long time... not much change

I've let this blog fall by the way-side.

With the amount of work/study I've had going on, the gym/my weight has not been a big priority.

Looking back at my last post, which was on the 1 May, sad to say that in almost 2 months by weight has only dropped by 0.7kg.

My weight today (27 June) was 55.5kg, body fat 29.3%.

However, keeping it in perspective, when I started this blog my weight was 60.7kg, so I have lost over 5kg, which isn't to be sneezed at.

As long as it keeps slowly going down rather than up, I can't complain.

A new month

Can you believe it is May already? Where has 4 months of the year gone?

Stats as of 1 May:

Weight: 56.2kg
Body Fat: 29.5%
BMI: 24.97

Two milestones:

I'm now officially in a "healthy" BMI range! Ok, if I put on any more than 50g I'm back in overweight waters, but it is still a nice feeling!
My body fat is under 30%! At my healthiest last year, it was almost 40%.

Getting back on track

I'm trying to get back on track. After having a few terrible weeks (damn you Easter Eggs!) my weight actually had stayed the same, which is great.

Yesterday (Sunday 26 April) I was 57.5kg and body fat 30.5%. I went to a Body Pump class yesterday - my first one ever. I'm feeling it today but I guess that means it did some good! I want to go to Body Combat tonight.

The Biggest Loser (Australia) finale is tonight - maybe the transformations will encourage me!

Weight is a see-saw (part 2!)

My last post was on Saturday (I haven't changed my blogger time settings yet to show I'm in Australia). I ate junk on Saturday, but on Sunday I was back down to 56.8kg. Yesterday I barely ate anything, and this morning I weighed 57.5!! That's what I get for weighing myself each day.

Had a terrible night's sleep last night so I know I'm going to feel dead today. But MUST go to the gym after work today. I haven't been in far too long.

Weight is a see-saw

I was down to 56.8kg on Thursday, but back to 57.1kg today. :(

Back to it

Well I'm trying to get back into my weight loss. Considering it is Good Friday, the first day of Easter, it's probably the worst time for me to do this!

10 April 2009
Weight: 58.2kg
Body fat %: 30.3%

Slackness in weight loss/blogging

I haven't updated for a while. Let's just say my weightloss isn't going to well. Hasn't been helped that I'm still battling a cold (going on quite a few weeks now) so going to the gym has not been on top of my priorities.

Woke up this morning feeling miserable (that time of the month), so yes, chocolate has been involved :)

I also have a personal finance blog "Another Personal Finance Blog" which I update more regularly, so I'm thinking of just combining this one into there.

Going home for the weekend to visit family and friends - I know there will be a lot of eating involved!

Noticing weight loss

I moved from Qld to Sydney at the start of January. On the weekend I caught up with a friend from my old job in Qld who had come down for the weekend. So it's been probably about 10 weeks since she has seen me, I think in that time I have lost about 7kg. I hadn't said I was trying to lose weight or anything, but one of the first things she said was that I looked like I had lost a lot of weight, particularly in the face.

It is a really motivator when someone else notices you losing weight. I know I have been because of the scales and my clothes getting bigger, but realistically, I can't notice a change in the mirror yet.

Real Age

I just completed a "Real Age" test ... apparently my Real Age is 27.4 - that's higher than my actual age but lower than I thought it would be.

Major problem is my diet, which apparently:
Doesn't contain enough whole grains, potassium, calcium, viatmin E, folic acid, vitamin C, or veggies
I don't eat breakfast every day
I eat too much red meat

In terms of exercise, I don't do enough cardio and I'm neglecting my muscles.

March 23 Stats

Busy weekend, so here are my delayed stats!

Monday, March 23 Stats

Weight: 58.5
Body fat %: 31.1
BMI: 26

Weight is coming off slowly which I guess is probably a good thing in the long-term.

Daily weigh-ins

In the past when I've been on a diet I have weighed myself every day. But I'm been trying to get out of that habit, and now I remember why!

Sunday: 59.2kg - not overly happy but as I posted I was glad it went down at all.
Monday: 59.1kg - surprised. I ate junk on Sunday
Today (Tuesday): 59.4kg - annoyed! I hardly ate anything yesterday because I've been feeling sick (sore throat/cold) but I still forced myself to go to the gym. I thought for sure I would have lost some weight.

Diet Blogs I read

I have another blog linked to this account: Another Personal Finance Blog, because I'm also trying to pay off a sh*tload of credit card debt.

Anyway, there are a lot of personal finance (PF) blogs out there - many of which I have on a side bar in my PF blog. I'm going to start looking for some diet blogs to put on my sidebar - I'm sure there must be a mass of them out there.

