fight the flab

[Dr Hotdog]

Football games have dried for up for me (5, 7 or 11-a-side) so I've taken to playing basketball every thursday night. It is fecking solid! I knew it'd be hard, but not as hard as it's proving. I absolutely love it. I am less than useless with a shot to score ratio lower than BWFC in 1986, but it is so good.

I don't mind being the worse player on the court because no-one boasts, there are no egos and everyone is congratulatory - that is a rarely witnessed thing for me having played football most of my life. Perhaps they're just being nice because I'm new to it, but I'm a dab hand at most sports I put my hand to so I've got the basics down and can pick a pass. Just don't ask me to shoot yet. hah!

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

Football games have dried for up for me (5, 7 or 11-a-side) so I've taken to playing basketball every thursday night. It is fecking solid! I knew it'd be hard, but not as hard as it's proving. I absolutely love it. I am less than useless with a shot to score ratio lower than BWFC in 1986, but it is so good.

I don't mind being the worse player on the court because no-one boasts, there are no egos and everyone is congratulatory - that is a rarely witnessed thing for me having played football most of my life. Perhaps they're just being nice because I'm new to it, but I'm a dab hand at most sports I put my hand to so I've got the basics down and can pick a pass. Just don't ask me to shoot yet. hah!

Try and get a bit of time on your own on the court and stand in the same spot and shoot 10. Then take a sideways step and repeat until you've completed an arc around the basket. Repeat repeat repeat. As you get better (and you will) then try with different distances. Controlling breathing will help a lot too. My favourite and best sport in my younger fitter days

[Dr Hotdog]

Football games have dried for up for me (5, 7 or 11-a-side) so I've taken to playing basketball every thursday night. It is fecking solid! I knew it'd be hard, but not as hard as it's proving. I absolutely love it. I am less than useless with a shot to score ratio lower than BWFC in 1986, but it is so good.

I don't mind being the worse player on the court because no-one boasts, there are no egos and everyone is congratulatory - that is a rarely witnessed thing for me having played football most of my life. Perhaps they're just being nice because I'm new to it, but I'm a dab hand at most sports I put my hand to so I've got the basics down and can pick a pass. Just don't ask me to shoot yet. hah!

Try and get a bit of time on your own on the court and stand in the same spot and shoot 10. Then take a sideways step and repeat until you've completed an arc around the basket. Repeat repeat repeat. As you get better (and you will) then try with different distances. Controlling breathing will help a lot too. My favourite and best sport in my younger fitter days

Aye that sounds like a good idea - like a golfer going around the hole from 4-5 feet in a circle and holing out. I'll try that if I can manager to arrive early one evening!

The guys I play with are good and they put me to shame. It's their prowess at finding the hoop when off balance or moving at speed that impresses me the most. The human body is capable of some impressive things!

The best thing about it is that I don't get downhearted at not being very good at it, whereas nowadays - as I'm not the football player I once was - I tend to get annoyed with myself when I play like a pillock and have a first touch heavier than Black Sabbath. With Basketball I enjoy watching the other dudes do it well and try and emulate it - if I can't it's no big deal. There's no internal measure to asses myself against!

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

Aye that sounds like a good idea - like a golfer going around the hole from 4-5 feet in a circle and holing out. I'll try that if I can manager to arrive early one evening!

The guys I play with are good and they put me to shame. It's their prowess at finding the hoop when off balance or moving at speed that impresses me the most. The human body is capable of some impressive things!

The best thing about it is that I don't get downhearted at not being very good at it, whereas nowadays - as I'm not the football player I once was - I tend to get annoyed with myself when I play like a pillock and have a first touch heavier than Black Sabbath. With Basketball I enjoy watching the other dudes do it well and try and emulate it - if I can't it's no big deal. There's no internal measure to asses myself against!

Back in the day I used to train 6 days a week, much of it on my own or with one or two others, just doing drills. Eventually it just becomes instinct. I stopped playing shortly after moving to London in my early 20s as I wasn't able to train more than once a week due to work and I couldn't play to the same level any more. I found it frustrating and decided I'd rather not play. Looking back I wish I had kept at it for longer, but I suppose my knees would be even more wrecked if I had.

Definitely do the drills if you can. Even a few weeks of it and you'll notice a big difference. Also (assuming you're right handed), force yourself to use your left hand a lot. It will allow you to show off with fancier stuff down the line Another thing is just passing a ball from hand to hand and putting spin on the ball as you pass it to the other hand. Gradually speed it up and make sure you use your fingers rather than your palm. This helps tremendously for ball control in games.

[clapton is god]

I can join in on this thread now

I re-started my brisk walking regime (can't run, knees wont let me) on Boxing Day and since then have missed my target only twice and am walking between 4 and 6 miles a day.

I quit alcohol on December 31st and have found I'm not missing it in the slightest. Only a temporary measure and I have a night out this Friday when I will take a drop, but I will extend this beyond the end of the month.

