Posts Tagged ‘challenge’

I say this cautiously as the many times I thought I was back on the right track I have fallen off.

There is so much going on in my life, all good though, that I am trying hard to stay committed to looking after me first than letting everything else take over and subvert my efforts.

A new gig as of next week will provide a lot more balance and drive my interest in the digital world further.

Two weeks ago I started a Weight Loss Challenge that is put on by Herballife – $50 in, and over 12 weeks you weight in and all of the money collected gets split among 1st,2nd,and 3rd biggest % of weight lost.

This is the third challenge I have done, I was an arrogant little prick the other times thinking I could just waltz in and take the money without planning and doing the work.

This time is different.

After putting back on 20 kilos last year – the work year from hell, and then giving up smoking after Christmas, and adding a few more, I’ve started the second effort at 147 kilos (just 14 kilos lighter than the very start of saving Alan two years ago), I am not ashamed or despondent, I’m just human. But time to buckle down and get this resolved once and for all. Giving up smoking has actually shown me it’s not that hard, it just takes a bit of commitment and persistence.

So in week one I lost 5.4 kilos or a 3.7% loss of my starting weight. This was with only a 35 minute walk the day before weigh in.

Week two, after re injuring my leg and doing no exercise I lost another 1.3 kilos, giving me a total loss in two weeks of 6.7 kilos or 4.6% of my starting weight.

Over 12 weeks I want to drop 12.5% of my starting weight to have a chance at the money. That means a 18.5 kilo loss and getting back down below 130 kilos, secretely I have a much bigger target in mind, let’s see what happens.

I’ll write more often now and update how I am going about making the change, I may even get a Cooking with Al up online that I shot a year ago.

Ciao for now

In about an hour from now a story that I filmed with Today Tonight will appear on national TV, and I suppose a lot of people who are reading this now have found me because of the story, so welcome.

My story is just like everyone else, not putting myself first, not planning, etc etc I am not unique or super strict, in fact I continue to battle into the second half of the Saving Alan program. I have another 35 kilos to go (I’ve added a few kilos since Nov) an the plan is to get of them between now and the end of December 2010. So the sponsorship is now open again, just fill out the form and commit to X amount of dollars, but only payable if and when I hit my goal weight of 90 kilos. Just click on the sponsor me tab above.

To help you understand my story here is a list of blog posts that will give you a good background. Please drop me a note, leave a message and even sponsor me .. it all helps and keeps me headed in the right direction.

If you’re interested in Bikram Yoga (and you should be) head over to Bikram Yoga Glen Waverley and South Melbourne to discover more.

• So here we go … almost
• My Son will not be condemned
• The starting point
• Over 50 and I’m super
• The first serious break
• Week 9 Update
• 80 years old
• The Physical
• ABC Richard Stubbs Interview
• Little Victories Week 19
• Man’s Week The Path Back
• Who’s right? PTs or me?
• Still Indestructible
• Week 32 Update
• A Perfect Gift for a Man
• Sunday Age – Page 2
• As seen on TV
• Wobbleguts and the Ironman
• And so 2009 comes to a close
• A late Christmas Gift

Connect with m on Facebook and Twitter as well, I need the support and keep coming back each week.

Cheers

Alan

Being a Bikram Yoga newbie is not easy, I’ve been practicing now for almost a year and it doesn’t get any easier. One day you can have a great practice where you seem to progress and then the next session feel like the very first time you’ve been in the hot room. 37-41 degrees with 70% humidity. But even on the bad days it’s better than not doing it all.

I had a two week layoff due to work and travel and got back into it last Thursday, tough class. Good Friday was awesome, Saturday was strong at a new studio in Melbourne’s Bayside and then Sunday was a bit rough. You just never know what you’re going to get.

Today I took the young fella off to the South Melbourne studio for the 9.30am class, and we were joined by former Richmond footballer Nathan Brown doing his very first class. He hung there all the way without sitting out any postures, a great effort for a first time. It was hot and humid in the room, I found it really tough and obviously had added a few cms as I struggled with postures I can normally achieve.

ex Footscray and Richmond player Nathan Brown's first Bikram Yoga session. Pictured with Declan, myself, Jacqui and Karen.

