12WBT +85

Well.  The last day of the 12 weeks.  Reality is hitting fast & hard!


Ugh.  Had to whip up our own menu for the week AND shopping list.  I've forgotten how time consuming that is - lol.  Luckily, we have 12 weeks of menus and recipes to go through (to find meals for only five days, so not so bad).


After 85 days of the program and 28 days of pre-season, it's definitely all over red rover.  I am hopeful that I can take what I've gleaned from the last few months and survive the next couple (before Round 1, 2011 kicks off).  I'm adamant that I'm going to do good and start the same, if not lower, than I am now at the end of this round.  Fingers crossed.


Made the ultimate decision to go for a 5km run every second morning once we get back from Africa.  Am actually looking forward to this - not so much the dragging myself out of bed at 5am, but the running.  It'll be good prep for the fun runs being lined up for the year :)


On that note, I shall sign off from this blog.  To those of you who have read it, thanks - hope you don't feel you've lost too much of your lives :)  I'll be back in 2011 with the next instalment: http://droppingmorekgs.blogspot.com/ so feel free to pop on by and say g'day.


Good luck with your own journeys :)


Phil (aka evilp, EP)

12WBT +84

Waking up at 5.50am was not easy today.  Going to see PT at 6.30am was also not easy.  PT was late so I had to do the warm up all on my lonesome (poor Wifey has my cold and was staying in bed, poor thing).  When PT arrived we were straight into things...  An hour later and another 1000+ calories down and I was walking back home.  


Pottered around and then walked up to Crows Nest for a brekkie and drug run.  I figured I deserved a croissant for brekkie...and Wifey needed more drugs - lol.


Went into town to do the 12WBT end of season workout in the Domain.  What a fantastic day weather wise.  Sydney turned on the sunshine...forgetting that us lilly-white people turn a very red shade of pink very quickly - even with sunscreen.  I had a bit of colour on my face & arms (not legs though - they only seem to burn when I fall asleep in the hammock).  I have to say, I was pleased to see a few others with the signs of the sun on them at the party ;)


The workout was great.  I think I even did better again on my 1km run - wahoo!  (Not 100% sure as the time I was given was for the group that started before mine.)  The three different stations down on the domain were good, too.  Although, I feel that I was a bit of a cheat being in the beginners group (waaaaaaaaaay too easy, even for me).  Out of the three stations, I loved the "boot camp" one the best, even if it didn't help my blistered feet (but that wasn't their fault, I was the one wearing wet sneakers - due to the early am PT session).  Will I ever learn?  haha


Went into the Martin Place Bar for the end of season party.  Was a good night.  Rather than just celebrating those who had great numbers, it was a lot more inclusive.  I even got up on the stage (because of this blog).  Got a DVD out of the evening as well (shame it's an XBox game - if it was Wii, we could've used it.  Ahh well, re-gifting perhaps.


Wifey and I were a bit too knackered to head on to the Ivy Bar afterwards, which was a shame.  But, boy, did I enjoy climbing into bed looking forward to what could be my second night's solid sleep in over a week...fingers crossed.

12WBT +83

Someone's starting to get excited...  This is a very exciting seven days for a certain EP.  Why?  Well, we only have a week before we fly out to Africa for a month of - God, I don't know if I'm really prepared for slumming it in tents for a month, but the activities make up for it :)


So, tomorrow we have our last Saturday PT session for the year.  PT suggested either 6.30am in the park or 7.30am in the gym.  I wanted an extra bit of a lie in but it was forsaking that or going to the gym.  Guess which I chose.  Still can't get over that barrier - that's what next Friday is for...


Then, after that session, I get to chillax for a bit before heading into town to do the 12WBT session in the Domain.  Scary, but bring it on!  After that, a bit more chillaxing, then the beautification process for the big party - yeah, baby.


Sunday is our last day of nothing before we leave...so we're packing it with the domestics, getting stuff ready for packing, and my sister and her kids are coming over.  Not much chillaxing then :(


We have our work Christmas party this week, too.  Not to mention all the work I have to get done before I head away.  Joy of joys...


Anyhow, today.  A quiet day.  Productive at work.  Brekkie (because someone forgot to do it last night) was just some yoghurt.  Lunch was the left over Chinese dumplings from last night. They're good.  They're really good.  Dinner was the pizza (swapping Friday and Sunday around - gotta mix it all up, eh?).

12WBT +82

After a bit of a rough start to the day (had a wicked good coughing fit that almost ended with me bringing my lungs up), it ended up being an OK day.  Didn't really do much in terms of work - cleared the decks a bit, but not really getting ahead.


I am feeling a bit guilty for not having done much exercise of late - rest assured, I'm not slipping into habits of old.  Being sick and running out of time before we head away is now taking over my life.  When we get back I'll be back into the exercise routine :)  Looking forward to it, too.


Brekkie: cereal, strawberries & yoghurt.
Lunch: adapted Thai beef salad (another favourite lunch).


Why is it at this time of year, domestic chores seem to chew through any spare time one may have?  There never seems to be enough time.  Tonight's time chewer was prepping the chinese dumplings for dinner.  Granted, this isn't a bad thing as I highly approved of them.  I did a bloody good job, even if I do say so myself - haha.


Between prepping and cooking, I did go for a stroll up to the gym...only to meet Wifey though.  I said to PT (can't remember if I put this in Saturday's entry or not, so excuse any repetition) that as we can't do next Saturday's session, I would be prepared to go to the gym for a session next Friday (since neither Wifey or I have work that day...we fly out that evening).  That is my compromise - I said, when I was 96kgs, that I would go when I was 85kgs.  I'm just over 90 now so I think it's only fair, huh?  Also, it'll be a chance for me to see whether or not the gym is for me...  Scary!

12WBT +81

Back to work today.  Felt kinda odd going in but once I was there, looking at the mountain sprouting from my in-tray and reeling from the overflowing inbox, I felt halfway normal again - haha.


It was a good day.  The weigh in produced another loss.  All up so far, 14.4kgs.  My goal was 8!!!  Yeah, baby!  13.7% body weight loss.  Life is good and I only have the 12WBT to thank (oh, and Wifey :) ).


I ended up having the couscous and apple (meant to have on Sunday morning) for brekkie.  It was the world's largest serving of it...ever.  I started at 7.30, when I got into the office, and finished at 11.30 - in time for lunch.  Okay, so it wasn't a large serving (you already guessed that though, huh?), it was just a very interrupted morning.


We were meant to have our team lunch but, after me being off for two days, our manager decided he wanted to be sick too - slacker.  Ended up not having the team lunch (postponed until next week) and only munched on a packet of roasted chickpeas.  Y'know what?  I wasn't even hungry!  Lasted until dinner.  Dinner was the beef in creamy mushroom sauce.  We added a corn cob to it, too.  This is a top notch dish.  We both enjoy it.


After work, met up with Wifey to buy some new clothes for me.  Wow!  I now fit into size 36 trousers (much better than the 38/40 I was in) and large t-shirts & shirts (XL was getting a bit snug even).  Life is good.  Not buying too much though as I still want to lose more weight.


