Dad trying to sort himself out

AndyStanford

I posted most of this in a different thread, but it seemed more relevant here, so here goes:

I'm 33, married with 2 small boys, and live in the UK. Like a lot of people, when I was 18, I looked pretty good; reasonably slim, with some muscle definition (most notably my abs). I'd spent my pre-teen years overweight, and it had taken a lot of effort to get to where I was at 18. Fast forward 7 years, and I'm getting married. After that, kickstarted in no small part by the all-inclusive honeymoon, my weight started to gradually climb, and as my excercise levels dropped, my weight was adding to my shape in ways that I'd rather it didn't.

This trend continued, despite some half-hearted attempts until I topped out at just under 200lbs after a family holiday in July this year. I didn't like the way I looked, and knew I wasn't healthy, which with asthma, and a family history of heart complaints, really wasn't a good thing.

So I started doing something about it. I don't drive to work as often any more (only on days that I'm dropping my eldest at nursery), catching the train on other days, with a 1 mile walk between home & the station. I was cycling to work (approx 10 miles), but an accident a few weeks ago took my bike out, and the winter weather isn't giving me any incentive to get a new bike right now. I'm also occasionally playing squash, and have taken up salsa dancing with my wife.

I joined MFP a few weeks ago, following an 8 week plateau in where I was. I've set myself a 1lb/week goal, as I'm not trying to make drastic lifestyle changes, and don't really have much weight to lose, with a current target of 165lb, which I'll review when I get there to see if there's more that I want to lose. The good news is that my wife, and people at work, have noticed, and commented on the visible changes as I've lost weight.

One of the biggested confidence factors for me is the size of trousers I'm wearing. in my early 20s I was able to squeeze into 30" waist trousers (which apparently hugged my behind quite well ), but was usually in 32". The breaking point for me was when 38" trousers started feeling snug. As it is right now, I'm into a 36", and if my thighs weren't so big, they'd probably be falling off me, as I need a belt to hold them up. I think I'll be happy at a 34, but I'd like to get back to a 32.

I'm also thinking of taking up weight training in the new year, as being slim isn't enough for me, I used to at least have some muscle definition, and I'd like to get that back. My wife says she won't compain if I get more muscular too

BeanCounter3

Welcome & hello!

lawandfitness

Welcome! You will achieve your goals, as you seem serious about attaining a better lifestyle. Good Luck on your journey, and feel free to add me for support.