Day of Jubilee

Dad has moved out of the ICU today and will probably be going back to our "home hospital" tomorrow. I am so happy and glad and thankful and all sorts of other adjectives.

I won't be around that much over the next few days as I am heading to my aunt and uncles for my cousins wedding at a "I am not sure this is actually real" time in the morning.

Dad's recovery

I talked to my mum today. She and my sister went to visit my dad and she said he was much better. Very tired but didn't sound so out of breath as he did before the surgery. The fact that he was breathing like he had run a marathon was what was scaring me the most when I talked to him. They are hoping to take him off the medication to bring up his blood pressure today and then he can move out of the ICU tomorrow or Tuesday. They have yet to decide if they are going to move him back to our local hospital or if they will keep him at the teaching hospital where he had the surgery. I am just thankful that he is doing better.

Dad's surgery

My dad got through surgery okay. It took much longer than anticipated because there was more damaged to the heart than they originally thought. But the surgeon was very pleased with the outcome. He was taken off the ventilator and is groggy and sore. I am thankful.

Update on my dad

A quick update on my dad. He is still in the ICU but has been moved to a private room to give him a better chance at sleeping. He is responding to the antibiotics well but not so well to the medicines that are supposed to raise his blood pressure. I am still really worried but the urge to eat cheesecake has died down somewhat. This whole mess has made me less patient with the kids at work than I would like. I am taking a lot of deep breaths.

Running away your problems

I went for a run today to try and not think or well to be able to think or something. My dad is doing better but I am still worried sick. Ugh I hate being so far away from him when he is this sick. Going to go running tomorrow too. Bought myself an armband thingy for my ipod so I can listen to it while I run. Now I just need to work out where to put my keys and I will be sorted. Just want the voices to shut up. I doubled my dose of my antihistamines last night and I conked completely and it took me forever to be dezombied in the morning. I think I will try 1.5 tonight.

Worry = Emotional Eating

...not

My dad is in the ICU with blood poisoning. I was only told today because my parents didn't want me to worry. Yeah we will be having a conversation about that. I was actually already starting to worry since my dad had not replied to my e-mails for several days. He is doing better but still very sick. My mum said they would have called sooner if it had looked like I was having to come home. Now that did worry me.

I want to eat. I really want some cheesecake. I want it bad. The only reason I am not going to the cheesecake place? I would like to say self-control but that isn't the case. I'm babysitting and the little girl is asleep. Otherwise I would be going to go get something.

So worried.

Stripy Shorts and Shortie

Spent the day with my favourite girl, BabyCurl! We went to the big pool in the morning and then in the afternoon we walked to the Children's Museum. We had a fine time there. One the way home we stopped at the Cheesecake place and got a cookie to share after dinner. For dinner she packed away lots of SpagBol. It was made with fake meat so very healthy. Bath and now we are watching two songs of Mary Poppins then one book (as per negotiations).

It has been a very active day and I lost 1.3lbs this week and BIG news: I now fit into the stripy shorts. They feel slightly tight around the waist now after dinner but not bad. I am so happy this means that I have reached both my short term goals. Happy Dance! Time for some new goals!

Hot Hot Hot

Weather turned bloomin hot today. We spent the day doing errands. Had salad with chicken for lunch so that was healthy. Then we had pizza for dinner and ice cream before (don't ask) but still I ended up not doing to badly. I will be cooking this week so I can make sure we have stuff I can eat well. Hopefully the temp will go down a bit so that I can run. Should be good

Doing the bunny jump

The kiddies and I did some dancing this afternoon. Gave me a good work out to add to the walk I had. I also made some semi-healthy choices at lunch when we went out. I could have skipped the second plate but the chicken was to good. I have to be more vigilant about that. Hopefully weigh myself this week wont be awful. I really am nervous.

Tired

Survived the four year olds. Now sleepy. Not a terrible day but no exercise. Must do that tomorrow.

Long day

So I was supposed to be off today. I got woken up at 8 by my friend saying that they called from work and could I come in today. I thought I would work the morning, instead I ended up working all day. So much for my lazy day of shopping and errands. Now I am going to have to run to the bank on Friday before work. At least I will have a car so I might get some of my errands done. I did manage to squeeze in a walk though with the kids. I've set my alarm for 6am tomorrow and I am going to try and go for a quick run first thing. I did make healthy choices and turned down dessert. I feel virtuous about that. Not sure when I will get the weekly round up done now. Weekend will be busy too. I am babysitting all day Sunday.

Tired

Weather is miserable. The kids were cranky. At least I did an hour of yoga and ate okay if not great today. Sleep now.

Walking

I walked home from work today. It is almost three miles. Made me feel virtuous. I also had a gigantic smoothie. And completely by accident I chose the lowest calorie one they had. Score one for me! I put extra protein in it which I don't know how to account for in the nutrition tracker so I know that I have had more protein than it shows but I am still coming in very low. Doesn't help that we had cheese ravioli for dinner. It was yummy though. I scored some more shifts at work this week so things are looking really up. And I was once again horrified by a story of my colleagues daughter. She won't eat fruit unless her mum cuts it for her. She is in college. It is insane! I managed to not sound condemnatory and gave polite helpful suggestions.

Week 12: Travel

This isn't the proper round-up that will come Tuesday when I have some time but I wanted to post my weight which held stead which considering the amount of food that I have been eating. I have to be more careful with what I put in my mouth and my portion sizes. It is much harder here. Tomorrow I will walk home from work though. It is almost 3 miles so that should be a good walk. I am trying to figure out what I can eat for lunch on the go. The protein is the thing I am worried about. I might try and see if there is any peanut butter.

Busy day!

We had a really busy day today with lots of errands but I did manage to squeeze in a walk. I will try and do a longer update on how things are going on Tuesday when I am off. I am just finding that I don't have as much time to be on the computer right now.

Someone else noticed

I had my first shift at the pokey today. It was great. The kids were fairly good for me. I think T remembered me. He was certainly very affectionate. Also the only teacher I worked a great deal with last year who is still there noticed that I had lost weight. It just felt so great to hear it from someone other than a family. It really made me feel more motivated. I really have to get on track again. I did a bit better today. We had lobster for dinner. Tomorrow I am going to try for a run if I wake up at 6am again. Otherwise we have a very busy day planned so I might have to wait until Sunday. But I will go for a run this weekend.

Much better day

Okay so forgot to post yesterday. Felt like carp. Really stuffy sinuses. Doing much better today, in so many respects. I managed yesterday to come in within range but still way high. Today I am in the lower end despite pizza (or at least I hope it is kinda hard to know what a portion is with pizza) but I made sensible choices at lunch and I even got to down grade yesterdays meal when I checked the calorie count in the bread. I lost over 100 calories from what I had thought. Weekend should be fairly okay seeing how we are having seafood at least two days. Lobster and crab. Yummy! I also got some exercise today, both yoga (I have to unlock all the yoga poses again *sigh*) and a brisk walk to the library. It should all be okay.

Ugh ugh ugh

$1 taco night. Ate too many chips. Feel guilty and sick and awful. I had been doing so well at home and now I am consistently blowing my calories on dinner. I do really well during the day and then dinner comes around and poof! Its like I can't stop myself. Deep breath. Tomorrow is another day. And tomorrow will be better.

