Falling off the wagon, and progressing (Givinya)

I should not be having so many treats (and slices of white bread) but the scales are saying it's not hurting me too much.  Since my scales oscillate quite wildly, I have been watching the trends.

A few weeks ago, the numbers were above 65kg: 66-point-something to 67-point-something.

Over the last week, my numbers have consistently been 65-point-something.

And now, sometimes, I see some interesting 64-point-somethings.

Funny what a little bit of success can do to your resolve - I'm heading back onto that wagon now.

Weigh In Wednesday (Emily Sue)

Last Wednesday my scales said 74.5kg. However, every other day for the preceding week they'd said 73.4kg, and I've weighed myself every day since then and it was always around the seventy-three-point-low-number mark... so I'm taking that as accurate. Therefore...

Last week: 73.4kg
Today: 72.8kg
Difference: 600g loss

Yay. It's still impossible for me to run on my ankle but I'm able to walk without limping and with only a twinge of pain if I go too far or too fast, so I'm currently trying to find the balance where I walk enough to do me good but not so much that I re-injure the ankle.

Weigh In Wednesday.... sort of... (Emily Sue)

So yesterday morning I weighed myself. 73.4kg. Okay, that puts me back to where I was before I started C25K but still not bad considering I haven't been able to exercise. I can live with that.  However, I thought I would weigh myself this morning too, just to make it an official Weigh In Wednesday.

74.5kg

Okay then. I've managed to gain 1.1kg in a day? Well, I did have an exceptionally good hot chocolate in the morning, and a couple of choc wheaten biscuits in the afternoon, but 1.1kg??  Insane... and my scales are not crazy like others I could mention.

I think I'm calling this a No-Weigh Wednesday because I have no idea what I really weigh. I'll be back next week to see if I can lose a kilo overnight instead of gaining it.

Wit (Manda)

As Tuesday is my day off, I'm now going with a Weigh-in Tuesday. WIT.

Last week, I weighted 73.2
Today, I weighed 73.4, which is a gain of .2 and a loss of 0
Next week, I hope to weigh: 72.8


Will Manda reach her achievable (but-only-if-she-stops-eating-lots-of-chocolate) goal? Will planet earth still be turning in a week? Tune in next time to... Operation Skinny Cow.

Oh THANKS! I think. (Givinya)

I was telling a friend recently that I was going back to work soon, and wouldn't be able to afford any new clothes until a few weeks after I'd started.  She said, "But you'll need new clothes in order to start work."

Firstly - wow.  You have more money than I do sister.

Secondly - what?  You think I NEED new clothes before I start?  What are you saying about my current clothes?

Anyway.  Bygones.

She was recently doing a clear-out of her wardrobe and instead of sending her old stuff off to charity, she decided to give it to me, given my dire clothing situation.

There's some really nice stuff in there!  She's getting rid of it because she doesn't fit it anymore, and this means there are some really nice tops and lined skirts, perfect for work clothes in there.

Problem is, they are H-U-G-E on me.  Just ballooney.

Some tops I can wear without them showing too much chest.  Some skirts I can wear without them dropping straight off my hips and onto the floor.  The rest will go into storage and possibly passed on to charity if I never get large* again.

So that was a nice gesture.

Or was it?

What are you supposed to think when a friend gives you clothes because "you might fit them better than I do" and then you realise they are all quite largely large?

If she had grown too skinny for them, I'd be offended.  But I assume she has grown too big for them, so offense cannot really be taken.

Or can it?


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* large = pregnant?  Possibly?  Maybe?  Hopefully?   Twould be nice.

Damp Spirits Add to Weight (Givinya)

Had I remembered to post this Weigh-In Wednesday I would have reported that my scales are most definitely settling on a particular number only 5kg above my goal which seems very encouraging.

However, discouraged by the last few months of good eating and exercise resulting in no actual LOSS despite feeling fitter, thinner and healthier, I have been eating too many treats. 

Whether this has resulted in the scales now saying that another 2kg has come out of nowhere or whether the scales are being their usual cantankerous selves, I do not know.

It is wise to remember that each day we are supposed to drink 2kg (L) of water, and presumably excrete the same, and therefore fluctuations within 2kg are to be expected.  I guess.  I made it up, but it sounds reasonable.

