Monday, August 27, 2012

Thought of the day

 
Good things come to those who wait Work hard for them

The Weekly Verdict


I think it's safe to say the above image summarises the result this week... TSC (The Soul Crusher)lived up to its name. It crushed my soul... despite running 21.77k in total this week I was up 1lb.  Now, in the grand scheme of things, this is not a big gain. I didn't get to my classes two weeks running, and I did do a lot of celebrating of finding my other "one" (the dress)...

I just knew that it wasn't going to go well this week despite my activity.

I jest when I say my soul was crushed today. Because it wasn't! I left the class in great form - must be all the additional exercise induced endorphins zipping around my body! Instead of spiraling, feeling like pants and going to the shop to buy a months supply  for the Bad Result Monday Nest (the months supply would be consumed tonight by the way!), I feel very positive.  I haven't necessarily achieved the weight loss that I say I wanted to. But I have achieved loss of inches and I feel really good about myself. My fitness is up, I can actually run for over 52 minutes straight, I never in a gazillion years imagined that that is something I could do or would even want to do. But I really enjoy it.

So this weeks verdict? A gain in weight, but it's not a bad thing.  As I sat listening to all the other girls stories and telling a few of my own, and hearing the others be supportive of one another I felt really positive about how far I've come and how far I have left to go in this deflation!

Two ladies in particular stood out to me.  One a lovely lady, her loveliness is fairly obvious just from her name (it's Rachel by the way), helped me out a couple of weeks back when I was feeling extremely bad about myself and dress shopping etc.  "Other Rachel" told me that the whole class were behind me and made me feel so much better and gave me a good kick in the bum to get back on track.  The other lady, I think her name might be Ger (only met her tonight), came to me after the class and congratulated me on getting my wedding dress, gave me a hug and kiss on the cheek and told me that I was going to be a beautiful bride.  Now if that doesn't lift your spirits your clearly dead inside and need to go and get that looked at! Complete strangers, brought together to try achieve a similar but very different goal.

I also left feeling great because, whether she knows it or not, our Leader Nicola is pretty darn good at giving her members a boost and encouraging them to achieve what they want. She knows exactly how to give you the lift to make next week your lighter week!

POA this week? Totes avoiding the vino. Have accepted that I cannot celebrate the wedding dress any longer for fear of not fitting into it!!! Aim to achieve 30k running in total by next Monday. Stick to my points. Bite it? Write it!!! Keep hydrated. Buy new tights...

Birthday month is fast approaching and with it, the end of my twenties!  I will go into my thirties and never weigh this amount ever again!

Finally, to all those reading this considering going to a meeting. Do it. Bite the bullet and take that first step. You really don't know how good it can make you feel to achieve your little goals and you never know what kind of people you are going to meet and how their words can help change your life or your words could help change theirs.

Now, enough of the sappiness! Tiredness has made me totes emotes so off to bed with me.

Measurement

Since April 2012

Waist - Stayed the same
Hips - Lost 1 inch
Bust - Lost 1.5 inches
Arm - Lost 0.5 inches
Leg - Lost 1 inch

It's Weigh Day, Facial Virgin and Exploding Gravy

Damn it. It's weigh day. Why does weigh day come around so quickly? Monday is always a good weigh day, unless I have been misbehaving at the weekend - in which case, its a dad day! I haven't been to my class in two weeks so I am defo feeling a little bit on the shaky side! Especially after my girlie night in Carlow.  Which was amazing!

It was my first ever time to have a facial.  I fell asleep. When the facial woman made a noise I jumped out of my skin and remembered that I was not alone in my room and I should really try avoid dosing off / snoring like a train. Then I fell asleep again and repeated the whole process.  My skin was so lovely and soft after it. It was wonderful. Now that my facial cherry has been popped, I think it might be my new favorite thing to do.  If only I had just had the facial, a couple of lettuce leaves and water. But no.  I didn't! Instead I drank 1 and half bottles of wine, soup, 2 bottles of beer and 2 Bacardi's and diet coke. I didn't drink the water until Sunday when my tongue was like sandpaper! But it was good fun to say the least!

