The Last Day

Hmmm seem to have lost the plot a little while ago but once my body decides to come out of survival mode I will be back on track with doing something. Have joined the May group - hopefully without so much going on in my life. Starting and losing new jobs, going onto new medication for my depression and other life changes does not help for concentration and losing anything except possibly my mind ... again.

Final Measurements 

Weight: 68.7 kg

Waist: 86cm

Hips: 102 cm

Chest: 96cm (time of the month)

Thigh: 58cm

Two weeks ago my measurements were:

Weight: 71 kg

Waist: 88 cm

Hips: 103 cm

Chest: 94 cm 

Thigh: 59 cm

Overall I have lost:

Weight: 2.3kg

Waist: 5cm

Hips: about 1cm

Chest: not changed at all and I hope it never does

Thigh: 1cm

So overall despite the last two weeks being totally dead in the way of exercise I have stilled gained something and lost some things as well. Will be keeping it up and hoping to lose a little more weight and some more around the hips.

Thursday January 16 - Sunday January 20

Life sucks. So does having depression. And the ultimate for today is I have lost  my job.

Have not been keeping food diaries and not doing any exercise at all. Sleep and eat what is in the house.

Wednesday Jan 16

New jobs can play havoc with your life and your excellent intentions of doing things but hey if it takes me a little longer to reach my goals I am not going to get to upset by it all.

Meal: 1 apple and 1 banana

Meal 2: Chicken Salad

Meal 3: Banana smoothie with low fat milk and yoghurt 

Meal 4: Grilled chicken with steamed peas, beans and corn

3 litres of water consumed

Tuesday January 15

Day Two of my new job was very quiet so got some cleaning done and some looking at the systems and wine lists etc.

Meal 1: 2 x corn thins with ricotta

Meal 2: Apple and banana

Meal 3: roast vegetables (probably not so good but it was the least worst thing on the menu at the cafe)

Meal 4: Red Curry Chicken

Yeah got to go out with some friends this evening have not been able to do this for about 18 months. 

Meal 5: was planning on corn thins with ricotta but no ricotta suspect an elf finished it up.

2 litres of water consumed

Monday January 14

Measurements:

Weight: 71 kg (same as last week)

Chest: 94 cm (still the same and I hope they never get smaller)

Waist: 88 cm (minus 3 cm)

Hips: 103 cm (same)

Thigh: 59 cm (minus 1.5 cm)

Some progress made. May lose a skirt size with all of this but if all else fails will still have improved my general fitness level.

Meal 1: Quarter Rockmelon with yoghurt

Meal 2: Apple

Meal 3: Chicken Soup

Meal 4: Corn thins with ricotta

Ooops missed two meals today as I started a new job and was not sure of meal times etc but that will improve over the next couple of days.

My feet hurt ....

She says as she wore heels to work for the first time in years. Not so high but when you are on your feet all day it is not such a good option.

Mark had frangipanis floating in a plastic container when I got home it was heavenly and so very romantic.

Sunday January 13

Still not feeling good after another restless night.

Meal 1: Porridge with soy milk

Meal 2: Sweet n Sour Chicken

Meal 3: 1 banana and half a tub of plain yoghurt with strawberries

Meal 4: 1 banana

Meal 5: Banana smoothie with low fat yoghurt and milk (no honey)

Meal 6: Chicken with lentil dhal

Went out at 11.30 am yesterday intending only to be a couple of hours at the Lifeline Bookfest (a secondhand book fair held here in Brisbane twice a year - Lifeline is one of Australia's counselling services.) but came home several hours later. Took about 6 hours for Mark and I (but mostly Mark) to go through the vinyl section cherry picking for excellent recordings. Bought a couple just for the artwork on the front cover and I did pick up some original recordings of Jazz and Big Band groups.

Going back another day to go through the Sci-Fi section and just to see what else I can get. I do so love books and wished I had just a little more money this weekend :-)

Saturday January 12

Wahoooooo ..... last day at my old job. One day off and then the new job on Monday.

About 3-4 hours sleep so declaring today a rest day as I do not think it would be so safe. 

