Wow, I've just lost my first half stone

Well I did it. I’m proud to say that in I hit my first significant milestone in my journey from 14 stone 10 pounds to 12 stone 10 pounds.

It happened on Day Twenty in the big belly house. I stood on the scales last Friday the good news is I was down to 14 stone 3 pounds, which means I’m a quarter of the way to my target. Yes I have lost half a stone and when I drop the next 4 pounds I’ll be the right side of 14 stone again and on my way to losing a stone.

I was particularly pleased with the result as I’d just got back from a trip to Belfast where I wasn’t a food Angel---no my halo slipped---particularly the night we headed for the “Chips and Fish” takeaway where I ate, amongst other things, the vegetarian classic ---- two fried eggs and fried mushrooms on fried soda bread with deep fried chips.

I expected to step on the scales on my return and be back to where it started and of course you don’t (as a rule) gain or lose half a stone in a day. They say 1-2 lbs a week is a sustainable speed to lose weight, which is way too slow (no pun intended) for my liking. Here’s my progress so far:

Week Zero: Started at 14 stone 10 lbs

Week One: Down to 14 stone 9 lbs

Week Two: Down to 14 stone 4 lbs

Week Three: Down to 14 stone 2 lbs

At this rate it’ll take me just over 10 weeks to lose two stone, which will be a fantastic way to start the year.

So what’s making the difference? I think it’s a combination of things. Making this challenge public has kept me from giving up or having a serious relapse(so far) and then the key day-to-day behaviours are eating healthily and regularly, getting more exercise and drinking lots of water.

On the food front, I am a lot more calorie aware than ever before (without being obsessed). I know, roughly speaking, that if I stick to three meals of 400 to 500 calories a day and snack/drink no more than 400 to 500 calories then there’s a good chance I’ll be burning more calories than I eat.

I’ve mostly removed wheat and refined sugar from my diet and in particular have stayed away from evil biscuits which are a personal weakness---and I’ve trained myself to be able to do one lousy chin up (though whether that’s because I’ve got stronger or lighter is not clear).

Perhaps most rewarding of all is that as well as seeing the man boobs melting away, my waistline has gone from 37 inches breathing it to 34 inches (and from 39 inches breathing out to 37 inches).

Oh and my BMI (body mass index) which was closer to the obese range of 30 plus than the healthy range of 18.5 to 25, is down from 28.7 to 27.4.

So right now, as far as the scores on the doors are concerned, it’s all heading in the right direction........oh, and in case you were wondering, the picture isn't me!