Is the glass half full or half empty?

Well here it is. The last post. Although, the lack of a bugler rather spoils that impression...

It's been a tough year. Even tougher than I imagined it would be at the beginning of it, when I ran through all the horrible things which could happen and wondered if I had the strength to diet through them. I thought I might, but the truth turned out to be that I succumbed when the stress mounted - just as I always do. How else do you imagine I got to be the size I was last year?

Just to recap, I started this off weighing 18 stone back on 6 January 2005. The first stone came off by 2 February and the second bit the dust on 12 March, during a vicious bout of gastroenteritis. It all got a bit boring after that, and the third didn't disappear until mid-August. At which point I ground to a halt, causing perturbation to my small band of constant supporters.

Since then, the weight has crept back on as I failed catastrophically to resist the temptations of the season. I finish this challenge weighing in at 15 stone 5. That's 2 stone 9 pounds less than when I started, but a whole 3 stone 5 pounds more than I hoped to be today.

For those of my less charming supporters who may clamour to know if I'm going to be paying the sponsorship back, the answer is No! It went to a good cause! But on the basis that payments to date equal approximately £30 per pound, I am paying £150 into the pot as a forfeit for the 5 pounds I regained.

I'm sorry to have let down my sponsors who demonstrated they believed in me and what I was trying to do by pledging such generous support. I'm even more sorry to have let down those who benefit from the work of ActionAid in some of the poorest countries of the world, especially on today's anniversary of the Tsunami which so tragically called attention to the fragility of human existence.

So I could look on this experience as nothing more than a failure - and I frequently do - but I'm going to choose not to do so. Given the events of my year, with the loss of a dearly loved pet, four illnesses, flood and temporary homelessness, I could easily have put all the weight back on. It really is only this challenge and your support which stopped me doing that. So I will start 2006 succeeding at weighing less than I did the year before, and I have every intention of starting 2007 in the same fashion. I will attempt to lose a further 4 stone in the coming year - but I'll be doing it in private. This blog ends here.

Goodbye.

Time Out

Sorry folks. I'm suspending the blog until 26 December when I'll post a final update.

I hope that the inhabitants of Devon, Switzerland and Winchester find something else interesting to read in the meantime.

Update

Sorry for the delay. Lost a pound last week. No snow here yet - thank god. Found a Major Pratt in the 1861 census today - that gave me a giggle. Can't think of anything else to report. Over and out...

Another Thursday

I'm not really sure what happened to the last two posts which you (i.e. my one avid reader and the two or three others who drop by now and then) have obviously been expecting. I can only assume I ate them... along with everything else. Apologies for the silence which, as you will have guessed, indicates no weight loss at all - and indeed one pound gained this last week. Actually, it's a bit of a surprise I haven't put on more than I have - but that's not much help to one and all.

On the positive front, building work has finally started on my flat - and I should be home in 2006! I suspect I'll have an easier time dieting once all of this is over - but I'm afraid that'll be too late for this challenge.

Weak week whatever...

I didn't try harder...
I didn't try harder...
I didn't try harder...

Another pound on after a week of self-indulgence. I'd like to blame the constant stress caused by having to choose exactly the right shade of magnolia for my walls, but I think most of you are savvy enough to realise there are better excuses out there.

The only bright spot on the horizon is that I woke this morning craving an apple and have managed to stick to my diet today. Long may it continue!

The Games

Sorry folks. I've been labouring under a misapprehension. This diet is neither a marathon nor a sprint. It's the hurdles. About 26 miles of them. And I never could cope with hurdles. At school I had to push each one over with my hand before jumping over the fallen obstacle in the most cissy style imaginable.

This time, I attempted to jump and have now got a bloodied nose and grazed knees - metaphorically speaking of course (just in case you were getting so involved with my vivid prose that you envisaged me in A&E battered and bruised...) In reality, what I'm getting at is that I've put 2lbs on and I'm just too damn stressed and tired to cope with being hungry as well.

I will try harder...
I will try harder...
I will try harder...

Postcard from Auckland, Wellington, Picton, Blenheim, Christchurch, Greymouth, Napier, Taupo, Rotorua…

The jet lag has receded and I am now able to ponder on my excellent holiday, which was one of contrasts – cities versus unpopulated landscapes; people versus sheep; night-loving kiwis versus sun-loving kiwis versus green hairy kiwis; wind chill of –1 degrees versus sunburn in 24 degrees; sauvignon blanc versus more sauvignon blanc… I had an excellent time and am delighted to say I gave my diet and soggy flat hardly a thought.

With the purchase of a winter coat and the free bathrobe from my final night’s hotel deal, my suitcase expanded to a hefty 22.5kg on the return from New Zealand. I was hardly able to lift it and am eternally grateful to the inventor of wheeled cases. It occurred to me to convert these mysterious kilos to pounds using the ever helpful Google calculator. Just under 50lbs – only 4lbs more than I’ve lost since January. It was a salutary thought – I’d been carrying that around with me everywhere I went!

So there we have it – with 4lbs off this week (easy on easy off) only two thirds of a suitcase to go…