9/07/2010

status update.

it ain't easy, this trying to eat well and move and listen to my body-thing.

i've been very gently watching what i eat and couting points and am amazed every day by how quickly i run out of points. i'm even more amazed, however, by my urge to eat and eat and eat, even when i'm not hungry, even though it's much less stressful at our house right now (omg, no houseguests in five days! oh, look! that'll change tonight again! blergh.), even though we're heading off to italy tomorrow.

i finally started reading 'breaking free from emotional eating' (i bought it right after reading 'when food is love' in april) and it's an eye-opener in every way. no wonder i put off reading it for months, and even now, i've started (and almost finished) another book. just thinking about all this is tiring and touchy and whatnot. ordered the workbook to go with it, and will force, no, gently coax myself through it as well.

i'm just not feeling that great physically. i'm supertired and demotivated at work, and i threw my back out yet again over the weekend, and practically haven't moved my head since sunday (imagine me riding my bike home yesterday....that was not road safe.). saw a doc yesterday who told me i should simply take painkillers (helpful, that, who would have thought!), got myself am appointment with my ortho next week, and am seeing chris in just about 90 minutes (for the third time in two weeks, mind you). oh well.

on top of everything, the weekend was...indulgent. i drank booze for the first time in months really (made me realise while i haven't done that in a while), there was my boss' wedding (where the food was kinda crappy, but where i ate too much of the only food that was nice - cake!), an excursion to a winery on sunday and some salty food, and now i'm retaining water like crazy (which made me realise, yet again, why i stopped weighing myself). i feel all swollen and squishy and uncomfy and am (seriously, someone kick me for typing this) hoping this is not my cycle again (cd 17 today). reminding myself to drink lots, and tonight, i'll do some kind of workout and follow up with the sauna. likely a yoga class, anything else would be a very bad idea.

baby steps, baby steps.

9/01/2010

all work and no play.

things are going better. i'm feeling a lot better about everything already, and it's not due to the fact that i'm counting points, it's due to the fact that i'm taking care of myself again. i felt hunger for the first time in weeks these past days. and it felt good to feed myself because i was hungry (and to make a good choice then), not because i was stressed out tired or because it was lunchtime.

i'm still super tired, though. and i realised what my main issue right now is: i hate the fact that everything feels like work right now. there's my main, bill-paying job, obviously, and on top of that there's a gym habit that feels like a part-time job at times, i'm like a b&b host for the houseguests, cook & housekeeper for the bf and i (even if i go to the gym after work, i'm usually home before him, so if i don't want to wait hungry...), go-to-problem-solver for one of the kids who's in a dire situation right now, and on top of that i'm me, girlfriend, daughter, sister, friend. i seriously suck at the latter, btw, because the first few things take up so much time and leave me so exhausted that i just can't deal with anyone or anything at the end of the day. like right now, for example, when i'm surprisingly home by myself for a few hours. there are so many things i should be doing (laundry, some extra work, prepare a skit my friend g. and i will be doing at our bosses wedding on saturday,...) but i'm making a conscious decision to not do any of that and to just hang out in bed for a while, blogging. here's to some me-time, hooray!

however. i need to figure out some things, and i need to do so, soon.

the main one is my or rather - our - living situation. due to the way r. and his business pal changed their shop concept last year, there will be a recurring need to house people for a few days or a few weeks. there is no way around it. this summer, r. and i hosted the majority of 'em for a variety of reasons. when we didn't have work people stay over, we had family staying because of various dramas. r. wasn't (and isn't) phased by either one bit. he's used to living in hectic households, and hey, these were his colleagues, and his (previous) family, not mine. i'm different. while i like having people around, i am seriously bothered by hecticness and things being out of place, and also by some specific people we've had to host. i'm the one with the regular job, the one who has to get up first every morning, the one who gets the groceries and the toilet paper and does the laundry. and i've reached my limit, to be honest.

and i'm not sure how we can solve this, really, not sure what rules we can instill that will make life better for me. install date night? (when?) enforce breaks between houseguest? (not possible, most likely). i know that small things cans make a big difference (we swapped wardrobes, btw, which gave me the one in our bed- instead of the guestroom, which made life a lot better instantly), but i find it hard to find and name these small solutions. and even if we set rules: how are we going to make them work with our hectic, always changing schedules and unexpected happenings?

the weirdest bit is this though: i still have my little appartment. an appartment i haven't slept in for months. i can't imagine spending a night there, again, really, and yet i've kept that flat. as a security blanket (a really expensive one, too). however, i weigh living with r. against peace and quiet (and loneliness), living with r. wins. and yet. it can't go on like this. because the way things are right now is making me unhappy.

part of it is probably because i feel so uprooted here. my things aren't here, this isn't my home (yet), this is still very much r.'s house. maybe i feel so threatened by this string of houseguests, because they make me feel like a guest as well. i'm so worried about whether we will be able to make this my home. i'm worried about whatever moving-in-related-crap we might argue about, worried about our clashing lifestyles. worried about what will happen then. hello, fear of committment, what the hell are you doing here?

i wish i had a conclusion here, but i don't. apart from this one, maybe: my eating habits these past few weeks have very little to do with food, and a hell of a lot to do with my feelings. who would have thought?

8/30/2010

the summer of my discontent.

in late june, i stopped weighing myself. i just didn't feel like it anymore. i also stopped counting points, which i hadn't really been doing for a while, anyway, and i stopped reading weight loss and fitness blogs and books about food and eating. call it an experiment in normaldom, if you wish, even if it wasn't a conscious decision to attempt intuitive eating, even if it wasn't a conscious thing at all.

i guess i was just tired of it all.

and then i had a hellish four weeks at work, had major intestinal trouble that sent me to my gp first, and then to a gastroenterologist, then i had to get a tooth pulled and despite all that my body somehow managed to do something my body practically never does: i had a cycle and menstruated a few times (horray for the effort, boo for the pms and the bloating and the boobs), and there was a bunch of travel that had me away from r. for way too long and i found myself being totally fed up and bored at the gym even though i still went three times a week and......and did i mention that we had houseguests for eight weeks straight? it wasn't because of them that i started being sneaky around food, but i did, and i somehow forgot that i feel best when i plan my daytime meals, so i was starving at work because i forgot my brekkie, started having cake for lunch or 500g of full fat vanilla yoghurt and half a bag of crunchy granola or a bag of wasabi dusted macadamias.....and somehow i started prefering some clothes over others, and during bikram class, i couldn't slide into garurasana as deeply as i used to because my thighs seemed so plump (must be the water weight!), and then yesterday i realised that i had to put on my largest jeans for the three hour hike with the dog, which made me feel so bad that i couldn't stop reaching for the (homemade, healthy, vegan) biscuits after dinner.....and this morning i finally stepped on my scale again, and i weigh 71.3kg.

the number doesn't matter. i'm actually really surprised that it really doesn't matter. what matters though, is that i don't feel well, haven't really felt well for these past eight weeks, and probably the eight weeks before that, too, back when my weight was creeping up and i was in a total panic about it. it was good to stop being panicky. it was not good to stop being...me.

i've been looking after myself crappily, not feeding myself well, being secretive about food, taking extra servings (always so scared to miss out, to go hungry, to not have enough, unable to stop), and now my clothes don't fit, and and yes, i could buy bigger ones, but i really don't want to. i like my clothes. i liked, no, loved the way i felt in my body in the spring. i miss that feeling.

i love myself. i love my body. i'm not angry with it, for wanting and holding on to some extra weight, so soft on my hips and thighs (extra padding to distance myself from all these people invading my household, my life?). i'm not angry with myself for gaining these five, seven, eight, whatever, kgs. i'm just sad about this summer, which really lacked in the fun and happiness and sunshine and eating strawberries department, sad about the stress and the worries and about being unable to reach out.

i tried, in a variety of ways ways, actually. sitting in my docs office, whining about my intestinal worries and about life, to which he recommended homeopathic anti-anxiety-medication which i tried for two weeks and hated. i had a trainer appointment the week before last, where i complained to c. about being run down, and she told me to relax, to do less, to change my routine, to go to the sauna after class, and who let me weigh in without me knowing the number. that helped, somewhat. and yet last week, i had to crawl into my physio's office after throwing out my back in pump class. how many more messages from my body do i need? message received, body. it's time to look after you better again.

i know that it'll all get better. everything will get better. r. and i we're figuring out how i'll finally, properly move in this fall. we'll go to italy, twice (and i won't think twice about wearing a bikini), and in early october, i'll fly out to chicago for a long weekend with my dad to see my brother run his first ever marathon.

i owe it to myself to make good choices for myself, to really work out (and not just go through the motions), to relax and stretch and quiet my mind in yoga class and to feed myself well and to treat me gently and look after my emotions. i'm trying to keep it simple, right now. all changes that i do right now have to be substainable. no extreme measures, no bootcamp.

for now, i'm starting to weigh myself again daily and to track my food by counting points again.

so there.

