Heifer No More

OP: NYE Weigh-In #10

2004-12-23T02:08:00.000-08:00

Week 10

Late again! Things are just too crazy here; I only have 6 days left in the US! EEEEEE, sweet home and sunshine here I come!

I weighed in Monday morning at 180 pounds (81.8kg). No, I don't know how the eff that happened either, but somehow I gained back those 4 pounds I had previously lost. Which means, for the first time ALL year, I gained weight. Over the holidays. I hate being a statistic.

Now, that should have well and truly depressed the shit outta me (esp. considering I can't complete Operation: NYE) but nope! I refuse to let my moods be violently swung around by the scales, at least at Christmas ;) And GUESS WHAT? I bought a really cute Tommy Hilfiger denim skirt (from ROSS, of course) for $25 and guess what size it was?

A 10! A freaking size 10! (12 AU) And it fit! It looks great! I'm officially in love with the skirt!

I suppose it could be called cheating because it's denim stretch, but I choose to ignore that and revel in my waist that's a good 6 inches (15.3cm) smaller than it was at the beginning of the year!

I'm not at goal yet and in fact, I'm not even halfway there but I am so freaking proud of myself! I'm proud that I STOPPED the downward spiral into obesity and i'm proud that I've lost 16% of my body weight in 11 months and I'm well and truly on my way to living a life I've always wanted to. I'm proud that I'm not going to stop here and I'm proud in anticipation completing the success trail that I began walking down in February this year!

And it feels damn good. I'd encourage all of the wonderful bloggers that I've become so attached to out there to take a moment before the end of 2004. Take a long moment to step back and have a look at how far you've come. Compound every time you turned down that Krispy Kreme, every moment you reached for a carrot stick instead of a chocolate bar or a bowl of fruit instead of a bowl of icecream. Think back to everytime you forced yourself to go for a run when you'd rather be dreaming in bed or every time you missed a good TV show to lift weights in the gym.

Stack all of those moments on top of each other and think about how far you've come and what you've gained (or inches/pounds lost!). I am so proud of all of you and you should be twice as proud of yourselves! Thank you for giving me a constant source of inspiration, information and motivation, without which I (and many others) wouldn't have come as far.

And on that note, herein lies my last post for 2004! I have short, precious time left with family in Seattle and then I'm travelling nonstop for over a week. When I land in Adelaide, I'll be busy catching up with friends and family so it could be a while until you hear from me again but I will definitely be back to finish the journey (and this time, on a budget... uhoh) sometime in January. 'Til then...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

So this is Christmas...

2004-12-22T23:28:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

This was read out on an Adelaide radio station last year:

-------------------------------------------------------

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers,
Wider freeways but narrow viewer points,
We spend more but have less,
We buy more but enjoy less,
We have bigger houses and smaller families,
More conveniences but less time.

We have more degrees but less sense,
More knowledge but less judgement,
More experts but yet more problems,
More medicine but less wellness,

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly,
laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up to late and get up too tired,

We read too little, watch T.V. too much and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values,
We talk too much, love too seldom and hate too often.

We've learnt how to make a living, but not a life,
We've added years to life but not life to years.

We've done larger things but not better things,
We've cleaned up the air but polluted the soul.

We've conquered the atom but not our prejudice.
We write more but learn less, we plan more but accomplish less.
We have learnt to rush but not to wait.

We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever,
but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion,
Big men and small character,

Remember to say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe,
because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure
you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember to say “I love you” to your partner and your loved ones,
but most of all mean it.

A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment, for someday that person
will not be there again.

Give time to love, time to speak,
Give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind,

That's something to think about this Christmas.

Sisters are should be doing it for themselves...

2004-12-18T17:25:00.000-08:00

Being so far from home this year, I've relied lots on News.com.au to keep me up on the latest news and happenings... I haven't seen any of Australian Idol 2 ('cept for a few photos of the finalists) but I stumbled across an article today about the winner Casey Donovan.

AUSTRALIAN Idol winner Casey Donovan has rejected advice that she should diet and give up her packet-a-day smoking habit...

The singer, who once admitted eating Cherry Ripes for breakfast, said she was happy with her shape and image.

"I would not respond at all if someone asked me to change my diet to suit my new pop star role. People voted for me for who I am, so I do not see why I should change," she said.

"People saw me when they voted for me. They knew what they were getting."

Cherry ripes for breakfast and pack-a-day smoking? She might be happy with her image and shape but what about her health?! I like that she is unwilling to change to "suit her new pop star role" but what about for HER? Does she not have enough self-respect to want to lead a healthier life, for Casey?

Not only that, but as the latest Australian Idol, she's undoubtedly a role model now and surely she knows that. So why the public flaunting of an unhealthy lifestyle?

have yourself a merry little xmas

2004-12-18T13:58:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas music! It's possibly be favourite thing about "the holidays" as they call it over here; I don't think I've ever heard someone at home say "happy holidays" but in the US it seems to be rampant. If anyone's looking for some good Christmas music, I have to recommend the Maybe This Christmas series, though it may (or may not) appeal mostly to the younger demographic. My other favourites are Jewel's Joy and the Home Alone soundtrack.

But back to topic... some of you guys have pointed out that I shouldn't be too hard on myself, especially at this time of the year and I agree; I think generally nothing seems to be good enough for me in terms of this weight loss thing. I've lost 39 pounds this year, which means I'm almost halfway through and yet I look in the mirror and I feel fatter than ever. I try to be really positive but I'm just not very good at it sometimes. :P

It sucks that I have so little net time; I've been rushing around trying to get my blog fix from all of your entries and it feels good, even if I can't comment like I usually would. :)

I have no wisdom to dish out, seeing as I haven't been exercising and I'm eating crap... but for pumpkin fans (Nancy, that's you!) I tried out a WW recipe for Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Bars and it tastes really good. At 3 points a piece, it's a great dessert and even the fussy 4 year-old likes it! So, here it is:

Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients
1 serving cooking spray (5 one-second sprays per serving)
9 whole reduced-fat cinnamon graham crackers
3 Tbsp butter
16 oz fat-free cream cheese
1 cup sugar
2 cup fat-free sour cream
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3 large egg(s)
1 cup canned pumpkin

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 325ºF. Coat a 9 X 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray or line bottom of pan with parchment paper. Alternatively, you can use a 9 X 13-inch nonstick pan.

2. Grind graham crackers until fine in a food processor or place crackers in a resealable plastic bag and crush with rolling pin. Place crumbs in a small bowl.

3. Melt butter on stove top or in microwave and pour over graham cracker crumbs. Mix with a fork until completely moistened.

4. Press crumbs evenly into bottom of prepared pan and place in refrigerator while preparing pumpkin filling.

5. Place cream cheese in bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Add sugar and mix until incorporated.

6. Mix in 1 cup of sour cream until just combined and then add cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. Add remaining sour cream and mix until just combined.

7. Slowly beat in each egg one at a time until incorporated, and then mix in pumpkin. (Note: For best results, all ingredients should be at room temperature and mixed as little as possible, until each ingredient is just combined.)

8. Pour pumpkin mixture into prepared pan, spread evenly throughout and smooth top.

9. Bake until set at edges, about 30 minutes. (Note: The very center will be a little loose.) Cool completely and refrigerate overnight before cutting into 18 pieces and serving.

Aussies: I forget if it's possible to buy canned pumpkin there or not. You may have a little trouble finding it. If you're feeling adventurous, you could always bake a pumpkin and get it that way, but of course it adds on a lot of time and work. Likewise with graham crackers, unless they've started selling them since I left. You could probably substitute crushed Yo-Yos.

I took measurements today and it was pretty depressing to see that they've barely changed since November. Although December featured my plateau, which of course slowed things down. Is it bad to use one of those metal, retractable measuring tapes instead of the fabric ones? I know the measurements won't be entirely accurate but seeing as I've been using the same tape the whole way through...

February 2004
Bust: 47.5" / 120.6cm
Waist: 44" / 111.8cm
Hips: 43" / 109.2cm

November 2004
Bust: 43" / 109.2cm
Waist: 38" / 96.5cm
Hips: 40" / 101.6cm

December 2004
Bust: 42" / 106.7cm
Waist: 38" / 96.5cm
Hips 42" / 106.7cm

I don't know how I gained 2 inches on my hips... and my boobs are the last thing that I want to get smaller! *bitch bitch bitch*

Total loss: 12.5" or 31.8cm

OP: NYE Weigh-In #9

2004-12-16T01:21:00.000-08:00

Week 9

Okay, slap me on the wrist for lateness. Explanation on its way! I weighed in Monday morning at 176 pounds (80.0kg), which is exactly the same as last week.

I was a little disappointed but hey -- I'll take a maintain over a gain any day of the week and twice on Sundays. ;) So, obviously my BMI stays the same and blahblahblah.

I've been more disappointed with how I've been acting lately though. Exercise is more of a challenge than it really should be, though I went walking today and I did yoga on the weekend. I must have set the weight too high last Wednesday because my shoulder has been in pain ever since and now I'm scared of the weight-lifting. I'm in a shocking sleep pattern, which means I'm tired, which means I'm a) more likely to eat crappy foods and b) less likely to want to exercise.

I'm moving out next year, moving interstate to Melbourne and I'm scared of what a tight budget will do to a girl! Eating healthy ain't cheap but I've made a solemn promise to myself that I will NOT go back to the days of scoffing McDonald's fries every day. I refuse to be sucked back in to that fatty world of fat.

Here are my weekly goals below. The level of difficulty reflects the mode I'm in right now!

Water
8 glasses a day! Minimum. I really haven't succeeded in making this part of my routine yet. I can do if I really think about it but I want it to be reflex, routine...

Exercise
4 times this week, at least 30 mins and including 2 weights sessions. A pretty big goal considering it's Thursday already.

Food
Stop eating what you bake. Bad Stef. Or, stop baking key lime pies and start baking veggie casseroles.

---------------------------

I have really limited access to the computer at the moment and it's making me pissy!! Previous suspicions that I'm addicted to the Internet are probably well-founded and looking at this list, I think maybe a break from the Net will do me good.

Ok, so most of you know by now that I'm an Aussie girl in the States and I'm extra excited to say I'll be touching down on the Adelaide tarmac on Jan 6th, 2005! Ahhh, it feels so close and I guess it is. I only have 12 days left in Seattle with my family and it terrifies me just a little. It's such a mixed bag; excitement because I'm going home, sadness because I'm leaving what is my second home, fear because next year is the virtual unknown for me, apprehension because I'll be seeing friends and family that I haven't seen since I lost 40 pounds and I want them to notice... the list goes on.

But yeah, you can expect far fewer updates over the past month or so. I'll be busy hitting Toronto, London and Singapore in my way home to Adelaide and when I get home it's going to be one big tornado of "catching up". I can't wait. :)

P.S. If anyone has spent New Year's Eve in London before, please email me or comment!

Congrats, Becky!

2004-12-10T01:36:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite bloggers Becky has been 2 pounds from goal for 8 months and today...

SHE HIT GOAL!!

Becky's given me some fabulous advice and is always the first in line to encourage me along the way. She knows as much about WW as anyone I know!

Huge, huge, huge congratulations Becky!! You've worked so hard and deserve to enjoy this! *hug*

Yoga, baby

2004-12-10T01:17:00.000-08:00

We did a bit of yoga in Year 12 as part of our recreation program and I can't say I enjoyed it all that much. I think I even fell asleep during it one time!

But my muscles were aching like nothing else this morning and I couldn't face kickboxing so I dragged out Mum's yoga DVD featuring Rodney Yee and Suzanne someone. I had a choice out of abs, lower body or upper body and my arms/shoulders were just killing me so I went with the abs workout. It lasted 22 minutes and I thought it was actually pretty cool! My spine was definitely thanking me afterwards; I can't remember the last time my back felt this good.

It's just that if I finish a "workout" and don't sweat at the end of it, I feel like it's not really a workout. Utter crap, of course, but that's how it is for me. But I figure this short yoga routine would be the perfect, light, exercise in the mornings before I eat breakfast to kickstart to metabolism! It's not too demanding and I think I could drag myself out of bed for something this relaxing. So I'll test it out tomorrow :)

Anyone know any good yoga tapes or DVDs?

Buying ahead

2004-12-09T02:27:00.000-08:00

Can I just say how much I love the Internet?! I'm planning my trip home to Australia through Toronto, London and Singapore in that order. I know nothing about Singapore so I went to the BUG forums and emailed about 6 users who were listed as being located in Singapore. That was yesterday and today I've received email back from every single one with really helpful advice on what I can do in Singapore and where the best places are to stay. I even got 2 offers from people to show me around!

In a similar vein, weight loss bloggers have been more help than I could ever have imagined. Not only is it incredibly helpful to read about how others are doing it, the support and encouragment is invaluable. The advice? Even better. I really believe I wouldn't be in the same place now with my weight loss if I hadn't kept this blog and read all of the wonderful blogs in my blogroll.

