2012 Week 1 - RESULTS

Feels a bit weird, writing 'Week 1' when its already the 16th, but its the end of the first week of my 2012 weight loss, so it stays!

STARTING WEIGHT:   224.9 lbs

ENDING WEIGHT:  223.6 lbs

WEIGHT LOSS:    1.3 lbs

Not bad as new starts go. Nice to start the new year off with a loss!

Eagle-eyed readers will note that I haven't recorded any running mileage so far this year. Its hugely frustrating, but basically, the hot water has broken in my flat. That not only means no heating (and it is VERY cold), but also no showers, just washing laboriously in a basin with a kettle, a flannel, and lots of time first thing in the morning. The landlord says he's getting it fixed tomorrow, but it means I haven't wanted to risk a run so far - if I can't shower...well, can you imagine? I hardly want to be hitting the wards and talking to patients without a scrub, and although I can freshen up well enough day-to-day, I think an adequate post-run wash is beyond my flannel's capabilities. I'm going to see if I can access the showers on campus tomorrow, just in case, but I HOPE to be able to get back into the running later this week.

I have been doing a fair amount of walking, as is usual for me these days, but went out with my friends on Friday night, to celebrate the start of a new term, so that set my weight loss back a bit for this week. Still, pleased to see a loss, but I don't think that this is all I'm capable of right now - want to get running again, and see some REAL pounds drop!

Anyway, below is my 2012 weight loss so far (and my TOTAL weight loss too), and the return of my regular progress photos. I wasn't as diligent with these towards the end of last year, as it was a slight downer to be posting new photos showing me heavier than the previous week. But, its a new year, and that means (you've guessed it) a fresh start!

2012 Weight Loss: 

1.3 lbs (73.5 total loss)

223.6 lbs

 223.6 lbs

2012 Resolution...

I know this is coming to you very late, but I did say I would let you all know what resolution I chose for 2012, so here it is!

First though, I wanted to respond to some of my readers, who asked why I would remove mention of all the weight I lost in 2011, and start afresh from zero. It was a tough call, as I am rightly proud of what I have achieved so far...so why would I now ignore it?

The fact is, I have to do what I think will help me with my final stage of weight loss, and starting from scratch is, I think, the way to do it.

You see, I noticed towards the end of last year that my commitment to the weight-loss cause was slightly waning. It just didn't seem to have the urgency it used to. That wasn't because I was happy with my weight though - far from it!

Rather, I realised that I was somewhat 'resting on my laurels', if you will. When I had a fairly lazy week and didn't reach my weekly target, I could look back at the 70+ lbs lost and tell myself not to worry about it, as I'd already made a ton of progress. Even worse, if I had a really bad week and saw a gain, it didn't have much of an impact. Say I gained 5 lbs - the counter would still read 65lbs lost so far. 65lbs! That's loads! Why worry about it?

I don't in any way want to disown my achievements from last year, but I do think I need a little more focus for these last few pounds. And in fact, that previous sentence kind of gives away the problematic mindset I'm in. I don't WANT to think of these as the 'last few pounds', as though I've already all-but-won this battle, and am now just mopping up the leftovers. The 28lbs I still have to lose are a challenge in and of themselves, so I want to stop looking at them in the light of all the weight I've already lost, but rather tackle them as a fresh new challenge - one I haven't actually made any progress against yet.

Anyway, that was the decision-making process, and I hope I've explained it in a way that makes sense! I have made a few changes to the blog's header and the progress bar, just to try and let any new or casual readers know that progress has been made last year!

So, to the resolution! I've never had much luck with resolutions, probably because I try to come up with too many, so one inevitably slips, and then the whole 'new me' thing kind of collapses in on itself. This year, I wanted to come up with one general resolution, that I could conceivably apply to ALL aspects of my life that need more attention. And so that's what I did!

2012 Resolution - "I will not waste any more of my time".

So there it is. I am using this as something of a mantra, and trying to apply it to everything. I have weight to lose? Well stop wasting time, and lose it - go out for a run! I have deadlines looming? Well stop wasting time, and do your work! You want something? Well go and get it! Something isn't right? Well go and change it! STOP WASTING TIME!

We'll see in the coming weeks and months how effective it is!

FRESH START - 2012!

I have decided to reset all counters on the blog, and start afresh for 2012 as of today (I know its already 9 days in, but this is the first chance I've had to gather myself and re-evaluate everything!). As such, below you'll find my new starting weight, as well as a bit of a 2011 summary...

2012 STARTING WEIGHT   -   224.9 lbs

GOAL WEIGHT 2012  -   196.7 lbs

WEIGHT TO LOSE 2012  -   28.2 lbs

I know I said I was going to make a clean break this year, and not look to see how much I gained over Christmas and New Year...but obviously, I did. The gain was almost into double figures, but I'm not going to beat myself up over it. As far as I'm concerned, this is a completely new start. A start from 224.9 lbs, which is SO SO SO much better than the starting point I had last year! In fact, let's make it official...

WEIGHT LOST IN 2011   =   72.2 lbs

 Lol, do you know, there is STILL a part of my brain that's grumbling, as before Christmas my loss was into the 80-pound bracket...but never mind. It is still a FANTASTIC achievement, and I'm more than willing to say so - I worked my butt off to achieve this, its an incredible amount of weight to lose in less than a year, and I'm not going to let any false modesty take away from what I did. So there!

I now begin afresh, with less than 30lbs to lose before hitting my goal weight, compared to over 100lbs when I started last year. It won't realistically be possible to hit goal by the anniversary of my blog, on February 21st, but in a way its nice not to have that pressure - this year is more about living a healthy, active lifestyle, and letting the pounds drop in due course, rather than constantly chasing targets and (possibly) using unsustainable methods to try and hit them.

I only have one resolution for this year, but I've waffled on for long enough this evening, so will let you know what this is in my next post. Until then...HERE GOES!

Quick Update

Greetings folks!

I hope you all had an enjoyable holiday season. Mine was busy but fun, travelling around the families for Christmas, and then making my way to Edinburgh with some friends for New Year. I finally got back home on Tuesday evening, and my new term at med school started first thing on Wednesday morning, so I haven't really had a chance to come up for breath just yet.

I have eaten (and abstained), drank (and been sober), and been merry (and blue), so all in all, a pretty normal Christmas! I am certain I have gained weight since my last weigh in, but haven't actually stood on the scales yet.

However, I don't really want to start 2012 on a downer, finding out I've gained 10lbs, or whatever. As such, I have decided that I will resume my weight loss attempt on Monday morning with a weigh-in. Rather than compare this weight with my last total, I intend to take it as a new starting weight - a new year, a new start, and all that. Obviously it will impossible not to work out just how much weight I regained, but its not something I want to focus on - I'll be acting as though this is my first ever weigh-in, rather than just the most recent!

Once I weigh-in on Monday, I want to be a better member of the blogging community, and take more time to comment on all your posts (as so many of you are kind enough to comment on mine, and it really helps). Let's all have a good year, shall we?