STEPPING UP FROM TOMORROW

Well Friday lived up to my expectations in terms of eating, drinking and being merry and I paid dearly the next day. I felt awful on Saturday and had no choice but to be on the go all day. That'll teach me to feel invincible when the next drink is offered.

 

Luckily Sunday was pretty much back to normal and it was Hour of Power day again. One hour of cardio nailed again and I felt invincible for all the RIGHT reasons by the end of it. I did a decent amount of stretching too and then rocked into a day of catching up on all that I couldnt face on Saturday.

 

I'm back at work now and tomorrow I start my 6+ weeks as Acting Director. To prepare for it I spent the day tidying my desk and organising my in-tray. *gasp* there is a lot there already. I'm quietly dreading how much more will land in it while I effectively do two jobs. But I'll just take each day one at a time and deal with stuff the best I can. Now more than ever I know its SUPER important to:

 

1. Eat well. Get my veges and fruit in every day. Stay hydrated. Not too much alcohol or crappy food.

 

2. Get some exercise every day - even if its 15 minutes of decent stretching and mobility work or a walk if I'm not up for running.

 

3. Get enough sleep. No matter how uncool it is to go to bed early, its a must if I'm going to function well every day (and God knows, I'll need to).

 

4. Keep a positive mindset. In fact, this one is probably the most important. If I tick all of the above boxes then it just about takes care of itself. But if I'm missing the mark on 1-3 then 4 becomes another struggle, another battle to be fought. (Hmm thats rather insightful, I just realised.)

 

Wish me luck guys. I want to come out the other end feeling good physically, mentally and with a healthier bank balance LOL.

 

M

TODAY AND TOMORROW

It was with much trepidation that I attempted a leg weights session today. I woke up headachey and everything from my waist down seemed to ache. Yep I'm a lean, mean, bundle of energy and fitness NOT!! I dropped my weights back a little from where they were for my last session some 3-4 weeks ago and they still felt really heavy. I kept it simple: squats, stiff-legged deadlifts and Fitball hip thrusts. Then I did a token amount of cardio on the spin bike for a total of about 30 minutes. Today's workout can only be called the workout you do when you absolutely dont feel like working out. I guess its still better than totally blowing it off :-)

 

Tomorrow I finally get a 'me-day' where I do some shopping in the city before going in to work to take care of a certain task and then its work's social club lunch followed by a catch up with Peter and the team from my old work. It will be a day of eating, drinking and being merry and I'm really looking forward to it :-) What's that saying ..... sin now, pray later ... that'll be me tomorrow :-)

 

M 

ITS A SPUR!!

Well the unofficial word on my right foot is that I do have a boney growth (spur). I called my podiatrist today and his assistant/colleague spilled the beans which I was grateful for as most will not give results over the phone just so they get you back for another consult - which I'm going back for anyways. If I wasnt at The Ice Arena when I made the call, I would've jumped up and done a little happy dance. This is good news as the achilles has been proving very slow to heal.

 

I'll stop speculating about 'what now' other than I'm 100% in for the op to remove it. Its limiting my foot's range of motion and its constantly painful when my foot is extended. Night times especially are challenging as I struggle to find a comfortable position for my foot. Plus, words cannot express how much I'm looking forward to wearing heels again. My nanna sandals just arent me!!

 

Funnily enough despite the spur I can still run and did so this morning. Geez I'm slow and unfit though, mostly through my right glute just aching constantly. Aaaargh FRUSTRATING. But I'll shut up as there are others FAR worse off than me.

 

Just 2 days left of holidays + the weekend. I'm loving this laid back life style although today I got stuck into some cleaning as well. Gotta do my bit for getting the house spic and span for Christmas.

 

:-) M

ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE ...

...... as I found in my last post. Its one of the things I love about social media. You put a question or concern out there and people come forth and help you. The comments I got were really helpful at the very least for making me realise that what I'm doing is probably all wrong for the results I'm looking for.

 

For some time I've been toying with the idea of getting some help with my training. Clearly my safe and comfortable formula was not working so a bit of a shake up probably wont do any harm and hopefully it will do some good. There is some thinking and research to do before I decide what to do next year. Plus my preference is to go with someone local that I can see for the occassional 1:1 but thats also food for thought.

 

After another break from weight training I ventured back today and did back, chest and core using my trusty, favourite program. *sigh* I DO love routine. It felt good to pick up, throw around and put down some heavy things and I can feel the chest DOMS starting already. Core strength had suffered a bit as my planks were back to 45 seconds after reaching a comfortable (well relatively) 1 minute a couple of months ago. Typically all my (piddly) weights felt really heavy but that didnt surprise me.

 

Finally, I'm enjoying a week off work as this is my only break over December and January bar the days between Christmas and New Year when our office closes. Its wonderful to have this bit of R & R especially as I'm getting some Christmas prep done as well as taking the time to smell the roses in the form of doing the daily crosswords, target and sudoku. Mitchell will have friends over tomorrow and Thursday so they will be my spring cleaning days, in between some enjoyable stuff as well.

 

Cheers all

 

M

 

    

TRAINING AND FRUSTRATION

Even though I'm on holidays I got up at 6.15 so that I could get my exercise done before Peter went to work and I'd be housebound. My right hip and glute were aching badly today and as I was heading on a somewhat uphill route to begin with, I decided to walk the first stretch of about 20 minutes. After I hit the downhill route home I picked it up to a jog for about 17 minutes and then decided to finish with some spin bike work. I clocked up about 5 minutes steady state and then did 5 sets of 30 sec sprint/30 sec recovery. Not bad considering it was an awful morning where it was cold and very windy :-(

 

One of the things that has continually frustrated me is my lack of results from my weight training. I keep reading about all these women who discover weight training and it changes their shape and does all these other wonderful things blah, blah, blah yet that never happens for me. And yes I have stuck with it for months at a time only to notice no difference whatsoever. Yes I have lost body fat but doing a decent amount of cardio has no doubt helped that. The other frustrating thing is that I never notice my strength improving. I get to a point with all of my exercises and then unless I'm really carbed up to the max, my strength just stays static.

 

It would be really nice to notice an improvement in my physique from the hard work put into training.Or perhaps I'm just too impatient and expect results too quickly. And I do concede that diet plays a big part and I may not be disciplined enough but for me its important to achieve a nice balance of eating well and enjoying the things I love as opposed to 'dieting for a look'. Perhaps I want to have my cake and eat it too and that aint never gonna happen LOL.

 

Anyways right now I'm far from being in any sort of good shape but I've been thinking about the future and where I want to be and how I might get there.

 

M 

SUNDAY HOUR OF POWER

My training has been all over the place for a few weeks now and admittedly there have been quite a few days where it hasnt happened, often for no good reason. Since Peter's been riding on a Sunday morning and he's out for a couple of hours, its been way too easy to find all sorts of excuses to NOT do anything. I marvel at this as Sundays have alweays been my favourite training day.

