Not a lot to say this week. My eating has been all over the place but my exercise has been great. Fortunately, all the running has meant that the scales aren't going in the wrong direction.
One thing that I've realised: What I call a "bad day" now is nowhere near as bad as they used to be. I've been dutifully recording my calories in Calorie King, which really helps, even with bad days. If I left them off I'm sure they would grown in magnitude in my mind. At least this way I can see trends, identify problem areas, and do something about them. That's got to be good.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Progress update - Kathy
It's been a tough few weeks. For some reason, when the going gets hard I get quiet. This is the time I should probably be out there, asking people for help. Still, going public with the overall goal has kept me on the straight and narrow. Just as well really, as I have been so tempted to eat everything in sight.
What's been up? Well, really, it's just the natural weight fluctuations that go with being female. Even though I know that, I am astounded by the impact that the scales going in the wrong direction can have on me. After a super-hormonal cycle, one of those that you are glad happens just once in a while, I'm back to normal (I hope).
Demoralising as it's been, I've had to really keep a close eye on things so that I didn't give up. Thank goodness for two things - I'm filling in Calorie King even when I'm having a "bad" day and I've got over $1100 in sponsorship that I'm determined to collect in May next year.
One thing that's been helping is that I'm running regularly. The days when I run are days when I can have the "not everyday" foods like pizza. When I'm running at my pace I generally burn about 10 calories a minute. I've been doing a few slower runs lately, but they (a) take longer so the calories x time equation makes up for the lower burn rate and (b) are fun because I'm running with friends.
Now that I'm feeling back on top of things, I've got a new challenge: Write your blog even when you're having a bad day!
Today's challenge: I've been out for my run, I've loaded up CK with my planned eating, all I have to do now is not go silly with the "I ran so now I can eat lots" mindset.
What's been up? Well, really, it's just the natural weight fluctuations that go with being female. Even though I know that, I am astounded by the impact that the scales going in the wrong direction can have on me. After a super-hormonal cycle, one of those that you are glad happens just once in a while, I'm back to normal (I hope).
Demoralising as it's been, I've had to really keep a close eye on things so that I didn't give up. Thank goodness for two things - I'm filling in Calorie King even when I'm having a "bad" day and I've got over $1100 in sponsorship that I'm determined to collect in May next year.
One thing that's been helping is that I'm running regularly. The days when I run are days when I can have the "not everyday" foods like pizza. When I'm running at my pace I generally burn about 10 calories a minute. I've been doing a few slower runs lately, but they (a) take longer so the calories x time equation makes up for the lower burn rate and (b) are fun because I'm running with friends.
Now that I'm feeling back on top of things, I've got a new challenge: Write your blog even when you're having a bad day!
Today's challenge: I've been out for my run, I've loaded up CK with my planned eating, all I have to do now is not go silly with the "I ran so now I can eat lots" mindset.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
I'm starving!
I've been so hungry the last couple of days. Hardly any exercise to blame - just 30 mins of walking. I'm eating enough calories. I'm aiming for an average weight loss of 1/2 kg per week. The last couple of days I've been eating just a little more than I should to manage that weight loss. I just don't understand why I'm so hungry!
Maybe it's just that I'm eating properly so I'm getting to feel hungry instead of eating by habit. Hmmm. That's definitely possible. Maybe I'm not drinking enough water. Hmmm. Also possible. Maybe I'm thinking I'm hungry as a way of justifying having a little more to eat. Hmmm. Another possibility.
One thing though. I've noticed a shape change. I'm starting to feel those little hollows I get in my tummy region when I'm losing weight. I'm using that as a motivator, to keep me from eating too many snacks.
Yesterday's challenge: Not getting on the scales. Sorted! I avoided them today too.
Today's challenge: Starving.
Today's success: Going and buying a sustagen from the cafeteria instead of a muffin.
Tomorrow's challenge: I'm running and boxing tomorrow. I have to be sure not to eat heaps to compensate. I'll take a protein drink with me in the morning for 2nd breakfast. (I so should have been a hobbit!)
Maybe it's just that I'm eating properly so I'm getting to feel hungry instead of eating by habit. Hmmm. That's definitely possible. Maybe I'm not drinking enough water. Hmmm. Also possible. Maybe I'm thinking I'm hungry as a way of justifying having a little more to eat. Hmmm. Another possibility.
One thing though. I've noticed a shape change. I'm starting to feel those little hollows I get in my tummy region when I'm losing weight. I'm using that as a motivator, to keep me from eating too many snacks.
Yesterday's challenge: Not getting on the scales. Sorted! I avoided them today too.
Today's challenge: Starving.
Today's success: Going and buying a sustagen from the cafeteria instead of a muffin.
Tomorrow's challenge: I'm running and boxing tomorrow. I have to be sure not to eat heaps to compensate. I'll take a protein drink with me in the morning for 2nd breakfast. (I so should have been a hobbit!)
