By Virginia Winder
I'm shrinking.
Went to the gym tonight for an appointment with a personal trainer and she was terrific.
This young woman listened to my stupid fears about exercising among others, like how gawky I think I look, and also adjusted my routine to protect my fragile neck.
Did an exercise test and, according to the results, I was average. That's apparently pretty good first up, but am determined to hit the excellent mark.
But the best news came when she measured me.
All over I have lost about 34cm, including 15cm just under my bust! She was blown away, I was blown away, but so encouraged.
Yes is my success meagre compared with last night's victory by the Men In Black?
So pleased I ran to that puddle yesterday - I'm sure that was the entire reason the All Blacks won. It's OK, I'm not deluded or superstitious; I know it was actually my singing the national anthem that did it, with hand on heart, AB flag flying behind like a superhero cape...
Or perhaps Israel Dagg's brilliance, maybe Cory Jane's high catches or the sheer bloody guts of Brad Thorne, Jerome Kaino, Ma'a Nonu and Keven Mealamu. Oh yeah, and I suppose the leadership skills of Piri Weepu and Ritchie McCaw might have had a hand in there somewhere too.
So there you have it - my fitness, weight-loss successes versus New Zealand beating Australia 20-6 in a Rugby World Cup semifinal. Which effort is the most inspiring? The most momentous? The most life-changing?
From my perspective, the answer is simple: All Blacks - you bloody beauties!
Today, I:
Ate three nutritious meals
Snacked on some unroasted nuts and dried cranberries
Drank about six glasses of water
Had two cups of coffee and one chai latte
Went to the gym for a session with a personal trainer
Slept for six hours
Worked for 11.5 hours
Showing posts with label weight loss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weight loss. Show all posts
Monday, October 17, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
The joy of dancing wildly
By Virginia Winder
It's been two weeks since going public about my health, fitness and life-balance quest.
Not a long time in the scheme of things, but I've definitely come a long way.
I am now beginning to relax and have fun. Went out to a band last night - the John Butler Trio - and danced wildly. Wow, is that good for the soul!
Have also laughed, felt great joy and been ridiculous. I'm also reading again. For months now I've been unable to settle and so have been listening solely to audio books.
My sleep is still disturbed, but it's getting better. Before I would wake up every couple of hours, but now I have five-hour stretches of pure-bliss sleep.
The exercise is coming on well. I swam 30 lengths of the local indoor 25-metre pool tonight and even did some sprints. My muscles are feeling sore tonight, but it's that good sore when you know you've worked yourself hard.
So, have managed 14 days in a row of exercise and have not had even the slightest twinge of not wanting to go. Quite simply there is no out. Even bought new running shoes today because my old ones are getting, well, old.
Went to the USA versus Russia Rugby World Cup match at Stadium Taranaki tonight and it was great fun. The USA won 13-6 in a so-so match, but the crowd was fantastic. Heaps of people dressed up as Cossacks and sporting the red for Russia and even more decked out in Stars 'n' Stripes and some crazy outfits, like Wonder Woman and Uncle Sam.
Even spotted our former Prime Minister, Jim Bolger, sporting an Uncle Sam hat. He was sitting in the crowd a couple of rows up and getting into the spirit of things.
Now, some great news. I weighed myself today and I have lost 7kg, so am down to 113kg (249 pounds). Just another 53kg to go!
Seriously though, I do feel good about it, but refuse to become obssessed with my weight or food. But I am being mindful about what I eat and am only choosing healthy options. That's low-fat, low sugar (but no artificial sweetners) and food that sustains me.
I adore my muesli every morning and add different fruits to it, like an orange from our tree and/or blueberries. Have also been having a scattering of walnuts and am now including two brazil nuts to get the selenium not available in our soil. I soak the untoasted muesli over night in water and then pour a bit of manuka honey Biofarm yoghurt on top. It's so delicious!
Best of all is the support from people.
My sister, nieces, husband and kids are my loudest cheerleaders, albeit two of them from afar. It's great to have my whanau (family in Maori) 100% behind me.
People have stopped me in shops and in the street, written emails and texted me to offer encouragement. Once again, I have been humbled and amazed by the kindness of people.
