What's up

Sorry for not reporting in for a while. I needed some time for quiet reflection. I lost the plot on the weekend. Fell head on onto my old bingeing habits. It was messy. Sunday afternoon I felt as though I was coming out of a food induced fog, and had to survey the damage...

Two days of out of control eating resulted in a 2 kg gain for the week. it could have been worse.

So this week I am back on track. I am taking a few days off of counting cals and am just eating healthy and exercising. Tryin.g to get my head back in the game.

I have a 4 day weekend starting tomorrow. I will need to count to make it through that. But I will get there. I figure as long as I am taking 2 steps forward for every 1 step back then I am making progress.

An Interesting Thing Happened...

About a week ago I gave myself permission to eat whatever the hell I want, whenever I want. No limits. Nothing out of bounds. Nothing is banned. Pizza, ice cream, chocolate, Maccas breakfast - It is all freely available to me whenever I want it. The first thing this did, was to stop me craving it. As soon as I knew that if I really REALLY wanted something I would allow myself to have it and not beat myself up over it, it lost some of its appeal (not ALL of its appeal mind you) LOL

Yesterday was one of those days. I was feeling sick, tired, achey, stressed, pre-menstrual, and damn it, I wanted to eat crap. 

So I did...  I ate a fair bit (although not as much as I would have done in the past)

And it tasted goooood. :)

I ate way too much and it is highly unlikely I will lose any weight this week, and I don't care. It made me feel good. 

Yes, I know, we are not meant to use food for our emotions, but the fact is, I do. I always have. And the sooner I accept that, the sooner I can deal and move on. To me, food = comfort and happiness. I can not change that. I have tried for nearly 40 years. It is never going to change. So I accept it.

I ate what I wanted, and I enjoyed it. No guilt or recriminations. My biggest concern was that once I started stuffing my face I would never want to stop again.

Then an interesting thing happened. This morning I have no desire for any crappy food whatsoever. None. I want to eat healthy. I drove past Maccas on the way to work (which usually elicits a longing look, a sigh, and a deep craving) and I turned my nose up. The thought of it was a turn off. I actually wanted to eat my oats. I have a healthy lunch with me and I am looking forward to eating it. The binge thoughts that have been plaguing me, pretty much since the beginning of the year, are gone. I am looking forward to eating well and feeling well as a result. 

First Monthly Goal Achieved

So this week I upped my walks from 30 minutes to 40 minutes. I am still not fast, but I felt ready to go for longer. Out I headed. At the 21 minute mark (I walk faster on the way back so always head out for 1 minute more than the half way point) I had gone a lot further than I expected. But I turned around and got home in 20 minutes. Out of curiosity I used mapmyride.com to see how far I went.

3.28kms!

Yay! I am really happy with that distance. And that is January walking goal achieved. I am now aiming for 4kms by the end of Feb.

Weigh In

I had an awesome week last week, followed by a terrible terrible weekend. However, I managed to maintain a 1.5kg loss for the week, which was really not deserved, so I am thankful for it.

I started at the gym, and was lucky enough to have 2 gym buddies join me on my first session. It definitely made it more enjoyable, plus I had to go as there were 2 people waiting for me. My arms were sore for a couple of days, but I feel good now. I have an incredibly busy week this week, but am going to aim to get back there tomorrow night.

My fitness plans for the week are:
3 x 40 min walks
2 x 30 min rides
2 x weight sessions
1 x any extra exercise I choose

Partway through Week 2

And all going well. Ish. :)

I put my back out on Monday night. I went for a walk after work, and it turns out all the footpaths on the streets around where I work are slightly sloped down towards the road. Just enough to be painful after 10 minutes or so. I woke up Tuesday morning with my back in spasms. It has settled down somewhat now, although I am going to try and get in to see my chiropractor tonight as it is still out. I have done a couple of slow walks, but nothing too strenuous since then.

Food has been good, apart from Tuesday night. Movie Popcorn. I will say no more...

I had my induction at the gym last night. Because my back is out I couldn't really do anything, but she gave me an upper body weight program and showed me how to use all the equipment. If my back is more settled by tomorrow night I will try and get there and work my way through it. It turns out a few of my friends are members of the same gym, so hopefully we can buddy up occasionally which will make it more fun.

