WARNING! Please read responsibly. This Blog contains large amounts of smugness!
So, that’s my Lent event over for another year. What began in 2010 as a small challenge, has now grown into a much bigger test of will-power!
I began the challenge on the first day of Lent this year – 10th February and finished at midnight on Saturday, 26th March (yesterday). Technically, I think that’s longer than the official Lent period – a few of you commented (in their best Jeremy Clarkson voice) “Some say: he should have taken Sundays off”
…but where’s the fun in that?
Some of you have asked how I got on, so here’s a short summary.
This year, there were 42 items to try and steer clear of – see the list below – and I only strayed a few times (mainly due to err… forgetfulness!)
I lost a bit of weight. I was 14st 1.25lbs (89.2 kilos) when I started on the 10 February – and a week ago (my ‘best’ weight) I was down to 13st 4lbs (84.5 kilos), so that’s a loss of 11.25lbs (5 kilos) – about the same as last year. However, I did put a few pounds back on whilst we were staying away in a hotel towards the end of the Lent period and finished up at 13st 5.75lbs (85.3 kilos).
As in previous years, the toughest time was at the beginning, where I certainly had an attack of the munchies around the lunchtime period. Things got better as the days went on and for the first time this year, I started taking regular exercise too, to see if that would help shift more weight – as it turned out, it DIDN’T – but the smug-o-meter was again on the rise!!!
Out of everything on the list, I think I missed Curry and Guinness the most! But there was a point, about halfway through in early March, where I would have murdered for a Mars Bar!
So, a big thanks to all my friends for re-jigging menus and generally accommodating all my weirdness again this year.
Next Year?
As has been the ‘tradition’ since I stated doing this, I always try and add a few items each year to make things a bit more challenging for next period of Lent – and for 2017 it now totals 45 (that’s 3 more items than this year – Coffee, Lemonade and Stilton Cheese – another three of my faves).
2017’s List of Banned Items
And so now it’s back to normal with my eating, although I have become a fan of – wait for it – salads! Yes, you read that correctly: Steve likes Salads!
But enough of the sensible eating for a while – where’s that Mars Bar?????
Previous Lent Lists…
I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!
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