How much do you weigh? How to convert kilos to stones and pounds

Selfie photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

I weigh myself every morning, to find out whether my weight has gone up or down.

BMI

Your bmi is your height and weight ratio taking into account your age. You can find charts which tell you whether you are within the ideal range, or too high or too low.

Weigh what you eat

You can weigh what you eat. But an alternative is simply to look at your plate. Losing weight or adding weight is not complicated. If you look at what is on your plate and in your glass, that is what will fill out your stomach. 

Reasons For Weight Variation

Your weight is likely to vary a bit daily, regardless, because of slight variations in how much you ate or drank, when you last used the toilet, how much you perspired in the night.

If you keep a one year check you can plot how much you are going up and down. You could write your weight in your diary every day.

Stone and Pounds

I grew up with stones and lbs. I know I was 7 stone 7 as a teenager so I was thinking of that as my ideal weight. It was an easy to remember number. I knew that really heavyweight people were 20 stones!

How To Record A Chart

You might find it useful to print off a chart and stick it in the back of your diary. If you have a small diary, you could highlight just the relevant numbers such as your current weight and your target weight. Cut that out and fold it and stick it in the back cover of your diary. Or copy the highlighted part into a photo on your mobile phone.

Useful websites 

thecalculatorsite.com/conversions/kg-to-stones-pounds.php

Travelling Light: After Increasing Weight When Travelling, How I Lost Weight At Home

How I saw myself. Pretty but plump. Plump but pretty.

Angela at a Harrovian Toastmasters meeting in London. How others saw me. A large lady, short but wide. 

People used to ask, "Why do you wear so many layers of clothes?" 

To hide my figure. 

My husband said to me: "You are so overweight, it's like walking around carrying a large suitcase."

My first step was to check my weight.

For years I had been putting on weight. I had meals out at restaurants and hotels. I had pizza for lunch at Toastmasters meetings. I had samosas and buns for supper at evening Toastmasters meetings. Sometimes chocolates.

I kept putting on weight. Although I ran downhill to the station, and walked around shopping malls. I needed energy to stand up and speak. To run back uphill going home. 

What changed?

Covid-19 - Changed Our Priorities

Dangers were being older or overweight. I could not get younger. I could lose weight.

I had been eating at meetings: buns, pizzas, and chocolates.

After Covid-19 my diet  was helped by more meetings online.

Wonderful Wedding - Whenever

Another incentive was to be slimmer for our son's wedding. The wedding kept being postponed, giving me extra time to slim.

Angela at the wedding in September 2020

Some progress. 

But still not reaching my ideal weight, my BMI, body mass, or shape related to height.

We kept adding more things to reduce weight. First I cut out sugar in coffee. And cheesecakes. Then we shared a piece of cake.  Then we cut down to low fat, semi skimmed milk. Then low fat yogurt. Cut out seeds in the breakfast yogurt and fruit salad. Cut out seconds. Cut out desserts at restaurants. Cut out meals at buffets.

My rules

Breakfast

Fruit

Seeds

Yogurt

Oats or Weetabix

What I cut out

1 Sugar 

None in coffee.  (None added to anything such as fruit, cereals.

No alcohol 

No sweetened drinks

No Seconds (Later only half portions)

No seconds at meal times. No second piece of pizza. No second piece of cake. No second coffee. No second piece of chocolate.

No chocolates

No cakes

No biscuits

Switch from sweetened biscuits to small crackers with cheese at afternoon tea

Angela in a swimsuit. Weight May 20th 2021, was 49.1 kilos. & stone 10 lbs. As a teenager I weighed 7 stone 7.

People look at my face and ask, 'Have you lost weight?'

Exercise

Swimming/walking/exercising in bed

Keep moving - when waiting for the lift, walk backwards and forwards

When sitting waiting, repeatedly lift feet off the floor, click heels together

Exercise two limbs rather than one, four rather than two

Start exercise slowly so it is easy, and increase a little every day

Don't consider whether or not to swim or go for a walk; always start with at least the minimum. Often, despite feeling tired, bored, stressed, you find that, after starting, you end up finishing.

If you don't finish the exercise routine, never mind. Anything is better than nothing.

Keep a record of weight loss. In your diary. 

You might not lose every day. Food takes a long journey around your intestines before it gets out.

Swimming

Up from two widths to four, then six, then eight, then nine, then ten, then eight. Never miss one session. Go early in the day before it rains or the pool is cordoned off.

Late Night Snack

Fruit

No dessert after dinner. But a late evening snack.Three grapes and a slice of orange. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Current weight, just under eight stone.

