Challenge 2 - Day10 - Dara

Good evening fellow flab blasters!
Well, form has picked up a bit today... after a rough start. Another crappy nights sleep with Alex and Christian both not sleeping great.. however I listened to some Tony Robbins to and fro from work and while mowing the lawn this evening. I think it has helped a bit. Also hearing from Andy today gave me a boost too. So, anyway.. here is how we're doing...

Diet: Good, low carb, trying to taper my calories to begining of the day, had big brekkie again.

Excercise: Well, no weights, however I did run 1km . Woo hoo. You see, I would never have considered myself a runner but I ran a whole 1km without stopping. I took a road nearby which Carla had measured herself as being 1km for her running training. So I set out to test my stamina and fitness. So I managed to run the entire 1km to end of this road, and jogged a bit on the way back, but mostly walked the whole way back.. so 2km in total. Not a massive workout but great achievement in my mind. Want to build it up.. note though, I'm wheezing like a 70-a day smoker after that run (still a good hour after). Which reminded me of when I was a kid starting to cycle home from school and cycling up Trees road in Mount Merrion (v. steep hill). I ponder if this is just unfitness or if it is anything related to my son Christian's asthma. I honestly think it is most likely unfitness related and loose mucus (charming I know) but something to keep an eye on. Anyway, I want to try running more and build up my endurance /distance.

Mind: well, as I mentioned at the start of this entry I listened to Anthony Robbins. I did an excercise of his which he calls the Dicken's method.. Which essentially is based on 'Scrooge' and a Christmas Carol. Scrooge is visited by 3 ghosts, of past, present and future, and after experiencing all three aspects of his life and how it could turn out, he changes his actions and becomes a better person.. Well in this shortened method Tony Robbins does on Personal Power 2, he gets you to look at an aspect of your life you wan to change, e.g. in my case my weight loss. He then gets you to look forward 5 years from now, and asks you questions about your life if you don't take the action you should to change (e.g. excercise/diet). Questions like, how would you feel, do you feel the burden of it on your shoulders?, how would look? how would you behave? Then he takes it forward another 5years, so 1o years on, and you haven't made the change.. and ask the same questions and really visualise what you would go through... then he takes it to 20years on, and look at your life as it could be if you don't change... and he then brings you back to current reality...
from there he then takes you forward again, same method, 5, 10, 20 years from now, same questions, but now, visualising clearly how you would be if you did make the change, how great it would be, the feelings you'd have etc. And seeing what a difference it will make years from now.

So I found this this process v. good. Really saw myself in the first instance, getting fat and old and the boys getting fat and unfit, and visiting me in hospital with weight/heart issues. I then also saw the oppposite, I saw myself and the boys going for runs together, Christian and Alex as a good looking young men, obviously fit and active men. That again giving me great pleasure to continue. Still need to keep that momentum up and I'm chatting to Andy later, so hopefully we can get our heads knocked together and step things up. I think we need some short term goals to hit, not just July25th.


Weight: well, this was up again 14st 11lbs (23% bodyfat)... Probaby up after bad nights sleep.

'till tomorrow

Dara

Dara

Challenge 2 - Day 9 - Dara

Well, definately time to regroup with Andrew. Noticing his absence the last few days. Don't think I realized how much motivation I got from his messages over the last few months. Anyway, Carla has also helped as usual keeping me going also! But at a point in my head where I need to figure out how to break this plateau. Flat on scales for the week and start of the week was brill on the workout front. Slipped for two days there but got a 3km walk in today with kids in tow in the double buggy.

Diet: good today, made a nice monster salad among other things, enjoyed a big brekkie also.

Excercise: enjoyed a 3km walk but should have done weights.

Mind: in need of motivational recharge, time to dig out Anthony Robbins for car journey to work tomorrow. Also need to regroup with mr. Andrew! Peed off I can't find my camera charger and have photos here on iPhone I took today (so appologies for shitty quality, was v. shaky for some reason). Also want to get skinfold test done as not sure how accurate my scales are now with bodyfat %. want to ensure I'm calculating my calories correctly.

Weight: 14st 10lbs 22% bodyfat
Flat with last week.

