I feel like a bit of a Devil and want to go all out to cheat and have things I normally wouldn't anyway but the tale of the scale is holding me back a little. How about it looks as if I've lost between 6 and 8 pounds! In one week. It is one of those uncertainty things as I forgot when I weighed myself and whether it was before or after food. At the moment I'm loaded with a high protein breakfast and a quart of water so I'm bound to be a little heavier on the scales but they were hovering close to 16 and a half Stones! Which is pretty good. Mrs. F. commented this morning that I was visibly slimmer and she could see that most of my balcony of a stomach has melted away. I'm very pleased as the diet isn't as "bad" as I thought it might be and by that I mean bland and boring. I've managed to pull meals together and just use my imagination - sometimes they combine well and other times it's just like eating a mess of stuff :-)
So the quandary has arrived, I can go and cheat and eat what I like and all I have ready is some Flax Seed Oil and Cottage Cheese which I can make up with some dried fruits that I like and some yoghurt and I have a nice slice of Stilton sitting in the Fridge with my name on it. Other than that, I'm struggling to find what else to cheat with but tonight I can have what I like as we are out for a meal so perhaps that will make me feel less guilty about "undoing" the work - in real terms, as far as I can see, I'm not actually undoing the work I've done but it feels like it.
Now I've got to keep clear of the radio and TV and the Internet so that I can watch the highlights of F1 qualifying on the TV later.
So - great results on the weight loss front and long may that continue, I imagine, like many other diets, the first week's losses are quite large and things will settle down over the weeks ahead. Anyway, other things I've noticed - which may sound strange - are that I can get my clothes on better and that may seem strange to say but I was struggling to do that and was feeling "fat" hence going on the diet made a lot of sense as does the other health benefits of getting back to a normal weight, eating healthily and so on.
Right - off now to wreak mayhem on the household's food supplies - watch out fattening, sugary foods "Here's Johnny!!!" :-)
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
A little red wine in celebration
I thought I'd open up a bottle of wine I won a few years ago in 2010 to celebrate Steve's all clear today. Unfortunately it tasted absolutely awful and I had to pour it away it will probably do a nice job of cleaning out the drain. I hope Mrs. F. doesn't think I've necked the whole bottle. Instead I've pulled out an Italian Veneto and that is rather nice, so now I can properly raise my glass to Steve's continued well being and that means he can take the whole summer off until September when he has another scope followed by 3 BCGs.
I must ring up and arrange my CT Scan and I need to get to see my GP to get my Blood Pressure taken again as it was up at stratospheric levels last time I was there. I might just delay that a little while whilst I bring my body under control with this diet and the exercises I'm gradually bringing in. I've been pretty good and only done short 5 and 10 minute bursts. Just a few minutes on the vibration plate to do some squats and bends and then some wall pushes and also I do some 45% push ups using the bed rail to push against.
So far, so good. I had a cheeky look at the scales earlier and I'm a good 3 or 4 pounds lighter than I was on Sunday so that's not bad but I'll probably properly check tomorrow sometime. I'm now set fair with plenty of legumes and Mrs. F. also bought me some Fish and Red Kidney Beans for tomorrow so I'm happy about that. I've been unable to touch my soups because they contain things like rice or milk products and all sorts of things I'm not allowed. I can only have them on Saturday, my cheat day. I've lined up some nice Stilton Cheese for Saturday and I need to top up on my Flax Seed Oil and Cottage Cheese mixture too as I've missed that. I generally had that every day but will now limit myself to just twice a week meaning I've got a smaller amount of Cottage Cheese than the big tub I normally get through. Mind you, that's OK as is Flax Seed Oil, it is just the dried fruit and other stuff I used to have in it, including my Pro-biotic yoghurt that have had to be dropped. It's all for a good cause and I'm hoping that I can get into real shape over the next month or two especially as I can build my exercises and the nights get lighter and perhaps I can get out of the house a bit more.
We are getting into the "end game" with the business and are now pursuing different funding avenues, it is where we thought we would end up and so we've spent a couple of hours on conference calls tonight to set strategy going forward. I'm seriously reviewing what alternatives I may have should we fail as it is an ideal time to start thinking seriously about that. It makes no sense for one day to find that the dream is ended and I've no Plans B, C & D to fall back on.
I've started by setting down my requirements for the future and looking at things differently. I can now that health is a lot better and I can consider other options that may be more active and more assertive than the work at the Charity I did. I'm not saying that the work wasn't active and assertive but it fitted my illness at the time and work and illness worked around each other quite well. I think that travelling up to London and back each day would require a substantial incentive for me as would getting involved in anything as serious as I used to do unless I'm doing it for myself of course. I still have the family history business in stasis I suppose and the Program Management business is also still active so either of those are possibilities.
The holiday put me in a calm and peaceful place. I wasn't there before I went, I was quite annoyed that no one got what we are doing, that the EU investment market is dead, that no matter what people might say about encouraging entrepreneurs, it is just lip service and most of the stuff that is spouted by politicians and industry heads is a pack of lies. That's the disappointment with the whole thing. In the US it is very different but what we are doing is very European to start with - how could it be anything other than that? The US guys have plenty of people beating a path to their door so they don't need to come over here and see us and they don't tend to invest in services businesses.
So that was the annoyance and now I've gone past that because, it will be what it will be. We will have worked it out of our system and whilst it will be a huge shame and disappointment, it won't be the only radical idea that never made it, there must be thousands of broken dreams crushed every week through the same reasons. It isn't that they don't have merit or that they don't work it is just that their time isn't now and may never be. That's just the way the cookie crumbles I'm afraid. There's no need to get angry although perhaps you should and there's not a lot you can do about it so like the US Cops you just have to say "Nothing to see here, move along, get behind the line" :-)
Anyway, I haven't drunk my wine which I will do now, thinking of Steve and his great news and remembering that we are both clear, have both had some pretty traumatic times, some good and bad experiences and have worked our way from those very scary days away and up and beyond, taken control of our health and taken responsibility for recovering and maintaining our bodies as best we can.
Cheers!
