It's the end of the week, and what a week it's been. Monday's long drive from Scotland wasn't much fun, but since then it's got better and better.
On Tuesday I managed to lose 8lbs on my weigh in. On Wednesday I got my new team structure all approved. On Thursday I had a really pleasant and relaxing evening in and managed to catch up on sleep. Today was the best of all. I got my new job title and grade through and it is everything I hoped for. On top of that, I got a phone call from Internal Communications asking me if they could send a photographer around to do a photo shoot on me as I've been nominated/recommended for some kind of internal recognition or award. She was pretty coy as to what it was all about, but I was pleased.
Tonight after work I celebrated with a raspberry shake and a glass of water. I also put the roof rack on the car in preparation for tomorrow's trip to Brighton. The missus has arranged a huge boat trip for about 40 mates, and I'm tagging along in the kayak. This will be the first time I actually fish from the thing, so I'm looking forward to it.
The diet was good this week too. Lots of water has been drunk and I've been on the bike every day except thursday. It will be interesting to see how this is reflected in next week's loss. So far, the more active I am the less I lose. I've no idea why, but I'm hoping this week bucks the trend.
Friday, 31 August 2007
Thursday, 30 August 2007
Day One Hundred and Fourteen...
I had a few nice comments at work today. I'm still getting the 'are you alright' question from folks who are worried I'm ill.
I was planning on doing something active tonight, but I'm still a bit tired, so I've mostly just read again. I'm planning on going to sleep early tonight.
I had a great conversation with one of my oldest work friends today who told me he is continually amazed by my changing body shape. He knows about the programme as I told him about it right at the start. I also told him that I still hadn't beaten my food addiction (is that the right word, I mean everyone's addicted) and that the weight loss was only the start of the process.
When I say I haven't beaten food, I mean that if I was to leave abstinence now, I'd put it all back on again. My mind hasn't changed. I understand that my battles will be harder when I start maintenance. Right now it feels like abstinence from food is a security blanket. Apart from the odd hard day it's been easy for me. Abstinence removes all freedom to choose what you eat. There is no middle ground. There is no room for mistakes.
What will be hard is when I have to use my judgement. I am not stupid. I know what is good for me and what is bad. Will that stop me ordering a 2500 calorie pizza? I don't know. Answers on a postcard...
I was planning on doing something active tonight, but I'm still a bit tired, so I've mostly just read again. I'm planning on going to sleep early tonight.
I had a great conversation with one of my oldest work friends today who told me he is continually amazed by my changing body shape. He knows about the programme as I told him about it right at the start. I also told him that I still hadn't beaten my food addiction (is that the right word, I mean everyone's addicted) and that the weight loss was only the start of the process.
When I say I haven't beaten food, I mean that if I was to leave abstinence now, I'd put it all back on again. My mind hasn't changed. I understand that my battles will be harder when I start maintenance. Right now it feels like abstinence from food is a security blanket. Apart from the odd hard day it's been easy for me. Abstinence removes all freedom to choose what you eat. There is no middle ground. There is no room for mistakes.
What will be hard is when I have to use my judgement. I am not stupid. I know what is good for me and what is bad. Will that stop me ordering a 2500 calorie pizza? I don't know. Answers on a postcard...
Wednesday, 29 August 2007
Day One Hundred and Thirteen...
I went to bed quite late last night and even though I was tired, I awoke early this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. Rather than just lie awake in bed I cycled off to work. I took in a couple of litres of sloe gin in with me to give away. I'm just about to make some more and I'm not going to get the chance to drink last year's.
Work was the same as it's been for a while, which is very busy. I'm enjoying it, but it's getting tiring.
After my cycle home I noticed the car was looking dirty after the Scotland trip so I got out the bucket and sponge and cleaned it. Now it's all nice and shiny again. I quite enjoyed it, which is wierd. I may be turning into an old man.
Tonight I've just been reading and being lazy, so I'll have to find something more active to do tomorrow night.
Work was the same as it's been for a while, which is very busy. I'm enjoying it, but it's getting tiring.
After my cycle home I noticed the car was looking dirty after the Scotland trip so I got out the bucket and sponge and cleaned it. Now it's all nice and shiny again. I quite enjoyed it, which is wierd. I may be turning into an old man.
Tonight I've just been reading and being lazy, so I'll have to find something more active to do tomorrow night.
Tuesday, 28 August 2007
Day One Hundred and Twelve... weigh in
It was great to be back on the bike this morning. I've been off it for a while due to having a sore knee and then the bad weather so I was delighted to be hammering along to work. I kept in a low gear and kept my cadence high to relieve any pressure from my knee.
Work was crazy. Two days away from the office has meant my inbox and calendar has gone out of control. It took most of the day, and an hour or two tonight to get it back in order.
When I made it home I tinkered in the garage for a while and went to my weigh in. I hadn't weighed myself whilst I was away until I was at my mother's house. I had a good result there, but wasn't sure about her scales. This morning I had a low reading on my own scales so I had an indication tonight's loss would be high.
It was high. I lost 8lbs this week. Add that to last week's total and I've lost a stone in a fortnight. Lesley accused me of understating my hapiness last week, so, for the record, WOOOPEEE.
I'm delighted. Last week I was probably more relieved that I had a big loss since it had been so long since I made a large gain. This week I am truly buzzing. I have lost 8lbs after my 5th week, but this means so much more. I have now lost a total of 94lbs.
Work was crazy. Two days away from the office has meant my inbox and calendar has gone out of control. It took most of the day, and an hour or two tonight to get it back in order.
When I made it home I tinkered in the garage for a while and went to my weigh in. I hadn't weighed myself whilst I was away until I was at my mother's house. I had a good result there, but wasn't sure about her scales. This morning I had a low reading on my own scales so I had an indication tonight's loss would be high.
It was high. I lost 8lbs this week. Add that to last week's total and I've lost a stone in a fortnight. Lesley accused me of understating my hapiness last week, so, for the record, WOOOPEEE.
I'm delighted. Last week I was probably more relieved that I had a big loss since it had been so long since I made a large gain. This week I am truly buzzing. I have lost 8lbs after my 5th week, but this means so much more. I have now lost a total of 94lbs.
Day One Hundred and Eleven...
Drive. Pee. Play Nintendo. Pee. Drive. Pee. Drive. Unpack car. Sleep.
That's all I did for the whole day.
That's all I did for the whole day.
Day One Hundred and Ten...
We left Sky around midday and drove to Inverness. We went as fast as we could so that we could get some shopping in. I bought a couple of pairs of trousers in a sale. They are over a size too small for me, but I know I'll be in them soon enough. At a tenner a pair I couldn't turn them down. I haven't actually tried them on yet, but I may do later, just to see how much I have to lose to get in them.
After we'd got what we wanted we left Inverness and drove north to Alness to stay the night at my mother's. If I'd gone all the way to the Highlands and not popped in I'd have been in the bad books.
We played cards and scrabble most of the night before going to bed around 1130. We had an early night as we knew we'd have to be up and out the door for the long journey to London the following morning.
After we'd got what we wanted we left Inverness and drove north to Alness to stay the night at my mother's. If I'd gone all the way to the Highlands and not popped in I'd have been in the bad books.
We played cards and scrabble most of the night before going to bed around 1130. We had an early night as we knew we'd have to be up and out the door for the long journey to London the following morning.
Day One Hundred and Nine...
Saturday was spent doing a little shopping and going on a nice long drive again.
We returned to Portree and wandered around the waterfront for a while. We thought about a boat trip, but the weather was still crap. Instead, we got back in the car and went round Sleat (pronounced Slate) in the South of Skye.
After a long and winding single track road we ended up at http://www.skyewatercolours.co.uk/ where we bought a few postcard prints.
The rest of the day was spent cursing the weather for being crap again. I fancied going out on a boat to photograph the sea eagles, but there was no point as the visibility was so poor.
We returned to Portree and wandered around the waterfront for a while. We thought about a boat trip, but the weather was still crap. Instead, we got back in the car and went round Sleat (pronounced Slate) in the South of Skye.
After a long and winding single track road we ended up at http://www.skyewatercolours.co.uk/ where we bought a few postcard prints.
The rest of the day was spent cursing the weather for being crap again. I fancied going out on a boat to photograph the sea eagles, but there was no point as the visibility was so poor.
Day One Hundred and Eight...
We got up early in the morning and made haste to Portree to do the documentation on the land transfer. This part of the process all went smoothly. The transfer now gets ratified by the Crofter's Commission and the Scottish Office and I become a farmer! Although I will not be moving there for a number of years, it's really great to have my future secured.
After we'd signed the documents we went to the cafe for breakfast. The missus and my dad had cooked breakfasts while I made my excuses and found somewhere to get my hair cut.
Mindful of the fact I promised to get some photos on this blog we decided to travel to some of the more picturesque parts of the Island. Unfortunately the weather didn't want to play ball. I'll post some examples of what we were up against later.
At night we went to the local pub. I got some strange glances as I downed my water, but it was fine. After a few games of pool we went home. It was funny driving back from the pub. Normally it's about a 1/2 mile walk, sometimes in pitch blackness, so driving felt like cheating. I love that walk to the house. It's so quiet, other than the lapping of the sea there is no noise. In London you get used to the background hum, but that noise doesn't exist on Skye.
After we'd signed the documents we went to the cafe for breakfast. The missus and my dad had cooked breakfasts while I made my excuses and found somewhere to get my hair cut.
Mindful of the fact I promised to get some photos on this blog we decided to travel to some of the more picturesque parts of the Island. Unfortunately the weather didn't want to play ball. I'll post some examples of what we were up against later.
At night we went to the local pub. I got some strange glances as I downed my water, but it was fine. After a few games of pool we went home. It was funny driving back from the pub. Normally it's about a 1/2 mile walk, sometimes in pitch blackness, so driving felt like cheating. I love that walk to the house. It's so quiet, other than the lapping of the sea there is no noise. In London you get used to the background hum, but that noise doesn't exist on Skye.
Day One Hundred and Seven...
We got out of bed around 0900 the next morning. I'd been awake a while and had written a couple of letters on my laptop. I was on a trip to acquire some land and had some documentation to complete before the next day. After I'd finished them we had a quick wash,got dressed, packed the car and left on the journey to Skye.
For anyone who hasn't driven from Glasgow to Skye, the road has to be seen to be believed. Around Loch Lomond it it very narrow and very twisty. It's 3rd gear and 20-30 miles an hour for miles. The side of the road is littered with hubcaps that have been lost from tourists cars.
