Thursday:
I struggled a bit with PMS yesterday afternoon and today. With terrible timing, yesterday I decided to start counting calories again as well as carbs. Horrible. Having to weigh or estimate every single thing, no longer being able to think "this little cube of cheese is free", having to look at the whole day instead of just the level of carbs for that meal.
When I got to the end of the day, my score sheet looked pretty good. Lots of exercise, offsetting some of the calories. The recommended amount of fruit, vegetables, and dairy. Nearly enough water. But all that I could focus on was that I had gone over my planned 1500 calories. And OMG so many calories in that chicken breast. And that tiny spoonful of rice. I should have had one slice of chicken, two grains of rice. And who eats a whole banana! Do you know how many calories in that thing? You're disgusting!
I don't think I am ready to go back to calorie counting. As long as I am gradually losing weight, I will just stick with counting carbs for now.
I bought two Pandora charms today. A turtle, to celebrate my rowing victory. And a strawberry, to remind me to eat healthily. My bracelet is looking really nice, it started off a bit sparce but it has a respectable number of charms now.
Pouring rain today, the third Thursday in a row. I was explaining to the kids that it is really Thor's Day, named after the god of thunder. So maybe that is why. Thursday is usually our busy afternoon, but I gave the kids the option of just staying home and they took it. So I didn't exercise.
Showing posts with label charm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label charm. Show all posts
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Rowing milestone
More Wednesday:
I went back to the gym this afternoon and got back on the rowing machine while the kids were doing their Gecko class. (I've decided they are going to keep doing Gecko for the moment, at least for the rest of this term while the weather is often too cold to play outside -- although today was lovely, almost Spring.) I felt like maybe today was the day to get that 5 km in the 30 mins.
I started strongly. The first five minutes I dealt with the usual little niggles; back feeling a bit stiff, knee giving a twinge. The second five minutes were hard, my muscles were protesting at the fast pace. I was on track though. The middle ten minutes, the middle third, was the worst; I had already worked so hard yet I still had such a long way to go! I was feeling at that point that I might not be able to keep up the pace, I was getting tired. I was dripping sweat, my bra was rubbing under my arm, my shoulder muscles were complaining ... and whenever I closed my eyes for a few moments to focus I unconsciously slowed down and had to go a bit faster for a while to compensate. But when I got to around the 25 minute mark I realised I was going to do it. I was still on pace, and I could do another five minutes. Five minutes is nothing. I tried to speed up at the end but had nothing left, I just kept pulling at the same steady pace I'd been maintaining pretty much the whole row. And I got to 5 km with 15 seconds to spare. I used those final seconds to slow right down, aware of my heart pounding and sweat pouring off me. At 30 minutes, I had gone 5.03 km.
I think I've been rowing for about a month, which seems about the right amount of time for me to work towards a specific goal. I have earned another charm! Yay! Finally!
After my gym session this morning I was thinking about how 30 mins of moderate intensity exercise was really quite pleasant. After this afternoon's session I can say that 30 mins of high intensity exercise is very unpleasant. I didn't enjoy it at all. My sense of achievement was more "thank God that is over". I had been pretty keen on rowing, now I have no immediate plans to do more. I might take a little break from it and do something else, and when I get back on the rowing machine I think I will put up the resistance but go more slowly and/or for a lesser time. I know that I don't have to enjoy something for it to be good for me, but it sure helps with motivation. That row was damn hard, and not fun.
Since writing this morning about spending more time exercising while work is slow, I won a job that I had quoted for last week. So I'm going to have less time again for a few weeks. Lucky I have Gecko in the afternoons to mind the kids while I work out!
Hmm, if not rowing, what am I going to do at the gym during that half hour? I did like the cross-trainer this morning.
I went back to the gym this afternoon and got back on the rowing machine while the kids were doing their Gecko class. (I've decided they are going to keep doing Gecko for the moment, at least for the rest of this term while the weather is often too cold to play outside -- although today was lovely, almost Spring.) I felt like maybe today was the day to get that 5 km in the 30 mins.
I started strongly. The first five minutes I dealt with the usual little niggles; back feeling a bit stiff, knee giving a twinge. The second five minutes were hard, my muscles were protesting at the fast pace. I was on track though. The middle ten minutes, the middle third, was the worst; I had already worked so hard yet I still had such a long way to go! I was feeling at that point that I might not be able to keep up the pace, I was getting tired. I was dripping sweat, my bra was rubbing under my arm, my shoulder muscles were complaining ... and whenever I closed my eyes for a few moments to focus I unconsciously slowed down and had to go a bit faster for a while to compensate. But when I got to around the 25 minute mark I realised I was going to do it. I was still on pace, and I could do another five minutes. Five minutes is nothing. I tried to speed up at the end but had nothing left, I just kept pulling at the same steady pace I'd been maintaining pretty much the whole row. And I got to 5 km with 15 seconds to spare. I used those final seconds to slow right down, aware of my heart pounding and sweat pouring off me. At 30 minutes, I had gone 5.03 km.
