56 Days Later

Wednesday weight loss week 4 + 5

2010-06-22T23:43:00.001-07:00

I have been busy at work. Very busy and so blogging has taken a 3rd wheel, unfortunately.

So week 4 was less then stellar. I burned my 3000kcal, I tracked every morsel that went in my mouth and stayed in my points and still I was up 400g (0.9lb). The WW leader was again not the usual one although she didnt weird me out as much as the last time. I think she realised we were used to a very different style then the one she does and she kept talking to us and keeping us calm (sounds like we are kindergarten children but when your routine on something so important is disturbed you get stressed)

I decided that it wasnt going to discourage me and promptly got discouraged. That night I didnt go to gym but went straight to a braai (BBQ) at friends and managed to eat all my points I think, I dont know I didnt track it but I was miserable. I gave myself the night to be miserable and throught the evening kept reminding myself that i still had 200g (0.4lb) left of my big 1.8kg (4lb) loss and I wasnt allowed to gain it. I spent the public holiday on wednesday doing lots of nothing except drinking great cofffee, eating sushi and watching private practice and medium. Thursday was back to gym and I did my utmost to burn 700kcal in that hour but only got 641kcal, I felt exhausted though so wasnt too upset by it. Had a great dinner and watched that I didnt over indulge, even too much salad is too much.

Friday I wasnt able to train as I headed out to Betty's bay (a coastal town) to spend the weekend with friends. Got there, cooked supper and went to bed. The next morning I though "I could go for a walk!" and I did, a quick 30 min walk just to get my morning started. This was my view for most of the walk:

This is who I met when I go there:

The whole area has these helpful baboon information signs as baboons have started becoming a problem with people feeding them and trying to "make friends" with the cute but wild animals.

Was kept busy most of the day so didnt even snack, just had a nice salad for lunch (it was late spring weather) and then decided to try walking to the shops to do the grocery shopping we needed for supper (2-3 hour walk) but by the time we left it was getting late so 3 of us walked while we told my friends husband to wait an hour and a half and then come fetch us. We walked for 1h45min and it was very nice.

We had a braai (BBQ) that night and I had bought Kudu (type of venison) steak, very very lean and very tasty.

That evening was also an early night and the next morning I woke up with the same thought in my head "I could go for a walk!" This time I took a diffrent direction and walked for just over an hour. This was my view:

I drove home after that to wish my daddy a happy father's day. I decided on sunday that my "Bread Fast" was over. enough was enough, I wasnt losing more weight, it wasnt helping me in anyway and just making me miserable.

Monday I was so sore and exhausted from all the walking that I took the day off. Went to a book launch that evening.

Yesterday (tuesday) was weigh in day again and the lady who is meant to lead us for the next couple of months was back, so back to our usual routine. I really really felt like I would have a loss this week, i felt it in my bones. I was sure it would be a small loss but definitely a loss. Well....I was...wrong. It wasnt a small loss it was a BIG loss. I lost 1kg (2.2lb). Was so motivating and I was ready to kick ass at gym. Which I did in the first 40 min till I didnt catch a medicine ball thrown to me properly and ended up with in my face. Luckly on the side and not my nose.

What shall today bring...I have a lovely pot of minestrone waiting at home :)

Wednesday weight loss week 3 (late..oops)

2010-06-09T23:22:00.000-07:00

I want to say it was another fantastic loss by I cant. I am up, 1.2kg (2.6lb). I feel really bad about it by my husband, my trainer and a gym buddy have all mentioned the fact that over 2 weeks there is a net loss of 600g (1.3lb) which is actually healthy. I have recommitted to watching my portion size and have decided to be extra careful about the points I allocate to things. I tracked accurately and exercised and still there was an up on the scale so I am very frustrated.

Last week I burnt 2206 calories. That isnt enough really so I am aiming for more then 3000 this week. So far I am on 1270. I have my trainer tonight and I have the day off tomorrow so will be going in early before the World Cup madness on the roads begins. My sister and I are planning to go Ice Skating on Sunday. The "week" on my HR monitor is Monday - Sunday so that will be my week.

Oh that reminds me. Ice skating last week was great. I didnt skate consistently as I was helping a friend and just generally chatting to friends but in an hour with all that I still got through 584cal, not bad at all for something I had lots of fun doing.

I am going to review my goal weight. Initially I put it as the lowest weight WW says is healthy for my height but I have had many many people telling me that I will be skeletal and they are worried about me aiming so low. So I am putting it at half way between.

so here we are:

Current weight: 114.6kg (252.6lb)

Goal weight: 57kg (125.7lb)

Total to lose: 57.6kg (127lb)

My weekend that was week 3

2010-06-07T06:49:00.000-07:00

All in all a really fantastic weekend.

I went ice skating on friday which was really fun. i didnt realise how many calories got burnt in the process, lots with stopping I think I could double it if I skated non stop (hard to do with the little sh*ts that skate at the Grand West Ice station) One thing though is it really made me miss Goodwood Ice rink (For those who are not from Cape Town. Goodwood Ice Rink was a old leaky place that was falling appart but I was ther e a lot, and they played 80's music while you skated. It was knocked down and replaced with Grand West Casino and Entertainment) I missed the 80's cheese, I missed the sessions where they would let only beginners or only experts or only couples etc. The new ice rink plays pop, hip hop, R&B but no 80's. There was one remix of an 80's song. Mostly I miss that half way through a session they kicked everyone off to smooth out the ice.

Saturday I forced myself to stay in bed and manged till 10. I dont think I will force myself again, I felt like I had wasted so much time. We did some stuff at the V&A waterfront, had brunch and then headed home where we vegged some more before heading out to a friend's birthday party. I got aaaaalll dressed up, hair, make up, the lot because we thought we may be able to go to another party after. We decided to go home at 11 cause we are old and boring...um...and broke.

Sunday was supposed to be me and my sister going to the gym and doing breakfast. It turned out to be TheHusband and I going to the gym and then going to my parents to taste bread (I only tasted as this is my month without bread). We then went home and did some cleaning up and I attempted to make diabetic friendly marangue. Need to chat to ThePartner as to why they failed. Then will try again.

Team up Thursday - Breakfast

2010-06-03T12:45:00.000-07:00

Well we actually have a 3 way team up Thursday but sidiot, our 3rd team mate seems to have gone AWOL.

The theme we chose was breakfast. I think we just chose at random and its interesting to see the different interpretations.

So without further a due here is Manik and my TUT

Hopefully sidiot will be around and I will add his here when he sends it

Other bloggers also doing Team Up Thursday's ARE:

Berta and Corey

Andrea and Claire

Megan and Melody

Joanne and Rose

Cat and Shayne

Marcelle and Kerstin

Wednesday weight loss week 2

2010-06-02T00:54:00.000-07:00

Still no badge but I dont want to push my fantastically talented friend so I will wait patiently like a good girl.

Yesterday I was not in a good way as its TOM and I havnt felt that bad since I was a teenager. Couple that with the fact that no one needed help with anything so Trade post Tuesday didnt happen.

So onto Wednesday's post.

I lost 1.8kg (4lb). It takes me to 113.4kg which, after checking my book, brings me to 10% of my total body weight lost!

Even though most of that was done at sport's science, the lady that is leading our group at the moment (I usual leader has gone to the states for 3 months) is the head of CT (from what I gathered) and she decided that I deserve the 10% keyring!! I am ecstatic.

I wont say I worked extra heard this week but I did train quite a bit and my eating wast too bad.

I had a very strange moment though: I am an emotional eater. When I am happy, I eat, when I am upset I eat. It's part of the reason I am where I am weight wise. On Monday night I had a huge fight with my dad. I am still dealing with the stress from it (tight chest, very jumpy, unhappy tummy) but on Monday night it was all snot in tranne. Normally I would reach for food, chocolate, cheese, something. I made my husband supper and went to bed. The last thing I wanted to do was eat, the thought of food made me feel ill. I didnt eat anything till Tuesday afternoon when The Husband insisted. So very very strange. I was so hungry by last night that I had too much food but luckily it was healthy food.

I have broken through a platue and the downward trend must continue now. My next big goal is to make 5kg (11lb) loss on WW (1.6kg-3.5lb away). Then after that is to get into double digits...I havent seen those since I hit 20.

Current weight: 113.4kg (250lb)

Goal weight: 51kg (112.4lb)

Total to lose: 62.4kg (137.5lb)

My weekend that was week 2

2010-05-31T01:42:00.000-07:00

So as you could see, Thursday and Friday's posts were non existent. Well the reasons are simple, I had nothing to write about. No one wanted to use my blogspace to advertise and we didn't to see a movie on Thursday night.

Friday I cooked supper and you can follow the recipe adventure on my other blog: Add to taste. It took a lot longer then expected but it came out fantastic and everyone ate their fill.

Saturday The Partner was meant to come over to bake cookies that we could sell but she ended up spending the day with her sig-oth and I ended up meeting Princess Anie's new addition to the family while getting really slow and overwhelmed service from the staff at Millstone in Oude Moulen. Later on I was being fetched to The Physio's birthday party...by The Physio and her husband. I was told they would miscall me when they were 5 mintues away so I could head out to meet them at security. I received a missed call SMS and ran straight for the gate, not checking the number. When I got there and saw that no one had arrived, then I checked my phone and saw it was actually The Husband who had tried to call me to let me know he was done working. I told him where to meet us and shortly after my lift arrived.

The boys went to watch the rugby at Woodstock lounge while the girls went for happy hour cocktails at Jamaica me Crazy. 3 cocktails and lots of giggles later (it amazes me that I can switch from being uber bouncy fan girl to laughing at the uber bouncy fan boys,e specially while slightly warmed by my liquid refreshment). Sorry that the Stormers had lost but proud that they got as far as they did and that they were not completely trampled by the bulls.

We then headed off for sushi at 1890 House. Consistently good sushi at consistently good prices, you know you have been to a place too often when they waiter gives you a hug when you arrive. Had delicious fish, champagne and plenty of water. Then home James, with a detour past Woodstock lounge, apparently The Husband put down a bet that the score will be 27 -17 to the bulls, to collect some winnings.

Saturday morning bright and early The Partner arrived and we started our first tandem baking adventure. We went shopping for the few things we were missing and then got to work. We spent the whole day working in my tiny kitchen and didn't bump into each other or spoil each others work or anything of the sort. Later we went for supper at my mom's and in her huge kitchen we kept knocking each other, and all we were doing was eating. The evening ended off with an episode of knightrider and Angels and Daemons and then off to bed.

Ah and also, if you want to see the result of the baking check out
Goodbye Hello Kitty

Weightloss Wednesday

2010-05-26T00:48:00.000-07:00

So I have an idea for a badge and I have asked a fantasticly talented friend to help me.

Last nights weigh in wasnt too bad. I havent moved. Still the same weight. I managed to track most days which isnt ideal but its better then not tracking at all. Once I am back in the habit I will be doing it regularly and I know if I track consistently and accurately I can lose the weight.

I have gone to gym 3 days in a row now (Sunday, Monday and Tuesday) and today I am taking a break. If the weather stays as it is I may take my mom and the dogs down to the beachfront for a walk this evening but otherwise I need a rest day. The reason is simple: The fitness you gain in 3 weeks of exercise is marginal compared to the fitness you lose when you dont exercise for 3 weeks. The Husband suggested I do 3 days in a row for a while till my fitness is back up to the point where I can handle 5 days in a row like I used to.

