Podge v COPD Week 2

Posted: May 4, 2020 in COPD, COPD - Codgers Old Puffing Disease, Cycling, general, Health, Rome-2-Home, training
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The end of week 2 of my Rome-2-Home virtual cycling challenge (week-4 of my 12 week isolation) I have managed to cover just 121 of 1198 miles. This virtual ride is being undertaken using MyVirtualChallenge and tracking a total of 4-challenges, these being: Lands End to John O’Groats, Rome-2-Home, Great Ocean Road and 2020 miles in a year. The image is a bit blurry so for next week I’ll try to create my own version.

I am rather pleased to report that last weeks mileage is an increase on the previous weeks and hopefully this will be the trend moving forward. Considering poor Podges lungs are less than 50% effective plus an arthritic hip and A-Fib, I may not be quite the athlete but I reckon I aint doing so bad 😋

I did promise that as part of my parallel campaign to lose weight, I would also include some additional stats below. Unfortunately, this week hasn’t been so rewarding (in weight loss) as I would have hoped as, despite cycling 67+ miles I seem ti have put on weight. Poor Podge is so sad. 😦 

  • Weight: 93.8 Kg (+0.4kg 😞 )
    • Goal: 83.5 
  • BMI: 30..7 (+0.3 😞 )
    • Goal: 24 
  • Body Fat: 45.3% (+0.5 😞 )
    • Goal: 34% 
  • Body Water: 39.4% (-0.1 😞 )
    • Goal: 55% 

Having reviewed last weeks performance, I can only conclude that my weight gain is attributable to the antiviral medication 😷 that I’m taking; That’s wine, beer and gin but not all at once of course 😋. So, moving forward, both Podge and Tubbs (aka Mrs Me) will only drink every other day thus reducing our intake by 50% and stop eating (nearly) all the stuff we like.

Podge is not only sad but be he’s also such a bad lad.

All rides are completed using Bkool and reported through Strava

Go Podge, Go.

Podge v COPD Week 1

Posted: April 27, 2020 in COPD, COPD - Codgers Old Puffing Disease, Cycling, Health, OaP, Rome-2-Home, training
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Many moons ago (actually, 17 years ago), His Podgeness (that’s me) was going to ride from Rome to Home (in the UK) along with two other guys. It was to be a story about 3 guys (all over 50) cycling through three counties on three wheels (yes, we had trikes made just for the occasion) but, life changes happened.

Now, here I am banged up for 12 weeks due to me being deemed considerably vulnerable to Covid-19 as I have #COPD (with an FEV1 of 44% that puts me at stage 3/severe 😞) coupled with A_Fib. I miss my cycling and walking but needs must. Then, I saw ‘My Virtual Mission‘ and recognised a chance for me to still complete my original challenge albeit from within my garage, riding on my trainer in a virtual world.

So, Podge the Puffer (if you’d seen me cycling up hills, you’d understand the Puffer bit) is a cyclist reborn: And who knows, the name Podge may [still] become ironic if I lose enough weight.

So, at the end of week 1 of my Rome-2-Home virtual cycling challenge (week-3 of my 12 week isolation) I have managed to cover just 53.3 of 1198 miles taking 3-hours and 1-minute over 3-rides with each ride longer than the previous. 

To help fight COPD, I do recognise I [still] need to lose weight so I’l also be publishing some stats here which I hope to improve on over time. Well, that’s the plan anyway 🙂 So, here goes: 

  • Weight: 93.4 Kg 
    • Goal: 83.5 
  • BMI: 30.4 (obese 😞)
    • Goal: 24 
  • Body Fat: 44.8% (lardy 😞)
    • Goal: 34% 
  • Body Water: 39.5% (dehydrated 😞)
    • Goal: 55% 

All rides on Bkool and reported through Strava
Wish me luck.
Go Podge, Go.

