A Leaahrrning Computah!

It's been a while since I presented any new data and I'm sure you've all been hungering for an update (except Coops, obviously). Well, here it is, kiddies - a map of some pretty aggressive weight-loss. I'm down pretty much 11kg since day 1 (or 10kg since day 0 which represents 1kg per week). This is about as much as I would want to lose per week and, while it has involved an amount of sacrifice and hard work, it hasn't been that bad - at least not from the diet side.

Yes, giving up the beer was tough at first, but needed to be done anyway given the regularity of my drinking. The food, on the other hand, was not that much of a shock. The first week, when we went to half-portions was by far the toughest. I genuinely felt like I was going to keel over at times. Since the nutrition plan started on week 2 though, I've rarely felt hungry (and only when I've been delayed in eating for some reason).

Here's where today's graph is up to. Pretty nice, huh?

But there's more to talk about in today's post. Remember, the Noel-inator is a Learrhnning Computah. My "detailed files" constitute a longitudinal study of my own weight loss efforts. First off, here's the first time I ever tracked such an effort in 2005. I was starting from a worse place than I was at the start of PCP and my long-term efforts revolved around cardio training (started on the stair-master and progressed to running a few times a week). Food plan was 3 meals a day, trying to be healthy most of the week - but alcohol wasn't cut out. I did lose a shed-load of weight, but it took much, much longer than on PCP. Notably, my muscle mass also suffered. Right now I'm 74kg and (if the scales are to be trusted) about 10kg of that is fat. When I was 74kg in this graph, I was 12kg fat (using the same scales). That's actually quite a big difference and a massive apparent  advantage of the PCP approach.

By 2007 I had put back on quite a bit of this weight though I was much more active than I had been in 2005. A friend and I gave ourselves a challenge to lose some weight and the element of competition (or at least mutual accountability) probably helped me achieve faster results. I lost 9Kg in 4 months. However, I still drank at weekends and really just managed to achieve the loss by doing a lot of cardio and most likely eating too little. Looking back on it I felt quite lethargic and moody during this process. By the end people commented that I looked a bit gaunt rather than saying I looked good.

Notably, my fat/non-fat ratio was as good or better than during PCP. This is especially surprising given I started at 20% at 80Kg (for PCP I started at 20% but at 85Kg). In any case, my body definitely looks healthier and better this time around - more muscle tone and better skin, etc.

So - what are the big long-term lessons from all of this? Here's my summary:

1. No matter what anyone says, graphs are a great motivational tool! Incremental changes can be hard to see, but being able to look back at a dataset and see where you started and where you've got to really helps the push ... if you're a giant nerd like I am.
2. I am a fucking idiot for ever putting weight back on after putting in so much effort to lose it. Note these graphs stop abruptly when I reach my goal. I need to make fitness a part of my life constantly and not just something I do intensely periodically. And, of course, this isn't just about weight control but general fitness too. I saw the other participant from the 2007 effort about a year later and, for shame, I realised I had put back on a bunch of weight while he had improved further. He had incorporated an approach to well-bring into his life in a much more healthy and consistent manner than I had (mind you, he has also become a personal trainer, so now he has a professional interest in remaining fit too!).
3. PCP does offer much more than just weight-loss. That said, I feel better, I didn't suffer the mood-swings of yore in getting to where I am now and - even if this thing was just about weight-loss - it has been much more effective on that simple measure too.

With just over three weeks to go, I may not quite get back to my leanest or fittest point in my life, but I also won't see the completion of the project as an end in itself. Rather, I see it as a springboard to more and bigger goals. I'll certainly be taking Patrick's advice and cutting back the intensity after day 90, but I'm already ready to take on another challenge after I get back from my holidays.

So, now, time to get the head back down for the last and presumably hardest 3 weeks of the PCP.