Fat like me? 120kg going down!

Health24's fat fighter, who used to weigh 120 kilograms has tightened his thighs and dropped one of his chins after his first month at CrossFit 360 Vida.

Read Brandon's story: 120kg and CrossFitting!



Listen to Brandon's song of the week

After one month of high intensity CrossFit training, Brandon writes:

Fat Like Me? Dude, where’s my carb?

It hasn’t been a good week.

Due to some late work requirements I missed CrossFit and, due to some lingering laziness, I also did not jump on the stationary bike at home to compensate.

A rather poor performance all round then.

Over the next few days I am in Cape Town, home of bearded men with designer spectacles, home of ukulele playing mountain people who jog along the promenade with sickening ease and frequency. . .  err, anyway, I’m here and will be attempting to follow Will’s advice re: training while away.

Training, however, is only one small part of the greater puzzle and, as many of you have pointed out to me via email, it is diet that will contribute greatly to the success (or failure) of this quest.

“Get In My Belly!”

Let me quickly explain my philosophy when it comes to eating healthy – or “healthier”.

“Eat. Less. Crap”

That’s pretty much it. Less of the bad things in life and smaller portions. More veggies, more lean meats, more things that will make Tim Noakes happy but please do understand this all ye carb Nazis out there – I don’t believe in “no” carbs, I just limit the intake and try not to munch a potato or any of its carb-heavy mates late in the day.

Read: What Tim Noakes eats

I drink sugarless black coffee, rooibos and green tea – water, of course, and the occasional cool drink but not many at all. I don’t really eat sweets but I do have a weakness for savoury snacks. Chips/Crisps (especially) are my kryptonite. Hell I’d even scoff the beef-flavoured Simba variety, a sure-fire sign that I have a maddening addiction.

Read: Why we need carbs

People in the know will tell you that there are fair amounts of additives that make those crisps so alluring and that none of those are particularly good for you. People in the know will also probably tell you to stay away from crisps (period) and rather stick to lean biltong or something like that if you really need something salty to nibble on.

Read: 8 healthy snacks to fill you

Those same people will probably then be delighted to know that, over the last three to four weeks, I’ve hardly touched a chip. Yes maybe a stolen little nibble here and there but I can proudly say I’ve cut intake by 80%.

I’m pretty sure the execs at Simba HQ are nervous as hell.

Dop & Chop

Two other great vices are braaing and having a wee dram or ten.

Fortunately for me I’m not a massive fan of beer. I’ll have one or two but I prefer whiskey and, of course, a glass or two of vino is always welcome. I’ve cut down on that too mind you and now limit my rendezvous with John, Jack, Mr. Walker and company to weekends.

Read: Alcohol to have when you're on a diet

Braai? Once a week is pretty much the norm (still). Although now I don’t braai enough to feed an army of starving Vikings – to the great pleasure of my wife, Leila, who used to shake her head in dismay every time I returned for the butcher with bags of gut-busting beefy items.

*sigh*

Read: Healthy grilling tips for braais

The Power of One

The net effect of all of this, by the way, has been the dropping of one kilogram on the scale but, it must be said, I’ve certainly noticed some firming up and a little less flab around some parts of my egg-shaped shell.

I now only have two chins – proudly down from the three (in the right light) that I sported a month ago . . . and I’ve noticed something resembling muscle tissue on my thighs.

A weird sight.

Next week I’ll post some pics and give you the post-mortem of my foray into the streets of the Mother City. Please do keep sending your thoughts and suggestions  – in the coming weeks we’ll delve into your tips in greater detail.

Have a good one.