New Scales, Bigger Weight, Bigger Challange

Ahhhh the digital era. I thought I’d join up yesterday, regretting my choices weight loss? More like what weight it didn’t go anywhere or was I really heavy to start with, I don’t even know how to handle life anymore. I tossed out my 1980 style scales and bought a bright red digital scales, I was so excited to see how well my progress has travelled and how amazing I will feel being able to actually see my weight in grams on this! But this left very little to the imagination and the weight that popped up on the evil little screen made we want to cry and hide in my closet with a big chocolate cake and never come out…. Old scales 61kg J new scales 64kg L What the fuck! All my ‘hard work’ was for nothing? Or was I actually much heavier than what I had first imagined? Thoughts pondering around all night that I couldn’t sleep and missed out on my early morning workout. Ehhhhhhhhhh.

Every much over come with disappointment and feeling very heavy and down and just blah!

Through all this I am taking it as a hit of motivation! I WILL reach my goal. I WILL do more. I WILL push harder. I WILL EAT HEALTHY!

This morning I woke up in a bustle of joy and raced and got ready for work, stepped well around the scales as if they were a nuclear bomb and banged out the ol smoothie blender, got out a bunch of yummy ingredients and began to feel what I would call a ‘healthy potion witch’ a handful of spinach, a handful or frozen berries, a banana, a dab of ginger, 2 tablespoons of black chia seeds and water and blend, blend my pretty. The outcome was defiantly a witches brew, some weird brown green red slosh that tasted pretty good and will actually be good for me! Banged that into a shaker and off to work for the day.

With my new found motivation and want to lose this weight be down to my goal I’ve drastically decided to change my diet..

Be gone with the chocolates! Even over easter

I will eat breakfast everyday

Dinner will be before 7:30 every night and will be tiny

Even though I love warm lunches, salads will make their way in to be part of my day  

Out with the soft drinks, those bubbles shall not dance on my tongue no longer

Be gone with buy fast food or being around it!

Back the fuck off with the theory, ‘oh I just did a mass workout so ill have some chocolate pie’ back the fuck off your nasty bitch!

And also. No more of the bored eating! Get yourself a glass of water and get the eff outside!

Seeing progress is what I want and I will do this. Today is starting a clean slate, it’s almost April and I will make this happen.

My new goal of 62kg… ill make that my bitch!

Halfway and Ziltch....

Today I have had a massive realisation about how much I have been slacking… it shows in my weight.. it has bombed from when I started 62.5kg down to 61.5 back to 62… This is no good. Very disappointed in myself. I started my 12 weeks with such motivation and spirit, I think it’s time that I rallied and found what I need, a big serve of motivation! This afternoon I’m heading out to buy a set of digital scales to replace my 1800^th century old school ones and going to buy a measuring tape, because I think some of the cause might be that I am losing fat and gaining muscle and muscle is denser than fat but still I think that a measuring tape is in need!!

I’m going to spend a good portion of my day doing some research and reading up on weight loss and clean eating and will report back to this bangin’ blog on what I find out, but I’m also going to be planning out the next 6 weeks. Day by day what I’m going to be doing and the goals and challenges im going to set myself!.

Half way there an no sign of improvement… how shit… I know that people say it takes 4 weeks to see a change but I see nooooothing just a blob of white girl in the mirror with her chubby face looking at me.

My motivation is to do this for me to be a healthy person and be an example for my friends and family but also to be fit and healthy and look amazing in a little black dress for my boyfriend’s 21^st birthday party where all his friends and family will be. Would be nice to rub some success in a certain bitches face! Not that I’m that kind of person but having that confidence to be proud of what I have achieved would be amazing! And a little bit of suck it bitch wold also feel good. Hahaha

Food Journal

Last week’s food journal left little to the imagination.. literally.. I missed two days! What the hell! Feeling so very guilty about my intake last week, so I have been thrashing myself at the gym all week to make up for bad eating.

But as they say one bad meal won’t make you fat and one good meal won’t make you fit.

That little sugar fiend showed its ugly head last week as a chocolate crave struck and the fridge had dads chocolate ice cream in it -.- This is why I need my own place so I can stock up the fridge with healthy good food not crap!

Mind Over Body

Not to be done when it hurts but be done when I’m finished, recently I’ve been pussy footing around a full workout, I always seem to give up… My new goal is to not give up when it hurts but be finished when I’ve done all I want to do for that work out.

I would much rather be sore than sorry.

