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Let’s just jump straight in. I’ve gained a lot of fat this year and lost a lot of fitness. This has not been a pleasant experience and I am now on a mission to shed the flab and get back to full fitness. Here are a few very general reasons why:
- I feel lethargic, grumpy, and generally crappy
- I don’t look as good as when I was leaner
- My clothes feel uncomfortable and tight
- I can’t exercise as hard or as long
- I’m a fitness journalist & trainer, so I need to look the part!
I could go add lots more points to this list about being healthier, staying “young”, and so on, but, rightly or wrongly, the above are my main motivations.
Know the feeling?
How could I let this happen?!
The temptation is to do what I’ve seen so many other people do over the years – get angry with myself for putting all the weight* on and generally beat myself up about not exercising enough and eating too much of the “wrong” foods over the last few months. Then I could punish my lazy ass by spending hours every day working out and eating like a sparrow.
But I’ve also seen the results that come from that strategy – usually a big drop in weight in the first few weeks, followed by a plateau, followed by frustration that no progress is being made despite all the work and starvation, followed by giving up.
I’ll be covering why this happens and what really does work if you want get fit and lean a lot in this blog. The cool thing is, I now have to opportunity to use my own fat loss experience as an example!
On a mission
So, rather than get down about the fact that I’ve got fatter and less fit, I’m going to treat it as an opportunity to work on a really exciting project, one which will not only help me get my body back, but also gives me a great reason to try first-hand some of the weight loss tactics, supplements and strategies I write about as a fitness journalist. I’d love to share this journey with you, whether you’re on your own mission to lose weight and/or get fitter, or just interested in fitness, weight management, or setting and achieving any kind of life-enhancing goal.
If you were wondering about that title of this post, now you have a clue! I am approaching this as a project and my objective is to get back to the body fat percentage I had when I was really happy with my body composition, about two years ago – 18%.
I am in this position now mainly because work kind of took over my life over the last couple of years. Ironically, building my new fitness website alongside my freelance journalism commitments left me with very little time to exercise and, as I took my eye of the ball on the fitness side, I got into some bad eating habits too.
Time is an issue that stops a lot of people from exercising and habit is a huge factor when it comes to eating for most people, so I’m looking forward to dealing with those in the posts to come on this blog. Hopefully me sharing what I’ve learned from this experience, and will continue to learn as I go through this process, will help a lot of other people break through those barriers to get the body they want too.
Not hugely relevant, but very cute.
Fat loss friends
Through my work as a fitness journalist I have connections with some of the world’s top experts in fitness, healthy eating, and weight loss and I’ll be getting input from many of them as well as speaking to ordinary folk like you and me to discover what has worked for them in their lives.
I want to keep these blog posts quite short so I’ll leave it at that for today. But there is a lot more to come. I will share the specifics of how much fat I have to lose, what my fitness goals are and how I intend to get there in my next post. I’m also going to attempt to take a “before” photo later today which, if I can possibly bear it, I’ll post on the blog for you to see.
Give us a wave!
I intend to post to this blog every day, so do please pop back for the next installment. In the meantime, I’d love it if you’d be one of the first to leave me a comment. I am fortunate because I have a good level of knowledge on weight loss and know my around a gym, but a bit of encouragement would still really help me on my way too!
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*Sometimes I’m going to use the vernacular and talk about weight loss when I really I’m referring to fat loss. I’ll talk more about how those two are not technically the same thing in later posts. But you know what I mean!
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I’ll be reading with interest Julia – I’m also guilty of letting the weight build up. Happy to say that the thought of running the 100 Ultra Trail South West in June has made me do something about it. I’ve no intention of lugging extra weight up all those hills. Lost 12kg but am struggling to keep that weight off. I am running much faster, but am worried about putting weight on again.
Well done, 12kg is a lot to lose! The problem with running all these miles is that you get used to eating tonnes of carbs while you’re training, but as soon as you bring the miles the miles down the weight goes up! That’s been my experience anyway. Best of luck keeping it off, I’m sure you’ll do fine.
Hey Julia, great blog post – I’m looking forward to reading more about your journey.
Thanks BN, here’s hoping it’s a smooth one! x
Hi Julia
Glad to see you got the blog off the ground! I have in the last few days started Weightwatchers, previously I lost weight with calorie counting but for some reason that hasn’t worked this time round. I’ve only got a stone to lose at the most, so with your blog to read daily we will be taking the journey together, and I’ll be picking up some great ideas too – Good luck. @lilbeeloo67
Hi Lesley, Thanks for popping by. I know several people who’ve done really well on Weight Watchers. It’s not something I’d recommend to everyone, but for the people it suits the programme can do wonders. Hope it works out for you. Are you going to meetings? Looking forward to sharing the journey with you too. x
Thanks Julia, it’s early days only just started this week so it’s a bit suck it & see. It actually goes against everything I believe I’m desperate to get the stone off before the holiday in July. Maybe I can incorporate some of your diet tips into my food plans!
