BFL Day #1

The first day went by fairly uneventfully. I guess in part it has to do with the fact that I still have a few precious days of holidays before heading back into work next week so my sleeping schedule has been all over the place (I partly blame Evs for keeping me up at night. Haha. I just realised how that sounded. I was going to add by roping me into playing Lego Indiana Jones with him lol).

I've actually switched the days for exercises around starting off the program and my week with the cardio rather than the weights. This is mainly because I wrangled a group class timetable at the gym (the website is a bit shocking) and worked out my BFL exercises in with the classes that I want to do for the week.

So...HIIT.

HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. I've read so much about how effective it is for fat blasting and the fact that you only need to do it for 20 mins (but giving it your all) is right up my alley. I'm still a lazy girl at heart (evidenced by the fact I woke up at 9:00 am this morning!) and HIIT is ideal.

We have this stationary bike sitting up in our spare room where most of the other things in the house that don't really belong anywhere have been relegated to and I decided to follow the BFL style HIIT workout on the bike. A few weeks earlier I had attempted to do a bit of a workout on the bike and was dying within minutes. AT THE LOWEST SETTING. My thighs were quivering and my legs shaking (and not in the good way) and my butt was sore. But - I had to try.

The workout went well - I still died and thus reached my level 10 (the highest RPE) and I felt rejuvenated after a quick shower. The rest of the day was spent meal planning, blog reading, shopping for said meal plan, playing a bit of tennis (I am so rusty!), taking the dogs for a walk (I had to run part way with Toby - our German Shorthaired Pointer - he has endless energy!) and playing computer games. All in all a good day.

Because I woke up so late, I only managed to fit in 5 meals instead of 6 and wasn't hungry at all. But for some reason I had a few hunger pangs before I went to bed but had a glass of water and it was all good. I also got in my 8 glasses of water - Go me!

Man...I'm wondering how boring I sound with all of this. Sigh. Well I'm not here to win any literary awards. Just want to get it all down....

Ok food - First Day's meals (I'm using Calorie King to track my intake of food/exercise/water):

Monday, 3rd January 2011

Daily Summary

Food Energy In: 1259 cals Exercise Energy Out: 70 mins, -478 cals Net Energy: 781 cals Net Energy Budget: 1300 cals End Result: 519 Calories Under

Total Fat 36.1g / 27g Over Total Protein 105.8g / 120g Under Total Carb. 114.7g / 120g Under Glasses of Fluid: 8 Steps: 0 Under

Breakfast

Item	Calories	Fat	Protein	Carb.
2 2/3 fl.oz of Coles: Milk, fresh: Coles, Lite	36	1.1	2.6	3.9
5 g of The Chia Company: Seeds: Chia Seed, Black	23	1.7	1	1.9
30 g of Carman's: Brans & Oats: Premium Traditional Oats	115	2.6	3.2	18.3
2 teaspoon (5g) of Kraft: Peanut Butter: Nuts, Smooth Light	55	3.9	1.5	3.5
1/2 medium,170g with skin, 16cm/6" (110g) of Fruit, fresh: Banana, raw, edible portion	50	0.1	0.9	10.9
1 serving, 10 raspberries (20g) of Fruit, fresh: Raspberries, raw, edible portion	11	0.1	0.2	1.5
1 serving (25g) of Vital Strength: Protein Drinks: Define, Womens High Protein, Average All Flavours, dry	93	1	19.5	1.1
Total	383	10.3g	29g	41g

Lunch

Item	Calories	Fat	Protein	Carb.
1 tortilla (43g) of Diego's: Bread: Wrap, Reduced Carb	112	3.5	2.8	11.1
1 serving, 1/2 of 185g can drained (64g) of John West: Fish, canned: Tuna, Light in Springwater, drained	64	0.6	13.8	0.6
1 portion (17.5g) of The Laughing Cow: Cheese Spread: The Laughing Cow, Cheese Spread Portions, Light	31	1.9	2.5	0.9
1 tablespoon, mashed (20g) of Fruit, fresh: Avocado, Hass, raw, edible portion	41	4.2	0.4	0.1
Total	248	10.3g	19.4g	12.8g

