457 days

Thursday 31 July

Day maximum: 28,0 points
Day´s Bonuspoints used/saved: 29,0/1,0

Week´s Bonuspoints needed/saved (including activity points) : 1,0/13,5
Day´s excercise - cycling : 90 minutes Activity points: 13,5

(REQUIRED 6) water/tea: 8
REQUIRED 3) vegetables:3
(REQUIRED 2) fruit: 1
(REQUIRED 2) fat: 2
(REQUIRED 2) calcium: 2

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Another one of them there hot days!

It is hot and muggy. Humidity is through the roof, and I am glad whenever I am on my bicycle happily peddling along. Today I have some extra peddling to do. I am picking up a birdcage on the other side of town, then home to drop it off and then to the pizzeria to have a bite toe at with Fred. before that I go back to the Gym to settle the last administrative issues. I am so looking forward reallty starting. Any good tips and advice are very welcome! I am TOTAL excercise novice, well..................except for some volleyball and swimming when I was young. I LOVE swimming!

I have only one goal for this week: no added sugar/or sweetner. Which is challenge enough! I am very prone to using what I call "dust sweetner" in my smoothies and my desserts. And I also have my light drinks now and then, and my light products here and there. I won't be having any of those this week. I wish to get rid of this sugar imbalance in my blood which drives me to eating simply because a it makes me hungry. It means I will have to ween off the Australian Ice cream as well! Horror and Shock, can I live without Australian?

-grins- Of course I can! WATCH ME! And it is true, I feel my motivation bubbling inside. I am drinking my water again, and can stay away from chocolate in the supermarket! I do so hope I gave it a new impulse! again any pet talk or advice is MOST welcome.

In general, I would love to get to know "my" readers (better)! So I will make you a swop, leave me a message and I will send you a GREAT recipe for a healthy Fish dish made in a jiffy to amaze all your friends!

Note after the fact: I had one magnum and one magnum like ice cream. Not good, but I don't bthink it will do much damage. I cycled for 1.5 hourse in near 90 F/30 C, and my points were not enough for a whole day. however sugarlass day this was NOT!

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Breakfast
2,0 points (no added sugar)
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smoothie
1,0 - blue berries, mango, banana
1,0- 2 dl skimmed milk

Lunch
4,0 points
--------------------
0,0 - 200 gr. salad, cucumber, peppers
3,0 - smoked chicken
1,0 - 2 tbs mayo light

Diner
8,0 points (Italian food -estimation-)
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6,0 - grilled veal large salade, no oil
0,0 - 3 coca cola light
2,0 - crusted bread and herbbutter

Various
15,0 points
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11, 0 - 2 magnums
4,0 - after work wine nibbles

456 days - 65 weeks

Wednesday 30 July
~a day of reflection~

The heat and my weight

Today I gainedf 1 lbs. Now I know that I am retaining fluids like mad. I can feel it happening, and with the humidity and the temperatures as high as they are, rings do not fit, my bras are tight, and I feel like a balloon. But not to worry. I feel good overall, and have taken a very big positive step to give a major new impulse to my efforts.

I HAVE JOINED A GYM/SPORT SCHOOL/FITNESSCLUB. For years I have been telling myself those places are not for the fat and ugly, they are too expensive and ony fashion crazed women and vain muscle packed men parade there. Well, it was time to see if my prejudices were true.

Let me however state first, the adjective "ugly" I dropped years ago. I like my looks, they are me, and the please myself and others. People find me nice to look at, I make them feel good as a person. And THAT is enough for me. As for fat....well, it is just a word. And there are many variations to it, obese, overweight, lardy, pudgy, voloptuous, round, filled out, and I am sure you can name a few yourself. I don't care much which word people use as it al refer to the same thing, the amount of bodyfat they believe I should lose. Says nothing about what I feel, or think! I myself know I am overweight, it is a fact, and I mean to get rid of it.

As for the gym? It was a revelation. It is now 6 months old, and lots and lots of chairs, benches, weights, bicycles, tredmills, the works, rowingmachines, contraptions I have no idea of what they do, or what they are called, A sauna, a swimmingpool, lovely spacious dressing rooms, showers, and much much more. Lots of classes, like body pump, body shape, body balance, RPM, Body jet, aquarobic, spinning, body attack, ABS attack, body step, body combat. Lots and lots of terms which still have to be explained.

I am aiming for low impact excercising for now, maybe some walking, NOT running, on the tredmill, some cardio work outs and some muscle training. Oh yes, and swimming, and sauna. I can see it all happening! It has fired up my motivation and I feel GOOD. Most of all because I have conquered one of those old myths which I created myself. Fitness is just for the slim!

My intake will be somewhere next week, so I will keep you posted!

455 days

Tuesday 29 July

Day maximum: 28,0 points
Day´s Bonuspoints used/saved: 0,0/0,0

Week´s Bonuspoints needed/saved: 26,5/4,5
Day´s excercise - cycling : 60 minutes Activity points: 3,0

(REQUIRED 6) water/tea: 3
REQUIRED 3) vegetables:1
(REQUIRED 2) fruit: 1
(REQUIRED 2) fat: 2
(REQUIRED 2) calcium: 2

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Self analysis

Question is "How am I doing"? Answer, really? I don't know. I am in limbo land. Motivation has gone missing in action, and the pounds I lose one week are back on again the next week. So I guess analysing things. I am losing confidence in my ability to make a positive change.Last week I lost 3.9 lbs, the week before I gained 9.9 lbs, which I had lost the week before, 10.6 lbs. More than anything I wish to break free of the jo jo effect. But I am having serious trouble doing.

