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A very busy week which did not get off to a good start on Monday, I was not in a good mood during the day, as my mother would say, “got out the bed on the wrong side this morning did we”. Things did not improve as we left to go to Slimming World. Then the scales could not conceal my troughing from the previous week, it was only half pound gain but still a half pound to much. For various reason things continued to go downhill during the evening and by the time I got home I was stewing nicely (or not as the case maybe).

Tuesday dawned and I was needed at head office to install the server which had been returned from repair, well I would of install it done had the carrier got there finger out and delivered as requested by 9am. Maybe being located 10 miles from the centre of Southampton is a different time zone which allows the carrier to deliver items an hour late. I got back home early afternoon to find the wife virtually dead on her feet with some bug which is doing the rounds so I pointed her in the direction of her bed where she stayed until 7:30am this morning.

Wednesday I had the afternoon off, my son had an appointment at the hospital for an MRI scan, everything went well. I thought he might of freaked out by the noise the scanner makes (he dislikes loud noises) but he was quite calm. Now we have to wait and see what the consultant say.

Not only was our son at the hospital today, it was the day we found out what secondary school he would be going to in September (like many other parents around the UK). We found out just before we went to the hospital, he got his second choice (which was out of the area), first choice being the grammar school which we think he did not pass the entrance exams (mind you it oversubscribed by 296).

Tomorrow, working in the morning and off in the afternoon for a funeral. It is being held in the same church we got married in. But before that the wife is going for a 2nd job interview with a company she had an interview with last week, it is down to a choice between her or another person. Really hoping it goes the wife way as that would certainly turn the light back-on at the end of the tunnel for us, it is getting a little dark and grim around here at the moment.

We had only been back from the hospital about 10 minutes this afternoon when the phone rang, the local community dental service having just realised our son had been referred to them some 14 months ago but had not had the appointment, so he is off to see them on Friday afternoon.

Finally, here the video I mention on Sunday, unfortunately I set the camera a little to high so there are a few skyward shots but you get a nice feel for weaving in and out of the trees.

So it was weigh in night tonight and as I hoped it had been a good week and I had lost 3.5lbs, so why am I not happy, because if I had not made such a pig of myself eating over Christmas I would of been well into my 16st mark. but no, here I am covering old ground which I covered numerous time last year.

Ok I can’t change what has happened, I just have to but my best foot forward and keep plugging away at it. I know what I can eat, I know how much to eat, I know how to diet (although Slimming World don’t call it a diet) I just can’t seem to find the will power to keep away from the foods that I should not eat. I have the will power to lose weight, I just don’t have the will power to stay away from the wrong types of food.

There a women at Slimming World, she started in May 2010, and to date she has lost just under 4.5st, now a size 8 and she look great for it. There have been several women who have joined lost fabulous amounts like her losing a good weight each week in a controlled manner and there is me plodding along getting no where. Ok the 4.5 stone loss (if you ignore Christmas for a minute) I have had in 2.5 years is not nothing (if you added all the gain I have had and had to lose the weight again it is probably nearer 7 stone I have lost) but it should of been more but despite what I am saying here, I will still jump at a portion of fish & chips, cream cake or cookies knowing what the affect will be and how I will feel about it afterwards.

CAN SOMEBODY TELL ME WHERE TO BUY SOME WILL POWER!

That is it for a few days, I am now officially on holiday and the weather forecast is………………………………..rain

Currently sat here trying to work out where to go tomorrow as a family where I don’t have to forfeit two arms and a leg as payment. I have 6 days off including the weekend & bank holiday Monday and tomorrow is the only day we can all go out as a family for the whole day, Thursday the daughter has to start work late afternoon, Friday the wife getting her hair done, Saturday and Sunday the daughter is working during the day, Monday you just don’t want to travel anywhere on a bank holiday. Now add in the rain factor, the wife can’t walk to far my bad back and the fun really starts. The kids have been to all the local attractions so were now looking further a field and drawing a blank, one suggestion was Legoland, £127.80 for 4 (3 adults and 1 child) for a day pass, they must be having a giraffe!! Beginning to think it is cheaper to go back to work…………………

Last night was a good night for weight loss as such, I lost the weight I put on last week, so I am not dis-pleased but then I am not over the moon either. I just do not seem to be able to get a handle on this weight loss thing at the moment, well to be honest for the past two years. I am losing, I have a good week then I put on what I lost, then I lose what I put on, then I put on again then lose that………………………….and on and on it goes.

