerb last weekend and torn the ligaments in her ankle so I was very conscious of taking care. At one stage I ended up running on grass because I had no idea where the road/pavement/verge started or ended.

Told Mark when I got back felt like I was running through treacle. His obvious response was “I wouldn’t know I’ve never run through treacle!” Doh! Best thing about it? A snow plough lifted its bucket so I didn’t get drenched and a fabulous red sun rise which had turned yellow by the time I got my camera out.







The worst thing? 200 yards from home a 4X4 dived for a lake of a puddle and I was dripping drenched

THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I THINK I’VE EVER READ ABOUT EATING/EXERCISE (From Paul McKenna of course)

“There are two types of energy – potential and kinetic. Petrol is an example of potential energy – in and of itself, it just sits there , but when you stick it in an engine, it becomes ‘kinetic’ it fuels the engine to take the car wherever you want to go. As the potential energy becomes kinetic, it gets used up and needs to be replenished.

Similarly , food is the potential energy for the engine of your body. This is why it’s so important to both eat when you’re hungry and move your body.

If you keep driving without putting in enough petrol, what would you expect to happen to your engine? It would continually splutter and stall, and eventually wear out.

On the other hand, if you keep putting petrol into a car without ever driving it, the petrol would begin overflowing everywhere, creating a safety hazard and a bit of a mess.

By balancing eating when you’re hungry (filling the tank) and moving your body frequently (driving the car), your body will reward you by taking you wherever you want to go”

So that’s the plan.

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow”
Albert Einstein

“The body never lies”
Martha Graham

“I think awareness I probably the most important thing in becoming a champion”
Billie Jean-King

“The only reason I would take up jogging is so that I can hear heavy breathing again”
Erma Bombeck

“Follow your instincts. That’s where true wisdom manifests itself.”
Oprah Winfrey

“Water its living strength first shows.
When obstacles its course oppose”
Johann Wolfgang von Goeth

“Love the moment and the energy of the moment will spread beyond all boundaries”
Sister Corita Kent

“A smile is a curve that sets everything straight”
Phyllis Diller

*If you watch how nature deals with adversity, continually renewing itself, you cannot help but learn”
Bernie S Siegel

“Success is neither magical or mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals”
Jim Rohn

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”
Jim Ryun

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”
Jim Ryun

“You always pass failure on the way to success”
Mickey Rooney

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily”
Zig Ziglar

“Celebrate what you want to see more of”
Tom Peters


“Throughout the day today, ask your body this question:

“What can I do to take better care of you in this moment?”

Regardless of whether the answer is ‘take a deep breath’, ‘love me’, or ‘give me a cream cake’, honour your body’s wisdom and do what you can to take care of it.”

Paul McKenna

Week 3 - Hopefully Without Too Much Information!

Been a while. Been a while for a reason.

My obsession with food sort of disappeared. From being constantly hungry, or so I thought, to never feeling hungry is quite an achievement. It’s a very difficult thing to explain so please excuse the waffle.

I was constantly on a diet. Constantly not eating this or that. Constantly telling myself I would lose x amount of pounds in x amount of weeks. Telling myself that I could realistically be 5 dress sizes smaller in 6 months.

What it all boiled down to was food/diet/weight loss was always on my mind, every waking and often dreaming moment.

Sticking to the diet for a week or so saw results but then came the “I’ve lost 6lb this week, what harm will a packet of tortillas of a bottle of wine do?” In theory not a lot but in practice it was sabotage and I’d failed so why not have two packets of tortillas, half a box of crackers, a pound of cheese and a bottle of wine, and that’s how the downward spiral to failure would go.

By doing this Paul McKenna it’s put things into perspective. There is a great deal more to life than losing weight. His rules are not restricting but liberating.

I ate incredibly healthily Monday to Friday. I had a take away and a bottle of wine on Saturday and on Sunday because I was so busy forgot to eat until about 3pm (yup this is me!) The repercussions were a bit of a disaster. I didn’t fancy any tea and then ended up snacking all evening, and consuming another bottle of wine.

The thing is though I haven’t broken the rules and I’m back to my healthy in the week routine.

Exercise wise last week wasn’t amazing either

Monday I really needed to rest after 7 consecutive days.

Tuesday – had a massive argument with the duvet. It wasn’t particularly my body that was tired I just couldn’t wake up. Eventually I won and tootled off to the gym for what wasn’t one of my best cross trainer sessions but at least I did it.

Wednesday - walking across the car park in work, slipped and twisted my knee. Didn’t actually fall but it was a tad painful. Instead of running I went swimming

Attempted a brick session in the gym on Thursday but had to curtail the run after 5 minutes as major problems with my knee.

Friday was a scheduled rest and as I anticipated running long Saturday and biking long on Sunday didn’t worry too much. Unfortunately a problem with mould and new bookcases meant nothing over the weekend

Taught me another valuable lesson as I didn’t find humping books up the stairs particularly easy. The books weighed considerably less than the weight I’ve got to lose.

I think I’m losing inches rather than weight though. Jim said to me the other night “You know what Mum? Your boobs are now bigger than your belly” Backhanded? It’s a compliment in my books.