Even though I though I was on the mend, I fear I'm still not quite 100%.  Have to improve by the weekend.  Am so not missing the group workout or the party.  Ironically, I missed the group workout at the start of the program (was it the end of Round 2's one?) because I was crook then too.  Hmm.  I'm a poorly chappy ;)

12WBT +80

After opting to sleep in the spare room (to save Wifey another sleepless night), I woke this morning feeling a bit better, but not enough so that I felt I should go to work.  In fact, I felt that I should go and see a doctor (which for me is the absolute of last resorts).  Yay!  I have sinusitis.  I bet you're jealous of that.  Have a couple of boxes of antibiotics to take for the next few weeks (including when we're over in Africa, bugger it all).  On the plus side, I do feel better.


Being sick is helping me lose weight, too.  Had a quick sneak on the scales and was bloody surprised - won't say what it was, but needless to say, if it's even 500g more than what it was, I'm going to be the happiest camper around for a while to come :)


I'm pleased, also, to report the safe return of my appetite.  Around 3pm I decided I was peckish.  Luckily I had prepared lunches for Wifey and I last night (chicken & grape salad - yum).  Was very contented with that.  Bring on dinner, I say - lol.  Dinner was nice - we adapted it to beef (for those of us who are a tad fussy).


Ironically, it was around the time my appetite came back that my head stopped aching as much...and my general demeanour changed.  I did the ironing (worst chore in the world, ever), threw a couple of loads of laundry on, and did some weeding of the garden (if you saw the size of our garden you'd laugh at me even saying that - haha).  The downside is that Wifey sent me a text saying she's got a sore throat.  It was bound to happen (her being a teacher and it being the end of the school year and all), but I can't help but feel just a little bit guilty (just a little, mind).


Did the 1km time trial and came in 3 seconds better than the last time.  Either it's still the effects of the cold, or maybe I've just peaked for the time being?  Dunno, but overall it's over 1 minute better than the first one.  Who'd have ever have thunked it?

12WBT +79

Ugh.  When I woke up this morning it was decided that I would not be going to work.  I had a terrible night's sleep, which is most unusual for me.  I was tossing and turning, coughing, hot and cold.  I guess I had a fever that decided to break.  I would wake up for a few minutes and then fall asleep again.  Around 10.30am I couldn't stay in bed any longer (though perhaps I should've).  I got up and had a shower - this usually makes me feel more alive.  Not today though.


Pretty much spent the day sleeping off and on until mid-arvo.  What a waste of being at home on a sunny day :(


What is annoying me about this is I need to do the fitness test for the program by Wednesday.  If'n I'm not healthy by then, my results are going to be shite and I don't really want that.  


So.  Had a crack at the fitness test (except the run - save that for tomorrow when I'm back to normal).  I did better at everything - except the sit ups, which I equalled (can't get to #4 to save myself!).  Press ups were only marginally better, but given I cheated and put my knee down for a couple of seconds to let the throbbing in the head pass, I's a happy camper.  Here's hoping I can knock off at least 20 seconds from the 1km run.  I might be kidding myself here, but we'll see.


Had no appetite and only picked at dinner (read: couple of slices of zucchini and a couple of cherry tomatoes).  I did, however manage the trifle we had for dessert.  I think because my teeth are sore, chewing or hot food is not appealing.  Trifle did the trick :)  Aside from that, all I had was a slice of cold lamb.  This is so not me :(

12WBT +78

Today's entry is very much a 'woe is me' one.


My cold decided to hit with full force.  Granted, it was okay-ish in the morning (still a bit sore around the sinuses).  I got up and made our breakfast - omelettes (but this was because I hadn't made the yoghurt the night before like I'd meant to).  After cleaning up the mess, we headed over to Coogee to a friend's birthday celebrations.  It was here that the full effect of my cold hit.  All of a sudden the pain was unbearable.  My appetite vanished.  The coughing started (which irritated my already sore throat).  We left around 3.30pm and went to get the groceries for the week.  This was very painful.  When I get sick, I get more irritable with people.  Supermarkets are not the best places when irritable ;)


Got home and ended up falling asleep on the couch for an hour.  This was pretty much the pattern for the rest of the evening - wake, sleep, wake, sleep...oh, not to mention the odd coughing fit in there.  Bah!  At least I'm getting sick now and not when we're away on holiday - that would be truly pants!

12WBT +77

Don't ever let anyone tell you that going to a PT session with a head cold is a good idea.  It's not.  Woke up this morning to a row of aching teeth (obviously due to blocked sinuses).  Certain movements aggravate the pain - most of the activities that PT set forth fell into this category.  At the end, I had to say no to the boxing.  I find that, at the best of times, my hands get too hot in the gloves and this sends my core temp through the roof and I start feeling very, very sick.  Today, my head was pounding and I felt too hot so I was the boxing bag for Wifey instead.  Methinks she enjoyed it more than she should've - lol.  Anyhow, with the walk there and home, as well as the session, I burnt off another 1050 calories.  Go me (except that this has been about my limit for the last week - oopsies).


While walking home from the PT session, Wifey and I were talking about the program and wondering how many people would go hell for leather in the last week, just to shed as much as they can before the wind up party.  I don't think there'll be too many, but there'll most likely be a few.  To be fair, a few weeks ago I would've considered it too.  Now, however, I don't think it's the way to go.  I want to do something sustainable and busting a gut in the last leg isn't going to give me what I want - not in the long-term, anyhow.


Once we got home, it was a matter of quick showers and then out to a few shops - we were having a friend over for dinner and had to get a few things.  I don't think we've ever moved so quickly!  Makes a huge difference when you know exactly what you want and how much time you don't have ;)


In the end, our diets went out the window.  We had a couple of small croissants for brunch and then roast lamb with veggies for dinner.  There was also a bit of picking at sweets in there too.  Oops.  I don't think we were too bad though, which is good.  I know that a few months back, I would've been a lot worse.


Even though it was a day full of bad food and laziness, it was a relaxing day :)

12WBT +76

One more week of the 12WBT.  I'm not surprised I've seen the program to the end.  I am, however, surprised that I've got an entry for each and every single day of it!  Holy crap!  I'm impressed with myself.  Granted, I haven't quite posted on time each day - but there is an accurate account of my journey.  They say that a journey starts with one step - I've got 100+ steps so far.  If things start going backwards, I'm going to have to return to this blog.  I've decided that this blog will end on the Monday after week 12 (so Monday week, I guess).  That will cover the very last day.  Am so keen for the first round of 2011 that I've even got the blog set up for that.  Gee, that would be eight months of my ramblings on the interwebby thing ;)


Today was an odd day.  Food wise, just the normal day at the office (cereal, berries & yoghurt for breakfast; wrap with swiss cheese, cottage cheese, tomato and lettuce; a packet of roasted chickpeas for a snack (thanks SO much, Mish, for pointing these out :) ); and dinner comprised of lamb cutlets and veggies - a la Wifey).  Work, however, was nuts.  Not nuts in a bad way - just that everyone was so...crazy.  I had my excuse.  I still felt a bit under the weather and was still taking my Cold & Flu tablets.  Not sure about everyone else.


