Official Start and Plan

Ok, this is my "official" start point.

This probably should have been my "intro" post, or my "plan" post, but here it is.

As you can see, I was 86.5kg when I started this little weight duel here. That was taken on the 3rd of September.

My plan is probably not that detailed, but I have some fairly good generic types of ideas. I don't think calorie counting, for example, is neccessary to a program such as this. The basic principles are simple - if you need to work out more, work out more. If you need to vary your workload to target different areas, then do that. Eat well and eat consistantly. I don't know, I'm not going to make more of a science out of it then that... not yet anyway.

For now though I've identified a few main goals for losing the weight:

1> Eat right / Eat better.

I'm never going to be a perfect eater, but I can do a lot better then what I have been. Junk foods and takeaways - they'll never be out of my life, but they need to be more a luxury, rather then "whenever I feel like it." My other big kicker is soft drinks, or 'sodas' as some may call them - I can probably stop that altogether, but I don't want to make that sacrifice if I can help it.

2> Do a little every day.

Simple yet effective. If you do a little piece every day, it turns an exercise like this into a "life choice". If you get used to taking the time out daily, it'll become easier when you are busy, and it won't seem such a chore to get out there and do something longer term - especially when you're tired.

3> Be consistant in your workouts - but don't rush yourself into it.

I'd love to just go nuts and exhaust myself every session. Trouble is, what I do today can affect how much I can do tomorrow. Not that it's an excuse not to push myself, but if I'm hurting more then just muscle pains - then I'm doing something wrong and if I need the time out, then I do.
I'm sure eventually I'll be able to not worry about this - bones aren't that old yet! But until then, just don't overdo it too much.

4> Sleep more / Stress less

Ok, I won't have any troubles with the stress side of things, haha. But I definitely need to sleep more - especially with these jobs we do and the long hours.

And that, is fairly well my plan. It's not too indepth and it's mostly just logical. It's the type of thing people always say they should do, but often don't do. Well, since this is a "challenge", that's my challenge to myself - get the simple stuff right... and only then do you look to start thinking like an athelete, or something.

The Rise and Fall

I took a photo on the 4th of September, and that put me at about 86.5 kg.
I went up by about a kilo during my little travelling stint, but now I'm on the downpath, and my latest photo is at 85.5 kg.

I've left my photo's at home today, so I will bring them in tomorrow and post them up. I don't have internet at camp - which is actually great... one less distraction which forces me to get out and go running..... or at least to get out and wander about aimlessly for hours. Especially now that I left my iPod back in Gladstone :(

So when I post tomorrow, I'll "claim" my first official kilogram of weight loss. That's one down, eight to go. Let's say it took me 35 days to lose the first one, and there's what, 112 to go..... hmmm, look's a little worrying when put that way!!

Haha, it doesn't sound like Amber is going that well anyhow, but I've got some good news. I had 5 days off just recently, and my "measure" of over 85kg was when I got home. I have weighed myself in under 84.5..... though, I won't officially claim that until I get another scale reading - which wont be for another week yet so I better keep up the good work! :)

Amber's Progress - September Results

Hello again!
Although I've been silent, I have been extremely active and busy, staying true and faithful to my program. Tonight's results aren't spectacular. But it is an improvement from the last post. Forgive the picture quality. My regular camera battery is dead and I had to use my iPhone instead.

I am at 149.4 pounds (67.8 kg), which is a loss of 1.8 lbs or 0.8 kg. Based on my calorie plan, I should have lost about 5 pounds over the month. This tells me that I've hit a plateau!

To overcome this hurdle (which I was expecting anyway), I'm going to have to really intensify my workouts. Thankfully, I have completely recovered from my shin split injury so there is nothing stopping me from revamping my workout program this week. The goal will be to burn at least 500 calories per session.

Here's to hoping for better results next week! 

Updates

Well I had better write something else Amber's going to think this is a free run!

I've obviously been in the process of moving - moving jobs, moving state, moving house etc... I've been based in 4 different towns in the last
Month while this challenge was 'active' , staying in about 7 different places. So thats my excuse for silence....

As for the challenge, it's definitely a slow start for me. I am not going the wrong way, which is a start, but I haven't lost anything worth a mention as yet.

There is time though, and hope! I spent about 2 hours gardening in the Queensland heat today, and still went for a walk after! doesn't sound like much, but I've got to start somewhere.

I'm also going to be living on a construction camp for most of the duration of the competition, which should give menthe advantage- it's set working hours, a free gym membership, and you don't have to waste time doing all those boring 'chores' like cooking your own meals or making you own bed- somebody does that for you!

