Isn't seventeen a wonderful number? Seventeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen; there is something perfect about that number.......seventeeeeeeeen......say it with me.....se.....vennnnnnnnn......teeeeeeeeeen. Not only is it a thing of beauty, quite by coincidence it is now the prefix of my new weight. 2 more pounds down, which makes me seventeeeeeeen stone thirteen! I know it's just another week, and I haven't lost an excessive amount of weight, but crossing the 18 stone/17 stone barrier feels like I have lost a lot more weight this week. It's kind of the same theory - in reverse - of turning a milestone age, and telling yourself you're only one day older than you were yesterday when it feels like anything but.
I am running into a little difficulty though, when I looked in the mirror after getting home from work. The casual chinos I am wearing are beginning to look like the type of leggings last seen on Krusty the clown. They are mighty baggy and in danger of falling down (and no matter how much weight I lose, that is never going to be a good thing); so it's on with a belt in the hope that I can keep on wearing them for a little while before having to consign them to the 'not that fat any more' pile. Trouble is, there is a good chance that whatever I buy to replace them might be shrunk out of in a fairly short amount of time. Now I know what my parents went through while I was growing up!
So what's worked this week? I just think that above all else, the cutting out of fast food has been pivotal to the success so far. I'm not denying myself volume; I do have a good appetite and enjoy a big plate of food. All I am ensuring is that the big plate is full of things that won't put me on the connery ward.........errr..........make that coronary. I really enjoy chicken, tuna, sausages; and I am not avoiding these things. All I am doing is making sure that I don't overdo how much of it I eat, and the plate is full of either salad, roast vegetables (thanks Ali.....mmmmmmmmm..........by the way, that mmmmmmm was for the roast veg, not Ali.........not that I'm saying Ali doesn't merit an mmmmm, it's just that......... .......you know what, I'm just going to stop digging.......) or my spinachy rice thingy. The final and absolute key is planning. If I get the chance, plan my evening meal before I leave for work in the morning so I can defrost whatever I need. At the very least, plan the meal on the drive home. Only once have I reached 6pm on a day without knowing exactly what I would be eating.....and that once was when I had my Chinese blow-out.
Which reminds me to leave a note for myself; one of the subjects of the month will have to be recipes!
Well that's me for the night folks; sleep well.
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
Sunday, 7 August 2011
Supermarkets - the zig zag of desire/doom
By now I think you may have realised that my 'subject of the week' has turned into a 'subject of the month'! Why do I get the feeling I think about supermarket life WAY too much?!
Picture it; walking into a supermarket neck and neck with another customer, let's call him - for the sake of argument - Norm. You and Norm are in the veggie section (you really don't know what spelling mistake I made with that phrase!), picking all those yummy healthy things that you're going to be throwing into the bin in about a week. Norm decides to go one way round to the next aisle, and you take the other.......you see where I'm going here?
Rounding the corner, who should be coming towards you - surprise surprise - but........Norm!! Thus begins the zigzag; everywhere you turn, there he is coming towards you......by the time you reach the booze, the amount you have seen him in twenty minutes would qualify him for a position on your Christmas card list.
So why doom or desire? Well this depends completely on the identity of Norm. He may be a he, and that 'he' may be someone who is distinctly uneasy on the eye. To make matters worse he may also have the aforementioned skill of parking his trolley in daft places (in front of the milk, length ways in the aisle, five metres inside my personal space......of five metres radius). Every time you pass him, he tries to catch your eye; whereas you treat him as you would a particularly peckish looking rottweiler who has just chewed through his leash.....of steel.....and look anywhere but in his eyes. To make matters worse, no matter how quick or slow you go to try and lose him, he seems to match your pace. By the time you reach the till you are a quivering mess of paranoia......and guess who is behind you in the queue............ .....when every other till is free.
In case you were wondering, this is classed as 'doom'. The desire is when Norm, is actually a lovely Norma, and every corner turned is a pleasure. I do manage to stay on the right side of indecency, as wolf-whistling and drool is SO not Tesco's; I just acknowledge that it is nice to look at a pleasant looking lady!
On occasion I have to admit I do try communication; brave move I know! Fortunately I have so far got away with it. Something along the lines of 'hello again, I haven't seen you round here for at least....what.....thirty seconds?' or perhaps 'it looks like we are going to be bumping into each other a lot today, so I thought I would introduce myself.....'. Of course, if nothing else comes to mind, the old favourite of 'we must stop meeting like this!!' So far none of the ladies I have said these to have abandoned their trolley and called security.
