I weighed in a day late this week as, very childishly, I didn't like what the scales said yesterday and hoped they'd be kinder this morning. They were slightly but I'm still the same weight as last week. At least I haven't put any weight on which is good as I gave in and had a pizza last week... on top of my lunch and dinner! I'm still feeling slightly out of control around food and have had to restrain myself from going to Sainsbury's to buy cake and cheese. And stopping at Starbucks for a latte and a muffin on the way home. i don't know what's the matter but I can't get motivated at the moment. Well, I kind of do know what's the matter. It's purely the fact that I haven't lost any weight for a couple of weeks. I rely on the boost from losing weight to get me through the next seven days and that boost hasn't happened and I'm not waving but drowning.
I know that this is one of the inevitable plateaus I'll have in my weight loss journey but I really do miss the little tingle of pure joy I get from seeing a lower number on the scales. Even a pound would have done and normally I'd dismiss a pound loss as not worth mentioning, size queen that I am. But I'm static, stuck, stopped. I might try upping the exercise and seeing if that kick starts a loss. I managed another 10 minutes of the Rosemary Conley DVD the other day but kept slipping on my overly long trousers. So I've bought some "dance joggers" from the ever-reliable M&S in a fetching shade of grey (no, I mean it!) which are just the right length for shimmying around the sitting room to "Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer. Now I just need a sports bra or, at the very least, a bra that fits properly as when i lift my arms over my head, my bra rides up at the front and my boobs pop out from underneath. It's nearly as bad as the time my tankini bottoms were pushed down by the force of my jumps at aqua aerobics!
But I've had some good news today. I've got a job interview on Thursday at 12:15 so any good vibes which can be sent my way at that time would be most appreciated. I know everybody wants the jobs they're interviewed for but I really need this job a) for the money as we are truly skint and b) for the human contact. I'm so sick of the silence that surrounds me day after day in my solitary existence. I speak to Jim in the morning but then he goes to work and I'm stuck at home on my own (well, with Frank but miaowing doesn't really cut it as conversation) and I don't speak to anyone all day (unless I call my parents and i can't do that at the moment as they're on holiday). I sometimes go to shops just to have some human contact and end up spending money we don't have. So a job with proper people and something to do other than obsess over food would be a godsend. And I could walk to work as it's only in Clifton village which is just over a mile away. Oh please pretty please let me get it!!
Monday 28 January 2008
Monday 21 January 2008
Fatness and fitness
I am so unfit. Even more so than I thought. I bought the new Rosemary Conley DVD - the one with Coleen Nolan - and have just attempted to do it. I got my weights out and dug out the exercise mat from behind the bedroom door, ready for my half an hour of fat-burning and half an hour of toning. I managed the warm up and 10 minutes of the aerobics before huffing and puffing my way to the sofa, dabbing the sweat from my lobster-red face!! Not the result I was hoping for. Now I've cooled down a bit I think I could probably have managed another 10 minutes and didn't push myself as far as I could but I was knackered. I'm not giving up though; I'm aiming for the warm up and 20 minutes tomorrow, maybe with a bit of toning or the cool down too.
At least I don't need the extra calories yet. I'm on 1631 a day and it's manageable with no exercise. But it's going to keep coming down so I need to incorporate exercise into my daily routine sooner rather than later. Maybe when I actually need the calories, I'll be able to manage the full DVD. I bloomin' hope so! I want an exercise bike too. Once I get a job I might cough up the money so I have a choice of activities to do. Between walking, cycling and aerobics, I should have the variety to keep me interested and the means to earn a few hundred calories a day. Or I could just join the gym then I can do indoor walking for when it's horrid weather, cycling, swimming AND aerobics. I'll have to get a lot fitter before subjecting myself to a class with other people yet though. I'd die after 10 minutes and be a laughing stock. So, do I spend £114 on a bike or £50 a month at the gym? Hmmm.
