A day in the life of a 12WBTer

5.30am: weigh in day so I was out of bed and getting on the scales before having my regulation black coffee to kick start my day. Woo hoo! Lost 500g. That makes a total of 2kg lost since I started the program. Performed a little happy dance

6am-7am: workout time! This morning I had a cardio session and I was going to introduce some running. Omg this was going to be a big thing for me after 5 weeks of no running. Deep breaths!

I began with a 5min warm up walk on the treadmill before moving to the xtrainer for 10mins. On to the bike now for 10mins and then…this was it…10mins on the treadmill. Now I had to start trying some run intervals. On the treadmill screen I had the running track graphic and so I decided to alternate between 100m walks and 100m slow jogs. I had been instructed to run at the same pace as my brisk walking pace ie 6.5kph, so I certainly wasn’t setting a blistering pace! There were no problems with the running. Then it was on to my final 10mins on the xtrainer before finishing with 50 push-ups and 4 x 60sec planks.

And that was all I had time for before hitting the showers before the inevitable change room rush and scrum.

7.30am: finally…breakfast! Today I had oven roasted tomatoes on ricotta topped toast. It was also meant to have basil on it as well but my basil has withered and died in this cold weather and I only had coriander in the fridge. Oh well, it tasted fine anyway.

8.30am: work.

10.30am: tummy grumbles were telling me that it must be morning tea time. Ignored the half empty packet of Tim Tams on the table in the middle of our bay, and instead had corn thins topped with extra light cream cheese, chopped almonds and honey. Water! I must remember to drink more water. In this weather it’s so easy to forget even though I do have a bright blue water jug on my desk. I can hardly miss it!

12.30pm: meeting Mr B for lunch at Gus’s. Only problem is that I hadn’t anticipated it being so busy. The only tables available were outside and the heating wasn’t great. But I had no choice. I was hoping that the pumpkin soup I ordered would warm me up, along with long black. The soup might’ve done the trick if it had been a lot warmer than what it was – it was a bit of a disappointment. Thank goodness for good company!

4.30pm: feeling a bit peckish so I had an apple. This would keep me going until dinner…hopefully.

5.30pm: a brisk 10min walk to the car. It’s so cold even though I’ve got on a warm coat, scarf and gloves, as well as tights and boots.

6.15pm: start cooking dinner. Tonight we have Chicken Tikka curry with cauliflower mash. The chicken thighs had been marinating in a mixture of tikka curry paste and natural yoghurt since last night so it was just a matter of browning these in the frypan before adding chicken stock and coconut cream. I had doubled the recipe but now I realise I needn’t have doubled the stock and cream – too much liquid. Oh well, I’ll know for next time! There was enough left over for lunch tomorrow so that’s lunch sorted.

7pm: finally sit down to dinner. The curry was very mild but tasty nonetheless. And I’m not sure whether Mr CJ actually noticed that the mash was cauliflower and not potato. He didn’t comment anyway, and ate the lot!

7.30pm: pack the gym bag for tomorrow morning’s weight session. Put on a load of washing.

Now: doing my blog entry. Then I’ll have my nightly treat – a Jarrah hot chocolate. Maybe some knitting. Then off to bed.

A+ report card

This afternoon I had my physio appointment.

Had there been any improvement?

More importantly, would I be allowed to run?

What would my report card say?

Flashback to 5 weeks ago: doing 100m intervals. On the last one for the night I overdid it and felt that telltale crunch or pop, followed by an immediate stop mid-pace. Diagnosis: torn hamstring up at the attachment. How bad we didn’t know, without an MRI. The decision was made to treat it conservatively and see how it goes. The first week it was so sore – couldn’t walk far, couldn’t stand for long, even sitting was painful, given where the tear was.

I have been a model student, doing my prescribed exercises. And slowly, ever so slowly, I could do more. Now? Now I can do weighted lunges, squats, and hamstring curls. I can walk briskly (a surprise to many, including me!), use a recumbent bike and cross trainer. I’ve also followed my 12WBT program, working around the exercises I could do and substituting for those I couldn’t. No excuses.

