Week 5 - My Journey So Far

In the words of Jesse from The Fast Show "this week I have mainly been eating clean foods". Not exclusively I might add but the majority of my food has been apart from my Saturday night treat night. I've copied the following from another blog (thank you Gems and hope you don't mind) to explain a bit more.

So what are ‘clean’ foods? Well we’re talking our 3 food groups - carbs, proteins & fats. Good carbs are (mainly) sweet potato, wholegrain rice, quinoa (which is also a source of protein but is mainly carb). Good fats are nuts (not salted, roasted or anything else just plain nuts!), olive oil (not cooked/heated), coconut oil, seeds especially flaxseed, fish oils. Sources of protein should be lean – chicken, turkey, tuna (if canned only in spring water not oil or brine), mackerel, white fish, lean beef (yes including steak), salmon, eggs.

This is all the stuff Morna Jardine, my nutritionist has talked to me about. We had another Skype call today and the next step is to cleanse my system some more. This means adding probiotics to repair damage done by antibiotics and milk thistle to improve and repair my liver. And I know that my liver has taken a bashing over the years 😉. I am as always indebted to Morna for her help. A clear indication of the progress I've made so far is that my fasting glucose blood test came back as all okay. Last year I had to have 3 tests over a period of time to see a reduction as it kept coming back too high. Also my cholesterol is at 4.6 which is the lowest I've ever recorded.

People ask me do I not get hungry. I would argue it's the opposite as I actually feel full when eating. I eat breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack and dinner. The idea is "little and often" to keep my blood sugar levels from spiking which can cause cravings and put weight around my middle.

Take a look at the website for Morna - there's loads of great advice and a few recipes on there too.

www.vital-nutrition.co.uk






My training this week has been a bit mixed. On Monday I had that dreaded feeling of not wanting to go. I can't explain why. I just couldn't get in the right frame of mind. Now in the past I would phone up to say I wasn't able to make the session but this is the promise I've made myself.

"I will not quit without a damn good reason".

So I went. And I struggled. But Lee pushed me and wouldn't let me quit and I got through it. Afterwards I didn't have that usual sense of achievement as I felt I'd wimped out a bit. So I went back today and gave it everything. I had a very tough but rewarding session. There was interval training on the treadmill but this time with 1 minute of fast sprints followed by 1 minute of brisk walking. Lee tells me my running technique is improving - in fact most of my techniques are getting better - and this is crucial to me being able to even contemplate doing the RockSolidRace. After the treadmill I did a conventional circuit of goblin squats (with heavier dumbbell than previously), shoulder presses and then more squats with explosive lift of a medicine ball. I did 4 circuits of this followed by a Tabata session of 20 seconds of lunges followed by 10 seconds of rest. I did 8 sets of this and I was totally destroyed by the end. I find it really important not to sit down in between sets as I know I would never get up again. Lol. All I could relate to in how exhausted I felt was the pictures of Steve Redgrave after his last Gold medal performance. Now I know he is an Olympian and had just rowed at Gold medal winning pace but put in perspective for where I am now and where I was 6 weeks ago I'm doing much more and doing it much better

One thing that struck me whilst in the gym today was how relaxed some people on other treadmills seem to find it. But then I thought what if I was to give them a rucksack with 50 one pound bags of sugar in it and ask them to wear it whilst running. That would give them an idea of how much harder it is for me to run carrying all my extra weight. But good news folks. The weight is coming off and the running will get easier.

And on that note its worth taking stock of where I am so far.

1. I'm still fat
2. I'm still struggling with basic training
3. I still couldn't take part in www.rocksolidrace.com if it was any time soon.

But........and it's a big BUT!!!

I'm not as fat as I was.
I'm fitter now than I've been in a long, long time
The race isn't for another 20 weeks.

It's important for me to acknowledge all of the above. It stops me thinking the job is done just because I can fit into shirts I haven't worn for a long time and I get praise and compliments from friends and colleagues. So it keeps me focused and motivated to keep going until the job is done. And I WILL!!





Finally I'm shocked to find I'm beginning to like soaking in the bath. How did that happen? I think it's the cold weather making me not want to get out in much the same way as I don't want to throw the duvet off in the morning.

Hope you enjoy the blog

An ever decreasing Dave


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Location:Yew Tree Close,Exeter,United Kingdom