After leaving Loch Lomond you enter The Trossachs and then Glencoe. This part of the west of Scotland is stunning. However, it's best to watch from your car, if you leave you'll be eaten alive by midgies.
Eventually after hours of driving through the Highlands you reach the Skye Bridge and the Isle itself. About 45 minutes later you reach the town of Portnalong on the shores of Loch Harport.
I love being in Skye. It's always felt like home, and I am sure one day I'll come here to live. We arrived at my father's around 8pm and settled in for the night.
I instantly noticed how much colder it was further north. Normally I wouldn't notice the difference much, but being on lighterlife makes you a bit chillier than normal, so it really hits home when it is colder.
I went to have a shake and realised that I'd left half of my hand blender at my Aunt's. I whisked up a chocolate shake but it was terrible. I was supposed to have another, but I couldn't face it. I just went to bed.
For anyone who hasn't driven from Glasgow to Skye, the road has to be seen to be believed. Around Loch Lomond it it very narrow and very twisty. It's 3rd gear and 20-30 miles an hour for miles. The side of the road is littered with hubcaps that have been lost from tourists cars.
After leaving Loch Lomond you enter The Trossachs and then Glencoe. This part of the west of Scotland is stunning. However, it's best to watch from your car, if you leave you'll be eaten alive by midgies.
Eventually after hours of driving through the Highlands you reach the Skye Bridge and the Isle itself. About 45 minutes later you reach the town of Portnalong on the shores of Loch Harport.
I love being in Skye. It's always felt like home, and I am sure one day I'll come here to live. We arrived at my father's around 8pm and settled in for the night.
I instantly noticed how much colder it was further north. Normally I wouldn't notice the difference much, but being on lighterlife makes you a bit chillier than normal, so it really hits home when it is colder.
I went to have a shake and realised that I'd left half of my hand blender at my Aunt's. I whisked up a chocolate shake but it was terrible. I was supposed to have another, but I couldn't face it. I just went to bed.
Day One Hundred and Six...
Wednesday was a fairly rushed day.
I got up and packed for my trip to Skye. I checked the forecast and decided not to bother with the kayak or my fishing rods. I was looking forward to getting out onto the water, but it simply didn't look worth it.
I left all my packed gear on the bed and went to work. The plan was that the missus would drive home at lunch and pack her stuff and mine into the car. We'd then leave together. However, she couldn't get away from work and we were both later getting home than we'd like so we didn't actually leave the flat until quarter to seven. So we got snagged in traffic on the north circular as England fans headed to Wembley for the football. The M1 wasn't much better.
Eventually we got to my Aunt's in Carlisle around 1130. To be honest I pretty much did 90 the whole way up. Not great for the fuel economy, but I couldn't keep my Aunt up all night waiting for us.
We took it in shifts to drive. When it was my turn to be a passenger I played on my new Nintendo DS. I was bought one as a present from the missus the other day in celebration of my new job. Normally we'd go for a meal and a drink, but this was a fine substitute.
On arrival we made idle chit chat for half an hour, but after I'd had my pack, all I wanted to do was go to bed. Sleep came pretty quickly that night.
I got up and packed for my trip to Skye. I checked the forecast and decided not to bother with the kayak or my fishing rods. I was looking forward to getting out onto the water, but it simply didn't look worth it.
I left all my packed gear on the bed and went to work. The plan was that the missus would drive home at lunch and pack her stuff and mine into the car. We'd then leave together. However, she couldn't get away from work and we were both later getting home than we'd like so we didn't actually leave the flat until quarter to seven. So we got snagged in traffic on the north circular as England fans headed to Wembley for the football. The M1 wasn't much better.
Eventually we got to my Aunt's in Carlisle around 1130. To be honest I pretty much did 90 the whole way up. Not great for the fuel economy, but I couldn't keep my Aunt up all night waiting for us.
We took it in shifts to drive. When it was my turn to be a passenger I played on my new Nintendo DS. I was bought one as a present from the missus the other day in celebration of my new job. Normally we'd go for a meal and a drink, but this was a fine substitute.
On arrival we made idle chit chat for half an hour, but after I'd had my pack, all I wanted to do was go to bed. Sleep came pretty quickly that night.
Tuesday, 21 August 2007
Day One Hundred and Five... weigh in
It's that time of the week again.
My recent weigh in sessions have been disappointing as I've only lost around 3-4lbs. These losses have stabilised over the last 6 weeks and I've resigned myself to that weight. This week I wanted it to be a 4lb loss rather than a 3lb loss as it would take me through the 6 stones lost barrier. The last time I made this wish I failed miserably, so I didn't hold out much hope.
Imagine my surprise, and delight, when this evening I managed to break the 6 stones barrier and a little more. I lost 6lbs, which takes my total to 86lbs. It's been a while since I lost a decent amount that I'm far more upbeat than normal for a Tuesday night.
I'm hoping that this is not an anomaly, and I have returned back to big losses being the norm.
Work was fairly normal, other than going through contracts in far more detail than I would have liked. I finished all the outstanding work I had tom complete before my mini holiday. I'm in the office tomorrow, but had planned to leave around 4pm for Skye. Unfortunately someone has put a meeting in my calendar that goes on until 6pm. It's too important to cancel, but it will badly compromise my journey up the road. It's going to be very late when I arrive in Scotland.
I had a chat with a guy at work today who wanted a bit of detail about how I'm losing the weight. I sent him the address of the blog. So, if you're reading this, go right back to the start and enjoy.
Right, I need to go and pack. I may not get to post for a while, but I'll fill you all in when I get back.
My recent weigh in sessions have been disappointing as I've only lost around 3-4lbs. These losses have stabilised over the last 6 weeks and I've resigned myself to that weight. This week I wanted it to be a 4lb loss rather than a 3lb loss as it would take me through the 6 stones lost barrier. The last time I made this wish I failed miserably, so I didn't hold out much hope.
Imagine my surprise, and delight, when this evening I managed to break the 6 stones barrier and a little more. I lost 6lbs, which takes my total to 86lbs. It's been a while since I lost a decent amount that I'm far more upbeat than normal for a Tuesday night.
I'm hoping that this is not an anomaly, and I have returned back to big losses being the norm.
Work was fairly normal, other than going through contracts in far more detail than I would have liked. I finished all the outstanding work I had tom complete before my mini holiday. I'm in the office tomorrow, but had planned to leave around 4pm for Skye. Unfortunately someone has put a meeting in my calendar that goes on until 6pm. It's too important to cancel, but it will badly compromise my journey up the road. It's going to be very late when I arrive in Scotland.
I had a chat with a guy at work today who wanted a bit of detail about how I'm losing the weight. I sent him the address of the blog. So, if you're reading this, go right back to the start and enjoy.
Right, I need to go and pack. I may not get to post for a while, but I'll fill you all in when I get back.
Monday, 20 August 2007
Day One Hundred and Four...
I checked the forecast last night hoping for sun so I could get back on the bike. The forecast said it would be good so I was looking forward to getting on the saddle for a quick sprint to work.
However, as I looked out the bedroom window this morning I was not greeted by a lovely yellow sun. Instead it was pissing rain. So I was back on the tube.
I got to work and had a fairly regular Monday. The only difference was that I had two new starters to look after. This can be pretty time consuming, but luckily these guys seemed to be able to find their own feet pretty quickly.
When I got home I was presented a whole bunch of CDs from the missus from the bands we liked at the weekend. These should provide good listening in the car on the journey to Skye on Wednesday. She also, as a congratulations for my promotion, bought be a Nintendo DS computer console. She's a cracker. The games for it don't arrive until tomorrow, but she's not the kind of person who'd wait until the next day to get me the whole present. She's far too excitable for that.
Lesley asked in a comment if she likes the new shaped me. To be honest, I'm not sure she notices that much. We were looking through photos last night of me three months ago. She said that she never realised I was so big. She's been very supportive of me after a shaky start, but I don't think she realises how much I've lost. At the start of the programme she was really worried about us not eating, drinking and going out together. 104 days in this hasn't been anything like the problem we thought it would be.
However, as I looked out the bedroom window this morning I was not greeted by a lovely yellow sun. Instead it was pissing rain. So I was back on the tube.
I got to work and had a fairly regular Monday. The only difference was that I had two new starters to look after. This can be pretty time consuming, but luckily these guys seemed to be able to find their own feet pretty quickly.
When I got home I was presented a whole bunch of CDs from the missus from the bands we liked at the weekend. These should provide good listening in the car on the journey to Skye on Wednesday. She also, as a congratulations for my promotion, bought be a Nintendo DS computer console. She's a cracker. The games for it don't arrive until tomorrow, but she's not the kind of person who'd wait until the next day to get me the whole present. She's far too excitable for that.
Lesley asked in a comment if she likes the new shaped me. To be honest, I'm not sure she notices that much. We were looking through photos last night of me three months ago. She said that she never realised I was so big. She's been very supportive of me after a shaky start, but I don't think she realises how much I've lost. At the start of the programme she was really worried about us not eating, drinking and going out together. 104 days in this hasn't been anything like the problem we thought it would be.
Sunday, 19 August 2007
Day One Hundred and Three...
I had planned to spend a little time in bed this morning as I got to bed late after the festival yesterday. However, my mother, who knows I always get up early, decided to phone and chat. So my lay in was cancelled.
I wanted to go out and get some fly tying kit and possibly a new graphics card for my PC as my computer is playing up at the moment.
As I got dressed I decided to try on a pair of trousers I bought a few weeks ago. They were much too small for me, but they were on sale so I bought them. This morning I could put them on easily. They were a little too tight, but nothing I'm not used to, so I kept them on. That made me pretty happy. I can now wear trousers smaller than when I first met the missus. I'm guessing she'll have to get used to a smaller me.
The fishing shop didn't have anything I wanted in stock which was a shame. I went to PC world afterwards to get the graphics card, but they were all so expensive compared to internet prices that I didn't bother getting anything there either.
So I had an unsuccessful shopping trip, but I didn't mind. It's been a while since I didn't spend cash.
I wanted to go out and get some fly tying kit and possibly a new graphics card for my PC as my computer is playing up at the moment.
As I got dressed I decided to try on a pair of trousers I bought a few weeks ago. They were much too small for me, but they were on sale so I bought them. This morning I could put them on easily. They were a little too tight, but nothing I'm not used to, so I kept them on. That made me pretty happy. I can now wear trousers smaller than when I first met the missus. I'm guessing she'll have to get used to a smaller me.