I must ring up and arrange my CT Scan and I need to get to see my GP to get my Blood Pressure taken again as it was up at stratospheric levels last time I was there. I might just delay that a little while whilst I bring my body under control with this diet and the exercises I'm gradually bringing in. I've been pretty good and only done short 5 and 10 minute bursts. Just a few minutes on the vibration plate to do some squats and bends and then some wall pushes and also I do some 45% push ups using the bed rail to push against.
So far, so good. I had a cheeky look at the scales earlier and I'm a good 3 or 4 pounds lighter than I was on Sunday so that's not bad but I'll probably properly check tomorrow sometime. I'm now set fair with plenty of legumes and Mrs. F. also bought me some Fish and Red Kidney Beans for tomorrow so I'm happy about that. I've been unable to touch my soups because they contain things like rice or milk products and all sorts of things I'm not allowed. I can only have them on Saturday, my cheat day. I've lined up some nice Stilton Cheese for Saturday and I need to top up on my Flax Seed Oil and Cottage Cheese mixture too as I've missed that. I generally had that every day but will now limit myself to just twice a week meaning I've got a smaller amount of Cottage Cheese than the big tub I normally get through. Mind you, that's OK as is Flax Seed Oil, it is just the dried fruit and other stuff I used to have in it, including my Pro-biotic yoghurt that have had to be dropped. It's all for a good cause and I'm hoping that I can get into real shape over the next month or two especially as I can build my exercises and the nights get lighter and perhaps I can get out of the house a bit more.
We are getting into the "end game" with the business and are now pursuing different funding avenues, it is where we thought we would end up and so we've spent a couple of hours on conference calls tonight to set strategy going forward. I'm seriously reviewing what alternatives I may have should we fail as it is an ideal time to start thinking seriously about that. It makes no sense for one day to find that the dream is ended and I've no Plans B, C & D to fall back on.
I've started by setting down my requirements for the future and looking at things differently. I can now that health is a lot better and I can consider other options that may be more active and more assertive than the work at the Charity I did. I'm not saying that the work wasn't active and assertive but it fitted my illness at the time and work and illness worked around each other quite well. I think that travelling up to London and back each day would require a substantial incentive for me as would getting involved in anything as serious as I used to do unless I'm doing it for myself of course. I still have the family history business in stasis I suppose and the Program Management business is also still active so either of those are possibilities.
The holiday put me in a calm and peaceful place. I wasn't there before I went, I was quite annoyed that no one got what we are doing, that the EU investment market is dead, that no matter what people might say about encouraging entrepreneurs, it is just lip service and most of the stuff that is spouted by politicians and industry heads is a pack of lies. That's the disappointment with the whole thing. In the US it is very different but what we are doing is very European to start with - how could it be anything other than that? The US guys have plenty of people beating a path to their door so they don't need to come over here and see us and they don't tend to invest in services businesses.
So that was the annoyance and now I've gone past that because, it will be what it will be. We will have worked it out of our system and whilst it will be a huge shame and disappointment, it won't be the only radical idea that never made it, there must be thousands of broken dreams crushed every week through the same reasons. It isn't that they don't have merit or that they don't work it is just that their time isn't now and may never be. That's just the way the cookie crumbles I'm afraid. There's no need to get angry although perhaps you should and there's not a lot you can do about it so like the US Cops you just have to say "Nothing to see here, move along, get behind the line" :-)
Anyway, I haven't drunk my wine which I will do now, thinking of Steve and his great news and remembering that we are both clear, have both had some pretty traumatic times, some good and bad experiences and have worked our way from those very scary days away and up and beyond, taken control of our health and taken responsibility for recovering and maintaining our bodies as best we can.
Cheers!
Almost done
Blimey a marathon effort soaking, washing, boiling, simmering, rinsing, cooling and packaging my legumes :-) It has taken the best part of the day doing it - not standing over them but timings and cooling down, packaging and freezing etc. Almost done now and some left out for my meal tonight.
Just juiced up some carrots with some brussel sprout top - uggghhhh I'd forgotten how awful it tastes. As luck would have it I have some Limes and Lemons so a hit of lemon seems to have dampened it down and on my 6th pint of cold water too. I'm having coffee around about lunch time, normally an Americano but today did some filter so I could have a couple of cups. I've cut out sweeteners altogether and milk and all dairy so quite a change for me but not unpleasant and I've been able to cook up some interesting meals and using various herbs and combinations it hasn't been too bad. It's only Thursday and I have another day to go before going off and trying some other stuff. So far, so good, I've not weighed myself but I actually feel better and I actually feel thinner certainly my trousers are coming undone because they are too large and my belt size has gone in a notch although I attribute much of that to the holiday and all the exercise I got walking around Venice. Florence and Rome.
We are going out on Saturday night the girls are taking Mrs. F. out for Mothers Day which is on Sunday. They cleverly have vouchers for the evening and I suggested that I'll foot the bar bill as I may have a few extra beers and will certainly have a blow out meal!
Just juiced up some carrots with some brussel sprout top - uggghhhh I'd forgotten how awful it tastes. As luck would have it I have some Limes and Lemons so a hit of lemon seems to have dampened it down and on my 6th pint of cold water too. I'm having coffee around about lunch time, normally an Americano but today did some filter so I could have a couple of cups. I've cut out sweeteners altogether and milk and all dairy so quite a change for me but not unpleasant and I've been able to cook up some interesting meals and using various herbs and combinations it hasn't been too bad. It's only Thursday and I have another day to go before going off and trying some other stuff. So far, so good, I've not weighed myself but I actually feel better and I actually feel thinner certainly my trousers are coming undone because they are too large and my belt size has gone in a notch although I attribute much of that to the holiday and all the exercise I got walking around Venice. Florence and Rome.
We are going out on Saturday night the girls are taking Mrs. F. out for Mothers Day which is on Sunday. They cleverly have vouchers for the evening and I suggested that I'll foot the bar bill as I may have a few extra beers and will certainly have a blow out meal!
Kitchen Prep
The kitchen looks like one in a Restaurant as I prepare Lentils, Split Peas, Black Eyed Beans and Chick Peas. I'm doing them in a batch so that I can freeze them and that will allow me to ensure I have enough for the next week or so. More supplies are arriving tonight I hope in the form of Red Kidney Beans which do make economical sense to buy in tins. Will have to keep my eye out for others that are available.
