Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Just a quickie...

I just made a decision (and to anyone who knows me they will laugh as I am useless at making decisions!)

During the course of OBK mk II I will attempt to eat breakfast every day.

Now coming from someone who can normally go quite happily till lunchtime without eating anything (any that I also tend to feel sick at the thought of eating right after getting up) it's a big deal.

I always used to eat breakfast, but just fell out of the habit as an adult... I guess now is the time to fall back into the habit :)

Monday, March 29, 2010

Dealing with the unexpected...

I had a 4 hour workshop this morning, so knowing that I had to be at work for 8:30am, I had planned to set off at 7:30, just in case I had problems with the traffic - bearning in mind that this is the day after the clocks went forward.  My body knew fine well that when my alarm went off at 6:30, it was "really" only 5:30 *yawn*

Didn't do too badly, and was out of the house by 7:45, however then came something unexpected... my normal exit off the motorway was closed so i had to continue on and take the next exit, and even though there ware diversion signs I still managed to get myself turned around in town and only just made it to work on time... where I was faced with "breakfast"

I made a poor choice, even though there was fruit available, I chose to have a sweet bread roll and a coffee.  OK so it was poor nutritionally rather than calorie wise, as it was only a small roll, and I did avoid the buttery croissants!

Well we went at it for 4 hours, and in that time I only managed to have one other small coffee, so I was down on my water, as I usually drink at least 2L of mineral water a day.

The workshop actually over ran by 45mins, and we were all surprised to find that lunch had been provided.  I was very anxious to return to my desk, however, and limited my lunch to 2 felafel and 2 jalapeño poppers, oh and a party size strawberry tart I took back to my desk.

Not a great lunch, but not as bad as it could have been if I'd had my "oh stuff it" head on.

Later I rushed out of work trying to get to the garden centre to see if my chicks had arrived, but got stuck in traffic again.  I got to the garden centre only 30 mins before they closed, and my chicks hadn't arrived :o(  I did buy a couple of 60L trub trugs though, and when I got home I got out into the garden and started pruning my rather overgrown bushes.

The evening was rather balmy, and I thoroughly enjoyed my hour outside in the evening sun... it feels like the warm weather is just around the corner - at last!

Tonight I have officially signed on for OBK mk II.  You can read the "rules" here.  Once again JAG is very thoughtfully spearheading the operation, and seems to have inspired nearly everyone on WLR, or so it seems!  The thread currently has 222 responses which is phenomenal!

It does mean one huge sacrifice for me... my daily weighing.  We are to abandon the scales for 8 whole weeks, which for me is a rather scary prospect as I tend to go off the rails when I'm not monitoring closely what is happening, but still I'm going to attempt it...

Wish me luck :o)

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Progress update and scales dilemma

Whoops, sorry I've been a bit delinquent with my posts, work has been manic and I've been working late most days this week... meaining I've been too tired for any computer work on an evening (spening 10 - 12 hours a day on a computer at work seems quite sufficient lol)

Had a bit of a blip during the week... the battery on my scales went again and it was a couple of days before I could get to the shops to get a new one.  Now does it seem a bit odd that my scales should go through a 9v battery (you know, one of those swuare/rectangle ones) every 3 weeks?  I know I weigh twice a day, but still - 9v batteries are not cheap, and it is costing my a fortune just to keep my daily weighing records.

So my dilemma is... do I stick with my current scales (Tanita/WeightWatchers - approx 6 years old) which weigh me very nicely in lbs (though could choose st/lb or kg), and also measure BMI, lbs fat, %fat and %water which cost approximately 3€ a month "running costs" in new batteries, or do I go for a sparkly new set, which will cost approximately 60€ but have the same functions but... will only weigh in kgs (in 100g increments)?

Suggestions very welcome as I'm useless at making decisions ;o)

Anyway... back on track.

