So... how did I do?

Back on January 1st I weighed 150kilos. My aim was to lose 5 kilos by the end of January. 21 days later, I lost those 5 kilos. With 10 days left in January, I set a new target - to lose another 3 kilos by the end of January - ie 8 kilos in total in one month - and be 142 kilos.

So... how did I do?

Well this morning I jumped on the scales and I weighed... 142.5 kilos! 7.5 kilos in one month! So I may not have made my stretch target, but I think I did bloody well!

So.. next 'measurement'? My measurements! Up until now, I have not been using an entirely accurate way of measuring my body. My previous figures were based on a builders retracting metal measuring tape!! Neil has kindy bought be a fibreglass sewing measuring tape so I can be more accurate.

One thing that was accurate though is my belt. In my original photos, the tip of my belt and the end of the buckle only just met. And my belt measured 157cm.

SO what is my waist measurement now? 147cm!! I have lost 10cm from my waist.

So on the basis of a two cm original innacuracy my progress is...

Waist - Then 157cm - Now 147cm
Chest - Then 136cm - Now 132cm
Leg - Then 81cm - Now 77cm

I think that's some great progress across the board!!

___________________________________________________________

So where to from here?

Time to set some new goals I think. By the end of February, I want to weigh 136 kilos. That's a loss of 6.5 kilos in 28 days.

And what am I going to use to help me get there? Your support - AND DINNER @ MIMMO's! I have not had Spaghetti Bolognese all year, and I think after 2 months of hard work, this is something extra I can look forward to and work towards! So please vote on my page to let me know if you will join me @ Mimmo's for dinnner, Sunday night, the 1st of March.

Thanks all, and wick me luck!

Pete

Just keep swimming,, just keep swimming,,

In the immortal words of Dory from 'Finding Nemo' today I was saying to myself "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swim-ming"!! In case you hadn't guessed, this evening I went swimming! First time this summer!

Neil & I went down to the Balmoral Baths - a 50 metre harbour pool. Last time I went swimming I could only do 2 laps of a 50 metre pool. This time though I pushed myself and did 6 laps! Yay me! One of them was breaststroke, but still!

And there's not much nicer a venue. I'll be back on Thursday. Here's a pic I took last year down at Balmoral Baths. See ya!

Happy Australia Day!

Hello all, I hope everyone had a great Australia Day long weekend! Well it's Monday night, it's 8:30, and i'm watching 'Goal!' for probobly the 11th or 12th time. I love it! And as i'm sitting here, i'm feeling good. I've just come back from a massive walk... but let me first tell you about my weekend - the good and the bad.

Saturday - was back to work @ Optus. Lunch is always a bit of an issue there. You don't have much time to eat, and fast food is generally the order of the day. For lunch though I had a 6inch Subway sub - with chicken & chock full of vegies. They have this chilli chipotle sauce that tastes quite good! So with a bottle of water & some apple slices, I think I did well. Dinner was at my sisters place - and as I was waiting for her, I did have a handful of corn chips :-(. But not too many. Dinner was quite healthy - Corned beef with salad and mash.

After dinner my sister became the first member of my family to find out about this blog. I have always had a 'thing' with my family and my weight problems. My Mum has always been on my back - with the best intentions of course - however an element of childhood rebellion is still in my psyche. Whenever she tells me to lose weight I just want to run to McDonalds. Of late, my brother David has been applying the pressure as well. My sister has always let me know that she's there for me, but does not go on about it, so I felt comfortable telling her about it. And as she knows about this, and will read it - thanks Nik. I love you.

Sunday - well this is the day we were to celebrate one of my best friends birthday - Leigh! Leigh, Jeremy, Andrew and I trekked out to a fabulous restaurant - Rave - in St Ives. We had a great time and the food and service were fantastic. I had a great meal - rack of lamb with a dukkah coating. It was yummylicious. I was naughty though and had dessert. They had this wattleseed icecream with honeycomb & caramel that I just had to try. And it was great! But I made sure I had a great big walk when I got home. After such a filling lunch, I didn't need a large dinner, so instead of driving up to Woolies to get the ingredients for my Lemon Pepper chicken salad, I made it part of my walk - about 1 hour - see below.

