Winding down

As I type this, the last 3D print I’m doing this semester is currently being printed.  This afternoon I’ve got some sensors to start wiring up, and then I can breathe a sigh when that’s done, and just think about the trip I’m taking.

3 nights in Bangkok, 11 in Bali and 3 in Dubai.  I’ve got a couple of trips and a surf lesson booked for Bali.  My recently replaced yoga mat is coming with me so I can get each day off to a good start, and I’m coming off the diet which has seen me lose just under 7″ from my belly, and the sensible eating regime (not going back to eating processed foods packed full of sugar, and continuing to eat salads, which I never used to.  Increasing the amount of excercise (I cut back due to lack of carbs) should keep me from returning to my previously comfortably padded belly.
I’m not deluding myself, I know I’ll put a bit back on, but I need to stick to sensible eating, and only eat junk once a month on games night.

Food hangover

Since the New Year, I’ve been (sort of) on the Atkins diet.  I’ve not cut out carbs, but I have limited their intake.  The result to date is, about 6 inches off my gut, that I was more than able to lose.  I’ve (almost) got a flat stomach now.  I’ve been going to the gym again and doing some core sessions – I really need to do some upper body as well, as I’ve never been great in the upper body strength stakes.
I’m also doing a yoga class – vinyasa flow – once a week, and I’m doing more yoga on my own most days (I’m doing the men’s 30 day yoga challenge on Do You Yoga)
I’m probably in better shape at 50 than I was at 25!

Now I said above that I’m “sort of” doing Atkins.  Once a month we have a games night (boardgames like Pandemic, Zombies, Robo Rally, Cards Against Humanity) and I drop the diet for that day.  So it’s pizza, beer, etc for me 🙂  The downside to this is what I can only describe as a “food hangover” the following day.  It’s almost as if my body reaslises that I’ve been eating “clean” food for ages, and suddenly isn’t all that impressed when sugary rubbish suddenly gets introduced to the mix.
I have to admit that weirdly for someone who had a sweet tooth, I don’t really miss the sweet stuff now.

Anyway, I’ve done my yoga for the day.  Did it first thing this morning, and lunchtime, I’m off to the gym to give my abs a hard time of it.

Back to it.

So I’m getting the bit between my teeth again after having a pretty lazy week. Kicking off tonight with yoga straight after work.
At the weekend I’ll go inline skating on Sunday.
Three gym sessions planned for Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with my regular gym buddy and casual sadist, Audrey (she comes up with workouts that don’t let me slack).
Also on Monday I’ve got karate, and Thursday as usual will be yoga.

I came across a recipe for a vegan cheesecake, which I might be able to actually have while I’m on this diet (the honey might be a bit of a no-no but I can offset if I have to).  It’s on the Cooking Without Limits blog and the recipe can be found here.  I’ve never tried a vegan cheesecake, so I’m open to giving it a go.

Slacker

Been slacking lately gym-wise.  I’ve not been in the last week.  No excuse other than my torturer/gym buddy hasn’t been able to go due to meetings.
I’ve still been going to karate, skating and yoga though, so it’s not like I’ve reverted to total slothdom.

That’s now two months since I started cutting out the carbs, and restricting myself to about 30g a day – there’s been the odd blip eg when we went to Gartmore House for the night – and in that time, I’ve lost 62 off my belly, so that’s a result.
I really don’t miss sweet things, which has really surprised me.  Nan bread with my curry though, and the pita bread a kebab comes in…..those I do miss.  Ah well, it’ll all be worth it in the long run.

The great outdoors

Well that was a great wee weekend.

Started off after work on Friday, with a leaving do for one of the other techs who retired.  I only stayed a couple of hours, as I had to get sorted for the next day’s trip, but my line-manager told me he finally left at 11pm, 7 hours after we arrived 🙂

Saturday, we headed to Gartmore House where we were booked in for the night.  After checking in, we hopped back in the car, and headed to Aberfoyle for a wander round, before jumping back in the car and heading to Callander for a while, before finally heading back to Gartmore House and dinner.

The food was excellent (as usual).  This was the third time we’ve stayed there, and the food has always been great.  My wife is coeliac, and there’s Free From bread, and soya milk, so she’s catered for as well, which a lot of more expensive places don’t seem to do.
After dinner, we just heading into the lounge and had  a few games of Ouril.  We’d taken the set that I picked up in Cape Verde along.  Easy game to learn, but I suspect it could take a while to get really good at it.

Yesterday, after a substantial breakfast, we got a map of local forest walks from the reception, checked out, and went for a nice long walk before heading back home.

Great weekend, and getting out and doing something, rather than slobbing out with Netflix, was great (Not that I’m averse to the odd box set binge 😀  )

Not posed for at all pic of me by a wee stream

Weekend stuff

The brewery tour on Friday night was good fun.  Ryszard managed to turn up with literally 2 minutes to go before the tour started.
They have opened a new, much larger brewery on the same site, which will increase production significantly.  Really interesting tour, and the history of how the brewery started is pretty good.

After the tour there was the tasting.  Damn…….ah well, someone has to do it 🙂  Four beers were up for tasting, and they were all good, even the dark beer, which surprised me, as I’m not a fan of dark beers, preferring lighter session beers.

Tour over, and it would have been rude not to have a couple of pints before heading home.

Feel like I’ve been on the “business end” of a baseball bat!!!  My abs are KILLING ME!
A core session a couple of days ago left me feeling….. achey in the abs.  That’s all good. No pain no gain and all that.  Anyway, last night’s yoga class involved a few postures that worked the core, and yup, today my abs are screaming bloody murder.

To cheer myself up, I’m off on a brewery tour of the West Brewery, in Glasgow, tonight.  I won this a while back and never got round to booking it.  It’s about to expire, so I managed to get booked for the tour tonight.
Now, beer isn’t compatible with a low carb/high protein diet (which I’m currently on, and actually getting thinner on. Go me!), so I’m having a diet free day today.  So I can actually have some bread today.  This will be good.