FatBlokeThin

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2

Weigh in results - NOW HEAR THIS!
2007-08-20 23:57:00
Week 2 is upon us already!So, without further delay, I give you, the winners of this weeks FatBlokeThin weight loss challenge!Laura N has burst to the top of the leader board with an awesome effort of 3.73%.Mr Fat is narrowly pipped at the post with a superb 3.33% (so close my friend).Celeste is in the top 5 for the first time with a superb effort of 3.22%Groovybabe is snapping at their heels with a solid 2.04% lossKathleen Crowley (blog-less but hopefully this will spur her on to get into the blogosphere) - sneaks in with a great first effort of a 1.38% weight loss.Well done everybody!So Laura, stand by for the tacky prize!I will try and get a proper results sheet out along with developing a separate challenge website (yada yada yada...) - I will get there !One thing though - of the 31 people that have so far registered for the challenge, I only received 14 weigh-in's. Its true what they say, you have to be IN IT to WIN IT!
More About: Results , Hear , Result , Weigh

The biggest of drops...the highest of mountains!
2007-08-20 18:17:00
If you get a chance, pop over to a new weight loss buddy just starting out on the road to wellness. He is going for the Big Drop and will need our help to get stuck into it!He might even join the challenge....
More About: Mountains , Mount

Hell has a face and she answers to Frances....
2007-08-20 13:35:00
Weight - 241.6lbsExercise - near death gym based shenanigans (see below for gruesome details).'I'll be gentle' she said. Hmmmm....see what you think....I arrived for my gym assessment (heath and lifestyle assessment included gratis) right on time. As predicted, I was met by the perkiest, most health obsessed person you are ever likely to meet, her name was Franc es . A lovely lady it must be said. What follows is MY intepretation of the the first 45 minutes of our 'relationship'.After the usual height and weight checks, I had my blood pressure taken and found it smack bang in the middle of 'normal range', this was even better than my recent check-up so things are starting to happen. Next was the realisation that I have shrunk as I appear to be an inch shorter than used to be, hopefully I haven't lost anything too important....By this time I was starting to enjoy myself, but the black clouds were looming - she asked me 'Which machines DON'T you like' - this was a difficult o...
More About: Answers , Face , Hell

Dawn of a new era.
2007-08-17 17:52:00
Weight : 242.2LbsSo, finally I have joined the gym. I could put it off no further. My spangly shoes have twice graced the high-tech torture devices to be found in a very modern gymnasium and I will be going again this evening for gym & swim. The plan is to go 3 times a week.I have my fitness assessment (groan...) on Saturday (I could save her the trouble and just take my death certificate with me...), so I am getting prepared for the endless perky optimism of the fitness instructor (why can't they have some fat, miserable ones.. not a very good marketing strategy I suppose), I will doubtless be bombarded with countless facts and figures that I will instantly forget as soon as my thighs are made to burn on the step machine (the very cruelest of the torture machines for sure..), about a minute should do it!I really want to get fit, so fit that I can run when I want for as long as I want (within reason you understand, I am not planning one of those 'uber-iron man' marathon idiocies ...
More About: Dawn

Inspiration & re-dedication!
2007-08-14 12:40:00
For all of you that are struggling with weight loss (you KNOW who you are...) and the impasse of the dreaded 'plateau', hopefully this offering will amuse, entertain and maybe re-ignite your journey!A Buddhist monk on his journey home comes to the banks of a wide river. Staring hopelessly at the great obstacle in front of him, he ponders for hours on just how to cross such a wide barrier.Just as he is to give up his journey, he sees a great teacher on the other side of the river. The monk yells over to the teacher, "Oh Master, can you tell me how to get to the other side of this river?"The teacher ponders for a moment, looks up and down the river and yells back, "You are already on the other side."I still believe that EVERY obstacle can be overcome through either thought or deed. I have finally realised (started reading my own message more like....) that I will never lose more weight if I do not exercise more and the running is really not working yet. I need to recommit to this jo...
More About: Inspiration , Dedication