Moving along... yesterday I read about the thrift-shop-happy Nancy buying clothes ahead that are too small and it reminded me of a size 12 US (AU 14) skirt that I spotted on sale for $12 down from $35 the other day that could do up but was just that little bit too small to wear out. I put it back on the rack but today I went back to the store and said what the hell! I bought it and it now sits in my closet that I open every morning as a reminder of what I'm looking forward to -- a smaller waistline! I can't wait to have it fit me perfectly :)

tuesday, tuesday, tuesday

2004-12-08T03:21:00.000-08:00

I just feel so good about myself this week. It would be easy to say it's the loss that I FINALLY saw on the scale, but I think it's something more than that. I actually feel lighter and more energetic. I went for my hour long walk with the dog on Monday and he tired out before I did! Muahaha. Super woman! ;)

Today I completed the whole session of Ramp It Up for the first time in 2 or 3 weeks and while my muscles are complaining to me as I type, I feel so much better for it. I didn't realise that I had actually missed doing the 7 minute abs section at the end. It hurts like hell of course, but it's the best kind of pain! To me, it's just my stomach screaming as it gets flushed down the drain. ;) It's not completely gone yet, of course, but I feel like with every oblique crunch, it shrinks just a little. At the start of the year I could literally only do like 3 sit-ups and I only made it through a minute of the abs routine. Now I'm making it the whole way through and I only stop once -- during the bicycle crunches when it still hurts too much!

So there I am feeling all awesome about myself (as I should, by golly!) when today I got a nasty flashback of how I used to feel all the time. A bit of background: I've been volunteering with Food Lifeline, a wonderful hunger prevention organisation in Western Washington, since February this year and today was my last day. It was really sad and really hit home for me how close I am to, well, going home. Anyway, the lovely people that I've been working with all year threw me a mini surprise party with a giant cookie with my name on it and sparkling juice and a card and ahh, it was so sweet. But of course, I had to make the dreaded speech. I made it a quick one, but as I was standing up there at the front of the room with about 20 pairs of eyes on me, I couldn't help but feel this stinging rush of fear and apprehension. Fear that I looked too fat in these clothes or that everyone was thinking how huge I was. Which is CRAZY talk! And I think the fact that I recognised it's crazy is half the battle. But what really scared me is that I might not ever feel good enough, no mater how much weight I lose. Clearly, acceptance is an issue for me. I have no idea why it should be; I've always had great friends in high school and while primary school had a few little bumps, there's nothing that explains this feeling like I'm not good enough. I find that I crave the approval of even those people that I don't even like! I can think someone is irritating or bitchy or self-righteous and still find myself wanting them to like me.

I guess while I've been focusing on the physical betterment (ie. lose 80 pounds), I've overlooked the mental or emotional side.

cranberry is bliss

2004-12-07T00:07:00.000-08:00

So, remember my cranberry obsession? I even posted a photo of the heavenly cranberry bliss bar from Starbuck's.

Well, we found a recipe for them over at Top Secret Recipes and I attempted to recreate them with the results being a stunning success!

WARNING: This is in no way, shape or form a low-fat, low-cal food! However, it's a fantastic holiday food and it's great with coffee or as dessert. If you're going to spend some extra calories over the holidays, let it be on this!

I recommend using less icing/frosting than what the recipe makes, but you can see that for yourself as you're icing the cake part. Whatever you do, don't forgo the icing! It's the tangy lemon, cranberry goodness that MAKES the bliss! :D

CRANBERRY BLISS BARS

Cake
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup diced dried cranberries
6 ounces (170 grams) white chocolate, cut into chunks

Frosting
4-ounces (113 grams) cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup diced dried cranberries

Drizzled Icing
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons vegetable shortening

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C)

2. Make cake by beating butter and brown sugar together with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, ginger, and salt and beat well. Gradually mix in flour until smooth. Mix 3/4 cup diced dried cranberries and white chocolate into the batter by hand. Pour batter into a well-greased 9x13" (23x33cm) baking pan. Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly across the pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes [Note from Stef: I only baked for 20 minutes and it was done. Check regularly!] or until cake is light brown on the edges. Allow cake to cool.

3. Make frosting by combining softened cream cheese, 3 cups powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. When the cake has cooled, use a spatula to spread frosting over the top of the cake.

4. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of diced cranberries over the frosting on the cake.

5. Whisk together 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, and shortening. Drizzle icing over the cranberries in a sweeping motion or use a pastry bag with a fine tip to drizzle frosting across the top of the cake. [Note from Stef: I added extra milk to make it runnier and then used a fork to drizzle]

6. Allow cake to sit for several hours, then slice the cake lengthwise (the long way) through the middle. Slice the cake across the width three times making a total of eight rectangular slices. Slice each of those rectangles diagonally creating 16 triangular slices.

Makes 16 bars.

Here's a photo of some I prepared earlier:

Looks just like them, huh! :D

For the Aussies: if you haven't tried cranberries yet, do it! You should be able to find them in the dried fruit section in a bag labelled Craisins. Oh and by 'powdered sugar', they mean icing sugar.

ENJOY! And please don't beat me should you become addicted.

OP: NYE Weigh-In #8

2004-12-06T13:13:00.000-08:00

Week 8

So, there were two near-miracles today! The scales tell me I've somehow lost 3 pounds from last week! It must be the scales catching up to me because as previously mentioned, I had a pretty bad week. I weighed in at 176 pounds (80.0 kg), which is a loss of 3 pounds from last week. Total lost since February moves to 39 pounds (17.7 kg) and total lost on Operation: NYE moves to 9 pounds (4.1 kg).

My BMI falls to 27.6, a loss of 0.4 points.

Yay! What a luverly way to start the week! I have a good plan for today: once I'm finished writing up this post, I'm going for a walk to the shops (30 mins each way) to pick up some supplies for xmas present-making. Then, in my usual 4pm timeslot before Gilmore Girls, I'm hopping back on the weight-lifting 'horse' and putting in 30-40 mins of weight lifting.

As far as food goes, I feel just a little lost and confused... my brain doesn't like it when I hear "you're not eating enough food". I guess because prior to this year, I always told myself if I could just eat less and move more... now it's "whoa whoa whoa, not THAT much less!" Heh. So I guess I'm really going to make an effort to count my points AND make sure I get 3 serves calcium and my fruit and veg serves too.

I'm only setting 2 weekly goals this week so I KNOW what to focus on instead of having to juggle too many balls. Weekly goals:

1. Water
8 glasses a day at least! I've been so very bad in this area over the past 3 or 4 weeks.

2. Diet
24 points a day, it is. I also want to concentrate on the whole "balance" concept -- 3 serves calcium and lots of fruit and veg. Less bread.

EXERCISE - WEEK 9
Mon: 1 hour walk + 30 mins weights
Tues: Ramp It Up, 40 mins
Wed: 30 mins weights
Thurs: Elliptical, 30 mins
Fri: 30 mins weights

Operation: NYE
I think a large part of setting and achieving goals is knowing when to adjust the bar a little and one of those times is now. I originally set myself a NYE goal of 160 pounds, which would have been a loss of 25 pounds for the Operation. I'm now 2/3 of the way through and this is looking quite impossible if I'm going to lose weight healthily. I still want to really challenge myself though, so I'm changing the goal to 170 pounds. This would mean a loss of 15 pounds in 12 weeks, which would be a good thing. :)

OP: NYE Stats after 8 weeks

SW: 185
CW: 176
Loss = 9 pounds

Start BMI: 29.0
Current BMI: 27.6
Loss = 1.4 points

P.S. The second near-miracle today? The sun was out for a whole hour in a Seattle December!

c'mon, c'mon, jump a little higher

2004-12-06T02:59:00.000-08:00

A shocking week in terms of food and exercise. I don't want to go into details as I feel guilty enough already but if I'm being honest with myself, I haven't been really good since Thanksgiving. I know -- just get back on the horse! ~~And I'm trying, really.~~

I love Mondays because it means the start of a new week. All of a sudden, last week doesn't matter. I'm going to make sure of that! I only have 4 weeks left of Operation: NYE and I'm nowhere near what I aimed to be at. That's ok, because 160 was pretty ambitious. I'm bumping the goal up to 175, which would be just over a pound a week from here on in. Considering my recent lack of scale movement, it would be a good achievement for the end of the year. And even if I lose nothing, I've lost 36 pounds (16.4 kg) in 2004.

I was reading an old online journal tonight from 2003 and I saw that one of my New Year's resolutions was to lose "at least 20kg". The way I wrote it, I can tell that I thought all my problems would be solved if I could just lose 20kg. Ha.. oh, the naivety. I've lost 16kg and I can't say I honestly feel like much has changed. I'm not saying that actually nothing has changed... nearer the end of the year, I plan on compiling a list of mini-achievements this year. With the absence of school and work, there's not much else to measure myself by.

My point is, there are so many people out there that believe losing weight is THE answer; as though it were a mathematical problem that will be solved with a nice, whole number. I know because I stumble across blogs written by people who believe it weekly. In the book I'm reading, Dr. Cathy Nonas wrote that one of her clients stormed out in a huff and never came back after Dr. Nonas told her that losing weight doesn't guarantee she'll instantly find the right guy for her. And that was just one incident out of many.

It's so easy to answer questions like "why can't I find a decent boyfriend?" or "why does this person hate me?" or "why don't I feel confident enough to dance?" with the answer "BECAUSE I'M TOO FAT!", when really, it has nothing to do with it. Everyone makes a clear-cut choice to love themselves or loathe themselves. No amount of fat or extra weight forces you to choose either way! Steffany over at Running in Place recently wrote about loving your body NOW. Don't put your life on hold because your thighs are too big or your arms are too flabby. It's a horrible cliche that I was trying to avoid, but it's so entriely true -- life is way too short to stop yourself from having fun. Steffany writes:

Do not wait until you’re within your desired weight range to begin treating your body with care and tenderness. Don’t withhold affection because you have 20, 50, 100 pounds left to lose...

Treat yourself with the respect you deserve. Don’t wait until tomorrow. Start loving yourself today.

While I'm feeling extra grateful for all of the awesome weight loss bloggers out there, let me point you in the direction of Nancy's Secret Tips & Tricks>. Nancy has lost 70 pounds so far and her blog is a must-read! Her clever tips & tricks are a pertinent reminder for me that cravings don't have to destroy an entire day or week but also that it's not about deprivation or ruling over yourself with an iron fist. It's about finding a sustainable routine that works for YOU in the long-run and having a bit of fun with it at the same time ;)

Phew. I hate being a night-owl. Off to bed with me and I'll be back tomorrow morning with the weigh-in. Am predicting a 2 pound gain.

hmmph

2004-12-03T15:28:00.000-08:00

So, I feel like crap. I'm loathe to call it the winter blues but I feel like I haven't seen the sun in months; it's grey, grey and OH! more grey outside. It's dark when you wake up and then gets dark again at 4pm. People can actually leave their Christmas lights on all day because it's dark enough.

I think the weather might just be a convenient excuse but man, I am just not used to seeing grey clouds day after day after day after day with no end in sight. I'm sick of being cold.

Unrelated, I seem to have developed a large obsession wtih dried cranberries. My friend Melon (no, not her real name :P) and I discovered at Year 10 camp that Craisins send us hyper. They don't seem to do that anymore but I do seem unable to PUT THE BAG DOWN! I take a small serve out, eat it, and then go back for more. They're sweet and tangy and the texture is delectable. It's not just the dried cranberries; I'm a sucker for anything flavoured or scented cranberry. Including, but not limited to, juice, candles, cookies, bread, candy... worst of all, Starbuck's Cranberry Bliss Bars.

*drool*

I never really thought of myself as a scale whore but I guess I am. I hop on it every morning these days, even though I know I shouldn't. So far this week my weight has ranged from 179 to 184 (ahhhhh). I think what I'm feeling could be described as a bubbling cauldron: 1 cup of lack of discipline, 1 cup laziness, 2 cups homesickness, a tablespoon of fatigue and a dash of winter blues.

I feel like I need a big slap in the face. The scenario goes something like this:

Drill Sergeant (DS): *SLAP*
Stef (ME): Ow.
DS: GET ON THAT ELLPTICAL TRAINER!
ME: No.
DS: DO IT! I WANT AT LEAST 30 MINUTES!
ME: No.
DS: Alright, that's it! GIMME 10 PUSH-UPS!
ME: Bite me.
DS: *pulls hair out in frustration*
ME: *eats handful of dried cranberries*

OP: NYE Weigh-In #7

2004-12-01T13:25:00.000-08:00

Week 7

Monday morning, I weighed in at 179 pounds, which is 81.4 kilograms and a loss of 1 pound from my evil plateau that I've been battling.

My BMI dropped to 28.0, which is a loss of 0.2 points.

I'm glad to have dropped a pound but I'm under no illusions that the plateau is over. I'm still focusing on eating more points and varying the exercise just a tad.

But a new problem has reared its ugly head and I'm pretty upset about it, to say the least. Ever since Saturday, I've been falling back into my old ugly eating habits of snacking constantly until I'm packed full and especially late at night. It's scary how easily I slipped back! Just when you think you have a handle of yourself, it all comes crashing down.

Even as I'm doing it, I know what I'm doing is stupid and that I should stop. I begin to feel sick and/or full but I keep packing in these stupid unhealthy snacks like honey biscuits or tons of dried cranberries or stupid low-fat icecream that I don't even like the taste of!!!

