The Phat Fighter Fades!

Today that is true in almost every sense, although it would be an exaggeration of my progress to suggest that I am fading away! However, today marked a more successful Thursday workout although I felt that I didn't quite seem to hit the ground running this morning and that in turn had consequences for my performance during the workout. The trainer said that I did well and she now puts in extra effort to think of ways to try and push me harder during workouts, so that was a compliment of sorts. I was huffing and puffing a lot today, but I did manage to do everything that was asked of me, and even work in a few more reps when they were not expected. My cardio session after the workout was not full bore the entire time, the second 25 minute session being at a markedly slower pace.

I arrived at the gym and was greeted by the trainer. She was at reception and then was waiting for me as I got on the treadmill to warm up. We started before the 9:00 time as she had a number of clients this morning and wanted to start early. First up I had to do steps up onto the bench for 15 on each leg to warm up. Next was a return to the old exercise of step ups onto the bench, however my legs were paralell to the bench so it feels more like doing an extended squat on one leg. Again that was for 15 reps each leg.

Next up were push ups, however instead of just doing the normal variety, she had me do a standard push up, and then raise one of my arms off the ground (alternating) and swing it around behind me, turning almost like doing overarm swimming on the breathing stroke. The hand was then lowered down, I did another push up and then did the same thing with the other arm. This was quite a difficult exercise and initially she wanted me to grab a dumbell for the overarm swing part of the exercise. I couldn't really do this as it took too long to grab the dumbbell off her and made the exercise too hard because I had to hold my body weight for so long. Nevertheless I did get through 15 on the first set without the dumbbell.

Without a rest it was then into deadlifts, with two bent over rows on the down movement, followed by returning to the start position. I had to do 15 of these (so 30 rows) and I found this quite hard. This was performed with a barbell and it started to get really heavy as you have to hold onto it for a long time. I also found, for the first time today, that my lower back didn't really like this exercise too much. It is fine, but I must watch my form a bit more. Form is the first thing to go when you get tired I find, and doing endless reps normally has you compromising form eventually.

Next up we went into dumbbell bench press. She gave me 15kg (33lbs) dumbbells to do this with. Frankly, that wasn't heavy enough. She initially said try to do 20, but I powered up to that with no problems at all, so she upped it to 30, which I again made it to without stopping. She then said keep going until failure so I gave it everything and ended up making it to 45 reps which I was pretty pleased with, although I was sore. Apparently this was the point that she wanted to get me to, complete exhaustion in the chest muscles.

Finally I was into knee tucks on the bench. To make it more interesting she made me hold a 5kg (11lbs) dumbbell between my feet. I had to do 20 of these, and I did find them difficult. The hardest part was keeping your torso off the bench if you weren't using your hands to support it. I got through the 20 reps by doing 15, having a short break and then finishing off the remaining 5.

So, that was the first super set! I had to do that three times. Of note was the fact that in spite of having gone so hard on the chest press with the dumbells, it did not seem to have that much of an impact on the strange push ups that she was getting me to do. I did notice that on the second and third set of chest press, I found it difficult to get to 20 reps. I subsequently found out that this was not only because I was tired, but because she had increased the weight to 17.5kg (38.5lbs) without telling me! A bit sneaky that, and it had a bit of a negative impact on my outlook on the session as in fact I was doing better than I thought. Never mind.

The final part of the session was dedicated to front squats and tricep extensions (I think). The tricep exercise involved the same barbell as was used for the front squats and I lay on the bench with my arms straight above me holding the bar, and bent the elbows to bring the bar back down to my head, then returned to the starting position. I was to do 15 front squats and 20 tricep exercises for each set. As per usual I found that it was three sets for each of these. I did complete everything, but unlike the other set, there was no resting during the set, or between sets. By the end of this I was huffing and puffing more than I do after monster cardio sessions. It was tough!

The trainer had been asking me about my weight and so I asked her, when we finished, if she wanted to weigh me. I could tell that she did and so we went into the trainers room and I got the shoes off, and got on to the scales once she had set them up. I was initially startled to see that the readout was hovering between 128kg and 129 kg (281.6lbs and 283.8lbs). However, after standing as still as I could for a very lengthy 45 seconds it eventually stopped at 131.2kg (288.64lbs).

That was good progress from the last time that she had weighed me, however it isn't an official figure, that will of course be done after tomorrow's workout under the usual conditions (including having my shoes on). I am considering if that is the best course now as my scales at home are working properly, and even have started measuring my fat content and water percentage. I know that the last two stats are not normally that accurate with home scales, but they seem about the same as the ones at the gym the trainer uses, and initially they would weigh me, but not measure the other two things it was supposed to. I guess it was because I was too large, but they are made to weigh up to 150kgs (330lbs) so I should have been okay. I might be better off using the ones at home as there does seem to be some variation at the gym, and of course the scales at home are private! I'll let you know what I decide, but if I make the transition, it will be tomorrow.

The trainer was positive about the loss, and she seemed to be enthusiastic about how far I have come. We discussed how much more there is left to go, and particularly discussed when I should start to run. She said that once I hit 125kg (275lbs) then I should be able to start running. I said to her that I felt like running sometimes now as it would be easier to run on 8 km/ph than it is to walk on 7.5 km/ph, however that was shot down. She said no, if you are running you will be running on 10km/ph, nothing less! Ha ha, good on her I say. I used to run at that speed the last time I was near that weight, and worked my way up to keeping that pace for an hour, getting through 10km. I'd like to get back to that again, but will need to wait before starting. Apparently the new cardio workout will be sent to me soon.

So, to round out the monster Thursday session I then got on the treadmill for the usual two 25 minute sessions. The first session I went hard and got through more calories than either session yesterday. However I was tired and I knew I couldn't keep that up. So, for the second session I just went at the 6-6.5 km/ph mark the entire time and played around with the incline a bit to increase the workload. I got through a total of 588 calories with that routine which I was pleased with. I'm glad to now be at home where I can start to recover and get some strength back. Tomorrow I am apparently going to 'whale on my legs', 'carve up my quads', and 'turn my calves into bulls' and so on. I'll let you know how that goes, and I will be posting the official weight as well as the measurements. I'm also considering putting up a photo of me in my gym gear each week so that we can all see what the progress looks like. Measurements are one thing, but a visual record of progress is probably more meaningful. Keep an eye out as all this should be up tomorrow.

Cardio Plus Light Leg Workout Done

Over to the left you have my promised shot of Cronulla beach. The famous Shark Island break is just around the point you see in this photo. The break was not happening on the day that we were there, and there were only a few kids surfing the small waves that were coming in. The water looked inviting enough, but it was a bit overcast for my liking so I have yet to break the ice and get in the sea around Sydney for a swim. I think that Manly was a nicer beach, although I am going to make the time to go back to Cronulla on a finer day when the surf is up before I make my final decision. It is a good place for a day trip. plenty of wonderful eateries and more cafes than you know what to do with! The chicken salad with mustard dressing that I had for lunch was just superb, and I think that even my trainer would have approved!

I was tired again this morning and I think that it must have something to do with putting a lot more effort into the cardio workouts that I am doing. I had another good workout this morning, and managed to go a bit harder on the second 25 minute session than I did on the first one today. I was huffing and puffing a lot today which means that it must have been a good one! It is nice to be finally seeking out that extra burn and extra level of difficulty. I really think that I have come a long way since I started this new approach to life.

The stats for my workout are up on the cardio fitness progress chart you can link to over on the right hand side of this blog if you want. Most importantly I got through 628 calories today which I think might be something of a record. I did an experiment on the second session choosing a calorie goal instead of the manual program on the treadmill. I had hoped that this might allow me to beat the 20 minute limit the club has, however it did not! No luck there, and it was during the warm down that I reached the goal, not during the main part of the workout, which I had expected.

I felt good after the first session and decided to take a wander around the gym and see if I felt like doing any more exercise. I decided that I did, and that I would do a light workout on my legs. I did some seated leg extensions, leg press, and seated calf raises. I finished off with three sets of 10 ab crunches on the Swiss Ball. I have decided to make sure that I do the crunches on the Swiss Ball after each cardio workout I do on my own, so that I can strengthen that area of my body. After years of having a large stomach behind them, and plenty of fat over the top of them, my abs need a lot of work.

I felt pretty good after the workout, but then it ocurred to me that doing legs the day before I saw the trainer might not be such a wise move. It was too late by then, however I am glad that I decided to just make it a light workout today. I will need all my strength for the usual Thursday workout tomorrow morning. I guess that it is also possible that the trainer will want to weigh me as it has been a while since she last did that.

On the way back from the gym it started raining on me which wasn't the best. It did help to cool me down and that was nice. I stopped at Woolworths on the way home to pick up some chicken for dinner tonight. I also purchased some of the diet chocolate mousse that my trainer has approved. They have virtually nothing in them and were on special ($1 for two packets as they go bad in four days). I'm also eating a lot of yogurt at the moment, and had to get some more of that today as stocks are running low. I must get back into making my own as it is much nicer, you have better control over what is in it, and it is much cheaper.

