and I'm all done

After 13 weeks I have finished my weight loss challenge. I am pleased to say that I have lost an impressive 17.2kg - which is the same as 8 1/2 bags of sugar, 69 packets of Tim Tims (the normal variety), or the average 5 year old child. In other measurements I have lost in total: 38cm from my waist 11cm from my hips 5cm from my shoulders My fat percentage has gone from 47% to 33.9% - which means that I have lost about 20kg of actual fat and gained 3 kg of muscle.

Results for week 12

Well not much actual weight loss this week and with only one week to go I  dont think that under 80kg is acheivable. I did ride my bike to work twice this week and I have a sneaky sussuspicion that I have been putting on muscle mass as well as losing fat.

Anyway here is my results for week 12:
Weight: 82.8 kg)which is a total of 16.4 kg since starting  Waist: 91.5 (-0.0cm) a total of -34.5m since starting Hips: 115cm (-2.0cm) a total of -12.2cm Upper Thigh: 58cm Lower Thigh: 47cm Fat %: 33.9%

Riding to work

Three months ago I would have never even thought about riding my bike to work. The distance would have killed me - I don't think I could have made it. as of today, I have ridden to work three times and I really enjoyed it.

Many years ago (when I was younger and fitter) I used to ride my bike to work at Manuka via the Monaro Hwy - a distance of 18.2km (according to google maps) which used to take me around an hour. I did it then because I didn't have a car and public transport was actually longer - yes it was quick to ride my bike then catch a bus. In those days, my husband would pick me up in the afternoon so I only had to get to work.

Riding my bike to work now means that I also have to ride home (or catch a bus with a bike rack on it) and I really like riding it. The distance from Theodore to Woden is around 16km and takes me 45 minutes. I find it really clears the cobwebs out of my mind and I get to work feeling clear headed. There are only two major hills - coming out of Erindale up Erindale Drive and coming up Athllon Drive. On the ride to work, the section through Gowrie is probably the most tedious as its a gradual incline all the way, but conversely it's great coming home as you can really pick up speed through that section. On the way home, getting past Mawson is painful but as soon as you get to Erindale it's all downhill until you get to Calwell.

When I finish at the gym I will be replacing the gym work with riding my bike to work 3 - 4 times a week. I save on Petrol ($50 a week) and parking fees ($45 per week) and gym fees. Win all round really.

My Bike route

Results for Week 11

What a week!!! I'm being pushed hard at the gym as they know that I only have 2 more weeks to go. I also did the unbelievable and rode my bike to work on Thursday (that Theodore to Woden - 16kms each way). I was impressed that I managed to get there in 44 minutes in the morning and 55 minutes home in the afternoon - mind you, I had to content with three phone calls on my way hme so I had to stop to take them.

My results for week 11:

Weight: 83.0 kg (-3.3 kg)
which is a total of 16.2 kg since starting

Waist: 92.5cm (-0.0cm) a total of -33.5cm since starting

Hips: 117.0cm (-0.0cm) a total of -10.2cm

Upper Thigh: 59cm (-0.0cm) a total of 0.00cm

Lower Thigh: 45 (-0.0cm) a total of -0.0cm

Fat Percentage: 34.4% (-0.4%)

which equals 28.552 kg (-1.6544 kg fat)
which is a total of - 9.4 % or 14.573 kg of fat since starting

Day 5 of new routine (and week 10 results)

Day five of my new routine  is a bit of everything - mainly a cardio sort of day.

Rower - 1km, 15 sec break, then 500mts
Stretching

Boxing circuit

Group 1 - repeated twice - this is a timed circuit so I have to try and beat the last time
15 Man Eaters (burpees with lunges)
Double overhead lunges with 5 kg plate
Treadmill - 5% incline, 300mts
Bike - lvl 15, 700mts
Cross trainer - level 18, reverse, 600mts

then:
Recumbant bike - Constant watts, 5 minutes

The first time I did the timed circuit it took me 9mins 22sec. The last time I did it on Saturday it took 7 minutes :)

My weight loss last week was 0.3kg- so I'm down to 86.3kg, with a fat percentage of 34.7%. No measurements this week. and I have only 3 weeks to go.........

This week and New Routine - Day 4

The last week has been a little more difficult for the whole weight loss / going to the gym thing. With Melbourne Cup, two mornings teas at work to farewell colleagues and then missing two days training due to headaches I have felt a little out of sorts. I also had a couple of bad days where I was emotionally very down missing my beautiful daughter who passed away 2 1/2 years ago. I didn't even weigh or measure myself today as I was just so flat.

Anyhow my new routine is off to a good start. There has been a few adjustments as my right knee seems to have developed a 'click' when under strain (no lunges for me) and some of the sit-up type things have been modified due to the fact I had a Ceasarean section 8 months ago and they had to literally sew my abdominal muscles back together.