Useful Websites

https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/conversions/common/kg-to-stones-pounds.php

About the Author

About Angela The Author

The Author - Quick Quotations

Angela Lansbury B A Hons  is the author of ten books by regular publishers plus another ten self-published books. 

About Angela The Speaker & Trainer

Angela Lansbury is a teacher of English and other languages to Toastmasters clubs and businesses.

Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters Speakers Vice President  Public Relations, Immediate Past President.

Former Area Director S3. Club Coach for Nee Soon South Toastmasters Club.

Also Member of: TCA Toastmasters Club; Singapore Online Dynamic; Harrovians UK

Garen Tee on using story telling in business, on bha.learncool.sg . 

Recent meetings of BHA included an educational session on using Powerpoint for posters.

Next BHA meetings, always first Wednesday evening, 7 pm Singapore time. Next meetings 1st Wednesday evening is Wednesday June 2nd at 7pm; and third Saturday afternoon, June 19th 2pm Singapore time.  

Angela The Blogger 

Angela has several blogs speeches, comedy and song writing and organizing, writing intermittently, but writes almost daily on these three:

travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

translateforfun.blogspot.com

See next post on sculptor Tom Harvey.

Please share links to your favourite posts. 

Eastern Europe Phrasebooks in 12 languages - Which book do I need to buy and why?

When I was planning a walking tour of Bulgaria with a group of friends, I looked for a Bulgarian phrase book. I could not find one but made a happy discovery, a 12 language phrase book from Thomas Cook called Eastern European, which started with Bulgarian and ended with Ukrainian. that saved buying and carrying 3 or more books for a trip, and space on my bookshelves.

I ordered it through Ebay but suspected the book would not arrive in time for the holiday in Bulgaria. Meanwhile, my husband took a trip to Stanford's Map shop in London, England, and bought the Lonely Planet phrasebooks Eastern European. It started with Albanian and Bulgarian and ended with Slovak and Slovene. (Who knew!)

I was right. The Ebay second hand copy of  the Thomas Cook book did not arrive in time.

The Lonely Planet book was small and bulky, so most of the time I left it behind in the hotel bedroom, because my backpack was already heavy with a bottle of water and an umbrella, and food for the day.

When I arrived home in London the small thick postal package was on the mat. Was it a duplicate phrasebook. No. A different publisher, different languages, and different layout and information and size.

Now that I have both I can compare them.

LANGUAGES
Both books, from Lonely Planet and Thomas Cook, cover these languages:

Bulgarian
Croatian
Czech
Hungarian
Polish
Romanian
Russian
Slovenian

The Eastern Europe book by Lonely Planet also covers
Albanian
Macedonian
Slovak

The Thomas Cook book also covered
Estonian
Latvian
Lithuanian
Ukrainian

So, if you were doing a one country trip to Albania, the Eastern Europe book by Lonely Planet looks more helpful. Also a driving or multi-country trip around Eastern Europe.

However, if you are going to Ukraine, or north of The Netherlands around Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, countries which are close together, you might opt for the Thomas Cook guide.

Dictionary
The Lonely Planet book has a mini-dictionary for each language. In very tiny print.

Colours
The Lonely Planet book's pronunciation sections are in colours, a different colour for each language, which makes it hard to read late at night or early morning at home, though perhaps less of a problem when you are aout and about in sunlight.

Maps
The Lonely Planet book also includes a map of each country.

Readability
The Thomas Cook book is easier to read, larger print, black on white.

Solving The Weight Problem
If you are visitng only one country, such as Bulgaria, as I did, you might need only the Bulgarian section. I thought, what is more important to me, a lightweight language section to carry with me, or a pristine book which I do not use? I decided to try to cut the Bulgarian section out of the book. However, we did not have a Swiss army knife because we had travelled to Bulgarian by phane and knives are not allowed on planes for security reasons.

I thought of trying to bend and break the book. I was astonished how tough it was and how securely the pages were fixed. No luck with breaking open the book by hand.

Removing Pages
I considered trying to tear out the pages one by one, but without a knife or scissors that would be messy. You can make a neat tear in newspaper by folding paper back and forwards over the same spot
If I had tried this at home before leaving, I might have been able to cut the pages neatly, cover the front and back with protective white card to stop it getting creased in my backpack or packet or handbag out in restaruants in the evening, and stapled the pages together.

Photocopy?
The other option was to photocopy just the section I needed for that trip. Getting the book to lie flat was a challenge and creased the spine.

Now I have two books. The Thomas Cook book arrived too late for my Bulgaria trip but will be useful when I go to Ukraine to visit my ancestral city called Lvov,Lviv, Lemberg - my great grandfather on my father's side was named Lemberger.