 

But today it was time for the tide to turn and turn it did. My challenge was to knock off an hour or so of cardio and do it without leaving Mitchell at home on his own for too long. Oh and BTW and hour on the bike or rower was not on the cards .... BORING!! So i planned this out in my head and did the following:

 

Headed out for a 5 minute walk just going around my block where my house stays pretty much in view most of the time. Then I picked it up to a jog pace sticking to laps around the same block. At the 20 or so minute mark I headed into my studio and did some steady state riding on my spin bike followed by 5 x 30 sec sprint/30 sec recovery and then 5 x 30 sec hill climb/30 sec recovery.  Bike done it was time to hop onto the rower where I did my favourite program for 2 rounds (thats 16 minutes). As I headed out the door for my second run I noticed an hour had passed and my legs were really feeling it. My run was a very pathetic Cliff Young Shuffle so I quickly switched to walking just 1 lap of the block before declaring my workout "over and out".

 

Calorie burn = 500+

Endorphin rush = mega

 

I followed this up with my pond slime drink (aka green smoothie), 10+ minutes of decent stretching, a delicious healthy breakfast and a leisurely read of the paper. Now tell me, why did I ever give this up??   

 

M

SPEECH NIGHT

Yesterday marked the end of the 2012 school year for my boy culminating in Speech Night last night. Whilst he wasnt the recipient of any awards, it was nevertheless a fantastic night showcasing a myriad of talents, hard work and utmost dedication. I always come away from those nights feeling mega proud, mega happy and beyond satisfied that my exhorbitant school fees are indeed money well spent LOL.

 

The head of the Preparatory school gave a wonderful speech (as he always does) basing it around the following saying:

 

The chief cause of failure and unhappiness is trading what we want most for what we want right now. (I eventually found it on the internet and it read slightly different but we wont get totally technical.) The quote is from Don Herold.

 

Of course he applied this saying to the work done by staff in educating our boys to be well rounded students and citizens but when I heard it, it absolutely resonated with me - like 100%.

 

How many times have I chosen the "I want this now" vs "This is what I want long term." WAY too many times I can tell you. I wrote the saying out and stuck it to the bathroom mirror as a prompt for me to do different in future. At the end of the day I can analyse everything to the nth degree and I'd rule out 99% of possible causes, excuses, challenges in why I havent succeeded in managing my weight. Whereas the explanation is simple really.

 

I knew that giving up that hour and half of my precious Friday night was for a good outcome. Thanks Mr Head of the Prep School :-)

 

M

HANGING OUT FOR A HOLIDAY

Ask me on any normal day about my work and I'll tell you that I have a great job with a great boss, a really good team and am surrounded by hard working passionate people. My job pays well and when I need it there is some flexibility for parenting duties. We often joke that Peter will retire first and I'll happily keep working because I'd miss the social aspect of office life.

 

Well this week has been anything but the above and I have really struggled. I've felt totally flat and lacking motivation. I've dragged myself through the days struggling to maintain focus and have let myself drown in negative thoughts and feelings. This is not like me normally and I find myself REALLY looking forward to a week off next week. I desperately need to relax and recharge ready for my 7 week onslaught of acting Director whilst my boss heads to New York for a white Christmas. Right now I'm not ready for it physically, emotionally or mentally and this must change.

 

Last day is tomorrow and we have our section Christmas lunch which will be a very low key affair. I'm just hanging out for home time and being able to say "I'm on holidays now."

 

M

 

 

THE PENNY DROPS

When I wrote this post I struggled to articulate exactly what I wanted to say. It seemed like the correct words just didn't come. Then today Craig Harper posts this and hits the nail right on the head. This is that 'internally happy place' I talk about, summed up beautifully.

Skwigg wrote along the same lines here and what she said also really resonated with me. She says:

Now I make good decisions that support my goals, not out of guilt or fear, but because it's what I genuinely want. It's more enjoyable and rewarding than eating all the chocolate in the house, skipping my workout, and ordering takeout for dinner, all of which would make me look and feel worse, not better. 

What is that? Maturity? Laziness? Path of least resistance? I don't have it any me anymore to make a series of bad decisions, face the consequences, make the excuses, create a plan to get back on track, fail at the plan, face more consequences, listen to more excuses, make more plans. That was so tiring. I'll go with easy, boring, predictable, rock solid consistency every time now. Screwing up was too much drama. 

And I guess thats pretty much where I want to be too. Sometimes you just need to look around you to understand whats going on inside you that can help you move forward. Voila, the penny has dropped.

 

On a more practical note though, I managed a jog this morning with no trouble from my achilles or hip. Go figure! 

 

Thanks for listening.

 

M

 

DOES ANYTHING WORK PROPERLY?

Last week I ventured back to my chiro after several months of not needing a treatment. Ironically it was my neck that was giving me more grief than my back. Regardless he dug in for what was an excruciatingly painful treatment all round. I mentioned that my right hip had been aching and he did some fascia relief on it. It was a bit painful but not even close to the pain from my neck treatment.

 

Almost a week later and my right hip aches constantly, almost to the point where if I have to stand on my right leg only, it hurts and feels really weak. I havent run since Thursday but fingers crossed I'm ok for tomorrow morning. Not sure if there is a particular problem with my hip or if its just wear and tear that comes with age. Geez its annoying though.

 

Couple that with my flippin achilles injury and I'm feeling a bit worse for wear. I'm back to having my foot strapped for 3 days on then 4 days off. In normal everyday use and in flat shoes my ankle/achilles/foot is fine but I still cant extend my foot without pain and sitting with my legs and feet under me is just impossible. So my podiatrist now thinks I might have a boney spur on the back of my ankle (around the achilles). At the end of this week we're going to reassess my progress and perhaps get an x-ray done to see if that might be the problem. You know what! I hope it is. I hope the problem can be that easily pinpointed because then the cure is simple. It would need a minor op to shave off the boney spur and voila all should be good after a short recovery. High heels here I come again :-) :-)

 

In the meantime this recovery is dragging on forever and I can see it going nowhere over the coming months. Please, please, please let it be a spur.

 

Well sorry about my whingey post tonight but I just get so frustrated that the body I think I look after pretty well, keeps letting me down in little ways. I'll shut up now and come back in a better frame of mind next time LOL.    

THAT 'INTERNALLY HAPPY PLACE'

In case you didnt notice, tonight is the last night of November. Therefore, tomorrow is the beginning of the last month of the year. Wow, where did it go? Not just November - which seemed to come and go in a flash - but the whole year. Normally I like to do some reflection at the end of each month but I think you all know that November was pretty topsy turvy for me. Ups and downs, steps forward and back, same old, same old. I see no point in rehashing it all.

 

Which brings me to where my blog might be going and how I can best express some of the stuff thats important to me now. I've made no secret of the fact that in 2013 I will turn 50. I'm not one of those ladies who hides their age or tries to lie their way out of their years or keep it all totally hush hush. Hell, if I had my way, I'd tell everyone that I'm 67 only so I could hear "gee you look FANTASTIC for your age" LOL. But I cant get away from the deep burning desire to get myself to a really 'internally happy place' for my 50th birthday. A place where I have conquered my demons (and you know what they are) and I live my life with an internal calm and balance.

