I haven't updated for a couple of days, but it's not through having nothing to report. Exciting news first - I'm booked to go on a cruise on 13 May 2011, hooray! I've been on a cruise before, back in 2008, and I loved it like nothing else I've ever done in life. I actually had a massive struggle to readjust to life on land after we came back - there was something about seeing lots of different places but coming back to the same room every night that made it feel like a lifestyle, and this was my new home. Alas all good things must come to an end.
However, we're going again! Last trip was longer, and went around SE Asia. This cruise is a 12 day South Pacific adventure, departing Sydney, 3 days pure cruising, 3 ports in New Caledonia, 3 ports in Vanuatu, 2 days cruising, and back into Sydney. I have always wanted to see crystal clear water, where you can see to the bottom and see fish swimming around in it and stuff. This is going to be just the place to do it.
Now what does all this have to do with a diet and exercise blog I hear you ask? Well everything as it turns out. Last time I was on a cruise, I weighed 71.8kg and felt fab. I don't really care if I weigh the same as that this time, but I want to be the same size and fit back into all those beautiful dresses I had for the dining room. I also want to be as fit as I was then. Now running on a treadmill on a rocky sea is not necessarily the easiest thing in the world, let me tell you, but it can be done. On one trip to the gym, I ran 4 miles on the treadmill while rocking away. It's an awesome workout because you've got so much extra to do to keep balanced, great for the core muscles. I want to be able to do that again!
So in giving this lots of thought, I was wondering if I have enough time to get into the same shape as I was last cruise. The only way to figure this out was to take a massive plunge and do 2 things I didn't want to do: get on the scales, and log back into my old Calorie King profile and see what the timeframe was like last time around. The scales part sucked, coming in at 95.3kg. Blah. The CK part wasn't as hard as I thought, in the past I've found it hard to look at all these check ins in the 70's and 60's and not feel depressed. But now I have a goal in mind, it was just a really informative trip down memory lane. And the good news is that it can be done!
On 27 September 2007, I weighed in at 99kg. On 14 May 2008, I weighed 71.8kg - 27.2kg down in 7 1/2 months. So here we are at 1 October 2010, needing to lose 20-25kg in 7 1/2 months (I say 20 - 25kg, because I want to retain muscle mass and appropriate hydration, last time round I started to do some pretty stupid stuff just to see a better number on a scale, I'm a little older and wiser these days).
How are we going to do it? Duh, diet and exercise :o) The diet is cruising along pretty well at the moment, so it's just a matter of keeping that up. The exercise could do with a jolt, so that will be the focus of the planning for now. I got up and went for a run this morning, even though I really really didn't feel like it, so that's a good start. It was 5.5km including a 750m walk at the beginning (up a big mofo hill, if I ran up that I'd be too dead to go any further). It was pretty tough going in sections, but overall I can definitely see improvements. I was running at about 9.5km/hour too, so the pace is also picking up.
On the back of some encouragement from Jess (thanks!) I'm going to enter some fun runs. The 10k Glenelg Classic is on 14 November, the 10k Christmas Frolic on 12 December, and the 7k Resolution Run on 9 January. I think I'll enter all of those. I can't do 10k right now, and I might not be able to by 14 November either, but there's only one way to find out. I haven't been able to find a schedule of fun runs for 2011 anywhere yet, I'll have to keep hunting and see what else I can book in.
There are going to be 2 mega obstacles in my training and weight loss plans between now and May 2011. First of all is a trip to Bali between 19-29 November - in the past this has been a diet disaster, but mainly because I used it as a binge fest. I'd be buying massive chocolate bars from all the convenience stores and wolfing them down at every opportunity. At least that won't be happening this time, seeing as I can't do chocolate any more. But we're staying at Febri's, which is just across the road from Discovery, which contains the best bakery in the world. The blueberry bread at Bread Talk is to die for. I'll just have to roll with that and try not to overdo it, but there's no way I'm going without altogether.
The second obstacle is, of course, Christmas. Again without the chocolates, things will be improved, but I'm bound to eat too much. Hey, we have pancakes for breakfast, it's tradition (and my sister in law is pregnant, so she's not going to care about calories this year, damn it). Oh well, if Christmas day itself is stupid, I'll just have to live with that. If I can avoid a damaging lead up and craziness with left overs, it should be ok. Fortunately I'm not a drinker (except when in Darwin, but then there's nothing else to do up there...), so calories are saved on that front.
