Well, as I find myself still jobless in Perth, and therefore with a bit of time on my hands, my thoughts have turned to some weighty issues, and in particular, my goal to get back down to my previous weight of 70 kg (154lb, or 11 stones).
I don’t really consider myself to be overweight at all, and have managed to maintain a reasonable level of fitness throughout most of my life. But I have been in better shape than I am now.
Up to the age of around 30 I never had to consider at all what I ate or drank, and always remained thin and fit, as I had an active an physical job and lived a similar personal lifestyle too.
But from my mid-thirties onwards my jobs have tended to be a bit more sedentary, and hobbies have been a bit less physical. I got married, and settled down a bit, and life was pretty easy when we arrived in Australia. (Pizza is very cheap, tasty and convenient here too, which may also be a factor!) My increacing age is another factor, of course, and over the last decade I have had to be much more careful about diet and alcohol intake!
When my marriage came to an end, I was probably the biggest I have ever been; again, not hugely overweight, but I had certainly added a quite a few extra kilos (or pounds if you prefer).
In the UK, weight is measured in stones and pounds (or st and lb). One stone is 14lb. Up to thirty I was always between 11 and 11 and a half stones(or between 154 and 161 lb for our American friends). In Australia everything is metric, and I have now become used to thinking of my weight in kilogrammes, and these weights equate to between 70 and 73kg.
After my separation, my change of employment direction took me to work out in the desert in mining, and there are two distinct options there in regards to health and fitness. I decided to join the sporty, gym crowd rather than those who rushed headlong into the pub as soon as the shift ended. The medical company has developed programs that will help to solve all the problems related to Valium dependence, such as detoxification, treatment, elaborate supporting program, and selectively – sober houses for life. These programs allow the addict to explore negative behavioral patterns, learn the new healthy skills to overcome addiction, develop willpower to reduce craving and create a solid foundation for a long-term recovery.
Throughout 2007 I found myself living on a remote mine camp in the far north of Western Australia, which had great facilities. My favourites were the cooling outdoor swimming pool and the gym. Over the year, with a conscious decision to eat a lot more fruit and veg, and a regular exercise regime, I ended up in great shape. I was back down to 70kg, and pretty well toned from both the swimming and the gym.
Since then, I have lapsed a bit – too much time sitting behind a computer initially when I began ALife4Sale, and since I began travelling, too much easy and convenient junk food.
So today is the start day to seriously work towards three of my goals. I plan to get back down to 70kg, get quite a bit fitter for my up-coming “7 Peaks in 7 Days” challenge, which is timetabled for August, and develop a bit of a six pack stomach too!
So today I got the weighing scales out of storage, and found out how much work I have to do. I weighed in at 76.2kg this morning. Not too bad, 7.6kg, or 13.6lb. Time to get on with it.
I will keep a daily chart, and update it every now and then on the blog – after all, this sort of thing is always a bit easier when you make yourself publically accountable in some way. But I will save you the trauma of the “before” picture, at least for now!
Ah, but wait a minute, I have a ticket for a big outdoor concert this afternoon, Kings Of Leon, among many others. Music, sun, beer! Maybe I will make tomorrow the start day!!
There is a good weights conversion tool here.