My trainer is sick so I had a lesson in pushing myself last night. I followed the routine he did with me last Thursday which was 20min of cardio, stretching then core exercises and then finish off the 45 minutes with cardio (from next week I will be back up to an hour). So I did 20 min on the elliptical (currently the one cardio machine I can really push on without hurting my back) then did my stretches. I did my balance exercise byt standing on an overturned bosu ball with my eyes closed for as much of it as possible. Then I did 90° crunches iwth a 1kg medicine ball between my legs. I did 5 of them while holding the crunch each time for 10 counts. Then 5 crunches, holding th medicine ball out in front of me also holding the crunch for 10 counts. I then did the plank for 1 minute and I felt it wasnt enough, so I did an exercise where you hold the plank position and tap a ball in front of you with alternating hands, I did 15 taps.

I finished off on the treadmill. Now most of you already know I have a shin splint problem so I cannot run, at least not at my current weight. A few weeks ago I decided to do a little experiment as the top speed I can go on the treadmill does not raise my heart rate up enough. SO I dropped the speed and upped the incline. At the moment my maximum is a 13° incline at speed 4.

I have set some goals for the next couple of weeks that I think will help me get out of this rut I find myself in. Firstly back to limiting my salt. Portion control!! I have lost my way here and its time to get back to that. In addition The Husband and I have decided that June is "No Bread Month". We are not cutting out carbs or starches, just bread.

Current weight: 115.2kg (254lb)

Goal weight: 51kg (112.4lb)

Total to lose: 64.2kg (141.5lb)

My weekend that was

2010-05-24T02:01:00.000-07:00

This weekend wend more or less as planned. Nothing completely off track but there were some moments of madness I can share.

Friday was nothing exciting really and everything went as it was meant to, except that last minute I was sent to do the shopping. I discovered to my great glee that the Garden Center PnP and woolies are open till 9pm!!

Saturday was full of adventure. I went to Truth Coffee Cult in the morning and bought coffee for my sister and I, then to Marcelino's to buy bread, but it was too early for bread so I went to drop off the coffee and came back for the bread. Later we went flat hunting. This is where things got interesting. We went with an estate agent from the Table View Remax Associates, named Derek Ghol. He showed us one flat inside and out and then moved onto the next where he was unable to get hold of the tenant so showed us the flat from the outside. The third block of flats he took us to he just pointed at the general block, said "they all look the same from the outside, its 2 bedrooms but very compact" we said thank you, took his card and when he asked if he could contact us if he had any more my moms aid he was welcome to as long as we could see inside, to which he replied in a huffy, sulky voice "If you're going to be stroppy then forget about!" then under his breath "I have good properties" as he stormed off to his car and drove off. I am still in shock.

Later we went to see a private sale and I think we may have found out first home.

That evening my sister and I went to watch The Stormers at newlands. wow wow wow that was a fantastic experience and I really didnt expect my sister to be such an awesome person to watch it with, she normally doesnt watch with us when we watch on TV. She was the best best best partner.

The next morning I was up early for some ungodly reason and decided that I should take the opportunity to plan my morning to go to gym before going for coffee with a friend. Gym went well and the coffee was fantastic. This friend has lost 42kilos!! very very inspiring.

The rest of the days went quietly. The Husband was meant to work last night but didnt and that was great and The Partner, The Husnad and I met for coffee at Touch of Madness later to discuss some business stuff and as you do with old friends just chat. I discovered something new, Book Crossing. The books at Touch of Madness are all book crossing books. The idea is simple. Take the book, read the book, enter the code inside the book to say you have it into the website. Pass on the book. Love it!

A new week this week, lets see what it holds. HAVE A FANTASTIC last week of May

Film Review Friday

2010-05-21T02:16:00.000-07:00

Well last night wasnt movie night because Movie Buff is in Oz and no one organised an alternative on (I was too busy drinking brandy to organise anything)

So instead I will tell you about a movie I saw a week and a bit ago called KickAss

Let me start by saying that this is NOT a kids movie and that Hit Girl is my new favourite superhero

"Dave Lizewski is an unnoticed high school student and comic book fan with a few friends and who lives alone with his father. His life is not very difficult and his personal trials not that overwhelming. However, one day he makes the simple decision to become a super-hero"

This movie is just plain fun. It has a little commentary on society and some feel good moments but mostly its fun. It's gory and pulls no punches. and I enjoyed every moment.

Trade Post Thursday

2010-05-19T23:50:00.000-07:00

Again, no badge yet but I will get to that.

Today I would like you to meet Gabbi and Mischa:

These to beautiful ladies are the proud owners of AnonaMiss Beauty Emporium. Both are not just really sexy, wonderful human beings but well qualified and good at what they do. Both are qualified make-up and special effects artists and have worked on many shoots and events. Gabbi was the make-up artist at my wedding and did EVERYONE from the bride's maids to the Mother of the Bride to the Bride herself, I mean, myself. So I can vouch for her professionalism and style.

Here is what the company is about:

Style is NOT about blending in! Real style is having the confidence to stand out of the crowd.

AnonaMiss Beauty Emporium's exclusive range of professional quality make-up, extravagant lashes and too-dye for hair accessories offers you the chance to do just that! Be it a demure darling, a feisty femme fetale or a sultry sex-kitten, let your sassy alter-ego come out to play....don't MISS out.

Our products include the Ooh La Lash lashes, professional quality TI Creative Styling hair irons and dryers ( sport new Tourmaline & negative ion technology, patented 96 ventilation holes, titanium plates and heat-adjusting...some come with matching real leather clutch purses). Imported New York cosmetic and hair range, Manic Panic, which includes top-quality, strong pigmented, brightly coloured make-up, vegan friendly semi-permanent hair dyes, temporary hair gels. clip-in hair pieces and washable synthetic wigs. Eyeshadows, glitters, hair pieces and dyes available in selected neon colours that glow under UV lights. Also Alila cosmetics for all little extras, such as little brushrolls to fit in your handbag, make-up fixatives and primers, foundation palettes and cosmetic cases.

What more could you want? Gorgeous colours, great accessories and BEAUTY WITHOUT CRUELTY and VEGAN

Wednesday weight loss

2010-05-19T02:49:00.000-07:00

I will work on a little title badge for these days when I have more time but for now you will just have to deal with the picture of my pretty face on the right :)

So the news is not so good as I put on weight BUT not by much only 200g(0.4lb) which means I am now 600g(1.3lb) away from losing the weight I put on over the stressful work week. I know where my faults were, starting with not tracking and ending with a rather large piece of cake. I however, am not going to break all the china, this is a long term journey and I will make my destination in the end.

So my plan for this week is to track, stay under my points and get back into exercise. MY back injury turns out to be just a twisted joint, she said its there where the dimples at the top of your bum are (she being the physio) so no slip disc, no major injury. I am super happy.

Gonna make sure I do a lot of core work as it will probably save me from back injury in the future too.

I think I also need to say how much weight I need to lose till my goal weight:
Current weight: 115.2kg (254lb)
Goal weight: 51kg (112.4lb)
Total to lose: 64.2kg (141.5lb)

I have set other goals along the way and have attached rewards to them:
100kg (220.5lb) = Lion's head moonlight walk
90kg (198.4lb) = Walking up Table Mountain from the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens side
80kg (176.4lb) = Namibia 8 day hike and learning to run (pending physio approval)
70kg (154.3lb) = Skydive
60kg (132.3lb) = Begin designing a new wardrobe to be made by Secret Garden
51kg (112.4lb) = Get my very own steampunk outfit

It may be that when I reach 63kg (138.9lb) (the top of the healthy weight for my height range) I wont go any further but we will see then, it's still a way to go

Getting back to real life

2010-05-17T01:53:00.000-07:00

I realise its been a while since I blogged. Its been madness on my side with our annual pageant happening where I get turned from a layout designer to a rough-about. Then straight into production for the magazine which was about 20% done and had to work overtime (till 1am) every night and weekends.

So firstly I want to state that this blog is changing direction. Not that I have many followers and that many people will care but I have decided to make this a general blog. There will be weightloss stuff and all of that.

I have decided to take a cue from my good friend and excellent blogger, photgrapher, mother and granmother Marcelle and add structure to my blog.

I dont know yet what to put in each day so will need suggestions. I will update the below list as I get suggestions or ideas:

Monday: The weekend that was (meant to be) - the weekend and how things went down compared to how they were planned. (Thank you Eve)

Tuesday: Trade post Tuesday - I have loads of friends starting their own business, or trying to find homes for their pets or something they need help with. Tuesday will be dedicated to that

Wednesday: Weight loss day - Tuesday night is weigh in so wed I will report back and talk about my week and stuff like that.

Thursday: Team up Thursday - Will be taking a pic in the week to match a theme, as will my partner and then will post it on my blog :)

Friday: Movie review day - Each Thursday night we go to a friend for movies, I will review the movie we see on the Friday

Saturday:

Sunday:

Please note weekends need to be low maintenance stuff as I will probably want to be lazy on weekends.

Also I would like to share my new look haircut with eveyone who hasnt seen my tweet or FB post :)

Tada:

not a long weekend

2010-04-26T00:21:00.000-07:00

Unlike half of South Africans, I am at work today (and will probably be in tomorrow as well). I have a very hectic week ahead of me with too much time planned for meals and not enough for exercise. See the company I work for is hostinga beauty pageant to find their brand ambassador. I am hoping spending the week with tiny Indian girls will inspire me to not eat so much but I also know what I am like under high stress. I am going to be working non stop from wed morning till very early sunday morning.

Today my boss is gonna give us a rundown of where we have to be and when and I will try fit in a workout where ever I can because we are going to be eating indian food and take aways the whole week.

This weekend I baked a cake:

and redid the packing of the cupboards in my kitchen. In particular the Tupperware cupboard and I threw a WHOLE lot of stuff away.

I also ate very badly because I had a moment. I knew that the cortisone was going to make me gain and be bloated. I was hungry continuously because of the stuff and was just so frustrated and stressed (the cake was for money, if I got it right it meant I was guaranteed at least 1 more cake) so I didnt care. I didnt even track. I will see it on the scale tomorrow and next week but I am not going to let that get to me. This is a long journey and some potholes are not going to deter me from my final destination.

Hope everyone has a solid week :)

Thursday with a diffrence

2010-04-23T01:47:00.001-07:00

The whole day I was so hungry, my gran says its the cortizone. I think its a combination of that and the cold weather I drank 3 cups of green tea before it was even 11 oclock. Then I tucked into an orange and ate it really slowly. By lunch time I was so hungry but luckly I had packed a fantastic lunch (see here). After lunch I was very satisfied for about an hour when the niggles for food started again. I had some water and another cup of tea and about 3 I had an apple. It was a baby apple and I had to cut off some bruised bits so not very filling :(. By 3 I start my wrapping up for the day, finishing things off and the like. So it wasnt so bad.

