Not too shabby (HJ)

And so this was Christmas *humming and swaying gently*

Even though I seem to have had a low spot, there were three days I didn't row and the not-so-brilliant eating has continued. I've also turned the whole house into a factory for a specific on-going project (that I will blog about elsewhere when I'm done - if it's ever done) and there isn't room in my loungeroom to Zumba right now.

It is with great relief that I announce the following results:

Weight:
This week: 77.0kg
Last week: 77.0kg
Change: Approximately nothing
Total Loss: 4.0kg

Waist:
This week: 94cm
Last week: 93.5cm
Change: 0.5cm GAIN made up of corn chips, ice cream and caramel fudge
Total Loss: 5.0cm

I'm happy not to have put on anything since my last official weigh-in, and it's not a bad place to start for the new year. I reckon at a rate of about 1kg a month, I should get back to 68kg by the end of September. 9kg = 9 months. *Big sigh*

So, I will row. I will generally eat better (and I really ought to get myself a specific eating plan - it might help). And those are not New Year's resolutions, because I've already been doing them. Hopefully this means I won't fail in the first 2 weeks!

howdy girls Le

So here we are and 2011 is about to be a reality. I applaud all your efforts. Mine have been sporadic in the few 'good times' and dismal non existent majority. But today I went for a walk ... in the morning. It was nice. So with 12 months and 28 days before I turn 45 I am going to have to get jiggy and move my butt. Best to you all, Le

Not a weigh in LLL

As you see this is not a weigh in. I know what damage my eating has done. OK. I am today 700g heavier and going down. You see it is going down, now that I am back to almost normal eating. I still have that much to lose but the food was good and the company was good. The extra blow out didn't happen, as the family party was washed out and none of the travellers could get here, so that was a non event.

All that over and now back to the grind of going down.

I do allow myself a little of what I shouldn't eat and it seems to be forgiving and I still lose. So that is all for today, we are still deciding if we are going away today.

Til next time.

What the? (HJ)

Just had to post this.

Checked my weight to see what the damage was for the last couple of days.

76.8kg

Like a loss of 200g from Friday.

Not game to make it best out of three.

Sorry to make you all ill, but I've had so little success overall that I need to brag about SOMETHING!

Glowing like a pig (HJ)

I don't know if anyone else was raised on old fashioned sayings.

Ever heard the one, "Horses sweat, men perspire, and ladies glow"?

Definitely glowing like a pig, here.

I've been doing my 40mins base exercise on the rowing machine each day.

I've been slotting in Zumba afterwards when I have time.

My exercise clothes are almost wringing wet at the end of that little session.

TMI?

I have also walked the LBD a couple of times.

And I've eaten lots of chocolate.

So with my luck of late I wasn't anticipating great things.

Weight:
Last week: 77.7kg
This week: 77.0kg
Change: 700g LOSS
Change when ignoring last week's spike: 400g LOSS
Total loss: 4.0kg LOSS

Waist:
Last week: 94.5cm
This week: 93.5cm
Change: 1.0cm LOSS
Total loss: 5.0cm LOSS

...and tomorrow is Christmas Day.

Chance for a loss next week?

Err... oops (Emily Sue)

Yeah, so remember that awesome exercise routine I had going?

And remember the weeks of healthy eating?

Remember that?

Oh, you DO remember? That's great...

...because I don't.
.

Darn (GdeE)

I am totally failing at this cheese thing.  I might adopt Jen's policy and say that it's healthy.  Only that's what got me in my current Cheese Predicament - hopelessly addicted to cheese.

The year that was. LLL

I will be away next week so this is my only chance for a review. I started the year weighing about 72.5kg, you notice the about, the numbers were too bad and the measurements that went with it were equally bad, so I didn't record or plan to remember them.

As holidays were approaching I planned to get fit. So many times I had tried to lose weight and only managed to add more, so this was a change. I started getting fit to climb 282 steps, that was the challenge. Well I had lost approx 1.5kg and could climb 300 steps and was doing well, when I encountered a dog. Gone were any steps let alone 282 and I spent about 5 months sitting. I tried to watch what I ate and hoped to maintain the loss. I did.

When I started exercising my leg slowly at first I found to my surprise that again my weight was going down. I did have a couple of trips away that messed it up but by the time I joined you skinny cows I had lost another 1kg. So for the year that gave me a 2.5kg approx start.

I know you have been watching my loss since then, so today the scales played my game. They read today 66.7kg. That is a loss of .8kg in 2 weeks. That also explains why the scales had trouble last week, I have had 2 losses so that means a bounce up also.

So for this year I have lost about 5 1/2kg. I am surprised and happy with that as I spent so much time sitting.(and I still am, my leg is presently up on the chair beside me).

I would like to think that this time next year I will be where I want to be. I know I had said that I would think about 60kg, but I have now decided that I should aim for 55kg.

So that is me for the year. I am not going to allow Christmas to blow me out although a trip away for a few days may be bad, the family load on carbs and that is bad for me. So I may have to keep off the carby food and stay hungry.

I wish you all the best of the season, and may you not have heavy problems in the next week. Think skinny and see if it works.

I will see you all again in the new year.

Christmas Food (GdeE)

Hey Skinny Cowgirls!

What are you planning for Christmas lunch?  By the sounds of my family Christmas on the 25th and the in-laws' Christmas on the 26th, it won't be a huge blowout like I've been expecting.

Cold chicken and ham, salads, breads, fruit, BBQ chicken & veggie kebabs, warm pasta salad and a packet of licorice - that's what my two families have been promising.  Sounds manageable!

What are you planning?  Healthy stuff, unhealthy stuff, half-and-half, or a huge blowout and hang the consequences?  All approaches are fine by me!  I'd be  interested to hear!

Cheeseless (GdeE)

This all-or-nothing thing is working pretty well!  I think if someone offered me some dip right now, I'd feel ill.  I was thinking of a cheese ball the other day (usually I can't get enough of the cheese ball!) and I thought, "Yuck.  No way."  For someone with no self-control, suddenly finding that you don't like food like dip and cheese balls is a huge boost to the diet!

My recent decision not to have sugar in my tea was prompted because in the week leading up to the decision, I had rapidly increased my cups of tea to maybe five per day.  This was previously unheard of for me, and I think the rapid increase in tea-chugging was due to a strong desire for the sugar.  As soon as I cut sugar out, I didn't feel like tea much.  Now, I am having a cup every two or three days and the rest of the time I am enjoying more water.

I know that this was never a choice I'd make for ever.  I only said I'd do it for the six weeks leading up to Christmas, but that time is nearly over and that makes me sad.  I've enjoyed these changes!

But I might not enjoy yesterday's new rule!

Take my affinity for dip, and multiply it by a Big Number.  That's my affinity for cheese.  I've always loved cheese.  I eat too much cheese, particularly on crackers for morning or afternoon tea (curse morning and afternoon tea!  I never used to chug calories mid-morning and mid-afternoon the way I do now!  I reluctantly introduced M & A Tea because of my children's need to eat more often, but it's not good for me!)

I am half a step away from having an all-or-nothing rule allowing myself only Zero-Points Weight Watchers food only.  We have heaps growing in our garden and it tastes great!

For this last week leading up to Christmas however, I am going to have no cheese on crackers or bread.  I don't think it's reasonable to cut it out of cooking altogether (imagine a risotto without parmesan!) but I will certainly have no cheese in those high calorie, high-fat M & A Tea snacks.

Today I gave my girl crackers with cheese and tomato.  There was a time when I would have thought that without the cheese, it wasn't worth eating, but today I had crackers and tomato only, and yum!  Less cheese is totally doable.  So I shall do it.

Maybe after Christmas, I'll have a Zero-Points Morning and Afternoon Tea Policy?  The Christmas Elf is giving me some bathroom scales that work, and I'd be interested to see if they record any change in the future, despite my insistent unbelief in the myth of weight loss.

Onwards and cheeseless.

And so it goes (HJ)

This week I had a secret exercise plan.

I bought the Zumba videos (largely with my play money), and have backed a session onto the 40 mins rowing on at least three occasions this week.

I figured backing them on meant that my heart-rate was already at fat burning stage, so that I would be doing wonders for weightloss this week.

And despite missing one row this week, I figured I'd done enough to cover for the few naughties that snuck in due to shopping trips to neighbouring large centres.

Plus if there is any week in the month I'm likely to have a big drop, this was it. So it was with great hopefullness that I stepped on the scales this week.

Weight
Last week: 77.4kg
This week: 77.7kg
Change: 0.3kg GAIN
Total Loss: 3.4kg

Waist
Last week: 95cm
This week: 94.5cm
Change: 0.5cm LOSS
Total Loss: 4.5cm (and my clothes were so tight when I started that they're not even falling down yet, although they are getting a little loose.)

I'm a bit peeved. But although I've been regular with me exercise, I haven't been particularly good with what I've been eating. So I guess I shouldn't be surprised, right?

Trying to hold onto the fact that I'm feeling stronger, and I can touch my toes more easily than I could at 16. That's got to be an improvement.

And one day the muscle I've been working on will start burning fat while I'm at rest, right? (Although at this point I'd like it if it would burn fat while I was exercising.)

Love to you all,
One seriously irritated equine-lover.

Confusion, Loony Lace Lady

I am confused with what my scales are telling me. Today they couldn't make up their tiny electronics what I weighed. It flashed from .1 to .4 with of course a 67 in front. So all I can say is that I will claim a loss. Yesterday they were quite sure it was .1 and I know that my weight fluctuates so who knows. Maybe next week they will be more sure. What I do know is that I am eating less and exercising more and My Man is losing weight, so he tells me it is working and I should keep up the good work. How fair is that?

I have also noticed now that my 20 min walk now takes me 16 mins, so maybe that needs to be lengthened, I can add another 3 sides of a block and that is the limit. I have no desire to walk around twice.

One more weigh in before the eating blow out called Christmas, although we are not planning a big eat fest, we decided that we all need to watch what we eat so healthy food will be on the menu with just a few extras.

