Other Progress Reports

Diet

Five weeks gone on the diet and half a stone lost. An 'off' day today - we have invited Penny round for Sunday lunch.

Garden

It was sunny yesterday when we took the dogs out at lunchtime. So I decided to make a start at weeding the far end of long bank extension, being the only part of the garden that was not in shade. Sod's law - the clouds came over even as I was getting my trowel out of the shed. I persevered for a couple of hours before deciding enough was enough, my fingers beginning to lose all feeling.

Scrabble

Still battling with INGS. Double consonants mastered first. Then CVVCINGS. Now working my way through the rest, doing one or two new letters a day. Got up to ???PINGS yesterday. 

It is hard work and involves many mnemonics and stupid phrases . Making these up can be really difficult - they need to be memorable, unambiguous and relate clearly to what is being learnt. It is also beneficial if the trigger word is the first alphabetically but I haven't always managed that.

??GGINGS involves many references to bras and breasts. I was quite pleased with ??SSINGS: Passing Gas - CH4? Smells Terribly Bad, which gives PASSINGS, GASSINGS, CISSINGS, HISSINGS, SOSSINGS, TOSSINGS and BUSSINGS.

Whilst this has been going on I have not been adding the next probability 7/8s to my cardbox or bringing more forward once I have cleared it...although I have added a few more suffixes - ITIC and ITIS over the last couple of days.

Diet Time - Again

So the time has come to lose the excess flab again. I am starting earlier in the year than usual. To try to get over the problem of dieting when it is cold I am in multiple layers of clothing. I do think it is a lot easier to lose weight when it is warm, but if this year is anything like last year and I wait then I may never start!

So on Monday night on TV  Horizon: Why Are Thin People Not Fat? I just had to watch it.

I was more interested in why Fat People Are Fat... Other than the obvious of eating more calories than your body needs.

1) Evolution. In times of severe famine the 'sort of' politically correct chubby people (as described by the program) survived and the skinny people were wiped out. Survival of the fattest...

2) Genetics. I'm on to a loser there.

3) Upbringing. Pros and cons here. 

I like puddings. But as a child I was not going to get pudding unless I ate all of my dinner first. So I forced it down and even if I was full I was damned if I was not also going to eat the pudding that had been my ultimate goal. 

'Snacking' was not normally an option, which does seem to be a more prevalent problem now.

4) 'Fat' virus - not so sure about this one, but I have suffered my fair share of air-conditioning spread bugs in the past.

5) In-built programming in your brain to get you to the weight it thinks you should be

Another bummer is fat cells. So, when you put on fat it can be in two ways. The fat cells can just get bigger. But when they reach full size and cannot expand any more your body creates new fat cells. And they never just disappear again when they are no longer needed. I guess that's where liposuction comes in to play...

Hmm... What is my 'natural' weight?

I was a 'chubby' child through my teenage years... And then I got fat during my university years - alcohol and bad diet... And then I made a concerted effort and lost over two and a half stones... And then I kept at around that weight for the next 20+ years with a strict regime of dieting when it crept up... and it has now got away from me again :(

Now is this because my brain thinks I should be fatter or because I have now become a snacker?

 

I am giving my brain a good talking to. 120 pounds MAX!

Diet - End of Week 8

Two weeks have passed since my last report. Last week I got on the scales to find no change.

I think its sods law - I had been down a pound on either day of the official weigh-in. Again, I knew I had been sticking to the diet and was more than a little peeved. Still, I was not going to give in. I was very good at Allan's party - no nibbles, no alcohol (was driving anyway) and just had a jacket potato with tuna one side and chilli the other.

Today and bingo, another 2 pounds down.

End of week 8 results:
Lost 2lb, total loss 12lb. BMI = 21.8; 11th percentile

Target has been reached with time to spare. Had actually hoped I was going to smash it, considering how well it went at the start. Still, I think I have lost a good couple of inches+ from my bust, hips and waist. I will now have fun seeing what in my wardrobe now fits...

A couple of weeks off, and then start again. Next goal is to lose another half a stone from where I am now before I go to India, despite Margaret next door keep telling me to stop. I am still above what I would like to be and what I think I should be for someone of my age, height and frame. My problem is that I have a thin face, neck, arms and legs so if I wear baggy T-shirts it is assumed that the rest of me is in proportion, but it is my torso that is the problem :(

Diet - End of Week 6

There was no change at the end of last week which I was pleased about, after my weekend down south.

