Sunday, 22 June 2014

Sunday Weigh-In: Dear Diary 16th-21st June!

Well I'm starting this weeks entry super early, it's currently Monday evening. It was something that crossed my mind at work, how each day I feel different, my effort is different and I always sum it up in my head but when it comes to typing at the end of the week I forget so I've decided to a diary format with a short entry for each day. This will give me a better overall idea and hopefully stop me waffling on (minus the yummy waffles) at the end of the week. I'll still be including my steps and activity charts at the end but for now I want to type out my feelings which I certainly did yesterday - if you haven't seen it check out My (Little) Diet Rant. 

Monday 16th June  (Expect this entry to be a little more detailed than the rest)
Well for a Monday it has been a great day. I had my usual toast followed by an Actimel plus pot and melon, hopefully the deli at work will have their home mix of natural yoghurt and cherries the rest of the week as it's a good way for me to get a bit of extra protein in. Had my usual home-made salad except this was a post weekend mix missing cucumber, I had a couple of tomatoes left plus a bit of pepper, a carrot and about half a white cabbage! It was enough as one of the guys brought in some brownies that his partner had made so had one triangle with lunch - very delicious and within my calorie range. The rest of the day has been quite light, I've become addicted to the Eat Natural Almond and Apricot bars which although quite calorific are healthy and good before a workout plus it means I actually eat some nuts which I usually hate (unless covered in chocolate). Tea is some gorgeous Asparagus and Mozzarella ravioli with salad and a bit of garlic ciabatta, strawberries with a bit of ice cream for dessert.

My steps have been amazing today, I was fortunate to have been doing work that requires me to walk about a bit, I've also got a very busy week this week I always make sure I get away from my computer for at least 10 minutes every hour - usually this is just doing some other bit of my job but when I need the bathroom I try to go to the bathroom at the far end of the building - unless I'm desperate! This is actually quite a few steps and it means I have to travel down and up a few flights of stairs - which I sometimes try to run up!

I'm about to workout so that will give my calorie allowance for today a burst, I'm doing my boxing routine with my weighted gloves, usually I'll just do 20 minutes but I'll aim for 30 minutes today. Also incredibly proud of myself for digging out the floor fan that has been sat impotently next to my bed since last summer, I've been finding it so hot to workout (especially when wearing gloves) so this will make my fitness routine much more pleasant and less stinky. Now I just have to deal with the mess I've left down the side of my bed!

Plus a NSV (None Scale Victory) today, someone asked me if I'd lost weight - I said possibly as I don't really know although I do feel trimmer.

Total steps today: 14,318


Tuesday 17th June
Another great day for steps, I stayed active most of the day and manage to hit my halfway goal of 5000 steps, which I usually aim to be at by 2pm, by 12pm so a good start which continued. By the time I got home, slightly after 5pm, I was already over 10,000 steps and determined to workout. I treated myself to tryign a new routine, one from The Firm - Total Body Makeover dvd, the routine is called Cardio Party Express, yes, I did look a bit of an idiot doing it but it was a good workout - there are some clips of routines from all of the dvd on YouTube. I managed to burn 370 calories which is a nice bonus.

Food wise it has been another good day, pretty much the same as yesterday but with no brownies. We have a chest freezer full of food that doesn't quite fit together but we will have to find a way to make it work so the rest of the week we will be making use of this food rather than buying anything new and fresh apart from frozen peas, mushrooms and carrots! We could do with saving the money. So far I'm feeling positive about tomorrow but if I'm feeling like I need a bit of a rest I'll make tomorrow a rest night but make sure I keep up the steps in the day - a bit worried as I'm getting a lift in, this means I'll miss out on my close to 1000 step walk to the bus.

Total steps today: 15,293


Wednesday 17th June
Well it was never going to get of to a good start, mainly because of the lift - not that I did bad, this week is proving to be the best ever with steps and exercise. I've exceeded 10,000 steps and managed another workout tonight but only a 20 minute one. Food wise I've kept it in line again! I also got to try out my new 4kg dumbbells - I already have quite a few of different weights but have only one tiny set of the neoprene coated ones which I find a lot easier to grip when needing to hop on one leg whilst swinging it around! So these were a good investment.

Total steps today: 12,081


Thursday 18th June
Another slightly pants day although I've managed to reach 10,000 steps it has been slower progress today and nowhere near exceeding my steps earlier in the week but I had a lot on at work which meant I was behind the desk most of the time plus I had a horrible time with hayfever today and ended up going home because of this, only slightly early but I didn't do as many steps on the way home. Anyway, I got myself together and once my eyes and throat were feeling half normal I got on with some HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training and pilates so quite a big burn tonight even if my steps are only just there.

Food wise I've managed to stay under and feel like my choices have been on the 80% good 20% not so good side - just!

Right now I don't know about the weekend, I want to just relax and watch a few films which I might very well do so my steps won't be there but I will be doing a good, thorough workout on both days and possibly one small walk into town on Saturday which will at least give me some steps.