One I do love is: The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl. There is a book available of the same name. Shauna, who is the blog and book's author, has lost half her body weight, and although I don't have that much weight to lose, I can certainly identify with a lot of what she has talked about in the past (e.g. lack of self-confidence, depression, emotional eating etc). I'm really surprised (but grateful!) she has still kept her blog going, even though she has now been at her current weight for a few years. She also has another blog "What's New Pussycat", which is just about general stuff - she doesn't update that one too often anymore, but if you go back through the archives, there is some hilarious stuff in there!

15 March Stats

Well not great figures today:

15 March Stats

Weight: 59.2kg
Body fat: 31.8%
BMI: 26.31

Considering what I have been eating lately (not a lot of fast food compared to what I used to eat, but still not exactly 'diet fare' and my lack of exercise, I should be happy the weight number is going down at all!

Thursday weigh-in

A little bit of good news, I weighed myself this morning, thinking that not being careful with what I ate on Sunday - Wednesday would have caused a gain, but the scales showed otherwise:

12 March stats

Weight: 59.3kg
Body fat: 31.7%
BMI: 26.35

As I said in my post last night, I now have 23 days before I go back home - about 3 and a quarter weeks. I would like to be under 55kg by 4 April (when I go) - meaning I have to lose about 4.5kg - about 1.4kg a week. I know for long-term weight loss you should be looking at losing between 0.5-1kg a week - and even though it's possible to lose weight quickly it's harder to keep it off. But I'm really going to step it up over the next few weeks.

I'm studying two post-graduate courses at the moment (a Graduate Diploma and a Masters) - have exams for the grad dip this weekend then a couple of weeks off. My Masters has only just started for the semester, and as much as I really want to do well, I don't have any assessment for a while; so I am going to put in some extra effort at the gym now - because I know when I have exams and research papers due for my masters they will become my priority.

Off track ... already

It's been only a week and half and I already feel like I'm off track. Being eating too much the last few days, not completely pigging out but still snacking too much.

A weight watchers group started out at work today. I was debating whether to join but it was $215 for 12 meetings, which I know is a discount off the normal price, but still - it's $215 I would prefer to be paying off my credit card debt! At the end of the day I know what I need to be doing to lose weight - I'm just not doing it!

I'm going to weigh myself again tomorrow morning to see if there has been any damage. I'm going back "home" (funny - will I always think of my Mum's place at home) for a visit the first weekend of April, and really wanted to lose another few kilos before then. As of tomorrow I have 23 days.

ID card photos

Do all photos on ID cards have to make you look horrible?

I know with internet dating there is always the fear that the photo makes the person looks like a supermodel, and when you meet them you think "gee, you looked at a lot better in your photo". So are ID cards meant to work in the opposite way? So someone will look at it, then look at you and say "gee, you look so much better in real life!"

I have one decent ID photo - my driver's licence from 2003. It expired at the start of 2008, but I had the choice to renew it onine and not have to get a new photo. Of course, the last time someone else looked at my licence (my manager from my old job), he said "gee you looked so much younger". Um... thanks. Well, I was younger, and my old job SUCKED MY SOUL AND AGED ME FAR MORE THAN MY THREE YEARS THERE SHOULD HAVE!! (Deep breath and relax!) So I do have the slight fear that I will be stopped one day, asked to show my licence, and have them think it's not me. Although unlikely, since I didn't bring my car with me when I moved insterstate a few months ago so really don't drive anymore.

Anyway, the reason I'm posting this is that I was looking at my new gym ID - (sitting staring at me from my desk mocking me for not using it enough) and I realised I looked deformed. It was a web cam, so maybe that's why, but I think it's because the photo makes me look bald. That or my forehead is just looking insanely big.

Do you think if I lose a lot of weight they will give me a new card as a reward?

8 March Stats

Well it's been a week, which means time to face the scales again.

8 March Stats

Weight: 59.5kg
Body Fat: 32.3%
BMI: 26.44

Weight lost this week: 1.2kg
% of weight lost this week: 1.98%
Body fat % lost this week: 0.1%

I would have liked to lose a bit more since it was the first week on my diet - but realistically, I wasn't too happy with what I ate this week and didn't exercise as much as I should have - so I should just be happy the numbers went down at all!

Comfort Eating

I had a bad day at work today. It looks like our division is going to be restructured, however we will all be keeping our jobs (I hope!) I know in these turbulent times as long as none of us are retrenched we have nothing to complain about; but none of us were very happy.

