Sunday

This morning I went to a (free) 10.30am movie preview with my friend Amanda.

ABC Radio National/Alliance Française French Film Festival Listener Preview – Welcome

Be amongst the first Australian filmgoers to see the much-anticipated Welcome (rated M), starring Vincent Lindon, Firat Ayverdi & Audrey Dana and directed by Philippe Lioret.

Seventeen-year-old Bilal (Firat Ayverdi) has spent the last three months travelling illegally across Europe in an attempt to reunite with his girlfriend in England. The difficult journey is almost over when he finally reaches the far northern coast of France, and can literally see his destination from across the Channel. But it's here that his journey comes to an abrupt halt.

Spurred by his dream, with all legal options exhausted, Bilal decides he'll swim across the Channel. He meets Simon (Vincent Lindon), a man privately reeling from impending divorce from his wife (Audrey Dana). Simon impulsively risks everything by taking Bilal under his wing.

Driven by powerful performances, this absorbing and emotional masterwork speaks not only of one of the most important social issues facing modern societies, but also of the indomitable nature of the human spirit.

I enjoyed the movie - a great example of determination, although the ending was a bit sad. Afterwards we went out for lunch, then a bit of window shopping. A lovely way to spend a Sunday.

Today's food
M1: banana flax oatmeal with walnuts, egg whites
M2: lamb salad
M3: choc protein shake
M4: kangaroo chilli, broccoli
M5: choc peanut butter pudding

Saturday

Rob had a BJJ seminar at his club this morning. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, one of the fighters from last weekend's UFC tournament in Sydney, was taking it. Check out the size difference!



This afternoon we went to a barbecue. Lots of yummy food to be had.

Today's food
Walk with Rob and TJ
M1: banana flax oatmeal with walnuts, egg whites
M2: choc banana berry protein shake
M3: tuna salad pita
M4: choc peanut butter pudding
M5: half a small homemade greek burger, roasted vege salad with lamb, pasta salad, chicken skewer, lemon meringue pie, pavlova, rum balls
M6: cheese sandwich

I will lose 10kg by 31 December

Friday

Busy day today: walk, gym, catch train into the city to go to the dentist, walk to the other side of the CBD to go to the optometrist, then back across the CBD to the supplement store. Was hot and had sore feet by the time I got home. Made a refreshing drink with choc protein powder, lots of ice cubes and a couple of plums, then sat in the lazyboy with my feet up.

Today's food
walk with Rob and TJ
M1: protein shake, oats, apple, cinnamon, yoghurt, flax oil
train, day 2 (workout drinks)
M2: chicken, wholemeal pasta, fennel, red onion
M3: roast turkey breast, Morrocan vegetable salad
M4: choc plum protein shake
M5: venison sausage, salad, walnuts
M6: spicy almond chicken, cabbage, zucchini

I will lose 10kg by 31 December

New Hairstyle

Before:

This photo was taken a couple of years ago, but I've had the same hairstyle for about eight years.


After:



Today's food
walk with Rob and TJ
M1: oats, apple, cinnamon, protein powder, yoghurt, flax oil
M2: choc plum protein shake
M3: kangaroo patty, sweet potato, salad
M4: spicy almond chicken, cabbage, zucchini
M5: venison sausage, salad, walnuts
M6: prawn and chicken stir-fry

I will lose 10kg by 31 December

Wednesday

Rob's eye is a bit better today. We walked down the bike track this morning instead of going to the park, as there is more shade along the bike track and it's not so hard on his eye.

Think I should be getting a new program later this week to start next week - am looking forward to seeing what it contains.

Today's Food
walk with Rob and TJ
M1: blueberry protein pancakes, yoghurt, flax oil
train, day 1 (workout drinks)
M2: prawn stir-fry, brown rice
M3: kangaroo patty, sweet potato, salad
M4: spicy almond chicken, cabbage, zucchini
M5: venison sausage, salad, walnuts
M6: chocolate plum protein shake

Tuesday - not a day to remember

Had a bit of a shitty start to my day - discovered my Facebook account had been hacked into overnight and the 'fake me' had been chatting to several people via Facebook, trying to get money off them. I have deactivated my Facebook account. I am also back on sole dog-walking duty as Rob can't see well enough to make his own breakfast, let alone walk the dog.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. Am looking forward to training in the morning, and will try and pick up my new glasses in the afternoon.

