Positive Health Steps

Today is the day that I start recording the steps I am undertaking on the road to a slimmer and healthier person. I will write down my goals for all to see and make a daily record in the blog on what I have done for the day toward achieving that goal. As this is the first post, I need to put down my starting weight so that you can see my progress. I will weigh in once a week, every week until I reach my goal.

Starting Weight: 97.2 Kilograms - 213.8 lbs
Goal Weight: 75 kilos - 165 lbs
Desired Weight Loss = 22.2 kilos - 48.8 lbs
Finish Date: 06/30/2008

Well there it is. I have put that all down and now you can see if I keep to my word. If there ever was motivation for losing weight, then telling the world what you are about to do is certainly way up there.

It feels good to write down your goals and make a firm decision to undertake any life changing event. If you want to save money, find a new job or lose weight, like I an doing, write down all your goals so that you know firmly what you want to achieve. You may not have to go to the trouble of starting a blog to tell the world, but show what you want to achieve to your partner or a close friend so they can support you. It's easier if you have somebody in your corner to keep you motivated and to encourage you to stick to your plan.

Please come back often and leave a comment in the blog to encourage me. If you have a few hints that can help, share it with us all. There are many who might like to join the challenge and work toward their own goals that you can help.

It was a lovely morning for a walk. We were up early and looking forward to the exercise and the fresh ocean air. We live in one of the world's most beautiful tropical places which many feel is a half a step away from paradise. Mackay, Queensland, Australia is indeed very special.

The walk we take is about 30 minutes one way and 30 minutes return. It follows the road across the breakwater constructed to form the Mackay Marina. You can imgine the walk, the ocean on one side of the road and the marina on the other. Absolutely beautiful.

Quite often we see marine life and will take a camera with us always, just in case something pops it's head above water. We quite often see a turtle and hope we can get a picture one day to show.

Walking for at least 30 minutes a day is regarded as a great form of exercise and burns off around 100 to 150 calories, depending on your weight. So I burn around 300 calories which is about what I consume for lunch each day. That's a great way to burn calories and lose weight. As I become fitter I will walk faster which will burn more calories.

I have been watching what I eat and keeping food consumption down to under 1500 calories per day since I got back from holidays. I actually put weight on during the holiday, 3 kilos, so have to work it all off and more. My weight the other day was down to 97.2 kilos. I will weigh in again in 3 days.

I have been eating healthy, fish and salads, which will also help my cholesterol problem. That's enough for today, see you again tomorrow.

Just a few days into my weight loss program and I can feel my clothes slightly looser already. I haven't weighed myself as yet, that comes tomorrow moning, but you know by your clothes that it's working. Just as you know by your clothes when you put weight on.

We have been eating delicious dinners which are low in calories and will continue to lose weight naturally, not following fad diets. I want to avoid fatty food while eating a little healthier and to that aim we have incorporated fish such as tuna and salmon where we can. They are high in Omega 3 oils which will help lower my cholesterol level. With the exercise, weight loss and healthy eating, hopefully I can reduce the medication that I take for cholesterol.

Here is a great recipe that my partner makes with tuna and pasta. It is really delicious, the pasta makes you feel satisfied and the tuna is so good for health.

Yesterday I had a fair workout in the gym. Walking is great but they say that humping weights will burn more calories, so I will try to mix up my exercise with walking, a gym session or 2 each week and a game of golf. Mixing it up will also keep me from being bored with the one type of exercise.

I decided to make every Monday morning weigh in day to see the progress of my weight loss program. So here it is ...

Todays wieght is 95.2 kilos or 209 lbs. My starting weight was 97.2 kilos.

This is a weight loss of 2 kilos or 4.4 lbs since starting on my program. Great start and I am certainly happy by the result. Wooooo Hoooooo. Okay so it's only two kilos, but remember a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step.

I am also happy that I decided to go with the program that I am doing as if a person goes to Jenny Craig, or takes diet drinks, etc, one day they have to rejoin the real world and eat normally and that is when they usually put all the weight back on. I am learning to watch what I eat and consider the calories in food before I put it into my mouth, so am totally aware what is going in.

Television series such as the Biggest Loser tackles weight loss in the same manner, teaching contestants to count calories and exercising hard to burn more calories than they comsume. I consider that their program a bit drastic, in that their weight loss is very quick and could be harmful to health.

Gradual weight loss over a longer period is ideal and is flexible so that a person can go out for dinner sometimes and eat without counting the calories, but working hard during the week to compensate for the added calories.

This week I have kept calories to a maximum 1500 per day, which is around ideal for gradual weight loss when combined with moderate exercise. I have included chicken and fish into the diet and will continue to eat sensibly, staying away from fatty fried food in particular.

It feels good to lose those 2 kilos. I have taken the first step toward meeting my goal of losing 20 kilos over 12 months. Now to lose another kilo during this week.

It is possible that by counting calories you can lose weight without changing your diet habits or exercise regime. Just by knowing how many calories you consume and making sure that you don't eat more than your body needs, weight loss can be possible.

Most overweight people eat too much, that's how they got to be overweight in the first place. So if you reverse that situation and eat less than what your body needs, you will lose weight.

If you take the time to see how many calories are in the food you eat, you will soon know what you are eating without having to read the labels or carry a book around with you. It's fairly simple to remember the calories a slice of white bread contains or how many calories in that bucket of chips. You don't need to be one hundred percent accurate either. If you are out by ten percent it's not really going to spoil the overall benefit of counting calories to lose weight.

Men need over 1500 calories per day, so if you want to lose weight keep your calorie count under 1500. Women need less than men so keeping a womens calorie count down around 1000 will do the same for them.

So if you want a chocolate cookie, remember that it costs about 120 calories of your daily allowance. Can you eat it, of course you can as long as you trade off other food.

Diets don't have to be absolute misery, they just need you to watch the amount that goes into your mouth. Count calories, then eat what you want up to your calorie limit.

I have found vegetables to be a good friend since deciding to lose weight. Whenever I feel empty I have more vegetables on my plate to bulk my belly up without consuming many calories.

Vegetables have other great benefits also, they are rich in fibre, vitamins and minerals and make the bowels work. Something that men need to consider because men are more susceptible to bowel cancer.

You rarely see an overweight vegetarian, so right there we should pay more attention to putting more vegetables into our diet. Every serve of vegetables is only around 20 calories on average. So you can see how, let's say, a serve of carrots, cabbage, broccoli and peas would be nice and filling, yet be only around one hundred calories. Pretty good figures really.

Add the fact there is almost not fat, no cholesterol, yet high in essential vitamins, we have something we should consider eating much more.

Want to lose weight? Put more veggies on your plate and less meat. They taste delicious and are very good for you too.

Today was weigh in day again and I am so glad to say that I have lost weight again this week. Todays weight is 94.4 kilos or 207.6 lbs. Down from last weeks weight of 95.2 kilos.

Weight loss for the week is .8 of a kilo or 1.76 pounds. I would have liked to see a full kilo but that's a loss and that's what I want to see, a gradual loss.

While there is a long way to go to get to my goal of 75 kilos, I am on the right track. Eating healthy does lose weight and I am actually enjoying the food I eat.

I also visited my doctor this morning to get a few sunspots checked. He froze 6 sunspots off which won't turn into skin cancers now. I mention the doctors visit because my blood pressure has improved from the last visit. Now that's a direct result of weight loss plus exercise.

This week I am going to reinforce the healthy eating program and looking forward to trying different foods with low calories and low fat content. It is exciting actually to read the nutritional value of food and to look up on the internet just what benefits that food gives to your overall health.

I feel good, I hope you do also.

We purchased an electric steamer so that we can cook our food a little more healthier and I am quite surprised with the way that food cooked this way tastes.

First night we cooked a boned rolled chicken, which was seasoned with herbs and added potatoes, carrots and green vegetables. Normally you would roast or bake a chicken roll and cook it in fat with roast potatoes, etc. Doing it in the steamer, it cooked just as good as a roast without the added calories of the fat. And it tasted just like a roast dinner. This probably saved about 200 calories just steaming everything. A good saving without sacrificing the taste.

I am starting to like the way we are taking our food. Thinking how many calories are in a certain food certainly keeps you away from the junk food.

The night before we were a little rushed for time and decided to get some fast food. We headed straight for Subway instead of McDonalds or some other fatty food place. Grabbed a sub and drove to the beach to eat it before heading for home. It was delicious, low in calories and the ocean looked beautiful just on sundown. The great part is that we can live a fairly normal lifestyle yet still maintain a healthy eating regime. Fast food doesn't have to mean junk food.

One of the places that I can cut down on calories is the milk I put into my coffee and tea. I have around 6 cups per day, so the calories add up if I use full cream milk. Full cream milk contains around 65 calories per 100 mls, which is roughly the amount which goes into my large coffee mug. That’s almost 400 calories a day consumed just in coffee and tea. I need to lower those calories.

While searching the cooler at the supermarket, looking for a light milk that tastes as good as full cream milk, I discovered Heart Active Milk. Heart Active Milk contains plant sterols, which according to research, lowers cholesterol.

Now thinking how I can naturally lower my cholesterol level without giving up too much of my lifestyle, this seems to fit perfectly into my eating habits. I love my coffee breaks during the day and Heart Active Milk contains little fat, 40 calories per 100 mls, plus the added benefit of the cholesterol lowering plant sterols. Sounds good, but does it taste good too?

Well why not give it a try, so into the basket it went and at home I was pleasantly surprised that there is little taste difference to full cream milk. Another benefit that this Heart Active Milk contains is high calcium, so it's not only good for men, women will find it a useful product also.

Now let’s recap: Heart Active Milk contains;
45 Calories per 100 mls
0.32 grams plant sterols
123 mg calcium

By using Heart Active milk in my coffee, I can lower my calorie intake by roughly 150 calories per day plus lower my cholesterol, according to their guidelines, by 15 % over a 3 week period. I'm sold.

Perhaps this could be a good choice for you also, just remember to check with your doctor to make sure it's a good product for you, but it certainly seems a good substitute for full cream milk to cut down on those calories without hurting taste.

It's weigh in day again and I have lost a little more weight. I feel great and the positive encouragement that I am receiving from family and friends is fantastic.

So what was my weight today.