Yesterday I was trying to claw back some losses by going for a walk on the beach. I couldn't run.  I just didn't have the capacity to make it happen. Instead, I walked. And I got tired. And I tried to jump over a little river of water (which was actually deep enough) only to land in the middle (the deep bit). It was an emotional walk that didn't do what it was meant to do - clear my head and energise me. Instead it made me wet, tired and increased my desire for crisps, chocolate and, for the strangest reason, Super Noodles. I didn't have any of them things.  I went home and channelled my inner Domesticated Goddess who brushed aside my Hangover Head and got down to the business of making Soda Bread for the Carrot and Coriander soup I made from scratch. Then also made a Chicken Tikka Masala from scratch and lovingly prepared a Christmas ham (yes I am aware that I am off by a number of weeks, but himself needed a bit of spoiling) and roast potatoes and gravy... that exploded all over the place.

It was rather silly of me if I am perfectly honest. And I lay full blame at the door of my delayed hangover and tired eyes. I decided that I'd make some gravy from the meat juices. I had no little pot as it was busy making carrots. So I chucked a perspex jug on the cooker ring and got down to gravy making.  There I was, minding my own business, dreaming about sitting down when suddenly, and much to my surprise, the bloody jug exploded everywhere. I nearly had a heart attack.  I thought someone had fired a gun (and shot my gravy).  Thankfully I wasn't hurt at all (until later when a rouge piece of glass made it's way into my sink and sliced my bloody middle finger). Thought the cooker ring was destroyed though, but with a bit o' elbow grease I got it cleaned. Frightened the bejaysus out of me. Had I been a cat I think I would have been upside down, claws buried in the ceiling and hissing at the offending noise!

So I'll be toddling off to get weighed now today.  Here's hoping that I have lost something and not gained. Wish me luck !

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Thought of the day

A little thought from a big legend....

Looking forward to the weekend...

I do apologies most profusely for my lack of commitment to blogging / being weighed.  This week I was a little bit on the ill side on Monday and went home to bed and covered my head and didn't get up till Tuesday. So I never went to WW. Usually when I don't make it to a class two weeks in a row I've spiralled uncontrollably into an eating and drinking binge. Now I'm not going to lie to you. There was a day last week when I crashed off the weight loss wagon in spectacular style falling asleep filled with Kinder Buenos, Crisps, Pastries and a Kit Kat Chunky.  It was a chocolate filled frenzy that I loved every second of and vowed my penance would be running and a lettuce leaf for the rest of the week... Which I did (the running part anyway!). And then hopped back on to the tracking and pointing wagon for the remainder of the week (for the most part)...

I was attempting to do 30k over all of last week and only managed to run 16k.  It's still 16k more than I would have done six months ago, so happy days.  And just so I am clear, that's 16k over the course of a week, not all in one go - lets not run away with ourselves (an athlete and a sense of humor eh!).

Last night I went for another run. I have got to do something about the pains in my hips.. The words "me hips" are becoming my tag line! Anywho, completed my first ever 6.6k run. That's 0.4k more than the last longest run I ever did ever. And I'm delighted with myself. With this in mind, I think it's only fair to notify all my supporters that they need to start saving, flights to Rio do not come cheap - there is still four years to get the cash together, but I find the more notice people have the better.... (In my head, my running successes are already worthy of gold...Usain who?)

In wedding news, I have the greatest bridesmaids in all of the land!  They made one of the things, I was simply dreading, doing so easy: little gems that they are! Not only am I kitted out for the big day, now my four ladies are also kitted out.  AND I didn't have to drag all four of them from shop to shop trying to make decisions surrounded by satin and lace and taffeta (who invented this horrible looking and sounding material and why is it always in disgusting colours like burnt orange and snot green (real colour, ask any bridesmaid dress designer ). It makes me wonder either (a) a bride must really really hate her bridesmaids to put them in that type / colour material or (b) a bride must be incredibly insecure to dress her bridesmaids up so they look like noisy mucus). Nope, none of that malarkey for me. I brought one bridesmaid to two places. She tried on about 10 dresses and on the 10th we fell in love with it.  I sent a picture to the other three ladies and they all said yes totes gorge go for it. And BAM! Just like that, I got my bridesmaid dresses. Love them and my girls!

Why am I looking forward to the weekend? Well, apart from the fact that it's two days away from work, I am also going to a lovely hotel in Carlow with one of my besties for the night to drink wine, have a facial and chill out.  Cannot wait for it!

