I think it's working

Howdy.
Yes. I am obsessive. Yes, impulsive, but, guess what, I don't care too much 'cause I think I might be loosing some weight. It feels like it anyway. I'm on 19 points for today, which isn't too bad. I didn't do my usual Wednesday walk but I'm going to walk home tomorrow night to make up for it. Tomorrow is also a lunch function for me. Fingers crossed there will be a low point option as I don't want to stop the momentum now.

Work wasn't much fun today, I managed a little escape at lunch time and tried on some gorgeous dresses - all of which fitted beautifully, but there was one standout. This dress made me feel all goose bumpy. I wanted to buy it then and there, but with a price tag of $350, I really should try on a few more before committing. So much for waiting 2 weeks!

I'm keeping this short tonight as House is on, but here's a couple of photos:

my new shoes. i love them. they great with the dress.



me. tonight. 30.8.06. go the grain.

Day 7 – I made it!

7 days in a row! Woodilly hoodilly! I'm pretty happy to have stuck to the plan. And I'm hoping I can continue the good work with another 7 (or at least 5...)

Work is draining the life out of me lately, the hours are still manageable, but there is a lot of tension in the air. It's not real pleasant. I'm glad for the extra exercise as a way of relieving the stress. I'm not enjoying the change back to full time work much, and am almost regretting my decision - I'll stick it out for the time being - it's great having regular income, but I really hope the stress is only temporary.

Last night was fun, it was good to see some familiar faces at the pub, catching up with some old friends. And, I only had a diet coke!

Here's the day 7 wrap up (don't worry, this is the last of the in-blog tracking, I'll post them in a separate spot from now on)

Day 7
Breakfast:
2 x crumpets (2)
maple syrup (1)

Lunch:
corn thins (2)
tuna (2)
ribena light (.5)

Dinner:
Risotto (3 sml serve!)
1/3 lasagna (3)
steamed vegies (0)

Snacks:
muslie bar (2)
skim milk for tea/coffee (.5)
rice snack (2)
diet squash (0)
'something worth 2 points' (2)

Total points day 7: 20
Exercise: rest day
Balance: 0

Days 5 & 6 - Hanging in there!

I'm home relatively early this afternoon, and have 45 mins to kill before I meet Mary for a walk, so I thought I'd get all this out of the way. I'm going to a band comp tonight at the Hopetoun - my good friends from The Duchesses are performing and I'm going along to cheer for them. A night in a pub without an alcoholic beverage awaits! Still getting my head around the concept...

Yesterday was great fun - hooping with the gals, but I found myself hungry the rest of the day, and then caved in the evening, having a couple of glasses of wine and a much bigger serve of dinner than I planned on. I also bought some chocolate, which on it's own wasn't too bad, but combined with the wine and the big dinner saw me shoot past my points allocation for the day. But, since I'm determined to track for 7 days straight, I went into damage control mode today and hopefully will finish on under 20.

Day 5
Breakfast:
porridge(1.5)
5 dates (1)
skim milk(.5)
sml OJ (1)

Lunch:
sml serve lasagna (4.5)

Dinner:
Risotto (8 - estimate)
icecream (1.5)
2 pieces Heaven choc (3)

Snacks:
pop corn (1.5)
coke zero (0)
muslie bar (2)
skim hot chocolate (2)
wine (2.5)

Total points day 5: 29
Exercise: 1 hr hula hooping
Balance: 38.5

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Day 6
Breakfast:
2 x crumpets (2)
maple syrup (1)

Lunch:
turkish bread (3)
ham (1)
salad (0)
cheese (1.5)
mayo (1)

Dinner:
Risotto (3 sml serve!)
1/3 lasagna (3)
5 muscles (.5)

Snacks:
fruit snack (1)
skim milk for tea/coffee (.5)
skim milk capuccino (1)
diet coke (0)

Total points day 6: 18.5
Exercise: 1 hr walk
Balance: 20

Hula Hooping - Sun 27.8.06

A great morning gals - click here to see the pics. Photos taken by Craig. Just don't tell him I put them on Flickr!

Best ever film clip

Those of you who've ever played on a treadmill MUST checkout this video clip:
OK GO : Here it goes again

Gold.

Day 4 - Thinking out loud gets a facelift

I'm into berry colours at the moment, and given my renewed enthusiasm for blogging, I thought I'd have a go at personalising the look and feel of it. I gave myself a nice little lesson in CSS and Adobe Golive along the way. I've created the swirls and flowers in illustrator - minor revisions to a card design I did a few months ago presented me with a perfect base. It's got a bit of a rococo feel with a contemporary colour scheme, A lot of my phone 'doodles' come out looking very similar.

Today was very relaxing - I stayed inside for the most part, working on the blog design, and doing a few chores. It was nice to not stress about anything. Our new mattress arrived just after 1pm. I took myself outside for about 20 mins to have a play on my rollerblades. I'd forgotten the burning sensation I got last time I tried to break some blades in. I've actually had this pair for over 4 years but have never used them - got side tracked with life etc, but I'm looking forward to learning to blade again. It's great exercise, and sooo much fun. I've promised myself I won't put them under the bed again until I'm sure I've got a good lot of play out of them.

I had an interesting day food wise - I chose to graze instead of have a big meal at lunch. As we always eat a bit later on the weekends, I've found it hard getting from lunch to dinner, so I had a lighter lunch, but lots of snacks this afternoon. I decided to cook lasagna and had remembered Phillipas recipe from a while back. I decided it was perfect choice for dinner due to being hearty but not high in points.

A quick trip to the shops for some fresh vegies, then straight into the kitchen. The lasagna turned out really well, I think I didn't use enough ricotta cheese though, as it seemed to disappear. On checking back, it turned out I'd only used half the required qty. That's cool though. It did taste great. C didn't mind it although he admitted he liked the Donna Hay version more. Can't please everyone! I was happy enough just to know it tasted fresh and, at 6 pts, I had enough pts left for dessert!