Last week I weighed in at 94.4 kilos or 207.6 lbs. Today I jumped on the scales and weighed 93.9 kilos, which is 206.58 lbs. Total loss for the week half a kilogram or one pound.

I like that result because I did got to a resturant during the week for a large steak and last night we had a family roast dinner with all the trimmings. I lived and ate fairly normally and still managed to lose weight.

Another positive health step on the road to a slimmer body and untangled mind.

I bumped into a young lad I know who looked incredible since the last time I saw him. He has lost over 20 kilos and has gone from a 5x shirt size down to a normal large. Fantastic.

Naturally enough he was very proud of his achievement and I invited him to make his own blog here with us, to share his thoughts and tell otheres how he achieved this remarkable result.

He said he would think about it and get back to me, he does run his own nusic website, plays guitar in a band and studies, so is a little pushed for time. He stated that there was no real secret behind his weight loss. He simply put less food into his belly, did not snack out after dinner and stopped eating junk food. No fizzy soda drinks unless it was the no sugar diet variety and tried to get a bit of exercise everyday..

One other recommendation he made was as soon as you feel full, stop eating. Doesn't matter how much is left on the plate, stop and leave it as soon as your belly is satisfied.

Now if a 17 year old lad can do it, you should be able to lose weight also. Let's hope he takes up the offer to make a blog on this site. We could learn a lot from a positive lad such as he is.

Another new week comes around and again I stepped on the scales to positive news. Lost a full kilo or 2.2 pounds, wow that's gratifying.

During the week I didn't go and exercise more or anything like that, just watched those calories that I consumed and made sure there was no blow-out. It seems quite easy now after a month of eating sensibly to continue down the same path. And I haven't even felt like getting stuck into junk food at all.

I am now looking forward to getting under the 90 kilograms mark during this coming month of August. I have made a goal to be 89 point something kilos on the 1st of October. I know I can do it so join me on my weekly weigh in day to watch the progress.

I love walking around the Goose Ponds area, both for exercise and to take photos of the geese, ducks and lake. It's an absolutely beautiful area but have found it certainly is not user friendly. If you go to the park near dusk you are eaten alive by mosquitoes and at other times by sand flies.

I tried walking faster in the hope that the biting bugs might not be as quick as I am, but alas that didn't quite work for me. I bought a can of aerosol spray but that seemed to keep the mossies away but not the sand flies and they bite worse that the mossies.

So I went online and found a few natural remedies to combat mosquito bites and have put up a page about natural remedies to cure mossie bites. Hope they help others as some certainly have worked for me.

We continue to eat healthy and tonight had a delicious dinner of Honey Chicken Kebabs and steamed vegetables with home made garlic and chives finishing sauce. It was only 450 calories all up and really filling. Keeping calories down is great and is now so easy to do being in the 4th week of our weight loss program. I am perfectly on track to reach my goals and have actually set a mini goal of being under 90 kilos by the 1st of October. Thats 2.5 kilos to lose in the next 3 weeks so I know I can reach that goal.

Funny how steamed vegetables taste so good where once I would shudder at the thought of eating them. Most of it was in my mind. What's in yours? Do you like steamed veggies?

On my walk this morning I noticed many young people doing what some of us need to do. These young people don't seem to need to exercise to lose weight, they just seem to be out enjoying the morning sun and being active.

Perhaps they walk for fitness reasons or to make sure they maintain good weight figures, whatever reason it was great to see them out and about, enjoying one anothers company and having a good time.

And it is great to go exercising with somebody else. My usual walking partner didn't make it today as she hurt her knee last week and slightly twisted it again yeasterday. I certainly missed the company and the banter we usually keep up during our walk.

Yet you can enjoy exercising by yourself by noticing things you usually walk past without noticing. Perhaps because we talk so much we miss the finer things such as how much others seem to enjoy their walks. Not only that, little things like the striking colors of flowers, how the wind was blowing in the trees and the sun reflecting off windows, all were striking this morning.

There is certainly more to walking than putting one foot in front of the other.

Another weigh in day and I only lost .2 of a kilo for the week. Certainly not my best result, but after losing a full kilo last week I suppose it is an acceptable amount. On the positive side, it is still a weight loss, not a gain, so I am still moving in the right direction.

To be totally honest, I didn't exercise as much this last week as I have previously. It rained on my usual golf days, so that didn't occur, and my walks were fewer also. Plus I did go out for dinner twice and a breakfast meeting once where I didn't count calories. What this does prove though is by eating sensibly for most of the time, weight loss is still possible.

Well this week I will be back on track, the weather has cleared and there are no social gatherings on this weeks calendar. Looking forward to the next weigh in day.

Todays Weight = 92.3 kilos or 203.06 pounds
Starting weight was 97.2 kilos
Total weight loss to date = 4.9 kilos or 10.78 pounds

After the initial shock that your body gets from you starting to exercise, (just kidding) you can really start to enjoy the surroundings and the beauty of the area.

It doesn't matter if you are walking around a heavily populated neighborhood or in open space parks and gardens, there is always something different going on that can take your eye.

Where I walk most of the time is along the edge of the ocean and towards a marina. This is the path to the right when I begin the walk. Yes, I feel so lucky to live in such a beautiful area, but sometimes I just walk around the local neighborhood to save the short drive to the coast. The main thing I keep in mind is that I get to walk for at least 30 minutes to do my heart good.

But after awhile, going for a walk in the morning or afternoon doesn't seem such a slog, it becomes enjoyable. Who would ever think that exercise could actually become enjoyable. I pass others doing the same thing and they smile and say hello. Some are walking their dogs, some are with friends or partners and others are alone just enjoying the time in the open air.

All of them have a smile on their faces. They are not only doing their bodies good, they are creating positive healthy minds, and when you do that life becomes so much lovelier.

Yesterday I took my camera along with me and just grabbed a few shots of the area I thought you may like to see. I actually looked a bit closer at a bird and saw something that wasn't that great, poor seagull had a fish hook in it's mouth and it looked to be suffering quite a bit.

Sometimes some things you see when exercising are not all that beautiful, yet it is interesting and a part of everday life, which is such a grand thing to be involved with. Life, be part of it. Get outside and start really living.

I previously mentioned that turning you hobby into exercise would reap results and for me that certainly came true. I was out walking last evening and there was a whale going past the Marina breakwater. Yes, I had my camera with me and got a shot.

The whale was a fair way out and my camera hasn't a large zoom lens so it's not a shot with great detail. After a little zooming in with photoshop, you can see the splash of the whales tail. With the naked eye we could just see the blow as the whale surfaced and a splash, so to get that tail image with a bit of software manipulation was a good result.

Now this sighting of the whale is a particular thrill for me as I actually took a trip south a month or so ago to go whale watching. To have a whale in your backyard so to speak, is very special and I went home after my walk very boyant about the experience.

And right there is the benefit of getting out and being active. You may not see a whale like I did, it may be a child smiling or a bird flying past that will give you a great feeling of satisfaction, but there will be something if we choose to look.

The only things we will see from the couch is the rubbish on television, not the real beauty where we live. Getting out and walking will refresh both your mind and your body. Life is so good you can't afford to waste a moment of it.

I am really getting into the swing of making your hobby into exercise. This morning I awoke early and went to the beach for a photo shoot.

Now before you go and say that going to the beach to take photos is not exercise, try lugging camera bags and tripod along a soft stretch of sand and you will see that it certainly is good exercise. Just being out of bed early and doing something is better than nothing at all.

So there we were this morning down the beach just before the sun came up and ready for the greatest show on earth. There is nothing like the crisp colours of the morning sun and mother nature really put on a show for us this morning.

We got some magnificent shots and as we were packing up we heard an incredible sound on the water. A pod of Humpback whales were going past and tail slapping, then one breached out of the water and it was an amazing sight. Unfortunately I didn't have my zoom lens on the camera and almost panicked when I realized that it was in the car. Yes I got back to the car quickly. Now that's exercise.

Unfortunately by the time I had got the zoom lens, the whales had moved out to sea a little too far for my camera's range. I will have to get a larger lens and be more prepared in future.

You just never know what you will see when you go exercising early in the morning.

I am really looking forward to the next weigh in day as I feel like I have lost a fair bit of weight since last week. I have to pull the belt in another notch to stop my pants from falling down and the pants are looking baggy around my bottom.

Counting calories is really an easy way to lose weight. I really haven't done much different than normal except keep a check on how many calories I have consumed. With a bit of forward planning, thinking about what I eat in advance, it is quite simple to stick to the 1500 calories per day limit that I have set.

Exercise has still been moderate. I am really enjoying making my hobby of photography into an exercise routine and getting great shots while moving the body. You can view some of the photographs here on Flickr. Hopefully the cholesterol levels will benefit from the change in diet and extra exercise also.

The next blog post will be weigh in day tomorrow so I have the fingers crossed for a good result. It's been a great week for me. I have seen whales, the photos are improving in quality and I reckon I have lost a fair bit of weight.

How have you been going?

Another weigh in day rolls around and I was a little disappointed with the result today. I weighed in at 91.0 kilos but felt I had lost more than that. My pants seem very loose and the belt has to be tightened at least a full notch from last week, but it is a loss of 1.3 kilos and a great result nevertheless.

This is a really positive result in the right direction and I am still on track to meet the mini goal of being below 90 kilos by October 1.

Overall since August 9, 2007, I have shed 6.2 kilograms or 11.44 lbs. Pretty good weight loss results for a 5 week period. Let's just recap on what changes I have made to lose those kilos.

Keep calories consumed to around 1500 or under per day.
Do moderate exercise 2 to 3 times per week of at least 30 minutes duration.
Made a hobby of photography that takes me out and about for 2 or 3 photo shoots per week.

Those changes to my lifestyle can't be called drastic changes. What it does do is highlight the need to eat sensibly, stay on track and stick with your resolve to lose weight. Just small changes can bring about a weight loss and over time the weight that comes off becomes very satisfying figures, both in terms of the weight lost and the benefit of a good looking body.

My belly doesn't look like a basketball anymore. It's still like a big pot belly but has lost that blown up bloated look. My clothes are getting loose and I feel so much better and can do things like tying up my shoe laces, washing my feet in the shower and getting up off the ground so much easier already.

