How much of a positive impact can just 20 days of eating well have on the scales
Hello fellow Protagonists,
Just how much can we change our weight in only 20 days?
I have recently been influenced to try just that.
The next 20 days will be something slightly different on the blog, focusing on my 20 day personal journey on implementing healthy eating habits to see just how much can be achieved in a relatively short space of time.
Reaching and then maintaining our ideal weight is a never ending journey but I want to see what can be achieved if we really focus on discipline.
Holding ourselves accountable is also such a strong motivator and what better format for me than using The Daily Buff.
I am hoping that what can be shown in 20 days will be enough to encourage people to realise that positive changes can occur in a relatively short period of time with enough focus, as well as starting to incorporate long lasting changes to our habits.
And importantly, I have plenty of weight to spare right now.
So lets give it a try and have a little fun with this.
My current weight is 119kg (18 stone, 10 lb in old money). I am 6ft tall to help give some overall context. I have weight trained for the last 14 years which may help towards this weight but is definitely not the only reason.
This may sound like a seriously heavy number to some, that is because it is heavy. Weight is not the be all and end all of progress, some look at body fat percentage, others will look for no scale victories like how we look in photographs. We can stand 10 18 stone people in a line and chances are they will all look slightly different.
We start from wherever we are and work with the cards we have been dealt.
Rather than setting specific caloric goals, I want this to be straight forward and so will be using this trick to ask what healthy me would do. Healthy me will be implementing the following simple rules:
Carbs will come from potatoes, vegetables, fruits and pulses. This means no bread, pasta, rice or other processed carbs
Eat foods of different colours and varieties to get as many nutritional benefits as possible
Processed foods are avoided
unprocessed meat and poultry is all fine for me
I will include tinned tuna in fish sources but keep it to a minimum
Cheese, natural yoghurt and some other dairy options are fine as long as they are not filled with sweeteners. Honey can be used to sweeten certain foods
The usual chocolate, crisps, full sugar pop, fruit juices and biscuits will stay in the shop
I may keep some sugar free pop available as alcohol will also be left alone
No tasty greasy takeaways which have been a Covid staple for the last few months
I won't be fasting at this point and will be aiming to eat at least 3 proper meals a day, alongside some healthy snacks in-between. Starving myself is not the plan
I will still drink coffee with a splash of milk but removing the sugar or any sweetener
Drink plenty of water
I already weight train between 3-6 times a week and will continue to do so over this short period of time
Cardio will consist of dog walking, bits in the gym and maybe a few upcoming garden body-weight workouts that a neighbour has threatened me with
Other minor points will be worked out as I get to them.
There are no secrets implemented here, no fad diets and no mysterious supplements. Just an honest look at what can be achieved in 20 days of managing habits and emotions because those are basically what determines the things we eat, drink and do.
I will weigh myself at the same time each morning and log this on my white board at home and up here on The Daily Buff each day. This will be alongside other thoughts and topics that appear throughout this journey related to habit setting, motivation and unexpected challenges.
The first weight was taken at 6:30pm, not in the morning. I want to show everyone how weighing ourselves at different times of the day can lead to differences in weight.
At this point I wont set a specific goal or expectation because it is all about the journey for me. When we get to day 20 we will see what has worked or not.
Are we searching for golden rules when we already know what needs to be done?
Maybe, like me, you have put some unwanted weight on and want to see just what you are able to achieve in 20 days without starving yourself or taking magical weight loss beans.
Remember that it is encouraged to speak to medical professionals if you are thinking of making drastic changes to your diet or activity levels, particularly if you have certain medical conditions or take medication.
It would be awesome if some of you Buff folk got on board here and decided to see what you could achieve in just 20 days. let me know.
Start weight - 119kg
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GLHF
Warrick
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