DAY 90 - SEEEEEEE YA !!!!!

"And now the end is near,
And so I face the final curtain,
Ive loved , ive laughed ive certainly cried,
I've had my fill, my share of losing,
And now as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing
We did it everyone !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "

Its no secret that the last 6 weeks of this were very tough for me but with the unwavering support from Patrick and the PCP group i got there in the end !THANKS GUYS !!!!

I started off thinking my weight was around 96-97 kgs but it was more like 100 . At my final weigh in i managed to get down to 89.25 which is a little shy of my 88 target but i think not bad for someone that only really did 2/3rds of the training. The great thing is that i know after a week or 2 off i can hit the training hard again and prob get back down and maintain something around 86 kgs which is my ultimate goal. The next positive is that i can now slowly go back to Muay Thai again as this has served as a great rehab project for my body after the kitesurfing crash .

For all those thinking about doing PCP just do it ..... the 3 months that u need to "take out" of your life will go by in no time . You will seriously will have transformed not only your body but your mind and general outlook on life. This will also rub off on the people around you who will take your lead and start doing things to help themselves ! Its amazing how good things have started happening to me !

Well thats me im outta here , its been emotional ! Off to London this evening to paint the town red !!! Before and after pics below. As i said, ive got a bit more to go but its easily attainable now !

Laters

Mark

Before :

AFTER:

WHERE IS THE BEACH ?????????????????????????

ITS THATA WAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 83..... Final stretch

Well we are nearly there ! Cant believe how quickly the last 3 months have gone. As i mentioned in my previous blog the last 30 days have been a nightmare for me . Moving apartments and the injuries were bad enough but the week long stomach infection ive just kicked nearly had me throwing in the towel. I have to admit to sending Patrick a mail asking if he thought i should go back to day 45 and just go from there again. Im very glad he convinced me to just keep going .
Ive hit the training hard and seem to have gotten over that 90kg barrier that has been a hurdle for the last 7 yrs . My target weight at the start of this was lucky 88 and taking a sneak peak at the intensity of the last weeks work outs it looks like i just might get there. Head down and all that....... Gonna treat it like the 1st week of pre season waterpolo training minus the crazy Croatian coach. ( Nothing like the " you you you Davidge , you look like Hippopotamus waiting in the water to bite someone" ringing in your mind to give you that extra motivation.)


Over and out...........

23 days to go.......

I have to say that the last 3 weeks have been crap. I have been so ridiculously busy in so many different parts of my life that ive probably done half the training ...... if that .....My back and neck injuries from my kiting accident seem to have raised their ugly heads again which hasnt helped. My failure is frustrating the hell out of me !!!
I have however managed to keep up the diet which i believe is the most important part but i really need to sort out the training side of things!!!
SOOOOOOOO for the next 23 days i am going to smash it out the park. Timetable is all drawn up and im hoping the countdown is going to make it easier to keep 2.
On a more positive note i have found that eating the right food in the right portions at the right time of day is coming very naturally now so it appears that PCP has already changed my life for the better. Good luck for the final stretch !!!!!

Day 50 - Off to KK

What a week !!!! .......A Shenzhen Sunday , early starts / late finishes at work and a work dinner which ive used as my indulgence . ( A note to anyone that has thought about going to Shenzhen to look for furniture ......ITS A BAD F(*&G IDEA !!!! )

All of this resulted in me missing a few training sessions which is really playing on my mind ! Ex of the steak dinner i have stuck to the diet 100% and ate less if i hadnt trained . Frustrating though as i felt like i was really in the groove of all this . Another spanner in the works is this climb up Mt Kinabalu that we are doing this weekend although the 2 day hike should at least take care of the skipping side of things .

Come Monday i am just going to have to put my head down and get on with it.

I must say i am very very very happy this week is over !!!!!

40 days to go .... for some reason that doesnt seem too far away.

Good to see a couple of familiar faces in the latest batch of PCPers !  Good luck boys !

DAY 44 - BASE CAMP AND A FEW NEW PICS

Hey everyone !!!!

Right , we are 44 days through this so pretty much half way . This is going to sounds incredibly cheesy but I was thinking to myself while skipping this morning that we should actually be looking at this whole thing a little more literally.

So for instance lets view the 90 peak as the peak of Everest and from what it feels like we are about to stroll into the base camp. The trip up to here has been tougher for some than others and but we have all seen the “landscape” change slightly .

