Ultimate new year transformation!
Set up a new account for this – want to be as anon as possible! Pics are on the main thread - might post them on here too later
Reasons for doing the challenge:
- Since I started my placement year, I have put on a lot of weight and done less exercise than before – free lunches every day and being very busy haven’t helped! I’m basically heavier now than I have ever been
- Going on beach holiday in about 8 weeks – want to look better than I do now!
- I haven’t been playing as much sport as I used to, so want to get my fitness back
Targets:
- Weighed myself last week and was 116.5kg!! Decided then to start trying to lose weight – today I was 115.7kg, which isn’t as much as I would have liked to lose, but not bad considering it was new year and I went out to eat a few times. Ideally want to be below 100kg by the end of the challenge
- Bought some clothes in the sales that don’t quite fit me – if they fit me by the end of the challenge I will be happy
- Want to run 5km in 25 mins – last week I ran it in 30 minutes without pushing myself to the limit so should be possible
How I will do it:
- Main focus will be on diet – I will record everything that I eat here. Exact calorie counting won’t be easy as I eat at the canteen at work, but I will estimate it anyway
- Short workout every morning before work (15 min run plus bodyweight circuit) – this will mean that even if I’m too busy to do a proper workout later in the day I’ll have done something
- Pack in as much cardio as I can, especially for the first 6 weeks
- Add in some more weights sessions in the second half of the challenge
Tracking progress:
- I will weigh myself twice a week
- Take more photos every 3 weeks
- Do a 5km run once per week – I can complete it at 10km/h at the moment, so will try to increase this by 0.2 km/h each time I do it so that by the end of 12 weeks, I should be able to do it in 25 mins.
Any general support or comments about my workouts/diet would be appreciated.
Reasons for doing the challenge:
- Since I started my placement year, I have put on a lot of weight and done less exercise than before – free lunches every day and being very busy haven’t helped! I’m basically heavier now than I have ever been
- Going on beach holiday in about 8 weeks – want to look better than I do now!
- I haven’t been playing as much sport as I used to, so want to get my fitness back
Targets:
- Weighed myself last week and was 116.5kg!! Decided then to start trying to lose weight – today I was 115.7kg, which isn’t as much as I would have liked to lose, but not bad considering it was new year and I went out to eat a few times. Ideally want to be below 100kg by the end of the challenge
- Bought some clothes in the sales that don’t quite fit me – if they fit me by the end of the challenge I will be happy
- Want to run 5km in 25 mins – last week I ran it in 30 minutes without pushing myself to the limit so should be possible
How I will do it:
- Main focus will be on diet – I will record everything that I eat here. Exact calorie counting won’t be easy as I eat at the canteen at work, but I will estimate it anyway
- Short workout every morning before work (15 min run plus bodyweight circuit) – this will mean that even if I’m too busy to do a proper workout later in the day I’ll have done something
- Pack in as much cardio as I can, especially for the first 6 weeks
- Add in some more weights sessions in the second half of the challenge
Tracking progress:
- I will weigh myself twice a week
- Take more photos every 3 weeks
- Do a 5km run once per week – I can complete it at 10km/h at the moment, so will try to increase this by 0.2 km/h each time I do it so that by the end of 12 weeks, I should be able to do it in 25 mins.
Any general support or comments about my workouts/diet would be appreciated.
Scroll to see replies
Good luck 
having clothes that you want to fit into is a seriously great idea, it can definitely add motivation .
This is really random and I've only just remembered, but when I was about 12 I used to read Sugar magazine, and once they had like a little strappy top in it as a free gift. It would hardly even fit on one of my arms, let alone my body, but I threw it in the back of my wardrobe and vowed that in a year's time it would fit. I dieted, exercised.. for about a month and then gave up and gained weight, plus more.
Anyway, when I was clearing out my room in 2011 before decorating I found it, and remembered why it was there, so tried it on. It didn't fit but I thought sod it, I'm taking this more seriously than ever before, it will fit again.
Tried it on summer 2012, fits fine. So that made me feel great
. Ultimately.. trying to get into clothes is great motivation haha.
having clothes that you want to fit into is a seriously great idea, it can definitely add motivation .This is really random and I've only just remembered, but when I was about 12 I used to read Sugar magazine, and once they had like a little strappy top in it as a free gift. It would hardly even fit on one of my arms, let alone my body, but I threw it in the back of my wardrobe and vowed that in a year's time it would fit. I dieted, exercised.. for about a month and then gave up and gained weight, plus more.