First day across the pond

Got in very late last night minus my big suitcase. That came on the later flight. Stupid customs. At least I had it this morning. Did well today with doing stuff. Got work sorted (looks fine thank heavens!), went for a lazy walk, went to the library and started doing some poking for my big essay, went back to the house, had lunch (very low calorie), did some yoga on the wii fit (have to unlock all the exercises again), spent time with my friend and then blew my calories on dinner and dessert. I have to be more careful. I need to make sure I don't blow all the hard work I have put in. It is making me a bit worried.

Flying far far away!

Heading to the airport in a few. Lost more weight this week. Will write details from across the pond!

Packing

I did an hours worth of yoga this morning. Then I packed and packed and packed. But the suitcase should pass the weight limit and I achieved the goal of not killing the grand parents. Tomorrow I leave for a summer in the US with friends. I can't wait!

Nurse Jo

Today my sister became a registered RN. We are all so very proud of her. She is amazing.

On a personal note. I did really well with calories despite the party. Feeling pretty good about that!

Icky weather

Didn't get to walk the short loop today ended up doing the longer one with my brother and my grandmother in the evening. The weather is wet and cold and I slept in the afternoon. I had a really bad nights sleep. Will hopefully manage a bit of a walk tomorrow but I am worried because my shins feel really rather tight. If I have time when I wake up tomorrow I might try and do some yoga before we leave. We shall see

Week 10: Sickness and Injuries

So week 10 a few days late. I've already said that I've been injured and sick. I don't really want to dwell on that but today I manage a slow walk without shin splints. Going to try a quicker walk on a shorter loop tomorrow to see how that works. Gotta take it slow.

Despite the rather bad week I lost some weight. I had to weigh myself on the Monday because I practically fainted doing it on the Sunday. I had lost a further 0.7kg. I am now a quarter of the way to my goal having lost 4.6kg since the last week in March. It has been hard but I am determined to keep going. I really feel like I am making progress and like I have more energy.

Action Steps Review:

1. Do the Main Motivation Worksheet and hang up the result: I have been thinking about this and I still want to do it but I need the printer to work so this might not happen until after I come back after the summer.
   
2. Find a quote that you can use as a personal motto: For now this is the one I have chosen: "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent" by John Donne. It satisfies the English major in me :D
   
   
3. Watch an inspiring movie: I watched "A Beautiful Mind" I do love that movie.
   

Success of the Week:
I went swimming and loved it. Did so much better than I thought I would at it. I will try and go swimming this summer and I will definitely do it in the autumn. I plugged it into the fitness tracker and WHOWZER did I burn a lot of calories. Definitely a keeper

Lifestyle Change Strategy 2: It's Okay To Ask For Help

People often find it hard to include others in their weight loss goals because being overweight is seen as a social foul-up, but by involving others in your goal you greatly increase your chance at success. This is because telling people about your goals creates accountability. Over the next two weeks I will be including others in my goals!

Action Steps:

1. Pick 2 of your nutrition and fitness goals and do them along with another person
2. Check out the SparkPage search feature and try to match up with a buddy online
3. Join a SparkTeam and post 5 messages in your Team forum or on the Message Boards this week.

Since these two weeks fall one on either side of the Atlantic (I leave Sunday!) the first action step is a bit of a tricky one. But I have already shared a lot with my mum and I guess I will have to share with my friends when I get there.

Revisiting Diet Stages
Habit : Eat The Right Stuff

This habit was all about eating the right stuff in the right quantities. Since I can't really plan my meals for next week when I will be at my friends I am going to concentrate on making smart choices so order fish, prawns or chicken when we go out. Not eat fried food. Have whole grains. And make sure my portions are small.

Goals for June to follow after tomorrows walk. I want to see how it goes before I decide how to progress.

What Kind Of Day Has It Been

I had one of those days when it all seemed to go to pots. Exam went okay I think. Then I went to go to the pharmacy to pick up some more aloe vera gel and my mum asked me to stop into the store. I did that, chatted with an old family friend who works in the grocery store, then I went up to the pharmacy. Got two tubes of the gel, a tube of suntan lotion for the lips and some regular suntan lotion. Tried to pay with my card. Wouldn't take it. Had to leave one of the gel tubes and the lip stuff and then I had enough cash. Got home and checked my bank account turns out I spent to much. I was going to return my shoes but my parents insisted on paying for them. I love my parents. Then I managed to burn my lunch and forget to turn off the stove. By the time my mum woke up from her nap I was in tears. Just so frustrated. Add to that the fact that the two essays I have to read for class are pretty sucky. And they are sucky in completely preventable ways. *Sigh* One last thing to do then I get to go far far away from it all.

I hope to be able to go for a walk tomorrow.

Much better today

I am doing much better today. No dizziness but still sore and stiff. Going to try and get back into the swing of things tomorrow with an update on last week. A round up on the habits and my goals for June. But now I have to go to bed I have an exam tomorrow.

Sick

I did myself some real damaged yesterday. I got so burnt that today I had low blood pressure that I almost fainted. I ended up having to spend the whole day in bed. Every time I stood up I felt dizzy.

Motivational Quotes

These are the quotes that I am considering for my motivational quote. I am going to let them percolate over the day and then decide.

Shin Splints Again

I am back with really sore shin splints. I've been taking it easy all week. Not done any high impact. Today I went for a ramble. And I mean ramble. I took my camera (pictures to follow tomorrow I think). I stopped. I didn't walk fast. Now my shins are killing me. This is so unfair. I need to be able to run this summer for exercise since I don't have the same access to a gym. This is killing me. How am I supposed to keep up my weight loss if I can't exercise. I don't want to stall. I want to keep going. I am really dreading weigh in this week. My calories have been in range but towards the higher end all week. It is really worrying me. *sigh* one step at a time.

Swimming

I went swimming for the first time today in absolutely ages. I managed to swim for 40 minutes and could probably have gone for longer but the pool was closing. Once I entered my time into the fitness tracker and saw how many calories I had burned I was floored. I will definitely be swimming in the fall. My legs are cramping a bit now but it is the good kinda cramping. I feel great!

Starting To Fit Into My Clothes Again

I've already said that I now fit into the dress to the wedding and today I was trying on some of my clothes that I wore before I became fat. They are slowly starting to fit. A pair of trousers that were comfy back when I worked but that didn't fit at all in October and loose around the thighs and moving towards comfy in the waist. This is a real confidence booster for me. I also tried on my real skinny jeans (I almost gave them to my sister last fall. I am in no where able to button them yet but they do fit around the thighs. Really moving in the right direction.

Didn't have a great food day today but staid in limits so...try again tomorrow.

Sleepy

Not had a great day today after a good day yesterday. Weather is depressing and my essay is starting to stress me out again. I was really tired and ended up taking a nap in the afternoon. I still have my video to do today. Just going to finish my herbal tea and then do them and then bed. *sigh* I have to do yoga tomorrow. I wanted to go swimming but without a car...I hate not having a car.

Shopping

I went out and bought a swimming suit today. It isn't terribly stylish but it will keep me going until I loose the rest of the weight. It is a rather boring blue colour. Speedo which I like. I also bought a bra to go under the blue dress and now I am freaking that it is to revealing. gahhhh.

I need to watch my calories the rest of the week. They have been creaping up the last few days to the middle to upper part of my range. I want to bring them back down to the lower part. Especially since I am not running right now.

Didn't get to go swimming today. Just got home to late. Will try tomorrow.