Dinner last night was fantastic, even if I do say so myself. I neglected to take a photo as it looked so good that my partner and I tore into it as soon as it was ready and completely forgot to take a photo of the meal for the blog! Never mind, I will take one next time as we will definitely be having that again. The fish was really fresh, so they told me truth. Next time I will cook it a bit less so that the rare part in the middle is more pronounced because that is so tasty! All this talk of food is making me hungry - lucky it is almost lunch time!

Check back tomorrow to see how my workout with the trainer goes, and who knows, I may even have a non-official weigh in to report to you! I'm hoping that I get a good loss this week as it will get me closer to running on the treadmill. I am really looking forward to being able to do that, I think that I am at the stage where walking fast is actually more effort than running would be! Thanks again to all of you that have been posting comments, keep 'em coming they really help to keep me focussed on what I am trying to achieve and the fact that I have come so far already. I guess that I am roughly a quarter of the way to my goal, which is pretty good considering the amount of time I have been at it. Can't wait to reach half way!

It's Good To Be Back

I finally got back into the gym this morning after my longest lay off since I started my fight against fat. Three days without going to the gym, and three days without any structured physical activity at all. About the only exercise that I got was walking around Cronulla when we went there over the weekend (I'll post some more about that trip tomorrow).

I got to the gym after my morning coffee this morning and hit the treadmill first up. I wasn't too sure how I was going to go having been under the weather yesterday, and not having been to the gym for three days. I did think that perhaps I would have had ample time to recover and that nothing would be hurting at all while I was working out and that maybe I could do more or go faster. I was wrong!

Nothing hurt, but it seemed during the first 25 minutes that I just wasn't into the swing of things on the treadmill. I wasn't quite striding right and the short 4 minute burst I did on 7.5 km/ph was much harder than it used to be. My rythm seemed to be out somehow. I did get through it, and did complete a fairly good first 25 minute block, but I knew that I would not be able to back it up with a better second 25 minute block as I used to. I decided to listen to the body and take it down a bit on the second leg. I did fairly well I felt, and got through a total of 599 calories in the two sessions. I was pretty pleased with that effort, but thought that as I had missed a workout with the trainer I should really do some weights today as well.

I went to the machines and did a fairly quick and light workout. I did some seated chest press, pull downs, dumbbell curls, dumbell shoulder press, tricep extensions, and finsihed off with some crunches on the Swiss Ball. It was pretty good and by the time I got to abs I was breathing almost as hard as I do when the trainer is there. One thing I found that slowed me down was that I had to set up all the weights myself which gave me more recovery time than when I am with her because while I work, she sets the next lot of weights up for me.

I was a bit worried about the last few days and what effect they might have had on my weight. I decided to break with tradition and see if any damage had been done by weighing myself at the gym on the scales I use for the official weigh in. I was delighted to find that I weighed in at 133.8kg (294.36) so at this stage it seems that the time off has not adversely affected me in terms of weight loss. I felt good about that, and I had a great sweat up by the time I finished my workout this morning. I trucked on out of the gym with the mp3 player blaring and a spring in my step!

On the way home I remembered that there was nothing for dinner tonight so I called into the fish shop on the way past the mall. They had some tuna that they told me was really fresh so I have got 500gms of that for my partner and I to have for dinner tonight. I hope it is as fresh as they claim as I intend to lightly pan fry it in a medium heat pan until medium rare (still that raw pink colour in the middle) with some olive oil to give it a bit of taste, and to be accompanied by lots of salad. Should be delicious, I might even take a photo if I manage to cook it well enough! I'm supposed to eat more fish so here goes nothing! Check back tomorrow to see how I got on.

A Dud Day

My partner and I woke up this morning with both of us feeling unwell. My partner is so crook that she can't go to work, and I am going to have to look after her as best I can today. It seems that she might have eaten something that didn't agree with her yesterday, or on Saturday, and it is playing havok with her today. I'e got something similar and both of us can't keep anything down.

I have had to call and cancel my session with the trainer today, and I wont be getting into the gym today at all. My trainer understood and has scheduled my second weekly session for Friday morning. I'm quite looking forward to getting back into it, and I hope that this thing has gone from both of us tomorrow.

So, all in all not much to report except that things are not going to plan today, but hopefully that will pass and I can get back into things tomorrow. I'll keep this post short so that I can get back to tending to my partner. I hope that you are all doing much better than this home at the moment! Fight the Fat.

A Day Off

I have taken the day off today, prefering to recover form the taxing workouts at the end of the week. I think it was a good choice as I was mega tired this morning when woke up. Tomorrow will be an active day, although not necessarily at the gym. We are supposed to be off to the beach, in particular to check out the surfing Mecca that is Shark Island, Cronulla. For a few photos of why it is considered one of the more challenging surfing spots in the Sydney region, click here. I've never been there before which is why before I did some research I was considering taking a dip and doing some bodysurfing around that area...not after seeing this. Could bet a bit hard core for me I think!

In any event, it should make for a good day trip, and who knows, there might be some tame surf there when I show up. Having taken today off I am wondering about the wisdom of effectively taking two days off by spending tomorrow touring Sydney. My conscience might get the better of me and I may try and go for a shortish power walk from home before we take off. The big drawback to that is the later that we take off, the less time we will be able to spend exploring Cronulla. I'll take the camera again so that if the beach is what it is cranked up to be you can all have a look at it.

Also, tonight will be a late one for me. The game doesn't start until 11:00 p.m. so we wont be back home until about 1:00 a.m I'm guessing. I'd like to get a good night's sleep tonight as it could be a big day tomorrow, but there just aren't enough hours in the night it seems! I have always found that the more you do, the more you can do so burning the candel at both ends is warranted for today and tomorrow.

I think I need a bit of a reality check. A day or two away from the gym is probably just what I need right now. My legs were killing me yesterday and I think that had a lot to do with hammering them in a hard workout on Friday morning after the tough Thursday session. Another day off will probably have them back to being as good as new. We'll see how things unfold tomorrow, and if I do have the day off I can always go extra hard on Monday with the trainer and make up for it I guess.

I have had a goodish weekend foodwise so far. My partner and I went to the market day in Kogarah this morning. I had a couple of shish kebabs there, one lamb and one chicken. We also had a nice coffee at a cafe I have been wanting to try and it lived up to my expectations. A fine brew, well made and well presented. Not quite as good as my own morning heuheutenango, but not too far off it! Wish me luck in staring down temptation tonight at the pub, and I'll let you all know how I got on tomorrow. See ya then.

Nice Dinner Out and About in Rockdale

My partner and I went out for dinner tonight to celebrate the end of a successful week for both of us. For me my success was in respect of the weight loss, and my partner it was getting through an interesting week workwise.

It was nice for the two of us to meet after work, and have a meal out so that we didn't have to cook tonight. We have been wanting to try some of the places in Rockdale, about a five minute walk from home. There are some interesting Asian restaurants and we decided that we would finally take the plunge sampling a Vietnamese place we've had our eye on ever since being asked to trapse around Darlinghurst looking unsuccessfully for a place that served Pho (picutred). As luck would have it we knew that this place had Pho, because that was the name of the joint!

I must admit that the walk to the restaurant taxed me a bit even though it is only five minutes away, and is only up a gentle hill. My legs have been getting progresively more sore during the day. I believe that it is mostly from the lunges that I was doing the other day, and I know that it isn't anything serious, just delayed onset muscle soreness. It felt good to get out and stretch them a bit, however I have decided that I wont be going to the gym tomorrow morning. I need at least a day off, possibly two to get over it. I'm sure that Pho isn't part of the diet, but to succeed long term with something like this, you have to learn to go out and handle being in a social setting and eating in a way that wont undo all the good work.

Pho turned out to be all that it was cranked up to be. Well the dish was anyway. It was a lovely soup like meal, with thin strips of meidum rare beef in it, rice noodles, and fresh bean sprouts on the side that you can add as you go so that they are not over cooked when you eat them. It was lovely, very filling, and one dish was enough for each of us. There was also fresh mint to add to the Pho as you went through it and I must say it was a wonderful dish. We also ordered some fried squid with chilli and garlic, however I only had one piece as I don't think that it is tremendously healthy!

Pho the restaurant was nice and the service was good. If anything the menu was a little too extensive at 8 pages and it was difficult to chose as complete novices to this type of Vietnamese food. The staff were polite, helpful, and the food we had was very tasty. I think that we will be heading back there at some stage. I think that the Pho was fairly healthy, although it probably had some fat in the stock that made up the liquid part of the soup but all things considered I think I did pretty well, and one meal out is not going to hurt me that much I am sure. The squid was cooked well, but the crumbs around it weren't that good. The food was very reasonably priced, AU$20 for the whole meal (squid, rice, pho, and a diet coke for me and a coffee on ice for my partner). Fantastic value, and we couldn't finish all the food that we had ordered.