Dinner

Item	Calories	Fat	Protein	Carb.
1 serving (100g) of Chicken Raw: Mince, raw	143	8.1	17.4	0
1 tablespoon (9.3g) of Vegetables, fresh: Capsicum, Red, raw	2	0	0.1	0.3
1 tablespoon (7.5g) of Vegetables, fresh: Celery, raw	1	0	0	0.1
3 stick (7g) of Vegetables, fresh: Carrots, raw	7	0	0.2	1.1
30 g of Vegetables, canned: Water Chestnuts, Asian, drained	10	0	0.3	2
3 piece (14g) of Vegetables, fresh: Mushrooms, Button / Common, raw	11	0.1	1.4	0.1
1 tablespoon (20mL) of Chang's: Sauces: Soy, Light Style	9	0	0.6	1.5
1 tablespoon (17g) of Ayam: Sauces: Teriyaki	6	0.1	0.5	0.8
Total	188	8.4g	20.6g	5.9g

Snack

Item	Calories	Fat	Protein	Carb.
1/2 small container (220mL) of Coffee Shop: Caffe Latte, Skinny w. skim milk, no added sugar	35	0.1	3.5	5.1
1 serving of Green Monster #1	240	4.4	15.4	33.8
100 g of Weight Watchers: Cheese: Cottage	91	2.5	12.5	3.8
1/2 serving (200g) of Jalna: Yoghurt: Fat Free, Natural	53	0.1	5.3	7.4
1 level teaspoon (6g) of Capilano: Honey: Honey	20	0	0	5
Total	439	7.1g	36.8g	55.1g

Exercise

Item	Calories	Fat	Protein	Carb.
20 mins of Spinning	-225	-	-	-
30 mins of Walking 4 kph	-95	-	-	-
20 mins of Tennis, singles	-158	-	-	-
Total

I kinda estimated my exercise calories but not too fussed either way. Also reminds me, I need Evs to take some "Before" shots of me as well....sigh.

Body for Life - A new 2011

So another year, another resolution.

Somehow, like every year I managed to yo-yo in between losing the same 5 kilos - I'd start off the year at my heaviest weight - lose 5 kilos by the middle of the year and then like a miracle manage to pack it all in again by the end of the year. However, I could never get back to that elusive weight I was before I started to pack on the pounds like it was nobody's business.

So...I decided I was sick of it. I hate the feeling of being feeling heavy, sluggish and just.....fat. I look pregnant and keep scaring my mother lol (she really wants grandkids soon).

I needed to do something about it and if I was being totally honest with myself then I had to REALLY make the effort to stick with it. I like new things. I'm very enthusiastic about new things. So much that I pour my heart and soul into a new project, a new client or new THING...until I get bored and the next shiny, new thing comes along. So - you can say I am not a finisher.

BUT, a slight obsession with reading "Healthy Living" blogs (and I only put that in quotation marks because one person's idea of healthy coluld be vastly different to another, however, all of these blogs promote natural, healthy, active lifestyles which is what I keep coming back for. And the OMFG revelation that oatmeal is!!!) brought me to a blog where I saw the most amazing transformation.

She looked....amazing. Abs, toned arms, ABS (I have to mention them twice because Holy Mother, I don't think I can remember the last time I had a flat stomach - maybe when I was 12??) and a lean, toned physique.

Now, I have a predesposition to have anything go straight to my butt. That and my thighs. And I can't forget like many women before me and like my mother not-so-subtly says I have "childbearing hips". So what I am proposing is a complete restructure of my body.

I don't know if it can be done, but if there is anything that I have learnt is that I need to just stay active. I've done the research, I've read the magazines, the blogs and the articles and I think BFL will work for me.

