Tuesday, 27th June 2006...
Sorry I’ve not been back to update earlier but it’s been such a busy week I just haven’t had a chance. Nothing exciting really – just day to day happenings and a 3.5yr old keeping me on my toes :)
This was how my exercise finished up for last week:
Monday – 2 x 25min walk
Wednesday – 45 min walk with hills
Saturday – 1hr family beach walk
Sunday – 1hr family walk around Marina
Not too bad considering the prior weeks of near inactivity while I was suffering with morning sickness. The walk on Sunday, although being lovely to wander around looking at all the boats with Caleb and Simon, left me absolutely exhausted! I don’t know what it was but I came home feeling like a bus had hit me! Oh the joys of pregnancy huh? *wink*
Eating has been so-so. Not great but not too bad either. I haven’t had any take away since last Tuesday's Subway so that’s a good start. Tonight is our usual take away night but as money is tight this week we’ve decided to treat ourselves to some home made nacho’s instead…Hmmm! I even found some plain corn chips with no dairy so that Caleb can enjoy his first taste of nacho’s with us :)
We have a big week ahead of us from here. Tomorrow I am spending the morning at Maze Mania with Caleb and friends (and fitting in a full skin/mole check for us both before hand and a car service afterwards!). Thursday is my – gulp! – 31st birthday. Caleb will be at day-care and Simon is taking the day off work to spoil me…what a sweetie he is! Not sure what his plans are for the morning but for lunch he is taking me to my favorite restaurant. It’s a seafood place down at the Marina with spectacular views and all you can eat of the most delish food for only $15 each! While there are seafood dishes on the lunch buffet they don’t bring out the fresh prawns and crab until the evening but as I have to be careful with what I eat now anyway that’s probably a good thing. I think I’ll just get a prawn entrée to go with the buffet to satisfy my prawn craving. Yummy! Then we are going to lounge at home with a DVD in the arvo before meeting family for a birthday dinner at another restaurant –phew! After dinner Caleb will go home with Granny while the two of us go out to the cinema together. We’ll probably see the new Adam Sandler movie “Click” unless Simon talks me into the new Superman movie he is dying to see.
Then on Friday Simon is working a half-day while I run around with Caleb getting everything organized for our weekend away. We are going with our best mate Scotty, his mom, sister and husband and their 4 kids. The children are Caleb’s best friends so he is going to have an absolute blast holidaying with them! We are all staying in the same resort at Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast and on Sunday we are doing the day trip on the old steam train which stops at various markets, picnic spots and wine/cheese tasting along the way of it’s full day journey. We won’t get home until about 7pm Sunday night so it’s going to be a big weekend!
When we planned it we had envisaged a big party weekend but due to my current condition plans had to be revised somewhat…. hehehe. But the sister (my friend Bec) is about 7 months pregnant with baby #5 so I’m in good company :)
The only down point is the wine tasting on the train journey. I’ve always wanted to get into drinking wine but said I really needed to go to a winery to learn what type I like. Here I am with my first chance to do so – and I can’t drink! Aargh! Probably just as well though as I suffer from travel sickness so drinking and trains probably wouldn’t go well together for me *wink*
So I expect I may not get a chance to update here again until next week. Most likely when Caleb is at day-care next Tuesday and I have some peace and quiet. Until then I hope you all have a lovely weekend and think of me on Thursday – it’s bound to be my most sober birthday in years!!!!!! HeheheHahaha
TFTD: “When you set a timetable you turn your intentions into a commitment!”
Cheers P
Friday, 23rd June 2006...
“You know you want me. You want to hold me. You want to have me for yourself
and indulge in my exotic West African and Ecuadorian cocoa ways.
I am yours. Don’t fight it. Resistance is futile. Surrender to your senses”
Hehehehe. That’s what the back of the box of the most delish, low fat chocolate hit I have ever found says! :) Bet a few of you were like “WOAH, I stumbled onto the wrong site here!”…hehehe
I am reading the packet of the new Nestle Double Blend Hot Chocolate drink. Mmmm! It’s 99% fat free (320kj and 0.7g fat - works out to only 1pt per creamy mug on the WW plan) and is absolutely DIVINE! It says it’s and ‘exotically indulgent hot chocolate made with two of the world’s finest West African and Ecuadorian Cocoas’ – and after trying it for the first time last night I’d have to agree!
It comes in a box of 10 sachets for about $5 so only about 50c a cup. Each sachet makes a sweat, creamy, frothy drink without any milk added and it even includes a little shaker of chocolate to sprinkle on top of each mug. I can highly recommend this for all you chocolate addicts out there. I was totally craving chocolate last night but had two cups of this instead and honestly could not have eaten chocolate after that if I had of been offered it.
Yummo!
Oh and just a quick mention re my article in WW magazine. They were featuring this site in an article on weight loss blogging that was to be in the current issue. However for whatever reasons it has been held over until next issue. So stay tuned on that one.
My goal for the coming week? Only to weigh myself on Monday and Thursday. Only time will tell how I go with that but I will post Thursdays result for you all then. :)
Have a fantastic weekend everyone!
TFTD: “You must live the life you teach!”
Cheers P
Thursday, 22nd June 2006...
Ok…now as I missed Tuesday’s tracker I wanted to start with yesterday’s tracker first thing today so I don’t run out of time.
Breakfast: 2 grain toast (no marg), 1-cup tin spaghetti, water
M’tea: 4 gherkins/pickles, yoghurt
Lunch: 2 toasted grain sandwiches (no butter) with low fat cheese, baked beans,
tomato and onion, Water
A’tea: Rice crackers and fresh watermelon, water
**(45min brisk walk with Caleb, Simon and the puppy dog)**
Tea: Fat free ‘fried’ rice (Basmati rice with added capsicum, peas, corn,
mushroom, onion, egg and WW bacon), Kantong chicken breast, and water
Snack: 1-cup tin tomato soup
Totals: ? Points
45min walk
1.5L water
And that brings us to today - Weigh in day has arrived!
After a day off the scales yesterday I wasn’t too sure what to expect today? I must say I was feeling ok about the result though.
Today those dreaded numbers read 95.9kg – a gain of 2kg in 10wks of pregnancy. Now it’s hardly ideal I know…but I’ll let you in on a shameful secret…Sunday they said...
98kg! Yikes!! After a good day on Monday they dropped straight down to 96kg though so I know most of it was water retention etc. Still it was making me feel very depressed to be so close to the dreaded 100kg again but now, back in the mid 90’s, I’m feeling good!
So my goal remains at 94kg by next Thursday. That may not happen I know. It’s not like the old days when I can work out to excess and drastically cut back on food if I need to. I can only do this in a healthy way for bub and if bub does not want to let go of that next 2kg then so be it. If worse comes to worse I’ll be very happy with a maintain :)
TFTD: “Success is a team effort!”
Cheers P
Wednesday, 21st June 2006...
Ok…got to make this a super quick entry today as time has got away from me somewhat. It is almost time to read stories before Caleb’s naptime so I thought I’d dash out a quick entry while he finished watching the end of the Dumbo cartoon he is engrossed in.
How did I go yesterday?
Well not great!
Half and half really :)
A negative was that I ended up having take away for tea. We got tied up with some business matters until almost 6.30pm and as Caleb’s bedtime is usually 7pm I rushed out to grab something at the last minute.
A positive was that I made a healthy choice. I had my usual Subway sandwich from their 10grams of fat or less range even though the boys had McDonalds.
A negative was that I did not get any exercise done despite my plans. The unexpected business work into the evening saw the walk never happen.
A positive however was that I did manage not to weigh today!! Hoorah! Can’t remember the last day I did not weigh so it’s all good I figure :)
Today I have got right back on track, eating well, drinking loads of water, and I do hope to walk this afternoon so long as the weather holds out. It’s been drizzling off and on all day so if it is raining I’ll either have to brave it anyway or find something to do inside the house.
Overall however I’m feeling positive about the changes I’ve made this week already and I know that tomorrow’s weigh in, although scary, will be no where near as bad as it would have been had I of not pulled myself back into line in time.
Stay tuned for the results….
TFTD: “Attitude is everything!”
Cheers P
Tuesday, 20th June 2006...
Well here it is…day 2 of my renewed effort and already I have cheated.
But not in a food or exercise way…hehehe…I weighed myself this morning!
Honestly if there was a support group for such a thing I’d be attending meetings every day, standing up and declaring “my name is Paulene, and I am a daily weigher!”
*wink* I just can’t help it! It’s an insane compulsion to weigh the minute I get up. Especially after yesterday was the first perfect day I’ve had in at least a month since discovering I was pregnant…the urge to check the progress was stronger then ever. And boy was I rewarded!!! Still quite a bit from my 94kg goal but well over half way there.
Yesterday went like this:
Breakfast: 2 grain toast (no marg), 1 cup tin spaghetti, 1 glass water
(25min walk while Caleb rode his bike on Esplanade)
M’tea: 1 cup tin tomato soup
Lunch: 2 grain bread (no marg), 2 slices l/f cheese, 100g chicken breast, 130g
baked Beans – Grilled. 750ml Water
A’tea: 1 cup tin tomato soup, 1 glass water
(25min brisk walk)
Tea: Chicken breast chasseur (tomato based recipe mix with tomato paste, onion
and mushroom), mashed potato, fresh corn on the cob, steamed carrot,
beans, broccoli, 750ml water
Snack: 1 beef and vegetable cup’o’soup. 1 pkt WW nibbles
Totals: 24points
2 x 25min walks
2L water
Hoorah! A great day. Hoorah! There is nothing like sticking to a plan and being rewarded for your efforts to lift the spirits :)
Simon and I had planned a family walk yesterday afternoon so I considered the walk with Caleb in the morning a bonus. But then Simon got home late from work, it began to spit with rain and he still had to go back out to the post office before we could walk. It was getting closer to teatime and I knew that if I was to do it I’d have to do it straight away or it would never happen. So without even waiting for him to return I headed out myself – determined to stick to my plan and achieve my goals.
I did quite like splitting the walks into two parts too, as two half hour walks really are easier to fit in then a 1hr walk and I found I was less likely to put it off?
Tomorrow I will try my best not to weigh myself – but I can’t make any promises :)
This morning I went out to the supermarket and bought myself a brand new non-stick fry pan. My last one had pretty much lost its non-stick ability and I was fed up with it. Tonight I will use the new pan to cook some ‘fried’ rice – no added fat, just basmati rice, egg, onion, carrot, capsicum, peas and a slice of diced leg ham. Then I’m going to serve that with Kantong sweat and sour chicken and some steamed brocoli…. Mmmm!
I am continuing to track today…and while I am not overly concerned with points value (although fluked a perfect amount yesterday), I really just want to be more aware of and more accountable for what I eat. No mindless snacking and drinking sugary rubbish.
I’ll get another walk in this afternoon and I also plan to do some toning exercises throughout the day today such as dips, squats, push-ups and lunges.
Thank you all again for your support in the last week. I was really eating myself into a rut and the vicious cycle had begun – the more I ate the worse I felt, the worse I felt the more I ate etc. But being back on here is the best thing for me and I intend to now stay here right throughout the pregnancy. Doing the best I can and being forever grateful for you support along the way. *hugs*
Ps how true is the thought for today huh?
TFTD: “The sooner you exert the discipline, the sooner you will be enjoying the results!”
Cheers P
Monday, 19th June 2006...
This entry I thought it appropriate to start with a positive thought for the day seeing as it seemed so apt…
“This week let’s do something remarkable!”
Here here for that!
I have had enough of the scales climbing every day. I have had enough of wallowing in self-pity. I have had enough of eating crap and feeling physically and emotionally shit-house afterwards. I have had enough of seeing my hard fought for progress slip away each day. I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF FAILING!
It’s time I turned this around and only I can do this!
Here’s the plan:
1)I will stay off the scales until Thursday (my 10wk pregnancy mark)
2)On Thursday I will post the result here – whatever it may be!
3)I will post my food tracker here every day until then. I may not point it as
such but I will be accountable for what I eat.
4)I will have no take away in the next 4 days
5)I will drink a minimum of 2L of water each day
6)I will exercise every day
7)I will stay positive, focused and dedicated to my goal.
My goal? My goal is to be at 94kg again by my birthday next Thursday. I began this pregnancy at 93.9kg on my home scales so that’s my goal for now. To get back there, then maintain it for as long as I can before the baby weight gain begins in earnest.
I know I can do this! Thursday is only a few days away – a deliberate attempt on my part to keep this plan achievable and sustainable. Come Thursday I’ll re-evaluate and set new goals for the following week.
I know I am going to gain weight while I am pregnant. I am not going to risk doing harm to my baby in order to avoid this. I just know that I don’t need to gain unnecessary weight as I have been and only I have the power to do something about this.
Starting RIGHT HERE- RIGHT NOW!
TFTD: “Add a little to a little and soon it will become great!”
Cheers P
Saturday, 17th June 2006...
Note to self: Stay out of clothing store change rooms for at least the next 7 months!
This morning I was in Target and thought I’d try on some shirts…. some maternity (for future wear) some normal. It was HORRIBLE!
I left there with nothing and not knowing if I wanted to cry or scream :(
The normal ones looked terrible…and in the maternity ones I already looked 7 months pregnant – with an extra lower fat roll thrown in for good measure!
Ugh!
Lately I have just felt so horrible about my body image that it makes me depressed on a daily basis. I guess that’s part of why I wanted to stop this journal in the first place. Coming here just reminded me of all the progress I was losing and all the progress I would no longer make for the remainder of the year.
For the first time in about a decade I was finally beginning to feel ok about myself. To feel that I could wear clothes to accentuate my good points and not just to hide behind. I’ve been steadily getting rid of all my fat clothes as I went along…and now I’m left with nothing to wear and in no-man’s land of figures. I’m too fat to fit my skinny size 16 clothes without the dreaded muffin top effect…. and I’m not yet pregnant enough to look like I am…. I’m just plain fat. F-A-T fat!
I have steadily packed on the kilo’s in the last month and today I stood on the scales and knew enough was enough! I am too ashamed to tell you here what the numbers said…but I’ll commit to telling you soon. For now I just want to forget I ever saw what I saw :(
Every day for the last month I’ve been saying to myself “ok…enough of the crap eating…get back on track or you’ll be back to your old fat self in no time” “This baby is no excuse to eat bad or stop exercising”…yet that’s just what I’ve been doing.
Now ok… the sickness has held back my exercise of late. However I am now fairly confident that it’s behind me. I’ve been pretty good all week…and in fact the only time I now do feel crappy is when I eat/drink too much sugar (ummm wonder what my body is trying to tell me there?). This week I have done a 30min pram walk on Monday, a 30min beach stroll with Caleb on Thursday (no where near fast enough for exercise purposes)…but this morning I jumped out of bed and headed off for a 50min walk. The best effort I’ve done in weeks. So I guess the week is not a total loss? 3 walks so far and I’d like to do another 50min one tomorrow – then I guess I’d feel ok about this week. I then plan to keep up with the walking…not only for my figure but for the upcoming labour as well. I figure at least that may help to combat the odd nibble on something I shouldn’t at least? At the very least it can’t do any harm.