I think I've been rowing for about a month, which seems about the right amount of time for me to work towards a specific goal. I have earned another charm! Yay! Finally!
After my gym session this morning I was thinking about how 30 mins of moderate intensity exercise was really quite pleasant. After this afternoon's session I can say that 30 mins of high intensity exercise is very unpleasant. I didn't enjoy it at all. My sense of achievement was more "thank God that is over". I had been pretty keen on rowing, now I have no immediate plans to do more. I might take a little break from it and do something else, and when I get back on the rowing machine I think I will put up the resistance but go more slowly and/or for a lesser time. I know that I don't have to enjoy something for it to be good for me, but it sure helps with motivation. That row was damn hard, and not fun.
Since writing this morning about spending more time exercising while work is slow, I won a job that I had quoted for last week. So I'm going to have less time again for a few weeks. Lucky I have Gecko in the afternoons to mind the kids while I work out!
Hmm, if not rowing, what am I going to do at the gym during that half hour? I did like the cross-trainer this morning.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Sweat
Saturday:
This morning I did a bit over an hour of Kinect Adventures. I finished earning a platinum medal for every single level in every game -- the highest award -- and thus yet another charm! This is a great month for my bracelet. Then I did some time trials (the same games but scored differently, against the clock instead of collecting points, and therefore not earning another charm) and finished basic and intermediate for each game.
I knew I was going to do some more exercise in the afternoon, PowerUp Heros with the family, so I didn't shower or change. Mistake. My clothes were wet with sweat and quickly became cold and clammy. I hated the feeling. After eating and digesting our lunch we started to play, but I felt all yuck. We were playing a round robin with the four of us so I spent half the time sitting on the side, freezing in my damp clothes and never really warming up until Tim & I played one-on-one. I only did 20 mins before rushing off for a lovely hot shower. I'll know next time to just shower and change as often as necessary.
I also managed to hurt my left shoulder at some point. My shoulders suck.
Anyway, I am all clean and fresh now. I've had my banana. Tim has walked up to the local shops with the kids to buy my Easter gift (I have asked for a controlled portion of chocolate this year, last year he got me a 1 kg Lindt bunny which was delicious but not great for weight loss, I think we worked out at my WW meeting yesterday that it would have been 123 ProPoints), so all is quiet.
This morning I did a bit over an hour of Kinect Adventures. I finished earning a platinum medal for every single level in every game -- the highest award -- and thus yet another charm! This is a great month for my bracelet. Then I did some time trials (the same games but scored differently, against the clock instead of collecting points, and therefore not earning another charm) and finished basic and intermediate for each game.
I knew I was going to do some more exercise in the afternoon, PowerUp Heros with the family, so I didn't shower or change. Mistake. My clothes were wet with sweat and quickly became cold and clammy. I hated the feeling. After eating and digesting our lunch we started to play, but I felt all yuck. We were playing a round robin with the four of us so I spent half the time sitting on the side, freezing in my damp clothes and never really warming up until Tim & I played one-on-one. I only did 20 mins before rushing off for a lovely hot shower. I'll know next time to just shower and change as often as necessary.
I also managed to hurt my left shoulder at some point. My shoulders suck.
Anyway, I am all clean and fresh now. I've had my banana. Tim has walked up to the local shops with the kids to buy my Easter gift (I have asked for a controlled portion of chocolate this year, last year he got me a 1 kg Lindt bunny which was delicious but not great for weight loss, I think we worked out at my WW meeting yesterday that it would have been 123 ProPoints), so all is quiet.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
WW weigh in week 8: 77.2 kg, down 1.0 kg
Friday:
I missed last weigh-in so I think this should be week 9 but the leader said they just write it in as the following week without skipping. Thus it is officially week 8, and I lost 1.0 kg over 2 weeks which is a good average. In reality I gained in the first week then lost a lot then regained a little.
Starting weight: 80.2 kg
Week 8: 77.2 kg (down 3.0 kg)
5 % goal: 76.2 kg (only 1.0 kg to go!)
Goal weight: 58 kg
The meeting was about how supportive friends and workout buddies can make a difference. We were supposed to think of a healthy person we would like to emulate, but I couldn't really think of one. I mentioned my husband Tim who exercises regularly no matter what, but I don't have anyone who's food habits I admire particularly. I suppose a couple of guys who come to supper will turn down unhealthy food when they are in training for something, but eat junk other times. That seems like a reasonable way to live.
If I constructed an imaginary perfect person (in terms of their relationship with food and exercise), they would behave something like this:
Healthy food most of the time without being fanatical, treats occasionally when they felt like it without feeling guilty, splurges for special events without stressing about it but also without going totally overboard. Aware of their body's nutritional needs and hunger signals. Eats a balance of foods without having to keep score. Not always thinking about food and what they are going to have at their next meal or what they can and cannot eat.
