Today is notable in my eyes for one thing. I used my new keyboard for my Google Nexus7. Infact I am currently sitting on the sofa and typing away with it now. Not only am I using this rather fabulous keyboard (big thanks to my gorgeous wife) I wrote another chapter of le novel! Granted it wasn't the longest of chapters, okay it was a short chapter, but it's another chapter. Get in.
Now for some chocolate!
So The Biggest Loser diet is officially over. Final weigh in was last Friday and the results were very good.
Various stats:
Overall I came 7th (out of 15).
I lost 13 lbs or 7.11% of my body weight.
To win I would have had to lose a further 6 lbs.
The winner lost 10.48% and second place lost 27 lbs!
All in all I was very pleased. Near enough one stone gone, now for the next stone to go. The whisper at the office is that Round 2 begins after Easter. Sounds like a plan to me.
Now where did I put those Easter Eggs?!
Days one through three of le diet were a resounding success. I say success in that not a hint of chocolate or other illicit substances, mind you I've no idea if any weight has been lost yet.
Day four though was another matter, a bad day at the office; the metaphorical one that is, work was actually okay. I got home and was doing the washing up while the big bang theory blared in the background and suddenly I felt faint. Hunger pangs engulfed me. My head feared the worst.
So I left the dirty dishwater and sat down upon our lovely red sofa and ate six Thorntons chocolate.
Now the good news is that after the chocolate I no longer felt quite so faint, was fortified to finish the washing up and cook my lovely wife some dinner. The bad news is that it was a minor setback on le diet plan AND has reminded me just how good chocolate tastes. I'm almost salivating thinking about it now.
Oh well, we fall down, we get up again. We fail, we start over.
I endeavoured to make up for it this morning - a banana and an orange for breakfast. And if my foot is up to it I will attempt the first jog of 2012.
I say usually because I really am hoping being patient right now is gonna pay off! I have a massive hankering for chocolate/any sort of snack. I'm hoping that if I patiently chew gum and drink tea this desire will be beaten and I will hold out for dinner.
Yesterday, playing footie for the first time in many weeks I was handily given a lesson in patience. As I carried round my 'extra timber' and spent the opening exchanges of our 7 aside game in defence/goal I wondered if it was going to be a frustrating and annoying evening. However, I remained patient and didn't get too annoyed and ended up scoring a hattrick and setting up a fair few for others. Turned out to be a good return to footie. *note to self - be patient and don't give up!
I ache a bit today but not as badly as I had envisioned either, which is good!
This morning I got a text from a dear dear friend and I thought I'd share it cos it made me smile!
'Seeing as I've now got a commute to use, I figure I'll reverse the polarity and send you an early morning text. Unfortunately, the bible verses I read this morning were about millstones and the end of the world. So, in lieu of that, a line from a children's song: God loves you and I love you and that's the way it should be. AMEN! Have a cracking Wednesday.'
So... diet... hmm... oh dear...
But it's not all bad news.
Having seen my weight balloon like a *insert own simile* and with the announcement at work that The Glee Club (don't ask) were doing a version of that bastion of enlightened television The Biggest Loser my diet is kicking in again.
The 10 quid entry charge with the potential of winning all the entry fees for the biggest weight loss combined with the attached picture showing I'm now hitting the scales at 14 stone is some pretty good motivation.
So no snacks, no chocolate, no donuts, and normal sized portions. Did I mention no chocolate, oh ok. And exercise. Football on tuesdays. Runs on thursdays and the weekend. Plus if possible Wii fit and Just Dance/Zumba on the Wii.
I feel skinny already.
And fit and ripped and raaaaa!
No actually I feel hungry. Where's the snacks?!
I've come to two conclusions.
Firstly why the diet has failed - eating chocolate, donuts and other 'bad' things because work has been for want of a better word 'sucky'.
Secondly I am suffering post diet blues.
These two things side by side make for a certain amount of mental confusion. Work sucks, feel bad eat chocolate, feel better but then realise that diet isn't going so well therefore feel bad. Eat chocolate, feel better. Go to work, feel bad. Eat chocolate feel better, realise diet isn't going so well therefore feel bad.
As quitting my job isn't really an option I've decided to go for a different strategy.
Haven't quite worked out what that is yet though. Going to ponder it over a nice cuppa tea and a Chocolate Orange.
So re-did the whole weighing thing on the original scales - 13 stone 2. Which means I've lost 2. Diet success!
Someone bought heroes into work, I ate them. Forgot to take footie kit to work and didn't get home in time to get back to hillingdon sports centre for 8pm so no football for me. Watches tv and ate angel slices instead. Diet fail!
