You do not know - you cannot possibly even begin to comprehend how much I was looking forward to yesterday, because I can't put that much excitement into words. I've been counting down the sleeps since about 60. I never thought that longed-for day would ever arrive, but then yesterday, it did.
The Avengers - Earth's Mightiest Heroes - finally Assembled. The sister and I went to the epicentre of small-town Lancashire, if not the universe (Preston), to see it. More on that later. I know I said I wouldn't turn into an hysterical wreck, but... to be honest, I had no other cause for celebration. There were plans for Southport but, despite me having such very high hopes for the day, not much turned out as planned.
I left work early so I could go to the 5:30p.m. weigh in and then go to Southport with Jo for a nice bit of a nosh-up at Nandos pre-film. But I hadn't reckoned on rush hour traffic on Golden Hill Lane in Leyland. My plans were ruined, so we decided that I'd get weighed early for the 7:30p.m. weigh in and we'd go to Preston instead and get KFC - it's the only savoury thing I've really craved and I haven't had it since last June when I went to see X-Men First Class. And as last week's plan of overindulging didn't go to plan, I thought I'd definitely be able to sin like mad with some well-deserved fast food.
I turned up at the Church Hall at about 7:20p.m. all full of hope - and was a bit peturbed to find that there was uproar in the group. Trouble at t'Mill, you might say. Everyone was angry. There was shouting, there was a lot of, "This is a [flipping] joke!" There was even a bit of, "That's it, I'm not wasting my time on this [nonsense] any more! Forget it! Shove your [blooming] weight loss regime!" It's a family-friendly blog, I had to censor the level of uproar!
I was, quite frankly, puzzled. Normally our group is very cheerful and happy and nobody's too grumpy at all. It's all really quite chilled out. Everyone usually has a bit of a giggle if they put weight on. Last night, however, was different. Quite, quite different. It looked like there was going to be a riot of some sort.
When I got to the weigh-in point, I asked the lady at the scales what was going on, and it turned out that Andrea the Consultant, in her infinite wisdom, had decided that the scales she's been using since time immemorial were weighing too light and so she'd bought new ones, which were weighing a bit heavy - so everyone had seemed to put weight on. The lady before me had apparently put 6 1/2 lbs on. There was fury. Real, proper anger.
I crossed my fingers, hoped for the best and got on the scales.
Apparently, despite the fact I'd done nothing differently during the past seven days and had eaten sensibly, done a bit of exercise and generally followed the same procedure that I have always done - I've put 3lbs on.
This is a nonsense. The red mist officially descended. I was livid. My blood pressure almost hit 200. I might've gone green, shot up in height and turned into an inarticulate rage monster. I very very nearly did. I ranted, I raved, I pointed out that we depend on the accuracy of the scales and we all spend good money each week on making sure that the equipment we need is there for us. Even if the scales themselves were inaccurate, the increments of weight loss should be reliable. Then I stormed out with some women who said they would never again darken the doorstep.
I just said I was going to the pictures and was quite noncommital about my proposed whereabouts for next week. I still don't know what to do.
Psychologically, she's done a really stupid thing to everyone. She has two classes and all members of both groups were furious with her - and I would feel sorry for her, but why would you do that to people? I mean, why? Seriously. But there's nothing we can do about it, she's not likely to change the scales back, and even if she did - next week wouldn't read right either because we've already been weighed on a different pair of scales. Basically - the thing not to do when you're a slimming consultant, I think, is to change from a pair of scales that allegdly 'weigh light' to a pair of scales that clearly 'weigh heavy' without giving anyone any prior warning. Just saying.
I know it only sounds like a little thing, but it isn't to me. I mean, I have worked really hard for this, and so's Jo with all her genius cooking, and so have all of you just by encouraging me to keep going and it really feels like the one person who shouldn't have pulled the rug from under me has done. It's like the goalposts have been moved on her whim, that whatever achievement I've celebrated I haven't been entitled to because the scales were wrong all along. I genuinely don't know what to think now. At this stage I'm really not sure if I want to go back to that group or not. It isn't just me she's let down, it's everybody. There will be a lot of grumpy fat people in Leyland today. More than usual.
Needless to say, I came home and immediately sent the llamas off for a well deserved break to Magaluf. Ricardo was very excited, Miguel decided he'd take fashion tips from Javier (the quiet one) and buy a bandana while he's out there, and Enrique had a panic attack because he didn't have time to do any practice packing. They'll need the rest. Perhaps they'll be back next week.
So, after bursting into tears and contemplating a longish trip to the roof of Argos followed by a short one down, we went to the cinema via KFC. I could practically feel my arteries hardening when I ordered! I didn't feel too bad. I had Diet Coke with it. Anyway. It was lovely and I really wasn't in the mood to think about my waistline.
The one thing I won't do is give away any spoilers for the film. Seriously. None. Not even non-plot related ones. All I'll say is this. I read practically every single article, watched every single interview, watched all the trailers, all the preview scenes, and generally obsessed like a loony over the film before it was released. When I did finally get to see it, nothing that I'd previously seen or read prepared me for it. It was absolutely incredible. There were thrills, spills, action, adventure, drama, some real belly laughs and a couple of really quite emotional moments. There were so many geeky comic book references, I was absolutely delighted. I developed an instant girl crush on Black Widow. She's just... Agh. I want to be her when I grow up. Or even just one tenth as kick-ass.
The one character I really wasn't looking forward to seeing was The Incredible Hulk. Not because I don't like him - I mean, a geeky scientific genius who happens to be notoriously grumpy, what's not to like about that?! But Edward Norton is my favourite actor of the modern age (James Stewart is my actual favourite actor of all time), and he has been for about 15 years, and it isn't because he's rather easy on the eye, it's because even though I haven't always liked all the films he's been in (take my advice, never watch a film called Down in the Valley. You won't get those two hours back!), I've always believed completely in every performance he's ever given. He's just an exceptionally talented man. I absolutely adored his performance as Bruce Banner in the last incarnation of The Incredible Hulk, and I was so gutted that he wasn't going to reprise that role in the Avengers that I really wasn't interested in whatever anyone else thought they might have to bring to the role. My attitude was very narrow-minded and sort of, "Huh! Mark Ruffalo? Who is he anyway? He's no Norton! He'll be rubbish. What the hell are Marvel playing at?!" etc etc. Well. I well and truly had my words forced back down my throat during the film. He was an absolute revalation, and, I have to admit it, he was actually far better than Edward Norton.
(If anyone was wondering when I was going to mention him - hell yes, it seriously is ALL about Hawkeye... *gazes off distractedly*)
Seriously, if you've been looking forward to it, forget absolutely all of your preconceptions and think bigger. It's like no superhero film you've ever seen before. I'm going to completely go out on a limb here and say it's my favourite ever superhero film, and by that I do include my beloved Spider-Man 2. It's more than just a great superhero film, it's simply a great film. There's something in it for everyone. It's amazing.
So, join me next week, when I should have calmed down from the hysteria of the film, and the red mist from the ridiculous weigh-in should have lifted by then too, when I'm sure I'll find something else to talk about...!!
Friday 27 April 2012
Wednesday 25 April 2012
The Fear
Again, my apologies for missing Monday's blog. I still don't have a computer and now I only work in the afternoons things are a bit more difficult on the updating front. Besides, I've really not got enough to say about anything to necessitate three blog entries a week, so I may update Mondays and Fridays or I may update Wednesdays and Fridays - but there will always be a Friday blog, no matter what!