I did manage a 45 minute walk today so my exercise attempts haven't all been hopeless. I did get absolutely soaked though and had to put my trousers on the radiator and my socks in the wash when I got home. I even had to dry my hair despite wearing a hood as the rain was horizontal at times. Apparently today is Black Monday or Blue Monday or some other colour of Monday as it's the most depressing day of the year. Dreadful weather, a Christmas overspend, not being paid for January yet, no holidays in sight - I can understand that. But I feel surprisingly chipper. Must be the exercise endorphins. All two of them! I'm going to send my CV to a couple of employment agencies and keep my fingers crossed that I get a job soon. Then I can buy the bike or join the gym. And have my hair cut. My fringe is so long, I resemble Highland cattle. It's not the look I was going for. But it's the one I'm stuck with until the pennies start coming in. I want a job within walking distance ideally, then I get some exercise in walking to and from the office. But not too far on a wintry day. About 20 minutes would be ideal.
I had a bit of a blowout yesterday. Not only did we have a fried brunch - bacon, sausages, eggs and tomatoes - but I was feeling grumpy and hungry due to my headache so I made Jim go and buy me cake. I ate two cream cakes and could have eaten more. Then I opened a bottle of red wine to put some in the pasta sauce and we drank the rest of the bottle then had three beers. No wonder I put on weight this week, with that level of self control. But I'm back on the straight and narrow and trying to make up the 900 calories I went over by yesterday. At the rate I'm going with the DVD, I might claw the calories back by March!
At least I don't need the extra calories yet. I'm on 1631 a day and it's manageable with no exercise. But it's going to keep coming down so I need to incorporate exercise into my daily routine sooner rather than later. Maybe when I actually need the calories, I'll be able to manage the full DVD. I bloomin' hope so! I want an exercise bike too. Once I get a job I might cough up the money so I have a choice of activities to do. Between walking, cycling and aerobics, I should have the variety to keep me interested and the means to earn a few hundred calories a day. Or I could just join the gym then I can do indoor walking for when it's horrid weather, cycling, swimming AND aerobics. I'll have to get a lot fitter before subjecting myself to a class with other people yet though. I'd die after 10 minutes and be a laughing stock. So, do I spend £114 on a bike or £50 a month at the gym? Hmmm.
I did manage a 45 minute walk today so my exercise attempts haven't all been hopeless. I did get absolutely soaked though and had to put my trousers on the radiator and my socks in the wash when I got home. I even had to dry my hair despite wearing a hood as the rain was horizontal at times. Apparently today is Black Monday or Blue Monday or some other colour of Monday as it's the most depressing day of the year. Dreadful weather, a Christmas overspend, not being paid for January yet, no holidays in sight - I can understand that. But I feel surprisingly chipper. Must be the exercise endorphins. All two of them! I'm going to send my CV to a couple of employment agencies and keep my fingers crossed that I get a job soon. Then I can buy the bike or join the gym. And have my hair cut. My fringe is so long, I resemble Highland cattle. It's not the look I was going for. But it's the one I'm stuck with until the pennies start coming in. I want a job within walking distance ideally, then I get some exercise in walking to and from the office. But not too far on a wintry day. About 20 minutes would be ideal.
I had a bit of a blowout yesterday. Not only did we have a fried brunch - bacon, sausages, eggs and tomatoes - but I was feeling grumpy and hungry due to my headache so I made Jim go and buy me cake. I ate two cream cakes and could have eaten more. Then I opened a bottle of red wine to put some in the pasta sauce and we drank the rest of the bottle then had three beers. No wonder I put on weight this week, with that level of self control. But I'm back on the straight and narrow and trying to make up the 900 calories I went over by yesterday. At the rate I'm going with the DVD, I might claw the calories back by March!
Sunday 20 January 2008
Ouch! In more ways than one...
Very quick update today as I have a stinky headache. Have put on 0.75lb this week, which is better than the 2.25lb it was earlier in the week but still a bit grump-making as I haven't been THAT naughty. I suppose my body could be adjusting after losing 11lb in the past two weeks but I still hate gaining. Hopefully I'll lose something this week to get me to that 4 stone mark. Will post tomorrow after many painkillers. Mwah!
Friday 18 January 2008
Oh dear!
