Tentative Success (HJ)

I nearly didn't weigh and measure today.

I was fairly certain that the numbers were going to be the reverse of happy, due to the fact that this week my body has been giving me 'stop' signs and so I've not rowed. Which means that I haven't been able to control my food intake as well as I ought (though not as bad as last week), and don't feel like walking (which I should have been doing and have no excuse save "couldn't be bothered"). No exercise means not sleeping well (broken sleep and stupid dreams), which in turn means not feeling very strong and so the downward spiral continues. Girly hormones don't help either.

However, I did weigh in - a last minute, about to put my clothes on after my shower, and changed my mind. And I feel better having done it.

I've lost 600 grams since last week. This is good.
That's a total of 7.1 kg (or 15.6 pounds) since October.
(Or a total total loss of 9.1 kg if you count all the bits I've taken off, put on, and taken off again - but somehow I don't think that counts)

This maybe just enough to get me back in the right headspace to get me to my next goal, which happens to be my stalling weight (you know, the weight you get to, feel good, and lose motivation to continue?).

I also bought stationery. For someone who has a stationery fetish (pretty paper; a good, well balanced pen; new writing pads; index cards of different colours, etc - never go with me to Office Works!) this is a great non-food treat. A beautiful new, fresh exercise book in which to record what I'm eating. Hopefully the thought of writing down everything I eat will make me start thinking about what I'm eating again. Elimination diet died before Christmas and hasn't been resurrected entirely yet. So the main purpose is to record food and medications compared with any allergy reactions. But I'm still hoping that it will make me think about what I'm eating.

"Once more into the breach, my friends..."

The Sauna Effect (Femina)

It's been 42+ degrees here for the last few days and I've been complaining about it constantly - on my blog, on Facebook, on the phone, over email, in real life... I don't want anyone to miss out on the fun!

I have, however, just found one (ONE!) good thing about the heat. I weighed myself this morning and I'm a kilo lighter than the last time I weighed. I'm pretty sure that's a kilo of sweat - and I didn't even have to exercise! Whether it will stay off when things cool down is another matter entirely, of course...

So anyone who wants to lose some weight, head on down to Melbourne! And stay with me in my non-air-conditioned house... weight loss is guaranteed! :D

.

Weigh-In Thursday (Givinya)

I didn't dream about weighing in, I just did it in real life! 66.8 kg! This means I'm pretty much holding my weight, despite Thingamababy and all the associated fatnesses in various spots! Yay!

This is usual for me in pregnancy:

Step 1: Gain baby and lose fat.
Step 2: Give birth and look awesome.
Step 3: Eat a whole lot of unwise stuff and start resembling Mrs Flushpool: "a collection of plastic bags half-filled with water."

Please may Operation Skinny Cow still be around for me in the second half of 2009. That's when the rubber will hit the road.

Weigh-In Wednesday (Manda)

Last week: 71.3

This week: 71.9

Change: a gain of .6

Total loss so far: a loss of 4.1

Nnngggg. Gotta bother more! No giving up.

On the upside, I am feeling really good about my weight at the moment. Since that is half the battle for me (or so I have just decided), I'm going to be happy about that. 

1 forty-degree day down

3 to go

If I live, I'll see you next Wednesday.

No-Weigh Wednesday (Givinya)

Last Time: I told you I was pregnant and so the Weighing-In was coming off the rails.
This Time: Swimming shorts much tighter, torso resembles mountain of lard, but legs, neck and face seem leaner. Dysmorphic, but not unexpected.
Last Night's Dream: I dreamed that I weighed in once I woke up (my subconscious knew it was Wednesday) and I was 73 kg. A gain of some horrible number of kilos.
When I actually woke up: I forgot to weigh in.

Weigh-In Wednesday (Eizelby)

Two weeks ago: 73kg

Today: 71.9kg

So: A loss of 1.1kg

I'm pretty happy with this, and quite surprised, since the last time I weighed myself (last Wednesday night, after a week of being extremely naughty at the so-called "large camp" Manda and I were at), I was at 74.3.  I don't quite understand how my weight can fluctuate so much as this, depending on what I eat and how many times I go to the toilet it can be almost a kilo in difference!  So I don't really know what to believe.  But I don't mind the stat above, so who am I to question it?  I'll save that for when it says I've put on two kgs in one day. :)

How am I going with the plan so far?

For the first week I was on here, I immediately set off for a summer camp where I looked after some little kids for a week.  Not the most lazy holiday one can imagine!  However, I was eating a LOT, and not getting my regular walk in, so by the end of the second day I was already feeling very heavy.  Luckily, that was just when the weather got nicer, and we started swimming in the ocean and the pool for the last few days, and I limited myself to only two deserts per day.  I know, I'm wonderful at the whole self-restriction thing ...