We have helped each other to get this far and are now pretty much all on the same level. As we come into base camp we are starting to catch a glimpse of what might be the peak , albeit through a few “clouds”. It has been tough so far and to push on through we are more than likely going to have to step it up a gear . Patrick has trained us well for the next step …..BRING IT ON !!!!!!

HAHA that was the little motivation talk I gave myself this morning. For some reason visualizing things in a different context to the one I am in has always helped me push through the tough training sessions of my youth in swimming and thai boxing. It definitely helps with this 2 .

Its been a while since I last put pics up of myself. Usually because I just forget or don’t have Mug around to take them . I was good this morning and set a timer on my phone to take a few before my morning workout. I wanted to do this because its probably a truer reflection of my progress rather than post a hardcore , muscle pumping workout.

Catch u all soon . 

DAY 36 - Planks

Its been a tough week this week. I didn’t manage to get up early to train before work once which resulted in me skipping Tuesdays workout. It is amazing how guilty I felt because of that but smashed out 2 workouts in one on weds so back on the wagon. In fact I think the rest did me good as I felt much stronger. The diet has been fine and I have stuck to it 100%. I throw half a teaspoon of coffee into the dinner shakes to make them a little more interesting

PLANKS ……………. Enough said !!!! I really want to try the 8 min abs but those things have been killing me. Not really noticing an difference in my physique and weight is still the same as this time last week . Will do some pics this weekend

Have a good one .

Laters

DAY-31 A few breakfast recipes

1/3 of the way in now and  im  loving it ! I find im enjoying the workouts and the days following them more if i can drag myself out of bed and train 1st thing in the morning . Much easier to do on the weekends but will do what i can to wake up at 5am every morning next week to try and nail the routine . Will report back next weekend.

One thing i have really been struggling with is stomaching eggs in the morning. At the moment i only have to eat one which makes it easier but to keep it interesting i have come up with a few great little recipes to make breakfasts much more enjoyable !

1st option 

2 pieces of dark rye or whole grain toast

1 avo mashed up and spread onto toast

1 boiled or poached egg

3/4 birds eye chili finely chopped and sprinkled over the eggs

5 or 6 cherry tomatoes 

freshly ground pepper

2nd option

2 pieces of dark rye or whole grain toast

1 boiled or poached egg

Tomato , onion , garlic and chilli sauce (below)

1 small chopped onion , 2 cloves of  chopped garlic sauteed in a teaspoon of olive oil

Add 2 punnetts of cherry tomatoes ( chop a few of them ) 

Cook for 4-5 mins 

Add 2 or 3 chopped birds eye chillies 

Cook for another minute and serve as your veg portion over toast and eggs

I will put a few more ideas for other meals later in the week . 

I was concerned that i hadnt dropped any weight this time last week but those concerns are over .  4.5 kgs in a matter of days and i am truly feeling lean and healthy.  Super happy about that , the other thing is that my moods are back to normal after a brief insight in the dark world of PMS !!!!!! Lets hope i stay this way. 

Laters

DAY 27 - Plateau ??????

Dear Blog ,

Sorry I have not written in a while. Had a very busy week then went to Taiwan for a 4 day kitesurfing trip. The diet was pretty difficult to keep to whilst away but I did my best and I think the 5 hrs of water time I had everyday more than made up for the few extra calories consumed.

One thing that is concerning me a little is the fact that I am not losing any weight. There is definitely a change in appearance but I would have thought that 30 days in I would have lost more than 2 kgs as I have been very good about following the program strictly. I guess we still have a very long way to go so nothing to get too concerned about. Currently sitting around 96-97 kgs level which is where I started. I was hoping to get down to 86ish by the end of this but I seem to be building a fair bit of muscle so I guess 88 will be right sort of target. I just hope the weight drops gradually so its easier to keep off once this is all over.

Chat to you again this weekend with some pics and further updates.

Day 18

Managed to set u a timer on my iphone so got a photo for today. I feel and think it looks like ive lost weight but the scale still says 97 ..... think part of the problem is i havent used the same scale once since the start of this.... Rectified this today with a trip to Wing On ... Got a digital scale and few bits and pieces for the kitchen .

Day 18 pic

Day 17 - MAY DAY !!!!