Oh, that reminds me.  One of the directors commented on my weight loss and I filled her in on the 12WBT - might have another convert on our hands.  She asked me to send her the link and I sent her a whole screed of info - including my thoughts on the program.  Do we get commission - lol.


Wifey went off to the gym and, once again, I wandered up to meet her.  How sad is this?  We spent our Friday night cleaning as we're hosting friends for an early Christmas dinner (and a bit of a games night) tomorrow (red flag #1 for the weekend) - we still have our joint PT session in the morning, which I'm not looking forward to quite as much, especially if my head still feels a bit 'bleugh'.  On Sunday, one of Wifey's friends is turning 40 so we're off over to Coogee for that (red flag #2).  Should be a bit of good craic methinks.

12WBT +75

They say breaking up is hard to do.  Pfft.  Whatever!  Waking up was much more difficult today.  My eyes were very heavy and my body.  Let's just say I felt like a train had ploughed into me.  I woke up with death sitting on my chest - or what sure felt like it.  The thought of getting up and going to work just didn't appeal.  Y'know what though?  I did it anyway (if'n I'm going to get sick, others can share the joys too).


Brekkie, due to some reason I can't recall from last night, comprised of a slice of banana bread.  This was followed by a bread roll (lettuce, swiss cheese and tomato) for lunch.  Luckily it was a day where I felt anything but hungry.  Dinner was not very much (as I was home alone...again...and simply couldn't be arsed - and regretted it later).  


Following a stop at the optometrists (contacts again, baby!) and a quick detour for a Chrissy pressy, I got home around 6.30pm.  Having decided I wasn't up for dinner I thought I'd get brekkie ready for tomorrow.  Bugger.  Guess who remembered tomorrow's lunch was leftovers...but didn't think that to have leftovers meant cooking in the first place.  D'oh!


Prepped tomorrow's brekkie and lunch then, as sad as it sounds, was in bed - dead to the world - before 8.30pm.  The Cold & Flu drugs helped I think :)


Ugh - another day with no exercise.  I must get back in the habit - there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day at the moment though.  Hanging out for the hols...

12WBT +74

White rabbits.


Pinch and a punch.


Santa's on his way, y'hear!


WOW!  Today is officially the first of December!  (Don't ask why I added officially - I think I was going to say "officially the start of the Christmas season" and then changed my mind.  I don't know what I do, let alone why I do it.)  Can you believe it?  Jolly ol' St Nick will be jetting his way around the world in 24 more sleeps.  I'm not complaining now - we have St Nick come on 25/12 and Ded Moroz (Дед Мороз) on 7/1.  Ahh, the joys of marrying into a multicultural (or should that be multi denominational?) family.


Today also signals 10 more days until the end of program workout and party.  That should be a blast.  I'm going to be fair knackered though - we'll still have our workout with PT in the morning, then I'll go to this one.  My poor body won't know what's hit it...


Speaking of not knowing what's hit - my relationship with our bathroom scales is well on the up. I jumped on today and they didn't groan and tell me to go easy.  Instead they told me I've miraculously lost another 1.1kgs.  I'm now at 93.1kgs.  Still fat, but much better than the 105.2kgs I started on.  Fingers crossed for a drop of 3.2kgs over the next two weeks (I'm counting the Weds after the program officially ends as we're off on hols just after).


Before I get into the mundane daily drivel, I do have to express my utter amazement at losing weight this week.  Since the last weigh-in, I've done one session with the DVD (still love it though) and the PT session.  Nothing else.  I've also eaten a huge plate of take-out Chinese and survived a weekend of Wifey's mum's scrummy meals.  All this and I've still lost weight!?  I'm not letting it go to my head - I know that if I keep up like that then I'm going to put it all back on, but I'm still surprised.  I feel that it's a sign that Wifey and I are on the right track in terms of our eating habits (as since about week 7, we started modifying the meals more and more).  Our portion size has reduced, which was one main thing we knew we had to work on.  *smiling away*


Brekkie today was back to the cereal and fruit.  This is such good people.  Am happy inside with brekkie in me (start getting grumpy if I don't get it - lol).


Lunch was a wrap - lettuce leaves, boiled egg, parmesan, onion, sprouts and a wee bit of dijon mustard.  Mmm.  Very good.  Only thing I forgot about was the cracked pepper.  Oh well, if that's all, I'm doing well ;)


Dinner - well, that ended up being a bit of a fizzer.  Wifey had a school function on and I reverted back to my old bad habits of not being arsed.  As it transpired, she was peckish when she got home so made a toasted sandwich.  While she was doing that, I was doing arts & crafts in the lounge (making Christmas decorations for her office - how do I get into these things?!? ;-) ).


Noticed that my throat was a wee bit sore - guess I've been doing a lot of talking at work the last few days.  Surely that has to take its toll - haha.

12WBT +73

Y'know when I'm getting excited about something - I get in and book things early.  Having had made our minds up to do the Sun Run (Dee Why to Manly) in February, I snuck online at lunchtime and registered.  Now here's hoping it works in the next round of the 12WBT (as the others have for the mini-challenges etc) :)  It's only a 7km course, but a good way to start the year (would've loved to have done the Resolution Run in January to really get it started, but 'twas not to be).


Today was accelerator day again.  Had a boiled egg for brekkie - as with last week, don't have the time or inclination to make an omelette mid-week.  Lunch was a bit more filling - chicken salad (the one that we were supposed to have yesterday but I swapped and modified it for Mr Fussy here).


Again, another day where I felt I was chasing my tail (figuratively, I don't actually have a tail).  I had all these blog entries to fix up from the last few days.  I am a shocker at times - nearly a week behind on the blogs.  I had the bullet points to work from and my memory to use...  Never rely on your memory.  As you get older, it starts getting worse - lol.  Took a lot longer than I thought to do ('cos of the memory) but got them done.  Marathon effort.


Watched Mish's video (this week's one).  Well, kinda watched part of it - the rest I relied on osmosis (shh, I had an early evening grandpa nap, complete with notebook on chest).  Am looking forward to the live one this week.  Still smarting about missing the last one :(


Helped Wifey cook dinner.  We had pork and steamed veggies.  We even treated ourselves to a small dessert (just some yoghurt - Black Swan have two new (?) flavours - vanilla bean and blueberry.  YUM - in moderation).  


Reflecting on this last week: can't tell if I've put weight on or lost it.  Part of me feels a loss, part of me feels a gain, and another part (which seems to have come into the race out of nowhere) is telling me I've neither gained or lost.  Que sera sera, I guess.  The scales of truth will reveal all tomorrow.

12WBT +72

Why is it that when you go away for the weekend they fly by.  Ugh.  Really didn't want to be waking up with the alarm today.  Then, to compound matters, having to drag myself out of bed and to work.  Not a happy chappy.  The more I really, really tried to be enthused, the less it was a happening thing.