I am really excited to think what I will feel like in 6 months from now. I hope you are excited also about your progress on the road to a slimmer, fitter, better looking you.

Eating healthy and losing weight doesn't mean you have to eat food you don't enjoy. In fact it can be a totally enjoyable experience and something to fully share with your friends and family.

Being on a health kick, I have researched foods that are low in calories and high on the goodness scale, so yesterday I decided to give my gorgeous partner the day off from the kitchen and made the evening meal.

Being an entirely new recipe that I invented in my head on the spur of the moment, I did have a little apprehension if it would taste good, but really it was a no brainer, except for the salad dressing. I really didn't know how that would turn out but decided to give it a go anyway.

I called my recipe Healthy Heart Salmon Salad and got to work putting it together. Yeah, I know ladies, you really have to work very hard to spoil a salad so I was taking the easy way out, but I was proud of working out how to make the salad dressing, just hope it actually tastes good.

My biggest consideration when dreaming up this recipe was to keep calories low while trying to add Omega 3 into my diet to combat the high cholesterol problem. Salmon fits the bill perfectly and I enjoy the taste very much. Also using the canned variety made my job so much easier. Total calories are only around 250 per serve. You can see the Healthy Heart Salmon Salad recipe here!

My wife sat down and asked me where I got the recipe for the salad dressing and I kind of think she was expecting it to be a little strange. I was quite relieved when she gave it a taste and put the thumbs up. I asked her later if I should make it again one day and she enthusiastically said I should.

I wonder if it really tasted good or she just wants to get out of cooking?

Anyway, after the success of the Healthy Heart Salmon Salad I have dreamed up some more recipes I will try over the coming weeks. Now I won't do the cooking everynight because I don't want to spoil my partner, but will do one or two a week just so I can have something delicious to eat.

Hmmmm I hope my wife doesn't read this blog, I could be in trouble. :)

Yesterday was a busy yet very rewarding day. So many positives come from keeping busy and so much enjoyment can come from those positives.

Some might consider how my day started as something negative. I had to go for a blood test to check those high cholesterol levels. I find this a real positive as I know where the main danger is to my continuing health. We all know that high cholesterol is the major contributor to heart attacks and strokes, so yes it's a positive to know the danger.

After the blood test, where I will get the results in about a week, I purchased a polarizing filter for my camera and on the way home stopped at a local beach to check if the area would have some good scenes for taking images of a sunrise. It is marvelous what happens when you haven't got your camera with you. While there a group of black cockatoos were feeding on the ground, which is quite rare, but we quickly drove home grabbed the cameras and got some great shots of these beautiful Australian native birds.

Back home I hit the office and did some work for a few hours before my evening exercise. I chose a beach side area about a 10 minute drive from home to take a walk and of course took the cameras to film the sunset. Wow we really got something special from nature and there’s is an image I captured below for you to see.

I had a nice dinner planned with my wife, so on arrival home after cleaning up a little, I cooked the evening meal. Of course it was a low calorie meal to keep in sync with the continuing weight loss program but with a bit of spice to satisfy the raging taste buds.

I threw together a chicken cashew stir fry with sweet chilli soy sauce. Again my partner asked where I got the recipe from, all in the head I answered but didn't tell her that I originally planned a meal that would have seen the chicken braised in the wok and vegetables steamed. Ahhhh, the ease of changing track when you are busy.

All turned out well, the meal was really delicious even if I say so. Afterwards I spent a little time editing photos, uploading a few to Flickr and enjoying the stunning images. At the end of the day I felt I had achieved so much, enjoyed a full day and taken positive steps toward continuing the healthy lifestyle.

I am really starting to like Monday mornings. Monday is the day I step on the scales and see how I have fared with the weight loss for the week. There's something about doing it on a Monday morning as so many people don't like Mondays. Wonder if it is the thought of going back to work or perhaps it's being tired after an enjoyable weekend.

Okay, enough of the small talk, let's get down to what this blog is all about, did I lose weight this week by keeping those calories down around 1500 per day!

Yes, I have another loss of half a kilo or one pound. I am very satisfied with that result and am spot on target to reach my goal of being under 90 kilos by the first of October. Just a half kilo to lose this week and I know I can do that easily. Don't forget to check in this time next week to see if I actually hit my first goal or not. My overall goal is to be 75 kilos by the end of June next year.

Just to recap what I am doing to lose weight again:

Keep total calories consumed per day to around 1500 or less.
Eat at least 2 serves of fish per week for the benefit of Omega 3 fatty acids
Eat plenty of fresh green salads and steamed vegetables
Do not drink sugar filled drinks such as coca-cola
Do not eat biscuits, pastries, chocolate or potato chips

Starting Weight: 97.2 Kilograms - 213.8 lbs
Today’s Weight: 90.5 kilos - 199.10 lbs

Total weight lost 6.7 kilos - 14.74 lbs

Late last week I received high praise from my wife for what I have achieved so far. I was filling the car with petrol and caught her looking me up and down like she used to some 20 years ago. I mentioned that I had sprung her looking and she actually got embarrassed and admitted that, yes, she liked what she was seeing. Now that’s real motivation to continue with the weight loss program. If a few kilos off can turn her on, imagine what another 10 kilos off will do.

It's gets easier everyday to keep eating healthy food. Last night we had steamed chicken and fennel and it tasted delicious. We have never tried fennel before and it certainly has an unusual aromatic taste, yet we enjoyed it because of the fact it was unusual.

Having meals that are under 450 calories in total seems to fill the belly up without that bloated feeling. I certainly can't eat as much as I used to just 5 or 6 weeks ago and you get used to smaller meals very quickly. My clothes are getting baggy and today I tried on a pair of shorts that I haven't worn for a long time and they fit perfectly.

Now that in itself is a great achievement. To go down one clothes size is proof that healthy eating with moderate exercise not only works, it can be a lifestyle change that one can employ for all time. Many fad diets simply don't work because once a person tries to lead a normal life they put on all the weight they lost.

I have lost almost 7 kilos, or a stone, just by thinking about how many calories food that I will eat contains, before I eat it. We still go out for dinner once a week and have fish and chips once a week, but on those days, I make sure whatever else I eat is low in calories. For example when we have fish and chips for lunch, I have a piece of toast and tuna for breakfast and only salad for the evening dinner meal. This way I keep the total calories consumed under control, live a normal life, yet don't feel as if I have cheated my diet.

The end of this week I get the cholesterol results back and today I received all clear results of a bowel cancer test that I was part of, conducted by the government. Eating healthy is sensible and something very positive that you can do for yourself.

I mentioned a young fellow who had lost over 20 kilos a few weeks back and how he not only looks great, his whole outlook is glowing with a renewed self confidence. Well, he is continuing with his self made style of weight loss program and has lost another 5 kilos. Well done.

For him it's not so much as counting calories as I do, it is stopping eating as soon as his belly feels satisfied. Notice I didn't say he stopped when his belly was full, he stops eating as soon as his belly is satisfied, which is a little before the belly is full.

He said that sometimes he craves for those greasy chips or fries but allows himself one take-away meal a week to satisfy the cravings. The main thing that he sticks to is not over eating anytime, be it something he really likes to eat or something that he eats because it's good for him.

I think that losing 25 kilos, which is over 50 pounds on the imperial scale, is a darn great effort and shows us all that if we apply a few simple lifestyle changes, we can do it too.

Drum roll please... did I make the mini goal of being under 90 kilos by the 1st of October? Well this morning I weighed in spot on 90 kilos. Now that is not under 90 kilos so I suppose I didn't make my target goal, but on the positive side it is a great result.

Last week I weighed in at 90.5 so I did lose half a kilo for the week, which is spot on target. I continue to eat healthy and am feeling great so can now look forward to continued weight loss by living sensibly.

I was hoping to get the results of my cholesterol test today but couldn't get in to see the doctor until Wednesday morning. I'll let you know how it went as soon as I get home on that day. I am hoping to see the cholesterol level has dropped as I am taking medication plus doing the things that should lower the bad cholesterol levels in my blood stream naturally.

Moderate exercise has become quite easy. Yesterday I went for a 30 minute walk and then went back to the car, got the camera out and went photographing in the Mackay Botanical Gardens for more than 3 hours. This morning I awoke early and after weighing myself, went and walked for an hour. I am really enjoying being out from behind the computer and today will go and look at tents as I am thinking of spending time out in the country, photographing scenery and walking in the open air.

Life is great and losing weight makes it feel so much better.

Okay, so I better set another mini goal and this time my aim is to be under 85 kilos by December 1st. That's 2 months to lose 5 kilos. I think I can do it. Have you set some mini goals for yourself yet?

Exercise leads you to many thrilling things and today was no exception.

It was raining this morning so I missed my usual game of golf and decided that I would go out later in the day and take some photographs at the botanical gardens. There is a lovely lagoon with a shelter nearby where I can keep the camera dry yet take some good shots of rain making ripples on the water.

After parking the car and sprinting as fast as I could to the shelter I really knew that I was exercising. Nothing like a bit of rain to make one hurry. As soon as I got my breath back and set up the camera, the rain stopped. Oh well, change of plans, instead of ripples in the water I could take some shots of ducks or flowers. There is always something interesting when you have your camera at the ready.

A young girl came by and dived in the water! Got that shot. A pelican flew past, got that also. What a good decision to come to the gardens today. I started walking around and before I knew it, I was exercising, walking along the paths looking for other interesting shots. (you can see the photos here)

Within the flowers section of the gardens I noticed a strong smell of garlic and there was a patch of wild garlic with the most beautiful violet flowers. I took many shots of this, bending down, laying on the ground, twisting to get the best angle from which to photograph this delightful show of nature. Yes, I was exercising again.

My wife came over to see what I was doing laying on the ground and when she smelt the garlic she hinted that it reminded her of a mushroom and garlic sauce I sometimes make and how well it would go with the lamb chop she had planned for dinner.

See what I mean about exercise leading to other things?

Just got back from the doctors and the results are fantastic. My bad cholesterol level is down to 3.4 and the good cholesterol is up to 1.4. This is a great result and very pleasing to both my doctor and myself.

The reduction in the cholesterol level was achieved by a combination of medication, healthy eating and exercise. Proves you can do anything with a positive mindset, realistic goal setting and a desire to improve.