For some reason Chick Peas are only to be used in moderation so I'll just limit those - it is the same as Avocado which I also like shouldn't be a daily thing - perhaps every couple of days or so.
Thought for Steve Kelley who is being checked later today with a flexible cystoscope. Fingers crossed, prayers sent for a clear verdict on his Judgement Day.
For some reason Chick Peas are only to be used in moderation so I'll just limit those - it is the same as Avocado which I also like shouldn't be a daily thing - perhaps every couple of days or so.
Thought for Steve Kelley who is being checked later today with a flexible cystoscope. Fingers crossed, prayers sent for a clear verdict on his Judgement Day.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Short on carbs
Could tell that today I was short on the carbs as I felt hungry and you really shouldn't feel like that. So have set out to sort out my Black Eye Beans, Lentils and Split Peas and I have some Chick Peas that Mrs. F. bought but they must be had in moderation only so I'll prepare them but use sparingly. I can then freeze all of these and use them as I have this week for three meals a day - I need to somehow work out how I can make it 4 meals a day.
I have managed pretty well and apart from the red wine slip up, everything else seems to be working out OK. I feel quite cold which is unusual, I probably need to wear something a bit warmer but I'm drinking ice cold water and lots of it during the day.
Another 2 days to go until the cheat day which I have planned for one of my big no nos normally and that is Stilton Cheese. I froze quite a bit that I got for Christmas and so I can get that out of the freezer on Friday night and have that on Saturday.
The Formula 1 season starts on Saturday with the Australian Grand Prix. It is no longer free to view and so I'll have to make do with the highlights. I don't see that paying over £300 a year is quite right just to watch a couple of races (and that is all). I suppose we are lucky to get highlights. I imagine that this will start to erode the sport in this country as it did when they took over boxing.
On a brighter note, I've ordered my new mobile phone and package and hope that it will be a good step forward. I've got a slightly different package of time and data which I hope will actually mean me using it properly. I've had to seriously curtail using the one I have now as I ran up a £12 bill just for downloading a few emails. Hopefully that will now go away. Looking forward to getting a larger phone as well as the small screen on mine makes it difficult to read sometimes.
I have managed pretty well and apart from the red wine slip up, everything else seems to be working out OK. I feel quite cold which is unusual, I probably need to wear something a bit warmer but I'm drinking ice cold water and lots of it during the day.
Another 2 days to go until the cheat day which I have planned for one of my big no nos normally and that is Stilton Cheese. I froze quite a bit that I got for Christmas and so I can get that out of the freezer on Friday night and have that on Saturday.
The Formula 1 season starts on Saturday with the Australian Grand Prix. It is no longer free to view and so I'll have to make do with the highlights. I don't see that paying over £300 a year is quite right just to watch a couple of races (and that is all). I suppose we are lucky to get highlights. I imagine that this will start to erode the sport in this country as it did when they took over boxing.
On a brighter note, I've ordered my new mobile phone and package and hope that it will be a good step forward. I've got a slightly different package of time and data which I hope will actually mean me using it properly. I've had to seriously curtail using the one I have now as I ran up a £12 bill just for downloading a few emails. Hopefully that will now go away. Looking forward to getting a larger phone as well as the small screen on mine makes it difficult to read sometimes.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Almost passed the test
But just a couple of glasses of red wine too many in my calculations. Oh well - these things are sent to try us - if it had been beer would it have been worse? Difficult to say I suppose.
So I'm sat here and should now call it a night and go to bed. A few months ago I'd be up until 1 or 2 am but will call it a day soon and head on up to get a good nights rest.
I've managed to keep on diet except those two extra glasses of wine! Let's see what I can do to keep to plan until Saturday when I can cheat myself stupid.
I have to say that I managed to keep pretty much to plan until a friend turned up late and kept me at the pub until closing time - I was expecting to get home a few hours before this...
Have until Saturday with no other engagements to resolve this I suppose!
So I'm sat here and should now call it a night and go to bed. A few months ago I'd be up until 1 or 2 am but will call it a day soon and head on up to get a good nights rest.
I've managed to keep on diet except those two extra glasses of wine! Let's see what I can do to keep to plan until Saturday when I can cheat myself stupid.
I have to say that I managed to keep pretty much to plan until a friend turned up late and kept me at the pub until closing time - I was expecting to get home a few hours before this...
Have until Saturday with no other engagements to resolve this I suppose!
So far so good
Trying to work out if I'm this cold because of the diet :-) I am absolutely frozen so much so that I put the central heating on early this afternoon. Mind you I have been drinking ice cold water and a good few pints of that too. Had my high protein breakfast and lunch both with beans for carbs. Had one cup of coffee today so far but feel the need for a cup of soup in a minute just to warm up!
Will have chicken tonight with some beans and vegetables. Off out to the pub so I will contain myself with Red Wine rather than Beer so as to keep on plan. Saturday is my day off and so I will enjoy a bit of a cheat then. I like the idea of having stuff that you wouldn't normally have anyway like chocolate and doughnuts etc. Not sure I'll go absolutely wild but I may cut loose with some pastries :-)
So far then so good, getting used to it and not feeling hungry at the moment but feeling cold and not surprised drinking this chilled water all day. Did also do a carrot juice this morning but added a touch too much Lime which made it a bit difficult to drink :-) I will keep juicing just to ensure that I get my concentrated fix of vegetables into my system. I won't be doing too much in the way of getting off plan though as I just need this to keep me topped up with the good stuff.
I have to say that I'm feeling good and got a good night's sleep and was up and about early too. It feels like a long day because of that and also getting breakfast eaten within the hour of waking means that I get going much quicker. I will go and give myself a short work out after writing this - no more than 5 or 10 minutes just to start to get into the habit.
I think after the holiday I am in a much better place mentally especially as I think that I've started to think the unthinkable that we may not get funded with our project. That was always a possibility and so I can calmly look forward to see what may come afterwards and take my time to do that. We aren't near the last throw of the dice but we have completed a number of phases and are getting past half way without much take up. From the meeting we had yesterday, it appears that our experience isn't un-typical in today's climate. We do however have a few trump cards left to play and that will be the test a little later.
