Saturday, 27 June 2009

Wacko Jacko

So The self-styled "King of Pop" is dead. He sold a lot of records a while ago but has done nothing of any significance for years.

His career (and life) have been falling apart for years. Eccentricity transformed into madness which, if it wasn't for his celebrity and good lawyers would gave had him locked up in a secure hospital at least. Think of the masks, the plastic surgery, the menagerie of animals, the baby dangling.....

The Martin Bashir interview in which he admitted "sharing a bed" with minors should have done for him completely. Why didn't it? Is it because he was black? Somehow he was acquitted if child molestation.... but then OJ Simpson was acquitted of murder.

He was going to try to resurrect his career yet again at the O2 later this year. This, in a bizarre way, has happened. Just like when Elvis died or Lennon was murdered fans are frantically buying his songs on CD and via downloads. Fans? Surely "fans" already had his tracks? These are people caught up in the mass hysteria of the moment.

Yes, mass hysteria. It's not quite a "Diana moment" yet but it's getting close. Where is the common sense? Where is the sense of proportion? Where is the dignity?

Tine to move on. He made some good recordings. They sold a lot. He was (being generous here) controversial and a gift to tabloid hacks. He died - rather predictably.

Let's not now waste time on conspiracy theories and was he murdered. Let's not have sightings of Wacko "still alive" or "working down the local chippy". And let's not have photos of Wacko appearing in a buttered tea cake. He's dead. There are real news stories of importance. Let's move on.

Friday, 22 May 2009

Patrick McLoughlin MP - a call for his immediate resignation from parliament

At last Patrick McLoughlin has been forced to admit the details of his expenses including the amount he pays his own wife for some part-time secratarial duties (an astounding £40,000 per year - I bet a lot of admins/secretaries would like that sort of salary). Lasy tear, of course, he refused to say how much public money he paid his wife and for what duties saying it was a private matter - this, of course, was sleaze at it's worst - hiding the truth from the electorate.

He's claimed for all sorts of running costs for what is really his primary residence in Derbyshire including decoration and a new boiler. I've lived in my house for 8 years, there's a few things needing attention, some decorating needs doing and I could certainly do with a new boiler - shall I see if my employer will cough up for these items?

Maybe it was reasonable that when he was a minister he had his London home as his primary residence (though I'm not convinced) but he hasn't been a minister for 12 years

Clearly McLoughlin's snout is deep in the trough and his lack of integrity has been exposed. I suspect that, instead of being one of the white knights being put forward by David Cameron to sort out the expenses mess, McLoughlin is now seen as one of the worst offenders in this sorry saga. The politics of me, me, me - the lesson the Cons (what an apposite abbreviation in this case) inherited from Thatcher.

If the man does have any scruples, somewthing which I doubt, he would (a) pay back all ridiculous amounts forthwith, including large amounts paid to his wife and (b) resign his seat immediately. Failure to do this should lead to his expenses being looked at even more thoroughly and perhaps with an eye to whether he has acted criminally.

It is time for a change.It is time to rid ourselves of this parasite. It is time to stand for political and public honesty.

Please, Mr. Loughlin, do the decent thing, resign now.


That article ends saying he will have two public meetings on Friday - one in Ashbourne and one in Darley Dale. 

Clearly Mr. McLoughlin can't be bothered to give much time to this important matter and his local constituants (remember he gets all his "local" publicity bumpf published in Surrey rather than use a printer in the Derbyshire Dales) and so is restricting debate to one evening's worth, called at short notice. Perhaps he is hoping people will miss the opportunity or, as is my situation, not be able to attend at such short notice.

I am also concerned about the safety of him having the two meetings so soon after each other: The first will finish at 7.30 then next start at 8 - according to the AA Route Planner these are 35 minutes apart which leaves little room for traffic lights, delays, waiting at junctions, etc. Now Mr. McLoughlin either has some magic up his sleeve, is going to cut short the meetings or is going to break the law to get between these meetings on time. I do hope the local police will be monitoring the speed of Mr. McLoughlin as he races from one meeting to the next. I'd hate that he did anything illegal....