250ml water at 3am.

Meal 1: 2 x corn thins with ricotta

250 ml water with meal 1

Watched Firefly Episode 1 - kinda different from the movie Serenity but it gels with me and it does explain so much in the way of how people got there especially Shepherd Book.

Meal 2: Grapes

Meal 3: Omelette with tomato, cheese and mushrooms

Meal 4: 2 x corn thins with ricotta

2 litres of water consumed

Friday January 11

First meal: Quarter of a rockmelon with yoghurt

How to be creative doing cardio: Raining heavy here in Oz when it was time to go out for my walk so the PT Elf got creative and set up an indoor cardio spot for me. Basically two of his foam blocks for Yoga on the floor and 'jogging' up and down on them. Warm up and cool down consisted of a few turns up and down my short hallway. 

Second Meal: 2 x corn thins with ricotta and x 2 corn cobs

Third Meal: hmm seem to have skipped as I had a short nap before going to work.

Fourth Meal: Grilled chicken with dhal

Fifth Meal: 2 x corn thins with ricotta

1.5 litres water 

P.S The no coffee rule and working in a restaurant sucks big time. Had to check some coffee out this evening for a guest that said the coffee tasted burnt. Took one sip then spent the next half hour throwing up. Life is so much fun.

Thursday January 10

Counting down the days until  my new job starts.

First meal: 2 x corn thins with ricotta

250 ml water

Exercise done

Warmup okay - form getting better as my brain remembers to actually communicate with my body.

A1 Arch - done okay. all sets done

A2  Mountain Climb - had difficulty with this one as my left shoulder would not take my body weight. Only did about half the set each time.

B1 Side Lunges - done okay. all sets done

B2 Push Press - done okay. all sets done

C1 Step Up - not sure I did these right but did a modified step up as in step up and then step down. 15 reps  each leg as you would do in a step class. Made me feel less off balance and much more coordinated.

C2 Reverse Fly - Done okay. all sets done

250 ml water consumed after exercise.

Second meal: 1/4 PawPaw with one nectarine and some yoghurt

Third Meal: Grilled Haloumi and two poached eggs

Fourth Meal: Beef Burger Patty and salad

Fifth Meal: 3 x corn thins with ricotta

2.5 litres of water consumed

Wednesday Jan 9

First Meal: 2 x corn thins with ricotta

Went out to do cardio work - a bit slower than the other day as my hip was sore. Came home in the rain.

250 ml water consumed

Second meal: 2 x lamb steaks with the last of the potato

Third meal: Half a PawPaw with some greek yoghurt

Fourth meal: Fish with lentil dhal, pumpkin mash and sweet potato with spinach. Banana smoothie made with soy milk and low fat yoghurt

Fifth meal: 2 x corn on the cob

Last meal: 2 x corn thins with ricotta

2.5 litres of water consumed today.

PT Elf became Yoga Elf and we did a modified version of the Energiser routine when I got home from work about 11.45pm.

Tuesday January 8

Got up about 9am - early for me but feeling so much better than yesterday. Joy and bliss not to be throwing anything up and no headache. 

Breakfast Part 1: One mango

Breakfast Part 2: 2 x corn thins with ricotta

250 ml water before workout

Okay warm up and workout done - back on track with Tim's schedule. Much easier when you can do all at home with the PT Elf at hand to help and to time the exercises.

A1 Body Weight Squats - all done okay. modified arm position to keep balance.

A2 - Plank - 1 x 15 seconds and then 2 x 20 seconds. Still have to work on upper body strength

B1 - Body weight forward lunge - got these right after the first set with feet in correct position. Left leg forward going down was okay but right leg something was catching and I could not get down as far.

B2 Smith Machine Push Up - did on weights bench proper height and after the initial set slowed them down a bit and evened out to match breathing.

C1 Snatch (by any other name) - all sets done okay and did it with 2 kg weight,

C2 Flutters - after the initial sort out with swiss balls and benches and hand positions - all sets done okay. Found swiss ball was too much and did it on the weights bench.

Stretches done and 500 ml water consumed.