I haven't exercised since last Wednesday, which is the biggest gap in a long time. I've dropped the ball in a big way. I don't know why exactly.. but I am going to fix it. I've also stopped writing in my food journal, which is probably a big factor. So I'm takig a quick break from this blog to write down today's food.

Back. It's 1:35pm and I've eaten 18 points. *bangs head* Ok, enough self-bashing. Goals for this week:

1. Food journal
Maintain the detailed food journal and display each day up on the computer cabinet wall where I have to stare at it all day.

2. Read up
I'm currently reading Outwit Your Weight by Cathy Nonas. It sounds like an incredibly cliche thing for someone like me to do, but here I am and it's actually pretty amusing (and helpful) :)

3. Water
I suck at this lately. I'm going back to the drinking bottle... for whatever reason (obviously in my head), I drink more when it's out of a plastic bottle. When I feel like I should be snacking/eating crap, reach for the bottle instead.

4. Exercise
WED: Weights for 30-40 mins
THURS: Ramp It Up, 40 mins
FRI: Weights for 30-40 mins
SAT: Kickboxing, 45 mins
SUN: Ramp It Up, 40 mins

5. Points
24 points a day and 35 weekly points. It's just that... argh. The whole weekly points thing has really thrown me. I can throw crap down because I'm thinking "oh well, just count it as part of the 35 points" but then I never do count it and it seems every day I just keep eating more. I'm really going to make an effort to write down EVERYTHING and create a points column on my journal to write down where the points are coming from. I'm also going to try to eat more vegetables.

I just feel completely unmotivated and deflated all of a sudden. I'm not sure why, exactly. I just feel like I can't be bothered exercising and who really cares if I scoff down this extra scoop of ice cream. It's a dangerous place to be and I know that, but it doesn't seem to stop me right now.

Thanksgiving & Black Friday

2004-11-28T14:34:00.000-08:00

Eesh, this week sucked in terms of my eating/exercise but was a good week emotionally and otherwise! :D

I've only exercised twice this week, though I plan to do some kickboxing today. Thanksgiving went better than I expected; I only had one serving of each dish and they weren't huge portions. I suspect the candied yams did a bit of damage though! ;) And Mum's homemade pumpkin pie was too good not to have leftovers of the next day!

The problem is that I thrive on routine and with the public holidays (and the 4am wake up for shopping on Black Friday), I was completely out of whack not only with eating but with my daily 5pm exercise.

So, I expect to gain a little this week. BUT... here's the interesting part. I weighed myself on Wednesday morning and I was 176 pounds! That's a loss of 4 pounds from my 180 plateau. I know weight fluctuates from day to day so you can't pay too much attention.. but I've NEVER seen the scales read under 180 so it was still kinda exciting for me.

I just can't wait to get back into routine tomorrow, continue writing down everything I eat and getting my exercise in. :) I'll quote Ellewiz to close:

"All right, did we all enjoy our holidays? Have we all had our fill of pie and other goodies? Good! I know I sure have. But now it's time to get back to eating the way we know that we should."

Hear! Hear!

OP: NYE Weigh-In #6

2004-11-22T11:13:00.000-08:00

Week 6

As expected, my weight was still exactly the same this week at 180 pounds, for the 4th straight week in a row. Seeing as there's nothing else to report, I'll move on to the plateau plan:

I was relieved to read that Becky thinks (and Ellewiz agreed) I don't need to increase my activity... I'm glad because I was kidding myself -- I'm not a morning exercise person and I think I have to accept that I never will be!

I am doing mostly cardio-intensive workouts (Slim in 6, Kickboxing) so I'm going to change it around a little, as per Becky's suggestions. Here's the plan:

Monday
Weights -- 30 mins

Tuesday
Elliptical -- 40 mins

Wednesday
Weights -- 30 mins

Thursday
Kickboxing -- 45 mins

Friday
Weights -- 30 mins

As always, I'm very open to comments and suggestions... I really am just winging it here so any guidance or ideas = greatly appreciated!

As for diet, the more I think about it, the more I realise this is probably the problem area. When eDiets was really working for me, I remember thinking I was eating a lot of food. The problem starts with the fact that I'm using old WW materials, so here's what I'll do, also thanks to Becky's suggestions :)

24 points a day, plus 35 weekly points

And how many activity points? I'm still going to keep to the frequent small meals idea to keep the metabolism churning and hopefully the extra food and different exercise will push me back on my feet.

Huge, huge thanks to Becky, Ellewiz and Tree, who've all taken the time to give me advice on this one.

the dreaded weight loss plateau

2004-11-21T17:53:00.000-08:00

So, it's been 4 weeks now and my weight hasn't moved a bit. I'm stuck on 180 and it's even more frustrating than I could have ever imagined. I know, I know what you're thinking -- It's only 4 weeks! I know there are a lot of people out there who've been through much worse but I don't think it's good to plateau like this when you still have 45 pounds to lose.

Here's the deal: I've been exercising more than ever. This means 5-6 times a week for at least 40 minutes and this week I added 3 weight sessions of 30 mins each. I've been watching portions since I started my weight loss kick but I've been extra careful since I started Operation: NYE and this week I'm counting points; 22 a day.

I've never felt more dedicated and ready to lose the weight than right now. So what am I doing wrong? I've been reading up and I think there are two potential explanations:

Not eating enough
Is it possible to not be eating enough on a 22 pt WW plan? I wouldn't have thought so but I read here that the maximum a woman should go without eating is 3 hours during the day. I thought back to this week and my eating times are roughly 7:30am, 12:00pm and 6:30pm! Ouch!

Not enough activity
Argh at 40 minutes a day for someone who hasn't exercised at all in about 3 years prior, I'm hoping this is NOT the problem. I can't imagine pushing myself any harder in this area. However, this article mentions that a short cardio session of 30 minutes before eating breakfast to kickstart the metabolism for the day, which sounds like a good idea to me.

So, here's my plan to beat this thing:

1. Eat more (small) meals
I'm going to try the 3-hour-maximum-break thing and eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and a small snack in between each to ensure that my metabolism isn't going into starvation mode.

2. Increase activity
I think I can manage 20-30 mins of walking/jogging before breakfast during the week to kickstart my metabolism for the day. It's not going to be easy, but I want OFF this damn plateau.

3. Maintain resistance training
Continue with my 3x a week weight lifting for 30 mins each. I'm following a program from my TuffStuff software that worked really well back in February.

4. Water
I'm going to make sure I get my full 8 glasses in to avoid fluid retention issues.

Most of all, I'm going to follow Kim Beardsmore's advice and renew my motivation because after all, the incentives that started this weight loss are still VERY there. ;)

I am NOT going to be one of those people that give up when they hit a roadblock. I'm already feeling pretty excited about coming up with a plan to beat this and I know it's going to be sweet when I do!

This won't be a regular thing, but quote of the day comes from Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams after their first AFL premiership win in Sept 2004:

They're hard as hell to beat and it's as sweet as hell to beat 'em!

The hour is never too late...

2004-11-19T18:14:00.000-08:00

I thought I would share this quote that's posted up on the pinboard at one of my volunteer organisations. It really strikes a chord with me because so often I catch myself thinking "it's too late now, what's done is done" and the like... not so much with weight loss but I know in Year 12 I conceded defeat a lot more than I should have. But anyway, on to the inspiration:

The task is not too difficult or too complicated. It is what it is and you can find a way to get it done. You are never too out of shape or too far behind. You are simply where you are, and completely able to move forward from there.

The burden is never too heavy. The hour is never too late. For all those things are products of the past. And the past just now ended. What may have seemed to be too much to bear, you have indeed already borne. Now you can pick yourself up and move swiftly forward.

Today is a new, bright and shining day, for today can be whatever you make of it. There's nothing to stop you from making it the best.

~ Ralph Marston

i feel good; knew that i would now

2004-11-18T23:03:00.000-08:00

It's been a great week :) I've exercised everyday, including 2 weights sessions and as if I needed any confirmation that my eating habits were purely in my head (as opposed to me actually being hungry), I think I have it ;) I've been sticking to my 22 points everyday this week and even though I'm still just as tempted to reach for food inbetween meals or to eat that chocolate bar that seems to be taunting me, there's a good reason not to! So I don't... the good reason being, of course, that if I choose to eat the chocolate, I get less food at dinner time. And it's not deprivation, it's my choice! I love it!

For the first time EVER today, I turned down a Krispy Kreme. *gasp* Yes, a real, live, delicious, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth-fantastic, glazed Krispy Kreme donut. I consider it to be one of my great life triumphs! Admittedly I'm only in contact with them a few weeks a year (haven't reached Australia in a big way yet!) but still! In my head, I was bowing down to the people in the front row and catching roses thrown on stage. :P

Not only that, but yesterday I said no to pecan pie (a whopping 11 pts!) and a bagel with garlic cream cheese. My mouth is watering just mentioning them so I'm still in disbelief that I turned it all down. But I did! And everytime I do, I think of myself as taking a teensy step on a tiny little stone that brings me just that little bit closer to victory.

But moving along to the reason for this post's title -- I feel good! I notice the differences in really small ways but they're there. Everyday! Walking up the stairs to my room, I notice that my legs don't feel tired at all anymore (thank youuu squats and plies!) and I'm not even out of breath. I walk about 7-8 minutes from the bus stop to my volunteer offices and likewise I can do it much more comfortably than I ever have before. I feel like I have a spring in my step (how horribly cliched...) and I just feel good! For the first time in years, I can look at the mirror and be half pleased with what I see! I still see obvious areas that need work (damn stomach) but I've lost 35 pounds and I finally FEEL like I have. I can't wait to get home and throw myself into netball and swimming :)

OP: NYE Weigh-In #5

2004-11-16T07:52:00.000-08:00

Week 5

I weighed in this morning at 180 pounds, exactly the same as the last 2 weeks. I'm not really surprised though; I slacked off on my exercise last week.

There's not much else to say this week really, except that I'm quietly confident I will drop down into the 170s next week with the WW and the extra weight lifting I'm doing.

Weekly summary:
Exercise = 4 days, 195 minutes

Week 6
Weights Mon, Wed & Fri
Kickboxing Wed, Fri & Sat
Ramp It Up Tues, Thurs, Sun

Week 7
Weights Mon, Wed & Fri
Ramp It Up everyday

Week 8
Weights Mon, Wed & Fri
Ramp It Up everyday

Week 9
Weights Mon, Wed & Fri
Burn It Up Tues, Thurs, Sat

Week 10
Weights Mon, Wed & Fri
Burn It Up everyday

That plan will probably change but it's nice to have a skeleton :)

Pre-weigh in

2004-11-15T14:26:00.000-08:00

I know today is weigh-in day... but I'm going to do it tomorrow morning instead. I slept in all morning and was too grumpy to confront the scales!

Mum and I are starting Weight Watchers this week. No meetings, but we're using the materials Mum had kept from previous (successful) attempts at it. So I'm back counting points, about 5 years after I first tried! To be honest, I don't really understand how it works because I'm currently at 22 points and when I was looking at the booklets, I don't think I currently eat more than 22 pts worth. So how is this points counting going to help? Any input from other WW would be appreciated! I'm trying to focus on having 3 square meals a day at about 6 points each plus a snack of 4 points.

I usually do my exercise between 4 and 5pm so when I'm finished, I can plop down on the couch and settle in for some Gilmore Girls in syndication. Today, I thought I'd try doing it earlier to get it out the way so I hit 'play' at about 1:45pm. I think it has something to do with my debilitating tendency to leave everything to the last minute, so to speak. It felt like there was no necessity to get the exercise done, whereas when it's 4:30pm I feel like I have to be done by 5 if I want to watch GG so I'm willing to give it all. So, I stopped kickboxing after 20 minutes. I mean, it was hurting, but usually I just push through it or slow down a bit.

But, I already have a plan to make up for it; I'm going to start weights this week. I know I said I'd do it last week but I'm starting today. Mon, Wed & Fri I'll be doing weights for 30 mins and at least 30 mins of cardio.

I think I'm also going to use eDiets recipes combined with counting my points so I'm not constantly thinking about food; I'll already know what's for lunch and so on.

I really need to get out of this rut... it's relatively shallow but it's still a rut and I want out!

Oh, and the walk on Saturday was great; the Arboretum fall was out in full force:

Kickboxing = good! (huh?)

2004-11-13T12:25:00.000-08:00

So, I never thought I'd say this, but I love kickboxing!!

I was at the local library today and couldn't find a book I wanted to read so I wandered on over to the video section. I borrowed the only exercise video that wasn't from the 80s and it happened to be Kathy Smith's Kickboxing Workout (also avail. on DVD). I'd never heard of Kathy Smith but apparently she's pretty big.. anyway, she's teamed up with Keith Cooke to create a 45 minute workout that I warmed up to straight away (no pun intended).

Read reviews of Kathy Smith's Kickboxing Workout (more)

Anyway, lots o fun! I was getting bored of Slim in 6 and I enjoyed the much faster pace of kickboxing. It was harder than I thought it'd be but I'll be fine after the first 2 or 3 times, I think.