So I figure that out of ire boredom I'll end up working out (if nothing else).

Anyway, in case you can't tell I'm tying from my iPad and my fingers are too fat for the keys, so I'll spare anyone more grammatical punishment, and sign off for the night!

Testing...1...2...3...!

I hijacked Amber's account, and gave myself permissions to post directly from my account, so just a quick test to see if it works - then more to come!

Progress Pic #2 - Amber

Well, I had originally planned to post my scale pictures every Monday. But as you can see from the picture below, I wasn't in a rush to post these not so thrilling results!

I have no explanation for how the heck I gained a pound in a week, especially considering how hard I worked.  I am careful about weighing myself at the same time on Monday's. So I can't blame time of day as the source of the problem. Hopefully, this was just a fluke (water weight, slight muscle gain, etc). It just seems a bit soon to see the numbers so out of whack.

Other than that shocker on Monday, I am still on track with my eating and workout regimen. And I weigh myself daily anyway. With the exception of the picture above, I've consistently been experiencing weight decline. 

Either way, I've got a grand head start on my competitor Daniel who is still busy settling into his new digs on the East Coast. 

Progress Pic – Amber

Here’s a scale shot to prove my starting number (Yes, it’s higher than what I originally said. Let’s just say that August wasn’t a very progressive month for me!)

(I am 151.2 pounds, or 68.6 kilograms)

I also took some before body shots. But I'm too shy to show them without the after pictures to compare against!

I plan to weigh in and report on progress every Monday evening.

And we’re off! – Amber’s Plan

Hello there again world. Today marks the first day of my 5-month weight loss competition with Daniel. As promised, here’s a rundown of my plan for a successful fitness challenge.      

Exercise

As I’m sure you all know, the smaller you are, the harder it is to continue to lose weight. To lose the first 20 pounds, I relied simply on consistency and routine – wake up, go to work, come home, work out, sleep, wake up, go to work, etc. Unless injured or sick, I worked out 6 days a week for 30 minutes to an hour and a half. As I became more fit, I pumped up the workouts. But it was mainly to combat boredom.

To lose the next 20 pounds, I’m adding intensity (i.e. lots and lots of cardio). I plan to perform at least an hour of exercise for a minimum of 6 days a week. Although, it is likely I will do some form of exercise everyday.

Sunday – Running - 30 minutes, Tennis practice

Monday – Lower/Upper body weight training, Brisk walking - 30 minutes

Tuesday – Tennis lesson (1 ½ hours)

Wednesday – Running – 30 minutes

Thursday – Lower/Upper body weight training, Brisk walking - 30 minutes

Friday – Running – 30 minutes

Saturday – Lower/Upper body weight training, Brisk walking - 30 minutes

(I am recovering from a shin splint injury on my right leg. So my schedule is much lighter than what I can usually handle. But over the next 2 to 3 weeks, I’ll be gradually intensifying the workout schedule until I’m confident that I won’t risk further injury with rigorous training.)

Diet

Honestly, I hate to call my eating plan a “diet” because it’s more a way of life. Diet implies fad. A shortcut or quick fix or temporary solution. I’ve worked really hard to adjust my mentality towards food and nutrition and the eating habits that I’ve developed are something that I will follow for life. In fact, I follow the Body for Life plan (www.bodyforlife.com).

It’s so easy to follow, ensures that you’re getting proper nutrition, and allows food lovers like me to indulge every now and then. I have 6 meals a day, each one a balance of healthy carbs and lean protein. Once a week, I allow myself to indulge in my favorite foods that aren’t so good for me. This isn’t meant to be an opportunity to binge. You should always consume in moderation. But it is meant to be a controlled way to address cravings without compromising all your progress. Also, it’s a way to prevent your body from going into starvation mode and storing extra fat to combat the reduced calorie consumption.

Given the difficulties that I’m going to face trying to lose more weight, I also count calories. I have an iPhone app where I log my daily meals and workouts to track my net calorie intake. For now, I’m going to keep the daily net calorie intake to a max of 1,200 (I consume between 1600 and 1800 calories and burn the rest through exercise). The app calculates the food calories. I have a Polar heart rate monitor that I use to help me determine how many calories I burn through exercise.

So that’s it! It’s tough I know. But I’m going to set myself up for success by eliminating anything that could be used as an excuse for deviating from the plan. I always preplan my meals. I never stock the pantry with things I shouldn’t be eating. And I don’t waste time (schedule, schedule, schedule!).

