Up dating

Just a quick post to update you on my weight.
Went down again this week, to 87.5kg.

But as I get closer to Christmas I am anticipating some weight gain... There is just SO much eating involved with this time of year...

I will try to make healthier choices and to not over do it... But I am only human!

Closer...

I think I missed my post last week, sorry about that. But, I have some good news this week.

When I jumped on the scales this week they read 87.8kg.

I had been stuck at 88.8 for a while, and last week it even went up to 89 point something again... But I think that may have been because it was “that time of the month” and I was feeling really bloated.

I have been sticking to my exercise plan and very strict with my calorie budget.

I still haven’t made it past week three of the couch to 5K training plan, hopefully I’ll move on soon...

Though I did decided to take the jogging outside this week, and without the cushioning of the treadmill, I seem to have given myself shin-splint... :S

I’m going to start doing some ankle strengthening exercises hopefully this will help, as apparently weakness in this area (and I have this) can increase the tendency for shin-splints to occur.

Anyway, so I now weigh less than 88kg. I set the goal of weighing less than 85kg by the 25^th of December... I don’t think I’m going to get there. That is only 14 days, 2 weeks. I would need to lose more than 2kgs to get there, and I just don’t see that happening...

I am going to keep working at it though, and hopefully I will be close by the 25^th. I hope, at least, that I don’t gain weight between now and then.

Wish me luck.

Weighing in

No weight loss to report since my last update, still sitting at 88.8 kg.

But, I did have my monthly weigh and measure at Curves.

My results we pretty good.

This month I've lost:
1cm off my stomach,
1cm off my hips,
1cm off my thighs (that's all up, so 0.5 off each),
1.1kg,
0.7% body fat,
and my BMI went down 0.37.

But, I did gain 2cm on my arms, 1 cm on each. But, that (hopefully) might be muscle gain.

So, I've lost about 4 kgs since I joined Curves, not too bad.

Sorry about the lateness...

Sorry about the lateness of this update, I wasn't feel my best last week. I had terrible back problems.

Mine is like the one on the left.

The pain was keeping me up at night. It was also affecting my stomach.
For some reason when my back is really, really bad I get awful stomach pains and feel nauseous.
My chiro said it might have something to do with the nerves from my spine to my abdominal muscles.

Anyway, I was in a bad way, so I wasn't able to work out and I was also pretty slack with the diet as well.

As a result I gained a little weight, only 300 grams. But it was disheartening non-the-less.

I'm feeling much better now, and am back at it, working out and eating right, so hopefully I'll have better news for the next post.

Yay!

I saw 88.5 kg on the scales this week!! So happy!
I've been working really hard and eating really well.

I keeping reading online that weight loss is 30% exercise and 70% diet and in the past this is where I have let myself down, using exercise as an excuse to eat poorly, which just doesn't work.
If I'm going to put the effort in at the gym and on the treadmill I need to back that up by eating the right things.

So, this is what I am going to concentrate on for the next few weeks making sure I stick to my calorie intake and that treats are only occasional, not every day.

I don't feel like the top image,
I feel like the little fat kid,
and I am pretty sure that it also what I look like.

I'm still doing the couch to 5k on the treadmill. I got to week 3 this week and geez... It kills me.
The program is:

5 min walking warm-up
1:30 jog
1:30 walk
3 min jog
3 min walk
1:30 jog
1:30 walk
3 min jog
3 min walk
5 min cool down

The last 3 minute jog kills me, I feel like I am going to die!! So, I don't think I will be progressing until I can complete week 3 without the feeling of impending death!!

But, on a positive note, I know my heart health has improved with the jogging. I have to work MUCH harder at the gym to get my heart-rate up to the fat burning zone. Which can only be a good thing.

You can find the couch to 5k treadmill program here.

Disappointed...

Well... It's been three weeks since I rebooted my weight loss program.

And well, I'm disappointed. I've been working my butt off (exercise wise) and the weight just won't budge!

This weeks weight was 89.2 kg. Not much lower than two weeks ago...

But, I have been talking to a friend (hi Sarah!) who mentioned that she found out she was anaemic and had been having a similar problem.

Once she started taking some iron tablets the weight started moving again (something to do with the oxygen levels in the blood or something, another "I'm not a scientist" moment).

