So it's been going okay. I could absolutely be doing better but then, I know from experience, I could definitely be doing worse.
The first week went very well in terms of reducing my sugar and I felt a lot better within quite a short period of time - by day three I think. Then, in the second week, the usual things started to happen. A birthday party, I couldn't be bothered cooking, some one offered me some thing nice and I couldn't say 'no', could I? And while I could feel all my good, healthy energy slipping away I couldn't seem to stop myself either because it was only ever going to be 'just one' biscuit or chocolate. Then in the third week Mum came to stay so every good intention went out the window.
However, I have reduced my coffee intake to two, some times one, cup a day. I have been attending a Zumba class once a week. I haven't indulged quite as much as I would have normally. I am beginning to feel better. I have lost four kilos in three weeks.
All in all I feel like the Summer Challenge is off to a reasonable start. I'm going to try to ad a weekly boxercise class in in the next fortnight (Ramadan throws off normal scheduling around here) and introduce some weights at least once a week. That couldn't be so hard, could it?
Re-reading this I realise by the end of this month I'm meant to be down to one cup of coffee for non-teaching days. There is a major flaw with this plan. I don't want to!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Summary of Day One
I think I accidently posted this in M2T's blog accidently. I'll just pop it here now...
Day one went ok :) Dinner could have been healthier as I had already planned to make butter chicken and I went with that. I'm not opposed to a curry (my goal isn't primarily weight loss although I'm not saying I'd mind either) but this was all meat and no veg and didn't fit into my 'many, fresh and varied' philosophy of healthy eating. Ooh, look, did you see that? I have a philosophy!
I dug up some of my old Denise Austen DVDs and did 10 minutes of weights and 10 minutes of abs. Trogdor helped me by laying across my stomach as I tried to do sit ups and crawling beneath me yelling "Choo, choo" as I tried to do push ups. Before kids sit ups were not a problem but I didn't have great arm strength - having two babies has changed both those things!
Tuesdays I think will be a challenge. I leave for work at 11.45 and get home around 10.00pm so I miss two meals at home.I'm used to picking up sweet snack-y things to eat during class and Spidermonkey and I generally pick some thing up at MacDonalds for a quick, easy feed before bed. I've got some rice left over from last night's dinner which I've added tomato, carrot and onion and I'll pick up a small tin of tuna for lunch when I'm there and I've also hard boiled some eggs to take with me. My plan is to grab some soup from Woolies on the way home and in the future make soups on the weekend to freeze for use on Tuesday dinners.
Wish me luck!
Day one went ok :) Dinner could have been healthier as I had already planned to make butter chicken and I went with that. I'm not opposed to a curry (my goal isn't primarily weight loss although I'm not saying I'd mind either) but this was all meat and no veg and didn't fit into my 'many, fresh and varied' philosophy of healthy eating. Ooh, look, did you see that? I have a philosophy!
I dug up some of my old Denise Austen DVDs and did 10 minutes of weights and 10 minutes of abs. Trogdor helped me by laying across my stomach as I tried to do sit ups and crawling beneath me yelling "Choo, choo" as I tried to do push ups. Before kids sit ups were not a problem but I didn't have great arm strength - having two babies has changed both those things!
Tuesdays I think will be a challenge. I leave for work at 11.45 and get home around 10.00pm so I miss two meals at home.I'm used to picking up sweet snack-y things to eat during class and Spidermonkey and I generally pick some thing up at MacDonalds for a quick, easy feed before bed. I've got some rice left over from last night's dinner which I've added tomato, carrot and onion and I'll pick up a small tin of tuna for lunch when I'm there and I've also hard boiled some eggs to take with me. My plan is to grab some soup from Woolies on the way home and in the future make soups on the weekend to freeze for use on Tuesday dinners.
Wish me luck!
The C words.
In recent months when I've tried to cut down on the slightly horrifying levels of sugar in my diet I've ridden out the energy slump but downing more coffee. Now I'm trying to cut down on both my favourite stimulants at the same time. Argh. Both yesterday and today I've got by on two cups of coffee - no chocolate, soft drinks or other sweet treats to boost me up. And you know, its been okay. I had a slight headache prior to my second cup today but other than that I've been fine. Sure I'm tired by the end of the day but thats kind of what the end of the day is for, surely? And I can say that I feel tired as in sleepy not tired as in jittery and wiped out because I'm crashing.
I'm hoping that by the end of next month I will be down to one cup of coffee for a stay-at-home day and two cups when I work in the afternoon.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
The Challenge
The first day of summer is 129 days away. That's 18 weeks and three days to spend on my great "Summer Challenge!" (I figure if I type it like I'm excited about it maybe I will be. I'll let you know if it starts working.)
The last month or so I have been feeling quite low - physically, mentally and emotionally. It's a combination of things - two pregnancies in three years and the resultant pitter patter of tiny, permanently energetic feet. Rarely sleeping through the night. Very little exercise - especially now we have the car. Poor diet. Trying to get my energy through caffeine and sugar rather than good food and decent rest. But no more! I'm going to give myself the next 18 weeks as a time frame to start making good changes in my life and I'm going to blog about it to keep myself motivated.
My 'health' aims are these -
1. Cut back on sugar! No more junk food. No more soft drink! (Even the diet soft drink. All those chemicals can't be good.)
2. Cut back on other highly processed food. Wholemeal pasta. Brown rice.
3. Get back to one cup of coffee each day - two cups if I'm teaching that day.
4. Take my vitamins at least every second day. As a rule I'm generally pretty meh about the idea of taking vitamins rather than getting nutrients from food but I think as I recover from pregnancy and continue to breastfeed it might be a good idea.
5. Do some sort of aerobic exercise at least three times a week and weights at least three times a week.
General 'pick me up' aims
1. Get a different haircut/style
2. Treat myself to an hours massage
3. Give the unit a good declutter and make it more organised and useable
Yes, my least is 'me' centric but I'm ok with that. I don't think 'eat healthy foods, get more exercise' is spoiling myself.
Each week I'll post if I've lost any weight - either by the scales or the measuring tape and also any wins/fails I've had as the week progresses. Wish me luck!
The last month or so I have been feeling quite low - physically, mentally and emotionally. It's a combination of things - two pregnancies in three years and the resultant pitter patter of tiny, permanently energetic feet. Rarely sleeping through the night. Very little exercise - especially now we have the car. Poor diet. Trying to get my energy through caffeine and sugar rather than good food and decent rest. But no more! I'm going to give myself the next 18 weeks as a time frame to start making good changes in my life and I'm going to blog about it to keep myself motivated.
My 'health' aims are these -
1. Cut back on sugar! No more junk food. No more soft drink! (Even the diet soft drink. All those chemicals can't be good.)
2. Cut back on other highly processed food. Wholemeal pasta. Brown rice.
3. Get back to one cup of coffee each day - two cups if I'm teaching that day.
4. Take my vitamins at least every second day. As a rule I'm generally pretty meh about the idea of taking vitamins rather than getting nutrients from food but I think as I recover from pregnancy and continue to breastfeed it might be a good idea.
5. Do some sort of aerobic exercise at least three times a week and weights at least three times a week.
General 'pick me up' aims
1. Get a different haircut/style
2. Treat myself to an hours massage
3. Give the unit a good declutter and make it more organised and useable
Yes, my least is 'me' centric but I'm ok with that. I don't think 'eat healthy foods, get more exercise' is spoiling myself.
Each week I'll post if I've lost any weight - either by the scales or the measuring tape and also any wins/fails I've had as the week progresses. Wish me luck!
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