Finally!

Finally I am able to post again.

You remember my previous post about email problems - well the problems expanded. I've since worked out that someone hijacked my Ebay account to try and fraudulently sell a PS3. Ebay were on to them (don't ask me how) cancelled the sale and suspended my account. This "hijacking" affected my email password, and then my access to blogger and anything that was linked to my email address as log - in. They changed my password as well as the email address that a reset would be sent to. I have spent ages trying to convince Live Windows, Google and Ebay that I am who I say I am, so that everything could be re-instated. This has meant that I haven't been able to access my blog - or comment on anyone elses. And I haven't been able to read private blogs - so Donna - I have missed my "fix" of you. This has driven me crazy!
Well I'm back - and I'll blog soon about my triathlon training - but I need to do the housework first!
Cheers

Email problems

Just a quick note to let you know that I'm having problems with my email. Last night it decided it didn't know me anymore and I have been unable to log in. Waiting for the cyberspace people to hopefully fix it.

In the meantime we're off on our annual pilgrimage to West Beach, Adelaide for some sand and surf. I will have internet access (the caravan park has wireless coverage), but have to buy access by the hour, so I will have to careful with how much sandless surfing I do!

A sense of calm

Over Christmas and New Year, I really pigged out. I ate badly. I ate everything I felt like, chips, chocolate, icecreams, whatever. And I guess I gained weight. I don't actually know because I didn't weigh myself, but the clothes felt a little tighter. But when the silly season was over and I went back to work ( I only really had the public holidays off, but it all felt like holiday), I surprised myself with how I just automatically slipped back into the routine of clean eating, and preparing my foods in advance.
We ate takeaway Thursday night, and last night (celebration of starting real holidays) and it didnt faze me. I didn't overeat, and I didn't worry about eating it. Because I knew that I'd eaten really well all week, and it shouldn't matter. Because I'm not trying to lose weight. Because I just want to be fit and healthy. Because I'm not the same person I was two years ago. I feel a sense of peace/calm about my eating. I think being healthy is now just a part of my normal makeup. My quirky eating habits (according to my work colleagues) are not because I'm dieting, they're just because I'm me.
This morning, day 1 of holidays, I allowed myself to "sleep in" until 6.30am, then cycled to the pool, swam my laps, and went for a leisurely 17 km bike ride. Came back hungry, went food shopping, filled my trolley with healthy stuff, and came back for a nutritious breakfast. None of which I did because I had to. All of which I did because I want to.

What keeps you going?

I've had a couple of thoughts recently around this theme today.

The first one was when I saw someone at work who lost weight when I did (the first time in about 2002 - I lost 17 kgs and regained about 5 before losing the rest in 2006) but has regained it all. There are a few people around who are in this boat - have lost weight and regained most of it, if not more. I have now basically managed to keep my weight off for 12 months, and I wondered "why the difference". And thoughts are this. One thing that I did differently from others is the development of a passionate exercise regime. Some people walked, but not much else. And as I have struggled to maintain my weight all year, the one thing that helps me stay on track, is the way I feel after exercise. It makes you feel fit and healthy, and want to be fit and healthy, and reinvigorates your desire to eat well. I've found lately that this is one of the real benefits of morning exercise. If I exercise first thing, I am far more likely to have a healthy "clean" breakfast and prepare similar foods for the day, than if I don't. I guess I'm saying I think being in the habit of exercising keeps your mind focussed on being healthy as important. And I wonder if this is what has kept me persistently challenging my eating habits, rather than letting them slide.....

Secondly, I thought I would share the constant battles that are fought in my head in the mornings about getting up to exercise. This morning went like this:
Head: Alarms gone off - time to get up
Body: I am way too tired
Head: But that's why we went to bed early last night - so that we've had plenty of sleep
Body: But I'm still so tired, I've been doing all this new cycling and swimming every morning, and I need my rest
Head: But you've been doing it for a reason haven't you
Body: How about I just get up for the loo and then just hop back into bed for a few more minutes - maybe that will be enough
Head: Ok
Body: Back in bed - It wouldnt be unreasonable to skip the swimming today - after all, its a lot of effort to learn a new sport, and we've done it three days in a row - we need to be sensible about rest for the body
Head: Ok - but .....then all day we're going to be regretting that we haven't followed through with the plan and given the swimming training the best chance of success
Body: B** H*** - damn you for being right.
And up we get.

It took me 10 minutes to convince myself to get out of bed, and I reckon this happens most days (different excuses). But the final decisive straw is usually the same - think how good you'll feel afterwards, and how bad you'll feel if you haven't. (And sometimes - particularly with running - I tell myself "you don't have to run or work hard, just get out there "- and I know once I'm there I'll work hard - I'm just tricking the body)

So if anyone thinks that people who exercise regularly, and love it, like me, find it easy to make it happen - think again. We all go through these regular battles, but have to come up with good "lines" to beat the inner demons of laziness!

PS - day 4 of swimming - despite not wanting to be there - saw more small improvements - managed to have negligible rests between every second lap - basically letting myself rest for as long as I like after every two laps, as long as I turn straight around after the first and keep going.

Well, I've swam three days in a row now (6 am morning swims - Yuk - even with a heated pool I'm still cold!)

But I'm pleased to say that today I noticed some improvement. I wasn't quite so out of breath at the end of each lap and felt with some that I could have swam further if I didn't run out of pool (LOL) and some I managed to turn around and swim again with only a few seconds break.

I've been concentrated on breathing technique and rotation, and I've also been thinking that I'm not sure that I need to stop because I"m short of breath, as much as the fact that I take in water sometimes when I breathe - and this makes life difficult. From what I've read - it would seem that this is because I'm lifting my head (and hence sinking) rather than rotating my whole body, so I'm focusing on this. As well as trying to relax when I swim and not panic about the breathing! I think this is working.

Today I rode 8 kms after the swim, as this is the triathlon (short course) length. It was fine, but I took it easy as I'm feeling a little tired from my new sports. No need to push myself at this stage, just focus on covering the distances on a regular basis. I also have to focus on developing some confidence and balance on the bike so I can turn my head and reach my drink bottle (which I don't have yet, but may need if I do the tri). So I've been practicing some of the really mundane things like riding one handed, and mounting by swinging my leg over the back of the bike, in readiness for learning one of those running mounts!