I shall be back to my WW class on Monday to view the hundreds of pounds my "Olympic" training have helped me shed...


clipartof.com

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

The sunscreen song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQlJ3vOp6nI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

This is one of my favourite songs because a lot of it is true...


Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be
it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by
scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
than my own meandering
experience…I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not
understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and
recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you
imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as
effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing
bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that
never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm
on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you

Sing

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with
people who are reckless with yours.

Floss

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes
you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with
yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you
succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your
life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they
wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year
olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe
you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky
chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t
congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your
choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body,
use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people
think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever
own..

Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for
good.

Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the
people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you
should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and
lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you
knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live
in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will
philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize
that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were
noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund,
maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one
might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will
look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who
supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of
fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the
ugly parts and recycling it for more than
it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen…

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

20.2K, Wedding Dress Delight and Family Fun

It's been a busy week since I last wrote.  I missed weigh day because I was at home with my family celebrating my little sister / chief's birthday and also wedding dress shopping. 

To start off, I set myself a goal of running 30k this week. It was quite an ambitious goal and while I didn't achieve it, I wasn't too far off it as I managed to do a grand total of 20.2k in 7 days. It's just under 3k a day but it's waaaaaay more than I've ever managed in one week and I'm pretty darn happy with that. Next week I am going to aim to achieve 30k again by weigh day Monday and see how well I go.

I did go out trotting while in Donegal. It was lovely.  I was suffering from a bit too much of the vino / celebrations and decided that the best way to deal with it is to go out running. It's such a lovely place where my mam and dad live and the sun was shining. Every time my foot hit the ground my head busted and stars exploded in my eyes. That's how much I celebrated the night before. I got into my stride and carried on, quite happily, slowly being able to see things other than stars. Then I saw a dog. He had a stick or something in his mouth and I kind of slowed down (which was an amazing feat considering how "quick" i was going) in case I distracted him from chewing on his stick and he decided that it would be nicer to chew on me instead... My alarm was unwarranted as the dog really loved his stick and headed off on his sticky little way paying me no heed at all whatsoever.

My hangover accompanied me up another hill and decided that it was time to let me go on without it, much to my delight. Then I was taken by surprise. Sticky dog had a friend living near by. That friend had no stick to be distracted by. So it took off like a golden light down its garden barking and growling at me and chasing me up the road. It's one way to get me to speed up. It frightened the holy life out of me. The only thing I could think was I was going to be eaten before I even got to eat today!

Thankfully the dog was all mouth and no trousers and gave up on me.  I'd like to say it was my speed that out ran him, but I think it was more likely he sensed that I was absolutely no threat at all...

It wasn't my most pleasant start to the morning.

Lots of family fun was had but my Twinnie was busy working so we go no time together to pick on everyone in a twelve mile radius.  But that's OK cause he's going to get the weekend off the next time I'm up and we'll celebrate turning the big three oh in style.

Now, the bit I've been dying to talk most about! My wedding dress...

As you will know from previous posts / chats, I thought I had my wedding dress.  Then I realised that the "dressmaker" (and I use the term VERY loosely) was nothing but a cowboy /girl and had as much dressmaking ability as I did. So it was back to the drawing board and now I'm very happy about that.

I saw it on the Internet and thought it was lovely. When the lady started to put it on me I was shaking. I was so excited about it.  Before she even did it up for me I was squealing with delight. I had the biggest goofiest excited smile on my face when she pulled round the curtains for my mam and sister to see. I am super excited and really happy that it's sorted out and I have an amazing dress and I will once again be a ridey princess!

So happiness all weekend. Now i've to run the ass off myself this week to make up for all the celebrations over the weekend... here's some pics of the weekends happiness (not the dress of course!)







Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Happy Birthday to my baby sister

It's the 8 August 2012.  This day 19 years ago my baby sister made her way into this world. She was tiny and pink and gorgeous and more than I could have wished for. I loved her before she ever took a breath, and have loved her more and more every year.

She was cute and loveable and had me wrapped around her tiny little fingers.. the only thing that's changed here is her fingers are longer!

Here's some photos of her young and loveable...