Official WI yesterday and "officially" 196.3lb which is +1lb from last week *boo*

Now I could blame it on all kinds of things... I ate a shed load of pasta last week, I haven't been drinking my 2L of water a day, I have done very little exercise this week, but the reality is... I stopped writing everything down in my WLR food diary.  In general I have been careful about what I've been eating, and with giving up chocolate as my Lent sacrifice I haven't been going overboard, but still, it only goes to show how not been absolutely regimented every day can affect me.  Back on the food diary today to make sure next week I have a good loss. (As an aside, hopped on the scales this morning and I was back down to 195.3, so I have probably had a lucky escape, but I have learned my lesson and will be more careful in future!)

Yesterday was also the end of Operation Butt Kick  (aka OBK) which was organised and inspired by JustAGirl (you can read her amazing blog here).  Never in a million years would I have thought about posting half naked pics of myself on t'internet, but I have to say I did find it motivational, and since it was really only for the eyes of people on WLR - and we are all basically in the same boat - I thought 'well, what the hell'

In the 10 weeks since I took my "before" photos, I have lost...
  • 10lbs
  • 8.5cm off my bust
  • 7cm from by chest/under bust
  • 9cm from my waist and
  • 10cm from my hips




Oh, and if you can't tell that the photo on the left (taken 10 Jan 2010) is the "before" and the photo on the right (taken 27 Mar 2010) is the "after" photo, then gove yourself a slap with a wet fish please... I've worked damn hard lol!

Obviously this is just the start of a (long) journey, but I'm pretty satisifed overall (even though I was slightly disappointed with the new photos... I was impatient and wanted a more visible difference - fortunately the wonderful members of WLR were able to point out that you *can* see a big difference)

So I am now looking forward to OBK mk II which is starting, so it is rumoured, on 1st April.

Happy Sunday to you all

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Oooh exciting :o)

My muscles are feeling very fatigued in general (though arm/shoulder DOMS yet to make an appearance!) so I decided to have a rest day today.

Definitely made the most of it though, and enjoyed driving home with the sun still in the sky for a chenge.  It was a very pleasant 15°C too... spring has sprung at last.  Anyway, talking about spring I have ordered my chicks for this year *bounce*  I'll get then when they are one day old sometime next week.  I've ordered 4 Cous-Nus (naked necks), 4 Cedré and 4 Soli.  The cedré are very pretty, and I'm just hoping that I'll have a good boy/girl ratio - like all girls and no boys!!!

No probs though if some do turn out to be boys, there is nothing quite like eating meat that you have raised, and all 3 breeds are meant to be very tasty.

I'm still hankering after some Brahmas though, so I might have to go up to the poultry fayre which is not too far from here in April.  

Weight this morning: 194.9 +0.5lbs compared to yesterday... probably the gnocchi I had for dinner last night, yummy but very heavy!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Dedication or what?

Evening all...

After changing my runners on Saturday morning (I bought a pair 3 weeks ago, but decided they were half a size too small after wearing them 3 times in the gym), splashing out on some new running tops (bargain price of 5.90€ each) I was much dismayed to realised when I was almost to work that I had forgotten to pick up my running shorts out of the dryer... so, I decided to go into town at lunchtime and buy some others - just so I could go to the gym tonight ;o)  I ended up with a very nice pair of Nike full length tights, which don't look horrendous on, though I wont be wearing them ouside the gym for a while lol!

I also popped into another sport store (you know the type - all brands, very little practical stuff) and looked at their miserly selection of running shoes.  I was soon accosted by a sales person, who after hearing I wanted a *second* pair of runners for outside work, proceeded to shoz my a monstrous pair of gold and white shoes... all for the princely sum of 300CHF (£180 / 200€)  I just about ran out as fast as I could!  Paying 115€ for my current runners was heart stopping, so there is no way I'm going to pay more than that for shoes for the outdoors - since come the summer I'll be running more on tracks than roads.