 

I can picture it. I can sense it. I can taste it. I can hear it. I know what it is in both the physical and mental sense (sorry, the spiritual eludes me). Its not about a number on the scales, or how fast/long I can run or how heavy I can lift/squat. Its not about eliminating pressure or stress (cause that aint gonna happen for a LONG time) nor is it about being in a never-ending blissful state of nirvana. But its all here in my head and my goal is to make it happen.

 

So I want my blog to be the record of my journey working through the changes I want to make. I dont doubt that there will be ups and downs but I have a destination that I want to achieve by July next year and that requires taking some steps forward. Onwards, I say.

 

:-) M

 

    

 



SELF PSYCHOLOGY WRAP UP

Its been a crazy couple of days at work and although I've managed a 5 minute visit here, there hasn't been time to gather my thoughts on my last post and the comments received. Today I'm coming up for air and giving this another bash.

I guess its no surprise that there is a wide spectrum of opinion on the topic of weight loss/management. I believe there is no universal right answer. A philosophy and approach that works for some might fail dismally for others. Beliefs too, vary greatly probably based on our personalities and life experiences. Whilst I consider myself to be somewhat of a naval gazer (when time permits) Peter, my husband would consider that a total waste of time. For him things are basically black and white whereas I sometimes get lost in the grey. (Traditional Virgo vs Cancer traits).

When I write a post like my Self Psychology 101 its usually at a time when I'm trying to find my way in that area of grey. I can clearly see what hasn't worked and I start to doubt the stuff that has. Which leads me to search for something that may or may not exist (again that is a perspective thing based on one's personal beliefs). I guess the question left in my mind is "why is the consistency so hard to maintain?" Perhaps if the answer was simple we wouldn't have such a large % of the population overweight or obese. But this isn't about solving the nation's obesity crisis, its about understanding myself so I can break out of the cycle. That's where the psyche bit comes in. 

I've considered coaching which has worked well for me before and it might be time to invest in a refresher. I have something in the pipeline - just testing the waters at this stage. I'm also likely to enrol in this seminar which will be run again in February next year. Whilst I don't know Amelia personally I know enough about her to be interested in her story and the key to her success now. I'll be the annoying one asking lots of questions and whilst I don't aspire to be a fitness model, I hope to get lots of good advice and inspiration from the day.

Finally, thanks to everybody who left me a comment (or a blog post) even though I haven't acknowledged them personally. Each comment has resonated with me in some way because I still have an open mind on this whole issue. My other go-to-phylosophist is none other than Craig Harper  who's style and messages also resonate well with me. Funnily enough, Craig is pretty black and white so maybe deep down I am too. (Now there's some food for thought).

I'll finish with this saying that I have stuck on my office wall in full view when I sit at my desk and computer. I recall pinching it from Shelley's blog or FB but apologise that I don't know the author.

When the world is crazy, be calm.

When the chatter is too loud, be silent.

When your head is spinning, stand still.

Allow some space around you and look within for the love you seek.

Never forget to sit and breathe, for in stillness all answers will come.

             

 

SELF PSYCHOLOGY 101

I've had this post rolling around in my head for days. Its still a jumbled mess of thoughts, questions, observations and speculation. Maybe by putting it out here I can come up with some answers especially as I always welcome comments from anybody inclined to throw their 2c worth in. I'm listening.

Events over the last couple of weeks have got me thinking again as to just what is the secret to long term, pain free weight management eg getting it off and keeping it off. Now having said that I could launch into a whole lot of factors that are NOT the answer but the 'secret' is eluding me, yet again. Let me explain.

In August this year I had hit a point where my weight was making me really unhappy. I was too heavy, had hardly any clothes that fitted and I felt awful. Living and feeling that way just weren't  long term prospects that I was prepared to entertain. So I took action through eating more healthy foods and exercising regularly. I was in a good head space and was getting good results. Life was good and I was happy. So fast forward to now and I just cant get that spark, that desire, that *something* back to keep going and of course I've slid right back to a heavier weight again :-(

Which has lead me to contemplate just what is different about those people who do it and get it right? What is different about their life, their thoughts and their subsequent actions? How do some people just find their groove, make their commitment and stick to it when I seem to forever be on the slippery slope of 2 steps forward, 1 step back?

I can tell you what, in MY experience hasnt worked for me:

1. Goal setting for weight loss. Goals set = hundreds. Goals achieved = hardly any (bar the few where some loss was inevitable). As a weight loss strategy for me this one is a big FAIL.

2. Following a set diet plan. Earlier this year I (quietly) joined Michelle Bridges' 12 wbt challenge. Ironically, by the time it started, I was in such a good place with my eating and exercise that I didn't feel like I needed it. When I saw that it came with a 'set diet' I just totally ignored it. I cant handle being told that on Monday I'll have a slice of toast with baked beans for breakfast and so on. Yet I'm pretty good at just making healthy choices because I like them and I like how they make me feel.

3. Any 12 week body transformation challenge. Done many, succeeded at (maybe) the first one but that is all. 

Is it that some people are just so blissfully happy with their lives that food is a non-issue? If somebody has the 'ideal job' or sideline does that make a difference? I can think of many people that might fit in this category so for me its a valid speculation.

Is it making a decision and sticking to it through thick and thin? My personal experience is that making the decision is the easy part but sticking to it is where I wear thin (or rather, stay thick LOL). The old saying that it takes 3 weeks to form a new habit .... pffft. Yep to some degree, but in my case its the old habits that die hard.

Is it such a quantum shift in thinking that it will take years of consciously working at it before it becomes second nature? 

Is it something I havent even considered?

This is not a quest for the ideal training plan or diet as I truly dont think its about the food or how heavy you lift or how fast you run. Nor is it a lack of knowledge about either of these aspects that is the problem but I do accept that knowledge does not equal action. Its about the head, the mind and getting that right and keeping it right. I read a really spot on quote on FB recently that went something like : Weight management is like a three legged stool: diet, exercise and headset. If just one of those doesnt work the stool will fall over. And yep, my damn stool keeps toppling over and I'm sick of it.

Thats enough for today. I'm doing my own head in LOL. Maybe the Universe will send an answer tonight.

M

 

.

 

LEGS-PROCESSED CARBS-SPA PEDI AND DAMN MY NICE CLOTHES STILL DONT FIT

Started the day with legs and tris which was a pretty good combo. Then I had a green smoothie with a good scoop of vanilla protein pwoder in it. Hmmm not my favourite combo but it was ok.

 

Another day of lots of meetings and a catered lunch which meant eating white bread (wraps and baguettes) or starving. I ate but suffered the effects of mega tiredness due to the processed carb overload. I can handle a slice of rye bread no worries but white bread makes me very drowsy in the afternoon.

 

Tomorrow I get my strapping off and my new orthotics go into my new sandals. That'll be an interesting change over. I plan to run again in the morning whilst I know I can with my foot strapped. After the strapping comes off I have a spa pedi booked as my feet really need the TLC and attention.

