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Good Morning San Francisco, it’s 7am and it’s a beautiful morning

It’s been a very long week this week and I decided to take a well-earned night off from rowing in my gym and took time out to relax, read a book (Deadlock by Sean Black) and watch the very last big brother on Channel 4. Over the last few years, after being an avid Big Brother viewer I’ve been watching less and less – frustrated by an ever increasing amount of producer manipulation and the silly antics from Davina McCall.

With that in mind and the fact I’d given myself the night off I thought I had to watch at least some of the finale as it had at one time or another given me a few hours of entertainment over the years, especially Big Brother 5. I enjoyed it to a certain degree. It hadn’t changed, still contrived and predictable but in fairness the British public got it right – Brian Dowling was and is the ultimate housemate.

I woke up early this morning and I was out of the door by 7:05 am and on my way to the shops to collect a few essentials I couldn’t be bothered getting last night in the torrential rain and low level fog hanging over the mountain.

Now I’ve never been one to get sucked in to subliminal or clever marketing ploys, I am my own man. I know what I want and don’t need multi-million dollar commercials to tell me what that is. However, over the last few weeks a new Tropicana commercial has been airing, you know the one, set in the great city of San Francisco.

Good Morning San Francisco, it’s 7am and it’s a beautiful morning

If the Video fails to load then please visit the direct link to the Tropicana Video

A new gym, weight loss and a healthier attitude

Another Friday night is upon us and it certainly doesn’t feel as if it has been a full seven days since the last one – but it has!

Is it me or are the weeks going quicker and the weekend’s quicker still? That must mean that I’m having so much fun in work that the time just flies. It’s been a long hard week in work but a rewarding one. I’ve managed to achieve a lot and despite being absolutely cream crackered tonight I will look forward to Monday – but only when Monday is upon us!

As a special treat I decided to take the night off from training. I have rowed nine out of 11 nights recently so why not! I’ll be back on the rowing machine tomorrow but for one night I can relax and enjoy a little tv.

I nearly forgot, spent a few bucks at lunch thanks to the amazing deals Lovell Rugby have on at the moment. I decided to buy a Queensland Reds Super 14 wet weather training jacket. It looks amazing and although I don’t want it to rain I hope I get to try it out soon! At just £16.99 it’s a bargain!

A few weeks ago I heard that my current gym of 3 months was to close at the end of July. I wasn’t that bothered to be honest, I never got on with the place and preferred to row at home on my Concept 2 (at Gymworld) – the atmosphere wasn’t anything special and it never had that pull to get me to go five times a week.

I popped along to my local Bannatyne’s health club tonight to check it out and see what the atmosphere and facilities were like. I was pleasantly surprised and …

My weight loss story and strive for fitness

Approximately 5 years ago, maybe 6, I was a fit and very active person,  used to spend a lot of time playing sport or going to the gym – unfortunately things changed and I slowly but surely put on the pounds and as a result had less energy and time at the gym went out the window. Eating all the wrong foods didn’t help but perhaps more importantly I was eating in copious amounts!

Crazy really but I just didn’t get it. Weight goes on slowly, it sneaks up on you and by the time you’ve noticed it you are twice the man you were – and not in a good way! The sad thing is, it takes even longer to get off!

As I mentioned, my weight ballooned and my confidence and determination were in tatters. I was kidding myself; I don’t look “that” big do I?

18 months ago I decided enough was enough and believe it or not an episode of “Biggest Loser” (NBC) gave me the nudge I needed. A series that’s famous for showing how larger than life people can shed a huge amount of weight made me realise that I wasn’t being true to myself. When a 35 stone guy can get on a treadmill, do some gentle exercise and lose weight with careful eating I knew it was time to train. Bob Harper (trainer) inspired me, not that he ever knew that but he just did. He comes across as such a passionate, caring and no nonsense kind of guy.

Following a change in my eating habits and a return to the gym I have today gone from 22 1/2 stone (or 315 lbs or 142.88 Kg) to 16st 5lbs (or 229 lbs