I rushed home from there to fetch Jack and go to gym. Wow what a session and for the first time in moths I experienced muscle failure. Now for those training hard will know that muscle failure is a good failure. It means you have really worked hard, pushed your body to its limit. My trainer was very impressed. (As an example for those who havent experienced. I was supposed to do 15 reps on level 15, 12 reps on level 20 and 10 reps on level 25. I managed the first 2 but barely did 5 on the last one and my trainer helped)

Then we I had a shower and while Iwas in the change room J bought me a little baby C-monster (smoothie) and himself a cup of coffee and we sat and chatted to a metro cop friend who goes to our gym. He told us that as of the 1st of July they are going to start implementing the points system on licenses and from the 1st of november it goes in full. That means you get 12 points every 3 years, driving 20km/h over the speed limit = -2 points, bigger offences are -5 points and if you do not have your license on you when you are stopped you will arrested. No more fines for not carrying your license, go straight to jail, do not pass go, do not collect R200.

We then went to the V&A waterfront to check mail and do some shopping for dinner. I made spicy chicken breasts with garlic cous cous but I will post the link when I blog about it. Suffice to say it was delicious. Then we went to visit my dad who ha been in JHB all week.

My ear is feeling a lot better. It changes from moment to moment between feeling normal, feeling a little blocked and feeling very blocked but my gran says thats how cortizone works (my gran has been on cortizone most of her life, as a result she has paper for skin and matchsticks for bones)

This morning my chest is a little tight, will see how I feel later and maybe use my ventoline pump, I try to breath past it and see if it releases but not for too long otherwise it gets too tight, if it doesnt realease on its own then only I use the pump.

Hope everyone has a fantastic day and even better weekend. Fro those who have a long weekend, remember there will be many more long weekends, this is not the last one and so there is no need to go overboard. If I dont get a chance to blog this weekend (As has been the case) I will post monday (as I have to be at work)

Thursday with a diffrence

2010-04-23T01:25:00.001-07:00

You may have noticed that most my thursdays are the same in the evening. We go to a friend's house where we order nando's and watch a movie. Last night was different as our other friends didnt come (they husband had to work and withe wife was tired), the other lot also didnt come (the 1 house mate is sick and the other is liftless otherwise) and so I called the friend who we go to and checked if it would bother him much if we also cancelled this week. He was happy for a chance to get to bed early at least 1 night this week so J and I had the evening to ourselves. We will get to that part shortly :)

The whole day I was so hungry, my gran says its the cortizone. I think its a combination of that and the cold weather I drank 3 cups of green tea before it was even 11 oclock. Then I tucked into an orange and ate it really slowly. By lunch time I was so hungry but luckly I had packed a fantastic lunch (see here). After lunch I was very satisfied for about an hour when the niggles for food started again. I had some water and another cup of tea and about 3 I had an apple. It was a baby apple and I had to cut off some bruised bits so not very filling :(. By 3 I start my wrapping up for the day, finishing things off and the like. So it wasnt so bad.

I rushed home from there to fetch Jack and go to gym. Wow what a session and for the first time in moths I experienced muscle failure. Now for those training hard will know that muscle failure is a good failure. It means you have really worked hard, pushed your body to its limit. My trainer was very impressed. (As an example for those who havent experienced. I was supposed to do 15 reps on level 15, 12 reps on level 20 and 10 reps on level 25. I managed the first 2 but barely did 5 on the last one and my trainer helped)

Then we I had a shower and while Iwas in the change room J bought me a little baby C-monster (smoothie) and himself a cup of coffee and we sat and chatted to a metro cop friend who goes to our gym. He told us that as of the 1st of July they are going to start implementing the points system on licenses and from the 1st of november it goes in full. That means you get 12 points every 3 years, driving 20km/h over the speed limit = -2 points, bigger offences are -5 points and if you do not have your license on you when you are stopped you will arrested. No more fines for not carrying your license, go straight to jail, do not pass go, do not collect R200.

We then went to the V&A waterfront to check mail and do some shopping for dinner. I made spicy chicken breasts with garlic cous cous but I will post the link when I blog about it. Suffice to say it was delicious. Then we went to visit my dad who ha been in JHB all week.

My ear is feeling a lot better. It changes from moment to moment between feeling normal, feeling a little blocked and feeling very blocked but my gran says thats how cortizone works (my gran has been on cortizone most of her life, as a result she has paper for skin and matchsticks for bones)

This morning my chest is a little tight, will see how I feel later and maybe use my ventoline pump, I try to breath past it and see if it releases but not for too long otherwise it gets too tight, if it doesnt realease on its own then only I use the pump.

Hope everyone has a fantastic day and even better weekend. Fro those who have a long weekend, remember there will be many more long weekends, this is not the last one and so there is no need to go overboard. If I dont get a chance to blog this weekend (As has been the case) I will post monday (as I have to be at work)

2 day report back

2010-04-22T05:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the quietness yesterday, I felt weird not blogging but I didnt even look at my pc yesterday. Checked mail on my phone and that was it.

So lets start with Tuesday:

It wasnt such a great day. My ear was still bugging me and my boss kept looking at me like I was faing it. Eventually I called the doctor and made a booking for the next morning. Gym was ok, trained on my owna s my trainer was booked for 6 and I had weigh in at 5. Oh yes! Weigh in. I didnt lose...but...I didnt gain either and with cortizone drops I am very happy with that result. After gym we went to a meeting with a financial planner and we were home really late. I just collapes on the bed, why youy ask? Well since I have shin splints I cant go fast on the treadmill, it hurts. So I never get my HR very high on the treadmill. Tuesday I was a little bored of the elliptical and I didnt feel like steps so I got on the treadmill and pushed it up as high as my legs could handle but my HR wouldnt go above 140. This frustrated me and then I had a wave of genius. It took the speed down all the way down to 3 and pushed the gradient up to 13. then I just upped the speed as I went. Wow! My HR was up at 175 at one point.

Wednesday:

I went to the doctor and she put me on cortizone tablets. 40mg a day 5 days, I hate to see what my weight does by next tuesday. I went to fetch the medication, went to my mom's for lunch, took my medication and went for a nap. Yesterday was a month since J and I got married and by stroke of luck it was the night we went to pick our favourites from the Pro shots!!

Cant wait to get them all touched up :)

Look on my food blog to see my recent lunch time blog post.

Also I want one of these: http://www.fitbit.com/product

Monday just might go my way...

2010-04-20T00:55:00.001-07:00

My ear is still driving me nuts. I was moody and unhappy by the end of the night last night. I had a very good day food wise. I had bought an apple and an orange from the Spar on the way to work yesterday. The apple was sooo juicy and sour, sour foods inhibit appetite (apparently). I expected the orange to be sour too as they are just just on the market and in season. I was pleasantly suprised as it was so juicy and delicious.

Gym was good. My trainer has latched onto this interval training idea and now we do it every time. It works, I dont enjoy it, but it works. I think I just need to learn to work through my pain :) Maybe it can become a spiritual experience.

The weekend that was

2010-04-19T01:20:00.001-07:00

Before writing this blog post I calculated my food for the weekend. I had written everything down I just hadnt written the values or calculated. I was shocked! I was sure I had a terrible weekend. I was sure I went over my points each and every day. How wrong was I. Friday I was waay under, Saturday I was "on-the-dot" and sunday I was waay under again. Will tell you about my weekend anyway.

So friday was an ok day at work, my boss wasnt in so it was quiet. After work I went straight to my mom's house to cook supper. I will post the recipe on my food blog as it was healthy and low in calories. While the meat was marinading I took J's skipping rope which is now mine and went outside to skip. I did workout 3 of week 1 of the 100pushup program and skipped. It took about 30 minutes before I had had enough. I hadnt burned many calories but the bricks I was skipping on were hell for my legs. I need to make another plan as I really enjoy skipping but need a softer place to land.

If you recall I went to aqua on Wed. Ever since then I had water in my ear. I asked my mom on friday to buy me drops to get it out. So after the meat went into the oven and the potatoes were on the boil I went to shower and decided to try a trick my ENT taught me where, when you shower, you put the water in your ear and hold it there a minute. After 30 seconds I felt dizzy and sick. I had to have my sister bring me water before I could move again. I guessed then that I had an ear infection but thought maybe the hot water and standing with my head tildted, plus the skipping may have just made my blood pressure go funny.

After supper (which was oven roasted tenderloin, crispy smoked potatoes and bamboo steamed veg) I went to lie down in the lounge so my mom could put drops in my ear. At first if felt really good, like the drops were going in places that really needed it and then suddenly the pain started and it was sooo bad. eventually the pain subsided but my ear just felt blocked.

I went to the doctor the next morning and it turns out my first assumption was right, I have an ear infection. I then put drops in my ear that had alcohol in them and that went into the raw infected area and caused my ear canal to swell and close up my ear, which is why it hurt so bad and then the swelling went down a fraction so it still felt blocked but the air inside still had space to move so the pain stopped.

I went to cavendish to go buy the drops and visit a place called "Storm in A-G cup" It is a lingerie store that measures you properly and teaches you how to wear your bras. The lady at woolworths told me I was a 42D. I am actually a 38DD and wow what a difference the correct size makes! I cringe when I see women, especially at the gym, who wear the wrong size bra and also the wrong bra, you have no idea what damage you can do. I am happy now that I am wearing the correct size and I will be taking my sports bras to them to have them altered as they are 44DD.

Then we went home for much needed rest (no sleep the night before), breakfast (at 1 oclock, cause I wasnt feeling so great when we left the house) ear drops and a new show I am now hooked on called Drop Dead Divas. That night we went over to friends and were there till 3 in the morning. We had take away chinese food and although I made the best choice from what was on offer, I know take away chinese food so only ate half of it. Even so, like I said, Saturday I ate 24 of my 24 points and that was with not having breakfast.

Sunday I was bored of sleeping by 9:30, we went over to my mom's and I made pancakes. She said she admired me because if I feel like something I will take the time to make it not just stuff my face to try and fill the gap and drown the craving. We then went back home as I forgot the drops there and I watched some more Drop Dead Diva. In the opening credits there is a scene where they eat popcorn so I had to go and make some, that was basically lunch. Sub conciously my body knew not to eat a lot for lunch cause at 6 my dad called and said that they were taking us out for supper. They took us to a place called Posticino. I could have had pasta there, the pasta is not bad but their pizza, there is no better pizza (if you are the kind of person who like real pizza not stogy, oily take away crap) so I decided tog et my favourite pizza and a big salad with it. To be honest, the mood I was in last night, the salad was the best part :)

So today I am alone at work. Everyone is out on meetings. I still cant hear very well out my right ear but I ahve my green tea, I have my giant bottle of water. I am dressed ready for gym tonight, tonight after gym we are going to my photographers office to pick pictures for the wedding album

TGIF!!

2010-04-16T00:17:00.001-07:00

Phew Thursday, what can I say, I think I am still shaking :P

Eating wise I was right on track and saved loads of points up for supper. So instead of a millie or a roll I got some extra chicken wings :)

Training wise, well if I thought the last workout was hectic, boy oh boy. When I started the Healthy Weight program at sports science I saw a 700+kcal burn almost every workout. As I got fitter, reaching the 700 mark was harder and harder. At the moment I am happy if I see 600 in an hour. Last night I burned 731kcal! in an hour! Seems my body hates interval training (yes hates, if it like it it would use so much energy to do it :P )

I was shaking, I had to get one of those restaurant mint out my bag when I got to the locker room cause I felt like I was going to faint and I had a cold shower to knock me out of it.

