4 days to go!

Thought I would do something different today!

My Day:

6am Wake up
Weigh in at 63.7kg
Shower and Dress
empty bins and take out washing from bathroom
put on load of washing
Make kids breakfast and my cup of tea
Sit on computer for facebook check and start writing this post
Take quick notes on what I need to do today.
Make lunches for kids
empty dishwasher
stack dishwasher
empty dishrack
clean sink
wipe benches
sweep floor
sign permission notes and rsvp invitations
hang out washing and put on second load
collect kids and drive to school (8:15am)
pay bills, medicare claims
handyman arrived to fix stuff
Grabbed a cup of tea and chocolate muffin for breakfast
Work on paper
 * check edits from supervisor
 * add in references
Hang out washing - bring in two loads (folded)
Pack up and head into uni (10am) - put fitbit on (it was charging)
Turn on UV light
Optimise PCR for primer dimers
send off approved ordering
set up PCR and gel tank (11am)
ran down to grab a small serve of fried rice and honey chicken and water..11:30am to 11:45 for lunch and facebook time!
check supervisor meeting notes and go over anything I missed
continue on with Paper
run gel and take picture
print out research papers to read tonight
do emails
pick up autoclaving
more on paper
go pick up kids (2:45)
get home, put dishwasher on,
download tv shows
cup of tea and rest for three hours watching tv until dinner!!  Yey!

Downed half a block of chocolate and tuna pasta bake for dinner while watching two double episodes of Extant!

Make kids beds

Fill washing machine  - sheets

Empty dishwasher

Stack dishwasher

Clean sink
Wipe benches

Read goodnight story to kids

Relax for a bit and publish this post...

Hang out sheets, put on next load of washing

Check alarm is set

Read my romance novel

Go to bed...

5 Days to go!

We are getting so close!  Check out the GCF Shop - I got the email last night and it looks pretty exciting!  I sure do hope I don't have to buy all that stuff though!

I am so tired right now!  I've been setting the alarm earlier and earlier this week in the hopes of getting up early enough to hit the gym before I start my day.  I think it might be a lost cause though, I'm much better at afternoon exercise so 6:30am will be it for early days!!  That gives me enough time to prep properly for the day, go to uni, pick up kids, exercise, dinner, clean, bed!

I'm pretty sure we get some plans open up tomorrow.. though I'm not sure if we get plans for the first week or not.  Will have to wait and see!  Excited!

Posting this one late!  I thought I published it last night.. yet here I am at 7am in the morning posting it!  Kind of funny really - given I woke at 6am this morning!  No alarm!  After saying that 6:30am is as early as I wanted to wake up!

6 days to go!

I am totally over being sick. 

No more complaining as of now! 

No more excuses as of now!

The time is getting closer and two weeks of this chest cold has thwarted my goals long enough!  I'm getting better, slowly, and although even moderate exercise is out of the question, some light exercise would do me good!  I'm pretty sure the pizza and coke for dinner, even though it did save washing up and the energy expenditure from cooking, was not 'immune boosting'. 

No more interruptions. 

Day 20: Still sick!

Before



After

I still have this chesty cough thing going on.  Somehow it means I must eat things like roast chicken and gravy rolls, chocolate, and whatever I can get my hands on! 

Still, I felt healthy enough to attack the garden some more this weekend.  While Dave cleared out behind the shed, I went for the next segment down the side.  There is still another 'half' of this garden along this side of the fence but that will be a full weekend mission for when I am feeling better!

I spent almost $50 on plants - and yes I am renting, but it is worth it to have it pretty while I am here!

 

 

Getting back on topic though.. I am not weighing in today.  The fact is, being sick, I have reverted very easily back to bad habits.  Excuses have amplified.. I can't get to the shop, I'm too tired to cook, blah, blah.   I am having herbal teas and getting plenty of sleep though!

Day 17

I can speak.. Sometimes a whole sentence before I start coughing.

Knee deep in tissues, I am wading through a houseful of the lurgy, the kids, the hubby, and me..

Day 16 of Prep: Goal Setting

What a couple of days I've had! But the sun is starting to come out and play so there is no stifling my happiness!

