Monthly Archives: July 2017

Fatty Parry 27: 12 Week Wedding Weight Loss: 2 @ww_uk @weightwatchers

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

Introduction

Earlier this year, my weight peaked at 16st 12lb (236lb). I had never been so fat. And I felt it. With a family wedding looming, and having a Body Mass of over 30 (= “Obese Class 1”), I decided to take action and sort my life out. Hence, I went on a 13 Week Wedding Weight Loss program (weeks: 1 2 3 4 5 7 9 10 11 12 13). Click here for a quick explanation of the ins-and-outs, but the short of it is this: having a Body Mass of over 30 in a suit at a wedding in the sun in Spain is not a good look!

I lost weight and, whilst I didn’t reach my target, I made serious steps towards it and learnt a lot along the way.

Now I have another wedding in twelve eleven weeks’ time. So I’ve decided to not only carry on trying to fulfil my short-term weight goals, but to move towards the next phase in the transformation of me. 12 Week Wedding Weight Loss will be about achieving Phase 2: getting my weight to the ideal of 13st 7lb. I am currently 15st 11.2lb 15st 13.2lb. The long term goal is to not just get to and maintain a healthy weight, but to get seriously fit. But I’m jumping the gun: that’s Phase 3!

I therefore aim to lose 32.2 pounds in twelve weeks, a loss of just under 2.7lbs 3.1lbs a week.

Last week

Last week was… an unmitigated disaster. By Thursday, I had lost exactly 2lbs. So far, so good. Unfortunately, my private life took a chaotic turn for several days and the food and drink went out of control. By Monday morning, I had gained four pounds! I am now 15st 13.2lb. What a downer. I think I need to do a post talking about how to manage your weight/diet in stressful circumstances… once I work out how myself! Now I have to lose 3.1lbs a week to meet my goals. But remember: healthy, slow weight loss is better than rapid weight loss! But 3.1lbs a week is still sustainable and reasonable.

Next week

I aim to lose 2.7lb 3.1lb a week. So I hope to be 15st 10.1lb (220.1lb) by my next update. Here’s a chart of my weight beginning with the previous program (13 Week Wedding Weight Loss).

  • week 0 (last week): 10/07/2017: 15st 13lb (223lb)
  • week 1: 17/07/17: 15st 11.2lb (221.2lb)
  • week 2: 24/07/17: 15st 13.2lb (223.2lb)
  • GOAL: 14/10/17: 13st 7lb (189lb)

© 2017 Bryan A. J. Parry

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

TV Review: Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 2 #GoTS7 #SpoilerSweats

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check out my film, TV, and Netflix blog at
https://filmmovietvblog.wordpress.com/

Note: this aims to be a spoiler-free episode review…

Episode 2, “Stormborn”, was exciting stuff! A lot happened. Daenerys showed yet more of the steeliness she flashed in episodes 7.1 and 6.10. She even presumptuously demands that someone else “bend the knee”. Theon, known to his close friends as “Reek”, gets an opportunity to showcase his newfound confidence and courage. Happily, the show gets back to basics: by bringing us some hawt seks. Well, naked bods, boobies and all, and a bit of heavy petting. And we witness everyone’s favourite (read: nobody’s favourite) Samwise Gamgee rip-off, err, Sam, perform a rather disturbing Cronenbergesque operation. There’s also a shocking bit of carnage to finish the episode. In short, everything Game of Thrones fans love and crave.

Also notable was just how slow pre-broadband Westerosi communications technology was. We see different people get news about various developments at vastly different times. It’s something we don’t think about, but was a key factor back then… in the Middle Ages(??)

On the downside, the funny-cum-disgusting camerawork shtick from Episode 7.1, which saw canteen food and sloppy chamber pots quickly intercut, was repeated in a different context in this episode. I hope this isn’t the start of meta, distracting, drawing-attention-to-itself direction. You can have too much of a good thing.

© 2017 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from http://www.fiz-x.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Game-of-Thrones-Season-7-2-1.jpg

 

 

 

TV Review: Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 1 #GoTS7 #SpoilerSweats

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check out my film, TV, and Netflix blog at
https://filmmovietvblog.wordpress.com/

Hmm, how to do a Game of Thrones episode review with no spoilers? Well, here we go.

