Ignoring the "Rules"

As I leave the year heavier than I entered it, it is blatantly obvious that whatever I've been doing hasn't worked. So this coming year I'm doing something different. I am going to ignore all the received dieting wisdom and break every "rule" I'm aware of.

1. I will not count calories.
2. I will not limit fat
3. I will not exercise regularly
4. I will not keep a food diary
5. I will not drink copious amounts of water
6. I will weigh myself daily
7. If the mood strikes me I will attempt a rapid loss (ie crash) diet

 Now let's see what happens.
If I am not at my goal weight by December 31 2013 I will settle for remaining steady at whatever weight I am on that date. One way or another this year is the end of my struggle with weight.

It's Gotta Be More Than Simple Maths

The experts tell us that losing weight is basic maths.
Calories in < calories out = weight loss.
Really? That's the whole of it?
A calorie is a calorie is a calorie.
I call bullshit!
That's not to say this simple formula doesn't work. It does. I've used it dozen's of times and I've lost weight with it dozens of times: for a while. And then...it stops working.
In dieting circles it's called a plateau. Suddenly the maths stops adding up (or in this case down). Every time I've lost weight I get to a certain point where my body stops responding and I start trying to make it fall back into line. I've followed advice such as eat more, eat less, eat different foods, exercise more, exercise less, exercise differently, get more sleep, focus the mind. On and on it goes. But nothing I've ever done has gotten the weight much lower than this "set point".
It's beyond frustrating-it's infuriating. I'm doing all the "right"things month after month and the results aren't forthcoming. There is no reward for all the effort.
If the maths worked I'd have been back at my prepregnancy weight well before my children hit their teens. And my guess is I'm not alone there.
I've been tempted lately to just give up and accept that I'm a fat, unfit, middle aged housewife and let myself slide into menopause and age gracefully if chubbily. But part of me refuses to accept that fate and a larger part of me knows with my caring responsibilities it's not an option anyway.
Losing weight and gaining fitness is a long, hard and, let's be honest, self indulgent, process. I wish I had the unlimited time to focus on nothing but my own needs. But I can't keep at it indefinitely, particularly if there is little progress to be seen. I find it discouraging and the support of those around me wanes as nothing seems to change-which must be due to my lack of effort: after all it's simple maths and I'm an intelligent woman.
There's got to be more to it than basic maths, experience tells me it's not that simple.

Challenge Completed

Just a quick fly by to report that I did finish the 50 day sugar free challenge. Since then a bit of sugar has returned to my diet though it wasn't the result of desperate sweet cravings, more a lessening of vigilance on my part. Interestingly in the week or so since I've been back on sugar I have noticed a slight increase in lethargy, a general acheyness and decrease in hunger signals. So I've decided to make low/no sugar a lifestyle.

No Sugar Challenge-Half Way

It's day 25 of the no sugar challenge-I'm officially half way through and it's been a lot easier than I thought it would.
While I still miss my condiments, the sugar cravings I thought would come, haven't eventuated. Don't get me wrong. I still fancy the occasional sugary food but resistance is easy. The desire for sugar is a simple mmm...I wouldn't mind a bit of that, rather than a mind obsessing craving for something, anything, sweet.
An interesting side effect-
In the last couple of days I've begun to feel hungry. Not often but definitely. This is something that hasn't happened in years. It has been a bit strange in as much as it doesn't creep up on me. It's just like one minute I'm not hungry or thinking of food and the next I'm starving fit to gnaw my own arm off. And it stays with me until I eat something. I'm really pleased. Once this settles down it will be a lot easier to follow the intuitive eating philosophy.
While the point of this challenge isn't weight loss it has been a pleasant side effect. I'm satisfied to be able to report that my weight has stabilized and started to, very slowly, reduce.

No Sugar Challenge-10 Days Down

It's been ten days since I started the no sugar challenge and so far, so good.
I was off to a rough start when the end of the first day saw the temptation of baked lemon tart. I passed on it but it was quite the trial. I really thought about going for it and starting the challenge the following morning but I reminded myself that there would always be something sugary on offer and I would probably regret the action as soon as it was over. So often things aren't anywhere near as nice as you think they'll be. Having cleared that hurdle I've not had any trouble resisting temptation since. The only food I really miss are condiments and I'm getting used to going without or using sugar free substitutes (usually vinegar or gravy).
The initial struggle has been worth it-I have stopped that creeping weight gain.
Only 40 days to go.

No Sugar Challenge

I come from a long line of type 2 diabetics. (Cheers, forebears) Knowing my age and weight increase my chances of inheriting the family legacy last year I significantly reduced my sugar intake.
Things were going well but lately stress has seen sugar and refined carbs creep back into my diet...in some cases explode back would be a more accurate phrase.
In an attempt to get things back on track I have decided to join Natalie Carter's No Sugar Challenge.
50 days sugar free sounds like a hard slog but my experience was that hunting down the hidden sugar in food was more difficult than not the loss of sweetness.
Why not join me and give it a go.-Lynn

Off the shelf

Since I last blogged I've hit a, not entirely unexpected, plateau and now my weight has began a slow creep up. In an effort to discover what I might be able to do about it, I hit the health shelves at my local library. There I found three books that looked like they might be of some help.

