Feel the rain on your skin...

"No one else can do it for you

Only you can let it in"

6am: Alarm ringing because this morning because I had to be at work at 9am. Got up, weighed myself - lost 500g, bringing me to 74.3kg (163.8 lbs). Considering I haven't stuck to things 100%, I'm reasonably happy to see the numbers still trending downward - that's what we want to see. Would I have liked to see 69.0kg staring back at me? You betcha, but I'm realistic too.

While I was all naked-like and everyone was still asleep, I took my Week 4 Mini-Milestone measurements to see how I was progressing. Then I got dressed in my running gear, all set to blitz the 1km time trial.

Except it was raining. What the? It wasn't raining when I woke up! So I did the other bits of my fitness test and stared out the window some more. Checked Facebook (as you do). Checked 12WBT forums etc. Looked out the window some more. Was it lighter? Just a drizzle now? 

7am: Thought to myself "bugger it" and got the iPhone Runkeeper app ready and went out the door anyway. 'Twas just a light drizzle by then, but I felt really hardcore, waving to the old lady who was out for her walk in the rain too. Two old hardcore ladies - where were the youngsters? The first song up on my fully-randomised-shuffle was "Unwritten" - and yes, I could really feel the rain on my skin!

I did a 5 minute warm-up walk to the oval, 10 minute "jog" (more like a "wog" - I find running on grass hard work) and then was fully psyched for my 1km time trial. I really wanted to break into the 6:00min/km pace (I did 7:13 at the start of 12WBT). My app told me I was doing an average pace of 6:34min/km about halfway through. Pretty chuffed. Pretty puffed. So as Salt'n'Pepa encouraged me to "Push It" I really pressed on and kept the pace up. 

8am: Home again. I checked the pace for my 1km on the app - 7:07min/km. I cried. I am pre-menstrual, so don't think too much of it.

I really thought I'd nailed under 7!!! But I have gotten faster, so I guess that's one thing. I'm ignoring all those people who run 5:03min/km....it's not that I actually hate them, it's just that I prefer to think they don't exist and that my running actually looks like sprinting.

But I also improved on everything else, except for those crappy sit-ups who I also hate:

8:30am: Most of my work clothes were in the ironing basket. Did I dare try on those Size 12 pants that did not do up a few months ago (which also made me cry - I'm just a sooky-la-la)? Well, desperate times call for desperate measures, so I wiggled them up my sweaty legs and attempted to do them up. They fit! Let's 'push it' and see if the Colorado medium top fits as well - yes! Well, I would still like the belly to be smaller, but I've made progress! Shower time and then work:

I'm pushing it! And writing my own story...

"Live your life with arms wide open

Today is where your book begins

The rest is still unwritten"

Wine whine

One of my biggest issues in weight management is alcohol. 

Alcohol is such an insidious thing. It is such a HUGE part of our society. As a ex-high school teacher, there were 14 year olds just busting at the gate to go start drinking and "get maggoted". It is there at every social gathering. The answer to all of life's stresses, particularly as a parent, seem to be found in a glass of wine at the end of a long day.

I don't really remember when I started drinking every day. I know I started drinking later than most of my friends, after I turned 18 and then really got into the swing of things at university (there are harbour cruises I wish I could forget). But it was on the weekends and the body bounced back better then.

A glass of wine after a hard day's teaching was a very nice thing to look forward to. A glass to sit down with hubby and compare our days. A glass with some cheese and bickies. A glass while preparing dinner. Sometimes dinner never got prepared and it was vegemite on toast. A few glasses on a Friday night because tomorrow is the weekend and I don't have to get up. A few glasses to make the stress of the day disappear in a bit of a fog. Every morning I would wake up and say to myself "I'm not going to drink again tonight" and yet, as sure as day turns to night, that night would find a glass of sav blanc in my hand.

The trouble is, after a while, there was never a day off. And it became harder and harder to say "no" when hubby asked "glass of wine?" And he asked, so he didn't feel as bad because he wanted one (or three or four). And then it was never just a glass. It was nothing for us to polish off two bottles (that's one each) on a weeknight. Weekends were worse.