“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out”
John Wooden

“The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age”
Lucille Ball

“Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness”
Chinese Proverb

“A Man cannot be comfortable without his own approval”
Mark Twain

“Failure is a few errors in judgement, repeated every day”
Jim Rohn

“Always act as if you have achieved what it is you are setting out to accomplish”
Joe D Batten

“Visualisation is daydreaming with a purpose”
Bo Bennett

Congratulations! For two weeks!

Well for the benefit of Jim…

Thursday cross trainer in the gym. The bit I love most about it is the way the calorie counter spins. I’m obviously not working hard enough because it feels like very little effort for burning 600 calories in an hour.

There is just no urge to overeat whatsoever. It’s as if an alien has possessed my body.

Friday – gym and static bike. I think I need to change the sport’s programme because whatever I do my heart rate stays at around 140. Was conscious of last week’s bad day in the office hit the cider but I was determined to run long on Saturday so yet another successful not on a diet, diet day.

The rain woke me during the night and all I could think of was what was I going to wear? When I left the house at 8am the rain had stopped but boy was it cold. Not a frosty cold but a bitter wind. I’d decided to do the Borders because hey it took me 82 minutes the last (and only) time I’d done it and the longest I’ve run the past 6 weeks or so is 40 minutes so what the hell let’s double it? It’s a bit of a long incline then you hit the first hill. I’d used the old rope trick previously and it got me up again – no walking – success. I hit the top and had to walk. The wind literally took my breath away. I only walked perhaps 50 yards and then a gentle climb to the next killer hill. Amazingly that too wasn’t a problem. There’s a lovely scenic, flat bit through the village which when the sun is out and you can hear the cows, horses and sheep you realise why exactly you do this running lark. Then for the decent. The lane’s a bit rough. Wish I’d used my trail shoes. Lots of mud and general crap. Then out onto the main ish road. It’s a B road. Wide enough for 2 cars just but, the motor vehicles do tend to take it a bit fast. It’s a tiny bit hairy. That’s why I try and get out early. It’s mostly downhill with a couple of undulations and then the steep downhill which absolutely killed my knees. Then pretty flat all the way home. 78minutes – absolutely delighted. I really felt like I could have carried on. I had a very civilised conversation, without huffing and puffing, with my husband when I got in and had none of the leg shakes I’d experienced last time.

Went to Chester later on and managed to bag myself some bargain gym gear except they’re not that much of a bargain as they’ve been labelled wrong and don’t fit. Never mind more incentive to shift the weight so that they will.

Morgan had a party in the Sports Centre in the afternoon. I made casual enquiries as to when the pool would reopen and was horrified to be told the end of March/beginning of April.

When we came out it was throwing it down and blowing a hooly. I rang Mark, expecting to be told to pick him up from the pub but he wanted another hour and promised to bring a take-away home with him. Disaster! Like I can’t say no! Like just because he’s having one I don’t have to have one! I enjoyed every mouthful. I didn’t touch the Bombay alu and I gave Morgan half my rice. All in all not too bad. Except…. They gave us a free bottle of wine and I drank the lot. Then had a family bag of crisps. But what the hell? One blowout a week’s fine? Isn’t it?

Sunday I got my bike out for the first time in months. I have no lights so practically the only time I can cycle is the weekend and it’s been either too icy or too windy for ages. As I struggled along I mentally wrote my blog. Gym miles is no substitute for road miles. I really must make more effort. Then I stopped beating myself up and came to the conclusion this is the 7th consecutive day of training and I’ve done very little over the past month or so. Of course I’m going to be tired. One thing that really concerned me though was I’ve lost my nerve on the downhills. In fairness it was quite windy and there was quite a lot of crap on the roads.

I’d always thought the Borders was about 5.6miles and as I did it from home was quite convinced I was getting a good 10k out of it. My bike speedo said 5.33 so I’m still much slower than I thought.

“Pleasure is the object, the duty and the goal of all rational creatures”
Voltaire

“This life is not for complaint, but for satisfaction”
Henry David Thoreau

“Living in balance and purity is the highest good for you and the earth”
Deepak Chopra

“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate”
Oprah Winfrey

“You have to eat regularly to maintain your energy levels – if you starve your body, it simply stores everything that you do eat”
Cindy Crawford

“Congratulations! For two weeks now you have been interuptiing your old patterns of diet and exercise and building the foundations for a whole new way of relating to food, your emotions and your body. By the time you are finished with this journal, it will be as difficult for you to go back to your old ways of doing things as it will be easy and natural to eat and live in a way that truly works for you.

Remember this journal is designed to support you in creating the habits of empowered eating. Take a moment now to jot down anything you’ve already noticed about how things are changing…..”

Paul McKenna

1. My wee is clearer
2. My bowels are regular
3. I don’t constantly think of food
4. The need to unwind with alcohol has gone
5. I’m a lot calmer
6. I’m working more efficiently – my thought processing is quicker and clearer
7. I’m able to switch off
8. I have very definite goals and plans of how I will achieve them.
9. I am so far up my own arse all I can see are my boots

10. I'm really pissed off withmyself I didn't start this before and then I might be doing the Wrexham half and not have to wait until May to do the Chester half

Days 8, 9 and 10

Ooops skipped 2 days!