Week 9: Injuries

Weight loss again this week. I lost 0.6kg. I'm now down to 68.1kg.

Other than that this week has been coloured by my shin splints. I think it is from overdoing it. So I am taking this week off from running and going swimming instead. Going to aim for Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. I can't do the weekend since it is TOM at the weekend. I will try doing some walking the other days. Maybe look into the gym at the pool, see if they have bikes that I could ride. I really don't want to loose my momentum.

Action Steps Review:

1. Do the Main Motivation Worksheet and hang up the result: Still need to do this. I've looked at it and since my printer doesn't work right now I am going to write it by hand. I thought I would get some colourful paper when I am in town this week and do a bit of a collage with it
2. Find a quote that you can use as a personal motto: Still need to do this one. I do like the one from Running from Mortals about 'every journey starting with one step' but I want to keep looking.
   
3. Watch an inspiring movie: I watched "A Beautiful Mind" I do love that movie. I might also watch "Remember the Titans" this week.

Success of the week: I fit into the blue dress. It is still a bit tight around the chest but I could wear it. It will also look even better if I loose a bit around the hips. I do need to get a better bra to go with it. I am going to town tomorrow so I might look for one then. I could always wait and see if I can get it in the states but I would like to have it sorted before I go.

Setbacks

I've had a bit of a setback with my running. I have got shin splints. I am going to have to rest from running for at least 7 days. I've spent most of the afternoon with ice on my leg while it was elevated. I'll be doing swimming for my cardio this week. I need to keep working out. This will be all right right?

Every Journey Starts With One Step

I am reading John Bingham and Jenny Hadfield's book "Running for Mortals" right now and in it they quote the Chinese proverb that every journey starts with one step. It really hit me today that when I took that step to join SparkPeople back in March I started on a long journey but a journey that I am thoroughly enjoying.

I was curled up in bed reading the book when I realised that I had a whole lot of energy and I really just wanted to move. I pulled on my thin hoodie that I use when I exercise and laced up my runners. I wasn't going on a run just a brisk walk round my loop. As I walked down the stairs from the porch it started to rain. Not heavy just a light spring rain. Two months ago I would have turned around and gone inside again (well lets face it two months ago the thought of going for a walk at 8pm would not have entered my mind). But instead of heading inside I put my headphones on and kept walking. As I was walking the rain got heavier, but instead of feeling wet and miserable I felt proud that I was walking. I was enjoying it. So I think I took another step on that journey today.



Review of the book to follow when I have read it

Motivational Movie: A Beautiful Mind

Movie: A Beautiful Mind

Synopsis: Winner of 4 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, A Beautiful Mind is directed by Academy Award winner Ron Howard and produced by long-time partner and collaborator, Academy Award winner Brian Grazer. A Beautiful Mind stars Russell Crowe in an astonishing performance as brilliant mathematician John Nash, on the brink of international acclaim when he becomes entangled in a mysterious conspiracy. Now only his devoted wife (Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly) can help him in this powerful story of courage, passion and triumph. (from Amazon.com)

Why Motivational: I find this movie motivational because it shows that you can overcome almost anything, but that you need the support of those around you to do so. This is one of the few films I have cried while watching in the cinema.

Stars: 5*

Birthday!

I turn 28 today. I had a very nice lazy day. Spent most of the morning in bed. Did do quite a bit of uni work but it was nice to do it from my bed. We had bbq chicken and fish for dinner. I just like birthdays like today. I didn't have to be the centre of attention. It was just quiet. I did get a flower from my dad and congratulations from friends. It was just enough.

I am hoping to have a movie review tomorrow.

Tired

Tired but exhilarated. Did the 5k in 44 minutes walking and jogging. Could have gone faster if it wasn't for all the people. Write more tomorrow. Bed now.

Motivation Monday

Today I read an article regarding the need for visual queues in order for us to be able have goals. Visual queues gives us reminders of what it is we want to achieve so here is my visual queue



The Dress I want to wear to my cousins wedding on July 3rd.



My stripy shorts I want to wear during the summer.

Week 8: Moving Up

Another week over and more loss. I lost another 0.8kg this week taking me down to 68.7kg. I really am very pleased because this has been another hit and miss week with regards to exercise. I did get my runs in on Tuesday and Saturday but other than that it was patchy. I have been feeling very lazy. I really have lost the plot a bit with regards to school. This week I should get my exercise in though. Mum and I have Vår Ruset on Tuesday evening and I want to get my run in in the morning as well. I also think I want to add another run into my week and do one on Thursdays as well.

Weekly Habits Round-Up: Find the unexpected opportunities.

As I said last week this weeks habits are already habits or simply not for me. So:

1) "Batch cook" a dish this week that can last 4-5 days.

I already do this. This is still true

2) Exercise entirely in 10-15 block of time this week.

I prefer to do longer blocks because I want to be able to shower afterwards. I did do this a little bit.

3) Exercise in one place that you normally wouldn't (the office, the yard, the garage) .

Okay this one I can do. I might run a different loop. I didn't really do this but I did go to town and counted the walking I did there.

This week I moved from Stage 2: Healthy Diet Habits to Stage 3: Lifestyle Change.

Stage 3: Lifestyle Change Overview
The point of this stage is to cement the changes. To make them part of your everyday life and not just a boom and bust way of living.

The three main parts of this stage are:

• Learn to find your own personal sources of motivation when you need them
  
• Transition to a new lifestyle where healthy habits are normal
  
• Continue involvement with the online community

Each strategy in this stage is two weeks long and designed to help motivate yourself. To help you understand yourself better. This stage calls for you to only track food once a week. I am going to continue tracking every day because I still need to cement what a portion looks like and how much I should be eating. I need to get that fixed firmly in my mind. I will probably take it a little bit less serious once I go to the states because I don't really want to be measuring at my friends and there will be far more meals eaten out, but for the time being I will continue counting at home.

The strategies That I will be following are:

1. What Will Keep You Motivated 17/5-30/5
2. It's Okay To Ask For Help 31/5-13/6
3. How To Reward Good Behaviour 14/6-27/6
4. You Can Overcome Setbacks 28/6-11/7
5. Is Emotional Eating A Problem 12/7-25/7

Each strategy is two weeks in order for you to put the changes into effect and really practice. By taking them slow you should be able to cement the techniques more firmly. In each two week period I am also going to go over one of the Stage 2 Habits as well. I think I need this since I will be away and it will be a way for me to further enforce these habits.

Lifestyle Change Strategy 1: What Will Keep You Motivated

Studies have shown that people who have goals are far more likely to succeed in life. This is very important in weight loss or actually in keeping the weight off permanently as it goes hand in hand with lifestyle change. In order for this to work one has to first find out what motivates you and then immerse yourself in those things. What motivates us changes from day to day but the overarching motivation should be a vision that does not let you quit. Often we get caught up in external visions that are not our own. If they are not our own they will not be as powerful. So over the next two weeks I will be finding out what motivates me!

Action Steps:

1. Do the Main Motivation Worksheet and hang up the result
2. Find a quote that you can use as a personal motto
3. Watch an inspiring movie

I want to do these at an even pace over the next two weeks so I will check where I am on them every other day. I want to try out a couple of different quotes and probably watch a couple of different movies. Starting tomorrow I will write something about each action step in my daily check in.