I’ve been trying to increase my cardio fitness, slowly but surely, to be able to go faster, longer and harder to burn more calories and ramp up weight loss.. Doing this with weight training should to me some good. Reshape my body and training my mind to make working out a habit not a chore.

Never Eat Soggy Wheat Bix and Never Skip Breakfast!

I’m pretty sure that when we were little our parents drilling into our heads how important having breakfast was, and I know my response was always yeah whatever Mum, I’m not hungry now I’ll eat it later… Later never came.

But now since I’ve started doing my research and healthy eating, having that big meal in the morning really does help me throughout the day. It’s such a different feeling throughout the day, I have energy and it ramps up my metabolism first thing in the morning!

Something’s are pretty boring, eating cereal every morning is a big mood killer and would make even the toughest person dread breakfast. So I have been experimenting with smoothies and breakfast wraps and muffins and all sorts of weird and wonderful breakfast do-das. Smoothies have so far been my favourite, so many different things you can put in – oats, bananas, strawberries and protein powder, or try a green one with spinach lemon and pineapple mmmm yummy.

My breakfast wraps have been an utter failure so far I haven’t found the right mix of things to put in that I can simply grab and go….. L pretty sad.

But its all about mixing and matching and trial and error, once you find the right mix, add to it and spread the word!

Have to be able to out run the zombies

This week im going to be working on my cardio and adding in light weights, usually ive been doing about 3/4 weights and just a warm up of cardio and I would like to improve my fitness levels.... So here goes! Get the beats blasting and my heart racing I say!!
This afternoon I'm going to aim for 40 mins of cardio and 20 of light weights, more leg, back and core today.

Squats, ligth deadlifts, leg press, going to attempt weight rowing, and what ever else people can reccomend

Calories - Under The Knife

Up until now I was a big eater and was always running hungry and tired but by simply changing the amount of calories I was putting in my body and the food they came from, I’m less hungry and full of energy. I used to have for lunch a BIG served of say spaghetti with lots of pasta which was a calorie overload and left me feeling like I needed a nana nap afterwards, but now I was pull that back and use fresh low fat canned tomatoes and plenty of herbs to avoid using a store bought mix and use a wholegrain low GI pasta, much tastier. Another example would be my absolute favourite treat, Red Rooster chicken nuggets and gravy, now I would usually get 12 of these and a gravy with chips! Salty chips!! But now instead I treat myself to other things like a new shirt or give myself a tip when I avoid these blusters and chop down on some wholegrain bread and vegemite.

Read below and build some knowledge about calories and how you can manipulate them to work in your favour.

ALSO, I used to be lost with kilojoules.. the little buggers on the packaging that I had no idea how to convert into a calorie measure, but now I know. To get the calorie total from kilojoules you will need to divide the amount by 4.186.

Example – 950kj = 950/4.186 = 226.94 calories

 

What is a calorie?

Calories and kilojoules are measures of how much heat is released in your body when you burn up food. A lot of this heat is released when we burn up the food in our muscles during exercise, however, every move you make burns up energy – even if it’s in very small amounts.

To lose weight, you need to reduce your total daily calorie intake from the level you consume now. If your weight is stable at the moment, meaning it stays the same week after week, then to lose 0.5–1kg a week you would need to reduce your calories by 500 to 1000 a day. That is 3500 to 7000 calories over a week. This is because one kilogram of body weight on the scales contains roughly 700g of actual fat. Each gram of fat is worth 10 calories.

How is my daily calorie target calculated?

The daily calorie target is based on your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) which is a guide to how much energy your body needs to function on a daily basis e.g. to breathe, digest food, stand up, etc. To calculate your BMR using the Harris-Benedict equations which take into account your height, weight, age and gender. We then multiply your BMR by an activity factor which represents your everyday activity level (e.g. sedentary, office worker, etc.) This provides an estimate of your total energy expenditure, from which we deduct roughly 500 calories to achieve the ‘negative energy balance’ required for weight-loss.
Negative energy balance means your ‘energy in’ is less than your ‘energy out’. Or in other words, you’re using more energy through everyday activity and exercise than you’re consuming through food and drink.

How to cut the calories

There are a number of different ways that you can cut calories from your usual daily food intake. They all work, but some are easier to do than others.