I haven't gone to the gym yet.  Saturday morning pump class shall be an eye-opener to say the least.  I plan on going to the pool today or tomorrow (or both), and the weather will certainly be a motivator in that!

Okay, now that I've weighed myself, time for breaky!

Mea Culpa (HJ)

I accuse myself of eating everything that I saw for a few days recently...


As a result my weigh in was not really a supportive, affirming, friendly event that will sustain my good intentions into next week.


A 900g gain.


The only good thing about it is that I didn't bounce back to that large round number that I never, ever want to reach again.


Well, I told myself that I wasn't planning to lose much in January (as a result of the Christmas pig-out) so maybe that was a self-fulfilling prophecy.


Must get back on the band wagon. I think that when I go back on the Elimination Diet next week that I will start losing again just because it cuts out the junk food and bakery options.

Weight that goes on quickly, comes off quickly...

Weight that goes on quickly, comes off quickly...

Weight that goes on quickly, comes off quickly...

Weight that ...

Weigh-In After Camp and the part of my brain sitting in the corner (Manda)

Last week: 72
This week: 71.3
Change: a loss of .7
Total loss so far: a loss of 4.7 kilos

Note: I'm almost at 5 kilos, which is my next reward point.

Did I achieve my goal (eating good portions and lots of vegies, being sensible with my sugar)? Not exactly. My portions were pretty good but I also ate every time we were served dessert (once at dinner, once at supper) and lots of cordial.

About halfway through I realised my subconscious had its own mission all along - to eat as much as everyone else was eating. It was amazing how quickly I gave up on the sugar-limiting, but on the other hand, I wasn't bothered by it as I needed to drink something, and cordial was what we had.

So on one hand, Naughty Subconscious! And Naughty Conscious for not bothering to regulate it! Go and sit in the corner for one minute until you are ready to apologise.

On the other - hooray! I got through camp without superbingeing, and I didn't make my diet an obsession that made me hard to live with for a week.

Now back on the conscious-horse.

Why-Not-Weighing-In Wednesday? (Givinya)

Because I am pregnant of course.

You'll remember when I started saying I was drinking lots and lots and lots of water? That was when I finally worked out that there was a little Thingamababy there who was going to stuff up all my Operation Skinny Cow efforts, one way or the other.

In my last two pregnancies, I have lost fat and gained baby. I have never looked so damn fine as when I was pregnant, but this time, my nausea hasn't made me vomit or stop eating. In fact this time around I have been craving and eating and yeah worrying about everything else that is going on right now.

So I might not end up looking so fine as I did last two times. I don't really care. There was a time when my main goal was to lose weight. Now my aim in life is to get through the next 6 months in one piece.

So here are the vital stats:

Last weigh-in: can't remember
Today's weight: couldn't care less
This week's goal: get my husband to decide on how and when to move, so I know what to actually DO.

I'm not much fun at Skinny Cow am I? I wonder if I can find you a funny picture to make up for that ...

Weigh In Wednesday (Femina)

Last week: 74.5
This week: 75.0

Gain: 500g

Truly, I am at a loss. I'm more than willing to accept the consequences of food blowouts but this is a mystery to me because I've been pretty good this week. I've been to the gym twice - and worked hard while I was there - plus I spent most of Sunday walking. I wasn't power walking but even so I was on my feet and moving for most of the day. And many salads have been consumed.

I can only assume this is a previous bad food/no exercise week coming back to haunt me. Or my body has gone into shock because my holidays are finally over.

I'm baffled, but I'll keep doing what I've been doing and hopefully next week will be better.

.

I'm off picking mangoes... (HJ)

... so I can't weigh in.

I'll also miss a couple of rowing sessions and won't be walking much (except around the plantation to pick gorgeous, round, yellow and red, sweet-smelling mangoes). Yep. Sitting in a car all day. Great for Skinny Cow purposes.

Sorry that you got all excited and came over to this blog for no reason. Except to see that I've finally learnt how to schedule posts, which is almost as impressive as losing a couple of kilos, really.

See you same time, same place next week (when I hopefully should have reached my next goal - fingers crossed).

Newcomer alert! (Eizelby)

Hello!  I've been following this blog for some time now and only recently worked up the courage to ask to be involved.  So here I am, my name is Eizelby here because that is what I signed myself up as, and I'm an obsessor.  Obsessive?  I'm obsessed with stuff.  I obsess about the things I love in life, and I also obsess about what I don't like about myself.  I recognise that this is unhealthy, but it's not easy to change the mentality I have had for my entire life.

By way of introduction, I'll conveniently list some things you should know about me before we get started:

 

I am not a gym person.

I don't like to sweat in public.

 

I stress eat.