1. Dr Sandra Cobot: The Body Shaping Diet. According to the back of the book All women's bodies belong to one of four types. These determine your trouble spots, and the foods that spell danger for your figure...With your own simple never-feel-hungry-body shaping diet plan, you'll dicover the tools to attack those problem areas and overcome uyour cravings. And as well as fighting the flab, you'll learn how to banish cellutlite, boost your immune system and eat for a healthy heart. I admit upfront that I only read through the section related to my body type (gynaeoid), so cannot comment on the whole book. What I found was a suggestion to avoid fats, sugars and refined foods in general (nothing new here). And a recommendation to keep to approximately 1000 calories a day while trying to lose weight. Hmmm. At least the role of hormones in weight gain and distribution is explained a bit.
2. Edward Abramson: Body Intelligence. In this book Dr. Abramson helps you identify the emotional and psychological knots that keep you tied up in an unhappy cycle of dieting and guilty overeating. More important, he arms you with a simple, three-step program for opening your mind and transforming your body-without diets. I skimmed through this book which is basically about emotional eating, and to be honest didn't read anything I haven't read before. While I believe the psychological aspects of eating play a huge role in weight gain, I don't know that any book can go a long way toward dealing with those issues, since books must by their very nature be general and cannot address any specific issues in detail. It was nice to see it acknowleged that exercise is more difficult for larger people and that overeating isn't only due to hunger but anybody who has ever struggled with weight could have told you that.
3. Villepigue & Rivera: The Boldy Sculpting Bible for Women. This comprehensive guide includes not only exercises but also nutrional tips, psychological tricks, meal charts, workout graphs, different fitness plans, the inside scoop on supplements and vitamins, advice on keeping fit while traveling and fitness information for teens, seniors and expectant mothers. This book sings the praises of weight training intervals, and here I am something of a convert. However I quickly got bored with the repetativeness of the information presented and found myself skipping about the pages. The 14 day body sculpting program advertised prominently on the cover could be a good one but much of it requires gym access, though there are a few free weight options given.

Skimming through the pages of these books I came away with the shocking advice not to eat high fat/high sugar foods, be vigilent about eating only when hungry and exercise is best for body shaping. All stuff I already know but that seems so difficult to put into practice, especially when my efforts are not rewarded by results. And I mean sustained efforts of months, not a couple of weeks.
I know there's no simple way to achieve my weight loss goals and if nothing else this confirms that I am on the right track with what I'm doing. I just wish my body would respond in a more positive way.

How Far I've Come

The scales have been bouncing up and down between 82 and 83 kg for the past six weeks. It's incredibly frustrating, eating well and exercising and seeing no payoff for the effort. I know plateau are to be expected but that doesn't make the situation any less disheartening. I was tempted to try a second round of the kick start diet to see if I could fire things up again but thought before I did I'd reactivate my old Calorie King account. What I found there made me stop and appreciate just how much I've already achieved.
In the past couple of years I've lost over 25kg (35 if I count the 10kg I regained and relost last year). That is a great effort. Back at the start I would have been delighted to be where I am today.
I'm over half way to my ultimate goal, with only 15 or 16 kg to go. I could, realistically, be at my goal weight for Christmas.
So I am committing myself to achieving that very thing. Baby steps-first goal to get the scales moving in a downward direction again by the end of this month. I will achieve this by continuing with daily exercise at an increased intensity and closly moitoring my intake, recording it at Calorie King and eating only when really hungry. If I have made no progress by 21st of the month I will then repeat week one of the kick start diet for the last week of this month.
Further I will report my frustrations, disappointments and difficulties here rather than let them drive me to the fridge.
Goal weight here I come.

Back in the Saddle

I'm still under the influence of the cold that will not quit but it's finally reached the point where the symptoms are more aggrevating than debilitating.
Thoroughly fed up with my enforced break I decided the time had come to get on with reintroducing exercise. To that end, this morning I went out and did C25K week 1 day 1. Even though I took it slowly my impaired breathing made the effort exhausting. But I got through it. As I finished the last of the running intervals I realised that though hard the workout wasn't impossible.
I'm back, baby. Yeah!
I'm also back on solid food. Although I'm limited to soft solids I'm really appreciating texture again. The positive side of a raw sore throat is increased water consumption and a default detox. Now to go forward from here without falling back into old habits.