Today's food
M1: oats, egg whites, blackberries, yoghurt, flax oil
M2: kangaroo patty, sweet potato, salad
M3: spicy almond chicken, cabbage, zucchini
walk TJ
M4: protein shake, apple
M5: venison sausage, salad, walnuts
M6: prawn stir-fry, walnuts

I will lose 10kg by 31 December

Monday

I took advantage of all that extra food I ate over the weekend and pumped out an an awesome workout this morning. Am also thinking about switching back to morning training as the gym is lovely and quiet then. Note to self: don't wear shorts to the gym - foam rolling rucks them up indecently high!

Rob has re-injured his cornea (think the old injury wasn't properly healed) so looks like I will be his seeing-eye dog again for the next few days.

Today's food
M1: protein shake, red berry bircher muesli, flax oil
train, day 2 (workout drinks)
M2: venison sausage, sweet potato, steamed veges
M3: chicken, sweet potato, salad
M4: spicy almond chicken, cabbage, zucchini
M5: protein bar, walnuts

I will lose 10kg by 31 December

Sunday

Another extra-hungry day today. Almost as soon as I finished eating a meal I felt hungry again.

Today's food
walk
M1: choc-walnut pancakes (based on Kek's recipe), topped with yoghurt and raspberries

M2: omelette with mushrooms, tomato, zucchini and low-fat cheese
M3: spicy almond chicken, cabbage, zucchini
M4: protein shake, apple, pistachios
M5: sweet chilli tuna, mashed sweet potato, orange
M6: chicken, wholemeal pasta, veges, low-fat cheese
M7: figs, passionfruit, yoghurt, banana, oats, apple, cinnamon, walnuts (this finally got my hunger to stop!)

I will lose 10kg by 31 December

Saturday

I think TTOM is approaching. I had a craving for bacon the other day (most unlike me) and have been quite hungry today. Lots of extra activity today didn't help - I seem to have this urge to clean before TTOM. Does this happen to anyone else? Is it a form of nesting???

Today's food
M1: protein pancake with yoghurt, flax oil, banana and raspberries
M2: venison sausage, salad, walnuts
M3: spicy almond chicken, cabbage, zucchini
M4: kangaroo patty, salad, pistachios
M5: chilli tuna, mashed sweet potato, zucchini
M6 (treat meal): bacon, cheese and pineapple toasties (on gluten-free bread), chocolate fudge protein bar mixed with almond butter
M7: protein shake, 1 passionfruit, small plum
M8: protein shake, banana and pistachio bircher muesli

way too much 'fake food' today

I will lose 10kg by 31 December

Friday

My new preworkout drink seems to be working really well for me - I've easily been able to lift more for longer this week.

Today's food
M1a: protein shake
walk with Rob and TJ
M1b: apple cinnamon muesli
M2: smoked salmon, cucumber, capers
M3: spicy almond chicken, cabbage, zucchini
M4: kangaroo patty, sweet potato mash, salad
training, day 1 (workout drinks)
M5: venison sausage, sweet potato mash, salad
M6: protein ice cream, fresh figs

I will lose 10kg by 31 December

Thursday

Tuesday = interview for in-house editing job.
Today = editing test for same job.

Today's food
walk with Rob and TJ
M1: peach and cinnamon protein pancake, yoghurt, flax oil
M2: venison sausage, vege sticks, walnuts
M3: spicy almond chicken, cabbage, zucchini
M4: kangaroo patty, salad, pistachios
M5: prawn stir-fry, sweet potato
M6: protein ice cream, raspberries

I will lose 10kg by 31 December

Wednesday

After having a whey protein blend yesterday then complaining about my sore stomach, Kek asked 'Does it help if you have less? Maybe half a serve and mix it with something else for extra protein?' I thought that was a great idea, so went to her Good Food blog to see if there was anything there I could use. I spotted her protein ice cream and decided to have a go at that. Verdict? Tastes good and not as much bloating, yay!