I am also at the end of parties etc and so for the next week I should be able to eat what I choose. Oh I just remembered, we are taking a mobile birthday party to Toowoomba tomorrow. Oh boy.

A Strategy for Christmas Parties (GdeE)

Oops, I forgot to post last Saturday.  Not because I'd had a massive blowout and was ashamed, just because I couldn't think of anything to completely cut out until Christmas.

Since last weekend though I have had blowouts and I blame that horrid guy in the red suit.  Usually described as fat and jolly, he will stop at nothing to make me fat and grumpy.

Since 13 Nov I have had no dip, since 20 Nov I have had no sugary drinks and since 27 Nov I have had no sugar in my tea.  (I can't handle coffee without sugar, so I've pretty much cut out coffee altogether.)

Then this Tuesday there was a break-up at Playgroup.  I ate some party food (not in contravention of my recent policies) but I still felt bad.

The next day, a small person had a birthday party and I felt a bit like a failure from the day before, so I ate dip.  Dammit.  Lots and lots and lots of yummy dip.  Do you recall how I said I have absolutely no self-control when it comes to dip?  Uh.  Yeah.  Man, it was good dip.

Now, I hear you thinking that one day of blowing out on dip wasn't all that bad, but the whole idea of short-term, hard-line rules is that I have none (it's only until Christmas for goodness' sake!) and since the blowout, I have been craving food that my body had previously forgotten to crave!

So.  Bad.

But also: good!  I have unwittingly given up my nightly ritual of sitting at my computer consuming a cup of tea (with sugar) and a few (too many) pieces of chocolate.  This has come about since Emily Sue recommended Lipton's Cranberry, Raspberry and Strawberry herbal tea.  I usually can't stand herbals but this one has a lovely aroma and a not-all-that-poisonous taste, so I've been enjoying that instead.  And when I have the tang of the cranberry in my mouth and that nice warm full feeling of a cuppa in my tummy, I really don't feel like putting chocolate through my system.  I currently have Toblerone, Double-Coat TimTams and Mint Slice biscuits in my fridge (darn that man in red) but I'm not eating any.  I just don't feel like it.

Who knew that would happen?

So.  It's Saturday again.  Today I will re-instate a rule that worked very well for me at a party once.  Since there are celebrations and parties springing up everywhere, each holding kilograms of temptation for me, I will allow myself to eat ANYTHING ... but only one of each thing on the table.  A plate of Tim Tams?  Sure, but only one.  Some delicious quichey thing topped with cheese?  Great, but only one.  A bowl of chips?  Poor baby, only one.  I am sure I will live.

I wish I'd made that rule LAST Saturday.  Many Cheezels wouldn't have been eaten by me.

--------------------------------------------------
A word about my scales: A few months ago, they were zeroing at anywhere between 2kg and 10kg, giving me inflated readings.  Now, they are zeroing at 11kg to 20kg, which gives one quite a shock when one steps on.  I believe I weigh about 67kg, having been 64kg after the baby Joseph was born.  The scales can give readings of, for example, 84kg on a Skinny Day.  I have spoken to a Christmas Elf about it (not the man in red himself, we're hardly on speaking terms after this blog post.)

Weigh in (Emily Sue)

Before getting to the actual weight details I'd like to brag about the exercise I've been doing. I have done some exercise every single day for the past 23 days. Most days this has involved getting out of bed at 5.30am. Admittedly, on Friday I only managed 5 minutes of a workout before my body decided it wasn't going to happen, but I did go for a walk later in the day.

I have also just re-started C25K with a friend. We finished Week 1 this morning. When I did it last time (although I only got to Week 5 before injury struck) I was doing it on my treadmill. Now I'm doing it outside and it's a whole different ball game. Harder in some ways, easier in others. Definitely easier to be doing it with a friend.

So, today's weigh in:

Last week: 70.2kg
Today: 69.7kg
Difference: 500g
Running total: 7.3kg... which means I only have 400g to go before I've lost 10% of my starting weight. Hopefully that will be next week... fingers and toes crossed.

I don't think I've been under 70kg in about 5 years at least (probably more) so I am feeling very happy today. I know I'm only JUST under it but who cares? Under is under.
.

shock, Loony Lace Lady

Well this has been a bad week. Saturday night was a 3 course meal, when you have already paid a high price you must eat everything and not waste any money. It was a good meal and lovely company so that was an accounted for blowout.

Monday morning we heard that we had (at last 8 days late) a new granddaughter. Well we had to visit as soon as possible. So Tuesday we headed up there for a visit. We met No1 granddaughter and son for lunch, a treat for Miss Muffett at McDonalds, now there isn't much that a wheat intolerant person can eat. So fries it was and coffee. Then for dinner we had never had the gourmet pizza. So that was the menu, remember I watch carbs. So that was overload for the day. Oh I didn't mention gelati did I? Caloundra has the best place we have ever found so it is a must for each visit.

Wednesday night was a wonderful Thai place with noodles and of course the gelati shop followed, so you can see that my week has been a food nightmare. To counteract all that the exercise has been non-existant. Unless you count walking to the gelati shop.

I thought a couple of days to settle before weighing would be good, but decided this a.m. to see how much settling was needed. This is where the shock comes in, I have, would you believe, LOST 200g for the week. Now how did that happen? Must have been left over from the previous exercise.

So that takes me to 67.5kg. Walking will resume as of today. My leg has also been telling me that I haven't walked and has been sore again.

So that is where I am for this week.

I want my armpits back! (HJ)

Do you remember being a kid and how your armpits used to be... well... pit-like? There used to be a hollow there, I'm certain.

So I'm a little irritated that despite the amount of work I've been doing, there is a hanging bulge of soft flesh under my arms instead of a hollow. I want my armpits back!

This was the week that my rowing got back up to 40 mins. This is my goal, to row for 40 mins as many mornings as I can. There was one morning I needed to stop at 30 due to needing to get to something on time, and not having been able to drag myself out of bed early enough to achieve a full 40 mins. But apart from Sunday (the designated no-row day) I have rowed each morning.

I was particularly proud of myself yesterday morning, because I felt grotty and didn't want to row. I told myself I'd just do 20 mins of easy rowing and see if I loosened up. Although I didn't hit my record stroke rate, I did end up doing the whole 40 mins - and felt better for having done it.

It's interesting that I'm more proud of my performance on Thursday, when Wednesday was really the highlight in so far as rowing acheivement. It was Wednesday I managed to complete 1400 strokes in my 40 mins (okay, so I did an extra 20 seconds in order to get the round number!), and I hit an all time high in one of my scramble-as-fast-as-I-can-go-for-5-mins of 51 strokes per minute. (Light/easy rowing for me is 30-33. Scramble usually sits around the 38-40. 51 is very impressive indeed, even if it was only for a few strokes).

If the rowing has been up, the walking hasn't been. Most of my trips out have been piggy-backed onto other things where walking was not an option. I've had things I needed to be at in my afternoon LBD walking time. The weather hasn't been as cool, either.

I have been reasonably restrained with my eating, given the time of the year. I might need to come up with a strategy like Givinya to help me make decisions over the Christmas Season, but working in the church does lead to some politeness-based food decisions (which worked in my favour yesterday when I drank my first ever sugar-less cup of tea - the conversation was too serious and important to interrupt it to ask for sugar. They don't cover that in pastoral care training!)

I have been feeling firmer, and clothes are a not as tight, but I'm not noticing any significant change to my size and shape (unlike some who have had to take in all their skirts 4cm!). The only things that are really loose are my ridiculously large pants that I mentioned last week. So I'm still waiting on any real size/weight advantage from my hard work.

In a moment of despair I actually asked my Beloved whether I was looking any trimmer? He immediately answered, "Absolutely!".

It would have been more reassuring if he'd actually looked first.


So I was interested to see what my results would be for this week.

Weight
Last week: 77.7kg
This week: 77.4kg
Loss: 300g
Total Loss: 3.6kg
Distance to next goal: 1.4kg

Waist
Last week: 95cm
This week: 95cm
Loss: 0cm
Total Loss: 4cm

So it is as I suspected. Nothing huge happening here, but 300g is much better than last week's results. Slow results, but I'm feeling much better for the rowing, which is not measurable, but is good.

I'm off to row, then have a look at the Zumba DVDs I've borrowed to see if they will be as fun as an actual class.

Postscript: Since posting I was at Mum & Dad's to see their photos of the new arrival. There were photos on Mum's computer of me on our Malaysia trip from after Easter. It might be possible that I am now more trim than I was then. Then again, a camera adds 5kg (Chandler: "How many cameras were ON you?"). Maybe, just maybe I'm getting somewhere.

Weigh In (Emily Sue)

Once again I followed the new WW program - even when I had a blowout at the staff dinner I counted the points - and I have exercised every day. Aside from daily routines on the Wii Fit I also jogged on the treadmill three days this week. Usually I can only manage 6 or so minutes of jogging in between walking, but this week I amped it up - on Sunday I jogged for 20 minutes (5 minutes at 6.5km/h and 15 minutes at 6km/h), Thursday I jogged for 25 minutes (12 minutes at 6.5km/h and 13 minutes at 6km/h) and today I jogged for 25 minutes, ALL of it at 6.5km/h. I am definitely getting fitter and I'm very happy about that.

So, on to the weigh in...

Last week: 70.8kg
Today: 70.2kg
Difference: 600g loss
Running total: 6.8kg loss

I was kind of hoping for a spectacular weight loss this week after all the exercise, especially given that I've been getting up at 5.30am every day. I feel like I should be rewarded for the early mornings. :) However, I'm not going to complain about losing weight. Next week I'm hoping to crack the 70kg mark.
.

I want a recount! (HJ)

This week has been pretty full of exercise. I've been doing lots of walking to places as well as 30mins rowing each morning. I've got back to a good clip as I walk by myself, and yesterday I took the LBD and he was limping along behind by the time we turned into our street, so I slowed down. I'm sorry, LBD, I didn't realise it was too fast for you until you couldn't keep up (but you were using your leg, though - good dog!). I'll go slower with you next time, I promise.

