Day 25

It is still raining and raining.... I would like to go out and go for walks, but this weather is just making me down. Today I only just managed to squeeze a short gym session into my programme, which was pretty good considering all the things that I needed to do today. Still seems that the weight doesn't change though... And I really don't get why! I'm doing all this workout, every single day I'm at the gym, and I am eating healthy, and it's just standing dead still.. 94.3 today.

Day 24

What shall I say... It's been a very busy day, so busy that I hardly had time to eat, and therefore my eating shedule got all messed up. I kinda miss having someone to rant on about what I'm going through, I think all in all my friends think it's pretty boring to listen to me going on and on about nutrition and exercise and chocolate cravings and so on... I wish the organisers had brought the group together more, so that we could have a chance to blabber on about the challenges that we face, and how we go about overcoming them. I have one friend at home whom has been through something similar, and I guess I'm exhausting her with all my ramblings about the challenges of hunting for healthy food in the supermarket, trying to get up early and the changes that I am seeing or feeling. Sooner or later she'll get sick of it though, I guess... I feel a bit like a loner. I suppose that's why I like my blog so much. If ppl get sick of it they can just quit reading, and I won't even notice. :)

Day 23

Was supposed to go swimming today, but didn't feel up for it. Instead I went to the gym after dinner, and did 50 minutes of cardio workout on the bike and crosstrainer. I live so close to the gym that I don't really need to bring much if I'm just dropping in from home, which is really convenient when I want to escape from studies. ^^ One thing that I never really thought about when I signed up for this competition was that I'd have so much laundry to do! And most of my gym stuff don't go well in the dryer, they're turning grey... Silly thing.

I'm a bit worried about my ankle again, it's been a bit swollen for the last two days, and it's a bit sore. On friday I will finally know what the MRI showed, and if it's nothing, then I guess I'll just get used to the discomfort and stop complaining about it. I duno.. I really do not want to operate, that would really suck. I got my results in the mail today, but I have no idea what they mean... Too much medical jargon.

Day 22

Scales don't show any difference at all after my efforts this weekend.. Booooooooooooring. I wonder whyever not.. I haven't strayed from my diet (apart from eating baked beans in tomato sauce??) and I stayed away from alchohol this weekend too.. Oh well.

Day 21

This is it, the so called amount of days it takes for the body to get used to a new routine. I've been trying to see if I feel a difference, but actually I don't. Maybe it's because I've been to the gym every day, so I haven't had a chance to just relax and revive. The programme is taking up quite a lot of time though, today I got so caught up in my veggie shopping that I forgot play rehearsals... (uh oh, they're gonna give me so much shit.. and I kinda deserve it..)

Went to the gym for an hour, just to procrastinate. I have schoolwork to do, but I'm not really that motivated to do any of it. I jumped on the scales beside the counter at the gym, and they showed 97 kilos! Yikes!! I hope that they're old and dodgy.. otherwise there's something seriously wrong with the way that my body works. I haven't had a weekend this healthy in YEARS.

Day 20

Today I got up really "late". As a result of that I only had 4 meals during the day... should be ok. I went swimming in Kilbirnie today, and the pool there is really nice. Not too expensive either, and I could use my 12-swim card there that I bought at Freyberg, pretty cool (although I forgot to use it). My abs are super sore from the workout yesterday, and it feels good. Maybe I'm a bit of a sadist...
Saturdays are not easy.. From I was a kid, Satuday was sort of the one day during the week when eating lollies was ok. It was kind of a ritual, going to the shops to do grocery shopping for the weekend, getting lollies, eating pizza with the family and then at 6pm when the kids' show on tv started, lollies were allowed! So I'd go over to my best friends' place or they would come over to my place (but they had the bigger TV..) and we'd binge and watch fragglerock or postman pat or whatever was on. Then as you grew older, you'd watch the 'youth' programme that started at 6:30, still with the bag of lollies.. so... YEARS of conditioning. Haha. I guess getting off lollies is a bit like getting off the bottle. You can't ever reward yourself with sweets if you've been good and haven't had any for a while, because then you're effectively destroying what you've built up.. Just like an alcoholic, that can't reward him/herself with a beer after beeing alcohol free for a month.

