There's nothing you can do to stop the never ending march towards old age. I still feel like I'm in my 20s, when I catch myself in a mirror I'm reminded that I'm not! I got another reality check a few weeks ago when my doctors messaged me to say "alrite old man, you need to come in for an old man checkup" clearly they didn't actually write this, but that was what I read!
I've got older and fatter over time, round about June last year I decided I wanted to undo what I've done, nowt I can do about getting old, but slimming down, I can do this. I started watching what I was eating and consciously getting more active. I've lost a good chunk of weight and am now back to regular jogging. I've got 14kg left to reach my target weight. I'm well on track and delighted with my progress. I'm lighter than I've been in the last 10 years and fitter than I've ever been.
Anyway, I went along to the doctors, they took some blood and told me the results would be back in about a week. A few days later all the results were in the NHS app.
I went along to the docs a week later to discuss the results with a nurse at my doctors. We talked about my weight loss and fitness activities. Everything in the results is fine. My cholesterol levels are slightly high, but this is often the case during active weight loss. The nurse said I should carry on and retest in 12 months, so that's what I plan to do.
The results of my tests are below and the tracking is below that. I already track my weight loss & jogging on a locked away page, but that page is not accountability, it's me playing with APIs. This page is my bit of accountability. The table updates automatically once per day.
| Category | Test | Result | Reference Range | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blood Count | Haemoglobin | 167 g/L | 130 – 180 g/L | Normal; good oxygen-carrying capacity |
| Blood Count | Red Blood Cell Count | 5.30 ×10¹²/L | 4.50 – 5.50 | Normal |
| Blood Count | Haematocrit | 0.48 L/L | 0.40 – 0.50 | Normal |
| Blood Count | MCV | 91 fL | 80 – 100 | Normal red cell size |
| Blood Count | MCH | 31.5 pg | 27 – 32 | Normal |
| Blood Count | MCHC | 347 g/L | 315 – 350 | Normal |
| Blood Count | RDW | 12.4% | 11.5 – 14.5 | Normal variation |
| White Cells | Total WBC | 6.5 ×10⁹/L | 4.0 – 11.0 | Normal immune profile |
| White Cells | Neutrophils | 2.8 ×10⁹/L | 2.0 – 7.5 | Normal |
| White Cells | Lymphocytes | 3.0 ×10⁹/L | 1.0 – 4.0 | Normal |
| White Cells | Monocytes | 0.4 ×10⁹/L | 0.2 – 0.8 | Normal |
| White Cells | Eosinophils | 0.3 ×10⁹/L | 0.0 – 0.4 | Normal |
| White Cells | Basophils | 0.0 ×10⁹/L | 0.0 – 0.2 | Normal |
| Blood Count | Platelets | 233 ×10⁹/L | 150 – 450 | Normal clotting function |
| Metabolic | HbA1c (IFCC) | 29 mmol/mol | 20 – 41 | Excellent glucose control |
| Lipids | Total Cholesterol | 5.4 mmol/L | < 5.0 | Mildly elevated; common during weight loss |
| Lipids | LDL Cholesterol | 3.5 mmol/L | < 3.0 | Borderline; low overall risk |
| Lipids | HDL Cholesterol | 1.23 mmol/L | > 1.0 | Protective |
| Lipids | Triglycerides | 1.5 mmol/L | < 1.7 | Normal |
| Lipids | Non-HDL Cholesterol | 4.2 mmol/L | < 4.0 | Mildly elevated |
| Lipids | Cholesterol / HDL Ratio | 4.4 | < 6.0 | Acceptable |
| Liver | ALT | 22 U/L | 7 – 40 | Normal |
| Liver | ALP | 67 U/L | 30 – 130 | Normal |
| Liver | Bilirubin | 11 µmol/L | 0 – 20 | Normal |
| Liver | Total Protein | 70 g/L | 61 – 78 | Normal |
| Liver | Albumin | 46 g/L | 35 – 50 | Normal |
| Liver | Globulin | 24 g/L | 19 – 33 | Normal |
| Kidney | Urea | 6.1 mmol/L | 2.5 – 7.8 | Normal |
| Kidney | Creatinine | 80 µmol/L | 65 – 104 | Normal |