The first day I swam, I cycled to and from the pool, and then did my 45 HITT session on the elliptical. But even with leaving at 6 am in the morning, there isn't enough time to fit this all in before work, not to mention the 15 mins of yoga stretches I have to do at the end for my hamstrings. So I have decided I might do my HITT cardio in the evenings, and alternate with my weight training. The only problem with this will be when its really hot....

I've also been looking around at bikes, trying to work out what I will need for the tri, but I really have no idea. Its obviously much better to buy your equipment once you are experienced in the sport, which I am not. For example, when I bought my first treadmill, I had no idea that I would quickly outgrow the 10 km/hr max speed, and that electronic incline would be really important to me. Hence 9 months later I was buying a new one..... So if anyone has any tips on what to look for - eg what's really essential - what people have been told is essential but you've never used, what's nice to have - I would appreciate any tips. I also want to buy a tri suit (there is no way I am running in my bathers!)- but I can't find any online - and there aren't any available up here - if anyone knows good online or other retail stores in Adelaide - happy to hear about it.

Cheers for now - I have a HIIT session to do and sleep to have before my next swimming session!

Mini Brick!

Today - I did a mini brick!

The thoughts of a triathlon have been creeping back into my mind - how does one control their thoughts and stop ones such as this?

Now don't forget that I don't cycle or swim - so that you can see how ridiculous this is.

Anyway - last night I decided to go for a ride as it was a little cooler. Hubby came too, and we only rode a few kms - saw that some friends were home, and dropped in. But the key thing here, was that it was easy peasy. I regained some confidence and even practiced riding one handed (last ride was 12 months ago - terrifying in the traffic, and before that - about 20 yrs!). The friends have a lap pool, and reiterated the offer for me to swim in it any time......

Got to thinking about the Asics Triathlon coming up in March. Looked it up on the internet - and the short course is only 160m swim/8km bike ride/1.5 km run. To me, these distances seem all out of kilter. What's with a 1.5 km run - hardly seems worth putting the sandshoes on, and even for a non-cyclist like me, 8km seems an easy bike ride, BUT - 160 m swim -isn't that a marathon!!!!! LOL.

Anyway - I've got about 8 weeks until its on. So I decided that each morning I will cycle to the friends house, swim 10 laps (180m), cycle home, and do my normal cardio workout - which at the moment is on the elliptical because of my hamstring problems.

AND I DID

Ok - to be honest here - I swam 10 laps, but I can barely manage one, which is 18m, and I had to stop and rest/recover for about a minute in between each one. But it all comes down to the breathing - I'm sure I have the fitness and muscle endurance to do it - I just have to nail the technique. And good form comes with persistant practice. I have a good book on drills to improve technique - and I incorporated these into the first three laps, and I'm going to just keep persevering and see if I can nail it. Oh and I think I will increase the length of the ride so that it is 4kms each way - ie 8kms in total. This way I am easily covering all of the distances for the tri each morning - although split up. I'll decide in Feb if I think the tri is achievable.

Now all that's left in the planning is to find a great tri suit and a new bike.... Why is it that shopping is always on my mind!

CUT

This is my goal for 2008. Not a resolution, just a one word goal:

******C U T ******

It really sums it all up for me, and I'm going to just keep this word in the forefront of my mind


By cut, I mean that by the end of 2008, I wish to have transformed my appearance to looking very ripped or cut. I am reasonably happy with the muscle definition in my upper body/chest/lower legs/back, so the focus will be on the abs and thighs.

I've been having a good look at my current shape and can actually see that my thighs are already quite muscly, there is just another layer of fat covering them. In fact, if I place a finger on the back of my thigh, I can "pull up" the fatty layer towards my butt, and reveal a very nicely toned hamstring area.

I know my abs are quite tight, from two years of regular workouts, but I have a lot of excess skin here (mainly skin here I think as the skin fold measurements are quite small) which covers the muscles.


So the plan is this:


1. Drop my body fat by another 5% bringing it to 12%. I don't think I want to go any lower than this, from what I've read it wouldn't be healthy. But I plan on spending the first 6 months prioritising my training around dropping fat through cardio, whilst maintaining muscle bulk through weight training. This means I wont use protein supplements to reduce the extra calories, but will still focus on a relatively high protein diet.



2. The second 6 months (or when I've achieved my desired body fat level) will be a swing towards cardio for fitness and fat maintenance, and a ramping up of the muscle building to target specific areas.



3. I have an appointment with the plastic surgeon for Feb 19, and I hope to book in surgery as soon as I can for a tummy tuck. I have accepted that I cannot improve my stomach any further without surgery. So "cut" has a second and more secret meeting for me - as I'm not sharing my plans with anyone other than my hb and children, and blogger world. My wider family have already expressed that they would not agree with this decision (and plastic surgery in general), so I have decided I just wont tell them. This is one thing that is made a bit easier living some distance from them!



So these are my plans. I have bought a couple of new books to help me with my weight training, since I do it all on my own at home.


Training @ home, by David and Melinda Obern

This has good photos of exercises including form issues to watch for, exercises for advanced lifters, and sample 12 week programs/program cards. I'm not going to use their programs, as I am finding everywhere that I look that I usually do more than what is put into programs already - and I'm not planning on going backwards! (Im mainly referring to the cardio component, as I am very strict on ensuring my rest between weight training sessions)



Muscle Mechanics by Everett Aaberg

Whilst my health training has made me very familiar with muscle mechanics, this book has a great variety of advanced exercises, with photo overlays showing the exact muscles that are being worked. As I plan on my training being far more targetted this year, I'm really looking forward to using this.


Sculpting Her Body Perfect

Of course I am still using my favorite . This book contains everything you need to develop your own program, and I'm thrilled to realise that now starting in my 3rd year of weight training, I am ready to progress to the third/most advanced stage.



Lastly - I had to pick up something at Harvey Norman the other day in exchange for something I returned and I picked up this:



Now you, like everyone else, are probably saying - why on earth would you buy an egg cooker. Well, for all my clean eating friends, I think this is going to be fantastic. With egg white being one of the purist and leanest forms of protein, I have been struggling with finding the time to hard boil the eggs - because you need to be around, watching for the pot to boil, watching the time to make sure they are hard boiled, taking them out when they are done to cool, making sure they don't crack etc. This boils up to 7 at time - no fuss - just a buzz when they are ready. And then.... you can poach and do omelettes in the little dishes - egg white omelettes made in a flash, with no watching, no frypans to wash Yum!

