Friday, 30thSeptember 2005...
Not a whole lot to say today.
Had a beach workout with The Enforcer yesterday. We did jogging, power walking, jogging, stair climbing, jogging, squats, jogging, sideways running in soft sand, more jogging. So yeah plenty of jogging :) hehehe
The Enforcer made the comment that I would be really fit by the end of this. You know what … I think she may be right! I have never done this amount of exercise in my life yet at the same time it’s almost enjoyable. It’s not nice before or during but it feels damn good after!
As we have already done 4 workouts this week and have a gym circuit scheduled for Saturday morning I was given the option of having today off. I said I’d rather work out today too (Am I crazy!!!!!). The Enforcer seemed please with my answer, to what I assume was a little test, and said it showed I had real drive to reach my goal.
Dang right I do!!!! I WANT that 90’s result on Monday.
The scale aversion is hard for me. Really hard! Today I came very close to weighing on two occasions and both times I received an email from someone encouraging me to stay off them. How’s that for timing huh?? So I’m abstaining … for now. Simon did offer to hide them but I’d rather resist them on my own or what’s the point. I guess it’s just that I have wanted so badly to be under 100kg for a decade now and to think I could be there right now and not know it is killing me!!! Aaargh!!!
To take my mind off it I went shopping…as you do. I desperately need some new clothes as I am rapidly growing out of my existing ones (and yes I do mean they are getting too big - not too small). At the same time though I don’t want to spend too much money on size 18 clothes now when I could possibly even be a size 16 by the end of this challenge (can’t dwell on that thought too much or I might bust a valve in my brain … the mere possibility is THAT exciting!). So I ended up getting a lovely pair of white denim shorts for $16 and light cotton, button up shirt for $35 in a size 18! The shirt is short sleeve and nipped in around the waist which is exactly what I was looking for (for possibly the first time EVER) as I’m sick of baggy shapeless shirts making me look even bigger than I am. I also got a really cute black halter neck top for eveningwear on lay-by for only $23. I love halter-tops and can’t wait to wear them one day without a shirt over the top of them.
So I am to meet with the Enforcer in 2hrs for workout #5 for the week. It’s going to be cardio and abs at the gym apparently…. oh goody *wink*
Nothing big planned for the weekend. May have some drinks tomorrow night but I already have vodka and mineral water ready that I can have with fresh lemon and lime slices if I decide to drink. Otherwise just having a quiet weekend so as not to undo any progress before Monday’s weigh and measure.
Caleb’s swimming classes start back up again tomorrow morning for another term. And yesterday we went to kinder-gym for the first time and he LOVED it…so much fun, so next week we’ll be joining up for a term of that too. We had a major breakthrough in toilet training yesterday. He finally figured to tell me BEFORE he wet his training pants and he got much applause and dancing for 3 wee's and 1 poo on potty yesterday :) Bet you all wanted to know that right?? *wink*
Ok…. well have a great weekend everyone. Just one more result to come in for week 2 before I can announce the week’s biggest loser. I also noticed the challenge as a whole have lost almost 100kg already…. AMAZING!!!!!!!
Cheers P
Thursday, 29th September 2005...
Another day…. another few hundred grams down I hope :)
Had an excellent start to the WW week yesterday. Finished on only 18pts and did a really hard 1hr bike ride yesterday afternoon with Caleb on the back.
I know that I should keep within 4 points of my daily points allowance of 23 but bed time came round and I had managed not to eat anything after tea so I couldn’t see the point in eating a point of food just for the sake of it right before sleep? As it was, it was a huge achievement for me not to have had anything because late night munchies are my worst habit in this weight loss struggle.
Simon and I were talking about it all last night and I was struggling to explain to him how it is for someone trying to lose weight – which he has never had to do. My analogy was it was like sending an alcoholic into a bottle shop 6 times a day and asking him to make a ‘sensible’ choice!!! It’s bloody hard. We can’t just give up food like a smoker gives up cigarettes. It’s a daily struggle but one that I am determined to win.
I am keeping my 99.x kg goal firmly in my mind this week (hence last nights solid abstinence) and I really, really, really want to achieve it. I was aiming not to weigh until at least Sunday this week – I usually weigh every morning. However Simon threw down a challenge to me last night to stay off the scales all week. Not weigh until the Enforcer weighs me on Monday afternoon! Is he serious??? I’ll never make that!! I have never, not once, gone to a weigh-in at ww or anywhere without first weighing myself at home and knowing exactly what to expect. But it got me thinking. If I don’t know what the scales are doing all week I’ll be really motivated to be extra good in the face of uncertainty. Imagine how thrilling it would be to see those 90’s come up for the first time at my official weigh-in without knowing it before hand. On the flipside I’d be faced with a huge disappointment in front of the Enforcer if it does not…but so be it I guess? All right…. it’s decided!!! If ever there was a first time to do this then I guess my break into the double figures it the best time of all. This is going to be hard!!! :)
Meeting the Enforcer at the beach again this afternoon. Damn! Was hoping for gym today, as I know how hard the beach workouts are. On the other hand it will be best for my 99 goals so fair enough?
I love watching Biggest Loser 2 on TV at the moment. It’s great timing for my challenge and oh so motivating.
Just as all you girls in the 12wk challenge are motivating me also. Everyone is doing so well…. congratulations!!!! Trudi and Lynne received the **star** award for week 1’s Biggest Loser by losing a staggering 2.6kg each!! Wow…Congrats to you both. I’m unable to process last weeks winner yet as I’m still waiting on another 5 results to come in. So if that’s you…. rush them in to me please :)
A lot of people are asking me what I’ll do for a reward for the double figures?? I am currently checking out Ebay looking for my next charm for 20kg but other than that I’m not sure. I know it has to be non-food but I’m not sure what. I’m thinking perhaps my first ever massage or facial might do trick? The other thing is I’d love to finally go and get, what I call my ‘red spot’ done. It’s an area on my right cheek about the size of a 50c piece that is dark red broken capillaries. I cover it up every day with make-up but I’d love to not have to. I’ve had it for about 12yrs and other than my weight it’s my most disliked feature. I’ve found a specialist on the Sunshine Coast who can remove it with laser therapy for a few hundred dollars so might look into this further? Otherwise I’m still considering my rewards so if you have any suggestions feel free to let me know.
Cheers P
Wednesday, 28th September 2005...
Had to drag myself to the workout session yesterday. My thighs and upper arms were so sore I think I probably looked like an old robot in dire need of an oil up. I perfected the stiff legged stagger, arms slightly out to the side…anything to minimise the pain :)
And then I began the next session on the beach…. Oh my!
The Enforcer told me we’d go “easy” so that I didn’t compound the problem in my already sore muscles. Easy huh? Well lets see…. there was plenty of brisk walking on the beach and Esplanade… then lets not forget jogging, jogging and more jogging (I would guess perhaps our longest continuous stretch yet), push-ups, stair running and then there were 3 sprint runs as well … and by sprint I mean as fast as I could possibly go!
Yeah it was ‘easy’…. hehehehe
Oh all right…it wasn’t’ so bad. It was even a little bit good *but Shhh don’t tell*!
The muscles took a while to warm up – especially the legs – but once they did it felt good to be moving. And I love running now. I don’t love it at the time but as I was trying to explain to the Enforcer yesterday…when you’ve come from a point were you couldn’t run at all to being able to jog relatively comfortably for a few hundred metres … boy that feels good!!! There is something about running that makes me feel strong and fit even if I’m not). :)
Today I have to go it alone with the 1hr bike ride so I’m going to do that late this afternoon when it’s cooler. The heat is rapidly climbing each day and before we know it, full-fledged summer will be upon us again. Unlike most summer’s when I dread it’s arrival …this year I do not. I’ll still be sweaty and hot as always but surely 20kg+ gone will make that better. Also I am covering up less and less as my body shrinks so I will suffer less in that regard also. Not to mention increased confidence in my swimmers … yey for getting slim and healthier. Why did I leave it so long??
I am really beginning to examine my body now with renewed interest. I can already see definite improvement in my lower legs…I have these big calf muscles that were never there before. My face has slimmed considerably and I now have barely a double chin at all … much better then the two or three of them I had last year :))) When I rest my hands on my hips they feel smaller and when I lie down I can even feel the bones in there now too. The other day I was lying down with my arms above my head and could not believe how well I could feel my lower rib cage. Again this sounds silly to most people but for me that is a big discovery. Now that I am doing all this running I’m looking at my upper legs and waiting for some definite improvement there too. Boy better hide the mirrors soon or I’ll become Ms Vanity!!! *wink*
Ok well I’d better get moving if we are going to make it to playgroup this morning. I have enrolled Caleb in Kinder-gym starting tomorrow and I can’t wait for that. Gymnastics for 2-4yr olds…should be fun!!
I haven’t weighed today and don’t intend to until at least Sunday…maybe Monday. I made it last week to Saturday so I’ll try to get at least an extra day in this week away from the dreaded scales. I want to be surprised by a 90’s result when I next step on. I hope for the scales sake they say 90-something…or the consequences will be dire for them! *wink*
Have a great day everyone!
Cheers P
Tuesday, 27th September 2005...
I’m happy to see those numbers continuing their downward descent. :)
Weighed in with the Enforcer yesterday at 101.5kg, which was a 1.5kg loss for the week. Very happy with that! I know that I need to maintain a 2 – 2.5kg a week loss to hit my ww goal as she hopes I may, but I honestly don’t know if that’s possible for me? So far I have lost 5.9kg in 3 weeks so that’s pretty much on track. In any case a 1kg a week loss is great in my books so I’m happy to keep plodding along and just get as close as I can to that goal. The Enforcer no doubt thinks it’s a steep ask too but I guess you need to aim high to reach your goals.
After the weigh we did a killer workout yesterday…. Ugh my aching body!
We did 15mins on the treadmill, then a cardio circuit with lots of jogging forwards and backwards in between stations. The stations were step-ups, stretchy band arm lifts, barbell lifts and lunges with hand weights. Oh boy do I hate lunges!!! My legs are so so sore today!! Then it was onto star jumps and running 4 steps forward, 4 steps back like footballers. We finished the circuit with push-ps and dips just to make extra sure I’d feel those arms and chest muscles this morning *wink* Lastly it was out for 3 x 1min sessions on the boxing bag then abs, abs and more abs. We finished up with some partner stretching which was heaven. I really love stretching and the Enforcer tells me I’m actually quite flexible so I enjoyed some really good, deep stretches for my tired body :)
This morning I am sore all over, but mostly my thighs and upper arms/chest. We are meeting at the beach at 3pm today, and as beach days are usually the hardest days I dread to think what awaits me!!
This morning I went to WW and registered a 0.5kg loss bringing me to 101.7kg. Didn’t quite make my 15% body loss goal as I’d hoped but will certainly blitz that next week. I know it seems like the two weighs don’t add up too well each week but they were 101.5 yesterday arvo and 101.7 today so I guess they are pretty much on the money. Last week ww was 102.2 (and challenge 103.0) so that’s were the extra 0.8kg went to I guess. Either way so long as both numbers keep dropping towards those 90’s I’m a happy girl!!!
Speaking of 90’s. I really, really, really want to make that by next week. I told the Enforcer that was my goal and come hell or high water I’m going to pull out all the stops to try to make it. It has been 10 long years since I’ve been under 100kg. Anyone who is or has been 100kg+ knows the stigma associated with it and to be double figures again would be the highlight of my year!!! I get so excited just thinking about the possibility. So hold onto your seats ladies and gents…<100kg here I come!!!!
Cheers P
Sunday, 25th September 2005...
Well we ended up having a fantastic…yet point friendly… night out last night :)
We decided to go around to our best friends house to begin with then after a few hours there we all headed to the pub. On the way to his house we grabbed some take-away for tea but I was determined to make a good choice. I was going to go the old faithful subway but in the end thought I’d rather avoid the bread bloat so went with a Kebab instead. However, for the first time in my memory, I actually had one without cheese! Hehehe. It was chicken, lettuce, BBQ sauce and mushroom only but it was very yummy.
Later at the pub I drank two vodka and diet cokes and then I stuck to diet cokes for the rest of the night. Yesterdays hangover was too recent in my mind to risk another *wink*
We were home and tucked up in bed watching DVD’s by 10pm and then had a blissful sleep in until 9.30am this morning…. *heaven*
This morning we felt good but generally blobby so just hung out around home all day. Caleb was home before lunch and when one thing led to another it was take-away again for lunch…Eeek! Simon and Caleb wanted chicken and chips (just what I’ve been craving all week) but with a weigh-in looming I again had to make a good choice.
I jumped on the Red Rooster website and after checking out nutritional info I settled on a chicken salad – no dressing. I added beetroot, corn and WW caesar dressing when I got home and ended up with a huge chicken caesar salad for only 5 points. Yey me!
I have a Turkey and veg roast cooking at the moment and some fresh juicy watermelon for dessert later on tonight while watching Australian Idol.
I feel really good about how this weekend has gone. I have faced many challenges (and take-away options) but I think I made good choices all round so I’m hopeful I’ll be rewarded on those scales tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
Cheers P
Saturday, 24th September 2005...
Note to self: Do not have impromptu party at my house, drinking wine until 2am when I am due to meet Enforcer at gym at 10am!
Hehehe Well it actually wasn’t too bad. We sort of ended up having a bit of a bash here last night with Simon’s mother, brother, and our best friend also. We were all up drinking way too much, as I said until 2am, and then our walking talking Caleb clock woke us at 6am!! Ugh! Simon got up to him and I was able to doze off and on until 8.30am … but still, was feeling less then sparkly this morning.
Despite my best intentions I did have a little too much to drink last night. However I did stick to only wine and finished up having about a bottle and a half. I know I had wanted to stay at one bottle max but as the bottle emptied my resolve slipped… as it does! *wink* I still feel it was a success for me though as the 10pts I spent on wine would have only got me about 2-3 vodka pre-mixes that I’d usually drink (and then I would have had many more and consumed way more points). This way I had a big night for minimum points.
At least I was good on the food front and no major blowouts were had. I actually didn’t eat tea before I drank (Hmm perhaps why I was so cheery so quick) but had a late night sandwich, which got me through unscathed. Yey!
I made sure I got at least 1L of water into me before bed and by the time 10am rolled around I’d dressed, showered, cleaned the house and felt almost human.
We met at the gym for a class circuit. So instead of the Enforcer training me she was part of the group of us on the circuit. It was fast paced and heaps of fun. We covered boxing, ab-rolling, rowing, chest pull downs, chest press, leg curls and leg extensions then finished with step-ups while holding 10kg weights. All up we did 5 laps over the hour and the time flew by.
However by the time I got home I was feeling very suspect. Shaky legs, queasy tummy etc. I lay around and blobbed for a while and soon felt better. While a workout is the last thing you feel like with a hangover it really does do you good in the end :)
Caleb has unexpectedly gone for a sleep over at Granny’s tonight so we are feeling footloose and fancy-free. Might catch up again with our friend Scotty or go to the cinema to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. While I wouldn’t say no to a night out at the pub I’m fairly certain I couldn’t even think about any wine so that would be ok. I could chaperone the two boys??? Anyway… not sure of plans yet so will play it by ear.
I do know that I won’t be doing anything to sabotage my weekend because I had a peak at the scales this morning and I was VERY HAPPY with what I saw! Admittedly I had not got on them since Tuesday, which is a major achievement for me!! I am testing the theory that if I don’t weigh daily, I can’t be disappointed with perceived lack of progress and so I keep powering on hoping for the best. Then when I do weigh, like today, I get a pleasant surprise and am spurred on to do even better. I REALLY would love to hit the 90’s next weekend or so and that is better than ANYTHING I could eat or drink now that would slow my progress.
BE, DO, HAVE!!!!
Have a fantastic Saturday night everyone :)
Cheers P
Friday, 23rd September 2005...
No exercise for me today …yippee!! :)
Don’t worry, I haven’t fallen off the rails…I’m doing a gym circuit with the Enforcer tomorrow morning instead. I’m looking forward to something different on a new day. Also, because today is Caleb’s day-care day, the whole day is now my own until 4pm. Gee that feels indulgent and *bliss*. But that’s just what I need to enjoy while I am working so hard, so it’s perfect.
Yesterday I went solo for a 1hr bike ride with Caleb on the back. We left home about 4pm so it was nice and cool. All up we rode approx 16km all along the Esplanade from one end to the other… beautiful scenery, lots of walkers to scare the hell out of too as I approached like a rocket from behind *wink* hehehehe. It was great fun though for both Caleb and I, and I made sure I worked it as hard as I could, as much as I could.
