Mr. Captain's Week 3 Weight Report

Wednesday 25th. March 2009

At 0830 am with absolute assurance I entered our bathroom and approached The Scales. I had been a 'good man' over the past 7 days so now I was going to see the fruits of my efforts. I was not disappointed.

Result.
16 st. 7 lbs. = 231 lbs. [- 21lbs total ]

Girls that is a pound a day for 3 whole weeks . Now I know that I started with a huge advantage - I was literally HUGE. In addition I was very annoyed that I had allowed myself to get so 'Out of Condition'. I am now a candidate for canonisation.

This week so far.
With Mum away with 'The Ladies' in Wexford I was now in a self catering situation. Not really the very best condition for someone on a Diet . Saturday and Sunday went well. But Thursday was different
Some years ago Mum , Audrey and I were esconced in Resturant Patrick Guilbeau perusing the Menu. Mum made her choice and Audrey and I agreed to share a 'meal for two' of Shredded Roast Duck with Pancakes with vegatables in Hosin sauce
Our meal was served up and was lovely. Mum was very happy with her choice but Aud and I were disappointed with the portions of duck on our plates. As we consumed our main course we were amazed to be served an additional plate fully ladened with with additional quantities of delicious shredded duck which absolutly made our night. I have always remembered that Duck over the years. On Sunday in the Food Columns of the Papers I read that Marks and Spencers sold a beautiful Shredded Duck in their food section
On TThursday I strayed into M&S on Grafton St. and found myself in the food section. I searched the many, many shelves and lo and behold there was the Shredded Duck. Within moments and a flash of the Lasor Card the duck was in my M&S bag and I was on my way home with the Irish Times. In actual fact the meal was only 1/2 a duck and the cooking instructions were concise
I really enjoyed that meal and it lasted for two days but it certainly was a breech of my diet and it may be reflectedin my next Wednesday's weigh-in but I'm so far ahead of the competion in this project it won't effect the final result or so I hope!!!
Watch out for my next report !!!!

GOLDILOCKS WEEK4 DAY6

weight loss this week    0

weight loss todate          3lbs

You may notice that my posting for week 3 is missing, this is due to the fact that that while staying in the Ritz Carlton for the sunday and monday during this week, I ate copiously in Gordon Ramseys restaurant. On the evening of arrival we had a lovely steak sandwich  in our room and the following morning I partook generously of the full breakfast and I am ashamed to say that there was nothing on that wonderful breakfast buffet that I didn't try and some I tried twice!! After a little lie down in the spa following a swim (1 length of pool followed by a 30 min lounging in the jacuzzi) We wandered up the Avenue of Powerscourt to my favourite lunch time venue "Avoca Cafe", where it's possible to fool yourself into the thinking the food is healthy due to the large array of lovely salads. We proceeded to justify our tray full of goodies including the largest portion of Strawberry meringue roulade that I have ever seen with the fact that we would not be eating again until 9pm and we might grow faint with hunger if we didn't have a little lunch. I wasn't sure whether I would be able for this lunch 2 hours after breakfast, but to my amazement I managed to fit it all in. My husband walked his meal off with a 4 hour golf game, while I walked mine off by a wander around the Avoca shop where I lost a few pounds (unfortunately all from my purse and none from my waist) and a stroll back to my room where I lay on the bed reading the Sunday papers.

After my husband returned, showered, dressed and switched on the tv for some golf, I handed him a chilled glass of Champagne and took mine to the bathroom, where I filled up the enormous bath with bubbles and soaked for an hour, while watching tv on the bathroom mirror. By 8pm we were enjoying G&T's in the lounge while snacking hungrily from the bowl of nuts and chips which the waiter annoyingly kept replenishing every time we emptied it. By 9pm we were sitting in the restaurant ordering the 7 course prestige menu. One might assume at this stage that I might have passed on the basket of fresh, warm, home cooked breads laid in front of me, but sadly no. We tried each of the three flavoured breads, then slowly but methodically ate our way through the 7 courses and even managed to fit in an optional extra cheese course raising the count to 8 courses.

We retired to our room around mid-night where I lay down in some discomfort and swore that I would not eat again for two days............. 9 hours and 50 minutes later I was shaking my husband  awake while flinging on some clothes and shouting "GET UP! BREAKFAST FINISHES IN 10 MINUTES!" 