The fishing shop didn't have anything I wanted in stock which was a shame. I went to PC world afterwards to get the graphics card, but they were all so expensive compared to internet prices that I didn't bother getting anything there either.
So I had an unsuccessful shopping trip, but I didn't mind. It's been a while since I didn't spend cash.
Day One Hundred and Two...
I slept a bit later than I wanted, so it was a bit of a rush to get up and out to get to the V Festival. The missus decided she couldn't go without doing the dishes and leaving the sink plugs to soak in bleach (there's been some bad smells from down there).
I had a couple of shakes to keep me going before starting to drive to Essex for the show. About 1/2 a mile down the road I asked the missus if she had the tickets. I'm glad I remembered to ask as she'd forgotten to pack them. A quick detour back home and we were properly off.
Due to road works we made a few detours, but finally arrived some time before one. We saw the tail end of Just Jack on the main stage which was only worth it for the fact that during the finale he stood on one of the front speakers which rolled over and sent him flying. It looked like he might have been hurt for a second but he jumped up and carried on. Meanwhile the audience was pissing themselves laughing.
We then made for the Channel 4 stage where we expected to meet one of the missus' friends. We thought it would be easy to find her as it was early and an unknown band was playing. However, when we got there it was packed. This unknown band was in fact the Foo Fighters playing an extra acoustic set to start off the festival.
We left them early and rushed back to the main stage to watch The Proclaimers who did a great wee set. If only more people knew their music, they're truly great. The crowd went crazy when they played '500 Miles' and I danced along in delight.
Next up was the Editors. I've heard one or two of their songs and though they might be worth listening to. They had a pretty good sound, although I thought the singer was a bit of a tit.
A few songs before the end of the Editors set I started to feel a bit dizzy. Rapidly this escalated so I grabbed the missus and tried to leave the crowded area. I fought through the crowds until I found a place to sit. I couldn't have been more than a few seconds from fainting. Obviously I was a bit worried about this. Someone on my Lighterlife group collapsed in a supermarket and was hospitalised due to having very low blood pressure. I was just hoping that this wasn't related to that. As I sat I ate a bar and some water. It was just about lunch time.
About 3/4 of an hour later Paolo Nutini started his set. I was a bit worried about the dizziness, but got up to see his set. It was very good. He was a great showman and sang very well. He did the Jungle Book song 'I wanna be like you' which was hilarious.
After coming through that without feeling ill we headed off to see Sinead O'Connor. I was really disappointed. I love her voice, but the band was too loud and the sound quality not great. I left after three songs and went to see what we could see.
Next up was Jet. They were fantastically energetic and played a good rocking set. By this time the wind was up, so it was blowing the speakers around so the sound was pretty patchy unless you were close.
The girls decided it was dinner time and headed off for some food. We then sat in view of the C4 stage and waited for Babyshambles. Pete Docherty played a decent set, although we were pretty alarmed when he threw his faulty guitar into the crowd. I hope nobody got hurt.
The hordes of folk then left so we got to move right to the front to watch The Coral. They were great and we bopped along for the next half hour. The lead guitarist was musically fantastic, even playing with a violin bow for one song, but he looked really pissed off the whole time.
After a pee break which took me about one minute. However, I then waited ages for the missus to queue up for hers. Women really need to learn how to pee more efficiently...
We wanted to watch the Foo Fighters' main set so we decided to get their early. On arrival at the main stage Snowpatrol were finishing their set. They sounded pretty decent, but we were miles away. We thought that many people would leave after they finished and we'd get closer for the main show, but this was not the case. To be honest it didn't matter that we were far back, the show was awesome. I like their music, but I'm not a huge fan, however I'd go to see them live any time. Dave Grohl really does know how to put on a show.
There were no more dizzy incidents after the middle of the day, but I may phone the doctor's on Monday just to see if it's worth popping in. I didn't have my monthly check up this month as they've all been good so far and my counsellor never asks for them from anyone else.
The day as a little blustery and chilly late on, but stayed dry all day until a few showers at the end. The heaviest rain fell during the Foo Fighters' set, but nobody cared.
I had a couple of shakes to keep me going before starting to drive to Essex for the show. About 1/2 a mile down the road I asked the missus if she had the tickets. I'm glad I remembered to ask as she'd forgotten to pack them. A quick detour back home and we were properly off.
Due to road works we made a few detours, but finally arrived some time before one. We saw the tail end of Just Jack on the main stage which was only worth it for the fact that during the finale he stood on one of the front speakers which rolled over and sent him flying. It looked like he might have been hurt for a second but he jumped up and carried on. Meanwhile the audience was pissing themselves laughing.
We then made for the Channel 4 stage where we expected to meet one of the missus' friends. We thought it would be easy to find her as it was early and an unknown band was playing. However, when we got there it was packed. This unknown band was in fact the Foo Fighters playing an extra acoustic set to start off the festival.
We left them early and rushed back to the main stage to watch The Proclaimers who did a great wee set. If only more people knew their music, they're truly great. The crowd went crazy when they played '500 Miles' and I danced along in delight.
Next up was the Editors. I've heard one or two of their songs and though they might be worth listening to. They had a pretty good sound, although I thought the singer was a bit of a tit.
A few songs before the end of the Editors set I started to feel a bit dizzy. Rapidly this escalated so I grabbed the missus and tried to leave the crowded area. I fought through the crowds until I found a place to sit. I couldn't have been more than a few seconds from fainting. Obviously I was a bit worried about this. Someone on my Lighterlife group collapsed in a supermarket and was hospitalised due to having very low blood pressure. I was just hoping that this wasn't related to that. As I sat I ate a bar and some water. It was just about lunch time.
About 3/4 of an hour later Paolo Nutini started his set. I was a bit worried about the dizziness, but got up to see his set. It was very good. He was a great showman and sang very well. He did the Jungle Book song 'I wanna be like you' which was hilarious.
After coming through that without feeling ill we headed off to see Sinead O'Connor. I was really disappointed. I love her voice, but the band was too loud and the sound quality not great. I left after three songs and went to see what we could see.
Next up was Jet. They were fantastically energetic and played a good rocking set. By this time the wind was up, so it was blowing the speakers around so the sound was pretty patchy unless you were close.
The girls decided it was dinner time and headed off for some food. We then sat in view of the C4 stage and waited for Babyshambles. Pete Docherty played a decent set, although we were pretty alarmed when he threw his faulty guitar into the crowd. I hope nobody got hurt.
The hordes of folk then left so we got to move right to the front to watch The Coral. They were great and we bopped along for the next half hour. The lead guitarist was musically fantastic, even playing with a violin bow for one song, but he looked really pissed off the whole time.
After a pee break which took me about one minute. However, I then waited ages for the missus to queue up for hers. Women really need to learn how to pee more efficiently...
We wanted to watch the Foo Fighters' main set so we decided to get their early. On arrival at the main stage Snowpatrol were finishing their set. They sounded pretty decent, but we were miles away. We thought that many people would leave after they finished and we'd get closer for the main show, but this was not the case. To be honest it didn't matter that we were far back, the show was awesome. I like their music, but I'm not a huge fan, however I'd go to see them live any time. Dave Grohl really does know how to put on a show.
There were no more dizzy incidents after the middle of the day, but I may phone the doctor's on Monday just to see if it's worth popping in. I didn't have my monthly check up this month as they've all been good so far and my counsellor never asks for them from anyone else.
The day as a little blustery and chilly late on, but stayed dry all day until a few showers at the end. The heaviest rain fell during the Foo Fighters' set, but nobody cared.
Saturday, 18 August 2007
Day One Hundred and One...
I woke up as hungry as I was when I fell alseep the night before. I had a shake for breakfast and a bar for lunch and it still didn't remove the feeling. As soon as I got home from work I had another shake, followed by another around eight o'clock. I still felt hungry. I went out with the missus to meet to friends in the pub. Although the huger disappeared from my mind when I was socialising, as soon as I left the pub I felt hungry again. I vary rarely feel hunger these days, so this is not welcome. With my recent slow down in weight loss and the resulting legnthening of my abstinence from food, this is not what I need.
I had another day of job interviews at work. This time I managed to actually hire someone. It makes it so much more worthwhile.
The pub was quite nice. We arrived late on and most people were drinking cocktails, so my glas of ice water didn't really make me stand out. I wasn't self concious at all. We left early, as we wanted to get up early as we're heading to the V Festival in Essex tomorrow. It looks like rain, but I hope it's nice.
I had another day of job interviews at work. This time I managed to actually hire someone. It makes it so much more worthwhile.
The pub was quite nice. We arrived late on and most people were drinking cocktails, so my glas of ice water didn't really make me stand out. I wasn't self concious at all. We left early, as we wanted to get up early as we're heading to the V Festival in Essex tomorrow. It looks like rain, but I hope it's nice.
Day One Hundred...
Wow, 100 days. That seems like such a large number.
It was another busy day at work. When I got home I just zoned out in front of the computer. I got caught up in what I was doing, and didn't see the time going by. When eventually I was reminded that it was past midnight I hurried off to bed.
I didn't have time to update my blog. More importantly I missed my last shake of the day. This was a bad move, as I noticed before going to bed that I actually felt hungry. Not mental craving, but real physical hunger.
It was another busy day at work. When I got home I just zoned out in front of the computer. I got caught up in what I was doing, and didn't see the time going by. When eventually I was reminded that it was past midnight I hurried off to bed.
I didn't have time to update my blog. More importantly I missed my last shake of the day. This was a bad move, as I noticed before going to bed that I actually felt hungry. Not mental craving, but real physical hunger.
Wednesday, 15 August 2007
Day Ninety Nine...
Another early start today. I thought I'd get some time at my desk before the day's meetings started, however my colleagues had other plans. I spent about 15 minutes at my desk all day.
I have so much work to do with the impending restructure and no time to do it. I;ll be working from dusk 'til dawn for a couple of months. Hopefully it will all be worth it.
The rain over the last few days added to last week's knee pain has meant I haven't been on the bike for over a week. I miss the activity and the fun of my morning dash to work.
I'm aranging a trip up to Skye next week. I'm taking the Kayak and all my camera gear, so if the weather is good I promise there'll be some decent photos. I'm looking forward to getting away from work, but at the same time I'm apprehensive that the timing is wrong. Things are changing so fast that I feel the need to be in touch with the office at all times. However, family is more important and I need the rest, so Skye wins.
