Sunday 31 July 2011

Day 5 - Run run run run runawaaayy

I ran!
Like the wind....then stopped and walked...then ran like the wind again!

Initially I was planning on doing a Tae Bo session however about 2 minutes into the Tae Bo video I just really wasn't feeling it - wasn't pumped up or trying hard or anything.
So, I downloaded some new music to listen to on my run and away I went into the night.
I came home exhausted, puffing and soaked in sweat against the freezing winter air...but most of all...I felt amazing!


After dinner I did a small weights session with my 5 kg weights; did squats with them, bicep curls, tricep curls, lifts etc. I discovered that the squat and lift (squat down with the weights at shoulder height and as you stand up again you lift the weights above your head) is unbelievably hard and tiring - feels good though, a good burn in several muscle groups.

Oh I forgot, I also did well during my bbq dinner tonight, I replaced some white potatoes for a stack of sweet corn, which I believe is heathier.

Tomorrows plan? Another run hopefully!

Aaaand I'm planningg on weighing myself too :s

Day 4 - day of pies, cake and alcohol

No exercise today.

Pie for lunch at function. Cake after lunch.

And lots of alcohol after dinner...oh yeeaah dinner was thai takeaway...again.

Sorry!

Not setting the best example am I?

Well thats why you are following my journey!

And no, no I haven't weighed myself yet...

Friday 29 July 2011

Day 3 - aaaaaate sooooo muuuuucccchhh :-(

Ugh I ate so much today.

BUT I started the day so well!!

Before heading out for the day I warmed up in the lounge room on the exercise bike then did an Tae Bo 8 minute workout just to kick-start my metabolism and start the day on a good foot. And I felt amazing afterwards.

But then I saw some lollies I had been looking for for ages at the shops....so a bought a packet....

That was when the day started spiralling downhill...

I cooked and ham and egg omelette for lunch, finished off the packet of lollies, a few handfuls of salted popcorn...

Maybe not so bad you may be thinking?

Well...then dinner time came around...and Friday is takeaway night, so I ordered Thai food...which is bad, but hopefully isn't that bad...I mean..I could have ordered pizza, right??

Nevertheless I never got around to doing more exercise today, I was meant to though. But at least I did the 8 min workout in the morning!!

I'll do better tomorrow.

Oh and no I haven't weighed myself yet...I will...some time...sigh.

Thursday 28 July 2011

Day 1 and 2 - Starting exercise again

I haven't been completely lazy for the past 18 months. I still walk to and from uni and do bush-walks, go swimming etc..

But, since starting a new relationship and being sooo comfortable in it...I began  to slack on keeping track of what I ate and stopped doing deliberate exercise like going for walks; which I used to do once a night for about 30 minutes. At one point I was even doing 3 (THREE!) half an hour walks a day.

I felt so much happier about my body back then.
I'm happy in general with my life at the moment, but partly that's because I feel like I don't have to impress anyone any more...yep...my poor poor boyfriend is getting a happy but slowly fatter and fatter girlfriend. That's the harsh truth.

I always felt like I never really put on weight. I've never been skinny, but, I've always seemed to stay around a moderate weight, nothing too serious or depressing but nothing spectacular either.
But, since being in this relationship, my first ever one, as well as starting university 18 months ago, I've been tired and stressed but content with everything. Too relaxed. When winter came I started having porridge everyday without a care in the world. You may think porridge is just oats and milk and surely isn't that bad for a person. And that is true....when you don't heap tablespoons and tablespoons of brown sugar over it. Which I did. I would have a bowl of porridge as an afternoon snack after uni! Disgusting, I know.

Anyway, back to what every person trying to lose a bit of weight wants to know - what exercise am I doing?

Well, since I've been through these fitness phases time and time again, each phase ended because of one crucial factor- sheer and utter BOREDOM!

So I really want to vary my workouts this time.

DAY ONE:
High intensity intervals on the exercise bike; 8 second sprint, 12 second rest for 20 minutes.

As the bike clock told me I was nearing the 10 minute mark I was beginning to suffer from a bad case of boredom which made me focus on my tiredness. So I stopped at 10 minutes. Watched some more of my tv show and did another lot of 10minutes a bit later.
So day one 20 minutes of exercise... definitely not enough but definitely better than nothing! And I felt great afterwards, just great. My bad mood which I was previously in left and I felt more energised for the rest of the day. My lack of exercise might explain why I keep falling asleep in all my lectures, you have to use energy to create energy.

DAY TWO
5-10 minutes of 12kg dumbells weights. (Did moves like squats, bicep curls, triceps, side lifts)
2 minute warmup on the exercise bike
20 minutes (approx) of Tae-Bo exercise video called Tae Bo Basic
8 minute Tae Bo workout (which uses similar moves to the basic video but faster and less reps - its pretty intense)

So, overall I did about 35 minutes today. I really want to build up some arm muscle, I used to have heaps from surfing regularly and lifting shopping bags at my old job, but now I don't do either.

Another thing I aim to regain is some definition in my legs. You know that line that appears around your inner thigh area when you lift your legs - like when your walking or even just lifting your leg up and forward in front of the mirror. I used to see that so clearly. And now its pretty much disappeared altogether.

They say you should stick with something for 6 weeks before you will get into a routine. So if I can keep this blog going for 6 weeks recording my journey, that will be a major achievement!

And my 2 weeks goal? Feel less tired at university.

I will also weigh myself this week (argh I'm scared! I've never been over 70kg...but I have a feeling I will be well over that now...I'm so scared to look at the scales...It will really put how hard this journey is going to be in perspective).

Stay tuned...

Wednesday 27 July 2011

The realisation: A photo says a 1000 words and a photo doesn't lie

Welcome along my journey to change!

The spark? The beginning? What set me off on this journey?

A photo.

A photo from my recent holiday. Wearing tight short shorts and a black jacket.

The shorts looked like they were straining at the seams, desperately trying to contain the thunder thighs beneath them. The jacket, black (but black is slimming right? right?!), yes, to a degree, but it can still show the outline of your body underneath it. And my body? Huge hips, following in the footsteps of the shorts, with seams that seemed desperately eager to separate from each other.

The sad part?

When I looked in the mirror before I went out that day, I actually thought I looked good. I couldn't see the seams struggling to contain my excess weight. But the camera did.

And so begins my path to change...

And what about the friends and confidence part?

Stay tuned!