Here's the daily wrap up:

Day 4
Breakfast:
porridge(1.5)
5 dates (1)
skim milk(.5)

Lunch:
toast (2)
tomato, salt, pepper (0)
fruit snack (1)

Dinner:
5x marinated mussels (.5)
ww lasagna (6)
strawberries & icecream (3)

Snacks:
pop corn (1.5)
coke zero (0)
rice snacks (1)
hot chocolate (1)

Total points day 4: 19
Exercise: 20 mins hula hooping in loungeroom (staggered throughout the day - "C watch me...watch me... I'm doing it see..."), 20 mins rollerblading
Balance: 67.5

Tomorrow we are hooping in the park. Looking forward to that, and was thinking I should probably pump up the tires on my bike so I'll have 4 options for exercise on the weekend (hoop, walk, blade, ride...)

Dammit I want my sexy arms back!

Day 3 – Survived a Friday!

Well, of course I survived, but what I mean is that, despite all the temptation that Fridays ordinarily present me with, I stayed within my points. It was helped a lot by my a partner arriving home with the flu. I wasn't happy he was sick, but glad that I didn't have to face the possibility of our regular Friday pub dinner.

I was exhausted yesterday - I only managed 4 hours of sleep the night before so I was tired before the day even started. Work was surprisingly cruisy given the tension I had experienced the majority of the week (annual report season in graphic design land). I declined the drumstick icecream that my colleagues had for afternoon tea, having a cup of tea and popcorn instead, and I was ready to go when Mary arrived to walk home with me.

Unfortunately, the 'sugar free V' energy levels I'd acquired at lunchtime declined rapidly just after we set out. So did the weather. It wasn't a comfortable walk and I was very drained by the time I got home. My boy and I went to bed early after soup and toast for dinner, and although my sleep was interrupted, I feel much better today.

Here's the run down for yesterdays food:

Day 3
Breakfast:
2 x crumpets (2)
1 tsp maple syrup (1)

Lunch:
bread roll (2)
ham (.5)
lettuce, tomato (0)
pesto (.5)
cheese (1.5)

Dinner:
small bowl can soup (1.5)
toast (2)
tuna (2)

Snacks:
fruit snack (1)
1/2 slice banana bread (2)
pop corn (1.5)
milk for tea/coffee (.5)
sugar free V(0)
1 nip frangelico (1)
coke zero (0)

Total points day 3: 19
Exercise: 1.25 hour walk (slower pace than normal)
Balance: 86.5

Incidentally: My weight has crept up to 69kg, prompting me to take this 'back on track' action plan. My healthy weight range is 56 - 70, so I'm borderline. I'd prefer to hover below 65kg, so that is my aim, to get back down to 64-65kg. My ww goal is 66kg, so I'm sitting over that now.

Our new mattress is arriving today - at about 1pm. Can't wait to be sleeping comfortably _ my back is giving me grief, and I'm only 26. I've been blaming the bed ever since I noticed springs stick into me if I lie in a certain way. In the meantime, It's a perfect opportunity for me to clean the bedroom so I'm off to do that now.

Ciao.

Cath


P.S: does anyone out there have rollerblades... ?

On track - Day 2

Today I've been a model weightwatcher, I said no to m&ms and ate popcorn instead. I walked to the station instead of catching the bus, and I hulahooped while I was waiting for dinner to cook. I think I deserve a star! hehe.

I have mini goal of 2kgs to lose before I dare to go dress looking/shopping again. It'll actually work ok because my saving schedule won't allow me to have a dress for at least 2 weeks anyway.

Why a dress (why not!)? I've got two weddings coming up, one in the first week of October, and the 2nd in November. Both are formal occasions and I have nothing appropriate. My partner, on the other hand, has new beautiful new suits and I don't want to look bad next to him. So - a dress - there are sooo many gorgeous clothes around at the moment. I'd love to find something stunning and feel good wearing it, confident that the extra rolls are well disguised.

Here's how I went today.

Day 2
Breakfast:
2 x crumpets (2)
1 tsp maple syrup (1)

Lunch:
lebanese bread (3)
turkey (1)
sprouts, lettuce, tomato (0)
cranberry sauce (.5)
cheese (1.5)

Dinner:
birds eye fish thingy (3)
steamed vegies (0)
2 x sml potatoes (2)

Snacks:
fruit snack (1)
pop corn (1.5)
milk for tea/coffee (.5)
jarrah hot choc (1)
1 sml red wine (1)
diet coke (0)

Total points day 2: 19
Exercise: 1/2 hour walk, 20 mins hula-hooping
Balance: 105.5



For your entertainment, here is the photo of me crossing the finish line in the City to Surf - right before my mother shoulder -barged me out of the way to get a better time! Bad chin shot!

Note: got this from MarathonPhotos.com and I plan to buy it so I don't think they would mind me having it previewed on my site...

It's been 2 months since my last confession

I can't help but feel that all of the fun activities and exercise I've been doing lately may have been more effective if I had also been watching my eating. So I'm going to attempt to track for 7 days - to see if it makes a difference. Here goes:

7 days x 20pts =140pts to eat.

Day 1
Breakfast:
2 x crumpets (2)
1 tsp maple syrup (1)

Lunch:
foccacia bread (5)
ham (1)
tomato, asparagus (0)
dijonaise (1)

Dinner:
ww meal (3.5)
steamed vegies (0)

Snacks:
milk for tea/coffee (.5)
jarrah hot choc (1)
ribenna lite (.5)
diet coke (0)

Total points day 1: 15.5
Exercise: 1 hour walk
Balance: 124.5

Over and out!