Fat Loss Training - Week Five

Monday

I drank my pint of water before staggering out of bed.

I did the work thing.

After work, I hurled some weights around in the man cave for an hour and then cooked a marvellous beef chilli for the family. I scoffed two bowls.

Surprisingly, after last week's beer intake, I still managed to hit my weight loss goal for the fourth week in succession. Must keep it up!

No alcohol, no junkfood, weight training

Tuesday

I cycled in to work on the fast bike. After work, I took the long way home through the country lanes. I felt strong, was convinced I had a tailwind, and pressed hard on the pedals. I got home after 15 miles with an average over 15mph. I'll take that.

I did feel guilty for not going over to the dojo tonight, but I felt I needed the fresh air, and to see the sky for an hour.

In other news, I had a lovely text conversation with my original Karate instructor, Sensei Paul Hexley, who was awarded his Yondan (4th Dan) grade today.

Back at home, Lucy made a fantastic dinner and I drank water.

No alcohol, no junkfood, cycling.

Wednesday

The BBC and the Met Office both agreed that there would be a 90% chance of heavy rain between 7 and 8 which is when I cycle to work. So I left the Lycra at home, put my shirt and trousers on, and got in the car with Lucy. And it didn't rain.

My second day of teaching GCSE. English in the morning was still a monumental struggle with learners refusing to read out loud and the whole class looking like they were being punished. I resisted the urge to jump off a cliff and struggled through to the end. Maths was a bit better with at least a few smiles and the beginnings of banter. Maybe it will get more fun as the weeks continue. The good thing is that the behaviour was exemplary and everyone did their best with the written work.

After lessons, James and I dashed to the gym. There were 5 of us in their today but, despite some waiting around for equipment, we managed to get the workout done in just under an hour. I'm very pleased to report that tonight I equalled my all-time best lift for bench press - and I'm 51 this month!

After this, it was back in work mode as Lucy and I struggled under the mountain of marking, spreadsheets, emails and reports.

When we eventually got home, it was definitely beer o'clock!

3 beers, no junkfood, weight training

Thursday

In the car again today because I had to take some parcels to the Post Office after work. I got loads done at college, but nowhere near enough! After work, I drove home and got stuck into some weight training straight away. I did a solid lift and after an hour I was aching all over, but in a good way.

Instead of having plenty of water and protein to fuel my muscles, I drank three ales...

I made chicken and mushroom stir fry for myself and Lucy.

3 beers, no junkfood, weight training

Friday

I cycled in on the road bike. 

I got loads of planning done, marked work, and attended two meetings. After all that fun, I went out to the bike shed to discover a front tyre puncture. Zed from security happened to be there at the time and he explained that there is someone puncturing tyres in the bike rack this week. He suggested keeping my bicycle in the staff room until further notice. 

I put a new tube in. It only took me about 5 minutes while talking about cricket with Zed. Then I raced home to get ready for karate.

I was the instructor in charge tonight. There were over twenty students, nearly all of whom had successfully graded last weekend and were now eager to learn their new kata. I also had two white belts and two beginners in track suits. I had two brown belts, one of whom was ready to learn her new kata! I was a bit stuck. How could I teach 6 different kata in one lesson and keep everyone involved? There obvious answer was that I couldn't! So I did a high-energy training session with millions of kicks, punches and plenty of pad work. We even did two line-ups at the end where I tried to convince young people that it was okay to punch me in the stomach. One youngster even asked me "Hit you as hard as I can?" 

Hopefully, everyone went home happy and a bit sweaty. I know I did.

I shocked my liver by not drinking beer!

No alcohol, no junkfood, Karate

Saturday

In the morning, Lucy and I walked the dog around Earlswood lakes. We did the whole place and back again - it was 10,500 steps. After lunch, I went to the Karate dojo and blasted my students through kihon, kata and kumite. I was disappointed by the silly behaviour from some of my students, but maybe I am expecting too much from them? They are children, after all, and they won’t necessarily have the same reverence for the art as I do. They are enjoying have fun with their friends in the dojo - what a great start in life!

After that, I did a load of ironing before taking Mouse to her friend's house. After Strictly Come Dancing, I was summoned to pick her up again! I ended my evening with a large Scotch and some video gaming until midnight!

Alcohol, no junkfood, 10,000 steps, Karate

Sunday

I bounced out of bed ready for a bike ride with chaps. We met up at Jonnie's place and then headed out on our Luddington ride. It was a little chilly and I was wearing three layers and my Autumn gloves. I still had bare knees though. Jonnie surprised me by wearing his tights!

Jonnie also surprised me by being a lot stronger than he had been for weeks, maybe months. Mark was also full of beans and did a lot of work on the front (and off the front!) He is still struggling to find a pace that we are all comfortable at, but that will come with experience (and I know I don't always get it right!)

There was a fantastic chocolate cake waiting for us at Wilmcote. After chats with Jane, we climbed back on the bikes, kept the pace high, the chaps let me win the sprint, and we were all back with a very healthy average of 14.6mph over 42 miles.

Back at home, I enjoyed lunch, a coffee, and some dark chocolate (it's amazing what you can find in the man-cave) and then got on with another load of ironing. After that, I did two hours of marking until I decided it was beer o'clock!

Beers, junkfood, cycling

In summary, four boozy nights were offset by exercising everyday and only allowing myself to indulge in junkfood on Sunday. Not bad, but still need to keep an eye on the drinking...