How to Lose a Belly When You're 42 (part 21)

Monday
10st 9lbs
I've lost another pound in weight. The weight loss is happening a lot more slowly than I had hoped for - I'm currently shedding a pound every fortnight! Oh well, at least I'm not putting any on...
I woke up decidedly shaky after my four beers last night. I thought a cycle ride to work would help but when I got there I felt decidedly worse! I took some painkillers and got on with my day. On the cycle home, I stopped off to see Pete at the LBS. I came away with a brake cable and some bar tape ready to do battle with my rear brake at some point this week.
Tonight's 10K run was disappointing. It was even slower than last week's run, which was slower than the week's before... My fitness is going in the wrong direction!
Home to eat healthy foods and watch Arrow on TV with the family.
No junkfood, no booze

Exercise
10K run: 67 minutes, 19seconds
Cycled to work and back

Food
2 crumpets with 100% peanut butter
Juice
2 cups of tea
Cup of coffee
Banana
Apple
Handful of nuts and raisins
3 slices of fruit loaf
Crumpet with a slice of ham
Mexican scrambled eggs (with peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and onion) served with homemade potato wedges.

Alcohol
None

Tuesday
I cycled to work in the rain. The only bike I have with mudguards is the Raleigh so I used that even though it has dodgy brakes at the moment.
I cycled home and then Martha and I set of for dojo.
What a surprise we had in store for us! Taking the lesson tonight was 5 times National Kumite Champion, Sensei Julian Cunningham! Obviously, it was a kumite lesson, with Sensei Cunningham taking our techniques right back to basics - building from the stance up. Martha remarked how the group was extremely well behaved tonight - no talking from the teenagers and no 'playing' from the little ones. The lesson was over far too quickly and we're looking forward to having him back again.
At home, I scoffed my healthy dinner and then, when everyone was in bed, I set about replacing the rear brake cable and outer casing on the Specialized. It took a while - most of my tine spent trying to thread the cable through the STI shifters.

The man cave is now a bicycle workshop

Exercise
One hour of martial arts training

Food
3 crumpets with 100% peanut butter
Juice
Cup of redbush tea
Malt loaf
Banana
Spicy salmon steaks with savoury rice. tomatoes and vegetables

Alcohol
None


Wednesday
My long day at work. I have to teach at Handsworth and then Digbeth which means transporting loads of paperwork over to these places from my base at Hall Green. So I drive the car.
Got to work at 7:55am, left at 9pm.
No junkfood, no booze.

Exercise
None

Food
Crumpets with peanut butter
Juice
Tea
Chicken salad sandwich (prepared at home)
Orange
Sausage casserole with vegetables

Alcohol
None

Thursday
I like Thursdays. I rode in to work in the rain. The brakes on the Raleigh are almost dead - I really must do something about them! I did some circuit training with the lads this afternoon. I really am so unfit compared to most of them. It's only my determination and ability to suffer that allows me to keep up. Then we played a bit of football and I was crap as usual!
Ride home, play Dungeons and Dragons with the young people, drive them all home and then finally pick up the weights at 10pm. I did a good session and increased my squats to 40kg. Squating 40kg isn't much of a problem (although I do feel it in the legs!), the problem is lifting 40kg up and over my head. I wish I had the room for a squat rack...

Exercise
100 push ups
100 triceps dips
100 leg raises
Deadlift (54kg): 5 sets of 5 repetitions
Dumbbell curls (17kg): 5x5
Front raise (8kg): 5x5
Shrugs (48kg): 5x5
Curls (38kg): 5x5
Squats (40kg): 5x5

Food
Wholemeal toast with peanut butter
2 x tea
Juice
Ham and salad sandwich on wholemeal bread (prepared at home)
Homemade beef chili with wholewheat pasta

Alcohol
None

Friday
Cycled to work
Cycled home
Went to the dojo
Did a fantastic session with Sensei Ronnie - my training partner for some of the evening was Sensei Mark!

Exercise
one hour of martial arts training

Food
Crumpets with peanut butter
Juice 
Tea
Tuna and salad baguette
Spicy chicken, pork belly with salad and homemade potato wedges.

Alcohol
None

Saturday
Resting heart rate: 39
A resting heart rate that low doesn't seem right to me. I'm a chubby guy in his forties who used to smoke and who enjoys a few beers at the weekend. I shouldn't have the resting heart rate of a teenage Olympic athlete. Maybe I should speak to my GP?
Nigel called for me at 9 and we sped off into the lanes. Jonnie wasn't allowed to ride this morning and was sorely missed.
I wasn't on form today and Nigel was on fire. He was riding on brand new, top of the range carbon wheels, and his training was paying off. I suggested to him a couple of times that we could ride at the target average (22kph) today but he was understandably eager to test himself - so we went through a pattern of Nigel speeding off and then waiting for me. Then he'd do it again...
There was no way I could stay with him today. He is into his 5th week of not drinking and he's doing a lot of work at the gym. It's paying off!
I still managed to beat him in the final sprint using some traditional club riding techniques...
We achieved our target average once again.We stopped off to see Jonnie and I helped myself to a malted recovery drink.
Tonight was a big party up at Jonnie's house. Family and friends got together and got horribly drunk. There was also Jonnie's fabulous curry on offer (later, this had a disastrous effect on my digestive system at about 3 in the morning.) I managed to restrict myself to five or six ales and stayed relatively sober (compared to the rest of them!) and was in bed by midnight.


Exercise
40 miles at 14.0mph (according to my bike computer.)

Food
Cake
Curry
Cookies
You name it...

Alcohol
5 or 6 real ales
1 bottle of lager (330ml)

Sunday
A day of rest. 
I spent a lovely afternoon at Wilmcote watching the football and gossiping with friends and family. I drank beers, ate junkfood and did no exercise whatsoever.
Back in training tomorrow!