6/21/2010

we're having a love affair.


....that green drop and i. a hot and sweaty and happy love affair with lots of quality time at the gym and a bunch of great food.

i feel like myself again.

and that is all.

6/19/2010

my life is complete.


i finally found edamame in a local store. hooray!

6/16/2010

bootcamp, day five.

dudes. i am feeling so much better. SO MUCH BETTER! i've been eating well and lots and yummily, and i've been working out, well and lots and yummily. yesterday, i did a nicely hard weights session, and today i did my third long cardio session, while watching an itunes u political philosophy session from harvard. mens sana in corpore sano. right?


(still whispering weirdly. also forgot my headband and had a bad hair day after getting rained on three times.)

just 17 hours on the bike to go! afterwards i took a 90 minute yvengar class, my second, and because i'd forgotten to bring a second t-shirt (the first one was sweat through), i took the class in my sports top, which no one ever does at my gym. well. bit uncomfy, that.

the yvengar, however, wasn't uncomfy. it was fab. you know, theoretically, i hate yvengar. it's stupid accessories driven yoga. for non-flexible losers. or whatever. too bad it works so well. it's freaking hard, and i love that it's so detail obsessed. will continue to go, in the absence of a bikram studio.

the rest of my bootcamp stuff is going well, struggling most with drinking 80 oz of water a day, but that's no biggie.

so yeah. i feel so much better. oh yes.

6/15/2010

the past three months.


i've got a crush on that tiny little green drop at the very end there.

6/14/2010

whine.

on 15 days out of the last 45, the guy and i have had houseguests. and the next batch is set to arrive tomorrow.

trying to find a frame of mind that will let me get through the next few days, calmly and happily and unfazed and unstressed by the mess and chaos and everything else.

arnica d6.

i don't believe in homeopathy. and yet i have to admit that that bruise on my leg, which was practically egg-size 23 hours ago, is a whole lot better.

weird.

cd154.

after six weeks of hormonal horror, i'm having a party for my hardworking uterus today. oh yes. thank you, uterus, for finally getting your act together. i am so very very proud of you! :)

6/13/2010

bootcamp, day two.


one more boring hour on the bike down, yay! 't was a bit less boring then yesterday, actually. i listened to 'speaking of faith' and kept calculating how many % i'd already done.

what was not so yay though, was this: right after hopping off the bike, i smashed my shin into a crosstrainer, which resulted in some bleeding and a bruise so immediately massive, that i headed home sans vibra plate and sans stretching to ice it and to start chuckinh homeopathic arnica. that was painful and pretty embarrassing (not the first time i've run into stuff at the gym), and i'm a bit annoyed by the fact that my legs are always bruised in the summer.

duh.

right now, walking hurts, so i am officially cancelling tomorrow mornings' cardio workout and moving it to either tuesday or thursday, depending on how my leg feels.

6/12/2010

inspiration. [#13]

the great fitness experiment: who would i be if i weren't broken?

[which is yet another reminder that i shoul finally, finally pick up geneen roth's "breaking free from emotional eating" that's been on my nightstand for a few weeks and that i keep putting down because it hits too close to home.]

bootcamp, day one.

this morning, i kicked off my jillian michaels inspired self-planned kickass-bootcamp and spend some quality time at the gym, including a rather boring hour on the stationary bike. because the knee is still wonky (and felt surprisingly crap today), i can't hang out on a crosstrainer for an hour.

in any way, here's proof:


(i'm whispering very weirdly. got to work on my filming-self with ipod-technique.)




't was good!

i've figured out how i will attempt to work out this week, and it's rather insane, totally not how i want to spend my life for the rest of my life, but i'll give it a go, for this week. just because.

sunday: vibraplate, one hour cardio, stretching
monday: am, one hour cardio, stretching; pm: 90 minutes ashtanga
tuesday: pm warm up, fat burning circle, weights, stretching
wednesday: am, one hour cardio, stretching; pm: 90 minutes yvengar
thursday: pm warm up, fat burning circle, weights, stretching
friday: am, one hour cardio, stretching
saturday: warm up, fat burning circle, vibraplate, weights, one hour cardio, stretching

this plan will quite likely (and rightfully so!) be derailed by the homebirth of a my friend e., whose second kid is set to arrive any day now, and while that will be happening, i will look after her firstborn. i will not let it be derailed by the soccer world cup and the impending visit of the boy kid and his boyfriend, who will be here starting tuesday.

and everything else? is going well. drinking water, eating self-prepared foods. all good.

6/11/2010

kickstart.

my body's still not back to normal. i'm still bloated and crampy and just feeling off. and yet i'm feeling  better. it's all about the frame of mind, innit? i've been trying to listen to my body, eating when i'm hungry, and eating stuff that i am hungry for, and on wednesday evening, i made it to the gym and decided on a whim that i needed a yoga class, not my usual workout, and that felt good as well. i'm so glad i can be flexible about my workout habits, these days. i struggled with that big time in the past, one of the many reasons why i never managed to make my habits last.

i realised anyway, that i really need to give myself some credit. i've now managed to work out consistently for a whole year, and i am fitter than i've ever been. i've now been pretty consistently feeding myself well for more than two years. today, i ran into a friend of r. who hadn't seen me in a while and who said "good grace, girl, you've lost a ton of weight!". as i am writing this,  i am wearing a size 36 dress. what i am learning to do right now is maintenance. i've never been at this spot, ever before. i've got no idea how this works. it's not surprising that i'm not that great at doing it yet, and on top of that, my poor body is majorly confused, hormone wise. it'll all be good. i'll get there.


in any way, i want to kick my own ass back into gear, for a while. in a loving way, obviously. to make myself feel better. because if i'm really honest with myself: i'm just a wee bit too comfy with everything, right now. i'm doing barely enough.

and i got jillian michaels newsletter today. 

"you know what i like to call those last 10 or 15 pounds that won't come off no matter what you do? vanity pounds. the term describes our desire to lose weight that, as far as our bodies are concerned, actually feels healthy. today's society pressures us to want to look a certain way, so for aesthetic reasons we try to be thinner than our bodies want us to be. personally, i have gained and lost the same 8 vanity pounds more times than i care to admit.  losing your first 50 pounds might have been tough, but believe me, dropping those final few stubborn pounds is a whole different challenge. the body struggles to hold on to that last bit of fat for survival purposes."

 oh yes.

so i decided that i will be doing what jillian recommends to lose that weight anyway:

  1. cut your sodium to 1,000 mg a day.
  2. drink at least 80 ounces of water daily.
  3. cut out processed foods.
  4. abstain from alcohol.
  5. train at 85 percent of your MHR (maximum heart rate) for 1 hour 5 times a week.

i'm properly starting tomorrow morning. and no, it's not a case of the tomorrows (you know those tomorrows, right? it's the ones that never ever happen.). i was telling myself i wasn't going to start this before july 1st, because starting asap will mean that i won't get to booze up on my birthday, at the big awards thing i'm going to at the end of the month and at the national gig i'm heading to in early july. but i am starting asap. and it will be worth it.

i made a lovely little motivational chart to put up on the fridge. i've got no idea yet how to get all that cardio done, but it's only 30 days and 20 workouts. i can totally do this.


kick, kick!

6/08/2010

falalalalalaaaaaaa.

another pound up today. and as if everything that wasn't sucky enough, i've got a super creepy infection on my gums. seeing my dentist at 1:30 today. and getting that lymphatic drainage massage after work.

bit much, everything.