For those who don't know what BFL is - here's a quick rundown (you can also go to the official link for more detailed info).

But basically - 6 small meals a day (a carb/protein combination) along with 6 days a week of exercise alternating between days of cardio (20 min HIIT work) and weights (alternate upper body and then lower body workouts).

And there's a FREE day once a week where all the rules are thrown out the window. :D

My challenges will be getting enough protein in my diet - I've bought some protein powder as a last resort kinda thing but I prefer to try and get my protein through whole foods. And as I am a vegetarian in my heart, I am going to try and limit my meat intake as much as I can (good luck with that though lol...mmmm chicken).

To help me, I joined the gym on a 3-month summer special they had and it allows me access to the gym, group classes (go Les Mills!!) and the pool/spa/sauna. Not a bad deal at all. I plan to do my cardio (HIIT) at home using the stationary bike we have and a TurboFire HIIT DVD that has already kicked my butt once or twice (seriously there is no way I am going to be able to be at the gym by 6am and I am ok with that). I am also going to try and do some of the extra classes at the gym - mainly things like Pilates and also try and run outside at least 2-3 times a week (I also have lofty ambitions of running a half-marathon later this year, but one step at a time).

I went today as well to get a bit of a feel of the place (since I had not been to this particular gym since I was at uni!) and get a health assessment. The gym looked ok, nothing fancy and full of hot, sweaty men hunched over the weights. Gross. But, I am just saying that because my last gym was a women's only one and we had a dedicated room for weights. For us WOMEN. Don't worry I'll learn to share :P

So...my health assessment. The fitness person (I really don't have any other name to call her because she was kinda useless) took my measurements and looked at me blankly when I joked that I had purged all my lunch just for her. Jeez. Seriously, just joking. And she then proceeded to still stare at me blankly when I tried to assure her that my open heart surgery would not affect me to doing cardio. And blankly again when I told her about BFL. She then told me she was leaving back for China in a month. Okkkk then....

Anyways, I thought since I will be baring my soul here hopefully only a daily basis, I'd scare most of you away with my starting measurements.

Weight: 60.4 kg (BUT, taken after lunch and with all my clothes on. No way was I getting nekkid there for her. I'm still in denial)

Height: 5'2.5" (155.5cm - I'm a shawty. Wait that's something different isn't it? Coz I always thought they were talking about me and other short people in hip hop songs - Go shawty, it's your birthday..)

BMI: 25.1 (Jeez...that kinda shocked me - one because I thought I was taller than I was and two...that's borderline overweight!!)

Body Fat %: 33.6% (Ok...scream in horror/laugh. I'm telling you half of that is my boobs and butt alone)


My aim is to lose 8-10 kilos in the 12 weeks and lose at least 8-10% of my body fat as well. I don't have massive expectations, because I honestly don't know what my body will do and is capable of. All I CAN do is try and follow the program as much as I can and hopefully the results will come....

So - I've started. January 3rd, 2011. Which means my 12 week challenge will finish at the end of March.

30 Day Shred - Level 1 - Day 1

I've been over indulging over the last couple of weeks - winter treats like melt-in-your-mouth Brie on crackers and toasted baguette, creme caramel and lots and lots of red wine.

Sigh. It kind of hit me when I tentatively weighed myself on the scales and it was almost back at 57 kilos again. I was so close!! Just a few weeks ago I was down to my lowest I had been since I got married (54.9kgs) and the end goal was in sight. I was feeling better in my clothes, felt a lot more confident and was...happy.

Now, the thought that I had made it that far made me lose my focus and my concentration and I let it slide. Winter blues, damn you. Add to that a dusty gym membership (that I finally cancelled!) and no motivation at all to move from the warmth of my home-made Snuggee on the couch, I was done.

But now, despite my time-of-the-month bloatiness and painful lower back symptoms, I am attempting to get back into shape.