Having had visitors over this weekend I would not have been surprised if there was none this, or worse still a move in the wrong direction. However, I was happy to find that I had lost another pound this morning...

End of week 6 results:
Lost 1lb, total loss 10lb. BMI = 22.1; 13th percentile

Diet - End of Week 4

Undeterred by last week's disappointment I stuck to the diet, determined to not give up at the first setback. I was duly rewarded on my official weigh-in this morning.

Paul admitted to me that he had had a fresh cream scone at the tea break of his bridge on Tuesday. I am told that Reg did not approve.

I am going to find it difficult to stick to the diet this weekend as I am away for the UK Masters scrabble tourney, which is being held in a hotel down south. As it starts at midday Allan and I are travelling part-way down tomorrow afternoon and staying at a B&B overnight. I have been told that there is an Italian restaurant within walking distance...

End of week 2 results:
Lost 3lb, total loss 9lb. BMI = 22.3; 14th percentile

Diet - End of Week 3

I jumped on the scales this morning full of hope. No change from last week. This was rather depressing as I cannot help weighing myself every morning when I am dieting and I had been a pound down a couple of times during the week.

I did not cheat all week - not a crisp, cake or biscuit despite Penny driving by on Sunday with half a large Mississippi Mud Pie cake riding in the passenger seat. I told her we were dieting, much to Paul's dismay when I later told him.

Paul was full of indignation at last weeks diet entry. He only needs to lose three quarters of a stone to get into the healthy band, two stone was to get to the middle of it.

Diet - End of Week 2

I have stuck to my diet despite the unseasonable weather and being away at the weekend.

Edinburgh was the first major test of my commitment. The meals are 'canteen' style, so there was a good choice of food available. I had a salad and baked potato for dinner and spurned the gateau and cream in favour of a fresh fruit salad. On Sunday morning I ignored the cooked breakfast, and had a bowl of muesli. At lunchtime I had another bowl of fresh fruit salad.

We need to go food shopping weekly as fresh fruit will not survive a fortnight. On Monday we were much more organised than normal, and had made a list before we set out. No cakes, biscuits, crisps. Lots of fruit - now we are getting into summer there is a much better variety available - strawberries, plums, grapes, nectarines, bananas, apples and pears. Low fat yoghurt and frozen smoothies. Smoked mackerel, skinless chicken fillets, eggs...

Last week I decided to check out body mass index. I found this site that I liked: bmi

The medical recommendation for 'healthy' is between 19 and 25.
The Metropolitan Life tables suggest a weight between 114-127 pounds - I assume I am a small frame as I have, contrary to some people's perception, a small head :)
The 'people's choice ideal weight' for my height, age and sex is 121 pounds...

The good news was that I was within the healthy range, although near the top end (23.2, 19th percentile). 81% of Americans (!) my age band/height/sex are heavier. Now why should that surprise me...

Paul was not in the healthy range - he won't tell me his weight but admitted to being 2 stone into the unhealthy band...

End of week 2 results:
Lost 2lb, total loss 6lb. BMI = 22.9; 17th perecentile

Diet - End of Week 1

I got on the scales a week ago and got a nasty shock. The diet started that day.

My weight has been creeping up slowly ever since we got here, even though I am probably fitter than I have been for many years. Every now and then I had a half-hearted attempt to get it back under control, but before I knew it I was back to snacking on biscuits, crisps and other such crap. This is a problem with being at home all day - the larder is readily accessible.

I had a brief attempt at the start of the new year, but it is twice as hard when the weather is cold and it soon fizzled out. This time I intend to stick to it - even though sod's law means it has turned unseasonably cold again.

I have set myself the first target to lose at least 12 pounds in time for my second cousin Christine's wedding at the end of July. This should be very doable, averaging a pound and a half a week. When I set my mind to something I can be very determined, even obsessive. I currently have the equivalent zeal of a religious convert or a reformed smoker...

I still do not have breakfast, lunch consists of a bowl of muesli and fresh fruit, and dinner varies. I have had no snacks.

Paul decided that he needed to go on a diet too when we had been out food shopping last week. So far I have not noticed quite how this is happening for him - his diet appears to be eating his own food and mine. When I queried this I was told that he was helping me out by eating all the non-diet food that was in the house as quickly as possible to get it out of the way!

End of week 1: lost 4 pounds
There is always a boost at the start of a diet.