It's raining, it's pouring...

and I still went for my walk this morning, yeah! Admittedly it was only a 1/2 hour power walk but it felt good. M's also got me thinking about the flab so I'm going to do some Bodytonics tonight which are stretch/tone exercises from Fitonics for Life. Sure I'm losing weight but I should really do something to tone my body now. I've been avoiding it but there's no reason I can't do a few situps etc before going to bed each night.

Have a great day everyone and for those in Australia, I hope you're all getting rain, especially where we need it!

Exercise bike being delivered next week now. Sis is going to QLD today for the weekend.

Speed & A Challenge For You

I thought I should post about speed. I am a pretty fast walker at the best of times. Living around Darlinghurst, Surry Hills and Newtown during the past 7 years and going out at all hours, while also doing shift work, I became a defensive walker. Can you tell I am used to being mugged or hassled!? My family is also quite tall and I have been brought up to walk tall, with determination and good stride. Everyone I know complains about how fast I walk so my walks in the morning are more seriously close to being called jogging.

Now Dan is laughing at me. He's joking that it'd be funny to film me in the morning. Gosh, I must look like a freak! It's really not that fast though when I am out there doing it. It's a natural rhythm and it makes me feel like I've achieved something. I love the cold sweat and feeling the burn! Very different to my party days and a high that can only be achieved naturally.

I challenge everyone to go for a power walk! Get your pedometers out and see how easy it is to fall into a rhythm that really makes your fat burn. It helps if you listen to some Daft Punk or some kind of drum'n'bass while doing it, something to get you pumping AND if you can walk somewhere where you don't have to keep stopping. Go on.
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Oh, and to answer Cat's question from a few posts ago...yes, I think you walk faster outside in the fresh air. The different terrain is more challenging and the fact that you actually have a purpose, to get back home! But then I have NEVER used a treadmill. What do other people think?
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In reference to Judes post yesteday, the more weight you carry, the more your body has to work. Now that I have lost 10kg, I have to work a little harder for the same time to gain the same kind of points. Another reason I increased my time from 1/2 hour to 1 hour weeks ago. I hope this makes sense.
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Just remember, it's not about the speed. It should be about what's comfortable for you! We are all at very different levels of fitness and I don't think it's a good idea to compare stats.
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Why don't I just run? I don't want to have any of the problems I hear that are so common with runners. Plus running would mean that I am *really* exercising. Walking is much better for my peace of mind and suits my lifestyle. I mean absolutely NO DISRESPECT to the runners I know.

1st Hurdle Sorted

I was ready to go this morning. I woke up at 6.30am, got dressed, had a quick look at my email and saw Cat's comment. Deal, let's go! Feeling alive again and we can so do this sista!

Height: 178cm
Weight: 82.5kg
Stride: 70-75cm
Time: 1 hour
Steps: 10698
Distance: 7.5km
Points: 6

*calculated with WW pedometer

Moving Right Along Now

I'm in a bit of a dark place in my mind at the moment but I know this shall pass. Last week's events just took a little more out of me than I expected and I drank far too much wine last night in the hope of forgetting about it. I don't even like wine! I just need to keep busy AND EXERCISE. I need to move! I honestly now believe that my moods are greatly affected by whether or not I have exercised for the day. True.

My walking gear is now ready to go and I am really looking forward to a challenging walk in the morning. Will I remember how to walk? Will I still be able to do the distance? I just can't wait for that feeling one gets after exercising again.

My sister is also going to bring the bike up this week, yeah! This is exciting because it'll be a change in my routine. Does anyone have any beginners tips on the best approach when using an exercise bike?

I've also been missing Linda, selfish of me I know. I miss her thoughts and being able to share mine with her also. I hope you are having an awesome holiday girl! You deserve it.

Alright, stop sooking woman! Off to catch up on the day's posts.

Week 15 - lost .3kg

What is going on woman!? I have kept to my points but have yet again failed in doing enough exercise for the week. This makes me a little annoyed because I am really missing my walks. I want to exercise, I really do! Time to get more serious about finding an alternative to when I can't go for my power walks. I am going to ring my sister tonight and ask her *politely* to drive into the City and deliver the exercise bike she so kindly bought for me weeks ago. I hope she can.