Arohanui (big love) to you all.
Today, I:
Swam 30 lengths of a 25m pool
Lost 7kg (in two weeks)
Slept for 7 hours
Worked for 5 hours
Ate three healthy meals
Scoffed 5 pieces of dark chocolate (2 would have been wiser)
Need to:
Drink more water!
It's been two weeks since going public about my health, fitness and life-balance quest.
Not a long time in the scheme of things, but I've definitely come a long way.
I am now beginning to relax and have fun. Went out to a band last night - the John Butler Trio - and danced wildly. Wow, is that good for the soul!
Have also laughed, felt great joy and been ridiculous. I'm also reading again. For months now I've been unable to settle and so have been listening solely to audio books.
My sleep is still disturbed, but it's getting better. Before I would wake up every couple of hours, but now I have five-hour stretches of pure-bliss sleep.
The exercise is coming on well. I swam 30 lengths of the local indoor 25-metre pool tonight and even did some sprints. My muscles are feeling sore tonight, but it's that good sore when you know you've worked yourself hard.
So, have managed 14 days in a row of exercise and have not had even the slightest twinge of not wanting to go. Quite simply there is no out. Even bought new running shoes today because my old ones are getting, well, old.
Went to the USA versus Russia Rugby World Cup match at Stadium Taranaki tonight and it was great fun. The USA won 13-6 in a so-so match, but the crowd was fantastic. Heaps of people dressed up as Cossacks and sporting the red for Russia and even more decked out in Stars 'n' Stripes and some crazy outfits, like Wonder Woman and Uncle Sam.
Even spotted our former Prime Minister, Jim Bolger, sporting an Uncle Sam hat. He was sitting in the crowd a couple of rows up and getting into the spirit of things.
Now, some great news. I weighed myself today and I have lost 7kg, so am down to 113kg (249 pounds). Just another 53kg to go!
Seriously though, I do feel good about it, but refuse to become obssessed with my weight or food. But I am being mindful about what I eat and am only choosing healthy options. That's low-fat, low sugar (but no artificial sweetners) and food that sustains me.
I adore my muesli every morning and add different fruits to it, like an orange from our tree and/or blueberries. Have also been having a scattering of walnuts and am now including two brazil nuts to get the selenium not available in our soil. I soak the untoasted muesli over night in water and then pour a bit of manuka honey Biofarm yoghurt on top. It's so delicious!
Best of all is the support from people.
My sister, nieces, husband and kids are my loudest cheerleaders, albeit two of them from afar. It's great to have my whanau (family in Maori) 100% behind me.
People have stopped me in shops and in the street, written emails and texted me to offer encouragement. Once again, I have been humbled and amazed by the kindness of people.
Arohanui (big love) to you all.
Today, I:
Swam 30 lengths of a 25m pool
Lost 7kg (in two weeks)
Slept for 7 hours
Worked for 5 hours
Ate three healthy meals
Scoffed 5 pieces of dark chocolate (2 would have been wiser)
Need to:
Drink more water!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
The Knife or a New Life
When my doctor suggested that stomach surgery might be the best option for my ongoing weight problem I was tipped over the edge.
You know how we all teeter on the edge of making huge life decisions, well that was my moment. "It's pretty expensive," she said.
Then she checked my BMI.
For those of you not in the know, that stands for Body Mass Index, which is determined by your weight in kilograms divided by your height (in metres) squared. A healthy BMI score is between 18.5 and 26.
Mine was 41.
"You need to lose half your body weight," the doctor said.
I nodded, enthusiastically, telling her that with less work, more exercise and being better with my food that I would do it, could do it.
"I don't want to be cynical Virginia, but we've been here before."
She talked about my A-type personality (must look that one up) and how I've sat in her surgery many times before vowing to make changes, especially in regards to cutting back on work.
Then she turned back to the subject of stomach surgery.
A friend had it done a few months back and has lost masses of weight. She's looking great, but she also paid a large amount of money and is absolutely dedicated to being half the woman she was. But she doesn't like exercise.
I love it.
