4 weeks of baby steps…

I have neglected you all dreadfully (well, by ‘you all’ I do mean the 20 or so of you who drop by here every day or so to see if I’ve bothered to update – or maybe it’s one person 20 times. Who knows?) Anyway, hello!

This is in part to do with the fact that I have been frightfully busy concentrating on my Camden Fringe play which has gone really well and been reviewed with 4 stars or whatever it is out of 5 they’ve given us on the review site.

It is also due to the fact that although every day lots is happening on the healthy eating and dietary front, it would be a bit tedious to update you with every apple, plum and pack of sliced meat I open. Unless you’re into that, in which case, drop me a line and I can set up a webcam of me opening fruit punnets and spooning out cottage cheese onto salad leaves…no. Seriously. Don’t. I’m kidding.

So, in the last 12 days, I have lost (runs to spreadsheet – actually not runs – I have dual screens! Whoop, clicky, THERE!) 1.5lbs. Which might sound slow to you hardened dieters out there, but remember that I am starting to replace my glycogen stores (7lbs of my weightloss will have been glycogen so I am doing a weird lose fat/replace glycogen tit-for-tat thing as I return to food) The important thing at this stage is not to go straight to eating 3 square meals a day at 1800-2000 calories with processed carbs otherwise my body will go ‘TADAAAAAA! Here is your glycogen, BACK! ALL IN ONE GO! THREE SHINY POUNDS FOR YOU LADY!’

That is basically what the first 6-8 weeks of this conversion from using foodpacks to food is all about.

For the first two weeks, you keep it very simple and ‘clean’ as they say. White protein, green salads, getting your tummy used to food again.

The second two weeks or so, you are supposed to start having breakfast lunch and dinner – 150 cals of cereal/dairy or fruit breakfast a green salad and a food pack for lunch and a white protein plus low GI veg/small portion of starchy veg for dinner. I have sort of kept to that but eschewed the cereal/slice of bread/starchy veg options for more bulk in the form of low GI fruit and veg.

The next step, 1200 again introduces larger portions. I have kept to minimising cereals and carbs and replaced that with some nuts/peanut butter (mainly because I don’t eat soya protein/quorn and was starting to get tired of cottage cheese and good quality chicken is really really expensive).

Last week I was on quite an exhausting schedule of running, long rehearsals and performances so I was probably consuming about 1500-1600 cals a day with all the fruit and veg and nuts. I agreed to go easy on myself as it was all so stressful. So as I said last week, I was freestyling it slightly. But my day in day out calries bured v calories consumed = pounds lost calculator now has 4 weeks of data and in that 4 weeks I should have lost 6.5lbs, which I have, to the letter – so  my tracking seems to be accurate!

After last week’s slightly stressed eating patterns (I am much less nibbly this week – by now I would have been looking for a mid-morning snack, this week I’m good until lunch and not that hungry, so anxiety is definitely still a factor) So I am back to consuming as close to 1200 calories a day as I can get it, I have cut out the nuts and the peanut butter so I’m back in the advised fruit and veg and protein zone. Once I’ve got through this week of being back on the book, I’ll start to add in a bit of brown rice or wholegrain couscous etc – one step at a time, eh?

Exercise, I have stuck pretty rigidly to the running timetable. I am easily doing 5ks now as my standard run…and I have started running them at my old race pace when I weighed 2 stone heavier, so I am reasonably confident that I can start smashing all my old records! I’ve swum a couple of miles, cut back on the weights work whilst the rehearsing and line-learning got frantic and have rescheduled my exercise schedule where rehearsals and gym opening did not permit and I didn’t allow a change of plans or a dreadful blister (seriously it really hurt and was in a place I couldn’t avoid rubbing it) to ruin my flow, so I have now kept to 7 full weeks of a training plan without dropping a session!

I’ve started adding in a couple of sessions of crosstrainer work, mainly so I can keep my calorie burn/heart rate up without pounding my joints. It’s a lazyarsed way of phoning in the calorie work, but if it gives me an extra 1000 calories a week to play with and stops a 1lb a month from creeping back on, then that is what I must do!

I’m really really pleased with my progress. I’m happy to take this long and slow route off the diet.

So that’s where I am. Almost 7lbs off in the last calendar month and I’ve been eating and not feeling deprived for most of it! And I’ve had a few things that aren’t in the book and I didn’t let it take me off track permanently. Hurrah!

Still…can’t quite relax just yet…must keep working at it until it’s not just second nature, but ‘just what I do’.

Five months on

What a difference a day makes (and 5 months) It was my 5 month anniversary of starting this diet yesterday AND I TOTALLY FORGOT! I’m 5 and a half stone down in 5 months. It would have been nice to get the 6, but it’s not about the big bang WHOOP LOOK AT HOW MANY LBS I LOST IN NO TIME AT ALL, magazine cover story this time. It is about, getting to healthy and getting off the packs healthily and making my mind and body happy and calm after 5 months of controlled famine. And I don’t want to do what I did last time – take me down to a weight where I feel both weak and insubstantial and paranoid and then to cap it all off reintroduce the one thing in the world that calmed me down when I was feeling panicky.

