Losing weight safely - news six months on

 It's been six months since I started this blog. It was created to help me, as much as anyone else, to lose weight and keep it off. Its been a battle I have been fighting for many years now but as I got older and less active the weight proved harder to shift. 

January - I am 65 years old and started the year at 167 pounds and through a mixture of exercise and change in eating I reached 163 pounds by the end of January. With a height of 5 foot 5 inches, my BMI was 27.2 which is above the healthy BMI reading of 25. To get there I would need to lose 18 pounds. Try it yourself with the link here

February - saw me hold that loss but not increase it. I was still eating my way through some the Christmas high-calorie treats that were still in the house. The meal portion sizes were still too large and I come from a family where food was precious and I still clear my plate at every sitting.

March - I visited my doctor and he wasn't pleased with my 5.2 high cholesterol level. I promised I'd eat more nuts and lose more weight. By the end of the month, I was 162 pounds, just down a pound.

April -  We are emerging from winter and Spring weather gets me outdoors more. I'm running 5k about twice a week and by month-end, I've dropped two more pounds and am I60 pounds.

May - is a very good month as I get my first vaccination - AZ and now walk the roads and the local beaches with our dog. I end the month on 159 pounds down one more pound.

June - the weather is great, I'm cutting grass and throwing it over the fence to the waiting herd of cows. I'm de-weeding the flower beds, I'm playing a little tennis and yes running. I reach the 30th of June and step on the scales. I'm 156 pounds 

July - the weight loss continues through a mixture of smaller portions, exercise and daily weighing. Right now I'm 155 pounds and flirting with 153 pounds. That's 12 pounds gone in six months

I hope this motivates you to change ways and lose weight safely by:

•  cutting down the number of treats, 
• eating smaller portions, 
• weighing in daily and 
• exercise more, walk, run or swim

Happy life - on we go!!

Weight Loss Diary - Ups & downs of January 2021 & tips for you

I have posted earlier 2021 ten tips that can help you lose weight and I  list them below if you want a refresh. Often online people give advice but fail to publish how their approach is working for them.  Below is the true results for me from my weight diary and as you can see weight goes up and down daily but overall my weight sneaks downwards. (see column Cum Weight gain (loss) below.

I'm posting this just to show you what actually happens if you just increase your calorie burn a little and reduce your meal portions a little. I also altered my snacking from chocolate biscuits to apples and mandarins. Nothing else has been changed. My opening weight of 167 pounds gives a BMI value of 28 which is considered "overweight." To be considered "normal" per BMI calculator I'd have to be 149 pounds but that to me is a step too far. I look gaunt at 149. I'm happy with 155 pounds so my target of a loss of 12.

I started this month of January having gradually added a pound every other day in December to my weight. I'd over-indulged whilst sat on the couch watching hours of television. Christmas day itself wasn't that bad but it was just a cumulative build-up of bad eating over the month. We'd also stocked up for Christmas and had more alcohol and bad food in the house and ring-fenced for Christmas that suddenly became available. I did resist buying a Christmas cake and a pudding as from past experience I knew I would have to eat it and last year it was April before the last morsel was gone.

Conclusion: A slow but steady approach to losing weight works. Tweak your calorie intake and up your calorie burn rate. Small changes deliver big gains. 

Motivate yourself by rewards that matter to you, for example, get back into those jeans you love,  improve your chance of beating Covid by weighing normal, get back to exercising, be able to buy new clothes in sizes you want to be, just because losing weight is good for your mindfulness. 

10 Golden Steps to weight loss that work 

1. Clear out all junk food

2. Weigh yourself

3. Find a diet buddy

4. Sit down for meals

5. Get active

6. Smaller portions

7. Use Post-it notes

8. Eat slowly, savour food

9. Prioritise sleep

10. Reward yourself