Day 19

Garrh, I am so hungry! And I am eating heaps, and drinking heaps of water.. I don't get it. Today I have my X-ray and MRI scans, I'm super worried that something is gonna show up that means that I have to get surgery.. T_T However, I am pleasantly surprised that the ankle injury hasn't gotten in the way of my participation in the programme. I am able to do most types of exercises, and I really feel like I'm getting more strength week by week. Also, traditionally I would just stay in and feel sorry for myself when being sick, but this time I've toughed it out, and gone to the gym anyway, and I still didn't take any longer to get well than if I'd stayed in. And I feel that I have so much to show for it. :)

At weighing today I had lost another kilo almost, the scales showed 94,1. It's still working! I want to try to get down to 93.something by Monday, so I'm gonna be a good girl this weekend too. I guess I have too much studying to do to worry about things to do instead of partying though.. hehe.

Day 18

Thursdays are usually my lazy days, but seeing as I am in procrastination mode, I decided to go to the gym anyway. I have discovered the joys of multitasking: studying and doing cardio at the same time, it's really not hard. I did half an hour of high intensity cardio while reading an article for my thesis. :)
I also discovered the superiority of the showers at Pipitea! Damn, combine those showers with the other facilities up at kelburn, and you'd have a pretty luxurious gym studio.. :D

Had a really really good lunch today! It's amazing how nice a salad can taste.. I came up with this mix when I made lunch this morning:

50g of shredded chicked, about 10 cherry tomatoes, one handful of alfalfa sprouts, about 8 black olives, 1/4 spring onion, about 10 slices of leek, 1 tablespoon of pine nuts and garden salad leaves from New World. And I topped it with about 10ml (half a serving) of low fat french dressing. YUMMY!

In spite of this fantastic lunch, I'll probably end up cranky by the end of the day... I CRAVE CHOCOLATE!!
*Growl*

Day 17

Today was the first time we had a "group exercise," and it was nice to get to meet some of the other people in the programme. I guess we don't get much of a sense of belonging to a group when we do our individual stuff... Actually, most of the time I don't even remember that it's a competition. For me it is an individual battle anyway, and my reward will be shopping in Asia on my way down to NZ next year if I make it down to a small enough size by February. As long as I keep at it, it should be possible... Today I even noticed that I'm not as tired anymore when walking up the hill. It's been hard to notice anything since I've been sick, and I've had enough just breathing and walking. It seems that I'm on the mend today though, my throat feels better (touch wood) and my head feels a lot clearer.

So what we did today was circuit training, with weightlifting, abs exercises and cardio. I loved it. :) seems to be exactly my thing, as soon as I got fed up with one thing it was on to the next, and as such I managed to follow through with all the exercises. The only grey cloud on the horizont is my ankle, that has been bothering me today and yesterday... I'm going to Newtown on Friday to have an X-ray and MRI scan of it, and hopefully then we'll be able to see what it is that's keeping it from getting better. Fingers crossed!

Jumped on the scales after the workout today too, the weight hasn't gone back up. :) 95.6, but I had already eaten dinner, so I'm not fussed.

Day 16

Today has been kinda crap.. I've been feverish, and my throat is getting worse every day it seems... T_T Couldn't go swimming as usual on tuesdays.... hopefully I'll get better SOOOOOON. I hate being sick! Tomorrow we're doing circuit training... I'm afraid that I'll start coughing and not be able to stop. I'm also afraid that I'm gonna be totally fatigued before even starting. Garrrh...

Day 15

I've lost two kilos!! Before I started the programme I weighed 99,8 Kgs, but I know that my weight goes up and down two kilos every now and then.. it's bouncy. But at weighing today the scales said 95! So, I have definitely lost some kilos! It feels so good, to get something back for all the investment that I put into especially my diet, but also my gym routine. Now I just wanna work out more! Still have 6 weeks left of the programme, and after that I'll get myself a membership at the gym. Instead of being the comfort-eater when times are busy at school, I'll become one of the comfort-workout people. Yippie, it's working!

Day 14

Been to the gym today as well, which is good, considering that my throat feels like I've swallowed a melon whole. Did 50 minutes on a bike while reading a magazine. Good idea, actually, seeing as biking is pretty boring without some form of entertainment.
Nervous about tomorrow... it's sort of an official weighing every monday, and I am scared that I won't have lost anything, even though I've been sooo good this weekend in eating healthy, staying off lollies and exercising... Might be quite demotivating if the scales don't show any form of acknowledgement...

