Today I had a mess around with doing self portraits. They are quite tricky to do because of not being behind the camera. I have been looking at the difference between the hot-lights and strobes on Youtube. I currently use a couple of hot-lights with soft-boxes on them but I'm finding that the light that they throw out is quite limited. I think that strobes are the way forward. Our lounge is also a bit small for a photo studio. So far, I think I'm getting adequate results. I need to do more portraits and produce some leaflets/business cards so that I can get a little hobby-business going to help fund my hobby. With the digital photography, the actual running cost is quite low because digital film can be used over and over. Likewise, publishing online allows me to show off my work with very little outlay. It's just the initial investment that costs a fortune.

It's that time of year again. Ellie came home with her school photo which looked like she had been out playing beforehand. Her hair was a mess and because of the way the image was proportioned, she looked quite fat really. So I thought, I can do better than that but I need a decent backdrop. This was the main hurdle because I simply cannot justify spending £100 on a backdrop that may get used once a year and I don't know enough people with school children to make the cost back. I started looking at digital backdrops and found someone who had uploaded his to share. After a bit of tweaking, I think I've got a result that is far superior to that of the school photographer. I'm hoping that the people I do know with schoolchildren will see my results and throw some work my way. I could do with some donations so that I can invest in some studio-strobes which will allow me to get even better results but again, I can't spend out £250 on something that is just a hobby at this time without some help. So, if you know me and don't live too far away, I'd be grateful for any willing models or donations.

I've effectively put on 6lbs over the last two weeks which I kinda knew was going to be the case. I find it really hard to stick to a diet when I'm at home with nothing to do but look after Ellie. My biggest problem is that I eat way too many biscuits. Well, back to work tomorrow so things should start to get back on track. Ellie is also back at school now so my days off during the week should be a little more productive. Think I will start P90X again, see if I can stay motivated through out. Problems I have with P90X is that I only have a small house and 13Stone 12lbs jumping around is a bit noisey. I'm tempted to take it out into the garden where there is more space. I've been trying to increase my photography too. Here are a couple of one of the spiders in my Garden. They got a surprising amount of interest from my friends on facebook.

Ben died

 

  So, Ben died which is kinda understandable what with him being three years old or so.  Ellie has been really quite upset so we now have two new members to our family.  The Rat with the markings is Daphne and the Albino is Velma, named after characters from Scoobydoo.  They are both really quite friendly although Daphne is the more adventurous out of the two.  Taking photos of them is fun because they are quite fast and don’t like to wait around or pose.  We are trying them with different types of food and so far they seem to like sweetcorn the most.

My morning weight is 13 Stone 6 lbs. This means I am just 13lbs away from my goal. I now have two weeks off A/L so I want to be down to 13 Stone by the time I go back to work. I think this is achievable. Looking at one chart, it shows that I would have to get to 10Stone 7lbs to be underweight. I don't think I would ever be able to get that low so I think I am quite safe in that respect. I'm still not as hungry as I thought I would be. I get peckish occasionally but not ravenous. Whilst I'm at work, it's not too bad because I'm always busy but I may find it a bit harder over the next two weeks. 13lbs in Kgs is 5.89670081 (just shy of 6 bags of sugar. Tomorrow, I'll do a photo of 6 kgs to help me visualise it but for now, it's time for bed.

Can't Sleep

My diet is going quite well. I'm feeling really good about myself and I'm not feeling as hungry as I thought I would. I'm quite tired but I was having trouble falling to sleep so I thought "While I'm awake, I may as well do a quick update." One of my bosses thought he would give me some diet advice but unfortunately he has fallen for quite a lot of the myths surrounding weight loss. The principle of weight loss is to burn more calories than you consume. People don't realise that your body does not just suddenly go into starvation mode, especially if it is already carrying a surplus of energy/fat. They don't realise that it is ok to eat after 8pm if you are in a negative energy balance or you are going to be in one. Previously, I understood the theory, I just lacked the motivation to diet and keep on a diet. However, now, I can see that my goal is achievable. I need to keep focused on my goal before I start thinking further ahead. I can't remember when I was last 12 Stone 7lbs. Probably when I was 17-18 years old. It will be such a great feeling to get down to that weight. I have my 32inch trousers ready and waiting which I can look at and give me that extra bit of motivation. I really do not want to end up with diabetes. I've joked saying that it would do me the world of good because it would force me to behave myself but there are so many people who do not behave themselves with diabetes, would I be one of them? While I'm thinking about it, lets work out what my Basal metabolic rate will be at 12 Stone 7lbs. So I would have a BMR of 1760 calories a day and this would be adjusted for light activity to 2640. So once I get to my ideal weight, I need to be consuming beween those figures to maintain my weight. I will probably try to stay at the lower end to remain a more lean body. Well, I think the sleep-aid tablets are starting to kick in so I'm off to bed again.

