It's week 4 of 8 weigh in day, so here is the much anticipated result.
DOWN 2.5 lbs.
Total loss after 4 weeks of the challenge = 13.5 lbs.
Total loss since Jan 1st = 28 lbs. (2 stone hypeeee)
----
It's been a frustrating week.
1 which I hoped to go really really hard with the exercise whilst maintaining the diet.
It started that way, my records show me I walked 19 miles in 3 days between Monday and Wednesday, as well as grinding the treadmill with higher intensity bursts too.
However on Wednesday night I "took ill".
I've had a pretty bad head cold, nothing serious but more than enough to put the block on my fitness hype.
Yesterday morning I weighed in 3/4 of a pound lighter than todays official weigh in, which just goes to show if I stand still I will go backwards.
I need to get over this man flu and get back on it asap.
However we are 4 weeks into the 8 week challenge now, the goal is to lose 2 stone, and I've lost 13.5 lbs.
So we're on course.
I'm aware the 2nd half of this will be more difficult, as I lose weight, it will become more difficult to lose more weight, the work required to do so will go up, but I'm happy to embrace that and get it done.
As ever though, the body will have the final say and I hope it co-operates.
Otherwise I might get P'd off and abuse it with pizza and alcohol
The cold is a little better today, and it's a nice morning so I'm going to take the hound out to keep things ticking over. Wont be able to do anything more strenuous than that though.
With poker, it's important to maximise your gains when you have the best hand and try to lose the minimum when you don't.
I guess with dieting it's the other way round, we wanna lose the max when we feel good and gain the minimum when we don't
Total loss after 5 weeks of the challenge = 17.5 lbs.
Total loss since Jan 1st = 32 lbs.
.....
3 and a half weeks left....
10.5 lbs required.
It's going to be a slog!
....
It's been a tough week.
Although I officially weigh in on a Friday, I do unofficially weigh myself each day to see how I'm going.
Apparently this is bad, but being results orientated, on this occasion it's worked well for me.
The first half of the week I went really hard, and was seeing little/no progress on the scales.
This forced me to up my diet and exercise game over the last couple of days, doing some of the most difficult training I've ever done ("not hard" you might say).
As a result I've gotten the weight down enough to make it a very pleasant result.
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I've completed week 3 of couch to 5k, which involved 4 treadmill sessions of 90 seconds running/walking, then 3 minutes running/walking. x2. With a warm up and warm down either side.
Also started running sessions outside, and some incline walking. As well as chilled walks with the dog and been through to walk the rescue dogs too.
Each week from now on in the intensity and volume of the exercise is going to increase significantly.
It's really really difficult on its own for me, but this week the tiredness has been bad too, which makes it even more so.
I'm over half way there, and I have a realistic chance of being successful in the challenge, so I'm determined to give it my all.
Let the week 6 grind begin..................
----
I played some poker.
30 mins of cash = + £6.71
4 HU sngs, W2 / L2 = - £0.28
= + £6.43
Roll = £2181.41
Send me to the Railllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll.
Thank ya Quickfeet. Weekly weight in.... DOWN 3.5 lbs. Total loss after 6 weeks of the challenge = 21 lbs. Total loss since Jan 1st = 35.5 lbs. ..... 2 and a half weeks left.... 7 lbs required. .... Bitter sweet result this week. I'm happy with it overall and would've taken it had I been offered it last friday. However, as always, I do unofficial daily weight ins and the weight had gone on Tuesday. Which means the last couple of days despite eating 'impeccibly' and walking/running 18 miles in 2 days it hasn't moved. Maybe I'll see the benefit of that over the weekend. ---- Poker update... Played 1 HU sng with a free £5 ticket skybet gave me. Lost. .... The grind continues . . . . . . . Posted by DOHHHHHHH
Thank ya Quickfeet. Weekly weight in.... DOWN 3.5 lbs. Total loss after 6 weeks of the challenge = 21 lbs. Total loss since Jan 1st = 35.5 lbs. ..... 2 and a half weeks left.... 7 lbs required. .... Bitter sweet result this week. I'm happy with it overall and would've taken it had I been offered it last friday. However, as always, I do unofficial daily weight ins and the weight had gone on Tuesday. Which means the last couple of days despite eating 'impeccibly' and walking/running 18 miles in 2 days it hasn't moved. Maybe I'll see the benefit of that over the weekend. ---- Poker update... Played 1 HU sng with a free £5 ticket skybet gave me. Lost. .... The grind continues . . . . . . . Posted by DOHHHHHHH
That's a little misleading JJ, it does not really work like that. Think of it like poker, & short term variance. The daily weigh-in is irrelevant, it's the long term results that matter. You WILL fluctuate day to day, ignore that, just as you'd ignore one bad night at the poker tables. Your diet version of a Sharkscope graph shows a bright green, steep graph. That's all that matters. The daily blips mean nothing.