Still Snuffling

It's been a very long week. I'm still stuffed up, though breathing is less of a challenge and I no longer have to sleep on two pillows. My head is a constant dull ache and my throat has gone from raw to gluey. So overall I'm finally on the improve.
I've pretty much been living on chicken soup (with a good dash of thai red chilli paste to clear the sinuses), so the planned detox has happened by default.
Exercise has been limited to daily stretching. The 30 minute sessions completely wipe me out but I don't want to give up movement entirely when I'm just getting restarted.
Fingers crossed next week I'll be well enough to get back into it.

Inauspicious Start

Over the weekend I have developed a cold and I'm feeling miserable. This has thrown a bit of a spanner in the works of my renewed commitment to getting fit. At this point breathing is a bit of a challenge, running, or riding, is completely out of the question. I suppose it's a good sign that I'm feeling disappointed in this turn of events. I'm consoling myself with the knowledge that the average cold doesn't last more than a week and a bit so this is merely a delay, not an end to my plans. While I'm stuffed up and stiff I'll be focusing entirely on stretching, and if the weather is fine perhaps a bit of walking: just to re-establish the habit of getting out every day.
On the dietary front, instead of the 7 day detox kick start soup I am going for a hot chicken soup. Since my throat is so sore that swallowing hurts, soup for a week has an unanticipated appeal.

Back on track

It will come as no surprise that instead of losing the planned 2kg over the holiday break, I in fact, gained 2kg. Laying about on a beach in Fiji drinking cocktails will do that. But next week school is back and routine returns. It is time to get back on track and in an effort to do just that I have decided to so something this year that I never have before: I'm going to dedicate the entire nine weeks of first term to concentrating on my health and fitness.
In the past I have been foolish enough to think that after an extended break I can simply pick up my exercise routine from where I left off. This inevitably results in injury that puts me back even further than I was but I won't be making that mistake this time. I am devoting the first three weeks of my term indulgence to recovering my fitness levels.
To that end I am going to start the C25K from the beginning, aiming to complete the program in three weeks rather than nine, working on the assumption that I haven't totally lost all condition. On alternate days I will make use of my stationary cycle. This should have the dual benefit of increasing both my leg strength and cardio condition.
On the dietary front I am going to repeat week 1 of the 28 day kick start plan as a kind of detox-something I need after lapsing into my old sugar/processed food eating habits during the holiday break.
This weekend is to be devoted to clearing out the cupboards, making soup and loading up the mp3 player with C25K podcasts.
It all kicks off Monday!

January 31

A mixed day, really - it started well, with 40 minutes of circuit training and two of the ten-minute solution workout (boot camp and kick boxing), but the plans I had for a couple of medium walks fell through because of both running out of time (damn you, Facebook!) and tight calves. I had also planned to go to a stretch class, whcih would help with the calves and add more time in, but that all fell apart because of a friend in distress. I recently read that people aiming for weight loss need to exercise for at least an hour most days, ideally an hour and a half, so I have to lift my game for February.
My diet's still pretty good, though I really need to up the vegies again. Calorie King went down for maintenance this afternoon, so I don't know what my intake for the day has been, but I've been eating through some of my Lite'n'Easy backlog, so it shouldn't be too bad, albeit probably overly processed and too high in salt.
Off to bed, for I have a lot to do and diminishing time in which to do it before I'm back at work on Thursday night. It'll have been ten days between shifts and doesn't feel like anything more than my usual three - how quickly one adapts!
And how quickly one regresses. I had to work pretty hard int he circuit session today, and though I can feel my stength improving, my abdominal muscles persist in being more like junket than anything useful.
Tomorrow is weigh in and measuring day and I think it's probably a good time to set a fitness baseling to compare myself with at the end of the month - taking a leaf from the Excess Baggage introduction I saw last night, I'm thinking of"sit ups in a minute, pushups in a minute, how long I can hold a plank, how far I can reach to/past my toes from a sitting position, and on Thursday I'll compare and contrast cardiac recovery with a baseline I set last year. - Alex