 

The thing thats saddened me a bit this week is that I'm still not able to wear many of my clothes and when I've wanted to dress very smart and corporate those outfits just havent fitted :-( Dressing appropriately has been a challenge on some days.

 

Signing out for tonight.

 

M

 

 

BACK RUNNING

I think the only thing that got me out of bed this morning (I was having a FANTASTIC sleep) was knowing that I could go for a run. And run I did (well jog actually) and all was good. I didnt push hard but after 40 minutes of 5:5 intervals I felt like I'd had a reasonable workout. I do like to work up a sweat. Tomorrow is leg training day (still no static lunges with my foot taped) as I'm trying to re-establish a training routine after some lacklustre effort of late. Wish me luck to get that routine back on track.

 

Work today was hugely busy as expected. I dont have time to log onto FB and check it here and there throughout the day, let alone try to catch up on blogs. Lunch was a blur of 2 meetings. Luckily one catered so I didnt starve :-) (I cant function when I'm famished) Tomorrow is pretty much the same but without late meetings.

 

I'm also trying to spend some time working on my mindset because its taken a bit of a beating lately. Nothing serious just a loss of focus around what I want and more importantly WHY I want it. I'm also revisiting some of my shorter term goals in light of my recent setbacks. Lets just say, if I dont get my head right, Christmas will be here and I wont be ready for it. Luckily my head is in a pretty good place right now.

 

Short and sweet tonight as I'll be hitting the sack straight after reading duties are done.

 

M

 



DEALING WITH CHRONIC ACHILLES TENDONITIS

Dealing with my chronic achilles tendonitis has had its ups and downs. I've had some good days and some not so good. I've accepted this as normal and not stressed about it. I bought my sensible (ugly) nana shoes and have been wearing them to work. I showed them off to Peter on the first day and his comment was "they could be worse."

 

My foot is still strapped (taped) up and I'm liking it. Without strapping this morning, it was quite sore to get walking and even in my sensible shoes I rolled off them twice. My podiatrist has given the ok for a gentle run tomorrow so I'll be keen to see how I go. I plan to do 5 mins each of walking/running intervals for a total of 40 mins. If I make it without any problems I'll be really happy.

 

I might be light on the blogging over this and next week as I'm work shadowing the head of our department so my work day is a blur of back to back meetings to give me a better understanding of her job. And no its not so I can take over (God forbid!!) but to better understand our organisation and 2 others from a strategic perspective. Meeting with our Minister today was interesting to say the least. Its a busy time thats for sure.

 

Although I have lots to say time has run out so I'll bid all good night til next time.

 

M

THE VERDICT

I've posted both here and on FB about my sore right ankle and achilles and yesterday I saw a podiatrist about the problem as it has been getting steadily worse as time goes on.

So the verdict was that I have chronic achilles tendonitis because I've ignored it for so long and it has become quite advanced. My right ankle is so puffy and swollen that it easily qualifies for the "cankle" title. The podiatrist strapped me up to create a "new achilles" and I'm spending a lot of time hobbling around with limited ROM and a constant ache in that foot.

Today I'm off to buy a pair of flat and ugly nana shoes. I have a list of 'special suppliers' that sell the shoes that will fit an orthotic. I get new orthotics in a bout 1.5-2 weeks. Oh joy!! Rehab is expected to take 6-12 weeks (again because its advanced). 

I confess that yesterday I spent a good part of the day feeling sorry for myself and there was some comfort eating happening. But today will be all about staying positive and doing whats best for me long term.

I've withdrawn from my Learn to Row course. Hopefully I can pick it up next year. Upper body training wont be a problem but I'll need to modify my cardio and my leg workouts (no lunges, no running while I'm taped up). Stretching will become even more important once the tape comes off. 

This is a timely reminder of Mr CH's words of wisdom: Get the head right and the rest will follow.  Modifications are required but I'm not totally incapacitated and I know that eating well will speed up my recovery. 

Goal for today: Just stay positive.

GOING NOWHERE

I can honestly say I'm feeling that 'mouse in a turning wheel going nowhere' feeling. You know the one I mean, where a mouse just runs and runs in a fast spinning wheel. The wheel turns, the mouse gets tired but nothing changes as he goes nowhere.

Since I have achieved a weight loss that has me around the 67 kg mark, things have become a little complacent, a little bit too relaxed and a little bit less focussed. I know I look better and I feel better and so there is less 'urgency' to work hard. Except I'm still way off my goal of fitting into some of my nicer summer (and winter) clothes so stopping here is not what I want. I'm actually in a bit of a no man's land.

Take this weekend for example. On Friday night we went to the opening night of a Vietnamese restaurant where dinner was a banquet with most of the substantial food being served quite late. At least I didn't drink much as I was driving. Then yesterday afternoon a group of mums from school had a baby shower high tea at the Intercontinental (Adelaide's premier 5 star hotel). Oh my, it was superb but after champagne, a salmon wrap and numerous little sweets I felt rather bleeeeurgh. 

Today I'm suffering the effects of a bad night's sleep, the 'post crap food slump' and that nagging knowledge that I aint getting any closer to my weight loss goals :-( So much for banishing sugar when our admin assistant brought in a home made cake (beetroot and chocolate) and for a myriad of reasons it was just better to accept a small piece of it *sigh*.

Sorry for the whinge. I know this is all within my control and in the big overall scheme I'm doing really well, its just that these constant little setbacks are starting to really frustrate me. I know I just need to pull my head in and do what needs to be done and stop being all sooky lala about it.

Thanks for listening.

M

    

 

SUGAR BE GONE!!

I'm lucky that my wonderful husband shares my desire to be lean, toned, healthy and feeling great. He's recently been appointed to an executive position with a massively challenging goal to achieve. His blood pressure has gone up despite his reasonably healthy lifestyle and he's had a lot of days where he hasn't felt good.

However throughout all of this he's maintained his exercise as he's trying to drop some kilos because he doesn't accept overweight is inevitable. By traditional standards his diet would be ok and he's a bit of a cardio addict believing that running, rowing and cycling will do the job of getting the weight off. When I've broached the subject of weight training and eating a cleaner diet, higher in protein and lower in carbs (he is an office worker after all, not an endurance athlete) he just hasn't bought my sales pitch. He dabbles in it for a week or two and then goes back to daily cardio with little if any change to his diet.

But lately he's been a little more receptive to some of my suggestions and has given me the ok to look into things that might help him feel better. So the other day I casually flicked him this link with a message "some interesting reading". Ironically it was at lunch time as he was having his salad LOL. Well, true to his word he read the article and came back with some good observations and questions instead of telling me it was a crock of sh*t and "what would they know?" Seeing as he was receptive to the idea, we agreed that a staged approach was the best way forward and step one would be cutting as much added sugar from his diet as possible. When I told him what foods had sugar in them, he looked at me goggle eyed.