Ukraine Trip?
The group will not plan a trip next year in 2020 because the political situation in Ukraine seems uncertain. In addition to the possible danger, some people might decline to book for fear or losing their holiday or their money and the orgnizer does not wish to waste time organizind a trip which might get cancelled.

Multi-Language Comparison
A surprise bonus was that I decided to read the brief introductions to all twelve languages in the easier to read Thomas Cook book. I found that they are so similar. First the alphabet, once you are even half way to reading Cyrillic for either Russian or Bulgarian, means you are no longer afraid of the other languages.

What also became clear is that Romanian is the easiest language, with lots of borrowed words from French and Italian or Latin. For example, in the pharmacy, from the Thomas Cook book I read that stomach is stomac, diaree in Romanian is diarrhoea.

Humour For Language Learners
I enjoyed the Thomas Cook introduction to Estonian, which sounds easy, no a or the and no use of gender for nouns, so no trouble matching adjectives to nouns either. The Thomas Cook book added:
There are only four tenses, one present and three past. Estonians do not believe in the future!

I got a lot of fun reading a selection of phrases creating an imaginary nightmare trip for the hapless traveller, growing increasingly desperate as one problem piles on another:
I am waiting for my husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend. ... What time is it? .. What is the time for my flight? How long is the delay likely to be?  Is my rail pass valid on this train/ferry/bus?

(The poor traveller is getting increasinly anxious, trying every possiblibilty. We would like to sit together. (Sorry, mate, not on Ryan Air. However, we were able to switch seats to be together in June 2019.)

Back to the things that Thomas Cook 12 language phrase book will help you to say:
Where are the lockers? I have lost my locker key.

I must direct them to my book How To Get Out Of The Mess You Are In. Have a decicated small pcoket for keys. Attach Velcro or a button and loop or ribbon so nothing falls out of jacket paockets. Check all your jackets for inside pockets and keep your valuable passport and key there.

However, for emergencies, use the 12 language book.

Losing and Finding The Essential 12-language Phrasebook
What happened to me? Of course, in an emergency in Bulgaria I could not find the Lonely Planet Eastern Europe phrasebook which was somethere in my luggage. The book was too bulky and heavy to carry and not needed in transit to the destination. Was it in the carry on bag outside pocket, the inside pocket, the corner of the suitcase. If not in the suitcase, it must be in the the outside pocket of the backpack, You need to have your phrase book in your jacket in a pocket on your right, if you are right-handed, not lost in a pile of other necessary or vital items, but in one pocket dedicated to nothing but the book.

BOOKLIST
Thomas Cook Eastern European 12-Language Phrasebook. UK price 6.99. ISBN 1-900341-77-8
Lonely Planet phrasebooks Eastern Europe 4th edition USA $10.99 UK 5.99 ISBN 978-1-74104-056-2

Free internet courses:
Duolingo.com

Memrise.com

I also use Duolingo - although despite finishing the German course I had trouble understanding my German-speaking friends.

I said proudly to my husband, "I am a polyglot. I read books on 12 languages."

My husband retorted, "No. A polyglot is a person who writes books on 12 languages."

Look on the bright side. At least I have writte a blog post on twelve languages - and you have read a blog post on twelve languages.

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, teacher of English and other languages, home tutor, workshops for colleges and businesses, online teacher.

Plan Travelling to Give a Presentation - lessons learned

I recently gave a slide presentation using a Microsoft PDF at a club venue I know well in Singapore. I had the choice of using a borrowed laptop with a larger screen. Or a smaller laptop which would be lighter to carry.

I chose to usu the larger laptop. The screen would be easier to see if I had to turn it to the audience if I could not connect my laptop with the screen.

Lesson Learned
By the end of the afternoon the laptop failed - no battery power. No connector to the wall socket for mains power. I had the connector which links the laptop to the display screen in the office, and to the screen in the demonstration classroom. But I did not have the power! When using my old Apple machine, the power cable with the square power block was obvious. With the black laptop, just a lot of unfamiliar leads and bit and pieces and cables.   So much to remember and carry! I should have made a checklist of cables and connectors required.

Luckily, I had a print out of all the slides as a reminder.

Feedback
The feedback I got was:

Font Size, Shape and Colour
1 Use a minimum of 18 point font so people in the back row of even a small classroom can read it. I later looked on the internet to research this and found varying recommendations on a website called Quora.