Tomorrow I'm dragging the family out for a walk in the Washington Park Arboretum. Teehee; suckers!

Positive changes

2004-11-12T19:22:00.000-08:00

I usually spend my exercise time with my body pushing it pretty hard but my mind being off elsewhere, wandering in fantasies or making lists or planning the rest of the day. I rarely think about the actual exercise or I stop midway :P So, when I actually forced my mind to focus on the exercise this week, I realised that since the start of the year, I've improved in a lot of areas that I thought I'd never be comfortable in:

1. Endurance
Debbie's Ramp It Up spends a lot of time on side crunches and at the beginning, I could abrely get through 2 or 3 without feeling pain. Now I've found I can get through the whole 10-12 without stopping! Likewise with the abdominals. And I used to HATE the forward lunges with a bicep curl and now I find my legs can actually handle them without buckling at all! Woot!

2. Strength
I also hated squats at the beginning (ok, so I pretty much hated the whole thing!) and my legs were burning after about 3 of them. Now I actually enjoy them, am able to get through the whole set and my butt is thanking me for it ;)

I stole this quote from Nancy, who writes some of my favourite posts around.

Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.

I thought about it and I realised I'm exercising 5-6 times a week (minimum 3)! The last time I exercised regularly was in Year 10 (aged 14-15) playing netball twice a week! I was the girl that lied to get out of fitness/PE and was always picked last for team games in primary school but now look at me go! And half of the time, I even enjoy it just a little! ;)

Acupuncture weight loss: fact or fantasy?

2004-11-11T19:51:00.000-08:00

This has to be quick (THE OC, here I come!) but today Mum told me about this woman she met that has lost 55 pounds this year purely through acupuncture; she has what looks like a staple above her ear and apparently hasn't done anything with her exercise or diet.

So, has anyone heard anything about it? Tried it out? I could never do it thanks to my irrational fear of needles but aside from that, I'm skeptical that any large amount of weight could be kept off purely because of a little staple thing.

Here are some starting links to make up your own mind:

Click
Click
Click
Click

Importance of sleep/rest

2004-11-09T23:15:00.000-08:00

I've decided that as much as I fight to agree with those that say sleep is imperative, I finally have to concede they're right ;)

I stayed up way too late on Friday last week (about 3am) and before I started exercising daily, this wouldn't have bothered me at all. I'm pretty much the nightowl and am (was?) used to getting little sleep, especially after Year 12. But now that exercise is in the mix, that one late night killed me!

I just couldn't bring myself to exercise Saturday even though I'd managed it every other day that week! Not only that, but it also carried into Sunday. So, I'm making a bigger effort to get at least 8 hours sleep, preferably something closer to 9 or 10. :) Makes for a much more energised Stef.

I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has found something similar. I know you read everywhere that sleep is key but I never actually believed it until now! ;)

OP: NYE Weigh-In #4

2004-11-08T13:18:00.000-08:00

Week 4

This morning I weighed in at 180 pounds, which is exactly the same as last week.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed. I did more exercise this week than I have ever done before in 1 week so it's a bit of an anti-climax. But, that means there's only one thing for me to do! I really need to start giving this 100% if I want to see results. And if I'm being honest with myself, I'm probably currently giving around 80%. I'm going really hard at the exercise but I need to make a more conscious effort with actually planning my eating and water intake.

Weekly summary
Exercise: 5 days, 180 minutes
4 days of Ramp It Up (goal #2 achieved!) and 1 day of Orbitrek.

Here are my goals for this week that I WILL achieve:

1. 8 glasses of water every day
2. 6 days of exercise
3. No eating after 9pm (late-night snacking is bad, bad, bad)
4. Accurate food log/journal

Keeping the perspective

2004-11-08T11:59:00.000-08:00

Lately it's been way too easy for me to get caught up in the results of the moment (or lack thereof) and get frustrated.

So today, I'm drawing inspiration from two recent posts by Kimba and Beck.

Beck's entry was all about perception and perspective; that sometimes, the way you choose to view life and your current situation can be everything. For example, at present I'm at 81.8kg and before this year, I couldn't remember the last time I weighed under 90kg. I vaguely remember seeing about 86kg on the scale back in year 9 or 10 but for me, being in the 81 range is a real achievement! So, instead of whining that I'm not in the 70s yet, why not focus on how far I've come? And further, the potential I have to continue the successes! Just because it's not happening immediately, doesn't mean it will never happen if I stick to it.

Following on, Kimba's latest entry was all about having the belief that you're on the right track, that your efforts are paying off and basically believing that you can put in 100% and if you do, you will get the results.

This has all come about because I finally really dug my heels into exercise and specifically Debbie's Ramp It Up and I didn't lose any weight this week. Exercise is still really hard for me and Ramp It Up is actually pretty painful so the fact that I set aside a good 45 mins 5 days last week and didn't lose a thing was kinda disappointing. But, if anything, I'm going to use it as motivation. I'll set out my goals in the weekly weigh-in next but if 5 days a week won't get it done, I'll bump it up to 6. And step up the water intake and make a resolve not to eat a thing after 9pm.

I'd like to pass Kimba's closing sentence on to anyone and everyone struggling with weight loss; tis a brilliant piece of motivation:

Be positive about what you are doing. And be honest with yourself about your efforts. If you put in your best effort to improve your health and fitness, in the immortal words of that Pantene commercial - It won't happen overnight, but it will happen. It has to.

Late night snacking = evil

2004-11-05T13:41:00.000-08:00

So, I think I figured out one of the reasons I'm losing weight slowly in spite of my increased exercise levels. I can sum it up in three words, even.

Late. Night. Snacking.

Grrr. It's gotten to the (really unhealthy) point where I feel jittery if I'm watching TV without food in my hand at night! I feel like my hands should be doing something or that my mouth should be moving. And no matter how many times I tell myself I WON'T eat after 8pm, I inevitably do anyway. It's not like I'm reaching for chocolate bars dripping in caramel or covered in nutty goodness (whoa, my mouth just filled with saliva!); it's usually a 100-cal box of dried cranberries or a large Asian pear or a tub of low-fat (high cal, but too tasty to avoid) yoghurt. The main problem is that generally it's all of the above instead of just one. And I usually hold off until 10 or 11 at night...

9pm Don't do it... don't do it. You don't need food. Drink some water.
9:30pm Maybe if I just have some dried apricots... NO you don't. need. food. Drink more water.
10pm Ok, maybe just one box of apricots.
10:30pm Want more food. Fruit is healthy. Eat pear.
10:45pm NO MORE FOOD! Drink water.
11:00pm Some yoghurt won't hurt.

Et cetera, et cetera until it's midnight and I've managed to inhale at least an extra 300 calories. I usually ignore it and tell myself I'll make up for it tomorrow. But I've come to a point where I've had to admit that no matter how much I exercise, it won't help if I scoff my face before I go to sleep.

And Debbie's Ramp It Up hurts too much for this not to be worth anything! I've been doing too well with exercise to screw it up now with food.

So, I'm looking to defeat the devil spawn that is late night snacking. And I'm looking for ideas and suggestions. So far I've only found two useful articles. The first one, on Virtual Fitness Trainer sums it up perfectly:

So how do you know when your late night snacking is becoming out of control?......

When you have got to the point where you can't sit down and watch tv without having food, of any kind, to help you enjoy your favorite tv show? But don't worry because if this sounds like you then you are not alone.

Oh good, because I was worrying ;)

There are a couple of good suggestions that I'm going to try.

1. Find something else to do while watching TV
This actually worked tonight! I cut out recipes to stick on cards while watching my guilty pleasure (North Shore) and I didn't eat anything after about 8:45pm!

2. From Girlfriends' Locker Room: Brush your teeth at 8 or 9pm
"You won't snack because your teeth are clean and no one can eat with that peppermint/Listerine taste in their mouth." -- Theresa Mary
True! I hate that taste! Grrr.

3. Go to sleep earlier
"And then there's the old just-hop-in-the-bed trick. I think I heard this one on Girlfriends. When the hunger pangs start up, go to to sleep!" -- Jenice
I need to get more sleep anyway. I'm such a nightowl but I really pay the price! Crankiness, exhaustion etc.

I'm interested to hear anyone else's experiences with the devil spawn and how they overcame it, or plan to overcome it!

OP: NYE Weigh-In #3

2004-11-02T16:26:00.000-08:00

Week 3

I weighed in yesterday morning at 180 pounds (81.8 kg), which is a loss of 1 pound from last week. I wish it was coming off faster but I guess when you take into account the pumpkin pie and the Halloween candy, it isn't too bad? Plus, I'm almost a 70s girl :D (at least at home where we work with kilos!)

My BMI dropped to 28.2, which is a loss of 0.1 points.

But the really exciting part? I had Mum measure me for the first time since February before I started this whole thing. Here are the results:

February 2004
Bust: 47.5" / 120.6cm
Waist: 44" / 111.8cm
Hips: 43" / 109.2cm

November 2004
Bust: 43" / 109.2cm
Waist: 38" / 96.5cm
Hips: 40" / 101.6cm

That's a total loss of 13.5" or 34.29cm!

Weekly summary/goals:
Exercise: 5 days, 170 minutes

The plan for week 3 was Start It Up everyday but I actually chose to do Ramp It Up for 2 days, and I felt really good for it. I'm finding that when I do the exact same routine day after day I get bored and frustrated. So, I'm mixing it up a little.

Week 4 is supposed to be an alternation between Start It Up and Ramp It Up but I'm going to set the following goals:

1. 6 days of exercise
2. Ramp It Up on at least 4 of those days

I've also decided to hit the weights starting Week 5. I've been reading a lot of Fitness and all the signs say that weight loss is best achieved using a combination of cardio and strength training. We have amini-gym in our garage as well as personal trainer software so I really have no excuse. I'm going to do weights as per the program on Monday, Wednesday and Friday as well as my already-in-motion cardio plan.

Further, I'm going to aim to:

3. Write down everything I eat, everyday
4. Keep an accurate record of water intake

Wish me luck! If I'm going to achieve Operation: NYE, I'm technically 1 pound behind but I'm confident I can make it up! :)

Healthy snacks

2004-10-31T13:21:00.000-08:00

I'm currently in the process of writing out my healthy recipes back from my days on eDiets on recipe cards and feeling great doing it -- it'll be nice to have something solid to go by when I move to Melbourne.

But anyway, I'm on the lookout for easy, healthy snacks. I'd love to hear any suggestions from you guys but here are my favourites:

ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS

Next time you make a jack-o-lantern or a pumpkin pie, don't throw out the seeds! Collect them and do a lil roasting for a great, healthy snack. They're packed full of minerals like magnesium, iron, zinc, protein and the best kind of fat - monounsaturated.

They're way easy to prepare; all I did was take the seeds fresh out of the pumpkin (remove the huge chucnks of pumpkin but don't rinse them or you'll wash away the flavour), spray some PAM Olive Oil cooking spray on a baking sheet, spread the seeds out over the pan in one thin layer and then spray some olive oil on top. Sprinkle with some salt to taste and then pop them in a 300F degree oven for about 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.

What you get are a tasty, crunchy lil snack! Most people just use salt for flavour but if you're feeling adventurous, play around with some cumin or cayenne pepper for spicy pumpkin seeds! I've seen recipes that use things like garlic powder and general seasoning salt so from what I can tell, they're pretty flexible!

CHEESY PITA CHIPS
You'll need:
- 1/2 oz low fat shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 whole wheat pita bread or tortilla
- olive oil cooking spray (or any cooking spray)
- 1/4 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder (or any other spice/seasoning you like)

Pre-heat oven to 350F degrees. Lightly brush pita with oil and cut into eight triangles. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and bake for 5-6 minutes until lightly browned. Top with cheese and garlic powder, return to oven, and bake for 2-3 mins until cheese is melted.

YUM! These are a really tasty treat -- eDiets suggested you pair it with club soda but either way, these are a healthy snack for the afternoon or any other time!

D'oh

2004-10-28T23:41:00.000-07:00

So, I failed the test. But I hopped back on the horse Wednesday with Debbie's Start It Up. Then I fell right off again today by completely NOT doing any exercise (though I walked 2 miles to and from my volunteer job) and eating mint cookies and peanut butter ice cream.

I feel so completely weak. Because really, all this comes down to self-discipline issues. All I have to do is say NO. And all I have to do is avoid the thinking that "oh, I got home after 5pm so now there's just no time to exercise" and just DO IT.

The good news is that instead of completely falling to pieces and telling myself the entire week is useless, I'm taking it one day at a time. So today was bad. Tomorrow is going to be good. Because everyday is a new day and just because you fall off the horse occasionally, doesn't spell doom and doesn't spell the end of weight loss.

Sarah is doing amazingly well; just check out her swimsuit photos! Makes me wish I'd let Mum take proper before photos of me! ;) But I was looking at old photos of me and I could really see the difference in my face 30 odd pounds ago. Plus, there's this pair of jeans that were too tight for me at th start of the year -- they're now too loose! I can pull them off without undoing the buttons, which is always a sign that a new pair of jeans is in order ;)

So I've had a not-so-great week so far but there are still 3 days to get in order. I've also decided that part of my recent loathing of exercise is because I'm so sick and tired and bored of Start It Up. I'm doing Ramp It Up tomorrow and then Orbitrek or something diff for the weekend to try and mix it up a little.

