Christmas Trimmings

I must have been cuckoo choosing this time of the year to try and lose those extra kilo's I have been carrying around, but then again I thought that would be half the challenge. Really testing my self-discipline. With invites for Xmas drinkies appearing from all over the show I have been going to these events with a predetermined amount of drinks I will allow myself while try to deny myself snack food good hosts have on offer.
Friday night, that all this went out the window. Surrounded by the good people of Radioworks Marlborough, I downed barrells of wine, both sparkling and Sav. I indulged in chips and the dip I created (which was not hard by the way...mix and stir) But still, even after playing "Ride the Bus" a drinking card game the pizza's arrived. Oh bloody nora...I love pizza but that's when I made my exit.
But then a taxi to my next invite for the night at a legal department BBQ I was fronted with classy food, and more wine. Again the nice people there meant that I was never without an empty glass. I did find a distraction though...a record player with loads of vinyl to choose from. All this played through a decent stereo I was in great spirits. But knowing that I had a 5am start the next morning I began walking home.
That's until I spotted the bright lights of Boomtowns CBD and made my way to the nearest bar. Low and behold...there was Coach waiting there with a bourbon for me...and my famous quote "I'm going home unless you buy me a drink" Eventually I made it home alive at 2am and was found on the couch trying to find some sport on TV arguing with my better half on whether I was drunk or not.
Now this Christmas bender does not end there. Saturday we hosted a BBQ for our coffee group and other friends. This started off nice and relaxed, which was good because I had the energy of a spent rechargeable battery. However my friends started turning up in there masses and made sure I had a drink when they noticed I didn't have one. I took two shifts on the BBQ in 30 degree heat and ate sparingly. My food consumption has changed because I would have under normal circumstances had two helpings but no it was only one and I tricked some by filling beer bottles with water...ha ha got you. You think I'm drinking. The music pumped, the lights were festive but that night ended well in good time.
So Sunday...the day before weigh in and a little DJ stint, again eating well and a little gym session meant that my weigh in was incredible. Now after reading my weekends exploits, you would think I would have made 0 progress on my weight loss. Think again...remember I started on the 1st of November weighing in at 101kgs, last week I made it to 95.0 and this week....94.1kg! Almost 7kg in 1 month and 20 days.
Oprah, you need to come and see me. I can make that shadow you have cast across Australia a little less.

I Got That Feeling

Have you ever had it? It's that feeling when you are running or doing something physical like playing football and you have energy to burn baby. You feel as though you are running on air and you could go on forever like Forrest Gump. Well yesterday I was thinking about what to write in my next blog and I had this feeling. It's quite rare to be honest, because there have been times when my legs feel like ships anchors, and I just want to stop. But that is not going to help.
So this week, I have just been keeping on keeping on. The dedication and commitment is there but I am yet to have received many comments from people  saying "you look as though you lost weight" apart from my beautiful wonderful wife. I guess there is a lot more work to be done.
I have felt though sometimes that its taking over. My life has become more organised to the extent of being anal. Like buying so much ham for this many meals and I feel myself getting grumpy when Het steals some of it to give to my wee boy Dylan. So I think I need a chill pill...and a weight loss pill to follow it up...maybe then some Prozac...and why not finish it off with some Viagra. A relaxed and happy way to lose weight with the best form of exercise.
So weigh in how did I go? Last week I was 95.3kg and I'm happy to say I lost some but not much. 95.0. 6kg lost in 1 month and 13days. I think it's a bit of a plateau, so today will be my 4th consecutive day at the gym. 

Didn't Believe My Eyes

This morning was weigh in day, and because my little boy Dylan was awake at 5:55am I jumped out of bed to give Het another 10 minutes in bed who's normal alarm goes off at 6:12am. The main reason of course, it being weigh in day and I had a clue that I had been going well. I jumped on the scales and what they told me I did not believe. I readjusted the digital scales but they gave me the same result. With that in mind I filled my belly up with a cup of coffee and two poached eggs and weighed myself with a more of a believable result. Tell you more about that in a moment.
I will admit after last weeks disappointment gaining 100 grams that this week was going to be very self disciplined. Yes there was ice cream in the house but I believe I did only have one. I replaced it with apples and a whole heap of in season strawberries. They do make a great desert. Otherwise my food intake was very good. Hardly any snacks, and if they were they were normally tomato and a thin layer of tasty cheese on crackers. I also had a few wraps loaded with a fresh salad, the crumbed chicken and garlic one being my favourite.