Evs has been killing it on the fitness front. To the point where he has lost so much weight that my parents are genuinely concerned with his health (didn't they know that by marrying their daughter he was signing up for a lifetime of love-induced pining???). His motivation has been to attempt the half-marathon this October. Plus, I just realised that signing up for the 10km run for the Melbourne Marathon (which happens to be a day after Evs' birthday and was done purely as a misguided attempt to support him) means I actually have to go through with running 10 k's and hopefully finishing.

But he has hot abs now...not that he didn't have a hot body before, but dude, this guy is TONED :P *Droooool*

So....Jillian Michael's '30 Day Shred' is something I came across just recently and instantly piqued my interest. A workout DVD that will help you melt away the inches in only 20 minutes a day?? I was sold.

Went kind of going into it with a huge mountainful of salt, because I wasn't so convinced that 20 minutes would be enough to move that stubborn love handles that have so lovingly made my hips, thighs and ass their home, even it WAS Jillian Michaels. But the scary looking picture of her ripped and toned on the DVD cover made me determined to try it.

The 30 Day shred works like this - 10 days at 3 different Levels of workouts to make 30 days. You lose inches, you feel great and...you probably want to kill Jillian by the end of it.

So Day 1, Level 1 now complete.

I surprisingly built up a sweat, my arms felt like they were getting a good workout (yay to cans of chickpeas for weights!) and my legs felt like jelly after doing those torturous lunges with bicep curls. I have atrocious balance and even when I was Body Pumping on a regular basis, the lunges would always get to me. My calves are quite sore and my abs feel like they have been stretched.

It's an interesting concept, for each level is further broken down into 3 circuits with a few minutes each of strength, cardio and ab-work. I quite like it because it's short but intense, and for someone like me who has a notoriously short attention span - it kept me focused and interested.

The only thing will be I have to do this same Level 1 workout for the next 9 days, so THAT may get a bit boring but as long as I am working out, I think I can handle it for 20 minutes.

I am also simultaneously cutting back on my diet - reducing the carbs, reducing the portions and cutting down on the wine (*sob*).

7-Day Challenge - Completed!!

It’s over.

It’s finally OVER.

I bet you’re all eager to hear the results then hey??

In a minute.

Let’s go back a week when I decided to partake in this 7-day challenge and live like a Neanderthal by cutting out one of life’s precious gifts – carbs in the form of grains/rice/potatoes. To make life even more miserable I also had to cut out sugar, processed food, alcohol (*sob* this was like a knife wrenching in my heart) and make the commitment to workout everyday until my legs, arms and other appendages firmed up or fell off.

I decided I would chronicle my eating habits and thoughts as I went along, and was mildly alarmed to see that yeah, THAT kinda died after a day or so. I was still counting my calories through Calorie King which gave me this almost perverse sorta pleasure to see day after day that I was UNDER my recommended calorie intake.

With the no-carbs rule, I struggled like a bound-up Mummy with no room to move (or eat as it was in this case) with every food I could see suddenly sprouting the forbidden nutrients. I managed to limit my fruit intake (although I have to be honest – there WERE days when I had an extra piece of fruit.) and up my protein intake by scouring the seas and eating every fish I laid my eyes on. Ok so it wasn’t that bad, as I had fish maybe 2-3 times during that week, lamb once and then the rest were veggie meals. I discovered that daal was my friend and found a recipe that my DAD used to lovingly prepare a daal with green beans meal for me while the rest of the family stuffed themselves with Pav Bhaji.

I drank lots and lots of water and chewed through a packet of gum every couple of days to keep the hunger away. It worked. Most of the time. But instead of giving into my sugar cravings as 3pm came around I ate a handful of nuts. Don’t be dirty peoples – I mean ALMONDS.

Oh and I cheated.

Ahem.