January 30

I've dropped my work hours down for the time being, to concentrate on an industrial campaign. Hypothetically this means more time to focus on eating well and regular exercise, but the past week has been ridiculous and irritatingly sleep-deprived, albeit fun and well worth it.
Last Saturday I slept only a couple of hours after finishing work, as I had to get to a campaign meeting in the city - I set my alarm for the wrong time, which resulted in a frantic rush, but was fortunately not too hideously late. The resulting drama of it all, though left me hyped up and not able to get much sleep for the rest of the day before returning to night shift, and very little done in the way of useful exercise.
I worked as usual on Sunday night, and swam for almost an hour in Monday morning, then slept for a few hours before heading in to work for campaign-related walk arounds to lay the ground work for a couple of meetings on Tuesday - between going in early on Tuesday to roust the troops, a special guest speaker who I spent time with between the meetings, and follow up on the ground after the second meeting, that took up most of the day.
On Wednesday I had lunch with a friend. Well, it was just supposed to be lunch, but when I made noises about heading off at two she asked me to stay longer and before I knew it the whole day had gone - though, thanks to her not-very-good directions, the walk to the train station turned into a forty minute hike through scrub, which was at least a good workout.
Thursday was Australia Day, and I celebrated by going to the Australian Open with friends and colleagues. I also celebrated with three daiquiris, but thanks to a rather restrained intake managed not to burst my calorie count for the day. I sadly missed a bit of excitement, as I had to leave early for Federation Square campaigning activism, but the day was very productive.
Another early start on Friday, as a small group of us headed for country Victoria, which meant several hours each way on a bus - and a pub lunch. I made a sensible choice, of grilled fish (unfortunately crumbed nonetheless) and salad, though the Strongbow I washed it down with was not as good an option but quite delicious.
I popped in to work with some campaign paraphenalia, and on my way home got a text from a freind reminding me I was supposed to meet her and some freinds to talk about my research - a little more accidental walking (related, again, to being geographically challenged), and I was greeted with a delicious ginger mojito. That was fairly rapidly joined by a couple of very delicious black forest cocktails, bringing my usually moderate alcohol intake to quite a spike for this week.
I spent most of the weekend recovering and sleeping, so my exercise participation has been really poor and on several consecutive days I've fallen well short of the 10,000 steps per day mark.
Fortunately my diet's been quite good, particularly considering that this was a pre-menstrual week. Apart from the alcohol I had one small bag of fizzing dust (or popping candy), and a couple of small pieces of 70% chocolate, and that's it. I've even had other chocolate in the house but, though I came close to eating it, I refrained.
Now it's time to get back on track. I'm not nearly sufficiently prepared to take on the vegan month as planned, so will be putting that back until at least March, but I will be cutting back on the animal products, and getting back to the exercise. Weigh in's only a couple of days away! - Alex

Chickpea Slice

This year is all about the low sugar, low fat, low processed food. In the course of my culinary quest to achieve this I am rediscovering old recipes and trying out new ones. In the past I have always thought of chickpeas as a winter thing, mainly as an additive to soups and stews. In this summerish recipe they shine as the star of the dish.
Ingredients-
Oil spray
2-4 shallots, sliced.
I red capsicum, diced.
1 zucchini, diced
2x 400g cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed.
1 tbsp red curry paste
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 eggs
2 tsp mustard
1 tbsp leamon juice
1tsp pepper
optional: natural yoghurt or sour cream to serve
Method-
Preheat oven to 180C. Spray frypan with oil, add shallots, red capsicum and zucchini, then cook until soft.
Mash 1 can of chickpeas.
Throw all ingredients into a bowl and mix until well combined.
Press mixture into a baking dish and cook for around 25 minutes or until firm.
Serving suggestion-
Serve with yoghurt or sour cream.
Nutritional Stats (per serve)-
3.7g fat, 3.2g fibre, 5.9g protein, 105cal

This recipe is fast, simple and, supposedly, serves 8. We got 5 reasonable sized servings out of it and accompanied by a side salad it made a filling dinner.
*****for ease
**** for taste

January 16

I'm not a fan of tennis - exercise-averse from an early age, and chronically poorly coordinated, childhood lessons were not fun. So my invitation to join industrial colleagues athte Austrlaian Open was something of a mixed delight, especially straight after night duty. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the game I saw, but exhausted by the heat - I can't imagine how the players cope.
I picked up three brown rice handrolls before going in, along with a lot of water, some apples and a bag of trail mix, to see me through. I had two of the rolls, but didn't feel much like eating. A couple of us went to one of the pavilions, to get out of the heat, and I didn't make the wisest food choice - instead fo the chicken breast with quinoa salad I ordered the cheese platter, washed down with a glass of rosé.
It was very nice, and I think the salad would've been too much, but that's a whole lot of saturated fat in one sitting. I doubt I came close to maxing out my day's calories, as I haven't eaten otherwise today (apart from the handrolls) but I need to be on guad against a slide, expecially as my weight's hovering around the danger mark that usually sees me run headlong into gaining.
Not so much with the exercise today, either - a little walking around during the Open, but less than 8,000 steps for the day and all of that incidental rather than purposeful.
I tried doing wok online when I got home but flaked instead, then slept through my alarm and woke when I got a text. After a long debriefing with a friend I dragged myself to do this scintillating update, and am heading straight to bed - Alex

January 15

I felt a little not quite right but fit enough to go to work. Because my gut's delicate, I passed on any abs workout today and did the CardioWalk DVD - it's been a while, and I was surprised again by how panty and sweaty I got while doing it. The whole thing's low impact (though there are some higher impact options), and I felt quite good at the end of it. My Oregon system seems tobe glitched, as I can no longer get a heart rate (which is kind of the point!) but I did get a good workout.
I also walked part of the way to work, for the first time in a long time. That hill's a killer, but I made it, and then I took the stairs when I got to work. I also checked my pedometer, thinking it must have recalibrated itself, because I haven't cracked 10,000 steps the last ocuple of days. Sadly, it seems to be fine, and between the walk to work and a busy night I managed 19,000 steps for the day.
I had an unexciting breakfast of cereal and milk, and a apple on the way to work to help settle my stomach. Tea was a third helping of the sweet potato/spinach/ricotta/onion/tomato and wholegrain pasta bake, with some more fruit to follow. Dinner was a Lite'n'Easy meal, and then my Monday started straight off, as I showered, changed, and took off for the tennis. - Alex