I haven’t weighed less than 140 pounds since before puberty. So this will be very interesting.

Let the games begin!

Blog Intro Awesomeness from Daniel

Hi All, Daniel here. Since there's a great chance (based on simple majority-friend-count logic) that most of our visitors here will be Amber's friends who don't know me, I thought it would be vital to start with a quick introduction.

So I'm Daniel Butler, a Brit-born, Aussie-raised ruffian, responds to "Butler", and every now and again I'm even a nice guy.

I have no idea what Amber's intro is going to sound like, so let me lay down some truths about this little competition we've got going here.

Mrs Peel has been on a health-kick for a while now - I think the best part of ¾ of a year and probably more. Well, she calls it a "lifestyle choice" not a health-kick, but eh, potayto, potahto, right? And I think she's lost a fair chunk of weight. One day she is musing how she needs to lose xx amount of weight to meet her birthday goal, and I get to thinking "hey I could do with losing some weight, and that sounds like a good target." And funnily enough, our birthdays are just a few days apart so I mentioned this.

Both competitive by nature (Amber tells me it's because we're both very true to our Aquarius roots), it didn't take much discussion for this to turn into a battle, or a race even. After fighting venomously for about an hour on the details of this (don't worry, fight is par-for-the-course during our discussions) we settled on something simple - actually "settled" is my way of being nice. I was totally right and she TOTALLY caved! :)

Challenge - see who can lose the most weight before our next birthday(s).

Target - if we don't see a loss of 20 pounds (9kgs) before then, then nobody wins.

It's tough to gauge who's got the harder task. Amber's pitch is that it's a bigger accomplishment for her - she's already lost some weight, so each passing pound is harder to burn, she's got me by a few years, and she's a woman so by definition I've got a lot more to lose. But I think the jokes on her - my chiropractor tells me I have the body of a 40 year old, and I know I have to tired-laziness of a 60 year old, combined with the self-control of a 5 year old. So any losses on my end are going to be a massive achievement! So once I win, I can definitely say I had it tougher!

Whichever way you slice it though, you can't really fault the idea. It should be fun, competitive, and any excuse to lose a bit of weight and live a little healthier seems noble enough to me!

- Butler

Welcome from Amber

            For those of you seeking information of a nautical nature, I am sorry to disappoint. This is actually a blog to chronicle a 5-month weight loss competition between myself, Amber Peel (Hi! Nice to meet you!) and my workmate Daniel Butler (he’ll introduce himself shortly). The goal is to lose the most weight between 04SEP11 and midnight the night of our birthday’s, mine – 03FEB and his – 30JAN. However, the winner must lose a minimum of 20 pounds (9 kilograms).

            In the spirit of introduction posts, I suppose I should give a little background on myself. I’m a 31-year-old American expat going on a little over four years now (the living overseas part, not being 31!). Since my early twenties, I’ve been trying to get into the routine of staying fit and living healthy. However, I seem to always manage to fall off the wagon, end up right back into my old habits, and gain back all the weight I had worked so hard to lose.

In fairness to me, my old habits weren’t exactly horrible. But didn’t necessarily prevent the pounds from creeping on over the years either. I’ve never been an athletic person so the “working out” wasn’t very appealing to me. And I’m from the American South and have a weakness for Tex-Mex, cornbread, and Southern fried anything! (And Italian food, Indian food, Chinese food, Thai food, hazelnut gelato… you get the point.)

However, since moving “Down Under” a little over a year ago to the lovely town of Bunbury, WA, I seem to have fallen hard for the “fit” life. The fantastic weather, beautiful scenery, and plethora of activities that are available made the change quite easy. Since October 2010, I’ve managed to drop from 170 pounds to 150 pounds. At 5’5”, my first goal was to simply get out of overweight range.  So… yay me!

            Now I’m ready to take that next step and completely transform from being “normal” to “fit”. Based on my height, bone structure, and age, I’ve set my target at 130 pounds. Obviously, losing the next 20 pounds will require a much different approach to losing the first. Contrary to what Daniel thinks, he has a much bigger advantage over me because of this. But I am relying on my extreme discipline and meticulous planning to give me a bit of an edge. I’ll provide the details of my plan of attack in the next post.

            Until then, I hope you enjoy our silly little way of entertaining ourselves (What can we say? We’re Aquarians!) and feel free to ask any questions along the way. Oh yeah, we haven’t exactly figured out what the wager should be. Personally, I’m just looking forward to saying, “Hey Daniel, I beat you!” But a bet isn’t a bet without a prize. So suggestions?