I've just had pizza for lunch. Not just any pizza either. Domino's aka the lardiest thing you can imagine. Half Pepperoni Passion and half Full House - at least I only ordered a small! I'm in a fat/miserable/rebellious mood today and didn't want to be good and have my soup for lunch and decided, as it was raining and the five-minute walk to the supermarket was just too taxing, I'd order in a slab of naughty. But boy was it good! I hope it doesn't rekindle my nascent interest in takeaway pizza and that I can move away from the craving with my dignity and weight intact. Not that my weight is anything to shout about. I'm not updating it as today isn't the official weigh-in but I'm 2.25lb up on last week. I've been a little naughty - the pizza, fish and chips and some toast and butter last night - but not enough to have actually gained weight. Or so I thought. Perhaps my body is adjusting to having lost 7lb last week? I don't know. All I know is, when I stepped on the scales this morning, I was heavier. And I feel fat. Obviously I know that I am still morbidly obese but I've been feeling thinner. Until today.
And I've been having a grumpy week all round. The whole job thing has got me down and I've been a bit weepy and glum. And it's been raining all week so I haven't had a chance to go for any walks so I've been cooped up in the house with only my beloved Frank for company (and he's not the world's most talkative cat). I want the new Rosemary Conley workout DVD with Coleen Nolan but Jim said I have to wait until he gets paid as we have no money for extras so I felt even more guilty about being out of work. I'm going to go to some temp agencies on Monday to try and get a temp job to pay the bills for a while. It's not ideal but we need the money and I have to get out of the house before I go completely spare. I hope I get something local that's reasonably well-paid (for temping anyway) working with nice people. I'll probably get a dull data entry job in the back of beyond in a company staffed by Nazis, knowing my luck. Ooh, I'm having my own little pity party today, aren't I?!
On the upside, I fitted into my boots. And, for the first time ever, Jim didn't have to help me do them up. Even when I first bought them, he had to hold the two sides together while I zipped them up and the last time I wore them, he actually cut himself on the zip as they were so tight. So I have to buy some Veet or shave my legs as they're a bit Gorillas in the Mist at the mo. I also tried on some size 22 trousers (admittedly elasticated) that have never really fitted me and they fit easily and the Etam jeans are almost there. And some tops that were either too tight or rode up too much because of the size of my chest now look quite good. Well, as good as they can look on a fatso. And if I carry on eating pizza they'll soon be too small again. I'm going to be good again from tomorrow in the hope that I can end this mini blip. In the meantime, I might just eat some grapes without weighing them. Now that's bad behaviour!!
And I've been having a grumpy week all round. The whole job thing has got me down and I've been a bit weepy and glum. And it's been raining all week so I haven't had a chance to go for any walks so I've been cooped up in the house with only my beloved Frank for company (and he's not the world's most talkative cat). I want the new Rosemary Conley workout DVD with Coleen Nolan but Jim said I have to wait until he gets paid as we have no money for extras so I felt even more guilty about being out of work. I'm going to go to some temp agencies on Monday to try and get a temp job to pay the bills for a while. It's not ideal but we need the money and I have to get out of the house before I go completely spare. I hope I get something local that's reasonably well-paid (for temping anyway) working with nice people. I'll probably get a dull data entry job in the back of beyond in a company staffed by Nazis, knowing my luck. Ooh, I'm having my own little pity party today, aren't I?!
On the upside, I fitted into my boots. And, for the first time ever, Jim didn't have to help me do them up. Even when I first bought them, he had to hold the two sides together while I zipped them up and the last time I wore them, he actually cut himself on the zip as they were so tight. So I have to buy some Veet or shave my legs as they're a bit Gorillas in the Mist at the mo. I also tried on some size 22 trousers (admittedly elasticated) that have never really fitted me and they fit easily and the Etam jeans are almost there. And some tops that were either too tight or rode up too much because of the size of my chest now look quite good. Well, as good as they can look on a fatso. And if I carry on eating pizza they'll soon be too small again. I'm going to be good again from tomorrow in the hope that I can end this mini blip. In the meantime, I might just eat some grapes without weighing them. Now that's bad behaviour!!
