My weight loss journey thus far

It started at the beginning of this year. After 9 months working a desk job, not getting any exercise whatsoever, and generally not being very happy with my life, I decided that it was time for a change. Standing on the scales I weighed in at nearly 100kg, I had a size 38 waist, I was smoking about a pack of cigarettes a day, and I jokingly referred to my man-boobs as ‘my B-cups.’

I was starting law school, and I knew I had to make a change. This was my last shot. I’d given up my Drama degree 6 months shy of finishing, and any and all hope on building a future for myself lay in my hands alone. To give you an idea, this is what I looked like (these are all pictures from the beginning of the year).

Now I’m not writing this blogpost to mark a milestone or anything like that. It’s just that I’ve had a few people ask me what exactly I’ve done to lose the weight. So I’ve decided to tell:

1. Find out how many calories your body needs in a day, and then take 500 calories out a day. So, for example, I know that if I eat 2500 calories in a day, then I won’t gain any weight. If I eat more than that, I either need to burn them off, or they get converted to fat. If I only eat 2000 calories a day, then my body will need to use stored fat for energy. Weight loss is really that simple.
2. For a while, monitor everything you eat and drink. A great way to do this is to use a website called http://www.fitday.com. They have just about every food imaginable.
3. Be patient. I’ve been doing this for 8 months and I’m still not even half way.
4. Cut sugar and other simple carbs like white bread and deep-fried potatoes. It’ll be really hard at first, but after a while you’ll hardly miss it.
5. I’ve managed to cut all takeaways out of my diet (pretty much), but if you want to eat a Big Mac, then just factor it into your calorie intake for the day. A calorie is a calorie. It’ll get burnt. You may just still be hungry afterward, so learn to exercise self-control if you want to do this.
6. My principle these days is not to eat any food that I haven’t cooked myself, with the exception of the odd restaurant meal every now and then (note: restaurant, not take away).
7. Walk a little bit every day. It’s good for your blood circulation, and gives you time to think. Take your iPod, and it’s even better. You don’t need a destination, just go wandering around.
8. The first 3 weeks are going to really really suck. You’ll eat your allotted amount of calories for the day, spaced out over breakfast, lunch and dinner, and you’ll still be hungry. In fact, the first week of my diet, I went to bed lying in the foetal position because of hunger pangs. That’s just the process you need to go through as your stomach shrinks. It’ll get better. Be strong.
9. The most important thing: Know the difference between being geniunely hungry, and just wanting food. Listen to your body, not your brain.
10. Once you’ve lost some weight, try some heavier exercise, like jogging or what not. You’ll be amazed how much more fun it is when you’re not carrying extra weight. Imagine going for a jog with a 10kg weight strapped around your middle.
11. Drink a lot of water. It’s really good for you.

That’s basically it. I’ve been ‘dieting’ for close on 8 months now, but I can’t say that it’s really a diet. It’s more of a new approach to the way that I live my life and the foods that I consume. Right now I’m a size 33, weigh in at 84kg, my moobs have gone, I feel better about myself, and I have more energy than before. That, and I look a bit better:

Just know that it’s a long process, and nothing will come instantly. But it is so worth it.

[untitled] – a retrospective rant to my last love interest

I’ve always been rather careful of romantic relationships. They’ve never worked out well for me, and I put it down to the fact that I’m a rather quirky person. My sense of humour is dark and twisted, my interests are far from mainstream and socially I don’t really fit in [not that I care]. But every now and then something comes along that makes all the potential hurt and heartbreak worth it.

I met you under a set of very random and serendipitous circumstances. Even though I was hesitant to chase after rainbows or to place labels on anything, I couldn’t argue with the way I felt. I really liked you, and I felt that the feeling was mutual. Watching a movie with you next to me was pure perfection, and falling asleep in your arms made me feel safer than I’ve ever felt before, as if all the bad shit in my life just simply wasn’t there any more. I really felt that we had something going.

But alas, not quite. I hoped things would work out, but after a brief mistake on my part it was radio silence. I’m a simple guy, and not one for games. Cryptic messages at irregular intervals confuse me. It seems a bit hypocritical of you to ask me not to mess you around, as now it feels you’re doing exactly that, but to me.