Season 7 of the visual crack that is Game of Thrones kicked off yesterday. Unlike the last six seasons which had ten episodes apiece, this time we’ll get seven. But we’re promised they will be more epic than ever. I’m not disappointed, but actually really respect this decision: none of the old, ‘Well, we have to fill ten episodes, so let’s just stretch it all out a bit’. David Benioff and D. B. Weiss are clearly all about quality over quantity.

As for last night’s episode, it was no “Red Wedding”, but it was no “Lord Snow” either: it was solid, entertaining, and oh so tense. And it began with a truly arresting scene which was horrifying, brilliant, and delightful all at once. Let’s just say that revenge is a dish best served cold.

As for the rest of the episode, nothing much happened. But at the same time, a lot happened. Pieces got moved around the board, and the episode felt very much like the calm before the storm. Shit is about to go down, big time, and we were left in no doubt that this was the last moments before it all kicks off.

More than that, many possible future developments were hinted at: new alliances, old alliances fracturing. Very exciting.

On a weird side-note, one man band Ed Sheeran made a jarring cameo as a, erm, musician. And who was that beside him but Thomas “This Is England” Turngoose. I don’t know which was more distracting! Sheeran’s performance itself was actually alright and non-intrusive. But because the Twitterverse melted down beforehand, my attention was drawn to him: I couldn’t help but get tunnel vision and keep repeating in my own head “OMG! That’s ED SHEERAN!!!”. If no one had gone on about it beforehand, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it was him at all. Strangely, though, Sheeran got upset by the reactions to his cameo and has quit Twitter. I find it weird that a ridiculously talented, rich, adored singer would, at this stage, have such thin skin. But no worries: if you’re reading this, Ed, for I know you surely are, then chin up — you were no David “King Arthur” Beckham.

© 2017 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from http://www.fiz-x.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Game-of-Thrones-Season-7-2-1.jpg

Fatty Parry 26: 12 Week Wedding Weight Loss: 1 @ww_uk @weightwatchers

Fatty Parry, , , , , , , , , , , ,

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

Introduction

Earlier this year, my weight peaked at 16st 12lb (236lb). I had never been so fat. And I felt it. With a family wedding looming, and having a Body Mass of over 30 (= “Obese Class 1”), I decided to take action and sort my life out. Hence, I went on a 13 Week Wedding Weight Loss program (weeks: 1 2 3 4 5 7 9 10 11 12 13). Click here for a quick explanation of the ins-and-outs, 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!

I lost weight and, whilst I didn’t reach my target, I make serious steps towards it and learnt a lot along the way.

Now I have another wedding in twelve weeks’ time. So I’ve decided to not only carry on trying to fulfil my short-term weight goals, but to move towards the next phase in the transformation of me. 12 Week Wedding Weight Loss will be about achieving Phase 2: getting my weight to the ideal of 13st 7lb. I am currently 15st 11.2lb. The long term goal is to not just get to and maintain a healthy weight, but to get seriously fit. But I’m jumping the gun: that’s Phase 3!

I therefore aim to lose 32.2 pounds in twelve weeks, a loss of just under 2.7lbs a week.

Last week

Last week was the week after 13 Week Wedding Weight Loss finished, but the week before starting my new 12 week program; basically, it was me trying to settle back into the country and my normal routine. I always find coming back from holiday to be the end of all my best laid plans; the routine goes right out the window. But as it happens, despite a slightly erratic week where I struggled to get back into the swing of things, I still lost 1.8lbs.

Next week

I aim to lose 2.7lb a week. So I hope to be 15st 8.5lb (218.5lb) by my next update. Here’s a chart of my weight on the previous program including the wedding week itself.

  • week 0 (last week): 10/07/2017: 15st 13lb (223lb)
  • week 1: 17/07/17: 15st 11.2lb (221.2lb)
  • GOAL: 14/10/17: 13st 7lb (189lb)

© 2017 Bryan A. J. Parry

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

Game of Thrones Season 7 #GoTS7 #SpoilerSweats

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check out my film, TV, and Netflix blog at https://filmmovietvblog.wordpress.com/

As everyone knows, probably even out-of-touch politicians who need to watch The Zeitgeist Tapes, the show that made swords and sorcery mainstream and thereby robbed nerds of our one defining in-group characteristic, Game of Thrones, is back! Season seven kicks off this Sunday.

