2007 - January

[Sweder]

Whoa, what the...? Have I missed something here? Sweder, are you on the wagon too?

Confused of yon Antipodes.

Yep, waggons Ho!
Not touched a drop since New Years' Eve. Shudder.
Sadly the results are nowhere near as impressive as Andy's or Antionio's. In two weeks I've 'plummeted' from 92.3 kgs to 90.5. Considering I've limited lunches to soup only (no bread) during this time I can only conclude that beer consumption or the lack of it does little for my weight control.

This is of course extremely good news

[El Gordo]

Yep, waggons Ho!
Not touched a drop since New Years' Eve. Shudder.
Sadly the results are nowhere near as impressive as Andy's or Antionio's. In two weeks I've 'plummeted' from 92.3 kgs to 90.5. Considering I've limited lunches to soup only (no bread) during this time I can only conclude that beer consumption or the lack of it does little for my weight control.

This is of course extremely good news

4 lbs in 2 weeks is absolutely fine. 2 lbs a week is said to be the healthiest maximun weight loss. My record started off well but tailed right off over Christmas/New Year.

[El Gordo]

Figures:
Week 1, ave weight: 228.2 pounds
Week 2, ave weight: 224.0 pounds (-4.2 lbs, -1.9 kg)
Week 3, ave weight: 221.7 pounds (-2.3 lbs, -1.0 kg)
Week 4, ave weight: 219.9 pounds (-1.8 lbs, -0.8 kg)
Week 5, ave weight: 219.0 pounds (-0.9 lbs, -0.4 kg)
Week 6, ave weight: 220.8 pounds (+1.8 lbs, +0.8 kg)
Week 7, ave weight: 218.2 pounds (-2.6 lbs, -1.2 kg)
Week 8, ave weight: 217.7 pounds (-0.5 lbs)
Week 9, ave weight: 220.2 pounds (+2.5 lbs)
Week 10, ave weight: 219.6 pounds (-0.6 lbs)
Week 11, ave weight: 218.6 pounds (-1.0 lbs)

Another pound off the average for the week. Would have been a bit more but for that meal scheduling accident resulting in an unintentional Mini Spring Rolls + Chilli Beef and Egg Fried Rice + 4 pints of fine English ale on Friday night.

Not very good really but at least the trend is downwards again.

[Antonio247]

I´ve lost one kilo. My weight is 80. I´m looking forward to seeing 79. I continue with a healthy diet but I sometimes have a cake or something like that as a reward. For instance, last Tuesday I had a cup of chocolate and churros. I went for a run five days doing 5, 8, 8, 10 and 6 km each day. In all, 37 kms and 249 minutes.

6th November 2006 87 kg
13th November 2006 85 kg 37 km
20th November 2006 83,8 kg 27 km
27th November 2006 82,8 kg 43 km
4th December 2006 81,5 kg 38 km
11th December 2006 82 kg 26 km
18th December 2006 81,5 kg 29 km
25th December 2006 80,5 kg 38 km
1st January 2007 80,5 kg 39 km
8th January 2007 81 kg 40 km
15th January 2007 80 kg 37 kms


My aim is to lose half a kilo this week.

Best of luck, everybody.

[Nigel]

It's on my iPod, too. Number 42 on the all-time most played list.

[Sweder]

I once dated a gorgeous woman who was in love with Al Stewart. A bit of a downer really as I'd hoped she might prefer me, seeing as I was actually there and available. Sadly the great crooner won the day (sniff).

AS also gets a lot of airplay on the Ken Bruce morning show on Radio 2 (so I'm lead to believe . . . :o )

[glaconman]

I used to love 'A Small Fruit Song'; which was in my Dad's record collection I hasten to add.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I reckon there is definitely a correlation between being on the wagon* and losing weight. Until recently I hadn't appreciated just how many calories/kilojoules there was in beer. But once I found out, I thought I'd better cut down a little.

In fact I have cut down on two things in my diet in recent weeks - I've roughly halved my alcohol intake, and virtually eliminated cheese (which is even scarier than beer). I rarely touch junky stuff like chips, chocolate and so on anyway, so it was primarily beer and cheese that made the difference. And guess what? I lost 4 kgs (8-9 lbs) in 4 weeks with only a holiday schedule of exercise. To be fair, I did monitor (and reduce) my overall calory intake as well, but it's principally the reduction of beer and cheese that made the difference.