Weigh It Is #8

2004-10-28T23:30:00.000-07:00

WII #8

Friday October 29th, 2004

What do you take to work for lunch?
Do you eat big, or little lunches? Why?
What do you do for your whole lunch hour, to stop you from snacking or eating from boredom?

Well, I don't have a job, thanks to rigid US immigration law. But I do volunteering on a weekly basis from 10am-2pm so that involves taking lunch!

Confession time -- I rarely take lunch to my 'work' with me. :( I know it's naughty and I know it doesn't take much to pack something but as previously mentioned, I am NOT a morning person! I struggle to shower and dress let alone think about packing lunch.

But since I started Operation: NYE, that was something I vowed to change. So, I've started taking tuna sandwiches on whole wheat bread with lettuce and honey mustard along with an apple or mandarin and some dried fruit or almonds. Occasionally I'll take a tub of yoghurt or those all natural oat & honey bars.

I usually eat fairly small lunches purely because of my inability to function in the mornings; I just throw whatever I can get my hands on in to a brown bag and it's usually not very much.

I don't get a lunch hour so it's easy to stay busy -- I usually just eat when I get a spare few minutes. Though the huuuuge fatty muffins that often grace the kitchen table are a temptation and I used to give in almost every time they made an appearance. But I'm working on that too -- if I find myself going to the kitchen, I make my legs go to the water instead. If I don't have any work to do, I'll bury my nose in a book or write one of my time consuming lists to keep my hands off the evil muffins.

new layout!

2004-10-26T01:28:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! So, the original plan was to create my own layout from scratch. But last weekend I spent way too many hours getting nowhere fast and I just couldn't stand to look at the generic Blogger template that I had up any longer!

So, this template is courtesy of Miz Graphics!

I haven't decided how long it will stay up for yet, but for now, it will do nicely.

Exercise felt SO good today! It's just been one of those days when there feels like there's an extra spring in your step. I miss the Orbitrek though; it was such an easy exercise for me purely because I could use it while watching Gilmore Girls at the same time.

Tomorrow is a real test for me. Have you ever had one of those moments where you just know that if you can jump this hurdle, you might just be as ready as you've hoped you are? I have them pretty often, except I usually whack my ankle on the hurdle and crash to the ground! Tomorrow my volunteering schedule has changed from 12-4pm which means I won't get home in time to exercise at my usual time of 4pm-5pm. This means that instead of stumbling out of bed in the morning, scoffing down some breakfast and hopping straight on the bus with wet hair, I'm going to have to fit in my exercise between 8am and 10am tomorrow morning. Ouch!

I guess this doesn't mean much until you realise I am NOT a morning person. I tried doing exercise at 12pm on Sunday and was so grumpy that I quit halfway through! It's pathetic but I really am a nightowl and the mornings (that's until 2pm ;)) give me nightmares! :P So fingers crossed I'll clear the hurdle. I will be so proud of myself if I can.

There was so much more I wanted to talk about but I really need to sleep if i'm going to be exercising tomorrow morning. Argh!

OP: NYE Weigh-In #2

2004-10-25T13:40:00.000-07:00

Week 2

Before I tell you about my weigh-in this week, I want to open up Operation: NYE to anyone and everyone that wants to join in! There aren't any rules or requirements and everyone is welcome to join us. You set your own goal and come up with a plan to reach it by New Year's Eve '04! More details can be found at Put Down the Donut. You can see current participants linked in my sidebar :)

-------------------------------------

I weighed in this morning at 181 pounds (82.3kg) which is a loss of 1 pound from last week.

My BMI dropped slightly to 28.3, which means I'm firmly out of the 'obese' category and into the 'overweight'.

I could be disappointed that I only lost 1 pound but I choose to be grateful that I've maintained the loss and added to it ever so slightly!

Weekly summary
Exercise: 6 days, 110 minutes
Junk food free: 4 days

Yes, the junk food could improve... and I was supposed to start counting water this week but didn't. So I've tacked up a sheet of paper above the water dispenser so I can tally each day. I'm aiming for 8 glasses a day but would be happy with 6.

I really loathe Debbie... yesterday I'm ashamed to say I gave up halfway through because I was so frustrated. Argh. And now I look at the plan and I'm doing Start It Up everyday this week!! Arghhh grant me the strength to accept the things I ~~cannot~~ must not change!

But a motivating factor for exercise for me is that no matter how much this week feels like it sucks, next week is going to be harder so enjoy it while you can! ;)

Push It

2004-10-19T01:37:00.000-07:00

I've been making use of the mysterious free subscription to Fitness Magazine that my Mum has been getting in the mail lately. It's actually a pretty good magazine -- though it's weird; half the time I finish up feeling motivated to exercise harder and eat healthier and the other half I finish up feeling depressed that I'm not doing enough.

Tonight it was the latter and I'm starting to really believe I'm not doing enough. I mean, to achieve Operation: NYE I need to lose a steady 2 pounds a week so I'm on track for that. But I read a story today where a woman lost 95 pounds in a year!! Even if I complete Operation: NYE, I will have only lost 55. Which... actually, now that I type it out, would be a pretty good achievement also. But the greedy part of me wants more, more, more.

So, I've made an executive decision (they really don't happen that often -- according to Fitness, I'm a "Thinker", which basically means I over-analyse and take forever to choose) to work on my diet a little more. Along with the 8 glasses of water a day, I'm actually going to put in a little planning. Lately I've been floating around never knowing what to make for lunch and end up either not eating it or having something paltry like a mandarin. No more! A good metabolism needs 3 meals a day.

So, tomorrow morning on the bus I'm going to compile 3 lists; one full of potential (healthy) breakfast items, one full of snack items and the other filled with potential lunch meals. That way, I can pin the lists to the fridge and it won't be nearly as hard to make a decision during the day. For example, I've already decided tomorrow's meals:

BREAKFAST
1 English muffin w/raisins, spread with low-joule jam
3/4 cup of 2% milk
1 apple

SNACK
mandarin

LUNCH
1 tuna sandwich with lettuce and honey-mustard
1 apple

Water through-out AND I hereby vow NOT to snack on the tempting muffins/cake/candy or whatever else is put out on the Food Lifeline lunch table. No-no-, no more.

If I can do that everyday and cut back on the dinnertime over-eating, I should notice a difference, come scale time. Which reminds me, I haven't taken measurements since I weighed 215 pounds back in February. The problem is, I can't remember what they were... which would make it a little hard to make comparisons :|

OP: NYE Weigh-In #1

2004-10-18T13:27:00.000-07:00

Week 1

First week of Operation: NYE is complete and I weighed in this morning at 182 pounds (82.7kg), which is a loss of 3 pounds from last week! Whee!

The best part is that I know I can do better -- I had a few encounters with a piece of cheesecake and a cookie, so if I can cut those out and replace them with water, I should be good to go.

My BMI dropped to 28.5, which is a loss of 0.5 points.

Weekly Summary
Exercise: 5 days, 100 minutes total
Water: ?? Start counting this week :)

Weigh It Is 6 & 7

2004-10-16T14:54:00.000-07:00

WII #6 - October 3rd, 2004

Spring is officially here! Its time to get fit, only 12 weeks till Summer!

What are your Spring Goals? How do you plan to achieve them?

D'oh :( It's actually autumn/fall here. But when I return home to Australia, it will be summer so I guess I can still answer the question ;)

I really only have one spring goal -- to be well on the way to my NYE goal of 160 pounds. So that just means lots of water and exercise. At the very end of my journey, when I'm at my final goal of 135, I want to wear a bikini for the first time in my life. I'm hoping that I'll be well on the way by the time the end of summer rolls around. How I plan to achieve these goals is detailed in the Operation: NYE post.

WII #7 - October 12th, 2004

Do you belong to a gym, or do you exercise at home/outdoors?

Why do you do what you do? Is it the money, the convenience or something else?

What would your ideal exercise routine consist of, if time and money were not an option?

I've never belonged to a gym, no. I've been a couple of times -- once as a guest with my brother's girlfriend to an aerobics class and a couple of times with school in Year 12 for a circuit and yoga. I exercise at home and I really can't justify a gym membership here in the US; we have a weight-lifting gym in our garage as well as a cardio machine in the Orbitrek and several exercise DVDs. Plus there are some nice walking areas close to our house so there's not really any real need for a gym at this point.

I would like to join a gym when I get to Melbourne because I'll have none of this stuff at home. I'd like to do some of the aerobics classes as well as the treadmills and bikes etc. The money will be an issue, me being a poor student and all, but I know it will be worth it as long as I use it regularly.

If time and money weren't an obstacle, I would have a gym membership for sure. I'd probably also have a personal trainer -- because sometimes I really need the extra motivation or guidance. I'm thinking about getting one anyway, but I'm just not sure how much they cost yet. I would head to the gym everyday except Sunday and spend 1-2 hours doing various classes and circuits.

Never, never, never give up

2004-10-16T03:39:00.000-07:00

"If you want to get somewhere you have to know where you want to go and how to get there. Then never, never, never give up."
-- Norman Vincent Peale

I stumbled across this quote tonight and I just love it. Thought I never realised where it came from til now, I have a notebook given to me by a very good friend with the words:

never
never
never
give
up

written on it -- it just took on a new meaning for me ;)

Bury me with it

2004-10-16T03:05:00.000-07:00

I've used tonight (or should I say early morning) to catch up on the weight loss blogs I read (see my blogroll on the left) and it's been an intense couple of hours for me.

Some of the blogs I read tell the most amazing stories -- people having lost 100+ pounds but still have 50 to go, people having lost 80 pounds and are now on their last ten... the list goes on. My congratulations to them are sincere but what I realised tonight is that I'm terrified.

I'm terrified that I won't make it. I'm terrified that I will make it but I won't feel the burst of confidence that I'm anticipating. I'm terrified that all of this exercise and water drinking and saying no to cheesecake will be a waste of time. I'm terrified that I'll lose the weight only to stack it all back on 2 years from now.

Tonight I actually felt panic in my chest and I can count the number of times I've felt so panicked on one hand. The last time was right before Year 12 exams ;)

I looked at progress photos -- and I so admire people brave enough to post them -- and felt pangs of jealousy but worst of all is that I looked at one set that pictured a woman having dropped from 180 to 160 pounds and I honestly could see little difference! What if I reach my NYE goal of 160 and I look practically the same? Will I ever be able to look in a mirror and genuinely smile?

I do have one happy to write about... one of the main factors that really set this journey in motion for me was the appearance of 10-12 bright red, ugly stretch marks on my stomach at the start of the year. Stretch marks that I'd only ever seen on women that had just had a baby! I'M 17! I thought at the time... what the fuck am I doing? I'm so, so proud that today I look at my stomach and I can only see 2 or 3; the rest have faded away significantly! I thought I'd be stuck with them for the rest of my life. I almost wish I'd taken a photo so I could show the difference :P My stomach is by no means perfect - it's still the part of me that I loathe the most and I still have a beer gut but I have to say that if there's one difference that my loss of 30 pounds has made, it's on my stomach.R

Random though: why are there no male weight loss bloggers? I haven't seen one in all these months!

Pretty disastrous night really, right? Well, there was a shining light amidst my fear. Nancee posted a fabulous entry on her blog that I couldn't help but feel motivated by -- twas a real kick up the ass and I am ever grateful for it. I highly recommend you read the whole thing, but here's my favourite part:

f you are a Diet Coke addict, and you cannot replace that with water at least half the time? Not ready. If you do replace it with water yet bitch constantly, longing for Diet Coke and caving every other day? Not ready.

If you start each day thinking you’ll stay on the plan but can’t pass up the donuts someone brought in? Or your co-worker’s candy dish? Or the chips and salsa on the table at the Mexican restaurant? Not ready.

You must buy in 100% to the plan.

My new mantra for the week -- I must buy in 100% to the plan. I must buy in 100% to the plan.

Another bout of wisdom from Nancee?

So I didn’t lose this week.

Up til now- I LOST 56 POUNDS.

Which fact means the most?

Exactly.

I think I love this girl that I don't even know. ;)

I've lost...

2004-10-16T01:02:00.000-07:00

I stole this brilliant idea from Lady Mistree at Callipygian!

She writes:

Do this for me. Go to Google (don't worry, I won't go anywhere) and enter this into the search box "weighs xx lb" where xx equals the weight you've lost. Convert your weight to kg (or vice versa) and search again. See what you've lost.

At current, I've lost 30 pounds (roughly 13 kg). Which is also:

This is addictive, dammit!! ;)

Moving along, here's a great article on why every little pound counts. At the same website, you can get a quick free assessment.

I'm back!

2004-10-15T16:58:00.001-07:00

So I got back from Fiji on the 7th of Oct (2 days later than expected... poor me ;)) and kick-started Operation: NYE on Monday the 11th.