Sigh - I am such a gadget queen!

I love running, I love it not...

I seem to have a love/hate relationship with running. Ever since the half marathon I have really enjoyed NOT running regularly. I am obviously not one of these people who are addicted to running - I'm more addicted to exercise in general - I love the pumped feeling of pushing yourself to the limits, but I love variety. I still enjoy running but I enjoy not having it as my sole focus.

Lately I have been doing all the cardiocoach tracks in the mornings - mainly on the elliptical because it doesn't stress my hamstrings at all, and they seem to be perpetually injured (from running!). I've really enjoyed it, but have to be careful not to do too much as it really is a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workout, and if I do it in the mornings, and then do Combat/Attack in the evenings, that's really two HIIT workouts a day - and its too much for the body to cope with day in/day out. Anyway - its been great, I've really enjoyed it all, and I've had no hamstring pain.

So Monday/Tuesday I was down in Adelaide and staying with my parents. I was unable to exercise Monday due to an early bus ride, and evening commitments - so I knew I needed to do something Tuesday. With no vehicle for transport, I thought a run would be in order. So I decided to stick with the cardio coach program and use it on an outdoor run.

I think my hamstrings became sore overnight in anticipation of the work (they have been fine for weeks, but felt sore when I got up - go figure!). Nevertheless I headed off - walking for the first 10 mins, and then did slow jogs for the interval work up a really steep hill. It hurt a bit, but it was OK. I've kind of decided to just ignore my hamstrings - I'm just so fed up with them not healing. Any, the cardio coach programs seem to be graduated in length and in intensity - and just my luck, the one I was up to was #5 out of 7. The wonderful Sean O'Malley told me that it was 60 min session with a series of short sprints. Ah well- why not. I could do at least one couldn't I. So I went for it. And it felt fantastic. In fact I ended up doing 6 x 1 minute sprints, with 30 secs rest, and then 6 x 30 sec sprints with 90 secs in between. Apparently in the first set of sprints I was meant to keep my HR below 85% and not hit the anaerobic state - ooops - kinda ran them all at 90% - 95%! I loved the feeling and got lots of strange looks as I practically bowled people over on the footpaths as a ran like a madwoman - or at least someone who was being chased by the boogie man!

But it all came at a price. I could feel the pain in the hamstrings, but I ignored it- I was having too good a time! Eventually when the pain became very sharp - I had to stop and skip the last two sprints. And of course today - I am in agony- not just the pain in the hamstrings, but every other muscle in my thighs is stiff and aches - because I really kicked butt! (Did I mention on one of the sprints I hit 15km/hr!!!!)

So it was an elated feeling, followed by frustration. I guess I really am going to have to see someone about this injury - (but as a health professional I hate to admit that I can't solve my own problems!) Whilst I don't want to have to run all the time just to keep fit (that seems like a chore) - I do love the feeling of really "going for it" every now and then. Once a week would be fine with me - but I can't keep putting myself through this injury. I would really like to be able to push myself to my limits without being limited by pain.

Maybe after Christmas when I have a bit more money....

By the way - only 6 more sleeps! I'm so excited - I have really spoilt the kids and I can't wait to see their faces!

One more "by the way". The reason I was in Adelaide was for my graduation ceremony - I have finally graduated with a Masters in Primary Health Care.

Day 14 report

Well, I'm not perfect.

And I didn't achieve perfection.

But I didn't do too badly.

I have been doing a lot of heavy cardio (up to 2 hrs a day - 1 hr in the morning, one hr in the evening) and its been quite exhausting. So much so that I had to have a rest day on Thursday or I wouldn't have been able to move- every muscle in my body ached.

I've been doing Cardiocoach in the mornings, and have now done all 7 of tracks, and have even done Cardio Pump this afternoon. I've been alternating doing it on my new elliptical/cross trainer (Chrissie present) and the treadmill. Good thing too as when I run I like to "let it rip" which it does, and there goes my hamstring again. But it doesn't hurt at all on the elliptical, but I have to work harder (ramp up the resistance) to get my heart rate up as it is low impact. On one hand I hope I don't get too much fitter or I will run out of resistance settings!

Food wise - I've been pretty good - not perfect, but within my calorie allowance except for my cheat meal - which I really enjoyed

I've done no weights this week - except for pump just now - too exhausted.

Results wise - not much change on the measurements except I have dropped 1 cm around the waist - bringing me back down to 80cm. Yay, because 80 cm is the limit for a healthy weight/low risk category.

Body fat wise - my skin calipers measured me up a bit to 18% body fat??? Not sure what this means - daily variation/variation in the way I measure it/or even does it suggest that cardio is good for dropping weight but I am losing muscle mass - can I lose 1% in a week? Who knows, more time will tell, although I will try and put some weights back in this week as my body adjusts to the extra cardio (plus I had two days in Adelaide for work which made it hard)

Finally - if my 17 y.o. daughter is ever home long enough for me to see her - I might get her to take some photos of me showing the muscle definition - its hard to do this yourself - and she loves taking photos.

Bye for now

PS - to all of those who welcome me back after long gaps between posts - I should tell you that I haven't been anywhere - I read all of your posts just about daily - but run out of time to comment or post myself! Your lives are much more interesting!!!

Day 21 (yes I'm counting backwards)

Achievement - 100%
Exercise - 911 cals - 42 mins Cardio Coach on the X trainer in the am, 60 mins Combat - pm

Food
M1 - Protein shake
M2 - Saladas and vegemite
M3 - Tuna salad
M4 - Yoghurt (with protein powder), apple
M5 - Protein shake (no time to eat real food)
Cals - 1390

Water - 2 litres

Net Cals for the day - 479
.

Day 21 of "Perfection" (am also calling this 21 days of perfection)
1 down - 20 to go

21 Days of Christmas

Before I talk of my Christmas plan - a bit of an update. Since my "exciting news" I have actually been quite depressed. Despite being at 17% body fat- and officially in the "lean" category - I am anything but lean. Whilst I am very happy with my upper body - it IS lean and mean - nice muscle definition - and I love wearing strappy tops to show it off, my stomach is a disaster.

