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⭐ See key weight loss milestones here
My first PT session is on Wednesday morning this week - and it's one I'm really not looking forward to due to a really bad night of sleep! The session feels all the more hard work because of my overwhelming tiredness - which is now at a peak after three nights in a row of terrible quality sleep.
The two things I hate the most
Just to make matters worse, the session seemed to be focused around the two things I hate the most - slamming excessively heavy ropes onto the ground, whilst leaning back into a squat position, and core exercises.
Discovering my core
Apparently, I have something called a 'core'. My instructor tells me this illusive thing called my core is an area of muscle, in the middle part of my body.
"It is like an elastic band that you need to shorten and lengthen," he says.
He also tells me I need to imagine someone is about to punch me in the stomach in order to 'engage' my core.
I'm not entirely convinced that I have these core muscles he speaks of. If they do indeed exist, I fear that they have been long lost, underneath all of the reams of fat surrounding my stomach and back. Nevertheless, I have decided that if these muscles are in there somewhere, I will endeavour to find them.
Back to school
The week finishes with a final session on Saturday. My PT has laid out a load of brightly coloured plastic cones. I'm required to sprint to the red cone, 'tap down' on it, then sprint back to the blue one, tap down. Then repeat. Many times. It feels very much like I'm back in a school P.E. class.
4 kilos weight loss in 1 month
I'm now one full month into my weight loss journey and it turns out that I've lost almost 4kg. My PT asks me to send across the latest stats from my Renpho scales app. His words are encouraging and make me feel pleased with the progress I've made so far:
"Hi Lisa, I've had a look and that is great progress!!!
If you hold four bags of flour, you'll understand what losing 4kg is and how much of an impact that will have on the body. Imagine carrying that weight around with you.
Daily!!"
I didn't have any bags of flour but here is a photo of me holding four 1kg bags of sugar to illustrate my weight loss:
I didn't have any bags of flour but here is a photo of me holding four 1kg bags of sugar to illustrate my weight loss:
The bags are quite heavy actually! Holding the bags makes me really appreciate how much weight I have lost.
Weekly food diary
This week I have been eating...
Monday
Breakfast: Muesli with oat milk. Two or three cups of black coffee throughout the morning.
Snack: None today.
Lunch: baked beans on buttered toast (granary brownn bread).
Snack: One cup of tea with a dash of milk.
Dinner: chicken kiev with parsnip mash, broccoli, peas and carrots.
Snack: A small bowl of bran flakes - with oat milk and a small sprinkling of raisins. One piece of toast with butter and marmite (during the night as I wasn't sleeping well).
Tuesday
Breakfast: Greek yoghurt with raspberries, blueberries and grain free granola mix. Two or three cups of black coffee throughout the morning.
Snack: One orange.
Lunch: baked beans on buttered toast (brown granary bread).
Snack: Two cups of tea, each with a dash of milk.
Dinner: chicken kiev with parsnip mash, broccoli, carrots and garlicky leeks.
Snack: A small bowl of bran flakes - with oat milk and a small sprinkling of raisins. One piece of toast with butter and marmite (during the night as I wasn't sleeping well).
Wednesday
Breakfast: Greek yoghurt with raspberries, blueberries and grain free granola mix. One cup of black coffee.
Snack: None today.
Lunch: baked beans on buttered toast (brown granary bread).
Snack: Two cups of tea, each with a dash of milk. One orange.
Dinner: Mindful Chef's pesto meatballs with roasted fennel and tomato sauce.
Snack: A small bowl of bran flakes - with oat milk and a small sprinkling of raisins.
Thursday
Breakfast: A bowl of muesli with oat milk. Two or three cups of black coffee throughout the morning.
Snack: Half a banana (it was big and not very ripe!).
Lunch: Mindful Chef's herby falafels on shakshuka with tahini.
Snack: Two cups of tea, each with a dash of milk. One orange.
Dinner: Mindful Chef's pesto meatballs with roasted fennel and tomato sauce.
Snack: None today.
Friday
Breakfast: Greek yoghurt with chopped banana and grain free granola mix. Two or three cups of black coffee throughout the morning.
Snack: Two or three spoons of grain free granola mix.
Lunch: Mindful Chef's herby falafels on shakshuka with tahini.
Snack: Two cups of tea, each with a dash of milk. One orange.
Dinner: Mindful Chef's chicken pasanda curry with toasted almonds.
Snack: A small bowl of bran flakes - with oat milk and a small sprinking of raisins.
Saturday
Breakfast: Muesli with oat milk. One banana. One piece of toast with marmite and butter (brown granary bread). One cup of black coffee.
Snack: Two spoonfuls of grain free granola mix.
Lunch: Mindful Chef's herby falafels on shakshuka with tahini.
Snack: Two cups of tea, each with a dash of milk. One orange.
Dinner: Mindful Chef's chicken pasanda curry with toasted almonds.
Snack: A small bowl of bran flakes - with oat milk and a small sprinking of raisins.
Sunday
Breakfast: Muesli with oat milk. Bacon and eggs on buttered toast (three pieces of bacon with the fat cut off and two eggs). Two or three cups of black coffee throughout the morning.
Snack: None today.
Lunch: Mindful Chef's salmon with basil pesto, and bubble and squeak.
Snack: Two cups of tea, each with a dash of milk.
Dinner: Mindful Chef's harissa pork meatballs with parsley millett.
Snack: A small bowl of bran flakes - with oat milk and a small sprinking of raisins.
1. Pesto meatballs with roasted fennel & tomato sauce 2. Salmon with basil pesto bubble & squeak 3. Harissa pork meatballs with parsley millet 4. Chicken pasanda curry with toasted almonds
Closing thoughts on this week
There have been challenges over these first few weeks. I've suffered aches and pains. Tiredness. Queasiness. Dehydration. Lack of sleep.
But actually - everything is going well!
I'm losing weight and becoming healthier. The journey can hopefully only start getting easier and less painful now.
Up next: my weight loss journey week 5
Lisa