Weigh in results - NOW HEAR THIS!
2007-08-14 00:22:00
Fresh off the press, the results for week one of the FBT weight loss challenge!1st Tigerlilly with an awesome 3.3% weight loss in week one! Congratulations2nd Groovybabe chased her all the way down with an equally impressive 2.9% drop.3rd Lady T gets the bronze medal for a healthy 1.9% weight loss!4th Mr fat gets first reserve to prove that real men can lose weight too (all 1.85%)!5th Laura N completes the roll of honour with a great effort at 1.81%.Well done to everyone that entered and especially to the 5 biggest losers above. Please visit all their blogs and congratulate them on their superb weight loss efforts!As for the rest of you, I am still missing a few starting weights and some updates. This weeks challenge is over but there is always next week! Anyone can join in at any time - just e-mail me to get the ball rolling.New recent entrants are :-Sarah Aarssen http://www.sarahsweightlossjourneyblog.bl ogspot.com/Lady Rose http://thedietpulpit.wordpress.com/Cindy Spindler http://...
More About: Results , Hear , Result , Weigh

Not dead, just thinking!
2007-08-12 17:17:00
This weekend is turning into a never ending round of parties and excitement. Thanks for the e-mails and comments. I WILL answer them all as soon as I can and the first weigh in the FBT challenge is tomorrow!I will be migrating the challenge stuff to a new blog (on blogger)soon - everyone will get a link if you participate and all the weight loss info and stats will be there in one place. I think this is the best way to get the community going. I will let everyone know when this is done. This challenge has never been about bringing traffic to this blog, its about community and supporting each other!Good luck everyone and speak soon. Shelly, the book post is coming by the way, I bought some today (Buddha, Rwandan Genocide and Churchill - I sure know how to throw a book party...)!?*
More About: Dead , Thinking

No words necessary...
2007-08-10 12:30:00
Thank you Karoline.View the movie trailer here.
More About: Words

FBT Challenge update
2007-08-08 11:01:00
Right then, phasers on stun, the e-mail is out to all participants.If you want to be involved in the challenge and you DID NOT receive an e-mail a few hours ago, either I don't have your e-mail or I'm stooopid or sumfink!If you want to get involved, e-mail me (address in LH side bar) with the following information :-1. URL of blog (if you have one, you DO NOT need one to participate).2. Your e-mail address for updates etc.3. Your starting weight in pounds , kilos or stones.Below is the e-mail sent to today to all registered participants, this should answer any outstanding questions. If not, let me know!Basic challenge rules.Anyone can submit their starting weight at any time to join the challenge.Weights can be submitted in either pounds, Kilos or stones.Weight loss (gain?) will be judged by %age of weight lost NOT poundage - this will even out every ones performance regardless of starting weight.Weight updates must be submitted by e-mail to me BEFORE 12.00hrs GMT (Greenwich Mean ...
More About: Update , Challenge , Halle

Flat out like a lizard drinking....
2007-08-07 17:49:00
Weight - 240 (-30lbs)Exercise - 8 hours marching around Kew Gardens in 29 degree heat - hi karumba!I have had a rather full head this last week and have consequently been neglecting my 'blogular' duties. I'm now back with stories to tell and pictures to show.The short version is that I have my gotten my head straightened and the diet is fully back on track (the graph is now heading in the right direction - i.e. down...!).More soon dear reader..!
More About: Drinking , Lizard , Flat

The black dog has passed.....
2007-08-03 18:20:00
Weight - 244 (-26lbs)Exercise - loads (eh?, how does that work...)Well, thanks for all the shouting through the letterbox recently, you'll be pleased to learn that I'm not slumped in a crusty armchair decomposing with a half-eaten pizza balancing on my chest and the TV blaring away to itself. I'm not feral cat-fodder quite yet!I have however been 'proper out of sorts' this last week, without the decency to have a particularly good reason either, but then black dogs seldom need a reason...anyway that was then and this is now (hhmmm, name the eighties popster that sang that, answers on a postcard to the usual address...).Sadly I must point out, the only thing I share with my hero, Winston Churchill is his propensity for 'black dog days' - more's the pity...Right, the reason I started this whole malarkey was a lady called Pam - she is the Asthma nurse I see every month or so and she is also the lady that metaphorically kicked me out of my slumber and made me determined to lose ...
More About: Friendship , Black , Black Dog , Lack