Today I’m going to finally get around to burning a personal favourites mix of all my most favourite Eminem songs onto one disc… ’Ultimate M’
Not sure what our weekend plans are yet. I think I shall be having some wine at some stage but it has to be one night only and one bottle maximum (if that). Otherwise I just want to keep staying to points each day and fit in any extra movement when I can.
Just before, my current favourite song (other than Em of course) came on the radio. It is a totally jumping dance track by Rihanna, called 'Pon De Replay'. Anyway when it came on I cranked it up REALLY loud and had a real crazy dance around in my lounge room. You definitely do your best dancing all alone…hehehe…. and this is from someone who DOES NOT dance in public :) Will definitely have to download that for my MP3 and grab it on disc today for play in the house and car. Dancing is my favourite for an (alone) exercise that doesn’t feel like work!
Ok…. well I’m off to catch up on my journal reads. I have such little time for that these days that I want to grab this opportunity for it while I can. Also a special shout out to my oldest and bestest friend who is just starting her own journey … and journal (although private for now)… I’m with you 100% and I have absolute faith in your ability to kick ass!!! Go you!!
Cheers P
Wednesday, 21st September 2005...
Not much to say today.
Been working hard on the exercise front. Yesterday’s beach session was lots of walking, jogging, killer stairs, dips, push-ups etc. Today we met on the beach again and this time it was more walking, jogging, stairs (though nothing like yesterdays evil ones *hehehe*), push-ups and lots and lots of abs work.
Oh me oh my! It hurts pretty much all over my body but in a good way. I love the constant reminder of our hard work and I can’t stop imagining the benefits it may bring in the coming weeks.
Food wise all is going great. Had the once a week take-away last night and ended up with Subway and diet coke (Sheesh what happened to me!!). The only indulgence was sharing some Mars Pods with Simon. Delish … a nice treat without undoing too much of my good work :)
Tomorrow I’m to do a 60min bike ride (the first 30mins of which I alternate 1 min hard peddle with 3 mins regular peddle), I’ll be taking Caleb so I think we’ll go in the cool of the afternoon.
I wanted to mention a new site I was recently invited to visit. Philippa has set up her own blog here. It has the most amazing before and after pics of her progress. It really drives home the impact of a photo and now I’m so glad I endured those dreaded ‘before’ pics. The after one’s will make it worth it!
Oh and ‘The Enforcer’ has now officially visited this site (hello…hehehe) and knows that I call her The Enforcer. I did try to explain that the name was given before I actually met her but now that I think about it…. Hmmm that abs workout this afternoon was quite brutal *wink* Ha ha only joking. :)
Hope everyone is having a good week. Hump day is over so now we are on the downhill run to the weekend. Woo-Hoo!
Cheers P
Tuesday, 20th September 2005...
Sorry for the lack of update yesterday but it was one of those days :)
I have great news to report today though. For those who may have missed it on the challenge page … I had my challenge weigh-in yesterday and lost 2.5kg for the week!!! Yippee!! I also dropped about 7-8cm in the last two weeks too so that felt great.
This morning I had my official WW weigh-in and went down 1kg to 102.2kg. 102’s at last!! When I look back at my stats I hit 103 briefly in June then have spent the last 9 weeks since July 26th in the 103.x range. 9 weeks! What a waste of time that was. Still, I know it’s gone for good now and that 99.9kg goal is looking closer every day.
Speaking of goals my next one is actually only 0.9kg away and that’s to reach 15% total body weight lost since beginning. Yey!
Yesterday I met with The Enforcer at the gym for an hour’s workout after the weigh and measure. We did 10mins recumbent cycle, 15mins cross-trainer, 15mins treadmill then some boxing bag and abs work. Tried a new ab exercise yesterday which is a crunch while doing cycle legs…. so as you do each crunch one knee comes up to meet the ab-roller bar while the other flexes straight out – VERY HARD! Today we are meeting at the beach again at 3pm and since I now know the beach days are considered the hardest days I’m not exactly looking forward to it. Having said that though I sort of am because I just keep focusing on the results all this hard work will bring and I know it will all be worth it in the end.
The Enforcer (so named to protect privacy) has asked for my website address when I see her today. So if you are reading this…sorry I call you the Enforcer and please don’t take it out on me next session *wink* :)
At the WW meeting today I was given some training in the job of ‘recorder’ (I think that’s what they call the lady who takes your money, stamps your book and keeps all the bookwork/banking etc in order). Leanne was very lovely to show me through everything … Thank you! I was given today’s meeting for free while I was training which was a lovely surprise. Then in future if I get to help out I’ll get those meetings for free as well. How cool is that. I was more interested to help because I think it will give me more incentive to keep attending every week…. something that has decreased since my ww friend reached lifetime membership and doesn’t go as often. I was again called on to speak to the room about my Who challenge so now both Tuesday morning and Wednesday nights group know all about it. Eyes will be watching me everywhere hehehe :)
Every one of you doing my 12wk online challenge are doing amazing things!!! I’m still waiting on Maxine and Sharon for week 1 results so that I can officially name Week 1’s biggest loser (well it looks like 2 people will tie at this stage). If no results come in from those two outstanding by the weekend then they will be removed from the challenge and the winner can be named. So if you are reading this girls…. get those results to me pronto please :) Can you believe that in two short weeks the challenge as a whole has lost over 55kg!!!! Wow!!!! Imagine what we can do in 12wks???
Besides the numbers going down I really am feeling great from this challenge. Tired…no doubt about it…but great. I sleep better and I just feel healthier and (dare I say it) trimmer all over. My aching muscles are a constant reminder of how hard I’m working and already I can definitely notice more definition in my calves. A long road remains ahead but I’ll get there… we all will. And just think how fantastic we’ll feel to finish this challenge and head into December much fitter, healthier and slimmer. Yey!!
Cheers P
Sunday, 18th September 2005...
I couldn’t wait any longer to do this entry. I have been flooded with emails of support and encouragement and I cannot say Thank You enough.
I am sorry for the pity party I threw last entry. I know that, compared to so many in journal world and even in my own world, I have nothing to complain about. I was just over tired, over stressed and run down. I hate to sound so negative and sorry for myself. I want this journey to be a positive and encouraging one. However, keeping it truthful also means including some of the down sides too. But … as I said ... I’m over it. Thanks mostly to all of you and your support … and to lots of sleep :)
I survived Friday afternoon’s session with the Enforcer … just. We did a 15min warm up on the treadmill…. then a 30min circuit around the gym (including boxing, steps ups with weights held high in the air, ab crunches, rowing, pull downs, chest press, leg lifts and leg extensions) … then a 10 minute cool down on the recumbent bike. I was exhausted by the end, but I felt good knowing I’d made it through the week.
I did talk to The Enforcer a little about how I was feeling and she didn’t seem surprised in the least. She said that the last two weeks had been a major change for my body and it was only natural that I may take some time to adjust. She, like most of you, reminded me of the importance of getting enough sleep. Lecture duly noted! *wink*
After the gym on Friday I came home and, on Simon’s advice, had a nice long soak in a spa. I was in bed relatively early that night (10.30pm) and slept in until 9am *bliss* I also got another nanna-nap in while Caleb napped in the afternoon. Then last night I was again asleep by 10am and only woke just now at 6am when my living breathing alarm clock –AKA Caleb- decided it was time to start the day ... bless him!
The best news is my weekend, although completely and delightfully exercise free, has gone GREAT on the food front. For the week overall, I was over by 6.5 points at the end of Friday but after finishing yesterday on 17.5pts I’m now only 1 point over which will be easy to save today. Yippee! No alcohol. No binges. No emotional eating. Yeah, yeah triple Yeah!!
Can you tell the difference a weekend of relaxation can make?? Again I’m sorry for my defeatist attitude on Friday and a big thank you for not giving me a big virtual slap upside the head…hehehe. I am ready and raring for another week now and can’t wait for my weigh-in tomorrow with the Enforcer!!!
Speaking of weights…. I have almost all the weigh-ins for week 1 so I’ll be able to announce the biggest loser of the week soon. Although at this stage it’s a tie for first place :) If I don’t have your week 1 result please rush it to me ASAP. Everyone is doing so well with it. I am AMAZED at how fast the losses are clocking up. Well Done Everyone!!!! :)
As Simon is having a well-deserved sleep in this morning, Caleb and I are heading off soon to the markets to stock up on fresh fruit and veg. Then there is a pier festival on today we will head to when Simon is up and about. I’m doing a yummy roast chicken tea tonight. Mmmm! I love Sundays!!
Cheers P
Friday, 16th September 2005...
Not really sure where to begin today.
I guess I can start with yesterday. The Enforcer and I met down the beach and began by walking out to the end of the pier (maybe 1km or so??)…then on the way back we jogged to one post, then walked to the next, then jogged to the next etc etc. After that I did 30 push-ups against a table and 30 dips on the seat…Hmm me thinks that’s why I am so sore this morning. Then it was down to the beach for more walking and jogging and some rather graceless crab running (sideways touching feet each time…to work inner thighs). I also did 2 x 1min step-ups on some rocks as well. At one point The Enforcer stood about 5m from a sand hill and I had to run up the hill, then down around her, then back up it etc for 5 laps…. man that was hard work!! We finished with some more jogging then finally the cool down stretches.
Today I meet her at the gym at 2pm. And I think from yesterday’s conversation she is planning another weights circuit like we did last week, going from one machine to the next each minute or so. I’m hurting just thinking about it.
In fact I’m hurting full stop today. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. My body hurts all over and every muscle aches when I move. Now while I understand why that is I don’t have an explanation for my emotional state??
I just feel like crying all the time. In fact this morning I have been crying all the time. Yesterday was bad but today is much worse??? I feel like I have the emotions of a pregnant woman! I’m several days into TOM so it shouldn’t be that…. pmt is meant to come before after all.
I just feel a bit burnt out I think. I’ve had a hell of a lot of exercise in the last 2 weeks and the weekend in between was camping…which while fun really is hard work and I had only 13hrs sleep from Thursday morning until Sunday night…Ugh! I guess it’s all catching up on me a bit and I’m letting it get to me. I shouldn’t do that.
I was such a wreck this morning that Simon suggested I cancel today’s workout but I won’t do that. No matter what I must go ahead with this challenge and that means giving it my all. It’s only one hour after all right, so I can do that. I think???
I had a bit of a fight with my mother-in-law yesterday, which isn’t helping things, and I think I just miss my own mum more than ever. My mom has been gone 10yrs but sometimes it still feels so raw it could have been 10 days.
Yesterday my mother-in-law came to watch Caleb at 9am while I met the Enforcer, then I heard back through other channels that she was bitching about having to get up so early on her day off etc etc. I felt really hurt by this as she always says to ask any time I need help with Caleb…but look what happens when I do. I hardly ever ask either so I guess I’m feeling a little hard done by. I don't have any one else to ever watch Caleb so what am I supposed to do??
Then this morning I wake to find my watch that I’ve had about 10yrs has died and Simon’s pay didn’t go into the bank today and now won’t be here until next Friday…. Shit!!!! I’ve got heaps of housework that needs doing and I think that I am just letting everything run me down.
Sorry to burden you all with that big whinge fest but I needed to get it out. I’m going to go and vacuum now then lie down with a mag and try to get a little sleep in before my session this afternoon. I’m sure after that I’ll be feeling better with the weekend stretching ahead of me and two days off exercise (I hope!). Something’s gotta give. Either that or I do :(
P
Thursday, 15th September 2005...
I stayed the same. I stayed the same. Hip hip hooray!!!
As you can tell I’m very pleased with that result. Now at last the two weighs will come into line and I can go on losing from here on out … yey :)
Next week I have to go to the Tuesday morning meeting early and I’m going to be given some training towards being a ‘helper/worker’ at the meetings in future. Double yey!
Yesterday afternoon I dragged myself out bike riding despite tummy cramps from hell. I looped around and around my neighbourhood and thought I’d never clock up an hour. Eventually I decided to come home at 30mins but then I took one more block and before you knew it I’d made 45mins. So when I got home I did 100 crunches (40 straight up and 30 to each side) and 50 of those bum lift/feet in the air killers to full up the allotted 60min workout. The crunches etc weren’t great for my already sore tummy but after I’d warmed up from the bike ride it didn’t ache as much. I took my MP3 player out riding with me and it was almost pleasant. Almost! *wink* One thing I did notice was how much easier it was to ride without 16kg of Caleb sitting behind me on his little seat. I could even stand up to peddle which I can’t do with him on the back as it makes the bike too unbalanced. Now I need to get a bike pump and the bike lock I’ve been meaning to get for ages so that I can ride to places and chain the bike up then ride home. I think then I’ll be able to make much better use of the bike then I do now. The pump I only need because our last one has vanished and my tyres are sorely in need of air.
Today I have to meet The Enforcer down the pier on the Esplanade at 9am. Granny is coming to watch Caleb for an hour. I wonder what she has in stall for me today???
Last night went good. I ended up getting Subway for my take-away. Subway!!! That’s usually what a have if I get take-away on a non-treat night… never on my free night. But as I said I wanted to fit into points last night and not undo too much of my hard work. I also didn’t get my favourite Boost chocolate bar as at 7.5pts it just wasn’t worth it. I went for a Cadbury flake instead for only 3.5pts. Yummy!
I’m looking forward to a good loss at WW next week.
Cheers P
Wednesday, 14th September 2005...
Weigh-in day has arrived and sadly I shall gain :(
The home scales said 104.9kg today, which while still 0.6kg down from Monday’s challenge weigh-in of 105.5kg, is higher than my last ww weigh-in two weeks ago of 103.2kg. I really don’t want to have to gain tonight, as I’m sure others will be watching, expecting a big loss. Bugger! But I cannot change it so face it I must. It was that damn pre-challenge blow out that jumped my weight right up to 107.4kg (!!). While those numbers have gone down, the last ww weigh was prior to this blowout…hence the difference. But there is a good side too. After I record the gain tonight at least the two numbers will coincide again and I can continue on the downward run from there.
Of course the whole day is before me and I have to do another 1hr bike ride on The Enforcer's instruction so the numbers will drop a little further before tonight yet. Not enough but still some.
Yesterday morning I met the Enforcer down the Esplanade with Caleb in his pram. I wasn’t sure what to expect as Caleb hadn’t joined us for a session before and his pram is no jogging one … I had visions of me falling ass up over the pram while trying to run or something :) As it turned out…. no running was involved…Phew!
We started off on a brisk 1hr walk…. the same section I walk most of the time so I felt fine with that. What I don’t usually do though is stop along the way. At one point we stopped at a big staircase down onto the beach and she timed me for a minute while I ran up and down it over and over again. Then a bit further along we stopped at a park bench and I had to do dips on the chair (hands behind me on seat and dipping bum down below seat and back up again). I did 2 sets of 10 of these then it was back to walking. As more time passed we stopped at a wooden car park barrier and I had to do step-ups on it for one minute. Then it was down onto the beach for the return walk. On two occasions the Enforcer kept the pram in the hard sand while I walked up in the soft sand for 100m or so –wow is that much harder than firm sand or what?? All things considered it was a great workout…without being too exhausting (I’m still sickly).
Today TOM has finally arrived…. which is good for the scales usually but not exactly what I feel like to go bike riding with. My back aches and my tummy is sore already so I’m not sure what flogging myself on the bike is going to feel like but do it I must anyway. It’s overcast here today so I’m going to have to wait and see how the weather goes. If it doesn’t clear then I’ll have to wait to go until Simon gets home this afternoon and go solo rather than take Caleb out in the rain.
Food wise things are going great this week. Finished Monday on 17.5pts and yesterday on 22pts. Tonight will be our usual post weigh-in take-away…. but with a difference. Usually I have that mentality of I must eat a bit of everything I crave in one evening as it will be another week before I have it. That thinking must stop during this challenge…and hopefully long after it. So I shall be getting take-away but it’s got to fit into my points for the day. I won’t be getting the usual desserts, chips, chocolates etc but will lash out on a can of real coke and perhaps one boost chocolate bar (my favourite). But it’s all got to fit into my daily points or I won’t be having it.
I DO NOT want to face next Monday’s challenge weigh-in feeling anything but confident so I need to keep on track all week … and especially all weekend. I can do that :)
And finally…. a BIG SUPER DUPER CONGRATULATIONS to Linda for making it to goal!! You rock!!
Cheers P
Tuesday, 13th September 2005...
Feeling much more positive today. In fact yesterdays slump got me thinking. As I said I did eat 200% better over the weekend then I usually would while camping. Ok so I had a few drinks but boy it was a hard week. I came home feeling pretty positive none the less about how I had done. Then I hopped on the scales.