So I'm not sure if the diet is working, problem is I haven't weighed myself to see if I have lost any weight! I don't feel smaller or healthier for that matter. This could be the problem with feelings, as my dad says 'notoriously unrealiable'.
Last night I ate two slices of cake and some chocolate, twas part of dinner at my friend's very enjoyable 30th birthday party. Good times. Although both the wife and I felt slightly bloated by the time we left. It didn't break the terms of the dietary plan but probably didn't help the losing weight process either...
Not really...
Or perhaps maybe...
No, definitely not; although I do need to be careful that I don't turn into a broken record with my 'I'm not snacking between meals so I can't eat chocolate' schtick. I suspect that it might quickly become tres annoying to those nearest and dearest too me!
My darling wife amusingly said to me last night, 'ignore what I'm about to do'. This is quite difficult for me at the best of times, and in this instance I failed quite badly and stared at her with the gawky look of an awkward teenager meeting a supermodel in the flesh. Anyways, the long and short of it was that I ignored my wife's plea and engaged in the illicit activity of eating a single white chocolate coffee truffle thing.
I shall make amends this evening by attempting to run a little bit more at football. My brother in law; not inaccurately, suggested that us Thomas boys are not known for our defending. My father in law took it one step further and suggested I was a goal hanger.
They may have a legitimate claim, however as last week's game finished in a draw and I scored half my team's goals I thought it was probably an ok thing. And for the record the other Thomas brother is significantly better and fitter than me and probably defends better too. He certainly scores more goals at the moment - this may be down to the fact that my stomach is holding me back!
Been pondering for a while now about my attitude to various things and the inequalities in my little world. Am I more concerned about being proved right or do I want to see people grow and change? Do I want to be proved right or can good things happen?
Maybe I'm just a bit grouchy because of the diet... Maybe my happiness has been judged in relation to the number of donuts or twixs I've eaten
Which thinking about it is pretty dumb.
And maybe this semi-detox of the body will serve to remind me that detoxing my soul is very necessary too.
Hate what is evil, cling to what is good... Don't think of yourself more highly than you ought... Encourage one another... Love one another... Love covers a multitude of sins...
So here's hoping and praying that I turn out to be wrong about a number of things; and that instead some people will surprise me... that some good things will happen... that these cravings for chocolate/being proved right will lessen... and that Arsenal will please learn how to defend...
(for the record on Sunday I snacked on two mars mini rolls in the afternoon)
So yesterday the 'diet' was a bit of a struggle.
I had a donut at lunch, now strictly speaking this is allowed in my diet plan, however it felt like cheating. And then after dinner I ate some chocolate. Technically it was a part of my evening meal but yada yada yada you get my drift and hopefully feel my pain!
So I thought I would aid the losing weight process.
I had a hair cut.
I reckon I must have lost a few pounds!
Not literally of course but not figuratively either.
So the diet thing had its first stumble. I say the diet, really I mean I gave in and succumbed to the seductive overture of red, white and blue M&Ms this morning.
Forgive me?!
The good thing out of this was firstly that I didn't eat tons of them and secondly it still made me feel bloated. This is a good thing I think, hopefully means my capacity to consume chocolate is diminishing. This used to be a source of great pride, a skill if you will. However my views have changed slightly as has my metabolism. Who says it isn't possible to change eh!
So the new 'diet' has been going for a week...
I can happily report that I have not had a snack. Ok in the strictest sense this isn't true - I've eaten a punnet of grapes.
I'm not sure if I've lost any weight; I'm caught between not wanting to weigh myself in case I haven't and not being able to weigh myself due to a lack of scales!
Also unsure as to how quickly one should see a loss in weight. So many unknowns. Sadly I can't eat some chocolate while pondering this...
Black Monday. For that is what Monday 29th August 2011 shall be known.
Why I hear you stammer, well let me tell you.
I weighed myself, 13 stone and 4 pounds. Not good...
Now before you get cross a few points. A. Five years ago when I started my current job I weighed maybe 11 stone. B. Thinking about it A is the only point.
Some subpoints though:
A.1 running around is much harder these days because I'm carrying this food baby which is over 2 stone (no wonder I can't do chin ups anymore!).
A.2 I will fit comfortably into those jeans again(this is a very important issue!).
Ok a point b. B. I checked that body mass index thingy, I'm still within it but I'm literally on the edge, I'd kinda like to be in the middle.
So three days in and it is going well, I think. My new diet is called 'the no snacking and eating chocolate/pastries/donuts all day long diet'. Or The NSAECPDADL Diet. Good name huh. Will update you with my progress or lack thereof.
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