December 14, 2011 6:58 AM HKT

The end

So the final page of the last chapter has been (and nearly) gone.  I did my day 8 workout in a total of 15 minutes.  It felt like a huge cheat but i kept it all the same as Day 8 except for the break times which from memory, were then a lot longer than the allocated, today they were 10 seconds.  It really did show just how far I've come, as have my fellow PCPers. 

The other thing that really really does hit home to me the difference the last 90 days has made is my real before and after photos.  I knew i'd lost weight but seeing the comparison really shows the huge huge difference PCP has made. They will follow below. 

Not only has PCP helped me get the body I want (well, nearly nearly there) it's toned up, strengthened and helped to sort out some long term injuries i've had.  They're are still not perfect and probably never will be but they are so much stronger and i've had less issues with them through PCP than I thought I would. 

So what have I learnt over the last 90 days?  
1) Well, i ate too much.  Not compared to other people but for the amount a person my size should eat, I definitely used to put too much on my plate, especially carbs.  
2) I don't miss not having carbs with a meal.  Tonight I had a turkey stir fry packed with veg and even my hubbie decided not to have noodles with it. 
3) I do enjoy natural food and I don't plan on buying packet sauces on a regular basis anymore.  It's easy to make up tasty and healthier sauces using herbs and spices which is also far better than sauces packed with flavourings and preservatives. 
4) I LOVE fruit and veg snacks.  I was in a rush out to a carol service tonight and for 'ease' (and novelty) grabbed a digestive biscuit.  Within about 30 mins of eating it I was hungry again.  Grabbing a handful of grapes would have been a much better option. 
5) I can live quite easily and happily without 'treats' or a glass of wine on a daily or even every couple of days basis.  
6) Food hopping on PCP is so much cheaper and easier as you skip out huge chunks of the supermarket. 
7) I'm far stronger than I think I am. I don't just mean physically but mentally too.  Getting through workouts when pushed against time, feeling a little under the weather or other nightmare situations are going on proved that if I put my mind to something, I really can get it done. 
8)  I'm not a sporty person but I enjoyed working out and will look to find an alternative to keep my motivated and interested. 
9) I have a fabulous family who have really helped me to achieve this.
10) I'm happy with my body.  I never thought I would say this, ever.  There are still things i'd like to change (some bigger, most smaller) but on the whole, i'm happy and feel confident in my new body. 

So, for the stats (sorry Patrick, i'm using numbers one last time!)
 
January 2010 - weight 57kg/8.9stone (and a few weeks pregnant)
September 2010 - Little Miss O born and my weight just before was 67kg/10.5stone. 
September 2011 - starting PCP my weight was 60.4kg/9.5stone
December 2011 (today) - my weight is 53.4kg/8.4stone.  
I've not been under 8.5stone for about 10 years!  

Ok, so now for the gratuitous bikini shots (i can't believe i'm putting these up although i'm more mortified by the before shots than anything!!)

Photos

December 13, 2011 5:40 AM HKT

Day 89

I can't believe its Day 89.  The last 3 months have gone incredibly fast.  Last few days i've still been suffering with the knee so have had to keep swapping days around to give the knee a break from the floorjumps (otherwise I ended up with 2 days in a row). I have however completed all the various days workouts just not in the right order.  I'm still really enjoying the supersets although they are tough and I nearly cried during the plank/vsit combo this evening.  It's amazing how quickly failure starts to hit on the later reps.  I do find it weird though that one day i'm struggling to even do 8 reps of a vsit and then the next day i'm doing 25 before hitting failure.  I can't work out whether this is because i'm not concentrating enough on form or because my stomach muscles are exhausted one day but a little more repaired the next. 

Food all ok although I did make the most revolting PCP compliant lunch today (which did end up in the bin).  I wont go into what was in it but i felt quite cheated making such a balls up of a meal this late in the game.  Never mind.  