You might have noticed that Zumba didn't get a mention. The local lady I was going to lost most of her numbers when one of the local gyms that has just changed hands started advertising ridiculously low weekly rates and also offer Zumba. She was also offered full-time work in her 'day job'. So she closed down the classes she was offering here in town and only goes to her tiny little towns around here that are still getting good classes. I was going out to one for a bit, but it takes too much time. I'm not a gym person, but I considered going to one of the two gyms here that offer Zumba, but they are still not as cheap and/or have their classes at inconvenient times.

There's also a trip overseas that I want to save up for, and so I've been seeking my exercise in other places that are free. I'm considering buying the videos, particularly since you can now buy them at Target and my credit card points (free money! - I pay it out each month and only use it for things I'd buy anyway) will get me a $100 Target voucher, which means that I can get Zumba at convenient times in my own home as many times a week as I want, for years and years to come for only $49. Or I could buy some clothes that fit. Hmmm.

I had one of those bad days this week where my one pair of presentable 'fat' pants are way too big, need gathering in at the waist with a belt (but my skinny pants are still too tight to be presentable). At the same time I needed a presentable 'good casual' top, and the one I selected was too tight around my waist and spare tyre. Truly uncomfortable, and no in-between options that were suitable (or ironed). In fact, I only have my church pants and one pair of shorts that fit (and look nice) at the moment. Everything else is either too big, too small, or noticeably worn.

But I'm feeling more trim. My muscles are feeling as if they can do things, holding themselves tense and ready for more work (particularly my shoulders, back, buttocks and thighs). My spare tyre, tummy and hips seem to be getting softer, though. Hopefully that means the fat cells are emptying and soon there'll be less Jen in those areas.

So I was looking forward to weighing in this morning, despite the fact that my eating hasn't been the best - there have been parties, cakey things and an inability to say 'no'. I'm cranky I didn't leave half the slice of plum pudding at the luncheon yesterday because it was too liquor-y for my taste and I didn't enjoy it. I did, however, avoid the lollies that were on the tables, so that's got to count for something.

So the results:
Last week: 77.7kg
This week: 77.7kg
Loss: 0. Nada. Nuffin'.
Total Loss (since August): 3.3kg. In 4 months.

Waist last week: 95.5cm
Waist this week: 95cm
Loss: 0.5cm
Total Loss (since August): 4cm

And the truly depressing thought:
Total Loss (since we started this game in October 2008): 1.7kg GAIN
Waist Loss (since we started this game in October 2008): 2cm GAIN

So I'm working hard to get back to where I used to be when I first took fright and decided that I needed to get fitter and slimmer. It will be interesting when I get back to 76kg to compare my measurements, because I would have to be fitter now, despite being heavier. Surely?

Sorry for the essay. I'm hoping for better things next week. I will try to eat better, as well as keeping up the exercise.

Happy skinnier cow Loony Lace Lady

The title speaks for itself. HJ was concerned when I claimed a low spot of Friday, well today I have lost a further 200g, I really want to claim yesterday with an extra 100g. Some people are never satisfied. So it looks at the moment that my exercise is working. I can count in that the 5 sets of double hung windows that got cleaned yesterday. I had to do that as I had a break up party in the morning followed by lunch out. So you see some extra activity was called for to even things up. Today I am cleaning louvres and so far 4 banks have been done and now I am watching the misty rain approach while the washing is nearly dry and having a rest to get going again . My leg has been sore again this week, but I have still been walking and some more slight bruising has come out. So surely that must be close to all the bruising and it must feel better shortly.

So to sum up present weight 67.7 with a total of 2.4kg gone hopefully for ever. If you really want to know my fat stores are soft, so more must be on the way out.

Braggin' (HJ)

Saturday I rowed. 37.5mins (I rowed for 30mins, then decided to see how much more I could do comfortably - not much, as the outcome proved)

Then my Beloved and I did housework for most of the day. Lifting chairs up onto tables, walking from one end of the house to the other to put things away, dusting, and then I washed the floor. (Is that an example of an Oxford comma?) - My Beloved did most of the vacuuming. I did the stairs and a small bit of the lounge when he went out on a job.

I was stuffed.

Sunday I walked down to church. (I don't row on Sundays)

Today I was up early. I rowed for 30mins. Then remembered that the reason I had to get up ridiculously early if I wanted to row was that I had to drop the car off at the garage and walk to Prayer Breakfast because the mechanic doesn't open early enough to drop me off. So I had a 25min walk.

Then I stood around the local courthouse for about 1.5 hours talking to people, then walked about 25 mins home.

I was stuffed.

If I don't lose weight this week I will be very, very cranky. Unfortunately the exercise has resulted in hunger of the extreme variety. I might not have been making the best choices in what to eat, either.

It was six weeks til Christmas ... (GdeE)

On the morning of Saturday 13th, I lay in bed and it occurred to me that it was exactly 6 weeks until Christmas.  I thought of the 3-ish kilograms that I could lose to bring me back to my post-Joseph weight, and decided that I could certainly lose 500g a week until Christmas.

It will never be found that I did or didn't achieve this goal, because I am too cheap to buy new scales and my old ones are cantankerous.  I'm not blaming anyone for this.  At any rate, I do not have a "before" weight, I don't have any update weights, and unless Father Christmas is kind to me, I won't have a final weight on Christmas morning.  It's probably a good thing, because if I found that any Christmas indulgence caused an increase, I'd be devastated.

Nevertheless, I have had some success since making my six-weeks-until-Christmas discovery.  I've been doing some healthy eating things - and I have been sticking to them.  This is good (for me.)

Over the recent hungry months, I have found it difficult not to blow out on treats.  This is because I have allowed myself treats.  It never has and it never will work for me, the "I'm allowed the occasional treat" approach, because simply, unless it's an all-or-nothing rule, I will have "just one little treat" and then "ooh that was yummy, I'll just have one more" and then it will be all, "what the heck, six didn't hurt me, twelve will surely be alright" and before you know it, there's no hope for me OR the top button of my jeans.

Absolutely no self-control.  I acknowledge that, and I work with it.

I know that people say you needs treats or you'll have one big blowout, and I know that works for many people, but without an all-or-nothing rule, my life is one huge blowout.  So I'm trying something different.

For the first week following my six-weeks-until-Christmas discovery I vowed that not one gram of dip shall pass my lips until Christmas Day.  For heavens' sake, dip is hardly an essential food group!  If I can't get through 6 weeks without something as off-the-wall as dip, there's a problem.  Recently I have been unable to limit my overall dip intake.  "Just a small amount" becomes "just a little more" becomes "only 8 Jatz-worth of dip" becomes "only 8 more Jatz-worth" becomes "I feel sick."

This has been really easy to achieve for the last fortnight.  There's been some dip in the fridge but instead of saying, "Should I have one cracker with dip or 5 or 10 or when should I stop myself?" I have had absolutely none since before the 13th.  I have had some other treats and things, I have had no dip, and dip is such an Achilles heel for me.

Funny thing is - I don't really feel like dip after all these days.  And herein lies the beauty of it all.  I just don't crave it anymore.

On the second week, in addition to having no dip, I decided that I was no longer going to drink any calories when I wanted a cold drink.  No cordial, no fizz.  Easy - I love water and so I've had nothing but water since before the 13th.  The kids have polished off our cordial, I plan to buy no more, and when I went to a kid's birthday party, I had water for every drink and didn't touch the fizz or the cordial.  I also didn't have any dip.

I don't feel like dip or sugary drinks these days.  I just don't crave it.

Today is Saturday again, and this week, in addition to no dip and no sugary drinks, I'll be having no sugar in my hot drinks.  This will be slightly harder for me because sugar in hot drinks is something I have every day but I am ready to do it.  I was thinking of cutting down to half a teaspoon but I find that amount is below my threshold of taste and so half a teaspoon tastes the same as none to me.  So wish me all the best as I dive in - no sugar in tea until Christmas Day.

Weigh in (Emily Sue)

So I've followed the 'new' WW diet all week (as in, even when I ate things like chocolate I counted it in my points and didn't go over) and have exercised 6 days out of 7.

And gained 100g.

Hmph.
.

Weigh in Again (Loony Lace Lady)

I want to weigh in today because the figures are much better today than yesterday. I had felt that some fat was melting and so I would get my decrease soon, well I think today was it. Today I was 500g lighter than yesterday, and I did weigh before and after my shower and got the same so it isn't silly scales. So I will claim 67.9kg because that is better and knowing my body it will probably go crazy again tomorrow. So that is the official number, and I am happy that all my walking is doing something. Maybe it was all the housework yesterday and the 1 1/2 hours or ironing.

Not as bad as it could've been (HJ)

So I've put on 400g since my last weigh-in on the 29th October.

I'm not crying too much because the lack of exercise and the eating patterns that I've exhibited during that month have left alot to be desired.

I'm back into it now, though, and am reassured that most of my measurements have remained the same, except my waist/tummy that have gone up a bit, and my hips that have gone down. I don't know why.

I'm doing 25mins rowing most mornings and will burn heaps of kilojoules today because I've got to clean my filthy house and wash the dog.

Weigh in (Loony Lace Lady)

Another week and not much if any progress. I do know from previous weight loss attempts that when it works it can take 6 weeks to lose 500 grams. So I don't expect great things and I am not getting them anyway.

Last week I was hoping that the gain was short lived, well my weight is all over the place each day is a different amount and it is all bad. Today I am 68.4kg and that is a little bit better than last week but not much. Anyway I have been walking daily and that must be helping my fitness level, I would like to be back to where I was in March and then I could do 300 steps, I wouldn't even try that now. So there is still some fitness level to go.

I will keep walking and I haven't been rowing faithfully so maybe this week I should aim to get back to that daily.

My clothes are more comfortable now, so that is a big help.

Exercise update (Emily Sue)

Yes, I know I could have edited my previous entry to add this but I couldn't be bothered. That doesn't bode well for an exercise update, does it?