The eating side of things? Well…. I could fix a million things with that. I’ve been having too much take-away again. Not for evening meals as we still only do that one night a week – but I am finding myself buying something for lunch probably 3 times a week – and that something is never good! I’ve stopped tracking entirely and I pretty much eat what I want. Breakfast is good each day, and tea is also meat and veg based…. it’s just the lunch and mid-morning and mid-afternoon grazing I have to rein in again. And the drinking…I so miss my diet coke! I’m so over juice and water and I’ve found myself straying back to Coke again this last week or two? I must make water my friend!
God does it ever get easier? Will I ever get to a point where eating good and exercising is just natural, just something I prefer instead of something I make myself do?
I’m sorry this entry is so negative. But honestly that’s all I feel right now. I feel like I have already undone months of hard work and that try as I might I’ll never be able to undo it all before I begin gaining baby weight in earnest. :( Those scales may still be in the 90s but I feel like 120kg all over again :(
TFTM: “Get back to basics and make excellence the result!”
Cheers P
Friday, 16th June 2006...
Ok, ok *blush* Back by popular demand *wink*
Hehehe
So many of you have said you want this to continue, weight loss focus or not, that what can I do but bow to the pressure? (kidding!)
After all, I do miss updating myself. I guess I just figured no one would want to read about me raving on here when it didn’t have any weight loss focus or progress? However now I figure…to hell with it! It’s my journal and I’ll write whatever I feel like. If people get bored they can always go elsewhere for now and come back next Feb if they want…. or not?
I can’t promise I’ll have much of interest to say but I’ll give it my best :)
So tonight I really must tell you all about my crockpot (aka slow cooker) bliss!
As you all know I love, love, love the convenience and yummy house smell factor of using my crockpot. In my entry below from June 6th I spoke of my elation at finally finding a recipe book devoted to crock-pots. You can see/buy the book herefor yourself if you are interested?
Well I finally received it and since then have done two new dishes already. The first was a meatloaf. Haven’t cooked one of them in years and although it was yummy Simon was not a huge fan of it. We both decided it was something nice for a change though and something we would cook again but just not that regularly.
Tonight however I cooked a silverside/corned beef in it, which was just TO DIE FOR! It was so incredibly tender it just fell apart on your fork and it was so yummy served with cabbage and creamy mashed spud. We also served it with the carrot from the bottom of the pot…this was a bit salty from the meat but so full of flavour! I gave the sloppy onion a miss though. I think it was more for flavour then to be eaten?
The recipe was simple to follow and pretty basic:
-Cut 1 large onion into 6 wedges and lay on the bottom of the crockpot
-Spread two cloves of crushed garlic over the onion
-Cut two large carrots into think (1-2cm) slices and lay on onion and garlic
-Rinse and dry 1.5kg silverside and place on top of vege’s
-Add 4 cloves, 4 peppercorns, and 2 bay leaves
-Pour over 2 cups of hot water
-Cover and cook on low for 8hrs – Simple!!!
Take it from me it was yummy! Even Caleb hoovered it down *wink*
Speaking of Caleb we have had a great vegetable victory with him of late. I have finally found a way to get him to eat his vege's!!!!
One word...sandwiches! LOL
You see as he can't eat a lot of sides that we would (due to his dairy allergy and preferences) like pasta'n'sauce, potato bakes, straight vege's, salads etc so we often give him baked beans, cheese and or a piece of bread and butter to fill out the meal of meat etc. He loves sandwiches anyway (when I'm feeling slack some days and offer him hot chippies etc for lunch he always turns me down in favour of a cheese sandwich! soy cheese slice and soy cream cheese together...he LOVES them...hehehe). Anyway I've noticed at tea that he has started putting anything vege wise into a sandwich with marg and eating it all! He's so far had pea sandwiches, bean sandwiches, corn sandwiches, carrot sandwiches and tonight even cabbage sandwiches!!! Bloody Hell!
It's like 2 pieces of bread together cut into 4 squares so he puts a bit of veg on each sandwich and chows down. I feel like I'm on top of the world just seeing him eat vegies like that. Add that to the corn on the cob and chips he'll already eat solo and voila! A vege eater! It’s such a huge relief to us, as he has always hated mashed potato from the very first time he had it as first solids so we can’t even mash veggies into spuds to get them into him. He’ll happily eat them in soups, stews, bolognaise sauces and casseroles etc but never solo so it was often that it would be baked beans or no veg at all for him some nights. Now I’m stoked that he’ll wack it on a sandwich and away he goes :)
Ahhh small victories huh?
I can definitely vouch for the benefits of a fruit bowl also. Caleb’s always been a fairly good fruit eater anyway but since I put the fruit bowl back on the table he’s been unstoppable. I have it filled with little mandarins lately and I think the lure of peeling it himself like a big boy, as well as the fact he sees it to trigger his taste for it in the first place, and he’s eating them like there’s no tomorrow. At tea, because it is in front of him on the table he’ll often ask for a piece of fruit after his meal and tonight he even had an apple, which he would usually turn his nose up at. I cut it into wedges for him and had planned to share it until he saw me eat one piece and was like “save the rest for me please Mummy ok?”…. hehehe Ah my little fruit bat! :)
TFTM: “You cannot succeed by yourself!”
Cheers P
Next Entry here will be July 1st 2006...
In the meantime please go here for my new preganncy journal and see entry below
Monday, 12th June 2006...
Sad as it is, I think it is time for me to wind this journal down for now :(
I will greatly miss updating here and I expect I shall lose many regular readers who may forget to come find me again in the New Year after bub arrives.
However it’s not fair that so many may come regularly to find nothing new here to read.
This is what I will continue to do though:
-On the first of each month I shall do an entry here to let you all know how I am going weight wise.
-I shall also use this opportunity to update you all on any new challenge info and new challenges I may run.
-I will update my stats page each month with weigh-in details
-THE CHALLENGES WILL CONTINUE TO RUN UNCHANGED
-Anyone who is interested can still find frequent updates in the pregnancy journal on all that is happening until it is time for me to return here regularly on February 1st 2007 and jump back on the weight loss bandwagon with gusto! I expect by then bub will be a couple of weeks old and I’ll be ready to return to weight watchers and a gentle exercise program. The sooner I get started again the sooner I’ll reach my goal!
Thank you all so much for your continued support over the last 2yrs and I so hope that I will hear from you again next year. In the meantime…. see you July 1st and keep those challenge stats coming :)
Hugs to all!
TFTM: “You can do it if you believe you can!”
Cheers P
Friday, 9th June 2006...
Well after promising them for some time I have FINALLY got around to updating Caleb’s site with all the news and pictures from our day at the annual show/fair. There are some less then flattering pics of me on a camel *hehehe* but you get that :) Go here to read the story and find the link to the pics.
Not much else to say for today I’m sorry :)
TFTD: “All accomplishments come from daring to begin!”
Cheers P
Thursday, 8th June 2006...
Not really much to say for today but just wanted to pop in and say hi…”Hi”…hehehe
Well the walking thing did not happen this morning as I had hoped! A certain little 3yr old that shall remain nameless put a definite end to that plan when he kept me awake for all but about 4hrs last night!
I don’t know what was going on but he was up and down out of bed, playing with things in the lounge room etc. And in my case when I do wake at night I find it very difficult to get back to sleep! I was awake until 10pm…then up from 11.30pm-12.30am…. then awake again from 3.00am-5.00am then dozed until the wee Angel decided he was up for the day at 6.00am. Ugh! Something tells me it’s going to be a very long day until his after lunch nap.
I am going to make a concerted effort to rain in the eating side of things today. Something I failed miserably at yesterday :( It’s horrible how fast one can fall into the trap of eating junk when not actually ‘dieting’. I am ever mindful of my 6kg weight loss goal so it’s time to do something about it! Before it’s too late!
I hope to have something good to report tomorrow.
After all I’ve done it for over a year now…surely I can do one good day again???
TFTD: “Don’t procrastinate. Do what needs doing when it needs to be done!”
Cheers P
Tuesday, 6th June 2006 (666)...
Oooh 666 on the dates today…. Freaky!! :)
I have just done a huge update in my pregnancy journal all about my first meeting with the Obstetrician last night and what it all revealed etc so I won’t repeat myself again here. Pop over there using the link above if you want to have a read for yourself.
What I did want to mention here though was the weight aspect of the conversation, which I did not want to go into too much detail about in that site (different audiences read the different websites and I don’t feel the need to tell EVERYBODY what I weigh…hehehe)
Now let me first break this down a bit. My last official WW weigh in was 90.9kg. The morning that I discovered I was pregnant I weighed 93.9kg on my home scales which would be 93.5 on WW (yes I was facing a BIG gain that week…hehehe). This morning on my home scales I weigh 94.1kg so in actual fact I have gained only 0.2kg since I discovered I was pregnant. As the early weeks don’t really necessitate any ‘baby gain’ I understand that for me the battle on the scales is to not let the eating for two mentality take over and gain unnecessary weight. Since that day I have bobbed around between 91.9kg and 94.1kg on my home scales so when he asked me last night what I weighed I thought it was easier to just say 94kg as that was as honest an answer as I could give.
Then he hits me with this….”Try not to gain any more then 6kg this pregnancy”. 6kg!!! What the…? Bearing in mind I gained 17kg last pregnancy and this time was hoping to get closer to 10-12kg or so this has brought that goal down considerably. Now don’t get me wrong…. he didn’t insist on it…. he didn’t make me feel that I would be failing if I didn’t do this. It was just his recommendation to stay under 100kg if possible..
Now before you all say that a healthy pregnancy gain is often 10-14kg overall I have to explain why it is different in my case. Apparently being over 100kg changes everything. While many books will say gaining 0.5kg a week in latter stages is the goal for bubs sake this does not apply if the mom is over 100kg. Dr L says that a mom who begins the pregnancy over 100kg can quite easily end it without gaining anything and it is still ideal for bub (in fact my friend who recently had a baby started at 104kg and she only gained about 2kg overall without dieting or exercising and had a healthy baby so I know it is possible). He said that I should continue to follow the healthy eating plan I had used to lose the 30kg…to make it a plant based diet where I could with moderate amounts of meat etc…and to exercise every day…recommending 30-60mins walking a day.
So…the upshot was two-fold.
1)If I didn’t already feel the pressure not to get overly fat during this pregnancy I sure do now!
2)That’s not a bad thing? Knowing that I don’t have an “excuse” to go crazy is a good thing for me and it just may help to keep me inline.
As from tomorrow I intend to really nail down my eating, eat less take-away, healthier snacks and get back to walking every day. As cold and as dark as it now is in the mornings I know that it's when I am most likely to maintain the routine so that’s what I shall do. I will only do 30mins in the morning so it won’t be too dark when I leave. Simon wants to begin jogging of an afternoon so I plan to do 30mins bike riding with Caleb on the back while he jogs…there’s my 60mins a day all done! On the days Simon does not want to jog I’ll just take Caleb with me for a longer walk. Yesterday morning after breakfast I suggested to Caleb that he might like to come for a big 1hr walk with mummy in his pram…. his response…”Oooh yeah a walk…. Yeah!!!” he squeals as he runs off to get some books to bring for the journey. Hehehe See he really does love it too so there is no excuse (incidentally I am so proud that he is growing up with that attitude to exercise). He also loves riding his bike on the Esplanade while I walk so that is another option for us too. No excuses!
Take today for example. I just had an early lunch as I was beginning to feel nauseous and eating is the thing that really helps that. I figured better I have an early lunch then a snack. And do you know what it was I really felt like? A boiled egg and salad sandwich…and it was bloody delish! I had grain bread spread with light Philadelphia cream cheese instead of margarine, hard boiled egg, WW mayo, lettuce, tomato, grated carrot, avocado and beetroot. So, so yummy and healthy to boot :)
Many of you will recall how much I love my slow cooker too and this week I found an awesome recipe book on just that. Ever since I got my crockpot about 18months ago I have wished for a recipe book dedicated to them. My day-care was holding a book drive this week and you can imagine my shock when I found a big, picture filled recipe book called ‘Crock pot’s and Slow cooker’s’! Hoorah! It was only $8 too so now I am eagerly awaiting it’s arrival so I can do lot’s of healthy, hearty, hot meals for tea in the coming months. The convenience of chucking all the ingredients in it in the morning and letting it slow cook all day is fabulous. Then at night I only have to cook a bit of mashed potato, rice or dinner rolls etc and tea is sorted. Healthy, cheap and don’t even get me started on the yummy smells that fill the house during the day :)
So yes…I may have a steep goal to achieve with this pregnancy weight gain but all I can do is try my best. I’m feeling positive about what I can achieve and at the end of the day whatever happens happens!
And already I am so excited about getting back to weight loss and more intense exercise once bub arrives. I’ll join up WW again in the new year and I hope to finally be entering their Slimmer of the Year competition at goal weight in 2007! It’s got to be my year! :)
TFTD: “Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting!”
Cheers P
Friday, 2nd June 2006...
Ugh! I feel so bloody horrible!
This morning/day/evening sickness is the pits :(
The only thing that makes me feel even remotely human is eating and I am terrified if I keep that up I’m going to be the size of a house by the end of this pregnancy!
One step on the scales this morning almost had me running screaming in the opposite direction. Every day I vow to eat better, to at least make healthy choices and to get out and do some exercise…but every day I end up eating whatever makes me feel better or whatever my fickle tastes dictate and the exercise – forget it!
I am hoping however that as I draw closer to 12wks that this sickness may ease and I will then be able to spend the next trimester getting back into some regular exercise and more reasonable eating choices?
God I hope so!
In the meantime I’m going to avoid the scales for a few days. God knows I don’t need that guilt on top of everything else.
I see June has brought with it the colder weather these last few days. It’s getting quite crisp – which is good weather to be hiding behind baggy jumpers. I try not to look at my stack of nice new jeans that I had eagerly anticipated living in this winter :(
This morning I went out and put my birthday present on lay-by. Yes I know that sounds weird but it made sense. My 31st birthday is June 29th and Simon knew I desperately wanted a pair of tall Ugg boots with lace-up sides and fluffy fold over top. However I really had to try them on myself and I did want to be sure that at a cost of about $130 that I got the pair I wanted. So we decided I would go and pick them out and put them on lay by and then Simon just has to pick them up when the time comes…perfect! I got just the pair I wanted and now I can’t wait to have them on my cold little tootsies. (Ps for any of you non-Aussies who may not know what an Ugg boot is you can see close to the style I have picked here.)
I have just caught up on all the challenge stats and I’m thrilled to see our total sits at 99.7kg. Ooh so close to cracking the first 100kg mark now! You go girls (and guy JR!)…hehehe
I’m sorry if this post is a little woe-is-me. Don’t get me wrong…this pregnancy is a bloody miracle for us and we are feeling very blessed indeed. I just struggle to get my head around the passing of my weight loss goals and the actual reversal of them on the scales. I try not to dwell on the weight issues in the pregnancy journal so this is the place I can vent on that topic.
However…I’ll try to be more positive next update.
TFTD: “Make the mistakes of yesterday be your lessons for today!”
Cheers P
Wednesday, 31st May 2006...
Just a quick addition to yesterdays post about weight gain. I have already posted this on the pregnancy site but I thought it would be relevant to add here too.
