The saga of the weight loss. Again.

Yesterday, the last day of January, I began my diet and exercise regime in earnest. Having slipped over the 70 kg mark again I thought it time to curtail my exuberant eating and drinking and visit the gym. I hate being forty-something if only for the difficulty of keeping my weight down. Otherwise I like being forty-something! Besides. All my clothes are getting very tight. I don’t have a set of scales so I can only go by what fits. Not much fits at the moment.

February Is a perfect time for me to go hard, plus do Feb Fast, because my teaching isn’t at full strength and I have good swathes of free time. Plus I’ve finished my PhD. So for those who care about such pettinesses, here is my regime to lose 10 kg (again).

I joined my gym’s fitness boot camp. 8 weeks long, it gives me 8 personal training sessions, a dedicated exercise class, food diary and measurement tracker. They measured my weight, height, arm, leg and torso sizes, bmi, skeletal weight, fat percentage and body age. This is always the hardest part. They took a photo (ugh) and did a fitness test. I’m fit but a bit fat. At 26.4% bmi I’m considered a bit overweight and my proportion of body fat is 39.6%. Too high! That’s drinking and crap eating and no exercise for you! Walking the dog does not cut it for my health regime.

I have entered all possible classes into my diary so for February I can attend a class every day. My gym also has a 50m outdoor Olympic-sized swimming pool, which in hot, humid weather like this is a perfect finish to my daily exercise: I breaststroke swim about 400-500 metres (8-10 laps) and it washes out the pain and heat from the class, and allows me to stretch.

One pt session a week plus a 1/boxing class; 2/ yoga; 3/ hiit circuit; 4/ body pump or Zumba. That plus a swim should do it! I’m terrible in the morning and prefer mid-morning classes, hence the odd mix of classes. There’s also a Thursday evening boot camp class which may kill me, but I’ll have a go!

I already belong to MyFitnessPal, which is a near-perfect app in which I can measure my diet, exercise, track my activity and weight loss, and record a range of health and fitness activities. Plus it has the added benefit of a community of like-minded souls all seeking health and svelte bodies. For those who care, my blood pressure is ridiculously low: last night it registered 93/57 (we have a portable home blood pressure monitor). I won’t die of fatness, but I may die through falling over.

I’ve cut out alcohol for February. But I’ve already given myself a head start by not drinking over the last 3 nights. Not too bad so far.

I record all my eating habits. I’m used to doing this from last time, and even though it’s hard at first, sticking to 1500 calories is pretty easy. I’ve no desire to eat less than this as I get too faint, and 1500 calories allows me 400 calories per meal plus snacks. A 400 cal meal size is a good portion and there’s wiggle room for sweet treats and a drink. Both of which I’ve cut out for the time being.

The above regime is similar to the successful one I did in 2013. The only problem I have with it is that I hate exercise. I feel sore for days and I hate getting sweaty. But it’s the only way. My body loves to move. Without a serious amount of exercise I can’t maintain a lower weight. So it’s yo-yo for me. At least I know and understand this though.

So if I do everything like I did in 2013 I should lose 4 kgs a month, dropping back to 2 kgs per month after 8 weeks. I’ll let you know how I get on. In the meantime, I have a gym class to attend. Adios, amigos!

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That diet thing again…

I’ve been sadly aware of a slight “thickening” or squishiness about my midriff of late. My thighs don’t have the svelte, toned sleekness of a few months ago and this week I noticed my BOOBS were growing. Enough, says I. Enough. Time to go back on the ol’ calorie count, and up the exercise.

Trouble is, now that I’m back at PhD, the exercise tends to go out the window a bit. I’m still very strong – in fact, probably stronger than ever. Today my trainer (yes, I still have one at the same gym, but he’s now called Tyson-the-tyrannical-torturer) made me do jump squats, jump lunges, 40 pushups, 30 bench triceps, 20 high-step high knees holding 5 kg weights, 20 side raises holding 5 kg weights, and 10 straight-arm lifts holding 4 kg weights. Plus a bunch of other stuff such as Ab work in a Circuit. I have no stamina and my breath management is terrible. But I am still exercising. One day a week (plus lots of dog walking) is just not enough. And I feel TERRIBLE. Very unfit and my body hates me right now, lots of aches and pains, and general schlumpiness.

