70 by 7/7

Lurve the number seven.  Especially because I was born on the 7th day of the 7th month.  Anyway - a fellow 12wbt'er, who has her birthday a week later (same year - too freaky) on 14/7, (a top, ace chick that I love to death) set me a challenge to reach 70 by July 7.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

This morning I weighed in (I know it's naughty but it's pretty much my only vice) at 70.8kg.  800 grams in 8 days?  Yeah - I can do that!!

Although you don't read this blog - thank you Judy Street - top, ace chick you are xx

Weigh in - R2 - Week 4

Flawless week nutritionally, buuuuuuuut a few excuses were made around the exercise side of things.

Still - a 500g loss at this stage of the trip is, well, pretty trippy, mostly coz this is new weight I'm losing :)

Current Weight: 72.0kg
Last week:      71.5kg
Week's loss:          -0.5kg 
So far:          -25.5kg




And as I edge closer to that magic 70kg mark, I'm starting to believe that I really will get there.  And when it does happen, I promise that I'll only re-set my goal one. more .time.

The circus is in town...

...well you could be forgiven for thinking so IF YOU'D SEEN MY WORK PANTS.

So today at lunch, I snuck on down to the shopping centre (which is nice and close to my new workplace) and tried to find my favo Diana Ferrari grey pants in a smaller size.

None.

But I did try on a couple of other items while I was there, and walked out with a top, a knit dress and a cute little skirt...

in...

wait for it....


SIZE 10.

Here's proof

Serious part coming up;

I can remember very clearly my first few days of High School.  There was no uniform.  I was a bit lot of a dork and I had no "cool" clothes, so I wore my Mum's size 12's.  I wasn't what you'd call FAT, but I was solid.  So now, 31 years later, I find myself fitting into a smaller size than when I started secondary school. Nothing is going to bring me down from my good mood today!

But wait...there's more...

I attempted to pay forward some kindness tonight by accompanying a new member to her first boxing class.  Didn't quite work out that way (long story), but I DID get to sample BODY COMBAT.  What a blast!  Hard, but I loved it!  So did Big Red (my HRM) - a 441 calorie burn - backed up by another 100 cals on the exercise bike when I got home - plus June Mean Abs - AND my favourite Salmon Stirfry for dinner.

What a great day!

Ex non-exerciser

I'm working my way (backwards) through this rounds blogger challenge questions to catch up...

Week 2 was all things exercise, and here are Jaynes prompts;


When and where do you workout?   I wouldn't say I really have a "routine". My job is pretty dynamic in terms of hours and workload, so I try to keep things flexible rather than bogging myself down with more commitments. Some days I will steal a long lunch break and go for a shuffle.  Most days I will  do 10 or so km's on the exercise bike after dinner. All of this month I have done "Mean Abs June" either when dinner is cooking or after my ride.  On strength days I'll bash out the Lean and Fit program after dinner too.  Thursday is my weekend substitute coz I work Saturday nights and all of Sunday, so I'll go to gym for either a class or a sesh on the machines. Saturday morning I will do something special - like this morning i went to a group run coaching session.  So as you can see, I mix it up ALL the time.


Are you doing anything different this round? Yeah, I so am.  I'm giving the Lean & Fit program a run at the moment.  There's loads of running, and I've always said that I can't run.  Hmmm.  Seems I actually CAN. And unlike last round I'm sticking quite closely to the actual program rather than doing my own thing. 


Is there anything that you'd like to do but not yet done? I've been thinking of doing something that takes some upper body strength, like a ropes course or even trapeze. Swimming lessons to get some technique down with a view to the pink triathlon in February. And I've noticed the "sunset series" of runs later in the year.  Same course once a month for three months.  Would be great to gauge my improvement over that time.

Are you still holding back? As much as I'd like to say no to this question, it's a big fat YES. Always, in the back of mind, is the thought of injury and this, without a doubt, holds me back. Part of me thinks I should cut myself some slack - it HAS only been 7 months since my back surgery.  And part of me thinks to hell with it - if I'm going to re-injure myself it will happen regardless. I could do more. I could also do less. But mostly, the balance is about right for a 43 year old with pre-existing injuries.  