Today's food
M1: nectarine and cinnamon protein pancake, yoghurt, flax oil
M2: venison sausage, vege sticks, walnuts
M3: spicy almond chicken, cabbage, zucchini
train, day 2 (workout drinks)
M4: kangaroo patty, sweet potato, salad
M5: prawns, wholemeal pasta, eggplant, capsicum, tomato
M6: choc protein ice cream, raspberries

I will lose 10kg by 31 December

Ugh!

Picked up some chocolate Dymatize Natural protein powder today. It's a combo of whey isolate and concentrate, sweetened with stevia. All I've had in the way of protein powder for the last couple of months has been whey isolate and I can tolerate that, but it seems that whey concentrate still doesn't agree with me - it makes my stomach bloat and gives me wind. One scoop down, 67 scoops to go, groan.

Today's food
walk with Rob and TJ
M1: pear and cinnamon protein pancake, yoghurt, flax oil
M2: kangaroo patty, vege sticks, walnuts
M3: spicy almond chicken, cabbage, zucchini
M4: kangaroo patty, vege sticks, pistachios
M5: chicken stir-fry, sweet potato
M6: choc protein, strawberries

Monday

This week I'm making a couple of changes to my exercise and nutrition. I'm going to
- increase the pace of my walks
- keep my calorie intake the same but make my first five meals slightly smaller so I can add an extra meal at night

Today's food
walk with Rob and TJ
M1: apple and cinnamon protein pancakes, yoghurt, flax oil
M2: kangaroo patty, vege sticks, walnuts
M3: spicy almond chicken, cabbage, zucchini
M4: venison sausage, sweet potato, cucumber
train, day 1 (workout drinks)
M5: fish, sweet potato, eggplant, tomato, onion, garlic
M6: strawberries dipped in choc protein 'sauce'

I will lose 10kg by 31 December

Sunday

Today's food
M1: muesli
walk TJ to cafe (drink breakfast protein shake while Rob has coffee)
M2: kangaroo patty, vege sticks, walnuts
M3: spicy almond chicken, cabbage, zucchini
M4: chicken, vege sticks, pistachios
walk TJ to supermarket
M5: venison sausages, sweet potato, broccoli
M6 (treat meal): fruit platter (incl choc-dipped strawberries), protein shake

I will lose 10kg by 31 December

8 reasons why you fall off the wagon

I received an interesting email newsletter from Tom Venuto the other day. It was titled, 'Why sticking with your diet is so hard', and in it he listed 8 reasons why you fall off the wagon. Thought I would share them with you here.

Here are the 8 reasons why you fall off the wagon

1. No focus: you didn't set goals, you didn't put your goals in writing, and or you didn't keep your goals in mind daily (by reading them, affirming them, looking at a vision board, etc.)

2. No priorities: you may have set a goal, but you didn't put it on or near the top of your priorities list. For example, your goal is six pack abs, but drinking beer and eating fast food on the weekend is higher on your priorities list than having a flat stomach.

3. No support system: you tried to go at it alone; no buddy system, training partners, family, spouse, friends, mentors or coaches to turn to for information and emotional support when the going got tough.

4. No Accountability: you didn't keep score for your own accountability - with a progress chart, weight record, measurements, food journal, training journal, and you didn't set up external accountability (ie, report to someone else or show your results to someone else)

5. No patience: you were only thinking short term and had unrealistic expectations. You expected 10 pounds a week or 5 pounds a week or 3 pounds a week, so the first week you lost "only" 1 or 2 pounds or hit a plateau, you gave up.

6. No planning: you winged it. You walked into the gym without having a workout in hand, on paper, you didn't plan your workouts into your weekly schedule; you didn't have a menu on paper, you didn't make time (so instead you made excuses, like "I'm too busy")

7. No balance: your diet or training program was too extreme. You went the all or nothing, "I want it now" route instead of the moderate, slow-and-steady wins the race route.

