D4D

Improving sarcasm for thirty years

Archive for the category “Food”

29 Apr 2013
1 Comment

The Rebel Rebels

Over the weekend, I went down to London to see the Rebel Rebels perform their final show.

Conveniently (for me, at least) it was held at the Elixir Bar, just round the corner from Euston – ideal, and meant I didn’t even need to consider overnighting in London.

As it was, I met up with Merialc and Erzsebel beforehand, and went for a curry at the Erzsebel-recommended “Diwana Bhel Poori House“. (round the other corner from Euston)  The food was excellent – although I can honestly say I have no idea what the hell I was eating – and made for a good start to the evening.

The evening itself was a fun time too – and while not being ‘official photographer‘, I still had the camera with me, and got some good shots. I’ve missed the Rebels’ previous shows for a number of reasons, so I’m glad I got to be there for the final one.

The journey home was OK too – albeit incredibly long, due to the train service stopping at every single station on the way. Being sober on the late train’s an experience in tolerance, not rising to any number of inane pisshead conversations and the like, but thankfully there was only one puker, so it could’ve been a lot worse all round.

A great evening all round, and it’s a pity that at the moment there aren’t more planned.

 

Posted by lyle in Domestic, Food, Gigs, London, Music, Photography, Public Transport, Sociable, Thoughts, Travel
11 Feb 2013

The Value of Romance

While out over the weekend, I went past a Wetherspoons pub, and they’ve got a stunning offer for Valentine’s Day.

2 for twenty quid - feel valued yet?

2 for twenty quid – feel valued yet?

Yup – take your beloved out and show her how much you love and value them by making it a Meal for Two for £20.  What could possibly be more romantic than that ?

And the sad thing is, I bet they’ll be bloody packed.

Posted by lyle in 1BEM, Advertising, Cynicism, Domestic, Food, Marketing, People, Thoughts, Valentine's Day | Leave a Comment
16 Jan 2013

Embarassing Fat Bodies

Channel 4′s got a new series of “Embarassing Fat Bodies” at the moment, and it’s really annoying me.  Not just because of my own ongoing issues with weight-loss, but just because of the people.

I know I’ve a long way to go, that’s a foregone conclusion. As such I’ve probably not got much room to talk, currently. You know what? I really don’t care.

You see, the difference with me is that I’m doing something about it. I’m taking the hints from my body, and I’m doing something about it.

The people on Embarassing Fat Bodies just don’t – or at least haven’t – and it’s like they’re waiting for some bloody wizard to come along and wave a wand at them to fix the problem.

One of the people on this week’s programme had a hernia the size of a basketball, a lipoma the size of two footballs, is housebound, and has a BMI of 79. Yes, seventy-fucking-nine! But still she eats – and admits to eating – meals for three or four people.

Another one, 35 stone, BMI of 66 waddled in, having done a food diary, talking about “a bag of crisps”. It turned out that what she meant by that was the huge family-bag size bag of crisps. This is someone who can’t stand, and has brought an office-chair into her kitchen so she can scoot around the kitchen rather than walking around it.  But still, a diet of crisps, chocolate, full-fat fizzy drinks.

How long does it take to pick up the hints? If you’re that size, at least cut down what you’re eating, or go for the healthier alternatives!

Again, I’m not perfect, I know. Some of my diet isn’t grand – but my intake is on the low side, not the excesses listed by some of the people on this programme.

Posted by lyle in 1BEM, 2012-2013, Cynicism, Food, Health, People, Thoughts, Weigh Less, Weight Loss | Leave a Comment
15 Jan 2013

GP Results – Thoughts

In some ways I’m quite happy about the GP results – they were a lot better than they had any right to be.  In another, I’m almost annoyed, because I can’t deny, I kind of hoped there would be some kind of medical explanation for why I don’t lose weight.

I’ve done the food diary – admittedly only for a week, although I’m going to continue doing it for a while more – and my intake averaged out at 1750 calories, give or take. That’s *low*, my basic maintenance should be around the 2,500 – 3,000 mark, so I should be losing weight quickly and easily. But I’m not. It’s much the same as it has been for ten years, with the exception of losing a stone through Slimming World three or four years back.  (Even that was fucked- the time I went with their exact plan, I gained weight)

And now there’s no visible medical reason for it either.

I know I need more exercise, and that’s part of the plan for this year.

