Well, that’s a year, give or take a few days. A year since I decided to start a blog documenting my attempts to recover from a knee injury and to try and get fit.
The purpose of this blog was to track my rehab, as I attempted to reach a plateau of fitness that would allow me to take part in a 10k run. At first, the notion of losing weight didn’t cross my mind, but it lurked in the background, like the nuclear threat. At some point I would have to address it.
In May 2012 I weighed 17 stone and 4lbs. My BMI was 31.12 and my body fat content was around 34%. By the NHS’s BMI tool’s reckoning, I was obese, and while I was playing five-a-side football once a week, I was struggling with shin, back and particularly a knee problem.
I didn’t set out intending to lose weight, because I’d tried to watch what I ate in the past, but it never seemed to have much effect. I stumbled into the weight loss programme I’m currently using, almost by accident, when I started using a pedometer to track my steps each day, and realised I was burning calories.
I had always known that calories provided the body with energy, but for some reason I hadn’t realised the average human being needed to consume around 2000kcal per day just to keep their motor running. That’s 14000kcal per week, and 1lb of fat is equal to 3500kcal. As soon as I realised I could measure my calorie intake using a meal diary, and create a small surfeit, the weight began to drop off. The table below shows the difference between my vital statistics a year ago, and today.
| 1 Year Ago | Now | |||
| Metric | Imperial | Metric | Imperial | |
| Weight | 110kg | 17st 4lbs | 84.6kg | 13st 4lbs |
| BMI | 31.1 | Obese | 23.9 | Normal |
| Fat | ~33.6% | 20.50% | ||
| Waist | 107cm | 42" | 88cm | 34.6" |
| Hip | 108cm | 42.5" | 96.5cm | 38" |
| Chest | 114cm | 44.8" | 104.5cm | 41" |
Because the weight loss has been a slow and gradual process, my friends, workmates and I haven’t really noticed a great difference. Physically, I do feel a bit better about myself, although perversely I think I was actually fitter last year; I was playing football regularly then.
I won’t lie, I’m still experiencing some problems with my knee, although the wonderful Shona at Achilles Heel in Glasgow has assured me that this is within tolerance, and by all standards the joint is in decent condition.
As a result, using this blog and my Twitter archive has been useful to let me track my progress more objectively, by reminding me how frustrated I felt eight, ten, twelve months ago. I know that using the words ‘objectively’ and ‘feel’ in the same sentence seems counter-intuitive, but as my friend pointed out, sometimes you forget how down you were, or how much progress you’ve made. Having a record of the change, or otherwise in your mental outlook allows you to look back with more clarity.
Looking through my tweets, I first started experiencing this problem with my knee in August 2011, and I had my first hospital appointment in January 2012. Having since had three separate physios manipulate and investigate the joint, I’ve had three or four different diagnoses. Bursitis, tight quads/weak hamstrings, ligament damage, scar tissue; all have been suggested as reasons why I occasionally experience pain and swelling after exercise.
As I continued with my weight loss, I took up Pilates (which I’m still doing on a regular basis), and karate (which I gave up after achieving my red belt, for non-physical reasons), but I still felt that my knee wasn’t quite right. Four or five sessions with Shona helped me immensely, as she assured me my knee was strong enough to do what I wanted it to, I just had to regain confidence in it.
I started going to spin classes at the leisure centre again. And I bought a pair of £100 running shoes, with support designed to counter-act my feet’s tendency to over-pronate. I’ve started running once a week, using the iPhone app I mentioned in my original blog post, building up the distance I run each week. I’m currently doing ~4k in half an hour. That’s a slow pace, but the programme is currently divided up into blocks of walking and running, each week getting closer to running flat our for 30 minutes.
I got my bike serviced as well, after having nearly killed it trying to adjust the brakes myself. In the last few weeks I’ve done a 20km and 30km cycle, and I’m hoping this will be a weekly occurrence as we progress towards the 47-mile Pedal for Scotland challenge in September, which I’ve signed up for. I’ve also booked my place in the Paisley Vision 10k in August, which was one of my goals set out in last year’s manifesto. If I’m being honest, I don’t expect I’ll be able to run more than half of it, but even that is progress.
And most excitingly, for me anyway, is that last Thursday night I made my football comeback, playing a game of 5-a-side for the first time since last September. I felt okay and reasonably fit during the game, as I had been running and cycling. The next day I felt as if my bone marrow had been replaced with adamantium, but a couple of days further on, I’m feeling okay.
So what are my goals for the next 12 month period? I intend to stay at this weight for a start, around 13 1/4 stone. I’ve changed my eating habits dramatically, but gradually over the course of the year, so I think it’s unlikely I’ll ever put on as much beef as I did again.
I want to keep running and cycling, and I’m considering once more the notion of entering a novice triathlon. The cycling and running distances wouldn’t be an issue, but I’d need to improve my swimming technique, but I don’t think it’s the pipe dream it once was.
Has the last 12 months of obsessively tracking what I ate, going to the gym, karate, running and cycling been worth it? I’d have to say yes. I’m feeling a lot happier about myself.