I've been both sick and busy!  I've gotten in rest where I could, but still had a few commitments which were just necessary! 

There was a GCF email sent out today.. the goals tab is open!  It allows us to enter goals with a picture and quote with them, and under the 'goal board' is a space to enter in personal diary entries.  I've set up my first goal with an image but I want to take my time with the others to make sure the images I use are motivating and not self defeating.  Here's a nice positive one of me at a really healthy weight and still having enough fun to joke about food!

I've been thinking about what I can do set myself up even more for success. 

I think there are a lot of people who can relate, but I need to cut down on my social media use!  No more games either!  They are such time-wasters!  If I want to waste time there are better things I could be doing!  Like napping! 

I will be doing my fitness tests this weekend I think.  I should be past this chest infection by then.. fingers crossed!

Day 13 of Prep: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!

Let's start with the good, on what I shall call Black Sunday!

Lunch.. baked salmon!  Unbelievably easy - a quick 5mins to blend breadcrumbs, basil, parmesan cheese, and some olive oil - coat over the salmon pieces and bake for 30mins!  I did have plans to do an awesome 'just baked' picture using my newly found photography skills however the children smelt it as soon as I took it out of the oven and had helped themselves before I had a chance to grab my camera!  This was the little bit that was left for me!

I spent the day attacking my pile of photographs that I have collected over my 20 adult years (complete with a few stolen from Mum's albums!) and a made a bit of headway with 50 photos uploaded, edited, and details added.  Only a thousand odd left to go!

Yeah, I was a cutie!

The bad.. no weight loss this week.. 64kg so there is a slight increase.  I will blame two nights of alcohol, and a huge excess of carbs in the preceding two days!  Planning is important!

The ugly.. I smoked a few cigarettes!  Blargh!  After getting in twelve good days of not smoking, a bit of alcohol last night was enough to crush my willpower.  Back on the patches tomorrow and a stern lecture to my hubby about how he wants to quit as well!  It's not like I enjoy it, or even get any satisfaction from it!  It's just laziness and boredom and addiction. 

Tomorrow is going to be a challenge and the whole week has the potential to crash and burn on me with the whole family having throat infections and sniffly noses.  I will find solutions, not excuses!  I want to get this whole planning and commitment thing down pat before the program starts (in two weeks!  EEEk!).

I'm totally rocking it already - a few lessons learnt (which are better learnt now then during the program!) and quite a few successes under my belt!

Day 12 of Prep

Last few days have been a bit up and down.  I had take out, a few drinks, and skipped my run last night as it was teaming down rain!

Planning is the problem!  I need to have meals planned, quick snacks prepared for on the run, and just a sense of control really!

So today I spent an hour adding in some recipes to Plan To Eat and doing my meal plan!  I took Dave shopping with me so the bill ended up huge, but I'm sure we have enough food for a couple of weeks!

I was totally drained when I got home from shopping and went for a quick rest - I fell asleep for 2hrs!

There goes the dinner and cook-up plan!  

But wait!  At 6pm I started my cook up with feta and pea quiches (from Taste), and with the extras I have another 8 bacon and cheese mini quiches for the kids!  I prepped up spring rolls too (garlic, chicken mince, stir in sweet chilli and soy sauce, add to grated carrots and grated baby cabbage, wrap in spring roll sheets) and asked Dave to cook one to make sure they taste okay - next thing you know they are all cooked and eaten!  I guess that was dinner!  

Crumbed salmon for lunch tomorrow!

Day 9 of Prep

Balance is one of the hardest things for me - sometimes I feel like I'm juggling a hundred things while walking a tightrope where I go backwards instead of forwards!

Just living a full and healthy life seems like hard work, and then there is actual work on top of that!  Not that I'm complaining.  I am extremely lucky to live in a time and place where education is accessible and flexible!  And even more so that I have been able to get a scholarship to do my PhD!  I love my work, I love being in the lab and running experiments!  My biggest hardships are finding the hours, and containing my enthusiasm for a wide variety of interests... Yes, focus is an issue for me!  I want to do everything right now.. I'm an ideas person!

Yes.. Focus!  I spent today in the lab, and as a result have a massive step count of over 17000!  And I took in and ate my lunch!  And I went for a run!  A totally awesome and wicked day all round!

