Lost the Exercise/Eating Plot

I would credit this quote; but I do not know who said it.

I feel like I have lost the exercise and eating plot. Last week was not that bad in terms of food, but seriously the exercise started to taper off.

I was determined that this week was going to be better with exercise and eating. It is now Thursday and I have fallen off the wagon BIG TIME.

I have all the excuses in the world. Want to hear them? Just kidding.

At the end of the day there are no excuses that can justify my actions. I make my own decisions whether they are right or wrong. I cannot look back at what I have or have not done. I can only move forward. To quote Nike “just do it”.

So things that will help:

• Do not even buy high-GI, high sugar/fat food
• Having some healthy snacks available to curb cravings i.e. fruit, prunes, seeds and nuts
• Buying a waterproof jacket to walk in; can I get waterproof covers for my shoes?
• Using the fitness DVD’s or wind-trainer if it is simply too wet to walk
• Keeping up-to-date with the laundry so we have towels, gym gear etc.
• Getting more sleep

Now for the too much information (TMI) part. I have PMT and it is making my scratchy and uncomfortable in my own skin. Last night I was yelling (like a Banshee) and stumbled and just about fell through a window. Serves me right…right?

I am craving sweet shit every single day. Obviously, I am lacking something if I want chocolate morning, noon and night. I checked the cravings list and it could be magnesium?     

The good news is, is that it is finally sunny and not raining. This makes me happy!

Weekend Carnage

I am just starting week 3 of regular exercise. I have adjusted my exercise plan slightly; revised one above. I can honestly say that I am really enjoying walking at night. I NEVER thought I would ever say that. It is a nice hour or so of time-out listening to music and winding down from my day at work.

I missed a couple of evening exercise blocks on Tuesday and Wednesday. I also did not do any exercise between my walk on Friday night and the gym on Monday.

My weekends are often carnage! I think it is something to do with being out of a routine; so that just means that I need to develop a weekend routine that works for me (and Mark). Coincidently I just read a great blog by Susie Burrell ‘Are Weekends Making You Fat?’ which I thought was quite timely.

Also the eating was shit!! Waiting for payday is the worst! You eat what you have in the cupboards/fridge etc. and unfortunately we had a lot of bread in the freezer. Ugh. Total bloat fest!

I have realised that I am going to have to cut out pasta, rice and bread for a while until I can learn portion control. Will I miss them? Probably not! Will it kill me? Definitely not! I have a friend who is doing low carb and she is constantly finding amazing alternatives; think “pimped” cauliflower mash!

I had an epiphany at the gym this morning. What if I stock up the freezer with lots of good things so that we have healthy options if we are struggling to get through to payday? *ding* total light bulb moment. There are a lot of blog posts that I have read over the past year that talk about stocking your freezer. We are a bit limited as we only have the freezer under the fridge; however we are definitely considering getting a standalone freezer to stock with frozen vegetables, fruit, chicken etc.

I can definitely understand why our parents and grandparents generations bottled, canned and preserved fruit/vegetables when they were growing in abundance. I really should start bottling and preserving as I know a few people online that are definitely doing it; makes sense.

These were some of the ideas I had for stocking the cupboard/freezer:

• Cannellini Beans
• Chick Peas
• Canned Tomatoes
• Frozen Vegetables/Fruit
• Chicken
• Lentils
• Rolled Oats

What are your suggestions for food to have on hand when things are a bit tight?

The Key to my Success is Planning

I have known for a while what the key to successfully changing my lifestyle is. It is planning.

Unfortunately, this seemingly simple concept was something I failed to grasp or at least failed to implement.

My bad food choices come from a distinct lack of planning. Do these ring any bells?

- Not taking food out of the freezer to defrost

- Not planning meals

- Not having all the meal ingredients to make healthy, nutritious meals

- Eating on the run

- Eating at your desk

- Not having healthy snacks available at work, in the car or at home

- Not packing lunch the night before

- Being “bored” or “fussy” about meal/snack options

- Being hungry

When I went out on the road as a Sales Rep my eating habits turned to custard. I would often eat on the run or driving between clients. There were some days when I had fast food every single day.

So what have I been doing differently in 2012?