Last Monday I allied all this with watching what I eat. I can hardly call it a 'diet' but I am not snacking at any time during the day and have cut down on my lunch portions.

The result of all this is in two weeks I have dropped 5lb and my trousers are not as tight

So far so good.

[Bruce Rioja]

Nice one, Clapton. I find that diets don't work, but making better choices and moving around more does. Good work.

[thebish]

BAM! back in the zone!

A staggering (and rather surprising!) 4lbs lost this week - putting me right back to where I was before I took my Christmas/New Year gut-bucket holiday.

I have lost two and a half stone since I started this flab-fighting quest at the end of July 2014.

I am now just 0.8lb off the last of my three initial targets - eleven and a half stone - I should achieve that this week.

Am gonna carry on for a couple of weeks to give myself some wiggle-room - so that 11.5stone is the weight I occasionally nudge up to rather than occasionally work my way down to!

off out on my bicycle today for a 15mile jaunt around the Exe estuary...

[clapton is god]

Just 1lb for me this morning, but then again my usual weigh-in day is Thursday and I did have a big night out on Friday.

[Bruce Rioja]

1.6 lbs for me this week. I've made a big pot of the bish's chilli / sweet potato soup for this week's lunches, so that might help.

The Birthday cakes in the fridge certainly won't.

[thebish]

1.6 lbs for me this week. I've made a big pot of the bish's chilli / sweet potato soup for this week's lunches, so that might help.

The Birthday cakes in the fridge certainly won't.

they won't do any harm whilst still in the fridge!!

[thebish]

right - 19 pages after starting this thread (and about 7months) - I needed as many places of accountability as I could find...

I have blasted through my final target - which was 11.5 stone.

I was 14stone at the start of this - and set myself several landmarks - 12.5stone / 12stone / 11.5stone

today's weigh day finally brought me under 11.5stone (11stone 4.6lbs) - 3lbs lost this week...

SO - I am there!!!

I shall now be tailing off the calorie restriction - maybe allowing myself to drop to around 11stone 2lbs - then try to achieve a maintenance-weight lifestyle..

I have to admit that once you get into it - this weight loss thing IS a bit addictive.. it will feel weird not stepping onto the scales each week with the hope that I have lost a pound or two...

but the missus says she's worried I have started to look a bit scrawny!

anyway - thanks to those who have joined in for all the encouragement!

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

Well done bish. A massive pie n chips is in order

[Gary the Enfield]

right - 19 pages after starting this thread (and about 7months) - I needed as many places of accountability as I could find...

I have blasted through my final target - which was 11.5 stone.

I was 14stone at the start of this - and set myself several landmarks - 12.5stone / 12stone / 11.5stone

today's weigh day finally brought me under 11.5stone (11stone 4.6lbs) - 3lbs lost this week...

SO - I am there!!!

I shall now be tailing off the calorie restriction - maybe allowing myself to drop to around 11stone 2lbs - then try to achieve a maintenance-weight lifestyle..

I have to admit that once you get into it - this weight loss thing IS a bit addictive.. it will feel weird not stepping onto the scales each week with the hope that I have lost a pound or two...

but the missus says she's worried I have started to look a bit scrawny!

anyway - thanks to those who have joined in for all the encouragement!

Congratulations! That reallyis a fantastic achievement and one I'm envious of. Since my operation and lack of running I have gained a stone and now preside at 13stone 5 pounds so I am 2 stone heavier than you.

[thebish]

^ ahhh but I'll wager that you have a higher muscle-mass than me.... I suspect you'd have to be laid off for a very long time before there was any question of you being less physically fit than me! (not sure I could run 2miles in 20mins today...)

[Gary the Enfield]

^ ahhh but I'll wager that you have a higher muscle-mass than me.... I suspect you'd have to be laid off for a very long time before there was any question of you being less physically fit than me! (not sure I could run 2miles in 20mins today...)

Possibly. It'll soon come down once I can train properly.

Well done again.

[thebish]

Well done bish. A massive pie n chips is in order

went out to a local cafe for a big fry-up breakfast with the missus this morning!
indian takeaway tonight...

[thebish]

Here are my BEFORE and AFTER BMI measurements...

before...



after...

[Bruce Rioja]

I was 14stone at the start of this

I wish I was

Very well done, Bish. You're not looking scrawny at all.

Anyway, 2.2 lbs (or a Kilo should you prefer) despatched this past week, as such that's 42.5 Lbs in total. The three stone mark has been reached.

Still 'Obese'.

[thebish]

no need for sad faces, Bruce - you are outstripping me in the weight-loss stakes - THREE STONE!!! that's fecking impressive over the time you've been at it! and now those different eating habits and exercise bug have set in - plain sailing!!

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

Well done bish. A massive pie n chips is in order

went out to a local cafe for a big fry-up breakfast with the missus this morning!
indian takeaway tonight...

Good effort