In the weight-loss/trying to get fitter realm there is possibly no feeling worse than falling off the wagon. You feel like all your hard work - meal planning, label-reading, calorie burning etc - has been for nothing if you're just going to give in to temptation and stuff yourself silly at the first opportunity.
Well, that's where I am right now! An "ex-wagon member". In all fairness, to myself and the forces which conspired against me, it was entirely a wagon fall ... in two nights (Fri & Sat) I had a wedding and dinner at a FABULOUS restaurant with friends. For the wedding I had given myself a bit of a "free pass" - and if I'm honest it wasn't SO bad. I probably ate one too many of the finger food thingies ... I had five, although two were small cubes of cheese with an olive, one 4cm diameter mini-pizza, a meatball and slice of chicken sausage roll. Heh, high society wedding of course. I ate less than a quarter of my entree - piece of lasagna (horrible) - and one slice of my soggy cardboard masquerading as lamb, and the ONE piece of cauliflower and broccoli, and some of the overcooked carrots. I had about half of my dessert - some sort of baked cheesecake.
I DID have about five drinks though - oops! One glass of champagne - some revoltingly sweet stuff - a light beer, a glass of red wine and two full strength beers. That was from 6pm to midnight though, so was pretty-well close to sober, plus there was a good dose of dancing!
Dinner with friends was pretty good too, honestly. Had two slices of very delicious authentic Italian pizza (as previously raved about) and shared a small rocket & parmesan salad. Had two glasses of red (it was an ITALIAN restaurant, it's just culturally insensitive not to) and another one of those AMAZING hot chocolates. Mmmm.
The food was not good, but it could've been much worse. Plus, on Friday did 40 mins of continuous swimming, Saturday did 40 minute walk with dog (Bella) and Darren (not a dog), and on Sunday I mowed Darren's lawn and washed my car, as well as lugging an 8km gas bottle (for the BBQ) all around Bunnings, the carpark, Darren's place and then up six flights of stairs. Heh, not REALLY exercise, but better than nothing.
Anyway, today I have seriously been positively saintly. Muesli/yoghurt for breakfast, salad with feta for lunch, some natural yoghurt for arvo tea, a green tea and then did Bikram (90 minutes of sweatin'). Dinner was sorta homemade fried rice ... without the fried bit. Basically stir fried zucchini, carrot and broccoli in a pan with just a light spray of olive oil, then 100g of tofu, then about 1 tab of sweet chilli sauce and 1/2 cup of Doongara (low GI) rice. Whoo hoo!
Now am having a cup of Dandelion tea. Heh, LOTS of people turn their nose up at the Dandelion tea ... but it's really good for liver function. A few years ago (two I think) I contracted Ross River Fever while on holiday in Darwin - pesky mosquitos! The side-effects/symptoms vary, but for me it meant extreme fatigue, night sweats/fevers, headaches and YAY slightly reduced liver function. Thankfully the liver is an organ you can "fix" through healthy eating and lifestyle. I've never had it tested again, but I reckon it's doing pretty good. I look after it. Heh, major segue there.
Here's another one. Darwin is AWESOME. Aside from the mosquitos (and it probably could've been a mosquito in Sydney or anywhere else I'd been that year). ESPECIALLY if you're single. There's a chronic shortage of non-slapper women up there. There's every variety of single man you can imagine - business owner, journalist/editor, tour guide (aHem), PLUS there are all three arms of the defence force up there ... and at any given time there are soldiers/sailors/airmen visiting from other countries. Hot English Navy boys - ahoy there! Ha ha. Obviously you've gotta take care of yourself, but you can have some fabulous fun. Not just with the male attention, but there are some fantastic things to see and do.
Hmm, travel plug over. For now.
In major MAJOR countdown mode for the weekend/start of my holiday/A's 30th. Four more sleeps. Speaking of sleep. Must get some asap.
Monday, 10 November 2008
Friday, 7 November 2008
New Food
This morning I saw my lovely nutritionist to get my "food plan". Thankfully she said my food was "mostly good", but I have confused not only my mind but also my body after reading 1001 things about fats, carbs, proteins and whatever else. Everything she said made sense, I'd just never put it all together in my head ... something about seeing the woods for the trees or whatever.