Day 8 of Prep

Took the day off.  Nothing achieved except relaxation!

:)

Day 7 of Prep! Three weeks to Kick Off

Growing some herbs and spinach!

I love Mondays!  A whole perfect unblemished week ahead of me! 

I finished off today by planting up a few herbs (rosemary, oregano, and parsley) and some spinach to start my "Veggie Patch".

And I had a parcel waiting for me when I got home! 

My Tea Tonic order arrived! 

I love their teas and stick to this place because their relaxation tea is the only one that has everything I want in it! And they have chocolate tea!  The teas are organic and a naturopath creates the different tea formulations!  And I always get a few freebie samples in the box!

I have a GLEW (Ginger, Lemongrass, Echinacea, White Tea) tea steeping right now!

These are to help curb my coffee habit that I've developed over the last year - previous to that I had gone 14 years without coffee, and had only been drinking tea again for 3 years.

This week I am trying to get into the habit of packing lunches and snacks for work.  I have tried before and got caught up in the perfectionism and tried to count calories and have awesome photo worthy deliciousness packed each day.  How could that possibly fail?

Instead, I am now packing whatever I can get my hands on!  Today was some rice crackers, chicken with lettuce, and a mandarin.  The lettuce got frozen by the fridge at work.  Not a great start - but a good start as I didn't buy my lunch!  I'm only at work for school hours so only need one snack and a decent lunch, and water.

Once the program starts I can get some prep work done and have a plan for the week for what to take for lunches.

Last night:
I hit the chocolate icecream!  It was quite yummy! :)  And then I was up at 3am and had a muffin to tame a grumbly tummy!
Sleep:  2am bedtime (reading!) up at 6:45am.  I'm trying to get myself up earlier in the morning so I can start morning training once I hit a 6am start time!  An earlier bedtime might help!
Today:
Breakfast was half a coffee (don't seem to need it anymore) and some pumpkin, ricotta and spinach frittata.  Cam ate a fair bit of it, which was just as well because it was a huge serving for my little tummy (which is very unused to breakfast!)
Snack: flavoured rice crackers
Lunch: 100g chicken breast (from leftovers)
Afternoon Snack: Cuppicino - had one of those satchels left and thought I would get rid of it - dash of milk, no sugar.

Day 6 of Prep

I weighed in today.. under 64kg!  I lost a kilo this week and 6cm off my belly!!  That's a good sign my body is liking the changes I am making! 

I had a busy day cleaning up under the under cover area outside and then baking a delicious pumpkin, ricotta and spinach frittata for breakfasts this week!

Last night:
I ended up not having salad with my KFC, having pepsi, hot chocolate, and a peanut butter sandwich before bed. 
Went to bed really late (2am) and woke up at 8:30am
Today:
Skipped breakfast and morning tea (had two coffees)
Had two boiled eggs for lunch
Snacked in the afternoon: a handful of twisties and some flavoured rice crackers with some awesome sweet chilli cream cheese!
Hot chocolate while waiting for dinner
Roast Chook and salad for dinner
Exercise: Cleaning; Steps: over 9000

Day 5 of Prep

I am so on a roll!  This morning I hit the garden as soon as I woke up.  We have a massive yard with lots of trees - palm trees in particular!  They are horrendous for shedding leaves and quite a few of them are very tall, so tall we can't reach to remove dead leaves.

And if the palm trees aren't tall, they are clumping!  See those two small palms near the shed (right side).  We got a full load of green-waste from that today!  We also removed a rather large bush growing behind it which was blocking our access to behind the shed.

You might also notice that at the base of the washing line we now have a large green pot and pot stand so I can grow some herbs and leafy vegies this spring! 

And I love that we are starting to see the grass greening up a bit - even though it will mean mowing the lawn very soon!

I am looking forward to summer this year!  I turn 40yo!  Our yard will be in great shape as it warms up with the amount of shade drastically reduced in the yard itself, while not affecting the shade for the house and entertainment area.  We should be able to have some nice BBQ dinners outdoors by spring time!

