Day 56 – Week 9

182 pounds (13st) 0 pounds lost.

By rights, I should have put weight on this week. Saturday night we had some friends over for a curry and movie night (a DELIGHTFUL film called ‘Once’ about a busker and a Big Issue seller on Dublin’s Grafton Street. The story behind this movie is also delightful. With a budget of just £80,000, shot in 17 days - Glen Hansard, the lead actor played 'Outspan' in The Commitments. he and his leading lady Marketa Irglova are now an item. In an interview a week ago he said how the director said 'cut' at the end of the recording of 'Falling Slowly' - and added in jest "And the winner of the Oscar goes to...." Everyone laughed but - guess what- last night it won the Oscar!

Before the film started I over-indulged on the food front. I didn’t have any Naan bread, FBCs (Flippin’ Big Crisps) or mango chutney but I did have a few drops of wine (a small glass) and a some samples from a cheese plate afterwards.

But worse than that I hardly did any exercise all week and feel quite lethargic because of it. I can definitely see the link between being active and how you feel inside yourself.

I wasn’t totally slothful though. Yesterday I did a few hours of light gardening – planting about 30 raspberry canes that I was given by a neighbour and did quite a bit of weeding on the vegetable patch. I felt it in the afternoon though. Aching rib-cage and back.
Then last night I hit the wine jug – but this really was a special occasion. For the past 5 months, a gallon of home-made blackberry wine was plop-plop, plopping on the kitchen window sill (alongside the damson, apple and elderberry. The blackberry wine had ‘stopped’ – meaning it was fully fermented and ready for bottling – but before that we ‘needed’ to siphon off two glasses for sampling purposes only.

WOW! It was gorgeous. Clear, bright with a beautiful hint of blackberrys. And strong!

I was velcroed to the mattress this morning – a real challenged to get out of bed.
Another week I start with the mantra – must do better.

Oh, no – I’m staying at a 5 star hotel in Montreux, Switzerland. The evening meal will be a sample menu for the gala dinner at a global event I am moderating there later this year. When I get back I have 2 nights at another 5 star hotel on the South coast. I MUST do some exercise this week. My target is a 2 pound weight-loss this week.