The respondents also discussed which fonts are best for changing from an apple to a Mac system, for dyslexics, which colours are best, less tiring than black and white, yet acceptable and readable for the colour - one suggestion was the blue on yellow or yellow on blue). Sans serif which I prefer apparently makes you read on, whilst serif (with the feet like Times Roman, which I hate - to me it looks old fashioned and confusingly cluttered) apparently leads the eyes along the line of text

Acting Out
2 'We enjoyed the way you acted,' said Teresa.
 'You managed to act out grammar.,' said Trevor.

Acting Singlish
I had demonstrated the English phrase, 'an off day', folding my arms and looking glum. 'Having a day off' - short for 'a day off work' - running towards the door gleefully. Finally, the Singlish phrase 'an off day' which sounds to English speakers like the first (demonstrate glum again) when what they mean is the second (run to the door).

Singing
I demonstrated bring and take. For bringing and bringing back (alliteration!) I sand Bring Back My Bonnie To Me (an old Sottish folk song, well known in the UK, more of a novelty in Asia).

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

A list of glass bridges in the USA, England, and China

I read about a glass based bridge being opened in China. A few months later up popped what I thought was the same story and picture again. On closer reading I found there was a second bridge. I am compiling a list in order to be able to
a) Know if an article is about a new bridge or one which already exists
b) To know what choice is available in order to visit the nearest or the one which is the cheapest trip or the one suitable for the season in which I am visiting
c) To know how many there are in order to choose the most interesting,
d) To pick the bridge nearest to other attractions,
e) Or to do a trip to all of them either for fun or photography or both.

Which is the nearest, the nicest, the cheapest, the most thrilling, the best to photograph?
Here are the current results (Aug 2016)
1 Grand Canyon Skywalk, USA. 59 feet long.
2 Zhanjiajie, China (opened July 2016) Longest, highest. Highest/deepest bungee jump planned. Nearly 1000 feet long/span.
3 Tower Bridge glass floor, London, England.


Trying to type the name of the place in China, I looked several times and had to correct what I first typed.
z - h a n g - j i a - j i e
I have been forced to insert spaces to prevent the automatic correction system changing the syllables.

This is not a guide to the pronunciation, just a way of checking you have copied and typed it correctly.

http://www.cnto.org/worlds-longest-highest-glass-bottom-bridge-opening-in-zhangjiajie/

If you are aiming to see the world's highest or longest, you clearly aim at the one in China. If you are living in the USA, and want the nearest to visit, the shortest or quickest trip, or the cheapest or easiest to organise, you might opt for the one in the USA. You might also want to start with the one in the USA if you are afraid that you will not have the courage to cross it or want to start with the easy one and work up your courage.

How safe are glass bridges? Is the glass as strong as metal or other non transparent material. Is the glass reinforced? Will the bridges remain intact in a gale, survive erosion of man-made parts, or disintegration of supporting earth and rock over time, under the weight of you or me, under the weight of large numbers of people crossing?

Imagine you are one of the first to cross the bridge, and it cracks!
http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/new-glass-bridge-in-china-cracks-causing-panic-among-visitors-apple-daily

I also wonder how they keep it clean. Thinking of the mess made on my conservatory windows and house windows, how do you keep the glass clean? Presumably you need a maintenance programme. All those muddy footsteps, bird droppings, spiders' webs, scraping and scratching from shoes and metal tipped boots, blowing leaves and sand, melting snow or rain leaving streaks?

In order to reassure tourists (and probably safety authorities and investors) and make amusing, newsworthy photos, the glass bottomed bridges have been hit by sledge-hammers and had heavy vehicles driven across the bridge. Plus people being sick, having incontinence or diarrhoea, dropping ice cream and litter, losing their hats and drinks cans, sandwiches snatched by birds. Heart attacks mid-way.

What can you do with a trip to the bridge?
Challenge yourself.
Challenge your friends and family.
Prove your courage.
Act big to impress a scared younger sibling or girlfriend.
Act protective to reassure a scared younger sibling, child, your children, or a girlfriend.
Propose marriage in a memorable place.
Have a wedding ceremony.
What about scattering ashes? Probably not allowed.
Lots of articles, images, and videos on youtube.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-37127725
http://www.towerbridge.org.uk/tower-bridge-glass-floor/

The latest glass bridge in China replaced the former wooden bridge. I tell myself I will only photograph it. Would I be willing to cross the bridge, and pay for the privilege. Once across, do you have to come back? Do you need to go all the way across then come back, or could you go to the mid point for a photo and then return?

If a bridge links an island, you have to come back. If it crosses a valley, you may be forced to cross with your group if everybody crosses and continues there journey from the other side. I remember in Canada crossing a bouncing rope bridge. You take a few steps and then somebody enters behind you and the bridge starts swinging and bouncing. In London we have a pedestrian bridge towards the Tate Modern art gallery, which bounced when it first opened, sending people into a panic. Presumably a big glass bridge is more solid.