I knew when I started this 12WBT that wine was an issue for my weight. It is also a nasty issue for my high blood pressure. I don't even want to think about my liver (la la la la - if I just ignore stuff, it's not an issue). I don't always like myself when I've had a few wines. I knew I had to cut back seriously. Maybe even stop.

Hubby was with me. We were stopping until Christmas. We would support each other. It is often the case we will say this to ourselves, but then cave the minute things get busy, stressful or just a bit overwhelming. Which, apparently is often.

Even though I know for my health I have to do this, but alcohol is like a siren, calling "drink me". So much of our lives are hardwired to drink. It is a habit and a drug and it is very hard to say no and keep saying no.

I haven't been perfect. I have caved. But not often. I have whole weeks where I don't drink anything. And then when I do, Lindemans Early Harvest (low alcohol wine/champagne) is my crutch. Gin and diet tonics (less calories). 

I am noticing that I can feel the impacts of one glass so much more, now that my body is not inundated with the stuff. I can enjoy a glass. I don't enjoy four big ones any more. 

I have energy the next day. I get up and do my workouts. I am physically tired, not hungover tired. I sleep better. My face is less puffy. I don't have to worry that I stink of wine at work. I am there for my kids at the end of the day.

Or maybe don't drink that wine and keep running!

I am really hoping that I can keep at this and change a habit that been building over the last couple of decades (OK - now I made myself feel really old). I want to be healthy going into my 50s. I want to not shop in the larger ladies section. I want my brain and body to be able to function as well as they can. These are the things I want for my life. Wine is not going to get me there, so it will just not be able to be as big a part of my life as it was previously. 

If I am serious about losing weight, alcohol is not helping - the body processes alcohol before fat, protein or carbs. Thus drinking slows down the burning of fat. It contains a lot of empty, non-nutritious calories. 

Will I keep on this track? I can only try one day at a time. I may look back at this post and laugh at myself for me being so naive. But I hope not. 

Have you let alcohol creep into your life?

What's your best tip for drinking less?

Weekend wrap-up!!

OK! So it's Sunday night. And I just know that you are all sitting at home desperately waiting of news of my big Red Flag Day. So how did I get on???

Well, first up - let's remember Mish's words of wisdom: there is no "off the wagon" or "on the wagon". There's no "good" or "bad". This is not an either/or situation.

Bearing that in mind, I did pretty good!

My plan was to eat healthily and cut back on the wines consumed and I achieved that plan.

We did visit Maccy-Ds on the trip up for lunch, but I chose a Seared Chicken Wrap and water (363 calories). No fries!

At the party, I didn't pig out on chips, cheese and bickies, dip or bread in the afternoon. Instead, I placed myself away from all that food and just waited patiently until dinner. This is a biggie for me - I love myself some savoury nibbles! But I resisted temptation!

I had a chicken kebab and sausage and salad (not all clean and healthy, but not horrific either). I did not go back after dinner to the dessert table and consequently did not eat the banana cream pie or cheesecake. I think, given I did not prepare all my own food, I made pretty good food choices and flexed that willpower muscle with some mighty force.

My other downfall is usually alcohol, and I know I'm not alone here! I did reasonably well - drank gin and diet tonics, interspersed with mineral water and a few low-alcohol champagnes. This is over a period of between 3:30pm and 1am. I feel a bit dehydrated (and certainly tired) today, but this could have been a LOT worse. My calculations are a total of 470 calories on alcohol, which I'm pleasantly surprised about.

Blowing the budget on bubbles!

I estimate I ate/drank about 2000 calories - 800 over my daily limit. But I limited the damage and made some good choices, so all in all, I'm happy.

Back into it tonight with the Chicken Parmigiana we didn't have on Friday night (the week's all messed up, menu-wise) and then grocery shopping tomorrow as well as my tempo run.

How was your weekend?

Did you survive any social engagements without blowing your calorie budget?

What's your biggest weakness when eating out?

Red flag alert!!

You know, I did ponder the wisdom of joining up to 12WBT during the silly season. It's not like I have a lot of social engagements, but this time of the year seems to be a good excuse to let it all hang out.

But no! Not for us trying to lose weight!