• Go lite: Swap to low fat, lower calorie versions of your favourite foods and drinks. Low fat versions will contain less fat and diet versions will contain less sugar. By looking at food labels and comparing the total calories per 100g, you will be able to see what a big difference this makes to the total calories.
• Bulk up the vegies: Reduce the calories in meals by increasing the amount of low calorie vegetables and salad items you include. For example 100g of meat provides about 200 calories while 100g of carrots has 40 calories and 100g of and celery has 14. Try adding canned tomatoes to casseroles – a whole 400g can has just 88 calories
• Cut the portion size: Smaller portions means less calories. Use smaller plates and cups so you do not the smaller serve. Research shows than when we use big bowls and plates, we eat more. That means more calories consumed without you even realising.
• Swap it: If there is a food or drink you like to have regularly, such as cola, then check the calories in food search and see if you can find a better alternative. For example, you could swap to a diet version or something completely different that is low in calories. Another example is swapping a high-calorie chocolate bar for diet chocolate mousse.

What else helps you cut calories?

Keeping a food diary will help you work out where your calories come from. Being really honest when recording your foods will help you learn about what you usually eat. Then, you can look for ways of cutting calories from your usual intake. Another good tip is to plan your meals and snacks ahead of time – this means you are be more likely to avoid situations where you will be tempted to overeat.

Booty Building!

30 Day Squat Challenge
Day 1	50 Squats	Day 16	Rest
Day 2	55 Squats	Day 17	150 Squats
Day 3	60 Squats	Day 18	155 Squats
Day 4	Rest	Day 19	160 Squats
Day 5	70 Squats	Day 20	Rest
Day 6	75 Squats	Day 21	180 Squats
Day 7	80 Squats	Day 22	185 Squats
Day 8	Rest	Day 23	190 Squats
Day 9	100 Squats	Day 24	Rest
Day 10	105 Squats	Day 25	220 Squats
Day 11	110 Squats	Day 26	225 Squats
Day 12	Rest	Day 27	230 Squats
Day 13	130 Squats	Day 28	Rest
Day 14	135 Squats	Day 29	240 Squats
Day 15	140 Squats	Day 30	250 Squats

Squats the best exercise for your glutes, hamstrings, back and core!

GET SQUATTING!!

Calculate Your Ideal Weight

Following is a simple rule many practitioners use to roughly calculate ideal weight, noting that age and other factors should be taken into consideration.

In kilograms: allowing 50 kg for 5 feet tall + 2.3 kg for each inch of height above 5 feet, ideal weight for a man 6 feet tall is 50 + (2.3 x 12) = 77.6 kg.

In pounds: allowing 110 lbs for 5 feet tall + 5 lbs for each inch of height above 5 feet, ideal weight for a man 6 feet tall is 110 + (5 x 12) = 170 lbs.

In kilograms: allowing 45.5 kg for 5 feet tall + 2.3 kg for each inch of height above 5 feet, ideal weight for a woman 5 feet 6 inches tall is 45.5 + (2.3 x 6) = 59.3 kg.

In pounds: allowing 100 lbs for 5 feet tall and 5 lbs for each inch above 5 feet, ideal weight for a woman 5 feet 6 inches tall is 100 + (5 x 6) = 130 lbs.

So for me, I’m 164cm (5,4”) I times 2.3 by 4 = 9.2

9.2 + 45.5

My ideal body weight is 54.7kg

So I have a lot to work to get near this but, my overall goal is 55kg to compliment my body height

Have a go and let me know if this is confusing. Would love some feedback, or even if you share with your friends, would love for this to go viral J

Fitness Planning

Week One,

Well well well… this was shocking to re look over what I’ve done this past week… big fat load of nothing and binge eating!

Not anywhere near enough calories burnt to commit to weight loss… not even close… Pretty upset with myself..

But I can only get better from here!

To keep it interesting and motivation high I’m going to set myself little challenges and goals and rewards to each success. One of them I’m thinking about for this week is, a chocolate ban and limiting the sugar… too much is the devil and I’m always riding a sugar high so if I reduce my intake my body might step up and take action to produce its own energy! My reward is going to be watching a good movie with my boyfriend and having some salty popcorn J I really want to watch this is 40 so it’s going to be my reward!

Having this spread sheet to fill out each week is a big boost, as I can see what I’ve eaten and what exercise I’ve done.  So in 11 week’s time I can look back and see how my fitness has improved and how much food I was eating and the bad shit I was putting in my body!

Binge Binge Binge!!!