Lunch: 2 x Lamb with potatoes

Afternoon snack: missed

Dinner: Fish with potatoes and lentil dhal

Supper: 2 x corn thins with ricotta. Left  over potatoes from lunch and dinner.

1.5 litres of water consumed at work. Total water for the day is 2.25 litres.

Almost went FUBAR at work as my legs and back decided to give way in the middle of picking up room service trays. Not a happy thought spending my last week at this job on workers' compensation. But after sitting down for a few minutes and a little stretch and a click all was well.

Legs not so sore after work out today.

P.S. January 7

Meal blog:

First proper meal: grilled fish and salad

Snack: Banana smoothie made with skim milk, low fat yoghurt and a little honey.

Dinner: Grilled fish and garden salad with fetta cheese

Snack: Banana smoothie with banana and soy milk

2.5  litres of water

Monday January 7

Drop a Dress Size 08 Day 7 measurements

Forgot to blog my day one measurements so this is the base line for the rest of the challenge.

Weight: 71 kg

Thighs: 60.5 cm

Hip: 102.5 cm

Waist: 91 cm

Chest: 94 cm

Okay not feeling really good this morning. Woke up around 8.45 am and had a drink of water and promptly threw it up. When I got up again later at about 11 am threw up again. Same as Sunday - wicked headache and no food thrown up but heaps of bile. Sipping on ginger in hot water and had 3 x corn thins so far to put something in my stomach but not much helping.

P.S. January 5 and 6

Really bad headache some from having my neck in one place for so long on the bus journey home but it should have settled down after one day. Spent most of Sunday sleeping - only waking to eat, drink water and take tablets again but no change. Threw up twice during the morning - no actual food but heaps of yuck. Did my workout later in the afternoon working around the fact that my neck was still out and I still had a headache.

Sunday January 6

Breakfast: Tinned mangoes with low fat yoghurt

Mid morning snack: small bowl of dried fruit and nut mix

Lunch: rest of chicken from previous night with raita and 1 x nectarine

Mid afternoon snack: small bowls of dried fruit and nut mix

Dinner: chicken breast with sweet potato and pumpkin mash with spinach in low fat yoghurt and tahini

Supper: 1 x tea

2 litres of water consumed

Exercise:

Warm up routine done okay with added cat pose as advised by PT Elf

A1 Hip Extension: did okay although I tended not to roll up into the position.

A2: Plank Knee In: could not really hold my body weight up so did 5 then 3 breaths down then another 5 etc. until all done

B1: Lateral Lunge - done one side at a time not to both sides as I found it easier as my neck was out and I had a really bad headache from it.

B2: Push Press: got them done right eventually although this did hurt my quads and my neck did not like the 'push' but got all sets done.

C1: High Step Up - got two sets done as by this time I was feeling really dizzy and sick.

C2: Reverse Flye - done as advised by PT Elf with weights but only got two sets done. See note on C1.

2.5  litres of water consumed

Saturday January 5

Breakfast: Two x eggs with 3 slices of ham and 1 x tea

Mid morning snack - nothing as I was on the bus on the way home

Lunch: Handful of sultanas and 2 x corn tins with low fat cheddar

Mid afternoon snack - sultanas

Dinner: 2 x chicken breasts (marinated in olive oil and lemon juice) with tomato and chilli and spring onion raita

2.5 litres of water consumed.

Exercise: Doing everything a day late so did cardio work today. Walk for the time specified. Quads were sore from the previous workout and neck was troubling me from the trip home on the bus. Blew out on the first fast bit but paced myself better after that.

Friday January 4

Breakfast: 2 x toast with jam and 1 x cup of tea

Water:  3 glasses (250ml)

Mid morning snack: Nothing

Lunch: 65g tin of tuna, 130 g tin of baked beans, 2 x tablespoons light ricotta, 1 x tomato, 1 x mandarin

Mid Afternoon snack: 2 x tea

Dinner: Mince and bean chilli with low fat yoghurt stirred through, 

Dessert: low fat yoghurt with 6 halves of canned apricots

Supper: 1 x tea

2.5 litres of water consumed

Exercise routine:

Warm up routine was okay and remembered what to do as I went through the sequence with Mark before I went away. May have to correct some things when I get home to Brisbane but routine was done as close as I could do.

