Moviemann gotta check your recipes out, I'm a lousy cook, I just dont have a natural touch to it whatsoever. I burn things up or flavour is really bland etc. I eat it though, and enjoy it still because its all healthy and I reward myself every weekend with treats, as some of you know and I hope are doing the same...except cook better than me!
Oh and hi everyone, its great to be back and see this thread strive beyond expectations. A lot of you dont know me and I'll be in the corner helping with the sails and scrubbing the deck while our superstars Moviemann and Diane captains the ship :)
So here is my status.
Or perhaps I should give a summary background for those who dont know me. I was always a sportsman, playing cricket and various racket sports....yet despite that, I ballooned to 19 stones. But I didnt know it. I was delusional. I thought I was one sexy dude until one day I went into a John Lewis store to b*y new jacket. I tried on a large and panicked as I found myself stuck inside arms flaying out wards like a demented pigdeon, horrifying thoughts of an ambulance coming to the rescue flashed through my mind at that point but thankfully after some strenuous heaving and panting, it come off. I gained an audience at that point however, and decided to walk around the rest of the department store for a bit. I then returned and tried on an extra large. This time my arms could fit but the buttons wont reach at the front. A bit demoralised I then tried on the XXL. Well it fits...bit only just. I looked at myself in the mirror which I of course do everyday but for the first time, I saw right through my delusion and saw a very sad, somewhat confused, very obese MrG staring back, at that very moment I thought to myself, what happened to days when I wore medium? I wondered why am I like this, I play squash, badminton, cricket so why am I like this? Then my expression changed to one of defiance, I need to do something about this.
(this is the first time I have ever shown this picture to anyone, I think only Beate had seen me at this stage at one of my very first preview screenings)
So I did. But not without the help of Diane and a previous generation of determined health and fitness seeking fmukers on this very thread. This thread was powerful (and still is, obviously). See, my friends around me were not the sort who would go, do it MrG, you can do it...rather the opposite, they'll sometimes go "yeah right, come to the club bar tonight?" etc, they can even be bloody demoralising. But here, the vibe was "You can do it, Go MrG!", raising my adrenaline to do the best I can. Set my targets, report on progress like what you are all doing now. Whatever I learned on the journey towards health and fitness, I shared the knowledge on the thread. We had an awesome chart going to motivate each other even further, and here is an example:
Gosh that was 2010. Time flies. The progress everyone made was amazing. It was an incredible year and I will never forget it, Diane, Valda, Ms Thrifty, Havingascreen, Ejwrank, allsigning, JMD, Anakin, Annej, and many more folks encouraging each other and all of us fuelled by this powerful pool of encouragement and even at times a kick in the butt. Then new members came along such rawr_xoxo who has a fetish for sit-ups and the amazing Preston (where is he?).
I have since reached 12-14% body fat, some muscle increase, though I fluctuated going back up to 16% BF but nothing like what I was before. But I went further, as part of my journey to learn the PROPER way of losing the BODY FAT (NOT WEIGHT), I read books by professional health and fitness experts, hired a nutritionist and a personal fitness trainer. You would be jealous of who I hired as a personal trainer...none other than Rambo himself!
I chose this fella because it was definitely, Rambo. He tried to conceal his identity by calling himself Alvaro and passing himself as a Brazillian. But he was in the Brazilian army for 10 years. I wasnt fooled, he's Rambo and he trained me! I still call upon him for some military style workouts...he is quite the poser though but hey, he's got the physique to justify.