Well that's about it at the moment, I feel slimmer from the holiday and fitting into my suit trousers was a bonus yesterday, I just hope that I can keep this momentum up and start to get back into my old clothes and fit more comfortably into my present ones!
Will have chicken tonight with some beans and vegetables. Off out to the pub so I will contain myself with Red Wine rather than Beer so as to keep on plan. Saturday is my day off and so I will enjoy a bit of a cheat then. I like the idea of having stuff that you wouldn't normally have anyway like chocolate and doughnuts etc. Not sure I'll go absolutely wild but I may cut loose with some pastries :-)
So far then so good, getting used to it and not feeling hungry at the moment but feeling cold and not surprised drinking this chilled water all day. Did also do a carrot juice this morning but added a touch too much Lime which made it a bit difficult to drink :-) I will keep juicing just to ensure that I get my concentrated fix of vegetables into my system. I won't be doing too much in the way of getting off plan though as I just need this to keep me topped up with the good stuff.
I have to say that I'm feeling good and got a good night's sleep and was up and about early too. It feels like a long day because of that and also getting breakfast eaten within the hour of waking means that I get going much quicker. I will go and give myself a short work out after writing this - no more than 5 or 10 minutes just to start to get into the habit.
I think after the holiday I am in a much better place mentally especially as I think that I've started to think the unthinkable that we may not get funded with our project. That was always a possibility and so I can calmly look forward to see what may come afterwards and take my time to do that. We aren't near the last throw of the dice but we have completed a number of phases and are getting past half way without much take up. From the meeting we had yesterday, it appears that our experience isn't un-typical in today's climate. We do however have a few trump cards left to play and that will be the test a little later.
Well that's about it at the moment, I feel slimmer from the holiday and fitting into my suit trousers was a bonus yesterday, I just hope that I can keep this momentum up and start to get back into my old clothes and fit more comfortably into my present ones!
Monday, March 12, 2012
First Day
Well that wasn't too bad apart from we had a meeting in London and needed to grab food up there. As luck would have it there was a chicken salad with lashings of Spinach to be had and no heavy dressing so I was pleased with getting that and also managed to drink my Ice Cold water - around 5 pints so far today. Was a little concerned that I hadn't taken on enough carbs but made up for that with 2/3 of a tin of Berlotti Beans :-)
Found a number of bags of frozen beans in the Freezer so using them first. The next test comes tomorrow as it is lads night out. As luck would have it my friend is the only one turning up, he has to go early and so I will be able to have some red wine (allowed) and not have any beer (shame but I am going to stick to this diet). I did some basic exercises today on my Vibration Plate machine and got some stretches and squats done too. I need to up these but I've learnt from the past not to overdo these things especially on the vibration exercises which give you a real workout quicker than you think they do.
So - the first day has gone OK and I'm hoping that I'll be ready for another crack at this in the morning bashing in huge protein hit to start with, drinking a litre of very cold water and this time I will be able to get some beans (legumes) in with my breakfast.
I was most surprised that my starting weight is 17 stone - OK that may seem large to you but for me I only look fat with a bit of a beer belly with this. I'm down from 18 stone and I think I may have been higher than that. In the past two weeks, before this diet, I've lost around 1 stone, an inch off my neck and perhaps an inch or two of my waist (I could actually get into my suit trousers without discomfort today). My watch strap too has shrunk by a notch and my clothes do feel looser on me. A good run at this diet will, I hope, allow me to lose another stone or more and start to get myself back to a decent weight allowing me to also get my BP down at the same time.
Found a number of bags of frozen beans in the Freezer so using them first. The next test comes tomorrow as it is lads night out. As luck would have it my friend is the only one turning up, he has to go early and so I will be able to have some red wine (allowed) and not have any beer (shame but I am going to stick to this diet). I did some basic exercises today on my Vibration Plate machine and got some stretches and squats done too. I need to up these but I've learnt from the past not to overdo these things especially on the vibration exercises which give you a real workout quicker than you think they do.
So - the first day has gone OK and I'm hoping that I'll be ready for another crack at this in the morning bashing in huge protein hit to start with, drinking a litre of very cold water and this time I will be able to get some beans (legumes) in with my breakfast.
I was most surprised that my starting weight is 17 stone - OK that may seem large to you but for me I only look fat with a bit of a beer belly with this. I'm down from 18 stone and I think I may have been higher than that. In the past two weeks, before this diet, I've lost around 1 stone, an inch off my neck and perhaps an inch or two of my waist (I could actually get into my suit trousers without discomfort today). My watch strap too has shrunk by a notch and my clothes do feel looser on me. A good run at this diet will, I hope, allow me to lose another stone or more and start to get myself back to a decent weight allowing me to also get my BP down at the same time.
New Regime
I was pretty impressed that on returning from holiday that I have managed to drop a belt size and even my watch needed to go in a notch. That's what a lot of walking can do for you and also eating sensibly.
Talking of eating sensibly, I am today starting the diet that fellow blogger Steve Kelley has had such success with. See here for Steve's experiences. Some time ago Steve and I tried a cross Atlantic weight loss "competition" and whilst we both lost a bit we had to work really hard at it and like may other diets I managed to put back everything I lost and more :-(
Steve has had impressive results so far and as far as I can see the whole thing is sustainable and makes a lot of sense. I'd suggest you don't do this if you are actually being treated or have cancer at the moment or to at least seek medical advice.
So I've prepared for this by getting rid of anything likely to deter me from the path of eating just a few things regularly for 6 days a week and then having a 7th cheat day. In essence I started this yesterday and stepped off this morning with a protein rich breakfast and some ice cold water to get things moving :-) Unfortunately I'm out to lunch today (typical) but I know what I can ask for or look for in terms of food and so will make sure that I do that.
The biggest problem with this diet is where to get your carbs from and so Legumes are the way to go on this. I've loaded the house up with Lentils and Black Eyed Beans etc. Now I need to prepare them and get them ready for using as it is these that need to be used to provide the carb part of the diet. If you don't get them you run a real risk of running out of energy, feeling hungry etc.
