So my trainer Andy told me to write these affirmations down before the race on saturday:
* Hard work gets results
* If i put in the effort I can reap the rewards
* I can do whatever it is i put my mind to
* Positive thinking leads to positive outcomes
and one that i cant even think about without saying it like I am He-Man
* I have the power
So you all know that i had 4 goals when i started this new part of my life.
1. Run 10km
2. Get my weight down to 100kg
3. Get some strength in my arms
4. Trek Kokoda
Well its official. I have run 10km. On wednesday i was out with Andy (my trainer) only going to run 9k as part of my training for the GC Marathon. We got to the turn point for 9k and Andy says to me “what time do you start work?, lets keep going and do 10k” I was so fired up I just kept going. It was a little dumb considering it started raining on the way back but I sucked it up.
I managed to do the 10k in 1 hour 20 mins. Now I still need to run the 10k at the GC Marathon and that will still be my official completion of the goal in my head (cause thats always what i wanted to do) but its good to know that I can at least keep at this.
The biggest thing that has been helping me other than Andy is what i have been listening to during the run. I have a small ipod shuffle with just one type of music on it called “Cadence” It really helped keep me at a certain pace for the whole run and kept me going. I just hope that i can get away with using it at the Gold Coast. Might have to sneak it into my stuff 😉
So here is hoping. This time next week I will be coming to the end of my run!
The geek in me has been creeping out this last week. I have been reading more and more of the usual nerd stuff (wired is getting back into my life) like games, tech etc. And then after merely going to buy an Ipod shuffle for running I walked out carrying a 2TB (thats Terabyte) external hard drive, 500GB portable hard drive and had my eyes set on a little thing to make my life easier with all those *cough*downloaded*cough* shows.
So then i looked at it. Why hide this part of me? I like being a geek. I am happy being a geek. So why hide it from people, I am all about lately changing the old Mal and showing a new side. But why hide what is essentially a big portion of who I am. Why change that. I love my games, i love planes & travelling. I love technology. Learning about it, living with it. I am still someone who loves to be connected and I am an utter media junkie. One of the websites I go to at work when I am not doing anything or stuck or just want a few minutes of switch off time, is straight to Brisbane Times. It’s the local online news media (no way would I ever use news.com.au).
But today it took the cake for me. I purchased this. It’s essentially a mini media pc about the size of a Wallet. Into the side you plug your USB hard drive (either a nice big chunky external or a nice little portable drive) and instant media pc. It won’t play Hi Def but then I don’t have a lot of stuff that is in Hi Def. The old portable hard drive I had is now serving its place plugged into the side and can easily be topped up now. What an awesome purchase.
Also i picked up a copy of Battlefield Bad Company 2 in the hopes that I can get myself back into gaming. I used to love all the games and the last one I really played was TF2. But Bad Company 2 looks good and I used to love playing Battlefield way back when. Back into it i go!
Anyway i best do some stuff before Steam finishes updating… yay!
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!
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.
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.
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!
its such a simple question. It was put to me by my nutritionist. She asked me why do I eat. What is it inside of me that makes me eat.
I have been thinking of this a lot. I have managed to change the way i eat and i am getting used to it. but the thing that sits in the back of my mind is why cant i just have that slice of pizza, or a piece of cake, or a lovely cheeseburger.
i think the biggest reason i eat, is because i love food. I love to cook food, i like to look at food (still love watching man v food). i guess also being in travel lets me keep that love of food as i get to travel and try new and different foods.
but other than that i dont know. i know that a lot of its was convienience. A lot of it was just bad judgement. i used to skip meals, eat more than i should of, eat the wrong things (golden nugget burger comes to mind). But i know that all of these things all add up.
but i guess i dont really know the real reason. i guess i need to keep thinking about it…
Well ive been using the fantastic plastic a bit lately and racking up some Frequent Flyer points by booking a whole heap of flying about for myself. In the coming months I am heading to Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Cairns. Also heading to the Sunny Coast and possibly the Gold Coast.
Who knows what else will be happening in there. It will be tough on the lifestyle choice (diet, exercise) but I will get through it. I can’t wait to visit my friends in Melbourne and Canberra and catch up with them as I haven’t seen them in soooo long. Missing them heaps!
As for life updates. Im down to 151.8kg… down roughly 20kg in 2 months. A HUGE effort… but i still don’t really see it. Work is turning around, I am back to being a consultant, trying my best to just make sales (although the first month or so will be tough!).
Hopefully everything works out!
I have been so slack…. but life has been so busy lately. Ive been working out twice a day every day since the start of december. Things have been going well, im feeling better and better every day.
Ive lost around 14-15kg so far (not quite sure of an exact amount i can tell you that i have lost 7kg alone since xmas day) and its a bit wierd when my trainer hands me 15kg in weights to hold and says i had been carrying that around and yet, i cant really hold onto it for that long.
Im enjoying the boxing and stuff as its something different. Cardio drives me crazy cause its so booooooring. At least with weights i have to think while im doing it so i dont injure myself, same with boxing.
Thinks keep plodding along and i stick to my diet (its tough at times but i do it), and do my best every time!