I'm feeling so freaking happy right now it's insane. I've got my mojo back, and I've got heaps to look forward to. Awesome!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Introspective
I read a blog yesterday afternoon (while avoiding doing the big project that I really just can’t be arsed with, but that’s another story) which has really resonated with me. Lyn over at Escape from Obesity is talking about when she stopped caring about herself as a person, and how that translated into her battle with her weight. There is just so much truth in this connection in my experience too, that I can’t stop going over and over it in my mind.
I haven’t spoken a lot about “my journey” in this blog, mainly because I’ve been trying to block it out for fear that thinking about it will bring back the binge demons. As time goes on, though, I’m gaining confidence that I have defeated that particular monster. Anyway, my background – I was an overweight child, an overweight teenager, and an overweight adult, all to varying degrees. I was a gymnast (well a trampolinist to be precise) from the time I was about 8 until about 16, so that kept the weight slightly in check, although I was very very large compared to the typical skinny minnies you find in gymnastics circles. When I quit the big training program, and kept eating like an elephant, I sort of became an elephant. I think I maxed out at about 120kg when I was 19 or so (at 165cm, not the best look). I got down into the mid-90's through my early twenties, rebounding up and down somewhat.
And then about 3 years ago, I made a big resolution, and really stuck to it. I went from 102kg to 67kg in the space of about a year. I exercised like a crazy person. My calorie intake was at a healthy level, but it was full of processed crap - because the processed crap had calories labelled and I could measure the intake. I lost the weight in an unrealistic and unsustainable way. My whole focus in life was on diet and exercise, I cut off connections with a lot of friends and family and lived within myself. I also thought about food every waking hour, which is enough to drive anyone to distraction.
While life was going along without too many major speed bumps, it all fitted in ok. But next to come were some major speed bumps - my dad (who I lived with at the time) developing Alzheimers, my mum falling into depression, me having a car accident, and having a big bust up at work and moving to a new department. This was a lot to deal with, and my completely useless flipping brother did nothing to help, so everything sort of rested with me for a while. Somewhere along the line, this translated into quitting the exercise, binge eating on anything likely to gain maximum weight in minimum time, and just giving up on myself.
I guess I didn't realise just how much I had given up on myself, given up on life, until I sat and reflected on it after reading Lyn's blog. I was going through the motions, and as always keeping myself pretty guarded, so general acquaintances would never have seen the state I was in. Truth be known, I don't think even my closest loved ones knew how low I was. It's all the little things that add up to just not looking after yourself - I stopped using face creams, stopped moisturising, some days even a shower was an effort. I stopped experimental cooking, stopped going to movies. Getting out of bed was a daily grind, and doing anything other than flopping on the couch after work was a miracle.
Well this is depressing. But what is not depressing, is that I have come through it, I have survived, and I am a stronger person for it. I don't know what has snapped into place, or why, but I am certainly glad it has. I have a will to live, a will to improve myself, a will to find joy in the little things. Yes I still have challenges to face, we all do. Dad still has Alzheimers, and naturally it's getting worse. I'm still living with it, but I'm not grieving it. We've all learned to cope better with what we've got to work with, and life is going on. I'm going to make the best of it.
I haven’t spoken a lot about “my journey” in this blog, mainly because I’ve been trying to block it out for fear that thinking about it will bring back the binge demons. As time goes on, though, I’m gaining confidence that I have defeated that particular monster. Anyway, my background – I was an overweight child, an overweight teenager, and an overweight adult, all to varying degrees. I was a gymnast (well a trampolinist to be precise) from the time I was about 8 until about 16, so that kept the weight slightly in check, although I was very very large compared to the typical skinny minnies you find in gymnastics circles. When I quit the big training program, and kept eating like an elephant, I sort of became an elephant. I think I maxed out at about 120kg when I was 19 or so (at 165cm, not the best look). I got down into the mid-90's through my early twenties, rebounding up and down somewhat.
And then about 3 years ago, I made a big resolution, and really stuck to it. I went from 102kg to 67kg in the space of about a year. I exercised like a crazy person. My calorie intake was at a healthy level, but it was full of processed crap - because the processed crap had calories labelled and I could measure the intake. I lost the weight in an unrealistic and unsustainable way. My whole focus in life was on diet and exercise, I cut off connections with a lot of friends and family and lived within myself. I also thought about food every waking hour, which is enough to drive anyone to distraction.
