Following on from yesterday, something I wasn't sure about mentioning was my graph.
Basically, what I have discussed before is that I've set an initial target for my weight loss. I've not given too many details, as I find it rather embarrassing, but what I have said is that this initial target marks the transition point from me being "Morbidly Obese" to simply "Obese".
Now, clearly that doesn't mean it's any sort of end point, but it seemed like a reasonably sensible first target - get from my current weight to under that threshold before the end of the year. Unfortunately, Christmas is one of those holidays where consumption is difficult to avoid, so I'm actually hoping to exceed the target by a bit so that any bounce up that occurs doesn't take me back over.
But anyway - the point is, get below that line by the end of the year (When not at my Dad's and eating too much I will of course be home and can probably do a lot of walking, so that's how I'm hoping to compensate). And of course, me being me, that also means I can create a spreadsheet.
In this case I also have the bonus of the fact that I'm using a pedometer to monitor my walking, so I've got numbers I can put in daily (the pedo) and weekly (my weight). And that means (drum roll) graphs!
In this case, I've got two fairly simple graphs that plot my weight and BMI, but the key point here is that there's a line drawn on them that connects my initial weight and the weight I need to get to in order to go below the target weight.
Now generally, I've been some way below this line. Indeed, it was the degree of belowness that triggered my worry about not eating enough calories a while back, but last week's zero change result was particularly alarming, because for the first time I got close to the line with the very real prospect that this week I would go over it.
Thankfully, I'm now back well below the line after Sunday's weigh in.
Anyway, the thing I really wanted to mention was that my big plan is to have a "reveal all" session once I pass my first target. My idea is I'll reveal my initial weight, show the graphs and discuss my next target. I'll also probably do a bit of an analysis on the pedometer stuff.
Dunno why I wanted to mention that, I guess it's partly because of the scare, but also because I'm actually getting quite excited about hitting the target. It feels like it's been ages (to be frank, it has) with such slow progress, but recently it's started to feel like it's really doable.
Friday, 12 November 2010
Thursday, 11 November 2010
perhaps it did change?
This last weekend's weigh in revealed something interesting.
The something in question was that I had apparently lost another 5 pounds. To me, this sounded slightly odd, because I'd had a slight issue with chocolates.
The issue stems from the fact that my landlord had been on holiday and I'd been house sitting for him. He seems to go on holiday at least 4 times a year, but anyway, when he does, he asks me to look out for the place and at the same time I can pick up my mail.
When he returns, he usually shows his appreciation by buying me a box of chocolates. The me of old would proceed to eat these chocolates on my own. To be fair to the old me he wouldn't scoff them all at once and he'd try to adjust his other eating to compensate a bit, but it wouldn't be that serious an attempt and so he'd get a whole boat load of extra calories to deal with.
The new me decided that the best thing to do was to take the chocolates in to work. That way I could have a few, but avoid eating too many. Only the new me was also a bit stunned by the size of the box my landlord had bought (it was a double layer Thornton's selection box!) and so the new me had quite a few chocolates, as it was almost impossible to avoid them.
Otherwise, the week was fairly normal diet and exercise wise, so I was expecting to loose a few pounds, but not to the extent of loosing 5 pounds.
This actually leads me to suspect that last weeks weigh in was something of a false result. Looking back I didn't really weigh myself under the same circumstances as I have done every other week. And as I've said before, consistency is the real key to monitoring something like this.
I therefore think that last week I actually lost perhaps one or two pounds, but because of the inconsistency of measurement it was 'hidden'. This week I therefore probably saw those one or two pounds plus the extra 3 or 4 pounds I'd genuinely lost this week.
I have to confess this makes much more sense to me. Despite how harsh I was on myself last week I was a little puzzled that I hadn't lost anything at all. I mean, when I tried to guesstimate the calories, I was struggling to see how what I'd eaten would have genuinely cancelled out the rest of the week's diet, even though that diet was slightly higher than normal.
One of the weird advantages of being so heavy is it's actually easy to loose weight. When I start getting closer to simply being fat, I'm pretty sure the scale of weight loss will reduce and I'll have to be doing more exercise. Hopefully, though, I won't be hitting that sort of problem until we get back into the warmer months, when exercising (walking) will be much easier and enjoyable.
The something in question was that I had apparently lost another 5 pounds. To me, this sounded slightly odd, because I'd had a slight issue with chocolates.