Congrats on progress so far - they are very impressive numbers.
In Response to Re: "Sit & DOHHHHHHH Diary" : That's a little misleading JJ, it does not really work like that. Think of it like poker, & short term variance. The daily weigh-in is irrelevant, it's the long term results that matter. You WILL fluctuate day to day, ignore that, just as you'd ignore one bad night at the poker tables. Your diet version of a Sharkscope graph shows a bright green, steep graph. That's all that matters. The daily blips mean nothing. Congrats on progress so far - they are very impressive numbers. Posted by Tikay10
That makes sense TK.
I remember leading up to the challenge I was working hard and not seeing any deviation on the scales at all, I was just maintaining my weight and starting to get frustrated.
Then the challenge began and it suddenly started to drop off.
Timing
Hopefully this mid-weeks efforts will begin to show on the scales over the weekend to give me a boost going into the penultimate week of the challenge.
----
Just done some poker to keep Bates and the other poker enthusiasts happy.
...ok just Bates then.
Variance - Sky sent me "deposit £10 get £10 tokens free"
Brag - Played a £5.25 HU Hyper with half of it and won.
Beat - It was in the form of 4 x £2.50 tokens, so it actually used 3 x £2.50 to enter me and left me with only 2 fiddy left.
Never let it be said sky dont try hard to bring fun players back into the game.
Did you watch any of the marathon yesterday? Seriously inspiring! Posted by mrsduck
Hi MrsDuck.
No, I have to be honest and say I hate watching owt like that on TV.
I dislike the whole atmosphere, people cheering and whooping all the time and dressing up as Elmo and waving into the camera etc.
6 hours of Cramb and Foster going on about how wonderful the support is.
ugh.
I dno why, but it just annoys me.
Probably because I'm a miserable g it.
Having said that, I would love to do it one day !!!!!
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The weekend for me has been a struggle.
Yesterday I weighed in 1 lb up.
5 days of grinding myself into the ground with exercise and barely eating a thing that isn't green, rewarded with a gain in weight.
Safe to say morale throughout yesterdays poultry 4 mile walk was very low.
I slacked abit on the diet as a result, eating a sizeable chilli dinner and then an excessive portion of chicken stir fry for tea.
It wasn't the best diet meal planning, but I felt properly "full up" for the first time in 3 weeks.
----
This morning I was up for the exercise grind @ 6, and out walking by 7.
I had no real plan of action, aside from doing the 4 miles which is the bare minimum the dog needs per day, and then to 'see what happened' after that.
What happened was a surprise to myself, as I walked/ran on and on and on and on until I I checked my app and saw I was closing in on 9 miles.
I was still quite a way from home, so would clear 10 easily.
And 10 isn't a million miles away from 13.
Only 3 in fact.
So I decided to walk round in circles until I reached half marathon distance.
I did watch the London Marathon. Loved every minute of it and wished I as there. As I have every year since 1992 when I completed the course in 3 hours and 20 minutes. For the record my #oneinamillion number is 203,474. I'm wearing the t-shirt with pride right now. Once you've been there and experienced yourself it you're hooked for life.
I'm seriously impressd to read you've managed to walk/run 13.1 miles aleady. You don't even mention the 1,525 feet of ascent it included. If that data is accurate your route was much hillier than nearly all courses used for official half marathons. To put it in perspective The Shard, the tallest building in the EU, is 1,016 feet tall. If there was a staircase inside that went from the ground floor to the very top (the observation deck is at only 802 feet), you did the equivalent of walk/running up and down it one and and a half times during your 13.1 miles.
Time is irrelevant when you eventually do enter your first official half marathon, all that matters is completing the course. You are guaranteed a PB no matter what. You can then take a shot at lowering it second time out.
You probably know a lot more about this than me. But I'm pretty sure plateaus are totally standard during weight loss, and that the last few pounds are always the hardest to shift. A bit like poker it's the long term results that count. I think you're doing great, keep it up and run well
Thanks Gary, can you give me some advice on training schedules?
It's been suggested that I may be 'over doing it' with my cardio volume at times.
How important is rest, and how much do I need?
For example after I did that this morning, I've taken the day off, and will be out walking again same time tomorrow.
I'm not saying I will, or want to, but if I was to attempt a similar sized 'session' would that be bad, as my body wont have had enough recovery time between big sessions?
I was thinking of doing one really big effort day (such as today) followed by a more relaxed day, then keep repeating, so it would be every other day that I push myself hard.
But I need to balance that against the time constraints of the weight loss challenge I've set myself.
It's a tough balancing act, especially when I don't really know what I'm doing.
Any advice and your continued support is much appreciated, thanks for the nice comments.
