A year in – a summary

Well, it's pretty much a year to the day since I started this blog, so I guess it's time to ask what I've achieved – and what I could have done better.

Let's start with the weight – at the very best this year, I hit 82.9 kilos, down 12 kilos on the start of the year. I've put on just under a kilo and a half over Christmas – I'm now up to 84.3 kilos, but that's not the end of the world.

I've dropped around a couple of dress sizes, from a large 18 to a standard 16. And I'm much, much fitter than I was a year ago, when I couldn't even run for the bus without getting out of puff, never mind contemplating five kilometres.

On the down side, though, I kind of lost the plot after a cracking start to the weight loss. The challenge for this year will be to pick up where I left off and drop at least another 10 kilos (preferably closer to 15) by this time next year. One article I read recently that really made me think was about portion control, and that's something I'm really going to work on in the coming weeks.

And I'll keep posting stuff to this blog – so keep an eye out for some interesting recipes in the coming weeks and months.

The Christmas goose is getting fat...

...Sadly, though, it's not just the Christmas goose that's put on weight. Although I was down to 82.9 kilos three weeks ago, I'm now up to 84.8 kilos. It's my fault, really – I've spent the past fortnight in an orgy of cooking, eating and indolence (highlights have included a fantastic fore-rib of beef, served with spuds roasted in goose fat and pillowy yorkshire puds, and a slow-roast shoulder of lamb that just fell apart at the prod of a fork).

I'm hoping, though, that the weight that's gone on so fast will come off again equally quickly. My knee is also on the mend and, over the past few days, I've been running again. It's amazing how quickly you can lose condition thought – I did two miles (3.5 km) the other day and nearly died in the attempt. Five ks looks almost as unachievable as it did a month or so ago... Still, one step back and two steps forward is the order of the day, so I'm about to go for the third run of the week. If I don't kill myself out there, I'll be back in the next day or two with some updates.

James's advice on injury and exercise

As a rather annoying coincidence, just as you're feeling good and starting to reap the benefits of exercise and a healthier lifestyle, something happens that sets you back... Darn it!

As is often the case, there seems to be no rhyme or reason to your injury. There will almost certainly be no warning – it just seems that at a certain point in your training, bits start hurting and not working as well as they had earlier on.

Fear not... it happens to the best of us. I can remember training really hard for a run I wanted to take part in. I was working intensely – so much so that, come the end of most days, I found it hard to walk. It turned out that the problem was more in the nature than a cry for help from my muscles than anything too serious.

If you think about it logically, the reason for the discomfort is quite clear. Any change in your routine is going to have an effect. When trying to lose weight, we strive for a ‘negative energy balance’ – we aim to eat less but do more. This equation also applies to our bodies when you step up the pace, whether it’s your joints, your muscles, your energy level or anything else.

In a weight-loss programme, levels of intensity and strain increase rapidly to begin with (due to the lack of activity previously), so strict attention to form is essential as you don't want to pick up any bad habits that will stay with you.

Often a joint or other area of your body will start to experience discomfort when you begin your exercise regime or when you increase the demands on your body. This discomfort is usually due to you not having used your body in this way before. You are challenging it and it’s letting you know about it.

My advice is to stay with it, while bearing in mind that an initial rest period if you experience a minor injury is no bad thing. In fact I think it is quite good to shock your body with a change of routine on a regular basis, so turning off the heat then turning it back on again may well work in your favour.

Remember, though, that it’s important to listen to what your body is saying. You may need to seek advice from someone with an X-ray machine if the pain continues. Although 75% of our ‘niggles’ turn out to be something quite harmless, 25% can be symptoms of something more serious.

No excuses – well, maybe just a couple

I'm sorry, I've been totally crap about posting anything on this blog for a while. I could put it down to the end-of-year rush at work, or I could lay the blame at the door of my computer – it's been getting slower and slower for a while and I eventually took it into the workshop to have the hard drive cloned and then doubled in size. That's when I was told I'd nearly knackered it by only having four gigs of hard drive space free. Anyway, the new drive was re-installed with no problem, but getting some extra RAM into the thing proved challenging – it was on order for days before it finally came through, and I was computer-less for over a week, something I'm not used to and which makes me feel distinctly uncomfortable...

Added to which, I had an exercise triumph – I managed to plough my way through five kilometres, although it took me nearly 40 minutes to do it – quickly followed by another exercise nadir. When I woke up the day after my five-k run, I could barely stand. I'd done some damage to my knee that left me limping. It's taken me almost a fortnight to be able to walk on it without getting a twinge, and it turns out that I'm not the only person to suffer a similar setback just at the point when everything seems to be coming together on the exercise front. The next posting on this blog will come from James, who has a theory as to why this might be...

Things are finally moving in the right direction

It's taken ages, for one reason or another, but I've finally moved off my plateau. This morning I weighed in at 83.7 kilos... Hurrah!

Another milestone, quite literally...

I managed to push on through my 2-mile barrier yesterday. I planned a new route for my run and just went for it. True, by the end my legs felt like jelly, but I just concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other and I made it. I've found there's a bit of a psychological trick to it too. I divide the run into segments and push myself until I get to the end of each segment – then I tell myself I should get through at least one more segment. Sooner or later, you end up so close to the finishing line that it seems like a shame to give up...

Happy as a...

I went out the other night to the 'soft launch' of a friend's new restaurant – a bit like a dress rehearsal. The idea is that you give the restaurant kitchens and the front of house staff a chance to test out their abilities before they get let loose on paying punters. The place – Terroir, 5 William IV Street, WC2 – is just behind Charing Cross tube station and, once they've got over a few teething problems, I think it'll be a truly pleasant place for an evening out (and I'm not just saying that because it's a mate's restaurant). Mark and I tried a few of the dishes, including a steak tartare and salad of smoked duck breast with green beans and walnuts, but for me the standout dish was one of clams with ham, garlic and chilli.

I liked it so much, in fact, that I decided I wanted to try my own take on the dish, which I did last night. In fact, we liked it so much – and I got so carried away – that I forgot to take a picture of the finished dish (hence the generic picture of clams, top). Here's the recipe (Mark said it was even better than the original, but he could just be biased...)

Clams with ham, garlic, parsley and chilli for two

150g smoked bacon, preferably cut into thick slices, then cut into lardons
a skerrick of olive oil
a smear of butter
2 shallots, finely chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red chilli, finely chopped
150ml white wine
150ml fish stock
600-700g clams
a large bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil and butter (use as little as possible – it's just to lubricate things until the bacon fat starts rendering) in a heavy-bottomed casserole dish or saucepan, then add the lardons. Fry until the lardons are beginning to brown.

Turn the heat down low and add the chopped shallots. Fry gently until translucent and soft. Add the garlic and chilli and fry for another half a minute.

Stir in the wine and the stock and bring to a fierce boil until the liquid has reduced by at least a third.

Lower the heat to a medium flame. Tip the clams into the pan, along with the parsley and the pepper. Stir thoroughly then place the lid on the saucepan. Cook for another few minutes, until the clams have all opened. Serve in a bowl, along with a slice or two of bread for your non-dieting beloved...