So I thought I should start counting my calories again. I’m not being very cautious about my eating habits at present, and I’m frequently very hungry, so I thought I’d check what I’m actually eating by reconnecting with MyFitnessPal. Most days my diet is about 2000cal, which includes a small icecream and 2 glasses of wine. So, take out that and my diet sits in the right band for healthy weight management. But there are still things I can do to be more vigilant. Firstly, I’ve taken to eating pasta, bread and potatoes again. Time to take them off the menu, and replace them with in order: cauliflower “rice” or quinoa, cruskits or low-cal crispbread, and pumpkin instead of potato. That should cut my carbohydrate intake by about 300 cals per day, and still allow me those 2 glasses of wine. Because I need the wine. I really really do. It’s the only thing that will get me through 4 months of PhD study.

I don’t weigh myself any more, because it’s more about how well I fit into my lovely, lovely slim clothes. I have one particularly snug fitting pair of red pants, which is a good barometer for me to see if I need to lose weight. When they become a little snug (not round the waist, it’s around my thighs and butt) the waist band pulls on my back, giving me back ache. Time to take action. Now, in the recent past when this happened not so long ago, I just added an extra workout to my week. However, I’m struggling to get to the gym early in the week, so I need to find other ways to maintain my exercise regime. Maybe yoga? Or dance classes? Both sound great. Or I could go on holiday to the beach and just do lots of swimming in the ocean, running along the shore in the soft sand, and taking the dog for long walks while I think about the next piece in my PhD puzzle.

At any rate, I’m reminding myself to be vigilant during this holiday season, because I will no doubt be at my most sedentary and snacky as I try to finish my lit review.

Weight loss, maintenance and the pursuit of perfection

So, in 2007 I turn 37, get married, move to sunny, hot QLD and over 4 years the weight just stacks on. I join gyms, get a PT for a short while, but the willpower is not there and the PT is frankly not very good. Besides, I am happy, slightly overheated and disinclined to get sweatier than I already am. After 4 years, a  mostly finished PhD and no exercise, 40-something me is eyeing off size 14 clothes and lamenting the loss of my figure, thinking sadly that I’m probably destined for frumpy middle-agedom after years of being mostly slim and basically healthy.

Then in 2012 I have an epiphany, take time off from the PhD and decide to lose weight and get healthy. I join a private gym, get a PT, exercise 4 times a week, eat well for the first time in years, count calories and food intake and voila, underneath frumpy lady is not-frumpy lady. Weight falls off, muscle builds and tones, and I am back into a size 8 and lamenting that off-the-rack clothes don’t really work for smaller waists and larger thighs. (When one says larger thighs, they aren’t really all that large at all – just sayin’.)

Now, I am in maintenance mode. I struggle to get to the gym more than 2 times a week and that includes my PT session, I drink 2 glasses of wine a day, eat ice-creams and the occasional biscuit and have stopped counting calories and food intake. But the weight has stayed off, as far as I can tell. You see, I don’t weigh myself except when I’m at the gym, and even then, not very much. I don’t panic when I feel I am having a “fat” day – it’s just my hormonal cycle fluctuating as it should.

Even my PT can’t understand it – he asks what I am eating, what other exercise I am doing to keep so fit, and all I can say is “my body likes being like this”. And so it does. Last century, American psychologist William Sheldon came up with the notion of somatotyping, that suggests humans come in three basic body patterns or sizes (somatotypes): ectomorph (long and thin); mesomorphs (muscular, fit); and endomorphs (large, broad). It’s basically accepted to be quackery (you should read how he got his data! Research fraud!) now but hey, it works for this black duck. According to this pop psychology theory I am a mesomorph. I gain and lose weight easily, I develop muscle easily, and my body is compact and designed for powerful movement. I do mainly strength training because I HATE cardio, but I DO do a circuit class, mainly on the weekend, and sometimes I do boxing as well. Must get back into that on Thursday nights.

Thing is, I can feel my motivation slipping away every so slightly. Yesterday I was in a bit of a heap and took a doona day – I’ve been battling a throat infection for weeks and I just needed to lie down for a long time. I went to the gym in the morning, but I didn’t take the dog for a walk as I should have, and then I spent the day grazing, basically because my body is fighting off this thing. And I was hungry. Today I feel a heap better, but it’s raining and I’m not sure the dog will get her walk today, and I’m still tired and a bit achy. And I have work to do.

I was reading a long-lost blog by a fellow MyFitnessPal user who has been a great inspiration to me – essentially same age and weight, she has reported on her weight loss journey and taken progress pictures, and she looks amazing! Her actual weight has fluctuated a lot (about 15 lbs), and depending on what she has been doing – either strength training or cardio and calorie-controlled eating, she looks almost the same in all her shots. Actually, she looks hot in her strength training shots, heavier in weight but slimmer in size. I wasn’t aware that strength training can have such an awesome effect on one’s appearance, but it really does. But even this amazing, sensible woman has had her low months. She recently reported on her battles with depression and illness that have demotivated her. Old habits crept back in, exercise went down hill and she gained weight. And she stopped writing in her blog, which is why I couldn’t find it for months. But she’s back now. And I’m so glad – because one needs motivations like someone else’s blog to re-energise and refocus.