Monday, September 7, 2009
Progress update - Kathy
Kelly had a great week! Me, I managed to lose 400 grams last week. Overall, that's a loss of 1.6 kgs in two weeks, which is great, particularly as I went over the $1000 mark in sponsorship today. (Thanks guys.) I'm now losing weight for $55/kg. One of my friends threw in a real kicker - $1/kg but $10 for every kg over 20 kg. Then he sent me an email to check that I had more than 20 kgs to lose. That was sweet. :-)
Now, 400 grams is great, but I can't help feeling disappointed. I ate well all week and I was on track to lose over 1/2 kg. I know that the figure is low because I'm pre-menstrual this week, but knowing it and being happy with it are two different things. I'm telling myself not to stress. I do know better. There's just that bit of me that wants everything to be perfect.
The weekend was hard work, food wise, and fantastic on every other front. When I plugged my eating into calorie king the days ended up being a lot better than I'd expected. Particularly yesterday, which was helped along by a fantastic run with Kelly.
Today's challenge: D'oh! (Watching way too much Simpsons lately!) I'd forgotten that I was going out to lunch to celebrate a few birthdays, my own included. My chicken schnitzel lunch arrived with chips, which I duly ate! I didn't even try to put a few aside. I plugged it all into calorie king and ended up with a minor weight loss day. Good but I know I can do better.
Today's success: Not getting upset over a bad food choice. Getting back on track today instead of tomorrow.
Tomorrow's challenge: Staying off the scales. I think I have to work hard at forgetting the scales and concentrating on eating well.
I can do it!
Now, 400 grams is great, but I can't help feeling disappointed. I ate well all week and I was on track to lose over 1/2 kg. I know that the figure is low because I'm pre-menstrual this week, but knowing it and being happy with it are two different things. I'm telling myself not to stress. I do know better. There's just that bit of me that wants everything to be perfect.
The weekend was hard work, food wise, and fantastic on every other front. When I plugged my eating into calorie king the days ended up being a lot better than I'd expected. Particularly yesterday, which was helped along by a fantastic run with Kelly.
Today's challenge: D'oh! (Watching way too much Simpsons lately!) I'd forgotten that I was going out to lunch to celebrate a few birthdays, my own included. My chicken schnitzel lunch arrived with chips, which I duly ate! I didn't even try to put a few aside. I plugged it all into calorie king and ended up with a minor weight loss day. Good but I know I can do better.
Today's success: Not getting upset over a bad food choice. Getting back on track today instead of tomorrow.
Tomorrow's challenge: Staying off the scales. I think I have to work hard at forgetting the scales and concentrating on eating well.
I can do it!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
A loss on the scales along with a few bad choices
You can never quite tell how much the scales are going to read, your constant reminder sitting in your bathroom everytime you walk past. Saturday is "weigh in" day and I often think "ok if I am good from M-F then I can have a splurge on saturday". Saturday then rolls into sunday and it is a domino effect. Everyday turns into a splurge day and there just doesn't seem to be an end. No more spurges - non related food rewards I think are on the agenda. I also need to make some very good food choices. I managed to resist the sausage rolls, biscuits, junk food at morning tea the other day and headed straight for the carrot/celery sticks then got back to my desk and ate my apple. I was very proud of myself as once upon a time I would have gobbled 2 or 3 sausage rolls.
Each week I will aim to loose 500gms. This week after a half successful week of tracking my food, eating the correct portions and perhaps throw in a little exercise for good measure I might have lost something. Did I...yes, a big 800gms. A loss is a loss and I am proud of my achievements even though I feel I didn't try very hard. You know you are still not satisfied when the sides of your skirts feel tight, the waist band on everything feels like it has just about cut you in half. (there is no blaming the washing machine for shrinking my clothes this time). This is how I am going to determine my weight loss over the next few months - not by the scales but the size of my clothes.
This week I have a program worked out for my exercise and am sticking to it! I am even about to prepare a menu for my weekly meals (from breakfast to dinner w/ snacks in between - so I can't go off track). It will show results on the scales this week and I will be feeling the results afterwards. Lets aim for 1kg for week 2.
Each week I will aim to loose 500gms. This week after a half successful week of tracking my food, eating the correct portions and perhaps throw in a little exercise for good measure I might have lost something. Did I...yes, a big 800gms. A loss is a loss and I am proud of my achievements even though I feel I didn't try very hard. You know you are still not satisfied when the sides of your skirts feel tight, the waist band on everything feels like it has just about cut you in half. (there is no blaming the washing machine for shrinking my clothes this time). This is how I am going to determine my weight loss over the next few months - not by the scales but the size of my clothes.
This week I have a program worked out for my exercise and am sticking to it! I am even about to prepare a menu for my weekly meals (from breakfast to dinner w/ snacks in between - so I can't go off track). It will show results on the scales this week and I will be feeling the results afterwards. Lets aim for 1kg for week 2.