I'd have to say that there were a number of things on the menu that I would have torn into in the old days, but used some will power to avoid tonight. The most impressive sounding of which were the deep fried crispy skin chicken wings stuffed with pork mince. Wooaaaahhhh! Sounds like instant heart attack material, but mate, I bet it tastes real good! Happily I will never know if it was good or not. There were also a number of fried pork concoctions, but again I stayed away from those prefering to stay with the healthier options.

I'm feeling good about where I am at right now, and I will be staring temptation in the face tomorrow night. There is a game of rugby union on tomorrow night that I have to watch at the pub across the road from Pho. It isn't on free to air tv, so we have to venture out to the pub at 11:00 p.m. to watch a highly charged game that would normally see me consume somewhere between 6-10 pints of beer in an hour and a half depending on how my team are doing! I plan to avoid beer and wine all night, and will see how I get on with diet coke. We'll eat before we go and being that late I should be okay in terms of the deep fired heavily salted snack treats that will be on offer!

I'll let you all know how I get on tomorrow night staring down temptation. It will be difficult, but I am determined to make it. I know that Aleman will be wishing me the best in my endeavour to stay off the booze while out socially. Fight the good fight my friends!

One Short, and One Long Term Goal Reached Today!

Yes folks, another successful week weight wise, and also with the way that I feel. I must admit that I was hoping for a bit more than a drop of a kilo this week, but I am taking heart from the fact that it is a safe drop, and that I am feeling really good physically. Even just walking around the place now is not as much effort as it used to be, and I don't constantly think about food all the time and stuff my face with McDonalds at every opportunity. The only thing that I have been craving the last couple of days in KFC. They have released a boneless version over here and they are really pumping the advertising for it. I have not given in, and I wont! That stuff was a weakness for me, and I'll make sure I stay well away from it. Fortunately there isn't a KFC anywhere near our home.

I must remember to stay positive about my weight loss, and about things in general as getting bummed out about losing a kilo is really just silly. It is also likely to lead to temptation to binge eat or drink and I really must avoid that. Also, I should start to prepare mentally for my weight decreases to start to slow down as I believe that this will happen in the not too distant future. I have to be in this for the long haul, and I have accepted that I need to change my lifestyle permanently, not just while I am on a health kick, to get to where I want to be, and to be healthy again.

On a positive note I have achieved the short term goal of 135kg (297lbs) that I set for myself, and now I have set the next short term goal at 130kg (286lbs). I have also realised that I have reached the goal neck measurement that I set for myself at the beginning of this battle. I will revise the goal downward as clearly there is still a fair bit of fat that can be taken off my neck! It would be good to get to 42 as I last remember getting into shirts with that neck size when I was in my 20s. 42 cm for my neck will be the new goal measurement and you will see that this now features in the tables to the left.

Aside from the weigh in, the workout this morning went well. My legs were sore from the workout yesterday. I think that the lunges up and down the gym would have done most of it, and aside from the legs and some muscle pain in the lower back (nothing to worry about though) I felt pretty good. Initially I thought that I would have to go slower today, but then the good tracks on my MP3 player kicked in and I was off, in the zone, and walking hard today. I felt good at the end, but I am really looking forward to being able to run. I think that I would rather run than try to walk as fast as I can as I remember running felt better. If I keep with it, the running should be only another 10 weeks away (at a loss of 1kg per week)! I really hope that it doesn't take that long.

I ended up doing a slightly less varied workout today. The first 25 minute session ranged between 6.0km/ph and 7.5km/ph for two minutes per speed setting. That was quite tough, however after experiementing with a "weight loss" setting on the machine and finding it no good at all, I reverted to another 25 minute block and did 14 minutes straight on 7.0km/ph, which was the longest sustained time I have done at that speed. It was actually quite good, and I am settling in to that pace and no longer finding it the absolute limit of my ability.

So, I feel I have been rewarded for my efforts this week and am feeling good about the coming week. I think that my diet could stand a bit more emphasis now and so this coming week, and the weekend, I will make sure that I stick with it and integrate a bit more of what the trainer is wanting me to do in that area. This round of the fight against fat is in my favour!

Enthusiastic Approach Brings Reward

Having cursed my enthusiasm this morning, I now have to completely change tack and do an about face! Yes, the workout went so much better today, and not just because of the chat with the trainer on Tuesday I am sure. For some reason everything went better today, but most importantly of all I went better today. I'm putting it down to proper preparation, tips from readers, and taking a bit more of a committed approach to working out.

I got up earlier today and actually did everything to get ready with plenty of time to spare. I had my coffee, oatmeal (porridge) and what have you, as well as getting into the best workout gear that I have. I even managed to dress up warm and snug so that the rain wouldn't bother me on the way to the gym. I got there 15 minutes early, and was able to spend 12 minutes warming up before the trainer came to get me. By that stage I was really ready to go and in the right mood for a workout.

We got straight into it, no fooling around with scales and what have you today. That has been canned. I am keen to weigh myself on my own however I think she is intending to weigh me on Saturday morning. Makes no difference to me, the official weigh in will still be on Fridays as always.

I had to do lunges up and down the gym with 10kg (22.2lbs) dumbbells. I then had to run three times around the gym holding 8kg (17.6lbs) dumbbells. After that it was on to the Swiss Ball for pull overs with 15kg (33lbs) dumbbell, followed by crunches on the ball, and lastly some press ups using the ball. This was the first time I had done this exercise. What it involved was having my feet on the Swiss Ball and my arms on the floor and doing press ups. That was really hard, but the best thing about this morning was that I made it through everything for the regulation three sets. I even did 3 sets of 15 of the new pushups, I thought I was going to crap out on the 12th rep in the second set but dug deep to get home. I felt really good, but new that I was only a quarter of the way through and still had a ways to go before I knew if the workout was really that much better than last week.

Next up were squats with 10kg (22.2lbs) dumbbells in each hand. On top of the squats, the dumbbells were to be raised up over my head before the next squat could commence, bringing in curls and shoulder press to the same movement. Following this exercise were leg raises on the bench, to round out the superset. Again three sets were required, and they all went well with me giving everything I had in the tank to get through the workout. Last up were some stretches and the trainer was saying that I had done much more today than she had expected, which was nice to hear. I know that I worked hard today, the sweat was soaked right through my shirt (yuck I know, but I'm proud that I pushed myself! Don't worry I carry a towel and clean up after myself better than most at the gym).

I was stoked to have come through a Thursday session so well. This marks a real change in how things have normally gone with the trainer. I plan to keep to this routine for the next month at least to see how things go. We finished on good terms, and I think that we were both hoping that thing remain like this for the Thursday sessions. There is a much more co-operative team atmosphere to workouts now. I also feel like I am being listened to when deciding what exercises to do as the suggestions I made about what exercises seem pointless came back to get me today with the crunches on the Swiss Ball producing a good burn for me.

Of course, that was really the halfway mark for the workout. The cardio session still remained to be done, and I have to admit that I was feeling pretty tired. I got on the treadmill and tried to match the pace of yesterday but fell away pretty quickly. I decided to listen to the body and slow it down today. I made sure that I went for the full 50 minutes as usual, but I did go a lot slower. I still got through 500 calories, which is the main goal, and felt great when I finished. I am hoping that I am rewarded with another kg coming off this week, and getting beneath the 135kg (297lbs) mark this week. It would be great to clear the third short term goal, I feel that I really need the loss this week. They will be getting progressively more difficult from here on in, and getting another kilo off me brings me that much closer to being able to run on the treadmill. Once I am running losing weight will be helped by being able to burn more calories with more vigourous exercise.

When I got home I was termendously hungry. I had some yogurt for morning tea, and then for lunch I tore into the pastrami and mountain bread. I ended up having three wraps, and treated myself to some hommus to moisten them up a bit. Of course they also had vegetables on them and were really nice. I reccomend the mountain bread to anyone that hasn't tried it. It looks unappealing as it is completely flat, and looks like it will be tasteless, however I found it surprisingly nice.

I am now looking forward to the weigh in and measuring tomorrow. I have siezed the initiative and tidied up the blog a bit today. You'll notice that I have two tables of my measurements now, one in kgs and cms, the other in pounds and inches to make it a bit easier for people to see where I was, where I am going, and how far I have come. Check back tomorrow to see if I have made any progress this week, the fight against fat continues!

Curse My Enthusiasm!

Uggghhh. Tough start today. For the first time in ages I rolled out of bed at 6:00 a.m to get ready for the gym workout this morning. I waddled to the shower making all sorts of groaning sounds as the old, tired, and sore body tried to get used to moving around at that time of day. Very soft of me I know, but I have become used to not getting up until 7:00 and the extra hour of sleep seems to be quite important to the old bod!

To make matters worse it is a grey old day out there. I wouldn't be surprised if it rains on me when I leave home to go to the gym. Fantastic. Hard to stay motivated in this sort of weather, blazing sun makes everything seem that much more positive. I can't complain thought, the last rain I remember was over three weeks ago now...so why did it have to break today?!!! No self respecting blogger living in Sydney could run a blog that didn't have a shot of Sydney's most famous icon at some point, so there it is, the Opera House. This shot was taken on our trip to Manly. If only it was nice and sunny today like it was then...