Podge & Tubbs Go Cruising

Posted: March 12, 2019 in Another Cruise, P&O, Travel
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#38 Part 1

Picture this if you will. Having arisen early (06:30), His Podgeness and The Duchess check in at the airport by 08:30, for our 10:55 flight, and were in the airport lounge enjoying breakfast relaxed in the knowledge that we easily had 2 hours to relax. His Podgeness, out of idle curiosity checked the boarding cards, at 09:05 to see if there was any gate details. It was then that he noticed that the gates open at 09:10 and close at 09:35 before takeoff at 09:55, NOT 10:55. 🥴

So, so glad I checked the card otherwise we’d have still been in the lounge as our plane was taking off (thus missing a trip 18 months in the planning) and His Podgeness would have got a good kicking from The Duchess. 🥵

And here starts yet another adventure of Podge (His Podgeness) & Tubbs (The Duchess).

Resolutions

Posted: January 3, 2019 in Cycling, Health, OaP, Retirement
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2018

2018 held such promise for me and to be honest most of it was delivered though I did kind of wreck it towards the end: Having started the year weighing 100 kg I finished it weighing 93 kg though I did drop to 83.5 kg. This was all in pursuit of improving my health and appearance and because I needed a new hip and I wasn’t going to get one while I was fat.

To help me lose the weight not only did I stop eating just about everything I liked 😦 but I also experimented with new foods such as vegetables which, I’d always deemed to be poisonous :-). The results were amazing as I lost 16.5 kg. I also found myself doing more walking and cycling and even took up weight training. I felt like new man. Then came the news, I was scheduled to have my hip replacement on the 31st October (the surgeon was so impressed with my results he lost no time in getting me in sooner rather than later).

Following the operation I was forced into many weeks of rest and recuperation and although I did try to get back onto my bikes and try lifting some weights I was forced back into r & r. I consoled myself by eating nice stuff again and with the build up to Christmas, the nice stuff was plentiful and ‘justified’ and aided by the fact that I had finally retired and mutated into an Old Age Pensioner.

The weight, inevitably, went back on but at least I did finish the year lighter than I started it :-). And, the benefits of losing the weight were highlighted by a distinct improvement in my breathing.

Through 2018 I cycled and walked (recorded) 199 and 53 miles respectively.

2018 stats

2019

Resolution #1

Match the miles cycled and walked through 2018 in a single month in 2019. then cycle at least 2019 miles.

Resolution #2

Reach my target weight of 75 kg.

Resolution #3

Get a second medal for completing the Great South Run – last completed ion 2003.

Go Podge, Go.

 

Podge Gets Fat, Thin And Fat Again!

Posted: December 31, 2018 in COPD, OaP, Retirement
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Poor Podge

So, His Podgeness, or Podge to his friends, started 2018 weighing in at 15.5 stone or 100kg, which is quite a lot for somebody who is only 5’9″ or 175cm tall.  Yet, despite his doctor telling him, all through 2017, to lose weight, the weight stayed where it was. However, two events through 2018 garnered Podge into a goal of weight loss. It is also worth noting that Podge has COPD and a manky heart caused by fat and of course COPD. The consequence of these is that exercise was difficult and so weight loss was a challenge. Add to the list a now arthritic hip, it was all a bit of a chore.  Poor Podge indeed.

The first event was when Podge was promised a shiny new hip but, only if he lost 2 stone or 12.7kgs. The second event was helping a long-standing friend, Lillybet, in her quest for qualification as a Nutritional Therapist. Both these events helped Podge lose enough weight, 18kgs in the end, to have the op and improve his breathing and heart no end.

Then the Operation

So, come the end of October, Podge goes down for his hip replacement followed by many weeks of rest and recuperation, then retirement then Christmas and Podge puts back on 11 of the 18Kgs that he’s lost. Bad Podge. Now, Podge’s breathing is not too good, and his heart is all over the place. So, Podge once more is returning to the healthy diet that Lillybet had advised, it did after all work. Basically, Podge has to stop eating and drinking everything that Podge likes. Still, at least Podge ends the year 7Kgs down from the start of 2018.

IMG_5217 copy

Expect more pictures of lard 🙂

Through 2018, Podge cycled 208 miles and walked 63 miles, not including normal day-to-day walking, some stats to be improved for 2019. Poor Podge.

So, here’s to 2019 and Podge becoming UnPodge.

Now, it’s new year’s eve so, everybody down to the Pub.

Happy New Year Everybody.

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