6/07/2010

in pufferfish mode.

this morning, i weighed 68,3kg.

i am trying very very hard not to be freaked out by it, and i am totally and utterly failing.  i'm obviously in total pufferfish-mode. i am on day 147 of my cycle (hahahaha! cycle!). it's suddenly warmed up significantly (finally 30°c yesterday). i drank too little these past few days. i had a carb heavy and kinda salty dinner. and also, this is just weight, a freaking number on the scale.

and yet.

i can see the fluid in my face and my arms and legs and feet and hands and especially my achy boobs (i am wearing a freaking sports bra today, to tame them). AND I HATE IT ALL. and my feet hurt. and i am SO FREAKING SCARED that this weight gain will not stop, and that i will magically balloon back to 90kg, just like i've magically gained these 5 or 6 or whatever kg these past months. and my dear old sugar-craving little brain keeps telling me to reach for the banana bread for comfort. as if that'd make ANYTHING better.

i've been hormonal and horrible for a whole MONTH now, and i've had enough. really. i wish my body worked. i wish i didn't have pcos. i wish i had a cycle. i wish i knew whatever my body is doing (or trying to do) that's causing these weight fluctuations. i wish i wasn't struggling with these freaking girl department infections again (just like last winter). i wish i could eat whatever i wanted. i wish i was normal.

but i'm not. so i got to calm down. change things that i can change. and keep on keeping on.

stuff i am doing to deal:
  • work out - i've worked out yesterday and this morning, and i went for two long walks with the dog yesterday as well. more gym on wednesday, friday and saturday;
  • tracking - still not totally back in the groove. i can do it!;
  • see my crappy old gyno (can't do anything 'bout the cycle without giving me hormones, which i will not do, but can at least treat my infections)
  • drinking a shitload of water (almost 2 litres down already!);
  • taking my supplements, including the good mineral one that i got to take between meals,
  • talking to r. about it; and
  • quitting all cake and baked goods until my birthday on june 23rd.
stuff that i am considering doing:
  • go swimming (won't really have time before the weekend, though);
  • get abhyanga (ayurvedic oil massage);
  • get a manual lymphatic drainage massage (will call a therapist offering that today to inquire); and
  • get myself to an homeopath (downside: don't really believe in it; also: cost).
any other ideas, friends?

6/02/2010

indeed.

"in the morning i think how i should get things under control, at night i tell myself i’ll get back on track tomorrow. i start feeling bad about myself, which sends me right back to the source.

i want to stop, and at the same time the idea of stopping makes me sad and . . . scared, somehow. i’m overwhelmed by the idea of having to give up the instant gratification in favor of long term happiness."

[all & sundry: fix]

i should have known that going hungry to a work meeting at 7pm last night just wouldn't work. i ate some strawberries that i brought, but eventually i dug into some crappy, fatty food not because it tasted great, but because it was there. and because it made me feel good, ever so briefly.when i got home, i ate a good dinner, though. and my alloted piece of choc. and this morning, i tracked that crappy food.


i can do this.

like linda writes so eloquently "the good news is i know how to quit. after all, i’ve done it about a hundred times now."

6/01/2010

size 44.

and then yesterday, as if to fire my resolve, i finally got a dress i ordered from h&m online weeks ago. and it's not the 36 (8) that i ordered, but a 44 (16), the size i used to wear, back in the day. the dress was labelled correctly as a 44, but put into a 36-marked plastic bag for mailing. i tried it on, anyway, just because, and it was supremely weird. i took up that much space? when i wore 44s, i would quite likely never have worn that dress, because of the giant boobs i had back then, and the chub rub i'd get when wearing skirts. returning it tomorrow.

5/31/2010

so.

"so." i say, every morning, after lingering longer than i should when kissing the guy goodbye in the morning, when i finally get up to go. sometimes, it takes more than one "so." i noticed these past few days that i say this tiny word with a really annoying tone in my voice, full of dread and boredom and forced activity and fake cheeriness. i hope you can imagine it, as i pick up my poor old weight loss blog.

so.

everything's been a bit rough round here. i'm generally happy, yes, but i was swamped at work, we had the kids staying over, i was travelling a lot, there were houseguests, hormones (hello, cd 141!) and emotional eating.

so.

and i've finally admitted defeat and taken charge again. the way i'd been eating lately just hasn't been working. today, the scale showed 66.8kg, and while i am sure a bit of that is hormonal/water weight/what have you, it is still a whopping 5kg more than my lowest weight, back in january, and 3kg more than what i feel comfy with.

i can see these 3kg, in my thighs, and my bum and my belly. and i don't need them and don't want them, and so i'm back to properly counting points again.

i should have done that right after my holidays in march, actually. instead, i fell into a comfy hole padded with fluffy oatmeal and nuts and cake. i've not only been performing the search for the perfect lärabar replacement, and really: while they're yummy, i should eat fruits and nuts, not fruit and nuts bars, and planning badly, and eating too large portions and too much chocolate and too much cake. and on top of that, i've been stressed out at work and worrying about stuff (mainly related to my & our living situation), and that had me eating as well, which is above silly and pointless and just doesn't get me anywhere.

i kept saying that i wanted to start, to kick those final kgs, to fight to the finish, what have you, but i just didn't have it in me. i was just too tired of the challenge. and also, a good part of it was "damn, i deserve some new york cheesecake." which was the stupidest thought of them all, because ny cheesecake is no birthright, and yes, it's yummy (especially made this way), but it's not a food group, it's not even real food. it's a treat. i should treat it that way.

so. i'm back to eating really well, back to my old fave foods that helped me lose weight in the first place. no more cheesecake, for now, no more bars. no more chocolate, besides my lovingly portioned 10g of premium choc with my nightly espresso. i ate this way today, lots of fruits, and greek yoghurt, and a fab 101 cookbooks dinner tonight, and i felt satisfied and well fed and happy all day. eating well, watching what i eat is no punishment. it is an expression of self-love. i got to remind myself of that.

above all, i am trying not to freak out because of this setback. it is, quite simply, proof that a) by losing weight i've not magically transformed into a skinny person, i.e. someone who can eat whatever she wants and b) i medicate with food instead of dealing with my issues. i need to be change that. it is supremely unhealthy.

to finish this off, however, i really don't want to overanalyze these past few weeks though. that'd just be a manifestation of a "i'm struggling"-mindset. instead, i want
to focus on all the good stuff i'm doing to feel better again. which is a wee bit hard right now, because on top of everything, i've been struggling with a major head cold since friday.

but today was a good start. tomorrow will be just as good. or even better.

5/10/2010

mapplethorpe.

that work thing i did saturday night took place at a museum hosting a robert mapplethorpe exhibition. i knew his work casually, had filed him away as the dude with the dicks and the flowers and patti smith. so before we kicked off our four hour livestream, i had the chance to check out the exhibition, and got a quick guided tour. to my great surprise, there weren't just dicks and flowers and patti smith: there were also female bodybuilders. neither the photos, nor the portrayed women look anything like bodybuilding these days.  they were beautiful, and irritating. check them out: lisa lyons & lydia cheng.
i'm kinda longing for some prints to put up as motivation.

same old, same old.

it's happened again: i'm at my parents' place, and i've fallen into a cake-shaped hole.

it was kicked off by a workday that lasted until 2am this morning, gained momentum when i discovered that there were none of my fave foods available for brekkie (had to resolve to bread rolls and an egg, duh. sundays in germany=no shops are open, and my parents are about to head off on a holiday, so they're trying to empty the fridge), and then i spent my day grazing. partly with healthy stuff, like fruit and walnuts. but also on cookies. and one lead to another and another and... i got into a total "oh, it's ruined, i can start fresh some other time-mindframe, until i finally managed to get a grip by dinner time. dinner was white asparagus and new potatoes and a side of edamame, which was nice. but yeah: it's been stressful (if a lot less stressful than that visit in november), and i've been hungry, and achy (hello, uterus, what are you been up to, dearest? you're all achy and crampy yet not doing much. what is UP with you?) and have slept too little.

tomorrow will be better. hell, this very moment is better already.

that work thing i did, btw, went pretty damn well. i've been checking flickr for pictures tonight, and i actually kinda like what i'm seeing. i mean: http://tinyurl.com/34hgfn2 that's not so bad, eh? can't get over what my legs actually look like. all my hard work? totally paying off. oh yes.

in any way, here's my food plan for tomorrow:
brekkie: oatmeal (will totally head to the shops at 8am to hunt for breakfast)
lunch: sushi (& edamame, if i can find some)
dinner: red lentil soup with mozzarella
snacks: bananas, yoghurt & the like

and while my soup is cooking, i will do a little bit of yoga, just a 20 minute class from yoga download.

can't wait to have my life back on wednesday. i miss it and it's rhythms already.

