Pork belly and stats

Another week, another check-in!

After a week with two (yes, you read that correctly TWO) social engagements, things had the potential to go off the rails.

On Saturday, we had friends over for dinner, which was lovely. Because I managed to clean my house. Maybe we should have friends over more often. I had a healthy breakfast, some fruit for lunch in preparedness for the PORK BELLY. OMG I love pork belly. And wine. I love that too.

And then on Tuesday night I had to go to work thingy where they had copious amounts of Salt and Pepper Calamari and it was DIVINE I tell you! So good.

My work colleague's mum sent her a billion cupcakes for her birthday (you know the ones with a foot of icing on the top?) on Friday. I had one, but didn't really enjoy it. Managed happily to say "no thanks" to the others. Obviously fat is my thing, not sugar.

Exercise-wise, I haven't don't that well. Got up at 8am on Monday on my day off and went for my walk. Wednesday and Friday (and all the other days)? Not so much. I'm just sooooo tired! But I know that exercise will help my energy levels.

I also scare the shit out of myself in the mornings!

Other good reasons to exercise (she reminds herself more than the readership) - half an hour a day (a day!) of moderate exercise significantly lowers blood pressure. I've told you mine is high before? Well, it is. I'm medication for it - just swapped over to a new one. Whilst in between swapping, we monitored it - it got to 153/101 and a pulse of 95. So at the moment, I need my meds and I need that exercise!

Exercise is also really good for keeping diabetes at bay. With swapping over this medication, I had "baseline" blood tests done. All within normal range (including cholesterol etc), except that pesky fasting blood glucose level, which was at 6.0 mmol/L. According to current guidelines, this may indicate pre-diabetes (risk increased if you are obese - oh my gosh I am! and have high blood pressure - well shit).

My doctor didn't want any further testing done, but Dr Google says lose weight and exercise and you can get back in the normal range and not progress to full-blown diabetes. 

And I also watched this episode of Catalyst on gut bacteria during the week. Fascinating stuff. Go watch it if you haven't. Latest research indicates a diet high in fibre (back off on the processed foods and high fat/sugar content) significantly impacts the types of bacteria found in your gut and therefore impacts huge amounts of health, insulin response being one of them. So that is extra incentive to stay on the straight and narrow, as I am prone to a bit of blockage (TMI? Soz). Be thankful I have no pics of this. Can't wait for Part 2.

Healthy salmon and gai lan instead!

I got to weighing myself on Thursday morning - 83.3kg. So a slight gain, but I have weighed myself since and I'm target to another loss. I'm determined this will be a long-term thing, not just a 12 week blitz, so real life and exercise and pork belly are all part of that!

How was your week?

Best meal you ate?

Do you know your blood pressure? Blood glucose?

To walk or run?

Regular readers (all 3 of you), will be familiar with my attempts at running.

It goes like this:

1. Run little bits until your lungs burst and legs drop off (about 1 minute).
2. Do Couch to 5K program and be able to run (the correct term in my case is really "jog", but whatevs) 30 minutes without stopping.
3. Actually be able to run 5km without stopping (it takes me 40-50minutes).
4. Do some kind of running program to get up to 10km.
5. Enter 10km Fun Run. Come nearly last.
6. Stop running.
7. Have to start again from step 1.

Repeat (at last count, 3 times).

Sydney Running Festival Bridge 9km run - Sept 2011

My first (and most successful) round of 12WBT I started in November 2012 at (what I thought at the time) was a hefty 77kg. That made me Overweight. It wasn't easy learning to run (again) at that weight. That's a lot of kilos to lug around. But with the diet and some determination, I got there.

Before 12WBT Nov 2012

After 12WBT Feb 2013.

I was still just outside my suggested healthy weight range. I was quite sure I would keep going and had visions of a half marathon in my sights, but I was still really too heavy to run with any kind of pace and really had aims of losing another 10kg, to put me at 59kg. As an aside, when I was in my 20s (ah, those were the days) at uni I was a steady 50kg. I hate my old self...

Needless to say, this blog is testimony to the fact for whatever reason, I totally fell of the bandwagon, undid most of my good work and now I really am a HEFTY 86.5kg. That's a BMI of 31. That actually puts me in the OBESE range. Oh dear:

 

Apart from the fact it is so cold in Canberra your beer is colder outside than it is in the fridge, I don't think attempting to run while this large is a great idea. Instead of doing the 10K running program I did last time around, or even the Learn to Run program, I am doing Move 2. The one for people with a BMI of over 30. I am walking.

And it turns out my gut instinct is backed up by science. Obese people shouldn't be running/walking more than 3km in the first week and they should preferably lose weight and go brisk walking until your body isn't so big on the BMI calculator picture (thanks for that reality check, National Heart Foundation).

I'm trying to walk 3 times a week, to get myself in a routine, so that by the time spring has sprung and my weight is back in the Overweight range (it's good to have goals!). So walking for the time being it is! 

