Hey everyone
I know I have been doing short (not really) vlogs on the Facebook page for this blog updating you on the journey so far however I do not want to neglect this blog as I do enjoy writing. This way people can read what I’ve written without having to hear my irritating voice doing it haha
If you have seen the video, you will know I have just hit the 1 stone mark on Week 4 of the weight loss journey – which is amazing!
I have tried this multiple times – the whole losing weight thing and I was successful in my late teens when I was training about 4 or 5 times a week and this went hand in hand with losing my puppy fat.
Unfortunately both Aimee and myself got comfortable (as folk do) and here we are. Life happened. Kids happened. Work happened.
I said on my first video I was working in kilograms however I think every time I have spoken about it, I end up back in stones/pounds lol so I’ll continue to weigh myself in kgs and communicate this in st/lbs as well as people seem to be more comfortable with this measurement.
As I mentioned above, I have tried this many many times. I have tried to diet normally, just by myself which didn’t work. I joined Weight Watchers which worked great in the start however I found that I could just miss the weekly weigh in if I had a bad week and didn’t need to face the scales. Then it started to creep back on, pound by pound over the next few years until I became this glutinous mess you see before you.
I have previously spoken about Man v Fat which is a weight loss football league for overweight men. The basic concept is that you weigh in before each game and if you have lost weight and filled in your food diary, the weight you lose can influence the final score. So for example you could lose 1-0 on the pitch however your team collectively had a much better week than the others in weight loss and you could win 5-3. How it is worked out is slightly more complex than this however it gives a good overview of the system.
I have seen people lose multiple stones through this, and I have known someone who started this journey with me who is sadly no longer here. What is worse is that he did so well, it became Man 1 – Fat 0. He was an inspiration to so many of the lads that played as he was open, friendly, funny but extremely supportive with your weight loss and goals. What is even crazier is that he did this whole weight loss as a goalkeeper, commonly known as the position with some of the least movement. The transformation was nothing short of astounding. I have known people who have achieved a healthy BMI despite being classed as morbidly obese before starting, I have known people to beat diabetes as a result of their weight loss through this. The results this can achieve through hard work and dedication is amazing.
If anyone wants to find out more about this click here. You can join up as there are 2 leagues in Newcastle however the website will show you where they are.
This blog is not a plug for anything I link in here, purely for discussion purposes only.
So I have been a part of this league since the beginning and I’m no better than I was when I started haha but it’s just so fun and enjoyable with a great group of lads that all that doesn’t matter. I have regular football sessions outside of Man v Fat with the same lads who have organised more matches for fitness purposes etc.
The first season I played (shown below), I did great. I think the lowest I got was about 90kg which is about 14st 2lbs (God, I’d love to be that “After” size again lol). 
Even at that moment I knew I was nowhere near the end of my journey however you have a few slow weeks and the mindset changes. All of a sudden you’re convincing yourself that the takeaway you have is a good idea. Then you stop caring about the weight the scales show or even worse you miss weeks that you know it will be bad so it doesn’t impact negatively on your team.
It’s a poor mindset and lack of confidence that can start a path of negative beliefs. A former Man v Fat coach and good friend posted on my recent video (who himself has been through a complete weight loss transformation) “I understand and appreciate the battle of losing weight and it goes a lot deeper than losing a few pounds. The mental side is torture but with the right mindset and people around you there’s nothing you can’t do“
That part I have highlighted in bold is very important. You must continue to believe and set small goals. No matter how small. Aimee is struggling with her weight loss journey at the moment and while I’m setting myself targets like “I want to lose this many stone” or “I want to be at this weight by xx date”, she is setting herself a target of being able to lose a few pounds. And this is fine, people see the transformations people go through and many things we see on social media show this as though the change is easy, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Aimee’s goal of a couple of pounds is a respectable goal to achieve and it gives her something to aim for. If you don’t have these goals or checkpoints in your journey then you are aiming for something that is ultimately unattainable in a single go.
It is like someone wanting to climb Mt Everest and when they approach the bottom of the mountain they say I’m getting to the top by lunch time. They take no notice of the base camps or checkpoints along the way. The average climb of the mountain is 6 to 9 weeks – not a single afternoon. They take their time and progress will happen and weight loss is exactly the same. This journey must be personal to you and not interfered with based on someone else’s goals. If it takes you a year to reach your target then fantastic, if it takes you 5 years then this is equally fantastic achievement. We must not compare ourselves to others as everyone is different.
Often the hardest part is that first step. Some people think it’s the first Man v Fat session you attend, first Weight Watchers, first gym session, first run, first home workout video but that’s not true. The hardest step, in my opinion, is coming to terms you need to change and improve. This not an easy step as it means changing much of what we know and actually striving to achieve what we need to achieve, and those admissions are scary.
This first month has been difficult, I think my turning point was turning 30. I just looked at myself one day and thought “fuck this” I need to do something and here we are. 1 month down and 1 stone down. Its been hard, and I’ve tried this before but something about this time seems different. I seem more energetic (where was this during my 20s haha), I seem more focused, I seem more driven to working towards my goals but more importantly, I’m not holding my goals as gospel. If I meet my target of 2 stone down by 9th September then that will be bloody marvellous however if I don’t and I’m only at 1.5st down, then that’s fine too.
Its important to have goals but these cannot be the be all and end all of your weight loss otherwise you will become disheartened if you do not meet them. You need to move freely and be prepared to adapt your goals to suit. If you have a bad weekend and you have a takeaway and go out on a boozy bender, then so be it. But it’s important not to let your bad weekend extend into a bad week. Everyone can fall off the waggon, but getting back onto it is a bigger struggle than people think. Be the master of your own destiny, but no one will do this for you. Yes it will be difficult, yes there will be some sacrifice but if you’re prepared for that then nobody can stop you!
A quote I like from Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu says: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.“
And this is exactly the reason for this blog, the need and desire for people to help themselves for the better. The journey is hard and long but anything you wish to begin all starts with that single step. Will today be your day for that single step?
Fat & Fussy 