12WBT Round Two

So 12WBT round one 2013 has come and gone. Amazing how quickly 12 weeks passes by.

After some success last round, I have decided to sign up again to consolidate what I have learned and lose another few kilos.

The dexa scan has really helped with my goals and expectations for my weight/health. According to the dexa I have excellent bone density, good muscle mass, but could do to lose a bit more fat.

This round I really need to tighten up and build some muscle. Last round I did zero weight training. And zero running. So this round, along with the weight loss goal, I want to focus on fitness oriented goals too.

For the 12wbters reading, yes I am little late to the party this round. Tomorrow is week 2(!) weigh in. Unfortunately I have been sick since returning from Thailand (typical, right?!). But I finally feel like I am pulling through and readying smash it

So what are my goals this round? Not in any particular order-

- lose around 5kg
- stick to the nutrition plan
- start lifting
- weekly hot yoga
- run 5km (I reckon I may stretch that to 10km)

And … Go!!!!

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The Weekender

I took a long weekend this past weekend.  I wish that I could do that all the time(!)  I felt I was owed one since I missed out on the Canberra Day long weekend

I drove to visit my family for mum Mum’s birthday on Thursday afternoon.  It was so lovely to get there a bit earlier, even though I was feeling under the weather.  I stopped off on the way to buy my an Ella Bache gift voucher to add to my mum’s gift(s)!

On Friday I started the day with a sleep in – I had planned to get up early to smash out an early SSS (Super Saturday Session), but decided that I needed the extra sleep and set my alarm (at midnight) for 7:30am   Mum and I spent some time chilling together and chatting before going to the movies.  We saw Goddess - yes, it is a tad cheesy at times, but overall a fun movie.  And nice to see some Aussie actors and landmarks… Hello Guillaume, how I missed you   The wedding seems so long ago already!

After the movies we did some shopping, and stopped for a coffee – it was such a lovely day!

Friday evening I decided I better knock over my SSS, otherwise I would find more excuses on Sunday.  So I hit the treadmill with the goal of beating my time the fortnight before in Sydney (10km in 90min).  So I decided to run for as long as I could, and “get it over with”.  So I ran for 4km, which is a long time for me, probably longest ever, in fact.  Then I switched between walking and running for the last 6km.  I think I got to 8km in the first hour, and the last 2km seemed to stretch on for ages.  At that point I really wanted to reach the 10km in under 75mins, but just managed it in 76minutes! Knocking a massive 14 minutes off my previous time!!

This of course has made me desperately want a treadmill at home.  I am less self-conscious in private, not worried about becoming a beetroot/tomato head (Ha!), or if I can make it home(!)  Something to talk to Mr. J about   I was a little naughty and didn’t stretch properly afterward, and I was pretty stiff for the next couple of days.  Plus there was some chafing and blisters too.  Time for some new shoes I think.

And then on Saturday morning I was up early for a mini-roadtrip to Mudgee!

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12WBT Week One

Officially three days in to the program and … 1.5kg down.  First weigh in today, and I sucked it up and took the ‘before’ photos.

As I was a little late to the party and missed out on the pre-program, I have been working on my pre-season tasks.  Glad to say that I am done, and ready to dedicate all my focus to the nutrition and exercise plans.  First weigh in today, and I sucked it up and took the ‘before’ photos.  Yesterday I did the fitness test and measurements – I have to say I was surprised at my results, I thought I would do better.  I was pretty sore from Samba the night before, so the wall sit was agony, but I pushed through the 2 min mark.  The run was the hardest; if it wasn’t for the run I would have made it into the advanced, but hey, better to be honest.

Other thoughts >>- I love that the program works around the exercise I already have locked in. e.g. Zumba and Samba are my two cardio days, bikram is my core day – So I just need to do the two toning days and figure out my super Saturday sessions.  I have no access to the gym, so I love that she offers at home vids, and outdoor sessions.

- I have not made many recipes yet, but looking at them – YUM.  I will be altering them to gluten-free, and I have still been fitting in my green monster smoothies, which kinda works as a snack under the program.

- Today was a hard day craving-wise, I think I probably was over my calories, but, I said no to sugar… opting for healthier options.

- Surprisingly I am only burning 380 calories at Samba and 440 calories at Zumba.  There is a fair amount of core work at Samba, which I guess explains for the lower burn.  I am not sure what to do to hit the 500 calorie burn for those days though.  Maybe a walk would suffice?

Noting that it is Valentine’s Day tomorrow, I have yet to figure out how to eat out on the program.  Obviously I will make sensible choices where I can, but I think I will have to work extra hard to compensate.

