Tuesday, 24. June 2008, 12:35:04
Losing Weight
I got a very bad result in my dieting today. 2.5 lbs on when I thought I'd had a really good week. 
I'm really down about it. To try cheer myself up I've been having arguments with people on Digg.com but it doesn't seem to be helping; No, not even beating Fundamentalist Christians about the head for their shocking views on homosexuality has been enough to lift my mood. [UPDATE: Okay, maybe it's cheering me up a little...
]
I've come to the end of my 10-wk pass, too, meaning next week I have to pay the full fee...but after this I'm not sure I even want to carry on. Decision time, Granty. 
Friday, 4. April 2008, 12:04:01
Losing Weight
It was a very quick meeting last night, thanks to Gillian being on holiday and leaving her daughter, Lana, covering. Lana didn't seem keen to waste any time; she basically apologised for not being her Mum, read out a few notices, then before we'd even digested that information she was standing ready at the scales. This was greatly appreciated as temperatures soared that afternoon meaning the meeting room was starting to feel like the inside of a very dry oven. Must take water to drink next week, as the pub's toilets only have hot-running taps on their sinks...
(Isn't it illegal not to have cold water?)
...anyway, Lana's brevity was a godsend. Also, she's quite cute. Nice eyes...
I gained half a pound, leaving me tottering on the brink of a full 15 stone. Meh. I'll do better next week.
Thursday, 27. March 2008, 20:46:39
Losing Weight
Colour me stunned.
I've lost 2 and a half pounds this week. The major question is: HOW?
I don't understand this at all. 
I've done no significant exercise this week (I even rode the bus into work a couple of times instead of walking!), have eaten some foods that are major no-no's, drank more alcohol than is good for me and have spent two days sat on my ass playing video games with my brother...and I've lost 2 and a half pounds?!?
Getting weighed this week I tried to soften the blow by being Mr Up-front about it. I told Gillian not to expect any significant improvements this week: 'I'm sorry, it's been a bad one!'. And she goes and does that to me. I very nearly called her a liar right there, asked her to re-do it!
It takes a lot to rob me of speech, it really does, but I sat on my stool for a good few minutes afterwards unable to say a word, staring open-mouthed at the spectacular new weight she'd written on my card. 14 stone 13 lbs. It felt like a bizarre dream. I'd have pinched myself only...only I'd got the result I'd set for myself last week and if there was the teensiest chance this was real...I haven't been 14 stone anything since -(god, how long is it now?)- probably since before I left my bar job in 2004! Holy poo-poo-ka-ka!
I'm still a litle shell-shocked. But to celebrate I made myself a delicious pasta dish with 'Mediterranean' vegetables (Peppers, courgettes, cherry tomatoes and aubergines in a basil sauce), Tomato Pesto, fresh, finely-grated parmesan (a parting gift from my mother at the weekend) and a liberal dose of olive oil. You should always reward good results.
And this just goes to show how good my vaunted body-sense is, doesn't it? I wonder if it's too late to return it...
Thursday, 27. March 2008, 08:49:15
Losing Weight, Family, Gaming
Fans of people (namely, me) becoming lighter, fitter and more beautiful should be advised: there is next to NO chance that I have lost any weight this week. My weekly exercise has decreased, while my food intake has definitely increased. Over Tuesday and Wednesday night Ranald and I spent our evenings co-operatively tackling Lego Star Wars II (Original Trilogy) on the Gamecube while scoffing shop-bought Pizza and takeaway Special Fried Rice respectively, and quaffing moderate quantities of wallet-friendly non-apple ciders.
This is not how people lose weight.
Thus, I am preparing myself for a Gain. Hopefully only a pound, but it feels to my keen body-sense like there may be more - they do say that when weight comes back it does so with reinforcements...
PS: I'm not sure I'm happy with my new banner image. Expect it to change shortly.
Thursday, 20. March 2008, 22:30:00
Losing Weight
Gillian had a warning for the brave few of us who struggled through the cold and wet, during the first fragile hours of the Easter Holidays, to attend her class this week.
"Now I want to touch on something that I know a few of you will be suffering at the moment-" (Told you she could read minds) "-Motivation. Our research shows that those of you who start in January and have lost a significant amount of weight already, will by now be feeling pretty good about yourselves..."
Several heads nodded and there were various noises made in agreement. I clamped down on the impulse to punch the air and cry out "Hell, yeah!".
"...Well, that's where the trap lies."
Stunned silence.
"You feel so good about your lost weight that cheating becomes less of a hassle - you feel less guilty about slipping that cake down your gullet, or scoffing that easter egg, because 'hey, you've already lost a stone, or half a stone, so you can take it a bit easier now, right'? WRONG."