Exercises most days at a variety of activities and a variety of different intensity levels, enjoying exercise and finding things they like rather than having to force themself, taking time off if needed for injury or illness without stressing, always improving and meeting new targets and goals.
So I guess that is the person I would like to be.
I bought my two new Pandora charms; one with silver filigree butterflies and one with purple enamel hearts. I bought and ate a banana, shopped for some kids' clothes, did the grocery shopping. Got home unphased by the time (12.45 when I like to have lunch at 12) and cooked up a chicken stir-fry with lots of vegetables and satay sauce.
I'm learning.
I missed last weigh-in so I think this should be week 9 but the leader said they just write it in as the following week without skipping. Thus it is officially week 8, and I lost 1.0 kg over 2 weeks which is a good average. In reality I gained in the first week then lost a lot then regained a little.
Starting weight: 80.2 kg
Week 8: 77.2 kg (down 3.0 kg)
5 % goal: 76.2 kg (only 1.0 kg to go!)
Goal weight: 58 kg
The meeting was about how supportive friends and workout buddies can make a difference. We were supposed to think of a healthy person we would like to emulate, but I couldn't really think of one. I mentioned my husband Tim who exercises regularly no matter what, but I don't have anyone who's food habits I admire particularly. I suppose a couple of guys who come to supper will turn down unhealthy food when they are in training for something, but eat junk other times. That seems like a reasonable way to live.
If I constructed an imaginary perfect person (in terms of their relationship with food and exercise), they would behave something like this:
Healthy food most of the time without being fanatical, treats occasionally when they felt like it without feeling guilty, splurges for special events without stressing about it but also without going totally overboard. Aware of their body's nutritional needs and hunger signals. Eats a balance of foods without having to keep score. Not always thinking about food and what they are going to have at their next meal or what they can and cannot eat.
Exercises most days at a variety of activities and a variety of different intensity levels, enjoying exercise and finding things they like rather than having to force themself, taking time off if needed for injury or illness without stressing, always improving and meeting new targets and goals.
So I guess that is the person I would like to be.
I bought my two new Pandora charms; one with silver filigree butterflies and one with purple enamel hearts. I bought and ate a banana, shopped for some kids' clothes, did the grocery shopping. Got home unphased by the time (12.45 when I like to have lunch at 12) and cooked up a chicken stir-fry with lots of vegetables and satay sauce.
I'm learning.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Working hard
Thursday:
Yesterday afternoon was the kids' swimming lesson, which I definitely don't look forward to. The lessons are one after the other and I spend the time in the kids' pool with whichever child isn't learning. A whole hour of boredom and having heavily-clorinated water sting my eyes. To make matters worse, my swimming costume was getting so old and saggy it was nearly unwearable, the rather daring cleavage was becoming a public indecency risk. So yesterday I dragged out my old costume that I had grown out of. And it fit! It does ride up so that it is like wearing a g-string ("thong", for Americans -- here a thong is a flip-flop sandal), but I always wear board shorts over the top so that didn't really matter. This fitting into smaller clothing thing is exciting.
I did my best to both enjoy the swimming and to make it active, bouncing around the shallow pool or walking on my hands pretending to be a crocodile in the toddler bits. The chlorine really does make my eyes sting though.
I hadn't managed to get the casserole on in time due to being out chosing new chair fabrics all afternoon, so we got takeaway on the way home. I ate a moderate amount of chicken and chips and only used 6 weekly PP. But this morning my weight was up by 600 grams. I'm sure it was the takeaway, not yesterday's 2 hours of exercise. Exercise does not make you fat. I think.
As I wrote yesterday, I needed to do lots of exercise today if I wanted to earn an extra Pandora charm for the month. I did Kinect Adventures (getting 4 of the 6 platinum scores I needed!!) and a little bit of PowerUp Heros for an hour and a half. I was very tired, but when I coded it in to my tracker I was still 3 activity PP short of 40. I could earn that in 15 mins of really intense exercise. But I was tired! But only 15 mins! So I did 15 mins of the kickboxing game. Totally exhausting, and I only won one bout, but I earned my points and my charm. I did so much exercise this month!
Yesterday afternoon was the kids' swimming lesson, which I definitely don't look forward to. The lessons are one after the other and I spend the time in the kids' pool with whichever child isn't learning. A whole hour of boredom and having heavily-clorinated water sting my eyes. To make matters worse, my swimming costume was getting so old and saggy it was nearly unwearable, the rather daring cleavage was becoming a public indecency risk. So yesterday I dragged out my old costume that I had grown out of. And it fit! It does ride up so that it is like wearing a g-string ("thong", for Americans -- here a thong is a flip-flop sandal), but I always wear board shorts over the top so that didn't really matter. This fitting into smaller clothing thing is exciting.
