Big_Show in #OperationWeddingSuit

[Big_Show]

The Scotch eggs are back! I remember reading about you making them in the Sandpit.

 

I am enjoying the variety for breakfast - I was getting a bit bored of porridge, plus they're a fair bit more filling.

 

----------------------------

 

The week has started well!  I stuck to my food plans while at work all day, avoided popping to the supermarket on the way home (didn't need anything urgently) because I recognised that I would find an excuse to eat something immediately, and when I got home I went pretty much straight out for my run!

 

Week 3 of the Couch to 5k has slightly more actual running in it - this week it's a 5min walk to warm-up, then 2x(1.5min run + 1.5min walk + 3min run + 3min walk).  All of which added up to a total of 9mins running in 23mins of activity, and didn't even quite get to 2 miles.  But it's a gentle step up from last week, and nothing appears to have broken or fallen off in the process.  Yet.

 

Dinner was a new recipe - I got a Joe Wicks Lean in 15 recipe book in a bookshop sale at the weekend and found Cheesy Chicken with Garlic and Chives (not the best photo):

 

 

(I served it with some potatoes as well because if I got too low-carb I get massive sugar cravings the next morning at work.)

 

I turned out to be really tasty and pretty filling, so I think we'll be making it again!

 

Bit more housework and laptop chores tonight - got various evenings of family time ahead this week so making sure I keep on top of things in advance.

 

 

[Big_Show]

Ok, quick one tonight:

 

Lots of snacky treat food brought in to the office today.  I resisted, although I was sorely tempted for a while.

 

After work was a Chest, Shoulders & Triceps session.  Made progress on several lifts, even if it was just a couple of reps.  Definitely hitting the point were I'm not putting the weight up weekly any more though.  Gym was also still not that busy, thankfully.

 

Dinner was steak with garlic butter, boiled carrots & broccoli, and a fried egg.  Rather nice indeed.

 

No update tomorrow as we have a guest for the night, but I'll be making that cheesy chicken from last night again so we'll be eating well.

 

Tomorrow morning is weigh-in no. 3 - I'll try to remember to do a quick phone-based update to say how that goes.

[Endor]

Scotcheggs for brekky, why didn't i think of that! Great tip for commuting, i'll use that!

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[Big_Show]

Well if the scales are to be believed I have lost 4lbs this week, taking me to just over half a stone in total for the last three weeks.

Don't know if it's true or I was just dehydrated, but I'm going to try to carry on doing the exact same thing this week and see what the scales say next week I guess?

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[Raxie]

Wow nice job on the weight loss! Even if you were dehydrated I don't think it could have made *that* much of a difference - you've been working pretty darn hard. Keep on keepin' on!

 

Also I made scotch eggs recently that were wrapped in (american) bacon and they were pretty frickin awesome.

[Big_Show]

Wow nice job on the weight loss! Even if you were dehydrated I don't think it could have made *that* much of a difference - you've been working pretty darn hard. Keep on keepin' on!
 
Also I made scotch eggs recently that were wrapped in (american) bacon and they were pretty frickin awesome.

Aw you ruined them with inferior bacon. You just keep trying though.

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[Big_Show]

Not much to report today.  Feeling kinda tired & rundown, so I cancelled today's gym session in favour of an easy evening and an early night.  I'll try to fit it in at the weekend instead.

 

That'll make three rest days in a row (nothing's happening after work tomorrow after all) - if that doesn't see me ready and raring to go again then nothing will!

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Sometimes you just gotta get some rest in. If you were feeling tired, you did the right thing.

 

Of course, if you were using proper American Bacon, you'd have the energy you needed.

[Raxie]

45 minutes ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Of course, if you were using proper American Bacon, you'd have the energy you needed.

 

[Big_Show]

Sometimes you just gotta get some rest in. If you were feeling tired, you did the right thing.
 
Of course, if you were using proper American Bacon, you'd have the energy you needed.

 

It's cute that you believe that.

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[Charlie_Quinn]

Congrats on the weight loss!

 

#teambackbacon

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

6 hours ago, Big_Show said:

It's cute that you believe that.

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What was that? I couldn't hear you over all the splashing as that tea fell into the harbor, which you will note I spelled without a "u."

