A New Challenge

For anyone who knows me (at all) you will know that I'm a passionate lolly eater. Lollies of any varieties. I can even go as far to say that I could fore go chocolate just as long as I could have lollies. Lollies are my weapons of choice, my weakness, my one true love. 

In pursuit of health and fitness however, lollies have not loved me back. They've indulged my sweet tooth, they're opened corridors to eating other sweet stuff that I wouldn't normally indulge in and they've tasted so good to my taste buds that more often than not, I'm going way beyond what a human quota of lolly consumption should/would/could be.

I am a firm believer in goal setting. I function incredibly well with a goal in the not so distant future. So I've set myself a goal. I'm not saying that lollies will stop being part of my life (coz that just brings sad sad tears to my eyes) but what I am saying is that I'm going to quit lollies for a week. That's right! You heard straight. Starting tomorrow I will quit lollies. I will be 7 days lolly free and I'm going to do my best to document what I experience during the process. 

What I hope to achieve from this includes:

• A reduced craving for all things sweet
• Reduced mood spikes
• More stable energy levels

These may be unrealistic hopes for only a 7 day strike...but here goes nothing! What's the worst that could happen?...

When things start to flounder

I have these moments in life when I think to myself ‘wow, you’re a fucking superstar’. When I have these moments what I really should be thinking is ‘chickity check yo’self before you wreck yo’self’.

I haven’t written on my beloved blog in such a long time because I’ve been going through a period of significant transition.

Over the Christmas break I decided I would break the Sydney chains and head west (coz west does it best…or summink like that!). In doing so I left behind the wonderful structure that was my happy, regimented (slightly anal retentive) boxing world and stepped out into the big unknown.

And the big unknown is exactly what it’s been.

I arrived in Perth with just a week to spare before starting full time study. I ran round making sure life was ready for me here and started then started study. In this time I searched high and low for a new boxing home. Every time I walked through the doors of a new boxing gym I expected to find what I had in Sydney – a smiling instructor ready to pass down his glorious knowledge, encourage class attendees passionate about all that is boxing and the glorious smell of decades of sweat. I found none of this.

I’ve had to do a lot of addressing of what it is that I want. In deciding to come to Perth, I knew what I was leaving behind. Luckily I’m studying fitness and in doing so have met like-minded people that are similarly passioned (new word!).

So while exploring the unknown I’ve discovered that I quite enjoy resistance training, have tried to develop an impeccable dead lift technique (which is still most certainly in the developing stage – can I blame genetics?) and have noticed a change in body composition already.

I have, however found the transition has re-introduced bad habits and left me floundering and confused about how I implemented such brilliant strategies in Sydney.

Tonight had led me to look at what it was that kick started the last fitness boost. I thought I’d take a look at the app ‘My Fitness Pal’ and see what information I’d recorded in there from when I last decided to chickity check myself. Did you know (I didn’t, that’s why I’m asking you!) that when I first started using My Fitness Pal in September 2012 I weighed 82kgs – I must have blocked this out of my mind. I’m now between 72.5-73.5 which means whatever I was doing before, I was doing well. 

So the first step will be USE MY FITNESS PAL!

I’m also going to introduce EVERYTHING I did when I was using that app. This means:

1.     Using the heart rate monitor/calorie counter to measure calories burnt during workout

2.     Weighing myself EVERY Sunday morning (regardless of Saturday night (mis)adventures)

3.     Engaging in 3 high intensity exercise classes per week (I’m trying to find a local crossfit gym)

4.     Walking 8km 3 times per week

5.     Exercising with friends 2 times a week for fun

6.     Eat out once per week

It’s nice to know and remember that stuff can be achieved, that goals can be set and that change can be implemented. Thank you Ice Cube for you fine words of wisdom!

Holiday Extremes!

It has been some time since my last post. It's that/this/the time of year! Sorry! (Its been even more time as I hadn't posted this...news is: I'm living in Perth and studying Fitness, more of that to come in future posts). 