As I have mentioned, it was my birthday a week ago. Being a round-number birthday, my parents lashed out for a bigger present than usual. They knew (because I told my younger sister to tell them) that I wanted a Wii and Wii Fit, so they deposited money into my bank account. I did briefly contemplate putting the money towards a mixmaster, but decided in the end that buying something to enable me to exercise might be better than buying something that would enable me to make more cakes.

So the Wii arrived yesterday afternoon and I had a quick go at it then. The Wii Fit will track your weight and fitness, which is great. It also calculates your "Wii Fit Age", based on your weight and a particular exercise it gets you to do. Yesterday my 'age' was 50. FIFTY. That's brutal. Today... it was 24. Huh? Sure, a good night's sleep can do wonders, but even so it's not that great. The age calculation is possibly not an exact science, then.

My assessment of using it twice is:

1. It's fun; and
2. It's more exercise than it appears at first.

For example - I did a 'cycling' exercise, where you stand on the balance board and move your legs up and down in a cycling motion. You can do it just by lifting your heels up and down whilst on the balls of your feet. I did this for about 8 minutes. If you made me do that for 8 minutes without the Wii I'd probably tell you to get nicked. However, part of the game is that you're cycling around an island and have to find and steer through 13 checkpoints (holding the controller sideways and tilting it to steer left and right). So my attention was taken off my legs as I cycled all around the island looking for the checkpoints... and before I knew it, I'd 'cycled' 2km.

There was another game where you have wings and have to 'fly' from one point to another, leaning left or right with your legs to change direction. You fly by flapping your arms up and down. It is totally silly and fun... and my arms were sore at the end. Oh yes, and then there was a boxing game where you have to punch in the same order as the instructor, in time with the music... and the more you're 'in time', the more points. I was concentrating so hard on the timing (NOT my strong point) that I didn't notice I'd just had a workout.

Verdict: the Wii is LOADS of fun and I love it!

Also, because I hadn't had a sustained cardio workout (you can get cardio programs for the Wii; I just don't have one yet) I decided to do 15 minutes on the treadmill at the end. I walked for 3 minutes, jogged for TEN, then walked for two. TEN MINUTES of jogging. I've never done that before, ever. It was only at 6kmh, which is the pace of a brisk walk, but still... ten minutes. I am so stoked.
.

Reluctant weigh in (Emily Sue)

The only thing that got me to Weight Watchers this morning was that the entire system had just changed and I wanted to be there for the meeting where it was all explained. So I exercised for an hour, skipped breakfast, went to the toilet three times, dressed in my lightest clothes, put on light sandals instead of my heavy joggers, and off I went.*

Last time: 70.8kg
Today: 70.7kg
Difference: 100g loss (Sense of relief: enormous)
Running total: 6.3kg loss

*Note: this desperate method of pre-weigh-in weight loss is NOT recommended!!

Just so you know... (HJ)

There will be no weigh-in for me tomorrow.

There was a trip to Melbourne.

There was a trip to the Haigh's Chocolate Shop in the City.

There was accidental ingestion of chocolate afterwards.

There was cooking for a party...

Then the party itself.

There has been a really weird eating week this week.

And I couldn't be bothered exercising.

This will stop tomorrow.

But there's no way I'm weighing in for at least a week.

Bad Week (Loony lace lady)

The title says it all. My leg issue developed a BIG bruise on my leg, I am not sure what caused it but I'm guessing that the increase of exercise. As it was sore I drew back on the exercise, before the bruise came out. I continued walking but didn't row. My leg started to improve and then came the bruise, and this is 8 months after the event. So that is now fading and the leg feels easier.

We also had a birthday in the family, so that meant Chinese and a dessert. Well today the numbers are better than yesterday, but 68.7kg is about 1kg heavier than last week. I am not impressed, I didn't eat that much. However that I hope will disappear as quickly as it came. So that struggle continues, I will have to get back to rowing.

That is the sad story for this week. Next week will be better.

Another week (Loony Lace Lady)

Another week has passed and I have had a heavy week. My weight hasn't been playing my games. I think that around 68ish kg is where my body wants my weight to be, so I now have to convince it that it should be lighter. I have walked and even extended that, but rowing has been not so regular. I have had leg issues, so been resting up a bit.

Weight today 67.9 Kg

Total loss 2.2kg (that is more than I thought it was, pays to work out the figures)

I will just keep going, plodding along and see where I am eventually.

All you skinny cowgirls keep up your own good work and fight on.

So I should post even if it's not good news... (HJ)

200grams.

Gain.

Does not bode well for a trip to Melbourne.

*sigh*

Surely it's all the muscle I've been rebuilding?

Weigh in (Emily Sue)

I considered skipping my Weight Watchers meeting today, which should give you some idea of what kind of week I've had. Very busy, slightly stressful, not so great on the "counting points and exercising" fronts. Still, I decided to go, and even got up early so I could walk there. It's a one hour walk... surely that makes up for the bad week??

Last weigh in (at WW): 71.3kg
Today: 70.8kg
Difference: 500g
Running total: 6.2kg

Goal for next week: to be on or under the magic 70kg mark (Actually I've just realised that might be unrealistic given I'll be on holidays and shall have a houseguest, but hey... still good to have a goal.)

.

2 weeks are up (Loony lace lady)

Well this has been an up and down week. I would rather take yesterdays weight than todays. Does that tell you something. I have walked and rowed 5 days, on Friday HJ and I went shopping in the next town and thought we had done enough walking to count, but apparently not by my weight. When I do intentional exercise the next day I go down, if I don't then nothing happens.

I am finding life better with clothes that fit comfortably rather than strain at the seams. I have had to take in some coluttes (that's really a divided skirt) that I made some time back. That made me feel good and the skirt today really needs taking in.

So you can see an improvement. Today my total loss is 2.1 kg and yesterday it was 2.4kg so you can see why I want yesterdays count. I know that my weight bounces around for no apparent reason, although it could also be my scales are liarbirds. I did get a couple of different numbers this morning.

As of today I go back onto more carbs than I have been having to get a more balanced diet. So that will slow things down. However I am happy with 2 kg that was my 2 week target. Now I am aiming at a 5kg loss when I will make some more clothes. I am not guessing when that will be. Soon I hope as I need some new rags.

Thanks for your encouragement and may it continue. As a side issue I will be interested to hear how many of you took up my challenge and did 5 mins of intentional exercise daily?

Bit of a guesstimate (Emily Sue)

I didn't go to my Weight Watchers meeting this morning, in favour of staying in bed until I felt like waking up (rather than when the alarm went off). Ahhhh, it was delightful.

Oh yes, and the other reason has something to do with being bloated and crampy and hormonal and eating everything that's not tied down. Ahem. However, I did weigh myself this morning on my less-than-accurate scales.

Last week: 71.3kg
Today: 71kg
Difference: 300g
Running total: 6kg

Now, I know for a fact that my scales differ from WW scales by a range of 200-800g (don't ask me to explain why it differs so much) so I suspect if I'd gone to the meeting today it would have shown either a zero loss or a small gain. Which, given the 8 cream biscuits I had yesterday and the way I polished off the bag of choc chips when I got home, wouldn't have been totally out of line. So I've had a small reprieve and I now have a week to get myself back on track before the next weigh in.
.

Good enough for fiction (HJ)

The young woman hesitated for a moment before she stepped onto the scales in the privacy of her own bathroom. The hesitation was born of a few weeks of inattention to such mundane matters as exercise and trying to eat moderate amounts of healthy food. Born of the mother of all assignments then the post-stress-point lassisitude that had marked her undergraduate career.

Nevertheless, at some point in time she would have to return to the discipline of the weekly weigh-in, the morning wake-up call to row, the avoidance of take-away and baked goods, the pleading eyes of her little black dog asking for a daily walk.

Some time she was going to have to confront reality. Expose her vulnerability to her peers and excite comparisons with her mother who was being particularly good this week. She hoped beyond hope that she had not put on any extra weight during the weeks since she last weighed-in. She couldn't bear the thought that the scales would have bad news... but she deserved it.

She'd told herself that this was the day. Friday. Day off. Sleep-in, then row. Take it easy. Make certain to weigh-in, regardless of what horrors might be in store from the heavy weight of reality, borne out in cold, inflexible numbers.

She gasped in surprise as...








Tune in next week for the outcome...













Okay, I'm not that cruel, but very surprised.

I've lost half a kilo. 500 grams. In three weeks, I've missed two weigh-ins, done hardly any exercise, had some really bad meals and lost 500 grams.

You know how they say muscle weighs more than fat? It is possible this could have worked in my favour?

Weigh in (Loony Lace Lady)

Well I have achieved the first week of dieting. I don't know if I should give numbers or excuses first. I decided to go onto a very low carbohydrate diet, I know this works for me but I'm not sure how good it is for the body. So I bit the bullet and started with this. The plan is to be on this for 2 weeks then add more carbs which will slow loss down, but give me a better balanced diet. So I thought if I could loose 2kg in 2 weeks I would be doing well.

This is the result:

start 70.1kg

today 68.6kg

loss 1.5kg

I am pleased with this although I know a lot of others get better results than this.

On the exercise front I increased my rowing to 4 mins (big deal) and did it 5 times and this week plan on 5 mins, and I walked twice. So I have started.

Come on all you skinny cowgirls out there please join me in doing at least 5 mins of intentional exercise per day. If I can so can you and 5 mins out of 24 hrs isn't a great deal.

Another week and I will be interested to see my results, then the really hard slog starts.

Weigh in (Emily Sue)

This morning Manda and I met early at my place to exercise. I worked out on the treadmill (45 minutes) while she did an exercise DVD. It was great and I think we're both allowed to be smug all day now. :) And then I went to my weigh in...

Last week: 71.9kg
Today: 71.3kg
Difference: 600g
Running total: 5.7kg

Oh yeah. I'm happy.

Help wanted (Loony Lace Lady)

Hi all, this is my first try at this. HJ gave me a 2nd lesson so now it should work.

As most of you already know about 7 months ago I was bitten by a dog and that put a very quick stop to my weight loss/get fit program. I had at that time lost 1kg.