I have so much work to do with the impending restructure and no time to do it. I;ll be working from dusk 'til dawn for a couple of months. Hopefully it will all be worth it.
The rain over the last few days added to last week's knee pain has meant I haven't been on the bike for over a week. I miss the activity and the fun of my morning dash to work.
I'm aranging a trip up to Skye next week. I'm taking the Kayak and all my camera gear, so if the weather is good I promise there'll be some decent photos. I'm looking forward to getting away from work, but at the same time I'm apprehensive that the timing is wrong. Things are changing so fast that I feel the need to be in touch with the office at all times. However, family is more important and I need the rest, so Skye wins.
Day Ninety Eight... weigh in
I set the alarm to get up early on Tuesday. I had the first review of our revised contract with one of our suppliers. I didn't know how it would go as we had added and taken a few things from what we wanted to do. I thought we'd done a fair job in preparing, but you never know how it will be seem from the other side.
In the meeting things went very amicably and we reach broad agreements in principle. The lawyers will have to cross the Ts and dot the Is, but we're happy with it. This was a big relief as I have carefully built good trusting relationships with this suppliers over the last few years. The last thing I wanted to do was compromise that in any way. It looks like we're both happy, so I am delighted.
After that good start I didn't think the day could get any better. I was wrong.
I had a one to one with a senior manager about the incoming restructure and have been asked to prepare some figures. I already have the numbers as I've been working on a proposal for my operation team for many months. It seems I have got everything I wanted in increased staff numbers and the structure I think the business needs. I've also got a promotion, although I still have to negotiate over my grade and salary.
I was on a high for the rest of the day. I wanted to go for a bottle of bubbly and a nice meal with the missus. Instead I had a raspberry shake a a couple of pints of water.
In the evening I went for my weigh in. I haven;t weighed myself in the week. I've just stuck to the programme. I've had far more than the minimum amount of water every day and had every one of my food packs at regular intervals. I followed Lighterlife to perfection. At the weigh in I lost another 4lbs. This takes my total to 80lbs in 14 weeks. This is still disappointingly low, but it looks like my body is deciding to stabilise my losses at between 3-4lbs a week. I used to be around double that for the first two months. I want the glory days back.
In the meeting things went very amicably and we reach broad agreements in principle. The lawyers will have to cross the Ts and dot the Is, but we're happy with it. This was a big relief as I have carefully built good trusting relationships with this suppliers over the last few years. The last thing I wanted to do was compromise that in any way. It looks like we're both happy, so I am delighted.
After that good start I didn't think the day could get any better. I was wrong.
I had a one to one with a senior manager about the incoming restructure and have been asked to prepare some figures. I already have the numbers as I've been working on a proposal for my operation team for many months. It seems I have got everything I wanted in increased staff numbers and the structure I think the business needs. I've also got a promotion, although I still have to negotiate over my grade and salary.
I was on a high for the rest of the day. I wanted to go for a bottle of bubbly and a nice meal with the missus. Instead I had a raspberry shake a a couple of pints of water.
In the evening I went for my weigh in. I haven;t weighed myself in the week. I've just stuck to the programme. I've had far more than the minimum amount of water every day and had every one of my food packs at regular intervals. I followed Lighterlife to perfection. At the weigh in I lost another 4lbs. This takes my total to 80lbs in 14 weeks. This is still disappointingly low, but it looks like my body is deciding to stabilise my losses at between 3-4lbs a week. I used to be around double that for the first two months. I want the glory days back.
Day Ninety Seven...
Monday's are always a busy day. I first have to check what went wrong over the weekend and process all the incidents. I have to plan the week ahead and hand over the tasks to the team as well as our suppliers. It's also the day I have all my routines with management and my peers as well as operational meeting with suppliers. In short it's hectic.
I don't know why I arranged it like that, but it seems to have evolved into some huge beast. Monday's are bad for most people, but it's the most important day of the week for me.
This Monday was a little different though. I was at an away day with the other technical managers. I had a presentation prepared and went through all the changes that I've been working on recently. It got the agreement I hoped. I also mentioned that I'd be leaving their area in a restructuring that will be announced later. I still don't know my position in the new structure, but have been promised a promotion.
The away day was pretty good. They laid on pastries, biscuits, pub lunch and beer afterwards. I had a lemon bar and four litres of water. One of our guests asked why I wasn't drinking and I said I was on a health kick. He asked how much weight I'd lost I guessed at about 35kg (he's a Kiwi). He was pretty amazed and asked if he could get in touch with the staff newspaper to do a story on me. I said it might be better wait for a bit, but was pretty pleased that he thought it was such a big deal. I might send him this blog address to see what he thinks.
I got home late and read a few things for work, but failed miserably to catch up on my email. I have got my unread items down to 90. Tomorrow looks busy, so I may not get through it.
I don't know why I arranged it like that, but it seems to have evolved into some huge beast. Monday's are bad for most people, but it's the most important day of the week for me.
This Monday was a little different though. I was at an away day with the other technical managers. I had a presentation prepared and went through all the changes that I've been working on recently. It got the agreement I hoped. I also mentioned that I'd be leaving their area in a restructuring that will be announced later. I still don't know my position in the new structure, but have been promised a promotion.
The away day was pretty good. They laid on pastries, biscuits, pub lunch and beer afterwards. I had a lemon bar and four litres of water. One of our guests asked why I wasn't drinking and I said I was on a health kick. He asked how much weight I'd lost I guessed at about 35kg (he's a Kiwi). He was pretty amazed and asked if he could get in touch with the staff newspaper to do a story on me. I said it might be better wait for a bit, but was pretty pleased that he thought it was such a big deal. I might send him this blog address to see what he thinks.
I got home late and read a few things for work, but failed miserably to catch up on my email. I have got my unread items down to 90. Tomorrow looks busy, so I may not get through it.
Sunday, 12 August 2007
Day Ninety Six...
As you can imagine, I slept very well last night. I did wake up with fairly sore chest and shoulders this morning after the previous day's excertions. I've pretty much done nothing all day except sit in front of my computer. I was either catchig up on work email or playing Civilisation. So not the most interesting of days.
A mate came round on his bike asking if the missus or I fancied a run. I declined, but the missus went along. She arrived back after covering about 20 miles, so I'm glad I didn't go - with my chest and shoulders I'd have been knackered.
Dave, I've got a Canon 30D, with a few lenses. In fact the camera body is probably the cheapest part of the collection. I realised after Lesley's comment asking for photos that I rarely post any on here. At the moment Kayaking and photography aren't mixing until I get a waterproof housing for the camera. However, I really should make an effort to get more pictures on here and liven it up.
A mate came round on his bike asking if the missus or I fancied a run. I declined, but the missus went along. She arrived back after covering about 20 miles, so I'm glad I didn't go - with my chest and shoulders I'd have been knackered.
Dave, I've got a Canon 30D, with a few lenses. In fact the camera body is probably the cheapest part of the collection. I realised after Lesley's comment asking for photos that I rarely post any on here. At the moment Kayaking and photography aren't mixing until I get a waterproof housing for the camera. However, I really should make an effort to get more pictures on here and liven it up.
Saturday, 11 August 2007
Day Ninety Five...
I awoke early this morning. I quickly dressed and got ready for going kayaking. I'd made up my mind to go somewhere along the Kent coast, but didn't really know where. I'm not sure why I decided to go there. Last week the Channel seemed a bit rough, so this week I decide to try the North Sea? I don't think my brain was working.
It took me about 25 minutes to get the roof bars on, lash down the kayak and pack everything. I was just about to leave when I realised I had no lunch pack, so I popped back inside to pick up a bar and a shake.
The journey was fine. Leaving early meant the M25 was empty as I drove round. I Arrived in Whistable after randomly following signs for water sports, but there was no parking within a few hundred yards of the beach so I drove on. Eventually I ended up in Herne which had a free car park right on the beach. Perfect.
I got ready. I have a key card rather than a key for the car. This means I have to put is somewhere waterproof in the kayak. I have a special bag for this purpose. This caused me no end of problems. I packed it away safely, then realised that I hadn't put sun block on, so I had to unpack it get lathered up. I put it away again before realising I hadn't locked the car, so had to unpack it all a second time. Then I noticed I forgot my PFD (life jacket) so had to do it again. I really need a mental checklist for everything I need to do. My mind was only concentrating on launching the 'yak and paddling.
Eventually I made it down to the water. After just standing with the boat look at at what the tide was doing I went for it. This time I managed to launch very easily. I was off first time. I paddled down to the nearest landmark which was a pier int he distance. I then carried on for a while. After a while my arms and chest started to burn. I relaxed my legs a whole load and they didn't hurt like last time. It felt like I was against the tide and wind so I didn't worry about going too far as I knew it would be easier on the way back.
I went past the harbour and had a look at the town from the water. I fancied an ice cream to be honest. The day was fantastically warm and the idea of something cold was very appealing. To get these thoughts out of my mind I turned around and headed back for the car.
Almost instantly on the way back I realised I had made a mistake. I was no definitely against the flow of the water. It was much harder to paddle back and the tide kept trying to force my boat to point to the shore. I put my head down, gritted my teeth and paddled for all I was worth. Actually, it wasn't that hard. I used the time to try to improve my paddling technique. At about halfway back I decided to land the 'yak so I could practice launching again. As with the last launch it was easy. I guess the smaller swell really helps. Eventually I made it back to the car park where I started. I quickly got changed, loaded up the boat and headed for home.
On the map below you can see where I went. I started at the let P and made it past the right P before returning. I also when out to sea a bit and practiced my turns and launches, so I maybe covered 3-4 miles. I was great.
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=616465&Y=168185&A=Y&Z=3
I made a quick visit to Halford's on the way home. I don;t own a hose, but now it is essential that I clean the kayak and the car after every trip, otherwise the salt will ruin both. I got quite a nice one, as well as some car cleaning products.
As soon as I got home I quickly had a drink and a shake and got to work. First I unracked the 'yak and roof bars before washing the boat, seat, paddle etc. Then I started on the car. I spent a good hour getting it spotless. It's funny, I normally just clear out the car and take it to the local car wash. For £10 half a dozen guys blitz the car inside and out in 15 minutes, so why would I ever bother to do it myself? However, this is going to get expensive if I have to do this every time I go out in the kayak, so I've decided to do it myself from now on. Actually, I really enjoyed it. After it was all done, to a standard much higher than I normally pay for, I parked up for the night and went in to get changed and wash my dirty clothes.