While life was going along without too many major speed bumps, it all fitted in ok. But next to come were some major speed bumps - my dad (who I lived with at the time) developing Alzheimers, my mum falling into depression, me having a car accident, and having a big bust up at work and moving to a new department. This was a lot to deal with, and my completely useless flipping brother did nothing to help, so everything sort of rested with me for a while. Somewhere along the line, this translated into quitting the exercise, binge eating on anything likely to gain maximum weight in minimum time, and just giving up on myself.
I guess I didn't realise just how much I had given up on myself, given up on life, until I sat and reflected on it after reading Lyn's blog. I was going through the motions, and as always keeping myself pretty guarded, so general acquaintances would never have seen the state I was in. Truth be known, I don't think even my closest loved ones knew how low I was. It's all the little things that add up to just not looking after yourself - I stopped using face creams, stopped moisturising, some days even a shower was an effort. I stopped experimental cooking, stopped going to movies. Getting out of bed was a daily grind, and doing anything other than flopping on the couch after work was a miracle.
Well this is depressing. But what is not depressing, is that I have come through it, I have survived, and I am a stronger person for it. I don't know what has snapped into place, or why, but I am certainly glad it has. I have a will to live, a will to improve myself, a will to find joy in the little things. Yes I still have challenges to face, we all do. Dad still has Alzheimers, and naturally it's getting worse. I'm still living with it, but I'm not grieving it. We've all learned to cope better with what we've got to work with, and life is going on. I'm going to make the best of it.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Things I have learnt today
- Never bring home a barbecued chicken when you're famished. It smells and tastes way too good.
- A step class from 2 days ago can have a real lasting impact on your calf muscles.
- Deep heat is a friend to my calf muscles.
- Shoes with heels are not a friend to my calf muscles.
- The calf muscles ease up when they get warm, or when your attention is distracted by other pain. You know, like when you can't breathe running up a hill. Suck it up and work through it.
As you may have gathered, I've eaten too much tonight. However, I went for a run this morning (and increased the pace and distance - 4.5km at an average 9.2km/h, so that was great. I also went to a cardio box class tonight. It was the first time it was offered on the program, so there was a lot of technique and introductory stuff, but it was still a big workout. I wouldn't say that I loved it, the instructor is a bit of a bitch, but I'll give it another go before I write it off.
I had a really crap day at work, not that anything went wrong, just that I didn't really do anything. I have seriously got to find my work mojo, stuff is piling up around my ears. Here's to getting in to that damn big project tomorrow.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Another weekend gone
How do these weekends keep slipping by so fast? I'm sorry this one is gone, but there are two things keeping me chipper this Sunday evening.
One, the boss is away this week, and will not be ringing - he's doing an 800km bike ride from Adelaide to Geelong. I wish him well for the big ride (especially as it is for a charitable cause, in memory of a friend who passed away from leukaemia a week or so ago), but I'm also REALLY happy he won't be on the phone this week. We get on well, but I'm ready for a week's trial separation. He can be quite demanding, and having some time to get stuck into a big project without side projects from him is something I am very much looking forward to.
Two, next weekend is a long weekend, the first one since June and I am hanging out for it. I am 150% sure that I'm not working this long weekend, not even a little log in from home for a couple of hours like I usually do. I need the break, and damn it I'm taking it.
So, anyway, I'm in quite high spirits this evening. The weekend has been a good one all round really. On Friday night I went for a run from the office (seeing as I failed to drag my butt out of bed in the morning). It was an awesome run - I had forgotten how rewarding it is to run on relatively flat terrain, compared to the killer hills around my house. I covered 5.75km or thereabouts, and didn't need to stop to walk at all. It wasn't a very fast pace, about 8.6km/h, but I felt great that I could cover that distance, so the speed will return in time.
After the run and a bit of recovery, I headed for home, had something quick for dinner (I think it was a vegemite sandwich of all things... perhaps I need to revisit "balanced diet 101" and "refueling the body with protein". But I was hungry and it was quick. Meh.) I then got stuck into my baking. I love to bake, and I haven't done any for a month or more, so I've missed it. It was a bit of a test for me, because I usually spend as much time eating the ingredients and various batters as I do cooking. I won't say that I didn't eat any of the raw materials, I probably downed 500 calories odd, but I certainly didn't binge out, and I didn't eat any of the final products. I'm proud as can be - something has finally snapped into place in my stupid head, and I'm over the binging. Weird (but awesome).