Friday, September 4, 2009
A lesson learned
Well, I thought I was being really clever by choosing an entree sized pasta and tomato sauce dish at lunch on Thursday. The size of the dish was great, but I was starving when I got back to work. So hungry in fact, that I headed straight for the cafeteria where all the "good" food had gone. I ended up choosing a muffin. Not a great food choice, but it seemed sensible at the time.
When I plugged the data into calorie king I realised that I'd really short changed myself over lunch. Even my salads, which I have been dutifully making and taking to work, have more calories, and considerably more protein. Next time, I'll choose the seafood pasta!
Today was one of those meeting, meeting, meeting days, which meant that I didn't have my usual snacks, that I ate my lunch about two hours later than usual during a meeting, and that I ended up with more than enough calories to enjoy my weekly beer and pizza night. (There's always an upside, isn't there?)
Over the week, I'm well on target for my 1/2 kilo weightloss. I didn't get on the scales on Wed or Thu, but I caved in today and checked. The 400 g weight loss that showed up on Tuesday is still a 400 g weight loss. That was a relief.
Today's challenge: Only having half a pizza tonight, as the base I used had lots of calories in it.
Today's success: See above! That extra slice looked tempting, but I resisted!
Tomorrow's challenge: Like every weekend, staying on track. I find weekends the hardest.
Month of me: Yesterday I used my lavender body lotion. Today I bought myself some cape seed loaf and had a sandwich when I got home from work. I try not to make my month of me treats about food, but my other attempt was going to the library. Unfortunately, it was two seconds to closing time so I was thrown out.
When I plugged the data into calorie king I realised that I'd really short changed myself over lunch. Even my salads, which I have been dutifully making and taking to work, have more calories, and considerably more protein. Next time, I'll choose the seafood pasta!
Today was one of those meeting, meeting, meeting days, which meant that I didn't have my usual snacks, that I ate my lunch about two hours later than usual during a meeting, and that I ended up with more than enough calories to enjoy my weekly beer and pizza night. (There's always an upside, isn't there?)
Over the week, I'm well on target for my 1/2 kilo weightloss. I didn't get on the scales on Wed or Thu, but I caved in today and checked. The 400 g weight loss that showed up on Tuesday is still a 400 g weight loss. That was a relief.
Today's challenge: Only having half a pizza tonight, as the base I used had lots of calories in it.
Today's success: See above! That extra slice looked tempting, but I resisted!
Tomorrow's challenge: Like every weekend, staying on track. I find weekends the hardest.
Month of me: Yesterday I used my lavender body lotion. Today I bought myself some cape seed loaf and had a sandwich when I got home from work. I try not to make my month of me treats about food, but my other attempt was going to the library. Unfortunately, it was two seconds to closing time so I was thrown out.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Quick post
Had a good day yesterday. Managed the eating side of things well. Took the dog for a walk in the morning, which was fun.
Today's challenge: Farewell lunch for someone at work. Fortunately, the menu was circulated in advance. So many yummy choices that would have been much harder to resist when I was in the restaurant. Not a lot of healthy choices. I've selected pasta with a tomato sauce. All I have to do now is resist dessert!
Today's challenge: Farewell lunch for someone at work. Fortunately, the menu was circulated in advance. So many yummy choices that would have been much harder to resist when I was in the restaurant. Not a lot of healthy choices. I've selected pasta with a tomato sauce. All I have to do now is resist dessert!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
A little bit of magic from my childhood
It's the first of Spring today. That means it's the first of September, which makes it the first of the month. When I was a little girl my mother told me that if I said "White Rabbits" three times out loud before I spoke to anybody on the first of the month that I would have a lucky month. I've been trying to do that for years. Each 1st of the month I remember the "White Rabbits" and I earnestly try to earn myself a lucky month by repeating the magic phrase.
This month, I woke up early (3 am), realised the date (I'm always excited by the first of September), and whispered the magic phrase. Next thing you know, Graham is asking me "What did you say?" I whispered the magic phrase again, he went "Uh huh" and we went back to sleep. I have my lucky month, he's amused because he's heard the story of the magic but never heard me try to capture it, and all's well with the world.
What any of this has to do with a weight loss challenge - well, I'm after all the help I can get. If the white rabbits can do it for me then I'm there.
Today I had my PT session with Krissi. We ran for 1:05, which is fantastic, because I have an extra hour of calories in the bank. We managed to run 7.92 km, which is also great. We ran 7.37 on Friday in 1:01. It looks like I'll make the 10 km in the Canberra Times Fun Run on 13th September, which I somehow managed to get myself signed up for. When Krissi mentioned that Fontessa was doing it, I was going to beg off joining her because it's my birthday. My first thought was "Do I want to run 10 km on my birthday?" I rephrased it to "Do I want to run 10 km?" The answer was yes so I figured the birthday factor didn't matter.