I really must get my eating sorted out.  I had to buy a sandwich and fresh juice in town, which I ate at 1pm, but by 6pm I was flagging and had the beginnings of a headache.  I still went to the gym, and had a great time.  My weights seemed much easier than last time - i.e. I managed to hit the bottom of my target reps for just about every exercise, except the medium grip upright row.  However this is the last exercise in my program, and my grip has just about vanished my this point.  Plus, I've had to move up 3kg, rather than 1 or 2 and I'm really feeling the difference.  My arms were doing that weird twitchy thing my the end of the session, and they are extremely achy right now, just sitting typing.

I was frustrated by my run though.  I was really looking forward to it, but in the end I just had no gas left in the tank.  I managed 4 or the 9 intervals I had planned to do, but my legs were just so heavy and I just had no energy.

You live an learn, so next week, I'll start my running week on a Tuesday if I run outside on a Sunday.  I'll also have a banana or similar at 5pm if I'm going to the gym at 6pm.

Early to be tonight, so I will hopefully have a good nights sleep after the past 3 nights of interrupted sleep.

Weight this morning 194.4 -0.9lbs since yesterday

Exercise: 13mins stationary cycle, level 5, rpm: 70-80
Lateral pulldown (narrow grip) 10 - 10 - 10 @ 45kg
DB bench press 11 - 11 - 11 @ 6kg each hand
Long row (wide grip) 10 - 10 - 10 @ 30kg
BB upright row (medium grip) 7 - 5 - 6 @ 18kg - grip gave out more than anything
Twister 10 - 10 - 10 - 10 @ 30kg (2 to the right, and 2 to the left)
Ab crunches 6 x 10, including obliques and reverse crunches
Treadmill: 5 min walk, followed by 3 min run (6kmph) 1 min walk (5kmph) x 4, 5 min cooldown

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Sun March 21st

Weight this morning: 195.3lbs same as yesterday:

Stats today

Age 33
Height 5'1"
BMI: 38.1 change from start -3.7
Bust: 102cm change from start -11cm
Chest: 89.5cm change from start -9.5cm
Waist: 86cm change from start -13.5cm
Hip: 115.0 change from start -12cm
R. Thigh: 67cm change from start -6.5cm
L. Thigh: 65cm change from start -7.5cm
R. Calf: 44.5cm change from start -2.5cm
L. Calf: 43.5cm change from start -3cm
R. Arm: 38.5cm change from start -2.5cm
L. Arm: 37cm change from start -2.5cm

Total cms lost = 70.5cm
Total weight lost = 17.6lbs not too shoddy in 12 weeks, right?

Evening everyone, now that I have some momentum going I just wanted to write about today.

Sundays, and well weekends in general, are tough for me.  I have very little structure, and nothing ever seems to go to plan, so I really just play it by ear.  Now in an ideal world, I'd get up, have breakfast, make myself useful, phone home, have lunch, potter around, have dinner, wash my hair and go to bed.  Never happens!

Today I: got up, checked http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/ (aka WLR), tested out my washer, had breakfast, phoned home... for 2 hours!!! (my brother and I can talk for England once we get started), checked WLR, checked facebook, got gnocchi out of the freezer for lunch and mince out for dinner, decided to paint the smallest room, decided I needed a jam sandwich before going on a run, ended up dispatching my cockeral instead (was getting complaints from neightbours about the noise), went on a run (on an empty stomach), checked WLR, checked FB, friends called round for a chat and by 7pm I still haven't had any lunch... pretty typical Sunday really.

I just wanted to mention my run... as an unfit adult, who was diagnosed with exercise induced asthma at age 12, I've pretty much avoided running at all costs.  In the past, all my cardio work at the gym has either been on a stationary cycle or walking on a treadmill.  It got to the stage where I had completely convinved myself that I couldn't run, even if I wanted to (and at that point I didn't want to).  Then looking at all the runners who posted on WLR, the majority of whom hadn't run either before starting to lose weight, I started to think, "well, why not.  Surely I must be able to do a little."  Since I was soooo unfit I modified a beginner program I found on http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/ so I was basically alternating 30seconds running with 2.5mins walking, increasing the amount of running I was doing every third gym session. I worked up to a whole 1min running before I got a chest infection and basically gave up the gym completely - for a year.

