Sustainable Fitness Mode

Recently I have been listening to Podcasts and become obsessed with live shows such as Half Size Me.  They are great to listen to in the background at the office, or download and take for a road trip, and I expect I will incentivising myself to run using them as well!  One of the things the presenter and producer, Heather Robertson, advocates is planning.  What will your healthy lifestyle look like?  What will maintenance look like?  Now that’s the whole point of my journey – work towards a sustainable healthy lifestyle while being unsure what it looks like.  Indeed my blog documents this process!

So I thought I would do a Snapshot, and use that to determine what I should be working towards in the short term.  The result is a serious of goals, set in December 2012.  Let’s go!

What does my lifestyle look like right now?  Snapshot of meals

-       Breakfast is as much as I want.  Chopped carrot and granola usually, and then either some toast with peanut butter or egg whites with onion and peppers.  I do not limit my portions but I try to include 50% veg or protein.

-       Lunch is a potato, either baked or sweet potato, and either baked beans or tuna.  Followed by an apple and another piece of fruit.

-       If I workout I have an apple before.

-       Dinner – I have a number of go-to meals, e.g. steaming veg and having a fishcake.  Super easy, put it in and 30 mins later enjoy food.  The fishcake is potentially higher in fat than a pure fillet, but I love it and it adds taste without going overboard.  If we have something more complex I decarb and decheese it – e.g. courgette spirals in a pasta bake with moderate cheese.  Recently we had cornbread but that’s a sometimes food for sure!  Dessert is a protein shake if I worked out earlier, or a sweet tea.  This is where I kinda want something but I am not hungry, so I keep the dessert urge in check.

-       Alcohol is few and far between.  This last weekend I had a few pints (of zider!) but did not really get drunk, just enjoyed myself.

-       Chocolate, biscuits and cake – honestly not interested.  I stay away from granola bars.  Every now and again I crave a Clif bar, and I allow myself half of one if it’s before a workout.

-       I am loving peanut butter from Wholefoods, the freshly ground type, and that scratches my nut itch.

Snapshot of workouts

-       I cycle to work and back, a 4 mile trip there and a 4 mile trip back.  It’s great for clearing my head and making me feel all adventurous.  I average 3-4 times a week but it depends on whether I am going out to see clients and therefore need my car.

-       Me and the boy hit our dirty sweaty Man Gym 2-3 times a week.  There I do squats, and then either bench press or another workout.  I tend to work legs and back, arms and core.  Need more shoulder strength.  I can do three man push ups with ease, four if I push it, five = failed.

-       The squat, bench and deadlift are my indicator lifts.  The squat I can do 27.5kg each side, bench is 7.5kg each side and deadlift 20kg each side.

What do I want to improve?

-       I want to improve the look and feel of my core.  I also want rid of my thighs!!!  My butt is tightening up so continue the squats, and do more deadlifts.

-       I want to do pull ups.  I love the look of my arms so much!

Goals!  Set December 2012

Exercise – Weight training

-       Squat – 30kg each side plus bar – at the moment I am on 20kg, a 5kg and a 2.5kg, so 27.5kg each side.  Nearly there!!!

-       Bench press – 10kg each side – at the moment at 7.5kg each side.

-       Consistently deadlift once a week – 20kg at the moment, let’s set a goal just to do them consistently for now.

-       Do a full pull up at the Man Gym!

Running

-       Run a 5 miler at 9 min mile average – just did a 4 miler at 9 min miles!

Fuelling

-       Continue to eat 50% vegetables at every meal

-       Always have fruit and frozen vegetables in the house and available

-       Try to gauge hunger on a 5 point scale before eating any meal.

-       Chop onions and defrost peppers the night before for breakfast the next day.

Other

-       Fit into a particular dress which will become my indicator dress.

I am so excited I just wanted to share!  Here are some pics from just after we moved into our new house, so around November 8th:

And here are some pictures from December 4th:

In spite of looking tired in the second set of pics (hey it was early) I am super pleased with progress!  My stomach has gone waaaay down and my arms and face are looking so much slimmer.  And my weight is….