I now remember why I keep my emotions closed. I guess in future I’ll just have to trust less.

Friday FAIL

This was too good not to share.

The liver of pig is equally appetising.

Hat Tip: Niel de la Rouviere

Be careful what you tweet

This morning I had my first Twitter FAIL. You should always make sure that what you tweet now can’t be linked in anyway to what you’ve tweeted previously. For example:

NOT what you think

Hat Tip: Matthew Dekenah

A sad day has come.

A while back I bought myself a GHD. It stands for ‘Good Hair Day,’ and essentially it’s a really expensive way to straighten your hair. They cost a hell of a lot of money. Like R2k a lot. So when I found one for about half that, I was really happy.

But now I’m sad. I’ve just found out mine is fake. A really, really, really good fake, but fake nonetheless. The only redeeming quality is that it still works, thus my hair is still awesome.

They even have GHD vending machines. Yes, they are that good.

Damn you, sneaky Chineseses.

Another Omegle gem

A while back I made a post about Omegle.com, the website where you can just talk to total random strangers. On the internet. This morning, when my body decided that 04h30 was a perfectly acceptable time to wake me up, I used the time to run across this gem:

Priceless.

Friday FAIL

It just wouldn’t be Friday without a fail, so here it is. Thanks failblog.org

Fail

Back from the Hiatus

I must apologise. It has been almost a month since I have last written to you. In terms of things to update you with, there honestly isn’t much. I’ve been on holiday, and just been maxin’ relaxin’. It ain’t too taxing.

But what I do want to share is the little project that myself and MusicLady have undertaken.

Our new website

That’s right. We’ve spent the last two month’s building a website where Stellenbosch residents can go to check out not only what’s happening in town, but also find guides to fashion, restaurants, wine, and just lifestyle in general. Overall our goal is to become the number one guide to Stellenbosch for the 20-30 year old.

Please go and have a look, and let us know what you think. It’s been a long labour of love, but we feel that this is really what Stellenbosch needs at the moment. The website can be found at http://www.lifeafter5.co.za

We launch on Monday, and have a few things to give away as well. Hou Dop.

Friday FAIL

In light of the girl in Belgium getting some face candy, you know, the story that’s been doing the rounds all over the news, here is this week’s fail:

Check out ugliesttattoos.com

You, sir, fail at life.

How to solve two large problems

The world has a lot of problems. Srsly. There’s global warming. The crashing economy. The price of bread. Overpopulation. And stupid people. Lots and lots of very dumb people. There isn’t a lot we can do about the first few problems, but I have thought of a solution. It’s really simple, actually.

The earth has far too many people. Way, way too many. We may have enough resources to live for the time being, but it’s by no means sustainable. People are living longer than they used to, there are no more large-scale world wars, and it’s been a while since the black plague. It’s all leading to a horrible case of exponentialism, population growth wise. Personally, I blame Powerthirst.

400 Babies

Added to this, is the fact that people are having more babies than usual. Infant mortality rates are way, way lower, so this babies grow up, and produce more babies.

So here is my proposed solution: Only people of a certain level of intelligence may produce children. When you hit puberty, you have to go for this test, and should you fail, you are sterilised. Bang, problem solved. Think about it. Families that wish to continue their bloodline are going to push their kids to learn harder, become smarter and the intelligence of the world would rise, lest their kids fail the test and get the snip.

The only problem is off course the groos violation of human rights. Which is when I posted this idea on a forum, the discussion turned to the idea of a marriage licence, much like the licence you need to drive a car. This way, you are only allowed to become a parent if you are approved. Sure, accidents happen, but when I go to do my shopping and see a woman holding her child in her arms, whilst having a cigarette, I realise that a lot of people just shouldn’t be parents. At all. And it’s usually those least suited to parenthood that are having children.

However, the best solution to stupidity came off quote website, bash.org:

<xterm> The problem with America is stupidity. I’m not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don’t we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?

‘Nuff said.

Disclaimer: This is not a article of hatred or discrimination. It is meant to get you thinking, if anything at all.