A tough journey to regain a higher level of fitness and a lot less fat. a few months on and a few pounds lighter I want to share my story and offer hint's tips and recipes that helped me and set up a page where people can help and support each other with the same battle.
Tuesday, 29 July 2014
Sony Xperia
FULL REVIEW WHEN I GET IT BACK - ITS BROKEN DOWN AND BEING SENT FOR REPAIR
I have been using the Z2 for about 2 months and thought it was about time to let my thoughts be known.
Why the Z2? - I Had the Samsung Note and it was time for an upgrade.
Having recently changed my job and with all the lifestyle changes my requirements for a phone had changed, top of my list was any phone needed to be water and more importantly dust resistant. this limited my choices to about 3 phones - The Sony Z1, The Sony Z2 and the Galaxy S5, My wife had a Z1 and as chance would have it my work colleague had just taken delivery of a new S5, Both were willing to let me have a play, Going from my Note I immediately felt at home with the S5, and this was the problem, if I was changing phone I wanted it to feel different, even though the OS went from jelly bean to kitkat, Samsungs touchwiz made the phone feel identical just a little faster.
The Z1, although still Android Jelly Bean, felt different with Sonys enhancements not as evident as touchwiz, my only dislike was the screen looked very yellow after the over saturated colours of the Samsung.
So Why the Z2? - The Z2 was new with a faster processor, more memory, 4k video recording and an improved screen.
The first big noticeable difference between the Z2 and any other phone I have use recently is the incredible battery life, this is further enhanced by Sony's stamina mode, this basically switches the phone off when the screen is off, apps can be added to the exception window which will keep the running in the back ground, ie messaging apps. I can now do an early shift at work, getting up at 4 am and still have 70% battery when I go to bed, my Note was lucky to last till luch time.
The screen - even with the improvements over the Z1 I think the Samsungs still win on the screen front, their colours and more importantly their blacks are better, clearer and more vibrant. That said the Sony is still one of the best screens out there, running rings around I phone, htc and nokia screens.
The Speed - Even when loaded up with all my app's most of which are not used or indeed not necessary there is absolutely no lag, the touch screen response is fantastic.
The Camera -
Sunday, 20 July 2014
Forest of Dean - Verderers Trail
I had taken the day off work since my wife and eldest son were going on a trip to watch a concert so it was down to me to pick the younger children up, but that left the day - so I did what anyone would have done, packed the bike in the car and headed over to the forest.
Located between Coleford and Cinderford the
pedalaway bike centre marks the start of the trails.Car parking is ample and very reasonable at £3.50 for the day.
With the bike reassembled and myself adorned with gloves, helmet, sun glasses, hydro pack and tools I was ready to go, a good clear map marks the start of the trail, the first section through the trees is easy going and then the trail leaves the trees and heads uphill the first stop was to let the tyres down, the bike had been in commuting mode and the tyres were well pumped, the trail is very well thought out with each climb rewarded with a little gift of a tight twisty singletrack or short downhill blast, then the next climb, but as you climb I just reminded myself, what goes up ! As you reach the top there are some of the most amazing views, stop a take a picture, the get ready for the downhill, the Dragons Tail as it is called is amazing very fast with the berms in all the right places and just the right number of jumps, It did amaze me how much my bike just wanted to be in the air, I emerged from the tail with a massive grin on my face and just one thought AGAIN! 
Although the trail is 7 miles long there are fireroads linking the sections, so if you want to do the DH section again just a short climb and your ready to go.The trail is graded as a blue route and the freeminers as a red, although apart from a few roots I couldn't see the difference between the two, There are also DH sections but since my bike is a hard tail I avoided these.
The centre itself has a very warm and welcoming feel, everyone we spoke to on the day were chatty and friendly, and the bikes didn't define the status, at some centres the 5K boys won't even acknowledge that the sub 1K boy's exist.
Before I go again I think an upgrade to a shadow rear mech is on the cards to reduce some of the chain slap! Although the chain never derailed I'm sure it must have been close a few times.
Pedalabikeaway
Cycle Centre
Cannop Valley
Nr Coleford
Gloucestershire
GL16 7EH
United Kingdom
http://www.pedalabikeaway.co.uk/
Find the time.
The most difficult thing about getting fit and being healthy is the negativity forced upon you by Everyone else.
You have it set in your mind that you will eat well and exercise, But what happens then?
Outside influence kicks in and ruins your plans, I have seen so many motivational quotes, the problem with these is they have the opposite effect, let me explain
one particular quote I have read said, " an hour workout is 4% of your day don't make excuses"
Yes an hour is only 4% but in a 24hr day, take out the 8 hours sleeping and 8 hours working the 2 hours getting to and from work and that hour suddenly becomes 17% of your time take out the other jobs like cooking, housework, shopping, picking the kids up etc and that hour can quickly become 100% of your free time.