Nathan now does some work for Triple M Melbourne, and I think this session was an on air challenge of some kind. After class he interviewed Declan, who had joined the class for the floor series, and also Maggie the studio director who has been an amazing supporter of Saving Alan. So tomorrow, sometime between 4 and 6 pm we may hear Declan and Maggie on Triple M. If they podcast the section I’ll post a link later.

I love Bikram Yoga, some days not as much as others, but if I am away from it for more that 2 days my practice really suffers, so I need to find ways of making sure I can get there every second day as well as building in the personal training gym that I am also enjoying. The last piece of the puzzle is food, they say that food is 80% of weight loss, and my experiences are telling me that that is right. So it’s time to put some serious effort into getting the food balance right and watch the kilos strip back off.

Now to get my family members into the heat, so far I have three of four willing to take the step, anyone else up for joining a Saturday morning session? – I promise you’ll love it!

Welcome to all the readers who have found Saving Alan through the Sunday Age article today (Jan 17, 2010). The article on Page 2 is titled “Super sized desperate to get things into proportion‘ and covers a bit of how I have gone about losing 43 kilos so far.

Amongst the many things that didn’t get mentioned there are two things that I have found to be very importnt to my success so far and they are;

1. Counseling - understanding what is going on, how I feel and think about myself and starting to get some strategies for change. I am of the very firm belief that in a large proportion of obesity cases the mental health aspect is the underlying disease, not simply the issue of being overweight.
2. Bikram Yoga – a low impact yet intense exercise that has been integral on a number of fronts. Firstly to get me moving without putting too much joint strain, providing the opportunity for the mind to be still (meditation) and gaining a great support network without being judged (unlike the feeling I get in a gym).

One more thing, the cartoon The Age decided to put within the article is a prime example of the ridicule that obese people get all the time. I am not overly offended by it, but it does highlight the stupidity of our media at times just being damn inconsiderate to the plight of the obese and holding them up for ridicule. The outcome of stupidity and deliberate ridicule feel the same. What a shame for a serious article to be diminished by a lack of thought from an editor or sub-editor.

If you’d like to follow my story as it unfolds, connect via Facebook as well as subscribing to the RSS feed on this page.

So here I sit on NYE 2009, just an hour to go until the new year comes and with it more hopes and dreams that I need to find ways of turning into realities. I’m not sure if I am ready, but I wasn’t really ready 11 months ago when I et out on this journey.

It’s been a pretty amazing year by anyone’s standards, here are some of the highlights and lowlights of the year and stories that made it into the 130+ blog posts during 2009.

• Launched Saving Alan, sharing my journey through a blog and social media.
• Appeared on Channel 7 News in January 2009 regarding obesity and genetic research.
• Having a fitness age of 80 and a BMI of over 50 putting me in the “Super Obese” category. (BMI now 37)
• Reducing my risk of heart disease substantially.
• Running a fundraiser for the victims of the vic bushfires with a couple of other local bands and raising over $3,500 in one night
• Lost 40+ kilos from a starting weight of 158 kilograms.
• Sponsorship of $6,400+ for Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute.
• Become a Yogi, loving Bikram Yoga and going on average 2-3 times a week.
• Cooking, skill improved and filmed 8 Cooking with Al sessions, more to come next year.
• Reconnection with old friends and colleagues.
• Generosity, love and support of family and friends.
• Putting myself first sometimes more often.
• Better understanding of what makes me tick and why I make certain choices.
• I like myself a whole lot more.
• Temptations – the failures and the successes, both equally as important.
• On air interview with Richard Stubbs on 774 ABC Radio Melbourne in May.
• Part of Perfect Gift For a Man book for the Inspire Foundation.
• Featured in an article in Sun-Herald on December 13.
• Story coming on Channel 7’s Today Tonight.
• Openly discussing depression and my darkest moments publicly for the first time.
• Started a new band  (a second one)
• Axed from original band of 7 years for personal reasons that they wouldn’t share – don’t you love 30+ year so called friendships.
• Resigned from new band – now selling one of two drum kits.