I think where I was going wrong was not maintaining a balance through the day, especially in terms of carbs. When it comes to carbs my thinking has always been a slight bastardisation of the old "eat like a king at breakfast, queen at lunch and pauper at dinner", breakfasts were generally carb heavy, lunch less so and generally NONE past 3pm. Heh, wrong! For me anyway, but basically what this does is cause a spike in insulin levels as the body tries to break the carbs down, which then staggers up and down each time I eat something after that. THEN because I wasn't eating any in the arvo, I essentially put my body into "freak out starvation mode" where it just slowed right down in case it didn't get any more carbs. Or something.
Plus, I found out that sushi rice is the worst rice there is for maintaining weight loss ... and I definitely eat sushi at least once or twice a week. No more of that thanks!
Anyhoo, the plan is to maintain a carb balance, and boost the protein intake. So, breakfast will still be muesli/porridge - but 1/2 a cup, with 2 tabs yoghurt and 1/2 cup skim milk - no added fruit. Alternatively, two slices of Burgen bread (toasted) with avocado and tomato or other non-fatty spread.
Lunch should be either multi-grain roll or Burgen bread, with salad and protein (tuna/salmon, avocado, chicken), OR a salad with a small can of four-bean mix or chickpeas, OR left-overs from dinner - provided it's healthy, OR my veg and chickpea soup.
Dinner is to be much the same really. When eating red meat, should be about 100g - size and width of palm, fish should be size of hand, slightly smaller for chicken, should eat about the same of carby stuff - a small/med potato, pasta, the GOOD rice (Basmati) or noodles, and then as many veggies as I can take!
So, it all starts today. Well, for most of today. Going to a wedding tonight where I SWEAR I will try to eat all the good options and no dessert ... but we shall see. To aid me in this endeavour I'm going to have a slightly later lunch at 2pm - big salad sandwich ... and I mean big in terms of salad content, not bread, and am going to take an apple and some carrot bits with me to much on. Well, that's the plan. Obviously won't drink too much as going running tomorrow at 7.30am - don't want no hangovers. Having said THAT, three is my limit ... I need something to take the edge off and try not to think about my arms flapping around. Eeek, must do more pump.
In other non-food related news, had a major freak-out last night. First - some background. On January 7th this year, I woke up at about 11pm to some very loud banging on the door of my flat. I was soooo out of it, because I go to bed at 9.30pm as I get up at 4.30am/5am, and wondering firstly how the hell someone got into the building without me buzzing them in, and secondly who the hell it was. It turned out to be my lovely nextdoor neighbour, Anne, who told me my car was on fire. And oh yes, it was! There were three firetrucks in the street (whose arrival had not woken me up), and as I wandered out - bleary eyed - into the street there was a guy trying desperately to hack into the bonnet of my car with a sledgehammer thing because they were worried the engine was going to blow up.
It was horrible and traumatic, and took me about a month to get a new car sorted after jumping through a range of insurance claim related hoops and whatnot.
SO, you can imagine my panic when at about 9.30pm last night - just as I was hopping into bed with my book and cup of tea - I smelt smoke wafting in the window, and realised I could hear all sorts of voices and the sound of a big vehicle of some sort. OMFG. I quickly pulled on some clothes and went outside - in my Ugg boots, bogan that I am - and YES, it had happened again. But not to me, thank GOD and all the angels as I just couldn't have handled it right now. It was, however, only two cars away from mine! Gah. I joined the small crowd of people gathered around. Similar story to my car - someone had poured some type of accelerant on the back tyre and lit it. This time, however, they had done a trail of the accelerant to a couch and some other council pick-up waste not far away - which had caught alight and THEN set fire to the tree it was lined up against, which had spread to the branches of some other trees.
PHEW! Was soooo smoky and horrible, and I just wanted to run back to my flat and grab my stuff and flee. Obviously, it wasn't going to happen, but that's how I felt. Wandered back to my flat feeling very sorry for whoever's car it was - although it didn't actually look like a write-off (mine was DEAD dead dead), so maybe it was only superficial damage. Then spent a good hour wondering if I should move, if I could afford to move (heh, not REALLY and just can't face moving right now), and if I wanted to move. Hmmm. Think the general consensus was "no" to all of the above, especially on the $$$ front, am just in too good a place to move right now.