On Saturday I got up a little later than planned, but made it to the gym for the step class. I love step, I'm not massively coordinated (but not completely unco either), so I have to concentrate to follow and remember the moves. This is great for me, because then I focus on something other than the pain in my legs or how much I'm struggling to breathe. It was a good class, and I hope I can fit it in semi regularly. I didn't stay for body bar, because I was buggered, and I didn't want my legs to pull up so sore that it put me off schedule for the week ahead. Small steps.
After a quick call into the supermarket, I returned home and continued the baking feast while watching the drawn grand final. Very little taste testing today too (except for a damn cheesecake I made, it was devine. I had 3 spoonsful and then gave myself a stern talking to, put it in the fridge and didn't touch it again). All up, I made a dozen melting moments, 2 dozen triple chocolate cookies, 2 dozen neiman marcus cookies, 15 cinnamon and sultana muffins, and 14 miniature cheesecakes. I knew it had been too long since I baked, I wanted to make everything! The good news is the whole lot has now been delivered to willing recipients - a lot of it to mum and dad's, and the rest to my friend Lou and her family.
On Saturday night I went out to dinner and watched a movie with my best mate Lou. She's been really sick for several months with glandular fever and other nasty viral things, but she appears to be coming through the worst of it now. I haven't seen much of her while she's been sick as her main pastime has been sleeping, and she hasn't been up to visitors. It was brilliant to see her again, and I realised how much I've missed her. I like to be a hermit at times, but it's great to have friends who know you inside out too. We met at school when we were 9 years old, went right through high school together, then went to uni together too. I half lived at her place in uni holidays, we were pretty much inseparable. So yeah, good times. I had lasagne at the cafe where we had dinner - possibly not the best choice, but not a tragedy. I had the calories saved, so all is well.
Sunday saw me up bright and sparky at 6am, ready for mum to pick me up at 6.15 and head to the markets. I was pretty bleary eyed after getting home after midnight, but it's a good way to start the day nonetheless. We were there for ages today, lots of trash and treasure stalls to look through, and we got some cute stuff for my niece Lara. We got our lovely fresh vegetables, then retired to my place for coffee and scrambled eggs. Mum left about 10.30, and I got on with some chores around the house, made my lunches for the week, made a stir fry for a couple of dinners (which came in at a beatifully low calorie count I might add), and stewed some apples for a sweet treat or two.
Late in the arvo I went round to mum's place, and took those stinky dogs for a bath, it was finally warm enough to wash them. Kali was very badly behaved and barked at other dogs, and also scared the crap out of someone when she lunged wildly at them walking past with their staffy. Kali is a massive black German Shepherd, so she looks pretty scary. She actually wants to lick the dogs she's barking at, but from the dog owner's view I'm sure it looks like she wants to eat them. Very embarrassing, I think we'll need to get Bark Busters back for a refresher course. Bazil the Pug was not at all amused by the bath, but there's only so much fuss a dog that size can kick up (thankfully). They smell much much better now, but the hair they are dropping everywhere is insane. Glad it's not in my house! I stayed on for dinner at mum's (roast pork, delicious), then made my way home.
So here we go with the goals for the week ahead:
One, the boss is away this week, and will not be ringing - he's doing an 800km bike ride from Adelaide to Geelong. I wish him well for the big ride (especially as it is for a charitable cause, in memory of a friend who passed away from leukaemia a week or so ago), but I'm also REALLY happy he won't be on the phone this week. We get on well, but I'm ready for a week's trial separation. He can be quite demanding, and having some time to get stuck into a big project without side projects from him is something I am very much looking forward to.
Two, next weekend is a long weekend, the first one since June and I am hanging out for it. I am 150% sure that I'm not working this long weekend, not even a little log in from home for a couple of hours like I usually do. I need the break, and damn it I'm taking it.
So, anyway, I'm in quite high spirits this evening. The weekend has been a good one all round really. On Friday night I went for a run from the office (seeing as I failed to drag my butt out of bed in the morning). It was an awesome run - I had forgotten how rewarding it is to run on relatively flat terrain, compared to the killer hills around my house. I covered 5.75km or thereabouts, and didn't need to stop to walk at all. It wasn't a very fast pace, about 8.6km/h, but I felt great that I could cover that distance, so the speed will return in time.
