Sunday:
It's April 1st so time to set some new goals. I achieved a lot in March; lots of exercise, earned 3 charms, and after some struggles I got back on track with my eating. Time to look ahead.
I am reasonably happy with my diet. (By "diet" I am always referring to food intake in general, not specifically restrictive eating.) I am eating a lot of vegetables and other healthy food and little junk. A few treats and one supper a week seem to be fitting in fine. I notice, however, due to my daily weigh-ins; that take-away causes an instant set-back. So that definitely won't be an every-week event. One big gain undoes several days of loss. I will work harder at organising myself so that take-away isn't needed.
I need to set some new exercise goals. The amount I am doing is pretty good but might not be sustainable once work picks up. Nevertheless, I will up my goal to 50 activity PP a week. I won't feel bad if I don't get this, but it would earn me a charm if I manage it. I will start tackling Just Dance 3 on the difficult setting, going for 5 stars in every dance again. PowerUp Heros isn't tough enough to deserve a charm, but Fighters Unchained definitely is -- I will work on getting through the whole campaign. I'll start running around the lake again, going for 45 mins. Then reducing that by 5 min increments. To hit 30 mins would mean running at 10 kmph the whole way, I don't know if that is possible for me. I am very short, and I think the fastest I have ever run is 11 kmph on a treadmill -- that was a flat-out sprint for me and I could do it for about 20 seconds. I don't think even athletes can sprint for 30 mins! But we'll see, as my fitness improves I might be able to run faster than I think.
Our garden is a disaster, but I have hired a gardener who is coming in a couple of weeks to do a major clean-up and then regular maintenance. I am hoping that this will encourage me to get outside and do some gardening myself. It was one of the many things I used to enjoy but fell by the wayside when I had kids. And got a house with a whole garden instead of just pots on a balcony.
I can't really think of anything else. I am pretty close to my first weight-loss goal of 5 kg (home scale) or 5% (WW scale) -- the two events should happen at approx the same time. Need to lose another kg. That will definitely happen this month.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
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!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Not quite ready to dance
Monday:
I feel much better today. The walk up to the school and then some frantic housework so that a tradesman could get to the things he was fixing didn't exhaust me. So after lunch I did some Kinect. 15 mins of PowerUp Heros was fine but I wasn't totally into it so I switched to Dance. I pushed through to the end of 15 mins so that I could have 30 mins total exercise today but I probably shouldn't have. I was dizzy and weak and panting. I did get 5 stars on Lollipop though!
I stuck to my PP again yesterday and was down another 100 g this morning. Excellent progress. When I got dressed, I realised that my belt was now way too loose! I had been on the last hole already (I think I always was) but today I punched a new hole with a combination of skewer, sharp knife, manicure scissors, and brute strength. A new belt hole! Soon I'll be in my smaller jeans that I bought last October by accident.
Then I got to school with the kids, and a friend (Jodie) commented that I looked very trim today and asked if I had been keeping up the exercise! How lovely. I mentioned WW. I am used to being quite short, but Jodie is fairly tall and was dressed for work in high heels so it felt quite odd chatting up to her. Like a school kid talking to her teacher.
I made a modified version of cream of chicken soup for lunch today and was really looking forward to it -- I was even thinking about it in bed last night. Mmm, creamy soup. But it was quite disappointing. You just can't cut out 2/3 of the butter and 1/2 the cream and expect it to be the same. It didn't have any of the creamy thickness you get with the buttery roux. It was only 6 PP but left me hungry, I made a vegetable stir-fry afterwards for only 2 more PP (for the oil and oyster sauce).
Time to get the kids.
I feel much better today. The walk up to the school and then some frantic housework so that a tradesman could get to the things he was fixing didn't exhaust me. So after lunch I did some Kinect. 15 mins of PowerUp Heros was fine but I wasn't totally into it so I switched to Dance. I pushed through to the end of 15 mins so that I could have 30 mins total exercise today but I probably shouldn't have. I was dizzy and weak and panting. I did get 5 stars on Lollipop though!
I stuck to my PP again yesterday and was down another 100 g this morning. Excellent progress. When I got dressed, I realised that my belt was now way too loose! I had been on the last hole already (I think I always was) but today I punched a new hole with a combination of skewer, sharp knife, manicure scissors, and brute strength. A new belt hole! Soon I'll be in my smaller jeans that I bought last October by accident.
Then I got to school with the kids, and a friend (Jodie) commented that I looked very trim today and asked if I had been keeping up the exercise! How lovely. I mentioned WW. I am used to being quite short, but Jodie is fairly tall and was dressed for work in high heels so it felt quite odd chatting up to her. Like a school kid talking to her teacher.
I made a modified version of cream of chicken soup for lunch today and was really looking forward to it -- I was even thinking about it in bed last night. Mmm, creamy soup. But it was quite disappointing. You just can't cut out 2/3 of the butter and 1/2 the cream and expect it to be the same. It didn't have any of the creamy thickness you get with the buttery roux. It was only 6 PP but left me hungry, I made a vegetable stir-fry afterwards for only 2 more PP (for the oil and oyster sauce).
Time to get the kids.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Finally getting somewhere
Sunday:
My body is tired and achy and I am sick of sitting around feeling yuck and watching other people have fun. Oh well, maybe I'll be better tomorrow.
The weight loss is going really well. I stuck to my 26 PP again yesterday and this morning my weight was down another 400 g -- 75.8 kg. OMG I'm under 76. That is awesome. But I measured my waist and it was 101 cm, exactly the same as when I measured 8 weeks ago. Odd. I suppose it is hard to be accurate. My stomach feels a little bit smaller. I guess 3 kg doesn't make that much difference.
3 kg down from when I started WW. 4.2 kg down from my arbitrary weight-loss starting point of 80 kg. More than 7 kg down from my all-time high of around 83 kg. Finally getting somewhere.
My body is tired and achy and I am sick of sitting around feeling yuck and watching other people have fun. Oh well, maybe I'll be better tomorrow.
The weight loss is going really well. I stuck to my 26 PP again yesterday and this morning my weight was down another 400 g -- 75.8 kg. OMG I'm under 76. That is awesome. But I measured my waist and it was 101 cm, exactly the same as when I measured 8 weeks ago. Odd. I suppose it is hard to be accurate. My stomach feels a little bit smaller. I guess 3 kg doesn't make that much difference.
3 kg down from when I started WW. 4.2 kg down from my arbitrary weight-loss starting point of 80 kg. More than 7 kg down from my all-time high of around 83 kg. Finally getting somewhere.
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