Old Mother Hubbard was in our house over the weekend.  When we got home, she'd raided all our cupboards and left us with nothing.  This makes for a challenging time for brekkies and lunches.  Well, not so much brekkie.  Have cereals, have brekkie.  Lunch, on the other hand, was a bit more meagre.  Ended up having four rice cakes - naked.  We didn't have anything to put on them (not anything I felt like, anyhow). At least it was something - and not something terribly bad.

Wanted to go home and have a workout but seeing as I had the eye prob yesterday, that was wiped by a visit to the optometrist (which was followed up by a visit to Wifey at work).  After this, we had to go and fill up the cupboards (then to cook dinner) - the evening flew by.  When we did finally get home from the groceries, it was around 8pm.  Didn't leave much time for exercising - boo.  We had the no bread burgers for dinner - varied to be more a loose mince wrap (using Mexican spices).  Was very tasty.  Only thing was the mountain bread was a bit weak and we had a few spillages.  I guess, worse things do happen at sea - or so I'm told.

I must confess - I snuck on the scales in the morning to see how much I'd put on in Brissie.  Shock, horror - dropped 1kg.  Fingers crossed this lasts until Weds :)  I said to Wifey that in some respects, I'm happy to ease back on the exercises this week - just to see what effect they are having on the weight loss.  Time will tell.  This could just be my way of saying, "over this now".  I don't think it is though.


Hmm - hope you hadn't thought I'd forgotten about the blog, especially this late into the piece.  I hadn't.  Life took over for a bit and I had only been popping in a few bullet point notes to expand on.  Have just done some spit & polishing to flesh them out - hence the mass update!

12WBT +71

So pleased that I had a chance for a bit of a sleep-in, especially given the rude awakening yesterday.  Even still, it was still a nice and early start for the day.

After we got up and showered, we all went up to New Farm for breakfast (where I pigged out and had sausage, eggs and ciabatta, with wilted spinach - YUM!).  We then went for a walk around the park, to the Powerhouse and back to the car.  This was a very leisurely walk, but was still around an hour or so more than what we would've usually done.  Stopped off at a couple of bookstores and managed to find the complete 'Denis The Menace' collection.  That was a nice wee score for me, so I was pleased.  I think that if we were to move to Brissie, New Farm would definitely be on my list of suburbs to look at.  Wifey might have a different list.  It would be quite nice to have Sunday brunch and then go for a stroll around there each week...

We didn't really have lunch and dinner was only a sandwich.  I'm definitely not complaining - breakfast was well filling, thank you.

While we were sitting down watching the tele, I had this really odd experience with one of my eyes.  I lost the peripheral vision in my right eye and had these awesome shimmery lines across it.  Never had anything like it before.  It was odd looking at someone and only seeing one half of their face - knowing that there should be more.  Was the same watching tele - half the screen was not there.  It wasn't black, it just wasn't there.  Try explaining this one away...

On the plane home we had a small chorizo and potato pocket.  It was more flaky pastry than anything else but it filled in a few minutes of the flight.  By the time we got home, which wasn't terribly late but did involve another argument with City Rail, we were too knackered to worry about even the thought of facing getting groceries.  They can wait.  Tomorrow is, after all, another day.  (Besides, they might have better produce out on a Monday as opposed to a Sunday).

12WBT +70

Made omelettes for the family for breakfast today.  Three eggs (3 whites, 1 yolk).  Very tasty, as I'd filled them with onion, tomato, ham and a wee bit of cheese...oh, and parsley.  On a normal trip to Brissie, we don't have brekkie until around 10-10.30am.  Today - we'd eaten by around 8.30am.  Someone had internal body clock problems.  Woke myself up at 5.40am...Sydney time.  Arrrrgh.  4.40am.  Wide awake.  How shocking was this?  As usual, I didn't want to disturb Wifey - or get up and wake up her parents.  I lay there and played with the phone...until the battery died.  By then, it was almost 7am and Wifey was stirring.

We went out to look at a couple of new rings for Wifey and to get some keys cut.  This was OK (the mall was a bit chaotic for some reason - Christmas, perhaps?).  Did get a bit stressful driving around the carpark - up, down, up, down...  In the end, we got dropped off and walked home after we were finished.  It's handy that Wifey's parents live only about 10 minutes away from the mall (and I was quite happy that it wasn't too unbearably hot).

Friends came over with their baby for afternoon tea - was nice to catch up with them again (last chance before Christmas).  Wifey's mum put on this brilliant spread that I felt I picked at too much, though in reality, didn't.  Could've been a lot worse.  This ended up being our lunch as well, so in my mind the calorie count wasn't too bad (especially compared to had we had lunch and the afternoon tea).  Dinner was a lovely wee roast.  I managed to contain myself for this and not act like a glutton (as I so often did).

Come 10pm I had run right out of juice - even though there hadn't been anything strenuous going on - just a brisk walk.

12WBT +69

Let's start off with food (food is good, after all).

Brekkie consisted of a slice of banana bread - nothing overly exciting, but enjoyable and filling (and within the calorie count, to boot!).  When I made the last batch of this, I added some poppy seeds for additional flavour.  This works well...except I always seem to get one stuck in my teeth.  Hmm.

Lunch was a simple salad.  Simple salads are a quick and tasty alternative when we're either (a) running out of things in the pantry or (b) can't be bothered doing anything else :)  How easy is it to throw in a small can of four bean mix, some lettuce, cherry tomatoes etc (including avocado and walnuts for Wifey).  The bonus is I don't even need to mix it up - it gets a good shake in my bag on the way into work.

Dinner - now this is a bit of a different story.  Seeing as we were flying out to Brissie, we had to grab something at the airport.  You'd think that at Sydney airport would have some decent eateries but nope.  They're shit.  Not only shit - over priced.  We had some Chinese.  It was ok, have had a lot better, but I was more than a tad hungry at the time.

I have to say, we were good before we went out to the airport.  Had a session with PT.  Managed to burn off another 980 calories - not sure how many were put back on by eating the Chinese for dinner, most likely quite a few.  I'm trying to work on the basis that I'm going to be good over this weekend away...can't afford a gain this close to the end of the program - gotta look good for the party - lol.

12WBT +68

Breakfast: cereal, fruit & yoghurt.  I'm finding, as I've not been having this almost every day, that I do start missing this.  I like the cinnamon with yoghurt and the oats and ground linseed with the cereal du jour.  Highly recommend it.  In terms of portion size, I usually have about 10-15g of cereal, depending on the cereal (and the container I'm using).


Lunch: Rice crackers with shaved chicken.  A nice, light lunch.  Wasn't even peckish - perhaps because I was pottering around at work while eating and wasn't focussing exclusively on the food - lol.


Did my usual DVD workout today.  I know I should be pushing myself more but I'm still thoroughly enjoying doing them - and burning off between 750 and 900 calories each hour (tonight it was only 765 - obviously not putting in what I should've).  I will go to the gym - next year...  I know PT is very keen for me to go so I can work on the weights, in particular.


