Saturday, August 29, 2015

Finally....MFP premium for kazz :)

I got a lil excited today when I discovered I can now get premium MFP. I have been hanging out for this...and to say i was excited was the understatement of the year :)

I got it for one month to trial it...but next month i will pay for a full year of it. The bonus of it, being a calorie cycler it allows me to set a calorie range different for each day. Which means I dont have to rely on the note app on my phone where I would keep this info :) It also allows you to put ur macros in by grams. For anyone who doesnt know....macros...refer to protein, carbs, and fat... for my protein i basically set it at 1 gram per pound of lean body mass...which is 137 grams....my aim is to hit that as a minimum. My fat goal i set to 39 grams every day except saturday which is my high calorie day....and thats basically to prevent me going on a carb binge on saturdays LOL...and also allow me to have one day a week that i can easily fit in some nut butters or avocado etc. This really allows me to manipulate my calories...and also just cos its a higher calorie day ... wont necessarily more carbs. On my 1600 calorie days my carbs will spike to 175 grams of carbs....while my 1800 calorie day as I am having higher fat the carbs will only be 110 grams. Overal my carbs will vary from 109 grams to 175 grams. This is a very different way of doing it for me....and I will watch it and see how it goes. I know without a doubt my body likes change and responds best to not the same thing everyday. This is keeping to the same calorie cycle pattern I have been doing for the last week or so...it just manipulates the balance of the macros :)

So I have tracked for the next 7 days. I also found to hit these macros i needed to really eat clean, and I think its time to really knuckle down on that. Prolly the only thing thats not clean I am eating is one quest bar per day and protein powder. Its also led me to some different meals (next saturday 2 pieces of toast with egg, tomato, and avocado on it for lunch....yes please!). Its also bought my sodium down most days...one day is around 2000 mg the rest of the days between 1200 and 1700 mgs...so happy with that....the really high sodium day is 4 days before weigh in day...so plenty of time for me to lose any fluid i might retain from that slight increase. So I feel good about all that...if I stick to it...theres no reason for the scales to get moving!

A lil sore from PT and pump yesterday...mostly my triceps...but nothing too bad. I was getting some pain in my elbow...was after the squat track...think it was from having my elbow bent...maybe i had too much tension in my forearms holding the bar...I know ive had the issue before when doing the trx....so will keep a eye on that.

Enjoy ur weekend all!

Friday, August 28, 2015

Back to the gym...

I ended up having today off from work so I scheduled a PT session. Just a 30 minute session. I am like 80% over this cold but thought it was important to get back into a routine...and I have committed to going in for body pump tonight. My big focus right now is building my gym routine.

I have decided at least in the short term to kinda pull myself in a bubble...this journey just needs to have my focus 100% so I am planning to limit/restrict the socialising for a while. I know you dont need to do that....but at this stage I feel like socialising turns into for me too much of how can i fit in A, B & C and ultimately leads to some unwise choices...so just for a lil while I am going to say no a bit so i can really keep my nutrition in check.

Starting next week I am also going to have another personal trainer. I am still training with Stacey on tuesday nights and monday nights short term will be a double PT session with the new trainer (who I have heard nothing but good things about) ultimately i want to do PT over 3 nights per week and that will hopefully come with time :)

After the gym today I went clothes shopping :) I went to city chic and bought some new jeans. My current ones are a size 22 and are so loose I can take them off without undoing the button or zipper (they are more like trackie pants these days LOL) I was hoping with all the centimetres I have lost I might be down to a size 18....but alas no. Size 20. But they are a good fit. Only annoying thing is I see again how big my thighs are .... its not so obvious with the super loose ones :)

I then went to Amart as I have a $150 voucher for there....bought a set of weight lifting gloves (which my precious hands were very desperate for!)...a black crop top for under my clothes....a black kinda netted tshirt...which is super nice...really flattering....and also a orange tank top...they were all sizes 18 and nice fits.

Today is only a 1200 calorie day...all going good so far. I had oats and protein powder for breakfast....lunch i had a whole 237 grams of salmon (my new favourite food) with soba salad (I have included a pic below of it)...and I am about to have a mint chunk quest bar and dinner will be a omlette with ham, some cheese and vegies....still leaves me with 100 calories spare :)

Salmon and Soba Noodle Salad


Wednesday, August 26, 2015

The next month....

So tonight I feel much better :) I had some doubts and I guess confusion over whether what I was doing was right and even wondering if at my age am I too old for my body to get the weight loss thing happening.