I'm using that word a lot in this post; "injury".  It doesn't define me, or limit me really. What it does do is make me appreciate how it feels now to move without pain.  Scared or brave - it's a fine line.

Motivation Station

I'm a bit late jumping on board this rounds "blogger challenge" hosted by the VERY inspirational Jayne - always late but worth(?) the wait.  Actually, I've been pretty crap at blogging since about week 10 of round 1 which, not coincidently, is around my gorgeous man asked me to be his wife. 


 *wagon*  *me jumping on*

This week's prompts;
What motivates you?  Initially, it was all about recovery from back surgery.  Now, 7 months later I've got a completely different focus.  I have a VERY beautiful but expensive ivory dress hanging in my spare room.  I can't post a pic of it here, just in case my future husband checks in here (unlikely). Its freaking stunning.  Its a freaking size 12, which in wedding dress terms is more like a 10.  And I'm freaking not.  It's so so close to fitting.  Maybe 2cm more across my back would make it zip all the way up, and a couple more from my hips would make sitting down a more pleasant experience.  My first wedding, at the age of 17, was crap.  Lasted for 20 years, but this time around it's so much more special.  I want to take his breath away when he first sees me.  That's what drives me.  And I want to look back at my wedding pictures are be proud of the woman I see.  Superficial - m'eh.

What drives you to a better version of yourself?  I don't think I was a particularly great person.  Yep, I was fat, but I was pretty grumpy, and negative, and low on confidence, and took things personally.  I'm a work in progress, but am already noticing changes in the way I view certain situations. And in turn, noticing the different way people then interact with me. People do treat me differently now that I'm "thin", but I treat me differently too.  What came first?  The latter me thinks.

What is making you just get up early with no excuses and just getting out there getting your workout done and eating healthy meals?  Confession.  I DON'T train in the mornings.  I MAY at some stage, but right now, I don't.  No excuses, I just don't.  But I DO workout every day, and I DO cook with fresh,clean ingredients every night.  It's all just a routine now.  There's no question of will I do this today.  I just do.  I hope that means that I've had the breakthrough and this is now my permanent lifestyle.

What makes you push that little bit harder?  I had my first "fun run" experience a few weeks ago, and it won't be my last.  My current push is to get my 5km time under 30 mins.  Funny really, coz I couldn't even run 5km a month ago.  But once I cracked that mental barrier of can't, then it just became easier.  There's always a personal time to beat, or getting to a certain distance, or hitting a certain calorie burn. It's the internal competition that pushed me on.  I'm not competing with anyone other than myself.  Strange, considering I grew up playing competitive team sports.  But I'm finding self-competition so much more rewarding. Although the lack of team-mates to celebrate with is taking some getting used to. High-fiving myself mostly happens internally - don't want to look like too much of a dick now, do I??

Great questions / prompts Jayne :)

The "C" word

I'm guilty of dropping the odd C-bomb on occasion. But 12wbt has shown me just how much I don't need this little 4 letter word in my vocabulary.

CAN'T.

There.  I said it.

I USED to think (and say) that I can't;

• lose weight
• run
• exercise
• cook
• do pushups
• cope

...just to name a few.

But I CAN do all of those things - and more!

• I've lost 25kg - one quarter of my old body weight.
• I'm now a runner.  I run.  I love it.  It feels free.  Fast. I ran at 15kph on the treadmill today.  Fast.
• Every day I do some form of exercise, either cardio or strength work or both. And I sweat. And I ache. And I love it.
• The kitchen and I had a strained relationship.  We're dating again, and I think the things that I'm serving up are healthy and yum and man-approved.
• Only fit chicks do toe pushups.  Right?  Yesterday I got to 37 consecutive in a minute.  Proud :)
• Not coping is no longer an option.  I DO cope with work and home and life.  And the more I cope, the more I can do, and the more I get out of life. Being thinner and healthier encourages me to make better choices.

It really is as simple as changing your thinking.  I CAN do whatever I put my mind to.  And I'm hatching a few plans as to what my mind might like to focus on.  Stay tuned...

Weign in - R2 - Week 3

Three weeks into round 2 - can you believe it?

I feel as though I'm in control of my weight, of my food and my body, and this week's loss takes me back to just above my lowest point.