With a waist of 81 cm and most of it "hanging" below this, it rolls around with a life of its own. I could never post bikini photos (or wear a bikini, or even anything tight fitting around the abdomen) because it looks so awful. The skin is wrinkled and puckered - and I reckon I could probably pick it up and weigh it on the scales all on its own. What is really depressing is that I have come to the realisation that my goal of a flat 6 pack stomach is completely unachievable without surgery. I have done everything possible to achieve this, and its just not going to happen. I read other peoples stories and see their amazing transformations, (to flat stomach's no less) and get upset that the transformation isn't there for me, despite all my hard work. If I didn't work so damn hard on it, I guess I wouldnt feel so bad, but the fact that when I read what all the body blitz/body for life champs have done to achieve such success, and I do this all the time, its quite deflating.

My husband doesn't understand this, because he just sees all the achievements, but when you've worked towards something for 2 years, and come to the realisation that you will never achieve it...... Anyway - I am trying to move on from my self absorbed wallowing. I have made an appointment to see a plastic surgeon -and although I can't get in until Feb, I guess its a start. I'm just not sure how I will go convincing my husband to spend bucket loads of money that we don't have, on something he doesn't want me to do......

Back to the goal orientated me. Since this episode I have really struggled to identify a goal. If its not about the weight - then no use using this as a goal. If my body fat is already in the lean category but doesn't give me what I want in a figure - not sure how to set this one. How low do I aim for? I think even 0% wont give me what I want. But I do want a smaller waist. Believe it or not since dropping the body fat, my measurements have increased all over - including my waist by 3 cm. (Which makes me doubt the body fat measurements, but it doesn't seem to matter how many times I do them I still come up with the same result). In previous readings and posts I have alluded to the fact that I don't think you can gain muscle and lose weight at the same time, and I am aware of some fitness models who cycle their diet to lose weight for a few weeks, and then alter their diet to gain muscle for a few weeks. So I have decided to spend the next 21 days leading up to Christmas to focus on losing weight overall - not in terms of kgs, but in terms of measurements - particularly my waist.

Here's my plan

• Stick to my clean eating plan with 5 small meals per day - but change my focus to coming in within the calorie limits rather than achieving the protein requirements. I'm going to drop my calories slightly to 1450 per day with two cheat meals per week (because of all the Christmas parties).
• Be firm about no starchy carbs after meal 3. I have been quite flexible about this up until now (ie having pasta for dinner if everyone else was having it, but just keeping my serving really small) but for the next 21 days - I will not eat any starchy carbs in meals 4 and 5
• Get a cardio hit every morning and night, 6 days per week, at the expense of weight training if necessary. I have been using cardio coach (HITT) in the mornings on the elliptical (my Christmas present) and it has been great - real leg burn when I turn up the resistance which I don't get from running. I firmly believe in weight training as an essential element of my exercise routine, but this is ONLY for 21 days. As long as I continue to weight train regularly - a few missed sessions shouldn't affect maintaining my muscle mass.
• Drink 2 litres water/day

Achieve 100% on each of my goals for each and every one of my 21 day challenge.

I will measure my effort as follows:

• Keep within 1450 cals each day, or 1200 on my cheat meal days (and not count the calories in the cheat meal) - value - 20 %
• Drink 2 litres water - value 20%
• Cardio in the morning - 20%
• Cardio in the evening - 20%
• No starchy carbs in meals 4 & 5 - 20%

To measure my results - I will do full body measurements 1/week, and I will weigh myself at the beginning at the end. - No more often than that and purely out of interest - the results I am looking for are a drop in body size - specifically my waist

To achieve 100% every day for 21 days will require an enormous commitment, but my motivation will be that I have done absolutely everything possible to be in my best shape for Christmas. Saving surgery, there is nothing else I can do.

The challenge starts tomorrow!

Exciting News

Well - what sort of results have I been getting for all my hard work this year?

In January 2007, (when I was within a kg or so of goal weight) I had a skin fold test done at the gym - and it showed that I had 30% body fat. This was much better than what my body fat scales were telling me - they showed 42%. So my aim was to drop fat/build muscle this year.

I've complained all year about how I seem to gain weight so easily - despite eating really well most of the time, and exercising hard - 1 - 2 hrs/day. I've blamed it on a poor metabolism - and not one to just whinge - I've worked hard at fixing that too.

The scales however continue to show 42 % body fat - they're not budging. I've been a bit suspicious of this - I thought that even though they are higher than the results from the skin fold test - it wouldn't matter - I could just use them to see changes.

Well today - I decided I needed to do another skin fold test and really see whats going on. I am now the proud owner of Fat Track - which is an electronic skin caliper - just take 3 measurements and it calculates the body fat for you.

So I did.

Three times in fact to make sure

And there is no doubt about it - my body fat is:













17 % wooooooohoooooooo!!!!!

I even pulled out my results from January and compared the individual skin fold readings, and even allowing for user error - they are significantly different.

So since January, I have:

Gained 3 kgs in weight
Lost 10 kgs of fat
Gained 13 kgs of muscle
And my body fat results put me in the lean category!!!!

Who cares about a 3kg gain in light of this!!!!! I am stoked - I feel like someone has given me a gift from heaven. Even though my image in the mirror is no different to when I thought my body fat was higher - it has changed my whole attitude. It means that I have not worked hard all year for nothing. It means that what I have been doing has worked and I have achieved what I was after. Actually my original goal was to achieve 22% body fat - well I've smashed this! All my whinging was misinformed. I was gaining because I was gaining muscle - not fat.

I still have a soft belly - I don't think I will ever be able to change this without surgery because I have so much excess skin that hangs around my hips at the front like a belt - and I think this is what has stuffed up the % on the scales. It is not fat (using the calipers on this area actually scores a very low reading), it is just skin surplus to my needs as a result of losing so much weight. - but if I disregard this - the rest of me really is quite muscly and toned. I want a more ripped look, but at least I know I'm on the way to this. I'm going to keep at it, and measure weekly (not weigh) and see how long it takes me to hit 16%! (and then.... and then....)


Its so exciting!

Long Time Between Posts!

Last week a truck took out our phone lines and we have been without a phone or internet for an entire week! In celebration of having the internet again (life's been hell without it!), 'I thought I would let you know what's been happening lately....

