last day

Thursday

started the day at 11 stone 7 with a goal to reach 11 6, so took no prisoners

breakfast    the usual
8.30          coffee
9 30          tea
11.00        water
12.20        eggs (scrambled on one piece of toasted rye) water
3.00          satsuma
5.30        beef cannelloni and salad  and water (small portion)

930       one glass wine (but no nibbles)

the weight this morning (Friday) was the desired 11 6.

happy days. next stage is maintenance, and mastering that bloody outdoor running thing

2 days

well it is my 10th wedding anniversary , I'm hardly going to do a monk on it.

breakfast    the usual
8.30          coffee, coloured somewhat by bumping into Ray D'Arcy in the lift. He only drinks one a day, in case he can't sleep, 'how many do you drink?' he asked me, 'about 4' I said, 'and how do yo sleep?' he asked me........'em, eh, em.....well now that you mention it'
right that's it, two max from now on

11.00    coffee, ann marie twisted my arm, we have this thing we do, she brings me a coffee at 11, I say, 'lovely' and she says 'you're lovely'  it's a game, but in ends in coffee

lunch      eggs on wholemeal bread

many rooibos teas / 2 oranges

5.00  two mouthfuls pasta

and then

my 10th anniversary dinner

grilled halloumi cheese, (yum), bruschetta , salad
white wine

weight 11 8

3 days left

Tuesday

really feeling this cold.

breakfast the usual

8 30 coffee

9 30 lemsip

11.00 pear, 3 walnuts

12 30 tuna salad, one slice bread.

notice the fall off in coffee!!

then at 3 in a bizarre hour I was involved in a photo shoot with Jennifer Maguire of TV fame, in a pub while holding pints!! One was spilled on me so I arrived home smelling like a pub

4.00 some nuts

5.30 home made pasta ( what am I to do, break their hearts? they spent all afternoon making it) This was had with a home cooked ham which was laboriously cooked as a result of health scare articles about processed ham. But here we are the day after it was cooked and its gone! Peas too were had

there is no way on God's earth I am running tonight, Lemsip and bed

the final countdown

weight week 3   11 stone 8 lbs   down from 12 stone 3 lbs on Jan 2nd
slow but good
back on the horse today after the week end of indulgence

breakfast   Porridge and seeds etc
8 30          coffee
9.30          tea
11.0         pear
12.30      soup (chorizo) and one slice wholemeal brown, pear, 5 walnut halves.
1 30        lemsip (it begins)
3.00       oatmeal cracker with cheese and babana, 5 walnut halves
5 30       yesterdays beef served cold with roasted veg, couscous and chili red cabbage

later     lemsips and a lot of moaning

There will be wine

Its an insidious little beast the wine isn't it

In bits with sore throat, but still

Breakfast at 7 15 despite them falling asleep dead late. Porridge etc
10. Tea
11 30. Tea and I slice toast
Lunch. 2 boiled eggs, toms, a little cheese fruit
3 00. Coffee
5 30. Roast beef, roast potatoes, veg

Now. The midwife on NBC and one glass red. Sorry

Dreading the weigh in

disaster, well, ...ish

A sore throat, ah damn, with attendant aches and pains, and of course gentle moaning, not sure starving is a great option at the moment

but that said

Breakfast 7 30 porridge again, seeds, berries, tea

10.00 tea

Lunch 12 30 chicken salad with a little bacon, coffee

4.00 I would have had a blueberry muffin but we caught in traffic, so fruit again

6.00 picked at the kids chicken strips and potatoes, not much though

8 30 roast pheasant, potato, purple cabbage, bread sauce wine

9.30 cheese and wine

11.00 tiny cerael

I know

Man falls from horse

Bad news I'm afraid . My previously steely will abandoned me last night . I arrived home at 5 and just couldn't face another night as quiet as all the others so I threw the family in the car and brought them to an Italian restaurant where a cold Peroni beer was always going to happen!!
I guess I'm not half man half penitent religious weirdo after all.