In any event, I am now fed and watered and pretty much ready to go. It is superworkout day today, the hour with the trainer followed by the nearly hour long cardio workout. I have made the extra special effort to get up early to try and be more awake and into the workout by the time it rolls around. With one hour to go I'd have to say that so far the only thing that has helped me is my super strong espresso coffee! I'll take that though, I need all the help I can get to try and be more into the workout today. The fact that it is delicious also helps of course.

I did hear from the trainer by e-mail this morning. She is flat out with exams and I will give her the benefit of the doubt as I do remember what exam time was like, and how it gets in the way of pretty much everything else. She did mention in her e-mail that she was going to change my diet soon, and that the changes I had put in the diet were acceptable to her. Later on today I will post the amended diet on the web site so you all can have a look if you like.

Well, I better put the finishing touches on my preparation for the workout this morning and get out the door. One hour until kick off, perhaps another coffee would be in order. I'll glug down a bit of water as well as I will need it today. All the best to you all for the fight against fat, I'll be posting my workout impressions and experiences when I return from the gym today. Check back to see how I did.

900 Plus Calorie Workout Today

These coffee shots first thing in the morning really seem to be kick starting my workouts. Today I chose to cycle down to the gym after having a double shot espresso coffee with my partner. She had a latte, while I went for the straight coffee as there wasn't enough already ground to make a nice cup that would have been half filled with milk. It really hit the spot, and the coffee we got from Manly at the weekend held up to this, surely the best test for a coffee. Heuheutenango is now my most favourite coffee!

The cycle to the gym was uneventful, however I did chance my arm a bit on the way down there and dodged a bit of traffic to make what was probably a record for a trip from my house to the gym. I hit the place running and got the MP3 player going to my favourite workout tune and kicked into it. The first set of 25 minutes was done at a faster pace than usual because I felt like it. I got through 2.87 kms (1.78 miles) which wasn't bad for me, and was better than either 25 minute session from yesterday. I did 328.2 calories in this session.

I was huffing and puffing a bit after that and decided to take the next 25 minute block slowly. However, after a minute on a slow pace I realised I had cooled down and was ready to go back at it hard again. This time I left the incline out of it and just went on the flat for the whole time. By the end I had done 2.84 kms (1.76 miles) and 320.7 calories. OIn the back of the first effort, this was a new record, and I even felt good at the end of it. Tired, puffing, red and sweaty, but I still felt good even if I can't also look good yet!

As I was feeling so great I decided to get onto the cross trainer and grind out 15 minutes on that. I didn't go as hard as I could, the cross trainer is a bit harder than the treadmill because your arms have to work as well, and this took the wind out of my sails a bit. I got through the 15, mostly on a resistance level of 10 and at the end of the workout had done 1.87 km (1.16 miles) and 252 calories.

That made for a whopping 900 claories today, my best effort yet. I wonder if I will be rewarded on the scales this week. I'm looking forward to Friday as I may at last break through the 135kg (297 lbs) mark and knotch up the second short term goal. I need to think of some sort of reward for that achievement which does not involve food or alcohol! Not easy when I have spent a lifetime rewarding myself with food and booze. Maybe taking in a movie with my partner, or two trips out to the beach this weekend would be a good idea to reward me if I make it. Better concentrate on getting there before I plan too far ahead!

The goal I am really looking forward to is the 125kg mark as this is when the trainer has said that I will be able to start running again. This should help a lot with burning off extra calories and help me get down to my goal weight when I need it most. I am going to plan some workouts in addition to the ones that I am doing with the trainer as I feel that just the cardio is no longer enough. I will talk with her tomorrow about that as I wont want to tire myself out for the workouts with her, or overtrain and risk damaging my progress, or injuring myself. I may not be as keen tomorrow after the workout with the trainer, and the cardio routine, but we'll see.

What a revelation this is, being so enthusiastic about exercise again. I thought that those days were over for me! Fortunately they are not, and I plan to make the most of it. I believe that my diet will need some work next week, and I plan to discuss this with the trainer tomorrow as I never heard back from her about my comments on the diet or for my new cardio routine. Not the best after our heart to heart chat the other day. She is busy at the moment with exams, so I will cut her some slack, but I hope she has the workout for me tomorrow.

Great Cardio Workout Over

The image next to this post is from our trip to the quarrantine station on North Head (near Manly) on Sunday. This is the oldest piece of graffiti that I could find, apparently dating from 1863. There were many other images and names of vessels carved into the same cliff face, and it really made for an interesting wall (but sad too as they were only there because of sickness on board the vessels).

You may have noticed that I have included a shot of my running shoes as part of my profile. I thought that it was appropriate as I spend so much time in them now, and really this blog is a bit of an insight for readers as to what it is like being in my shoes! Terrible I know.

I got underway today with a hiss and a roar. The procrastination of yesterday is behind me and I am getting back into the fight against fat. I took a stroll to the gym today, once again it is a brilliantly fine day and I think rather than repeat that most of the time, readers should assume that it is fine here, and I'll tell you when it rains!

The stroll to the gym wasn't the best, my knee was giving me some pain on the way, particularly at the start of the trip. I was surprised by this because it hadn't given me any troulbe last night, or yesterday after the workout. I kept going and as I got closer to the gym it started to feel better. Surprisingly enough I was warmly welcomed to the gym this morning by the receptionist - I must be starting to get the elusive 'regular' status there!

As per usual I dropped off my stuff and hopped straight onto the treadmill for two 25 minute sessions. I set my goal today to try and do over 300 calories on each session. I managed to do it, and the second 25 was easier than the first. I think that this was because in the first 25 I did some portions of the 25 minutes at 6.0 km/ph, the slowest pace, whereas in the second 25 I did the whole lot on either 6.5 or 7.0 for two minutes each. Near the end of the second 25 I cranked it up to 7.5 for a few minutes to make the 300 calorie mark. So, all in all a successful start to the day with 637.6 calories burned on the treadmill.

I think that having a double shot espresso coffee with my partner each morning before she heads off to work aids my performance on the treadmill. It certainly kick starts the brain and the new coffee we purchased at the weekend is very nice. A great start to the day, and I will make sure that I keep this habit up. I like my coffee!

I felt good about the decision I have made in relation to the trainer. I will see how things go this Thursday, however I am confident that things will go better. I might try and get up a bit earlier than usual so that I am a bit warmer and a bit more with it by the time that we kick off our workout. Both of those things might help me get more value for money out of the workout, and I am sure that the coffee hit will help too!

I have scoffed down a nice bowl of porridge (I think this is the same thing as oatmeal) and am knocking back a litre of water as well. I worked up a powerful thirst this morning and wont have any trouble knocking back 3-5 litres today. I have been eating a lot of yogurt the last day or so, and am finding that I really like it. It is difficult around our place to get the low fat, low sugar varieties and I noticed that my partner had accidentally purchased a low fat, higher sugar version of the yogurt we usually buy. Can't afford or be bothered throwing it out as I don't think that it will hurt that much. I can report that it is much tastier, but we will be going back to the healthier version!

That's about all there is to print today. A catalogue of sports clothing arrived with our mail today and I was checking it out this morning when I first got home from the gym. There were some nice looking clothes in there, but that will have to wait for a wee while yet I think. I did manage to get into an old shirt today that I haven't been able to wear for quite a few months. Feels good to have it on and know that it looks like a shirt should, rather than looking like air tight plastic wrap around a pork roast!

What a Difference A Workout Makes

Just one little hour! Yeah, that's right, I changed my mind during today's workout and am still going to see the trainer on Thursday morning at the usual time. Today's workout was the best workout so far with the trainer. For the first time I felt like I was actually getting somewhere and was able to get through everything she set me today (except for squats standing on a half ball that I tried and then said I wouldn't do because it hurt my knee - she gave me a harder version of the same exercise and I was content with that as it didn't hurt my knee).

I felt that today I was able to push myself, and the body responded positively to the increased workload. I think a lot of this is psychological becuase the two of us got off to a much better start today than we do on Thursdays. As I was working out I was thinking about calling things off, but because I was doing so well I started to wonder if I was being a bit premature in making the decision (financial constraints included). I decided to give it my all and see how I felt at the end.

After a series of exercises that were too bizzare to accurately explain, I felt the best I have ever felt at the end of a workout with her. As she was stretching my totally siezed up hamstrings and quads, I told her that we needed to have a chat at the end of the workout if there was enough time. She had said a number of positive things about how I was doing much better today than usual and I think that helped to make me go harder at the exercises she set. She also said that a number of people at the gym were commenting to her on how different I look already, and how much weight I have lost. I definitely responded better to this sort of prompting than to the negative 'vibe' the previous workouts have had.