It’s really quite difficult knowing what to post here at the moment as every day is a sort of experiment….wait and see….experiment….wait and see….wake up….weigh….stayed the same…wake up weigh – weight going down again….try small portion of new food…wait and see. And then there have been the riots, which sort of affected me a teensy bit – nothing major for me other than having to buy all my food in the City rather than in my considerably lower-rent and cheaper North London supermarket, and yes there were attempted lootings by my house, but no, we just carried on as normal…apart from Tuesday night which was a bit – odd.

All going well – no sudden splurges, 3 weeks of low GI, low fat mainly low calorie (there have been 2 days when I came close to my actual recommended daily calorie intake for a lady of my weight and height (but not quite up to my activity levels! – some days I have been burning 3500 cals! I KNOW!)

I just did a check of my calorie burn with conservative estimates (ie knocking down my BMR as much as I can to allow for any ‘your metabolic rate is slower after  a VLCD’ type stuff – I think that’s rubbish in my case, but I am prepared to admit that it’s best to keep your calorie intake not much higher than 1500 a day for around the same amount of time you were VLCDing before) – at the weekends I am burning over 3000 cals a day (I think this Sunday came out at about at that aforementioned 3500), during the week I am burning about 2350 a day on run days and 2100 on shred or swimming days – and those are very very conservative estimates…so bearing in mind that in the last week I have had two days where I was on around 1700 cals…I assume that’s why my glycogen replacement isn’t playing merry hell with my weight!

At the end of next week I am going to attempt adding 40g of brown rice or couscous to one of my meals and maybe have a handful of potatoes a couple of times a week…and maybe it’s time to venture into the world of DAH DAH DAAAAH! The Sweet Potato.

Just to keep you up to date…things seem to be going well – if I stay the same tonight that’s a consistent loss of 4lbs over 2 weeks which is fantastic at the VLCD/food handover stage (particularly with the amount I’ve been eating – well – it’s way more than the book recommends and it seems like a lot to me, but without starchy carbs and fat its very easy not to start blowing the calorie budget)

Lets compare it to my fall from grace off Lighter Life. By this stage I was eating either sugar or junk food every other day…I have a record of my behaviour for my first 23 days of RTM on Lighter Life – I was pretty much sugar-bingeing for 2-3 days and then getting back on track for 2-3 days. So I know it is different this time. I am also wayyyy more structured, organised and disciplined with my exercise (at 146lbs I was barely able to run a mile – I can easily run 3 at over a stone heavier). I am burning a minimum of 3000 calories a week off in exercise…and that’s just my scheduled runs, swims and shreds. As my BMR reduces with my weight, my activity levels/instensity/distance are also slowly increasing…so there’s a slow but steady progression and handover of calories consumed to burned taking place.

In summary, I am freestyling my stepping up very slightly  but only in a kind of ‘cut out the processed cereal/starchy veg options and replace them with more fruit, veg and protein’ kind of way. (This time I’m taking nowhere near the liberties I was taking coming off LL – there has been 0% chocolate and 0% cake!

Today I realised that I am doing it! I am eating food and I’m not Sole Sourcing any more and I have been doing it for almost three weeks and other than picking at a modicum of party food at my grans on Monday, everything I have eaten has been on the list of food I am supposed to be eating. Even when I went slightly off plan on Monday I still ate less than the calories I expended that day (and it was a rest day for exercise!)

Just waiting to hit the magical 159lbs which means I am 10lbs away from my healthy goal. It’ll feel like the real beginning of the end at that point. Losing the next 5lbs carefully is really really important to me. I have to get this absolutely bang on.

Big big big Post Post POST

Hello hello hello, Back once again…I have been ALL THE BUSY ALL THE TIME. Apart from when I was relaxin’ but then I was busy relaxin’ – you wanna make something of it? Last week was being in a play…busy busy busy, just time for foodpacks and cottage cheese and salad, really. A marathon of a post now begins for a marathon of a week and month…oh – and I have stated doing the shred again.