8. No personalization: your nutrition or training program was the wrong one for you. It might have worked for someone else, but it didn't suit your schedule, personality, lifestyle, disposition or body type.

So there you have it - 8 mistakes that cause most people to fall off the wagon. Are you guilty of any of these transgressions? If so, the solutions are clear and simple:

Focus, prioritize, get support, be accountable, be patient, plan, balance and personalize.

Today's food
M1: protein shake, muesli, eggs
M2: chicken, green beans, flax oil pesto
M3: chilli pistachio chicken, salad
M4: kangaroo patty, sweet potato, celery, capsicum, cucumber, carrot
M5: fish, sweet potato and green bean curry

I will lose 10kg by 31 December

Going Places

When I did my first competition in 2006, one of my trainer's other clients, Karen Montague, was competing at the same show. She was from out of town and stayed at our house the night before. She had competed before and was great at helping me feel at ease about the whole thing.


Here we are enjoying some treats after the show.

Karen has continued to train and compete, and yesterday it was confirmed that she is going to be competing in the Arnold Amateur Classic in Columbus, Ohio in three weeks! If you are interested, you can check out her journey here.

Today's food
walk with TJ and Rob
M1: protein shake, muesli, eggs
M2: chicken, green beans, flax oil salsa
M3: chilli pistachio chicken, salad
M4: kangaroo patty, sweet potato, capsicum, carrots, cucumber
train, day 2 (workout drinks)
M5: fish, sweet potato, salad

I will lose 10kg by 31 December

Changes

Today I had a consultation with Ian Collins, the director of Evelyn Faye Nutrition. He was easy to talk to and we discussed a lot of things, including the results of my gene test, how I'm eating at the moment and what exercise I do. This is what I came away with:
- my current weight training program is well suited to my genetic profile
- increasing the pace of my walking will help with my cardiovascular health and weight loss
- my diet and water intake are good, but he'd like to see me eat more at dinner and before bed (that is, avoid going hungry), and include more fruit in my diet. He also suggested taking Glisodin, to help stimulate my body's defence against free radicals.
- the protein powders and B-vitamins I use are good, so to continue with those
- he suggested switching my preworkout drink to Combust as it is better suited to my genetic profile and goals (and it's cheaper than what I have been having - bonus!)
- he suggested including calcium and magnesium, because I'm not eating much dairy (it doesn't agree with me) and I sometimes get cramps in my calves

So I will do measures over the weekend, then implement the changes and see how I go.

In other exciting news, I have a job interview on Tuesday morning.

Today's food
walk with TJ and Rob
M1: protein shake, muesli, eggs
M2: chilli pistachio chicken, salad
M3: chicken, green beans, flax oil salsa
M4: kangaroo patty, sweet potato, cauliflower
M5: kangaroo mince, brown rice, salsa, salad

I will lose 10kg by 31 December

Chilli Pistachio Chicken

For Sam



Chilli Pistachio Chicken
Makes 5 serves

Ingredients
spray oil
500g minced chicken
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 teaspoons chilli sauce
6 spring onions, chopped
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
125g pistachio nuts (you can adjust this to suit your macros)

Method
Heat spray oil in wok or pan, add mince, cook, stirring, until mince is changed in colour. Remove wok from heat, add juice and sauces; cool.

Combine mince mixture, spring onions, ginger and coriander; mix well.

Divide into five servings (these can be frozen at this stage and defrosted as needed). When you are ready to eat, fill bowl with salad*, top with one serve of mince mixture and sprinkle with 25g pistachios.

*My salad contained iceberg lettuce, spinach, bean sprouts, tomato, cucumber, celery, red pepper, red onion and carrot.

Recipe adapted from The Minced Meat Cookbook, 1997 reprint, produced by the Australian Women's Weekly Home Library

---

Yesterday I picked some ripe figs off a tree near our house. I really enjoyed having a couple of these in my muesli this morning.

Today's food
M1a: protein shake
walk with Rob and TJ
M1b: eggs, muesli (with figs!)

