Mr Moon walks upon the water

By Virginia Winder
Went to the gym tonight and sweated through 20 minutes of Michael Franti, Split Enz, Pink and a song from the Bend It Like Beckham soundtrack.
Those minutes were spent on the exercycle and I pushed it, especially when Baddest Ruffest by Backyard Dog came on. That song from Bend It, is my favourite speed track of all time and if you see me absolutely powering it uphill, on the coastal walkway or pedalling like crazy at the gym, chances are that's what I'm listening to.
After the bike, I did weights and other exercises, then walked home.
We sat outside and enjoyed a BBQ dinner of lamb steak, Greek salad and bruschetta, then I picked flowers in the fading light.
Today was a good day and a productive one.
Worked and exercised hard, ate well and enjoyed the sunshine.
Had a whole bunch of interviews and then had a gorgeous Mexican lunch from Tesoro Fresh Mex. My meal was spicy, by choice, because I do so love those endorphins.
It's lovely because Clementine is home studying, so this afternoon she hit the books and I wrote.
Normally, today I'd be telling you how much weight I've lost (or not), but I have no idea because our scales are broken. Think moisture probably got into them in the bathroom.
I'm feeling good, but would like to know the truth - is this regime working or not?
Think I may have been eating meals that are too large, so cutting down might be on the cards.
Yesterday was meant to be a rest day, but went for a dusk walk by the sea with Warren (husband) and Xena (our dog) and watched the moon rise.
Warren sang: "Mr Moon you walk upon the water." That's a line from a song by the Headless Chickens and even his wailing didn't spoil the moment.
Those simple, beautiful moments make exercising a great joy.

Today, I:
Slept for 7.5 hours
Worked for 8 hours
Did a workout at the gym (walked there and back too)
Ate nutritious, healthy food, but maybe my portions were too big
Drank a good amount of water
Drank 2 cups of coffee
Drank 2 glasses of wine (pinot gris)

Dan, downsizing and advice from the Laude

By Virginia Winder
Felt like crying today.
Not for me, but for Dan Carter. Imagine being so close to the Holy Grail of rugby and getting injured.
OK, so I did have a few tears watching the national anthem and the haka. Kept putting myself in Dan's boots.
But a team is not just one man and the All Blacks looked magnificent against Canada - especially Jerome Kaino and Zac Guildford.
Now I'm sitting here with the laptop watching the NRL final. Go the Warriors!
Haven't been sitting around watching TV all day.
Went for a 55-minute walk tonight and my pace has improved greatly. However, my left Achilles tendon is niggling me. Thought about jogging a couple of times, but pleased I didn't! Don't want to snap the jolly thing.
Tried on some jeans today that I haven't been able to wear for two years! They fit just fine.
Put on another pair and they were way too big for me.
They will go into my pass-on pile - I'm not keeping any clothing that is too large for me.
There was another period in my life when I lost some weight. Just hovered around the 100kg mark, but never got lower. That time I kept my bigger clothes - just in case.
This time there will be no going back and I look forward to ceremoniously discarding.
Always to a good cause - anybody who wants them or to the Taranaki Hospice Shop. Hey, and my clothes are pretty cool, so if you're keen, make contact. I'm giving away only (not selling).
Had an offer of some smaller clothes from a friend who has also down-sized herself. So good to have some in-betweens until I get to my goal weight.
Have no idea what size clothes I'll end up wearing. Started off at size 22 or 2xl, so will keep you posted. Got some 24, 26 and 3xl in there too, so if you're keen...
The only clothing I'm allowed to buy now are bras, undies (necessities, that I won't buy second-hand), sports shoes and socks.
Size 20 and 18 hand-me-downs in other clothing will be gratefully accepted!
So were some words of wisdom from Fred Laude, the owner of Petit Paris.
"You know why French woman don't put on weight, don't you?" he asked today, while I was buying bread.
"No," I shook my head.
"It's because we start a meal with a green salad that lines the stomach and gets the enzymes working."
Must investigate that, but will give it a go.
Fred also recommends finishing with cheese and a bite of something sweet.
Will give the cheese a miss (that was one of my greatest downfalls), but a square of chocolate works for me.
Always.