Wednesday 27th July
On Wednesday night after the play I had my first ‘You have to stop the diet now’ from exactly the person I suspected I would hear it from! I did say ‘I’m 12 stone, luv, I’m not skinny, really’ and brushed it off…but you always know you’re near (ish) then end when those comments start! I forgot to take my packs out with me and we had a photo call straight after work – so I couldn’t come home on my way to the theatre. So…I had my bar for breakfast like I always do (its the only thing that gets me to sleep in the evenings – knowing that when I wake up I’ll have a bar!) and forgot to have a second morning pack or take my emergency bar (almost typed bra). So I popped to M&S – checked the chicken – it all had sugar on it – bloody hell M&S, you take all the nasty fats out of your food and go organic on eggs but you cover all your meat in sugar??? Idiots. I got one of those 100g packs of turkey and had that with some salad – the salad was not an 810 salad as it had beetroot and carrot, and dear readers, I ate the entire 360g bowl of it (IT WAS 75 CALS!) my lunch was 175 cals – less than a peanut crunch! Woah was turkey and little bits of cucumber an awesome combination. Total taste sensation – I love this stage of the food return where everything tastes BRILLIANT! (This did lead to a brief overnight gain which was lost the following day – but it could have been the heat in the theatre or TotM or a number of other things so I didn’t sweat it) I then had a small tub of v low fat cottage cheese to cover my milk and remaining protein ration…and I’m having two packs now (it’s 11pm – I had one pack 30 mins ago).

Did I feel non-ketotic (I know it’s not a word)? Mayyyybe…just a bit…but I feel good and on stage tonight I went for it hell for leather in my big speech at the end of the play at about 9.30 and had everyone rolling about and I did feel sliiightly dizzy when I bent over to take a dramatic deep breath…so yeah – I feel justified in eating cos who knows what would have happened if I hadn’t had something today. So yeah – this is interesting – I feel strong and secure…the most important thing coming back onto food is feeling safe and comfortable and easy in oneself, doubt and insecurity return with the scary carb monster.

Just a couple of thoughts – I am spending all week in a girl’s dressing room, there are bags and bags of sweeties and choccies, the bag nearest my bit of the dressing room mirror is Caramel Nibbles. Listen to that name, doesn’t it sound like a piece of heaven? I look at them longingly, but I won’t even touch the bag. I know that one would lead to a concentration loss as I try to source more sugar. Seriously. You can have bloody carrots, or peas or artisoddingchokes or even steak at this stage – I’d probably chance a small handful of brown rice if I were desperate, but chocolate? Nah – it’d be game over for me. I am not going near sugar for as long as possible.

Another thought, all the other actors are BOILING in our tiny dressing rooms…I am cool as a ketotic cucumber – actually – that’s how I know I’m still in ketosis, everyone was dripping with sweat backstage and I was sitting there like it was an ordinary temperature. Hurray! Cambridge has ADVANTAGES!

Thursday 28th July
It is 20 weeks since I started, I am here in my slightly loose size 12 pinstripe high waisted trousers and my very fitted silk shirt from Mexx. 20 weeks, eh? 20 weeks to go from a size 20-22 to a size 12. Not too shabby! Despite being briefly back in the 12s (by 0.6 of a lb) I am the same size as I was at 11.5st on Lighter Life. In fact my hips are almost an inch smaller!

I have looked at the magic spreadsheet, and since stopping the Shred and starting the running, I have only lost 6lbs in 4 weeks. This stone was the toughest stone to lose on Lighter Life back in 2007 – but also the most dramatic one…it’s the one that takes you from being a 12-14 to being what people see as actually slender (nay skinny with these blimmin’ cheekbones and collar bones – if I get one more comment I’m going to start stuffing kapok in my cheeks like a toy hamster)

So let’s have a little think about that 6lbs in 4 weeks. I’ve lost 2 inches off my waist and my hips and an inch off my bust and my thighs and my tummy pooch has definitely diminished and my size 12s are fitting like a dream – so stuff is happening – it’s just not happening in the weight department! So I keep tracking what happens with my weight – but the sales seem strangely irrelevant to me at the moment, I know 7lbs is just going to vanish when I least expect it, but it’s knowing WHEN. Ah well – looks like I just have to be patient and stick to the plan.

Have I ever told you how much I hate having my emergency second bar with me in the office? I love my bars…love love love every sawdusty peanutty weird milky soy (I hate soy in the real world) bite…so much so I am contemplating doing my hard fast run RIGHT NOW so I can justify having it!! Calm down dear, it’s only a soy protein bar!

I have not seen an old friend in a Very Long Time and I have booked him and I into one of London’s best steak restaurants on the 2nd September for his b-day (I have a special dining rewards cheque which I can sue towards the tasty meat) – it’s cool for me as I can order Just Meat and Just Veg in a weight/portion size that’s right for me (I even asked him if we could meet later so I have time to get a 50 min run in before we sit down to make sure I am in the food burning zone – Get Me!)

Today after work I had about 100g of tuna in spring water (threw away the rest of the tin as I wasn’t taht bothered by it after a few mouthfuls) and some celery to get through the evening. So not quite the day I’d planned, but still – 3 packs plus a Sole Source Plus ish meal…I’ve made a new sexy spreadsheet that tracks the type of day I am doing with a food list and space to track the weight and the day and the version of Cambridge I am doing as it looks like I’m going 810 as of next week and I want to keep a food diary to see what foods work well and what doesn’t work so well – not sure why I find this so much easier than Route to Management on Lighter Life, but I do. I just don’t feel desperate to eat and I’m just trying stuff out bit by bit.