What can I say about GoT that hasn’t already been said? Not a lot, really, as much has been made of how close to televisual crack it is. I cannot wait, and I’m starting to get the “spoiler sweats”; y’know, the terror that someone will tell me what happens before I get home and watch the latest episode myself. Indeed, GoT has got a little bit stressful the past couple of years; instead of catching up when I can (*damn life commitments!), as I used to, I feel like I have to drop everything and watch each episode ASAP lest it be ruined… which itself ruins it a tad.

Other thoughts?

Even though I loooooooooooooove the show, I’m not as addicted as I was before; I didn’t suffer this past twelve months with no GoT as I have in the past. I also do not see how the ending can possibly top the series itself; I feel like even the best series ender of all time wouldn’t top what has come. Also, I can’t see how they can please everybody when the series winds up with season 8. Why? Because some people want to see a “happy ending”, with Jon and Daenerys getting hitched, crushing the forces of darkness, and ushering in a Summer that never ends. Others, and this includes me, feel that this would be an unsatisfactory ending and totally not in keeping with the rest of the show. I feel that only an end of pure depressiveness would be in keeping with the overall show; perhaps the “good” guys do win, but in their turn get corrupted, perhaps with Daenerys becoming every bit as despotic as her forebears. There is also another risk posed to the finale we all hope for, and it’s what I call the “Pirates of the Carribean Effect”. This is where, in an attempt to become “EPIC!”, films and TV shows get so overbloated, so full of whizz-bangs, that they drown in a sea of their own CGI and pompous self-importance.

Well, whatever the future holds for GoT in seasons seven and eight, I would love to see some spin offs. Indeed, I almost can’t see this not happening. So many tales to delve into.

© 2017 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from https://i.ndtvimg.com/i/2017-03/game-of-thrones-season-7_650x400_61489120378.jpg

Fatty Parry 25: 13 Week Wedding Weight Loss: CONCLUSION @ww_uk @weightwatchers

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

Introduction

I HAVE BEEN 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!

Outcome

The 13 week diet had its ups and downs. As you can see from the weekly summary below, I only really began losing weight half way through the diet. This was very disappointing and meant that I missed my immensely achievable weight target of 14st 7lb. None-the-less, I turned it around and was only 11.6lb from my target. I fit into my suit and looked pretty dapper, too. Not quite so dapper pool-side, mind! But this was only Phase 1 in my transformation: slow and steady wins the race and is healthy and sustainable.

The reason for my inability to lose weight at first? I thought that a healthy diet plus the “odd reward” would be okay. Actually, when I totted it up, the “odd reward” was more like 2-3 takeaways a week, a couple of bottles of beer most nights, and biccies or chocs with almost every cup of tea/coffee–and I drink a lot of tea and coffee! Plus, not everything was healthy; semi-skimmed milk still adds up quite badly when you’re drinking half a dozen cups of tea/coffee a day.

I changed tack and began my “almost cold turkey” approach of no junk whatsoever from week eight. That is, one treat a week, one bottle of beer a week, and no more than a couple of biscuits a day. Click week ten’s post for details. This yielded BIG results. 18lbs in the six weeks!

What I’ve learnt

Most of my posts in this series have tips and advice based on what I’ve learnt (weeks: 1 2 3 4 5 7 9 10 11 12 13). But I think the key things to bear in mind are:

  • Mindfulness: be aware of what you really are taking in; eat slowly and focus on the food without distractions as this will make you enjoy it more and feel fuller; don’t fatten yourself with hidden devils such as unhealthy salad dressing or the milk in your morning latte.
  • Don’t starve: you should never be hungry, always nicely full. Crunchy foods which make you chew and which fill you up are the ideal snack to keep hunger at bay, such as apples, pears, peppers, and radishes.
  • Eat small and often: three meals plus two or three snacks. Snacks should be healthy!
  • Drink lots of water: will keep you healthy and destroy your hunger.
  • Inches not pounds: you should be aiming to slowly transform your body in the desired direction, but don’t obsess about weight. Your weights goes up and down all the time: worry more about inches, not pounds.

