Maintenance. Something I Thought You Paid The Ex For Your Kids.

Today I had an official weigh in and tickle session with my friendly gym instructor. Here's the big winner. When I was starting out in the broadcasting industry at 17, the manager believed in me and sent me off to broadcasting school with the advice "Stand tall, shoulders back" (He actually went on and won body building championships) but I have struggled with good posture all my life. My latest developments are that I look better because I appear better. My posture is improving and that is due to weight training and muscle gain.
I have been Sub 90 since April, with only a couple of weeks tipping the scales just over 90 by 100 grams or so which in itself is an achievement. Today I achieved a really good time for me to run 5km's. I am not sure if its a personal best but at 26.40 that is fast for me. The other benefits I have observed include football fitness. I am really enjoying football this year, and we are winning as a team. Instead of blowing after a run up-field, I can run up-field and then track back and tackle if I lose the ball. Truly astonishing. Sadly football finishes in a couple of weeks but I now have signed up to do a run called the Queen Charlotte Relay in the More FM team. This is a challenge in itself because you can't just jump off the treadmill when you want to and other people are relying on you to do your best. I can feel the jitters in my gym socks already.
So here are the stats:

Seems my fat displacement is moving or I am maybe even building muscle. Because my chest has grown, something a 14 year old girl would be proud of, and my biceps too. (kiss - kiss) My trunks have shrunk too which may be why I can run faster. A lot more work needs to go into my abdomen, back and tummy. Not looking forward to what I have to do for that. I have lost fat it seems everywhere except my calfs which are as tight as Bill English's budget. So all in all pleasing but room for improvement. Sounds like my school reports  all over again.

Now, a new programme, a new focus and maybe some more weight loss. If that leads me to happiness then bring it on.

Pain is temporary. Glory is forever.

Weigh in 89.6 kg

Old Habits Die Occasionally

It's been a while and since I have had so many comments that I am looking slim, and also the question have I kept it off? plus a request from my gym instructor to blog about my latest initiative that I write today.
Being slimmer than I have been since my teenage years has given me a real boost in happiness. The fact that people notice and comment is very rewarding. So if you are a little bigger than you know you should be there is some incentive for you. I have also never been fitter, as is the case of accidentally going for a couple of 10km runs that were initially supposed to be 30 minute jogs. You tend to get over the pain and those negative feelings after about 5 to 8 minutes and then you just go.
To the next point, have I kept it off? I can proudly say yes I have and have done so for 8 weeks! Now in saying that I have registered in the sub 89's but not on an official weigh in day...and today I weighed in at 89.3. That has meant that I have had to set myself some new goals. Now I have one one...its a little vague but its something I have detested all my life, but am willing to try.
I am now mixing my cardio with weights. I hate doing weights...it hurts...it makes me feel sick...if I go hard I hurt the next day...it makes me grumpy...the list goes on. But enough winging and whining...lets make it happen and that is just what I am doing now.
I have been doing it for just over a week and thankfully it has got easier, but I am still not enjoying it as much as a good cardio workout where I sweat and feel like I have actually achieved something. Why should you do weights? Well I am no P.E dude but apparently it helps burns fat for longer after your exercise. It strengthens what is practically the nuts and bolts of your body. It of course tones you and for me one of the major things I think it will help is posture. To help get through my workout I have set about blasting through my weights session and then finish off with a good cardio session. By that time I am warmed up and I start to perspire almost immediately giving me the satisfaction that I am definitely doing something good.
So what are my goals. Well Andrea, my gym instructor has given me a little programme which I work at but also gave me a good once over. She took measurements, and also looked at the amount of fat I am carrying. The object is to better these stats.

Well that is enough for now...wish me luck as I try and change these statistics. It is going to be hard as my gym time now has become even more limited with my current family situation...but its not going to stop me. The only thing that will stop me is death, and with what I am doing is delaying that inevitable.

The Method to Weight Loss for Free

Project Sub 90

How it worked.

Set your goal! My goal was to get to under 90kgs

Time –Don’t worry about a time limit. You put yourself under too much pressure if you do.

You should not need to spend any money. The only investment I made was to get a gym membership ($100 for 3 months ) and eventually I bought a pair of bike shorts but more on that later.

The best way to attack it is with what you eat and exercise. Let’s look at food first.