The key thing was a happy year with lots of time spent with my son. Most of ll I m in a much better and healthier place than this time last year and I have so many wonderful people to thank, which I will, but at another time. It’s getting late, I’m tired and I want to make the 8am Yoga class and set my intent for 2010.

I am enjoying the journey with all it’s highs and lows and twists and turns and look forward to 2010 as an absolute breakthrough year.

I’ll share resolutions / targets with you in the New Year.

Meanwhile have a safe and happy New Year.

Not the best week and half of weight loss, ok maybe weight loss is the wrong description as I went up a little, another wave in the pattern.

I am not too concerned though as I understand exactly what has been happening and how I have reacted to things around me.

As before when work intensity and demands increase I stop putting myself first and take the easy route to putting food in, this is especially apparent in the evenings, when I leave the office and head home only to crank up the computer and continue to work.

I feel back to the old pattern of eating takeaway almost every night until last weeks weigh in, and look at the impact it has had, during this period I was eating well at breakfast and lunch, but the evening meal is highlighted as having a massive impact.

My self justification has simply been that I am too busy to prep and cook a meal at home and it’s easier to grab something on the way home, eat and get back to the outstanding work that needs to be done. The reality is different, it’d be easier to prep and cook and not to mention cheaper as well.

I‘ve had a second thought as well. Some of you may know or realise that I shot an interview with Today Tonight that hasn’t aired as yet and I’ve been using the thought that when that airs people will see me buying takeaway and either pick me up on it or shoot be me crappy looks, so I’ll have to be good and restrict it back to Fat Food Fridays.

The real outcome / learning is that I am still battling to put me first when it comes to food and I need to get back to planning my meals better.

Instead of beating myself mercilessly for a bad week I am going to take a bit of advice from this quote and make sure the next few weeks really count: “Right actions for the future are the best apologies for wrong ones in the past.” Tyron Edwards

It’s Christmas part season, but that is not causing any challenges as I really don’t drink anymore and so drinking water and watching everyone else get wasted is sort of an interesting sport (not in a mean way). With family functions I can plan an give myself some good options, and the family are right behind me so there’ll be no sneaking lollies or other goodies.

So here are last week’s results, the see-sawing continues, but at least I have definitely put he 40 kilos mark to rest forever and now the target is set at 50 kilos. I am still confident that if I eat well, almost regardless of the level of exercise I will drop weight consistently each week. It’s all about the food for me at the moment.

So a week where I gave all the previous weeks loss back, it’s been a common story, 2 steps forward and one step back, but it’s just part of the journey and it doesn’t mean I’ve failed, but just learnt a little bit more.

This could be titled “The Tale of Two Brothers”, I’ll leave the other two aside for he moment, yes I come from a larger family of six children, four boys and two girls.

The six of us were born over an 18 year period (’54 – ’72) and all have a pretty good relationship with each other, at times testy, but that’s to be expected in a family of any size.

My younger brother has never dealt with weight issues, although no doubt has confronted his own challenges over the years, as a father of three and separated he has some of the same situations as me, but thankfully a pretty good relationship with his ex-wife.

As kids growing up I was closer in age to the brother above me and as we reached adulthood we had a lot of friends in common and so became quit tight, whereas little brother was 4 years younger and the relationship not so tight as kids. That has changed and developed as we grew older and no doubt will continue to.

I am incredibly proud of my little brother, he is the Ironman to my Wobbleguts – first let me explain Wobbleguts.

When I first started on the Saving Alan journey one of my forms of xercise was Aqua Aerobics, keeping the weight off my ankle joints and feet which were really suffering due to my size.

One day after class my son and I played in the wave pool and mucked around with a story about a super hero and a villain. I decided to give the superhero the name of Wobbleguts, because ion the swimming pool my belly wobbled like you can’t imagine, much to said sons amusement.

So I am Wobbleguts, he has lived on since that day in the pool some nine months ago through our bedtime stories. We create stories around Captain Wobbleguts and his merry men including Monster Guy, Dark Knight and Golden Ninja – a formidable foursome of force.

When we first started the stories, all my son wanted to do was kill Captain Wobbleguts, but we made a deal that we could only let him die when my belly was pretty much gone. So Wobbleguts, your days are numbered!