I also found that I might need a new set of scales. I was a little down on myself for not making the mini goal of being below 90 kilos on the first of this month. By the doctor’s scales I am not only under 90 kilos, I actually weigh in at 87 kilos. Love his scales. Last time I visited the doctor I weighed 94.5 kilos and the weight loss even put a smile on his face.

Makes me determined to continue this program of healthy eating and fun exercise. I want to get that cholesterol down under 2.8 and my weight under 75 kilos. Life is great and I will be around longer now to fully enjoy it.

Do you like music? I love music of all types, even the stuff that my son plays is nice to listen to most times, yet sometimes it can grate on the nerves when it's a little too loud.

It's great to know that for the main part, music is really good for your health. Music can relax you, relieve stress and have a positive effect on your emotions. Sometimes you might like a jazzy upbeat type of music and other times slow and meaningful music.

Dancing to your favorite music is a wonderful form of exercise, even if your partner is a broomstick. Think of the calories you burn to 2 or 3 rock and roll numbers, or the ecstasy of dancing to a slow romantic number can benefit your breathing. Yes music can really boost your health.

Have you ever gone for a walk in a forest, sat down quietly and listened to the sounds of nature. There is no better music to the ears than to hear birds singing, a stream gently rippling through the country side or the waves of the ocean crashing against the shore.

Even shouting at your kids to turn their blaring music down is good for your lungs and gets the adrenalin flowing, so remember when ever you hear music, it is one of natures natural medicines.

I had a bit of a problem with scales this week. The digital scales I have been using each week don't seem to want to weigh less than 99.4 kilos. Last week they seemed to work fine and weighed me in at 90 kilos then on the Wednesday when I received my cholesterol results, the doctor’s scales weighed me in at 87 kilos.

Don't get me wrong here, I am not saying that the doctor’s scales are incorrect but I truly didn't feel as if I was an 87 kilo human yet. Yes, I feel fantastic and have lost weight, I just doubted if I had lost that much. So I took myself down to the Chemist and put a coin in their large scales and okay, I wasn't the weight the doctor’s scales said.

Armed with this information I searched the shop for a decent set of scales and they had a nice large set which would be good for my purposes. Of course I tried them out and they weighed me at the same weight as the large scales. So these are the scales I will use from now on for my weigh in day.

So after all this, today I stepped on the new scales and my current weight is 89.0 kilos. That is a loss of 1 kilo for the week and I feel fantastic.

I was so happy to receive a few emails during the week from people who have been excited to tell me of their weight loss progress. They have accepted the fact that to lose weight they had to actually do something about it and stop kidding themselves that a small change in their diets was good enough to make their weight lower.

Here is a couple of excerpts from the emails:

"Thanks for being so blunt and giving me such a simple formula to lose weight: Less food + more exercise = weight loss. This has really given me something to work to and I have lost 7 pounds in 4 weeks. I have a goal of losing 2 stone and I will get that weight off."
Dreamcast. Sydney.

"I thought you were very brave to post your photo on your weight loss webpage and I really looked at myself in the mirror and was disgusted with the way I looked. Was this why you started the weight loss website? Whatever the reason, I just want to let you know that I have started a weight loss program just because of your bravery and guidance. Keep up the good work."
Brian P. Minneapolis, USA

Thanks for the positive feedback and I feel so glad that my ugly fat belly could motivate someone to join the program and make a change in their life. If you missed the photo of how I looked at the beginning of my weight loss program you can find it here.

I think it is a good idea to get a photo taken of how you look before starting to lose weight. Strip down to underwear and get someone to take your photo. Look at it often and if the image disgusts you like my image did for me, or how Brian was disgusted with his image in the mirror, don't you think it is then time to do something about it?

If you are too ashamed or embarrassed of how you look in your underwear to get somebody to take that photo, then you certainly need to do something to correct what's wrong soon. I challenge you to take a photo, start a weight loss program and then take another photo say 3 months from now. You will be amazed at the results if you stick to it.

This week seems to have gone really fast and here we are again at weigh in time. Good news again and another kilo taken off with sensible diet and moderate exercise.

My weight today is 88 kilos. Remember my starting weight was 97.2 kilos, which is a total weight loss so far of 9.2 kilos or just on 20 pounds.

Yesterday I was enjoying my hobby and was out taking photos and I found a great place to enjoy a walk. It is at the end of a beach and as you round a headland there is a track leading into the dunes that then take you up a steep path to a fantastic lookout overlooking the Whitsunday Islands. This is somewhere I will love going once or twice a week and it will give a great workout, plus break from the boredom that can creep in walking the same area day after day. You can see the photo of the steps here!

And that leads me to another observation. You need to vary what you eat so you won't get bored with the same thing time after time. This week I enjoyed 2 full meals with just stir fry vegetables. No meat of any kind, just any vegetable that was in the fridge.

If you had said to me about 3 months ago that here is a meal of just vegetables, I would have said you are kidding. But I actually enjoyed them and made a nice soy and chili sauce to go with the dish and can honestly say it was delicious. Losing weight isn't all that hard after all.

You might remember that I advocated finding a healthy hobby that will give you some physical activity and then using this hobby as a form of exercise. At the time I thought it was a good idea, now I am convinced that it isn't just good, it's great.

A couple of days ago I went with my partner on a photo shoot to an out of the way area not far from our town. It is called Cape Hillsborough and there is a dustry, bumpy track leading into an area they call Hidden Valley. Without the weight loss that I have done so far I would have missed some magnificent nature photos.

Just because I feel so good and alive losing almost 10 kilos already, I felt I could tackle a walk among the mangroves and see what I may find. I had to walk down a fairly steep slope to get to the foreshore and then clamber over rocks, through some muddy patches and then finally onto some sand bars exposed by the low tide. Honestly, just 8 weeks ago I may have attempted such a physical walk but the next decision I made I certainly would not have tried.

Through the mangrove canopy some 50 meters from the open area was a craggy outcrop that really took my eye. I thought it may make a good photo point overlooking the ocean so I set out to climb over the mangroves, rocks and other obstacles between myself and this vantage point. Low and behold, in amongst the canopy of mangroves was a juvenile green sea turtle, lying in the shade waiting for the tide to return. You can imagine my excitement as this is one of the most beautiful sights to me, nature at it's finest.

Well of course I took some photos, not great lighting but hey you can't complain. I went back through the mangroves and called my partner to show her and went back again for more shots. I did finally reach that rocky outcrop I was heading for originally and the views were a grand reward for the effort involved.

And to think I would have missed all of it if I had not decided to lose weight and to turn a hobby into exercise. We kept taking photos throughout the day in other locations and probably walked at least 10 kilometers for the day. We were not a bit tired, we were exhilarated at the fantastic shots we got in one of the countries most beautiful areas.

Remember the weight loss formula? Less Food + more exercise = weight loss. Try it with a healthy hobby and you will be amazed how good it is.

Many weight loss books or health related websites advocate the use of scales to make sure you keep to an accurate portion size when following a weight loss program. It is a good idea to do this, but would involve extra expense if you haven't already got kitchen scales.

An easier way is to get to know what a serving size looks like by buying a weight watchers meal. You will then see just what they suggest as a serving size. The plate doesn't look very big, but you know that it has been measured correctly for weight loss purposes.

Following the serving sizes on food labels can tell you how many calories there are per serve. Another good way to roughly judge portion size is, for example, if you are making chicken noodle soup from a packet, the nutrition label will state how many servings there is in one packet and how many calories per serve.

I personally don't weigh food, I simply judge the amount and roughly calculate the calories contained in my head. This way I feel confident that I stay to a good portion size to ensure weight loss.

If you do go and eat say McDonalds, or some other fast food type thing, make sure you order the smallest serving size, not the large size. Those fries will contain enough calories and fat on their own to ruin your daily allowance.

Wow, this week seems to have flown since I made the last entry to the blog on Monday. Here it is Friday already and the weekend is looming large.

I have kept busy this week and think I could be on the verge of a big weight loss figure at the next weigh in. I feel so good and even like to see that reflection in the shops windows when I go out. I hated it once; it seemed that I was looking at someone else.

Short, fat and ugly, that was the person who was in the mirror. I'll never be tall or handsome either for that matter, but I can do something about the fat part, so goodbye to that forever, I am learning to control my weight and will now make that a lifetime commitment.

It's a choice we all make. Do we want to live a better, healthier life or go around hating who we see looking back at us in the shop windows? I have made a choice that the short, fat, ugly person looking at me is going to be gone forever.

This week I lost 1 kilo. Today I weight 86 kilos or 189 pounds. I like it. :-)

I really haven't exercised as much as I normally do this week. Apart from playing golf twice, I didn't go on any long walks for various reasons and look forward to getting back on the track for this week. I did go to the beach Saturday, walked the length, climbed a steep hill to a lookout and walked back to the car, but I was taking photos so didn't actually notice the walk at all. Even going up to the lookout was easy and I wasn't puffing at the top, so don't count it as exercise as such.

The main thing is, I kept counting those calories and kept them around 1500 per day, which makes me lose weight.

It is amazing how good I feel. Everyday I seem to be able to do something with ease that required effort just a month or two ago. Tying my shoelaces, stepping into pants, walking up stairs, all have become so easy. Just little things, even getting in and out of a chair is that much easier.

I certainly will hit my mini goal of being below 85 kilos by the first of December and my overall goal of 75 kilos by June next year is certainly reachable earlier than that. I almost need to go and buy some new clothes as my pants are getting a bit baggy. I just might wait until another few kilos are gone yet as I won't want them for long. I will lose more weight yet.

Just some thoughts:
I don't miss sweet things anymore, in fact I see them as terrible things to eat. There is no way would I be tempted to have sweets, chocolates or soda drinks that are not sugar free.

The more vegetables and salad I eat, the better they taste. I know that I am eating them for my health. By losing weight I am becoming healthier and putting less risk into having a stroke, heart attack or getting diabetes.

Losing weight is the best thing I can ever do for myself. Not losing weight was the most selfish thing, because if I died early, it would be the people that love me that I would hurt. Would your parents, partner or children miss you if you die before your time? If you are obese, your chances of dying young are high.

How are you going? Have you done anything towards becoming a new, slimmer and sexier person yet? It's really all in the mind. If you make your mind up to lose weight, you can.