I wanted to add this link from the wonderful Wendy's page. It's a pregnancy weight gain calculator that calculates whether your pregnancy weight gain is in a healthy range or not.
Going by this my healthy gain for this point would be between 0.5kg and 1.3kg so at 1kg I am spot on :)
Oh and by the way…. yesterday I said I couldn’t get enough of KFC potato and coleslaw…yeah scrap that! The very thought of it now makes me want to bark *wink*
Oh the fickle tastes of pregnancy :)
TFTD: “Let each day be your masterpiece!”
Cheers P
Tuesday, 30th May 2006...
Oh. My. God!
I did not know until yesterday just how amazingly delish yoghurt could be!
Why you ask?
Because until yesterday I had never eaten anything but diet yoghurt!
Hehehe
I mentioned the other day how hard it was to actually find a non-diet yoghurt in the store (due to the fact I am avoiding the artificial sweeteners in diet brands while pregnant)…but oh my…it sure isn’t hard to eat it! It is heaven on a spoon!! Yummo!!
I read an article on yogurts the other day and it said the non-diet variety can have a tonne of sugar in it…hence why they are often labeled ‘desserts’ and not as yoghurt. And boy judging by the taste I can see why *wink*
But enough about me raving about yoghurt. I don’t know how I’ll ever go back to the diet one’s after this but I’ll worry about that come January :)
Well today would have been weigh in day so I stood on the scales for the result…and it was not too bad at all! 91.9kg so a gain of only 1kg at 10wks along so I’m really happy with that. If I can keep this up I’ll be doing well by the end. And baring in mind this is with more then the odd treat lately so imagine what I can do if I really knuckle down.
The only thing is this damn morning/lunchtime/evening sickness jig is the pits! I don’t actually vomit (thankfully) … and I’m not sure nausea is the best descriptor of how I feel either??? I just feel bloody horrible!! And the only thing that makes me feel better…. eating! Oh No! And of course it’s not fruit and salad I feel like eating either. Of all things I can’t seem to get enough of KFC coleslaw and potato’n’gravy…Ugh! Otherwise I’m just trying to make the best choices I can and ride it out for a few more weeks when hopefully (HOPEFULLY!) I’ll begin to feel better.
I have been doing a bit of walking still…. lots of walking at the show/fair last Friday, a 30min pram walk yesterday and a 40min beach walk this morning. I know I need to increase the frequency again but for now I’m just happy to do what I can manage.
In the meantime I get to diet vicariously through all your amazing challenge results. I have a stack to input after this but it’s safe to say they should bring us pretty close to the 100kg mark…. Yahooo!!! The results are just amazing so keep up the great work :)
Later today I hope to upload some photos from our day at the show. We had a fantastic time and Caleb loved every minute of it. He rode the dodgem cars and explored the fun house with Simon…. he road carousels and boat rides on his own…. he went on the Ferris wheel and even rode a camel (!!! Yes a camel) with Mummy and loved his Ninja show bag full of Ninja toys and dress up clothes :) The camel ride was a bit nerve wracking as you really go on a steep forward then backward incline as they stand up and sit down…and by the end my legs where like jelly from gripping on so tight…but it was an experience and one I know I would not have even considered at 120kg. I did enjoy my waffle cone…well ok two of them over the day (one was for Mom of course…*wink*)…and we stayed from 11am until 5pm and walked and walked and walked. A fantastic day was had by all and I’ll let you know when the photos have been done for you to have a look.
I wanted to say a special thanks to all of you who continue to visit this journal. I expect I will lose a lot of readers while I am unable to focus on weight loss as much while pregnant…but such is life :) Come January I’ll be back at it and rearing to go!
TFTD: “She has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much!”
Cheers P
Thursday, 25th May 2006...
Hoorah!
I finally got back into some exercise today.
It’s a beautiful sunny day today so after dropping the boy off at day-care I headed down the beach for a 1hr walk *bliss* The tide had only just gone out so the sand was still a bit boggy in parts which I’m sure was a workout bonus :)
Yesterday was a lovely day for Caleb’s trip to ‘Under 8’s day in the park’ and tomorrow is shaping up for a perfect day for our annual show! Can’t tell you how excited we are about that!
I’ve let my eating get away with me a bit in the last few days so today I went back to tracking to keep a closer eye on things. Even this morning while grocery shopping I struggled with temptation. I picked up some fresh past and pasta sauce that I felt like for lunch today. I avoided the favorite carbonara and went for a tomato-based sauce. But when I looked at the nutritional panel it was still more fat then I wanted to consume so I put it right back! Yey for small victories :)
I know I’m bound to have a few treats at the show tomorrow…. Mum and I always had a mock cream filled waffle at the show each year and it’s a tradition I can’t quite give up, nor want to, even without her. Most stalls advertised ‘fresh cream’ but we’d hunt out the fake cream ones….hehehe? Yummy! I’m not sure what lunch and dinner options I’ll find but as we’ll be walking around all day I’m sure to burn up a lot of what I eat.
I’ll update next time with our show pics and stories so stay tuned.
I have also created a web poll on the pregnancy page today so pop on over to participate :)
TFTD: “Success doesn’t come to you, you go to it!”
Cheers P
Tuesday, 23rd May 2006...
Well so much for my hours beach walk today! Yet more crappy weather put an end to that. It’s cold and showery so I’m going to give it a miss. I know I have totally slacked off on the exercise front but it’s honestly not a trend I plan to continue so for now I’m just enjoying the break from it.
As you can see I have updated the pregnancy tracker above to show how the wee miracle is growing each week. I found this tracker on the wonderful Wendy’s page and I just love it…. so cute!
You may notice that I have also added my current weight below the weight loss tracker above so you can see how I’m going as the pregnancy progresses. So far very happy with my progress!! This time last pregnancy I had already gained 5.5kg (!!) so I’m feeling much happier with my progress this time :)
I have decided that now is as good a time as any to try to break my obsession with the scales. I am still weighing each morning as I always have but I have decided that as of today I am going to try to cut back to just Tuesday’s and Friday’s. I will continue to update the weight above each Tuesday so you can follow my progress.
Just a quick message to the Wendy who left a guestbook message with no contact details ... You said the links to the pregnancy journal were not working but I’ve gone back and checked every one of them and they are all fine? So perhaps have another go?
I’ve just updated the pregnancy site again this morning too if you are interested in a popping over there :)
The challenge stats are going off!!!! And I mean that in a good way *wink* We are up to almost 80kg so far…go you good things!!! *beams with pride*
TFTD: “Destiny is not a matter of chance - it’s a matter of choice!”
Cheers P
Monday, 22nd May 2006...
Sleep…sleep…. my kingdom for some sleep!
Caleb spiked an unexpected temperature last night of 39 degrees at about 9pm and he was so miserable I just couldn’t settle for worry. I dosed him up on meds then toyed with the idea of sleeping in his room with him. Well a few minutes later and he had vomited all over himself and his bed so that made up my mind…I had Simon move a spare mattress into his room so I could sleep beside him then set about cleaning up the mess.
His temp came down fairly quick and there was no more vomiting but it took him until 11pm to settle to sleep. My back was killing me on the floor so I had a horrible nights sleep…made worse by the fact that I got up to pee three times between 11pm and when he woke at 4.30am (!) and each time it took me about an hour to get back to sleep. I don’t know why he was up so early but then he proceeded to keep waking me every time I dozed off until I finally gave up at 6am and got up. 2hrs sleep. Oh. My. God.
I had a cynical little chuckle to myself as I dragged myself up to start the day … this is what I have to look forward to with 3hrly feeds all over again to come…oh my! :)
Then to add insult to injury he went down for his nap at 12noon…he usually sleeps for about an hour and a half of late. I wolfed down a quick lunch then settled down for a power snooze…. and he woke up!!! 40minutes after he’d gone to sleep he wet the bed and was then wide awake and ready to start the afternoon. Oh. My. God.
So yeah…. not a great day for me today! We did manage a trip to the library and post office but the rest of the day was pretty much just blobbing at home. I did manage to get tea prepared, do about 3 loads of washing and kill the monster (what we call the giant clean washing pile that sometimes accumulates in our walk in robe waiting to be folded and hung). How am I ever going to stay up for Big Brother Nominations tonight? *wink*
Weight wise things are going good still. My weight was up 0.6kg this morning but I’ve had a couple of treats over the weekend and haven’t exercised since Friday so I’m not too worried. I’ll be doing an hour’s beach walk tomorrow when he is at daycare and watching the food choices more carefully and I’m sure I’ll be back to the 91.4kg in no time. In any case I am still 1kg down from when I first found out a week ago so I’m feeling ok about it all. My goal is to get back to those 80’s before I start any real baby weight gaining.
I was so disappointed to watch Caleb have another dizzy spell last night too. It came on about 6pm without warning. I was hoping we had seen the last of them but I guess not? He also had a minor one this morning. Ugh I hope this is not the start of many more to come!! Will just have to wait and see I guess as it may be more related to whatever bug he had last night? This week is a big one for him as we have ‘Under 8’s Day in the Park’ on Wednesday and our local Show/Carnival on Friday. I hope he is well for both??
I was horrified today to visit Philippa’s site this afternoon (she’s on my success page) to found she made her goal and I missed it!!!!!! Aaaargh!! I’m so sorry Philippa!!! Congrats to you babe! Please drop by and give her your best wishes, as she sure deserves it!
I don’t have the energy to update the pregnancy page today but I will tomorrow so tune in then for the latest baby news :)
TFTD: “If you have enough reasons you can do incredible things!”
Cheers P
Friday, 19th May 2006...
So far so good!
My daily step on the scales showed me still the same weight today!
Yippee!
I had a few more carbs then normal yesterday so I was worried it may be up but I guess not. If anything I am eating a little less for breakfast when I’m not feeling too flash, a little more for lunch and much less for tea when again I don’t often feel too great. Also I have not eaten anything after my evening meal all week since finding out I was pregnant and I’m SURE this is helping, as this has always been my worst time of day.
I slacked off on my exercise at the start of the week but I’m back into it again now. Yesterday afternoon Simon and I dragged our tired and weary butts down to the Esplanade with Caleb for some much needed activity. Caleb rode his little bike while we walked/half ran beside him. We went for about 40mins and it was really lovely.
This morning after I dropped the boy off at day-care I headed down the beach for an hours barefoot walking in the sand. It was bliss! I had my iPod rocking and I just soaked up the beautiful scenery and the time just flew by. I also went and quit the gym today :( I felt so sad to be doing it but I know that I won’t get my money’s worth from it during the coming months and I’m better off saving the money and doing free exercises like walking or toning at home etc. They have actually postponed my membership so I can just activate it again after the birth without having to rejoin etc again so that was great!
After my walk I headed to the shops for some grocery shopping. I spent ages in the yoghurt section; I’m sure looking like a zombie, just staring at all the different cartons. I’ve only every bought diet yoghurt before and have my favorite brand I always go for. Today I had to get the non-diet kind with no additives or artificial sweeteners etc and I didn’t know where to begin??? There were very little options that were not diet but I eventually settled on a creamy mango one with acidophilus so I’ll see how I find it.
Oh I wanted to just mention a comment I made the other day about cigarettes too. A couple of people commented that they didn’t picture me as a smoker…and I’m not! I did smoke for 10yrs but quit a month before we conceived Caleb. However the last 6months or so I had gotten into the habit of smoking when I went drinking at the pub. I was only saying last week that I feared it was getting a grip on me again so I’m relieved I now have the opportunity to nip it in the bud before the habit got entrenched again. I didn’t smoke around Caleb and never would smoke where he could see me, as I am very anti-smoking in that respect. I’m glad that little flirtation ended before it could really begin.
Tonight we of course are not going on a pub bender as we usually would on a Friday night so instead we are having friends and family around for dinner instead and some PS2 games afterwards. Not quite the same as a pub trip but good company all the same :)
A few more baby developments to report but so as not to double up, anyone who’s interested can read all about it today’s pregnancy journal update.
Today the WHO magazine article with me in it came out! I was relieved to see that I actually quite liked the picture so that was good. It’s funny how they only mention the 14kg I lost on their challenge and not the other 15kg I also lost…but who cares? The point is it may give someone else hope that they can do it too so that’s all that matters.
You can see the article in my photo album here.
Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!!
TFTD: “The road to success has few travelers, because so many get lost trying to find the short cuts!”
Cheers P
Thursday, 18th May 2006...
Well…this pregnancy thing may be alright after all *wink*
Woke up this morning for my daily weigh ritual…was thrilled to see the numbers going down even further. Back to 91.4kg on my home scales today, which is 90.9kg on WW scales and 2kg down from when I first found out I was pregnant earlier this week. Now before the lectures begin – don’t worry! I’m not going to jeopardize this pregnancy by trying to diet/lose weight or anything. It’s just that I am eating healthier because of bub and most importantly…since Monday I haven’t once eaten after tea as I usually do. I really think that has made all the difference.
I am having a few little treats. Like an orange juice a day, and last night I had margarine in my mashed potato for the first time in about a year…hehehe. I still had my corncob without butter though as I am used to that anyway and there is no need to be excessive on the extra treats. But oh how I’d missed creamy mashed spuds instead of ordinary potato with a dash of skim milk – Ugh! The little pleasures in life huh? Hehehe
I’m lost when I go to buy a drink now though. Before it was diet coke automatically…or occasionally a diet energy drink…. if I were being naughty it would be full sugar coke. But now I can’t drink any of the above I tend to grab a water or juice. I know I can have an occasional soft drink but the less I have the better I figure.
I did start today heaving over the toilet though…nice! We had a bit of a giggle that Simon was having sympathy sickness as he was doing the same thing…however he went out last night to watch the big boxing match at a pub with some mates and was a little worse for wear this morning. It’s like that old joke – he’ll be sober tomorrow but I’ll be pregnant for the next 7 months! :)
We had our specialist appointment with Caleb on Tuesday afternoon. It turns out it was what I had thought it was (after an internet search). He has ‘Benign Paroxysmal Vertigo in Childhood’. Basically there is no treatment for it and these attacks will fade over time – often in 3months to 8yrs! So here’s hoping he is the former *wink* He hasn’t had one now for over two weeks so fingers crossed it may already be passing?
I made my first entry in the pregnancy journal last night. You can find the link to it above left or up the top of my home page. I still have a bit of decorating to do on the page but I just wanted to get it started so I didn’t miss recording a minute of this special journey. In the next week I really want to get Caleb’s entire site backed up and this one too…. I’d hate to lose the record of his pregnancy and life…or this diet journey. The memories are too valuable.
I just wanted to again assure you all I have no intention of stopping the challenge. I love getting all your emails and I’d be lost without them. So keep them coming and keep up the fantastic work!
TFTD: “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm!”
Cheers P
Wednesday, 17th May 2006...
Busy day today. Not for the usual weight watchers meeting and exercise as it would normally be though. I have spent almost all of today working on my websites.
I have had to move the ‘my story’ page from it’s site to the ‘goals and brags’ page due to page number limitations within my site builder to make way for the new pregnancy page. So now that page has become the ‘Goals, Brags and My Story page’ (links remain separate to the left of this entry).