Today, I:
Walked for 55 minutes
Discarded 3 pairs of jeans
Worked for 30 minutes
Hung out with whanau
Slept for 8.5 hours
Ate three great meals, but discovered I don't like polenta
Drank 3 cups of coffee
Drank lots of water
Drank 1 chai latte

Friends, supporters and All Blacks - a love story

By Virginia Winder
Yay the All Blacks!
Some people have been moaning about the Rugby World Cup, but not me.
I love it, especially when the Men in Black win games like tonight's clash with the French. The final score was 37-17. Allez le noir!
Captain Richie McCaw just played his 100th test for the All Blacks - the first to do so.
My feats today were miniscule in comparison.
Biked to town and back and it was so easy - on the way there.
It was a bonus not having to pay parking fees, but the wee hills on the way home were a tad tough. Haven't mastered my gears yet and don't feel particularly confident on the roads, but still it was a great feeling of freedom using self-powered transport.
Wore a bright orange hoodie and a colourful backpack, so at least I was highly visible.
Went to the supermarket later on and met two woman who were extremely encouraging about my quest for health, fitness and life balance. Both said they are reading my blog.
Even better, more women are considering joining me in the Tri-Women triathlon on January 29. Rebekah, Cheryl, Chrissy... I'm outing you.
Met another woman on a similar quest to me and she is doing fantastically! It's so inspiring hearing other people's stories.
One mate has come up with some great book recommendations - Younger Next Year: A Guide to living like 50 Until You’re 80 and Beyond by Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge. I've read a lot of this and these men pull no punches. The upshot is that you have to trick your body into believing it's still growing, rather than decaying and the only way you can do that is by exercising six times a week (four aerobic and two strength).
My friend also says Body For Life by Bill Phillips is a great read.
Went for a 40-minute walk tonight too and am now tackling hills. Strangely, it's going downhill that I find most difficult.
Have had an up and down food day.
For breakfast I had a raspberry brioche from Petit Paris and a coffee. I was still out at lunchtime so went to another cafe with my daughter, niece and mate. I ordered an open chicken sandwich and when it came the meat was fried, like KFC. Barely ate any of that.
But for dinner, Warren (my live-in nutritionist) created an incredible salad topped with scallops. His meals are so healthy and delicious, he's soon going to start the Just Got 2 Do It! recipe blog.
That's it for tonight - have I mentioned I love the All Blacks?!

Today, I:
Biked 2km
Walked for 40 mins
Ate one healthy meal
Drank lots of water
Didn't work at all
Hung out with my niece, daughter and best mate
Got heaps of support from people
Watched the All Blacks beat France!

The Great Escape

As I walked beneath pohutukawa trees in New Plymouth, I got lost in Paris.
It was a brisk outing on a loop from home to the walkway around the Aquatic Centre and through trees that used to be tended by our old neighbour Mickey Malloy, who died in the 1980s. When I wander through those trees at Kawaroa, I often imagine him pulling weeds and digging.
But yesterday my mind was in Paris during the late 1800s. Yes, I was lost in a talking book, one called Sepulchre by Kate Mosse and read by Lorelei King, one of my favourite narrators.
I got the idea of downloading straight on to my iPod Touch by reading the Facebook page of Neil Gaiman, an author whose fantastical work I love.
He said he was getting unfit, so he downloaded an application called Audible (you have to be a member online first) and has been walking and listening ever since. Consequently, he's back in shape. Sepulchre is about 20 hours long, so I've got a lot of walking or biking to do.
My dilemma though, was where to put the iPod. My daughter, Clementine, suggested slipping it into my bra and it worked a treat!

Yesterday, I:
Walked for 30 minutes.
Worked for about 1 hour (researching exercise books and magazines).
Wrote my blog.
Ate three healthy meals with good servings of low-fat protein.
Avoided roasted, crunchy potatoes.
Had a peaceful, relaxing day with my husband, Warren.
Decluttered my desk.
Went to bed way too late!

