Nine Month Milestone - A review of my progress so far including lessons learned and future goals



Super proud of my achievement so far.

I have lost an amazing 35 kilos (77.1 lbs) in nine months (39 weeks).

It hasn't been easy, but I have worked my butt off (literally), to get to where I am today.
I still have another 50 - 60 kilos to go, but I am right on track to achieve my goal.


I thought I would take this opportunity to review my progress so far 
and talk about my lessons learned
Two biggest tips to maximising my weight loss.

  • I very rarely eat my 'Indulgences'
  • I always check the food values in the food tracker BEFORE eating them
These are the two most important things I have learned 

Of course our 'Indulgences' are there for our sanity.
If I need them, then I eat them.
They are there as a safety net. To help satiate our cravings, and help keep our sanity.

But remember, they are very high in calories and have ZERO nutritional value.
--- ZERO ----

 If you have the mental strength to avoid the indulgences, you will lose weight faster.

 I consider the following BEFORE consuming any indulgences

  • A regular Tim Tam is 0.9 indulgence units.
  • It has an astounding 95 calories.
  • 95 calories is about 5% of a 2,000 calorie a day intake.
  • It will take nearly 15 minutes of walking on a treadmill to burn that off.
  • If I have two (Plan 3 allows two indulgence points per day), it will take nearly 30 minutes of treadmill to burn that off
  • By not eating my two allowed indulgences, I reduce my calorie intake by an amazing 10%
  • I have also maximised my potential weight loss by not eating my indulgences.

As you can see from above, it is critical for me to be fully aware of consuming my indulgences.
As such, if I am tempted, I check the food values in my food tracker BEFORE consuming them.

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 What would I have done different knowing what I know now?
  • I would not eat my indulgences unless I really NEEDED them
  • I would check the food values BEFORE eating them or adding to recipe
  • Exercise earlier and not wait six months
  • Weigh everything that I use in my recipes and meal plans - EVERYTHING !!!
  • Track everything that I eat - EVERYTHING !!!
  • Take a photo every week, even after the twelve weeks finished
  • Weigh myself every week, even after the twelve weeks finished
  • Record my weight every week, even after the twelve weeks finished
  • Create a comparison montage of my before image and current photo, every week.
  • Set realistic goals
  • Celebrate when each goal is achieved with something not food related
  • Celebrate milestones
    • Smashing each 5 kilo block of weight loss
    • Cracking each decimal range - (180kg, 170kg, 160kg, 150kg, etc)
    • Three month, Six month, Nine month milestones
    • Percentage milestones - 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% loss of total body weight.
  • Review my progress weekly
  • Keep a log of my weekly progress to assist with reviews

What did I do correctly?

What are my short term goals - now to six months in the future (September 2019) ?
  • Crack the 130 kg milestone
    • I need to lose nineteen kilos in 25 weeks to achieve that. Definitely achievable
  • Milestone videos
    • 40 kilos - Target date - April 26 - Five weeks from today - 700 grams a week target loss
    • 45 kilos - One Year Milestone - 15 June - Target weight of 140.5 kilos - 45 kilo loss
    • 50 kilos - Target date - August 9 - 20 weeks from today - 675 grams a week target loss

What are my long term goals - September 2019 to July 2020
  • Lifestyle goals
    • Summer 2019 - 2020
      • Trips to multiple water parks and feel confident
      • Ride on roller-coasters with the kids
    • April 2020
      • Be able to sit in an airplane seat without a belt extender
    • July 2020
      • Buy a second hand Mazda MX-5 for myself and be able to fit comfortably
  • Weight goals
    • Summer 2019 - 2020
      • Target weight - 120 kg
    • April 2020
      • Target weight - 110 kg
    • June 2020
      • Two Year Milestone - 99 kg

How will I achieve those goals?
  • Exercise regularly, six days a week
  • Weigh everything that I use in my recipes and meal plans - EVERYTHING !!!
  • Track everything that I eat - EVERYTHING !!!
  • Take a photo every week
  • Weigh myself every week
  • Record my weight every week
  • Create a comparison montage of my before image and current photo, every week.
  • Set realistic goals
  • Celebrate when each goal is achieved with something not food related
  • Celebrate milestones
  • Review my progress weekly
  • Keep a log of my weekly progress to assist with reviews

-----  DEXA measurements

DEXA Weight
Week 000 - 185.5 kg (No DEXA)
Week 013 - 169.1 kg - 16.4 kilo total loss
Week 026 - 163.8 kg - 21.7 kilo total loss
Week 039 - 149.7 kg - 35.8 kilo total loss

Summary -
Happy overall, but disappointed in myself for losing focus of my goals in weeks 13 to 26
With total overall average weight loss per week of around 920 grams, I am super proud of that achievement.



Quarterly Weight Loss
Months 1 - 3 - 16.4 kilo loss this quarter
Months 4 - 6 - 5.3 kilo loss this quarter
Months 6 - 9 - 14.1 kilo loss this quarter

Summary -
I am extremely happy with my first and third quarters and very disappointed in myself for not taking my health seriously in the second quarter. As per this blog post - Link - I have learned from my mistakes in the second quarter and changed my lifestyle and habits accordingly. This has boosted my last quarter weight loss to 14.1 kilos in those thirteen weeks.



Body Fat %
Week 000 - No DEXA
Week 013 - 48.3 %
Week 026 - 46.6 %
Week 039 - 42.2 %

Summary -
Excellent reduction in body fat percentage.



Body Fat Kilos
Week 000 - No DEXA
Week 013 - 81.0 kg
Week 026 - 76.3 kg
Week 039 - 63.1 kg

Summary -
It is awesome seeing a 17 kilo reduction of body fat from Week 13 to Week 39.
I really wish I knew about the DEXA scans earlier as I would have loved to have the results from Week 1 for a true comparison.



Muscle %
Week 000 - No DEXA
Week 013 - 49.23%
Week 026 - 51.22%
Week 039 - 55.43%

Summary -
This is really exciting.
Seeing my muscle mass percentage actually increase as I am losing body weight.
This reassures me that I am losing fat with very little muscle loss.



Muscle Kilos
Week 000 - No DEXA
Week 013 - 83.25 kg
Week 026 - 83.90 kg
Week 039 - 82.99 kg

Summary -
Once again, I love the fact that I have lost so much weight, and only lost 250 grams of muscle.
This is one of my favourite metrics to look at and it keeps me really motivated to keep up the exercise.

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All up, I am super proud of my journey so far.
I know that I am 40% towards my ultimate goal weight, and if I can stay super focused, I should reach that goal in around 15 months.

I spent 16 years gaining 95 kilos, and it will take a LOT of hard work and effort, as well as all the determination and commitment I can muster.

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I'd love to hear from you, so please join my Facebook community page where we can support and motivate each other.

The Facebook group is closed, which means that only members can see who is in it and what they post. Nothing you post will be seen by anyone publicly, outside of the group.

Social media presence - 
Just search for - OzHealthJourney - in YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

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So c'mon and join me on my journey, I look forward to connecting with you via -

Facebook - @HealthJourneyOz - https://www.facebook.com/HealthJourneyOz

Instagram - @HealthJourneyOz - https://www.instagram.com/healthjourneyoz

Don't forget to like, share and comment on the YouTube videos !

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