Last Friday afternoon was lovely. I wasn't quite as sinful as I'd anticipated, though. Although it wasn't for lack of trying. I mean I let myself have a whole afternoon off, I was planning on filling my boots till I felt physically sick. My intentions for a good old nosh-up were as determined as possible.
However, when we got there we learned that the gas was on the blink and they couldn't fry anything. Farewell to my plans of chips fried in dripping and a serving of onion rings!! I had steak with a jacket potato and a flat mushroom. Which wasn't quite as naughty as I'd hoped for - but there was quite a lot of butter involved in the cooking, so I still gave it my best shot. For dessert I had my first ever bowl of ice cream this year - home made honeycomb ice cream with home made caramel sauce. Good grief. If I could bottle an emotion and sell it, it would be the euphoria of that first spoonful of sweet, cold, creamy yummyness making its initial assault on my tastebuds. Just fabulous. It's funny, I didn't really eat a great deal of ice cream before I started the diet but it's the one thing I've craved above everything else. I mean, I'd rather have a bowl of ice cream than a bottle of beer. Which is just weird. I need to sort my priorities out.
Speaking of booze, I've discovered something really bizarre. I am now a lightweight. I mean I'm really a lightweight. Boozing was always the thing I knew I could really do quite successfully in social situations. Last night, I'd been really good all day and so I thought I'd have a large glass of something before bed, which turned into two large glasses of something, which turned into three. Normally that wouldn't have even made me flinch - not least of all because about 80% of the glass was filled with Pepsi Max!!! However, I woke up this morning with an actual hangover. On three drinks. I'm ashamed of myself. Who am I, and what have I done with Spev?!
So, anyway, aside from not being able to take my drink any more - something else has happened that I hadn't bargained for. I think that it's a pretty important thing to discuss, not just for my benefit but for the benefit of anyone else who might read this at some juncture and who also has a significant amount of weight to lose.
When you start dieting, you only think of the end result. You picture yourself in nice clothes, with lovely shiny hair and perfect makeup, sashaying down the street with a confident, cheeky wiggle in your walk, rather than the insecure, defeated waddle you're used to. And it's important to do that. It is, because if you don't really see yourself making it, you won't. And I know I haven't made it by any stretch of the imagination, but I still have my mental image of what it might be like to be curvy rather than one continuous curve.
Now then, when you get part way through your journey, even though you may not notice it, the fact is you will have lost weight and you will look different. Even if you don't see it, other people do. And believe me, this is the case. Because I look in the mirror and I see the exact same fat ugly girl staring back at me that I saw on 1st January, but now, other people see something a bit more streamlined. Which is great. But the problem is, I still feel like a fat ugly girl on the inside. Nothing has changed in the way I view myself at all.
It's been years, in fact it might even be never, since I took any real interest in the way I look. I've never been the pretty one, which is absolutely fine. I've never wanted to be, I couldn't take the responsibility. My role in any social situation has always been to be the funny one. I'm comfortable with that, I love making people laugh, I'd much rather be funny than pretty - and luckily that's exactly how it's worked out. But nobody really needs to look at the funny one because the funny one is meant to look a bit funny. And that's all right too.
I'm not the biggest fan of makeup, although I'll wear it on very special occasions. I wear super-thick Nana Mouskouri style glasses because I'm blind as a bat and I can't afford contact lenses. I hate hairdressers, so I avoid them at all costs. I never wear heels because I walk with a limp (I paint such a picture!) and I'm 5'8, which isn't exactly a giant, but I'm taller than the majority of all my friends - even the boys - and I feel like a great hulking mass of awkwardness at the best of times, the last thing I want to do is draw any more attention to myself. And I'm fat - so nice clothes are out. They just are. I know I look a mess. Nobody has to tell me. But I'm fat and I'm ugly and there really isn't a great deal you can do with that. Perhaps, deep down, the fact is I just don't think I deserve to look any better than I do. Who knows. That isn't really the point.
The point is; I'm getting thinner now. All my clothes are miles too big for me. But I'm damned if I'm going to go through the torture of clothes shopping just yet. I keep getting told that I need a haircut, that I need to get contact lenses again and I need to start making something of the way I look. But I've been really quite hostile to any such suggestions and, in all honesty, have acted like a petulant child over the whole issue. Which baffles me as much as anyone else. Until I sat down and really thought about why I don't want to do any of these things.
I don't know how to make myself look better. I really don't. If someone handed me a hairdryer and a round brush and told me to make my hair look nice I genuinely wouldn't know where to start. But how do you turn around at the age of 30 and say "Actually, you know that stuff I should've learned when I was about 14 on how to do something with the way you look? I totally missed that."? Shouldn't I have learned all this before? Or is it something that normal girls just naturally know how to do? I mean it isn't like I'm stupid, and if I really tried I'm sure I could learn. But somehow I was always too interested in music and films and other stuff when I was younger to give clothes and hair and makeup a moment's thought. And now I'm old and past it, I feel as though I have to face it at some point and I really feel lost and completely incapable. And, if I'm being completely honest - making all those changes scares the living bewhatsits out of me.
I wanted to make this big step. I wanted it, I'm making it, and I'm changing. But I really wasn't prepared for just how scary the physical process of changing was going to be. More than my shape is going to have to change. There's a lot of hang-ups that I really need to stop hanging onto if I'm going to really succeed in this, no matter how comfortable I might be with them.
Basically, I think what I'm trying to say in my usual wordy, rambly, far too honest manner is this. There's really no point in making one big change if you aren't prepared to deal with all the other little changes you need to make as well. So I suppose I'd best roll up my sleeves, swallow hard, adopt my game face and tackle them, too.
Join me, if you can stand it, on Friday - when I will have stopped navel-gazing (Ha! That's a laugh, I still can't see it!) long enough to let you know how I got on at Fat Club, and also I promise faithfully I will do my best not to spend the entire post gushing in an hysterical squeeful fangirl manner about how amazing Avengers Assemble was. One more sleep to go!!!!! EEEP!!!
Last Friday afternoon was lovely. I wasn't quite as sinful as I'd anticipated, though. Although it wasn't for lack of trying. I mean I let myself have a whole afternoon off, I was planning on filling my boots till I felt physically sick. My intentions for a good old nosh-up were as determined as possible.
However, when we got there we learned that the gas was on the blink and they couldn't fry anything. Farewell to my plans of chips fried in dripping and a serving of onion rings!! I had steak with a jacket potato and a flat mushroom. Which wasn't quite as naughty as I'd hoped for - but there was quite a lot of butter involved in the cooking, so I still gave it my best shot. For dessert I had my first ever bowl of ice cream this year - home made honeycomb ice cream with home made caramel sauce. Good grief. If I could bottle an emotion and sell it, it would be the euphoria of that first spoonful of sweet, cold, creamy yummyness making its initial assault on my tastebuds. Just fabulous. It's funny, I didn't really eat a great deal of ice cream before I started the diet but it's the one thing I've craved above everything else. I mean, I'd rather have a bowl of ice cream than a bottle of beer. Which is just weird. I need to sort my priorities out.