It was the scales that dictated how I felt about how the weekend had gone. It was the scales that skewered my view on how my whole week had gone. It was my scales that undermined my sense of pride and accomplishment. Damn those scales!!
Now I am a realist. I know I cannot resist them of a morning. However I do think I may be able to minimise them. Soon.
As you know I had a sharp weight jump immediately prior to beginning this challenge (107kg up from 103kg). As a result I am still looking at a gain at WW this week despite losing 1.9kg on the challenge. However as of this morning I am sitting on 105kg and still two days (and two workouts with The Enforcer) to go so it just may drop low enough for a loss. In any case I know I won’t be able to resist checking it tomorrow so I may make a new rule after that.
As I am weighed Monday for the challenge and Wednesday for WW, and I like to check both weights prior to going I think I will allow myself to weigh at home on Monday and Wednesday morning. Then I like usually like to know my weight going into the weekend but I wonder if that’s more about knowing how much slack I can allow without gaining? So this week I will try not to. I think I’ll weigh Monday, Wednesday and allow one additional morning weigh on the day of my choice??? I’ll give it a bash anyway and see how I find it. 3 days a week has got to be better than 7 right?
Of course my stats page will continue to only reflect my official WW weigh-in results for the purposes of continuity.
This morning I tried out some of yesterdays photo poses in the mirror … and OH MY GOD! Fat flabby arms, wrinkly saggy neck, big tummy rolls … Ugh! I shudder to think of these before photo’s being in a mag. I know they will be next to some kick-ass *wink* after photo’s but it’s still embarrassing to show the world just how disgusting I allowed myself to become. Hmm can’t change them now though so I’d just better work on making the after ones fab!! I’m thinking I’ll have to get my hair, face etc professionally done for them too…. and maybe some clothing advice too. How exciting!!
Ok…well have a great Tuesday everyone. Caleb and I are off to the library, park and a little grocery shopping today :) I had the most delish green apple last night after tea and now I want more!!
Cheers P
Addit:
Back again. Just a quick update to let you all know how weigh-in and the photo shoot went. The photo’s were fun…. embarrassing but fun all the same. I posed both with and without ‘The Enforcer’ and we did pretend exercising etc so that we didn’t just stand there like stunned mullet. Of course I think all the pretend exercises, grimaces and fun were just so that I’d forget to suck my tummy in the whole time…hehehe. I’m onto you Mr Photographer!! *wink*
After the photos were finished 30 minutes later we hit the scales for my weigh-in. I was most surprised and pleased to register 105.5kg, which was a 1.9kg loss for week 1. I’d honestly not expected more than 1kg so I was really pleased with this. The Enforcer too seemed pleased so I didn’t feel so bad about the weekend then. However I did list off to her exactly what I had drank in the way of alcohol. No use going through this whole process with her if I can’t be honest.
Then we began our workout for the day. She took it easy on me (she reckons… hehehe) today as I have the beginnings of a chesty flu and have next to no voice at all. We did 15mins on the recumbent cycle, 5 mins on the rowing machine and 20 mins on the treadmill in a jog/walk, uphill/downhill program. I was very sweaty at the end and more breathless than usual so it just goes to show she knows when to back off huh? She advised that I take some Vitamin C, and drink lots of water, as she doesn’t want to lose training time to me being sick in the coming week. Sensible.
I’ve just finished chatting to my WW leader on the phone who wanted to offer her support and find out more about the challenge while we had the chance to chat. She has also arranged for me to do some training next week for the positions of workers at the WW meeting so that I can hopefully fill a spot in future when one becomes available. If this happens I’ll get meetings for free so that would be great.
Ok…time now to go catch up on my tracker and WHO journal for over the weekend while we were away.
I love all the results rolling in from all you girls in my challenge and I can’t believe how quickly the total losses are adding up!! I also wanted to make special mention of those of you who had a gain in week 1. As you can see from my own behaviour it happens to the best of us. I mean if I go off the rails when I know I have to be in a magazine then you shouldn’t feel too bad about your own start :) Just think…. when you have a little gain or stay the same this week you can really use that opportunity to kick ass next week. Don’t give up…just keep on keeping on and we’ll all make it together.
You Rock!!!
Cheers P
Monday, 12th September 2005...
Well the big day has rolled around in more ways then one.
Today is my first weigh-in of the challenge and also the day I finally have my ‘before’ photo shoot done…. Gulp!
Our weekend away was fabulous…. thanks everyone for your well wishes. It didn’t rain…which it almost always does when we camp…. so that was a lovely change. I got to catch up with my best friend (Caleb’s godmother) who I haven’t seen in ages so that was awesome. We also had a great bunch of people with us and a good time was had by all.
On the diet front…not so good. Food was great. And for me that is no small feat as I never ever stick to WW while camping or on holidays…. but this time I did! I even snacked on green apples when others tucked into chips. My only indulgence was a BBQ breakfast each morning and some marshmallows on the fire each night.
So my downfall was…..? Alcohol! I am so incredibly disappointed in myself that I did not keep this in check and now the scales have barely moved since last Monday. And I know they did because when I left for camping they were down 2kg or more. But after polishing off a bottle of wine and 9 (yes 9!!!!) cans of vodka mixers over the weekend the numbers have gone right back up. :(
Now I don’t know if I’ll lose at all…. and if I do it will be 1kg or less. I guess any drop is still good. And perhaps the numbers are a little out due to the muscles I’ve been building this last week (I hope)…but I can’t help feeling like I let everyone down. I’ve let the Enforcer down, the challenge down and everyone doing the challenge with me :( Damn, damn, double-dam!!! Grrrrr!
But…. ok…. enter the voice of logic. I won’t let this beat me or stop me from achieving my goals. TOM is now 1 week late so I know when that finally arrives I’ll drop 1-2kg almost overnight (that is what usually happens for me). I also know that if I just keep at it I’ll probably have a super loss for week 2. I just need to keep at it and try not to let myself get too bummed out about it all. I just really wanted to have a good week 1 result – and after all that exercise I’d hoped I’d earned it? I really wanted to lead by example for you other challengers and instead I’ll be letting the team down.
Speaking of the team…18kg down this week as a group already with still heaps more weigh-ins to come in yet!! Wow!!! At this stage Trudi is eyeing up the weekly *star* award with her mega 2.6kg loss!!! Well-done Trudi.
Ok…. well time to go agonise over my clothing etc for this photo shoot…and sit and try to wish away another kilo or so before I hit the scales…. hehehehe …not bloody likely!!
Don’t worry though…I’m down but I’m not out.
I’ll just have to do much better this week…. AND NO ALCOHOL PAULENE!!!! :)
Will let you know how weigh-in and the photo shoot went later.
Oh, and Happy 31st Birthday for my Simon for yesterday!!
Cheers P
Friday, 9th September 2005...
I have much packing, shopping and organising to do today before we head off on our weekend camping trip after lunch today so I’d best keep this short.
As some of you may have noticed the first of the challenge results are starting to roll in…it’s exciting! Just a reminder to make sure you include your name and your weight in kilograms with each results email. Also anyone still needing to give me a start weight could you do so at your earliest convenience? Thanks!
Well we did our bike ride yesterday. I strapped Caleb in and we headed out about 8.30am to ride to Simon’s work. It took about 25mins there and 35mins back (uphill) so it was a neat hour and a very very hard workout … just what the doctor/Enforcer ordered *wink*
Last night for some reason I couldn’t get to sleep until 1.30am and then I was wide-awake from 4.30am so I’m a little wasted this morning. None the less I dragged my sorry butt up out of bed at 5.30am and headed out for a 45min jog/walk so I could get back before Simon had to go to work at 6.30am. I jogged as far as I could…. then walked to get my breath back…then jogged some more etc etc. It was a good workout and I know that if I hadn’t of done it I would have regretted it all weekend.
Now I’ll just have to be sure to stock up on some sugar free energy drinks for tonight so I can stay up and have some drinks with my friends as I’m bound to be exhausted by then. I am going to be flat out all day and it’s bound to catch up with me sooner or later.
While I can usually stay on top of the challenge page, I will of course be leaving any further updates until I return on Sunday or maybe even Monday. So if you send me results over the weekend just remember I’ll be away so check back on Monday to see them on the site.
I’ve got to be sure to take only good food with us this weekend so I’m not tempted to eat anything bad. Must stay on track!!!
Have a great weekend to all my fellow challengers and I’ll look forward to checking in for your results on my return.
Cheers P
Thursday, 8th September 2005...
Well another day behind me and I’m pleased to say I gave it 110% again :)
I finished yesterday on 22.5/23 points again. That’s three days in a row now I’ve had exactly that many points. I think it’s a mind trick. I think that way I still get to eat almost all of my points each day but by saving that half a point I know that I have stopped before I had to. I could have eaten something else but I chose not to. That feels good :)
Yesterday’s session with ‘The Enforcer’ was bad. I mean the exercise and its benefits were good but at one point I had to stop or risk throwing up/passing out. I’d just done a really intense 15mins on the recumbent cycle (pushing fast for 30 secs then super fast and hard for 30 secs over and over again for 15mins). We had then done 15 minutes on the cross-trainer (my new PB time) and moved onto the boxing bag. Suddenly I felt feint and not sure if I should sit down or rush to the toilet to be sick. The Enforcer was really good about it and explained that it was because I’d pushed past the aerobic zone and gone into an-aerobic and this often results in sick tummy and light head. She also said that my body had devoted a lot of blood supply to my leg muscles on the bike and cross-trainer etc that when I then stood up to box the upper body hadn’t had time to get the supply back?? Or something like that *wink*
She had me walk around the gym for a bit then lie down on one of those reclining benches where you head is much lower than your legs. After a minute or two I felt fine again … and she said while I was there we may as well do some Ab work…uphill!!!!! I’ve never done crunches in that position before and I gotta say…. I felt like a real exerciser…hehehe. We did about 50 in that position …then another 50 odd to each side (elbow to knee) the floor and then these horror things that were really hard. I had to lay on my back, palms down at my side, with both feet up in the air – soles of my shoes to the ceiling. I then crossed my ankles and began to life my butt up off the ground about 30 times. It was supposed to work pelvic floor and core stomach and boy was it hard. The Enforcer actually said it showed my muscles were week in this area (no kidding!) but that I’d improve.
After what seemed like a gazillion crunches we finished on some treadmill before stretching. Today I have to go it alone and go for a 1hr bike ride with Caleb on his bike seat. Actually she said 40-60mins but I want to do the full hour. Simon’s current jobsite is a good ride away so I thought we’d ride down to see him, go on to ride the Esplanade for a while then home up the mega hill… Gulp! Then tomorrow we can’t meet up do to our camping trip etc so I have to do a one-hour walk. I think I’ll go alone at 5.30am so I can be back before Simon has to go to work at 6.30am. The rest of the day I’ll be running around, shopping and packing for camping which we intend to leave for just after lunch.
I’m looking forward to the weekend so much but at the same time I’m nervous. I usually live on junk while camping but not this time. I have to remember if I don’t take it I can’t eat it. I also found my damper recipe that I’m going to try and it’s only flour, water and salt so as long as I skip the butter and just have a drizzle of golden syrup I can enjoy that with the rest of them :)
Well…. I’d best start my day. I can hear Caleb awake in his cot so I’d best get him up and get organised before our big ride.
I am still getting more entrants for our online challenge…I can’t believe the interest I’ve had!!!! I hope everyone is going well so far and I’m so looking forward to the first results trickling in soon. Good Luck Everyone!!!
Cheers P
Wednesday, 7th September 2005...
Noooooo!!!!
They postponed my ‘before’ photo shot…Aaargh!
Apparently the photographer who was travelling here for it is too sick so has had to reschedule it for Monday. Bugger!
I just wanted to get it over with and now I have to wait another bloody week…Grrrr!
Also I really want the difference between the ‘before’ and ‘after’ shoot to reflect my progress and now the before shoot will already be one week into my workouts?
Oh well…such is life I guess.
Finished another great day yesterday. 22.5 out of 23 points again so that’s 1 point saved up my sleeve for future use.
I detailed yesterday’s workout with ‘The Enforcer’ in an additional post below that I added yesterday afternoon (see below). Needless to say I woke up feeling very sore and sorry for myself today :) Well, not too sorry but I was sore. Pretty much just my upper body/arms/chest so I hope I won’t have to work those areas too hard this afternoon when we meet again at 1.30pm.
We are going on a camping trip with about a dozen friends this weekend and, unlike other weekends away, I’ve got to stay on track 100%. I even suggested to Simon that we camp in a different spot that is a 150m+ walk UPHILL to the toilet. That would sure clock up some exercise over the weekend :)
Ok…playgroup today so I’d better get moving.
Before I forget, here is the web address of Jodie who is the other person I know of doing the same WHO challenge as me…. http://www.jodiesjournal.blog-city.com Drop by and wish her good luck if you have the chance.
Cheers P
Aditt:
Just got home from Session 2 with ‘The Enforcer’ :)
Oh my!
Let’s just say it was much harder than yesterday and it actually hurts to type as my arms are aching…. but at the same time…. I feel great!
It feels great to know that I am exercising harder than I have in all my life and already I cannot wait to see the scales next week.
Today’s workout was a mix of cardio and weights that went something like this….
-15mins treadmill on fat burning program (walk/jog, flat/uphill etc)
-Circuit of 3 x 1 min sessions alternating boxing, step-ups and ab-crunches
(Note to self: LIFT feet up to step even when dead tired or go Splat!)
-10mins recumbent cycle (alternating between level 8 and 12)
-Weights circuit, changing every minute between the following machines: Pull downs, pushdowns, chest press, bench press, leg curls, leg extensions and some rowing type weights machine (obviously I know nothing of their official names *wink*)
-Lastly we finished on some stretches.
It was definitely hard work and while I was bouncing up and down on the step I could see drips of sweat flying off me…”Stand Clear!!!”…. lol As I said though it feels great to think about the results this level of work may have so I’m up for the challenge.
Actually I was telling The Enforcer about my website today and I have told her I’ll give her the address for it tomorrow at the photo shoot. So if you are reading this…. please don’t punish me for calling your ‘The Enforcer’…. *wink* hehehe
We’ll be doing another session straight after the photo shoot tomorrow (which by the way I’ve been told to allow an hour for…. an hour…did I mention I hate having my photo taken??) then on Thursday I’ll be going it alone with instructions to do a 40-60min bike ride. I’ll strap Caleb into his seat and I think we might hit the Esplanade for that one. Pity about that mega-hill on the way home but I know that’s nothing compared to what The Enforcer could have me do if she were riding with me :)
Ok…off to soak in a nice spa now.
Cheers P
Tuesday, 6th September 2005...
Day one is done.
Day two has begun.
I feel great!!! :)
My eating was great all day yesterday. I even managed 1.5L of water, which I almost never do. My tracker went like this:
B: 2 weet-bix, 1 cup skim milk, banana and 250ml water (3.5pt's)
MT: 100g lean turkey breast, 250ml water (1.5pt's)
L: WW frozen chicken hotpot, 1 soy and linseed roll, ½ punnet strawberries, 200g diet yoghurt, 250ml water, 1 can diet coke (7.5pt's)
AT: 100g lean turkey breast, 250ml water (1.5pt's)
T: Chicken breast cooked in Coq au Vin recipe base, steamed beans and carrot, pumpkin and potato mash with dash of skim milk (5.5pt's)
D: 100g lean turkey breast, 1 pkt WW Nibbles and 250ml water (3pt's)
(22.5pt's in total … 0 sugar pt's)
Not too shabby huh? And only 1 can of diet coke too Emily *wink*
Then of course was my first session with ‘The Enforcer’. Hehehe I actually feel a bit bad about calling her that as she is a really lovely but it is only meant for a giggle.
After my weigh-in (107.4kg) and measure we hit the gym for the hard work. We worked for about an hour all up, which included the following:
-15min recumbent cycle at level 10 (the hardest part of the day as I had to alternate hard with really hard effort for maximum fat burning results)
-5 min rowing machine
-10min cross-trainer at level 3
-10min treadmill at varying degrees of speed and elevation
-Boxing bag work, 3 x 1 minute (felt I looked silly but boy it was hard work)
-Ab roller crunches, 10 then 20, then 25
-Cool down stretching.
The bike was by far the hardest but I enjoyed being pushed much harder then I normally would. My target heart rate is 133-152 but we focused more on the rpm of the bike and pushing it to the maximum during the spurts of really hard 30 seconds blocks. I sweated like a dog and I got a few looks having a trainer trail around behind me and tell me what to do but I didn’t care.