We didn't have the lasagne for dinner tonight.  Even though it's ok, it's in the bottom of our pick of recipes.  Instead, we made the laksa that is scheduled for later on.  A certain blogger here is partial to this - especially when Wifey adds an extra bit of kick to it - lol.

12WBT +67

Ahh.  A beautiful sunny day.  Guess what!  I got to work at home today.  What a bonus.  The unfortunate thing was that I did actually work.  Had a huge pile of readings to get through...and part of a report to write.  At least there was the possibility of sitting out in the sun if I felt like it.


The day started well.  Weighed in and, despite my thoughts yesterday about how much I'd gain, I surprised myself and had another loss.  800g this time.  Still, am now officially below 95kgs - first time since...God, most likely high school?  So what's that - about 15-odd years?  Hmm.  Here's hoping I can keep it up.  Off to Brisbane this weekend to see the family there.  Wifey's mum does a good job of ensuring we're never hungry so this will be my first real big challenge - seeing if I can restrain myself from all the scrummy food put out for us...


Did a market research thing this morning.  They're interesting to do (says he who just did his first one).  Got $150 for an hour and a half sitting there talking about stuff.  S'ok.  Just had to make up the time with work.  The good thing about working from home is that there are no emails or phone calls to interrupt me so even if I didn't make up the hours, I still would've got all the work (and more done).  Oh, I can access emails from home, I just purposely haven't asked how I go about it.  Sneaky, huh? :)


With having to go to the market research session, I forgot all about my brekkie (which explained why my tummy kept talking to me).  I decided that rather than picking up a snack, or eating something at home I would just wait until lunch.  Even prepping lunch I was worried I'd be starving and end up eating much more than I should.  Nope.  Didn't happen!  I had my four rice cracker things with tomato on them and was more than contented with that.  Maybe my will power and stomach are starting to work as a team?  Let's hope they don't have any falling outs that I will have to contend with - I hate being in the middle of fights/arguments (especially ones where I could be the loser - haha).


Met up with Wifey to go to a couple of sales in the evening.  Was a bit stressy at times - I hate large crowds of people, especially ones with no manners.  Got a few good deals, so all was good in the world.  By the time we got home it was rather late-ish.  Ended up having some toast for dinner...after I assembled our new BBQ, that is :)  New gadgets.  All happy.

12WBT +66

Blah.  Today is another fat day.  I think every Tuesday I'm feeling like this.  Today's estimate for tomorrow's weigh in is: +1.4kgs.


The popcorn and sweets didn't help.  Nor did the crackers yesterday.  Or the two consecutive days of sandwiches over the weekend.  Hmm...


Today's accelerator day is weird.  I had a couple of boiled eggs for brekkie (since I'm not arsed making an omelette unless it's the weekend).  Lunch was a modified salad, including four beans, boiled potato, boiled egg and a couple of bits of shaved chicken breast.  It was tasty - albeit a wee bit bland.  The stir-fry was, as always, tasty.  Wifey does a mean stir-fry (and carefully picks out as much of the mushroom as she can for Mr Fussy here).  I could handle that most nights.  I do have to admit to having a hankering for risotto again...fingers crossed it appears in week 11's menu.  WOW!  Just saying week 11 is making me reflect on how far I've come (mentally as well as physically) since the start of the program.


Exercise today was back to my fav Cardio Killer DVD.  I think I'm starting to know what Shannan and Mish are about to say...almost line for line.  Sadness epitomised!  Not sure what was up today, but I only did 684 calories.  Am not happy with my efforts in that respect.  On the other hand, I did SO much better with the static lunges and squats - actually, with all the lunges and squats, to be fair.  I'm happy that I'm able to do them without the burn kicking in until the very last minute.  When I first started, the burn was starting before I even pressed play on the DVD! ;)  Okay, that may've been a slight exaggeration but it's not that far from the truth.  


I do have to work a bit more on toning the jelly on the belly.  I'm going through this really mature phase of grabbing a handful of it and jiggling it about - usually when Wifey's around.  It's quite disgusting.  I need to get rid of it - sooner rather than later.  Much sooner!


Wifey's not going to come to the training in the Domain with me :(  She's going to get a haircut instead (which I do approve of as it'll make her more bootiful for the end of season party that evening :) ).  As we can bring a friend, I've asked my mate from work.  We talk exercise.  We're sad like that ;)  Actually, we're doing the fun runs together now, so it's all good.  She's well keen to see what it's all about and I work better if there's someone to keep me company (being a shy wallflower and all - haha).


Popped into the forums before - first time in a while - and boy, the negativity I was feeling a week or two back is well and truly gone.  Granted, I didn't read a lot, just a handful, but the positive vibes are really flowing through there now - so much support from so many people.  Who needs drugs for a high - just pop in and read a few threads.  To be fair, I think it's been like that all along and I was just in a negative headspace (without really realising it at the time, as is often the case).  Hmm...might pop back in for another "fix" of positivity...

12WBT +65

I first have to start off by saying that I received yet another big box of DVDs from Amazon.  This pleases me very, very much.  There's nothing better than when your DVDs arrive and there are TV series that you've not seen before (that sound well funny)...and ones you have seen and are looking forward to again watching (hoping that they'll be as funny now as they were 10 or 20 years ago).  Sadly, that was the excitement du jour in my wee world.


It was just another day at the office...literally and in terms of meals.  Standard brekkie of cereal, berries & yoghurt.  Lunch comprising of four rice crackers and chicken (only 'cos someone doesn't like turkey...or avocado).  Had a couple of crackers when I got home (*sigh*) and then had the lovely pizza for dinner.  As much as I do love pizza, I think having them every week is becoming a wee bit too much - even for me.  I shan't complain though.  When we're away the chances of me having pizza will most likely be very, very slim (which is what I'd like to be one of these days ;) ).


The evening did fly by ever so quickly.  I was planning on going for a walk with Wifey but by the time we both got home, mucked about for a bit and then looked at the time, it was time for dinner...either that or dinner would be at some stupid time like 9pm.  Not having that on my watch, thankyouverymuch.  


I am feeling somewhat guilty for being so slack over the last couple of weeks in terms of my exercise routine.  It's starting to wane a wee bit.  I have made a mental plan that I will be joining the gym in the new year - regardless of my weight.  I'll give it a trial shot for a week when we get back (got a voucher for one free week at Fitness First so will make sure I use it to the max - every day at the gym with Wifey before she goes back to work...unlike me, who will already be back at work, bugger it all - haha).  I don't think I'll tell PT about this until I've made up my mind that I enjoy the gym first.  Would hate to commit to this and then hate, loathe and detest the place!


My goals for the new year are changing quicker than I ever could've imagined.  One of the girls at work and I are trying to tee up a small group to go on fun runs through 2011.  All going to plan we'll each pick one and be responsible for organising everyone for it.  As a 'reward', the organiser will get to nominate the charity.  Sounds good, eh?  Along with this, there's my plan to go to the gym.  I hope that by the end of Round 1, 2011, I'll be at least another 10-15kgs lighter.  I'm now not so worried about that as I am my general fitness, truth be told.  It will be nice to lose the weight but even nicer to be fit - fit for the future.  'S my motto now (apparently - I do come up with quite a few mottos every so often...mainly 'cos I can never remember what they all were...memory like a sieve, huh).