Well.  It rained through the roof of our pergola tonight and drenched not only acres of clean dry folded clothes, but it also drenched my spirits as well.  Perhaps when my spirits dry out in the sunshine tomorrow, I will weigh less.

Almost ready for market (HJ)

Does anyone remember the name of the anorexic duck from the movie "Babe"? The depths of my brain are saying "Ferdinand", but I'm not certain.

His idea was that if he didn't put on any weight, he wouldn't be eaten for Christmas dinner.

I think that if I was a duck, I'd be a sitting duck for the dinner table (or a dead duck, if you prefer).

If I were a cow, I'd be fetching a pretty darn impressive price at the weekly sales.

I have lost 0.3kg this week. I think it's probably just muscle loss, because we've been having a week of prayer at 7.15 am all week, and that cuts into my normal row-shower-eat time. There's no point rowing if I can't shower afterwards. I don't belong to a church that uses incense and scented candles, and boy, wouldn't they need to be strong if I hadn't showered after rowing!

I also couldn't say that I've been eating well, either. No siree.

I have, however, done my first lot of 11 sets of stairs today and I didn't die. Is good.

For some reason I don't feel terribly motivated by those 300g going missing, possibly because the actual number is still not worth getting excited about (or mentioning in cyberspace).

Hope that you all are getting some happy numbers, or at least feeling better about your exercise levels.

Blobby blobs of blobbiness

An astute Skinny Cow may glean from my post title that I haven't quite been on track recently. Sure, I have an injury (which may, in fact, be a stress fracture - waiting for x-ray results) but that doesn't mean I necessarily needed to eat all those chocolate coated ice creams. Or the barbecue chips. Or the chocolate biscuits. Or the sausages/bacon/mushroom fry-up from the other night.  Don't you love the logic? "I can't exercise, so I'll triple my caloric intake, and make sure most of it is fat and sugar."

And in a Burst Of The Ironic, I ate much of this whilst lying on the couch watching The Biggest Loser.

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The dog ate my homework (HJ)

... or the computer ate my post. Take your pick of excuse.

Had a long story about how good I was with the exercise last week and how my weight had gone up, but that was okay, because I was feeling better in myself, and as if the number on the scales matters.

Then the computer ate it and then wouldn't let me make any posts on Saturday.

This week my exercise rate is not as great and my eating has been atrocious.

I promise I won't post the recipe for a killer chocolate cake that you can make in a large coffee mug in about 5 minutes with the aid of your microwave. No mixing bowls, only a mug and a couple of spoons. It is particularly nice still warm, served with ice-cream.

The only good thing is that I've been sharing with my Beloved, so it's not the WHOLE mug cake I've been eating.

You girls, keep up your exercise, I'm off to... (hesitates longingly)... go to sleep.

Weigh-In Wednesday (Givinya)

My scales don't show any change (bar the usual craziness I've come to expect from my manic scales) however I feel great, and I think I am even looking better.  I am going to deem that THAT COUNTS.

Weigh in Wednesday (SJ)

So I bravely jumped on the scales today after a week of walking the school run....

600g down. Cool. Now if I just alter my eating a bit better I should start losing more [hopefully].

Ouch. Ouch. Oh, and... ouch. (Emily Sue)

C25K is going well and deciding to redo Week 5 was a great idea. On Tuesday, Australia Day, I did W5D2 - that's the one with two 8 minute runs and a 5 minute walk in between. During the 5 minute walk I felt a tiny twinge in my left ankle, but didn't worry too much because it was only a small pain and kind of understandable since I'd just run for 8 minutes straight. I finished the walk and launched into the second run. Once I started running I couldn't feel the ankle so assumed all was fine.

You know what they say about assumptions, right? Indeed.

So, I'm nursing a stuffed ligament and unable to exercise at the moment. The doctor said I could swim or ride a bike. Swimming is out since I don't actually know how, and bike riding is out for now because it would involve a fair bit of ankle movement which, frankly, is way too painful... even today, four days after I injured it. I am, therefore, sitting on the lounge with my foot up, watching DVDs.  NOT conducive to weight loss or fitness. Sigh.

And ouch.
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Congrats to ALL

Hip-Jen wrote this as a comment on a post but I thought it deserved its own post:

"And people, I'd love to congratulate us all for getting back into Operation Skinny Cow with enthusiasm - even if the results are a mixed bag for now.

