Weight Loss and Eating Right

40+290 Notch

While I was in the US for the summer, I gained a TON of weight.  The scales showed a gain from apx 97kgs to 118kgs (there are 2.2 lbs in a kg so that is about 213 to 260 pounds).  I can’t believe it, but we spent more than 10,000 miles sitting in our car eating fast food….arg.

Anyway, since we are back, I’m working out (well, walking to work at least) and watching what I eat.  I’m doing a combo of a caveman diet and body for life.  What that means is I’m doing the caveman type diet as recommended in The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Dietalt  (although I’m not cutting out bread like he says) and throwing in a free day like Bill Phillips recommended (here’s a link to the original Body for Life: 12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Strengthalt and a new kindle edition Champions Body-for-LIFEalt )

I’ve changed my weight tracking website.  I was using fitday; however, I’ve switched to fatsecret because they have an app for my nexus s.  It has all the same functionality as fitday except this should make it easier to keep track of what I eat.

Here’s a link to my fatsecret.com profile

Anyway, here is a link to my past few days:

Mon, 10 Oct 2011
Tue, 11 Oct 2011
Wed, 12 Oct 2011
Thurs, 13 Oct 2011
Fri, 14 Oct 2011

Image from bark via flickr

Living Abroad….

A snap shot and some short thoughts on a monarch

…one learns all sorts of new things.  Like, for example, everyone knows who Queen Elizabeth II is (the current reigning monarch of the UK and the Commonwealth countries).  However, until I moved to the UK, I didn’t know her husband was not the king.  He isn’t the king because the king can only be the real king if he was the heir-apparent.  Instead, he was given the title of Duke of Edinburgh (if I understand everything right).  He is also called Prince because he was the (or a?) prince in Greece.

So who will be next?  Well, the current line of succession has Prince Charles, then Prince William.  But what happens if William and Kate have a girl as their first child?  She is not the heir-apparent (again, if I understand everything).  The heir-apparent would be their first male child (I don’t know who would be next if they only had girls).

But, David Cameron is pushing a bill through Parliament to change that.  However, it also has to be passed by the other commonwealth countries.  Supposedly, there will be a constitutional crisis if this doesn’t happen….I don’t claim to understand it all.

In the end, there are always new things to be learned when you are in new situations.  Just ask questions and be patient.

[Update 2011-10-28 15:34:44] David Cameron and the other Commonwealth countries have agreed.  The first child of William and Kate will be the ruler.

Image from Steve Punter via flickr

I guess…

Pembrokeshire-45

…one had better go before getting on a short distance sprinter train in the Netherlands.  They were designed without toilets because of their short runs.  But, the railways has begun positioning pee bags on the trains for emergency use.  Is it wise?  I’m sure.  Is it bad to not have toilets?  Perhaps.  As a parent, it is a horrible idea.  As an adult, I can go before I go and should be fine.  But was it really that hard to find room for 1 toilet per train?

Image from katchoo via flickr

Pass this Bill

Obama-02

Pres. Obama’s jobs bill didn’t pass the Senate.  Actually, it didn’t even come up for a vote.  But not because of Republicans.  Nope…in the house of government controlled by the Democrats (53D and 47R, currently) the bill only got 51 votes.  Looks like Pres. Obama needs to have the “pass this bill” speech with his own party.

Image from shay haas via flickr

Windsor Castle

Windsor on a Dull Day

I had an opportunity to go to Windsor Castle yesterday.  I had a great time, except for one thing….because it is so close to Heathrow, there were planes overhead all day long.  If I were the monarch, I think I would either fix the problem or ask the government to fix the problem.  I can’t imagine having a state dinner or a dine and sleep there and having it interrupted by the constant air traffic.

For those who don’t know, Windsor Castle is 

Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it has been used by a succession of monarchs and is the longest-occupied palace in Europe. The castle’s lavish, early 19th-century State Apartments are architecturally significant, described by art historian Hugh Roberts as “a superb and unrivalled sequence of rooms widely regarded as the finest and most complete expression of later Georgian taste”.he castle includes the 15th-century St George’s Chapel, considered by historian John Robinson to be “one of the supreme achievements of English Perpendicular Gothic” design.More than five hundred people live and work in Windsor, making it the largest inhabited castle in the world.

from Wikipedia

Image from david (ddpf) via flickr

First day

Wisconsin Adult School Crossing Guard Recognition WeekTomorrow (Wednesday 5 Oct 2011) is Lydia’s first day at school.  I’ll tell you how it went when she gets back and I get back from work.

[Update 2011-10-05 21:48:09] Lydia’s first day went very well.  I think one could say that Lydia was chuffed.  We’ve got some pictures we’ll post in the next few days.

[Update 2012-09-05 10:50:08] Even though it is a year late, here are the pictures

[Update 2012-09-05 10:51:05] Here’s Lydia’s first day of Year 1.

Image from Lester Public Library via flickr