Doing the right thing is sometimes the wrong thing...
2007-07-31 10:27:00
Yesterday I read a very eloquent and thought provoking post about community (or the lack of it) and it made me think about the Internet and what may be termed the 'electronic village'.Shellys blog is the epitome of thoughtful blogging and she exemplifies the best of the Internet in terms of her ability to engender and support a virtual community spirit. I am using Shelly as a counter-point to my own experience of attempting to 'support' fellow bloggers in the 'electronic Village'. Where Shelly is thoughtful and a good listener, never thrusting her views on others, I appear to have fallen into the habit of being an evangelical Buddhist (what a awful thought THAT is...).My lead feet wade in with reams of advice when all that's required was maybe a sympathetic murmur and best wishes. I deeply regret this and in particular I regret a post I left on this blog post yesterday, particularly as I may have contributed to her decision to stop blogging. The reasons for regret are fairly ...
More About: Wrong , Thing , Doing , Some

Dead birds, cat herding and bowels you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy!
2007-07-30 23:39:00
Weight - 241.6 lbs (-28.4).Exercise - swimming and aborted jogging (twice)Well, I haven't posted much over the last week or so. This is for various reasons but mostly because I have been feeling sorry for myself. I have no reason to feel this way but emotions never come in clearly marked tins showing their 'country of origin' so to speak....I rather rashly decided to run a weight loss challenge and then almost instantly lost anything approaching interest in the basic mechanics of losing weight, i.e. diet, portion control and exercise. I also found that I am REALLY good and telling people to think positively and then wallowing in a bucket of my own self pity.Oh, and I felt really ill last week as well - ahhhhhh!I felt generally under the weather ALL last week - I'm not sure if the mood caused the illness or maybe the other way around..either way it manifested itself as a severe disruption to the 'trouser department' if you will, i.e chronic IBS and various feelings of nausea an...
More About: Birds , Dead , Enemy , Would

A busy weekend!
2007-07-30 13:29:00
Thanks for all your comments and e-mails giving me starting weights etc for the challenge.I will respond to all your e-mails over the next day or so - this will include a re-statement of the challenge rules and confirmation of the next weigh in date.Hope everyone is well and I will be visiting very soon to say hello!
More About: Weekend , Busy

Good start to the challenge!
2007-07-27 13:44:00
Sorry folks, but I am struggling to get the e-mail out to all of you as many of you do not publish your e-mail on your blogs. I have employed a guard to look after your e-mail addesses to make sure they are not kidnapped and sold into spammery (see picture below) so don't worry about sending it to me! Time for PLAN B!Please e-mail ME (its in the left hand column) with your starting weight in Lbs, Kilos, stones, bags of flower or snickers bars, whatever suits! Once I have everyones e-mail and starting weight, I will set up a distribtion list to update you all on updates, prizes etc etc etc. I would rather do this than clog up my blog too much with organizational stuff. I will post weekly with the top 5 etc and monthly with everones progress. Sound fair?SO FINALLY, PLEASE E-MAIL ME AND LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!
More About: Start , Challenge , Good , Allen , Halle

2007 FBT Weight loss competition.
2007-07-26 10:59:00
Thanks to everyone that has registered for the challange! I will be e-mailing you all tonight to give you the last instructions and then off we go! 'I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done.' BUDDHA
More About: Weight Loss , Weight , Competition , Loss , Eight