I am so looking forward to the next one now :) I meet her again at 2pm this afternoon at the gym so I wonder what’s in store for me today. She said we would do a hard, light, medium pattern of workouts on successive days so I hope yesterday was the hard day! I hate cardio so I look forward to being challenged on the weights today I hope.
I have my photo shoot at 1.30pm tomorrow but now that the clothing is sorted I’m hardly worried about it at all. It’s going to happen regardless and I’ll be glad to have it behind me.
I also started my journal for WHO yesterday. I have to write in it most days and include some topics they have provided for me. I am going to make a bit of a decorating/scrapbooking project out of it as it will be returned to me after WHO have used parts of it for the final article and I think it would be a great keepsake of this journey.
We now have 41 participants in the online 12wk challenge…41!!!!! Can’t wait till the first figures start rolling in. I am also going to keep a tally of the groups total loss as we go along and I think that will be a great incentive for us all to know what a difference some hard work and focus can make.
Anyway…enough for now. I want to go and catch up on the other journals I read then get my Who journal done for today.
I hope everyone involved is enjoying this challenge as much as I am. Together we will achieve great things!!!
Cheers P
Monday, 5th September 2005...
Well the BIG DAY has arrived.
Today is day 1 of my 12wk WHO magazine challenge.
No more delaying….fretting…..planning….dreaming. The journey has begun :)
**Gulp**
I should start by saying my weight is way up this morning! TOM is due today and I feel so totally bloated and yuck….Ugh! I got on the scales this morning and almost fell straight off to see the numbers go up to almost 107kg!!! But not to worry. I know that once my period arrives things will settle down. I also know I did some bad eating over the weekend….the old habitual thinking of splurging pre-“diet”. So be it. I would be most upset about it if it were not for this challenge but I know now that it will be gone in no time. The 12weeks will still monitor my loss…even if it starts from a higher point??? I do shudder to think what the different scales at the gym could say (Eeek!)
I had a phone call from The Enforcer yesterday to say my first training session was this afternoon at 4.30pm. It will usually be 1hr sessions but because they need to do all my start weights/measurements etc today I’ll probably be caught up with it all until about 6pm. Now usually a late night like that would mean take-away for tea – but not tonight! I’ve got to get something in the crock-pot (slow-cooker) this morning so I can just come home and dish it up.
I must begin this challenge as I mean to go on. And that meant a good breakfast. Now I’ve always been one to eat breakfast but in old days it was leftovers or other non-traditional breakfast fair. Then after joining WW this last time I began to eat more omelette’s, tin spaghetti or baked beans etc on toast. I know though that I need to get into a habit of cereal, skim milk and fruit or yoghurt etc to keep me full and energized throughout the mornings. I usually only spend 2-3 points on breakfast so I can save up more to eat during the day (or usually in after dinner munchies). I don’t want to continue this way. As I said before I am going to amp up my WW habits from 80% to 100% throughout this challenge so that means a good breakfast, lunch and dinner and 3 small snacks in between.
So on that note I began today with weet-bix, skim milk and banana and a glass of water. Begin as you mean to go on.
Good luck to everyone out there who have signed up for this challenge with me. I cannot believe how many of you have done so…..30 odd at last count…Wow!!! I look forward to monitoring our progress. Each week I will be awarding a ‘virtual’ star to the participant losing the most weight for that week. I’ll also keep a running tally of the total weight we have all lost during this challenge….I think the results will be surprising!
I have my photo shoot booked for 1.30pm on Wednesday at my gym (I hope to god they are planning to use the aerobics room out the back and not the actual gym area with everyone looking!!). I was amazed to find out that the photographer is travelling here from Brisbane (3hrs away)!! The Enforcer (who has to be in one of the pics with me) was actually saying she hates her pic taken….What The….??? I’m the one who has to have a deliberately unflattering pic taken for the world to see. hehehehehe What is she worried about??
I still don’t know if my outfit is approved or not but I hope to get some confirmation about that today so I can relax about it at last.
I am nervously anticipating what The Enforcer may have in store for me during my 1hr workout this afternoon. Me thinks it will not be a walk in the park *wink*
Ok enough for now….must go get this tea sorted.
And try to calm my nervous tummy that’s doing flip-flops non stop :)
Good Luck Everyone!!!!!
Cheers P
Saturday, 3rd September 2005...
Wow I can’t believe what a great response I’ve had for the challenge in the short 24hrs since posting it. I’ve already got 18 people ready and waiting to go… Thanks Girls!!!
What a great support it will be to enter this challenge with all of you right along side me.
Of course I’ll be sharing every little tip or exercise skill I can learn during this challenge.
We are all going to feel so great when Summer (for some of us) and Christmas rolls around and we know we’ve really put in some extra effort to kick a few kilo’s to the curb before the crazy season hits :)
I’m also surprised at so many of the names I’ve not even heard of before. So many people read this journal apparently but have never commented before so I’m so glad, that if nothing else, this challenge has brought you out of the shadowsto say hello *wink*
Went out last night for a bit of a last hoorah at the pub. But amazingly did great on food/points for a change. I’d only had a Subway (less than 10g of fat) during the day. Then for tea, with the usual guests, I made ‘fried’ rice and stir fry sweet and sour pork. The rice was cooked with no fat or marg…. just a little spray of oil. I tossed low GI basmati rice with celery, red capsicum, green capsicum, onion, ww bacon, ham and prawns and a dash of soy sauce in the wok and it was delish!!! The pork was just stir-fry extra lean pork with Kantong sauce. It was great.
Then while we were out I got a bottle of wine and by the time we left around midnight I had still only had probably 500ml or so of it (so only 5 pts for a big night out!!). Simon and our best mate got Subway on the way home but I resisted the urge and by the time I fell into bed about 2.30am I’d still not had a single thing to eat. Cannot tell you how great that felt this morning to wake up.. very tired at 7am … but at least guilt free :)
Anyway…we’ve got our mate coming over tonight to watch some DVD’s so I’d better keep moving. I just wanted to come on and update the challenge page and say keep those entries coming.
We are going to ROCK!!!
Cheers P
Friday, 2nd September 2005...
Not long to go now guys's and gal's :)
My WHO magazine 12wk challenge officially starts on Monday but due to overwhelming interest I have organised an online version for you all to participate in right along side with me.
The challenge page is here. Just follow the instructions on the page, drop me an email before the end of next week ... then get started. Challenge begins Monday Sept 5th and ends Monday Nov 28th.
We can kick some serious weight loss butt in this time. So if you have been hovering or yo-yoing of late....if you've just begun a weight loss challenge...or you just want some fun and added excitement to your journey...then join me on this challenge. You won't be sorry you did :)
Have a great weekend everyone....clean those cupboards out of any naughty food...stock up with healthy, fresh food and dust off your exercise gear. Only 3 more sleeps until the challenge begins!!
ps I had to delete my links page to make room for the challenge page but don't worry ... I'll restore if after the challenge is over :)
Cheers P
Thursday, 1st September 2005...
Just a quick entry today to let you all know the results of last nights weigh-in. I was thrilled to lose 0.6kg which was exactly what I put on during my holidays the week before. I am stoked to have undone the damage so fast :)
Looking at my stats I am 0.2kg heavier then I was a month ago but I know that for me that is much better than it could have been. There are bound to be times when I lose my focus or momentum but in these times if I can at least maintain then I am ecstatic.
But enough of this plateau ... next week my WHO challenge begins and I think I will be waving good-bye to this stagnation for some time :)
I told my leader at WW about it last night at last. She was very pleased and excited for me and said it was up to me now to put my town on the map ... hehehe. In fact I wanted to crawl under my seat when she proceeded to tell the whole class about it and then asked me to share what I had lost so far. You see I really am a shy person and that is why this Challenge is so far out of my comfort zone. But boy will it be worth it :)
Everybody was very encouraging and excited for me and now I have even more eyes on me during these next 12 weeks...Eeek!
Several people have told me they wish they could do it too or do it with me so I say to everyone out there....Just Do It!!! Ok you may not have the personal trainer but who couldn't do with 12wk's of focused efforts in a bid to kick some kg's to the curb before Christmas?? I'll try to come up with a page to track the results tomorrow and let you know. Anyone who is interested just drop me a line with your start weight on Monday 5th Sept and we'll take it from there :)
Have a great day everyone.
Cheers P
Wednesday, 31st August 2005...
I have now met 'The Enforcer' ... and she was lovely! :)
She is around 40-45 I'd guess.....and I'm very pleased to report she was not the women Simon saw jogging yesterday...Phew!
At this stage she has told me I'll be doing gym work, beach work and walking etc (that I can take Caleb with me for). She is saying 5 days a week but it's more than likely 2 of those days will be working on my own but following her plan for that day etc.
I was surprised to learn that she will not in fact be paid for this. The training is provided in exchange for a mention in Who magazine. How generous of her to devote that time and effort to me for minimal returns.
As far as gym work goes she said each session will be for an hour and be something different everyday so my muscles don't get used to the work and lose effectiveness. Sounds like I'll never get bored!
My photo shoot will be done by a local photographer probably next Tuesday when Caleb is in day-care but Who says that the photo dept will phone me before then to clarify times and to check what I will be wearing. I'm planning on swimwear (board shorts and halter-neck swim top - it's half of a 2 piece set) I hope to god that is going to be allowed. In fact just having this clarified will be a HUGE weight off my mind as I really worry about this before pic and just want to know what I can and can't wear.
I wish we knew more about our fellow challengers. They should get us all in contact for moral support. I have been lucky enough to meet one of them, Jodie, over e-mail who's friend read my journal and told her I was doing it also. Jodie has a journal also but I will ask her permission before sharing it's address with you. In the meantime...Good Luck Jodie!
Ooh now I'm looking forward to my diaries arriving today...very exciting. I have to submit them to WHO each week and bits of them will be used for the final article.
I'm not too worried about them as I can probably pull the weeks best bits from this online diary??
I think the motivation of this whole challenge will totally keep me to WW 110% .... no-one wants to admit failure on a national scale LOL. I will maintain it for the 12 wk's because I have to!!
The only thing I am worried about is getting pregnant. Because in PCOS weight loss can trigger a normal ovulation and therefore pregnancy I probably have my best chance of getting pregnant throughout this challenge as it may be my fastest weight loss yet. Not that I would mind of course but I'd be disappointed to have to drop out of the challenge?
The Enforcer thought this was a 'contest' and that a winner would be named.
She was worried how they would compare us and on what scale....eg kg's or cm's. I emailed Who and it is definitely NOT a contest.....Phew!!!!
The only contest will be with myself....and it's sure to be a cracker!!!
Weigh-in tonight....am hopeful for a loss...stay tuned
Cheers P
Tuesday, 30th August 2005...
Another weekend of poor eating is behind me and now I'm into the mad pre-weigh-in exercise rush. Why is it so damned hard for me to stay on track on the weekends??? Well that's not entirely true - I stay good all through the day, past tea even...but late night snacking/drinking gets me every time...D'oh! That's why I am so glad the WHO Challenge starts on Monday. Surely with the threat of public humiliation hanging over my head I'll be more likely to do better....right?? :)
I finally heard from my trainer last night and I get to meet her at the gym for the first time today. Her name is Kim but I think I'll have to come up with a cute little nick-name for her...like 'The Enforcer' (lol)
We are not allowed to begin training until the challenge officially begins but she just wants to meet today, do a pre-training health screen and find out more about where I've come from and what I hope to achieve etc. I'm really looking forward to finding out more about what's in store for me.
I also have to clarify exactly what I can and cannot wear on my 'before' photo shoot. The initial email said bathers or crop top and shorts. I did email WHO and was given the OK to wear a singlet as I don't own a crop top but I just can't decide. I'm leaning towards a waist length bathers top that I have (a little halter neck from a 2 piece) and board shorts. At least that would cover the worst but still leave no illusion as to how much weight I need to lose?? I think once the photo is done I'll be so much less stressed as this damn before photo is what worries me more than anything!
Simon took great glee in calling me this morning to say he passed a trainer and a rather large women jogging along one of our cities major roads this morning. He said the client looked ready to keel over and die right there on the spot while the trainer was encouraging her to keep going while she merrily jogged along ahead as if it took no effort at all. God don't let that be 'The Enforcer'...hehehe
I was back at the gym yesterday and did 40 minutes of cardio. 20min's on the treadmill (some jogging), 20 min's on the reclining cycle and 10 min's on the cross trainer (a PB up from 5 min's). I've just come home from there again this morning having done my full weights program plus 20min's of cardio (cycle) to bring it up to the full hour workout. At this stage I also plan to do another cardio session tomorrow afternoon before weigh-in.
I may still gain tomorrow night...but so be it. I think it will be my last gain for the next 12 weeks though as I really intend to follow the WW plan letter for letter and I know 'The Enforcer' will ensure I get more than adequate exercise to ensure a slow an steady loss pattern. I probably give WW 80% most of the time so I'm sure that for the next 12 weeks I can crank that up to 100% Who knows perhaps the results will be so good I'll keep at it at that level all the way to goal. Bring it on I say!!
I received my complimentary motivational kit from WW last Friday but forgot to tell you what was in it. It had a new WW recipe book, a magazine, a fridge tracker, some pamphlets and a box of WW choc crisp bars. How cool is that!! Thanks Weight Watchers!
Anyway...enough from me for today. I have finally uploaded all our holiday pictures into Caleb's album and you can view them here. In addition I've updated Caleb's site with the full holiday story here.
Cheers P
Saturday, 27th August 2005...
I love weekends. Not for my weight loss efforts (stay tuned on that one) ... but my general aura :)
This morning I got all my housework out of the way early, mowed the front lawn, tidied the yard, jumped in the shower then headed out to the gym. I did my full weights program today as well as 5 minutes on the crosstrainer, 10 minutes on the cycle and 15 minutes on the treadmill - some jogging included. It felt great ... as always. Getting to the gym and showering etc afterwards can be such a hassle but I really need to remember how good I feel inside when I don't feel like going. I love the dull ache in my muscles telling me I've given them a good workout. I love the thumping heart, puffed breathing and sweaty brow....all signs I'm alive!!
Since then I've showered, got a little glammed up for our dinner guests tonight (nothing special just extra attention to hair and make-up, putting on my charm bracelet etc ... it's nice to have the opportunity). Caleb (and Simon) are both having a nap so for now I've got some alone time online before I head out to do some shopping and errands when they wake.
We have our best friend (and employee) Scott coming for tea tonight as well as Simon's newest employee... a guy I've only met for about 5 minutes in total so far. I'm making hamburgers with thin meat patties, low fat cheese and stacks of salad. The boys will no doubt have a couple each but I think my one will be very satisfying and filling. I've also got some pretzels for me for after while they have regular chips... and I'm going to make the mini pav's again also.
Last nights dinner went well ... if you don't count the guest list dropping from 8 to 5 at the last minute :) I did some foolish late night eating that I immediately felt guilty for :( However, as I've told others on numerous occasions, all you can do is make the very next thing you put in your mouth good and you are back on track. Recriminations and self loathing do no good. I worked really hard at the gym today and have so far only had 6.5 points today so I'm already over it.
I think perhaps it's the WHO challenge anxiety getting to me. That and the age old habits of eating off track before "starting a new diet". I know this is no diet and it's not new ... it's just the same old WW with a huge jump in the exercise. But having a start date and everything makes it feel like something new and I'm struggling not to 'break out' from shear habit before hand. I'm already so desperately worried about the before pics that the stupidest thing I could do now would be to gain any more weight before having them done in a week or so...D'oh!
Never fear though, I will get through this. It's not all scary ... it's also bloody exciting!!! Thanks for all the positive feedback and encouragement I have received from you all about the challenge. I always try to answer any guestbook messages that leave me an email contact straight away. But for those who don't leave contact email address's, or for those who I visit at your own journals and might not remember to say it to you ... Thank You!!
I can't wait to share this special journey with you all :)
Cheers P
Friday, 26th August 2005...
Was a bit off track yesterday but I'm ready and raring to get back to tracking today after not doing it while away on holidays.
We are having dinner guests tonight and I'm making spaghetti bolognaise, garlic bread, salad and then mini fruit topped pav's for dessert. I never have salad with spaghetti usually but I thought that if I filled most of my plate with point free salad I would have less of the pasta?? I buy these great little individual garlic bread sticks which are only 2 pt's each and perfectly portion controlled.
