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So 6 months ago i made the first post about how my life was going to change. And change it has. I will run through some stats in a bit but my life has really changed. I feel better. Even though I always feel tired, i know that i can accomplish more than what I did when i started. I feel better in the morning after a work out and the same in the evening. I can walk & run however I want and i dont have a problem (although we wont go into hills right now) with feeling like I am going to die after the first 10 seconds.

Don’t get me wrong, this has not been an easy 6 months. I started this journey with a Groin Injury, and I have had niggles in my legs and knees and joints ever since. But I continue to follow the motto that keeps me going. I am pretty sure I have posted it here before, but when Navy Seals go through their training they are told time and time again. “The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday.” It pretty much means that yesterday was only easy because it is over. Each and every Day is a new challenge that I need to work through and get past so that I can continue on in life.

I have met some amazing new people who I never thought I would meat. They help me every day in getting through all of this and I have to thank them as without their help, I wouldn’t be here. I know a lot of people come up to me every day and say how good I look, and it is reassuring to know that all of this hard work I am putting in is working.

But day in and day out, I just have to keep myself going. I test myself all the time with little things to keep myself going (and this is apparently a good thing). But as this weight loss challenge starts to come towards its end, a new challenge begins. And thats keeping it off. Its going to be a whole new challenge with a whole new way of thinking. I need to be able to manage it all, I am sure I can do it, I know you will all be there to help me to.

Now for some stats.

Weight:
6 Months ago i weighed 172kg. On Monday at the last weigh in, I weighed 117.5kg Thats around a 55kg loss in 6 months. Thats a LOT. There is a backpack at the gym that is full of weights, it couldnt fit anymore at 45kg. Probably need another one to get the rest of it in. I still have that remaining 17.5kg to lose but thats a challenge I know i can do. I have had my ups and I have had my downs. Ive had weeks of 3kgs of loss and I have had a week of a 300g gain and that really affected me. I have had to try and get my mind around not getting on the scales every day and then beating myself up over every little thing. Its all in your head!

Fitness:
6 months ago when I first started. My trainers took me on a 2k walk and timed it to see how long it would take. Took me about 30 minutes. Thats pretty slow. These days, my 2k PB is 15m 30s This is still not as fast as people I know but this is a good improvement for me. 6 months ive knocked that time in half. I couldnt walk that far when I started. 2k was killing me, I have more and more gone up and up in my distances. I started doing 2k on the treadmill every evening. then up to 2.5k, then 3k, then 3.5k. Its now up to 4k in around 43mins. I have started to walk longer distances, Around christmas time I did a 5k walk in the morning and it took about an hour. I didnt even realise I had walked that far it was my trainers way of introducing me to distances. Then I started walking 7.5ks, then 10ks, then 11k, then 12.5k and I have done one 15k walk. I am now on average walking 10k in around 1hr 34min. I have walked on my own a lot but a few people have come with me and I really thank them for this. You guys know who you are and when you walk with me, it takes my mind off the usual things I do when i walk and thats beat myself up over everything.

Eating & Drinking:
Last year when I was in the USA you would of seen some of the foods I had eaten. Loco Moco, Mixed Plate, Giant Cheeseburgers, Pancakes the size of dinner plates or man hole covers. I have had to move away from those foods. The foods I love. Because they would put me in a grave earlier. But eating healtheir doesn’t mean that I have had to give everything up. I can still eat (hell I feel like i eat more these days then I did before) but I have had to adjust these eating habits and just replace things. Getting hungry, have a snack of some fruit. Need something sweet after dinner, some diet jelly should do it (ps i am addicted to it now, Aeroplane Diet Jelly ftmfw). Adjusting recipes so that I can try and still have those things I love while still being healthy. I have almost given up alcohol (1 drink in 5 and a half months) and I don’t really miss it. Don’t get me wrong, there is no way I would go fully sober. But i think I will need to go back to the way I used to drink years and years ago. And that is drink for the taste, not for the alcohol. No more binge drinking. This means the return of the high end booze for me really. The more exxy the booze the less of it I am going to drink. Seems good on my brain but not good on the wallet unfortunately. But then i would only be having one or two drinks.

So there you have it guys. 6 months down and many more months to go. Thank you all for your support, god knows I have needed it!

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Its been a little bit since I updated but i should really give an update. Ive been working hard at the gym and after some time where I would rather not be in my head to much I have managed to get through a 5k run. That felt really good to be able to get through that since like 6 months ago I couldnt even run 100m. Its been an experince almost every day.

