Showing posts with label diet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diet. Show all posts

Wednesday, 21 January 2015

Wednesday Weigh-In - 21 January

This morning was the third weigh-in of the year, and for the third week running the scales said something nice. While the rate of weightloss has reduced, I'm more than happy to have said goodbye to another 2lbs. Keep going steadily at that pace for the next few weeks and I'll be getting back to where I want to be. Fingers crossed I dip under 15st next week.

From 16:3 to 15:1 in 19 days
Tomorrow promises to be quite testing for the diet. I've been invited to a conference and awards do for the use of social media in graduate recruitment. Food will be served and I imagine there will be drinks on hand too. I'll have to be at my level best to not go overboard with the former, and keep up my January abstinence for the latter. To be honest, I'm expecting to have to write a confessional blog on Friday but we'll have to see.

With birthdays coming up in my household next month, it is important to finish January strongly. That way I can feel a little more relaxed about celebrating with my loved ones. Porridge and soup continue to work for breakfast and lunch, giving relative freedom for whatever I fancy for dinner. Monday I put together a little chicken and green peppers in oyster sauce with egg fried rice. Last night was Moroccan spiced pork with cous cous. Both were very nice and clearly not detrimental to my waistline.

Away from the dieting business, there are more reasons to be cheerful with my youngest's physical development. Last week I posted a little clip of him at a physio session having just received a walking frame. Today I've got a little vine from the weekend, when he decided that he wanted to be a footballer!  His future sporting achievements are more likely to veer towards the paralympics than the Santiago Bernabeu, but like any daddy my heart fills up watch his son kicking a football, even in his own unique style.






Friday, 9 January 2015

My Choice

An important aspect for successful weightloss is decision making. It is not just enough to take that initial step and begin a diet. That is the starting point, but from everyday onwards success or failure will be determined on the choices that we make.

Today for example, I have been given several opportunities to break from my eating regime. One of the reasons I will be successful moving forward is the ability to say no. Resist temptation. Stick to what works. It isn’t an easy thing to do, but if the motivation and will power is really there, the right choices will be made.

Exhibit A. When I arrived at my desk this morning, I found a box of chocolates on my desk. One of my colleagues, bless her, bought them for me to say thank you for something that happened earlier in the week. She knows that I’m dieting but said I could keep them for a bad day. Now, in the early stages of dieting, I try to avoid shops for the very reason that I know I’m susceptible to chocolate. Being faced with a gift first thing in the morning, after a week of being very good was tough. However, I’m determined not to crack. The Heroes will stay in my cupboard for a while and I’ll blog again when the day comes that I tuck in.

My lunchtime choice. Soup vs Heroes. Soup won

Exhibit B. We have a communal lunch room in my office. Having spent the week avoiding the Peanut Butter Oreos and Biscuits, today a message came around about leftover buffet being available following an event. Sandwiches, bhajis, some sort of meat on a stick, mini-quiche. The sort of crap that even though you don’t really want to eat it, you find yourself compelled to eat platefuls of the stuff. I didn't. My choice.

Mmmm, leftovers. Must. Eat.

Exhibit C. No supportive photos on this occasion but trust me. A group of fundraisers came around with trays full of cakes and cookies. They put them in my face, saying it was for whatever good cause they are supporting. I stuck a pound coin in their collection bucket and but did not take anything from them. Well done me. Sticking to my diet and giving to charity.

There are various choices we have to make. Do I open that bottle of wine when I get home from work? Shall I pass on cooking and order takeout? Why don’t I have that second helping? Unless you are a child or infirm, the responsibility for what you consume on a daily basis lies squarely with you. I’ve never hidden away from the fact that I made myself a 24st man. The reason I’m dieting again this January is because of poor choices in recent months.

Graduation Day. Barely 21. Enormous. And I got much bigger than this
So thank you for the chocolates. Thank you for the leftover buffet. Thank you for the cakes. But no, my choice today is to politely decline. 




Wednesday, 7 January 2015

Wednesday Weigh-In - 7 January

My first Wednesday Weigh-In of the year yielded the following result. Apparently since Friday, when I was 16 st 3lbs, I've managed to drop 10lbs.


I'll save analysis for tomorrow (Now added to the blog). I'm not in the mood for fanfare. Instead my thoughts today are with the family, friends and colleagues of Chris Boxall, whose funeral I will be attending this afternoon.