Plan your meals. I mapped out what I was going to eat in the week. So dinners were all written down with the flexibility of which day I ate what. This also helped budgeting. The best meal that I had before weigh in day was chicken and salad wraps. I really didn’t change what I ate for dinner; I just ate less of it. Portion control.

I am sucker for sweet food and because I can be gluttonous, I limited my treats to one a day. The treats I use to have in the day time were replaced with fruit or healthy alternatives.In fact I tried to take this one step further and tried not to have treats in the house, because I would keep going to them until they were finished. I also found that nuts were really good just before going to the gym for the energy. Although apparently a honey sammy and a cup of coffee are really good before you do some serious cardio work.

My toughest time was at Christmas where everyone was getting on it, out and about but I guess I never over indulged because I was focused on my goal. Now a tip for you before your weigh ins. Eat breakfast like a king, eat lunch like a commoner and eat dinner like a pauper. The other best piece of weight loss propaganda is don’t eat carbs after 2pm. Bet you can’t though.

Now with exercise you just need to do it, get into the habit of doing it because if you do and you choose to skip it, you will miss it and your body will it. You should do something you enjoy and it doesn’t matter what it is just as long as your heart rate goes above 110 bpm to about 150bpm. But then everybody’s bodies are different so that’s  an example that should suit most people.

The longer you spend doing exercise the quicker the results. I tried to go hard for an hour each time and probably did it four times a week. The best for me is running. However cross trainer and the stepper featured a little too. But it’s also good to have a challenge for a fitness goal. My Strait to Strait challenge of biking from Picton to Bluff is a good example. 952 kms on the bike and I have only 82 to go. This has been awesome, and I have been able to lose yet another kg. In fact my personal best is 43.02km in an hour…this is on a spin bike.

Make your weigh ins a weekly appointment, all at the same time, same scales, same place you weigh yourself. I have found writing a blog has been worthwhile. I did it for my own benefits, but I have had lots of feedback from it and that has kept me going. So again thank you to those that have helped.

It has been nearly a month after achieving my Sub 90, and I’m proud to say that I have kept it off and my lowest figure on the scales has been 88.9kg. 

Crossing the Line

Throw the confetti, slap me on the back, buy me a drink, compliment my figure, you are free to do what you want because I have achieved my goal.
This week after the commencement of the Strait to Strait cycle challenge I rode 223 km's in just shy of 7 hours. (I am not winning though which is a prick in the waterbed bladder) I had only 2 beers all week and I was determined that this week was the week. Plus the fact football season has commenced I feel as though I can last 90 minutes with ease, and the fact is I am no longer carrying a backpack full of fat I can run faster.
So the biggest challenges were enticing food. I cut down big time on snacks, simply by not having them in the house. Because if they were there I would eat em. My portion sizes are definitely smaller and if I sit down to eat a huge meal now I just feel ill afterwards. My diet changed a lot actually, for example instead of toasted cheese and ham sammies, I have poached eggs on toast. Perfect!
Time was a big factor, and it just meant with the two babies I just had to plan in advance gym visits. I made sure I went regularly and totally concentrated on cardio exercises, because weights are boring and make me feel sick.
I apologise for being so graphic here but it is good to see the difference it has made.

There are quite a few I'd like to thank. My gym buddies for keeping me amused and encouraging me who are Andrea, Hogginator, Chris M and Chris W, Marty, LJ. All my friends who posted messages of support on FB, Alastair, Lachlan, B, Carlene, Jo, Aaron, Kathy, Frida, Marty, Nicola, Cheesy, Danny, Nic, Wade, Monique, Chris, Carly, Tom, Darren, Darrin, Annette, Drew, Ruth, Maria, Raewyn, Julie, Rosie, Rob, Lisa.
But my family has been very supportive, mum and dad of course, my brother Dayle and my wonderful wife has had to put up with me, my moods, my diet, time away at the gym and without her this would not have been possible. And I guess it was Het that inspired me to do this, so babe I thank you.

So what now? Good question. I guess trying to keep it off..oh and the cycle challenge.

Start weight: 101kg
Last weigh in 90.8kg
TODAY 89.7 KG

A Cup of Wee

I knew the final 1000 grams was going to be tough and I hope for my sake that the two week cycle that seems to have occurred in my project comes to fruition and I show real progress on the last stint next week. But for the week just gone, let me tell you how I got on.