My latest thoughts have been about holidaying and sustaining health and activity while on holiday without the holiday becoming all about said health and activity. And here we are again, talking about balance!

On holiday I have two extremes. The first is neurotic exercising Sally. I wake up early, I put my gym clothes on and I head out the door only to return 2 hours later, knackered and reluctant to participate in any sight-seeing festivities much preferring  to lay on the coach and mentally high-five myself for training so hard (while watching reality TV...there's always reality TV when I'm on holiday. Who have I become?).

The other extreme is binge eating, I'm on holiday and I'm going to do whatever the hell I want to do Sally. A standard day with this Sally would involve rolling out of bed whenever, eating a delicious breakfast (with bacon. Holiday food = bacon), maybe seeing some sights, definitely eating a delicious lunch and most certainly finishing a hard day (of eating) with a delicious dinner! Then mix alcohol into this. It all gets very messy.

This holiday season, I decided, was going to be different. I headed off to the west coast - a bag full (17kgs for 7 days...coz I wouldn't be a Duckworth if it were lighter, must pack for all seasons regardless of heatwaves!) of enough gym clothes for everyday, boxing gloves and pads, boxing wraps, skipping rope...you get the idea. This was all mixed in with a few bikinis and other necessary items. By the time I landed in Western Australia the holiday could have gone either the binge or neurotic way (although I had just flown business class for what may be the only time in my life so felt eating the cheese platter was somewhat obligatory...binge holiday-1, neurotic holiday-0).

I landed on Christmas eve and was super full after the 3 course meal (individual courses, not compartmentalised like in economy-holy shit!) so had a cruisy evening. The next day was Christmas, however I was staying with a raw vegan so ate delicious unprocessed salads, zucchini pastas and raw sweets. Then something tweaked in my head and an un-ignore-able alarm was screaming in my head IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY!!! YOU HAVE TO EAT DELICIOUS FOOD. Where did this voice come from? Why do I have to eat unhealthily on Christmas day. I appeased this with a handful of lollies, the alarm stopped ringing however the binge holiday was now in the lead, binge holiday-2, neurotic holiday-0.

A few days in, attempts to run in the heat wave were beaten to the ground by dehydration, I was struck with an epiphany. It doesn't have to be either a binging or neurotic holiday! It can be a balanced holiday! Woah, Woah, Woah! I realised that I could eat food that I may not eat on a day to day basis, ensuring that I wasn't over-indulging while also having an active holiday. This activity didn't mean running until I could no longer move coz've the heat exhaustion (it happened one day actually) but rather incorporating holiday activities that i would enjoy.

All in all, it was a flipping brilliant holiday! I finally tried paddle boarding, did some snorkeling, prepared tasty food (raw blueberry cheesecake being the absolute highlight), started every day with a swim, rode a bike (must train bum to tolerate bike seats), jogged and it was exactly the holiday that it should've been - balanced. I didn't have to feel guilty about eating pizza coz I was active everyday and I was listening to how my body responded to food and didn't feel the desire to eat all the bad food that was in sight!

I guess there isn't much of a moral to all of this except that it's a reminder of how important it is to live a balanced life. As well as another time for me to try and defeat the idea of food being a reward.

New Years Resolutions -

Lose 6kgs! Now 4kgs - a sea change (plus balance) can do great things

Stop buying crap I don't need!

Pour my heart into lovely friends and family members!

Stay positive, look ahead!

My advice for now: drink coconut water, it's delicious!

The results are in...I have commitment issues

I've slacked off, I know, I'll be the first to admit it and I'm sorry and I'll never do it again (I'm lying, I might!)

First and foremost - holy shit it's hard to maintain positive habits round this time of year. I've heard people say stuff like this before but it only really hit home this year. Secondly, I have commitment issues and this all came to light when I tried to implement the use of the app 'MyNetDiary'.

