Second game lost, 0-30 in the third

So I finally lost the second game. I was spared the complicated calculation by a level weigh-in with the previous week, so no loss and the cumulative loss not achieved.

I still managed to blow out over the weekend though. Not as badly as the week before, but our house guest's homemade flapjacks took a real beating.

Back on it this week. A relatively inactive Sunday made losing the first point inevitable, while a curious attack of hunger at 4pm, slated by a chicken tikka wrap from the vending machine, ended up with a second point loss. I don't like this game at the moment.

Have tried to up the training this week after the cold/man-flu/maybe it was real flu impacted week last week. A good cardio session on Monday and a hour long walk along the beach last night have left me at c. 1,800 calories burned each day. A fantastic calorie allowance therefore ensues...which I managed to blow yesterday - incredible!

Today is PT day. Might have to take it easy with my back playing up since PT last week...couple of strong painkillers and carry on!!

Lose enough points, you lose the game

This game is not going so well. Moose-flu induced, I think. Plus it's "his" serve. Not mine...

15-30 down after 3 days and heading for 15-40 with the tiny number of calories I have left today.

Also got on the scales at they gym today and they are registering 0.7kg higher than the same time last week. How can that be? The fickle scale is the only answer I have, but it's depressing and making me dread Saturday morning weigh-in.

And while I know I haven't been great this week (you can tell from the scoreline), I also haven't been that bad...except on Saturday when I had a curry...and on Sunday when I had BBQ and McDonalds...and...

ah...what's that light bulb doing hovering above my head?

The second game

The second game hasn't started too well. I suddenly developed man-flu late last night and have been sneezin' and snivellin' my way through the day.

I am still trying to summon up the energy and motivation to get into the gym tonight - which is never easy on a Monday evening due to the weekly early rise and long commute, and therefore doubly tricky today. I did predict a struggle on my opponent's serve (whole new blog idea for a down day - in this tennis analogy of mine, who exactly is the opponent, and what does it mean for them to be serving?) and here it is. Just didn't expect this.

Big breakfast en route today used up nearly half my calorie allowance. Even more troubling given my good calorie burn of yesterday and therefore high-ish allowance. But boy it was good! Countered with a protein shake at lunchtime. Have to go lean and mean with lots of veggies for dinner.

But here's the real question for today...do I have to count the calories in the cold & flu medication towards my allowance or do I get them for free? Because to be honest, they don't print calorie info on that stuff but it works so well it can't be calorie free...

Game, Moose. First game.

Weekly weigh in shows a 1.5kgs loss in the first week. That's "game". First game, first set. But we're into the match now. Nerves settled, tactics feel like they are right for this match. A confident feeling about this one.

I'm a little unsettled by the over-delivery on the goals. Questions like: "Am I pushing it too hard?", Should I slow down a little?", and "What do I do about next week's goal - lose 1kg or aim for the 2kg cumulative?" spring into my brain.

The fact is I don't feel like I've deprived myself too much. I've eaten well 2 meals a day on most days (only Friday where I replaced 2 meals with protein shakes was maybe not so good...). The exercise has been good but not excessive.

So I'm just going to carry on for now. The first game is probably too early to review tactics anyway. Just be happy and thankful for a win to 15, and move onto the next points and the next game.

As to the goal, I guess it doesn't really matter too much. If I apply the tactics to every day/point, then my weight will be what it will be. If I win 5 points (I know the tennis analogy breaks down a little if I never lose a point!) then it's unlikely that I'm not going to lose 1kg. I can worry about the what if's of a less than 1kg loss in the week but a cumulative on target result if and when it happens. The important thing for now is the weight loss and keeping the tactics going, rather than the too intricate details of a slightly flawed analogy!

Sitting on the chair changing ends is a time to rest a little and relax. I sure did that last night. We got curry - I ate rice and naan bread and didn't flinch at all! I even had a beer. My life is so rock and roll. I didn't even count calories yesterday. I'm not sure that approach is truly sustainable, as over time I think a blow out day like that can lead to creeping gains again. But I needed it yesterday so I did it. Although today is also a "rest" or maintenance day, I'm going to be much more careful. I am cooking at a BBQ this lunchtime - perfect opportunity to get protein and salad and nothing more. Just requires some will power to say no to the bread and the cakes.

Mooselet #2 is singing at Ely cathedral this evening...very proud and also a brilliant opportunity to miss out on my evening meal and save calories. Reminds me I do need to get some protein shake powder for home storage to support such circumstances where a quick shake on getting home late tonight would be ideal. Also learned yesterday he's singing at the O2 in the autumn..."supporting JLS" - my words, they will be there too at the same event. Not bad for a small mooselet...

I feel like the umpire has just called time. There is still some rest time available before the next game but it's time to start getting prepared. I am also aware this is not my service game coming up - it should be tougher than last week. I don't think I need to be tougher on myself, I think that toughness comes naturally week by week.