I don't eat many iron rich foods, and I wouldn't be surprised if I were anaemic too. So, I've bought some iron tablets and I'm going to give them a go.

I would be delighted if at the end of this week the scales read somewhere in the 88 kg area, here's hoping!

Not much to report

Not much of a change in weight this week, I wasn't expecting much because of the big lose last week, just a couple of hundred grams.

On a different note I've been making a fitness/healthy eating/inspiration board on Pinterest. You can look at it here.

Some of the best things I've found are:

A Couch to 5k treadmill program (which I started this week)
This motivating quote "I never regret it when I do, but I always regret it when I don't". It what I think of when I'm thinking about whether I should work out or not.
This smart snacking list.
This girls weight loss website.

Hopefully when I report in next week I'll have something more exciting to post about.

Back on Track

Well, I did it. I met my first new short term goal. I lost 1 kg this week and now weigh... 89.3 kgs!! ^_^
I'm SO happy with myself! It is so good to feel like I'm making progress again!

So, here I am. I've decided to take a photograph every time I reach on of these goals, so I have a visual record of my progress.

When you're losing weight gradually, it can be difficult to notice the changes in your appearance. So I thought a photo diary of my progress would be another way of keeping motivated.

I've been working out pretty hard with this new burst of motivation. And I am beginning to notice an improvement in my level of fitness, which is pretty pleasing, and also makes me want to push myself further, to get even better.

With my new routine, I get up and do a cardio workout on the treadmill in ther morning four days a week.

I've been doing some High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Which is workout method which improves your results in short sessions by increasing your resting metabolic rate to burn more fat.

I'm no scientist, so I don't really know how it works, all I know is that it speeds up your metabolism, which can only be a good thing, right?

What you do is combine intervals of pushing yourself to the extreme of your capability and periods of recovery. It should be done at a ratio of 2:1, I do 2 minutes of fast walking and one minute of running. So my work out plan looks like:

1. 5 minute warm up.
2. HIIT for 20 minutes (running then walking at the above ratio, repeated).
3. 5 minute cool down. 

As a part of my goal to get back on the weight loss track I combine the morning work out with a visit to the gym in the afternoon five days a week.

Now that I have reached this goal, it is time to set a new one. One that I can achieve. It's better to set something that you can do, and possibly exceed, than something unattainable that will only leave you feeling disappointed.

So, I would like to lose 5 kgs and I think I should be able to do this at a rate of half a kilo a week.

I should reach this goal, of weighing less than 85 kgs, by 25/12/11 (Christmas Day!).

This may seem like a long way away, but I know I'm no always going to have big losses like I did this week, and some weeks I may slip up and gain instead of lose.

85 kgs is what I weighed when I was in high school. And here is a photo of me in a last year of high school, (I'm hoping that the beautiful velour coat will distract you from the fact that I am about to eat that packet of chips...)

I would be great to be that size again (and eventually smaller). Lets hope I meet this goal!!

It's been a while...

Well, I haven't been here is a while, 4 months to be exact.
My motivation has been pretty low, and the diet has been slipping.

But I am determined to get back on track! To lose more weight, to feel healthier and get rid of the back pain!

My weight has been fluctuating in my absence, but at the moment sits at 90.3kg, just over a kilo lower than when I last checked in.

I've started keeping a record of my food intake again, watching my calories, but also making sure I have a healthy balance of protein, carbs and fat. I'm making sure I drink plenty of water and watching the salt intake.

I have also boosted my work out routine, I've started doing cardio when I get up in the morning and going to the gym of an afternoon.

I am also going to start using this blog again, keeping a diary to keep me motivated, and setting small, realistic goals to meet every month. Things I can achieve.

When I started this weight loss journey a year ago, I weighed 105kgs. I've lost 14.7kgs, my goal weight is 70kgs, so I have just over 20kgs to go.

My first new short term goal is to break the 90kg barrier. To lose 0.4kgs. I want to do that by this time next week. I want to jump on the scales next weekend and see that I weigh something in 89kgs area.
And that is what I am going to visualise every time I feel tempted to sleep in instead of exercising, or eat cake instead of a healthier snack.

So, expect to see more of me, and hopefully the weight will start moving (off my body) again!

Check in

Well, after my disastrous fall off the detox wagon I was a bit reluctant to jump on the scales this morning for my weekly weigh-in.