2007 FatBlokeThin Weight Loss Challenge..(UPDATED...AGAIN!)
2007-07-24 13:11:00
Right then, does anyone else want to join the 2007 FatBlokeThin weight-loss challenge ?Anyone can join at any time but to be a founding member of this thrilling challenge, you need to let me know by Thursday 26th July 2007 (i.e. 2 days times !!).The Rules.Starting weight - the weight as measured on Friday 27th July 2007. I will e-mail all contestants to establish their starting weight (no helium or hover-magic shoes allowed..)Weigh ins - there will be weekly weigh ins every Monday and a monthly weigh in on the the first Monday in each month (staring on 3rd September 2007) all weights to be e-mailed to me at the address shown in the LH side bar..(no, the OTHER left!).Prizes - small but exquisite prizes will be awarded for biggest loser each week (if I'm feeling generous) and definitely every Month!Remember weight loss will be measured in %age of starting weight lost to make it fair for everyone. I will publish a chart detailing everyones progress (not sure how or where yet but it'l...
More About: Weight Loss , Weight , Challenge , Loss , Allen

A wet fish swifty applied to the chops!
2007-07-22 11:24:00
Blimey, I wish I had trusted my instincts and not contributed a moaning meme (it's not your fault Jessica but you'll see below why it wasn't such a great idea...) negative thoughts can be so destructive and I have gone and proved it AGAIN in such a graphic way!I have understandably upset my blogging pal JoJo, and I never wanted to do that! She is a passionate motorbike rider and to generalise my negative thoughts to cover all bikers past, present and future was in hindsight crass and stupid. JoJo, I apologise. I am human, I get annoyed, but I have have put tremendous effort into reducing my negative outlook and reactions - I should read my own posts more often it seems to remind me what I am trying to do here!The one slightly positive aspect of the whole 'moaning meme' saga is that it reminded me of why I am where I am.I began to get serious about my weight loss when I began to get serious about the other aspect of my life that was in crisis - my spirituality.I am where I am be...
More About: Fish , Chops , Applied , Lied , Swift

Serve you right syndrome - moaning makes you fat!
2007-07-22 09:47:00
As if to prove my own theory of the correlation between positive thought and weight loss, I have put on 2 pounds since last nights rant-fest!'All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.' BuddhaOh dear....there is always tomorrow......
More About: Syndrome , Serve

Moaning for England!
2007-07-21 23:02:00
Jessica the Rock Chick recently tagged me to answer a Moaning meme. I am not a huge fan of meme's but I made the exception as she asked so very nicely, it was hard to refuse!The meme originated here and the questions are as follows :-5 people who will be annoyed you tagged them.Right I am going to 'cop-out' straight away. I hate to annoy people because I hate being annoyed - know what I mean?...I go out of my way NOT to annoy people most if the time. So I will chose to tag 5 people that should provide interesting answers...(some will be annoyed though...snigger>)Shelly - she's so busy this will really wind her up!Jenny - she's not an anonymous boxer for nothing (except I know her name - doh!!)Mrs Wibbs - she is so nice, I just want to see if she can actually moan at all?!Crankybee - this lady is OLYMPIC standard!!Lol!Any finally, who else but Chris H - yikes, ear plugs at the ready people..lol!!!Hey, I've just noticed, they're all woman - what does that tell you.....(answers ...
More About: England

Why 'Special K' is NOT so special after all....
2007-07-21 10:22:00
I just came across this great post about Special K advertising and had to share it..I found it via Crankybee's great blog. Visit if you get a chance.This is a very thoughtful article and really made me consider the almost subliminal negative messages in some advertising - my total rejection of the 'diet industry' is well documented and this is a CLASSIC example of what is wrong with them. The promotion of self-loathing and the implication that some 'franken-cereal' can somehow make everything better is insulting at best, and at worst damaging to vulnerable overweight people.If this seems like an over-sensitive reaction to some innocuous looking advertising, this must be viewed as part of a complete landscape of negative images of fat people and 'fatness' in general through-out every type of media, in practically every single culture.I certainly don't subscribe to the notion that Fat Rocks (not sure whether this is meant to be a joke - if it is, it ain't funny and you need t...

