I am one exhausted, but proud cookie...

There's something about having an exhaustion you've earned that is very satisfying, so it's a good tired!

My running programme today had me do a 5 minute brisk walk (I did it at 4km/hr) then running 90 secs, walking 90 secs, running 3 mins, walking 3 mins and then repeating that pattern again. Then to finish a 5 minute cool down, with stretches.

It really challenged me, but I was determined to do it. After the second 90 secs of running I needed to stretch my achilles a bit, as it was a bit tight, so I did that for about 30 secs and then resumed the walk before running the 3 mins again.

I feel really good about this, 2 weeks ago there's no way I could have done it. I feel like I'm on track too, I had thought this was a 10 week programme but I've scrolled through the programme on my phone and it's 8 weeks so I really want to stay up with the requirements and get to running 5km on time.

K

Mixed fortunes today... weigh in produced a bit of a disappointment - I'd put on 200g. On the plus side on Friday I'd put on 1.2kg, so I did well to get myself back on track fast. The good news is that I've still lost 2.8kg and 19cms from my overall measurements.

Todays exercise is 30 mins walking as it is really muggy and too hot to run!

Back into the running programme tomorrow and from what I can tell it starts to get interesting now... I SO want to do it!!

I found some very yummy Paleo diet recipes that will work for us as a family, so although I'm not following the diet as such, I'm introducing more "clean" eating to our diets to all be more healthy. I have to share tonights recipe because it is smelling AMAZING and I can't wait to eat it. I'm serving mine with brown rice, which I don't think is part of the Paleo plan, but I think it's a good healthier carb for us.

Coconut Milk Curry Chicken

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

o                                4 boneless chicken thighs

o                                1 sliced onion

o                                1 potato, cubed

o                                5 cloves of garlic chopped

o                                1 can of coconut milk (400ml)

o                                2 tbsp of curry powder

o                                2 tablespoons of butter

o                                Olive oil

o                                Salt, as desired 

Instructions

1.  Cut your potatoes up in to cubes, slice up your onions, chop up your garlic, and cut your chicken in to cubes.

2. In a large skillet, in low heat, heat up your butter. Once it melts, dump your curry powder in there.  Swirl it around until well blended.

3.   Add in the can of coconut milk.  Swirl it around.

4.  Keep the coconut milk blend heated up and in a separate skillet, sauté the garlic and the onions with the olive oil.

5. Once the onions are translucent, throw in the cubed chicken

6.  Once the meat is cooked very lightly, throw the cubed potatoes and the sauté chicken/onion/garlic mix in to the coconut milk/curry powder mix.  Mix it all together well, and turn the heat to high.  Once it starts simmering, lower the heat to medium low, and cover.

7.  Let it cook for about 30 minutes or when your chicken is cooked thoroughly (and try not to die of hunger with all that delicious coconut milk aroma in the air!).

K

I woke up today with a terribly sore lower back. It really hurt. I couldn't get comfortable and nothing seemed to relieve it.

Now, in the past something like this would have led to me making excuses as to why I should give exercise a miss, but not now! I put on my exercise gear and off I went. 

I did decide to take things a bit easier though, so it was just walking today. I did 30 mins at 4.8 kms/hr. My back has actually felt quite good ever since - so there you go...

Tomorrows weigh-in number 2 and I am a bit concerned, see I weighed myself on Friday and I know I have put on weight, blimmin yummy carbs grrr but I have made a concerted effort since Friday to eat better and exercise well, so the main thing this week will be to keep the focus and commitment and not be too upset with the result. I knew from the start this was going to be a long haul, not a quick fix.

K

Last day of my week 2 programme. Feels like an accomplishment to have got this far and it is becoming part of my day.

This morning I was so tempted to stay in bed, watch tv, read a book... but I didn't. I got up and got ready and went and completed my training.

Today was 90 secs of running and 2 mins of walking, repeated over 20 mins. By staying at 4.4km/hr I'm able to get into a comfortable rhythm and actually finish it without it being a struggle. I notice that starting next week things really get cranked up and varied so I am very hopeful I can get into a stride and complete that routine comfortably also.

I'm finding it easy to keep up my water intake, so that's good, but I am hungry.. that's more of a challenge, I have some nuts and dried fruits to help me with that but any hints of what I could do to keep the hunger at bay would be appreciated. 