It’s a bit difficult to fit it all in and blog about it!

Basically had a great day Monday. In the gym first thing and the dreaded treadmill. I did 30 mins, mainly at 8 but I did up it to 9. Felt really strong and enjoyed. Fantastic day food wise. Really not hungry.

Tuesday much of the same except I did the bike in the gym and attempted to listen to the CD. Not one of my better ideas but better than nothing.

Today – woke up to frost. The plan was to road run so I road ran. I’ve always had problems getting to the end of our road. I sound like Darth Vader and am always tempted to turn back. This morning, pushed the pace and was almost on the cross before I thought “Hey girl you’re not struggling.”

Headed out towards the killer hill and promised myself the road sign where I’d failed before plus a lamppost. Well I managed two. Headed back home again but went the long way to make up the time. I was flying.

As a bit of a footnote – wore my trail shoes for the first time and I’ve got a blister under my arch.

“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing”
Stephen R Covey

“Once you learn to quit it becomes a habit”
Vincent Lombardi

I LYNNE EVANS, PROMISE THAT FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT 81 DAYS, I WILL EAT WHENEVER I’M HUNGRY NO MATTER HOW I FEEL ABOUT IT

“The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it”
Oscar Wilde

Day 7 Sunday 11th January 2009

A bit of a mediocre kind of day not bad, not good.

I am completely fine during the day. It’s evenings I have the problem. By identifying the problem I need a solution. Basically alcohol is the trigger so it must be knocked on the head and if I’m struggling I’ll just have to go to bed.

I think the underlying problem is I expect too much too soon. I need to lose 77lbs. It would be nice to lose 4 stone by Chirk (26 April) and another stone and a half by the Diva’s (end of July) but it would be far better to lose 2lb a week AND KEEP IT OFF. Unrealistic targets need to go out of the window NOW.

“Hope is a renewable option: If you run out of it at the end of the day, you get to start over in the morning”
Barbara Kingsoliver

“Every seven days I’m going to take time out to reflect on how far you’ve come and refocus on where it is you’re heading. Here’s your very first chance to ‘review and renew’……

1.The best things that happened this week were:
I stuck to the plan and enjoyed it for 4 days
2.My biggest challenges this week were::
Evenings
3. I did these things for the first time:
Visualisation and self hypnosis
4.What I learned was:
Just because I didn’t succeed every day it doesn’t make me a failure
5My top three priorities for the week ahead are:
a. 6 gym or training sessions
b. Listen to the CD
c. Contingency plans – cereal bars in my desk in work – if I’m hungry I will eat.



Today’s Success Checklist
1. I ate when I was hungry NO I just ate and ate and ate
2. I ate what I really wanted YES
3.I ate consciously NO
4. I stopped when full NO
5. I drank water YES
6.I moved my body NO
7.I listened to the CD NO
8.I did the Mirror exercise YES
9.I did NOT drink alcohol NO

One Positive Thing I Noticed Today….
It wasn't as bad as yesterday.

What I’m Looking Forward To Tomorrow…
Getting back to the gym!

Day 6 Saturday 10 January 2009

Ok first things first – confession. Diasaster! Disaster! Disaster!

Ok you are warned that there will be bad days. Didn’t expect to have such a bad one so soon and so spectacularly bad.

I am taking total responsibility for this.

So it kind of starts in Tesco! Mark heads off down the wine isle and I say “No I don’t want any!” When I eventually picked him up off the floor, he doesn’t react well to shock, he insisted that we buy 2 bottles as there was none in the house and I’d end up sending him out in the freezing cold at an ungodly hour to buy some anyway.

“Just because we’ve got them Lynne, doesn’t mean you have to drink them!”

Famous last words.

I also bought a bag of pretzels because I hadn’t been able to get any over Christmas – just in case.

Hands up who can guess where this is going? I think it’s the sabotage I need to reread.

Dropped Mark off in the pub on the way back. Put the shopping away. Got out the gammon joint that we were due to have for tea to discover it was 10 days past its sell by date and it smelled rank. Rang Mark to tell him and his obvious reply was “Don’t worry I’ll get a takeaway on the way in.”

We’d just spent £115 on food but a takeaway? What the hell! Go on it’s Saturday night and as a new member of the I don’t have to have a clean plate club I could always stop when I was full?

As it was only 3 O’clock and tea wouldn’t be until half six I settled down with a cup of coffee and 2 mince pies.

Mark turns up with an Indian banquet and I scoff the lot and a bottle and a half of wine and the family bag of pretzels.

Told you it was a disaster. No point crying over spilled milk or overeating. Tomorrow’s another day.

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it”
William Arthur Ward

“When we are wrapped up in our own worries and concerns it is the easiest thing in the world to overlook all the good things we already have in our lives.