Did my next workout for the 100 push up program and managed o do 12 max, yay!

Tonight I am cooking supper. If my mom can find tuna and salmon I am making sushi, if not I am making roast beef with roast potatoes and steamed veg :)

Have a great friday! If the weekend is anything like the last then I will see you monday ?( I have to try and bake a hello kitty cake)

Over the "hump day"

2010-04-15T00:30:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a super day eating wise, I was really good until the end of the day when I had this unbelievable craving for chocolate so I binged...well not really, I had 3 block which is more then I have had in a while. I ate exactly 24 points so the chocolate went into my activity points but its fine, I didnt eat a whole bar and so I am happy.

I decided that wednesdays is aqua day. I didnt think it was so hard but I was so tired after. It could be from the lack of sleep the night before too. I did enjoy the yoga and the instructor was soooo happy to see me there (he also teaches step and vbox and has seen me at the gym for years)

My dad made this amazing thai fish curry last night, low in fat (used the low fat coconut milk and the low fat curry paste) and sooo tasty. I dont normally like fish curries but my mom endeavored to buy a fish I like so I could eat it.

Today I am saving up points for tonight, thursday nights we go to a friend to watch movies and we order nando's. As faswt food goes, nando's is very good, they actually plan their menu with dieticians and there is a whole page dedicated to them in my WW book. Still I like to have the chicken, a salad with feta and either a milie (corn on the cob) or a roll (and 5 chips) so I eat low point stuff throughout the day to save up points for the evening :)

FOR THE SA READERS BEWARE: Woolies "slimmer's choice" is a lie! I looked at the packaging the other day and was shocked! The "slimmer's choice" lasagne and the regular lasagne are almost the same! there is about a 100kj difference. I am almost considering writing a letter of complaint, they are cheating people. I thought about them, but I realised they will probably tell me it's consumer's responsibility to check the nutritional information. Scoundrels

Report Back and Lessons learnt

2010-04-13T23:31:00.001-07:00

I SKIPPED!!! I cant believe I did it. I thought I wouldn't be able to because of my shins but I did it and I was told by my trainer "wow you're better then all the guys I've trained who have trained for ages and are half your size!!"

So from now on on the days I cant get to gym I will get Jack's skipping rope and skip. So happy I can do it :)

Tonight I plan on going to aqua, thats if I can move as apart from skipping my trainer seriously kicked my ass last night, my average heart rate over the hour was 163!!

I had my weigh in yesterday too. I lost the 1kg(2.2lb) I put on over the 3 weeks!! I am so happy because I was so scared I would be stuck on that plateau of 114kg(251lb) again and I'm not. I put it all down to tracking!! Tonight is picture night and measurements too so we will see. I haven't measured in 3 months and I am looking forward to see the changes.

So now to the lesson learned: I had weigh in at 5 and my trainer had some one booked already for 6 so I went to train at 7. After that we went to my parents for supper and we ate Romanian kebabs with salad an a pita bread. I learned a hard lesson in the night as it was all too heavy. I had strange strange dreams and every time I woke up from one I felt like I had a giant anvil resting on top of me. Next time I will just have the salad with a bit of bread and take the meat to work the next day.

I can feel every muscle in my body and I love it!

Day 1 weeks 2 :)

2010-04-13T00:16:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a good enough day food wise. I packed a nice lunch but realised that, even though it was enough food, the choices of what was in there were not the best. I am going to start packing in more veg as I am left with very little points by the time supper comes around and those are usually the biggest meal of my day.

Every second monday I spend the evening with my goddaughter and then roleplay. So I dont get a chance to go to gym. I did however start the 100 push up program and roped my friends into it too. It was very funny to watch what some people think is a correct way to do a push up ;)

I made a really yummy supper for all of us (which I forgot to photograph) where I took a whole lot of veg, baked them in the oven with a little bit of olive oil, garlic and origano. I made my own pasta sauce (1 tin tomatoe and onion mix, italian mixed herbs, paprika, pepper, salt, cinnamon) and then cut whole wheat pita breads in half. Put the tomatoe apaste, the baked veg and a bit of cheese over, back under the grill. Worked it out on sparkrecipes and its 3.5 points for 1 serving!! I think I will make these more often :)

wewewewweeekend

2010-04-12T00:18:00.001-07:00

I totally planned to update this weekend but I spent very little time at home and when I was home I was either really busy or sleeping.

Fridays are my day off, the reason is that with working a full day AND synagogue I never get time to go to gym and Friday night meals are always very big and rich in calories. I try to eat in such a way that I have loads of points left for supper but I dont freak out if I go over my points on a friday.

Saturday was full of lessons for me foodwise. In the morning we went bird watching with the Finish guide that J was working with this week. It was very cold but loads of fun and we saw so many different bird species AND hippos. All this 10 minutes from home. I love Cape Town. We then dropped him back off at the hotel and went for breakfast. I had a rosti with mozzarella and bacon and a smoothie and there go half my points for the day. ON BREAKFAST! We then went shopping and then home so J could change and I could take him to the hotel as he would accompany his group on the bus to the airport. What was meant to take 20 minutes took and HOUR and I still had to bake cupcakes. I made marshmallow cupcakes. They were delicious but I was sweetend out by the end of the evening as by the time we got to the party we had nothing to eat so unfortunately had cake and cupcakes and pizza!?! Well even with all that I didnt pig out like I would in the old days and only went over my points but 2½ points. Still, not the best food.

So sunday I ate better, stayed well under my points to make up for the day before. I started the morning with a very healthy Israeli breakfast called Shakshuka. Basically its eggs poached in a tomato and onion relish. I called it store cupboard shakshuka as I had no fresh veg so used tinned tomato and onion mix and dried garlic. Then we went to houtbay with my family and when we got home J sent me to nap as I looked (and felt) dead on my feet. 2½ hours later I woke up and he had done the laundry and cleaned the kitchen *sigh* I love my man. We then went to a braai at my parents and then back home to bed so I could get enough sleep before work

I am not gonna make it to any gym today because I am going to my friends for a Roleplaying and supper, I will however excuse myself when I get there and restart the 100 push up program so I can get some calories burnt.

Have a great week!

The Mountain is my Gym

2010-04-08T23:42:00.001-07:00

So yesterday just before leaving work my PT called to say he was sick and going home. I spent the afternoon thinking about what to do and whether I could push myself enough at gym. I asked J if he was willing to train me instead and he agreed. By the time I got home the weather was so lovely and that inspired me to go for a walk on the mountain. I waited for J to get home and out we went...

Instead of going left to where I thought we were going J went right. we went up a few roads and into Table Mountain National where the forest means the houses. There the Adventure STARTED!!! J decided to make the walk exciting. He found a stick and made me carry it in alternating hands, he found a log to walk along...ooo that was scarey...he made me go sneak sneak, bum down crouched low, then sprint a few meters. He found another log that was just the right size and length to lift the one end onto our shoulder and do squats with lifting it up as we squated and putting it on alternating shoulders. Then we carried on walking on the fire road until we got to Just above where we live and found the fire trail (where the firemen walk down to put out the fires) and walked all the way down to the braai area in our block and then home.

It was soooo much fun, such an adventure.

We went to my friends house for movies and nando's and after that we went home and had a SWIM!! Crazy people we are. I planned for it to be cold, I planned to swim 3 laps (dive in, swim to the stairs, swim back and back to the stairs), I DIDNT plan for it to be FRREEEEEZZZING. I dived in, swam to the stairs and got out, I thought my ears were going to fall off. Good thing we swam cause there was NO WATER in our flat, non this morning either. I brushed my teeth with bottled water (spoilt brat **g**)

The day after. OUCH!

2010-04-07T23:52:00.000-07:00

So last night was back to gym and back to the other "half" of my plan to a fit mommy. I learnt that for me neither works without the other. I can gym to my hearts content and there will be a marginal loss and then a very looooooooooooooooooooooooooong plateau. I can diet and I there will be a marginal loss and again the plateau, but if I do the 2 together, that's when I see the results.

I like having a trainer, it means there is some one to push me and I he also knows how much to push after 3 weeks of not doing anything. It was just the right intensity to break a serious sweat but not so much that I injured myself or felt completely destroyed.

I can tell you this morning climbing(we have a bath with a shower and I am short) into the shower I definitely felt those leg presses and I am waiting to feel all the arm stuff we did, I am sure that will come soon.

Last night we went to babysit my mom's dogs (more for my mom's sake then for theirs) and I decided I felt like kitchenwitching (thats the name I give going into the kitchen, looking whats available and cooking something from it) and made a delicious pasta with mushrooms and olives in a "cream"y sauce. I will blog about it on my food blog soon :)

Hope everyone is having a fantastic morning and that your day will be as beautiful as cape town looked with the mist on the bay.

by the way: If any of my USA readers are willing to do a trade. I really want one of those food and exercise tracking diaries and if you willing to post me one I will trade for anything from here (Rooibos tea, khoisan salt, etc).

Weigh in report back and mini "comment" challenge

2010-04-06T23:25:00.003-07:00

Last night was weigh-in, initially I was scared to go back but I realised that I knew that I had over indulged AND I was sick AND it's TOM so I prepared myself for the worst and predicted a gain of 3kg (6.6lbs) and went in to the meeting with a smile on my face. It was actually nice to be back, my leader is a very bubbly, upbeat woman who really tries to help members who are struggling and gets genuinely excited when members do well. She becomes a friend, getting interested in what is happening in your life so she also understands what is going on and helps you eat right for the circumstance.

Well it came to stepping on the scale and I braced myself for a colossal gain. I love my body, I have to say this, I really love my body because with 3 weeks of no exercise, 1 week of eating all the junk in the world and 1 week of eating so so, I only gained 1kg(2.2lbs)!!

So back to tracking and tonight I have booked my trainer (I made double sure last night that he got my message) and I am on the roooooad again :)

Now for the mini challenge I mentioned in the title. In the talk at the meeting last night my leader told us about a leader in the states that lost 98kg(215.6lbs)!! Her story was that she tried everything (including WW) before but didnt succeed so she went to see a doctor about bypass surgery. The doctor told her he would do the surgery until she learnt to eat correctly because otherwise she would just continue the cycle. So she went back on WW and never did the surgery in the end. In the article she read they asked the lady a question: What has your journey so far taught you?

So I would love if everyone wrote 5 things they have learnt so far on their journey, You can put it in the comments of my blog or write your own blog but I think we can all learn from each other a little. Even if its small things that help, tricks, tips or revelations. Here are mine:

1. The first 2 bites taste the same as the next 10

2. It takes your brain 20 minutes to realise your tummy is full (apparently smelling mint shortens this time)

3. There is nothing wrong with leaving food on the plate (always try leave something)

4. If you feel like you are going to have to have seconds, take ½ a portion for 1sts and then the other ½ for seconds.

5. It's ok to slip up every now and again, I am human, just make up for it the next day NEVER wait till monday to start again.

Tuesday and time to start a new (TMI post)

2010-04-06T02:11:00.000-07:00

disclaimer: This post had a lot of "Too Much Information"...you have been warned

Today is tuesday and the fake begining of a week. Even my period had a long weekend and was a day late (which had me nervous since I was anti biotics and those cancel out the pill).