I have tidied up Caleb’s website to make the following three pages:
-Caleb’s pregnancy and up to when he was 10months old
-Caleb’s journey from 10 months old to now
-New pregnancy
All of these pages can be accessed from Caleb’s site here. Alternatively you will see a ‘pregnancy’ link on the top left of this page beside my weight tracker.
I hope all that makes sense. But as always…if you can’t find something just let me know and I can help :)
I have been totally swamped with emails and guestbook messages of congratulations … thank you all! Both Simon and I have been very touched by your outpouring of emotion and excitement for us *hugs*
I think I am slowly getting used to the idea now. I got a bit teary Monday night, a bit depressed about having to end my weight loss journey before reaching my goal. As I was trying to explain to Simon…I guess this is the first time in a decade or more that I have felt like I was succeeding, that I was a worthwhile and attractive person who deserved to feel proud of themselves… that I was someone who was FINALLY overcoming their weight battles, restoring their self esteem and feeling successful.
Now I have to abandon all of that!
Don’t get me wrong…this baby is a true miracle and one that is 110% wanted and eagerly anticipated…I guess I just wasn’t ready to be blindsided by it at this precise moment in my life. But life works that way doesn’t it?
I’ve had more time to think since then and I have put some things into perspective. I can still come out of this pregnancy within 5-10kg of where I am now (I hope!). So long as I maintain for as long as I can…. continue to exercise…and eat healthy, whole foods and not binge eat ‘or two’ as I did during my pregnancy with Caleb. An added bonus is that I will no longer be binge drinking most weekends either so that will help to further manage my weight. I want to eat good, healthy food for my baby so I’m sure that will help me in my eating choices. The weird thing will be going to Woolies and not stocking up on diet coke and frozen weight watchers meals anymore…. hehehe. I read once that diet coke can cause birth deformities so I have not had any since I found out. It sure is one way to quit diet coke cold turkey!!! *wink* Instead I am drinking water, juice or milk…only one can of soft drink since Monday…so I’m hoping this period will help to make some permanent changes to my drinking habits. Bonus!
Yesterday I put on my newest pair of size 16 jeans and enjoyed them thoroughly all day long…knowing soon that all those new jeans I have bought recently will no longer fit me! The upside is though that this time I will be able to wear maternity clothes…yippee! Last time at a size 22 I was already too big and ended up wearing baggy size 26 clothes towards the end stages. This time I can’t wait to get a pair of maternity jeans!!!
When I found out on Monday that I was pregnant I was about 93kg. Today I am 92.4kg…so far so good :)
Ok…. now are you ready for even more exciting news???!!!!
Yesterday I emailed WHO Magazine to give them an update on what had happened. Less then 2hrs later I received a call from them wanting to do another story! They only had until yesterday afternoon to get it finished in time to appear in THIS WEEKS issue!!! Apparently they are doing a story on how weight loss can change people’s lives. I had to race around and get glammed up before the photographer arrived. He took various pictures in various poses around my back yard and pool. Then I did an interview on the phone with the reporter … and voila! I can’t believe I am about to be another magazine!!! The issue comes out Friday 19th so check it out and let me know what you think? I can only imagine what it’s going to be like…. Eeeek!
TFTD: “Don’t be foolish, please be wise, get up, get going and exercise!”
Cheers P
Monday, 15th May 2006...
*****A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!*****
Well I’m not sure where to begin this entry so let’s start with the obvious. Those who may have visited the challenge page today would have seen that I have quit it!
I’m over it! I’m going to get fat!
Hehehehe
Now before you bombard me with emails of encouragement and tell me to stick it out…. let me say this. A Christmas miracle has come into our home. I found out today that I am going to get the most AMAZING gift for Christmas this year…
Yes…
That’s right…
I’M PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
****SCREAM****
I can still hardly believe it myself!
As most of you know we were told we could not conceive naturally. Caleb took 5yrs of expensive and emotionally crippling fertility treatments to achieve. We have been trying for a second one for the last 3yrs. 1year of more treatments, drugs and medical intervention…and 2yrs focusing on weight loss instead. It would seem that the latter worked. 28kg later and I have pulled off a miracle by conceiving all on my own!!! (Well ok I guess Simon had some part in it *wink*)
As many of you know I was very, very late for my period. About 8-9wks actually. I had already got two negative pregnancy tests in the last month or so and figured it was just my messed up body getting all out of synch again. Apparently not!
This last weekend I noticed that my breasts had got so sore I couldn’t even sleep on my front any more. I knew the only time they had felt like that was when I was pregnant the last time. I have also been running to the toilet a lot and for some reason this last week the scales kept going up no matter what I did??? (Up to 93.5kg this morning and I was at a total loss to explain this?)
So I bought a test yesterday and figured I’d do it this morning for one last check.
Well I got up at 5.30am and did the test. At first I scrutinized the feint line from every angle, under the light…sure it had to be wrong. But there was no denying that second line was there!
I went back to bed, decided I would not tell Simon until I was able to confirm it for sure at the Dr’s today. Well I made 20mins before I had to turn a light on (to see his reaction), nudge him and tell him the news. Needless to say we are as thrilled as each other!
So…. WOW!
I’m pregnant! At this stage I am due December 25th – Christmas day!!! However due to my mixed up cycles I cannot know the date for sure until I have an ultrasound in the next week or so and find out a more specific date. WOW WOW WOW!
So where to from here? Well for one I have cancelled any future personal training sessions (and shudder when I think all that I have put my body through in the name of exercise and weight loss – not knowing I was pregnant already!). I will put my gym membership on hold and continue with walking an hour a day I think plus toning exercises. It’s free, low risk and something I do still enjoy. Having said that though I doubt I will do it at 5.30am anymore…. afternoon sounds much more pleasant. And I’ll have to quit WW too. Damn I really wanted to get that Slimmer of the Year next year :(
I have to work hard not to gain too much weight this time. Last time I gained 17kg (11kg of which was gone 4 days later when I left hospital). This time I’m not going to use it as an excuse to go crazy. I will keep exercising this time (I did NONE last time as I was terrified of losing the baby we had fought so hard for). I will continue to run the challenge and the website. I will create a new page on Caleb’s pregnancy and beyond site for anyone who wants to follow me along. And of course I’ll be back and into the weight loss side of things as soon as I can afterwards. In the meantime I will keep this journal running for a while yet too.
I’m sure there is much more to say but for now my mind is still swimming. A baby! Right now! Inside me! Infertile me! WOW!!!!!!
TFTD: “Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go!”
Cheers P
Sunday, 14th May 2006...
Happy Mother’s Day everyone!
I hope all you mum’s and (mums to be) out there are being dutifully spoilt today – as you should be. My day has been a bit flat…missing my own Mom. Today is my 10th Mother’s Day without her and you’d think it would get easier…some years it does…but other times not so much :(
I was given a lovely sleep in until 7.30am this morning and then I had to stay lying in bed until my BBQ breakfast in bed was served at 8.30am :) It was delish!! The boys then disappeared to get my mystery gift while I showered and dressed in the peace of an empty house. They soon returned with some new tropical fish for one of my 4ft tanks and Simon proceeded to clean the tank for me too (one broken glass lid later I was still very appreciative). *snicker*
We then headed out to the cemetery to ‘see’ Mom. Caleb knows she is called Nanny and that she is ‘up in the stars’ and he was happy to place some flowers and press a little finger kiss on her memorial stone.
After that we visited some friends who were lunching in a park for a quick play before home for lunch and nap. Caleb and Simon are now out playing mini-golf with Simon’s mum. I was supposed to go too but just didn’t feel like it so instead I am enjoying some quite computer time at home.
Did I mention that I am sore every inch of my body!? After Friday’s Enforcer session I was already feeling pretty tender when I woke up Saturday – abs especially as I know those slow sit-ups with the medicine ball always does that to me. But then silly Paulene gets it into her head to try her first spin class Saturday morning. Big Mistake!!
Hehehe Well fitness and health wise it was a great choice. But pain ... oi ... now I know the meaning of the word *wink* The class was fun, fast and sweat soaked but by far the absolute worst part of it was the seat!! It killed…and not just your bum if you know what I mean!
Honestly were these things created by a sadist or what? I’d love to see some men riding it and see how they go! I remember getting a sore bum from my padded gel seat on my regular bike when it was first new. I haven’t felt sore since then. But since these spin seats were more like thin slabs of rock – oh boy I think we all walked out of there like cowboys after a month in the saddle…. hehehehe
Seriously though – I’m hooked! They say they are going to order gel seats and until they do I’ll be taking a second towel for the seat next time.
Otherwise it was wicked! Way, way hard work…I kept seeing sweat drip down all over my bike and I know I was not alone there…but boy it had to do good things for my body?
We were given 5 positions…1: sitting on bike as normal peddling, 2: sitting up straight with hands on hips, 3: sitting right to back of seat and bracing abs as if to climb a hill, 4: standing up and pedaling but resting forearms on handlebars, 5: standing up peddling flat out. Throughout the class we were instructed when to change positions and when to add or decline our resistance. It was all set to fast, loud music and we were all so busy trying not to die or fall off that the time went fairly fast I think. I kept laughing with the girl beside me about how awful the seats were and near fell right off my bike laughing when she said it would give her a sore “rosebud”….HA HA HA HA HA! So funny! She seemed lovely though and we seemed to share a similar humour so I must look out for here there again.
The only downside was coming out of the class…looking like a drowned and red faced rat only to find I had locked my keys in the car and had to wait nearly 30mins for Simon to get there and break-in (I had called roadside assistance but rang and cancel when they didn’t even show in this time).
So yeah…. feeling very sore! We even had to do a session of abs when we got off the bike – she said to relieve strain on lower back or something from the spin class…just what I needed! My poor abs today feel like someone sucker punches me every time I move. Ahhh the joys of fitness!!!!
TFTD: “What you eat in private shows in public!”
Cheers P
Friday, 12th May 2006...
Fabulous Friday is here at last!
I survived another Enforcer session intact today *wink*
The workout went like this:
-Treadmill 15mins Fat Burning Program (L8?)
-Boxing 1 minute x 5
-Recumbent Cycle 10mins alternating between 1min L14 and 1min L8
-Cross trainer 5mins level 6
-Rowing 5mins
-Push-ups 3 x 10
-Lunge left leg forward, squat, lunge right leg forward, squat x 10 each side (20 lunges, 40 squats)
-Sit ups catching medicine ball on upward movement, lowering it behind my head as I go down then sitting up to throw again etc. 3 x 15
-SLOW downward crunches holding medicine ball to chest 2 x 10
-Stretching
As always, I left feeling exhausted but exhilarated all the same :)
I then had to tackle some grocery shopping and had a BIGGEST LOSER moment. You’ll never guess who I saw doing his grocery shopping with his mom…. Artie!!! How funny is that? Hehehe I thought of saying Hi and to congratulate him on how great he was looking but chickened out at the last moment. *blush* He did look great but, though was moving too fast for me to get a peak in his trolley…hehehehe
I’m a bit worried about how I’ll go this week weight wise. I had an unplanned take away for dinner last night and with Mother’s Day coming up things could go from bad to worse! Simon is cooking me breakfast in bed I believe so I have bought some WW bacon for him to cook with and egg and some mushrooms so that part should be ok. That night however we are going for a BBQ at Simon’s mom’s house and I have no control over the cooking or food there so I hope there are some good options. My 18yr old brother in law is in charge of the preparations so god only knows what we are in for *wink*
Still…what will be will be so I’ll just take what I get.
Most exciting news…. my gym has finally introduced Spin classes!!! I have been dying to try one for months now so I can’t wait to have my first class. I may go to a 9am session tomorrow but that’s during Caleb’s swimming lessons which I like to attend so not sure yet? If not I’ll go Tuesday or Thursday evening at 5pm. Hope I don’t fall off my bike in exhaustion!!! Keep you posted!
Tonight, and in fact this weekend, is pub free! Hoorah for my scales :) Our friends are coming around tonight for a BBQ dinner at our house and some board-games so no problems there. I’ve got meat for the bbq and some skinless chicken drumsticks marinated to cook in the oven as well as a host of salads and sides etc so I’ll be able to make good choices. I am going to get a 6 pack of beer I think but that’s nothing compared to a usual Friday night pub trip so it’s all good.
I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and to all the Mum’s out there…. HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!! I’m sure they even celebrate it in heaven for my mom too *wink*
TFTD: “You never know what lies ahead, if you keep on looking back!”
Cheers P
Thursday, 11th May 2006...
Some good news about Caleb at last! I finally have a specialist appointment for next Tuesday afternoon – at last! Now if only it was Tuesday already :) He has not had any episodes for 7 days now so I’m hoping that’s a good sign.
Now before you go anywhere today you’ve got to take a quick look here!
It’s the Success Stories page and I have two new stories to share with you. The first is another blogger named Emily…. you have GOT TO SEE this women’s before and after photo’s…. absolutely **Stunning**
The other new profile I have added is for a successful slimmer named Debbie. Many of you asked me about Debbie when she lost an AMAZING 22.6kg in the last twelve week challenge. Now you can read all about her and check out her awesome progress in pics.
Feel free to drop me any emails that you want passed on to Debbie or go directly to Emily’s site to speak with her :)
TFTD: “Your health is your wealth!”
Cheers P
Wednesday, 10th May 2006...
Super quick entry today.
Have been offline since keyboard stopped working last Sunday! Bought new keyboard Tuesday – still not working! Bought new keyboard again today that uses a different port – Success! Seems the port that the printer used has cacked it for some reason …. Wish I knew that before I bought all the keyboards…so now I have flash new one…but also the old one, which it turns out was fine after all. Bloody computers!!!!
Anyhoo I have a HEAP of stats to catch up on now but just wanted to say I am here. I’m on track. Lost 1kg on Tuesday – yippee!!
Modeling was ok…nerve wracking but ok :)
No news on Caleb yet – still awaiting specialist appointment….Grrrr! Phoned GP yesterday about it and she is onto it now too! Hopefully will have it soon.
Working at WW tonight so best get on with these stats now while I can.
Will talk in more detail tomorrow.
TFTD: “Patience, perseverance and will power are the key to success!”
Cheers P
Sunday, 7th May 2006...
Sunday again already!
I had a great night out on Friday. For dinner I chose a delish chicken breast with asparagus and Brie filling that was served with salad and potatoes. I was given 8 pieces of potato so I gave away 7 and just had one small one. Not too much damage there I don’t think. Had a fair few drinks and a bit of a munchie-fest at the end of the night but all things considered I think it went ok.
Yesterday we bummed around home most of the day recovering except for a brief trip to the supermarket. This morning we met my Dad and his wife at a local park for a BBQ breakfast…Mmmm! I had WW bacon and one egg with some mushrooms and baked beans and it was a real treat for only 3.5pts. Caleb had a ball riding his bike around and climbing the playground equipment, then we all had a stroll on the beach and a poke around in the rock pools before heading home. The boys are out doing a spot of fishing now before lunch so I’ve dashed in to update while I could :)
Simon had a nice sleep in this morning so Caleb and I headed out for a 40min walk with the pram this morning for a spot of exercise. Tomorrow morning I think I’ll go for an early bike ride instead of a walk just for something different?
