Monthly Archives: May 2017

Fatty Parry 21: 13 Week Wedding Weight Loss: 9 @ww_uk @weightwatchers

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check out my new health and life goals blog at http://www.diethealthlifegoals.wordpress.com

Introduction

I’m on a 13 week diet to get into (a less round) shape for a family wedding. Click here for a quick explanation of what and why: but the short of it is this: having a Body Mass of over 30 (= “Obese Class 1”) in a suit at a wedding in the sun in Spain is not a good look!

Last week

Like I said in my last update, I’d begun to struggle due to not having changed my mindset. The last two weeks, I have tried to remove certain things from my diet completely (evening beer after work, biccies with my tea, and so on) in order to break the snack-craving cycle. I find a few weeks “cold turkey” helps change your mindset.

The last several days have been a great success! I’ve lost 4.2lb this week! Definitely back to making progress. I’ve been eating a lot. But only delicious salads with no creams or dressings, with only a little olive oil, and I’ve been eating plenty of fruit. Only one beer a week, no other booze. No take aways. Only a couple of biccies with my morning tea a day — although, most days this week, I’ve had no biccies at all. I’ve tried to stop eating when no longer hungry, instead of just stuffing myself to clear the plate (when I was a kid, I wasn’t allowed from the table till I’d eaten everything: old habits die hard!). This involves eating slowly and paying attention to my food, so not eating whilst watching the telly, say.

Next week

Because my weight loss basically had stalled at week 2 for the last several weeks, my goal weight in the time left is probably unreachable in a healthy fashion. I would need to lose 25.8 lbs in 5 weeks. However, I lost 4.2lb last week without ever even being hungry or de-energised. So maybe I can set a new goal of 16st 0.6lb / 224.6lb for next week.

  • week 1: 03/04/17: 16st 11.6lb (235.6lb)
  • week 2: 10/04/17: 16st 9.2lb (233.2lb) target was 233.1lb
  • week 3: 17/04/17: 16st 7lb (231lb) target was 230.6lb
  • week 4: 24/04/17: 16st 8.8lb (232.8lb) target was 228.1lb
  • week 5: 01/05/17: 16st 8.8lb (232.8lb) target was 225.6lb
  • week 6: 08/05/17: 16st 8.8lb (232.8lb) target was 223.1lb
  • week 7: 15/05/17: 16st 9lb (233lb) target was 220.6lb
  • week 8: 22/05/17: 16st 9lb (233lb) target was 218.1lb
  • week 9: 29/05/17: 16st 4.8lb (228.8lb) target was 215.6lb
  • GOAL: 03/07/17: 14st 7lb (203lb)

© 2017 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from https://hansimann.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/sisyphus_by_o__v-d66ox90.png

Project Polyglot Parry VIII: Duolingo: English-Spanish Duolingo UN-Accomplished @duolingo #duolingo

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As recently as this four posts ago, I posted an update proudly sharing how I had conquered the English-Spanish tree/course in Duolingo. Yet by the very next day, Duolingo had apparently updated the course — something they almost never do. Okay, good news: extra material to learn to take me to the next level. But the bad news: they updated the course with a lot of new material. Just check out the pictures below. I am miles from completing the tree! Waaa. I feel like someone who’s been retroactively stripped of my gold medal through no fault of my own (think: Usain Bolt’s third Olympic gold for the 4x100m relay; yes, that is an exactly analogous situation!)

© 2017 Bryan A. J. Parry

Fatty Parry 20: 13 Week Wedding Weight Loss: 7 @ww_uk @weightwatchers

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check out my new health and life goals blog at http://www.diethealthlifegoals.wordpress.com

Introduction

I’m on a 13 week diet to get into (a less round) shape for a family wedding. Click here for a quick explanation of what and why: but the short of it is this: having a Body Mass of over 30 (= “Obese Class 1”) in a suit at a wedding in the sun in Spain is not a good look!

Last week

This is quite serious, now. The first three weeks I lost weight, no problems. Then for the last four weeks I have flat-lined: I couldn’t have maintained my weight more exactly if I had tried. But this is no good! I have been eating a lot of veg. But even though I’ve changed my diet, I haven’t changed my mindset. And without changing that mindset which craves junk, I’ll never stop myself snacking.

