Here’s a great guest post from a very good friend and former colleague David St.John Richards. David and I worked together for many years at DHL. We shared a very similar philosophy and have maintained contact since I left.
David has decided to undertake an inspiring life transforming challenge and I am happy to present his blog of the first week of that challenge. Enjoy
In November 2013 I walked up 20 steps in my office and I was so out of breath I could not speak, it took me 2 minutes to recover.
This lasted for the next week and I thought that I was going to have a heart attack.
I am 49 years old and weigh 139 Kg (21 stone 11lb). Four weeks later my son, who was diagnosed two years ago with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), was admitted to hospital for 3 days with serious diabetic complications.
Overweight middle aged men are prime candidates to be diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D). When I went on holiday last year, young children stared at me at the side of the pool as in addition to my very large stomach I have an umbilical hernia which means that there is a large lump where my tummy button used to be.
When I go to bed I have to wear a mask as I have acute sleep apnea which means that I stop breathing over 100 times a night and come the morning it feels like you have had no sleep. It is also very dangerous as one falls asleep whilst driving.
Enough was enough. It was time to start a change management project on myself!
This is an extract from my diary from the first weekend on week 1 of the diet…
Following my extended exercise yesterday evening I slept for an undisturbed 10 hours, cannot remember the last time this happened. As decided earlier this week I am going swimming this morning. Imagine my shock when I went from the changing rooms to poolside & was suddenly confronted by 30 German ladies doing pool fitness! No other man in sight!!! I guess they realized that I felt embarrassed as there were a few smiles, maybe even a few in sympathy. Perhaps the sight of me in my gear was a shock for them – LOL
I have not really done swimming as an exercise for many years but the benefits of swimming are well known and the water buoyancy is great support for your muscles & bones.
Sorted out my wardrobe…how many odd pairs of socks can one have? I can understand it when there are many people sharing the same washing cycles but I am on my own here in Bonn so I suspect it is Dobby, the Harry Potter elf, who is sneaking in & hiding them. Why am I writing about socks? Well even household chores consume energy and therefore rather than sitting down & watching the football, I am sorting out clothes whilst listening to the football on the radio.
I am considering Saturday evening as my treat meal night and I am having surf & turf…a nice steak with a salmon fillet.
I have to note that the Dukan diet is not cheap if you use the big supermarkets but the discount supermarkets offer you the opportunity to get most items at very good value. As long as you do not mind long queues, no customer service and haphazard displays!
First real signs of weight-loss showing. I can do my blazer up again, my watch is not pinching me and an extra hole in my belt required. Also my stomach is feeling tighter due to the abdominal exercises. This is so motivating.
Leg muscles feeling quite stiff on Saturday evening so restricted my walk to only 2km tonight – no point over doing things in week 1. Some people ask me what should a walk for exercise mean? Well, any walking is exercise but I try & do it a bit more than taking the poodle in the park on a Sunday afternoon . Normally when I have completed my 4km I have a light sweat sheen on my forehead and I can feel my muscles over the last 500M. Certainly at my current weight I would not be inclined to increase the speed to a light jog as I do not want to have a heart attack in the German countryside!
Sunday morning I went back to the swimming pool again. Luckily I was not confronted by 30 German ladies doing pool-fitness again. After the proper swim I had a bit of luxury and had a spa followed by a sauna to relax my weary muscles.
I have a number of medical conditions that are heavily influenced by being overweight. The first is Sleep Apnoea – basically it is a condition where you stop breathing many times overnight and wake up in the morning feeling as tired as when you went to bed. It is also extremely dangerous when you are driving as you just drift off to sleep. I have mine controlled by wearing a mask at night using a constant air pressure machine. The condition is prevalent in overweight middle aged men – hey that is me! I really hope that this disappears when I weigh less.
This is a picture that one of my kind colleagues took of me before I was diagnosed with sleep apnoea and thus before I started wearing a mask!
Just done an hour’s ironing – another 60 calories consumed.
I think it is important to ‘treat’ yourself as you start to progress and lose weight. Whilst the spa and the sauna were included in the entry price of the pool, it did seem like a luxury. Also tomorrow I will wear a shirt to work that I have only worn once because I grew out of it. And thinking about the long term target I will need a new wardrobe, but this time I will be able to shop at High Street shops rather than “Shop for the larger gentleman”!
It is amazing what an appetizing meal you can create using only protein and no-fat dairy products; this is my Sunday evening meal. Curried chicken and prawns with noodles (Konjac Shirataki).
Tomorrow the big weigh-in and measurements will be revealed
Slimming Tip: Green tea is a very good dietary aid and it also helps digestion. I don’t like the drink very much personally but try to have a cup a day.
And after week 1?
Well the day has arrived and my first official weigh-in…and here is the result
That is a weight loss of 4.9 Kg or 10 Lb in week 1. Of course a lot of this will be water content but the real indicators are the other readings from the scales..BMI, Body Fat %, Body Water %.
BMI – down 2%
Fat – down 3.6%
Water – up 7.5%
A long way to go before targets reached but it is a motivating start. The other area that I am monitoring are a number of body measurements as it is amazing from where weight is lost. Quick snapshot.
Follow my progress in my Daily Diary of a Dukan Dieter
David, this is a massive inspiration and I am very happy to host the post, but even happier to see the progress being made.
I have no doubts that you will be successful and will look forward to following you on this amazing Germany!
thanks
Gordon
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