Speaking of booze, I've discovered something really bizarre. I am now a lightweight. I mean I'm really a lightweight. Boozing was always the thing I knew I could really do quite successfully in social situations. Last night, I'd been really good all day and so I thought I'd have a large glass of something before bed, which turned into two large glasses of something, which turned into three. Normally that wouldn't have even made me flinch - not least of all because about 80% of the glass was filled with Pepsi Max!!! However, I woke up this morning with an actual hangover. On three drinks. I'm ashamed of myself. Who am I, and what have I done with Spev?!
So, anyway, aside from not being able to take my drink any more - something else has happened that I hadn't bargained for. I think that it's a pretty important thing to discuss, not just for my benefit but for the benefit of anyone else who might read this at some juncture and who also has a significant amount of weight to lose.
When you start dieting, you only think of the end result. You picture yourself in nice clothes, with lovely shiny hair and perfect makeup, sashaying down the street with a confident, cheeky wiggle in your walk, rather than the insecure, defeated waddle you're used to. And it's important to do that. It is, because if you don't really see yourself making it, you won't. And I know I haven't made it by any stretch of the imagination, but I still have my mental image of what it might be like to be curvy rather than one continuous curve.
Now then, when you get part way through your journey, even though you may not notice it, the fact is you will have lost weight and you will look different. Even if you don't see it, other people do. And believe me, this is the case. Because I look in the mirror and I see the exact same fat ugly girl staring back at me that I saw on 1st January, but now, other people see something a bit more streamlined. Which is great. But the problem is, I still feel like a fat ugly girl on the inside. Nothing has changed in the way I view myself at all.
It's been years, in fact it might even be never, since I took any real interest in the way I look. I've never been the pretty one, which is absolutely fine. I've never wanted to be, I couldn't take the responsibility. My role in any social situation has always been to be the funny one. I'm comfortable with that, I love making people laugh, I'd much rather be funny than pretty - and luckily that's exactly how it's worked out. But nobody really needs to look at the funny one because the funny one is meant to look a bit funny. And that's all right too.
I'm not the biggest fan of makeup, although I'll wear it on very special occasions. I wear super-thick Nana Mouskouri style glasses because I'm blind as a bat and I can't afford contact lenses. I hate hairdressers, so I avoid them at all costs. I never wear heels because I walk with a limp (I paint such a picture!) and I'm 5'8, which isn't exactly a giant, but I'm taller than the majority of all my friends - even the boys - and I feel like a great hulking mass of awkwardness at the best of times, the last thing I want to do is draw any more attention to myself. And I'm fat - so nice clothes are out. They just are. I know I look a mess. Nobody has to tell me. But I'm fat and I'm ugly and there really isn't a great deal you can do with that. Perhaps, deep down, the fact is I just don't think I deserve to look any better than I do. Who knows. That isn't really the point.
The point is; I'm getting thinner now. All my clothes are miles too big for me. But I'm damned if I'm going to go through the torture of clothes shopping just yet. I keep getting told that I need a haircut, that I need to get contact lenses again and I need to start making something of the way I look. But I've been really quite hostile to any such suggestions and, in all honesty, have acted like a petulant child over the whole issue. Which baffles me as much as anyone else. Until I sat down and really thought about why I don't want to do any of these things.
I don't know how to make myself look better. I really don't. If someone handed me a hairdryer and a round brush and told me to make my hair look nice I genuinely wouldn't know where to start. But how do you turn around at the age of 30 and say "Actually, you know that stuff I should've learned when I was about 14 on how to do something with the way you look? I totally missed that."? Shouldn't I have learned all this before? Or is it something that normal girls just naturally know how to do? I mean it isn't like I'm stupid, and if I really tried I'm sure I could learn. But somehow I was always too interested in music and films and other stuff when I was younger to give clothes and hair and makeup a moment's thought. And now I'm old and past it, I feel as though I have to face it at some point and I really feel lost and completely incapable. And, if I'm being completely honest - making all those changes scares the living bewhatsits out of me.
I wanted to make this big step. I wanted it, I'm making it, and I'm changing. But I really wasn't prepared for just how scary the physical process of changing was going to be. More than my shape is going to have to change. There's a lot of hang-ups that I really need to stop hanging onto if I'm going to really succeed in this, no matter how comfortable I might be with them.
Basically, I think what I'm trying to say in my usual wordy, rambly, far too honest manner is this. There's really no point in making one big change if you aren't prepared to deal with all the other little changes you need to make as well. So I suppose I'd best roll up my sleeves, swallow hard, adopt my game face and tackle them, too.
Join me, if you can stand it, on Friday - when I will have stopped navel-gazing (Ha! That's a laugh, I still can't see it!) long enough to let you know how I got on at Fat Club, and also I promise faithfully I will do my best not to spend the entire post gushing in an hysterical squeeful fangirl manner about how amazing Avengers Assemble was. One more sleep to go!!!!! EEEP!!!
Friday 20 April 2012
Turned Out Nice Again
So. It's all been a bit boring this week, as previously documented. I've still not overeaten. I still can't really be bothered having any treats. Nothing exciting has happened.
I went to Fat Club last night all full of the joys of winter, hunching my shoulders and generally looking and feeling a bit miserable. I didn't feel any thinner, and Bridget the star slimmer (9lbs last week, two stone in two weeks last month. The woman's a lean, mean slimming machine. And she's hilarious!) only lost 1lb. Things weren't really looking good. All I wanted was to lose 1 1/2lbs to get me to the 2 1/2 stone mark, but I felt increasingly conscious that it probably wouldn't happen.
So, imagine my confusion, if you will, when I stepped on the scales and discovered I'd lost a whopping FIVE POUNDS!!!
Shocked? I had to read it six or seven times and then get the lady at the scales to read it for me and to help me out with the maths!!!
Enrique has been up all night working on the llamas' celebratory dance, so without further ado... HIT IT, CHAPS!!!
*dances round the room like a mad eejit, Ted*
So, yes, I got my 2 1/2 stone certificate and (most importantly) shiny sticker. I'm now 3 1/2 lbs away from my 3 stone certificate and shiny sticker. However, last night, for the first time, I also got a Slimmer of the Week certificate and shiny sticker, and a huge bag full of free food for the week. Very exciting. I don't know if it's standard practice in all Slimming World groups, but in our group everyone takes an item of free food (fruit, veg, a packet of super noodles etc) and puts it into a basket and whoever gets Slimmer of the Week takes home the contents of the basket. I'm rubbish because I always forget. I have a terrible memory at the best of times and it's all I can do to remember my book, my member card and my fee!!
I will soon be able to wallpaper my bedroom with my certificates. In fact, eventually, I might just do that in a sort of 'You've done this and it was hard work but you did it and you are NOT going back!' reminder type capacity.
Andrea the Consultant also had reason to celebrate, as she is now officially the top consultant in the North West, beating the Walton-le-Dale group both by the size of the group and the success rate of the club members. So a huge round of applause for Andrea. She's a good egg. It's her two-year anniversary of starting her own group in three weeks, so we're going to have a party at the group in celebration. Exciting!! She asked what I'd done differently this week and I told her it was all my sister's hard work. Joanna is the world's most amazing cook and she makes the most gorgeous Syn-Free meals every night, and usually enough to take some for lunch the next day. But the thing that's changed our entire lives has been the investment in a rice-maker. We've had rice nearly every night, with all sorts of crazy stuff in. It's been amazing. She makes this prawn, chilli, ginger and garlic savoury rice dish which I could happily eat for the rest of my life. Honestly. She's amazing. If you haven't had the pleasure of a meal cooked by the big sister - you're really missing out!!