RIP Boxy. Say hello to Pearcy for me.





Thursday, 1 January 2015

A New Year. A New Start. A New URL?

Happy New Year one and all. May I wish you and your family all the very best for 2015 and hope it will be a year that brings both happiness and health.

2015 is kicking off for me in the same vein that every New Year's Day has in the last 7. Feeling slightly hungover and awake far earlier than I would like to be courtesy of a child. That late night session of Prosecco and Jelly Tots SEEMED like a good idea at the time, but sat here on a cold Thursday morning when I smell and taste of both, have two boys vying for their's daddy attention, and a cat suffering from isolation issues, I'm coming to the realisation that heading to bed a bottle earlier and without quite so much junk in my system was probably the wiser choice.

I've not been making too many good decisions of late. Whereas 2013 was my self-proclaimed Year of the Diet, where in a year of family adversity I thrived under pressure, losing 4 stone along the way, 2014 was a year where despite running 2 half marathons, I finished the year reaching for larger clothes. The last three months of the year in particular saw me hit the self-destruct button and undoing a lot my previous good work. It is easy I suppose to sit here on January 1st to make proclamations about reversing my slide, but I do have history on my side in terms of starting a new year with fresh motivation and willpower to make a positive change to my waistline.

Before I get on with the dieting business, I'll enjoy today. Well at least as much as you can enjoy feeling rough and with a Slough Town match this afternoon. But once the date rolls to 2nd January it will be all systems go. I'll jump on the scales tomorrow morning to shame myself but also give me an indication of just what I need to do in the coming months.

My weekly weigh-in day will recommence on Wednesdays, and I'll endeavour to pen more articles for this blog than just the obligatory toes on scales announcements. Follow my progress throughout the year and feel free to leave your comments along the way. If you're also looking shed a few lbs, let's do this together.

Finally a note for your Browsers. YearOfTheDiet.com will go offline in the next few days. Instead you will want to bookmark YearOfTheDiet.co.uk - a slightly cheaper option from my hosting company and one that I hope will be just as easy for my readers to remember.

Out with the old. In with the new. Less of the junk. Time to dispense with the excess weight I've recently acquired.

We both enjoyed Christmas. He didn't expand. I did







Wednesday, 26 February 2014

Wednesday Weigh-In 26 February

The wobbles are over. To be honest they were over when I wrote last week's weigh in article as I'd already dispensed with the gremlins and recovered what all dieters need, namely control. I've been somewhat quiet on the blogging front over the last 7 days, at least with regards to dieting. Usually when I go for periods without writing it is because I'm in an unhappy place and don't want to face the music. This week it has been more a question of quietly going about my business, with a steely determination to claw back some of the gains of the past three weeks.

As it has turned out, I've wiped the slate clean. And then a bit more. I've gone sub 14 stone for the first time since I don't know when. Probably 20 years or more. Maybe even a little further back.

Yikes!
While I have been very focused on the job at hand and disciplined with food since the last weigh-in, I've not exactly been living off rabbit food. Last Thursday I bought my son a McDonald's for a lunchtime treat and had one myself. Twice I've enjoyed Truly Irresistible Sticky Toffee Pudding with plenty of custard, thanks to Co-operative and their deliciously tempting half price deal. I've kept away from bread during workdays but indulged in cheese on toast on both Saturday and Sunday. There was even a little bit of grazing on Sunday, but I've become quite comfortable with the idea of having one day a week where I'm picking at things to eat, so long as the remaining 6 I'm not.

This week's loss then has been achieved through control. I've laughed in the face of the biscuits and chocolates being offered to me at work by colleagues. I've kept away from snacks all week, with the exception of Sunday. McDonald's was eaten in sensible proportion, having a medium size wrap of the day meal. Years ago I'd have plumped for a super size meal with at least 1 additional item from the saver menu on top. The toffee pudding was a bit of a vice I admit, but then one night it was factored in as a reward for a 5k run in the morning, and replaced booze which I've quietly taken off the menu.

With all of my focus on my weight, I have dropped the ball somewhat on the exercise front. Beyond my parkrun on Saturday morning, the only time I've pulled on the running gear was last Wednesday night when I didn't go particularly far. Interrupted nights courtesy of the little man combined with a bit less energy from ditching the junk has meant I've not really been up for exercise. I'm acutely aware that the half marathon is less than 4 weeks away now so will have to put in some lengthy training runs between now and then, which means I'll need to fuel up. It was worth sacrificing a few miles in the last 7 days to help restore my sanity. Let's hope it sticks around for a while longer.