I know it's probably a bit premature, but I already feel like my body feels different, and my skin feels better than it has done in a long time. I like these positive signs of progress, especially since I am a wee bit concerned that my increase of carbs this week may influence my weigh-in on Monday (I haven't over-eaten but with yummy ham in the house it's hard to resist a fresh bread ham sandwich, and new potatoes are so sweet this time of year...) back to more focussed eating tonight with a ham salad :)

K

Today I wanted to do a fitness check.

Last week I could run 60 secs but that was my limit, I was so grateful for the 90 secs walk to recover before the next run. This week has been 90 secs, with a 2 min walk to recover. Today I could run 3 1/2 mins, and I felt I could have kept going, but I wanted to pace myself so I could complete the whole 30 min work out. I was travelling at 4.4km/hr. 

I'm really happy with that. I carried on a mix of running and walking, and after 20 mins I moved over to the cross trainer and finished with 10 mins there at 21.5km/hr.

I found my i-pod so put it in the dock, cranked up the volume and rocked it in the garage which made the workout so much more fun!

I've been researching some clean eating plans and they seem quite do-able and tasty too, so I might start bringing more and more into our daily diet.

K

Well I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, I did, it was a quiet one but nice.

I did have a rest day from exercise, which I think was a good idea for my body after my workout the day before.

Because I wasn't exercising yesterday I did want to be careful about not overeating or over-indulging in alcohol, as I don't want to undo the hard work.

For the most part that was really easy, I made pretty good food choices and only ate enough - not over filling my plate, concentrating on the protein and limiting the carbs.

The challenge was limiting the alcohol - easy at home with my family, but out socially in the evening was more of a challenge, and I did drink more than I planned to. I did still only drink socially, but I have a way to go. I kept up with my water intake of 2 litres, so I was pleased with that.

The main thing is I haven't lost focus, in fact I have learned alot, I know where my challenges to success are. I am still determined to succeed, and to that end I was back into my programme today.

So day 2 of week 2, 90 secs of running and 2 mins of walking repeated over 20 mins. After Day 1's struggle my friend Fi suggested I slow down and concentrate on fitness rather than speed, so that's what I did and it was much easier to complete. I felt good, and really satisfied at the end. So, onwards and upwards..

K

Well what a day today's workout was!

I was back into the C25K running programme today for week 2 in the training. This involved a stretch to warm up, then a brisk 5 min walk, which I completed at 4km/hr today to start preparing for the running component to be at 5km/hr as that is going to be my goal, 5km in an hour, then eventually under an hour.

After the 5 mins walking I launched in 90 secs of running, up from last weeks 60 secs. Who would know that an extra 30 secs would be such a jump. It was. I had upped the speed too, so I'm sure that impacted, but the 90 secs really was hard going for me. I was so grateful for the 2 mins walking afterwards to recover before running again. After a few repetitions and before I was at 1/2 way I really wanted to cry. I was a bit overwhelmed, feeling tired and really scared I wasn't going to be able to finish. If I could have afforded the energy to cry I would have. Instead I put that energy into rising above it and making sure I completed it. In my head I saw those awful photos of me from the start of week 1. I want to make progress, and it's not going to happen if I don't push through this. This really is a head game. It would be easy to go, "it's too hard", but saying that isn't going to get me where I want to be.

I am proud that I completed it - the whole 20 mins of running and walking and then the cool down.

I was absolutely dripping afterwards, I grabbed a 1 l bottle of water and headed for the shower. It's now about an hour since I finished and I have a warm buzz in my muscles that kind of feels satisfying. This really is a journey - hills to climb and conquer and all..

K

Well this morning I mixed it up a bit,

Started with a good 5 mins of stretching as I've been feeling tightness in the achilles, knees and hips. It felt good to warm them up and get them going.

I jumped on the treadmill and walked for 10 mins, starting slow at 2.2kms/hr and getting up to 4.8km/hr by 3 mins. After 10 mins I checked my pulse and it was at 155. I then jumped on the crosstrainer and did 10 mins there, at 21 kms/hr. I discovered today that if I leaned back a little I took the pressure off my achilles, worked my arms more and felt more resistance in my thighs and stomach, so I think that must have been a more correct position, it certainly felt better and like I was working it more. I then went back on the treadmill for another 10 mins, but this time at 5kms/hr and that felt really good. I really swung my arms to get them going and I felt it in my lungs. It was good. I finished with a slow down walk and then stretched out, which felt SOOO good. Everything really felt like it worked hard today.

