A quick update…

This is potentially the most rambled of all my posts…so hope this doesn’t turn you off. I hope any challenges you’re doing you’re succeeding in and remember life happens in between stuff so it’s cool to have a blip (The Body Coach or Mr Motivator would never say this).

So it’s been a challenging week and a bit on the #bisontenweekchallenge as I’ve had some real curve balls thrown at me.

Amongst being a busy bee up and down the country and having lots of cracking work to do I seemingly have squeezed in leaving dos for friends, a tapas and Albariño frenzy with a client mate in Manchester, a media stag do (they basically involve excessive fun and drink for all), a beautiful wedding in Stratford Upon Avon with delicious food and drink on tap, a curry cooked by a mate in Leeds washed down with his home made beer and breads (do me a favour…no man on the planet would turn this down!), lunch with more client mates at restaurants where you can’t avoid the carbs, an evening with mates where unlimited chicken wings was on the menu (technically allowed), and a spa trip where I managed to be good…ish and have salad type products with a few vinos.

Ah…just another thing to add that I did and I realised the other weekend. If you eat a steak that weighs circa 2kg then this will probably also harbour you for a few days and portion size really does matter even when eating lots of protein!

Ultimately I’ve basically committed a few cardinal sins by going off grid and not sticking to my rules. As well as this I’ve basically not been to the gym! I have been maintaining step levels most days but just had a bit of a shocker.

Despite this I’m still half a stone down from the start weight so just another 21 pounds to go to victory. Need to make more time for the gym. 

Saw Adrian Mole the musical at the theatre on Monday evening and reminded me that writing all this nonsense down is pretty useful for me to look at where I might be going wrong…or right for that matter. No tales of Pandora or Bert Baxter in this #bisontenweekchallenge though and I doubt we will turn my blog into a musical…although anyone out there that wants to make this a reality just holla!
Keep classy, enjoy life and be focussed in everything you do. As long as you recognise where you balls it up you will continue to get better.

Here’s to the next 7 weeks and 21 pounds to go! Yikes!

#bisontenweekchallenge

10 weeks left…I clearly couldn’t count…not a great start.
So I’d say it was more of an 11 week challenge as I got my final weigh in day wrong…not to worry I hear you cry, the 10 week challenge is firmly on.

So week 1 or as I like to call it, the sampling week saw highs and lows. A trip to the gym, lots and lots of walking and in the main, I stuck to my guns on food and drink…what wasn’t needed was a day at house festival with basically all my favourite food and drinks being handed to you on a plate followed by, lunch at a carb heavy ace restaurant, and a night out in Manchester filled with many delicious treats made by my friends, and a few refreshing drinks.

House festival should have been the hardest challenge but I kept it mellow, drank a zippy low carb vodka and soda type drink and ate the grand total of an Oyster, a slither of lobster tail, 3 meatballs and a 1/4 chicken (how very house festival)…all low carb…all delicious and non excessive. Also managed to squeeze a non conventional work out in whilst at the festival in the form of a go on the Waltzer and threw a few shapes to Sean d Paul. Mainly classic disco moves if you’re asking. All in all a solid day and didn’t break…until en route home in my cab my mate insisted we stopped for some chicken (he definitely didn’t insist, in fact he didn’t even want any…that was me and the old voddy sodas talking)…ah well not too bad.

Lunch at The Ivy on Friday was a tricky one and not ideal to enter the weekend with but I avoided the carbalicious treats and opted for some roasted Hake, washed down with a couple of superb gin and slims and excellent company…a great set up for me to then go and have an epic BBQ at my cousins in the evening and a couple more Gin and slims.

Saturday delivered me the hardest of days…a night out in Manchester to see Joyce Sims! Easy I hear you say…just apply the old Sean Paul disco dancing method and a few voddy sodas in the mix…not that easy when your pal rustles up a pre night out incredible BBQ lamb wrap for dinner…the wrap was essential to hold all the delightful ingredients together. Maybe where there was a problem was when I started to drink a couple of beers in Band on the Wall…noooooo! Anyway I pulled it back with the old voddy soda trick and a few disco dancing moves.

We won’t talk about Sunday but obviously after 3 boozy evenings I didn’t drink a bean but may have had another couple of wraps let’s just say.