5/08/2010

i love a good plan.

i feel so much better. i guess it had all been a bit much, lately. and i had failed to plan. which means planned to fail, obviously.

the other day, my fabulous motivational matchup, lizzie reminded me that i've been here, and done that before (mystery weight gain, hunger, everything) and that switching up my gym routine always makes me hungry, and renée of lowfatpie gratiously offered via twitter to look at my foodlog. which has been awesome, because it has made me track better (and well, there are obviously a few more points on my logs, than anticipated) and want to choose more variety. just two days have made a difference in how i feel. so thanks, you two!

last night, i was super exhausted and got out of the office later than hoped, so when the 'i don't want to go to the gym'-talk started in my head, i called r., told him i needed a pep talk, and he delivered. and it was all good: working out last night even though i didn't feel like it, really helped me clear my head and made me feel good. gotta remember that!

this week has been super stressful. i'm about to head up north for four days in a few hours. tonight, i will be moderating a four hour live stream from an event up north, so if you want to see & hear me live in action and wearing dressy shorts and a flowy grey top, go to http://tinyurl.com/2a45a6b (no link, because i am soooo sneaky about the weight loss blogging!). we start streaming at 8pm cet (7pm gmt/2pm edt/11am pdt), and users can participate via twitter and facebook.

and me? i'm super stressed. have never moderated for this amount of time, feel totally out of my league because i'm not quite up to par with the local political and art scene (have decided to just make that my thing for the night - not being a local). and of course i'm doubting my ability to do that kind of thing in the first place (ye older "i am an impostor!"-line of thought) and worried stupidly about looking stupid (and saying stupid stuff) and ugly. bought new clothes (dresscode for us was 'smart casual', which means what exactly for women again?) and got a make up appointment this arvo. it'll all be fun. i hope.

spending two days at my parents (instructing my mom on exactly what kind of lärabars to bring home from the us - they'll be visiting my brother next week, yay!), and then on tuesday, i'm heading to a work event, where i'll be representing that award i've been involved in. big press conference, where the results of what we've been up to these past few months will be unveiled. also worried about looking capable, smart and good there.  ahem. 'tis always the same. wondering whether people i admire professionally also feel this way.

so keep your fingers crossed, everyone. and tune in tonight. just 13 hours to go! eeep!

5/05/2010

off.

i'm not happy right now, people. i'm off, ever so slightly. my gym going and working out is great. my eating, however, these past few days, just hasn't been up to par. i'm hungry, hungry, hungry. my appetite is bottomless. i worked way too much on monday and tuesday, planned my meals badly and ended up eating crappily as a result. today i brought lots of yummy snacks to work, and i ate them all way too quickly. i haven't tracked my points. i feel puffy and bloated and swollen.

i keep thinking that this is pms, but my period still hasn't show up. so it's all in my head. the kid' visits, work, a big assignment coming up this weekend that really, really, really scares me. no wonder i'm reaching for the banana bread as consolation.

i will make better choices starting right this very moment. i will start tracking again at my next meal. i've got a busy few days ahead, i need energy and clarity. i can do this.

5/02/2010

goals for the week. [#12]

my weight on sunday morning:

65,2kg. seriously, what is up here? i'm absolutely perplexed by what's been happening on the scale lately. yes, i've been eating all my points (but not my activity points). but i'm exercising a lot. and riding my bike everywhere. i should not be gaining weight living like this. is it water rentention? (not sure, the bodyfat measurements on my scale fluctuate kinda wildly.) and if so, who and what's to blame? pms? (cd 112, yeah!) the warmer weather? not drinking enough?


how was my week?

busy but much happier than the one before that. r.'s back and that's lovely. i revamped my workout plan. was adequately flexible with said plan. and spend a 20 minutes on the crosstrainer for the first time in months. and now? i've got knee pain again. duh!

how did i do on my goals?

  • sleep more than 6 hours every night - yup! these past two days i've really caught up on much needed sleep;
  • work on my pull-ups - yup!
  • no baking - yup! just barely, however. got some dying bananas on my kitchen table waiting to be resurrected as banana bread.
  • eat reasonably at the birthday party - failed. kinda. i ate really reasonable first and second courses. but then came the cake and desserts. felt sick for the rest of the day, no fun.



nsv of the week:



didn't really have one. however, i dealt with an urgent nolunchbreaksuperhungrymeetinginfiveminutes-crisis by eating two spoonful of nut butter and eating some fruit. in the past, i would i've sprinted down to the bakery downstairs. well done, gal.

where's my head at?

i'm surprisingly stressed by the number on the scale. and i hate that.

what will i do this week?

it's houseguest time again. r.'s daughter is here, and when she leaves on tuesday, his son will show up. they're much easier (and fun!) to have around than strangers, but still disrupt our routines. on friday, i will head north to my rents for work for five days total. boo. not feeling like travelling yet again at all.

when will i work out and what will i be doing?
  • monday, am: gym (2 rounds fat burning circle, as much cardio as i've got time, stretching)
  • wednesday, am : (2 rounds fat burning circle, as much cardio as i've got time, stretching), pm: yoga class, sauna
  • friday, am: gym (2 rounds strength circle, weights, as much cardio as i've got time, stretching)
  • not sure yet, what i'll do while at my rents, can't run, so possibly some homemade bikram or sp.

weekly goals:

  • stay away from the crosstrainer and be kind to my knees;
  • really, really, really count points again;
  • i suspect my portion size is totally crap, so i won't be doing "satiety portions" but actually weigh out all portions instead; and
  • less fruit, more veges. and when and if i have fruit, always add some good fat for more satiety and to lessen the high.

    4/28/2010

    the big issue.

    this past month has been a bit rough. i travelled a lot, i worked a lot, i slept little. and then r. got stuck on the canary islands for an additional week because of the volcano whose name i am too lazy to google and copy and paste, and in the middle of it i realised that i was just a tad bit lonely. which i hadn't been in months. and it felt like my life before. before happiness, before weight loss, before r.

    and damn, did that ever suck.

    i suddenly realised that this lovely life that i have is pretty damn fragile. that while everything is so much better these days, deep deep down? nothing much has changed, really. and that realisation motivates me to work hard at enjoying and working on this beautiful, fragile life that i have. and to change.

    shauny posted a quote by jen of  awesome sauce today, that really resonated with me:

    "i don’t think i gained weight in order to hide from the world—i think that weight and size are much more complex issues than that. but i think it was comfortable and easy to let fat be my whole problem. and when i was left with no fat, but plenty of problems—i was the only one left to blame. it’s like i’ve cleaned out the flooded basement, which is great and all, but now i have to actually address the cause of the flooding, and it’s harder than you think.

    [btw: my real basement is actually still full of stuff i should throw away unseen, because i haven't needed anything that's down there in, oh, two years. i am kinda scared of the stuff in my basement, though. as in: overwhelmed. that's why it's all still there. don't want to dig through it, because digging through it will remind me of those years i wasted in my twenties, which will make me sad.]

    i wouldn't say that i've got plenty of problems. my life is pretty damn fine. and yet. my issues are still the same as they've always been. i am still me, even at 60lb (give or take) less. my ass is smaller (and it's so much more fun to move and dress it), but the rest of me is still, well, me: always laughing, always talking too loud, often over-excited and overly critical. and with depressive tendencies, fear of doing taxes and general anxiety about thefuture.


    of course i am still me.

    and yet i'm all shocked by that fact. that i am not a completely revamped, perfect person, but still me, just with more muscles, less fat. who would have thought that my actual self had little to do with that weight?


    i just finished reading "when food is love" by geneen roth, which it's all about the fact that fat and food and how we deal with both is actually not about food and fat, but about love and pain and death. and yes, that is just as grim as it sounds.  the book had me nodding heavily in place and then recoiling in horror at others because it's just such a downer when someone suggests that you're the person you are because of some crap that happened when you were a kid...and yet all of it felt true.

    when i eat too much lentils for dinner when i'm by myself these days, i am replaying what i did those afternoons alone at home when i was in junior high and would eat 2 cups of freshly cooked vanilla custard. i'm trying to fill a hole inside myself with warm, slurpy goodness. and yet that hole cannot be filled with food, ever. and of course i know, these days, that eating doesn't make that pain go away. it can only be dulled, never eradicated, by feeling stuffed.

    in so many ways i'm still struggling with a lot of the crap i struggled with in my twenties (and my teens). and nothing will change if i don't change. because no one is responsible for my life but me.

    three things of note.

    • i eat when i am stressed. or unhappy or lonely. i eat until i am more than full. i really need to work this.