Day 4 routine is mainly a biceps and cardio type workout the goes as follows:

Bike - Constant watts for 5 minutes
Stretching

Group 1 - repeated 3 times
Dumbbell burpees with push up - 10 reps
Alternate arm press, 7.5 kg - 25 reps

Then:
Treadmill, 15% for 5 mins (5.5km/h)
Treadmill, 5% for 5 mins (7.5km/h)
Treadmill, 0% for 5 mins (9.0km/h)

Group 2 - repeated twice
Crosstrainer, Lvl 6 - 800mts
Bike, lvl 7 - 600mts

Group 3 - repeated 3 times
Rope Overhead bicep extension, 13.5 kg - 25 reps
Dumbbell Punches, 3kg - 1 minute

Then:
Rower - 1km
Decline sit-ups 3 sets of 10
Decline pulses 2 sets of 10

New Routine - day 3

Day 3 is my Legs and shoulders day and the first time I did this last week, my thighs were sore for 4 days. In fact I did this on Wednesday and today (Friday) they still ache, so it must be working the right parts :)

My new routine goes as follows:

Warm up (3 minutes on bike and stretching)

Group 1 - repeated 3 times
Leg Raises - 15kg, 25 reps
Squats (no weight) - 50 times

then:
Bike - 10 minutes 'weight loss' program, level 10
Spin Bike - 4 mins, 20 secs fast, 10 secs slow

Group 2 - repeated 3 times
Above head standing shoulder raises - 5 kg dumbells, 25 reps each arm
Straight punches (boxing bag) - 200

then:
Cross Trainer - 10 mins 'Constant Watts', level 6
3 x Sunrises (Using cable machine hold your arms by your side then move them in front to head level and then twist to other side) - 25 reps each side

New Routine - Day 1 and 2

Day 1 on my new routine is a 'Back and Biceps' routine. I find the bicep curls and isolation holds make my wrists ache, so I struggle a bit with them.

Warm-up - 3 minutes on bike + stretching

Bike - 3km @ Constant watts 170 (the faster you pedal the easier it is)

Group 1 - Repeated 3 times
Seated Row - 31.5kg, 25 reps
300m static row (that using the rowing machine but not using your legs)

Then:
2.5km on the Cross trainer (takes almost 5 minutes)
Boxing circuit

Group 2 - repeated 3 times
Bicep curls using Cable crossover machine, 6.5kg, 25 reps each arm
Isolation hold, 5kg for 1 minute (hold the weights with your arms at right angles)

Then:
Sit-up - 3 sets of 10 - 15
Sit-up pulses - 3 sets of as many a possible



Day 2 is a cardio day and this one really wears me out!

Bike - 6 minutes, 30secs @ lvl 12 then 30secs @ lvl 6
Stretching
Rower - 2km (takes a little over 9 minutes) 
Cross trainer - 9 minutes, Lvl 7, 1 min forwards, 30 secs backwards
Treadmill - 15% incline 500mts @ 5.5km/h  (about 6 minutes)
Treadmill - 10% incline 600mts @ 6.2 km/h (about 6 minutes)
Treadmill - 5% incline 700 mts @ 7.2 km/h (about 6 minutes)
Treadmill - 0% Incline 800 mts @ 9.0 km/h (about 5 minutes 30secs)

I can say that by the end of this I am completely flattened. I hope it gets easier the more I do it.

Results for Week 9

New routine this last week as I have hit the dreaded plateau. It was really getting to me, I was the same weight for a week and a half no matter how hard I trained, watched what I was eating etc. My new routine is much harder than the last and I'll write it up for you over this week so you can see what I have been up to. My push to break this plateau fianlly had results on saturday.

So for week 9:

Weight: 86.8 kg (-0.5 kg)
which is a total of 11.2 kg since starting

 

Waist: 92.5cm (-0.5cm) a total of -33.5cm since starting

Hips: 117.0 (-0.0cm) a total of -10.2cm

Upper Thigh: 59. (-0.0cm) a total of -2.7cm

Lower Thigh: 45 (-0.0cm) a total of  -0.3cm

Flexed Bicep: 33 (+0.0cm) a total of +0.7cm - not measured

Fat Percentage: 34.8% (-0.2%)

which equals 30.2064 kg (-0.3486 kg fat)
which is a total of - 9 % or 12.9186 kg of fat since starting, about 10% of my initial body weight.

Results for Week 8

Only 5 more weeks to go and I've hit a plateau. I told my trainers and they have decided to change my routines and make to more difficult/harder/ more cardio so I can break through the barrier. It's normal to plateau when either losing or gaining weight as your body becomes used to what you are doing, and the only way to get past it is to change.

So for week 8, I have only taken a couple of measurements as I was really busy on the weekend and forgot to do some (sorry!!!!)

Weight: 87.3kg (-0.7 kg)
which is a total of 10.7kg since starting

 

Waist: 93.0cm (-4.5cm) a total of -33.0cm since starting - that more than the average sized school ruler

Hips: 117.0 (-1.0cm) a total of -10.2cm

Upper Thigh: 59. (-0.0cm) a total of -2.7cm - not measured

Lower Thigh: 45 (-0.0cm) a total of  -0.3cm - not measured

Flexed Bicep: 33 (+0.0cm) a total of +0.7cm - not measured

Fat Percentage: 35.0% (-0.2%)

which equals 30.555 kg (-1.2306kg fat)
which is a total of - 9 % or 12.57kg of fat since starting, about 10% of my initial body weight.

Meet the trainers

One of the questions I seem to get is what are the trainers like? Who you get is dependant on whose available when you turn up and the day of the week.

