Wednesday Weigh-In 6 November

I'm back at work after two months at home with the little one. The day job side of things has been fine thus far but it is a bit weird not seeing my baby boy quite as much, while paying other people to have the privilege to see his smiley happy face. My role now is porridge feeder in the morning and getting a shattered child ready for bed when I get home. Throw into the mix some sniffles and teething and I have to admit the contrast between working dad and stay-at-home dad is quite startling. Still, things will settle down soon enough.

My return to work probably came at the right time. I've been struggling myself with a cold in recent days and found the leftover Hallowe'en chocolate far too difficult to resist. Tied to my desk with no desire to queue up at the campus Costcutter means during the day I can regulate my food intake with ease. This is probably just as well as I was starting to feel a little porky after a few days of comfort eating.

The weigh-in this morning keeps me at 14st 9lbs. The fact the scales haven't gone up is a touch miraculous, though I suppose my Saturday morning run and first couple of days in the office came to my aid. While I'm not getting the same exercise that I was from walking to and from school twice a day, I've managed to incorporate a bit of running into my morning commute, legging it from the school gate to my car and from the car park to my office.

Blurred image, non-moving display

At the weekend the kids were taken to meet Santa. I'm really not big on Christmas, particularly when mince pies have been on sale in supermarkets since early September, but given this was the only date we could book I reluctantly agreed. I've not been to the Grotto at Harrods before but they make quite an effort, once you eventually find the place in that maze. Afterwards, there was a chance encounter with an England international midfielder. I was in the baby changing area freshening up the little one before giving him some milk, when suddenly I found myself face to face, or should that be pram to pram, with Liverpool player Jordan Henderson. It wasn't really the setting for chasing autographs or getting a picture taken, but then again I doubt he'd have had the courage to ask this leading diet blogger for one! Joking aside, my mind was taken back to a moment a few years ago when I presented a Slough Town footballer with an end of season award. He was the top scorer at the club, a centre forward and while not a giant was pretty average height for a footballer. And as the picture below illustrates, I absolutely dwarfed him.

The proudest moment of Ian Hodges footballing career

Jordan Henderson - Liverpool vs Bolton 27/08/2011 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Now, while I lack the vanity to say that I'm built like a professional footballer these days (I'm clearly not), had a photo been taken with me and Jordan Henderson on Sunday, the contrast in our respective physiques would not have been so glaring. I much prefer how I look and feel today, than when I was supersize. The scales may not have moved for a couple of weeks, but there is no disappointment on my part. If I'd been offered 14st 9 by November at the start of the year, I would have snapped your hand off. But I'm still motivated to try to lose a few more pounds before the year is out, and hope to get things moving again in the next 7 days.