Rather than rattle through what Steve has eloquently described again here all I'll say is that I am looking forward to the change and trying this out and giving it a good go, it appears to be good in terms of results and in terms of allowing me to add in exercise without having to do 45 minutes a day which I was easily doing when I was dieting last year. It is strange that I am getting back into clothes that were too small 4 or 5 months ago and so there is further incentive for me to continue to bring my weight down.
Here goes - let's see what happens.
Talking of eating sensibly, I am today starting the diet that fellow blogger Steve Kelley has had such success with. See here for Steve's experiences. Some time ago Steve and I tried a cross Atlantic weight loss "competition" and whilst we both lost a bit we had to work really hard at it and like may other diets I managed to put back everything I lost and more :-(
Steve has had impressive results so far and as far as I can see the whole thing is sustainable and makes a lot of sense. I'd suggest you don't do this if you are actually being treated or have cancer at the moment or to at least seek medical advice.
So I've prepared for this by getting rid of anything likely to deter me from the path of eating just a few things regularly for 6 days a week and then having a 7th cheat day. In essence I started this yesterday and stepped off this morning with a protein rich breakfast and some ice cold water to get things moving :-) Unfortunately I'm out to lunch today (typical) but I know what I can ask for or look for in terms of food and so will make sure that I do that.
The biggest problem with this diet is where to get your carbs from and so Legumes are the way to go on this. I've loaded the house up with Lentils and Black Eyed Beans etc. Now I need to prepare them and get them ready for using as it is these that need to be used to provide the carb part of the diet. If you don't get them you run a real risk of running out of energy, feeling hungry etc.
Rather than rattle through what Steve has eloquently described again here all I'll say is that I am looking forward to the change and trying this out and giving it a good go, it appears to be good in terms of results and in terms of allowing me to add in exercise without having to do 45 minutes a day which I was easily doing when I was dieting last year. It is strange that I am getting back into clothes that were too small 4 or 5 months ago and so there is further incentive for me to continue to bring my weight down.
Here goes - let's see what happens.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Alcohol Added Rant
It's nice once in a while, when having drunk a few beers, to attack one's blog with some sort of "under the influence" awakening.
Of course, it isn't the same as a "trip" and so can't mean anything either.
I realised tonight that I didn't spend the time I should doing the right thing for my family. As I spoke to friends who now have young families I waxed lyrical about spending time with them. I didn't but then, at this present time, the girls have a house that is paid for, the ability to fall back on money that we have put aside for them or that they have, to keep them at Uni, looking for a job, a flat etc. My "guilt" is that I maybe should have spent time with them then rather than them having the opportunity now. In other words, if I was having the opportunity to build the family foundations at the time they were born was it time well spent or not?
I don't know really? At this present time, no one needs to find finance, it is sitting in the bank(s) ready to be used. If I hadn't worked all over Europe for all those hours and grabbing those bonuses then perhaps I'd have seen the kids more when they were younger and yet if I hadn't have done that I'd have been out of a job there would have been no money and so on - we can go on that loop forever.
I don't know the answer but would you have sacrificed the now for the future or sacrificed the future for the now? There is no easy answer to that - I just need to focus on the now - I actually think I missed out huge tracks of my daughter's lives through working really hard when they were young. I think that just as you hit your peak in terms of career and climbing the greasy pole that everything arrives all at once. There's a trade off that you make and mine was to secure my family's future and yet I think now that I'd have rather secured the opportunity to watch them grow up a bit more. My children mean so much to me and now I regret that I secured their now rather than their then.
Of course, it isn't the same as a "trip" and so can't mean anything either.
I realised tonight that I didn't spend the time I should doing the right thing for my family. As I spoke to friends who now have young families I waxed lyrical about spending time with them. I didn't but then, at this present time, the girls have a house that is paid for, the ability to fall back on money that we have put aside for them or that they have, to keep them at Uni, looking for a job, a flat etc. My "guilt" is that I maybe should have spent time with them then rather than them having the opportunity now. In other words, if I was having the opportunity to build the family foundations at the time they were born was it time well spent or not?
I don't know really? At this present time, no one needs to find finance, it is sitting in the bank(s) ready to be used. If I hadn't worked all over Europe for all those hours and grabbing those bonuses then perhaps I'd have seen the kids more when they were younger and yet if I hadn't have done that I'd have been out of a job there would have been no money and so on - we can go on that loop forever.
I don't know the answer but would you have sacrificed the now for the future or sacrificed the future for the now? There is no easy answer to that - I just need to focus on the now - I actually think I missed out huge tracks of my daughter's lives through working really hard when they were young. I think that just as you hit your peak in terms of career and climbing the greasy pole that everything arrives all at once. There's a trade off that you make and mine was to secure my family's future and yet I think now that I'd have rather secured the opportunity to watch them grow up a bit more. My children mean so much to me and now I regret that I secured their now rather than their then.
Friday, March 09, 2012
Back to Reality
Well here I am again and feeling a bit trimmer which is good and just about to get back onto my diet and back to exercise routine. After a week and a half of walking quite long distances I'm feeling a lot better. My back was twinging and all over the place on the first few days in Venice but after a few days of working on it and also realising that I was carrying my back pack on one shoulder, I moved away from that and so far have managed to get better each day. The distances we walked must be in the 5 to 10 miles a day region I think and up and down steps and hills, over hard surfaces etc. All of the cities are best seen by foot in reality.
We were extremely lucky with the weather - on two days it was dodgy - one day in Florence was misty and damp but we changed schedule, went indoors and when we came out went on a long walk out of the city up into the hills and were rewarded with the sun coming out and burning off the mists and a wonderful series of views of the city. A long walk though but worth it. When we went to the Vatican it started drizzling (it had rained the night before and we had got in just before the heavens opened) and as we got inside from the obligatory queuing the heavens once again opened up. So all in all we got away with great weather. Some of the train journeys were amazing - Lucerne to Milan and Turin to Paris being the stand out ones. We would have liked to have seen a bit more of Basel to Lucerne but the light failed but of what we could see, this would have been spectacular too.