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sunday, 1 February 2009

Will it snow?

There are lots of predictions of snow for the coming week. A blast from Russia bringing sub-zero temperatures, ice and snow.....

But how will that affect dieting?

Freezing temperatures and snow might look pretty but they don't make you want to eat salad and fruit do they?

SO how do I eat healthily, low-GI (ish) and keep warm?

Jacket potatoes seem a good option.... but, oh the carbs! I know potatoes, cooked like that are good carbs rather than bad carbs but, well, I'm not a big fan and having gone a month (nearly) with very limited quantity of carbs to start having jacket potatoes would seem very strange.

Soups seem a good option - though I have to admit I've only ever really considered soups for lunch or as a starter, not for a main course. I do love the Covent Garden soups - but some have quite a lot of cream in. I must be careful to read labels before buying I guess.

I used to be a very conscientious label reader when I turned vegetarian in 1984 - it's scary how many things you'd assume were vegetarian but aren't.... is it Walker's Cheese & Onion Crisps which aren't suitable for vegetarians? Why, when there's a suitable vegetarian alternative, do companies insist on using some animal in their product? Is it really just a case of cost? Have they no ethics?

Has anyone any other suggestions?


Wednesday, 28 January 2009

Two more pounds!

After nearly a week of my weight not budging - well, a pound up and down over and over - this morning the scales finally recorded a noticeable loss - 2 more pounds - maybe a new fall is due....

Tuesday, 27 January 2009

A little bit of what you fancy...

Diets are boring.

Gyms are boring.

Being healthy is boring.

It's not that I'm giving up - far from it - after the past few weeks of weight loss it'd be dumb to give up now - but I just feel I need a little something extra to help.

This weekend I had a couple of little treats which, while not good for the diet (I did put on a couple of pounds) meant I didn't feel like a gerbil on a treadmill any more - well not quite as much!

My mate Mike came over on Saturday. We watched football on the telly (his team were playing, and beating, my wife's team in the F.A. Cup - and then I cooked a big Chinese meal - but a healthy Chinese meal!!

Sweet Chilli Vegetables.

Spare Ribs in Hoi Sin.

Chicken in Black Bean Sauce.

Egg Fried Rice.

Noodles.

Etc.

Even had a beer with it.

But oh - just a little treat and I felt sooo guilty!

ALso had a weekend away from the gym - I'll go  an extra time next week!!

Luckily this didn;t wreck everything - put on just over a pound - but felt so much better for it!

So, a new week and tighten that belt a little more - yes it is able to go tighter! and am able to fit into some work trousers which I couldn't button up before!

But what's the solution to the boredom? I haven;t the staying power to stay strict all the time... do I just have a treat night once every couple of weeks - or am I risking not really changing my lifestyle by doing that and falling off the path of goodness as soon as I stop dieting?

Saturday, 24 January 2009

Stuck again...

SO having lost a stone I've now got stuck on that weight - up or down a pound but basically on the same.

I found the gym quite hard work yesterday too.... really struggled to keep going fro an hour.

We're going to Center Parcs at the end of March - so a new short-term target.... don;t wan t to look too much of a fat bastard in the pool.

Wednesday, 21 January 2009

He who throws the first stone....

Yes I've done it! 16 days and I've lost a stone - the plateau has ended!

A stone is such a bizarrely random unit of weight. 14 pounds. Why on earth would a system develop where each 14 pounds is a special unit?

I always feel a bit dumb using stones and pounds - a total anachronism in the modern world - quite why the USA still uses pounds and pints I don't get. Since 1973 the UK has adopted the metric system which is far more logical and the use of some imperial measurements for trade has been outlawed but, sadly, there are some small-minded Little Englanders who clutch to the past and want to retain the nonsense of the imperial system. Why? Are they idiots?

When we went metric we should have totally gone over to Kgs, Kms, etc. Currently we have tqo systems running side by side: time, money and irritation is expended converting between the two. The government should insist that everything changes and we use a single system taht is easy to understand.