But during my journey to losing the body fat, and becoming a better squash player, a marathon runner, and a faster bowler in cricket, I pondered about doing a PT course and becoming one myself. I pondered aloud on here when Anakin said to me, if you think it, want it, do it. A wave of her Jedi hand, I responded back in a trance, "I will qualify as a Personal Fitness Trainer". So I did, I qualified over a year ago. But I dont kid myself. There is always more to learn. I still use Alvaro to give me some more enlightening workouts and the learning will never end both in nutrition and fitness. Anakin had since turned into a Sith Lord but I will still listen to any evil advice she has to give :)
So what about my present goals. As I said, I was always a sportsman and loved playing cricket, badminton, squash and tennis. But I am more focussed now. I am 41, and that is well past retirement age in any physically demanding sport at the highest level (ie national/international). But I have a gift, called delusion. Just as a I was deluded about how obese I was (which is the negative side of the delusion), I turn it into a positive gift. I want to be the best squash player and cricketer in England. Yep delusional. But its working. Now I am no where near being the best in England of course but my progress has been pretty exponential as a result of that "delusional" drive. In squash, I have risen up the ranks from division 7 to division 3 of the South London League of an amateur level and depending on the result of my next game, I hope to be promoted up to division 2 (I need to win my next match next week!). In cricket, its interesting. I became a much faster bowler but my wicket taking results were worse. I had lost some finesse in swing bowling. So I worked hard over the winter in combing my old swing bowling and my new pace, to perfect a perfect rhythm. Played my first match of the season yesterday and faster than anyone expected, rooting out 3 batsmen's stumps in just 3 overs. Here's the thing about encouragement though. Most of my team, kept telling me to stop trying to bowl quick and go back to my old slow bowling but I told them that is not what I desire. I want to be fast, I want to strike fear in those batsmen and I know my results were worse than last year but sometimes you have to unlearn what you have learned (my god I'm quoting star wars) take a dive and then become more powerful than you can ever imagine (my god, I'm doing it again). The same happened with squash, I became a worse player when I went back to learning basic and PROPER technique. But once you practice a LOT and hone those techniques, you DO become better than you ever were.
Just recently I have also qualified as a squash coach level 1 and working on level 2 right now, with a goal of becoming level 3 by the end of the year.
So that's my awfully self indulgent, rambling unfocussed story so far
Its great to see everyone here not just endeavouring to become healthier and fitter but enjoying the journey, sharing the experience (both ups and downs) with each other.
This thread will always be legend, well done guys. And Moviemann, you are a superb model on here, very inspiring. Thank you, now about those recipes...lets have a closer look, so many to choose from...Oh and to all you weight lifters, I trust you are using proper techniques and doing it safely :)
And ladies, save the sweet treats as your rewards....and no not daily awards, weekly ones
And folks, dont try to lose the weight/fat too quickly. Maximum 1.5lbs per week is my personal recommendation, although officially they say 2lbs a week. However, I did 2lbs a week and the result was loose skin round the tummy area...YOU DO NOT WANT THAT. So be patient enjoy the journey, and every little loss on the way will make you feel like a new person. So the rewards are throughout the journey, not just at the end. Thankfully that loose skin wasnt too bad and over a year, with a a bit of work on building the core, the skin reattaches itself to the muscles. But it it can be bad. So dont try to lose too quickly, please. Also dont just count calories, make it QUALITY calories. a 500 calorie mars bar is NOT a substitute for a healthy 500 calorie meal of meat and veggies. Eat lots of veggies of different colours to ensure you have the full range of vitamins and minerals to keep you healthy and looking healthy with healthy skin. Its not point in losing the body fat or weight when your skin show malnourishment. Quality calories 6 days of the week then reward yourself with your favourite treats once a week.
Like I said, I'll be in the corner sweeping the floor...wait what's all these sweet wrappers doing on the floor??? DOnor kebab wraps, hot dog carton, huh?
After my summer evening job ends, I will look to do a cookery course, it seems like a logical next step. I used to give out meal programs to some fmukers, stuff I would eat happily but I realise how bland they were to everyone else, lol. I like the idea of cooking fast, which makes your recipes sound even more brilliant. Most of us including me, have limited time for sure. When I return back from Wales, I am going to gather up your recipes, Moviemann. Something tells me I will be having lambshank while I am in Wales, though!
So its all hands on deck 
but I will be dancing all night at the 40th so that sort of balances it out) so I need to be good. 
