Thursday 31 January 2008

6.5lbs? Shitting hell.

I think that's how much I put on in the last two weeks.

Part of the problem with myself and food (and drink) is that I have to travel a lot with work. Not as much as I did, but enough. Take the past week and a bit; four days in London, back home for a day and a bit, then off to Germany until yesterday, Wednesday. Well, while at exhibitions etc, it's hard to eat properly; it's hard to even eat well. And in Germany… It's hard not to drink Munich's incredible beer, and eat in a pub – which basically means meat with meat sauce, on a plate of meat (less washing up, see).

So the last week, I've had lots and lots of meat, and eaten out all the time as I had no choice. And consequently, I think I've put on a few pounds. Well, I've hardly eaten any fruit or veg, and had fuck all fibre – end result, I feel bloated, I look like shite. Surprised? Me neither.

I weighed myself earlier, and I was 17st 2lbs. I was wearing a fair bit more than usual, in my defence, but I would say that still puts me at around 16st 10lbs at least. This is not good. And I have a cold, which has hit the pipes a lot, so exercise is pretty much out of the question until that's cleared up a lot more.

Pfffft. So much for being a racing snake by April.

Wednesday 30 January 2008

The efficiency of the NHS

When I visited the doctor, at the end of October, which was the start of this malarkey, he suggested I go back in three months. So I rang this morning, expecting to be given an appointment in a few days. 11.40. I was disconcerted. I am scared and embarrassed about talking to myself to my doctor and had thought I'd have time to prepare myself.

I suddenly realised it was 11.25 and I hadn't got ready to go - I scuttled onto the bike, got off to fetch the lock, scrambled on and arrived with an efficient minute to spare.

All's fine, he peered at my hands and said to take cod liver oil and come back if I was worried (seems clear that there wouldn't be much he could do if I were, though), asked if I thought I need a new hip - I said no, it's not nearly bad enough yet. He said that he'd not recommend an x-ray at this stage unless I want one, as the level of pain you feel is not necessarily indicative of the damage there is, one way or the other. As soon as I want to see a specialist he'll refer me straight away, however. He also says I don't need to worry about osteoporosis until I've been through the menopause (and come out through the other side) but then would recommend a bone density test.

He offered to weigh me but didn't insist. I humphed a bit, which we took as a 'no'.

So I came home and weighed myself. Now, my bathroom scales show several pounds lighter than his, which is why I like them, but in the name of truth and accuracy, I used the Victorian set we keep in the porch, which you stand on and add weights until you get to the point of balance. This is a bar, not a tilty thing that one falls off. According to that, I've lost six and a half pounds. I am not unhappy with that.

Bloody pleased, actually.

Friday 25 January 2008

Waisting away

I'd wondered if it's wishful thinking, because in the last three or four years manufacturers have been making waistbands much larger - I suppose that, after years of wearing low-slung clothes, most girls don't have waists any more - if you look, they go straight down like a boy. I don't. I'm too old for a muffin-top to look cute, if it ever does.

Anyway, today I wore a skirt that's about six or seven years old (which doesn't count as old at all in my wardrobe) and it had been getting decidedly snug. Now it isn't. It's loose.

On the other hand, one always has an offspring to keep one in order. I arrived home a few minutes after Ro yesterday. "Was that you I passed on your bike?" he asked. I admitted it. He was toasting three lemon and raisin Scotch Pancakes. I eyed them hungrily. "Ooh, time for a crumpet, I think!" I murmured and slapped one on the other side of the Aga (an Aga is the best cooker in the world for toasting, it can do loads All At Once). "You still on that diet?" he enquired..."How does that work then?" ...looking at the crumpet critically. I explained haughtily that it works by my eating it plain without any butter. And by making porridge with half milk, half water, and eating that plain too. "But don't you find you need to snack?" he asked. "My friends find they're so hungry that they eat packets of crisps." I waxed enthusiastic about ricecakes [17 calories each!!(!)] and raw vegetables.

Afterwards, I checked the pancake and crumpet packets. 3 pancakes at 95 calories each (subsequently buttered) versus 1 crumpet at 70 calories.

Stick thin, the child is. Fuck.

