Walky, talky.

The pandemic is doing nothing for my general health and fitness. When I was in work, I was doing at least 2.5 miles per day as my lunchtime walk (weather permitting) and that was just the big one I was semi-recording. I was all over the place in the office as well, adding to my step count.

Since the lock down? Nothing. I wouldn't even say it was motivation, more like a habit that I've found myself in. 8 hours in front of the PC for work, then 6 hours at the PC after work for recreation.

There may be the odd trip to the shop (200 steps there and back), and that was it.

So when I made sure all my fitness apps were up to date and activated on my phone and watch, I took myself out this afternoon for a quick walk. It was only 1.25 miles, but I am already knackered. It's the most walking I've done in six weeks. I did make a few calls as well.

The apps aren't syncing particularly well. My watch has synced with my watch app on my phone, but the watch app has yet to sync with my fitness tracker of preference, MapMyFitness.

This is the start - further walking (increasing the distance) with an ultimate aim to get back into the yoga as the yoga will aid further exercise (I'm still toying with the Freeletics programme which seems to be more intensive than DDP Yoga but I need better flexibility first). Then I might think about diet, which is arguably the more important if I also want to lose weight (which I do).

Break.

Due to circumstances beyond my control, the whole New Year, new fitness plan never kicked off in January.

Anyone who's read the blog by now knows my goals - change eating habits (well, tweak, really) and take on more exercise (do DDP Yoga and potentially add Freeletics later) for weight loss.

Obstacles should be behind me now, so I can actually get started... if I can get the motivation. Work is exhausting me at the moment and I'm coming home from work mentally drained. Not physically, which I could battle through. Mentally though, once I get into the house, I find myself in front of the telly or the PC, vegging out.

I know that the exercise will help with the mental exhaustion, but it's a chicken and egg thing. I know I enjoy DDP, so it shouldn't be this difficult.

I need to break this habit. DDP and Freeletics should take less than an hour each (and it'll be a while before I am fit enough to consider doing both in one day).

I will do this.

Countdown...

At some point on New Year's Day, I'm going to be stepping on the scales to see what the size of my challenge will be in 2018. I know that I'm heavier than last year - the tightness of my suit at my Xmas dinner doesn't lie, but by how much?

Whatever it is, it'll be the heaviest I've ever been.

The exercise portion of what I need to do is pretty much taken care of - yoga and Bodyweight Freeletics. If I'm lucky, then some other stuff that FP mentioned as well. I have some weights at hand as well, but with DDP and Freeletics, I shouldn't need them.

I'm still not 100% convinced that my shoulder has healed, but I need to start somewhere.

The hard part is the dietary portion. I love food, me. I know that I should give up bread and crisps (crisps are easily my biggest vice), but that adjustment will be the more difficult aspect. Eat less, more frequently.

It's just a preparation and willpower thing.

Pinting and planning

While FP and I were throwing pints down ourselves last night, the subject of chat turned to weight loss and exercise.

We're both heavier and unfitter than we should be - FP by some considerable margin. However, he's already started doing the 5:2 diet and lost around half a stone (7lbs). That's impressive. I looked into the 5:2 diet, but I don't know if I have the willpower for it.

I explained my Yoga and Freeletics plan and how I'd lost nearly a stone just doing the Yoga and quitting bread and crisps a few years ago.

So we agreed that we'd try other things. FP suggested hill walking as one thing. I don't know if I'm madly keen on the idea, but it would get me out of the house. The problem with planning things with FP is that he works shifts and it's difficult to organise in advance.

But I think having a regular partner might help. CC would have been good had she not insisted that I organise everything. I've complained before that CC is like having a girlfriend without any of the benefits. As it stands, when I refused, she made her own arrangements and it seems to be doing her some good.

January will be tough because of work things - performance reviews and stuff. Exercise is something to look forward to, something to plan and work towards.

Early Goals.

One thing I did learn from the Christmas party was that I have put on some weight over the past year. The suit, whilst still looking good on me (in my humble opinion), just about fit.

While my shoulder seems as if it's mostly healed, I still get fairly serious twinges in it that I'm unsure if it's the injury or because I've been consciously carrying myself not to cause the twinges.

Still, I think I need to get over the thought that I need to be 100% injury free before I can get back into the Yoga and Freeletics. I should at least try it out with some of the more gentle exercises.

But it's the holiday period. This is something for January.

False dawns.

Four months, practically to the day. That's how long my shoulder has been painful. I've yet to make a return appointment to see my GP - like everything these days, it gets forgotten about during the day when I'm at work (and my shoulder doesn't really bother me then). By the time I remember, every other day or so, it's too late in the evening to call.

Finally, though, I think there are definite signs that it could be pretty much mended. There are still minor twinges, especially when my shoulder gets jolted - sudden braking on the bus, for example - but other than that movement seems fine. It definitely seems to be a joint rather than muscle problem.

I'm still planning on attempting the double whammy of Freeletics and DDP Yoga. DDP for a few weeks to get properly stretched out and ease into exercise again, then add the more strenuous Freeletics bodyweight exercises when I'm comfortable that my shoulder isn't going to relapse. I've had false dawns within the last four months as it is. If I can get a couple of DDP sessions under my belt without incident, then I'll be much happier.