I planned for feeling hungry when I got to work, by taking a protein drink with me. In fact, I didn't really feel hungry all day. I worked out my calories before dinner, realised I had plenty of room to move, and stopped worrying that I was going to put the 1.2 kgs that I've already lost back on overnight.
Oh, I did something quite stupid today. I weighed myself again after my weigh in yesterday. I wanted to be SURE that I'd lost 1.2 kgs. I know all about weight fluctuations and I know that it makes sense to weigh once a week instead of every day, but I still climbed on those scales. To my relief, the 1.2 kgs were still gone, along with an additional 400 grams. Now, I know that I didn't lose 400 grams overnight, so I'm not getting my hopes up that it's a permanent weight loss. I've told myself that I'm not going to be silly enough to get back on the scales until Saturday. (I find weighing myself at the start of the weekend is a good motivator to stay strong.)
On the challenge front, I've been trying to work out some interim goals. Krissi suggested that I do this, as a way for her to support me as my trainer. I've been doing a lot of thinking, some of it a bit scary. I knew that once I mentioned one of my possible goals to Krissi it was as good as signing up for it because she'd agree that it was a goal worth pursuing.
Anyway, here's what I've come up with, with thanks to Krissi, Meredith and Graham, who have all had to listen to me work this out.
I'm going to set health and fitness goals for myself every 5 kgs. Once I've lost the weight, I'm going to aim for the goal.
5 kgs - run the Ben Donohoe Fun Run. It's in November, it's a cause I support, some of my running friends in Canberra have done it before, it's a fun run walk, and it would be a good one to gather together the support team and have some fun. This one wouldn't be a fund raiser for my cause, as the Ben Donohoe fund is a good cause in its own right.
10 kgs - go indoor rock climbing. I did this during the Biggest Loser challenge at Fernwood a few years ago, when I first met Krissi and the running girls. I was hopeless at it. I'd like to see if I was any better. The idea is to invite people along and hit them up for a gold coin donation to the cause.
15 kgs - run up Mt Ainslie. This is the one I was hesitating to say out loud. I've run part of it before and I've often thought "hey, wouldn't it be great if I could run the whole way". The first time I walked up the mountain, I climbed it with my friend Alex. Her offer of non-financial support for the challenge has been to walk it with me regularly. I wonder how she'll feel when she hears I'm planning to run up it. I'm going to invite people along to this one too, to celebrate with me at the top after I've hit them up for a gold coin donation.
20 kgs - run the 10km Mother's Day Classic. Run the Canberra half marathon a week later, without stopping this year.
While I was hunting out all these links, I realised that I've been a runner now for pver three years. How cool is that?
Today's success: I'm under my calorie target for the day, even though I've been able to eat more than usual.
Tomorrow's challenge: Not getting on the scales. I will not get on them. I promise!
This month, I woke up early (3 am), realised the date (I'm always excited by the first of September), and whispered the magic phrase. Next thing you know, Graham is asking me "What did you say?" I whispered the magic phrase again, he went "Uh huh" and we went back to sleep. I have my lucky month, he's amused because he's heard the story of the magic but never heard me try to capture it, and all's well with the world.
What any of this has to do with a weight loss challenge - well, I'm after all the help I can get. If the white rabbits can do it for me then I'm there.
Today I had my PT session with Krissi. We ran for 1:05, which is fantastic, because I have an extra hour of calories in the bank. We managed to run 7.92 km, which is also great. We ran 7.37 on Friday in 1:01. It looks like I'll make the 10 km in the Canberra Times Fun Run on 13th September, which I somehow managed to get myself signed up for. When Krissi mentioned that Fontessa was doing it, I was going to beg off joining her because it's my birthday. My first thought was "Do I want to run 10 km on my birthday?" I rephrased it to "Do I want to run 10 km?" The answer was yes so I figured the birthday factor didn't matter.
I planned for feeling hungry when I got to work, by taking a protein drink with me. In fact, I didn't really feel hungry all day. I worked out my calories before dinner, realised I had plenty of room to move, and stopped worrying that I was going to put the 1.2 kgs that I've already lost back on overnight.
Oh, I did something quite stupid today. I weighed myself again after my weigh in yesterday. I wanted to be SURE that I'd lost 1.2 kgs. I know all about weight fluctuations and I know that it makes sense to weigh once a week instead of every day, but I still climbed on those scales. To my relief, the 1.2 kgs were still gone, along with an additional 400 grams. Now, I know that I didn't lose 400 grams overnight, so I'm not getting my hopes up that it's a permanent weight loss. I've told myself that I'm not going to be silly enough to get back on the scales until Saturday. (I find weighing myself at the start of the weekend is a good motivator to stay strong.)
On the challenge front, I've been trying to work out some interim goals. Krissi suggested that I do this, as a way for her to support me as my trainer. I've been doing a lot of thinking, some of it a bit scary. I knew that once I mentioned one of my possible goals to Krissi it was as good as signing up for it because she'd agree that it was a goal worth pursuing.
