JANUARY ROUND UP

In the spirit of what I started last year I'll continue to do my monthly assessment and report. Its as much to get me reflecting on how I'm going and identifying any areas that need addressing, as it is sharing my trials and tribulations with the blogging world. So here goes.

Well Januray got off to the best possible start. Holiday in Sunshine Beach with Peter and our son, a little time spent with the in-laws, running almost daily, eating good food, kicking back and just enjoying life to the max. Mentally I was in the best ever place. I made the decision that this year I'd run a half marathon and I was pumped about it and threw myself into my training with gusto.

The decision to take on the half marathon played with my head a little and I srtarted to have all sorts of doubts about what I should and shouldnt be eating to support this new form of training. I dabbled with extra carbs but wasnt convinced that they were necessary. This was confirmed and some readjusting was in order. But my mind had settled itself into a headset of "gee I'm training so much and so hard that I can afford the extra treats". Its been tough (and still is) to stop thinking that way.

I'm now totally passionate about running. When my training is a run, I look forward to it with eagerness. If its something else I'm not as keen but I plan to keep up weight training for my upper body. I just need to remember that when I've completed a weights sesssion I feel great then also. It really comes down to "just doing it". I'm loving my long runs as every time I clock up a decent time I quietly congratulate myself for doing something I never ever thought I could or would.

As part of my monthly assessment I do weigh myself just to keep a check on things. The number this morning had crept up by 1.7kgs from when I weighed mid month. Ok some of it would be water weight from having dinner out last night but nevertheless I have decided that its time to put the oars back in and start paddling. If I dont want to feel like baby elephant as I run that 21.1kms then that number needs to come down. So its less treats, less alcohol and eating with more awareness over the coming weeks and months and I'll be fine. I know my gain isnt serious fat (I still fit comfortably into my size 10s) but better to be on top of it now than to be struggling to get into my clothes and then wondering what happened.

So thats been January in a nutshell. Fantastic start. Then a bit wobbly but hoping to be sailing smoothly again in February.

This week is a light training week with no sprint work and my longest run is 1 hour which funnily enough is almost in the "easy" category. I've also warned Peter that I'll be cutting right back on my wine consumption and keeping other treats in check is just up to me. I will continue to: not weigh my food; not record my food; not stress about macros or calories; not follow a set diet and just enjoy eating and training. I choose to be a happy person. I choose to live a fit and healthy lifestyle. I choose to do it all my way because in the end , its all up to me.

Cheers all

Magda

IT WASNT MEANT TO BE

The day got off to an early start coz neither Peter nor I could manage a sleep in. This was actually a bonus as he headed out for his long run and I hit the weights for an upper body workout. Its funny how last Saturday I slept in and thought that was just the best thing. Yet it meant I missed my training, I felt like a slug all day, I ate poorly and then I felt awful. So where was the good in that sleep in??

I felt awesome after nailing my weights session. I was in a really great frame of mind and felt physically good. After taking my son to his swimming lesson and then dropping him at mum and dad's, I raced back to the area I live in to attend the auction for the house that Peter and I wanted. Well that wasnt meant to be. We missed out and we werent even close. So for us the search continues.

I feel a bit sad but I've learnt to shut my emotions down a bit as this is our 3rd let down. Maybe there is something great just around the corner? Time will tell.

Cheers all

Magda

TIRED LEGS

Today I have very tired legs. Tomorrow they will be rested ready for my 1 hour and 20 minute run on Sunday. I love the long (slow) runs and want to feel good for it. Whereas I had no running training yesterday, I still managed a 1 hour walk in the early morning, a 30 minute walk from the car service centre to work and then from work back to the service centre in the afternoon. All this after the gruelling sprint training on Wednesday morning followed by 2 x 40 minute walks to and from work. Tomorrow's rest break will be well deserved.

Nutrition has been good. Feeling much better on that front. There have been celebrations this week to farewell work colleagues and I've handled them well just using the right mindset about food and eating. What a difference it makes to a week ago where my emotions and thoughts were all over the place.

Tomorrow we're bidding for a property that we both love. I'm not saying anything further because I've tried to not form too much of an emotional attachment to this house for fear of missing out (again) and then being devastated. Trying to focus instead on work and other things.

Gotta run now but hope to blog again soon.

M

REFLECTING & REALISING

I couldnt blog last night as I had a hairdressing appointment but I will just say one thing about my half marathon training:

THE SPEED SESSIONS ARE KILLERS!!!

