Goodbye Old Me, Hello New Me..
Yesterday a very small but important (to me at least) thing happened during my day.
When I competed in the Downton half marathon last year (my second time at that distance) I was rather disappointed that the only T-shirts left were in a Medium. I took one, thinking I might as well give it to a mate, there was no way I was ever going to fit into something that small.
But I kept it in the end, and have tried it on every few months, always with the same result. It fitted me about as well as it would fit the incredible hulk, or at best made me look like a bouncer wearing a too-tight shirt to show off his size.
Yesterday, however, I tried it on and couldn't believe what was happening. It fits just fine. Ok, it's a bit tight around the chest, but everywhere else it's a bit loose if anything. I don't weigh myself (too tight-fisted to buy a set of scales) but you don't need a machine to tell you you've lost weight when something like that happens.
Clearly everything is paying off - the training, the improved diet, the vastly reduced intake of alcohol. Most of it is down to small changes, for example I always used to have a lump of cheese in the fridge in case I fancied cheese on toast as a late night snack. I can't remember the last time I bought cheese. I even stopped having it on pasta bolognaise.
So it's clear that during the rest of this year I am going to have to start binning all my size XL clothes and buying stuff in a medium. It's going to hurt - financially that is - but I guarantee to everyone this is a permanent change. No going back. And as soon as I get down to a size 32" waist I'm going to invest a lot of money in some expensive suits, which I'm going to look great in, to give myself extra incentive to stay that shape.
I doubt it'll be hard. I'm enjoying running so much I can only see myself getting more and more into it, and who knows, when I've got a few marathons under my belt maybe I'll move onto triathlons or fell-running? Nothing's impossible.
I love half-marathons and 10k races and when you're burning off this many calories you can have those little treats, such as a pizza or a bottle or two of wine every now and then. (Between you and me I can't wait until I can have a few beers after a race again).
Another nice thing - or maybe rather sad, depending on how you look at it - is that I've noticed the way people speak to me has changed. By that I don't mean my friends or people I work with. I mean people I have fleeting interactions with in day-to-day situations. For example, when I was doing my shopping in Sainsburys this morning, the girl on the till, who has never before said much more than a perfunctory hello or goodbye, suddenly became much more friendly, chatty and flirty. It could be that the way I behave has changed, but I doubt it. Just a shame I'm old enough to be her Dad by now..
Anyway, on the subject of young ladies, I was lucky enough to see Jennifer Ellison in Chicago before she finished her stint in the show, and managed to get an autograph after the show. Unfortunately I didn't get to chat to her as long as I would have liked, mainly because on this occasion the paparazzi descended on her like vultures and I could tell she just wanted to get home. In fairness she had done two performances that day and must have been dead on her feet. But before she was whisked away I did give her a copy of what I had written about her on these pages, which she was quite happy to take away. I hope she enjoyed reading what I had to say, and who knows, maybe she'll be a regular visitor to this site. If so, I hope she enjoys it as much as everyone else seems to.
Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, August 2006
When I competed in the Downton half marathon last year (my second time at that distance) I was rather disappointed that the only T-shirts left were in a Medium. I took one, thinking I might as well give it to a mate, there was no way I was ever going to fit into something that small.
But I kept it in the end, and have tried it on every few months, always with the same result. It fitted me about as well as it would fit the incredible hulk, or at best made me look like a bouncer wearing a too-tight shirt to show off his size.
Yesterday, however, I tried it on and couldn't believe what was happening. It fits just fine. Ok, it's a bit tight around the chest, but everywhere else it's a bit loose if anything. I don't weigh myself (too tight-fisted to buy a set of scales) but you don't need a machine to tell you you've lost weight when something like that happens.
Clearly everything is paying off - the training, the improved diet, the vastly reduced intake of alcohol. Most of it is down to small changes, for example I always used to have a lump of cheese in the fridge in case I fancied cheese on toast as a late night snack. I can't remember the last time I bought cheese. I even stopped having it on pasta bolognaise.
So it's clear that during the rest of this year I am going to have to start binning all my size XL clothes and buying stuff in a medium. It's going to hurt - financially that is - but I guarantee to everyone this is a permanent change. No going back. And as soon as I get down to a size 32" waist I'm going to invest a lot of money in some expensive suits, which I'm going to look great in, to give myself extra incentive to stay that shape.
I doubt it'll be hard. I'm enjoying running so much I can only see myself getting more and more into it, and who knows, when I've got a few marathons under my belt maybe I'll move onto triathlons or fell-running? Nothing's impossible.
I love half-marathons and 10k races and when you're burning off this many calories you can have those little treats, such as a pizza or a bottle or two of wine every now and then. (Between you and me I can't wait until I can have a few beers after a race again).
Another nice thing - or maybe rather sad, depending on how you look at it - is that I've noticed the way people speak to me has changed. By that I don't mean my friends or people I work with. I mean people I have fleeting interactions with in day-to-day situations. For example, when I was doing my shopping in Sainsburys this morning, the girl on the till, who has never before said much more than a perfunctory hello or goodbye, suddenly became much more friendly, chatty and flirty. It could be that the way I behave has changed, but I doubt it. Just a shame I'm old enough to be her Dad by now..
Anyway, on the subject of young ladies, I was lucky enough to see Jennifer Ellison in Chicago before she finished her stint in the show, and managed to get an autograph after the show. Unfortunately I didn't get to chat to her as long as I would have liked, mainly because on this occasion the paparazzi descended on her like vultures and I could tell she just wanted to get home. In fairness she had done two performances that day and must have been dead on her feet. But before she was whisked away I did give her a copy of what I had written about her on these pages, which she was quite happy to take away. I hope she enjoyed reading what I had to say, and who knows, maybe she'll be a regular visitor to this site. If so, I hope she enjoys it as much as everyone else seems to.
Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, August 2006
posted by Jon | 4:55 pm
1 Comments:
well done jonnyboy! it's always best to go on how you feel/what fits you, rather than become a slave to the scales.
Excellent news!
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