Monday night – the night where I went out for dinner and to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and laughed so hard that I almost peed my pants (saw Danny Bhoy if you are interested. Funny AND hot!! Plus he’s half Indian :P) – I was confronted with the plate of bruschetta in front of me.

And I had one. I started off by saying to myself that I’ll only eat the tomatoes on top of the crunchy bread…but then they were all gone and the piece of crusty, oil-drizzled, herb-infused bread invaded my senses (plus I was starving and the mains were taking ages!). So I ate it. And LOVED it :D

My workout routine stayed pretty much the same as it did before I started the challenge. I was at the gym three times a week doing high-intensity cardio classes or high-intensity strength training. The days I took off, I walked the dog for an average of 2.5km (~20mins to an hour all up) over a varied inclined route. For those days that Melbourne decided to bare her soul and let her tears fall (heavily with angry storms), I attempted to do some working out at home. But as we are being 100% honest here, it wasn’t much. The weekend was the hardest as the days were both packed with things to do that exercising seemed to be the last thing on my mind.

Now…fast-forward one week and with the added insight of my update post I can now give you the full picture.

Drum roll please….

Start Weight: 58.0kg
…
…
…

End Weight: 56.9kg!!!!

I lost 1.1 kilos in that one week. You have NO idea how triumphant that makes me feel! For months of trying to lose weight that has only slowly shifted two kilos over that time - to lose this much in a week is so, so encouraging.

As you may have read before – for the first time IN OVER A YEAR, I braved public scorn and ridicule and wore pants. No more hiding under skirts or dresses – I was HAPPY that I could venture out and look…decent. And all this happiness in just a one kilo loss!!

I FEEL better – not only because my body is now getting used to NOT eating carbs and exercising regularly, but because this small victory is all I needed to get motivated again.

I would like to just add the following advice:

• You CAN have carbs so you are NOT going to go hungry. When I say this I mean carbs in the form of beans (kidney beans, chickpeas) and lentils. Also with fruit which will also satisfy your sugar cravings.
• This IS a hard challenge to do if you are vegetarian or at least don’t know how to cook varied vegetarian foods. Because I found that most veg food contains the forbidden carbs in some form or another – potatoes/rice/grains. I found it a bit hard to think of stuff to eat that is filling and tasty (and not salads!!). HOWEVER, all is not lost – eat normally as you would WITHOUT the carbs. So make a veg subzi and just eat that with a daal. Make a salad and make it more filling by adding canned chickpeas to it. I am sure there are many, many resources available to help out.
• Be active everyday if you can. This challenge really does follow the most sensible way to lose weight – healthy food and regular exercise and it shows.
• PLAN your meals. It’s easy to get home and the added worry of having to think of food when you’re tired is annoying. Which means you might skip meals – DON’T!! Make more than normal so you can take it for lunch the next day!
• The 18-hour fast. I did it. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be as it was basically was like a skipping one meal. Just be sure that it isn’t breakfast like me lol. I was STARVING by the time I had to finish. Have a big meal beforehand if you can. Also…I am still not 100% sure of the actual reasoning of doing the fast but that since I did on the last day of the challenge, I believe it was the thing that pushed over those last couple of hundred grams.

So all in all – it worked well for me. I think that I am going to continue on this plan but not be as strict with the carbs – in the sense I am going to look for carb alternatives but if there is no other choice then I am not going to feel guilty over it.

As you can see, I didn’t do this challenge perfectly but I did it in a way that I was happy. While the affects of this will vary from person to person I definitely think that is something worth doing – just as a challenge to see if you can do it. It’s only one week (granted the LONGEST week in my life :P).

The weight loss will be the benefit.

**Cross posted at FF

7 Day challenge - Day 2

I can’t believe that I haven’t posted as yet! I was meaning to do this all day yesterday when some unforseen circumstances forced me to do other stuff (more on this later).