A1 Body weight squats - Okay. Knees creaked a bit but got through the sets with no hassle.

A2 Plank - only held for 15 seconds - have to work on upper body strength.

B1 Body weight forward lunge - Not sure I did these correctly but got as close as I could work out. Have a small challenge with proprioception (the unconscious perception of movement and spatial orientation arising from stimuli within the body itself) and the lack thereof.

B2 Smith Machine push up - Firm mattress on bed a bit higher than in video but still felt the sets in my arms. Did all sets.

C1 Snatch (by any other name) - Easy for me as the cheat sheet sent was clear and I can remember these from past exercise programmes (distant but still there somewhere in the memory). No medicine ball so did with 1.5 kg weight.

C2 Flutters  - No swiss ball as in pictures so was advised to use corner of bed. Hope I did these okay. Tim are they a hold for 30 seconds?  - as that is what I did.

Will be so much easier when I get home as I have all the right equipment and the PT Elf is there. Who cares about House Elves when you know you need more discipline with the exercise.

Heaven knows what he is going to charge me at the end of all this but I am sure we can work out a 'barter' system she says with a smile.

Thursday January 3

Breakfast: 2 x toast with jam and 1 x tea

Mid morning snack: nothing

Lunch: Chicken and vegetable Pie and Apple turnover with bottled iced tea

Mid afternoon snack: ham sandwich and 1 x coffee

Dinner: Pasta with vegetables

Supper: nothing

Exercise: 15 minute walk

1 litre water consumed

Wednesday Jan 2

Breakfast: 2 x toast with avocado and 1 x tea

Mid morning snack: 1 x coffee and muffin

Lunch: Left overs from dinner from night before

Mid afternoon snack: nothing

Dinner: Beef and Beans with low fat yoghurt stirred through

Supper: Slice of cake and 2 x tea

1 litre water consumed through out day 

No exercise done

Tuesday Jan 1

Australia -

Worked from 6.00pm until 3.00am then as I had to catch a bus at 6.30am stayed up all night.

Slept on the bus for most of the way of the 2 hour journey. Did not realise about the no tea rule and had at least two when I got to my parents' home. 

Totally stuffed the rules of eating for the first few days but here goes for a re-constructed food diary - someone else can grade my meals for me if they wish.

Breakfast: 2 x toast and tea with jam

Mid morning snack: slice of fruit cake

Lunch: Salad and baked beans

Mid afternoon snack: missed as I went to bed for a few hours.

Dinner: Mince with Pasta and vegetables

Supper: 1 x tea with a slice of fruit cake.

No exercise done at all.

Week 1

Comments on Week 1:

Okay guys and gals here is the sticker for me. No discipline and I went away during week 1 of the challenge. Yes I have done some exercise but roasted the rest of the rules with the exception of no alcohol.

NutritionHere is a reminder of the nutrition rules:

Nutrition rule 1. No alcohol, no exceptions! That will be the easy one despite my work.

Nutrition rule 2. No bread and pasta! Hmmm not so easy but easier when I will be in my home evironment. But what about rice?

Nutrition rule 3. Drink only water. How does one get unaddicted from tea when there is more tea flowing in your veins than blood?

Nutrition rule 4. Never miss a meal, especially breakfast. Hey even I stuck to this rule all this week. Usually I miss out because I sleep through it all all or just plain forget. Hard when you get home at midnight and do not get up until about midday. That will be changing soon as I have a new job where I will be able to set my own hours (within limits of course) so that I actually do some daytime shifts.

Also how do you get your body to change its mind about eating so early. I have a problem as when I was diagnosed with depression I found that my body readily put on weight (from the medication) and I also tended not to able to eat full meals, so the meal and snack routine throughout the day will be no challenge for me. But ... she says my body tends to dislike extremely the thought of having anything before about 10am. That has not changed in all the years since I have had depression and am not sure how to get around this.

All comments and suggestions are welcome.