And now? Now I can introduce short intervals of running during my walks, whether on the treadmill or outside. Woo hoo! Progress! I’m to use discomfort as a guide as to whether to continue, slow down or stop. Common sense really. I can also get on a conventional bike. And incorporate step ups in my program.

I also have some neural stretches to do to prevent scarring around the sciatic nerve, as the hammie heals.

I have a glowing report card – I’m an A+ student who applies herself diligently.

So, tomorrow it’s my cardio day. I’m off to the gym in the morning for a combination of the bike, cross trainer and treadmill and now I can include some…running! Glory be! Hallelujah! Woo hoo! And one helluva happy dance!

Upsy Daisy Day

Did you know that it is National Upsy Daisy Day today? No? I thought as much.

This day is a day set aside to encourage you to face the day positively, and to get up ‘gloriously, gratefully and gleefully’ each morning.

National Upsy Daisy Day, an “unofficial” National holiday (US) was created by Stephanie West Allen is 2003. Her desire in creating National Upsy Daisy Day was to make humor, laughter and a positive attitude part of the Upsy Daisy Day way.

To be honest, I can’t say that I got out of bed gloriously, gratefully and gleefully this morning. No sireee. Mr CJ was working this morning so got up at his usual time and brought me a coffee before leaving, at 5.20am. However, I didn’t have to get up for another hour as the pool/gym doesn’t open until 7am on weekends. This gave me an hour when evil CJ tried to convince me that I didn’t need to swim today.

That just a gym workout would be enough…

In fact, maybe a walk later in the day might be enough…

Despite the fact that today is my SSS.

Truly, I’m better off waking up just before the gym opens, have my coffee, get ready and go. No time for thinking. No time for evil CJ to think up lots of reasons why I don’t need to go.

So I used the 10 minute tactic this morning: show up, do 10 mins and if I’ve had enough, call it a day. It was really the swimming that I was resisting. I was okay with doing the gym workout. But true to form, once I got in the pool I forgot about the 10 min rule and completed my swim session: 1km.

This was followed by 6 x 25m of pool walking in the shallow pool.

Up in the gym I alternated between bike and treadmill: a total of 20min on the bike & 25 min on the treadmill. In between there were lunges, squats, push ups, bridges, SSS twisting crunches and planks. Total time in the gym: 1hr 04.55min.

Continuing with the new food/recipe challenge, I made kale chips this afternoon which were delicious. And tonight for dinner, with the lemon & chilli marinated pork and roast pumpkin, I am having roasted Brussels sprouts with toasted almonds.

So all in all, I think I had an upsy daisy day!

“Everyday is a gift and if we remember that as we rise each morning, it will help us carry a good attitude throughout the day, whatever the day may bring us. Life is full of challenges and bumps in the road, it is our attitude that helps us over the bumps and through the challenges to move onward with a smile.” – Upsy Daisy Day, National Day Calendar

The week that was: review of week 3

I can’t believe that it’s been almost 3 weeks since I started this round of 12WBT. It used to be said that to form a habit takes 21 days. However there seems to be a shift in thinking lately that it takes anywhere between 26 – 66 days depending on the habit you’re either trying to make or break.

However I have noticed that I’m not picking at food between meals, I’m trying to differentiate between head and stomach hunger (ie kicking the emotional eating habit) and most of the time I’m satisfied with less on my plate. It does help that the weekly menus offer up tasty options and for someone who loves variety, this program offers plenty of variety.

Not that I’m anywhere near perfect, no way, not by a long shot. Ask me again in 66 days!

This was how week 3 panned out for me:

Monday – froze on my early morning walk. Note to self: wear more warm clothes! Dealt with a social event with amazing restraint. Diet coke anyone?!