Warm up jog of 10 - 15 minutes: easy peasy.
8 repeats of 80m sprint with 80m walk recovery: managing ok
6 repeats of 2 minute sprints (@ 80% of max capacity) with 1 minute walking recovery: you've got to be joking!!!! Thank goodness I do these at 5 am on an empty stomach or I'd be hurling at the side of the road. Heart rate through the roof and legs just aching by the end.
Oh and then I get to do another 10 minute jog home.

For as hard as this session is (and sh*t it just about kills me) once I've completed it I feel like a million bucks. Comfort zone?? What's that??

Then at the finish I reflect and realise that I'm tougher, more determined, faster and stronger than I ever gave myself credit for and thats a bloody good feeling.

:-) M

NAVIGATING A NEW PATH AND LIVING IN THE GREY

Today I had the pleasure of walking to work and coupled with some thinking time last night and  a re-read of some of my most pertinent blog posts from last year (I wont link to them as there were quite a few) I've got my head sorted and I know that all will be good.

I was travelling comfortably along the highway of life, cruise control turned on and just enjoying the ride. But where was that ride taking me? Nowhere special. I was just travelling along.

Then I came to a fork in the road and I had the choice to either continue on my happy but "going nowhere special" route or to take a more challenging road that would lead to achievement, reaching special goals and all the great feelings that go with knowing you took on a challenge and conquered it. Yep I took the latter option as it just felt right and I will live by my life motto "Dont die wondering, what if?"

But in taking this new path  things changed. The road became bumpy with twists and turns that I hadnt encountered for some time. Travelling with the cruise control on just wasnt going to work. I had to concentrate on navigating and utilising driving skills that I hadnt used for some time. The bumps were big and they threw me around. I skidded through some of the turns and spun out on a couple of the twists. I managed to avoid a crash but only through awareness that things had to change and I'm now employing a slightly different set of driving skills to get me to my goal. I'm going to be ok.

Looking back over what I learned from my SP I realise that over the last week or so I had lost all sense of just what food is. Emotions ran amok and I was back to my bad old habits. My lightbulb moment came when I re-read my blog from September last year:

I'm ready to tackle the "non-diet approach" to getting my body lean and healthy. I call it the "mind right approach" because that'll be my weapon of choice in this venture.


Matti (SP) showed me how to avoid binging. When I left her I had the tools and I knew how to use them now its just up to me to use them regularly. Practice. Practice. Practice.


Over the coming weeks and months I want to shift my focus from the numbers on the Metal Monster or the numbers on the tape measure to how I feel instead. My goal is to eat nutritious food that I love the taste of but that also leaves me feeling good, both physically and emotionally. Oh and that includes treats. If I meet a friend for a long overdue catch up then I'll have a wine with her. This is me and this is what I love. I will not weigh or measure my food (unless its for a recipe). I will not log on Calking or mentally calculate calories, fat grams etc (I never did anyway - I was an obsessive logger). I will not religiously record everything I eat and drink and what time I had it etc etc. The road ahead may be bumpy and full of twists and turns but I vow to give this a damn good go.

And thats what its all about for me. There is a shade of grey in between the strict and restrictive diet and the totally intuitive eating where you are absoluetly free from all the crap and negativity that goes with food and diets. I've lived and been very happy there before so its time to reclaim my place and get on with life and achieveing the goals I've set myself.
 
Cheers
 
Magda
 

BRAIN DUMP

Sadly all is not well in paradise and I continue to be all out of sorts. Not really sure whats going on just know that something is not right with me but cant put my finger on it. I have all this stuff going around in my head but the "lightbulb moment" that I need for it all to fall into place just isnt happening.

Am I overanalysing? Maybe. Am I overreacting? Maybe. Am I just overobsessed with this all? Hmmmm.

Have I bitten off more than I can chew and the fear of choking on it is making me want to spit it all out?

Is the Binge Monster's little bitch sister actually self sabotage in disguise?

I just know that I dont like where I am, how I'm feeling or how I'm dealing with it all.

M

FACING LIFE'S CHALLENGES

This is a difrficult post to write. I've approached my computer several times, stared at the screen, thought of a dozen different opening lines, only to walk away having typed nothing. I suspect the post itself will take all evening as I stop and start it or maybe it'll all come out in one fowl swoop.

Yes folks its time for one of those "honest posts" where writing it is as much therapy in helping me sort it out as it is "coming clean". So here goes with all the stuff going around in my head as I try to make sense of the last few days.

I need to lead into this by saying that my life is wonderful. I have been truly internally happy for some months since giving away the diet mentality and taking responsibility for my food choices and behaviours. On a physical level, I have a loving and happy family, I love where I live, I cant complain about work, I have everything I need and just about everything I want. I have little to stress over and I no longer feel inadequate or like I'm a failure. Mentally I had found my happy place and was at peace with myself. My new found passion for running just seemed to ice my cake, ready for the eating.