Current Weight: 72.0kg
Last week:      73.0kg
Week's loss:          -1.0kg 
So far:          -25.0kg  




Loving being back at the 25kg mark.  And I think there's still a couple more kilos to be granted their marching orders.  But I've noticed a definite change of shape in the past couple of weeks.  It's a much firmer, more toned 72kg.  If I could wave the magic wand and deduct a few centimetres from specific places, I'd choose a couple of cms from my back, about 5cm from my hips and a couple from each thigh.

Looking forward to my first ever bikini this summer.  A size 10 summer dress.  Imagine wearing a dress without your thighs rubbing together. Seafood & salads. Warm air.  Oh, how I'm going to love this summer.  Being thin.  Does it get any better?

How heavy is 10kg??

Tonight, I'm on my exercise bike, pumping away on the pedals, when a brilliant (?) idea pops into my head.

I'll ride the last 10 minutes of my session with a 5kg dumbbell in each hand! (as I said...brilliant!) 

By the time I'm at 38 minutes (2 to go) I'm swearing and sweating and swearing some more. 

And then it hits me.

I used to do EVERYTHING with two and a half times this weight on my body. How did I function that way? I thrashed out my 10 minutes and put those bastard weights down. I will NEVER go back to where I used to be.

Weigh In - R2 - Week 2

I wasn't going to post this week coz I'm not overly impressed with the scales right about now.

Current Weight: 73.0kg
Last week:      71.9kg
Week's loss:         +1.1kg 
So far:          -24.0kg


Last Wednesday I weighed in and it was all smiles.  Thursday morning I had lost another 200g and was feeling GREAT.  Skipped lunch coz I was trying on (and buying) wedding gowns (sooo much fun).  Skipped exercise too.  And water. Ate a good dinner.  Was well under my 1200 calories.  Jump on the scales Friday morning AND I'VE PUT ON 2.2kg.  OVERNIGHT!  Come on!!!!!

So, it's Friday and I'm flat out at work due to a HUGE event the next day.  No exercise, but calories within the daily limit.  Plenty of water.  I'm hoping it will all even out, or even have been a mistake at the morning weigh in.

Saturday morning, jump on the scales and NO.  There was no mistake.  This 2.2kg is going to stick around. Heavy sigh.  So I can either fight this or I can go buy a packet or two of chocolate coated bullets. On go the runners and I'm out the door for an 8km jog before heading into work. Probably a bad move with an event to run, and my back agrees.  No running on Sunday or Monday or Tuesday, but the mystery weight is starting to move again.

And here we are, recording a 1.1kg gain.  I have no idea why.  Perhaps my body got a little freaked out?  Maybe it was the stress of the event or the move? Could be just one of those stupid fluctuations that us females have to put up with. Really, I just feel bloated and yuk.  Such a difference from last Wednesday.

It DOES do your head in though, losing the same weight over and over again.  Slow, steady, consistent.  Come on girl, hang in there!!!!

Weigh in - R2 - week 1

Current Weight: 71.9kg
Last week:      72.9kg
Week's loss:          -1.0kg 
So far:          -25.1kg





Great day today!  Feel on top(ish) of my workload.  Have followed Mish's exercise plan to the letter. And have been rewarded with my lowest weight so far.  Feels good to be losing weight for the first time rather than re-losing stuff I've put back on.

Here's todays HRM report;

Totally ripped training today.  It felt great to complete the same set of sprints easily today that I struggled with on Monday.  And the 20 minutes of steady state jog was almost comfortable.  So much so, that I was able to increase the speed to 8.5kph and  then up it again to 9kph for the final minute.

Onto today's facts and figures;

Calories in         1009
less training        525
less BMR            1455
deficit              971

Today, Day Two

Ooohhh... I'm a bit sore today.  And tired.  Yep, tired and sore.

But... I still completed Day 2 of Lean & Fit.  Strength day.

