At long last Amber Valley Borough Council have been dragged into the 21st century regards our recycling.
They will tell us in jolly tones that they've listened to us - the council tax payers - about the new recycling service we're getting. Nothing to do at all with the current contract being up (same company, new contract) and the realisation that the inept system we've put up with for years was total RUBBISH!
There was a questionnaire/survey a little while ago - I'd have to check my bossy do this questionnaire now tweets and texts to find out when exactly, and I'm not quite bored enough for that - asking us what improvements they could make.
Well obviously what we wanted was to have all our recycling in one wheeled bin and get rid of the two bags for paper and cardboard and the wafer thin, dribbly bottomed, unlidded yellow and orange plastic tubs for the tins and glass ... and we wanted our plastic collected from the kerbside too.
If I remember correctly, there was also mention of garden waste collection that may be implemented next year, but don't rely on me for this information being a done deal.
Anyway, our new grey recycling bins - which include plastic collection - are on their way to us over the next few weeks and we start to use them week beginning 19th November. There is a separate sleeve/caddy doo dah inside for the glass because if it gets mixed in with the other recyclables it'll be considered contaminated and unusable. I don't think it's too much to ask us to use the bin correctly.
Ahem, it's not often I say this - rarer than hens teeth I should think - but, oh, alright if I must ... THANKS Amber Valley Borough Council for finally asking what we want and actually going on to implement it. There, see. That wasn't too difficult and nowhere near as sarcastic as my second paragraph ...
Thursday, 20 September 2012
Saturday, 15 September 2012
Five Weeks Of Alternate Day Fasting
Or More Correctly Intermittent nearly fasting:
Well, I've been doing the 'diet' for five weeks now and I've lost a total of 18lb. It is still the easiest thing I've ever done regards diets, calorie counting and generally eating better.
I've found that the best way of managing the down days is to do the 400-500 calories over two meals ... lunch and dinner and totally missing breakfast (I don't get up early but I do go to bed late). Hmmm, yes, and for the picky pedants out there, I know missing breakfast is impossible because the first meal of any day, whatever the time - IS breakfast, but you know what I mean.
One of these meals mostly - up to now - has consisted of green crunchy stuff and cottage cheese, the other one tends to contain chicken style quorn, mushrooms, onion, more crunchy stuff - peppers, carrots etc - dry stir fried with half a tin of chopped tomatoes poured on after. Seeing as I only do this three days a week (Mon, Weds, Fri) I don't see the need to vary it over-much.
I use an app called My Fitness Pal on the android jobby (also available on-line), which has proved invaluable to both tot up the calories eaten and the calories used for exercise. It tells me off every down day for not eating enough, and every up day for eating too much, but over the week my calories have averaged at roughly 1200 a day ... this is because even on my up days I've been more aware of unnecessary empty calories and so avoided them (and not craved them).
The other benefit of losing weight is that I'm actually motivated to shift myself off my ar*e and go for l-o-n-g walks - like I used to do in the olden days - as well as using my stepper with resistance bands ... although ahem, I can see that this will soon be regarded as one of those faddy things I buy, use four times a day the first week, twice a day the second week, dwindling down to once a day. Then eventually it becomes something me, grumpy and the cat trip over, swear and hiss at; so grumpy will put it away ... and it'll never see the light of day again.
Up to a month ago I'd been caught in a vicious circle of little outdoor activity and insidious weight gain. I made excuses about having to do my work (sitting) or housework, hmmm. This is because as a fat(ter) person, I could always find a reason to justify why I didn't have to go out. But the truth is:
I may not have kept up the super weight loss of the first three weeks of this lifestyle, but I didn't expect to, also I think I'm gaining a little muscle weight. More important to me and far more noticeable has been the inch loss ... still only 1" from my boobs grrrr, but 3" from both my waist and hips. Oh and I'm going to have to start wearing my smaller rings because even my fingers are regaining their sylph like contours ;-)
So far, two friends have joined me. One is doing five up days and two down days a week and has lost 2lb on her first week (to be expected as she's not as over-chunky as me), and the other is doing four up and three down, slightly varying the days to work around her husband's shifts and she has lost 8lb in her first week!!.
Like me, they've had a mini-panic at the weekend, which is when we tend to let our hair down more as family life gets in the way of dedicated dieting. This is because we've all eaten (several) something(s) considered almost a complete no-no on a points or calorie controlled diet. THIS IS ALLOWED as long as we stick to being good on our down days and we're not totally daft on our other up days.
I'm now in the process of turfing out my too BIG clothes, I intend to get rid of them all and not save ANY for my next fatathon, because I refuse to let it happen! The only shame is that, sigh, I sent all my too small - and relatively new - clothes to charity during the saga of the wardrobe ...
Well, I've been doing the 'diet' for five weeks now and I've lost a total of 18lb. It is still the easiest thing I've ever done regards diets, calorie counting and generally eating better.
I've found that the best way of managing the down days is to do the 400-500 calories over two meals ... lunch and dinner and totally missing breakfast (I don't get up early but I do go to bed late). Hmmm, yes, and for the picky pedants out there, I know missing breakfast is impossible because the first meal of any day, whatever the time - IS breakfast, but you know what I mean.
One of these meals mostly - up to now - has consisted of green crunchy stuff and cottage cheese, the other one tends to contain chicken style quorn, mushrooms, onion, more crunchy stuff - peppers, carrots etc - dry stir fried with half a tin of chopped tomatoes poured on after. Seeing as I only do this three days a week (Mon, Weds, Fri) I don't see the need to vary it over-much.
