20 kilos in 20 weeks weight loss challenge

having spent a good few months hovering around the 119kg mark, i’ve decided it’s time to put some focus on diet for a bit.

while there have been significant improvement in areas like body fat percentage, i really need to concentrate on dropping a few more kilos:

• firstly because i still need to break through the 100kg mark to make a tandem skydive a possibility

• secondly because there’s still plenty of spare tyre left to go

• finally because if i’m carrying another 20 kilos less, there will be less impact on my bones, joints and muscles when i’m running

things got a bit sloppy

reality is that i now have the sure knowledge that i will have no issue maintaining a weight, however i have definitely eased off lately and become a little more “forgiving” of what i am eating. once again it really is lunches that have been the biggest issue, but there are other areas that need pulling back a little too.

action plan

now the warmer weather has arrived i’ve made a conscious switch back to eating salads for lunch – pretty much getting back to where i was earlier this year, making good lunch choices and focusing on having plenty of salad with lean meats, no dressings and little or no bread.

a decent salad bowl is actually quite filling, even without bread, which should help in the other main area that needs controlling; snacking.

my snacks have been healthy – generally nuts and dried fruit – but there’s been a tendency to nibble a little too frequently. with relatively high fat content, eating nuts is good, but only in moderation.

as well as eating a decent sized salad bowl for lunch, another strategy to help reduce snacking is to consciously drink plenty of water. my water consumption has been consistently good throughout this process, however i do get days where i maybe drink not quite enough. in any case, being more strategic with my water consumption should help manage hunger and the “need” to snack.

a new goal

to help ensure that this becomes a sustained effort to drive the weight down, i’ve set myself a goal of dropping 20 kilos in 20 weeks. that’s an average of a kilo per week, which is in the middle of the sustainable, healthy weight loss range.

that should put me at my target weight around the middle of april 2013 – obviously there’s a small issue of christmas in the middle, but that shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

so… i plan to note my weight consistently, every wednesday morning, just before i do my rowing session.

as of 4am ish today (wed 21st november) i weighed in at 119.1kg