I don’t know.  I am not weighing myself.

::Gasp::

I don’t want to let that number determine my happiness.  I am eating so much better and in much more sensible portions than I ever was when I was counting every little thing.  I found I had to let go of the numbers and focus on how I felt for now.  And right now, I feel amazing!

I will monitor progress via a top I have, and how my super skinny jeans feel.  I will possibly wear the outfit once a week and track progress.

More little reasons to feel awesome:

• I can squat 155lb total (including bar) (26.25kg each side plus bar).  Five times, for three sets.  AWESOME.
• I can bench press apparently 73lb ten times, for three sets.  (7.5kg each side, plus bar).  That’s nuts!
• Today I had a client come in.  Sometimes you get the ones that Stare.  You know, at the boobies.  You want to say, “I’m up here buddy”.  Occupational hazard of being a woman.  Well, this guy was Staring…but at my muscley arms. Hehehee!

What are your little reasons to feel awesome today? Can be food / exercise related or not!  

Of all the stupid things I’ve done lately, this one takes the biscuit…

I cycled to work today from my new location.  I was determined to try it – it supposedly adds another 10 minutes to my cycle commute and I wanted to test that.  The day dawned bright and fine for the first time in AGES so I was eager to get out there.

I’m trucking along and come across some floodwater from the river, busting its banks.

No problem, right?  Especially when I’ve just gone through this:

Wee!  So I cycle onwards, the water touching my soles…. then my ankles….then my calves…. When it got to my knees I started thinking this wasn’t a good idea….

I got in and we went about our work only to learn that the road home was closed – flooded and dangerous.  And the only way home, in the dark, was a 7 mile diversion done a seriously dangerous road.

Uh oh.

I managed to get a lift home from someone sensible with a car.

Remote office

Woke up and the roads are all flooded.  No one is going anywhere!  But fortunately I have a computer, internet access, supplies:

And green tea.

No hairbrushes though.  We must all endure hardships.

Crazy weather!

(Stream of consciousness ahoy!)

The body you want is a product of the lifestyle you lead.  It’s an indicator, a marker.  Once you have achieved the lifestyle required for that body, you will get it.  You may be surprised that eating well 50% of the time and not so well 50% of the time does not result in washboard abs.  Sorry, it doesn’t.  Nor do you get to a place and someone says, “Well done, the race is over, time to relax and eat whatever you want again now”, which is what I (sadly) did early this summer and decide “I am here – I can eat “normally” again!”  I didn’t change my eating habits AT ALL – I only modified them for the period of time I felt I needed to.  I didn’t learn anything, and not learning anything makes me sad.

You see all sorts exercising and can come to the conclusion that it’s not the exercises they do, it’s the lifestyle, it’s what they consistently do and that’s TRY.

But I am learning now, and I am learning and taking to heart that this is a journey and it is my personal journey.  Who cares what anyone else is doing?  I need to find out what works for ME.  What works for my lifestyle, for my other goals, for the kind of person I want to be.  I love running and I love weightlifting – I need to find a way to make the two work together.  I love eating, I love eating big meals, cheese, and the odd pizza and beer.  I need to find a way to make that work for me.

Lately I’ve been self hating, the whole, “If I can’t do it perfectly there’s no point”.  I got frustrated and down on myself yesterday and the boy pointed out:

•  I can squat 50kg plus bar – bar is about 40 pounds so that’s 150lbs.  That’s four pounds shy of my current weight.  That.  Is.  Awesome.
• I have not gotten sick in ages.  My last cold was in March 2011.  That was seriously the last time I was ill.
• I have not been running for about a month but I can still bash out the odd 3 miles – just get up and run.

I am fit.  I am stronger than I have ever been.  I am the healthiest I have ever been, I mean, everyone gets a winter chill right?  Nope, my amazing Welsh immune system has the right body now to fend off anything it seems!

