Difficult weekend ahead

I have a horrible feeling this weekend is not going to be good for the weight loss project.
I have only really just found the motivation to start packing for our move which is supposed to happen, and is going to happen tomorrow and Sunday.
I think some comfort food is going to have to happen a bit later.
I really can't be arsed with a piece of low fat grilled fish on a bed of bugger all, washed down by a tasty glass of water and followed by half a banana.
It's time to face facts, I'm going to need pizza, and it's going to be cheesy, and big.
It's a bit annoying as I was on for getting down to 17 st next week, which will have been a whole stone in one month. I'm hovering between 17,1 and 17,3 right now.
But hey, you don't move every weekend right? And I'll just have to work even harder next week I guess. Great.

Slight fall off the wagon

I have sinned, and I am sorry, truly, truly sorry.

Well not really.

I had a sneaky glass of prosecco when we went out for dinner tonight as we were sort of celebrating getting the keys to our new flat and starting new working lives.

Popped into the new Aqua on Whiteladies Road, which was really busy, and had a lovely evening.

I had monk fish, wrapped in pancetta on a bed of vegetables, and I think I did well to resist sinking a bottle of wine and going for the most chocolatey of dessert.

And apart from the fizzy I drank water all night.

It was a busy day today, and I'd only had a bowl of corn flakes for breakfast, and some overpriced sushi for lunch. So I was pretty hungry by the time we got to the restaurant at about 9.30. Probably didn't need to gorge on bread and olives, it was just so nice and fresh though.

Anyway I'll work it off over the next few days during the big move I'm sure.

Also went for a run today, did 35 minutes in the sunshine. Felt pretty good as the same run took 45 minutes last week.

Food and exercise diary, Wednesday, May 27

Breakfast: A banana.
Lunch: Two chicken in pitta breads, with salad.
Dinner: Tapas-style buffet round a friend's house in honour of Barcelona vs Man U Champs League final. I fear I may have over-indulged on paella, as the Man U team must have done. No other way to explain their sluggish performance.

Exercise: About two hours in the gym: 23 mins cross trainer, 24 mins treadmill, 11 mins bike.
Followed by circuit of weights. Felt like a good workout. Burned about 50 calories according to the machines. Woop woop.

Slightly ranty food and exercise diary, Tuesday, May 26.

Today I had the most supremely egotistical idea I've had since I was in the fifth year at school and thought a ten minute drum solo in the middle of the school concert would be a good way to display my talents.

While I was out running on Tuesday (one hour ten mins, over the bridge and back, about four miles), I thought about the whole MPs expenses scandal thing and how politicians have finally sunk further than the the depths inhabited by journalists in the publics' eyes - and I say that as a journalist myself, albeit between scoops.

I was thinking that one of the solutions to the problem would be to do away with party politics completely and have an assembly of independently elected men and women to represent areas of the country.

And then I thought, why not stand for election myself? It would be the ultimate exercise in attention seeking and my slogan could well be 'please vote for me and show me how much you love me'. The rejection factor is of course massive but imagine that feeling of euphoria when the returning officer calls out the result in a drafty leisure centre at 4am and confirms that several thousand people liked me enough to vote for me.

No wonder politicians rarely want to give up their seat and the chance of feeling at the centre of the universe once every four or five years.

Politics is often described as showbiz for ugly people, which is spot on, 'cos none of the blokes are going to give Brad Pitt any worries about losing his World's Most Fanciable Male title, and I think Ms Jolie is probably safe too.

And the recent exposure of their snouts so deep in the trough confirms that they obviously feel untouchable and above the dull restrictions that the rest of us normal people have to live by, such as having to pay our bills without help from the taxpayer.

As somebody who was made redundant a couple of months ago and not knowing where my next duck island is coming from, it makes my blood boil (and for the first time I really understand why people say that) to think how they are all claiming thousands each year for stuff the rest of us have to find the money to pay for, like living! And don't forget they all get paid upwards of £60K as a basic minimum salary, which is more than double the average wage in this country.

Even the meekest Lib Dem or most earnest Labour MP are still claiming for things like mortgage interest, council tax food and furnishings at least. Frankly it makes the most spongiest of spongers living all their lives on benefits and raking it in for all their ten kids and fictional relatives, look as if they're not really trying.

Who knew that Tory MPs, who once ran entire election campaigns basically demonising 'single mothers', blaming them for all the ills of society and draining the public purse, when they were actually the ones screwing us for every penny.

The other thing about being an independent MP is that you could actually do what the people who elected you want you to do.

There must have been loads of Labour MPs who wanted to vote against some of the more unpopular ideas this government has had, tuition fees, war in Iraq (if they'd been given the chance), but felt compelled by the party line.

Why not do what your electors want, hold an online poll on your official blog every week, and stay in touch with public opinion.

Essentially most people want a job, decent public services and a low rate of tax, which is a difficult circle to square of course, so whoever gets the balance right is likely to stay in power. But why should this be a party political thing?

Give the people what they want I say, Joanna Lumley and Esther Rantzen will be running the place soon anyway.

Oh, and on Tuesday I ate the following:

Breakfast: A banana.

Lunch: Two pittas with chicken and salad, touch of mayo.

Dinner: Seafood with pasta, mixed with half fat creme fraiche and some chopped chives. Had a bit of chocolate after, not doing well cutting it out of my diet.

Medals

I was most encouraged to read in the Evening Post today that the 'tailenders' that ran the Bristol 10K will get their medals after all.
Apparently they did have enough to give out, but some people decided to take more than one, I can hardly believe it, meaning the losers who crawled in at the end missed out.
My hopes were dashed though after reading on and discovering they are going to post them to us using the information on the special chip we ran with and handed in at the end.
Bugger.
I didn't wear my special chip, as I was fully expecting not to finish in any case. Oh well, the London Marathon medal is the only one that matters now. As well as the Bristol Half Marathon of course.

Dear diary, Monday May 25

I thought when somebody suggested I keep a food diary that it was a great idea.
I'd pencil in at least six meetings a day with the dinner table and manage to keep each one.
Turns out that's not quite what they meant.

Breakfast: Corn flakes with banana, doesn't get much better.
Lunch: Split pea and ham soup, with two slices of wholemeal toast.
Dinner: Fillet of trout, griddled, with new potatoes, green beans and peas. Been eating so much fish lately I'm starting to feel like a binge-eating penguin.
Had a bit of chocolate to follow that. May try to cut out chocolate entirely this week.

Exercise: Decided to take a day off running and stuff, but have been quite active packing up boxes ready for moving house. Think I'd rather be out running.

Food and stuff, Sunday May 24

Exercise: Managed a 45 minute run in the late afternoon, which considering it was the hottest day of the year may not have been the greatest idea. It really was like running through hot glue at times.
Glad to do it though, that's two runs this weekend, on top of the 34 mile bike ride on Friday. I just hope it's working.

Breakfast: Two poached eggs on wholemeal toast. Hmmm.
Lunch: One chicken sandwich on wholemean bread.
Dinner: Pasta parcels with Weight Watchers sauce, with tomato and pepper salad, doused in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, along with cous cous.
Dessert: The final Go bar, strawberry yoghurt flavour. Glad I made it through the pack at last.