So, without pics, here is a breakdown of the main trainers I have (apologies to my trainers if I spell their names wrong):

Lindsay: Is the manager of Calwell Flames. I would normally have him train me either Monday, Wednesday or Friday. Always makes sure that you are doing the exercise correctly, and has pulled me up several times for holding onto the treadmill when it's at 15% incline because you are supposed to just run.

Evan: is the second in charge. I would normally have him train me on Wednesday or Thursday (if I go on Thursday). Evan is a hard task master, always on your back, checking you have the right weight, the right speed or the right time. Always pushing you to try harder and always keeps an eye on you -no slacking off ever.

Dylan: is my Monday and Tuesday trainer. Puts up with all my sarcastic remarks and gives it back as well. If you are going to slack off even a tiny little bit, Dylan is the one you are more likely to get away with it :)

Matt: my wednesday trainer. very much focussed on getting you through your routine and making sureyou do all your reps.

Adrian: My Friday trainer, he is great fun, loves to joke but comes up with the most creative ways to train, especially when it comes to free lancing (he was the one that had me going side ways on the treadmill). If you slack off, he'll get you in the next exercise.

Josh:  Weekend trainer - puts up with people turning up without booking in, reminds you of your personal bests all the time and encourages you to break them. Always rolls his eyes when the phone rings because he is by himself and it distracts him for keeping an eye on us.

Results from week 7 - measurement and weight adjustments required

Bit of a dilemma this week - I had my week 6 weigh and measure at the gym and the weights figure was all out. I discovered that there is a difference of around 1.2kg between the scales at the gym and the scales I use at home - due to the age of the scales at the gym, and it located on carpet (instead of tiles). The initial weight I got was using the gym scales and every other measurement since has been at home with new scales on the tiles. Which means that there is 1.2kg missing from my weight loss. I checked this by weighing myself before going to the gym and then weighing myself again as soon as I got there.

If I used my scales at home for my initial weight, I would have been 99.2kg. Not sure what to do. I think I will continue using my home scales and recording that weight and then use the gym scales at the end to get the end result - that way the initial and end weight is using the same scales. So you will almost have to take my weight loss and add 1.2kg to it, until I finish. That way it's more consistent.

I also had Evan show me exactly which bits to measure - it turns out where I thought I was measuring was slightly out so I have given you the new measurements at the correct area and the total from the beginning.

So after 7 weeks (with 6 weeks to go):

Weight: 88.0kg (-0.5 kg)
which is a total of 10.0kg since starting

YES I HAVE REACHED MY INITIAL GOAL.

Waist: 99.5 (measured incorrectly previously) a total of -28.5cm since starting

Hips: 118.0 (-0.5cm) a total of -9.2cm

Upper Thigh: 59. (-0.0cm) a total of -2.7cm

Lower Thigh: 45 (-0.0cm) a total of  -0.3cm

Flexed Bicep: 33 (+0.0cm) a total of +0.7cm

All up I have lost 40cm all over!!!!

Improvements

Other than the obvious improvement in weight and centimetres lost, I have improved greatly with my general fitness level and my ability to get through each session. when I first started, it would take me about 1hr and 15 mins to get through each session, now days it is closer to 50 minutes. This is due to my times getting better and my ability to recover between sets.

My improvements are as follows:
Session 1:
Flies - up from 4 kg dumbbells to 6 kgs
Treadmill: up from 5.5km/h to 7.8km/h
Rower: 400mtre now only takes 1m 42s, down from 2m 15s
Bike: 700mtre now only takes 1m 10s, down from 1m  50s
Tricep extension - up from 2 kgs dumbells to 4kg

Session 2:
5 x 200m on rower: can now do each interval in about 40 secs, down from 1m each
Treadmill: can now run 1km up from 0.8 in 9 minutes
2.5K on Cross trainer: now takes 4m 50s, down from 7m 30s

Session 3:
Lat pull down: up from 22.5kg to 31.5 kgs
Bike and Cross trainer: now takes 1m 10s and 1m 40s, down from 2m and 2m 50s respectively
Straight curls: up from 18kg to 22kg
Hammer curls; up from 4kg dumbbells to 5kg
Treadmill 15% incline 500 metres: now takes 4m 20, down from 6m

Session 4
Treadmill 0% incline, 500m: started at 5.5km/h, now doing 9km/h
Cross-trainer: now doing 800 m instead of 700m in 1m 40s
Rower 500m: now only take 2m 03s down from 2m 40s
Spin bike: up from 2.01km to 2.7km

Session 5:
Leg curls: up from 10.5kgs to 15kg
Leg press: up from 60kg to 75kg
300m treadmill 15% incline: 2mins, down from 3min

Results after week 6 - almost half way

Definitely seeing improvements this week, my times are much better and I can run at a faster rate on the treadmill - more in the next post.

On to what you really want to know - how's the weight loss going. Well after 6 weeks I am almost at my original goal of 10kg - I only have 500grams left to go to reach it. My new goal will be to see if I can get under 80 kgs in the next 7 weeks. It's a big ask but I'm still keen :)

My results for week 6: 

Weight: 88.5kg (-1.8 kg)
which is a total of 9.5kg since starting
.

Waist: 119 (-2.0cm) a total of -9.8cm since starting

Hips: 118.5 (-2.0cm) a total of -8.7cm

Upper Thigh: 59. (-0.5cm) a total of -2.7cm

Lower Thigh: 45 (-0.0cm) a total of  -0.3cm

Flexed Bicep: 33 (+0.5cm) a total of +0.7cm

All up I have lost 20.8cm all over!!!!

