Gettin joggy wid it

I've been jogging.  Yep.  Me. @43.  Never thought I would EVER be able to do that again.  But I can, and I'm loving it.

It started 2 weeks ago when I went back to work after the Christmas Break.  I was walking around Albert Park Lake - at a pretty good pace too - when a really upbeat song came on the ipod, and without even thinking about it, I was jogging.  Scared the pants off me actually, coz I'm sure I'm not supposed to be doing that.

But then the next day I did the same walk, it just felt like the right thing to do, so I threw in a couple of jogging intervals into the mix.  I pushed each time until my lungs were burning and dropped back to a fast walk again.

The following week 2 girls from work came too - 1 super fit & 1 just starting out.  We threw in a couple more jogs, and being in a small group, you cant just wimp out and stop. So all up, I probably jogged about  400m and noticed I could get waaaaaay further this time before the lung burn started.

Today on my morning walk, which was super fast as I was time limited,I was feeling GREAT,so I jogged the last 400m home.  Actually it was more of a run than a jog.  And I still felt great when I reached the letterbox so I threw a couple of sprints in along my street. (its not a very long street).

I'm still scared of re-injuring my back, but it feels so good - so free to be able to run again.

Pre-season Task #3 - Goal setting

I REALLY struggled with this task, but finally had a break through last night & managed to get something on paper.

By the end of the program I will;

• weigh no more than 77kg

Each day I will;

• eat within the 1200 calorie limit
• exercise for 1 hour minimum
• prepare the next day's lunch & snacks while cooking dinner
• maintain the veggie patch
• walk a minimum of 10,000 steps

Fitness indicators for the 12 weeks;

• Swim 2km
• Run 5km*
• Ride 10km
• Walk 10km
• 10 toe pushups*
• 50 crunches

*back recovery dependent - but dreaming big!

I will push my social comfort zone by;

• attending a group fitness class
• weekly FB group event
• commenting on 5 new blogs each week

And to curb my workaholic tendencies;

• Limit of 40 hours per week
• 3 or less desk-bound days per week

I'm stuck beyond the 12 week mark with the exception of reaching my goal weight (72 - 75kg) & making sure that the daily habits above are just a part of my life (as Mich says "like brushing your teeth or taking a shower").

The invaluable thing for me in this exercise was realising the fact that I have a GREAT life, and have achieved more than I ever dreamed possible.  I've got great friends, not heaps of friends, but I dearly value the ones I do have. The man is AMAZING. The home we've created together is a haven. I'm challenged daily in my work.  My kids are leading happy, healthy & purposeful lives. The only thing missing has been my health - but that's changing at a great rate.  Life is good.  And if it doesn't get any better than this, well that's fine by me.

Week 12

Current Weight: 83.7kg
Last week:      83.4kg
Week's loss:        +0.3kg 
So far:         -13.3kg  




What a crappy week, weight wise!  My diet was bordering on squeaky clean, even after Saturday night dinner out as well as Tuesday lunch.

 Not 1 day this week exceeded 1200 calories, and not 1 day did I not exercise away a minimum of 500 calories.  Mathematically, I should have lost another kilo this week, and the most frustrating part was that I was well on my way, dropping down to 82.8 on Friday.

I've been analysing my week, running through it all over and over in my mind;
  Friday (82.8kg) was my 1.25km swimming day.  I also added a decent walk to that.
  Saturday (82.8kg) we walked +8km at pace. I then threw in 3 tracks of MB's Circuit DVD.
  Sunday (83.1kg)  I went to a group PT session and worked my rear end off.
  Monday (83.3kg) It was hot, hot, hot, but I still managed a PB on my Albert Park Lake walk.
  Tuesday (83.4kg) Wii Fit sesh & an interval walk/jog - my lightest exercise day all week.
  Wednesday (83.7kg) I was in THE CRANKIEST MOOD & thought that exercise could just piss off!!! I dragged my sorry ass around Albert Park Lake, again shaving time off, again increasing the jogging intervals, and I was rewarded a little by;
  Thursday (83.1kg)

Really, I just felt like crap since last weekend.  Sluggish, heavy, unmotivated, bloated, angry.

The positive - I stuck with it.  The temptation to throw it all in and cuddle a block of chocolate was so, so strong.  But. I. Didn't.

This has been the hardest of my 12 week journey so far and I got through it.  Perhaps lasting change is setting in??

With the fishes

Since this whole, what would you call it, lifestyle change, I've done some things that I never thought I'd be able to do.

Today I swam 1.25km.

To most people that's probably not all that remarkable, but, I never learnt to swim as a littley, and I've certainly never been one to swim laps. But in the last few weeks I've discovered that it's a bit of fun.