Mucho drama in North Ryde. Ha ha ha.
Alrighty, I'm off now. Got to pop into work for a while before heading off for a swim and then coming home to start wedding preparations. Whoo hoo.
I think where I was going wrong was not maintaining a balance through the day, especially in terms of carbs. When it comes to carbs my thinking has always been a slight bastardisation of the old "eat like a king at breakfast, queen at lunch and pauper at dinner", breakfasts were generally carb heavy, lunch less so and generally NONE past 3pm. Heh, wrong! For me anyway, but basically what this does is cause a spike in insulin levels as the body tries to break the carbs down, which then staggers up and down each time I eat something after that. THEN because I wasn't eating any in the arvo, I essentially put my body into "freak out starvation mode" where it just slowed right down in case it didn't get any more carbs. Or something.
Plus, I found out that sushi rice is the worst rice there is for maintaining weight loss ... and I definitely eat sushi at least once or twice a week. No more of that thanks!
Anyhoo, the plan is to maintain a carb balance, and boost the protein intake. So, breakfast will still be muesli/porridge - but 1/2 a cup, with 2 tabs yoghurt and 1/2 cup skim milk - no added fruit. Alternatively, two slices of Burgen bread (toasted) with avocado and tomato or other non-fatty spread.
Lunch should be either multi-grain roll or Burgen bread, with salad and protein (tuna/salmon, avocado, chicken), OR a salad with a small can of four-bean mix or chickpeas, OR left-overs from dinner - provided it's healthy, OR my veg and chickpea soup.
Dinner is to be much the same really. When eating red meat, should be about 100g - size and width of palm, fish should be size of hand, slightly smaller for chicken, should eat about the same of carby stuff - a small/med potato, pasta, the GOOD rice (Basmati) or noodles, and then as many veggies as I can take!
So, it all starts today. Well, for most of today. Going to a wedding tonight where I SWEAR I will try to eat all the good options and no dessert ... but we shall see. To aid me in this endeavour I'm going to have a slightly later lunch at 2pm - big salad sandwich ... and I mean big in terms of salad content, not bread, and am going to take an apple and some carrot bits with me to much on. Well, that's the plan. Obviously won't drink too much as going running tomorrow at 7.30am - don't want no hangovers. Having said THAT, three is my limit ... I need something to take the edge off and try not to think about my arms flapping around. Eeek, must do more pump.
In other non-food related news, had a major freak-out last night. First - some background. On January 7th this year, I woke up at about 11pm to some very loud banging on the door of my flat. I was soooo out of it, because I go to bed at 9.30pm as I get up at 4.30am/5am, and wondering firstly how the hell someone got into the building without me buzzing them in, and secondly who the hell it was. It turned out to be my lovely nextdoor neighbour, Anne, who told me my car was on fire. And oh yes, it was! There were three firetrucks in the street (whose arrival had not woken me up), and as I wandered out - bleary eyed - into the street there was a guy trying desperately to hack into the bonnet of my car with a sledgehammer thing because they were worried the engine was going to blow up.
It was horrible and traumatic, and took me about a month to get a new car sorted after jumping through a range of insurance claim related hoops and whatnot.
SO, you can imagine my panic when at about 9.30pm last night - just as I was hopping into bed with my book and cup of tea - I smelt smoke wafting in the window, and realised I could hear all sorts of voices and the sound of a big vehicle of some sort. OMFG. I quickly pulled on some clothes and went outside - in my Ugg boots, bogan that I am - and YES, it had happened again. But not to me, thank GOD and all the angels as I just couldn't have handled it right now. It was, however, only two cars away from mine! Gah. I joined the small crowd of people gathered around. Similar story to my car - someone had poured some type of accelerant on the back tyre and lit it. This time, however, they had done a trail of the accelerant to a couch and some other council pick-up waste not far away - which had caught alight and THEN set fire to the tree it was lined up against, which had spread to the branches of some other trees.