I am SO sore in my chest since those push-ups etc with the Enforcer on Friday. Even walking hurts when ‘the girls’ bounce a bit *wink-wink* Hehehehe
The scales this morning show me the same as last weeks weigh-in so while I have undone some of my progress I haven’t gone up so I should be good for a loss by Tuesday’s weigh-in. I’m a bit nervous about this fashion show thing on that day too but I’m sure it will go smoothly once I get into it?
No more dizzy spells for Caleb again since Thursday morning so that is a relief. If I don’t’ hear anything by Tuesday I’m going to ring my GP and ask her to push for the appointment so we can get something started. I can’t stand to wait around doing nothing!
Not really much else to tell for now…. so I’ll leave it here as I hear the fisher boys home!
First BB eviction tonight … and it’s a double one ... Exciting!
TFTD: “A quitter never wins and a winner never quits!”
Cheers P
Friday, 5th May 2006...
Well the *Enforcer* is back in my workout world and boy do my muscles know it!
*wink* hehehehe
Seriously it was fantastic to work that hard again. I never thought I’d say that but it’s true. Right up until last night I couldn’t wait for it but then I had last minute dread all day yesterday and last night. Worrying that I would really suffer after the fitness I was sure to have lost in the last few months…but then remembering that you can only put yourself in their hands and do the best you can…you just don’t know what you can do until you try! :)
The workout went like this:
-10mins cross trainer … alternating 30 seconds high speed and 30 secs moderate
-10 mins recumbent cycle … L10? … 30:30 as above
-Boxing bag … 1min solid punching (resulted in me lying on floor with my legs up trying to hold off feinting/vomiting after coming from the two prior cardio spots…. I kid you not! Hehehe) … followed by 2 x 30 second bouts.
-Step-ups for 1min x 3
-Pushups … 3 x 10 (has left me with wicked carpet burn on both knees – now that’s a nice look to explain *wink*)
-10 mins treadmill … varying speed up to 8.8km and varying incline
-Ab roller … 20, 10, 10 of cycling crunches (alternating knees cycle to meet you as your come up for the crunch)
-Abs … 3 x 10 crunches with legs straight up and lifting your hips each time as your arms come from above your head to your toes with a dumbbell.
-Stretching.
Phew! I was a sweaty mess by the end but I sure knew it was going to be wicked to have this back every week again! :)
Did I mention that my gym is introducing spin classes soon? Can’t recall if I did but man am I excited about them. I’ve always been envious to try one and was stoked to see they would soon be introducing them in the next week or so. It does cost $5 a class or $10 for non-members but shoot I’m just eager to give one a bash!
After the workout and coming home to shower I hit the shops! I went to Suzanne Gray to be fitted for the 3 outfits I will be wearing at the fashion show thingy at WW next week. It was relatively painless. They were all outfits I wouldn’t chose for myself and some I wouldn’t wear but knowing that I’ll only be standing up is a lot more flattering then sitting etc so it gave me some room for new choices *wink* The three outfits ranged in size from 14-16 and one pair of dress shorts that were an 18. Otherwise I was VERY surprised by just how alien it was to fit all but one of everything they gave me. Not so many months back NOTHING in that shop fit me :)
No more news on the Caleb saga yet … (in)patiently awaiting further contact. I will not wait long!
Off to the pub tonight with our friends, one of who is celebrating a birthday. She is our mate Scotty’s sister, and my friend that I mention who is pregnant with her 5th child. So his family will stay out until about 8.30…. at which time Simon wants to take Caleb home to bed and so he can watch some Australia vs. NZ rugby league game…. and Scotty and I will stay out anther couple hours until the game is over (neither of us watch)…then we meet Simon back at home for some Play Station. Shouldn’t be too challenging? Make a good tea selection (I love their noodle stir-fry) and stick to the vodka and diet coke (I’d like to say in moderation but you know what a raving vodka nut I become each Friday night *wink* … I can only say I’ll do my best ~hehehe~)…and I shouldn’t do too much scale damage?
Caleb is coming for tea, as are the birthday girl’s 4 children so it’s bound to be heaps of fun. Caleb is all excited about going and wearing the “new glubs” (gloves) that mommy promised to get him while he was at daycare today…. hehehe. He is really into a well-outgrown pair at the moment that he found recently and wears them almost 24/7…oh the fickle whims of a 3yr old *sighs*). Anyhoo he has two new pairs to pick from (only $2 each –bargain huh?) so he’s all excited about getting them to wear out tonight and about eating out and having chicken nuggets and chips (pretty much all her can ever chose when eating out…lucky he loves them!).
Should be a good night all round!
Hope yours is too!!! :)
TFTD: “Nothing will change unless you do!”
Cheers P
Thursday, 4th May 2006...
Boy what a difference one great day can make on the scales!
As usual my weight was way up yesterday morning after my ‘free’ day after weigh-in. It was actually back up to 93.7 (Eeek!) but today it has settled back down to 92.3kg (which would be 91.9kg on the WW scales). I know that it jumps right up after the free day due to salty take-away food etc but it always comes back quickly the next day when I’m back to the grindstone. Yesterday I finished on 18pts and enjoyed a day off exercise…it was lovely.
I worked at WW last night on the scales and that was heaps of fun. Much less stress then worrying about the money side of the place and so inspirational to see what some people can do in a week!
I was mindful of my fluid intake yesterday and ended up having one litre of water and one can of diet coke for the day. That is honestly the most water I’ve drank in one day in weeks so it’s a start. I certainly notice I need to go to the toilet a lot more but I know it must be doing my poor parched body wonders :)
Today I’ve had 750mls of water so far and two cups of diet hot chocolate made on water only (it’s only 1pt each and so yummy!!!). No diet coke so far but I have put one can in the fridge for an after dinner treat. I’ve just left a glass on the kitchen bench and when I see it I fill it and drink it in one go without thinking about it so I’m sure I can build up to 2 litres a day in no time.
I had a very emotional afternoon yesterday. I was so stressed about Caleb and all the ‘what if’s’ that I cried on and off all afternoon until it was time to put on the happy face to go to WW. However once I got there I was distracted from it for a few hours at least. Today I have again tried to pin down an appointment with the specialist but am only told ‘the Dr will tell us when and we will call you’. Oh Yeah? Well so long as you don’t mind me calling you each and every day until that happens!!! Grrrr! He has had two more ‘episodes’ since the doctor visit yesterday. One yesterday afternoon was particularly bad and it makes me sick to my stomach every time he says that he is dizzy :( That appointment better be soon I can tell you – I don’t pay a fortune in private health cover for nothing!
On a brighter note…I’ve been mindful of my salt intake today as planned and have ditched the usual WW frozen dinner for lunch in place of turkey and baked beans on toast. Yummo!
Oh can I tell you some happy news!! This afternoon I have an appointment with the bank to review my insurance needs etc. We are insured to the hilt for all things from home, car, business and life insurances so I need to save wherever I can. When I took out my life insurance last year I had to pay a penalty each month for the increased risk caused by my weight!! (Hello – wake up call anyone??). I found out that my BMI had to be 30 or below to avoid it so today I can walk in with my head held high and demand that penalty fee be removed! Hoorah!! :) I am now officially no longer an insurance liability!
Tomorrow I have to go into my local Susanne Gray store and pick out several outfits for the ‘modeling’ at WW next Tuesday morning…Eeek! I am terrified of it and wish so much that I had declined the offer in the first place. But then that’s me – always saying yes when I mean no! Besides I think it will be a worthwhile experience for me and one I sure didn’t expect to be doing so it’s not all bad.
Tomorrow night’s pub dinner just got more risky! Turns out Simon wants to come home about 8pm to watch some sports game on TV (??) so Scotty and I are going to carry on without him. That means a lot more alcohol potential so I must be good!
Tomorrow morning I have my first session at the gym back with the Enforcers so I’m hoping when it’s over and I pick my sore and sorry body up off the floor I’ll be determined not to undermine all my hard work that night at the pub *wink* Yeah right!!! :)
Anyhoo…. almost time to go to that bank appointment so I’d best get moving.
TFTD: “A women is not finished when she is defeated. She is finished when she quits!”
Cheers P
Wednesday, 3rd May 2006...
Yawn!
I didn’t sleep too well last night and while Caleb is napping right now I planned to snooze myself but I knew if I did that I wouldn’t get time to update later today so I figure I’ll dash this out then sleep if I still have time.
Well…day one of a new WW week today. The first thing I did when I woke up this morning was to go to the fridge, take the leftover Chinese and noodle dishes from last nights tea out of the fridge – and throw them in the bin! I love Chinese and I know I have zero resolve to resist it if it in the house so I had to get rid of it and quick! Phew, narrowly avoided that temptation!
I also drank a quick glass of water. You see I am TERRIBLE with drinking water, or drinking in general for that matter (ok except vodka on a weekend *wink*). On an average day I’ll often have no water at all, but will drink 2 or 3 cans of diet coke over the day – and that’s it! It’s just not good enough.
I was watching the Biggest Loser Secret’s revealed episode that I had taped last night and it got me thinking. They were explaining the water loading that they did on the show. The quick version was that basically 1mg of salt retained 50ml’s of water so if they had immunity they would increase their salt intake and water intake to ‘water load’…. then after weigh-in they would cut back the salt and increase the water so to have a big ‘loss’ the next week. In increasing their salt they didn’t eat the real thing or anything…they said that many diet products were high in salt so they just ate more of these! Now I’ve never been one to watch my salt intake, and while I am certainly NOT advocating this water loading practice it sure is food for thought…so to speak :) So today I have decided I need to learn more. Later in the week when I have more time I am going to use my tracker to look back on my food intake and try to work out how much salt I eat on an average day versus the recommended intake. I know the frozen WW meals I eat most days for lunch are sure to be high. In addition to that I’m going to really pump up my water intake. REALLY! That doesn’t mean to ridiculous levels but I think coming from zero glasses a day that 2L will be a good goal to aim for. I’ve had 1L so far today and it’s 2pm so I’m going ok. I think not only will it help in the long run, but also if my toilet trips are anything to go by, my body is going to gladly dump a lot of the excess fluid it carries around on a daily basis.
Something else that has got me thinking of late is carbs. I managed to drop almost 2kg overnight earlier this week prior to weigh-in simply by going low-carb the day before. Hmmm there is definitely reason to look more into this too! But the salt for now and I’ll work on the carbs next. Don’t get me wrong, I could NEVER go without them, but it wouldn’t hurt to cut back just a little??
Oh and for those who asked…I did do another pregnancy test…. and it was negative – of course! I knew it would be but as I was almost 3wks late I figured it couldn’t hurt to be sure. But alas, no baby :(
In other medical news…I am stressed for Caleb at the moment. Over the last month or so we have noted that he has had 5 dizzy spells. And by dizzy I mean he staggers, slides down walls and calls out for me. He says “I’m dizzy mommy” then just clings to my lap for a minute or two until it passes. Me being the ‘worst case scenario’ type thinker that I am thinks…low blood sugar, low blood pressure…or tumor!!! Eeek! Anyway we finally got a Dr’s appt today and she didn’t know either! She said it could be some infantile vertigo (according to the specialist that she phoned while I waited) but in any case it needed further investigating. So now I have to take him to a peadiatric specialist next week and he’ll likely have to be sedated to have a CT scan of his brain. SHIT! This really worries Simon and I as NOTHING in this world is more important than our little man. I could not stand to think of anything bad being wrong so I’m just trying not to think about it for now until I know more.
Jesus!
I’m working at WW tonight on the scales…should be so motivating (and distracting!)
TFTD: “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary!”
Cheers P
Tuesday, 2nd May 2006...
Phee-Ewe!!!!!
I made it! I don’t know how but I managed to pull off a small loss after all. By the skin of my teeth I might add with 0.2kg down but I’m stoked all the same. I know after the weekend’s drinking etc I didn’t deserve one.
I worked hard yesterday to get there though. I did finish the day on 14 points but I certainly didn’t starve or skip meals. With those points I still had three good meals and even morning tea. I just chose very wisely and very low carb. I also did a 1hr walk yesterday morning and then Simon, Caleb and the puppy joined me for another 1hr walk yesterday afternoon, which was a nice change. Then this morning I was up at 5.30am going for another walk – this time 45mins but it included several stints of jogging including two that were up very steep hills so it was all worth it :)
I cannot tell you how bummed I was all day and night yesterday. Sledging myself in my mind for the balls up I’d made of the weekend, and dreading posting a gain in my second week. So hoorah! I am most pleased to put this week behind me and move on with the next now.
I’m back to the 91’s again…. sitting dead on 30.0 BMI so as long as I lose next week I’ll get back to the ‘overweight’ BMI of <30…Hopefully I’ll lose enough to get to the low 91’s or better still the 90’s…. and before I know it I can put that Easter gain behind me and get back to those 80’s!
This weekend we are going to the pub Friday night…. Gulp! My friend is having her birthday celebration there for dinner etc so I’m planning ahead. I know I will have had my first Enforcer session that morning and if I am careful with points that day I should be able to enjoy a nice dinner there and just a few drinks. They make a noodle stir-fry that is just to die for so I’m looking forward to it already. Drinks aside…so long as I can come home at the end of the night and not eat anything I’m sure I’ll be fine. I hope!
Thanks to everyone who offered their support and encouragement this week – it really did make the difference for me! *hugs*
TFTD: “Tell me and I’ll forget, show me and I’ll remember, involve me and I’ll understand!”
Cheers P
Monday, 1st May 2006...
It’s official…. Weekends Suck!
Hehehe What I mean is that my resolve, my focus, my dedication to my goals completely dissolves at about 2pm on a Friday and doesn’t show it’s sheepish head again until about 7am Sunday! Dammit!!
I was going so well this week but then after those big pub nights over the weekend I undid it all in one foul swoop :( Yesterday was a good day…a great day. Did a solid 1hr walk, finished 1.5pts under, was hopeful that I had made some progress to undoing the damage of the alcohol…only to get on scales this morning to see they had gone even further up!!! What the???
I guess it just took a while for all the vodka to catch up? The other thing is I STILL have not got my period (it’s two weeks late now!). I know I am retaining more fluid then the titanic right now, which is not helping those damn scales either. Drat and bother!
Honestly…. my first instinct was to near starve the next two days to get those numbers down…but I’ve come to my senses since then. I know that won’t help me in the long term and I just need to face the consequences that come and move on. Just like I advise other’s to do. It’s one gain – not the end of the world Paulene!
So yeah…instead I am eating low carb, but still eating the right amounts…I’m exercising 2hrs a day for today and the next two days…and will just see what happens. Whatever will be, will be, they say!
I have done a good 1hr walk this morning already. My one route used to take almost an hour but as my fitness improves it has dwindled down to only 45mins. So yesterday and today I combined two walks (previously 1hr 20mins total) that now equal spot on 1hr…yey! It also includes two very steep hills and I jog up one of these so that gives the walk a bit more oomph.
Anyhoo…. bring on the new week already. I’m ready!
TFTD: “Do something for somebody everyday for which you do not get paid!”
Cheers P
Sunday, 30th April 2006...
Oooh what a weekend!
Turned out to be a fairly big one … as usual…D’oh!