By now we were hanging on every word. This was Moses coming down from Mount Sinai. Howard Carter opening the tomb of Tutankhamun. Rutherford splitting the atom.
"We've discovered that motivation does slip around this time, but I'm bringing this up today to tell you all that if you manage to hold fast through the next three weeks then, statistically, you have every chance of reaching your targets. I can't give an exact date for this, obviously-" pauses to accept a round of wry almost-laughter "-but make it through this period and the likelihood of your reaching them becomes far greater."
For the second time in two weeks she was in my head, reading my every guilty thought. I knew my own motivation had slipped. I'm not sure I've even looked in the recipe books all this week, although I've still been careful not to eat anything too fatty. When I queued to stand on the scales I knew I hadn't lost any weight this week - knew it intuitively in the same way you know when someone you love is thinking about you. And I was right - "No Change". My third neutral result in only ten weeks of Scottish Slimming. Gillian always looks disappointed reading that out, too, bless her.
I was happy with that, though. This week I'd have been happy with 'anything but a Gain' (The phrase that repeats itself most often in my head as I await my turn on the scales).
But walking home that night I began to think about my original goals: fitting back into my Kilt, reaching my target near my birthday...and I started to wonder how much time I had left to achieve them. 10 weeks, by my quick mental calculations (11, working it out on a calendar). And to reach target I'd need to lose 22.5 lbs...which works out as roughly 2lbs a week. Looking back at my performance so far I've only lost 15.5 lbs in 10 weeks so if I only managed that again I would still be looking at another stone of weight lost, but a full half a stone or more away from my target. Then again I'd possibly be 13-stone-something....which in itself is still a huge achievement and might be enough to satisfy my birthday goal.
But regardless of which goal I reach it is obvious that my slap-dash approach to Weight Loss won't get me there in time. I need to re-think, start planning ahead much more, start doing more exercise than simply walking in and out of work (The bastards've closed my local swimming pool - nooo!). How I've managed to get so content with my weight loss to date is beyond me - I look in the mirror and can still see all the areas that bother me, despite the vast improvements they're already showing.
I've got Easter Monday off, an extra day to sit and think and plan and do. Here's hoping I don't waste it.
Thursday, 13. March 2008, 21:45:26
Losing Weight
"You all love food-", our Group Leader told us today (Her name is Gillian, pronounced as in fish gills) "-you wouldn't be here otherwise. But no-one should feel ashamed of admitting that, it's a wonderful thing to love what you eat."
It is indeed. I absolutely adore my food. Hand on my heart, I will happily admit that I take a great amount of pleasure in the the mechanism of our survival as human beings. Gillian told us we all had a favourite meal, and in the next breath pointed round the room and bet us all that our favourite meal had just popped into our heads as she said those words. (
'Holy shit, she reads minds!') She was right. At that very moment I was deep into a heavenly vision of a beautiful, steaming, home-cooked Spaghetti Bolognese, tomatoes glistening under the sweet aroma of herbs and wine...
I was that close to dribbling drown my chin, it's just not funny.
...Oh, and there was also this quick and dirty dish I cooked myself last Friday night, upon my return from walking nigh-on the entire length of Anderson Drive, a dual-carriageway that almost completely bi-sects the CITY of Aberdeen: Gillian had been talking the previous week about this rice dish she'd thought of using those packets of Uncle Ben's microwave rice. There's a Special Fried Rice they do that is really nice, but I'd been avoiding the whole convenience rice thing, unsure as to whether this was bad food or not. When Gillan mentioned it I did a little dance of joy in my head where no-one could point and laugh at me (I won't describe the dance, just let your imaginations run riot ) So yeah, I get home after this longest of long walks and throw one in the micro, along with some extra veg to bulk it up some. I throw the lot into a bowl and am just about to tuck in - utterly ravenous after delaying my normal meal-time by a good two hours with heroic exercise - when I randomly chuck in a chinese-spice Oxo cube and mix that into the excess water from the veg.
I ate this large bowl of food in about two minutes flat, just a shade under the amount of time it took me to prepare it. It was, excuse my french, frakking lovely. I've eaten some amazing meals in recent times, inspirations from all corners of the world, but I tell you...this one simple meal of rice and peas and spicy goodness was perhaps the most amazing thing I could EVER remember eating. My stomach was screaming murder right up until I dropped that lot into it, after which I could hear it giggling quietly for the rest of the night.
Unfortunately that was one shining moment in a very dark week, food-wise. This last fortnight has been very weird; I've felt very run down, listless. My will had vanished like smoke; I was no longer certain why I was doing what I was doing or even that it was having any effect. I had honestly started to consider what I would do if I got another poor result this week. Would I even bother to continue? Or would I just take the almost-stone I'd lost as a blessing and move on to something else?
