Saturday, January 27, 2007

Slowly the pounds fall off...or down


mr_bloggy
Originally uploaded by ecf1691.
Today's weigh in was 11 st 70kg 37.75ins which is slow but steady progress I guess. Surprised its not more with all the radical fruit chomping lunches replacing the spag bol and chips.

Meanwhile the smoking stats mount up. Am I just greeedy or does £850 and sixteen pence seem a bit measly considering the scale of the effort?

9m 2w 4d 02:50 smoke-free, 7,329 cigs not smoked, £850.16 saved, 3w 4d 10:45 life saved

On the plus side my breathing has improved immensely. A lot of voice work involves breathing in an out (money for old breath) and in my later years involved with that kind of thing my breathing was no longer smooth- there were sudden jerks and spasms within it that disrupted the flow. I begun to doubt my capacity to reach to the end of a long speech without the tone deteriorating towards the end.

Last night I seemed to be able to draw in and exhale vast breaths without any kind of disruption (I was a bit bored whilst R was at work....kept me amused anyway). I had noticed some improvement before but it was the first time I really gave my lungs a work out and the result was vastly better.

On the train the other day I couldn't help notice a lady with a very wrinkly face but otherwise quite youthful physicality probably 60 years plus. She was on the mobile:

"Hi I am on the mobile so better be quick.....yeah fine, I've given up smoking...yeah its going great I feel much better....a week...well not there, not there actually, so four days in all then...but I feel great it seems to be going well."

Poor thing - only Day Four. In 9months 2weeks 4days time her face might be completely unwrinkled. Lets hope she makes it

Sunday, January 21, 2007

(Thanks to jonnfez for this image)




Another week another weigh-in.

TBH it was another disappointing morning. The afternoon was better but not for dietary reasons.

The result was 11st 2.5lb 71kg Waist Measurement 39inches.

If anyone is brilliant at metric-to-imperial conversions they may question the quality of these stats.

If anyone has taken a look at the quality of the scales I bought from John Lewis they also might express a degree of scepticism. I, too, have fallen into the trap of blaming my tools. I have difficulty seeing the result displayed on the scales. I was considering donating them to a charity shop and buying myself some digital ones but then it occurred to me that though it would give more refined results it would be equally difficult for me to see the results. The solution ofcourse is a Speak-Your-Weight Machine. A posh-sounding imperial one - not one that doesn't know what a "stone" is and has a Mid-Atlantic twang.

The measuring bit is also difficult. When R does it she seems to say I've lost loads of inches but I do it and the loss is minimal if at all. It all comes downto "when is a waist a waist". I should defer to R's judgment as she is a bit of an expert with knocking out clothes and things. But perhaps I feel the need to overcount the inchs in case I slackened my efforts.

The over-counting trick didn't work today as I went to Chelmsford City to watch AFC Wimbledon thrash the title contenders 3-nil. I got confused and bought a cheese sandwich then got even more confused and ate a jumbo hot dog with loads of ketchup.

I think the lack of calories has done something to my brain leading to sudden bursts of dietary confusion.

(When I was looking around for pics for today's blog I came across this little story on flickr that shares some of this blogs interests. Apart from the heart-stealing.)

Friday, January 19, 2007


Half a glass of water
Originally uploaded by Jeff Youngstrom.

I am floating in a lettuce leaf atop an ocean of low-fat yoghurt. The land of chocolate seems very very far away.

Honestly, the diet isn't getting to me, really.

Today there have been good pieces of news from here and there and I think I can have my weekly pint tonight. It's quite an enticing prospect.

It should be good. A problem with only being allowed a small amount to drink each week is you don't want to waste your units on any old muck. I definitely want a decent beer. I think the idea is to visit the immensely characterful Sussex Arms ( I was there on my birthday, sorry, I mean the Readers' Meeting, last September).

Thanks to Jeff Youngstrom for "Half a glass of Water" at flickr




Saturday, January 13, 2007

For the drop...and beginning to bounce


carrots
Originally uploaded by khalloran.

After the rigours of my present diet something had to give I suppose.

Hopefully not the springs on my weighing scales.

Todays weigh-in was 11st 2.5lb 71.25k 39.50ins

Everything behind the decimal points is a bit fictional but some progress has been made.


Anorexia looms in 2020 at this rate.

(When I came back to edit this I suddenly remembered I was dreaming of a rabbit or rabbits).

Now that I have radically twiggyfied will I feel at home amongst the beer bellys of AFC Wimbledon's away support as we attempt the impossible - overthrowing Gravesend and Northfleet in our quest for FA trophy glory.

There's a particularly well known fan called Salad - for reasons that aren't immediately obvious.

The Quit-o-meter today

---9m 4d 03:46 smoke-free, 6,980 cigs not smoked, £809.68 saved, 3w 3d 05:40 life saved

Thanks to khalloran and pixietart at flickr for the images.




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Saturday, January 06, 2007


The Scales That Knew Too Much
Originally uploaded by WooDrew.
Well well well.

After the considerable effort and sacrifice of the last seven days I am proud to announce that I HAVE PUT ON 3LBS.

Yes I have gained weight. Cut out sugar exist predominately on fruit. Cut out fat and fat bearing products. Engage in extended brisk walks. And yes...weight is gained. If I continue with this I will have gained two stone by the time I see the doctor in June.

Bugger.


Blogger has changed as anyone who uses blogger knows only to well. It has introduced "post labels". Not quite sure what the point of them is. I just tried the ones I placed below and they don't seem to go anywhere. Also they all seem to be a single link...even though they don't seem to link to anything except this post.

Thursday, January 04, 2007


100 Chicken Nuggets
Originally uploaded by danmanley.
I saw an interesting item via redditt this evening. What do portions look like?

After a couple of weeks "adjusting" to skimmed milk I was pleased to see that a whole new set of portions was being called for.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Roast vegetable goodness


Roast vegetable goodness
Originally uploaded by kightp.
A minor culinary masterpiece tonight. Roast vegetables served with bouillon and worcester gravy. The frazzled green beans were a delight - almost oriental. And the roast cabbage was to die for. The secret is to roast it in chunks - don't let the leaves separate - the outer ones dry up but the inner parts are wonderfully moist.

I then had some sliced kiwi fruit and a drop of low fat yoghurt with the slightest hint of pure maple syrup.

It was delicious. It was two hours ago. I am starving.

Monday, January 01, 2007

I just noticed that at the top of this page there is a button marked "next blog". I wanted to see if this linked to my other blogger blog. Well it doesn't it goes off to see whats happening next door. So I went for a gander.

If looking for something to occupy your hands you could do worse that look here.

Interested in a bit of Malasian politics? Look here.

Find Walmart demonic and Angelina heavenly? Here.

Not sure what to do on News Year's? This blogger observes "Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions."

Another hobby when you bore of the knitting without having to buy large amounts of material then this blogger might have something to offer.

I could have gone on clicking on "next blog" quite merrily but this spoilsport had contrived to remove his button. As if that was going to make me stay at his site. There's always one who spoils things for the rest I say.

(They're not really neighbours - when I got stuck I went back to my page and started again and the next blog button went to a different site. I am not sure that's the right thing...it would have a stronger community feel if we were stuck together like real neighbours. Then we could all borrow virtual sugar off each other. Or given my present circumstances borrow artificial sweetener off each other.)