But don't we all?  Problematically, the thought of not eating makes me stressed, which makes me eat more.  So "diets" never work, as I always end up eating MORE than I would if I were not on a diet.

 

I don't drive.

So the process of getting to the gym is a major factor in my long list of reasons to not go.  But it does mean I have to walk a lot more than I would if I had auto transport, so that's at least a plus.

 

My favourite foods are spaghetti and whipped cream.

Clearly not the easiest tastes to accommodate when trying to live a healthier lifestyle.  And yes, I consider whipped cream a food in its own right.

My family is no help whatsoever.

Except for Manda, a member of this very bovine blog!  We were raised on McDonalds and Coca Cola.  I'm moving back home come the end of January, back into the land of the candy-coated kitchen and food-filled fridge, so I'm going to have to find some inner strength to resist.  I have no doubt weighing myself weekly and publicly will help in this matter!  I'll also be depending on prayer.

I have lost weight before.

My BMI was 25 when the doctor told me to lose weight for medical reasons.  So I was technically in the healthy weight range, but we needed to see if a certain issue I have would change if I lost a few kilos.  I did, it didn't.  The weight came back, and brought some friends along with it.

 

The Stats:

Current measurements: 168cm tall, weigh 73kg and am a size 12 top and 12/14 bottom.

Goal weight: I'm going with 65, because that is the weight I was in March last year and I felt comfortable (and was certainly in the 'healthy range') at that weight.

The Plan:

Gym workout: Once a week, if I can force myself.  I think I'll need to find a gym buddy.

Pool swimout: Also once a week. This will be much easier to convince myself to go, as I love swimming.

Not eat crap all the time: I'll have to reteach myself that sugary snacks before lunch, after lunch, before dinner and after dinner aren't necessary.  My special medical issue means I should be on some kind of low-GI eating thing.  I should look into that.

Go for walks: Last year, I taught myself to love walking.  Let's aim for one half-hour walk a day.

The Rewards:

I was going to reward myself every time I went down a BMI rating, but now that I'm intent on losing an even number of kilos, I might as well just have my rewards as such:

2kg down: I'll go see a movie all by myself ... I've never done that and I kind of really want to!

4kg down: I'm going to get a pedicure.

6kg down: I'll treat myself and a friend to a nice (healthy!) dinner.

8kg down: I'm not sure yet - it seems so far away!

Weigh-in... whatever (Femina)

Last week: 75.3
This week: 74.5
Loss: 800g

When I weighed myself earlier in the week I'd lost a full kilo but it's been 38 degrees here and I think I've drunk about 15 litres of water in the last two days so that may be affecting things! :)

The hot weather also affected my ability to go to the gym. The gym itself is airconditioned but what I didn't factor in was that on Tuesday it was 30 degrees at 10am, the gym is part of the aquatic centre and it's school holidays. There was NO parking, not even in surrounding streets. So I haven't been since Saturday but the weather has cooled down now so I'll try to go again tonight. I'm feeling enthusiastic about the gym again and that's a very good thing. I'm also back at work this week so I'm trying to bring my lunch from home and not buy muffins and other goodies in my lunch break.

I'm inching along slowly but I'll get there...

Weigh-In Wednesday (Manda)

Last week: 71.6
This week: 72.0
Change: a gain of .4
Total loss so far: 4 kilos

Ahh, well.

What I did last week: Ate a lot.
What I'll do this week: Eat a lot of vegetables and use portion-control as I'm at a large camp all week, working really hard and eating prepared food. I'll also be sensible about my sugar.

Please pray for me!

Or don't - perhaps I'm just being a sook. In that case, feel free to pray that I am not so sooky at camp. And that I don't give up in the middle and eat three desserts per meal...

Back in the Saddle Again (HJ)

Okay my little Bovine Bloggy Buddies, I have good news that will bring great joy to all mankind... or, well... I found it quite good and encouraging.

Christmas weight is officially gone, and took some friends with it.

Loss this week: 1.4 kg
Loss since the 20 December (i.e. last weigh-in before Christmas): 0.3kg
Total loss: 7.4 kg

Amount to lose before hitting my next goal: 0.6 kg.
I'm the lightest I've been since March 2006, and only 0.6 of a kg stands between me and that weight.
Chances that I'm going to try very hard to get there this week?

... Approximately None!

Virtual weight loss model

I was put onto this cute Virtual Weight loss model by "Mummy" over at her weight loss blog The Amazing Shrinking Mummy.

You input your current weight, start weight and goal weight, and there is a virtual mini (or not so mini) you picture. Once the weights are in , you can see a before, current and goal virtual you picture.

http://cosmetic-makeovers.com/

http://cosmetic-makeovers.com/2006/09/21/a-virtual-model-for-weight-loss

It's in pounds, so you have to convert it, but I thought it was something fun to play around with. You can add it to your side bar to show the world if you are comfortable with that, or leave it in your gooogle page just for you. Or you could be mean and use it backwards and put someone else's name on it..... "What "Miss know it all" would look like after 3 kids..."

