Nine weeks to go.

BAD WEEK was week 3... 

But on another note dusted myself off and got back into it today (thanks to my son) and scored some PB's....  So tonight again im feeling unbeatable...

Week 3...  well I was on track and doing really well Monday and Tuesday and I felt like the weight was dropping off.  Nutritionally I was on top of everything, and exercise I had burnt over 3000 calories in the two days.  So on Wednesday I jumped on the scales on to show myself just what was possible in three days and give myself a  pat on the back . URGHHH  it totally did the opposite.  I had gained 1kg and so began the downwood spiral that was the rest of the week which lead to Red Rooster chips, and not writing down my foods.  I would like to say that I didnt go over my calorie intake limit but Im sure I did.  By Friday I was TOTALLY DISGUSTED in what I had done so I jumped back on the treadmill and spent the next two hours there which was followed my an hour weight session...  Friday ended with me back in total control.  Saturday and Sunday I was midly good but as I was away I wasnt able to weigh and measure all my food however I made great food choices, with small meals and no snacks and increased the incidental exercise. 

The week ended with loosing only a small amount but it was a lose and not a gain so I was happy. 

Starting Week 4...

Ive got concerns facing this week and the coming weeks.  This week we are off on a bit of a holiday and I know that it will reduce the hard sweating work out I can do (no showers) and that the likelyhood of consuming booze is going to increase.....  in fact it is probably more likely a certainty.  Im feeling strong but I dont think I am that strong, camping goes hand in hand with drinking to me.... So what I am going to concentrate on is

1. ensureing my nurtition is SPOT ON and I will not consume the "rubbish". 
2. If we have access to a shower I will FLOGG myself before I have a shower.... :) 
3. Before we leave I will burn MAXIMUM calories. 
4. I will be happy with keeping my weight steady. 


My concerns the following weeks are that we are having a few farewell parties for Andrew and this again involves socialising.  These I am not so concerned about as it is one night in the week and I can not drink at those and since I will providing the snacks I will ensure that there is food there that I can have. 

I have to remember that the stronger I am the stronger I feel.... .

.

Two Weeks Down

In two weeks I have

• TRIPLED the length of time I can run for
• Lost 3 kg
• Gone down a jean size..:) 

I can not begin to describe how driven, strong and motivated I have felt this week and it all boils down to the fact that I have been able to exercise every day and that I have been reading some very motivating and informative books. 

I have been a big believer in lose it slowly and you are more likely to keep it off but Ive been reading Michelle Bridges Crunch time and as she states you are also more likely to give up cause you are not seeing results (yep that was me)  and that unless you get your head right you wont keep it off no matter how you lost it.  Im re reading Crunch Time and I love Michelles no nonsense approach and no shit attitude.... ""I trained one girl who didnt think she was a sweater, and guess what?  She didnt think she was a puker either!"   

I love her myth busting section alot that I believed and followed but OMG I was so fooling myself. Its amazing how we can come up with all sorts of "excuses" without even realising that they are excuse as we label them "facts" 

I spoke to a lady on the weekend who had just completed the HBF Run for A reason and we were talking about mind set.  She was saying how she runs in a Hilly area and how when she started that she would get to the bottom of a hill and stop automatically because she had convinced herself that she couldnt do it.  I said fitness / weight loss is all about the mind set but really life is all about your mind set.  This was brought home to me when I was talking to my aunty about my "journey" and I told her I was not looking forward to the weekend because I always overeat and drink to much...  she said you are talking your self into failing ... or words to that effect... she was right I was already giving myself an out and "permission" because I always do it.  Well this weekend I didnt I stayed on track, introduced a "treat meal" calorie counted and exercised and even had a "rest day"  and still managed to lose about 1kg over the weekend.

All in all a very successful week and one that has left me going into week three feeling STRONG and DETERMINED.. 

10 Weeks to go.... 

One week down

Well it is the start of the second week and I have found out a few more things about myself..

If Im not exercising my diet suffers, Monday last week I was all geared up mentally and equipment wise, had the treadmill all ready for my initial run, so that I could work out my limits and then design a program to push them further... 

I was doing a bit of interval training (walk 6km/hr - jog 10km/hr walk,,, etc etc..)  when the treadmill decided that it would stop suddenly, now I have quite a bad back and I fell and hurt it very badly.  So as a result of a sore back (very) and a non working treadmill my week of working out was reduced.  Wednesday the treadmill was fixed so I kitted up again and hopped on the tready to do a LONG WALK and 2 minutes it it stopped again. 

I was told and I knew in my heart that if I kept my diet strong that my weight would not suffer.  My diet stayed very strong untill Friday and then I fell in a hole, which is pretty common and is the pattern I fall into.  Now if Im working out I can usually combat the bad but this challenge is not about just combatting it its about overcoming the need on the weekend to fill my face with as much food as I can. 

