Monthly totals; October 2013

Swim: 2:00 | 4900m

Bike: 7:35:28 | 181.9km

Run: 7:19:27 | 64.54km

Bike Trainer: 1:55

Massage: 3:00

Walking: 1:10

Yoga: 10:00 

 

Weight: 60.3 kg. -1kg.  Significantly fewer hours than last month and still down a kilo. I'm not complaining. I ran the Melbourne Half Marathon that I wasn't well prepared for, thought I'd done myself an ITB injury. Thankfully a week of not running saw it relatively unscathed and back to training. Next on the agenda an 85km ride along with the continued triathlon training. Bring on the warmer weather please!

Monthly totals; September 2013

Swim: 3:03:59 | 7400 m

Bike: 4:24:04 | 113.5km

Run: 12:05:22 | 114.3 km

Strength: 35m

Massage: 2:45:00

Stretching: 40m

Walking: 3:27:00

Yoga: 12:00:00

Weight:  61.4kg down -1kg. I put on 2kgs in Bali while there in August (it was freakin' awesome). I figured it would come off easily enough upon getting home. But then it didn't and intervention was required. Using Fitday I'm back on track and I don't feel obsessive about it, which is the most important thing. For me it's about planning and being organised so I that I have healthy snacks on hand and reasonable meals for work, not letting myself get so tired and hangry (hungry/angry) that I just eat anything and more importantly everything!

Monthly totals: June 2012

Bike: 9:05 | 128.5 km

Run: 3:25:02 | 32.82 km

Swim: 8m | 400m

Strength: 7:50

Bike trainer: 50m

Mountain bike: 57:12 (I've started logging my mtb adventures with bike)

Rock climbing: 30m
Stretching: 45m
Walking: 1:10

Weight: +0.3kg. 62kg. Still with Fitday. Still eating too much, but again fewer binge eating episodes. I'm happy with that. Really my intake needs to be as close to 1500 cals as I can. I find posting my daily eats helps with that and gives me ideas of tasty things to eat!

I saw a personal trainer three times this month to work on my form in the gym. It certainly helped cement the fact that I need to work on glute strength.

I set myself a challenge of doing 75 minutes worth of planks in June and I did it. I'm thinking of upping it to 80 mins for July.

I'm reasonably happy where my exercise is sitting considering my schedule has been all over the shop. It repeats again in July but with added night shift, my first time doing night shift at that. The key for me will to make sure I'm getting enough sleep and I'll go from there!

Monthly totals: May 2012

Bike: 3:35:08 | 82.25 km

Run: 3:12 | 32.18 km

Swim: 1:01:30 | 3000m

Agility: 25m

Strength: 9:55

Bike trainer: 4:27

Boxing: 30m

Weight: -0.3kg. 61.7kg. I've been tracking my intake on Fitday again. It helps me to be accountable. To question whether I am really hungry. Some days are good, some days are not. I log and I move on. I'm doing my best not to induce guilt. The episodes of binging are decreasing. That's a win.

So the more observant may have noticed that I considerably upped my strength work in May. Since I started the new job I've had access to an amazing (new and free) gym that I've not really used. For the most ridiculous reason; fear. Of what people will think, of not knowing what to do, of looking like a fool doing so. Lamest excuses ever! I so thought I was over that and old enough to know better. Apparently not.

I took aside one of my workmates one day and asked her to run through the equipment with me. She was so very happy to do so. As a result of her patience and my incessant you-tubing of how to perform certain exercises I can happily report I'm a semi-regular gym user!

People still pick me up on my form and I'm totally ok with that. I've booked a Personal Trainer session during my upcoming leave where I hope to learn even better form.

Advent Challenge: Day 07 - 09

Day 07. Wednesday
Strength: 15m. I was so close to not doing this, we got home late after hanging out in the city, checking out the forest of Christmas trees in Fed Square and the light projections on St Paul.

Day 08. Thursday
Rest. Today was exhausting, of the emotional variety. I pretty much spent my last day at work in tears. Three days short of 11 years - my first real/professional job! While the work could be highly disturbing the people I worked with are freakin' awesome and I'm going to miss them dearly. But I am so excited for the next phase of my career.

Day 09. Friday
Bodyrock: This session was 7 mins of huffing, puffing and plank burn. I might do a beep test later if it cools down and bank a rest day! I can do that right? It's my challenge.

In other news I was pretty excited to step on the scale this morning and see a flat 60kg. My clothes fit better and I feel better. I've lost 4.5kgs since mid October, for some reason I find this time of year the easiest to lose weight. Really all I've changed is portion size and aiming for calorie deficit 5-6 days out of 7. It's working!

