Poking fun at it all

Thought of the day

Week 14 the verdict

I'm up half a pound and I'm not happy about it at all! I don't know why I reach half a stone loss and then self destruct!

I got no exercise in at all last week and it really showed! So far my plans to exercise have not come to fruition bit I will change that tomorrow!

Here's to a more successful week 15

Hurray for Marian Keyes

I received a wonderful email today from Marian Keyes' website informing me that her new newsletter was ready for reading.  I am a HUGE Marian Keyes fan.  I love everyone of her books from Watermelon right through to the Brightest Star in the Sky.  She is an amazing author. Her books are clever and funny and have just right amount of sentimentality and heart.  Her characters are brilliant.  I've never read books where I can't wait to find out more about the characters.  Her creation of the Walsh family and their stories has kept me entertained for many a year now.  They are books that I will happily read, again and again and again and again! So to hear that she is releasing another book about the final Walsh has me extremely excited! I can't wait to read it.

It's a happy Monday (to distract me from the fear of the scales)....

Damn it, it's weigh day

Damn it, it's weigh day again and this week has not been my best week!
Between working late, visitors and downright laziness I did no exercise this week. None at all whatsoever. My routine was out of sync (and I didn't do a whole lot to get it back into sync). I don't know what the heck is wrong with me! When I reach my 7lb, I loose the plot and then stop trying. That flippin self destruct button is always close to being pushed! Think I need therapy!

Anyway, I have decided that last week was a "rest" week and that this week is a "get back on that saddle and ride til your skinny" week.

I was out this weekend. Not once, not twice but three times. I was out for drinks on Friday night with himself's family to celebrate the 39th Anniversary of himself's uncle turning 21 (I'll let you do the math).  It was a fantastic night and loads of fun had by all. Then we headed out again for our friends birthday on Saturday night. That resulted in not getting home till after 3am having consumed copious amounts of Corrs Light, somethings called Cointreau Bombs (like a Jagger bomb with Cointreau instead) and accidentally leaning on a strangers puke... Needless to say I wasn't feeling overly sociable yesterday.

Although, despite the seedy head upon my both Saturday and Sunday afternoons, I didn't eat a single crisp or fizzy jelly (until we  got a DVD last night and I ate some jelly beans and popcorn, though not a lot!!!)

Then the hat-trick that rounded off the weekend was out for dinner last night because neither of us had it in us to cook anything. So what did I order? I had a dirty big beef burger and chips - although, once again, I didn't actually eat all of the chips!

So the plan for this week:

Move, move lots more than last week! Kettlebells, running, Davina McCall. Aiming for 8 hours this week so need to get going!
Cook all my dinners and lunches tonight for the whole week. I'll be working late, going to exercise classes and need to be eating on the go.
Keep all of my 49 ProPoints for the weekend because I have got a wedding to attend!

Will keep you posted on the outcome.

Week 13 - the verdict

So it's week 13 and I have ditched another 1.5lb! I'm delighted but really thought I'd have lost a little more than that! Obviously all my running and kettlebell-ing is paying off though and in fairness I was out Saturday night and had quite a few bottles of beer which definitely went over my weekly points allowance!

All in all not a bad week!

I didn't achieve my goal of 8 hours exercise this week. I managed 5.30 hours this week. Next week I will aim for the 8 hours again.

Exercise balls - feck it!

Kettlebells was an experience last night! I picked the wrong weight to begin with. And by picking I mean it was the only one left because I was so late. So I was trotting around the circuit with a heavier than usual weight and by god did I feel it! So the circuit last night was a little different in that the trainer included exercise balls for us to to do sit ups, the plank and this other thing that looked like we were kneeling down saying our prayers and rolling forward on the ball.

It turns out, should you ever enter a competition that requires balance related skill, do not pick me for your team because you will absolutely loose. I cannot use it. I swear, I am ridiculous.

Firstly, when I sat on it I was instantly afraid the bloody thing was going to pop (that's the warped view of myself kicking in right there). Then doing the sit ups I was so afraid that I was going to roll off the blasted thing that I couldn't commit to the Up bit! On the next round of the circuit we had to do the praying thing. That wasn't too bad. I managed to do it, but didn't look half as long or graceful as my friend did (probably because I am not, in fact, half as long or graceful but that is neither here nor there). On the third way round we had to do this plank thing.

I made a holy show of myself. The group before us (and after us for that matter) didn't seem to have any problem in doing this. I, on the other hand, was an entirely different ball game (hehehe you get it!).

I couldn't do it. I was trying to hold myself up and steady but the ball kept moving on me. I was rolling to left and right and instead of just letting myself topple over I fought it, so I looked even worse. I nearly knocked my friend off her ball and the same with the girl who was in our group. Eventually, after a lot of trying the bloody thing shot out from underneath me, flying across the room drawing attention to my unbalanced self and sent me flying to the ground. I thought my friend was going to get sick laughing at me.

So to all those in the class that could manage that particular gem i say Damn you sporty folk and the exercise balls you rolled in on....

So it's all my metabolism's fault

Here's a very interesting article on our metabolism and how it affects us depending on our age... I know I'm clinging on to my 20-somethings by my fingernails,  but by jaysus I'll continue to cling on in there until the candle on my cake says 'oh no, its the big 30!"

http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/stay-slim-forever-121143236.html

Kettlebells - third class

Back from my kettlebells class and learned a new trick with the monstrous weight! I learnt to swing and flick (said in a repetitive monologue inside my head in the same voice a Hermione Granger tells Ron to 'swish and flick' in the first Harry Potter- apologies for the tangent!)