I guess I did celebrate the fact that I was under 91kgs last week and had since lost 10kg's. This meant a couple of days holiday from the gym. But that was strategic because my next big goal has started. The Strait to Strait Cycle Challenge.Yep, from Cook to Foveaux on a spin bike. It is a race mind you and the competition is fierce and might end up out in the carpark gloves off style. So two days into that and on the first day I travelled 29.01km in an hour which is the time limit per day allowance for all competitors and today I managed to stretch that out to 29.23km.  This fanatical gym lady completed 38km today, and that is just unreal. It must have been  no resistance at all, and if that's my case, I bounce around like a little rubber ball which if you land wrong hurts some other little balls.

My eating has been pretty good, and I have noticed that portion sizes have become smaller and that has become habitual which is a good thing. I did however make an apple crumble to use the apples from our golden delicious apple tree. Why do my apple crumbles never come out as good as my Nana's? Well truth be known as I just spoke to her, she guesses the ingredients and if its measured uses the term ounces. I thought the only thing these days that were measured in ounces were green and usually go up in smoke.

Oh well, what did I lose this week? Let me show you.

Yes, a cup off wee.

Start Weight 101kgs
Last week 90.9kgs
Today 90.8kgs.

1000 Grams

After my abysmal abuse of my body the week of my birthday, I tried to make up for it this week. After stuffing pizza, KFC, fizzy drink and alcohol into my feeding tube ballooning my weight out of proportion, I certainly burnt that off with some pretty solid exercise for the week. In fact I have signed up to another challenge.
I intend doing the "Straight to Straight" In our gym we have a few spin bikes and I never liked riding them because you never knew how far you went, or speed you were travelling. Well they now have their own computers. I love having goals so I have made this one of them. So starting from the 28th March I intend to bike 952 kms from Cook Straight to Foveaux Straight. I reckon this will take 36 hours of biking at an average of 25km p/h. I will keep you posted.
This week I think I went to the gym 5 times with an hour of cardio each time. I am now wearing a heart rate monitor just to keep me motivated. I also unintentionally ran 10kms which according to the monitor was too much for me. I should be exercising with a heart rate of 110 - 147 BPM. I averaged 150 when I did the run so I think my fitness has dramatically improved.
My food all week has been very good and especially this weekend. I never indulged in anything over the top. So to the weigh in...and this makes for very good reading.

Start weight : 101kgs
Last Weigh in 15th March: 93.2 kg
Today: 90.9 kg
1000 grams to go! Maybe I could do this in a fortnight....we will see.

The Carbo Load and Figures

Carbo loading is not the best idea, especially if you want a really good result come weigh in day. But I will come to that momentarily.

Last week was of course monumental with the birth of Blake, but this week there was something just as monumental occurring. Yes I had a birthday and it really pushed the scales up, much to my amusement.

But last week through good time management and a very understanding and supportive wife, I forced my self to the gym while Dylan (baby 1) was sleeping so Het had only Blake to worry about. Now I have also figured out some other figures. My height is 181cm. I wanted to know because I wanted to work out what my heart rate should be to maximise my gym time. It turns out for my age (nothing to do with height or weight, not very scientific aye?) I need to be between 110 and 147 beats per minute. So with the help of a heart rate monitor my average heart rate through out exercise is 125 bpm. So I'm doing well there.

Now I love to celebrate my birthday. However what use to be a month of celebration in the 20's has become weeks in my early 30's but now it just seems like its the weekend. So I spoilt myself, through my stomach. I had a bottle of wine (ok maybe 2 over the whole weekend) I had an ice cream, a packet of Heartland Potato Chips, a Kit Kat or two. And then on my birthday I over indulged in pizza and then got a little carried away with KFC. But it was my birthday, however what happened next put me over the top.

Because Het just gave birth some very kind people have been giving us flowers, some balloons, some more flowers, some clothes but some have been giving us food. A very good friend of Het's gave us this amazing Lasagna. It was massive but we could not waste such a gift so I ate it, then had some more, and then finished it. Talk about Carbs...pasta, pizza and chocolate plus that bottle of fizzy drink which I don't normally do that came with the KFC I have really gone and screwed up. Here's the stats.

Start weight: 101kgs
Last Weigh in: 92.0 kgs
This morning : 93.2kgs

Don't worry, I almost fasted today, and ate properly so tomorrow it will be closer to last weeks figure. Well it better be otherwise I am booking a one way ticket to Ethiopia.