Here I go again! **SEPTEMBER SMACKDOWN**

[Guy_Dudeson]

...but not on my own!
The time has come to have another go at the weight loss kick! Just moved into my new place, and am close to two Anytime Fitness gyms.
The best part, my schedule now allows me to visit after midnight, when the place will be practically empty!
I have to buy some new workout clothing, but I still have all my gear (boxing gloves, jump ropes), and recently filled my fridge and pantry with diet food. This first week will be about establishing rhtythm. But there is plenty of time before the end of the year to make a good start! And I wanted to come back to this supportive community, as it adds motivation knowing people are paying attention! Even if I've chunked it twice before.

20/9/2023
Morning weigh in: 147.5kgs (325.2lbs)

Yeesh! Gotta start somewhere I guess.
I have three jobs at the moment, and had to travel for about three hours to get to one of them this morning. I left the house hungry, and when I got to the station I was tempted to get some sausages and eggs (so greasy, oily and salty, but practically no carbs)... but I steered clear of it and got a watermelon cup!
Ate an apple just before work, but then had a turkey sandwich on my break (given free by the cafe next door).
Got home this afternoon and made my sandwiches for work tomorrow (ham, tomato on low carb bread), but as I was so hungry I made three more and ate them for dinner.
Three sandwiches on low carb bread isn't a terrible dinner but I really plan on training myself to abstain after about 3pm!

I'll be underrested tomorrow so my weigh in might suck... also these are the early stages so I might also forget. Hope not though!

 

[Cate]

Hey, Guy Welcome back. I love that you think of this as a supportive community as I think we all work well towards it being that way. I like that you're back & are off to a fresh start. Go, you!

 

[alligatorob]

Hey Guy, good to see you back. I've left and returned a few times, always do better when I am here posting, hopefully the same will be true for you.

20/9/2023
Morning weigh in: 147.5kgs (325.2lbs) ...Yeesh! Gotta start somewhere I guess.

Yep, its the only place to start! You are only about 5 pounds above where I was when I first started on the forum, I remember the feeling well.

I really plan on training myself to abstain after about 3pm!

Are you thinking some kind of intermittent fasting thing? I know it has worked for a lot of people, but it would be hard for me.

Look forward to following your progress!

 

[Guy_Dudeson]

Hey, Guy Welcome back. I love that you think of this as a supportive community as I think we all work well towards it being that way. I like that you're back & are off to a fresh start. Go, you!

It is indeed! Thanks for the support, yesteday was an outstanding diet day but I messed up by drinking too much low carb beer!

Hey Guy, good to see you back. I've left and returned a few times, always do better when I am here posting, hopefully the same will be true for you.

Yep, its the only place to start! You are only about 5 pounds above where I was when I first started on the forum, I remember the feeling well.

Are you thinking some kind of intermittent fasting thing? I know it has worked for a lot of people, but it would be hard for me.

Look forward to following your progress!

Thanks!
Yes, that will be the goal, although I will have to build to it! For now I'm just trying to be as sensible as possible after 3pm!

 

[Guy_Dudeson]

21/9/2023
Morning weigh in: 146kgs (321.9lbs)
Okay so a better weigh in, and probably closer to my true weight!
I absolutely crushed the eating today, starting off with an almond milk berry smoothie, followed by three low carb sandwiches over the rest of the day.
Unfortunately I had far too much to drink after work. This is something that I'll have to keep well in check, because I exercised no self control at all. I mainl drank 196 seltzers and low carb lager, but it's a habit I really want to break!
I have a few concerts coming up and want to limit my drinking to those!

 

[Guy_Dudeson]

26/9/2023

Well, the last week was basically a disaster lol.
I did the worst thing I could possibly have done by getting legless drunk on the Thursday night; my Fri/Sat/Sun work roster is brutal. Opening shifts at one job, closing shifts at the other job, and a double shift at the third job. It's tough as it is without compounding it with bad sleep and hangover sads. I ate mostly well but by the time Sunday came around I was discouraged. And I still had Monday to work (six day week).
I spent today paying my substantial sleep debt, but at least went to the department store and bought myself some workout clothes, even if I failed on the gym visit lol.
My work week starts tomorrow so my next chance to visit the gym will be on Thursday night (finish at 5pm).
A couple of lessons from this first week.

 

[Cate]

Last week was a trial run & we never stop learning, Guy. Your work schedule sounds brutal. I hope this week has you off to a good start

 

[Guy_Dudeson]

Last week was a trial run & we never stop learning, Guy. Your work schedule sounds brutal. I hope this week has you off to a good start

Exactly!
I weighed in this morning 177.4, so not back to square one. I attribute this to my work schedule itself as I’m always on my feet!
If I get the hell out of work tomorrow without a drink that will be the first huge victory!
First day of work today and haven’t eaten yet, but I’ll get half an hour in a food court between trains! PLENTY of healthy options!

 

[Guy_Dudeson]

Woo! Breakfast of champions!
Smoked salmon, mushrooms and eggs!

 

[Cate]

That does look scrumptious! Stop- I'm hungry!

 

[alligatorob]

26/9/2023

Well, the last week was basically a disaster lol.
I did the worst thing I could possibly have done by getting legless drunk on the Thursday night; my Fri/Sat/Sun work roster is brutal.

I find alcohol to be a problem. Lots of empty calories, but worse it lowers my will power to eat right. Many a drinking session ended in bad eating. One of the best things I did when starting to diet was to give up 99% of alcohol, it really helped. I have started drinking a little of late, but am being careful and not doing it very often. Can you give it up? At least for a while?

Woo! Breakfast of champions!
Smoked salmon, mushrooms and eggs!

Absolutely!! I want one of those, much more attractive than my usual protein shake and cereal...

Hope you were able to stick to those healthier options in the food court.