So what on earth has happened over the last few days? My mojo is seriously AWOL. And in its place is this annoying creature who must be the Binge Monster's little bitch sister. Man I just cant get enough crappy food into me lately and this is so not like me now.

Dinner out last Wednesday wasnt a problem but seeemd to trigger the run of pretty poor efforts that followed. I wont bore you with gory details but man there have been some poor choices both in food selected and behaviours around eating. So whilst I'm not beating myself up over it (wasted time and energy), I'm srtruggling to understand why.

Is it because my goal to do the half marathon would be better achieved if I was a few kilos lighter and therefore I've set myself a weight loss goal? Well I doubt it as when I decided to stop dieting I still had a goal to lose a few more kilos and I went on to do that without a set diet plan. I just trusted myself to eat right and the weight slowly came off.

Is it because I have restricted my eating and therefore am suffering the rebound effects that come in the form of binges? Hardly. If anything I've been more relaxed with my eating and for a week or so was having considerably more carbs than usual until I was set straight by Kerith (see 2 posts ago).

Maybe I relaxed things too much and then found it hard to get back to my norm? Possibly.

Maybe the long runs and high intensity training sessions are making me hungrier? Maybe, but fueling with junk isnt the answer.

Maybe I've just lost sight of my beliefs and values? I feel they're there but right now they arent clearly visible hence I'm a bit of a lost soul myself. Maybe I need to reconnect with what I believe and remind myself of the decision I made in September last year about how I want to live my life.

Finally I wonder if maybe I got too complacent and forgot that the behaviours I now use to manage my health and fitness lifestyle need to be consciously practiced every day? Hmm there may just be something in that.

On the training front my passion for running is unquestionable. When its a run scheduled in my training program I'm happy and I look forward to it. But anything else is struggling to get a gurnsey. Upper body weight training .... neglected since last Monday. Core strengthening..... I keep saying I'll do it and it never happens. Now I need someone to seriously kick my arse to get those sorted out and all will be good.

Well there it is, warts and all as I always blog the good, the bad and the ugly. I reckon I need to have a serious think about all of this tonight and hopefully put myself back in my happy place, where I'm in control, where I believe in myself and where I look after myself in the best possible way.

Thanks for listening (if you made it this far).

Cheers

Magda

MORE THAN ONE WAY TO LOOK AT THINGS

I had a post that I was keen to write about tonight (the one I mentioned in closing last night) but after writing the intro for it I've decided to delete it. You see to get my message across I need to write some stuff that I'm just not happy to put out there so the matter will stay private to protect the innocent. I would never forgive myself if it was read by the people that I need to write about as it could hurt them and its the last thing I want. So I'll stay silent on that issue and switch to a completely different topic.

I had a slack-arsed day of no training today. I managed a sleep-in and by the time I sorted out what I wanted to do training wise, there wasnt enough time to do it before my son had to be taken to swimming. There was no running scheduled for today hence my haphazard approach and attitude. So I decided on a Plan B and then that didnt come off either as training in the middle of the day rarely happens and deep down I know this. So inadvertently I was setting myself up for a slack-arsed day.

However if you look at this another way, I was taking a rest day so that tomorrow my legs would be really fresh for my long run. Yep thats it. A rest day and tomorrow I'll be powering along with energy in my legs and just nailing my session.

There is always more than one way to look at things.

M

CARBS - HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?

Yippee I love Fridays and today I worked in overdrive to clear as much as possible from my desk so that I can enjoy a 4 day weekend. Lucky me, I have Monday off to give me a looooong weekend and I'm rapt.

Today's training was a 50 minute jog which in the scheme of things is an easy session. Funny to see that in print as 12 months ago the thought of jogging for 50 minutes would have had me feeling ill and I'd have had every excuse under the sun to avoid such a dreaded workout. My how the winds change and life can turn around completely.

Last night I received some dietary advice from Kerith Duncanson who works in association with Pat Carroll. Needless to say I devoured it with gusto and it opened my eyes to some common misconceptions that even I had fallen victim to. Without divulging all I will sum it up in one definitive statement made by Ms Duncanson who herself is a runner as well as being a qualified dietician.

Question put to Kerith:

How can I balance the need to have carbohydrate for training, with weight management/loss?

Kerith's response:

Let me first tell you that as a runner and a dietitian myself, I find this balance a very tricky one.


My advice to you in the longer term is that if you can manage on a lower calorie diet that is still high in essential vitamins and minerals, but with just enough protein fats and carbs to get by, your running performance will improve. We women often don’t need as much carbs as it says in the text books to get by!!