Today it's back to Weight Watchers and to celebrate that I packed a healthy lunch with rye bread sandwiches, an apple, a plum, drinking yoghurt and cerial (for breakfast). I also put in a can of Red Grapetiser. Interesting facts: Appletiser and Red Grapetiser are low GI, White Grapetiser and peartiser are not. I know grapes are high in sugar and therefore not an ideal fruit but then are red grapes low GI?

I have had to think about the continuation of my journey. Up until now I had the wedding to aim for and that had me motivated, now the motivation had to change, just "being thin" has never worked so I needed new things to spur me on. I was standing in Clicks waiting for them to find the box for a pair of oil bottles I wanted to buy (oil bottles have tops like they have on spirits at bars to help control the amount of oil that comes out). While waiting I saw the magazine "Fir Pregnancy" and realised that THAT was my next motivation. I want to be a fit, healthy mom. Some one told me that because his wife was over weight she couldnt breast feed and a friend correlated the story, the apparently doesnt produce enough or nutritious enough breast milk and one of my biggest dreams is to breast feed. Also I would like to be able to have a water birth and they dont do them so readily for overweight women.

J and I decided that we have a year to plan, financially and physically for babies. On our 1st anniversary we are going to "stop practicing". So ladies that is my new goal, to be a Fit Mommy :)

Best laid plans...

2010-03-31T00:08:00.000-07:00

So after all those promises and commitments my body had a different idea! I have upper respiratory tract infection and am not allowed to exercise for 5 days!! You girls need to help me recommit myself AGAIN next week. I am tracking again which will still help.

This weekend we are probably going to knysna. This will be a fantastic weekend as I havent been to knysna in YEARS and I have a friend who lives there who is going through the MOTHER of all "STUFF". I wish I could be as strong as her.

I have decided to try blog regularly as it really helps to get feedback from the world. Even if it's short posts like this one.

A letter to my body, apologies and some wedding pics

2010-03-29T03:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Body

This letter is by way of an apology as I have not been very nice to you lately. A few days before the wedding, I went to fetch my dress and tried it on. Oh and body you were so good you lost more weight! So what did I do, I punished you, I ate everything in site so as to not look wrong in the dress and still you kept going. I kept going too with wedding cake and cupcakes and waaay too much sushi. I went to my weigh in and you had only gained 600g, I was so impressed, but instead of getting back on track I declared the week "cheat week" and ate everything I have avoided indulging in for the last 6 months.

This letter is also by way of a promise. Today it ends, the abuse ends today. We will go home today and go swim then start the 100 push-up program again. I keep saying "I wish I could run so I could just put my running clothes on and go for a run when I dont have time for gym" I cant run, I can swim and there is a lovely pool, just down stairs that I can do it in. From tomorrow my WW week starts and with it starts the tracking, we both know we are much happier when we track. Not being allowed bread for the next week will help us get back on track too.

I love you body, thank you so much for doing everything you have done so far for me and here is to a long and Healthy life together

Hila

Now for my apologies to my few readers. I fell off the face of the earth when the Wedding Madness started and I am sorry for it. I really wanted to complete the Perfect 10 challenge and just couldnt. The stress, the running around everything was against me and when I had a moment to myself the last thing I wanted to do was blog. I have learnt a lot tho and this will help with my continuing journey.

And now for some fun. Here are a few pics, not the pro ones, still waiting for those from the wedding :)

Waiting for J to check I am the correct bride

The Rabbi gives us something of his as a sign of trust as the officiator of our wedding

Cutting the cake (blue velvet with dark chocolate ganache and bavarian cream)

1 goal on hold

2010-02-17T01:54:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone

This is just a quick note to say that I will not be completing one of the goals in my perfect 10 but not because of laziness. I was watching the begginer IntuFlow videos because I intend to add that to my routine. One of the things he said about working to fix the pain instead of working through the pain his home. For the last 3 weeks I have been getting a pain in my side, similar to a stitch, every time I walk. Not just exercise but walking from my front door to the lift (5 steps) or across the road to the shop. When I exercise I get it worse but have been trying to work through the pain and obviously things have not improved. So I am taking the week off to give my body the chance to heal, if then it hasnt improved I will have to go see a doctor about it.

I will adjust my eating to accommodate the lack of exercise but I expect a weight gain by the end of the week anyway. This is a conscious decision to give my body, which has given me so much in the last 6 months, the chance to rest as it obviously needs it.

The Perfect 10 - week 6

2010-02-12T23:35:00.000-08:00

The salt thing seems to be working, I am sure of it. My friend Marcelle thought that it would be difficult for me as some one who loves cooking to use less salt because the flavour becomes more bland. On the contrary, it challenges me to make unbland food without using salt and that just makes it so much more fun.

So how are my goals for this challenge?
1) Get to 110kg (242lb) by the wedding: I am back on a downward trend and loving it. I lost another 400g (0.9lb) since last friday. Again not big but I am happy to see 113.6kg (250.4lb)

2) Track every single day and stay under my points: um nope, didnt happen. If I look back I can tell you but I was super busy at work this week as the magazine is going to the printer tuesday

3) Train for at least 5 hours a week: 1 hour left. I have also added the 100 push up program to my agenda (and I am doing real push ups not girly ones)

And now for the Little known fact about me:
I got on my first flight when I was 2 and a half. My mom thought I would be terrified because I hated loud noises but I was happy and giggly and talked (yes talked, not spoke) to the guy next to us for the whole flight (I think it was 14 hours in those days). Since then I have loved to fly, short or long distances from the minute I board to the minute I leave I am in some sort of meditative state and loving it

The perfect 10 - Week 5

2010-02-05T23:55:00.000-08:00

It's been a great week, it great to be working again and while I know I shouldnt pin my self worth and happyness to a job I cant help it. So right now I am extatic.Only bgbear has been that I have had no internet at work and limited connectivty at home.

So how are my goals for this challenge?
1) Get to 110kg (242lb) by the wedding: The salt thing seems to be working. I lost another 400g since last friday. Its not a huge loss but considering I am pre-menstrual I am extemely happy. I am now 114kg.

2) Track every single day and stay under my points: yes, in fact I ate under most days as tonigh we had pizz befoore going to a show so I saved up.

3) Train for at least 5 hours a week: 10 minuts to go so I will go for a swim :)

And now for the Little known fact about me:
I am a huge Eddie Izzard fan an dI got o see him live!! in South Africa!! I still cant believe it really happned.

The perfect 10 - Week 4

2010-01-29T23:12:00.000-08:00

This week went by so fast I havent even had a chance to read anyone elses update 3's. Also it seems I have a new hobbie, which I will try give up very quickly. This what you do: Go to gym, do about 20 minutes of exercise, have a mild medical emergency and then rush to the doctor for an injection. Last week it was lungs closing up = double cortisone injection. This week it was cramps in my hips so bad I though I had appendicitis = volataren injection. My muscles have been cramping up all week. I spoke to my Doc again and she reckons the body is fighting off some sort of infection (she offered to prescribe something and I said no thanks) so the muscles are a little week. In lieu of what she wanted to give me I have upped the veg and fruit intake, put some goji berries as snacks in my bag and continues to exercise.

So how are my goals for this challenge?
1) Get to 110kg (242lb) by the wedding: I lost the extra 600g (1.3lb) but no more then that. I think its pretty good all things considered. Also I have discovered something else, I have let something back into my diet that really shouldnt be there in those quantitites and that is salt. I was so good about it in the begining and I didnt miss it but I guess when I ate some one elses cooking for a week I got used to that salt content and forgot. So I am now using very little salt in my own cooking and not adding any salt to any food that already contains it. I am now 114.4kg (252.2lb) again.

2) Track every single day and stay under my points: I tracked every day and only went over my points once (by 1 point)

3) Train for at least 5 hours a week: Last week I didnt make it to 5 hours, not too worried as I was off by like 30min. This week I am currently sitting on 4h10m50s and I still have my saturday workout left. The 17 minute monday workout really threw me out and having my muscles cramp as I get into an exercise is really pissing me off. Also I have to fire my trainer as he has missed way too many appointments, in fact after I have finished this entry I am writing the email

This week was definitely an improvement, at least I able to finish my 5 hours

And now for the Little known fact about me:
I am terrified of heights which makes bridge jumping, rock climbing, abseiling etc loads more fun and ads an exciting adrenaline rush to mundane things like walking along bridges. I try my best to walk as close to the edge as possible as it petrifies me and sends that lovely adrenaline rushing through me. Weird, I know. When we went to Disney and we went to teh waterpark thats supposed to be a ski resort that's melting, my favourite part was the "ski lift" that takes you to the slides

The perfect 10 - Week 3

2010-01-23T00:49:00.000-08:00

Friday went by so fast it didnt even make a woosh sound! Sorry *blush* I was barely on the PC yesterday as I had a bazillion errands to run, including waiting at my Mom's for her garden service to arrive.

So how are my goals for this challenge?
1) Get to 110kg (242lb) by the wedding: I guess not every week will be perfect. This week I put on 600g (1.3lb) according to the scale on thursday (will check again today at gym and update with an edit) The reasons for this are simple. On monday I made a wrong move and hurt my knee so wasnt able to train hard this week and on tuesday I had an athma attack in response to a cat allergy and was given a double dose of cortisone, so that also slowed my training and made me retaint water. I am now 115kg (253.5lb).

2) Track every single day and stay under my points: I tracked every day and only went over my points (by 1.5) on 1 day

3) Train for at least 5 hours a week: I dont know if I will make it this week. The athma attack on tuesday happened 20min into my training time and so cut that short and I have been unable to train well the whole week. I am going to gym as soon as I finish this entry and train for as long as possible.

I guess not every week will be perfect and I need to accept that.

Now for my weekly secret:
After last weeks really serious one I thought this should be a fun one. When I turned 4 my mom made me throw away my pacifier(we call it a dummy). She made a big show of it and took photos and made me feel sooo proud that I dont ever recall having "withdrawl symptoms" Since then when ever I quit something I try make a big show of it.

The Perfect 10 - Week 2 ( a little late)

2010-01-17T00:35:00.000-08:00

I must apologies for the lateness but my excuse is good I promise. I am going to put it in my secret section as I guess it counts as something you dont know about me (well except for Marcelle)

So how are my goals for this challenge?
1) Get to 110kg (242lb) by the wedding: Very well still . I am now 114.4kg (252.2lb) which is 1.14kg (2.5lb) down from last week's update and 10.2kg (22.5lb) down from when I started my journey in July.

2) Track every single day and stay under my points: As I was away and not in a great place I couldnt compelte this one. I managed to do 4/7 so not a complete failure.

3) Train for at least 5 hours a week: This I did. It wasnt at gym for the most part but in the great outdoors and it was wonderful and helped a lot. I got back late on saturday and I was 20 minutes away from my goal and I thought, aw to hell with it I wont do it this week and then kicked my own ass and managed tog et to gym before it closed and did 30min of cardio. It felt really good.