 

[alligatorob]

Hey Guy, how goes it?

 

[Guy_Dudeson]

Hey Guy, how goes it?

Hey mate!
Honestly, it's challenging. But I'm making good moves. It's still about establishing rhythm. My work situation is brutal. It's not about the three jobs, it's more about the fact that I work a mixture of day shifts, afternoon shifts, and night shifts (2am finish), and that one of the jobs is 115kms (about 72 miles) away from the other two. And none of them are nearer than 50kms (31 miles) from my house.
It's proven to be immensely challenging, and being exhausted and wiped-out is absolutely awful for my resolve.
This Sunday just gone I was hopelessly under-rested on Sunday, I felt dreadful for my entire twelve hour shift and spent all of yesterday (my only day off) eating terribly. I don't think I'll be able to do daily posts with this work schedule, but I'll do a weekly post!
The good moves I referred to though have all related to creating an idea "eating blueprint" for every bit of my week! I'll get right into that in the next post!

 

[Guy_Dudeson]

Going ahead, I have to be realistic. Having an "intermittent fasting" protocol that brought me success in past years simply won't work when my sleep/work pattern is so erratic; when I had success with this method I was working big hours, but my schedule only comprised 9am starts.
The fact is, I'm averaging 10,500 steps per day. If I can manage my sleep and eat correctly, I can lose weight just from work. From now on, rather than trying to not eat after 3pm, I'll be making the best possible choices in all situations! And after a few weeks I've started to create a bit of an "eating blueprint" of the best options for every bit of my week!
The first example was the one I posted earlier, with the smoked salmon. That is something I can order from the cafe right near one of my jobs! For lunch that day I had schawarma chicken with hummous and pickles! So this is what breakfast and lunch would look like at job 1:


And the foodcourt I mentioned above, which is on the way to job 2, has so many great low carb options! Today I got a buffalo schnitzel salad (yeah the chicken is crumbed... but baby steps lol). And right near the job is a Thai takeaway joint, where I can order wings and satay chicken skewers. So today, brunch and dinner looked like this:


As for the third job, that one is properly challenging as it requires me to be awake until after 2am. And I always end up eating chips at work, and more junk food from the convenience store nearby. But in future weeks I will be ordering a salad with chicken from the kitchen, which I'll have aside to eat at about midnight, and some chicken skewers for the after-work-hungries. Last weekend I did well already though, because instead of buying meat pies and other crap from the convenience store, I got one of these meals each night:

Which is good to have in mind as a last resort, but my future motivation will be to skip the convenience store altogether.

So overall, I've started to put together a new plan. I really hope I can incorporate gym workouts once or twice a week going forward, and I really need to cut drinking... I feel like January will be when this thing really takes off, but I can do so much good between now and then!

 

[Llama]

Being exhausted all the time would make this whole weightloss thing so much harder At the same time eating right generally ends up giving me better sleep and more energy so maybe that's motivation. I think you're doing well looking at your "easy" food options ahead of time so you don't get overwhelmed while tired and hungry.

 

[alligatorob]

Hey Guy, given all of your work and food availability challenges I think you are doing quite well.

after a few weeks I've started to create a bit of an "eating blueprint" of the best options for every bit of my week!

That is great, glad to hear it.

I really hope I can incorporate gym workouts once or twice a week going forward

Good idea, but probably a lower priority than eating and drinking. Sounds like your job gives you some exercise. Don't let me talk you out of it, some gym time would really help.

I really need to cut drinking...

Yep

I feel like January will be when this thing really takes off, but I can do so much good between now and then!

Why wait? I think it is taking off now, your posts suggest it is.

 

[Guy_Dudeson]

Being exhausted all the time would make this whole weightloss thing so much harder At the same time eating right generally ends up giving me better sleep and more energy so maybe that's motivation. I think you're doing well looking at your "easy" food options ahead of time so you don't get overwhelmed while tired and hungry.

It is! Although I have to admit that I was pretty stupid with managing my sleep last week. I did well all the way up until after work on Sunday, when I stopped into the supermarket for all of the treats. Even having put in such a great effort through the week didn't help motivate me lol. The Sunday double shift was just painful. I'd only slept one hour on the train after my night shift, then one hour at work before I started... and it was hot.
Yeah, the fast food approach will hold me over well. I tried the extensive food prep and it comes with two problems. The first being that there is absolutely no chance I'll do it when I'm exhausted. The other is that I have way too much food sitting around the house.
And the fast food thing has already worked in that I didn't buy any bad food on the way home after work last night - that's three hours on public transport - because I'd eaten the Thai low-carb options!

 

[Guy_Dudeson]

Good idea, but probably a lower priority than eating and drinking. Sounds like your job gives you some exercise. Don't let me talk you out of it, some gym time would really help.


Why wait? I think it is taking off now, your posts suggest it is.

Yeah, definitely. I can hit my goals from work and diet alone, and that's overwhelmingly the case. Diet is king!
But gym workouts really motivate me... like two pedals on a bike! One pushes the other!

Yeah, it's kicking off already, but I have to be realistic in that there will be plenty of situations in which I'll be around drinking between now and the 1st of January lol. When I can completely abstain from the liquid gold, that's when the magic will really happen!

 

[alligatorob]

Yeah, it's kicking off already, but I have to be realistic in that there will be plenty of situations in which I'll be around drinking between now and the 1st of January lol. When I can completely abstain from the liquid gold, that's when the magic will really happen!

I thought that once, but was pleasantly surprised how accepting people were of my just having a diet coke or something when all else were imbibing. You might try it.

 

[Guy_Dudeson]

I thought that once, but was pleasantly surprised how accepting people were of my just having a diet coke or something when all else were imbibing. You might try it.

I think I will! Thanks! Although it is my own self-control I worry about lol.