Well I didn’t get weighed last week and feel particularly fat at the moment.

It didn’t help when we had a ‘dress-down Friday’ last week and the polo shirt I wore was a little more snug than I would have liked. Travelling home on the train I was sure that I could have balanced a pint of beer on my belly if I really wanted to!

My wife had decided that she was a bit worried about my weight, so 3 weeks ago I went to the doctors for a general check-up. Guess what? Yup, he told me that I was a bit overweight, oh, and that my blood pressure was up, even over 3 readings (to rule out ‘white-coat syndrome…)

He also took some bloods for various health checks, which to be honest I’d never had done.

I was with some relief last night then that I got the results.

My main worry was, of course, cholesterol. This turned out to be very low at 3.7! It did take me a little while to convince the doctor that I didn’t actually live on a diet of carrots.

Blood pressure was still up though and the was a slight liver erm… disfunction – both of which could be due to alcohol.

No I don’t think we’re talking about alcohol abuse here as I only have about 1/2 a bottle of red or white wine with the evening meal, but I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the eyes of the government, I’m a ‘binge-drinker’!

Well I’ll try to cut down on the booze a bit. That should help both the blood pressure, the liver function and also no doubt my weight.

I would recommend that everyone has these basic tests done periodically, especially if, like me, you’ve been absent from a doctors surgery for a number of years.

I was half expecting bad news and for the doctor to suggest that I should read any books a bit quicker otherwise I wouldn’t have time to finish then… The actual outcome was a great relief.

Well having just come back from a rather indulgent cruise I’m afraid a new diet is on the cards!

I checked with my doctor yesterday and I’m definately overweight (no surprises there then..!!). Just waiting for the results of blood tests to see how bad my cholesterol levels are. Oh, and the blood pressures up a bit and I’ve been advised to get a BP monitor at home!

I’ve started by cutting out the twice weekly hot bacon sandwich for breakfast, which really is a major sacrifice, and the twice weekly lunchtime trip to the pub is getting the chop as well! If I really have to go to the pub (on the grounds of teambuilding, social networking etc) then I’ll be having a gin & slimline tonic instead of 3 pints of lager…

Lunch in general has gone from a couple of sandwiches to something low fat and low carb. At the moment (until I find something a little more interesting) that means a packet of either chicken or turkey ham.. very boring!

OK, so incentives?

Well apart from hopefully living a bit longer I’ve promised myself that if I can lose a stone by August then I’ll change my car.

Mmmmm.. watch this space!