And I had been doing so well.

Breakfast. Porridge made on water , seeds, berries,
Coffees. At 8 40, 10, 11 and 12 15. This might be an issue, ahem, ok this is an issue
One of these coffees was had with Matt Rudd from the Sunday Times who is also on a health kick . His wife recently told him he was boring when he didn't drink . Honest to god!

Lunch. Scrambled eggs, toast a tomato and an apple. This I admit is getting dull

Snack. The fruit of temptation

And then it went wrong. Was there an emotional trigger . I'd say tiredness . And something to look forward to, a little treat.

Dinner: 1 Peroni beer. Stunning
Grilled turbot and salad, a tiny bit of someone else cold meats starter and a glass of white
This was at the new Olivetto restaurant in dun laoghaire , they don't have their wood burning oven in yet for pizza but when they do it will be even better. Lovely restaurant and great location looking out at the harbour.

Then later. 2 more glasses of wine and some cheese and crackers.

A bad man. I will run twice at the weekend to make amends

7 days to go

Is running 30 minutes after dinner advisable? Doesn't feel it

Breakfast. Porridge made om water, seeds, berries,
8 30. Coffee
9 30. Tea
11 00. Coffee

I know no snack, but after that item in swingers I'd lost my appetite , honest

Lunch. The usual, scrambled eggs, tomato, toasted rye, am apple. And a coffee

That's 4 coffes, too much?

3 00. Another bloody apple

Dinner. Chicken cannelloni, stunning green beans, salad. AnD then I walked away from the lovely home made carrot cake

The run / walk. 45 minutes as instructed by Ruth field

Tonight I listened to Anna Scheer on Desert Island Discs, probably the best yet, she set up an acting school which has trained most of the most famous Eastends stars, She has also battled depression and her words on that were I thought quite brilliant.

It was FREEZING. Can you wear a hat and run


7 days left and the hotel and babysitter booked for my 10th wedding anniversary. This time 10 years ago Audrey and I were as excited as school children getting ready to fly to NYC. And little Eva and Skye were a glint in my eye. STick to this diet and I will be lighter than I was then!!!

8 days left

breakfast     porridge made on water , seeds, berries
8 30            coffee
9 30           coffee
11 00        coffee
12 00       tuna salad , coffee, apple
3.00         tea and 2 oat biscuits
5 30        salmon, baked potato, cottage cheese, salad

 5 mouthfuls of the child's sultana bran, with FULL FAT milk!

soon

The turn for home?

Day 1,000,000

Breakfast at 7. Porridge, berries, seeds, (could have eaten 9 bowls)
8 30. Coffee
9 30. Tea
12. 15. Scrambled eggs and tomato and toast and coffee whilst being interviewed by a lovely journalism student called Emer
3 00. Oat biscuit, rooibos and half banana
5 00. Too hungry to wait, an apple
5 45. Home made pasta (a very important detail that), bolognese, paramsan , rocket salad, peach

Could then have eaten the same amount again. Didn't. Went for a run / walk. Had less time so a shorter run, took 36 minutes but I couldn't hazard a guess as to distance. after a good bit of running I was walking a bit and a man ran past so I decided to use him as a pace setter. Kept up with him easily enough, but eventually had to let him off. I did succeed in making him nervous though.

Thanks for all the suggestions for running music, metal seems a recurring theme. I will try it one night and report back. But tonight I listened to Ann Woods desert island discs, great again.
She is the woman who invented Teletubbies and In The Night Garden. Teletubbies is reputed to have generated one billion pounds worldwide!!! She was ripped off in her early ventures and took business courses before she mortgaged the house to produce Teletubbies. She is by profession a teacher.

If you heard the show this morning you will have heard Tony and Mary Heffernan talking about the tragic loss of their daughter. It was very, very sad. If you feel inclined to help their charity is beeforbattens.org. Tomorrow is the first anniversary of Saoirse's death.

