That Does It!

My feet tell me when I've had too much of a food that doesn't agree with me. If I have too much wheat (especially bread) or sugar over the course of a few days, I get itchy welts on my feet.

And I know some dairy makes me feel bloated, and some protein powders make me feel tired, but I forgot how much until this morning. Because I was hungry yesterday, and had some chocolate whey in the house, I had a couple of serves of protein pudding with coconut last night. I've been waking up really easily all week, but this morning I struggled to get out of bed after 10 hours' sleep!

So I'm pretty sure I know what my body doesn't like, but I've decided I want some definite answers instead of just going on guesswork. Today when I was at Evelyn Faye I picked up a allergy food test:

Using a few drops of blood, the Allery-Food Check assessment will analyze your body's reaction to 96 different common foods through detection of food-specific IgG antibodies via ELISA methodology.

Allergic reactions to common foods such as milk, wheat, corn, soy, citrus, tomatoes and peanuts may be mistakenly attributed to passing viral infections or recurrent "colds". The relationship between the many common symptoms (including fatigue, headache, anxiety, as well as itchy runny nose and puffy eyelids) and the allergies that caused them may go unrecognized for years. Increased stress, recurrent infections or declining health may add to the burden of chronic allergies. Over the years, arthritis, gastrointestinal disorders, autoimmune disease, eczema, and migraines, to name a few serious conditions linked with food allergies, can develop into chronic conditions if the offending allergens are not discovered and removed from the diet.

The 96 General Foods to be tested:

Dairy:
Casein, Cheese (Cheddar) Cheese (Cottage), Cheese (Mozzarella), Whey, Milk, Milk (Goat), Yogurt.

Fish/Crustacea/Mollusk:
Clam (Manila), Cod (Atlantic), Crab (Dungeness), Halibut, Lobster, Oyster, Red Snapper, Salmon (Pacific), Shrimp (Western), Sole, Tuna (Yellowfin).

Vegetables:
Asparagus, Avocado, Beet, Broccoli, Cabbage (White), Carrot, Cauliflower, Celery, Cucumber, Garlic, Lettuce, Mushroom (Common), Olive (Black), Onion (White), Pepper (Green), Bell, Potato (Sweet), Potato (White), Pumpkin, Radish, Spinach (Green), Squash, Zucchini, Tomato (Red).

Grains/Legumes/Nuts:
Almond, Amaranth Flour, Barley, Bean (Kidney), Bean (Lima), Bean (Pinto), Bean (Soy), Bean (String), Buckwheat, Coconut, Corn, Filbert, Gliadin (Wheat), Gluten (Wheat), Lentil, Oat, Pea (Green), Peanut (Runner), Pecan, Rice (White), Rye, Sesame, Spelt, Sunflower, Walnut, Wheat (Whole).

Fruits:
Apple, Apricot, Banana, Blueberry, Cranberry, Grape (Red), Grapefruit, Lemon, Orange, Papaya, Peach, Pear, Pineapple, Plum, Raspberry (Red), Strawberry.

Meat/Fowl:
Beef, Chicken, Egg White (Chicken), Egg Yolk (Chicken), Lamb, Pork, Turkey.

Misc:
Cocoa Bean, Coffee Bean, Honey, Sugar Cane, Yeast (Baker's), Yeast (Brewer's)

Approximately 15 business days after receiving your sample, a report indicating your food reactions will be mailed to you. In addition, a customized 4-Day Elimination and Rotation Diet Plan may be sent as part of your results, depending on results.

So I am going to do the test on Monday and hope to have the results back in a couple of weeks. I think I will probably have positive reactions in the Dairy; Grains/Legumes/Nuts; and Misc sections, but I guess I will soon know for sure.

Hungry!

I've really enjoyed walking TJ first thing in the morning the last couple of days - we avoid all the big dogs that go a bit later AND I get to hear the birds chirping as the sun comes up. I just start to get hungry as I get home, and I have my breakfast a few minutes later. But I've wanted my subsequent meals earlier than usual the last couple of days. I forgot how 'fasted' walking kicks my metabolism up a gear. I'm not deliberately walking before breakfast as a weight-loss mechanism though - just doing it cause I enjoy going then.

How's this for a job?