Anyway, here's what I've come up with, with thanks to Krissi, Meredith and Graham, who have all had to listen to me work this out.
I'm going to set health and fitness goals for myself every 5 kgs. Once I've lost the weight, I'm going to aim for the goal.
5 kgs - run the Ben Donohoe Fun Run. It's in November, it's a cause I support, some of my running friends in Canberra have done it before, it's a fun run walk, and it would be a good one to gather together the support team and have some fun. This one wouldn't be a fund raiser for my cause, as the Ben Donohoe fund is a good cause in its own right.
10 kgs - go indoor rock climbing. I did this during the Biggest Loser challenge at Fernwood a few years ago, when I first met Krissi and the running girls. I was hopeless at it. I'd like to see if I was any better. The idea is to invite people along and hit them up for a gold coin donation to the cause.
15 kgs - run up Mt Ainslie. This is the one I was hesitating to say out loud. I've run part of it before and I've often thought "hey, wouldn't it be great if I could run the whole way". The first time I walked up the mountain, I climbed it with my friend Alex. Her offer of non-financial support for the challenge has been to walk it with me regularly. I wonder how she'll feel when she hears I'm planning to run up it. I'm going to invite people along to this one too, to celebrate with me at the top after I've hit them up for a gold coin donation.
20 kgs - run the 10km Mother's Day Classic. Run the Canberra half marathon a week later, without stopping this year.
While I was hunting out all these links, I realised that I've been a runner now for pver three years. How cool is that?
Today's success: I'm under my calorie target for the day, even though I've been able to eat more than usual.
Tomorrow's challenge: Not getting on the scales. I will not get on them. I promise!
Monday, August 31, 2009
The last day of winter
Super exciting today ... I weighed in to find I'd managed to lose 1.2 kgs. That's even better than I was expecting.
It's amazing how motivating it is when the scales go the right way. I found it much easier to resist temptation today.
Another $2/kg sponsored today, bringing the total to $46/kg. Go team!
Today's success: The weigh in!
Today's challenge: I was hungry when I arrived home from work. Overcame it by preparing dinner, discovering there was no broccoli, and taking the dog for a walk to the shop.
Tomorrow's challenge: Not resting on my laurels.
It's amazing how motivating it is when the scales go the right way. I found it much easier to resist temptation today.
Another $2/kg sponsored today, bringing the total to $46/kg. Go team!
Today's success: The weigh in!
Today's challenge: I was hungry when I arrived home from work. Overcame it by preparing dinner, discovering there was no broccoli, and taking the dog for a walk to the shop.
Tomorrow's challenge: Not resting on my laurels.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Weekend struggle
The weekend is the hardest part! Well, it certainly seems to be this weekend. I'm glad I got myself off to a good start during the week. Funnily enough though, even though it seems to be a struggle, I've managed to keep myself on track. Hooray me.
First of all, Friday was a great day. It started off early, with breakfast before I went running with Krissi. I never used to be able to eat before running, but I had to learn how when I was training for the half. As we were going to be out for an hour, I knew I'd better fuel up. It was a really enjoyable run. Hard work, as I've only been running once a week for a while and I didn't run the last two weeks. I was surprised to discover that we ran 7.37 kms in the hour. I think I made about 6.5 the last time I was out with Krissi, so it was quite an improvement. It also explained why it felt harder.
I knew I'd be hungry, so I planned ahead. I packed a protein drink so that I wouldn't be tempted by a muffin or sausage roll at work. I'm glad I did, as I'd forgotten it was the monthly morning tea. Cakes galore. I held strong and stuck to my eating plan. I managed to negotiate the temptation of fish and chips at lunchtime, choosing a chicken salad instead and then Graham and I swapped the traditional beer and pizza night for tacos, using chicken mince. They were delicious.
I woke up hungry on Saturday. Weetbix for breakfast sounds so healthy but I was surprised to find it's about 100 calories less than my usual toast and cheese. We went shopping so it was late before we got home for lunch. I'd planned a standard lunch but Graham had other plans in mind. We ended up having chicken schnitzel and bacon on a bread roll. It was delicious. I had to stay strong and cut my schnitzel in half, as well as trim all the fat from my bacon. Graham cooked chicken wings as well, as a snack. I did my calorie counting, worked out a sensible dinner, and decided that I could have two wings without doing much damage. I ended up having three as they were so tasty. Fortunately, even with the yummy lunch and snack, it ended up being a weight loss day. It took some doing though.
This morning I had breakfast then Graham cooked the super duper breakfast/lunch combination that is a routine weekend treat here. Fortunately, I have that loaded in calorie king, so I'm able to keep track of that one. Tonight we're having roast chicken. The challenge there will be to take the skin off. If I do that today will end up being a good weight loss day.
I think if I wasn't keeping track in calorie king I'd be completely undoing all the good work I've done all week.
Tomorrow is weigh in day. I'm looking forward to seeing the results for the first week.