Now for my weekly secret:
I suffer from bouts of emotional depression. Triggered normally by my own view of my self worth and if I dont catch them in time I tend to dig myself into a hole of indifference and tears. This week was sort of a retreat. I had gotten to a point where my whole life revolved around my weightloss because I didnt have the courage or the energy to deal with the rest of my life. Being retrenched sent me into the spiral and not being able to find a replacement job has just hastened it with rejection letters acting as catalyst. This week I went to a beautiful place on the South African East coast called Betty's Bay. Better then any mental clinic or drugs I am now back on the road to mental recovery.

An interesting article on Drinking Water

2010-01-10T00:45:00.000-08:00

Because of a discussion on a group I am on I wanted to find out how much fluid I need to add to my diet when I exercise. I found the following article and thought it might be useful to a few more people

http://www.catalogs.com/info/health/how-much-water-to-drink.html

When it comes to exercise I tend to just listen to my body and drink when I am thirsty, small amounts at a time so as not to get a cramp. I have know for a while that drinking too much water was not good for you but what I didnt know was that men were supposed to drink more water then women. Interesting read.

The perfect 10 - First Entry

2010-01-08T06:18:00.000-08:00

So how are my goals for this challenge?
1) Get to 110kg (242lb) by the wedding: Very well. I am now 115.54kg (254.7lb) which is 860g (1.9lb) down from when I set my goals on wed.

2) Track every single day and stay under my points: oing great on the tracking but not using all my daily points which is not great. I managed to get my hands on the fitday PC program which is working very nicely. Havent missed one day of tracking

3) Train for at least 5 hours a week: This week I clocked in total (since Sunday) 04:22:29. That leaves me one 40 minute work out for tomorrow which I can do quite easily

Now for my weekly secret:
When I was a teenager I was a HUGE backstreet boys fan. My room was floor to ceiling posters and I even bought a video box set (which I bought at virgin records in NYC with all my pocket money when we were on holiday in the USA). Then it was just over and I gave EVERYTHING away.

A little motivation

2010-01-06T23:12:00.000-08:00

So its the New Year but appart from The Perfect 10 challenge I am not going to change anything else. I personally think we get too caught up in the change of the calendar. Everyone waits for it to happen so they can start making changes and you know what, some extra time before hand cant hurt. Lets take for example something a little shorter, working out. Let say you have a class that lasts an hour, so you go to gym and wait for the class to start, then you do the class and you are done. While you were waiting, those 15 minutes, why not wait on the treadmill or the bike? Dont push yourself, make it a nice easy pace but get your HR elevated, thats 15 EXTRA minutes and a few extra calories burned.

So what I am saying is, dont wait for monday (statistically the worst day to start something new), start on sunday, thats an EXTRA day. I look at the people who go to my gym. I can time it on my calendar. This month the gym will be full, then it will wane near the end till people realise it's valentines soon and they want to look hot to catch someone, then V.day is over and the days start getting shorter and people start disappearing. The winter months are very quiet and the minute the advertising for spring starts, BANG! they are back. Why do they wait for their to be a crisis to do anything about how they look.

I am done waiting. I started this journey in earnest in July and I will continue this Journey for the rest of my life. The pace will change and even once the main desitination has been reached I wont stop because then there will be new adventures. I decided to look at reaching my goal weight as the begining to a new adventure. Its somewhere I have never been, something I have never done. I am starting to look forward to the confused feeling of "I have achieved what I have tried to achieve since I was a teenager, what now?"

Up until July last year I was sure I was doing enough and that I was just doomed to be big. The kick start I got from the Sports Science institute and now with WW, my trainer and the fitbloggers group I have learned that just training hard is not enough, I need to watch what I eat. Just eating right is not enough, I need to be active and move my body. I learned about platoes and what I need to get over them, I have learned to read labels, pay attention to carbs and that "healthy" doesnt mean its low-fat (in most cases not at all)

I have been how I am for so long and I am bored with it, I am bored with how If eel, how people look at me. Having to watch what I wear to hide the wobbly bits, to try not offend passers by with the way I look. I am tired of hiding from the camera or trying tricks to hide 3rd chins and the like. I guess this is why I am here, why I am walking this path to a new me and why I wont give up! Even when I am tired or bloated or sick or depressed because I know that with every step on the this path I become less tired, less bloated, healthier and more able to handle my depression

so this is not a "here's to 2010" blog this is a "here's to continuing on the path to a new me" blog no matter what the year is

The Perfect 10 Challenge.

2010-01-02T23:29:00.000-08:00

Right so it's time to get my but into serious gear with the wedding being less then 3 months away and my need to be a lot smaller then I am now. So to help me with this I have joined WeightWatchers, acquired a personal trainer and now (thanks to Lori-Ann at Amazon Runner I am joining The Perfect 10 challenge! (which conveniently ends just before the wedding)

So what are my goals for this challenge?
1) Get to 110kg (242lb) by the wedding: Originally I wanted to be under 100kg but to this point I havent worked hard enough and therefore had to recalibrate to a realistic attainable goal. That being said if I reach 110kg before the wedding I wont leave it there, I will keep going. I am currently 116.4kg (256.1lb) at the last weigh-in. I will post my weekly weigh in here too.

2) Track every single day and stay under my points: Where ever possible I will NOT use my activity points. They are a saftey net if things go bad and like a trapeze artist I dont want to ever have to fall into that net. For the tracking I will use the WW page they give me at meetings and start up my FitDay account again.

3) Train for at least 5 hours a week: I have 3 hours a week covered with my trainer and since starting with him I havent done more then that since he has pushed me further then I have ever gone, however, the "break" is over and its time to up the hours spent moving and 2 more hours shouldn't be impossible. 5 hours a week is the absolute minimum.

Those are my goals for the challenge. Here's to a new year and a new me. My friend Annie said it best "I love that superhuman feeling that accompanies the beginning of each year, like you've shed your skin and the person you were only a few days ago is now just some sort of you-shaped husk left discarded on the linear highway to bigger, better things."

I'm baaaaack

2009-12-08T22:52:00.000-08:00

I thought maybe it was time to get back to this blog. So a quick recap of the last couple of months and then I will try be regular again.

I finished the 8 week beginner healthy weight program at 3.5kg less and started the intermediate program. Finished that having a total loss over the 16 weeks at 6 and a bit KGs.

After that I contemplated my next move but continued to gym and eat healthy. I decided 3 weeks ago to join Weight Watchers and yesterday (Tuesday 08 12 2009) to hire a personal trainer (after a free session where he kicked my ass so bad)

So now I am back with a vengeance. I will be training with him 3 days a week and I just know that the eating will go right because I know from the Healthy Weight experience that if it doesnt I wont make it through a session.

The other thing is, because of the cost of a PT we gonna be eating out a lot less which is great. We slacked a little recently and its not just heavy on the pocket but not so great for the weight loss either. You can make a healthy choice from the menu but there is no way to control how its cooked. How much oil they use, is their butter in there, etc.

so my last weight in was 116.4, lets see how the week goes.

I've been bad

2009-09-20T03:47:00.001-07:00

... at blogging that is. On the program front the 8 weeks are over and the total weightloss was 3.5Kg!! yay!

Will put my full stats up later.

News is I started the 8 week Intermediate program and am continuing to drop

The other thing I wanted to share was this:

day 21: Rest day and more Con

2009-08-24T01:31:00.000-07:00

Breakfast: pita bread with mature cheddar. Monster energy drink
Snack: baked pretzels
Lunch: nando's chicken liver starter and 3 wings
Snack: mac and cheese
Supper: monster energy drink, nando's chicken burger 1 slice of bread with cheese

More con. For lunch I ordered with my eyes and with my old appetite. I ate only half of my order for lunch and kept the other half for supper.

Not much sleep was had this weekend, hence all the energy drinks

Day 20: Rest and Con day

2009-08-24T01:27:00.000-07:00

Breakfast: cappuccino muffin and low fat choc milk
Snack: hot dog and wine gums
Lunch: sushi roll platter
Snack: crackers and a monster energy drink
Supper: 2 mini frikadels, 2 chicken nuggets, 2 chicken meat balls, 2 mini quiches.

First day of dragonfire and as predicted the eating was naughty. Oh well, I resigned myself to this when I signed up

Day 19: Rest day

2009-08-24T01:20:00.000-07:00

First off my food diary for today:

Breakfast: all bran + granola with low fat milk
Snack: hot chocolate with cream
Lunch: 1/2 portion spinach and feta lasagne
Snack: pVM bar
Supper: I dont remember, there was challa but other then that...(no I forgot to write it down, bad hila

Spent the day running around town, looking at wedding venues and going to the waterfront.

Day 18: Exercise Day

2009-08-24T01:09:00.000-07:00

My food diary for today:

Breakfast: peanut butter and honey on low gi
Snack: PvM bar
Lunch: boiled egg and avo on low gi
Snack: mineola
Supper: rump steak and wedges

Tonights exercise:

Warm up:
4 laps of track
Stretch
6 stations 2 mins each,
Stations:
1.Step
2.Track (I did bike instead)
3.Shuttles (I did lunges instead)
4.Sit-to-stands
5.Ladder and jog (I did squats)
6.Bike
Mat work between each station, 3 of these 2 sets of 15
Mat Work:
Ankle taps
Plank
Supermans
Back extensions
Side plank
Leg abduction
Oblique tilts
Pike
90 degree crunches
Roll ups
Bicycle crunches
Modified crunches
0-45-90 crunches
Toe touches
Static holds
Cross body crunches
Jackknives
Back extension progressions
Cooldown:
bicycle
cool down stretches

Total workout time: 01:07:₀₅
Max HR: 170
Avg HR: 132
Total Calories burned: 534 (50% fat)

A friend came to stay with us from JHB and the weekend was spend roleplaying at a con so bad bad Hila for the next couple of posts

Day 17: Exercise Day

2009-08-24T00:53:00.000-07:00

My food diary for today:

Breakfast: all bran flakes + granola with low fat milk
Snack: yogbar
Lunch: peanut butter sandwhich
Snack: peanuts and biltong
Supper: baked meatballs, rice and salad

Tonights exercise:

Warm up:
5 min bike
Stretch
We did 2 circuits, cardio in between, ab work and cardio to cool down. Each exercise lasted for 45 seconds
Circuit #1:
Pezzi roll ups
Lateral step overs on airex
Russian twists
Quick steps
Rocket bag squats
Stretch cable squats
Circuit #2:
Hedgehog bridging (supine)
Close grip push ups on airex
Calf raises
Band pull
Isometric wall squat
Stretch cable bicep curls
Cardio:
bicycle
Abdominals:
Cross body crunches
Supermans
Plank
Static ab hold
Cooldown:
bicycle
cool down stretches

Total workout time: 01:17:₁₀
Max HR: 178
Avg HR: 140
Total Calories burned: 693 (45% fat)

Quick note

2009-08-24T00:43:00.000-07:00

to say sorry to those who follow my blog and havent seen anything of late. I am going to be doing a bulk update.

I guess blogging is something you do in waves, which is easier to handle when you are not doing a set day by day update and is felt quite pointedly when the kind of blog is one that is supposed to be updated every day

So I am sorry. Hopefully I dont do this again.