This is in image of me on the last day of Movember which concluded this week. Maybe the mo was weighing me down.

My exercise was very dedicated this week and I think I had maybe just 2 days off all week. I have been concentrating on working out longer and every-time trying to push myself further than my previous visit. For example increasing the level on the cross trainer for longer, and in running going faster and faster for as long as it takes to listen to 8 songs on my mp3 player, increasing speed .1 every song. It helps keep track of how many songs I have listened to. My best effort was 60 minutes on the cross trainer burning 1055 calories.
So I had a very busy weekend, which meant that I had to be committed to my exercise and knew that I had a drinking opportunity on Sunday night. But with careful planning I made it through without resorting to junk food. I also only consumed a minimal amount of alcohol and that is hard when it is free.
So how did I go? Well the official figure is....95.3kg meaning that in 1 month and 6 days I am over half way starting my Project Sub 90 at 101kg. That's a 5.2 kg loss. I am wrapped, but I tell you, I thought the initial read of 94.6kg was a little too good to be true :)

Constant Craving

Today is weigh in day and I have slipped.
I could use the excuse that Het and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary with a restaurant visit which allowed me the opportunity to indulge in a 3 course meal.
I could use the excuse that my good friend Cheesy is back briefly from the UK and together with Elvis we plundered the town, drinking and enjoying a curry...oh and drinking.
I could use the excuse that Het did the shopping this week and bought ice cream. Was she out of her mind? Now its there, and because its there, I know I am going to eat it. She says well don't have it every day. That to me is like having candy floss in front of a five year old saying you cant have any until tomorrow.
I could use the excuse that we caught up with our friend Ali and went to the beach who planted some chocolate into her picnic bag, plus yummy Afghan biscuits and everything we ate in the weekend revolved around bread.
I could use the excuse that we were given a free Mr Whippy sundae at the Eastern States Speedway while commentating the race meeting.
But at the end of the day, I only put on 100 grams this week going from 96.9kg to 97.0 kg but this would not look good on a school report. Could do better...B-.

OMG!!! You did what?

What I did tonight has to be a first. I will fill you in shortly.

I am incredibly impressed with my self discipline, and I will describe an example for you now. I have been doing impressive stints in the gym, mainly doing cardio work and alternating between cross-trainer low impact exercise and running. I somehow have quite a pain in my right foot but am able to run through this pain barrier with great music as my distraction. Today Gary Moore covering "Friday on my Mind" was playing with the beat matching my stride. (That makes exercise fun and I wonder what BPM it is? I will do some research and tell you later.)
So after my gym visit today I was incredibly hungry and had an appointment that was 1/2 an hour away and I thought maybe a trip to Subway and a sammy is on the cards. But that meant spending money, so I took a detour home and drank a load of water...plus I might have made a small salad sammy to put some food in my belly. I thought this was a great example of what I am putting into my challenge.
One of the reasons I didn't want to spend money on Subway is that tonight for only the 5th time ever, we got a babysitter in to allow Het and I to go out for dinner. Recently Bacchus featured on a restaurant makeover TV show and it inspired us to go there to celebrate our wedding anniversary. It was great to eat, converse and share some quality time together. The restaurant is still lacking its spark that it once held when run by the fantastic Marcel Rood, but that was not the reason I surprised myself.
Tonight for the very first time, I left food on my plate. To my astonishment it was my favourite food. Apple Crumble with Ice Cream. I could have said that it was because there was a lot of crumble and the amount of ice cream didn't cut it and left it dry...but the waitress did ask if I wanted some more ice cream but I declined because I was full. I have never done this before in my life. I think my stomachs shrinking or my head is in its right place.