Monthly totals: November 2011

Ride: 3:21:48 | 67.14 km
Run: 6:40:12 | 63.01 km
Swim: 15m | 600m
Walking: 12:50
Kickboxing: 3:00
Strength: 1:30
Adventure racing: 4:29:32
Dancing: 2:00

Weight: -1kg, down to 61kg (134lbs). I thought I'd done slightly better, that said, I'm down a total of 2.5kgs since mid October. I'm not complaining!

Disappointing bike effort, but my run total doubled from last month. I definitely spent more time moving in November, compared to October. So I'm happy.

November was all about the Adventure race! And making a slow comeback with regards to my ITB injury sustained in September. I feel as though I'm making ok progress on that front.

Observations

It was all about a river run this morning, it's been a while since I've been down there and there was some new (to me) graffiti art. Small ceramic dog plaques. I love that the path is ever evolving!

I've also been keenly recording what I've been eating and noticed a fairly significant mistake in the recording of my breakfast. So I haven't quite been hitting the deficit like I thought. Which makes sense because my weightloss has stagnated at the -2-2.5kg/4.4-5.5lbs mark. Next week I'm going to switch back to overnight oats but experiment with adding protein powder. To see if it can help with the satiety. In fact I'm going to try and have some protein with every meal.

I'm getting increasingly interested in adding some intensity to my my work outs soon, to mix things up and get the calorie burn going. Watch this space!

Run: 1:05 |10km | 6:30/km. Long run for the week. In tough conditions, hot and windy. I swear I've run 30kms that have felt easier than this.

1500 cals

I've got to get back on the Fitday bandwagon. I've watched my weight creep ever so slightly up to my uncomfortable point. I couldn't even begin to estimate what I've been eating per day at a guess between 1800-2000 cals. Which would be fine, if I was actually exercising. But I'm kind of not at the moment.

So today I wanted to be more mindful. I indulged over breakfast, coffee, french toast with raisin bread, stewed apples, strawberries & maple syrup (468). Lunch was a slightly less calorific affair, stir fry broccoli, fresh corn and home grown carrot, with chili, soy, lime sauce (143). A huge bowl of canteloupe, with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkle of almonds (184) followed not long after. Afternoon snacks included and orange and a piece of bread with almond butter (178). Dinner was tacos, with refried beans, avocado, low fat cheese, tomato & lettuce (520).

How I felt: There was no denying I felt hungry. Which makes me feel uncomfortable. But I didn't feel bloated either, which is awesome. I drank far more water than I usually would, and far less coffee.

What would I do differently?: Opt for a smaller breakfast. Add more protein. Particularly at lunch.

The damage

The week after the marathon became an eating and drinking festival. Celebrating our achievements, a birthday, being on holidays and the warm weather. Mid-week my stomach revolted, causing me a huge amount of pain and effectively put a stop to the volume of low quality food I could intake.

Mentally it was so nice to have a break from counting calories/keeping an eye on what I was eating. I believe this to be highly important if I'm to go on and run the Melbourne marathon in October.

Physically it wasn't so fun. My stomach caused me a great deal of misery (which I will discuss with my doc when visiting next) and of course I put on weight, which was to be expected. 1.5kg, it doesn't seem like much, but when I know how hard it was to take off, it's scary to think how fast it went on!

In the end I craved well portioned healthy food, knowing how much better it made me feel. It made me realise that my every day eating need not feel deprived. I actually enjoy sitting down to a plate of veggies and the occasional sweet treat rather than sheer overindulgence.

Bike trainer: 55m
Mon; bike trainer: 36m

The week that was

Last week I set out to double my strength totals of last month. I hit that.

I discovered a breakfast of an egg scrambled with 40g of cottage cheese + chives + an english muffin = satisfying, tasty and comes in at a reasonable 245 cals.

We looked after the parentals dogs - they certainly encourage a healthy lifestyle. We ditched the car in favour of walking.

The last couple of days have been a disaster in terms of clean eating. I did drop half a kilo, but certainly not the two I wanted before next weekend. Back on track this week with plenty of water added in and some good sleeping habits (consistent bed & rising times). I tend to sleep poorly on low activity days.

Sun; ride: 1:01:58 | 25.21km | 24.41km/hr. The headwind on the way home was hard work.

Ride: 58:30 | 25.21km | 25.86 km/hr. Same ride as yesterday without the wind. My back was a little achy. Need to focus on engaging my glutes.

1320

If I'm to be honest, I want to run the Gold Coast marathon 2 kilos lighter than where I'm currently sitting at. It's a bit scary to put it out there. However it's entirely doable given there's just under three weeks to go.

