Being over half way through is certainly a weight off the shoulders. I can’t believe that once next week is over I’ll only have four weeks left! The last seven weeks have flown by, apart from the many hours spent on static cardio machines, during which every minute feels like a day. There is a TV in the screen of the cross-trainer I use. It turns out that Deal or No Deal and A Place in the Sun are great daytime TV shows to watch with no sound or subtitles… You can actually follow what’s going on! Most cardio sessions I wonder who I’ve become, actually doing cardio, and better still, scheduling it around daytime TV. I hardly recognise myself!
This week we have added lots of extra sets to my training, and also some horrible, painful drop sets. My workouts have been physically painful as opposed to just hard or slightly uncomfortable, but I am really pleased with the progress I’m seeing in my upper body in particular, and I have really been enjoying the challenge. Towards the end of last week, I did feel as if I may fall to pieces – knees popping during cardio, not being able to lift my arms, but this week I have managed to push through it and am feeling really positive!
Results wise, I have dropped another one per cent of body fat, which means I’m just two per cent away from being able to wear my new trainers – woohoo! I said a few weeks ago that my scale weight had stayed put. That’s still the case. Since I started this programme I have only lost 1.5kg. I am starting to appreciate more than ever the dangers of relying on ‘weight loss’ as progress to keep you going. Can you imagine how I’d be feeling seven weeks in if the only statistic I had was that I’d lost 1.5kg?! I would have given up. Knowing that I have lost six per cent body fat on the other hand, keeps me going. That’s a good start, and everyone can now see a visible difference in my physique, which is encouraging!
What I have appreciated more than ever this week is the enormous benefit that having a personal trainer brings during a project like this. There have been so many dark, cold mornings when getting up, de-icing my car and driving 40 minutes to the gym have been the last thing I’ve wanted to do, but I’ve had to because Michael (and Pete and George) have been there waiting for me, always cheerful, always ready to help me achieve my best. Accountability is key on such a tough regime. On my own I think I would have probably fallen off the wagon by now. If you ever decide to do something similar, work out who or what will keep you accountable first. It’s absolutely essential!
This blog post is a bit early, as I’m actually off on a weekend break this morning. We are going to the Christmas markets at Bruges, which will be magical and great fun, but also a huge challenge for my diet. I have front-loaded my training this week, getting in as many of my sessions and as much lunchtime cardio as possible, but I will still need to do cardio when I’m out there, and try not to eat all the Belgian chocolate/frites/mulled wine/wine in general/puddings. The only silver lining is that I really don’t like waffles, so I’m at least safe from those! Going away with heavy-drinking, non-dieting people will be my biggest challenge yet, but I hope I will be able to resist temptation. It’s too close to the end now.
I’ll let you know how it goes!