| Kidney | eGFR (MDRD) | 89 mL/min/1.73m² | > 90 | Normal for age/body composition |
| Electrolytes | Sodium | 141 mmol/L | 133 – 146 | Normal |
| Electrolytes | Potassium | 4.5 mmol/L | 3.5 – 5.3 | Normal |
| Bone | Adjusted Calcium | 2.47 mmol/L | 2.20 – 2.60 | Normal |
| Bone | Phosphate | 0.95 mmol/L | 0.80 – 1.50 | Normal |
| Hormones | TSH | 1.5 mU/L | 0.35 – 5.50 | Normal thyroid function |
| Prostate | PSA | 0.43 µg/L | 0.00 – 2.50 | Very low |
| Blood Pressure | Weekly Average | 112/70 | <120/80 = Good | Optimal |
| Risk | QRISK (10-year) | 3% | < 10% | Low cardiovascular risk |
Anyway this page is called tracking. So what am I tracking? Weight loss is a personal thing, good luck squeezing a number out of me! I'm 196cm tall and have what you might describe as a rugby lad frame, me getting to racing snake isn't something I want or is realistic! So I'm tracking runs. My runs are at lunchtime, I run off road at a steady pace. I've got no aspiration of doing a marathon, tough mudder or anything like that, it's just a way for me to continue toning up, slimming down and improving my cardio health.
I've set myself a target of running 750km between now (February) and the end of the year. I've done some googling and there's a hotel outside of a town called Bielefeld in Germany that's about 750km from my house. You can see where this is going...
2026 · 750 km in 11 months challenge
Goal: 750 km · So far: 96.2 km (12.8%) · Remaining: 653.8 km
Required pace (rest of year): 63.8 km/month · Last updated: 2026-03-30T19:00:05+00:00 (UTC)
When I hit 750 km, I’m doing the “750 km trip” (plane → train → Uber) and staying one night in a hotel ~750 km away.
Monthly totals (Feb–Dec)
| Month | Distance |
|---|---|
| February | 48.6 km |
| March | 47.6 km |
| April | 0.0 km |
| May | 0.0 km |
| June | 0.0 km |
| July | 0.0 km |
| August | 0.0 km |
| September | 0.0 km |
| October | 0.0 km |
| November | 0.0 km |
| December | 0.0 km |
After lunch we'll then get onto Liverpool Road for as short as possible, then off onto Liverpool Old Road before dropping onto A59 Longton Bypass & Liverpool Road, which has a segregated cycle track all the way to and over the River Ribble. Then its off along the river on the Guild Wheel track to Riversway & Blackpool Road (segregated cycle track) down to Preston New Road then off up Lytham Road to Lodge Lane, through Ribby targeting Wrea Green (avoiding Blackpool Road, that has chunks with no segregation), probably stop on the green for a bite to eat, a stretch and ring Mrs T so she can set off to pick me up.
Then its out on Moss Side Lane back towards the estuary, then its the final stretch along the coast before Blackpool. We'll be on the shared prom for most of the way, then dropping onto Clifton Drive North and it's segregated cycle track alongside the dunes to Squires Gate then it's onto the prom shared cycleway all the way to the tower.
At the tower it'll be a celebratory bag of chips & can of pop, then try to locate Mrs T on a carpark, sling my bike on the back and head home. To get ready for this I've been supplementing my weekly jogging activities with some cycling too. Starting small and increasing week by week. It's less about increasing fitness and more about toughening arse muscles for a full day in the saddle!
Cycling totals (Feb–Dec 2026)
Last updated: 2026-03-30 19:00:04 (UTC)
| Month | Distance |
|---|---|
| February | 29.6 km |
| March | 12.9 km |
| April | 0.0 km |
| May | 0.0 km |
| June | 0.0 km |
| July | 0.0 km |
| August | 0.0 km |
| September | 0.0 km |
| October | 0.0 km |
| November | 0.0 km |
| December | 0.0 km |