The missus is off with Chinese friends to a restaurant tonight, so I'm on my own. I'm sitting in the study completely knackered, but very happy.
It's been a great day.
It took me about 25 minutes to get the roof bars on, lash down the kayak and pack everything. I was just about to leave when I realised I had no lunch pack, so I popped back inside to pick up a bar and a shake.
The journey was fine. Leaving early meant the M25 was empty as I drove round. I Arrived in Whistable after randomly following signs for water sports, but there was no parking within a few hundred yards of the beach so I drove on. Eventually I ended up in Herne which had a free car park right on the beach. Perfect.
I got ready. I have a key card rather than a key for the car. This means I have to put is somewhere waterproof in the kayak. I have a special bag for this purpose. This caused me no end of problems. I packed it away safely, then realised that I hadn't put sun block on, so I had to unpack it get lathered up. I put it away again before realising I hadn't locked the car, so had to unpack it all a second time. Then I noticed I forgot my PFD (life jacket) so had to do it again. I really need a mental checklist for everything I need to do. My mind was only concentrating on launching the 'yak and paddling.
Eventually I made it down to the water. After just standing with the boat look at at what the tide was doing I went for it. This time I managed to launch very easily. I was off first time. I paddled down to the nearest landmark which was a pier int he distance. I then carried on for a while. After a while my arms and chest started to burn. I relaxed my legs a whole load and they didn't hurt like last time. It felt like I was against the tide and wind so I didn't worry about going too far as I knew it would be easier on the way back.
I went past the harbour and had a look at the town from the water. I fancied an ice cream to be honest. The day was fantastically warm and the idea of something cold was very appealing. To get these thoughts out of my mind I turned around and headed back for the car.
Almost instantly on the way back I realised I had made a mistake. I was no definitely against the flow of the water. It was much harder to paddle back and the tide kept trying to force my boat to point to the shore. I put my head down, gritted my teeth and paddled for all I was worth. Actually, it wasn't that hard. I used the time to try to improve my paddling technique. At about halfway back I decided to land the 'yak so I could practice launching again. As with the last launch it was easy. I guess the smaller swell really helps. Eventually I made it back to the car park where I started. I quickly got changed, loaded up the boat and headed for home.
On the map below you can see where I went. I started at the let P and made it past the right P before returning. I also when out to sea a bit and practiced my turns and launches, so I maybe covered 3-4 miles. I was great.
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=616465&Y=168185&A=Y&Z=3
I made a quick visit to Halford's on the way home. I don;t own a hose, but now it is essential that I clean the kayak and the car after every trip, otherwise the salt will ruin both. I got quite a nice one, as well as some car cleaning products.
As soon as I got home I quickly had a drink and a shake and got to work. First I unracked the 'yak and roof bars before washing the boat, seat, paddle etc. Then I started on the car. I spent a good hour getting it spotless. It's funny, I normally just clear out the car and take it to the local car wash. For £10 half a dozen guys blitz the car inside and out in 15 minutes, so why would I ever bother to do it myself? However, this is going to get expensive if I have to do this every time I go out in the kayak, so I've decided to do it myself from now on. Actually, I really enjoyed it. After it was all done, to a standard much higher than I normally pay for, I parked up for the night and went in to get changed and wash my dirty clothes.
The missus is off with Chinese friends to a restaurant tonight, so I'm on my own. I'm sitting in the study completely knackered, but very happy.
It's been a great day.
Friday, 10 August 2007
Day Ninety Four...
I headed to work nice and early this morning to start work. I had to be there in good time since I was interviewing most of the day. The central line on the underground was a bit screwed up, so I only just made it in time before my first interview was scheduled. I turned up and sat at my desk. Within about one minute my first interviewee arrived. He turned out to be very good. This is both a good and a bad thing. What I'd like to do now is cancell all other interviews rather than waste time when I already have someone I'm happy with. Unfortunately we're not allowed to do that, so I had to go through with 'fair selection'. As it turns out almost all the candidates were good. The first guy got the job, but only just.
The rest of the day was fairly normal. I fancied going for a walk at lunch to eat my bar, but forgot until it was too late. I wanted to get more step in since I wasn't on my bike and my knee isn't up to walking the whole distance home, especially since I had to carry home some stuff from work.
The stuff I had to carry home was my laptop so I could be ready for a presentation I am giving on monday at a management away day. The other package is my trolley for the kayak. I got a C-Tug. This is basically a small set of wheels you can place you kayak on when carrying it to the water. It makes life a lot easier. I bought it on Ebay with some excess money I have in my paypal account. Paypal cash isn't real money...
I looked out my camera for my brother tonight and fired off a couple of test shots to check it was all working. Unfortunately in the process of doing this it broke down. I wasn't to bothered as I haven't used it for a couple of years, but my brother was gutted. He asked me to look up to see if I could get it repaired. While doing my research I found that Sony have an active recall on this exact problem. It looks like I'll be getting it fixed for free. This is great news. The camera was the best digital camera available when I bought it, so I'm glad it'll get a new home.
I've been looking at places to go kayaking tomorrow. I've been recommended Poole Harbour. But I've also thought about heading to the River Medway. Both of these places are fairly sheltered and should allow me to have some safe fun.
The rest of the day was fairly normal. I fancied going for a walk at lunch to eat my bar, but forgot until it was too late. I wanted to get more step in since I wasn't on my bike and my knee isn't up to walking the whole distance home, especially since I had to carry home some stuff from work.
The stuff I had to carry home was my laptop so I could be ready for a presentation I am giving on monday at a management away day. The other package is my trolley for the kayak. I got a C-Tug. This is basically a small set of wheels you can place you kayak on when carrying it to the water. It makes life a lot easier. I bought it on Ebay with some excess money I have in my paypal account. Paypal cash isn't real money...
I looked out my camera for my brother tonight and fired off a couple of test shots to check it was all working. Unfortunately in the process of doing this it broke down. I wasn't to bothered as I haven't used it for a couple of years, but my brother was gutted. He asked me to look up to see if I could get it repaired. While doing my research I found that Sony have an active recall on this exact problem. It looks like I'll be getting it fixed for free. This is great news. The camera was the best digital camera available when I bought it, so I'm glad it'll get a new home.
I've been looking at places to go kayaking tomorrow. I've been recommended Poole Harbour. But I've also thought about heading to the River Medway. Both of these places are fairly sheltered and should allow me to have some safe fun.
Thursday, 9 August 2007
Day Ninety Three...
I got the tube for the second day running today. It's been a while since I've been on it, but since I've strained my knee I'm trying to exercise it as little as possible. Unlike the previous night there was no pain when I woke up this morning, but I had a little discomfort through the day. Generally it's much better than before. I remember the mnemonic RICE from my rugby playing days. Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevation. I did the rest, but not the others. Hopefully I'll be back to normal next week.
When I arrived in the office I went straight for the kitchen to get some water. Unfortunately there was a sign saying there was no cold water in the building today and I should use one of the dispensers instead. Unfortunately there weren't any dispensers on my floor so I went to Tesco. It was my first trip in there for three months and it felt a little odd. I bought a pair of two litre bottles of Evian as they were on special. I then carries one of them wherever I went. By the end of the day I had drunk them both. A very good way to make sure I get all my water. I also noticed that I still have good bladder control, I had started the second bottle before I went for a pee. You see, some good came from drinking beer all those years.
Tomorrow is going to be 'one of those days'. I have the day fully booked up for job interviews. This time for project managers. Ugh, it's so dull. It would be fine if I only had to interview the people that got the job, but unfortunately you don't know who that is at the start of the process, so you have to interview a lot of 'special' people to get there. One one CV recently the top qualification someone had was Bronze Swimming Certificate. Honestly. I pissed myself laughing for about twenty minutes. The guy had a degree too, but ordered his qualification alphabetically.
I am finding my mind wandering to the weekend. My brother want to visit me on Saturday to pick up one of my digital camera cast offs, but I fancy taking the kayak somewhere to practice getting on and off it. The weather looks great, so I might visit him with the camera in the morning and head off to the sea or a lake for a practice.
I was speaking to a friend about my kayak today. He's a keen diver and is thinking of getting one as divers also use them for getting offshore. He asked me if I wanted to join the dive club. I've always wanted to give it a try, but frankly have always been too fat. Big folk use far more oxygen and have different decompression cycles to normal people so I never did it. I also do not need another expensive hobby right now. I can't shake the idea of a dive though, I think I'd love it. Maybe it's something I'll look into in a year or so. The missus' uncle is a dive instructor in Spain so he might be a great person to get in touch with if we ever fancy a try.
When I arrived in the office I went straight for the kitchen to get some water. Unfortunately there was a sign saying there was no cold water in the building today and I should use one of the dispensers instead. Unfortunately there weren't any dispensers on my floor so I went to Tesco. It was my first trip in there for three months and it felt a little odd. I bought a pair of two litre bottles of Evian as they were on special. I then carries one of them wherever I went. By the end of the day I had drunk them both. A very good way to make sure I get all my water. I also noticed that I still have good bladder control, I had started the second bottle before I went for a pee. You see, some good came from drinking beer all those years.
Tomorrow is going to be 'one of those days'. I have the day fully booked up for job interviews. This time for project managers. Ugh, it's so dull. It would be fine if I only had to interview the people that got the job, but unfortunately you don't know who that is at the start of the process, so you have to interview a lot of 'special' people to get there. One one CV recently the top qualification someone had was Bronze Swimming Certificate. Honestly. I pissed myself laughing for about twenty minutes. The guy had a degree too, but ordered his qualification alphabetically.
I am finding my mind wandering to the weekend. My brother want to visit me on Saturday to pick up one of my digital camera cast offs, but I fancy taking the kayak somewhere to practice getting on and off it. The weather looks great, so I might visit him with the camera in the morning and head off to the sea or a lake for a practice.
I was speaking to a friend about my kayak today. He's a keen diver and is thinking of getting one as divers also use them for getting offshore. He asked me if I wanted to join the dive club. I've always wanted to give it a try, but frankly have always been too fat. Big folk use far more oxygen and have different decompression cycles to normal people so I never did it. I also do not need another expensive hobby right now. I can't shake the idea of a dive though, I think I'd love it. Maybe it's something I'll look into in a year or so. The missus' uncle is a dive instructor in Spain so he might be a great person to get in touch with if we ever fancy a try.
