How I Lost 7Ibs In ONE Week!!

Hi,


Quite remarkable really but I got on the scales this morning and yes, it was official, I had lost 7lbs in just one week!!


How did I do it? Of course, my running helped, I have been slowly increasing the length of my runs each day and now I am nearly up to three miles. Today I will run the 3 miles and will keep going like that until I get to the 26.

So that extra exercise has obviously helped. The other major factor has been my detox diet, which effectively means coming off caffeine (so no tea or coffee), dairy (no milk, cream), preservatives, flavourings and colourings. Sugar and fats such as butter are also out. By the way, so are wheat based products, such as bread. Blimey, what's left to eat then? Plenty!! I haven't been hungry once. By the way, the first time you try such a drastic change to your diet you are going to feel pretty strange for a few days, but by the 3rd or 4th day you should start to feel pretty good, with a lot more energy in fact. One word of caution, this is obviously a major change to most so if in doubt, please seek medical advice first, I am not a dietician, I'm just sharing what has worked for me.

Of course, I'd already given up alcohol a few weeks back so that was one major hurdle I'd already overcome. I do miss my morning cup of coffee though and I'm looking forward to the gurgling sound of my coffee maker on Friday morning when I finish this detox stint. Actually, in those 7 days I haven't been totally good and I've had about 4 cups of (caffeined) tea and a couple of chocolate bars. But apart from that, no problems really. For the record, this has been the diet:

Breakfast: Jilly's Breakfast Crumble. Made with plums from the garden and the crumble is made of rolled oats and olive oil, instead of the traditional topping. Jilly adds honey and some mixed fruit to the mix and bakes it in the oven for about an hour. We eat it cold every morning, topped with some low fat yoghurt or fromage frois. Delicious!!!

Hot Drinks: Dandelion Tea mostly, we also have this toasted dandelion root tea which is quite nice too. Any herbal tea will do but watch out for the flavourings in the fruit teas.

Lunch: Of course, it's my Turkey and Tomato Soup. Delicious!!!

Afternoon Snack: Normally an apple (or a spoon or two of that crumble, can't stay away from it :o)

Evening Meals: Easy really. Grilled fish or chicken, served with steamed, grilled or roasted vegetables. We use an olive oil spray for the grilling and roasting and that works well. Sprinkle with a few fresh or dried herbs during or after cooking. For a dressing, I normally mix some lot fat fromage frois with some dijon mustard and some lemon juice. Again, add fresh herbs if in the mood.


That's it really, not rocket science. Plenty of exercise and food NOT ready made out of a packet.

To finish off I thought I'd share my updated map because I've now found a new tool on the marathon site that maps and measures out the distance for you. How sad!!

Commitment and Sad Maps

While running yesterday, in driving cold rain, I realised what a difference my sad little map had made. To be honest, it would have been far easier to quit and sit in front of a warm fire. But no, I persevered, all because of my sad little map. In that moment of decision, I thought: 'I can't stop, the lines on the map will be shorter'. How sad. But how revealing. It is when we commit to something, that things start to happen, thoughts change, things change. Dreams BECOME reality. Commitment also gets more powerful when it is 'committed' to paper and is further strengthened when that commitment is shared with others i.e. this blog. But of course, I am not the first person to discover this, as Goethe, the 18th century poet and philosopher (one of my mentors) spoke eloquently about the subject:

"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness
has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now".

But I think Bill Murray, who led the Scottish Himalayan expedition in 1951, said it best:

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative ( and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way."

So quite naturally, I will end this blog with my sad little map, which is no longer sad because it is now a dream bringer. PS I've had to change course because the initial track is now waterlogged…I think I'm up to around 2 mile and I've lost 5 pound so far, I'll share some diet tips in the next blog. Until then, all the very best, Allen

More From The Newsletter

In every newsltter we will bring you an example of how poetry has been used in more dramatic or unusual circumstances to portraysomeone's innermost thoughts and feelings. I don't want to startevery newsletter on a sad note but this edition is dedicated to abrave lady called Trish, who has just lost her battle with cancer.On a happier note, her family had the rare chance to tell her what they thought of her and there was a fair amount of healing involved in that process. You can read her story and also download a freecopy of what I think is a quite remarkable e-book:

http://www.agiftofpoetry.com/Death/trish-britt.htm

2. On a brighter note, poetry can also be used to celebrate the happier occasions in life. Poetry seems to be ideal for anniversaries, I think it's because it gives you the chance to say a few things you don't normally get to say in the everyday hubbub.There are many examples on the site so it's hard to choose a definitive favorite. Here's one I wrote recently for a 17thanniversary that seemed to hit the mark:

http://www.agiftofpoetry.com/Anniversary_Anniversaries_poems/anniversary-gift-one-of-us.htm