I know all of this sounds dismal. But in truth is is not. Recognising what ails me is the frst step to conquerring it. One other step is to find out why I am I losing confidence. And I think I know the answer to that one as well. There is one aspect in my life I just cannot seem to controll and it is bugging the hell out of me. I am a grown, sane, intelligent woman, and still I get the idea something is horribly wrong and has been that way for years now. What that is? Well, it is of such nature that this once I am going to leave all of you guessing. And no it is not drugs or alchohol..................

Food wise, one day is better than another. I seem to be muddling along. lacking in nutrients sometimes to make up for excesses of the day. NOT GOOD! I know. For instanceI took a machine made hot chocolate this morning. And why? The temperarture outside is near 25 degrees, the brew is horribly sweet and has no nutrients in it! So I guess I am feeding an emotion more than my body. I keep telling people I am doing alright, and I truly believe that, but there is that sharp edge to all of this which I just know can cut me real bad, and I will have trouble recuperating if I alllow it to.

I am curious if I have lost weight again this week. It has not been a bad week. Eventhough I celebrated my birthday on saturday with my relatives. Had a lovely fishdish with very little fat count to it, an olive soup, and a very rich dessert (white chocolate croissant pudding). The rest of my days have been very reasonable. The odd ice cream here and there. The heat does funny things to me.Yesterday I had a lovely rice dish with fish and spicey tomato and yoghurt sauce, dessert was fresh fruit and curd lightly frozen. I find that whenever I just cook a meal and enjoy the creative element of cooking healthy I am doing alright. It is when I start pecking things go wrong. I have developed quite a need for sugar, and it crops up now and then.

All in all a pretty horrid story, NON? However one thing I do need to say. it is the loyal and very lovely and wonderful people who keep posting which yank me back to this blog time and time again. And the trick seems to be blogging every day. It focuses me. The trick is, actually doing it!And le voila, I AM doing it! So give me strength.....................!

1 year 70 days

Thursday 10 July

Day maximum: 28,0 points
Day´s Bonuspoints used/saved: 27,0/1,0

Week´s Bonuspoints needed/saved: 0,0/7,0
Day´s excercise - cycling & walking : 90 minutes Activity points: 6,0

(REQUIRED 6) water/tea: 6
REQUIRED 3) vegetables:0
(REQUIRED 2) fruit: 2
(REQUIRED 2) fat: 2
(REQUIRED 2) calcium:2

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I had planned to blog here today and give a recount of how many pounds I gained over the last 10 or so weeks. But that is counter productive, and not very wise taking into a account how I have been feeling of late. Motivation is an elusive butterfly, and I have been unable to draw its attention.

I am confident I will pick up the thread again. And have set an in between goal: I want to be 128 KG/284 lbs or less on september 13th. This week was a good wek. But I was fed up with the wishy washy way things have been going and all I seem to do was gain weight instead of losing it.

This week I lost 10.6 lbs/4.8 kg. And my next short time goal is to LOSE weight next week, Any amount and I will be happy, but I am going for at last 1 lb. I want to break the up-down trend and go into a "downward" spin again. It will be week 2 in sucession. To help me I have done several things.

1. I have acquired a water coach; a small device that lets me rEgister how much water I did drink, and beeps every 2 hours if I have not entered(drank) water. And it woRks. It is a small beep but very annoying. Drives my colleagues up the wall and makes me snap to attention.
2. I will focus on the three tips below.
3. Make sure I get enough excercise a day (at least one hour)

It is still not 100% motivation, but for now it will have to do. I am struggling to regain it, and have been procrastinating on uodating my blog, writing down my intake of food. Also I have neglected some of my fellow bloggers who are extremely loyal. Because still a lot of people read my blog. It is quite amazing. So I will spend time on reading blogs in the weeks to come and try to be as loyal as many are to my blog.

Hope to hear from you all soon!

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Week 60: 3 focus points

1. Try the 3-hour rule
"The secret to losing weight comes down to keeping your metabolism alive and active," according to fitness guru Jorge Cruise, author of "The 3-Hour Diet." How do you do that? By eating every 3 hours, give or take 10 to 20 minutes, he says, which translates to three moderate meals with three snacks (100 calories each) between meals. Though other experts say there's nothing magic about 3-hour intervals, eating small, frequent, portion-controlled meals and snacks can keep your blood sugar level steady, your energy up, and keep you from overindulging.

2. Be an early bird
Eat the most food earlier in the day, says Elisabetta Politi, nutrition manager at Duke Diet and Fitness Center, Duke University's successful weight-management center. "Many dieters try to trim calories from their break-fast and lunch and then get hungry," she says. "Research shows the calories you eat earlier in the day help you eat less at night" -- a good idea since you probably won't be active after an evening meal.

3. Fill up on fiber
Crowd out calorie-dense foods by ratcheting up on fruits and veggies. "Start by eating one more serving of fruit and one more vegetable a day," says Donald Hensrud, MD, a Mayo Clinic nutrition specialist. Hitting that midafternoon slump? Reach for carrots -- the carbs will give you a lift. Not only does munching on nature's bounty become a good habit, but it'll also help you tap into dozens of disease-fighting phytochemicals and vitamins. The biggest fiber bulker-upper: beans. Just a cup of black beans nets you nearly 15 grams of filling fiber.

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Breakfast
8,0 points
-------------------------------------
2,0 - 200 ml vanilla yoghurt optimel
0,0 - fresh fruit
2,0 - ricebar
4,0 - 2 frusili's

Lunch
7,0 points
-------------------------------------
0,0 p - fruit
3,0 p - 500 ml curd
2,0 p - 2 cs gingersyrup
2 currantslices

Diner
6,0 points
-------------------------------------
3,0 - 500 ml curd
0,0 - sweetner
3,0 - 25 gr prawncrackers

Diversen
6,0 points
-------------------------------------
6,0 - currantslices