12WBT +64

Ahh... Sunday.  A chance for a well-deserved sleep-in.  Well, in theory that's how it works.  My body clock doesn't seem to ever want to work with my theories.  I was awake at some ridiculous hour for a Sunday morning and didn't want to get up in case I woke Wifey up (bless, she's such a light sleeper...unlike me).


When we did finally get up it was to do the exciting (mundane!) housebitching.  As we'd changed our PT time from yesterday to today, we were sort of thrown out of kilter by the interruption to the day.  Normally it's not so bad - we have a 7.30am Saturday session with PT and then the weekend to ourselves.  This was a bit of a cultural shift - haha.  I guess what made it more of a shock to the system was that it was considerably warmer at 10am than it is at 7.30am - especially seeing as our favourite spot is in full sun in the mornings (which will no doubt be a massive blessing when the weather changes :) ).


Again, it was another PT session that I thoroughly enjoyed.  God, don't tell me I'm starting to get a bit of a buzz from these?!?  What on earth is happening to me?  Maybe my body has been taken over by an alien...or something.  Nooooooooo.   


Okay.  Moment of insanity over...for now.


So, the PT session.  I even enjoyed the running and sit ups.  PT got out the skipping rope today.  That would've been hilarious for anyone watching.  I'm so pants with the skipping rope it's not even funny!  Actually, I'm so pants that it is funny ;)  By the end of the session I was down another 875 calories.  Perhaps that's my intrinsic motivation now?  Perhaps it's not?


By the time we got back home and showered it was time to head back out again.  This time, back to the shops to pick up a couple of last minute things I'd forgotten the day before - and to have a light lunch before heading to the movies - Harry Potter 7.  It was a good movie, but boy did it make us feel lazy (I almost, almost, felt well guilty for sitting there eating popcorn...salted, at that).


The sad thing about having the popcorn (and the sweets - oopsy) was that it really filled us up (how terribly bad is that?).  We didn't even bother having dinner when we got home.  Mind you, we got home and then straight out again - this time to stock up the cupboards for the week (we looked as if we were dossing with Old Mother Hubbard!).  Getting home from the supermarket was this huge sigh of relief - only to realise that the weekend was officially nearing an end - but the exciting thing is that...wait, the exciting things coming up are (a) the end of season workout in the Domain (yay!!!), (b) the end of season party (yay!!!) and (c) our big Christmas holiday :D  So much to look forward to!  Moreso because of the 12WBT!

12WBT +63

Once again, the weekend rocks around and our body clocks tell us to wake up at normal, weekday time.  This sucks the big one.  We're both in dire need of a bit of an energy boost and a sleep-in would be just the ticket.


Not to be.  Oh well. How sad.  Never mind.  What's done is did (or is it what's did is done?).


We got up and had brekkie (toast - with marmite on it for me.  Not good, but at the same time, oh so good!) and then off to do Christmassy shopping.  Have to get it over and done with now as between now and heading away for Christmas, our weekends are filling up way too quickly.  That was pretty much how the day was spent.  Granted, it wasn't as painful as it could've been.  Mainly because we went to new places (for us) and they weren't overly crowded (or full of kids).


The evening was brill, though.  We went off to the Sydney Theatre Company's production of Uncle Vanya.  A bit of Chekov is good.  What was really enjoyable, though, was seeing Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Richard Roxburgh and Jackie Weaver all on stage.  Awesome!


Sadly, the end of the day means one day closer to the weekend ending.  Ahh, next weekend's only a few days away :)


Once again, I'm slipping with getting these entries up on time.  I'm trying (and constantly told how trying I am by my family...) to be good.  Just not always panning out the way I plan.  Curses! :)

12WBT +62

TGIF - finally!


This seems to have been a long week.  Not sure whether it's as a result of all the different weather we've had; that work's been a bit slow (particularly during the first couple of days); that I'm getting more and more excited about our holiday; that I'm now starting to look forward to Christmas...or what it is!


Had another early meeting today.  Rushed into the kitchen to make sure I had my brekkie first - a couple of naked crumpets (I'm now at the stage where I'm repulsed by the idea of butter on them).  Quickly scoffed them and off to the meeting.  Had to type up a report from the meeting but put that off to focus on my data set (loving this!).  Worked through lunch (as I thought I might start doing :( ) - I did eat my wrap though.  Wasn't going to miss out on that!


As it's Friday, I'm back to having this as my rest day.  Just the weekly walk to the gym to meet Wifey after her one-on-one PT session.  It was enough.  Friday's seem to drain me and I look forward to whatever I do on Saturdays and Sundays more.  Weird.  Hey, that's me ;)


Once again, we walked into the house to make a bee-line for the kitchen and start on dinner.  Tofu Pad Thai (with hoi-sin rather than fish sauce).  I thoroughly enjoyed this dish.  After finishing it, I really wanted more...but showing it's all in the mind, five minutes later I'd forgotten that I'd felt peckish.  Go team EP - haha.

12WBT +61

Rather than doing a DVD, for a change again we thought we'd go off for a walk.  This worked out rather well considering we had mail to post (over 12 months after we moved in and we're still getting mail for the previous peeps) and clothes to drop off at the charity bin.  It wasn't a long walk (maybe 45mins) but we were out there in the fresh air.  Also served a secondary (tertiary?) purpose - I've been needing to try and break in some new shoes and what perfect way than to go walking.  Yes, I was worried that my feet would be completely destroyed by them (I have a habit of blistering very easily and quickly in new shoes - I'm a delicate person you know).  Luckily, no blisters.  This bodes well as I think I'll be wearing these shoes a bit when we're away in Africa - especially when going up to see the rellies (gorillas ;) ).


Our walk was only down to the reserve, a loop around the wee track there and then through the bush track home (as opposed to the easier and quicker road).  I had a bit of a sweat up afterwards, which surprised me given that it didn't feel overly strenuous and it wasn't that warm (being the evening and all).


When we got home it was a case of making dinner (I wish the faeries would have come in and done that whilst we were out - domestics are such a chore ;) ).  Chickpea rissoles.  These didn't look much as they were being prepped - they seemed a little, well, runny.  Rolled them in breadcrumbs to see if that would help.  Seemed to do the trick.  Only thing with these is that one should never let EP put in the chilli flakes.  2 teaspoons...and another couple, just in case they've run out of kick, later...  They did have a nice wee bite to them, which was tasty.  Wifey also whipped up a nice wee side salad with them (including beetroot - I love beetroot!).  I rate this dinner, thanks.


Lunch was a rushed salad.  I'm over doing lunches each day.  It's a chore and a half.  This was just a case of a handful of leaves, a tiny tin of mixed beans, beetroot, cottage cheese, tomato and cracked pepper (oh, and a splash of balsamic for luck).  Was tasty but perhaps a few too many flavour sensations for today?  Hmm.