About 4 to 6 weeks ago I read "Feed the muscle, burn the fat" by Tom Venuto. It provided very detailed information about how to build muscle and burn fat - and was just what I needed to hear - as it really focussed on revving up your metabolism - which you would know is where I have been focussing my energies lately. In summary - I'm frustrated that as soon as I eat a semi normal diet - I gain weight - despite exercising 1 - 2hrs day - and it all relates to long term calorie deprivation slowing my metabolism.

Tom's info has helped me to fine tune the strategies I already had in place - and they go like this:

Eat every 2 - 3 hours - I was already doing this, but I learnt that this is really critical PLUS it must be evenly balanced calories - not main meals at B, L and D with snacks in between.

ACTION: I now eat 5 small meals a day at roughly 7, 10, 1, 4 and7 pm. AND they are approx 300 cals each, and consist of about 25gms protein, and starchy/fibrous carbohydrates - depending on the time of day (avoiding starchy carbs late in the day)

Don't lower your calorie intake by more than30% of maintenance calories, PLUS, Zig Zag your calorie intake so that your body doesn't get used to a low intake all the time

ACTION: I eat no less that1540 cals/day, and every 4th day up this to 1900 cals. This allows me 2 cheat meals/weak out of my 35.

Maintain a calorie deficit at all times, (as above) but increase the deficit through exercise not diet - as this has a positive effect on metabolism.

ACTION: - Didn't need to change anything here except the mindset (don't eat less and less to lose weight - just exercise more)

Find a balance between protein, carbs and fat that works for you, through continually evaluation of results, but you should be aiming for high protein, mod carbs and lowish fat.

ACTION: I'm trialling 55% carbs, 30% protein, 15 % fat. I also learnt that whilst low carb will result in weight loss, and body building competitors will do this in the 6 weeks or so leading up to the comp, once refeeding commences the body increases weight dramatically and the loss is not sustainable.

Whilst starchy carbs such as sweet potato, rice etc are important, having them in first part of the day, and not at night increases fat burning whilst sleeping

ACTION: Starchy carbs for meals 1, 2 and 3, and fibrous carbs (ie vegies) for meals 4 and5 only

Need a combo of weights/cardio - must train to fail to gain muscle bulk and have sufficient rest between training - already doing that

IMPORTANT LEARNING: You can either lose a little fat and gain muscle, OR lose a lot of fat and gain little muscle - you can't do both at the same time. Tom strongly recommends that you don't lose more than 500gms/week - otherwise you are losing fat AND muscle - and this is counterproductive to gaining a lean ripped body!

So I have been following all this advice, preparing my food every night and have finally found a protein powder that I really like - Lean Dessert - I have it in Banana Cream, and Choc Fudge and it is really yummy! So finally I am getting enough protein.

And the results ? Well over the last 4 weeks I have lost 4 cm around the waist and increased my bust (some may think this is good (aka husband) but its a problem because I don't fit into my shirts. And I have lost....maybe 500gms - not much - could it be muscle gain????

By the way I have been developing my gym at home- have some piccies here for you, and I am getting an eliptical (X trainer) for Christmas (actually it is coming next week!)

Here's my gym in the shed. Its set up with old toys stored around it - hence the colourful backgrounds. These are my dumbells - its taken me a while to purchase three sets - but really helpful not having to change the weights all the time between sets. I've thrown away the 2kg ones - the lightest I now use is 4kgs and only for lateral shoulder raises. Then its 8 kgs for bicep curls and similar single arm exercises, and 10kg for two arm overhead exercises like back pullovers

Here is my latest acquisition - my very own bench press -currently pressing 22kgs

It also inclines for preacher curls and incline curls, and has an area for hamstring curls/leg extensions (and there is an ezy curl bar on the floor - use this for 21's and nosebreakers)

In front of the messy background is my treadmill which is frequently in use, and to the right of it my Ab King Pro - one of my earlier pieces. Don't actually use it for abs work any more - but it makes a great bench for weights etc

Very important piece of equipment here - TV/DVD player - can watch TV and movies whilst working out -and in front of this - I have my very own step if I feel inclined to do a DVD
I have a fit ball, and just sneaking in the photo to the right is my yoga mat for floor exercises

Here's one of my favourite pieces that I still can't use properly - the chin up bar!

I use this blackboard to keep track of what weights I have on each dumbell - as they're all odd numbers, and the posts to the dumbells weigh different amounts - it was always brain drain trying to remember how much each one was - much easier now!
And lastly - if you figure ground perception is good enough - you should be able to make out my home gym - it has upper and lower cables, (add attachments for lat pull down, triceps push downs, bicep curls, shoulder rows etc, plus pec flye, leg extensions etc

And that's it!

City To Bay 2007

Pre- Race Ramble
Well, after an uncertain week leading up to the race, due to a calf injury, I managed to run the race according to plan. I experienced strong calf pain on Tuesday night after a pace run, and had to stop all exercise for the 4 days leading up to the race. Right up until the morning of the race, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to run, as I will still experiencing pain just walking. I had convinced myself that I may have to walk it, but would just wait and see.


Race Report
Race morning I got up at 5am and went for a morning stroll - to check out the race preparations (was staying right by the finish line). Drank a powerade, and then a diet coke at about 6.15 - following Jeff Galloway's advice re caffiene assisting with reducing muscle cramps/stiffness at the beginning and assisting with performance. We headed off for the bus at 6.30 am (all the family were running, plus 1 friend and 1 cousin - a party of 7 in total!)



Since we were early, there was plenty of room on the bus, and it dropped us off right by the start line. A quick trip to the toilet (followed by about 4 more later on!) and we went for a slow run around the Torrens area. Wasn't sure whether I should run to warm up or not - what if my calf only had 12 good kms in it - and the warm up would prove to be too much???? Well, decided this logic wasn't too sound, so gave it a go. Calf felt ok, so I was encouraged. Took some panadol for a bit more courage to run on it, and lined up for the race.



Bit disappointed there were no time markers for the line up this year- as it put everyone in together and I had no idea whether I was with people of similar running pace or not.

Any way, the gun went off, and about 10 mins later I crossed the starting line!



