I just can't seem to have two good weeks in a row and it's really starting to piss me off. I've started being very religious about calories again and have stuck to my budget. The only day I've gone above my budget was Thursday when we had a takeaway dinner (and I only went over by about 200 calories). Maybe I should start hitting the exact amount of calories instead of being slightly under. I don't know. Guess it's just about trying and finding out if it works.
And of course the female body being awful hasn't helped with retaining water this week.
Minggu, 08 September 2013
Jumat, 06 September 2013
About happiness
I had a conversation about being happy with my friend the other night. He's going through a lot of stuff in his life and despite all the amazing things happening to him lately, he still thinks his life is a bit meh. I told him that he should be happy about the things that are good in his life, and then this phrase came out of him.
"You've got more things to be happy about than me."
And I've thought about that ever since. To me happiness isn't a measurable unit. Just because someone has a bit more going on in their life than you do, it doesn't mean that you can't be happy. Even the smallest things make me smile - just seeing a baby duck might make me incredibly happy for the rest of the day. I mean, who doesn't like a fluffy baby duck plodding on?
There's several things in my life that I dislike and that make me unhappy, but I refuse to let all those things drag me down. Instead I really cherish the good things in my life and let that give me the strength to do all the things I do. :) Just knowing that I've got my other half and a very wonderful friend in my life is enough for me.
And even when you feel like the world is falling apart because you get a setback after another (because that's always the way things seem to go), just keep thinking back to the positive things! Maybe sit down with a pen and paper and think - what is good in your life, what makes you happy on a daily basis?
Smile people, life is wonderful!
"You've got more things to be happy about than me."
And I've thought about that ever since. To me happiness isn't a measurable unit. Just because someone has a bit more going on in their life than you do, it doesn't mean that you can't be happy. Even the smallest things make me smile - just seeing a baby duck might make me incredibly happy for the rest of the day. I mean, who doesn't like a fluffy baby duck plodding on?
There's several things in my life that I dislike and that make me unhappy, but I refuse to let all those things drag me down. Instead I really cherish the good things in my life and let that give me the strength to do all the things I do. :) Just knowing that I've got my other half and a very wonderful friend in my life is enough for me.
And even when you feel like the world is falling apart because you get a setback after another (because that's always the way things seem to go), just keep thinking back to the positive things! Maybe sit down with a pen and paper and think - what is good in your life, what makes you happy on a daily basis?
Smile people, life is wonderful!
Selasa, 03 September 2013
Back to routines
This is going to be a long one. I've had a few days where I've had something happen I want to talk about but on it's own it's been a bit too lame so I've just delayed posting it.
I've spent a lot of time watching Biggest Loser for the past week. Some of the seasons are up on Youtube so it's been a very convenient way of watching it all. While I don't necessarily agree with the insanely quick pace of weight loss the contestants have to pull out, the show itself is highly motivating. Especially with this season, one of the contestants said "Pain is temporary, quitting is forever.". And you know, it's so true.
I keep seeing articles about old Biggest Loser contestants, who have gained the weight back after the show. They are made to sound like the scum of the earth because they have "failed", but this show doesn't really address the mental issues people might have in relation to food and exercise. The show itself is filmed in three months, that's not a very long time to actually adjust to the new lifestyle and stick to it. And you are away from all the temptations you face in the real world, you don't have Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper staring you down and screaming at you when you feel like quitting and you are back with the people who allow you to eat the way you used to.
I mean, some people might just simply be addicted to food, eat because of boredom, comfort eat... The mental cycle is very hard to break sometimes. I think it's just so easy for everyone to judge these people when they do gain the weight back.
My knee hasn't been brilliant either. I go through little moments where I just twist my knee slightly and the pain shoots right back, but after a while it feels perfectly fine and I can use it like normal. I even jogged a bit the other night, it was so very satisfying to be able to jog half the way of my usual beach route and not feel like I'm going to die. And it's the best feeling in the world to realise that your back can handle the jogging! Only a few months ago I would stop after a few minutes because the impact would just shatter my back, but not this time. My head was in charge of the speed, not my back.