PHEW! Was soooo smoky and horrible, and I just wanted to run back to my flat and grab my stuff and flee. Obviously, it wasn't going to happen, but that's how I felt. Wandered back to my flat feeling very sorry for whoever's car it was - although it didn't actually look like a write-off (mine was DEAD dead dead), so maybe it was only superficial damage. Then spent a good hour wondering if I should move, if I could afford to move (heh, not REALLY and just can't face moving right now), and if I wanted to move. Hmmm. Think the general consensus was "no" to all of the above, especially on the $$$ front, am just in too good a place to move right now.
Mucho drama in North Ryde. Ha ha ha.
Alrighty, I'm off now. Got to pop into work for a while before heading off for a swim and then coming home to start wedding preparations. Whoo hoo.
Tuesday, 4 November 2008
The Thighs Have It
I was at Bikram yesterday, sweating like the proverbial in the 40C room, hoping I wouldn't feel like fainting/dying as in previous classes, scrutinising my body. Not in a negative "oh you fat cow" sort of way, but in a "yes, this is good, this is bad and THAT is those biscuits/chocolate/chips" etc etc.
The weekend saw a slight deviation from my usually very healthy/whole foods eating. Saturday night's comedy thingo went MUCH longer than expected, and the support acts were just so awful that I found myself in an impromptu acting class - pretending to laugh! I just couldn't sit there silently while these entirely UNfunny blokes committed comedy suicide on stage just three metres away from me. So, all that forced laughing, smiling etc gave me the worst headache and made me so, so, so tired. Queue the chips and Red Bull at the 'half-time' break, or intermission for non sports-obsessed folk. Damn you chips! I didn't read the label, I KNOW what they're worth on the calorie/fat scale. The only thing I can say is I didn't eat all of them, and only drank half of the chemical-laden Red Bull.
Sunday I slept in ... well, until 7am, after getting home after 1am stone cold sober AND knackered. Had a day off! Eeep. And ate a few huge handfuls of choc covered sultanas and peanuts. Very bad ... not least because of the IBS side-effects.
Ahem! Anyhoo, back on topic. I was staring at myself in the mirror at Bikram while doing a range of postures. Stomach/torso is good ... ish, or getting there. Arms are definitely getting there - yay push-ups, dips, curls etc. Calves are muscular blocks thanks to running and the rest. And yes, ladies and gentlemen, the thighs have it. The fat that is! Sides are still nicely toned, but all the crap I've been eating seems to have accumulated on the front of my quads. Fabulous, just fabulous. It's no visual illusion either, put on the 'original' skinny jeans today and while they're fine around butt/hips, stomach, on the thighs I looked like I was wearing leggings - which I NEVER do.
So, anyhoo, back to the super-health. To that end, as I type I am making up a batch of "super-veg" soup. Weather has been so crudite of late that it's impossible to predict how often I can eat it (no soup in 25+ temps), but will be handy to have in little containers in the fridge for emergencies.
Must keep focussed though. Have wedding on Friday, but thankfully am wearing dress that's completely flattering and just skims the thighs. So I'm saved. I am, however, attending a wedding in a month's time where I plan to wear a dress that's completely unforgiving. Right now is passable, but over the boobs it pulls a bit. Will be fine if I can just get a few kgs off and kick the bloat. So - stay on track girl! Not on the pull or nuttin', just want to feel confident and happy and not be folding arms over gut all night.
As a quick extra note, I jumped on iTunes on Saturday while killing time before going to the gym/comedy and went hunting for a song from a very old Body Combat track - circa 2003!!! Crap, was it THAT long ago? After some extensive Googling and whatnot, I found the name, did the iTunes search and yep, yep - it was there. Whoo hoo. Downloaded both versions and added to my running playlist. Has nice fast beat, and even after all these (five) years it remains one of my favourite Body Combat memories.
Haven't been running since - oops! But plan on Pumping tomorrow, then going to an incredibly daggy concert that will be super-fun. Def Leppard and Cheap Trick, with the Galvatrons in support! Whoo hoo, bring on the hair bands. So excited.