We sat in the gym meeting area and I started the discussion. I told her about my concerns over the workouts in general and the exercises that I felt were redundant. I also told her that I didn't like the drill sergeant routine on Thusday mornings and felt that perhaps that was kicking things off on the wrong foot and accounted for why I felt that Thursday sessions in particular were no good. I said that I wanted things to be more positive, and that team work approach would work better for me. We discussed a few others reasons that she felt may have affected the workouts, and she thanked me for raising my concerns with her. She is going to give things a different spin this Thursday. I felt like the discussion went well, and I think we made some progress, my concerns having been expressed and I think understood. I'll hold off making any decision to see how things go on Thursday morning this week.

Apparently she has a new cardio routine for me, however it sounds like she will need to rework it after our chat. I don't think she realised that I had been doing her routine twice, and also making it harder. She will grunt it up a bit for me, but has told me not to run until I have lost at least another 10kgs (22.2lbs) for the sake of my knees. I am about to email her as soon as I have completed this post so she can send me the new workout I am supposed to start tomorrow morning. I will be interested to see what comes through.

We also discussed the diet and I told her that it wasn't feeling right to me, but that there were some good things about it that I liked. I think that at the same time as I e-mail her about the cardio workout I will send her my comments on the diet she had me doing to see if there is some room to put in things that I would prefer to eat.

After that workout I am feeling pretty good about things. It has been a good day food wise, although I probably should have eaten a bit more than I have. I think I will have a snack now before dinner to fill the gap, and I might get at that coffee again - it was really nice. My partner is out tonight so I am home alone and fending for myself. Yep, last night's leftovers are the go! I'll save the good food we got at the weekend for when she is home to enjoy my cooking it!

Cardio Workout Done

I feel good now that I am home from the gym having completed an average cardio workout. I didn't want to go too hard today as I have to see the trainer this afternoon. I need something left in the tank to make sure that I have enough puff to get through what I expect will be my last session. As of Wendesday I will be working to my own weight lifting regime, which I will have to design myself to compliment the cardio that I am doing. The main reason for my decision is that I can no longer afford to pay the $135.00 per week for two sessions. I may discuss this with her, but as a financial decision, unless the price were to come down (which I doubt) there really isn't that much need for input from her.

The workout this morning was good, and an important one. Thanks Purl Princess and everyone else that has left comments on my blog. They really make a difference and help me carry on. I really do believe that if I can't turn my weight and eating habits around this time, then I will probably never be able to do it. I realise that this will be a fight for the rest of my life, and am prepared for that mentally now. However, I need to make substantial progress, so that the exercise in particular becomes more intense, and easier to keep up with. This will help me to get further along the track towards my goals.

Since I started on this mission I have found that my ability to exercise at a high level had deteriorated remarkably since I was last at a gym regularly. Fortunately my strength remained, but all my puff was gone. It is proving difficult to build it back up, but I have made progress, and need to keep at it so that burning more calories takes less time. I hope to be able to start running in a month or two as that will really help me to get the weight down.

For now I must get some food into me so that I have some energy for this afternoon's workout. I think that I will be in good shape for the probable last workout with the trainer this afternoon, and I want to give it my best shot yet. No stopping! I'll let you know how I get on with that.

Procrastinating Again!

I hit the ground crawling this morning. In spite of trying the coffee we purchased yesterday, and finding that it delivered a pretty good hit, I have been procrastinating this morning. I'm not sure why, but I don't really feel like hitting the gym this morning. Monday morning is always the worst time for me.

However, that is the road to rack and ruin. I will head off as soon as I have finished this post. My thanks go to the Purl Princess who left a comment on my last post to the blog, and has given me extra impetus to get out and do my cardio training this morning. Thanks Purl, you really helped me out today. It makes a difference when you know people read your posts!

I'll let you all know how I got on at the gym today, and if I make a decision about the trainer as I am caning it on the treadmill!

A Day Off, Out and About

What a great day. I have been out of the house all day, and haven’t been anywhere near the gym! I felt like a break, and I sure got it, although I did still get some exercise in. My partner and I spent the day at Manly, on Sydney’s north shore, near the entrance to the harbour mouth. It is a spectacular suburb, a real gem. Having a beach like that within a short ferry ride of downtown Sydney (which is a 10 minute train ride from our home) is just magic.

We left home to get the train at about 10:00 a.m. The highlight of the day was a historical tour through the old quarantine facility on North Head. As I said, we were meeting colleagues of my partner, and it was her work that had organised the event. The facility has been closed since 1984 and was where migrants to Australia were quarantined if the ship they traveled on carried any sickness. It was subsequently used to house refugees from various parts of the world at various times.

It was a fascinating tour covering the facilities in the complex. It provided an interesting historical perspective on international travel that is largely confined to the past. Our tour guide did point out that during the SARS outbreak, the provisions applied in the quarantine station were put back into effect (face masks, isolation, and quarantine). Quarantine facilities are now located elsewhere.

The tour also provided us with a look at a side of Sydney and Australia that you seldom see. The tour showed a piece of history in the ‘new world’ that is still with us today. The graffiti on the rocks made by the crews of vessels sent to quarantine was fascinating. They were etched into the rock cliff face, and the oldest one I could find dated back to 1863. They normally contained the name of the ship, the year, and the names of some crew members. Some contained a reference to the illness that forced them into quarantine (most notably the 1918 pandemic of Spanish Influenza).

While the tour was interesting, the views and the surrounding environment were quite stunning. The view across to Bondi and back down the habour to the central city were second to none. It was one of the most impressive views that I have seen of the layout of Sydney city since living here. If anyone is in town I would recommend it, however if you only have the chance to visit Manly for a short period of time, get a good look around the centre of Manly and the wonderful beach (which is the feature photo I have put up today).

Manly central is well developed, and today there was a market day with producers and importers of boutique products selling their wares. There was some good stuff available, and we picked up some interesting sounding coffee. The coffee is Huehuetenango, a Mayan coffee from Guatemala grown at high altitude, according to the salesman. I haven’t been able to try it yet, but will give it a go tomorrow morning. It certainly smelled wonderful, and again according to the salesman (who may have reeled us in but given it was only $13.00 and we had no coffee in the house I didn’t care that much!) the beans have a stronger flavour when grown at high altitude. I’ll put that through a critical test tomorrow morning!

So, all in all today was a great day for us. I am looking forward to tomorrow, and hitting the gym in the morning. I have yet to make a decision on the personal trainer but will talk with her tomorrow about a few things. I’ll let you know how that goes, and what decision, if any is reached tomorrow. Until then, fight the fat!

I Was Lost, But Now Am Found!

I feel like shouting hallelujah from the rooftops this morning! After the technical difficulties of the last few days, I got back from the gym this morning to find that my blog was up and running again. Hooorrrraayyyy! Apparently the tech issues that arose when I tried to convert to the new blogger beta system have been resolved. Thanks very much to whomever it was that sorted it all out for me, I was really bummed out when I couldn't post. I felt lost and my sense of direction was put off as I really look forward to working out, and then coming home and writing all about it. It is so good to have this back again. The same old story, you don't miss your water until your well runs dry as they say!

As I haven't been able to post for a few days, there are a few things that I need to catch up on. Firstly, as you can see from the ticker above, I have had yet another loss for the week using the official measurements. I was surprised to find that I am not that far off my second short term goal (135kg or 297 pounds). I am really stoked to have lost 9.3kg (20.46lbs) since I started my fight against fat. I am now under the 300lbs mark, and am looking forward to getting even further under that mark in the coming weeks.

I have noticed, especially this morning at the gym, that my gym clothes are no longer having to struggle to keep all of me contained under them. They are getting loose, especially my t-shirts. It feels good to be getting down in the size of clothes that I need, and I am looking forward to the day that I can walk into a sports store and buy things from the normal rack. Admittedly that is still a fair way off, but I will get there if I keep at it.

The other great thing that has happened to me over the last few days is that I have started to feel like I can give the cardio sessions my all again. The blisters are nearly all gone, and when I get on the treadmill I no longer focus on how long I have to go, or just getting through the fastest and hardest bits, I actually look for ways to vary the workout to increase the intensity and the number of calories that I burn. I had the best workout yet yesterday morning with a 50 minute session burning 630 calories. Click here to download the spreadsheet. I have moved on from the cardio routine the trainer gave me and am increasing it more or less every workout. I use it as a base now, if I have blisters or for some reason can't do what I consider a hard workout, I do the one she gave me.

This morning I did a moderate intensity workout on the treadmill. I went for 40 minutes all up, but was feeling the exertion of yesterday morning a bit and decided to take it a little easy. The most important thing was getting up and getting into the gym on Saturday when there are a lot of temptations that make not going to the gym that much easier to succumb to. Once I got up and out, I found it was fantastic day and enjoyed the walk to the gym immensely. Again, there is not a cloud in the sky here today.

Tomorrow my partner and I are going to Manly to tour around the beach area a bit, and meet some of her colleagues from work. We will be out for the whole day and I will try and get some photos to post of this trip. Of course, this will mean no gym tomorrow, but as I have been every other day this week, and we will be walking a lot tomorrow, I figure that this will be fine and will not impede my downward progress!

