Bad weekend

The weekend wasn't good; I had too much bread and some sweets on Saturday, then yesterday I had a big roast dinner and in the evening I hit the red wine and brandy.
On nights this week, starting at 9.30 this evening, and so no booze all week and will try and cut out the snacks too.
Ever onwards and upwards, as they say....

A stroll in the sunshine

Just took myself out for a brisk walk, not a long way, only a couple of miles but for me that's quite a way, especially at a faster pace and in the hot sun.

I've actually quite enjoyed it, just me and some old tunes on the iPod.

I'm going to keep this up and extend the distance/increase the pace. 

The morning after

Had a bad night last night; finished work at 10 and had a can of cider and a couple of brandies, along with some monkey nuts. Not the end of the world but I need to get back on track this morning so no big breakfast or lunch.
I'm out tonight to see some friends and although I'm not drinking (driving) the plan is to go for a curry, so I need to be quite good the rest of the day.

The spice is right

  vs  

For lunch I had the remnants of last night's chilli prawns and pasta. Very nice after being nuked for 3 minutes. For some reason, though, whenever I eat spicy food (which I love and eat a lot) I get a real craving for chocolate. Having searched google I came across this :

We crave for the endorphin rush. After eating something spicy, our nerves feel pain. These pain signals are immediately transmitted to the brain. The brain interprets this signal and automatically releases endorphins (the body's natural pain killer). Once the endorphins kick in, it creates a temporary feeling of euphoria. We then begin to crave for this feeling.
The endorphins control our inclination toward certain kinds of foods. One of our strongest cravings is for sweets. Sweets like chocolate causes an endorphin rush. Chocolate is the most popular endorphin-producing food on Earth. Chocolate is derived from cacao beans that were revered by the Aztecs, who believe that eating chocolate would confer wisdom and vitality. In addition to sugar, caffeine and fat, chocolate contains more than 300 different constituent compounds, including anandamide, a chemical that mimics marijuana's soothing effects on the brain.

It could be the reason I suppose. Alternatively it could just be bollocks.

I guess I'll just have to ride it out and see

Morning, Day 3

Two days done, feeling good. Just made a coffee and got two slices of toast cooling. 

Need to stretch my legs in a while so will have a walk round the co-op (previously I'd have gone in the car, no question). I think starting to exercise is going to be harder than giving up sweets, biscuits or even booze.

A tricky evening.

Working overtime today and I'm feeling hungry. However, I can't actually be hungry as I has a substantial dinner less than 3 hours ago. I reckon it's a combination of boredom and thirst so I'm going to have a pint of orange squash and see if my "hunger" subsides...

Follow up: the pint of squash seemed to fix it. Cup of coffee in a minute then off to bed (hopefully its a bit cooler and I'll sleep better)

Evenings are going to be tough.

Had a rather bland stir fry for dinner (I blame myself, I cooked it) but it was quite filling. 

We've now reached the difficult time in the evening when I usually pour myself a tincture or two (beer, wine, brandy, toilet duck that sort of thing) and that invariably leads me to have a little nibble.

Tonight, and for the foreseeable future I cannot do that, I'm going to have a coffee later or maybe a tin of Fanta.

Luncheon

For lunch I had a flatbread thingy with a bit o grated cheese, red pepper, onion, cucumber and some chutney.
Nice it was and a pleasant change from my usual doorstep sandwich.

Breakfast this morning: coffee, glass of milk and two slices of toast with butter. In the past I have had four slices of toast so it's an OK start....

The start.

The time has come to change my lifestyle. I'm 50 years old, 6 stone overweight, drink too much and exercise far too infrequently. My knees hurt and I get out of breath easily. I'm at risk of heart attack, diabetes and many other illnesses and diseases.

So in order to get a bit healthier, I'm going to make some changes; I'm giving up sweets, biscuits and alcohol (apart from the occasional night out). I'm cutting down on what I eat and the amount I eat. I'm going to try and do some exercise.

And I'm going to blog it, all of it, so I have something to both encourage me and embarrass me.

I doubt if anyone will follow it, but that's not really the point, this is for me.

That's my tubby face, I'll post more embarrassing pics later