Anyone fancy a fatblogger race then?
2007-07-19 13:53:00
Can you hear that....?? That's the sound of a gauntlet being thrown down by Spunk over at 100 Pounds to go!I have been looking for a while for a way to link us all together and create a motivational network to keep us all focused on the job in hand - this could be it!I have accepted the weight loss challenge from Spunk and proposed we race DOWN to 200 pounds (we are both at @240lbs so we have 40 to go).How about I open this out to anyone who is on the weight loss journey and wants to get involved? If you are interested, simply comment on this post or e-mail me and also spread the word far and wide throughout blog-land, tell everyone that we are having a race - the more the merrier!How about we have a weekly and monthly 'how much did I lose competition' all the way to the end of the year. To be as fair as possible, I think we should judge success by %age of weight lost rather than straight poundage - this should make it fair for people of all weights. What do you think, this is al...
More About: Blogging , Motivation , Race , Logger , Blogg

Centenary post / weight update and Comment Competition
2007-07-17 08:24:00
This, believe it or not is my 100th post!So in celebration, a few FatBlokeThin Statistics and a couple of competitions...So, where are we now? The tale of the tape!Number of Days since weight loss journey began - 90 daysStarting BMI - 38.7Current BMI - 34.7Starting weight 270.0Current weight - 241.8Weight loss - 28.2%AGE weight loss - 10.4%Lbs to lose to reach 1st target - 41.8>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>General weight update.Weight - 241.8 (-28.2)Exercise - 40 minute walk at lunchtime yesterday (during a fast - are you MAD?!)The fast is going REALLY well. Yesterday was DAY1 and fluids only - I had the usual problems (excessive peeing, joint pain, interrupted sleep etc) but I kept focussed and woke up today feeling fresh and NOT remotely hungry.I have eaten fresh fruit today with loads of fluids and will have vegetables and salad tonight.The fast brought on a massive (for me) single day weight loss since yesterday - around 5lbs! Just think what it could have been if ...
More About: Competition , Post , Competitions , Update

Fame at last (not really...)
2007-07-16 20:22:00
Those more observant amongst you will remember that I gave an interview to WLTips.com about my philosophy (eh?) of weight loss and well-being. It is now available on the website here.
More About: Advert , Fame , Really , Ally

Call the Diet Police!!!
2007-07-16 08:05:00
Step away from the food!Well, what a weekend - a seemingly never ending roller-coaster of food....I really fell off the wagon on Saturday. Our new neighbours came to dinner and far too much food and alcohol were consumed. I ate all the things I know I shouldn't (bread, cheese, lots of olive oil etc, etc), drank wine and whiskey like the last days in Hitlers' Bunker.I compounded this with some truly dismal food choices at a birthday party we attended on Sunday. Fried chicken, pea nuts, cheese (again) - blah, blah, blah - ughh!, what an idiot!The obvious consequence of this is weight gain - On Sunday morning I was 3 pounds heavier than Friday!! The less immediately obvious consequence was the effect it had on my running (or indeed the lack of it...). These woefully poor food choices completely blew my energy and motivation levels - I felt bloated, tired and listless....I am so angry with myself!Anyway, the diet police have been called and the diet is back on! I have been sentenced t...
More About: Diet , Police , Call , Poli , The D

Don't leave it 'til tomorrow...
2007-07-13 08:23:00
We got married in September 1999 in the UK and spent our honeymoon in New York City, Manhattan to be precise.We stayed in the Algonquin Hotel and took in a Yankees Baseball game (there is a whole post in that little trip - just dealing with the 'gypsy' cab ride home - OMG!), Central Park Zoo, Macy's, the whole shebang!But for me the absolute highlight of this 10 day extravaganza was a Broadway Show (even though, unbelievably, I managed to fall asleep at one point due to excessive 'entertainment' the night before!) - not any Broadway show though, but RENT.I have never been a particular fan of the usual musical theatre (i.e Howard Keel et al 'slap-a-my thigh'ing' all over the shop in bright red wigs etc) but I am a big fan of uplifting emotional music and was incredibly moved by the story and music of RENT.The story is jam-packed with compassion, emotion and the tortuous road to love (of every shape and size it has to be said).I recently watched the film of RENT and was struck...
More About: Love , Leave , Tomorrow , Rent , Morrow