Back to my brother. A few years ago he started going to the local gym and getting a little more serious about his body shape (enter vanity comments here …), dropping his golf off which I never thought he would do as he was an avid golfer and was able to get his handicap down to single figures.

He seemed to find a little community and click at the gym which motivated him and the change was evident. From being just a normal lean 40 year old he started to develop some serious guns and went shirtless at every opportunity – so would I with the shape that he developed and how hard he had obviously worked.

But something else happened, the kid who was never into running started to get a bit serious and before I knew it he had clocked up a couple of marathons, sheer lunacy in my book, but little did I know that was just the start.

The next thing to appear was a racing bike (bicycle) and out came the lycra – well it was a great opportunity to show off the physique and the tan! He told me he had joined a Triathlon Team called Tribal, this was going to be interesting because couldn’t really swim very well, how was ever going to survive the swim leg of a Tri?

With gusto he threw himself into the training and now 12 months later he just completed his first (I fear there will be more) Ironman length Triathlon. I am so incredibly proud of him and what he has been able to achieve, how he has gone about it, his single-mindedness to prepare his body and mind plus his ability to juggle his everyday life and still deliver on being a father to three gorgeous kids, a worker, brother, friends and partner.

Our stories are similar in that we have both set out with a goal in mind and are focused on the journey and what we have to do to get there. We both needed to learn more about food and diet, exercise and how our bodies work and their current limitations, and we both need to plan ahead to be able to get everything into our sometimes complex and confusing lives.

So last Sunday I was tracking his progress via the web, saw that he had a great swim, a couple of minutes under his expectation, but the bike didn’t seem to be panning out as expected and so I thought he must have gone into complete meltdown after going too hard in the swim. I’ll let him pick up the story from here in an email he sent around last night;

Hey Everyone,

I am now officially an IRONMAN!!

Didn’t quite break 12 hrs. It was 12hrs 18min. But I am absolutely rapped.

The day was hot and windy. 30+ degrees, sunny and windy. Not ideal conditions. At least the water temperature was under 24 degrees so I could wear a wetsuit.

Did the swim in 1hr 18min. A couple mins quicker than planned. I swam really well. Controlled and easy. It felt awesome for a guy who couldn’t swim 100m 12 months ago. 143rd out of 194 in my age group (there must be 51 absolute nuff nuff swimmers…lol). This was by far the biggest thing I achieved. I have carried a fear of swimming and deep water for 30+ years.

Everyone wants to know about my 12min transition. That is embarrassing. But by the time i did my hair!!! I cant believe it was that long. Something to work on!!

The ride was a little disappointing. I rode to heart rate (77-80% of max heart rate) and just couldn’t get the speed up to what I wanted because it felt like we were riding into a head wind all day. It was probably a cross wind that was only a tail wind for a few km’s each lap. I decided to keep to heart rate rather than speed and destroy the legs for the run. I had a little mechanical problem towards the end of the first lap. Had to stop twice because the cadence sensor came loose and was hitting the pedal/crank. Fixed it ok the second time. Struggled on the bike around the 140-150km mark. Didn’t help that they ran out of sports drinks at the drink stations and only had warm/hot water or cola left. So I had to adjust the nutrition plan a little (Kath taught me well). But I coped. So I did a 6hr 20min 180km ride. 144th out of 194.

The run was fantastic, if you can say that after 180km ride. During the first 2km, I was thinking Olympic distance tri’s are a lot better option (10km run)…lol. But I got into a really good rhythm. I worked out I had to run a sub 4hr marathon. But it would have meant pushing my heart rate beyond 85% for the whole run. I again decided to run to 78-80% of max heart rate so I wouldn’t blow up. Which meant at the end of the first lap (14km) I knew I wasn’t going to break 12hrs, but I didn’t care.

I felt strong and was moving really well. But the run leg was like a battle zone. People doubled over with cramp, vomitting and struggling to just walk. I can’t believe how many younger and fitter guys I ran past (they all went too hard in the ride and paid the penalty). But the highlight was interacting with the crowd. I played it up alll along the run. Ordering beers, hamburgers, taxi’s, singing, high 5ing kids, and generally joking with different groups. I did this so I would look forward to seeing these groups at different parts of the course.