I had to hand round the chocolates in the dressing room tonight. Again – so not bothered. One of my castmates from Clockwork Orange came to see me and was totally gobsmacked about my weightloss (I lost 3 stone whilst I was in Clockwork with him, but clearly this last 2 stone has made the difference!

Came home, haven’t had a 4th pack…just a cuppa.
Friday 29th July
I had a prawn and cottage cheese salad for lunch. I’m working from home which makes a gym visit a tad tricky as my home gym is 20 mins walk away – I could peg it out of the door at 5pm and do a quick run from 5.30 – 6 and thereby just miss one run this week (and really not even that as I will do a full run on Sunday which is optional anyway)

Saturday 30th July
Finished the play – did well – had a rehearsal for the other plays early in the morning, lots of running around so my breakfast was a bar, a shake, 2 eggs – so many calories all at once – not sure it took me out of ketosis as people often say it does, I did feel a bit ‘munchy’ afterwards though – problem is I was too busy to do it any other way. When I got to rehearsal I had a pot of low fat cottage cheese which is obviously over my protein allowance, but I never have my 810 milk allowance so, swings and roundabouts – and my total calories for the day would have been 850 and that’s just because I had two bars (didn’t get home til gone midnight).

And now that play’s over, on with the rest of my life!

I had a bar at 5ish after the matinee. And that was it really – I was far too tired to go to the cast party
Sunday 31st July The decision to 810
So I think I’m officially doing 810 now. I think it’s because now (one of) the play(s) is over I want to up my exercise and I think August is going to be a good month for The Shred. If I Shred through August and stay 810 for the next 3 weeks and then 1000 from that point (I’ve gone through the kind of stabilisation process on 810 as I’ve been doing it for the last week so I shouldn’t see any gains now) I should lose about 8lbs by September – and regardless of weight loss, I should lose 2 inches off my waist and hips taking me to a perfect 10. Then September will be about stepping up from 1000-1200 and getting to a healthy BMI whilst stabilising.

Yesterday made me impossibly grumpy – we were in a dressing room that had got increasingly uncomfortable throughout the day, due to the fact we had 9 women in a space about 6ft by 10ft wide with no real ventilation and people were using aerosols – I was almost choking and all I could taste was hairspray and I had nothing to take the taste away – everyone was chowing down on juicy sweets like winegums – it would have helped alleviate my foul temper, but I just couldn’t do it even though I was offered the bag a hundred times. Everyone was ‘You can have a glass of wine now, surely?’ And the host of the party said ‘I’ll order in chinese when we get to mine – their noodles are fantastic) afterwards. So I left quietly before I had to evade the awkward questions and offers of any more food.

I can’t see any good reason to SS any more other than speed and that’s not the issue here – the issue is bringing food pack in a relaxed manner – I get on fine with 810ing – with a few small exceptions, I can’t find meat that I would find acceptable to eat that is also allowed…ready packed chicken and turkey in the right sort of quanities is rarely organic or even remotely humane – and when you do find a humane source of white protein, most of them have dextrose and sugar or honey in the preparation. I may just have to go and get some organic chicken breasts and poach them and freeze them. Luckily I love love love cottage cheese, eh? I don’t have time to be mucking about with chick peas at the moment and I do not eat quorn or tofu.

Today I really upped my exercise! I walked 4.6 miles to the gym and the heath and back through Archway to my home. At the gym I did a 4.2k run (2.6 miles) so next week I’ll be definitely up for trying a long slow 5k for my Sunday run. I was all red and sweaty so I walked up to the Ladies Pond and did 3 laps – which I believe is about 750m – and certainly based on the time I was in the pond and the speed I was swimming (bl**dy fast to warm up!) that’s about the distance I’d expect to have done.

Then just wandered home gently…about 800 cals in exercise. I had a bit of extra protein so it was probably more like 1000 cals today but without carbs and a third pack instead. I rather like this way of eating. It’s obviously not permanent…carbs will need to come back soon. Still – a nice day off from everything after the stress of the play.

Monday 1st August
I’ve lost 30% of me! The scales finally shifted by 2lbs overnight despite having about 4 times as much salad as I am supposed to have (still only 100 cals of salad, but still) Body fat is finally creeping down towards the 20s, I am now a safe distance away from the 12s and I am less than 11st 12.

It’s my official Weigh Im tonight for the first time in 3 weeks, so not a moment too soon!! My consultant is on holiday for the next 2 weeks so I will be buying 2 weeks of 810 packs and 1 week of 1000 packs (I do have 7 emergency packs in my home stocks anyway so if I want to 810 for any longer, that remains an option. But here we go…the beginning of the end!)

Also if you look at my BMI it is creeping now towards being under 27. Under 27 is where “I” feel healthy…never mind what the doctor says.