I could lie and say that I managed to maintain use of the app for the week that I said I would but that would defeat the point. So here is the result of approximately 3-4 days of app use.

Please note speed bumps to fulfil app use included: Mumma's BIG 60th and an Engagement party both which included unrecognisable foods for the app.

 

So despite the inconsistency of my use of the app, I'm able to get some ideas about a number of habits that characterise the way I eat. I'd say usually I'm consuming more calories during the day. This is because I'm bored at work so I snack so I've tried to curb the snacking with setting myself water drinking goals as well as snacking on carrot sticks. I also consume a lot of calories through snacks. that's got a lot to do with my love of lollies (the newly developed heart palpitations while eating lollies are helping with putting a stop to regular lolly eating).

So my criticisms of the app would be that's it's difficult to identify exact calories of foods as the app may not have a matching food. A bit of googling can help resolve this. I also think it could be improved by having time slots as that would help identify a few other habits.

All in all, I think it's better than nothing. The discipline it takes to enter all the foods you eat and brutal honesty to admit to your self what you're actually putting in your mouth is a great motivator to eat well. I recommend everyone gives it a try just to see how they find it, and hey we all need a bit of additional motivation round this time of year!

Why fat jokes hurt my feelings.

I've been trying to write this post for a few weeks now. It always ends up being too preachy or sounding a little bit naff. I'll just tell it to you straight: fat jokes really hurt my feelings.

I can recall almost every time someone has made a comment about my weight. I can remember who they were, I remember where we were and I can recall who was standing by. I remember exactly who asked me if I actually did any exercise during morning assembly in year 3 at St Ives North. I remember who told me I could use the exercise after offering to drop pamphlets off for something school related in front of the whole of year 6 at St Ives Primary. I remember laughing along with everyone else to hide my hurt.

And I'm far from perfect! I know I've jumped on the bandwagon. I know I've giggled at jokes about someones Mama being so fat. And you know what else, I'm sure I've even hurt peoples feelings by commenting on their weight too. There we go, I said it, I'm just as judgemental and horrible as everyone else saying horrible things about people that don't deserve horrible things to be said about (huh?). And I'm so sorry if I ever have. There's no excuse and I was just saying mean things to try and deflect the attention away from myself. What a jerk!

But why has society constructed an environment where we can make such hurtful statements about people without considering that persons feelings?

I certainly didn't choose to be overweight. I know that if I had a say in it I would have asked to be naturally athletic, healthy and fit but sometimes life's circumstances as well as genetics play into how you develop and habits you learn.

I guess as you get older, you develop a better understanding of people, develop a bit more empathy and seek to understand people on a deeper level, or at least we can hope.

So I'm not going to preach and ask you not to laugh at 'yo Mama' jokes, I'm just asking you to consider how that persons Mama feels while you make fun of her weight...pretty upset that you'd make such harsh judgements about her without getting to know her I'd expect!

Ducky Diet

In my previous posts, I mentioned that I struggle with binge eating. Re-configuring my brain to enjoy food for what it is has been the biggest part of my challenge.

In the process of trying to understand how to eat well (does anyone ever understand how to eat well, will I be constantly thinking about food for the rest of my days...thoughts that often cross my mind!) my brother developed a way of eating that really worked for me, he dubbed it 'ducky diet'.

I think I've now adapted it to make it meet my needs but it still follows the general ideas that Paul suggested. I remember one night Paul came round and had been getting bibimbap and this started the early development of Ducky Diet.