January 14th

The day did not start particularly well - daily weighins mean seeing normal fluctuations, and even though I was braced for it, I've put on 600g, bringing just back over 100k again. I suspect it has something with my higher-than-usual salt intake yesterday, and am not significantly distressed. However, thanks to yesterday's blister acquisition, I decided to go for a bare foot workout and redid the 10 Minute Solution DVD I tried yesterday - I'm so much worse! The Pilates section was predominantly me lying on my back panting, and I couldn't reach my toes from a sitting position (despite being able, yesterday, to smoothly bring my arms straight down and around the balls of my feet).
I shall not be defeated though! Diet is a good 70% of the work, and I'm staying on track - a breakfast of wholegrain cereals and skim milk followed by an apple; because I felt ravenous I also ate 80g of 97% fat free turkey breast, which shot my sodium intake up but filled me up for the shift. A friend left a big box of Malteesers in my pigeonhole to thank me for some help I gave her - I was very disciplined, and didn't have a single ball. But I was a little ravenous, so I had a couple of crackers (10g in total) with 25g of cheese and hour or so before my 3AM tea. That was a repeat of yesterday's pasta bake (465 calories, 11.1g of fat, 5.5g saturated fat, 25g of protein and 13.3g of fibre).
Around 5AM I started getting nasty abdo cramping and a little associated nausea, which was quite unpleasant and garnered me a lift home at the end of work, instead of the walk I'd planned. I couldn't manage anything else to eat, but had a hot shower and (after a little quiet time on line) am heading to bed. I've got a big week ahead of me and can't afford to get sick so I hope this is nothing. - Alex

January 13th

Another illicitly early weigh in and I'm still on track - I've lost 5.1k since January 1st and will do an official weigh in and measure when I get up on Sunday. I started the day with 10 Minute Solution, which has five ten-minute sections on each of boot camp, pilates, ballet, kick boxing and yoga - I like the combinations, particularly the end-of-workout stretching if played in order, but my ab strength is woeful and much of the Pilates section is still wholly aspirational. I plan to do this DVD weekly, though, and be able to see gains.
I planned to walk half the way home from work, but my new work shoes rubbed a blister on to the back of my heel and, despite early intervention in the form of an adhesive barrier, I just couldn't manage more than 15 minutes, at a far slower than average maybe 4k/hour pace.
I had green tea, sultanas, dates, prunes and brazil nuts (225g) before my workout; breakfast was cereal and milk, and I had the last bottle of Nudie juice as a snack. Lunch was the last of the kick start soup, a multigrain muffin (with a little butter), and an apple for dessert.
I made a lasagna-like pasta bake for work over the next three nights - a steamed and mashed sweet potato base, a layer of wholegrain spirals, spinach with reduced far cheddar and low-fat ricotta, another layer of spirals, and a homemade tomato and onion sauce, baked in the oven. I'd like to try it again with tofu instead of cheese next month, when I take the vegan route, as this was a little higher in fat than I'd like. On the other hand, my fat intake this week has averaged out at 34g/day, 9g saturated, well under the maximum recommendations of 70g and 24g respectively. Thanks to Calorie King's stats tools I also know my sodium intake's about 1400mg/day, and my potassium intake's higher (which is an aim, and almost certainly down to the banana in the smoothies).
I woke early, so by the time I got home I'd been up for over twenty hours, which might explain why, as I waned a little around 4AM, I had two Cadbury snow bites. I doubt the 20 calories made a big difference but need to be vigilant, because this is how it starts - a little treat here, an illicit indulgence there, and I'm back off track. Not this time! - Alex

Tight, Toned and Terrific - Michelle Bridges (2009)

Cover blurb:

Strenth training is the FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH! This DVD incorporates both cardio fitness along with the all-important strength training. This is how you shape, tone and define. I cover off all the major muscle groups with 5 minute sessions on - legs, chest and back, triceps and biceps as well as the core.

I have fuel injected this DVD with two, 5 minute cardio sessions, so you really get your moneys' worth here! MIx and match or do the whole thing, By using minimal equipment you'll see how easy it is to put together some basic building blocks to get effective and fast results in your own training.

All options of intensity are covered off so although you'll see in this DVD that I am being pushed, it is designed for all levels. Get excited about your trainingand the amazing beneifts it will give you. Get back in control, get back in the driver's seat and be the one setting the course!