Foodwise things are going well. I have been using some of what I consider to be the good things in the trainer's diet to compliment my own new healthy eating plan. I am not tempted to binge eat at the moment, and have not been craving sweet food much. I have occaisionally had a diet chocolate mousse after dinner, as reccomended by the trainer, and they do help if you are wanting something sweet at night. There is hardly any sugar in them, and no fat. A good thing to have in the fridge to call on when you need it.

As Iportion suggested in her comment to my post on Thursday 17 August, I am taking this weekend to think about the trainer and whether or not she is the right one for me. If not, and I think I will discuss a few things with her on Monday and see what she has to say, then I will decide if I need a trainer, and if she will be the right one to stay on with. If not, I will contact a few of them that have posters up at the gym if I feel that I need a trainer. This is a difficult decision, as I have done well so far and don't want to mess with success, however I feel that I am not really getting my money's worth out of it, nor do I feel that the whole drill sergeant routine is right for me. I will let you all know what decision I come to.

Until then, keep checking back. Nows that I am able to post again, I will be back into my normal routine! Apologies for the last few days, but it was out of my hands and thankfully all issues have been resolved now. Thanks to those of you that have left comments, they really help keep my outlook positive and make me want to do well. Keep fighting the good fight.

Technical Issues

Hi folks, not sure what is going on but I have noticed that all the posts since 4 August 2006 have disappeared from the blog. I have contacted Blogger to try and sort this out. I have not been able to republish to the blog or anything, so I am hamgstrung until I hear back from them.

I am not even sure if this message will post to the blog. Hopefully it will, and in any event I will be back tomorrow trying to post the official weigh in and update the situation. Until then fingers crossed this glitch can be sorted...

Another Workout, Another Loss, Another Telling Off!

Ha Ha! Check it out! These bad boys (well 3 of them) went into my dinner last night. They were superb, nice and fresh (not farmed - probably from the Gulf of Carpentaria). Some mighty large Tiger Prawns - they tasted as good as any prawn I have had before. I know that I'm only supposed to add veges to the omlette that I make for dinner, but I couldn't resist making things more interesting when I spied these at the fishmonger. Besides, I have been told to eat more seafood, so here it is! I didn't take a picture of the omlettes that I cooked (my partner had the same thing I was having) because I managed to only do one right, and even then was still having trouble getting the omlette out of the pan without it tearing or otherwise looking unpresentable. Aside from the prawns I also added green beans, bean sprouts, soy sauce, mushrooms, and a bit of fresh basil. Delicious and nutritious! Or so I thought...

I'm not sure what it is with the trainer, but she seems to think that by making me feel bad each week about losing weight, it will make me want to lose more. Hmmmm, she hasn't really got me pegged yet I think. I tend to respond better to positive reinforcement. Nevertheless, we kicked off with the usual threat involving anger if I didn't perform on the scales and lose weight. In this case she made a throat slitting gesture to describe what would happen if I had put on weight. I was quietly confident that this wouldn't be the case as I have been going well, even if I didn't get to train as hard as I would like due to blisters, and feeling a bit crook yesterday.

She asked me how I had been going on the diet. I told her that there were some things about it that I liked, and some I didn't, but that I was mostly following it. She said that either I was following it or I wasn't. I told her that I didn't follow the cottage cheese part, nor did I feel inclined to toss out all the egg yolks last night (what a waste). She was none too impressed by my spartan approach to the omlette, nor did she approve of the prawns. She said that if I didn't lose weight then I shouldn't blame her. I told her to rest easy, I wouldn't be looking to blame anyone if I don't lose weight, it is my responsibility after all. As such, the authority to decide what I will and wont do rests with me too.

Her objection to the prawns was based on cholesterol levels. I'm not too worried about that, I am eating much less fat now anyway, and almost no saturated fat. My intake of red meat has decreased, and I am eating more fish, chicken, and untold more vegetables than I used to. I have never had high cholesterol and am not at all worried about it, but if I was, the only other thing I could do about it would be to take pills I reckon (aside from the yolks)! I really like prawns, and they went well with the omlette last night.

Reducing my weight, and being able to stick to eating good food in reasonable quantities, is my goal at the moment. I'm not interested yet in trying to live up to an impossible ideal diet that might serve me well once I have reached a certain weight and am finding it difficult to lose more. For the meantime, my number one target is getting used to not overeating. So far, I am doing well and my weight is coming down. That is a good thing, and I refuse to see it any other way. Aside from that, I don't think that losing weight faster than I am now would be a good thing either. Do I think that I may need to change my diet again in future? Yes, of course. But for now, what is manageable and not too much of a hardship is a better option to keep me on the path of the righteous! Well, that is what I think anyway.

In any event, she weighed me today and I came in at 136kg even (299.2lbs). This was down from 137.8kg (303.16lbs) the week before. Good news, it seems that I may have broken the 300 pound mark, and I am 9 kgs down on my original weight. It also means a loss of 1.8kgs (3.96lbs) from last week. However, as you all know the weigh in today was without my shoes on so the official weigh in tomorrow might not have me quite ready to celebrate those achievements yet. The usual comments were made by the trainer as follows "Sure, you are losing weight now but you will plateau. My diet is to stop that from happening". I was stoked to have done so well without having seen her before today this week as it means that I am able to work well on my own without the need to be whipped at every turn.

The workout today was mixed. After the opening exchanges in round one with the trainer, I wasn't feeling too positive about working with her. I feel that this affected the first series of exercises that she had me do. First up I was to do the following in order with no break - Step ups onto a bench holding 10 kg dumbbells which I was to raise up over my head in time with the step up onto the bench. I was to do 15 for each leg. Next up I was to do flys with 10 kg dumbbells for 15 reps lying on the bench. Following that I was to do 15 press ups. Next up were these ridiculous situps she makes me do on the half or quarter Swiss Ball. I had to alternate to each side, and really I don't think that I am meant to do these. When I do them I fell no tightening of the abs, or any present or subsequent ab soreness, unlike crunches. Whether I am doing it wrong or what I don't know, but I do them how she tells me, she offers no corrective tips, and I find them pointless. Finally I had to do 15 tricep push ups off the bench. I did this circuit three times and it was tough. I had to stop a couple of times to catch my breath but at least I did make it, and I did put in some good effort to get to the finishing line - particularly on the push ups.

Next up were some more, but slightly different, step ups onto the same bench. This time my knees were paralell with the bench and one foot remained constantly on the bench as I stepped up and down. This time I was holding a 7kg dumbell in the opposite hand to the foot on the bench, and I had to do 15 each leg. Next up was an exercise where I had to lie on the bench and hold a dumbell with both hands and lower it down past my head, and then raise it back up over my head until it was just above my stomach (I think these are called pullovers). I had to do 15 of these with a weight around the 20 kilo mark. Next up was deadlifting a barbell, and finally behind the head dumbell tricep extensions with both hands on the dumbell, again for 15 reps each. I had to do three sets of these exercises as well.

After that, I was pretty puffed, and the hour was up. I was glad that part was at an end, however I knew that my cardio session awaited me. I was instructed to do the cardio routine she had given me, and to leave it at that for today. I stuck with that, although I did make the first 25 minute session harder than the second session of 10 minutes on the treadmill. Before I got underway I paid the trainer for the session today, and the arrears that I owed her from last week. She wanted to set up a session for Saturday morning but I told her that Monday at 3:00 would be fine with me as that is when we usually have our session. I can do without the additional expense at the moment, and I did a weight session myself on Tuesday that was passable. I may even do my own over the weekend if I am feeling good.

So all up, a good result I felt, and I remain hopeful that the official weigh in tomorrow will yield some good results for me. I did a bit of crusing around the internet when I got home from the gym and found that my Basal Metabloic Rate (BMR) is 2612.4 calories according to Discovery Health. This means that even if I lay around in bed doing absolutely nothing I would burn 2612.4 calories per day. Pretty nifty eh? Don't worry though, I wont be tempted to try and lose weight that way, not after having spent this much time overcoming blisters and getting some semblence of fitness back! I gather that exercise can raise the BMR also and I hope that the new lifestyle is assisting there.

I feel good, and ready to carry on to the next level of fitness training - who knows, I may even start running on the treadmill soon! Actually, the trainer did say she had a new cardio routine for me so hopefully I may get that on Monday, if not I will start to do more myself now that the blister is nearly gone and I'm feeling better. Check back tomorrow for the official weigh in, and until then, keep fighting against fat!

Mystery Solved!

I now know why I was feeling dizzy this morning...it came on later this afternoon. I have a crook stomach and it's playing havoc with me. Must have been the early symptoms that I felt this morning. No idea what caused it at this stage, probably wont ever know for sure I guess. In any event, at least my partner is fine and I know that the events of this morning weren't a prelude to something more serious. I can't wait for this to pass as aside from this problem, everything else seems to be pretty good and I want to get out there and go hard!