The last lap i started to feel it in the legs a bit and slowed. But it wasn’t about time at that stage, it was about taking it all in. And not walking at any stage, which I am happy to say i didn’t walk….ran all the way. Running down the finishing chute was unbelievable (the true highlight of the day). The support crew was towards the start of the chute. Hi-5’s all round and then sucked in the last 150m. It was awesome coming over the line. I felt like i could have done another lap. I was not in distress at all. So i ended up doing a 4hr 20min marathon which I was rapped with considering the amount of people i passed. 43rd out of 194 (266th male out of 966). Somehow running has become my strength.

So over all 12hr 18min. 90th out of 194 in my age group. 463rd male out of 966. And i am now an ironman, and planning the next.

Kath gave me some fantastic advice on Friday night. If I wasn’t smiling for 95% of the time, I shouldn’t be there. It was so true. So I decided to take that into the race. So I joked and chatted my way around the whole bike and run course. And it just puts you in a different mindset. It made my day so enjoyable. There were lots of people who went quicker than me, but I doubt that there was many who enjoyed it as much as I did. The spectators and volunteers were awesome.

The Tribal (the Tri squad i am a member of) cheer squad was awesome to. It was great to see Kath and a mate Nathan every lap. There smiles almost matched mine. It was great to have someone special watching along the way and at the finish and to talk about it afterwards. The coach was over here to and was great to have him here to keep an eye on me.

The house I am staying in is a Rockstar party house. So it should for $5000 per week (thank god we filled it with close to 10 people for most of the week). Wait for the pics on Facebook. Although there are 19 stairs to my bedroom. They have been a struggle until today. The legs are recovering well. I have shared the house with 2 Pro triathletes (one competed at the Olympics last year). And a few others have come and visited and it has been a great week. Just the 3 of us left now and heading back to Melbourne tomorrow.

So it has been an incredible journey and experience particularly for my first ironman. Now I have to prepare for my next. Port Macquarie. Very hilly and demanding, but it will a great challenge. Sis has already volunteered to come down as support.

Well that’s all for now. look forward to seeing everyone very soon. And i can tell you all about it in person. Thanks for all your messages, they have been appreciated.

Paul (Official Ironman)

The moral of the story – if anyone notices me starting to follow little brothers path – stop me! It’s starts with a bike and ends in lunacy.

The real moral of course is I just need to do things in the moment, for the fun, for the enjoyment, for the journey. I need to enjoy the personal challenge and you never quite know what I’m capable of.

So my journey continues with no defined events to compete in etc and I’ll pick up new things as I go and discard others as ell, most important is that I find things I enjoy and that enthuse me.

At 158 kilos no form of exercise got me excited, but things change if just give yourself a chance, schedule your world a little, live in the moment and with intent amazing things can be achieved.

Bro, thanks for letting me post your email, you inspire me.

Just got a message via Facebook from Jan, I’ll share it with you;-

“Longie. I had no doubt that you would. NOW though is where you get my real support. Whats the next goal? Don’t give me a weight goal, give me an event. x”

I must admit I have only had a weight goal that I thought would give me a good omfortable feel about myself physically, I never had an intention of doing any event of ny kind to prove my fitness or that I had achieved something.

But I m open to the idea of participating in an event although I really don’t know what is out there. One thing we can knock out straight away is the idea of doing a marathon, just not interested in running for 43 kilometres (that’s what cars are for).

So I need your suggestions for something I can target as a goal for next year.

I’ll collate the ideas and put them to communal vote and that will become a goal.

Over to you!

I’ve just read  couple of really interesting articles about The Biggest Loser. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is a great show from the perspective of allowing us to see the hard work that goes into shifting large amounts of weight, it is inspiring to hear peoples story and the challenges they have to overcome.

But ..

The missing elements I think are the most important i) Cooking ii) Psychological

Imagine if Biggest Loser incorporated cooking challenges as well, had some top chefs in teaching kitchen skills and really focusing on upskilling the contestants ability to prepare and plan healthy meals. It would be huge, just look at the Masterchef success.