A stone is a unit from the imperial measurement system which was and, perhaps sadly, is still, used in the UK and was spread around the world by the British Empire. It is 14 pounds which is the same as 62.3 Newtons or 6.35 kilos.

Historically a stone has meant different amounts in deifferent trades and professions: in the 18th century a stone of beef was 8 pounds in weight, a stone of sugar is 12 pounds, etc.

Anyhow, I've lost a stone. And I'm chuffed.

Onwards and upwards - or downwards!

Tuesday, 20 January 2009

Oh, oh, plateau!

So I'm now two weeks into the new healthy regime - I'm eating carefully, low GI, I've been swimming, I'm joined a gym and have been a few times and I'm feeling much better. So why am I a bit pissed off?

Quite simply since last Friday my weight loss has plateaued - I'm the same weight now as I was 4 days ago - despite all the efforts and not having changed anything from the previous two weeks. Weight ought to be tumbling still. In fact on Saturday and Sunday things were even worse..... I had put on a pound! Now how on earth does that work?!

Now don't get me wrong - I realise that losing 12 lbs in 15 days is good, but losing 12 lbs in 11 days was better.

The same happened last time I dieted - after a couple of weeks the weight loss stopped for a short time, as if my body was acclimatizing itself to the new, lesser weight before continuing on but it is a little demoralizing.

Today I have a late start at work (not starting 'til 11 a.m.) so am off to the gym for an hour or so once I've done the school run.

Maybe today's the day things start to get moving again!

Friday, 16 January 2009

Gym buddies....

I went to the gym at 9 a.m. straight after doing the school run. I thought it best to do it straigh away so there was no risk of keep putting it off.... just one more gon on dots, see the next TV show, after lunch, etc.

As I walked the walk on the treadmill, attempted to be co-ordinated on the cross-trainer and pedaled on the bikes yesterday I looked around at the other half dozen people also working out. A strange mixture, not the typical "gym crowd" I've seen at other gyms (no hulking adonises showing off their pecs, or bimbos exercising without sweating).

I started on the treadmill (did half an hour and watched happily as the counter told me how many calories I had used). Before I arrived there was someone on the treadmill pounding away. A small middle-aged woman. Totally focused. Step. Step. Step. On a huge incline. She had no earphones in and wasn't watching the small individual television screen that each machine has but she was oblivious to the rest of the world, totally focused. I did my half hour on the treadmill and she was still going for it, power-walking up a steep hill.

There was one very large woman moving very slowly on the cross-trainer. I'm not sure that moving that slowly was really giving any benefit - but maybe it was. She smiled at some of the others and greeted or said goodbye to one or two.

There was a rather elderly gentleman who, like the woman on the cross-trainer, moved very slowly. He said hello and asked how long I had to do on each machine. I explained I was still finding my way and hadn't decided yet. He was doing 30 minutes on the treadmill but I fear he might only have walked about half a mile in that time.

There was a guy, probably in his 50s, who was large but in proportion except for a huge belly sticking out. It looked, sorry to say, like a pregnancy or a medicine ball had been put up his top.

Circulating was the gym instructor/supervisor - she kept an eye on things and made friendly noises to anyone who made eye contact.

The hour passed very quickly and I felt good at the end. Now what I need to do is get into the habit of coming, so I intend to return tomorrow morning.


Tuesday, 13 January 2009

Its life, gym, but not as we know it....

On Tuesdays, at the moment, I start work a little later than the rest of the week (not til 11) so had my induction booked for the gym.

I felt like the new boy in school with my bag full of clothes - and I was similarly nervous about what the induction might involve!

The changing rooms at Matlock Lido are a bit shabby and need improving (but with a brand new Leisure Centre due to be built for 2011 or 2012 it's unlikely any money will now be spent on them) and the air is always so cold (maybe it's just me, but when I've been swimming at Matlock , when the pool was open, it always seemed one of the coldest of pools). I put my stuff in a locker and went to meet the gym instructor.

He seemed quite pleasant and civil, almost normal, some how I expect all gym instructors to be a little evil and sadistic.

First task was to sit down and fill in a health questionnaire - so far so good, I can cope with this. Mentioned my very mild asthma but that wasn't a problem and so on into the gym itself.