Onwards and upwards…it’s Monday and I’m feeling revved up! Here’s to a top week!

@themediabison

#bison10weekchallenge

Wing Wednesday…what to do?

Eat wings obviously! Not the trickiest dilemma I’ve ever faced, but I was made to think last night about the consequences of eating wings whilst on the #bison10weekchallenge by my boss who claimed that my Wednesday Wing intake could have circa 2000+ calories in! Wild stallions huh!

Now I get the whole cals in cals out vibe and believe you me I put a lot more cals in than cals out and have done since birth! You’d never guess though as metabolism is so high I’m such a slight chap! Unfortunately though I don’t buy the whole cals in cals out thing when shedding timber as many years ago when I actually wasn’t a porkster I was shovelling about 5000-6000 cals into my body a day and not burning them all off and was in the best shape of my life…Why I hear you cry?! It’s all about putting the good stuff in…and the cavemen back in the day weren’t calorie counting…they were grabbing tasty morsels here and there or eating large dead animals until they were full, and then grafting there way to being strong people.

Now I’m not saying the cals in cals out slimming world, weight watchers or dust diet doesn’t work…I’m just saying it’s not sustainable for this thirty something media chap who loves chicken wings. A bare chicken wing is acceptable (protein filled goodness)…a wing caked it hot sauce…not so much. Although when wrestling with this hot sauce point in my head I quickly won by convincing myself that the chilli will actually a metabolism booster.

So to conclude…it’s Wing Wednesday today…if you’re doing or taking part in the #bison10weekchallenge or #eatlikeaking ways of living…then find your nearest Wing vendor this lunchtime, take a mate and chow down on one of life’s wonderful treats…the beautiful chicken wing…just skip the pint of beer you’d usually wash them down with!

Much love and happy winging!

@themediabison

#bison10weekchallenge

The 10 week challenge…it’s on!

Okay so yesterday was day one of the 10 week challenge…for those thinking this is an official challenge sponsored by a cereal brand or protein powder you’d be very wrong! This is themediabison 10 week challenge and you guessed it…I made up all the rules!

Basically in 10 weeks I’ve got to shed some serious flipping timber as myself and a mate have a bet on with two friends. The bet was actually made over a very large dinner the four of us had some two months ago in Manchester and now the reality is kicking in! The bet was to lose 2 stone by the 15th September…easy…if I’d have started it the morning after the bet was made but unfortunately I didn’t and spent two months being a lush! I don’t lose bets…and either way who ever wins the only consistent and worthy winner is a Manchester Homeless Charity which is where the bet money will go to regardless of who’s paying.

So…the reality of what I need to do is kicking in…probably needing to lose a bit more than 2 stone in 10 weeks…I’ll be aiming for at least 3lb a week so this is fairly intense.

For anyone wanting to join in these (for sh*ts and giggles) are the golden rules* I’ll be living my life by:

– No processed carbs, sugar, beer, bread, pasta or rice basically!

– At least 2, ideally 3 gym classes or trips a week with a min of 10k steps a day ideally pushing 12k plus (squeezed in a quick spin session today…good start)

– Protein heavy, green veg rich meals where at all possible (see quorn zipper recipes in my recipe section)

– Keeping my fun token drinks to spirits with diet mixers, the odd red wine and maybe a glass of fizzy vino here and there (appreciate processed sugars in wine but get back in your box and give me a break!)

– Trying to be veggie one day a week (this is a tricky one as I eat at least a full chicken most days!)

*Please note that the rules don’t apply at stags, nags, weddings and festivals…obviously (that would just be daft)! At these events I’ll just try my hardest to be good 🙂

So…if you’re reading this and worry because we are out in the next 10 weeks for some kind of epic lunch, dinner or some dancing evening soirée…fear not I’m not a total bore when living with the #eatlikeaking diet! I still devour epic meals and drinking just all gets a bit cocktail sans sugar (espresso martinis don’t count!).

Finally if you’ve read this far…thanks! Potentially the most boring thing I’ve written to date but I’m doing this purely to drawer a line in the sand so I commit and publish the fact I need to do this or will be skint!

Much love and great to be back…if you see me with a sandwich, pint or sugary treat in my hand then knock it out of my hands fast and give me a telling off! I’ll be keeping you updated on my progress!

@themediabison