Okay, losing 18 stone in 10 months isn’t easy, in fact it’s difficult, one thing my Aspergers disability allows me to do is focus on a specific task and get it done extremely well. I don’t settle until it’s done. But with this comes with challenges that could mean one minute you’re feeling the fittest you’ve ever felt before suddenly realising you’re at death’s door.

When I started training, I used to use a home cross trainer. I started training on the hardest setting, level 20, 2 hours, every other night until I had burnt 1,000-2,000 calories. I come off the trainer looking like I had been swimming. I still do to this day but one thing I take a lot more seriously is my hydration and my electrolyte level.

“I lost my eyesight, it was 20 to 30 seconds.”

I’ve had many times where I’ve come off the cross trainer and I’ve lost my eyesight, 20-30 seconds feeling like you can’t see, like you’re at death’s door, one time I rushed to the fridge to grab a pile of grapes it got that bad. This is never a nice feeling and it’s something I try to avoid from now on. I remember when I trained once and went to a meal for my Brother’s birthday and then felt awful, I ended up asking for 2 pints of water to get my hydration back to where it was.

How To Stay Hydrated

To avoid this feeling, I ensure I drink plenty of water before I run, when I’m running and after I run. I also try and have a form of an electrolyte drink, a.k.a sports drink, to top of the electrolytes I lose when I sweat. The more you run, the more you’ll get used to knowing when to drink, be careful you don’t drink too much water as this is just as dangerous.

Now I’m probably starting to scare you a bit if you’re new to running, but please don’t let this post put you off. As long as you drink plenty you’ll be fine, my training before and now is extremely intense, I try and push myself to limits not many people can do. Many athletes have experienced this same feeling, in fact I was listening to a podcast the other day, talking about how some elite marathon runners pushed themselves so much they collapsed on the finish line. It really is a case of listening to your body.