Lucky I lost another pound and a half this week, then, isn't it? 
Gillian cheerfully furnished me with another dot on my card as congratulations for officially reaching the full stone of lost weight, a big blue one, much bigger than the little yellow half-stone sticker. She also gave me a little voucher that entitled me to a free pass: I can now miss a week's lesson without having to pay the full joining fee upon my return - yay!
The happy grin was back as I left. 
That was all I needed, I think. Another good result, no matter how small, just to lift my spirits back up again. I've been on a high all night because of it, and I'm going to go to bed shortly probably still grinning when I turn out the lights. "I'm 15 stone 1-and-half pounds, 15 pounds less than when I started, and I feel great!"
Friday, 7. March 2008, 10:28:23
Losing Weight
For my last in-depth look at my weight loss before I shrink it to a mere tally of figures, I have to end on a philosophical victory as opposed to a measurable triumph on the scales.
This week = No Change.
Despite my gung-ho enthusiasm of last week – “Let’s lose 3 and a half pounds!!!!” - I think I was de-railed by the nights of debauchery and a general feeling of tiredness that lasted all week. I was good the rest of the time, although I did little exercise over the weekend. So let’s just say my result wasn’t entirely unexpected. I am grateful, however, that it wasn’t another gain!
Taking all things into account, though, I’m still content with the weight I’ve lost so far. Also, I can announce this week that I seem to have done the seemingly impossible and come down a dres...er, clothing size (This is what I get for attending meetings populated almost exclusively by women! They’re brain-washing me!) Over the last couple of days I have found another pair of trousers, plain black work trousers, that I have not been able to fit into for about 18 months or more. Between them and the jeans I am now definitely a 36” waist, down from the scarily bulbous 38”. Happy days. 
I also tried on the Kilt...
I wasn’t going to. I had wanted to wait until I was 14 and a half stone, or below, or even wait until my birthday in June but when I managed to fit comfortably into the trousers my curiosity overcame me.
...It fitted. But only just.
It was incredibly pleasing to know that I could get into it – the last time I tried I couldn’t even do up the buckle on the side (that broke my heart, I can tell you)– but I’m not yet at the stage where I could wear it out for an evening. I was having to breath in to feel comfortable; too tight otherwise.
But that’s okay. I can live without achieving my ultimate goal as long as there is clear sign of progress toward it, and there definitely is.
So that concludes my 8th Weekly Weight Loss Report. As I said earlier in the week I’m going to change the format slightly, so as not to bore everyone constantly. There’s a long way for me to go yet; I’m still keenly aware of the places around my body I want that weight to leave. There has been a fantastic improvement - It’s delightful to have my chest stick out over my stomach at long last! - but I’m still saggy and bulgy in places I’d rather not be. My target weight is between 13 stone 10 and 13’ 7 so I have 21-24 lbs still to lose. That sounds a lot but based on progress so far I’m confident I can get there by the beginning of June or thereabouts. I’ll decide nearer the time if that proves to be enough.
Be well, everybody. 
Friday, 29. February 2008, 10:21:28
Losing Weight
Sorry for the lateness of this one. But as it's late how about we skip my usual preamble?
I lost three pounds this week! 
If you recall, I only needed three and a half to reach my first stone of lost weight. I'm now only HALF A POUND away, but I already feel FANTASTIC.
As has become the norm for me, I was dreading going to my class. I was genuinely worried that it had been a bad week for me; Lenny being up in Aberdeen, all those nights out drinking bottled beer, the fat-laden pizza on Tuesday night...I wasn't confident. About the pizza, I made Lenny pick up a couple as payment for me helping him clear his flat. He came back with possibly the greasiest, fattiest ones he could have possibly picked, cheese-stuffed crusts and lots of fatty meat toppings. Half of me, the responsible weight loss half, kept shouting warnings at me while my other half, the food-junkie half, was dribbling with anticipation, desperate to scoff the lot like a wolf starved through the winter suddenly presented with a pen of fat and succulent pigs. It HAD been a few weeks since I'd had one.
In a powerful demonstration of the differences in my eating capacity since last year, I only managed three quarters of it before I had to give up feeling full; previously I could have effortlessly demolished a whole one and would then still be hungry. But to be more precise my stomach was feeling full after the second quarter but my taste buds were having rapturous orgasms and I didn't want to spoil their fun until I really had to...