 

Headaches - and results from week 5

I woke up with the worst headache this morning, probably from a virus or something, I have a continous blocked nose for weeks now, I have never really got over it. I took two nurafen and dragged my poor sorry ass to the gym for my session at 9am. It was a mistake. After doing my initial arm workout I got started into my cardio with a 300m run on the treadmill, 400m on the rower and 700m on the bike. After the first set (I am supposed to do it three times) I started to feel a little dizzy and slightly nauesous. My headache was starting to really pound. I got through the second set and told my trainer (Josh) that I felt off. He took one look and said that I didn't have to do anymore cardio work and if I was up to it I could finish off a cut down arm work out before finishing. I managed it but it meant that my normal 50 minute work out was short by about 15 minutes, but there was no way that I could have finished it without  - well - feeling much worse than I did.

My results for week 5: Not much actual weight loss this week but I have probably hit a plateau.

Weight: 90.3kg (-0.3 kg)
which is a total of 7.7kg since starting,
averaging 1.5kg loss a week.

Waist: 121 (-2.5cm) a total of -7.8cm since starting

Hips: 120.5 (-1.5cm) a total of -6.7cm

Upper Thigh: 59.5 (-1.0cm) a total of -2.2cm

Lower Thigh: 45 (-0.0cm) a total of  -0.3cm

Flexed Bicep: 32.5 (-1.0cm) a total of +0.2cm

All up I have lost 16.8cm all over

Fat Percentage: 35.2% (-0.8%)

which equals 31.7856 (-0.83kg fat)
which is a total of -8.8% or 11.3344kgof fat since starting!

Not bad at all :)

Dear Rower, how I hate thee

I think everyone that goes to the gym has one (or maybe two) exercises/equipment that they just don't like. People I have spoken to have expressed their dislike for the treadmill, the cross trainer, free weights, boxing - really just about everything. For me, I have started to really dislike the rowing machine.

Why is this? I think it's because every single session I have to use it, and there is so many different methods of torture!!! I normally would have 1 session where I have to do 5 x 200meters, the next session 500m three times, and then the next would be a straight 600 metres and then the next is 300 metres three times.
They have me trying to beat my previous time, testing me against the 'pace boat', even challenging me against another person working out. Even with the free lancing I am stuck on the rower, one day having to do a total of 2.5km on the rower and another day doing 12 x 100 metres dashes on it.

I know they tell me that the rowing machine is a 'whole' body exercise, working your back, arms, legs and abs muscles -  but every time they say 'it's on the rower next' and little part of me goes s**t.

Graphing my weight loss

You may not have noticed (especially if you are using a mobile device to view this blog) but to the side I have included a graph showing the average weight loss to meet my goal of 10kgs v's my actual weight loss. I update this graph once a week on a Monday to show where I am up to. I am pleased with my current loss as I am at where i should be in week 10 - thats 5 weeks ahead. I am thinking I should maybe update my goal to 15 kgs over the 13 week period.

For those that can't see it, here is my current graph:

I am expecting to plateau soon, so hopefully this weeks free-lancing will force me to not to plateau too long.

Pics of me working out

Arm raises

Working out the shoulder muscles

Leg press - currently doing 75Kg

Leg curl - 30lbs

Rowing machine - I do this EVERY day

Free-lancing day 2 - cardio

This mixing up of routine has made my porr muscles ache ike they did in the first week of starting this challenge. I woke up with sore arms, abdominal and thighs from yesterdays workout. Today I had cardio free lancing, which with my already sore body was just that little bit harder.

So the program today went pretty much like this:

10mins on the bike on the 'Weight loss' program at level 5 (the bike changes the intensity level every 45 secs)

Done thrice:
25 jumps over a flat bench (hands holding on the bench)
25 squats (no weights)
30 over head presses with 2kg dumbells

Then 10 mins on the cross-trainer, intervals at level 5 (intensity level changed every 45 secs)

Done twice:
Crunchs in sets of three with a hold of 3 secs on third crunch - as many as possible
Bicycle crunch (put your hands behind your head and crunch rotating with left elbow touching right knee) - as many as possible

My poor legs were just about giving out on me and my abs are really sore. Next workout is Tuesday so 1 days rest before doing another free lance session.

Results after Week 4

Another hard week at the gym. And another difficult week with my baby, but he is FINALLY getting better. With the two long weekends coming up I will be training on a Sunday instead of Mondays, and I am swapping my Thursday night training for Saturday morning training meaning that I will be training 3 days on, 1 day off, 2 days on, 1 day off. And with free lancing for the next week I am very interested in my results for next week.

Now for this week results:

 

Weight: 90.6kg (-1.2kg)

 

Waist: 123.5 (-0.5cm)

Hips: 122 (-1.5cm)

Upper Thigh: 60.5 (-0.5cm)

Lower Thigh: 45 (-0.0cm)

Flexed Bicep: 33.5 (-0.0cm)

 

Fat Percentage: 36% (-1%)

which equals 32.616kg (-1.6kg fat)

 

Not bad, the biggest indicator of how it's going is that I need new pants for work!

Freelancing

I have been hard at work in the gym for four weeks now. For the next week, I will not be working out to my normal written down routine - I am 'freelancing'.

