The Dieting Man: A More Concise Update

Well, I posted on Tuesday night that I had lost four pounds. I was extremely pleased with this new development, but my pleasure was dampened by Wife's words: "How is that possible?!"

Hmm. Not exactly the vote of confidence that I was looking for. But, you know, she has a point.  Let me tell you a bit about what's happened since my last post:

I last blogged on Wednesday 2nd May. I said that I was going to the gym that afternoon.  Here's what went down: I psyched myself up for the gym. I jumped into the van, and headed for Silksworth Community Pool and Tennis Centre. I was planing on going down the 'Casual User' route - I wasn't prepared, at this point, to sign myself up to a £30+ a month membership, when my staying power is what it is - practically zero.

The girl at the desk was really useful, and got me to fill in some details. There was no pressure to go down the Annual Membership route, just pleasant advice that if I use the gym frequently, it would make sense to do that. But no, I was quite happy to pay my £4.60 per session fee.  But first of all, I had to pay £15 for my Life Card. It's kinda like a membership card for the gym. Coolio, I can live with that. Oh, and £15 for the Gym Induction. Ah. Okay. OH, and £8.50 for the Technogym key. This is a device that has your workout programmed into it - you get onto a machine, plug your key in, it says "Hi NAME, you're on here for 20 minutes" or whatever you need to do. When you finish your workout, you are then told what is next in your routine. Nice.  So at this point, I had spent £38.50 and not yet broken a sweat.  Then I get asked, "So, is saturday at 10am any good for your induction?" Ah. The penny drops. The induction isn't going to happen today. Well that sucks. Incidentally, Saturday is no good, nor is Sunday, nor the following Wednesday - so in the end, I get transferred to Houghton Community Sports Centre, where I get booked in for an induction at 3pm the following day. I can live with that.

So I go home and contemplate my options. Well, my lawn is utterly waterlogged, and I had just had delivered a Lawn Aerator, which I had purchased from eBay - might as well give that a go. So I unleash Dog into the garden, don some wellies, and get out in the garden. My word, gardening is hard work. By the time I had been up and down the garden three times, plunging in the aerator and removing clogs of waterlogged soil, I was drenched in sweat. Probably more labour intensive than my induction was going to be... Wife came home, we had food, blah blah blah I can't remember the details...

Thursday rolls around. I'm sorting someone's PC at 12.30, and when I finish, I head to ASDA for some new gym pants. From there, I head to the gym and have my induction. Unfortunately, it only lasts half an hour, which isn't great, but I'm introduced to all the machines, and a personal workout plan is drawn up for me. 

Basically, I'll be on the machines for 59 minutes, doing various activities:
Rowing
Cycling
Cycling on a machine with a back rest
on an arm exercising machine
Crosstrainer
Stepper
Treadmill

It feels good to be in the gym exercising, and I feel that the staff are helpful and knowledgeable. I'm keen.

The rest of the day is uneventful.

Friday I play pool at Cheemas in Sunderland with my Brother-in-Law. I get slaughtered. Nevermind, it's not the winning, it's the taking part that counts, right? Yeah, that's what all the losers say. Whatever.

Saturday, we visit friends because it is there anniversary, and we drop off what they describe as a 'legend card and gifts'. Coolio, glad you liked it...  We then take Dog for a lengthy walk, as we're going out for the night.

Sunday... Sunday is a blur between reality and imagination. We have a pretty set routine for a Sunday, but that was totally knocked off course due to a number of unrelated but interfering matters. Let's not discuss.

Instead, let's move on to Monday. Monday was a Bank Holiday - I love them. So a gang of us traipse up to Druridge Bay, up on the North East coast, and enjoy a long amble along the coast. It's cold, it's windy, and I'm pushing a pushchair (not mine!) for a considerable distance. I consider that an intense workout.

The next day, Tuesday, I feel ill. I wake up thinking that I'm going to hurl, and I've got burning in my chest. It's not good, but I go to work, chugging plenty of water all day. I get home. I'm wrecked, exhausted, and still feel cak. I lie down on the sofa. The burning comes back. Wife is worried. Wife tells Mother-in-Law, who says that feeling sick and burning in chest is heart related. Mother-in-law is a paranoid worrier who consults medical dictionaries and wonders why people she knows haven't died of the condition that she diagnoses. I say don't worry about it, and carry on.

Wednesday rolls around. I plan to go to the gym after work, but we are going to the cinema on the night. It's going to be tight, too tight to fit everything in. Instead of going to the gym, I get home, and take Dog for a walk. We go to the pics and watch Avengers Assemble. It's better second time round than first time. Pure awesomeness. I love Hulk.

And now here we area. Thursday. It's lunchtime. I've just finished my Large Quarter Pounder With Cheese Meal from McDonalds. Drink? Large coke. Anything else? Yeah, go on then, throw in a Cookie Dough McFlurry.

And here I am, a full McD's meal sitting in my stomach, updating my blog. In which I proclaim to be on a diet. What a hypocrite!

