Breakfast, The First Meal of The Day

January 24, 2023October 24, 2020 ~ Rob

I have a confession to make – I Love Bacon and Coffee. Almost every work day for years I’ve bought a bacon butty and coffee for breakfast. Tucking into this delight is the highlight and pick me up I need in the mornings. Like many people I require a coffee fix to start functioning.

The problem is this not only does my breakfast cost me around £24 a week it also doesn’t help my waistline. Therefore I need to commit to spending and eating less starting with a cheaper and more healthy breakfast with maybe a bacon and takeout coffee on Fridays only as a treat.

My breakfast choices of takeout coffee and bacon butties have to end. L I still believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I’ve never skipped breakfast, whether it was a sugary or greasy snack but now I’ve changed what I have for my first meal of my day.

My new breakfast is a bowl of Weetabix or toast which gets me through till lunch time and gives me an energy boost without the calories of a bacon sandwich.

I think eating out, takeouts and going out for restaurant meals should be a treat. I order takeaways and eat out because it’s quicker and easier than home cooking. Preparing your meal plans and eating at home will keep you healthier and save money.

Both will help motivate you as you save and lose weight. The downside and really habit I need to kick is the wake up morning cigarette. I’ve cut down during the day but hey nobody’s perfect.

Build Muscles And Bulk Up That Body

January 15, 2023October 24, 2020 ~ Rob

Whether you are too fat or too thin and want to bulk up to look like the heroes from the movies you need a routine and diet that builds muscles and turns fat into fibre. To get bigger and build muscle eat more protein and WORK those muscles HARD.

To build muscles you have to work them so they grow. You’ll never built muscle by not working out. It may even hurt at the start. In order to bulk up, build muscles and grow in size you have to eat the right foods and perform the correct exercises during your workout.

Power and strength will only grow when you push your muscles and feed them the fuel to breakdown and then re-grow bigger. Consume more of the right types of calories and burn it into your muscles while you sleep.

How To Build Muscles?

When I first decided I was going to get fit and started weight lifting it was difficult. I had the wrong sort of body mass in the wrong places. It’s called fat.

If you want to put on weight and gain muscles in the right places it will involve losing weight and getting in shape first, then working on building muscle. If you’re new to strength training and muscle fitness and not sure how to begin this advice will help you get started.

Your body weight is controlled by how much you eat, how much you exercise and your metabolism.

Eating To Bulk Up

The muscle building process begins by eating meals high in protein and healthy carbohydrates. Get your protein by eating fish, chicken, meat, eggs, full fat milk and carbs from rice, paste, cereal, potatoes, corn, beans, fruit and nuts to help you put on weight mixed with your Five A Day and avoiding sugar snacks.

If you’re skinny and want to get bigger, grow muscle size you need to eat more food and ram in the calories to gain weight. This is the opposite of dieting to lose weight. Don’t worry if you feel like you’re overeating because through exercising you’re going convert it in to muscle and make your body tougher.

Exercising To Bulk Up

With your new diet you now need to burn fat by lifting weights and turn the food into muscles. Focus on exercises that work your whole body. When starting out make sure you warm up and keep adding weight to every exercise bit by bit.

If you manage to lifted 50 kg then make it harder by lifting 52, making your muscles work by lift heavier weights will make them grow bigger and stronger. Before long you’ll be gaining muscle and your fat will begin to disappear.

The Secret To Strength Training:

The secret to increasing muscle mass is EAT LOTS and LIFT LOTS. For weight training I recommend keeping cardio exercise to a minimum and focus on lots of free weight lifting and routines that workout every single muscle in your body. Using Dumbbells, Barbells, Bench Press, Deadlift, Squats, PushUps, PullUps and SitUps you’ll get stronger and build some serious muscle.

The amount of weight, reps and sets you do will depend on each exercise and where you’re body is the strongest and weakest. As you get stronger you can push yourself harder until you muscles want to give out on the final rep.

Remember to increase the weight load as you build more strength and muscle power. Also don’t just focus on your upper body so you look like a puffed up balloon with chicken stick legs. You need to perform squats and do some deadlifting so you work your legs, back and whole body.

Help I Can’t Put On Weight

Some people eat and eat yet never seem to build muscle or put on weight. They eat all day and stay the same size. Those lucky people usually have a metabolism that can deal with a higher calorie intake and they find it harder to get big and bulky.