The meeting I went to this morning was unfortunately uninspiring. It was great to have Cath there, otherwise I was ready to walk out. BTW good on you babe for such a great loss! You have motivated me to do better this week! In my 15 weeks of WW, I have had 4 different leaders and I do get a little down when I hear that my favourite leader will not be available. I don't want to say much more here but it's really bugging me. In saying that, I still think meetings are really important and it's the members that make it worth going along. I think my time might be up with attending. I could just be having a bad week and may think differently by the time next Saturday comes?? We'll see.

This Week's Plan
Kt's idea of fast tracking and getting off my bum!

Sorry to be a downer guys. Not the best week I've had in a long time but it's all part of my journey. I'll at least be able to let my hair down tonight. I am really looking forward to Dan's sister's birthday dinner. Thai and a few bottles of wine, yum!

At this point I should probably also say how much better I am feeling in general. I have lost over 10kgs and that is something!

Rain, Exercise & Goals

It's a little miserable and raining this morning, so I'm not going to go for my usual walk. That's two days in a row and yep, suffering withdrawal I tell you. I can't afford to be sick right now (no sick pay) so will keep myself dry. I still haven't got the exercise bike my sister bought me but Sarah has been talking about a stepper she's been using. I'll go check these out today. It's my day off and there's a Rebel Sport and Kmart up the road.

I thought I'd also post my goals for when I started WW. Looking over them, I can see that they are still my goals and that I've already achieved most of them for the short term. I aim for them to be long term now so that by the time I get to 75kg, I should have it in the bag.

• to not be called a mamma (thanks Duncx!)
  
• to stop whinging about something I can change (thanks Brendan!)
  
• to fit into the clothes where I want to shop
• to be healthier: no more bloating, tiredness, headaches
• to be more active and able to run around w/out losing my breath
• to feel like a woman: sexy, confident and in control
• to enjoy life more and not be depressed about being fat

I just gave myself an extra boost by revisiting this list. I hope everyone has a great end to the week!

UPDATE

It looks like it has stopped raining for the day. Going to go into the City now and walk home on the way back, whilst also checking out the steppers. It'll be a good 1-2 hr walk. Whoot!

Thanks

Thanks for your comments guys! I feel a little silly posting about the thieves now when people have worse things to deal with, but I won't delete it. You have definitely cheered me up but I am not going to go work at the record store today. I think it's time to really sit down and work out what's really important to me right now. I still haven't had that mini holiday you know!

JK, I can't believe people stole your clothes off the line! Now that is just weird. I can understand cameras and bikes etc but clothes, no matter how nice they are!? Strange and you'd think it'd be a woman ;-) And Kate, people really do steal from the staff and patients at hospitals!? That is really sad.

On that note, I hope I have not made you all think too negatively as well this morning. Life really could be much worse so I hope this still ends up being a good day for everyone!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GLENYS!

Thieves

WARNING I am not very happy this morning and this is not food related.

One thing I absolutely hate is thieves. People work so damn hard to provide for themselves and their family. We all have to work to earn our keep but no, one person or group of people are operating in the Inner West of Sydney, stealing expensive bikes. Dan just bought a new bike which takes him to and from work everyday. Last night it was stolen! It was chained to my bike and window grill. Being so mad, I started my walk this morning and a couple of streets into it, I found Dan's helmet which was also chained to the bike. Grrrr.....now I am even more mad. I started walking around looking in people's backyards and was holding the helmet so damn hard, I was ready to behead anyone who was riding a bike that slightly looked like Dan's. Time to go home and just call the police. Dan's on the phone now. Just makes me mad and I feel bad for Dan. He was so excited about getting the new bike for his birthday and now my walk for the day, that usually sets things straight, has been ruined.

Normally I'd stuff myself with food but I am going to try calm down by writing about it instead. There are worse things that could have been done and I just hope they were only after the bike *grumble grumble*.

I'll catch up on everyone's post a little later, when I calm down.

Yule, Mulled Wine & Sex

Smaller Sue got me thinking about a special date on my calender. I celebrate Yule (20-23 June in the Southern Hemisphere) which is very similar to Matariki, the Maori New Year. Yep, bit of a pagan but not religiously. It's the rebirth of the Sun, the longest night of the year, the Winter Solstice, and a time for introspect and planning for the future. This also means it's time for Mulled Wine! I'll have to work out the points.