For the pavlova's, I love the single serve pavlova nests (0.5pt's), a squirt of Lite aerosol cream (1.5pt's), then decorated with sliced strawberries, kiwi fruit (green and gold) and banana (?1pt depending on fruit used).....Mmmm! Very decadent feeling despite low point value :)
Those who know me, know I'm no wine drinker, or champagne either for that matter. I drink beer and vodka mostly. I've always wanted to enjoy wine, and have gone through several fads of making myself drink it but I just can't get to a point of enjoying it. Thanks to my sister Vicki and the liquor store man's help, I have now been directed to a white wine called Rosemount Estate Traminer Riesling ... and it is Divine!! It's much better points value then my usual drinks. At 1 point for 100ml I could make the whole bottle last all night and only spend 7.5 pt's (7.5 pt's of my weekly 14 allowed sugar points also, I know).
I've had some more progress with the WHO Weekly Magazine '12 Week Challenge' (Henceforth known as the WHO challenge). I have been assigned a trainer, named Kim, from a local personal training company and she will be in contact with me soon. I understand she is to train me at my 'real' gym and also in outdoor settings and that the expected frequency is around 3 times per week.....Paulene trembles nervously ... he he he
I've also been contacted twice by Weight Watchers to offer me encouragement and even to send me a 'kit' of motivational bits and pieces?? I don't know exactly what that entails but how cool is that! Thanks Weight Watchers *wink*
I guess they must have been in contact or collaboration with WHO as I didn't contact them to tell them that I have been accepted? I also haven't told my local leader yet but intend to when I get the opportunity.
But enough for today. I'm off to catch up with some other journals and finally do some work on that holiday update and photo's I promised in Caleb's site. If you have been looking for it just hang tight ... I'll let you know right here when it's done :)
Cheers P
Thursday, 25th August 2005...
Yippee.....made my goal!!
Ok so I gained 0.6kg but that means I made my long held goal of going on holiday and gaining less than 1kg!!! Much better than the 5kg I gained last holiday!! *blush* Now perhaps next time I can actually hope for a loss on holidays :)
It's been a long time since I made a goal so I'm really pleased with that :)
I've heard a little more about my WHO challenge. The before photo's will be done on or near the start date of Sept 5th....in shorts and singlet (Eeek!). They are in the process or organizing my trainer and I'll hear more soon.
Not much else to say today. I want to put in a good effort this week to undo that little holiday gain before my challenge officially begins.
A special mention goes out today to the lovely fellow journaller, Karen, who needs all our hugs and well wishes right now. Sadly, her and her husband have just lost their unborn baby to miscarriage for the second time in the last 12 months or so. :( My heart goes out to you both.
It sure makes me appreciate my own little miracle boy all the more - if that's possible.
And the lovley Kate has had some tragic news about a little boy in her family too. Life can be so cruel some times :(
For all those Mom's and Dad's out there who might be having a tough day....it's nothing compared to a lifetime without children. Give those munchkin's a big smooch for me today!
Cheers P
Tuesday, 23rd August 2005...
Back from holidays...boo-hoo :(
While it is good to get home we had such a wonderful time on Fraser Island for a week that we never wanted to come home in some ways. I won't go into too much detail here about the holiday as I have much more exciting news to share. I'll be doing a full holiday update in Caleb's site later today so pop over there for the full story and lots of pics.
As you know my goal was to return from my holiday and have a 1kg gain or less (I'm not silly enough to think that I can actually lose on holiday yet *wink*). My last 7 night holiday in February saw me gain 5kg!!!! This holiday was certainly much better.
According to my home scales I'm less than 2kg up from my last weigh-in and I am hoping to be under that 1kg gain mark by tomorrow nights official weigh-in to achieve my goal. That would be fantastic!! I know you may think it's strange to be happy about a gain but a relatively small gain such as this is completely uncharted territory for me after a holiday so I would be thrilled.
After all I ate more than enough naughty food to deserve a bigger gain but I also did lots of exercise. Beach walks, climbing numerous massive sand dunes and climbing up and down the headland we were staying on a half a dozen times helped too. Also the house we rented was on the second floor and the staircase front and back were huge and really steep. Combine that with walking around in soft sand all day every day and you get a pretty good work out it would seem. My legs and butt were killing me:)
Ok now the big news!! I received a phone call yesterday that just may change my life. It's thrilling, yet terrifying at the same time...but I'm going to cast aside my fears and Go For It!
A few weeks ago I noticed in the WHO magazine that they were calling for people who needed to lose weight and were willing to work hard for it to drop them a line with their story. I did just that and never thought about it again. Until they phoned me yesterday to say I had been accepted to participate! They had over 100 applicants and I made it into the final 13!!!!
I don't know all the details yet but I know this much. Each person will have a different food program to follow...such as WW, Low GI, CSIRO etc. As I'm already on WW they said I could continue with that. They provide me with a free personal trainer for the 12 week challenge...yes FREE!!!! The challenge starts Sept 5th and I will need to have photo shoots and interviews done at the start and again at the end. I have to submit some sort of diary as I go along also. In the annual January special issue of WHO called "Half their size"....my story, and that of the other finalists will be published for the world to see!!!!
Holy Shit!
I am really nervous about the end publication for all to see. If it were WW magazine etc I wouldn't mind as I know only other like minded people would read it. But WHO is a national gossip/current affairs mag that thousands read. Old school friends, work mates, even enemies can see me in all my fatty shame....Eeek!!!
I am pleased that no before photo's will be published until the end. Having a bad before photo isn't so bad if it's next to a kickass 'look at me now' after photo. The before photo has to be posed in bike shorts and singlet etc (she said some brave souls chose bikinis's...Not this brave soul I can assure you!!). I'm not sure if any travel will be involved as I haven't got all the details yet.
I was told that the angle of my PCOS and this online journal helped to secure me a position in their final group. I just wish that the time frame were long enough that I could actually reach goal before the end. It will be kind of embarrassing to have my after picture saying I still have 10-15kg to lose or something. After all I still have 27-28kg to go and the challenge is only 12 weeks ... but still????
I called my sisters and mother-in-law yesterday for their advice and they all said that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and that I shouldn't think twice. It's just so scary!!! I think that this will be such a good motivation for me to kick some serious weight-loss ass in the next 3 months and really move me closer to my goal by Christmas so I know it's a good thing. But I'm still terrified!!!
So scared in fact I'm off to the gym now to inch myself a little closer to that goal :)
Please tell me....am I totally crazy for saying yes to this????
Cheers P
Thursday, 11th August 2005...
Yep...I gained. But only 200 grams so I'm not too worried at all. It was TOM after all and I was too sick to get to the gym yesterday afternoon as planned so I am just thankful the gain wasn't larger than it was :)
Still feeling horrible today. Going to take Caleb to his Granny's for a couple of hours this morning while I try to get some stuff organised for our holiday on Saturday. I've done nothing yet...Eeek!
Will try to get back here tomorrow to do one last update before we go...then I'll be offline until we get back on 21st August.
Cheers P
Wednesday, 10th August 2005...
Not much to say today. Came down even sicker over night...Ugh!
Feel like death warmed up today :(
Still must get to gym this afternoon for some fat burning cardio before weigh-in.
Don't expect much of a loss tonight...might even gain.
Stay tuned.
Cheers P
Tuesday, 9th August 2005...
I did it!! I did it!!
I went back to the gym today and did my first solo run through my full program...and boy am I feeling it. It just goes to show that after 12 months at Curves it really had lost it's ability to challenge my body and muscles.
I actually went and resigned from Curves this morning then dropped the boy off at day-care and headed on to the new gym. Then I lost my nerve and went home *hehehe* You see my old nail technician was there (who's a bit of gym-bunny ... lovely but oh so fit!) and I lost my nerve. But not for good...I just went home and changed then came back, waited till she left, then went in. How silly am I?? It was really only because it was my first go through that I didn't want anyone I knew there in case I made a total ass of myself and fell off a machine or something :)
I needn't have worried.
I remembered all the machines and techniques and all up spent 1hr and 15min's working out. I also copied down my program for those of you who asked so here it is:
Warm Up - 10 min's cardio (I do 10min's at 6km/hr on treadmill)
Machine Leg Press - 10kg - 12 reps x 3 sets
Machine Leg Extensions - 5kg - 12x3
Machine Pulldowns - 20kg - 12x3
Machine Pushdowns - 10kg - 12x3
Machine Sit-ups - 7.5kg - 12x3
Dumbbell Presses - 4kg - 12x3
Dumbbell Raises - 3kg - 12x3
Dumbbell Curls - 5kg - 12x3
Superman's (like a stationary full push-up held as long as I can) 3 x 10sec's
Cardio 20-30min's (cycle, cross-trainer, stepper, treadmill etc)
Something tells me I'm really going to feel this tomorrow :)
I'm also sick at the moment - Again! Just a cold I think with runny nose, sore throat and sneezing but I refused to let that delay my first workout today. Now that it's behind me I feel so much more confident about going in future and won't be avoiding people anymore. Tomorrow I'll go and do a cardio day before weigh-in tomorrow night then hopefully another run through the program on Friday morning.
Saturday we go away for our one week holiday on Fraser Island so I have much packing and organizing to do Friday morning while the boy is at day-care but I really want to fit it in.
I also found out today that my monthly membership is only $32, not the $42 I'd thought. And to think I was paying nearly $50 a month at Curves to go round and around a circle!!
Anyway...enough for today. My lunch is calling and I want to catch up on some other journals while I can.
Not sure what to expect for tomorrow nights weigh-in. TOM has arrived which has led to some water weight gain but hoping it may settle before tomorrow night. Whatever happens, happens and I refuse to stress over it all.
I'm daring to hope that this holiday may just be the one to break the holiday weight gain curse...I hope! I'm loading up my MP3 with upbeat beach walking songs and telling myself how great I'll feel to come back with a loss...or hell even a gain less than 1kg would be nice. It is one of my goals after all :)
Cheers P
Sunday, 7th August 2005...
Phew...what a weekend! Have been super busy this weekend so far. Eating has been off track at times but I also went back to the gym again yesterday so that's bound to help??
Yesterday we had swimming lessons in the morning then we took Caleb to the Float parade in lights last night...he loved that! He was dancing away to all the music and waving at all the people in the floats :)
This morning we took Caleb riding on his bike and he absolutely loved it!! The weather was too unpredictable to go to the Esplanade so we went over to the school across the road instead. Predictably we were eventually chased out of school property but he got to enjoy a good half hour bike riding first. He's only ever ridden through the house and on Poppy's driveway before so this was quite a big thing for him. He did so well and just watching him was like..'aww our baby is growing up!'...hehehe
Yesterday morning I woke up feeling remorseful over a late night Macca's run on Friday so I decided to go to the gym. Never could do it on the weekend at Curves as their only opening hours (like 2hrs) clashed with Caleb's swimming lessons.
I went to Target and got myself some new workout pants and shirt then decided to finally get the sports bra I've always wanted. I've never been professionally fitted for a bra before and almost fell over when she said I was a 20DD(!!!). I had read once that 80% of women wear the wrong bra size but boy was I way out. I have been wearing 18C's and 20D's but never a Double D!! Crikey these old girls are bigger than I thought...hehehe :)
So armed with my new clothes I headed to the gym...and almost didn't go in. I was so nervous about the type of people who may be inside on a weekend that I wavered back and forth as to wether or not to go at all. Then I gave myself a stern talking too about how I'd already joined so I may as well just suck it up and get over the initial awkwardness as I know that soon I'll be a comfortable regular.
Having said that though I wasn't brave enough to try my first solo run though my program (will do that tomorrow or Tuesday when it's quieter), so I decided to make it a cardio day and try to burn off some of the fat I ingested the night before. I did 20min's on the treadmill at 6km/hr.....10min's on the cross-trainer.....and 15min's on the reclining bike before cooling down with some stretching. It was my first go on the cross-trainer and it was quite an experience. For those of you who don't know what they are...it's sort of like standing on foot plates...holding onto two bars in front of you and then moving feet and arms back and forth in a cross-county skiing motion. I can tell you I was stuffed after 10min's but felt that was ok for my first try?
It felt so great to have gone at all and now I'm actually looking forward to trying out my full program next visit. I was going over what I could remember of it in my head this morning and I know I'll be fine. I just have to get over the worry about people looking at me and 'Just Do It' as Nike would say :)
I'm reading this great little book at the moment called 'Winning the Weight War'....a book that I won in a Slimming magazine competition. It had a great section on overcoming your fears that I'd like to paraphrase from..
It's easy to opt out when overweight. Opt out of doing things, going places, meeting people. This way you imagine you are protecting yourself form all kinds of painful feelings - feeling inferior when you meet someone slim and confident, feeling embarrassed when you have to stand up in front of colleagues, or feeling self-conscious when you wear a new outfit. Meanwhile, life goes on but we are at a standstill, living in the shadows, outsiders looking at life as if we were at the movies. We see other people going about, doing things, getting places and we are immobilized by feelings of powerlessness. We wonder how they do it with such apparent ease and why we can't. We fool ourselves into thinking we are shielding ourselves from pain by avoiding painful situations; the truth is that our inaction is causing even more pain. Our comfort zone turns out to be extremely uncomfortable!
How true is that!!!???
Cheers P
Friday, 5th August 2005...
I did it!!!
I am now the newest member of the "real" gym community :)
I am so thrilled that I made this move...and believe me it's a move that only 12 months ago I would have said would NEVER happen. I used to read weight-loss success stories where the people joined a gym and I was instantly like "Nope! Not doing that!". Yet here I am *beams proudly*
I got a major case of cold feet during the night when I decided there was no way I could do this. What if I saw someone I know ... worse still a man ... Eeek perish the thought ... lol I was afraid I'd be intimidated, humiliated...or both :) Even this morning I wavered in whether or not to take my workout gear or whether to just talk to them for today. In the end I took it...because let's face it ... if I am not game to work out there then there is no way I should be joining up to a 12 month contract with them.
My worry was for nothing. They were great. I even went for a walk-by first and looked in the full glass front to suss the scene ... and I saw elderly ladies and men ... and younger people with all body shapes. But not a glowing gym-bunny or buff--boy in sight. There were some rather large men working at the free weights but they wouldn't even notice me. So in I went.
The (HUGE) guy who took me through registration and my training program, Daniel, couldn't have been nicer *blush* As I walked the length of the gym to get dressed in the change rooms at the rear of the building, most people I passed said hello which was a lovely surprise :) Daniel wasn't at all intimidating or judgmental. After all here I am in the most unflattering positions with him right on top of me (not literally!) yet I felt totally at ease. I guess at least he knows I am doing something about it?? They didn't weigh or measure me but I told him how much I have lost and how much I have to go ... although I didn't mention actual numbers (come on I'm not totally crazy!!) hehehe
Believe me when I say that if I can do this ... ANYONE can do it. If you've ever thought -one day- then make today the day. It was so, so different to what I had feared and now I wish I'd just done it from the beginning. **Remember** the motto: BE, DO, HAVE. Be committed ... Do what it takes ... Have what you want. How much do you really want it??
I guess I really wanted it because once I started it was great fun. I went through a 10 min warm up on the cardio machine of my choice and I chose my old friend the treadmill at 6km/hr. Then I was taken through about 30 minutes of various exercises on the resistance machines, free weights and various bench/weights thingo's (and I think that is their actual technical name...*wink*). Then it was 20-30min's cardio on the machine of my choice...I saw cycling, treadmills, cross-trainers and step machines at least. So today I did 20min's on the bike like machine at about 28km/hr with god knows what resistance ? I can tell you that my heart rate was kept right around 125 bpm and by the end I was sweaty and stuffed. Then it was onto a stretch chart to cool down after a good hours workout and I was done!!
I walked out of there like I was on air. This was a MAJOR psychological hurdle for me today and I did it!!!
I know I have been going to Curves gym for 9 months but a repetitive circuit just cannot compare to a "real" gym. Not to mention a real gym with so much visibility to passer-by's, and in a really busy area of town ... but oh well. If they have nothing better to do then to look at me sweating my ass off in the gym then good luck to them :)
Their child minding service is great but I don't' know that I'll use it much. Caleb hates being left alone, let alone with strangers like that...but perhaps more as he gets older it will be useful. The hours are so much more flexible now and my costs went from $49 a month to $32 a month!!
They've written out a program for me to follow. It tells me what to do and how many reps and sets of what to do for each one and at what weight.. I'll bring it home next time to tell you the details that I can't remember now. They revise the plan every 6 weeks so I won't get bored..yeah!
So overall ... in case you can't tell already ... I'm stoked!
To top that off I had a really good conversation with Simon last night about my progress. I was saying how different it sounds from saying I have 43kg to loose to now saying I have 27kg to lose??? And to think that 90-something kilo's is so in my reach now it blows my mind!! I have been 100+kg for a decade and to think that I could soon put that behind me would be ... indescribable??
