Just numbers but ... measuring up

I have been trying not to get too caught up on the numbers on the scale, figuring that as long as I know I am not cheating on my diet and I am being as active as I can manage given constraints that I will be heading in the right direction.  But today, when Paul went to weigh me, I told him I would be keener on him checking my 3 measurements.  My original measurements were Bust: 99, Waist 99 (that's right - problem area) and Hips 107.  I had a 9 week goal to reduce my waist by 10cms on my way to achieving a waist measurement of less than 80 as recommended for women for general good health.  Checkout the Australian Government campaign www.measureup.gov.au

The good news was that in 4 weeks I have reduced my waist measurement by 13cms and my hips by 5cms and my bust by 2cms - which he reasurres me is not my actual boobs but my 'wings' - said while indicating an area on my back - niiiice - NOT.

Of course I had noticed the improvement around my middle, so it was just confirmation.  Interestingly, when I check my measurement against womens size guides like the ones used by Allanah Hill and the fact that I usually wear a size 12, it is a mystery how anything fits me!  Before or now.  But for example, I bought a dress of hers for NYE in size 12.

She says size 12 is 95/76/104 which would make me before this program a size 14 bust, size 16+ waist and size 14 hip.  My dress, with some assistance of some fancy knickers (see left) fit quite nicely I thought.  With my 'now' measurements the only change is that I am a size 10 in the hips ...

But I will admit that I find this new evidence to be very motivating and I am looking forward to dropping the remaining 6cms off my waist by the end of the 9 weeks period.  I am told it can be done by focussing more on my core and on high intensity cardio, which I think is going to have to be carefully balanced to nurture my dodgey feet/knees/back.

Low Carb Lethargy

I have been laying off the blogging as I was tending to do it last thing at night and then finding myself to be really exhausted in the morning.  And what I have found is that it hasn't helped and that I am still exhausted and what should have been obvious earlier is that I am feeling exhausted because I am eating hardly any carbs, while exercising more and still looking after 3 kids etc.

Actually there is plenty of noise on the Internet about it.  I just hadn't looked before.  Distracted as I was my concerns about high protein diets and the effects on your liver and bones :-/.  Actually the stuff I have found on the net talks about 40% carbs, 40% protein and 30% fat.  What I am doing is 34% carbs, 51% protein and 15% fat.  No wonder I am exhausted!  I am going to have to have a word with my PT.

In other news I am still loving my newly found waist and my FitBit tells me that I have taken over 14,000 steps today (10.5kms).

I gave my motivation a kick along by treating my self to a little bit of a spree at Adidas - even buying running shorts - not previously an item that has ever been found in my wardrobe.  (What?  You should see the stuff that is turning up daily from my husband's online shopping for all of the 'stuff' he needs to compete in his 'little' triathlon next weekend.)

Here I sit with my aching feet on a nice warm wheat bag, having already been self-massaged with fabulous Elemis sp@ home muscle ease active Body Oil.  And with my loving DH outa town for the week, actually getting my post written quite early!

Bully for me.

I've got "the bug" and other surprises

For 10+ years now I have been a Mum.  And in all those years, by the time I have got the child/children in bed I have felt I deserved to sit on the lounge and enter a vegetative state in front of the television till bed time. Tonight, in response to realising that I consumed too many carbs this morning, I got the kids in bed and headed out the door with my dog for a walk/run, arriving home 40mins later hot and sweaty and heading straight for the shower.  This is seriously the turning of a corner.  My kids are still exhausting, but they are more independent than ever before and it is time to accept that I can change these post kids habits.  Hence: "I've got the bug."

Another discovery today, was that my charming PT is 20 years younger than me. I had suspected as much, but I really didn't have any interest in having my suspicions confirmed. How did it come out you ask?  A music video came on at the gym while I was on the bike doing a Tabata, and it was Big Audio Dynamite (I saw them live in the late 80's), apparently a band that Paul, was unfamiliar with, but I was certain that he would have heard of The Clash - nope.  He was born after Mick Jones was kicked out of The Clash in 1983. Punk is dead :-(



And in other new discoveries, I heard in my Philosophy group today, about a Christian mystic woman who was writing in the 13 and 1400's.  Julian of Norwich was ahead of her time.  She was very positive by traditional Christian standards and in hindsight quite the feminist and Universalist.  I am looking forward to learning more about her as we continue to study Devotion.