It's been an ok week so far on the health side; no big splurges but not really pushing it too hard either. Been swimming twice this weekend, so hopefully that should do the trick and get me below 18 stone. One event of note is that I went out for lunch with the folks yesterday; lots of yummy melted cheesy things to choose from, but went for a smoked salmon salad. I joke about it....but is my body truly becoming a temple??
Picture it; walking into a supermarket neck and neck with another customer, let's call him - for the sake of argument - Norm. You and Norm are in the veggie section (you really don't know what spelling mistake I made with that phrase!), picking all those yummy healthy things that you're going to be throwing into the bin in about a week. Norm decides to go one way round to the next aisle, and you take the other.......you see where I'm going here?
Rounding the corner, who should be coming towards you - surprise surprise - but........Norm!! Thus begins the zigzag; everywhere you turn, there he is coming towards you......by the time you reach the booze, the amount you have seen him in twenty minutes would qualify him for a position on your Christmas card list.
So why doom or desire? Well this depends completely on the identity of Norm. He may be a he, and that 'he' may be someone who is distinctly uneasy on the eye. To make matters worse he may also have the aforementioned skill of parking his trolley in daft places (in front of the milk, length ways in the aisle, five metres inside my personal space......of five metres radius). Every time you pass him, he tries to catch your eye; whereas you treat him as you would a particularly peckish looking rottweiler who has just chewed through his leash.....of steel.....and look anywhere but in his eyes. To make matters worse, no matter how quick or slow you go to try and lose him, he seems to match your pace. By the time you reach the till you are a quivering mess of paranoia......and guess who is behind you in the queue............ .....when every other till is free.
In case you were wondering, this is classed as 'doom'. The desire is when Norm, is actually a lovely Norma, and every corner turned is a pleasure. I do manage to stay on the right side of indecency, as wolf-whistling and drool is SO not Tesco's; I just acknowledge that it is nice to look at a pleasant looking lady!
On occasion I have to admit I do try communication; brave move I know! Fortunately I have so far got away with it. Something along the lines of 'hello again, I haven't seen you round here for at least....what.....thirty seconds?' or perhaps 'it looks like we are going to be bumping into each other a lot today, so I thought I would introduce myself.....'. Of course, if nothing else comes to mind, the old favourite of 'we must stop meeting like this!!' So far none of the ladies I have said these to have abandoned their trolley and called security.
It's been an ok week so far on the health side; no big splurges but not really pushing it too hard either. Been swimming twice this weekend, so hopefully that should do the trick and get me below 18 stone. One event of note is that I went out for lunch with the folks yesterday; lots of yummy melted cheesy things to choose from, but went for a smoked salmon salad. I joke about it....but is my body truly becoming a temple??
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Weigh in (7)
Blimey, this thing is really starting to work! 18 stone 4 pounds, to 18 stone 1. Fabulous!! Kudos goes to WeeAli, who has been over here for the last four days or so and has been ensuring that I eat properly. Although, come to think of it; while ensuring I ate properly, she ate a bacon bagel and a lovely (looking, not tasting......I resisted!) slice of chocolate cake. No doubt she will say she was testing my resolve, and may I say I passed with flying colours!!
Seriously, many thanks to you Ali, it was good having you over; and any time you want to be my full time nutritionist then please let me know. But your contract will not involve whooping me at Scrabble when I have a lucky 70-odd point start on you.
Anyway, enough of my failures, on to my success!! Just think, this time next week I may well be 17 (ah say, ah say, ah say.........17 ) stone something! I have not been that light for a long time (would be ironic if I was last lower than 18 stone when I was 17 years old wouldn't it?!!!!). The encouraging thing is that I have achieved this weight loss despite the burger on Thursday (and chunky chips.....mmmmmm!). Goes to show that it is not the naughtiness that ruins a diet; it's the resultant depression which leads to more and more naughtiness.
So it's an early - and rather smug - early night, after another impressively healthy dinner! Night night (I almost put an 'x' there, but I really don't know you well enough yet!)
Seriously, many thanks to you Ali, it was good having you over; and any time you want to be my full time nutritionist then please let me know. But your contract will not involve whooping me at Scrabble when I have a lucky 70-odd point start on you.
Anyway, enough of my failures, on to my success!! Just think, this time next week I may well be 17 (ah say, ah say, ah say.........17 ) stone something! I have not been that light for a long time (would be ironic if I was last lower than 18 stone when I was 17 years old wouldn't it?!!!!). The encouraging thing is that I have achieved this weight loss despite the burger on Thursday (and chunky chips.....mmmmmm!). Goes to show that it is not the naughtiness that ruins a diet; it's the resultant depression which leads to more and more naughtiness.
So it's an early - and rather smug - early night, after another impressively healthy dinner! Night night (I almost put an 'x' there, but I really don't know you well enough yet!)