Nothing quite prepares you for Venice, Florence or Rome really. They are each different in character and each was enjoyable in its own right. We fitted as much in as we could in each of the cities and did most of the "tourist" stuff however, the best bits were getting out early, getting past the queues and finding those little hidden gems that only the intrepid explorer can hope to see. In Venice we stayed about as far from the tourist area as it is possible to stay. The upside was a few quiet canals and local life, hidden squares and churches. The downside? Few restaurants and few evening activities unless going back into the city. We felt sorry for the day tourists on the Cruise liners - quite how they could do Venice in a day was beyond us - we did 2 and a half days - we could have done a bit more on departure day but didn't!
The train journeys were good in general, the people were not so. First class travel made things a bit better but I do find aircraft and train travel to be a bit of a strain especially when the web site booking systems stick all the passengers together in one carriage of the train leaving the carriages either side virtually empty (late booking may help here). No sooner had one person struggled off with their case than someone else struggled on with theirs and tried to put an oversized suitcase into an undersized luggage rack, then try and back it out to the main luggage racks where the doors are. If they had been booked either side there would have been easier access and egress. Anyway, there's me being a pragmatist. We often let them all scramble on and off the trains and get on when all is settled - that was we can find seats, locate space etc.
I'm sure I could write a travel book based on the experiences of the journey. Would I travel by train again? Pretty sure I would but I'd probably go first class all the way despite the issue I had with the idiots on the Turin to Paris train, I know how to avoid that in future.
We were extremely lucky with the weather - on two days it was dodgy - one day in Florence was misty and damp but we changed schedule, went indoors and when we came out went on a long walk out of the city up into the hills and were rewarded with the sun coming out and burning off the mists and a wonderful series of views of the city. A long walk though but worth it. When we went to the Vatican it started drizzling (it had rained the night before and we had got in just before the heavens opened) and as we got inside from the obligatory queuing the heavens once again opened up. So all in all we got away with great weather. Some of the train journeys were amazing - Lucerne to Milan and Turin to Paris being the stand out ones. We would have liked to have seen a bit more of Basel to Lucerne but the light failed but of what we could see, this would have been spectacular too.
Nothing quite prepares you for Venice, Florence or Rome really. They are each different in character and each was enjoyable in its own right. We fitted as much in as we could in each of the cities and did most of the "tourist" stuff however, the best bits were getting out early, getting past the queues and finding those little hidden gems that only the intrepid explorer can hope to see. In Venice we stayed about as far from the tourist area as it is possible to stay. The upside was a few quiet canals and local life, hidden squares and churches. The downside? Few restaurants and few evening activities unless going back into the city. We felt sorry for the day tourists on the Cruise liners - quite how they could do Venice in a day was beyond us - we did 2 and a half days - we could have done a bit more on departure day but didn't!
The train journeys were good in general, the people were not so. First class travel made things a bit better but I do find aircraft and train travel to be a bit of a strain especially when the web site booking systems stick all the passengers together in one carriage of the train leaving the carriages either side virtually empty (late booking may help here). No sooner had one person struggled off with their case than someone else struggled on with theirs and tried to put an oversized suitcase into an undersized luggage rack, then try and back it out to the main luggage racks where the doors are. If they had been booked either side there would have been easier access and egress. Anyway, there's me being a pragmatist. We often let them all scramble on and off the trains and get on when all is settled - that was we can find seats, locate space etc.
I'm sure I could write a travel book based on the experiences of the journey. Would I travel by train again? Pretty sure I would but I'd probably go first class all the way despite the issue I had with the idiots on the Turin to Paris train, I know how to avoid that in future.
Thursday, March 08, 2012
Italy - WOW
Back from a hectic week and a half in Italy. Had a wonderful time, mostly good weather and of course the culture and the food stick in the mind. Even lost a bit of weight and a belt size but that was through the massive amount of walking we did over the days. Today has been stunning making our way back from Torino to home. We went from sunlight to snow in the Alps and back to rain, grey and then blue skies all in one day.
Generally a good time but occasionally I find that people are just downright disgraceful and ignorant and rude but then that's the Italians and French for you. Removing our luggage from the racks, placing theirs in it and throwing our cases (and others) in a pile in the train corridor was just one of the tricks these monkeys got up to - and that on a first class compartment. Wish I'd seen them do it, there'd have been someone with bruised testicles as a starter...
Apart from that, the way that these guys allow their dogs to shit unabated even around ancient world heritage monuments and their apparent lack of oral or other bodily hygiene the places themselves made up for it. Proof in both Italy and France that many many many many years ago there was an advanced, artistic and altogether more elegant time than those who inherited it deserve.
Generally a good time but occasionally I find that people are just downright disgraceful and ignorant and rude but then that's the Italians and French for you. Removing our luggage from the racks, placing theirs in it and throwing our cases (and others) in a pile in the train corridor was just one of the tricks these monkeys got up to - and that on a first class compartment. Wish I'd seen them do it, there'd have been someone with bruised testicles as a starter...
Apart from that, the way that these guys allow their dogs to shit unabated even around ancient world heritage monuments and their apparent lack of oral or other bodily hygiene the places themselves made up for it. Proof in both Italy and France that many many many many years ago there was an advanced, artistic and altogether more elegant time than those who inherited it deserve.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Nice
Well that was nice - I was voted in "with acclaim" and in all my years I've never seen that at a meeting so that was very special indeed. A little embarrassing too as despite the way I portray myself I don't like to be too much in the limelight that way.
Anyway, off to bed now and off to Italy in the early morning - I will blog when I get back unless I can get to a PC before.
Anyway, off to bed now and off to Italy in the early morning - I will blog when I get back unless I can get to a PC before.
One Down
One to go. Today's Lodge meeting will be interesting as they will elect me as the Worshipful Master for the next year. I get installed in June and have one year at the helm. There are only a couple of duties to be done before the summer break but from September onwards it will be full on with various meetings etc.
I don't have to do much today other than look surprised and say thank you :-) The real work will come in June no doubt and when I get back from holiday writing to the various people that will make up my team for the next year.
Not too much drinking today as I need to get home and finish packing!
I don't have to do much today other than look surprised and say thank you :-) The real work will come in June no doubt and when I get back from holiday writing to the various people that will make up my team for the next year.
Not too much drinking today as I need to get home and finish packing!