[Raxie]

I believe now is the correct time for this:

 

FANNY PANCAKE

[Big_Show]

On 1/18/2019 at 1:43 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

which you will note I spelled incorrectly

 

FTFY

 

On 1/18/2019 at 8:49 PM, Raxie said:

I believe now is the correct time for this:

 

FANNY PANCAKE

 

BWAHAHAHAHAHA

[Big_Show]

It has been a quiet and relaxing few days - I ended up taking them all as rest days due to feeling rundown, and also having a few odd random niggles too.  My lower back was really sore when I got up this morning and has only gradually eased during the day, but I think this was from sleeping funny rather than anything more serious.  Everything else definitely feels a lot better now, so it's back to full regular training again from today.

 

Eating has been pretty good overall - taps on Friday evening when we went to visit future-mother-in-law, a nice Sunday roast dinner today in the pub with my parents, and the food we've been eating apart from that has been pretty healthy.  I prepped my scotch eggs for breakfasts this week and an instant pot beef stew for my lunches, so this week's all planned out.

 

Not much else to say really - time to knuckle back down again!

[Big_Show]

Day 1 of the new week, and it has started off well!

 

All the snacks & biscuits have thankfully disappeared from the office, at least for now.  That made sticking to my eating plan today a lot easier again.  I got an extra coffee on the way home for a bit of a boost, but a black americano won't exactly break the calorie bank.

 

Week Four of the Couch to 5k started today - after the 5mins warm up it was run 3mins, walk 1.5mins, run 5mins, walk 2.5mins, run 3mins, walk 1,5mins, run 5mins.  26:30 of motion with 16mins of running involved, and I actually made it up to 2.5miles finally!  Pretty pleased with that, and I'm not far off the actual 5k now either.  Enjoying the running, although definitely now starting to notice the lack of running fitness.  But that will come back!

 

DInner tonight is baked smoked cod with boiled potatoes, carrots, and roast sprouts.  It worked so well last time that it seemed worth making it a more regular occurrence on the menu - and when that's ready we'll be watching more Walking Dead with it!  Halfway through Season 3 now after putting in some serious hours over the weekend...

[Big_Show]

Got a bit behind with this.  Potted summary:

 

Tuesday - chest, shoulders & triceps at the gym after work.  Made progress with all my lifts again - either with more reps towards my target or with higher weights.  Pleased with that work, and then I got cooked for when I got home!  ALways a good thing.

 

Wednesday - weigh-in day!  I'm still exactly the same as I was last week, but considering I had five days off exercise, ate out three days in a row, and drank four days in a row, I feel like this still counts as a win!  Making sure I knuckle down again though - special occasions can't occur every day...

 

Today's training was Couch to 5k, Week 4 Day 2.  Felt a bit easier than last time again, although it was cold enough outside to freeze the balls off a brass monkey!  I think I actually started feeling warm in the last five minutes or so?  Dinner was my turn this time -  I made mixed roasted veg with baked salmon.  Tasted really nice, reckon I'll add this into the dinner rotation more often.

 

Thursday - Leg day.  Ouch.  Made progress on things though, and I still very much hate lunges.  Nothing new there.

 

Dinner tonight was the Welshman's turn - baked gammon with (different) roasted veg.

 

Forgotten what else I was going to mention in this now, but here's a couple of things:

- getting better at not drinking on a school night now.  Had a couple of gins on Wednesday evening, but other than that it's been a dry week.

- our manager bought a box of Quality Street into the office today.  I managed to resist, alhough I did keep trying to come up with excuses why I could have had one anyway.

- got a nerd coming to visit tomorrow night.  We shall be going to my favourite restaurant to eat a lot of very nice food!

[Big_Show]

Weekend update!

 

Friday night was awesome.  We had a visit from a nerd from Camp and went to eat amazing food at a local restaurant, then went on to a couple of pubs.  Great to have a catch up!

 

Saturday was a deliberately lazy day, mainly spent on the sofa watching TV and pottering round the house doing jobs.  I did pop out of the house for my third Couch to 5k run of the week though - as it was light this time I was able to go run along some nearby trails and round a local park, which was much more interesting than just running along the waterfront and back.

 

That evening also involved eating out again on our way to the theatre to watch a comedian (one of my Christmas presents from the Welshman) and it absolutely gorgeous.  Love our nearby restaurants!

 

Sunday was another quiet day in the house, but I did head off to the gym for a Back & Biceps session.  It started off with deadlifts, and I realised that I am now finally lifting more than my own bodyweight at last!  First time since 2016, and I was 10lbs lighter at that point.  So it's also an overall PB as well!

 

Did my meal prep when I got back, so all set up for the week ahead.