I weighed in on the same day and to my delight, found that I had miraculously managed to mantain my weight during my 12 nights in Fiji! I weighed in at 185 pounds (84.1kg) and really, I was just glad I hadn't put on a stack of weight with all the alcohol and living on bread for the week :P

This week has been easier than I expected, though the Orbitrek isn't really high intensity... plus, I dull the pain by using it whilst watching Gilmore Girls ;)

I've been really slack on the water though.. and I usually can't be bothered making lunch so I just don't eat it. BAD Stef, BAD.

Operation: NYE

2004-10-15T15:39:00.000-07:00

OPERATION: NYE

The Name: Operation: NYE is actually Operation: New Year's Eve -- hehe. Named simply because it revolves around reaching my goal for New Year's Eve 2004.

The Timespan: Monday 11th October to Friday 31st December, 2004 (12 weeks)

The Plan: Exercise will change every week in an effort to find out what the best plan actually is. As set out below --

Week 1
Orbitrek for 20 minutes every day.

Week 2
Orbitrek (20 mins) M, W, F, Su and Debbie's Start It Up (30 mins) on Tu, Th & Sa.

Week 3
Debbie's Start It Up every day for 30 minutes.

Week 4
Debbie's Start It Up (30 mins) on M, W, F, Su and Ramp It Up (45 mins) on Tu, Th, Sa.

Week 5
Debbie's Ramp It Up everyday for 45 mins.

At this point, I'll review and maybe consider adding in some weights or after-dinner walks.

Along with exercise, I'm aiming to add in 8 glasses of water and 3 meals a day. I'm going to make a huge effort to limit the Milo intake; it's a killer and I'm addicted!

I'm not going to make daily posts anymore; they're too much of a hassle. I'll check in during the week as I feel like it and then do a weekly summary/results post.

The Goal: 160 pounds (72.7kg), a loss of 25 pounds (11.4kg).

UPDATE 12/6: Two-thirds of the way through, it's time to re-evaluate the goal I originally set for Operation: NYE. A large part of setting and achieving goals is knowing when to adjust the bar a little and one of those times is now. My original goal if 160 pounds is looking quite impossible if I'm going to lose weight healthily. I still want to challenge myself though, so I'm changing the goal to 170 pounds. This would mean a loss of 6 pounds over the last 4 weeks, for a total loss of 15 pounds in 12 weeks. :)

WISH ME LUCK! :)

Weigh In #5 + Hungry-Girl.com

2004-09-22T13:22:00.000-07:00

Ok, so last post before FIJI (leaving Thurs night!) and my last weigh-in for a couple of weeks. I'll try not to let go too much in Fiji but with all that alcohol and lack of funds, it could be hard. We'll see how it goes.

Today I weighed in at 185 pounds which is a loss of 1 pound from last week. I didn't do ANY exercise last week due to my sickness (which, btw, I'm still suffering from) but I also ate significantly less and survived on small meals and a lot of water.

My BMI dropped to 29.0, which is a loss of 0.1 points.

This brings my total loss since the beginning of this journal to 10 pounds (the original goal was to lead me in to Fiji weighing less), which equals 2 pounds a week! I'm happy with this, as it's a slow, steady and safe way to lose the weight and I alwasy knew my initial goal of 20 pounds was a tad ambitious! Heh.

You won't see any posts from me until the 6th of Oct, when I doubt I'll have much to report... but that day marks the beginning of my journey to my New Year's goal of 160 pounds! I'll drink to that ;)

I highly recommend the daily Hungry-Girl.com email that dishes out tips on which brands are better for you and which foods to avoid at all costs.

I'm a bit worried about my abilities to pick the right foods; a magazine I read at the hairdresser's featured a test to see if you could pick the foods with the lowest calories. There were about 4 pairs of foods and I only got one right! One of the tests, for example, was between a Dairy Queen blueberry muffin and a jam-filled donut covered in sugar.

I said the muffin would have fewer calories but actually, the jam-filled donut had 280 calories (still huge!) while the muffin had a whopping 470! Eek!

Update

2004-09-20T18:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posting... I've been sick for over a week now and so there hasn't been much to report. I haven't had the energy to exercise (maybe tomorrow.. I hope) and I've eaten hardly anything because I lost my appetite. I lived on soup and water for a few days there... I think my weight should have stayed around the same.

I leave for Fiji THIS THURSDAY!!! Of course, I didn't reach my initial Fiji goal of 175 pounds, but i did lose 9 pounds since I started this journal with the initial Fiji goal in mind. And i'll take 9 pounds over nothing anyday!

Of course, I'll continue to work on my weight after I get back from Fiji. I hope I don't do too much damage with alcohol and cheap eating whilst in Fiji but I feel confident that if I do, I can work it off after and that feels good. As I said, I have a new goal to be 160 pounds for New Year's Eve. Hopefully I can steadily lose 2 pounds a week after Fiji to attain that goal. :)

I'll post after my weigh-in on Wednesday morning and then I'll be in Fiji until the 6th of October so nothing til then.

xo

Weigh It Is 5

2004-09-20T18:35:00.000-07:00

WII #5
Sat Sept 18th, 2004

How would you describe your everyday clothing style? What is your favorite piece of clothing? What type of clothing do you avoid the most? Why? Does your weight influence the way you shop?

My everyday clothing style tends to change with my moods and of course has changed significantly since I came to live in Seattle for the year. Back home in Aust, I practically lived in skirts, flip-flops and tank tops or sweaters (jumpers for Australians). Over here the weather is much colder so I now live in track pants or jeans and long-sleeved tops or jackets. I feel most comfortable in a skirt in flip-flops but it's just too cold here, even through most of the summer!

My very favourite piece of clothing also changes regularly.. but right now it's probably a black/white check skirt with a pink trim and a pink ribbon that ties around the waist. It's knee-length, really flattering and really girly. It's also great because you can dress it up or down really easily. I haven't worn it much yet but I'm sure I will when I get home. My other favourite is my poncho because it's also really feminine, plus it's versatile - it goes with skirts and pants and looks best over a light coloured top.

The clothing I avoid the most is anything clingy... I'm really conscious of my belly so I don't like to wear fabrics that cling at all. A lot of the prettiest dressy tops tend to be clingy. I also avoid overalls (jumpers for Americans) and -- if I can -- strapless tops because they accentuate my flabby arms.

My weight definitely influences the way I shop... sometimes my weight can rule out an entire store because they don't stock sizes big enough. Some of the biggest motivation for me in the past has come from a disastrous shopping trip, when everything was too small and anything that did fit was frumpy. I remember crying a lot after shopping trips when I was 12 or 13.

Weigh-in 4

2004-09-14T23:27:00.000-07:00

I weighed in today at 186 pounds, which is 84.5kg, the lowest I've weighed since about Year 9 or earlier. I lost 3 pounds from last week and my BMI is now sitting at 29.1.

I guess this is pretty good seeing as I ingested a whole lot of fat at the Puyallup fair and I didn't do much exercise.

I'm currently feeling even sicker than yesterday so all I've done today is sip some soup, lie in bed/on the couch and sleep. I'm going to try and start exercising again tomorrow, Debbie arrived in the mail today! Yay! I never thought I'd be glad to get her back ;)

I've set a new goal for myself - I want to weigh 160lbs (72.7kg) by New Year's. That would mean I'd lost 52 pounds in just under a year and I think that would be a good achievement. To achieve this goal, I need to steadily lose 2 pounds a week, starting AFTER I get back from Fiji (5 Oct).

I've also seen on other blogs how people give themselves little rewards at each milestone, which I think is a great idea. It wouldn't work for me right now due to the lack of income, but when I get back home and have a job again, that should work nicely.

I've also set out the milestones I need to reach:

TOTAL GOAL LOSS = 80 pounds

10% of goal reached = 207
25% of goal reached = 195
30 pounds lost = 185
50% of goal reached = 175
45 pounds lost = 170
75% of goal reached = 155
75 pounds lost = 140
100% OF GOAL REACHED = 135

-groan-

2004-09-13T17:34:00.000-07:00

Ugh, I've caught some sort of cruddy sickness from the little sister (again) and I'd forgotten how much you DON'T feel like eating when you're sick. It's 5.35pm and all I've had all day was abowl of cereal and 1/2 tub yoghurt and I don't feel the slightest bit hungry. I can't even swallow the water I'm trying to force myself to have.

Not to mention the overwhelming desire NOT to exercise. At least I'm getting the sickness thing out of the way before Fiji!

Day 27

2004-09-13T01:11:00.000-07:00

Sunday 12th September

Exercise: none
Water: 3 glasses

Breakfast: 1 bowl Raisin Bran, 1 apple juice, 1 coffee, 1 mini cinnamon bun, 1 banana, 1/2 tub yoghurt (Hotel breakfasts are irresistable to me, sadly!)
Lunch: 1 piece of Ivar's cod + fries
Dinner: Chickenmaster (from Burgermaster - worst chicken I've ever had) + mocha thickshake
Snack: Caramel apple (with M&Ms on top!!)

Another shocking day. My week wasn't too bad before this.. I fear this will be my undoing. I'm pushing weigh-in to Tuesday... because I can!

Day 26

2004-09-13T01:01:00.000-07:00

Saturday 11th September

I was at the fair this weekend down in Puyallup, WA.. so as you might imagine, the outcome wasn't good as far as weight loss goes.

Exercise: none
Water: 3 glasses

Breakfast: 2 slices toast with jam + coffee
Lunch: Grilled chicken burger
Dinner: Yakisoba noodles + teriyaki chicken
Snack: shared an Elephant Ear (see below)

Elephant Ears (EE)

A typical elephant ear contains butter, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, milk and cinnamon

From NWI Times

EE are these disgustingly greasy huge floppy things that, shock-horror, look like elephant ears. It's basically dough fried in oil and dipped in cinnamon sugar. It's a heart attack in an ear! I had probably a 1/4 of one of these - but they're pretty big, so that's probably at least 200 cal! :P

Day 25

2004-09-11T01:02:00.000-07:00

Friday 10th September

Exercise: Orbitrek, 20 min workout
Water: 6 glasses

Breakfast: Toast with apricot jam
Lunch: 1 slice leftover low-cal pizza
Dinner: Chicken pasta, breadstick + salad at Olive Garden
Dessert: Shared disgustingly decadent white chocolate & raspberry cheesecake with the mother

I exercised today! Yay me! I see it as an accomplishment now. My motivation was "Look, you only have 13 days til Fiji. Try to get that far - just go and exercise! Do it!" .. and it did feel kinda good. I increased the resistance on the Orbitrek and reeeeally felt it. Ouchies.

Just wanted to point out 2 sites that make me go "wow" in terms of weight loss accomplishment: Lissa's Weight Loss Odyssey and WW Diva (who started out at 406 lb! That's almost 185kg).

Day 24

2004-09-10T11:53:00.000-07:00

Thursday 9th September

Exercise: none
Water: 5 glasses

Breakfast: 1 raisin English muffin with jam
Lunch: 3 small plums and Starbucks scone
Dinner: Pork chop, russet potatoes and beans/carrots
Snack: Cup of tea, mini-muffin & a mint Scoop

Argh I got home late today because I changed my volunteer shift hours and was way too tired to exercise at 8.00pm. Besides, the premiere of Joey was on!! ;)

*looks to tomorrow*

Day 23

2004-09-09T01:22:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 8th September

Exercise: Orbitrek, 20 minutes
Water: 6 glasses

Breakfast: 1 English muffin with lime marmalade
Lunch: Salad, chicken teriyaki and rice
Dinner: 2 slices of Papa Murphy's low cal pizza + salad

YAY! I exercised today. And I have to say, it felt damn good. In other good news, our Seaside resort found Debbie DVD! Woohoo! So when I get that back, exercising will be a little easier. But the Orbitrek will work nicely for now.

I'm a big people-watcher.. on our recent Oregon vacation, it was pointed out to me that fat people are generally seen with other fat people in terms of relationships. At first, I thought that was a huge generalisation but when challenged to point out ONE couple that was a slim person with a fat person, I couldn't find one for 3 hours in a busy place. A little shocked, I asked:

"So.. what? You're saying that if I can't lose this weight, I'm doomed to be with a fat person?"
"Well, yes!"

As much as I hate to admit it, I think she's right. And I'm ashamed to say that the thought of her conclusion provides a little extra motivation to exercise daily. Sometimes generalisations + stereotypes are just one vicious cycle.

Day 22

2004-09-09T01:20:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 7th September

Exericse: none
Water: 3 glasses

Breakfast: Banana
Lunch: 2 English muffins with lime marmalade
Snack: 1 pack Reese's Swoops
Dinner: Chicken teriyaki, rice, sushi
Dessert: 1 tub yoghurt

Day 21

2004-09-07T19:53:00.000-07:00

Monday 6th September

Exercise: none
Water: 7 glasses

Breakfast: Banana
Lunch: Yoghurt + toast
Dinner: Chicken, 1/2 potato, broccoli/cauliflower

I feel completely stuck... and unwilling to exercise. Maybe tomorrow.

Weigh It Is 4

2004-09-06T17:28:00.000-07:00

WII #4 - Fri 3rd Sept

How do you cope with being sick? How does illness, and therefore lack of exercise and unpredictable appetite affect your weight loss efforts?