    • i had an impromptu session with thomas last night, and we revamped my schedule. just a bit. i want some more definition, especially in my legs, and that's why i will be doing two fat burning circuit sessions and one weights/whatever i feel like-one instead of the other way round. and up my low intensity cardio. which means less time with sean, i'm afraid. which sucks. i'll work it out.

      monday am: run to the gym or warm up there (10 min), 2 rounds fat burning circle, pull up-work, knee strenghtening work, low intensity low impact cardio for as long as i've got time (i.e. hypoxi)
      monday pm: ashtanga yoga

      wednesday am: run to the gym or warm up there (10 min), 2 rounds fat burning circle, pull up-work, knee strenghtening work, low intensity low impact cardio for as long as i've got time (i.e. hypoxi)
      wednesday pm: kundalini yoga

      saturday: run to the gym or warm up there (10 min), 2 or 3 rounds weight circle, pull up-work, knee strengthening work, weights, vibraplate, cardio coach work out

    • oh, and then i got into a fight with a new pt at my gym.

      his name is robert. he's young, early twenties, and working on nights that i'm not usually there. such as tuesdays. so he doesn't know me. doesn't know how much i work out, how much weight i've lost, what improvements i've made. thursday last week, i was just starting my cardio coach ride while casually chatting with a dude working out in that corner of the gym. we were talking about weights, and the guy said "yeah, but i actually don't care about lifting iron, i care more about being able to lift my body weight", which got us into talking pull up variations. at about that time, the pt joins us. the conversation is almost over, i put my headphones back in, while pt lingers, and he flexes his arm, i do it, too (as you do, at the gym), and he points to my triceps, points to his, makes a wobbling motion and laughs "well, your triceps sucks, like it does on so many women." no. i didn't laugh, either. later, as i was working on pull-ups, coached by another pt, he kept laughing about my not managing one. i explained to him that i was working on them because i couldn't do them, and that i expected coaching from him. not meanness, not jokes. "well, she's here", he said, poiting to a female pt, standing by. "she can cheer you on." he totally didn't get it, and i was flabbergasted. and fuming throughout the rest of my workout, pondering whether i should tell someone, like head of training, frank, straight away. i didn't, though, wanting to give robert the chance to apologise. so that was thursday.

      so he was at the gym again last night, says hi, asks whether i want to work on my pull-ups again, and i tell him that yes, i was going to work on my pull-ups. "and what about you?", i added. "planning on making unhelpful jokes about my triceps again?" he was all "i didn't mean it that way" to me. sorry. not enough.

      so i gave him a serious talk about his comment not being okay, about what it means to be fat and to feel like you are constantly judged by your body. and that the gym should be a safe-space (i chose this expensive, health-focused, mirrorless gym because it strives to be just that). a place of challenge, yes, but also of cheer and of constructive critism. and that jokes were uncalled for, unless you know someone well. and that he didn't know a single thing about me, and hence was in no position at all to joke about me or my effort.

      and you know what? he didn't say a single word in reply. he made some 'i'm listening'-sounds, but didn't say a word. didn't apologise. and then he ran off. i followed him, and completed what i wanted to say. and he was all "it's okay, it's okay", as if *i* had to be sorry. phew.

      i started working out, and five minutes later, frank, head of training, came over, and asked me, what had been up. and so i told him. and he agreed, that roberts' behaviour sucked. so there. loser.

    4/25/2010

    goals for the week. [#11]

    my weight on sunday morning:

    64,7kg hello, bloat!

    how was my week?

    busy & lonely. can't wait for r. to finally, finally come home.

    how did i do on my goals?

    didn't set any.

    

nsv of the week:



    i wore a shirt dress today, that i bought as one of my first skinny pieces (back in august '08, when i weighed 12kg more than i do now). it's huge. i shouldn't be surprised, i know. but i am. there was all this loose fabric around me, and i remember it being tight, not so very long ago. how odd.

    where's my head at?

    well. i've been lonely, this past week. and the week before as well. i need company, and proper me time and some loving. i'm pretty sure i won't crave chocolate that much then. and not eat until i'm uncomfortably full. the latter has been really weird. got to think about it some more and write about it.

    what will i do this week?

    work. sleep. have a date with r. get back into the swing of things. go to r.'s dad's 70th birthday on saturday.

    when will i work out and what will i be doing?
    • tuesday, pm: gym (40 minutes cardio coach, 2 rounds strength circle, weights, stretching)
    • wednesday, am : (30 minutes cardio coach; 2 rounds fat burning circle, stretching), pm: yoga class, sauna
    • friday, am: gym (30 minutes cardio coach, 2 rounds strength circle, weights, stretching)
    • sunday: not sure yet; (40minutes cardio coach, and some kind a gym group class).

    weekly goals:
    • sleep more than 6 hours every night;
    • work on my pull-ups;
    • no baking; and
    • eat reasonably at the birthday party.

    sunday as a single.

    today was pretty damn fine. went to the gym this morning, where i took a ride with sean o'malley and cardio coach volume 3 (and took challenge 2 twice, yay!) and then went to a bums, tums & thighs class, which i hadn't done in years.

    it was supremely weird: this class was like pretty much every btt class i've ever been to, as if nothing about working out had changed in the past, oh, twelve years or so. it wasn't a bad workout per se, it just felt...inefficent. not because i didn't feel any burn (i did), but because it just didn't feel that challenging, or so. in any way: (and this'll sound weird, i know) it was actually kinda nice to look at myself in the mirror for an hour. never do this (i think i've mentioned before that my gym doesn't have a lot of mirrors), so i got a decent reality check as to the state of my muscles. i might feel bloated and chubby, but i am nowhere near.

    so the bloat is still around, yes. the boobs are still there and feeling kinda full, and when i started riding the stationary bike this morn, my thighs were jiggling in a way that felt like something was sloshing around in there. which kinda hurt, too, but got better after some riding. weird.

    so that's that. had some fine meals, even though i dug into my weekly allowance (i tracked the extra, go me!), worked for a couple of hours, finished tidying the place up. can't believe the guy is finally, finally coming back tomorrow night. i'll have to pick him up at the airport, which is a freakin' two and a half hour drive (and back!), so there won't be any gym going before work tomorrow. i really really need some sleep (actually took a one hour nap today, as well). and i need to finish an assignement tomorrow before work as well. gotta set priorities.

    i'm actually really concerned about the driving. don't like driving that much at night (especially when i've been sleeping a
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    s little as i have been these past few weeks). got no choice, will drink coffee and take caffeine pills and won't be alone for the trip back, so it'll be alright.

    anyway: time for bed very very very soon.

    4/24/2010

    better.

    i'm feeling much better. it's actually been supernice to have today for myself.

    spend all day tidying up r.'s flat: threw away a garbage bag full of bathroom stuff (inspired by dooce, i telly 'ya), decluttered a closet in the hallway, decluttered the kitchen counters, recycled our glass and washed all the drapes. it was all much needed, and there is still much more to do, but at least i'm feeling a bit more at home now. (i really, really, really want to properly move in with r., and soon. i miss my stuff, but i hate my flat, and i don't want to put pressure on him and... argh!)

    and before all that cleaning, i spend three hours at the gym: took a nice, hard ride with sean o'malley, did weights, hypoxy (hadn't done that in months, really), stretched and then had a massage. bliss!

    and tonight, i cooked myself a lovely dinner: spicy almond soba noodles. and i've been watching mad men. it's all good.

    tomorrow: some work at home, then the gym, then some hanging around, then some more work in the afternoon. and then it's monday, and r. finally, finally, finally comes home. actually excited about all of it.

    4/23/2010

    fight to the finish.

    in other news, i've decided to take part in fight to the finish, a contest between ryan of no more bacon and mish of eating journey.

    my goal: 61kg/134lb by june 2nd. right now, my weight is 64,5kg/142lb. 8lb in six weeks? sounds reasonable. the extra level of accountability and motivation will hopefully do me good and help me stay motivated. so there.

    inspiration. [#12]

    "married men, long-distance relationships, lovers who are addicted to drugs or work or alcohol or sex - pursuing them is the same as believing that when you get thin, the anguish that follows you like a shadow will disappear. both are fantasies; one involves achieving something; the other involves getting someone. both are a way of saying, 'the present (or past) might be awful, but i don't have to think about it because the future will be glorious.' both are designed to distract you; they both provide a focus, a goal that you can constantly move toward without ever arriving."
    [geneen roth. when food is love.]

    married men ✓
    long-distance relationship ✓
    addicts ✓

    and yes, for years i ignored how awful the present (or past) were. things are so much better these days, but i know there is stuff i still need to work on. otherwise the fact that r.'s been gone for 16 days (just three more!) wouldn't unsettle me as much as it has. my equilibrium really depends on him. and that? ain't great.

    in any way, i started reading 'when food is love' after erin wrote about it, and it is as good as she says. indeed. more thoughts on it, soon.