On another note, today is my last day of working in the office upstairs. My temporary boss bought me a bottle of Midnight Fantasy by Britney Spears (don't laugh. It's awesome. It smells like Skittles! It's no Just Her by Roberto Cavalli, or Black XS for Her by Paco Rabanne, I grant you, but still!!) and a lovely card to say thank you for my help over the last six months, not that I've done a great deal, to be fair, but it was really sweet of them. And they're taking me to the Clog and Billycock for lunch (hands up anyone who didn't know a billycock was a hat! *raises both hands and a leg*) - which is a Northcote restaurant in the Ribble Valley - and it would be simply rude if I went there and didn't completely obliterate my diet!!! They fry the chips in dripping! The steaks are bigger than me! They do home made ice cream... with cream!!!! I'm even going to have beer - I think they do Wainwrights there!!
So, today I will be giving myself a long-awaited day off. I've done pretty well over the last four months and I'm having a proper day off to celebrate. I'll reign it back in like mad for the rest of the week, and I did start off quite well today with a fruit salad and a few mugs of green tea - but this afternoon it will be a diet-free zone. I'm so excited!!!
I've got a rather busy weekend ahead with one thing and another, so join me again on Monday when I'll give you a bit of an update on the weekend and look forward, vaguely confidently, to a hopefully successful weigh-in on Thursday!!
I went to Fat Club last night all full of the joys of winter, hunching my shoulders and generally looking and feeling a bit miserable. I didn't feel any thinner, and Bridget the star slimmer (9lbs last week, two stone in two weeks last month. The woman's a lean, mean slimming machine. And she's hilarious!) only lost 1lb. Things weren't really looking good. All I wanted was to lose 1 1/2lbs to get me to the 2 1/2 stone mark, but I felt increasingly conscious that it probably wouldn't happen.
So, imagine my confusion, if you will, when I stepped on the scales and discovered I'd lost a whopping FIVE POUNDS!!!
Shocked? I had to read it six or seven times and then get the lady at the scales to read it for me and to help me out with the maths!!!
Enrique has been up all night working on the llamas' celebratory dance, so without further ado... HIT IT, CHAPS!!!
*dances round the room like a mad eejit, Ted*
So, yes, I got my 2 1/2 stone certificate and (most importantly) shiny sticker. I'm now 3 1/2 lbs away from my 3 stone certificate and shiny sticker. However, last night, for the first time, I also got a Slimmer of the Week certificate and shiny sticker, and a huge bag full of free food for the week. Very exciting. I don't know if it's standard practice in all Slimming World groups, but in our group everyone takes an item of free food (fruit, veg, a packet of super noodles etc) and puts it into a basket and whoever gets Slimmer of the Week takes home the contents of the basket. I'm rubbish because I always forget. I have a terrible memory at the best of times and it's all I can do to remember my book, my member card and my fee!!
I will soon be able to wallpaper my bedroom with my certificates. In fact, eventually, I might just do that in a sort of 'You've done this and it was hard work but you did it and you are NOT going back!' reminder type capacity.
Andrea the Consultant also had reason to celebrate, as she is now officially the top consultant in the North West, beating the Walton-le-Dale group both by the size of the group and the success rate of the club members. So a huge round of applause for Andrea. She's a good egg. It's her two-year anniversary of starting her own group in three weeks, so we're going to have a party at the group in celebration. Exciting!! She asked what I'd done differently this week and I told her it was all my sister's hard work. Joanna is the world's most amazing cook and she makes the most gorgeous Syn-Free meals every night, and usually enough to take some for lunch the next day. But the thing that's changed our entire lives has been the investment in a rice-maker. We've had rice nearly every night, with all sorts of crazy stuff in. It's been amazing. She makes this prawn, chilli, ginger and garlic savoury rice dish which I could happily eat for the rest of my life. Honestly. She's amazing. If you haven't had the pleasure of a meal cooked by the big sister - you're really missing out!!
On another note, today is my last day of working in the office upstairs. My temporary boss bought me a bottle of Midnight Fantasy by Britney Spears (don't laugh. It's awesome. It smells like Skittles! It's no Just Her by Roberto Cavalli, or Black XS for Her by Paco Rabanne, I grant you, but still!!) and a lovely card to say thank you for my help over the last six months, not that I've done a great deal, to be fair, but it was really sweet of them. And they're taking me to the Clog and Billycock for lunch (hands up anyone who didn't know a billycock was a hat! *raises both hands and a leg*) - which is a Northcote restaurant in the Ribble Valley - and it would be simply rude if I went there and didn't completely obliterate my diet!!! They fry the chips in dripping! The steaks are bigger than me! They do home made ice cream... with cream!!!! I'm even going to have beer - I think they do Wainwrights there!!
So, today I will be giving myself a long-awaited day off. I've done pretty well over the last four months and I'm having a proper day off to celebrate. I'll reign it back in like mad for the rest of the week, and I did start off quite well today with a fruit salad and a few mugs of green tea - but this afternoon it will be a diet-free zone. I'm so excited!!!
I've got a rather busy weekend ahead with one thing and another, so join me again on Monday when I'll give you a bit of an update on the weekend and look forward, vaguely confidently, to a hopefully successful weigh-in on Thursday!!
Wednesday 18 April 2012
I Wish I Had Something to Say
This is my problem, folks, and I would like to start by way of an apology for no blog on Monday. I'm just out of stuff to talk about at the moment. I've even got writer's block on my blog.
It's difficult to find new things to say when you're only really blogging about one thing. I had a few complaints when I wrote about the stuff I was writing, that nobody was actually interested in that - and that's fair enough, I completely understand that. The actual, physical, sitting-down-and-typing aspects of writing are extremely boring indeed. Writing only rates a 'meh' on the Rock'n'Roll Artistic Scale, after all. It isn't instantaneous enough. I bore myself about it, so I dread to think how many people I've sent to sleep over my updates on things I'm writing!
So, really, the whole purpose of this blog has been to keep me encouraged while I lose weight. Losing weight, it turns out, is probably the only thing more boring than writing.
This is my mindset on the weight loss front: I need to lose weight. I am losing weight. I am doing this by eating more healthy stuff and eating less rubbish. I have cut out full-sugar Coca-Cola and replaced it with sugar free stuff. I've cut down my alcohol intake massively. I do a bit of exercise where I can and when I can be bothered.
When it comes to chocolate and pizza and beer and crisps and all the things that make life worth living - I will have those things. I will. When I've lost the weight. If I get a craving for something, I think about something else. I'm very tough with myself and I don't mind that because I know *eventually* it will be worth it and any self-deprivation is only temporary. It comes down to this - I would rather be able to fit into lovely clothes than eat chocolate. When I'm thinner I'll be able to fit into lovely clothes AND eat chocolate - so if I have to miss out for 8-10 months, that's fine by me.
A lot of people have asked me if I'm proud of myself for nearly losing 2 1/2 stone. I'm not. I'll be happy when it's over and when I've done it. But at the moment I just want to get there. There's no point in being proud of myself when I haven't actually achieved anything yet. I haven't given up, which is good. But that's probably about it.
