Progress update

Today is a week since I threw myself properly into this lifestyle change. I’ve done at least an hour of exercise every day – on my rest day that was walking, on every other day it’s included a workout DVD, walking and, on Tuesday, an hour of stretch class. In the process I’ve tried several different programs, and bought a couple; most of them I’ve already reviewed, and there are a couple of reviews coming, including a workout I’m not yet close to ready for! And in the evenings, while watching TV, I do a little resistance exercise with bands – only a few reps, not for hours on end.
I’ve also made a greater effort with my diet, though not to the extent of calorie counting. The day usually starts with a mug of green or white leaf tea with a squeeze of lime juice and a handful of raisins (according to RealAge.com these increase fat burn during exercise). Breakfast has been either porridge with a couple of dates, or a couple of Weetbix with a handful (50g) of Coles’ low fat muesli, both with low-fat soy or brown rice milk as I’m trying to lower my intake of saturated fat.
I’ve had more fish than usual, partly because I found a couple of trays reduced for quick sale at Coles and partly because this month’s edition of the Healthy Food Guide reported research that demonstrated a connection between omega-3 intake and weight loss when combined with exercise (but not on its own – the exercise in question was 45 minutes of jogging three times a week, which isn’t on my plan just yet). In addition to my usual favourite (a Jamie Oliver dish that baked salmon with green beans, cherry tomatoes, anchovies and olives, which I used to hate but am trying to embrace) I’ve been experimenting with one of Michelle Bridges’ 12WBT recipes. I coat a piece of white fish with a marinade of soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and ginger pastes, a hint of chilli and a teaspoon of honey, then wrap it in foil with some spinach on top (otherwise it gets soggy) and a handful of cherry tomatoes, before baking in a hot over for about twelve minutes – quite yummy.
I’ve avoided the evil whites – rice, flour, sugar and potatoes – but really could have ramped up the vegies a bit more. I’ve also had too many snacks – the Nestlé diet desserts range may only average 100 calories each but I need to keep them as treats and snack on other things more often.
So how has this affected my results? Since my weigh in last week I’ve lost 1.3k, which is no Biggest Loser result but nothing to be ashamed of, even if I was hoping for something a little more spectacular. Though my bust measurement has inexplicably increased by 1cm since March 1st (could I have measured wrong then? It was a big drop from my January 1st bust measurement), I’ve lost 6cm from my measured-properly waist (and 4.5cm from my incorrect-measurement-at the-narrowest-part waist) and 5cm from my measured-properly hips (3cm on my incorrectly-measured hips), 7cm combined from my upper arms, and no change on my thighs.
I’m not concerned, at the moment anyway, about being able to continue on the diet part of my new regimen, and though I doubt I’ll any time soon be springing eagerly out of bed to work out I think I can keep up the exercise until I get back to work, by which time I hope it’ll be a part of my daily routine.
I’m a little concerned, though, that the workouts seem to be getting harder – this morning I did a forty minute walking DVD (review tomorrow), and planned to follow it by the Jennie Garth program for a total of 80 minutes of more vigorous exercise, with a little walking thrown in this afternoon. Instead I flaked it about half way through the second DVD, after the aerobic and leg section but before the ab workout and cool down. I was hot and sweaty and just spent. And I was a little distressed to find that despite – or possibly because of – my recent exercise I’m considerably less flexible than I was a couple of weeks ago. When I started the 12WBT I was able to reach about 6cm past my toes, but today I could barely grasp my ankles, even though I did a stretch routine only a couple of days ago. And I’m about ready to stop being quite so stiff and achy – getting up off the floor’s one thing, but sometimes I have to brace myself before getting off a bench.
I don’t think the answer is to slow down on the amount of exercise, and maybe it’s just that I expected the walking DVD to be less intense than it unexpectedly was and therefore went a little hard. Starting tomorrow I’ll start tracking calories again through Calorie King, so I have a better idea of what I’m actually eating. I’ll also look at buying a pulse monitor thing (12WBT have an offer with Polar that’s valid for another few days, I think) so I know more accurately how many calories I’m burning. I’ve already thought about buying a step bench, for a workout I hope to be able to try in May. And I’m hoping that next week’s weigh in (on Wednesday) will be at least as positive as this weeks - Alex