There is an old saying:
If you think you can, you’re right. If you think you can't, you’re right.

Think positive, think you can, and look forward to losing kilos. You can do it if you set your mind.

I went shopping with my wife yesterday because her clothes were getting too baggy. She was all excited, yet didn't want to buy too many clothes because she knows that there is more weight to come off yet.

I loved the way she tackled the clothes shopping. She would try something on and come out of the fitting room flushed with satisfaction that she was fitting into clothes a full 2 sizes down from when she last went clothes shopping. And I must say that she is looking fantastic.

I asked her how she feels and the answer surprised me somewhat. I thought I would get the reply about how good it is and how great it feels to be fitting into clothes that much smaller. She answered that she felt somewhat disappointed in herself for allowing so much weight to go on. She said that she must have really forgot that looking good means feeling good about yourself. And if you really felt good about yourself, you would never allow yourself to get so fat and lazy in the first place.

She has a good point there. For many men and women, we allow ourselves to put on weight because we don't think about the consequences of our lifestyle choices. We make excuses that we are busy, the kids come first, oh you know... you probably have made a few excuses that I won't even think of. We eat the wrong things, too much of everything and get lazy.

The big thing is, if we really cared about ourselves and those that love us, we would never allow ourselves to look so fat and ugly in the first place. (I am speaking for myself here!) We owe it to our partners, our children, our family, to look as good as we can. I don't want my children to be embarrassed being out in public with me. I don't want to be known as the short fat man who is so and so's father. I know my children and my wife love me, but I want them to be proud to be with me in public.

First you should lose weight for yourself. This selfish act can give your loved ones so much enjoyment also.

Another weigh-in day rolls around and the scales tell me that another kilo is gone. Today’s weight is 85 kilos / 187 pounds, giving me a weight loss for the week of 1 kilo or 2 pounds. Fantastic!

This figure of 85 kilos also marks a mini goal I set for myself. If you remember, I set the mini goal of being 85 kilos or less by the 1st of December. I have reached that goal a few weeks early so am quite happy with the progress.

Do you remember the starting weight? Just to rehash, I started the weight loss program on August the 9th, weighing in at 97.2 Kilograms - 213.8 lbs.

In 12 weeks I have lost 12 kilos or 26 pounds. I have done this primarily through counting calories and keeping the total amount of calories consumed less than 1500 per day. With a little moderate exercise included, a game of golf and encouragement from my family, life feels so good.

What I am learning is that I can go out for a restaurant meal, I can have that take-away, and I just have to eat something else for the day which is almost calorie free. I am learning the basics to maintaining a healthy weight once I attain my absolute goal of weighing 75 kilos. Unlike a fad diet or one of those diet drink programs, counting calories is making me very aware of exactly what is going in to my mouth, so I can apply this for the rest of my life.

The rules are simple really. If you eat some rubbish for lunch, make sure your evening meal is very low in calories. Fatty foods and sweet things are your worst enemy, so avoid them as if your life depends on it, because ultimately it does.

We all need role models, no matter who we are or how old we are. Using a role model as an example of what we want to achieve, can help us keep a focus on the road ahead.

When we are losing weight, a role model will help us stick to the path and not succumb to the many temptations along the way. We can use a photo of someone we would like to look like at the end of our journey, a story from a magazine or the television or someone we know personally who has lost a lot of weight or is on a weight loss program.

I like the "Biggest Loser" television show. While I believe they lose weight a little too quickly, it is a good motivator in that you can actually see them working hard and getting their weight under control. And there is a word in that sentence that holds the key to all our weight problems, "control"

We need to learn to control our desires. Just like the contestants on the biggest loser, it is entirely up to us to control what we eat, the amount we eat and the amount of exercise we are prepared to do. While they have personal trainers to push them harder each day, we only have ourselves to keep us motivated, so we need to use everything available to us to keep on the path of becoming healthier, slimmer people.

Get yourself a role model and try to emulate their success in your daily life. You can do it!

Another Monday rolls in and another kilo has been lost. At this mornings weigh-in, the scales show 84 kilos or 185 pounds. It seems that though my goal was to lose just half a kilo per week, watching the calorie intake allows you to lose more. This is wonderful.

Last Saturday I went to a local beach to take a few photos. I wanted one of people walking along the beach exercising for the index page of this website. (I managed to get one of a young couple walking their dogs which I will post today.)

After wandering around the beach for over an hour it was time for my partner and myself to pack up and head back to the car. Anyone who has walked up a fairly steep sand dune will know that it can be a bit tiring. As we reached the top of the dune my partner asked to stop to catch her breath and I noticed I wasn't even puffing. Just a few months ago I would have been almost collapsing.

Those 13 kilos that I have lost really was a large burden. Imagine carrying 13 kilos of potatoes up a sand dune, because that's exactly what I was doing those few months ago. I have no doubt that if I had not given up smoking and then decided to lose weight that there would be a coffin being made for me earlier that I would like. Now I feel as though I can live to 100.

Imagine how I will feel when I lose another 10 kilos. Have you started on your own journey yet?

You need to make breakfast the most important meal for the day.

Why? Because eating breakfast kicks the metabolism into gear and starts the body burning calories instead of storing fat.

Now I don't mean you should sit down to a huge helping of fatty bacon and eggs, just a simple slice of toast or a small bowl of cereal is the ideal way to get that metabolism racing. If you are counting calories you should be able to fit in around 200 calories for breakfast easily into the daily intake allowance.

If you are doing some morning exercise like walking for 30 minutes, you should have breakfast within an hour after the exercise or workout to get the full benefit to your metabolism rate. Eating breakfast not only gets the metabolism started, it actually helps your resolve to stick to a planned eating program. As you are less hungry you will not overeat at the next meal or will be less likely to snack before lunch.

These are just a couple of reasons for having breakfast. Breakfast is another tool you can use on the road to becoming a slimmer, fitter person and let's face it, the more tools we use on a weight loss program the easier it will be to get down to your goal weight.

Today’s weigh-in was something I wasn't really expecting yet something that will happen from time to time when on a weight loss program.

I didn't lose any weight this week, yet didn't do anything different from other weeks, perhaps exercising more if anything.

Now I am not unhappy that this has happened. Why? Because it is something that all the experts say will occur from time to time and I have been losing weight faster than what I was planning. To stay the same for a week in a way is a good sign as it shows my body is getting used to what is happening. Now I can push onward to reaching that magical goal I have set.

Remembering that my mini goal was to be below 85 kilos by the 1st December, being 84 kilos a few weeks early is fantastic. Now perhaps I need to zig zag my eating patterns and trick the metabolism and get it racing again. I Can't wait to see the results next week.

I am excited today. This week the scales say that I lost 1.5 kilos or 3 pounds. I weighed in at 82.5 kilos which is spot on 13 stone. Fantastic!

After not showing any weight loss last week, it was particularly pleasing to see that figure come up this morning. Now I know I can be under 80 kilos for Christmas.

So what did I do differently. Well nothing different at all, kept an eye on calorie intake and made sure it was always around 1500 per day. Walked for at least 30 minutes 4 or 5 times for the week and kept an absolute positive mindset towards the weight loss goals.

I am excited.

Over the next couple of weeks I will give what I regard as the 10 best tips on weight loss. These tips are based purely on my own experience and what I consider is the reasons why I have lost 15 kilos in around 3 months. Today we start the ball rolling with what I consider the most important tip.

#1

Counting Calories

There is no secret to losing weight, you simply need to eat less and exercise more.

If you don't know the amount of calories that you are consuming on a daily basis, then it is hard to say that you are eating less food overall. It's like somebody saying "well I will cut my food in half, so I should lose weight" but what if they were actually eating so much before that even halving the amount is still too much. They will actually still gain weight, just slower.

Most foods are now labeled with nutritional information, read it and learn how many calories are in the foods you are eating. Buy a little calorie book. Learn how many calories are in everything you consume. If you don't know what you are eating, are not aware how many calories you are consuming you are running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. Again I reiterate, You Need To Know How Many Calories You Consume Daily!
We have a kilojoule to calorie converter if the food is labeled in kilojoules, a rough guide is divide the kilojoules by 4 to get calories. (Actual conversion is 4.2 calories in one kilojoule.)

Our bodies need a certain amount of calories each day to keep us living. On average, men need roughly 2500 calories and women need 2200 calories. These figures will maintain a person’s weight, not put more on and not take any off.

To lose weight you must eat fewer calories or exercise more to burn off the calories that you put in. If you want to lose one pound a week or half a kilo, you need to reduce your calorie intake by 500 each day. To lose 2 pounds a week or 1 kilo, reduce calories by 1000.

So there you have my best tip for losing weight. Learn how many calories is in everything you put in your mouth and reduce your daily calorie consumption. It's easier than you think once you make it a habit.

High on my list of the most beneficial things you can do to lose weight is to get a "before" photo taken.

Why a before photo? Because you really need to know what you look like at your worst and you need to know how good you will start to look as the weight comes off. Most people who are overweight don't like looking in a shop window at their own reflection. When you get a photo of your self in swimming gear or underwear, if the frightening photo doesn't motivate you into action then you really don't have enough resolve to lose weight on your own.

I posted my "before" photo on this website. Believe me, I hate that photo because it shows how bad I allowed myself to look. I am not proud of it and that spurred me on to really be single minded about losing weight. I will never allow myself to look like that again. Of course you don't need to go public like I did, but you do need to see the person who you have become.

Another thing a before photo does is it makes a statement to yourself that you realize the need to lose weight. If you are too ashamed to let someone take your photo in your underwear, then you need all the help to lose weight you can get. Your self esteem needs it, your self image needs it. You need to want to be a different person than that big blob who is looking at you in the photo. Swallow your fears and get that shot.

If there is one single thing that can motivate you into sticking to a weight loss program, having a before photo stripped down to your underwear is high on the list. You don't have to look like that. It is your choice. Be proud of yourself, you want to look nice and you can. Organize your photo soon.

Today was a small figure but it's still in the right direction. Just 250 grams loss for the week but I did expect that considering the huge weight loss last week.

Today the scales told me I was 82.25 kilos, down from last week's 85.5 kilos. Considering my goal was to be less than 85 kilos by the first of December, I am really satisfied how everything is progressing.