We've had so many posts in the last week. Well done, Cowgirls!"

Indeed. Well done to everyone! This is about making an effort and giving each other support, and that's what's been happening for the last few weeks. We totally rock. :D  Let's keep going!

Manda would love to share some good news...

...It's just that there isn't any!

I've been away on camp.

I ate a lot of food.

I ate a log of sugary food.

My tummy is bigger, and my bum is bigger.

But - at least I'm still exercising. I did a run and a DVD today, a hi-lo class on Saturday, a small run and weights last week... so it could be worse.

Plus: I'm getting shoulder muscles, and did my first ever on-my-toes push-up!

I'll weigh-in on Wednesday... it's not looking good though...

C2272S (HJ)

I've been following Emily Sue's efforts in the C25K programme. I think it must help to have a goal and incremental steps that push you, but don't actually kill you.

I have now got myself a goal. Near Kuala Lumpur there are the Batu Caves, which we are visiting in April. The brochure says that they have 272 steps. That's alot of steps.

When I was being interrogated by the nurse prior to surgery she used the "Can you do 4 flights of stairs" test to check whether I was fit or not.

Obviously I am not.

And four flights is only about 64 steps.

Bother.

So, I'm in training. As well as attempting 3 x 30 minute rows a week (which I have actually been doing for two weeks now), I have to work up to 16 x our internal stairs. Precisely.

Initially I thought it was 17 times, but I was counting the 16 step treads, not the 17 risers. In a little mathematical fluke it turns out that 272 is actually 16 x 17, so it still works out an even number. However, I'm working on being able to do 20 x internal stairs so that I'll know I'm right for the day in airless cave conditions.

At the moment I can do 5. And then sit down for 5 minutes with my feet up. But hey, I've got 10 weeks 'til we go, so I should be able to make this. Each week I shall increase the number by 2 sets of stairs, thereby hitting 17 by week 7 and 20 for week 9. (And then I'm going to have to work in hotel staircases for the week we're away before we get to K.L.) This is what I call my C2272S programme.

I will also need to push up my walking, because that is also something we'll probably be doing alot of.

So, my plan for this week (which actually started on Saturday):-

1. Row three times (yep, already did Saturday and today, so that's on track)

2. Walk three times (better get into that, because the LBD hasn't seen my walking shoes for weeks)

3. Do 5 flights of stairs at some point during the day every day (already did that yesterday - when I first realised that I needed to train for stairs - and today I did 2 lots, plus an additional three individual sets incidental to doing some washing downstairs)


Did you notice my total lack of any sort of weigh-in? Sort of bounced. Back to a nasty number. I'd love to say it was because I did heaps more exercise than normal and built muscle. It wasn't. I had a few eating incidents.

You know your fat when (Swift Jan)

You burn your tummy ironing a shirt.

Oh dear.

Two steps forward, one step back (Emily Sue)

Last Tuesday I did Week 5, Day 2 of C25K. Well, I sort of did it, but wasn't totally successful. It's now Saturday and I haven't done any exercise at all since then. The 'exercise 5 times per week' thing has long since fallen by the wayside (as has the healthy eating, most of the time) and now I'm just barely managing the 3 sessions of C25K. This is the week where it gets serious - Week 5 ends with a 20 minute, non-stop run and I know I'm not ready for that yet, even though technically I'm supposed to be since that's Day 3 and I did Day 2 on Tuesday.

So, today I decided I need to start Week 5 again and actually get serious about it this time.  I've just done Day 1 (still sweaty and everything) and it wasn't easy. I certainly managed it better than I would have two weeks ago but I still had to push myself to finish, which just confirms for me that taking a step back and repeating a week was the right decision.

Anyway I just wanted to post this because I've been posting a fair bit of "I'm running and losing weight and I feel fantastic and the world is totally rosy!!" stuff... and while it's partly true, it's not the whole story.

Also, for dinner last night I had toast with honey followed by three Choc Wedge ice creams...
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Is it Wednesday already? (Givinya)

I'm not having much luck with scales, party for the reason that I outlined in my comment to Swift Jan in the post below, and partly because it doesn't appear that the numbers are decreasing despite the fact that I'm feeling happy, healthy and fit.