I use an app called My Fitness Pal on the android jobby (also available on-line), which has proved invaluable to both tot up the calories eaten and the calories used for exercise. It tells me off every down day for not eating enough, and every up day for eating too much, but over the week my calories have averaged at roughly 1200 a day ... this is because even on my up days I've been more aware of unnecessary empty calories and so avoided them (and not craved them).
.....
The other benefit of losing weight is that I'm actually motivated to shift myself off my ar*e and go for l-o-n-g walks - like I used to do in the olden days - as well as using my stepper with resistance bands ... although ahem, I can see that this will soon be regarded as one of those faddy things I buy, use four times a day the first week, twice a day the second week, dwindling down to once a day. Then eventually it becomes something me, grumpy and the cat trip over, swear and hiss at; so grumpy will put it away ... and it'll never see the light of day again.
Up to a month ago I'd been caught in a vicious circle of little outdoor activity and insidious weight gain. I made excuses about having to do my work (sitting) or housework, hmmm. This is because as a fat(ter) person, I could always find a reason to justify why I didn't have to go out. But the truth is:
- I was too tired and heavy to bother.
- In summer, I was uncomfortably hot.
- I was really embarrassed by my size and didn't want to be seen.
.....
I may not have kept up the super weight loss of the first three weeks of this lifestyle, but I didn't expect to, also I think I'm gaining a little muscle weight. More important to me and far more noticeable has been the inch loss ... still only 1" from my boobs grrrr, but 3" from both my waist and hips. Oh and I'm going to have to start wearing my smaller rings because even my fingers are regaining their sylph like contours ;-)
So far, two friends have joined me. One is doing five up days and two down days a week and has lost 2lb on her first week (to be expected as she's not as over-chunky as me), and the other is doing four up and three down, slightly varying the days to work around her husband's shifts and she has lost 8lb in her first week!!.
Like me, they've had a mini-panic at the weekend, which is when we tend to let our hair down more as family life gets in the way of dedicated dieting. This is because we've all eaten (several) something(s) considered almost a complete no-no on a points or calorie controlled diet. THIS IS ALLOWED as long as we stick to being good on our down days and we're not totally daft on our other up days.
I'm now in the process of turfing out my too BIG clothes, I intend to get rid of them all and not save ANY for my next fatathon, because I refuse to let it happen! The only shame is that, sigh, I sent all my too small - and relatively new - clothes to charity during the saga of the wardrobe ...
.....
- Me and Alternate Day Fasting
- Me and Alternate Day Fasting ... Three Weeks On
- Five Weeks of Alternate Day Fasting
- Eight Weeks of Alternate Day Fasting
- Ten Weeks of Alternate Day Fasting
- Alternate Day Fasting Three Months On
- Alternate Day Fasting in Winter
- Alternate Day Fasting Over Christmas
- Me and Zumba
- Saying Goodbye To My Curves
- Eight Months Of Alternate Day Fasting And Me
- Growing Up
- A Year Of Alternate Day Fasting
- 60 Pounds Of Blubber - Vanished
- The Perils of Alternate Day Fasting
- Mr Grumpy Is Losing It
- Mr Grumpy Has Lost It
- Fasting For Maintenance
- Tweaking Maintenance
- Weight Gain
- Still Maintaining
- Four Years Of Intermittent Fasting
.....
Monday, 10 September 2012
Price of A Stamp
It was a crumbly friend's birthday last month, I purchased a nice non-sarcastic card and my grumpy old man was despatched to post it - on his way to the bookies.
Because in distant times the local post box was set on fire, grumpy always takes mail into the Spar/post office at Winthorpe. This occasion was no exception, he duly handed over 50p and left the card with the person behind the post office counter.
A week later I phoned the birthday girl to tell her that the weather was wonderful, the sea was sparkling in the sun and we had a lovely sea breeze ... I do this to people because I can and because I'm nasty.
She thanked me for her card and said that she'd got it just the day before, making it a week late. She'd received a card from the Royal Mail, telling her that there was unpaid for mail waiting at the sorting office - which due to their greed and stream-lining - was now miles away at Ilkeston, rather than Heanor.
Off they went to fetch it ... it cost her £1.50 plus petrol to simply collect a 50p - I'm cheap as well as nasty - birthday card, which had already had the correct postage paid for. Grumpy went to the post office in Spar to tell them, and to be fair they've since reported it to the area manager and given him his 50p back. And if my friend gets her £1.50 back I'll be sure to mention it.
Hmmm, because of the extortionate price of postage, I'm thinking of getting a year's supply of birthday cards and giving them all out in January when we're at home - or even better (meaner) I'll dish them out with Christmas cards for the recipient to save until the required time ...
Because in distant times the local post box was set on fire, grumpy always takes mail into the Spar/post office at Winthorpe. This occasion was no exception, he duly handed over 50p and left the card with the person behind the post office counter.
A week later I phoned the birthday girl to tell her that the weather was wonderful, the sea was sparkling in the sun and we had a lovely sea breeze ... I do this to people because I can and because I'm nasty.
She thanked me for her card and said that she'd got it just the day before, making it a week late. She'd received a card from the Royal Mail, telling her that there was unpaid for mail waiting at the sorting office - which due to their greed and stream-lining - was now miles away at Ilkeston, rather than Heanor.
Off they went to fetch it ... it cost her £1.50 plus petrol to simply collect a 50p - I'm cheap as well as nasty - birthday card, which had already had the correct postage paid for. Grumpy went to the post office in Spar to tell them, and to be fair they've since reported it to the area manager and given him his 50p back. And if my friend gets her £1.50 back I'll be sure to mention it.
Hmmm, because of the extortionate price of postage, I'm thinking of getting a year's supply of birthday cards and giving them all out in January when we're at home - or even better (meaner) I'll dish them out with Christmas cards for the recipient to save until the required time ...
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