I have not been so strict with my diet as I should have been and thus today I am at 13st 5lbs. I'm back onto night shifts tonight and I should find it easier to cut down on what I eat over the next few days. 12st 7lbs by the end of the month is, I feel, achievable.

I've been playing some more with my new strobes and I'm really happy with the results. My biggest hurdle at this time is space. Both our lounge and dining room are very small so it is very difficult to set up the lights and background in such confined areas. I've seen some tips on how to get a high-key photo just using flash and no background which I need to have a play at. It will be interesting to see if I can get pure colour backgrounds using this method and gels but I very much doubt that it is possible. It seems that low-key photos similar to the one above are just as possible by making sure that the flash is not directed at the background. It will be interesting to see if I can do that.

For Christmas, several people who knew that I was saving for some studio flash units gave me money so eventually I've managed to get them. I'm really pleased with them. I still need some more practice with them but I'm happy with my initial shots. I need to practice with the umbrella vs softbox too.

I weighted myself this morning and found that I'm 13st 3lbs, so the diet is working very well. I imagine the taking a long walk around QEQM Hospital in the freezing cold proabably helped my weight loss but I can't imagine that it helped my cold. I'm over the moon with my progress so far. I'm finding it a lot easier than I thought I would. I didn't go overboard on my rest-days which is quite hard for me, especially when Jo sends me out to buy biscuits and ice-cream. I managed to limit myself to one biscuit the day befor yesterday (96 kcal) I can see how woofing a packet now takes me well over my daily allowance. I have planned out my callerie allowance for next month and I think that by planning the way I have, I should find it that much easier. I've not been as hungry as I thought I would. I doubt that my stomach has contracted in such a short period of time but maybe it has. It could be that my insulin levels are now getting under control, which I think helps control appetite. Just 10lbs to February's target but if I do as well in February as I did this month, I should trounce that.

I've hit January's target early. Weighed myself this morning and I'm 13st 6lbs (188lbs) which I'm delighted about. I've been working out my calorie intake for next month so that I can see exactly what I need to be eating to achieve my goal. It is so much easier to diet when I'm at work because I can effectively go 10hrs without eating and I'm generally too busy to really notice. This, combined with eating the 30g of cereal for breakfast rather than the 120g that I would normally have has had dramatic effects. I still fall down on my rest-days so I need to look at that and ways that I can stop myself from snacking. I'm really pleased with my results for January and I'm feeling really positive about February. Cycling home last night, I felt really fit and healthy. A feeling I've not had in a long time. This alone gives me renewed vigour to get to my ideal weight which I've not been at since I was about 19. I've got to get ready for work. It is wet and miserable outside. I can't put it off any longer, I have to go. However, I do like to add a picture to my posts so, as you can see above, my first decent LBP2 creation. It's not brilliant but it was fun to make and not bad for my first attempt.

I came home from work on Monday morning and it was crisp clear night and the stars were shining so I thought I would take a shot. At the start of the year, I made a sportsman's bet with Robbo to see who could lose the most weight in January. I'm sure he would not be too offended in me saying that we are both sporting a few extra pounds that we could do with out. Now, it would appear that he is on the "Go to the Gym and Eat Kentucky" diet, whereas I am just trying to eat a bit more sensibly. I don't go to the Gym during January because everyone and their dog is in there and I prefer a bit of solitude. It is a lot easier for me to cut down on what I'm eating whilst I'm working because I have always got something to do rather than eat. My problem is on my rest-days when I'm at home. Normally I pick and eat things like crisps, biscuits and chocolate. I must confess to eating some chocolates and some lemon meringue pie yesterday but I don't think I over indulged as I normally would. So, we started off at 201lbs (14st 5lbs). My ideal weight is 175lbs (12st 7lbs) which I want to achieve by the end of February. If my total weight loss is 26lbs, I want to have lost 13lbs by the end of January. Makes sense to me. Works out to be 188lbs (13st 6lbs)

There aren't many photos of me with my shirt off for obvious reasons. But I'm determined to get my flat stomach back that I had when I was 18. 19 years of comfortable living has taken it's toll. I want to have a stomach that I can show off by the end of March. I was joking with Jo at work (not wife Jo) about the screen saver on her phone which showed a male torso. I jokingly said "That'll be me at the end of March." and she said that I would have to prove it. I do think that it is achievable and I'm seeing steady progress. So hopefully, by the end of March, I'll be able to do some nice B&W photos of my own torso. We'll see.

On Saturday 18th December 2010 we went to some steam railway near (or in) Tenterden (I don't know where, I just do as I'm told). I had gone to the gym bright and early that morning and the weather was clear but cold. When I got home and was getting all set to go out again, Ellie came and said "It's snowing outside." And I did the bad parent thing and said "Don't be silly, it's cold but clear." Imagine my surprise when in about 20 minutes we had a couple of inches of snow. I looked out and realised that I would be travelling quite a distance in snow and it had no sign of letting up.

So, throughout the journey to pick up Jo's Mother and her boyfriend, the snow continued to come down. We then drove to Tenterden following a sat-nav that took us down every country track it could find and the snow continued to come down. We had a great day there. Snowy train journey through the countryside and Ellie got to meet Santa and go on a carousel. Even had her photo taken with a Snow-Princess. It stopped snowing just as we were about to leave.

So we started back the way we came, having enough fun just getting out of the car-park. We had a few hairy moments sliding on the snow but most of the issues were other people not understanding how to drive on snow. People trying to get up hills in first gear and wondering why their wheels have no traction. It took us two hours to get back from Sittingbourne because people were driving at 25mph despite the lane they were on being clear of snow. This meant driving over a ridge of snow to get into a snow compacted overtaking lane and then crossing back over the ridge of snow to the lane that was clear of snow every time I came across someone doing 25mph.

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.