But, I was pleasantly surprised. I lost a whole kilogram this week and now weigh 91.4kg.

Maybe I should have stuck to the detox, or maybe I achieved what I wanted from the diet without doing the whole seven days.

I'm inclined to lean towards the second option, and not just because I relieves me guilt, but also because the whole point of the detox was to jump-start my weight loss, and it looks like it worked.

So, even though I didn't do the whole program, I'm still happy with the results.

And, I think I've learned that to keep up the weight loss I need to be more vigilant of what I'm eating. Maybe from Monday to Friday I can take some of the ideas from the detox and work them into my regular diet, maybe reducing the amount of wheat products and dairy that I eat is what I need to keep shedding the kilos?

I'll try it in the coming week (after the long weekend) and get back to you with how I'm going.

Detox Day: Five

So... detox day five was going really well... Till about, umm... 6:30pm.
When I decided to go out drinking.... wine.... with a friend.
I have consumed a reasonable amount of wine.

My excuse, and it's a poor one, is that it's a "long weekend" here in Australia, with Monday being a public holiday... For the Queen's birthday, or something...

So... I guess... My self-control turned out to be pretty poor and a gave up and the first, tempting, tasty, boozy hurdle...

I will probably be really regretful in the morning...

Detox Day: Four

I started the fourth day of my detox diet with some scrambled eggs and a grilled tomato. A tasty start to the day (I love eggs).

For morning tea I had some cherry tomatoes, goat's cheese fetta and some beans dipped in hommus. A pretty healthy snack, would have been nice to have something warm, it has been freaking cold the last few days.

For lunch I had some left over curry and rice from last nights dinner.

Afternoon tea was two rice cakes, avocado and sliced tomato. So tasty, for a change the avo was perfectly ripe (so hard to come by a good avo of late).

Dinner was delish, fried brown rice with lots of vegies and some egg.
I loved it, and will definitely make it again!

Detox is still going along fine. Though with the cold weather I'm really missing my cups of tea, but I must avoid the caffeine, and the chemicals used to decaffeinate tea...

Detox Day: Three

Started the day with another bowl of soaked oat porridge, this time with maple syrup, I'm loving it, I think I'll continue eating it after the detox ends.

For morning tea I had cherry tomatoes and goat's milk fetta, yum! Lunch was some of last nights bean casserole with brown rice, was just as nice as it was last night. And kept me feelling full till dinner time!

Dinner was a dahl and cauliflower curry, which was pretty good, I liked the cauliflower in the curry but, it was missing something. I think that something might have been the vegetable stock I would usually use to cook a dahl curry, this recipe just used water.

So, thus far the detox is going fine, but I miss bread. I love bread. Man I could eat some toast right now...

Detox Day: Two

I started day two with a serve of dried fruit compote soaked in orange juice served with organic natural yoghurt.

I didn't like it. It was way too sweet, I had to force it down. I don't think it agreed with me either, I felt awful when I got to work and ended up coming home sick with a terrible pain in the stomach.

The stomach ache eventually went away, a few hours later and I had a tomato salad with goats milk fetta for lunch. Which was quite nice and more filling than I thought it would be.

For afternoon tea I had rice cakes with organic peanut butter and honey, a much more filling afternoon snack than the smoothie I had yesterday.

For dinner I had a delicious bean casserole, it needed cooking for quite a while but it was so tasty!! I served it with some brown rice.

Apart from the stomach ache the detox is going well, I know not to eat the compote again.

Detox Day: One

Well, I started my day with a bowl of soak oat porridge.
You soak half a cup of oats in half a cup of water over night, in the morning you bring half a cup of water to the boil the add the soaked oats.

Simmer for a few minutes then serve with a quarter cup of slivered almonds, a quarter cup of rice milk and a tablespoon of honey.
Pretty tasty and filling.

Soaking the oats helps them to reach a good creamy consistency quicker than they would without the soaking.

For lunch I had carrot and lentil soup with a side of celery and organic peanut butter and sultanas and an apple.

As a snack when I got home from work I made a fruit smoothie with an apple some frozen berries and apple juice, it was tasty, but not very filling.

For dinner I had a massive pile of bake vegies, some mashed sweet potato and salmon baked with lemon slices.

