I feel great. I think.

wobblyknees

On the 31st December, I asked myself these questions:

Q. How many do you smoke a day?
A. Up to 30. Quite literally chain smoking.
Q. How many cups of coffee do you drink each day?
A. Up to 15. Always strong.
Q. Do you drink too much?
A. Yes, always make time to have a few when the 'day' is done to try and relax.
Q. Are you overweight?
A. Yes. Weigh over 15 1/2 stone. Haven't seen toned muscle in a long time.
Q. What's your diet like?
A. Terrible. Coffee and a smoke for breakfast. Junk food/fast food much much later on in the day.

Here's the thing, a few years ago I gave up smoking and was running and cycling marathon distances. I was in the gym all the time as well.

I got lazy and complacent though and developed bad habits over the last 4 years. In my defence I have been under tremendous financial pressure for the past couple of years as well but that wasn't an excuse for me.

Over xmas I was getting a bit down with myself so I asked myself, if I was serious about making some changes again. Changes that would impact not only on my health, but my mentality. I really did decide that enough was enough and slowly but surely, without being too strict, began to make them. I set myself short term goals to be achieved by the end of January and took each day as it came. As the month went on I began to feel the effects and impact of the changes I was making and found I was making great strides so I pushed myself harder as I became more confident.

So much so, I asked myself the same questions on the 31st January:

Q. How many do you smoke a day?
A. I have stopped smoking completely.
Q. How many cups of coffee do you drink each day?
A. I don't drink coffee any more.
Q. Do you drink too much?
A. I gave up alcohol at the start of the month and haven't drank since.
Q. Are you overweight?
A. Heading in the right direction. Weigh about 14 3/4 stone now. The gym is paying off in a big way and did my first 5k run in god knows how long earlier today.
Q. What's your diet like?
A. Eat every 4 hours. Porridge/oats, almonds and honey for breakfast, fruit and yoghurts during the day. Much healthier meals in general.

Just to point out one thing, this isn't a 'look at me I'm great post'. I know it might seem a bit strange, but I hadn't shared any of this with anyone so it kind of felt a bit anticlimatic when I was thinking about it over the weekend as I was working out what I should be doing in the gym next. So, I genuinely hope you all don't mind that I post this up for your comments!

WeeBushy

Congratulations on turning your health around.

If you're looking for constructive comments you may want to go to the fitness forum... however you will get entertaining answers here.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Well done, I was gonna post something funny in the hope of getting loads of 'thanks' but thought you deserved more than that.

Keep it up.

SubrbanOblivion

Congrats on your hard work, keep it up!

wobblyknees

Rhett Bewildered Retiree wrote: »

Well done, I was gonna post something funny in the hope of getting loads of 'thanks' but thought you deserved more than that.

Keep it up.

I honestly don't mind funny comments! No harm in a bit of banter.

MaybeLogic

Now you can start to get to work on the knees and you'll be sorted.

wobblyknees

WeeBushy wrote: »

Congratulations on turning your health around.

If you're looking for constructive comments you may want to go to the fitness forum... however you will get entertaining answers here.

Fair point but this post was a bit broad. My next stop is the fitness forum as I want to really get the most from the gym.

NothingMan

Who ate all the pies?

Not wobbly knees!

JPA

15 cups of coffee? What the...?

doughef

Hey Wobblyknees

fair fooks dude,,

Thats a huge life change thing you have going on there.
I think its amazing that you decided to do all that.. and not tell anyone!!

If that was me I'd be telling everyone how great I am and how they should be more like me

Dubs

Wow congrats. Thats a feck lot changed in just a month.

Keep this up and your knees wont be wobbly for much longer.

SoulTrader

Well done.

15 coffees a day? That's mental. That's about one an hour for every waking hour? And then alcoholic drinks in the evening on top of that?

Good on you for getting away from that lifestyle.

Bonito

wobblyknees wrote: »

I honestly don't mind funny comments! No harm in a bit of banter.

I normally get wobblyknees after a bit of nookie And yes it makes me feel great

Well done Op keep it up

I reckon this should be stickied to show the Op's hard work.

Cadiz

'Before' and 'After' pics or GTFO

Agricola

Fair play OP. Im on the same journey meself. Although I wasnt smoking like a train or downing pots of coffee, Ive cut out all the crap food and am getting some excerise for a change. Dropped 10 pounds since Jan 1st and feeling alot livelier!
Keep up it up, its the only way!

My name is URL

http://madnews.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/mr-motivator.jpg

Borneo Fnctn

Well done OP. I'm genuinely happy for you.
I always get a strange feeling after a load of beers, cigarettes and a kebab. I look at my pervert belly and ask myself, "Is this what I really want to be doing?"

























And then I say to myself... " Yes. This is the life. May things never change"

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Fair play to ya OP, the hardest step on that road is the first step, it's difficult to get up and go to the gym, it's difficult to refuse temptation but you did it. Most important thing is to keep it up. You can drink alcohol and eat kebabs from time to time, once you don't relapse and make a habit of it again. Keep pictures and some clothes of when you were 15.5 stone and look at them from time to time. If you really want to be toned and healthy, tell yourself you don't want to be like that old person again

wobblyknees

SoulTrader wrote: »

Well done.

15 coffees a day? That's mental. That's about one an hour for every waking hour? And then alcoholic drinks in the evening on top of that?

Good on you for getting away from that lifestyle.

Yes. I know. Such a bad habit. Drinking it for the sake of it.

wobblyknees

Cadiz wrote: »

'Before' and 'After' pics or GTFO

If you think I'm posting pics you can GTFO!

Nobody knows me here. I am telling the truth.

Wazdakka

Good job OP..

JPA wrote: »

15 cups of coffee? What the...?