Now I am not proud of this story, and I admit it would be more suited to a blog called called over-eaters and not weighters and if I told you that 4 days later I was away for two nights with 7 girls in a house in Roscarberry, where everybody brought delicious things to eat over the two days and we managed to eat out one night and the following afternoon as well as eating everything that was brought, you might think that I should be expelled from "weighters" and you might be right, except for the fact that I did feel real contrition and managed through hard work and will power this week to return to my week 2 status. So onwards and downwards I head. The battle is still on and I'm not out of the game yet!!

The Lady Captain

I have just come home after a week in Wexford with 7 other women who like to shop. We played golf most days but when the weather was not good the girls decided we were all going in to Wexford to the shops (what else). So not wanting to be a bad sport I said nothing but went in with them having told them of my pledge. I was thrilled to hear one of my friends (who has no dress sense whatsoever) ask me would I help her to get some new clothes for the coming Summer as she had done a clean out of her wardrobes before coming to Wexford. That was like music to my ears and she left Wexford with armfulls of bags so we were both happy.The next day after golf went to the French Connection which is a shop beside the golf club we played in and the clothes there were both beautiful and very expensive. I encouraged the girls to buy nearly everything in the shop including the jewellery and scarfs to go with each outfit. I was like an alcholic who is on the dry giving each of them (who were also meant to be on the dry )a large bottle of whisky!!!
I think the girls must be thinking that I am mad or that we have lost all our money on the stocks and shares as they were nearly offering to buy things I said I liked for me. However I arrived home feeling very happy and with lots more money than my friends have in my purse.

Some insights

Ok so I admit it. I have had all the best intentions of eating healthy and reducing my calorie intake. I find that I have fantastic resolve first thing in the morning. When I am out for my morning walk I have such good intentions of eating all the right foods and doing exercise and not drinking alcohol. These good intentions last through breakfast. Most days they even last through lunchtime. Then something happens in my brain at about 4:00. That little voice (of the fat girl) starts to say “oh go on have a couple of biscuits you deserve it. You’ve been good all day”. Then when I get home and am hungry the resolve is very weak. I know I should have smaller portions but I am hungry and so I put too much food on my plate and eat it all up. I then feel full but I also feel guilty. Disaster! I need to just find some happy medium that I can maintain for the long term.

I have decided on a new mantra. Before I eat something I think “would Mum eat this”. Mum has got the food thing right. Eat the good foods but in moderation. I have been reading a couple of good articles recently and I am going to adopt some of their techniques. I will share them with you. I don’t want to spoil you with all of them at once so I will spread them out over a few days to keep you coming back for more.

I am going to use a smaller plate for serving my dinner. This will limit the amount of food I can physically fit on the plate.

I know I (and you my lovely sisters) all eat our food really fast. If you think about it, it doesn’t make sense. I love food and I love eating it and yet I always eat my food much faster than people I am eating with. Why would I want to wolf it down when I should be taking my time and enjoying it? So I am going to try chewing my food a bit more and also taking time to enjoy the flavour and texture in my mouth before putting the next bit in. Apparently by slowing down the eating process you give your stomach more of a chance to tell you when it is getting full. You also stop eating the food just for the sake of it and more for the enjoyment of the flavour. Also chewing the food helps with the digestion of the food.

And finally, for today, eat more vegetables. They fill you up, they are good for you and low in calories. Simple but true. I have added this not as an amazing insight to anyone but just to remind us of what we already know.

Just for the record I have lost a grand total of 3lbs. I know it’s not much but it’s a start and at least it means I haven’t put any more weight on.

Mr. Captain's [ Week 2 } Report

First of all the week's weight report = 16 st. 11 lbs. [ 235 lbs. ] = -3 lbs. on the week and - 17 lbs. since the start of the project.

My mind is still consumed with thoughts of food. Although I am by no means deprived of food I still find myself thinking about lovely dishes. I know that Mrs. Captain produces amazing dishes on a daily basis and we now squeeze in a couple of these during the week. [still with the minimun of carbs ]

The weeks result is encouraging and I'm still feeling well. When I gave up smoking 15 years ago , after about a month I stopped thinking about cigarettes totally and I'm hoping the same effect will occur with my no or low carb diet.