First of all, Friday was a great day. It started off early, with breakfast before I went running with Krissi. I never used to be able to eat before running, but I had to learn how when I was training for the half. As we were going to be out for an hour, I knew I'd better fuel up. It was a really enjoyable run. Hard work, as I've only been running once a week for a while and I didn't run the last two weeks. I was surprised to discover that we ran 7.37 kms in the hour. I think I made about 6.5 the last time I was out with Krissi, so it was quite an improvement. It also explained why it felt harder.
I knew I'd be hungry, so I planned ahead. I packed a protein drink so that I wouldn't be tempted by a muffin or sausage roll at work. I'm glad I did, as I'd forgotten it was the monthly morning tea. Cakes galore. I held strong and stuck to my eating plan. I managed to negotiate the temptation of fish and chips at lunchtime, choosing a chicken salad instead and then Graham and I swapped the traditional beer and pizza night for tacos, using chicken mince. They were delicious.
I woke up hungry on Saturday. Weetbix for breakfast sounds so healthy but I was surprised to find it's about 100 calories less than my usual toast and cheese. We went shopping so it was late before we got home for lunch. I'd planned a standard lunch but Graham had other plans in mind. We ended up having chicken schnitzel and bacon on a bread roll. It was delicious. I had to stay strong and cut my schnitzel in half, as well as trim all the fat from my bacon. Graham cooked chicken wings as well, as a snack. I did my calorie counting, worked out a sensible dinner, and decided that I could have two wings without doing much damage. I ended up having three as they were so tasty. Fortunately, even with the yummy lunch and snack, it ended up being a weight loss day. It took some doing though.
This morning I had breakfast then Graham cooked the super duper breakfast/lunch combination that is a routine weekend treat here. Fortunately, I have that loaded in calorie king, so I'm able to keep track of that one. Tonight we're having roast chicken. The challenge there will be to take the skin off. If I do that today will end up being a good weight loss day.
I think if I wasn't keeping track in calorie king I'd be completely undoing all the good work I've done all week.
Tomorrow is weigh in day. I'm looking forward to seeing the results for the first week.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Joined by Kelly
It's exciting. Kelly has joined the cause! Now there are two of us raising money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation through "The Last Twenty". Kel's email is going out this week and she will soon be adding her stories to the blog.
On the progress front, I've made it through day 4 eating healthily. It looks like my first half kilogram is safely in the bag! To date, I've been sponsored $44/kg. It makes it easier to resist the afternoon munchies when you know that there's more at stake than temporary satisfaction.
Working out how to collect the money is today's challenge. With Kelly coming on board I've had to think a bit more about this.
My original idea was that I'd collect the money at the time of the MDC, but some people have offered immediate donations. To cater for this I investigated whether or not people would be able to donate the money directly to the MDC. Unfortunately they aren't set up to take donations for 2010 yet. I've considered options such as banking the money, but that adds in an administration overhead that could get messy. One option that doesn't look too bad is the "Everyday Hero" website. The drawback is that there's a 6.5% admin fee, plus a $1.10 credit card fee and a 30c transaction fee, not to mention a monthly fee of $30 for the charity to be a member. I'm tossing up whether or not I should rethink how much work there is in the admin overhead so that the money goes directly to the charity. In the meantime, I'm looking into setting up a fundraising page on the National Breast Cancer Foundation's website. It's a bit clumsy looking, but I might be able to make it work. I'll spend some time on that over the weekend.
Today's success story: I bought a sensible healthy lunch today and wasn't even tempted by the hot food in the cafeteria at work.
Tomorrow's challenge: I'm running in the morning, which means I'll be hungry. I've been eating a sausage roll on days I run, on the grounds that I've already run it off. Not tomorrow! I'll take a healthy snack to work instead. That's the plan!
On the progress front, I've made it through day 4 eating healthily. It looks like my first half kilogram is safely in the bag! To date, I've been sponsored $44/kg. It makes it easier to resist the afternoon munchies when you know that there's more at stake than temporary satisfaction.
Working out how to collect the money is today's challenge. With Kelly coming on board I've had to think a bit more about this.
My original idea was that I'd collect the money at the time of the MDC, but some people have offered immediate donations. To cater for this I investigated whether or not people would be able to donate the money directly to the MDC. Unfortunately they aren't set up to take donations for 2010 yet. I've considered options such as banking the money, but that adds in an administration overhead that could get messy. One option that doesn't look too bad is the "Everyday Hero" website. The drawback is that there's a 6.5% admin fee, plus a $1.10 credit card fee and a 30c transaction fee, not to mention a monthly fee of $30 for the charity to be a member. I'm tossing up whether or not I should rethink how much work there is in the admin overhead so that the money goes directly to the charity. In the meantime, I'm looking into setting up a fundraising page on the National Breast Cancer Foundation's website. It's a bit clumsy looking, but I might be able to make it work. I'll spend some time on that over the weekend.