The game is almost won.

Friday. It's been a good week. I'm 40-15 up in the first game and absolutely sure I'm going to win the point today and take the game. A mid-week weigh in that pointed in the direction that I'm on track for a 1kg loss this week.

Started the day without the planned run (weather just too wet) but substituted a pretty tough circuits class instead. Pushed us all to the limit.

Yesterday's calorie burn wasn't as high as I thought it would be. That leaves me fairly short of calories in the allowance today. I am considering a double dose of protein shakes and one normal meal, rather than the one:two I have been doing the rest of the week. But I did squeeze that GandT in yesterday, within allowance. And boy it tasted good!

In other news, I absolutely, definitely need a new hole in the belt I'm wearing today. Not worn for a few weeks, it has previously been at the point where I had convinced myself I needed a new hole but, to be honest, it wasn't really that desperate. But this morning it was so clear and obvious it was a great pleasure indeed. As it has been to have to hitch up my trousers all day!!!

Lost a point, but still winning

30-15 in the first game. A day out of the office on Wednesday which came on top of a none too stellar calorie burn on Tuesday proved a few hundred calories too much for the plan, so I lost a point with some extra snacking in the evening.

Back on track today though, and determined to get to that game point tomorrow.

I am also so looking forward to the weekend, with the game won, and able to revert back to 1,800 more calories than I'm on at the moment. The sheer joy of being able to have just one alcoholic drink. The pleasure of some juice to spice up my water. Full fat milk in my coffee. I need to be careful not to go overboard!!!

Let's get this point won first of all. Shopping for protein shakes tonight, as I used up my final freebie store today and it is a great way of keeping full and effectively getting one low calorie but good for weight loss meal in a day. With my breakfast and dinner bang on nutrition wise, it's proving a good tactic. I guess it's the tennis equivalent of a banana between games. Hits the spot and doesn't do any damage.

Fifteen - Love

I won the first point. I didn't stumble at the first hurdle. This is quite a big thing for me. I have stumbled at the first hurdle so many times before. My patron saint is Saint Chris Rea: "the road to hell is paved with good intentions". I could have given in. There were so many temptations last night to eat something else and go "just a little" over my calorie allowance. There was the thought flitting across my mind trying to convince me that I'd been conservative in estimating certain calorie values and I really had some room to spare. But I didn't give in, I didn't let the thought win.

So I win the first point. 15 - 0. And the tennis analogy is a good one, I think. The first point on day 1 and it's 15-0 in the first game of the first set. Still an awfully long way to go to win the match. What would JWT have done if after winning the first point against Federer he'd convinced himself he'd got it sewn up, wrapped up and done already?

And equally it's important for me to know it's just the first point. Nobody remembers now if JWT won the first point against Federer, or against Djokovic in the semi-final. But they do remember that he beat Federer and lost to Djokovic.

And the analogy works further. I can afford to lose a point (a day) and still win the game (in my case, the game is a week). But it feels a lot better to have a comfortable service game where you hit the lines, serve aces and blast winners, than to scrape through a tense nervy deuce game peppered with double faults, net cords and unforced errors.

So I'm not letting up in this point (today). I'm pushing on for 30 - 0. My serve was good but the return came back over. We're trading baseline groundstrokes and the point today could still go either way.

More exercise yesterday sees me with a 2,050 allowance today (as compared to 1,650 yesterday). I am liking the use of yesterdays calorie burn - they are done, banked, no questions. It stops the "I can eat a bit more and then go for a run tonight" attitude, which inevitably fails when I don't go for that run...

I think I need that definite calorie number that I can go up to but not exceed. It's a mind trick that seems to work for me so far, and it feels like it resonates with how I tick.

Had a good PT session this morning with some serious leg work. The temptation is going to be to eat more because I've worked out and feel like I need the fuel. And 2,050 cals is still not very much, and 400 more than yesterday is not very many more either.

I am sitting at work dreaming of the possibilities for using those "extra"calories. The chilled can of gin and tonic sitting in the fridge and calling my name is top of the list at the moment...I know they are empty calories, but if I survived yesterday on 1,650 with no empty ones, I can blow a few today, can't I? And they are mighty tasty and satisfying empty calories too...

I think it all depends on how hungry I get during the afternoon - if a second protein shake is required to get me through until dinner, the G and T is out (until this game is won, at least). If I manage without the second shake, well, we'll just have to see...Robinsons Barley Water instead maybe??? Appropriate but too many calories and carbs in that too!

Also worth noting, on the tennis analogy front, that had he lived, it would have been my dad's birthday today. My dad was the biggest tennis obsessive fan and player you could imagine. So much so it pretty much destroyed our family.

Somehow it seems appropriate that I use tennis to lose weight and therefore NOT destroy mine.

RIP Dad.