In just over ten weeks from now I am booked to undergo heart surgery to hopefully repair a problem with my ticker and take me off my daily dose of medications. For years I have tried to lose weight with varying degrees of success, but with the surgery just around the corner I am committed to losing as much weight as I can and try to be in the best shape possible before the operation. After searching the web for ways to lose weight I have decided that I would start out on my own using free resources that I can find and record the plan for all and sundry to follow and if you want try yourself.
As a brief introduction, you can call me the Kenyan, I am 37 years old, married with two beautiful girls (4 & 7) and hail from the greatest place on earth Australia! I am starting this challenge weighing in at 85kg’s, which at a height of only 165cm is a Body Mass Index (BMI) rating of 31.2 – in the obese range. In the past I have been involved in a variety of activities and sports including rugby, hockey, cycling, soccer, squash, cricket, boxing, running and triathlon. A few years ago I competed in and finished the ironman Australia triathlon, which for those that don’t know about it is a 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride, and a 42.2km marathon all in one day. After completing the ironman I got quite sick and stopped training. Days, weeks and months went past and I didn’t get started again and since then I have lost all of my lean muscle mass and gained almost 20kgs in extraneous fat.
As a former boxer and regular exerciser I am quite familiar with lots of different sports and exercises and, although I once trained as a personal trainer (like 15-20 years ago) I have no background in sports science or nutrition so please don’t take anything I say as gospel and always check with your doctor before trying anything I am doing.
My first step is to take my first measurements and clean out my fridge. Starting now, nothing enters my lips that will not provide healthy nutrition to support my training and weight loss so all that extra crap in the fridge just has to go! I will be using a nutrition plan that will combine the elements of the whole 30 and paleo diets and although I won’t be following either of them to the letter, I intend to try to 95% of the time. The main elements of this plan are eating plenty of protein, fresh fruits, vegies and good fats like nuts and seeds whilst removing all refined sugars, dairy and processed foods from my diet. You can find details of them here - http://whole9life.com/category/whole-30/ and here - http://www.paleoplan.com/2012/11-25/paleo-diet-cheat-sheet/ before you judge, read the blogs and articles on both of these sites. The science just makes a whole lot of sense!
As you can see it is a very basic yet sensible eating plan. Dropping refined sugars and processed foods can’t be anything but good for you!
As far as exercise goes, I am truly starting from scratch. I haven’t been for a run, bike or swim in months – and even then it was only for 10 or 15 minutes. I also haven’t been to the gym for a year or more so I am truly starting from a very low base. I really want to try Crossfit -http://www.crossfit.com/ – however my training and experience is such that I know that trying to do one of these workouts or to run for 90 minutes tomorrow isn’t a good idea so I will start by getting out of bed at 5.30 and starting with the following.
Step 1 – drink a big glass of water!
Step 2 – Walk/run for 5 minutes, rest for 1 minute, then turn around and walk/run back home for 5 minutes.
Step 3 – Then it is time for 2 sets of the following circuit.
Skipping rope – 200 repetitions (reps)
pull-ups – 5 reps
kettle bell swings – 15 reps (I have a 16kg kettle bell, but you can use a milk jug filled with water or rice to start with. a kettle bell will set you back about $90-$100 which is well worth it I reckon!!!)
plank – 30 seconds
burpees – 20 reps
push-ups – 10 reps
walking lunges – 10 reps
If these moves are foreign to you, check out the site at nerd fitness http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/ Steve has done a great job in explaining how to do them. Thanks Steve!
Step 4 – Breakfast! a nice omelette with chorizo and tomatoes along with a black coffee to start my day.
Step 5 – focus on eating only foods on the do list and removing all the no foods. my biggest challenge will be sugar in my tea and coffee – but I am going to succeed. wish me luck!
I will post back again in a few days with an update and will share my measurements each week and maybe some photos in a few weeks time. I have one from just now, but seriously, I’m not ready to share it with the world!
Until then. Adios!!!