I put on one of my never worn jackets , bought over 13 years ago. when I was very fit and weighed about 207 lbs [ or 14 st. 11 lbs. ] and the distance between the button and the button hole was about 4 inches. So you can imagine I still have a long way to go. In addition it is now the season of Lent. It is a very very long time since I have successfully completed an act of self denial during Lent so let it happen and to hell with the lousy feelings. I will be a Saint at Easter time and I'll still be only half way through.

I don't see any blogs from the competion so victory is surely assured even thougt all contestants who lose 14 lbs. by 1 st. August will share the winning pool

Here's to a loss of another 3 lbs. this week and a lovely Leg of Lamb next Saturday [ personally chosen by myself at the Tesco meat sale last week]

Mr. Captain's 2nd. week's Report

It was a terrible 7 days and on occasions I thought I was going mad with the craving for some substantial food. I found myself consumed by thoughts of food - any food- even a tin of Pedigree would suffice. In the evenings I engaged in conversatrions about my absolute life favorite Starters, Mains and Desserts. I'm fantasising all the time , which is worrying and must be a side effect of the sense of deprivation I constantly endure.

On the positive side I never felt better in general health terms. My morning Fasting Blood Sugar Level is an excellent 5.2 and my Blood Pressure is 137 /57 with a Pulse Rate of 57 per min. This means Iwill live to be 105

So to the Weigh=in yesterday [ 11th. March ] morning. Fasting and naked I sprung up on the Scales - the needle stoped exactly at 17 st. [ 238 lbs. ] Minus 3 lbs. on the week and minus 14 lbs. since the start

Again on the positive side I can now see the buckle of my belt again and the buttons are no longer straining on my shirt. I took a nostalgic trip to my wardrobe on Monday and counted 6 suits that I have not worn for a very very long time. Not because I didn't like them but because I now longer could fit myself into them. This is really a great spur to my good intentions and by my next attendance [ 21st. ] May ] I'll be the best dressed in the Diabetic Clinic at St. Michael's Hospital.

The prize is in the bag Girls - I'll take you all out for a celebratory dinner in August

THOUGHTLESS DAUGHTER

its very hard to be told that you cannot buy any clothes (by the way does that include shoes)? until next August That is about another 140 days!! Yes they are counted! Then I call my daughter in Limerick about some query and I ask her where she is. Her answer was like a slap in the face with a cold wet facecloth. She said she was in a CHANGING ROOM. It was like me telling her if she asked what I was doing that I was eating a whole chocolate cake washed down with a large bottle of coke. Now I think my husband is going to ask me to go into town tomorrow which usually means lunch. That is the part he loves but what do I do after that . I normally browse the shops to see what the latest fashion trend is. Now that is out so maybe I will go into St Stephens Green and watch the ducks!!

Right back to the begining

After I read the Captains post I went straight into the kitchen and reached for the Brennans soft white sliced bread and made myself a ham and cheese sandwich and I waited for that nice comforting feeling to kick in but thinking about all those pounds he lost wouldn't leave my mind so I treated myself to a salami sandwich to take my mind off the matter but I was good and left the cheese out.

Then I had two slices of brown bread because it made me feel much healthier, kinda rebalanced the white bread if you know what I mean. I washed it all down with a coffee and it was right then that I remembered Rachel's friend was staying for dinner and she would be eating MY pork chop.

So I thought two milk chocolate goldgrain would do just fine as compensation for giving away my dinner.

I won't be weighing myself for the next two weeks

This is Captain Larry speaking

Hi everybody This is Mr. Captain. I'm now 13 days into the Project and if I don't think about it it is not so bad. As soon as I put my mind into gear I feel deprived and HUNGRY. I'm determined to succeed and I hope to lose an average of 2 lbs per week over the 26 weeks of the project. That's a whopping 52 lbs. in total

My story so far. I weighed in on Shrove Tuesday [24th. Feb] and the scales showed exactly 18 stones [ 252 lbs. ] I wasn't surprised as I already knew that my trousers and shirts were ALL too small for me. Either they had shrunk or I had greatly enlarged myself. Some months ago I suddenly was shattered to realise that I could no longer SEE the buckle of my belt as I tightened it while dressing each morning. That was a big shock for me as I now had a BEER BELLY and I didn't even drink beer.