    4/22/2010

    what a year it has been.

    april 2009

    april 2010

    the official photos from that work thing i mentioned. not too shabby, eh?

    oh flow, where are you?

    it's been weird, everything.

    there's been more travelling, which is always bad for 'ye olde routine, and a lot of fun and work, which is equally bad for 'ye olde routine, and in the middle of it, i started to feel kinda crappy and bloated. i thought it was pms-related (hello, cd 102!) and not just giving in to my cravings for nuts of all kind - (oh, nuts, how do i love thee, let me count the ways while eating you by the handful), but here i am, ten days or so later, still feeling kinda emo, still feeling kinda bloated, and a good four pounds of so above where i was before my holidays and where i'd like to be. i thought that a supplement that i started taking a few weeks ago, l-lysine, might be to blame. i've since stopped taking it, which kinda sucks, too, because everyone is raving about its effect on herpes. i'll see.

    on top of everything, r. has been stuck on the canary islands because of volcano ash for the past week, too, and i miss him like crazy. we quite simply haven't seen enough of each other in the past month; i can't wait for him to get home, which could be as soon as today or monday.

    in any way, i want to clean my act up again. i don't like what this feels like. i've been doing a bit better in the food department anyway (started counting points again yesterday, and even though i dug into my weekly allowance,  that's certainly a good thing). i've started cycling to work again. and with the guy not in town, i've been working out every day, too, alternating my regular weight training with yoga classes at the gym; that's helped with me feeling a bit more in control as well. i'll get a good sweaty workout tonight, and then possibly head to the sauna as well. and next monday, i've got a trainer date with c., to figure out how to get my workouts to a new level. right now, it's all been getting a bit too easy and just a tad boring. i need a challenge. i need change. i need my flow back. and i also need some sleep.

    today
    • workout (6pm) - 40 minutes cardio coach work out, 2 rounds fat burning circle, hypoy (haven't done that in months!), stretching, massage, sauna
    • no snacking between meals
    • meals:
      brekkie: oatmeal
      lunch (with e.): probably a salad
      dinner: soba noodles with almondcurry sauce
      and only one cup of coffee and one piece of choc after dinner

    4/10/2010

    status update. [#3]

    i didn't manage to start eating better at dinner yesterday: my parents hadn't prepared the greatest meal, really (just some baked potatoes), and i compensated with ice cream, afterwards. twice.

    today, however, was fabulous: oatmeal for brekkie, sushi and algae salad for lunch, a fruit smoothie as a snack and wholewheat pasta with homemade (by me) veggie sauce for dinner. and some high quality dark choc for dessert. all' good, me thinks.

    haven't worked out since wednesday morning though; woke up too late on friday to do yoga before my work meeting. can't wait to get to the gym on monday morning. and to ashtango yoga on monday night, yeah.

    'tis all good.

    4/09/2010

    status update. [#2]

    the holidays are over, and oh, were they fun. so far, i'm not yet stuck in the daily grind yet again, because lots of different than usual stuff has been happening. i've been at a work related event for the past two days. it's been fun work, stuff that i am passionate about, stuff that's important to my career, and i've had a fab two days deep in discussion and argueing. both has been successful and right now, i am on my way to spend the weekend with my parents, which is nice, too.

    a couple of notes, however:

    • i can't wait to see the official photo shoot of the group of folks doing the work thing, just so that i can show you the before and afters. i hadn't looked at last years' photo in a while. it's quite...something.

    • this work event was a tiny group thing. we're ten people in total. and one of the dudes is obese. think: 500lb or so. when i first met him last year, i was in total shock. i'd never seen someone that fat ever before (i'd never been to the us), and the photos he has of himself on the net (i'd known him online for a while) had been totally and utterly misleading. he's smart and funny and knows his stuff, but sitting next to him for two days straight, his behaviour towards and around food weirded me out somewhast. we spend the entire time at the same hotel, so work and meals were intertwined, and we went out for dinner last night. said guy didn't join us for the meals, and instead scarfed down the snacks inside our conference room, quite possibly (and really, i am guessing here) because the chairs in the restaurant (where we ate) had armrests. or something. and it made me feel like shit that i noticed. and that i was weirded out by his size. and because...it just did. i feel terrible about noticing. and about noticing how he was out of breath after we got back from a 200m walk across the road to take the group photo. and i hope i didn't make him uncomfy. and i hope he felt good these past two days. he certainly didn't look the part, and i certainly didn't help him.

    • i have a major case of the munchies though. it's been that way for the past week, really, ever since i got back from the us. had so much cake and chocolate and so many nuts and.... not sure where this is coming from, and i vow to make better choices starting right now, at my next meal, tonight. because no matter where this is coming from - happiness and wellbeing will not be found inside a lärabar wrapper, right?

    more (including a re-cap of my awesome holidays and goals for the week - no, really!) soon.

    3/15/2010

    on the wagon, still.

    since i last wrote, i have
    • worked out three times a week, without fail;
    • started working out at 7am, before work, which is the awesome and really sets the tone for the day;
    • started running again - 2x5 minutes to and from the gym, so far, and all's well;
    • finished my physio sessions with chris for now;
    • haven't had any major knee pain;
    • bought a dress in size 36;
    • gotten myself out of a healthy-food-rut i'd gotten stuck in; and
    • gotten myself through the busiest time at work i've ever had.
    i'm kinda impressed, actually. as i was cycling with sean o'malley on friday morning, before work, i thought to myself: "wow, this is life now. heading to the gym at 7am is not this crazy outrageous thing i need to blog about, it's just what i do these days." and it is. i still want to blog about it, though, to keep myself accountable and all. in any way: it's been hellish round here, and crazy busy, but i've been doing really well. just barely holding up, but holding up, nonetheless.

    and now i only have four more days of holding up to get through and then....i head off to the us. for the first time ever. for just about two weeks. yay! i'm flying out to chicago to visit my brother (who hasn't seen me since the day this photo was taken, haha!), will head to ny with him (where he's going for a work conference and where i will spend 7 hours cycling through the city) before flying to orlando, for the wedding of my dear friend alex. this trip has been in the works for about 18 months or so (or rather: in my dreams, really), and i'm amazed it's working out, after all. kinda freaked out by going by myself, but it will be THE AWESOME. it's going to be so odd to finally visit the usa, after three decades of being indoctrinated by american tv shows and movies, so odd to be in chicago and ny, after reading about life in these cities in various blogs for years. also: whole foods! anthropologie! gap jeans! target! a big fat american wedding! and i will also be going to bikram in both chicago and orlando, oh yes.

    speaking of bikram: got back from a mini-trip to munich tonight, where we visited r.'s daughter and some extended family. got up at 9 this morning and headed to bikram class, which was lovely and fabulous, and had me feel awesome all day. so there.

    it's all good, really. apart from my blogkeeping, that is.

    2/19/2010

    on the wagon, part two.

    so it's happened again. this week? has been killing me. and even though it's friday evening already, it's still not done, this one: i'll spend all day tomorrow teaching a bunch of undergrads. and i've yet to do final prep on my presentation. well.

    this week i've had a mardi gras donuts feast with the guy (which i'd been looking forward to for WEEKS), went to the gym before work on monday and friday (which is awesome - despite the 6:30am alarm clock) and once in the evening (wednesday), had a physio appointment before work on tuesday morning, spend all day thursday travelling (got up at 4am, came home at 10pm), saw one set of houseguests departing, and another one arriving and had a shitload of work. oh, and i had my hair cut off, quite dramatically, too. and i finished michael pollan's 'in defense of food', which was reassuring and inspiring and has already lead to a lot of additional changes and has inspired me to keep tweaking and improving my diet.

    in short: it's been a lot. A LOT. with no time for sleeping, emailing, blogging, whathaveyou. but i'm proud of myself, really. these past two weeks have been extreme, and yet here i am, holding up quite nicely, still very much on the wagon, really. there's still not been any weight loss to speak of (just lots of little fluctuations, which are NORMAL!), which isn't that surprising, really, considering the mardi gras donuts and other assorted goodies, but my eating's still been really really really good, all things considered. and i'm holding up really well. and powering through. and asking for help. which is all SO MUCH BETTER than how i did in previous busy times.

    well done, me. really.

    still gotta get to my presentation, now. want to get at least seven hours of sleep before tomorrow... which would be as much as i've had the previous two nights, taken together. so there.

    2/08/2010

    hello, thighs!



    so glad to see you shrinking.