So what does this mean? Each day, a trainer will take me through a series of different exercises based on one body group - today it was arms. None of these exercises I have previously done before. Today I had to do:

Done twice:
15 reps - presses with the cable cross over machine
15 reps - single arm flies on the 'bubble' bench
700 sprint on the bike, level 10

Then:
1KM on the treadmill at 7.0km
2.5KM on the cross trainer at level 10
3 x 20 reps, triceps press using cable cross over machine with rope, over my head, 10 seconds between reps

Then abs:
Laying down, legs at 90 degrees, with 5kg medicine ball on my ankles - holding for 1 minute (twice)
Legs in air and crunching with 5kg medicine ball as many as possible (twice)

This is the only time I am doing this particular routine.

So why freelance? Your body gets used to the workouts you are doing. But mixing it up occasionally you force your body to do something else and assists you in gaining your goals. If you do the same workouts again and again and again then you become accustomed to what is required and attaining your goals becomes that little bit harder. Tomorrow, I have back free lancing (They are closed for monday public holiday). I will go back to my normal routine after a week.

One story about the NICU

Here is a story published in the Canberra Times today about the work at NICU:

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/shannon-beats-the-odds-with-miracle-early-arrival-20120922-26e94.html

It shows the great dedictation of the people the work there :)

Results after week 3

A bit of a crappy week. My baby was quite sick this week - he ended up on antibiotics, but it meant I didn't get much sleep for a week, probably and average of 3-4 hours a night, which meant that I was tired, missed a training session and found it difficult to get motivated. Lack of sleep also slows your metabolism down, meaning you don't burn as much. I also interrupted my new eating patterns as I skipped breakfast a couple of times as I was running late for work.

My baby is finally getting better, but I have somehow picked up another bug which has given me a massive headache which panadol/nurafen isn't doing much with. Hopefully I feel better by tomorrow for my next week of training.

From my measurements today:

Weight: 91.8kg  (-0.8 kgs) 

Total lose of 6.2kg in three weeks

Waist: 124 cm (-3.5cm)

Hips: 123.5cm (-1.5cm)

Upper Thigh: 60.5cm (-0.5cm)

Lower Thigh: 45cm (-0.0cm)

Flexed Bicep: 33.5 (+0.5cm)

 Overall not bad, my body is losing size in the important areas - around my waist. I have dropped one dress size already,

Adipose

You may wonder what these are:

This is an Adipose - from Doctor Who.

Young Adipose were hand-sized, marshmallow-shaped beings, composed almost entirely of fat. They had two eyes and a mouth, two arms with webbed hands and two stumpy legs. In Doctor Who,  Adipose Industries, marketed a special diet pill to London's population with the slogan, "The Fat Just Walks Away". They find that the slogan is literal: the pills use latent body fat to create the Adipose, small white aliens which spawn every night, removing a little of the host's body fat each time. 1 pill = 1 kilo of fat every night (Don't we all wish!)

So for each kilo I lose I will say farewell to one little adipose at the top of my blog.

Fat/Muscle Percentages

Other than weight and centimetres, the other measurement you need to keep across is percentage of fat in your body. To measure this, you can use a specialised machine, or you can buy a set of scales that also takes readings of the percentage of fat compared to other things (muscles, bone, water) in your body.

How does it measure this? It sends a small electrical current through your body. Electricity passes through fat much quicker than through bone, muscle and water. The set of scales I have measures everything apart from muscle mass. The average female should have between 20-29% fat, around 7% bone mass and a water content around 45%.

Initially my body fat percentage was 44%. After three weeks of training it is now 37%. By using my weight I can determine that my initial fat weight was:

98kg x 44% = 43.12kgs

From my weight loss, my percentage is 37%, so:

92.6 x 37% = 34.262kg

Therefore 43.12 - 34.262 = 8.858kg of actual fat lost!

Since I have only lost 6.4kgs, this means that I have gained 2.458kg of muscle mass in the period.

This percentage is important to know. If you are 'over weight' according to the scales, but only have 20% fat mass, then you are carrying lean muscle weight over fat weight. No need to go on a diet.

The right time to weigh?

It's important when keeping a close eye on your weight not to weigh your self too much, after all, your weight is influenced by a lot of things and can flucuate by over 2 kilograms per day. This is due to eating, fluid levels, temperature, salt level . . . .well I could go on. To get the most accurate reading of your weight do the following:

1. Always do it at the same time of day - just after you get out of bed is best (after you've been to the toilet) and before you  have breakfast
2. No clothes - after all you are wanting just YOUR weight!
3. Same day of the week - it's best for comparison in weight loss/gain
4. The same scales - each can be calibrated slightly differently

With this in mind, since I didn't weigh myself until almost midday on Saturday, I got a set of scales from The Good Guys in Tuggeranong (Thank you Liz) and jumped on them this morning and the prescribed time.
To all you interested people, I now weigh 92.6kg!

Results after Week 2

I worked out hard this week, and apart from that one Monte Carlo I had with my cup of tea with my husband last Sunday I have been very good with what I have been eating, eating breakfast everyday (apart from one), having fruit at mid morning and mid afternoon, eating a healthy lunch of mainly grainy bread and tuna, and then eating a balanced dinner which has been either scotch fillet steak with vegetable and pasta, pumpkin soup, chicken and vegetables.