Had just a couple of drinks on Friday night as planned so that was all good. Our friend came over late that night and we stayed up until all hours playing silly golf games on the PS2. Then Saturday we didn’t get to that reunion fete after all but I got a few things done around the house instead which was good.
Last night Caleb slept at Granny’s and should be home soon for lunch. We had plans with friends to go to the pub then out to the golf driving range to play some mini golf for something different – until we found they weren’t open past dark. So that meant we stayed at the pub until much later and I drank much more then I had planned (at last count I think it was two jugs and two glasses of vodka and diet coke…Ugh!). Then we went back to our friends house this time and we sat around gas bagging and playing golf on Simon’s mobile phone until about midnight before falling into a taxi to come home.
Everyone else had hamburgers or KFC for tea last night at or after the pub but I didn’t touch a thing! I came home and had a WW frozen meal and a bread roll instead. Granted it was at about 1am this morning but that’s life. I did blow it after that by grazing on some left over spaghetti bolognaise in the fridge but all things considered it was ok for a pub night??
Scales are up this morning…. of course after all those drinks etc…. but hopefully I’ll still be on track for a small loss next week. Eeeek I bloody well hope so!
Well my Ebay sale of my old fat clothes finished on Friday and I made and easy $90 from clothes I’ll never wear again…Yey! I have easily that many again to list when I next cull my closet which I’ll hopefully get to do later this week. With my profits I treated myself to a new shirt and gorgeous new perfume. It’s called “Sunflowers” by Elizabeth Arden and it smells divine!!
I found a great new food find yesterday. You can now get the Philadelphia Light Cream Cheese in single serve snap apart packs…. 40grams each tub which is more then enough for two serves or one very indulgent one and only 1.5pts each! Marvelous!
I noticed too that WW have now added oven chips and oven wedges to their frozen food range and they are only 2pts each so I’ll be looking for them next shop for sure. I tend to eat one of their frozen meals for lunch most days of the week and they are always coming up with great new additions. My favorites of late have been their cottage pie and their tuna bake – yummo! And I still love my old favorites the Chicken chow mien, Chicken hot pot and the mushroom agnolotti pasta. Yum, Yum, Yum! So fast and easy (although at $5 a pop not cheap!) and I have one with a bread roll and find them most satisfying. I know though that frozen meals are not ideal due to salt content etc though so I’m trying to get back into making my own lunches more often. In the meantime though I figure it’s better to make a good choice that’s convenient too :)
Ok well that gorgeous boy of mine will be home any time now so I’d best go shower and make myself a bit more human. I’ve just had a big bowl of fresh watermelon for breakfast and that has helped me feel much better. I love watermelon! Hehehe I sound just like Caleb who “loves” everything at the moment. Eg “Mummy I LOVE dinosaurs” or “Mummy I LOVE tractors” or “Mummy I LOVE my puppy”…hehe yep he loves the world right now!
Hope you all had a great weekend and are ready to head into another week. May it be better then the last for you all :)
TFTD: “People have a way of becoming what you encourage them to be – not what you nag them to be!”
Cheers P
Friday, 28th April 2006...
Friday…. Fabulous Friday! :)
There is something about Friday that just makes me want to PARTY! Eeek now stay in control Paulene *wink*
Ok…. well first things first today. The Biggest Loser Finale and Reunion show last night! If you have not seen it yet then skip this paragraph or prepare to know the outcome. Man alive did they look great or what!!! I was so pleased to see Adro win as he has completely transformed himself and did it for his family, which is great. Kristie looked bloody amazing…as did Big Wal and Shane (who now looks a little like Keannu Reeves I thought!). Fiona was absolutely stunning and even Cat has done wonders! Well they all have of course and hats off to them. Even the host, AJ Rochester, looked like she had knuckled down in the 2 months off air and dropped some serious weight for the reunion show...she looked gorgeous! Golly I sure am going to miss my nightly motivation fix – lucky we have Big Brother just started now to get me through *hehehehe*
Quick BB mentions…. David is hot hot hot (of course he is gay!)…. Jamie the personal trainer has a great body (of course) and I also think Ashley is a total spunk! Gee it sounds like I’m only watching it for the boys doesn’t it – well I am!!! *wink* As expected all the girls are outgoing and drop dead gorgeous so the male viewers are not left wanting either. They all seem to be getting on a little too well for now though but that’s sure to wane as the weeks wear on.
Just got back from a sweaty gym session. Did a total of 50mins that looked like this:
-10mins recumbent cycle at level 7
-10mins treadmill jogging at 8km/hr
-5mins cross trainer
-2 mins seated rowing
-10mins recumbent cycle at level 8
-3 mins treadmill walking at 6.5km/hr
-8mins treadmill jogging at 8km/hr
-2mins treadmill running at 9km/hr.
I start back with the Enforcer next Friday and I can’t wait!!
When I got home I made a big yummy noodle, beef and vege stir-fry for late breakfast/early lunch and I’ll be good to go now until teatime. I’m meeting the boys at the pub this arvo for just a couple of drinks (yes a couple not a couple jugs!) and tomorrow our old school is holding reunion celebrations so we are all going to head up there and check out who we can see. Should be fun! 12 months ago I would have cut off my own leg rather then went to a reunion of sorts from my skinny school days but I’m done putting my life on hold and I’m going anyway!
Then Saturday night Caleb is staying at Granny’s and I’m not sure what we are doing yet but I’ll be good. And if I can’t be good I’ll have fun!!! *wink*
Have a great weekend everyone!
TFTD: “In the waste is better than on the waist!”
Cheers P
Thursday, 27th April 2006...
Yippee a gain :) *wink*
I know that sounds strange to say but it’s true. For one, I’ve faced it now, recorded it and can move on with the rest of the challenge. Secondly it is still a big loss for week 1. Even though my week 1 was only 3 days I still managed to drop 1.8kg so that’s cool. Now it will be full weeks from here and I’m pumped to ensure those numbers go down, down, down!
I have gone back to the 90’s…..I have gone back over 30 BMI by a smidgen…but I’m sure the BMI can be back down next week and I’m aiming for back in the 80’s by week 3’s weigh-in.
Yes I screwed up. Yes I got carried away over Easter. Not with chocolate but with friends, dinners out, drinks etc…and a few chockies (hehehe). It’s behind me now, I’ve learnt my lesson and I’m closing the door on the last month!
FORWARD MARCH!!
*wink*
TFTD: “What lies behind us and what lies before us is insignificant compared to what lies within us!”
Cheers P
Monday, 24th April 2006...
Welcome to day 1 of the “12wk EASTER Challenge!”
The start weights are pouring in, along with a few new members, and already it feels like I’ve never been away *wink* Although many think dozens of emails a week must be a lot of work for me…I love talking to you all and being inspired by your achievements so don’t ever think I don’t enjoy reading what you write :)
Well…. as many of you may have seen…my own start weight was shocking! 93.9kg so almost back to were I started the last challenge *hangs head in shame*. I know it’s only temporary though, and due to a very late period, mostly water retention I’m hoping?? In any case I’m taking it on the chin and moving on. This weight was taken on my home scales and my next WW weigh-in is on Wednesday night so this will be a very short week for me but not to worry. It will all balance out in the end :)
I did do my walk yesterday so in the end the last 7 days went like this for exercise:
Tuesday – 90 min gym session as detailed in that day’s journal entry
Wednesday – 45 min walk
Thursday – 40 min walk with hills and some jogging
Friday – 45 min walk + 65 min gym session as detailed in that day’s journal entry
Saturday – 65 min walk pushing Caleb in the pram
Sunday –45 min walk
Would have been a great week if only my eating could have been on track. Still after two weeks of hardly any exercise I know that if I can pull that back in to line like I did then I’m sure this will be my week for getting my eating back in check.
I have done a 1hr gym session this morning, which was 35mins on the recumbent cycle, 10mins treadmill walking at 6.5km/hr and 15mins treadmill running at 7.5-9km/hr. I hope to get out for a 1hr walk this afternoon as well weather permitting. Tomorrow Simon is working despite the Anzac Day public holiday here so I’m going to hit the Esplanade with Caleb and his bike for a good hour or two of exercise. Should be good and bound to be lots of people out for the holiday.
I’ve started a brand new tracker today for the challenge and for the next 3 days until weigh-in I’m focusing on reducing my carbs intake to combat the bloat that I feel. I’ve just had a delish tuna salad for lunch and am now enjoying a cup of chicken noodle soup for afternoon tea. BBQ chicken skewers and salad for tea and only water afterwards should see those scales heading down again by tomorrow.
I’m excited to be beginning the new challenge and also to be starting back with the Enforcer soon. I’m expecting great things over the next 12wks!
Oh and by the way…Big Brother began its new season in Australia last night and gotta say…it looks set to be a fiery one!!! Go BB! :)
Before you all go today I’d love for you to take a look at the SUCCESS page here. The first successful blogger profile is up and I know that you will all be as inspired by Philippa’s efforts as I have been. This girl ROCKS so if you like what you see be sure to drop by her website and let her know :)
I hope to have the first successful slimmer profile up soon too…just waiting on the answers…so stay tuned!
TFTD: “One rule broken weakens all the rest!”
Cheers P
Sunday, 23rd April 2006...
Bleurgh!
That’s about how I’m feeling today :( Have had a big weekend…. subsequent dramatic turn for the worst on the scales and as usual now I’m filled with remorse and regret. Bit late for that now though!
Friday afternoon’s pub visit went well…I had two beers and that’s it. Late that night though I caved in to some mindless late night snacking. Not fatty food but too much food all the same. Then Saturday I went from bad to worse. I did at least start the day by taking Caleb out on my early morning walk in his pram and racking up 65 mins of pounding the pavement. But then after swimming lessons we went to a 3yr old birthday party. The evil veggie nuggets and chips on the food table kept calling my name – as they do *wink* Then that night we went to a friends house for dinner and drinks. I ate chips, cheese and kabana from the pre-dinner nibbles. Then I made less then ideal choices for the bbq tea – one word…potato bake (Mmmm!). Then I really topped the night off by getting thoroughly sloshed on vodka. Ugh!
This morning I hesitantly stood on the scales for my morning weigh – and wished I hadn’t! They said I was back in the 93’s!! I vowed then and there that it would be a slim days eating for me today…and every day until Wednesday’s weigh-in. But then I got real and talked some common sense into myself. And did a pregnancy test.
Hehehe You see TOM is over a week late, nothing new for me but I dragged out a test all the same while visions of the previous nights alcohol consumption danced in my mind. It was negative – of course! I expected it would be as I had no signs suggesting otherwise but I just had to check. The result did however help to clear up some other things for me. Like why I woke this morning with my rings much tighter then usual, why I am feeling a bit blue this weekend, and why I’m eating like a starved animal let lose in a food court :) hehehe
I guess I am retaining water like no tomorrow at the moment – as I do at this time of month. I guess I am letting my emotions influence my eating and self-control. And I guess I need to just accept the weekends damage and move on! Part of my brain is screaming at me to severely limit my food intake between now and weigh-in and to exercise like a women possessed. But what good does that do me? I was so worried about looking like a total failure by being back in the 90’s again that I wanted to do whatever it took to avoid that outcome. Avoid you all finding out, avoid the Enforcer finding out, avoid my WW leader finding out…. etc etc etc. Then I read the most amazing article that clarified everything for me.
The article, written by Mike Kramer, and reprinted here in part, "courtesy of Sparkpeople.com" turned my whole perception around! Have a read for yourself:
Do You Suffer from Diet Rage?
-Rules of the Road to Help You Reach Your Destination-
Think about your dieting history. Does it give you the same feeling as an exasperating traffic jam? You never quite get where you want to go as fast as you want to get there. You get aggravated, yell (usually at yourself), and see people in other lanes going faster than you (how do they DO that?!), and it usually ends up ruining your day.
Here’s the lesson: Getting frustrated with your diet does no more good than getting frustrated in traffic. It just makes you unhappy, unsuccessful and tense.
Next time you start to feel frustrated with your weight loss progress, keep these "lessons of the road" in mind:
·Pay less attention to how much further you have to travel. Stop asking yourself "are we there yet?" You’ll get there when you get there. Instead, look at the scenery, think about life, carry on a conversation, sing along with the radio, or simply be thankful for how far you’ve come.
·The journey is always more fun with a passenger. Have you asked anyone along for the ride?
·You know the route you need to take to reach your weight loss goals. It’s already mapped out. As long as you stay pointed in the right direction, you’ll get there. Even in the worst traffic jams, you still get to your destination at some point. It’s the same way with dieting – just a matter of time. It may take longer than you first expected, but you will get there.
·There will always be periods of stopping and starting. It’s something that you should just anticipate and allow for. No use getting upset or stressed about not making progress. It’s a normal part of the journey.
·Sometimes, you’ve just gotta go with the flow of what’s going on around you. Life can present some situations that you really can’t do anything about. When that happens, staying straight and steady – doing the best that you can – will keep you on track and sane. In traffic, impatient people stop, change lanes, weave in and out of other cars, driving themselves and everyone else crazy – and in the end, usually don’t get any farther along than you do by staying put and going with the flow.
·Shortcuts never work.
·Driving too fast is dangerous. That’s why they call it "crash" dieting. Slow down, take what life gives you, and make sure you arrive at your destination in good health.
Funny how we can lose our senses when faced with something that frustrates us, whether it’s traffic or our diets. Hopefully, remembering these rules will help you reach your destination sooner – and more content – than you expected.
"SparkPeople.com is a free weight loss and fitness website that helps people transition from dieting to living a healthy lifestyle. This article has been reprinted with the permission of SparkPeople, Inc."
How true is that huh? How many times have I got all twisted up in knots over some traffic jam in my diet path…. over some perceived inability to meet expectations (perceived or otherwise). This man could have been writing this for me! I love it and they are words I’ll certainly keep in mind in future.
So where to from here…. forwards is the only way. I’ve eaten well today. Breakfast and Lunch so far for 9.5 points so I’m far from starving myself. I am having a roast chicken and veggie dinner and will compensate a little by at least not eating mindlessly after tea for a change.
In fact I am aiming to make that the number 1 thing I change during this challenge. I will allow myself 2 points per evening maximum. Those 2 points can be spent on a glass of milk, cup of soup, fruit or yoghurt…that’s it! Nothing else. I think that will help to combat my worst eating habit over the coming weeks. One can only hope :)
I’m back with the Enforcer soon so I KNOW that will help. Heaven help me if I had to confess a weekend such as this one to her in future once we are training again. Don’t get me wrong…she’s no bully or brute…but as she says…her business reputation rests on the results she can produce in her clients. I want to be a walking advertisement for her – not a shameful failure.
My exercise this week so far has been:
Tuesday – 90 min gym session as detailed in that day’s journal entry
Wednesday – 45 min walk
Thursday – 40 min walk with hills and some jogging
Friday – 45 min walk + 65 min gym session.as detailed in that day’s journal entry
Saturday – 65 min walk pushing Caleb in the pram
Sunday – 1hr walk planned for this afternoon
In fact my exercise has been the one good thing about this week. Long may it last! Now it’s time to get the food side under control again! I’ll be weighing in Wednesday night this week at WW but I will also weigh at home tomorrow morning for my start weight for the challenge. I know my scales weigh 0.4kg heavier then WW so I’ll adjust the result by this much so that subsequent weekly weighs at WW aren’t affected. I was going to use Wednesday’s weigh-in as my start date but then that means my first weeks result wouldn’t be until the next week and that’s no good. There is no time like the present so for week 1’s result I’ll have only 3 days to achieve it but it won’t matter. Each subsequent result will be over 7 days so it will all work out in the end.