It was delish! I was a little apprehensive, as the last time I had tried salmon I didn't like it, but I really enjoyed it done this way, with the lemon infusing the fish.

All up the first day of the detox went pretty well. The only issue was between my after work snack and dinner I was STARVING... I really need to have something more filling, maybe some protein, to prevent the dreaded unplanned snacking.

The week that was and the week to come

Well.... I had a pretty rubbish week as far weight loss goes. I had some really terrible eating habits and did very little exercise... So, as a result I gained just over a kilo...
I ate cakes and hot dogs, rich pasta dishes and pastries. I drank wine, ate Chinese food and donuts.

My excuse was that I've decided to do a 7 day detox (starting tomorrow), so why not enjoy a few naughty foods before I start a strict health kick.

So, as of tomorrow, not wheat products, dairy or processed foods. Just fresh or dried fruits, vegies, oats, nuts and 'living' yoghurt. I'm also going to try some salmon, if I can stomach it; last time I tried I didn't enjoy it, but I'll see how I go.

While I do it I'm going to try and blog daily to share what I've been eating and how I'm going.

Check in: 28/5/11

Well, I think it is safe to say I have officially hit a weight loss plateau.

I weighed myself this morning, 91.4kgs.

I've been bouncing around between 91 and 93 for what feels like ages now. I feel like the is an invisible wall and I just can't seem to get through it.

I've been doing some reading this morning about how to over come the situation and all advice seems to be pointing to simply changing some aspect of my current behaviour.

Change my exercise or diet. Forget about counting calories for a while, try a simple detox plan for a week, eat more protein, try cutting out wheat products for a short period. Basically, try anything!

At the moment I'm not sure what direction I'm going to go in, I'll have to think on it for a while. What ever I decide on, I hope it works!

Checking in and confessing 22/5/11

Feeling a bit unmotivated and downhearted, gained weight this week.
I'm sick of all the fluctuation, I weight 97.1kg, the same as just over a month ago... I feel like I'm going no where, not making any gains (well, losses I guess).

Seeing as its Sunday, its also confession time... Well, yesterday after the weighing in, and feeling annoyed, I had another pizza pig out and ate a whole pizza. Not feeling great about that either.

Sunday Afternoon Confession: 15/5/11

Well, I had a bit of a rough week, stress wise, so I decided to let my hair down this weekend.

I drank a fair bit of wine last night with friends... Not sure how much, but at least one bottle... :S That is a whole lot of calories... :S

Lets just say, as a result, I'm not feeling my best today and I may have had a bit of a pizza pig out to make me feel better...

I also missed two gym sessions, I was feeling pretty rubbish about the stress inducing situation (which I won't go into) so I just couldn't get into the gym state of mind.

Hopefully things will calm down a bit this week...

Check in: 14/5/11

You would not believe how close I am to reaching my STG goal of weighing less than 90kg...

This morning I weighed myself...

Guess what the scales said....

91.0..................


SO very, very, very close, but still 1kg to go...

Sunday Afternoon Confession: 8/5/11

I've decided that every Sunday afternoon I am going to confess my diet sins.
Be it food or exercise related. I will post it here.

It is harder to be naughty when you know you have to tell somebody about it.

Well, I have a fair bit to confess this week, what a way to start!

I have started teaching cooking with a few of my classes, this week we made choc-chip muffins, I took three separate classes through a lesson on muffin making...

The first lesson one student was left without a partner, so I did the nice thing and helped him out, this meant I got to keep my half of the 12 muffins we made. I took them back to the HSIE staffroom to share with my coworkers...

But I still managed to eat 3 of the muffins myself.

I had to help another student later on in the week, this time I took my share to the Learning Support staffroom... Out of site, out of mind, I didn't eat any.

Today is Mother's Day, I had breakfast and lunch with my family. Dad put on quite a spread, breakfast was pancakes, eggs, bacon and tomatoes cooked on the BBQ, with maple syrup and Worcestershire sauce.

I had several helpings of all of these foods...

For lunch Dad made roast pork belly and gravy with duck fat roasted potatoes, pumpkin, broccoli and cauliflower in bechamel sauce and sweet potato mash.

I piled my plate high and then went bake for a second helping of pork. I now feel like I might vomit.

So there is my first confession. Lets hope I have fewer sins for you next Sunday.

