Running

Thank you Robby for FebGTD
http://fatgirlvsworld.blogspot.com/

http://bit.ly/ikzDqv the FebGTD sheet.

Without it I would not gave pushed myself as much.

Today, the bit of self love I had was the fact I had managed to run at a blistering 7km/h on the treadmill. Considering the fact I feared for my life and limbs thinking I would fly off the back going faster than 5km/hr this is amazing. I feel strong, I can do anything (well not run at 9 yet but it's coming)

<3 FebGTD and Robby for conceiving and running without the amazing idea. I may never have realized how much I can do Right Now without having to wait to be skinny.

Melbourne weather photographic comparison.

Early December.





Early February.




Lots and lots of water now.

Slooooooowwww Day

Today is really dragging along. All I can think about is getting out of work, dropping into Running Fit and seeing if they have foam rollers and then heading home to get out for a run (rain, hail or rain, Melbourne is back to the normal weather tricks). I can't get to my treadmill at the moment due to house guest so it has to be outside and I'm quite looking forward to that.

Will all the rain recently the grass is green everywhere, the lakes and local rivers are full. I can see ducks water fowl and the occasional snake (trying to avoid them). The views are really nice now, previously it was just dust and red clay with some sad looking straw pretending to be grass.

My Shuffle is updates with new music ready to help get my legs pumping. New tracks in my run list:

Sia - Bring the night on
Birds of Tokyo - Plans
Little Rad - Rock it
The Gossip - Dimestore Diamond

Mixed in with the trusty Prodigy, Muse, P!nk and Presets amougst others.

3 odd hours to go.... before I can be out here:




(Melbourne reserves the right to provide alternate weather conditions. Probably rain.) lol

WI results.

So this evenings weigh in was good. Lost 700gms. About 1.5lbs.

Meeting was a getting started / hear the leaders story type thing. I did organise to move to her Monday meeting though.

My Sis managed to find somewhere to order the Bodymedia Fit that ships to Canada and we're going halves as a birthday present for me (not til August but I shall not complain).

So finally a loss, now if I can keep that going, my world will be a happy place. :D

I did get my new groovy sauté pan of doom today and promptly tested it by making one pot 30 minute stove top pizza. Healthy, seeing as I know everything in it. Shall work out the points in the morn. Guessing about 5pp a serve based on the dough and cheese. Normal pizza is 6 a slice.

Now to sleep. One day to go the weekend!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Working out

So the last few weeks my working out has been somewhat sporadic. I'm still under my points daily for WW and earning about 15 points min a week for activity. I've signed up for Yogalates at work, which is more pilates than yoga at the moment, but either way a nice way to recover from the sometime brutal Persona Training sessions on Sundays. This week I had a bit of trouble with the pilates due to hurting my wrist at PT 2 weeks ago, i still can't put a whole lot of weight on it, so things like "downward facing dog" pose and push ups etc were not very fun, however the class overall was great. Boi is joining me as well which I'm really happy about, this may help get him more involved in working out, he's still categorically refusing PT sessions with me :P

We have a friend staying with us for a while so my workout room is currently inaccessible, planning on trying to work out outdoors whilst the weather is almost normal (as normal as it gets here, today is 31C and thunderstorms, go figure).

Work has been some what manic again, it seems that for the last 6 months i haven't had a chance to do anything other than tread water and just survive. Although everyone is just as busy so it's not a problem in that sense. I still do lots and lots of work.

I have decided I would like to get a Body Bugg / Body Media device to help tracking my work outs and my caloric burn in general. I'm kinda trying to work out what I need to do to get this weight coming off for me. Reading up all my studies, rereading all my WW books, reading everything I can get to online. I know something will click at some point and it will work. Something HAS to click, I can not keep going this way. For now I will keep eating healthily and work on increasing my exercise and being more consistent with it.

Back to the Body Bugg / BodyMedia FIT, OMG so hard to get outside the USA. I can order them in Australia, but they are a complete rip off at over twice the price (considering the exchange rate this is just highway robbery) The BodyMedia should be available in Canada (my sister is in Toronto) do you think I can get a website to accept a Canadian shipping address? Not to save myself. So I've tasked my sis with trying to secure me either the Body Bugg or the Bodymedia FIT and then mailing it out to me. If all else fails I have to wait until May when she and Mum will be in New York and they can get me one then (can you say impatient hehe).

The last few days I've been guzzling water and a heap of tea, and as I drink it I usually comment "I love tea" and I do I really truly love drinking tea. I have an 800ml pot at work and a little tea cup I use. The ritual of making tea is almost as important in the process for me, no matter green or black tea (although I would drink black tea all day I try and spread it out for a bit of extra antioxidant love in the green tea). Interesting fact, did you know that tea leaves are NEVER washed before drying and packaging. Now if that's not a good reason to buy organic I don't know what is. My current favorite tea is a Darjeeling / Assam blend of English Breakfast by "Serenitea", it is beautifully smooth, no strong tannin aftertaste, just a slight sweetness after swallowing. It's a really lovely tea.