And guess what...my naked weight is 80kgs! Today is a great day. I am feeling good about my body and am certainly feeling more sexy, as oppossed to frumpy. When I was at my heaviest, I absolutely hated the idea of having sex. Not now though. Losing weight definitely changes things!

Divinely Spiced Wine
Serves 10 to 12

• 4 cups (1L) red/dark grape juice
• 1.5L of red wine (any but I prefer a port)
• 2 to 3 sticks cinnamon
• 1/2 tablespoon whole cloves
• 1/2 tablespoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 3/4 cup (170g) firmly packed brown sugar

In a large saucepan, combine the juice and wine. Add the spices and brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Decrease heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Adjust the sweetness according to your personal taste, by adding more sugar.

Recipe taken from: "The Wicca Cookbook: Recipes, Ritual, and Lore" by Jamie Woodand and Tara Seefeldt.

See, you don't have to give up everything on WW! It's all about balance.

No Junk in the House

So I've had the "no junk in the house" rule pretty much stick for the past 13 weeks with not much effort, until last night. Danny Hawaii decided to pick up a bag of Red Rock Deli Thai/Ginger chips on the way home. Normally he buys a 50g pack for himself but tonight it was the 200g pack! Apparantly it was the only size they had in the shop. You should have seen my eyes, pretending not to notice. I picked at a few and left it at that but then had to ask Dan to hide them. Later on in the evening I saw them sitting on the table by themselves and no one around. Yep I went for them, real fast. I had a pretty average day so the boredom factor kicked in. They tasted great while eating them but afterwards I was not too happy. I hate the lingering taste of oily, salty chips. Lesson learned. The old satisfaction of junk food just doesn't cut it with me anymore.
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I've run out of time this morning but will catch up on everyone's new posts tonight!

Templates, Jaffles & Exercise

I caught the fever going around so I've been looking for cool templates all evening. I have to get a little more familiar with the code though so I can eventually do my own. I know, I know... it's Saturday night but my man is still sick and we've had to ditch a housewarming and stay home instead. Oh well.

M where's our chicken soup hey!? Noted that you didn't invite us all over but thought you could tease us anyway hey, the cheek ;-)

Sue, just weighed the hair again and it's actually 500g. That means I only technically lost 400g this week but I know why. Less exercise and jaffles. I had to have 2 jaffles instead of one so it wouldn't get lonely in the jaffle maker. Now that's fat thinking isn't it. I won't be doing that again. One is definitely enough for me.

The exercise thing I should explain more. I normally walk briskly for 1 hour, 6-7 days a week. The past 2 weeks I have only managed 4 days each week and hadn't been working at the record store, running around. I now know that I really have to exercise daily if I want to continue losing weight, for the bigger losses anyway. So back to the good old mantra of "DO IT ANYWAY", thanks Kate!

Week 14 - lost .9kg

Whoot, another loss! Helped by losing 400g of hair weight as well ;-) For the moment I am just letting my hair heal so have not dyed or cut it yet. The new pic's a bit daggy but Danny Hawaii likes it better. Yep, I have very straight fine limp hair. Pretty boring.

Goals this week = exercise more. I've been slacking off a bit since reaching my 10% so I'll be revisiting my initial goals. I'll write them up a little later.

Funny thing happened at the meeting today. I knew Cath was coming along but hadn't met her yet. I was expecting to see a new blonde but there were FOUR new blondes! It got to the end and I thought the new girl with darker hair may have been Cath, so I asked. Ha! It was and she was expecting to see a girl with dreads. D'oh! So the point is, let people know that you have changed your hairstyle when meeting for the first time. It was great to meet you Cath and you look fantastic!

And people, you have to check out Slim Suzy who has reached goal and is also looking mighty fine.

I'm off to hang out with my sick man now but I hope everyone else has a great weekend!

PS. Just bought some WW Choc Orange bars and they are yummo, couldn't resist and they've satisfied my jaffa thoughts of late.

Vegetable Lasagne

Firstly, I believe it to be Cat's birthday today so have a great day gorgeous and chin up! I really believe in you girl.

The WW Vegetable Lasagne ended up being a relative success, although I'd put a mix of vegies in it next time. The eggplant (aka aubergine) was overkill for me personally and yep, I only had one serve. It is really filling!