So, if the scales are to be believed, I'm still above my goal weight.

If the evidence of your eyes is better, then you'd see that I'm looking pretty fit and healthy until I turn side-on and then you'd see the spare tyre that's giving me grief.  I believe that after having children, I can't expect to have a supermodel-tummy. 

In fact, supermodels who have had children say stuff like, "Yeah, that last 5kgs were really hard to lose - I had to really work at it."  Which means there's not a whole lot of hope for me, without my personal trainer, chef-prepared menus and without five child-free minutes a day in which to even walk the stupid dog.

But without the spare tyre, I could fit into my skinny jeans.  See, there's motivation.

Right - to business.  I've been having fun with my New Approach To Bread - keeping to 2 slices of Grainy Lawson's bread a day has been awesome!  The white-bread blowout of Saturday was not greatly satisfying, and I don't have cravings to go back there.

But I have a new challenge: SALT.  My blood pressure is taking a little hike upwards, and while I sort my medication out (I have essential hypertension following pre-eclampsia in my first pregnancy) I thought that decreasing my salt intake wouldn't be a bad idea.  After all, if I started limiting salty foods, I'd find that the fatty foods would also be limited.

I need to know how much is too much.  I found this out on The Vitamin Update:
"An amount of about 500 mg a day is considered adequate to maintain the body's salt concentration. Intake should be no more than 2.4 g of sodium per day which is the amount found in around one teaspoon of salt. ... In Australia, the recommended intake is 920 to 2300 mg per day."

500mg sounds like it's ideal but unattainable - otherwise why would they concede 920-2300mg?

And The Better Health Channel had this:
"The National Health and Medical Research Centre’s (NHMRC) suggested dietary target advises that Australian adults should aim to consume no more than 4g of salt a day (or 1,600mg of sodium) in order to prevent chronic disease. ... Nutritionists recognise it may be difficult for many people to reduce their salt intake to the ideal level, given our current food supply."

The average of 1600mg might be a good starting point.  I need a figure in my mind when reading nutrition information.

I thought it was kind of 'Nutritionists' to acknowledge that it can be hard to eat well, "given our current food supply."

Again from The Better Health Channel:
Heart Foundation advice is that all Australians should at least reduce their salt intake to less than 6g of salt a day (approximately 2,300mg of sodium a day) as a first step towards reaching the recommended levels. This is approximately 1½ teaspoons of salt.

Okay, so if I find 1600mkg is hard, I'll aim for 2300 to start with, and go from there.  I'll let you know if I'm anywhere near this (because I am already following many of the healthy eating tips on both those pages linked above) or if I'm not, and how hard it might be to cut down.

Dunno if I am ready (Swift Jan)

Hi all,

It's been a REALLY long time. Sorry.

I'm still not sure if I am ready to jump in yet. I think that when I am ready I want to REALLY knuckle down & lose the kilos. I dont feel like I can do that during the school holidays. But, soon school will go back & maybe then I can deal with all this.... horribly ugly flabby bits.
I have never been this big in all my life and its, well its terribly depressing.
Here's a confession. The day before Libby was born the anaethetist weighed me. He had to. I didn't want to. I really didn't want to. But he had to..... the scales said 3 numbers. yep thats right 3 numbers :( Ok so after Libby they are back down to 2 numbers again, but they are high. Its humiliating & I hate myself for getting here.
It seems so incredibly daunting to need to lose close to 40kgs. Thats so much. I think I might cry.

So you might see me around these parts again a bit more regulary in the coming weeks. I'm gonna need lots of encouragement.

Finally something happening! (Emily Sue)

Five weeks of running and it's finally starting to pay off.

Last week: 73.4kg
This week: 72.7kg
Difference: 700g loss

I did my very first run OUTSIDE yesterday, which was scary and a bit harder too. It was two 8-min runs with a 5-min walk in between, only I did a 9 min run and a 6 min 40 sec run... then my body refused to run one more step.  Next time it's a 20 minute run with no stopping, which terrifies me somewhat.

Also, I've stopped craving chocolate all the time. I've gone from a chocolate bar 5 times a week (yes, really) to one every 10 days or so... not because I'm restricting myself; just because I haven't felt like it. Bonus!
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