So for Lent I thought that I would give up sweets, puddings, chocolate, biscuits, cake. In truth I don't eat a lot of these anyway and would tend to snack only occasionally on such foods but, hey, I thought "try to consciously cut out the snacks".
For the first week I switched to just wanting to eat crisps/chips/cheese(things that I rarely if ever eat) I was fascinated to see what happens if you give up one thing in your diet how you'll replace it with the nearest food type. I think it's because now I am not grazing so when it gets to meal times I really want a big meal. I eat porridge every day but find that when I miss it these are the days that I am most likely to want to eat the other rubbish; a lesson in there somewhere...In South Africa this week so bound to want to eat steak/drink wine. maybe if I ONLY consume the steak and the wine I'll be ok...

Repeated last weeks session this evening. Did not lift much more, just more reps. Building muscular endurance at the moment, and will start to build strength again once my body is accustomed to the new exercise regime.

I am now logging my routine as I go on my Google G1 phone, in the Google calendar. The calender is public, so anyone can see. Currently I am also sharing with one friend who is doing the same, this way we can both keep track more easily of each others progress. He is lifting much more than me, but he did not take a 2 year break from weight lifting like I did!

Also, after every workout now I am taking my Body Fortress Muscle and Weight Gainer supplement. Actually I take it every evening now, as it is my way to try to lose weight. Like SlimFast, only designed to help build muscle as well as lose weight! Probably cheaper than SlimFast too.

Weight Training Workout:

Squats:
Bodyweight - 50
40kg - 10
60kg - 10

Incline Bench press:
30kg - 12
35kg - 12
40kg - 8
40kg - 9 fail
40kg - 8 fail

Bentover row:
30kg - 10
30kg - 12
30kg - 10
40kg - 8

EZ-Bar curls:
20kg + bar: 10
20kg + bar: 10
20kg + bar: 10
20kg + bar: 10

Well, to keep with the theme of fitness, i went out and bought one of those fangled heart monitor watches to keep an eye on my heart when i run.. and to check my resting heart rate, lets just say its not looking to good, hopefully with more running that will improve..

I'm very proud, i managed to slip in another run yesterday before work, which did something i did not expect, it gave me lots of energy for work, which on a normal week I'm completely shattered... so i might try to fit in that run regularly!

Wish me luck!!

I have decided lately that i was getting just a bit too big and jiggly around the middle,...and arm... and legs... well, you get the flabby picture...

so I have taken it upon myself to begin eating better and doing more exercise... And I thought that it might be easier to see how I'm doing with my "fitness 2009 quest" if i document everything i do.

I started my "regime" [i use this term lightly] last week with a few jogs around where i live, but i think i need to get a little more disciplined, and i'm aiming to go running at least 3 times a week.

Just a note: I don't like gyms.. not because you have to exercise but why pay for something most people can do free, there is a whole world out there waiting to be ran on, or cycled on.. OK ill stop now before i rant on about something totally off topic :s.

Thus far I have:

Friday 27th Feb; Walked 80 min (to and from uni)
Cycled for 40 min (to and from work) - (i don't think I'm going to count running around like a headless chicken whilst at work, or traipsing up and down countless stairs while at uni as I've been doing that for years -- to many years.. )

Sat 28th Feb; cycled for 40 min (to and from work)

Monday 2nd March; Walked 40 min (to uni - i was bad, i got the bus back :()
Jogged for 30 min

Tuesday 3rd March; Walked 80 min (to and from uni)
Jogged for 30 min

Wednesday 3rd March; Walked 80 min (to and from uni)
Jogged for 30 min

I'm hoping to do this every week.. I'm gonna also throw in some sit ups and some weights for good measure... wonder how long I'm going to keep it up tho! as a student, we tend to be good at putting things off, and finding other more "important" suff to do.. like this blog for example! if i could be this good with writing up my thesis I'd have been long done by now!! :)

Toodles... :D

I start my weight loss tonight. I will go for a run, and then do 50 sit ups. I havent really run for a while, so i don't know how far to run, and how long for. I will probably run for 45 minutes - 1 hour, then followed by sit ups. I really want to reduce my curves, and drop a jean size, and also tone up my tummy, to get the flat stomach im aiming for! any suggestions?

Last night I was hoping to do another weight training session, however I had underestimated how much I would still be aching after Friday's weight training. My triceps and chest were still aching to the point that I could not even do a press up when I tried. However, I did not give in to defeat, oh no!

When I got home from work I had a large chocolate protein/muscle shake. At 10pm I started my circuit training in the living room. It was a simple routine, involving;

Bodyweight squats
Burpies, but without the explosive star jump
Sit ups
Side crunches
Reverse sit ups (need to check this is correct name - on belly then raise upper body)

I did a few sets of squats (100 in total), did not count thew burpies, but did 3 sets. About 50 sit ups, 10 side crunches on wach side, and about 20 reverse sit ups.