My leg is still sore but very slowly recovering, my doctor wasn't encouraging when telling me that that sort of injury you never get over. Well I have news for her. However, it is still sore, so I have to be careful what exercise I do.

I am now in the headspace to want to loose more (More than 1) weight. In the past couple of weeks I started at 70.4kg and one day I saw 69.6kg and that I liked. Today I weighed at 70.1kg. I am taking that as a downward trend. You see at my age bodies don't like loosing weight and they fight hard to keep every gram. I know that when the down starts my weight will bounce all over the place, but generally in a downwards direction. So all that considered I am saying the the down has started.

Now I have to keep it going. I am planning on loosing 5kg to start, I need to loose 15kg. I will then try to plateau for a bit then go down again. I have started rowing, but only with my arms and body just yet. I do use my legs for 1 minute just to try to build up muscle. When my leg can cope I will increase that and also my total time of 3 mins just yet. I realise that exercise also builds muscle which increases weight, so in time I will be successful.

Please, some encouragement along the way will be good. It is great to be with you all instead of just lurking.

Darn (Givinya)

Tonight I let myself have three squares of Nestle Club - my favourite chocolate.  I rarely eat any other type of chocolate because I've been spoiled by Nestle Club.

Three squares.  That's so restrained and self-controlled, isn't it?  So health-conscious.  So ... "good".

Turns out, that's 18% of your RDI of saturated fats.

Darn.

I feel like a bowl of corn chips to commiserate.

(But I won't.)

Weigh in (Emily Sue)

This week I had three days where I didn't count points at all. I didn't count them because I didn't want to see a number that was significantly higher than my daily points allowance. Yes, denial makes it all better.

Today I had planned to skip my Weight Watchers meeting, due to the afore-mentioned non-counting and the expected weight gain that accompanies such activities. However, when I got up this morning and weighed myself I thought I might JUST get away with it. Maybe. So I dressed in my very lightest clothes and off I went. When I got there I removed every item of clothing I could whilst still remaining decent, and stepped on the scales. The result...

Last week: 71.9kg
Today: 71.9kg
Difference: zero

Phew!! Okay, no weight loss but I didn't gain, and after the week I've had, that's a win.

You'd Have to be Kidding (HJ)

As if I'm weighing in today! Assignment finished at the expense of daily rowing; Been eating too much naughty food because I haven't had time to shop or cook properly; and I've had all the naughties from last week's Spring Fair to eat; and only made it to one Zumba session.

Not going near the scales, I don't want to know.

On a very, very sad note: My Zumba lady is no longer doing Zumba classes here in town. A combination of falling numbers and the offer of full-time work in her day job. I could go out to the little town 20 mins from here a couple of evenings a week where she still has the numbers to make the hire of the hall acceptable. I'm thinking about it. On the other hand there are other places in town that do Zumba, but I'd have to join a gym (or pay a small fortune per session) I will get back into rowing tomorrow, but I've been enjoying Zumba. This is opposed to rowing that I do because it gets me where I want to be.

Very, very sad.

I want to be just like Hip-Jen (Emily Sue)

Once again, I'm following in Jen's footsteps (not the scary Zumba footsteps, just the weight-loss ones).

Last week: 72kg
Today: 71.9kg
Difference: 100g loss
Running total: 5.1kg

I've had a cold all week, complete with nasty cough, and so I haven't been able to exercise at all. I still stuck to my WW points, but I think this proves that exercise DOES make a big difference.

Damn it.
.

Mixed Results (HJ)

This week I seem to have inadvertantly tested a theory.

The theory is based on personal experience. There are two times in my life that I've been slender without worrying about it.

One was all through high school when I used to ride my bike 5km each way four days a week (Mum would give us a lift on Band practice days, because my brother couldn't take his trumpet on his bike - and despite the fact that my flute would fit in my school bag, there was NO WAY I was missing out on a lift to school!!!).

This experience lead me to consider the following equation:

CE = EWYW

That is, Concerted Exercise = Eat Whatever You Want.

I wasn't trying to test my theory, but there was chocolate fudge in the house. This, I conjecture, fits the criterion Eat Whatever You Want.

However, I rowed for 40 minutes 6 mornings this week, with 2 Zumba sessions, and some dog walking. That, I believe, fill the requirement for Concerted Exercise.

I believe the following results do support my theory, although I do wonder how much more I could have lost if the fudge didn't exist.

I lost some weight-
100 gms.
That's a total of 3.2kg overall.

I lost some centimetres around my waist.
Let's count them... one.
That's a total of 5.5cm overall. (which is a whole clothing size in men's clothes)

Two people have commented on the fact I seem to have lost some weight, one was the most back-handed (rude) compliment ever. Apparently I really needed to do something about my weight, so it's good that I've lost a bit.

Regardless, I can't believe they've noticed when I've only lost 3.2kg - and that over 2 months. That's hardly in the territory of noticeable change.

But I think I am trimming down (and 5.5cm off the waist would indicate I might be right). This might be noticeable. And I don't care about the scales, as long as I trim down to fit some of my favourite clothes and get stronger physically.

On the other hand, went to get clothes for the Spring Fair fashion parade. They are all small sizes in that shop, I'm certain. The size 16s are very, very snug. Depressing. And for the first year ever, she hasn't made me wear black. This should be a good thing, but does it mean that either;
a) She has done a course on what colours suit people
b) I'm no longer young-looking enough to have to wear black (because of course all young women look good in black).

How can I be so depressed about the fact I don't have to wear black, which I don't like anyway?

Weigh in (Emily Sue)

Last week: 72.9kg
Today: 72.0kg
Difference: 900g
Running total: 5kg (!!!) (Ha - "running" total. No pun intended.)

Finally! I've been on the treadmill every day so I'm very happy to be seeing results. VERY happy. :)

I'm also feeling fitter. I am still totally stuffed when I run on the treadmill but I'm now getting stuffed after a longer time - instead of having jogging blocks of 2 and 3 minutes I'm doing blocks of 4, 5 and (on two occasions) 6 minutes. More importantly, I'm feeling the difference in other ways. I've been sleeping a lot better - it's still broken sleep but not nearly as much as it used to be. There were two nights there where I didn't wake up AT ALL. That's like a miracle for me. I'm getting to sleep earlier, too, and waking up feeling refreshed and ready to exercise. Well, okay, I feel willing to exercise. I'm still not really enthused about it but I'm always happy when I've done it.

And generally, my anxiety levels are way down. Still higher than a 'normal' person but really great for ME, particularly with other stuff I've had going on.

So... maybe "they" have been right all along, and there really ARE benefits to regular exercise??
.

Now THAT'S more like it (HJ)

I've been pretty good this week.

When I say "pretty good" I don't mean that I've been eating nothing bad, I mean that I have had bad things, but not every time I could have had bad things. I have said "no" to food, whilst having a tiny slice of chocolate Bavarian at church Sunday night, a Lime thickshake at a girls' morning tea on Tuesday, a slice of a sponge roll at Minister's Association on Tuesday (aren't I glad I didn't have a cakey thing at morning tea?), a moderate slice of carrot cake at another meeting on Wednesday, and a Gaiety chocky biscuit at a pastoral visit yesterday. That's many "yes"es, and I'm not listing all the "no"s for you, but there were times when takeaway would have been easy and I cooked instead.

I enjoyed all the naughties I ate, and that is fine, because I need to look on weightloss as a whole of lifestyle change forever, so I will have occasional naughties (and I didn't realise I'd had so many this week until I was listing them here).

I also branched out into some fruit and veg that are on the suspect list, and am paying the price with a belly full of itchy-spots (and when I say itchy, I mean it!). I'd better scale back, but I enjoyed having a little capsicum in my salad or stirfry. And the super-scrambled eggs with mushrooms was very enjoyable. They wouldn't have made me stack on weight, though.

The most important factor was probably exercise. I've done 30mins on the rowing machine 5 days this week (not Sunday and Thursday). I've been to 2 Zumba sessions, one followed up with 20mins of aerobics because our instructor needs to record some for assessment. I've also been walking the dog more.


These are all good things. And the results?
(Drumroll please)

Loss of 1.5kg this week.
Total loss of 3.1 kg

Waist loss of 1.5 cm
Total loss 4.5 cm


I think the exercise is doing what it's supposed to do. That is, letting me eat some naughties and still be on the downward track.

This gets me to a lovely number, leaving me 10 kg to go to be back in my healthy weight range, and 1.9kgs to my first reward weight.

It also only leaves me 300 gms heavier than my Beloved.

It will be a good day when I am lighter than my Beloved.

Now to keep everything under control at the lolly-making working bee tomorrow.

The hip-hop look (Emily Sue)

It was quite chilly here in Melbourne today, so I wore a long sleeved thermal top under my clothes. All day it's been bugging me - I feel like I've had to tuck in back in about 50 times. I've been cursing the cheap make and the fact that it's shrunk in the wash and become shorter and less elasticised than it was when new.

Then it occurred to me that I've also been hitching my jeans up all day, because they keep creeping down and giving me the teenage boy hip-hop look.

Could it be...? Could it be that I have actually (*gasp*) lost some millimeters? I don't know for sure because I didn't measure myself before starting Weight Watchers but the evidence is starting to point that way. And the most exciting thing about it is that these jeans are the ones I bought - reluctantly - in the next size up from where I was because I could no longer comfortably squeeze myself into the others.

Please please please let it be true...

Encouraging, but unofficial (HJ)

I only weigh myself once a week.

More frequently than that is only going to end in heartbreak with the little blips (or blimps?) that occur. I want to see the trend that is heading downwards. Monthly would probably be better, but there's no way I have the patience and motivation to sustain a healthy life for a month with no feedback.

But this morning I couldn't help myself. Partially frustration after last Friday's non-event, partially because this morning I was going to morning tea and needed to know precisely how much I could afford to eat, partially because I've been rowing each day and refusing food and that should be making a difference, surely???

900 grams. Gone. Yaaaaaaaay!

Now to hold onto it until Friday's official weigh-in.

And as if that wasn't enough (HJ)

I caught sight of the scales as my Beloved weighed himself this morning.

He is just over 6 feet tall.