Revisiting Diet Stages
Habit 1: Control Portions

The action steps here were very concrete and one of them I definitely can't do again (I really don't need more measuring spoons). But what I can do over the next two weeks is:

• Ensure that the left overs get used
• Measure single servings

What I can also do from this strategy is:

• Make sure I use smaller plates and bowls. The food looks bigger.
• Order appetizers for entrées
• Take leftovers home if the portion is big
• Pay attention to what I eat (not in front of the tv)
• Pay attention to the serving sizes on labels.

So plan for the week: Bootcamp continues. Really must get better at doing the videos in the morning. Run Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Do something on the Wii Fit every day. Drink my water. Vår Ruset on Tuesday. Start working on the Motivation Worksheet. Start looking for quotes. Watch a movie. Pay attention to portion sizes.

Ran today

Ran today. Really good. Walked as well. Write more tomorrow

Walking Walking Walking

Mum and I went shopping in Stockholm today. We walked and we walked and we walked. We had some excellent customer service at the first place we went. They were friendly and chatty and really worked hard finding what I wanted. They didn't have it all (the factory making it has gone out of business I am basically scouring the country) but they dug into the shop and found as much as they had.

What I did notice was that my jeans were a bit to big for me now. Normally they are the wrong size in the waist so they slide about. Today they were plain to big! I am not buying any new ones just yet though. I don't really need jeans in the summer so I am just going to wait until August and get a few pairs before I leave the states.

Did get today's and yesterday's bootcamp videos in today. Tomorrow is my run day and I am going to tack a walk on it for the challenge.

Checked out.

Today was not a good day. No exercise. I did get my fruit and veg and well within my range of calories. And I will be spending tomorrow walking. I think I have kinda checked out for the summer. I really need to get myself in gear. I have to do the editing for my Sociolinguistics essay first thing Saturday then tackle my monster of a sucky popular lit essay. Also I have a book I have to read and I actually want to finish Never Far From Nowhere. *sigh*

Will do both bootcamp video's in the morning before breakfast and Stockholm. I will. Honest.

Sore Again

My thighs are sore again today. I really must try to remember to stretch properly before and after running. Today doing the crunchless workout for the bootcamp my groin was really sore as well. I really do not need THAT injury getting worse. Not to mention that my clavicle is hurting again. Man I sound like one walking injury. This is why I didn't used to exercise. My body hates me.



Oh and there are totally crunches in it. She lies I tell you! Lies! :D

Running goals

Right now I am running at about an 11 minute mile. I want to get it down to at least a 10 minute mile for my race. I want to run it in around an hour. So that is my goal.

Today has been a good day. I got my run in before the rain started. I haven't really eaten much today but I wasn't hungry. I missed my calorie goal by 2 so I am not worrying about it. I did miss the fat goal buy quite a bit but since I've gone quite high earlier in the week I am not going to sweat that either. I figure it is more important to look at it over a weeks average anyway.

Trying Not To Let Them Get To Me

I am trying very hard not to burn energy on things I cannot do anything about. School has been getting to me this year. It has been very stressful and very badly planed from the school. They have admitted this but can't do anything about it. It caused a bit of a relapse in my depression. I am going to get further treatment for it. Today was another annoying day with school stuff and I really can't do anything about it. I thought I would post the AA prayer to remind me of some very wise words. I am not a religious person but this prayer makes me feel better.

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.

Week 7: Running

Another week of weight-loss. I lost another 0.8kg, taking me under 70kg for the first time in goodness knows how long.

This week was a bit of hit and miss with the exercising. I got it in most days but I didn't feel like I did enough cardio although my tracker said I did. This week I shouldn't have any problems getting it all in. School is slowly winding down. Essay due tomorrow, then I have to edit another one and do some other bits and pieces.

I need to continue to work on the running and doing the bootcamp this week. I finally got around to using the nifty mapping tool at SparkPeople and it calculates my calories burned for ME and everything. I am totally hooked :D

Weekly Habits: Find the unexpected opportunities.

1) "Batch cook" a dish this week that can last 4-5 days.

I already do this.

2) Exercise entirely in 10-15 block of time this week.

I prefer to do longer blocks because I want to be able to shower afterwards.

3) Exercise in one place that you normally wouldn't (the office, the yard, the garage) .

Okay this one I can do. I might run a different loop.

This particular habit either already exists or one that isn't for me. So I will just click on the points on Saturday.

Race Training and Weekly Habits

So as I said in a previous post I have signed up for a 10k race in August. A Swedish running site offers free training programs for this and other races depending on your fitness level and goal. Since I am not running in the timed race and really I should be doing a 5k race not a 10k one I am doing the easiest training program. I figure next year I will do the timed race and pick a slightly more difficult training program. Baby steps after all.

So I am starting on week 4 of the program since I missed the start and I figure I have been working out for more than 4 weeks so it is just slightly different emphasis.

Today was my first workout (I missed Tuesdays one, long story). The program for today called for intervals of 6-5-4-3 minutes with two minutes of brisk walk as a warm up, in between and after the intervals. The first 6 minutes nearly killed me. Did not help that they were mainly up hill. The 5 felt really good. And the 4 and 3 were a piece of cake. I might run the loop backwards next week. But then again the hills are good. I'll see how I feel.

I also did the video for the bootcamp today. Abs. I have no abs. Not to mention no arm muscles. Oh well this is what it is supposed to help me with.



I'll try to remember to link the videos I haven't linked during the week next week.

Feeling really good about myself. Now I just have to write 5 more pages on my essay today or tomorrow and I will call this weekend a success!

Weekly habits overview: Review of the Weekly habits. This weeks overview is: Eat on Purpose

From last week: The whole point is to eat because you are hungry. Not because you are bored. Not using it as a crutch. But because you are hungry and your body needs fuel. For me this isn't that big of a problem since I started on SparkPeople. I have already been recording my food every day and planing my meals. BUT I did notice yesterday that I snagged a piece of chicken when I walked past the kitchen table. That has to stop! It wasn't a habit I had when it was just me because I would only make enough food for me and put any leftovers away straight away. My parents aren't so good at that. I suppose the thing to do it for me to take on that chore.

Action steps:
1) Eat in the same place every day (not in front of the tv).

Hmmm...went so so. I did click that I had done it because I was more aware of where I ate. It was a weird week because we ended up having a bit of a pick up dinner one night and we went out one night. But at least it made me more aware.

2) Record and track your reason for eating every time you eat.

I have not eaten for any other reason than because I was hungry or I needed the calories this week. so that was good.

3) Plan your menu for the whole week (or every day) using the meal planner.

I did okay with the planning. Obviously couldn't plan all the days or all the meals but did as much planning as I could and came in well within range every day so that is good (I was even under one day ops).

Dinner out: Chinese food

We had a family dinner out tonight. I had Szechuan shrimp. It was yummy. I do wish that they had included more shrimp and that they had brown rice. But all in all I made a good choice I think. I had already decided that I wanted shrimp because I knew that that would be the safest choice. Lots of protein for little fat. Now that I've added up my foods I am actually under my calories. I might have some chocolate a bit later. I have a craving.

Sore

I'm so sore today. Especially my clavicles. I must have overdone it at yoga yesterday. The weather was cold and awful and I feel awful for not exercising today. I am going to have to actually get up really early tomorrow and do some before I start writing the essay from hell. We are going into town tomorrow afternoon and my sister and her fiancée are coming Saturday so I have to get in as much work on the essay when I can, but I also need to do some exercise. aaaaarrrrrrgggggghhhhh Oh well things should be less stressful after Monday.

