Some home truths

A few days ago, whilst checking my readiness for school in the mirror; shirt, tie, shoes, trousers (I’m not making that mistake again!) I noticed that the chap staring back at me and I were clearly not wearing the same clothes. We couldn’t be; that shirt he had on had obviously been ironed over a wok. We don’t have a wok! Unfortunately, though, it was indeed me reflected there with a paunch hanging over a straining waistband, a situation which had nothing to do with ironing techniques or stir frying equipment. To be honest, it owed more to the frying pan, the bread maker, the deep fat fryer and the fridge than any oriental cooking utensil. It’s amazing really that strangers haven’t started rubbing my tummy for good luck.

Well, this had gone on long enough! It really had. Let’s be fair about things, this is not something that has crept up on me over the last couple of months, or couple of years even. It’s the result of long term lifestyle choices. The wrong lifestyle choices. So, this morning, I stepped on the scales. Some people will tell you that when you’re aiming to lose weight, the bathroom scales are your best friend. Maybe so, but I reckon if you were as brutally honest with your friends as the bathroom scales are, you might find yourself really quite lonely. There’s nothing diplomatic about them at all. Nothing is sugar coated, they give it to you straight. But that’s the point, isn’t it. You can’t deny the numbers. And the numbers I saw this morning were quite shocking. Twenty stone, one and a half pounds! According to the NHS healthy weight calculator, at 51 years of age and five feet eleven, my Body Mass Index is 39.3, which makes me Obese. It also informs me that I am around eight stone overweight. EIGHT STONE! Something must be done!

The NHS website goes on to say that being obese puts me at greater risk of health problems such as heart attack, stroke and type 2 diabetes. I knew that. I’ve also known for many years that Ive been way over weight. I am also aware that being obese places you at greater risk of other diseases and conditions such as cancer and depression. It can cause asthma symptoms to be more severe. I have asthma.

So, who to blame? The NHS website says that there are several underlying health conditions that can contribute to weight gain. I’ve checked and I don’t have any of them. Gluttony and sloth are not recognised medical conditions. I checked that as well. It also says that obesity is generally caused by consuming more calories than you burn off. Well duh! I don’t think that any of us can claim we didn’t know that. The equation is a simple one; eating too much, especially of the wrong types of food, and not being active enough equals weight gain. And that is me. That is exactly where I am. There’s no denying it. But there’s no point playing the blame game, no point feeling guilty about it. Chin up, stiffen that resolve, it’s time to draw a line, make some lifestyle changes and move on. I have to. I’m cycling the length of France from the Channel at Roscoff to the Mediterranean at Perpignan in the summer, a total distance of 1415km at an average of very nearly 90kms each day. I’ll be riding with my wife who weighs less than half as much as I do and rides like the modern day Eileen Sheridan. I need to shed some ballast.

“Procrastination is like a credit card: it's a lot of fun until you get the bill”. Christopher Parker

So beginning tomorrow, there’s going to be some changes made around here! Increased activity, better nutrition, hydration and sleep. And all logged. I will have some tools at my disposal which will help me keep track of my exercise and nutrition, and I will endeavour to keep this blog updated as we go along. Perpignan here we come!