Monday - had a mostly chillaxing day at home, eggs and vegemite with a fresh juice for brunch. In the arvo though I had a great big walk - almost 2 hours!! I walked from my place, across the bridge, cahill expressway, through the gardens to the water side, around Mrs Macquaries chair and back through the botanical gardens. It was raining most of the way and I loved it! I love walking in the rain - so as long as it's not too heavy. I got back soaked but felt great for it. Lemon Pepper chicken salad again for dinner tonight. Walking map below.

So that's me in a nutshell this weekend - a couple 'naughty' things, but mostly good - and I hope to see a bit of a difference on the scales tomorrow. I won't be reporting any progress - I want to keep you in suspence!! Remember 142kg by 1/2/09! See ya!

Happy Friday!

Well it's almost the end of the week and I can honestly say, the only thing bad i've had to eat is about 10 m&m's! I was walking through Domayne this evening and they had one of those little dispensers - a handful for 20c. I thought to myself "that would be a nice little treat" - so I did it - and enjoyed it!!


But with all seriousness, for food, this has been a great week. Lots of fruit, lots of veges, minimal carbs. Check out my cereal this morning.....

Strawberries, Necterine and Blueberries! Yum!

I've also stepped up my walking - i'm now visiting Mr Rudd - walking past his place i mean!! Instead of going straight home once off the bridge, i hang a right & do a loop of Kirribilli. Here's a map of my walk home.....

And i'm feeling good. Happier during the day, not tired when i get home, and much more energetic. I just wish the days were a bit cooler! I still feel like I need to do more exercise though.


And i'll tell you what's been great... My Tivo!

It's been great because I don't have to worry about TV anymore. I dont have to be home by 7:30 to watch a good show. I can watch what I want to watch, when I want to watch it - and skip the ads! It's awesome - I just choose 'season pass' and it will record every episode of the show and I can watch it whenever I want! It also allows me to go to bed earlier - I can just watch my 9:30pm show the next day! Even if it's still recording something else! Wait till ratings start and all my favorites are back on!

And if you're wondering what I look like now, here is a photo of me and my best mate Jeremy, taken last Sunday at Manly - so long beard, helloooo hair colour!

So that' s me to date - Happy Australia Day!

I did it!!!

Well, silly me forgot to weigh myself this morning - i'd already half finished my breakfast before I remembered - and I wasn't going to weigh myself with a full belly! So, when I got home, after my walk I stepped on the scales and what showed up.....

144.9!!! WooHoo!

So goal 1 achieved - what's next I hear you say? OK - so it took me 20 days to lose 5 kilos. That's 2.5kg every 10 days. 10 days left in January.....

I'm going to stretch myself and see If I can lose 3 more kilos by the 1st of February! So that's the new goal - hold me to it. Let me know on my blog vote if you think I can do it!

142kg by 1/2/09! Let's go baby!!

Almost there!

Well today was weigh in and measure day.... and after 18 days, i'm ALMOST THERE!!!!


Back on January 1, my goal was to lose 5 kilos by the end of the month. No goals for measurements as such, so here are the before & after results;


Before - Now

Weight 150kg - 145.3kg

Waist 155cm - 148.5cm

Chest 134cm - 133cm

Leg 80cm - 78cm


So i'm only 300 grams away from my goal!

Am I happy with these results I hear you ask - YES! I'm really proud of myself so far. I'm still very motivated - I even went for an hour walk at 8:30 last night because I felt like it!!!



So where from here? I need to decide 1- do I see how much I can lose in a month, or, 2- do I re-set my goals from when I hit 145kgs? Maybe you guys can help me decide by using the voting calculator on my page.

I'll report again when i'm at 145 - hopefully it'll be tomorrow!!!!

My pants fell down!!

I don't know if it's possible, being only 15 days in, but my pants fell down today! I think it may be due to the weight loss! Yay! So this Sunday morning, I will do a weigh in, and a re-measure to see what differences there have been since I started.