The issue stems from the fact that my landlord had been on holiday and I'd been house sitting for him. He seems to go on holiday at least 4 times a year, but anyway, when he does, he asks me to look out for the place and at the same time I can pick up my mail.
When he returns, he usually shows his appreciation by buying me a box of chocolates. The me of old would proceed to eat these chocolates on my own. To be fair to the old me he wouldn't scoff them all at once and he'd try to adjust his other eating to compensate a bit, but it wouldn't be that serious an attempt and so he'd get a whole boat load of extra calories to deal with.
The new me decided that the best thing to do was to take the chocolates in to work. That way I could have a few, but avoid eating too many. Only the new me was also a bit stunned by the size of the box my landlord had bought (it was a double layer Thornton's selection box!) and so the new me had quite a few chocolates, as it was almost impossible to avoid them.
Otherwise, the week was fairly normal diet and exercise wise, so I was expecting to loose a few pounds, but not to the extent of loosing 5 pounds.
This actually leads me to suspect that last weeks weigh in was something of a false result. Looking back I didn't really weigh myself under the same circumstances as I have done every other week. And as I've said before, consistency is the real key to monitoring something like this.
I therefore think that last week I actually lost perhaps one or two pounds, but because of the inconsistency of measurement it was 'hidden'. This week I therefore probably saw those one or two pounds plus the extra 3 or 4 pounds I'd genuinely lost this week.
I have to confess this makes much more sense to me. Despite how harsh I was on myself last week I was a little puzzled that I hadn't lost anything at all. I mean, when I tried to guesstimate the calories, I was struggling to see how what I'd eaten would have genuinely cancelled out the rest of the week's diet, even though that diet was slightly higher than normal.
One of the weird advantages of being so heavy is it's actually easy to loose weight. When I start getting closer to simply being fat, I'm pretty sure the scale of weight loss will reduce and I'll have to be doing more exercise. Hopefully, though, I won't be hitting that sort of problem until we get back into the warmer months, when exercising (walking) will be much easier and enjoyable.
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
ocean's 11
The subject of this week's review may come as something of a surprise, as Ocean's 11 is one of those films that 'surely everyone has seen'. I mean, it's pretty old and has been on regular telly loads of time, right?
Well, yes, but I've never really gotten around to watching it. I am aware that it received pretty good reviews and did well enough at the box office to spawn two sequels, so it's not like it passed under my radar or anything. I just never really got around to watching it until now.
Generally speaking I think I'd have to agree with the consensus. It's a good, fun, entertaining movie. I've no experience of the original Rat Pack Ocean's 11 film it's a remake of, so I can't comment on that, but this film works pretty well.
I've no idea of whether it was coincidental or whatever, but I think The Hustle TV series was probably inspired by the film, but because I'd seen that first, in my head I kept thinking 'this is like the Hustle', rather than the reverse.
It's a scam/caper type movie and it takes the route of being a very Hollywood pop-corn version of crime, where the thieves are actually on some level 'honest' (eh?) and because the target is Vegas, it's all okay. I dunno, it's that old Robin Hood/A-Team thing where they're criminals, but they're almost righting wrongs.
There's also a few nice little twists in it, but not to the extent of that being the point of the film. and generally as a heist it sort of holds up. I did have a few questions as to why they were doing certain things, some of which were clearly more to do with making it visually entertaining that anything that 'makes sense'.
A few of these, though, were a little off. The most noticeable is to do with the money, which I won't detail to avoid spoilers, but it's what I believe is labelled a "fridge door moment". A fridge door moment is the question or illogicality that strikes you several hours after seeing the film when you're looking into the fridge for a snack.
"Hang on - how did they....?" That sort of thing.
And there are actually a few of these, but only a couple really spoil the integrity of the con. Some you can sort of think up possible explanations for, even though there's nothing on-screen to back it up. Movie logic is another phrase for it - it works there while you're watching the film, but not upon later inspection.
Anyway, these don't really spoil the film and overall it works. There were only two things I wasn't sure about.
Firstly, there's a section towards the end which is weirdly heavy on the pathos. I mean, it's a beautiful scene, but it's odd - it's like they stopped the fun caper movie and insert this poignant sentimental section before then going back to the film proper.
The other thing was the end, which is weirdly open-ended. Not in a really bad way, but it makes the film feel like it doesn't quite end when the credits roll.
I was reminded actually of that bit in Jurassic park where the can of shaving foam with the embryos in it is filmed sliding down the hill in the rain, almost as if it was meant to be the source of a sequel or it was meant to come up later. But then it didn't
Well, yes, but I've never really gotten around to watching it. I am aware that it received pretty good reviews and did well enough at the box office to spawn two sequels, so it's not like it passed under my radar or anything. I just never really got around to watching it until now.