Setting a good 'Active' example for my kids

I spent a big chunk of today watching my boys at their school swimming carnival. My eldest swims in 10 and under and my youngest swam in 8 and under and 9 and under.  Like a lot of Australian families I have prioritised swimming lessons for them since they were about 3. I would have said that the oldest is not particularly talented and the younger shows a bit more potential but hasn't had any experience at racing, so expectations were low. I wouldn't say that either of them possess an overly competitive nature (except with one another).

They both know that I have gotten into swimming in the last couple of years and I let them know when I have been swimming and where and how many laps I have done and more recently my husband has gotten into swimming as he has been in training for a triathlon.  He has become very excited about his progress with swimming and talks about it at home too.

Today they both surprised me.  They were both entered in two events - freestyle and backstroke.  Both of them got through the freestyle heats and into the finals.  And they both swam really well in the backstroke and were very close to getting through to the final.  The younger one ended up placing 3rd in the freestyle final and I couldn't be more proud.  Both of them also seemed to really enjoy the occasion.  And the younger one has said that he got a kick out of racing.

I don't think that it is any accident that they have had this turnaround given the examples that they have had at home in this past few months and it is really satisfying to know that even the bit of extra effort we have been making, may have rubbed off on them.  It's is a large part of why we do it, isn't it?  Not just so we can keep up with our kids, stay alive for our kids, but to have a positive impact on their choices.

What am I going to do when Stone Fruit go out of season?!!

In the nutrition seminar that my gym runs to support the program they implement with their clients, they talk about if you want to eat fruit, eat stone fruit or berries - before 2pm of course. And having observed my husband's experience of the program I could figure out why, so I took to stone fruit with gusto!  I have always liked stone fruit - expecially nectarines, but have not ever really bought that much as I had this idea that they bruise easily, so aren't very portable and they don't stay at their optimum eating freshness for very long.  But I put these ideas aside and I have been hitting the Peaches, Nectarines and Plums pretty hard!

I like to slice up a couple of them and put them on my High Fibre Soy Linseed Porridge in the mornings and nuke them - delicious.  And I find cutting them up helps to avoid any bruises (unfortunate surprises).  I also carry them with me for morning tea, and find that they are very acceptable to take along to my Philosophy class and cut up and offer to the group, and I am reasonably comfortable about eating them in public, in my car or walking along the street.  They are large and juicy and filling.  And yet, previously my favourite fruits I would have said would be Apples - especially Pink Ladies, and Bananas - so convenient in their own packaging - but both of those are not great on this diet.  Actually I took a large Apple out with me this morning and regretted it, when I saw the amount of carbs that that added to my diet for today, which kinda threw me out.  Better choice:  Peaches, Nectarines and Plums!

I went to restock today at my favourite fruit and veg and asked one of the guys stocking the shelves with fresh fruit how much longer they were going to be around and he tells me that they are starting to get rarer already (sub text:  Haven't you noticed the increasing prices!) I ask him what will come into season next that I can substitute and he says Madarins - which I like but definitely not the same way.

Lucky that Strawberries and blueberries are available year long here!  Stay tuned to see how I cope when I can no long find/afford the stone fruit.

So why are Stone Fruit so good for you then?

I found this article which gives five reasons:  http://www.besthealthmag.ca/eat-well/healthy-eating/5-reasons-to-eat-stone-fruit

Which explains it like this:

5 healthy reasons to eat stone fruit

Peaches, nectarines, apricots and plums are great for your health. Here's why a piece of stone fruit makes a healthy and delicious snack

By Margaret Nearing

Tasty stone fruit—so-called because of the stone-like seed inside—make perfect snacks, as they tuck easily into lunch bags or picnic baskets. Here’s what they can do for your health:

Create collagen

A cup (250 mL) of sliced apricots or plums has about one quarter of your daily vitamin C needs. Vitamin C helps the body form collagen—the main protein in connective tissue—in bones, cartilage, muscle and blood vessels. It also helps to increase iron absorption.

Care for your nerves and your muscles

Bored with bananas but want to get enough potassium (key for proper nerve and muscle function)? Two small peaches have slightly more of this essential mineral than a medium banana.

Sharpen eyesight

Apricots are delicious raw, but their carotenoids—antioxidants that give the flesh its vibrant orange colour—become more available to the body when cooked. Beta-carotene, for one, converts to vitamin A to help maintain eyesight, skin membranes and immune function.

Strengthen bones

Two plums contain about one tenth of your daily vitamin K, which helps maintain strong bones. Researchers have found that low levels of vitamin K are associated with an increased incidence of osteoarthritis in hands and knees.