Harden the F**k Up

I am pleased to say, even with my Movember growth reminiscent of comedian Chopper, I am a damn site smaller than him. Although I could do with being stabbed a few times and same fat spooned out. It would be easier than the hard road I am taking.
With a busy couple of days after my tummy bug, I wasn't able to visit the gym. But when I did I went hard and that was yesterday. One entire hour on the cross trainer told me I had burnt off 864 calories. I will say, apart from a few beers on Friday, my eating has been very disciplined. I do miss my ice cream though, but I guess you must make sacrifices to achieve success. Even last night, while Het enjoyed her favourite treat. a Kit Kat Chunky...I had a chilled Royal Gala apple. That would be enough for Chopper to say your soft, and stab me 5 times in the stomach.
I wish there was a summer sport that I could partake in that would make me sweat. It's a shame that football in all its glory is a winter sport, because summer footy against kids is not fun. You cant take them out or push them around...and its on a small pitch meaning you cant welly the ball which is a favourite part of the game, especially when you are shooting for goal.
Anyways, before I start to bore you I will tell you what the weigh in revealed this morning. Progress is the answer. Lets recap those figures.
Start: 1st November = 101kg
7th November = 99.5 kg
15th November = 98.6 kg
22nd November = 96.9 kg

4.1 kg in 22 days.

Still a long way to go...and its only going to get tougher. Thanks again for all your support.

Blowout - Literally

It's not what you think. I did not fall for old habits like downing a bottle of wine, having an entire cup if ice cream and a whole packet of Rashuns. No, my blowout came in another form, a nasty form.

It began on Tuesday night when I went to bed. I felt the left side of my stomach fighting with the right side. This was after I plucked up the will to go for a bike ride at 9pm. I had not done any exercise all day and needed to, so I jumped on the bike and went around nearby Athletic Park used by our local track cyclists. I went for 20 minutes in the dark, biking with my mouth closed so I didn't swallow any bugs, and trying to avoid cats that were lurking around the track.

Come midnight...hello! Power chuck and felt better. But that was not the end of it. 2:30 an even bigger one. I worried about my wife and the fact that maybe it was the steak cooked on a less than clean BBQ might have been the cause. I tried to put something in my tummy in the morning...yoghurt to combat the bad bacteria in there but that backfired pretty much instantly.

The biggest help for me was Powerade, because I started to sip on that to replace the electrolytes lost. I got through the day and after a good nights sleep felt nearly normal. Same can't be said for my wife who beat me in the chunder stakes 5-3.

Steady As She Goes

Well today was the official 2 week weigh in. After my disappointment last week I thought I was on track for week two. I will admit to a little touch of alcohol over this weekend but I have been pretty disciplined to what I have eaten. My Chicken and Spinach Summer Casserole was delicious and you would think healthy, but there was a good serving of cheese in the mix. But cheese is protein right? OK, fat filled protein.
My gym sessions are regular, and I did think the sweat band did a good job. I reckon at least 20mls of sweat were wringed out. So its more of the same, but the realisation is that this is going to take some time is a bit daunting and that's where I need your help. So official weigh in today recorded my weight as 98.6kg.

Sweat Band

Well now I have one. When I go to the gym, I'm not there to muck around (even though its bloody social) So now I have a black head band and today I am going to the gym to test it out. I wonder how much perspiration it will catch. I'm looking forward to finishing and then wringing the thing out to see how much comes out.
My eating has been very good and I'm very surprised at my discipline. For example I was quite hungry last night and instead of an unhealthy snack I avoided feeling hungry with an apple and a kiwifruit. Unheard of prior to Project Sub 90. Still have yet to find something to put my load of Spinach in. Hmmmm.
So all things are on track and indications are that I am still losing weight. As long as I can maintain it over the weekend I should lose 3kg in 2 weeks. Is that good?

Good Signs

I am well over my disappointment after my first weigh in, as all indications are that I am right on track. I don't think I have ever been so disciplined when it comes to food consumption. How's this? For the first time in a very long time (and we are talking years) I did not buy a 2 litre tub of ice cream in this weeks grocery shop. For me that is huge because it is my most favourite food.
In fact in the evenings, I have not yielded to satisfy my sweet teeth with surgery treats. In fact for the last couple of nights instead of a chocolatey bikky, a coffee swamped with sugar, and a huge ice cream, I have had strawberries and a cup of peppermint herbal tea with no sweetener.
Yes I know exercise is key and I am fighting the pain barrier here as my heels are hurting. Almost like a stitch pain around my heal. Weird. However I did a good solid gym work out yesterday plus today I had a nice walk around a 5km track surrounding the local airfield with my wife. Who by the way is another great avenue of support, which I could do with more of. Bear that in mind if you want to help. Weight estimation 98.8kg.