Friday, February 24, 2012
Damn and blast
The chap I need to speak to is in a meeting and so I've left a message for him to call back - I bet he is bound to when I'm in the shower or when I'm wandering over to get to my meeting this afternoon. It is such a nice afternoon that I'm going to walk it. The sun is out, it isn't too warm though but that's OK. A nice 40 to 45 minute walk will be useful and get me ready for the next week and a half of almost non stop walking we are going on.
A cheeky glance at the weather shows that it is warming up a bit in Italy and at least we wont have to worry about the ice and snow they had there just a few weeks ago that actually froze some of the canals. If it does get a little colder we have fleece liners for our coats. I think we will be able to walk around in our coats without the liners in Florence by the looks of it as it suggests 17 degrees.
Dad seems to have had a better couple of days which I'm glad about. I will keep in touch with my parents and my brother somehow - I'm hoping free WiFi will provide some sort of connection for email and I can use my phone abroad (I hope). Fingers crossed that all goes well whilst we are away.
A cheeky glance at the weather shows that it is warming up a bit in Italy and at least we wont have to worry about the ice and snow they had there just a few weeks ago that actually froze some of the canals. If it does get a little colder we have fleece liners for our coats. I think we will be able to walk around in our coats without the liners in Florence by the looks of it as it suggests 17 degrees.
Dad seems to have had a better couple of days which I'm glad about. I will keep in touch with my parents and my brother somehow - I'm hoping free WiFi will provide some sort of connection for email and I can use my phone abroad (I hope). Fingers crossed that all goes well whilst we are away.
TGIF
Only one thing left to do today and that is to call up someone who we need to meet on my return from Italy.
I have to pick up L from the station as she is with us for the weekend. She has to get her eyes examined tomorrow and then will drop us off on Sunday - poor girl she actually wanted a bit of a relaxing time but won't get one!
I have a meeting tonight and one tomorrow to attend. Tomorrow should confirm that I will be elected as Master of the Lodge which is a huge deal, especially as it is a Stewards' Lodge and so I am looking forward to that of course. It means that in June I will become the Master of the Lodge and will be "on the circuit" again visiting lots of other Lodges around the country as an honoured guest. There are three meetings, June, October and February and that will be just enough to do the job for a year and then be amazed at how fast it went. I have to say that for most of the time I was secretary of the Lodge I was having treatment for Bladder Cancer. I'm just amazed at how I managed to continue an involved job like that and undergo treatment.
I remember thinking at the time how everyone made a big deal of it and I didn't. Of course, it was a serious thing but either I chose to ignore it or just worked my way through it. Whatever it is, I was so pleased to even be considered for being Master and as someone said to me, there really was no one else even being considered and in less than a minute it was decided. It needs to be ratified on Saturday of course. Hence we waited until after then to go away.
I have some other minor things to attend to today - like packing and also I need to do some checking of my accounts prior to going to the meeting this afternoon.
The only trouble with Lodge meetings? There's a meal tonight and one tomorrow to tackle. Interestingly I only tend to eat one big meal a week and I have eaten very little this week so I should be able to manage these. As usual, these meals are much of a muchness and whilst they are good quality they aren't really what you would consider restaurant fare, the trouble I have is that they are often quite stodgy but I've trained myself now to just go for the Veg and then miss out potatoes or just have one.
Listening to Massive Attack as I write this - I had forgotten how huge that Blue Lines album was back in 1991. How time flies :-) This is another one of those things as people do give me a sidewise glance when I say I like a band Like Massive Attack and that I'd also like a band like Camel - I just like any sort of music really as long as it is well put together.
I have to pick up L from the station as she is with us for the weekend. She has to get her eyes examined tomorrow and then will drop us off on Sunday - poor girl she actually wanted a bit of a relaxing time but won't get one!
I have a meeting tonight and one tomorrow to attend. Tomorrow should confirm that I will be elected as Master of the Lodge which is a huge deal, especially as it is a Stewards' Lodge and so I am looking forward to that of course. It means that in June I will become the Master of the Lodge and will be "on the circuit" again visiting lots of other Lodges around the country as an honoured guest. There are three meetings, June, October and February and that will be just enough to do the job for a year and then be amazed at how fast it went. I have to say that for most of the time I was secretary of the Lodge I was having treatment for Bladder Cancer. I'm just amazed at how I managed to continue an involved job like that and undergo treatment.
I remember thinking at the time how everyone made a big deal of it and I didn't. Of course, it was a serious thing but either I chose to ignore it or just worked my way through it. Whatever it is, I was so pleased to even be considered for being Master and as someone said to me, there really was no one else even being considered and in less than a minute it was decided. It needs to be ratified on Saturday of course. Hence we waited until after then to go away.
I have some other minor things to attend to today - like packing and also I need to do some checking of my accounts prior to going to the meeting this afternoon.
The only trouble with Lodge meetings? There's a meal tonight and one tomorrow to tackle. Interestingly I only tend to eat one big meal a week and I have eaten very little this week so I should be able to manage these. As usual, these meals are much of a muchness and whilst they are good quality they aren't really what you would consider restaurant fare, the trouble I have is that they are often quite stodgy but I've trained myself now to just go for the Veg and then miss out potatoes or just have one.
Listening to Massive Attack as I write this - I had forgotten how huge that Blue Lines album was back in 1991. How time flies :-) This is another one of those things as people do give me a sidewise glance when I say I like a band Like Massive Attack and that I'd also like a band like Camel - I just like any sort of music really as long as it is well put together.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Time for some ME time
It's about time that I made some "Me" time and that starts in a few moments after I've written my intent in this blog. It is time for packing and reading up the research I have done and to start to wind down from being stuck on the PC all day every day. I've culled my Twitter account and got rid of all the cr@p that's I've endured there for months and we are almost at the end of the first phase of fund raising which is proving to be a bit of a blank.