He does manual work (so has lots of heavy muscle).

He eats lots.

And he weighs 1.8 kilos less than me.

Bathroom Scales: Givinya d'Huge Fright

This week has been GREAT according to me, but it's been pretty dismal for my weight.

My husband directed a secondary schools camp so we all went to the Sunshine Coast with 77 teenagers where we combined with another similar camp.  150ish teenagers, mostly skinny, eating total crap.  Humph.

I sometimes wonder about the TV show "How to look good naked."  What's that all about?  I should try to find out - a quick trip to Wikipedia or IMDb would sort it out for me, but for now I'm content to wonder.  Because due to the configuration of the bathroom in our ensuite cabin, one could catch sight of the top 75% of oneself naked and from that humiliating position, one could quite clearly see that one looks positively AWFUL naked, and one wonders whose body she is inhabiting.  One also wonders how one's husband puts up with it.

During the week, I ate like a... like a... like a woman who is having nice food cooked for her and who doesn't have to wash up.  My meals were awesome, and so were the leftovers belonging to all three of my children.  And the extra bread and butter I purloined "for the children" etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.  And the celebratory McDonalds after camp. Etcetera.

My comfy Size 12 bootleg jeans started feeling tight across the girth.  Here comes the post-baby blimp-up.

And to add insult to serious body-image injury, this morning I stepped on my scales a few times and after working out a quick average (for my scales are cantankerous at best) it appeared that I was 5 kilograms heavier than I was before the week began.


Say what?

I know I ate a lot, but I don't think I even CONSUMED 5 kilos of food during the week.

I wanted to say WTF, but I didn't as I'm reliably told that WTF stands for Wow That's Funny and I'm telling you that a 5 kg gain in a week is not funny.  More like WTHHIGOH.  (The lesser-known Internet acronym for "What The Holy Heck Is Going On Here?")

Well.  It turns out that if you step on the scales to switch them on, then step off to let them 'zero', they go to 0.0kg, then they flutter around, finally settling on a figure that's sometimes around 3.5kg, sometimes around 4kg, and sometimes around 5kg.

Phew.  Scales not zeroed.  Weight not exponentially ballooning in a medically concerning fashion.

Time for new scales.

Also time for:

• coming back to Skinny Cow
• drinking more water before meals so I don't eat so much
• doing appetite-suppressing things between meals so I don't snack, e.g., brushing my teeth, getting out of the kitchen, keeping busy, and drinking water instead.  You thought I was going to say 'take up smoking.'  I am not going to take up smoking.  Anything.
• getting back on the bread policy - two slices of that thick yummy grainy stuff a day and thinking outside the breadbox (ha!) for the rest of the day.

My weight, while not where it would be if I didn't have this flabby tummy problem, is not high on my list of priorities so following menu plans, counting points and hiring babysitters so I can walk with the dog would fly out the window at this stage of my life.  Seriously.  I WANT to do all those things, I think they're great, but I just know that at 11am on any given day I'd say to myself, "Shoot.  I've forgotten to [insert weight loss strategy] ... since last Thursday."  And then where would I be?

Just as heavy and twice as depressed.

So I'm back at OSC now, I'm drinking water today, not eating between meals tomorrow, and starting the bread thing on Monday.

Dammit, I'm not ballooning up 5 legitimate kilos before I blink, not this time!

Weigh-in (Emily Sue)

I've had a great week. I've been getting up early (6am-ish) and working out on the treadmill - today was my seventh day in a row of getting red-faced, sweaty and exhausted. Plus, I've been sticking faithfully to my Weight Watchers points. Awesome.

So imagine my surprise when today's weigh-in revealed a 300g GAIN. I mean, I do get that the last time I weighed in I was stressed and not eating, so the 1.8kg I lost was partly due to temporary fasting, but still... it's very discouraging to see a gain, albeit a tiny one, after all those early mornings and all that sweating and sore muscles. Hmph.

I am a Winner! (HJ)

Well, I'm certainly not losing, so I must be winning. Surely?

I've put on 1.1 kilos over two weeks. It seems last week's odd reading was truth, and this week I've not managed to get rid of any of it. This is despite three Zumba sessions and two rows, and sundry slow walks with a recuperating puppy. I have indulged in some desserts and the odd chocolate, though.

I'm trying not to go with the old line, "I'm gaining muscle, which weighs more than fat." Mainly because my waist measurement has also gone up. Zumba seems to be sculpting me from the view of my front elevation, but not in profile. I need to do more rowing, me thinks. And maybe fewer desserts.

Definitely fewer desserts.

But I am feeling stronger, more oxygenated, and more flexible. All of these are good things.

No weigh here either (Emily Sue)

Yesterday I had plans to attend the Melbourne Show with a friend so I decided to skip Weight Watchers in case we wanted an early start. As it turns out we didn't want an early start but I decided to sleep late anyway, and still missed my weigh-in. I did weigh myself at home and according to my scales I'm the same as last week. I'm conveniently ignoring the fact that last week I weighed myself wearing clothes and shoes and yesterday it was done without either, which indicates I've probably gained. Hm. In truth I was expecting a gain since my last weight loss was partly attributable to anxiety - on weigh in day I had barely eaten for four days. I finally started eating relatively normally yesterday (first time in 11 days) so I am back on track now with Weight Watchers... and we'll see what next week brings...

I am back on track with exercise too, now that I'm eating enough to stop me passing out when I exert myself. I just did a 20 minute walk/run on the treadmill, which is not as much as I normally do but given that I haven't exercised at all in nearly a fortnight I reckon it's not bad. Onward and upward!
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No weigh (HJ)

This week has been a bit bad from an eating perspective. There was a luncheon AND a church dinner in a week that I had already had a few food incidents.

The weekend and beginning of the week weren't good from an exercise perspective either.

So when my scales gave me two different readings, I chose not to believe either of them, and shall allow the week to disappear into the ether without recording anything.

I shall also be a little better with the exercise and eating in this coming week.

It should be easier with no assignment looming.

Then again, I could record the 1.2kg loss I made in 5mins. That was pretty impressive.

Weigh in (Emily Sue)

Last week: 74.4kg
Today: 72.6kg
Difference: 1.8kg loss
Running total: 4.4kg loss

Woo hoo! This means I've lost a bit more than 5% of my original body weight. I'm stoked.

And today I went for a walk with a friend. Just a small walk... from the suburbs into the city, and then around the city for a while. Four hours of walking; about 12km in total. Yep, just a small walk.

My legs hurt.
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A Little Further (HJ)

So the 200g has gone and taken another 100g with it. That's got to be good news, showing a total loss of 2.7kg to date. Getting back towards where I was when this whole Skinny Cow thing started. The possibility of getting rid of another 2.3kg within the month is looking doubtful, but one needs a plan.

Zumbaed Monday and have had a few rowing sessions to keep up the exercise.

Generally eating well, but a little chocolate incident yesterday probably doesn't help the weight to drop.

So really it's pretty average here in hippomanic territory. Must do better in this coming week.

Weigh In (Emily Sue)

Last week: 74.2kg
Today: 74.4kg
Difference: 200g gain
Total loss: 2.6kg

Err... oops. Oh, excuses. I haz them. I regularly take strong iron tablets and in the last few days I've been taking codeine for a sore tooth (and will continue to do so until my appt on Tuesday). These two things combined have had the effect of backing things up somewhat, if you know what I mean. And my period is due soon.

These things are true. But I also know I wasn't quite as careful about what I ate and even though I was within my points I wasn't making good food choices. And all exercise was incidental, not deliberate. And now I'm starting all my sentences with conjunctions...

Anyway, not to worry. It would have been good to see a loss but 200g isn't much and I'll be back on track this coming week.
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An Unexpected Burst of Energy (HJ)

Is it that it is Spring?

Is it that the vitamins and supplements that the doctor has put me on have had a couple of weeks to kick in?

Is it that the cold I've been fighting for months has finally died?

Is it that my brain is feeling stimulated by the reading I'm doing for my next assignment?

Is it that I've been able to do more rowing than just the 5min warm-up, 5 min warm-down that has been all I could manage while suffering with the dreadful cold?

Is it that I've been having fun at Zumba?



Whatever it is, I like it!

What if I became a gym junkie? (HJ)

Okay, it's not that likely.

But yesterday I went and did a Zumba class in the morning.

Visiting at the hospital has some advantages. One is that little ol' ladies talk about their daughters and the fact she "goes to a Zoom-something-or-other class that is sort of like aerobics, but fun and dancing and they wriggle their hips and she's really trimmed down (but she shouldn't lose anymore weight, or there'll be nothing of her)."

So I found out that there are Thursday morning sessions at the local Anglican church hall; that they cost $8.50 per session; and it's a small class so that it is more fun and less embarrassing.

My usual Thursday morning event was not on this week, so I went.

I'm quite comfortable in church halls.

Unlike gyms.

Had a ball. Can't really do it at all, but that's okay, no-one else can either.

And every 10th session is free - just like coffee!

And they have classes at night, too.

And no mirrors so that I can fool myself into thinking that I look exactly like the instructor, even if I have much more to jiggle.

And whilst I found I could not do THAT with my hips at the same time as doing THAT with my feet and it was absolutely impossible to do THAT with my arms at the same time as both of the above, it has done something to my hips.

They are released.

I can't keep them still.

They keep moving everytime I hear music...

...and sometimes when I don't - because my head sometimes runs music that only I can hear.

This could get embarrassing.

But I want to go again, embarrassment or not.



On another note, I did not weigh-in last week.

There was a reason.

I did today, though and I've put on 200 grams for the fortnight.

And while I'd be excited to lose 200g, I'm not that excited to have put on 200g - but I'm not going to slit my wrists about it.

I just need to row more.

And ZUMBA!!!

Weigh In (Emily Sue)

Last week: 75.5kg
Today: 74.2kg
Difference: 1.3kg loss
Running total: 2.8kg loss

The bods on The Biggest Loser would be devastated with such a 'tiny' weight loss. I, however, am living in the real world and I think it's pretty darn awesome. :D

And she doesn't even know she can do this...