Challenge 2 - day 8 - Dara

Well today should have been proper photos weigh in etc, but discovered camera battery needs charging and cannot for life of me find the charger. I may just have to photograph tomorrow on iPhone. So I'll do a proper update tomorrow with photos and give a quick update for today.

Well another tough night with alex, didn't sleep great again, tired now and about to hit the sack.

Diet: Ended up a high carb today,and a little off track.

Excercise: null and void

Mind: honestly v tired today and had banging headache most of the afternoon, I felt a bit like dropping the ball, falling of the wagon and nearly blowing it all. Don't know why just a little frustration with progress I guess and tiredness. I wanted to do workout today but feel a bit guilty for not. However this is one day out of many. I'll get back on track tomorrow especially if I get a good sleep tonight.

Weight: 14st 11lbs, 22% bodyfat (yo-yo-ing up and down this week, very annoying)

Challenge 2 - Day 7 - Dara

Evening again... late here Friday night. Feeling quite tired this evening for some reason.
Anyway... here is the update for today...

Diet: Good, egg breakfast again, snacked on fruit, salad lunch, had protein shake and fruit in afternoon, plus a chicken sandwhich, Dinner was white fish on green veg.. I undercooked the veg so i didn't eat it all, finished off the day with toasted tuna sandwhich..was quite hungry later in the evening. So, it was supposed to be low carb, it wasn't too bad, a bit too much bread to be honest about it.

Excercise: took a rest day, was too late getting up to workout this am,then this evening I just was knackered so took time to chill, had a good week so far, so I'll make up tomorrow, which was going to be my rest day.

Mind: Still good, looking forward to weigh in and photos tomorrow to compare with last saturday. First official photo comparisson for day 1. Hoping Andy gets a chance to photograph or weigh in this weekend as he is away in manchester.

Weight: 14st 10lbs, 21% bodyfat - woo hoo, that was water weight..and it seems to have moved on out yesterday...so...Seeing the bodyfat % going down is v.good in my eyes...lets see it last!

untill tomorrow

Dara

Challenge 2 - Day 6 - Dara

Hmmm water retention on the scales again..me thinks. Looked into it a bit online and found some evidence that u can put on water weight particularly after increased excercise! Which would make sense, I doubt I could go up weight so rapidly when I'm in calorie defecit and excercising my ass off (literally)!

Diet: low carb- good egg brekkie, lunch was sandwiches/roll at work lunch, dinner good with salmon on green veg, then snacked on sardines on toast..probably not the best low carb day.

Excercise: did a 30 min walk on treadmill. Sweat was up but low -med intesity.

Mind: positive, keen to drop that extra weight I'm seeing, even though it's bodyfat% I really should worry about.

Weight: 14st 12lbs(water weight of 2lbs I hope)
Bodyfat was 21.8% (which would appear to be on downward trend). Well we'll see how we are tomorrow morn !

Good night

Challenge 2 - Day 5 - Dara

So, it's late, been working out, flaked on a bean bag! Really pushed myself tonight. Feeling good for it if wrecked, especially after rough nights sleep with alex having nightmares!

Excercise: weights; shoulders, chest, triceps and abs workout, did great at beating last Sundays weights/reps ensuring progressive resistance. Sure I'll feel it tomorrow. Also did 30 min cardio on treadmill which was also higher intensity than yesterdays cardio. Did nearly same distance in 10mins less time.

Diet: v good, spot on low carb, but did a study of my calories and see I need to eat more calories on my high calorie/carb days. Might help me zig zag more effectively. Increased water intake also.

Mind: still good, v focused on being stricter on my workouts

Weight: 14st11lbs. 22% bodyfat. Showing 1lb up today, not overly worried as that seems to happen when I have bad night sleep so probably water retention combined with previous day being high carb day, which I read today can sometimes give u heavier weigh in next day, which is sign it's working. We'll see if that's true!!!

Now to bed to get some important sleep!!!

12months from now - visualisation

Well,

this post is a little bit of fun, keep the spirits up!

These are some pics of how we will look come May 2010! (we hope!!!)