So over the weekend my will power seemed to dwindle away… I did do a healthy shop but when your mum is making cupcakes and quiche and the house is smelling wonderful it takes a big person to resist! Only have a few but still, I was left feeling heavy and was riding a sugar high for a little bit but crashed and burned! On the other hand, getting back into working out is going well, I’m seeing improvements in my moods and energy levels after my workout, even sleeping better. The first time.. gees that was a struggle only half an hour and I was buggered… and the next day I was like a bony old man needing a walking stick argh so sore!! But still managed to go to the gym and power on.

Today I’m not going to the gym because on a Monday its chockers with people who binged all weekend and think working out once on Monday will clear their conscious. On the upside taking my chubby little beagle for a walk around town will be good for us both. I recently downloaded the Lorna Jane iPhone app to see what it’s all about.. great little app to monitor your route as your walking, show the calories burnt and also pace J 10/10 for me J just hit start walk and put on some beats and your good to go!

Seeing as I’m not personal trainer or nutritionist, I could pick up the clean eating in more areas, but for now what I’m doing for my personal needs is working. But for each body there’s a certain way to work it.  

D-Fine8, Kale and Fruit and Veggie

So I thought I would share some information about my favourite things at the moment, D-fine8, Kale and Fruit and Veggies J

My healthy options for this week J Kale everything even kale savoury mince mmmmmmhmm yummo.

D-fine8:

D-Fine8!, yes this IS the product that EVERYONE is going crazy for in Australia!! Australian Sports Nutrition is so proud to have brought D-Fine8 to you all and now we can't keep up with its ever growing demand!
D-Fine8 is for all those who need help with their weight management. With such amazing results being achieved by our customers, D-Fine8 is the complete defining system! It works by combining ingredients such as CLA and guarana, but with such tasty fruity flavours such as Watermelon and Pineapple, not only does it help you manage your weight, it tastes great too and is an awesome pick me up!
Dfine8 contains active ingredients that help to curb your appetite while also offering properties that help you to maintain your energy levels throughout the day. Its effect of curbing your appetite means that you don't have to spend your day feeling hungry because your diet prohibits you from eating. The compound also offers outstanding mood enhancement properties as it helps to avoid irritability due to poor energy levels. B-vitamins, which are known to help metabolism and mood levels, are also present to help make the formula more complete.
The natural ingredients mean that you get this additional energy without the crash that is associated with other similar products. Dfine8 doesn't cause mood swings as some products are known to do, so it won't have any adverse effects on your day to day life.
All in all, D-Fine8 has proven to be one of the most popular products ever available at Australian Sports Nutrition, and for good reason!
Define8 and D-Fine8 are one and the same.
Excellent for MEN & WOMEN. All the flavours taste delicious.

Kale:

This potent leafy green tastes like a slightly sharper version of spinach. Kale is rich in an antioxidant called kaempferol, which Harvard research shows may help lower your chances of developing ovarian cancer by 40 percent. "It's also a great source of iron and folate -- which can prevent birth defects -- as well as calcium and magnesium, making it a terrific choice for anyone who doesn't eat dairy products," says Dave Grotto, RD, a FITNESS advisory board member and author of 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life.

Eat It Up: Chop the veggie into thin strips and sauté in a teaspoon of olive oil with chopped onions and mushrooms for five to 10 minutes. Or buy frozen kale to toss into stir-fries, soups, or pasta sauces.

Nutrition facts per 1 cup cooked: 36 calories, 2g protein, 7g carbohydrate, 0.5g fat (0g saturated), 3g fibre

Fruit and Veggie:

After looking at your food journal, ask yourself if you're eating enough produce and fibre. Since every calorie counts, you can consume substantially more nutrients with fewer calories by noshing on fruits and veggies. Fibre is also filling, so count your grams of this nutrient as well. When eating carbs opt for whole grains like Quinoa and oats, and when reaching for pasta make it whole wheat or go Asian with soba noodles. You might want to add some high-fibre chickpeas to your meal plan with one of the recipes; studies have found that a daily serving of this bean helps dieters consume fewer from fat.

If you're bored with dieting and counting calories, challenge yourself to eat seven to nine servings of produce — this should help you cut calories without thinking about them.



Back in the gym!

Well now I have to say yesterday was a crazy day, long drive into Rockhampton to go to the dentist then a long drive home, cleaned the car and got my butt back in the gym!

Have to say it wasn’t my most exciting workout but it was a start, we all start somewhere. This time around I’m focusing on weight training more than cardio, but that is always important. Never forget that cardio!