So this weekend I am driving up to Sydney for a pre-Christmas catch-up. You know what that means. BBQ. Nibbles. Drinkies (or ten). So - a Red Flag Day. How to keep on track?

Well first up, I moved my long run to this morning (as I have to work early tomorrow as well). I might be able to fit in a little abs work on Saturday morning, but will struggle to fit in a 4.5km run. So I did that this morning:

I really, really did not feel like doing this this morning! If I was the 'old' me, I wouldn't have done it. But it had to be done and I just JFDI. Made sub 8:00 min/km pace, but was overtaken by every member of the local running club except 90 year old Ken. But I reckon I still have my L-plates on and about 20kg to lose, so things can only get better. I still ran faster than everyone still in bed!

My legs felt heavy towards the end, but I focussed on cadence, keeping "light" and relaxing my shoulders. And it's now all done.

Healthy breakfast:

And tomorrow? I'm on bringing nibblies and I'm going to cut up carrot, celery and capsicum and make some yummy vego dips. And bring chippies for the unhealthy ones (which is NOT me!). And I'll bring low-alcohol options (let's see how I like vodka, lime and sodas - they will fill me up much more than wine). I'll give it my best shot, and let you know how get on....

Week 3 - Weigh In Wednesday!

And we have a win! Or a loss! or something...

You will be relieved to know I wear underwear
when I take the pics of the scales,
 because no-one wants to see what
 is reflected on that glass...

That is another kilo gone forever! Or at least, having a look at my ups and downs over to the left, gone for a really long time. That's 164.9lbs for my non-metrically minded friends.

I'm feeling so much better and stronger! Except at 8:30pm at night - if there is nothing decent on TV (which is frequently) I can often be heard asking "is it too early to go to bed?" and the answer is "no!" especially if I have a decent book to read (which, working in a library, you would think shouldn't be too hard).

Week 3 of sprints this morning! They stepped it up a notch, doing 3 repeats. I made a push at the end and got to 5:46 min/km pace for my last minute! Watch out Usain!!! Here comes Ingi!!

And so we keep on keeping on! Onward and downward!!

Who let the dogs out?

Those of you who have been following along for a while will know I usually run with my dog Max.

The hound in all his furry glory!

When I started out on this running gig (the first time) I took Max with me, but he was a shocker on the lead - pulling ahead, jumpy when cars and bikes went past, chasing other dogs and getting all super-excited and boundy when he saw them. He tripped me up more than a few times and hurt my shoulder, so after a couple of weeks, I ditched him and concentrated on just lugging my own ass up and down the pavement.

And I did it! Finished Couch to 5K and ran in the Sydney Running Festival. All without Maxy-doodles.

After that I hurt my hip, got lazy, got fat(ter) and then had to kick-start myself again. I started by walking the dog. I read about training and watched Cesar Milan. The walks were INSTANTLY better - it was like he knew I was in charge. I got a Halti Collar for him and then we were set! It is not a muzzle, but puts you in control of the walk and stops pulling.

When I started up running again, Maxy was with me every step of the way, working our way up from 30 second running intervals to running the entire 5km! Rain, hail or shine. Except not hail.

We have our little morning run routine going - into the car, drive to the beach, he whines while I fiddle with my iPhone, out of the car for a little sniff, wee and poo (him, not me; I went before we left), stop at the garbage so I don't have to run carrying dog poo, 5 minute walk warm-up and then we are off! I now carry an extra poo-bag up my compression shorts so we don't have a repeat of the "unexpected second poo" incident. Back to the car for stretches and licks.

He trots along nicely beside me now. I "run" and he looks like he's out for a Sunday stroll. I've only taken him for one lot of sprints and he had no idea what was going on, I had to drag/encourage him to keep up - thank goodness it was only for 1 minute! He'll get used to them and so will I!

He has lost weight too! I've given him a haircut for summer, but he was getting a little on the skinny side, so on run days he gets a bit of extra dry food in the morning. We do not feed him treats! Not because he might get fat, but because his sensitive stomach reacts badly and then we have repeats of the "unable to pick up liquid poo" incident where I used all my post-run water trying to wash the offending mess away. Too much information? Sorry - we keep it real around here!