Thanks Gary, can you give me some advice on training schedules? It's been suggested that I may be 'over doing it' with my cardio volume at times. How important is rest, and how much do I need? For example after I did that this morning, I've taken the day off, and will be out walking again same time tomorrow. I'm not saying I will, or want to, but if I was to attempt a similar sized 'session' would that be bad, as my body wont have had enough recovery time between big sessions? I was thinking of doing one really big effort day (such as today) followed by a more relaxed day, then keep repeating, so it would be every other day that I push myself hard. But I need to balance that against the time constraints of the weight loss challenge I've set myself. It's a tough balancing act, especially when I don't really know what I'm doing. Any advice and your continued support is much appreciated, thanks for the nice comments. Posted by DOHHHHHHH
Rest is very important, crucial in fact. The training effect relies on it.
A big session or weekly long run should always be followed by an easy day. Even elite runners go by that rule. Your every other day plan sounds great to me. It could be either a complete rest, or a very easy day between the big efforts, experiment and see what works best for you.
Since returning to running two years ago I've stuck to four days of running per week. So that's three every week with no running at all. I've staying completely free of injury and my fitness has come on leaps and bounds, so it's worked for me. In that time I've gone from being a non-runner of 12 years (though admittedly reasonably fit from my work and long distance walks) to running a half-marathon in 1h-43m this February, 6 months before I turn 50yo. I wasn't doing it for weight loss, but I've also dropped over a stone without making any changes to my diet.
Building up your weekly mileage slowly is definitely the way to go. The couch to 5K does it perfectly for beginners. Too much too soon can back-fire, either by causing injury or by making you over-tired, which in turn leads to a loss of motivation.
There are tons of good training schedules available for free online. Have a look around and see if you can find one that fits what you're aiming to achieve.
Really surprised you don't enjoy the happy vibes from marathons & the like JJ.
The atmo at these things is human nature at its best. No money involved, people just doing their best. It's perfectly lovely.
I accompany Gill to all her runs, & I love it to bits. Nice people doing good healthy things. Hard to know what's not to like about that.
In related & very sad news, it looks like ParkRun are going to state charging runners to take part. Can't blame them really, it's all volunteers, but it is rather a shame.
Really surprised you don't enjoy the happy vibes from marathons & the like JJ. The atmo at these things is human nature at its best. No money involved, people just doing their best. It's perfectly lovely. I accompany Gill to all her runs, & I love it to bits. Nice people doing good healthy things. Hard to know what's not to like about that. In related & very sad news, it looks like ParkRun are going to state charging runners to take part. Can't blame them really, it's all volunteers, but it is rather a shame. Posted by Tikay10
a certain council are asking parkrun for fees that the likes of football teams have to pay for the use of there parks so thats why they are probably charging runners,i can,t see it being much tbh
In Response to Re: "Sit & DOHHHHHHH Diary" : a certain council are asking parkrun for fees that the likes of football teams have to pay for the use of there parks so thats why they are probably charging runners,i can,t see it being much tbh Posted by stokefc
Ahh yes, that makes sense. Or not, as the case may be.
It's bang wrong, at a time when so many of us are unfit, or leading unhealthy lives, maybe sat in front of computers or TV all day, & eating bad food, that Councils want to charge for healthy outdoor pursuits.
Parkrun say that their events being free to all is a core principle that isn't going to change. One parish council tried to force Parkrun to charge each runner a £1 fee and pass the money on to them. Parkrun refused, not wanting to set a precedent, and reluctantly cancelled that one event only.
All the other Parkruns are continuing to run as usual. Last Saturday they had their highest ever attendance due to the publicity. Not a single runner paid a penny.
100 miles in a week challenge? Four full marathons? Eight half marathons?
If it's a running thing.......forget it.
If it's an all walking, or mainly walking thing, and if all goes well I see no reason why you couldn't attempt it sometime later this year. But I'd say now is way too early, you're probably best off keeping that one on ice.
Parkrun say that their events being free to all is a core principle that isn't going to change. One parish council tried to force Parkrun to charge each runner a £1 fee and pass the money on to them. Parkrun refused, not wanting to set a precedent, and reluctantly cancelled that one event only. All the other Parkruns are continuing to run as usual. Last Saturday they had their highest ever attendance due to the publicity. Not a single runner paid a penny. 100 miles in a week challenge? Four full marathons? Eight half marathons? If it's a running thing.......forget it. If it's an all walking, or mainly walking thing, and if all goes well I see no reason why you couldn't attempt it sometime later this year. But I'd say now is way too early, you're probably best off keeping that one on ice. Posted by GaryQQQ
Thanks Gary, can you give me some advice on training schedules? Posted by DOHHHHHHH
Further to this I've been looking around today, search for 'Hal Higdon training programs' on Google.
The novice half-marathons schedules there look perfect for someone in your position. There's good advice about rest and stuff like in there too. All for free.