Having said that, I am so happy that so many people are proud of me, and that everyone's saying such lovely things about my progress so far. It helps to keep me going more than any of you realise. It isn't just me I'll be letting down if I don't do it this time - it's family, friends, complete strangers who have started reading the blog - and not forgetting the llamas! Ricardo will be heartbroken! It's pressure, but it's a nice pressure, and one that I'm very grateful for. I love that people care about me enough to talk to me about it and ask me questions about how I'm getting on and how I'm feeling. Focussed. That's how I'm feeling. I've still got my game face on for this thing. I'm going to do it. Even if it takes longer than I'd like, I'm going to do it. I've had enough of feeling physically sick every time I walk past a reflective surface and get a glimpse of myself.
So, nothing to worry about really. Everything's okay - but nothing's happened that requires reporting on. Everything's still the same, I'm still attempting to go forward in the war on obesity. I've got a bit of writer's block which is really annoying me, but it'll clear eventually. I'm not stuck to a deadline or anything. In short, and for a person with nothing to say, I do realise this blog entry's gone on for about a year - although I'm absolutely fine and there's nothing the matter and I'm not about to go out and consume my body weight in fried chicken, I'm just feeling a bit nothing-ish at the moment. But it's just a blip and I'll get over it.
I promise I'll be less miserable and grumpy next time - so please join me again on Friday. Hopefully I'll have got the 2 1/2 stone shiny sticker and certificate by then and the llamas will put on a fiesta that will blow your minds!!
It's difficult to find new things to say when you're only really blogging about one thing. I had a few complaints when I wrote about the stuff I was writing, that nobody was actually interested in that - and that's fair enough, I completely understand that. The actual, physical, sitting-down-and-typing aspects of writing are extremely boring indeed. Writing only rates a 'meh' on the Rock'n'Roll Artistic Scale, after all. It isn't instantaneous enough. I bore myself about it, so I dread to think how many people I've sent to sleep over my updates on things I'm writing!
So, really, the whole purpose of this blog has been to keep me encouraged while I lose weight. Losing weight, it turns out, is probably the only thing more boring than writing.
This is my mindset on the weight loss front: I need to lose weight. I am losing weight. I am doing this by eating more healthy stuff and eating less rubbish. I have cut out full-sugar Coca-Cola and replaced it with sugar free stuff. I've cut down my alcohol intake massively. I do a bit of exercise where I can and when I can be bothered.
When it comes to chocolate and pizza and beer and crisps and all the things that make life worth living - I will have those things. I will. When I've lost the weight. If I get a craving for something, I think about something else. I'm very tough with myself and I don't mind that because I know *eventually* it will be worth it and any self-deprivation is only temporary. It comes down to this - I would rather be able to fit into lovely clothes than eat chocolate. When I'm thinner I'll be able to fit into lovely clothes AND eat chocolate - so if I have to miss out for 8-10 months, that's fine by me.
A lot of people have asked me if I'm proud of myself for nearly losing 2 1/2 stone. I'm not. I'll be happy when it's over and when I've done it. But at the moment I just want to get there. There's no point in being proud of myself when I haven't actually achieved anything yet. I haven't given up, which is good. But that's probably about it.
Having said that, I am so happy that so many people are proud of me, and that everyone's saying such lovely things about my progress so far. It helps to keep me going more than any of you realise. It isn't just me I'll be letting down if I don't do it this time - it's family, friends, complete strangers who have started reading the blog - and not forgetting the llamas! Ricardo will be heartbroken! It's pressure, but it's a nice pressure, and one that I'm very grateful for. I love that people care about me enough to talk to me about it and ask me questions about how I'm getting on and how I'm feeling. Focussed. That's how I'm feeling. I've still got my game face on for this thing. I'm going to do it. Even if it takes longer than I'd like, I'm going to do it. I've had enough of feeling physically sick every time I walk past a reflective surface and get a glimpse of myself.
So, nothing to worry about really. Everything's okay - but nothing's happened that requires reporting on. Everything's still the same, I'm still attempting to go forward in the war on obesity. I've got a bit of writer's block which is really annoying me, but it'll clear eventually. I'm not stuck to a deadline or anything. In short, and for a person with nothing to say, I do realise this blog entry's gone on for about a year - although I'm absolutely fine and there's nothing the matter and I'm not about to go out and consume my body weight in fried chicken, I'm just feeling a bit nothing-ish at the moment. But it's just a blip and I'll get over it.
I promise I'll be less miserable and grumpy next time - so please join me again on Friday. Hopefully I'll have got the 2 1/2 stone shiny sticker and certificate by then and the llamas will put on a fiesta that will blow your minds!!
Friday 13 April 2012
Slimming World Episode VI: Return of the Sausage
Well, it's been an eventful week and no mistake, hasn't it? Confusion over which day of the week it is since Tuesday, the despair of not getting through to the next stage of the Sitcom competition - fear not, Adam and I are still going to take over the comedy world, we're just debating a different route now, that's all. Then I saw McFly on Wednesday (and yes, before anyone asks, it really is all about Dougie), which was rather amazing - and last night, of course, was the highlight, as I trotted down the hill to the local Church Hall to attend another group meeting at Slimming World.
I have to say I haven't had the best week on the slimming front. Not that I've overeaten. The opposite in fact. I've inadvertently skipped quite a few meals, which I didn't do on purpose, really - and I know it isn't a good thing to do, but sometimes a human just doesn't get time to eat. Not over Easter when they only wake up at half nine in the morning, anyway... Added to that is the fact Mum and Dad are still in France and I've not had use of a car for two weeks, so I've walked everywhere. Remember that week after I'd lost 5lbs and I walked everywhere and had hardly any Syns but I only lost half a pound?? Well, this week I walked even more and ate less of everything, Syns as well as normal food.
So, imagine my surprise when I hopped on the scales and discovered I'd lost 2lbs!!
Came back home and told the llamas about it. Ricardo was very excited - he's a bit blase if I only lose a pound, and quite grumpy if I only lose half a pound - but two pounds is good. It's healthy and encouraging. So, they've got a great dance all lined up for today that you'll love.
Hit it, lads!!!
*sigh* Jitterbugging llamas in sombreros. It never gets old.
Andrea the Consultant was really pleased with me, I've only got a pound and a half to go before I can have my next shiny sticker and certificate. We all know that I'm all about the shiny stickers! Could do with a pretty big loss in the next week or so though, my line graph has set me back to reaching my goal in mid-October again, which is no good. End of September. That's the aim. My dear pal Liz (who is also going to Slimming World on Thursday nights, but she's in London) is renewing her wedding vows on September 29th and we both still have a bit of work to do to get into pretty dresses in time for the big day. But we'll do it - and that's the main thing. I've got five and a half months to lose four and a half stone. It's a big ask but not an impossible one - it still averages out at just over 2 1/2 lbs a week, which we all know is achievable. I'll get there. Eventually. So long as I keep losing it'll be fine. My worry is that reaching the target I've set won't be quite enough and I'll still have another stone to go. But I'll worry about that when I get there. I don't want to be skinny, but at the same time, this is going to be such a big life-changing thing, when I finally get there I don't want to discover I've not quite made it!
Best moment of the night was when I walked into the Church Hall and saw a sign that simply read, "Sausage Man" with an arrow pointing to the left. Mr Syn Free Sausage has returned!!!
