Ariane Sherine's Blog

I know nothing about superheroes or graphic novels. Seriously, I'd be hard-pressed to name ten if my life depended on it. But I did love the cartoon Thundercats as a kid ('Feel the magic, hear the roar, Thundercats are loose!') so when I stumbled across Reynard City Chronicles thanks to a friend, it was a very welcome nostalgic experience.

The lead character is Vibes, an extremely foxy fox who sounds a lot like me ('Her weakness: one blast of caramel and she becomes a massive hot air balloon!') Her parents were killed by thugs, and the plot of webcomic #1 reveals how she becomes a superhero called AK girl.

The graphics are amazingly slick and easy on the eye. Sometimes I think I can draw, and then I look at something like this manga-style comic, and think: who am I kidding? The narrative is also really fast-paced and exciting.



In case you're interested, here's the synopsis:

Vibes McAllister lives a day-to-day life as a radio DJ with occasional night time gigs. However, she has recently started having strange dreams of another life. What follows is an adventure involving superhero foxes, disgruntled former caterers, a bizarre reaction to caramel and an evil robot fox and his army...

And here's the link.

Oh dear. I appear to have let this blog slide a little (well, a lot). I committed adultery (post-separation, so it's not really adultery, just a very old-fashioned version), got my heart broken and went back to eating. So I haven't lost any weight.

Also, my scales are well and truly broken. They were amazing and cost over £100. My ex-husband could definitely fix them, so I might wait until I see him later this month, rather than getting new scales immediately.

I think it's fair to say that The 14-Week Challenge has not really worked. Dieting is hard, and so is life sometimes, and the combination of the two is not ideal. But thank you for reading and supporting me.

Waist: 32.5"

I got some really good news about the book today, which may mean I have to do a photo shoot (not sure yet). It's weird, but even though I'm bigger than I'd like, I'm feeling good about my body right now. It's strong, it's healthy and it does everything it's meant to do. Sure, I'm carrying some extra pounds, but eventually they'll drop off.

I'm totally embracing a vegan diet and it feels great. OK, so I'm not an über-strict vegan - I might eat dairy if offered a piece of milk chocolate at work, for instance - but in general, I'm sticking to veganism and I love it. There's something really powerful about knowing that the food you're eating is good for your body. I'm not judging anyone else for their diet (sausages taste delicious, as I recall) but this is what's best for me right now.

That said, I watched a video for work today which said that in the future, we'll all have to eat worms! I guess it's no weirder than eating prawns. But right now, I'd rather not eat either.

Waist: 32.25"
Bust: 39"

It's back to work today, and there's something truly lovely about the routine of it all. I love seeing my friendly and funny colleagues and catching up with work news; getting stuck into my workload; enjoying the modern, beautifully designed office and sipping delicious coffee from the Nespresso machine.

I wish I'd realised all this earlier. I spent so many years feeling lonely and bored as a freelance writer while everyone I knew had jobs. Of course, not every job is as enjoyable as mine, but I think the sense of purpose that working in a team gives you is very underrated.
Waist: 32.5"Bust: 39"

Last night I went on a date, which went - and I say this tentatively - quite well. I have no idea what's going to happen, but he was lovely, and it was heartening to know that some men still find me attractive even when I'm this curvy.

We went to a horrendous vegan restaurant. Big mistake! I definitely won't be eating there again.

But the date took a turn for the better when we went to the cinema to see the new Spike Lee/Jordan Peele movie BlacKkKlansman. The story of a black cop infiltrating the Klu Klux Klan, it was such a great film - funny and fantastically entertaining, yet horrifying and serious too, and very thought-provoking. I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking for something to see.

Waist: 33"
Bust: 39"

Hello! After being really good on the diet yesterday, I went to stand on the scales today and discovered that... they're broken.

I changed the batteries, and they didn't work. So let's just assume I'm 7 stone 7lbs, OK?

But seriously: I was really good on the diet yesterday, and I felt so much happier and better about myself. So this is going to be my modus operandi from now on - just eating really healthy, wholesome food, restricting my calories to 1,200, and using the tape measure instead of the scales for now. I actually think measurements are more accurate and better for your mindset anyway.

Waist: 33.5" Bust: 40"

Have a lovely weekend.

I've had no access to the scales or tape measure for a week, because we've been at Center Parcs. Now we're going home and I'm going to discover how much I weigh tomorrow morning.

I have a feeling it won't be good, because on this holiday I just thought 'Hey, I'm on holiday' and refused to deprive myself.

Today I'm eating Graze boxes, which I've never tried before. My colleague used to get them as a subscription, and she complained amusingly, 'After a while of eating so many nuts, I felt like a squirrel!'

But apparently, though calorific, nuts are good for your waistline as they make you feel full - plus they're super-healthy. So I am going to channel my inner squirrel and munch on them instead of doughnuts.

I'm going on another date on Saturday, with the same guy I had a date with last Friday. I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm excited. At the very least, he's hilarious, so hopefully we'll have great fun. I'll let you know how it goes.

The Tess Holliday Cosmopolitan cover has me feeling very conflicted. On the one hand, I think it's good that bigger girls will be able to see themselves reflected on a national magazine cover. And I also think that people who don't like the image are mainly being negative because they don't like the way Tess looks. If she were very underweight, or an alcoholic, or a smoker, that would also be unhealthy, but these people most likely wouldn't say anything about that.
On the other hand, I know that it's unhealthy being a size 22, and I'm desperately trying to lose weight so I don't ever reach that size. So I genuinely don't know whether it's a positive thing overall to normalise obesity or not.
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, Tess Holliday is a beautiful plus size model, and here's the cover:

If you are naturally thin and are reading this blog wondering how I've been trying and failing to lose weight, you need to read this article. Hell, read it even if you're fat. All will become clear.

I'm not giving up, though. I've lost 5 stone twice before, so I know it can be done...