So to back track slightly....I gained this week...1.1 kilos....why did I gain? No idea! Could be the food when I was in Sydney...whilst I think I picked good choices....you just dont know how much sodium and oil etc is used when eating out. I have had pharyngitis for the last few days...I am getting over it quite easily (quite different to last year when I was sick!) but this week I have taken lemsip and panadeine forte, plus soothers....so they or just the fact my body is busy fighting germs could be contributing. Lack of exercise....Ive done no PT this week due to being sick and travelling...and while yes I did walk in Sydney and hit a minimum of 10,000 steps per day....what I know my body needs is intensity...1 hour of intense cardio will do way more for my body then 20,000 steps will ever do.

So I talked to Lauren (my food coach) and we decided on for a few things...I am 118.3 kilos on my scales this morning....and we will review things on september 23....we wont change calories or anything between now and then. So calorie cycling with a average of 1485 calories. No carbs (as in grains) after 2pm (including fruit...I will need to eat my fruit in the morning), vegetables predominantly green ones...hello spinach and bok choy! and aiming for as clean as possible.

Exercise wise....going to mostly focus on cardio....I will do pump once a week...prolly some weights in PT....but nothing overly heavy. I always did pump when I lost my weight before...and that its lighter weights/higher repition I think prolly works as it does add a cardio component to it.

I have decided to walk the city to bay...which is on september 20 (nothing like deciding 3 weeks before hand!) So my plan on sundays for the next few weeks is to walk 10kms each sunday....if I know I can do 10kms....then 12kms will be fine (after all when I ran it I had never run more then 10kms before hand) I am also going to do 20 minutes on the cross trainer per day to try and help build up my cardio.

Anyway....tomorrow I am resting and friday is up in the air (I will be at the gym just not sure what I will be doing yet....maybe yoga?) but starting saturday the next 9 days will look like this:

saturday : pump and balance
sunday : walk 10kms
monday : 1 hour PT and 20 mins cross trainer & walk up 7 flights of stairs
tuesday : 30 mins PT and 20 mins cross trainer & walk up 7 flights of stairs
wednesday : 20 minutes cross trainer + a cardio workout 1 (see below!)
thursday : RPM or TTT + 20 mins cross trainer + walk up 7 flights of stairs
friday : cardio workout 2 + 20 minutes on cross trainer
saturday : pump and balance
sunday : walk 10kms



cardio workout 1:

2.5km walk/jog
1000 metre row
40 burpees (against bench or using bosu ball)
40 pushups
40 jumpsquats holding 10 kilo plate
80 reps on leg press machine (95 kilos)
40 side steps with elastic band


cardio workout 2:

walk up 7 flights of stairs
row 500 metres
100 boxing jabs
1 minute battle ropes or skipping
100 upper cuts
1 minute battle ropes or skipping
100 hooks
15 reverse crunches
15 crunches
row 500 metres


Towards the end of next week I will post the following weeks workout...as it will slightly change as I am on earlier starts at work for a few weeks which means getting to all the classes I want to do is much do-able.

Stick to my calories and exercise and hopefully on september 23 I will be a much smaller number then 118.3 kilos! :)

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

And the holiday is over.....

Back from my holiday! And sick :(

Bahahah....actually i am improving already (yay)

The holiday was good....its nice to get away to somewhere completely....to have that time out to give thought to you and only you. I really thought a lot about what I want and how I want to go about getting it.

There was a discussion whilst away about relationships, goals etc... I definitely do not want a relationship at the moment...I am very focused on me right now and I dont want to lose that. My big goal for my life after this weight loss journey is definitely about sculpting the body I want and travel and possible doing something online to "pay it forward"

Anyway i came home with a dose of pharyngitis! LAWD!! But thankfully I eat so well now...and whilst i am not at goal weight...obviously eating well for most of the last 4 months obviously my insides, my immune system etc is obviously improved from last year. I have had it for 24 hours...tomorrow back to work and the gym....that wouldnt have happened last year. So while going back to the gym as I have a food coaching session...I wont go too hard....the aim will be just to do 30-40 minutes of slow steady state cardio.

As to the scales....I weighed in last wednesday morning at 117.2 kilos....i then did a weight workout and the scales went up 900 grams....friday morning i weighed 118.1 kilos....this morning i was 118.3 kilos....so 200 gram gain whilst away....and considering I am sick...and have things like panadeine forte in my system...I feel pretty good....I dont think there will be a loss this week but considering travel and sickness a gain under 1 kilo is acceptable...but the last 6-8 weeks i have been fluctuating within 1-2 kilos...its time to get serious! I want to be under 110 kilos by christmas and that will take work. So time for serious focus and working out 60 minutes six times a week.