My first time, 3 weeks ago, I was so nervous about, well, everything. Did I look fat in my bathers? Would I swallow water and start to drown? Would the people in the gym overlooking the pool be secretly laughing at my weird attempts? In the end, I just did it - 400m in about 40 minutes. It was tough, but it was a start.

Last time I didn't have all of the other stupid thoughts in my head, and focused on out-doing myself. 600m in 35 minutes. Mission successful.

So to more than double my previous best today was, to me at least, a significant achievement.

I'm sure my stroke is messy & my occasional banging into the wall makes people point and laugh, but I dont care, coz I'm doing it! And burning 373 calories in the process.

Week 11

Current Weight: 83.4kg
Last week:      84.4kg
Week's loss:         -1.0kg 
So far:         -13.6kg  




Completely shocked by this week's weigh in!  I've been carrying a sore hip which has made "just do it" harder than it needs to be.  I've still managed 45 minutes of exercise as a minimum each day, but haven't pushed myself as hard as in other weeks in the hope that this hip thing will settle down.

I guess it proves it really is 80% nutrition and 20% exercise.

Back to work

Well, my rehab phase is over and I've gone back to work.  I REALLY like what I do.  I REALY REALLY like the people that I do it with.  But I REALLY REALLY REALLY dont like being out of the house for 12 hours each day. And I REALLYx4 dont like sitting at a desk for hours on end.

So the big question is... What am I going to do?  I'm fortunate to be in the process of relocating the office which will kick in around April.  This will help with the 3 hour daily commute. But it's not going to help the whole desk, sitting thing.

Other than delivering pamphlets, what kind of work could I possibly do where I'm paid to be active? Or how could I incorporate more activity into my desk job?

Anyway, these are today's ponderings.  If anyone in cyberspace has a brilliant idea for a career change, PLEASE let me know :)

Bock-eekkkkkk... I'm a chicken

So much of the interaction on this program seems to happen on facebook.  For all kinds of reasons I've avoided good old FB...until now. I've joined two groups, 1 local and 1 state, and have posted a few comments amongst the local girls.  State scares me - too big! (Bock-eekkkk #1)

Wednesday night WAS supposed to be the local group walk - but was cancelled due to rain - thank God, coz I was seriously Bock-eekkkk #2 about going.

Two girls from the local group are members of my gym the same gym I have a card for but only attend spasmodically (as in I've swum 3 times & had my program consult - in almost a month).  On FB they encouraged me to come along to some of the classes they do. In a moment of completely false bravery, I said sure, I've got no idea what Sha'bam is, but I'll be there Friday.

So today is Friday -  and  Iplayed a whole game of will I won't I with myself for about half an hour.  Then...I just did it.  Drove to the gym. Swiped my card.  Got to the class doorway. Realised I was supposed to get some ticket thingy that everyone else had from reception before I went up there, and then Bock-eekkkk #3 happened.  I CHICKENED OUT!!!!!

The morning wasn't a total waste.  I ploughed my way through my gym program for the first time instead.  56 minutes.  327 calories.  Don't know if I'll ever be a gym junkie though.

Note to self:  Ditch the Bock-eekkk & learn to crow FFS.

A ferocious 500

One of the basic "rules" of 12wbt is to burn 500 cals each week day through some form of movement or a combination of several different activities.  I've had some great days where a morning and night session (and sometimes a sneaky mid day one too) have had my burn at around or slightly over the magic 500 mark, but I've never managed to do it in one sitting before.  Well, walking, not sitting!

I walked for 1:46:12 this morning.  Google maps has it at about 10.6km. Pedometer reading was 11,476. Calorie burn was 507.

At about the 7km mark (which was my previous PB) my legs & hips started to cramp, and ache, and I was considering hailing a taxi, or having a little lie down, or even better, having a lie down on the path so someone might have called an ambulance so I'd effectively get a free taxi.  But after a few choice words to myself, I pushed through it, kind of limping the last 500m home.

Note to self: *face palm* Don't push yourself so hard...loser!

A break from serial cereal

It was freeeeezing cold this morning, and my usual muesli, bran, fruit and yoghurt just didn't float my boat.  There wasn't much in the cupboards, but I managed to scrape together a pretty tasty 280 cal taste sensation; bacon, tomato & wilted greens on ricotta toast.

Multigrain bread x 2         162
Coles shortcut bacon x 2      94
tomato                         5
spinach                        7
extra light ricotta 25g       12
                             280

week 10

Current Weight: 84.4kg
Last week:      85.4kg
Week's loss:         -1.0kg 
So far:         -12.6kg 



Wednesday's seem to come around really quickly this year - maybe I'm just so anxious to see the results.  And this week, I'm tickled pink with another whole kilo gone, which means I'm under 10kg from my goal of 75.