Anyway, when I was clearing out my room in 2011 before decorating I found it, and remembered why it was there, so tried it on. It didn't fit but I thought sod it, I'm taking this more seriously than ever before, it will fit again.
Tried it on summer 2012, fits fine. So that made me feel great
. Ultimately.. trying to get into clothes is great motivation haha.
I'm surprised you can run a 5K in <30 minutes at 115kgs! That's really good. What height are you?
Best of luck with the weight loss!
Best of luck with the weight loss!
Original post by Hype en Ecosse
I'm surprised you can run a 5K in <30 minutes at 115kgs! That's really good. What height are you?
Best of luck with the weight loss!
Best of luck with the weight loss!
I'm 6 ft tall - the thing is I've always played quite a few sports and gone to the gym regularly so I'm not as unfit as you would guess from my weight - just need to eat less!
Original post by getfit23
I'm 6 ft tall - the thing is I've always played quite a few sports and gone to the gym regularly so I'm not as unfit as you would guess from my weight - just need to eat less!
Then it looks like there's really nothing standing in your way other than your diet. Best of luck.
Today:
Exercise:
- before work: hill sprints (15-20 mins including warm-up) and short bodyweight circuit (press-ups, sit ups, squats, lunges, seated dips etc.)
- gym: 3km treadmill intervals (1 min on, 1 min off), 10 min cross-trainer, 2.5km rowing machine, 300m swimming as cool down (though I'm rubbish at swimming so even this was quite tiring!), plus a few lat pulldowns and press-ups while waiting for machines
Food:
- Breakfast: 2 weetabix with semi-skimmed milk, apple
- Lunch: Piri-piri chicken breast, few small roast potatoes, salad, low fat yogurt
- Dinner: 2 chicken breast steaks, wholemeal pitta, salad
Estimated calories (using myfitnesspal): 1177 kcal, 137g carbs, 18g fat, 135g protein
Probably a slight underestimate as I haven't included the sauce on the chicken at lunch and exactly what was in the salad but it isn't far off. Seems a little low so I'll try to eat slightly more than that most days - probably aim for 1500 kcal.
Pretty happy with the first day though
If anyone knows any good websites for healthy recipes or for good core workouts that would be really helpful!
Exercise:
- before work: hill sprints (15-20 mins including warm-up) and short bodyweight circuit (press-ups, sit ups, squats, lunges, seated dips etc.)
- gym: 3km treadmill intervals (1 min on, 1 min off), 10 min cross-trainer, 2.5km rowing machine, 300m swimming as cool down (though I'm rubbish at swimming so even this was quite tiring!), plus a few lat pulldowns and press-ups while waiting for machines
Food:
- Breakfast: 2 weetabix with semi-skimmed milk, apple
- Lunch: Piri-piri chicken breast, few small roast potatoes, salad, low fat yogurt
- Dinner: 2 chicken breast steaks, wholemeal pitta, salad
Estimated calories (using myfitnesspal): 1177 kcal, 137g carbs, 18g fat, 135g protein
Probably a slight underestimate as I haven't included the sauce on the chicken at lunch and exactly what was in the salad but it isn't far off. Seems a little low so I'll try to eat slightly more than that most days - probably aim for 1500 kcal.
Pretty happy with the first day though
If anyone knows any good websites for healthy recipes or for good core workouts that would be really helpful!
Original post by getfit23
Today:
Exercise:
- before work: hill sprints (15-20 mins including warm-up) and short bodyweight circuit (press-ups, sit ups, squats, lunges, seated dips etc.)
- gym: 3km treadmill intervals (1 min on, 1 min off), 10 min cross-trainer, 2.5km rowing machine, 300m swimming as cool down (though I'm rubbish at swimming so even this was quite tiring!), plus a few lat pulldowns and press-ups while waiting for machines
Food:
- Breakfast: 2 weetabix with semi-skimmed milk, apple
- Lunch: Piri-piri chicken breast, few small roast potatoes, salad, low fat yogurt
- Dinner: 2 chicken breast steaks, wholemeal pitta, salad
Estimated calories (using myfitnesspal): 1177 kcal, 137g carbs, 18g fat, 135g protein
Probably a slight underestimate as I haven't included the sauce on the chicken at lunch and exactly what was in the salad but it isn't far off. Seems a little low so I'll try to eat slightly more than that most days - probably aim for 1500 kcal.