Anyway, so of the division said they were going to go to the gym, which is what I should have done - gone to a Body Combat class and worked out some frustration. What did I do? Come home and pig out.

I wouldn't consider myself a binge eater, but I definitely use food too much - either to celebrate or commiserate.

Something good happens, I would go out and celebrate with dinner (which of course would include a decadent desert). Something bad happens, I go and eat comfort food.

I have been pretty happy with my eating for the rest of the week, but I'm not looking forward to the scales on Sunday morning!

I moved to Sydney from the Gold Coast at the start of January, and I'm going back for a weekend the week before Easter. So I really want to lose some weight before then.

Muffin update

Another reason not to cook chocolate muffins while trying to lose weight - I just burnt my fingers getting them out the oven. Not badly or anything, but they are red enough for me to think it is fate telling me something!

Temptation

At my work we have morning tea twice a week - since I started my new job (a month ago) I have been indulging .... always something new and yummy to try! Right at the moment I have a batch of chocolate muffins in the oven - which is definitely going to be a test of my willpower. Normally if I made muffins I would definitely be testing them before taking them in for morning tea!

However, looking at the nutritional information on the box (yes I admit they are packet muffins) might help boost my willpower - so many calories and so much fat!

General update and gyms

I know it's only my 2nd day of being on a diet, but I'm happy with how I'm going.

Happy with what I've been eating, have been drinking a lot more water, and went to the gym after work today and did a Body Combat class.

Having moved from interstate, it's a new gym for me. I can't help by compare it to my old one. Firstly, they don't seem to have enough cardio equipment for the number of members. Secondly, they don't have TVs (this isn't that big a deal, but still, it was nice to be able to watch Friends while I was on the treadmill). Most importantly though - it isn't airconditioned!!! We live in Australia!!! I guess I need to look at the positives, I did probably sweat a lot more in Body Combat than I have in the past!

There are obviously "superior" gyms I could join, but they would probably more expensive, and I would have to take public transport to get to them. I know I'm not that motivated!

I did enjoy Body Combat today though - by the end I was almost dead, but the instructor was really nice. A bit more aggressive than some I have had in the past, but not like the Commando on The Biggest Loser - more just trying to get you to put in as much effort as you can and go for it.

Starting measurements

Had a good day yesterday, but I didn't exercise. My goal for today is go to the gym after work - not going to pressure myself with how long etc, just go and do something (debating whether to do a body combat class). I haven't been to a gym in months, so I need to get back into the habit.

Anway, I'm almost running late for work but realised I hadn't measured myself yesterday, so I did this morning ... figuring nothing much would have changed in one day.

These may not be 100% accurate as I was measuring myself:

Bust: 99 cm (39 inches)
Waist: 80 cm (31.5 inches)
Hips: 98 cm (38.5 inches)
Left calf: 34 cm (13.5 inches)
Right calf: 35 cm (13.8 inches)
Left Thigh: 55 cm (21.5 inches)
Right Thigh: 56 cm (22 inches)
Left upper arm: 32 cm (12.6 inches)
Right upper arm: 32 cm (12.6 inches)

Starting point

1 March Stats

Height: 150cm
Weight: 60.7kg
Body Fat: 32.4%
BMI: 26.98

Some background

Well it's the 1st of March, and what a better day than the 1st of the month to start a diet.

At my heaviest last year, I was 68.8kg, which may not sound that heavy, but considering I'm only 150cm (4'11) which meant according to my BMI, I was obese. That was a real shock to me, as although I know I needed to lose weight, I didn't realise how heavy I had gotten. Being so short, even at my heaviest I was basically a size 12 (with the occasional 14) so it was easy to kid myself that I wasn't that big.

I had gone onto some medication that contributed in part to the weight gain, and was in a job that involved very long hours. But really, the blame comes down to me and eating crap! The medication made be hungry, but did I reach for an apple? No, I reached for a chocolate bar. I worked long hours but did I plan ahead and take healthy food to work? No, I went to McDonalds. (Probably didn't help that there was a McDonald's next door to my building!)

I left that job in December, moved interstate and started a new job in February. My body seems to have adjusted to the medication, I'm working less hours, and didn't bring my car with me so am walking more.

End result, I have lost some weight without putting too much effort in, and am now only considered "overweight" rather than "obese". However I still have a way to go.

For those reading this, I'm not going to pretend I know what it is like to be morbidly obese. I have been watching Season 4 of The Biggest Loser (Australia), and the contestants obviously have had a lot more pain in their lives due to their weight than I could ever imagine. But, regardless of whether you need to lose 5kg or 50kg, there are still going to be some ups and downs of weight loss.