Weigh In: Week 7

Starting Weight: 25 stone, 13 pounds.  
Previous Weight: 24 stone 6.1 pounds.
New Weight: 24 stone. 2.6 pounds.
This Week's Loss: 3.5 pounds.
Total Weight Loss: 1 stone, 10.4 pounds.

Totally bewildered by this. I mentioned eating two whole 500ml tubs of ice cream in the previous blog. Even if I take that out of the equation, it has not been an exceptional week. I am still eating too much, too often and drinking too much Pepsi Max*, too often. At some point I think it will catch up with me. But I am still motivated on the exercise front and obviously it's great to both pass the 1.5 stone mark and have the 2 stone target edging into view. I suppose sometimes there are outcomes that you just can't legislate for and this is one of those. I have put an exercise plan in place that ought to be doable without running myself into the ground. If I can combine that with more self-discipline in terms of diet, hopefully more positive outcomes will be forthcoming.

It has been a more positive weekend than last week's, where I had a strong depressive episode in the midst of Storm Dennis. I think the central difference between the two is that this week I found it easy to think about the things that I do have in my life, rather than the things that I don't. Hopefully I can take a more positive mindset into the week ahead. It was my Dad's 72nd birthday yesterday. We went out for a meal and had a nice day, particularly as his beloved Sunderland supplied a 3-0 win over Bristol Rovers.

 Without wanting to sound morbid or maudlin, I have started looking to a time when he's no longer around. He would probably be the first to say that there are question marks over his longevity, having had some serious health problems a few years ago, including kidney failure and a long stint on dialysis. Fortunately, he received a transplant which massively improved his quality of life and allowed him to travel around the world in his retirement. Whatever happens from here on out, I am immensely grateful for that and I will cherish his company for however long it might be.

 I attended a mystery Picturehouse screening on Friday night and was pleased to discover that the film in question was Misbehaviour, concerning the 1970 Miss World competition and the protests against it from the Women's Liberation movement. I found it to be a thoughtful and even handed depiction of the story and Keira Knightley, Jessie Buckley and Gugu Mbatha-Raw are all very good in it. It's worth a look when it goes on general release in three weeks time. Another of the film's assets is that it came in at about 95 minutes. Two hours seems to be the industry standard these days, but sometimes less is more.

*Pepsi Max is not as one of the readers of this blog has suggested, 'basically a health drink'.

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