You really can tell we are coming to the end of the summer. It gets fairly dark by 8pm now so I need to reschedule my walks so I don't get caught by the darkness every night. I just like to be a bit careful if I'm out on my own, especially since Bognor isn't exactly a crime free place to live in. The area I live in is really quiet and nice, but I do walk through the more dodgy areas and I'd rather not go there when it's dark.
It was the first day of uni yesterday! Very excited to get started with everything. My course is very tiny, it's only eight people in total - and I'm the only girl! That doesn't really bother me in all fairness, I've always preferred the company of guys and even in college I just spent my time with the guys (+ one girl out of probably ten).
I quite like it that there's not that many of us, you get a lot more personal with your tutors and you get more face to face time with them, which in my eyes will only improve your work. It'll also feel a lot more relaxed in general. Our first day was very far from productive and mature, though! :D One of our big themes is going to be homelessness, and our tutor got us to build houses out of cardboard. While the other two groups went for the more modest options, my group went all out with it! It was so much fun and we got to destroy our houses at the end of it all. I decided to hold back a bit because I didn't think jumping on the house with my back would be the best idea in the world, but the guys went all out with it haha!
I'm going to spend most of today finishing up all my summer tasks, our tutor was kind enough to give us an extra day for it all. I'm going to redo all my filming as I hated what I filmed last week and hopefully get it all edited and ready to go by Thursday. Also going to sort out my work hours today, yay!
I've spent a lot of time watching Biggest Loser for the past week. Some of the seasons are up on Youtube so it's been a very convenient way of watching it all. While I don't necessarily agree with the insanely quick pace of weight loss the contestants have to pull out, the show itself is highly motivating. Especially with this season, one of the contestants said "Pain is temporary, quitting is forever.". And you know, it's so true.
I keep seeing articles about old Biggest Loser contestants, who have gained the weight back after the show. They are made to sound like the scum of the earth because they have "failed", but this show doesn't really address the mental issues people might have in relation to food and exercise. The show itself is filmed in three months, that's not a very long time to actually adjust to the new lifestyle and stick to it. And you are away from all the temptations you face in the real world, you don't have Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper staring you down and screaming at you when you feel like quitting and you are back with the people who allow you to eat the way you used to.
I mean, some people might just simply be addicted to food, eat because of boredom, comfort eat... The mental cycle is very hard to break sometimes. I think it's just so easy for everyone to judge these people when they do gain the weight back.
My knee hasn't been brilliant either. I go through little moments where I just twist my knee slightly and the pain shoots right back, but after a while it feels perfectly fine and I can use it like normal. I even jogged a bit the other night, it was so very satisfying to be able to jog half the way of my usual beach route and not feel like I'm going to die. And it's the best feeling in the world to realise that your back can handle the jogging! Only a few months ago I would stop after a few minutes because the impact would just shatter my back, but not this time. My head was in charge of the speed, not my back.
You really can tell we are coming to the end of the summer. It gets fairly dark by 8pm now so I need to reschedule my walks so I don't get caught by the darkness every night. I just like to be a bit careful if I'm out on my own, especially since Bognor isn't exactly a crime free place to live in. The area I live in is really quiet and nice, but I do walk through the more dodgy areas and I'd rather not go there when it's dark.
It was the first day of uni yesterday! Very excited to get started with everything. My course is very tiny, it's only eight people in total - and I'm the only girl! That doesn't really bother me in all fairness, I've always preferred the company of guys and even in college I just spent my time with the guys (+ one girl out of probably ten).