It's a small gym and so can, at peak times, get very full. Booking is needed if you want to use it between 5 and 7 in the evening. Even at 10 in the morning there are a fair few people in there running, and pushing and panting and sweating their way to fitness.

The treadmill is an easy machine which I like, as are the bikes and the rowing machine. I've always struggled with the cross trainer (probably a lack of co-ordination) particularly trying to do it in reverse, it just doesn't seem natural somehow with arms and legs going all over the place!

I'm never sure about all the weights machines - I know they're for toning muscles as much as they are for building them up, but, whilst I'm trying to lose weight, I don't want to be building muscle. Everyone knows that muscle is heavier than fat - even if it is better for you!

So after about 45 minutes being shown round and a chance to ask any questions I was off. Gym session number one done and dusted. My arms ached (those bloody weights machines and, perhaps, a small element of the instructor being a little bit evil with the quantities of weights being put on?).

My plan is to go at least a couple of times a week - I'd like to go before work one day but that'll require real dedication, as well as leaving my wife with the kids in the morning (so I might not be popular). I need to go lots this month as the membership is a special offer of £20 for unlimited use!

Weight update.... I seemed to have plateaued - well I've stayed the same fro two days in a row. Only to be expected at some point. I felt a little sad that weight wasn't continuing to fall off me but, as I've said before, I know I shouldn't be weighing everyday, exactly fro reasons such as this.
 


 

Monday, 12 January 2009

FIRST WEEK WEIGH-IN!!

Monday morning. One week of the dieting regime done and the result:

Current weight: 19 stone 13 pounds

That's a loss of 9 pounds in 7 days!

My BMI is now just under 38 - so all is good, everything headed in the right direction.

Sunday, 11 January 2009

Gym'll fix it...

It's been a successful first week - perhaps too successful. I've lost 7 pounds and do, I believe, already feel a little better in myself.

Last night, after dinner (a rather nice and tasty home-made vegetable curry - sadly with no rice or naan as I'm doing low GI) I even allowed myself a small treat by way of a Gu Chocolate pudding. Yes, I know it was naughty. Yes, I know I probably shouldn't have. Yes, I thought I was going to regret it this morning when I stepped on the scales. But no, it was all fine. No harm done and a lot of joy in a small glass bowl!

So after such a good first week what should I do to maintain the momentum?

This week's weight loss has been almost entirely down to a change in diet: less, healthier and low carbs. I've really not been doing any exercise beyond the activity levels I need to exist and work (and a fair amount of that is sedentary).

So what sort of exercise shall I choose?

Cycling would be great but, living in the Peak District, I feel I need to be considerably fitter before I attempt cycling anywhere - I imagine some of the local hills are too much for the fit 18 year old Rob, let alone the 43 year old fat bastard!

I do love swimming and that would by my choice if it wasn't fir the local Lido being closed at the moment because of problems with the roof. It's been going on for months now - total nonsense and mismanagement by the district council.

I can obviously walk some more, including up and down the hill to town once in a while, but I really don't like jogging or running (when I was at 6th form college I ran a marathon, which nearly killed me, I could hardly walk for a week and it took 5 hours, 23 minutes and 49 seconds - I was overtaken towards the end by a blind man being lead around by someone connected by a rope).

I'm not sure I could face the fitness video market - some of the ones advertised over Christmas looked more like soft porn!

So it seems there is only one real choice left: the gym!

I've been a member of a few gyms in my time: when I lived in Nottingham I was a member of David Lloyd's (absolutely fantastic, though admittedly a bit pricey, with pool, tennis and squash courts, great gym facilities, etc.); more recently I've been a member of Cannons in Chesterfield (again quite nice but it was always too tempting to spend large amounts of time in the pool, jacuzzi and sauna and considerably less on the machines); and then there was a little local gym based at County Hall in Matlock (which was ok, but required more commitment than I was prepared to give at that point).

On Tuesday I'm going fro an induction at the gym based at the local Lido - it's linked to the one in Bakewell too (which will be handy for work if I can use both).

Let's see if Gym really can fix it!!