Day 2 (if I can remember it now!!) went fine. I was working for home for the most part which for me is bad. Really bad. Because I tend to get a lot more hungrier than if I was in the office and there is so much food at my disposal that I quite often over-snack and then skip lunch on the pretence that it doesn’t matter.

I woke up late on Day 2, actually late enough that what I had first thing in the morning could quite well be considered….brunch. I had the time and the inclination to make something substantial (after my banana breakfast the day before) and whipped up a really yummy omelette. Which was fine…until I got hungry an hour later. Aren’t eggs meant to fill you up???

I had a banana - which I know, I KNOW are full of sugar/carbs but I knew that if I had this now that I’d be fine until lunchtime. And I was. To the point that due to my heavy-ish meal before and the fact that I had been drinking water like a fish I only ended up eating a can of red salmon.

It was the first time I was eating salmon out of a can and to be honest – it wasn’t bad. I’ve noticed that I can eat as many fruits as needed and I never realised that (and I should have – duh – having a chemistry degree!!) that the natural sugars in the fruits are also carbs. And as I have a sweet tooth as it is I naturally gravitate towards fruits to be my sweet fix and think I’m eating healthier.

This challenge has challenged me to be more aware of the fruits I’m eating (only allowed three serves a day) which has been surprisingly hard to do. I’m the type who’ll pop some grapes into my mouth as I rummage through the fridge or snack on a plum between meals or have strawberries with my breakfast. So it was a bit of an effort to cut them down.

Since I was at home, I was able to make to it to the 5:30 Pilates class at the gym. I have always wanted to get into Pilates but since my gym only offers one class per week and at a time that is impossible to get to when working full-time, I don’t usually get the chance. So I rocked up, a little nervous, not knowing how hard the instructor would push us. I still had a spin class right after to get through.

The instructor walked in and I was left gaping with my mouth open. She was…in a word…HOT! Long, lean limbs…beautiful tanned skin…and the tiniest, perkiest butt you have ever seen. I was already half in-love with her before she even started. My adoration for fine physique quickly took a bit of a nosedive as she took us through torturous (well for me!! I have the grace of an elephant!!) exercises that made me realise that while I may have buns of steel, I also have some abdominal muscles hidden away. And the goddamn tricep push-ups she made us do!!! I hobbled out and sat my very sore butt cheeks onto the spin bike. I huffed and puffed my way through hills and races and felt my legs start to burn.

Evs had very kindly decided to make a Thai Chicken Curry for dinner and I was looking forward to having something tasty after a day of well…nuts and berries pretty much :P But since I couldn’t have rice, I ate the Chicken Curry as it was (it had LITE coconut milk in it – just a dash – which I am not sure means that I have totally stuffed up the diet but oh well…:P). I gobbled that down and stared wistfully as Evs clearly relished his meal WITH the fragrant basmati rice. Damn him.

I was exhausted after that workout but we managed to rouse ourselves and take Dex for a walk as well – nothing too long – just to my parent’s place and back (totalling 20-25 minutes return as we strolled) where they made more of a fuss over Dex than they ever have for me.

After the day’s work I noticed that I had more fat (38%) and protein (28%) in my diet compared to carbs (35%) overall. Interesting. Don't know if that's good or bad but we'll see at the end of the week.

Wednesday, 1st April 2009

Daily Summary

Food Energy In: 1137 cals Exercise Energy Out: 90 mins, -647 cals Net Energy: 490 cals Net Energy Budget: 1300 cals End Result: 810 Calories Under

Glasses of Fluid: 8 Steps: 0 Under

Breakfast

Item	Calories	kJs
10 slice (6g) of Vegetables, fresh: Mushrooms, raw	13	55
1/3 cup, chopped or sliced (180g) of Vegetables, fresh: Tomato, ripe, raw	11	45
1/4 pepper (45g) of Vegetables, fresh: Chilli Peppers, Red	5	19
1 serving (30g) of Cheese: Feta, Reduced-Fat	70	294
1 medium,170g with skin, 16cm/6" (110g) of Fruit, fresh: Banana, raw, edible portion	108	451
2 extra large (59g with shell) (53g) of Eggs: Chicken Egg, whole, raw, fresh, edible portion	152	634
Total	358	1498