So there it is in black and white and backed up by other things she has written both publicly and to me individually. I'm happily going back to my comfortable way of eating and I'm no longer stressing about carb intake - is it enough? Is it too much? There are 2 occasions (pre intense training sessions and post training) where I need to watch it but other than that there is no need to carb up with lots of pasta or bread.

So on that note I'll take my blog's focus off the food and share some other interesting tidbits with you over the weekend. One of them is a real beauty.

:-) Magda

READJUSTING, REBALANCING AND ADAPTING

Since I began my formal half marathon training I've been going through a period of readjustment, rebalancing and adaptation. I still have a long way to go but these are the challenges I'm facing.

Juggling my diet to include more carbs (but not too many), a little less protein and watching my intake of fats will take some mastering. Old habits die hard and I find myself reverting to high protein/low carb eating very easily. Then I make a conscious effort to up the carbs but where is the balance? I have yet to find it.

We indulged in a TDU (Tour Down Under) event with friends last night which meant dinner out, including coffee and cake at the end of the night. No big deal and I was totally ok with it all but then tonight Peter and I made an impulsive decision to eat out again as our son is staying with my folks overnight. Well tonight's choice wasnt so great and looking at it we both agreed that the constant eating out had to be reigned in as our waistlines would suffer. I'm ok with mine (waistline) but Peter has some Christmas excess to lose and I dont want mine getting out of control either. So I've set myself a personal challenge to not eat dinner out at a restaurant or cafe and see how long I can mainatain this. I do go out for the occassional lunch or breakfast but eat much less and healthier then. Anyways my persoanl challenge is ON and I'll keep you posted on my success with it.

I'm loving my training. But the legendary Pat Carroll has made a typo in my program, I'm sure. Doing sprints of one minute with a 45 second recovery after doing distance based sprints with equal distance recovery, is a KILLER. This was Wednesday morning's session and I gave it my all but still lost 7 seconds in the minute over the same distance. The mind was willing but the legs couldnt deliver. It was one of the hardest running sessions I've ever done and they are programmed regularly. I felt mentally great when I finished it but as the day wore on I just felt more and more tired and by around 5pm I was dead flat. I put this down to two things: 1. I'm just not used to training at that intensity. 2. Not enough carbs in my recovery meal. Very, very important and something I'll pay more attention to next time.

When talking to people, the statement "this year I'm doing a half marathon" just rolls off my tongue so easily. But every now and then I stop to acknowledge the magnitude of it. Yeah I know that millions of people have done it and many have done it really well but I still come back to my deepest insecurities and doubts about myself and there is this fear buried deep within that I may not succeed. That I may suck at this and that it will have been all talk and no action.

There is probabaly as much mental preparation for such an event as there is physical and I'll need to get that right as well so that it all comes together on the day. Well thats what I believe anyway.

Cheers all

Magda

AWAKENING THE INNER ATHLETE

Around the middle of last year I made a conscious decision to let go of my dieting thoughts, feelings, habits and behaviours as you are all aware of the pain and suffering that was with me endlessly. I made the decision boldly and without hesitation or regret and took control of my life and my internal happiness (as opposed to the front you put on for the world).

Along with this decision and my new lifestyle I also let go of all thoughts of myself as an athlete of any sort. Yes I would continue to train but I was a bit of a lost soul for a while and quite frankly I was enjoying just being "me" without the performance expectations. Hand in hand with that was my absolute commitment to never follow a prescribed restrictive diet again and feeling like every slip up on that diet made me a failure. I was glad to leave all that behind and just trust me to eat well without piling the kilos back on.

Life was chugging along nicely and I was truly so much happier living that way ..... UNTIL .... my decision to challenge myself yet again.

Over the last week I have felt the inner athlete stirring and waking up again. I'm looking forward to my half marathon training with real enthusiasm and my interest in endurance running has truly been sparked. I crave more and more knowledge about it and am looking forward to the range of experiences that are before me. And dare I say it but the nutrition side of it is VERY interesting.