I quite like it that there's not that many of us, you get a lot more personal with your tutors and you get more face to face time with them, which in my eyes will only improve your work. It'll also feel a lot more relaxed in general. Our first day was very far from productive and mature, though! :D One of our big themes is going to be homelessness, and our tutor got us to build houses out of cardboard. While the other two groups went for the more modest options, my group went all out with it! It was so much fun and we got to destroy our houses at the end of it all. I decided to hold back a bit because I didn't think jumping on the house with my back would be the best idea in the world, but the guys went all out with it haha!
I'm going to spend most of today finishing up all my summer tasks, our tutor was kind enough to give us an extra day for it all. I'm going to redo all my filming as I hated what I filmed last week and hopefully get it all edited and ready to go by Thursday. Also going to sort out my work hours today, yay!
Minggu, 01 September 2013
They're just numbers
As I am so close to hitting the magical barrier of 73.2kg, I had a look at pictures that were taken a few weeks before I hit my back. It was a bit of an "oh my god" moment for me. It really sank in that the reading on the scale really is just numbers.
The pictures on the left are from July 2012. I was roughly 73kg.
The pictures on the right are from today. I currently am 74kg.
Last year I didn't do exercise, all the exercise I did was at work, lugging a hoover around, carrying heavy bin bags or moving furniture around. No proper cardio, no gym. This time round, I've really dedicated a lot of time to working out. Ever since January I've been doing all these workout DVDs at home and been going to the gym for the past month. I feel and look better and thinner than I did a year ago. I can quite honestly say that I'm in the best shape of my life and I'm only getting started.
Just by looking at these pictures I can really tell that building muscle has done wonders to my posture. My shoulders are back and not hunched forward. It's a very good feeling to see this kind of change in yourself.
This top has always been quite tight for me around the chest. But then again, I'm not getting any less chesty in the near future I don't think, that fat is holding onto my body like it's the end of the world!
The pictures on the left are from July 2012. I was roughly 73kg.
The pictures on the right are from today. I currently am 74kg.
Last year I didn't do exercise, all the exercise I did was at work, lugging a hoover around, carrying heavy bin bags or moving furniture around. No proper cardio, no gym. This time round, I've really dedicated a lot of time to working out. Ever since January I've been doing all these workout DVDs at home and been going to the gym for the past month. I feel and look better and thinner than I did a year ago. I can quite honestly say that I'm in the best shape of my life and I'm only getting started.
Just by looking at these pictures I can really tell that building muscle has done wonders to my posture. My shoulders are back and not hunched forward. It's a very good feeling to see this kind of change in yourself.
This top has always been quite tight for me around the chest. But then again, I'm not getting any less chesty in the near future I don't think, that fat is holding onto my body like it's the end of the world!
WI 35: -1kg, -10kg benchmark reached!
I wanted to do a little dance on the scales!! :D 10kg I never want to see again. Considering that I've done next to no exercise this week because of my knee and a day out yesterday (water weight could've built up + some alcohol), this is incredible.
If my memory serves me correctly, I'm 800g away from being the same weight I was last July before hitting my back. :)
If my memory serves me correctly, I'm 800g away from being the same weight I was last July before hitting my back. :)
Kamis, 29 Agustus 2013
Another injury
I've been so preoccupied talking about bigger things on my blog that my actual day to day stuff has been pushed aside a bit. But now, time for a bit of rambling again.
Another injury, yay. Just because my ankles playing up in May wasn't enough to screw up my progress, now my knee has done itself in! It actually happened on Tuesday, I just simply knelt down on the floor to wrestle with out dogs and I just felt something pop in my left knee. Ever since it's been a real task to straighten my leg, I keep getting nasty little stings when I walk and I've just ended up chair bound most of the time. Really not what I want to be doing right now!! I feel like I'm slacking and like I'm just using a small injury as an excuse to not exercise. I know that's not the case, I need to rest my knee or I'll just damage it even further, but it's really annoying me. I'm so into my workouts right now that having to skip gym is just awful.
I will probably end up doing a small arm workout to compensate, though. I want to do SOMETHING! Just sitting down, doing some simple stuff like bicep curls and shoulder presses, just to get the calorie burn going.