M2: chicken, green beans, flax oil salsa
M3: chilli pistachio chicken, salad
M4: kangaroo patty, sweet potato, cauli
train, day 1 (workout drinks)
M5: prawn salad, sweet potato

I will lose 10kg by 31 December

Today's food in pictures

Meal 1a
protein shake


walk with Rob and TJ

Meal 1b
muesli


curried eggs


Meal 2
chicken, green beans, flax oil salsa


Meal 3
chilli pistachio chicken, salad


Meal 4
kangaroo patty, sweet potato, mashed cauliflower
(started eating the sweet potato before I remembered to take a photo!)


Meal 5
dory, sweet potato, salad


I will lose 10kg by 31 December

I QUIT!

Walking TJ on my own that is. He's too big and strong for me to handle (hence the reason I think I hurt my back a couple of weeks ago), and I no longer want to get into situations like this morning (he got into a fight with a doberman and I had to pull them apart). I've walked him since he was a puppy, mostly because I get up earlier, and I've often worked the walking into my comp prep. But no more! Rob is going to have to get up earlier and walk him. I will come along for a walk, but I will not be the one holding the lead.

Today's food
M1: protein shake, muesli, eggs
walk TJ
M2: chicken breast, green beans, flax oil salsa
M3: chilli pistachio chicken, salad
M4: kangaroo patty, sweet potato, cauliflower
train, day 2 (workout drinks)
M5: dory, sweet potato, salad

I will lose 10kg by 31 December

Sunday

Today's food
M1a: protein shake
walk TJ
M1b: muesli, eggs
M2: chicken, green beans, flax oil salsa
M3: chilli pistachio chicken, salad
M4: kangaroo patty, sweet potato, cauliflower
M5: turkey mince, sweet potato, salad

I will lose 10kg by 31 December

Shopping Day

This morning I did the rest of our grocery shopping, plus went to the butcher and fishmonger.

When I got home I continued our food prep for the next seven days (I cook for both Rob and I).
- I made up some flax oil salsa to toss with chicken and beans for morning teas
- I cooked 2kg chicken mince with some lime juice, fish sauce, chilli sauce, spring onions, ginger and coriander, allowed it to cool, then portioned it into sandwich bags. I put half in the fridge and half in the freezer. These will be used for lunches, tossed with salad and pistachio nuts.
- I'd normally make some kangaroo patties for afternoon teas, but I made up and froze a whole lot last weekend so that's already covered.

Tonight we had a nice night at a friend's place for a birthday barbecue. One of our friends made a great-looking birthday cake (and his cakes usually taste pretty good), so I decided to have that for my treat, since I hadn't really settled on what to have for a treat meal this weekend.

Today's food
M1: protein shake, muesli, eggs
M2: chicken, green beans, flax oil dressing
M3: chilli pistachio chicken, salad
M4: kangaroo patty, sweet potato, cauliflower
M5 (treat meal): chocolate cake

I will lose 10kg by 31 December

Vege Prep Day

Lately Fridays have been my vege prep day. My veges are delivered on Fridays and I like to prep everything straight out of the box, so I don't have to double handle stuff later in the week. Today's vege prep involved
- baking 2.5kg sweet potato
- topping and tailing 3kg green beans, then blanching them, refreshing them in ice water, draining them, and portioning them into sandwich bags (I'm considering skipping the first step next time - surely it's fine to eat the whole bean?)
- washing salad veges and making up a big salad to last the next few days - lettuce, baby spinach, bean sprouts, tomato, cucumber, celery, red pepper, red onion and carrot
- breaking up 6 cauliflowers and washing the florets (amazing how many little bugs there are hiding in organic cauliflower), then steaming and mashing them.

So that's all our veges prepped for the next seven days, apart from making up more salad as it's needed, and baking some more sweet potatoes.

It might look like I don't get a lot of variety but I swap veges around from week to week, depending on what's cheap/in season and what I feel like eating. I just prefer to buy a couple of items in bulk and eat them for the whole week so I don't have to think too much about what to buy and what to eat each day.

Tomorrow I'll do the groceries and meat.