Tonight I hopped onto Calking (I feel like a sinner admitting that LOL) to check if my normal breakfast is high enough in carbs for an optimal recovery after a training session. And just as I thought, its not. So some changes will be taking place. My beloved egg white/low fat creamed cottage cheese/oats/bran and blueberry pancake is too low in carbs and will be modified to include a larger serve of oats (I may reduce the cottage cheese) and replace the blueberries with 1/2 banana. Oh the sacrifices we have to make for our chosen sports LOL. My boys had crumbed calamari for dinner tonight and whilst I would normally join them (I love the salt and pepper version) I decided to go with a Magda special of the following:

80g wholemeal or multigrain pasta cooked ahead of time.
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 red capsicum, diced
handful mushrooms, halved or quartered (depending on their size)
3-4 T tinned corn
1/2 carrot, diced (microwave for about a minute first)
1 tomato, diced
A large handful of spinach leaves
Saute all of the above veges in a non-stick pan. Add a well drained tin of Sole Mare tuna with beans (this is an oily tuna) and stir in the pasta. Add lots of cracked black pepper and a handful of freshly chopped continental parsley and a light sprinkle of low fat parmesan cheese to serve. It makes 2 serves - one for dinner and one for tomorrow's lunch and is guaranteed to fuel me well for my training session tomorrow morning.

Gotta love being an endurance athlete. Gotta love those carbs.

Good night all

Magda

WELCOME TO MY NEW BLOG.

For some time I've been thinking that the old "Fitness Fun and Figure" wasnt really me anymore. Fitness - yes. Fun - yes but Figure is no longer my focus and so it was time for an update to reflect whats important in my life now. So this is my new look and my new focus when it comes to fitness.

I am now a distance runner and I'm training for my first half marathon to be run on 18 April - just 13 weeks away. I have the legendary Pat Carroll coaching me so that I have the best possible chance of achieving my goal. I'm keen. I'm determined. I'm quietly confident that I can do it - and maybe even somewhat reasonably well.

This change in my focus extends beyond the basics of the physical activity and training environment. I used to throw on any old clothes and my iPod, rock into my training room, put on the weight lifting gloves and tackle my weights program then down a protein shake and follow it up with a meal of protein and carbs. Now I put on my Skins compression tights, a sports bra and runnng shoes, my heart rate monitor and my iPod and I'm out the door (often in the dark). I always head off in the same direction but vary the route to avoid boredom. My running time is my "me time". Although I listen to music, I also use the time to think, to reflect and to plan. I give thanks for the dawning of a new day and the privelege of witnessing it. I greet other runners and walkers with a smile and a "good morning" and I love it when they return the greeting.

Slowly I will be overhauling my diet (read that as "what I eat" as opposed to a "restrictive eating plan") to better complement my running training. Since competing I have followed a diet quite high in protein, with moderate levels of fats and carbs. Often my carb intake was quite low because I was stuck in the comp diet mentality of carbs = excess body fat but conversely I was a lot more relaxed about eating good fats.

Whilst I will NOT succumb to a strictly regimented nutrition plan prescribed by somebody else (no matter how well qualified they are to issue it), I have been reading up on nutrition for endurance athletes and there are some changes that I'll need to make. I'll write more about these along my journey but I can say right now that carbs are my new best friend and fats have to be watched more closely. Protein must always stay on the menu but not in the large ratios that I was previously consuming. The bottom line is that good, clean food is a must and is my choice anyway but getting my carbs in at the critical times will be really important.

I plan to continue doing weight training for my upper body to maintain the muscle tone I have and I also plan to start doing some core strengthening work. I have 3 non-running days in which to do these so there is no excuse for any slacking off in that area either.

Finally, I will face the mental challenge of working towards another goal. Last year was one of finding myself, of letting go of old self destructive beliefs, habits and actions and choosing to live my life differently. This year I'll build on my newfound internal happiness by setting a challenge and giving it everything I've got. Once again I have the courage to aim high and not settle for life in my comfort zone and what a great feeling that is.

Cheers all

Magda

TONIGHT I HAVE IN MY HOT LITTLE HANDS

my training program from Pat Carroll. It starts with a rest day LOL. My first training session is on Tuesday. Never mind I'm free to do what I want with my running over the weekend so that'll be cool.

Had a lovely dinner and catch up with Kristy tonight. I really enjoyed it. Off to bed shortly for a bit of reading and then zzzzzzzzs. Tomorrow is a BIG social day and I'm looking forward to it.

Cheers

Magda

JUST BITS AND PIECES

Firstly thank you to everyone who left me supportive and encouraging comments after my half marathon announcement. I have replied individually in the comments section as your time and effort is really appreciated.

Life is a little busier than usual this week. On Wednesday night we took my mum (a BIG tennis fan) to the World Tennis Challenge. It was a great event, a fun night but a very late one for us. I didnt run on Thursday morning but knew that my legs would welcome the break. I did however walk to and from work so it wasnt a totally slack day LOL. Last night was spent cleaning up for our rental inspection today.

