Quick update

I've decided to start enjoying life a bit more, and so now weighing myself less often.  Once a month should be enough, and it seems to be paying off.

Quick update

I've been very busy the past three weeks.   Been ill the past week or so too.   I have now dropped to below 200lb.

Flooding

I feel sorry for everyone affected by severe weather and/or flooding (it can't be much fun being a ground worker or builder).   It was nice to see the sun out yesterday, but I couldn't help but wonder how long it would be before the council imposed a hose-pipe ban....

Happy New Year

I always cut out alcohol between New Year's Day and St Valentine's Day to give my poor old liver a six week break.  The flab seems to just melt away.  Rather than slip back into the comfortable routine of getting home from work, putting my feet up and enjoying a few choice ales, I shall limit myself to one or two of a Friday evening.

This year, I AM going to be in shape for the summer.

Bring it on.

Bleary-eyed, I hopped on the scales and looked down.  "Surely not?" I thought to myself, and so stepped off, reset the scales and hopped back on again.  There it was a second time - 5lb down from last week!.  I have done NO EXERCISE (unless you count walking to and from the car as exercise).  The only significant difference is I have not touched any alcohol since New Year's Eve - I may have found part of the solution!

New Year etc.

I hope all was well over the Christmas and New Year break, and Santa brought you everything you wanted.  We had a relatively quiet one this year.  The kids are grown up, so there are no hassles where presents are concerned.  Popped out for a couple of family visits, but never strayed very far from home.  There was plenty of TV, food, drink, lay-ins and not a lot else - quite wonderful.  I'm now on my annual 6 week dry period.  To be honest, I didn't drink anywhere near as much this year as I usually do, so it ought to be a doddle.  I shall fight the new years resolution crowd for gym equipment instead.

Rocket Science

A friend posted that she has lost over 2 stones since June.  I said "Well done. I'm trying to do the same - what's your secret?".

"Eat less and move more" was her reply.

The Men Who Made Us Fat

Here is a fascinating documentary.  More evidence that the low-fat, high-carb diet actually makes you fatter.  And before you ask, it was the Americans, with a little help from Japanese scientists. . .

The Men Who Made Us Fat

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Three White Poisons

Try removing the following 'foods' from your diet.

Salt

Sugar

White flour

You may be pleasantly surprised by the results.

Ditch refined carbs and lose weight

After watching the quirky, and sometime annoying FAT HEAD video on YouTube, I decided to keep white bread, rice, pasta, potateos and other refined carbohydrates like donughts etc. to a minimum.  Despite having a few cheeky beers, I still managed to shed over 2lbs.  That is a little more than I really want to lose each week, but I'm not complaining too much :D

Is this moving towards Atkins?

America is lying to the world

It's hardly surprising that Americans are being led down the low saturated fat and high carbohydrate diet path, as sales of grain, cereals and other crap food helps keep Monsanto at the top of the seed crop sales league table.  The odd thing is that since the "healthy" low fat high carb lifestyle has been promoted, heart disease and obesity are at higher levels than ever before.

Sweden has ditched this idea, instead recommending higher fat and lower carbs in diet.  Guess what?  They are healthier as a result.

But enough of my yakking - read more about it HERE

Unwanted slippage

My weight has gone back up to 15st 2lb as of last Friday - not the direction in which I wanted to go.  I have been hitting the gym 5 times per week, so why should my weight go up?  I decided to do some more research over the weekend (for 'research' substitute 'watch YouTube videos').  I discovered some interesting stuff.

Cholesterol does not cause heart disease.

Eating saturated fat does not raise cholesterol.

Eating fat does not make you fat

Eating protein does not make you fat

Eating carbohydrates, especially refined carbohydrates, makes you fat.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating, or not eating in this case.  I've decided to cut out pasta, white bread, white rice and potatoes from my diet.  I'm also reducing the gym visits from 5 to 3 times per week.  The next couple of progress posts should confirm if I'm on track or lost somewhere down the wrong lane altogether.

Supersize Me?

Do you remember that Supersize Me 'documentary' by Morgan Spurlock?  Did you believe everything that you saw and heard whilst watching it?  I did, until recently.  Here is a debunking of the low-cholesterol, low-fat, high-carbohydrate lifestyle.  It also shows that Morgan Spurlock earned an awful lot of money by telling lies.  Watch and learn kids.  FAT HEAD

Slippage

Back up a couple of lbs this week.   Been a bit slack and not kept an eye on the intake.

Blearghhhh

Too much food and drink was consumed this weekend.  Way too much.  The weekend is over now, so it's back to the gym tonight for some serious calorie burning.

Here's what I do 4 times per week:-

5 minutes warm-up.

Static bike.  2 minutes resistance level 14 followed by 2 minutes resistance level 8.  Repeat X 10 and maintain 85+ RPM.

5 minutes warm-down.

More research. . .

. . . into Chinese cuisine was done! On Wednesday, me and my good lady wife went for 'lunch' and consumed what can only be described as a calorific time bomb.  There were beers, and each of us had a starter for two so it wasn't going to be pretty.  By the time we left we were pretty satiated (no dinner that evening, let's say).  There were lots of beers last Friday and Saturday too (by me, not my wife) - a bit of a celebration.  I still managed to drop almost another 1lb this week and as this is the progress I had planned, I'm more than happy, especially given the week's excesses.

First milestone has been reached

Yesterday's weigh-in saw me drop to under 15 stones, and I have no intention of putting that weight back on.  Of course, that's not to say I never will.  Sometimes life throws a curveball or finds a way of pulling the rug from beneath us, usually in times of crisis or when we are feeling low.  Right now, I am feeling pretty motivated, and looking to drop another couple of stones.  All in good time though.  Slowly slowly catchy monkey...

Couldn't resist. . .

. . .a cheeky step on the scales first thing Saturday morning.  15st and 6oz.  So close!  If I'm below that come this Friday I will be very pleased indeed, as we went out Saturday night and ate loads of food with plenty of beer and had the same again on Sunday.  I enjoyed every bit of it though.

Don't forget to enjoy life

I was pleased to see my weight drop by another lb since last week.  No mean feat considering I ate a large Domino pepperoni pizza and six hot wings last night, all washed down with five cans of the fizzy stuff as it was the wife's birthday.  We shall be out again tomorrow night for a Chinese meal.  Birthdays only come once a year, so make sure you celebrate them.

The Greatest Scam in the History of Medicine?

aka 'The Great Cholesterol Myth'

The statins market is worth over £20 billion per annum, a highly lucrative business. Why would the companies that manufacture statins not wish to perpetuate Lies* about cholesterol?  Read and decide for yourselves.

* I'm not pointing the finger at any particular statins manufacturer.  I'm pointing it at all of them!