I did my best to both enjoy the swimming and to make it active, bouncing around the shallow pool or walking on my hands pretending to be a crocodile in the toddler bits. The chlorine really does make my eyes sting though.
I hadn't managed to get the casserole on in time due to being out chosing new chair fabrics all afternoon, so we got takeaway on the way home. I ate a moderate amount of chicken and chips and only used 6 weekly PP. But this morning my weight was up by 600 grams. I'm sure it was the takeaway, not yesterday's 2 hours of exercise. Exercise does not make you fat. I think.
As I wrote yesterday, I needed to do lots of exercise today if I wanted to earn an extra Pandora charm for the month. I did Kinect Adventures (getting 4 of the 6 platinum scores I needed!!) and a little bit of PowerUp Heros for an hour and a half. I was very tired, but when I coded it in to my tracker I was still 3 activity PP short of 40. I could earn that in 15 mins of really intense exercise. But I was tired! But only 15 mins! So I did 15 mins of the kickboxing game. Totally exhausting, and I only won one bout, but I earned my points and my charm. I did so much exercise this month!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Dancing and new jeans
Wednesday:
I stuck to my daily PP yesterday until evening, when we had people over for D&D and supper. M brought a plate of vegetable sticks and said he is trying to lose body fat. I didn't even know he had any body fat. He lifts heavy weights, I guess he is trying for more definition. J brought grapes and one block of chocolate. B brought three carrots (if he doesn't plan ahead he just brings whatever he has in the house, which can be entertaining).
Only a month ago it would have looked more like this: M -- bag of burger rings. J -- 4 blocks of chocolate. B -- bottle of wine or bag of chips or something strange and random but certainly not healthy. This sudden switch is weird.
I'm the only one who hasn't got with the program. I bought a bag of "strawberries & cream" (for Tim, who likes lollies) and a block of chocolate (for me). I also provided the tail end of a cheese platter with crackers and dried fruit, and a bowl of grapes. And at the end of the evening I cut up some apples. Not too unhealthy I guess.
I think I ate about 18 PP worth of junk, the first time I have used any weeklies this week. I still lost another 300 grams. I didn't exercise other than some housework, but Tim and I did demonstrate PowerUp Heros to our guests.
Today I decided to tackle Just Dance 3 again. I still had about nine dances to go. Some took one try, some took many; but I got 5 stars in everything in just under two hours! Awesome. Another charm. The last one was Boogie Wonderland. I had already attempted this one many times and wasn't even close to the necessary 10,000 points. It wasn't even rated as a particularly difficult one, but I just couldn't get it. I found out a while ago that you had to sing some of the chorus (and noticed since then that a few other songs are like that) but those extra points still weren't enough. Finally I realised that in the part where each of the four characters blows kisses in turn (I was dancing alone and just copying one person) you can get extra points if you strike the kiss pose with each of them! Not very intuitive. But I finally got the 5 stars.
I had my shower and put on my jeans. My smaller jeans!
You may remember the saga where I accidentally bought jeans in a size too small last October -- I'd been in the larger size for a whole year but was apparently in denial -- well today I dared try them on and they fit comfortably! So that four kilo loss has made a difference, even if the tape measure didn't show it. They are snug but not squeezy. I wouldn't wear them with a fitted top due to a little muffin-top, but they are brand new and should stretch a little. Before, they were just too tight.
We are nearly at the end of March. One of my exercise goals was to earn 21 activity PP each week (up from 14 a week in the first month on WW). So far it has been 103, 40 and 70. 23 this week with a day and a half to go, 12 of those this morning. Clearly 21 isn't a big enough target. I have worked very hard and I was sick earlier in the week, but I can clearly do a lot more than 21. Do I get a charm for this? I don't think so, especially as I am getting one for my dancing. My new target is 40 per week, which would be 10 hours of moderate level exercise or a lot less hours of intense. If I can earn another 17 points by tomorrow night I will deserve another charm!
I stuck to my daily PP yesterday until evening, when we had people over for D&D and supper. M brought a plate of vegetable sticks and said he is trying to lose body fat. I didn't even know he had any body fat. He lifts heavy weights, I guess he is trying for more definition. J brought grapes and one block of chocolate. B brought three carrots (if he doesn't plan ahead he just brings whatever he has in the house, which can be entertaining).
Only a month ago it would have looked more like this: M -- bag of burger rings. J -- 4 blocks of chocolate. B -- bottle of wine or bag of chips or something strange and random but certainly not healthy. This sudden switch is weird.
I'm the only one who hasn't got with the program. I bought a bag of "strawberries & cream" (for Tim, who likes lollies) and a block of chocolate (for me). I also provided the tail end of a cheese platter with crackers and dried fruit, and a bowl of grapes. And at the end of the evening I cut up some apples. Not too unhealthy I guess.
