An EPIC Week

While I bemoan the overuse of the term 'Epic' by the younger generation, I thought I would join the movement this morning to do ensure I do justice to the week that was.

I've been busier than a one-armed wallpaper hanger this week but it has also probably been my most successful and productive week in a number of years so who's complaining.

Let me start with the most obvious subject, the journey. I made some big statements early in the week about getting back on track and dropping 4kg for the week. Well I'm pleased to say that even in a week where I was only home once before 8pm, I managed to maintain my discipline and eat well most of the time. I even managed to hold myself back last night from the sumptuous buffet offered up by the Broncos in the press box at Suncorp.

The result. I've managed to drop 4.1kg for the week and 4cm off the love machine fuel tank (or gut as its also known). A great result I think and its put me into uncharted territory again after a bit of a set back following the birthday week. I've got my sights firmly set on that 110kg mark now by the end of March. I've got around 18 days to achieve it so I'm sure I can get there.

I find myself living in a bit of a no-mans-land at the moment in terms of my wardrobe. I've never really been at this weight for any length of time hence I have few clothes that fit me right now. Everything in the wardrobe is too big and the old stuff I've been planning to reintroduce into the rotation is still a bit tight. It made this week at the Courier Mail a bit of a struggle with only two shirts I could legitimately wear without looking like I had a parachute or a Lance Armstrong work shirt on. Not that I'm complaining, it's a nice problem to have, I hope it continues. The good news is I have a fair few items in the XL range so in another 5kg or so I'll be comfortably back into those clothes. I seriously hope retro is fashionable again though because many of these clothes were purchased when Mary rode a donkey to a stable.

I'm learning to embrace hunger. A strange statement I know but before you yell at your monitor that I'm not eating enough, let me explain. I'm working on a philosophy of delayed gratification when it comes to my meals. I've added in a lot of fruit to my diet as snacks this year but I've said all along that I wasn't going to cut out all the treats I used to love but simply cut back on them. So when I do decide eat something that's not the best I delay it by 1/2 -1 hour and drink water during that period. I try to eat healthy meals as often as possible but what I find is that I often don't feel satisfied afterwards. I reckon its because that hunger feeling is sometimes more about a craving than anything else and when I don't feed it with saturated fat or sugar my guts get annoyed with me. So I've decided to embrace that feeling by imagining its my body feeding off my love handles in protest. I know its a little weird but it works for me. Hell, it may even be true.

This is a long journey so I'm confident the craving will decrease as the months roll on and my Adonis-like figure will begin to enjoy the wonderfully nutritious foods I now feed it.

Now the other good news for the week. The buzz work of the week is NETWORK. I've really begun to see the benefits of all the work experience I've been doing. I've initiated discussions about two jobs that haven't been advertised simply by creating a wider network of industry professionals I now know. I'm not sure whether either will result in me winning the position but it proves that its not what you know but who you know that's important. I'm also receiving good feedback from the organisations I'm working for so I'm very confident of landing a local job by years end if not before.

I've had few stories published this week but I'm looking forward to tomorrow's paper because I'm hoping to have my Liz Cambage story in. It contains some new information that hasn't been reported yet despite the high volume of media she's done this week leading in the the WNBL Grand Final. Yes, I know a lot of you have no bloody idea who Liz Cambage is so try this; think Lauren Jackson before you knew who she was and if you don't know Lauren Jackson then I can't bloody well help you! While the information isn't earth shattering it's important and it's always nice to get part of the story other journo's have missed.

My first night with the Broncos was enjoyable. I'm finding I can knock out a match report on the spot pretty easily now so I'm feeling more comfortable every time I do a game. The style required for the Broncos website is a little strange but I'll give them what they want. If you want to read my dribble from last night (2 separate articles) here's the link: www.broncos.com.au

So that's about that for the EPIC week that was. Pretty cool hey. With no great commitments now for the weekend I think I'll reward myself by taking in a flick and then I'll spend some time 'working from home'(which now means watching sport on the couch). See why I did all this... What was once considered lazing around being a fat bastard is now crucial background research for my career. Yes lads I know you're jealous.

Ciao' for now

P

PS. I interviewed 5 Olympians in one week, how cool is this job.