December 14, 2011 2:16 AM HKT

Day 90

First of all I wanted to say what a pleasant surprise the workout was this morning. I'd heard we were going to get a choice of workouts so I was thinking of going back to day 2 as I remember feeling like I was going to die when I did it in front of the kids. Day 8 was harder back then so to complete it in 18 minutes this morning and wonder what was next was quite comical! It does go to show how far we've progressed in the last 90 days though.

So, a summary in numbers:

109.8kg Day 1-   93.7kg Day 90 = Lost 16.1kg
Tight 38" waist Day 1 - 34" with room for some Christmas excess Day 90 = About 5 inches off my waist
120,000+ = the number of skips I have done in the last 90 days
1000's = the number of swear words that have been uttered as I have pushed through the burn!

I have learnt a lot in the last 3months, about diet, exercise, self discipline and healthy living. I now have a clear understanding of how to get in shape, and stay in shape, and also have an understanding of how my decisions about diet, exercise and drinking will impact my overall wellbeing. I think like many doing PCP I had tried periods of dieting or exercising over the years but nothing sustained and (relatively) balanced like this.  I also know what its like to buy clothes which are smaller than the last ones I bought and that is a brilliant buzz.... you should have seen the look on the sales persons face when I almost skipped out of the Levi's store with a pair of size 34 jeans the other day :-) 

When I started this and looked through other peoples blogs I was blown away with their results, and swore that even if I got halfway to my goal I wouldn't publish a muscle shot at the end.... but after three months of slogging away and having had a laugh with my wife when she took my final pictures I am going to publish two... only for the fact that I am proud I can now see some definition and the results of the hard work!

I won't waffle anymore, suffice to say this is one of the best choices I have ever made and it will change my life going forward as there is no way I am going back to the fat lard arse I was before. Patrick & Sarah thanks for all your support, encouragement, direction and motivation. To my group, and the others on the PCP, thanks for the words of encouragement and for your blogs, when I was finding it tough just knowing that others were too helped, and seeing your results kept me going. Looking forward to running around with the kids now (without getting out of breath). Massive thanks to Jo, Oli and Issy too for putting up with my obsession for the last three months... couldn't have done this without them!

3 days rest here I come!

Photos

December 11, 2011 4:34 PM HKT

Supersets - hell to heaven!

These supersets are evil! If burning is good then they are also really good because I was in serious pain! It was an hour of hell as I went through it. Quite interesting for me though as I bought a heartrate monitor yesterday and mine was averaging in the 120-130 range for a lot of the time and peaking at 150-160 on pull-ups and dips. 

The good news is I feel awesome having finished now. 

2 days to go. Can't quite believe it!

December 10, 2011 12:24 PM HKT

Super sets

All going well here despite our friends best efforts to derail me! I've had friends plying me with booze, most of which I've declined and one good friend who gave us a big plate of home made cakes! Evil trick to play! 

Super sets have been okay so far but the v-sit, plank combo was a killer last night. I found I was getting cramps in my stomach and couldn't hold the plank as long as usual. 

December 6, 2011 4:06 PM HKT

Day 83

Hi. I'm back. In South Africa now and survived the journey with the two kids. Can't say I would recommend the Emirates Low Sodium food option though, it was like I asked for tasteless cack, not salt free meals. Nasty! Did pick up a great tuna salad in Dubai though so that worked nicely for the second leg of the journey.

Didn't manage to get my workout in on the travel day unfortunately but have been good since being here, did a big veggie shop and cooked up some nice healthy food and have been packing lunch and snacks so diet wise all is good. Also managing to do exercise although yesterday was manic so I only got my skipping in. Skipped this morning again at 5:30, which is one advantage of kids with jet lag.... An early start is guaranteed. Will do the strength exercises later on too. Also got a very pleasant surprise when I jumped on the scales (which I brought with me for consistency) and weighed in at a new low of 94.2kg's.... Over the moon with that!

7 days to go, lots of chocolates, beers and fine wines to avoid but feeling good and upto the challenge.