I'm excited to think that I will be in shape too.  We have a public swimming pool just down the road from us and I am looking at purchasing a season pass for the family so we can go down of an afternoon to cool off after school and work!  It will be so nice to feel confident in my swimmers, even if I don't have a 'perfect figure'! 

Last night:
had a peanut butter sandwich before bed.
Bad case of restless legs (but then remembered I still had my patch on)
Stayed up late (2am), woke up around 9am
Today:
Skipped breakfast and morning tea but had two coffees
lunch was bacon and eggs
afternoon tea I had flaxseed crackers and salmon
dinner: having a treat meal!  KFC and salad with icecream for dessert.
Exercise:  gardening, steps: 10000.

Day Four of Prep!

It's already quite exciting - I'm seeing changes just from taking advantage of the little bit of information available already.  Sure, it might just be all in my head, but does it matter?  Feeling positive means I am more likely to keep going. I am feeling well, my tummy fat feels looser (yes, that's a good thing!  It means no bloating!), and I am bouncing with energy!

I'm looking ahead now and with most of the month still ahead of me before the program begins, I am torn apart with anticipation!  Okay, so maybe I used a little creative licence there!  But I am super keen to get started! 

I am mapping out my time instead of just waiting around!  I signed up exactly 4 weeks prior to the program start date of September first, and my Day 1 of Prep began the next day - so 27 days of preparation before I begin with four of those days done already!

I weighed in at just under 65kg the day before I signed up and I will weigh in again on Sunday.  If I do that each Sunday then I will be able to see just how much I lost while preparing for the program!  Five kilograms would be awesome, but realistically, if I get down to 63kg then I am on track for losing weight in a healthy way!

My main focus is just working my meal planning and recipes into my weekly schedule without stressing out about it!  Results for me is lasting healthy changes in my diet, not weight loss in itself. 

It will be interesting to see the set-up for the meal planning in the GCF program, but I will still need to adapt it onto my lifestyle once the program ends.  I use an online program called 'Plan to Eat' to keep my recipes and meal plan for the week.  It has been great to use and is certainly helping but it will take a bit of extra work to integrate the GCF meals into it.  But I'm getting ahead of myself!  No need to worry about that until the meal plans come out so I can see how they work!

For now I am winging it!   Trying out the recipes (like the Shepards Pie using cauliflower mash) to see what I like and how my body reacts to the new food.

I am going into this with a strong directive of making it work for me, not just blindly follow the program to get some transformation photo at the end.

Last night:

I was really hungry just before bed so had a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of milk

Bedtime was about 11pm, 7am wake up

Today:

One egg, prosciutto, spinach and feta

Cup of coffee 

Lunch was leftover T-bone, with the Ceasar salad, I added a bit of feta to that as well.

I had two pieces of the flaxseed crackers and two bliss balls

Shepards pie for dinner
Water: not quite a litre

Steps: 9000

Notes: I was starving most of the day after skipping morning tea, and having afternoon tea so late.  Oddly, I still felt okay, not weak and panicky like usual!

Day 3 of Preparation

Looks good right?  My dinner for tonight!  

Another day off today as I fight off the remnants of this head cold, so I spent the day cleaning, with a bit more cleaning on top of that!  Why?  Because I have a cleaner coming tomorrow morning!  Yes, seriously!  If I want the floors vacuumed and mopped then I need to be able to see said floors first!  

It's all part of preparing for this program.  I don't want to be worried about keeping up with the housework, and I need to reduce my stress levels! 

I am very happy to report that my husband is fully on board and keen to start cleaning up his diet (said while he was eating tomato flavoured crisps!).  He is thinking along the lines of more vegetables, more protein, and less processed food - exactly what we should be getting from the GCF program!  Given that he is usually the person who cooks dinner, this is fantastic news!

A little on my husband:  He is 41yo, 177cm and weighs in around 67kg, this hasn't changed much in the whole time I've known him!  He has naturally low body fat, and builds muscle easily.  His work environment isn't condusive to over-eating, and he finds it quite easy to make changes when he is motivated.  He started setting up a home gym three weeks and has done strength training every second day consistently since.  I am quite proud do him!