 

On that note for tomorrow – Happy Valentine’s Day and Happy National Condom Day!!

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Getting my Fit on

I might have been quiet in the blogging world of late, [although, I am quietly obsessed with Instagram], I certainly haven’t been neglecting my need for exercise.  Mr. J has been a strong support, getting me out of the house for long walks, with jogs intermittently throughout – depending on how we feel that day.  Long cardio sessions, simple, but seriously effective.  And(!) maintainable.  I have to admit that the more hardcore workout routines I have attempted in the past – I haven’t sustained; well not for long that’s for sure.

So thanks to runkeeper, here are my ‘walks’ for July.

Add in some Zumba to the mix, and that has been my workout ‘approach’ for this month.

The past week and a half I was travelling for wedding related tasks, and a professional development course; and now Mr. J is away for work – So I have had a bit of a break, but I am ready to get back into it asap!  Zumba tonight(!)

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January Review: Paleo + c25k

It’s 2012 baby, how are you doing?!

It is such a fantastic feeling to be looking back over the past 31 days, and to be feeling a real sense of accomplishment(!)  Noone is perfect, our set goals don’t always go as planned, there are always bumps along the road.  But yet, there are times, when you just feel it, know it.  Know that, yep, you got this!

And for the last 31 days, I did pretty well on the “I got this” side of things 

So what were my goals this month?  Initially I was unsure where I wanted to take my health and fitness in 2012.  But after a bit of consideration (dithering!), I decided to keep it simple.  Finally, it was time to look at the nutrition side of  things (this is always hardest for me) >> and I decided to hit up the Paleo lifestyle.  [Did you see that?   I'm talking myself away from diet and toward a new Lifestyle].  Check out my two favourite paleo sites – here and here.  It’s not easy, but I love the results I am getting.  I have cut out dairy, sugar, pasta, rice, bread, > the list goes on(!)

And for physical activity, >> I decided to really give couch to 5km a good run.  See that?  Yeah, I am full of it today!  In January, I walked/jogged/ran a total of twelve times covering 43.4km    And to date, I have completed every c25km run without stopping.

So where did all this healthy goodness leave me?  What about my RESULTS?  I took my measurements this morning, and overall, I am down 15cms and 2.5% body fat.  The largest reduction was 5cm lost on my waist!!  What a great start to 2012 

I have lost 3kgs since January 1st, 2012!

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January Goals Update and Weigh In!

23 days into January, 2012, and … Yup, I have been MIA – lots of wedding goodness going on last week!  It’s certainly starting to feel more real, because of one big factor!  I will update the wedding side of things soon 

January is just flying past, and I have been to and from Sydney three times already, two birthdays and wedding stuff.  Plus, I guess I should call this time, a holiday(?).  Or perhaps, (after finishing my masters December ’11), I can no longer call myself a student, and *cue scary music* I am simply unemployed(!)

Anyway, with all the trips to Sydney, my nutrion/exercise habits haven’t completely run with the plan, which in a nutshell was paleo and c25k (at least for now).

Paleo is certainly a love/hate relationship.  I am loving the results, but I never realised that gluten is in virtually everything.  It is 100% not a problem eating at home, but eating out – lunch especially, is difficult.  Mr. J finds the restrictions particularly annoying.  We said that we would give the paleo concept at least a month, but I am hoping (listen up Mr. J!) that we continue well into February.  I have read recommendations of at least six month trials, so the longer we continue, the better chance we have of seeing real results with paleo.

Onto the exercise(!)  Thanks to Couch to 5k, my cardio health is definitely improving.  After feeling like I would die/pass out on the first few runs, I am definitely running for longer each run, and no failures so far.  I start week 4 this week, and those 5 minute block runs do scare me a little bit!  But I have faith in the program, so will give it my best.  8 runs so far, in one month, which is certainly a record for me!

So, with all this perseverence (with admittedly a few hiccups here and there), where am I at?  For my last weigh in, read about it here.   I am planning on waiting out the month to take my measurements, but I am excited though!  Which is a nice feeling 
Ok, here goes >>

I have lost 2.2kg since January 1st!

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When Life Gets in the Way

I am a little off schedule after my four day break.  Yesterday I had planned to do Plyometrics and a weights component later.  But Plyo (o-m-g!), is crazy and I am still sore this morning.  Today Cardio is on the agenda, followed by Back, Biceps and Abs.  Not quite sure if I will have time to fit it all in before road tripping to Sydney this afternoon.