Here's the recipe, if you guys want to give it a go:

VEGETABLE LASAGNE
SERVES: 6
POINTS PER SERVE: 4
PREP: 10 mins
COOKING: 30 mins

• 2 medium (900g) eggplant, cut into 2cm chunks
• 2 x 800g cans crushed tomatoes w/ basil
• 3 pieces lavash bread
• 500g WW cottage cheese
• 100g WW grated tasty cheese

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Coat a large overproof baking dish (same dimensions as lavash bread, if can) with cooking spray.
2. Coat a large saucepan/pot with cooking spray. Heat and add the eggplant. Cook, stirring until the eggplant begins to soften.
3. Add the canned tomatoes. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Place one sheet of lavash into the base of the prepared baking dish and top with half the eggplant mixture. Top with a second lavash bread.
5. Spread cottage cheese over the lavash bread.
6. Spread the remaining eggplant mixture, lavash bread and cottage cheese over. Sprinkle with the grated cheese.
7. Place in oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.
   

Note: recipe taken from WW Food Fast cookzine

Cold Weather

Everyone's sick. Your sick, they're sick and now my boy is sick. What to do. It is getting colder though. I woke up with a sore throat and decided not to go for my walk this morning and that's okay because I walk every other day. I'll be running around for 4 hours at the record store later this afternoon anyway. I am the casual internet shopper/packer and have to literally walk around and pick stock for the internet orders (whilst dodging customers who think I work the floor). Lots of porn being ordered at the moment..haha.

I haven't felt the desire to post too much lately and I think it's because the food/exercise thing has become so much a part of my lifestyle now, that I am not thinking about it so much but I still love reading everybody's blogs.

Tonight I am going to make the Vegetable Lasagne from the WW Food Fast cookzine. Should be a good one because it makes 6 serves and I'll be able to freeze the left over portions. It'll be a good test to see if I can stick to the one serve too. Up until now, I have been making single/two serve meals only.

I hope everyone who is sick gets better real soon! Stay warm and be good to yourselves.

Catch up...

Hi guys, thank you so much for the super cool comments! I still have to catch up on everybody's weekend posts and I'm excited, some new people left comments too. I'll have to check out your blogs also. Will be commenting soon.

Oh and my reward, a funky haircut. My partner helped me take my synth dreads out last night so I am going to experiment with some cuts/colours before putting them back in, after a good clean!

Got called the "incredible shrinking woman" at the record store today..ha!

Week 13 - lost 1.3kg

This has got to be the first time in my life that I have really achieved something by sticking with it (apart from starting my own business last year). I get bored pretty quickly so this is a huge turning point in my life, where I am able to look at things and stay with it for long enough. I am completely blown away by the results.

I reached my 10% goal today and have successfully stuck with WW for 12 weeks now!

I was good this week, maybe a little less exercise but not eating rubbish to make up my points. I did have a Heaven Icecream (6.5 points) for dinner one night but that's all good. I think I have found my balance with food and my lifestyle and that's an awesome feeling.

It's a long weekend in this part of the world so I am going to enjoy it. Hope everyone else has a great weekend too!

What a week!

I thought I better update since it's been a few days. Work has been crazy busy and I've found it hard to exercise this week but I did it anyway, for 4 out of the 7 days at least. I've been eating really well also and have had no more than 21 points a day (I don't eat my bonus points) so I should be in for a loss tomorrow. Feeling pretty good about that.

I started an excel spreadsheet for my tracking, as my Deluxe Tracker has come to it's end and I'm thinking...why didn't I do this from the start! I've set up all the formulas so it calculates all my points, bonus points etc for me and it's a breeze to update each day. Being able to look at a whole week's progress at once has also been very helpful. I can see patterns more clearly.

Water wise, I've been a heavy drinker. I tricked myself into drinking it more. I keep a 1L bottle on hand and fill it up with my filtered water daily. Take it with me everywhere! I suck on it like a baby now and have managed to down 1.5-2L everyday. Sure I wee more but I don't mind.

It's finally my day off too so I'll be able to kick back and catch up on some blogs, play with my kittys and enjoy the house as a place of rest, not work.

I hope everyone has a fantastic day today! And keep tracking, eating well, moving and smiling :-)

Naked Image

I am pretty busy work wise at the moment so I've had to cull my blogging. It's very addictive you know! But I will catch up on everyone's posts sometime tonight.