Sunday 13 January 2008
Quarter pounder
No, not a McDonald's burger (although that would be nice); I've now lost a quarter of the pounds I need to lose to get to goal. Over a quarter actually as 49.75lb is a quarter (of the 199 I had to lose) and I've now lost 55.5lb thanks to losing an impressive 7lb this week. And I've done it in just over four months, rather than the six months I'd anticipated. This gives me a bit more leeway for a slowdown later on which seems inevitable so I'm a happy camper. I measured myself too and since September I've lost four inches from both my chest and hips and seven inches from my waist. It's so nice to see the numbers going down. And my jeans getting looser (yes, even the size 28s I got for Christmas are slightly baggy round the tum). I might try the Etam size 24s on again as they might be close to fitting me soon.
It's a good job I've got the Etam 24s (which I think are a big size) as Marks and Spencer, in their infinite wisdom, has stopped having a Plus section in their stores. You can apparently get sizes 26 to 30 online but I looked and a) they have no jeans (so the size 26 I'll need next will have to come from Evans or I'll have to skip a size to the 24s and hold the 28s up with a belt until I get there) and b) all the stuff is hideous. There is one upside; they're starting to have more of their regular ranges in a size 24. But I'm probably only going to be in a 24 for a matter of months until I drop to a 22, and eventually to a 16, so it's not really worth me spending money on clothes. I'll try to stay in my 28s for as long as I can - unless they start looking "tenty" - and a lot of my dresses are in a 22 anyway so will fit me for a good while yet. I need to try my two pairs of Duo boots on to see if they'll comfortably zip round my calves yet so I can wear my dresses with boots instead of over trousers. Duo are so lovely and I'll probably have to buy from them even when I'm a size 16 as my calves are far too big for high street boots. Not that it's a hardship but they are quite expensive. And I'm quite broke.
We went to Cribbs Causeway for a window shopping trip earlier and, thankfully, there wasn't much that I liked apart from a £55 long black cardigan in Monsoon which I might have to buy when I get a job. I'm looking forward to being able to buy anything from Monsoon and not just the stuff in a size 22. Not that I can fit into a 22 yet, unless it's capacious knitwear like my dark green cardigan coat or my elasticated black trousers from M&S. Well, the ones I haven't worn out between the legs from the affliction "fat girl's thigh". There's nothing more painful than the chafing of sweaty thighs together when you're wearing a skirt so I bought some fat girl pants from QVC which do the trick. It was either them or cycling shorts and most sports shops don't cater for the larger lady. They look at you strangely enough when you buy trainers as though all fat people are housebound and have no need of shoes. I mean it's not like I can run a marathon but I need comfy shoes to walk in. And walk I shall. As long as it doesn't rain. So I'll be starting in May then...!
It's a good job I've got the Etam 24s (which I think are a big size) as Marks and Spencer, in their infinite wisdom, has stopped having a Plus section in their stores. You can apparently get sizes 26 to 30 online but I looked and a) they have no jeans (so the size 26 I'll need next will have to come from Evans or I'll have to skip a size to the 24s and hold the 28s up with a belt until I get there) and b) all the stuff is hideous. There is one upside; they're starting to have more of their regular ranges in a size 24. But I'm probably only going to be in a 24 for a matter of months until I drop to a 22, and eventually to a 16, so it's not really worth me spending money on clothes. I'll try to stay in my 28s for as long as I can - unless they start looking "tenty" - and a lot of my dresses are in a 22 anyway so will fit me for a good while yet. I need to try my two pairs of Duo boots on to see if they'll comfortably zip round my calves yet so I can wear my dresses with boots instead of over trousers. Duo are so lovely and I'll probably have to buy from them even when I'm a size 16 as my calves are far too big for high street boots. Not that it's a hardship but they are quite expensive. And I'm quite broke.