So I have a job ahead of me to replace his secretly sugared foods (boxed cereal, natural muesli, soy milk, vanilla flavoured yogurt etc) with a non-sugar, palatable and convenient alternative. Plus he's agreed to a non-cereal breakfast on 2-3 work days. I'm really hoping that these changes will make a difference and I can get him on board for some other ideas. Irrespective, I love a challenge and I love that we are becoming even more aligned. The one thing we've always agreed on is our enjoyment of a wine or beer on certain days of the week. Even cavemen/women would have kicked back with a relaxing drink after a hard day of hunting/gathering, I'm sure :-)

M 

GRIZZLING

It irks me no end when my body doesn't work properly.  

For some time my right ankle/achilles has been playing up. At first it was occasionally when I wore high heels to work but its now constant. I'm having major problems extending my foot and shortening my achilles. Last Thursday I was to attend a very high level meeting so I dressed in my Alanah Hill suit with a matching pair of high heels to look the part. Well by lunch time I concede defeat and hit the mall for a pair of matching flats. I could not bear to walk in the heels. I've worn mainly flats or very low heels since then. Even putting on a pair of heels at dinner out on Saturday night (I walked to the restaurant in flats) was very painful.

Ironically I've had no problem with running. Foot flexion is fine yet when I step on a downward sloping curb the pain is back. This morning I went to train legs after about 20 days of ignoring them (not because of this injury, I might add). Squats were fine but when I moved onto static lunges my right ankle just wouldn't cooperate. It was weak, unsteady and painful as soon as the foot moved into flexion. It even played up on both sides irrespective of whether the right foot was forward (worse) or if it was back.

Goddam!! I hate that. Not only do I suffer with an aching right hip and glute and occasional knee pain, now its moved all the way down. I modified my workout to include an extra set each of squats, deadlifts and hip thrusts but I swear nothing works as well as the static lunges :-( 

So I've bitten the bullet and made an appointment with a podiatrist and resigned myself to the fact that I will be told that high heels are banned (boo hoo that will really suck!!). But I just want to know what the problem is so we can fix it and get everything working properly again.

But all that aside, I'm actually in good spirits. I've cut the junk from my diet and the MM is now showing just above the weight I was when sick and (somewhat) dehydrated. I'm pretty happy with that. I'm waking up about 2 minutes before my alarm and that indicates I'm happy and keen to train. I'm having a green smoothie on most days (even though it has no 'cleansing effect' whatsoever) and I'm sleeping well. Maybe I should celebrate the positive and not whinge about the negative but its not too much to ask is it, that my foot work properly to allow me to do normal every day activities without pain?

M

 

I CANT BELIEVE I'M DOING THIS ....

On Sunday 11th November I'm starting on a Learn to Row course that will run for 5 weeks. I believe I have to do 2 courses before I'm considered a competent rower and can join a rowing club, if that's what I want to do.

I got interested through a friend of a friend. She rows socially and on the rare occasions that we've met at our mutual friend's place she has been encouraging me to join their group. "Just come on down to West Lakes on a Sunday morning  and row with us. We have a lot of fun and then we all have coffee and a catch up after." That sounded good to me.

So that got me thinking that I wouldn't mind giving it a go but if I joined the group I'd like to know what I was doing hence I'm doing the LTR course first. I'm so nervous yet I'm so excited. I wonder how I'll compare to the other participants - if they're a bunch of strapping young fit teenage or early 20s boys then I'm going to be like their old and unfit nana LOL. But I'm secretly hoping I can hold my own amongst people of a similar age group and lifestyle (think office worker who sits on their b*m all day). Hopefully my weight training has developed enough strength that I wont embarrass myself even though I'm not overly strong and able to lift heavy sh*t.

I must ask Peter to show me how to set up our home rower for a few practice runs before the course. Which is timely really as my left ankle/.achilles is giving me major grief and whilst I can still run (its foot extension and shortening of the achilles thats very painful) getting some aerobic exercise off my feet is probably a good thing. Plus, did you see the female rowers at the Olympic Games? Peter and I were outwardly admiring their physiques. Yes I'll have me a bit of that thanks :-)

M

RETHINKING

With every regrouping comes some rethinking and over the last couple of very busy days I've spent some time working out why things went off the rails for me in the last couple of weeks. The answer was simple really. I took the focus off my original goals (getting my weight down and improving my fitness) and shifted it elsewhere (my Fibrober challenge). With this new focus (and somewhat obsession) I stopped paying attention to all the positive changes I had made to my lifestyle and let a lot of them slip into oblivion. Follow this up with some old bad habits creeping back in and VOILA I was on a backward slide.

 

I have found lately that weight loss for somebody like me (age, level of activity throughout most of my day, love of food and wine) will not just magically happen without a conscious decision to consistently eat well, train hard, get enough sleep and keep the headset positive and balanced. Yep the bottom line is I have to work for it LOL.

 

But the good bit is that I actually dont mind. Its a choice I make and its one I'm happy with. I dont see it as a long, hard slog of hating every step along the way. If I did, I'd be in BIG trouble. Take today for example. I started the day with an hour of exercise which was a mix of walking (a little) and jogging (a lot). Felt fantastic at the end of it. Today's green smoothie tasted great as I had 1/2 a kiwi fruit spare so I added it to the mix. Wow!! What a difference it made. It was so yummy, I could have had 2 LOL. Then it was 10 minutes of stretching for this rickety, tight body followed by a long, hot shower. After all that I felt so good I could have slayed dragons. For dinner tonight we had a mini Greek feast. I marinated some heart smart lamb leg steaks in garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, oregano and black pepper. Did similar with some calamari rings (+ 1/2 kiwi fruit to tenderise it) and also marinated zucchini and eggplant in garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Peter BBQed the lot and I made a Greek salad adding some low fat feta and kalamata olives. It was to die for: tasty, lean and healthy.

 

So let the new week begin where the only sliding is forward towards my weight loss and fitness goals.

 

:-) M 

REGROUPING

With about a week to go in October I'm wrapping my Fibrober Challenge although I'll be forever mindful of making good dietary choices to help and not hinder my cause. I know its SO not a  sexy topic but by putting it out there, I've had the most amazing feedback (via blog and privately) from people offering helpful hints. I'm already onto the green smoothies, will be trialling a probiotic and considering some other suggestions too. Thanks to everybody who contributed to this sometimes awkward topic.

Geez October has been a topsy turvy month and amongst it all I seemed to lose my way a bit, getting quite off track with both my short and long term goals. Being so focussed on my regularity (or lack of it) didn't help and then things just seemed to hit a bit of a downward slide. Until Tuesday morning at a work related exhibition, I found myself repeatedly drawn back to the morning tea table where bite sized pecan danishes seemed to jump from the platter to my mouth REPEATEDLY!!!

Couple this with a serious case of "I cant be arsed training" late last week and a super busy weekend with very little time for it and I was heading quickly towards Slothdom. Aaaargh talk about positive breeds positive and negative breeds negative. My world had turned into the latter and it was inevitable that my back pain would flare up again (I jarred it turning over in bed). That translated into a little more time off training and then only doing upper body work and yep, over a couple of weeks I felt like I'd lost so much ground.

