I signed up for this second round on a whim. Not the same whim as I’d had when I signed up originally, but more of a “running out of time, decide now or never” whim.

I had reached both my goal weight and succeeded in my end of round goal; a half marathon. I toy with the idea of losing another two kilos to take me back to what I was when I was 18 but frankly I don’t care; I’m back down to where I should be and that is enough. I suspect that I’ll slowly lose a portion of that last weight anyway, as incidental weight loss.

None of the exercise options other that the half marathon are interesting to me and my next half marathon will be in August so training now isn’t going to assist me; I don’t like the gym, I am not a fan of exercise classes so the program exercise videos don’t appeal either.

I much prefer being active outdoors; I ride my bike, I regularly run and at the moment I’m making a concerted effort to work on my swimming.

My other problem is that the program’s primary focus is as a weight loss tool. If you do not want to lose weight, then you can struggle to engage with the program; you have weigh in day; you look at measurements. My weigh in since the end of the round on Feb 9th has been a constant 70 kilos.

I knew when I signed up to this program that my main problem was portion control. I had lost what a true portion was for me, and I used the program to regain it. I’m more mindful of what I eat, and the amounts that I eat. My overall diet was fairly healthy, but my quantities were not, so if I treated myself to something it was a little too much or often to be considered a true treat.

When it comes to ‘measurements’ mine are currently all pool focused. My tendency is to sink in the water from the hips down; so my goal is to keep my whole body afloat in the water. Am I keeping my head flat in the water? I tend to look ahead while underwater and I need to pull my chin closer to my chest to create a more streamlined profile. What distance can I manage and how do I feel at the end of that distance?

I suspect my goal is to one day feel better after completing 2 kilometres of freestyle than I currently do after 300 metres.

I still think that this is a great program, but I probably should have graduated, instead of doing what I am prone to do and clinging to the familiar.