Being thin or having a faster metabolism shouldn’t stop you from building muscles. Sometimes muscle mass has nothing to do with your size. I have a thin friend and he has more lean muscle then me without the bulk. If he started lifting weights and eating strength food then he’d gain more weight and develop a more defined and muscley body shape.

For skinny people to bulk up and fill out they need to eat more protein calories and pump some iron. When you’re thin and looking to build muscle mass you’ll need to eat like a pig and develop a strength training workout. If you want to build muscle and have problems putting on weight then increase your protein and strength training.

Building Muscle

If you don’t work your body it will store fat. To have near pure muscle on your body you have to go for it. To achieve any form of success you have to make serious changes. Show no mercy on your muscles, make them hurt so they grow bigger. Eat all the protein, fruit, vegetables you can consume and push your body further every week.

Eating 6 meals a day, high in protein with high fibre snacks and working on strength training everyday will build those muscles fast. While you’re sleeping your body’s cells will regenerate and you’ll wake up a little stronger and healthier.

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Editors Notes:
It’s that time of year to get fit, I for one could certainly do with toning up the mid-section, getting more exercise and eating a bit better. I’ve no intention of joining the gym again so it will be home workouts for me.

Personal Finance Gone Wrong

January 11, 2023September 18, 2018 ~ Rob

I’ve calculated all my outstanding debt and it stands at – £65,235. This amount is shocking for a 22 year old. I feel ashamed that it’s that high. How could my debt go off the rails so soon after leaving university? Where did it go wrong?

I think the answer is when you don’t have money you have to manage it as best you can but as soon as you get leave university, get your first job and start earning some decent money you get into bad spending habits.

After surviving on beans on toast your first payday feels like all the money in the world. Once you’re working you are flesh blood to the banks, it opens up access to more credit and finance products.

The last thing on your mind is paying it back. Part of the student experience is drinking, partying and letting your hair down. You want to go out partying, meeting girls and travelling on borrowed cash.

The problem is you can run but you can’t hide from your debts, therefore I have committed to becoming debt free. I’m fed up of robbing Peter to pay Paul. I’m tired of been skint, in loads of debt with my money in a mess.

When I discuss money with other people my age the main issue is debt and the inability to save and afford a house. We have to rent private or live back at home because we don’t have the funds and deposit required to take out a mortgage. Others options increase moving in with friends to cut rents or find a cheaper place to rent.

I don’t fancy moving back in with my parents or living with my friends 24/7. That must avoided at all costs. I’ve come to enjoy living alone and enjoy the freedom.

Homeownership for me is a distance dream and a far out nightmare. Even if I did have the money for a house deposit on the practical side it’s probably best to remain renting than buying my own home.

The home is only yours when it’s paid off and that’s at least another 25 years of debt I’d be chained to. I’m not ready to put down roots and get tied down to years of financial commitment. I have no choice but to stay put and keep renting.

Buying a house is one of the biggest purchases and commitments you’ll have to make. You have to be financially and emotionally prepared to purchase a house. It means growing up and been tied down.

When you’re a little kid money doesn’t seem to matter unless you want sweets, a new toy or a trip to the fair ground. When you head of to university you know the debt will build up but you don’t care because you can dream about becoming extremely successful in your career. No worries, you’ll land a cool job with mega pay become a lawyer, doctor, famous actor, scientist, airline pilot or run a multi-million dollar business.

You don’t worry about money or your personal finance at the time. Then reality kicks in and you enter the real world. Only then do you realise you’re not sure where the hell your time and money has gone and your personal finance are in a bad state with nothing really to show for it.

My parents warning me about this. There would tell me to be careful with money and “Save, Save, Save”. The thing is you tend not to listen, somehow thinking you know better and your finances will all workout fine.

When you are a kid you beg your parents for sweets or cry because they won’t buy you a new toy robot. Your loving caring parents explain that sweets rot your teeth and you can’t have them before your dinner. They explain that the toy you want is a waste of money because you hardly play with the last toy robot they bought you two months ago.

Your wise old parents have valid points and are trying to teach you healthy values and give you financial tips. At the time you don’t care or understand so you throw a tantrum.

I think the lessons they tried to teach me back then have finally penetrated my stupid skull.