But I have picked myself up, dusted myself off and got back on with it now. Yesterday was my 'regrouping' day even though I had very little time to spend on the emotional side of it. I met with the MM (now that I'm a big girl and the number has no power over me); gave my legs another rest day but did lots of stretching and then got back into some good eats. Even though there were moments throughout the day when my mind wandered to food I knew I didn't need, I let those thoughts go and by the time I got home for dinner and I was really hungry, I was also feeling pretty invincible and really happy.

I have a new goal for the end of October and achieving it should place me in good stead for some even better achievements in November. I'm focussed back on what I want, how I want to live and more importantly what I need to do to feel good .... which incidentally is NOT eating several pecan danishes :-) :-)

M  

  

MY FIRST GREEN SMOOTHIE

 

 

On Saturday morning I whipped up my first green smoothie - or 'green chunky' was a better description. I used 12 organic spinach leaves, 1/2 organic lebanese cucumber, 1/2 organic pink lady apple and an over-ripe home grown lime. Hmmmm, interesting combination.

 

 

OK I didnt put a lot er, much effort into its presentation but here it is served up ready to drink/eat. That whole lot (thats a 400ml glass) went down the hatch and I almost felt instantly *different*. Its like my stomach went "WHOA, what's that???" It wasnt bad but it sure was unusual. Did it have a cleansing effect? No but I could feel my insides churning which I took as a good thing.

 

I've had 2 more since then but am unsure if I'll make it a daily thing. Lets just say, the jury's out on that one.

 

The other thing I want to try is a daily probiotic. I know next to nothing about these so its internet research time before I venture out with some knowledge of what to buy.

 

Wrapping it up for tonight but have lots more to write about shortly.

 

Cheers all

 

 

M



THERE AINT NOTHIN HAPPENIN

Fibrober: no movement since I was sick last Wednesday night. Thats 7 days and this is not the first time I've been in this predicament. Why oh why does my body insist on holding onto it? Hoping tonight's dinner helps things along but its not a long term solution if I want to build a lean and toned body.

 

So next plan is to attempt a green smoothie. I might buy one tomorrow but will want the pulp left in (I dont have the necessary ingredients on hand to make it at home) and then trial making one in my processor (I dont have a juicer).

 

On Saturday my tummy was beautifully lean and flat. Today I could pass for 5 months pregnant :-(

FIBROBER - THE SAGA CONTINUES

I was back at work today firing on all cylinders with a LOT of catching up to do. Phew, it was a busy day. I've decided not to keep logging my food as it takes up a fair bit of time and puts me back into that anal and obsessive mode thats not good for me over the longer term. After a week of doing it, I have a pretty good idea of my intake anyway and I can get close to the mark even if I dont hit it. I've picked up lots of interesting tidbits like:

 

1. Brown rice is actually not very high in fibre (but its better than white rice).

2. Wholemeal pasta is higher than brown rice (I rarely eat it though)

3. Burgen rye bread rocks for high fibre so I try to have at least 1 slice/day.

4. Pears are the king of high fibre fruit - lucky I love them and devour a hard, brown pear every day (you can keep the juicy ripe ones - blah)

Plus a whole lot of other rivetting facts.

 

Something I like to do when looking into health matters is to check the Chinese medicine philosophy on the issue so I did this on Friday night and found some more interesting info. The CM philosophy for combatting constipation is to lead a 'consistent lifestyle' (as well as the usual dietary considerations that every man and his dog know about). And I think this is where I really fall down.

 

All week I eat well and keep my water intake up (ticking all the boxes to combat the dreaded 'c' word). Then on the weekend I get up later, train later, eat MUCH later and therefore less (often skipping lunch on a Saturday and Sunday) and dont drink as much water as I'm on the go all day and dont want to be chained to a toilet. My system is living 2 lives and the weekend life isnt doing anything to help my cause.

 

*sigh* I know what needs to be done but making the change wont be easy. Although having said that I've resorted to taking my fibre supps again and am now suffering gripy pains :-( possibly from too much fibre. God give me strength to work this out.

 

On a non-Fibrober note, I jogged for 40 minutes today but was back to my usual Cliff Young shuffle pace. I guess not every run can be amazingly awesome.

 

M

THE UP SIDE OF BEING SICK

They say that every cloud has a silver lining. Well every bout of illness has one (or a few) too. Here's what mine have been:

 

1. At my friends 40th last night her comment "I can see you've lost weight."

 

2. Feeling considerable lighter I had an awesome run today.

 

3. Enforced rest means rested legs also contributing to that awesome run.

 

4. I'm still eating less than I was before I got sick.

 

5. I'm very grateful for my usually robust and healthy constitution. Considering how bad I felt on Thursday, I've bounced back quickly and am feeling mighty invincible.

 

Yep, I had a FANTASTIC run today where I did a 5 min warm up walk and then hit my jogging pace. Except I felt so light and rested that I actually increased my speed from my usual Cliff Young shuffle to a respectable jogging pace. Every 5 minutes my average pace was getting faster and faster (remembering that my 5 minute walk was being factored in to it). It was only the last 5 of 40 minutes that were hard(ish) and then I walked for 15 minutes to finish off a mighty fine one hour session. I LOVE it when my runs feel like this.

 

Tomorrow I go back to work and normal life which is all I've craved this week but now its almost here I wish I could stay being a lady of leisure. Oh well, I can dream, I guess.

 

Tomorrow its also back to my Fibrober Challenge broadcast. Watch this space for my latest rivetting findings :-) LOL.

 

Cheers all

 

M

 



WHEN FIBROBER REALLY BECOMES A CHALLENGE

Well my Fibrober Challenge has really become just that. A CHALLENGE!! After being sick on Wednesday night and yesterday I'm not able to eat enough to get 30g of fibre in :-( I havent logged my intake as I know I'm way off the mark. At this stage I'll just have to ease back in gradually over a few days. On a positive note though, my trusty favourite Mavi jeans are feeling a bit looser so my 'skinnies' should be but a few kilos away. (Please note my 'skinnies' are a non-stretch size 11 flared jean that I need to be a certain weight to be able to wear. I cannot even entertain the idea of a traditional skinny jean with my big calves and thighs).

 

I've been home today as well and I took myself out for a bit of a walk as I just needed to move. My training schedule is all up the creek now but I plan to do weights tomorrow regardless. I just know that my strength will be down after I finally got it up last week. I guess I just have to accept that for me less calories = less strength.

 

Not surprisingly Peter seems to be getting the stomach bug as well although it hasnt hit him as hard as it hit Mitchell and me. Because of this we've just had our shortest, driest Friday night beer o'clock. We shared a small bowl of peanuts in their shells (gotta work for the calories) and I had one glass of wine that lasted through to dinner whilst Peter had a quarter of a glass before switching to water. Dinner was a total non-event. Bring on better days.

 

M

THE BUG'S GOT ME TOO

Well this is turning out to be a week I'm looking forward to being over. Last night not only did my fibre supps kick in (this is good) but the stomach bug that Mitchell had, decided to get me as well. Whilst I didnt puke I came damned close. I'm lucky I have an iron constitution that can fight bugs really well. In between dashes to the toilet, I lay in bed shivering and aching despite my electric blanket being powered up again.