This then demotivates you and you end up thinking wow my 4% is all my free time and all I want is to sit and have a cuppa. Supermarkets prey on this promising you more time with shelves packed full of processed foods which only take 90 seconds to cook, yes they are a nutritional nightmare but the only take 90 seconds.
This is only part of the problem, the world isn't geared to people getting healthy, the media is full of miss information. The change 4 life program being forced on our kidsat schools in the UK is a prime example.
our kids are being told that fat is bad, meat is bad, eggs are bad, sugar is bad, and so on This gives me a major headache trying to get my kids to eat anything that isn't processed. Their simple answer is "take a vitamin tablet".
Having a family is also a massive demotivator, if I make a suggestion like Lets go out and ride a bike, I get met by so many negative comments that it ends up never happening.
If I start to exercise it's met with, what are you doing that for, why aren't you helping the kids? why isn't my dinner ready? when are we going to eat? the kids need to go to bed soon.
But there are answers .....
The first one is simple, incorporate exercise into you daily routine, cycle to work, take the stairs not the elevator, dance with the vacuum cleaner and duster, walk to the shops, not only will the walk do you good, carrying the bags back is good strength exercise, Calf raises when your cooking, place the remote out of reach, That's a lot of cardio and exercise
.
Educate your children, children learn by imitation, it's how they learnt to walk and talk, therefore it follows if you exercise your children will too, if you eat well, your children will too.
Plan meal's, Cook fresh when you can, by using single ingredient foods with a good variety, vitamin tablets become redundant. Yes it might take more than 90 seconds but make eating an event, Eat as a family, you can catch up with the kids, catch up with events and enjoy your family, I have taken it one step further, for one day a week we have family night, a technology free night, no computers, no mobile phones, just family time, we have had a games night, one of my boys is remarkably good at Cludo, we have had a park night, walking to the park and letting the boys play for hours and having a kick around, in fact whatever the boys want to do - it's their choice.
Make plans to get fitter with friends, its proven that if you do something with other people you will be more motivated, you are less likely to let other people down than just yourself.
Most importantly remember do something! Even 5 minutes is better than nothing.
You have it set in your mind that you will eat well and exercise, But what happens then?
Outside influence kicks in and ruins your plans, I have seen so many motivational quotes, the problem with these is they have the opposite effect, let me explain
one particular quote I have read said, " an hour workout is 4% of your day don't make excuses"
Yes an hour is only 4% but in a 24hr day, take out the 8 hours sleeping and 8 hours working the 2 hours getting to and from work and that hour suddenly becomes 17% of your time take out the other jobs like cooking, housework, shopping, picking the kids up etc and that hour can quickly become 100% of your free time.
This then demotivates you and you end up thinking wow my 4% is all my free time and all I want is to sit and have a cuppa. Supermarkets prey on this promising you more time with shelves packed full of processed foods which only take 90 seconds to cook, yes they are a nutritional nightmare but the only take 90 seconds.
This is only part of the problem, the world isn't geared to people getting healthy, the media is full of miss information. The change 4 life program being forced on our kidsat schools in the UK is a prime example.
our kids are being told that fat is bad, meat is bad, eggs are bad, sugar is bad, and so on This gives me a major headache trying to get my kids to eat anything that isn't processed. Their simple answer is "take a vitamin tablet".
Having a family is also a massive demotivator, if I make a suggestion like Lets go out and ride a bike, I get met by so many negative comments that it ends up never happening.
If I start to exercise it's met with, what are you doing that for, why aren't you helping the kids? why isn't my dinner ready? when are we going to eat? the kids need to go to bed soon.
But there are answers .....
The first one is simple, incorporate exercise into you daily routine, cycle to work, take the stairs not the elevator, dance with the vacuum cleaner and duster, walk to the shops, not only will the walk do you good, carrying the bags back is good strength exercise, Calf raises when your cooking, place the remote out of reach, That's a lot of cardio and exercise
.
Educate your children, children learn by imitation, it's how they learnt to walk and talk, therefore it follows if you exercise your children will too, if you eat well, your children will too.
Plan meal's, Cook fresh when you can, by using single ingredient foods with a good variety, vitamin tablets become redundant. Yes it might take more than 90 seconds but make eating an event, Eat as a family, you can catch up with the kids, catch up with events and enjoy your family, I have taken it one step further, for one day a week we have family night, a technology free night, no computers, no mobile phones, just family time, we have had a games night, one of my boys is remarkably good at Cludo, we have had a park night, walking to the park and letting the boys play for hours and having a kick around, in fact whatever the boys want to do - it's their choice.
Make plans to get fitter with friends, its proven that if you do something with other people you will be more motivated, you are less likely to let other people down than just yourself.
Most importantly remember do something! Even 5 minutes is better than nothing.
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