Check in: 7/5/11

As I expected I haven't met the short term goal I set, of weighing less than 90kg by today. This morning the scales read 91.9, so I'm nearly 2kg off the mark.

My weight loss for the last couple of weeks has been a bit up and down, and very limited, I think I need to get back to watching what I eat more strictly and ensuring that I don't over do the calories.

Hopefully next weeks weigh in will see my back on track.

Curves Smart progress

On Wednesday I had my monthly weigh and measure at the gym.
According to my results I gained a little weight (200g) over the month, BUT my body fat percentage reduced by half a percent....
Which might indicate the weight I gained was muscle mass rather than fat...

That is my story and I'm sticking to it!

Check in: 30/4/11

As I expected, made a little bit of a weight gain this week. But it should just be things evening out. Scales this morning read 92.4kg.

Next Saturday (check in day) is the 4th of May. The date I set to meet my short term goal of weighing less than 90kg.
Not sure how I am going to go at this point.... To reach it I would need to lose about 2.5kg and that would be a bit ridiculous, if not impossible and it would certainly be unhealthy weight loss for one week.

A few factors have contributed to me being behind goal-wise, the Easter break would be a biggy (chocolate is so evil).
The period of time I was unable to exercise because my back was playing up didn't help much either.

Oh well, these things happen, you just have to keep working at it, I'll get there eventually.

Lets see how things look this time next week.

Check in: 25/4/11

I've been on holiday for the last couple of weeks. I went away with my family, to a wedding and this weekend was Easter which mean chocolate.

So I've had a few ups and down calorie wise.

When I weighed myself on Saturday I was 91.7kg, which was quite a surprise! I was expecting weight gain, not loss, especially not one so significant.

So... I am half expecting next weeks weigh in to show a gain... but you never know, positive thoughts, right?

I am back to work, and regular, planned meals on Wednesday. I'm looking forward to regaining control of my calorie intake. :)

Check in: 9/4/11

I forgot to check in last week, because my other blog, bento adobencha has me a little distracted.
But don't worry the food blogging hasn't affected my weight loss, as of this morning I weigh 92.5kg.
Well on my way to my STG, which is to weigh less than 90kg by the 7th of May, lets hope I get there!

Today when I went to the gym it was time for my monthly weigh and measure there too.
I'm really happy with the results.

I've lost 3.1kg since joining up to Curves Smart, as well as a total of 8.51cm all over and 1% body fat.
I was also given a printed a progress report, with pretty graphs and stuff.

The blue bars in the bottom right are my PI (performance index) results for my last 10 workouts. The performance index is how hard I should be working. The green ball is the goal I should be reaching.

The woman above the PI graphs is what the computer thinks I look like based on my measurements.

The green line graphs, show how my body fat %, body weight, how many calories I'm burning and how my strength is improving.

As you can see my body fat and weight has reduced and my calorie burn and strength have improved. YAY!

My Back....

So, this back pain is really getting to me.

I know I am in pain because I am overweight, the extra weight I carry around aggravates my scoliosis.
I know if I lose weight and strengthen my core muscles I will experience less pain.
To lose weight and strengthen those muscles I need to exercise.
I can't exercise at the moment because my back hurts too much....

This is the cycle that has prevented me from losing weight in the past.
Its pretty depressing. I'm motivated to do the right thing, but my stupid body is preventing me from doing it.

Checking In and Back Pain

My weight as of this morning is 93.5kg, which is a loss of 400g.
To be honest, I'm surprised I lost weight at all. I haven't been able to exercise for most of this week.
My back has been playing up, I've been in too much pain to go to work some days, let alone exercise.

I'm hoping things settle down and I'll be back to the gym by next week, I've been to see my chiropractor and had a remedial massage. So, here's hoping.
I don't won't to be out of practice for too long, I actually miss going to the gym.

Curves Smart and Checking-in

I am happy to say that when I jumped on the scales this morning I read 93.9kg, and a loss of 800g! Nice to see another loss, I hope it continues. :)

Almost two weeks ago I started the Curves Smart workout at Curves. It is an electronic couching system.
I was given an RFID tag, programed with my personal profile, weight, range of motion etc.

Now when ever I go to the gym I put my tag into each machine I use, it tells me whether I am doing each rep at the right speed for me and if I am using my full range of motion, or if I am over extending.