All emails are being diverted to my colleagues and that will allow them to carry on in my absence and I have two meetings one tomorrow and one on Saturday to attend to and that's it, away we go and let the adventure begin. I am looking forward to it now and just need to remember what language I am speaking in what country :-) I'll need to speak French, German and Italian over the course of 10 days or so. I haven't spoken German for 14 years I think. French was a few years ago and Italian was also 14 years ago. That should be fun - I wonder if I can remember much of it? I always thought though that the funniest thing I heard was in Milan "No Problemo" - it was around the time of the Terminator films and I remember just looking at my colleague and bursting out laughing. It was also here that I thought we were in the middle of an Earthquake as the building started to shake and vibrate I asked whether we should get under the table - I got some strange looks and asked whether we were in an earthquake. Apparently not - the Metro was being tunnelled out below the building/street and that what was making the vibrations. Doh! :-)
So happy days and I do hope that we get to see Venice, Florence and Rome on decent days as well as Lucerne and Turin too. We go via Paris, Basel and Milan - I doubt we will have that much time to see much other than the station though and the Metro in Paris.
All emails are being diverted to my colleagues and that will allow them to carry on in my absence and I have two meetings one tomorrow and one on Saturday to attend to and that's it, away we go and let the adventure begin. I am looking forward to it now and just need to remember what language I am speaking in what country :-) I'll need to speak French, German and Italian over the course of 10 days or so. I haven't spoken German for 14 years I think. French was a few years ago and Italian was also 14 years ago. That should be fun - I wonder if I can remember much of it? I always thought though that the funniest thing I heard was in Milan "No Problemo" - it was around the time of the Terminator films and I remember just looking at my colleague and bursting out laughing. It was also here that I thought we were in the middle of an Earthquake as the building started to shake and vibrate I asked whether we should get under the table - I got some strange looks and asked whether we were in an earthquake. Apparently not - the Metro was being tunnelled out below the building/street and that what was making the vibrations. Doh! :-)
So happy days and I do hope that we get to see Venice, Florence and Rome on decent days as well as Lucerne and Turin too. We go via Paris, Basel and Milan - I doubt we will have that much time to see much other than the station though and the Metro in Paris.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Never a good time is it?
It is never a "good time" to go away, on a holiday or away on business. By that I mean that if something might happen to my dad whilst I'm away, it will happen and it matters not if I am in Italy, home, there or somewhere else? You can't be where you want or need to be all the time and whilst I feel it may be a bit selfish to take a holiday at this point in time, if I delay it, my wife wont get a break and in my opinion she needs it more than I do and of course, neither will I.
I mention this as dad's not had a great night and isn't good today but this could be the same at any time really and it has now been 6 months since they gave him 6 months to live and so I guess, there are currently signs that things are beginning to catch up with him. We will see what today brings, it is the complete weakness he feels and inability to move around the house that has got him today. He is getting weaker and wakes feeling cold and I can only imagine that this is how things progress.
But I need to get away for my own sanity and I need Mrs. F. to also get away for hers, she works very hard and I do keep trying to get her to slow down a bit, it isn't as if we need the money although I feel that she thinks it is. At least we will get some talk time in the next couple of weeks although I thought that when we went to the Baltic coming up for two years ago.
Things will be what they will be in the meantime and I can do nothing to stop the course of nature or to be in a position to do anything much other than keeping in daily contact and hoping that dad isn't suffering too much and that mum is managing to keep going. It's a hard time for everyone.
I mention this as dad's not had a great night and isn't good today but this could be the same at any time really and it has now been 6 months since they gave him 6 months to live and so I guess, there are currently signs that things are beginning to catch up with him. We will see what today brings, it is the complete weakness he feels and inability to move around the house that has got him today. He is getting weaker and wakes feeling cold and I can only imagine that this is how things progress.
But I need to get away for my own sanity and I need Mrs. F. to also get away for hers, she works very hard and I do keep trying to get her to slow down a bit, it isn't as if we need the money although I feel that she thinks it is. At least we will get some talk time in the next couple of weeks although I thought that when we went to the Baltic coming up for two years ago.
Things will be what they will be in the meantime and I can do nothing to stop the course of nature or to be in a position to do anything much other than keeping in daily contact and hoping that dad isn't suffering too much and that mum is managing to keep going. It's a hard time for everyone.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Disturbed Night's Sleep
It was a good meeting last night and as often happens when my mind gets going and the possibilities start flowing my sleep gets disturbed by lots of dreams and things going on both rationale and bizarre. Dreams were about business and relationships and moved rapidly between the believable and things that are best left unsaid in case they cart me off to the mad house :-)
What it has done is provided some clarity to my thinking and allowed me to move on past a couple of things I was grasping onto but in reality should have pragmatically dismissed a week or so ago. That's helped me greatly and so my belief is back once again. It just proves that we have done our homework and we do know what we are doing and there was a lot of good vibes coming from the meeting.
What it has done is provided some clarity to my thinking and allowed me to move on past a couple of things I was grasping onto but in reality should have pragmatically dismissed a week or so ago. That's helped me greatly and so my belief is back once again. It just proves that we have done our homework and we do know what we are doing and there was a lot of good vibes coming from the meeting.
Monday, February 20, 2012
It Isn't Me
Well that was a good meeting with a guy who is a Merchant Banker and who moves in circles and places way above ours. Came over to us and sat down and got what we are doing, saw what we had done, how we had done that and what it means, where we had been and what difficulties we were up to and, thank goodness, agreed that our perception of the market matched what it is really like.
We often don't give ourselves enough credit for knowing our game, for being well prepared and for being able to analyse what we see. For my part I may get angry and annoyed about the way the UK is so short termism but tonight we found someone who maybe and just maybe might be able to take us to some real money. So a curry and a few beers later I am much happier and more comfortable that the situation we find ourselves in is indeed where we should be, we haven't missed anything or any tricks and we are where we are because that is where we should be.
Hard to come to terms with the fact that the place where you expected the dynamic young bucks of the investment industry to be are in fact not living up to their hype. More senior and mature pastures appear to await.
We often don't give ourselves enough credit for knowing our game, for being well prepared and for being able to analyse what we see. For my part I may get angry and annoyed about the way the UK is so short termism but tonight we found someone who maybe and just maybe might be able to take us to some real money. So a curry and a few beers later I am much happier and more comfortable that the situation we find ourselves in is indeed where we should be, we haven't missed anything or any tricks and we are where we are because that is where we should be.
Hard to come to terms with the fact that the place where you expected the dynamic young bucks of the investment industry to be are in fact not living up to their hype. More senior and mature pastures appear to await.
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