I strapped on my polar heart rate monitoring work out watch and got to it! Started out with 20 minutes of cardio trying to be intense.. (trying) then got onto the weight training machines! Not too sure what they are all called yet but will find out, yesterday was legs day.. weighted squats and lunges, leg press and that was about all mine could take they were very jelly like once I was done, the walk upstairs at home was a nightmare and walking down I felt like I wanted to roll down the steps would have been less painful, but hey, that’s a good sign my muscles are back up and working!

I jumped at the opportunity to buy some more gym clothes to encourage my want to go work out and well it has. Half price Lorna Jane! Who on earth could pass that up? Not me!!

Ooooh and feedback on my new Nikes, they are a fantastic shoe! So comfortable and so much support, if you are looking for something with great support, these are perfect for you.

Buy The Polar Watch

Lead By Example Bitches!!

In every aspect I was always told to lead by example, and this is me taking lead and trying to make a difference in myself and show the people around me that small easy changes can make a big difference!

Above is an entry to a spread sheet I've done up to keep my on track and log all the exercise and food habits. Keeping my head in the game :)

I’m aiming to keep my calorie intake under 1200 per day, so I can easily burn them off when I work out, to maximise the effectiveness of this healthy eating change.

Scales are the enemy, to avoid my dramatized self-looking at them every day and being disappointed, I’ve made Friday my weigh in day to give me a boost for the weekend and I will actually be able to see progress (hopefully)
As I’m no Ashy Bines, I do my research before stating any old bullshit, this site is where I found some interesting information about weighing yourself. How Often To Weigh Yourself

20 Things To Start Doing NOW!

1.     Drink 2-3L of water a day + green tea

2.     Eat a big breakfast, average lunch and a tiny dinner

3.    Eat fruit and vegetables and natural foods

4.     Get active, go for a walk/swim/bike ride

5.     Go to bed earlier

6.    Wake up earlier

7.     Stop thinking negative thoughts about yourself or others

8.    Don’t dwell on the past

9.    Enjoy the little things in life

10.  Do not judge or compare yourself to others

11.   Begin yoga or meditation

12.   Avoid processed foods

13.  Stretch daily to increase your flexibility

14.   Listen to music to carry your workout further

15.   Live in a tidy clean space

16.  Wear clothes that make you happy

17.   Throw away things that you don’t need

18.  Remember that all the effort you are making now will pay off in the end

19.  Do not put things off 

20.  Go outside more!

And Its All Systems Go!

It’s day one of this so called epic journey that I’m about to embark on, and I’m no nutritionist  or fitness fanatic so over the last few days I have been blog hopping and googling my heart out to see what fact and tips I can find, and to be honest it’s a hornets nest of scary information and fad diets…. Fad Diet Fails - Avoid Them, have a look on this site and do your own research to avoid putting your body to the extreme and just putting the weight back on..

So I’ve taken it to my own whim to make this my own and call bullshit to those people looking for a quick fix to slim down, simply because yeah you might lose the weight.. but BAM its back on tenfold! After that it was time to hit woollies and stock up on clean eating food!

I went down shopping Saturday and stocked my fridge with healthy food, it is so much cheaper to buy healthy food than garbage, when you take your time and really have a good look around the super market you find the most interesting things and stuff that you wouldn’t regularly buy when your rushing through. I picked up heaps of fresh fruit and vegetables and herbs mmmm was looking real healthy!   I have never tried kale or Quinoa but there’s a first for everything I say.

I did heaps of prep for work Sunday afternoon, making Vietnamese rolls with peanut sauce and grilling up some mean looking Schezuan chicken with a simple salad (NO DRESSING) to make some wraps and just doing up all my snacks to avoid the evil chocolate binge!! And my god they looked fantastic J

(This isn't mine, but just so you can see what they look like) 

I’m also getting into drinking green tea and downing 2 – 3L of water a day to keep myself hydrated and rinsing the toxins from my body. For anyone who has tried green tea (hot) it has such a bitter taste, I steep mine in cool water and leave in the fridge for a while and add some ince and have a nice ice green tea. And sometimes when I’m feeling outrageous, I add a squeeze of fresh lime and a sweetener, usually agave nectar mmmm so fantastically yummy.

I’m really excited to get started, and be an example for my family and friends. My dad’s on board and is willing to try whatever I cook up, and my boyfriend I think will be willing to give it a go.

If you want any recipes please let me know and Ill post them up :)