Any who! It's a difficult enough move, especially because I haven't quite figured out how to stop it bashing in to my arm! I bruise like a peach so I'll be lovely and blue tomorrow!!

Oh the squats! They are feckin hard enough without adding a bloody weight in there but I did them! There was a frightening moment when I really didn't think I was coming back up from a particularly enthusiastic one! I did my little sit down, dropping the bell as I squatted. I went to pull the bell back up and stand straight with the intention of squeezing my but-tock (said like forest gump), but nothing happened. It was like someone pressed pause on the bottom half of my body! Then I had a wobble and thought "a feck, I'm going down"!

Thankfully nothing as embarrassing as that happened and with a rush of gratitude for Davina McCall and her DVD which I can only assume deserves the credit for my newly acquired balance, I huffed into a stand position, had a squeeze of my but-tock and put the bell down!

Much to my delight the class was pretty much over at that point!

My brain was loving the class! It totally enjoyed every second, so much so that it couldn't believe it was time to go!

The rest of my body on the other hand! Well let's just say that it's less than polite response to brain was something along the lines of your not doing the physical work so stop encouraging her!!!

I'll be punished tomorrow!!!

Looking forward to Thursday's class! It's a circuit!

Goals for week commencing 16 January 2012

Since last weeks goal setting went so well, I have decided to do it again this week and see how I go.

This weeks goals are:

1. Loose -2.5lb
2. A minimum of 8 hours exercise
• 2 x 3.5 mile jogs
• 2 x Kettlebell classes
• 5 x 30 Minute workouts
• 3 x 30 minute jogs
3. Defrost my freezer
4. Clean the back bedroom
5. Learn to make WW Scones

Week 12 - the Verdict

I'm down -2.5lb and delighted with myself. I said that I wanted to loose a minimum of 2.5lb this week and I have achieved that, although I would be happier if I lost a little bit more!! But it's ok! I've achieved this weeks goal and am proud of myself.

Next weeks goal is the same -2.5lb. The same amount of work is going to have to go into this weeks effort plus some!!! Here's to an excellent week

Exercise tip

Thought for the day

Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise

~ Sigmund Freud

It's weigh day

It's the 13th Weigh day and it's the first one that I am actually not feeling dreadful about. I am confident that with the amount of exercise I did (just over 7 hours, thank you very much) and the careful pointing and tracking I should have a loss on the scales! I will be happy with a loss of 2lb!

I was counting up the hours of exercise I did over the last week, and I'll be honest, I was shocked. I don't think I have willingly moved that much in years! Thankfully, my thighs, gluetes and calves have decided to give up the rebellion and fall in line with the regime. Just need to get my arms and stomach to follow suit and sure we'll be laughing!

I decided this weekend that I needed to set myself a date to work towards. My goals are good but I need something big to get me up and moving more. So, on the 14 April 2012 I will be going for my first wedding dress shopping trip. If that doesn't motivate me, nothing will. I just need to remember that I break out in a sweat every time I think of 'the fear'... (aka accidental ripping a dress or something equally as shameful happening to me!)

So here's hoping tonight's scales reflects all my hard work, otherwise I'll be devo!

Goals to be achieved for the week commencing 9 January 2012

The goals for this week?

- Join Kettle Bells
- Go for 45 minute runs
- Do 4 sessions of Davina's DVD
- Stay within my points
- Defrost my freezer
- Put clothes into wardrobe
- Loose 2lb

Above are the goals I had set myself to be achieved by the end of the week commencing 9 Jan.

So far, of these goals I have achieved;

Joining Kettlebells and completing 2 classes
Going for 3 runs 45 mins or more plus 1 hour long walk
I only achieved 2 sessions of Davinas DVD
I have stayed within my points

I will need to wait until tomorrow to see if I he achieved my 2lb weight loss but I am feeling quite positive!

Tweaks to the ProPoints Plan

I was reading the February edition of the WW magazine from the UK last night and it had an interesting article in it regarding the tweaks to the ProPoints plan.

Ok, so firstly they have been researching for the last year and have discovered that it is nutritionally and healthy to drop to 26 daily ProPoints and 49 Weekly ProPoints. The first week back we were given a menu plan for the the week, kind of like the kickstart week on the old points plan. It's all laid out for you and pointed up. My leader reckons that this is a good way to kickstart the weight loss and is also a good way for people close to their goal weight or who have reached a plateau to drop the pounds.

Now, according to the magazine article I was reading (which I don't have to hand but will get a copy of), with the tweaks that have been made to the plan, it is possible to have a "count free day" in that if there is something going on, such as a wedding or a day out, it is possible not to count your points and just eat until you are satisfied. BUT you must only choose filling and healthy foods. If you choose foods that are not these i.e. Green shaded in the book, then you must point them and these are taken out of your weekly 49 ProPoints. They reckon it is a good idea to do this because it helps prepare you for maintenance.

According to the article, you can eat as much as you like, as long as you stop when you are satisfied and you can do this as many days as you like. Interesting no?

I am going to do the kickstart week next week, just to see how well it goes.

Thought for the day

Success is a journey, not a destination

~ Ben Sweetland 

Poking fun at it all

Poking fun at it all

Poking fun at it all