 

Monday - somebody just got back from a holiday to Switzerland and very kindly brought back a big tub of Milka chocolates for the office.  Which is just great, because of my long track record of 1) absolutely loving Milka chocolate, and 2) being unable to have "just the one" of anything.  I have therefore spent all day not eating any Milka chocolate, which is just bloody rude & annoying of them.  While also a nice present for the office.

 

Running again this evening - this week started with a 5min walk, then 2x8mins with 2mins recovery in between.  The length of the reps spent running are all creeping up further now, and I'm very much looking forward to going out for one whole continuous run soon!

 

Dinner is in the oven - pork chops & roasted veg.  Probably do a post of food photos shortly if it all looks nice!

[Big_Show]

Pork chops and veg looked better before they went in than the end result - think I need to do my oven shelf tetris a bit better next time...

 

[food photo here]

 

Tuesday has been an ok day - my foot was a bit sore at times in a plantar fasciitis-y kinda way, so I'm taking the rest of the week off running as a precaution and picking it up again on Monday.  We're away for the weekend anyway, so it's not too big a problem.  Plus the hotel we're staying at has a gym & spa so I'm taking kit in the hope of deadlifts.  And if not, there's an Anytime Fitness round the corner I can use anyway.

 

Stuck to my eating again today, but was sorely tempted by the Milka again.  Possibly because I'm also feeling a little bit tired & run-down?  A weekend away will definitely help with that.

 

Anyway, instead of raiding the chocolate supply in the name of Energy I had a big coffee on the train home to get myself psyched up for the Chest, Shoulders & Triceps session at the gym.  It appeared to do the trick, as I made a bit of progress on all the lifts again!  Will do the same before Leg Day on Thursday.

 

Tomorrow is my weigh-in day, and I'm also planning on measuring my waistline for the first time since I started back on this properly - time to see if five weeks of concerted effort has had any effect.  One thing I do know is that I'm already lighter than I was at any point last year, which I have mixed feelings about; on the one hand, my hard work is paying off with tangible results!  On the other hand, my efforts last year were so pathetic that I achieved more in one month than I did in all of 2018.

 

I'm choosing to look on the positive side.  I'm doing better now, and apparently my clothes do already look as if they're fitting better, and I'm getting stronger and also running again.

 

But I'm damn sure going to be keeping my fingers crossed all night until I take those measurements in the morning...

[darkfoxx]

*stage whisper*

YOU HAD BIG ADJUSTMENTS LAST YEAR - CUT YOURSELF SOME DAMN SLACK

/end whisper

But srsly, adjusting to huge life changes takes energy, and you’ve done fantastically - you’re not hella injured, you’re in a great place personally, and you’ve adjusted to different weather and space.

2019 had better watch the F out, ‘cause it’s getting crushed!


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[Big_Show]

Got a bit away from me again here - had a great weekend away, hit a bit of a stumbling block trying to get back into proper eating & workouts again after, but knuckling down better now.  Fuller update coming tomorrow hopefully!

[Big_Show]

Ok, so now I'm back in the room!

 

I really struggled with getting back into things properly last week.  Only ran once, drank during the week a bit, food was decidedly dodgy, and I probably undid some of the progress I made over January.  But it happened, and now it's over, and now my head's back in the right place again.

 

Spent the weekend down in London for a nerd's birthday - much fun, MUCH food, and much booze.  A very good weekend, but it's all left us both feeling the need for a decidedly cheap rest of February.  When we got back yesterday evening I prepped myself some Scotch Eggs for breakfasts again, defrosted the extra portions of beef stew I had saved for lunches, and planned out my week's training.

 

One of the things that helped me refocus is the possibility of a very cheap holiday at the beginning of April - a week in the sun seems incredibly attractive right now, but it would also only be 7 weeks away - this does not leave much time for my plans to shift the timber from my midriff!  Definitely something that helps refocus the mind on a goal.

 

Today I avoided the snacks in the office, and then this evening went out for my run.  I am now up to a whole 22mins running, which I did as an out-and-back route; 2.3M in 22:14.  That 5k is getting tantalisingly close!

 

Dinner was a rather nice pulled gammon with mustard sauce, and I did a load of broccoli, carrots, and sweetcorn to go with it.

 

Got tomorrow's gym workout all planned out and my kit packed too - full steam ahead again now!

[Sloth the Enduring]

Is going to be the Speedo challenge you were contemplating?

[Big_Show]

Is going to be the Speedo challenge you were contemplating?

I thought I had another six months before that... [emoji28][emoji33]

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[Sloth the Enduring]

There’ll be pictures right?