December 2, 2011 1:25 PM HKT

Only 11 days left!

Starting to wonder what life will be like post-PCP! Can't quite believe we only have 11 days left on the programme! I know I won't have long to think about it with a baby on the way, but nonetheless I'm very keen to keep up this healthier lifestyle.

Still finding the exercise hard, the leg raises this morning and the planks were particularly tough, and the floor jumps last night.... Killer!

I fly with the kids to South Africa tomorrow so have ordered low sodium/ low carb meals, will be interested to see what I get and will try to stick to diet as much as possible. Looking forward to finishing strong, still seeing changes in my body and weight which is great... Long may it continue!

November 28, 2011 11:36 AM HKT

Sick and guilty - until this morning!

so yesterday we had a big brunch to celebrate a few friends doing the delhi half marathon. this had been planned for a long time and i thought i would use it as a goodbye lunch before we head off to have the baby. anyway i was pretty good with the food, only had a few prawns and some squid to start followed by some veges (fried admittedly) and a kathi roll and chicken swarma kebab washed down with a few glasses of champagne.

what i found very interesting was that i felt really full as i started into the second course, and it felt a bit of a mission to finish it. what was even more telling was how sick i felt when i got home. struggled to have my dinner in the evening. my takeaway from this was that my appetite has changed as has my body's ability to enjoy what i used to crave so much (lots of heavy, rich, unhealthy food). i also realised that yesterday my eyes were bigger than my belly (thankfully) and that i actually didnt enjoy eating so much and drinking probably too much champagne.

so the good news was receiving patrick's indulgence message this morning, i had already had mine so won't have another. the not so good news is that i still feel a bit sick and am looking forward to today's fuel kicking in and doing my workout later. its kind of amazing the difference as i look back, in days goneby i would have had probably 6 courses at brunch and 4times as much to drink as i did yesterday! how times have changed... for the better!

p.s. sorry for all lower case, wrote this on blackberry and can't get capitals to work for some reason.

November 25, 2011 8:49 PM HKT

Day 72

Sorry for the delay in writing the blog it's been very busy here and I've not been as strict as I've been at PCP. The exercise has been good, although diet I've only been at about 90% of what I should've been if I'm strictly honest.

I'm looking forward to a strong couple of weeks now to finish PCP. It has been a great experience I've learnt a lot and I've changed many of my bad habits.

My weight seems to have stabilised and I'm still at 97.3 kg hoping to drop that a little bit over the next couple of weeks by trying to get some extra skipping in. Although my plans this week have been somewhat waylaid.

Have a good weekend everyone and good luck getting through the next few days of PCP. Cheers.

November 20, 2011 10:18 PM HKT

Slipping and sliding

Been a non-strict couple of days. My wife is flying off on Tuesday to prepare to have our third baby so Friday night was a dinner party to say goodbye. We cooked so it wasn't completely non-PCP but I know ice cream and brownies weren't on my diet plan this week, neither were 3 small glasses of wine! Must say I felt rough on Sat morning but nailed my workout!

Then today we had lunch at a friends and I had a couple of small beers. All in all, not a train wreck and I'm focused to finish strong. Happy to report I have been pushing hard on my workouts and enjoying the burn!

November 17, 2011 1:56 PM HKT

In shape but out of shape

Exercise and diet going well although noticed in my weekly pic that I'm a bit lopsided now. Probably was before but couldn't see it with the layer of camouflage which was covering my body (fat). 

I'm off to see an Osteopath now as I've been suffering neck and back pain on left side. The pain has also changed into a tingling sensation. It's intermittent but can be quite painful. Hope it's just a trapped nerve but will update later on. 

Exercise is going well although it's pretty hardcore with 5 min sets for skipping and getting upto 6 sets of some of the exercises too. 