One Week In....

And going well. Last week I ended up with 6 really good days, and one day that I will consider a "Learning Curve". Sunday. My plans for the day were housework and study. Husband was at work most of the day. So it was just me. And a fridge full of food.... It didn't end well... The day ended in a case of insomnia (I think I have had about 3 hours of sleep which included the 1 hour sleep in I got since I did not get up and walk this morning) and my night time insomnia activities of fridge raiding reared their ugly head.

So I need to sit down and think about ways to handle study days and insomnia.

Despite waking up still feeling full and sick from yesterday, I got on the scales. 163.9 which is a loss of 2.4 kgs. I have to be happy with that after yesterday! I can't help but think what they would have said if I wasn't still digesting, but hey, any loss is a good loss and I am on track for my 8 kilo loss for this month.

So tonight I have to go for a walk to make up for this morning. Then I will try and get an early night and catch up on some much needed sleep.

I joined the Gym

Yep, I did it. I actually joined a gym. My membership starts on Wednesday and I have my induction that night. I am going to ask for an upper body weights plan. My legs are pretty strong. My plan will be to get there for 2 weight sessions a week, I will have to work that into my exercise plan somehow. I will also utitlise the gym for cardio, be it the machines or Group Fitness when I get fitter. I can use any of their centres so may even join up with my OFB Buddy occasionally for a workout. She is a member of the same chain of gyms.

Yesterday ended well again, although I took the slack option for dinner and got Subway. I ate 1939 cals which is great.

I am having a rest day today and boy do I need it. My legs are SO tired and achey. My feet are swollen. And I generally feel bloated and blech. But I will come good tomorrow and by Monday will be ready for the new week of exercise.

My exercise plan for the new week is
5 x 30 min walks
2 x 20 min rides (may be on the exercise bike at the gym)
1 x weight session

Sunday will be my rest day and I think I am going to need it. LOL

5 days walking

YAY! I made it through 5 days of getting up early and walking. And now I have 2 rest days and I am SO excited by that! My legs are incredibly tired and fatigued, but it is a real accomplishment for me to have achieved this.

I had another good food day yesterday - 2020 cals. The weekend is going to be harder. No exercise so only 1800 cals, plus I will not have the structure of a work day. But I will do my best and see how I go.

Last night I was absolutely STARVING! But instead of reaching for the food I reached for the phone and sent a text to my OHB Buddy. She talked me through the hunger and I went to bed dead on calories. I love having a buddy to help me through this.

As promised, here are my monthly goals so that I will be on track to meet my 2 major goals for the year. Yes, I am starting small, but I am incredibly un-fit, and you gotta start somewhere.

Walking to 21 kms

Monthly goals
January - 3 kms
February - 4 kms
March - 5 kms
April - 7 kms
May - 9 kms
June - 10 kms
July - 12 kms
August - 14 kms
September - 16 kms
October - 18 kms
November - 21.1 kms

Cycling to 100 kms

Monthly goals
January - 10 kms
February - 15 kms
March - 20 kms
April - 30 kms
May - 40 kms
June - 50 kms
July - 60 kms
August - 60 kms
September - 70 kms
October - 80 kms
November - 90 kms
December - 100 kms

I thought I would show you an example of what I am having for lunches. I mentioned the other day I did a big cook up. Todays feast includes a pasta bake cooked with TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein for the non-vego's out there), a garden salad, a hard boiled egg and a meat-free patty. If I am still hungry after all that (which can happen) I also have fruit with me. :)

 

Mini Goal

I thought I should set a mini goal for my weight. Otherwise the goal is just to mountainous to consider. So my first mini goal is to hit 150. I would like to do that in 3 months, which I believe is achievable but not too stressful.

I also have some monthly goals for my 2 exercise challenges for the year, but I left them home so I will post them later.

Yesterday was another good day. 1902 cals which is awesome. Kept my water up and went for my walk.