So, to perfection? Well, we all know that’s not possible. And I don’t want to be perfect. But I do want to be fitter, now. Healthier, and even stronger. Because all this helps me as I age. Here are some before and after shots for those who think that sort of thing’s important: (notice how I’m hiding my fat bits from the camera in the first shot!)

What a difference a day makes!

Ok, now I’m not feeling gloomy about my methods chapter. I read it against another narrativist whose methods chapter I thought was AWESOME and mine totally stacks up against it just fine. Mine could probably use some culling, but it’s basically done. I’ve done the conclusion and I’m finding all the references I’ve not included and putting them in at the end so that my supervisor knows I’ve done the referencing right.

I’m a very happy camper. In other great news, I had a haircut today, and what with my new physique and improved wardrobe, I feel like a hotty again. I really do. Just need to stop eating the sweet delights AND the wine. Maybe one a day, but not both, and not multiples. Otherwise food is also going well. Here’s a photo of me (finally, because I now feel awesome enough to put myself out there) – not the whole body shot because I can’t take selfies that work, but a head shot of my nice new hairdo.

I’m having a great day.

 

The art of apprenticeship.

I’m writing a paper for a conference presentation due later this week and I’ve been giving apprenticeship some thought. My paper argues for a rethink of apprenticeship, particularly the one-to-one music lesson because I think we have conflated the valuable part of apprenticeship – that of learning domain skills from a more experienced person – with the perception that the misuse of power of the “master” overrides and somehow nullifies the achievements of the apprentice.

Well. Don’t confuse misuse of power with domain skill acquisition. That’s my argument in a nutshell.

Anyway, no real time to nut out my idea in this forum: I need to get on and write the bloody paper.

Other minor thoughts for my dieting and health buddies: dieting while travelling is nearly impossible. Exercise is somewhat more possible, but I’m missing my gym work. Did 20 pushups just now and found it a mite difficult. And normally I can squat lots without raising so much as a hair, but nearly got sweaty when I did 40 just now. And forget writing in MyFitnessPal. I’ve given up on trying to do that while travelling. Hideous. Oh well. I’m hoping I’ll be able to amp up the exercise and diet upon my return next week. Will have to. I’ve been eating potato chips and bread and wine with rather too much relish.

When the cat’s away the mice….study.

This week DH heads off to Europe for business and I follow him a couple of weeks later. I’ve been thinking about what I might potentially do while we’re apart, and it occurred to me that I don’t have to worry about spending time with my man because we can’t. This bodes well for my study timetable, I hope, even as I know I will miss him terribly.

So it will be interesting to see if I can finish my methods chapter in the next week,  or whether I’m kidding myself and his absence makes absolutely no difference to my study timetable. I’m thinking of this as a test scenario for when I’m in Yorkshire on our study retreat.

Certainly this weekend yawns enticingly ahead, mostly free of work commitments (1 glossary to complete today). I’ve no money to buy stuff with and no overriding need to do anything other than clean the floors, do my washing, go to yoga and walk the dog. No friends to see or people to meet. Nothing but drive my man to the airport in an hour. Mind you, I’ve already wasted half the morning playing Plants vs Zombies and reading the paper.

I will report on my findings next week, after I’ve been teaching for 37 hours as per usual.

*In the meantime, for all those interested in my weight loss regime, I’ve not lost much weight these last few weeks because I’ve been slack (or busy at work, whichever way you look at it), and haven’t been to the gym more than twice a week. I’ve been rather careless with my diet, too, and yesterday was VERY naughty, because it was my birthday celebration dinner. So this next 12 days or so will see me up the regime, attend more gym and eat better, in preparation for a fortnight of walking over windy hill and dale, eating heart warming stews and probably drinking rather too much ale/red wine/ whatever’s available at the ye olde British pub.

Losing weight the SLOW way

A coffee shop owner recently confided in me that she and her daughter are undergoing something called “Hipoxy” weight loss. As she put it, you are placed in some sort of machine which massages you for 30 minutes while you do some “light” exercise. Afterwards you are measured. You do this once a week for several months. Apparently her daughter has lost inches! However, neither the cafe owner or the daughter has lost any weight. Just inches.