Saturday, 10 January 2009

Saturday morning...

So the end of the working week - a chance to have a quick look at how the weight loss is going.

I got on the scales with some trepidation but....

After 5 days I have lost 7 pounds! I'm now 20 stone and 1 pound - 281 pounds. And my BMI is down to 38.1

Tracy, my wife, has lost 6 pounds and, as I understand it, Sarah's weight is dropping too. SO, all-in-all, a successful week for everyone!


Thursday, 8 January 2009

The politics of weight loss...

I popped into the supermarket to get a few bits and pieces: milk and fruit mostly. As usual there weren't enough tills open and so what should have been a quick in and out involved a long queue and lots of wasted time. I really don't understand why the shops can't work out the right number of staff they need on specific days and times based on analysis of shopping patterns! It's not, to use a phrase I hate, "rocket science".

Anyhow, whilst wandering up and down the aisles it struck me how the food that's supposedly bad for you tends to be cheap whilst the healthy food is expensive. Surely this is absurd?

Now I realize this is because of the "free market" and supply and demand but surely any government with any interest in the health of the nation would do something about this ridiculous situation?

And this isn't an attack on just the current government, it has been the case with governments of all colours over the past few decades  - do the easy and popular and let's not give a shit about principles or tackling genuine problems. In the meantime the nation is slowly killing itself in an ocean of fat, salt and sugar.

So what should they do? It's so, so simple. All foodstuffs need to be classified properly by how good they are for you and how much harm they will do to you if you eat them. This shouldn't be tricky - a tomato would, I would suggest, be in a good and healthy category 1 while a burger from one of the popular fast food chains would be in category 5. And foods of other levels would fall somewhere in between. All the category 1 foods (and drinks) would have a zero rated Healthy Eating Sales tax added while the higher levels would get higher and higher. 

it's often the only way to stop people doing harm to themselves and to others - hit them in their pocket. Tax them so heavily on crap food and use that money to subsidize healthier options that there is no argument for not changing habits.

Sure, I hear a cry of "but it's not just the content but the quantity that's an issue" - this is true but it would help enormously if the fat-laiden, salt soaked and sugar heavy ready meal cost £20 and the ingredients to be able to make it yourself only cost £2! Or, if people are too lazy or stupid to try to cook for themselves, a healthy ready meal is £5.

And this wouldn't just benefit the individual it would benefit the whole of society by reducing the tax burden of the NHS by having a healthier and fitter population. That money could, again, be spent on more beneficial things like free swimming passes for everyone or annual check ups for all

The same should be done with alcohol - the tax should be so much higher and the monies raised used to encourage and, to some extent, force people to cut down their booze intake.

Maybe politicians are too far up their own arses to do anything, maybe they're too scared they might upset someone, maybe they just don't care as long as they get their big salary and all the perks but with each piece of tokenism they simply tinker with the problem of a society of lard arses, they're not really tackling it and not really doing anything that will genuinely change the habits of a nation who need to be pulled by the scruff of the neck into the modern world.

Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Wednesday, 7 January 2009

Two by two by two by two by two...

Yes, yes, I know I wrote yesterday about the fact I shouldn't be checking my weight EVERY day but I did again this morning.... and was very pleasantly surprised!

Two further pounds gone. Three pounds in two days! 20 stone 5 pounds. Yay!

Tuesday, 6 January 2009

One pound at a time...

SO 24 hours into the healthy eating/diet regime and it's going ok - no great cravings for chocolate, no desire to eat biscuits....

Woke up with a dreadful headache this morning. I'm guessing that, as I'm doing low-GI, it's the carbs detoxing out of my body (?) - and I've eaten a lot of carbs in recent weeks with Christmas and New Year!

I did have one challenge this morning. I was on the computer, Martha was playing and eating a nice chocolate digestive.... she gave me half. Without thinking I instantly went to eat it.... but managed to remember at the last minute. That's going to be hard - when the kids want to share their sweets or chocolates or biscuits. How do you not eat them without upsetting the child?