I have made some revelations on the food front in the last couple of days.  I naughtily pinched a chip off of my husbands plate the other night.  It tasted of nothing.  Everyone else around the table was raving over the chips (sorry, these are 'fries' to the americans amongst us) so i thought 'why not'.  All I felt when I ate it though was 'whats the point of this food', it was flavourless and fatty so I gained nothing from it (i even left the rest of it on my plate!).  Then, on Sunday we were out for lunch and I ordered a seafood platter (yes this was way over my protein allowance) but oh, it was good, except for the smoked salmon.  I love smoked salmon.  The first thing I had when I got home from having my daughter was smoked salmon. I haven't had any for 3 months so I was particularly looking forward to it.  I had a mouthful and all I could taste was salt.  It was so so salty I just couldn't eat it.  I thought it may be that particular piece so my mum and dad both had a piece each and said I was nuts, it was beautiful salmon and not at all salty.  It's official, PCP has ruined my love of smoked salmon.  I'm assuming the natural diet we've had over the last few months has really changed my taste buds and I seem to be very sensitive to salt and sugar now (there's also been a minor tasting of a hagen dazs ice cream which was like eating pure sugar).  Whether i'll ever be able to eat smoked salmon again, who knows but missing out on that one food but finding so many others that I enjoy and make me look good is worth it.  Just to clarify, i then didn't have protein in the evening, just veg so hopefully lunch and dinner cancelled each other out a bit!

I have 3 lonely harboiled eggs in the fridge waiting to be the day 90 eggwhites.  Bring on day 90, the final workout and the rather scary final photo!

December 10, 2011 4:11 AM HKT

Day 86

Quick update on the knee tonight.  It's still twinging but feeling stronger today so I managed to complete yesterday's workout (the last of the non superset specials).  It wasn't too bad but again had to split the skipping into one set at the start and the other at the end of the workout.  It does seem to help to keep it less stressed.  Hope the skipping still has the same fat burning results though!

I'm not quite sure what i'll do at the end of PCP exercise wise.  I will probably have a few days r&r but then I will definitely keep skipping a few times a week and do a full last 2 weeks workout once or twice (time depending) a week.  I really want to start doing yoga/pilates or something but i'm never sure which is the better or what the difference is.  Maybe i'll drop Patrick a line. I'd love to take up ballet again.  I used to do it as a child into teenage years.  It's quite hard to find an adult ballet class though over here so I will keep looking. 

December 9, 2011 4:11 AM HKT

Day 85 photo

In lieu of a week 12, mark 2 photo slot under the weekly photo's.  Here it is...

Photos

December 9, 2011 4:10 AM HKT

Skipping knee

I don't know if this is a real ailment but i'm certainly suffering with it.  On Monday it flared up towards the end of the skipping and on Tuesday I swapped to the rest day work out only I took a real rest and didn't do any skipping at all. Then on Wednesday I did Tuesdays workout (with the 9min skips though) and it felt a lot stronger and almost back to normal.  'Excellent' i thought.  So this morning I take one step in a pair of mid heeled boots and feel a pain shoot through the knee again.  Straight into flats for the rest of the day but constant twinging going on.  I decided to swap todays workout (very knee heavy) for tomorrows and as such got my first taste of the supersets.  I did my first 9 min skip then did the 2nd lot at the end of the workout, just to help rest the knee as much as possible.  The 2nd set I split into 3 x 3mins subsets but only managed to 6 mins before having to stop.  Think I may have to carry on moderating for another day or so and then hopefully, all will be well again. I don't want to have another day without any skipping though, especially this close to the end.

So, supersets.  I LOVE THEM.  I have no idea why on earth I do but I really enjoyed doing them.  Don't get me wrong, i'm not saying I found them easy but they are just more of a mental challenge and therefore just made a great change.  The pull down/standing o combo was going along nicely, and I have to confess, I was finding it easy to a certain point but then set 5 kicked in and oh my god did it hurt!  I'm pleased I've got 2 resistance bands otherwise the ski/curls wouldn't have been quite so smooth as they were.  The vsits/plank combo was interesting.  I got dizzy doing these.  I know that sounds crazy but throwing myself around on the floor to failure on vsits and promptly flipping over for a plank to failure 5 times over certainly took a lot out of me.  It was fun though.  (Is this me??  What's happened in the last 85 days, fun and love are not words I'd normally use with exercise!)