One of my favourite blogs is Shut Up and Run - she also tells it how it is and has a lovely JFDI attitude. She also blogs about all of life, and just yesterday she had me at "Lucky" - I dare you to read that post and not shed a tear. I'll wait while you cry...

Back now? Need a tissue or three? Here you go...

I will digress and mention, however, the annoyance I feel at fellow dog owners who can't do the right thing:

• Dog owners who let their dogs poo on the footpath and either don't have poo-bags with them or don't even bother to kick it off the concrete where everyone is walking and onto the grass. Just defies belief.
• Dog owners who have no control over their dogs on or off-leash. I get annoyed with people who let their dogs run around and set mine off with excitement.
• I have a spent a lot of time and effort getting my dog to heel next to my left side. I understand that not everyone has trained their dog like this, but people - I'm trying to run, and it's bloody hard work! I am not here for your puppy to have a little 'socialisation' with my my puppy while we stand around and have chat. Keep your dogs close to you and not under my feet!

On the whole though, running has been fantastic for me and for Max. We are both much fitter and healthier. Max gets his exercise and discipline before he gets his affection. We have a much better human/dog relationship now and he knows who is boss (me!).

Do you run with your dog?

Have you ever had an "incident" that you'd care to repeat here?

Or you could just tell me how much you love your dog :-)

Cat-lovers, I'm sure you love your cats too, but you can't run with them! (or can you?)

Feelin' hot hot hot!

Ole ole, ole ole

Feelin' hot hot hot!

Here in Oz (for my vast overseas readership!) it's been, as we say in the local dialect, bloody hot. And not just hot temperature-wise, but about a billion percent humidity. But do I let that stop me in my quest for a leaner, fitter, healthier me? No! I don't!

Sunday night, much cooler now, the end of Week 2 of the 12 Week Body Transformation. And I know you are all sitting there, on the edge of your seats, most probably the couch, just busting to find out how I'm going.

Well, I'll tell you! (because I'm good at sharing like that). I'm going really well. I have followed the menus pretty well - adding my calories to My Fitness Pal every day and (just about) not going over my allocated 1200 calories per day.

I am enjoying healthy, yummy, clean food every day:

Kanga meat pie!

Pancakes with yoghurt and berries!

Poached egg, ham, grilled tomatoes and rocket!

I am becoming much more aware of what I put in my mouth and how it is going to impact on my quest to lose weight.

I am dealing with "special occasions" better - work Christmas party becomes "treat night" and I save up calories in the day by not snacking and making better choices.

I am saying "no thankyou" to wine!! I know - I'm pretty shocked too. It's like Michelle says (wow, I really am sounding like a cult member, but so be it) "willpower is a muscle - the more you use it, the stronger it gets". I am able to include a glass (or two) of low alcohol wine into my daily calorie allowance on treat nights if I'm careful during the day. 

And I've followed my own (well, Michelle's again) very good advice and JFDI, despite the heat, in my training. Have not missed a day this week. Say it again, loud and proud - have not missed a day, people! Despite the heat and humidity which makes me look like a drowned rat, I've been pounding the pavement, planking the carpet and pulling-up the towels like there's no tomorrow! And I look like this when I'm done:

I love it when my face matches my top!
You can't see it well, but I was drenched!

I am a bit cross that my efforts do not ever burn the required 500 calories on weekdays and 1000 on Super Saturdays, but alas, despite running for nearly 5km in the heat I was only up to 500 calories! What is a girl to do? I'll just keep going and following the instructions and gradually building up my running - I DO NOT want to get injured again.

I'm also getting brave. This wonderful resource has been available to me for the whole time I've been writing this blog, but I've always been too chicken/self-conscious to use it:

Outdoor gym!

So I did a circuit of that based on my all-over body toning exercises after my long run. Max the dog kept me company and did not laugh at me, at all. 

I'm going well. I'm feeling so much better. A little tired from my early starts, but a 'good' tired from physical exertion. My mum reckons I look a little thinner - I love my mum! Still waiting for my clothes to start falling off me, but it will come. Yes it will.

So we go rum bum bum bum

Yeah we 'run run run run!'