I swam 10 miles in July! I ran more than a marathon! This month will be the same for swimming and running with the added joy of Shredding. Tonight will be my first night back on The Shred (it’ll be easier this time as I have 2 more free nights a week!)

I shall be Shredding up to the 30th August. I have taken my start measurements, by 30th August I plan to be a 36-27-37 (M&S 12 on top and 10 on the bottom) I’d also like to lose 12lbs by the end of the month so that I am in the 10s – but hey – I know I’ll lose those inches under Jillian’s guidance.

At weigh in I was 7lbs off – my consultant was a bit…hmmm…but I’ve been 810ing, it was a hot day and the tape measure proves I lost a dress size in 3 weeks. LOOK AT MY FACE! I AM SKELETOR!

I got the big book of Cambridge which I didn’t even know existed! My Consultant apologised and I said ‘No no, I deliberately didn’t take it otherwise I would have spent the last 20 weeks getting ahead of myself’ But now I know the mysteries of 1000…they have been unlocked. Annoyingly though it’s all stuff I can’t be arsed with! Berries and apples, cool. But I don’t ever eat cereal or museli or granola type things or yeeeeeeuch, Shredded Wheat or porridge and I really want to give bread a wide wide berth for much longer. So 1000 for me may well be low GI fruit and the odd starchy veg. So I should do well on it. I’ll add carby stuff in on 1200. But bread? Now? Disaster are for me, I think. Anyway – next Weds is my 5 month anniversary of starting…I’ll be sticking well and truly to 810 for that period as if I guess correctly I am now in the point in my cycle where I’ll probably drop a few pounds and suddenly – I have to go for a picnic at my Gran’s next Monday for her 89th so it’ll be cool to have a spot of chicken salad.

SHRED TWO: THIS TIME I HAVE 6lb WEIGHTS – DAY ONE

Life slowly returns to normal and with more food going in, I did the Shred again today. I did one entire set of full press-ups without thinking about it and used double weights apart from the anterior raises that everyone has problems with! But I did everything, bouncier and faster and on Natalie level and I used light weights on the cardio…In 2 months I have become so much fitter than when I started the Shred in – was it early June? I didn’t even balk at the bicycles – I couldn’t even do ONE back in June!

DAY TWO
Well only 12 hours had passed by my press-ups were better and more, I used the lighter weights in the first strength set as a result of doing so many press-ups and I dropped the weights in the final cardio set which made the punching seem pathetic! I’m only faintly stiff…but doing well.

810 Food

Supper last night was chick pea curry made with 80g dried chickpeas, a spot of 0% yoghurt and Baharat and mint and cucumber and a couple of frozen spinach bricks. I am having about triple/quadruple the allowed veg at this stage (which is still less than 100 cals in total), but I have been 810ing for a week and I exercise about 500-800 cals a day unless I’m on my one set rest day (Friday) so I think I can afford the additional carbs. Well – here goes the rest of my life…this is so much easier and calmer and less obsessive than Lighter Life…I think it’s the lack of psychobabble and fretting and sitting in a room of people who look like they’re off a prisoner of war documentary. I jest only slightly – I remember looking round that room of people with no glycogen and a BMI of 21 and me with a BMI of 23.5 thinking I was fat and suddenly going ‘Woah – this is genuinely EFFED UP’ Here I am with my tummy full of simple food, still in ketosis – a pack to go and not in the least hungry for it, a BMI of 27, ready to gently step back into the world of food, slowly and surely.

A week of no change, and then all change…

I do like a nice regular blog, which this hasn’t been this week, for which I do apologise – I’m just at the boring no scales movement, no interesting food event horizons, no personal revelations phase of Just Getting The Diet Finished.

But then interesting things are allllways happening…this week I’ve had people chipping at me…’you’ve lost enough’.

Okay then, time to be brave…a slightly unflattering (but still pretty awesome) photo coming right up…

Can you see where that stone or so that makes me technically overweight might be? My top half, size 10-12, my hips, tummy and thighs, around a 12-14. Now don’t get me wrong, I look good, I know that, this is not body dysmorphia corner, I am not the Sunday Express zooming in on my wobbly bits and pointing them out for the world to see, I look awesome, considering that just 4 and a half months ago I was tipping the scales into morbidly obese. Also, I’ll confess the jeans are a bit unflattering and I should have tucked my pockets in before I got up on stage. (This is me doing my performance poetry bit at the Urban Physick Garden in Southwark, which is a lovely haven of tranquility)

So – yeah – I got some fat to shed. And it’ll go in the next 4 weeks. I have no doubt in my mind about that!

On the exercise front since last Sunday I have kept up with my 1mile to 5k plan – I did my first 2 mile run on Tuesday 19th July, a 1.5mile fast run on Thursday, a 2 mile mediumish paced run on Saturday and yesterday (Sunday 24th) I did a 30 minute long slow run. I swam just over a mile on Sunday and 800m on Saturday. I took it easy and simple last week as I was out every night and working hard all day every day – just keeping up with my running and swimming. I’ll reintroduce weights next week.