Basically, Ducky Diet is an incredibly delicious salad with as few processed additives as possible. Nowadays a salad I make might include:

Heaps of lettuce-type variations: iceberg, spinach leaves, rocket (thing king of green things) and miscellaneous other green leafy bits.
A carrot - grated, chopped depending on my mood.
Half a tomate (I once had an incredible driving instructor who had a student who was a lovely older Italian lady that couldn't drive to save her life. At the end of the lesson she'd try to bribe him with tomates).
Some capsicum. Usually red coz its sweeter than green and sweet is always delicious!
Cucumber (the most diverse and delicious vegetable to grace our shores)
Brown rice. About 100grams - makes it more filling and nutty in flavour
Some balsamic vinegar
Avocado if I'm feeling a bit wild
Sliced pear or apple. I love sweet stuff in things that are supposed to be savoury!
Some kind of protein. I loved salmon but might also have chicken or beef depending on whats around. This may also be a way to justify a bit of a treat so I'll have my salad but might buy a piece of grilled fish or chicken to add to the salad.

That's it really. Paul has made a number of delicious variations which include cooked pumpkin and a little bit of curry paste which is a whole new flavour ball game.

I'm pretty lucky coz I'm happy to eat the same thing every day but I really recommend giving something like this a try to see how you feel after. Don't get me wrong, there are days when eating this way isn't effective. Sometimes I want something hot, sometimes I want carbs and sometimes I want junk but if I've taken this to work its a great disincentive to go out and buy something and with a little planning preparing salad like this everyday really isn't hard work!

So my eating is quite consistent and goes a little something like this:

Breakfast -
30 grams Digestive First cereal
125 grams frozen blueberries (which make my world go round - another hot tip from Paul)
Large skim flat white (no sugar/sweetener etc)

Snack -
Carrot
1/4 Cucumber
Apple

Lunch -
Ducky Diet

Snack -
3 fresh dates
Small skim flat white

Dinner -
Ducky Diet (made slightly more exciting with the addition of exciting protein like a steak or summink)

Dessert - (coz sweet stuff is my life source)
Frozen yoghurt - literally that. I froze Forme yoghurt in ice block containers and they're delicious

NOW! Of course there are saboteurs to such consistency such as my lolly addiction, going out for dinner and whatnot but I do try my best to adhere to this.

In an effort to ensure transparency, I'm going to enter everything I eat into the app MyNetDiary from Monday 10th December to Sunday 16th December and will upload the results at the end of the week. I'm also it'll help to act as a bit of motivation to stay focused. I'll upload the results on the 16th so we'll see.

I'd really encourage you to download the app and why not try recording a week of what you eat and drink. Once it's documented, it makes making changes that much easier coz the evidence is documented. Here's the link. So give it a go and let me know how you go!

http://www.mynetdiary.com/

Oh yes yes yes AND drink at least 2 litres of water a day. Try it once and you'll never go back. It does wonders!

Here's a picture of Ricky Gervais in gold underpants and wayfarers.

"but...how did you do it?"

For how ever long I was trying to lose weight, I would always look at people who had lost weight and wonder how on earth they did it. Did they find a machine that they found easy to use, did they find a diet that really suited them, did they wake up one day and suddenly they'd just shedded the kgs. I would even ask them 'how did you do it' like they possessed the magical key to the universe of weight loss, a key that maybe I could possess and open a door to my own mystical weight loss universe.

(this is an image google found me when I searched 'key to universe')

But as far as I'm concerned, there isn't a mystical universe or a magical key. Whenever I did ask these people their response would generally be that they went to the gym, started eating balanced meals, started controlling their portions and so on.

So the truth of the matter is (and this is wholly my subjective opinion, whether you agree or not is up to you) losing weight and getting fit is fucking hard work. Don't believe anyone that ever says its easy. Don't believe anyone that looks nonchalant about their weight loss. Just don't! It takes time, it takes all the commitment, it takes energy, it takes sacrifice and at times it can suck. But you know what, once you start to feel healthier, once your body starts to function better, once you wake up with more energy and once you start to see the change in your body it's more than worth it.

So in my opinion, there is no magical diet, no amazing life changing gym class or incredible machine that will help you lose weight. You will have to be dedicated and it will be hard work but you'll be rewarded for all your effort in the end.

This epiphany occurred to me while I was jogging home today thinking 'fuck this is hard work'.

 

(didn't post it on Facebook...at least it's on my blog!)