Winners Wear Yellow

My goal for 2014 came a little closer to reality today. You've probably already seen me mention the fact that I'm running my first half marathon in March (yes yes, just the once or twice!). Well, today waiting for me when I got home was a package that contained this.

Well a marathon man needs a snazzy vest

Yes, I am now the proud owner of my very own Shine running vest. And all it is going to cost me is one Saturday morning where I will be dragging my body round a circuit of just over 13 miles. That seems fair, right? The truth is I'm pretty indebted to the charity. They were a helpful ear when we had so many questions about Spina Bifida after my son was diagnosed with it during pregnancy. They made a difference to our family, and do so for many others who find themselves in similar situations. I'd say that was worth pushing myself physically and drumming up some sponsorship in return.

Having received my lovely new bit of kit, I decided to take it for a road test. Yes, I went out for a run last night too but that ended prematurely due to the weather, whereas this evening the were no rainclouds in sight. I went out and ran just under 4km before I came to the conclusion that running with partially weary limbs into a headwind was counterproductive. I walked for a bit, then got bored and picked up the pace again, running for a further 2km before a final stroll home. Shine have the hashtag #WinnersWearYellow - from tonight's efforts I'd say the vest is fit for the half marathon but I've got some hard graft to put in to get me ready.

As selfies go, this is not a keeper

One thing that struck me during my run tonight was just how many fast food joints there are nearby. I passed a kebab van, several fish and chip shops, a Chinese take away, lots of non-descript chicken/burger outlets, a McDonalds, a KFC, a Subway, pizza parlours, not to mention several Indian restaurants. No wonder we're turning into a bunch of fatties in this country with so many high calorie outlets in close proximity. There was a time when I ate McDonalds every lunchtime. I can also remember a time when I ate a kebab pretty much every night. If we are to believe that we are what we eat, it really isn't any great surprise that I was a 24st tub of lard. Nowadays all of the above are a rare treat, but well off my agenda until I've got back down to pre-Christmas weight.

Tomorrow will be my first Wednesday weigh-in for a while. I've little doubt that I will have shed some of the Christmas excess but quite how much remains to be seen. The bigger challenge right now is getting myself ready for 22 March and those 13 and a bit miles. I've got my vest. I've got my motivation. The question is have I got what it takes to get to the finish. Time will tell.

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Wednesday Weigh-In - 6 February

It has been a pretty hectic week, hence the lack of articles over the last 7 days. Apologies to those of you who have been following this blog religiously and have been eagerly awaiting your daily fix. However, life sometimes gets in the way and in the last week my opportunities to sit down at a laptop and type away have been somewhat restricted.

So, rambling aside he is the result of my weigh-in this morning

I have a feeling of deja vu

Yes, I've remained exactly the same. Having lost 16lbs in the previous 4 weeks you may expect this to come as something of a disappointment. If truth be told I'd argue it has been my best result of the diet to date. That requires an explanation so here we go.

The diet has been on something of a backburner this week. I've not been consciously stuffing my face at every given opportunity, but things have happened which has meant I've not been eating as healthily as in previous weeks, and to that end seeing I have not gained any weight as a result is particularly pleasing.

This weekend was my wife's birthday, and while there was no getting drunk (not an advisable thing to do with a 37 week pregnant woman) some of the lighter meals that I've been enjoying to help me shed the lbs have been replaced by the sort of food I was eating on an all too regular basis, helping my waistline to expand. So there has been takeaway. One night there was pizza. The next night there was left over pizza. Monday night was Chinese. There was a small bit of chocolate birthday cake eaten, which I thought was pretty good going given there was a huge cake sat in the kitchen all weekend and only one little bit went my way. Last night pie and veg became pie and chips owing to a veg shortage. Sunday lunchtime I found myself having McDonalds with my son and a few of his friends after a trip to the cinema. My efforts to be healthier by ordering a side salad instead of fries was thwarted by a lack of available salad. I even had a couple of slices of toast last night before dinner.

So with all of the above, I was ecstatic to see the scales not tipping the wrong way. To counteract the effects of the consumption laid out above, there has been some semblance of activity. Thursday and Friday night I spent my time exporting my lounge into the kitchen so that a new carpet could be fitted on Saturday. Carving up the old carpet and pulling up the grippers must have burned a handful of calories at least. I temporarily became furniture removal man in disposing of my old couch. There was trip to the park Sunday afternoon with three 4 year olds after cinema and Mcdonalds, and being a big kid myself I was anything but passive.

I'm not beating myself up because I can see why I've not lost any weight and know that reverting to the plan that worked in previous weeks should see things back on track. Whether that proves to be the case or not remains to be seen as life is going to be getting in the way again this week. My new son will enter this world on Monday and what happens from there only time will tell.

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