Tag: feel the burn

I’m super chuffed and proud of myself. I went from running/walking 3 laps to doing 10 this morning. With the to-and-fro from the flat, that makes a 5k circuit! My average pace is 6’50s/km, which Katy informs me is not bad.

Next step, 12 laps on the course!

Personal best today: 8 laps at constant-ish jogging pace (between 6 and 7 minutes/km). With the to-and-fro from the flat, that’s almost 5k. My goal is to get to a 5k running distance, so that’s 12.5 laps, and I’m aiming to add one lap per week or so.

Since the gym is still closed, I’ve started running to try and get some sort of exercise when I’m working from home. I’m not a fast runner, but at least my pace is consistent. I’m working on increasing my distance now. I can do 2k without problem, and today I added an extra lap, up to 2.4k. I’m going to try and get to 5k by the end of the year.

I had my 9-month surgery follow-up this morning. I’ve lost 5kg in the last 3 months. This is good news. My BMI is no longer in the “obese” range but more in the “overweight” range. This is good news. My visceral fat levels have gone down again. This is good news. The meh news is that I’ve lost a bit of the muscle mass I’d put on at 6 months. This is probably due to the fact that I had the gall bladder op and I’ve borked my shoulder, so that means I did less resistance workouts. Hopefully I can turn that around.

Another bit of meh news is that I’m above the “expected average” line of my predicted weight loss. Ideally, I’d be at around 90kg but I’m more around 94kg. This one isn’t a big deal from the doctor’s perspective, it’s more a numbers thing for me. My rate of weight loss is mirroring the average curve, I’m just a bit above it. He’s happy that I’m still within the general range that is considered a positive outcome. He also points out that they measure overall success on a 4-axis basis:

– how you score the weight you’ve lost
– how you score the physical benefits/complications (i.e. post-surgery pain, dumpings, cramps, etc)
– how you score the mental benefits/complications (i.e. food frustration, cravings, etc)
– how you score the nutritional benefits/complications (i.e. the supplements you need to take, etc)

Each should get a score from 1 (worst) to 7 (best). I gave a score of 23 out of a possible 28, which is very good.

I can live with that :) I just need to get my shoulder fixed so I can restart doing more weights at the gym.

One thing I didn’t expect though was that the nurse who normally takes the blood samples for micro-nutrient analysis was out sick that day so I had to go to the main clinic. Instead of taking 5 minutes at the CMCO, it took an hour. That played havoc on my schedule because I had to get to the EPFL for a project review meeting with the NIHS LT.

As of today, the bathroom scales tell me that I am below 100kg for the first time. Next goal is to go below 200lbs.

So. Scene. As part of the weight loss process, I try and go to the gym at work twice a week. There’s a locker room with attached showers. When I exercise, I leave my watch and my rings in my jean pocket.

Today, after having showered, I’m in my boxers getting re-dressed. I take out my watch to put it on and FWING! all my rings fall out of my pocket and go pinging around the floor.

So, here I am, in my underwear, on my hands and knees, crawling around the locker room floor while someone else is having a shower and all I can think is “please don’t come out now”.