This morning I did a short sprint training session while I'm waiting for my official program from Pat Carroll. Then I took Peter to the airport as he's headed back to his parents place to travel home with our son on Monday. I have a BIG social weekend lined up. YAY!! Lots of catch ups with friends and very little time at home on my own.

So on that note I must sign out as I've snuck this post in at work. I plan to blog over the weekend and hope to also do some updating of my blog template. Wish me luck as I'm not overly talented when it comes to snazzing it up but I desperately want it to look better and I have a new focus that I want to feature.

Cheers all

Magda

STOP PRESS! 40 SOMETHING ADELAIDE WOMAN SETS INSANE CHALLENGE FOR 2010

Its been brewing in my mind for some time. I've been pondering it. Dismissing it. Pondering it again. Dismissing it again. Then pondering it some more. This time I'm not dismissing it.

On Monday morning as I pounded the pavement in the 30+ degree heat at 5.30am I made my absolute and final decision.

THIS YEAR I WILL RUN A HALF MARATHON.

Just typing that sends feelings of excitement, fear, exhiliration and nervousness coursing through me. Secretly I love feeling this way. I feel alive and once again I'm engaging in my life motto of "Dont die wondering, what if".

So after some research I'm aiming for the Greenbelt Half Marathon here in Adelaide on 18 April. Yep you read that right. Its 14 weeks from last Sunday so there is no time to fluff around. My previous biggest running effort was the City to Bay (12kms) in September 2008 and I was shamefully slow (but I was also almost 10kgs heavier than I am now). Have I bitten off more than I can chew? Perehaps but I'm gonna chew like mad because choking is not an option.

To help me achieve my goal of running the event and not taking any walk breaks I've enlisted the help of Pat Carroll who I sussed as being a top running coach. I'm sure that with Pat providing my training program I've taken a positive step towards achieving my goal.

So its game on as soon as my program arrives and counting down the weeks to the big day. This means so much to me, the former fat girl who's always been a slow and crappy runner. But I've left her behind and taken on a new identity where I believe I can.

Cheers all

Magda

THE HOLIDAY'S OVER. BACK TO REALITY

Hi all,

my absence from blogging was time spent at the in-laws after Sunshine Beach and just not bothering with blogging or any other computer cr*p. Then it was the journey home with 15 hours spent in a car on Friday and another 6-7 on Saturday. Hard stuff but had some priceless moments where the stereo was cranked LOUD with Van Halen and Bon Jovi classics. I was zippily overtaking on the country roads in my gutsy little VW Golf where the speedo slipped up to 160 kms/hour like a hot knife through butter. Geez for a few moments there, I thought I was 30 something again and back in one of our previous sports car before we acquired a kidlet and becoming sensible was mandatory.

Ah I digress and reminisce.

Ok so here's a quick holiday update/report with a health and fitness slant.

Sunshine Beach was all good. On our own Peter and I ate moderately, drank moderately (for us, and I know that its a relative term) and kept up our exercise. Felt a million bucks (but sadly didnt win same on lotto and hence are now back at work) and dropped the pre Christmas gain I accumulated when the festivities shifted into top gear.

After Sunshine Beach we spent a few days with Peter's parents in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland and there the diet relaxed a little more and a little more than usual alcohol was consumed and voila a couple of kilos took up residence around my middle again. I kept running daily (except when travelling home) so the damage was minimal and it doesnt freak me out or stress me out at all. At no stage did I lose the plot and eat myself silly (although a dinner at a nearby town pub did see me indulge in one the best chicken parmis with chips I've EVER had).

So previously I'd now be back on the strict diet, depressed, counting calories, counting macros, striving to eat the leanest, cleanest food possible. I'd be expecting the see the scale numbers plummett and when they didnt I'd be getting all emotional, irrational and straight back into my binging behaviours which were an inevitable part of the whole crappy diet merry-go-round for me.

But I'm different now. I view things differently. I make different choices. I take different actions and its all coming pretty much naturally now. Yes I'm cutting back on the alcohol as there is NO WAY I want it to be a part of my every day life. Treat foods are being moderated and I'm eating clean healthy foods that I love and am craving anyway after the recent indulgences. I was out for my usual one hour Monday morning run bright and early today and although I hated the alarm going off, by the time I was finished I felt awesome. Very hot but awesome. I'm not setting any specific goals to weigh x kgs by y date. The weight will come off and I'll not be reacquainting with the Metal Monster on a daily or weekly basis

Its not hard. Its not rocket science. Its about asking myself how I want to live my life and looking within for the answer. I listen to my heart and the right actions just follow without any pain or suffering. A far cry from where I was a year ago.