I have only 12 weeks until my Dad’s 60th Birthday party which I am aiming to be in the 70’s for…that’s about 10-12kg to lose in that time so I’ve got to work harder then ever before. But I can do it! I love the support of a challenge, I love sharing the experience with all of you joining me for it…and I KNOW I will love the results! *wink*
Oh and one more thing before I go. I have heard some lovely compliments again this week (great timing for my battered ego I’d say!). Simon’s old boss saw me for the first time in about a year last week and told Simon “You’d better lock that wife of yours up because she is looking great!” (kidding about the locking up part of course but I loved the sentiment). Then at swimming yesterday I had a mom approach me out of the blue, I don’t recall having spoken to her before but she obviously remembers me. She came over to tell me I was looking “fantastic” and to ask how much weight I had lost as she could certainly see that I had! Wow *blush* That makes me grin like a fool just recalling it now. I resisted the urge to jump up and hug her but WOW…I want more of that please! :)
TFTD: “If at first you don’t succeed – try, try, try again!”
Cheers P
Friday, 21st April 2006...
Fabulous Friday has arrived yet again!
Still on track and going well in this neck of the woods. Finished yesterday on 22/22 points exact again. It feels GREAT to be back on track again…able to shut up that niggling guilt in the back of my mind that was saying, “You’re going back to your old ways and your fat will come back!”…Hehehe And no…as a mental health nurse I can say with all certainty that I am NOT psychotic *wink*…just neurotic! Hehehe
Just got back from a kick ass gym session which went as follows:
-20 mins recumbent cycle (level 7 for 15mins and level 8 for 5 mins)
-Cable Row 3 x 12 (20kg)
-Pull downs 3 x 12 (25kg)
-Pec Deck 3 x 12 (15kg)
-5 mins cross trainer (level 6)
-Leg curls 3 x 12 (10kg)
-Leg press 3 x 12 (20kg)
-Leg extension 3 x 12 (15kg)
-25 sit-ups on bench at 45 degree upwards incline
I had hoped to get on the treadmill at the end but they were all taken and I’d done 65mins anyway so decided to call it quits for the day (also had already done 45min walk this morning)
My exercise this week so far has been:
Tuesday – 90 min gym session as detailed in that day’s journal entry
Wednesday – 45 min walk
Thursday – 40 min walk with hills and some jogging
Friday – 45 min walk + 65 min gym session.
Not too shabby!
No plans for a big night tonight at this stage. We are going to the pub this arvo for just a couple but I’ll probably have 2-3 vodka and diet cokes at most before I have to drive home. Tomorrow night we are going to a friends for a bbq tea and drinks but there will be plenty of good food options and I’ll be sticking to vodka and diet coke again so not too many points there. We also hope to catch up on some lawn, garden and yard work this weekend so that’s bound to burn off a few of those vodka’s *wink*
Ok…enough for now. Have much to do so best get moving.
TFTD: “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty!”
Cheers P
Thursday, 20th April 2006...
Is it Thursday already?
Gee this week seems to be going fast! In any case I am going good so that’s a relief. After a long 2 weeks of slackness I am back on the wagon and busy getting back into the groove of things.
Yesterday was day 1 of the new week and so far so good! I finished the day spot on 22/22 points and did a 45min walk in the morning. I had hoped to do more in the afternoon but Simon was late home and then I had to go to the WW meeting to learn the job of weigher, so I had no time to spare.
I haven’t been sleeping too well of late and last night, despite turning the light off at 10pm I tossed and turned until almost midnight. When I woke at 4.30am I didn’t think twice about turning my alarm off and mentally canceling my morning walk. However Simon woke me accidentally at 5.45am when he got up to go to the toilet so I figured if I was awake I might as well go after all …so I did. I did a 40min walk today but it included two big hills and two spurts of jogging (one of which was up the steepest hill). Getting out of bed really is the hardest part because after that it really is a pretty pleasant time of day to get out and walk and blow some cobwebs away!
Last night at my meeting my leader asked me to do some modeling for her!! EEEEK!! As usual I said yes when I really meant no (funnily enough the meeting topic of the night too) but I’m sure it will be ok. It’s on May 9th and the clothing store Susan Gray will supply the clothes. I get to go in and chose an outfit I’d like to wear so hopefully I can find something half decent? It’s only in front of the Tuesday morning WW group anyway so how bad can it be?? *Shit why did I say yes?* hehehe
I’ve also got some more working nights lined up as weigher in two weeks and as recorder/money taker in 4 weeks so that’s good too. All the more incentive to get to those meetings each week! I really enjoyed the weigher job last night. Much less stress without having to deal with money and also I find it really inspiring to see what some people lose each week.
Oh and I also learnt something in last nights meeting that I had been doing wrong. Stupid me had been counting Nestle diet yoghurt as 2 points each instead of 1…D’oh! You see it has the WW points on the side as 1 point per serve but the pack says two serves per pack. I thought that was two serves per tub (as stupid as I thought that was) but of course it was a two pack of yoghurt tubs…hence the two serves. Double D’oh! It sure is nice to find out something is less then you thought though :)
I got a nice surprise in the mail today. A copy of the new WW cookbook ‘Pantry Pull Together's’. It was sent to me by WW but I’m not sure why? Perhaps for the interview I did? There was no letter accompanying it but I’ve dealt with the women before while I was doing the WHO magazine challenge so I’m going to send her an email of thanks and ask why I got it? I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth though and it was a lovely surprise!
On Tuesday I spent the day listing another stack of my fat clothes for sale on Ebay. I had been meaning to do it for ages and still have at least as much again to get rid of after this lot. I was surprised to see that I had many items in a size 26!!!! These were shirts however and I did always buy them bigger then I needed because I thought it hid the truth better (wishful thinking) but still…. I always say I started out as a 22 but in reality if I was buying 26’s then I guess that’s what I should count as my starting size. I don’t have to tell you how much nicer size 16 feels now!!!
Only a few days to go before the new challenge starts! Yippee! The participants are rolling in and I’m really motivated to do much better this time. I lost 13.7kg in my first 12wks (granted that was with a personal trainer 5 days a week) and only 4.4kg my next 12wks. I’ve set my goal at 81kg for the end of this challenge as that will be only 5kg from my WW goal…. however while out walking this morning I got to thinking about my goals. My Dad turns 60 in mid July and all my family and many friends I’ve not seen since my wedding will be traveling here for the party. I’d love, love, love to be at least in the 70’s by then to really wow them! That means I’d have to lose about 10kg this next challenge. Is that do-able? …. I’m not sure but I’m damn well going to give it my best shot!!! *grins*
I was saying to Simon last night…. what on earth am I going to do with myself when I do make it to goal?? This is such a focus of my life right now that I don’t know what I’ll be left with in the end? Perhaps I can devote my energies to getting pregnant again instead – sure would be more fun! *wink*
TFTD: “Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there!”
Cheers P
Tuesday, 18th April 2006...
I’m back baby!
I’ve moved on from the lackluster efforts of the part two weeks and am refreshed and renewed to once more begin the battle forward.
Easter is behind me, Simon is back at work, routine has returned to my life … and today I returned to the gym :) I’ve hardly been to anything other then classes there for a few months now, as I just got bored of the same old cardio. Today though I spent a solid 90mins there and feel happy with what I achieved in that time. It went like this:
-Cardio- 20mins recumbent cycle (level 7)
-3 x 12 cable rows (20kg)
-2 x 12 pull-downs (25kg)
-1 x 12 pull-downs (20kg)
-2 x 12 pec deck (15kg)
-1 x 12 pec deck (10kg)
-Cardio- 10mins cross trainer (level 6)
- 3 x 12 leg press (20kg)
- 3 x 12 leg curls (10kg)
-3 x 12 leg extension (10kg)
-Cardio- treadmill 11mins running at 7.5km/hr continuous
-Cardio- treadmill 4 mins running at 8.5km/hr continuous
-100 ab roller crunches (25 each side and 50 straight up)
-Cool down stretches.
Yey! It felt great to be back there and breaking up the cardio with weights really helped to pass the time fast and limit the boredom factor. Also I’m loving doing the arm exercises and seeing my new bicep muscles in the mirror *wink* Hehehe now I’m really motivated to work on the muscle enhancing as the push for fat loss slows down. But don’t worry…I’m not at all impressed with bulked up women who look more like men so I have no intention of going down that road!
I also ran into the Enforcer at the gym and now it’s official…. I’m going back to her training!! Yippee! I’m really excited about it as I know how great I feel (exhausted in the short term but great later on) after her sessions :) I also know that I will need her expertise and guidance to work on the muscle side of things as I go along so I’m stoked. At this stage it will be one session a week, a fixed time at 9am Friday mornings after I drop Caleb off at daycare so I’m really looking forward to that. At this stage it will start next week or the week after so Yey!
I’ve been giving some thought to my early morning walk routine too. Lately as the mornings are darker and colder it’s more of a struggle to get out of bed. So I have a new plan. I will continue to walk at 5.45am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. On Tuesday and Friday when Caleb is at daycare I’m going to go to the gym after dropping him off and then walk in the afternoon before he gets home. That gives me two sleep ins a week (well for as long as Caleb sleeps anyway) and still a base workout routine of 5 x 45min walking and two gym sessions a week. Then I’ll add at least one more walk/workout on a weekend and one on another afternoon as well…probably Monday’s I’d say. That will be about 8hrs minimum a week and anything on top of that will be a bonus.
So following that pattern I’ll head out for a 45min walk this afternoon. Between that and this mornings gym session I’d say I’m back and ready to kick some 80’s ass! Hehehe
I think that for this week I will also add my food trackers to this page each day again. Just to give me some extra incentive to really work hard this week and not let a missed weigh-in become an excuse to eat crap. I know posting it on this site really makes me think twice about what I eat so that will be good for the week ahead.
As for the new Success Stories page…I’ve sent out the first questionnaires to a slimmer and blogger so I hope, if they chose to participate, to have the first profiles up later this week. Will let you know when they are ready.
Otherwise I have also added a new pic to the home page. I had been asked for an 80’s pic and although it is only a few kg’s from the last one I’ve added that for you. I’m still working on a new full body one though. Soon I promise! Ok…. well have a great day everyone! Only one more week until the challenge begins! *Squeal*
TFTD: “Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goals!”
Cheers P
Monday, 17th April 2006...
Happy Easter everyone!!
Hope the Easter bunny hopped on into your house this weekend *wink*
Caleb left out his little Easter nest filled with shredded paper for bunnies R&R…. a carrot and a nice drink of water (which either our puppy drank overnight or the Easter bunny really did drink!!!) and was well rewarded for his efforts the next morning. Caleb was thrilled to wake at 6am and find some candy type lollies and stuffed rabbits in the nest and jelly bunnies that he had to find scattered throughout the house.
Yesterday we went to a friend’s house for Easter Sunday lunch and I was so touched that they all had lollies, toys and books for Caleb so he didn’t miss out while the other kids enjoyed chocolate galore. He’s such a lucky boy and so well loved by those around him bless ‘em!
Well…I only have a few moments to spare so I must make this quick. I’ve just been catching up on some other journals at long last (I still have many more to read tomorrow but I’m getting there). Anyway…it would seem that a few people have struggled of late and I could relate so well to them.
How many times have we taken a ‘break’ from dieting etc over holidays etc only to find the break takes us in the end. What I mean is that one day or one week off can so easily snowball back to our old ways – well for me anyway. I have had the old thought “one week of neglect could mean one month of repair” stuck in my mind all week.
I know I planned a break between challenges but I must be careful that the break doesn’t snowball into a disaster. At this point I am back to the low 92’s on the scales. No big surprise…just the truth!
I always bounce around 1-2kg higher then my weigh in result in the days leading up to it. For example the week before hitting the 89’s I was 90-92 most days earlier that week. So when I look at it that way I’m not too far up at all right now. But still…. I am feeling that old fear of ‘have I blown it completely?’ I am acutely aware of what a big deal getting into the 80’s was for me and I’ll be damned if I want to weigh in back in the 90’s again next week!
However as planned at the start – I’ll take my medicine whatever it may be. Easter is behind me as of tomorrow, Simon is back at work and my old routines can recommence as they were. I am working at the meeting this Wednesday night but I won’t be weighing in until the start of the challenge next week (in my case Tuesday morning weigh-in). That gives me a full week to get back to those 80’s and ready to start the new challenge. I really want to make some good progress with these next 12wks and bring myself as close to my final goal as I can.
Anyway…I guess I’m sort of rambling here. But I just wanted to be honest…. let you all know I’m still focused on my goals but I just have to find my way back to the path AGAIN *wink* Is it just me or do you all have days when you wonder if you will ever totally conquer these demons we battle every day to lose weight? Will it ever get easy or second nature for me or will the battle continue forever??
Tomorrow while Caleb is at daycare I’m going to spend some serious time in the gym. I’ve really gone off the gym of late…sick of the same old cardio machines. I’d love to do more classes but power bar is the only class on the two days that Caleb is in daycare. Aqua is finished until the warmer weather returns and I have found myself doing more walking then anything else. So tomorrows plan is to dedicate at least 1-2hrs for gym work. I plan to break up my cardio with weights …eg 15mins on the bike then work my upper body, then 15mins treadmill then work lower body, then 15 mins cross trainer, 5mins rowing then onto abs. I think that will give me a great workout but moving around to different equipment all the time will help to break the monotony? Let you know how I go :)
I have also been thinking seriously about returning to the Enforcer again. I so miss her knowledge and kick ass workouts and I think that if I am able to set up a regular time that suits I’d love to see her once a week again. I know that only once a week is less then ideal but it’s a start. Besides…nothing keeps me on the straight and narrow more then knowing I have to confess any sins to her after weigh-in *wink*. Oooh by the way…for those of you who have asked… her team won Bronze at the World Titles in NZ for outrigging! Way to go!!!!!
As for the last challenge ... I’m done with it! I refuse to chase anyone any more so anyone who still had outstanding stats owing have been marked as ‘quit’. If you have the stats for me then by all means you can send them through but I wont’ be chasing you for them anymore! I am hoping that this last challenge has weeded out many of the quitters and that those who begin the next challenge with me will see it through to the end. We’ll lead by example :)
Before I go I just wanted to share a quote and an interesting paragraph on putting off our goals. It really rang home for me!
If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything, is ready, we shall never begin! Sometimes it seems like we're always putting off our goals until some vague time in the future called "Once". "Once the New Year rolls around…", "Once I have my new job…", "Once I retire…", "Once the kids are in school…", "Once the kids are OUT of school…" Sound familiar? By waiting for Once to get here, we waste time and frustrate our desire to do what we really want. It's a fact of life that every time one potential distraction disappears, it's quickly replaced with a new one. There will always be something that can stand in your way – if you let it. Ask yourself: are these distractions real reasons, or just good excuses for putting something off? Goals cannot be started in the future. The laws of time and nature dictate that you can only act in the present. You are here, today. So are your goals. The only good time to start is right now.