3. Obviously, I feel poetry is a very powerful medium and I thinkthat it can be a very useful vehicle to get a number of important messages across. I used to smoke, in fact, I smoked for 30 years. This poem helped me to quit the dreaded weed for good. If you know of a smoker who is trying to quit, you never know, this just mighthelp:

http://www.agiftofpoetry.com/Inspire/inspirational-poems-puffing-billy.htm

4. Stress Management Tips. If you got a little stressed reading this, maybe you need some of these stress management tips:

http://www.agiftofpoetry.com/poeticlicence/stress_management_tips_2.htm

Okay, that's about it for today. I could go on but I'd better save some for the next edition. In the meantime, if I can help in any, please let me know. Thanks again and
All the very best,


Allen Jesson
Poet
http://www.agiftofpoetry.com - Uniquely written gift poetry forevery occasion.
http://www.giftofpoetry.com - Create your own! (With some help froma friend :o)

PS If you signed up for the free trial, you should have received your password for the trial member's area. Hopefully, you've had achance to have a play with the software. If you're struggling then please read the help file here, it should give you a few good pointers:

http://www.giftofpoetry.com/index.php?rollid=user-instructions.html

Obviously full members get access to the whole database, which consists of literally thousands of poems and categorized verses,all waiting for you to add your magic to them. However, even as a trial member I think you should still be able to come up with something very meaningful, so again, please let me know how you went (why not send me an e-mail once you've completed your first poem?)

We have just launched our new revamped newsletter and we intend to keep our visitors informed and entertained. We will also include some interesting tips and articles to help them get the very best out of life.

1. In every newsletter we will show an example of how poetry has been used in more dramatic or unusual circumstances to portray someone's innermost thoughts and feelings. This is a quite a sad but inspirational story, because the 'receiver' of this gift was already dead, gunned down in a hail of police bullets. His brotherDale wanted to say something at his funeral and this was the very moving result:

http://www.agiftofpoetry.com/Death/death-poems-big.htm

2. On a brighter note, poetry can also be used to celebrate thehappier occasions in life and this one of my favorite examples of just that, actually it was part of my wedding speech. Very revealing and highly emotional!!

http://www.agiftofpoetry.com/Wedding/wedding-speech-the-willow.htm

3. Obviously, I feel poetry is a very powerful medium and I thinkthat it can be a very useful vehicle to get a number of importantmessages across. This is quite topical for me because at the time of writing I have decided not to drink alcohol for six months as part of my training program to run in a 26 mile marathon next year.I found it quite inpsirational, I hope you do too (and if you know anybody who maybe drinks too much, you never know, this might just help them cut down or stop completely):

http://www.agiftofpoetry.com/Drugs/drugs_inspire_the_drink.htm

4. Time Management Tips. If you didn't have time to read this, maybe you need some of these time management tips:

http://www.agiftofpoetry.com/poeticlicence/time_management_tips.htm

Okay, that's about it for today. I could go on but I'd better save some for the next edition. In the meantime, if I can help in any, please let me know. Thanks again and

All the very best,


Allen Jesson
Poet
http://www.agiftofpoetry.com/ - Uniquely written gift poetry forevery occasion.
http://www.giftofpoetry.com/ - Create your own! (With some help froma friend :o)

PS If you signed up for the free trial, you should have receivedyour password for the trial member's area. Hopefully, you've had a chance to have a play with the software. I would love to know your thoughts, please let me know. Here's a good example of what can be achieved in around ten minutes, in this case, for a wedding:

http://www.giftofpoetry.com/showpoem.php?al=56930

Obviously full members get access to the whole database, which consists of literally thousands of poems and categorized verses, all waiting for you to add your magic to them. However, even as a trial memberI think you should still be able to come up with something very meaningful, so again, please let me know how you went (why not send me an e-mail once you've completed your first poem?)