    [strangely enough, the change in my thighs and stomach these past two months has felt much more extreme than what it actually looks like in these pics though. weird. still: very happy about what i have accomplished.]

    goals for the week. [#10]

    my weight on sunday morning:


    still marvelling at how much it fluctuates in a week. i'm trying hard to cultivate a really scientific, non-judgemental mindset in regards to my weight, as in 'i am observing this weird, shifting natural phenomenon that has nothing to do with me'. and it is, in a way: i have no idea what my body does in response to water, food, sodium, work outs. so here i am, trying to learn about it. fun!

    also: now that january is over (and i've gotten over my knee shock and everything), i should totally step it up a notch and finally tackle these last few pounds, right? right.

    how was my week?

    one part nightmare, one part calm. the second half of the week was much better than the first, and on satuday and sunday, i really unwinded. on saturday, i went to farmers market, to the gym, to the supermarket and then home. didn't do anything besides showeing, puttering around at home and cooking dinner. and then i fell asleep on the couch by ten. heaven! didn't get anything done that needed getting done, though. ahem. you do what you have to do. right now that is: resting. sunday was hence the same, apart from three hours i spent at a band contest because of work.

    how did i do on my goals?
    • no bread - yup!
    • no booze - yup!
    • take a lunch break on thursday and friday - yes - took a superbrief one with the bf on thursday, and a shopping one on friday;
    • stay in touch with lizzie - yup!
    • use a hot water bottle on my knees and back in the evening - not often enough, but yes;
    • get more physio appointments - nope, will call first thing monday morning;
    • get appointment for insoles - nope, need to talk about it with chris before doing so;
    • blog about my knee issues and 2010 goals - done (kinda); and
    • blog about my new plan for when and how start maintenance - still in draft stage, but getting there.

    

nsv of the week:



    decided to take some measurements today. compared to the last time i did so, two months ago, at more or less weight the same, i have lost:

    • 1cm each off of my hips and chest (sob) ; and
    • 2cm each off each arm, my stomach, and each thigh.

    yay!

    what will i do this week?

    this week will be busy again, both at work (really need to work on my uni stuff!) and at home. we'll have houseguests all week, which will be the first time of many.

    not sure whether i ever mentioned it, but the bf is a piercer and body modifier who runs a studio with his best friend. they did a major move and revamp last year, and part of said revamp is offering tattoo services in their store, done by (travelling) guest artists from across the world. this is a major life change, in a way, because this means we'll more or less regularly have people stay with us for a week or so. we've always had people staying over a lot anyway, but that's either been the kids, or very good friends, and now we'll have people come and stay who are not yet friends. or so.

    in any way, the first two arrived last night, c & c (she's called caro, too!), i like these two, they were here for a few days in december, and it'll doubtlessly work. they'll be here for a week, and it'll be interesting to cultivate a groove with them here. i'm usually in a 'must be a fabulous host mode' when people are staying over, but these past few months, i've really worked hard on letting that slide a bit and relaxing more. the people who come and visit us (hopefully) won't care if there's still that untidy cupboard in the kitchen, but they'll (hopefully) enjoy a yummy dinner and good conversation and a more relaxed me, though.

    it's still going to be interesting, though, because i very much need to live my regular, everyday life while they are here, which means sleeping enough, working out and getting up early.

    i'll be the first one out the door in the morning, so apart from choosing my clothes the previous night and getting them out of the guestroom (where we keep all of our clothes), nothing much will change in the mornings. i'm kinda expecting more eating out in the evenings, which i'm not a fan of right now, but well, small concession. i'll happily cook dinner once or twice but that'll be it, really.


    when will i work out and what will i be doing?

    • tuesday, pm: gym (35 minutes cardio coach, 3 rounds strength circle, weights, stretching)
    • thursday, pm: (35 minutes cardio coach; 2 rounds fat burning circle, another 35 minutes cardio coach, stretching, sauna), followed by no-carb-night (if possible)
    • saturday, am: gym (15 minutes cardio, 3 rounds strength circle, weights, 35 minutes cardio coach, stretching, sauna)

    weekly goals:

    • not get too stressed out by our visitors;
    • no bread;
    • no booze;
    • take at least a brief lunch break every day;
    • get out of the office by 6pm every day;
    • stay in touch with lizzie;
    • use a hot water bottle on my knees and back in the evening;
    • get more physio appointments;
    • get appointment for insoles; and
    • blog about my new plan for when and how start maintenance.

    2/06/2010

    inspiration. [#11]

    "it’s counter intuitive, but true, that losing weight is very emotionally taxing. i read a lot of blogs by others who have also experienced a similar weight-loss and feel this sort of anticlimactic remorse. it’s like setting out for a long journey in which you are isolated and consumed by this quest and when you finally reach your destination, well…it’s akin to being reintroduced into society. it’s exciting, frustrating and invariably disappointing. that’s kinda how i feel sometimes – like i was gone in this quest and, now that i’m back, i have no choice but to acknowledge how different my life is and how differently others receive me. i also have to acknowledge how it’s not different in the ways i thought it would be."

    [feed me i'm cranky: big fat musings]

    annabel's entire post really resonates with me. what i'm also struggling with a bit right now is a weird kind of delayed guilt for gaining the weight, treating myself so poorly in the first place - and, above all, failing to realise how far gone i was.

    "i was still fat!" i exclaimed while looking at a picture of me a few weeks ago. the pic had been taken in the spring of last year or so, when i weighed about 12kg less than i did when i first started. "yes, you were", said the bf. and bizarrely enough? that hurt me. in some totally warped way, i'd somehow thought that no one had noticed that i was overweight. i mean: i hadn't. really. but of course they had, including my most favourite person, the bf. "you were actually the biggest person i'd ever dated", he added. "did you ever consider not doing so because of my weight?" i asked. "yes, i did. but before i could come to a concluion, i had already fallen in love with you."

    phew. that stung for a moment, too. i'm thankful that he's that honest, though.

    i've been thinking about this, since then: i could have missed out on this awesome relationship (the best i've ever had) because of my weight (and this would have been his loss, obviously, too). now i am nowhere near blaming my fat for things that didn't work out in the past (and if my fat is to blame for stuff, i quite likely will never know, anyway), but it makes me sad, retroactively. and wonder about the now, too.

    i, too, believe that i have not fundamentally changed. i am still vegetarian, i still suck at paying bills, still talk too loud and i can't, for the life of me, answer email in a timely fashion. however, i am now superdedicated to being healthy, i eat in a very specific way, dress differently, work out. and above all, the way people perceive me has fundamentally changed. and i still just can't seem to find a balance (yet) between their image of me and mine.

    cardio coach crush.

    could shane o'malley say the words "cruise control" any sexier? i don't think so.

    seriously, i never thought i could have this much fun doing cardio. cardio coach is optimistic and cheerful and awesome and hard. three workouts in, and i totally love it. i was dripping with sweat by the time i got to step off the spinning bike (which flew by, again). and: knee pain free.

    me=happy.

    2/05/2010

    a new friend.


    you've got a new friend.
    you've got a new friend.

    likes to go to the gym.
    likes to run far and wide.
    sounds familiar, better hold on tight:
    a good pair of shoes can be so hard to find.

    you've got a new friend.
    you've got a new friend.
    and the two of you don’t ever seem to part

    you got a new friend ooh.
    you got a new friend, now i’m the odd pair gone.
    you got a new friend.
    you got a new friend, i know




    [dear tim, please forgive this crappy joke. i love you. and that song. and my new shoes.]

    2/04/2010

    cardio coach, the bike & me.

    so. all is not lost, fellas. i will not die of boredom on a stationary bike any time soon. because i've found cardio coach.

    shauny wrote about him this past week, and i finally purchased an episode today (totally missing out on her discount, boo), and dudes! i had fun on the bike today! i used episode one for my pre-fat-burn-circuit 30 minute cardio, and again afterwards. and now? i am spent. in the best way possible. i can't believe that i did about 70 minutes of cardio without a second of boredom. crazy.

    the episode worked so well on both the boring, sucky stationary bike and even better on the much more fun spinning bike my gym keeps in the cardio area (which is taken most of the time). time just flew by, and i loved it, and now i feel like i finally got a good cardio workout again. and my knees don't hurt at all. woohoo!

    sean really, really had me the moment he started talking about lance and the yellow jersey and....oh, i love me a good tdf mental image to get myself going. oh yes. so: i'm now in love with cardio coach!

    last night, i listened to the latest two fit chicks podcast (featuring lizzie and me in the blogger news bit, yay!), and shauny's and carla's advice on getting through an injury made me realise that i could handle my knee issues much better, and work a wee bit harder while looking at myself better. the idea that i could actually improve on some things while letting my knees heal? had never crossed my mind. but that's what i want to do. and that's what i kicked off tonight.

    i also had a lovely epiphany at the gym tonight: i really don't care much about perfection anymore. and that's fab. that lovely spin bike i mentioned? was taken when i got in. and instead of getting all angry about it, i used what was available (the boring stationary bike), and did the best that i could.

    i always used to have that 'perfect or not at all'-mindframe. and i don't have that anymore. it's lovely to have that perfect workout, that perfect eating week every once in a while. but if it's not happening? who cares. i can still do the best i can with what's available. make the best possible choices on a crappy menu, use the cardio equipment that's available instead of the one that i really want, work out for an hour instead of an hour and a half if i am in a rush. there is no point in freaking out about not being able to achieve perfection. if something doesn't go 100 % as planned? so what. it's just one workout in a lifetime of workouts, just one meal in a lifetime of meals. i can never be perfect, but i can always try to make the best choice possible, try to do the very best that i can.

    so there.

    me: happy. and hungry. and waiting for the boyfriend to be done with getting tattoed so that we can go out for dinner. where i will make the best possible choice.

    i'm so very happy tonight.

    what's in my bag? [gym-bag edition.]

    click-through to see annotations on flickr

    ch-ch-ch-changes.

    picasa's facial recognition feature is super-useful and super-creepy. it's been freaking me out a bit, really: it finds all the crappy pictures i ignored back when they were taken. and hence provides a much more realistic view of myself over the years than, say, my self-edited-must-look-fab-let's-take-another-selfportrait-flickr-stream.