After the run and a bit of recovery, I headed for home, had something quick for dinner (I think it was a vegemite sandwich of all things... perhaps I need to revisit "balanced diet 101" and "refueling the body with protein". But I was hungry and it was quick. Meh.) I then got stuck into my baking. I love to bake, and I haven't done any for a month or more, so I've missed it. It was a bit of a test for me, because I usually spend as much time eating the ingredients and various batters as I do cooking. I won't say that I didn't eat any of the raw materials, I probably downed 500 calories odd, but I certainly didn't binge out, and I didn't eat any of the final products. I'm proud as can be - something has finally snapped into place in my stupid head, and I'm over the binging. Weird (but awesome).
On Saturday I got up a little later than planned, but made it to the gym for the step class. I love step, I'm not massively coordinated (but not completely unco either), so I have to concentrate to follow and remember the moves. This is great for me, because then I focus on something other than the pain in my legs or how much I'm struggling to breathe. It was a good class, and I hope I can fit it in semi regularly. I didn't stay for body bar, because I was buggered, and I didn't want my legs to pull up so sore that it put me off schedule for the week ahead. Small steps.
After a quick call into the supermarket, I returned home and continued the baking feast while watching the drawn grand final. Very little taste testing today too (except for a damn cheesecake I made, it was devine. I had 3 spoonsful and then gave myself a stern talking to, put it in the fridge and didn't touch it again). All up, I made a dozen melting moments, 2 dozen triple chocolate cookies, 2 dozen neiman marcus cookies, 15 cinnamon and sultana muffins, and 14 miniature cheesecakes. I knew it had been too long since I baked, I wanted to make everything! The good news is the whole lot has now been delivered to willing recipients - a lot of it to mum and dad's, and the rest to my friend Lou and her family.
On Saturday night I went out to dinner and watched a movie with my best mate Lou. She's been really sick for several months with glandular fever and other nasty viral things, but she appears to be coming through the worst of it now. I haven't seen much of her while she's been sick as her main pastime has been sleeping, and she hasn't been up to visitors. It was brilliant to see her again, and I realised how much I've missed her. I like to be a hermit at times, but it's great to have friends who know you inside out too. We met at school when we were 9 years old, went right through high school together, then went to uni together too. I half lived at her place in uni holidays, we were pretty much inseparable. So yeah, good times. I had lasagne at the cafe where we had dinner - possibly not the best choice, but not a tragedy. I had the calories saved, so all is well.
Sunday saw me up bright and sparky at 6am, ready for mum to pick me up at 6.15 and head to the markets. I was pretty bleary eyed after getting home after midnight, but it's a good way to start the day nonetheless. We were there for ages today, lots of trash and treasure stalls to look through, and we got some cute stuff for my niece Lara. We got our lovely fresh vegetables, then retired to my place for coffee and scrambled eggs. Mum left about 10.30, and I got on with some chores around the house, made my lunches for the week, made a stir fry for a couple of dinners (which came in at a beatifully low calorie count I might add), and stewed some apples for a sweet treat or two.
Late in the arvo I went round to mum's place, and took those stinky dogs for a bath, it was finally warm enough to wash them. Kali was very badly behaved and barked at other dogs, and also scared the crap out of someone when she lunged wildly at them walking past with their staffy. Kali is a massive black German Shepherd, so she looks pretty scary. She actually wants to lick the dogs she's barking at, but from the dog owner's view I'm sure it looks like she wants to eat them. Very embarrassing, I think we'll need to get Bark Busters back for a refresher course. Bazil the Pug was not at all amused by the bath, but there's only so much fuss a dog that size can kick up (thankfully). They smell much much better now, but the hair they are dropping everywhere is insane. Glad it's not in my house! I stayed on for dinner at mum's (roast pork, delicious), then made my way home.
So here we go with the goals for the week ahead:
- Make some major progress on my big work project
- Eat at 1500 calories, give or take
- Stick to the exercise plan - 3 runs, 1 circuit, 1 boxing class, 1 body bar class, and anything that else that fits in with the weekly regime
- Do a small housework job every night after work/gym so I don't have to waste the long weekend cleaning the house
- 7 hours sleep a night
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Deep and meaningful
It's time to get all deep and meaningful for a Friday lunch time.