In the coming weeks though things are gonna have to knuckle down and keep at it. I have to increase the run by 1k every week as on July 3rd I have to run 10k at the Gold Coast Marathon. and when I say have to i mean i really have to. Ive paid my entry fee already. So if your not doing anything that saturday morning I would really love to have everyone’s support. If you can be there I would love it even more.

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So i just got back on Saturday from a week away in Port Douglas. I went away with my friend Ashina and it was a great time. It was so good to get away from work and just really in eseence do nothing. Managed to read 4 books during the week away and just generally have a good time.

We stayed the first two nights at the Treetops Port Douglas which had an awesome pool area (which i spent a solid day sitting by it reading on the lounges). Then we headed north to a favourite of mine. Silky Oaks Lodge. Located about 10 mins from Mossman the place was fantastic!!! I got to spend 2 days relaxing in the rainforest. I found that the chairs in the room were the most comfiest I have ever sat in. So thats what i did most of the time. It was FANTASTIC! We also had a day tour included up to Cape Tribulation and that was such a good day. Silky Oaks Lodge has a very good Day Spa called the Healing Waters Spa. They do some very good treatments which a lot of ladies love but we had 2 treatments for free. So rather than having a massage, which I don’t normally like cause I always end up feeling worse than when I started i decided to try something different. I went for a “Man Maintenance Facial” It was a very different experience. I had never done something like that before and it was totally unfamiliar.

I managed to enjoy myself up there, the food was great and I managed to keep myself on track as well. Once we left Silky Oaks we headed back down to Port Douglas and stayed at a hotel on macrossan st. Spent a day in Cairns doing a bit of shopping and doing general stuff. The rest of the time was spent just walking the streets of Port Douglas or reading. What more can you want from a Holiday.. relaxation and recreation.

Now its back to work, apparently i might make top 10 this year if i work a bit harder. I will have to crack down and really get into it! But otherwise its 6 weeks till the Gold Coast Marathon and the 10k run which I have entered. Lets see how it goes!

Port Douglas 2010

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So ive been thinking about this for a while, this isnt a big list, and there is a lot of travelling stuff on here. I am happy to add things if people have suggestions.

If you are to lazy to use this link or the link at the top right of the page then here is my list.

* Fly Around the world in Business Class
* Fly Around the world in First Class
* Sit in the Nose of a Boeing 747-400 (Completed 2007)
* Fly a Plane
* Fly a Plane Simulator
* Try to get over my fear of boats
* Shoot an Automatic Weapon (Completed 2009)
* Do something stupid and embarrasing (Completed several times)
* Kiss the most beautiful girl in the world
* See a truly breathtaking sight
* Have a Meal in a 3 Star Michelen Restaurant
* Stay a night at the Waldorf Astoria hotel
* Get a flight in a War Bird – Double points if its a B17
* Trek Kokoda
* Visit Galipoli
* Stay a night on a private island
* Try to get a photo of every airline that flies to Australia
* Fly on every airline in Australia
* Visit Every State & Territory in Australia
* Run 10km (planned for July this year)
* Get Married & Begin a family
* Cook a Meal for the people in my life who i cherish the most
* Spend a day with the people I cherish the most
* Visit all contients
* Find the joy in life
* See the Big 4 Game Animals on Safari
* Help someone in need
* Taste the most amazing thing on earth
* Visit the highest building on earth
* Take a friend on an amazingly, memorable holiday
* Buy someone a gift they will cherish forever
* Be the #1 Consultant at work

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Just a really quick update. Ive been thinking about this a lot lately, what with my new life and all and ive decided to write my bucket list.

I will post this up in a few days. But there will be some stuff in it you never would guess. If you have any ideas of what should be on the list. let me know.

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So one of my favourite shows on TV has a big presence on Twitter. Attack of the Show (AOTS) is good for those of us in the world like me, Geeks and Nerds. They do follow a lot of trends etc and they like to think they start some trends. So this month its not Parched March or anything like that. Its EpicApril! So everyone is tweeting #EpicApril. Its a good way.

So I started to think, this month is pretty Epic. I will break the 40kg loss barrier hopefully, I will also manage to get in a lot of travelling this month. I am off to Norfolk Island tommorrow (don’t worry a trip report to come) and then I am home for a few days. Will be checking out my first Roller Derby Bout (and get some photos), Will be heading to Peppers at Salt Beach for a nice few days off midweek thanks to winning an incentive. Then I am home for just one night and flying to Sydney for the usual Anzac Day pilgramage. But while I am there I will also be getting in some plane spotting, cruising sydney harbour and just having a generally good long weekend.

