Starting again from… NOW!

So this is it, day one of my weight loss journey/journal. My alarm woke me up at 06:20 am this morning by tapping my back and softly saying “Daddy? Downstairs?”, that’s Beau – our resident 2-year-old. Normally 06:20 am would be a lie-in, something to celebrate with Caitlin, my wife, but not this morning. Not when Beau decided to wake us all up at midnight wanting the following; a book, juice, more dummies (all though he has but one mouth, two dummies just ain’t gonna cut it, dad!) And Mummy. This went on until 4 am when we finally got all three kids back off to the land of nod, it probably took me half an hour more due to being too damn anxious, just waiting for him to get back up and wake the twins up AGAIN!

The lack of sleep, therefore, has made this morning just that little bit harder. I already want to grab something to eat but now I’m also fighting the urge to crawl back into bed when Caitlin gets up. The solution?; one headphone in, head down, crack on! So here it goes, time to shift this gut, for good!

What’s different this time?

I’ve been trying on and off for years to get fit (mostly off), the intentions are always there along with the ambition but I’ve always been lacking something. Sometimes it’s the willpower, other times life just seems to get in the way. This time around I’m going to be studying myself and writing about it on here in the hope that keeps me motivated, that and sheer determination! Also, I’ve got the kids to think about, I don’t want to be that fat dad that can’t run around with his kids because doughnuts are life.

“Be a fit dad, not a fat dad”

Rob Taylor – my brother (not Yoda)

Intermittent fasting

I have decided to try intermittent fasting again, I dabbled in this back in 2012/2013 and I was down to 210lbs (15st). Partially down to diet but probably mostly thanks to the amount I was working out. This time around I am going to fast 7 days a week, probably with a relaxed day on a Sunday in place of a cheat day. I say relaxed because I’m not going to go ape and eat everything in sight like I normally would on a cheat day. I plan to fully research Intermittent Fasting as the week goes on, but I feel confident enough to start with what I do know about it.

I plan to fast for 16 hours between 8:30 pm and 12:30 pm, giving me an 8-hour window in which to consume my day’s calories. This seems to be the standard, however, I did watch a clip from The Joe Rogan Experience where he spoke with a doctor who fasts for 22 hours and eats one meal in a 2-hour window! The idea behind this is your body burns straight body fat in the fasting period, therefore making this an ideal time to do cardio. I’m going to keep my calories below 2000 and eat as clean as possible, however, given the current COVID-19 restrictions in the UK I can’t just pop to the shops to get whatever I want. So I’m going to make do with what we buy in our weekly/fortnightly food shop, given the fact I’m currently a vegetarian this should help reduce my saturated fat intake, as long as I stay away from dairy.

Workout Goals

I’m going to do what I’m calling an “easy does it” week for the first week; lots of low impact HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) at home and short, slow runs of between 1 and 2 miles.

The reason for this is my body is constantly aching under the strain of this big belly I’m carrying around. My knees hate me, I’m pretty sure every time I get up off the floor from playing with the kids I can hear them screeching with agony. My back is stiff as a board from the interesting positions my wife and I have to lock ourselves into overnight due to my twins loving mummy and daddy cuddles. Recently I slept on the floor because the boys were taking up that much room, my back felt GREAT in the morning.

I may even add a couple of restorative Yoga sessions in this week. I did one on Down Dog a couple of weeks ago and it seemed to relieve so much tension and stress, mentally and physically.

Weight Loss Goal

Honestly, this first week, I’m not going to get hung up on a number. I’m starting the week at 243lbs (17.3st) and I do expect to see a good 2lbs drop from that. I guess that’s going to be my target each week going forward, 2lbs a week. It seems realistic and anything above that would then be a bonus. I’ll weigh myself again in post #2 next Monday and how well I’ve done.

So, until next time! Fat Boy, out!