The weekend saw a slight deviation from my usually very healthy/whole foods eating. Saturday night's comedy thingo went MUCH longer than expected, and the support acts were just so awful that I found myself in an impromptu acting class - pretending to laugh! I just couldn't sit there silently while these entirely UNfunny blokes committed comedy suicide on stage just three metres away from me. So, all that forced laughing, smiling etc gave me the worst headache and made me so, so, so tired. Queue the chips and Red Bull at the 'half-time' break, or intermission for non sports-obsessed folk. Damn you chips! I didn't read the label, I KNOW what they're worth on the calorie/fat scale. The only thing I can say is I didn't eat all of them, and only drank half of the chemical-laden Red Bull.
Sunday I slept in ... well, until 7am, after getting home after 1am stone cold sober AND knackered. Had a day off! Eeep. And ate a few huge handfuls of choc covered sultanas and peanuts. Very bad ... not least because of the IBS side-effects.
Ahem! Anyhoo, back on topic. I was staring at myself in the mirror at Bikram while doing a range of postures. Stomach/torso is good ... ish, or getting there. Arms are definitely getting there - yay push-ups, dips, curls etc. Calves are muscular blocks thanks to running and the rest. And yes, ladies and gentlemen, the thighs have it. The fat that is! Sides are still nicely toned, but all the crap I've been eating seems to have accumulated on the front of my quads. Fabulous, just fabulous. It's no visual illusion either, put on the 'original' skinny jeans today and while they're fine around butt/hips, stomach, on the thighs I looked like I was wearing leggings - which I NEVER do.
So, anyhoo, back to the super-health. To that end, as I type I am making up a batch of "super-veg" soup. Weather has been so crudite of late that it's impossible to predict how often I can eat it (no soup in 25+ temps), but will be handy to have in little containers in the fridge for emergencies.
Must keep focussed though. Have wedding on Friday, but thankfully am wearing dress that's completely flattering and just skims the thighs. So I'm saved. I am, however, attending a wedding in a month's time where I plan to wear a dress that's completely unforgiving. Right now is passable, but over the boobs it pulls a bit. Will be fine if I can just get a few kgs off and kick the bloat. So - stay on track girl! Not on the pull or nuttin', just want to feel confident and happy and not be folding arms over gut all night.
As a quick extra note, I jumped on iTunes on Saturday while killing time before going to the gym/comedy and went hunting for a song from a very old Body Combat track - circa 2003!!! Crap, was it THAT long ago? After some extensive Googling and whatnot, I found the name, did the iTunes search and yep, yep - it was there. Whoo hoo. Downloaded both versions and added to my running playlist. Has nice fast beat, and even after all these (five) years it remains one of my favourite Body Combat memories.
Haven't been running since - oops! But plan on Pumping tomorrow, then going to an incredibly daggy concert that will be super-fun. Def Leppard and Cheap Trick, with the Galvatrons in support! Whoo hoo, bring on the hair bands. So excited.
Saturday, 1 November 2008
Cranky Pump Lady
Once again - not me! The instructor in yesterday arvo's class was in the FOULEST mood I have ever come across at the gym. Most instructors are so vivacious and bubbly, all those good hormones and endorphines. Well, this one was in a grump. Not helped by the fact her CD started jumping in the warm up track, or the fact the speakers in the room were having a psychotic episode ... one of them anyone, constantly losing audio, lots of strange noise and stuff. Then some guy complained about the music/audio. Nice one pal. Instructor was sent into the deep end "it's out of my hands, I can't control it" etc. Not sure why, but she didn't just turn it DOWN so that the noise from the speaker wasn't quite so deafening, and the music - when it decided to actually work - wasn't so loud.
Anyway, it's funny but it ALMOST totally disrupted by good exercise vibe. She - the instructor - totally lost her edge, was out of time with the music and several times forgot what she was doing. Usually understandable, but Pump is a set routine and we've been on this routine for close to three months. Which was actually lucky because the class just kept going about their business while she cursed at losing her place and whatever else. Oh well.
This morning skipped the Striders 10km race. They have a 60 minute cut-off time. I can usually come in well under this ... well, last two 10km races was 54.16 and 58 or so. But decided could not face the crowd, the racing and the whole shebang. Instead went for a good 9km/10km run by myself. Started off very slowly as back was "weird" after bad sleep. At halfway/30min mark I turned my Ipod on and put on some fast paced tracks for the home route. Was just the ticket! Was really powering up and down hills, and feeling strong! Hurrah. About time. Even had enough energy to add on some extra stairs and stuff. Yee haa.