One week on

My plan was always to enjoy myself on the wedding trip. I wouldn’t eat endless Pringles, but I would drink and enjoy myself. I had no scales in Spain to keep tabs on myself, but I could more-or-less guess. Also, I was happy to take a half stone (7lb) hit! That is, gaining around two week’s weight loss in one week. So long as I didn’t go over the, for me, psychologically important weight of 16 stone, I would be happy.

And that’s what has happened. I’ve gone back up to 15st 13lb. Most of this weight gain was doubtles due to the wedding feast as well as the few tinies of beer every day. Otherwise, my diet was pretty good.

The future

I have another wedding on the 14th October! So I’ll be starting the sequel to this post series: Twelve Week Wedding Weight Loss. Clearly the secret to weight loss is 2-4 weddings a year! Hopefully, I keep this weight off and keep striving towards my goal equipped with the insight I’ve gained this time round. But the goal then won’t be reaching 14st 7lb, which is just over the weight I was when I got married in 2013. No! I’ll be going for my target weight that I haven’t been since I was 20 years old: 13st 7lb! (189lb) Why? This is the weight that I know, from my own experience, is healthy for me. Thus begins Phase 2 of Operation Fatty Parry.

13 Week Wedding Weight Loss: Week-By-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
  • week 10: 05/06/17: 16st 1lb (225lb) target was 224.6lb/213.1lb*
  • week 11: 12/06/17: 16st 0.6lb (224.6lb) target was 221.5lb/210.6lb*
  • week 12: 19/06/17: 15st 9.0lb (219lb) target was 221lb/208.1lb*
  • week 13: 26/06/17: 15st 6.8lb (216.8lb) target was 215lb/205.6lb*
  • WEDDING DAY: 03/07/17: 15st 4.6lb (214.6lb) target was 214.8lb/203lb
  • GOAL: 03/07/17: 14st 7lb (203lb)
  • WEDDING DAY + 1 WEEK: 10/07/17: 15st 13lb (223lb)

*the left hand figure is my new revised target, the right hand one was my original target.

© 2017 Bryan A. J. Parry

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

Fatty Parry 24: 13 Week Wedding Weight Loss: 13 @ww_uk @weightwatchers

Fatty Parry, , , , , , , , , , ,

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

Introduction

NOTE: this post was meant to come out last week, but I was on the aforesaid  wedding trip!

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

I began my almost cold turkey approach of no junk whatsoever five weeks ago. That is, one treat a week, one bottle of beer a week, and no more than a couple of biscuits a day. Click week ten’s post for details. This is yielding BIG results. 16lb in the last five weeks!

Next week

The wedding is this weekend. So I hope to lose a couple more pounds.

In any case, I’ll let you know my final weight next week. Bear in mind, any weight I lose before the wedding, I’ll likely have put back on after the revelries. But hopefully I’ll still be under 15st 7lb by my next update. I’ll also conclude this series, 13 Week Wedding Weight Loss, with my overall thoughts on how this thirteen weeks has gone and some key things I’ve learnt.

The future

After my final entry, I  will be starting the sequel to this post series — because I have another wedding in October! Clearly the secret to weight loss is 2-4 weddings a year! Hopefully, I keep this weight off and keep striving towards my goal equipped with the insight I’ve gained this time round. But the goal then won’t be reaching 14st 7lb, which is just over the weight I was when I got married in 2013. No! I’ll be going for my target weight that I haven’t been since I was 20 years old: 13st 7lb! (189lb)

  • 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
  • week 10: 05/06/17: 16st 1lb (225lb) target was 224.6lb/213.1lb*
  • week 11: 12/06/17: 16st 0.6lb (224.6lb) target was 221.5lb/210.6lb*
  • week 12: 19/06/17: 15st 9.0lb (219lb) target was 221lb/208.1lb*
  • week 13: 26/06/17: 15st 6.8lb (216.8lb) target was 215lb/205.6lb*
  • GOAL: 03/07/17: 14st 7lb (203lb)

*the left hand figure is my new revised target, the right hand one was my original target.

© 2017 Bryan A. J. Parry

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