Last night I went out to the Archery Range with my husband to have a go. He has been trying to get me out there for ages so last night I went. Of course, I am currently dealing with a pulled rotator cuff injury so it may not have been the smartest thing to do... I was okay for the first few dozen, then I felt it pull. I should have stopped straight away but I was actually having a lot of fun so kept going. I went too far. Luckily I am seeing the Physio again on Friday so will get it looked at again.

This morning on my walk I felt like I was walking through water. My legs are tiring. But I will still walk tomorrow and then give myself the whole weekend as a rest.

So far I am feeling good with all this. lets hope the feeling lasts. :)

Day 3

Another great day yesterday. 1945 calories (spot on target) and felt good all day. A little bit of hunger, but nothing too intense. I got up early and went for my walk this morning. It was a great walk actually. The cool change came in over night and took the blinding heat and the humidity with it. This morning was just beautiful being out on the street. I also took a peek at the scales (I tend to weigh every 2-3 days) and am happy with the weeks progress so far.

Over the Xmas break I started planning for OFB. I put aside a day and did a big cook up so I have enough lunches for 3-4 weeks. I made spinach pie (absolutely to die for), a zucchini loaf (trying for the first time today) and a pasta bake. One of those with a small salad, a hard boiled egg and a meat-free patty (I pre-cooked a whole heap and froze them) and my lunches are done for the month. It is already making it easier than I have experienced before. I used to eat very little for lunch and spend the rest of the day starving (or bingeing) so this is working well for me.

One thing that is probably important to know is that I am pescatarian (life a vegetarian but I occasionally eat seafood). I was vegetarian for over 2 years but in the last couple of months have started having the occasional seafood meal. I can only tolerate small amounts of it (I stopped eating meat as it is the main aggravator of my IBS), but I am really enjoying the extra element in my diet.

I am also thinking of joining a gym again. I will be honest, I don’t like them. But I have absolutely no upper body strength and need to do some weights (upper body strength makes cycling easier believe it or not). Plus it takes the weather out of the equation. We have just had several days of 39+ heat and a gym will definitely make exercising in that easier. Plus they have classes, and Yoga and things, which I am interested in. I am looking at Goodlife. They have 2 gyms convenient to me (one close to work and one close to home). We will see though.

Day 2

Well, day 1 went pretty well. I did my exercise, ate only 1615 calories (which is quite low, but I saved a whole heap for night time which is my munchie time and then dinner was really filling so I stopped), and drank all my water.

I got up at 5.45 this morning (rude, I know) and went for my 30 minute walk. I am only walking a little over 2kms coz I am slow (had a torn Achilles tendon last year that took ages and ages to heal and it is still a bit sensitive), but it is still 30 minutes of movement, and I can only get better. I have made my lunch and it is in the fridge here at work ready to go. It will be another good day.

My exercise goal for this week is 5 x 30 minute walks. So far I am 2 from 2 which is awesome. Am going to try and get them done by Friday so I don’t have to think about it on the weekend.

There is not really much else to say today. I will probably only check in every few days or when there is something to report.

Till next time. J

Day 1

I have been planning on starting this path to fitness for a while. But getting on the scales today was still a rude awakening....

But first, a bit of history.

I have been a fatty my whole life to varying degrees. 4 years ago I lost 45 kilos and was well on my way to getting fit and healthy. A variety of life issues pushed my focus and I turned back to food to cope. Last year the life issues had all passed and I was taken down with a torn Achilles tendon. Due to my weight it took a long long time to heal (and I still need to be careful) and a year of inactivity on top of 2 years of comfort eating has left me back at the starting point. Actually, I am heavier than ever.

I turn 40 in 12 months. I want to be fit. I don't really care about the fat too much, but I know that in order to be fit I need to drop a lot of it.

I have 2 fitness goals for 2012:
 - to cycle 100kms in a day
 - to walk a half marathon distance (21.1kms)

As for my weight, I need to lose over 90 kilos. This will take 3-4 years. I am fine with that.

My plan will be reviewed monthly. For January my plan is
 - 1800-2200 calories (depending on activity levels)
 - 1.5 L of water a day
 - 5 days exercise (gradually increasing in type, length and intensity)
 - lose 8 kgs

First weigh in - 166.3kgs (366.6 lbs)