Generally speaking I think I'd have to agree with the consensus. It's a good, fun, entertaining movie. I've no experience of the original Rat Pack Ocean's 11 film it's a remake of, so I can't comment on that, but this film works pretty well.
I've no idea of whether it was coincidental or whatever, but I think The Hustle TV series was probably inspired by the film, but because I'd seen that first, in my head I kept thinking 'this is like the Hustle', rather than the reverse.
It's a scam/caper type movie and it takes the route of being a very Hollywood pop-corn version of crime, where the thieves are actually on some level 'honest' (eh?) and because the target is Vegas, it's all okay. I dunno, it's that old Robin Hood/A-Team thing where they're criminals, but they're almost righting wrongs.
There's also a few nice little twists in it, but not to the extent of that being the point of the film. and generally as a heist it sort of holds up. I did have a few questions as to why they were doing certain things, some of which were clearly more to do with making it visually entertaining that anything that 'makes sense'.
A few of these, though, were a little off. The most noticeable is to do with the money, which I won't detail to avoid spoilers, but it's what I believe is labelled a "fridge door moment". A fridge door moment is the question or illogicality that strikes you several hours after seeing the film when you're looking into the fridge for a snack.
"Hang on - how did they....?" That sort of thing.
And there are actually a few of these, but only a couple really spoil the integrity of the con. Some you can sort of think up possible explanations for, even though there's nothing on-screen to back it up. Movie logic is another phrase for it - it works there while you're watching the film, but not upon later inspection.
Anyway, these don't really spoil the film and overall it works. There were only two things I wasn't sure about.
Firstly, there's a section towards the end which is weirdly heavy on the pathos. I mean, it's a beautiful scene, but it's odd - it's like they stopped the fun caper movie and insert this poignant sentimental section before then going back to the film proper.
The other thing was the end, which is weirdly open-ended. Not in a really bad way, but it makes the film feel like it doesn't quite end when the credits roll.
I was reminded actually of that bit in Jurassic park where the can of shaving foam with the embryos in it is filmed sliding down the hill in the rain, almost as if it was meant to be the source of a sequel or it was meant to come up later. But then it didn't
Tuesday, 9 November 2010
animu blip
So last week I experienced something of an anime blip, in that I actually watched some.
I wasn't entirely sure why. I think part of it is that all the sorting out is kinda done and my room redecoration is kinda done, so two things that were absorbing a lot of my time are now not taking up any time. Also, dinner is now a meal that requires no preparation, so that's freed up some time.
But I think a bigger part of it is a degree of guilt and a smidgen of worry.
I mean, I've still got a massive pile of unwatched anime DVDs. I've also now got nearly a years worth of unscanned anime magazines. And what's more I've got this Crunchyroll subscription that I'm paying for and not really suing.
And what makes the last of those worse is that some of the shows on Crunchyroll are subject to time limits. In other words, after a while they're no longer on there to watch. That's okay if it's a series I think I'll like and it's been licensed, so I can buy it on DVD, but if it's a more average show that I wouldn't want to buy or isn't licensed anyway, then I'm loosing the chance to watch it. And paying for the privilege.
So, and despite the amount of stuff to watch on telly surging upwards, last week I started watching some anime stuff. Unfortunately I then seemed to get scuppered by other stuff I had to do, so it stopped, but I thought I'd dust off the old anime mini reviews thing.
Except, the first thing I'm going to talk about I watched ages ago.
Blessing of the Campanella
Blessings of Campanella pretty much managed to combine several things I really don't like into a whole that did nothing for me.
The things I didn't like included a derivative fantasy setting, a quest theme, cookie-cutter characters, generic character designs and a non-descript hero. If I had to guess, my guess would be that the whole thing was based on some Japanese RPG game.
It's probably a hallmark of how uninterested I was in the show that I don't even have the energy to go and find out.
Giant Killing
This was the show that I started properly watching via Crunchyroll.
I'd already sampled it back when it came out. It's basically a football (soccer, rather than American) anime and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.
My surprise continued while I was watching it, but it did become increasingly apparent that while it's about football, it's not really football. It's much more like chess than it is proper football. Well, I say that, I'm not exactly a football fan, so maybe there is more of a similarity between the two than I'd realised.