With my potentially low calorie in mind I kept lunch pretty light. I cubed some baby potatoes and green peppers, sliced carrots and threw it all on the pan to fry in a little olive oil. Once that was done I threw in two salmon fillets, seasoned and added some sweet chilli sauce. I called it a very posh pytt i panna (a Swedish potato & sausage dish) as it did quite look like it but with a more fancy meat on the side.
And being all proud and happy about a light lunch, we then ended up having a bad dinner. Naughty us! We had to pop out for something and on the way back we started talking about what to have for dinner, I had a "bright" idea of going for KFC as it was on the way. I originally just wanted a Krushem but we thought that might as well have dinner so I don't need to stand in the kitchen and cook with my knee being what it is. While the sodium load was quite massive (just with that meal I've eaten nearly 90% of my sodium intake for the day), I've still kept my calories on target - currently I'm at 1100 (with my total calorie burn for today being at 1280 right now). I'm still going to eat something small during the evening just to get over 1200.
Time to start thinking what kind of a workout to do then!
Another injury, yay. Just because my ankles playing up in May wasn't enough to screw up my progress, now my knee has done itself in! It actually happened on Tuesday, I just simply knelt down on the floor to wrestle with out dogs and I just felt something pop in my left knee. Ever since it's been a real task to straighten my leg, I keep getting nasty little stings when I walk and I've just ended up chair bound most of the time. Really not what I want to be doing right now!! I feel like I'm slacking and like I'm just using a small injury as an excuse to not exercise. I know that's not the case, I need to rest my knee or I'll just damage it even further, but it's really annoying me. I'm so into my workouts right now that having to skip gym is just awful.
I will probably end up doing a small arm workout to compensate, though. I want to do SOMETHING! Just sitting down, doing some simple stuff like bicep curls and shoulder presses, just to get the calorie burn going.
With my potentially low calorie in mind I kept lunch pretty light. I cubed some baby potatoes and green peppers, sliced carrots and threw it all on the pan to fry in a little olive oil. Once that was done I threw in two salmon fillets, seasoned and added some sweet chilli sauce. I called it a very posh pytt i panna (a Swedish potato & sausage dish) as it did quite look like it but with a more fancy meat on the side.
And being all proud and happy about a light lunch, we then ended up having a bad dinner. Naughty us! We had to pop out for something and on the way back we started talking about what to have for dinner, I had a "bright" idea of going for KFC as it was on the way. I originally just wanted a Krushem but we thought that might as well have dinner so I don't need to stand in the kitchen and cook with my knee being what it is. While the sodium load was quite massive (just with that meal I've eaten nearly 90% of my sodium intake for the day), I've still kept my calories on target - currently I'm at 1100 (with my total calorie burn for today being at 1280 right now). I'm still going to eat something small during the evening just to get over 1200.
Time to start thinking what kind of a workout to do then!
Rabu, 28 Agustus 2013
My lifestyle
I started thinking about a possible interview situation last night. I've applied for a part time job at this big health food & supplement store and I just created a small scenario in my head - what could they ask me, how I would respond and so on.
And it really got me thinking about my reasons behind applying for such a job. Ever since starting my own weight loss journey back in January, I've started valuing the healthy lifestyle a lot more. I think it's incredible that we have a store we can just walk into and ask for advice and find products to support the lifestyle we have picked for ourselves. It's great that the high street acknowledges the fact that people are getting more and more unfit and tries to prevent it going any further.
More and more I find myself writing essays to people who are asking for weight loss / exercise advice. I'm just so happy to share my knowledge with people who don't quite know what to do or just want to improve the way they are doing things. I mean I'm not an expert with all this stuff, but I've got the drive to read up on all this kind of stuff and increase my own "database". I've been gathering all this information for years, ever since I was about 14 years old. That's how long I've struggled with my self image, that's how long I've wanted to change my life around. Why didn't I do it when I was 14? Well, plenty of reasons but some of them are so personal that I'd rather not get into all of that. I also lacked the determination to do it back then.
