40lbs down, got fit, got healthy, with pics

Short version: I ate less, got sporty, lost weight, look and feel better! Still need to shift some more though

Long version; No excuses, I always ate a lot but did a fair bit of exercise, and in particular, cycling (commuted 5 years).

Age 21 I did the F Plan diet and got to 72kg! At 30 I slimmed down to about 75kg

At neither of these points did anyone say I was too skinny/scrawny/underweight!

At various times in my 30s I trained up for 10 k runs, but that was a 2 month burst, and then nothing. Then, like many my 30s was child care time. I moved abroad and the lovely food helped me put on a lot and was up to about 100kg,

Got to 40 and was just getting divorced so treated myself to a mountain biking holiday in Mexico. The other people were fitter, slimmer, and for once I was struggling to keep up, and age/weight were holding me back. The "before" photos are from that holiday. The suncream one was the real epiphany as of the other two people in it one is normal and one very skinny. I just looked at it and knew I had to slim down. The one with the shirt on (it looks like a sports bra over the top but is just a design feature!) was not too flattering either.



So 11 years ago I started what was the precursor to Weight Watchers online (they sent you a CD rom).. Pretty similar to MFP. In short order I shifted about 30 lbs and upped the cycling. I got down to about 92kg and hovered there for a year or two…I could not mentally see myself getting below 90.

Eventually I did and have been around the 88kg mark on average for the past few years. In addition I got into swimming then running, and then mixed them altogether to do triathlons. The “after” pic is my first Ironman in 2011. I look super slim but looking at what I weighed I was not particularly light (maybe 87kg)



Recently I have crept up to around the 90-92kg mark. To get a BMI of “normal” I need to be 78kg! That is about 30 of your old fashioned pounds….. I know I am very muscular and athletic but most of that is in the legs. The upper half is still wobbly gut and man boob.

I am getting remarried in May, and want to look great and fit into clothes that make me look great. SO the aim is to get to 79.999999 kg. Starting 3rd January I have gone from 91.7 to 87.3, so a very happy 2 pounds (900g) per week. That is based on around 1650 cals suggested by MFP, and loads of exercise. A typical week is one or two swims of an hour with a club, a one hour bike ride, a 2-3 hr bike ride, a 1h20 turbo trainer bike session, a 10k run and possibly a short run. I know that sounds a lot (it did to me before) but you need to find what you like doing, and you need to build it into your life. For example I read about people lifting weights and going to gyms… I hate that, and I do not stick long at things I hate.

Same with food - find the healthy stuff you like, and works for you. Again I read about people eating scrambled eggs for breakfast - I love them, but I love my high fibre cereals more

So my top tips

1 Find activity you enjoy and build it into your life
2 Calories in and calories out is the key formula. You may be the one in a thousand with a slow metabolism but you probably eat too many calories and do little exercise
3 Personally I suggest you change your eating habits to something you can stick with for life. That excludes the Slimfast and such-like
4 Learn what is genuinely the calorie amounts of various foods. My weakness is sweet stuff. Those little chocolate cornflake thingies? 54 cals each for small ones. I can eat a dozen easily with no effect on my appetite so guess what, I put on weight? Conversely if you eat stuff you hate (cottage cheese YUKK) then you will fall off the wagon pretty fast.
5 FIND WHAT WORKS FOR YOU and ignore the various gurus who have the answer with whatever they believe in.

Thanks for reading, and best of luck

Jay