Just between you and me ... I think he's got bling on his mind! He oh so casually had me try his wedding band on each of my fingers ... good way to get my ring size don't you think?? I've told him that I'd love to get a diamond ring to compliment my wedding set when I get to goal. Perhaps he could be planning ahead, perhaps thinking of <100kg or perhaps even a rather extravagant Xmas present??? Who knows? He-he-he ... listen to me being a presumptuous Paulene! :)
Ok... enough babble from me. Have a fantastic weekend everybody. Mine is action packed with dinner guests tonight, swimming lessons in the morning, street parade and show carnival tomorrow night, a 4 year old birthday party Sunday arvo and bike riding with Caleb Sunday morning (him having his first big bike ride adventure on his first little bike while we walk with him). He can ride through the house on the tiles when he gets going but I don't know how long he'll even get on the Esplanade path? Not that it matters..he'll love it all the same :)
Cheers P
Thursday, 4th August 2005...
It was there!!
102.9kg (102's!!!) on the scale....it flickered...it returned...then just as the final beep sounded it rolled over to 103.0kg!!
D'oh!!
Still....I'm stoked to stay the same none the less :)
After what I ate in one day on Saturday I was sure I'd gain. I know the other 6 days were near perfect so I guess that's what got me through by the skin of my teeth....that plus over 4hrs exercise this week!
Believe me...I didn't deserve to stay the same so I am very grateful this morning to not have a gain to report :)
I also gathered my courage and asked the leader for a job. Well I asked her to keep me in mind for any future ones anyway. I'd love another reason to get there every week and to stay for the whole meeting. Not to mention the chance of free meetings. She has said that she'll organize to get me through training and then I can fill in as needed until another spot comes up to help on a more permanent basis. Yey!!! That would be so cool :) I'm so glad I asked.
And I did stay for the whole meeting last night as promised. Something I intend to keep doing again from now on.
And guess what else I did???
Go on guess.....?
I am joining the "real" gym!!
I have an appointment for tomorrow morning to go to the big (glass front) gym with the 'real' gym bunnies and buff boys!! It's actually cheaper than my old gym, this one has child minding, and much longer opening hours...more workout options...and a personalised plan will be developed for me and re-assessed every 8 weeks or so. Wow! Me...in a real gym! Never thought I'd see that day :) Will keep you posted on how the meeting goes tomorrow.
Also I have added a new guestbook to the top left of this page. I know it's frustrating to return to my home page to the old one. I wanted to keep the same one but I guess it makes no difference if there are two?? So feel free to use either. Hope this helps some of you :)
Ok ...enough for today. Caleb and I are off to the library and Maze Mania this morning so best go get organised.
I feel skinny....oh so skinny!! *wink*
Cheers P
Tuesday, 2nd August 2005...
Another day closer to weigh-in tomorrow night and still going ok :)
Had a good day of eating yesterday and also got in a good 30min workout at the gym. I'm getting restless there again and thinking of moving gyms. I currently go to a women's only circuit gym called Curves. It's great but going around and around the same circuit 3 times a week, every week for about 9 months now gets a little old. Also their opening hours are less than ideal so I am again considering whether or not to move elsewhere. The problem with that is there are only 2 other gyms in town...neither very big. One is an old gym at the centre where I did aqua-aerobics and rollerskating recently. The other is newer but situated right next to the cinema, pubs and arcades and has full glass frontage - not pretty! Also I think this one will be the den of skinny gym bunnies and buff boys...neither of which I want to work out with?? So for now I need to find out more about both and their opening hours and think on it further. The main reason for me to move is more flexible hours plus I'd love a treadmill and personalised workout plan from a qualified instructor. Plus Helena and all her talk of arc trainers etc makes me envious *wink*
I wanted to make special mention today of an email I received yesterday from a lovely lady named Philippa. Now this women found my journal and read the lot from start to finish. Firstly I was amazed at how much time this would have taken and, as always, I'm shocked that anyone would even bother. What struck me most though was that she said ..."One thing that really came across for me in your journal is what a great attitude you have. Even if you have an off night down at the pub (or whatever!), you put it in perspective and keep going. And it's paying off, by the sounds of it! I have no doubt that you will continue to keep achieving your goals."
It got me thinking about this and why it is so. I guess more than anything I don't want to lose the readers that give me so much support and encouragement on this journey. I don't want people to come on here and hear me moaning about my repetitive stuff-ups over and over again and not see me willing to do anything about it.
That's the thing with this journey and journal....I'm not perfect - far from it! I stumble over and over again..as many with weight issues do. I see no point in lying about it though as that won't help me or you. So I can only stay stubbornly determined to make it..no mater how long it takes. So I try to see the positive in every setback and use it as a learning tool to prevent more in future. It's either that or give up and I WILL NOT GIVE UP! :)
Speaking of comments I got a great one in my guestbook from Margaret too. I was struggling to articulate yesterday what I meant about getting back on track straight away rather than blowing another day ... or week. Margaret said it just right when she quoted Kate as saying "If we go for a drive and get one flat tire, do we jump out of the car and slash the other tires. No, we fix it and keep moving. That is what it is like with those outbreaks. You fix it and keep moving".
Amen to that!!
To quote yet another... Linda once said something along the lines of "Is delaying your dreams really worth that (whatever it is you want to eat that is not good for you)". The answer is no... so put that naughty food down and back away from the fridge!! *wink*
I have made a pact with myself to stay for my WW meeting tomorrow night. I've fallen in the trap of not doing that for several weeks now and I know from prior experience what a slippery slope that is to failure...Eeek! It started when my WW pal reached lifetime status and stopped going every week. Then I started going to the odd Tuesday morning group. This is Caleb's day-care day and I always have so much on that I never feel I have the time to stay at the meeting. So this week I'm going tomorrow night as I always used to...and I'm staying for the whole meeting...that's my promise to you!
The week after next I'll be away on holidays so I'll miss a weigh-in...but I'm still hopeful I might be able to make this my first ever successful holiday! After all junk food is limited on Fraser Island and takeaway is unavailable. I'll have plenty of time to go for a long walk on the beach each day ...and god knows I need to overcome this holiday hurdle at some point of the journey. Fingers crossed this could be the time for me to shine! :)
I've got my tea bubbling away in the crockpot (slow cooker) today. It's a beef and vege casserole. Heaps of chopped fresh 'free' veg (0 pt's), potato (1 pt's), diced heart-smart beef (3 pt's), beef stock (0 pt's), Worcestire sauce (0 pt's) and a pkt mix Continental thick vegetable soup (1 pt)....so all up only 5 pt's for a huge bowl of warm, filling stew. I usually do some bake at home dinner rolls to serve with at only 1 pt each and Caleb loves this meal too. Mmmm!
I've decided that when I finish the book I am reading at the moment I am going to take a leaf out of Philippa's book and read this whole journey over from start to finish. I think it will help me to remember that I've come so far...that when it seems I'm going no-where that I will make it though and continue to lose. I am going to print out my journal and use it as a motivational tool (and permanent record) when I need to remember what I've already achieved and what I hope to achieve in future. In fact I must do this with Caleb's site also before I lose the great record of his whole conception pregnancy and life so far.
The book I'm reading right now is called 'When the bough breaks'. It's the true story of Kathleen Folbigg...the Australian lady whose 4 children died from SIDS and related events...or so they thought until they realised she had smothered each of them over the years. Gripping reading. I started it just yesterday and it looks like I'll finish it today. I'm like that with a book though...if it gets me in I just read and read and read until it's done.
Oh one more thing before I finish up....I had something yummy at tea last night I wanted to share. I had two BBQ chicken kebabs (4 pt's), a boiled egg (1.5 pt's), a tossed salad (0 pt's) and the yummiest potato for only (2 pt's). I microwaved a small potato until soft (1 pt)...then spooned over 1/3 tin WW baked beans (0.5 pt's) and topped with fresh cracked pepper and a slice of no fat cheese (0.5 pt's)....then mircrowaved until the cheese was melted over the top. It was devine and very satisfying :) Try it yourself...you'll be glad you did!
Ok enough for now. I am working on a motivational list of "I used to be the sort of person who....but now I...". Stay tuned for the finished product.
Cheers P
Monday, 1st August 2005...
I've reached a conclusion....holidays are evil!!!
I mean the holiday itself was HEAVEN and just what Simon and I needed...but the eating :(
Why oh why can I not go away on a holiday without thinking it has to mean a total free for all on the eating front???
We of course went away Saturday morning and got back Sunday lunch time. By Sunday I was so overcome with remorse that I got straight back on track from the moment we finished breakfast in the fading hope of undoing the damage I did Saturday.
From the minute we left home and started the trip with Hungary Jack's for breakfast it went downhill fast. It was pie's and bakery treats for lunch, coca-cola all day and seafood and chicken meal at the pub for tea in a creamy garlic sauce....plus 5 or so Vodka Ruski's. Then to finish the evening off we devoured a big packet of chips while playing cards then nibbled on some chocolate while reading in bed!
What is wrong with me!!!???
But it's not all bad I guess? We ordered a ham and cheese croissant for room service breakfast and after having that I was telling myself that the day was ruined so I may as well eat what I want then get back on track this morning. But then...thankfully...a glimmer of insight appeared. I realised that would only make things worse and ...as I've advised others before myself...I had to make it right from the very next thing I put in my mouth.
When we got home, had collected Caleb and unpacked everything and got the washing on ...the battle was still running in my head. Chicken and chips for lunch - to have or not to have??? Thankfully I chose not and instead got out a WW frozen meal and had that instead...and boy did I feel better for that choice. From there it snowballed. I prepared a healthy tea of apricot chicken, basmati rice and steamed veg for tea....prepared my current favourite of yoghurt, mousse and strawberries for dessert... then to top it all off I roped Simon, Caleb and the dog into a 1hr brisk neighborhood walk before tea...yey!!!
I also tried to view some of the weekend in a positive light so I stopped and thought about what exercise I had done. A saving grace was probably that our apartment was on the 3rd floor...so it was 6 flights of stairs to climb and descend every time we left our room. We did those stairs at least 5 or 6 times on the Saturday I'd say. Then that night we left the car at the motel and walked into town to the pub for dinner and home again (probably only 10min's each way but better than nothing). Bright and early Sunday morning we drove to the beach ...descended a HUGE flight of stairs (78 in fact) to the beach and had a nice early morning walk on the beach before breakfast. Then it was back up the 78 steps to the car and home. We did at least another 2 trips up and down the stairs loading the car that morning then of course I also had the 1hr walk in the afternoon when we got home.
So although the eating was bad...it was only for 24hrs and I still got plenty of exercise in at least. That's my way to look at my glass half full anyway *wink*
I've got to do that or curl up in a ball and cry over the fact that the scales said 105kg this morning!
I choose instead to pick up where I left off...get lots of exercise in between now and Wednesday night's weigh-in...and just keep on keeping on...it's all I can do after all! :)
Cheers P
Friday, 29th July 2005...
Golly has it been a month since I turned 30 already! Where is this year gone? And if you live anywhere near me you are asking yourself what happened to winter this year??
But...
Anyhoo...
As you can no doubt tell I'm not too clear on what I want to say today?? I'm actually just on here to stop myself from eating :)
I'm feeling a little overcome by the munchie demon and I know that writing my own, or reading other peoples, weight loss journals helps to remind me of what I am working towards. So what better place to come to remember why I don't want to eat whatever it is that is calling my name so lovingly from out in the kitchen right now *wink*
It's 1.30pm, I've had lunch, I'm feeling a bit restless and the urge to nibble is apon me. I already feel better since sitting down here at the computer in my study with a big glass of diet coke and a head full of thoughts.
I am such a list person! I have a list on my kitchen white board right now of the jobs I wanted to get done while Caleb is at daycare today. Incidentally I have done all except prepare tea and put away 3 baskets of washing (the tea I'll do when it's time to cook and the washing can wait until this evening when I can use it as another eating distraction when Friday night eating insanities hits ... hehehe).
I have my list of 'Daily 10' steps to weight loss success (see below for yesterdays effort) and I even have a list beside me of all the things to write about today as they pop into my head.
Mmmm actually given my penchant for lists it's surprising that up until a little while ago I wasn't tracking every day (another list of sorts)?? I must say that I have tracked every day ever since starting the daily 10 idea a few weeks back so if nothing else that has made the daily 10 a worthwhile effort.
Tracking really does make a difference for me. I now write it down...no matter how off track it may be...and sometimes just thinking about adding up the numbers stops me from eating something I shouldn't. In fact an hour or so ago I was beginning to feel out of control and on the verge of breaking out that I decided to sit down and track the day instead. It was lunch time and I'd had a yummy serve of chicken wings (oven baked) with lunch and a mini milky way chocolate...then grabbed a strawberry from the fridge..and just felt like a graze attack was beginning. I began to tell myself I'd already blown it but when I sat down to track it I have found I'm only on 13.5/23 points so far..and it's almost 2pm.
That really helped me to focus on my negative thinking and catastrophizing tendencies (psych nurse babble) and helped me to see that it wasn't too late to stop it before it begins. So now I'll have afternoon tea in the next hour or so, then it's apricot chicken and steamed vege's for tea and a dessert similar to last night would be in order...it was so yummy!
As strawberries are cheap and in season here right now at only AU$1.83 for a 250 gram punnet I've been revisiting my long forgotten childhood passion for them. Right now they are ruby red, as big as apples (not really) and oh so juicy and sweet....Mmmm! Last night we washed and hulled a punnet of them (1 pt) and served them with 200g Nestle diet strawberry yoghurt (1 pt), and 1 Nestle diet chocolate mousse (1pt)...alternating dipping the berries in each ... and it was devine!!! And because we shared it was only 1.5pt's for my share :)
So tonight I can have that again, or I also have plenty of diet coke... fresh watermelon, bananas and mandarins....mini milky ways...plenty of point friendly fare so no excuse for not making good choices tonight!
Our weekend has finally been decided and it looks like it is now just Simon and I going away (our camping friends have to stay home due to family illness) so we are going to go and stay in a motel there instead of camp. Caleb will be staying at Granny's place so it will be like a mini break for us both. During the day we can try out the 4wd on the beach as planned..perhaps spend the afternoon on a long relaxing beach walk together to burn a few points before dinner. We can go out to a club ..err pub... there for a counter meal dinner, play some pokies and stay as late as we want. Then we can order in breakfast, sleep in then head back to collect Caleb before lunch on Sunday.
Gee after writing it down like that even I'm really excited at the though of it now...more than I thought I was **JOY** (Just had to go and ring Simon at work and tell him about how much fun we were going to have. It's great when something like this sort of comes up at the last moment. Exciting!)
Anyway...enough of my ramblings *blush* Let's get to yesterdays Daily 10:
Day 1:
-Track: Done!
-Exercise: Done! (1hr walk - see positive below)
-Dairy: Done! (3 serves)
-Food Groups: Done!
-Snacks: Done!
-Water: Not complete! (about 250ml)
-Points: Done! (22 pt's)
-Sugar: Done! (1.5 sugar pt's)
-Weight: Done! (resisted the urge to weigh)
-Positive: Done! (When Simon was unexpectedly delayed from home by an hour I impulsively grabbed my shoes, the dog and the pram, and Caleb and I went for a 1 hour neighborhood walk)
Day 1 = 9/10!!!
Not a bad start to the week. I felt great doing that walk and was thinking positive thoughts like "99.9 ... 99.9 ... 99.9" ...etc kilo's as I walked *wink*
I've yet to exercise today as I skipped the gym this morning but I'm thinking about dusting off an exercise DVD later on this evening when Simon no doubt gets on his PS2 after Big Brother Friday Night Games (Go BB!!) And on the topic of BB ... Tim's my hot tip to win .. you heard it here first :)
But...enough already.. I have rambled long enough. Run! ...Now!...While you still have the chance!!!
**chuckles**
I'm off to soak in a nice, deep, hot, bubbly spa :)
Cheers P
Thursday, 28th July 2005...
Well as usual when I weigh in a day early on a Tuesday, yesterday became somewhat of a free day for me. However, unlike previous weeks, I didn't use it as an excuse to eat like a pig. I actually ate pretty normal but just didn't track so I don't feel full of regrets and self recriminations today for a change :)
After finishing up my last one, I am onto a brand new WW deluxe tracker book today (they last for 12wk's) and it feels like a fresh start to an otherwise normal week.
Thanks for all the feedback on the bread yesterday to Felicity, Helena, Linda, and Kelli :) I guess you just confirmed what I already knew. I'd been making myself eat brown bread for the last year or so for nothing! I actually prefer grain to brown but persevered thinking I was eating what was best for me...D'oh! Caleb loves brown but he's had grain before so I'm sure he will adjust quickly to the change over. Simon has always whined about brown bread so he'll be most happy to learn there will be no more in the house...hehehe.
