THE SHAPE OF MY DAY

Today has been all about .......

And crunching numbers in the most efficient way ......

And a sneak peek at my workspace surrounds.....

I slogged out 4 1/2 hours of study today and am happy with my grasp of today's topic.

Today I also managed:

a trip to the dry cleaners
grocery shopping
morning tea with my dad, MIL, Peter and Mitchell
getting a chicken, chick pea and cashew slow cooked curry on the go
ice skating taxi service, support crew and cheer squad
lunch with the above sans dad who'd gone home by then
a quick trot around the corner for a nice coffee before hitting the books (there mighht have been a piece of cake as well)
study, study, study
beer o'clock
start housework
dinner
study, study, study
reading with my boy
study, study, study

and then finally .... Facebook and Blogging.

I'm exhausted and lucky me, I get to repeat most of that tomorrow.

Cheers all

M

NIGHT OFF FROM STUDY

Hi all,

I cant bring myself to study tonight so I thought I'd do a quick blog post instead.

Today was just crazy. I was at work at 7.30am ready to get stuck into a job that I thought would take me to lunch time to complete. As I got stuck into though, I found all these 'problems' that meant re-writing some of the documents. Taking only a short break for morning tea to celebrate a birthday and 20 or so minutes to eat my lunch, the rest of the time was spent working madly on completing these documents (we are going to market to tender for a very specific product).

I completed the documents at 2:57pm and had to leave at 3:00pm to pick my boy up from school. I raced them up to the boss for signing over the weekend and bolted out the door. The rest of the afternoon wasnt much better as I had to go back into the city to drop my mobile phone at the repairer's after accidentally dropping it in the toilet today :-( Luckliy it landed in the bowl before I had used it so I grabbed it quickly and rescued it and I'm assured that it can be fixed at a reasonable price.

Plans to shop for some nice veges to go with dinner and to organise a slow cooker chicken curry for tomorrow just fell by the wayside. I threw together a basic salad and will make the curry tomorrow after I've done the shopping. I shudder at the thought of studying all weekend but its the last one and then there's a nice break.

Eating is better now and I'm still moving on most days although the birthday and ANZAC day certainly didnt help me move towards my goals of less kilos in time for my holiday - my birthday - well for any reason actually. But I'm rolling with it as there's no point in stressing over what cant be changed (the past).

Cheers all

:-) M

BIRTHDAY PICS AND BLOGGING BREAK

Here I am with my boy who's just loving having his photo taken .... NOT. I, on the other hand will pose for endless photos given half a chance LOL

Isnt he gorgeous? Now he's a big grown up 10 year old.

We had a fantastic weekend celebrating Mitchell's birthday on both Saturday evening with family and friends and then Sunday lunch time with school friends. I was exhausted by the end of it all but I had really enjoyed it all so it was well worth it.

On the other hand, the diet has suffered somewhat and typically its been hard getting back on track especially with my MIL still here. But honestly not stressing about it as I know it'll all come good soon.

I may be absent form Blogger for a little while as I knuckle down to prepare for my accounting exam which will be next Monday afternoon-evening. The less I'm on here fluffing around the better I can get stuck into the accounting headspace so thats my commitment from tomorrow.

Adios guys and see you on the other side.

:-0 M

WEEK 1 RESULTS

Today has been a day of mixed emotions. The MM showed a drop of 1/2 kilo which I was originally disappointed in. Previously, big changes to my diet in week 1 have resulted in a GOOD drop but maybe my weight was higher than I thought (Start Day minus 1 was a big carb fest and I didnt weigh the morning after). The cms came down nicely though varying from .5 on the bust to about 3 or 3.5 on the hips. Waist and thigh were about 1.5 from memory.

After my initial pout and huff and puff that life wasnt fair, I quickly got over it and started seeing the glass as being half full instead. There is tweaking to be done but the next few days will be challenging indeed as we gear up for a social event overload for my boy's birthday. Already today hasnt been to plan with a very tempting cheese platter on offer at a work lunch function  :-(

I'm signing off now as its late and I need my beauty sleep. Its a busy weekend ahead but I'll be back when I can to share pics from the party.

:-) M

WEEK 1 OVER RED ROVER

As my title suggests, tonight marks the end of week 1 of 10 weeks where I'm focussing on fat loss through a more structured approach. Is it a diet? Some would say yes, but it depends on your definition of that word and also whether you approcah it as a short-term fix (you know, this is what I have to do now but I cant wait for it to be over) vs a shift to a lifestyle that is more in tune with healthy foods, moderation of treats and regular exercise. I dont have problems with the healthy foods or exercise but keeping my treats in moderation has been my downfall in the past. I'm now being a lot more aware of how much I have and when it looks to be getting excessive its stopped.