From here I don’t want to suffer with money troubles and debt problems. Debt holds you back from living your life. What this means is you have to tackle the issue and learn a few personal finance lessons:

Top 7 Financial Tips:

Teach yourself how to budget.

Create a simply budget and understand where your money is going.

Don’t buy something you can’t afford.

If it doesn’t work within your current budget don’t buy it.

Don’t buy something you don’t really need.

How much money do you waste on needless things and impulse buys.

Long term debt has a cost.

Stop treating your credit card and overdraft as income and a means of monthly financial survival.

Save more than you spend.

Stash away your cash and save as much of your income as you can.

Have a back-up emergency fund.

Put some saving put aside for emergencies to avoid running up debt.

Invest for the future.

Invest and save enough for your old age and retirement.

Take these financial tips seriously and you shouldn’t have too many money worries in your life. Stop scraping by every month and start being proactive will give you the confidence and momentum you need to turn your financial future around.

The Leftovers

January 5, 2023September 18, 2018 ~ Rob

I think our generation are the leftovers. The ones left behind to pick up the pieces of our failed society. As twenty-some-things our freedoms are limited and our privacy is disrupted and invaded without us even knowing it.

We are expected to contribute to society by politicians and past generations who have destroyed and polluted it. I can’t help thinking that they won’t be much left of the worlds resources to enjoy after all the drilling, mining and fast paced consumerism has eaten away the Earth’s core.

We are the people who are going to have to come up with solutions and clean up the mess that the previous humans morons didn’t care about. It’s not our fault, millennials are the victims. Our only crime is when are birthdays fall.

Privilege is a source of cruelty. The battle of the haves and have not’s. I’ve lost faith in the system because the system seems to be everyone for themselves. That’s capitalist greed for you. Capitalism seems to define happiness as whether we have money or not.

We have political discussion to decide what is best but it never seems to get any better. One power is overthrow for another by a little “x” in a box, who has the most firepower or the highest bidder. Politicians aren’t even organised enough to work out their expenses let alone run a whole country’s budget. I think we should all be able to vote on how our taxes are spent instead of pretending we have a democracy.

The low election turnouts are because of the promises of a Land of Hope and Glory. The results show no promise. Obviously politicians can’t handle the responsibility. And based on that we know politics is two faced.

All the dreams in each manifesto is never quite as described. If they can fake sincerity and keep offshore funds than I can sell fake knock off goods down the market. I reckon there is one good politician in every hundred. It would be better to decide who wins elections with Pokémon cards.

When will the austerity be over? Personally I think we all need to make more cuts to finally clear the deficit – starting with Westminster throats. Governments can’t create social cohesion because the voters should make the policies. It’s easier to run the world on fear and bullshit. The future is scary business. With many things beyond our control.

Will there be an NHS left for the next generation? Will I have to pay for private health care and a sick bed so I can get treated for any nasty diseases I catch?

When you grow up can you find and land a good job?

Will I ever be able to afford my own home?

Will the trains actually be on time this week?

Can your favourite football team ever win the league?

Will I ever pay off my student debt?

When all the seas are poisoned what will replace my fish and chip diet?

Will we have a World War Three?

Not very uplifting thoughts. I don’t feel any safer or better off knowing we have a nuclear defence program to protect me from shrapnel. Soon we’ll all be the leftovers. Trying to plan for the apocalypse is the best risk management strategy.

I’ve realised what a terrible consumer I am. I’m doing myself a disservice. From here I’m going to lift myself out of poverty, debt and fading expectations. I’m hoping to one day to have the prospect of getting on the property ladder instead of being a financial refugee. I’m learning to balance the books. Give up silly spending habits and investing the leftovers into my future.

Everyone isn’t created equal where wealth and power is concerned. The rich elite are buying and bribing their way up the pyramid. Wages have hardly gone up, people can’t afford buy a decent house and the recession doesn’t seem to have taught us much about money.

Lately I feel more like a leftover. How are future generations and my kids (when I impregnate someone) going to deal with all these questions, ifs and buts?

A university education isn’t cheap, you can’t pay off your debts and retire by working for free. That’s why some students take up pole dancing and prostitution to pay for their education.

I’ve gained lots of blogging experience so it’s time to take this blog beyond a hobby and a series of me ranting on about my problems. Therefore I’ve started my part time based adventure to supplement my income. It’s been a great student chapter, but over time this site needs to evolved into something quite different.