I stood in front of the mirror this morning after my shower and have you ever had that moment when things become really clear!? WOW, I am REALLY losing weight. My boobs look great too..haha. Probably because I'm not seeing a wobbling mass further down anymore and have better definition.

Just thought I'd share that. I like not feeling embarrassed about my body anymore.

Week 12 - lost .4kg

So how do I feel? Still good but damn, I wish I got to my 10% goal today. So close! I sometimes feel impatient. Will it all just drop off already ;-) I am being silly of course. How amazing is this journey!

I know why my loss was less this week. The reasons: had less fruit, much less water, take out choices not the best and the dinner last night, OMG...the wine just tasted too good and the company divine! I had one vegie roll and 1/2 serve of the Chicken Mushroom dish with rice. Very tasty, clean and healthy. All of the food ordered was amazingly good and yummo and the service superior, even if the decor seemed a little daggy - Thanh Binh, Vietnamese, Newtown

My Goals this week
DRINK MORE WATER
EAT MORE FRUIT

WW Meet this week
RECOGNISE temptations
REMOVE temptations
REPLACE with something better

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

UPDATE
Fortune cookie (1/2 point) said...
"Bide your time for success is near."
I see. I like that.

Vietnamese Food + Exit Mould

We are going out to a Vietnamese Restaurant tonight with friends which should be fun but challenging too. We'll probably go through a few bottles of wine but luckily the WW Eating Out Guide has some good ideas for food so I'll have to memerise some dishes before I go. Will let you know what I end up having. I feel a little uncomfortable about having a night out before weigh in but I hope my will power stays intact, to make the healthy choices. That means absolutely NO BEER. Nadda, na, nope, none...or else!

And my cats go bonkers over Exit Mould! I just sprayed the bath and my cats are rolling all over the ground getting high. Very weird.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

More Beats

I am feeling really sooky atm, can you tell from yesterday's post? Yep, it's just about TTOM again. I always get really down a week before. I always have and thank the goddess that my partner understands this. But anyway, I woke up this morning and nearly stayed in bed. Nearly. But Kate's mantra sure as hell won't leave me be so I had DO IT ANYWAY again! So feeling grumpy, I started walking and decided that Coldplay would be good to listen too. Umm, I don't think so. Cat was talking about Daft Punk's "Around the World" so I quickly switched to that album instead. She's right! Around the World *loud* really gets you moving. Now after having brekky and catching up on the great posts this morning, I am ready for a full on day of work.

I am usually into more experimental music but for exercising I've been finding a liking for more catchy tunes. So far my routine has me listening to Devendra Banhart for a warm up, then Moloko for mid way and then The Chemical Brothers for the final few kms. Looking for some new tunes though...I want to keep what I listen to at home seperate to exercise. What do other people listen to when exercising?

And I feel fat today. This is the first day that I've felt like this in a while. Should be an interesting day. Note to self, look at previous post and shake it out.

UPDATE Cat! A penis as a bicycle seat!? Only in Amsterdam ;-)

Another Perspective

I was looking after a friend's lab today and whilst reading old copies of the paper, I came across this gem. I think I was meant to come across it, for the next time I whinge...

"And aren't we fortunate to have the luxury of being miserable about our excess when the people in Zimbabwe have no food and women must walk 10km just to find a trickle of water for their babies?"

This was from a Letter to the Editor of Good Weekend, in response to a story by Maggie Alderson "Weighty Measures" (April 30). I'm interested to see what that story was about now.

BTW I am not judging anyone. This just struck a chord with my own way of dealing with life. I often find myself complaining when I really don't need to. Most things I can change and this is just part of my journey of self discovery.

UPDATE

My beautiful friend just sent me the article I was interested in reading, after seeing the Letter to the Editor.

The opening starts likes this....

"Isn't it funny how just two measly kilos can make the difference between feeling dandy and feeling desperate? I have a fairly stable basic bodyweight these days that I can just about live with (even though I would much rather be about eight kilos lighter...), but if I stray even slightly in either direction, the impact is extraordinary."

I won't post the whole article but if you are interested in seeing it, here is the link. Thanks Cath and Sarah!

I do ultimately agree with the Letter BUT I also know what those "two measly kilos" can mean to someone like me and any other WW or DietClubber! It's never that simple...or is it?

Just another perspective. I like to challenge my comfort zone.