The Zone... I found it! (Femina)

I went to the gym this morning. Usually I start with ten minutes on the bike and do fifteen minutes on the cross-trainer (which is an instrument of torture that looks like this).  Actually I quite like it - it's kind of like being on a treadmill but there's no impact, and if you hold the big tall handles, which move back and forth with your stride, you can exercise your arms as well.  I find it gives a better cardio workout than the bike.  So... I like the cross-trainer but fifteen minutes is my limit.

Today I arrived at the gym and discovered a friend was there working out on the cross-trainer. I decided to start with that instead of the bike so I could say hello to her and have a quick chat while I still had the breath to do so.  We chatted, she finished on her cross-trainer, I kept going.  And kept going.  And kept going for THIRTY MINUTES.  I hadn't intended to... I got to fifteen and thought, "I'll see if I can get to seventeen" and then thought, "Well, I might as well go to twenty".  Then my plan was to go to 25 and not use the bike, so I'd be getting the same amount of cardio... and once I was there it was easy to make it to 30 minutes.  I was in The Zone.

All in all, I'm feeling super-smug right now - partly because I can feel it was a good, solid workout, and partly because I pushed myself past what I thought was my limit... and I came through.

Having said that, I won't be doing 30 minutes every time... it hurts! :)

Weigh-In Wthursday (Manda)

Two weeks ago: 72.6

This week: 71.6

Change: a loss of 1 kilo

Total loss so far: 4.4 kilos

It's impossible. There is no way I lost a kilo! And I'm not being modest, as you will see:

After Christmas, I went to Lorne for a beach mission. (Which was fantastic, by the way). Beach mission = full cream milk, snacking on chockies, yummy-but-fatty-and-cheesy lunches and dinners (fatty by my standards), and late-night sausages. Yes, it also means a lot more activity in the form of walking, carrying things, setting things up, etc... but I ate so much! (Perhaps I left out the two massive ice-cream-plus-lollies-mixed-togethers?)

I'm thinking it could be muscle mass, as I haven't been to pump for 2.5 weeks. I suppose we'll get a better idea once I'm back at the gym for a bit... so stay tuned.

Weigh-In Wednesday (Femina)

I haven't been game to weigh myself since Christmas... because I know what I've eaten. Cake for breakfast? Sure! Crisps for lunch? Why not! However, it's been two weeks so I can't hide any longer.

I've put on a kilo. *wince*

This week (actually from last Saturday) is when I started to make a proper effort to get back on track after Christmas, which either means the result would have been a lot worse last week OR the result will be better next week. Maybe both. I'm feeling better physically this week for the exercise I've done so hopefully next week's results will reflect that.

Given my Christmas/New Year/I'm-on-holidays-from-work blowout I'm actually kind of glad it wasn't worse... but I'm still not updating my ticker!

Weight loss ticker

Hi all. I just wanted to let you know about a site called Ticker Factory. It was originally a fertility/pregnancy site for people to count down to the birth of their child but the tickers are multi-purpose so you can count down to any event. They also have a weight-loss ticker, where you can create the ticker, put it on your blog or webpage and click back on it to update your stats every time you weigh yourself. And the good news is, you DON'T have to display your weight on your blog. You can just show the amount you want to lose and how far along you are towards your goal. Oh, and you can add in retrospective weigh-ins so if you set it up now it will show your weight loss to date.

I've added it to my blog (towards the bottom of the page) if you want to see what it looks like.

Eat-aholics Anonymous (HJ)

My name is Jenny, and I'm an eat-aholic.

Yes, after doing pretty well over Christmas I truly fell off the wagon during our little New Year break. I went from eating the occasional nice thing because I knew I would enjoy it, to eating pretty much anything in sight (or that I knew was hiding in the fridge or cupboard) because it was there.

I did not call my sponsor, I willingly chose to eat. Everything.

The wake-up call (AKA this week's results):

This week: 1 kg gain
The last two weeks total: 1.1 kg gain
Total loss that I'm holding onto: 6 kg

The worst thing - remember the large round number I was never going to see again? Currently sitting right on it.

The depressing thing - I now have 2 kg to get to my next goal.

The best thing - Weight that comes on quickly will go off quickly. Hopefully I'll be back on the right track next week.

This will require energy, enthusiasm, and motivation. I'm not certain I currently possess any of those things. I did it to myself. Now I need to undo the results of it. *Big Sigh*

Unless someone else has snuck in another post while I've been writing, this is the 100th Skinny Cow Post. Are we prolific or what?