As Michelle Bridges has said, and I have been reminded by Vivid Health and fitness that "you butt doesnt know what day it is"  Ive been trying to determine why I do it, part of it was that I was not home and not prepared and part of it is that I live with Sabotages, a husband that has a real weakness for chocolate biscuits.  Another part of this is that I was not home on the weekend and I was travelling in the car alot.  I know as I am typing this it is all excuses....  Too hard to be prepared........  Tis their fault not mine.  I can remember a few times over the weekend saying NO THANKS I DONT WANT ONE....  and I felt strong... 

I just need to be prepared, I had the salad and the carrots and stuff in the fridge but I forgot to grab them. 


NO EXCUSE but next weekend when I go away I will be prepared and I will be stronger.

TODAY I WORKED OUT HARD...  I was set a challenge today to do 15 minutes more than I would have so instead of doing a 45 minute cycle class I did a 60 minute workout on my tready  and thanks to the challenge burnt an additional 45 calories than I would have in just 45 minutes.... SOOOO HAPPY

My work out today was 1 minute walk (6km/hour) 1 minute run (10km/hr) 1 minute walk 1 minute run and I did that for 50 minutes then walked at an incline of 10 for the last 10 minutes... then I joined the new craze and planked for 2 minutes....  

My diet was Rock solid today so I am feeling very strong for the rest of the week... I just need tokeep the tready working... :)  and to start my weight work outs.... 

CALORIES IN LESS THAN CALORIES OUT
NO EXCUSES
YOUR BUTT DOESNT KNOW WHAT DAY IT IS.

Bring on week two..
Have a nice week... 

Day one

Today was my first weight in day and my first measurement day... needless to say it grossed me out...  Im more than I thought I was in KG wise and over 400 cm in total measurements.  They say that weight loss should be between 50gm – 1kg per week so Im going to do my usual thing and set myself of the higher goal of the 1kg per week (minimum)  Really would love more but will be stocked with 12kg.  Not sure how this will equate to CM but Ill be happy with whatever this works out to.  Also I have a few pairs of pants and jeans that I would like to fit into.

Ive done some more research on the fitness side and Id really love to be able to say that I can run 5km nonstop.  Although it seems so very unachievable at the moment the program that I have it seems that it can be achieved in about 9 weeks.  Id also like to be able to do this out on the road as I know that this is alot harder than on the treadmill. 

I was having niggling trouble with my back today, however this time I decided that I was not using it as an excuse I was still going to still going to work out, I was just going to listen to my body and work out for longer just not as intensively.  I was doing a jog and was feeling GREAT so I amped it up and thought I would do a 30 second sprint.....   going well until my treadmill decided that it was going to turn its self off in the middle of my sprint, it didn’t slow down slowly it came to a DEAD STOP and flung me off the back.   SO now my niggling back pain is excruciating and Im not happy.  However Im not going to use this as an excuse.  Tomorrow I will see how my back is but Im going to keep my diet on track and just increase the exercise I can do...  I will also be getting my brand new treadmill fix or even replaced, ASAP so that I can get back on track.  I purchased new weight tomorrow so I may just have to do weights until I can do impact stuff.... Although I will have to modify the weights to.... I will be doing something though... J 

Well day one is complete and although I’ve hit a bit of a hurdle Im still feeling positive.

Date of completion is 31 July 2011. 

Excuses / Weaknesses / Strengths

I have found the following
MY EXCUSES
I really only have a couple but since I cant loose the weight they must be weighing on me... LOL the only funny bit I have and it wasnt that funny...  :/ 

• I dont have time
• Im not strong enough (mentally)
• I want to be able to relax and socialise (this means nibbling and drinking) 

Weakness -
CHIPS...  I have a real chip weakness.  Hot chips I have found are no longer a problem.... The oven baked ones are not too bad and do the job in containing this craving.... its the crips variety that are my problem...  Analysis... its normally associated with boredom / work problem or drinking and socialising (a Friday afternoon at work / evening) and I like that "hand mouth hand mouth hand mouth action"  Solution- replace the chips with popcorn....  not as tasty but its the action not the taste Im seeking... 

 

CRUNCH... I love crunchy food and I usually use CHIPS or BBQ shapes to contain this craving...  if its not the hand mouth action its th crunch feeling that I crave....  Analysis - I only crave the Crunch when Im bored.... Solution- either pop corn or Celery and carrots..  I actually love carrots, celery, snow peas and cabbage so the crunch in the function will satisfy this crunch craving... 

 

DRINKING....  I really love a glass of red at night and on the weekend I love a couple of glasses... No matter how you talk about your need / want to drink it makes you sound like an alcoholic and Im not so Im actually not going to talk about it...  LOL But I know that again its a "boredom" thing and a "Im an annoyed thing"....  Solution, there are other probably way more effective ways to eliminate the feeling of GRR I get and for me that is exercise...


Total Analysis..
I seek solice in food / drinking when I am bored / annoyed....  and when it comes to food I look for foods that have a high hand to mouth repative action and I also love foods that are crunchy hence chips and BBQ shapes because they are easy to find and they have that high hand to mouth repative action. 