This time I started out doing my own thing again, and quickly moved from 1 min running 2 mins walking, to 4mins running and 2 mins walking.  I then came to a bit of a wall and didn't know how to proceed.  Then I found a couch to 10k program, which I liked, and from tomorrow I'm starting this, on week 4.  Now, normally all my running is done in the gym, on a treadmill.  Last week I ventured outside for the first time since I was forced to run at seconday school.  It gave me such a buzz that I actually managed to get out for 40 mins (total 3.56km according to http://www.mapometer.co.uk/) that I decided it would become part of my normal week - I mean it is only 40mins out of my day, right?

Today I want out, and after a brisk 5min walk, I alternated running 3mins with 1min walks for 32 mins, and managed the same 3.56km in 2mins less tme this week.  Not only am I running outside, I am enjoying it.  I might not be the fastest, or most elegant runner out there (currently I must look like a lumbering elephant!), but I am getting out and doing it *nods* which is the important thing!

Have a great evening everyone :)

Welcome to my Workaholics Weightloss Journey

Hi there, welcome to my workaholics weightloss journey.

I live alone, save for my 2 cats (and 6 chooks), and as I have no one to chat to (and there is only so mych my colleagues at work will put up with) I decided to write my thoughts and feelings down - especially as I'm losing my mojo a bit at the moment.

Just a bit of a potted history... I've been over weight all my adult life, and despite trying many of the weightloss options out there, my weight has crept up and up.

I managed to lose 21lbs at the end of 2008, however 2009 was a bit of a washout, and I put that all back on, with an extra 10lbs for good measure.

I started my latest weightloss journey on Boxing Day 2009. Starting statistics:

Age: 33
Height: 5ft 1in
Weight: 212.9lbs (15st 3lbs)
BMI: 41.8
Bust: 113cm
Chest: 95cm
Waist: 99.5cm
Hip: 127cm
R. Thigh 73.5cm
L. Thigh 72.5cm
R. Calf: 47cm
L. Calf: 46.5cm
R. Arm: 41cm
L. Arm: 39.5cm

So, I have a lot to work with, as it were. I have set myself a very ambitious target weight of 105lbs (7st 7lbs) which is a BMI of 20.4 (A BMI of 25, i.e. maximum healthy weight is about 128lbs, or 9st2lbs-ish). However what I haven't done is set a target date. I have reduced my caloric intake to I will lose approximately 1.5lbs per week, though I am a true believer in that as this is for life, I shouldn't let life pass me by while I worry about going over cals when I go out with the girls, or I celebrate a birthday etc. Sure I can be careful, but I'm not planning on depriving myself for months on end - how boring would that be?

In the meantime I have a special occaision coming up - a trip to the USofA in September, and whilst I might not be a skinny-minny by then I hope to be wearing some, if not all, of my "small clothes" (oh yes, I have then - I have several sizes of small clothes tbh lol!)

You may have wondered why I called my blog a "workaholics weightloss," well, I work in a field which requires working to specific regulatory timelines, and these are calendar days, not working days, so if a report has to go out, you basically work like an idiot all hours of the day, night and weekend til it's finished, approved, signed and dispatched. Consequently, I can find myself working upto 16 hours a day, and weekends in order to comply - which in itself is not conducive to healthy eating and regular exercise regimes.

I am, however, determined that this is the last time I am losing weight.

I use a food diary and an exercise diary to keep a track of my calorie intake and expenditure (this is all available on the amazing www.weightlossresources.co.uk website). I also use the available fora on the site to ask questions and to chat with likeminded people which keeps me going.

So anyhoo I think that is probably enough for a rambling introduction... may be back laer with todays 'real' installment!