We have nothing to do today and no-one to do it with so I've decided to spend the morning at the beach with Caleb. We are waiting for the junk shops to open and I'm going to go and get him a new bucket and spade first. His others are in his sandpit here at home and most are getting brittle and broken anyway so it will be good to have some new ones. Then we are just going to take a blanket, some morning tea, sunscreen and a good book for mommy and play and relax the morning away...sounds like fun to me!
Though I never thought I'd say it it sure does get lonely being a full time mom sometimes :(
One last thing before I finish up for today. I had been asked to add a guestbook link to this page so you didn't have to go back to the home page for it first. However my web-builder doesn't support that so I have added an email link above left instead for those who don't have the time to visit the guestbook. The only sad thing about this is I loose the permanent record of them but I'd rather hear from some via email then not at all :)
Have a great Thursday everyone.
Cheers P
Wednesday, 27th July 2005...
Some advice if I may???
Can someone please help to clarify for me a question of breads???
Which is the best?? White, Wholemeal or multi-grain?
Now I can figure for myself that it's not white.
I used to think it was brown/wholemeal.... and hence have started Caleb on this since he first began eating bread.
But now some things I read talk of wholegrain being better than 'brown' bread...so which is that??
Is wholegrain the same as wholemeal or is it the same as a multi-grain loaf??
Which is better GI wise for slow burning energy and sustained fullness??
Any advice on this greatly appreciated as I've been pondering this for weeks now.
Cheers P
Tuesday, 26th July 2005...
Sorry for yesterday's lack of update. I usually do it while Caleb has his afternoon nap but I am still sick and just wanted to crawl in bed while he slept yesterday. Feeling like crap still today but it's day-care day so I'm going to take it easy. Despite having pretty much lost my voice over night I do feel a smidgeon better today so I'm hoping the worst of it has passed??
I dragged my sorry butt to the gym yesterday arvo and again this morning as I hadn't exercised all week and I knew that despite how I felt I had to do something. It wasn't as bad as I'd feared so I'm glad I pushed myself to do it.
Now onto the good news... make that GREAT NEWS!
I weighed in this morning and reached an all time lowest weight. I lost 1.2kg (so I've undone that last 0.8kg gain plus made up for last weeks stay the same!!)...and I now weigh 103.0kg!!!
Yippeedee-Doooo!!! :)
I am now only 3.1kg away from those double figures and every day I am thinking more and more about reaching them. I've been over 100kg for at least 9 years so the thought of breaking through that is exhilarating!
With only 2 weeks to go until my holiday I'm not going to reach it in time but I don't care. After a week on Fraser Island... away from a lot of food temptations and with miles and miles of beach to walk on every day I may even come home in the 90's ...you never know!
Speaking of holidays we are off on another camping trip this weekend. Just an overnight one to Rainbow Beach to try out our 4wd before hitting Fraser in it next month. Caleb is having a weekend sleep-over at Granny's so we're just going Saturday morning until Sunday lunch time with friends but it should be great fun. I'm feeling guilty about not taking Caleb but it will be nice to camp rough like we used to without having to worry about all his stuff and needs etc. A little mini break for Simon and I :)
Speaking of that yummy man of mine... he came home bearing more roses yesterday again. Every week or so he visits a local rose farm on his way home and brings me fresh cut long stem roses and little cards bearing the sweetest thoughts. He's one of kind my Simon!! *smiles dreamily*
Anyhoo he's coming home early today ... just because he can (it's great being your own boss) so I'm off to catch up on some journals and run a nice hot spa for us for when he gets home :)
Cheers P
Sunday, 24th July 2005...
Sunday, Glorious Sunday :)
Mmmm now my tone wouldn't give away how my weekend has been would it???
How about this....You Bloody Ripper!!!
lol lol get the picture :)
It was great!
Now I should add at this point that the last two days have only seen 6/10 and 5/10 on the daily 10's. Still too sick to exercise and I have let my dairy, water and food groups slip most days...but most importantly my points have not!
Right now I am sitting on 69.5/69 points, 11 sugar points....and most importantly.....drumroll please... 103.2kg on the scales!!!!!!
I am now getting excited....REALLY EXCITED! Being under 100kg is just around the corner!!! Maybe by my Aug 13th holiday as hoped ... maybe not....I don't care. It's coming and I will make it!!
Cheers P
Friday, 22nd July 2005...
Still feeling under the weather today :( Flu like symptoms of hot/cold flushes, phlegm on throat, body aches etc. Have felt much worse with other flu's though so I don't' want to complain too much...it could be worse!
The good thing was I didn't have much of an appetite yesterday so finished the day on 17 points but didn't pay too much attention to food groups etc so the daily 10 went like this:
Day 1:
-Track: Done!
-Exercise: Not completed! (too sick)
-Dairy: Not Completed! (0 serves)
-Food Groups: Not Completed! (didn't make fruit or dairy...otherwise good)
-Snacks: Done!
-Water: Not complete! (about 500ml)
-Points: Done! (17 pt's)
-Sugar: Done! (4 sugar pt's)
-Weight: Done! (resisted the urge to weigh)
-Positive: Done! (I ate regularly despite not feeling like it)
Day 1 = 6/10!!!
The best part was that yesterday's lean eating helped to counteract the few bad things I'd had on my day off on Wednesday so I was most pleased to weigh at home today and register 104.0kg ... a loss of 200g since weigh-in. :)
So if I can only manage to stay on track over the weekend and keep at it until weigh-in on Tuesday morning or Wednesday evening then I should be guaranteed a loss .. at last!
Having said that though I know how hard the weekends can be for me so I'll just endeavor to do my best.
I feel as though I am letting people down of late as this month has been pretty much a non-event weight loss wise since my birthday celebrations?? So to all those readers who come looking for 'inspiration' .. I'm sorry.
Caleb is at day-care today and that is usually my day to attend appointments... get to the gym ... do housework etc .. but not today! I am going to treat myself to a day off. I'm too ill to go to the gym anyway and I think the best thing I can do for myself is to have a day of rest. So after catching up on some other journals I'm going to spend the rest of the day in bed, reading my new Harry Potter book and some magazines and just generally taking it easy - something I never seem to do anymore. I might even soak in the spa ... *bliss*
Thanks again to all those who read this journal .. and I hope to offer you more in the way of inspiration soon.
Cheers P
Thursday, 21st July 2005...
Had a crap day yesterday... the old thinking of oh well the WW week doesn't actually start until tomorrow....you know how it goes :(
Not too much damage though I hope. Not weighing at home until tomorrow and have been back on track today really well.
I'm sick today... hubby was nice enough to pass me his flu so not tempted to overeat today as I hardly feel like eating at all. But am forcing myself to eat a little often so my metabolism is not unduly effected.
Not much else to say...wish I could just go to bed and sleep but that doesn't happen with 2yr old running around :)
Hope I feel up to more of an update tomorrow
Cheers P
Wednesday, 20th July 2005...
I cannot believe that I stayed the same again this week!!!
I go months and months with no stay the same weeks and now I've had two in the last month or so??
I know what you are going to say ... better than a gain I know.... but I so wanted a loss instead :(
Anyway...I know I'd be much more disappointed with a gain so I'll just count my blessings and hope that it all catches up this week instead??
I did at least see more downward movement in my measurements at the gym this month. My totals are now:
Bust -8cm
Waist -12cm
Abdomen -15cm
Hips -16cm
Thighs -10cm
Arms -8cm
Body fat -3.7%
Total Cm's lost = 69cm
It's good to see that even when the scales don't move the cm's do so that's encouraging :)
So anyway ... another week begins and I hope for more encouraging results next weigh!
Cheers P
Monday, 17th July 2005...
I am most pleased today to say that I am now officially back on points for the week. I've had exactly my allowed points (after saving 3 yesterday) and I've even stuck under 14 sugar points so far too :) I've exercised 2 days this week so far and have still more planned for the next two days also.
Yesterday finished as such:
Day 4:
-Track: Done!
-Exercise: Done! (30min family beach walk)
-Dairy: Not Completed! (1 serve)
-Food Groups: Not Completed! (didn't make fruit or dairy...otherwise good)
-Snacks: Not Completed!
-Water: Done! (At last! ..1L)
-Points: Done! (20 pt's)
-Sugar: Done! (2.0 sugar pt's)
-Weight: Done! (resisted the urge to weigh)
-Positive: Done! (No frozen meals today)
Day 4 = 7/10!!!
I almost made 9 out of 10 because my evening snack that I had planned covered the last of the fruit and dairy so I only would have missed out on snacks. But it was cold last night and I enjoyed warm toast with syrup rather than cold fruit and yoghurt instead.
So as soon as Wiggles viewing has finished this morning Caleb and I are off for a 1hr walk in the pram. Then later this afternoon when Simon gets home from work I'll be hitting the gym too. And to think I hardly ever exercised before embarking on this journey :)
Cheers P
Sunday, 16th July 2005...
Well I found out this morning that I'm not as bigger loser as I thought I was. Not on the scales...but discipline wise. :)
On Friday afternoon an impromptu decision was made to go out to the pub that night and my weekend began from there. Until just now I hadn't sat down to track it all....but it seems the damage was much less than I'd feared :)
Right now I am sitting on just 3 points over for the week (having used my 12 bonus points)...so that's not too bad at all. I can easily shave 3 points off the next 4 days and still finish the week right on track...Phew!!
My daily 10 were a little lacking with only 5/10 Friday and 3/10 yesterday. It was diary, snacks and food groups that let me down both days...oh and water of course *wink*.
So anyway....I am so relieved that I haven't done irreparable damage...although the scales could say otherwise I guess after Friday night beers but.... fingers crossed it can still be a loss this week :)
Anyway, that's it for now...just a quick entry this morning as we are off to the local Seafood Festival later....Mmmm! I love seafood (except Fish...and Simon hates seafood - except fish!!). I think I'll grab some nice fresh prawns for a prawn roll for lunch...now that's yummy!
Hope you are all having a great weekend and I'll be back to update more tomorrow :)
Cheers P
Friday, 15th July 2005...
Well day one of the new week went off perfectly!
Day 1:
-Track: Done!
-Exercise: Done! (100 crunches)
-Dairy: Done! (3 serves)
-Food Groups: Done!
-Snacks: Done!
-Water: Done! (At last! ..1L)
-Points: Done! (23 pt's)
-Sugar: Done! (2.5 sugar pt's)
-Weight: Done! (resisted the urge to weigh)
-Positive: Done! (Tried a new WW recipe)
Day 1 = 10/10!!!
Woo-Hoo for me!!
But I can tell you ...it was only by the skin of my teeth that I made it. I was doing great all day until evening came. In between 'Big Brother' and 'Lost' Simon decided to play his new PS2 game for an hour. That left me alone, restless and in the mood for chocolate!
I had already planned for a big bowl of watermelon to curb evening munchies but I was desperate for something sweet...so I compromised. I told myself I could have something sweet ... but only AFTER I had eaten all my watermelon.
Now I should add a big thank you to Dr Phil here because if it weren't for him teaching me in his book about a no-fail-environemtn I would have snorted up the nearest chocolate or other naughty treat I could have laid my hands on. Hehehe... go Dr Phil!
Instead I ate my watermelon... I had a diet chocolate mousse to curb the choc craving and finished with a few lollies we had lying around in a party bag from Caleb's friends party a few weeks back. And before you ask... no I do not steal my boys lollies...he doesn't like lollies and refuses to eat them (for now).
So that brought me to my 23 points total and I went to sleep feeling successful instead of like a failure...Yippee!!
So that brings us to today. The funny thing for me is that a near blowout never really goes away.... it just lurks around waiting to strike again. This morning I went to Woolies for a few things and was so so so so tempted to buy some naughty Friday night snacks.
I lingered in the chip aisle and picked up and put down some Red Rock Deli chips several times over....then left and went to the biscuit aisle and got some low fat rice/corn Soho chips instead...Phew!
Then I still wanted chocolate. I eyed off my favourite Lindor Lindt choc's and drooled over the mini Nutella packs....then instead grabbed a bag of mini Milky Ways and Lite Mars which I can always stop at just one or two of and feel satisfied without blowing heaps of points...Phew!
Then as if all that wasn't enough...we're having spaghetti bolognaise for tea and I picked up several different packs of garlic bread hoping to find a low fat one. Then I figured I'd just get the usual garlic subs and have just one. But as I took one final look at the nutritional panel and saw 8g of fat for the one little sub I though...screw that! So I went and got fresh dinner rolls from the bakery instead and high tailed it out of there!
See... I am trying really hard. I managed to get out of there unscathed and even factored in some yummy chicken wingettes (only 0.5pt each) for lunch so I feel like I've had a treat but still stay on track?? Still ... I fear that the urge to blowout will raise it's head once more so I'm trying to stay focused and on track as best as I can! Will just have to wait and see how I get on over the weekend??
One more thing before I go and tackle my housework...the WW recipe I tried last night was Devine!! It was from the Contented Tummies WW cookbook and it was homemade Aussie Beef Pies. An individual pie, with pastry, in a ramekin cup was only 4 points and I teamed it with mashed potato , peas and fresh corn on the cob for a filling and hearty meal...Yum! Even Caleb enjoyed a pie and I just made 2 for Simon to be sure I filled him. It was great to try something new and I felt like quite the little Holly Home-maker making my own pies...*wink*
Have a great Friday everyone..stay sane and stay safe!
Cheers P
Update:
A funny thing happened today. I received in the mail a little 'We've missed you at the meeting come on back' type of letter. Now usually I used to get these when I'd missed close to the 8 week continuous absence limit. But this time I'd missed only 2 meetings and there it was! It got me thinking.
I once rang WW to ask if they had a record of how many memberships I'd had in my name. Unfortunately they kept no such record I was told. I'd love to know the exact figure but ... even being very conservative I'd estimate that I've had at least 12-15 memberships...at least!
At least 5 of these would have been in this town, with this leader. She's seen me fail so many times yet always welcomed me back like an old friend and made me hope that I would do it this time. She is a truly lovely lady I'm so glad she never once made me feel like a failure :)
So I figure this time she saw that I was finally succeeding after all these years and she knew my pattern. She didn't want to see me slide into missed meetings and lapsed membership again. So good for her for sending it! hehehe However I did tease her about it a bit and assured her I was going nowhere anytime soon.
But of course ... back to the meeting :)
I gained 0.8kg (1.7 lbs) .... SO much better than I'd feared... Phew!!! Ate like a sparrow all day and worked out like a Trojan at the gym this arvo ... hehehe
The best part is that I'm still 15kg down...so I've still earnt my rewards and sense of achievement. Just!!
My 10 day challenge resulted in 6 near perfect days... 3 days of unchecked eating while away camping ...and today which although lean in the day becomes a "free" night of sorts after weigh-in at 6.30pm. So I guess 6/10 isn't too bad ... but boy could I do better. But no use dwelling on could haves, should haves and would haves....the past is the past.
So now onto the future.
I'm going to sleep on that one for now. I'm not sure what my plan of attack will be yet this week ... but I will have one. I want a good loss.
It's only 4 weigh-ins until my 7 night Fraser Island holiday with my Dad and my Sister and families. I was really hoping to be under 100kg by that time as my next mini focus. That's 4.3kg to loose in 4 weeks. OH MY GOD... I just checked my stats page and it took me about 16 weeks to loose the last 4.3kg! That's shocking!!! 1 kg a month!
Yeah I know what you'll say.. and what I've said to others.... it's better than gaining 4kg in 4 months but still....it doesn't sound so slack until you add it up. I've lost 15kg in 8 months... so with 28kg to go this could take me another 16 months at least to reach goal.. Crikey!! Best not look too far into that future huh *wink*
Anyhoo .....
I will sleep on this and get back to you all tomorrow.
Cheers P
Wednesday, 13th July 2005...
Just a super quick entry today before tonight's weigh-in. Yesterday's stat's were as follows:
Day 9 of challenge:
-Track: Done!
-Exercise: Done! (30 min gym workout)
-Dairy: Done! (3 serves)
-Food Groups: Done!
-Snacks: Done!
-Water: Not complete! (200ml instead of 1L)
-Points: Done! (22.5 pt's)
-Sugar: Done! (2 sugar pt's)
-Weight: Done!
-Positive: Done! (Chose melon for supper to complete food groups steps)
Day 9 = 9/10!!!
So that brings us to D-day!! Eeek! The scales today say 105.5kg this morning so I am expecting a gain of anywhere up to 2kg tonight...Shit!