Anyway, I'm going to the gym after work, and I'll see how busy it is. I may have to arrange to go at another time, but I'm going to be going at least once a week.

I am The Dieting Man.

Current Weight

Just weighed myself on Wii Fit. I'm now 14 stone 7 pounds. I've lost four pounds since my last weigh in. Get in! Explanatory post tomorrow...

Well, This Has All Gone To Pot

I know that my last post was on 26th April. That was last Thursday, describing Wednesday.

It's now Wednesday the 2nd of May. A lot has happened in that time frame. A lot. We're talking gardening, walking, eating, McDonalds, the cinema, cinema snacking, The Avengers, driving, visiting - so much. I've been so busy, both on week days and the weekend, that it's been an absolute nightmare trying to keep up. I haven't been to bed before midnight in about two weeks.

I'm going to the gym this afternoon. After going on Wii Fit on Monday night, and seeing that I had put on two pounds, and realising that I am not taking this seriously AT ALL, I have decided that I need to start taking it seriously. Maybe it's not about not eating chocolate and sweets at all, but more about being balanced in what I eat, when I eat, and how I eat.

Going to the gym is necessary. I've got stuff here in the house I can use - an exercise bike, a real bike, Wii Fit, Sports Active - but I'm not using them. I'm going to load up my phone with some rocking tunes, get to the gym, get the induction out of the way, and see what the score is.

Yes, I am fat. But you know what else I am? Determined. Determined that I will lose weight, because if I don't, I'm going to have a heart attack when I'm 40. And I don't want that to happen.

So, for now, until I get myself to an acceptable weight, I am The Dieting Man.

I Weighed Myself Last Night...

Yup, put on the Wii. Stepped on the balance board. Watched the meter soar.

14 stone. 10 pounds.

Damn damn damn damnation.

More on this story later.

The Dieting Man

Ooops, I Skipped A Day...

Yesterday was hectic. I mean, most days are busy, but yesteday was HECTIC. Mind if I talk about it? Okay, here goes.

Full day of work. Up at 6.15, left at 7.30, work from 7.45. At lunchtime, nipped to the local DIY store for supplies. Washed van. Waxed van. Back out to work. Back in at 16.15. Far too wet to weed the front garden. Far too wet to take Dog for a walk. Started the mammoth task of washing up. Wife arrived. Wife in mood because of a decision that I had made during the day. (Disclaimer 1: It was not a massive decision. Disclaimer 2: I rang Wife's mobile FOUR TIMES to get her input on the decision. It rang out each time. The decision was time critical). Had dinner. Wife went to Bokwa. Mate arrived to discuss decision. Had to tell him that my earlier decision was now defunct and try to deal with the mild ramifications of that. Wife arrived home from Bokwa. Still in mood. Got her to discuss reason for decision/mood/lack of understanding with myself and mate. FINALLY issue was resolved. Went to bed. Timecheck: 12.30.

Aaaand... Breathe.

So. Yeah. A rather hectic day. The diet? Ha. Healthy eating? You're having a laugh. Exercise? Get real.

The more salient points:  Drank coffee, ate multiple biscuits. Had fruit, ryvita, tuna. Had Mars bar, chocolate, snacks, Jelly Beans, Pepsi, Ice Cream.

Dammit I'm rubbish at dieting.

The Dieting Man.

Yes, I Am A Bit Gutted

When I got on the Wii Balance Board last night, I was hoping that I would have lost about four pounds. It would seem that, in reality, I was dreaming.

But let's face the facts. My 'diet' of the past week, although including such things as tuna on Ryvita for lunch and more fruit than in the past, I have not really cut down on chocolate, sweets and snacks; and I haven't increased my exercise (apart from walking Dog).

So that leaves me with the fact that I need to try harder. I need to lessen my intake of food in general. I need to cut down my intake of sweets and sugary stuff. Stupidly, I've started drinking Pepsi with my evening meal, when I usually have water - yeah, 'cos that's the way to go when you're on a diet. And I need to do exercise. Lots and lots of exercise.

Here's the plan for exercise:

I'm going to go back to doing stuff on the Wii. That used to get me really going - heartrate through the roof, sweat pouring out of me. I'll be going on Wii Fit, and doing things like the Step exercise, Hula Hoop exercise - you know, the ones that are really active.  I'm also going to go on some of the Dance programmes that I've got - I've just Just Dance 1 and Just Dance 2 and The Michael Jackson Experience.  I've also got The Michael Jackson Experience for the PlayStation, as well as SingStar Dance. I'm going to have to set aside time to go on my exercise bike, which I used to do whilst playing FIFA, and I'm also going to go out on my 'real' bike and do bike rides.

You know what? I'm fat. But I am going to lose this excess weight that I am dragging around with me. You know why? Because I am The Dieting Man.

My Current Weight

According to the Wii, my BMI is 34.93 (was 35.12) and my weight is 14 stone 9 pounds (was 14 stone 10 pounds).

More tomorrow!