If I'm honest I think I binged on the show a bit too heavily. I think I watched about 15 episodes across just a couple of days and I that's a bit much - I got a bit fatigued by the end. Also, the earlier episodes happen across only a few days, but then it switches to more of a 'sampling' method.
By that I mean that it'll skip ahead a few days until the next match and only show you about 15 minutes worth of the actual game, where in the earlier episodes things were more real time. I think this, combined with binging, disorientated me a bit.
But I did enjoy it, although it confirmed to me it wasn't a show I would ever buy on DVD, which makes it the perfect thing for watching on Crunchyroll.
Claymore
I didn't watch claymore on Crunchyroll, as I think I actually watched and bought it a good while before I even knew there was a Crunchyroll. No, this is a DVD release from Funimation. Indeed, it's actually a DVD release that came out in old-skool format - released as six single episodic disks, rather than one or two half/full season sets, although it was one of the last shows ever to come out like that.
I initially saw Claymore on fansub and decided to buy it. I bought the DVDs, but in the meantime I've bought and read the manga version, which is now up to volume 17 (I think). One thing I've been struck by is how similar the anime is to the manga.
I know later on the story diverges, but they've stuck pretty close in the 6 or so episodes I've watched so far. However, they've not really stuck closely to the style.
Well, they've maintained the bean-pole character designs, but there's a definite stylistic shift. And to be frank, it's a good one. The manga is relatively simply presented, but the anime is much more of a visual treat, with interesting camera angles and stylisation of movement.
The most effective thing is probably the use of colour, which obviously wouldn't be possible in black-and-white manga, but here they've not simply coloured things in. Instead, we get scenes painted in vivid colour palettes that really use colour in an interesting and dynamic way.
I'm sure I'll be doing a full review at some point, but I've been quite impressed by this show - more so than I remembered.
I wasn't entirely sure why. I think part of it is that all the sorting out is kinda done and my room redecoration is kinda done, so two things that were absorbing a lot of my time are now not taking up any time. Also, dinner is now a meal that requires no preparation, so that's freed up some time.
But I think a bigger part of it is a degree of guilt and a smidgen of worry.
I mean, I've still got a massive pile of unwatched anime DVDs. I've also now got nearly a years worth of unscanned anime magazines. And what's more I've got this Crunchyroll subscription that I'm paying for and not really suing.
And what makes the last of those worse is that some of the shows on Crunchyroll are subject to time limits. In other words, after a while they're no longer on there to watch. That's okay if it's a series I think I'll like and it's been licensed, so I can buy it on DVD, but if it's a more average show that I wouldn't want to buy or isn't licensed anyway, then I'm loosing the chance to watch it. And paying for the privilege.
So, and despite the amount of stuff to watch on telly surging upwards, last week I started watching some anime stuff. Unfortunately I then seemed to get scuppered by other stuff I had to do, so it stopped, but I thought I'd dust off the old anime mini reviews thing.
Except, the first thing I'm going to talk about I watched ages ago.
Blessing of the Campanella
Blessings of Campanella pretty much managed to combine several things I really don't like into a whole that did nothing for me.
The things I didn't like included a derivative fantasy setting, a quest theme, cookie-cutter characters, generic character designs and a non-descript hero. If I had to guess, my guess would be that the whole thing was based on some Japanese RPG game.
It's probably a hallmark of how uninterested I was in the show that I don't even have the energy to go and find out.
Giant Killing
This was the show that I started properly watching via Crunchyroll.
I'd already sampled it back when it came out. It's basically a football (soccer, rather than American) anime and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.
My surprise continued while I was watching it, but it did become increasingly apparent that while it's about football, it's not really football. It's much more like chess than it is proper football. Well, I say that, I'm not exactly a football fan, so maybe there is more of a similarity between the two than I'd realised.
If I'm honest I think I binged on the show a bit too heavily. I think I watched about 15 episodes across just a couple of days and I that's a bit much - I got a bit fatigued by the end. Also, the earlier episodes happen across only a few days, but then it switches to more of a 'sampling' method.
By that I mean that it'll skip ahead a few days until the next match and only show you about 15 minutes worth of the actual game, where in the earlier episodes things were more real time. I think this, combined with binging, disorientated me a bit.
But I did enjoy it, although it confirmed to me it wasn't a show I would ever buy on DVD, which makes it the perfect thing for watching on Crunchyroll.
Claymore
I didn't watch claymore on Crunchyroll, as I think I actually watched and bought it a good while before I even knew there was a Crunchyroll. No, this is a DVD release from Funimation. Indeed, it's actually a DVD release that came out in old-skool format - released as six single episodic disks, rather than one or two half/full season sets, although it was one of the last shows ever to come out like that.