Today's food
M1: protein shake, muesli, eggs
M2: chicken, green beans, pesto
M3: chicken salad, walnuts
M4: kangaroo patty, sweet potato, cauliflower
training, Day 1 (workout drinks)
M5: turkey mince with Morrocan seasoning, sweet potato, salad

I will lose 10kg by 31 December

Thursday

Had a few walks today: one to the park with TJ, one to my accountant (overdue accounts finally all sorted) and one to the supermarket. Not having a car certainly keeps me active!

Today's food
M1: eggs, muesli, protein shake
walk TJ
M2 chicken, green beans, pesto
M3: chicken salad, walnuts
M4: kangaroo patty, sweet potato, cauliflower
M5: prawn salad, sweet potato
M6: protein shake, yoghurt, walnuts, apple

I will lose 10kg by 31 December

Program 1, Day 2

Hot day today. I walked to the gym this afternoon and was almost there when I realised I'd left my workout notes at home. So I turned around, walked home, got my notes and walked back again. So about 45 minutes of walking in the heat before I even got to start my workout. Felt a bit dehydrated not long after starting but slowly felt better as I consumed my workout drinks.

Today's workout consisted of soft-tissue mobilization, dynamic warm-up and activation exercises as for Day 1, followed by

4. Strength training
-Plate squats
-Push-ups
-RDLs
-Split stance cable pulldown
-Prone row to external rotation
-Side plank
-Band internal rotation

5. Energy system training
- KB swings on the minute

6. Post workout stretching
- quad stretch
- calf stretch

Today's food
M1 protein shake, muesli, eggs
walk TJ
M2 chicken, green beans, pesto
M3 chicken salad, nuts
M4 kangaroo patty, sweet potato, cauliflower
M5 tuna salad with wasabi dressing, sweet potato

Tuesday

Last week I broke my glasses. It had been five years since my last eye check so today I went in and had my eyes tested and looked at some new frames. In the past I haven't enjoyed choosing new frames because A) the frames don't have prescription lenses so when you try them on you can't actually 'see' what you look like unless you get really close to the mirror, and B) there are so many frames to choose from it can take forever to find a pair you like (especially when you're like me and turn to mush when there are too many choices). Today was no different in that I still had to get really close to the mirror, but the frames I ended up with were the second pair I was shown - yay!

No training today so Rob kindly did some dry needling on my erector spinae, which were very tight after my sore lower back episode. Feeling better already.

Today's food
M1 protein shake, muesli, eggs
walk TJ
M2 spicy peanut chicken, zucchini, bok choy
M3 chicken salad, nuts
M4 kangaroo patty, sweet potato, mashed cauliflower
M5 fish, sweet potato, salad

I will lose 10kg by 31 December

Program 1, Day 1

As per my previous post on my program goals, I'm doing lots of exercises to work on my glutes and shoulders at the moment.

Today's workout consisted of
1. soft-tissue mobilization of the following muscles with foam roller and tennis ball
- spine
- TFL
- hips
- quads
- feet/calves
- posterior shoulder

2. Dynamic warm-up using exercises from Assess and Correct
- quadruped rotation
- push-up plus
- dynamic blackburns
- split stance rotation
- scapular wall slides
- supine straight leg raise
- side lying hip abduction
- walking spiderman
- wall ankle mobs
- goblet squats

3. Activation/acute corrective exercises, also from Assess and Correct
- quad stretch
- supine bridge
- clam shells
- seated psoas holds

4. Strength training
- Pull throughs
- DB rows
- Split squats
- Split stance cable push
- Shoulder I, T, Y
- Front plank
- External rotation on knee

4. Energy system training
- bike intervals

5. Post workout stretching
- quad stretch
- calf stretch

This workout contained lots of new exercises for me so I found it quite tiring mentally, as well as tiring for those muscles I obviously don't use enough (glutes!). All good though. Looking forward to trying out 'Day 2' on Wednesday.

---

Today's food
M1: protein shake, muesli, eggs
walk TJ
M2: spicy peanut chicken, bok choy, zucchini
M3: chicken salad, nuts
M4: kangaroo patty, sweet potato, beans
train: day 1 (workout drinks)
M5: fish, sweet potato, salad