Week 3 begins

Let joy be unconfined. Weigh in went well , 3 lbs lost down to 11 stone 9

Jan 2. It was minimum 12 2
Jan 9. It was. 11.12
Jan. 16. It's. 11 9

End date is January 27th, so just one more week end , and then quite possibly a pint!!

Today. Breakfast. Muesli , seeds, berries milk and a banana
8 30. Coffee
9. Tea
11. Coffee
Lunch. Scrambled eggs and tomatoes and rye toast and coffee , an apple
4. Snack
Dinner. Roast chicken , mashed potatoe and turnip, roast veg and a peach


Missing my trips to the bottle bank. Looking forward to wearing the slim fit shirt I accidentally bought at Christmas . Is it the real reason I am doing this ....

What do you listen to when you run? Desert island disks is superb!!!

Sunday Sunday

Being tweeted now by Ruth Field - did you have your run yet Tom? There I was making pasta (really making it, home made no less, flour and a pasta machine) and then the next minute there's a tweet saying if you don't do it before tea you won't do it.

So ten minutes later a very undressed tom is freezing to death on a run. Actually had to run to stay warm which was good. Did about 35 minutes walking / running about 50 / 50

And what fuelled this heroic act?

Worst night sleep in a very long time (not sure what was going on but two little ones were up in arms for some reason )

Breakfast at 10. 2 fried eggs on I slice of rye toast and tea
Lunch. Bean salad and an orange
Snack. A pear
Dinner. Thai beef salad and whole grain rice

I may be forgetting several bits of fruit and about 2 random coffees and some rooibos

Weigh in tomorrow at 11

Are you finishing that?

Just for the record

Saturday

Break. Kilbeggan porridge, berriesb, seeds, tea
11. Tea, apple, banana
Lunch. Boiled eggs , toast , I slice of cheese, tomatoes
Snack. Oat cracker and cottage cheese
Dinner. Meatballs in tomato sauces whole grain rice, grated cheese, broccoli

Later. Tea (rooibos).

And Ruth Field (run fat bitch run) is tweeting me to see I went for a run. no escape , but had the kids to myself so no chance. Tomorrow!!!!!

The second weekend

No excitement here

Breakfast at 7. Muesli with seeds and blueberries
9. Coffee
11. Coffee
Lunch. Scrambled eggs , tomato , rye bread
3. Coffee and apple
5. Oat cracker and cottage cheese , slice of ham
Dinner at 8 30. Indian take out, chicken Karachi and pilau rice , it was a tomato sauce after all

And still no wine even though somebody beside is glugging . A saint I tell you

diet, year two

I don't think I'm writing enough about what I HAVE'NT eaten . I have been a saint: unwanted chips, semi eaten burgers, discarded pizza slices, half finished yogurts, surplus lemon tart, spare chicken kebabs you name it, I have simply removed them from the kids plates and placed them in the bin whilst all the time maintaining a look of stoic determination not seen since Matt Talbot last made a fry , smelled it and put it in the bin.

not to mention Wine! Tonight I must admit I remembered why we normally abandon our vows of abstinence: Boredom. About a week and a half in you look at each other and ask 'is this it?' Is this all we have to enjoy ourselves with?

But I will be strong!

Todays Cuisine:

Breakfast        Porridge, with blueberries, seeds, coffee
snack              too busy
lunch             2 scrambled eggs, rye bread toast and tomatoes, an apple
snack            banana
dinner          duck breast, whole grain rice, beet root salad, a pear
                   (might have a photo later to post)

bit of an incident then; The elder one didn't finish her Sultana bran before bed. Had 4 spoonfuls, with full fat milk. Going to say three hail Marys now to make up for it.

Was told by the doc's receptionist today that getting a cholesterol check is a biggish deal, fast for 14 hours and blood test sent to hospital. Thought you could do that in a pharmacy!

day 902

and still no sight of land.