If you just want to enjoy a view over the world from the comfort of your chair, here's a 360 degree view from Tower Bridge, London.

http://www.towerbridge.org.uk/Glass-floor-360/

Angela Lansbury, author and travel writer and photographer

Beach shoes, shower shoes, pool shoes and deck shoes - and delivery and returns

Go to Amazon if you want customer reviews. I am looking for wide shoe tops for two reasons. First because they feel more secure. Secondly to protect my upper feet from sunburn and cancer-causing rays.

UK
Jdwilliams.co.uk is offering 50% off "when you quote the code on your letter". But you usually get same or similar from catalogues for signing up online. Either because you are a new customer or because you are a returning customer or loyal customer.

J D Williams
The advantage of JD William over my eBay purchases is that you can return by calling the JD Website, the courier, dropping off at my Hermes or the post office.

Hotter Sandals and bags
If you are able to visit a Hotter shop, look for matching leather or imitation leather synthetic handbags or tote bags with straps.

Leather or Not Leather?
When buying leather, watch out for the words faux leather, leather-look and man made. As for decorations, also look for the words 'created' gemstones. If you are a vegetarian or you are buying for a vegetarian, you might want leather look rather than real leather, or to opt for linen.

Matching Bags
Accessorise currently (May 2016) have a large gold colour bag with a firm closure, inside zipped pocket, decorative tassel and a removable shoulder strap on special introductory offer of £25.

German Brands
Another favourite brand is Josef Seibel. I bought a second hand pair of sandals on eBay and wear them nearly every day.

Delivery and returns
Many online websites now offer click and collect at UK supermarkets such as Tesco or in the UK at Argos.

Words To Search For
Adidas
adjustable (strap)
air bubbles
Amazon
Argos
bargain
beach sandal
breathable leather
Clarks
comfortable
courier
cushioned
cushioned insole
Cushion-walk
deck shoe
discount
eBay
elastic
elasticated gusset
espadrille (plaited rope sole)
extra stretch
flexible
flip-flops
free returns
free phone
heel height
Hotter shoes
JD Williams
Josef Siebel
light weight
machine washable
mule (backless sandal)
My Hermes
nearly new
new
non-slip
Nubuck
offer price
parcel shop
poolside sandals
post office
pre-loved
real leather
removable insole
Rieker
rubber sole
sale
sandal
second hand
Slide sandal
shower shoe
slingback
slip on
sole
soft
Sports Direct
stretch
supportive
swim sock
swimwear - accessories
Tesco
toe post
touch close
T-bar
Velcro
washable
wedge

Useful Websites
amazon.com
eBay
jdwilliams.co.uk
Jdwilliams phone lines from 7 am to 10 pm every day except Xmas and Boxing Day (the day after Xmas day which is also a holiday in the UK). call 0871 231 2000
www.myhermes.co.uk/parcelshopfinder
www.postoffice.co.uk/branch-finder

See my previous post on sandals.Follow me on Facebook.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Tips On Buying A Big Dictionary

Tips on Buying A Dictionary
If you visit France, look in a French bookshop for a big French-English dictionary, better still one which translates both ways. However, if you can afford it, buy the two volume version if that gives you more words in total.

I was in a shopping mall in Brent Cross, London, for an Apple lesson, and found two or three in the large branch of W H Smith. Other good places to look would be the large bookshops such as Foyles, Waterstones, Gaunt in Marylebone, Borders, and Times bookshop and Kinokunia the Japanese bookshop in Singapore. Plus, of course, Amazon and Ebay which sell new and secondhand books.

Bulk and Weight
Assuming you have the strength to lift the one volume version, and the space to store it on the bookshelf or desk.

If you are in England, go into a big bookshop and look for the biggest dictionary you can see. You should find two or three at varying prices. Pick a word or phrase and check how it is translated in each of the dictionaries.

Print Size
You may wish to pick a dictionary with smaller print and more words. Or a dictionary with bigger print and fewer words. Or buy the dictionary with smaller print and buy a full page magnifier and keep it stored beside the dictionary.

Alphabet
A large dictionary sometimes has the letters of the alphabet down the sides. This is very useful.

Extra Information: Introductions
Also look at the introduction and endings. Some dictionaries list verbs, new words, proper names, Geographical names, foreign words, all kinds of useful information.

Book Cover Protection
You might wish to cover the dictionary to prolong its life and keep it looking pristine for your own pleasure and in case you wish to sell it or give it to somebody else later.

Angela Lansbury BA Hons
Author, photojournalist, caricaturist, translator, speaker