Pretty happy with the first day though
If anyone knows any good websites for healthy recipes or for good core workouts that would be really helpful!
Exercise:
- before work: hill sprints (15-20 mins including warm-up) and short bodyweight circuit (press-ups, sit ups, squats, lunges, seated dips etc.)
- gym: 3km treadmill intervals (1 min on, 1 min off), 10 min cross-trainer, 2.5km rowing machine, 300m swimming as cool down (though I'm rubbish at swimming so even this was quite tiring!), plus a few lat pulldowns and press-ups while waiting for machines
Food:
- Breakfast: 2 weetabix with semi-skimmed milk, apple
- Lunch: Piri-piri chicken breast, few small roast potatoes, salad, low fat yogurt
- Dinner: 2 chicken breast steaks, wholemeal pitta, salad
Estimated calories (using myfitnesspal): 1177 kcal, 137g carbs, 18g fat, 135g protein
Probably a slight underestimate as I haven't included the sauce on the chicken at lunch and exactly what was in the salad but it isn't far off. Seems a little low so I'll try to eat slightly more than that most days - probably aim for 1500 kcal.
Pretty happy with the first day though
If anyone knows any good websites for healthy recipes or for good core workouts that would be really helpful!
Wow good going, nice balanced diet. Good luck and keep it up
Had another good day today - ate a bit more than yesterday but still well below maintenance.
Exercise:
- 20 min treadmill, 10 min cross trainer, 10 min rowing machine
Breakfast - 2 weetabix with milk, apple
Lunch - lamb curry, rice, popadom, mixed veg, yogurt
Dinner - tuna, salad
Snacks - apple, wholemeal pitta
Total: 1460 kcal, 210g carbs, 23g fat, 82g protein
Exercise:
- 20 min treadmill, 10 min cross trainer, 10 min rowing machine
Breakfast - 2 weetabix with milk, apple
Lunch - lamb curry, rice, popadom, mixed veg, yogurt
Dinner - tuna, salad
Snacks - apple, wholemeal pitta
Total: 1460 kcal, 210g carbs, 23g fat, 82g protein
Weighed myself this morning: 111.6 kg! I know that weight can vary quite a bit anyway from one day to the next so I'm not getting carried away but it's obviously a good start
Exercise: 1 hour football
Breakfast: 2 weetabix with milk, apple
Lunch: Roast beef, carrots, roast potatoes, v small salad
Dinner: chicken breast steaks, 1 slice toast, half can baked beans
Total: 1472 kcal, 156g carbs, 27g fat, 143g protein
I just hope I can keep this up! I've got a party this weekend so want to make good progress now as I probably won't lost any weight over the weekend.
Exercise: 1 hour football
Breakfast: 2 weetabix with milk, apple
Lunch: Roast beef, carrots, roast potatoes, v small salad
Dinner: chicken breast steaks, 1 slice toast, half can baked beans
Total: 1472 kcal, 156g carbs, 27g fat, 143g protein
I just hope I can keep this up! I've got a party this weekend so want to make good progress now as I probably won't lost any weight over the weekend.
Had a pretty fun weekend but bad from a weight loss point of view - lots of drinking and meals out (nothing too unhealthy but a lot more than I would have eaten at home). Also didn't do any exercise as I was struggling with knee pain since football on Thursday. So I wanted to get straight back into it today. Did a 5km today in 29 min 25s (10.2km/h average) - decent progress from the last one I did and I definitely could have gone faster, so I'm still hopeful of getting down to 25 mins.
Breakfast: 1 weetabix with milk, banana
Lunch: Haggis, mashed potato, carrots, low fat yogurt
Dinner: Turkey breast steak, salad
Overall: 1150 kcal, 145g carbs, 39g fat, 76g protein
Exercise: 5km run, 10 min cross trainer, 20 x 20m swimming lengths
Fingers crossed that I won't have put on too much weight when I weigh myself tomorrow!!
Breakfast: 1 weetabix with milk, banana
Lunch: Haggis, mashed potato, carrots, low fat yogurt
Dinner: Turkey breast steak, salad
Overall: 1150 kcal, 145g carbs, 39g fat, 76g protein
Exercise: 5km run, 10 min cross trainer, 20 x 20m swimming lengths
Fingers crossed that I won't have put on too much weight when I weigh myself tomorrow!!