Seeing as I now have to eat a truckload of fruit and veggies every week, I have resolved to go to the veggie market every sunday. Eating healthy is not cheap, and as a student I need to do what I can to make sure that my new diet doesn't kill my food budget. Having good raw materials for the meals is really important. I'm gonna miss sausages... they're soo goood..

day 13

In terms of my programme, this weekend has been very successful. Only with the exception of having only three meals on Friday.. but I have stayed away from alcohol and sweets all weekend! Tomorrow is Sunday, so that doesn't really count. I've had cravings for chocolate today and yesterday though... It's weird how you look back at habits that you used to have, and in a way miss them even though they were bad habits. For example, if it was the old me going to clean my old room today, I would have stopped by Unistop and gotten some chocolate, or something sweet to "help me" through the boring task of cleaning. The same with studying... munching would usually get me through some readings, but then the sugar would make me tired, and i wouldn't be able to study for long. And now I have to establish new habits.

day 12

Damn... it's almost two weeks in, and I've lost next to nothing. I've been strict with my diet, and I've been working out 5 times a week, and staying active the other two days. And now I am sick, so I can't push myself as hard as I'd like to, or else I'll just end up sicker....

My body is going completely haywire, and I've got nothing to show for it... *grumble* Why isn't it working?

Day 8

Feeling a bit tired today. Suuuper hungry now, I'm waiting for dinner to finish, which will be one slice of roast beef, lots and lots of vegetables and mmm.

I've lost about 2 kgs, or at least that was what the scales told us when I weighed myself after training today. Goodie! And can't wait to move closer to town and uni! It'll be great, I won't have to take the bus anymore, so I'll end up walking more than I do already. :)

My eating shedule is sort of going ok, it' sometimes hard to manage to eat at the right time, especially when depending on other people.. I guess when I move to the new flat I'll miss having communal meals, but it will be easier to manage my diet.

Day 7

Hmmm... this weekend has been bad in "health terms." Drinking is not a good idea. Yesterday I ended up eating rather unhealty because I had been drinking, and therefore had lost my better judgement. Not good. But compared to last weekend I'd say it's been pretty good.. I haven't had any chocolate (it's been hard), and I've mainly munched on vegetables instead of lollies. Which is good. It is progress. And I ended up going to the gym/swimming 5 times this week, which is also pretty darn good. :)

Now I have to get to bed, so that I won't oversleep tomorrow like I did today. The hardest challenge yet is to get up early every morning..

Day 4

NZ Healthy Plate?

So, a NZ healthy plate consists of 1 part meat, 1 part carbohydrates (potatoes, rice, pasta etc) and two parts vegetables. Good to know... a normal plate for me usually consists of 3 parts carbohydrates, 1 part meat and 1 part veggies. Hmm...
I finally read the guidlines for what to eat. I was a bit pissed off that the only thing that one seemingly should eat per day is heaps of veggies, and then a little bit of this and a little bit of that.. I'm more a fan of brochures telling me what I CAN eat, and not what I can't eat. Obviously, lollies and sweet things are out. No more, only on "special occasions." I guess I can live with that. Actually, I haven't been craving sweet things that much.. today after polishing off the plate above, I got that classic hunger for something sweet that comes after eating dinner sometimes. I resorted to a grape. And it worked. :)

I notice that even though I am eating almost all day, I am hungry almost all day! I don't know what I'm doing wrong... maybe I'm just not used to eating a "normal" amount of food..

I'm beginning to see an unexpected pattern: I am in an exceptionally good mood when I come from the gym. I've been tired and hurting for a week, but suddenly it's beginning to ease off a bit... :)

Day 3

I'm totally wrecked... Weight training on Monday, Swimming yesterday and yet to come today is Boxing. Scary! Apparently I'm supposed to give my body a shock. Well, it's working, it's shocked all right! I'm wondering if there is any muscle in my body that isn't sore. It must mean that I'm doing something right.. ;D

Let me just say, when wanting to dine out and trying to maintain a healthy diet, Wellington does not seem to have much to offer... I was in town and didn't really know what to have, so I ended up having a Bibimbap at the Country House, one of my favourites. It's quite high in carb, seeing as about half of the dish or more is only rice, but it was pretty much the healthiest option that I could think of. Not really a NZ healthy plate...

Bibimbap is a Korean dish, and usually includes Rice, seaweed, beansprouts, egg, (sometimes beef), carrot and cucumber. And hot chili sauce!

Day 1.

OMG, I have actually started now!
Scary...

My new life:

Up at 7 EVERY day!
Bed around 11pm!!! (otherwise I won't get up at 7).
Eating healthy.
Exercising pretty much every day.

It's only 4 sentences, but it seems pretty full on...