Since boredom seems to be my biggest problem the easy solution would be to "not get bored"  but we all know that you can be busy working and still be bored.  The packet things like chips and Shapes are an easy fix and I have often found myself leaving work to get that fix...  I have also realised on writing this that when I am at work and working on a problem I go straight to the fridge at work and if there is nothing there I will actively go looking for something, hence a trip to the shop (often expensive cause I get more than would have satisfied me).

 

SOLUTION
Be prepared for that crunch / hand to mouth craving. I know as I write it that it has been said a million times but I believe that this is the key to it for me. If I can eliminate the chips and the wine from my diet I would have eliminated my two biggest weight gaining problems. 

 

 

Strengths.

My two biggest strengths are

1. I LOVE LOVE LOVE exercising
2. I am a control freak. 

You would think that my love of exercising would eliminate any weight problems I have but my love of the wrong foods means that my calories in are larger than my calories out.   Also I have a job where I am pretty much stationary for about 7 hours of the day....  VERY STATIONARY.... 

I am a control freak and if things are out of my control I will freak out... hence eat and drink eg problem I cant solve at work I will eat.... in a social situation I cant handle Ill drink... 
Wow that is quite an admission but one that will go a long way to unlocking the "mystery" to me losing weight. 

I also know that if I have a strict plan I will stick to it.  In the past I have lost alot of weight on programs such as Jenny Craig and Weight watchers, because you follow a "strict" program.  The stricter the program the more I flourish. 

I have recently lost 8kg on my own but I have become a little stationary with a change in lifestyle.  While I was undergoing a bit of a lifestyle change I let the control I had on my eating go so that I could "control" other parts of my life....  Im pleased to say that although my weight has not increased (much) I am starting to get that out of control feeling again in regards to my eating...  needless to say I need to get back to writing down EVERYTHING and working out everything that is going in (Calories Wise) . 

THE PLAN... 

1. I will reinstate my eating diary  -Every thing that goes in my mouth "including my coffee" will be written down and I will work out the calories that is in each meal and keep a running tally of calories for the day. 
2. I will make sure that every day I have "crunch" foods easily available. The crunch foods will contain...  celery, carrots, snow peas, cabbage, and air popped pop corn...  All will be in pre packaged containers of a certain amount of calories.  This prepackaging them will ensure that I dont "overeat" 
3. Boredom at home will result in a work out...  I am lucky enough to have a home gym, boxing bag, skipping rope, steps and a treadmill.  In the past I have found that if I am feeling a bit "cant be bothered" the 5 minute rule works for me and often results in more than 5 minutes.... 5 minute rule is "Ill get ready for exercise and do just 5 minutes"  I can also use this time to burn my calories out for the day (step 5)
4. Setting calories burnt goals.  MY mantra will be Calories in less than calories out...  I can control the calories in to keep it to a limit, so I need to set a daily Calories out minimum limit.  This is going to change daily so that I can go hard a couple of days and "ease" off a couple of others.  Michelle Bridges (Biggest Loser) has a SSS day in which from what I have read is a day (usually Saturday)  that you Super size your calories burnt.  As I have a changing roster of availability to do this I will ensure that at least once a week I burn over 1000 calories...  (usually two high intensity classes back to back - Spin and Cycle usually burns me between 1100 - 1600).  Further research needs to be done on this tonight... 

GOALS in 12 Weeks
Of course there is the obvious goal of weight loss and more importantly cm's loss and I do have a pair of jeans (actually about 6 pairs) that I want / need to get into... but I also have a few fitness goals that I was to set myself. 

• Weight loss....  Ideally I would like to loss 12kg but I know that I will probably loos CM and if Im doing weights then my weight may increase....  But 1 KG a week is a pretty big step but I have to set big goals.... :)  Im being optimistic....  Ill be happy with 10kg
• Fitness...  Currently I can run at 10km/hr at an incline of 1 (that is a comfortable speed for me) for about 2 minutes( this really hurts to admit  NOT HAPPY WITH IT) ...  Im not sure if I should be setting a distance or a time limit...  More research needed...  :) 

I know that I need to do some further research and that I am going to hit obstacles, but I know that I can do this and that with the correct ground work... mostly done...  I am going to reach the goals that I have set. 



 

 

Starting the process

There seems lately to be so much interest in 12 week challenges and I have been seeing it again and again and again.  I believe that you start to notice things when you are thinking (conciously or unconciously) about them.  So today I made the concious decision to do a 12 week challenge.  12 weeks seems such a short time and yet enough time to achieve some great results.. 

I thought about doing the Michelle Bridges (Biggest Loser) 12 week challenge but with a gym membership and the cost of a new treadmill I thought another cost of over $200 was a little much. I am also blessed with some VERY amazing friends who know stuff that I can go to for support and encouragement. 

So here I am three days from the beginning (decided to start Monday)  trying a new way of thinking.  I know that the biggest hurdle that we face is ourself, and that sometimes acknowleding the obsticales that we place in our own way are not insermountable if we know what they are and we are prepared for them 

I have decided that over the next three days I am going to analysis my failed attempts (there have been a few) and my successfull ones (lost 8kg to date but stalled) and see if I can determine why??? 


Looking forward to it.