When I was in Sydney we went into autograph and I tried on this size top...size 16 and a fitted shirt...so I am planning to go get that this coming weekend. Also this weekend...after the gym on saturday going to the markets to do some nice organic food shopping! Time for super focus :)

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Plans...

I am in a food coaching session last night and Lauren says "i notice you only come to the gym when you have a PT session...".....can we say busted? LOL it is true. And when I trained with fiona it was true...I trained 4 days a week back then....monday...tuesday...thursday...saturday....but they were all BIG days. I was fit enough to do back 2 back classes...a PT session and then finish off with some cardio. These days I am not that fit ;) So the answer is I need to be a LOT more consistent, if I am only fit enough to do 60-90 minutes a day....thats fine...it just needs to be something that is done most days if not all days. By that I know rest days are important...but for me....rest days have become turning into a sloth in front of netflix....not like the old days where a "rest day" for me would be a day where i "just" walk.

I also want to start focus more on variety and clean, nutritionally dense foods. I use to go to the markets after the gym on a saturday...pick up organic meat...i wouldnt shop for my fruit n veg at the local foodland I would instead go to the markets. So once I get home from Sydney I will be building that back into my routine...Im keen for not only more organic chicken but also turkey.

ANOTHER thing i havent done is....OP SHOPPING! I used to do it a lot...and it was always encouraging and now I am getting smaller (I lost another 18 centimetres when my measurements were done last night :)) I need to start finding clothes in size 16 & 18 so I have some cute clothes to grow into. When I get back I also NEED to buy new jeans...my current ones I can take off without undoing the zipper or button LOL they are kinda like trackpants now ;)

Tomorrow morning we go to Sydney! A holiday so you would think thats being off track and eating all the foods i can find right? NOPE....taking my breakfasts....will buy some quest bars and fruit when I get their tomorrow. Lunch and dinner I plan to try and find nutritionally dense foods. We are planning to go to Lindt cafe at some point...and that will be my treat (but within my calories) ... so my main focus while in sydney will be...stay under calories....be aware of sodium high foods...and eat foods with lots of nutrients :) Activity wise...ive charged my fitbit charge HR and want to earn at least 10,000 steps a day....Im kinda seeing Sydney as a time to just focus on nutrition....then when I get back...tuesday....into getting active and a good routine going with the gym. :)

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Balance

I have always strongly believed in balance whilst on your weight loss journey. I feel its really important to not only be aiming for physical health but also mental health. Ive also believed that you need a balanced approach not a obsessive approach.

When I look at priorities in my life...health is number one. The main thing tho I need to attend to on a daily basis is work...without work I cannot pay for good food, gym memberships, PT sessions etc etc so its a very important cog :) After that comes my weight loss...I have said it before...this is more then about losing 10 kilos of "vanity pounds" this is literally about saving my life and never weighing 173.1 kilos again.

After that I have aimed for things to be balanced....social life, hobbies, friends, etc etc. And I truly believe all that but I feel my "balance" is out of balance. Going out socialising has become quite the thing for me...now I am no partier LOL...but just going out for meals regularly...which generally mean an abundance of calories. At work...when they give out cake, chocolate, food for special events etc etc...I have taken a much more "i wanna be normal so I am having some approach"

I feel right now...apart from my job....everything else needs to take a back seat and my eating and exercise take a priority. I need to step inside me (if you get what i mean)...and focus on me...and my goals....not how others percieve me...as "normal" or not....my gym sessions need to be appointments....I need to stop cancelling gym sessions....for a bunch of lame reasons..."oh i want to sleep in".... "oh i want to socialise with that person".... I need to put me completely first....so no cancelling gym sessions for ANYTHING or ANYONE....others wouldnt do it for me...and to be honest I am getting tired of saying yes to everything...yet its not reciprocated. Now none of this is said in anger or whatever....its just time to put me first and above everyone else (and anyone who matters and cares about me would agree).

So with that said...my plans this week are:

mon : Double PT session
tuesday : PT session
wednesday : Food coaching plus some weight work.
thursday: TTT class
Friday: Rest day (flying to sydney)
Saturday: Rest day (Sydney)
Sunday: 10km walk around manly :)

My intention to is to do 20 minutes of cardio after every session...even tho I am usually dead...going to try and hit the xtrainer for 15 minutes and 5 minutes on the stair climber....gonna blast this fat if its the last thing I do. :)

Friday, August 14, 2015

Update :)

So it always seems like lots is going on lately!