Okay, I've got a confession to make.

It's actually Hippomanic Jen here, but I've just been setting up a profile and permissions for my Mum to exist on line and be able to comment.

And she could post too, if she can get past the technology. We'll have to see about that.

Now I just need to let her know her username, password and profile name, and show her how it all works.

Preferably before she next logs on to see what's happening in the world of Skinny Cow.

The good thing is that she's now getting over the dog bite she acquired before Easter, so that she is starting to exercise again. So we'll have to see how things go.

Weigh In (Emily Sue)

My first weigh in after my first week of Weight Watchers...

Last week: 77kg
Today: 75.5kg
Difference: 1.5kg loss

Woo hoo! Now I was going to qualify it and say that last week when I weighed in I had my period and so I was heavier anyway and it's the first week and you always lose more in the first week blah blah blah, but a friend pointed out the other day that every time I talk about an achievement or something positive I then downplay it with something negative. So I'm just going to say, "I lost 1.5kg this week" and leave it at that.

I also rediscovered exercise this week and have been on the treadmill three or four times. It's not so bad, really... okay, I don't love it yet but I do feel better for it. Perhaps one day I'll be able to exercise without having to force myself, but hey... whatever. Just so long as I do it.

Well, you see, there was this camp... (HJ)

Actually was pretty good, though. Didn't have seconds. Refused cakey-things and bickies until lunchtime Sunday when I accidentally ate two pieces of cake (I got one for my Beloved, then it disappeared - I presume I ate it).

This week's loss is 300grams. I'm not complaining, it is a step in the right direction and came with an additional centimeter off my waist - that's got to be good.

I've been reflecting on a time in my life when I lost weight without trying. I was sick and the doctor told me to avoid sugar, artificial colours and flavours, preservatives, white flour products and some fruits like citrus, pineapple and tomatoes. I probably took it further because I was not keen on grainy or wholemeal flour, therefore why would I bother eating them?

I probably ended up the skinniest I've been since I turned into an adult. I don't know, though, because I didn't possess scales and wasn't aiming at losing weight - I was aiming at gaining energy to exist. However, my interview suit skirt (that I haven't been able to wear for many, many years - not even when I got married 18 kg ago) was big on me.

And that's the marvel. I was doing approximately no exercise, because walking from the letterbox or up the stairs at work was almost too much for me at the time.

So really, if I cancel out rubbish food my weight should slide down.

So why do I eat rubbish?

THAT, my friends, holds the key to this whole thing.

Sometimes good intentions are not enough (Emily Sue)

So don't get me wrong - Operation Skinny Cow is great and I have no intention of leaving. However, I'm realising that posting every three months and never actually changing my habits is - for some bizarre reason - not really working for me. Go figure.

This morning, inspired by a friend who did the same thing last Thursday, I joined Weight Watchers. It's not that I don't know how to eat properly, nor do I want to give up on the OSC support, but given that it will be TWO YEARS in October since we started this blog and I am now heavier than when I started... well, it seems I'm not doing so well on the 'motivating oneself' thing.

Today's weigh in: 77kg
Healthy weight range: 66-53kg
Goal weight: 64kg (that may change, but it's what I got to last time and it was a good weight for my body shape and height)
Motivation: pretty high... well, it's Day 1! :D

I'm going to meetings on Saturdays so I'll update after I get home each time.
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What the? (HJ)

I have been pretty good this week eating-wise. There have been a number of times (make that lots and lots of times) that I have said an internal "no" to food I did not need.

I've also been back into the Weet Bix and fruit for brekky, rather than toast (the problem being what I put on the toast - plus the fact that Weet Bix is better fibre) and trying to make all the food I eat reasonably healthy (except the Smith's Original chips - They are the splurge I have allowed myself in small doses when I could be going for something worse).

There were a couple of factors involved in this motivation-wise:

1. I recently went over the nasty number I'd been wanting to avoid. Thereby reaching my heaviest ever (and I've been doing that consistently over the last little while - getting to my heaviest ever, that is. And there's plenty more kilograms on the scales to keep increasing that little number if I so choose.)

2. On the 9th October I'm down to be a model in the fashion parade for our church Spring Fair. I would like to avoid wearing clothes with a one and an eight in their size. It would also be good if they looked okay. (Not holding my breath on that as the lady at the shop who does the choosing doesn't always manage to find flattering colours and styles for me. Apparently everyone under the age of 40 looks good in black, whereas I possibly at a stretch could have got away with it at 20, but mid-way through my 30s my skin simply does not want to play with borderline shades, and I turn into a ghost. I need the soft, clear colours that she doesn't stock. But moving right along...)

3. I found out that next year some of the girls from my year at school are planning a reunion. So by an unspecified time next year there needs to be a lot less of Jen.

4. Hubs has recently had some health investigations that have made me wonder if I would do so well. Perhaps I could be little healthier in my exercise and eating patterns.

So my plan was to take off 1.1 kg in a week to get back under the hideous number.

Then next goal to loose 4 kg (preferably before the Fashion Parade - a little under 2 months. Possible?).

Then another 4 kg before the end of the year.

Then another 4 kg before easter next year.

That will get me back to "stalling weight" where I was before loosing my weightloss mojo. It also gets me out of the "overweight" scores for BMI. I will try to maintain this for a few months, then decide whether I should try for another 4 kg. (That's still 4 kg off my original goal of wedding weight, but I'm willing to revise that goal in light of the fact that I bounced last time, and the time before that, and the time before that...)

So imagine my surprise when I got on the scales this morning and had lost 2.3 kilograms?!! 2.3. That's a whole lot more than I was planning! That means I only have 2.8 kg to go before the week of the Spring Fair, making it more possibly possible. Possibly.

The even better thing is that I've taken off 2.5 cm off my waist. That means that clothes will fit so much better, my risk for heart disease and diabetes are heading down, and it will be less likely that people will accuse me of pregnancy.

I think this has put me in an excellent head-space to head off to our Youth and Family Camp. I will be healthy. I will refuse seconds. I will try to be good at snack-times and for dessert. Try? Now there's a recipe for success!

Over the top with Jen. (HJ)

I don't want to admit what's happened this end.

I don't want anyone to know.

I weighed.

It was nasty.

Then I went to a church morning tea.

There were pikelets and lamingtons.

And then this afternoon I found out that they are planning for my class' 20 year reunion next year.

That should be motivation, surely?

I really need to do something.

Comments on this blog

Sorry to do this but I have had to alter comment permissions so that ONLY members of this blog (ie, people who can post) are able to post comments. We had been getting a lot of spam comments so I turned on word verification and turned off anonymous commenting but it made no difference at all - we've still been getting five or six spam comments per post.

Sigh. I really hate having to crack down on comments and to block non-members but it's become simply ridiculous. If you are not currently a member of the blog and you would like to be, please drop me an email at reachingforgreen@gmail.com.
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I think I'm back (Emily Sue)

I can't remember the last time I posted and I can't remember what I weighed then, but I know for sure I've put on weight since then. In fact I think I'm at my heaviest Skinny Cow weight now and I'm only about 7kg off the weight I was when I joined Weight Watchers several years ago. Sigh. That's NOT good.

So... remember all my grand plans? Fit by 40? C25K? Ahem... yeah, not doing so well. Actually I was doing well on C25K (and by extension, on Fit by 40) but then I injured my ankle and by the time it finally healed my motivation had packed up and moved north to a little beachside cottage. Who could blame it, really?

But anyway, now I'm back. I just did Week 1, Day 1 of C25K and I didn't die so I reckon that's an excellent start. It was hard but not so hard as it was the very first time I did it so I suppose that means I haven't lost ALL the fitness I gained... just MOST of it. Still, I'm pretty pleased to have dusted off the treadmill and actually done something. Feel free to motivate me (ie, nag).

Heading in the Right Direction! (HJ)

I said to Emily Sue earlier this week that I couldn't wait to weigh-in this week because I've rowed every day for 30 minutes. Even when I had to get up before 7am in order to fit it in before work.

And as these things go I felt brilliant after rowing on Thursday and then had to push myself the whole way through Friday. Why aren't the results the same every time? I'm rowing later in the day today, because I didn't feel like getting all hot and sweaty first up this morning.

But the really good thing is that (even with all the muscle-building rowing I did) I lost 800g. That's very nearly close to a whole kilogram.

So, the results stand at 79kg and going down!

Oh, and the good news is that I wasn't being overly careful what I ate.

I weighed. I rowed. (HJ)

The title is heralding the bad news/good news that is my Saturday morning.


I weighed. 79.8kg. Not quite the 80kg that I've been hoping I don't tip over, and I think a little heavier than my last attempt. But I didn't mention numbers last time, and I didn't write it down in my trendy spreadsheet that tracks my weightloss (or lack thereof). So I'm claiming 100g off my last previous recorded weigh-in, even if I think it was actually a 300g increase from memory.

On the good side - after holidays; starting rowing; getting a bad chesty cold that stopped me rowing; going to a church meeting where I essentially ate and sat; and then a food-fest visit from one of my favourite Victorians (although we DID walk - aren't we good?) I am back on the rowing machine.

I have done my 30 mins for three days running now.

I am very proud of that.

Even if for a few days there I couldn't raise my hands above my head without pain.

And of course, that would be making me heavier. All that muscle developing as the fat starts to drop off.

And while I would like to get back into my skinny clothes (I'm stretching my fat clothes at the moment), and I would like to look skinnier, and I would like the numbers on the scales to head in a downwards direction, what I really want is to be able to walk without puffing and feel stronger in body and mind. And that is starting to begin to commence to happen.

So for this week I am content. (as long as I don't contemplate how on earth I managed to put on nearly 12kg without thinking about it - or, more to the point, without doing anything about it)

But I rowed. Peace and Serenity to you all this lovely Saturday morning...

Reality

I seem to have stabilised and hovering around the new numbers. I'd love to drop another 5 k, then another 2, but for now I will see if I can remain stable over winter.

By my scale, that gives me a 16 - 18 kilo loss.