That I managed to lose anything at all seems miraculous to me, although the five hours I spent shifting Lenny's heavy-ass belongings down three flights of stairs into a van must have been more than enough to counter the pizza! I also did far more walking this week than my normal to-work-and-back-again (40 mins each way speed-walking).
Today I'm celebrating by wearing a pair of jeans that, apart from last Friday night out with Lenny, I haven't been able to fit into for over a YEAR. (They were tight Friday night, less so today after losing three pounds! ) Tonight I'm going to treat myself to a home-assembled pizza with lots of fresh vegetables, half-fat cheese and fresh basil leaves. The sauce is from a jar of 'Tomato and Chianti' that sounded so divine it just had to come home with me from the supermarket last night. To say I'm looking forward to this is an understatement!
An interesting thing to note is that I'm now 15 stone 3 lbs. If I lost three and a half lbs this week...I could be looking at a weight of 14 stone something. How amazing would that be, to have a 14 at the front instead of 15 or - *shudder* - 16?
Let's find out. 
Thursday, 21. February 2008, 19:26:21
Losing Weight
Scottish Slimmers are teaching me many things; They're teaching me about food, about how to select the right foods and interesting new ways to prepare them: they're teaching me Joy - every pound lost comes with a wonderful surge of emotion that can carry me right through the next seven days: they're teaching me organisation and planning, how to make sure I have the foods I need when I need them: they're teaching me commitment, how to screw my resolve to that sticking place, through good times and bad.
But in addition to all these fine and worthy things, they're teaching me terror.
I wasn't looking forward to being weighed today AT ALL. I was absolutely dreading it. Last week I gained my first pound, a blip I was hoping had occurred due to my mind being moved onto other things, but until I stood on those scales I had no idea if what I had done this week was going to give me the results I needed; the fear of failure, of another gain, was clouding my perception - I didn't feel any different from last week, no matter how anxiously I checked my wobbly bits for any sign they had decreased in size.
I could see my weighing session approaching, the tension building even from last night as I made my supper. All day I've been tense - the previous post was a partly successful attempt to keep my mind off it - but as the hours grew long and the sun started to set, every dark little worry surfaced en masse. "Please, just lose that lb I gained last week" I pleaded to the skies. Or even a 'no change'. Just not another gain...!"
This week...I lost two.
The joy was back. I took my seat with a grin on my face, but as I put my shoes back on and did up my laces it swiftly melted into a great and sobering relief. I'm back on track, and at 15 stone 6 lbs am the lightest I've been in as long as I can remember. Only 3 and a half lbs now need to be shed before I achieve my next goal - my first full stone of lost weight. I'm tempted to try and really push for it this week, lose it all in a one-er, but as long I can keep a steady two pound loss over the next two weeks I'll have hit my own wee deadline of the 10th March.
So if you'll excuse me, I'm off to make myself r-e-l-a-x. My shoulders feel like knotted steel; I think that some DVD goodness, a shower and an early night might be the best way to unwind them. After the tensions and stresses of the last fortnight, I really need some serious recovery time.
See ya. 
Thursday, 7. February 2008, 20:27:35
Losing Weight
After last week's disappointing result of 'No Change', this weighing session had to be a good one. I hold myself to a fairly high standard and anything less than one pound of weight loss wouldn't have been enough to lift myself out of the doldrums and give me back my confidence.
The woman in front of me in the queue lost five, yes five whole pounds, and as I stepped onto the scales I nervously joked to the group leader lady woman (I really should get her name!) "Flippin' 'eck, how am I supposed to match that kind of weight loss, eh?". The group leader said nothing, looked down at her display, then gave me an odd look from under an arched eyebrow: "You've lost three." (Cue Granty's big-eyed astonishment) "Well done, you've clawed it back from last week, and here, have a wee sticker [on your card] to celebrate your first offically recorded half-stone loss!"
<- This is the exact face I was wearing as I left.
So, as of today, my first month of being with Scottish Slimmers, I have lost 9.5 pounds since joining on the 10th January. Far and away the best £21.20 (£5.30 per week class fee) I have ever spent. The average for a month is 7 lbs therefore I'm 2.5 above average AND I'm now only 4.5 lbs away from losing my first full stone.
With the half-stone loss I've now hit my first little target which good slimming practice says you should treat yourself for, reward yourself for your hard work to give you the impetus to carry on. I already have my eye on the 3-disc special edition of cult classic, Spaced, which I saw in HMV on Monday for £13 but as it was the only copy in the store I can practically guarantee it won't be there when I go back for it. Sod's Law: whenever I restrain my impulse-buying instincts, usually to think it over, the object of my desire promptly vanishes or doubles in price just to spite me. 
Next target: Lose a Full Stone!
Target for 7th March: Be 15 stone or under!
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