Didn't get any (didn't get any Cumberland either - *boom boom*!). Was too busy laughing. Apparently he'll be coming to the group once a month, flaunting his wares and trying to tempt us with his stuffed peppers and meatballs. As it were. He's a champion among slimmers and possibly revered as some sort of deity in certain parts of Oswaldtwistle.
I hope Mr Syn Free Sausage knows how much publicity he's getting on this blog. Everyone in the world - almost - knows about Ye Olde Sausage Shop in Oswaldtwistle Mill!! That's right - Diary of a Fat Girl has sent him global! We should set up some sort of partnership. I can see it now:
Today's Diary of a Fat Girl was brought to you by Mr Syn Free Sausage, the letters M and Q and the number 14 (13's an unlucky number)...
Sigh.
My plans for the weekend are as yet unmade - and I sort of hope they stay that way. Mum and Dad are returning to Blighty on Sunday so it will be lovely to see them again, it's been ages. However, whatever it is that you're up to this weekend, I hope you have a fabulous time - and I'll see you all back here on Monday when I'll be looking forward to the week ahead - and trying to make sense of the next two or three years of my life without my lovely pal Helena... *sniffle*
I have to say I haven't had the best week on the slimming front. Not that I've overeaten. The opposite in fact. I've inadvertently skipped quite a few meals, which I didn't do on purpose, really - and I know it isn't a good thing to do, but sometimes a human just doesn't get time to eat. Not over Easter when they only wake up at half nine in the morning, anyway... Added to that is the fact Mum and Dad are still in France and I've not had use of a car for two weeks, so I've walked everywhere. Remember that week after I'd lost 5lbs and I walked everywhere and had hardly any Syns but I only lost half a pound?? Well, this week I walked even more and ate less of everything, Syns as well as normal food.
So, imagine my surprise when I hopped on the scales and discovered I'd lost 2lbs!!
Came back home and told the llamas about it. Ricardo was very excited - he's a bit blase if I only lose a pound, and quite grumpy if I only lose half a pound - but two pounds is good. It's healthy and encouraging. So, they've got a great dance all lined up for today that you'll love.
Hit it, lads!!!
*sigh* Jitterbugging llamas in sombreros. It never gets old.
Andrea the Consultant was really pleased with me, I've only got a pound and a half to go before I can have my next shiny sticker and certificate. We all know that I'm all about the shiny stickers! Could do with a pretty big loss in the next week or so though, my line graph has set me back to reaching my goal in mid-October again, which is no good. End of September. That's the aim. My dear pal Liz (who is also going to Slimming World on Thursday nights, but she's in London) is renewing her wedding vows on September 29th and we both still have a bit of work to do to get into pretty dresses in time for the big day. But we'll do it - and that's the main thing. I've got five and a half months to lose four and a half stone. It's a big ask but not an impossible one - it still averages out at just over 2 1/2 lbs a week, which we all know is achievable. I'll get there. Eventually. So long as I keep losing it'll be fine. My worry is that reaching the target I've set won't be quite enough and I'll still have another stone to go. But I'll worry about that when I get there. I don't want to be skinny, but at the same time, this is going to be such a big life-changing thing, when I finally get there I don't want to discover I've not quite made it!
Best moment of the night was when I walked into the Church Hall and saw a sign that simply read, "Sausage Man" with an arrow pointing to the left. Mr Syn Free Sausage has returned!!!
Didn't get any (didn't get any Cumberland either - *boom boom*!). Was too busy laughing. Apparently he'll be coming to the group once a month, flaunting his wares and trying to tempt us with his stuffed peppers and meatballs. As it were. He's a champion among slimmers and possibly revered as some sort of deity in certain parts of Oswaldtwistle.
I hope Mr Syn Free Sausage knows how much publicity he's getting on this blog. Everyone in the world - almost - knows about Ye Olde Sausage Shop in Oswaldtwistle Mill!! That's right - Diary of a Fat Girl has sent him global! We should set up some sort of partnership. I can see it now:
Today's Diary of a Fat Girl was brought to you by Mr Syn Free Sausage, the letters M and Q and the number 14 (13's an unlucky number)...
Sigh.
My plans for the weekend are as yet unmade - and I sort of hope they stay that way. Mum and Dad are returning to Blighty on Sunday so it will be lovely to see them again, it's been ages. However, whatever it is that you're up to this weekend, I hope you have a fabulous time - and I'll see you all back here on Monday when I'll be looking forward to the week ahead - and trying to make sense of the next two or three years of my life without my lovely pal Helena... *sniffle*
Tuesday 10 April 2012
Easter Parade
So, the Easter weekend did screw up my opportunities to post any blog entries and as a result I may have wavered somewhat over the weekend in my healthy eating resolve. But never mind. Holidays are always peculiar times for everyone. I mean, how many of you have to keep reminding yourself that it's Tuesday?! Don't lie, now, I've done it about 100 times already this morning!!
On Thursday I went for the weigh in a little earlier than usual. My goal was to reach my Club 10 target by Easter and as I was only 2lbs away from it I thought I might've done it. I was pretty good during the week. I mean, there was Saturday, where I consumed my entire year's worth of calories in liquid form. But I really reined it back in over the rest of the week, even though I didn't do a great deal of exercise, and although I didn't really hold out a great deal of hope, I though that perhaps I might've just done it - or at least just got within a pound or so.
Luckily, I lost 2 1/2lbs. So, my Easter target was met, the llamas fiesta-ed like there was no tomorrow, and the weekend began in a very merry fashion indeed. It was all good in the proverbial hood.
The highlight of the weekend, definitely, was getting my sister to watch films. Normally our flat is a bit of a Sport Only Zone, and although I can put up with sport as much as the next person and I do try and get into it, we did seem to spend the week leading up to The Masters exclusively watching Sky Sports News, which did start to grate a little. So, on Friday, we watched, not one, but THREE films. They included Muppets Treasure Island (it's no Robert Newton version, I grant you - but it does have Kermit the Frog, which the original Disney version definitely couldn't boast), The Cutting Edge (yes, it's a chick flick - but the leading lady was the voice of Nala in The Lion King which instantly makes her okay by me, and it was a sport-based chick flick so it wasn't quite as awful as it could have been) and - and this was quite an achievement, I feel - Thor! I'd re-bought it that morning because I'd loaned it to Rachael a few months ago and was really starting to get terrible withdrawals from it. I mean, you can't go too far wrong with a Kenneth Branagh film. It's like he married superheroes and Shakespeare, two of my favourite things, to make an absolute epic. Loved it. It had action, humour, explosions, scary baddies, brilliant dialogue, Chris Hemsworth, Aled from the Chris Moyles Breakfast Show (in disguise as Loki) and a cameo from my new future ex-husband, Jeremy Renner (the trick with celebrity crushes is to aim ridiculously high but stay realistic!). I mean, what more do you want from a film?!
Jo actually liked it, in the main (she mostly liked the scene where Thor stalked around the kitchen in no shirt and then declared, "This mortal frame requires sustenance! Bring me food!") - but she was a bit peeved that there was no snog at the end between Thor and Natalie Portman. Well. I'm sure there'll be one in Thor 2. MAYBE even one in The Avengers - he has to get back to earth somehow and he might've taken time out to look her up. But there WAS one about 20 minutes from the end, I mean - isn't that enough PDA for one film?! Anyway, she should try being a Spider-Man fan. We had to wait until right at the end of Spidey 2 before Peter and Mary-Jane got together!!