Just before I go I wanted to make special mention of two lovely journaller's.
First is Angel who has applied my 10 step challenge to her own weight loss routine to make sure she remembers all the little steps that bring us success. Angel is a journaller who I can really relate to right now as she too is struggling to get back on track after a holiday gain. Well actually she was but is now going bloody fantastic and doing wonders with her 10 steps so head on over and say Hi!
Keep at it Angel...you inspire us all!
Lastly I wanted to congratulate the lovely Karen who has at last been able to share her delightful news of being pregnant! CONGRATULATIONS!!! Karen was kind enough to trust me with the info a few weeks ago but I kept is quite as she wished but now we can shout it to the world. :)
Ok enough for now. I'm eating very lean today and hitting the gym this arvo in a last ditch effort to drop some more weight before tonight. Stay tuned...
Cheers P
Tuesday, 12th July 2005...
Well our weekend away camping was fabulous but it was devastating to the scales. I weighed in at home this morning at 106.5kg...SHIT!
I don't even think my eating was that bad but I guess the damage was done none the less :) Of course my period also arrived this week which is no doubt playing a factor in the gain but still I am kicking my own arse in a big way now.
I got right back on track yesterday morning and finished the day on 19.5 pt's which panned out like this:
Day 8 of challenge:
-Track: Done!
-Exercise: Done! (45 minute brisk walk + 30 min gym workout)
-Dairy: Done! (3 serves)
-Food Groups: Not complete! (Had 1 serve of fruit instead of 3...otherwise perfect)
-Snacks: Done!
-Water: Not complete! (400ml instead of 1L)
-Points: Done! (19.5 pt's)
-Sugar: Done! (0 sugar pt's)
-Weight: Done! (no weigh)
-Positive: Done! (Got right back on track after weekend away)
Day 8 = 8/10!!!
So after a 45 minute walk and a gym workout yesterday afternoon and another gym workout this morning I am desperately trying to turn back the clock before tomorrow nights weigh-in.
Alas I am still expecting a gain of anything up to 2kg (Dammit!!!!) but am hoping I will be able to bring that down a bit before tomorrow night's meeting.
Regardless I will be going anyway as I need to put this behind me and get on with getting those numbers moving down again. I know that missing another week would only result in more unstable eating and exercise and I can't allow myself to slip back any further.
Ideally I would love to gain 0.8kg or less so that I still have earnt my 15kg rewards but it doesn't look likely. :(
Still I'll be back tomorrow to let you know how I went so send some good scales vibes my way *wink*
I'm off to catch up on my other journal reads now and get Caleb's site updated also if you want to check it out soon here.
Cheers P
Friday, 8th July 2005...
Well as the weekend dawns I'm pleased to say that yesterday was yet another successful day...my 4th day on points in a row..Woo-Hoo! :)
Day 4 of challenge:
-Track: Done!
-Exercise: Done! (Fit ball session)
-Dairy: Done! (3 serves)
-Food Groups: Not complete! (Had 1 serve of fruit instead of 3...otherwise perfect)
-Snacks: Done!
-Water: Not complete! (600ml instead of 1L)
-Points: Done! (23 pt's)
-Sugar: Done! (1.5 sugar pt's)
-Weight: Done! (no weigh)
-Positive: Done! (Pre-cooked low point stew to take camping tonight)
Day 4 = 8/10!!!
So there you have it. Water let me down again and this time fruit too but other than this and the water the last two days I've had 4 perfect days. And let's face it... if anything should fail I'd rather it be water than points :)
I have been flat strap all day today packing and shopping for our camping trip this afternoon while Caleb is at daycare. This is the first moment I've had to sit down all day...Phew!
I knew I'd end up grabbing lunch on the run but at least I am enjoying my usual low point Subway while I type instead of anything naughty :)
As I said I've made a low point stew for tea tonight with crusty bread sticks so I don't have to worry about cooking after setting up camp late today. We'll do a BBQ on Saturday night and otherwise I'll try to make good choices.
I know I'm likely to have some naughty snacks while we play cards with friends etc but I figure as long as I enjoy in moderation and get plenty of activity during the day everything should be fine??
I'm foreseeing a lapse in the 10 day challenge for the weekend but if that happens I'll pick up right were I left off on Monday. And I will be weighing-in next week no matter what the scales say! Incidently the scales said 104.4kg today so still moving down :)
Anyway...much more to do.
Will have to wait until next week to catch up on all my other journal reads. I hope you are all having fantastic success and hope you all have a great weekend! I know I will *wink*
Cheers P
Thursday, 7th July 2005...
Had a tough night last night. It all started when we decided to hire a camper trailer for our weekend trip and went out to check it out at 4.30pm We didn't get home until late so it was take-away for tea...Eeek! Everyone else was having Macca's and I so wanted something yummy (and no doubt high point).
Instead I went to the Macca's website and checked out the nutritional info of their new menu and settled on a Chicken Tandori roll for only 5.5pt's and it was delish!! I felt so pleased that I made a good decision.
Caleb being allergic to dairy rarely has any take-away but at Macca's can eat their happy meal with a junior burger which has no cheese...but when I got home and found a cheeseburger I had to go back for another meal. Boy was I furious! That left me with a spare small fries and a cheeseburger but I stayed strong and didn't touch a bite. :)
Then of course it was onto State of Origin (football) celebrations and while I was left alone on the computer while Simon watched the big game I was tempted to nibble big time. Instead I had my fruit and yoghurt cup then decided to spend my last 2 points on a milky way to satisfy my sweet craving.
However when I checked my tracker I still had to have another fruit serve to meet my 10 step goals so I went for 100g of cherries and some lean turkey instead for my two points. It sure felt good to make right choices :)
I also found I hadn't exercised yet so after dinner I got down on the floor and did 50 crunches while watching TV to satisfy that goal too.
So that left the following for
Day 3 of challenge:
-Track: Done!
-Exercise: Done! (50 crunches)
-Dairy: Done! (3 serves)
-Food Groups: Done!
-Snacks: Done!
-Water: Not complete! (none)
-Points: Done! (23 pt's)
-Sugar: Done! (0.5 sugar pt's)
-Weight: Done! (104.6kg)
-Positive: Done! (Made smart and restrained take-away choice)
Day 3 = 9/10!!!
So the damn water let me down again as I didn't have any! I had a cup of skim milk and 600ml of diet Coke all day and that was it...so must do better today :)
Otherwise I'm feeling great about how the challenge is going. I'm not sure how I'll go while camping but I'll do the best I can.
I was super super tempted to weigh this morning after yesterday's great results but resisted the urge as I have to wait until tomorrow or I'll loose another point today...and I'm too stubborn for that!
It's great to feel on track :)
Cheers P
p.s....
Got tagged for this by Katey Weighty so now I need to answer the following:
Three names I go by:
1.Paulene
2. P
3. Umm...that's all??
Three screen names I've had:
1. P
2. Lady Rapunzell
3. Lady Rap
Three physical things I like about myself:
1. My eyes
2. My lips
3. My cheekbones
Three physical things I don't like about myself:
1. My big gums *blush*
2. My excess body weight
3. I can't bite/chew cold/frozen food...shudder!
Three parts of my heritage:
1. Australian
2. England
3. Err..that's it for as far back I know
Three things I am wearing right now:
1. Black lace boy leg pants
2. Black satin slip
3. My rings (fingers and body)
Three favorite bands/musical artists :
1. Eminem/D12
2. Gwen Stefani/No Doubt
3. Kylie
Three favorite songs:
1. Love me tender (Elvis) (This was played at my Mom's funeral)
2. Good Riddance - time of your life (Green Day) (I want this played at my funeral)
3. December '63 - Oh what a night (Four Seasons) (Guaranteed party mood music)
Three things I want in a relationship:
1. Trust
2. Passion
3. Friendship
Two truths and a lie
1. I cannot burp on command
2. I smoke pot
3. I can recite the American states in alphabetical order
Three physical things about the preferred sex that appeal to you:
1. Bare upper body
2. Mouth
3. Tall
Three favorite hobbies:
1. Anything with Caleb and Simon and I together
2. Shopping
3. Reading magazines
Three things I want to do badly right now :
1. Eat chocolate
2. Wake up at goal weight tomorrow morning
3. Answer that 'you-are-a-winner' phone call from the lottery dept. :)
Three things that scare me:
1. Loosing loved ones
2. Doomsday/Armageddon/WW3 type scenarios
3. Public humiliation
Three of my everyday essentials:
1. Deodorant
2. Concealer
3. Hair clip or elastic
Three Careers you have considered or are considering :
1. Psychology (I am a psychiatric nurse)
2. Teaching
3. My own business
Three places you want to go on vacation:
1. Anywhere (peaceful) outside of Australia
2. Melbourne
3. The moon
Three kids' names you like:
1. Cooper
2. Carys
3. Bella
Three things you want to do before you die:
1. See my son (and any future children) grow to old age
2. Maintain my goal weight
3. Skydive
Three ways I am stereotypically a boy:
1. I check out women all the time
2. I enjoy sharing a jug of beer at the pub with the boys
3. I think Fabio is so NOT hot :)
Three ways I am stereotypically a girl:
1. I like to smell of perfume
2. I love to be chased by a man
3. I am moody and bitchy at times
Three celeb crushes :
1. Angelina Jolie
2. Brad Pitt
3. Tom Williams (Dancing with the stars winner)
Hmmm... Riddle me this, riddle me that!!
Cheers P
Wednesday, 6th July 2005...
Thanks for all the great feedback and support I received yesterday :) This online journal is like having my own little cheer squad and I truly know that I would never be where I am today without all of you.. so thank you!
One of my guestbook entries asked how I made a 2 point omelette and also why eating 3 serves of dairy a day is important to my success??
Firstly the omelette:
Whisk together 1 egg (1.5 pt's), 1 Tablespoon of skim milk (negligible so 0 pt's), 1 sliced mushroom (0 pt's) and salt and pepper to season. Spray a pan lightly with olive oil spray (0 pt's) then just before folding omelette add one slice of Kraft Free cheese (0.5 pt's) then fold. The result is a cheesy delight that tastes too good to be only 2 points :) Yummy!
As for the dairy...as mentioned in a previous entry I found the following research astounding! Two groups were monitored on identical calorie reduction plans but one group ate 3 serves of low fat dairy a day while the other group had one serve or less of it a day. The group who had 3 serves lost 70% more weight and burned more fat than those who consumed less dairy! 70%!!!! That's amazing!!!! Since reading that article a couple of months ago I've since found lot's of similar statements so it's dairy, dairy, dairy for me! :)
For more info check out
http://www.fl-ag.com/foodprograms/calcium.htm http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/04/12/tem_tem2milk.html http://my.webmd.com/content/article/85/98720.htm?z=1689_00000_5022_pe_02
or here http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/health/edell/022304_he_dairy_diet.html
Hope this helps :)
As for yesterday....
Day 2 of challenge:
-Track: Done!
-Exercise: Done! (30 min gym workout)
-Dairy: Done! (3 serves)
-Food Groups: Done!
-Snacks: Done!
-Water: Not complete! (600ml instead of 1 Litre)
-Points: Done! (23 pt's)
-Sugar: Done! (0 sugar pt's)
-Weigh: Done! (no weight taken)
-Positive: Done! (Shopped for healthy food for a no-fail environment)
Day 2 = 9/10!!!
Disappointing that my water level let me down but 600ml is still more then I drink on a normal day so I'm not too worried.
Today was my day to weigh and I was thrilled with the result. On Monday morning my home scales showed 107.5kg (!!!). Today they showed 104.6kg so almost 3kg gone in two days. That's always the way my body reacts when I get back on track after a blowout so I'm pleased it wasn't a true 3kg gain :) I'm now looking forward to see what Friday's weigh-in results bring??
We are going on our first camping trip this weekend since having Caleb. We used to be avid campers but have chickened out going with the boy until now...fingers crossed for fine weather is all I can say :) When we camp it ALWAYS rains!
I found an old WW membership card this morning from January 1998 and my joining weight was 105.2kg. So already I am weighing less than I did 8 years ago!! Woo-Hoo! Incidentally by the end of that membership I got as low as 98.0kg by September 1998...so only a few more kg's to loose to get to my lowest weight since 1997 at least :)
One more thing before I go. I have found the yummiest and most filling dessert for only 2 points that covers both a dairy and a fruit serve. I take 200g of Nestle diet 'Peach and Mango' yoghurt and spoon it into a mug then top it with a little Goulbourn Valley fruit pack of 'peach in mango puree'. So yummy and really satisfying for only 2 points!! Give it a try and see what you think?
Anyway enough for today....hope everyone out there is having a good Wednesday!
Cheers P
Tuesday, 5th July 2005...
You know how my last entry talked about how great it was to be back on track...forget about it!!! Although I have exercised 4 out of the last 5 days my eating has been atrocious. As usual I have achieved a goal (15kg) then gone right off the rails straight after it...as I traditionally do.
I spent al weekend thinking about what I would do to move past it and I've come up with the following....
The 10 Day Turn-Around Challenge!!!!
Begins: Monday 4th July and ends Wednesday 13th July
Goal: To jump start my way back on track and to feel that I am again succeeding at loosing weight.
The Rules: Achieve the following 10 commandments each day of the challenge-
- Track everything that passes my lips
- Exercise every day of challenge
- Eat 3 serves of low fat dairy a day to aid weight loss
- Meet all food group requirements
- Include 3 snacks a day to keep my metabolism firing at optimum levels
- Drink at least 1 litre (or more) of water a day
- Stay on or under points each day (includes 12 weekly bonus points)
- Monitor and track my sugar points
- Weigh at home only once every second day
- List one positive thing I have done to achieve my goals each day
How does that all sound?? I think breaking it down into these important steps each day for the next 10 days will get me refocused and back on track to achieving my next goal.
My treadmill has now been returned to the store so it's back to walking, cycling, aqua-aerobics and gym visits for me. On the weekend Simon and I took Caleb for his first go at rollerskating....it was so much fun!! I used to skate there every weekend as a teen and it was surreal being back there again. We skated for about an hour and when I wasn't skating I was pushing Caleb in a bucket seat (a baby bath on a skateboard) or running after them both on foot. So lot's of good exercise in that fun trip :)
Anyway my challenge officially began yesterday so here is the breakdown from
Day 1 of challenge:
-Track: Done!
-Exercise: Done! (30 min walk)
-Dairy: Done! (3 serves)
-Food Groups: Done!
-Snacks: Done!
-Water: Done! (1 Litre)
-Points: Done! (23 pt's)
-Sugar: Done! (0 sugar pt's)
-Weigh: Done! (Start weight taken)
-Positive: Done! (Went for walk with pram despite threatened rain)
Day 1 = 10/10!!!
So that brings me to today. I've been to the gym for a 30min circuit this morning so that's exercise done for the day.
I've had the most delish mushroom and cheese omelette (only2 points!!) for breakfast and am into my first 600ml water.
Unfortunately I have to go to the dentist soon for a filling but after that I'm going to Woolies to stock up on lot's of healthy food and snacks.
I tried to update my bookmark and charms photo today but my camera seems to have died so will have to get it fixed before I can add more photo's :(
Still much to do before dentist so best get going....Hope you all like the sound of my challenge and will stick with me to see how it goes :)
Cheers P
Friday, 1st July 2005...
Well after the week long birthday celebrations it feels great to be back on track again :)
I finished yesterday on 22.5 points so saved 0.5 points for the weekend (gee I can go crazy on half a point huh?...hehehe) Of course I still have 12 bonus points up my sleeve too.
Last night I was tempted by the one remaining Boost chocolate bar in the fridge (Simon's from the previous night) and I came this close to crash tackling him for it *wink*. Instead I had a diet chocolate mousse and a banana...filling and sweet but guilt free :)
Got back to the gym first thing this morning and have been shopping to stock up on fruit, yoghurt and pretzels to get me through the dreaded weekend night risk periods. I've got some yummy Ski double up yoghurt with add-your-own fresh berries...Yummo! I also got loads of fresh juicy strawberries, creamy banana's and cherries to snack on tonight. See I'm planning ahead :)
The sales showed a welcome loss of 1kg overnight which was a relief. My body is always the same...just one or two days of back on track eating and I can drop a kilo or two straight away. Then I still have the hard slog to move any more but it's a good start. For now I'm still about 2kg+ up from last weigh-in but with still 5 days to go I'm hoping to minimize the gain to less than 1kg...fingers crossed!
Hope to get out for a couple of good long bike rides or walks this weekend if the weather is my friend.
Planning a few drinks tonight but I have vodka and diet coke and diet energy drinks at the ready.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Cheers P