November 14, 2011 12:07 AM HKT

Re-focus

Funny how timely that tunnel vision email was. Definitely struck a chord with me. Feeling very happy I have made it to 60 days with a only a few small slips (like the glass of wine I had earlier). But overall pretty happy with by commitment to this, and the results I am seeing. Had lots of questions from people who are genuinely interested in how its going/ what I am doing etc. I think I have sold a few people on signing up.  I've now changed my answer when asked what I am doing/ have done.... I used to say I am doing a diet/ exercise program me, now I just tell them I have completely changed my lifestyle and am on a 90 day programme to kick start it... and its working!

Hit 98.5kg yesterday, gonna stay off the scales for a while as still dropping, but feel like I am too focussed on the weight. Clothes are getting looser and its amazing how many clothes look ridicuously baggy now.... quite cool really! Have been able to wear some clothes I have never been able to fit into (mainly gifts that I couldn't give back) so that has been a morale boost.

Also ran around playing football with my son and some of his friends earlier straight after my workout and wasn't huffing and puffing at all.... another nice change.

60 days down, a double chin lighter, several inches and many kg's gone... can't wait to see what another 30 days of hard work can do for this lard arse!

November 10, 2011 7:27 PM HKT

Day 57

Been a while since I blogged. Been doing well on the exercises. Not without some tripping and burning though. My legs were on fire by the end of the floor jumps today as were my shoulders by the end of the workout. I'm travelling again today so have packed some eggs and apples and an confident I can get everything else I need. Had a diet shocker yesterday as we had a work dinner at an Indian restaurant. I'd swapped lunch for dinner so had a light lunch but couldn't avoid some of the unhealthier food that naturally goes with an Indian meal. Managed to avoid the rice and Dals though so had some meat/ fish and veg but it was liberally coated in salt and oil I suspect. Have to say given how much I used to enjoy a nice big Indian meal I have to say I really didn't enjoy this one and grabbed some veggies as soon as I got home. Also felt quite rough and dehydrated this mining when I woke up. Clearly my tastes are changing quite a lot. 

Can't believe we are almost 2 months through PCP already!

November 6, 2011 1:26 PM HKT

Day 53

Hi all. Hope everyone is doing well?

Had my indulgence yesterday. Swapped lunch and dinner and had a few drinks at a ball last night. Few things I noticed though. It was nice to eat out socially but the food tasted really salty to me and I really missed a load of vegetables as part of dinner! So much so that when I got home I dived in the fridge and grabbed a bowl of veg!

Also noticed my desire to drink a lot seemed to have changed. Where I would usually have been knocking back plenty of drinks I was quite happy slowly drinking a couple of glasses of wine interspersed with soda. 

Woke up this morning feeling kinda dehydrated and in need of a good workout. Pushed through not without some trips and burning on a lot of the exercises. Pistol squats still hurt a lot and the creep was a killer today!

Getting a lot of compliments now on how I look. People are very interested in what I'm doing and how it works. I'm a big advocate for PCP so happy to be on commission for referrals Patrick!

November 3, 2011 12:22 PM HKT

Day 50

Hey all. Still going on plan. Workouts are starting to look hectic now! Enjoying the burn and starting to see some definition in the muscles now which is a nice change. Did the 60 second planks last night and was pleasantly surprised that I managed them with less all over shaking than when we did them for first time.

Happy to see the indulgence day message today. We are off to a ball on Saturday so it's perfect timing and I will think very carefully about how I am going to make the most of it! I suspect it might be a lunch/ dinner swap and a couple of vodka sodas which make up my calories! Funny how you start thinking about the blow outs now, last thing I want is a KFC or a bag of crisps or sweets.... Really want to make the most of it but also don't really want to eat crap.

Had a very nice surprise on Monday, purely as a result of the last 49 days. To cut a long story short I had asked a tailor to come over to fit me for a dinner suit on Monday for this ball (because I lost my old jacket), when he came he asked me to show him some trousers to copy so I went to dig out my old trousers. Anyway it turned out I still had my old dinner suit (that I couldn't fit into hence having bought the one i a few years back) and I nearly fell over when I put it on and it fit me!! I was a little embarrassed to tell the tailor I only wanted a new shirt after calling him out but I am now fitting into clothes I bought in the year 2000.... Lucky that DJ's don't change over the years that much!! 

