So, like a lot of people out there, I have struggled with my weight for pretty much forever. I’ve gone on countless diets, some gimmicks and some legit, lost the weight and put it back on again. The failures have been soul-crushing and demoralising, and I engage in what feels like an endless cycle of self-loathing and denial.

It’s about getting healthy, strong and fit. About climbing a flight of stairs without losing my breath, keeping up with the kids, taking the dogs for a walk and not being exhausted. About getting my BMI down from the very obese range. About making sure I don’t develop further health complications, like diabetes (I have struggled with high insulin levels).

Fast forward to 2018, when I made the commitment to start exercising on a regular basis and get more active. I have a desk job and a largely sedentary lifestyle (here’s looking at you Netflix). I began boxing and martial arts classes twice a week for an hour with personal trainer Mark. He’s great and for the first time fitness became fun. For someone who hadn’t worked out since high school, this was a major victory. As we progressed I felt more confident, capable and a lot more energetic. So along with my wife Nadia (Spoiler Alert: she’s amazing), I started getting more active on the weekends too…5km Park Runs and the odd 12km hike.

I am so proud of myself for making these changes, but the weight hasn’t come off. I put it down to three main factors:

1. Diet: I do eat well…home cooked meals, few processed foods, little sugar, sodas and minimal carbs but I have bouts of binge eating. Pizza and other fast foods,  and chocolate. Cravings are a bitch. Just over the 2018 Christmas period, I put on 4kgs with the constant snacking and feasting.
2. Alcohol: I really do love beer and have become quite keen on craft beer. My weekly Tuesday quiz night includes a few draughts, and I love a beer or two (three) on the weekend. It’s also been really hard for me to have social interaction without alcohol to grease the wheels.
3. Exercise: Even though it was a great step forward, twice a week with some light activity on the weekend wasn’t enough to see the desired gains.

So this leaves me at 2019, heavier than I’ve ever been and determined to see my fitness and health goals through. In the spirit of Stephen Duneier’s TEDx Talk on how to achieve your most ambitious goals, I am going to make small adjustments to my daily routine and build upon those changes to reach my desired results.

The 90 Day Game Plan

I’ve made it 90 days as this is a manageable time frame for me and makes it psychologically more achievable in my head.

1. Up my sessions with Mark to 4 times a week, with 2 x 1-hour boxing sessions and 2 x 1-hour high-intensity training sessions. This begins on 28 January for a 3-month trial.
2. Cut-down on alcohol. 1 beer a week…for reals [insert crying face].
3. I’ve downloaded the 30 Day Fitness Challenge App and have started with a medium workout. Going to add some weight training to this, and see it through for the first 30 Days and up the difficulty after that.
4. Make better and smarter food decisions, especially when it comes to fast food. No specific diet as I’ve found that a heavily restricted diet increases my cravings because my desire for certain foods goes off the charts when they are forbidden.
5. Avoid stepping on the scale other than at milestone points (30, 60 and 90 days) to avoid becoming demotivated.
6. Walk/hike 5-10kms once on a weekend.
7. Combine my love of writing, with this new challenge and keep this blog as a personal diary and motivational tool.

Lord knows it’s not as simple as 7 steps, and it’s going to seriously suck at points but I’m going to give it a go anyway. Let’s step it up.