I haven't really been sick whilst on a serious weight loss kick... But I can't imagine it would hurt too much, unless it was a lengthy illness. I usually survive on homemade chicken soup and water when I'm sick, which can't be all that bad for me. The lack of exercise would hurt though.

I've found vacations are pretty damn detrimental... ;)

Week 3 summary & Weigh-in 3

2004-09-06T17:16:00.000-07:00

Summary

So, as you might be able to discern, I had a shocking week for my weight-loss. :( And some of you will know how easy it is to say 'to hell with it' after a shockingly bad week. On the one hand, I was on vacation but on the other, there'll always be a reason or excuse not to keep plowing on with the exercise and I hate making excuses.

I fell off the horse but tomorrow is me getting back on. We have a teensy set-back seeing as I left the Debbie Slim in 6 DVD in Seaside, Oregon and the resort are unable to find it. I swear, it was an accident! Really.

But tonight I'm either going to walk or use the elliptical thingy as soon as North Shore is finished at 9pm.

The plus side is that I only gained 1 pound.. I felt like it should be worse what with the lack of exercise and the inhaling of calories I did. Here's to a better week 4. *raises glass... of water*

Weigh-in 3

I weighed in this morning at 189 pounds, which is 85.9 kilograms and a gain of 1 pound from last week.

Accordingly, my BMI rose .2 points to 29.6

Day 20

2004-09-06T17:11:00.000-07:00

Sunday 5th September

Exercise: none
Water: 3 glasses

Breakfast: Orange/currant scone + tall latte
Lunch: Turkey sandwich from Gretchen's
Dinner: Cornflakes + milk

Day 19

2004-09-06T17:10:00.000-07:00

Saturday 4th September

Exercise: none
Water: 5 glasses

Breakfast: 1 Krispy Kreme + coffee
Lunch: Blackened Cajun Salmon burger
Snack: Starbucks grande iced vanilla latte
Dinner: 1 peanut chicken satay, noodles and rice

Day 18

2004-09-06T17:06:00.000-07:00

Friday 3rd September

Exercise: none
Water: ?

Breakfast: Pig 'n' Pancake 2 pancakes, 2 strips bacon, 1 egg + coffee (Junior Plate)
Lunch: Turkey sandwich + grapes + Goldfish crackers
Dinner: Hooter's HOT HOT HOT chicken strips, curly fries
Dessert: Key lime pie

Day 17

2004-09-06T17:05:00.000-07:00

Thursday 2nd September

Exercise: none
Water: 4 glasses

Breakfast: Raisin/cinnamon English muffin with jam
Lunch: Turkey sandwich + grapes
Dinner: 1 slice pizza, yoghurt
Dessert: Toasted marshmallows

Day 16

2004-09-06T17:02:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 1st September

Exercise: Treadmill, 30 minutes
Water: 5 glasses

Breakfast: Raisin Bran, OJ + coffee
Lunch: Turkey sandwich, grapes and trail mix
Dinner: 1 tub yoghurt + 2 glasses champagne

Day 15

2004-09-06T16:58:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 31st August

Exercise: Treadmill & stairmaster, 50 minutes
Water: 7 glasses

Breakfast: Special K, coffee, banana
Lunch: Turkey sandwich + grapes
Dinner: Lil Bayou Paneed Chicken Breast, mash potato and asparagus
Dessert: Shared Banana's Foster

Day 14

2004-09-06T16:52:00.000-07:00

Monday 30th August

Exercise: none
Glasses of water: 6

Breakfast: orange-currant scone + coffee
Lunch: Quiznos low fat chicken sub (small) + Diet Snapple
Dinner: Norma's Ocean Diner calimari + fries

Weigh-In 2

2004-08-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

Weigh-In #2: Monday Aug 30th

Yup, last post before vacation. I weighed in this morning at 188 pounds, which is 85 kilos and a loss of 3 pounds.

I guess I'm a little disappointed I didn't lose more.. the goal of 175 for Fiji isn't looking too good. But I'll keep going, for sure. I'm not going to waste all I've done so far.

Away period - never fear!

2004-08-30T03:08:00.000-07:00

I'm going on a quick vacation to Seaside OR for all of this week (M-F) and I'm volunteering at Bumbershoot all weekend so don't panic if you don't get another update until this time next week; I'll continue to work on the plan and hopefully will be a little lighter next time you hear from me.

xo

Day 13

2004-08-30T01:20:00.000-07:00

Sunday 29th August

Exercise: 1 time, 40 mins
Water: 10 glasses

Argh hit another hurdle: we can't find the second Debbie DVD disc, the one that contains Burn It Up (phase 3). I'm going to have to make do with phase 2, Ramp It Up, which is a little disappointing. Oh well.

I didn't do Debbie today... I used this cycling/step/walking machine thing we have for 40 minutes because I wanted to watch the VMAs. I felt pretty tired by the end of it so I think it worked okay.

I'm supposed to weigh in tomorrow, but I weighed myself this morning and I hadn't lost a THING. Not 1 measly pound. Very discouraging.

Breakfast: Homemade McMuffin -- English muffin, cheese, bacon + egg and coffee
Lunch: Banana, pineapple + carrots with dip
Dinner: homemade burger with coleslaw and a few curly oven chips

Day 12

2004-08-29T00:02:00.000-07:00

Saturday 28th August

Exercise: 1 time, 48 mins
Water: 10 glasses

Exercise is killing me in that I am so TIRED at nights now. I'm, by nature, such a nightowl and I usually don't get tired until at least 1am. Now it's starting at 10pm and 11pm. *yawns*

Debbie did seem easier for me today though.. it seems amazing that I could somehow be stronger after just a week and a half but I guess I am. I think it's such a bitch that the first place you lose weight is from your boobs. How unfair! ;)

Breakfast: 1 crumpet with apricot jam, banana & peach
Lunch: Turkey sandwich + coleslaw
Dinner: Rice, teriyaki chicken, butternut soup
Snack: Fruit smoothie

Weigh It Is 3

2004-08-27T22:05:00.000-07:00

WII #3 - Fri 27th August

Where do you think you would be right now had you been a healthy weight your entire life? Would you be in the same place, in the same relationships, with the same life experiences? Or in a completely different life?

Ahh that's hard to say. I think it's incredibly easy to blame something like weight on all of things things you don't like about yourself, like parts of your personality, your relationships (or lack thereof) and the way you handle tough situations. But that said, I think weight definitely does have an effect.

I like to think that if I'd never been fat, I would have had a boyfriend by now. I would certainly have had a higher level of self-confidence and belief and it maybe would have been the difference between crushing from afar and actually doing something about it.

I think my life would not differ too much, though, to how it is now. I'm still me, no matter what size I am.

Will losing weight change your life situation?

It's convenient to think that being slim will somehow make me a better person but I know that it won't. Being a better person is something you have to make a conscious decision to work on and it comes from the inside, not how beautiful you are, how many friends you have, how fat your fingers are ;)

But losing weight will change my life situation in that I do believe it will be a weight lifted off my shoulders (NO pun intended!) and while it won't instantly make me happy, it will go a long way to kick starting the person I want to be; with more confidence and the ability to walk into a shop and choose anything off the racks! :D

Day 11

2004-08-27T21:58:00.000-07:00

Friday 27th August

Exercise: 1 time, 48 mins
Water: 11 glasses

Today went fairly smoothly... I cut back a little in a (futile) attempt to make up for the shocking eating during our tmie in Vancouver. Maybe it's just in my head, but Ramp It Up (Debbie) seemed a little easier to get through today. I also wore a pair of brown Jag pants that wouldn't do up at the start of the year. So whether I can see the diff or not, my waist is slowly shrinking :)

I also had a small triumph in that I bought a banana instead of a cake at the bus stop stand. Whee. It was a good 'nana too.

Breakfast: 1 of Mum's thin pancakes with light syrup + coffee
Lunch: 1 banana
Dinner: Teriyaki chicken, noodles, rice + California roll

Small triumphs

2004-08-26T22:55:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I think it's the little things that build upon each other that can make or break your efforts... so here are some small triumphs I've had over the past few days:

-- I chose a tub of low fat yoghurt instead of the tasty looking orange-currant scone or a maple bar that my Mum was having
-- I gave my carb-laden breadstick to the little sister tonight (it was one of those delicious ones from Cucina Cucina too.. yum)
-- I can't remember the last time I snacked late at night :D
-- I had the low fat grilled chicken burger (350 cal) instead of what I really wanted; the Pepper Bacon Tillamook Cheeseburger (650 cal)
-- I'm not buying any of those fatty muffins to tide me over at the bus station; I bring apples + raisins instead

*bows* I really hope this works out.

Day 10

2004-08-26T22:37:00.000-07:00

Thursday 26th August

Exercise: 1 time, 48 mins
Water: 7 glasses

Today was the first day of Ramp It Up. And can I just say... OW. This bitch is painful!! I almost cried towards the end... it really is nasty nasty nasty. I only had a small resistance band; I need to invest in one of those larger ones.

But anyway, this hurt so much that it HAS to be doing a hell of a lot of good. I can practically feel my waist shrinking ;) Good news is that I'm enjoying it a little more than Start It Up. I feel like it has a little more variety.

I'm running out of days... I forgot about our vacation to Seaside, OR where I doubt I'll get to have a DVD player for Debbie. We'll be there for 6 days ... damn damn. Must come up with alternative solution.

Breakfast: Raisin Bran, banana, orange juice, coffee + mini Cinnabun.
Lunch: Taco Del Mar chicken burrito + Diet Coke
Dinner: Spaghetti & meatballs + 1/2 side salad

I just found out that the burrito I ate had over 1000 calories in it! I think I'm going to be sick.

Day 9

2004-08-26T10:20:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 25th August

Exercise: 1 time, 30 mins
Water: 5 glasses

We're up in Vancouver, WA for a couple days and there must be some event in town because we got stuck with a fairly basic hotel without high speed net access or a fitness center. Mum and I improvised a bit and walked around this huge shopping center (as in AROUND, not inside unfortunately :P) for half an hour. I had trouble avoiding dessert at Red Lobster but somehow avoided it!

Breakfast: 2 crumpets with vegemite and apricot jam + coffee
Lunch: Burgerville (ahhh) low fat grilled chicken burger, fries + strawberry smoothie
Dinner: Snow Crab Legs, garden salad w/honey mustard, shrimp scampi
Snack: Diet Vanilla Coke

Day 8 & Weigh-in 1

2004-08-24T19:48:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 24th August

Woo! Week 1 is complete! I weighed in today at 191 lbs, which is 86.8kg, and a total loss of 4 lbs from last week!

Exercise: 1 time, 30 minutes
Water: 9 glasses (so far)

Debbie was EXTRA hard today, in spite of the good news from the scales. My waist + abs are really hurting from all of the sit-ups Debbie makes me do. Ouch. Today was the last day of Phase 1 - Start It Up and as of tomorrow, I move on to phase 2 - Ramp It Up, which is 46 minutes long and significantly harder. Ouchie. It also makes use of a resistance band, which will hopefully tone my flabby arms.

Breakfast: Cereal with banana, coffee + a peacharine
Lunch: 2 crumpets with vegemite and apricot jam
Dinner: Roast chicken with 1/2 baked potato and 1 corn on the cob

ETA: My BMI also dropped below 30 after this week to 29.9!!!! You know what this means? I'm officially no longer "obese", as per the BMI guidelines! Wheee! :)

Day 7

2004-08-24T19:45:00.000-07:00

Monday 23rd August

Water: 9 glasses
Exercise: 1 time, 30 minutes

I can't remember much about today... Debbie seemed a lot harder because I skipped 2 days on the weekend but other than that... normal-ish day.

Breakfast: Cereal with banana + coffee
Lunch: -- (woke up late)
Dinner: Halibut with salad + potato + cauliflower

-blinkblink-

2004-08-23T03:53:00.000-07:00

I've been reading a ton of weight loss blogs and sites over the past few days (check out the list in my sidebar on the left for the ones I liked) and it's nice seeing other people lose weight and set & reach goals and the rest of it.

I just feel like there aren't enough hours in the day. It's now 3.52am and I've only just finished blogging and updating everything I wanted to on here - but it was a busy day being my birthday and all. I just don't get much sleep, which makes me NOT want to exercise, which makes me sad and turns me to food. It's all one vicious cycle. But I'm doing okay; the water is good, I just need to exercise tomorrow and Tuesday morning and I'll be okay for week 1.

Fiji is drawing closer and I don't want to get too wrapped up in this weight loss thing... I'm going to enjoy Fiji regardless; the lost weight would just be a welcome bonus. I'm waiting in anxious anticipation for the first weigh-in on Tuesday though; can't wait to see if I've lost weight after working my butt off for most of the week.

Day 6

2004-08-23T03:26:00.000-07:00

Sunday 22nd August -- Stef's 18th birthday!

Glasses of water: 9
Exercise: --

It was my 18th birthday so as you can imagine, the plan definitely went to hell if it wasn't there already!! No exercise and eating was bad. Water=good.

