Just thought I’d take this opportunity to share a few brief updates before I sign off for the year.

I’ve finally shifted my excess poundage and have reached my notional ‘desired’ weight. It’s taken a couple of months and whilst I can’t say that Huel was the sole reason for the success, incorporating the ‘liquid food’ into my diet has certainly helped.

Not just in terms of calories but focusing on portion control of my meals and upping my weight training. I’ve also incorporated strength exercises which have really helped with my on-off shoulder problems.

At the gym, I decided to try out the newly reinstalled Boditrax machine, a machine which measures your weight but also (via a small electric signal through your body) measures your body composition.

Physique

So according to my body measurements, I’ve got a very muscular physique! Haha, I nearly fell off the machine with laughter because the description just conjures up an image of a bodybuilder, which I most definitely am not!

The category has been calculated using data for my age and gender and based on my muscle score (which is apparently higher than normal) and fat percentage (lower than normal).

My metabolic age is 15 years younger than my actual age, which I’m really happy with – oh if only that were my actual age! 🙂

At least this gives me an indication that I’m doing alright in terms of my training and diet, although I still feel that there’s always room for improvement.

Toilet Twinned

Here’s the framed certificate confirming the twinning of my toilet, to a school block toilet in Afghanistan.

I want to continue to support the Toilet Twinning charity but have now run out of toilets in my house to twin!

I’ve not decided what I want to do yet with my charity giving next year but I think I’ll do something whereby some lucky reader(s) of my blog will get their toilet twinned (for free).

Award

The works Christmas party was the usual drunken affair for many though not for me, as I had been feeling a little under the weather leading up to the night.  Anyone else would have not bothered to attend but I’ve pretty much always turned up at such events and enjoyed them. Plus it’s the only time of year I get to put on a party frock and have a bit of a dance! I had a couple of free glasses of bubbly before moving onto soft drinks for the rest of the night.

So it was without the glow and courage of inebriation, that I stumbled on stage to collect one of the Employee of the Year awards at the annual ceremony!

Wow, I am so very chuffed to have won, it’s great to be recognised for my efforts. I’ve learned a hell of a lot this year, which has enabled me to put in a more than decent shift.  That said, I still feel like I’ve not quite hit my top gear yet with this company.

Out of Office

And to my final point, which is that I’m off to Hong Kong shortly to spend the festive period with my family. I’ve blown my budget buying gifts for them  – will check the damage upon my return but I reckon I’ll probably have to dip into my emergency fund (will be paying back in, of course).

I don’t have any scheduled posts for the blog and haven’t even thought about what goals I need to set for next year. I’ll get round to them (and reading people’s blogs) once I’m back online.

Zippy’s back!

So, I’ll sign off by wishing everyone a safe and happy Christmas/holiday; eat, drink and be merry, and I look forward to joining you all for an eventful and prosperous 2019!