Had set the Garmin pacer for running the 12 kms in 72 mins, and was armed with the mantra "just stay ahead of the pacer, and you'll come in on time" The conditions were cool and overcast, quite perfect for running, and apart from weaving through the crowds, it is a relatively easy race - all being slightly downhill apart from the first 100m or so.



I stuck to my guns and ignored everyone sprinting off through the crowd, or those who were walking within the first 500 m or so ( and there were a lot of them!). Ran a good first few kms, not experiencing any stiffness or calf pain. At about the 3 km mark, someone tapped me on my shoulder, and it was my youngest daughter Tessa (11 years) and my nephew Luka (also 11). Its amazing how easily the young ones find this - I couldn't believe they had kept up with me (they had said something about running one km/walking one km) and then they sprinted off in front of me. Well, I guess I might just have to face the facts that I might be beaten by 11 year olds who hadn't even trained! But they stopped just up ahead for a drink, and I didn't see them again until the end.



In retrospect the first 8 kms were pretty perfect, I was slightly ahead of the pacer and doing quite well. But after that, I started to tire. Not surprisingly really, as I had set my pace at what I really considered my 5 kms race pace, and I knew a 72 minute finish was going to be a very big ask. But this was really the first race that I had planned to run as a real race.... all the others had been about pacing myself to make sure I could manage the distance. But this one, I knew the distance wasn't the issue, this time it was about how much could I push myself on the day to achieve a PB, rather than holding back to make sure I had enough to get to the end. So it was all about how long could I hold out on the pace, and could I push myself hard enough to just keep going. I was about 100 ms ahead of the pacer, and finally gave in to a brief walk. But I was astonished to see how quickly my 100m lead disappeared (about 10 - 15 secs I reckon), so as it approached a zero lead - I started running again. But from here on in, it was really hard work. I just kept picturing how much I would love to achieve it in 72mins, and how the pain would be so short lived, just hang in there and keep going. I started to feel the calf ( I think - or was this phychosomatic speak for an excuse to stop??), and I realised that I couldn't keep up the pace. The choice was to either stop and walk, or drop the speed. So I dropped the speed and stopped focussing on the pacer time, as I started to fall behind my goal. My main focus became just keeping running to achieve a reasonable time. I stopped once more for a brief 10 sec walk, and at the 2 km to go mark, tried to pick up the speed and regain my lost time. But I just didn't have it in me, as hard as I pushed myself, I wasn't making any gains, so I dropped my speed again, with the aim of a reasonable run to the end, and to look strong when I ran past my husband - who would have finished ahead of me and be watching me come in (Appearances are very important!)

Didn't watch the watch any more until I crossed the finish line, starting to feel a little nauseaus, and very glad to have finished.



And the unofficial finishing time:......



73.10



Very happy with that. I may have even scraped into the 72 min time as I didn't press the stop button hard enough when I finised, and had to stop it again a few seconds later, and I may have actually started it just before the start line - so I will wait and see.



In my head my goals had been:

72 mins - ultimate goal

75 mins and under - happy to achieve

less than 83 mins (last years time) - essential



My learnings from this year:

• The 4 days of forced rest were actually very beneficial. Usually when I start running I experience some minor discomfort in my legs, until they warm up and relax. I didn't experience any of this - this is was either due to the caffiene ( I'm not convinced about this) or the complete rest. I think I am normally experiencing some levels of fatigue from whatever exercise I have been doing over the previous few days - so I think I may repeat this sort of taper in future.

• My heart rate is always higher in races. Here's some interesting readings. My resting heart rate is generally around 42 bpm (have even seen it as low as 38). On the bus into the city, my HR was 78 and I was sitting down. Standing in the line waiting to start, my HR was 108 - and I was doing nothing! And over the 12kms - (and I didn't look at this until after the race) my HR averaged at about 178bpm (about 95%). and no, that's not normal for me. I guess it shows how much race anxiety or even just the adrenaline rush makes a difference. This is what caught me out in the half marathon, so I made sure I didn't look at it during the race. But it does also tell me that I was working as hard as I could expect to, and that a faster time than what I achieved was probably not in me.

• If I hydrate well the few days before and the morning of the race, I don't need to stop at the drink stations for a drink on a relatively short race such as this (at least when the weather is cool)

• Running a near 5km PB (29:30) is really not advisable in a 12km race, and probably should have told me that I was running too fast. One day I might perfect the art of negative splits! or set more realistic times.

• Training pays off (duh!) My husband finished in 64 mins - improving his time from last year by 2 mins. His training consisted of going to a few football practices and a couple of runs beforehand. But he did learn from last years race to pace himself better - probably led to the 2 min improvement. But I improved my time by 10 - 11 mins, and I'm closing the gap between our results. Last year we finished 17 mins apart, this year 9 mins apart. If I keep improving my fitness - maybe I'll beat him one year after all!

By the way - the rest of the family did as follows

Tessa and Luka - the young ones - about 90 mins - WOW

Tara (my eldest - 20 yrs) 100 mins ( has done very little exercise this year, but wanted to give it a good go, and did)

Kaelia (my 17 y.old) and friend from school - about 2 hours something - apparently they gave up at the 3 km mark ( I originally thought she meant at the 3 kms to go mark, but no - she meant near the beginning) and decided to walk it all.



Regardless of their times, I am really proud of them all for just giving it a go - I love having the family all involved.


Post Race Ramble
For my active recovery, I got up early this morning for a walk. Tried running a few times but the legs really just weren't ready for it. But as I walked around geocaching, with no time restraints, didn't realise that I ended up doing 13kms over 3hours (see I kept it nice and slow!). Not sure how the distance will affect my recovery though!



Any way - that's it for this year's C2B. To finish off, here are my C2B times over the last 4 years:



2003: 2:20 (trained to be able to walk this for 6 months, was terrified I wouldn't make the distance, and originally thought it would take me 3 hours as 4kms/hr was my top speed!)



2004: 1:57 (trained hard again to walk it, thought I was a lot fitter. 6 kms/hr was my dream speed that I aimed for, and my goal was sub 2hrs. Achieved this, but my HR was over 100% for the entire race, and I had to lie down for an hour afterwards before my HR returned to normal)



2005: Did not compete - was in Europe



2006: 1:23 (my first race as a runner. Followed a 12 week training program to the letter, and was in awe of the distance -would I ever make it?)



