Would any of you, who have been trying to lose weight in this period, care to post:
1) Start Weight
2) Year
3) Current Weight.
My weight at the start of 2010 was just shy of 90kg, on an upward trend and affecting my health. That was when I realised I needed to do something about it and started to make a concerted effort to get back into shape. My method was to greatly increase my exercise levels and not control what I ate but control how much I ate using rudimentary calorie counting. I know this doesn't work for everyone but I'm fortunate that it seems to work for me, and by the end of 2010 I was down to 78kg.
2011 wasn't as successful and my weight fluctuated up and down, but I did achieve a net loss of 4kg over the course of the year, taking me to 74kg.
2012 was another good year - I actually went below the 66kg mark at one point - but by the end of the year it had crept back up a little to 69kg.
My weight stayed fairly stable throughout 2013 at around 67-68kg.
2014 was a bad year. Stress and tiredness caused by a turbulent time at work caused me to lapse into some bad habits, namely eating and drinking too much. At the start of 2015, I'm a bit over 73kg.
I wouldn't call that a failure. What I think my experience shows is that it's very hard to maintain focus on the weight control objective when you have other shit going on in your life. Nothing wrong with the method, just my ability to stick to it - and that's due to factors out of my control. I'm confident that 2015 won't be as hard going as 2014 and that I will be able to put a halt to the current upward trend.
What my experience also shows is that exercise needs to be consistent and focused if it is to be a successful part of weight control. 2014 was a pretty good year for me in terms of landmark achievements: two marathons and a good number of audax miles, but my exercise levels were very inconsistent. I'd got into the habit of running regularly 3-4 times a week throughout 2013, but getting made redundant in spring 2014 put an end to that. I didn't do any proper training for the marathons and although I managed to struggle round them, I doubt they had any beneficial effect on my long-term health (possibly the opposite, in fact). I did a lot of cycling over the summer but that tailed off and I've only been riding intermittently for the last few months.
I have also come to the realisation that it may be impossible for me to ever reach my long-term goal of 64kg. When my weight was below 67kg, I found it very difficult to maintain it - besides which my wife thought I was starting to look underweight. I have come to the conclusion that 68kg is a "healthy" weight for me (whereas 64kg would be an "athletic" weight) and I will be happy if I can return to that level and sustain it. I also believe this is a realistic and achievable goal - cutting down the booze and getting back into my running habit will be the first steps towards it.