Day 16: walk in the woods day

2009-08-05T00:14:00.000-07:00

First off my food diary for today:

Breakfast: 3/4 cup of oats, 1/2 cup milk and 1 ts butter
Snack: raw peanuts and biltong
Lunch: left over spagbol
Snack: raw peanuts and biltong
Supper: 4 tuna and prawn rainbow rolls, 1 tuna handroll, 1 prawn handroll, 2 pc tuna sashimi, 2 piece tuna nigiri, 1 veg california roll, 4 tuna and prawn california rolls, 2 inari, 4 tamago.

Todays exercise:

Walk:
We went for a walk outside. Up deer park drive into deer park, across to what used to e there reservoir there when I was at school.

My stats for today:

Total workout time: 00:38:₃₄
Max HR: 166
Avg HR: 129
Total Calories burned: 298 (50% fat)

This week I have taken on the Operation Fat Blasters misssion to do something new 3 times. Walking or working out outside was what I picked and today was the first of the 3. Unfortunately the weather is not playing along and since the evening it has been pissing rain. Will see what the rest of the week is like

Day 15: Exercise Day and Weigh-in

2009-08-04T03:09:00.000-07:00

Week 2 roundup:

total training days: 4
total training hours: 3:57:₅₂
total calories burned: 2378

My food diary for today:

Breakfast: peanut butter and jam on low GI bread
Snack: Clementine
Lunch: 1 cup leak and potato soup with 2 slices of bread
Snack: raw peanuts
Supper: 2 pc tuna nigiri, 4 pc rainbow roll, 3 piece omlette roll, 1 tuna handroll, 1 tamago nigiri, 2 pc inari with tamago

Tonights exercise:

Warm up:
10 minute cycyle on lvl 2 and 3
warm up stretches

Circuit:
Each station lasted 40 seconns, we did the stations twice with 4 laps around the curcuit between them
Station 1: squats
Station 2: sit to stand with sponge under feet
Station 3: tricep dips
Station 4: push ups
Station 5: step ups with front and lateral dumbbell lifts
Station 6: step ups onto bosu ball with bicep curls
Station 7: modified crunches
Station 8: calf raises
After the second set we did 5 minuts on the bike at lvl3

Core Mat Work
12 x modified crunches
12 x back extentions
12 x ankle taps
12 x "reaching for your shoelaces" (dunno what they called)
12 x 0° crunches
12 x 45° crunches
12 x 90° crunches
30 second plank
15 second side plan (on each side)
12 x cross body crunches

Cool Down
4 laps around track
cool down stretches

It was a great workout. Lots of fun. My stats for today:

Total workout time: 01:15:₄₄
Max HR: 177
Avg HR: 148
Total Calories burned: 744 (40% fat)

We also had our assessment today and I have lost another 600g which brings my total weightloss since starting the program to 1.9kg

yay me and here is to another fantastic week!

Day 14: rest day (read: ate too much day)

2009-08-03T01:22:00.000-07:00

First off my food diary for today:

Breakfast: scrambled eggs on a bagel
Snack: puff pastry pocked filled with spinach and brie
Lunch: springbok hind leg, courgettes, carrots, sweetpotatoes, cranberrie and apple jam, baby new potatoes, greenbeams, chicken liver pate and peppermint crisp tart
Snack: popcorn
Supper: none

Sunday was bad eating wise, we were supposed to go out for breakfast too but our guests got food poisoning so we skipped that evilness. My scrambled eggs at home we much healthier. Then we went to freinds for lunch. In all fairness to them the dessert was of my making although I used a lot less caramel treat then normally used but it was a decedant and evil dessert. I expect tomorrows weigh in to be up and not down just from what I ate last night and today.

Day 13: Seminar and own exercise day

2009-08-03T01:08:00.000-07:00

First off my food diary for today:

Breakfast: herbalife shake with blanched almonds
Snack: 2 fruit snacks
Lunch: smoked chicken on low gi bread with mustard
Snack: cashew nuts and chips
Supper: 4 slices home baked bread (baked by me) 2 with homemade pate (made by me) and 2 with avo. (weekends still remain a difficult time to break the habit of eating wrong. Its a little like smoking)

Todays exercise:

Warm up:
7 minutes on the bike
2 sets of:
12 push ups
12 back extensions
12 pull downs
12 squats
12 crunches

Crossfit:
21 - 18 - 15 of
Station 1: deadlifts (20kg)
Station 2: dumbell swings (10kg)
Station 3: push ups
each set was followed by 2 minutes on the treadmill at speed 5.5
Cool Down
7 minutes on the treadmill
cool down stretches

My stats for today:

Total workout time: 00:49:₁₂
Max HR: 186
Avg HR: 151
Total Calories burned: 503 (40% fat)

From next week I am going to seeif I can add something on sundays. Next weekend is dragonfire. Will have to gym early in the morning to get something in but it's worth it.

The seminar at Sport's science was very intresting. I was told things I already knew and some things I didnt know. What it did bring to light is how much misinformation people have about what they are doing.

day 12: Rest day

2009-08-03T01:01:00.000-07:00

First off My food diary for today:

Breakfast: yogisip (I get the ones in the carton, they just seem so much more satisfying)
Snack: yogbar
Lunch: smoked chicken on low gi bread with mustard
Snack: yogbar
Supper: minestrone soup (i didnt take pictures but I will give you the recipe soon), bolognese with pasta shells, 1 baked apple (will give the recipe too for this great dessert)

I am trying my best to make every meal better. Even if we eat more in that meal then we are meant to I try to make so its not as fatty as it used to be. Friday nights are a classic example. We will have big meal on friday night because that is the tradition but it doesnt mean it has to be decadent to the point of fattyness.

day 11: exercise day

2009-08-03T00:30:00.000-07:00

My food diary for today:

Breakfast: peanutbutter and hoeny on low gi
Snack: 2 rusks
Lunch: 3 tuna roses, 4 tuna nigiri, 3 tuna sashimi, 6 tuna maki,2 veg california, 2 inari
Snack: yogbar
Supper: Vitality meal

Tonights exercise:

Warm up:
6 laps of track (fast straights, slow bends)
warm up stretches

Conditioning:
3 stations, 5 minutes at each station and ab workout between.
Station 1: Stepping (Varied intensity)
Station 2: 20m Shuttles (Jogging or Brisk Walking)
Station 3: Cycling (Level 2 >75 RPM)
When we were done with all the stations we did them again but 2 minutes each and with upped intensity
Abdominal Conditioning:
each exercise was 3 sets of 15 reps
exercise 1: modified crunches
exercise 2: back extensions
exercise 3: ankle taps
exercise 4: 3 way crunches (hands between legs, hands at 45° and hands at 90°)
exercise 5: cycling crunches

Cool Down
6 laps of track (fast straights, slow bends)I did this part on the bycicle. Just followed my sister. When she ran I brought my revs up over 90rpm and when she walked I cycled at over 70RPM
cool down stretches

Claudia did the workout today and she was fun. Energetic and encouraging.
My stats for today:

Total workout time: 00:55:₁₁
Max HR: 187
Avg HR: 151
Total Calories burned: 564 (40% fat)

Movie night was fun. The movie was craptastic so we MST3ked it. Was good having a new person there too.

Day 9: Rest Day

2009-07-28T12:45:00.000-07:00

Food Diary

Breakfast: 1 peanut butter and jam sandwich
Snack: 30g dried apple and mango
Lunch: Salad with avo and haloumi
Snack: 50g gummi bears
Supper: approx. 120g steak and a medium baked potato with yoghurt and chives (recipe to follow when I find my camera cable)

Took a rest day today. Was busy with helping Jack spread the word about his business and getting some stuff done in that regard. I will add more workout days as the weeks go on but I also need to not injure myself.

Tomorrow, hopefully, will be fun. I enjoy the SSISA workouts and its fun training as a group.

Weightloss Tip #2

2009-07-28T03:27:00.000-07:00

Keep a Food Diary

Most people are probably going "yes, yes I know this one" but let me tell you why I think this time its working:

1. Seeing things written down always makes the more real. If you havent written it down then that slice of cake or double cheese burger can easily never have existed.

2.Be 100% honest or it wont work. The idea is to show yourself exactly where you are going wrong so you can change the way you eat. If you cheat you are only cheating yourself.

3. If you know what you've eaten you know how hard you have to work at gym.

4. Having a history shows you exactly how far you have come :)

Day 8: Exercise day and Weigh-in

2009-07-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

Today is monday and my nifty HR monitor gives me a weekly roundup every monday, so every monday I will blog it.

Week 1 roundup:

total training days: 4
total training hours: 3:22:₃₈
total calories burned: 1872

My food diary for today:

Breakfast: 1 cup millie-pap, 1tsp butter, 1/2 cup milk
Snack: 30g dried apple
Lunch: 1 tuna handroll, 4 pcs spicey tuna inside out, 6 pcs rainbow roll (tuna out, prawn in)
Snack: 1/2 cup pickled beetroot
Supper: 2 pcs prawn inside out, 2 pcs tuna inside out, 3 pcs tuna bamboo roll, 48 pieces rainbow roll (4 with tuna in and prawn out and 4 with tuna out and prawn in)

Tonights exercise:

Warm up:
10 minute walk around the track
warm up stretches

Conditioning:
Station 1: Alternate Front-Lateral Raises
Station 2: Alternating Arm lifts
Station 3: Calf Raises
Station 4: Stretch Cable Bicep Curls
Station 5: Cycle
Station 6: Stretch Cable row
Station 7: Squats
Station 8: Tricep dips
Station 9: Sit-to-Stands
Station 10: Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Station 11: Straight leg Raises
Every 3rd station, walk 1 lap and a water break.

We did one full circuit and then 2 more stations.

Core Mat Work
10 x modified crunches
10 x 90° crunches
20 x ankle taps

Cool Down
3 laps around track
cool down stretches

It was a great workout. Lots of fun. My stats for today:

Total workout time: 01:04:₁₉
Max HR: 180
Avg HR: 143
Total Calories burned: 594 (45% fat)

We also had our assessment today and I have lost another 800g which brings my total weightloss since starting the program to 1.3kg Thats almost 3 blocks of butter.

yay me and here is to another fantastic week!

Weight-loss tip

2009-07-27T00:50:00.000-07:00

As I come across tips that help me with my process I will post them here to help those follwoing me too.

Today's tip is:
Slice your fruit up

There are several reasons and I discover more every so often from other people who use the tip:

1. It's easier to eat with 1 hand. A lot of the time we pick snacks that are easy to eat while we work, packet of chips, buscuits, etc. Small things you can use one hand to eat. So make your fruit easy to eat.

2. Less messy. If you orange is already cut up, your apple already slices or your naartjie already segmented you are unlikely to make a mess on your desk. No juices dripping down your chin as you take a bite. No rind stuck under your fingernails.

3. This one courtesy of *trix . Cutting them into certain shapes that mimic other junk foods. For example, slice your apple thinly like chips.

