A Huge Weight On My Mind

I am putting on weight. It’s not happened quickly but it’s been steady and pretty unrelenting. I put it down to several things. Firstly, contentment. It's a pretty well known fact that that happy and contented people can put on a few pounds. I am pretty happy in my life, albeit there have been some major stresses and strains this year that have affected my wellbeing. Stress is another factor for putting on weight. For nearly four years now, I have been out of a daily routine. Work is forthcoming, but my hours are far from routine and I get very angsty about combining a work/life equilibrium. 

Anyway, the upshot of this is that I need to seriously consider re-jigging something in my life to make this work. I adored running. Absolutely loved the ease and the freedom of it. Sadly, it didn’t love me. The strain on one of my big ‘ole flat feet was too much and I have been trying to nurture them back to working order for the last 6 months. The podiatrist has suggested that I don’t take up running again very soon. 

My go-to cardio exercise has always been swimming, which I still do as much as my time/energy levels will allow. I’m still a 2k in 40mins swimmer, which isn't bad. A decent pool is hard to find however and while Epsom has a great gym, its pool is poorly managed. I get a better swim at Wimbledon but of course, that adds 10k to my commute to work. Cycling is a decent cardio exercise of course, but I’m no racer and get a bit stressed cycling in torrential rain or wind - it’s an age/confidence thing, I think. Also, even on a good day, packing an inordinate number of clothes when I leave the house. For example, if I am at work and have a play in the evening, I may have to pack a gym or swim kit, a formal shirt and tie for work, a casual shirt and trousers for the theatre and possibly an extra pair of shoes/trainers, depending on the weather. Apart from anything else, the forward planning can become pretty draining. 

Age is also an important factor and at 52, it’s not going to get easier to loose weight.

Anyway, I need to shake things up a bit and I’ve got a few days ‘off’ coming up. Needless to say I have a writing deadline in that mix, but hopefully things will be a bit clearer. The reason I am writing this post is to help me try and identify the changes that have happened in my life in the last four years that have affected my weight. Oddly the big things that have happened include: a personal trainer, regular sports massages, increasing my swimming/gym membership, the increased use of apps and the addition of an activity tracker. It’s almost as if that since I started to invest in my fitness, I started putting on weight. I wonder if this is a common occurrence?  

When I first met Sean, I had put on quite a bit of weight, which may well have been related to giving up smoking. I then proceeded to go on my most successful diet ever, loosing approximately 23 kilos or so over the period of about a year. I don’t need to do that again, obviously but I do need to find the sort of routine and commitment that I once had. I got down to about 85 kilos and I guess, I’d be happy now at with being under 90 kilos. If I get under 90 kilos, I might be able to - carefully - start running again. 

I guess that I am looking at loosing about 15 kilos over the next 12 months. It seems doable on paper, but there again, I’ve been trying to do it for four years and progressively failing. Lets see how I get on over the next week or so. Autumn/winter is never the best time to diet - I think my body naturally craves pies, stews and dumplings through this season. But there's also Stop-tober, which I should aim for - drinking is not just shite for calories, it also encourages bad food choices. Let's see what I can put in place over the next week or so to begin with. 

Autumnal Shades

Yet again it's been a week of contrasts at the theatre, for me at least. My week began with at the New Wimbledon with Selladoor's production of Flashdance, a musical stage adaptation of the 1980s hit movie starring Jessica Beals. It was disappointing not least because I have now seen a few Selladoor productions and rather enjoyed them. This was simply a bad choice of show featuring a lazy and surprisingly dated book and a score that oddly lacks dynamism. I felt my review for The Stage pretty much said it all but it didn't stop the Stage Manager from questioning my criticism on Twitter.

I was back in Wimbledon the following evening for Child ofthe Divide at the Polka. This was my first ever visit to the Polka, although I pass it regularly on the way to the gym, but I have to say it's a lovely space. Of course, it doesn't have a bar but it is a children's theatre so what would you expect. I found Child of the Divide enlightening, although the speech before and after the show is critic catnip as far as I'm concerned - save it for the aftershow party.

My third theatre trip was to the Stratford Circus - a venue I hadn't been to for at least 15 years. It's changed a great deal, feeling much more like the Arts Centre it professes to be. I liked the show too - Big Foot, a story about what it means to be a man, at least amid the South London Guyanese community.

I will say at this point that the unifying feature of each show so far was that every one had gone up late. In total, I had spent more than half an hour longer than I should have waiting for the lights to fall in auditoriums.  It only annoys me because I am usually early for a show and will expect it to start on time. You'd think that after 20 years I'd have gotten used to it.

Anyway, my final show of the week was the one I was probably looking forward to the most. The Soulless Ones at Hoxton Hall is an immersive piece in the manner of the classic Hammer horror movies. Sadly, it was neither scary nor exciting. There was a big, chewy script and a decent nod to the design but I began to lose interest quite quickly after I'd checked out every room. What concerned me the most however was the cost of the ticket. Of course, I didn't have to pay but at £48 is far too much for what was more a promenade production rather than real, immersive theatre. I didn't feel involved in the action in the slightest, merely an observer. It's a great idea but Hammer need to rethink it's creatives if they are planning this again. For £48 I'd at least expect to taste the blood of Dracula!