Made a really nice soup for dinner. It was Tom Kah Thai soup. I thought it was going to have WAAAAY more calories than I should have but it didn't and I think if I make it with shrimp instead of pork and it will be less calories and more protein a win win situation.

I have clearly lost my mind

So I bought a pair of running shoes today. And I signed up for Tjejmilen a 10k race around Stockholm the last weekend in August. Because clearly I have lost my mind. It was also the last night of yoga. Makes me sad. We are all looking forward to the fall. Mum and I are talking about doing two classes a week. One at the place we've gone this term and one in the village. I haven't done the bootcamp video for today as we did a lot of core exercises at yoga so I am going to claim it for that and I will do it tomorrow.

Food didn't go so great today. I was in a hurry at lunch and had a PB&J on wholewheat and zucchini sticks with salsa. Dinner was yoghurt, raspberries, one slice of toast with margarine and cottage cheese. I had a smoothie after yoga. Calories still quite high (but in range), carbs WAY high in range and under on fat and proteins. The juicebox of apple juice I had at placement didn't help. I kinda had to drink it though as they had gotten it specially for me. At least I withstood the temptation of the chocolate cookie thingies they had.

These are the shoes I got

Bootcamp day 3

Didn't get the full 60 minutes of cardio in today like I wanted. I did 40 minutes of intense-ish cardio. Still doing the kickboxing video but today my shoulders popped and creaked. Got to be careful there. Then 30 minutes freestep on the wii. And a bit of fun wii exercises. Did do the follow the dog on the Island map. Got a really bad score because I had to hold the wii in my hand since the elastic on my yoga bottoms is to loose (problem I am happy to have). I am going to have to buy some new clothes this summer. I'm going to wait another two weeks and then go through my wardrobe to see what I need more of. I definitely need more t-shirts since I am not going to bring my M&S ones with me to the states. They are just to short for me to feel comfy in at work. I'll probably need to visit Old Navy one of the first days in NC. I checked out their online shop and they had some really cute polonecks that are longer. So I think I will get some of them. This is the first time in ages I have needed to buy clothes because my old ones are to big. Happy me

Today's video:

Gahhhh

Frustrated!

Not a good day schoolwise. Did do okay with the exercise . Dinner was almost ready just after 6pm. I was starving. And then my parents inconsiderate friends show up. They always do this. Show up just as we are about to sit down for dinner. Never call beforehand to see if it is convenient. You would have thought that after 10+ years they would have learned that we eat sometime between 5:30 and 6:30pm but they look surprised every single time if we are sitting down and eating. If we have just sat down they cause everyone to hurry up or if, like today, we haven't even eaten it means that we don't get to eat until much later. It is so hard not to snack when I am this hungry!!! My parents are to polite to tell them that we haven't actually eaten yet and could they bugger off. So sick and tired of this! And I am sick and tired of getting annoyed about it. I know that this doesn't happen THAT often in the grand scheme of things but it is frustrating that it is every single time they "drop by". Gugh!

Today's workout video. I also did the kickboxing one again.

Week 6: Sweatsuit to Swimsuit Start

Here is the video promoting the Sweatsuit to Swimsuit Bootcamp



Today I did the first of the videos. 10 minute kickboxing



I found it quite difficult. I am not the most coordinated person in the world and punching and kicking at the same time is beyond me. But I am determined to keep it up. What I will probably do is do this video every day this week as part of my cardio to challenge myself and also to learn the routine.

After that I did the 10 minute Jump Rope workout



And I also did 23 minutes on the wii fit aerobics and 30 minutes of yoga. This takes me up to the goals for today.

Weekly weigh-in: I had only lost 0.2kg this week but I am not to bothered about that since it is also the time of the month and I always seem to weigh a bit more then.

Food: I've done well with the calories this week. Falling in the lower end of my goal most days. I will just keep this up. And it isn't actually that hard with my parents home either. I think it really helps that they know what my goal is.

Weekly habits overview: I should really have done this from the start but I am starting out so...This weeks overview is: Eat on Purpose

The whole point is to eat because you are hungry. Not because you are bored. Not using it as a crutch. But because you are hungry and your body needs fuel. For me this isn't that big of a problem since I started on SparkPeople. I have already been recording my food every day and planing my meals. BUT I did notice yesterday that I snagged a piece of chicken when I walked past the kitchen table. That has to stop! It wasn't a habit I had when it was just me because I would only make enough food for me and put any leftovers away straight away. My parents aren't so good at that. I suppose the thing to do it for me to take on that chore.

Action steps:
1) Eat in the same place every day (not in front of the tv).

I will be eating breakfast in front of the morning news in the future too because for me watching the news in the morning is important and right now I don't have the time to split the two tasks up. But I will make a point of eating lunch at the kitchen table. We always have dinner there.

2) Record and track your reason for eating every time you eat.

I've set up a little tracker in the notes section of my meal planner I just have to remember to fill it in after I eat. Next Saturday when I do the action step check-in I will bring my reasons over here in some condensed form.

3) Plan your menu for the whole week (or every day) using the meal planner.

This is a bit hard for me since I don't cook every day. But I will plan breakfast and lunch and fill in dinner accordingly. I probably actually need to be less anal about planning a head since I wont be able to do that over the summer.

Sweatsuit to Swimsuit Bootcamp

The bootcamp starts tomorrow so I thought I would put up my goals today so that I can get a running start tomorrow.

Goals

Weight loss: 0.5-1kg per week. I have been falling within this goal the past two weeks so I feel that it is realistic.

Exercise:
Sunday: Kickboxing video + 30 minutes of other cardio + 30 minutes of yoga

Monday: Bootcamp video + 60 minutes of cardio + 8 strength exercises

Tuesday: Bootcamp video + 60 minutes of cardio + 30 minutes of yoga

Wednesday: Bootcamp video + 30 minutes of cardio + 90 minutes of yoga

Thursday: Bootcamp video + 60 minutes of cardio + 30 minutes of yoga

Friday: Bootcamp video + 60 minutes of cardio + 8 strength exercises

Saturday: 30 minutes of yoga

Other goals:
1) I want to fit into my white blouse so that I can wear that to my sisters graduation on June 5th (the arms have been a problem).

2) Fit into my stripy shorts.

Sick

Woke up during the night with an upset tummy. Still felt lousy in the morning. Not gonna make the calories today. Did make protein and carbs though thanks to dinner. bbq yummy. Obviously didn't do any exercise today but that's okay

Yoga

So second yoga pass this week. My yoga teacher has a class in the village on Thursdays and since mum missed yesterdays class he invited us both to today's class. I did some cardio first thing in the morning as well. My muscles hate me. But I feel good.

And I was right. The food thing is harder with my parents home. It is just harder to plan since I don't do all the cooking.

The noticed!

Today is going to be about one thing. Progress.

My parents came home today after having been on holiday for a month. They were unpacking and we were talking and my Dad pulls out a BIG bag of Jelly Belly's (one of my favourite sweeties) and I groaned "you are totally going to ruin all the hard work I have done" (in a joking way). My mum asked how much I had lost. I told her that the scales say 1.5kg. She thought it was more. She said she had noticed it around my waist as soon as she came in. She thought I looked great. My dad agreed.

I am just so happy someone noticed!!! I have kinda felt like I have been loosing it around my middle but I wasn't sure if that was just wishful thinking or not. Looks like not!