The rest of the weekend was, however, completely taken up with sport. There was a lot of The Masters - and congratulations to Bubba Watson on a well-deserved win. We also watched a bit of rugby and saw Wigan batter St Helens in the Good Friday fixture - but no sporting achievement was as well-received in Wainwright Mansions as Everton walloping Sunderland 4-0 at Goodison yesterday. Fabulous news. Just hope we can keep it up for when we face Liverpool at Wembley on Saturday for the FA Cup Semi-Final. *worries*.
So now, back to work. For as long as that lasts, anyway. I've decided to look for something else. It's been two years now and to be honest I really need to work full-time, which is something I can't do here. It's a lot of upheaval, but with so many other things changing this year, perhaps a new job really is the way forward. Who knows. I mean, obviously, when Adam and I win the BBC sitcom competition, all our worries will be over - but until then I suppose boring secretary jobs will have to do!!
Join me again on Friday, when I'll be able to give you the lowdown on what happens at the weigh-in on Thursday. I need to lose 3 1/2 lbs to get my next half-stone award, which I doubt will happen, but I might at least get halfway there...!!
On Thursday I went for the weigh in a little earlier than usual. My goal was to reach my Club 10 target by Easter and as I was only 2lbs away from it I thought I might've done it. I was pretty good during the week. I mean, there was Saturday, where I consumed my entire year's worth of calories in liquid form. But I really reined it back in over the rest of the week, even though I didn't do a great deal of exercise, and although I didn't really hold out a great deal of hope, I though that perhaps I might've just done it - or at least just got within a pound or so.
Luckily, I lost 2 1/2lbs. So, my Easter target was met, the llamas fiesta-ed like there was no tomorrow, and the weekend began in a very merry fashion indeed. It was all good in the proverbial hood.
The highlight of the weekend, definitely, was getting my sister to watch films. Normally our flat is a bit of a Sport Only Zone, and although I can put up with sport as much as the next person and I do try and get into it, we did seem to spend the week leading up to The Masters exclusively watching Sky Sports News, which did start to grate a little. So, on Friday, we watched, not one, but THREE films. They included Muppets Treasure Island (it's no Robert Newton version, I grant you - but it does have Kermit the Frog, which the original Disney version definitely couldn't boast), The Cutting Edge (yes, it's a chick flick - but the leading lady was the voice of Nala in The Lion King which instantly makes her okay by me, and it was a sport-based chick flick so it wasn't quite as awful as it could have been) and - and this was quite an achievement, I feel - Thor! I'd re-bought it that morning because I'd loaned it to Rachael a few months ago and was really starting to get terrible withdrawals from it. I mean, you can't go too far wrong with a Kenneth Branagh film. It's like he married superheroes and Shakespeare, two of my favourite things, to make an absolute epic. Loved it. It had action, humour, explosions, scary baddies, brilliant dialogue, Chris Hemsworth, Aled from the Chris Moyles Breakfast Show (in disguise as Loki) and a cameo from my new future ex-husband, Jeremy Renner (the trick with celebrity crushes is to aim ridiculously high but stay realistic!). I mean, what more do you want from a film?!
Jo actually liked it, in the main (she mostly liked the scene where Thor stalked around the kitchen in no shirt and then declared, "This mortal frame requires sustenance! Bring me food!") - but she was a bit peeved that there was no snog at the end between Thor and Natalie Portman. Well. I'm sure there'll be one in Thor 2. MAYBE even one in The Avengers - he has to get back to earth somehow and he might've taken time out to look her up. But there WAS one about 20 minutes from the end, I mean - isn't that enough PDA for one film?! Anyway, she should try being a Spider-Man fan. We had to wait until right at the end of Spidey 2 before Peter and Mary-Jane got together!!
The rest of the weekend was, however, completely taken up with sport. There was a lot of The Masters - and congratulations to Bubba Watson on a well-deserved win. We also watched a bit of rugby and saw Wigan batter St Helens in the Good Friday fixture - but no sporting achievement was as well-received in Wainwright Mansions as Everton walloping Sunderland 4-0 at Goodison yesterday. Fabulous news. Just hope we can keep it up for when we face Liverpool at Wembley on Saturday for the FA Cup Semi-Final. *worries*.
So now, back to work. For as long as that lasts, anyway. I've decided to look for something else. It's been two years now and to be honest I really need to work full-time, which is something I can't do here. It's a lot of upheaval, but with so many other things changing this year, perhaps a new job really is the way forward. Who knows. I mean, obviously, when Adam and I win the BBC sitcom competition, all our worries will be over - but until then I suppose boring secretary jobs will have to do!!
Join me again on Friday, when I'll be able to give you the lowdown on what happens at the weigh-in on Thursday. I need to lose 3 1/2 lbs to get my next half-stone award, which I doubt will happen, but I might at least get halfway there...!!
Wednesday 4 April 2012
Bright and Breezy
I will never learn. Honestly. Never. I have known for many years now that watching films until the early hours of the morning on a worknight is really never a good idea. Especially if you aren't a morning person. Please remind me of that next time. I watched S.W.A.T. The film was so good the seratonin levels in the old brain there went through the roof. Imagine your brain full of a sugar rush without the sugar at half two in the morning. I'm amazed I made it to work at all, and that I don't feel as though I've been dragged through a hedge backwards by my hair. Ah, it was worth the extreme tiredness. I think I might need to watch it again, just to be extra sure about it, but you can't really go wrong in a film with lots of car chases, lots of explosions, Samuel L Jackson and a really nasty, mildly unhinged bad guy. Sigh. Jeremy Renner. He's an almost depressingly beautiful man. And he's scarily good at being bad.
Where was I?
Happy Wednesday, everyone. It may be a bit cold and rather windy outside, but I am full of the joys of spring this morning. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the bees are trying to have sex with them (copyright Bart Simpson, but in fairness Chorley is a peculiar place). It's all happening.
I've been sober, probably since Monday, but I've been teetotal since Sunday. And I still can't think of booze without my blood running a little cold. I'm still in the 'never again' frame of mind. Which probably isn't such a bad thing, it'll do me good to knock it on the head for a couple of weeks. I mean, I'm no Keith Moon or anything - I've always been of the "Yeah, I can take it or leave it, but I don't see why I should leave it!" mindset, and can happily go for a few days or even a couple of weeks without feeling the need to make my liver do a bit of work, but for the first time since I was 18 I'm really of the "No, I'm happy to leave it" mindset. Sober *and* happy?? I must be ill!! Beer festivals. So much fun on the day. Still highly recommended, though.
So this week I've been trying to do a bit of penance to make up for my mammoth blow-out on Saturday. There's been minimal Synnage, although I have discovered those little pots of chocolate Philadelphia, which sound minging but are actually really rather lovely. They're weird. But it's a good weird. And if you've been chocolateless for a good few months they're practically magical. I haven't done too much exercise but fingers crossed I'll have maintained this week. That's totally all I'm hoping for. There's no way I'll have lost anything after all that beer. And cider. Sheesh!
I really don't have a great deal to report, as my week thus far has basically consisted of work and home, without much room for excitement in between times. However, please join me again on Friday, when I'll have hopefully managed more than three hours' sleep, I'll know the damage I did to my waistline on Saturday, and hopefully have come up with a plan of action to get myself back on track for the following week!!
Where was I?