At least I am staying positive and still going to Slimming World, to be honest it the only thing that keeps me motivated.

Never made it to the Air Show on Sunday as the weather was lousy, heavy rain showers, low cloud and strong gusty winds. We live a couple of miles from the local airport which is used as a staging post for the air show, I heard half a dozen planes take off, never saw one of them fly over head, the cloud was down to about 200ft. I did start cleaning the bike in the gazebo but the rain started to seep through the gazebo so had to pack up and head indoors.

My back is not to bad at the moment, feeling a bit better, still hoping to throw my leg over my bike on Friday (back and weather permitting).

Finally a message to Clive , STOP LAUGHING IT HURTS! and hello to Keiron at Welsh Cyclist

I am now 4st lighter, in fact it is 4st 1lb lighter and it has taken 2 years, of dieting, you could say I am slightly chuffed to be 17st 8lb

For those of you that have not followed my blog, I started dieting with Slimming World after the doctor told me the results of a blood test showed I was heading towards diabetes. The wife was already a Slimming World member, so I joined on the 21st July 2008, just on 2 years to the day. It has not been easy, there have been many times when I felt like saying sod it, but I have stuck with and the fact that I am now 4st lighter is proof that it was worth it.

I have to say thank you to a few people as I would not of got this far with out them, Alison Yorke-Saville at Slimming World for keeping me going, Clive at Massive MTBer, he has been an inspiration and given me the encouragement to keep going (he will hate me for saying that) and finally the wife for putting up with me when it has all gone wrong.

I still have a long way to go (at least another 4st) but at least I am doing something about it

Finally, daft thought of the day, my weight loss is the equivalent weight of 396 jam doughnuts!!

And its a good thing!!!!!!!!!!!

I am talking about my weight loss, tonight was a weigh in night and yet another loss but I did not get pass my next mile stone but a loss is a loss none the less.

But before I go on, lets roll back some 18 months and a visit to the doctors. I had been told many times in the past by the doctor that I needed to lose weight (not that I needed him to tell me that I already knew). But this time after a set of blood test I was told if I don’t get my weight sorted now I would diabetic soon. The blood test had revealed that I was not diabetic yet…………….but I was well on the way to becoming diabetic, this was my last chance to turn things around before my health took a turn for the worst.

The wife was already a member of Slimming World and her weight loss was going well so it seemed like the place for me to start. It was an un-nerving thing to do as I was publicly admitting I had a weight problem. It was even more un-nerving as I was the only bloke there but I was welcomed, I soon found out that men do join Slimming World although to be fair men are the minority.

Now I am not going to recite what the Slimming World way is, but suffice to say it about food optimisation and as I have lost weight I am not going to complain, its is working for me. If you want more info and where your local meetings are held then www.slimmingworld.com will be the place to start.

While Slimming World is helping me know what I can eat and the quantities I can eat, it is fair to say it is only one part of my weight loss plan. Exercise is a part of my plan, getting the Mountain bike and going out riding is helping (Note, before you try doing any exercise get yourself checked out by the doctor first………….I’m not allowed to run!!). Finally commitment, commitment to make a change to your life for the better, mine came with the health warning.

So back to the present day, I will be the first to admit it is not easy………..hey if it was then nobody would have a weight problem. But one of the things that has bugged me for the last few years is buying trousers. I have been limited to a few shop that sold the larger sizes instead of the entire high street and those that are on offer are not exactly fashionable. I have a wardrobe full of cloths that I have not worn because they were to small but hopefully I will be wearing them soon.

Finally, to date I have lost 2st 12lb, I intend to be at a 3st loss before December and come out the other-side of Christmas still with a 3st loss. Starting the new year 3st lighter than I was 19 months ago will be a good starting point but my weight loss still has a long way to go and it can only get better.