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Wednesday, 19 February 2014

Wednesday Weigh-In - 19 February

There was no need for atmospheric music building to a crescendo this morning. I knew the outcome of Wednesday Weigh In long before I jumped onto the scales. For the third straight week there is a gain and whereas there have been no alarm bells ringing out in previous weeks, my attention is now firmly been gripped. A tipping point was reached a couple of days ago, and now I’m consciously moving back into diet mode. There is no point in talking about maintenance if all I’m doing is piling on the pounds.

Not a giant leap for mankind, but an unwelcome upward trajectory

I stopped the rot on Monday night, putting an end to the feasting that has become daily ritual of late. While it was too late to reverse the effects of the preceding days, it felt good to call it quits. It is a very strange feeling knowing that you are hurting yourself with food, but when I’m on a downward spiral, I find it very difficult to stop. Although never formally identified, I tick most of the characteristics of a binge eater. Compulsive overeating is more than just seeking comfort from a box of chocolates or a tub of ice cream. I certainly never got to 24 stone through indulging in just an occasional treat. It is a constant need to eat, whether hungry or not, despite knowing that I don’t need to.

When I find myself rummaging through cupboards grabbing handfuls of breakfast cereal, I know there is a problem. Recognising it as an issue is the first step to addressing the situation. I’ve become adept at dieting through adopting a tight disciplinary approach to what I consume, thus suppressing compulsion. My attitude towards weight maintenance has probably hindered me. I was supposed to be keeping things steady at 14 stone rather than looking for further weightloss. Psychologically I think this was a green light for my defences to drop and with broken sleep thrown into the mix, I cooked up a nice big portion of dieting sabotage.

The good news is I feel I’ve emerged from the slump. Yesterday I didn’t deviate from my three meals, barring a couple of mouthfuls of my eldest son’s leftovers. I rejected biscuit and chocolate overtures from colleagues. I kept my grubby mitts away from the cupboards apart from when there was legitimate reason to do so. I feel like I’ve re-established control and pushing this dieting juggernaut back on track. Even the little man obliged last night giving me a whole night in my own bed for the first time in quite a while.

The last three weeks have seen me gain 4 pounds. I’m making demands of myself to have a loss next week. With good eating habits restored and intentions for some lengthy training runs in the coming days, that is a realistic target.





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Monday, 17 February 2014

The Art of Self Destruction

It has been a frustrating few days. To be honest it has been a frustrating few weeks. Whereas in January I got my head down, dealt with Christmas and put myself back to where I want to be, February to date has been 17 days of damage. Trent Reznor might call it the art of self destruction. I'd borrow another of his song titles to articulate what I've been of late. Piggy.

When I'm on form, I can diet, exercise, work, be a great dad, decent husband and keep going like the duracell bunny. Knocked out of stride, the diet goes to pot, exercise is removed from my dictionary, work becomes a struggle and while I'll always do my best for the family, I'm not great fun to be around when I'm exhausted. Dosing up on sugar and caffeine stabilises things in the short term, but when that avenue has already been passed all that is left is the inevitable crash.

I've probably been there today. I was unusually abrupt with a colleague, snappy when I got home. After days of overeating and not getting enough sleep, all I really wanted to do was crawl up into a ball in a dark room. But the kids still need putting to bed and dinner still needs cooking. Realising that my fatigue was more mental than physical, I reached for the running gear and opted for a dose of shock treatment, A short, quick run around the block designed to wake me from my slumber.

21 minutes is a not a long run for me these days, but tonight I think it was long enough to clear the cobwebs. I don't want a Head Like a Hole. Nor do I want to Hurt. Tomorrow is another day, a chance to start afresh. Hopefully back on track.


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Wednesday, 12 February 2014

Wednesday Weigh-In - 12 February

Last week I was positively laissez-faire about gaining 1 pound. This week I'm incredibly relieved that I replicated the feat rather than multiplied the damage. It appears that my idea of maintaining a healthy weight consists of stuffing my face like a lunatic for several days and then putting myself through 48 hours of detox ahead of a weigh-in. Not exactly a healthy way of doing things and certainly not a methodology I'm keen to repeat in future.