2007: 1:13 (maybe I 'm a real runner now? hope to scrape into the top 1000 female runners (about the top third))

And yes Jessie, there is another plan...

The City 2 Bay may not be done and dusted yet, but OF COURSE I've set my sights on a new challenge!

I've been wanting to do the Oxfam Trailwalker for some time but a) its interstate (costs too much) and b) I don't know three other weird people who would team up with me to do it. (Actually I don't know even one other person who would)

But the other day as I was looking up something on the South Australian Road Runners Club site, I came across something along the same lines - the Adelaide Trailblazer! Its held at the end of October, and in teams of 2 or 4 you can sign up to 18kms/34kms/50kms/100kms. And I've started trying to convince my hubby that we could pair up and do the 34 kms. 18kms - well I know I can do since doing the 1/2 marathon - but 50 would just be too much too soon - so 34 sounds just about right - and you can walk the whole thing if you want - so sounds quite achievable with moderate training. Now I just have to get him to sign on the bottom line... perhaps I'll cover the page with football piccies and he'll never know.....


Anyway - the other news of late is that I've been experimenting with the virtual trainer on my Garmy. What this does it that you tell it how far you want to run and in what time, and as you run it puts up a split screen on the watch showing how you are running compared to the "pacer man" (stick figure pictures) and at the bottom it tells you how many metres ahead or behind you are of the required pace to meet your goal. I've only used this once before with disastrous results. This was in a 5 km fun/run at Victor Harbour, and because I had never used it before, when it told me in the first km that I was 60 odd metres ahead of the pacer, I didnt realise how significant this was, and how fast that meant I was running. Subsequently I had gone out too fast and nearly didn't manage to finish because I was exhausted. (It did still provide me with a 5km PB - but it was one of the hardest runs of my life!)

Anyway - figured if I could get used to using it, it may be good for the C2B. So tried it out on Tuesday - and told it I wanted to run 5kms in 30mins - which is my planned C2B pace. What I found though was that although it worked well, because I was determined to stay ahead of the pacer man, I still ran the 5kms slightly too fast, averaging about a 5:45/5:50 pace instead of a 6:oo pace. And it was hard. And I'm sure I couldn't have kept it up for 12 kms - actually felt a slight twinge of nausea at the end of the 5kms -nothing too much , but a sign that it wouldn't be manageable over a longer distance. Why didn't you just go slower when you were too far ahead I hear you say? A very good idea, but one I didn't manage to achieve. I kept telling myself "slow down", and consciously tried to "slow down", and then checked my watch and found myself yet another 10 metres ahead! I don't know what my problem was - but I just didn't seem to be able to do it!

Came in for the 5kms about 80 metres in front of Mr Pacer, and in 29:28. That may not sound much faster than a planned 30 mins, but if you multiplied that out for a 12 km run, that would see me finishing in 70. something minutes, when I'm aiming for a PB of 72 minutes. That's actually quite a lot. So I'm thinking I might try it again but set the speed at slightly below 10kms/hr (say 9.9) and then if I aim to stay just ahead - I should be about right. Or I could keep the speed the same, and if I'm too far ahead insert walk breaks to make it more manageable. Don't know - will try out a few of these strategies over the next week leading up to the race.....

By for now - oh and by the way - if you've noticed I've been absent from posting comments on your blog - I'm having problems with my computer. Whenever I go to post a comment, the computer keeps asking me if I want to display the "non-secure" items. I keep saying yes, and it keeps asking me, repeatedly! and so fast that I can't even type a word before it interrupts me again. I'm very frustrated. If anyone knows what setting I need to change, please let me know. I've tried out a few - but nothing seems to work!

The "7 km Mistake"

Well - whilst in Adelaide last week - took the opportunity to do some running along the beach front, and on Saturday - a "long run" partly in training for the City Bay on 16th (12 kms)

Adelaide has a "linear park" - it is a path/trail that follows the River Torrens from the hills, through Adelaide and on to the ocean inlet at West Beach. I've run a fair bit of it from Athelstone in the foot hills to Adelaide (about 20kms for the 1/2 marathon) but never the stretch from Adelaide to the sea.

So this was the plan for Saturday. According to Mapmyrun, its about a 10 km stretch, and I was keen to see it all. Set out at 6.15 am - drove into the city and parked the car - and headed off for the run, a little unsure of exactly how far I would go and how much I could fit into the morning, as I had promised my parents I would be back by 10 am. Headed off with thoughts of running 5 or 6 kms, then turning around and heading back, but as I went along - I realised that I really would be quite disappointed if I didn't get to follow the path all the way to beach, and "see it all".

So decided I would run the full 10kms, and then catch a taxi back. Didn't have any money on me, but I had money in the car, and could pay the taxi driver when I got there.

The running was fine, and just when I was wondering how much further it would be, I turned the corner and saw a magnificent site of river disappearing into the sea, in the distance. Ahh - nearly there. Spurred on by this, ran for another km or so and reached the ocean. Checked my Garmin - only 10kms as predicted - well 12 will be a much nicer number - after all, the C2B is 12kms - perhaps I'll head north along the beach down to Henley Beach square - lots of taxis there in this eatery/restaurant hub. So I did. Reached HB Square - a little more running required to bring up the 12 kms - so ran along the jetty and back. Perfect. 12 kms. Hit the stop button on the Garmin - very proud of myself - and headed off to the taxi stand.

Well - this is where things went a little pear shaped.

What taxi.

Yes, there have always been plenty of taxis when I've been there before IN THE EVENING. Not 8.00 in the morning!

There was no taxi to be found. I would have been quite happy to walk the 12 kms back to my car, but based on my promised 10 am return, the clock was now ticking.

I really had no choice now but to head back, and start running again, whilst looking for a taxi.

2kms back along the esplanade - and still no taxi. I was now at the point where I had to make a decision about heading back via the linear park, or head towards Glenelg where the big hotels would guarantee a taxi. But how far away was Glenelg I wondered? 6, 7 kms maybe? It was only 10 kms back along linear park, and if I ran the 7 kms to Glenelg, I still had to find a taxi, and pay for the trip - to save me maybe 3 kms of running????