So when THE CHALLENGE was issued I was definitely UP FOR IT. My plan was to try a PROTEIN REGIME with the minimum of non- proteins with the exception of lots of FRUIT and VEGETABLES

My first progress weigh-in was on Wed. 4th. Mar. and to my complete surprise the scales read 17 st. 3 lbs. [241 lbs.] I think most of this was a correction in water retention and I don't expect such dramatic reduction over further weeks. My next weigh-in is due next Wed 11th. Mar.and I'm hoping for the best as I have been well behaved although I've had 2 special meals in the last 7 days. A lovely lunch in Cavistons of Glastule [ Portuguese Sardines for Starters and Halibut meuniere with a Capo coffee to finish and then Mum's very special Black Sole in Butter preceded by a Traditional Prawn Cocktail. Needless to say both these meals were accompanied by the finest White Wine.

My plan is to do my very best but not to be a MARTYR and a PAIN in the A**E to all around me I encourage myself by thinking that when I'm feeling the worst that is when the weight is falling away or so I HOPE

I had a bad day on Saturday when in town to have my hair done when I went into Clerys to buy tights. I was like an Alcaholic rushing out in case I might see something I might like to buy. Its hard girls!! Captain Eileen.

GOLDILOCKS WEEK2 DAY7

weight loss this week -3lbs

Weight loss to date    -2lbs

Well I'm finally headed in the right direction. However, I have just returned from a family outing to the movies where I had nachos and cream cheese and later we went to Milano's restaurant, where I had a delicious bruschetta followed by pizza. In order to counteract this, I intend to follow the tried and tested  method of burying my head in the sand (otherwise known as denial). I am hoping by not weighing myself for a couple of days, I won't see the damage I have done and hopefully by then matters will have rectified themselves.

Unfortunately I have a tough week ahead. I am meeting my friend Olivia for lunch tomorrow in Adare and having dinner with friends in Milano's  on Friday night. On Saturday we are travelling to Dublin to drop the kids off with Mum while we head to the Ritz Carlton for the weekend, which includes a dining experience in the Gordon Ramsey restaurant. God why is life so tough???

Small enough to matter, big enough to win

So since I've come back from Paris where I walked and walked from the Eiffel Tower to the Gallerie LaFayette, where I watched and copied the Parisian Ladies by eating green beans and lambs lettuce with slices of wafer thin raw beef washed down by copious amounts of much too expensive wine I am pleased to announce my new weight loss of

0.4lb

Point four of one pound. Just under one half of one pound.

Thank God my weighing scales weighs in decimal pounds because that was so disheartening to see after all the exercising I did that if my weighing scales was of the old style I think I would have missed that 0.4lb loss and would have headed straight to the local chipper for a single and a battered burger and perhaps would even have thrown in a curry sauce then headed to the pub and had a couple of pints of larger to clear the palate and sat in front of the TV with bags of crisps in my pyjamas all day because it would make me feel much better and after weeks of that I wouldn't be able to leave the house because none of my clothes would fit any longer.

So now you can see what a even the slightest of weight loss can do for my self esteem.

I'm hoping that the fact that I have had two menstrual periods run one into the other means that I am doubly bloated having been menstruating non stop since the 17Th February 2009.

And for you guys who are reading this and trying to loose weight. You know who you are. COUNT YOURSELVES LUCKY.

I'm off for coffee now with friends in the Dundrum Shopping Centre and I'm going to pick up some iron tablets and a packet of water retention tablets and one of those home diagnosis menopausal kits.

Love Raven xxx
142.8

I hate to admit this but ...

Ok it kills me to have to do this. I couldn’t decide whether to revel my weight or not but I have decided the best way for me to come to terms with the fact that I am once again overweight is to admit what I am. Before I went on holidays I was 143lbs. When I got back from holidays I got on the very same scales that reported 143lbs and it read 156lbs!!! Now I have come up with all sorts of reasons for this. Fluid retention after the flight, extra muscle from the skiing, my body thinking it is in a different time zone … the list goes on. But the fact of the matter is that the scales reads 156lbs and that makes me feel awful. I have no idea how I could put on almost 1 stone in just over 2 weeks??? Anyway that is my starting weight and I am now very focussed on getting back to 134lbs which is what I was only 5 months ago. If I could do it before I can definitely do it again.

GOLDILOCKS WEEK2 DAY1

Weight loss this week 0

Weight loss to date  0

"It is not enough to suceed others must fail" - Gore Vidal