First things first, I had to do a 5 minute warm up.  "Hmmmm", said I, looking out the window hopefully. "Might go for a jog".  So I'm rugged up (as you do in Melbourne, in winter) in my fluffy trackies, long sleeve top, raincoat and beanie that looks like a tea cozy. Step outside.  Have an argument with myself that goes along the lines of "Oh God it's REALLY cold"..."stop sooking you...sook"..."My ankle hurts"..."You're outside now, so suck it up and start moving"...blah blah blah for a good 5 minutes.  The dogs are looking out the front windows at me thinking what the?  Felt like a bit of a dick actually, standing there, rugged up, cemented to the front deck.  Raelene - what ARE you doing?

So I press the go button on my Nike+ app and just do it.

20 seconds in and I'm feeling like a bit of an athlete.  A brilliant plan hatches.  I could make this my 1km time trial.  Like I said, brilliant plan.  So I stride it out a little more.  And. Then. The. Rain. Comes. Bucketing. Down.  I'm full on soaked.  But do I stop?  Noooooooo.

1.18km later, I'm standing back to where it all began - on my front deck - but with a PB 1km time under my belt (not that I was wearing one!)

Well, I say to myself (yep another brilliant plan is coming up) seeing as I'm warm(ish) I may as well do Day 2 of L&F.  Mountain Climbers suck by the way!

But the fun doesn't stop there.  Why not do the rest of my fitness test parts too?

So here are my fitness test stats;

                            Round 1 - week 12            Round 2 - week 1
1km time trial          5:51                                    5:43
Pushups (toes)            21                                       34
Pushups (knees)         83                                      104
Sit and reach           +5cm                                   +5cm
Abs                         stage 5                                stage 5
Wall sit                   6:58                                     3:01*

*I will make an excuse on the wall sit - I was completely spent by this time.  I could re-do it tomorrow, but I won't.  The 3:01 stands. I barely could at the end of it :)

Onto today's facts and figures;

Calories in         1189
less training        557
less BMR            1455
deficit              823

And we're away

Round 2 of 12wbt started today and I've had an AWESOME day.

Tossing up between the two advanced programs, Lean & Fit (L&F) or Lean & Strong (L&S), I've decided, after yesterday's awsomeness, to work on my fitness and running, plus loosing a couple more kg's, therefore, the winner is Lean & Fit.

Honestly, looking at the Day 1 exercise program, I didn't think I could get through it.  I was a bit tender in a few places from the fun run yesterday, so mentally, I was considering throwing a rest day in. Would have been easy to just roll over and get another hour's sleep..

BUT NO EXCUSES

H . A . P . P . Y . with that - yes I am.

The last cardio part of today's workout involved sprinting intervals on the treadie.  You know the sort - 30 seconds on then 30 seconds off with the belt still running.  First "set" was at 10kph x 2, then upped it to 12kph x 2, finishing with 14kph x 2.

Tough.  But done.  And just a little bit proud.

So today's facts and figures;

Calories in         1241
less training        522
less BMR            1455
deficit              736

Fun? Run

Who, in their right mind, gets out of bed at 6:30am on a freezing cold Melbourne morning to go for a run? A "fun" run at that.  Well, yes.  That's exactly what I did this morning.  And was it fun?  Well, yes.  It was a full on BLAST!

This was HUGE for me on so many different fronts and showed me how much personal progress I have undergone in the recent(ish) past;
The event was on at Albert Park.  3 years ago I almost turned a job down because I was so scared of driving into the city, and now I don't even give it a second thought.
Today marked the 7 month point from my back surgery. The week before I had that done I couldn't even walk up the steps at work.
Today I ran in my first fun run.  And I loved it.

This is only the second time I've managed the distance on a run.

When I came back to work in January I started walking around Albert Park Lake.  That first time took me over 48 minutes.

Today I ran the course (which is a bit longer than my usual circuit) in;

At the start of the last round of 12wbt, for my 1km time trial I recorded a time of 6:42 - and I wasn't able to run the whole way.  See my Nike+ record over there  All 5 of my km's were under 6:20.

This might sound a bit stupid - but the concept that this was a race never entered into my mind.  For me it was 100% about continuously running and then beating my PB of 33:07 (for 4.8km at 6'54/km).

SMASHED IT!!!

Anyway - apparently it WAS a race, and I came 35th overall in the female 40 - 49 category.

With some left in the tank.

Has my life changed much from being part of Michelle's 12wbt?

You betcha :)