Fitness and a dieter's worst nightmare

On Monday I attended my second session of CrossFit. Technically, it's not 'proper' CrossFit, and it doesn't take place in a gym (or box, as I think the pros call it). This suits me just fine because I enjoyed staring at the beautiful blue sky right before I thought I was going to pass out.

We do warm up rounds and then the exercise rounds. The exercises are simple and use little equipment, much like boot-camp-style fitness. Though I could probably complete most of the exercises at home, it is so motivating to have a set commitment each week where people are expecting you to rock up and try your hardest. Seeing the others completing the exercises, and also battling at times like I was, made me push through the pain and work harder than I ever would at home by myself. 

I completed the WOD (work out of the day in CrossFit speak) which was aptly titled Crash and Burn. The warm up was pretty daunting, but manageable. I was at my lowest after round 1 and felt really nauseous. This feeling worsened when I realised there were still 2 more rounds to go!

I felt tired and sick, but the point is that I didn't give up, I didn't die, and I am going back for more next Monday.


The bulge buffet
Last night, I experienced a dieter's worst nightmare: a finger food buffet. Three tables heavily laden with chips, dip, crackers, every kind of cheese, samoosas, spring rolls, mini quiches and rolls greeted me when I walked into the English Honours book launch last night.

I have read that people are most likely to overindulge when eating finger food because the food you eat is generally never laid out on a plate, so you have no idea of portion size. You snack unconsciously, which is only fuelled by free liquor. Plus, everything is in miniature, so you don't feel as bad for scoffing 10 mini samoosas. This is easily justified by a simple mathematic equation: 10 mini spring rolls = 1 regular one, so you have obviously not overindulged.

I can walk for miles but I am really not good at standing because my back usually gets very sore. I stood listening to a talk and a performance for a good 2 hours last night, and while my feet hurt, my back didn't. All I can put it down to is improved core strength.

I had to choose my snacks carefully. I admit to a portion of crisps and one mini quiche. Neither were worth the calories. I stuck to 2 stuffed egg halves, rice crackers and cheese with biscuits. A bit of alcohol later, I found myself sitting in Champs bar with a peppermint crisp pudding, but if you can't really remember eating it then it doesn't count, right?

Week 3 weigh in

  
Week 3: 77.7kg
 

Week 2: 78.9kg

Week 1: 79kg

What a brilliant and motivating start to the week! I am very pleased with my 1.3kg loss this week, the best week yet and nearly triple my weekly goal. I have started to look forward to Monday weigh-ins as they really motivate me after the weekend (when I'm most likely to slip up) and I really enjoy tracking my positive progress. 

This week I managed to exercise 3 times. I did crossfit on Monday and then was very lazy (and busy!) for the rest of the week. I forced myself to do a short but intense 20min taebo session on Friday (2.5 pts). While I enjoyed it, the workout was too advanced for my fitness level so I ended up skipping straight to the warm down after 20 minutes. I plan on going back to it and trying again next week.

On Saturday I did an hour-long taebo video yesterday (6pts). I also walked dogs at the SPCA (0.5hr walk = 2pts)  which didn't even feel like exercise. I highly recommend volunteering at a local animal shelter once a week. You'll be doing something for your community, and in return you get some sneaky exercise and love from fur kids who are deprived of attention. 

On Thursday I had a friend round for dinner. I had a healthy chili and salad planned, but being the wonderful human that he is, my friend brought along ice cream and bar-one sauce. My boyfriend brought chocolate too and this all ended in a bit of an over indulgence. All I can say is that it was worth it, and I was good for the rest of the week!

I made healthy baked treats on Sunday, see tomorrow's post for delicious Weight Watchers friendly recipes:)

Braces and the evil Spur Steak Ranch

Friday nights are when I am most likely to be thrown from the diet wagon and land straight on the soft cushioning of a meaty treat pizza. I am proud to say that this Friday night I had a very healthy dinner of Asian chicken salad and strawberries with Greek yoghurt for dessert.

I had my bottom braces put on on Thursday so this has really made me think twice about what I am eating. I have to weigh up the value of the food based on whether it is worth the pain of chewing it:

Chocolate: tried it and no. It doesn't fill me up and I am too impatient to suck it until it dissolves.
Yoghurt: great option because it requires no chewing. Greek yoghurt is the most filling.
Fruit: yes, especially bananas and strawberries.
Carrots and cucumber: I suffer through the chewing because they taste great with dip and are healthy and filling. 

I am hoping the pain with subside soon, but for the moment I'm reveling in the new pain-driven mentality which is making me think before I eat instead of mindlessly snacking.

Tonight I am feeling lazy after quite an intense Taebo workout. After I was done, I had the most intense craving for a Spur cheese burger. Spur is a 2 minute walk from my house and the temptation was intense... until I looked up the nutritional info online. This quickly cured me.

The meal (burger, chips and onion rings) contains:
5 590 KJ
12g sugar
75g fat of which 34g is saturated

I realise that is a lot, but I blamed the chips and onion rings. Nope. Just the burger contains:
2 425 KJ
68g sugar
29g fat of which 14.2g is saturated

To put this in perspective, the maximum kilojoules my Weight Watchers calculator has is 1525 KJ and the maximum saturated fat is 14g. This means the max points value is 8.5pts for 1 item.

