Holy moly. I'd never have thought that it might pass so quickly, but 31 days are -- apart from just over five more hours to midnight -- up. Done and dusted. Goals (most of them, at least) achieved.

31 days with zero alcohol.

31 days without even one cup of instant coffee (and an average of only about one, decent fresh-brewed latte, per day)

31 days with daily exercise: 30 of those days seeing visits to the gym of between 45 minutes and 90 minutes each time, and the one day when I didn't go to the gym involving a 45-minute brisk walk with jogging interludes.

I feel great. Posture is much improved, as is fitness and overall strength. My weight is only down a measly 1kg in 31 days, but I am convinced that that is just a start; fitness first -- with some muscle put on to 'replace' the fat that has been shed (looser clothes and trouser belt 'prove' the loss of a fair bit of flab from around the middle) -- and with further weight to go soon, I hope.

Right now I'm in a serious grump because my other half is in a serious grump with me; the temptation to go out and blow a few beers down my neck is considerable, and I might have earned it even. We'll see.

31days -- aiming for another 29 until my birthday on April 29th; if I get through tonight, or even if I don't, without a few beers.

.......and things remain the same. Zero alcohol, much less coffee (zero instant coffee muck), and daily exercise for 28 days so far (29 this afternoon).

The concern about the apparent lack of weight loss has been explained by a good friend and athlete and obsessed trainer as exactly as I had hoped. Fat reduced has been replaced (on the scales, not in the same body places, of course) by new muscle. He gave me advice on doing two long aerobic sessions a week, and assures me that those will burn off the flab. And in fact, at the gym this week, I think I have noticed the start of weight loss: one whole kilogramme seems to be absent without leave, and not before time.

I have a big new work project back on the front boiler that will involve a long trip in America by motorcycle later in the year; and since it involves optimising fuel mileage, getting rid of my excess weight is a must. So that's decided then: the 31 days thing will continue after the end of the month, with a new target of 60 days -- 31 plus the first 29 days of April, until my 50th birthday on 29th April. Onward!

31 days

...missed three days of the blog, that is. Everything else continues just hunky dory.

Definitely getting stronger and fitter at the gym -- as I would hope, after twenty-five consecutive days of exercise (only one of which was a jog, and not a gym visit). But my weight is still about the same as it was 25 days ago, which is a bit infuriating -- though not such a big issue, as I can SEE the difference in overall shape, so I am surely replacing fat with muscle to a certain extent. I hope.

The notion of continuing after the end of the month is getting more and more appealing. Wait and see.

Onward.

31days (only SIX to go now!)

Day 21 -- have not been to the gym yet, but will get there later in the afternoon. Yesterday at the gym I was surprised and a little delighted to see that my weight might actually have dropped by one kilogramme, but that could have been an aberration that will be corrected when I get on the scales again today. Hope not, though. Any sign of the weight finally starting to recede would be very welcome.

As it is I have to take solace in perceived changes to the physique, notional signs of improvement. 100 sit-ups yesterday and between 45 minutes and one hour in the gym every day for twenty days must be having some effect, right? I definitely feel stronger and the sit-ups and other stomach exercises are certainly feeling a little easier. So all is well, so far.

I am already seriously considering extending beyond 31 days, beyond the end of March. I could perhaps go to April 29th -- my 50th birthday -- taking the project to a notional end point that is 60 days from its start. If my weight finally is starting to drop, then extending the work-out spell in that way could only help. We'll see. At the moment, I'm pleased with the progress in fitness and strength, and look forward to seeing it show up on the scales again. Fingers crossed and onwards and upwards.

31days

Yesterday, Day 18, was the first day so far that I didn't get to the gym, mainly because I was pre-occupied with other things in the afternoon, and had something I wanted to go to in the evening. But I had always said that I might make do with a strenuous walk once in a while, and that's exactly what I did. I did a 45-minute high-speed walk around this part of Bangkok, with a couple of shortish jogging interludes along the way.

I'll be honest, I didn't expect it to be such a good work-out, but it was hard work -- and I woke up this morning with sore muscles in parts of my legs that clearly don't get much work on the cross-trainer at the gym.

Today, Day 19, I made it back to the gym and completed a tough 35 minutes on the cross-trainer, plus some work on the chest and abdominals.

I think I might have turned a small corner. Posture is getting better by the day, the waistline that was previously overtaken by a large abdominal swelling (my gut) is beginning to re-appear for the first time in years, and the strength of the stomach muscles is coming on leaps and bounds. Today at the gym I did fifty sit-ups in one unbroken sequence -- then this evening I did the same again.

And still no alcohol, zero instant coffee, and only one nice cup of iced-coffee today.

Onward!

31days

And yes, all is well. Strength, fitness and posture are all improving (even if weight seems to be stubbornly unmoving; I can only use the excuse of fat being replaced by muscle for SO long....), and I continue to enjoy sound, dream-filled sleeps and to wake up feeling fresh every morning. Caffeine intake very low (not even one cup of instant muck since the exercise started 18 days ago), alcohol intake is precisely zero, and lots of water and soda water being consumed.

Now, if only the weight would start to drop, even a little!

31days

Evening of Day 16, the half-way mark is officially behind me, and all is well. Despite being at the pub during the last two nights again, no grog was consumed, and daily visits to the gym continue unabated.

Damn weight still hasn't dropped a gram though!

31days

Situation continues to be normal. At the gym every day -- today marking the two-week point in the 31-day experiment. I am mixing strenuous cardio work with upper body and abdominal exercises, and despite 14 straight days at the gym, there is no sign of strains or pains. Touch wood.

Was a bad boy today in the coffee department -- three lovely cups, but at least I went to the gym after the last of the three, and none of them were lousy instant muck.

The experiment continues to give me pleasure, and almost no pain whatsoever. Excellent. Onward!

31days

Day 11 of 31 means I am past the one-third mark already. My how time flies when you are doing something 'new'.

And I take comfort and pleasure from the notion that the training took me past a wee milestone of late; the concentration on abdomen/stomach exercises in the last couple of days has made a difference to the posture; all I have to do now is stick at that and enjoy the progress.

And not even one cup of coffee all day. Woo hoo.

Onwards.

31days

Early evening of Day 10 and the fact that there is nothing too much to report is, of course, good news indeed. Still on the wagon -- incidentally, I read in an autobiography of Louis Armstrong today the origins of that phrase; in the early 20th Century when Louis was a teenager, there were at least 100 jazz/blues bands in his home town of New Orleans, and in such a competitive atmosphere, the bands had to advertise. This they did on Sundays, when they hired furniture removal carts (pulled by horses) and rode them through the neighbourhood playing their instruments to promote their services. In those days in those neighbourhoods, the majority of the men would spend Sundays drinking or gambling, and the comparative temperance of the men riding around on horse and carts led to the phrase -- 'on the wagon'.

Here endeth the lesson in sociolinguistics.

No coffee, no alcohol -- on bar of Toblerone, naughty me -- but a good session at the gym, my tenth straight day at the gym, a minor milestone. All is relatively well.

31days