I need to celebrate how far I have come instead of looking at what I have left to do.  And if it’s not working for me – tweak it.  Recently I added morning juicing to my routine – one carrot, one apple, some water and BAM, I am a powerhouse.  I took that away this weekend and boy do I feel the difference.  So juicing is here to stay.  I love granola.  I love it too much.  It needs to be a “sometimes” food and not an everyday food because of my inability to stop eating it.  I need to embrace being more flexible and not having an all-or-nothing attitude – Diary of an Aspiring Loser puts it amazingly when she says she needed to learn to accept being less than perfect and that “I acknowledge my small successes and I consider a goal half-met better than a goal not met at all.  Two steps forward and one step back will get me there eventually.”

But why do I still want to lose weight?  What am I reacting to?  I need to get to the bottom of this once and for all.

Maybe I’m mad. Maybe my boy is right and I’m gross. But carrots for breakfast are The Best.

Try it. Be brave. Slice one up like a banana and put it on your granola. It is ah-mazing. Sweet and crunchy, it replaces some of my kryptonite food and gives me a healthy boost.

I mean, we put carrots in cakes right? So it’s nearly normal… Right?

I don’t even care I love it so!

What are your kooky food substitutions?

Well, it’s finally time to share the news!

We have bought a house!

Yes, the boy and I are proud / terrified owners of an actual set of bricks!  A very nice and cosy set of bricks (not as cosy / cramped as our one bed flat however!)

The cats settled in immediately as if they had lived here for years.

Now that I have a mortgage (squeee / argh) everyone seems to think I’m terribly grown up.  I’m generally a responsible person and perhaps a bit more mature than some of my peers (but I do have my moments… Crazy Welsh Pigeon Lady springs to mind…) But I didn’t feel OLD.

Today, however, I do.  I feel old, podgy and past it.  I think it started badly when the only knickers I could find this morning were granny ones, a la Bridget Jones.

(Source)

I don’t want to feel old and mumsy!  I loved feeling young, vital and able to do anything, and I am 100% sure it’s down to diet (bring on the moving pizza!) and a break in my routine (cardio is running up and down three flights of stairs; lifting has been replaced by shifting furniture and boxes).  But neither the pizza nor the moving is any replacement for good, clean meals and proper squats and cardio.

To give the house a clean start, I stocked up on fruits and vegetables.  Here’s my yellow orange lunch, for example.

Clean eats, heavy lifting and fast running all coming my way now, because I love how I feel when I eat well and work out hard.  Bring it on!  I want to turn back the clock!

What are your best anti-ageing secrets?

I once met a 90 year old man learning to play the piano.  He said I should never stop learning, and that learning keeps you young.  I hope my perpetual student status counts!

I’m sorry, I could not help myself.  I love puns too much…

Anyway, I love Donloree’s Fitmas campaign (check her out over at www.donloree.com, she’s one groovy lady!) and this week was Week 6 – Six Abs Crunching.

I took a look at the routine and, to be completely honest, I thought, “That’s not bad.  That’ll do nicely after my squats tonight.  I may have to kick it up a notch but it’s a great start!”

Boy, was I in for a shock.

The first move is 50 crunches.  By 15 I was like, “WHAT HAVE I DONE?!”

I feel like I’ve earned my ab from Father Christmas now… But if I have to do that again I won’t want it!

Just kidding, it was AMAZING.  It’s a no holds barred, great routine.  DO IT.  FEEL THE BURN.

It’s been a while since my last update because I am ashamed.  I have been busy, but I am also disappointed that 1) I hit 10 stone 7lb (my goal) and didn’t feel any different, so then I 2) gained it all back.