Tuesday – apparently I’m an elite athlete according to a health check I had today! On the serious front, my cholesterol ratio is improving. This has been a long time coming. Had my weekly physio appointment and there has been some teensy improvement – I have been given the go ahead to use a recumbent bike at the gym!

Wednesday – lost 300g! Discovered that lentils and I have an uncomfortable relationship. Underwhelmed with dhal.

Thursday – weights session and 5 mins on the recumbent bike! Amazing how little things like this can make my day! Busy planning next weeks menu and exercise program.

Friday – a hungry day. The grumbling gremlins made their presence felt in the afternoon. Drove me crazy. But I didn’t attack the charity chocolate box (just thought about!)

Saturday – my version of a SSS – swim, pool walking, bike, treadmill and weights. The grumbling gremlins hung around again today. Deployed my secret weapon. I also made and ate an awesome chicken, roasted eggplant and capsicum roll with ricotta & baby spinach for lunch. Did the final 50 push-ups for a total of 300 for the week (two weeks now).

Sunday – rest day. Loved the smoked salmon cases with salad for lunch. Very fancy schmancy!

Week 4 – bring it on!

Those fancy schmancy smoked salmon & tomato cases with salad

Doing it my way

Super Saturday Session (aka SSS) today. So no sleep in but instead I was up early to get ready for swim and gym. I was wondering why on earth I was doing this, as I was drinking my coffee. I’m injured so surely that’s my get out of jail card? Well, no. Lame excuse really, but was worth a try

First up was my swim session: 200m warm up, then 500m with pull buoy, and finally 500m without. Total: 1.2km

Next: 4 x 25m pool walking.

Gym session: I had to modify today’s SSS because I can’t do any of the lower body exercises such as burpees, lunges, etc (there is a god!). So I did things my way!

5 min warm up on the bike
Then 3 circuits of the following:
20 bridges
20 push ups
5 min bike
20 one arm rows (10kg)
20 dips
20 barbell shoulder presses (10kg)
20 barbell bicep curls (10kg)
5 min treadmill walk
Total: 63 min

The grumbling gremlins had started before I even left home this morning so the grumbles from my my stomach were almost deafening by the time I got home again 2 hours later! I was starving.

It’s been a wet, miserable and cold day – appropriate for the first day of winter. I’ve had to employ my secret weapon this afternoon to stop any unnecessary snacking. It doesn’t help that Mr CJ had bought a packet of chocolate coated marshmallows, waves them under my nose and then proceeds to eat them in front of me, one by one.

Is it time yet?! Is it?! Is it?!

This is what I’m like as I’m waiting for 10am to tick over. Why? Because that’s when I can get access to next weeks exercise and meal plans. I always look forward to these so I can see what meals and exercise are in store for me next week. Actually the exercise not so much as that only changes every fortnight.

So next week I can look forward to meals such as banana quinoa porridge for breakfast, satay egg, cucumber & carrot corn thins for lunch and wholemeal creamy pasta bake for tea, among others. I’m sure Mr CJ will appreciate the nights when beef fillet with roast pumpkin and herb & parmesan veal schnitzel are on the menu.

The weekly challenge for next week is about trying new foods – this is a little easier than 300 push-ups I’d say!!! Each day we should try something different or new ie cook with a new ingredient or try a recipe that I normally wouldn’t go for. Actually that has been my commitment for this round – stick to the program and follow the nutrition to the letter. That has meant no embellishing of recipes and it has also meant that I have cooked recipes I would normally skip over. And I must admit I have been pleasantly surprised in the process.

I had another weights session at the gym this morning. And the exciting thing was that…drum roll…I could use a recumbent bike! Ok it was only for 5 minutes but at least it was something different. I barely glanced at the arm crank contraption today. That’s one machine I’m not going to miss. There is boring and there is mind numbingly boring, and the arm crank falls in the latter category. My upper body weights session included super sets of assisted pull ups and incline chest press, bicep curls and dips, lateral raises and push ups, and one arm rows.