I was gobsmacked to buy size 10 jeans (OK, granted they were a big make, but I will take what I can!) and wear a youth's medium sized T shirt on the weekend.

Reality came back when I was fitted for a new bra - 14F.

Somethings never change.

I weighed (HJ)

It wasn't as bad as I'd hoped.

Less than the horrible round number I never want to reach.

But still more than I was when we started this thing. *sigh*

I am pleading a bad cold which hit my lungs, making exercise impossible. I was needing a rest after such heavy tasks as walking up one flight of stairs and hanging out a load of washing.

I have a meeting this weekend, so there won't be any weighing. But I will be trying to be good, and I'll also be hitting the rowing machine when I return. I was getting a good 20 minutes in before this cold. I hope it won't take long to get back to that.

So I'm still not weighing in...

I told you I wouldn't, and I haven't, and I still have no desire to.

But (and this is a big but - perhaps even bigger than mine) I have been trying to eat better (although with no actual plan) and I have started rowing again.

I started with 5 mins with stretches fore and aft (and sideways too), and have been working it up slowly. After hitting the 10 minute mark with no total muscle stiffness-to-the-point-of-pain I've jumped up to 15 and then 20 minutes this morning. I'm aiming to get back to my 30 minutes, preferably 3 or 4 times a week.

On the other hand, I haven't been walking regularly. The LBD did enjoy one afternoon out, but I haven't got enthusiastic again. I must because it does wonders for my mental health; the LBD enjoys it; and it is after all physical activity.

When I'm up to doing 30 mins on the rowing machine I'm going to start pestering my Beloved to fix my bike's brake so that I might be able to do some of my everyday trips on bike rather than car. My town is only about 10 minutes in the car to anywhere - and the time wasting part is getting into the car and finding a park at the other end. I can walk to town in 30 minutes, and the bike is somewhere between. Exercise that is incidental to daily routine is much better for me - and it would be excellent to be riding a bike that has brakes on both the front and rear wheels, rather than just the front (particularly when I consider the hill I live on).

So whilst I'm still holding out on the actual weighing thing, I am doing some things that might help in the reduction of Jen prior to that deadline. Two more Saturdays to go...

Had one of those moments earlier this week. Was going to a funeral and wanted to wear my good suit pants. They are very snug. Mum suggested yesterday that I probably shouldn't be wearing them, because I might split the seams (thanks, Mum) but I had nothing else good enough to wear to a funeral. So there definitely needs to be less of Jen. I'm just hoping by weigh-in day I'm under the scary big round number that I don't want to think about.

Fingers crossed.

And the whole holiday was not about food... (HJ)

... but much of it was.

As an international traveller I can tell you lots about complimentary breakfasts.

1. Continental Breakfast - either the hotel is cheap, or I am. Dry toast and soggy cereal and maybe a croissant if you're lucky. Why bother?

2. English Breakfast - toast and eggs and bacon and baked beans and maybe a grilled tomato. Pretty darn good!

3. Asian Breakfast - all of the above, plus various noodle and stir-fry dishes, roti canai (an indian bread with yummy sauce stuff), pancakes, danishes (in one place bread and butter pudding!?!) A choice of omlette or eggs the way you like them (boiled, fried, scrambled), rice porridge etc, etc, etc. Really yummy and lots of it and you don't actually need lunch.

4. American Breakfast - the last hotel we stayed at had a buffet Amercian breakfast. I was interested to see what it included to make it different to the Asian ones we'd been having. The main difference was that the food was cold and there wasn't as much choice. I don't know if the food being cold was done on purpose, but srispy cold hash browns don't really cut it (and I LOVE hash browns).

Anyway, I'm giving myself three weeks before I think about getting on the scales, because I DON'T WANT TO KNOW. Okay with everybody?

Not weighing in until I'm home (HJ)

Things have been busy. I have been comfort eating instead of taking time to rest. I am now on holidays and let's face it, I'm not going to weigh in until I'm home. I might not even do it then if I end up doing a food tour of Malaysia. Thankfully they don't yet make the passengers get on the scales before they board the plane.

See you all later!!

Hippomanic Jen

Weigh In Wednesday (Emily Sue)

Last week: 71.9
Today: 72.4
Difference: 500g gain

Yeah... I've started eating again. :)  I have, however, mostly just been eating normal meals and not a lot of snacky stuff so I think this is just bouncing back to 'normal' after the too-busy-to-eat thing. And it's 400g less than I was a fortnight ago so I'm still happy.

Hmmm... and exercise. Still haven't done any, apart from a half hour walk yesterday with a friend. This week - I swear!

Hard-Core (Manda)

I am officially going hard-core. No more wishy-washy, "I can eat this and this and this and maybe I'll still lose a little bit of weight" thoughts. No more gradually fitting into my pants less and less.

NO MORE!

Inspired by the success of Eizelby, I've decided not to "try" any more, but to actually do it! This means changing the way I think (I've found "I feel better if I don't snack much" and "I will feel better after this party if I have only had one dessert" to be working so far). It means eating more salads as meals, rather than something I only get to after two other courses. It means eating "3/4 serves" at dinner as the food is delicious and I tend to go overboard (and what I feel to be 3/4 is probably a real serve anyway).

Long term goal: get to 68 by September.
Short term goal: If I get to 73 before April 6, I get a massage.
Last week: 74
This week: 73.2!

I lost some weight for the first time in a while! Now to keep going.

Long time no being accounted for! (Eizelby)

Hello fellow aspiring cows! It sure has been awhile! The archives tell me that my last update was in July, which shames me. I’m sorry!

To refresh your memories of where I left off, I was about 2kg within sight of my goal weight. Since then I managed to get through summer camp season with maintained weight loss, and in December hit my goal weight of 65kg – which was very exciting! I then somehow lost another kilogram, and sat at 64kg for about a week before starting a slow, steady gain again.

However, despite a recent birthday binge and general disregard for healthy eating habits, the scales have been kind to me. I do suspect that this reflects loss of muscle due to a decrease in my regular walking, but it’s still somewhat encouraging.

So, where to now?
I’m currently sitting at 66kg – one kilo above my original goal weight. Having tasted 64kg for the first time in ages, I think with a bit of self discipline I can maintain that weight in a long-term capacity. That is my new goal!

How do I plan to achieve this?
Starting fulltime work and gaining a boyfriend in the past few months have culminated in me pretty much farewelling regular exercise, and saying hello to poor eating habits, such as drinking daily iced coffees and making pizza at midnight. No more I say!

To reach and maintain my goal weight, I will …
- join the dance studio which has branches both near my house and workplace
- get off my tram 3 stops early and walk the rest of the way EVERY TIME
- redevelop the magical habit of saying “no” to yummy things
- not eat after dinner – this does wonders for the waist and leaves me feeling great in the morning!

Goals and rewards
My goal is to lose 2kg, and to generally get a bit fitter than I currently am. My reward is feeling great, and a new pair of jeans.

Weigh In Wednesday... on Thursday (Emily Sue)

Last time: 72.8kg
Today: 71.9kg
Difference: 900g loss

I am ashamed to say this is almost entirely due to being busy/stressed and having neither the time nor the energy to eat very much at all... but you know what? When I see a number like 71.9 after seeing numbers in the 74s, I'm going to blog about it anyway!

Also, it's time for me to try running again to see how my ankle holds up. I've been a bit scared to try, to be honest, because it was pretty painful last time I tried and I'm afraid of injuring it again. However, I'm going to need to start again some time, and gently strengthen it... so feel free to nag me. :D

Weigh-In Weds (Givinya)

So this morning I hopped on the scales ... wait that's not right.  That never works.

So this morning I put my contact lenses in and hopped on the scales (there's nothing sillier than having your weight plainly displayed in huge numbers but not be able to see them, then bending over to see them and bumping your naked ass on the edge of the vanity because you've chosen to weigh in before your shower "to give yourself an edge", har har har!) and the numbers were a huge surprise: 61.7kg.

1.7kgs to my goal weight!

Then I hopped off, went to the toilet and got back on again.

64.7kg.

Scientifically impossible, still encouraging, but NOT 1.7 kgs to my goal weight.

I then drank three sips of water and the scales read 65.7 kg.  So.  You know.  All I can really do is rule out the possibilites that I am over 80kg or under 50kg, that's the best I can tell you.

In terms of oscillating numbers, they've been hovering around the 65s and sometimes breaking into the 64s this week, with a few depressing days of 67s and 68s.  I've never really watched my weight before, but I assume that the ole one about retaining fluid must be correct if those (average) readings are correct.

But I'm not able to blame anything on the time of the month, cos that's not happening for me.  Which is a very good thing and must not be sniffed at.

Speaking of oscillating numbers, my blood pressure is high again, but I just got my (currently low) dose of medication increased so we're not worried.  I'm still reading labels and finding that if you stick to fruit and veges with some clever choices of bread and other foods, it's EASY to stick to a healthy number of mg of sodium a day.  If however you do something RADICAL like eat a rissole, well say goodbye to all your good work.  The western diet sets us up to fail, I tell ya!

Plan:

• stop eating so much bread, woman!  What happened to the 2 slices of heavy grainy stuff a day?
• stop cooking with cream and parmesan.  In particular, stop making this.
• stop enjoying food.

Ha! Like that's ever going to happen!

Anyone want to come over to my place for a risotto party?

Weigh In Wednesday (Emily Sue)

I weighed myself this morning and I seem to weigh the same as last time. This means that the following things have not caught up with me yet:

1. The staff retreat where I ate:
     * Bacon and eggs
     * Filet mignon (which is wrapped in bacon)
     * Chips
     * Chocolate
     * Lemon meringue pie
     * A fantastic risotto
     * Jelly snakes
     * Ice cream (to which we added Maltesers, Smarties and pieces of chocolate)
     * Tim Tams
     * A huge BLT with chips on the side

2. Five days off work, where I ate such things as:
     * Banana cake
     * Choc chips (from the packet)
     * Dark chocolate brownies
     * McDonald's bacon & egg muffin and hash brown (okay, two hash browns)
     * Chocolate

I feel like a ticking time bomb... :)