How to Lose a Belly When You're 42 (part 36 )

As expected, my summer holiday was more beer and cake than protein and running. As a result, I've put weight on over the last 7 weeks.
Time to get back into training...

Monday
My first day of healthy eating for a while: no cake, no crisps, no chocolate, no biscuits, no sweets, no choc ices!
I soon realised that I was experiencing food cravings, not hunger. I was eating enough healthy food to not be hungry, I was simply craving the sugar rush that I was used to topping up with during the day.
I did a decent weight training session and found that I was really aching afterwards! I'm still having to keep the weights relatively light because of my martial arts injury in my right arm. I've had this injury since March - how long does it take before an injury goes away?
No alcohol, no junkfood.

Tuesday
I went to the hospital today to have my blood cholesterol tested. I won't know the results until I visit my doctor.
About ten years ago, a blood test for something else revealed I had high cholesterol, and it's been monitored ever since.
Martha and I attended dojo this evening.  Sensei Julian Cunningham, five times British champion, led an intense, non-stop, sweaty session concentrating on basic techniques but then culminating in kata Bassai Dai four times on the trot. I was running with sweat! Just what I needed.
However, Martha was not as enthusiastic about such a demanding session and complained rather a lot. She later admitted that her enthusiasm for karate is dropping. I need to have a think about how to approach this new problem.
After contacting Sensei Gary about it, he suggested entering Martha for a competition in Wolverhampton in two months time. I hope she agrees to it!
No alcohol, no junkfood.
So hungry!


Wednesday
We went back to work and began the process of enrolling new students on to courses.
I felt hungry all day but remembered to drink plenty of fluids.
When I got back home, I mentioned to Martha that I was going to do some weight lifting. To my surprise, she asked if she could join in!
We did an intense session over 50 minutes that included 400 body weight reps and 150 weighted reps. Phew! She did complain a little and discussed stopping after about 30 minutes, but she managed to complete the session. I hope she joins in again.
I cooked a fairly healthy Chinese stir fry.
Almost had a beer with my dinner, but managed to resist!
Cycled to work and back. No alcohol, no junkfood.

Thursday
I managed to avoid/resist all the biscuits at work.
Back at home, I went out for a 10K run. I got back 65 minutes later a sweaty mess with a feeling of accomplishment.
Mouse and friends were celebrating their GCSE results in the back garden and they were quick to point out a huge vein at my temple!
I felt I deserved a drink with my dinner tonight and ended up having three bottles of ale while watching the Vuelta with Lucy.
Cycled to work and back. No junkfood.

Friday
Up at 2.30am with an upset stomach.
I had a lie-in for an extra hour this morning and ended up getting to work at 9am instead of 8!
I ate healthily at work. At home, I couldn't face going to dojo when the weather was so nice. So I jumped on my bike and did 17 miles in the sunshine instead.
I drank three ales in the evening.
Cycled to work and back. No junkfood.

Saturday
Nigel cycled round in the morning on his reserve bike. His number one bike was being serviced. He needed the saddle to be raised so we set about doing that. Then we decided to see if we could tighten the cones on his rear hub. Jonnie joined us when we had my box of spanners out and the bike up on the stand. Unfortunately, it was a bigger job than I'd anticipated so we decided to leave it for another day. Nigel led us out over most of his Shrewley route before we turned off on to the High Cross route. Jonnie was full of beans and was dashing off into the distance at regular intervals! I noticed that Nigel was moving around a lot on his bike and doing lots of stretches while going along...
Soon, Jonnie had a puncture. This was the first puncture that our little group has had to deal with since the Mad March Hare. Jonnie did a grand job of swapping the tubes while Nigel watched and I went for a wee and then did some stretching.
We were soon back on the road, enjoying the weather and cruising down to Snitterfield. Nigel was quite a way behind which was very unlike him. He'd been out for a curry the night before (which became obvious while he was watching Jonnie deal with the puncture!) and he's been playing a lot of racquetball lately.
We rode together through Snitterfield, past the Stratford Armories, along the A3400 and then down Featherbed Lane. It was on Featherbed that my legs decided to give up. So I eased into a recovery phase* and tooled along at 19mph while the other two scampered off into the distance.
At the tea stop I was charged with certain technical duties so I ended up munching homemade coffee cake in front of a computer while everyone else sat out in the sunshine! Time constraints meant that we decided to ride straight back home instead of via the Purity Brewery detour I had planned for.
On the way back, it was obvious Nigel was suffering. He couldn't get used to his old saddle and was in all sorts of discomfort. I rode back with him while Jonnie put on a good pace and waited for us every now and then.
One beer at Jonnie's and then back home to walk the dogs.
My good friend Chris came to visit tonight. We had an excellent evening playing old records while sipping ales in my backgarden and then heading off to the pub for three more ales (including Purity UBU on tap!)

Sunday
I woke up with a bit a fuzzy head...
After breakfast, Chris headed off home and I took the dogs to the park for an hour. It was a gorgeous sunny day and I decided it would be a waste to spend it inside. When I got home, I dragged myself back on to the bike and span out another 15 miles and a leisurely pace. I went a mostly flat route and felt a lot better when I got home!

The hounds in the local park.

In the evening, I set about painting the dining room chairs. I dragged them out into the back garden to enjoy the warm weather. Of course, working outdoors is rewarded with an ale or two...
Lucy did a wonderful gammon joint for dinner with homegrown green beans from her garden. I followed this with a white chocolate Magnum...
Somehow, I don't think I am going to lose this belly while I'm 42!


*The Recovery Phase of a bike ride is when you sit up and say "sod it" for a bit. This gives time to think up excuses about why you are in a Recovery Phase in the first place.