My Achilles Heel over the past week has been biscuits at work. Buy a pack with the intention to have an occasional treat, and before you know it the packet is empty. Repeat the next day. And the next. Over the weekend I didn't do myself any favours either, drinking more on Saturday night than I really needed to, and for no reason. Sunday I went to my mother's house and predictably ate to excess (Love your mother loathe her cooking) and while I did follow this up with an 8 mile run later that evening, it didn't take a genius to work out that I would be up against it for the weigh-in this morning.

So another pound gained. Alarm bells are not ringing yet as I've been fully aware of what I've been doing. I also know what needs to be done to reverse the trend. Cut out the extras and remain disciplined. Sounds so easy and yet the temptation is always there.

No great surprise
If I needed motivation to get back to it, the fact that I have just over three weeks until I attend an industry awards event should help restore food sanity. While I've always maintained this dieting lark is about being healthy, I'm allowed one day a year when vanity takes hold! I'm up for an award titled 'Outstanding Contribution to Work Experience' and having been a finalist in the same category the last two years without taking home the gong, I'd like to think that it will be a case of third time lucky. I've bought a new suit to reflect my smaller physique, and know I'll be in front of photographers and camera crews. You don't get many opportunities to feel like a rock star working in Higher Education, so when the chance comes along you want to make the most of it.

Two years ago I was 'Highly Commended', receiving a bottle of champers from Olympian Steve Backley which was nice. Last year I had much more important things on my mind than winning, as the Awards fell just a few days after my son was born and was still in special care following his surgery. This year, well we'll just have to see. Win or not, I want to look my best, just for one day.

Highly Commended - Close but no cigar!
So hopefully I've got my recent gorging out of the system now. A few weeks of being relatively good will mean I can head to the NUE Awards on 7 March looking good, feeling great and hopefully will have something to celebrate by the end of it.





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Wednesday, 29 January 2014

Wednesday Weigh-In - 29 January

After a two week hiatus, the weigh-in is back. Technical difficulties with the bathroom scales have been fixed so it is back to business as usual. It turns out the battery was fine, though I did buy some spares just in case. My best guess is some moisture got into the scales causing them to have a paddy. Now they're working again and so on with the show.

Two weeks ago the scales put me at 14st 3lbs. Today we're a little bit lighter.

On the money
Two weeks of Christmas took me up to 14st 11lbs. Four weeks of relative sensibility got me back down to where I was immediately prior to the festive season. 14st dead is the lightest I've been in my adult life and I vowed when I was here before not to actively diet to achieve further weightloss. I stand by that and now 2014 is all about maintenance.

Had the scales been functioning properly last week I think it would have been a very different reading. I'd been under the weather, not exercising and eating noticeably more. While this week I've not been a saint on the food front, I've had easily the most productive week of exercise in months. I've notched up more than 27km in training for the half marathon (17 miles in old change) which more than takes care of the take out last Thursday night and typical weekend snacking. Judging by the scales this morning, it did more than just that too.

As I ramp up my training to the next level, there is pretty realistic expectation of dipping under 14st. That won't be unwelcome, and will be the first time I've hit that territory since I was a child, but I won't get carried away with it. 14st is a healthy weight for my height. My physique is already starting to look a little silly, with skinny bits surrounded by excess skin from my 24st era. I'm never going to have a well chiselled bod, so no point putting myself through the wringer to try to achieve one. Running may help firm up some areas, but in my case it can't revert nature.

So with my Christmas gut dealt with before January is out, now is time to focus more narrowly on the half marathon. Keep on running and my weight will tick along with minimal intervention. That is the theory, let's see if I can put that into practice.



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Saturday, 25 January 2014

Saturday Struggle

Following my tongue biting exploits of a couple of days ago, today represented a chance to get things back to normal. Saturday morning means parkrun, and having missed out last week I was raring to go this morning. The overnight rainfall meant the ground was always going to be soft under foot, but it wasn't particularly chilly so I was anticipating a good run.

What I had was a struggle. It became self evident early on that my lungs may have been up for plodding around the estate on Thursday night, but they were not going to play ball at parkrun pace. I could hear me gasping before I reached the 1k marker. Before reaching the 2k, my parkrun acquaintance caught me up, wished me a good morning and I could barely muster words back to him. On reaching 3k I did something I've not done for some time and took a breather slowing to walking pace. 