The other big temptation is, of course, to weigh too often. Most dietitians recommend no more than once a week. It makes sense because minor fluctuations get ironed out and you get to see the overall trend (I did 'O' level statistics at school - trust me, this is an area I'm very average on!).

So what did I do, just 24 hours into my diet? Yes, of course I weighed. I had to see if my first 24 hours had been successful! Thankfully they had. Not hugely successful, but I had lost one pound. I'm now 20 stone and 7 pounds.  It's one less to go and I've made a start. A fair few to go though!

Monday, 5 January 2009

The weigh in...

I was up early this morning. I'd like to pretend it was excitement and trepidation about the start of my diet but it wasn't. Instead it was Martha, our youngest, waking up at stupid o'clock (that time well before sunrise, before anyone sensible has stirred and before even the annoying CBeebies sing has started its countdown to Tikkabilla).

There was some excitement this morning though. When I looked through the curtains the world was covered in a thick blanket of snow. Maybe no school? I listened to the local radio, hoping to hear news of a closure. They merrily informed their listeners, in a way only local commercial radio can muster, that there were "major driving problems" on the A6 between Matlock and Bakewell. Things were certainly looking up! But sadly no news of a closure. So, after a bit of Tikkabilla, Teletubbies and games on Facebook I resigned myself to going to work and havingbto drive carefully (in the end there were no "major driving problems" on the A6 which was perfectly clear and safe. The only problem was getting off my road because of the ice hidden beneath the snow).

And so the moment of truth arrived. Before my bath I undressed and stood in front of the scales. Oh no, how much?

My toe tapped the front to turn on the scales (all new and pristine) and I stepped on. It seemed an eternity before the machine provided me with its result: 20 stone 8 pounds.

Worse than I had thought before I got the new scales. Better than I feared having got the new scales.

So 20 stone 8 pounds. 288 pounds. 130.63 kilos. A BMI of 38.99 ish!!

I've got some major work to do. No more doughnuts!!

Sunday, 4 January 2009

Beginnings and cliches...

"Hi! My name's Rob and I'm a fat bastard."

Were I to enroll in the FBA (Fat Bastards Anonymous) I guess that's probably have to be my opening line.

In the absence of any such group, and no desire on my part to join anything like Weightwatchers (surely it's in their interest for people to fail? - but I'm sure we'll come back to that subject later in the year) I've decided that 2009 is going ot be the year I do something about being fat. This year I am going to lose weight and by January 1st 2010 I am no longer going to be a Fat Bastard!

I've decided to use the word fat rather than just overweight because, quite simply. I am fat and although my BMI doesn't quite qualify me in the "Clinically obese" category I'm so close to it I may as well have a final pig out of chocolate and chips and get up there to have a better starting point for this blog!

My wife is planning on dieting too and I have an online friend (who I play at The Dot Game on Facebook) who will also be starting tomorrow. Hopefully we'll be able to support each other - be the little Fairy Godmother sitting on each other's shoulder's at times of temptation of when boredom sets in!

So, I'm Rob, a fat bastard. I used to be fit and healthy. I used to play lots of sports (and was even quite good at some - Rugby in particular, but not bad at badminton too). I used to eat healthily. I am a vegetarian (yep, a fat vegetarian - how unfair is that?). Since university I've always drunk a fair bit (ciders being my tipple of choice) but since May last year cut back massively and became almost teetotal (though this has lapsed rather over Christmas and New Year).

I guess it's a dreadful cliche to start a fitness regime in January, though, perhaps, starting it on January 5th is unusual! That's simply because I'm a teacher and, to me at least, it makes more sense to start when term begins.... tomorrow! ARGH!

SO this weekend I've been finishing off Christmas food and drink - pigging out a bit, to be honest, no point in good food going to waste (though maybe that's one of the attitudes I need to rid myself of if I'm to be successful in my quest). 

Today I went to the small local supermarket for a few bits and pieces and they had electronic scales on offer (under £10). Now I know it;s good to have a more accurate reading but it seems, even before I've started, that I've already put on an extra 14 pounds than our old and tired scales had me as being. Bugger!

So in the morning I'll do my weight-in and then I'll know the enormity of my task.