I decided not to document what I was doing, but to focus on working intensively over a short time. I was aiming to finish and get my second protein shake before Heroes started at 10.30pm. As it happened my wife made me a garlic tea (have another cold) and I did not drink my shake until 11.30pm.

It was a good workout, I felt really tired after. I did attempt press ups a few times but there was just nothing there in my arms after Friday night. Maybe tomorrow I will be recovered enough for weight training again. Good news - my back/neck is feeling a bit better too after my dangerous sneeze on Sunday.

My weight training session was a success, I know this because my muscles were agony over the weekend. Triceps were especially bad, I actually found it hard to sit up.

I have been drinking plenty of the muscle building whey protein shakes, and I do feel that these have actually helped with the recovery. However, I have managed to catch another cold now, which although is not that bad, it has caused me terrible back/neck pain. Basically I was sneezing my head off on Sunday morning which resulted in me pulling something in my upper spine. Maybe connected with long hours slumped over a keyboard, either way, my neck hurts now.

I was planning to do my next weight training session this evening, I just hope that everything is working by then.

I am starting a blog here on motleyhealth.com in order to track the progress of my workout and weight loss efforts. I have the following goals:

1. Aerobic exercise 4-6 times per week
2. Yoga or Callanetics 3 times per week
3. Restrict carb intake
4. Take vitamins regularly
5. Get more and better sleep
6. Restrict alcohol intake
7. Eat more vegetables, preferably organic

I think that holding myself accountable by keeping a blog will motivate me to achieve my goals.

I started working out regularly as follows. My plan was a bit upended by the return of a sinus infection and the addition of bronchitis on Feb 20.

Feb 15 - 15 miles on bicycle with 39 pound child on back for 8 miles
Feb 16 - 10 miles on bicycle with 39 pound child on back for 10 miles
Feb 17 - rested
Feb 18 - jogged 6.4 miles - hilly route
Feb 19 - jogged 6.4 miles - hilly route
Feb 20 - rested - sinus infection came back!! Day 1 of Levaquin
Feb 21 - jogged 6.4 miles - hilly route - Day 2 of Levaquin
Feb 22 - rested - Day 3 of Levaquin
Feb 23 - rested - Day 4 of Levaquin
Feb 24 - jogged 8.6 miles - hilly route - Day 5 of Levaquin
Feb 25 - rested - Day 6 of Levaquin
Feb 26 - walked 6.4 miles - hilly route - Day 7 of Levaquin
Feb 27 - rested - Day 8 of Levaquin
Feb 28 - rested - Day 9 of Levaquin
Mar 1 - rested - Day 10 of Levaquin

OK, so this evening I got back into the garage and did some weight training. It seems that I keep writing the same post over and over, i.e. "I have started again!". I last got back in the garage on November 23rd, 2008 when I partially destroyed a cabinet after a weight training accident. I was unhurt, but my book case was upset somewhat.

So, what prompted me to start again today? Well, to put it simply, I managed to get fat, again. I weighed in at 95kg yesterday, and decided that I HAVE to do something about it. I went to bed telling myself that I would start on the Atkins Diet again today, but woke to find nothing suitable to eat, so had muesli. Went out and had scrambled eggs with salmon on wholemeal toast for lunch, followed by my son's leftover cheese on toast, then some ice cream. It was nice.

This evening I have a protein shake, then did my weight training, then had another protein shake. Finished off my Weider chocolate muscle drink, and now ready to crack open a large container of Body Fortress Muscle and Weight Gainer. Lets hope that it packs on muscle and not fat!

So, what did I do? The usual basic "core four" workout. I did not warm up enough for the squats, and soon felt tight in the inner thighs, as if I pulled something. That has passed now, so no damage done. I decided to go for more reps and less weight as I was beginning again.

I did about 50 bodyweight squats, then attempted some with bar, but soon felt a twinge. So I moved on to the bent-over rows, and just used a 30kg bar. Did several sets, alternating slow, steady lifting with faster plyometric lifting.

A lady on the train today was not taking any precautions against getting her purse stolen, which meant that I accidentely peaked into her bag for a second. I was a little surprised to see a healthy, probably organic, orange in her bag, wrapped in Clingfilm (cellaphame). Isn't this totally unnecessary? I see this as a sign of how peoples attitudes have changed for the worse in recent years. This woman was making an effort to be healthy, but felt the need to protect the contents of her bag from this filthy fruit. Is the skin of an orange so acidic that it burns through Versace leather purses? Will it leave a horrid lingering stench of citrus in her bag if it is not vacuum wrapped?

I now make a point of not putting fresh fruit and vegetables in plastic bags when I shop at the supermareket. I just leave them rolling around in the trolley, before placing them on the conveyor belt, then straight into my cloth bag. Why do people wrap fruit? It grows with its own wrapping! Stop living in fear or fresh food people, learn to accept it, just how your grand parents did.