Exercise wise I  really had to up the intensity to get this result. And having my new polar bear on my wrist has given me another set of stats to track which seems to be all the motivation I need.

Polar bared

My very sexy POLAR FT7  Heart Rate Monitor arrived today...woot woot!!!!!

I'd already done my hour plus on the Wii Fit before it arrived, but just HAD to go out walking to see if I was burning anywhere near the calories that myfitnesspal calculates.

This was (roughly) an 8,000 step walk, which at times was a little bit passive.

So to hit the 500 calories burn per day mark, I'm going to have to find the time to add to this walk in both distance & intensity PLUS throw in some time doing something else.

At least now I can measure it accurately - and being the first, I now have a benchmark to build upon too.

By the time we've taken the dogs for a stroll tonight, this could be an 800cal burn day!

How 259 calories looks...

Today's lunch was Y.U.M.M.O & a bargain at only 259 cals;

Lite white wrap            110
Avocado    30g              64
Tuna in springwater     70
Capsicum  25g               10
Lettuce  1 cup                 5

Soooo much filling made wrapping it an exercise in itself!

Compared to yesterday's lunch of 340 cals which was basically the same minus the avocado but with a multigrain roll rather than the wrap - and about half the size - today's was a total winner.

Aiming for a lean day today to get those scales moving again.

My new, new bestie

Today, I proclaim my everlasting love to www.myfitnesspal.com

As an iphone ap, this little beauty tracks my daily calorie spend and burn, scans product barcodes to enter food quick as a wink, and allows you to enter your weight daily (I know it's naughty but it keeps me honest, motivated, blah blah)

But the BEST thing about this website is when you log in on your PC to access the reporting function;

When I've been tracking  for a full month, the weight chart will (hopefully) appear more impressive than it currently does!  But to me, this is a brilliant way to lay it all bare and see where you are meeting your goals and also where you're cheating yourself.  How many 1200+ days in the month, Raelene??  Hmmm??????

I would walk 500 miles

One of the first things we did waaaaay back when we started this change was to buy a pair of pedometers. We're both fairly competitive with each other AND our selves, so we have worn them daily and always track our progress (an excel spreadsheet for Loz & an exercise log ap for me).

My back surgery was on Nov 3, and the pedometer came on Nov 8 so I've got a few days missing from my tally.

My first post-op walk was on Nov 7, and I barely managed to get to the corner and back. Seriously... it took nearly 20 minutes to go 400m.

But each day got a little easier;
Nov 10 2,236 steps
Nov 11 5,520 steps
Nov 12 7,816 steps which was totally over-doing it, resulting in;
Nov 13 4,888 steps

I was so desperate to crack the 10,000 mark...

which I first managed on Nov 16 and only backed it up 3 more times that month.

December saw me REALLY stretch it out, and as the month rolled on, I was regularly getting over 14,000 steps each day.

I had a set of routes that I'd measured, and mid way through December I tried beating my own best time in terms of steps per hour.

That 60 minute morning walk has now stretched out to an almost 7km circuit, and even though some mornings I'm stiff in the back and really can't be bothered, and it would be SOOOO easy to throw an excuse out there, it's just NOT going to happen.

If I manage to keep this up I will have walked over 217km in the month of January!

Big day... HUGE day

I felt that I had a really good day yesterday.  Personal best step count - 17,603 - plus 45 minutes on Wii Fit - plus pretty much bang on my 1200 cal for the day.

But I was a little surprised at the scales this morning... 84.8 (and I've got the pic to prove it).  That's a 600g loss in 1 day.

So I'm going to monitor this for a few days.  Could I have been eating too few calories (900 to 1050 per day)?  Or was it just time for a REALLY good day on the scales?  Or even some water retention over the past few hot days?  Whatever the reason, I'm going to take the loss and enjoy it :)

The best bit... I'm under 85kg, which was the next mini-goal.

 My reward? Aromatherapy massage.  But I'm a bit sore through the back and hips, in fact have been for a few days, so instead of complete luxury, I've booked a remedial massage instead.  Don't you hate being a sensible grown-up at times?

Week 9

Current Weight: 85.4kg
Last week:      86.3kg
Week's loss:          -0.9kg 
So far:         -11.6kg



This week's almost kilo loss surprised me a little as exercise wasn't easy to come by due to the hot, hot weather. And, as much as I hate to say it, my back has decided that "stiff" is it's choice for the past few days!   My food choices were smashingly good though, and even included a BBQ dinner - 3/4 plate of salad and a small steak.