Got all excited at work - I was sent a data file from a survey that I've got to do the analysis on.  How exciting!  It's the first chunk of a project I'm working on so it'll be great to sink my teeth into something substantial.  I'm working across two areas at the moment so it's starting to get a bit tricky juggling my time.  I'll cope.  I need to start getting out for a walk during lunches again - although now with my data I fear I'm going to want to sit in front of it playing :)

12WBT +60

Disappointment doesn't even begin to explain my feelings after stepping on the scales this morning.  Yes, there was a loss of 1.4kgs, for which I am more than grateful for, however given I had a great PT session on Friday evening and followed this up with a killer of a walk on Saturday, I thought it might've been at least 2kgs.  I'm kinda saddened it wasn't.  Nevermind.  I'm not going to get down about it - that could end up sabotaging my efforts.  When I looked at the stats page when entering my weight, I smiled.  With the exception of the first week (where there was no change), I've only gone up on two weigh-ins - and then, neither were more than 1kg.  A 100g loss is better than a 100g gain :)


Worked seemed much more like a Friday than a Wednesday today.  Not sure what that was all about.  Managed to get lots of small things achieved - my way of putting off a larger task that I have hanging over my head.  Oddly, it's a task that I'm happy to do but I have to be in the right frame of mind to get done.  It's like some of the domestic chores - you will do anything else but this...knowing you're only putting off the inevitable (I guess losing weight was in the same boat for me, too).  I know I'll buckle down and get stuck into it, it's just a matter of when...and knowing that something more enjoyable is coming up in the next week, I should get this done soon!  Ahh, if only I could win the lottery and retire...


Had my usual Special K, rolled oats & linseed (with yoghurt, blueberries and apples) for brekkie.  I really must start getting into the habit of having a cup of tea with it (am enjoying the nettle tea on the rare occasion I do have a cuppa).  The wrap for lunch was tasty.  I added a boiled egg to it, for a bit of extra flavour.


When I got home and thought about today's exercise, I realised I'd not really been focussing on toning (short of the core work done in the usual DVD).  Dug out the toning one and went through the motions of that.  Phew!  It shows how piss weak my core area is.  I really struggled with most of it (perhaps why I've not done it in a while?).  I think I should add a 10min session of it to my daily DVD stint - just to play it safe and improve on the middle (which is my Archille's heal - not the actual one, of course).  PT wants to move our Saturday morning session to Sunday morning this week.  Not sure if I'm totally happy with this idea, but I don't have much choice in the matter.  I must do a DVD on Saturday morning instead.  Not quite the same as PT, but still...


I know I'm not the world's biggest red meat fan but boy did I enjoy the steak & corn salsa for dinner!  The portion size of steak is perfect for one who's not a great fan.  Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a good steak - just not terribly often.  It works well with the salsa (without the avocado, of course).  Nice little bursts of flavour in the mouth (not to mention the splashes of colour on the plate).  Deffo keeps me happy.

12WBT +59

Accelerator day.  Crap.  What happened?  Because it was a salmon salad, some twat crossed off the ingredients without thinking about substituting for the salmon.  The same, aforementioned twat also didn't want to get up earlier to make the omelette for brekkie.  Hmm.  I think we need a new twat in our house - lol.  


Brekkie was two boiled eggs.  Lunch was to be a store bought salad (and another boiled egg I took in for luck) but I was still full from the two eggs at brekkie.  All I had was a small handful of mixed seeds.  To be honest, even when I got home from work I wasn't hungry - not even peckish.  I figured I'd do my exercise (back to the DVDs now that the spare room is free of house guests and I have room to move).  I've said it hundreds of times, but I really, really enjoy these DVDs.  Lots and lots!  Mind you, I wonder if it's because I'm now also starting to enjoy exercising (e.g., enjoying the PT session last Friday - so much so I even told PT this!)?  I could get used to this exercise lark.  If I lose my jelly belly I might start getting more serious.


I got a nice wee email yesterday that was very encouraging - supporting me going to the gym.  The ironic thing is that what was said in it was pretty much, word for word, what PT had told me...and what Wifey said to.  Funny how it can depend who says something to you how much you take heed of the advice.  I'm going to.  I'm now adamant.  Whichever comes first - 85kgs or the start of the next 12WBT round - I will start going to the gym!  It has been committed to paper (albeit electronically), so it shall be.


Reckon I will start losing interest in exercise once my calories start dropping.  At the moment I'm doing about 680-ish in 50mins (doing the DVDs) or around 1000 after a PT session.  I was well chuffed to see my count at 540cals after only 35mins today.  Thought that was impressive - kinda.  I try to work on the basis of burning about 100cals/10mins.  It seems to be a nice, easy to work with, number.


After exercising it was time to get dinner ready - and brekkie & lunch for tomorrow.  A bit mundane, but hey!  Gotta get done or we have mini catastrophes on our hands ;)  The steak was nice and the salsa scrummy.  I really enjoy this meal.  Quick, simple & tasty.  Could have a bit more frequently, too.


I keep thinking about my body shape.  It's great that I'm losing weight - am really stoked that I've finally gotten up off my rear to do something about it.  Clothes are looking a bit daggy on me because I've lost some cms too.  Am happy about all of this!  What I'm not happy about is that I still can't seem to get rid of the jelly belly that's haunting me.  Wifey tells me that it's getting smaller (well, maybe it is) but it's still there.  I don't want to have all this excess flab hanging about - I need to rid myself of it.  I guess I should focus more on some of the core work to see if that helps - or up my cardio - or both.  Most likely both.  I will need the core work to tone what skin is left behind after cardio.  Gee, who'd have thought exercising and getting fit would also work the ol' grey matter? haha

12WBT +58

As I was having another lazy day (dear God, just shoot me now!), I was mucking about on the 'puter - iTunes to be exact and threw it on random shuffle.  What was the first song that came up?  Yup.  Robbie Williams' Lazy Days.  All I could do was groan.  Even iTunes was picking on me for being lazy ;)  I don't often pay attention to the lyrics of songs - I might know them as I'm (badly) singing along to them, but ask me what they are without the song playing in the background and you'll end up with a blank, expressionless look (most likely followed with a shrug and a mutter that may or may not resemble 'I don't know').


Anyhow, today I listened.  As I did so, I was thinking about why I have lazy days.  It's sometimes because I'm knackered for whatever reason.  More often than not I think it's because I'm having a bummer day - I think it was last week that I called it a 'fat day'.  Whatever I call it, I'm sure it's the reason I have a lazy day.  So, the lyrics in this song seemed to resonate with me for whatever reason:

     Lazy days, don't let them get you down
     Wear your smile
     I don't want to see you frown
     Don't let them get you down

I guess, next time I'm having a lazy day (or days) I should just brighten up and build that bloody bridge (or find 20c to call someone who cares ;) ), get up off my arse and do something.  No ifs.  No buts (note: buts - not butts ;) ).