 

I eventually went back to sleep only to have bad, disturbing dreams. In the morning I was totally wiped out and still in bed when Mitchell called out from downstairs about a uniform problem. With Peter in the shower I decided to get up and help Mitchell. But I was very lightheaded and at the top of the stairs I must have momentarily blacked out because the next thing I remember is falling down (on my arse thank goodness) and trying to stop myself along the way. OMG it was SO scary but I was SO lucky to not fall face first. You could say it was a pretty bad start to the day.

 

So there's not much else to do but stay in bed until you cant lie there any more and then take up residence on the sofa with the crosswords and daytime TV. I felt pretty crappy all day. No training and I ate very little of course.

 

What I forgot to blog yesterday was that I managed 2 training sessions. I did an early morning run of about 30 minutes and then later in the morning I trained legs. After a week and a half off, the training was quite tough but I pushed through it. So not only was I dealing with this tummy bug but I have DOMS in my glutes. I guess that answers my question about whether my static lunges are effective.

 

Off to bed for an early night as I'm still not feeling great. Fingers crossed tomorrow is a better day.

 

M

FIBROBER DAY 3 (YESTERDAY WAS ACTUALLY DAY 2)

Today I managed 31.5 grams but am getting fed up with tracking. It makes me feel all anal (oops another pun - SORRY - LOL) and obsessive about food, which I hate. I prefer to follow my instincts which I'm learning to trust more and more. However the 'fibre education' probably needs to continue for a while until I get the hang of what is enough.

 

My friend Miss K suggested a green smoothie every morning so I'm psyching myself up to give it a go. I only have a blender (no juicer) so it'll be interesting to see how smooth, or not it turns out. Oh and I went back to meat for dinner but added a big serve of higher fibre veges. The numbers stacked up and at the end of the meal I felt extremely satisfied :-)

 

On the home front all is well again although there was another day at home for recuperating. At least I wasnt up to my armpits in puke and washing. I did make a serious dent in my ironing basket though leaving only about a week's worth for my mum to tackle tomorrow. I have the BEST mum in the world. She's also washing the blanket that copped the lion's share of Monday night's puke. What would I do without her??

 

M

 



FIBROBER - DAY ONE

Phew. I sure dont need another day like today.

 

My boy was up with the vomits overnight. This meant a big chunk of lost sleep on top of the inevitable clean up. After finally getting back to sleep at a very early morning hour (about 4.30am) I was woken at 7.30 for round 3 :-( I think I've washed just about every hand towel, some bath towels, his quilt cover and PJs in what felt like an endless round of laundering bliss (NOT!!). As I've juggled all this plus a trip to the shops for chicken stock (because chicken soup cures everything), my own meals timed around the vomiting episodes, a bit of ironing, work emails, a much needed afternoon nap and the obligatory checking of FB, the thing that didnt happen today was my leg training. Such is life but I thought it more important to be on hand if required as my studio is at the back of our yard.

 

As far as food goes, today turned into an 'accidental vego day'. Brekky was my signature porridge (sultanas, bran, oats, egg whites and LSA) eaten way later than planned due to the above. If I'm home at lunch time I like to make something fresh and save the 'planned leftovers' to take for a work lunch. So today I whipped up a vege omelette with a couple of eggs, a little low fat mozzarella and onion, zucchini, mushroom and spinach leaves. Then I devoured a large brown pear which is the king of high fibre fruits. I had defrosted what I thought was a kangaroo fillet to stir fry with Gourmet Garden Moroccan Seasoning and veges for dinner but looking closely at and smelling the fillet, I realised it was actually a bit of steak which I decided to donate to Peter's cause. So at the last minute I changed course in my dinner prep and added to my stir fried veges 1/2 can of drained chick peas and 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice. This change boosted my fibre grams from 29.8 (yes I'm logging on Calorie King) to 35!!! My serve of chick peas alone had 9.4 grams of healthful fibre.

 

It wasnt hard to keep calories in check today but I did notice that my protein intake was lower than usual and carbs were higher (duh, of course!!). The other thing that I noticed was that although my dinner serve was large in quantity (close to a pasta bowl full of food) it didnt really fill me up. I could easily have eaten as much again. I guess thats the difference between the filling power of protein (think meat, eggs etc) vs foods that pretend to be both but are higher in carbs (think chick peas).

 

BTW yesterday I managed to have 35 grams as well and I learnt that a Slim Secrets Rev-Up bar has 4.8 grams of fibre. Who'd have thought??!! At this early stage of my experiment I'm still using a fibre supplement when needed but hoping that it becomes unneccesary down the track. It just shits me (LOL sorry about the pun) when it doesnt work :-(

 

M

MY NEXT MINI PROJECT - FIBROBER

Now that I'm back into my usual routine and the holiday fades into a recent and then distant memory, its time to embark on my next mini project.

 

Last month I tried going dairy free and that flopped badly. In all honesty my skin cleared up of its won accord and in my head the jury's still out as to whether dairy or soy are the greater evil. Now this is important to me as I CANNOT drink back coffee and taking away my skim cappuccino is just not on. I don't drink a lot of coffee but geez I enjoy what I have. Add to that the WPI I take after weight training and having just recently invested in a large tub made me realise that dairy free just wasn't stacking up. I lasted but a few days and then happily gave it away. Maybe another time?

 

However my next project is an important one for me. I'm on a mission to get enough fibre in my diet and my goal is to be 'naturally regular'. This is something I've struggled with just about my whole life and I still remember the one time that things seemed to work properly. Some decades ago I was having trouble with my gums and eating meat was often uncomfortable so I went vego for a while. I did a good job of it too, carefully food combining so that I was getting the right balance of nutrients. Almost daily I ate brown rice, salad or veg and legumes (mixed beans, chick peas, lentils etc). Well after a while of eating this way, lo and behold things started working properly without any intervention. Hooly dooly, I was very happily amazed. Not sure why I stopped (probably the convenience factor of friends and family having to cater differently for you) but I did and things went back to my old norm. Incidentally I remember that I managed to control my weight fairly easily as well, debunking the body building myth held by some trainers that vegetarian is NOT a good way to eat. Admittedly I wasn't weight training at all back then and yes I do know of some very lean and muscly body builders that have plant based diets so I put that last comment up with some trepidation.

 

So recently my diet has been mainly Paleo with the exception of oats or a slice of toast for breakfast. Although I drink lots of water and eat fruit and lots of vegetables, its just not cutting it for me and over the weeks my system has gotten slower and slower. I guess at the end of the day for me Paleo works a treat for dropping body fat but its just not the best thing for me over all. Thanks to Calorie King I've researched the fibre content of foods I'm likely to eat and have reintroduced Burgen rye bread and brown rice at lunch time. Add a brown pear and a medium-high fibre brekky and I should hit my daily target of at least 30g of fibre. I suspect I might need a bit more than that but its a good start. I've even considered aiming for a day or two eating vego again.

 

Needless to say, I'll be interested to see what my weight does with this change but as always I'm up for a bit of 'suck it and see'. So lets get Fibrober under way.