I could feel the lactic acid building in my legs at one stage and I visualised it as a fat fog I needed work through. The last 3 minutes of the workout I wanted to slow down, but I noticed that the pace matched the beat of "you got to move it, move it. you got to move it, move it" and that got me through lol

The big news today is that it was weigh-in day. Week 1 done and dusted and I lost 3kgs!!
I'm wrapt! I know this is week 1, and its expected because of losing water weight etc but what a wonderful motivator. It makes the past weeks effort all worth it, but it also makes me want to do it all again. I'm guessing a more realistic weight loss will be around 1kg a week, so I'm not setting myself up for a fall next week, any loss will be fantastic and will all count on this journey.

K 

Well in the end I did decide to have a rest day after all, mostly because I really don't want to get an injury from pushing myself too far too soon, this is going to be a lifestyle changing thing and there is time to pace myself and get it into my daily routine so that it's cemented. I don't want anything to get in the way and become an excuse for not doing it.

I have though watched what I've eaten and kept up my water intake.

For dinner I am slow roasting pork belly so the fat is rendered out and I will serve it with steamed asian greens and brown rice. VERY tasty and pretty good for my eating plan. Breakfast was an omelet with onion, tomato and lean cooked chicken and lunch was low-fat cheese on ryvita.

Tomorrow is my first weigh-in and measurements. I feel mixed emotions about it.. Excited, but a little nervous!

Ah well, what will be will be and to be honest regardless of the result I m just feeling great for having finally taken some control and started this - and I am overwhelmed by the support I have received, thank you, thank you all so much!

K

Today I completed day 3 of the running programme.

To be honest, it was a struggle. I usually don't eat before I exercise, but I've never been sure whether that was right or not, I've read conflicting info, anyway I have learnt that for me it's not advisable.

I'd finished breakfast around 30 - 40 mins before the exercise, but I felt sluggish and it was much more of an effort to run.

So today I began with some stretches, as my achilles felt a little tight. The last thing I want is an injury.... I then warmed up with 5 minutes of slow walking, increasing up to 4.6kms per hour. I then followed the programme - 60 secs running, 90 secs walking, for 20 mins. 

I had many moments today where I felt tired and contemplated walking rather than running, but I had a voice in my head telling me I'd only be cheating myself.. making that choice would only impact me and no-one else. I kept going through visualising what I wanted to achieve, giving up isn't going to get me there, it's not an option. So, I pushed through, and I feel proud that I did.

So that's week 1 of that programme completed. What a great feeling - even the fact that I have got off my backside everyday this week just feels fantastic. I was going to have tomorrow off, but to be honest I would miss it, and I am worried about losing momentum...

K

Todays workout consisted of a crosstrainer and treadmill mix again, 10 mins on each, alternating. 

It's interesting how quickly you can improve your fitness, on Monday when I first did this set I had to stop and catch my breath and let my legs recover every 2 - 3 mins. Today I could do it non-stop. The 3rd set was hard going though and I really had to push the boat out to keep going. I haven't been brave enough to reveal my weight yet, but suffice to say it's a fair haul I'm dragging behind me here, so it feels like such an achievement not to give up!

The other part I'm enjoying is that I feel like I've achieved something  and it's only early in the day, it sets the day up for me to get on and do things on my to-do list and then because I've got things done I can sit down at lunchtime and watch Emmerdale guilt-free...

One thing I am having to adjust to though is how manky exercise makes my hair... New haircut this week, looking glam, next morning, still looks glam, 30 mins of exercise, not even close to glam, a wilted wet, mess of frizz. Is this the sacrifice I am going to have to make? I guess so.

Well that's todays instalment. It is such an achievement for me to still be doing this after 5 days, I am usually looking for excuses by now, but instead I feel a determination.

Thanks for doing this with me

K

I am really concentrating on the exercise part of me losing weight, because I have never been an over eater really, in fact I skipped meals and that was much worse.