Totally know where you are coming from, Julia. I’m on the same mission to get back to a comfortable weight and increase my overall fitness. I put weight on over Xmas and have been promising myself to get it off for months. I started exercising in earnest a couple of weeks ago and I am trying to eat really well too. But it is really hard when you have a business to run and family life to contend with! I will be reading your blog with interest to get some tips and hopefully we can give each other a bit of moral support :0)
Thanks Zena, that’s great to hear, it’s not easy to share some of these of these things in a blog but I think it will be worth it so I can share support with people like you. It is difficult to fit exercise in to a busy life, but it’s all about prioritising it and making it part of a regular routine. I expect I’ll be talking a lot about that in upcoming posts! All the best with your weight loss mission – what kind of exercise have you started doing?
Great Post Julia. I’m back on my weightloss mission too. I feel off the wagon a bit since easter but I started this week with a new resolve. Luckily I’m training for the marathon relay so I didn’t put on Weight during what I affectionately refer to as the chocolate weeks. But I didnt lose any and I’m feeling pretty rubbish.
Looking forward to reading about ur progress.
The chocolate weeks! Love it. Too true unfortunately! I know how it can be when you’re a very active person, doing the exercise is fine, but changing diet can be quite a challenge! Keep me posted on your progress too.
Hi Julia,
Good luck with the mission, I’m sure you will help others as you help yourself. As you know motivation is the hard part and I hope the blog and the website helps to keep you going.
You’ll get there!
Lee
Aw thanks Lee, that’s what I’m hoping for. Really appreciate the support.
Best of luck Julia. I find myself in a very similar position following last years ironman. Now 1.5 stone heavier and lacking drive and motivation. I have now entered a marathon in October with a specific goal in mind. As a coach and fitness professional as well it really is important to keep in shape so I feel the same as you. Let’s encourage and help each other on our respective journeys
Best of luck
Hi Lawrence, thanks for the comment. I think it’s important that people like us can be open about that fact that we sometimes waiver too, it shows that everyone has their ups and downs and that the important thing is that we can get back on track. Let’s definitely help and encourage each other along the way. Looking forward to hearing more from you.
Great post Julia, it’s good to be honest and positive about theses things. I could have written those bullet points at the top myself.
I’m about 6lbs heavier than I was last year, which isn’t a massive amount, but I know I’ve strayed into bad eating habits and I don’t like the way I feel just now, so like you, I’m going to do something about it too.
I’ll be interested in reading about what you find out and hope to get some sensible hints and tips to help me too.
Thanks Michelle, like I said I could’ve written at least a hundred more of those bullet points! I am looking at this as positively as I can, although I’m having my moments! But there’s no point in being down on myself really, that won’t help at all, so I’ve just got to push on. Comments like yours are giving me a really boost too, so hopefully this will be a lot of fun! 6llbs isn’t a lot to lose, but if it’s bothering you then you should tackle it (so long as you’re not below a healthy weight of course). I’ve been ignoring the pounds creeping on and now I have about a stone to lose! Hope this blog can be of some help.
Looks like an interesting project. I have put on a bit of weight recently despite doing lots of excercise. I have pretty much the same goals so will be following with interest.
Thanks Ceri. Sometimes getting the exercise side right is easier than sorting out diet, but I’m sure you’ll get there!
Good luck Julia!
I am currently at the plateau phase but determined not to give up until I lose the remaining stone of my goal to shift my “heathrow injection”. I shall be reading you blog for tips and additional motivation!
Until the next post, off to the gym for me!
Hi Delphine. That’s the first time I’ve heard the phrase “Heathrow injection”, had to Google it – how funny! I must write an article or post on that at some point! Good luck getting rid of it – let’s show the world that London doesn’t have to mean lard!
Great blog Julia and it’s great that so many people are connecting with it. Hope you get to the magic 18%! I found a great free app called my fitness pal. It has been fantastic for me. No gimmicks, just a case of helping you consume the amount of calories you actually need.
Thanks Gary. I know there are some great apps around, but it’s not something I bother really. I try to avoid getting too hung up on numbers. I might need something like that further down the line though – will have a look at it if I do.