Lunch

Item	Calories	kJs
1 serving, 105g can drained (79g) of John West: Fish, canned: Red Salmon, drained	137	575
Total	137	575

Dinner

Item	Calories	kJs
1/3 serving (14g) of Asia at Home: Pastes: Concentrate, Red Curry	7	31
1/3 serving (60mL) of Trident: Coconut Milk, fluid: Lite	17	72
1/2 cup, chopped or diced (140g) of Chicken Dishes: Breast, meat w. skin, boiled / steamed	138	578
1 tub (150g) of Vaalia: Yoghurt: Low-Fat, Passionfruit	155	644
Total	317	1324

Snack

Item	Calories	kJs
1 medium (100g) of Fruit, fresh: Plum, average all types, raw, edible portion	46	192
25 almond (1.2g) of Nuts: Almonds, raw, w. skin, edible portion	173	722
1 rounded teaspoon (1.8g) of Coffees: Coffee, Instant, Granulated, Ground (Regular or Decaffeinated), dry	4	18
1/3 cup (250mL) of So Good: Soy Drinks: Soymilk, Fat Free, Chilled and UHT	30	125
1 medium (138g) of Fruit, fresh: Apple w. skin	72	300
Total	325	1358

Exercise

Item	Calories	kJs
45 mins of Spinning	-519	-2172
45 mins of Pilates	-128	-536
Total	-647	-2707

7-Day Challenge: Day 1

The first day of this challenge and it's been ok. Nothing interesting really. I was actually a little disappointed that I didn't faint, suffer from massive hunger pains or die during the day.

I woke up feeling like something had hit me over the head and left a gaping hole in my stomach. Now usually I'd have a bowl of muesli or Special K with strawberries or my recent discovery - liquid breakfast (as gross as that sounds I'm always up for something that is quick and convenient) - tetra packs of Up & Go that I can have on my way to work. But since I wasn't allowed grains this made breakfast a little tough to figure out. I finally settled on a banana as I battled my way through peak hour traffic (who would have thought when heading AWAY from the city??).

As soon as I got in I knew I need caffeine. And fast. I'd inject it if I had to but luckily for me the coffee machine produced a half-decent skinny milk latte which I had without sugar.

So far so good.

I found that I was a lot more thirsty than I normally would be and drank quite a bit. Which is awesome because I always have trouble drinking enough water. I had my almonds and my fruit before lunch which kept me going.

Lunch was rajma - Evs had made some brown rice to go with it but again with the no grains/rice rule I had to forgo the brown ricey goodness. But I could still have the rajma.

Problem no.1 - there was no microwave at the client. And trust my luck to be at a place so high on security that I almost needed an escort for the loos. The only microwave was in a place so ,so far away that I wasn't going to risk my lunchbreak finding it. So I ate my rajma cold. Wasn't bad :D

The rest of the day went pretty fast - i wasn't as hungry as I thought I would be - it might have had something to do with the second coffee I had around 3pm.

Then I got stuck at the client because they all decided to disappear while we waitied to conduct our exit meeting and get out of there. I was getting impatient because while I knew the meeting was important (I wasn't planning on driving all the way back for a 15 minute briefing) every minute that ticked away was making it harder and harder for me to try and get to my Body Step class in time. FINALLY they showed up and I was out of there by 5:45pm. My class was at 6:30pm and I still had to drive across the suburbs in peak hour traffic, get changed and nab aspot near the fans.

This is important because it's a very popular class, to the point that it gets OVER-crowded and I usually end up feeling extramely faint and have to leave to gulp in some fresh air before I collapse. I think Lady Luck was on my side. Except for one...err...slight incident where I cut an angry motorist off (not my fault!!!) I zoomed my way there (adhering to the speed limits of course. Sorta :P) and made it in time.