But now she's all grown up. And instead of her being a baby, she's this lovely girl who is great fun, I can have a laugh with and can talk to.  She's still as cute as she ever was, but she's also gorgeous, and talented, friendly and loyal, honest and generous and one of my best friends in the whole world.









So today is the day that I think about how lucky I am to have such a wonderful baby sister...

Happy birthday Lorla.. I love you xxxx

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Weigh day... The Verdict

I have run, I have drank gallons of water, I have eaten lettuce and spinach and fruit till its come out my ... [ears].  And it has all paid off.  Yes.  I hopped up onto that scales and I am 1.5lb down this week.  That's a brilliant 3lb in two weeks. Delighted with myself.  I am 2lb off my stone and I am going to get it next week.

Granted, 1.5lb is not the 4 stone I feel I deserved to loose, but it's still pretty darn good.

The plan for next week?

Well, I am going wedding dress shopping next Monday with my Mum and Sister (eeek... too excited, can't stay off the website of the shop!) So going home for the weekend means good hearty home cooked meals, real butter (literally drooling at the thoughts), my dad's mashed spuds (i hope) and wine.  Plus there may be a bit of birthday cake for a special someones 19th birthday and did I mention wine?  With all this in mind, I must plan...

POA:

  1. There will be running.  I am up to about 3.5k - 4k jogs so this week I am aiming for 5k at least three times and 3.5k at least twice. (Don't mention it to my calves, they are only recovering after yesterdays run!)
  2. Three sessions of Davina McCall's DVD; and
  3. Sticking to 26 ProPoints a day.
With all that in mind, I am fairly sure I will  be able to get my stone next week....

Oh, and just to give a visual of 1lb loss, see the pic below and add half of that to make up the 1.5 Ib lost today... It's gross but true!

Image courtesy of http://logomachia.blogspot.ie/

Just for Laughs

It's Weigh Day...



It's weigh day again.. Cannot believe how quickly these weeks are just flying past! Only one more bank holiday left this year before Christmas...

So I'm getting weighed today, a Tuesday, because of the bank holiday weekend. Gives you an extra day to try and undo the boldness of the Bank Holiday.  Now normally on a Tuesday after a bank holiday weekend I would spend the entire day thinking of reasons  not to go to the class and then I would "forget" to go because it's Tuesday instead of Monday... oops. But not this time.  Oh no.  This time I am happy enough to go to my class and see what happens.  Why?

Well, for starters, I cooked all weekend and did not eat out once. I even made my own brown bread - that's just the kind of domesticated goddess I am... Secondly, over the course of the last week I have gone for quite a few runs, finishing off the week with a 3.5k run yesterday afternoon. Which, as far as I am concerned, should result in the loss of at the very minimum 4 stone.

Even though I was out on Saturday boozing around, I'm not too concerned. Because while I boozed with the best of them, I didn't do my usual trip to Mickey D's (McDonalds) that I forget about because it doesn't count when you have had something to drink...

I am quietly confident about having a loss this week, even if it is not quite as big a loss as 4 stone!

Monday, August 6, 2012

Thought of the day

Brain cells come and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever. ~Author Unknown~

Friday, August 3, 2012

Run Rachy, Run Rachy, Run Run Run....


I am back running. My legs are, once again, no longer talking to me.  As I sit here and type they are throbbing and aching and my lower back is joining in for a chorus. But it's OK. I'm delighted with myself! Since Monday afternoon I have completed the grand total of four runs (2 of which happened on Monday!! I know right? Two runs in the one day, what am I? An Olympian?) Now, I am completely aware of the fact that all you seasoned runners out there with the ability to complete 10k in three strides will think 4 runs in one week, coming to a grand total of 10.96k, is not that big a deal. But it is to me so allow me to bask in my amature glory....

I am going wedding dress shopping next week with my Mum and Sister and then again with two of my bridesmaids the week after. So I am basically attempting to run my way into a smaller dress size.  Here's hoping that plan works and I wake up on Monday week a size 8 (I know, my goals are totally realistic and achievable).

Only four more days until Weigh Day and I've a night out to get through so I should be able to run at least three more times between now and then! Aching pins willing...

In the meantime, if anyone has any tips on how to soothe my aching pins, ass and back please, please, let me know...

Have a good weekend x