Bloody hell its a long road with no turns.

the feast Today   Breakfast    Porridge on water, seeds, honey   and coffee
                            snack         banana and decaff (rank)
                           lunch          chicken caesar salad, no dressing, coffee
                            snack         apple
                             dinner      grilled tuna steak, baked potato with yogurt and onion, green beans

30 min outdoor run / walk     listened to Danny Baker Desert Island Discs, this is one you can skip. Likes himself a tad.
My wife has gone to meet friends for dinner, she will take alcohol, I instructed her to breath on me when she gets in. Live a little eh?

Day 8 update

Many thanks to all of you who advised that feeling weak is an obvious sign of a lack of protein. Finding it hard to get the bits I need in a rush at lunchtime but I do have a cunning plan.........

Today's feast
Breakfast. Porridge with berries and a little honey, coffee
Snack. Banana
Lunch. Chicken Caesar salad and an apple
Dinner. Chicken risotto with peas and some veg, water, a pear

No real exercise

You must not miss Sharron Horgan on the show tomorrow , she is doing a new TV show on parenting on Channel 4, the parents she had tracked down are unbelievable. You will watch agog .

Sharron Corr told me I was skinny today. Bless her cotton socks.

really think Run Fat Chick Run is worth a look, am going to try my second on street run tomorrow.

Like the look of Netflix

Monday day 7

Breakfast at 7 15. Porridge made on water, and a banana
8 30. Coffee. 9 30. Tea
12 30. Soup and 2 satsumas
300. Another satsuma and 2 Oat biscuits

Felt genuinely weak on the way home at 5, had to eat 2 slices of ham the second I got in

Dinner. At 5 45. Home made burger in tiny home made bap, salad and 1 roast potatoe

Then took a 36 minute walk in the company of John Peel 's desert Island discs, an old one from 1995 with sue lawley. Superb !

results week 1

Think I got a 5 out of 10 there this morning with Elsa. Too much bread (I love it) and two many treats. You think I used the wrong form of to/too/two there but i didn't . I had TWO treats, a TINY blueberry Muffin and five licks of my child's ice cream. Elsa, she is a hard taskmaster, wasa going to call her a cruel mistress but its not that type of blog!

ok. Starting weight :      a moot point, definitely 12 stone 2, maybe 12 4, it was the tuesday after 10 days of cake, crisps, guinness, cooked breakfasts, dinners, wine etc. I thought if I'd jumped up there and it was 12 stone 6 I'd have given up on the spot and signed up for a 'fat guy hat' like Homer while I waited for SARI on my iPhone to say 'your fingers are too fat'.

so lets say    starting 12 2 

Monday jan 9th      11 stone 12.

Not bad. Ididn't really expect more as I have never lonce been hungry, but I had hoped for a little more. Goal is to get to 11 6 by january 31st.

How does this tie in with your experences? In the meantime here are Elsa's shopping tips

Health Food Store Shopping list

If you wish to follow my nutritional advice you may need to take a trip to your local health food store as well as your usual supermarket.
Below are some healthy options you may wish to try (it's by no means essential for you to purchase all of these foods). FYI some can be obtained in supermarkets as well)

• Nairn's Oat Cakes (plain crackers, very filling, good alternative to bread, go well with hummus, cheese, nut butter etc.)
• Nairn's Oat Biscuits (fruit flavoured low sugar biscuits)
• Rooibos tea (very similar to regular tea but naturally decaffeinated and high in antioxidants)
• Clipper Organic Decaf coffee (decent tasting decaf with no chemical solvents, good option if you want to cut down on caffeine but love the taste of coffee!)
• Plain Nuts i.e. any unsalted nuts e.g. cashew, almonds, brazil, walnuts.
• Almond Butter/Cashew Nut Butter (similar to peanut butter but even healthier! Great for a filling and sweet snack spread on oat cakes or sliced apple)
• Quinoa (super healthy alternative to rice or cous cous)
• Sugar Free Muesli
• Seeds e.g. ground flaxseed, chia seeds, pumpkin, sunflower etc. (great for sprinkling over muesli, porridge or salads)
• Dark Chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa content) contains less sugar than milk chocolate so can be enjoyed in MODERATION for a sweet treat.
• Lentils/Beans e.g. chick peas, butter beans, kidney beans. Dried or tinned is fine, they go great in soups, stews and curries
• Hummus (available in most supermarkets anyway) great in a wrap, on an oat cake or with strips of raw red pepper!
• Marigold Reduced Salt Vegetable Bouillon - many of my recipes call for this healthy stock.