Food all fine apart from the mince pie that accidentally fell into my mouth today whilst I was having a cuppa (it was home made though so technically not processed!)  

December 9, 2011 4:09 AM HKT

Skipping knee

I don't know if this is a real ailment but i'm certainly suffering with it.  On Monday it flared up towards the end of the skipping and on Tuesday I swapped to the rest day work out only I took a real rest and didn't do any skipping at all. Then on Wednesday I did Tuesdays workout (with the 9min skips though) and it felt a lot stronger and almost back to normal.  'Excellent' i thought.  So this morning I take one step in a pair of mid heeled boots and feel a pain shoot through the knee again.  Straight into flats for the rest of the day but constant twinging going on.  I decided to swap todays workout (very knee heavy) for tomorrows and as such got my first taste of the supersets.  I did my first 9 min skip then did the 2nd lot at the end of the workout, just to help rest the knee as much as possible.  The 2nd set I split into 3 x 3mins subsets but only managed to 6 mins before having to stop.  Think I may have to carry on moderating for another day or so and then hopefully, all will be well again. I don't want to have another day without any skipping though, especially this close to the end.

So, supersets.  I LOVE THEM.  I have no idea why on earth I do but I really enjoyed doing them.  Don't get me wrong, i'm not saying I found them easy but they are just more of a mental challenge and therefore just made a great change.  The pull down/standing o combo was going along nicely, and I have to confess, I was finding it easy to a certain point but then set 5 kicked in and oh my god did it hurt!  I'm pleased I've got 2 resistance bands otherwise the ski/curls wouldn't have been quite so smooth as they were.  The vsits/plank combo was interesting.  I got dizzy doing these.  I know that sounds crazy but throwing myself around on the floor to failure on vsits and promptly flipping over for a plank to failure 5 times over certainly took a lot out of me.  It was fun though.  (Is this me??  What's happened in the last 85 days, fun and love are not words I'd normally use with exercise!)

Food all fine apart from the mince pie that accidentally fell into my mouth today whilst I was having a cuppa (it was home made though so technically not processed!)  

Photos

December 9, 2011 4:06 AM HKT

Skipping knee

I don't know if this is a real ailment but i'm certainly suffering with it.  On Monday it flared up towards the end of the skipping and on Tuesday I swapped to the rest day work out only I took a real rest and didn't do any skipping at all. Then on Wednesday I did Tuesdays workout (with the 9min skips though) and it felt a lot stronger and almost back to normal.  'Excellent' i thought.  So this morning I take one step in a pair of mid heeled boots and feel a pain shoot through the knee again.  Straight into flats for the rest of the day but constant twinging going on.  I decided to swap todays workout (very knee heavy) for tomorrows and as such got my first taste of the supersets.  I did my first 9 min skip then did the 2nd lot at the end of the workout, just to help rest the knee as much as possible.  The 2nd set I split into 3 x 3mins subsets but only managed to 6 mins before having to stop.  Think I may have to carry on moderating for another day or so and then hopefully, all will be well again. I don't want to have another day without any skipping though, especially this close to the end.

So, supersets.  I LOVE THEM.  I have no idea why on earth I do but I really enjoyed doing them.  Don't get me wrong, i'm not saying I found them easy but they are just more of a mental challenge and therefore just made a great change.  The pull down/standing o combo was going along nicely, and I have to confess, I was finding it easy to a certain point but then set 5 kicked in and oh my god did it hurt!  I'm pleased I've got 2 resistance bands otherwise the ski/curls wouldn't have been quite so smooth as they were.  The vsits/plank combo was interesting.  I got dizzy doing these.  I know that sounds crazy but throwing myself around on the floor to failure on vsits and promptly flipping over for a plank to failure 5 times over certainly took a lot out of me.  It was fun though.  (Is this me??  What's happened in the last 85 days, fun and love are not words I'd normally use with exercise!)

Food all fine apart from the mince pie that accidentally fell into my mouth today whilst I was having a cuppa (it was home made though so technically not processed!)  

Photos

December 6, 2011 8:09 PM HKT

Day 83

Some tips from Thomas have helped in the last couple of days with the ab work and i'm back on better form with the leg ups.  VSits are still hit and miss though.  I need to do my ab homework and find some other tortuous exercise to substitute in.  I'll do some proper research in the next day or so and will sub in to side crunches I think. 