    2007


    2009/2010


    and comparing the crappy old pics with the new ones? is kinda awesome, really.

    2/03/2010

    my new (kinda) realistic 2010 fitness goals

    goal #1: get happy knees again
    my knees are unhappy. and they've been unhappy since late october, and they haven't improved at all, despite not running and icing them all the bloody time.
    how will i get there? rest. warmth. physiotherapy. working on hamstrings. stretching. new running shoes. insoles in my regular shoes.
    time frame? start asap. significant improvement hopefully within three weeks. full happiness by may 1st. (maybe?)

    goal #2: do at least 3 full unassisted pull-ups in a row
    considering i can't entertain any running goals right now, this is an upper body one which should keep me entertained for a while.
    how will i get there? start with assisted pull-ups, work my way down the assistance levels every week. i started at level 15 (80-something lb support), with 3 sets of 15. i will attempt to lower my level every three workouts, i.e. every week.
    time frame? start asap. complete by june 1. (no clue whether that's do-able, to be honest.)

    goal #3: run at least one 5k race
    maybe the one i ran last year?
    how will i get there? get happy knees again, start running again, slowly.
    time frame? mid-september?

    goal #4: run at least one 10k race
    how will i get there? get happy knees again, start running again, slowly, not overdoing it.
    time frame? november?

    goal #5: learn how to swim proper crawl
    putting my grande triathlon goals to rest for the time being gives me more time to learn how to swim properly.
    how will i get there? take swimming classes.
    time frame? research class by april 1st. start class by june 1, at the latest.

    goals for the week. [#9]

    [i'm a bit late with these, but better late than never, right?]

    my weight on sunday morning:

    63,4kg. still weighing myself every day, and trying to get used to that. some mornings, i've had to remind myself actively that that number has NOTHING whatsoever to do with my self-worth. that it's just a number. nothing else. same old, same old. surprisingly though, on other days, i really don't care. because today, i noticed that i've actually shrunk out of yet another set of skirts, even though i haven't lost any weight. good stuff!


    how was my week?

    let's not talk about this week, yes? the last ten days have been rough. not because anything terrible happened, really, but i've been working too much, taking too few breaks (as in: none), and slept way too little. and then i was told i should ditch all my goals because of my knees! haha!

    
nah.

    it really wasn't all that catastrophic, though. i still worked out as planned (with only stationary biking as cardio, however) and ate ok. for once i kinda ate all of my points, which had been my plan and all, but felt kinda odd. only troublesome spot was late-night-eating during and after djing on saturday night. banana bread upon coming home at 5am? i've done smarter things.



    and did i mention that i've got another bout of viral fun?

    through all that i struggled mightily at staying in touch with my awesome motivational match-up lizzie. and that sucked. which made me feel sucky. and stopped me from opening up twitter. which made me feel even suckier. and.... gah!


    enough.


    how did i do on my goals?
    • no bread - yup! (apart from some homemade baked goods that don't count, though.)
    • no booze - yup!
    • ice my knees twice every day - yup! quitting that now, though. my physio (who i reckon knows my knees best) thinks i don't actually have any inflammation. and hence recommends warmth. and so i'll give my knees a hot water bottle every night from now on. and just ice straight after workouts, in case of pain.
    • read the beck book on my way to work - somewhat. did that three of four times, then chose another book.
    • finish getting my flash cards ready - nope. simply didn't have time. am postponing all beck related goals till march; it's just not happening right now.
    • get appointments for physio - yup! had my first appointment on tuesday, need to get more! research new running shoes - yup! bought awesome asics nimbus 11!
    • get appointment for insoles - not yet, but got everything ready to do so, i.e. got recommentations on a place to get them done, etc.
    • blog about my 2010 goals - just not time
    • blog about my new plan for when and how start maintenance - just not time.

    

nsv of the week:



    got lots of compliments by lots of different people, including my physio (who hadn't seen me in two months or so), a colleague, and others. i also realised that i now need a size small in regular american apparel girl t-shirts. it used to be large a year ago! woohoo!




    what will i do this week?

    i want to try to calm down a bit these next few days. it's been so hectic round here, so adrenaline-driven, with early mornings and late nights and lots of deadlines and crap. and way too little sleep. all deadlines have been met (for now), and i'll try to set my stuff up in a way that i won't end up in deadline hell again any time soon. there'll still be a lot of work though.

    apart from regular office stuff i'll have to prep for my uni course on saturday (the class is in two and in three weeks) and attend an event on sunday. other stuff that'll impact my plans: tomorrow will be kinda difficult because the public transport folks will be on strike, so i'll have to bike (which i don't ever do in winter). on friday, one of the bf's kinda-kids will arrive for a weekend visit as well, and then on sunday, our houseguests for the next two weeks will arrive as well.




    when will i work out and what will i be doing?

    • tuesday, pm: gym (3 rounds strength circle, weights, 30 minutes cardio, stretching) - done!
    • thursday, pm: (30 minutes cardio; 2 rounds fat burning circle, another 30 minutes cardio, stretching, sauna), followed by no-carb-night
    • saturday, am: gym (3 rounds strength circle, weights, 45 minutes cardio, stretching, sauna)

    weekly goals:
    • no bread;
    • no booze;
    • take a lunch break on thursday and friday;
    • stay in touch with lizzie;
    • use a hot water bottle on my knees and back in the evening;
    • get more physio appointments;
    • get appointment for insoles;
    • blog about my knee issues and 2010 goals;
    • blog about my new plan for when and how start maintenance.

    2/01/2010

    on the wagon.

    i have not fallen off the earth or the wagon: i've just been swamped with work and social stuff (friends visiting! djing!) and more work. and then more work. and i've been kinda down, really, as well. a result of the former, i guess.

    i've been holding up ok, though. haven't fallen headfirst into chocolate, or anything, even if i've been eating more in a 'maintain' than in a loss-mode, which was my plan, but which hasn't been working so great: my physicsdiet-chart dipped into red territory for the first time, ever, which is freaking me out a bit. as is my to-do-list. so many things on there.

    need to get a grip on things. and i will. tomorrow. ha.

    1/27/2010

    status update. [#1]

    • iced my knees twice today;
    • took nsaids;
    • used diclofenac cream;
    • substituted all cardio machines with the stationary bike;
    • lowered all my lower body weights;
    • upped all my upper body weights; and
    • started working on project pull-up (3 sets of 15, assisted with 80 pounds or so).
    my mood has hence somewhat improved, oh yes.

    [in unrelated news: flax in oatmeal = glorious digestive action. hooray!]

    1/26/2010

    the knees have it.

    had a much needed appointment with my trainer tonight. i'd casually been whining to thomas for weeks about my knees, and today we sat down and talked about 'em. for real. while my ortho was kinda indifferent and not exactly helpful, thomas reckons i really, really, really need to tone it all down for now.

    which apparently translates to a lot of no's:
    • no serious weights on my legs;
    • no more hypoxi;
    • no arc trainer;
    • no crosstrainer; and
    • no rowing.
    which leaves only super light weights and the stationary bike, with almost no resistance. i whined that this wasn't a hard enough workout, that i needed to sweat, that i wanted to lose weight, that i wanted to push myself, and yadayadayada. thomas scolded me and told me that right now, my focus should be getting my knees happy and healthy again, and that whatever number was on the scale really wasn't something i needed to focus on anymore.

    so it will be me, some light weights, my boredom, and the stationary bike. for three weeks. and then we'll check for improvement.

    thomas also reckons that i should not entertain any goals this year that involve running. and that competing in a triathlon this summer (and training for it) is totally out of the question. in his opinion my knees would not be able deal with any kind of serious cycling training involving hills either.

    my one kinda fun goal for now: learning to do pull-ups.

    can't tell you how sad & defeated i feel right now.