Today we are going to reverse that pattern. Ask yourself to focus on what’s already working well in your life. Ask and answer these questions each time you notice you are hungry. When you’ve fed your heart, it will be time to feed your body….
· Who do I love?
· Who loves me?
· What am I most grateful for in my life?
· What is it about that which makes me feel grateful? “

Paul McKenna


Today’s Success Checklist
1. I ate when I was hungry NO I just ate and ate and ate
2. I ate what I really wanted YES
3.I ate consciously NO
4. I stopped when full NO
5. I drank water YES and wine
6.I moved my body NO
7.I listened to the CD NO
8.I did the Mirror exercise YES
9.I did NOT drink alcohol NO Arghhhhhhh!!!

One Positive Thing I Noticed Today….
I recognise this as a blip – but a blip is all it is.

What I’m Looking Forward To Tomorrow…
Getting back on the horse!

Day 5 Friday 9th January 2009

Ok first things first – confession. I weighed myself. I’ve lost 6lbs woopy doo!

Confession number 2 – I consumed 3 cans of cider. I guess that’s why you’re not supposed to weigh yourself.

Lots of lessons to be learned from today.

I felt really hungry by about 11:30. I had nothing to eat as a standby so had to struggle on until my lunch at 1:00. Hunger satisfied. Leaned that my manager had made her Celebrity Slim soup yesterday, put it in the shaker, shaked and the top had blown off ( the old steam engine theory, I believe) Fortunately it had exploded away from her, up the walls and into the electric socket which had blown. We all found this highly amusing but in reality the consequenses could have been very different.

It’s been a really hectic week in work and approaching 5:00 the observations of “I’m going to get pi$$ed!” “I’m going to get rat ar$ed” started to flow. I had no intention of consuming alcohol but then after my tea settling down nicely to “Trial and Retribution” I thought “I’ll just have the one – seen as I’ve lost 6lbs.” Big mistake. Led to another and another.



“You will think more than 50,000 thoughts today, so you might as well make them big ones”
Donald Trump

“Close your eyes and vividly imagine it’s a year from now and you have had your best year so far. What must have happened for that to be true?

Be specific about each area of your life: your health, your career, your relationships, your finances, your spirituality.

Remember it’s very important to be clear. If you put vagueness out you will get vague results back. So take a few minutes and imagine your life has become outrageously better. Then at least five times today, spend a few moments thinking about how good your life can be!”

Paul McKenna


Today’s Success Checklist
1. I ate when I was hungry NO I was hungry today – need better preparation
2. I ate what I really wanted YES
3.I ate consciously YES
4. I stopped when full YES
5. I drank water YES
6.I moved my body NO
7.I listened to the CD NO
8.I did the Mirror exercise YES
9.I did NOT drink alcohol NO Arghhhhhhh!!!

One Positive Thing I Noticed Today….
Black circles are disappearing from under my eyes.

What I’m Looking Forward To Tomorrow…
Weekend woopeeeee!

Day 4 Thursday 8 January

I was woken by my alarm this morning. I felt tired. My calf and hamstring were tight so I made the instant decision of using today instead of tomorrow as a rest day.

I’d hinted to Jim that I couldn’t get his footy boots. (I really couldn’t get them online and it took trawling all over North Wales, and the North West, to track down a pair in his size – in Wrexham of all places!) The look on his face when he opened them was priceless. You’d swear he was 7 not 13! Just a shame he had to go to school on his birthday.

I found time to listen to the CD. Waiting for the kids outside school, eyes shut looking like a right dork I guess is not the best place but I listened to it. Can’t tell you how difficult I found it counting back from 300. Yet again a strange, but not unpleasant experience.

Like I said yesterday tea in my Mum’s. She’s renowned for massive portions and she is the founder of the clean plate club. I had a cunning plan. I dished my own and purposely made it around half her normal portion size. I was last to finish but what the hell. I’d decided I was going to have birthday cake but in the end had trifle.

When I got home Mark decided to have Ritz and Stilton. I really fancied crackers and cheese so, I had them. 5 water biscuits and really thin slithers of cheddar. Not sure if this is good or not but before this regime I would have devoured the packet and a full block of cheese.

I really fancied alcohol – but I didn’t give in to temptation.

“Everything in life that we really accept undergoes a change”
Katherine Mansfield

“When we focus on our goals for the future, it can sometimes seem as though we are rejecting who we are in the present

Take a few minutes to stand in front of the mirror today and send love and approval to your body. Remember acceptance doesn’t mean that you don’t want to change something – it just means that you are willing to accept that where you are now is where you are now”

Paul McKenna


Today’s Success Checklist
1. I ate when I was hungry YES I was hungry today
2. I ate what I really wanted YES crackers and cheese yummy
3.I ate consciously YES slow really works
4. I stopped when full YES think so giving myself benefit of doubt over trifle
5. I drank water YES
6.I moved my body NO
7.I listened to the CD YES Imagination is stronger than willpower. Imagining what I will look like and what I will do once this weight is shifted is very powerful inspiration
8.I did the Mirror exercise YES
9.I did NOT drink alcohol YES more difficult

One Positive Thing I Noticed Today….

You don’t have to be perfect to succeed.