But basically, right now, there’s no sodding reason for me to be the size/weight I am. And that pisses me off.

Posted by lyle in 2012-2013, Cynicism, Domestic, Food, Getting Organised, Health, Weigh Less, Weight Loss | Leave a Comment
14 Jan 2013

GP Results

So, having (finally) seen the GP this time – only half an hour late, that’s almost early compared to usual – I’ve got the final figures…

  • Blood Pressure : 120/80
  • Heart rate : 75
  • Cholesterol : 5.7
  • Thyroid : Normal
  • Blood Tests : Normal

Being a pissbag, the GP wouldn’t give me exact figures for the thyroid results etc. – I remain cynical about “normal” until I can check – and refused to give me a referral to the dietician service. Instead I’ve got to see the diabetes nurses next week for diet advice. Because, of course, they’re the ones who know.

Luckily I’m also getting the diet advice from someone else I trust, so it’s not hyper-relevant to get the referral, but I do want the request on my NHS record. I asked for the same thing in Norfolk, and Suffolk, and nothing happened at all. So I’m more serious about it this time round.

Anyway, all told I’m bordering on healthy – with the exception of my BMI and weight, which I still want to work on. Considering the BMI and weight, there’s no way the rest of the figures should be as good as they are.  So all told I feel quite positive about things, for once.

I’ve still got bits to work on, obviously – I do want to reduce my weight, and work from there, but knowing that the basics are OK is a big thing too.

Posted by lyle in 2012-2013, Cynicism, Domestic, Food, Getting Organised, Health, Weigh Less, Weight Loss | Leave a Comment
07 Jan 2013

Food Diary

In the run-up to the start of 2013, I wrote a little bit about the goals (well, they’re more like guidelines) I’ve got for the year. I’m keeping it pretty simple, although there’s lots of other stuff under those main points. For the moment I don’t plan to share the sub-points, because they’re not actually of much use to anyone except me.

Anyway, as part of the “Weigh Less” goal, I’m starting to write a food diary from today. Obviously that’s not all of the plan, but it’s a good starting point for establishing what I’m doing, and what needs to change.

I’ve been lucky enough to be able to do this with the help of Dragon, and to be able to help him with his training for being a PT by doing the initial food diary, analysis and plans with him.

I’m going to see how it all goes, and I’ll write more about it as time goes on.

Along the way, as well as getting results from the GP (including that missing blood-pressure test) over the next couple of weeks, I’ve also invested in some proper weighing scales, including body-fat.  Much as I like the idea of them, I didn’t go for one of the Withings or FitBit ones in the end – £100 for scales is a bit much, and while I like the idea of keeping those records and graphs online, I can do the same thing by myself, either locally or on RunKeeper etc.  Besides, seeing those updates from other people on Facebook and Twitter pisses me off in the end, so I don’t want to do the same to other people.

Instead, and on a recommendation, I’ve gone for these scales from from Omron, which do everything I want them to.

So – progress is being made. I’ll be interested (and probably depressed) to see the initial figures, but I’m thinking/hoping that they’ll provide me with more impetus for going ahead with the weight loss.

Posted by lyle in 2012-2013, Domestic, Food, Health, Weigh Less | Leave a Comment
16 Nov 2012
6 Comments

Critical Reading

As has been observed many times over the years, I can be a really picky/pedantic bastard – particularly when it comes to spelling, punctuation, and literacy in general. And it’s true, I am all of those things.

Today I’ve been proof-reading a menu for the work Christmas Do  (of which more at some other point) – and with some of the errors, had to check the original menu.

So – would you still go to a place whose menu has spelling errors?  I realise that the typing and publication of the menu won’t have come direct from the chef, and will have been farmed out to someone on reception (or similar) – but really, if chefs / owners are so obsessed about control, wouldn’t that also extend to the menu, and how it represents the establishment ?

In this case, some of the spelling errors are pretty basic – Mascarpone , for example, is mis-spelled. In others, it’s the actual cooking techniques themselves, such as “Ballantine” instead of “Ballotine”. And I just find that a bit worrying – for if there’s that lack of attention to details in the menu, I can’t help but think there might be the same lack of attention when it comes to the food.

Posted by lyle in Advertising, Creativity, Cynicism, Education, Food, Literacy, Pedantry, Thoughts

Post Navigation

← Older Entries