What more can you want really from a month! It will really be Epic April!!

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so its been a while since I have been plane spotting. The last decent time I had to take photos of planes solidly for a while was in Narita last September. Yep that long ago!!

So being that Philippine Airlines have started flying to Bris along with Tiger I decided to head down. All the favourite smells came back, the company down there of like minded individuals, being able to chat with all these other people, It was great. Managed to get Philippine Airlines and Tiger (over two seperate days) and then also managed to see a Qantas 767 do a Max Power Takeoff with no onboard weight (awesome sight) and then also saw a Air NZ 777 do a takeoff against the wind purely to save time (lazy bastards).

here are the first lot of photos for this year.

Spotter Photos 2010

and some of the photos from previous spotting trips:

North America Spotting
Qantas A380 Arrival
Sydney Spotters Photos 2008
Spotter Photos USA
Spotters Photos
Sydney Airport Esky Bar

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so im sure your all dieing to know how everything is going. (/sarcasm). Training is doing well. The intensity is going up and up, its getting harder and harder to do things but I am getting through it. I know that I need to hunker down and keep at it.

Well in regards to the first two goals

1. Wigh 100kg
2. Run 10km

I am doing well with these two. I have lost 36kg (started at 172kg) so am now at the half way mark to this goal. But here is where it is getting hard. The weight is starting to plateau. This sounds like a fantastic effort for me but, its hard. My head is the hardest problem at the moment. I have to not think about somethings but I have to concentrate on other things. Like food. I have to think about what I eat, how much etc, but then I can’t think about the scales otherwise my head just does me over.

The 2nd goal though. Thats where I am really happy with my progress. When I first started. I could not even run at all. I couldnt even walk 2k Then I started smashing back the times. Walking further and further, 10km walk now…. pffft easy! Then i started running. 100m… buggered… 200m hell no… then I ran my first 250m, then 500m, then a full 1k. Im getting closer and closer to that 10k distance. I know its still a bit far off being July for the race but the more and more I run the better I feel 😀

The other goals though… still working on it!

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So after hearing that my brother was due to make an appearence at home for a weekend I decided to dissapear south to visit my new friends Michelle & Stuart who I haven’t seen since the big North American Journey. So after a little bit of looking around and chatting with Stuart about dates managed to find some nice cheap S class tickets for pretty cheap against the red e deals and dropped some points for a bit of Business Class Indulgence (i gotta use the points somehow). I managed to book a few nights cheap at a hotel through work and it all looked good. Only later on did i find out that the weekend i was to head to Canberra would be the Weekend of Skyfire (a big fireworks spectacular).

Friday 19th March 2010

After a hard day at work and a morning at the Gym it was off work 15 mins early to make sure i get the train, meet a friend at the Station (who is heading north while im going south), and onto the Airtrain. With the last time i flew getting to use that scammed Virgin Atlantic Silver Status and making it off the Train, checked in and through security in 4 minutes, I was hoping that i could see just how much time i could save with Qantas doing a similar thing. So with the train arrived and a quick walk down to the Check In, i get up to the Priority lines for Business class and I have to wait 🙁 damn. I only had to wait 3 or 4 minutes but im already losing. After a total of 8 mins since off the train it was through to security and I was through in less than 10 minutes total. Not as good as Virgin but the distance was a little further.

Made my way up to the Business lounge where the Dragon (this time a male) was guarding the door and my quick flick of a boarding pass didn’t work, he called me back so he could inspect it. No chance of a reprint (checked in online to try and get a half decent seat) onto real card though as the desk was very busy in the J lounge. Pretty much exactly the same as how I remember the J lounge last April when I flew to Sydney, but this time, REALLY packed. Hard to find a seat but i did manage a quick connection to the net on my phone and a quick tweet. Mineral water drunk and then off to the gate just as boarding is called. Expecting to get boarded by Zones like Qantas usually does instead its a scrum.. and when i mean Scrum i really mean it. People were running from everywhere! I was about 20 or 30th to board (way down the line) and found my seat quite quickly after a very “meh” greeting by the Flight Attendants.

Qantas Airways
QF959
Brisbane to Canberra (BNE-CBR)
1905-2155
Boeing 737-400 (Rego Unknown)
Business Class – Seat 4A

Boarding: 1845 – Gate 17
Push Back: 1906
Take Off Roll: 1915 – Runway 19
Top of Descent: 2125
Touch Down: 2147 – Runway 35 – Gate 11

I hadn’t experience the Convertible Seats that Qantas use on a 737-400 in business class mode before. They were pretty comfortable but more familiar to the First Class Seat used on Delta being that you have a tray drop down rather than out of the arm rest. Not as good as the millenium seats used on the 737-800s and 767-300s as they had no footrest and not as much legroom (but still good enough!). A quick water before push back and the playing of the all to familiar Safety Video. Quickish Taxi to 19 and quick take off, turn left and up we go to cruising altitude. Seat belt sign off, ipod on, book out and out come the hot towels, such a way to relax.

