Losing it[1]

I had my hair cut today. After six months or so of having it rather longer than usual, I decided to switch back to the old low-maintenance style. Less hassle in the mornings, doesn’t get all over the place if it’s windy and (to be honest) probably suits me better. This kind of haircut is also a wee bit[1] cheaper than the more serious styling and colouring I’ve been having lately.

[1] More of that understatement stuff

The pesky indecisive snow is still annoying me. It snowed last night, and this morning it was cold and snowy enough, with enough of the icky stuff on the ground for me to take the bus to work.

By lunchtime, there was brilliant sunshine, and while it was still cold, most of the snow had melted.

When I left the office, it was snowing again, and yet another layer of snow was appearing. It wasn’t snowing all that heavily, so I decided to walk across the river[1] at the very least. By the time I reached Gateshead, the snow had stopped. In fact, it looked like it hadn’t snowed for quite some time - the pavements were mostly clear. That would be those isolated shower thingies, I suppose.

And, just as I reached the top of my street, it started again. Big flakes of the stuff, coming down with evident enthusiasm.

[1] I should point out that I did make use of a bridge to do this

Oh good. Down a bit[1] today at 208.2 pounds (14 stone 12.2 pounds, 94.4kg).

Another night of not enough sleep, thanks to the HOWLING WIND. Had to go out and retrieve my wheelie bin that had blown away, mutter.

It would have been an ideal day for not going anywhere, but I had to go shopping. At least the rain stopped for long enough to let me get to Tesco’s. Once I got home, I settled into having a lazy day.

I was intending to have an exercise session this evening, but didn’t feel up to it. Might manage one tomorrow, which will be my last chance for a while, as I’m off to London on Monday. Ah well, mutter, mutter, mutter….

[1] But not enough

There’s something about returning to work after the Christmas/New Year break that’s more depressing than going back after other holidays.

Part of it is suddenly having to start getting out of bed when it’s still dark, after nearly two weeks of quite sensibly staying in bed until it’s light enough to see my way to the Gaggia. Then there’s the knowledge that what with one thing and another, the next chance for more than one or two days off will be Easter, and that’s nearly three months away. And then there’s the weather. This morning, I am being treated to high winds and lots of rain, so I’ll probably have to get the bus to work, which I do prefer to avoid.

Still, it has to be done. At least it’s only a four day week….

Well, I seem to have survived another year.

But seriously, folks….

Best wishes to you all[1] for 2005.

[1] All you regular readers[2]
[2] And any irregular ones, too

I’ve set myself some personal targets to achieve in 2005. Some of them are specific, others are more general. These aren’t really New Year’s Resolutions, because we all know that those things rarely survive past lunchtime on January 1. But they are things I want to do, achieve or, err, be in the future.

Some I’m confident of managing. Others are perhaps less likely.

And no, I’m not publishing them here. But I might mention it when I cross any off the list…

That’s all.

See you in 2005

This site is generally just for fun. It’s not my usual thing to express my political, social, philosophical or whatever views here.

However, to not mention the appalling disaster of the Asian Tsunami would be wrong, somehow.

I’m not going to dwell on the details - refer to any good news site such as BBC News for the latest developments. But if you haven’t already done so, or for that matter if you have already done so but can afford to give more, please give what you can to help the huge number of people affected by this catastrophe.

In the UK, you can donate to DEC - Disasters Emergency Committee, or direct to organisations like the British Red Cross and many others. Donations can be made online, by phone, or over the counter in many banks.

In other countries, please check with your local news media for ways to help.

Give what you can.

That concludes the serious bit of the site.

I’d intended to post something like this back in November, to mark one year of trying to be less of a flab monster, but what with one thing and another, I didn’t quite get round to it.[1]

Well, it’s the end of the year, and that’s as good a time as any for a look back and indeed forward.

At the beginning of November 2003, I weighed rather more than was healthy[2]. My waist measurement was 40 inches[3], which is more appropriate for a chest size. I hadn’t had any exercise to speak of in years, I would get out of breath and drip with sweat at the slightest exertion. In short, I was a physical wreck. Now, I’d been aware of that to some extent, but couldn’t make myself do anything about it. I’d tried going to the gym a couple of times, but felt far too self-concious to keep it up. [4]

Then somehow, something changed. I tend to think that there are some things you can only do when the time is right, and November 2003 was apparently the right time for me. I decided to start doing something I hadn’t done for years: walking to work. I’d done this for a few short periods in the past, mostly during good summers or the occasional bus strike, but I’d never really made a habit out of it. So, I gave it a try. At first, I’d get out of breath walking uphill to the end of my street, but this soon improved. I also cut back on the amount of food I eat at lunchtime.

After a while, I dug out the old exercise bike, then over the Christmas period last year, I found my old Bullworker, and started to use that. Then came the rowing machine, the aboninable abdominal exerciser and the new exercise bike and even the dumbells.

There have been a few periods where I’ve stopped most of the serious exercise for weeks or even months, but I’ve managed to keep walking to and from work almost every day. My weight has fallen from its hideous height, and my waist size has reduced to a more sensible 34 inches.

And I’ve got muscles. I’ve got actual, noticeable muscles in places where I never had them before. And I still feel I have some way to go. There’s still some flab to remove, and maybe some of those muscle thingies could get a bit bigger….

Apart from the obvious physical benefits of all this, I seem to have gained in other ways. I feel a little more confident and I’m more inclined to be social than I used to[6]. All good stuff.

So, where does it go from here? Dunno really. I aim to carry on in much the same way. Keep up the exercise, carry on walking to and from work[7], eat sensibly (more or less) and generally try to take better care of myself.

I also aim to keep Losing it[1] going. I’ll carry on with the daily weight reports, and try to post more material on other subjects - more reviews, more pictures, more, well, stuff.

[1] A recurring pattern in my life
[2] 235.0 pounds, or 16 stone 11 pounds, or even 106.6kg was the figure I recorded…
[3] Well, that was the size trousers I had to buy when I bought a suit a few months before then
[4] People tried telling me that there were fatter people than me there[5], but that had nothing to do with it….
[5] There were, too!
[6] It’s not entirely true to say that I used to be a hermit, but I was working on it
[7] Saving loads of money on bus fares!

This morning’s weight is a smidgen down at 206.8 pounds (14 stone 10.8 pounds, 93.8kg).

I started keeping a daily record of my weight on January 6, when I was a somewhat heavier 223 pounds (15 stone 13 pounds, 101.2kg). That’s a fairly substantial wieght loss over the year, even if I am now about 7 pounds heavier than the lowest wieght I reached earlier in the year.

And of course, I haven’t just been losing flab, I’ve been building some muscles too, so the actual weight of fat lost is probably quite a lot more….

My aim for 2005 is to continue with the exercise and more sensible eating, and to drink more moderately too. No specific weight target as such, just to carry on and see where it leads me…..

Surprisingly low today : 205.4 pounds (14 stone 9.4 pounds, 93.2kg).

Today’s activity: walked into Gateshead, bus to the MetroCentre for my hair appointment at Sherlocks.

After that, met Aaron for a brief wander and then a meal at Chiquito’s. Mmmmmmmexcian