Weighed myself this morning - 111.9kg. Not as bad as I thought it would be but still heavier than the last time I weighed myself so I'm determined to be quite strict for the next few days.
Breakfast: 2 weetabix with milk, banana
Lunch: chicken balti, rice, popadom, yogurt
Dinner: turkey stew
Total: 1401 kcal, 184g carbs, 42g fat, 152g protein (I know this doesn't quite add up - I think the info in myfitnesspal wasn't correct for some of them.
Exercise: 20 min cross trainer, 5km bike, weights (all 3 x 10 reps): lat pulldown 60kg, DB shoulder press 20kg, DB chest press 24kg, squats 80kg, deadlift 80kg, lunges 40kg, seated row 60kg
Breakfast: 2 weetabix with milk, banana
Lunch: chicken balti, rice, popadom, yogurt
Dinner: turkey stew
Total: 1401 kcal, 184g carbs, 42g fat, 152g protein (I know this doesn't quite add up - I think the info in myfitnesspal wasn't correct for some of them.
Exercise: 20 min cross trainer, 5km bike, weights (all 3 x 10 reps): lat pulldown 60kg, DB shoulder press 20kg, DB chest press 24kg, squats 80kg, deadlift 80kg, lunges 40kg, seated row 60kg
Had a hectic day at work today so did not have time to do a run like I wanted to - still a pretty good day though.
Breakfast: 2 weetabix with milk
Lunch: shepherds pie, carrots, sweetcorn, yogurt
Dinner: turkey stew
Total: 1391 kcal, 179g carbs, 20g fat, 131g protein
Exercise: 2 hours dry-slope skiing
Also decided on a few extra targets to reach by the end of the target:
- want to have 34" waist (currently approx. 37")
- want to have less than 44" chest (currently approx 46")
- want to be able to do 3 pullups with good form (currently can struggle to get 2 but form is pretty bad!)
Breakfast: 2 weetabix with milk
Lunch: shepherds pie, carrots, sweetcorn, yogurt
Dinner: turkey stew
Total: 1391 kcal, 179g carbs, 20g fat, 131g protein
Exercise: 2 hours dry-slope skiing
Also decided on a few extra targets to reach by the end of the target:
- want to have 34" waist (currently approx. 37")
- want to have less than 44" chest (currently approx 46")
- want to be able to do 3 pullups with good form (currently can struggle to get 2 but form is pretty bad!)
Breakfast: 2 weetabix with milk, banana (what a surprise!!)
Lunch: 2 chicken thighs, jacket potato, sweetcorn, yogurt, apple
Dinner: Tuna sandwich, turkey breast chunks, cherry tomatoes
Also met up with some friends at the pub and limited myself to one pint before moving on to diet coke so I was quite impressed with my willpower (would normally have had 3-4 pints).
Total: 1551 kcal, 168g carbs, 33g fat, 106g protein
Exercise: 7.5km on treadmill in 45 mins, few arm exercises
Weight this morning: 111.2kg - my lowest yet so think it shows that my current plan is working so I'm just going to carry on as I am for now
Lunch: 2 chicken thighs, jacket potato, sweetcorn, yogurt, apple
Dinner: Tuna sandwich, turkey breast chunks, cherry tomatoes
Also met up with some friends at the pub and limited myself to one pint before moving on to diet coke so I was quite impressed with my willpower (would normally have had 3-4 pints).
Total: 1551 kcal, 168g carbs, 33g fat, 106g protein
Exercise: 7.5km on treadmill in 45 mins, few arm exercises
Weight this morning: 111.2kg - my lowest yet so think it shows that my current plan is working so I'm just going to carry on as I am for now
So it seems like weekends are my achilles heel at the moment - again I drank too much and ate quite unhealthily, and did no exercise (apart from a lot of dancing on Saturday night!). Basically if I'm around my friends all weekend, I just eat/drink whatever they do - does anyone have any tips as to how to resist temptation? This is going to be my main focus for the next few weeks since the amount of exercise I'm doing and the types of food I'm eating during the week are fine.
Breakfast: 2 weetabix with milk, apple
Lunch: white fish, rice, popadom, salad, yogurt
Dinner: tuna sandwich, chicken breast slices, banana
Total: 1218 kcal, 166g carbs, 26g fat, 95g protein,
Exercise:
Did a 5km in 28 min 48s which is another big improvement in time - the first 15 minutes were tough this time but after that I seemed to settle into a rhythm and I could have gone faster at the end.