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Mr Blob Meets Marathon Man

Just a quick note to let you know that I have now completed six runs. I have worked out that I can manage about 5 runs per week and I have 26 weeks to the marathon. Currently I can run about a mile. So I need to increase my run each time by around 300-400 yards with each run. So far so good and my distance has grown with each run. I've enclosed a little graphic (how sad) of my progress thus far. Yes Mr Blob has met Marathon Man and MM is winning. By the way, haven't touched a drop in 10 days, apart from a dash of angostura bitters which someone later told me had an alcohol content, so that one is now off the list too. More to come.

The Secret

We have recently watched this and although the sales page is a little too financially driven for my liking the lesson is good and well worth getting through the rather tacky first couple of minutes of the DVD. Anyway, up to you, thought of you when I watched it so I thought I'd pass on. http://www.thesecret.com.au/ Plan to be in Australia for the NY so if you know anybody who has 2 or 3 tickets for the Sydney test match I will be happy to take them off their hands (and obviously pay for them). Okay, that's about it for now, my other big news is that I'm running in the London Marathon next April and my chosen beneficiary is Cancer Research, inspired by Trish Britt (and my sister in law who has recently recovered from breast cancer). I've got about 2 stone to lose and can only manage a couple of miles at the moment so it will be literally an uphill challenge. On that subject, we've also organised a sponsored walk for tomorrow, got about 70 people and guess what? It is going to bucket down!! Ah well, never mind, enough of my troubles, I just hope you are doing great. All my love, Allen xxx

ALLEN’S TURKEY + TOMATO SOUP

Well, it has started. The long run in towards the marathon in April 2007. The diet has had to change and so far I have completed two runs, the second being a few hundred yards further than the first, which is my intention for every run (and to keep going until I'm running 26 miles in one hit). As promised, I'm going to share a few of my 'secret' recipes and this one is a beauty, low glycaemic, low fat, low cost and full of flavour. If you're on a tight budget or want to lose weight this one is a winner. I have it for lunch every day and one making will make around 12 servings..enjoy!!!

ALLEN’S TURKEY + TOMATO SOUP

Soak 500gs butter beans overnight.
In a pressure cooker sized saucepan, fry one onion in olive oil until browned.
Add three good handfuls of chopped carrot, leek tops and celery. Reduce heat to simmer.
If being good, remove skin, then place turkey leg in saucepan.
Add soaked butter beans.
Add two tins of chopped tomatoes.
Add handful chopped sun dried tomatoes.
Spoonfuls of tomato puree.
Dessert spoon mixed herbs.
Spoonfuls of curry powder, paprika, chilli to taste
Sea salt to taste.
Any other left over vegetables. Mushrooms also good.
Add water to top.
Bring to boil and then simmer for 90 minutes
Remove turkey leg (meat should be falling off bone).
Chop turkey and return to soup. Discard bone (after gnawing, dog like :o)
Adjust seasoning to taste. Add chopped fresh tomatoes and fresh basil if you have.
Simmer for another 15 minutes and then enjoy!!!

Keep in fridge overnight and warm bowls up in small saucepan for the following days.

Running For Africa. Running For Cancer Research. Running For Me.

It finally had to happen and on the occasion of my 48th birthday I looked in the mirror and there I was, a fat old barstarred (sic). Bar starred because I have indeed spent a fair proportion of the last 30 odd years being a falling star and drinking in and out of bars, on a regular basis, at least on weekends. Yes, admittedly there have been a few times when I have deliberately abstained for around a month, normally January, but I can count those months on one hand, so I think it's a pretty fair record, 30 years continuous drinking give or take. Alcohol has been my friend and of course, my worst enemy, hence the walloping 15 stone I weighed in at this morning, or 210 lb or 95.25kg, not bad for a pear shaped 5ft 9in. So there it is, some things have to go and this time it is alcohol. I am not going to touch a drop until I have run in the London Marathon which is on April 22nd 2007. I will keep you informed of my progress. I am going to run for Cancer Research (because I also smoked for around 30 years and I was just plain lucky and I know and have written a book about a special lady called Trish, someone who is sadly, dying from lung cancer) and I will also raise money for a school in Ghana, details to follow (but I do know they couldn't afford a new padlock, that's how grim things have become). Obviously I will need to lose a heap of weight, change my diet and increase my fitness over the coming months. I have just been for a run and I managed less than one mile before collapsing in a big panting heap. I have a long way to go (in more ways than one). Over the coming months this blog will include a few dietary and exercise tips, recipes and anything else I can think of that will help others in a similar and all too familiar predicament. I'll also keep you informed of my progress, but for today I think I'll leave you with a couple of photos, one of me taken a few months back, which I like to think of as 'The Naked Poet' and the other one is a Google Earth of how far I ran today, we'll try and get those X's further apart as the weeks go by...until then, all the very best, Allen

PS My list of web-sites is growing by the day, if you want to visit any, please feel free to do so, details as follows:

VINTAGE + AGOP + GOP

Allen Jesson writes for several sites including vintage engagement rings and superb resouces for your dog training and hot dog training and Seapets, a leading source for dog training aids.