When I have finished my workout I go to a computer and put my tag in the slot and I get feedback on my workout, whether I worked to my full potential, what muscles I worked out and how well I worked them. It also saves my heart rate data and calculates how many calories I have burned.

I am really happy with the system, it is super motivating and boy does it push you to work that little bit harder!

Finally!

I've done it! I've reached my short term goal (STG), I weigh less than 95kg. I have lost over 10kgs!
It took me a bit longer than I had hoped, a month to be exact, but I did.

When I got on the scales this morning I was delighted to read 94.7kg, meaning I lost 500g this week.

Now that I have reached this goal it is time to set a new STG. I like to work in intervals of 5kg. So, my next short term goal is to weigh less than 90kg. I would like to reach this goal by the 7th of May. I've learned from the last goal that I set, to allow for a few set backs, so hopefully this time frame is realistic.

So, less than 90kg by the 7th of May.

So close but still not there!

I still have not met my STG of weighing less than 95kg.
As of this morning I weigh 95.2kg.... It is SO close!!

 Here is a graph of my weightloss data so far.

As you can see there have been a few ups and downs, but overall the general trend is down. So, as a whole I'm losing weight, even if I hit a few bumps along the way.

Checking in

Weight as of this morning is 95.7kg.
Which makes a loss of 1.5kg. Much better than last week.

Hopefully this time next week I will be under 95kg. If I make it there I will be rewarding myself with a pampering session at the beauticians. To make the goal that much sweeter.

My relationship with food

My recent weight gain is getting to me. I have been trying really hard to keep up this change in my life-style. I buy healthy foods, I watch my portions and I stick to my exercise routine.

But the moment I am in a situation where I don’t have control over the types of foods I eat (like when I was on holiday with my family, or last week when I was at a catered training conference for work) I sabotage my hard work by over indulging in high calorie foods, not because I am genuinely hungry, but just because they are there.

I know that I shouldn’t deny myself “fun” foods, but I need to make sure I am not over indulging. At the moment I don’t seem to be able to do that. I can’t stop at just one chocolate biscuit, or one piece of cake. I have to eat more, just because it is there.

I need to do something to change this behaviour, but I am not sure how to go about it.

Really disapointed...

It being Saturday I weighed myself this morning.
I gained 1.4kg this week. Really disappointed.

Curves

So, after my one week trial of Curves gym I have decided to sign up.

There are a few things that I don't really like about the place, the big one being that they don't have a shower, so I will never be able to go before work or anything like that.


The other being the hours. Monday to Friday 6am to 11am, then 1pm to 7pm. So, you can't go after dinner. Saturday they close at 11am and do not open again, so I have to get up early on a Saturday if I want to work-out, and they are closed all of Sunday.

How ever I think the pros, like the convenient location and motivating circuit set-up out weigh those cons.
I really do enjoy the work-out. It's hard, there is not way to take it easy! But afterward I feel pretty good.

So, Curves is a go for me.

You can still sign up for a free trial too, by clicking here.

Close, but not quite there.

So as of this morning I weigh 95.8kg.
0.8kg off my STG to weigh less than 95kg by the 12th of Feb (today).

According to my diary, I lost 1.7kg this week, which is quite a bit, and it may affect my weight loss for next week. So, I won't be surprised if next week's loss is quite low. But Hopefully, by next Saturday I will have lost 10kg since I started my weight loss program. ^_^


Last week I signed up, online for a 7 day free trial of Curves gym (which you can get by clicking here).
I've been twice now, and it is pretty intense!
It's circuit training with the usual machines, but between each is a station where you run on the spot to keep your heart rate up. There is a timed recording which tells everyone when it is time to change stations, so it keeps you moving.
By the time you do the recommended 2 complete circuits plus 6 extra stations, you've done a 30 minute workout without even noticing.
So far it seems good, but I'm waiting before I sign up for a 12 month contract, as I am not sure how my back will cope with some of the exercises.
I'll get back to you about it.

Weather and work woes

It has been a tough week.

I went back to work, and have hit a few very, very stressful hurdles.
The weather has been absolutely foul. High 30s to low 40s with over 80% humidity, I'm sure it hit 100% at some points.