I weighed myself this morning and I'm now 13 Stone 9 lbs. I have to accept that I would have lost fluid overnight and that I will put some of that weight back on as soon as I start drinking. I don't know how quickly insulin levels stabalise but I'm feeling healthy and not as hungry as I would normally. This might just be PMA, but we will see. I'm back into 34inch trousers. I've sorted out my trousers into sizes and I have a few 32inch trousers that I'm keen to fit into. I will be so happy when I do. I'm on my way to the figure I had when I was 18:)

Ellie is driving me nuts asking questions about her facebook games. Because I don't play them, I really don't know how to help her on those.

I think our summer is now gone. Sometimes we are lucky to have a few good days later in the year. I managed to get myself a subtle tan which is quite good for me considering that I normally spend my time on the computer or PS3. I've been helping Ellie make chocolate lolly-pops which is a messy job. Now I suppose I ought to do some washing up before Jo gets in and then I'll have to start getting ready for work.

Weight-loss

So, I've been trying to get to my ideal weight for a long time now. Far too long. So, I was trawling through YouTube as I do, looking for something motivational when I stumbled across a young lady who had an idea on how to change an aspect in your life. Her idea was to link all the bad things about what you want to change and link good things to the change. So let's have a go.

1. Being overweight gives me increased risk of diabetes.
2. Being overweight gives me increased risk of heart disease.
3. I really don't like having an unsightly belly.
4. I can't run as fast when I'm overweight.
5. I get out of breath too easily.
6. It's really annoying when Ellie thinks it's funny to poke my belly.
7. I don't feel confident walking in public without my top on.
8. Junk food is expensive.

Now the benefits.
1. I can stop worrying about my health.
2. I'll be faster and have better stamina.
3. I'll feel more confident with my top off.
4. I'll be able to see my abs again.
5. It'll be one less thing that people can take the piss out of.
6. I won't get out of breath so easily.
7. Chin-ups will be easier too.
8. Studies show that if you eat less, you live longer.
9. Eating less means we save money.

Well, I didn't manage to get to 10 items each, but it's a start. Now I just need to eat less. I did have 7 each when I started writing, so I may get to 10 by the time I finish. My current weight is 13 Stone 11 lbs and my ideal weight is 12 Stone 7 lbs. I suppose I have done well so far getting down from 15 Stone 8lbs to my current weight. I just need to try that bit harder. 17lbs.

Took Ellie to the park today. She wanted to go to the small park around the corner. I think she is missing her school friends. 6 weeks school holidays is way too long for children. She's been having fun but I think the bad weather makes her go a little stir crazy at times.
I have to go to work tomorrow and don't finish until the early hours of Friday morning so I may do another update then.

So, I've decided that I need to be doing more with my Blog. Problem is that work takes up a large portion of my life and I'm not allowed to discuss work. Thus, I'll have to focus my blog on the other important things in my life which are my family and my photography. I will start uploading new photos onto my Blog and hopefully some videos too. I'm determined to get down to my ideal weight, so there will be updates on that too. Yesterday I managed to slice through my index finger with my trusty Swiss army knife. Luckily it is so sharp that it really didn't cause too much pain at all. I think that sentence shows that I'm a glass is half full type of person. It's a bit sore now and every now and then I bash it on something and the pain is excruciating. I think it's time I went to bed but I will try to keep the updates coming. I'll just have to find something interesting to do each day except work, sleep and Yahoo Answers.