October 31, 2011 9:35 AM HKT

Day 47 - Already beaten my goal!

So, half way through now. I am very happy to say I got on the scales this morning and I was under 100kg, that's a 10kg loss in the last 47 days, and quite honestly was my personal target when I started the PCP. It's also a weight which I haven't seen for over 9 years. That said, I have also lost over 3 inches of my waist, and am loving getting into clothes I have never been able to wear so I have now set myself a new lower target which I'd like to surpass!

Had a good weekend at the Delhi F1 this weekend and managed to avoid all the bad food and snacks and took my packed food which I ate in the car (where we spent many hours).

I've learnt a lot in these last few weeks about exercising, and about what to eat/ drink and more importantly when to eat etc. I am now in better shape than I have been for years and I feel better too. Looking forward to getting through next 40+ days and seeing just what is possible with commitment and a good guru!

October 28, 2011 1:26 AM HKT

Day 43

Had a good day today. After 5 days away with the family in a hotel and a couple of small slips I was really pleased that work trousers felt a little looser today and my weight had dropped another 800g's. It's such a novel experience having things get looser and getting lighter... I could get used to it!!

Workout was tough today. Took just over an hour and everything was burning. Felt like seeing an old friend when lunges were back on the list until I was halfway through... 80 per leg was tough. 

Almost halfway into first 90 days of my new lifestyle and loving how it feels so far!

October 25, 2011 10:00 AM HKT

Day 41

Sorry for going quiet. We are having a family break in Goa at the moment. Have been sticking to PCP except yesterday where it fell apart. Ended up having dinner In the evening and not getting my exercise in. Back on track today will be sticking to diet and doing my exercise. 

October 21, 2011 10:53 AM HKT

Bought a new belt!

Been pretty good this week, some of the new exercises really hurt though like the pistol squat and the bicycle! Stuck to the diet and feeling clothes getting a lot looser now... so much so that I had to buy a new belt! Can't believe I managed 4 40 sec planks last night too! Last couple of days I split out the skipping in the morning and workout in the evening and quite liked to split it.

Went out for a nice dinner with my wife last night so swapped my lunch and dinner, had a very light lunch with no carbs and then at the restaurant just had a little sushi (no soy sauce) and some steamed fish and vegetables. I did succumb to a couple of glasses of red which tasted fantastic after more than a month! It was interesting how differently I looked at the menu. I went straight past everything that I would usually have ordered like pizza, pasta, risotto and heavy foods. Also went past all the dishes swimming in sauces etc for much more healthy food, and not so much because I had to, to be PCP compliant but more I wanted to as what's the point in working so hard on the exercise only to undo it with a big pizza or equivalent before bed!!

I'm not going to pretend this is easy doing PCP for me, because its not but I am enjoying it!

October 16, 2011 10:18 PM HKT

8 min abs - classic!

Pushed through another weekend. Weakened yesterday and had a couple of vodka sodas last night but other than that stayed strong and true to diet!

Had my first Sunday brunch without champagne today and managed to just have my portions which felt like a lot of restraint on my part!

Watched 8min abs video and after I'd stopped laughing I gave it a go yesterday, did it again today too and the combination of that and 4 planks makes my stomach feel like Mike Tyson went to town on it!

Getting some nice comments from friends now about looking really healthy and weight falling off so that is a real boost too!

October 14, 2011 3:52 PM HKT

On the road again

I've been traveling around India this week and have moved cities and hotels every day so not been the easiest to stick to diet and exercise but I'm proud to say I managed it. Packed all my exercise gear and did them in the hotels and felt great for having done so. Hotels were also great and preparing steamed veg, grilled chicken and eggs as I wanted. Also packed a bag of apples in my case and used them for my fruit snacks.

Had a challenge today at lunchtime as I was at the airport with almost no good lunch options. Went for a couple of sandwiches as they were closest to what I was supposed to have.