Wednesday, 8 August 2007
Day Ninety Two...
Today marks the end of my third month on Lighterlife. Three months ago I was just picking up my packs on my first session before starting this crazy programme.
I thought I'd just review how I've got on...
I have managed to get this far without cheating. The only things I have eaten have been supplied by my counsellor and I have only had water to drink except for two cups of black tea.
The first week was crap. Not because I was hungry, but because I couldn't stop thinking about food. The second week was easier, but I still dreamt about food and found it hard to walk past fast food places. Now it seems easy. The end feels far away, but so does the start.
It took ages for me, or anyone else, to notice my loss. If I am honest, I still don't notice it in the way I feel. However every day I now get comments about the way I look. I am by no means a normal weight, but I'm getting compliments constantly. I can now see a difference in my body.
I don't see huge differences when I look in the mirror, just little things that add up. For example:
My attitudes to food are hopefully changing. I am certainly no longer going to just ignore what I eat. I will be careful going forward. I have increased my activity level. I've restarted my cycling, started to kayak and continued my walking. This will hopefully all help towards maintaining my weight when I finish.
I've had side effects. Constipation, feeling colder, occasional lack of energy after activity, sleeping more and bad breath. Nothing major, but I've noticed them all.
Early in the diet I did some crazy maths which you can check here:
http://guineasblog.blogspot.com/2007/05/walking-to-mexico.html
I think it's time to see how far along I'd have walked if I'd started the walk three months ago. According to my original calculations we can walk 40 miles on a pound of fat. I've lost 76 pounds, so that's 3040 miles. That's almost all the way to New York, but not quite. It is however, the same was walking to Moscow and back again. Perhaps even more impressive, it's the same as walking to Bahrain in the Gulf.
My target has changed. I originally thought I'd aim for a 10 stones loss as 10 sounded like a nice round number. That simply isn't enough. That would have left me with a BMI of 26 which is still over weight. My new target is to lose 12 stones which will give me a BMI of 22.5 which is right in the middle of the healthy range.
Two weeks into Lighterlife I didn't know if I'd make it this far. Now, it seems, as I've said, much easier. It feels so easy now that it seems less of an achievement. Rather than build up my weight loss I am quite modest about it when I talk to interested people. I guess I am just bracing myself for management after the fat is off. This shows my change in thinking. I no longer worry if I can lose the weight, I know worry about how to keep it off.
I have saved a huge amount of money on Lighterlife by not going out for meals, drinking, buying breakfast, lunch and snacks.
I have spent a fortune since I started Lighterlife. I've bought a bike, a kayak, GPS, camera lenses and new fishing equipment. It's great!
So, am I glad I started? Yes, I think so. The proof will be if I am at my target weight a year after reaching it.
I thought I'd just review how I've got on...
I have managed to get this far without cheating. The only things I have eaten have been supplied by my counsellor and I have only had water to drink except for two cups of black tea.
The first week was crap. Not because I was hungry, but because I couldn't stop thinking about food. The second week was easier, but I still dreamt about food and found it hard to walk past fast food places. Now it seems easy. The end feels far away, but so does the start.
It took ages for me, or anyone else, to notice my loss. If I am honest, I still don't notice it in the way I feel. However every day I now get comments about the way I look. I am by no means a normal weight, but I'm getting compliments constantly. I can now see a difference in my body.
I don't see huge differences when I look in the mirror, just little things that add up. For example:
- I've had to add extra holes in my belt.
- I've had to remove links from my watch strap, and do a further adjustment today.
- My collar bones are starting to protrude.
- I double chin is receding.
- A lump of fat on the top of my neck and one at the bottom of my spine have gone.
- My knuckles are more defined.
- My skin is becoming less stretched over my frame.
- My face is slimmer.
- My walk has changed.
- My arms go down, rather than round my body.
My attitudes to food are hopefully changing. I am certainly no longer going to just ignore what I eat. I will be careful going forward. I have increased my activity level. I've restarted my cycling, started to kayak and continued my walking. This will hopefully all help towards maintaining my weight when I finish.
I've had side effects. Constipation, feeling colder, occasional lack of energy after activity, sleeping more and bad breath. Nothing major, but I've noticed them all.
Early in the diet I did some crazy maths which you can check here:
http://guineasblog.blogspot.com/2007/05/walking-to-mexico.html
I think it's time to see how far along I'd have walked if I'd started the walk three months ago. According to my original calculations we can walk 40 miles on a pound of fat. I've lost 76 pounds, so that's 3040 miles. That's almost all the way to New York, but not quite. It is however, the same was walking to Moscow and back again. Perhaps even more impressive, it's the same as walking to Bahrain in the Gulf.
My target has changed. I originally thought I'd aim for a 10 stones loss as 10 sounded like a nice round number. That simply isn't enough. That would have left me with a BMI of 26 which is still over weight. My new target is to lose 12 stones which will give me a BMI of 22.5 which is right in the middle of the healthy range.
Two weeks into Lighterlife I didn't know if I'd make it this far. Now, it seems, as I've said, much easier. It feels so easy now that it seems less of an achievement. Rather than build up my weight loss I am quite modest about it when I talk to interested people. I guess I am just bracing myself for management after the fat is off. This shows my change in thinking. I no longer worry if I can lose the weight, I know worry about how to keep it off.
I have saved a huge amount of money on Lighterlife by not going out for meals, drinking, buying breakfast, lunch and snacks.
I have spent a fortune since I started Lighterlife. I've bought a bike, a kayak, GPS, camera lenses and new fishing equipment. It's great!
So, am I glad I started? Yes, I think so. The proof will be if I am at my target weight a year after reaching it.
Tuesday, 7 August 2007
Day Ninety One... weigh in
I have now completed thirteen weeks on Lighterlife. When I started the end seemed so far away, to be honest it still does, but thirteen weeks seems like a long time to have been on it. It certainly hasn't felt that long. So maybe the next 13 will not be so bad. Initially when I started I thought I'd be on the programme for about 24 weeks, but recently things have slowed down. I was ahead of the game for a while, but have dropped off the pace in the last month.
Today's weigh in was 4lbs down according to the Lighterlife scales. This is still below my expected weekly weight loss, but better then my recent run of 3lb losses. This means I have lost a stone in the last month which would be great on any other diet, but on Lighterlife it's below par. My total loss is now 76lbs
Interestingly my home scales say I have lost only two pounds this week. They've consistently shown a poor weigh loss all week, so I don't know who to believe. I'll go with the Ligherlife measurement since it's more positive, but what I want to see is weight loss every day through the next week. The old days of nearly a pound loss a day were great and I want them back.
I think I've knackered my knee cycling too hard. I've had a twinge for a couple of days, but I cycled fast home yesterday against the wind in a big gear and it hurt a bit today. On the cycle home tonight I was in a bit of discomfort which has stayed with me through the day. I'll rest it for a day or two and see how it goes. I may have a whole week with little exercise to see how that affects my losses. I'm supposed to be having a friendly race with a guy from work on thursday, but if it's this sore I think we'll need to postponne.
Today's weigh in was 4lbs down according to the Lighterlife scales. This is still below my expected weekly weight loss, but better then my recent run of 3lb losses. This means I have lost a stone in the last month which would be great on any other diet, but on Lighterlife it's below par. My total loss is now 76lbs
Interestingly my home scales say I have lost only two pounds this week. They've consistently shown a poor weigh loss all week, so I don't know who to believe. I'll go with the Ligherlife measurement since it's more positive, but what I want to see is weight loss every day through the next week. The old days of nearly a pound loss a day were great and I want them back.
I think I've knackered my knee cycling too hard. I've had a twinge for a couple of days, but I cycled fast home yesterday against the wind in a big gear and it hurt a bit today. On the cycle home tonight I was in a bit of discomfort which has stayed with me through the day. I'll rest it for a day or two and see how it goes. I may have a whole week with little exercise to see how that affects my losses. I'm supposed to be having a friendly race with a guy from work on thursday, but if it's this sore I think we'll need to postponne.
Monday, 6 August 2007
Day Ninety...
I normally start work around 10am. I just get up slowly while listening to the news on the radio. After I pack away my work clothes, towel and toiletries into my rucksack I head off to work. We have underground parking at the office, so my bike is safe in its compound. As soon as I get to work I hunt for a vacant shower room. There are 12 in total, but they can get busy and are frequently out of order. After a quick shower I get dressed and am fresh to face the day.
However, this morning, and every other Monday morning from now on I have a 9am routine with my new boss. It's only an hour earlier than normal, but it really is a drag. I have to set an alarm, rather than just wake. Also, I feel rushed the whole morning. Anyway, I made it in on time only to find it was postponed until later. Argh. The conversation was worth having though and I should end up with a raise in grade and salary soon. Of course, in my corporation, 'soon' doesn't have the same meaning as elsewhere in the business world, especially when it comes to spending money.
The rest of the day was just meeting after meeting. I had 14 booked in my diary, but one was triple booked and another double, so I only attended 11. I am getting very competent at managing how meetings go. I just turn up and give advice or orders. It has been two weeks since I last got an action in a meeting. If I had to do work as well as go to these meetings I'd probably explode. When I have deliverables to hand in I generally book a couple of days out of the office and do it from home. Otherwise I just get sucked in.
I've been really gulping down the water recently. My weight loss has been poor over the last month and I had a bad constipation experience, so I want to make sure I am doing it all properly.
A few days ago I mentioned that I might make it through the 18 stones barrier. I did that. I was 18lbs 13 for two morning in a row. Since then I've been heavier every morning. Tonight I was actually heavier than I was in my last weigh in. That's pretty annoying. Actually it's worse than that, it's a right tit.
Let me explain. Men are supposed to lose three stones every eight weeks. Check out the advert - http://www.lighterlifeformen.com/ However, unless I lose more than 4lbs by tomorrow, which is very unlikely, I will have lost less than a stone in four weeks. Extrapolating this fairly constant loss will add at least another eight weeks of abstinence to my Lighterlife journey.
This disappointing drop off in pace goes against all biological reason. I'm going to do some more explaining. My weight, height and lifestyle suggest I need 3200 calories a day to live. Lighterlife provide me with 500. This means it my body needs to find another 2700 calories. It gets this fat from my plentiful reserves.
In a week I have a deficit of 7days multiplied by 2700 = 18900.