I think I ate about 18 PP worth of junk, the first time I have used any weeklies this week. I still lost another 300 grams. I didn't exercise other than some housework, but Tim and I did demonstrate PowerUp Heros to our guests.
Today I decided to tackle Just Dance 3 again. I still had about nine dances to go. Some took one try, some took many; but I got 5 stars in everything in just under two hours! Awesome. Another charm. The last one was Boogie Wonderland. I had already attempted this one many times and wasn't even close to the necessary 10,000 points. It wasn't even rated as a particularly difficult one, but I just couldn't get it. I found out a while ago that you had to sing some of the chorus (and noticed since then that a few other songs are like that) but those extra points still weren't enough. Finally I realised that in the part where each of the four characters blows kisses in turn (I was dancing alone and just copying one person) you can get extra points if you strike the kiss pose with each of them! Not very intuitive. But I finally got the 5 stars.
I had my shower and put on my jeans. My smaller jeans!
You may remember the saga where I accidentally bought jeans in a size too small last October -- I'd been in the larger size for a whole year but was apparently in denial -- well today I dared try them on and they fit comfortably! So that four kilo loss has made a difference, even if the tape measure didn't show it. They are snug but not squeezy. I wouldn't wear them with a fitted top due to a little muffin-top, but they are brand new and should stretch a little. Before, they were just too tight.
We are nearly at the end of March. One of my exercise goals was to earn 21 activity PP each week (up from 14 a week in the first month on WW). So far it has been 103, 40 and 70. 23 this week with a day and a half to go, 12 of those this morning. Clearly 21 isn't a big enough target. I have worked very hard and I was sick earlier in the week, but I can clearly do a lot more than 21. Do I get a charm for this? I don't think so, especially as I am getting one for my dancing. My new target is 40 per week, which would be 10 hours of moderate level exercise or a lot less hours of intense. If I can earn another 17 points by tomorrow night I will deserve another charm!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
WW Week 5: 78.1 kg; down 1.1 kg
Friday:
Woo hoo! 1.1 kg! A nice balance for last week's small loss of 0.1. So in my first 4 weeks of Weight Watchers I have lost 2.1 kg. Perfectly on track for 0.5 kg (about 1 pound) per week.
There is itself is a milestone. I stayed on a "diet" for a whole month! One that allowed me my little splurges, to be sure, but still a big change to my usual eating habits. And I stuck to it! Under my ProPoints every week. This has meant a lot of resisting junky foods. For example, I've had some little fun-size packets of Burger Rings left over from D&D sitting in the cupboard for about 3 weeks. I had one packet in that time, as a tracked and budgeted treat. This afternoon I thought about having the last one. I got it out and looked at it. I could have had it, that would have been ok. But I put it back, and decided to go the healthy option of a bowl of home-made tomato soup for the same number of PP. Then after school the kids had a playdate at a friend's house. I had a cup of tea and a slice of watermelon. There were several varieties of biscuits offered. I looked at the mini oreos and knew that I could have one at any time if I really wanted it. But I wasn't hungry, the watermelon was lovely, I just didn't need a biscuit -- however small. So I didn't have it. This is such a big change for me.
To celebrate a whole month of Weight Watchers I bought myself another charm. It is a very pretty one, purple enamel flowers. Now I have four! Of course I won't get a charm for every month I stick to WW, just this first one. I will have other goals to reach.
Exercise is one, of course. Illness disrupted my routine so I didn't reach my exercise goal for February, but I plan to in March. 21 activity PP per week. Or more! When this endless rain stops I also want to get back to walking/jogging around the lake and get my time down to 45 mins. Back to the gym as well. When I finish this current work project (hopefully tonight or tomorrow!) I have a couple of weeks before the next one. I have plenty to catch up on in that time, but I will also devote a lot of time to exercising.
I stayed for the WW meeting today, it was about spicing things up to not get bored. This is not really an issue for me yet, but we talked about trying new foods and new kinds of exercise. I'm doing that all the time anyway. I didn't sit next to complainy woman today, I had a great chat with a woman visiting from Qld so I had a nice time. And lost 1.1 kg! Yay!
Starting weight: 80.2 kg
Week 5: 78.1 kg (down 2.1 kg)
5% goal: 76.2 kg
Final goal: 58 kg
BTW, my home scales (pre-breakfast, pjs & no shoes) said 76.9 kg this morning. The first time I've been under 77 kg for ages.
Woo hoo! 1.1 kg! A nice balance for last week's small loss of 0.1. So in my first 4 weeks of Weight Watchers I have lost 2.1 kg. Perfectly on track for 0.5 kg (about 1 pound) per week.