In my opinion you should stick to your original running goal, ie 'to enter and complete a half-marathon'. It's a challenging but do-able target. If you want to add a specific date you want to do it by, or target a particular event, then fine. It will give you a focus, much better than keep moving the goalposts.
This is what re-started me; In early 2014 we heard that Lea's son, a running novice, had entered the Cardiff Half Marathon. We decided to go along as spectators to cheer him on, booked a hotel for the weekend etc. Soon after we went to London to watch the marathon, a great day out which was very inspiring. Then I had an idea, 'instead of just watching the Cardiff Half why don't I enter it too?' At the time I hadn't run a single step for 12 years, and I had done any proper running since 1995.
I went from a gentle walk/run to completing that half marathon in 6 months. No fancy training, just three shortish (5 miles max) steady runs each week, plus one long run. I ran no further than 11 miles in training. I went into the race with two goals; 1. to complete it. 2. To enjoy it. I didn't care what my time was. I achieved both goals and absolutely loved it.
The ironic thing about it was that Lea's son got injured and didn't make the start line. Despite that I can't thank him enough for re-starting my running hobby.
My planned 'rest day' didn't exactly work out yesterday.
I went 5.5 miles but I really struggled with it, felt heavy legged and really tired (nothing new there) as well as weak and lethargic.
So today I'm going with a proper, full rest day.
The pooch helped me out with that this morning, being a little sh !t and somehow getting a hold of her harness and chomping her way through it.
Meant I could only do a really slow, steady couple of miles (almost 1h to complete) with her and then back home for a full day of resting up.
Plan for the short term is to fully implement the "1 on, 1 off" training schedule for the next 6 days as reccommended by GQ.
Starting with another 13.1 miles tomorrow, Sunday and then Tuesday with complete rest on Saturday Monday and Wednesday, weigh in after that and see what's required for the final push.
If I have to completely run myself into the ground to get the challenge completed, that's what I'll do.
Then pick up the half marathon training more seriously after that.
-----
Gonna play some cards today.
After a cash in the HT tournament (can you believe they made us pay to enter that btw??????) the other night, I have a total of £21.67 to go onto the roll, which means we start at £2203.08.
The perfect amount to play some nl7 using a 314.7 buy in bankroll strategy.
Comments
You WILL fluctuate day to day, ignore that, just as you'd ignore one bad night at the poker tables.
Your diet version of a Sharkscope graph shows a bright green, steep graph. That's all that matters. The daily blips mean nothing.
Congrats on progress so far - they are very impressive numbers.
Brag - Played a £5.25 HU Hyper with half of it and won.
----
Rest is very important, crucial in fact. The training effect relies on it.
A big session or weekly long run should always be followed by an easy day. Even elite runners go by that rule. Your every other day plan sounds great to me. It could be either a complete rest, or a very easy day between the big efforts, experiment and see what works best for you.
Since returning to running two years ago I've stuck to four days of running per week. So that's three every week with no running at all. I've staying completely free of injury and my fitness has come on leaps and bounds, so it's worked for me. In that time I've gone from being a non-runner of 12 years (though admittedly reasonably fit from my work and long distance walks) to running a half-marathon in 1h-43m this February, 6 months before I turn 50yo. I wasn't doing it for weight loss, but I've also dropped over a stone without making any changes to my diet.
Building up your weekly mileage slowly is definitely the way to go. The couch to 5K does it perfectly for beginners. Too much too soon can back-fire, either by causing injury or by making you over-tired, which in turn leads to a loss of motivation.
There are tons of good training schedules available for free online. Have a look around and see if you can find one that fits what you're aiming to achieve.
Really surprised you don't enjoy the happy vibes from marathons & the like JJ.
The atmo at these things is human nature at its best. No money involved, people just doing their best. It's perfectly lovely.
I accompany Gill to all her runs, & I love it to bits. Nice people doing good healthy things. Hard to know what's not to like about that.
In related & very sad news, it looks like ParkRun are going to state charging runners to take part. Can't blame them really, it's all volunteers, but it is rather a shame.
Commitment means staying loyal to what you said you were going to do long after the mood you said it in has left. It is an act, not a word.
It's bang wrong, at a time when so many of us are unfit, or leading unhealthy lives, maybe sat in front of computers or TV all day, & eating bad food, that Councils want to charge for healthy outdoor pursuits.
All the other Parkruns are continuing to run as usual. Last Saturday they had their highest ever attendance due to the publicity. Not a single runner paid a penny.
100 miles in a week challenge? Four full marathons? Eight half marathons?
If it's a running thing.......forget it.
If it's an all walking, or mainly walking thing, and if all goes well I see no reason why you couldn't attempt it sometime later this year. But I'd say now is way too early, you're probably best off keeping that one on ice.