There are 3500 calories in a pound of fat. 18900 divided by 3500 = 5.4lbs.
If you then add in the exercise I been doing and the fact that I haven't cheated, then I should be losing far more than 3lbs a week. I tell myself I have to be losing the fat, but if that's the case, where're the results. There is no way the difference will be made up by adding muscle. The human body can not make muscle that fast, especially when we are only consuming the bare minimum to survive. If it was easy to gain muscle mass, all blokes would have six packs and arms like Arnie.
So, what am I doing about it? Nothing. Just carrying on as before doing the best I can. I just wish for the days I can report large losses again.
However, this morning, and every other Monday morning from now on I have a 9am routine with my new boss. It's only an hour earlier than normal, but it really is a drag. I have to set an alarm, rather than just wake. Also, I feel rushed the whole morning. Anyway, I made it in on time only to find it was postponed until later. Argh. The conversation was worth having though and I should end up with a raise in grade and salary soon. Of course, in my corporation, 'soon' doesn't have the same meaning as elsewhere in the business world, especially when it comes to spending money.
The rest of the day was just meeting after meeting. I had 14 booked in my diary, but one was triple booked and another double, so I only attended 11. I am getting very competent at managing how meetings go. I just turn up and give advice or orders. It has been two weeks since I last got an action in a meeting. If I had to do work as well as go to these meetings I'd probably explode. When I have deliverables to hand in I generally book a couple of days out of the office and do it from home. Otherwise I just get sucked in.
I've been really gulping down the water recently. My weight loss has been poor over the last month and I had a bad constipation experience, so I want to make sure I am doing it all properly.
A few days ago I mentioned that I might make it through the 18 stones barrier. I did that. I was 18lbs 13 for two morning in a row. Since then I've been heavier every morning. Tonight I was actually heavier than I was in my last weigh in. That's pretty annoying. Actually it's worse than that, it's a right tit.
Let me explain. Men are supposed to lose three stones every eight weeks. Check out the advert - http://www.lighterlifeformen.com/ However, unless I lose more than 4lbs by tomorrow, which is very unlikely, I will have lost less than a stone in four weeks. Extrapolating this fairly constant loss will add at least another eight weeks of abstinence to my Lighterlife journey.
This disappointing drop off in pace goes against all biological reason. I'm going to do some more explaining. My weight, height and lifestyle suggest I need 3200 calories a day to live. Lighterlife provide me with 500. This means it my body needs to find another 2700 calories. It gets this fat from my plentiful reserves.
In a week I have a deficit of 7days multiplied by 2700 = 18900.
There are 3500 calories in a pound of fat. 18900 divided by 3500 = 5.4lbs.
If you then add in the exercise I been doing and the fact that I haven't cheated, then I should be losing far more than 3lbs a week. I tell myself I have to be losing the fat, but if that's the case, where're the results. There is no way the difference will be made up by adding muscle. The human body can not make muscle that fast, especially when we are only consuming the bare minimum to survive. If it was easy to gain muscle mass, all blokes would have six packs and arms like Arnie.
So, what am I doing about it? Nothing. Just carrying on as before doing the best I can. I just wish for the days I can report large losses again.
Sunday, 5 August 2007
Day Eighty Nine...
Well, I managed a full day wihout buying something. That makes a bit of a change.
I had to wash the car down today. When I put the kayak on the roof after my paddle it dripped salty water all over it. Today it looked like I had salt caskes all over it. To be honest that was about the most interesting thing I got up to.
I had a wander out in the sunshine and felt the baking heat. At the moment I am glad I'm in ketosis. Normally I cannot sleep during the hot, clammy nights of mid summer in London. However, since one of the side effects of Lighterlife is to feel a bit cooler, I've been fine.
Since I've had a thoroughly dull day with nothing of note to write about I thought I'd bring up another Lighterlife side effect. I've been avoiding mentioning this, but what the hell. My mouth is pretty horrible. Right from the start my tongue when a funny colour and my breath started to smell. So I bushed my teeth for longer, scraped my tongue daily (ugh) and used lots of mouthwash. This still doesn't really work. Right at the back of my tongue there is a built up of gunk that seems to grow. If I haven't had a drink for a couple of hours I can actually feel it. If I scrape it with something long I can get out gelatinous lumps. These stink really bad. I can't drink anymore water than I am at the moment and I have good dental hygiene.I spend at least a minute a day holding down my tongue with my left had and brushing it as far back as I can. What more can I do?
I had to wash the car down today. When I put the kayak on the roof after my paddle it dripped salty water all over it. Today it looked like I had salt caskes all over it. To be honest that was about the most interesting thing I got up to.
I had a wander out in the sunshine and felt the baking heat. At the moment I am glad I'm in ketosis. Normally I cannot sleep during the hot, clammy nights of mid summer in London. However, since one of the side effects of Lighterlife is to feel a bit cooler, I've been fine.
Since I've had a thoroughly dull day with nothing of note to write about I thought I'd bring up another Lighterlife side effect. I've been avoiding mentioning this, but what the hell. My mouth is pretty horrible. Right from the start my tongue when a funny colour and my breath started to smell. So I bushed my teeth for longer, scraped my tongue daily (ugh) and used lots of mouthwash. This still doesn't really work. Right at the back of my tongue there is a built up of gunk that seems to grow. If I haven't had a drink for a couple of hours I can actually feel it. If I scrape it with something long I can get out gelatinous lumps. These stink really bad. I can't drink anymore water than I am at the moment and I have good dental hygiene.I spend at least a minute a day holding down my tongue with my left had and brushing it as far back as I can. What more can I do?
Saturday, 4 August 2007
Day Eighty Eight...
Hmm. I think Lesley and Mrs L know me too well...
I got up nice and early this morning. I didn't really want to, but the missus was up early and she is crap at doing it quietly. Whereas I lay out my clothes the night before in the spare room and leave quietly, she charges around like a bull in a china shop.
So I was up before 0800 this morning. I cleaned and packed my sea fishing gear, which includes a change of clothes in case it gets wet, and headed off to Brighton. I was off to the canoe shop to price up the gear and get a look at the stuff for real. I told the guy that I'd ben losing weight, and he suggested that it would be a good way to lose even more. The then offered me a very good deal. Well, as I'm sure you've already guessed I went ahead and bought the kayak. I also got a PFD (a fancy life jacket), a paddle and some roof bars. I got all of that for under £700, so it felt like a good deal.
I then headed out east to Seaford to have a sail in the English Channel. I probably could have picked easier places to start. Launching into surf is very hard and I got pretty wet and I continually fell out. However, once I got going and away from the shore it was great. I paddled around for about 45 minutes before I got tired and decided to head back. I had no food or drink with me and it was baking hot. Landing the boat was pretty easy. I just went full steam into the beach and ended halfway up the shingle.
Loading the kayak by myself was very hard. It's pretty heavy and my roof bars are at eye level. To avoid scratching the car you have to lift the whole thing above your head and drop it on the bars.. Easier said than done. Although the boat is only 30kgs it is very long and the wind blows it in odd directions.
I got changed into my spare clothes and drove home. On the way the missus called me and asked how I was. I told her how very special she was, and how much I loved her. Almost instantly she asked if I had bought a kayak. It looks like she also knows me too well. It'll be a while until I am confident enough on it to go fishing, but it was great fun today. I did get a bit tired after a while. Oddly, I was tired in my legs. My thighs and groin muscles were far more tired that my arms and chest. I didn't expect to be using my legs, but apparently that's where a lot of your paddle power comes from.
Although I slapped on the factor 30 it was all washed off with the repeated dunkings and now I find my neck and arms a little warm. I'll need to drink more to combat any dehydration.
In other news, I have just set up a huge direct debit from my current account into my savings account. I anticipate this is my last big spend for a while. I need to lock the money away or it'll be gone!
I got up nice and early this morning. I didn't really want to, but the missus was up early and she is crap at doing it quietly. Whereas I lay out my clothes the night before in the spare room and leave quietly, she charges around like a bull in a china shop.
So I was up before 0800 this morning. I cleaned and packed my sea fishing gear, which includes a change of clothes in case it gets wet, and headed off to Brighton. I was off to the canoe shop to price up the gear and get a look at the stuff for real. I told the guy that I'd ben losing weight, and he suggested that it would be a good way to lose even more. The then offered me a very good deal. Well, as I'm sure you've already guessed I went ahead and bought the kayak. I also got a PFD (a fancy life jacket), a paddle and some roof bars. I got all of that for under £700, so it felt like a good deal.
I then headed out east to Seaford to have a sail in the English Channel. I probably could have picked easier places to start. Launching into surf is very hard and I got pretty wet and I continually fell out. However, once I got going and away from the shore it was great. I paddled around for about 45 minutes before I got tired and decided to head back. I had no food or drink with me and it was baking hot. Landing the boat was pretty easy. I just went full steam into the beach and ended halfway up the shingle.
Loading the kayak by myself was very hard. It's pretty heavy and my roof bars are at eye level. To avoid scratching the car you have to lift the whole thing above your head and drop it on the bars.. Easier said than done. Although the boat is only 30kgs it is very long and the wind blows it in odd directions.
I got changed into my spare clothes and drove home. On the way the missus called me and asked how I was. I told her how very special she was, and how much I loved her. Almost instantly she asked if I had bought a kayak. It looks like she also knows me too well. It'll be a while until I am confident enough on it to go fishing, but it was great fun today. I did get a bit tired after a while. Oddly, I was tired in my legs. My thighs and groin muscles were far more tired that my arms and chest. I didn't expect to be using my legs, but apparently that's where a lot of your paddle power comes from.
Although I slapped on the factor 30 it was all washed off with the repeated dunkings and now I find my neck and arms a little warm. I'll need to drink more to combat any dehydration.
In other news, I have just set up a huge direct debit from my current account into my savings account. I anticipate this is my last big spend for a while. I need to lock the money away or it'll be gone!
Friday, 3 August 2007
Day Eighty Seven...
Friday's are a strange day at work. For some reason I always have far less meetings. Through the week, I have at least six meetings a day, on Monday I had thirteen. However, today I only had three. This should mean that I get lots of real work done on a Friday. Fat chance. You see, Friday has another unusual characteristic. Everything breaks on a Friday. So, rather than get a lot done, today was another day of fire fighting.
I've checked our records, and Fridays contain about 60% of the week's incidents. I don't know why yet, but I have my suspicions. Fridays are a busy day and people try to get their week's work done. This involves a lot of rushing and lest checking than normal. When people then launch their hurried, unchecked problem it all goes to hell in a hand basket.