Summary: Australian Biggest Loser trainer Michelle Bridges leads a team of four instructors through a 45 minute program that has a warm up then alternates circuit work cardio sessions. The circuits comprise three, four or five sets of five eight-rep activities, that each involve one weight section, one floor work section (pushups, tricep pushups), and three more aerobic exercises - each exercise is demonstrated in advance, and almost all the high impact work has a clearly identified low impact version that's demonstrated throughout the circuit. Tehre's also an ab section and a cool down/stretch finale.

What I liked: I'm discovering circuit training suits me - knowing that I've only got to do x number of reps or continue the exercise for x amount of time makes it easier for me to commit to it and work hard, instead of holding back because I don't know how much reserve I need to keep.There's a nice emphasis on technique, and Michelle frequently emphasises that the aim is to keep pace with the activity rather than the number of reps - far better to get down and do three pushups then get back up for lunges than stay down and do eight. That said, I found I kept [ace without too much difficulty.

What could have been improved: I just don't have the coordination for the opening floor work, which not only covers a lot of physical ground (which I haven't got room for) but also incorporates a number of different moves that require more coordination than I have and which I just don't seem to be able to move fast enough to manage. There's a leg flick thing, for example, that I just can't get right, and though there's some talking through this whole section there's no demonstration. But I'm sure I'll improve with practice.

Overall: I quite enjoyed the workout, and think I'll be better at it after a few repetitions, once I'm familiar with the program. - Alex

January 12th

I had a really full day but didn't manage quite as much exercise as I'd like. I started the morning with Michelle Bridges' Tight, Toned and Terrific DVD, which I see I haven't reviewed, so there's a review above this post. I kept up okay, except for the triceps dips and some of the abs work - clearly I have pasticene where I should have muscles.
Then I joined a friend at the Melbourne Aquarium - it was my first visit, and lots of fun, though I'm surprised I clocked up only a couple of thousand steps, and it felt a lot longer walking through with a small child. On the other hand, she's not a baby I did carry her much of the way, which must have upped the calorie count. I planned to walk more later in the day, but time got away from me - instead of walking to my audition immediately after the aquarium I had to get a lift with my friend, and as that went a little longer than I expected I caught a tram to Flinders Street station instead of walking back. So I only managed about 7,500 steps, and even though that still averages out at well over 10,000/day across the week, it's not what I'm aiming for.
Breakfast was a Nudie breakfast juice - I bought a few of special (only $1 each) and have to move through them before they expire. I brought my own lunch to the Aquarium, and didn't manage to finish it at the time - a wholegrain wrap with baby spinach, smoked salmon and avocado, a couple of cherry tomatoes, a length of peeled Asian white radish, and another Nudie juice. As I'm working tomorrow I stayed up late and finished the wrap and juice off when I got hungry, around 1AM.
I had dinner with a friend and her family - the original plan was a BBQ chook with quinoa salad and vegies, but sadly the takeaway shop is still closed for the Christmas break. Instead we had a beef and kidney bean casserole with broccoli, carrots and basmati rice, with sliced pear and nectarine for dessert. It was very nice, but a little distressing on the OCD front because I didn't what to put into Calorie King! All in all a busy but not terrible productive day. - Alex

January 11th

Although I've decided to only weigh in formally once a week, and to have fortnightly goals, I did pop on the scale today, and everything's paying off - I've lost 4.4k since the first of January! And yes, I'm well aware that it's mostly water, but I'm still pleased.
After yesterday's day of slackness I got straight out of bed this morning and, after a cup of green tea and a few sultanas, went straight into the Michelle Bridges Super Circuit DVD - all the residual pec soreness from my last circuit was gone, and I managed to keep up with everything except a couple of crunches. I was running late for the hairdresser so I alternated running (or very slow jogging, to be more accurate) 50 steps for every 100 I walked. I walked back, then to and from another appointment, for a total of 75 minutes of sustained (ie greater than 10 minutes) walking at or above 5k/hr, 7 minutes of jogging, and 25 minutes of circuit training.
Breakfast was skim milk and water porridge with regular oats and some beta glucan-rich barley and oats, a couple of mashed brazil nuts, some dates, chia and linseed, topped with hot berries. I had a late lunch, that was a redux of yesterday, and dinner was kick start soup with (because I'm not kick starting) a multigrain muffin, followed by a kiwi fruit and a couple of pieces of dark chocolate. For snacks I had an apple and one of Aldi's Yakault equivalents.
I was at Priceline this afternoon, and though I didn't find what I was looking for (some kind of product to protect my hair from chlorine), I did manage to buy a whole lot of other essential beauty products, for my face and skin. I also bought a thigh toner (review to follow) and a BMI analyser. I'm sure it's not clinical accurate, but I'm interested to see how my figures change in the months ahead. My BMI is now 36.8 (from a starting point of 43.4 back in October 2010), and I got three relatively close fat percentages on three readings, that averaged at 38.5%.
I'm feeling positive and only a little hungry, and quite getting used to the latter sensation. I'm well aware that I've been here before, many times, but I feel confident about finally breaking through the psychological impediment that always has me retreat into calories and weight regain whenever I drop under 100k. The next month or so will see - my aim is to be under 98k by the end of the month (that's a 2.3k loss over twenty days, or just shy of 800g a week), and under 95 by the end of February.
Next week marks the beginning of my dropping down to part time and I'm really looking forward to having the extra time off. I am, of course, going to be spending time working on the campaign, but that's not going to take anything like 40 hours a week - at least some of that time will be devoted to lifestyle change, and I'm also going to get caught up on all my overdue projects - like sorting through papers, filing back tax returns, and transcribing interviews for uni. Oh, and getting my driving license. I'm very much looking forward to the year ahead - Alex

