I have a significant problem. I’m losing weight, rapidly.

Its not a case of unhealthy weight loss… Its more a case of my body rectifying a situation that has existed far too long. I’ve been eating so badly for so long that I gained a massive amount of weight. Nearly 50KG between 2007 and 2009. Enough that it affected my job significantly.

While I was doing security patrols, I was about 90-95kg. I was fit enough that I could run the majority of my run and complete it by about 4am each morning, even with an hour or 90 min lunch break sometime after midnight. When I returned to IT work in 2007, I stopped being so active, but I gained so much weight because I didn’t change my diet to match. I was still consuming massive calories a day, but not using them. The result being, by the time I no longer worked in IT, I was just on 140kg in weight. That wouldn’t be so bad except that all the muscle I had built while I was doing the patrols also wasted away. So my muscle density dropped significantly, my belt grew massively and my chairs all started complaining about the weight I was forcing upon them.

Now, in the past few months, I’ve not done a lot. Since the money ran out in November, I have been unable to buy junk food or energy drinks. I can’t even afford smokes anymore. The pack I have now is essentially my last with no hope of further purchases.

The result of this is that my diet has changed. I’m not eating the junk food at all anymore because I can’t afford to buy any. This means my calorie intake has dropped way down and thus my body can start to correct itself.

I’m not doing any major exercise. But since November I have lost 20kg with no effort on my part. I am now just under 120kg.

Today I had opportunity to have a drink of coke. One glass of coke had me feeling ill. My stomach suddenly felt like it was being squeezed. I had opportunity to have some chocolate biscuits today as well. Uh oh. 2 Mint Slice biscuits left me feeling lethargic and groggy within about 15 minutes.

I consume massive amounts of coffee still. But I’ve also started consuming a lot of water as well.

This is all bad for a guy that has very openly been attempting to induce a heart attack through poor diet and lack of fitness. My fitness was so bad I couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs without puffing. I couldn’t walk a full lap around the property without getting light headed.

So on Thursday I opened up my old free weights chest and put together two 10kg dumbbells and a 30kg barbell. Why? Because I need to start building up my strength again. I need to build some core body strength, especially in my back and stomach. I also want to start rebuilding my arms and chest back up purely for aesthetic vanity. I also need to get some strength back in my knees as the old wound there has been really playing up lately.

This also means I need to start getting a lot of aerobic and cardio fitness in as well. No point in trying to build muscles if my heart can’t pump the oxygen needed to them. Thing is, I really don’t know where to start there. I’m still too heavy to use the folks treadmill, and my brother took off with the exercycle. I don’t want to start walking the street just yet. Last time I attempted to do that, I ended up sitting on the curb clasping at my chest for twenty minutes before turning around and coming back inside. :-P

Ok, so I did make it around the block first. But it took me so long, and with many stops, that it just isn’t practical. And at the end of it, I really was sitting on the curb outside the house trying to stop my chest from exploding before I attempted to climb the stairs back inside.

So I’ve decided to start changing things. For the better I guess. I’m just sick of wallowing in self pity, depression and not being able to have a good time. It won’t be long before there will be nephews and nieces around too.

I am blood type O. This is relevant because I have always found that when I consume large amounts of protein in my diet, and very little carbohydrates, my body functions significantly better. Reading up about the “Type O Diet” suggests that this is a well known case and that when functioning properly, my body produces Ketones that act and function in a similar way to carbohydrates in my body. Adding large quantities of carbohydrates causes all sorts of crazy things to happen, but most especially my body primarily just stores them for later use. Thus the spreading belt line.

What I found interesting was that wheat and corn based breads are especially bad. Manna bread is a very good bread for me, and rice bread is essentially neutral to my body. So I need to learn how to make manna bread.

The biggest disappointment though is that coffee is apparently a serious issue for my body and blood type. This is bad because I LOVE coffee and drink a LOT of it every day. Not only is it a stimulant for me, but I also consume it as my primary fluid intake. But that has to change as well.

Essentially I need to change my diet to lean red meats and poultry primarily. Pigs and eggs should be avoided. This sucks because I really love my B&E bagels. ;-) I’ve gotten really good at making them.

Theres a whole heap of other changes that need to be made to my diet. Its going to be a long slog.

Still, the first two big changes are gradually cutting out coffee and quitting smoking. It will take time, but it has to happen.

Let the new era begin.

BTW, if anyone is keen to act like a PT (as in physical torturer) to help force me to exercise, I could use the external motivation. Otherwise its far too easy for me to sit on my butt and write code on the computer.