I’m getting so so many compliments at the moment. I must seem a little churlish sometimes as when people I barely know say ‘You’ve lost weight’ I am never quite sure what to say other than ‘Yes I have!’

Oh – there was a food incident last Monday! Here’s my diary note:

OMG I had the fierce hunger today and no mistake. Jaysus. And it was a quiet day physically…go figure. I know it was partially tiredness and also all the planning to see when I come off this stage and thinking about 810 meals…and it was easy enough to ride out…I perused the protein section of M&S at St Pauls but luckily that’s like the most expenisve M&S in the world (13 quid for some prawns? I THINK NOT) so if you ever need putting off buying munchies, do go there!

Did rehearsal – about to have my soup – day 131 done…so so close to the magic 167…first time in the 11s since all the rubbish stuff started to happen back in 2008!

And the week wasn’t without its dramas…My rent is going up like most people living in central London, by 16% – it usually goes up by about 3-4%. I tried to be a grown-up about it and I’ll find out this week if it’s all okay and if it isn’t, well I’ll just have to ride it out for another 6 months.

So tired and my weightloss has slowed again over the last two weeks. I know I’m getting smaller as all my 14s are too big for me by far, but when you’re trying to hit a BMI and you know that you’re running out of time and money…well – it’s a royal pain. I know it will take about 6 weeks to get there depending on how ridiculous the scales are. I just want it to be 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 and me done at this stage. Which is a reversal of what I usually think, but I am now under ridiculous pressure because of my money-grabbing landlord.

Anyway…today is Get In day for one of my plays, I have to go to the theatre now and spend all day tech-ing – learning all the cues to enter and exit and practising the scary ‘Dance of Death’ and dress-rehearsing – luckily because the director is brilliant, we’ve been practising in close to full dress for over a week so a lot of those nerves and issues are removed – must leave now to go and buy white underwear! – Re that dance…I quipped that it would be safer to end the play with a roller disco – there are 16 of us swirling about a tiny stage for the bows at the end. We are all going to die!

So there you go – I hope you consider yourselves fully updated. I’ll be around but possibly not very updatey unless the blimmin’ scales decide that I am 11st something – then I’ll come and shout it from the hilltops!

 

Who are you and what have you done with my weekend?

Well – I am quite sleepy now…have thrown a food pack over the floor…I never know what to do when I lose about 10% of a pack – will I die from malnutrition? Moot point today as due to all the exercise I did, I’ll probably do a 4 pack day anyway – but this is why Lighter Life was such a pain back in the day! No 4th pack option!

Yesterday I went to rehearsals in the dreary July rain and had to pretend to be sexy whilst miming having my pasport photo taken – we worked hard and fast and then I drizzled across town to my new volunteering project which was very exciterating (it’s a word, IN MY MIND) and then I had to walk miles to find a bus – thanks TfL – if you are going to close 4 bus stops in a row, maybe suggest where the nearest working bus stop is, huh?

Did a light gym session – was SO not feeling the running – I was down for a 2.8k run but I just could not get into it – so I just sort of ran a bit walked a bit for 3.2k – I cut myself a bit of slack as long as I’m getting three runs in a week. Swam 400m and came home and chilled – which is a lot nicer now I don’t have a b*ggerload of lines to learn – I just have to keep revising them the night before the relevant rehearsal.

This morning – up with the lark – have decided to knock 6 Week Six Pack on the head for the moment as I’m more into the running routine and I really won’t be able to do Jillian the week of the play without losing sleep time (I won’t get home til after 11pm each night and won’t get to sleep til gone midnight and sleep is waaaaaay more important han my abs at the moment.) It’s a shame that gyms don’t have DVD rooms where you can go and stick your DVD on otherwise it would be easy to fit it into my lunchbreak – perhaps I could hire a presentation room at work! (no – really, I’m not that crazy – Jillian can wait 2 weeks – I may go back to The Shred in the meantime!)

So yeah, today I walked a mile and a bit to the gym, ran 25 minutes with no complaints funny how running and my body’s a completely moody cow like that – one day ‘Ptthhhhh’ the next day ‘WHOOOO RUNNING! AWESOME!’ – had a little 5 minute Level 10 on the cross-trainer practice run – went fine – heartrate a little high but Level 10′s way higher than I usually do. And then I swam 1500m (I keep typing swan instead of swam…I don’t swan (much, and certainly not for those distances)) then rehearsal. I am a tad tired, so I shall rest.

I am teetering on the cusp of 12st 1. I assume that this week will see some hot 11st something action. Blimey!

Oh – we had a costume run today…looky here! (I am wearing double layered calico with insufficient and incorrect underwear so I look a bit lumpier than I should!)