January 10th

I had high hopes of today - I woke around 5AM and got dressed in my workout uniform. But then I decided to find out how to get my Oregon heart monitor to tell me how many calories I was burning during the workout, and once I was online I was welded to the chair - no exercise all day.
I added capsicum and zuccini, but otherwise lunch was the same salad I've had half the week, and dinner was courtesy of Lite'n'Easy. I think I'll give them a bit of a break for a while and focus on meal planning. Well, that and using up some of my overstocked pantry.
Tomorrow will be a more productive day! - Alex

January 9th

As I predicted, this counts as a somewhat abbreviated day - I went to bed post pool, at about 11AM, and got up earlier than usual for a meeting at work. I only had an apple and the RealAge trio (prunes, dates, brazil nuts) on rising, did quite a bit of walking around at work, then walked part way home - 30 minutes at 6k/hr. I had the now-familiar fillet and salad, another apple, a Yakault-alike, and a muesli bar for dinner. And now to bed. - Alex

January 8th

Lack of variety is clearly not an issue, at least when I'm working - breakfast and lunch were basically repeats of yesterday (with a substitution of kangaroo snags for fillet), and I had a couple of handfuls of Goldenvale hoops, which are basically Cheerios but by Aldi.
An excellent day on the exercise front! I should point out that I've decided my days run from when I get up to when I go to bed, rather than the calendar/clock, because shift work makes everything confusing. That will cause my Mondays to be rather abbreviated, because I usually go to bed midmorning of my first day off, get up in the evening, then bed at night, but I'm sure the universe will continue to turn.
So - I did Jennie Garth's exercise tape before work, and kept up with everything except the thousands of crunches (replacing some of them with slow leg lowers, and others with lying on the carpet puffing). After work I went swimming.
I love the water. And last time I went swimming, which fell during the Time of Not Blogging, I nearly drowned. Actually, literally, almost drowned - after (overdoing as usual) my laps in a burst of enthusiasm fuelled by a long absence from the pool, I decided that instead of getting out I'd sit at the shallow end and practice holding my breath. Not, as it turns out, such a brilliant idea, because I started breathing before I broke the surface, and inhaled some water.
I felt quite dreadful by the time I got home, and my oxygen saturation was 84% instead of the normal >95% (all real hypochondriacs have their own pulse oximeters!). I probably should have gone to hospital, but I was exhausted, so instead I went to bed, propped up on pillows, with my phone and I left the front door unlocked in case I need to call 000. Over the course of the next couple of days my oxygenation returned to normal, but I haven't been swimming since.
Until today! I took it a little more slowly than last time, and instead of alternating between breast stroke, freestyle and back stroke I did six sets of three breast stroke, one freestyle and one backstroke, for a total length of 900m. It took a while, but that's what I'll work on next.
Between not being very hungry and doing some vigorous exercise, according to Calorie King I worked off more energy than I took in - I suspect there's a little overestimating of output and underestimating of intake, but interesting nonetheless. - Alex

January 7th

No time for porridge today, so instead I had Aldi's weetbix, a handful of Cole's light muesli, stewed fruit and skim milk, plus an apple on the way to work. Lunch was the same salad as yesterday, and I had a Lite'n'Easy dinner (crumbed fish) for dinner.
I took the stairs again, spent 5 minutes on an exercise bike, and walked home (50 minutes). I'm feeling a little achey in the pecs after all those pushups the other day, but otherwise absolutely fine, only tired. - Alex

January 6th

A work night, so my routine was a little altered. I started out with Michelle Bridges' super circuit, whcih I haven't done in at least four months. I was quite pleased with how well I managed to keep up, except for the abs section. I'm not up to full pushups but know I'll get that back again in a couple of months, and I think I'll be a little sore from the 80 (modified) pushups and 40 triceps pushups.
I had planned on walking from the tram to work, which is a good half hour and includes a steep ten minute hill. My calves weren't up to it, though, and I called it quits after ten minutes, and wimpily caught a bus instead. I did, however, take the stairs seven flights (one then a walk to the next staircase, two and another walk, two, walk, two, for a total of seven flights and three brsk walks in five minutes.
I make porridge for breakfast using a combination of skim milk and water, and added Goodness Superfoods barley and oats (with higher levels of beta glucan and fibre) to the regular rolled oats. I also threw in some chia seeds, linseeds and brazil nuts, which jumped the calorie and unsaturated fat count, some dried fruit, and some hot berries.
My overnight meal was supposed to be a salad wrap, but I forgot the wrap, so instead I had a bowl of salad with marinated and grilled kangaroo fillet. I cooked two, so tomorrow will be the same. I wasn't particularly hungry when I got home, so I had a kanga banga and am off to bed. - Alex