I may be a grumpy, knife-wielding homicidal maniac now, but at least I'm a thin one



*I also didn't realise until I looked it up where that phrase comes from. Apparently it comes from the American mid-west, and is a shortened form of "jumping on the water wagon" to imply one's abstinence from the grog. I never knew that

[El Gordo]

*I also didn't realise until I looked it up where that phrase comes from. Apparently it comes from the American mid-west, and is a shortened form of "jumping on the water wagon" to imply one's abstinence from the grog. I never knew that

Thanks for that explanation.

There's an undoubted link between alcohol and weight gain for me too, though it's more to do with what I eat if I have a drink or two. Alcohol is definitely calorific in itself of course, but I find it hard to sit in a pub for long without wanting to start munching crisps and peanuts. If I'm enjoying a glass of wine at home, out comes the cheeseboard and any other nibbles I can find - olives, cheese straws, biscuits, crisps, you name it. Then I hit the ice cream.

Terrible. :o

[Antonio247]

I´ve managed to lose one kilo and reach 79 kg. I´m really glad. I never expected to see that number again after so many years. Thanks a lot for your support. I´ll try to keep it for a while even if I can´t lose any more. I went for a run four days doing 5, 6 11 and 9 kms. In all 31 km and 213 minutes.

6th November 2006 87 kg
13th November 2006 85 kg 37 km
20th November 2006 83,8 kg 27 km
27th November 2006 82,8 kg 43 km
4th December 2006 81,5 kg 38 km
11th December 2006 82 kg 26 km
18th December 2006 81,5 kg 29 km
25th December 2006 80,5 kg 38 km
1st January 2007 80,5 kg 39 km
8th January 2007 81 kg 40 km
15th January 2007 80 kg 37 km
22nd January 2007 79 kg 31 km


I´d like to lose half a kilo this week and do Almería half in less than two hours.

Have a nice journey and see you on Saturday!

[Nigel]

Good to see you finally got those running shoes pointing directly towards the door there, Andy.

I'm sure that must have made all the difference to ensuring your extensively filmed victory on the day.

What a first class report, and an excellently gutsy (if I may use that word) run, especially given the breezy (and hilly) conditions as well as the less than ample state of your preparations.

Carry on, Running Commentary. We salute you.

[marathondan]

Andy, nice report on Almeria. I can't help but mention that the girl-in-white-who-never-reappeared incident sounds like a classic ghost story... unfortunately that demeans your effort at overtaking her, so I apologise.

Looks like I won't make Wokingham this weekend - will you? Three training runs to my name this year, and I tripped and bruised my knee last weekend (it was rather worse for Luke, who was on my shoulders at the time). I'm beginning to realise that ">1 small children" and "own life" don't really go together. Running will be on a back burner at least until the summer. (In fact it has been for 8 months; now I'm actually admitting it.)

[El Gordo]

Hi Dan

Well my main reason for doing Wokingham was to pace you to a 1:40 half, but if you can't make it, it seEms pointless me turning up....

Slightly more seriously, prospects aren't looking great at the moment. I could struggle round, just as I did in Almeria (and finish a lot higher up the field, given the larger turnout) but with my wife away, the weekend is taking on a rather ominous appearance. QPR game live on Sky tomorrow, and the chance to get a takeaway curry (M isn't a great curry fan so I tend to eat 'em only when she isn't around). No doubt a glass or two of beer to wash it down.

Then Saturday and Sunday, with several good DVDs to watch plus a load of interesting sport on TV -- seems hard to imagine doing that without a glass or two of decent vino. Mmm, some decent league football, plus the England - Australia cricket finals and the Six Nations rugby.

Will I really feel like nipping out for a while on Sunday morning for a half marathon? Hmmm. We'll see....

[Sweder]

QPR game live on Sky tomorrow

And lets face it, with Hamas and Fatah shaking hands and a temporary ban on Serie A games there's a real dearth of quality mass-brawls on TV these days; it'd be a shame to miss out

By the way, what are the chances of those two Palestinian factions merging now?
My money's on the announcement of a new party -
'Fatmah', or perhaps 'Fatmas'.



[SIZE="1"]Sorry, didn't mean to put you off your planned weekend excesses [/SIZE]