By now you will have noticed the a fresh new look. You’ve probably already noticed the ads and site changes including a new layout and blog design.

Since launching this blog I’ve never monetised it or placed advertising on the site despite it costing me money to run and time to develop. I’ve worked out I’ve spent over £700 keeping the site running, not including the time spend on it. I’ve sacrificed many hot student meals keeping this thing alive, I hope you feel guilty. Stopping this blog would save me money.

Still no logo design yet as I can’t do the creative graphic bit. I’ve never used Photoshop. I know my weaknesses and any artwork I use on here is usually clipart and stock photos.

I need a logo designed for the new site (any graphic design student volunteers out there willing to give it ago?). Maybe in hindsight I should have taken creative media as a degree course.

There are many unanswered questions I have about the future and how life is going to work out. I’m starting my own social movement and a republic to wealth. Taking everything in moderation except my mission to save, invest and get debt free.

We are faced with a social handicap. It’s full of bullshit promises from clueless leaders and media idiots. Society has gone to hell, I don’t what to join it.

The media and TV is just a distraction so we take our eyes off the ball. The mainstream crap on TV makes our heads go numb. Many of us don’t notice we are trapped in the matrix of a dying world. It is us who have to create something from the rubble and make something of the shambles.

We need to wake from the bad dream. Don’t be frightened to hope. The hopeless disappointment keeps us all going. If we aren’t careful we’ll all be the leftovers.

I guess you can feel my desperation and dismal mood. I’m having an early midlife crisis. Not bad for age 22. At least I can get it out of the way.

We can all bitch and moan about money and our difficult lives. On brighter note at least we have the Internet, flushing toilets and I’m not earning a dollar a day to make top name brands.

Society hasn’t learned anything. Wars still happen, bombs explode, dictators still rule and the violence on TV is depressing. I’ve vetoed society today or maybe my judgement is off. Either way misery, fear and desperation surround us all. I’ll probably feel better if I go buy a pack of cream cakes to speed up my diabetes.

20 Changes in your 20’s

December 30, 2022September 17, 2018 ~ Rob

When you reach your 20’s things change. It’s a time to figure out what you want to do and who you want to become. What can I teach you about finding your way when I’ve hardly lived myself?

Growing up is hard. Young and stupid is always easier. As a 20 something you develop an unknown phobia for the future. Here is my advice for 20 something’s who need to review their lives:

Get ready to make lots of changes. You’ll set goals and make plans. Be ready to adjust them and ditch some. It’s is time to discover your potential.
You get a job or have many jobs. They may not be what you expected. You have to hold it down. Everyone has a gift to give the world. It may be in the job you do or a different “calling”. Find that calling and follow your heart.
Your student and college days are over. You can’t live like a slob anymore because Mummy and Daddy can’t clean up after you. A tidy house is a tidier mind.
Friendship will come and go. Some relationships will last some will fizzle out and go down different paths as people move away or don’t return your phone calls. Work on the relationships that matter to you most.
I’ve had my share of heartbreak even as a 20 something. You can’t force love and have to let past lovers move on with their lives. When you breakup remember it happened for a reason and that “the one” is still out there.
Exercise so you get fitter not fatter.
Watch your diet. Eat the healthier stuff with the occasional salt and sugar explosion.
If you smoke or vape then quit.
Read more. Read for fun, read for education.
Sort out your money and finances.
Maximise something’s, minimise and eliminate others.
Experience the world. Go on real life adventure. Stop letting technology eat up your time.
Be afraid, but do it anyway.
You have a voice. Use your right to vote.
Learn to chill out and slow down.
You are in your twenties, you are going to make lots of mistakes. Don’t beat yourself up over them.
Listen to older and wiser people than yourself.
Always keep learning from your own experience and mistakes.
Your 20’s are the best days of your life. Enjoy them. Party hard but plan harder. Getting this stuff right now will set you up for life and build your future.
I best break the news to you now before you hit your 30’s and find out the hard way. Santa doesn’t exist.

Don’t be a bystander in your life. It’s not going to be easy. You need to do the difficult things that no one else does. It won’t all come together all at once. It takes practise and determination. You don’t have to do any of the list above, make your own but if you don’t do anything you still be in the same position next year.

The time for change is now. Your Happy New Year starts now. Enjoy the holidays and prepare your productivity plan for next year. Next year is operation 20 Changes for your 20’s.