FITNESS INSTRUCTOR / PERSONAL TRAINER - TRAVEL OVERSEAS IMMEDIATELY
Fitness Instructor Personal Trainer to Senior Executive
Immediate start mid-June and immediate departure overseas
2 -3 months assignment
Excellent salary, benefits etc
Female required

Our client requires a qualified experienced fitness instructor / personal trainer who is immediately available to depart and accompany them in training whilst overseas.

The incumbent must have all appropriate tertiary fitness qualifications and be qualified as a fitness instructor.

Must be passionate about fitness and have excellent communication skills.

You will be required to travel on a Yacht and have no problems with sea sickness.

Ability to leave immediately and travel around the world for the next 2-3 months.

An excellent track record in personal fitness management with key business executives will be preferred.

A sense of humor and confident personality is essential.

An excellent salary will be negotiated.

Interviews are being conducted immediately. Please call asap to arrange an interview.

Advertised at Seek

Ich mag mein Steak medium-roh

(I prefer my steak medium-rare)
 
Had steak for dinner last night and the leftovers for morning tea. The post title is in German as I'm proofreading some foreign-language products at the moment. Did Spanish at the start of the week, am currently doing German, and will probably be doing French at the end of the week.
 
Got up at 6am today to get my walk in. Didn't do one yesterday as I felt a bit pushed for time with work. On Monday I went at 8am (after brekky) but it was too busy in the park for my liking. This morning I got up, had some Vital Greens, checked my email and went straight away. Much better.
 

Three Ways to Manage Hunger

by Christian Thibaudeau

1) Eat only when you're physically hungry. Learn to distinguish between emotional pangs and the actual need to eat. To get a handle on your hunger, use the stopwatch trick. When you feel hungry, start a 15-minute countdown, and use that time to reflect on whether you need to eat or simply want to because of stress, boredom, or gluttony. Giving yourself a set time frame will prevent impulsive eating and will allow you to make better choices.

2) If you're training hard in an effort to add muscle and you aren't suffering from physical hunger more than three times per day, you're doing something wrong training wise. The need to adapt to training requires nutrients and energy. The training itself also requires a lot of energy. The more positive damage that's done during your workout, the more nutrients and calories your body will need to recover.

If you need more nutrients, your body will naturally send you the signal to eat more (you know, that grumbling below that pulls you to the fridge like a magnet). So, if your appetite is missing, it's because you're either lifting like a pansy or you have digestive problems.

3) If you're trying to lose fat, you'll obviously be hungrier, but you shouldn't be constantly ravenous, feeling deprived, or having deviant fantasies about Little Debbie. If you get a lot of cravings when dieting, it can be because:

• You aren't providing your body with all of the nutrients it needs (and you're likely deficient in some vitamins and minerals).

• Your fats and/or carbs are too low to fill your minimum daily needs. A common example is people who follow a low-carb diet while also greatly limiting their fat intake. Yes, we want to create an energy deficit, but we still must give our bodies enough fuel to function normally.

• You have a digestion problem, and thus, can't absorb all of the nutrients you ingest. If you don't absorb it, your body can't use it.

• You're dehydrated. A lot of people confuse thirst with hunger, so when you feel hungry, try downing eight to ten ounces of water, wait 15 minutes, and then see if you're still truly hungry or were just thirsty.

On a Brighter Note...

Going into town shortly to train back with Rob at his work, then going out for a friend's birthday dinner. Definitely having prawn rice paper rolls, but not sure what else yet.

Best Friends and 'Rant'

Snapped this pic of TJ (dog) and Oscar (cat) sharing the sunshine on the couch this afternoon. TJ is really good natured, but today I was wondering if I should train him to attack on command. I was walking him through the park (he was off the lead) when a guy (think in his late teens) rode past me, then circled me a couple of times.
Guy: 'fancy a head job?'
Me: 'pardon?'
Guy: 'fancy a head job??'
Me: 'FUCK OFF!'

This is probably the third time this has happened to me - I was also propositioned in a similar manner when I was probably about seven or eight, and an old guy tried to grab me between the legs when I walked past him when I was about 15. In addition to this I was sexually abused by my (male) babysitter when I was about six. It just makes me wonder WHAT MAKES SOME MEN THINK THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO THIS? FUCK OFF!!!