:-) Magda

COULD IT GET ANY HOTTER? AND A NEW RECORD ON THE HRM

Now please note THIS IS NOT WHINGE NOR AM I COMPLAINING ABOUT THE HEAT because I absolutely love it but HOLY COW its so hot and humid here in the mornings. Today I set out to run around 7am and the sun was pelting down and the only breezes  I had were when I was tackling the killer hills and then I had a headwind. (Thanks Mother Nature! Nice to see you're on my side ...... NOT LOL). I was half planning to do an hour but would have given myself an out after 40 minutes if I felt I needed it. Well at the 30 minute mark I was close to home but would not cut it that short so off I went again up the killer hill and pressed on. Just me, my iPod shuffle, the beautiful surrounds, the sun and the humidity.

I ran for an hour like I've never run before due to the hills and the heat. I took about 4 little walk breaks of less than a minute each when the hills were just beating me. As soon as they levelled a little, I was running again. I arrived back to our apartment with sweat pouring out of every pore in my body. My HRM showed by heart rate was sitting at 135% (well over 200BPM) and it took over 18 minutes for it to come down. This is unheard of for me as I have pretty good cardio fitness and it takes about 2 minutes to go below 60% of my max. I leave my HRM on until I'm back under 60% of my max HR and today the total calories burned were 1254. HOLY F*UCK!!!!!

Man, did breakfast taste good after that??!! Today we're heading to Caloundra to meet up with a dear friend who now lives on the Gold Coast. It'll be nice to see him with his kids (they usually live in Adelaide with their mum) and I can feel a fun day ahead.

So on that note I have beach bags to pack and a boy to organise and bid you all farewell. Have a great day and I'll be back soon.

Cheers

Magda

MANAGING DIET AND FITNESS ON HOLIDAY

Hi again,

I thought I'd post tonight about my plan for managing my diet (read that: food intake and NOT: restrictive  and regimented eating plan) and fitness while on holiday. In the past this has always been a huge challenge for me and one that I've failed at often, resulting in several extra kilos to then diet off when life went back to normal.

So here's my approach this time.

Firstly December is a challenging month on the eating and drinking front when you decide to enjoy the festive season. My alcohol intake shot up, but I only overindulged a couple of times and was ok with that. We just found we were having a social drink or a celebratory drink far more often so there were a few more than usual empty calories going down the hatch. On the food front I found myself eating a little more than usual on those social occassions but again it was all pretty much under control. I continued to run on most days so my slight widening of my midsection girth was not in the serious league. Nevertheless my guess is that about 1 - 1.5 kilos crept back on. (previously this would have been 3 at the least).

On Christams Day I ate well but didnt stuff myself and as I had volunteered to drive after we were at my mum's for the main festivities so I drank nothing all afternoon. Ok so it wasnt a good idea to down 5 or 6 champagnes at breakfsat but they were French and therefore VERY good. I paid for them though with a ripper headache for the rest of the day.

After Christmas Day I eased back on the food and yes I was the only one in my family who went for a run on Boxing Day whilst the in laws walked the dogs (better than nothing I guess). Still was having wine daily though as its still the festive season.

Now that we're in Sunshine Beach and still in "relaxed holiday mode" here is my approach to keeping it all under control:

1. I run each day and I swim some breaststroke laps on most days. It is extremely hilly here and my calves are absolutely SCREAMING but I push on even if I have to resort to my "Cliff Young on prozac shuffle" (picture a run slower than slow). This morning I was out before 7am (yes a true die-hard that just couldnt sleep in) and shuffled uphill and ran downhills for an hour to burn 900+ calories.

2. Food is fantastic. We are having bircher muesli (made by me) for breakfast, cold meats, a little cheese and fresh and marinated veges for lunch, tropical fruit and then simple dinners of mainly (fresh) seafood for dinner with Greek salad. Its awesome. Tasty, healthy and quick and easy to prepare. I go out for a nice coffee each day but I resist the cakes. Yes I love them but they are a treat food that I have when I REALLY feel like it.

3. A holiday tradition for us is "beer-o'clock" where we sit down around 5pm and have a drink and a few nibbles. I love this time but I'm keeping it under control with one vodka, diet lime and soda a few nuts and Grain Waves. In the past I'd gorge on the nibble foods and have at least 2 drinks and just get fatter and fatter by the day.

4. Oh and we still have wine with dinner.

I havent been on the scales since the end of November but I can feel that some of my pre-Christmas girth widening has reduced and I feel great both physically and mentally. I wear my bikini and dont feel like a self conscious beached whale. I go running in shorts and whilst my legs are far from good (let alone perfect) I'm ok with how they look. But more importantly, I'm living my life how I want to live it. Enjoying my food. Enjoying my wine. But keeping it all in balance. And I know I'll go home without the dreaded extra 3-4 kilos of holiday bloat that always accompanied my previous holidays and thats the BEST feeling ever.