Had a surprise moment when I stepped on the hotel scales this morning and they said I was down to 101.7kg... I started at 109.8 and I know it's not about the weight, and that the hotel scales were probably wrong but made me feel great! I haven't seen a number like that for at least 7 years, maybe longer... Honestly can't remember seeing lower than that!

October 11, 2011 1:13 AM HKT

Good day - feeling strong

Had a great, healthy day today. Managed to get 9 holes of golf in before work with Martin (fellow PCP'er) and that was a great start to the day (not the golf, that was shite) but being out on the course with a mate is always a good start to a Monday. As obsessed as we are with PCP thankfully not all the conversation was about the programme although interestingly we've both noticed similar impacts from doing this, none of which relate to weight! We are feeling sharper at work, I definitely don't have lulls in my energy levels and seem to have a consistent energy through the day! Also, interestingly we're not really missing the booze too much. Nights out are a bit tricky for first couple of drinks but after that people don't notice you're not drinking!

Anyway, good to chat to someone else who's committed to this and reaping the benefits!

Enjoyed the exercise today, but man did some of those new exercises hurt?! The crawl, plank and shoulder process killed me. Felt like an earthquake the amount I was shaking by the 3rd plank but I really enjoyed it today nonetheless!

October 9, 2011 10:44 AM HKT

Day 25 - Pushing through

Patrick must be telepathic too, no sooner did I read the daily message about getting sick than I started to come down with a heavy cold. Felt absolutely cack yesterday and despite wanting to didn't manage to do my exercise. I did however stick to the diet which wasn't easy, it made me think back to pre-PCP days of sickness, and as long as I can remember feeling ill has been an excuse for eating rubbish, sweets, chips, biscuits, ice-cream... you name it, at one time of being ill I am pretty sure I have eaten it. Now I am doing this it doesn't really make sense... if the body is run down it needs non-processed healthy foods, just like our diet!

Still feeling cack today but saw the email on indulgence and thought there is absolutely no way I am indulging if I don't do my exercise first, so pushed through today and feel glad I did. Some of those new exercises hurt, the floor jumps literally had me unable to walk after the last set, and the v-sits weren't exactly a walk in the park!

Having read the indulgence message it also made me look at the calories in things, had to laugh when I picked up a packet of ginger biscuits and saw that one biscuit is about 50cals, that means that when I used to grab 6-8 with a cup of tea it wasn't the best idea for my waistline!

Day 25 - feeling strong (despite cold) and looking forward to 26.

October 6, 2011 3:07 PM HKT

Day 22

Had a good workout this morning. Needed to though as I succumbed to temptation last night and had a couple of G&T's at a function. Figured it was better than beers and I avoided all the food but still wish I hadn't had them.

Found some new ways to eat my veggies too which has helped. Had a nice fresh salsa this morning with some chilli to give it a kick which was lovely!

Starting to notice clothes are a little looser and have had some nice comments from people that I look well.... Sure I'm starting to bore people about my health kick, but quite honestly I don't care! This is important to me and I am enjoying it!

October 5, 2011 12:24 AM HKT

Craving

Short post today. Seems like everywhere I look tonight there is something I can't eat! I'm not cracking though!

Workout was good earlier, legs were burning like crazy in the lunges! Felt great when I finished though!

Hope everyone else is doing well?!

October 3, 2011 10:13 PM HKT

Day 19

Found it really tough this weekend. Had friends in town so had meals out a couple of times and was with people drinking booze a number of times. Found out a few things though:

- I can plan to eat out. Like breakfast on Sunday. Ate all my veggies before we went out because I knew getting those untainted at a hotel would be difficult, then I ordered an omelette (1egg and 1 egg white) with fresh chilli and capsicum cooked in a tiny bit of olive oil on some wholewheat toast, with 2 skimmed lattes to wash it down. Didn't feel like I was missing out and think I stuck to my grams so felt pretty good. 
- not drinking is actually quite nice. Feel fresh most of the time and on average I am feeling more energetic and alert... Doesn't mean a cold beer wouldn't have gone down well!
- cravings will come, but they also go... Grabbing a carrot helped yesterday, much healthier than the other options!

