Diet reimagined

Embarrassing though it is I have to admit I've gone rather wide of the mark with my diet. To be fair I lost a fair bit and have kept it off, but the truth is I'm still rather chunkier than I ought to be.

January's success was largely down to it being dry. It's not just the excess calories alcohol contains, but the fact that my willpower is soluble.

February and March were quite busy, so it was very difficult to go to the gym. Going to the gym doesn't in itself mean I lose a lot of extra weight but it helps keep the metabolism going so I have found it is rather essential. April was more of the same.

Unfortunately my concerns about my weight are compelling me to avoid social gatherings. I'll be sociable when I'm thin! So the sooner that happens the better.

I've therefore decided to reboot the diet and start again for May.

I'm not going to go on some kind of crash diet; but I am going to take tips of a dietician colleague of mine to help me on my way. For example, she suggested using a dessert plate rather than a dinner plate for meals, as portion control is a issue for dieters. I've also promised myself that if I don't get my arse in gear and actually use the gym properly I'll give up my gym membership.

Also, I've had a little epiphany and thought about how to make dieting a bit more fun. Well, interesting really.

When things seem a bit of a trial, and they often will for anything with an element of delayed gratification (especially for me) then there is always that wonderful old trick of reinvention. That means if one strategy wears a bit thin, trying something else. Fortunately, that is where this blog can come in. My old blog was about my search for Mr Right - this one can help in the search for Mr Thin!

It is positive that I've not given up, even if progress has slowed. So, onwards!!

Wet February, sunny October

I know we’re not that far into the year, so the Christmas break should still feel relatively recent, but the truth is I really feel like a holiday.

Husband and I and haven’t really done big holidays over the last five years. Christmas is (his) family, which can sometimes be a chore. If we go abroad we usually need to consider visiting my family. We’ve been to Paris a couple of times and we’ve had our lovely honeymoon in August just gone.

The last time I went abroad for the sake of it was with my ex, but that was right at the start of our relationship and it turned out he was embarking on an affair with me behind his proper boyfriend’s back (it’s complicated – he said they were finished, then that they were in an open relationship, etc – strung me along for a while. I was fine with it and wasn’t monogamous when with him either but that was then).

So…. Well, it occurred to me that Husband and I should bite the bullet and have a nice holiday somewhere sunny this year. Admittedly, late this year but still. Hire a villa, hire a car, and here we come sunny Corfu. In October. YESSSSSS!!! 

There are lots of reasons why not: we’re looking to buy a house so need to save every penny for deposit and the horrendous costs involved. I loath flying to a degree difficult to comprehend. We’ve never gone in for lazing around in the sun. 

Nevertheless, I was really taken with the idea and I think we deserve it. We work hard and between the saving for our civil partnership, and the saving for the much talked about house-buy we’ve not gone for extravagance much. Plus Husband really loathes his job so anything that helps keep us both sane will be good.

We already have a short break in April with friends, on a canal boat of all things. It will be great fun but again it’s not the same as the two of us on a break of our own.

Another things is this holiday is a good excuse to continue on my diet! I want to enjoy that infinity pool stark bollock naked and I wouldn't do that in my current frumpiness! Since the end of Dry January I have put on a little weight but in January I lost 8 lbs so I think wet February is going to have to become damp at best - all in a good cause.

Inspiration

So Christmas is done and we’re counting down to 2014. I personally feel as if getting here has been a giant effort and these few days off until I return to work on 2^nd January are for me a well-earned break. Don’t get me wrong, 2013 was an amazing year: I did get married* after all. Still, this is the right time for some personal reflection and thinking about the direction I want to go in in 2014. There’s certainly a lot for us to do. We are saving up for a deposit to buy a house early in 2015 (yes we’re good at planning at least!) and both of us want to make our next career move very soon. But that’s not what I mean.

I need some inspiration – something to motivate me to be the best I can. And because of that I have decided for the first time in a few years to do some New Year’s resolutions.

First things first – I’m going to sign up to Dry January. I do and have always drunk too much and while I have no regrets I feel fast approaching middle age and a thickening waist-line are strong hints that the Universe is cancelling the overdraft on my misspent youth. I hope I’ll develop some good habits. I have found as time moves on that alcohol stops being the lubricant of a vibrant social scene and rather becomes the solvent dissolving good moods, a good night’s sleep, and willpower. Time to kick that into touch!

That brings us on to number two. Much as I reject the superficial youth-and-beauty obsession that pervades a lot of gay culture in particular it is easier, I admit, to reject it whilst thin and toned. Hence the diet plan. To get down to my ideal BMI it appears I would need to lose 50lbs (22kgs). Now, to be fair I have an athletic frame, broad shoulders etc and have found it relatively easy to pack on a bit of muscle – which makes a BMI something to be treated with caution. However, weight needs to be lost in no small measure so it’s a strict regime of diet and exercise for yours truly. You can check my progress; to motivate myself a bit I’ll be putting my vital statistics on future missives.

 

Third, I want to do more research. I did a master’s level research degree and my dissertation was on the psychosocial development of gay and bisexual men. Not a prize winning effort by any means but one thing it did open my eyes to was the relative lack of research into LGBT issues. I mean, there is no consistent academic definition of homosexuality, which means the research that has been done is not easily comparable. Plus there is a huge focus on younger gay people and, inevitably, sex. There are a lot of questions out there; and since the answers relate to me (and I’m my favourite subject) answering at least one of them is something I’m keen to do.

 

Last, and most importantly it’s about being better. Being introverted I notice that the first thing to get dropped when things get stressful or busy are people. I really want to make sure I put in the effort to be a good husband, a good friend, a good colleague. I want to be able to look back on 2014 and be sure I was there for people. Still, being better also means doing the things that make me feel I’m doing the things I need to do to feel I’m being a better person – a promise to myself that whatever the context or area of my life I’m putting in the effort. I’ve never really felt inspired to do the best I can and this year I’m determined not to let anything get in my way.

Happy New Year!