I weigh myself this morning and I had only lost:

0.4kg

which means my current weight is:

94.4kg.

This is a total of 3.8kg in two weeks. Not bad. I must say I was a teensy bit disappointed when I saw the figure.

I then took my measurements because I know I have been pushing myself hard at the gym and they have already started upping the weight I am using.

My new measurements are:

Waist:     127.5cm    (-1.3cm)

Hips:         125cm (-2.2cm)

Upper Thigh: 61cm (-1.7cm)

Lower Thigh: 45 (-0.2cm)

Flexed Bicep:  33cm (+0.8cm) thats muscle!

It's not just about losing weight

Did you know that fat takes up to 4 times more space than muscle?? Which means that you can drop a dress size and still not actually lose any weight! So losing weight, exercising, will also build muscle mass as well as losing weight, so those weeks that you worked your butt off and get on the scales, and you have only lost a small amount, not lost anything, or even gained a small amount, you have probably added some muscle along with losing some fat. So don't lose heart, muscle tissue require more energy to use so in the longer run it will burn more fat for you :)

You know if your body is losing fat and gaining muscle, take your measurements before you start: your Waist, Hips, Upper and lower thighs, and flexed biceps. For someone planning to put on muscle, you probably want to also take your shoulder width as well, but for my purposes it wasn't necessary.

I will update my measurements every couple of weeks to show you the cms I have lost over the time - Don't expect much from the lower thigh. Measurement is for circumference.

Emotional eating

Emotional eating is the practice of consuming large quantities of food -- usually "comfort" or junk foods -- in response to feelings instead of hunger. Experts estimate that 75% of overeating is caused by emotions.

I had an argument with my husband last night that followed onto this morning. What it was about is irrelevant. The fact is by the time I got to work all I wanted to do was dig into a Mars Bar, or a Cherry Ripe or something. Something that was nice and sweet and made you close your eyes and go mmmmmmmmm. Thankfully I resisted that urge.

Emotional eating is something that I am guilty of. In the 6 months of 2010, I lost almost 17 kgs over a 6 month period doing Wii Fit and then getting onto a treadmill. I was watching what I ate and doing the ‘right’ things’. Then my daughter died. It was a sudden thing, completely unexpected, and my world fell apart. I was miserable, hated my job (my supervisor had little sympathy for what happened) and everything seemed to be going wrong. My husband and I were fighting all the time – we once went 2 weeks without talking to each other except for sniping. In the 12 months following Kayleighs death I put back on all those kilos that I had managed to lose. And this was through not exercising, eating the wrong things and chocolate, chips and lollies. And I didn’t care that much about it – I probably should have. One thing that Kayleigh wanted was me to be fit; she was a real fitness freak herself. Emotional eating hasn’t helped in the long run, not at all. We all do it in a way, but it’s something I have to be aware of and is one of the ‘blockers’ for me to lose weight.

Temptation at work tea room

There is nothing worse than temptation being in front of you all the time. Every time I have had to fill up my water bottle or make a cup of coffee (skim milk one sugar) I have been confronted with this:

Boxes of chocolates and lollies. Cheap and nasty. The guy that does this reckons our floor (which i mainly IT guys) go through at least a box a week.

I avoid this I have started going to a different tea room. I must say that my new lunch and snacks are definitely more appetising than any of these chocolates.

Session 5 (legs and arms)

Long session today - much to Terence's annoyance because Kayl wasn't happy today. I expect to be sore in the legs tomorrow and I mainly did leg work, along with my usual rower/treadmill/cross trainer stuff.

My session went like:

Warm Up
3 minutes on the bike
Stretching

Leg (repeat twice)
20 reps on leg curl 10.5kgs
25 reps leg press, 60kgs
300m on treadmill @ 12% incline

100 step ups
20 Wall balls
1 minute 'push' treadmill (where you use the treadmill without it on)
1 minute straight punches with the punching bag

Arm (repeat twice)
15 arm raised (4 kgs)
1 minute, 2 kgs, holding the weight out arms length making little circles (hard hard hard!!!!)

3 x 10 ab twists with 4kg medicine ball
2.5km bike at level 10

Then stretching....

Took me over an hour as the trainer was busy with some other people and I probably waited too long between exercises.

Sessions 3 and 4

Session 3 (Back and Legs)

Tuesday's night session was HARD - back and leg work out. Wednesday morning I woke to my legs absolutely caning - Terence accidentally brushed my thigh and OWWWWWW!!! Full marks to the PT at Flames - every time they saw me flagging they encouraged me to keep going. The treadmill at the end was a killer.

