Thursday is Fat Club/Group therapy/Weight Watchers, trust me these are not derogatory terms just what us in group say. My Thursday looks a little this, get boy to school, swim, shop, scales and then home. I love Thursday, well then I’m on it and losing weight.
A year ago 29 April 2023, I had an operation on a torn rotator cuff, which I did after a big wave won the argument we had at Fistral beach in Cornwall the year before. The pain had got so bad, I ended up have the surgery meaning I was going to be off swimming for a few weeks. However, when I asked the Physio about getting back in the pool, he was good with me just getting in, so I was back in the pool 19 days later, a swim of 1000 meters (40 laps) in 28:15, which was an okay time all things considered and it about 42 seconds a lap.
Where am I going with this, well as weight has dropped off, in fact 100 lbs since that swim, the time has got quicker and I have in fact move up the distance. I aim to do minimum of 30 minutes of exercise everyday (since the start of the year) so as the time dropped the distance increased. In the last few months, the distance has increased to 50 laps 1250 meters, and the times were around 31 minutes. My target was to try to do the swim in 30 minutes. I started to hit this target a couple of months ago and then moved up to 60 laps 1500 meters, which for the most part is 36 minutes, 36 second laps. This is all very boring for you lot, but this is what drives me to do more, and since the recent introduction of an amazing swimming MP3 player, the upbeat music is kicking the ass of the times.
Tuesday my swim was 60 laps, and 35:18, today I could only manage 50 laps, but hit an all time personal best (PB) finishing in 28:10, 34 second laps, 8 seconds a lap quicker than last year!
Lots of people don’t like swimming as it is boring, this is what I focus on to keep me motivated, new PBs, if I can get down to the 30 seconds, I will be amazed, but that is what I’m looking for.
It is creeping over to the running now, I still don’t know if running will be continue to be big in my exercise routine, but I have to admit, the times and PBs are helping drive me here to. I have completed three park runs now, and each one is a little quicker than the last. The times are shocking, after all the first finisher in the race last weekend, could have run it twice, before I got to the finish line.
Now on to the recipe.
Mac n Cheese
This time it is my own recipe, it’s based on the Mac n Cheese Emily made at school years back., I have adapted it and made it what we like.
NOW… this is not a diet meal, there are diet version, THIS IS NOT, this is one of my kids favourite meals and my wife hates it, so we only make it when she is out, it happens to be a weigh day, so I’m having the real thing and will work it off over the week.
Ingredients
300g Macaroni
150g Grated Cheddar
150g Grated Red Leicester
75g Plain Flour
75g Butter
750 ml Semi Skimmed Milk
225g Bacon lardons
Method
- Preheat the over to 190c or Gas Mark 5.
- Bring saucepan to the boil and add macaroni, cook for 10-12 mins, until al dente.
- While pasta is cooking make the sauce, fry off the lardons and put to the side.
- Place the butter, flour and milk into a small saucepan. Bring sauce to a simmer whisking it at all times until it has thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the 100g of each of the cheeses.
- Stir in the lardons to the cheese sauce.
- Stir the drained macaroni into the cheese sauce and add a few twists of black pepper and pour the macaroni into an oven proof dish.
- Sprinkle over the remaining cheese.
- Bake in the over for 15-20 mins until golden.
I really hope you enjoy this as much as we do, but please don’t have it every week, it’s super rich and not good for a diet!
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Cooking by Matt 