Today's success story: I bought a sensible healthy lunch today and wasn't even tempted by the hot food in the cafeteria at work.
Tomorrow's challenge: I'm running in the morning, which means I'll be hungry. I've been eating a sausage roll on days I run, on the grounds that I've already run it off. Not tomorrow! I'll take a healthy snack to work instead. That's the plan!
A busy day
I'm glad I planned what I was going to eat yesterday as it would have been really easy to go astry ... and it's only day three! The day was complicated by the fact that I was getting up at 5 am to fly to Melbourne for work, then heading out to see Alice Cooper that evening.
Qantas has changed the breakfast menu recently so I plugged it into Calorie King before I left. I also added a healthy sandwich option. I knew the Qantas muffin was around 200 cal, so I replaced that as a snack with some biscuits from home. Fortunately, there was a group of people travelling and I was the only one with Qantas Club membership, so I didn't go in. That solved the temptation problem associated with the "free" food and drinks. On the plane back, when I was hungry, the afternoon snack was carrot cake. How good was that? I don't like carrot cake. I had the apple option instead. The only bad thing about the flight was the turbulence on the way back into Canberra. I didn't hear anyone scream but I was hanging on to the seat in front of me, as were the passengers on either side of me. Thank goodness all flights aren't like that.
Another win for the day was that we were on an earlier flight, which meant that I had time to have dinner at home before going to the concert. Graham cooked, which was fantastic, except that chops were on the menu. I plugged the chop into Calorie King and thought philosopically, oh well, as long as I keep the average down I'll hit my target weight loss for the week. Then my brain kicked into gear. I cut all the visible fat off the chop, enjoyed my dinner as I felt virtuous, and made my calorie count target for the day.
Yesterday's success story: The apple. I'm not all that fond of apples and the carrot cake icing did look delicious.
Today's challenge: Nothing comes to mind. I'll have to watch the afternoon munchies.
PS: The Alice Cooper concert was terrific!
Qantas has changed the breakfast menu recently so I plugged it into Calorie King before I left. I also added a healthy sandwich option. I knew the Qantas muffin was around 200 cal, so I replaced that as a snack with some biscuits from home. Fortunately, there was a group of people travelling and I was the only one with Qantas Club membership, so I didn't go in. That solved the temptation problem associated with the "free" food and drinks. On the plane back, when I was hungry, the afternoon snack was carrot cake. How good was that? I don't like carrot cake. I had the apple option instead. The only bad thing about the flight was the turbulence on the way back into Canberra. I didn't hear anyone scream but I was hanging on to the seat in front of me, as were the passengers on either side of me. Thank goodness all flights aren't like that.
Another win for the day was that we were on an earlier flight, which meant that I had time to have dinner at home before going to the concert. Graham cooked, which was fantastic, except that chops were on the menu. I plugged the chop into Calorie King and thought philosopically, oh well, as long as I keep the average down I'll hit my target weight loss for the week. Then my brain kicked into gear. I cut all the visible fat off the chop, enjoyed my dinner as I felt virtuous, and made my calorie count target for the day.
Yesterday's success story: The apple. I'm not all that fond of apples and the carrot cake icing did look delicious.
Today's challenge: Nothing comes to mind. I'll have to watch the afternoon munchies.
PS: The Alice Cooper concert was terrific!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Day 2 - on my way
I'm logging my calories, in and out, online at Calorie King. To get to my goal I have to lose between 0.5 and 1 kg per week. I just did some counting. There are 37 weeks between now and Mother's Day, so I should manage that quite comfortably.
When I successfully lost 43 kilos, I kept a food and exercise diary. It made all the difference. Recently (over the past 12 months) I've had a stop start relationship with keeping my diary. I've managed to keep records for a few days and then I "skip" the weekend.
That's this week's goal: Keep the food diary every day for the next week.
Two days down and five to go!
On the exercise front, I had PT this morning. 20 mins running on the treadmill, followed by 40 mins of gym work. My abs certainly got a good workout this morning.
Yesterday's struggle: Hitting the send button on the first email that I sent out. Would you believe that I have been thinking this through for a few weeks. I nearly didn't do it. Fortunately, I have a few good friends who encouraged me through the doubts.
Yesterday's second struggle: Hitting the send button on the email to my workmates. I knew the running girls would support me but I felt like I was going out on quite a limb by putting this challenge out there at work.
Yesterday's success story: The fantastic support from everyone! I'm so glad I managed to hit that button.
Today's struggle: I've felt hungry all day. I don't know how much it's psychological. I've been using exercise as a reason to eat what I like. Today, I kept an eye on it.
Today's success story: My calorie count is right on target. I use a guide that I read in Jillian Michael's Biggest Loser book to let me know how I'm going, as Calorie King's targets don't really suit me. It does all the arithmetic though, so I work with it. :-)
Tomorrow's challenge (apart from the food diary): I'm travelling to Melbourne for meetings (stupid o'clock start but getting back to Canberra around 5:30 pm) then going to an Alice Cooper concert at 7 pm. I have to manage the food choices (plane and cafeteria) then do something sensible for dinner. It can be done! It will be done!