Warm Up - as usual

Back (repeated twice)

15 Lat pull-downs 22.5kg
Reverse push ups (using straps from a high bar, standing legs in front, lean back until your arms are fully extended, then pull yourself up, keeping the straps tight) as many as possible (I managed 20 and the 18)

500m on the rower

Legs (repeated 4 times)

700 metres on bike, level 10

700 metres on cross trainer, level 10

Back (repeated twice)

15 Straight curls, 18 kgs (using the machine)

12 hammer curls 4kgs dumbbells

500 metres on treadmill, 15% incline

Then stretching out

　

Session 4  (Cardio)

After the previous nights work out I was pretty sore on the legs so was dreading this session. I must say that today (the day after) I am feeling better and my legs aren't as sore. I'm looking forward to the punishment tonight :) Not sure if I've documented everything I did, but this was the main part:

Warm Up

2.5 km on the bike - 500m @ level 3, then 2.0km @ level 5

Stretching

Cardio - repeated 4 times

500m on the treadmill, 0% inclune @ 5.5kms (about 5 min 30)

700m on cross-trainer, level 6, in squat position (about 1 min 40)

500m on rower (About 2 min 40)

Then 4 minutes on spin bike - 20 seconds flat out 10 seconds slow - managed 2.01 kms

Stretching

Weight Loss per week

How much should I be aiming to lose per week? The experts have determined that a 'safe' amount to lose on average each week is 0.9kgs. By safe they mean that you won't be doing long term damage to your body by starving yourself, over exercising or abusing yourself. This amount also means that the changes you are making are more likely be long term changes. We have all probably watching The Biggest Loser over the years, and it has been shown that people that have lost huge amounts of weight in a short period of time are more likely to put it (and more) back on again as they haven't made the required changes in their life to sustain and manage their new weight.

If I am to reach my goal of 10kgs in the three months (which is 13 weeks) I should lose on average 0.77kgs per week, which is a sensible amount. Now obviously this is an average - which means some weeks I may lose less and other weeks I may lose more. Last time I lost weight in 2010 (which was the period 6 months before my daughter passed away), I remember losing weight slowly and then one week I lost 3.5kg! I expect this to probably happen again. So with week 1 almost gone, I am on track to my average, which is expected.

Second Session (Cardio 2)

Monday 5:30pm - not sure what to expect. I thought I was going to be doing a weights session but I was told it was cardio again. This morning my legs are caning, I have the wobbles when standing (may also have something to do with the 3 inch heels I wear at work!). I was a good workout, lasted 50 minutes all up, so not bad and it was continuous and consistent training which is good for weight loss.

The session was made up of:

Warm Up
500metres on bike
Stretching

Punching Bag
This was a mix of jabs, hooks and upper cuts, plus punching with dumbbells for a minute then punching into the air for 30 seconds, stepups with shoulder presses, swinging a kettle ball weight and then squatting with a 5kg medicine ball than standing up and bouncing it against a wall. Got the heart going

Cardio
5 x 200 metre intervals on the rower with 15 second break in between (took about a minute each one)
9 minutes on the treadmill consisting of:
        - 3 minutes at 10% incline
        - 3 minutes at 5% incline
        - 3 minutes at 2% incline   (All up I managed 800 metres total, I'm so slow)
2.5Kms on the cross-trainer, going BACKWARDS - this was a killer, my legs were so wobbly after at and I'm afraid I made have sworn at the trainer (he asked how it was and I said it's f**ked) Took me 7 1/2 minutes

All followed by 10 minutes stretching out.

If I keep this up I'll be extremely sore come Saturday, but all I could think of when it started to get hard was I have to do this - for me and for NICU (there's my motivation!)

Kilojoules

I am attempting to be aware of the Kilojoules I consume during the day. The average female adult requires between 8300 kJ - 10900 kJ to maintain weight.

Obviously, to lose weight, your kilojoules intake must be less than your kilojoules usage.

Today, my kilojoules intake was:

Just Right ½ cup with ½ cup skim milk                  870 KJ            0.8g Fat

Handful of Strawberries                                             120 KJ             0.0g Fat

Multi-grain roll (small)                                            290 KJ            1.0g Fat

         - with tuna in springwater                               325 KJ             1.0g Fat

Orange – flesh only                                                   165 KJ             0.0g Fat

Apple – small Red Delicious                                      210 KJ            0.0g Fat

Tomato Soup (Heinz Big Red)                                  265 KJ           0.0g Fat

         -  Multi-grain roll (small)                               290 KJ            1.0g Fat

                                                            TOTAL:       2535 KJ       3.8g Fat

This means that I should have a deficit of 5,765 KJ that will have to be used by my body from my storage.

My intake won't be this on everyday, as I need to keep my iron intake up (yay for steak!) but by keeping track of what I eat, I can track what I am putting in compared to what comes out.

First Training Session

9:00 am Saturday morning and I have turned up, a little nervous, to Flames Fitness in Calwell. I am met by the trainer and told that I am going to be pushed hard. And he wasn't lying.

My session lasted for a little over an hour - some time was taken showing me how to use the equipment but over all it was go go go all the time. My session went like this:

500 metres on the bike warming up
5 minutes stretching

Group 1 (repeated twice)
20 flies with 4kgs weights
15 pushups (using a barbell so I am in an inclined position)
500 metres on the cross-trainer, level 10

Group 2 - Cardio (repeated three times) - each activity took between 2 and 4 minutes, no rest in between
300 metres on the treadmill @ 5% incline, 6.0km/h
400 metres on the rower
700 metres on the bike, level 6

Group 3 (repeated twice)
Dips - as many as possible (I managed 7 first time and 5 second time)
15  Tricep extension while lying on the bench

Then 10 minutes of stretching.

My legs were jelly at the end and my arms were also very wobbly. My trainer pushed me, even though he had other people to look after, anytime I started slowing down, he was straight on it telling me to push harder.
During the session I drank over a litre of water, especially during the cardio session :)

Next session Monday 5:30pm.........