So inspired am planning to go to Pump this arvo - at a different gym with different instructor. Going to comedy gig tonight, but not meeting until 7.15pm, and class finishes at 5.30pm. Heh, the instructor for this arvo's class is actually the perfect example of why "all body" training is important. He's what my friends and I would call a "wedge", big shoulders and chest, narrow/toned waist and skinny legs! Totally out of proportion, I'm always worried he's going to topple over and off the stage. Heh, would be a bit funny if he ever did, provided he didn't hurt himself.
That's about it from the Mad Running Woman. Beyond the fact I've only got EIGHT more shifts until my HOLIDAY. Whoo hooo. Oh, and obviously desperately need a damn sleep ... but no chance of that as tomorrow morning getting up super early to head over to Bondi to do the 4km round-trip to Tamarama to have a look at the Sculptures by the Sea. If I'm there by 6am should avoid crowds and be home by 8am at the latest.
Should really attempt sleep soon though - huge week next week! And the week after. And after, and after and after. Eeek.
Anyway, it's funny but it ALMOST totally disrupted by good exercise vibe. She - the instructor - totally lost her edge, was out of time with the music and several times forgot what she was doing. Usually understandable, but Pump is a set routine and we've been on this routine for close to three months. Which was actually lucky because the class just kept going about their business while she cursed at losing her place and whatever else. Oh well.
This morning skipped the Striders 10km race. They have a 60 minute cut-off time. I can usually come in well under this ... well, last two 10km races was 54.16 and 58 or so. But decided could not face the crowd, the racing and the whole shebang. Instead went for a good 9km/10km run by myself. Started off very slowly as back was "weird" after bad sleep. At halfway/30min mark I turned my Ipod on and put on some fast paced tracks for the home route. Was just the ticket! Was really powering up and down hills, and feeling strong! Hurrah. About time. Even had enough energy to add on some extra stairs and stuff. Yee haa.
So inspired am planning to go to Pump this arvo - at a different gym with different instructor. Going to comedy gig tonight, but not meeting until 7.15pm, and class finishes at 5.30pm. Heh, the instructor for this arvo's class is actually the perfect example of why "all body" training is important. He's what my friends and I would call a "wedge", big shoulders and chest, narrow/toned waist and skinny legs! Totally out of proportion, I'm always worried he's going to topple over and off the stage. Heh, would be a bit funny if he ever did, provided he didn't hurt himself.
That's about it from the Mad Running Woman. Beyond the fact I've only got EIGHT more shifts until my HOLIDAY. Whoo hooo. Oh, and obviously desperately need a damn sleep ... but no chance of that as tomorrow morning getting up super early to head over to Bondi to do the 4km round-trip to Tamarama to have a look at the Sculptures by the Sea. If I'm there by 6am should avoid crowds and be home by 8am at the latest.
Should really attempt sleep soon though - huge week next week! And the week after. And after, and after and after. Eeek.
Friday, 31 October 2008
Damn it's hot in here...
Phew, did Bikram last night in preparation for the Can Too dinner at one of the girl's husband's VERY nice Italian restaurant in Balmain. The food was completely amazing and delicious, but more on that later.
I love Bikram. I love the heat, the sweat and the super stretching, flexing and strengthening benefits. Oh yeah! Yesterday arvo, however, I struggled. Not with the postures, with the heat and humidity. I felt like my body was on fire and several times had to stand still to avoid fainting, and even sat down a few times - unheard of! I wasn't alone, and I definitely wasn't the worst off - several people had to go outside for fresh air. Anyway, I got through the 90 minutes but was annoyed that I hadn't been able to do all the postures as I was trying not to faint, vomit or both. The instructors are always saying that you should leave "your practice" in the room and every class is it's own challenge, you should not compare previous classes because every day is different etc. So, I am trying to do that ... but it's very hard not to wish I'd held bow pose for 10 seconds longer, or done the full lot of triangle poses etc.
