Well, in my life I am certainly one who has suffered occasionally (or more accurately, frequently) from the horrible affliction known as “inconsistency”. Being open and honest, I was a bit under the weather last week and could not be arsed to sit down and write. Hey, those are the ins and outs of me baby. Last thing I want to do is sit down at the desk and force write when I don’t feel like it. F6 that.

Thankfully my cold passed and my broken back is less broken. So, a return to good form this week. To clarify, whilst I allow myself to remain inconsistent in some less critical areas of my life. My health, and this particular life changing challenge, are not included. I have and remain fully focused, on track and militarily consistent on that front. What has been the key so far? Five weeks of consistent, daily food preparation, without fail. When I don’t need to think about food and it is just there, it becomes soooooooo much easier.

Every night before heading up to bed, I prepare all my food for the next day, with the exception of dinner. While I am at it, I also prepare my children’s lunches as well. Why the hell not. It helps out my wife immensely (which scores me a few much needed points *) while at the same time ensuring I can make no excuses to avoid my own preparation. It is a formula which so far has worked outstandingly well.

* (Why would I need to score points you may ask? For those of you who know me either personally, or through my status as a D list celebrity, you have probably ascertained that I can be at times a pain in the royal arse. No one knows this more or is afflicted more than my loving wife Katherine. Those close to me often refer to her as “Saint Katherine” and I can tell you that is not too far from the truth)

Let’s dip into week 4 of the challenge. A reminder, my goal is to lose 50 kilograms in 50 weeks. So far, through the first 3 weeks I am officially down 9 kilograms. A fantastic start. By the way, if at anytime you missed a part of the journey you can always go back and catch up by clicking on the following link.

https://ozuncut.com/category/50-in-50/

Week 4 certainly came with it’s challenges. I think the hardest parts are two fold. First, suppressing the feelings of hunger. And trust me, you will have them. There were many times when I felt hungry, others when I was absolutely starving. It’s a serious challenge, especially when in the past your go to reaction would be to stuff your face. I didn’t falter though, as there were a couple of ways in which I dealt with this situation. Filling yourself with water in these moments can be helpful. I am not talking about having a sip or two. I am talking about gulping down between 500 ml to 1 litre of water in one go. This can provide temporary relief from those hunger pangs.

Finding yourself a healthy snack is another way to deal with it. My go to is grabbing a small piece of cheese from the fridge. Usually in the range of 30-50 grams. It is something that satisfies my taste buds while at the same time tricking my brain into thinking I ate something worthwhile. Don’t get me wrong it is not going to fill you up, but it helps get through the tough moments. And, it is a far sight better than going for something sweet or carb-o-licious that could trigger that all too familiar slippery slope back to the old you.

Hunger was the biggest challenge in week 4. Don’t kid yourself, if you have history of eating as much as you want, but then all of a sudden start limiting your calorie intake, you are going to feel hungry. No two ways about it. Critically, you must frequently reflect on what led you to where you are today. All those unhappy days, weeks, months, years that you were overweight and miserable. All the excuses you told yourself and how it was too hard. NEWSFLASH, it is fucking hard. But it’s also fucking worth it.

So where did I end up at the end of week 4. Drum roll please….

Just under a kilo lost in week 4 of my 50 in 50 challenge. Did I want to lose slightly more? YES. Was it a good result for the week? YES. Am I still well on track with my challenge? ABSOLUTELY YES. I still have a tendency to suffer from short term thinking, which is absolutely the wrong way of looking at it. It’s true, I am desperate to take the weight off. But I need to remind myself that this is about a lifestyle change more than anything else. For the long term. So really and truly as long as I stay firm and keep up with the good habits, the results are almost inconsequential. Don’t misunderstand me, they are massively important. However, the thinking should be “if I do the right things the results will come”. So stop focusing on the numbers and just focus on the journey.

Every time I jump on that scale to find a positive result, it gives me a great lift going into the new week of my challenge. That is why I weigh myself only once per week, first thing on a Monday morning. I used to have a habit of obsessing during diet periods, weighing myself multiple times daily. It used to drive me crazy and was hugely counter productive. So I am steadfast now on my weigh in schedule and it has helped me a lot.

Let’s now move into week 5. With honesty once again being the premise for me sharing this journey with you, hunger was the key issue. Especially in times when I am not busy, like the weekends, I think of being hungry all the time. During the week, when I am slammed busy with work, it’s rarely an issue. But the weekends are a bitch. I am almost thinking of food non stop. Upon reflection, I am not entirely sure if this hunger is physical or mental. But for certain it is a reality.

I face the challenge as explained in week 4. Water, light snacks and self reflection. Also, I allow myself one vice (if that is what you can call it). I don’t smoke, I don’t take drugs and I have been off alcohol for 5 weeks now. I would like to say I can be one of those persons who “respects my body as a temple” and “would never ingest anything that could be harmful or considered unhealthy”. Ummm, NO. That’s just not me. I try to be healthy, but my history is full of enjoying the majority of life’s gluttonous bad habits.

So, in the spirit of self containment, I allow myself one thing. I don’t allow it during the week if possible, but on the weekend it is my one thing I look forward to. COKE ZERO. Now if any mofo is going to give me a lecture right now regarding Aspartame and blah blah blah, I just may fucking snap. Yep it ain’t good, I get it. But there is only so much water I can drink and I prefer a shitty quality, life shortening sweetener to a sugar filled, diabetes inducing juice any day of the week. Oh and the calories, zero calories. When you are calorie counting as a means to lose weight that is key.

Got that off my chest, I feel better. Back on the scale again, week 5’s results are in…

Boom. I am so happy with the results so far. A total of 1.7 kilograms down through week five and a total of 11.6 kilograms from day one of the challenge. Super thrilled. 11.6 down, 38.4 to go. I am now more certain than ever that I can do it. Just need to remain focused, remain vigilant and remain consistent.

I have not heard from many of you in recent weeks and I would really like to share your journey. How are things going? What are your tips and secrets? Are there any specific questions you would like to ask me? I really am an open book and happy to share. Plus, your stories also provide me with a sense of support through my own journey. So please, drop any thoughts or updates in the comments section below. Or if you want to reach me privately, you can email [email protected]. Finally, I would appreciate it if you would share this article with your own circle of contacts. You never know, there could be someone you know who needs the support.

Keep strong people, keep consistent and don’t give up. Setbacks can happen. It is how you respond to those setbacks that will define your success.