There is itself is a milestone. I stayed on a "diet" for a whole month! One that allowed me my little splurges, to be sure, but still a big change to my usual eating habits. And I stuck to it! Under my ProPoints every week. This has meant a lot of resisting junky foods. For example, I've had some little fun-size packets of Burger Rings left over from D&D sitting in the cupboard for about 3 weeks. I had one packet in that time, as a tracked and budgeted treat. This afternoon I thought about having the last one. I got it out and looked at it. I could have had it, that would have been ok. But I put it back, and decided to go the healthy option of a bowl of home-made tomato soup for the same number of PP. Then after school the kids had a playdate at a friend's house. I had a cup of tea and a slice of watermelon. There were several varieties of biscuits offered. I looked at the mini oreos and knew that I could have one at any time if I really wanted it. But I wasn't hungry, the watermelon was lovely, I just didn't need a biscuit -- however small. So I didn't have it. This is such a big change for me.
To celebrate a whole month of Weight Watchers I bought myself another charm. It is a very pretty one, purple enamel flowers. Now I have four! Of course I won't get a charm for every month I stick to WW, just this first one. I will have other goals to reach.
Exercise is one, of course. Illness disrupted my routine so I didn't reach my exercise goal for February, but I plan to in March. 21 activity PP per week. Or more! When this endless rain stops I also want to get back to walking/jogging around the lake and get my time down to 45 mins. Back to the gym as well. When I finish this current work project (hopefully tonight or tomorrow!) I have a couple of weeks before the next one. I have plenty to catch up on in that time, but I will also devote a lot of time to exercising.
I stayed for the WW meeting today, it was about spicing things up to not get bored. This is not really an issue for me yet, but we talked about trying new foods and new kinds of exercise. I'm doing that all the time anyway. I didn't sit next to complainy woman today, I had a great chat with a woman visiting from Qld so I had a nice time. And lost 1.1 kg! Yay!
Starting weight: 80.2 kg
Week 5: 78.1 kg (down 2.1 kg)
5% goal: 76.2 kg
Final goal: 58 kg
BTW, my home scales (pre-breakfast, pjs & no shoes) said 76.9 kg this morning. The first time I've been under 77 kg for ages.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Think!
Still Saturday:
I just earned a Pandora charm! Yay!
On Just Dance 3, on the Kinect, I think it scores you out of 12,000 (even with a search online, no one seems sure) and I consider anything over 10,000 a good score. I think that is the point it gives you 5 stars. I suppose a perfect score is theoretically achievable, but I decided to aim for 11,800; allowing for a few "good" moves instead of all "perfect". My favourite dance track is "Think" and I have been working on it quite a bit. I do it every time I use Just Dance 3, and today I just did it over and over, getting a slightly better score every time. I went from about 11,400; up by small increments each time. And finally hit 11,824!!!! Go me!
This is on the easy setting, btw, but still damn good.
I tried one more time after that but was a bit tired and my score went back down in the vicinity of 11,400.
I am going to get myself a lovely Pandora charm to celebrate dance skill, persistance, and regular exercise.
I haven't worked out my next Dance goal, maybe getting a certain score on difficult, or maybe something like getting 11,800 on several more tracks. I don't think I have come close to that score for any other song, although I generally get 10,000 for most.
When I hit this goal I also got an in-game achievement but was too focused to see what it was: maybe "Perfectionist" -- 90% perfect moves. I could go for their gold achievements of "Highway to the Stars" -- a 5 star rating on 10 songs in a row; and "Constellation Maker" -- 5 stars on every song!
I feel quite proud of myself.
I just earned a Pandora charm! Yay!
On Just Dance 3, on the Kinect, I think it scores you out of 12,000 (even with a search online, no one seems sure) and I consider anything over 10,000 a good score. I think that is the point it gives you 5 stars. I suppose a perfect score is theoretically achievable, but I decided to aim for 11,800; allowing for a few "good" moves instead of all "perfect". My favourite dance track is "Think" and I have been working on it quite a bit. I do it every time I use Just Dance 3, and today I just did it over and over, getting a slightly better score every time. I went from about 11,400; up by small increments each time. And finally hit 11,824!!!! Go me!
This is on the easy setting, btw, but still damn good.
I tried one more time after that but was a bit tired and my score went back down in the vicinity of 11,400.
I am going to get myself a lovely Pandora charm to celebrate dance skill, persistance, and regular exercise.
I haven't worked out my next Dance goal, maybe getting a certain score on difficult, or maybe something like getting 11,800 on several more tracks. I don't think I have come close to that score for any other song, although I generally get 10,000 for most.
When I hit this goal I also got an in-game achievement but was too focused to see what it was: maybe "Perfectionist" -- 90% perfect moves. I could go for their gold achievements of "Highway to the Stars" -- a 5 star rating on 10 songs in a row; and "Constellation Maker" -- 5 stars on every song!
I feel quite proud of myself.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Jogging
Tuesday:I tried to get up early to work today but my 5 year old (I can't believe he's 5!) was already up and he insisted on chatting to me, so we went back to bed for a cuddle instead.