Today's workout was good. Picked up the pace on the skipping which seemed to help. Flat the burn on just about every exercise!

September 30, 2011 7:18 PM HKT

Feeling the burn!

Not sure why today but every exercise seemed to hurt! I was concentrating on doing them well but really felt like I was pushing it today!

Still feeling good but today isn't easy. Was craving a chocolate muffin early when it was in front of me as I got a coffee, then got home to a plate of chocolate brownies staring at me! Have friends in town and out for dinner so doing my best to stay strong!

September 28, 2011 11:06 PM HKT

Day 14

If you'd have told me that by day 14 I would find 800 skips fairly comfortable, and that it would feel like I need a smaller belt I would have laughed at you... but that was my day today! Brilliant feeling!

Really getting into this now, and whilst I am finding it hard not snacking on unhealthy foods or grabbing a beer it is getting a bit easier day by day and I am amazed to be seeing and feeling some results already!

September 26, 2011 9:56 AM HKT

Another weekend cleared

Feel pretty good this morning. My body definitely knows something has changed, as I can feel aches all over, but good aches! Got on the scales this morning and I am now down 5kg's.... in 12 days! Awesome! Also shows me just how overweight I was when I started.

Managed to get through a few challenges this weekend including not picking at the kids meals, and not eating any of the very tempting snacks at a kids birthday party. Had to laugh when Martin (fellow PCP'er) and I were at the pool on Saturday and we ordered 2 sodas, instead of 2 beers.... things have changed!

Skipping is getting easier now. Managed to do about 150 last night without tripping/ stopping which compared to 11 days earlier feels a huge improvement. 

September 24, 2011 9:57 AM HKT

Half winning

Haven't had any chance to do the exercises for the last two days because my back has gone. It's a niggling problem I've had since a teenager and usually settles down in a day or two. Hoping I can back into the exercise this weekend though. Starting to see some results after only a week. Lost 4 kg's now and trousers are looser... clearly was eating way too much!

Sticking to the diet religiuosly and have shuffled around (bad back) at two big work events the last two nights and just drunk soda water. I said to my wife that I honestly can't remember the last time I went to a big function and didn't pile into the food and drink. Feels great!

Looking forward to skipping again and i never thought I would say that!

September 20, 2011 12:37 AM HKT

Day 5 -PCP wears the trousers in this relationship!!

So I had literally half of everything today, little hungry but not too bad. Work is pretty stressful at the moment which would usually call for a cold beer or 2 at the end of the day, but not today.... 350 skips, 60 squats, 32 push ups and 68 sit-ups! Must say feel pretty good.

Only major discomfort is my back which is hurting in the middle when I skip, not sure what that's all about so trying to stretch it out. Skipping is progressing, not entirely coordinated but I think I got to over 50skips and 0 trips tonight. Some work to do, but much better than the shambles when I started last week!

I'm enjoying this and inspired by my bro who is 40+ days in to PCP, looking healthier and down a lot of weight.

September 17, 2011 2:47 AM HKT

Day 2

Feel quite proud tonight. Went to a friends birthday party and they'd hired a nightclub with a non-stop flow of food and drinks. I turned away way more food than I would usually and also managed to just have 3 small beers. Very different to usual nights out and I really enjoyed it!

Have sore legs today... Just shows me how much I need to do it! 

September 16, 2011 11:55 AM HKT

Day 1

So day 1. Made me realize a few things. I'm unfit. I can't skip and I really need to do this programme!

Thankfully I was traveling so had the privacy of my hotel room to attempt skipping for the first time in about 20 years. The first set of 50 skips was pretty much skip, trip, skip, trip... Thankfully by the 5th set I managed to do 30 or so skips without tripping... Maybe I will get coordinated doing this as well as healthier!

Food and drink wise wasn't too tough today. Made me realize I probably don't need to eat as much as I usually do, also made me slow down my eating. I was quite cuffed because I managed it even eating out for lunch and dinner.

Day 2 here I come!