NOT a morning person!

It was with great eagerness (not) that I set my alarm to go off at 6am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday to get up and go for my walk this week. 6:15am on Tuesday and Thursday to do some crappy pushups and crunches and all things that make your muscles sore.

I managed Monday morning! Yay! Because if you can't JFDI on the FIRST DAY of the 12 Week Body Transformation, you might need to rethink things:

Being Canberra in winter, it was cold. -5C cold in fact. But me and the dog JFDI! So proud of us.

Got up on Tuesday morning at 6:15am and did aforesaid crappy pushups, crunches and other "toning" thingies. Tick.

Alarm went off at 6am on Wednesday morning. So cold. So dark. I shut my eyes for just one second and next minute it was 6:45am!!! Oops! Epic fail.

So I set my alarm for 6am on Thursday morning to make up for it. I think we can all agree that I am NOT a morning person and that a beanie is a great idea:

Hubby decided to come with me (joy). I was OK after about 10 minutes when I had woken up enough not to grunt at him. -6C according to my phone and -7.6C according to the BOM, which was the coldest August morning in Canberra for 20 years. Brr. But we JFDI. So proud of us.

 I look much better after a walk, Mish breakfast (muesli and berries), a shower, work clothes, brush hair and makeup!

I kind of missed Weigh-In Wednesday as well, so weigh-in Thursday brought this: 82.25kg! A loss of 700g!! Woot! 

Yay! I like it when things work :-) I have pretty much followed the meals and avoided all junk food for the week. A stressful week at work saw a couple of wines on Thursday and Friday nights, but only two on each occasion. Real life intrudes, but that's OK.

We had friends over for dinner yesterday, so my treat meal was PORK BELLY (nom nom nom) and a few glasses of wine. But the rest of the day was clean, so hopefully it didn't derail me too much. Now about to print off recipes and shopping lists and go for my weekly worship at the house of Aldi. See ya next week!

A new path.

A new metaphorical path - to get off the treadmill of skipping breakfast, full fat coffee, high fat/sugar breakfast, morning tea and lunch, chocolate for afternoon tea, processed food for dinner washed down with wine and no exercise thrown in for good measure.

The new path is not that new - I have walked/run it before. I know I can do it. I know what it takes to LOSE weight. Follow the good path. Resist the temptation to follow the easy path. Because that path ends up in Obeseville.

A new literal path too! Gone are the ocean views and sea breezes. They are replaced with a multitude of footpaths to choose from. The dog and I will explore them. The mild temperatures of the coast are replaced by the extremes of the inland (-5.9C this morning as I finished my walk  through heavy frost). My lazy morning starts of 8am on my days off are replaced by 6am/dark-o'clock starts to fit some exercise in my working day.

The new path. A new day. A new start. Bring. It. On!

Stat week. Or the week - stat!

OK then, let's do this, shall we?

Weigh-in Wednesday brought this:

Under the flash, it says 83.95kg. Trust me.
Please ignore the hairy, mid-winter in Canberra legs.
But how nice are my shellac toes?

It was Fitness Test week as well, as part of pre-season.

Not pretty - it scored 38/50, which apparently puts me at "beginner" level for the exercise plan. I don't like "beginner" level. So I might stick with "Move 2" to get my ass moving again, really nail the eating plan plan, and then when I don't resemble a whale,  can start running again.

It was also Measure Up week:

Again not pretty. I will be happy(er) when I'm less than 80kg again. I tried to upload my "before" shot, but I haven't been technologically successful.

This was my original Before shot:

Nov 2012 - 77.3kg

Feb 2013 - 69.9kg

Fuck me. How depressing.
Aug 2014 - 83.9kg 

Well. That's bloody good motivation! Let's do this! (and just quietly, how brave am I for totally putting myself in all my glory out there!?).

Weigh in Wednesday

I had to get new batteries for my scales to weigh in this week. And I'm 84.4kg! Downward "trend". I'll take it!

And in my pre-season efforts, I'm doing the 6 at 6 in 6 for 6 Challenge. 6 exercises (jog on spot, squats, pushups, lunges, crunches and wall slides) for one minute each, for a total of six minutes, at 6am for six days in a row. Doable?

I got up at 6:44am, did my exercises. Mish says 6am, not 6:30am or 6:45am... But she doesn't have a husband reading into the wee small hours!

Anyway, small changes - 5 days to go. I'll let you know next week how I got on!

Weigh In Wednesday!

And so it starts again - the accountability.

I know the only one I really have to be accountable to is myself. But this is my way of doing it. Keeping the bastard honest.

So this morning - 84.9kg (187.2lbs).

That's a lot. But it's less than last week, so chin up Ingi! It's a start!

And one more try for the dummies!

I turn 45 today.

I'm now 86.5kg.

I'm struggling to tie up my shoes.

It's time!

For realz and for good.

Let's do this!