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.
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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.
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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.)

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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?