We went to Cribbs Causeway for a window shopping trip earlier and, thankfully, there wasn't much that I liked apart from a £55 long black cardigan in Monsoon which I might have to buy when I get a job. I'm looking forward to being able to buy anything from Monsoon and not just the stuff in a size 22. Not that I can fit into a 22 yet, unless it's capacious knitwear like my dark green cardigan coat or my elasticated black trousers from M&S. Well, the ones I haven't worn out between the legs from the affliction "fat girl's thigh". There's nothing more painful than the chafing of sweaty thighs together when you're wearing a skirt so I bought some fat girl pants from QVC which do the trick. It was either them or cycling shorts and most sports shops don't cater for the larger lady. They look at you strangely enough when you buy trainers as though all fat people are housebound and have no need of shoes. I mean it's not like I can run a marathon but I need comfy shoes to walk in. And walk I shall. As long as it doesn't rain. So I'll be starting in May then...!
Monday 7 January 2008
It's raining, man!!
It's peeing down here in Bristol. I know that's hardly news since it's the first week in January but I'm a bit peeved. Today was my big "I'm going to start exercising" day and my planned walk has been scuppered by the weather. For the moment anyway. It does look as though it's clearing up a bit so I might go out in a little while once my Amazon order has arrived. I'm awaiting Dietgirl's fab new book which I've already read in proof form (and it's ace!) but wanted to get in real form so I can see all the additional photos and any new bits. And hopefully Shauna might be on some kind of percentage scheme so it might give her 2p or something. I've no idea how publishing works but I've always wanted to write a book. Of course it would help if I could actually write! I did start a novel while my depression was in full flow but we were burgled and my laptop was stolen and it wasn't backed up anywhere. I think, in hindsight, it was a blessing.
I'm having a full-on career crisis at the moment due to my lack of work and prospects. Do I really want to stay in TV? Will I ever get a job in the industry again even if I want one? I'm fed up of last-minute short-term contracts and never knowing where the rent money is coming from. I love the work and think I'm quite good at it but it's not the most ubiquitous or stable industry and there aren't that many jobs to go round unless you live in London. The BBC here is making people redundant left, right and centre so they aren't recruiting and nobody else seems to be either. Mind you, it's not the only area where there's a dearth of opportunities. I was thinking of moving into academic administration but there's not much going at the university at the moment and it looks as though I might have to get any old office monkey job to pay the bills. It's not something I want to do long term but, then again, what is? Should I retrain as a teacher? It's a good, steady, honest job and you get great holidays. But history teachers aren't exactly in short supply and it would mean living on a pittance for a year. And there's no guarantee that we'll even be in Brizzle in September as Jim's job is only for a year. I might just get any job and think seriously about my "career" when Jim gets a permanent position and I know we'll be living in the same area for more than 12 months.
Ooh, that was a bit soul searchy and serious, wasn't it? I think I'm having a mid-life crisis at 31. But I have made progress in one area today. I didn't weigh myself!!! I stepped away from the scales and feel some kind of calm because of it. Plus, I miss the surprise/terror element of not having a clue if I'd lost any weight until my official weigh-in day. Sunday mornings became less of an occasion when I weighed every day but now they'll retake their rightful importance and I'll get up with a slight butterfly feeling in my tummy like I used to. Although that could just be hunger. I was really hankering after a fry up yesterday - bacon, sausage, fried egg, black pudding, tomatoes, toast, the full monty - followed by a couple of croissants with raspberry jam. Well over 1000 calories of pure bliss. But I didn't succumb to the fry up monsters. I had my porridge and patted myself on the back for being a good girl. In the past I would have sent Jim to the supermarket - being too lazy to go myself - and stuffed my face until I felt sick. We regularly used to have a couple of bacon and fried egg sandwiches for weekend breakfast followed by a couple of cinnamon danishes - each!
But, while part of me misses such gloriously fattening and unhealthy food, I'm never going to go back to eating like that. I can't if I want to live. I was watching The Diet Doctors yesterday and they had a woman on who was 21 stone and they described her as "a heart attack waiting to happen". And that's me. However better I feel for having lost 3 and a bit stones, I'm still morbidly obese and can't congratulate myself too much or feel smug just yet. I've got a long way to go until my health isn't in jeopardy from my weight and, while I believe I can get there, I know the journey won't always be as smooth as the last four months. I'm not saying it's been easy but the weight has continued to come off and I'm worried that this won't always be the case. I hope it will, as I'm going to stick to my calories and start to exercise, but I doubt I'll be losing at this rate in a year or so. I'd love to hit my target in time for my sister's wedding in July 2009 and, if I continue to lose 2lb a week, I will. But I can't help thinking that it won't work out like that. And here today's novel ends!