Happy Wednesday, everyone. It may be a bit cold and rather windy outside, but I am full of the joys of spring this morning. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the bees are trying to have sex with them (copyright Bart Simpson, but in fairness Chorley is a peculiar place). It's all happening.
I've been sober, probably since Monday, but I've been teetotal since Sunday. And I still can't think of booze without my blood running a little cold. I'm still in the 'never again' frame of mind. Which probably isn't such a bad thing, it'll do me good to knock it on the head for a couple of weeks. I mean, I'm no Keith Moon or anything - I've always been of the "Yeah, I can take it or leave it, but I don't see why I should leave it!" mindset, and can happily go for a few days or even a couple of weeks without feeling the need to make my liver do a bit of work, but for the first time since I was 18 I'm really of the "No, I'm happy to leave it" mindset. Sober *and* happy?? I must be ill!! Beer festivals. So much fun on the day. Still highly recommended, though.
So this week I've been trying to do a bit of penance to make up for my mammoth blow-out on Saturday. There's been minimal Synnage, although I have discovered those little pots of chocolate Philadelphia, which sound minging but are actually really rather lovely. They're weird. But it's a good weird. And if you've been chocolateless for a good few months they're practically magical. I haven't done too much exercise but fingers crossed I'll have maintained this week. That's totally all I'm hoping for. There's no way I'll have lost anything after all that beer. And cider. Sheesh!
I really don't have a great deal to report, as my week thus far has basically consisted of work and home, without much room for excitement in between times. However, please join me again on Friday, when I'll have hopefully managed more than three hours' sleep, I'll know the damage I did to my waistline on Saturday, and hopefully have come up with a plan of action to get myself back on track for the following week!!
Monday 2 April 2012
Brown Sugar!
*shudder*
I think I may have mentioned on Friday that the lovely Helena is moving to Australia in a couple of weeks and had the ingenious idea of a few of us attending a beer and wine festival at the weekend. It ended up just being Helena, Becky and I - but we were like the Three Musketeers, one for all and all for a grand old time!!
Well, the entrance fee was £8, and for that you got your very own glass and a £5 token to get you started on the slippery slope to forgetting your own name. So I merrily trotted over to my pals, dished out hugs all round, then scampered off to locate the ideal beverage to start my day off.
There were a few ciders named after Rolling Stones songs, including Brown Sugar and Ruby Tuesday. There was another one called Cherry Perry, which sounded very innocent indeed - but at 7.9% I must say it did have something of a kick to it. Ay chihuahua!! I think I remained in full control of my powers of speech until I'd had my fourth drink (in order to be fair to all the types of booze around there, I had decided to take the slighly controversial and, in hindsight, completely unwise cider-beer-cider-beer...cider-beer [I think, I lost count after a while] approach to my drinking) and then I have a feeling I did need to concentrate a little harder on not slurring.
A beer festival in a museum probably is the best idea ever. I would never have gone to the Commercial Vehicle Museum ever in a million years, despite it being about a 15 minute walk from the flat. But you would definitely be surprised at how interesting old vehicles are after a couple of glasses of something exciting and warming. Did you know they had an old Pope-Mobile in there from the 70s/80s? Comfiest seats ever. Seriously. And who knew that antique fire engines were so comfy?! Well. Now you all do.
After a full day's drinking, the only thing to do, it was agreed, was to go to the pub for a cheeky one. Or two. I think it might have ended up being three. Still. A lovely time was had by all and I decided to walk myself home - which was a little dangerous considering there were a couple of main roads to negotiate - I accomplished with no drama and remained unscathed completely by the experience.
If I have put any weight on this week after such a huge day off, I only have myself to blame. Still. There's some sort of adage about being hung for a sheep rather than a lamb that would probably be useful to quote at this juncture. If only I could remember it.
Yesterday, I was a little delicate. Well. Very delicate. But pure orange juice is a fabulous, magical hangover cure, and I was absolutely fine by lunchtime. I was back on the diet with an absolute vengeance. I'm still back on it - and am definitely being teetotal this week - but I have a feeling I need to do a bit of serious walking to even make a dint in working off all that sugar that must've ploughed through my system on Saturday. Sheesh!
Well, after a weekend of hell-raising, I think the rest of the week will be a little more sedate. I have nothing planned, really, except for continuing to count down the days till the Avengers film comes out (25 sleeps to go!) and playing my new Spider-Man board game that my other big sister got for me!!
I hope you all had a lovely weekend too, whatever you got up to. Join me again on Wednesday, when hopefully every last rotten stinking trace of alcohol will have left my system and I'll be just about back to normal...!!
I think I may have mentioned on Friday that the lovely Helena is moving to Australia in a couple of weeks and had the ingenious idea of a few of us attending a beer and wine festival at the weekend. It ended up just being Helena, Becky and I - but we were like the Three Musketeers, one for all and all for a grand old time!!
Well, the entrance fee was £8, and for that you got your very own glass and a £5 token to get you started on the slippery slope to forgetting your own name. So I merrily trotted over to my pals, dished out hugs all round, then scampered off to locate the ideal beverage to start my day off.
There were a few ciders named after Rolling Stones songs, including Brown Sugar and Ruby Tuesday. There was another one called Cherry Perry, which sounded very innocent indeed - but at 7.9% I must say it did have something of a kick to it. Ay chihuahua!! I think I remained in full control of my powers of speech until I'd had my fourth drink (in order to be fair to all the types of booze around there, I had decided to take the slighly controversial and, in hindsight, completely unwise cider-beer-cider-beer...cider-beer [I think, I lost count after a while] approach to my drinking) and then I have a feeling I did need to concentrate a little harder on not slurring.
A beer festival in a museum probably is the best idea ever. I would never have gone to the Commercial Vehicle Museum ever in a million years, despite it being about a 15 minute walk from the flat. But you would definitely be surprised at how interesting old vehicles are after a couple of glasses of something exciting and warming. Did you know they had an old Pope-Mobile in there from the 70s/80s? Comfiest seats ever. Seriously. And who knew that antique fire engines were so comfy?! Well. Now you all do.
After a full day's drinking, the only thing to do, it was agreed, was to go to the pub for a cheeky one. Or two. I think it might have ended up being three. Still. A lovely time was had by all and I decided to walk myself home - which was a little dangerous considering there were a couple of main roads to negotiate - I accomplished with no drama and remained unscathed completely by the experience.
If I have put any weight on this week after such a huge day off, I only have myself to blame. Still. There's some sort of adage about being hung for a sheep rather than a lamb that would probably be useful to quote at this juncture. If only I could remember it.
Yesterday, I was a little delicate. Well. Very delicate. But pure orange juice is a fabulous, magical hangover cure, and I was absolutely fine by lunchtime. I was back on the diet with an absolute vengeance. I'm still back on it - and am definitely being teetotal this week - but I have a feeling I need to do a bit of serious walking to even make a dint in working off all that sugar that must've ploughed through my system on Saturday. Sheesh!
Well, after a weekend of hell-raising, I think the rest of the week will be a little more sedate. I have nothing planned, really, except for continuing to count down the days till the Avengers film comes out (25 sleeps to go!) and playing my new Spider-Man board game that my other big sister got for me!!
I hope you all had a lovely weekend too, whatever you got up to. Join me again on Wednesday, when hopefully every last rotten stinking trace of alcohol will have left my system and I'll be just about back to normal...!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)