The very kind @charonqc a twitter friend of mine has donated this painting to me.  The painting is titled “Let there be greed”.  A veritable thank you to M’learned, @Charonqc who has declined my offer of payment for his work.

Only a decade ago, the thought of taking a pill to enhance longevity would have been equivalent for many to the idea of time travel, but now researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine are studying the active component of a timeless drink that may hold such a promise.

That drink is red wine, and the seemingly miraculous compound it contains is called resveratrol, a chemical substance found primarily in red grapes. Scientists began to ponder the health benefits of red wine after observing that French people, who drink wine at higher rates than people of other nations, had relatively lower rates of coronary heart disease despite their saturated fat-rich diet. Scientists also noticed that regular consumers of red wine in general have lower rates of cardiovascular disease and aging disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

MORE

Technorati Tags: #reddiet

I’ve not blogged anything for a while. I’ve been busy with work committments, weekend social committments and generally getting on with life. Last weekend we had friends around for the day on Saturday and I needed to spend family time with the family on Sunday. This week has been full on so far and I’ve a busy weekend planned.

On Saturday I’m going down to the boat with @racesail. The plan is to rig the sails which are currently off and which means one of us needs to go up the mast to put the lazyjacks back in place and then to fill up at the fuel berth before a shakedown cruise. I’m sure there will be a need to check that the fridge is keeping the beers appropriately cooled and pretty confident that We’ll end up in a pub somewhere on Saturday evening.

That said, I’m trying to work on my weight (still) so I’ll be moderating my intake. This week I’ve been eating really well and, apart from the odd finger of Whisky have avoided drinking much at all.

On Sunday, the plan is to be in the Western Solent ahead of the starting gun for the Rolex Fastnet Race. If anyone else is going to be there do take a camera and if you can get a photo of Evelyn in full sail I’ll show my appreciation in an entirely appropriate way.

Well week three felt like a bad week, especially after the curry and beer evening again on Thursday but in retrospect I did decline a couple of rounds so maybe it wasn’t as bad as I remember.  Anyway, the upshot is I’ve lost two pounds this week!

Starting weight 14st 9llb

This weeks weigh in 14st 4llb

Total weigh lost to date 5llb

This week has not been as good as last despite a mid week walk.  Sunday, after building three Ikea desks thirst got the better of me and I ended up in the pub drinking an undisclosed number of pints of Peroni.  Monday to Wednesday was good but on Thursday I broke and sucumbed to a dirty threesome with me, a curry and a bottle of Brown Brothers Tarrango.  Friday I drank a little late on in the evening and Yesterday we had a family BBQ where I ate dirty food, including white bread and beefburgers and drank enough to get me karaokeing.  I did weigh myself yersterday at 14st 5llb but in the spirit of fairness, this mornings weigh in remains the formal one at 14st 6llb.

START WEIGHT  14st 9llb

WEEK ONE 14st 6llb

WEEK TWO 14st 6llb

PROGRESS TO DATE 3llb (no progress in the week)

This week started out really well.  I was eating sensibly, with a diet low in carbs and higher in protein than usual, and until Thursday I had no alcohol.  Thursday started out ok, but as planned I went to a curry and pint evening and the pint turned into many pints.  Friday saw a fairly impromptu visit to the local boozah where sense once again abandoned me and what should have been a couple of pints and a chat turned into a bit of a session.

Saturday saw us visit the golden arches for lunch, although I was fairly sensible for that and as it’s Mrs H’s birthday during the middle of this coming week I took her to dinner in Birmingham last night but refrained from all alcohol with the exception of a floater coffee with a splash of whisky in it and had a salad for my main course.

Bank, Brindley Place, Birmingham

Despite the regress at the back end of the week my efforts in the earlier part of the week have paid dividends and this weeks weigh in records my weight at 14st 6llb.  I’ve lost a fairly sensible 3llb in my first week.  Lets see how we go next week.

STARTING WEIGHT 14st 9llb

FIRST WEIGH IN 14st 6llb

PROGRESS SO FAR 3llb

Ok, I’m writing this pretty much to put something in the public domain that I hope I can use as a motivational tool.  The theory is once I’ve gone on record that I’m working to a weight goal I’ll be shamed into making it happen rather than letting it fade into dim and distant memory.

As a child I was always active being both a swimmer and a runner.  I used to go to the city Judo club with my dad every Monday night where we would run around the City Memorial Park with other club members and then do sprints and piggy back sprints and such like before returning to the club to either do Judo on the mat or to continue working out in the gym.  I also did a lot of running with the school competing well in all distances from 100m to cross country so from about 11 to 16 I was incredibly fit.  At 17 I left home and brought my first house and my feeding and exercising regime changed for the worst.  I started eating bad food in big portions and supplementing it with beer and wine.  Back then mostly beer.  In adulthood I was still pretty active until I had a fall from my horse and damaged my back by slipping a disc.  I’ve not really been able to run since other than on a treadmill which is simply not the same as proper running and so my activity declined whilst my food and alcohol intake continued as before.

In gaps between work I get to the gym in quite an agressive fashion.  At the begining of this year I had a couple of months without much work so was for a period of 6 or 8 weeks in the gym virtually every day.  Typically I’d do an hour of cardio work and then push weights until I could push no more.  I can pack muscle on quite quickly and can see my strength increasing in addition to my cardio performance improving but once work became busier I couldn’t maintain the committment to get to the gym.  Even whilst at the gym my gross bodyweight didn’t move that much.  Sure, I was probably carrying more muscle and a little less fat but my weight didn’t move that much.

So, because of work committments I can’t rely on getting to the gym so my only other option is to change my diet for better eating and to cut the alcohol consumption.  I’ve been eating well since the weekend with very little in the way of alcohol.  My starting point is 14st 9llb and I’m going to weigh myself every sunday morning for the next few weeks to see if I can get down to 13st 6llb.  I’ll also update this post on a weekly basis with my progress

STARTING WEIGHT    14st 9llb