My Weight Loss

Since making a stupid agreement in March this year I immediately started to worry. Why? Because I had agreed to reduce my weight from 14 stone to 12.5 stone by the date of my wedding anniversary (19^th September). Failure would mean I would have to donate to charity the amount that a mug would have spent in same period if they were to pay monthly gym membership (£270).

Now for any normal person, this would seem like an easy task – simply watch what you eat and exercise three times a week. The problem is I’m not normal! I am Mr Lazy and the thought of exercise and cutting out my beloved fast food sent shivers down my spine…

Around the start of August, panic had set in – I was only just under 13.5 stone and the end date was fast approaching… there was only one thing to do – liposuction – damn, it costs more than the bet I’d lose. Then I had a thought…

All the advice out there tells us that we should consume 2500 calories a day if we are an average man and 2000 if we are a woman. Then I thought: ‘what is an average man or woman?’ I’m guessing this average person exercises 3 times a week and probably leads a healthy and active lifestyle. What do I do? I drive to work each morning, sit in front of a PC for 8 hours and then go back home and watch whatever happens to be on TV. Add to this the odd greasy takeaway and the occasional beer (or two!) and you have my life.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that I need nothing like 2500 calories to maintain my lifestyle and weight – more like 1500. So that’s where I’d been going wrong all these years! Armed with this new knowledge I decided to make a change – if I was to reduce my food intake to 1000 calories a day, my body would start to eat into my fat to maintain itself.

I decided the best way to reduce my calorie intake was not to go on one of those calorie controlled diet where the food tastes like crap and is unsatisfying – instead, I would simply either not eat lunch or dinner. It’s easy when you get used to it – you eat a healthy breakfast (I recommend a bowl of your favourite cereal) and just skip one of the other two ‘mandatory’ meals a day. In addition to this I drank plenty of water to keep the body hydrated and this also tricks the stomach into thinking it’s full. If the hunger became too great I would allow myself a piece of fruit.

The good thing about this ‘special’ diet is that at weekends it’s possible to revert back to normal eating habits including fast food (just don’t take the piss!). I started my regime a little over 2 weeks ago and have lost almost half a stone, and all I needed was a little will power! If I keep going at this rate I’ll easily win the bet and be able to stick two fingers up to my mates…

For an alternative view on things see Johan's Blog