I'm lacking a real sense of direction and set of distinct goals at the moment, and I feel like I'm drifting in a pool of "maybe's". I know for sure that I want to lose weight and get fit. Everything else is in maybe-town.
Maybe I'd like to get into running, run a 10km fun run, run the city-bay next year, run a half marathon next year.
Maybe I'd like to get into triathlons.
Maybe I'd like to get into distance cycling.
Maybe I'd like to fly to the moon.
The trouble with all of these options is that they require planning and dedication and commitment. By flitting about trying to do a bit of everything, I'm not going to be able to give it what it takes.
I've also just been reading some blogs of other people who have defined goals in distance running and triathlon, and I realise just how unprepared I am to take up that challenge myself at the moment.
I know how to eat to lose weight, and I know how to train to get generically "fit" - I've done that before. But I have absolutely no idea how to eat and train specifically for performance in a particular field. I will need help with that, and help costs money. I will be prepared to pay for it, but not until I'm completely convinced that I've chosen a direction and I'm working towards a defined goal.
And so my conclusion is thus... this journey is going to be a staged process. Stage 1 is to lose a pile of weight, with no specific endurance training goal in mind. Whatever my chosen path, I'm going to need to be a whole lot lighter and a whole lot fitter than I am right now.
I don't care so much about my weight as a number - I don't currently know how much I weigh, and frankly I don't want to know. The scales make me crazy and obsessive and often self destructive. I want to be a fit and toned size 12 again. I got down to a 10 a couple of years ago, but I looked awful, drawn in the face and the bones of my chest visible (despite still having a pot belly and chunky thighs, grr).
I'm going to get lighter and fitter by trying a bit of everything. I will do cardio and weights side by side, and make sure I don't lose muscle along with the flab. I'm not sticking just to running for cardio - I'm going to do step classes, and boxing classes, and I might try to get into a routine of cycling to work once a week again too. On the weights side of things, I'll mix up the classes and try some body bar, some circuits, and whatever else floats my boat.
This won't be a rapid process, it never is. By the time I'm a lighter, fitter version of my current self, chances are that I will have a better idea about what type of exercise I'd like to focus on next.
Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a plan. I feel better now :)
I'm lacking a real sense of direction and set of distinct goals at the moment, and I feel like I'm drifting in a pool of "maybe's". I know for sure that I want to lose weight and get fit. Everything else is in maybe-town.
Maybe I'd like to get into running, run a 10km fun run, run the city-bay next year, run a half marathon next year.
Maybe I'd like to get into triathlons.
Maybe I'd like to get into distance cycling.
Maybe I'd like to fly to the moon.
The trouble with all of these options is that they require planning and dedication and commitment. By flitting about trying to do a bit of everything, I'm not going to be able to give it what it takes.
I've also just been reading some blogs of other people who have defined goals in distance running and triathlon, and I realise just how unprepared I am to take up that challenge myself at the moment.
I know how to eat to lose weight, and I know how to train to get generically "fit" - I've done that before. But I have absolutely no idea how to eat and train specifically for performance in a particular field. I will need help with that, and help costs money. I will be prepared to pay for it, but not until I'm completely convinced that I've chosen a direction and I'm working towards a defined goal.
And so my conclusion is thus... this journey is going to be a staged process. Stage 1 is to lose a pile of weight, with no specific endurance training goal in mind. Whatever my chosen path, I'm going to need to be a whole lot lighter and a whole lot fitter than I am right now.
I don't care so much about my weight as a number - I don't currently know how much I weigh, and frankly I don't want to know. The scales make me crazy and obsessive and often self destructive. I want to be a fit and toned size 12 again. I got down to a 10 a couple of years ago, but I looked awful, drawn in the face and the bones of my chest visible (despite still having a pot belly and chunky thighs, grr).
I'm going to get lighter and fitter by trying a bit of everything. I will do cardio and weights side by side, and make sure I don't lose muscle along with the flab. I'm not sticking just to running for cardio - I'm going to do step classes, and boxing classes, and I might try to get into a routine of cycling to work once a week again too. On the weights side of things, I'll mix up the classes and try some body bar, some circuits, and whatever else floats my boat.
