JOE’s Weight Watchers Challenge Week 8

We're into week eight of JOE's Weight Watchers Challenge and the lads are still working hard on shifting a bit of extra weight. Here's how they got on this week.

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Joe Mulligan
Class: Ted Lavelle's, Achill Island
Starting weight: 21st 10lbs
Current weight: 19st 3lbs

I lost two pounds this week, which I’m happy enough with. It was my slowest week so far, but it still pushed me over the two and a half stone mark. That gives me an average weight loss of 5 pounds a week and I’m happy with that. Lately, in my own mind, I was getting slightly concerned that I was losing so much so quick. Now I’m happy to see it slow down because in my own head that’s telling me that my weight loss is going to be more maintainable now.

After the weigh-in last night I was thinking what did I do differently, and why did I only lose two pounds? My tracking of the ProPoints was on the button every day and I walked 18 miles over 4 days, so the only conclusion that I could come to was that I didn’t spread the exercise over seven days. And I definitely didn’t drink enough water. I didn’t hydrate enough after exercise, which is pretty important.

I’ve been conscious of my water intake lately and I know if I had taken on more water I may have gotten a better weight loss. But I hit my target for the week, which, like I said last week, was one and a half pounds. To be honest, it’s a great kick up the arse to make sure that I do everything even more precise now this week.

People’s responses to my loss have been absolutely brilliant. There are a few locals talking about the weight loss and it’s all-good. Every single response I get is positive. When I’m out walking the roads I have people pulling over and asking if I need a lift – for a laugh like. Everyone has been so supportive and we’re having good banter with it. That really helps too, you know.

There’s only four weeks left in the challenge and when I set out at the start I was thinking if I lost 2 stone over the course of the challenge I’d be happy. My target now within the next four weeks is to lose that extra half stone so that I lose three stone in total and if I hit 3 pounds this week I’ll be ecstatic.

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Darren Savage
Class: Carmelite Community Centre, Whitefriar
Starting weight: 17st 13lbs
Current weight: 16st 10lbs

Well, I have been in the bed sick all week so I had to take a holiday week from the plan. It was bad flu and I didn’t weigh myself at all, I was too sick, but the plan allows you to take a week off like that.

As for exercise reaching for the remote control and a glass of water off the bedside locker was the extent of my movements this week.

But I know I only have four weeks to go so the plan is to give it a right good go for the last month to get down to my target. I do have a wedding coming up next weekend which I will have to be careful at but I have no plans for the holiday weekend, I am still recovering to be honest.

I went home to west Clare, though, for the first time in six weeks and some of the clothes I left there that were too small for me the last time fit me now so that was great boost to the confidence.

As I said, I will give it a good go now and I have set myself a target to lose a stone in the next four weeks. I have been consistently losing 2-3 pounds a week up to now so if I maintain that, or ramp it up a bit, I will make the target.

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Aaron Chalke
Class: St Mary's Parish Hall, Haddington Road
Starting weight: 15st
Current Weight: 14st 6lbs

I got on okay this week. I lost another pound which means I’m nearly at the half stone mark. I haven’t quite reached the half stone mark just yet, unfortunately, but I am trying. This week I made sure to watch my portion sizes a bit more. I tried to stop snacking on things too, so I thought I was going to lose a bit more than I did, but sadly I didn’t. I was tracking my ProPoints during the week but there was one or two days that I didn’t track down to a ‘T’, so I think that may have been a factor.

I got two jogging sessions in this week of about 35 – 45 minutes each and I was definitely feeling the better of it.

I came into this challenge as the lightest person so I think it’s a little bit harder knowing there isn’t going to be a dramatic change straight away like there might be if you’re a bit bigger. But the whole thing is still great education on what foods are worth points-wise.

It can get a bit disheartening to be honest because you’re not seeing big chunks being lost like some of the other guys. Sometimes it feels like a waste of time, but when you look back over the weeks and see how far you’ve come it doesn’t seem like that. So you have to look at it as a whole and not week-by-week, because some weeks are better than others, you know.

Well for this week, I’m not going to go making major promises, what with Paddy’s Day coming up. Like, I’m going to limit the amount of late night takeaways and that but I’m still going to enjoy myself.

I’m going to try for at least another pound or another pound and a half this week but, as i said, with the week that’s in it I’m not going to make any promises.

Check back next week to see how the lads are getting on in JOE's Weight Watchers Challenge. For more info on weight loss and healthy eating for men check out the Weight Watchers website.