What I’m Looking Forward To Tomorrow…
Friday! Weekend nearly here!

Day 3 Wednesday 7th January 2009

They said it was easy and it is. I’m not sure where this willpower or imagination or self belief has appeared from but I feel fantastic. So much energy.

Gym this morning decided on 45 mins on my old friend the cross trainer as it is so good for calorie burning. Well we had a bit of a fall out. It kept telling me to slow down to keep my heart rate within the zone.I upped it to cardio and we got along just fine I just got incredibly bored after 30 mins so had this wonderful idea that a treadmill run might be in order. (To those of you who’ve ever read any of my other ramblings I detest the treadmill with a passion.)

I find 8 difficult so to start this morning do 2 minutes at 9 – just to prove that I can do it. Hey at this precise moment in time I’m invincible so I do another 10 mins at 8 and alternate between 8 and 9 for the last 3 mins. Just to prove I can up my pace and I will do a 30min 5k one day.

Work was really busy so didn’t have time to think about food.

Lunch time was interesting. My Manager’s started the Rowland’s Celebrity Shake plan today and another girl, who’s lost 42lbs on lighter life is back on the Lighter Life after a bit of a lapse over Christmas. It’s not a competition but I bet I beat them. Was discussing my plan today and have been reliably informed that the CD is the best bit about this eating plan – and I haven’t even tried it yet.


“Part of the secret of successin life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.”
Mark Twain

Today’s the day when you’re supposed to go clear out your fridge and cupboards of any food that doesn’t totally inspire you. Well I threw away precisely nothing. This is the bit I remember from watching the programme last year and since then I’ve literally not bought or eaten anything low fat or low calorie. I remember to compensate for the fat and sugars and stuff that a shed load of additives and E’s were included. It’s like my cup a soup yesterday – thoroughly enjoyed every mouthful.


Today’s Success Checklist
1. I ate when I was hungry YES I never thought I’d say I nearly forgot to eat!
2. I ate what I really wanted YES Absolute heaven
3.I ate consciously YES Cut my butties into 4!
4. I stopped when full YES Such a relatively small amount does satisfy
5. I drank water YES
6.I moved my body YES 45mins in the gym
7.I listened to the CD NO time!
8.I did the Mirror exercise YES I am Julia Roberts not Jo Brand
9.I did NOT drink alcohol YES Easy

One Positive Thing I Noticed Today….

Concentration much better in work.

What I’m Looking Forward To Tomorrow…

Jim’s Birthday – Tea in Mums with Birthday Cake and no guilt!

Day 2 Tuesday 6 January 2009

Well I guess I can say the first day wasn’t a flook. Today’s been erm interesting.

Firstly I’m ready to go to the gym, look at the car, realise it’s frozen solid and know that if I defrost it I’ll only have 30mins exercise time. Decisions, decisions. I go anyway – so there’s a yes that was a no yesterday.

Water’s not a problem usually. A pint (and a coffee) before the gym. A point and a coffee after the gym. On the way to work there was an accident which delayed me somewhat. There was nearly an accident in my car. I was absolutely bursting for the loo when I got to work.

Our office is on 2 floors and downstairs had a powercut. As their work is more deadline driven than ours they came upstairs to use our PC’s and we were given the option of going home or sorting vouchers. Needless to say I came home.

I’ve managed to sort a lot of paperwork and do quite a lot of tidying which has left my mind somewhat decluttered so a very productive day all in all.

“The human body is the best picture of the human soul.”
Ludwig Wittgenstein

“Today take some time to find a picture of something or someone that inspires you…..Whenever you need an extra dose of courage or determination you can look at the picture and inspire yourself to success!”

The most inspirational picture I have is of me completing the triathlon in Chirk last year. The feeling of euphoria I experienced crossing that line was something I will never be able to put into words. I worked for it. I did it. I didn’t give up. How much better am I going to feel when I lose all this weight?


Today’s Success Checklist
1. I ate when I was hungry YES I was really hungry after picking the kids up from school and had an absolutely delicious full fat cup a soup!
2. I ate what I really wanted YES Absolute heaven
3.I ate consciously YES Slowly and chewed properly – mash is not the easiest thing to chew!
4. I stopped when full YES Tried smaller portions and I was full
5. I drank water YES
6.I moved my body YES 30mins static bike in the gym
7.I listened to the CD NO time!
8.I did the Mirror exercise YES takes very little time. Rather a strange experience
9.I did NOT drink alcohol YES Easy

One Positive Thing I Noticed Today….
I could very easily have not gone to the gym. I went and felt the benefit.

What I’m Looking Forward To Tomorrow…
Tomorrow – everything about it.

Day 1 5th January 2009

Right so we got a 90 day journal on this so I’m going to try to do it online every day just to give an indication of what it’s like how I feel etc. I’m going to be working a day behind though to give a full picture of the day.

Alcohol is allowed but it’s such a trigger for me and overeating I have decided to give it up.

I saw the Paul McKenna I can make you thin show last year and thought the idea was great but… This book is better and has been tweeked.