I have found that I can do little exercise in a week and move weight if I eat really well, but if I eat poorly and do loads of exercise then the weight doesn’t drop anywhere near the same degree. So food (planning and ability) is by far the most important element in shedding weight. I remember a girl I used to work with, who had a personal trainer who would work her so hard, but she would continue to eat poorly and drink too much, and couldn’t understand why she wasn’t seeing the outcomes she expected.

It’s one thing, but the combination of all things, let one thing slip and it has an impact.

Psychology, in most cases (I’d venture to say all cases, but have not stats to prove either way) there are underlying psychological reasons for overeating / obesity. It would be so cool to see how Biggest Loser support their contestants with counseling support through their journey – here I am making the assumption that they do provide daily support to help on that front. if they don’t then I am really disappointed and shocked.

The articles I mentioned ask the question “who is going to be the first to sue ‘The Biggest Loser?’”

The concern about heart attacks, unhealthy habits like severe fasting and the use of diuretics (Warney). The first winner of the US season Ryan Benson lost 122 pounds of his 330 pount starting weight (I’ve lost 88.6 pounds in 10 months, starting at 347), is now back to over 300 pounds. Others have admitted to adding 20% of their final weight since the show, one even saying that she added 31 pounds in just two weeks mainly drinking water.

The other thing the articles raise is the document  the contestents sign to say they believe themselves to be “in excellent physical, emotional, psychological and mental health”, come off it, if any them answered that honestly there would be no TV series.

Anyway check out the stories, they are an interesting read about how we can take something so serious and at times trivialise it in the name of entertainment, when the opportunity exists to be just as entertaining and have some lasting benefit for viewers and contestants alike.

The Hollywood Reporter – Who will be the first to sue ‘The Biggest Loser‘?

New York Times – On Reality Show to Lose Weight, Health Can Be Lost in Frenzy

21 hours until final weigh in of the challenge – but am not fasting or dehydrating myself, the honest story is far more compelling.

If anyone knows any of the Australian contestents from previous seasons I’d love to meet and interview them, drop me a line.

I travelled to Sydney last week to present at a business conference, which was great fun, lots of positive affirmation and some really interesting and smart people (Photo’s here and here). Had some great meetings as well and because the Sydney team don’t see me that often they are always amazed at how much weight I have lost and that is a buzz as well, because I live with it every day I don’t see the change as being dramatic, and I suppose it isn’t really, on average just under 1 kilogram a week.

Most of you would know that I was a contributor to the book “The Perfect Gift for a Man”, if not head over to the site and buy a book for every man in your life – go on, do it now!. Anyway through that experience and twittering and blogging about it a journalist from the Sun-Herald in Sydney found my story and was interested in talking to me further about it.

Without hesitating I agreed to meet and so on Tuesday night I met with features writer Nick Galvin and photographer Quentin (as in the famous Quentin’s Arch at Walsh Bay) to share more of my story and why I decided to go the route of being so public about my battle with weight and the depression / melancholy behind it.

I’ve dealt with enough journos over the years to have a healthy mistrust of being misquoted or worse misunderstood, but Nick was fantastic and we had a wide ranging chat about my life.

I don’t consider my story, my life or what I am doing now as that amazing or inspiring (this is not a fishing expedition for support) but I do get that the weight loss story has enough different issues that there will be something there that will resonate with most people if they have some level of insight.

Nick’s opening line was “so when is the book coming out?”

I am really not considering a book, a movie or anything else, I just want to get rid of the weight and teach myself the skills that enable me to reach that end and keep it off for good. I reckon the last thing the world needs is another bloody diet book, although that I would never attempt. They say never say never, so who knows? I saw a clairvoyant in April ‘08 and she said that I would write a book about something that I had achieved, so maybe I will or maybe I wont?

Anyway next Sunday (29 November) there will be a story on Saving Alan in the Sydney newspaper the Sun-Herald. I hope they can get it published in the Melbourne Age as well, fingers crossed, and I hope that it generates that last minute fundraising push that I am after.

Thanks Nick and Quentin, for being interested in Saving Alan and for the care and support you showed during our chat.