Not sure if I will see the trainer tomorrow. I feel really drained at for that kind of money I want to be able to get the most out of each session. Will see how I feel in about half an hour and if I am still no good, I will call her and see what the story is with cancelling a session.

So, if anyone out there was worried by my post this morning, it is all sorted - mystery solved (well partly anyway!).

Out of Sorts

Not the best day on record today. I got out of bed feeling tired this morning, and then to add to the usual woes, I also felt quite dizzy for a few minutes. The dizziness subsided into light headedness, and then went away. I was not sure if I should go to the gym or not, but then I thought that perhaps the exercise and fresh air during the walk there might do me some good.

I felt okay when I was getting ready, and as I shot out the door I started to feel like my usual self. I guess I got about halfway to the gym before the dizziness returned, although it was much less intense than it had been first thing in the morning. I decided to carry on with the workout as I was out and about, and walked the rest of the way to the gym at my usual pace.

I decided that I would do the cardio routine that had been given to me by my trainer. Normally I try and jazz it up a bit, or double the amount of workout time, but given that I was feeling a bit poorly, I decided to just get through the minimum without having to push myself too hard. I got on the treadmill for my first 25 minute block and got underway.

I found the workout tougher than usual, and found it hard to keep up today. I did not increase my pace or time in any way, except that instead of waiting for the second session to do the last 7.0km/ph fast walking two minute burst, I worked it into the end of the first session as I wanted to get it out of the way. I made sure that I kept my focus on what I was doing as I did not want to get dizzy on the treadmill and end up falling over - that would be a disaster!

In the end I made it all the way through the workout and felt good for having done it. I was a little dizzy at the end, but no more than usual. I did do three sets of 20 crunches, however I was pretty tired and decided to call it quits for today after I had finished that session.

I'm back home, have entered my workout data onto the spreadsheet and posted it to the net for those of you that want to see how I got on. I've had breakfast and am feeling a little better. I'm not sure why I felt dizzy, I think it is probably just part of the change in diet which has come on top of the increase in exercise. I think that it will pass but will see how I get on over the next hour or so. If I am not 100% better by then I may have to cancel my training session tomorrow. It is of coure possible that I might be coming down with whatever illness my trainer had! We'll see.

I do feel good about hitting the gym even though I wasn't really in the mood for it, and it would have been easy not to go at all. I think that the habit is starting to form and that I am starting to like going there more and more each time I go. Long may that last! It's not long until weigh in day, the trainer will do that tomorrow and the official weigh in will be the day after that. It'll be interesting to see how I have done after the substantial drop last week.

I'm Back!

Hi all, sorry for the delay in writing this post today. I have been unusually busy and the pace is only just starting to let up and allow me time to get online and post the days events to my blog. Far out, I am pretty strung out now, but in a good way.

I got up at the usual time and made breakfast for my partner before she took off for work. I was delayed in taking off to the gym as I had to recharge my mp3 player and I decided that while I was waiting for it to recharge I may as well put some different music on it. This took me a little longer than usual, and I wasn't on my bike and on the way to the gym until about 9:00. I got there about 9:05 and decided to start off by getting on the treadmill and doing a short 10 minute burst on the cross trainer (I think this is also known as an eliptical trainer).

It went really well and my blister did not give me any trouble at all. Also my knee was feeling great and decided to make the most of it. I remembered that last Thursday I did the session with the trainer followed by a cardio workout. So, being nicely warmed up I decided that I would lift some weights today to get a bit more of a workout in the absence of having a session with the trainer.

I ventured over to the machine section of the gym and noticed that it was really busy. I decided that rather than plan a workout I would do much better just jumping on machines that were free and working around the crowd. I followed this and did lat pulldowns, seated chest press, leg extensions, peg press, bicep curls and shoulder press (both with dumbbells). It was a good workout, particularly the leg exercises as it seemed like they were helping my knee. I guess I will know for sure if that is true tomorrow! I didn't lift as much as I possibly could, opting instead to do relatively high repetitions of 15-20 for each of the three sets I did on each exercise.

After that I jumped on the treadmill and did the 31 minute routine. Unfortunately I lost concentration and missed changing the speed a couple of times. I felt as if I had been going slower than usual and so I built in a few more high speed minutes that really tested me. At the end of the 25 minute max session I noticed that I had in fact done much more than I usually do, so that feeling of slacking must have just been in my mind. I reounded out the remaining 6 minutes on the treadmill going hard again. If you want to see the stats from my workout, click on the link to the aerobic fitness chart. I burned the most calories ever in the workout today.

I was tired when I finished, but had enough energy to push myself hard on the bike ride home. It went well and the 'warm down' that is the bike ride is now one of the things that I look forward to about the workout. Things really are changing for me, but I need to start getting more sleep or something as the hardest part about going to the gym is fast becoming the actual getting to the gym to do the workout. I am sure that will pass, and is probably related to the pain I have had from my knee and from my blisters. Fortunately I have not had any trouble with them today, and I think that I might be back in business now.

So, all in all a successful day workout wise. I have had lunch and breakfast as set out in the new diet. I'm having chicken for dinner - I've been cooking it all day in the slow cooker so it should be pretty good I hope. I have noticed that I am starting to get hungry, however I don't think that it is the diet that is causing it. I think that it is really just poor time management on my part in getting to the gym early enough to eat all the meals during the rest of the day. I'm sure that I will get into a routine soon enough that will allow me to settle into what I am required to do. However, until then I had better be careful not to break.

Tomorrow will be a cardio only day. I had better allow myself some time to recover from the workout today. I think that I might try to build in some ab exercises as I didn't really do any of those today, and I really need some work in that area. I feel that I need to keep something in the tank for Thursday's workout with the trainer.

So, until tomorrow - keep fighitng the good fight, and keep those comments coming.

Shortened Cardio Workout Today

It was a good idea for me to get on the blog this morning and read the comments that had been left, as well as check out a couple of sites off the blogroll. When I first got on the blog, I was procrastinating. However once I saw the comments left on the blog, and the troubles that others were having on other sites on the blogroll, I decided that a blister was pretty minor really and I should get out and get into it.

So, the decision having been made, I cycled down to the gym and went through the 31 minute cardio routine, slightly faster than usual as I felt okay once I got on the machine. It is a beautiful day out there today, possibly a little chilly, but not a cloud in the sky. It was a nice ride to the gym, and it was strangely packed for a Monday, mid morning. I think that getting some warm Aussie sun on the legs has been good for them this morning!

I got straight on the treadmill and went for it. My workout results are posted on the spreadsheet that you can download from the links on this page. It was pretty good, and while the blister did play up towards the end, it held out enough to let me get a decent sweat up, and more importantly keep in the routine that I need to be in. I felt much better for it, and even managed to cycle faster than usual on the way home, and cycled all the way.

All in all it was a great start to the day. Unfortunately about 5 minutes ago my trainer called sounding as sick as a dog. She clearly has a cold of some sort and it sounded like it would be a good idea for me to stay as far away from her as possible. Needless to say, the session for this afternoon has been cancelled and I will see her next on Thursday morning at 9:00. I actually think that this is a good result all up as I can now rest my foot for the rest of the afternoon, and with any luck it should be ready to rock and roll again tomorrow.

My plan at this stage will be to try and get into the gym twice tomorrow, depending on how the foot feels. I think that the trainer would like to get me back into the gym for a second time this week, but I may have to see how this is going to fit in with what I am up to at the weekend as I think this is the only time she will have to see me. Diet has gone okay so far, just about to finish off and head to the fridge for my mid morning yoghurt. Peach and mango, yum! Better get to it or I'll never get through all the meals I have to eat today! Until tomorrow, keep fighting the fat!

Small Change to Blog, and Decision Made

Hey phatfighting fans, just a quick note to let those of you that comment on the posts know that I have turned off the comment moderation feature. I only ever had it on to limit the amount of spam that I had to deal with, however there hasn't been much so far and given the delay that the moderation function puts between you commenting and it getting published, I have decided to turn it off. This should help get comments on the blog faster. I will deal with any spam comments manually as and when they arise.

I have also just made the decision to get into the gym and see how the blister holds up. So, a cradio session will be coming up soon, with a post following it. After that I have my appointment with the instructor at 3:00 this afternoon, so it will be a pretty full on day. I'm looking forward to it, and am hoping that the blister holds up okay. If it doesn't then I may have to wait until it is healed and just take the enfroced break from the gym on the chin. I'll see how I get on. Check back later for more posts.

A Great Night Out, Followed By A Glorious Day Off!

First up, here is a shot of my noble steed. This is the bike that I have written so much about on this blog. I thought that perhaps you might like to check it out, given that you have heard so much about it. It is a good bike, and it has handled being asked to ferry around possibly a bit more weight than it was designed for! No complaints from it so far! It does do the job well, and I do like having it. It gets me from A to B much faster than the old feet can!