That final goal is not far away now. 75 kilos seemed like it would take a year to achieve and that is what I did allow when first setting that goal. I think that can be attained much earlier now.

My weight loss seems to have really slowed down over the past 2 weeks. This week I have lost another 250 grams or about half a pound and I am starting to wonder if I am experiencing a weight plateau.

If it is a weight plateau there is nothing wrong with that. I just need to find a few different ways to kick my metabolism in the butt and get it moving in the right direction again. One thing I know for sure is that what I have been doing to lose weight is right and I will not change my eating habits.

What I will try this week is to add a bit more variety to my exercise, perhaps an afternoon workout at the gym or an extra short walk. You know, just mix it up a little and see what happens.

Of course the weight may not be coming off as fast now as we have been experiencing some very hot and humid weather, so I have been drinking a lot more water. It could be fluid retention that is causing the plateau.

Whatever the cause I am not overly worried. I still lost a little weight for the week and am still way under where I wanted to be at this time. Everything is still very positive and heading in the right direction.

One of the worst things that a person can do is to want to lose weight, then never committing themselves to a goal. I bet you have heard someone say that they are going to lose weight and if you ask how much, they would look at you as if you just said something stupid.

If you don't know where you are going, you’re aimless. It's like going to sea in a boat without a rudder; you just float aimlessly around going nowhere in particular. Same story if you want to lose weight. If you don't know how much you want to lose, chances are you won't lose anything.

Do yourself a favor. Before you start on a weigh loss program, weigh yourself and find out exactly what you weigh. If you don't know what you weigh right now, how the heck are you ever going to know if your actually losing weight? Don't kid yourself that you will know if your clothes get loose or some other malarkey like that; you need to know exactly what you weigh now so you can set a goal to what you want to be down the track.

Next, sit down and realistically set yourself an achievable goal. Let's say for instance you are 15 stone, perhaps you can set a goal to be 12 stone in 12 months time. That's a weight loss of 3 stone.

Then set some mini goals. 3 stone in 12 months is a weight loss of 1 stone every 4 months, so an achievable mini goal would be to be to hit 14 stone at the end of the first 4 months. If you break that down even further it works out around 1 pound a week. Not so hard when you break it down like that is it? But if you don’t know what you weigh from the start, you can’t set goals can you?

You should know where you want to go before you go on a holiday journey and it's the same with anything in life. When you want to save money for something you always seem to know the price of the goods you want to buy.

Losing weight is no different. You need to know where you are today, and then set a destination so you know where you want to go. Make a commitment. Set a goal!

The year is rapidly fading and so is the fat on this body. Weighin today saw the scale down another half kilo or 1 pound. Fantastic.

Today's weight is 81.5 kilos or 179 pounds. Total weight loss to date is 15.7 kilos equivalent to just on 39 pounds.

After a few weeks of almost no results, to lose a pound feels as if I am back on track once more. The real positives to date have been the lifestyle changes that I have instigated which will stay with me now forever.

Gone is that not so jolly fat fellow for good. I am really lookiing forward to the day that I post my after photo for all to see. Just 6 1/2 kilos to go to reach my weight goal. I feel good.

My apologies for not posting an image of the scales today. We are experiencing problems uploading the image file at this time and will keep trying.

Todays weigh in saw another half pound less, or a weight loss of .25 of a kilo. Not a big number, yet still a step in the right direction. Today I weighed 81.25 kilos or 178.75 pounds.

Tomorrow is Christmas Day and I am not going to count calories or worry about my weight. Christmas Day is a day to enjoy the family, have a nice meal and appreciate your lot in life. I won't make a pig of myself, but certainly won't shun foods that I haven't touched for a long time. I am looking forward to having some apple pie and custard.

I don't think that one day is going to ruin my weight loss program, and Christmas Dinner is really just one meal. Of course, Boxing Day will see my calculating those calories once more and working toward my overall weight loss goal.

Merry Christmas everyone. Have a great time and enjoy!

(PS. Still haven't fixed the image problem so will post the scales images as soon as possible.)

Isn't control a fascinating word? For me, it conjures up a vision of something solid, reliable and steady, like a policeman directing traffic.

When we take a journey to lose weight, we certainly need control. We need to control our food intake and we need self control so that we don't break our resolve and slide back to those bad habits that put on the weight in the first place.

The first control we need to consider is portion control. This is one of the hardest controls to manage as portion size is crucial to weight loss. It's like the boy with his finger in the dyke, if you don't reduce the flow of food into your stomach you get flooded with calories and the weight stacks up and up. If this wasn't a problem for you, you wouldn't be reading this.

You really do need to read the labels on the side of food packaging and consider what they recommend as a serving size. If you go to MacDonnell’s, just order the smallest size meal and you will realize what portion control really means. It's those jumbo sized meals or the second helping that has caused your weight problem.

And that leads us directly to the second control you must consider if you want to lose weight, SELF CONTROL!

You need self control to buy that small Maccas meal, or to push the plate away after one helping. You need self control to do some exercise every day to burn unwanted calories. You need self control to say no to foods that are full of fat and full of calories.

Ask yourself what or who caused you to get fat in the first place. Answer it honestly and you will see that the person responsible is nobody else but you. And it was because you had no control. You didn't demonstrate portion control and you certainly didn't demonstrate an ounce of self control.

Take control over your weight starting today. You can do it!

Being consistent when trying to lose weight is a great tool on the path to success. Weight Loss, like many other things in life, will become easier if you become consistent in your approach and stick to the plan you have mapped out for yourself.

If you are saving money for a special event, consistently putting aside a certain amount each week or each month, builds the kitty steadily and before long you have reached your goal saving amount. Applying that principle to weight loss can also lead to success.

Here are a few areas where you need to become consistent.

• Eat to a calorie controlled plan


• Exercise regularly


• Stay away from fatty food


• Believe you can do it

Being consistent in life reaps many rewards. Being consistent when losing weight brings certain success.

Remember the good old Elvis song Stuck On You? I seem to be singing that to the 81 kilos mark, I have been stuck on this weight since before Christmas.

Now this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Remembering that Christmas and the New Year period is a time of cheer and good food, plus I have a birthday thrown in for extra good times.

The positive news is that I didn't put any weight on over that period. Why is that positive? Because it means I have learned strategies to live and eat normally and maintain that current weight. This is great news for when I reach my ultimate goal.

Now that all the festivities are over it's back to normality and watching those calories, exercise and chasing my goal. Just another 6 kilos to go and I am there. It's exciting times and man I feel so good.

Finally "The Scale" is showing a downward trend again and I am happy to say, no estatic is the right word, I have lost .75 of a kilo this week which is close to 2 pounds.

I still consider holding the weight where I was before Christmas as a good sign that I can enjoy good times now and not put on weight. For me, counting calories is not just a good tool for weight loss, it will be my best friend once I have achieved my goal to maintain an even weight for the rest of my life.

I am pretty excited right now because I can see that next week I can be under 80 kilos. I haven't been under 80 kilos in a long, long time. Then I am just 5 kilos from my ultimate goal that I set in August of being 75 kilos.

The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter each week.

Today weight is 80.5 kilos or 177.10 pounds
Total weight loss to date is 16.7 kilos or 36.7 pounds

It was time for a visit to the doctor yesterday for a prescription for cholesterol medication. I was looking forward to the visit as I always get a mini checkup and wanted to know how I was progressing.

Firstlly, my blood pressure has improved and was 125/70. Excellent! Reflexes are good, weight is down from 88 kilos at last visit to 80 kilos. Eyes, ears and throat all okay.

The doctor said that I am coming along fine and while I am not scheduled for another blood test for a couple of months yet to see what the cholesterol levels are at, he feels sure that they will be good because all the body signs are great.

Looks like I will be around on this earth for awhile yet. I like counting calories. I feel so good and am starting to like what I see in the mirror also, which has been a ghastly sight for so long.

Today's weigh-in was a very pleasing result. I hit 80 kilos and now have just 5 kilos to go to reach that goal I made when starting on the weight loss program. As you can see on the scale image, I could be just a tick under that 80 kilo mark, but won't claim it as such yet and will wait until next week to ensure I am not jumping the gun.

Whatever weight I choose to select, 80 kilos or below, it doesn't matter really because the main thing it is going in the right direction. down.

I can't wait to take that after photo because there is such a difference in body shape. My clothes feel so good, in fact some are now just too big to wear anymore. I am exercising and enjoying it and doing things, such as pushups, that I couldn't do just 6 months ago.

Some of the biggest differences I have noticed is the ease that I can now tie up my show laces and cutting my toe nails. Both of those things were a real problem to do as my belly got in the way and I couldn't bend over far enough. Now it's easy to get down and reach them.

Another 5 kilos. It's not a lot and it's so close I can feel it.

We have talked about control and how you need to control your eating habits and control your total food intake in order to lose weight, but you do need to throw the word "Determination" into the arena also.

If you think of the word determination, it conjures to your mind someone who will never give in. Like a British Bulldog, once they grab something they will never let go. You need that type of determination when deciding to start a weight loss program.

There is no shortcut to weight loss, it is a battle and there are more than enough temptations along the way for you to stray from your goal, but if you set your mind strongly and apply a good dose of determination, the outcome is guaranteed to be in your favor. Just as it was easy to put the weight on in the first place, with control and determination, it is just as easy to take it off again.

Become determined to reach your goal weight, you can do it, just like many others before. It is easy to give in, but if you have the determination to succeed in losing weight, you can move mountains of fat from your body and look and feel like that person who is inside you, screaming to be released.

Medical studies have shown that exercising for less than 15 minutes will not burn any more calories than normal everyday activities. In other words, if you want to lose weight, how long you should exercise for is very important. Exercising for less than 15 minutes is next to useless, but you still get some advantage in that you have at least used your muscles and moved, which is better than watching television.

To get the most out of exercise you should carry out the activity for at least 30 minutes each day. This then burns more calories for the second 15 minutes.

Couple a walking program with muscle toning and you can eventually burn more calories per exercise session. For every gram of muscle that you build you will burn 90 calories per hour more, that's a great way to lose more weight in the long term.

So it's beneficial to introduce slowly building muscle tone while undertaking a walking program. Both will help increase the burning of unused calories and couple that with sensibly eating patterns and counting calories, you will soon be looking great and feeling if you could conquer the world.