I absolutely thought I was done. Like a broken steam train I was coughing and spluttering. A fellow runner asked me if I was ok and I assured him I was, but didn't really feel that was the case. I was staring at my first DNF and concerned about the psychological repercussions that may have for the challenges ahead. So I got myself moving again, and decided to make the best of the situation. If I wasn't feeling physically strong, why not turn this into a training session to replicate the latter stages of the half marathon, when I know I will find the going gets tough.

At the 4k post I found myself taking a breather again. The incline at this point on the Black Park course is nothing like as severe as Bradford's teeny tiny hill, but when I've already mentally given in earlier in the race, it stands to reason that I will also slow down for the most difficult part of the circuit. Into the last stretch and I found it difficult to keep pace with a junior female runner. I know when I'm running that I'm not in competition with anybody else, but it isn't great for confidence when overtaken by a little girl.

Yes, I run like a girl
At the finish line came a sense of relief. Things will get easier as my chest and lungs clear up, and I get back into the running groove. I wasn't particularly interested in my finish time but when the text came through I was rather surprised at it's respectability. 24.29 is by no means a poor effort (my PB is 23.46) so with two breathers and some lingering germs factored in, this was a good run. It just really didn't feel like it at the time!

If the chance permits, I'll get out again on Sunday for a more leisurely if longer run to build up stamina and put distance back into my legs. I felt no ill effect from my Thursday night plod around the estate so something at a similar pace should do no harm. 
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Thursday, 16 January 2014

Step Away From The Rabbit Food

Today I took my youngest to see his neurosurgeon. 11 months into his life and many, many medical appointments later, this shouldn't have felt particularly out of the ordinary. But this morning as we fought through commuter traffic to get into London, something was different. I felt rotten and the last place I wanted to be was crawling through the roadworks on Hammersmith Flyover.

Needs must though. As a parent you have to do what is right for your children, and while this always promised to be a routine appointment, there was a never a thought about cancelling. True to form, the appointment barely lasted 10 minutes, which after an hour and a half journey into town, hour of waiting and more than an hour of journey home seems like an awful lot of effort for very little reward. Fact is, a short session with a neuro is a positive outcome, and so we continue to get on with our lives until the next time.

By the time I got to work, I was feeling worse. My body felt fatigued, perhaps a delayed reaction to my run on Tuesday night. A chesty cough troubled me from time to time and I found it difficult to concentrate at my desk. It rapidly became clear that this was not going to be a day for the diet and I needed to step away from the rabbit food. I had plenty of sugary pick-me-ups and got through the afternoon before getting back into dad mode.

It is important when dieting to recognise when to put things on hold. If feeling under the weather, your body needs to heal and that may mean dosing up on comfort food. The best way to achieve weight loss is taking a long term view, so a little bit of sugar in the short term to help get over temporary ailments isn't going to hurt.

Today I could justify chunky KitKats and the like, but I'll be back on form again soon.





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Wednesday, 15 January 2014

Wednesday Weigh-In - 15 January

It appears that I didn't need to leap back in time to make amends for my weekend consumption. I just needed to get off my backside and go for a lengthy run. Last week the scales had me at 14st 4lb. This morning I'm weighing slightly less. Maybe it is time for me to become less hysterical after some bad days and focus instead on the majority of the week when I am a lot more disciplined.

Apparently I should feast on chocolate more often
Of course it could be considered cheating to go for a near 10k run the night before a weigh-in, but then my focus at the moment is more about fitness to ensure I'm ready for the half marathon in March. There will be a lot more midweek runs like this in the next couple of months so it stands to reason that I’ll need to upscale my fuel to ensure I've got the energy to do so. I guess I just need to find that balance of enjoying a little often, rather gorging a lot on occasion.

I expected to feel pretty dreadful today but my body has reacted well to last night’s exertions. A few simple stretches and a good night’s sleep seem to have done wonders. I’ll probably pay for it later on today but it is reassuring to know that not only can I go for longer runs, but that it isn't physically to my detriment.

This morning when I was getting ready for work, I could help but raise a smile when Spotify gave me ‘The Distance’ as the first song on a playlist. Either there is some very clever analytics work going on, or this was a complete coincidence.



With a colleague retiring today, I'm expecting to see quite a lot of cake in front of me. I'll enjoy some of that and will do so guilt free.



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