They noticed!!!!!

Article Round-up

Today I bring two things from SparkPeople. The first one is the healthy ranges for Carbs, Fat and Protein. I want to bring it here so that I have it at my fingertips and can check on it when I do my daily summary. I especially need to remember the carbs one since I tend to go "Wosh that is a lot of carbs" forgetting that my body needs the carbs.

• 45% to 65% of calories eaten should come from carbohydrates.
• 20% to 35% of calories eaten should come from fat.
• 10% to 35% of calories eaten should come from protein*.

The second one is just because it makes me laugh. We RARELY eat out. I just think that often it takes longer to eat out than it does to cook at home. So this made me smile:

"1955 – Ray Kroc opens his first McDonald’s franchise. During the next 49 years, eating out becomes less of an event and more of a necessity as people get busier and busier. Full schedules and the demand for consistency make fast food a multi-billion dollar industry."

Now I need to do some free step during Border Security because I have done no exercise today. I lost pace after my exam. I knew I should have gotten up early to do it before but hey to late now.

Early morning exercise

I am feeling mighty proud of myself today. I got up extra early to work out because I had an appointment. I felt really energetic all day. I really should remember this when I am having trouble getting out of bed.

Food worked well today too. I am actually really full now.

Good day.

Week 5: Walk It

Another week with weight-loss. This week I lost 0.8kg (or 1.7lbs). I am really happy about this. I just hope I will be able to keep it up when my parents come home with regards to food. They do know that I am trying to loose weight so I will just have to make sure I continue measuring my food. Also I guess I will have to cook more. *sigh*

Today my sides and arms are hurting, I must have overdone it with the yoga yesterday. So instead of the yoga pass I had planned I went for an hour long walk at a brisk tempo. It was such a nice day I felt I couldn't stay indoors. I did wait until after 10am though to let some of the pollen settle. So far I am doing okay with the allergies. I think taking medication both at night and in the morning is really helping. This afternoon I napped. I was shattered. I should have been doing school work (like studying for my exam) but I just couldn't focus. I guess I will have to wing it. Thank goodness it is a take home exam so I can use my book. And I will need to start reading Carrie either tonight or tomorrow. I will definitely bring it with me to the doctors tomorrow. Maybe I can get a few pages read in the waiting room. I have next weekend to read it too.

I found another site yesterday that has a c25k program. Next week I am going to evaluate the two programs and see which one I like the best. I also need to buy a pair of running shoes. I am thinking of asking for them for my birthday at the end of May but I have other things I want then as well. We shall see.

Exercise band

I woke up ridiculously early today and by 8:30am I was ready to get going with my errands. That was a no go though because some of the places I wanted to visit wouldn't open until 10am. So instead I did an hours worth of yoga. It made me feel so much better. I really need to get back into yoga. I used a routine from Wii Fit Routines, I used the easier one today because I think my body needs some time off from hard routines, the fitness tracker at SparkPeople is yelling at me again.

THEN I got to run my errands. One of them was to buy a fitness band for the new Bootcamp at SparkPeople. I thought I had bought one yesterday but it turned out to be WAY to big for me so I am going to have to return it on Monday. Today I got a much better one. It actually adjusts so I can get it to be more or less resistant as well as fitting me. I tried finding it on Amazon but they don't carry this brand. I was recommended on SparkPeople to get a collection of resistance bands so that I what I will recommend here.

Bright sunshiny day

Had my annual *tmi* exam today. My blood pressure was 110/60. Good apparently. Since I hate that particular exam even though my midwife is awesome I rewarded myself with a trip to town. It was such a beautiful day. I had lunch, chicken and feta cheese salad sitting on a bench by the river just below the castle. It was great. Then I ambled around town for a while. It was so very very nice. I also had a really great dinner. Appley pork chops, roasted sweet potatoes, red onions and green beans and now I am going to have some sorbe. yummy!!!

Tired Tired Tired

Today I am ever so tired. I still managed to work out for half an hour. I did free step on the wii fit while I watched Top Model. I could probably have kept going if wasn't so sleepy. I am going to take it easy over the weekend. I should be studying for my grammar exam but I think I will just dust off the flash cards from last year. A lot of the stuff seems to be overlapping. I need to focus on diagramming sentences and verb tenses and aspects.

I have eaten pretty well today. I did have toast with jam for my snack. I needed the sweet boost. Now I am having shrimp for dinner. It kinda balances :D

Wiinjuries

An interesting article in The New York Times regarding Wii injuries. As someone who has sustained a few of those I can understand why people do it. One day last summer I played Mario and Sonic Olympic Games. I could barely lift my arms the next day. I had been to focused on trying to beat the game that I had forgotten that I have no arm muscles.

I loved the game. It really gave me a work out while still being fun. It is on my wish list for my upcoming birthday.

Wise Choices

So today was a test of my eating healthy plan. I had a meeting at my placement school. I chose water and green tea and declined the sammich at the morning "fika" and then for lunch I chose the falafel with bulgur and veg for lunch rather than the beef patties, potatoes, sauce and lingonberry jam. I didn't have the post lunch coffee and cookie either. I am so incredibly proud of myself. I ended up well within my calorie range. In fact I could probably have had that cookie but I didn't

Wii stuff

Had a good workout today and managed to unlock a new running distance on the Wii. I also discovered a new website thanks to the people in the SparkPeople Wii Forum. It is called Wii Fit Routine. It looks great as it had different routines for working out. I was starting to think that I had gotten into a rut with my workout so this should be great. Another thing I am looking at getting in the fall is the Wii Sports Active that is due out on May 21st. I am not going to get it when it comes out since I am going to the states on June 7th. I might just get it when I am in the states so that I have it when I get home. Just to vary things. I am also still considering the My Fitness Coach. Lots to think about.

Week 4: ? Down X to go

Lets start with the good news:

*I lost 0.7kg this week (that's 1.5 pounds)

*Exam is over and done with (I really think I passed so no resit)

*Essay of Doom is almost done (just editing left)

*I feel less stressed and like I have more energy. Getting up in the morning isn't a chore.

*Drinking 8 cups of water is EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY

Left on the to do list:

*Outline for next essay

*Grammar midterm (need to study for that)

*Write next essay (with all research attached to that)

*Defend Essay of Doom

*Defend other essay

*Regular course work

*Grammar final

Then I am off to the US for the summer!!!!!! So excited. Still have some details left to finalise (like buying the tickets) but my work from last summer are really excited to have me back and I am super pumped about being back! It is also going to be great to see my friends again. I do just have to be careful about going to the AMAZING cheesecake place to often (it is evil except not because the guy who has it is so cool).

7 more weeks of school left (thanks for reminding me sis)

With all the stress and general suckiness over the last few weeks the end of this week has been such a relief. Now if I could just have smooth sailing for the rest of the term that would be grand.

Bronze Piggy

I got my bronze Piggy on my wii fit today. That means I have done 10 hours on it. It also told me off for not using it for two days. I'm not really concerned I was so busy over the last two days.

Food wise I did well today, except I went way under on the carbs. Seems I can't win. I do definitely think that yoghurt is the way to go in the morning though. Gives me lots of protein which gives me a head start. The new yoghurt I bought yesterday was really good as well. Lots of fruit. I will be asking/ getting that again.

Did okay on my essay. Really need to buckle down tomorrow I just really felt I needed a day off from it. Still wrote a bit on it though but none of the lit review.