This week has been a good one so far... here's a rundown of what i've been up to

Breakfast - Freshly squeezed juice (I do it myself) - Orange (x2), Apple, Celery & Carrott. Cereal - low fat, low sugar, low GI with fresh fruit

Lunch - Wrap! Chicken or lamb - Got a little sick of wraps today so despite the heat I had a short soup - lots of veges, chicken & some wontons. Very healthy! No noodles either.

Dinner - Mon & Tues - had Ardmona Peri-Peri based tomaoto chicken dish with capsicum & corn. Went out to dinner last night to Sandbar @ Dee Why. Had the most beautiful charred steak with chilli jam & red wine jus. Wilted spinach was yum too but a little carbs in the potato & sage 'cake' that came with it. It was yummylicious! And for drink... San Pellegrino Natural mineral Water!

I've done no snacking in between meals, with the exception of fruit, and my only drinks have been water or the occasional diet soft drink - 'Solo Sub' is good - as is Sunkist diet!

I have also still been walking EVERY DAY. I have not yet upped my exercise, but I have been going harder at what I do. Instead of walking up the Harbour Bridge stairs, I am jogging up the stairs. Also trying to keep up with people faster than me in order to walk faster. I will up the ante in the next couple of weeks.

And i'm going to go to the beach on Saturday!

So stay tuned for Sunday's update!

Arriverderci!

That was unexpected...

Mornin' all - Happy Monday! Well as promised, this morning I jumped on the scales and I was a little unprepared for what I saw. You ready for this... 146.6 kgs!!!! 3.4 kgs in LESS than 2 weeks!

So... seems like I CAN do it!! Yay!

Good and bad...

Hi all - I hope you have had a great weekend! So how did I go on the weekend. Well Saturday was one of those weird days that you occasionally have where you just want to withdraw - and I did just that - didn't even leave the house! But still ate the right things.

Today was a bit of a mixed bag - started the day with a massive walk - see below..

This walk ended taking about an hour and a half - my 'good' - and I was a bit tired afterwards!! I think i'll lave some sore legs tomorrow!! After this I had some breakky then off to see my mate Nigel who is just back after 3 years studying in the States. We had a yummy meal at Dee Why beach and caught up before going for a drive, and then another walk from the city.

We parked at work, and walked from Kent St, across the Pyrmont Bridge, around Darling Harbour - and thats where I had my 'bad'. Nigel had never been to the Lindt Cafe, so we went, and as a small treat to myself I had a Lindt Chocolate Ice Cream! Yummy! Then back to Kent St.

So tomorrow i'll have a weigh in - to see how i've gone. Will report back then! C ya!

I'm proud of myself!

Hi all,

Well yesterday posed a problem - my first dinner out (with a 'new' friend ;-)) and we went to an Italian restaurant - "oh oh" I hear you say - yes, whenever I go Italian I always order....... Spaghetti Bolognese! Carb City! But guess what! I didn't!! YAY! I saw it on the menu, it was a funky new place that smelt great, but i resisted my favorite meal of all time, and ordered a yummy balsamic steak with baby spinach (and a small amount of potato). And for drink - water! yay! And i was offered dessert twice - and declined!

(I'm taking my bow now as I respond to your standing ovation!)

Also I jumped on the scales this morning - 9 days in, and 147.5! Woo hoo!

Who's been a good boy!

Day 7 and still going strong. Have not given in to my main vices - chocolate and soft drink (despite having a couple of diet soft drinks) and I think for the first time, my resolve is keeping me temptation free! I really haven't even had any major cravings!! For me, that is amazing. One of my staff, Glynis, who is an awesome cook, brought in Chocolate Crackles - and I declined! Wow! And if you'd tasted the rocky road she made for me for Xmas (yyyyyuuuuummmmmm) you'd be even more impressed!