A Good Reason to Eat Organic Strawberries

Choice Magazine found higher than acceptable pesticide residues in strawberries from conventional farms (Choice magazine, February 2008). Their research found almost all conventionally grown strawberries contained some residues. They analysed strawberries from 31 growers across most states in Australia and found three contained pesticide residues at levels above the acceptable MRL’s (maximum residue levels), three had pesticides that regulations don’t allow, two contained more fungicide than is acceptable under stringent EU regulations, and seventeen strawberries had combination residues of more than one pesticide. And washing did not remove all of the pesticide residue! (from Green Tucker)

Cupcakes and Heavy Weights

Just finished proofreading a book on cupcakes. Forty-eight recipes with colour pics *drool*. Am meeting Rob at the gym this evening. Probably going to do back and shoulders.



Rob's always trained instinctively - never kept a training journal - just gets in there and goes as hard as he possibly can, and usually has to have a nap afterwards. I've followed programs since starting training for figure comps (July 2005), and after having a bit of a meltdown at the start of this year, I can't bear the thought of following a program. It kind of turns my stomach. I just want to get in there and enjoy myself without referring to a piece of paper and writing things down. I think it's the only way forward for me at the moment. I don't want to train for a purpose, I just want to train because I enjoy it.

Update: back from the gym. Just did shoulders - 4 sets of Arnold presses, 3 sets lat raises, 3 sets machine presses. Trained with my Skins top on and am going to sleep in in tonight. Hopefully I will be able to lift my arms above my head tomorrow!
PWO meal: kangaroo sausages, porridge with brown sugar.

Bench Press Technique

Dave Tate on the Bench Press:



Read the full article here

God Bless the New Zealand Passport Office

My passport expired in October 2008. Because I wasn't planning to go anywhere until the end of June, I hadn't gotten around to renewing it. After Rob rang me early yesterday morning, I had to scramble to get it organised. I rang the New Zealand Passport Office in Sydney when it opened at 9am and found out what I needed for an urgent renewal. I knew I had to get the paperwork in the express post box by 6pm, so yesterday constisted of:
- sending an email to Rob to arrange the funeral home to fax our circumstances to the passport office
- getting hair and eyebrows done (way overdue so figured getting them done for the passport photo was as good a time as any)
- having passport photos taken and picking up an Express Post Platinum envelope
- reading and filling out 13 pages of forms
- finding someone that met the strict criteria to verify my photos

I managed to get photos verified by 5.30pm, then it was off to the post box.

Had a call at 2.30 this afternoon to say that they had received the paperwork and fax BUT... my marriage certificate wasn't an official one (just the presentation one they give you at your ceremony) so if I wanted my new passport ASAP they would just issue it in my maiden name again, and I could put it in my married name when I renewed it again in five years. I said YES, so they are couriering it to me overnight and I should have it in my hot little hands tomorrow.

***Lesson: renew your passport as SOON as it expires - you never know when you might need it!***

Bob

(L to R: Nick, Rob, Rona, Bob, Unta)

ORR

Robert Victor (Bob). On 5 May 2009, aged 60 years. Loved dad and friend of Nick and Rob. Loved and respected by all who knew him. Bob's strength is our inspiration. A Service for Bob will be held at the North Shore Memorial Park Crematorium Chapel, 235 Schnapper Rock Road, Albany at 1pm on Saturday 9 May 2009. H Morris Funeral Services

Topsy Turvy

Rob's dad took a turn for the worse yesterday morning, so Rob is flying back to NZ over the weekend. I have been meaning to renew my passport for a while now, and it looks as if I may have to put in an urgent request just in case I have to fly back next week.

Otherwise, things are going well. I'm enjoying work, getting a decent amount of sleep (although not getting to bed until the wee hours) and have managed to do a little bit of exercise each day this week (the most I've done for a couple of months!).
Mon walk TJ around block for warmup, then circuits at home
Tue walk TJ to park
Wed walk TJ around block for warmup, then circuits at home
Thu walk TJ to park
Fri walk TJ around block for warmup, then circuits at home

Will probably do some walking over the weekend too.

Am enjoying staying off the computer over the weekend, so will catch you on Monday.

Observations

- when I eat low-carb during the week it takes me longer to get to sleep at night, and I need more sleep
- when I switch to high-carb (eg on Friday night) I fall asleep quickly and need less sleep.
- I don't need 48 hours of 'relaxed' eating if a lot of it is crap food.
 