Dinner was going to be an interesting experience tonight. I had tried to request the Low Fat Meal through Qantas. Doesn’t exist. Had to request the “Diabetic Meal”. I had been dreading just how bad this was going to be. But what was laid out infront of me was not to bad. Another Mineral Water (the stuff is growing on me) and I was ready to relax.

Flight felt very short after a decent meal, a nice relaxing seat and some good music to listen to.

We turned right over Sydney Airport and headed in for our descent into Canberra. We had an early arrival into Canberra, I must of been sitting on the wrong side to see any sights because I sure didn’t notice any.
Stepped off after a quick farewall to the young yet cute flight attendant (good to see some younger people rather than the normal older staff on QF domestic), downstairs to the greetings of my friends. After my bag came off right towards the end (is everyone in Canberra entitled to a Priority tag?) It was off to my hotel.

Sunday 21st March 2010

After a fantastic day exploring the city of Canberra with my friends they dropped me off Curbside to Canberra Airport (this place is a mess right now to!. So thinking I could get a nice quick check in process I figured I would be through quickly…….. WRONG!

I am standing by my theory that every single person with Qantas club must belong in Canberra as the Priority Queue was just as large as the normal Economy Queue… W T F. 15 mins in line and I finally check in for my Business Class Flight. I was instructed to go Up and to the right for the Business Lounge. Through security slowly (couldn’t find the aerosol can I had in my bag… stupid me) and up to the lounge. Stepped in expecting it to be packed…. wrong. It was nice and quiet, just the way you expect a business lounge to be.

Grabbed a spot by the PCs and got myself a mineral water from the Bar and it was time to relax. Jaunted around on the net for a while including some Flyertalk reading, some twittering and a bit of facebook. Then grabbed another mineral water (love it now) and sat back to read some of my book for a while. I had plenty of time in the lounge to relax and just chill out. This is what I love about flying in Business. Being able to actually relax before a flight so I am walking on calm and relaxed and not worrying about gate changes or where should I be or where can I sit etc.

Time kinda flew in the lounge and soon enough I saw that we were due to board in a minute or so. Rather than wait for the boarding call, I headed down. Good timing to. As I reached the bottom of the ramp they called for boarding as I was standing right next to the gate entry. Was 3rd on Board the aircraft (what timing), welcomed on board by name to.

Qantas Airways
QF962
Canberra to Brisbane (CBR-BNE)
1910-1950
Boeing 737-400 (VH-TJU)
Business Class – Seat 2A

(All times are local)
Boarding: 1850 – Gate 13
Push Back: 1919
Take Off: 1927 – Runway 35
Top of Descent: 1927
Touch Down: 19:44 – Runway 01 – Gate 16

On board with lots of people, as more and more people piled on, i got stuck into my book (Weary Dunlop’s POW Diary is really growing on me). Water or Juice on offer as usual, and enjoyed while the sun set in the window out side. Snapped a few photos, enjoying the sunset as we eventually pushed back it was a slow slow taxi (i think we were waiting on a Crash 8 to go past) to the active and a nice, quick take off. A few bumpy bits on the climb out (not much) and then we were cruising nicely north as the sunset on my side.

Drinks and meals were slow to come (But with a flight time of 80 mins i didn’t expect them to be). Rather than giving my special meal up first, they kept me till normal but this time, i went with a diet coke (didn’t ask for lemon or lime i forgot). Dinner wasn’t as good this time, but it was ok. A white roll was offered, it was put to the side as it was soggy.

Not much more to say about this one, the tv show didn’t interest me, so read my book some more, while sipped on my diet coke and a nice cup of coffee (I don’t know how they do it, but it was strong and black just the way I like it). Pretty soon we were on decent into Brisbane, coming in from the south, with approach to Runway 01 meant a slight track across the inner gold coast and the southern Suburbs with a lovely view of the city on my side. Was fantastic, just wish I hadn’t of put my camera away.
Upon landing it was a quick taxi but a long wait at the gate while they bought the mobile stairs over as I was lucky enough to end up with the only Qantas Jet capable gate without an air bridge.

Bags were quick (ish) and I was headed home.