So that was my weekend. I am a Very Busy Girl!

An interesting day.

Work was busy to the max. Faintly annoying, kinda fun – went quickly. I was all set to go to the Ladies pond after work, but I finished late and I have a very busy day tomorrow and loads of line learning so I didn;t take the 214 bus to the pond. I waited for my usual bus. And waited. When it showed up (the bus starts from my stop) the driver went upstairs to do the check for bombs and what have you – he left the handbrake off. It rolled slowly into the bus stop post, lifted the paving slab and buckled the shelter frame so that the glass shattered. All over me. My rucksack, my face…cut a long story short, poor wman next to me had huge chuncks sticking out of the back of her neck. It wasn’t until people asked me if I was okay that I thought ‘oh – yeah – I have glass in me’ I’m find – just tiny surface scratches. It could have been way worse. I got the paramedics to brush me off a bit and came home. I figured being at home with my foodpacks was way better for me than 5 hours of slipping down the triage queue cos I had no obvious damage other than being a bit shaky and glassy.

To add insult to injury – the bus we got afterwards basically made us all trudge through the glass again (I quipped to my fellow commuters “Just what I need, more glass”) but hey – I’m home now.

But that’s not even today’s big news. Today’s big news is THIS:

On April 12th after about 20lbs lost, I looked like this:

Today, before getting showered with glass…

This! Rodeo positon is so you can see my waist without my arms hiding it!

Three Quarters of the way There. Wherever “there” is

On my magic day by day spreadsheet, it tells me that I am on Day 126 and there is a comment flag “3/4 of the way there” Which is sort of what I used to stare at in those hard first few weeks where you sit there willing each second to pass. The ‘there’ refers to when I can start eating again…which at my current rate of predicted weightloss is about 7lbs over my top healthy BMI – but I’m not that bothered about getting back to food and shopping and washing up and all that…but I do have to go back sometime. I thought about starting to add a meal today – after all – I’ve started running and I’ll be on the 2 miles next week…and I want to start doing longer, harder workouts than I have been doing…

Strange thoughts…yesterday looked like being a slightly overwhelming day – I had to prioritise and damn quickly and do a lot of figuring things out and working out what to jettison and what I could get away with. I made all the right choices, but watch how it affected or could have affected my workout. Yesterday was Tuesday – the first run of the 2nd week of my 1mile – 3 mile training programme. I’m not quite feeling the running yet – the old joy is there fleetingly, but by no means consistently. My plan chaging meant there was no earthly way I could get my planned 6 week six-pack workout in, meaning I would ‘fail’ at the 5 times a week minimum I had set myself. Me? Failing a challenge? NOOOOOOO! So you can imagine how my negative thoughts started cycling as I walked to a gym where I hadto do a run I didn’t particularly feel geed up for. I started running. I did about 1.18k (just under half my allocated run and just knocked back the speed to a walk. ‘What’s going on?’ I asked my inner whiny voice. ‘I don’ wanna’ ‘Okay – then we’ll walk’ ‘It’s enough – I’ve worked hard, you forgot to get a nice bottle of waer to drink at the halfway mark, you know you need 100ml of water after your first mile and YOU DIDN’T DO THAT SO I DON’T HAVE TO RUN’ ‘Okay…so do you propose I got back and fill out that spreadsheet with 1.2k?’ ‘Well…no…’ ‘Could you do another 1.2k?’ ‘Yeah, that first one was boring, but easy’ ‘How about we see if we can join them up – it still counts and it’ll be easier – why give up when we’re half way’. Reader I did another mile. I had to kick and scream a little inwardly after the 1.2k – but it’s all about the playing a game with the weird little voice.

And how did I feel when I had run 2.8 k in total (and probably done over 3k on the treadmill)? About a mile tall – running makes fat fly off my hips…at my Weigh In I was 2 inches off my hips on the previous week. It means I go into my next run knowing I’m more than capable of the distance.

And the Jillian Michaels DVD traumatraumatraumaOMGFAIL? Forgotten…if I have to take three days off working my abs, then that is what I have to do. I’m doing a swim today, I have a long long rehearsal tonight and I will get back on the Six-pack wagon tomorrow. The running is more important to my general fitness and fat percentage than that core work – sure I am running them in tandem, but I am a busy girl and some days there will be sacrifices, but I am working out for 30-90 mins 6 days a week so although I’m not killing myself out there, we also have to remember I am maintaining a VLCD and a very active busy life at the moment so I’m doing brilliantly. Credit where it’s due, lady!

You know what else my spreadsheet says? HORSE. What does that mean? It means it’s time to start horseriding…I’m at a weight where I can have a horse I’d feel comfortable about handling – it’s always one of the benchmarks of being a normalish weight for me!

This autumn I want my Sundays to be Iyengar class followed by horse riding a walk and a Sunday roast. 