Interestingly, day 7 has been a hungry, hungry hippo day and I've eaten a lot more than usual but kept it all fairly lean, clean and healthy. I couldnt have survived on less with a busy schedule of work then uni with a trial exam question being done in tonight's lecture. For my brain to work optimally, it needs to be well fed and watered so I was just ticking those boxes.

Exercise has been consistent over the week including 1 Bikram yoga session, 1 upper body weights and 5 walks. Tomorrow is leg day to balance it all out. And tomorrow is my first meeting with the Metal Monster and Centimetre Counter to gauge my progress. Irrespective of what the numbers say, I'm feeling lighter and mentally in a much better space and thats what really matters. I'll post my results regardless so make sure you come back for that rivetting news LOL.

Good night all

M

BIRTHDAY WISHES

This was taken at Christmas last year.

My own little Captain Jack Sparrow (complete with fur lined crocs LOL)

I cant resist the 'lets be totally silly' photo taken in october last year.

Official birthday pics will be taken and posted on the weekend.

HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY MY BEAUTIFUL BOY.

DAY 5 OF 70

There is nothing more disappointing than an impromptu treat that turns out to be crap.

Yesterday's plans were thrown into disarray when I realised that a planned trip to the movies would require a 30+ minute drive as opposed to a 5 minute walk. The realisation was made just as I was about to organise my lunch so lunch got abandoned, I grabbed some fruit and  almonds and we headed off.

After the movie and lunch of a pear and some almonds we went for a coffee and the usual cake but it was an unfamiliar cafe. Their coffee was good but in an effort to keep my 'cake' moderate but still enjoy something as I'd had no real lunch, I chose a fruit scone. I dont know how stale it was but it was served microwaved with butter on the side. Bleeeeeuuh. It was awful. Stodgy, doughy and tasteless :-( I ate about half and left the rest disappointed. Never again. I should have stuck to my guns, gone to familiar cafe and had some almond bread which is always a safe bet.

Otherwise its now day 5 and I'm cruising nicely just being aware of balancing treats including wine and less clean foods and watching portion sizes all around. Thats not to say that this week wont be challenging with my son's birthday today and a lot of social activity coming up from Thursday. Balance. Moderation. Exercise. Should see me survive it all ok.

M

SATURDAY CHALLENGE

Today was a pretty typical Saturday for me. I did an hour long walk at a cracking pace in what was glorious weather. You couldnt get the day off to a better start :-) Breakfast was poached eggs on a wholemeal muffin which keeps me going to a late lunch. I took my boy to his ice skating lesson and watched and waited with nerves on edge as he was assessed to pass this level. He made it but only thanks to the exemplary patience of his instructor who kept working with him until he could nail the final move. I was so relieved as it breaks my heart to see him disappointed and in tears.

One of my challenges now is to find a suitable lunch option for Saturdays when I'm out and about. I like to go to my favourite cafe because they have some healthy options that I can have with a goji berry flavoured green tea but often the cafe is chocka block full and I have to go elsewhere. My second favourite cafe is not as good with healthy options but today I settled for a chicken breast and salad wrap. The chicken was good, the salad was scant (I'm talking a lettuce leaf and 4-5 small strips of roasted capsicum :-( and I ate half the bread wrap and left the rest. It was a meal I wouldnt look forward to again.

I'm still wearing my fat nanna jeans which are cheap and look it but hopefully it wont be long before my nice Mavis fit again. They were an excellent purchase as they have a bit of elastic in the denim and are therefore forgiving when a few kilos creep on. My skinny jeans are but a pipedream at the moment but wont be forever.

So cruising along nicely so far and already feeling better for it :-)

Good night all

M

FRIDAY 13TH: ARE YOU FEELING LUCKY PUNK?

Well actually I am :-)

Friday evening (and in fact Saturday and Sunday evenings too) has become a bit of a downfall for me lately. The wine gets opened, the nibbles go out and all sense of moderation and being disciplined goes out the window as I enjoy, to excess, the lovely goodies on offer. I USED TO limit myself to a few chilli garlic olives and peanuts in their shells but lately its become a bit of a free for all overindulgence which is then followed by dinner.

I know this has to change if I want to get my weight back down so tonight I set a mental limit to the both the wine and the nibbles I'd have. I dont want to cut them out, but I need to be smarter about both. And I stuck to my limit and the earth didnt stop turning, nor was the mood of the evening totally destroyed and life stayed good for all those affected (namely ME LOL). And as a Friday night first in our household we LEFT SOME WINE IN THE BOTTLE for tomorrow night - GASP!!!!

