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.
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