Operation Marshmallow to Muscle

5.50am: cardio session + abs
Session: 10 x 1 min hard efforts (1 min easy spin) bike intervals on wind trainer; 1min mountain climbers & squat thrusts with medicine balls; abs – 3 exercises x 3 sets; stretches
Time: 53.26min
AHR: 133; MHR: 221
Cals: 304

Operation Marshmallow to Muscle is officially underway. The soft squishy middle needs to go, or at least morph into something less soft and squishy. Muscles hopefully will be revealed.

So it’s goodbye…temporarily…to chocolate, magnum icecreams, sponge cake with jam and cream, and all the other tasty delights I have been…ahem…indulging in lately. Hey, it was Mother’s Day after all! But for the next 12 weeks, unless it’s on my nutrition plan it’s not part of my food consumption.

For the past few months I have enjoyed the luxury of not having to get up really early in the morning to exercise but instead I have been running at lunchtime or after work. Well, things are about to change…well not about to, they have! This morning I was up on my bike on the windtrainer at 5.50am doing a session of 40mins which included 10 x 1 min hard intervals. It’s been a while since I’ve been on my bike so yesterday afternoon I had to dust off the cobwebs and brush out the leaves that were caught up in the spokes. Mr CJ sprayed the bike with insect repellent so I didn’t experience any nasty creepy crawly surprises this morning.

Last night I prepared today’s lunch and cooked a couple of chicken breasts in preparation for tonight’s meal (chicken noodle soup). I diarised my exercise commitments for the week and then I breathed deeply. I can do this! I have a secret weapon for night times which are my downfall when it comes to snacking and when I tend to hover around the pantry and fridge. This secret weapon will be revealed all in good time.

This morning I weighed myself (gulp), took measurements (bigger gulp) and a ‘before’ photo (omigawd). However, these stats and the photo will remain private – a girl has to retain some mystery.

So the bike intervals were done – hot and sweaty work and 10 intervals seemed to take forever. This was followed by 1 minute of mountain climbers and then 1 minute of squat thrusts with the medicine ball. Can I just put it out there now that I hate mountain climbers with a passion. In fact, they are up there with burpees as things I don’t love at all. Anyway I started the mountain climbers at speed (stupid, stupid, stupid) and promptly died about 30 seconds in. How could it possibly be that only 30 secs have gone by? I did some more at a slightly slower pace. Still 20 secs to go. @#$%! Another one…or…two…or…three…done.quite.slowly…because I could hardly move at this stage! Ok, now let’s do some squat thrusts. Awesome! With a heavy medicine ball. Double awesome! Squat…now…what?! Stand up raising the heavy (did I mention this?) ball above my head. Do this for a minute. I cannot believe how out of practice and out of shape I am. Running certainly does not prepare one for this. Trust me on that.

Okay, now I can lie down. Thank goodness. Yes, yes, I know…it’s not rest time, its abs time. Three sets of three different abs exercises. I watch the video for each ab exercise intently and then try to mimic the action. Somehow I don’t think my efforts quite replicate Mish’s graceful actions but hey, it’s close (ok I look like a dying bug), and you know what, right now close enough is good enough.

Finally it’s time for stretches. Now this bit I like and I can feel the stretches doing me good. I confess I don’t do these stretches often enough so I will religiously do them as part of my program *cross my heart*. When the program says ’stretch’ I will stretch.

This afternoon I hit a brick wall figuratively speaking – yep, the dreaded mid-afternoon slump. I was almost face planting the keyboard. I’m blaming it on the early morning cardio session. I resorted to a caffeine kick (black coffee) as well as some afternoon tea (a designated, Mish-approved snack). Hopefully this is only a temporary state and I will soon get used to the early morning exercise sessions.

One day down; 83 days to go…

This morning’s breakfast – apple & ricotta toast

Boxing Day

26 Dec 2012_Balance

We braved the Mall this morning to exchange a DVD and also to use some of the gift cards we received as presents. After a fortifying coffee at Kingston & Co (where other shoppers also had the same idea - it was really busy) and watching hordes of people heading in and out of Target (speakers seemed to be a popular item), we went our separate ways, agreeing to meet up in an hour.