If it's off the Weight Watchers chart, it's not going in my body.

General thoughts on awesome people

This guy. This guy is awesome.

Goals and the long term plan

Realistically, losing 1 pound (roughly 500g) per week is reasonable, but 1kg a week would be even better. I have done it once, and I can do it again but I do not want to raise my expectations too much. It is a slow and gradual process.

This is a long-term plan, and if I want to reach my goal of 68kg healthily then it will take many months of hard work and careful eating. If I lose 500g on average per week, then it will take me 22 more weeks to reach my goal weight.

The end of this year, 31 December, is 13.5 weeks away. I am hoping to weigh 73kg by then.

Ideally, by March 2014 I should reach my goal weight. This is 6 months away.

Of course, I need to account for inevitable weight plateaus and bad weeks. I know my 3-month long Christmas vac is going to be a huge challenge, with all the food and general laziness that is so wonderful at that time.

I will be going for fitness and body-fat percentage assessments during my December vacation which I can repeat in July next year. This will be fantastic motivation and will allow me to see how far I have come in other ways besides weight loss. I am taking a holistic approach, and fitness (not weight loss) is at the top of my agenda. Weight loss will be a convenient side effect to improving my body's capabilities and general quality of life.

Week 1 and 2 weigh in

Height: 168cm

Starting weight: 80kg

BMI: 28.3 (overweight, normal is 18.5–24.9)

Week 1: 79kg

Week 2: 78.9kg

 







I was very strict in week 1 and this yielded great results. I stuck closely to my allocated points and exercised 5 out of the 7 days, a mixture of at-home taebo and a 7km walk for World Rhino Day. It was so rewarding to see that the formula works! Healthy eating + exercise = weightloss. It really is that simple.

My sister came to stay with me in week 2. She is also on Weight Watchers which helped me to stay focussed, but the change in routine led both of us to have a not-so-healthy week. I was expecting to stay the same, if not put on a bit, which is why I am disproportionately happy with a 100g weight loss.

I say I have had an unhealthy week, but what is so nice is the difference in how I categorise unhealthy now versus before. I felt like I had cheated last week after eating 6 blocks of chocolate (3.5 points) and popcorn on the same day. In the past, it wasn’t often I went a day without chocolate, and a bad day would be a whole slab. The scaled down treats means I am satisfied with much smaller portions sweet things, because when I take the points into consideration, 3.5 is quite a lot.

Frankenstein Food
Usually, this refers to genetically modified foods, but Frankenstein Food means something different for Weight Watchers people. Frankenstein Food is the evil food which triggers you to overindulge and turns you into and irrational face-stuffing food monster. Mine is undoubtedly chocolate.

Yes, this is a chocolate Frankenstein head.
If I ate it, I wonder if that would be considered cannibalism?

I am capable of keeping a full, wrapper-protected slab in my cupboard for an indefinite amount of time. I’m not denying I will be tempted, but I’m able to resist its sugary charms. It’s better for me to not eat chocolate at all than lie to myself that I will just have “some”. Once the wrapper seal is broken, I go all or nothing on that dairy product.

I read about one woman who said her trigger food was Provitas. Bitch, please.What, do the Provitas set you off into a Frankenstein rage and after which you overindulge in Broccoli? I wish MY trigger food could be rectangular-shaped slices of fibrey goodness!

Failed but not defeated

So, almost exactly a year on I have braved a glance back at this blog. I can honestly say I am disappointed with myself, mostly my lack of follow through and dedication. I realised writing a blog and public shaming doesn't motivate me; I have to motivate myself. You can't write yourself skinny. You can't diet yourself skinny either. It's a lifestyle change and a mental shift.

This is my new approach. Self love, exercise and eating right. I am also tentatively trying  which I believe to be maintainable in the long term, unlike my failed attempt at the Paleo diet. It was so strict it that was very difficult to stick to and I felt so sick, tired and dizzy all the time. What I did learn, though, is that it's easier to eat no sweet things at all than saying "I'll just have 1 block of chocolate". That is a lie. It is simply not possible to consume just one block when 12 more are staring back at you.

I like Weight Watchers because I can see exactly where I have gone wrong. Unfortunately this usually happens at dinner time and more than once I have had to eat plain veggies only, which are free. I do find it incredibly difficult to eat only 20 points per day, and am often over. But this is the best motivation for exercise, and I am not ashamed to say I work out to eat. It's kind of like a video game or competition with yourself, where you can earn bonus points and save points up for the ultimate prize: chocolate.

My Mom and sister have been on Weight Watchers for about a month and a half, and my sister has lost nearly 3kgs. It's nice to have their support, but being so far away from home means I can't go to meetings with them. I have started a Healthspiration group on Facebook with two other friends where we can share tips, hardships and progress. In my first week of Weight Watchers I lost 800g which I was very happy about. Too happy, in fact, since I got overly confident and gained it right back!

I know it's hard to always write down and add up what I eat, as it is to exercise every single day. But this quote is good to remember!
Weight Watchers is always watching....