:-) Magda

HELLO FROM BEAUTIFUL SUNSHINE BEACH - SUNSHINE COAST QUEENSLAND

My blog has been seriously neglected over the festive season due to work being so busy coupled with some serious socialising and now being on holiday with my family. Life has been pretty good and I'm in a really happy place.

This post will have to cover a few things firstly.....

My 7 BEAUTIFUL BLOGGER revelations (thanks Charlotte for nominating me).

1. I'm anal about spelling and grammar. When I read stuff thats poorly written (often by professional people) I just freak out at the mistakes. I must have been an English teacher in a previous life.

2. I have 2 best friends that I've known for 2/3s of my life. One of them knows more about me than my husband.

3. I met Peter (my husband) through work and I initiated our relationship. After a bad first marriage I could spot a winner when I saw one and if I didnt snap him up I knew that one of the other single girls I worked with, would.

4. I'm not a fussy eater but I cant stand grapefruit, gravy (made from a packet), green tea and pork that smells piggy.

5. I had braces on my teeth when I was 36 years old. On the day they came off, I had just found out that another cycle of IVF had failed yet I smiled all day.

6. I'm a morning person (how else could I willingly get up at 5am to train every day?) and I always wake up alert with good energy and ready to tackle the day

7. I hate chocolate and only eat it occasionally if its got something in it that I like (eg Ferrero Rochers). My vice is cake and I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between. I wont even start to list the cakes I love, there are too many (but NEVER chocolate ones).

Secondly my REVIEW OF 2009.

Wow what  year. The most significant thing I learned was that after 3 decades of dieting and yoyoing more times than I can recall (yes it would be a 4 digit number), the answer to getting my weight to a happy place was inside me and not prescribed in a program written by somebody else. It wasnt in a book, or a magazine and it wasnt about weighing, measuring, recording and analysing what passed my lips until it overtook my life.

Although I had good success working with Hilde from Get Active On Line I was still succumbing to occassional binging episodes despite getting some expert help from a SP earlier in the year. It was then that I looked at my life and the effect that dieting was having on me and realised that I didnt want to do it any more. I wanted to take control and be responsible and accountable for what I ate. I needed to trust myself to work it out for me and to get it right.

And I've been REALLY pleased with how I've been managing this new approach. I feel great (free from the chains of the diet mentality), I'm looking better and better as the weight continues to come off slowly and I've reignited my passion for running. If I have a lapse now I dont beat myself up over it. I accept that I'm human and will make mistakes. My fundamental survival tip if I go off the rails is that I forgive myself and ask myself how I want to be living my life. The answer to this always brings me back to what I believe in now and the correct actions just follow.

On a different level, 2009 saw Peter and I change direction in terms of our house and where we choose to live. I blogged about this recently so wont repeat it all but on reflection yesterday I realised that in the last decade we lived in 5 different houses. Hopefully the new decade sees us settle into a home that we'll be happy with for the long term. The prospect of finding that magical place is exciting and I'm looking forward to the journey.

I havent checked back to my original goals but can recall them vaguely: eg: lose weight and get to a certain weight and body fat level, compete, eat well etc etc etc. Whereas I'm happy with my end of year weight, the journey to get here ended up being quite different to what I initailly planned. As for competing, my motto is never say never but its not on the radar at all for 2010.

LOOKING FORWARD: 2010

For the first time in my life as far as I can remember, I'm not starting the year with a resolution to lose weight and to be X kilos by Y (date). Its not about body fat %s or the number on the scales for me any more. So here are some beliefs, values and habits that I want to develop further. These are my versions of "resolutions" written to suit me.

1. I will continue to develop my belief in myself. I will have faith that I hold the answers to how to eat for the lean and toned body that I desire.

2. I will run, run and run some more. When my legs are tired from running, I'll lift some heavy weights to keep my upper body toned. Oh and I'll devote some time to improving my core strength.

3. I will strive to be more patient and less grumpy. My son deserves this. So does my husband.

4. I will continue to place the highest importance on my family, their wellbeing, our wellbeing, harmony, support, nurturing and caring for. Doing this makes me truly happy.

5. I will continue to nurture my friendships. My circle of friends is small and precious and I'd be lost without them.

So there it is. The things that are important to me as I face this new decade. The end of 2009 saw big changes in my life and now its time to embrace them and take them further to make 2010 and the new decade the best one yet.

Cheers all

Magda