Brain dead

So very tired. Body is tired. Brain is tireder. Sometime around hour 2.5 of a 5 hour exam I lost the will to live*. I almost walked out of the exam room. But I persevered. I do have to admit though that my answer to the Macbeth question sucked. But maybe I can get some points for it.

After the exam I went into town and got a fantastic haircut. I am loving it. I cut off about 20 cm of hair. My head feels so much lighter. At least I should weigh less *snickers* I also feel quite proud of myself as well because I parked further away than I normally do and walked. Got in my exercise that way. *g*

Studying

No exercise today.

Not much studying after study group.

I am just hoping that all goes well tomorrow.

At least I did well with the food.

Coffee!!!

Nap and coffee. I could not have done without either today. So tired. Couldn't keep studying this afternoon. I was just so tired and feeling stupid. Now I feel better. I am starting to fall into the "what will be will be" mentality now. I have study group tomorrow morning. Lets see what the girls say. Tomorrow I will need to concentrate on Macbeth and poetry. Read through the poems again. I think I can wing the different time periods well enough. I hope.

It will get done. It will get done in time. It will be great.

Do Not Disturb

Super busy. Eating, Exercising, Revise. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Exam week

I'm heading into a major study week this week. Exam is Friday morning. I got up early today so that I would have time to work out before studying. Last week when I worked out before breakfast I became so hungry I felt faint. Not good. So today I had a slice of whole wheat toast and half a banana before I worked out. It worked great. I wasn't starving when I was done but I also didn't have any cramps. I still need to do my strength training. I'll do that when I watch Border Security later.

Week 3: Everything Goes to Pots

Stressful week. Lots to do in school. Ate to much yesterday. Probably all week because I gained 0.5kg. I am feeling really frustrated. There is so much going on. I hope things settle down after next week. I just want it to be summer.

Might write a less frustrated post when I am feeling less frustrated.

Easter Candy Coma

I was doing so well. I chose my food well. No creamy sauces. Ham. Small potatoes. Dinner rolls with seeds in them. Then came the candy. Man with the candy. I ate to much. I feel sick. Ugg. Oh well I suppose falling off the wagon once isn't that bad. Getting back on it tomorrow.

Water and walking

I realised today that I am struggling less with water now than I did three weeks ago. When I started 8 cups seemed insurmountable. I had to force myself to drink it. Now all of a sudden I realise that I have had 9 or 10 cups without much effort. The increase in exercise has certainly helped. I just need more water. But I also think that I have found a good bottle. It is very deceptive. It fits 2 cups but it is quite skinny so it doesn't look like much.

I went for a walk today. It is still very muddy along my walking route. It was still very nice though. Can't wait for it to dry out a bit more.

Recipe Submitted

I submitted a recipe to SparkPeople today. I really just wanted the nutritional information for the Chili I made. It was yummy. I added grated carrots and lentils to my regular chili recipe. It made it more stewy.

Zee's Chili
140 Minutes to Prepare and Cook

Ingredients

300g Ground Beef 1 Medium Onion (chopped) 1 can Chopped Tomatoes 1 can Red Kidney Beans 2 Cloves Garlic 1/2 Red pepper 1/2 cup grated Carrots 1/2 cup Lentils 1/2 tbsp olive oil 2 tsp cumin 2 tsp cayenne pepper 2 tsp oregano 10 cups water (more or less add as needed) salt and pepper to taste

Direction
1) Brown minced beef with onions and garlic.
2) Add crushed tomatoes, carrots, herbs and spices and water to cover.
3) Let cook for at least 2 hours (more is better). Add water as needed.
4) 15-20 minutes before serving add lentils and beans.
Makes approximately 7 cups. 1 cup= 1 serving.

Number of Servings: 7

I haven't done that much exercise today. My knees are a bit sore from yesterday. I did some time on the wii fit. I tried the new step exercise I unlocked yesterday. I am not great with the easy exercise and the new one has me kicking my leg out, turning and all sorts of complicated things. Oh well practice makes perfect.

Sore joints

Ugh...I thought giving a few days off from a particular exercise would help my sore hip joint. Unfortunately it does not seem to have helped. I am going to have to give it a few more days. It is so hard to find a balance between doing the exercises to help build muscles to get away from the pain and not doing them to stop the pain.

I wonder if maybe it is time to play another round of "diagnose this" with my doctor seeing how my visits are free right now...hmmmm.....

Carbs are NOT my friend

Why oh why do I like carbs so much????!!!!

Why was I brought up to believe that a meal had to contain carbs to be a meal????!!!! (and we have ALWAYS eaten "healty")

Why can't I get the balance right between calories, carbs and protein????!!!!

Ugh!!!

I think I am doing so well with the food thing and then I run the report and there it is 60% of my nutrition is in the form of carbs and I miss the protein goal again!!! How on earth can this be!!!!!

Frustrated!

So sore

Had a really good work out today. 18 minutes of yoga, 20 of cardio, and then several strengthening exercises and the Bootcamp day two video. Now my inner thighs and knees are sore. I am a bit concerned by the knees so I will see how they feel tomorrow.

Week 2: Feeling Good

So week 2 is over and I have moved from the fast break to the diet stage. I am really excited about moving on. I feel like I have already started getting a hang off the portion control thing. Although it was quite a shocker to see exactly how much I was off on some things. The one thing I really need to invest in this week is a set of scales. I have no idea how much something weighs.

Weight wise I haven't made any progress this week but I knew that was going to happen as I have changed scales. I am now using my wii fit for my scales rather than my old bathroom scales. The wii fit measures to .1 of a kg while my bathroom scales was me guesstimating between the pips. This will be better and therefore I see this week as a new benchmark. This is the kitchen scales I am considering getting:



But I am going to do some more shopping around before I make my mind up.

Yesterday and today I only did some yoga but I think I might have done some mischief on my groin. I have identified the yoga pose that caused it and I will avoid that one for a few days and then only do one repetition of it every other day until I have built up those muscles. This is a very old injury (a birth defect actually) so I have to see if I will be able to build up to where I can use it or if it is simply one I have to avoid.

Looking forward to next week. I am finding it so much easier to get up in the morning. I actually look forward to my morning exercise. I think the sun is helping

Good day

Today was a good day. I got up fairly early but felt rested and ready for the day. I did 20 minutes of yoga. Had breakfast and got a fair chunk of next weeks class work done. Tomorrow I've got to read the short story for class after Easter and answer the questions. I want to get it done tomorrow because I want to work on my socio-linguistics essay during the week. The week is going to be really fragmented because I have two doctors appointments in the city that means I loose two afternoons. And then I am meeting my best friend in town one day as well. That is the only thing I really want to do. I don't really want to go to the doctors. I am really not in the mood for it. I am not in the mood for driving all that way. It is just really annoying that they wouldn't schedule them for the same day. *sigh* Today was a good day.

Protein

Really struggling to get enough protein in my diet. I have asked on SparkPeople for different ideas on how to get more protein in my diet. So far I have gotten suggestions for cottage cheese which I can do and peanut butter which I can do as well. The problem I have with peanut butter is that it is so high in calories. It is such a difficult balance. I'll just have to keep working on it I guess. More beans, more cottage cheese, and more chicken. Sigh. So hard to balance it all.

My Wii Fit Arrived

My Wii Fit arrived today!!!!! I've done half an hour today. I love the hoola-hoop exercises but apparently I am unbalanced. I didn't really need a machine to tell me that :D.