Well, last night's events were a real Sydney special! I left home at about 4:00 to meet my partner and her friends at the opera house at 5:00. I made it pretty much right on time, just when the sun was setting and there was a magnificent pinkish hue in the sky as we looked over to the harbour bridge. It was a spectacular evening and so we decided to stay at the rocks and have a couple of drinks at the Opera Bar which is on the concourse on the way to the Opera House. We sat overlooking the water, with the Harbour Bridge as the main feature. It looked like you could reach out and touch it. The view was stunning, a really special scene.

We were there for about an hour catching up. I had one glass of a Hunter Valley Shiraz, which was superb for a house wine. I will be sure to have it again the next time I am in that neck of the woods. We're thinking that anyone who comes to visit us will be taken to the Opera Bar for the vista and the atmosphere, it was great!

Next up we went out for dinner and I was dreading that thinking that I might have difficulty finding something on the menu that wouldn't set me back too far. There was a slight hitch with the venue, which was supposed to be a Vietnamese restaurant as one of the visitors wanted to have Pho while she was in Sydney. Unfortunately the restaurant (chosen by one of their other friends who lives in Sydney) did not serve Pho so we had to take a walk around Darlinghurst to find somewhere that did. This is one of the more interesting areas of central Sydney.

After trapsing around the place (my blister was killing me during the walk) we eventually decided to eat at a restaurant called "Fish Face". Initially we were non-plussed about having to sit outside and eat on the footpath in rickety outdoor chairs, however once we were settled in under the heater it turned into an excellent al fresco dining experience. The waiter advised us of the specials and I was greatly heartened to hear that one was a Prawn Omelette in Oyster sauce. As luck would have it, this was on my diet so I chose that. Download Phatfighter's diet.

One of our party had carried a bottle of red with him to dinner and we all shared that with our meals. It was a delicious Mt Pleasant Shiraz, 2000 vintage. It was superb, and while I wouldn't normally think to have red with fish, it was an excellent accompanyment to my meal when it arrived. I can say, without any shadow of a doubt, that the omelette I had that night was the most delicious omelette I have ever had in my 35 years of living. The oyster sauce was superb, the prawns were fresh, not farmed, and had the right texture to blend with the egg and vegetables that surrounded them. Quite simply, it was one of the best meals I have ever had. The proportion was exactly right, not too much, and I am sure that even my trainer would've been proud of me for sticking within the intent of diet, of not to exact letter!

After the meal we then went to a bar around the corner from the restaurant. It was called the Victoria Room. I have never been to a bar that had so many cocktails, or so many of the "beautiful people" we all hear about! It was quite a shock when my partner and I walked in. Firstly it looked like we had accidentally arrived at a models convention, and secondly there were about 5 women to every man. The single guys that we were with could scarcely contain their joy at having arrived at what seemed to be precisely the right time. They spoke to each other in furtive tones, suggesting to each other that perhaps they ought to put in a bid for a regular table!

My partner and I were both a bit jaded by this time (remember she had been working all day, and I had gone pretty hard at the gym) and so we left to go home at about 10:00. I only had a diet coke at the Victoria Room, which I thought was pretty well behaved of me. We headed for Kogarah and our little slice of suburbia, having seen another side of the city that we both quite liked. I think that we may end up trying to move over to that side of the city when our lease here is up in six months time.

We had a bit of a sleep in this morning, and had breakfast out on the front porch officially breaking in our new outdoor furniture. It was beautiful outside, a balmy 21 degrees. Perfect for relaxing with a latte, toast and the paper. I decided that I would have the day off from the gym in an attempt to allow my blister some time to heal. It was really sore from the wandering the night before, and my partner and I needed some time together, as well as some time to get the house sorted out for the coming week. We have done our weekly shop and are ready for the diet week this week. It should be interesting to see how I go. I think I will be fine, however I wont be eating the cottage cheese. I hate it, and will substitute more yoghurt for the cheese. Wish me luck, this will be the first big change for a while, and I need all the luck I can get to overcome this blister it seems!

Slow Start

Hey there fellow fat fighters, I had a pretty slow start to the day today. I got up with my partner as she had to work today, even though it is the weekend. Apparently it is a one off training course they are all doing today, so it isn't too bad. She did have to be out of here even earlier than she usually is during the week as the trains don't run anywhere near as frequently at the weekend as they do during the week. So, I managed to haul myself out of bed and make breakfast for her before she left.

I felt really tired and once she left I got on the computer and made a few changes to the blog. Instead of having so many separate tables, I have combined them now and my weight in pounds simply features as an additional column where I was able to do that. It looks a bit tidier and takes up less room that way.

Once I had finished doing that I finally got my act together and put bandages on the fresh blister and cycled down to the gym. Before I left I decided that since I spend so much time there I should take a picture of my gym so that you all can have a look at where I seem to be spending a fair chunk of my time these days! Hope you like the photo at the top of this entry.

I managed to tough it out and do the 31 minute workout that I have to do each day. I had sore feet, particularly when going at the fastest speed that I have to. At the end of the set routine, I decided to try and get on the cross trainer and see if I went any better on that. I found that my feet were much better and so I did an additional 10 minutes to round out the workout. I went as hard as I could and did pretty well considering that it was tough going today. I have update the spreadsheet and posted it so you can download it from the links if you wish.

I then took a couple of shots of the gym for everyone out there, and then cycled home. It was good to take the bike out, as I had been leaving it at home for a while so I could walk to the gym listening to my MP3 player. I took it today and it is so much faster than walking down. I think that I will use it a bit more often during the coming week.

That'll be it for today. I have only just had lunch which isn't so good, and I am heading out tonight to meet up with my partner and a friend of hers from childhood that is in town. We're heading down to the Rocks (the area by the Opera House) and are having dinner with the friend and her partner. It'll be interesting to see how I go as there doubtless be alcohol and fatty food on offer. I think that I should be fine though, the boost of having reached my first goal will keep me focussed. I will file a full report on how I get on tomorrow to let you all know. So, until tomorrow, keep fighting the good fight out there!

Changes to Blog

Hi all, Phatfighter is back again for another post today!

I have had a few enquiries from people relating to my use of the metric system on this site, and recording all of my figures in kilograms exclusively. There have been several requests that I also post my weight and measurements in pounds for those people that are used to those measurements.

I thought that this was a great idea, and I have now incorporated in the sidebar of this blog my key measurements in pounds. These appear in separate tables from the metric measurements for easy reference. I hope that those of you that prefer measurements in pounds find this helpful.

Thanks also to those of you that have been posting comments. They really help keep me on track and in the right frame of mind to keep on plugging to get to that long term goal of mine.

Keep checking back for more changes to this blog. Until then, keep fighting the good fight.

First Short Term Goal Achieved...and Then Some!

Good news! I have blasted through the first short term goal weight of 140kgs. I weighed in this morning at 138.8kgs in my shoes and gym gear (following all the usual protocols for my weekly weigh in). I was surprised at how much my weight had changed since yesterday and am not getting too excited about it just yet, although I am pleased to see it coming down, and to now be well within the 130kgs bracket. Still too heavy, but not as bad as 140kgs.

I feel that it is possible that there is something else at work here - dehydration or something like that. It is nothing intentional but I feel that such a large drop is unlikely to be all fat, particularly when viewed against the measurements I take, which have not changed as much as I might have hoped for. However, dropping a shirt size is really good and makes me feel great about getting this far in a month. Perhaps the trainer was right when she said yesterday that I would burn fat during the cadio workout after our training session and weigh in? It could be I guess, and if so, I better thank her for making me do it!

Even if there is something else at work here, I can be sure of remaining under the 140kg mark. I expect that there may be some fluctuation next week as this is a massive reduction from last week. As you will be aware, I am trying to lose weight without suffering too much by restricting food intake. All I have done is try and eat like a normal person and cut out silly stuff - like chocolate, other sweets, and fat rich foods. When I finish my evening meal, I wait for a few minutes before deciding if I need any more, and have found that lately I don't need a second serving. Aside from that I eat when I am hungry and try to train as hard as I can, and eat enough to allow me to do that. That is all I have done so far, and so far it is working and I am pleased with the results. It is great to have reached the first goal that I set myself. I will have to think of some sort of non-food related reward for myself!

My training went okay this morning, prior to the weigh in. I had blisters from yesterday and while I didn't go as hard as usual, due to tiredness and soreness, I did do more than the 31 minute routine (I did 38 minutes!). I did leave the sheet with the times, resistance and speed levels on it at home so I had to make it up. It was surprising how much of it I remember having done it a few times now. I felt that it went okay, but I couldn't do 50 minutes as one of my blisters burst and I thought that it would not be a good idea to carry on after that as I would only make it worse and slow myself down later. I feel good, and felt good while training. I'll try and get in there again tomorrow and see how the feet hold up. I think that this is just a case of wearing in new shoes and they will settle down soon.

So, all in all a great result. The long and torrid contest continues, with me having the upper hand of the early rounds in the fights against fat! Check back tomorrow to see how I've been getting on with the cardio work.