Stay regular

• 10 delicious ways to cook with stone fruit
• 6 healthy fruit smoothie recipes
• Our best healthy peach recipes

Cut up a peach on your cereal and have a nectarine as a snack. But don’t peel them!The skin provides insoluble fibre that helps prevent constipation.

What do Rock Climbing and Ikea have in common?

Ok, that is a trick question.  On Sunday I went rock climbing with my family and my sister and her partner.  It has been 6 years since my last climbing session and before that probably 10 years earlier, but then I used to climb in a gym every week and go climbing, abseiling and canyoning in National Parks on the weekends.  I didn't know if any of those skills were still with me.  My kids took to the walls with no hesitation.  Quite surprisingly even my 10 year old had no reservations and my 4yo daughter was up and down the walls like a mountain goat!  My 7 yo boy was enjoying the challenge of trying the harder climbs.  My husband on the other hand stuck by his opinion that he is too heavy to climb - despite his obvious muscular power which in my mind should have made it possible.  And me?

While my upper body strength is not what it used to be I still had the skills to let me scramble to the tops of the wall without thinking too much about it.  Yay.  Having trained with Paul, just the day before my lats were screaming by the time I reached the top each time, but they recovered in time for me to do it a few times before retiring to lunch.  Belaying the children took some toll on me as well, so I felt I had achieved some kind of acceptable level of activity for a Sunday.

Was I content with that?  Oh no, I had to go home and put together a large Ikea flat pack for my daughters toy storage.  My husband has an allergy to Ikea, and my interested children only maintained their interest for a few minutes at a time.  By the time I had completed putting it together my hamstrings were on fire.

I must have had a premonition about the state of my body by Monday morning, so off I went this morning to see Margaret of the magic hands, so that I could push through to another training session with Paul.  The upside:  I jumped on the scales this morning and I have lost 5kgs since I embarked on this adventure nearly 3 weeks ago. Woo hoo. Paul is happy with me as he has been cranking up my weights quite a bit during that time as well.  I am feeling more clear headed and together than I have for a long time - what a great investment in my lifestyle.

So the answer to the original questions is that they both happen on Sundays.

Personal Trainers - my thoughts

I have had a few Personal Trainers over the years.

I had one that used to come to my apartment at 6am and collect me and take me downstairs and to the beach across the road (gotta love Sydney) and train me on the sand as the sun was gathering strength for the day.  (This was in a pre wedding panic phase in 1999) Ouch for ankles!  Once I was nearly ruined then she would take me into the gym of our building and finish the workout there.  She would have been 50 and fit as hell, and after a while my husband-to-be joined in too.

Later, after the marriage but before the kids we went through a very fit phase where we woud get up at 5am and head to a gym that hung out over the ocean and work out 3 mornings a week, sometimes with PT's and these positive experiences will stay with me always as having probably been instrumental in me finally falling pregnant with my first child.  In fact my current PT is doing a core exercise with me that I first learnt in these times.

When I joined a new fancy gym that opened just a few years ago, they let you pick your PT from a 'menu' and what I wanted at the time was:

1. A woman
2. Preferably over 30
3. Preferably who had children

I felt that they would be able to understand where I was coming from better, and that I would generally be more comfortable with them.  It actually proved to be quite difficult.  The first one fit the bill but the PT's at this gym turned over quite rapidly and I went through 3 before settling in with Carlita and was just grateful for a 'young woman' that I seemed to be able to talk to OK.  The realtionship never really bore too many results given that I basically only turned up at the Gym for the one PT session a week.  On top of the Gym fees I also found it quite difficult to justify and eventually settled into going to regular classes each week.

Then I had this brain wave to learn to swim (see earlier post re Plantar Fascitiis and Swimming) and asked about some stroke correction lessons at the gym.  Brandon, did not fit my above criteria at all and there was a certain level of discomfit involved in meeting him in the pool (I would try to make sure that I was already in the water when he appeared ...) but it was a great experience and I got the results that I was looking for and information that I will always carry with me in regard of swimming.

The PT's where I am at now are a very tight knit bunch who I know are getting great results with their clients - many of whom I know from my neighbourhood one way or the other.  The difference is the holistic approach to the program - not just the exercise but the food, and feeling accountable and having tools like online food and training diaries to keep you on the straight and narrow.  I decided to go with my husband's trainer for consistencies sake and because I felt that in knowing my husband he at least knew a bit about my home life that might prove useful.  I later learned that he has had quite the journey to arrive at his chosen career having dropped about 30kg's himself, which gives him a lot of credibility with me.  It is a relationship that is still in its infancy but is looking very promising.