Eventful Week

On Tuesday my husband and I celebrated our birthdays (we are born on the same day, he is a year older). On Wednesday we found out Rob's dad was in hospital (he lives in New Zealand), and on Wednesday night he had his leg amputated above the knee. He has a history of kidney and heart problems, and the operation was pretty high risk but the tissue was dead and it had to come off before it spread any further. Luckily the operation went well, and his dad is in good spirits. He faces another couple of months in hospital, and we should be arriving over there on holiday around the time he comes out, so we can work out when and how he might need further assistance. Hopefully there will be no complications in the meantime.

On a lighter note, I've seen a few changes in my physique this week. Dropped a lot of water after TOM bloat disappeared, plus have been keeping my starchy carbs low during the week so less water retention there too. Don't know what the scales say - haven't been on them since Friday last week. Will weigh in again on Sat morning before weekend 'relax' starts.

How Do You Feel?

Since I didn't have enough energy to train for the last couple of months, I experimented with my diet a bit in an attempt to make myself feel better. Rather than than eating to change how I look, I ate to change how I felt. And I discovered something interesting about myself.

In March, to give myself more energy, I decided to up my carb intake to around 55% (from oats/quinoa, sweet potato, legumes, veggies and fruit) and dropped my fat intake to around 20%. Near the end of the month I had the worst PMS ever. Cravings, irritability, depression, frequently bursting into tears, etc.

So the next two weeks I bumped my fat back up to about 30%, and dropped carbs back to 30 to 40%, with the majority of carbs coming from veges - a LOT of veges - and oats with flax seeds at breakfast in the second week. By the end of the second week (just prior to Easter) I felt great - relaxed, increased libido - better than I've felt for a long time. I ate a lot of starchy carbs over Easter so the following week I dropped carbs way back and pushed my fats even higher during the week (up to 60%), relaxing and including more carbs again this weekend just gone. Yesterday I was surprised when my period arrived, because I had no PMS symptoms.

So at this stage I'm not sure if it was the fats, the HUGE amount of veggies, the tablespoons of flax seeds, or the large amounts of starchy carbs that I ate in the weekends that made the difference, or if it was a combination of all four, but I want to keep working it out, as after feeling so crap for the last couple of months, feeling great feels, well, great!

relaxed/strict start

Friday 17 April: 63kg (same as pre-Easter weight)

Plans for this weekend (relaxed)
Friday Quiet night, low-carb food in case Rob has to make weight for a grappling tournament on Saturday.
Saturday At a course for most of the day. Possible dinner out at a Vietnamese/Chinese restaurant after Rob's comp, plus birthday drinks at a local pub.
Sunday May have some house guests after Saturday night, so will probably do brunch and coffee together.

Will report back on Monday after my 'computer free' weekend.

Trying Something New

For the next four weeks I'm going to try a way of eating I've been thinking about for while: 'strict' weekdays, and 'relaxed' weekends. I'm choosing to do 'strict' weekdays because I work from home and my husband is often out from about 8am to 10pm, so when I eat it's not a social thing. The weekends are a time for me to catch up with family and friends. That might mean having a latte with my husband, or going out for drinks or brunch. During the weekends I don't want to be concerned with counting calories (there's the other five days of the week for me to do that). I just want to relax and enjoy myself.

I've also decided that I won't be using my computer on weekends. It's easy for me to spend hours on the internet when I could be doing other things. So on Friday nights I will be turning my PC off (and putting the laptop away), and not turning it on again until Monday morning.

So on Friday mornings I will post my training and food from Monday to Thursday, and my Friday-morning weight (as 'relaxed' weekend will start on Friday night), and on Mondays I will post my training and food from Friday to Sunday.

Tuesday-Friday

Food
M1: scrambled eggs, spinach, salsa
M2: protein shake, blueberries, fish oil
M3: beef pattie, mashed cauliflower
M4: salmon, asparagus
M5: chicken stir-fry (with oil)
M6: coffee-walnut protein pudding
approx 2000 cals

Food Porn

Gluten-free hot-cross buns aren't readily available at the supermarket, so today I made some, using the recipe on this page:

After rising


After adding cross


After baking


After glazing


Warm out of the oven, with butter - yum!