So I decided that I could probably run the linear park in an hour, and meet my 10 am deadline so I headed off. It was hard going though, and I was tired. Although I have run further than this before, I have run this sort of distance in a quite a few months and it really showed. A few kms later, I crossed a major road, and had a thought. If this was the road I thought it was - then if I headed right - I would reach the airport - and there is no shortage of taxis there. So made the decision, headed off, and a few more kms later, managed to flag down a taxi on the airport road.

I'm not sure what the taxi driver thought. I wasn't really your typical frequent flyer in business suit with luggage, instead a sweaty, red faced girl in exercise gear. I briefly explained my situation as he listened in amazement as to where I had been, and when he returned me to my car he said - So you started your run from here???? and shook his head.

Well I returned to parents right on 10 am, but the search for the taxi had taken an extra 7kms and brought my long run distance up to 19kms - A little further than planned for the day!

Just as expected..

Yep - just as expected - a good loss this week - 1.4 kgs!

And I say "just as expected" as this is part of my trial of being good to my body - no wild swings in how much I eat/exercise - just regular good eating, within my calorie allowance, plenty of water and regular exercise, to see if it will provide regular reliable results, and improve my metabolism. So so far, so good, it did just as expected, and in this week I ate Chinese one night, and had a meat pie for lunch one day. All within the calories, and everything else was good stuff. The interesting thing is that since I had an head cold last week - I did no high impact cardio - no gym, no running. But I did walk on the tready every day for 1 - 2 hours, plus weights every second day.

So this weeks challenge? not to lose my mojo whilst I'm away.

Soon to be gone

Well - I wont be around much over the next week - am off to Adelaide for some training - and where i'm staying there is NO INTERNET ACCESS! I have no idea how I'm going to survive without this - as I am online all the time! Any way I have worked hard to pack my food for an entire week so that I don't have to rely on the catering for food and can stick to my clean eating.

I'm sharing a unit with two guys from work and they are going to pay me out something huge when they see how much stuff I have brought with me. On top of a large suitcase for all my clothes (and its been a bit warmer the last few days so I have had to pack warm clothes, spring clothes, going out clothes and casual clothes!) I have a big esky with all my food, a separate bag for all my exercise gear, a bag just for my shoes! (cause the big suitcase was full) a bag with my Geocaching gear (to collect whilst I'm running) and a bag with stuff for my mums birthday (going there Monday night). Oh and a box of Powerade Light cause I can't seem to find them in Adelaide! Eeek! Anyway, I don't care, it means I will be well prepared to maintain my healthy living and thats the most important thing. .....Am still deciding whether I might pack the scales...

My official weigh in day at the moment is Monday - so I am hoping to do a quick post early tomorrow morning before I leave (pre 6 am!) Am expecting a good loss, and want to be able to update my ticker!

Have a good week.

Question for CalorieKing Users

Hi all
Just trying to work out if Calorie King adjust exercise calories according to your weight, like Weight Watchers do.

At 62.0 kgs - Outdoor Walking 5.5kms/hr for 60 mins - CK suggests I burn 223 calories.

If there is anyone who DOES NOT weigh 62 kgs and uses CalorieKing - could they look up this exercise and tell me how many calories it estimates for you?

Thanks

The Winter War Theory is True!

Just found in the latest edition of Oxygen:

"Its not uncommon for anyone to gain up to five kilos during winter. As a matter of fact, eating more food in winter is the body's natural response to find the means of generating body heat, and increased caloric intake is one of them."

I knew it! I could see lots of people struggling with their weight over winter, and have been wondering if its a "normal" thing. When I look at normal, I ask my husband questions - as he is someone who never watches what he eats, and never gains weight.... or does he? One of my theories is that maybe naturally thin people do vary in their weight, but because they're not obsessing over it, they dont notice daily and seasonal variations. So he weighed himself - and he is about 3 kilos heavier than normal - interesting huh? So what I want to know is, if you consistently eat healthily - will the weight drop off as the weather warms up? After all, thin people can't just gain kilos every winter and stay thin!

I'm quite fascinated at the moment with normal eating habits, normal body responses etc, as I try to learn to maintain my lower body weight. I think my metabolism is quite stuffed from bad eating habits in the past and am trying to address this, as mentioned in an earlier post, because my body doesn't react the same way to food and exercise as my hubby's does. And I was interested to read in Jen's blog that she was managing the maintenance quite well, but recently she's been on holidays and gained 4 kgs (hope you don't mind me sharing this here, Jen). But I wonder - is this normal for regular people who don't struggle with their weight? I can't imagine that Jen binged for whole time she was away, more likely that she just relaxed her eating, and ate what people normally eat on holidays - does every regular thin person gain 4 kgs like this - or do they gain it, and then because their body is so used to being at a standard "set" point weight, that the pull is so strong to maintain it that it naturally returns when routine is restored? Thats what I want - a stable weight that will self regulate.

I'm working really hard at fixing my metabolism. Here's what I'm doing

• Regular, frequent eating - no starving myself, no excessive eating, and consistently healthy
• Increasing the consistency of my weight training - I read that something like increasing 1kg of muscle will result in burning an extra 500 cals a day to maintain it - that's huge and I want it.
• Increasing my fluids - this is my worst area - I just don't drink enough and dehydration slows the metabolism. So, as I'm hopeless at drinking water (just don't like it unless its iced - and its too cold for this in winter) I'm trialling drinking more powerade light - 65 cals/600 mls. Its a trade = spend 200 cals on powerade a day - but know that I'm well dehydrated - which will have a more positive impact on my weight I wonder. So far this week - the powerade seems worth it
• Maintaining my cardio exercise regularly - the easy bit
• getting my thyroid function checked out - since I have now been off work for 4 days - have to go to the docs for a med cert. So thought I'd make it worth my while and ask for a blood test - the main reason for this is that I am sooo cold allll the time. I have far more body fat than my husband to keep me warm - but I am ten times colder. In fact i am colder than anyone else I know, including skinny people! (Hence I think my winter weight troubles - fighting to stay warm)

By the way - I also read in Oxygen that when you are sick, provided your symptoms are "above the shoulders, and you have no fever/body aches, you are well enough to maintain a modified workout. And I am very proud of myself that I have done just that. I've done no running, no combat, no going to the gym and spreading my germs, BUT I have walked slowly on the treadmill every night and continued with my weights. So the routine has been maintained - which is what I am aiming for - teaching my body to expect consistency of nutritional intake and regular exercise - even if there is variety within this.