That's what happened today. And Last Friday. And the Friday before...
The truth is, I love it. I am an operations person through and through. True ops folk love the stress when the shit hits the fan. It's the hero/saviour character flaw that's in us all. My job is to stop fix failures, and make sure they never happen again. I do this. Luckily there's a never ending list of reasons that feeds my Friday buzz. So while I get stroppy to people who launch bad things and damage 'my' website, I guess I actually enjoy it.
Today another colleague who I hadn't seen in a while took a look at me and went "wow"! I'm getting used to the reaction. He offered congratulations and then checked himself as he asked is I was ok. I'm getting that more and more recently. I've asked a few folk if I look ill, but apparently I'm fine.
It's after 7pm on a Friday night. Normally I'd be in the bar at work or on the way to a restaurant. Instead, I am writing my blog and planning a fishing trip for the weekend. This would have felt ridiculous, and a bit sad a few months ago, but it doesn't feel so bad now.
I'm also thinking of heading to a kayak/canoe shop this weekend to see what's available. I might head down to Brighton, do a spot of sea fishing and look in Brighton Canoes. This missus is off paint balling, so I have the day to myself.
I mentioned in yesterday's post that I may go under the 19 stones mark soon. Well it happened this morning - I weight 18st 13lbs. Of course, now I am dressed and had my soup I now weight 19st 7lbs. It'll be a while before it is my real Lighterlife weight.
I've checked our records, and Fridays contain about 60% of the week's incidents. I don't know why yet, but I have my suspicions. Fridays are a busy day and people try to get their week's work done. This involves a lot of rushing and lest checking than normal. When people then launch their hurried, unchecked problem it all goes to hell in a hand basket.
That's what happened today. And Last Friday. And the Friday before...
The truth is, I love it. I am an operations person through and through. True ops folk love the stress when the shit hits the fan. It's the hero/saviour character flaw that's in us all. My job is to stop fix failures, and make sure they never happen again. I do this. Luckily there's a never ending list of reasons that feeds my Friday buzz. So while I get stroppy to people who launch bad things and damage 'my' website, I guess I actually enjoy it.
Today another colleague who I hadn't seen in a while took a look at me and went "wow"! I'm getting used to the reaction. He offered congratulations and then checked himself as he asked is I was ok. I'm getting that more and more recently. I've asked a few folk if I look ill, but apparently I'm fine.
It's after 7pm on a Friday night. Normally I'd be in the bar at work or on the way to a restaurant. Instead, I am writing my blog and planning a fishing trip for the weekend. This would have felt ridiculous, and a bit sad a few months ago, but it doesn't feel so bad now.
I'm also thinking of heading to a kayak/canoe shop this weekend to see what's available. I might head down to Brighton, do a spot of sea fishing and look in Brighton Canoes. This missus is off paint balling, so I have the day to myself.
I mentioned in yesterday's post that I may go under the 19 stones mark soon. Well it happened this morning - I weight 18st 13lbs. Of course, now I am dressed and had my soup I now weight 19st 7lbs. It'll be a while before it is my real Lighterlife weight.
Thursday, 2 August 2007
Day Eighty Six...
I woke up feeling pretty refreshed this morning. With being at home on Monday and Tuesday it really didn't feel like most of the week had gone. It's strange how little things like where you work can affect the way you think, but it does. Today I was planning in work for the team that should be done by the end of the week. It wasn't until someone reminded me that the end of the week was tomorrow that I realised I was being a bit unrealistic.
A guy at work today asked how I'd lost so much weight and I gave my usual answer, "giving up everything except water". He was genuinely interested, and could do with losing a few pounds so I told him what I was doing. However, when asked if I'd recommend it, I didn't really have an answer. The thing is, you have to give up a whole lot to do this. There is no middle ground. I told him this and sent him on the web address to Lighterlife. We'll see if he's interested. I may pass him on the address of my blog, so he can see what it's bee like for me over the last three months.
Then, another more senior member of staff told me I'd inspired him to get fit. He's taken up salad and running. So maybe this weight loss thing is contagious? A few folk in the office are calling me twiggy or skinny. I laugh every time I hear it. Since I weigh about 19+ stones, I'm hardly skinny, but it shows how far I've come.
I know you shouldn't do it, but I weigh myself most mornings. Of course, I do it naked after my morning pee. This morning I was 19 stones exactly, so soon I may go through that barrier. When my weight drops through a new number I always get excited. Of course my Lighterlife weigh in is last thing at night, so I'm always at least 5 lbs heavier by then. The last time I weighed under 19 stones I was playing rugby and training twice a week. This was of course after an eight mile cycle each way. When I played rugby I was very fit. But I weighed about 18.5 stones. I think I'll start to feel strange as my body gets smaller. Of course, I do not have the muscle I had then, but it will still be new ground.
On the way home from worked I really pushed hard from start to finish on the bike. I got bad luck with traffic lights, but still managed a new fastest time home. My new total is 16m 43secs. This isn't that impressive overall, but is showing improvement. I should, with a little more weight loss and luck with the lights, get it down under 15 minutes. So, that's a little mini goal to aim for. I'll treat myself to something nice when I get there. Although, with my current spending patters, something nice will probably be stupidly expensive.
Yesterday's post and Dave's comment has reminded me of the time I got pulled over on my bicycle for speeding. At the time I lived in East London and was cycling home down a hill when I went through a speed trap. Further down the road I was pulled over and given a row. I can't remember the exact speed I was doing, but it was 35mph+. I didn't get anything more than a talking to, but it dawned on me later that the reason I got so fast was because I was slipstreaming behind a car who must have been going the same speed. Why pick on me!
A guy at work today asked how I'd lost so much weight and I gave my usual answer, "giving up everything except water". He was genuinely interested, and could do with losing a few pounds so I told him what I was doing. However, when asked if I'd recommend it, I didn't really have an answer. The thing is, you have to give up a whole lot to do this. There is no middle ground. I told him this and sent him on the web address to Lighterlife. We'll see if he's interested. I may pass him on the address of my blog, so he can see what it's bee like for me over the last three months.
Then, another more senior member of staff told me I'd inspired him to get fit. He's taken up salad and running. So maybe this weight loss thing is contagious? A few folk in the office are calling me twiggy or skinny. I laugh every time I hear it. Since I weigh about 19+ stones, I'm hardly skinny, but it shows how far I've come.
I know you shouldn't do it, but I weigh myself most mornings. Of course, I do it naked after my morning pee. This morning I was 19 stones exactly, so soon I may go through that barrier. When my weight drops through a new number I always get excited. Of course my Lighterlife weigh in is last thing at night, so I'm always at least 5 lbs heavier by then. The last time I weighed under 19 stones I was playing rugby and training twice a week. This was of course after an eight mile cycle each way. When I played rugby I was very fit. But I weighed about 18.5 stones. I think I'll start to feel strange as my body gets smaller. Of course, I do not have the muscle I had then, but it will still be new ground.
On the way home from worked I really pushed hard from start to finish on the bike. I got bad luck with traffic lights, but still managed a new fastest time home. My new total is 16m 43secs. This isn't that impressive overall, but is showing improvement. I should, with a little more weight loss and luck with the lights, get it down under 15 minutes. So, that's a little mini goal to aim for. I'll treat myself to something nice when I get there. Although, with my current spending patters, something nice will probably be stupidly expensive.
Yesterday's post and Dave's comment has reminded me of the time I got pulled over on my bicycle for speeding. At the time I lived in East London and was cycling home down a hill when I went through a speed trap. Further down the road I was pulled over and given a row. I can't remember the exact speed I was doing, but it was 35mph+. I didn't get anything more than a talking to, but it dawned on me later that the reason I got so fast was because I was slipstreaming behind a car who must have been going the same speed. Why pick on me!
Wednesday, 1 August 2007
Day Eighty Five...
I was back in the office after two days away. I moved my team and myself to a new area in the office to cope with the expansion of my team. However the previous people in the office left a huge mess and the telecoms people didn't supply is with phones. When I arrived in the office today and found that it still wasn't fixed I chucked a wobbly. How can you run an operations department without a phone? After a bad start the day got gradually better. I was giving out the annual salary raises and bonuses and felt a bit like Santa Claus as I called the team in one by one into the grotto meeting room to hand them out.
I cycled in today, the road was busy so I didn't get to go full speed, but I made up for it on the way home. The journey home is slightly uphill, not steep, but enough to notice the difference. Today I just put my legs into overdrive and managed to get home in 17.5 minutes. That's slightly slower than my fastest journey too work and a couple of minute off my best time for going home. Maybe the weight loss is helping. I'm still not as fast as I used to be. Dave, remember that race home after squash when you were in the taxi? I used to speed around London at about 25mph, and that was after 12 miles of cycling and an hour of getting battered around the squash club. Those days will gradually come back.
I'm on my own tonight as the missus is in Holland with work. She'll be back tomorrow night. In the old days this would mean that I would order in a Pizza Hut, or get a KFC on the way home. The first couple of nights I spent on my own when I started Lighterlife were difficult for me. When I was own my own I thought about cheating since nobody woul find out. This time I have no real desire for anything other than my packs. How things change.
Right, I'm off to grab a pack and head to bed with the laptop and watch a movie. I've got a load on there that I'd like to watch, but never seem to have the time.
I cycled in today, the road was busy so I didn't get to go full speed, but I made up for it on the way home. The journey home is slightly uphill, not steep, but enough to notice the difference. Today I just put my legs into overdrive and managed to get home in 17.5 minutes. That's slightly slower than my fastest journey too work and a couple of minute off my best time for going home. Maybe the weight loss is helping. I'm still not as fast as I used to be. Dave, remember that race home after squash when you were in the taxi? I used to speed around London at about 25mph, and that was after 12 miles of cycling and an hour of getting battered around the squash club. Those days will gradually come back.
I'm on my own tonight as the missus is in Holland with work. She'll be back tomorrow night. In the old days this would mean that I would order in a Pizza Hut, or get a KFC on the way home. The first couple of nights I spent on my own when I started Lighterlife were difficult for me. When I was own my own I thought about cheating since nobody woul find out. This time I have no real desire for anything other than my packs. How things change.
Right, I'm off to grab a pack and head to bed with the laptop and watch a movie. I've got a load on there that I'd like to watch, but never seem to have the time.
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