Sunday day 6

Elsa is due in tomorrow at 11.00 to weigh and measure. oh damn.

Been reading Run Fat Bitch Run , a book which portrays running as the answer to everything. Hmmmmm

Breakfast at 10.00. !!!!! A lie in.

10.00. 2 eggs on the last of the sourdough, tea

1 . 30. Sushi and noodles from the farmers market (some farmers them)

3 30. Ate some of the child's ice cream!!!

6.00. Half a pizza, a salad and a natural yogurt

Will have a little snack later but won't be a lot


Tune in tomorrow for the results. I predict little if any change in weight, and a discussion on what is a proper portion size. I suspect the real work will start tomorrow, been too little pain so far for me to expect great things

I did however go for a 30 minute run and listen to Lynn Barber on Desert Islands disks, it was her life that was made into the film An Education. what a life she had led! slept with 50 men in two terms at Oxford. and the Oxford term is a short one.

That would definitely help weight loss

Saturday update. Day 5

Does taking down the Christmas tree count as exercise? 2 flights of stairs, an incredible 8 boxes of stuff! Then the putting the house back together.

Today.

8 00 am. 2 boiled eggs on sourdough toast

Caffeine withdrawal head ache

2 coffees

1.00 pm. Melted blue cheese on sourdough toast with Parma ham (getting value out to of sourdough. Small orange

300. Some oat biscuits and a banana

5.00. An apple

8.00. T bone steak, green beans and some lentils

Numerous Rooibos teas through out the day and water

No exercise but again, the tree too ALL Day to take down

Day 4 again

Is it really only Day 4?

Haven't weighed myself but I am sure I am gaining weight.

Today. 7. 15. Guess go on. (muesli and banana, a spoon of ground seeds)
8 30. Coffee
9 30. Tea
10 oo. Banana
11.00 Decaf coffee.
1230. Soup and spelt pasta and bread
3.00. Nuts and an apple
5 30. Chicken cannelloni and rocket salad (this was quite creamy)
A pear

Numerous waters and Rooibos teas. And then a 30 minute walk listening to a podcast BBC Great Lives Kirsty MacColl, brilliant Didn't know it was Johnny Marr playing on Days.

The first song she ever wrote was they don't know about us!!! What a gem

day 4 food

better do this

the blog re Tofu may or may not be true. If you have interesting food facts , that also, may or may not be true, please send them on

Breakfast      7.15  more Muesli, a banana
                     8.30   coffee (heavenly)
                     9.30 tea
                     11.00  decaf coffee, no snack , too busy
 Lunch         12.30   Soup / bread / 2 bean salads  at Cornucopia
                      3.00 rooibos x 2, some nuts
dinner            5.30  Salmon cutlets, wild rice, salad, small orange

6.00             broke down and ate a tiny blueberry muffin

no exercise today, too busy

hamsters have starved on less

Tomorrow:  could your child be too gifted!!  I mean as in talented, not over indulged by Santa

fitness apps

BTW   Niamh Shaw has some fitness apps etc for us tomorrow


do they really work?

T

Day 4

Some problems are occuring.

1. To follow Elsa's nutritional advice you really would need to do a little shop at the healgth food places, to get nuts, low sugar bars and drinks like Rooibos. To help you in this Elsa has provided a little shopping list on her website  http://www.elsajonesnutrition.com/

2. Most of us won't have the time to prepare meals as specified, so I am going to try and do a few simplifications for you, later.

