Just Saying...

MY TURKEY & VEGETABLE STIRFRY TASTES AMAZING!!!!!  Nailed it.

Happy Monday Everyone!

I am trucking on.  Weekend was good, I managed to get all the shopping done (amidst toilet breaks), and prep 3 different meals for the week.  Broccoli Frittata, Chicken and black rice, and turkey stirfry.  Well, my rice took FOREVER to cook, and my dog Dozer enjoyed the nice meat scraps, but I managed to pull together the meat dishes.  

Where I really shone was the broccoli frittata - firstly, I should have listened to my long-suffering husband and cut the broccoli into small small small pieces.  Next, the recipe said "add the olive oil to the eggs and mix" but failed to mention olive oil in the ingredients list, so I just added a splash.  Then the pan was too large.  Lastly, I trusted my judgement of my gas oven (I always have to leave things in there longer), and overcooked the frittata.

So it's brown, dry, stodgy, and just average. 

Nevertheless, I will eat it, and I will pretend to enjoy it.

Fast forward to today - wake up, lemon warm water, vanilla strawberry breakfast smoothie, and off to the gym.  Varsity class today - and I went hard.  AND THEN I weighed myself - 81.4kg!  I may have been a bit dehydrated because I'd just done a class, but still, that's 2.7kg lost in a week!  After a shower, I had the first portion of the famous broccoli frittata.   Mmmm MMMM!  Just kidding, it was shit.  I ate it though.

We're on track.

Apparently this blogging is an (almost) daily thing now...

HIIII!!!!!

Here we are at day 5 of the challenge, day 5 of the 56 days - so when today is through that's 8.9% of the way through the challenge.  Hmmmm - I was just doing some quick math (fire in the booth) for fun but when I see it like that, it's pretty amazing!  

Bullet points today.

NEGATIVES (writing them first as I want to end on a positive):

• having to pee every 10 minutes from all the water I am drinking
• Am hoping this will dissipate, but from previous experience, I don't think it will
• peeing aside, having undesirable toilet visits - more frequently and more...  liquidy than I would like.  
• I am also getting some stomach cramps sometimes, and a weeny bit of indigestion
• I am pretty much like this in the mornings anyway, it's just prolonged and worse now
• I am really hoping that this settles down as my body detoxes
• big breakfasts before the 9:15am F45 session
• this morning I overslept and had breakfast at 7:45am - rebooked my session for the 4:15pm one
• have to say though, yesterday had salmon for breakfast about 7:15am and was worried the gym would be sketchy - it was okay!
• no after dinner snacks - my prime snacking time!
• a couple of times I have skipped afternoon tea, had an early dinner (5:30-6pm), and had afternoon tea in the evenings around 8:30pm
• I've now got green tea to use as well
• STRESSING (prematurely) about going out of the country for 3-4 days in week 6 of the programme - what AM I going to eat?

POSITIVES

• I seem to be giving more at the gym sessions, or at least being more focused.  I feel more focused anyway!
• I guess I am learning to cook some new things.  Some of them are pretty tasty.  Some of them, well, lucky I am committed to the meal plan!
• I am being forced to be organised with meals - which is exactly my past pitfalls.  This week I didn't do any meal prep, but I have plans to do plenty this weekend and perhaps even during the week next week
• Plenty of time spent on xbox play Elder Scrolls :D
• Plenty of time with my dog, playing inside and outside
• I truly believe I am breaking an eating addiction.  The desires to put stuff in my mouth (particularly in the afternoons/evenings) are strong, even when I am full.  I'm shocked that I feel I need to be mentally alert at all times, because I may just find myself in front of the pantry or fridge stuffing my face - basically subconsciously.
• My anxiety is getting better (well, I feel it has been much worse since deciding to start the challenge on Saturday last week, but it has been getting better each day I think as I prove I am doing it).
• I'm bloody WINNING!

Day four - things are really heating up

Hi ya'll

Today is Thursday, and I have now had 3 perfect days (two work days and a public holiday).  Woohoo!  

I'm feeling, well, average.  Not great, not bad.  I had salmon for breakfast at 7:45am and I wasn't looking forward to the F45 class at 9:15 - but it actually wasn't bad.  Then I went to the supermarket to buy some chicken for tonight because I can't find it in the freezer at home - whoopsies.  While I was there, I have to say I wasn't tempted to buy other things!  The only aisle I purposely avoided, and I think that was wise, was the chip aisle.  Enough said.