The problem I found with the show was telling you to chew your food like 20 times. Well I totally agree with chewing properly but chewing mash 20 times was erm.. a bit impossible and a bit demotivating. He also said in the show things like next week I’ll teach you about…” Well to be honest I didn’t want to wait until next week so that’s why the book I think will work for me. I bought it tea time last Friday and had read it before I went to bed. I know I will have to keep rereading it but at least I’ve got all the info.

The things I found particularly pertinent was the emotional eating and sabotaging your diet. Sums up basically my last 25 years. The fact that I now know I’m not alone in this, and he’s provided me with the tools to cope, has given me hope.

I found the exercise section interesting too. I was surprised at the little effort he expected. I have a very short memory. That little extra effort would have been a mountain to me just over a year ago. I still need to push my exercise harder, longer and further to gain maximum effect

So here we go

“Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible”
~ St Francis of Assisi

Today’s Success Checklist

1. I ate when I was hungry YES I really have difficulty knowing what real hunger is
2. I ate what I really wanted YES Absolute heaven
3.I ate consciously YES Slowly and chewed properly – more difficult than it sounds when you’re used to having a fork to gob production line
4. I stopped when full YES I really knew when I was full. A strange experience
5. I drank water YES Quite an easy one really
6.I moved my body YES If cleaning counts
7.I listened to the CD NO hard to find 30 mins. Can’t do it driving or when doing anything else
8.I did the Mirror exercise NO again must find time
9.I did NOT drink alcohol YES Easy

One Positive Thing I Noticed Today….
I felt really strong and determined. As I can eat anything I can’t fail. It really is a journey into self awareness


What I’m Looking Forward To Tomorrow…
Proving today wasn’t just a one off

And Today I weighed 16stone. Not surprising with everything I've eaten and drunk recently but amazingly enough even though I'm half a stone heavier than this time last year I don't measure as big!

Well I’ve got 5 and a half stone to lose I’ve pretty much tried everything and what jumped out at me doing my shopping in Tesco on Friday was Paul McKenna’s “I can make you thin.” I don’t want to be thin thank you very much but I do want to be healthy.

It’s so simple

Eat when you’re REALLY hungry
Eat What you really want
Eat consciously
Stop When You’re Full
Drink Water

So I have officially resigned from the clean plate club. (Yup I was indoctrinated with starving kids in Africa)

I start today but have been practicing. It’s very difficult to concentrate specifically on what you’re eating. Meals around the table in our house are always filled with chat and banter. I had a bacon butty on Saturday – in front of the telly but not watching it. Concentrating on every mouthful and chewing really slowly it was the best bacon butty I’ve ever tasted. I had veg curry and a baked spud Saturday night. The texture of this meal mad it difficult to chew but I did appreciate the flavours more. Yesterda we had a carvery lunch for my Mum's birthdayI really struggled – to finish – in fact I didn’t which is a first and progress.

There’s a lot of psychological stuff in the book that explain lots of my reasons for overeating. I’ve loaded the CD onto my phone which basically translated is my ipod.

There’s a big thing about not weighing yourself for 2 weeks which I will find hard. There’s also a 90 day journal which I intend to post on here.

Feeling very, very positive.

It's Been Quite A While

And today I weighed 15stone 12lbs

Well this small steps is obviously working NOT!

No excuses. Ups and downs you know what it's like.

In desperation I got out my slimming pills and decided that for one week only I'd take those that make you poo out your fat. I just need something to get me started.

I was rescused from this STUPID fate by the fantastic Tracey who did my food intolerances. I am wheat intolerant and I'm eating 4 slices of white bread plus goodness knows what else. When I did the Atkins I dropped 6lb in about 4 days. I know it's not a long term solution but I am so bloated, I've hurt my back, I've got a streaming cold. I've convinced myself now that wheat is poisoning my system.

I am not going to do the Atkins.

I am going to significantly reduce my carbs and keep an honest, accurate food diary.

Wish me luck? Watch this space.

And Today I Weighed

And Today I weighed….

15stone 0.6lb

This has been an incredibly strange 10 days or so since the last post. I’ve been well and truly off the rails with alcohol, take-aways and carbs after 7. At one stage I weighed 15stone 6lbs. I know you shouldn’t weigh yourself every day but for me, at the moment it’s the only thing that works. When I hit that 15stone 6lbs I definitely took myself in hand, gave myself a stiff talking to and it’s onwards and upwards from here.

I’m not sure if my small, sustainable lifestyle changes were just too big. If I was on a downer because the big kids were away. If the lack of training sent me into a downward spiral. If I was a greedy cow and just looking for excuses. Whatever the reasons I’m back on track now.

I’ve had my ankle X rayed and I’ve had blood tests.

I’ve got a little over 4 weeks to my next triathlon so I’m upping the training, which in turn gets the old endorphins going plus there’s the psychological screaming at yourself “I do not intend to sweat blood in a morning only for you to undo the good work with wine in an evening.”

What I’ve read this week…

Anita Bean – Daily Express Monday 16 June 2008

It is easy to make excuses. It’s tempting to blame your genes, your metabolism, your lifestyle, other people, even diets themselves. But eventually you have to face up to the fact that you will lose weight only when you truly believe you can do it.