Can Too dinner was a food orgy. Amazing pizzas, the best I've ever had - even in comparison to the ones I had IN Italy. The crust was light and chewy, not too much cheese - ohh heavenly. I had three small pieces. For main I had the blue eye cod, which had a tomato-chilli broth plus some mussels. Mmm, delish. I was so utterly stuffed that I had to skip dessert, but got a hot chocolate for good measure. I would go to this restaurant JUST for the hot chocolate, it was soooo amazing, like a cup of melted chocolate but not as rich. Thick and delish! Only problem was I didn't get home until midnight, making the damn 5am alarm so very unwelcome. But oh well.
Had faaaabulous conversations with some of the girls about weight loss, weight training and the like and going to try to organise a session once a week with one of them who is my training idol. Feel completely inspired about training at the moment, despite being damn tired. This arvo going to do 40 mins of cardio or so plus 45min Pump, and tomorrow morning doing 10km race and will also get to the gym or Bikram.
Weirdness on the D front ... it's still a watch this space situation.
I love Bikram. I love the heat, the sweat and the super stretching, flexing and strengthening benefits. Oh yeah! Yesterday arvo, however, I struggled. Not with the postures, with the heat and humidity. I felt like my body was on fire and several times had to stand still to avoid fainting, and even sat down a few times - unheard of! I wasn't alone, and I definitely wasn't the worst off - several people had to go outside for fresh air. Anyway, I got through the 90 minutes but was annoyed that I hadn't been able to do all the postures as I was trying not to faint, vomit or both. The instructors are always saying that you should leave "your practice" in the room and every class is it's own challenge, you should not compare previous classes because every day is different etc. So, I am trying to do that ... but it's very hard not to wish I'd held bow pose for 10 seconds longer, or done the full lot of triangle poses etc.
Can Too dinner was a food orgy. Amazing pizzas, the best I've ever had - even in comparison to the ones I had IN Italy. The crust was light and chewy, not too much cheese - ohh heavenly. I had three small pieces. For main I had the blue eye cod, which had a tomato-chilli broth plus some mussels. Mmm, delish. I was so utterly stuffed that I had to skip dessert, but got a hot chocolate for good measure. I would go to this restaurant JUST for the hot chocolate, it was soooo amazing, like a cup of melted chocolate but not as rich. Thick and delish! Only problem was I didn't get home until midnight, making the damn 5am alarm so very unwelcome. But oh well.
Had faaaabulous conversations with some of the girls about weight loss, weight training and the like and going to try to organise a session once a week with one of them who is my training idol. Feel completely inspired about training at the moment, despite being damn tired. This arvo going to do 40 mins of cardio or so plus 45min Pump, and tomorrow morning doing 10km race and will also get to the gym or Bikram.
Weirdness on the D front ... it's still a watch this space situation.
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
Running in the rain
I don't know why I do it to myself. Running in the rain. I hate it! Shoes get heavy - running coach says they can weigh over 500g each when soaked - clothes get heavy and cling, and rain comes in at face and is sooo annoying. But this morning I did it any. Clever! Rain was very light when I woke up and I thought "harden up, do it anyway", so I did. It was annoying drizzle, didn't really make anything saturated, but made me very uncomfortable and the 30 minute run very unpleasant. Grrr. I hate running on a treadmill, but on days like this must remember to just stay inside. Although, did feel very heroic when I finished the run ... just sodden and cranky, with a nice new rub under one arm. Charming.
Have just had my first appointment with my nutritionist. She is awesome. And - hurrah - she told me that my diet is basically fantastic, but she can see some areas of improvement. Well, good - that's what I'm paying her for! Have another appointment next week where she will give me my actual diet plan. Today was just background stuff, and I had to get on the scales! Eeek. First time on accurate scales for a while. Figures were actually pretty good - have kept things at the same level at least, and now aiming to lose 8kg or so, but would LOVE to get to 55kg. Just don't think it will happen though - I put on muscle far too easily. Which is good! Just means I will never be a greyhound.
My uncle came over yesterday to give me my birthday present, and it's fantastic. 1000 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. They're soooo nice. Want to put them on the bed NOW, but prefer to wash them first and hell-o, it's raining. We had a great chat about everything, I mean everything. We even talked about him getting called up to go to Vietnam and being exempt because he had a spinal operation, and his friends who returned changed men - half of whom died of heroin overdoses! Argh. But anyway, it was fabulous. I am making a serious commitment to see him and my aunt much more. They only live up the road for god's sake.