Breakfast: 2 weetabix with milk, apple
Lunch: white fish, rice, popadom, salad, yogurt
Dinner: tuna sandwich, chicken breast slices, banana
Total: 1218 kcal, 166g carbs, 26g fat, 95g protein,
Exercise:
Did a 5km in 28 min 48s which is another big improvement in time - the first 15 minutes were tough this time but after that I seemed to settle into a rhythm and I could have gone faster at the end.
Following on from what I wrote yesterday, I've decided that I will still record on here exactly what I eat over the weekends even if it's bad! This will give me an added incentive to resist temptation!
Breakfast: 2 weetabix with milk
Lunch: pork, carrots, onions, couscous, yogurt
Dinner: stir-fried beef and vegetables
Total: 1246 kcal, 108g carbs, 25g fat, 136g protein
Exercise: 2 hour skiing lesson
Breakfast: 2 weetabix with milk
Lunch: pork, carrots, onions, couscous, yogurt
Dinner: stir-fried beef and vegetables
Total: 1246 kcal, 108g carbs, 25g fat, 136g protein
Exercise: 2 hour skiing lesson
Been away all weekend but here's a summary of the weekend.
Friday:
Breakfast: 2 weetabix with milk, apple
Lunch: breaded fish with beans and peas, yogurt
Dinner: Boots meal deal: noodle salad and sushi
Snacks: soup and turkey chunks
Exercise: gym session (warm up then weights) and 1.5 hr cricket session
Saturday:
Breakfast: grapes, yogurt
Lunch: chicken with lentil and couscous salad
Dinner: meal out: fish soup, hake with mashed potato, sticky toffee pudding
Exercise: 40 minute run
Sunday:
Breakfast: coco pops with milk
Lunch: same as Saturday
Dinner: soup, sausage sandwich, chocolate cookie
I ate a lot more than during the rest of the week but I'm not going to stop eating things that I like altogether. And I was pleased that I managed to fit in a decent amount of exercise - overall a lot better than last weekend!
Friday:
Breakfast: 2 weetabix with milk, apple
Lunch: breaded fish with beans and peas, yogurt
Dinner: Boots meal deal: noodle salad and sushi
Snacks: soup and turkey chunks
Exercise: gym session (warm up then weights) and 1.5 hr cricket session
Saturday:
Breakfast: grapes, yogurt
Lunch: chicken with lentil and couscous salad
Dinner: meal out: fish soup, hake with mashed potato, sticky toffee pudding
Exercise: 40 minute run
Sunday:
Breakfast: coco pops with milk
Lunch: same as Saturday
Dinner: soup, sausage sandwich, chocolate cookie
I ate a lot more than during the rest of the week but I'm not going to stop eating things that I like altogether. And I was pleased that I managed to fit in a decent amount of exercise - overall a lot better than last weekend!
Quick Reply
Related discussions
- English Lit essay
- Uni flat mates
- Coping With Homesickness as a Student
- Applying to dentistry through biomedical science
- HSBC Strategy and Transformation Graduate Programme 2024
- advice on expanding fashion sense?
- Implicit Differentiation 2
- Politics or classics
- Completing undergraduate course in a shorter amount of time
- Double Masters - Can unique circumstances be taken into account?
- Further maths help
- Returning to study after a break | Hamza's blog
- Further Maths question
- Aviva Graduate Schemes 2023
- History A Level Question Wording
- NCS this summer
- Kingston Award Testimonies
- By next year this is what Sky should do?
- Craving love
- Medicine Motivation
Latest
Last reply 17 minutes ago
Official: University of Manchester A106 2024 Entry ApplicantsMedical Schools
1275
Last reply 31 minutes ago
Official Cambridge Postgraduate Applicants 2024 ThreadLast reply 46 minutes ago
Official University College London Applicant Thread for 2024Last reply 52 minutes ago
AQA GCSE English Literature Paper 1 (8702/1) - 13th May 2024 [Exam Chat]Last reply 1 hour ago
Official University of Edinburgh Applicant Thread for 2024Last reply 2 hours ago
Can I do economics degree without a level maths?Last reply 2 hours ago
BAE systems degree apprenticeships September 2024Last reply 2 hours ago
Government Social Research Placement interview questionsTrending
Last reply 2 days ago
is it possible to go from a size 16 [L] to a size 12 [M] in five months?Trending
Last reply 2 days ago
is it possible to go from a size 16 [L] to a size 12 [M] in five months?
