New year, new...

Yet again January has rolled around and has called upon that time to make new resolutions which last as long as the Christmas break does and yet again I tried to make changes that would improve my health, through clearing my account on myfitnesspal and trying to eat a balanced diet but of course, it didn't last too long until I was tired and ordering food in was the easier option.

I do have an issue that is causing me to question my health in a much deeper way, that since I got back from World's Toughest Mudder, if I try and do anything slightly strenuous, it results in discomfort in my chest, which the Dr thought had been a heart issue, due to the heart disease in the family but one ECG later and the consultant doesn't seem to think it's a heart issue, I thought it might have been dust that had become trapped in the lining of my lungs but there's no wheezing that the Dr could hear.

So I'm stuck in this weird place where I can't really start to exercise but really need to since I have quite a few events this year, with two Toughest events and another World's Toughest to look forward to, hopefully whatever this is will get sorted and I can actually try and get faster than last year when running or at lease be able to take part without having to stop because my chest is giving me issues, only time will tell I guess.

Who's the guy that's a hit with all the scales, that's right Wildheart Baby

So I'm finally free of 3 stone or 42lbs as the people over the water like to say, this is quite literally a great weight that's been lifted from me, I no longer carry the equivalent of

• a 15-foot canoe
• a 3-year-old child
• an average human leg
• a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier
• five gallons of water

 Thanks to things that weigh 40 pounds

I look a damn sight better, I'm eating a whole lot better and more importantly I've stopped eating as much as I used to, so I'm no longer having a large bowl of cereal and then having another one, as the first tasted so nice. I'm exercising a whole lot more and at times annoyed at myself for getting out of shape, through bad habits and just not caring about my health.I think my ultimate goal is to have myself a flat stomach, since I've never had one of those and it would be nice to finally have one, I still have a little way to go, since I still have a tiny spare tire. I've already had people say I've lost more than enough weight but not for me, I haven't, I'm doing this properly, no starvation diets, no ridiculous ideas of how little I should weigh.

I think part of the problem with the last time was sustaining an injury whilst walking Alfie after a long 12 hour shift on my feet almost the entire time. He pulled me forwards as I chatted to my mother on the phone and my left heel struck the ground and I suddenly felt an huge pain and an inability to actually walk on it. I let it heal for about a week or so, I was able to walk in it but as soon as I tried training, the pain flared up and I ended up, lightly limping home. I did compete in the race I was training for but that was the last I ran, sadly my healthier eating regime seemed to also disappear soon after this. Occasionally I would get still get the pain, which I knew meant until it healed fully I wouldn't be able to train anymore.

I've not felt the pain in quite some time, which leads me to think that the injury is finally fully healed and losing the extra weight can only help matters. I guess that I should have been more careful, that you can get an injury from the simplest thing, which is one of the reasons I'm going to get someone to check my form to ensure that I'm lifting the heavier barbell weights correctly, as I don't really want to put my back out, as I'm approaching middle age, that would be an injury I probably wouldn't recover fully from.

Although I'm enjoying writing the blog posts, I should really be writing other stuff as well, otherwise it'll seem like I've become a bit weight loss/fitness obsessed.