So it looks like...possibly I will soon be doing 4 PT sessions a week lol. I have quite a number of sessions owing to me...about 12....and so i am thinking i will increase the sessions to 3 a week then out of my "surplus" use one each week...that would see me doing 4 sessions a week for about 3 months...which could be a awesome kick in the pants for me ;)

My nutrition these days is MOSTLY good...it still needs some work...but I know if I stick at it...eating clean 80% of the time...calorie cycle....the weight loss will come. The hardest thing for me has been settling into a gym routine. Mostly because when I start to exercise (like a lot of us) the scales often stall...fluctuate or even slightly gain. I know its just my body adapting and retaining fluid as part of the recovery process but its hard for the mind to grasp that when you know if you watch your nutrition and dont exercise you tend to lose around a kilo a week. But the exercise is really REALLY important for me. I already know from past experience excess skin will be a issue for me. Ive already started to notice on my thighs starting to get some excess skin/wrinkly bits...lol

So hopefully its not too far away till i can start 4 PT sessions a week...hopefully within a month or so. The reason why I have to wait is the gym is hiring a couple of new trainers...as they dont have a lot of trainers in the evenings...and dont actually have anyone i could do a couple of sessions with...so ... patience ;)

I finally have a timer app on my camera i can take photos with while using a timer...so this weekend i am going to take some decent photos...that really show my body...not ones I am holding my phone in LOL...gonna take some front view and side view ones and hopefully also some of my back and my biceps lol.

Just bought s'mores protein powder...cannot wait for that in my oats tomorrow morning ;)

The good news too is...i go to Sydney next friday! Weee will be there this time next week...so excited....should be a fun weekend away...and 4 days away from work will be awfully nice!

Tuesday, August 04, 2015

Dexa scan and sprained ankles

A lot has happened in 24 hours! LOL

Yesterday I went to the gym for PT. We were doing a pile of exercises where I was leaning on the carpet...pushups...mountain climbers...burpees etc....and from carpet friction and ripped a bit of skin off!

I then left the gym...went and bought new shoes....they are very swish! Asics 2000...dark purple with some mint on it....cost a bucketload $190 but ive had the same model previously (different colours) so know they are great to wear :) Also went and bought Karin Slaughters new book :)

I then went and had a dexa scan done. So I was getting a scan done and having a consultation with a exercise physiologist. The first sad bit of news! lol is they couldnt fit the whole of me in the scan LOL..but she explained as long as we get the full half of you we are fine...she is pretty confident in 3 months when i get it redone i will be able to be fully done. My body fat percent came in at 43%. Which is less then I expected. I then talked about goal setting .... so basically the aim is to lose 2 kilos per month...and over 3 months to build 400 grams of muscle. By doing that I should end up at 38.7% by the start of november.

My big question for her was...how much cardio vs weights i should do. So she basically told me firstly to do some focus on my core....so she recommended pilates, yoga, body balance etc. So i will start doing body balance and yoga each week. She didnt think i needed to have a big focus on actual weights at the moment. She thought to focus on body weight training is enough...but to keep in mind as I get smaller will be easier...and at that point start to moving towards free weights and machine weights.

Cardio wise she said the key is variety...a mix of steady state cardio....HIIT....different pieces of equipment.

She did say if i do weights i need to do 3 sets of 12...and reps 8-12 should be a struggle. If its a struggle before rep 8 its too heavy a weight....if its easy at rep 12 its time to increase.

She also told me to have one rest day per week...and make that a different day each week (ie not every sunday) and to have a treat meal (like a dessert) once a week....on a day that is not a rest day...again...this is on a different day each week.

So with all that said....I think doing classes is the way to go at the moment...so ive planned next weeks workouts....they will look like this:

monday:PT and zumba
tuesday:PT and body pump
wednesday: yoga and 30 minutes boxing moves and some upper body weight stuff
thursday:RPM + TTT
friday: Body pump
saturday: rest day
sunday:6km walk


Anyway so after i came home from the scan...Im like one step from my back door and i rolled my ankle! Turns out i have sprained it (altho not a bad sprain) .... ended up on some gravel so got a nice gravel rash and bruising on my arm! lol. So needless to say...no gym the next few days...will let it heal...if I feel up to it i will get a walk in on sunday. I feel like i have a plan of action now ... despite my sprained ankle LOL....looking forward to getting into it next week :) Weigh in day tomorrow...hoping for a good loss :)