The work situation makes me want to sit down and eat a whole chocolate mud cake (and when my co-workers bring cakes to work, you better believe I'm eating more than one slice!)

The weather is SO draining, you wake-up and need a shower, you get out of the shower and instantly start sweating and feel like you need to get back in.
The evaporative air-conditioners at work have just not been coping. They might work for the first 10-15 minutes of the lesson, then there just isn't enough water pressure in the school to go around and they start blowing out hot air. By the end of the day you're sweaty and exhausted.
Then, at home, you have to try and sleep through the night, when the temperature only gets down to 27, if you're lucky.

This makes it very, very difficult to be motivated, exercise-wise. I was getting up early and walking before it got too hot and I had to go to work. But by the time Friday came around, the combination of the draining weather and the stress at work I felt like I hadn't slept all week and just could not do it.

The temperature is meant to fall to 25 during the day by Sunday, and I am taking a break from my exercise till then.

Any way, time to check in with my stats.
As of this morning I weigh 97.5kg.
That is a loss of 0.7kg since last week.
Not too shabby, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of it was fluid loss from all of the sweating I've been doing. I have been drinking a fair bit, but I'm pretty sure it was coming out faster than I could put it back in, haha!

Hopefully, when things cool down everything will get easier.

o bento no adobencha

I have decide to start a new blog dedicated to my bento lunches.

You can find it here: http://bento-adobencha.blogspot.com/ and in a link in the right menu bar. ^_^

Checking in

Time for my weekly check in.
After my weight gain while I was away I have been really diligent with my calorie intake and exercise.
And I am happy to say that because of my hard work I have lost half of the weight I put on while I was away.

I am hoping that my weight gain won't affect my ability to reach my short term goal of weighing less than 95kgs by the 12th of Feb... Which is in only 2 weeks, but I am thinking that it might.
To reach that goal I will need to lose more than 1kg a week, which is not healthy or maintainable weight loss.

I will see how I go, than re-evaluate my goals after the 12th of Feb.

Bad influances...

I stayed with my family for a week in a coastal holiday house they booked.
I had a great time, lots of swimming in the ocean, lots of shopping, fun, fun.

But, there was a lot of something else too... Take-away food.
We cooked a total of 2 dinners while we were there. Every other night we had take-away, pizza (3 times), Chinese, Thai, and of course, fish & chips.

As a result, I gained 2kgs. Annoyed.

While I had a great time, I'm glad to be home where I can have more control over what I'm eating.

On a different note, I ordered a bento box before I went away, I'm looking forward to making tasty, healthy, cute bentos for lunch.

Back on track

Yay I'm back to losing weight!

I lost just over a kilogram this week and now weight 98.3kg.

I feel a lot happier now. ^_^

Although I lost the weight I was hoping for this week, at the moment I'm on holiday and spend much of my time at home, which leaves a lot of time for potential snacking.

This is something I am struggling with. I know snacking isn't always a bad thing. Its good to keep your metabolism moving at a consistent pace instead of jumping up and down, if you know what I'm talking about. I think I just need to locate some healthy, satisfying but low calorie snacks.
Satisfying being the key word there, there is nothing more annoying than eating something only to feel hungry again 15 minutes later.
I like the light Cruskits with some tomato and low fat cheese, but that can get a bit repetitive. I just have to keep on the look out for some good snacks.

New short term goal.

I currently weight 99.9kg. Nearly 100kg.
My next short term goal (STG) is to weigh less than 95kg.
I think this is something I can achieve in 5 to 6 weeks, if I work at it and stick to eating well and exercising.

So, my STG is:

• Lose 5kg (weigh less than 95kg) in 5 to 6 weeks, by the 12th of February.

The festive season is finally over.

Christmas and New Year are finally done with.
In the end I decided to take a break from my weight loss program over this period, there was too much food around and not enough time for exercising. Well, that's my story any way, and I am sticking to it.

As a result, I now weigh 99.9 kg. The weight I was at about a month ago.
I am pretty disappointed by the weight gain, but not at all surprised.

Now that the festive season is done with I will get back on track, no more massive servings of roasted meats and baked vegetables swimming in gravy, no more over indulging (and I mean OVER indulging!) in the delicious dining opportunities of Melbourne (where I spent the New Year period).

I will set some new, achievable, short term goals and get back to regular exercise and good eating habits.