I love my food, and now I've got a lot on my plate: To lose 10kg (22lb) in three months
I'm a man on a mission: to lose 10kg (22lb) in 13 weeks.
Which is a big ask for a man with a lifelong love affair with food – including a fondness for cake, with an attachment to a certain type of tart – and a love-hate relationship with keeping fit and watching my weight. I'm the kinda guy who runs to eat rather than eats to run.
So why am I doing it? And how?
First of all, I don't need convincing about the multiple benefits of eating healthily and taking exercise – putting fitness over fatness. It's just that my preference is for sweet over sweat.
I suppose that at the age of 56 now, facing the harsh reality that my next milestone birthday starts with a '6' and ends with a big fat '0', and having been a grandfather for almost a year, I am conscious of the need to start taking better care of myself if I want to stick around to enjoy life on decent terms and conditions. It's as simple as that.
Which brings me to the 'how'.
At the end of April I completed my second London Marathon, winning my category of 'People Called Winspear' (incredibly, there were two others running that day, both younger than me, which is the closest I have ever knowingly come to bumping into an unrelated Winspear).
I achieved this feat with not a little help throughout the winter from the good people at Mike Williams' MW Fitness studio at Wickham Hall (next to Rosey Lea... who do cakes... apparently).
When, on my first post-marathon session in the studio, trainer Mark Thompson asked me what my next goal was, I was flummoxed. I didn't have one. I had no event to train for.
Soon after, Mike himself sat me down (on a comfy chair, not the rowing machine or air bike) and put a proposition to me: to join MW Fitness's special food, fitness and wellbeing programme, Evolve, which carries the tagline of 'Food, Body, Soul'.
"Yes please!" I exclaimed. He had me at 'Food'.
Once I had regained consciousness, having been told that egg custard tarts did not feature in the regime, I became intrigued.
We settled on a goal: to lose 10kg in 3 months, which would take me from 94kg (14st 11lb) to 84kg (13st 3lb) – my lowest weight since the previous millennium.
Like the other Evolve clients at MW Fitness, I have been given my own bespoke body plan in the form of a bound, printed document.
It consists of a two-week nutritional plan that I repeat throughout my 13-week weight loss programme. My daily allowance is 1,880 calories, 60g of fat, 190g of carbohydrates and 140g of protein.
Every ingredient for every meal for every day is written down in black and white. I'm even allocated morning and afternoon snacks. All I have to do is follow it. What can possibly go wrong?
Well, we'll see, shall we? I'm inviting you to join Mission Control on my voyage to a lightweight world, where no doubt there'll be as much turbulence as there will be trouble-free cruising, by following my exploits here in the Indie each week.
Because I sincerely believe that if I can do it, then almost anyone can.
* This article first appeared in the August 7 edition of the Bishop's Stortford Independent.
* For information about the Evolve programme at MW Fitness and for a free consultation, call 01279 899836, email office@mwfitness.co.uk or visit https://mwfitness.co.uk/.