I initially saw Claymore on fansub and decided to buy it. I bought the DVDs, but in the meantime I've bought and read the manga version, which is now up to volume 17 (I think). One thing I've been struck by is how similar the anime is to the manga.
I know later on the story diverges, but they've stuck pretty close in the 6 or so episodes I've watched so far. However, they've not really stuck closely to the style.
Well, they've maintained the bean-pole character designs, but there's a definite stylistic shift. And to be frank, it's a good one. The manga is relatively simply presented, but the anime is much more of a visual treat, with interesting camera angles and stylisation of movement.
The most effective thing is probably the use of colour, which obviously wouldn't be possible in black-and-white manga, but here they've not simply coloured things in. Instead, we get scenes painted in vivid colour palettes that really use colour in an interesting and dynamic way.
I'm sure I'll be doing a full review at some point, but I've been quite impressed by this show - more so than I remembered.
Monday, 8 November 2010
best season in ages
This year's F1 has probably been one of the best seasons in ages.
At the very start of the year, the first race in Dubai was, quite frankly, dull, and there was a real risk that the season would turn out to be a stinker. But after that things really livened up and don't ever seem to have stopped being lively.
In years gone by it wasn't unusual for one team to emerge as being totally dominant. I can remember a lot of seasons - the Schumacher era in particular - when a single driver dominated, taking most every pole and winning most races. I remember a lot of seasons where the winner was decided a good three or four races before the end, and back then you didn't have as many races.
But this year, despite Red Bull having what most have acknowledge as being the best car, they haven't romped away with it. There have been problems of reliability, the rivalry of their two drivers and the fact that some cars seem to suit certain circuits better to make things more complicated than that. And then on top of that we've had all sorts of other stuff going on to add even more spice to the mix.
One thing I think was particularly interesting this year is that you had several drivers who clearly had a genuinely good chance of winning it. Often, you only get a couple of drivers and teams that stand a genuine chance, but this year there were several, with several others just on the margins waiting to swoop in if any weakness was shown.
The Brazilian Grand Prix just passed was pretty good. Brazil is one of those circuits where even the average races are interesting. I think this year's actual race probably goes down as average, although qualifying was definitely one of the best this year.
But that's the thing about this year - even when the race itself wasn't necessarily the best ever, it's still added to the overall enjoyment of the season. So the result on Sunday meant that Red Bull secured a well deserved constructors championship, but that the driver's title is far from over.
Button is now definitely out of it, and Hamilton has almost no chance, but Vettel is still in with an outside shot and of course Alonso and Webber are still very much in contention.
So it goes down to the wire, and there's only a week to find out the result, as Abu Dhabi is his Sunday.
At the very start of the year, the first race in Dubai was, quite frankly, dull, and there was a real risk that the season would turn out to be a stinker. But after that things really livened up and don't ever seem to have stopped being lively.
In years gone by it wasn't unusual for one team to emerge as being totally dominant. I can remember a lot of seasons - the Schumacher era in particular - when a single driver dominated, taking most every pole and winning most races. I remember a lot of seasons where the winner was decided a good three or four races before the end, and back then you didn't have as many races.
But this year, despite Red Bull having what most have acknowledge as being the best car, they haven't romped away with it. There have been problems of reliability, the rivalry of their two drivers and the fact that some cars seem to suit certain circuits better to make things more complicated than that. And then on top of that we've had all sorts of other stuff going on to add even more spice to the mix.
One thing I think was particularly interesting this year is that you had several drivers who clearly had a genuinely good chance of winning it. Often, you only get a couple of drivers and teams that stand a genuine chance, but this year there were several, with several others just on the margins waiting to swoop in if any weakness was shown.
The Brazilian Grand Prix just passed was pretty good. Brazil is one of those circuits where even the average races are interesting. I think this year's actual race probably goes down as average, although qualifying was definitely one of the best this year.
But that's the thing about this year - even when the race itself wasn't necessarily the best ever, it's still added to the overall enjoyment of the season. So the result on Sunday meant that Red Bull secured a well deserved constructors championship, but that the driver's title is far from over.
Button is now definitely out of it, and Hamilton has almost no chance, but Vettel is still in with an outside shot and of course Alonso and Webber are still very much in contention.
So it goes down to the wire, and there's only a week to find out the result, as Abu Dhabi is his Sunday.
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