Wraps! I love them! Monday's wrap was only ok - but after Neil and I went to the Westpac food court for Lunch on Tuesday, I found the the salad bar there makes the most awesome wraps - i've had Lamb Souvlaki, and Moroccon Chicken so far and very yummy. I want to try them all - and at only $8.90 including a bottle of water - good value! So what have I had that may be considered bad I hear you say - well time to report - no point keeping these things hidden!! Two things may be considered less than healthy - I had a Mango Iced Tea last night, and a Orange Mango Juice this morning. I dont think so bad, but if you disagree, please let me know!! It's the only way i'll learn!

Exercise - I think I need to do more. Walking home every day so far - about a 40 min walk. Whilst it's probly good to start slowly anyway, I think from Sunday, i'll step it up a notch. I'll have a think about what i'm going to do. Will be reporting on my next steps soon! Anyway - thanks for reading!

"I know, how hard it can get, you gotta lift, you gotta liiiift......"

A good day...

First day back at work and no temptation succumbed to! Yay!! Had a Smoked Salmon & vege wrap, and Diet coke for lunch - apple for morning tea, and banana for arvo tea. Had a real craving for chocolate at lunch - the diet coke managed to get rid of the craving thankfully!!

A great walk home too - bought a bottle of my favorite New Zealand artisian water and walked across the bridge with my iPod, bopping away to some 90's pop "It's a beautiful life, oh oh oh oh"! And how can you not be happy with a view like this to walk home with...

Yummy dinner tonight too - Ardmona Peri Peri tomatos with lamb, chick peas, brocolli & beans - added fresh red chilli for extra kick too!

Sneaky weigh in....

Hi all, I hope everyone's 2009 is going well! OK - I snuck a weigh in today - I know I should wait until the end of the month, but i've been eating really well and drinking tanker loads of water! I even had to go to Freedom to buy another water bottle for the fridge!! So I jumped on the scales - and guess what... 148.1kgs!! Almost 2 kilos in 4 days! I know it's not likely accurate - time of day etc etc, but it's encouraging!



It's weird seeing my fridge without Coke or Pepsi! So much more room! And a trip to the supermarket the other day proved challenging. I like a lot of variety in what I eat. I have basically resigned myself to wraps for lunch everyday, which I can mix up, tuna, salmon, chicken, etc etc. What to have for dinner was another issue.



Traversing the aisles in my local Woolworths, I was not getting much inspiration other than steak & veggies..until.. I found the canned goods! Whilst I know that my not seem impressive, I remembered that cans often have recipes for easy things on their labels. I found a range of Ardmona tomatos with spices which had some really easy things to make. I'm doing a Moroccan tomato thing with Chick Peas, A Indian tomato thing with beans, and below is the results from my Moroccan Tomato thing with Baby spinach and Brocollini!


















Despite its looks, it was actually very yummy! And in case you hadn't already guessed, I love tomato based foods! So we'll see how this line of food goes - but I do have steak and veggies as back up in the freezer!!!

Back to work....

So it is off to work tomorrow and this is where a lot of my food problems come from - so much choice - Maccas, Pasta, KFC, Pasta, Noodles, Pasta - you get the drift! So I think the solution for me will be wraps - I can have something different every day, and minimal carbs from the wrap.


I JUST HAVE TO STAY AWAY FROM CHOCOLATE!!! AARGH!! Been OK so far - no Chocolate in 2009!


Anyway, I've rambled enough - let's see how tomorrow goes!

Here goes!

Hello all,

Couldn't update the blog yesterday as Bigpond decided not to co-operate! So here it goes today. Well as promised I am about to share will you my stats - i.e. weight & measurements. This is a pretty big deal for me, and I have been having second thoughts about this, but to those who have sent me kind messages of support, you have encouraged me to be strong and to do it! So thank you - very much!

So this is me:

Weight: 150kgs - this is exact, and a little less than I expected it to be.

Measurements:

Waist: 155cm

Chest: 134cm

Leg (top): 80cm

Goals from here:

It's quite a simple goal - to lose 5kgs by the end of January.

I will re-assess my goals then!

And here are my (terribly embarrassing) photos - taken 1/1/09

The above photo shows my casual belt - only just meets up - this will be a good measure to see if i'm losing weight.

Well i'm off to do some exercise now! Wish me luck!