Amen to that!! Have a great week everyone. I am excited about the new challenge about to begin. We are all going to kick ass!!! :)
Oh I almost forgot some exciting news. I have reinvented the chat room page. I created it based on reader suggestions but due to time differences it wasn’t that successful. So I recieved another great suggestion I have decided to go with … a SUCCESS STORIES page. Each month I will profile a reader’s success story. It will include pics, stats and a questionnaire. Not all those profiled will be at goal…some may be almost there…. some half way…. some just beginning to see the changes. I know how much before and after pics inspire me so I want to share other’s success with a wider audience. Each month I will also feature a website of another successful slimmer. All the better to get maximum support and inspiration for all involved :). I’ll have the first profile up soon so stay tuned and I’ll let you know when it’s ready!
TFTD: “Success is getting up one more time than you fall!”
Cheers P
Thursday, 13th April 2006...
Shhh! Is that the Easter Bunny I hear hopping into town??
:)
Easter is in the air…. the world is full of chocolate temptations…and people are winding down for the long weekend. Magical!
Although Caleb cannot eat Easter Eggs due to his dairy allergy I am still going to try to instill the excitement of Easter in him. I know he can have Carob or soy chocolate but as he doesn’t like sweets/chocolates anyway it’s a waste of money. I have got him some little jelly type bunnies and some candy eggs and a stuffed bunny…just for token treats…even if he does only carry them around and play with them rather then eat them *wink*
On Saturday we are going to make an Easter Bunny Nest in a shoebox with ripped paper etc and a little drink and carrot for the Easter bunny. Then when he wakes up on Sunday he can see what has been left for him. Daddy will be taking the long weekend off and we’ll have lot’s of fun times together at the beach, park and friends places so who needs chocolate anyway!! :)
Yesterday was our 9th wedding anniversary and as planned we had a lovely dinner out and caught Basic Instinct 2 at the cinema. As for the movie – save your money for the DVD is all I can say! The dinner was lovely though. I had prawns in garlic and sweet chili sauce with rice and salad and it was delish!!! I only drank diet coke at the pub and all things considered was happy with my choices. However I wont’ go into the popcorn and chocolate at the cinema story *wink-wink*
I know I’ve been a bit off course since cracking the 80’s and finishing up the challenge but I am enjoying the break and not going too crazy. I’ll be back on course to start the next challenge and I must plan some goals for that too. At this stage I think I will make my goal to be below 85kg by the end of the Easter challenge. I may be able to do better but I’d rather be realistic then aim too high. That will only leave about 8kg to goal then so that will be fantastic.
Anyway…. Caleb is at day-care today. I am hosting a seafood/bbq lunch tomorrow for my Dad and his wife and Simon’s mom and brother, which should be yummy!! I’m doing fresh prawns, bbq garlic prawn skewers, seafood sticks, bbq plum chicken kebabs, Nile perch in a salmon and cream cheese sauce and a tonne of salads with fresh dinner rolls…Mmmm my mouth is watering at the thought. For an appetizer I’m doing garlic bread toasts (you know those mini pieces of toast) with smoked salmon, light cream cheese and capers! *Drool* Should be good fun.
Have a spectacular Easter everyone!!!
TFTD: “If you fail to plan you can plan to fail!”
Cheers P
Tuesday, 11th April 2006...
Well my weekend was fabulous :)
Had friends around for dinner on the Friday night…. then my best mate Julie arrived Saturday and we had a big night out at the pub and had a blast!
Sunday was spent recovering and even yesterday I just blobbed out at home with Caleb most of the day. I’ve got a cold (Again!) so haven’t got stuck back into the exercise as yet as I have been enjoying some much needed sleep-ins instead. However I’ll be back at it from tomorrow – the start of my new WW week.
Hoping I can still be in the 80’s at weigh in next week although I am expecting a small gain after the big weekend I’ve had and Easter still to come?? In any case I’ll take whatever it is and keep on moving forward….or downward as the case may be *wink*
Tomorrow is our 9th Wedding Anniversary for Simon and I. We have been together 14yrs this year (since yr 12 at school). We usually follow the traditional gifts each year but as this year is willow or pottery – and neither of us was fussed on either – we have decided we’d rather go out for dinner and a movie instead. We are going to see Basic Instinct 2 so I’ll let you know how it was.
Otherwise…I am enjoying the rest from the onslaught of challenge stats as the flow is slowing down to the final results trickling in now. But come Monday the 24th we’ll be back at it and kicking butt. 206kg in the first challenge…. 370kg or so in this one…. just imagine what we can achieve next time!!!!!
TFTD: “Believe and Succeed!” “Make it happen!”
Cheers P
Saturday, 8th April 2006...
Thanks heaps to all you lovely ladies who have showered me with compliments and congratulations since my last entry … I’m very touched!
Well it’s Saturday night and our big night out tonight…. yippee! Julie gets to town after lunch today so I am certainly looking forward to that!
I’ve been pretty lax on the eating front since Wednesday night. Nothing too crazy but I think knowing that I am not weighing in next week has made me a little carefree *wink* In any case I’m going to enjoy the rest of my weekend then get right back into the tracking and exercising come Monday morning :)
I did notice this morning that I have achieved two more goals. The first was wearing a belt (that did up) with jeans. I actually did this last weekend but had forgotten it was listed as a goal! Then yesterday I went on a big shopping trip and I picked up a gorgeous frilly, flowery matching set of bra and knickers in a size 16 – another goal checked!
I am turning into SUCH a shop-a-holic now that I can fit into so many nicer clothes!! Simon will be taking away my credit cards soon *wink*. To be honest though I have a big money tin that I have been saving all my $1 and $2 coins in since last year and that will be my ‘at goal’ shopping spree funds. Now that it is drawing close I can’t wait to get the tin opener onto that baby and see how much is in there!!!
Despite hunting in about 10 different shoe shops in two cities yesterday I couldn’t find the new high heels I had been hoping to buy. My old pair that are just perfect (strappy, black with diamontes) are almost falling apart and the new ones I bought to replace them a while ago are just not comfortable. It’s always the way isn’t it? I think when you find a great pair of shoes you should always buy two pair because you’ll be glad you did when the first ones wear out! Anyway I have one more shop to check today so I’ll keep hoping to find just the right pair to wear tonight. Must take a new pic when we are all dressed up to go out too!
The final challenge stats are rolling in and I see we have cracked 360kg! OH MY!!!!
I am so impressed with everyone’s efforts! Some have lost 20kg+…. some 10kg+ or 5kg+…others have broken new weight decades and some have cracked the 100’s down to the 90’s. Others have reached their final goals and more still have gained the confidence to know they will make their own if they just keep at it!
A success in every shape of the word…. *applauds*
Imagine what we can do on the new challenge!!!
Ok…well have a great weekend everyone!
TFTD: “Without challenge there is no achievement!”
Cheers P
Thursday, 6th April 2006...
I DID IT! I DID IT! I DID IT!
I’M AN 80’S GIRL AT LAST!!!! :)
Yep…can you tell how stoked I am? Hehehe
I weighed in last night at a thrilling 89.5kg!!! 29.7kg gone now, only a short trip to 30kg lost, but still 80’s, 80’s, 80’s and I felt on top of the world!
I came home and marked the last cross of Philippa’s motivational sign on my fridge and boy that felt great – thanks again babe!
I have not been in the 80-kilo range since I about 1995 when I was 20yrs old. Shame to waste my 20’s being so overweight but at least my 30’s won’t now go the same way!
So yeah…not much else to say for now…except WOO-BLOODY-HOO!!!!
TFTD: “You never fail until you stop trying!”
Cheers P
Wednesday, 5th April 2006...
Quick entry today.
Weigh in tonight so not much more to say for now.
I’m hopeful that I should at least make my 80’s goal tonight so I’m so glad I didn’t cave in yesterday! I still wavered throughout the day but I just kept busy and tried not to think about it all.
I went to the gym yesterday afternoon and did 45mins on the recumbent cycle and after that, eating bad just wasn’t an option anymore after all the effort I had put into the day. I didn’t eat anything after dinner and was rewarded on the scales this morning! At this stage I am in the 80’s nude this morning (sorry for that image *wink*) but with clothes and shoes on for weigh in I think it will be a pretty close call!
I doubt I’ll get a chance to update tonight so stay tuned tomorrow for the final results.
I’m really looking forward to a few weeks break from the challenge pressure before the next one begins…not the pressure of running it but the pressure I put on myself to do good in it??
Anyway…. the new participant numbers are rolling in and I look forward to coming back refreshed after Easter and traveling the next 12wks with you all!
TFTD: “We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails!”
Cheers P
Tuesday, 4th April 2006...
It has been a very challenging day for me today. And an exciting one too!!!
Let me explain….
As you know the scales were still up after my beer binge on Friday night. I was aware this was the last weigh of the challenge and I also like to do it on a Tuesday normally so I can enjoy my ‘free’ day while Caleb is at daycare…. something about eating and relaxing at will that brings out the old sloth in me *wink*
Anyway…I decided I had a few choices:
1-Skip weigh in this week and just record a 0.0kg result for the week
2-Keep battling on and register whatever result I get tomorrow night when I have to go to the meeting to work anyway (knowing that I will near starve tomorrow to achieve a loss!)
3-Weigh in today and record the gain
Hmmm decisions, decisions!
Even as I was getting dressed for my walk early this morning I was still wavering back and forth as to whether to go or just write the week off and enjoy a day off. I ended up going anyway. All the way around the 45min circuit I was chopping and changing my mind about the decision I would make.
I came home decided I would skip the scales this week, register a 0.0kg and just eat what I wanted to today. I told Simon and he was less then supportive of this idea –bless him! So I changed my mind again…and again…and again. Ultimately…I decided to do the right thing and just keep on keeping on :)
I REALLY want to see those 80’s tomorrow and I know I am only 0.8kg away from my 30kg lost mark too. My best mate Julie is coming to visit this weekend and we are planning a bit of a pub bender on this Saturday night so if I’m going to take any week off it needs to be next week after that so I’ll think about that then but for now keep working on those 80’s for tomorrow night. (90.9kg on my home scales still so it will be a close call by then).
So here I am. I’ve had 8pts so far today. I have a yummy low point dinner in the crock pot/slow cooker and I’ve done a 45min walk and will be hitting the gym later today. For tea I used some beef and vegetable stock and a small can of tomato soup…. added 500g of lean diced beef…and a tone of fresh veggies (potato, onion, broccoli, beans, mushroom and carrot) and have let it bubble away all day for a yummy and healthy dinner without any hassle. Too easy! I don’t plan to eat after dinner tonight and I’ll be taking it super lean tomorrow on the food. The old me would not eat all day and I will still struggle not to do that, but I’ll give it my best shot to stay sensible and do what’s best for my metabolism and long term success instead of worrying about short term losses.
As a bit of a pick me up I headed to the hairdressers today and had my blonde streaks redone. So it’s a lot lighter again and I’m feeling fresh and fine *wink*
Ok…. now the exciting news….
I’m going to be in another magazine!!
This time I will be in the June/July edition of Weight Watchers magazine!!!
*Eeeek!*
However no daggy pics this time at least as it’s an article on weight loss blogs. I’m not sure how or why they thought of me but they did and I am thrilled! I did the interview over the phone this morning and now I am intrigued as to what the final article will be like.
You know if someone had told me 12months ago that I would finally succeed in the battle of my fat…and appear in WHO magazine, WW magazine and the front page of my local newspaper for my efforts I would have laughed myself silly.
But look at me now huh?
Wonders never cease!!
Ok…. well enough of that *wink* I’m off to create the new challenge grid now. Stay tuned to see your name if you are one of those who have already sent me the email to join up. If you haven’t yet done so, and want to join, see yesterday’s journal entry for details!
TFTD: “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, either way you are right!”
Cheers P
A decent update...
Ok….well after almost 2hrs of work and emails I have finally caught up on all the challenge stats again…phew! Sorry for my absence but it was not my idea of a good time either! To think of the money I waste on antivirus software, and for what? Anyway I think we have everything running as normal again so all should be good from here on out. :)
I see that as the challenge begins to draw to a close we have, as a group, lost 348.1kg!!! Wow I hope we can sneak past the line of 350kg by the end. How awesome would that be??
Thanks to everyone who has sent suggestions re the next challenge. There will be one and it will start Monday, April 24th (just after Easter). So for all you chocolate addicts out there…get your full then get ready to knuckle down for another 12 wks. I have considered shortening the time frame but in the end have decided to leave it as is. There will be no limit to participant numbers so feel free to enter and any time between now and the start date. Just send me an email with *Easter Challenge* in the subject line and I’ll keep it aside ready for the start date. Then the week it begins send me your starting weight. If you don’t have a weigh-in day then make that Monday the 24th your day. If you regularly weigh on a different day then just send me that result when you have it. Anyone who has not sent a start weight by the end of the first week will be removed from the challenge page.
Now the issue of drop-outs continues. We started the current challenge with 108 participants and in the final week we now have only 73 left. Now don’t get me wrong….I don’t care if you decide for whatever reason to quit along the way. But of all those who have done so this challenge only probably 5-10 have actually told me so. The rest just drop out of contact.
These challenges really do take a lot of work on my part so all I ask if is you want to quit then for god’s sake just tell me so ok! Everyone will be given a two week grace period for stats submission. Each week that you fall behind a ‘?’ will be placed on your line. If I need to add a 3rd question mark then I will delete you from the challenge. No questions asked and no emails! That’s the only way to preserve my sanity.
So please….think carefully before you join. Consider if you can commit to 12wks of dedicated effort to lose weight? After all this is a lifestyle change we are all striving for so 3 months should not seem too long?
One other change will be that all participants will be listed alphabetically. This will help me greatly when it comes to adding stats as you can imagine how many times I scroll down the list to find everyone each week *wink*
Ok…so I think that’s all the details for now? Send those emails any time you like from now on with the subject as specified and I’ll add you to the new challenge grid tomorrow when I have it completed. I look forward to sharing this next leg of our journey together!!!
Ok so on that note…how have I been of late? Well pretty good. I did get to Power Bar class on Friday and I’ve done hours of walking this week also. I’m working at the meeting on Wednesday night this week so will be weighing in then. I had a big night out on Friday in a beer soaked blur *wink* so I’m still hoping against hope to reach those 80’s this week to end the challenge on a note of personal success. Even if it is 89.9kg I’ll be a HAPPY GIRL!
Stay tuned….
TFTD: “Some succeed because they are destined to. Most succeed because they are determined to!”
Cheers P
Monday, 3rd April 2006...
Hey everyone…I’m still alive!
Our computer was attacked by a vicious virus on Friday morning and it has taken us until now to even get online again. Man that shits me no end…so much for anti-virus software huh!!!
Anyway….I just wanted to say that I have all your emails re challenge stats updates etc and I should have everything up to date, and emails replied to (including a full update to this journal page) finished by tomorrow night at the latest.
Sorry for the delay.
Stay tuned!
Cheers P