I did allow myself to purchase 2 items (40% off, come on!) of make up and a new pen for work - but I also stopped myself from buying hair conditioner and other toiletries and stationery because I can see how using this as a substitute could get expensive!

Gym today, I don't feel impressed with my training.  We had 2 sets of each station, and I was paired with a new girl.  I did go up in weights and didn't do too bad, but I feel I was more focused on being in the right place at the right time than my weights - it's good when I have a regular partner and I can gauge what I am doing off of their weights - like some people I know I can lift slightly heavier than, some the same, some slightly less.  There were also a couple of stations today where we did one set one side, the second set the other side - and I went too light the first set, and me being all OCD and wanting it to be even meant I couldn't increase on the second set.

It's another somewhat gloomy day outside - and I think I got some make up in my eyeball - and I am procrastinating from doing actual work.  

Like Nike says, JUST DO IT.

Day two and counting!

Well it was a fresh morning today as I got up at 5am to take my lovely husband to the airport - it's Fly Out Day.  Of course, I had my warm lemon water, and I have to add that there were minimal tears at the farewell.  Then I went straight up to F45 to catch the 6:45am class - weights today.  I had thought that I don't have to change anything in the studio, but I went hard yesterday and I lifted heavy today, so I must just be putting in the extra effort.  Hope it pays off!

Might be a good place for me to record my "athletic" achievements too - won't make for good reading but gotta put it somewhere:

1)    Flat-bench flys - I'm at 9kg dumbells, but these are a struggle to get the form right and sometimes I am bending my arms too much just to push it up in more of a chest press, and a couple of times I even drop one or both of them when I extend too far back.

2)    Ab roll outs - still can't do these, and my back hurts :(

3)    Upright rows - popping that 20kg, either kettlebell or barbell

4)    Deadlifts - 40kg barbell :)

5)   Flat-bench chest press - 12.5kg dumbells, or sometimes 10kg if it is one handed, incline, time-delayed or pulsed

6)    Overhead shoulder press - 8kg kettlebells (x2) with squat.  9kg dumbells (x2) with bicep curl - just

When I got home I cooked 2 eggs and had them with some salmon and baby spinach - and now it is time for avocado and cucumber.  I am stoked that I don't have to cook lunch or dinner today, it's leftovers!

In the last few days, I have said that this challenge is going to be easy for me.  I was wrong (this is becoming a habit!!)  - I meant that it is SIMPLE for me, all I have to do is follow the instructions.  NOT EASY.  Mel says my body will be going through withdrawals, from the lack of carbs and sugars.  Last night, from  afternoon tea onwards things got really hard.  I just wanted to put food in my mouth!  I definitely wasn't hungry, but I wanted to munch on stuff.  I made it through with a perfect score, proving this is just a mind game.  I can do this.

Hello World

Hi!  I didn't die, I just stopped blogging.   Clearly, as 5 years have gone by, some things have changed.  The reason for this new blog post?  Weight loss. Today I started the 8 week challenge with F45, and my trainer, Mel, seems to think it would be good if I blogged about how I feel.  So here goes... 

I was sitting on the fence about whether or not to do the challenge.  I've been coming to F45 for a good 18 months, and I haven't weighed myself in that long, so I have no idea what I weigh.   I know I've put on weight, maybe about 5-6 kg I would guess.  WRONG!  My first ever body scan on Saturday was fine at the time, but as I reflected on it later that day I realised I am now 84kg.  That is almost back to where I was before I discovered HIIT and lost my first bit of weight in the UK.   According to the scan, I have a whopping 18kg to lose to get to my ideal weight of 66.5kg.  Personally, I'd just be happy to get back to that happy range of 70-75kg.  I spent the weekend preparing for the first week of the challenge - grocery shopping, making sure I had an appropriate outfit for the before photos, saving PDF's of the recipes, drinking any open bottles of wine... :D 

Today, it took me half an hour to make the green smoothie for breakfast, but I did it.  I've got my chicken and turkey out ready to cook for lunch and dinner, and I've had my celery and peanut butter morning tea.  I've gone into the studio and I worked my butt off at Pipeline - and I've modelled my "before" body for Mel.  So far, so good.

The overwhelming emotion is fear.  Man, am I scared.  Terrified.  Just of failing, which is stupid because who cares?  I would just try again if that happens.  And I'm set up for success:  I have a good track record, I have good exercise habits, I've got the water and the supplements and everything down - all I need to do is follow the instructions regarding meal plans and I'm golden.  Yet, my stomach is tied up in anxious knots, and I'm close to tears when I take a second to stop and think.

No thinking - just do.  Autopilot :)