Total steps today: 10,034


Friday 19th June
A horribly busy day at work but I was quite active too so I exceeded my steps quite quickly. As I'd exercised every night this week and have also been busy in the day I've decided to make this my rest night BUT I wanted to push myself a bit further with my goals aiming to make sure Friday steps were my best of the week and I really did manage it. Plus it's been so hot so instead making it horrible to exercise in, I'll aim to be up early in the morning before the house becomes too hot.

Food wise I was pretty okay although I had a Caffe Nero Frappe Latte on the way home which is fine, I always say everything in moderation and with my steps today I will have quite a few calories to eat - I haven't had much time in the day to eat and I hate being too far under. I just hate all the carbohydrates in this drink, if only it was half the amount! It will fit in a long with a little Chinese take-away, we share a couple of dishes (I've found I've had smaller portions as the months go by), mushroom foo yung followed by bean curd in black bean sauce with extra veg.

Total steps today: 16,224


Saturday 20th June
I did it! Well I didn't quite, I'm talking about getting up early to exercise, I did wake up at 8am but I wasn't exercising until 10.30, better than usual though. I've done the usual The Firm - 20 Minute Fat Burning - both 20 minute routines and the extra 10 minute one. I've also made the effort to do a bit more walking, I was already up to 4,000 steps when I left but I having a walk through town, picking up my salad for next week and browsing the shops has doubled that and I managed to reach 10,000 steps a couple of hours after I got home - a miracle for a weekend (except when I have a day trip out).

We had a light Mozzarella and tomato salad for lunch a long with a few crisps, a bit of cereal for breakfast before working out followed by a high protein yoghurt. We also had an egg custard - I do love them but every time I have one I always think I can make them much better - I just don't have the time! Saturday is a pizza night although I just don't eat as much as I used to. As I said I do keep it all in moderation and meet my calorie, carb and fat goal, nothing wrong with having it in moderation.

Tomorrow I want to make sure I at least do 5,000 steps - I'm a bit sad as I possibly won't get the chance to do the full 10,000 but after having such a good week I shouldn't be too down on myself.

Total steps today: 11,330


Sunday 21st June
I hate Sundays, now this is only because it means being back at work on Monday - if Monday was also a day off I'd love Sunday. Now my hatred is only because it's a difficult day to do anything. You have to try and get things sorted for the next day so it doesn't feel like you have a lot of time to relax - I feel like I have got nothing done today and it is coming up to 5.

This also means I'm always undecided what to do exercise and step wise so it always ends up with something in-between. Today was another busy one with Grandma around for lunch but I was determined to get some steps in so after lunch I went for a quick walk up the road, down the road and around the road. It feels like such a shame to not meet my 10,000 steps today as I've done so well the rest of the week but there has to be some compromise somewhere. I plan to do a quick 30 minute workout, one with some strength training in although I always log this on MFP as aerobics as I just don't have the time to be precise - plus I use a heart rate monitor so I don't use their totals for calories burned. I'm somewhat determined to be exercised, showered and back to sitting on bed either watching something or playing a game before 5 and before I have to pull my clothes together for tomorrow and prepare my lunch. I know there is a slim chance so I better get the post over and done with.

Food wise I've done okay, we just had a little bit of cereal for breakfast as lunch is never that late. We had lunch with my parents and Grandma so kind of joined them - for us that just means having some of the vegetables. We actually had new potatoes and some extra veg than we usually would and skipped on the roast potatoes and mashed potato. I had some Yorkshite puddings but instead of making them from scratch we just had the pre-done ones which aren't quite as nice but less calories. I skipped on having a proper slice of pie for pudding as it was blackcurrant which I'm not wild about and instead will have a little pot of rhubarb crumble instead - I did have a little bit of the pie crust but not much and a spoon of soft scoop ice cream but it is all logged. Now we will have something else to eat today but we rarely cook a full meal on a Sunday so it's going to end on a light note.

Total steps today: To be updated later!


Steps this week

Activity this week

Even though I haven't finished for the day I have already exceeded my mile goal by managing to rack up 38 miles this week! It would be nice to round it up to 40 miles today but that won't happen.

Short Term Goals
I want to up my strength training next week. Starting having protein shakes post workout as well as a bit of yoghurt. I'm not expecting to do as well as I did this week with my steps but will aim for around 33 miles total for the week. 

Long Term Goals
To keep getting stronger and fitter. I'd like to be able to increase the weight I life too. I'd also like to feel comfortable in a pair of jeans by the end of the year.




4 comments:

  1. Fabulous week for fitness, go you ! Thanks for linking up :) I've fixed the code now if you want the linkie xx

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    1. Thank you, I'll sort that out now too! xx

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  2. I've no doubt you've lost weight! It's lovely when other people notice though isn't it?

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    1. It does mean so much more, I think if you can see that someone has lost weight while they're fully clothed it has really made a difference! xx

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