3. the 5 golden Rules of Elsa that she sets great store by are.
        a. Less sweet stuff and starchy food,   lean towards wholemeal, wholegrain, fruit
        b. Protein with every meal, even the snacks
        c. Proper plate balance is 50%veg / 25% protein / 25% carb
        d. No long gaps between meals
        e. Avoid stimulants, caffeine, alcohol, replace with Rooibos , decaff coffee etc
these are also up on Elsa's website, in far more detail


more anon. So far so good and despite United's defeat at the hands of the Evil Newcastle Hordes  I didn't actully reach for the red or white wine.

interest fact about Tofu

TOFU: Tofu was designed by the Japanese military in world war 2 to serve as a sound proofing material in the engine compartment of its Zero fighter planes. The fact that it was edible was only discovered when one of its pilots crash landed on a deserted island in the Pacific and was driven by starvation to eat his own plane.

day 3

breakfast meusli / banana / coffee x 2

snack half a piece of cardboard / decaf coffee

lunch Tofu Chilli - no joke - and brown bread

snack 1 pear

dinner veggie omelette / baked potato and beans , one orange

ran 3 k at lunch time

not all of this is Elsa Jones approved, but dinner was a what's in fridge special.

A vineyard in Spain called to ask what's the problem? Sales down 20%.

have to summarize her 5 golden rules tomorrow, MUFC on TV.

Peter Sheridan's 47 roses on the show tomorrow, an amazing tale

and film wise The Iron Lady and Silent Film

Tuesday 8.00 pm

Right, not sure it's a great idea just to blog repetitively what I ate, I wouldn't read that myself. But I have been good.
On the Rooibos tea again, you can put milk in so it really is like tea and I only ate one potatoe.
More impressive to tell you what I didn't eat: the 5 spuds that were left over, the home made cake that appeared miraculously, the chisellers left overs, the still open packet of fig rolls.

I'll give Elsa the full gories at 10 30 tomorrow, while painting myself in the Matt Talbot corner.

Also did a post dinner 30 min brisk walk. Will I gym tomorrow, we shall see.

On a positive note: The Lord Jesus is back. He was found in a Sylvanian family home. His parents are made up , no literally, whilst he was gone the elder terrorist covered them in lipstick and glitter. Let's see how the little saviour deals with that.

Elder terrorist also seems to have discovered the God concept. She asked me to open the car window to let God in and then proceeded to tell him jokes about her sister.
She is also referring to God as 'She' what should I do here?

Who am I to say He is a He, I mean surely gender is a purely human concept, God would be above that right?

Better sign off before I eat the iPad.

We have a concentration camp survivor on tomorrow. Don't miss it

Tuesday AM jan 3rd

Poignant note.
Walking into work a man fell over in front of me. He was having some kind of fit but before my lack of expertise became an issue a man who worked in the Mater joined us. He explained he was having a seizure and we made him comfortable. As the man came to he told me 'I am so disappointed with myself. I drink too much but I just can't stop. I let so many people down, I let my mother down , I feel so guilty.' His name was Donal, he would break your heart.  and me there going 'can I give it up for January?'

I am easing into this 'all new Tom' thing so I still had the normal breakfast (Sultana bran and a banana) One coffee before the show, one during. At lunch I tried to go to Blazing Salads but as I walked in the door they announced 'Sorry Tom, we're just reopening after the break, you'll have to start your diet tomorrow.' Told them I was going to McDonalds, but i was joking. Got a Chicken Ceasar wrap and a box of Rooibos tea. It begins.

Elsa Jones will be live in studio tomorrow at 10.30. She has done up a list of what I should eat (and by extension what you should eat) so we should have a bit more of an idea by then. If you didn't do her blood sugar test - a written thing- its on her website and I will post that address in a minute. Might be worth doing before the show.