And to add to that, dietary tweaks. Reduce (or cut out) as much bread and crisps as possible (crisps are my real vice) and reduce portion sizes. I am notoriously greedy with food.

Regular readers won't find this surprising at all - I've probably posted about this a few times now. The details haven't really changed. I did do DDP yoga about three years ago with the dietary tweaks mentioned above and lost 10lbs in as many weeks. While it was disappointing that no-one else said owt, at least one of my co-workers noticed an improvement and did ask about it.

Sob

I thought I was in good shape. My shoulder pain had all but gone, bar a little bit of pain first thing in the morning and I was starting to think about getting back into yoga and doing the Freeletics.

Until I spent the evening wrestling and generally carrying-on with KfW2's kids.

On Saturday morning, my shoulder was in agony. Painkillers, freeze spray and not moving my arm about just about nullified the pain.

This morning, I'm back to how I was on Friday - perhaps slightly more sore.

I'm toying with going to see my GP. There seems to be something more serious than a general tweak of the shoulder.

Bah (cont'd).

Since my last post, I appear to have injured my shoulder - not the one previously mentioned, but it's almost the same injury. I can't remember doing anything to aggravate it, but it's sore. My back is still giving me some discomfort (though sitting in FP's sports car on Tuesday really didn't help I don't think). And lastly, I seem to have injured my right calf muscle. Again, I can't recall doing anything to cause the injury, but it's sore nonetheless. It could be related to the back stuff, but the reasons are unimportant.

Getting rid of these injuries is important.

I really want to be in better shape, to start the yoga and Freeletics and to have shed at least a little weight come holiday time in mid-September.

Bah.

Sadly, while I've been moving freely over the past two weeks, my back is still reminding me that it's not fully healed.

I've never been one to go out and exercise unless I feel 100% (see my recent, long-term shoulder injury for example) and back issues are even more scary to me.

So all my plans for exercise have been put on hold. I might even have to change them up slightly and start off with my yoga instead of getting into the more strenuous body weight programme that I discovered (Freeletics).

I'm hoping that a few weeks of the yoga could help me stretch out my body, making it more receptive to the more demanding Freeletics workouts.

Goal getting.

I've mentioned it once before, in my goals post for this year, but I've taken the decision to start a Freeletics programme. This looks to be more intensive than the yoga that I've been doing, but it also comes with a nutrition plan.

It's this latter aspect that's the most interesting and appealing to me. The nutrition aspect was the bit that always got me confused when I tried to do research. I know the basic maths involved in calorie intake/deficit, but I need actual advice around food, recipes etc. which I believe that this programme will offer.

It's also seems to be quite cheap. For example, it's roughly £50 for three months. That's much cheaper than a gym membership and personal trainer, for what appears to be a similar service. I'm led to believe that it's a mostly automated system rather than having an actual person assigned to look after me, though.

I've reached out to a few sources for further information, but I could sign up within the next few days if I get the answers I require.

Goals. 2017 Edition.

Remarkably, I'm drawing a blank at trying to figure out some goals for this year. There are the perennial goals, of course - fitness/weight-loss, the not-really-a-goal of trying to meet someone. But other than that, I'm struggling.

So, in terms of what I'm likely to start doing, rather than importance, the first goal is fitness/lose weight. I haven't been brave enough to stand on some scales this year, so I've no idea what the scale of the issue is, but I know my goals. The main goal is to get down to 196 lbs. Once/if I hit that weight, then I will re-evaluate.

I've already done a couple of things - walking home from work with CC, but I need to do more. That will involve getting back into my yoga again. I've also got a Freeletics account, but I don't know if it's exactly what I'm looking for. What I will say is that it's decently priced at only a few pounds per week compared to a gym membership or a personal trainer.

I know that, roughly, I need 2500 calories a day. Walking home with CC burns around 350, supposedly. If I can recall correctly, my yoga sessions tend to burn around 400 calories. I know that a pound of human fat takes around 3500 calories to burn off. I need to revisit these figures for accuracy.

In order to maintain the regime, I need to see results. I need to see constant weight loss - a pound or two a week, consistently. That will keep me motivated. It's just a simple matter of mathematics and exercise. I need to have a weekly calorie deficit of at least 3500 calories to lose weight. That's 500 calories a day.

That will require a slight tweak to my diet as well. Portion management is the most important thing, but cutting out some foodstuffs will help without being a massive change. Ill need to refresh my memory on that side of things though.

I'm going to buy a fitness tracker as well to help me.

While it's not a goal per se, I still want to meet someone. I keep saying that I'm going to be more pro-active on online dating, but it's often hard to shake the lethargy due to the lack of results. There is currently one potential girl who I'm planning on contacting at some point this week. I'll consider other options, but I really want to kick off my fitness thing before getting into the dating game.

One other thing in the pipeline is work-related. I'm planning on getting re-evaluated at work for no other reason than it comes with a potentially big pay rise, but I'm due one due to a lot of extra responsibilities taken on. If I were to get the full amount, that would be enough to make life a little more comfortable. While I have money left over at the end of each month, a busy social calendar can really eat into that and make life a little difficult. That also means dating - going on dates is not cheap, so the extra money would be extremely helpful.

That might also allow me to do some travelling. FP has been asking me for a while to accompany him on a trip Stateside that I've put off for purely financial reasons. A trip away, especially somewhere warm, would be brilliant.