Breakfast: 1/2 bowl of cereal
Lunch: We went out to eat a brunch (details here) and I ate way too much, including: eggs benedict, potato hash, blueberry muffin, orange juice + champagne, bacon, cream puffs, cinnamon roll... etc...
Dinner: Tomato soup + grilled cheese sandwich
Extra: Birthday cake (chocolate with banana custard!) and more champagne

Yeah.. BUT .. good news is that when I was getting all dressed up to go out, I fit into a pair of pants that didn't fit at the start of the year and it made me all happy. They're also a size smaller than what I'm used to buying. :)

I still have 2 more exercise days until weigh-in, so I can work the weekend off, I think.

Day 5

2004-08-23T03:21:00.000-07:00

Saturday, 21st August

Glasses of water: 4
Exercise: --

Today suuuuucked in terms of the plan. I woke up late and was on babysitting duty for a couple hours while the shopping was done and then I just got in a bad mood and refused to exercise. D'oh. I guess I'm writing it off as a birthday weekend luxury.

Breakfast: Coffee + bowl of cereal with banana
Lunch: leftover Thai food
Dinner: 2 scrambled eggs, 1 slice toast and baked beans

Weigh It Is 2

2004-08-21T00:55:00.000-07:00

WII #2 - Friday 8/20

The women in our lives can have such an impact on our wellbeing, especially when you are a woman yourself!

How has your weight affected your relationship with the women in your life, and with women in general?

I'm not so sure that it has... with women in my life, I don't think it really affects my relationships with my friends; it hasn't stopped me from doing anything with them at all and I can't think of any other ways it's affected us.. I can't borrow their clothes? LOL If that's my biggest problem, I'm goin' well. ;)

I'm always comparing myself to women in general and as horrible as it sounds, it makes me feel better to see a woman bigger than me or whatever. I feel kinda self-conscious around women/girls I don't know (probably because I think they could be judging me like I judge them occasionally :P) but again, it doesn't really affect our relationship.

Day 4

2004-08-21T00:47:00.000-07:00

Friday 20th August

Glasses of water: 8
Exercise: 1 time, 45 mins total

No Debbie today, but Mum and I went for a 45 minute walk to the wetlands. I also had a bad eating day because of the Food Lifeline Staff Picnic, where there was a dessert bake-off and all :( Today was not good.

Breakfast: Cereal with banana & coffee
Snack: Carrots & snap peas with dip
Lunch: Grilled cheese burger with lettuce, ketchuip & mayo, baked beans, potato salad, fruit salad, pasta salad (argh)
Dessert: 1 plate full of bake-off entrants including pavlova, fudge brownies, ice cream cake and raspberry pie
Dinner: Thai food - rice, pad thai, pork curry and a beef/bean dish, spring roll
Snack: Grande nonfat vanilla latte (Starbucks)

*groans* Nevermind. Back on the horse tomorrow (and off again for my birthday.. we're going out to brunch at some nice seafood cafe and I'm not going to count calories :))

Day 3

2004-08-21T00:42:00.000-07:00

Thursday 19th August

Glasses of water: 12
Exercise: 1 time, 30 mins total

I just couldn't drag my butt out of bed to exercise in the morning. I had a feeling this might happen... I'm just NOT a morning person. I can barely talk, let alone get dressed and exercise before 9am. But I did do my Debbie exercise in the afternoon.

Breakfast: 1 piece of toast with vegemite, coffee & yoghurt
Lunch: Leftover pasta, apple & fat-free Fig Newtons
Dinner: Grilled salmon, salad & baked potato

too .. much ... water

2004-08-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

I've found probablt the main downside to guzzling down litres and litres of water - you have to use the toilet like 10 times a day!!

It's so inconvenient. ;)

Day 2

2004-08-19T01:49:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, 17th August

Glasses of water: 11
Exercise: 1 time, 30 mins total

I didn't exercise this morning as I slept in due to the previous night's total lack of sleep. But I did some Debbie (yup got her to work!) in the afternoon.

Breakfast = bowl of cereal with banana + coffee
Lunch = Chicken teriyaki and white rice
Dinner = 2 slices of thin-base chicken pizza
Snacks = Fat free Fig Newtons + 1 lemon tea biscuit

Yup, the pizza is a bad. But Papa Murphy's is 1/2 carbs, 1/2 cals of normal pizza and I don't really have a say in dinner. Overall, it was still a good day I think.

Weigh It Is 1

2004-08-19T01:29:00.000-07:00

Weigh It Is #1 - Friday 8/13

How does your job (or study or whatever) affect your efforts to lose weight?
I'm not working while I'm in the US.. but when I was working at McDonald's at home, it had a huge effect - all of those free (or 50% off) meals really did me in. I could have counted the number of times I'd eaten McDonald's on one hand before I started working there. I really believe the food is addictive! :P The salt or something. While I'm in the US, my volunteer jobs have a small effect because I can't be at home to make lunch; in the past I've grabbed a (very high fat, high calories) muffin or maple bar for lunch from the bus tunnel cafe - no more! I'm bring leftovers etc.

Does it help or hinder?
Oops, I guess I just answered that one. In both cases, it definitely hindered.

Would you ever accept or leave a job based purely on how it would impact your efforts?
No, I don't think so. I think where there's a will, there's a way. No one was forcing me to eat the McDonald's or buy a maple bar for lunch - I was just too lazy in the past to change. I wouldn't quit or accept a job based on any of this alone; there'd have to be other significant factors come into play like wage/pay, conditions, co-workers etc.

DAY 1

2004-08-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, 17th August

Glasses of water: 6
Exercise: 2 times, 50 mins total

Some things out of my control kinda ruined this day in terms of my plan. I stayed up all night and paid dearly for it during the day; I was exhausted when I went to volunteer and then I fell asleep pretty much as soon as I got home at about 6.00pm.

Also, I couldn't find DEBBIE! So in the morning, I went jogging/walking for 25 minutes and then I did some push-ups/sit-ups for the remaining 5.

I also got in another 15-20 mins of walking in the evening at around 5.30pm; we found Debbie under a pile of mess but then couldn't get the damn DVD to work! Grrr.

As for eating, the fact that I fell asleep for dinner screwed things up a little. I had 2 slices of toast with vegemite, coffee and a nectarine for breakfast, leftover pasta bake for lunch and nothing for dinner (I was asleep.. d'oh)

But overall, I think it went okay. That's the thing with new lifestyle changes (I hate the word diet); it's not concrete and sometimes you have to adjust things to fit in with the rest of the day.

The Plan

2004-08-17T02:08:00.000-07:00

There are obviously two main areas you need to work on to lose weight and they are: exercise and diet. Here's what I plan to do in both.

DIET
-- Minimum 8 glasses of water a day
I can't tell you how this works; only that it DOES! I swear I was losing weight more easily when I drank my 8 glasses of water (or 4 water bottles worth). Not only that, but it's just plain good for you to flush out those toxins.

-- Portion size
Australians wouldn't BELIEVE the size of meals they serve in restaurants; it's not just McDonald's that likes to supersize things. The size of everything from salads to pasta to steaks is ridiculous and could easily feed 2 people. I was shocked when I first saw it but you want to know the most shocking thing? Eventually, you start eating it all! It's on the plate, so you eat it! This is one of the worst possible things you can do for your body. They say that on the hunger scale, you should stop eating when you reach 5. Most people want to stop at 8 or 9 and it's just way too much food.

-- Mindless munching
A lot of people eat simply because they're bored or anxious/nervous about something as an emotional crutch and this is bad mainly because the things you reach for are quick and convenient ie. junk food like packets of chips or cans of soda (soft drink). Plus, this only adds to the portion size of what you're eating. I plan on eating 5 small meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks), which was what I was doing when I was with eDiets.com that worked pretty well.

-- Types of food
We actually eat pretty healthily in that we hardly ever eat processed (canned, frozen etc) foods and Mum keeps a good kitchen in that there's VERY RARELY any junk like chocolates, packets of chips etc. I also cease to snack on McDonald's like I used to because of a lack of car and employee discount. :P My issue is more with the amount that I'm eating.

EXERCISE
-- Slim in 6 with Debbie Siebers
Mum and I have (affectionately?) termed it "Debbie" (as in "Time for some Debbie!"). It's a 6 week exercise program that features 30-min and 46-min cardio workouts that include squats, push ups, sit-ups, ab crunches, plies and also mixes in elements of tae bo and self-defence moves.

The program is for 6 weeks (imagine that!) and I only have 5 until Fiji, so I'll be modifying the program a little.

ORIGINAL SLIM IN 6
Week 1: Start It Up 30-min workout every day
Week 2: Ramp It Up 46-min workout every day
Week 3: Ramp It Up everyday
Week 4: Burn It Up 1-hour work out every day
Week 5: Burn It Up every day
Week 6: Burn It Up every day

STEF'S SLIM IN 6
Week 1: Start It Up 30-min workout TWICE a day
Week 2: Ramp It Up 46-min workout once a day
Week 3: Ramp It Up 46-min workout TWICE a day
Week 4: Burn It Up 90-min workout once a day
Week 5: Burn It Up 90-min workout once a day

Obviously, this is all subject to change and I'm just taking it as it comes. After Fiji has been and gone, I'll probably alternate between using Debbie and weight lifting and maybe some walking or running.

I'll be documenting each and every day including a food journal, exercise sessions & water intake right here on the HNM blog. I'm someone that thrives on a set routine, so I'm setting exercise times as follows:

WEEK 1
Volunteer days (V): 6.30am & 4.30pm
Non-volunteer days (NV): 9.30am & 4.30pm

WEEK 3
V: 6.00am & 4.00pm
NV: 9.30am & 4.00pm

WEEKS 2 & 4 & 5
V: 4.00pm
NV: 10.30am

I'll also be weighing in weekly (I'm only getting on the scales once a week; very important) and taking measurements at the very beginning and the very end.

Now, wish me luck! :)

The History

2004-08-17T01:50:00.000-07:00

I've always been overweight, ever since I was school age; about 5 years old. I didn't suffer from excessive bullying throughout primary school (at least nothing to match the horror stories you hear about from time to time) but I did get the occasional tease and while I'd laugh it off, it's always bothered me.

But I consider myself pretty lucky to have found a group of friends that I love and that I can be around without feeling judged or treated any differently than anyone else (keyword=feeling; we all do a little judging sometimes :P).

In school years 10 & 11, my weight hovered at about 85kg (187 lbs) and standing at 5"7', that's a 29.3 on the Body Mass Index (BMI), which rates very high in the overweight category. I started a job at McDonald's midway through year 10 and the half price meals really did me in! I hardly ever ate Maccas before I began working there (I had no idea what a Big Mac was) and when you can get an entire meal for $AU3 or less (with the 50% discount), the temptation was too great for someone that was always short of cash :P

So, by the middle of year 11, I had reached 91kg (200 lbs). I didn't weigh myself for a long time after that (denial is bliss!) but when I reached the USA in January 2004, I felt fatter than ever. And I was right. I tipped the scales at 215 pounds (that's almost 98kg!!). For those of you following my BMI, that put me at 33.7 - well into the OBESE category and at serious health risk.

Mum and I went on a mission to lose weight and for the first 3-4 weeks, we were doing incredibly well. I lost about 12 pounds (5 kg) in the first 3 weeks after I cut back entirely on takeout, (that's what Maccas will do to you - STAY AWAY!) and started exercising daily, alternating between a cardio workout and lifting weights.

Then I hit the proverbial wall and I stopped trying. I have no idea why (I rarely understand my own actions) because the plan was working. I have no doubt that if I'd kept up the regime, I'd be a thinner girl today. Which is, of course, why I'm taking it up again. I'm just lazy and lack self-discipline. But, with my 18th birthday looming, I've slapped myself in the face (metaphorically speaking.. though wouldn't that be funny if I had!) and said enough is enough.

Heifer NO MORE!

2004-08-17T01:23:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Heifer No More :)

HNM is a weblog created solely to track and publish Stef's weight loss attempts. Briefly, Stef is an 18-year-old (as of August 22nd) Australian girl spending the year in Seattle USA with family. That's about all I want to say here - if you want more, pay a visit to my website, where this is endless info on me and my interests.

Let's get down to business. I won't hold back with this weblog, or it would defeat the purpose of my creating it. I'll be posting truthful entries about exactly what I eat, exactly when I exercise and how -- including all of my failures and successes. If I'm successful, I'll post before and after photos (and maybe even if I fail).

I created this weblog for 3 reasons:

1. To keep track of my efforts for myself, so I know exactly what I did and didn't do that worked (or failed).
2. To publish my efforts and attempts for all the world to see - this way, there is something at stake. Even if only 1 or 2 people read this blog, there are 1-2 people that I will be pushing myself to prove to them AND myself (not in that order) that yes, I can do this.
3. In the event that I manage to reach my goals, I'll have a document of my journey from almost) beginning to end :) That will feel good.

If you do stop by, I appreciate any and all nice comments. This doesn't mean you need to lie to me - if I post that I didn't exercise today, smack me into place by all means! But I won't tolerate name-calling or meanness of any kind; trust me, I know I have problems/issues, or this blog wouldn't even exist. There's absolutely no need for any reminders, thanks :)

That should just about do it for intro post - please email me with any comments or advice at any time (if you don't want to comment) at strawberrylicious at mediablvd dot com