Plateau officially busted?
2007-07-13 08:10:00
Weight - 243.4 (-26.6)Exercise - day off yesterday to let my shins recover (back to normal today!).I am at my lowest weight since starting my weight loss project - this is both surprising and not surprising, I'll explain.. Firstly, I am surprised due to the visit to Buddies yesterday and succumbing to the temptation of an 8oz chilli hamburger, coleslaw and fries!! - I did have a bottle of water with it though - does that make it OK??? Yet another example of the Beef Wellington Diet - it seems the worse I eat, the more weight I lose... Now that's a diet that would sell! Ker-ching!I am not surprised due to my much increased exercise - the running is beginning to work (if the shins hold up - thanks for the advice AB) - and I still do some power walking most weekdays.Thanks for all your recent encouraging messages by the way - I have been very remiss recently in not replying. I will rectify this over the weekend and come and see everybody!Finally, shameless plug, I have decided to mov...
More About: Busted , Plateau , Official , Ally

Something clicked inside my head today...
2007-07-10 20:43:00
Steady people, I'm not about to go 'Postal' on you!The whole running thing hit me like a wet kipper in the face today. I suddenly realised what I had been missing for so long. I feel sort of reborn (whoa, wha-whooooaa - not that way!!) - physically reborn if you will. I'm not explaining this very well...stay with me.I ran properly for the first time on Saturday and felt utterly terrible - if I was a cat I would definitely have lost several of my lives. I followed my version of the Couch to 5K instructions to the letter - it was hot but not THAT hot so whilst I felt really happy I'd started, I really struggled to think I cold ever get where I want to be (fitness wise that is).That was, until yesterday...WHAM! My wife runs a lot you see (she is out now running as it happens - doing @10K with her running club). Sorry to go off on a tangent, but they go down the pub after running - what's all THAT about eh? Bizarre.. Anyway, back to the plot...Yesterday I went running again as I s...
More About: Today , Inside , Head , Thing , Some

London Buses (similarity to awards that is)...
2007-07-10 00:17:00
Like the proverbial London buses (in that you wait for one and ages go by before 2 turn up together) - I am being veritably showered with awards lately (well if 2 can be interpreted as a shower, a spit of pleasant drizzle maybe!).Hot on the heels of the recent Thinking Blogger Award, I learn from my great blogging friend Shelly at This Eclectic life, that she has finally lost the remaining marble in her bag and decided I should be awarded something! It appears to be something to do with shmoozing (is that something my mother would approve of? Who knows but sounds intriguing nevertheless..)According to Shelly, the definition for schmoozing is :-The natural ability ?to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.? Good schmoozers effortlessly weave their way in and out of the blogosphere, leaving friendly trails and smiles, happily making new friends along the way. They don?t limit their visits to only the rich and successful, but spend some...
More About: Awards , Buses , Mila

Weight Loss Tips Interview (Updated with Photo)
2007-07-09 17:55:00
As you may recall, Lizza at Weight Loss Tips recently requested an interview from me for inclusion on their site. I was happy to oblige. Below is the content of my interview.Weight before diet:Recently, my weight has fluctuated from an all-time high of nearly 280lbs in early 2005 (I vowed I would never be 20 stones?.) down to 230lbs following a concerted diet/exercise effort in late 2005 and then slowly crept back to 270 lbs by April 2007.Weight now:My weight has been static at 245lbs for 4 weeks now - I have reached the dreaded first plateau!Target weight:My goal is to reach 200lbs by 31st December 2007 and then over a period of time get insanely fit and stay comfortably between 185-195lbs for the rest of my life?.What finally made you decide to start with a weight loss program?I have been overweight to a greater or lesser extent since I was 10 years old. I have regularly visiting health professionals over the last 25-30 years to relieve and regulate my Asthma.Following a routine c...
More About: Photo , Interview