This is going to be a great complement to my other routines. This is great for my balance. Also I will be using this for my weight as it is more accurate than my scales. It did make me gain weight but I am not going to take this to accurately today since I had just eaten dinner. I'll do it again tomorrow morning.

Tired

Still feeling icky for various non bloggable reasons. But instead of heading for the ice cream I went to yoga. Feel much better now. Although exhausted. Sleepy time.

Bad day

Nothing to do with exercise or food. Just a bad day. A "I need my mummy day". Thankfully I had my mummy but now I feel drained.

On the positive. My wii fit shipped today.

Also I didn't go for chocolate but I might have a small bowl of icecream later. Yes I am an emotional eater. But today I need it.

Less said the better.

Feeling good

Today I worked hard. I got up (almost) when the alarm went off. Downstairs and had breakfast then did some studying. I really would have liked to exercise right when I got up so I could shower and get dressed straight way but I've read enough to know that I should eat something first. Actually it worked out really well. I did the 10 Minute Jump Rope Cardio Workout



I really enjoyed it. I couldn't do all of the jumps I'm just not coordinated enough for that but I stilled jumped a lot. Really felt my heart pumping. Definitely a keeper.

Then I did my strength work out and finally I started the New You Bootcamp workout.



I didn't like it. I'm not coordinated enough and I just didn't feel my heart pumping. I might keep it for days when I am doing lighter cardio but I want to try other workouts first.

First Weigh-In

So yesterday was a bit of a calorie binge. That is what you get with family dinners. I didn't go totally overboard but I did have crustless apple pie and vanilla ice-cream. I did make sure I just had a small scope of each. And I didn't take seconds of dinner which considering it was my favourite was really good.

This morning was my first weigh-in. Drum roll please: I lost 1kg. I am really pleased!!

I am trying to organise some different cardio options since I find cardio boring. I have ordered a WiiFit but I have no idea when it is arriving (long story). So I have looked at My Fitness Coach for the Wii as well. It looks pretty good. More versatile than the standard fitness DVDs. I am still contemplating, getting information.

I managed 10 minutes with the jump rope today for my fast-break 10 minute cardio goal. That is going well so far.

Snowy Saturday

We were hit by a pretty major snow storm yesterday and into today. It looks like it has stopped snowing now but it was sufficiently depressing today to keep me in bed most of the morning.

I only got 10 minutes walking in front of the biathlon today but today isn't a cardio day so at least I got my fast break goal. Food today is probably going to go to hell in a handbasket. Breakfast was okay but I still haven't had lunch and it is 2:30 and we are having one of my favourite foods tonight: SpagBol. But Dad went shopping today and I had cramed the list full with healthy veg so once the parental units leave on Wednesday I should be able to get into a good routine. I have now told my parents that I am trying to loose weight. Not sure how seriously they took it. I hope to have lost a noticeable amount by the time they get back at the start of May so that they can see that I am serious.

Tomorrow is weigh-in. Scary.

Exercise video

Today I tried out one of the exercise videos from SparkPeople. I am not going to lie and say I enjoyed it but it wasn't half bad. I was exhausted after just the 10 minute cardio. I am going to do this video once through once per week. Then I can add another 10 minute run through and so on.

I also want to do their boot camp videos and I will start that next week I think. If I do these I can do the cardio video for my cardio on the strength days and then the strength videos.

Food is going okay. I still think I have to many carbs and apparently I don't eat enough fat so I need to work on that. Slowly getting into the routine.

Here is the video

Itchy Eyes!

And so despite the fact that we still have tons of snow my allergies have hit hard today. My eyes feel like they are burning up. My mum is going to get my prescription filled (I can't get into town) but I won't get it until tomorrow. Thank goodness I found I had some citrizine left over fro last year. They are starting to feel better already. The itchyness left me feeling really down today however. This is where SparkPeople has been fantastic. I posted in a couple of my teams that I needed support and I had two messages in my inbox from people telling me I could do it. It really motivated me and since the weather was nice I managed a walk today at lunch. Today I did remember my ipod so I listened to some of Melvyn Braggs The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language while I walked. Really got me focused for the afternoon. I really want to get a pedometor to count my steps. This one look really good

Yoga Day!!!

I love Wednesdays because that means yoga. And today my knees aren't killing me after a session. Today I managed to move my thighs to the right positions.

Food has also gone well today. I was prepared for dinner being REALLY boring. Brown rice, frozen thai veg and prawns but by putting the rice into the pan at the end it actually tasted really good.

Still struggling with the water. I have to pee so much it is really distracting. *sigh*

Walkies

Exercise today:

I went for a half hour walk today. It was freezing cold. My poor ears were so sore when I got back despite wearing my hood up. I should have brought my ipod along though. I will have to try and remember that for next time.

Food:

I like the fact that the diet calls for a bigger breakfast than I have been eating. I was already good at eating breakfast but I would be ravenous at about 11. Now I'm not. It always meant I ate to much at lunch. Now I am much better at not doing that.

Slosh

Day 2. This entry might fall into the tmi category.

The water is becoming a problem. I am NOT used to drinking all this water. I have to pee ALL THE TIME. But I managed 8 cups again today. I have decided to divide the water up in the following way: 1 glass before breakfast. 1 glass after/with breakfast. 1 glass during my morning studies. 1 glass before lunch. 1 glass with lunch. 1 glass with afternoon studies. 1 glass with dinner and finally 1 glass after dinner/before bed.

Today was one of my exercise days. Stretching worked well this morning and I had planned on going for a walk for my cardio however it started snowing quite heavily this afternoon and I didn't really feel like firing up the wii to do some boxing. I tried this yoga DVD we had home. I did the half hour program but I didn't like it. To much with the breathing and not enough with the feet which is something my teacher really emphasises and when I remembered about my feet I felt the pull a lot more. Wont be doing that again. Is my wii fit comming soon? Is spring comming soon? Upshot of it is that I didn't burn nearly enough calories today. But I did stick with the lower end of my calorie intake to compensate. I would still like to pull down my carb intake. More fruit less porridge with breakfast I think.

Jumping Jack Flash! I am getting going

So my first day on SparkPeople. I have been running around the site trying to familiarize myself with everything and getting spark points. I've also chosen and started on my Fast Break Goals. They are:
Eat a high fiber/high protein breakfast
Get 10 minutes of cardio exercise
Write in a journal

Goal number 1 was reached with a high fiber bread with cheese for breakfast.
Goal number 2 was reached by jumping rope for 10 minutes (after which I thought I was going to DIE)
And I am now doing goal number 3 (pats back).

I also have as one of my goals to drink 8 cups of water a day. I've just finished cup number 5 and feel all sloshy. This is going to have to substitute some of my cups of tea. Which is probably a good thing to begin with.

The jump rope is something I have been meaning to start for about a year since getting outside for exercise around here for 6 months out of the year can be hard (to much snow and no safe shovelled paths). So maybe the 10 minutes a day will get me going in the right direction. I am counting the amount of skips I can do without getting caught. Today's high was 64. Care to join me?

Starting out

I have just joined SparkPeople.com in order to help me loose weight. This Journal will be my thoughts and goals as I work towards my fitness goals.

My goals:

Weight: 55kg
Exercise: 3 times/week
Diet: Healthy. 3 meals and 2 snacks/ day