Music Magpie and De-cluttering

How odd two entries from me in the same day! As part of me moving I have had to seriously consider de-cluttering – something I have mentioned on here many times before and after packing over 500 dvds I thought I would weed out those dvds I no longer want. It did not take me long to get about 100 together and did consider doing a car boot sale with all the stuff I wanted to get rid of but realised that it would be quicker to get rid of things in bulk. I decided to try out Musicmagpie so downloaded an “App” for my phone which scans the bar codes on the dvds and gives a value straight away.

Not wanting to send things away I did go to a local cash-converters store but they would only pay £0.10 per dvd regardless of what the dvd was, so got rid of about 30 dvd’s here as I could not face taking them back home.

I had also boxed up about £17 worth of dvds (about 18 in total) to see how much luck I have with Musicmagpie I do like the terms and conditions regarding condition of the dvds as I feel it is open to abuse as if it does not pass the quality check they keep the item and you don’t get paid for it.

My book collection is also being reduced but I don’t seem to be having much luck with selling them so have given a box away and am likely to get rid of more in the same way.

Moving, diets and Big Lunches

Again been a while since I last updated and what a busy few weeks it has been as I’ve been moving. Seems such a long time ago that I moved into a bedsit in Carmarthen (it was July 2002) and was only supposed to be a short term thing but as with other things it becomes comfortable and easy which is why I have remained there for so long.

In the past I have thought about moving somewhere bigger (better) but have never really gotten anywhere with it and the idea has soon passed. I suppose late last year the idea came back into my head and for a number of reasons decided to press ahead with finding somewhere else.

Finally moved in 19th March but have been clearing out the old place for the last few weeks (and clearing out my stuff) and was glad to get my full deposit back from my old landlord this morning, as at the moment all I seem to be getting is bills daily!!

Diet or my reduced eating plan has been a little on/off over the last few weeks as I’ve been missing meals or eating the wrong types of food but weighed myself this morning and have lost another 2lb – this brings the total weight lost to just under 3 stone in the last three months.

The Big Lunch Llangunnor is ticking along nicely have managed to get some volunteers to make the sandwiches, which is a big relief and much cheaper for me to just buy the raw materials and not have to pay for a caterer. Still looking for a cake for the centrepiece and other things like that. Anyone know of a couple of facepainters that would be willing to give their services for free on 7th June?

Diet and all that

And I was beginning to think that I was a little better at keeping things updated here, okay only a quick entry to say that my “Weight Reduction Plan” aka diet is still going well. I weighed myself on the 24th Jan and had lost a further 4lbs and yesterday had lost a further 3lbs.

Was a little surprised as I had been out for the annual council dinner on Thursday, which was a three course meal and it certainly filled me up and maybe that is a good thing as I tried to be careful with my portions and was still feeling full when I woke up the next day!

My fizzy drink intake has reduced considerably and while it is most likely in my head I do think that my trousers don’t feel as tight when wearing them.

In other news I have begun planning a Big Lunch event in Llangunnor and have been looking at options for supplying food – the idea has been up-scaled from a street party type event which would be a lot easier as you could agree with your neighbours who was bringing what.

I can’t stretch to a hog roast which would have been my preferred option but with hopefully over 150 people turning up to what is a free event I need to keep costs low but ensure that everyone has something to eat.

Any suggestions please feel free to comment.

Losing Weight

Well a week since I officially started my (I don’t like the word diet) weight loss program and at times over the last seven days it has been really hard to not just ram a load of food down my throat, especially at night but I managed it somehow. So today I went and weighed myself to find that I had lost 6lbs.

That does give me confidence that I can continue with this but will need to look at the amount of food that I am eating as I woke up at 4am this morning feeling like I was about to throw up – I actually think it was hunger and it was really uncomfortable (I was able to use the time I could not sleep productively doing some transcription work) and managed to drop off to sleep at 7am but when I work just after 9am the same sick feeling was there but soon subsided once I had eaten breakfast.

My energy levels seem to have remained the same which is something I’ve been keeping an eye on, dinner tonight I decided to treat myself and cooked steak, green beans and jacket potato washed down with a pint of Guinness – I did cut the steak in half and really should invest in some smaller plates so that less food actually fills them, maybe when I move.

Yes, I am looking to move out from this room that I have existed in for over the last ten years. It is amazing how quickly temporary become something safe and permanent. I have been looking at some rental agencies and getting an idea of what sort of place I could rent within my budget and feel very positive that I will be living elsewhere by the end of 2015.

Of course any move would be made considerably easier if I had less clutter and I have to admit that my sorting which started just before Christmas has slowed down recently so I will need to get back to that.

The Start

So today I go along to Boots to use the weighing machine so that I have a print out of my current weight and have all the other statistics these machines pump out! I have gone since last Monday on a much reduced calorie intake and I am hoping that this is something I can take forward. Looking at NHS website it would suggest that I try to reduce my calorie intake to 1900kcal per day, the standard for an adult male would be 2500kcal.

Of course when you consider that a Mars bar is worth about 500kcal you realise that you certainly need to be aware of what you are eating. So here starts the calorie counting!!

I really will need to consider what I am going to be eating going forward and make a meal plan of sorts as I know in the past I have gotten home and not know what to eat and have just snacked. Breakfast has been pretty easy and I have been there measuring out the portion sizes and they are considerable smaller than I would normally have. Lunch in work has been okay so far with a combination of soups and pasta – I have managed to cut out the bread but even I know that this is not something I am likely to be able to maintain, but with bread come the temptation to have a slice while I am waiting for food to cook.

Hopefully as well as reducing my food intake I will be able to increase my activity levels and start to see and feel a difference. I have not listed my weight here but needless to say I am unable to weigh myself at home as standard scales will only weigh up to 20 stone.