HOWEVER. Dr Harry Barry was on the show today talking about diets and changing your life in general so here are some of his words of wisdom. His key is to avoid negatives (I will cut this out) and introduce positives (I will exercise, eat well, drink less)

Exercise: Sign up with a friend to get each other out. 30 minutes a day walking is best. The key is enjoying the walk and egging each other on.
Nutrition: Easier to take the whole house with you than just change your own diet. Just get all the family to sign up to less carbs and more fruit. Elsa will have more on this tomorrow
Alcohol:  Trying to cut it out altogether is setting yourself up to fail. The ideal is to reduce your intake by introducing alcohol free days. At least 3, ideally 5. This is more attainable and leaves you little treats to look forward to. He is a big believer in little treats. I am going to try the 5 day approach.
Cigarettes; Not something I am strong on, but Barry recommends the help of your GP here

Moral: Barry believes we all need to be a little kinder to ourselves. Accept yourself and don't beat yourself up.

In light of the ongoing economic storm and all the doom and gloom he advised.
   1. Try not to dwell on all the bad news
   2. take it one day at a time
   3. Try and enjoy the moment, time with friends, family etc
   4. Try not to dwell on what might happen, only a tiny proportion of what we are afraid will happen ever actually does.

His big message was that regardless of what happens we will always find a way to cope - it is how we are programmed as humans. I think that's a pretty good message.

Right better start to study Elsa's notes Her Web site is http://www.elsajonesnutrition.ie/

post 4

For Monday January 2nd

OK previous blog brought us up to a nice healthy 4.00 PM , eggs for lunch and a walk up the town

did you know Charles Dickens walked up to  20 miles a day? 

What follows is overindulgence porn; Well it was the last day of the holiday, there was a feeling of it all kicks off again tomorrow, but for tonight...eat , drink,  eat a little more and be merry for tomorrow,  etc

I was asked to assist in the removal from my plate of some Spaghetti Bolonaise with garlic bread, and water  - all good enough

later though , when peace broke out I had one beer and shared a bottle of wine (White) with crackers and cheese. Crackers is a type of biscuit and not a derogatory name for my wife. And then just when it seemed I was in the clear, polished off 2 fig rolls

we shan't speak of this again.

Number 3

Baby Jesus - or Lord Jesus as he is enthusiastically referred to by the smaller dunnes- is still missing. A search party has been organised, might be able to post a picture of his concerned parents on twitter later

Right: Lunch was 2 eggs on toast (white admittedly ) and some fruit and tea (maybe one fig roll)

Should I weigh myself immediately to chart the pounds melting away or wait til I eat tea also?

listening to 50 Words for Snow, the weight watchers friend , on Vinyl naturally
It's a little hit and miss, but the good bits are so stunning, even Elton Johns guest slot works

Right two more bits for the show tomorrow, and then I suppose I will have to consider the exercise bit of the new me equation

The TV remote is found

Post no 2

This has taken hours! Thanks for all the help with it.

As I tried to type I was also reading a brief about a guest we have on tomorrow, Dr Harry Barry. He gives advice on such things as resolutions, diets and above all else how to maintain a positive attitude in the face of all the doom and gloom around 2012.

He sounds great. He seems to be immediately about to flag that cutting out all alcohol for January is a bad idea. It's too difficult and will fail and after it fails you will give up all your other resolutions also.

It also cuts out little treats and little treats are good. A lidl chianti for instance, 5.99 worth of happiness.

I am not a strong man it seems.

He also points out the value of peer group support, so feel free to step up to mark here

I think by Thursday we will have a plan, an achievable one too

New Me 2012

Expect searing honesty, expect soul searching, but be ready for anything, such as lies and no soul searching.
An inauspicious start to the new me, clouded by the fact that both the remote control for the TV and baby Jesus (from the crib) are missing. Hate to say it but I can probably live without baby Jesus, despite the fact that his arrival on Christmas eve was spectacular, Jedward in a kindergerden couldn't have gone down better.

Anyway, this is still the old me. Wine last night, after Pizza, and also cheese and grapes and A Single Man with Colin Firth on DVD. The Tom Ford who directed, is that THE Tom Ford, of fashion fame? Very Good

So far today copious tea and toast. Diet only really starts tomorrow. Do they still have Ryvita or has self flagellation moved on since then?

Time will tell.