What is your favorite drink? Do you have a special way of preparing it?

Meeting people, moving meetings.

So a weekend of exercise completed, I feel great! I have heaps of energy today and although I'm a little sore from training yesterday I feel good. I think the Yogalates will be a nice way to work out a few of the kinks I get from the training.

I think I'm going to have to move my WW meetings to Monday nights, this is good and bad. I need to move the day becuase of my plan to meet more positive people involves going out on Wednesay nights to meet them all, so I will miss my meetings. Bad because I've been to the Monday meeting once and it was MASSIVE! the lines (both of them) snake well out the door. Although I spend an hour there anyways so standing in line is better then sitting I guess. :P

More about my plan. I realise I have very few close friends, which I don't think is uncommon, the problem I have noticed is that although I'm very close with some friends I also have a few who are just too much? I don't know how to describe it but they suck more of my energy than I get back from being around them? They are negative, put me down about my weight and generally I don't enjoy myself around them anymore. Comments similar to " your fat, but curvy in a good way" and "your an hour glass just one made for timing stew not eggs" are not uncommon. Previously I would just ignore it or make a self deprecating joke as well. However now, I'm not really into it, something snapped/ changed, I don't know. Yes I'm fat, yes I have a whole heap of weight to lose, that is still no reason for anyone else to make comments like that, really they are just mean and hurtful.

So it's taken me a long time to realise I don't need that in my life, I can make fun of myself just fine. In a quest to rectify the problem, one thing i promised myself I would do this year... call it a resolution if you will, was to meet new, interesting and POSITIVE people and expand my circle. I've started online, I've met so many motivating, amazing and supportive people online. So many of them I can relate to and their stories have helped me focus on my journey. See my blogroll for just a selection. In addition to this, on Wednesday night I'm heading out with the boi to a place in the city that runs D&D for multiple groups, a place where people can get together and join in on games. I'm a huge geek, I love D&D and other roleplaying games. I'm going to stop talking about it now before I embarass myself totally. (yes I'm a child of the 80's)

All the other gamers i know (not online ones) are amazing people, happy, somewhat crazy and great fun. I'm hoping to meet a bunch of new poeple and maybe even catch up with a few people I've lost contact with over the years.

So here's to moving my meetings (I get to keep the same GREAT leader though (YAY!))(which means I'm hoping to have made a loss this week, I've been working hard) and here's to meeting new and interesting people in all areas of my life, both on and offline.

Sunday comes too fast.

I had a lovely day yesterday. Caught up with a friend I hadn't seen in a while. Managed to copy over part of my food journals, which I will finish tonight. Best part though was the walk.

I went for a really nice walk a the way down to the flood way. I was Hopi g silt was still as flooded as it had been the night before when I drove home. At that stage the water was coming to the bottom of the bridge, it looked amazing seeing the water glimmering beside the road. It was However too dark to get a pic with my iPhone that would do it justice. I obviously left walking down too late though, as it had drained. Good invade e have more rain. Not so good for cool pics, next time I will go for an am walk.





This is the bridge. I'm standing in the flood way which was full.





Not an amazing pic, though this is the Werribee river going under the main bridge to town. Usually you wouldn't be able to see the river as it's 20 odd meters below the bridge, not so now.

We had no damage from the rain and storms. My parents were quite flooded and a few friend had some roof tiles blow off causing some damage.

Now off to training, thank goodness it's only 20C today. Not going to melt this time.

The plan and the next step.

So I find my self kinda looking more and more forward to the weekend, not just because it's the weekend.  It means that I'm going to be able to sit down and work out where my food is going wrong.  Today I'm planning on sitting and copying over my food journal to my Sparkpeople.com page. (Vaempyress if you're interested).  

The last few days I've been double tracking as I go and have noticed a few things of interest.  Based on my BMR calculations, to maintain my 131kg (285.5lb) I should be consumming 2497 cal a day, 17482 a week.  For a 2lb a week loss, that's 10482 a week, which is around 1497 (1500 for ease) a day.  This should mean any exercise I do should burn extra and be a bonus towards my loss.  Maths wise anyways.

WW has me on 46 daily points, plus the 49 weekly.  Since switching I've basically stalled.  Previously on Points I was losing about the 1kg (2lb) a week, if not more, and I wasn't trying too hard.  I'm finding this time I'm struggling, A LOT.  I'm tracking everything, working out more than I was and i'm averaging 0.2kg (less than half a lb) a week.I keep telling myself a loss is a loss and it will all help, which it does, but I'm 131kg and I can lose much, much more and faster.