Two hours later and a gruelling session of Body Step and Body Pump where my legs were all wobbly and arms aching, I was done. Dinner was simple - just some corn cobs and a green salad and I was full.

Day 1 was over.

Summary:

Tuesday, 31st March 2009

Daily Summary

Food Energy In: 897 cals Exercise Energy Out: 90 mins, -830 cals Net Energy: 67 cals Net Energy Budget: 1300 cals End Result: 1233 Calories Under

Glasses of Fluid: 8 Steps: 0 Under

Breakfast

Item	Calories	kJs
1 medium,170g with skin, 16cm/6" (110g) of Fruit, fresh: Banana, raw, edible portion	108	451
1 small container (220mL) of Coffee Shop: Caffe Latte, Skinny w. skim milk, no added sugar	70	297
Total	178	748

Lunch

Item	Calories	kJs
1 1 serving (197g) of Rajma Curry: Red Kidney Beans	230	961
Total	230	961

Dinner

Item	Calories	kJs
1 kernels from 1 ear (77g) of Vegetables, cooked: Sweetcorn, boiled	83	348
1/2 tablespoon (20mL) of Kraft: Salad Dressings: 100% Fat Free, Italian	5	23
1 serving (30g) of Cheese: Feta, Reduced-Fat	70	294
1 salad of Meals: Salads, Garden / Side Salad, small	100	420
Total	259	1085

Snack

Item	Calories	kJs
20 almond (1.2g) of Nuts: Almonds, raw, w. skin, edible portion	138	578
1 medium (100g) of Fruit, fresh: Plum, average all types, raw, edible portion	46	192
1 medium (100g) of Fruit, fresh: Plum, average all types, raw, edible portion	46	192
Total	230	962

Exercise

Item	Calories	kJs
45 mins of Body Pump	-415	-1737
45 mins of Body Step	-415	-1737
Total	-830	-3475

7 days...challenge?

Uhhh....

Why am I doing this??? I've tried Rad's challenge before and miserably failed. So what makes me think that I can do this??

Well, for one thing - I have done this before. Evs and I trialled a detox diet a few weeks ago that follows pretty much the same rules. This one is a little bit different with a few major changes:

• One week, starting tomorrow (Tuesday 31st March) to the next Tuesday. Okay, done. March 30th Thru April 06
• No sugars. That's easily done - don't have sugar with my coffee anyways and it's really only through fruit
  
• No Alcohol. Noooooo!!! Hahahah this'll be easy - wait....what about Friday night drinks...??*sob*
  
• No Grains. Nooooooo!!! Ahem. I love my carbs. Which is what has probably gotten me into this mess in the first place. I did it before with the detox diet but man was it HARD. No wheat or rice. We had to eat gluten free for the whole time....yech.
  
• No processed foods. Yup, this can be done.
  
• Not eat out at all. Dammit - I just promised to go to lunch tomorrow with some friends. I'm sure a salad will be ok :D
  
• Workout everyday. Will try this one - I go three times a week as it is so the other days going to go for at least an hour walk (~3km)
  
• Eat veggies. Done
  
• Eat Fruits. Oh so done.
  
• Eat meat and eggs. Woohoo - at least I don't have to starve!! :D
  
• Fast for 18 hours. Oh what??!!! This will be the toughest I think.....

I am going to try and blog about my progress with this every day - either here on on Twitter (you know for those updates when I want to scream or about to faint :P).

Ok....here's the vital stats:

Start weight - err.....58 kilos (*in a small voice*)

Goal weight....hmm....let's hope for a 1kg loss shall we?? I haven't had much luck with the weight dropping off as fast as it should be so a 1kg loss is a realistic and hopeful goal. If this works - it might be something to continue.

Wish me luck!!!