 

M

 

        

 

 

BACK FROM HOLIDAYS

I cant believe its been a week since I last came here to blog. I've had a wonderful mini holiday taking my boy to Port Lincoln where a dear friend now lives. We had a short holiday with her family while Peter stayed at home and held the fort at work.

 

You may recall from my last post that my diet and training had gone a little wonky due to a change in routine and me feeling quite tired from lots of running and leg training. My last post was like my recommitment to my longer term goals of getting into awesome shape for my 50th birthday next year. However holiday time is not the best time to aim for significant inroads into such a goal so I pretty much decided to go with the flow for a few days and then get stuck back in on my return.

 

Honestly, the break was fantastic. I ate fruit toast with butter for breakfast. I drank wine and/or champagne every day. There was a hot chip - or 10 - devoured with lunch or as an afternoon snack and the piece de resistance was lunch on the drive home. Mitchell and I stopped at a country bakery and I had a cornish pasty with sauce AND an apple crumble cake. OMG - the perfect fusion of white flour, trans fats and sugar galore. My taste buds were jumping for joy for 10 minutes and then I realised that it wasnt actually THAT great and I knew deep down that I didnt want to keep eating that crap. Sometimes you have to take a step back to propel yourself further forward and thats exactly what Friday felt like for me. Nice indulgence but dont want to keep it up.

 

After doing weight training for three days straight before I went away I took the rest of the week off except for a leisurely walk on Thursday morning. My lower back and right hip are a bit sore since I'm back into training now at home but I'm hoping to keep it under control through stretching, healthy eating and a positive mindset. This worked before and there's no reason it cant work again.

 

I havent checked in with the MM and if there is a bigger number than last time, then so be it. I know that what I'm doing now will have the numbers heading in the right direction in no time at all. I just need to keep my eye on the bigger picture and keep taking one step at a time towards my goals.

 

:-) M

 

 

 

 

REGROUPING

Tonight's blog is dedicated to the post-August 2012 Magda. The Magda that turned a corner and committed to take action to become the woman she wanted to be - physically and emotionally and with a completely different mindset to before. Tonight's blog is to reaffirm my goals and look at better ways to achieve them. My journey continues but I must regroup and reaffirm what I want.

 

I've had my first major challenge and its thrown me off track. My MIL is staying with us and the socialising has ramped up and so has my drinking of wine. On Thursday I threw together a lunch thinking 'that'll be ok, its got veges and protein" but it was a dreadful combination that left me craving something - anything - tasty. And I gave in to my craving then followed it up with WAY too much drinking on a school night. That pattern has been maintained for the last 4 days. Eating too much. Making poor food choices and having way more wine than I'd normally have.

 

On Friday morning I blew off my training as it was a drizzly morning and that was all I needed as an excuse to not go out to run. I find that eating poorly really makes it harder to get in the right frame of mind for training. Its almost like good eating, early bed times and training go hand in hand. For me, if I nail the eating and early bed times then the training is so much easier. 

 

But on Saturday I decided to get back to it and smashed out an awesome back - chest - core workout increasing my weights on ALL of my exercises and taking my plank holds to 1:15 each (up from just 1 minute). One thing is for sure: more calories = more strength!! I followed it up with legs today and am now static lunging with 10kg+ dumbbells which are VERY heavy for me. Shame my eating wasnt great today though.

 

But the past is gone and tomorrow is a brand new month so now its time to regroup and move forward. I'll be away for most of the coming week so my diet will not be very tight but I can commit to:

 

1. Not over-eating

2. Making the best food choices possible

3. Getting a good day under my belt tomorrow before I go.

 

When I return I'm trying something a little different but thats a whole blog post in itself. I know I can do this. I know I WILL do this. I just need to keep my longer term goals in sight and amend my plans for getting there.

 

Cheers all

 

M

TIRED, TIRED, TIRED

 

The start of every week is pretty tough. On Sundays I do an hour + run/walk with my run time now at 45 minutes. I back this up on Mondays with a 40 minute run, leg weights on Tuesday and then another 40 minute run on Wednesday. By the time I've done all that my legs are feeling pretty tired. There is some relief for them as I do upper body weights on Thursday and Saturday so they only have to perform one more 40 minute run on Friday.

 

But today the tiredness set in early. I had been pretty desk-bound which is never a good thing for me. I left work at 5pm and my physical tiredness was crushing me. I could hardly walk to my car park with my legs feeling so heavy and with no energy. Perhaps that rest break next week is a bit overdue.

 

Otherwise I'm ok. My upper body seems to have adjusted to my training and there is no more DOMS. That might be a message to shake things up a bit after I get back. Boohoo - I LOVE my routine :-(

 

So in a few more days I'll be on a mini holiday from work and training. I think it'll be a nice and welcome break that hopefully recharges me in readiness to ramp things up on my return.

 

:-) M 

PROGRESS CHECK

This weekend marked a bit of a progress check in my journey to getting leaner and fitter. I don't often check formally other than seeing the scale numbers come down but I broke with tradition and did a few tests and checks.

Firstly measurements were taken and seeing some numbers still in the 90s I thought that my progress had been slow to minimal. Until I compared to 4 weeks ago and saw 5cm losses at both chest and waist. Nice!! I'll take that thanks. Legs are coming down too (as are other areas) just not as fast which is typical.

Then I did a handful of fitness tests starting with a 1km running time trial. 4 weeks ago my time was 6:32 and that was my running pace. This time it was 5:47 and I was STOKED. Mind you, I felt it as i just don't ever run that fast but it was good knowing I had it in me. Then it was push-up testing time and I managed 6 (weak) push ups from my toes followed by 24 from my knees in 1 minute. My previous result was 2 from the toes and 23 from the knees so again a nice improvement. My wall sit (testing leg strength) was 1:07 up 5 seconds from before. Not surprised at only a small improvement as I'm finding my legs are generally tired from 4 runs + 1 leg weights session every week. Even my flexibility (sit and reach) had improved. 

I'm really happy with these results. Often when I'm training I just don't feel any improvements then and there. Every run - bar the odd one every once in a blue moon - is hard. Every weights session is hard and its just about impossible to increase my weights without sacrificing form so I always feel like I'm just doing the same session over and over. That lack of faith in what I'm doing has been somewhat relieved by these results and its really lifted my spirits.

Mind you at 5am this morning my spirits weren't very high but it was a running day and a clear case of JFDI. So up I got, dressed, warm lemon drink, gear up and go. If you view the whole training thing as not negotiable (like brushing your teeth) - unless you're injured and on a temporary break - then its a case of just getting it done. Take the emotion out of it, ditch the excuses and get the job done. I think this mindset has finally sunk in and become my norm, more so than it was a few months ago when I'd blow it off or worse still just go for a walk because that was better than nothing. Well in all honesty it was just wasting my time and not helping to achieve the goals I've set for myself.

I'm due to meet with the MM in a couple of days and I'm not feeling like the number has dropped but with all these other things going right, I might just be ok with it. We'll see.

Cheers all

M