Motivation

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Here in Great Britain, human weight is traditionally measured in stones and pounds. I recognise that In America folk think in terms of pounds alone and of course in continental Europe it's all kilograms - whatever they might be. Down in Australia I expect that Aussie weight is measured in marsupials. But here it is, as I say, stones and pounds.

While I have been churning out this blog during the last eight months, I have been in the process of losing weight with the aid of "Mounjaro" weight loss injections. They have spurred me on to be much more watchful about what I eat and to be far more weight conscious.

Previously, I had not weighed myself in over twenty five years and looking back I realise now that I was in denial.  I didn't want to turn into somebody who constantly watched what he ate and allowed the bathroom scales to have any kind of influence. So I simply never weighed myself.

But my ostrich-like attitude was changed by high blood pressure and the warning that I was teetering on the edge of Type 2 diabetes. It was time to act and shedding weight would, of course, be of great assistance in my fight back.

Losing weight has been an up and down sometimes frustrating experience though the gradual trend has always been downwards. I am now happy to report that I have lost over two stones in weight - around thirty two pounds.

Earlier this week, I thought to myself - what does a stone feel like if you are holding it in your hand or carrying it on your back? I determined that six standard 75cl wine bottles weigh just over a stone.

So I put six bottles in a shopping bag and lifted them. Wow! They were pretty heavy and to think, I have lost the equivalent of two bags of wine bottles! 

That excess weight must have been distributed around my body - not just my belly and I realise what an extra strain carrying that weight must have been placing upon me.

It was very helpful to get a handle on the amount of weight I have lost by using the bag of wine bottles idea and I would advise anybody who has successfully lost some weight to try to replicate my little exercise. A physical demonstration of the weight you have lost could provide the motivational boost you might need.

For myself, I am not done with weight loss yet but I feel I am on the final furlong of my mission and then it will be all  about maintaining the reduced weight and not slipping back into those old devil-may-care ways. Vigilance shall be my watchword... I hope.