- Taking food out of the freezer

- Thinking ahead about meals and what we need to have in the house to create these

- Writing shopping lists

- Buying fresh fruit/vegetables a few times a week + our vegetable garden produce

- Trying not to waste food

- Choosing to eat what I have brought for lunch rather than going out even if it means eating tuna and salad every day *gag*

- Coming up with tasty/healthy snack ideas

- Putting our lunches together at night and adding the refrigerated goodies to the bags as we leave the house

- Trying to focus on eating instead of eating on the run

- Having healthy snacks in the car and my hand-bag and “yes” I did pull out a plastic container of prunes to snack on at a bar!

Planning also applies to exercise.

We are into our second week of our return to the gym (and exercise) and it is going well. It still means we have to plan, plan, PLAN and be super organised:

- Have a schedule and stick to it

- Get home from work and change into workout gear 

- Unpack gym bags at night; put washing on

- Repack gym bags, replenish toiletries, do ironing etc.

- Make salad for dinner

- Do evening exercise

- Put washing out (so we do not run out of clean gym gear)

- Finish (or start) making dinner

- Shower

- Eat dinner

- Any leftovers become lunch for one (or both) of us

- Clean the bench

- Relax for a bit and fold any clean, dry washing

- Blog, read or read blogs

- Fall into bed

So I am PLANNING to succeed.

P.S. I think that routine is crucial as well and slowly we are falling into a great routine.

2 months, 1 day

I find it unbelievable that Christmas is so close. How did that happen?

This morning I went to the gym despite having a sore lower back. I tried to walk on the treadmill and that was not good; so I swapped to the stationary bike. I managed to do about 30 minutes of cardio which was a fairly poor effort. Mind you I was trying to talk myself out of working out at all so even 30 minutes is better than none.

I am not on track to hit my Christmas target. I feel angry at myself and my lack of planning/discipline. However, I am not going to give up. I have 8 weeks and I can make those 8 weeks count. I can ‘choose’ to lose 8kg or 16kg. I am going to aim for 16kg!  This means sorting my eating out and committing to exercise.

How will I do it?

- Plan my meals and increase my vegetable and fruit intake

- Remember to take food out of the freezer before work

- Stop eating pasta for a while (this is my weakness)

- Reducing my portion sizes (I even disgusted myself at the amount of pasta I ate yesterday)

- Aim for lower G.I. food to keep my blood sugar stable

- No takeaways
- Drink less coffee and more herbal tea
- Have less salt

- More sleep

- Get out of bed when the alarm goes off and drag my butt to the gym

- Do 20-30 minutes of exercise when I get home after work

- Start doing yoga or Pilates

- Build my core strength

- Read the two health and fitness books I have in my bedside drawer for inspiration and motivation

- Buy a pair of new shoes

At the end of the day I know what to do I just need to stop talking about it and ‘just do it’.

Birthday week/end

Jumped on the scales this morning and my weight had not changed. To be honest I was a little disappointed, but not really that surprised. I had my birthday last Friday; so from Friday through to Monday it was all about birthday food and cake. So staying the same is better than gaining.

How do we get through weeks of “celebration”? Eating in moderation, not snacking on party food (fill a small plate and move away from the table), upping the amount of exercise. A few months ago I met a woman that strongly advocated weight-loss using meal replacement shakes for all meals. Over our lives there are going to be times when this is not achievable and seriously….HOW BORING!

So do not fear birthdays, weddings, parties etc. but just be prepared. If you are hosting the party then think about healthy options i.e. salsa, hummus, rice crackers, dipping vegetables, fruit kebabs etc. If you are a guest then offset a “naughty” choice with healthy options and eat a proper meal before you go to the party.

I had a quick chat with Arlene my personal trainer on the weekend and there are about 4.5 months until summer officially kicks in. She mentioned that she thought I could be down about 40kg by then. This would mean losing about 2kg per week for the next 18-20 weeks. I figure that it is quite achievable with a lot of planning, focus, healthy eating, portion control and regular exercise.

I tend to hibernate in winter; yes like a bear. When we get home in the evenings after the gym I tend to have a HUGE meal and then hop into bed with the cats and watch TV. So my plan from here on in is to drastically reduce the size of my dinner every evening and make a conscious effort not to eat rice, pasta or potatoes after 2pm each day.

Every day I have to reconfirm to myself why I am doing this:
- For my health
- To get pregnant
- To stop feeling obese and crappy
- To have more energy
- To fit into an airline seat and actually put the tray down properly

Previous Weight: 157.4kg
Current Weight: 157.4kg
Weight Difference: 0kg
Initial Goal Weight: 99kg
Work out pledge: 3 cardio and 2 resistance workouts