I hadn't been back for a walk around Lake Burley Griffin for a while but I've wanted to, and today it worked out that I could give my husband a lift to work near there so it was a good day for it. I wore my expensive joggers and my expensive moisture-wicking socks (for the first time on a long outdoor walk) and my gym pants with the pocket for my keys and sunglasses and sunscreen and was ready to go.
The other three or four times I'd done the walk had all taken around 1 hour 15 mins. It is approximately 5 km (I think, I plotted the walk on a mapmywalk thing), so I was only walking an average of 4 kmph. Not very fast. Um, I have short legs? My goal (for a Pandora charm) is to get that down to 1 hr. My goal for today was to jog 10 times during the walk; around 50 metres each time. I know that isn't far, but it's what I can do right now. I had never done that much jogging -- I think 2 times or possibly 3 in one session was my record. So 10 was a lot. But I did it! By about 2/3 of the way round, after 7 jogs, I was pretty tired; but I kept going. I noticed I was slumping forward and slowing down and staring at the ground; so I made myself straighten up and walk faster. And I got back to the car after 1 hour 3 mins! Excellent time! After I nail this one, I am going to try for 45 mins.
I guess, after all, I must be quite a bit fitter than last time I did that walk a couple of months ago. It is happening so slowly I often feel like all this exercise isn't achieving much -- but it is. I wasn't sure if I could jog that much, but I could. I managed to jog around half a kilometre in total. Amazing.
After my walk, I got my bag out of the car and sat in the shade to eat my fruit salad. By the time I drove home and got out of the car my legs had stiffened up and now I can hardly walk! Ouch. But at least my feet didn't do that thing where they swell up and get really painful, so maybe the moisture-wicking socks really worked.
... I was feeling quite proud of myself until I just went back over this and looked up distances and worked out how slowly I was going before. My 5kmph average today doesn't seem that great. But it is great, a great improvement. It is an achievment for me, and that is what matters. So what if a couple of skinny women passed me with their prams, stopped in the shade to feed their babies, and then managed to pass me again (at a walk!) about a kilometre later. So what if their walk is a lot faster than my walk plus jog? I can't compare myself to them -- only to the earlier version of me.
Now stop procrastinating and get back to work.
photo by spelio
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Sunday weigh-in: 78.9 kg; down 0.1 kg
Sunday:I was absolutely exhausted on Friday night and could barely keep my eyes open for the finale of Britain's Next Top Model. On Saturday morning I slept in until 10 am, but still felt very tired all day. I slept so heavily on Saturday night that I didn't hear or wake when my daughter was feeling sick and called out, and my husband got up to get her a bucket just in case (she didn't throw up, and was fine in the morning). I missed it all. But this morning I woke much refreshed and I think I have caught up on some sleep.
We went out in the morning and bought my Pandora bracelet and my first charm: it has a lovely little rose motif. On the drive to the shops I felt undeserving, that I hadn't done enough to earn it. I never feel like I have done enough. But now that I have it on my wrist I feel quite proud of myself and I love the charm.
Aiden's best friend Finn had his 5th birthday party today. It went from 11 to 1 so I was expecting some kind of lunch to be served; and we had been at the shops all morning (we also bought Jasmine some clothes) so we hadn't eaten since breakfast -- I was hungry. But there wasn't any lunchy-type things at the party other than one plate of sausage rolls and one of sandwiches -- it was all the kind of things I would serve at an afternoon tea-time party -- so not the best environment for a hungry dieter. I had chips and cake and lollies and cheese as well as fruit and a sandwich quarter. Then 2 minute noodles when we got home.
On the up side, Tim said he was going for a walk so I went with him; leaving the kids at the party. Half an hour of exercise and a nice chat with my husband away from the food. We were discussing whether to move house or renovate. It was the only exercise I got this weekend, so it was good to get out in the sunshine and fresh air and move my body for a little while.
My weight is much the same this week.
photo from the Pandora website
Thursday, October 6, 2011
BodyPump and Rosy Glow
Friday:
I was going to go to Zumba this morning, even though I am not that keen on Zumba anymore -- I loved the older style Bollywood and Salsa tracks but now it is a bit of all sorts of things including Swing and HipHop -- but then I discovered that there is a BodyPump class upstairs on Fridays. Yay! I left the kids with mum, took off my heart rate monitor (I haven't worn it for ages; I forget for cardio classes and the wrist band is annoying during Pump) and off I went.
I thought I had a little bit of time so I did 8 minutes on the elliptical machine, but then found the group exercise room was packed! It is a huge room up there in Club Lime, but I ended up right over one edge practically on the carpet of the lounge area. The instructor started while I was still grabbing all my weights and Step pieces and mat, so I guess I didn't have as much time as I thought.