So Monday I warmed up with some stretches and got on the Cross-trainer for 10 mins, at a speed of 22kms per hour. I ten jumped on the treadmill for 10 mins walking at 4kms per hour and then finished back on the cross-trainer for another 10 mins - all up 7.2kms. 

Tuesday I began the C25K programme, which I downloaded at the suggestion of my friend Fi, and I'm so glad I did. It's a free app on my phone to help me learn to run. At the end of the 10 week programme you should be able to run 5km. Now I haven't run in a very long time - and even then it was not pretty... but I am managing to haul this plus size body into something that very closely resembles a run and I am so proud of that! The programme has me run for 60 secs and then walk for 90 secs, with a warm up and a cool down. As the programme goes on I will obviously develop more running than walking skills and will run and walk for longer. It's quite exciting, and it's achievable - just what I need!

Wednesday saw me back to the cross-trainer. Now the C25K programme says to have a rest day in between, so it was just a mild workout, combined with some vigorous rubber brushing of the carpet to get the cat fur off (that is definitely counted). I want to do something each day just to keep the momentum up, but I will go carefully.

Today (Thursday) I did the C25K programme again, same as Tuesday, warm up for 5 mins, I walked at 2.5kms per hour, increased to 3, then 3.5 during the 5 mins. Then I ran for 60 secs at 4.4kms per hour, then walked for 90 secs at the same speed. My cool down after I had completed 20 mins of those repetitions was 5 mins, decreasing the speed as I went.

Food -wise I have been ensuring I have a protein at each meal - so for example, in the morning I might have peanut butter on a ryvita cracker, lunch a tin of tuna with salad, and dinner a grilled chicken with salad and couscous..

I fill a 2 litre container of water and make sure I drink it each day too. 

Hopefully this kind of info may help others... or perhaps you can help me... but as this journey continues I anticipate things will get tough, there will be times I let myself down, there'll be successes... hey it's a journey :)

K

I am embarking on a journey..

On Monday I announced to the Facebook world that I was beginning down yet another road of weight loss.. I have been down this road many times, with very limited success, and over the past 3 - 4 years I have yo-yo'd in silence, not daring to tell anyone outside of my family that I was dieting or exercising, because deep down I knew I would fail. The only time this has ever worked for me was when I completed the Sureslim programme. I lost 25kgs, and while a bit has gone back on I have never returned to when I was at my biggest, the difference then was attitude, and having my head in the right place. And I guess that is what feel different this time too. My head feels ready. But I had to "out myself", make it public, because I need to have a resistance to give it away as soon as it gets difficult, or boring, and having people know will mean I will publicly fail if I lose my motivation, and I don't want to do that.

Over the past couple of weeks a couple of "signs" have been pointing at me. I was up late and watched a programme on Big Beautiful Women who are internet sensations and eat and perform fetishes for men. Look, I believe each to their own - and if they are happy, it is entirely their business and who am I to judge - but that was the first sign for me things needed to change. Secondly I saw another programme Extreme Makeover Weight Loss edition. The woman on this programme was given all the support and resources in the world and she threw it back in their faces. I felt so grumpy because if I had that level of support I would have embraced the opportunity. Finally, my friend has a daughter who is a personal trainer, she posted something on Facebook that just resonated with me - The only difference between FIT and FAT is I

In undertaking this journey I am not judging anyone else! We all come in different packages, we all have our reasons in life, and each of us are individuals.. This is about me, and how I feel about me. I'm not happy with my size, it doesn't mean I look at anyone else this size and judge - I love my friends regardless of size! It's just that I need to do this.

The response to my announcement has blown me away! My Facebook friends have been SO encouraging, supportive and motivating, sending private messages and texts and posting on my wall. I humiliated myself and put up photos in my exercise gear.. not my finest hour - but I want to be able to post progress photos and eventually look at them and know I succeeded. I feel a bit sick about them being on there.. but once again I have had such lovely comments and encouragement that I feel supported as I embark on this journey. Have you ever wondered about turning up at your funeral to see who cared enough to be there?? Well this is a much nicer feeling than that - I have had a window into the people who care about me this week and I haven't had to go to the awful inconvenience of dying! 

SO - I am doing this for me - but I have such an awesome support crew behind me - from so many places in the world, that I'm doing it for them too!!

K