Brekkie: rolled oats, strawberries & blueberries and yoghurt (with cinnamon and linseed, of course).  I was going to have Special K...but for some odd reason stuck with rolled oats.  Just to be different (for me).  Am so loving breakfasts now.  A few weeks ago I wouldn't have thanked you for it (well, I would've.  I'm not completely rude - just have my moments).  Now.  Mmm.


Lunch: carrot & ricotta wrap.  The problem with this is that it needs to be assembled at work and I can't be bothered with that.  Doing it the night before (or even the morning of) makes for a very soggy wrap.  Tasty, but soggy.  Maybe I should try wringing the carrot out first?  Should've thought about that earlier, huh? ;)


Dinner: pizza.  Can't go wrong with this.  The bonus for us was that we found a wholemeal base :)  Me, being fussy and all, didn't want olives (disgusting creatures they are) so popped some onion on instead.  Tasted good to me.  Perhaps I'm not as fussy as I once was?  Oh no, not another change in me!?


While on the topic of change, I've found I'm getting rather vain.  I keep looking to make sure all my chins are disappearing (not all of them, I'd be happy being down to just one - the bone one).  One of the women at work even commented today about losing some of the weight around my face.  I didn't think it was that noticeable, but now that I'm checking every few minutes (slight exaggeration)... ;)

12WBT +57

Following yesterday's effort was nigh on impossible.  So I didn't.  


I had a slack-arse day - even though I was up and bouncing about at 5.45am.  Did the mountain of ironing that had been sitting in a corner; hidden from view as much as a mountain-sized pile of clean clothes can be.  That was a solid three-hours of my life I'll never gain back ;)


With the house guest, I thought it would be rude to have brekkie before he surfaced, so I waited.  Read the paper in the sun.  Pottered around in the garden.  Wasted a bit of time playing on my phone.  He finally got up around 11ish - to head straight out.  Oh well.  No brekkie - brunch for one instead.  Omelette.  My new fav brekkie/brunch.  That was actually enough to hold me over until dinner - which a few weeks back would've been nigh on impossible.


Wifey decided to come home from her Duke of Edinburgh expedition - knackered.  We sat and shot the breeze over a cup of tea before heading to the wonderful world of Woollies.  Grocery shopping is such a tedious chore.  I am pleased, however, that our trolley doesn't look anywhere near as bad as most.  I now cringe when I see trolleys full of fizz, biscuits, crisps etc.  Not that we have ever been like that but still.  I'm pleased to say that our trolley is virtually empty until we get to the fresh fruit and veg.  Kudos to us - haha.


As we plan our shopping around the next weeks menu, we didn't have anything for dinner - Wifey improvised and did a wee risotto for us.  Very nice.  Not the best thing; not the worst, either.


Mr Grumpy came out to play as we were doing dishes.  I think I may've been just a tad tired...

12WBT +56

Today was to be the triathlon day.  Guess who was so oblivious to that as he was trying to work out what to do this weekend?  In my head, I had a mini-milestone challenge (for which I was going to use the 10km fun run last weekend but changed my mind as I thought of that as cheating too much).  I'm nuts!


During the week I'd been plotting what I could do.  In the end, I decided I'd go for another walk.  The last mini-milestone saw Wifey and I walk from Taronga Zoo to Balmoral, which was about 13-odd kms.  I had to top that - mainly because I'm figuring I must be getting closer to being fitter than I was (given I'm a wee bit less fatter).  My idea - to do my old walking route (that includes steps, hills, off-road and...umm, pavements) not once.  Not twice.  But three times (and I know one shouldn't start a sentence with 'but' - sue me...not literally, unless you want to pay off my student loan debt in NZ; I'd happily part with that).  Three times.  Say it like that and it doesn't seem a lot.  I guess it's not really - but, one lap of my route is 10kms.  That's 30kms all up.  Sounds a s**t load more.


Alarm set for 5.45am (I wanted to do this as early as possible, which unfortunately didn't sound too appealing to our house guest who would've otherwise been happy to come along for a stroll) but I was clearly looking forward to this too much as I woke up at 5.30am.  By 5.50am, I was walking out the door for my mammoth effort.


Lap one.  Fine.  No probs.  Well, no probs if you ignore the fact that I'd forgotten to put my glasses on and on one of the bush tracks (about 30mins - if that - into the walk) went for a six.  Tripped on a tree root or something, rolled my ankle and grazed my knee.  I was most grateful that at not long after 6am there wasn't anyone around to see me do it!


Lap two.  Not quite as quick as lap one.  The sun was starting to get hotter and I could feel myself waning during the bits in the shade and picking up the pace in the heat of the sun (just to get out of it).


Lap three.  Knackered.  Pooped.  You're getting the picture.  I did the first lap in 1hr 15min, the second in just on 1hr 20min - the last was about 1hr 35min.  I see a pattern.  Still.  I'm happy.  Scarily, I felt that I had a wee Mish sitting on my shoulders (though she would've been flying off when I tripped earlier on) telling me to get a grip and get on with it.  She was showing no mercy with me the whole way around.  I could hear her saying silly little things like, "suck it in" or "shoulders back, chest proud".  It was weird.  Perhaps I was still sleeping.


All up, I was walking for 4hr 05mins.  The only stops I made were to fill up my water bottle.  What I think impressed me more (other than the number of people who seem to go for walks/runs/jogs around 7am on a Saturday) was that I, possibly for the first time in my life, have finally gone into calorie deficit! Huzzah!  In fact, if I stick to my usual eating plan, I'll be in calorie deficit for the whole weekend - even if I don't do anything else for the rest of it.  I burnt off a massive 3006 calories in the 4hrs.  Go me!  Doubt I'll ever be able to do this again, but hey, most people who climb Everest only do it once too ;)

Non-stop walking, baby!

Oh, bugger.  Not quite 30kms then - 29.5.  Close enough.  If I allow for a margin of error there may be a chance of it being more than 30kms...  This doesn't show the elevation, but it's not all on the flat.

Whilst on the topic of burning...after getting home, showering and having a shake for brekkie (I don't think my stomach could've coped with anything heavier), I threw some laundry on and thought I'd have a lie down in the hammock and read until the laundry was done.  1.5 hours later I woke up...my legs are slightly red.  Ouchies.  So are my arms...and my face.  Moral of this story, don't lie in the lovely warm sun with a book and tell yourself it's only for 15-20 minutes - especially if you have a known knack of falling asleep quickly (including a witnessed time of literally falling asleep before your head hit the pillow!).


Aside from that, an uneventful day.  I hope my legs will be less stiff tomorrow.  PT sent a text asking if I wanted to do a weights session tomorrow.  Hmm...  Over 4000 calories in two days?  What would you say?


Food: 1 whey shake, 1 bowl of puffed wheat with Greek yoghurt & honey, 2 slices of banana bread (that nice stuff from week 1 or 2's menu) and some rice crackers.  Had almost zero appetite today.  Did drink litres of water though - could explain the lack of appetite?


PS:  today is exactly 2/3 of the way through...only another 1/3 to go.  Would you believe I'm already getting excited about the next round?  :)