Anyhoo, day off today. Think it will just be a quiet one as I'm sooo tired. Cleaning is done ... well, it is done enough for now. I'm sure I could go super gungho and do it all over again, but it's really above the usual standards.
Have been going through a whole heap of other people's blogs, to kill some time at work at whatever else. Envious of the way some people can narrate their lives! For me it's just a brain dump, if I write it all down I can stop thinking about it!
Have just had my first appointment with my nutritionist. She is awesome. And - hurrah - she told me that my diet is basically fantastic, but she can see some areas of improvement. Well, good - that's what I'm paying her for! Have another appointment next week where she will give me my actual diet plan. Today was just background stuff, and I had to get on the scales! Eeek. First time on accurate scales for a while. Figures were actually pretty good - have kept things at the same level at least, and now aiming to lose 8kg or so, but would LOVE to get to 55kg. Just don't think it will happen though - I put on muscle far too easily. Which is good! Just means I will never be a greyhound.
My uncle came over yesterday to give me my birthday present, and it's fantastic. 1000 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. They're soooo nice. Want to put them on the bed NOW, but prefer to wash them first and hell-o, it's raining. We had a great chat about everything, I mean everything. We even talked about him getting called up to go to Vietnam and being exempt because he had a spinal operation, and his friends who returned changed men - half of whom died of heroin overdoses! Argh. But anyway, it was fabulous. I am making a serious commitment to see him and my aunt much more. They only live up the road for god's sake.
Anyhoo, day off today. Think it will just be a quiet one as I'm sooo tired. Cleaning is done ... well, it is done enough for now. I'm sure I could go super gungho and do it all over again, but it's really above the usual standards.
Have been going through a whole heap of other people's blogs, to kill some time at work at whatever else. Envious of the way some people can narrate their lives! For me it's just a brain dump, if I write it all down I can stop thinking about it!
Tuesday, 28 October 2008
Confused by food
Gaaaah. I remembered today why I always try to bring my lunch ... firstly, there is just an crap selection of food places around here (work); secondly, then I know exactly what I'm eating. In terms of carbs, fats, protein etc. Went out for lunch today and bought a salad ... actually, a mix of three. And as I was walking back to the office, I was more closely investigating the bean mix, spotting corn in there ... and the lentil salad bit had onion in there! And the pumpkin salad had chickpeas. It was all rushing through my mind ... how much protein, carbs, etc am I eating, and is the onion going to set off an "episode" of IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome).
Going to the nutritionist tomorrow to get everything clear in my head. Just so confused by food. Used to happily* eat 1/2 cup of porridge made with water every morning, but then another friend told me that this was bad as way too many carbs. But then, is less than 200 calories for all that and has lots of fibre, plus other good things. Also, it's low GI so it fills me up until 11am or so.
Then was eating a banana and realised it was bad, as is high GI. Then ate tiny handful of trail mix, and was thinking 'eeek, dried fruit = high in sugar'.
There are lots more incidents (is Equal cancer causing?), but they can all be summed up by "gaaaaaaaaaaaaaah". Ha ha.
Have first of six appointments tomorrow morning, and I am committed to eating whatever I am told, whenever I am told. It's her JOB to know all this stuff, so am just going to pay her to teach me! Far easier than reading 10,000 conflicting views on the subject.
Going to the nutritionist tomorrow to get everything clear in my head. Just so confused by food. Used to happily* eat 1/2 cup of porridge made with water every morning, but then another friend told me that this was bad as way too many carbs. But then, is less than 200 calories for all that and has lots of fibre, plus other good things. Also, it's low GI so it fills me up until 11am or so.
Then was eating a banana and realised it was bad, as is high GI. Then ate tiny handful of trail mix, and was thinking 'eeek, dried fruit = high in sugar'.
There are lots more incidents (is Equal cancer causing?), but they can all be summed up by "gaaaaaaaaaaaaaah". Ha ha.
Have first of six appointments tomorrow morning, and I am committed to eating whatever I am told, whenever I am told. It's her JOB to know all this stuff, so am just going to pay her to teach me! Far easier than reading 10,000 conflicting views on the subject.
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