Sunday 20 January 2008

Belt up

I think I'm going to have to buy a belt. I keep having to hoick my trousers up.

Sunday 13 January 2008

I weighed myself.

Yes I did. I forgot to mention that; I did it in the gym yesterday. It was surprising, mainly because I am not one pound heavier than late last year, though I feel huge. I think I might have lost some muscle and replaced it with lard, though.

I am 16 stones, 7lbs. US Fat Fans, that is around 104 kilos, or 231 pounds.

I'm not unhappy with that; it's as good a starting point as any. Just reporting the facts here – I will weigh myself again at some point in the future and see what happens. In the meantime, I shall exercise like a mentalist, drink less and eat good food. Good meaning healthy. And fishfinger sandwiches.

Saturday 12 January 2008

Lucky gym

I've never been in a gym. That is, I set foot inside my son's school gym on a tour round the school, but I was fully dressed with no intention of getting active in any way. Badgerdaddy impresses and exhausts me with his curly feats.

I have, however, cycled in to Yagnub at 8 o'clock every morning and home again at the end of the day, which was any time between 5 and 6.45. I say every day, that isn't so. I drove in on Tuesday as I had to go to a meeting at 9 and there wouldn't be time to go back for the car. I made up for it on Thursday, though, by going there and back twice.

I don't know. My clothes don't feel any looser, but my daughter and daughter-in-law assure me my bum looks less big. I hope that hard work and being cold all week will have burned off a certain amount of lard, although in the last couple of days I have succumbed to the mid-morning bacon roll.

And tonight I had steak. But I think steak is good. A girl needs iron and protein. And I griddled it and ate the baked potato plain. With vegetables. And red wine. Red wine's good, too.

I'm reluctant to believe that the non-looseness of my clothes has anything to do with this sort of behaviour. After all, there are lots of things that I'm not eating that I used to.

Aaaaaaah

I made it to the gym, finally. I did a tiny bit on the treadmill to remind my body of what running is like, I did core strength work (plank, side planks, ball work), leg presses (with all the weights on – nice to know the legs haven't lost strength if everything else has. Pressed 180kg, which is quite impressive, I think), dips, raises, curls (a new technique I learned to build stamina and strength – very interesting, and tough), rowing machine and that's it*.

Was only in there for about 50 minutes, but it was a nice wake-up call. I will be back in there Sunday or Monday, and building some miles on the treadmill – I have a place in the London Marathon and will struggle to be ready in time for that.

And of course, I would like to be showing off my xylophone ribs by then too.

*Then I came home and had a really fine fishfinger sandwich. Mmmmmm.

Thursday 10 January 2008

I still haven't...

...weighted myself, been to the gym or gone for a run.

Fuck.

Friday 4 January 2008

Fit and healthy seems so uncool and just not me

People around seem to be keeling over with colds and worse, but I'm strangely healthy. Must be this worthy food and hearty exercise I'm experiencing.

But it's been cold this week, for cycling. I would have cried off yesterday - there was a bitter wind and it's miserable going over the Dam, with the wind lashing in your face or trying to sweep you off the bike - but the Sage decreed and I am an obedient woman. No, really, I am.

Today was almost pleasant in comparison. Indeed, when I found someone had been in too early to pick up the bantam eggs I'd taken for him (they give us lots of leftover home-made bread in return - for the chooks, we're not reduced to eating stale bread), I blithely cycled to the outskirts of town (in the wrong direction*!) to deliver them.

I was a couple of hours out, by the time all was done, and it was 2 o'clock and I was vastly hungry when I arrived home. I heated up the rest of last night's potato and cauliflower curry (should have just been potato, but the cauli looked a bit pale), adding an extra chilli and some more cumin seed, a spoonful of pumpkin seeds and a large dollop of yoghurt, because it really was quite hot by then and ate a substantial yet strangely virtuous lunch.

I am, however, still completely undone by the Indian halva my sister brought. Thank goodness she only brought one box...and it's nearly empty. Three more nights and I'll have scoffed the lot, and I'll have to wait until I visit India again (not this year) for any more.

*In the opposite direction from home, not in the wrong way to his house. that would have been stupid.