I know its very early days and all these changes have to become permanent habits but at least I've taken some positive steps in the right direction and I'm no longer kidding myself that what I was doing before was all ok and I'd miraculously lose 3, 4, 5 or more kilos just like that.

We have a quiet, relaxing weekend at home coming up. I'll do the usual Saturday routine of exercise/ice skating lesson/shopping etc and some study on Sunday but the evenings are free to kick back and chill out. PERFECT!!

M

CONFESSION: DRIVEN BY VANITY

Today started with a check of measurements but no meeting with the MM (no need after yesterday's encounter). Then it was out the door for a decent early morning walk. 55 minutes later (and with arms and hands still cold despite wearing a long sleeved warm hoodie) today's exercise was done and dusted :-) Its still my favourite way to start the day and only a year or so ago I was dreading giving up running and having to walk instead.

After two extra days off following Easter, today I was back at work and really busy. My meals were pretty much planned out with lunch packed for the day. One thing I have learnt is that as long as my meals are tasty and varied I dont feel like I'm on a diet. I also need the flexibility to choose what I want to eat so that I'm in control and the diet doesnt control me. Having said that, right now I need reminding about what is a reasonable amount of food because one of my pitfalls was sitting down with Peter for a glass or two of wine and accompanying nibbles several times a week. All too often the food consumed then was certainly NOT helping me to maintain let alone lose any weight. Slowly I'll rebuild my awareness of what works and what doesnt so that I can continue to enjoy this habit and not be a wet blanket by cutting it out all together.

I know that to be successful this time I need to maintain a positive headset, keeping in mind why I'm doing this and the benefits I'll get from it. I could bang on about being healthier and such but the truth is I AM healthy. I want to look better and feel better about myself. You could say I'm driven by vanity and I wouldnt argue. In fact, I'm planning to treat myself to a wardrobe styling assessment/makeover when I get to my goal weight and if thats not incentive to do this, then nothing is.

:-) M

DESTINATION: HAPPY WEIGHT

There comes a time in everyone's life when you wake up, smell the coffee and realise that you've been kidding yourself and your 'plan' just aint working. That day was yesterday and today just went on to further confirm it.

Its not about meeting with the Metal Monster and being greeted by a number that starts with a 7. Its not about telling yourself that 'one more hot cross bun/piece of toast or cake with coffee doesnt really make a difference.' Its not about being 'good' all week so you can be 'bad' on the weekend. Its not about kidding yourself that the weight will miraculously disappear because you 'eat mindfully - some of the time.'

Its all of those and more that come together and result in bad habits and poor choices dominating your (my!) eating habits. Since about November last year its been one struggle after another and overall no progress to getting back to my 'happy weight.' I'm sick of it. I'm sick of going to my wardrobe and picking through the few things that fit me now. I'm sick of the on again/off again mentality that's become my norm. I'm sick of the fact that I'm living a self destructive Groundhog Day  instead of being somebody who knows what has to be done and just gets on with it.

So today I made a decision to suck it up and do what I need to do to get to my 'happy weight.' Its about a plan. Its about action. Its about accountability and sticking with it for 10 weeks leading up to our holiday. Yep its 70 days and counting from tomorrow and my goal is 7 kilos. I know I'm going to have to work damned hard for it but its important to me. I truly believe that looking good at 50 (or thereabouts - I'm not quite there yet) doesnt just happen without there being some consistent good habits, discipline and hard work required to get there. And this is where I've been kidding myself for the last 5 or so months.

Some of you might *yawn* and lose interest in my fitness and weight loss focus over the coming weeks - so be it - but I need to write about my journey - ups and downs - no holds barred as is my style. Let the fun begin :-) :-)

M

YOU WIN SOME, YOU LOSE SOME

Have you ever had one of those days when you feel like you suck at being a parent, you regret not starting some important project planning earlier and your plan for healthier eating falls in a heap due to the unexpected. Today I managed to tick every one of those boxes and subsequently ended up feeling pretty down and crappy :-(

The parenting stuff is not unique to me. The challenges I'm facing are pretty common to boys at age 9 and 10 but still that gives me little comfort. The project planning was delayed while our team worked through a couple of other major challenges that took up people's time. Regardless, now we're on a stupidly tight timeline that puts unnecessary pressure on the team and that doesnt rest easy with me.

As for the plan to get back to healthier eating let me just say, it ran into problems when the day turned into one of being out all day and having to rely on a cafe lunch, well after the normal lunch time. The other thing I'm finding is that its really hard to cut off the processed carbs. After eating too many over Easter, they've almost become an addiction and I'm craving them more and more. Not surprisingly, the more of them I eat the worse I feel yet I still want more and more. Drug (??) addiction anyone??? Or I'll rephrase that ... "white flour and sugar addiction anyone?"