I'm having a full-on career crisis at the moment due to my lack of work and prospects. Do I really want to stay in TV? Will I ever get a job in the industry again even if I want one? I'm fed up of last-minute short-term contracts and never knowing where the rent money is coming from. I love the work and think I'm quite good at it but it's not the most ubiquitous or stable industry and there aren't that many jobs to go round unless you live in London. The BBC here is making people redundant left, right and centre so they aren't recruiting and nobody else seems to be either. Mind you, it's not the only area where there's a dearth of opportunities. I was thinking of moving into academic administration but there's not much going at the university at the moment and it looks as though I might have to get any old office monkey job to pay the bills. It's not something I want to do long term but, then again, what is? Should I retrain as a teacher? It's a good, steady, honest job and you get great holidays. But history teachers aren't exactly in short supply and it would mean living on a pittance for a year. And there's no guarantee that we'll even be in Brizzle in September as Jim's job is only for a year. I might just get any job and think seriously about my "career" when Jim gets a permanent position and I know we'll be living in the same area for more than 12 months.
Ooh, that was a bit soul searchy and serious, wasn't it? I think I'm having a mid-life crisis at 31. But I have made progress in one area today. I didn't weigh myself!!! I stepped away from the scales and feel some kind of calm because of it. Plus, I miss the surprise/terror element of not having a clue if I'd lost any weight until my official weigh-in day. Sunday mornings became less of an occasion when I weighed every day but now they'll retake their rightful importance and I'll get up with a slight butterfly feeling in my tummy like I used to. Although that could just be hunger. I was really hankering after a fry up yesterday - bacon, sausage, fried egg, black pudding, tomatoes, toast, the full monty - followed by a couple of croissants with raspberry jam. Well over 1000 calories of pure bliss. But I didn't succumb to the fry up monsters. I had my porridge and patted myself on the back for being a good girl. In the past I would have sent Jim to the supermarket - being too lazy to go myself - and stuffed my face until I felt sick. We regularly used to have a couple of bacon and fried egg sandwiches for weekend breakfast followed by a couple of cinnamon danishes - each!
But, while part of me misses such gloriously fattening and unhealthy food, I'm never going to go back to eating like that. I can't if I want to live. I was watching The Diet Doctors yesterday and they had a woman on who was 21 stone and they described her as "a heart attack waiting to happen". And that's me. However better I feel for having lost 3 and a bit stones, I'm still morbidly obese and can't congratulate myself too much or feel smug just yet. I've got a long way to go until my health isn't in jeopardy from my weight and, while I believe I can get there, I know the journey won't always be as smooth as the last four months. I'm not saying it's been easy but the weight has continued to come off and I'm worried that this won't always be the case. I hope it will, as I'm going to stick to my calories and start to exercise, but I doubt I'll be losing at this rate in a year or so. I'd love to hit my target in time for my sister's wedding in July 2009 and, if I continue to lose 2lb a week, I will. But I can't help thinking that it won't work out like that. And here today's novel ends!
Sunday 6 January 2008
Magnificent Obsession
No, not the fantastic Douglas Sirk film with Jane Wyman going blind and Rock Hudson training as a surgeon to restore her sight - my obsession with weighing myself. It's getting ridiculous; I eve weighed myself three times the other day, not to see if I'd lost any more weight, but because my body has been playing silly buggers and going haywire again. I've lost and put on 12 pounds this week and finally come in officially at a 4lb loss for the week. Which I'm very happy with considering the massive amount I ate and drank on New Year's Eve. Going to the pub at 3pm and necking seven pints was not a good start! So when I weighed myself on 2nd January, I'd unsurprisingly put on 1.5lb. Which means I've lost 5.5lb since Wednesday but only 4lb since last Sunday. I really have to start only weighing myself once a week as previously promised. Jim said he's going to hide the scales to stop me jumping on every morning. It might be for the best!