Even though I'm still about 10-15kg off my target weight, the healthy lifestyle has definitely come to stay. And if I can be an example to people at the start of their journey, literally anyone can do the same. I'm not in the best health with my back condition and I've managed to lose a lot of weight with sensible eating choices and regular exercise. If I can, anyone can.
I just find it so satisfying to be able to help people with this kind of stuff. And if I can actually do it for a living, even better! I have considered studying nutrition and/or sports science for a while (and even becoming a PT), but only time will tell what happens. It's still such a "new" passion for me that I don't just want to dive right into it, give it a year or two to mature up a bit. I do also want to focus on what I have set my mind on, and that is the graphics design course I've signed up for (eek, it starts next week!). Maybe one day I'll combine the two somehow? Who knows. :)
I'm also a big supporter of medical research. You can't always be in control of your own health, and I have watched it happen to someone in the family. For the first time ever I've donated money to biomedial research and I feel fantastic about it. Myalgic encephalomyelitis or in common terms, chronic fatigue syndrome is still quite an unknown condition and if my contribution to their research means that scientists are able to figure out what causes it and how to treat it, fantastic! It has been very heart breaking to watch a close family member suffer with the condition on a daily basis and I really do hope they figure out a treatment very soon.
Anyways, time for me to stop procrastinating and dig into my uni tasks. ;) Nearly done, proud of myself for sticking to my schedule! Have a wonderful day everyone, go enjoy the sun while it lasts!
And it really got me thinking about my reasons behind applying for such a job. Ever since starting my own weight loss journey back in January, I've started valuing the healthy lifestyle a lot more. I think it's incredible that we have a store we can just walk into and ask for advice and find products to support the lifestyle we have picked for ourselves. It's great that the high street acknowledges the fact that people are getting more and more unfit and tries to prevent it going any further.
More and more I find myself writing essays to people who are asking for weight loss / exercise advice. I'm just so happy to share my knowledge with people who don't quite know what to do or just want to improve the way they are doing things. I mean I'm not an expert with all this stuff, but I've got the drive to read up on all this kind of stuff and increase my own "database". I've been gathering all this information for years, ever since I was about 14 years old. That's how long I've struggled with my self image, that's how long I've wanted to change my life around. Why didn't I do it when I was 14? Well, plenty of reasons but some of them are so personal that I'd rather not get into all of that. I also lacked the determination to do it back then.
Even though I'm still about 10-15kg off my target weight, the healthy lifestyle has definitely come to stay. And if I can be an example to people at the start of their journey, literally anyone can do the same. I'm not in the best health with my back condition and I've managed to lose a lot of weight with sensible eating choices and regular exercise. If I can, anyone can.
I just find it so satisfying to be able to help people with this kind of stuff. And if I can actually do it for a living, even better! I have considered studying nutrition and/or sports science for a while (and even becoming a PT), but only time will tell what happens. It's still such a "new" passion for me that I don't just want to dive right into it, give it a year or two to mature up a bit. I do also want to focus on what I have set my mind on, and that is the graphics design course I've signed up for (eek, it starts next week!). Maybe one day I'll combine the two somehow? Who knows. :)
I'm also a big supporter of medical research. You can't always be in control of your own health, and I have watched it happen to someone in the family. For the first time ever I've donated money to biomedial research and I feel fantastic about it. Myalgic encephalomyelitis or in common terms, chronic fatigue syndrome is still quite an unknown condition and if my contribution to their research means that scientists are able to figure out what causes it and how to treat it, fantastic! It has been very heart breaking to watch a close family member suffer with the condition on a daily basis and I really do hope they figure out a treatment very soon.
Anyways, time for me to stop procrastinating and dig into my uni tasks. ;) Nearly done, proud of myself for sticking to my schedule! Have a wonderful day everyone, go enjoy the sun while it lasts!
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