First off the rank was a visit to Snowgum as I’ve had my eye on a singlet top there for quite a while and I was hoping that with the 40% discount I might be able to get it at a reasonable price. But on closer inspection I decided I wasn’t that keen on it and after trying it on it confirmed for me that I really didn’t want it. However I discovered another singlet top of a slightly different design that I liked and which I bought.

Next stop was Rebel Sport but on the way I wandered through some other stores but nothing really jumped out at me. Besides I’m going to Melbourne next week, aka shopping mecca. At Rebel Sport I managed to find the swim goggles I was after plus paddles and then I waited in the queue. And waited…..and waited……and waited. While a lot of things had been discounted, if you were a member there was a further discount so of course, almost everyone ahead of me in the queue were a) not members and b) wanted to become members.

And that was the extent of my Boxing Day sales shopping. By now I was over crowds and queues in a big way. Besides I had got what I needed so there was no point in hanging around.

This afternoon I did a 40 minute bike session which included 5 x 30sec efforts.

Tomorrow: I’ll run in the morning and do another bike session in the afternoon.

“Don’t be concerned with what you can’t do. Work on what you can do – then count your blessings.” – Alan Robinson, 56-year-old partially paralysed marathon runner

 

Two sleeps to go

I can see a light at the end of the tunnel – this pre-Christmas mayhem will soon be over! But in the meantime it’s a case of navigate the car parks and then brave the crowds at shopping centres to find that elusive present. In my case, its been very bloody elusive! And thank god for gift wrapping services at the centres! They have been my saviour today!

This morning I went for an early morning bike ride. It hadn’t cooled down a great deal overnight but it made for pleasant riding and the traffic was practically non-existent. However I also decided that I didn’t want to have to deal with traffic this morning so I headed off along the cycle path to Lake Burley Griffin. I haven’t been this way in a very, very long time but I used to cycle it regularly years ago, when I used to work in Woden. The thing is, its a great cycle to Woden because it’s mostly downhill but what goes down must go up, and that’s what it’s like on the return trip!

A woman out walking 4 young labradors off leashes this morning had me slowing right down (and I wasn’t going particularly fast to begin with) and eventually stopping, as she wasn’t making any effort to call them back and they had absolutely no road (or cycle path) sense. I’m all for people out walking their dogs but please maintain some sort of control, especially when bikes are around!

On the return trip I was cycling along minding my own business when I looked up, refocused and looked again – almost coming face to face with a big roo on the side of the path. Again I slowed right down, preparing to stop, but he just looked at me and then bounded off in the other direction.

Tomorrow: the plan is to swim early and then face the shops for the final time. I’m also hoping to get down south to drop off some pressies to a good friend who I haven’t seen in ages. And tomorrow night, as tradition dictates in my household, I will watch the Christmas carols on TV, with a side of  GF fruit mince pies and Baileys to help them go down!  :)

“TTFN Ta Ta For Now!” ― A.A. Milne

Nearly there

20 Dec 2012_friends

One more day to go and then I’m on three weeks leave. It can’t come soon enough!

This morning I did a short run of 6km before meeting the girls for brekkie, always the highlight of my week. Friends are very important and can make a huge difference in what could be a very ordinary, if not downright crappy, week. I met another friend for lunch at Two Before Ten, and while we were there another friend who I hadn’t seen in a very long time, and who is obviously pregnant, also popped in to buy some coffee. So I managed to catch up with 4 very good friends in the one day!

This afternoon I did a short but sharp bike intervals session consisting of: 5 minute warm up; 5 x (2 min hard [30s RI]; 20s sprint [1 minute RI]); 5 minute cool down.

Tomorrow: the plan is to swim before breakfast (1.5km). We are having a team lunch tomorrow and then hopefully we can get away earlyish afternoon to start our well-earned Christmas break.

“Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.” ― Albert Camus