So how long should you exercise each day? Aim for at least 30 minutes daily and you will see a regular weight loss when you also combine sensible eating patterns.

Just 1/2 pound loss this week but as there is only 4.25 kilos to go to achieve my original goal weight of 75 kilos, small losses are really good. That goal seemed so far away when I first started attempting to lose weight, now I can smell it it's so close.

So how does it feel to see the light at the end of the tunnel? Fantastic! I may even reset the target once I am there and shoot for lower numbers, but right now, hitting that goal is the main focus.

It was teeming down rain this morning, so I didn't go for my walk and really missed it. We had about an inch of rain overnight which is great for the country but bad for exercise.

Last week I stepped the exercise up a notch, walking about an extra 5 minutes and running the last 100 yards up a slight hill. Now I haven't ran for a long time and I am enjoying that so much I will slowly increase the jogging into the walking regime until I can jog for at least 500 yards.

To be truthful, losing weight has become easier that I thought it would be. Once I trained my belly to accept a smaller amount of food, kept the exercise going through the sore muscles stage, the weight has been continually falling off. I look great and feel so much healthier.

It certainly is good news week this week with a weight loss of just on 1 kilo or 2 pounds. This is an extremely satisfying figure this week as I am even closer to my goal. Just a 3.25 kilos further and I'm there.

Todays the scales showed 78.25 kilos - 172.15 ponds.
Weight loss for the week 1 kilo or 2.2 ponds.
Total weight loss so far 19 kilos or 41.80

This weeks weight loss figure does make me wonder why sometimes you work your butt off and have a small loos and other times, although you do exactly the same thing, you have a larger drop in weight. Whatever the reason, I am not complaining this week.

The new season of Biggest Loser has begun in Australia and features the usual line up of people who are on a weight loss journey. In just a week of competition the weight loss for all contestants has been amazing with the smallest weight loss for the whole group being a very good 3 kilos or 6.5 pounds.

The amazing result, and this is the main point in this blog post, is one contestant's weight loss of over 10 kilos without the high exercise routine of the other competitors.

John has a heart problem that restricts his exercise to walking no more than 40 minutes, 3 times per day. When the problem was picked up by the shows medical team, it was decided that instead of sending him home and out of the show, he would be allowed to stay in the Biggest loser house, gaining the benefit of the programs weight loss specialists and perhaps saving John's life. So severe is his heart problem, John is not allowed to raise his heart rate above 100 because the strain could cause an immanent heart attack.

John's weight loss of 10 kilos already, just by walking and watching his diet, is proof positive to what I have been advocating in this blog as to the advantages of substantial weight loss benefits of moderate exercise and diet modification.

If John can lose weight, with a serious heart condition, you can also. Perhaps you should consider taking up walking before you end up with a heart condition like John.

This week I managed to lose half a kilo or just on one pound and it feels good. I don't mind small weight loss figures when they are consistent and in the right direction... DOWN.

This week I hit the scales at 77.75 kilos or 171 pounds. This is just 2.75 kilos to reach my goal that was made here on the blog last August. It will be great to meet that goal then watch this space for some new targets for the future.

The flooding that occurred to our town last week has receded and the town is slowly getting back to normal. Many people lost all their possessions and businesses were severely affected, some losing all of their stock. We should count our blessings as there were horror stories about how some people awoke to find themselves waist deep in water. No lives were lost, possessions can be replaced.

Personally, I am thrilled to be back into the exercise program and feeling fitter and healthier each day. Life is so wonderful and disasters do occur from time to time. It is how we face adversity that matters and if we continue to look at things in a positive manner, the adversity lessens in magnitude. When I first decided to start a weight loss program, I honestly thought that it was a huge mountain to climb. Well I am almost to the top of that mountain now and can tell you that it wasn't hard to climb at all.

When you finally decide to start your own weight loss program, stay positive and stay on the course. You can do it. If I did, so can you.

This week's weigh-in has shown no weight loss at all. I really don't think it is a weight loss plateau that I am experiencing, more of being so close to my weight loss goal the harder it is to actually lose weight.

I can tell you that the way I feel is so good. I can actually run again without feeling like a jumbo elephant pounding along the pavement. My clothes are all one to two sizes too large. I really do feel twenty years younger. (Glad my brain hasn't gone back twenty years also.)

I now look for food which is low in calories yet high in nutrition. Salads, vegetables, chicken and fish are my favorite foods. I know this has to be a life style change and will keep this type of eating regime for the rest of my life, which probably has been extended with each kilo I have taken off.

So here is this week’s result:
Last weeks weight - 77.75 kilos or 171 lbs
This week 77.75 kilos or 171 lbs
No Loss. No Gain.
Weight loss to date 19.95 kilos - 43.89 lbs

Very happy with this weeks result where the scale shows a weight loss of 0.75 kilo which is 1.65 pounds. A very pleasing result for the week and this now gives me an overall weight loss of 20 kilos or 44 pounds.

Now I am only 2 kilos from my goal weight of 75 kilos. Not far to go now!

During the week I used a weight calculator on the Biggest Loser website and for my weight and height I am still classified as being overweight. I have to get under that 75 kilo goal to be classed as normal.

The calculator tool is very handy but it does show some strange findings such as my normal range would be from 55 kilos to 75 kilos. Now I can imagine how anorexic looking I would be at 55 kilos. At least I am off the "obese" scale and getting close to becoming "normal" again.

Now I can really work hard to reach that goal soon.

For the third week in a row my weight today was spot on 77 kilos, so again this week there has been no weight loss. Perhaps I have plateau and need to keep doing what I have learnt over the past 6 months and believe it will happen.

Which of course is the only way to tackle the job of losing weight, you must believe that you will lose weight and I know that I can and know that by having lost 20 kilos so far.

Learning how to live and maintain weight is one of the main objectives. It is so sad to see people go on a weight loss diet and lose a considerable amount only to put it all back on again and sometimes more. I met an old friend the other day that had lost over 15 kilos the last time I saw her some 6 months ago. Unfortunately all the weight plus a little more was back on again.

My friend lost the weight following one of those milk shake type diets developed by a chemist. The problem with that type of diet is that you don't learn good eating habits so when you stop using their product, old eating habits return and so does the weight.

My friend became quite depressed when she saw how I had lost weight without a fad diet, while she had been there and put it all back on again. I tried to reassure her that as she was able to lose weight before, it is more than possible again if she counts calories and becomes aware of the food she eats. I also emphasized the benefits of regular exercise.

Counting calories and moderate exercise is a sure winning formula on a weight loss journey.

Firstly, this week’s weight is the same as last week. No loss and no gain, but man I am feeling goooood. It is a little frustrating being just half a kilo away from my overall goal weight, but hey, next week will be just as good.

What I would like to talk about this week is what good food is and what good exercise is.

During the week it was pointed out to me that there really is no secret to losing weight. Everybody who is overweight knows exactly how that weight got there; they either over ate or ate the wrong things, probably a combination of both. Bit like a smoker, they know it's like taking a spoonful of poison, but they keep smoking anyway.

The person who is obese knows the foods that are no good for them but they keep shoveling it in their mouth anyway. I know I did and that is why I had to re-educate myself about what is good food and what is good exercise.

Good food is fresh vegetables and the greener the better. Make salads and steamed vegetables the main thing that goes on your plate with chicken and fish as accompanies. If you think it’s yuck then have a good look in the mirror. Bet it wasn’t vegetables that gave you that fat gut or big behind. If you have red meat, ensure the fat has been trimmed and it will be good for you because red meat full of iron. Just make sure you have a portion size. 100 grams is the ideal portion size which is about the size of a woman’s hand.

Now we all know that chips are made from potatoes, but when fried in fatty oil they don't count as vegetables, okay! So don't even try going down that road!

Good exercise is walking. If walking is an effort, which it is when you are overweight and haven't exercised for some time, start with just 15 minutes a day and build up from there. Regularity is the key. No good walking 3 times this week and then skipping all together next week. Make it an everyday part of your life. No excuses just get off your butt and start walking.

(Walking to the cupboard to get another bag of chips doesn't count either.)

It probably took you years to get to the weight that you are now, so it may take awhile to get down to your goal weight, if you throw away the bad food that is making you fat, and you know what it is, and start eating good food, plus do some regular walking, there's one thing I can say that makes it all worthwhile and that is you will feel better and be able to do things so much easier.

Sometimes you just need to take a look in the mirror and think what you will be like a year from now if you don't start eating better and getting some exercise. It's a pretty frightening thought really. What would you be like this time next year if you put on another 10 kilos? Could you go shopping without being completely tired out? It would be terrible to end up like some obese people do and not even get out of bed, so come on and make a start today to really become the person you would like to be. It can be done, but you are the only one who can decide to do it!

It was time for the 6 month cholesterol check and yesterday the results were back and I visited the doctor. My cholesterol level is down to 3.2 and the doctor stated that it can't get much better than that. This is a very pleasing result. Blood pressure is really good, prostate level good and according to the doctors scales I am down to 74 kilos.

Now I am not going to claim that I have reached my goal of being under 75 kilos just yet. The images I show here are my home scales and that is what I used when posting to this blog. Until my home scales show my weight under 75, and I can post an image to prove it, I won't break out the champagne and order the fireworks yet.

One thing of interest was my doctor told me that I had lost enough weight and now just to maintain it for the rest of my life. I was going to reset a goal so that I would go down to 70 kilos. I will have to rethink that and perhaps aim for maintaining my weight around the 73 kilo mark.

Whatever weight I choose to maintain, the process will be fairly easy now after learning how to eat to lose weight. It has been a lesson in eating portion controlled meals, counting calories and cutting out fatty foods such as chocolates and chips, especially those potato chips that are not just full of fat, have a huge salt content as well.

Hopefully my next post will have all the bells clanging and fireworks to celebrate the major goal of officially being under 75 kilos. When ever it does officially happen, one thing remains and that is the fact that losing weight has increased my ability to live life to the max.

Drum Roll Please!
Let the Fireworks begin!
Start the Celebrations!

Today I hit the weight goal that I set last August. I have got down to 75 kilos on my scales, which are the ones that I have used here for this blog.