SEAPETS AQUARIUMS + SALTWATER + THEAQUARIUMSITE

Allen Jesson writes for several sites including two sites that specialize in salt water and fresh water aquariums and the aquarium site and Seapets, a leading source for aquariums and fish tanks.

HOMEBASED + M1in365 + allenjesson.com

Allen Jesson writes for several sites including http://www.homebasednetmarketingbusiness.com and http://www.m1in365.com and http://www.allenjesson.com.

Allen Jesson writes for several sites including ones about a home based net marketing business and zero debt and home based net marketing business and debt consolidation.


http://www.homebasednetmarketingbusiness.com - Home based net marketing business - Home based net marketing business opportunities for everyone.

http://www.vintage-engagement-rings.com - Vintage engagement rings - Vintage engagement rings and antique engagement rings.

http://www.giftofluv.com - A Gift Of Love - Gift site specializing in gifts of love from around the world.

http://www.0-debt.com - Debt consolidation - Zero debt. No worries. Site specializing in advice to get people out of debt.

http://www.allenjesson.blogspot.com - Allen Jesson's blogspot - Allen Jesson's blogspot for all the latest tips, advice and thoughts.

http://www.agiftofpoetry.blogspot.com - A Gift of Poetry blogspot - Allen Jesson's blogspot about poetry, gifts and life in general.

http://www.saltwaterfreshwateraquarium.com - Salt water and fresh water aquariums - Site specializing in advice and set up of salt water and fresh water aquariums.

http://www.theaquariumsite.com - The aquarium site - The aquarium site is a one stop shop for all things aquarium.

http://www.aaaquarium.info - Aquarium information - Comprehensive aquarium information for the aquatic enthusiast.

http://www.saltwaterfreshwateraquarium/aquariums - Saltwater and freshwater aquariums - Saltwater and freshwater aquariums, advice and information.

http://www.hotdogtraining.com - Dog training - Hot and very useful dog training tips.

http://www.dogsanity.com - Training Dogs - Site specializing in dog training tips. Happy and well trained dogs improve your sanity.

http://www.agiftofpoetry.com - Traditional Paper First Anniversary Gift - The perfect traditional paper first anniversary gift, a gift that says it all.

http://www.giftofpoetry.com - Birthday verses Anniversary verses Wedding Verses - A Gift of Poetry. Birthday verses. Anniversary verses. Wedding Verses. Words for every occasion.

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The Power of Gift Poetry. The Power of Dreams.

When I look back at my life and see how it has changed in the last ten years, I, for one, can see the power in poetry (and the enormous power that is released when someone follows their dreams). Ten years ago, I was the typically lost 35 year old. I had a young family to raise and was struggling to hold down a high-powered job in the logistics industry. The pay was good and I worked very hard. I'd come home at night very weary but I still had trouble sleeping.
My addictions (to gambling, nicotine and alcohol) were increasing in magnitude and my soul was becoming less than happy with the direction my life was taking. Sure, I had the nice house, attractive wife and beautiful children, high-paying job, good holidays and everything else that goes with a "successful" career. But I wasn't happy. In truth, I was stressed to buggery and on Monday mornings my heart was heavy. Friday nights I felt better but the week had taken it's toll and it wasn't until Sunday afternoon that I started to feel "normal" once again, but then the whole weekly cycle would start all over again …

And then things started to change, and all it took was one poem.At school I found writing poetry remarkably easy. I was always quite creative growing up but I think most kids are. As you know, no one can make a living out of poetry ) so that's why I found a career in logistics.
As a consequence I didn't write again for 20 years. At a management course we were encouraged to get in touch with our artistic side.
That inspired "What If?" a few months later, the rest followed. For me, this period demonstrated the absolute life changing power of poetry.

For the record, this was it, a questioning look at those middle-aged tremors that I was experiencing.

Full post and story can be found at a great place for your next anniversary gift and or if you're looking for a gift of love, then I think they can help too.