This was yesterday's food, bought to you by the tomato. While it was a rest day and I totally slothed it, catching up on Downton Abbey, Masterchef and Offspring, 1320 cals is still feels too low. Not so much on the day, but definitely the next.

It still doesn't feel restrictive by any means and I am more mindful about my food choices and what goes into my mouth. It encourages me to eat a wider variety of foods, source wholefoods (excluding marshmallows) and really put some effort into meal planning. And at this stage it doesn't feel obsessive, which is a huge bonus. Because I've been known to get that way.

I can totally do this. I can race lighter!

Weekend experiment*

On Friday night as I was waiting for the Man to come to bed I picked up one of the Women's Health magazines sitting on my bedside table. I was looking for some strength exercise inspiration. I did find some, but I also found a suggested eating plan for a day. When I worked it out it came to a total of just under 1400 calories. Significantly less than what I would usually eat.

In fact when I totaled my average for a weeks worth of food logged over at FitDay I averaged 1850 cals a day. Which according to the National Health and Medical Research Council's Nutrient Reference Values for Dietary energy is on track given my height, weight and day to day activities. My BMI puts me in the healthy weight category, but at the higher end. I'd like to be closer to the middle. At this stage I'm maintaining my weight, but I could definitely stand to lose 4kgs.

So on Saturday I decided to cap my calories at 1400. The above is what 1342 calories looks like. I started with a small cup of coffee with low fat milk, raisin bread done as french toast with berries, yoghurt and cinnamon sugar. Lunch was Prawn gyoza, dipping sauce and green tea. Afternoon snack was a smoothie with mango puree, coconut water, berrries & protein powder, I met a friend for a glass of Rose (not a pot of mustard!) prior to the football and dinner was carrots, celery & a quarter of a cup of homemade hummus and a muesli bar. I was going for portability given we were at a game. Plus several cups of peppermint tea from the thermos to keep me warm.

Could I have made better food choices? Yes of course. My eating habits are far from perfect. While processed foods save time, they certainly add dietary energy. It's a constant balance. The suggested plan included almost no processed foods. I need to take a leaf out of that book!

Did I have any energy? I did a 20 minute strength session in the morning. The day was spent pottering around the house until the Man decided to go for a run and I accompanied him on the bike. Hardly strenuous. Add to that a 50 minute walk. I had more energy than I thought I would.

Was I hungry? When I crawled into bed at 11:00pm I was, half an hour earlier and I would have been fine. Breakfast and lunch were satisfying, my danger zone is from 4pm until dinner time. The smoothie did the trick. Would I be happy to have carrots, celery and hummus for dinner every night? Hell no, but the muesli bar did pack a calorie punch for something so small.

Would I do it again? I'm keen to reduce my food intake on rest/low activity days. However I think 1500 calories would be a better fit. I need to look at reducing my fat intake while increasing carbohydrates and proteins. Again, reducing processed foods and adding in more vegetables & fruits should help with this. Planning and forethought is required, but I definitely think it's worth it.

* Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, registered dietitian or nutritionist, just a girl trying to work out what's best for her body.

The fog is lifting

Maybe it was post race blues, but something wasn't sitting well with me this week. I kind of lost my mojo for exercise and eating well.

I hardly cooked, I ate waaay to many marshmallows and every run session has been preceded by massive bouts of procrastination. I did something I promised I wouldn't do and moved today's planned long run to Sunday (the weather wasn't awesome this morning). Basically the complete opposite to last week.

It's odd, because it's been a good week. I have ticked many many things off a long to do list which makes my virgo heart sing with joy, including having my cracked iPhone replace for free. For free! The speed sessions have boosted my running confidence (sub 6min kms!). And I'm keeping up with the strength sessions.

But I have been tired, not drinking water, not eating well, feel like I've put on weight (hello marshmallows) and have developed a runny nose. Which are probably all contributing to the meh-ness.

So I sat down this morning and meal planned. I shopped this afternoon and I can't wait to try out some new (to me) healthy and tasty meals next week while getting back on the Fitday bandwagon. And after my long run on Sunday I'm totally treating myself to a coconut water. I'll run three hours for coconut water. Whatever gets me out there, right?

Run: 41:15 | 7km | 5:53/km. Speed session. Main set 10x 30s efforts with 30s jogging.

Thur; ride: 40m | 10km | 15km/hr. Commute on the slow bike to an appointment in Williamstown. Windy! Spent a lot of time with hand holding my skirt down.

Wed; run: 50:06 | 8.22km | 6:05km. Comfortable run.