The Goodness of People - Day 2

This is a day of thanks.
Today I feel buoyed by the wonderful people who have shown their support for my quest to be healthy. Friends have offered to go swimming, biking and walking with me. What amazing people out there!
Arohanui (great love) to you all.
I've also had some wise words from a friend who lives on an island on the other side of the world to New Plymouth, New Zealand, where I live.
She took the time to write an email filled with sound advice about losing weight, getting fit and taking control of one's life.
Here are 20 of her helpful tips:

1. Take baby steps on this journey.
   
2. Changing very small things can make a big difference.
   
3. The ONLY way to lose weight (non-surgical way, that is) is to use up more calories than you take in. BUT that doesn't mean ripping into a whole lot more exercise or eating a diet that's so restrictive you give up at the end of the first week.
   
4. Eat more protein - protein triggers the production of a hormone which tells you you're full. Sports nutritionists advise eating a MINIMUM of 20g of protein at breakfast and to eat protein at every meal.
   
5. Don't skip meals. Ever! In fact, instead of having just three meals a day, try five or six smaller ones - this will help you stave off hunger pangs.
   
6. Use a slightly smaller dinner plate - even when you know it's smaller, you'll eat less.
   
7. Choose low-calorie versions of your favourite foods BUT avoid anything with sweeteners in - you might think you've satisfied a craving for something sweet but your body will know you haven't had real sugar and the next chance it gets, it'll urge you to eat something high in sugar. [It's OK my friend, I can't bear artificial sweetners - they hurt my throat.]
   
8. Switch to virtually fat-free milk and yoghurt.
   
9. Buy canned fish packed in water rather than oil.
   
10. Avoid highly processed food and ANYTHING with hydrogenated fats in. It was a bit of a shock to me to find that nutritionists now all agree that butter is better for you than margarine. You can recognise a hydrogenated fat because it's something that is normally liquid at room temperature but which has been altered to be solid (eg, the canola oil in margarine, olive oil in butter alternatives, palm oil in anything).
    
11. See if you can stick to eating only foods which were around 500 years ago.
    
12. DON'T avoid fats. Some of the essential vitamins that you need are fat-soluble. You need around 25g of fat per day in order to get enough of these and about 35% of your daily calories should come from fat. Mix up the types of fat - saturated, poly- and mono-unsaturated.
    
13. You can increase your metabolic rate by increasing the amount of muscle you have - muscle uses up more calories. You're at an age where resistance training is important anyway. Even if you get a couple of half-kilo weights and do some arm exercises for ten minutes (while you watch the news or whatever) each day.
    
14. Soup! A well-blended soup will keep you feeling fuller for longer than if you'd eaten the same ingredients as a meal with a glass of water.
    
15. The wider the choice, the more you eat, so stay away from buffets.
    
16. Small amounts of exercise count. If you're doing something around the house, put on some music that's loud and with a beat and dance your way through it. If you're having a conversation on the phone (rather than taking notes), stand up and walk on the spot. Every little tiny bit of exercise will make a difference.
    
17. Make sure you don't get dehydrated. It's a myth that you should drink eight glasses of water a day - the water contained in your food and in cups of tea etc also counts. But if you're trying to lose weight then increasing your fluids will help.
    
18. GET ENOUGH SLEEP. It is a proven fact that people who don't get enough sleep put on weight. Read about it here:
    http://thyroid.about.com/od/loseweightsuccessfully/a/sleepdiet.htm
    
19. Consider following the rules set out in Paul McKenna's "I
    Can Make You Thin" self-hypnosis programme. Those rules are: When you are hungry, eat. Eat what you WANT, not what you think you should have. Eat consciously and enjoy every mouthful (ie, sitting at a table with no distractions). When you think you are full, stop eating.
    He makes the point that most of us have forgotten how to listen to our bodies and we really don't consciously recognise feelings of hunger or fullness.
    
20. Don't expect miracles - set realistic targets. Aim to lose 500g. Then aim to lose another 500g.

Thanks my friend.

Today I have:
Worked 9.5 hours
Walked for 20 minutes with the dog
Eaten two good meals
Worked through lunch and ate a piece of apple cake instead (not a good move, but the cake was made for me!).
Given up a wonderful job at Puke Ariki to try and cut back on my hours (all my jobs are fantastic)
Slept for 8 hours!
Watched Clementine play basketball.