Hey ya all !!!! Been over a week since my last post , sorry but i had an insane few days! A long trip back from Boracay and then out with clients nearly every night. A small part of me is enjoying being 100% sober when out with ppl as you really do get more of an insight into their true personalities . I have no doubt this novelty will eventually wear off when i end up in those situations where it is necessary do drink in order to deal with the people you are with.......... ;-)
Training is going well , i took a few days off the skipping to give my calf and Achilles a rest . That together with my trusty foot masseuse seems to have done the trick as im back in force !!!! I also picked up some push up bars to see if they made a difference ...... WOW i must have been doing something wrong for years as this is much much harder .... the funny thing is that a few of the guys think its easier than normal ones ..... Different strokes and all that mumble !
Loving the diet now that im into it.  I must admit to getting someone in to help me with the food shopping, prep and some cooking a few times a week . If you are in the position to do the same thing DO IT !!!! It makes all the difference in the world and will cost you less than half commercial ventures like Eat Right do.
In fact im sure it will save you money in the long run .

All in all i feel great ! Long may this continue !!!! Will post some pics when mug gets back from Taiwan.

Day 11 --- Injuries

Just as i was thinking to myself just how well this was going a couple of old niggling injuries have raised their heads. Specifically, my left achilles tendon is killing me from all the skipping. I had been doubling the required skipping we were doing as im actually used to a 10-15 min skip to warm up for muay thai. It seems my mind forgot that i havent done any exercise in 4 months but my body certainly hasnt. I think i might have to hit a the bike for a few days to give it a rest as i strained my right calf compensating for the left leg yesterday..... SO FRUSTRATING !!!! If anybody has any suggestions about what i should be doing as an alternative or knows how to fix this pls let me know.

Day 8 - 1 week done time to step it up a gear

So far so good  .... this week has been a great lesson in learning just how much unnecessary food i was eating . Thankfully it was a pretty busy week at work so  the lethargy was off set with a bit of adrenaline ... must admit to being a little snappy when i got hungry early in the week but was feeling good by the end of it. The final supper was a steak sandwich from the mandarin before we flew off to the Philippines to hit Boracay for Easter..... In Manila I was accused of planning to strangle someone with my skipping rope by airport security and was sent all the way back to go and check my hand luggage ..... this was at 5 in the morning and having only slept for 3 hrs i wasn't seeing the funny side of things ...... After another quick flight we arrived at out hotel in Boracay and it really is beautiful .... unfortunately the huge buffets they have here are equally beautiful ..... AAARRRRGH terrible timing. Oh well ..... the hotel has been great at accommodating us , prepping the food as we ask and even weighing the portions. As you would expect the fish is off the charts !!!!!!
Did this weeks photos and weigh in after a morning at the pool ....... as usual i got far too much sun so am a little sore this evening. Really enjoyed the workout this evening so good to get the old body working again.   My weight has pretty much remained the same @ 97 kgs , but i do feel a little leaner already.

Alright guys , thats all from me now.

Happy Easter !!!!! ( NO CHOCOLATE :-( )

The Captains run.....

Started doing the workout in the morning this morning ..... makes a huge difference to how you approach the day but did bring back some not so fond memories of early morning water polo practices from my school days. Im sure that its going to get a lot harder to drag myself out of bed as the workouts get harder ! Off to Boracay on thursday for Easter which will be nice , i will definitely miss a couple of beers watching the sun go down. Hopefully get a bit of kitesurfing in but the forecast is rubbish.

DAY 4

Back from China ...... food there was better than expected so did well to keep it down to half portions. Its good to be doing exercise again for the 1st time since my kiting accident.( 4 months just too long ) Neck and back holding up well but the lunges and squats are killing my legs..... never been a fan of them. Need to do some shopping for the press up bars , resistance bands and chin up bar in and around central HK. Anyone got any suggestions ?

DAY 1 ........ This is providing much amusement for our friends.

This is off to a cracking start ..... woke up with a hangover after Graham ,Mug and I saw life as we know it out at a charity rock "concert" . Half a fruit salad and half a small yogurt hardly helped the craving for a sausage roll or 2. Lunch was easier , popped out for some Japanese and ate what would have been considered the starter in the past...left hungry ........ Off to China this evening with Mug. She has assured me that this will help our diet as the food isnt something that you would eat if your life depended on it !  Joy !

LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE !!!!!!!!!!!!

All set up , let the challenge begin !!!!!!