I managed to go for a lovely hour-long walk to Clifton Village this afternoon and really enjoyed myself so I'm going to try and go for a walk every day this week, weather permitting. It helps that there are nice shops to look in when I get there but I need to take more exercise as I'm woefully unfit. I walk very slowly and still get out of breath going up a hill. But I'm going to aim for an hour a day at least five days a week if not every day. And I'm not even doing it for the extra calories as I don't really need to eat them yet. I've gone down to 1661 a day but that's absolutely doable and I'm not desperate for the extra 230 the walk gives me. But I will be soon. I don't reckon I could eat less than about 1400 calories a day, if not 1500 so I need to build up an exercise habit for when my calories drop that low so I can still eat a goodly amount of food and not feel as though I'm about to die of hunger. I know WLR won't let me drop below 1100 a day but that means that I'll have to be earning 300-400 calories a day through exercise by then. Which is manageable while I'm unemployed but I have no idea how I'll manage when I get a job. It'll just have to be.
I'm watching an episode of Jamie at Home on More4 about tomatoes and it's making me want to eat a lot more of them. Ideally with a large lump of buffalo mozzarella and some basil and olive oil. I'm going to try expanding my culinary repertoire this week as I have so many recipe books that I read but never cook from. So I'm aiming to make one new dish a week. This week is Pork, Chorizo and Spinach Paella from Tamasin's Kitchen Bible which i got for Christmas. But I'm going to go through my cookery books while I'm at home and mark the pages that I want to cook from. The English Onion Soup from the new Jamie Oliver book might be next but the cheesy toasts on the top look a bit lardy. But delicious! Jim's in the mood for stews so a carbonnade or beef bourguignon is also on the cards. Or maybe a coq au vin. Although after New Years Eve I'm trying to lay of the booze. I drank an astonishing 113 units of alcohol in December despite not drinking most days and trying to be restrained over Christmas. I'm still not quite sure how. Jamie's just done a sausage and tomato bake-type-thing which was, quite frankly, porn. God, I love food!
I managed to go for a lovely hour-long walk to Clifton Village this afternoon and really enjoyed myself so I'm going to try and go for a walk every day this week, weather permitting. It helps that there are nice shops to look in when I get there but I need to take more exercise as I'm woefully unfit. I walk very slowly and still get out of breath going up a hill. But I'm going to aim for an hour a day at least five days a week if not every day. And I'm not even doing it for the extra calories as I don't really need to eat them yet. I've gone down to 1661 a day but that's absolutely doable and I'm not desperate for the extra 230 the walk gives me. But I will be soon. I don't reckon I could eat less than about 1400 calories a day, if not 1500 so I need to build up an exercise habit for when my calories drop that low so I can still eat a goodly amount of food and not feel as though I'm about to die of hunger. I know WLR won't let me drop below 1100 a day but that means that I'll have to be earning 300-400 calories a day through exercise by then. Which is manageable while I'm unemployed but I have no idea how I'll manage when I get a job. It'll just have to be.
I'm watching an episode of Jamie at Home on More4 about tomatoes and it's making me want to eat a lot more of them. Ideally with a large lump of buffalo mozzarella and some basil and olive oil. I'm going to try expanding my culinary repertoire this week as I have so many recipe books that I read but never cook from. So I'm aiming to make one new dish a week. This week is Pork, Chorizo and Spinach Paella from Tamasin's Kitchen Bible which i got for Christmas. But I'm going to go through my cookery books while I'm at home and mark the pages that I want to cook from. The English Onion Soup from the new Jamie Oliver book might be next but the cheesy toasts on the top look a bit lardy. But delicious! Jim's in the mood for stews so a carbonnade or beef bourguignon is also on the cards. Or maybe a coq au vin. Although after New Years Eve I'm trying to lay of the booze. I drank an astonishing 113 units of alcohol in December despite not drinking most days and trying to be restrained over Christmas. I'm still not quite sure how. Jamie's just done a sausage and tomato bake-type-thing which was, quite frankly, porn. God, I love food!
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