I am heading home for my birthday   so another break…  Although there will be birthday cake, I will be taking it easy

Looking at my exercise log, I knew that I had stopped logging my food for a while – but I realised that it has been two weeks   Which I think is a major element of this weight loss business for me.  80% nutrition, 20% exercise.  Not sure how many times I need to keep telling myself this(!)

Monday, I will officially be under the two week mark for New Zealand.  Time to get back to 1200 calories.  For the first eight days, I want to 100% strictly follow the p90x doubles routine – focusing on continuing to build muscle, while maintaining cardio.  Then, the last four days before flying out, will be 100% cardio.  Yep, going to get running again  :S  It’s been a while.

I am hoping with a couple of days practice, I will be happy to treadmill it while cruising.  I will be satisfied with a gym session on six out of our 12 days 

Excitement!  Ok, I need to put my shoes on and do some exercise!

 

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The Weekender

It was a long weekend… and not in a good way.  Well it really is a long weekend, but I had lots of work to do, so it was extra long(!)

Saturday began with a run/walk – c25k week 1, run 2.  Yep, I haven’t been keeping up with it according to the program schedule.  But I did the same routine as Tuesday last week – 5 minute warm up, 1 minute run, 1.5 minute walk (x8) and 5 minute cool down.  I think it might have been a tiny bit easier than Tuesday, and it was raining and miserable.  So I was pretty pleased I knocked it over.

Then came the dramas.  We haven’t had internet for a week or so, which is frustrating, but not manageable as I have internet on my phone.  But, Saturday, my laptop decided to stop charging – it had been playing up for a couple of weeks, but if the cord was positioned just right, it was okay.  But, this was the case no longer – and I was freaking out.  With the last of the battery, I tried to back up my laptop, but it cut out before it finished.  I was pretty sure it was a laptop issue, not a cord issue (making things pretty complicated).  And on top of that, my laptop has a statistical program on it that I need for my thesis, which costs $$$ and I didn’t have another copy.  The laptop is rented so could easily get a loaner,  but doesn’t solve the program problem.

Anyway, you get the point – I was freaking out.  3 weeks till deadline, I did not need it.

So hoping for the best, Mr. J took a distressed me holding on to my laptop as if it were life or death, to Harvey Norman.  The computer guy tried an adaptor thingy, and success, it still charged – so it is just a cord issue.  After a few attempts he found one in stock that matched mine, and … disaster averted.

He asks, are your assignments due – and I was like errr… “THESIS” … the relief was pretty crazy.

So a long story short -  no excuses now, back to work I go 

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C25K

So, the good news is that with a little push from Mr. J I ended up doing a walk/jog on Sunday evening = 3.63km in 35mins.  I am always more motivated when I have someone doing it with me 

After a bit of a jog, Mr. J suggested we give the couch to 5km thing a go.  Because I have been doing pretty well with Step, and my legs are pretty muscley now   But my cardio?  Non-existent.  So to get my muscles a little less bulky and a bit more lean, and to start stripping some fat before summer, I need to up my cardio.

So adding to my interim goals of weekly step and yoga, 3 sessions of cardio per week.  I know I was just saying that five sessions a week is unmanageable, but I think evening cardio is not too bad, plus I have someone to do it with – which makes a big difference.

Monday we had planned to get started, but Mr. J had to work late, so Tuesday was it.  Week one, run one, completed

And tonight, Step   After lots of work that is   

 

 

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Scale Dilemma and Goals

Feeling a bit disappointed today.  I have been working pretty hard for almost a month, doing well to stay on track, but the scale won’t budge.  Not even my body fat % has changed 

Mr. J says to just focus on my fitness, which of course I am happy to do – weight is not the only reason for this ‘lifestyle change’     But not only do I have fitness/health-related goals, I also have a weight goal.  My goals are not set in stone, but more of a guide (for now):

- Run 5km, then 10km
- Complete 30 Day Shred Level 3, competently
- Gym classes.  I want to be a regular & master them    (that is until my gym membership runs out)
- Weekly yoga

- Cut back on carbs, increase protein
- Eat more vegetables
- Drink 3L of water every day

- Lose 10-15kgs

I know there are areas in my diet that I could do better, but I want to be a normal person, not a crazy restrictive “oh I don’t eat carbs after 2pm” type of person.  I want to take small steps, that I know are sustainable.  So initially I want to focus on carb portion sizes, and eating dinner before 8pm.

In terms of my weight ‘goal’, I want to be healthier, but I also have the wedding dress to think about, and a honeymoon during which I *will* wear a bikini.  Having never ever bought one, this is a scary goal for me.

Onto my second cup of tea for today, and in light of this post, I am going to switch around my monthly exercise goals…

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