This won't be a rapid process, it never is. By the time I'm a lighter, fitter version of my current self, chances are that I will have a better idea about what type of exercise I'd like to focus on next.
Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a plan. I feel better now :)
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Quickie
I didn't get to do my blog update last night, and it will have to be a quick one this morning, because I have a crap load of work to get through today.
I went to mum's place for dinner last night, but it was a bit drama filled. My aunty was there, and told us the sad news that my cousin was in hospital suffering a suspected miscarriage. We waited for ages for any news, and eventually got something that falls into neither the good news nor bad news category I guess - she did indeed have a miscarriage, but she was carrying twins. One twin has survived and looks healthy and normal. The doctors even told her that she can go on her planned trip to Melbourne tomorrow for the grand final. It's hard to know how to feel about it - it's sad that one of the babies died, but it's wonderful that there is still a baby to come (and they didn't know it was twins anyway).
On my own personal front, I didn't make it to the gym this morning, my legs and butt are not up to it yet. I got up early and did some stretching to hopefully ease it off a little, and with any luck I'll be able to sneak out for a walk at lunch time and loosen things up a bit. I've been thinking about whether I'll do some exercise tonight to make up for this morning, but on the whole I think not. If I tighten up the legs again, it will just stop me going for a run tomorrow morning. And anyway, I've got some other stuff to do tonight at home, given the weekend is starting to fill up again already.
The food front is still going strong. I felt like I ate a lot last night, but I still came in at 1500 calories for the day amazingly. Eliminating the chocolate from my diet has made it so much easier to control the calorie intake, it's amazing (OK well maybe it's not amazing to sane people, but it's been a revelation for me).
I am putting myself through endurance testing at the moment though - I collected various baking goods from mum's place last night. I buy up my chocolate chips and cooking chocolate etc, then I take it to mum's for safe keeping, so I can't eat it! I'm visiting a friend who has been quite unwell on Saturday night, and I've promised to take some baked goodies with me. And my dad has put in a request for cookies and cake. All the ingredients were on the bench in my house last night, and I wasn't remotely tempted to touch them (although I did get home pretty late, but still...) Tonight will be a new test, because I'll be home for longer before I go to bed. The massive test will be on Friday night or Saturday afternoon when I get baking. I LOVE to bake, but I also love to stick my fingers in what I'm baking. I need some strategies to minimise the damage - suggestions anyone??
Right-o, time to get into it.
I went to mum's place for dinner last night, but it was a bit drama filled. My aunty was there, and told us the sad news that my cousin was in hospital suffering a suspected miscarriage. We waited for ages for any news, and eventually got something that falls into neither the good news nor bad news category I guess - she did indeed have a miscarriage, but she was carrying twins. One twin has survived and looks healthy and normal. The doctors even told her that she can go on her planned trip to Melbourne tomorrow for the grand final. It's hard to know how to feel about it - it's sad that one of the babies died, but it's wonderful that there is still a baby to come (and they didn't know it was twins anyway).
On my own personal front, I didn't make it to the gym this morning, my legs and butt are not up to it yet. I got up early and did some stretching to hopefully ease it off a little, and with any luck I'll be able to sneak out for a walk at lunch time and loosen things up a bit. I've been thinking about whether I'll do some exercise tonight to make up for this morning, but on the whole I think not. If I tighten up the legs again, it will just stop me going for a run tomorrow morning. And anyway, I've got some other stuff to do tonight at home, given the weekend is starting to fill up again already.
The food front is still going strong. I felt like I ate a lot last night, but I still came in at 1500 calories for the day amazingly. Eliminating the chocolate from my diet has made it so much easier to control the calorie intake, it's amazing (OK well maybe it's not amazing to sane people, but it's been a revelation for me).
I am putting myself through endurance testing at the moment though - I collected various baking goods from mum's place last night. I buy up my chocolate chips and cooking chocolate etc, then I take it to mum's for safe keeping, so I can't eat it! I'm visiting a friend who has been quite unwell on Saturday night, and I've promised to take some baked goodies with me. And my dad has put in a request for cookies and cake. All the ingredients were on the bench in my house last night, and I wasn't remotely tempted to touch them (although I did get home pretty late, but still...) Tonight will be a new test, because I'll be home for longer before I go to bed. The massive test will be on Friday night or Saturday afternoon when I get baking. I LOVE to bake, but I also love to stick my fingers in what I'm baking. I need some strategies to minimise the damage - suggestions anyone??