So to put the final nail in today's coffin I also missed doing any exercise due to a family sleep-in (nobody got up early today) and an early podiatrist appointment for my boy. I guess in the scheme of "you win some, you lose some" today would have to go down as a "lost some." I still have tomorrow off work and I'm making no big claims or promises but Thursday (back at work) will be 10 weeks to holidays and time to get my shit together ... NO EXCUSES.

M

THE HOT CROSS BUN AND 2 KILO SHUFFLE

Aaah Easter, the choc-a-holics utopia and the hot cross bun lovers downfall. I honestly dont know which is better - or worse for that matter. Personally, I'm not into chocolate (I know tha'ts hard to believe but believe me, I have my other vices) and have had a couple of Haighs mini eggs and thats it. But when it comes to the buns, oh my lord, resistance is useless.

Normally I'd be lamenting my overindulgence and planning my next diet to counteract the damage but instead I'm admitting that I love hot cross buns and I've eaten too many of them. I'm not beating myself up for it beacuse I REALLY enjoyed them but tomorrow its time to say 'ENOUGH' and get back to a healthier style of eating. My plan is to avoid the 3 things I've ODed on over Easter: sugar, white flour and butter. Not sure how long but the longer the better to balance out the Easter indulgences.

So why the 'shuffle' in my blog title? Well it really was a case of shuffling those buns (about 2-3 every day) under the griller, under the butter knife and down the hatch. As for the 2 kilos, my educated guess is that would be the increase in scale weight from the carb and fat overload. So a little balancing now wont go astray.

On the positive side, I exercised every day. I renewed my Bikram yoga membership with another 10 class pass and did a practice on Friday, Saturday and today. It was fantastic. I got up early and did the 7.45am class which meant I still had the whole day free (as opposed to going at 9.30 and kissing an entire morning good-bye). On Saturday I thought I needed to do an extra walk (because a 90 minute BY class isnt enough, you know). But my legs were so tired in the afternoon, I realised that it wasnt necessary at all to do the walk. I did walk on Sunday morning after the Easter egg hunt was over :-) I am so inspired by the yogi teachers who just look so fantastic. Today the lovely Miss Linda wore a crop top to teach the class and my, does she have an amazing torso and beautiful abs. I was in awe as she normally covers up but even then looks pretty amazing.

Tomorrow is a day off work for me and a day where healthy eating will be my number one goal. Peter reminded me that we are now 10 weeks (and a few days) from our mid-year holiday and if I dont get crackin on my (subtle) weight loss plan then all the clothes I'm planning to wear on the cruise will not fit and I'll be DEpressed. Yes its time to shut up, take action and get back on with it.

Cheers all

M

RETURN TO BIKRAM AND ACCOUNTING STRUGGLES

Oops, its almost been a week since I blogged. It must have been a busy weekend but from memory it was certainly a good one.

True to my last post, I have been focussed on quality foods in moderate portions, even enjoying feeling hungry coming up to meal times. Just in case you're wondering what the big deal is about that - trust me, grazing all day (otherwise known as mindless eating to excess) means no hunger for meals. You eat them because its time and you dont want to confess to your overeating so you eat when you're not hungry.

But thats not been the case lately and it felt fantastic to wake on Monday morning feeling lighter (literally) and not weighed down by the weekend's bad choices. It also felt great to NOT be contemplating the next plan of attack for losing the weekend's excesses and just  enjoy looking forward to whatever yummy food was planned for the day.

I took the plunge on Sunday and went back to Bikram yoga after a break of several weeks. As I fell into depression in February/March and felt more and more self conscious about how I looked, I decided to give Bikram a rest. But admittedly, I had missed it and decided now was a good time to go back as I could clock up some extra classes over Easter and my trimester break from uni. Oh my, did I feel it as I attempted some of the more difficult poses but overall I was happy with my effort. I pulled up a little sore the next day but not too bad, giving me some comfort that my muscles arent totally dormant LOL.

So, life is pretty good but I am struggling with this part of my accounting course (we're onto managment accounting now having finished the financial accounting component a few weeks ago) For some reason the concepts and philosophies just arent computing. I read reams and reams of information and 1% sinks in. I attempt the practice questions and they either take a ridiculously long time to work out or I get them totally wrong or even worse ... BOTH. I take notes at the lecture and 'get it', then a week later I look at my notes to help me tackle another question and stare at them not getting it. GRRRRRR. I've emailed my lecturer with a big SOS. I dread being the first student to score a 90% for the mid-trimester test only to fail the end of trimester exam :-(

Cheers all

M