May 27, 2019 – Mr Knitter

I have been getting a bit, no, scrap that, a lot lazier the past few months with any forms of exercise and dieting/healthy eating. It can be so hard and let’s be honest, we need some sort of motivation. My last motivation was my mate Mark, we were both on diets and determined to lose weight and get fitter, but doing it our own way and checking in. However, he has totally given up and weighs more now that he did at the beginning of the year. Thankfully, I have not done that, but if I carry on with the lazy streak then I will turn into Ten Tonne Tessy like he has.

M wants to slim down and so that is now my motivation to get moving, get fitter and drop a stone in weight. As such, I have decided to shred for the summer. I have set my goal, that is to lose x amount of weight, tone up completely, and if I end up building muscle mass as a by-product of this, then great. The other reason why, is that I am 50 at the end of the year, and I see quite a lot of men on Instagram and Twitter who either look terrible at 50 or quite fantastic for their age. I am, however, under no illusion that the guys who look stunning are mostly gym rats, they have taken 20+ photos to make sure they look their best, then published it. I have been using social media since 2006, so know the script, but all the same, it is a point of reference for me to look at, aim, and understand that they are goals that I may not reach, but hell, I want to try.

Since it is the last bank holiday in the UK for 3 months we decided to clear out the cupboards and fridge of all the “shite” and either bin it or eat it so that we have no further temptation at hand. I took pleasure in binning a large container of sweets (candy) that had sat there for some time, with me picking at it from time to time. I even check my bedside unit to ensure that nothing tempting was it in. Surprisingly enough there was, so that has now been removed and disposed of.

From tomorrow, we are sticking to protein, lots of it, vegetables and a moderate amount of healthy fats. We are aiming at stating with a low carb diet, but not making the mistake of low fat too as that is one of the failure points, so good fats like nuts, avocado, olive oil, grass-fed butter etc. So, out with the crap and in with good stuff, so the fridge is now full of eggs, chicken, turkey, vegetable. The fruit bowl is full, and the determination is set.

I have also decided to take in more exercise too. I have my new Apple Watch with lots of different apps to make/nag me into getting up off my arse and moving. I also have the dogs as an excuse to get out more and walk the legs off them too. M is going to join me, but due to his disabilities he will be going slow and anything he can do will be at his own pace. One of the things that do not help me is that I tend to go at something at 100 miles an hour rather than gradually building up. M said he would remind me and I am conscious that I need to build up.

So, there it is, my plan for summer, and fingers crossed, something that we keep doing rather than saying screw it today I need cake. I will still have my black coffee, so all will be well. I am not saying that I will be good for the rest of the time either, let’s face it, life without a little treat is really not a good life LOL, but I am not going to go back to my old ways. I am tired all the time, lack energy and with it motivation, and it is all down to being lazy and eating all this crap, sugar being the main problem. I used to drink my coffee with lots of full-fat milk and 2 spoons of sugar, but at the beginning of the year, I decided that it had to go and I now love black coffee without sugar now, in fact, I also love black tea with no sugar too. I stopped buying coke as the sugar tax in the UK made a usual £1.50 bottle of coke £2.50, so that put me off buying it. I missed it quite a lot, to begin with, but now although I do get it on the very odd occasion I do not miss it, and I guess that is why I have fewer headaches too. I have seen all the celebs going on about sugar-free diets, but at the time I was of the opinion that it was a goal that was not obtainable as everything seems to be laced with sugar. I cannot have aspartame as it gives me violent migraines, something that is not considered in these diets, and by our money grabbing government with its sugar tax. Those of you outside the UK have no idea how insane our government is with its taxes, from TV Tax to Sugar Tax, and not forgetting the latest tax to be implemented this year is the self-service checkout tax, no, that wasn’t a joke. I digress!

In conclusion;