Dear Amazon…

When I order this…

I do not expect…this…

How did this even happen? I have never even clicked on One Tree Hill or seen an episode – how?!
The delivery note and the website said I had received 55 mins of Hi-octane Jillian Michaels funtime torture, the box, however, contained 20 hours of snoozeworthy light drama. I sent it right back.

To add insult to injury, when you return something that’s their mistake you don’t get the option of printing a pre-paid postage label so you have to fork out for the return and queue at the Post Office. GRRRRRRRR.

Anyway – the rest of my Amazon order was books. They got all of those right and there shall be book reviews and thoughts galore a-coming up.

Today is a full no-exercise rest day. I am doing nothing. No rehearsal, no dancing, no class, no er – running or DVDS – not even any yoga. Nothing. It feels weird, but I am not losing weight at the moment so I am hoping a rest day might shock the scales into action! (Bad Science) also I am due a rest day. So – nuh!

Anyway…yesterday I did Six-Pack…I have a confession – I was so stressed taht I stopped it 3 minutes before the end. I had stuff to do – I then followed the DVD with 45 minutes of scrubbing and cleaning so I made up for it – but – I am not feeling the 6 Week Six-Pack mojo – I find the routine a bit dull – but the results – not so dull – I am getting so many compliments about my shape!

I feel slinky, oh so slinky!

Hard Core, you know the score

3rd session DONE! I can now do evil sideplank things – but only on one side – but at least I have the sense of the move now – full form all the way baby! I also got confused again and lay down on the wrong side – the transitions are toooooo fast and she doesn’t give you left or right cues. I AM GOING TO END UP WITH A LOP-SIDED WAIST!!! That said – having previewed Level 2 this morning I can see I am going to have to get a lot snappier with my transitions!

If I have one criticism of the DVD, she does have a habit of not announcing the next move on this one – I mean – yeah – I know it was the second circuit – but there’s a lot to take in. There she is waggling her weight in your face and going ‘YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!’ and I’m looking at her going ‘Er, no – no idea – it could be one of three things right now. Which, Jillian, WHICH, DAMN YOU? Oh – those – ugh – I hate those.’

I have to confess that Level 1 6W6P is a bit dull after 3 attempts – Level 2 looks a little livelier…and Jillian’s comments and face are hilarious – but then I remembered that core work is usually blimmin’ dull anyway and I really need to strengthen my core for all the riding I want to do this autumn – and it really is over before you know it. I may add the odd level 1 shred in here and there. And dare I say it – I miss all the press-up action…I KNOW – KILL ME NOW!

Anyway – so I ran over some more of my lines before rehearsal, shot into the City for rehearsal, did my rehearsal and then walked up to my gym near my office. I ran my 2.5k which covers my 1.5mile training run on my 1mile – 5k programme. Tomorrow is supposed to be a 20-30 min EZ run or cross train, but I’m not sure I’m ready to run past 20 mins at the mo…I may just give Banish Fat Boost Metabolism a go.

I finished up with a 500m swim – I would have happily done a k but the pool was too busy and I felt like I’d put in the work already today! A ncie sauna and a relaxing bus journey home and I’ve decided to cancel everything and have a little me time – admittedly this is so I can learn even more lines (seriously – never be in three plays at once..it’s a killer – but hey – my brainpower is increasing!)

If it’s not too rainy tomorrow morning, I may be tempted to go for an early morning outdoor swim – hell I could even do a jog on the heath… We shall see…

Second 6 day six-pack and 121 days of Cambridge Weight Plan

So I did my second day (I now have to do 2 more days in a row as my next rest day is Monday which is a full on rest day – ie a rest day from running as well) it went well – building up the burpees – which are more like hiccups at the moment! Side Plank Death Twists are tedious and I don’t understand them I only really manage about half before I get confused or collapse 15 seconds in and then it takes 5 seconds to get back into form. Everything else is done to full form with my abs held in. It’s really not thaaaaat tough, but I do sweat and go red so something’s occurin’ !

I didn’t feel stiff at all yesterday, but today as I started and repeated the day before’s motions I could feel the stiffness quite deep down in my core and quads as I worked through the moves again – if that makes any sort of sense at all.

Now…my body is a-changin’ – I dunno if it’s the running cos that always makes me look longer and leaner, but I already look skinnier. Oh – and in the swimming pool today I noticed that I now have slim arms and my bingo wings have stopped flapping – so swimming a mile a week and running a couple of miles a week plus shred/six pack = less bingo wings, it would seem…

The Diet

I am so busy over the next few weeks that I have to pick up 3 weeks of food next Monday. I’ll be fine without the weigh-ins as the scales mean nothing whilst my 14s start to hang off my hips.

And then after that pick-up my next weigh in will be 1st August then my Cambridge Consultant is away for 2 weeks so that’ll be another 3 week pickup. Phew – it’s nearly time for food again. Hurry up Metabolic Type books – I need your wisdom!