It's a rather good feeling to get the weight under control and reach this milestone. I am actually 2 months in front of the time limit I placed back in August, but what are a few weeks or months for that matter. The main point is that I have shed that 20 something kilos and learned a lot about eating to be healthy in the time that it took.

Yesterday morning, at the end of my daily walk, I decided to do something that I have only dreamt of doing for a long time. I took the short walking track through the dunes to the beach and then ran, yes the word is ran, from the waters edge, up the sand dune, up the track through the dunes and up through the picnic park to where the car was parked. Perhaps 200 meters, all uphill.

Now this may not be something exciting for most people, but for me it was one of those real major achievements. Not just the fact you can run that far when your sixty odd years of age, the fact that when I started, the first morning I went for a walk it was to this very spot and walking back I was absolutely breathless halfway from the water to the car and had to stop for a rest. And I only was walking. Sad isn't it that you can't walk maybe 200 meters without huffing and puffing.

It is not as exciting today making the goal weight as it was yesterday running up those sand dunes because yesterday showed that not only had I lost a lot of fat from my body, the body is now healthy and I can look forward to many years of fun and enjoyment doing things that many others sadly cannot experience.

To me the main reason for attempting to lose weight was health wise. I didn't want to be old and not able to go where I wanted to go. I didn't want to have a hard time squeezing into an airplane seat. I didn't want to visit places which meant avoiding walking up and down stairs. I wanted to live longer and enjoy every day. I knew if I didn't do something about my weight soon, my life would end a lot earlier than I wanted.

Today I set a goal to lose another 3 kilos and then maintain my weight around 73 kilos for the rest of my life.

Seeing how I reached the goal weight I set for myself, I thought you may like to see the results.

Warning

Now both images are not exactly pretty and could scare children, but if they put some people off their food for a few days, it may be good for them, especially if they need to lose weight.

The first image was taken with my weight at 97.2 kilos. This is the typical before shot with a great fat belly protruding out like a pregnant bull frog. This is not a beer belly because I haven't drank beer for many years. The big fat belly was caused solely through bad eating habits, too much of the wrong food and little to no exercise.

The bottom image was taken today. Monday, May 12, 2008. Weight is 75 kilos. As you can see there is still a few kilos that can be taken off yet, but the result is so much better than before I'm sure you will agree.

I have now reset my weight goal at 73 kilos and to maintain my weight between 70 and 75 kilos for the rest of my life, which will probably be a little longer and more enjoyable now without that great fat belly sticking out in front of me.

I haven't made a blog post since I reached my goal weight, but I want to let you all know I haven't slackened off and reverted back to the old bad habits. Believe me, I will never go down that fat path again.

What I did learn from losing those 20 odd kilos is what I can and can't eat. It is good to kinow that you can go out for that restaurant meal, or have that odd take away meal without it hurting your overall plan. You just have to realise what you have eaten and watch your calories again for the next day or 2 to balance the excess.

Things that I eliminated from my diet completely, such as potato crisps and chocolate cookies, were no good for my health anyway. I will never eat them in any quantity ever again, if at all. They are full of calories and full of fat. These are the type of foods that is labeled as junk foods and that is precisely what it is for the body, total junk.

But the biggest single thing that I learnt losing all that weight was the fact that I knew all along precisely how I got fat in the first place and how I could lose it all again. Yes, I knew exactly why and how and always knew what to do, but I never had the motivation to get off my butt and do what I had to do to lose weight. Looking back now, I can only shake my head and feel sad I didn't try to keep my weight under control in the first place.

Is it a loss of self esteem and self image why we allow ourselves to get fat? Or is the reason why we make ourselves fat just pure laziness. Some may say it is genetics, some may blame health problems, but really deep down it is purely just a matter of eating too much, plus eating junk.

I will never again eat so much that I feel bloated. I will never again eat foods that are absolutely so full of fat you can't help but put on weight. I will never again stop watching what I weigh and weigh myself at least once a month and do something straight away if I have gained a pound or two.

It feels good to be normal. It feels so good not to be fat. I knew exactly how I got fat and also knew deep down how I could lose weight. I simply had to decide to do it. You can do it too. Why not decide today to "just do it".

It's been roughly a year since starting this blog and making a statement that I would lose weight. This time last year I had come home from a holiday and was totally disgusted with myself for being so obese.

I have just returned from our yearly holiday to see friends and family some 2000 kilometers away, and this time I am proud of the weight that I am carying.

I did put on 2 kilos while away but believe me, this really is nothing on the scale of things and will be shed in no time at all now we are back and doing the things that we have learned. It really has been a learning adventure this past year and it really is something we can stay with for the rest of our lives.

There were many temptations while on holiday and to be honest, we did take those temptations quite often. Our families are excellent cooks and we tasted all their favorite foods. We were also lucky enough to stay in fine hotels at times where 3 course meals were provided. Yes we didn't watch the calories but always made sure we kept active, walking, skiing and doing our best to keep fit.

I was amazed on our return flight when my carry on bag was weighed and I was told that as it weighed 7 kilos it was too heavy to place in the overhead lockers on the plane. This time last year I caried 3 of those bags as excess weight around my body. That's exactly how much weight I lost. 21 kilos or 3 carry bags full.

It feels good to be slim and even better to feel healthy. This will be a life style that I will stick to for the rest of my life, which incidentally will be a little longer now that I am no longer obese.

Losing weight can be a long hard slog with rich rewards at the end of the road. It may not always be a ton of fun to count calories and shun those bad foods, but I just came across a fun online game that actually sums up the weight loss battle well.

Kalorie King is a calorie counting game where you throw away the bad food and only eat good food in a fun way that can only make you smile. You have a bowl and such down some junk food from the game platform above your head and then throw it up making matches of 3 or more similar types, they then dislodge from the board and cascade to the floor, eliminating them from the screen. But of course there is a catch. As they fall if bad food goes into your bowl, you gain the foods equivalent calories and put on weight. If you catch only good food, you lose weight.

Kalorie King is really just simulation real life for weight watchers. Eat the bad food put on weight. No difference in the real world or in an online game.

Play
Kalorie King Online!

Toddle on over to itexpressions.com and play the calorie counting weight loss game online and see if you can become the Biggest Loser.

I hope everybody enjoyed Christmas and the New Year will bring you joy and peace. Unfortunately for us weight watchers, Christmas can spell trouble and with all the yummy food there is to tempt even the most hardened dieter, a few extra kilos can easily be gained at this time of the year.

I really don't think anyone should worry about their weight at this time of the year. It is "the season to be jolly" as the Christmas carol goes, so why spoil that time worrying what to eat,or more to the point, what not to eat. Just enjoy yourself, without making an absolute pig of yourself, and worry about an extra kilo or so after the season is over.

Putting on one or two extra kilos at this time of the year should be expected and a few brisk walks should get rid of those extra pounds in no time at all. It is when you keep eating like the festive season has no end that your problems begin again, and all that weight that you have work hard to shed and been so proud to lose, piles back on and once again you face a long road to recover.

If you remember to have a good time without going overboard, you will stay in control. You certainly can have a piece of chocolate or that serving of sweets; just don't go back for second helpings. Remember to go for a walk and above all remember that losing weight is a life style change, so don't fall back into all those bad habits that got you into trouble in the first place.

You can enjoy Christmas as much as anybody else, because Christmas is about the joy of sharing experiences with friends and family, it doesn't mean eating as much junk food as you can fit in your stomach.

Have a great Christmas and a healthy and slim New Year.

The other night we had a phone call in the middle of the night to advise us that a dear friend was gravely ill and about to be taken to hospital. It was feared that he wouldn't last the night.

The problem was our friend couldn't breathe properly. Having been diagnosed some time back with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD for short, this wasn't an actual shock to hear he was having problems with breathing.

Luckily the ambulance staff are well trained to handle this type of emergency and stablized him in readiness for the hospital doctors. We went to the hospital and were allowed to see him an hour after he was admitted.

The thing that really rammed home the dangers of smoking was the amount of older patients that were seeking help on that night for breathing difficulties. Half the people that came through the hospital doors while we were waiting to see our friend had breathing diffficulties and you don't have to be an Einstein to be able to work out that smoking is the cause.

Once you have been diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, your life expectancy is no more than 10 years. You will slowly deteriorate and finally need oxygen all the time just to be able to breathe.

Almost always the main cause of COPD is smoking. If you don't think that smoking kills, go to the emergency ward of your local hospital and watch the older people shuffling through the doors, gasping for every breath of air.

If you smoke, quit now, as this is how you will finish your life if you don't die of lung cancer first.

Smoking kills!

If your having a hard time losing weight it could be caused by lost muscle tone.

As we age most people put on weight, we slow down and lose muscle mass. It stands to reason really, once we are not as active as we once were we stop using those muscles, we put on some weight and slow down even more. This slows our metabolism and what we should do is eat less to allow for less exercise, but alas what most people do is actually eat more, thereby putting on weight. Because our metabolism has slowed to compensate for lost muscle tone, what goes in our mouths is stored as fat, instead of being burned as energy.

The good news is that we can reverse that situation with some simple weight training. Toning up and restoring your muscle mass can be done simply by exercising with dumbells for 20 to 30 minutes, two or three times per week. It doesn't matter what age you are or what gender you are, toning those muscles will lead to an invigorated body and a invigorated life.

When we say weight training we don't mean strenuously pumping iron and ending up with muscles as huge as Charles Atlas or Swartzenneger. Simple push-ups, arm lifts and knee bends can give those fading muscles new life and kick start the metabolism, burning those unwanted kilos. Couple a little weight training with a walking routine and you will look fitter and younger in no time at all.

It is a fact that weight training will burn more calories than normal exercise because muscles need more energy. That's why a man's daily calorie allowance is higher than a woman's because men do have more muscle mass than females. But women do have muscles too and while they may not bulge, they can be toned.

The other benefits to toning your muscles and losing weight is your health will improve out of sight. Moderate exercise and healthy eating will improve your circulation delivering oxygen to all parts of your body. By looking after yourself now, you will take huge steps in avoiding old age diseases such as diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, various cancers, stroke and heart disease.

You owe to yourself to be the best you can be. To live as long as you can. Kick start your metabolism by toning those tired and flabby muscles. It's not hard to lose weight once you put your brain into gear.