Health

Time to get serious about losing weight

Written by Gerard on Monday 31 May 2010

My wife told me that new studies suggest carrying weight around your belly is the worst place to be fat. I was never aware that you had any choice in where you carried your weight, but the news dismayed me a little bit. I've been developing a rather worrying pot belly for the last few years - mostly as a result of a desk-based work life combined with a really lazy diet.

There are penalties for rocking the pot bellied look: you're at an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. And you don't want either of those things knocking on your door.

My first blood donation

Written by Gerard on Thursday 18 June 2009

Every time I visit my father in the hospital, I pass the Blood Transfusion Service. It's been weeks now, and with each passing day I've been questioning why I don't give blood.

This last week though, I've been trying to push myself towards making a donation. I've had to accept that I'm slightly nervous about blood - I once had a white-out at a First Aid course when they started talking about the different types of bleeding! However, that slight fear finally spurred me on today. The other motivating factor was the amount of time I've spent in hospitals lately and the fact that donating was a quick and efficient way to make a difference.

During my visit to the hospital, I decided to put on my "man of action" head and just do the donation. I'd had lunch at the hospital, thus satisfying the requirement not to make the donation on an empty stomach. I had Dan with me, but left him with my mother for an hour while I walked over to the transfusion place.