He will be quitting smoking tomorrow - he did quit two weeks ago but because I was still smoking, and he had pre-quit patches rather than full strength, he didn't last too long!  Now that I have quit as well, it should be much easier going for both of us!

I am feeling quite healthy even though I am sick.  I don't seem to have any issue with not having  refined grains though I did have two pieces of bread and the muffin yesterday!  And the extra water is always good!  No medication required tonight so hopefully no restless legs keeping me up!

From yesterday:

I snuck in a chocolate muffin before bed!

Sleep: 11:30pm to 7:00 am (restless legs)

Today:

2 coffees

Eggs with spinich and feta

Piece of chocolate

Salmon, egg, with salad and ACV dressing

2 choc Brownies, cup of tea (2 normal sugars and milk)

Half a T-bone steak, cup of veggies and three small potatoes.

Water: 1L

Steps: over 14000.

Day 2 of Preparation!

It's not the healthiest refridgerator, but it's clean!

My cold is still in full force so I tackled my fridge, cleaning all the shelves, throwing out dated food, and taking note of things to use up before the challenge starts.

Having a husband and three boys to accommodate will mean that I will have other foods available, but with proper planning I can introduce the GCF meals and snacks without too much complaining from the men of the house.  They all liked the Brownies I cooked yesterday (I will have to bake up double the recipe next time) which is a good sign that the recipes will be well liked!

I quit smoking yesterday and, as usual, struggled a bit with motivation this morning.  I cannot wear the patches at night as I don't sleep as well so the morning is always the toughest.  I am feeling much better for it though, and this cold is making it a lot easier to resist any cravings.

The weather is warming up quickly during the day so I am eager to get results (results being fat loss!) so I can be comfortable in my summer wardrobe!  If all goes well I can lose a few kilos before the actual start of the program, making my goal weight of 53kg more achievable in the twelve weeks.  My current weight is 65kg, though I had been sitting at around 60kg for the last year.  My ideal is 50-55kg though I could go less given my height and frame.  But I am not expecting to lose weight that quickly.  I am in the process of making big changes to my lifestyle and it is those lifestyle changes that are my true goals, not the weight loss.  The weight loss is my motivation, and feeling healthy!

It will be great to be able to move again.  To get out of bed without rolling off the edge, to be sit comfortably on the floor and be able to get back up again!

And to have the energy to get through the day!

I like that I am starting off slowly, having a cold stops me from going all out and wearing myself out before I even start!  There is no guilt about not doing exercise yet or not getting things done perfectly, I'm doing what I can.

Food today:

Coffee with coconut sugar and a dash of milk

Two eggs with spinach and Parmesan cheese

A handful of grapes, 2 peices of 75% chocolate, and another coffee

Cheats Ceasar salad for lunch

2 small peices of the Chocolate Brownie

Morrocan Pumpkin and Chickpea Soup (le Zuppa) with 2 slices of 9 grain bread

1 piece of chocolate

Water: 1l

Exercise: nil,  just over 5000 steps.

The day after.. Day 1 of preparation for Get Commando Fit!

 I have a cold so took the day off my studies and cleaned the kitchen.

It was a much bigger job then I care to admit!  I cleared out the pantry and went shopping for some of the pantry essentials.

I made up Ceasar Salad for lunch using the recipes available already, and cooked enough chicken and eggs for today as well.  I didn't have yogurt so made up the Apple Cidar Dressing.  Afterwards I made up the chocolate Brownie Recipe as well.

My pirates are trying to figure out how to create a squad but are having some teething problems!  We've emailed to see if we can get some help!

My food for the day:

Coffee with milk and sugar

Eggs and spinach

Grapes and 2 pieces of 75% chocolate

Cheats Ceasar Salad with Apple Cidar Dressing

2 peices of Brownies

2 peices of 75% chocolate

1L water

Exercise: no specific but had over 10000 steps on the FitBit!

Get Commando Fit

Today I signed up to do a 13 week program called "Get Commando Fit".

An hour later I realise I'm coming down with a cold!  

But my measurements are done and I'm interested in seeing how I go with the high fat, high protein diet.  My biggest hurdle will be the planning.. If I can do that consistently then I can follow the plan consistently.

I wanted this for my fast approaching 40th birthday, it's now or never!