Your mind is the most powerful tool you have. It controls the way you think about food, how you feel about your weight and the way you look. It determines your relationship with food and it is central to your weight loss.

By changing some of your beliefs about food, you can change the way you eat. Your attitudes about your weight can either hold you back or set you free.

Think Like a Slim Person
Slim people are slim because they have chosen to be slim. They have accepted responsibility for their weight and they control it through their eating and exercise habits. By changing your beliefs, you can begin to think like a slim person.

Be Organised
If you feel out of control in other areas of your life, this can add to low self-esteem and out-of-control eating. Even if your day revolves around your children or your boss dictates your workload, you can gain a greater sense of control just by being more organised. Start by cleaning out cupboards, tackling overdue paperwork and keeping a diary to manage your time better.

Take Time To Change
Don’t expect instant results after making a change. A lot of people are disappointed when the scales register only a modest change in their weight after a weeks dieting. It may take a few weeks to reap the benefits. After all, it took you a long time to become overweight, so give yourself a realistic amount of time to reverse the process.

Banish Negative Thoughts
If you keep thinking that you’re deprived or missing out, you’ll never succeed in losing weight. Once negative thoughts creep in they can drag you back and keep you enslaved to your old (unhealthy) eating behaviour. You need to talk yourself into a positive attitude and stop feeling sorry for yourself.

Have A Strategy
Weight loss is not about willpower. Those who succeed at weight loss do not have greater willpower than those who fail – they just have better strategies.

Keep A Food Diary
One thing that is clear from the hundreds of studies on dieting is that people who write down what they eat each day lose more weight and are better at keeping it off than those who don’t.
Keeping a food diary will give you a much clearer idea of where your calories are coming from. Write down everything you eat and drink for one week (or longer if you can manage it), noting the portion, weights and sizes. Try to be as accurate as possible recording the weights of everything and remembering to write down every snack and every drink. You may be surprised at how quickly the calories add up or how often you nibble.
Look at your food diary and identify the foods or drinks that really aren’t helping your fat-loss efforts. The main culprits are likely to be calorie –dense, low fibre snacks, biscuits, puddings, crisps, ice cream, cakes and chocolate bars.

Identify The Trigger
Work out which foods cause you to overeat and keep them out of your home. If they’re not there you won’t think of them as much and be tempted to overeat.

Eat Regular Meals
If you eat chaotically, you lose the ability to make the connection between hunger and eating – and the result is overeating.
Developing a predictable and stable meal pattern is crucial. The reason most diets work initially is because they give your eating habits structure, usually three meals a day and maybe a healthy snack.
Often dieters become fixated with some other diet rule (such as calories or carbohydrate units) and alter the structure of their eating habits, skipping breakfast or delaying lunch and that’s when the diet starts to go wrong. Plan to eat three meals a day plus two small healthy snacks.
Never under eat. Don’t skip meals or snacks. Depriving yourself can lead to overeating later on. When you let yourself get really hungry it’s harder to make slim choices. You are more likely to give in to temptation as you pass the baker’s shop or grab a chocolate bar on the run – or you can convince yourself that you need extra food to satisfy your hunger.
Plan what and when you will eat and avoid long gaps between meals. Take a healthy snack with you so you won’t have to eat whatever is to hand.

Don’t Exclude Forbidden Foods
Consistently denying yourself a forbidden treat isn’t the way to lose weight. It tends to set up a psychological state of deprivation and once that abstinence is broken, you will feel rebellious which can lead to eating every scrap of food you can get your hands on.
If you always restrict what you eat you are more likely to lose control and overindulge when you taste the forbidden food. Allow yourself to eat what you want but decide beforehand how much you are going to have – and stick to it.

Be Better Balanced
A slim person automatically compensates for overeating. If they overeat one day they just get back on track the next. If you’ve overindulged, eat a little less at your next meal or the next day or take a bit more exercise. It’s called calorie balance: making sure your calorie intake equals your calorie output.

www.anitavean.co.uk

No Training = Weight Gain - Simple

Not a good week in terms of weight loss - I’ve put on 3 pounds, but a very good learning curve.

The plan for the week was no alcohol and no takeaways which I managed with comparative ease.

The plan was no training because of work commitments and generally seeing if no training would stop me feeling so tired. I’m still tired and obviously the lack of training has meant the gain in weight so the plan for this week is

No alcohol
No takeaways
No Carbs after 7pm
Back to training

Just a little footnote. The ankle I broke 3 years ago has come up like a balloon the last day or two. I need to get it checked.

Lessons learned this week from others:-

“One of the best pieces of advice I've been given was to make a note of what you eat, then half an hour after you've eaten, really think about how you feel - mentally, physically, emotionally and also if you have any cravings. Do the same again two hours after you ate.I learnt a lot about my own body through doing this exercise. I used to eat a lot of pasta, but realised I felt exhausted after eating it and had serious sugar cravings. So I cut back in favour of rice, potatoes and extra veg. Just through this one simple change I feel much more alert and energetic.Try it, and see what you learn about your own body. Experiment with different foods and let your body tell you what is wrong and right for it.“

Well this morning I weighed exactly 15 stone. A weight loss of 4.8lbs and I am absolutely delighted.