OMG. How can I tell this lovely, well meaning woman that what she is doing is BOGUS? That someone is taking her money for her to lose water? The website selling this bullshit weightloss regime purports to show scientific evidence for “targeted” weight loss from thighs and buttocks, etc, but all I’ve seen from her is nothing. No evidence that she is losing weight, gaining muscle, or achieving anything other than a lighter wallet.

SIGH. On the plus side, the trainers at my gym are REALLY noticing my weight loss and muscle definition. It’s great. Went there yesterday, tired and grumpy as always, felt better as soon as I walked in the door, when Chelsea-the-trainer noticed my new and improved frame. I had a good, targeted workout that for once felt totally doable (reduced my reps to 12 from 15 but upped the weight) then gossiped terribly with Bailey-the-trainer, and afterwards weighed myself. Despite having a horror few weeks with poor diet and low exercise, I’ve still lost another 300 grams. So I’m down to 63 kgs (138 lb). I don’t weigh myself every week any more. It’s not healthy and I don’t need it. My clothes are testimony to my weight loss, and the comments from people who never knew me as a slim person are really great to hear.

I’m just 4 kgs off my goal weight of 59 kgs. It’s losing these last few kgs that becomes really hard, and they march back on really easily, too. Is it worth the angst to drop these last few kgs when any lack of work at all will reverse the weight loss? 4 kgs equates to 10 lbs. The old 10 lbs problem. I need to think on this (maybe while going to that third gym class).

I’m turning 43 next week and to have the body of a 30 something woman is a real thrill. Slow and steady has done it for me, like I thought it would.

Hang on, I lost weight after all.

After a super PT session this morning using only dumbbells and free weights, we weighed me and found I’ve lost yet another kilo (2lbs). Woohoo! I thought I was just treading water. No. My body is clearly saying to me: run, jump, exercise, lift things, lose weight.

So, from last week’s weigh-in where I had lost no weight at all (64.6 kgs the week before), I am down again! I seem to move in 2 week cycles. Nothing one week, then a good amount the following week. Nice. I am now 63.7 kilos (140lbs). My waist is the most impressive part, as I’ve lost most of the excess fat around my tummy and I have a lovely taut waist and hips again. But Bailey-the-trainer is totally thrilled with the results from my diet and exercise plan. He sees definition in my upper body and arms and is really happy with my approach. I love my gym.

Eating: yes. Eating sensibly? Well, mostly. No chips or fries or anything, but the occasional sandwich wrap if I can’t get a frittata or salad for lunch, and I even had cake on the weekend. Drink? Yes, thanks. Red wine is fine and sometimes I even have two glasses. Pizza? No, thanks. But I DID eat a Grill’d burger the other week and it was GOOD.

Result? I’ve moved into the long-term phase of my eating and drinking plan. The one that says I can have wine, and cake, and chocolate and even potatoes. Just not too much of any one thing, and not too frequently, either.

Happy? Yes. Thrilled, actually. NOTHING fits me any more. But I’ve complained about that before. I’ve bought interim clothes and I have nice shoes. On the down side, my meal sizes have dropped AGAIN, to 1260 calories per day, which will be very hard to stick to without going over. Darn it. For example, I’ve already met nearly all my day’s requirements and I’ve not even had dinner yet. My main meals are about 300 calories each and I’ve taken to eating a protein and berry smoothie half way through teaching at night to keep the energy up, so it means I only get about 200 cals for my evening meal. No wine for me this week!

Tired? Of course. Exhausted. It could be worse. I could be shlumpy, chubby and exhausted. Now I’m exhausted and fit. Heeheehee!

Too tired…to…write

I would write a nice long post, but I’m too tired. Here’s what has happened this week (nothing bad, mind).

I haven’t lost any weight. But all my clothes are too big for me, so that’s ok. Even my size 8 pants from Laura Ashley are too big. I’m exercising regularly 3 times per week, aiming for 4, except I’m not really managing 4. We ARE walking the dog quite fast, though.

I’m working very hard. I have started teaching again, so my timetable is looking horrendous. No time for shopping or relaxation. I will have 37 hours teaching per week over the university semester. That’s one-to-one singing lessons and 2 tutes. Ugh. I love teaching, but even I’m feeling the pinch this week.

I’m finishing off a thesis edit and formatting the document, messy stuff. I’m writing a glossary, coordinating staff to get them to add to the glossary, and compiling the results for the Musical Theatre students. I’m TRYING to write the first chapter of our singing book so that I don’t have to worry about that again. This paragraph should be over by next week.

And I’m trying to finish off my PhD.

No way, Jose. So, there it is. And Poppy the dog is gorgeous, but very nippy for a little puppy. Annoyingly so.

And now: bed. Night night.