Day 7: rest day

2009-07-27T00:39:00.000-07:00

I think I will blog in the evenings from now on so each day has its diary and exercise

Sundays food diary:

Breakfast: 1 cup plain yoghurt, 1 tbls almonds, 1 tbls cranberries, 1 tbls honey
Snack: Grannysmith apple
Lunch: sandwitch with avo
snack: pickled beetroot
Supper: Chinese style noodles with chicken, sugersnaps, baby corn, spring onion, red peppers and almonds

Did lots of sitting on the couch and watching torchwood and not much else. Feeling sorry for myself because its that time of the month. I didnt do the "I am bored lets eat everything in the house" thing I usually do on days like that so it was a positive day in the end :)

Day 6: rest day but we did something

2009-07-27T00:15:00.000-07:00

Lets begin with the usual, friday's food diary:

Breakfast: 2 half moons (I over slept so had to grab what I could find)
Snack: none
Lunch: bagel with peanust butter,2 half moons and mini pie (friday isnt looking too good)
Snack: koeksiter, clementine and a bagel chip
supper 1 bowl of hummus, mince, tahina and chick peas. tbls olive oil and 2 pita breads. 1 small slice custard tart

Saturday was a rush in the morning again. But w made it just in time. We had a great brocha sponsored by my dad and then went to gym.

Saturday's food diary:

Breakfast: blueberrie muffin
Snack: 1 piece of quiche and 1 piece of cheesecake (the only things from the brocha that were not fish)
Lunch: 1/4 cup baked beans and 2 medium boiled eggs
Snack: 2 zinger iwngs, 5 strawberries, 5 sugarsnaps, 2 mini corns
Supper: 1/4 chicken from nando's and 5 chips

It has been a while since I trained with Jack but it was good. we did:

10 minute warm up (5 minutes on lvl3, 4 minutes on lvl5, 1 minute lvl2)
warm up stretches
50 x
pull downs
step ups
push presses
dead lifts
ab exercises

2 laps around the pool (walking) to coool down
cool down stretches

we did 43 minutes and 11 seconds, burnt 430cal (of which 40% was fat)and my avg heart rate was 150bpm(185bpm was my max)

Day 5: Rest day

2009-07-25T05:57:00.000-07:00

Naughty Hila not blogging on the weekend. But it was a busy and I was lazy. So here are Thursdays things first:

Food Diary:
Breakfast: 3/4 cup oats, 1 tbs honey, 1 tbs milk
Snack: Koeksister (the muslim kind) and a chilli bite
Lunch: Greek Salad, 1/2 pizza bianca
Snack: none
Supper: 2 bagels, 1 with rare roast beef, mustard and pickles. 1 split in half 1 side feta and 1 side avo, 2 chilli bitesm 1 samoosa 1 half moon and 1 koeksister

I drank 2 glasses of tab, 1 Ice tea, 1l water

The workout was awesome, it was our first full work out:

Warm-up:
Cycling (10 min)
Start @ Level 2 RPM >75 for 2min – After 2min increase to Level 3 for 30sec

Stretching Routine

Strength and Conditioning:

Exercise 1: 1 min
Band Pull
Modified Crunches 2 x 15

Exercise 2: 1 min
Squats
90 Degree Crunches 2 x 15

Exercise 3: 1 min
Band Shoulder Flexion
Ankle Taps 2 x 15

Exercise 4: 1 min
Side Lying Leg Abduction
Back Extensions 2 x 15

Exercise 5: 1 min
Tricep Dips
Bicycle Crunches 1 x 30s

Exercise 6: 1 min
Push-Ups Tri-angle
45 deg crunches 2 x 15

Exercise 7: 1 min
Band Lat Pulldown

2 Laps Between Each Pair of Exercises

Cardiovascular Cool-Down:
2 Laps Track

Stretch

The exercise lasted 1 houre, 16 minutes and 33 seconds. I burned 701cal of which 45% was fat and my avg heart rate was 142bpm(180bpm was my max).

We also had out weigh in and I am happy to say I lost 500g

friday was an easy day, went to the hairdresser to have my hair made pretty for Jack's big day, then went on shopping errands with my mom.

Came home and had lunch and played a little on the PC till Jack came back, then continued to play on the PC. We went to the synagoge and watched the lovely ceremony, followed by the regular synagoge service. It was really nice having the whole family there :)

Supper was Jack's favourite. Hummus with meat. Followed by an evil custard tart (I only had a small piece but a full food diary will be in the next post)

It was good to have a day off, after 2 days of exercising with only a bit of walikng around in sea point.

Day 4: Exercise Day and Weigh in

2009-07-22T23:26:00.000-07:00

My food diary for yesterday looks like this:

Breakfast - 1slice of pumpkin and sesame seed rye & sourdough mix bread with an avo and boiled egg mush (I made a whole sandwich with 2 slices but could only finish half)
Snack - Greek Salad
Lunch - Chicken breast with pineapple and chips(I know I shouldn't have but they were crispy and there)
Supper - 4pc Rainbow Roll (tuna out, prawn in), 2pc tuna sashimi, 2 tuna handrolls, 1 inari nigiri with tamago ontop.

I got through about 2l of water.

Yesterdays workout was fun but easy:
We did what they call a 12 minute motion tests. Fro 12 minutes you walk/run around a track and count how many laps you do and they calculate how many km's you did. Then at the end of the program you do that again. I cannot walk/run for extended periods because of shin splints so I got to hop on a bike and ride. Covered 8,35km in the 12 minutes which apparently isnt bad. We did some stretches and then went to the blue floor and did some exercises.

First was 2 sets of 15 "sit to stands". It is what it says it is , you sit and stand. All the while keeping your tummy tucked in or activate your stomach muscles , chin up, chest out, bum out and head straight.

This was followed by 2 sets of 15 "sitting leg raises". Which again is exactly what is says. You bend one leg and straighten out the other, then in the same activated position from the previous exercise you lift your straight leg off the floor and go up and dopwn keeping it from touching the floor.

These were followed by 2 set of 15 calf raises. 1 set done with feet parallel and 1 set split into 5 with pigeon toes, 5 with parallell feet and 5 with "duck" feet.

We went back to the sit to stands and the sitting leg raises and did 1 superset of 20 each (20 sit to stands and 20 each leg for the sitting leg raises)

We then pop down on the mats and did a diffrent kind of leg raise whose name I cannot remember. Basically though you lie on your side, the leg at the bottom gets bent and the leg ontop is straight and slightly infront of the leg thats bent. You lift that leg and there are 3 possible actions: move, hold and pulse. I think these were the ones I felt the most, although I had to go into the hardest position to feel it.

We then got hold of some terrabands wich are just long pieces of rubber.

The first 2 sets of 15 we held the bands horizontally at shoulder width, in the activated position and pull your arms as far apart (obviously keeping form). The second 2 sets of 15, 1 on each leg, you place the one side of the band on the floor and step on it. The other side you roll up till there is tention in it when your arm is relaces and then you lift your arm to shoulder height.

To cool down when walked twice around the track (I can walk to cool down) and some stretches.

I forgot to metion that when we go thtere I hopped on a bike already while waiting for the Bio to arrive so the whole workout lasted 1 hour (I paused my HR monitor while he explained the 12 minute motion) and I burned 569cal (45% of which were fat)

Yes, we had sushi for supper again. It really works out cheaper then cooking and especially with limiting our intake.

Today I spend the day with skylark. I dont know what we are going to do other then going to buy things for the Deli dinner we are having tonight. Will keep you posted cause tonight we are exercising and doing a weigh in.

Day 3: Exercise Day

2009-07-22T08:33:00.000-07:00

So to finish off Day 2 first:

My food diary looks like this:

Breakfast - 1 cup all bran + granola, 1 cup milk
Snack - 1 Grannysmith apple (will teach you a trick later)
Lunch - Tuna pasta (recipe later)
Snack - 1 piece of biltong, 1 decedant hot chocolate (oops!), 1 small piece of rye bread, chilli and lime nachos and feta guac (waiting for supper to be ready)
Supper - mince and veg pasta bake and a tomato, lettuce and feta salad with olive oil and balsamic dressing (*trix made it, yum yum)

I got through about 2l of water.

We never did any exersise, instead we sat at home tilla bout 2:30 then took a drive out to Paarl long the R300. Stopped at fairview for coffee (I planned to have tea, meanwhilke Jack ordered me a decadent Hot Chocolate) and bought a loaf of sesame and pumpkin seed rye, sourdough mix. We visited Jack's cousin on Picardie Guest Farm and chatted till about 6 then headed off to *trix's for supper.

It was a great night chatting to friends about anything and everything and as usual had to pull ourselves away from conversation, holding onto it till we stepped over the threshold. The silly body corporate in their block say the gate locks at 11:00 but we discovered it actually locks at 10:30 so had a nice brisk walk in the chilled air.

It was a nice day.

Today has been a busy day. This morning Jack had the final stage of his conversion test and it went very well. We said the blessing for good news and then went to the waterfront to check mail and do some essentials shopping. From there we went to town to get Jack's tourism card and while he did that I popped into Jewel Tree to chat to Peter about my wedding band. Jack came in and conversation about the economy followed.

From there we went to house of monatic to find a nice pair of pants for Jack and then off to plumstead where we went to meet some friends for a light lunch.

All the while I have been pulling my pants up. I need to take them to a seemstress to have the belt rings fixed(they broke from pulling up so much) and have an elastic put in

Now I am waiting to be dropped off at my parents so we can go to gym :)

Tomorrow I spend the day with skylark...sooooooooooo excited :)

Day 2: Non program day

2009-07-21T00:45:00.000-07:00

So to finish off Day 1 first:

My food diary looks like this:

Breakfast - 2/3 of a cup of cooked oats, 1 tbls honey, 1 tbls milk
Snack - 2 pieces (30g) dried peaches
Lunch - Shaved chicken on Low Gi bread
Snack - protein bar
Supper - 8 pieces tuna rainbow roll with prawn inside, 1 handroll, 3 pieces omlette roll, 2 pieces inari with tamago on top. 1 piece of tuna sashimi

I got through about 2l of water.

For those of you who have seen me eat sushi, it may suprised you how restrained I was with my sushi. Only 5 plates.

the workout last night was brief. There was a lot more talking about the program, introductions and the like so we only got in 19 minutes of exercise, 10 minutes on the bike and 2 sets of modified crunches. still 172 calories is not nothing so a little bit was done.

Chad our bio kenetisist is very enthusiastic and nice and it should be fun having someone training us.

The group is varied, from people who NEED to lose the weight to people who want to. Some very interesting cases around.

Onward to today:

We were supposed to go play in the snow but my sister called a very irrate restaurant owner last night out ceres way and he told her there was no snow. So we need to find something elkse to do. We will likely go to gym (although the bike the have at SSISA mad me sore *down there*). Even though we have planned sessions 3 times a week, we are going to try and increase that on our own to get better results.

After all my goal is to lose between 7 and 10kg and whole lot of cm

Day 1: 1st Exercise Day

2009-07-20T01:43:00.000-07:00

Today is the 1st day of a 8 week program I signed up for. The Healthy Weight program from the Sports Science institute did some wonderful things for the rest of the family and so this time around when they asked me to join them I said yes. After all I have a wedding dress to fit into next year.

This blog is going to be about the program, what we do, what I eat, recipes and general other stuff because I believe mood has a lot to do with my eating habit and so it will also give me a way to look back and track my mood through the process.

Tonight we have our first exercise session and it should be interesting to try something new. I also took a trip down to my local PnP to stock up on healthy snacks and lunch foods.

I have discovered now that 1 cup of cooked oats is too much for me, which kinda makes me happy. I didnt add butter to them either because I am saving my far servings for tonight, for sushi.

Wish me luck