So it starts.  I'm double tracking all my food, I want to see where I'm coming in on plain calorie counting versus counting points.  Points means all my fruits and vegetables are free, but they do still have calories. I want to know if I am eating within my range.  Also WW still don't provide a breakdown of your macro and micro nutriant breakdown.  As a geek I want more numbers, more things I can track (I need more stuff for my spreadsheet, sad I know). 

So far I've noticed a few intersting things.  With the diet changes I have made I come in almost smack in the middle for my Carb / fat / prot ranges which I'm very happy about. If I don't eat my 46 points I come in under 1800cal.  Sparkpeople.com puts my daily at between 1400 and 1800 for a loss of 2lb a week.  Once I've finished entering all my food for the last month or so I will be able to see more of a pattern I hope.  Heres to tracking.

Inspiration

So I spent today reading up  number of posts and blogs from people I find inspirational.  Something which makes me sure that I can achieve my goals, others have done it, I can too.

So thank to just a couple of you once I work out more about my blog I can link to all the people I follow.

Thanks to the ones I read this evening for a bit of a push and some ideas on where to focus.

Julia - @Jewliagoulia:  I just read your whole archive, thank you.  For being you, for being honest, for sharing your story. You look amazing and you are an inspiration and I love your photography!  Thank You!  http://jewliagoulia.blogspot.com

Sheryl - @Bitchcakesny:  All the very best for you ESB run-up today.  Have a great time.  You're blogs are different, informative, educational and I love your style, blogging and fashion.  Thank you!  http://msbitchcakes.blogspot.com

Suzi - @Suzistorm: Congratulations on your amazing achievements recently, loss of 100+lb and getting a job with WW! You rock, and drink beer!  Thank you for making it seem possible to get to my goal and not have to give up everything.  http://www.suzistorm.com

I have heaps of blogs I follow and read, I tend to lurk though, still working up the courage to comment and such (as someone who used to be a total extrovert I'm still trying to come to terms with WTH is going on here).  Thank you to all of the people that write about their experiences, journey, successes and set backs.  Having all the information and there has helped me to refocus and I hope find my way again.

Thank you!

DETERMINED!!!!!

So last night I stayed the same again at my WI.  I was unimpresed, didn't stay for the meeting and went home to have some dinner.  

Now granted that Monday is not my usual WI day, I missed last Wednesday because it was a public holiday and then didn't make it to another meeting.  This week I'm out Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights so I figured I should go first.  After a week and a half I was expecting to at least lose the 0.9kg (2lb) I had gained the week and half before, instead I stayed exactly the same.  Different scales? Maybe, meh.

I have tracked religously since my holidays during the first week of Jan.  The first week whilst at home I ate clean, mostly raw, and basically vegetarian. (No reason, just felt like it, wasn't hungry and was craving fresh, plus there is amazing fruit and vege in season here and I love it).  I lost a good chunk that week, almost 2.5kg (5lb).  

Next week, I was back at work, still eating very similar, not so vegetarian / raw foods, Sandwich for lunch and cereal for breakfast type thing, still WELL within my points, heaps of activity and weeklies left and I gain 0.9kg (2lb).  WTF? Okay so I had dinner out a couple of times (ate really carefully) and i did do a bit more running that week, but nothing major changed, maybe it's a blip.  Nope would seem not as I've done almost 2 more weeks of eating well within my points, tracking everything and I'm the same, still 2lb up on where I was.

I'm pissed, I'm shitty, I'm now DETERMINED! I'm so annoyed at myself for not getting this shit on the road.

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/pictures/view/273345/

I can do better, I freaking rock why am I failing here.  Obviously something is not right.  I'm eating under points maybe 4 days of 7 and eating most if not all my point the other 3.  I have weeklies left every week and never make it thought them to my activity points.  I track everything (including my beers and ice-cream) and aim to get at least 15 AP a week, so something else is screwy.  I have decided for my own sake I'm double tracking everything for the next few weeks, I'm going to back enter into my sparkpeople.com food tracker and see if there are any interesting patterns I can find.  (Vaempyress if you want to come and find me on there)

I'm also going to "start over" take new pics, today is the first of Feb, good a time as any.  

I will also make more use of this blog to journal and track my progress, share what I'm finding.  I know the science, now just need to work out what I need to change to suit me.

So from here.

1: Track everything, points and sparkpeople.com

2: Start over with visualisations and take fresh measurments

3: Use my blog more, it's here for me, I should make use of it as the tool it's meant to be.

4: Remember that no matter what the scale says; I feel better, I can run further, lift heavier and am making a difference to my health.