Weigh In Blues

Like my good friend Nige said today "Don't get hooked up on the scales" I'm afraid I've fallen victim to my addiction compulsion habit and have been monitoring daily my weight on the scales. Last night I was confident of losing 2kgs in my first calendar week.  So I was really disappointed that my weigh in this morning indicated I had only lost 1.5kg.
 And those adds on TV " Lose 10 pounds in 10 days, its easy call 0800 EZSLIM now to claim your  free towl" Yeah right. So to look on it from the bright side, it is 1.5kg.When you put it into figures it is 3.3 pound. And its only 7 days. So, OK. I can feel happy about that. I can also applaud myself for some very good eating today plus a good solid gym effort. Platform set, now building some foundations in the form of good habits. I think we are onto something here.

The Eve of the First Week

Well its Sunday night and I know I am on track. I even forced myself to my third gym visit this calendar week. Not bad considering my first day there was Thursday. The extreme measures I am taking dumbfound me. For example instead of a chocolate treat or a big bag of Rashuns, I had carrot and celery sticks with dip. I had to force it down with an open fire poker, but I did it.
So with plenty of exercise including a big walk followed by a trundler full of of golf clubs, I am confident about tomorrows weigh in. It would be good to lose 2kg to begin with, but shows how much crap I was carrying about in my system. And I have taken a before photo but like you are going to see that.

Time to Step It Up

It's kind of cool to see weight coming off through only a diet change, but today it was time to go up a cog and burn some serious calories.

I know its not what we all want to know but I gotta admit, my toilet visits are quite frequent. My wife finds this funny and tells me how I know what it feels like being pregnant and wanting to wee all the time. I'm no scientist but could it be that I'm holding more water than Benmore?

One of the habits I'm hoping to cement is gym visits. These are torture at first but bloody social. The gym master who hasn't seen me on the gym floor fired out a few expletives of surprise when I walked in. Got on the treadmill and did a good 4 km in 25 minutes.  I know that pathetic but I gotta start somewhere and I did get tangled up in conversation with a friends sister.

So with a little more concentration on what goes in, we will see in time what's gone out. 99.9

The Beginning

It didn't really help that Kaikoura Cup day started on the first day of my mission, and I was hosting a bus down there. So with free food and beer on offer I did considerably well although the same thing could not be said about my punting. Knowing that the fitness regime would start later this week I was very subdued on the intake of food and beverages and with that, 200 grams was lost on the first day.

Next it was to join the gym, so with a walk into town with the boy in the buggy and a bike ride, I had at least shown to myself I had got off my backside and made my heart pump. Key things to losing weight. Did you know that apparently if you eat raw veges, its harder for your system to digest meaning it works harder meaning you are using energy and therefore losing weight. Eating is certainly a lot healthier already even though it not might sound like it. Poached eggs for brekky, chicken burger for lunch and Pork Spare Ribs, with pasta and salad for dinner. The hardest part so far...sitting watching 24 on DVD craving something nice to snack on. But I have a game plan and this I will share with you next time on Project Sub 90. By the way after 2 days and hardly any exercise, 600 grams has been lost. 100.4

The Mission

So due to life changing circumstances, namely having a baby I have gained a terrible amount of weight and have since gone past 100kgs. So my goal is to lose weight so my scales read under 90kgs. I need all the help I can get. My first weigh in was 101kgs on the 1st November. Read, follow and support me in my cause. I will keep you up to date on my methods, my victories, my failings, my habits and my weight.

My first couple of days have been interesting with horse racing, drinking, meetings and evening hunger cravings. I will go into a little more detail shortly. But for now, its huge glass of water and off to bed.

Wish me luck.

Blackbattler.