It’s been crazy busy around here, more will be revealed once everything is official, but I’ve also made a few tweaks.  Not massive huge changes, like I did before – tweaks. I felt that changing one habit at a time, sloooowly getting used to that habit until it’s second nature, and then going for another one was too slow for me.  I wanted it all, and I wanted it NOW, painting a veneer of “this will all stick once I’m strong and lean” over it all to hold it together.  ”Once you are skinny you’ll want to stay skinny, so you’ll maintain it”, was my mantra, or perhaps, “You’ll work it out when you get there”.  That spectacularly failed when I hit my all time goal but I didn’t feel any different, so it all fell apart.  Suddenly I didn’t want to maintain it because it didn’t feel worth it to me.  I had nowhere else to go, I hadn’t planned, and my old habits crept right in. Plus I stopped running marathon distances.  That might also account for it!

So here I am, staring at 156 on the scale, again.  But I am lifting, and definitely gaining muscle – my body fat is apparently low – and I fit into my skinny jeans.  But I still cannot divorce myself from the scale.

So I read.  A lot.  And I came across the “When Willpower is not enough” blog, by Dr Howard Farkas.  And in his post about “Tracking Progress Without the Scale“, he talks about making your goals a behaviour, with weight loss / gain being the outcomeof that behaviour.  The emphasis is subtle but powerful (I recommend you read his article).  For a few days now I’ve implemented his idea of incentivising certain behaviours and making those the goal, rather than weight being a goal, and so far so good!  I feel much better and I’m meeting my small targets, which include:

• Having a plate of 50% fruit and veg at breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Three lifting workouts a week
• Three running workouts a week
• Mastering!
• Having a weekend meal of all veg
• Literature review 1 paper a week.

As expected I want to follow through on those behaviours – I want to tick those boxes!  And this is a great foundation for changing my behaviours – I actually juice in the mornings now because I’ve made that behaviour a priority, instead of “I must juice – one day”.  I also seem to be auto-portion sizing because I want 50% of my plate to be veggies. My current schedule goes up to January, when I will review habits formed and what new ones to bring in!

Lumie light

I don’t suffer from SAD as a rule, I don’t think, but  I do want to rave about my new desklamp!  Right now I’m sitting in an oasis of sun in a pitch black office (on Hallowe’en…great idea Becki).

My skin has REALLY cleared up (although this may also be attributed to increased intake of veggies through the intervention above), I feel perkier and generally more bouncy, even with the stress I’m under currently!

And finally, a cat picture:

The boys are so big now! Look after yourselves, and do give that article a look see.

I am one of those “perfectionist” people. All or nothing. I can have a perfect streak of excellence but the one thing that lets me down is what plays in my mind and brings me down.

I am also one of those “too busy” people. The “I will cook healthy, fat free, inexpensive meals ONE DAY”. Soon I will be able to – first I need more time / more money / to move / to get in place x, y, z.

I wanted more control over our meals. More perspective on what we are eating. And once I had that I thought it would be easy to stop the excuses and put it into practice.

It sounds so simple. Stop the excuses and put it into practice.

But then I kill myself for not being perfect. For not having a fresh juice every day, for not cooking everything on Sunday and heating up as we go along, although actually, now that I think about it, that would be excellent. But we don’t own a microwave…

This month is all about excuse busting and owning up to not being perfect. That way I’ll adopt the things that MAKE SENSE for me, for my lifestyle, for right now. Sure I can learn about new things and adapt, and if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, but right now things ARE broken. Sometimes it’s okay to ask for help and sometimes you worry that you sound like a broken record.

Case in point, my lifts are going up. Waaaay up. Cardio still okay but obviously not at my 20 mile peak. And the scale? The damn thing is betraying me and making me feel like dirt. 156 lb and over. Now, is that muscle? I can still fit into my skinny jeans BUT with more overspill, I think. So, admit to not being perfect. Take other measurements other than weight and instead of aiming to reduce my weight, I should aim to reduce my bodyfat. Because that’s the dangerous thing, right? But even at 147lb I still wasn’t happy.

Can I concentrate just on what weight I’m lifting, and not what weight I am? Can I disentangle my self esteem from that number, and is it healthy to entrap it in another, such as what weight I’m benching or my body fat percentage.

And at the hard end, I have to ask myself – what am I chasing? Health? Or perfection?

I feel empowered.  I feel able to tackle anything.