I drink about 13-17 double spooner cups per day..

It's good for you.
Put's hairs on your chest teeth.

Bonito

Wazdakka wrote: »

I drink about 13-17 double spooner fingers cups per day..

It's good for you.
Put's hairs on your chest teeth.

You must be drinking from the furry cup :pac:

wobblyknees

Agricola wrote: »

Fair play OP. Im on the same journey meself. Although I wasnt smoking like a train or downing pots of coffee, Ive cut out all the crap food and am getting some excerise for a change. Dropped 10 pounds since Jan 1st and feeling alot livelier!
Keep up it up, its the only way!

It is NOT easy to give up smoking, especially when it is such a part of your life/routine. The thing that helped me stop me smoking this time was that I really really wanted to stop. I felt so unhealthy. The approach I took was was the cut them down idea. It was very very difficult but for example, I stopped smoking as soon as I woke up and waited 30 mins. Then I started to eat a breakfast and before long I wasn't smoking for an hour after getting up. Then I did the same thing after I ate. I eventually had to keep myself seriously busy and headed out during the day away from temptation chewing copius amounts of chewing gum until I was not smoking for hours at a time. I am chuffed I got there in the end. Now I have to keep it up for another week or so until I am over the full 3 week milestone.

electrogrimey

There's a forum for people who have quit smoking here, not only will you get loadsa praise for your amazing achievement there, but some people there might be able to help you keep it up

AckwelFoley

i smoked 40 cigs a day drank 5 cups of black coffee a beat the **** out of our dog on a daily basis.

I dont smoke anymore, im off them one month today actually -and ive cut down on the coffee.

wobblyknees

doughef wrote: »

Hey Wobblyknees

fair fooks dude,,

Thats a huge life change thing you have going on there.
I think its amazing that you decided to do all that.. and not tell anyone!!

If that was me I'd be telling everyone how great I am and how they should be more like me

Everyone has there own way of making changes in their life. Sometimes it works to tell everyone to keep yourself motivated! For me, this time, it was a serious set of steps I had to take for myself. So I kept it to myself.

wobblyknees

My name is URL wrote: »

http://madnews.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/mr-motivator.jpg

Lol.

Bonito

snyper wrote: »

i smoked 40 cigs a day drank 5 cups of black coffee a beat the **** out of our dog on a daily basis.

I dont smoke anymore, im off them one month today actually -and ive cut down on the coffee.

What about the dog?

wobblyknees

electrogrimey wrote: »

There's a forum for people who have quit smoking here, not only will you get loadsa praise for your amazing achievement there, but some people there might be able to help you keep it up

Good idea. Thanks.

wobblyknees

snyper wrote: »

i smoked 40 cigs a day drank 5 cups of black coffee a beat the **** out of our dog on a daily basis.

I dont smoke anymore, im off them one month today actually -and ive cut down on the coffee.

Brilliant, shame about the dog though!

wobblyknees

Wazdakka wrote: »

Good job OP..




I drink about 13-17 double spooner cups per day..

It's good for you.
Put's hairs on your chest teeth.

And gives you the shakes!

trapsagenius

Good stuff mate!:)

JediPoncho

Well done mate!! That's an excellent turnaround.

Cadiz

wobblyknees wrote: »

If you think I'm posting pics you can GTFO!

Nobody knows me here. I am telling the truth.

Torso only is fine . Seriously though, good for you. A January success story, that's cheering.

wobblyknees

Cadiz wrote: »

Torso only is fine . Seriously though, good for you. A January success story, that's cheering.

Thanks, but I'm not that vain.

Getting up this early to have breakfast to then go to the gym was unthinkable 2 months ago!

Naos

I trust Snyper is joking about the dog?

Congratulatiosn OP, keep it up!

AckwelFoley

Naos wrote: »

I trust Snyper is joking about the dog?

Congratulatiosn OP, keep it up!

..well. seen as we dont have a dog, yes.

But perhaps when we do get one - i'll kick its ass :pac:

NothingMan

snyper wrote: »

..well. seen as we dont have a dog, yes.

But perhaps when we do get one - i'll kick its ass :pac:

yeah ya will!

poconnor16

OP - that is a huge turnaround in your life, you have some amazing willpower. Keep up the amazing effort - you wont know yourself in another month....it will keep getting better.
As an ex smoker, let me just say one thing.....be careful. Those nasty little cravings can appear when you least expect them. But sounds to me like you gave em up for all the right reasons, so I think you'll be strong.

Enjoy the next year, sounds like it will be a good one for you!:)

wobblyknees

poconnor16 wrote: »

OP - that is a huge turnaround in your life, you have some amazing willpower. Keep up the amazing effort - you wont know yourself in another month....it will keep getting better.
As an ex smoker, let me just say one thing.....be careful. Those nasty little cravings can appear when you least expect them. But sounds to me like you gave em up for all the right reasons, so I think you'll be strong.

Enjoy the next year, sounds like it will be a good one for you!:)

Thanks a mill. And I know what you mean about the cravings!

wobblyknees

Just thought I'd jump in here again to say that I am still going strong. No alcohol, no smokes and no coffee. Been in the gym regularly as well. The program I've been following has allowed me to increase the weights I am lifting but at the same time I've gone from a high of 97/8kg in early Jan to just under 92kg last Saturday.

FTA69

wobblyknees wrote: »

Q. How many do you smoke a day?
A. Up to 30. Quite literally chain smoking.

But don't forget that smoking makes you look sexy and cool...

wobblyknees

FTA69 wrote: »

But don't forget that smoking makes you look sexy and cool...

Funny you should mention that. Ever since I stopped smoking, gave up alcohol, coffee, started going to the gym more and lost weight I feel as though I look quite plain and am a bit of a bore.