It wasn’t a particularly good week last week being half term and I must confess:-

McDonalds
Chinese
Pizza
Kebab
Sunday Lunch in the pub

Horrendous isn’t it?

But I did say small sustainable lifestyle changes and the change last week was the reduction in alcohol which I achieved.

This week it’s a no alcohol and no takeaways.

What have I learned from other people this week?

Healthy fruit can trigger sugar cravings so be careful

Exercise doesn’t need to be strenuous – gardening can work just as effectively

If exercise is fun it is more sustainable – mini trampolines and whooshing downhill on a bike can’t fail to make you smile.

If you have a bad day it’s a blip – just get back on that horse

Fantastic, healthy, easy, inexpensive recipes in the Somerfield magazine

Oh and I pinched this off The Tesco Diets

In this article, I’d like to cover a variety of topics - multiple bits of valuable information, or as I like to refer to it, “stuff you should know.” I’ll cover exercise, training technique, nutrition and fact versus fiction. If you love scanning information, learning quickly and then moving on to the next thing in your day, then this article is for you.

Whether you are a beginner, novice or experienced exerciser, here‘s some “stuff” I think you should know:

The Magic WorkoutGet it into your mind that there is no “best and only way” to workout. I get a multitude of questions concerning the efficiency of “super slow rep” workouts, “the best video tape workout,” “the best number of days to workout” etc. In reality, it’s all good if it works for you, but you don’t want to stay with any of it for too long.

Don’t let the body or the mind adapt. The body will adapt to any exercise routine in approximately 4-6 weeks. Vary volume of sets, time between sets, reps, exercises, cardiovascular exercises, exercise tapes, etc. Manipulate your routine every 3-4 weeks and view CHANGE as the key constant.

NutritionWhen a person starts eating less food than their body uses on a daily basis (calorie restriction), intermediate energy sources are needed to make up the caloric difference. These sources are blood sugar, liver and muscle glycogen (sugar) and blood lipids (fat). After a few days of intelligent calorie restriction, the liver begins to convert stored body fat into new glucose (carbohydrate). This process, known as glucogenesis, will convert as much body fat to glucose as necessary to make up any caloric deficit. That’s part of the major process in losing body fat.

Exercise form and techniqueCheating on form and technique while weight training catches up on everyone eventually – by way of injuries. In weight training, we often place too much emphasis on how much weight to lift and not enough on how or why we perform the lift. Always perform your weight training with perfect form and technique. This way you’ll make great progress and prevent injury.

Fatigue during exerciseMost people think too much along the lines of “no pain, no gain” or “if I workout two hours a day seven days per week, I’ll improve.” Don’t seek fatigue; instead, MANAGE it during the workout. If you have lots of energy during a certain workout, do a few more sets or add five minutes to your cardio routine. If you’re super tired, back off a few sets or reduce the time of your cardio session. Relish in your ability to manage your energy and your mind.

Stay with the basicsWeight train for about 35 minutes to an hour three to four days per week and perform cardio 3-4 days per week for 30-40 minutes; eat a little less; take in enough protein; drink a lot of water; get plenty of rest and be consistent. That’s how you make progress. If you don’t have time for this much exercise, that’s okay. Simply scale back the programme - but remain consistent.

Height and WeightHeight and weight rarely tell you all you need to know. The key is finding out how much muscle versus fat that’s on your body. One person can be 5’4” and weigh 9 stones and look great. Another person with the same height and weight may look soft and out of shape. The first undoubtedly has more muscle mass.

The best way to lose body fatFall down, get back up… fall down, get back up… fall down, get back up. No matter how many times you waver from your diet plan, don’t give up. Try to focus on the emotion you’ll eventually feel when you achieve your goal. That’s the key. We live in a very “hand holding” society. I encourage you to challenge yourself and call upon your own levels of discipline. It sits there waiting for you, always waiting for you to exercise it.

Beware of magic potionsDon’t get hooked into supplements that promise to magically reduce body fat or commercials that sell ineffective products and make claims to flatten your abs. Remember, these companies are just in it for a quick buck and don’t provide all the information you require to make a wise decision. They prey on emotion and impulse buying. Stay away…far away.

Applied knowledgeI know you know this, but I have to say it anyway. No matter how much knowledge you have about nutrition and exercise, it doesn’t matter unless you apply it. Application does not mean perfection. It simply means that you steadily move towards your goal. You do know what your short and long-term goals are, don’t you? Gather as much knowledge as possible concerning exercise and nutrition and how YOUR body reacts to it. That way you will see the results you want – a healthier, fitter body!

Oh and by the way I got the Letter of The Month in Zest – quite a remarkable achievement me thinks bearing in mind I never wrote to them!

Thea - there's not a lot going on in the world of Triathlon at the moment however the AOL blog will continue http://journals.aol.co.uk/lynneevans19/from-slob-to-super-fit-triathlet/

I've also got a triathlon blog under this profile - I've published the whole blog and will add updates.