Blockers

Losing weight is going to be mixture of exercise and watching what I eat - eating the right things at the right time - and drinking lots of water. However I have to be aware of the things that will prevent me losing weight and the excuses I might use to stop going to the gym.

 Diet:

1. Chocolate - love it, don't eat it 
2. Breakfast - don't currently have it, need to 
3. Terence (my husband) - he needs to put ON weight, not lose it, so we need to have different things for dinner, same with the kids. 
4. Water - need to drink a minimum of 2litres a day!

Exercise:

1. Time - working full time and having 5 kids makes it hard. I have agreed with Terence I will go to the gym at 5:30pm each day, giving me time to feed the baby between work and going to the gym. By going to a schedule it will be easier to keep to it and find the time. Also gym at night is better for me as I find it hard to get up early enough to go before work.
2. Sore muscles - going to be an issue initially, and I'll have to push through it.
3. Motivation - by raising money for NICU, I hope my motivation will stay high throughout. Also my project manager and other colleagues at work are keen to help me achieve my goals. 

Starting tomorrow - here goes everything :)

Breakfast: the most important meal of the day

I don't normally eat breakfast. Haven't done since I was in High School. Really. Every now and again, I might eat a couple of weet-bix, or have a yoghurt, but no regular breakfast eating here. I have been told that I have to if I am going to lose the weight I want. Why? Having breakfast is supposed to kick off your metabolism in the morning. By waiting for lunch, your body is not burning the calories off - in fact your body is still in 'starvation' mode where it has slowed down your metabolism because it thinks that it is not geting enough nutrients to keep it going. By eating breakfast you can start to getting that metabolism working for you. So, one of my tasks is to make sure that I have breakfast each day. Breakfast should consist of hi-fibre foods, no oily stuff (Goodbye bacon :( ) with some fruit - I'm thinking weet-bix or Just Right or museli with some strawberries/ blueberries/ raspberries on top with low fat milk. That should get me through to snack time at about 10:30 =, which is time for another piece of fruit/vegatable.

Initial Assessment at Flames Fitness

Today I had the initial assessment at Flames Fitness to determine my current weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), at rest heart rate and heart rate after 3 minutes exercise. We also went over my goals and what I wanted to achieve over the 12 week period.

My starting weight is 98kgs - which is less than what Terence (my husband thought I was) which was around what I thought I was. At a height of 165cm (5 ft 5 1/2 inches) gives me a body index that puts me in the overweight range (which I already knew). My blood pressure was bang on at 120/80 and my heart rate at rate at rest was perfect.

To determine my heart rate after exercise I had to step up onto a step thing for three minutes. It was at knee height, and I'll tell you that after 2 minutes I was getting a little unsteady, but I made it. My heart rate after 3 minutes of exercise was around 138 beats per minutes, which wasn't too bad.

Diet wise, I have to drink at least 2 lts of water a day and eat 9 serves of fruit and vegetables per day. I also have to eat breakfast (which I don't do at the moment) and avoid carbohydrate heavy meals at dinner (less pasta and rice). If I want to snack I should eat a piece of fruit or vegetable or a handful of nuts. I also have a food diary that I have to fill out and they will check every week.

First session 1st September (Saturday) for a cardio session, and then gym weekdays and weekends off. Monday, Wednesday and Friday are weight sessions and Tuesday and Thursday are cardio sessions. The guys at Flames reckon if I can keep it up, 10kgs is definitely possible :-)

Pledges

I have started taking pledges and I am so very grateful to everyone who has said that they would support the cause.

So far: I have over $150 in straight pledges and a combined total of $23.00 per kilogram lost in the per kilo pledges. Plus my Dad's pledge which is far too complicated to state but it includes a sliding scale.

My aim is to donate between $300 and $500 to NICU and it looks like I am well on the way to get that, but please keep the pledges up, the more weight I lose, the more I can support NICU and the babies that are desperately trying to put on weight!

Email me at judith.stamp@hotmail.com.au for a pledge form. Every donation over $2 is tax deductible - the receipt will be done by The Canberra Hospital Foundation after I have finished.

Thank you everyone!!!!

So what's it all about . . . .

I am participating in a fund raising activity to raise funds for the Neonatal Intensive care Unit (NICU) at the Canberra Hospital.

Why NICU?
Three of my children were cared for by the staff at NICU, and this is my way of giving something back.

Kiara was born at 31 weeks, weighing 1960grams.

She was in NICU for 3 weeks.

Natassja contracted influenza in the womb and was born at 33 weeks weighing 2055grams and required mechanical ventilation for 72 hours.

She was in NICU for 3 weeks.

Lucas was born at 36 weeks with a strep infection and required antibiotics.

He was in NICU for 10 days.

Even my new baby Kayl was in NICU for 24 hours after birth because he had fluid in his lungs.

I have no doubt that if NICU was not here Kiara, Natassja and even Lucas would not be with me.

At NICU every gram gained by the babies are critical, so every kilo lost by me is a gain for them.

So what am I doing?

I'm losing weight - and I would like your sponsorship to support my efforts.

You can sponsor me a fixed amount, or preferably, sponsor me for every kilogram lost!

I am doing this from the 1st September to 30th November 2012.

My goal is to lose 10kgs in this time.