Tues; run: 1:00:25 | 9.95km : 6:04/km. 3 km time trial with warm up and super long cool down because the immobiliser failed to work and wouldn't open the car door, so I had to run home and get another beeper. 16:28 for the 3km, a 20s improvement.

Mon; run: 30:14 | 4.66km | 6:29/km. Recovery run/making up time after yesterdays run given three hours was on the schedule and only two and a bit hours were run. Felt tired.

Note to self: don't put it off

I pulled up pretty well from Friday's long run. Saturday was a planned rest day and I had the choice of Sunday or Monday to do my speed session, in the end I put it off until Monday. Which was fine until I was incapacitated by an upset stomach. Lesson learned.

Back on track today.

Better news on the weight front, as a result of cutting out 'lussert' (dessert after lunch) that was so prevalent while I was away and eating lighter/smaller meals in general I've managed to shed a kilo.

Run: 50min | 7.76km |06m 29s/km. Scheduled "comfortable run". HR indicates otherwise. An average of 172. Oops that's a little too high. Felt alright though, had my faster kms towards the end of the run.

Home, sweet home

We touched down in Melbourne this morning at 6:00am. After 23 or so hours flying and about four hours sleep it's lucky my eyes are still open.

I've been catching up on washing, removing two months of accumulated dust and going through my mail. My race number came for the end of month half marathon I entered prior to leaving. A nice reminder that I've got to get back into running consistently from tomorrow.

I am seriously questioning the wisdom of running a marathon in two months time. In fact I'm more than a little nervous. Fingers crossed. I'm optimistic because I have time on my side - in that I'm not working and there should be no excuses with regards to getting training in and I'm no longer carrying an injury (I had some major foot pain prior to leaving). The downside being that all the eating out we did was not good for my weight. I'm a couple up from when I left. And the one or so run I did a week wasn't quite enough to maintain the fitness. Here's to a challenge!

I plan to post retrospectively, because in between all the eating I was able to run, get on a bike, take a hike or two and do a whole lot of walking.

Miso hungry

Yesterday was kind of tough.

I find all rest days difficult in terms of managing my food intake. There's not a lot of incidental exercise when you sit at a desk for the majority of the day, so my suggested calorie intake for the day lessens significantly. Except I still seem to eat the same. I know know know I need to be mindful, but yesterday, perhaps due to my exhaustion I just wasn't. And a calorie deficit didn't happen. And I tried not to beat myself up and that took a lot of energy. A waste of time really, because today marks an 0.5kg (1.1lb) loss from last week.

Last night the medley of baked vegetables was put on hold and instead I had a bowl of miso soup packed full of green veggies, some sweet corn and some rice noodles. It's my go-to meal when I've overindulged. I actually love this bowl of a meal and would pretty much eat it every night (oh wait I did for about 3 months back when I wasn't cooking for two, read: single) the added bonus being that it hydrates too!

Commute: 1:15 | 20.6km | 16.48 km/hr. I totally had planned to run, but I need to scamper out of work early to make an appointment so I worked through lunch- my usual running time.

Tracking Part II

However I didn't need FitDay to tell me the time in which I would consume the majority of my excess calories. That would be on arrival at home after work. I'm usually ravenous. I could eat a (tofu) horse. And I'd usually have a fair crack at doing so. I had to change this habit and fast. Now my go-to snack after work on warm days is:

• frozen banana, frozen berries (less cals) or a mix
• 1/2 cup low fat milk
• 1 tsp to 1 tbs honey (depending on my sweet craving)

Whiz! Usually rendering a very thick smoothie that is sometimes best eaten with a spoon! ~230 Cals for something I find tasty and filling.

Otherwise it's a piece of raisin toast and not the entire cupboard contents. Far less time consuming when you're logging food and really, far better for me.

Tracking Part I

Let's talk FitDay. I started using it (again) at the end of September and have managed to track consistently since then. I've lost 2kgs (4.4lbs). Excitingly I've lost 4cms off my hips and 3cms off my chest. My clothes are certainly feeling and fitting better. I'm now 2kgs off my goal weight for the 10km I've signed up for on Dec 12.

There are two major things that have worked for me. It's the most obvious and sometimes the hardest; calorie deficit (almost) every day. I was certainly overeating prior to tracking - like, everyday. Hands down my biggest downfall is food intake on days I don't exercise. It's not many days, but a few certainly creep in over a month. Tracking has taught me I just have to be really mindful on those days.

Stay tuned for part II tomorrow...

Run: 1:04 | 9.8km | 06m 29s/km. Ran home from work. A light sprinkling of rain, but nothing too bad. I felt pretty good, or better than I was expecting.