Next week

Gonna have to get serious now. No more daily after-work bottle of beer. No more bickies. No more chocks. I’ve got to go hard core, cold turkey. After a few weeks without crap, you miss it less. Plus, starting to cycle again wouldn’t hurt; note that I lost the most weight when I had weeks doing a lot of exercise. I sense a connection…

  • week 1: 03/04/17: 16st 11.6lb (235.6lb)
  • week 2: 10/04/17: 16st 9.2lb (233.2lb) target was 233.1lb
  • week 3: 17/04/17: 16st 7lb (231lb) target was 230.6lb
  • week 4: 24/04/17: 16st 8.8lb (232.8lb) target was 228.1lb
  • week 5: 01/05/17: 16st 8.8lb (232.8lb) target was 225.6lb
  • week 6: 08/05/17: 16st 8.8lb (232.8lb) target was 223.1lb
  • week 7: 15/05/17: 16st 9lb (232.8lb) target was 220.6lb
  • GOAL: 03/07/17: 14st 7lb (203lb)

© 2017 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from https://hansimann.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/sisyphus_by_o__v-d66ox90.png

European Athletics Council to Wipe World Records from the History Books @JDE66 @paulajradcliffe @ColinJackson @Steve_Backley #IAAF #Athletics

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In 1995, I won the gold medal for the long jump at Borough Sports. This is the big, yearly, borough-wide sports competition with children competing from all local schools. 1995 also saw Jonathan Edwards break the 60 foot barrier in the triple jump. His leap has still not been bested. Edwards was my idol.

As a ten year old, and I say this with no exaggeration at all, that single hop, skip, jump has become one of the fundamental formative moments of my whole childhood and life. A golden memory, a moment where I was forever touched by the magic of sport and the heights that humans can climb.

Yet now, the European Athletics Council have suggested wiping all world records from before 2005. This would rub Edwards’ moment of magic out — as it would many other magnificent achievements, such as Mike Powell’s 1991 long jump world record which has also stood the test of time.

As Edwards has said, he always knew his record would go one day — he just didn’t expect it would be to administrators!

There are many things wrong with this policy. They have all been expertly articulated by many great athletes such as Colin Jackson, Steve Backley, Paula Radcliffe, and Jonathan Edwards: all legendary British athletes who will lose their records due to pen pushers. There’s no point rehashing their arguments — but to say that this proposal, whilst of noble intention, is wrong-headed and will harm the sport in the end.

But on a personal note, I feel like I’m being robbed of precious childhood memories. Athletics was a rare joy in my life, and those golden moments have shaped me. None more so than that magical hop, skip, and jump in Stockholm — something I’d write off as legend, if I hadn’t seen it for myself.

© 2017 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/04/14/article-1376790-0080CA3F1000044C-149_468x305.jpg

 

Fatty Parry 19: 13 Week Wedding Weight Loss: 5 @ww_uk @weightwatchers

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check out my new health and life goals blog at http://www.diethealthlifegoals.wordpress.com

Introduction

I’m on a 13 week diet to get into (a less round) shape for a family wedding. Click here for a quick explanation of what and why: but the short of it is this: having a Body Mass of over 30 (= “Obese Class 1”) in a suit at a wedding in the sun in Spain is not a good look!

Last week

Last week was Groundhog Week: pretty much the same as the week before. Plenty of fruit and veg, but too much snackage wrecked the week. I kept forgetting my apples/pears/carrots snacks at home, and I kept not making time to eat brekkie. This is where I fell down. This week I’ve really gotta sort this out: breakfast is the most important meal of the day as it sets you up and keeps you going. And if you have a healthy snack to hand, you’ll never reach for the bickies/crisps/chocs. Happily, though, at least I don’t weigh more than last week(!)

As I said last week, my goal has got to be to lose a healthy amount of 3lb a week for the next few weeks.

Next week

Bring my healthy snacks to work, eat a porridge and fruit breakfast.

  • week 1: 03/04/17: 16st 11.6lb (235.6lb)
  • week 2: 10/04/17: 16st 9.2lb (233.2lb) target was 233.1lb
  • week 3: 17/04/17: 16st 7lb (231lb) target was 230.6lb
  • week 4: 24/04/17: 16st 8.8lb (232.8lb) target was 228.1lb
  • week 5: 01/05/17: 16st 8.8lb (232.8lb) target was 225.6lb
  • GOAL: 03/07/17: 14st 7lb (203lb)

© 2017 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from https://hansimann.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/sisyphus_by_o__v-d66ox90.png

Project Polyglot Parry VII: Duolingo: English-Spanish Duolingo Accomplished @duolingo #duolingo

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I’ve finished my third Duolingo tree! Well done me. This time, I finished the English language for Spanish speakers tree. I clearly already speak English, but having previously completed the Spanish for English speakers course, it seemed like a natural next step. As it happens, I have learnt things and been tested in ways that didn’t happen doing the Spanish for English speakers course. For that reason, I would recommend everyone to do this “reverse tree”.

So, what are the next steps?

  1. Get the Spa-Eng tree golden and keep it golden! And keep my Eng-Spa and English-Swedish trees golden, too!
  2. Spend more time doing the Duolingo Eng-Spa, Spa-Eng, and Eng-Swe courses on Tinycards and on Memrise.
  3. Spend more time doing listening work: Notes in Spanish and 8-Sidor (news site and podcast).

These three steps should last me till the Summer or thereabouts. Upon which I will need to reassess again. Probably (4) do a language exchange, (5) start studying more closely to the DELE and Swedex curriculums, (6) think about enrolling on a course at the Cervantes Institute.

© 2017 Bryan A. J. Parry