Honestly (you'll only read that here), I love striding out on the beautiful coastal walkway around New Plymouth's foreshore or walking through Pukekura Park or the bush tracks in our city. I love swimming, biking and my greatest joy is bodysurfing.
But I also love food - cheese, chocolate, creamy curries and yes, even burgers and chips.
Even more importantly, I love work.
It's here that I have to say these words: "Hi, my name is Virginia and I'm a workaholic."
People praise you for working hard, comment on your wonderful work ethic, thank you for jobs well done.
But it is work that is killing me.
Today was a quiet day - I only worked 10.5 hours, but there have been days lately that I have worked up to 17 hours and a regular day has been 14 hours straight. Once I worked through the night to meet a deadline.
Try adding exercise on to that kind of working day, or family time, friend time or simply quiet time. There is no time.
And so here I am facing stomach surgery or completely changing my life.
In 2009, my teenage son made a New Year's resolution to swim in the sea every day for a year. My husband and I joined his pledge and we did it. There was absolutely no out clause, only a get-up-and-go cause to succeed.
To ensure that we would do it, I mentioned it an article published in the Taranaki Daily News. That story, which was on resolutions, referred to research that says women are far more likely to stick to a resolution if they go public with it. So that's what I am doing by writing this blog. I also hope to share what I learn on the way, plus my successes and, yes, my failures.
All this, because I have decided to avoid the knife and regain a healthy life.
This is day one.
Today I have:
Worked only 10.5 hours.
Eaten three healthy meals and no snacks.
Gone for a 20-minute walk with my husband.
Hung out with the family for the evening.
Written this blog.
You know how we all teeter on the edge of making huge life decisions, well that was my moment. "It's pretty expensive," she said.
Then she checked my BMI.
For those of you not in the know, that stands for Body Mass Index, which is determined by your weight in kilograms divided by your height (in metres) squared. A healthy BMI score is between 18.5 and 26.
Mine was 41.
"You need to lose half your body weight," the doctor said.
I nodded, enthusiastically, telling her that with less work, more exercise and being better with my food that I would do it, could do it.
"I don't want to be cynical Virginia, but we've been here before."
She talked about my A-type personality (must look that one up) and how I've sat in her surgery many times before vowing to make changes, especially in regards to cutting back on work.
Then she turned back to the subject of stomach surgery.
A friend had it done a few months back and has lost masses of weight. She's looking great, but she also paid a large amount of money and is absolutely dedicated to being half the woman she was. But she doesn't like exercise.
I love it.
Honestly (you'll only read that here), I love striding out on the beautiful coastal walkway around New Plymouth's foreshore or walking through Pukekura Park or the bush tracks in our city. I love swimming, biking and my greatest joy is bodysurfing.
But I also love food - cheese, chocolate, creamy curries and yes, even burgers and chips.
Even more importantly, I love work.
It's here that I have to say these words: "Hi, my name is Virginia and I'm a workaholic."
People praise you for working hard, comment on your wonderful work ethic, thank you for jobs well done.
But it is work that is killing me.
Today was a quiet day - I only worked 10.5 hours, but there have been days lately that I have worked up to 17 hours and a regular day has been 14 hours straight. Once I worked through the night to meet a deadline.
Try adding exercise on to that kind of working day, or family time, friend time or simply quiet time. There is no time.
And so here I am facing stomach surgery or completely changing my life.
In 2009, my teenage son made a New Year's resolution to swim in the sea every day for a year. My husband and I joined his pledge and we did it. There was absolutely no out clause, only a get-up-and-go cause to succeed.
To ensure that we would do it, I mentioned it an article published in the Taranaki Daily News. That story, which was on resolutions, referred to research that says women are far more likely to stick to a resolution if they go public with it. So that's what I am doing by writing this blog. I also hope to share what I learn on the way, plus my successes and, yes, my failures.
All this, because I have decided to avoid the knife and regain a healthy life.
This is day one.
Today I have:
Worked only 10.5 hours.
Eaten three healthy meals and no snacks.
Gone for a 20-minute walk with my husband.
Hung out with the family for the evening.
Written this blog.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)