Right-o, time to get into it.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Not much happening
Sometimes I think my life must look like groundhog day to the general observer. Today would have appeared to be such a duplicate of the day before that it would be indistinguishable from an outside perspective.
Up early, get in some exercise, go to work for 10 or 11 hours, head to the gym, go home and reheat some food - exact same meal as the previous evening. Then get on the internet, watch TV and eat food all at the same time (I have issues with not being uber-entertained). When you put it like that, it even sounds repetitive to me.
But I like to focus on the small differences. For example, my exercise was different - a run and an orbit class on Monday, a circuit class and a pump class on Tuesday. While I sit at the same desk in my same old office every day, the stuff I do each day is very rarely the same. Yes, it is predominantly accountant-geek work, but it differs a lot in the detail. There are days when I hate my job because of its competing priorities and the need to keep 10 balls in the air at once (while answering 50 questions for staff who could probably figure it out for themselves), but these are also the very reasons that I mostly love my job.
I probably haven't spoken much about my job on here yet. About 70% of my time is dedicated to a financial controller position for a group of hotels in Darwin. Heaps of variety comes through this channel alone - the hotels in the group include some bars, a nightclub and a motel, so they all have their own idiosyncracies and special requirements. Dealing with folk from Darwin has also been a big learning curve, business is just done differently above the Tropic of Capricorn, and we have to learn to accept it. Nothing gets done with much urgency, and all important decisions are made over a beer in the bar. The other 30% of my work is in tax and business services for a small business and individual client base. This was what I used to do full time, and I was completely over it, but I now really enjoy having a small amount of this type of work still in my life.
Hmm, I've been a bit grumpy with my work life lately, but writing it out like that makes me realise that I do still love it. Time to stop getting bogged down in the detail and look at the bigger picture I think.
Right, time to finish off with a goal review for the week to date:
Up early, get in some exercise, go to work for 10 or 11 hours, head to the gym, go home and reheat some food - exact same meal as the previous evening. Then get on the internet, watch TV and eat food all at the same time (I have issues with not being uber-entertained). When you put it like that, it even sounds repetitive to me.
But I like to focus on the small differences. For example, my exercise was different - a run and an orbit class on Monday, a circuit class and a pump class on Tuesday. While I sit at the same desk in my same old office every day, the stuff I do each day is very rarely the same. Yes, it is predominantly accountant-geek work, but it differs a lot in the detail. There are days when I hate my job because of its competing priorities and the need to keep 10 balls in the air at once (while answering 50 questions for staff who could probably figure it out for themselves), but these are also the very reasons that I mostly love my job.
I probably haven't spoken much about my job on here yet. About 70% of my time is dedicated to a financial controller position for a group of hotels in Darwin. Heaps of variety comes through this channel alone - the hotels in the group include some bars, a nightclub and a motel, so they all have their own idiosyncracies and special requirements. Dealing with folk from Darwin has also been a big learning curve, business is just done differently above the Tropic of Capricorn, and we have to learn to accept it. Nothing gets done with much urgency, and all important decisions are made over a beer in the bar. The other 30% of my work is in tax and business services for a small business and individual client base. This was what I used to do full time, and I was completely over it, but I now really enjoy having a small amount of this type of work still in my life.
Hmm, I've been a bit grumpy with my work life lately, but writing it out like that makes me realise that I do still love it. Time to stop getting bogged down in the detail and look at the bigger picture I think.
Right, time to finish off with a goal review for the week to date:
- Exercise - on schedule, got my circuit and pump classes in this morning and this evening respectively. I took it fairly easy on the weights in pump, while I figure out where my strength and endurance is currently at. As a result, the bicep, tricep and squat tracks were easier than they should have been, and I know I'll need to increase next time. The shoulders and chest tracks hurt (a lot), and my legs were already sore from previous sessions, so I think I'm going to be mildly crippled tomorrow. I'm looking forward to that rest day.
- Diet - exactly the same as yesterday (well, I did have a different flavoured yoghurt lol). I'm eating at mum's tomorrow, so the calories will be higher for dinner, I think she's doing turkey casserole.
- Focus at work - much better today, and actually got a few things finished.
- Sleep - 7 hours again last night
- Internet usage - still disturbingly high. I don't think blogging is helping with that lol.
Until tomorrow...
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