I thought about my bracelet and worked hard, although I didn't do the ab track at the end. When I first started BodyPump I had so little weight on the bar that it wasn't much of a workout for my muscles, but now it sure is! My shoulder has improved enough that I can do 5 kg (total)for a lot of the moves, and that is enough to exhaust me when I have to lift it up and down for a whole hour! I end up as sweaty and red-faced as when I do a cardio class, which is great. I had been staying for the ab track sometimes, but my shoulder was feeling a bit strained so I decided discretion was the better part of valour. It is so not worth the chance of injuring myself again, and ab work is amongst the most difficult moves for me.
My back and thigh muscles are a bit sore, so they definitely did a lot of work this morning. Those squats and lunges! Arg!
I've been drooling some more about my bracelet, I think I will have a look at some when I go shopping this afternoon. When I first looked at them as a birthday present I was attracted to the pink shades (the charm in the picture is called Rosy Glow, apparently) but pink doesn't seem to represent a reward to hard physical and mental labour. I need something stronger looking. Also, although I love pink and wear it a fair bit in summer; I don't wear it much in winter or ever in the evening. I want a bracelet I can wear when I am glammed up! So I am thinking purple. I wear a lot of purple, and it also goes well with black.
From memory, the elaborate crystal charms are over $100, I will use them as rewards for each 5 kg weight loss. But there are also plain silver charms (by "plain" I don't mean boring, I remember a lovely dragon one) which I think were under $50 and look great alternated with the fancier ones. So I am going to set myself fitness goals that are not directly weight-related to earn those. For example, the first one I have though of is achieving a whole month of exercising at least 5 days per week (21 days out of 30 consecutive days).
Motivation
I have wanted a Pandora charm bracelet for some years. Not necessarily that brand -- in fact I rather like the charms for the Amore & Baci version -- but something similar. Tim was going to get me one last birthday and we went and looked at some but I was put off by the price. I can't even remember how much the Pandora one was, I don't think they even had prices on the displays, but the A&B one was something like $400 for the chain and three or four charms. It didn't seem worth the money for not even a full bracelet. It was totally my choice not to get it. But I still see pictures of them and covet.
Today I was reading a Weight Watchers magazine that suggested non-food rewards for weight loss -- like a charm bracelet. Hmm. And later in a different article it suggested wearing a bracelet as a reminder, so you would see it when you reached out for food. I got a bit excited about the whole concept of earning each ridiculously expensive charm. And the Gods know I need some extra motivation. So I discussed it with Tim and I am going to do it.
A bit arbitrarily, I am taking 80 kg as my starting point and getting a charm every 5 kg. I considered my highest ever weight of 83 -- meaning I would only have 1 to go -- and Tim suggested starting with today's weight but I didn't like that idea at all! He did also suggest getting 2 charms each time, so it's not about the money. But 80 is a good round number and it is about what I was when I started the CSIRO diet a few weeks ago. I have 4 more to lose before I get the chain and my first charm. Then every time I look at it I can see how well I am doing.
I will only end up with 4 or 5 charms depending on my final weight loss, but then I can start getting additional ones for special occasions like birthdays, and maybe an extra one every year (or 6 months?) I maintain my goal weight.
It is already working. I was planning to snack on some chocolate this evening but thought about my bracelet and didn't. And then I thought about reheating some soup but thought about my bracelet and didn't. I feel all motivated again. I have mum still here to babysit tomorrow morning while I go to the gym. I can see the silvery sheen draped on my toned and strong wrist now.
Today I was reading a Weight Watchers magazine that suggested non-food rewards for weight loss -- like a charm bracelet. Hmm. And later in a different article it suggested wearing a bracelet as a reminder, so you would see it when you reached out for food. I got a bit excited about the whole concept of earning each ridiculously expensive charm. And the Gods know I need some extra motivation. So I discussed it with Tim and I am going to do it.
A bit arbitrarily, I am taking 80 kg as my starting point and getting a charm every 5 kg. I considered my highest ever weight of 83 -- meaning I would only have 1 to go -- and Tim suggested starting with today's weight but I didn't like that idea at all! He did also suggest getting 2 charms each time, so it's not about the money. But 80 is a good round number and it is about what I was when I started the CSIRO diet a few weeks ago. I have 4 more to lose before I get the chain and my first charm. Then every time I look at it I can see how well I am doing.
I will only end up with 4 or 5 charms depending on my final weight loss, but then I can start getting additional ones for special occasions like birthdays, and maybe an extra one every year (or 6 months?) I maintain my goal weight.
It is already working. I was planning to snack on some chocolate this evening but thought about my bracelet and didn't. And then I thought about reheating some soup but thought about my bracelet and didn't. I feel all motivated again. I have mum still here to babysit tomorrow morning while I go to the gym. I can see the silvery sheen draped on my toned and strong wrist now.
photo by cristina photographs
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