When I successfully lost 43 kilos, I kept a food and exercise diary. It made all the difference. Recently (over the past 12 months) I've had a stop start relationship with keeping my diary. I've managed to keep records for a few days and then I "skip" the weekend.
That's this week's goal: Keep the food diary every day for the next week.
Two days down and five to go!
On the exercise front, I had PT this morning. 20 mins running on the treadmill, followed by 40 mins of gym work. My abs certainly got a good workout this morning.
Yesterday's struggle: Hitting the send button on the first email that I sent out. Would you believe that I have been thinking this through for a few weeks. I nearly didn't do it. Fortunately, I have a few good friends who encouraged me through the doubts.
Yesterday's second struggle: Hitting the send button on the email to my workmates. I knew the running girls would support me but I felt like I was going out on quite a limb by putting this challenge out there at work.
Yesterday's success story: The fantastic support from everyone! I'm so glad I managed to hit that button.
Today's struggle: I've felt hungry all day. I don't know how much it's psychological. I've been using exercise as a reason to eat what I like. Today, I kept an eye on it.
Today's success story: My calorie count is right on target. I use a guide that I read in Jillian Michael's Biggest Loser book to let me know how I'm going, as Calorie King's targets don't really suit me. It does all the arithmetic though, so I work with it. :-)
Tomorrow's challenge (apart from the food diary): I'm travelling to Melbourne for meetings (stupid o'clock start but getting back to Canberra around 5:30 pm) then going to an Alice Cooper concert at 7 pm. I have to manage the food choices (plane and cafeteria) then do something sensible for dinner. It can be done! It will be done!
Monday, August 24, 2009
The Last Twenty
I'm after your help. I've decided that I'm going to lose "The Last Twenty" kgs by May next year. I've been going to do this for some time and I just haven't been able to get motivated. I've done some thinking about why this is happening and that's when I realised that I needed help to get there.
What sort of help am I after?
Sponsorship - Please sponsor me to lose weight. My target date is Mother's Day next year. In Australia that's the second Sunday in May. All the money raised will go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation via the Mother's Day Classic. I'll keep track of all pledges, bank the money, and make sure you get tax receipts if you want one. (The MDC has a way for me to do that provided that you get your money to me by the end of May 2010.) My thinking is that having sponsorship will help keep me motivated and I'll enjoy trying to raise as much money as I can for the cause. Hey, you can even ask your friends to sponsor me!
Encouragement - Encouraging comments, anecdotes about what's worked for you, interesting recipes, tips and tricks, motivational stories. It's all good. Give me a call, drop me a line via email, chat to me on Facebook or text me to ask how it's going. I'm going to post updates here about my progress - weight loss and money raised.
Supervision - For those of you who see me in person on a regular basis, if you see me reaching for that second chocolate biscuit, feel free to ask me how I'm going with "The Last Twenty". Keeping me on the straight and narrow will help me immensely.
Join me - If you have a weight loss or fitness goal and would like to join me with the MDC sponsorship / target date idea, feel free to sign up. I'm going to lean heavily on friends and family who are also looking after their health.
Run or Walk the MDC with me - As this is my goal date for the weight loss target, I'd love it if you were able to come along and participate, even if it's in a different city . I'm even thinking of organising t-shirts!
Looking forward to hearing from you.
What sort of help am I after?
Sponsorship - Please sponsor me to lose weight. My target date is Mother's Day next year. In Australia that's the second Sunday in May. All the money raised will go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation via the Mother's Day Classic. I'll keep track of all pledges, bank the money, and make sure you get tax receipts if you want one. (The MDC has a way for me to do that provided that you get your money to me by the end of May 2010.) My thinking is that having sponsorship will help keep me motivated and I'll enjoy trying to raise as much money as I can for the cause. Hey, you can even ask your friends to sponsor me!
Encouragement - Encouraging comments, anecdotes about what's worked for you, interesting recipes, tips and tricks, motivational stories. It's all good. Give me a call, drop me a line via email, chat to me on Facebook or text me to ask how it's going. I'm going to post updates here about my progress - weight loss and money raised.
Supervision - For those of you who see me in person on a regular basis, if you see me reaching for that second chocolate biscuit, feel free to ask me how I'm going with "The Last Twenty". Keeping me on the straight and narrow will help me immensely.
Join me - If you have a weight loss or fitness goal and would like to join me with the MDC sponsorship / target date idea, feel free to sign up. I'm going to lean heavily on friends and family who are also looking after their health.
Run or Walk the MDC with me - As this is my goal date for the weight loss target, I'd love it if you were able to come along and participate, even if it's in a different city . I'm even thinking of organising t-shirts!
Looking forward to hearing from you.
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