January 5th

I started the day with, in addition to my RealAge ritual of two brazil nuts, two prunes and five dates (selenium, fibre, something else good), a couple of poached eggs on a multigrain muffin with raw baby spinach. And, I must acknowledge a generous teaspoon of Neil Perry's garlic aioli - it was well worth the 5.2g of fat, even if that brought my total fat intake to 59g for the day that's still within the recommendation of under 70g/day, and my saturated intake was 2/3 of the recommended 24g maximum.
I had lunch in Camberwell with my mother, which had the potential to be ugly but was instead alarmingly civilised. As I ate out I had to estimate my intake, and I'm sure it was higher in fat and calories than I've estimated, because that's the nature of restaurant food. I ordered a delicious rocket, feta and beetroot salad that was dressed with pomegranate molasses and topped with about a dozen toasted almonds. I would have been fine without dessert, but my motehr was uncharacteristically interested in one, and then quite insistent that I share. I don't want to discuss weight loss with her, so I ate a little of the pear tart (just the pear, which was poached) and about half a tablespoon of the hazelnut icecream.
Dinner was two kangaroo sausages (I cooked the whole package and will snack on some over the weekend), steamed sweet potato with peas, and a salad of leaves, capsicum, tomato and avocado dressed with balsamic.
I walked for forty minutes at 6k/hour, and will be picking up the exercise in the next day or two. - Alex

January 4th

I've spent the last few days getting my house ready for the year of lightness - clearing out my pantry, throwing out expired staples, taking all my tempting Foods of Evil to work, and doing a mini-stocktake of what I've got. Entirely too much, it turns out - I won't need to buy pasta for quite some time, I'm very well off for legumes (druied and tinned), and for some reason have six tins of tomatoes. I also had four packets of custard powder (two vanilla, two chocolate) but they're now in the bin.
I've not been feeling particularly hungry, and have been a little guided by that - I only had a couple of prunes, a few dates and a couple of brazil nuts for breakfast, an apple mid-morning, a Lite'n'Easy meal for lunch, a whole grain and fruit muesli bar mid-afternoon, and another Lite'n'Easy meal for dinner, with their spicy fruit cookies for dessert. I'm not as organised on the meal planning front in reality as I am in Alex's Fantasy World, but next week will be better.
I did two walks of 20 minutes each, at a 6k/hr pace, and have returned to the handstrengthening exercises after being unable to disconnect something at work. I also have refreshed red stripes in my hair, and am feeling positive. Okay, after a promising start last year things fizzled a bit, but I'm still 14k less than I was in October 2010, and I'm miving forward. - Alex

New year, new start

Forgive me, blogosphere, it's been two months since last my post.
I've been more squashed by the pneumonia than I predicted, and was a little preoccupied by a couple of things in real life - one of those has lead to me reducing my hours at work and taking a leave of absence from post-graduate study in order to concentrate on the future of my profession, but these changes will also give me more room to focus on lifestyle change (as well as almost halving my income, so there'll be considerably less income available for high-calorie treats).
The other things is that, thanks to a couple of confrontations in close succession, I have a degree of space and perspective about my family that I've never had before. I've tried a number of diet, exercise and weightloss programs in the past and despite my conscious commitment, something within me has always balked when I dipped below 100k. And, even though I was aware of what I was doing, when I had a falling out with my family, especially my mother, I'd head straight to the Food of Evil.
I don't really know why, but it's different now. I'd been planning on seeing a therapist this year, to work through these issues, but - at least for the time being - I feel a degree of distance and disconnection from family drama that makes than unnecessary.
It's not all good - my exercise tolerance is considerably diminished, and I've lost a lot of ground. It's also shaping up to be an exceptionally hot summer in Melbourne, which is not my favourite thing. But diet is more than 50% of weightloss, and I can make up fitness ground.
I have a few New Year's resolutions:
1. a blog entry (here, on our Bookish blog, or my separate blog) every day
2. a monthly assessment of fitness, weight and dimensions
3. a minimum of 15k weightloss by midyear (I really want more than20k but one can always exceed ones' aim)
4. a month of the Vegan Challenge
And a small list of non-bloggish resolutions about organisation, procrastination, time management, new skills and life enlargement.
Tomorrow's entry will be the first of my monthly assessments, whcih means I have to head off to bed - Happy New Year! - Alex