My knee has been really painful the last few days, i think my PCP body is finally saying 'enough, rest please',so last night I split the skips into smaller time limits and the night before I did have to leave off the creeps as I couldn't bend my knee properly at all after skipping.  It's feeling better today so hopefully the more gentle work out has helped and i'll be back on track tonight. 

I'm having to do a quick post today but will be back on line properly in a day or two. 

December 4, 2011 4:47 AM HKT

Windy City

Sleep is proving to be tough this week as Little Miss O is teething again and some of our neighbours decided to have a domestic in the street at midnight just as I was finally getting to sleep after tossing and turning for ages.  Lovely!

Workouts are tough and i'm really struggling with some of the ab work for some reason.  The vsits i seem to have lost the ability to lift both legs at the same time, my right now goes up a second or two before the left and almost seems to help pull the left up.  I've also been getting low back pain when doing the leg ups so all in all they've not been great. I've done what I can and subbed in some other ab work when I was really struggling to help make up the difference.  I think it's probably tension and stress going to my back but will ask Patdiddy (that's really catching) to suggest some stretches or something. 

Food is all good.  I'm enjoying the increase in meal portions but i'm really not missing carbs in my evening meal at all.  I don't think i'll add a huge portion back in post PCP and certainly not what I used to have. I have noticed since increasing the carbs again things have been a little, how do i put this, ..... windier.  Is anyone else noticing this or just me???  Considering the amount of veg, fruit and egg we've been eating i've been really impressed by how well my digestion has held up but literally the last week or so has been noticeably different.  Apologies for anyone easily offended there! 

December 1, 2011 5:39 AM HKT

A ray of light and hope

Firstly, thank you to my fellow Draco's, Thomas and Patrick for your support over the last few days.  It has been an emotional rollercoaster to say the least but you've all really helped more than you know. 

So, the short version....  I need to start a few weeks ago.  My brother collapsed from stomach pains and ended up having surgery to remove his appendix, abscess and part of his bowel. All bad enough in itself.  On Friday he got a phone call (yes by phone) telling him that they biopsied the abscess and it was cancer.  My brother is 35.  He doesn't smoke, only drinks socially and although he's not got the model diet it is a very average diet, he's certainly not unhealthy and as a carpenter/kitchen fitter probably does more physical exercise than most.  As you can imagine he's not the typical bowel cancer sufferer and we've all been quite shocked.  They have however managed to get him in for some scans and have today confirmed that it's not spread to the chest and they think they have cut it all out.  He will have to have a course of chemotherapy but hopefully it'll be just the one.  We'll have to take each day as it comes, hope he doesn't react too badly to the chemo and that they really have got it all out of him.  He's been amazing and has been so strong.  He's an amazing role model and the best big brother anyone could wish for.  

Without sounding too, soap-operaey (if you know what I mean) it really has put things into perspective.  It's also made me realise just how important our health is and everything we can do to improve and maintain it is so important.  Hence the reason i've managed to keep going with PCP.  Actually PCP has been great.  It's given me something to do, focus on and think about.  All that eating keeps you quite busy!  I have had one workout where I only had the time to do the skipping (I was going to put that workout in tonight but i'm tired and my ankles are both hurting after skipping, i'm not sure why) so  i'm fairly pleased with that as an effort in general. Food has been OK.  I haven't been quite so precise with the measuring, maybe an extra 15-20g of protein or carb here or there and I seem to have had my morning snack at lunch most days as i keep running out of time but other than that....

The indulgence was great timing for m e actually and gave me a real boost.  I found that I wasn't craving anything as such though so the day it happened and my meal was dictated by me miscalculating portions on a meal I was making for Little Miss O and I did so much cheese and mushroom sauce that there was enough for us to have it with chicken, veg and a jacket potato, washed down with a couple of glasses of red and a 35g bar of Lindt dark chocolate.  I thoroughly enjoyed every mouthful and felt fine afterwards (if not a little hungover the next morning) but I could have easily gone without it all and it wouldn't have been a problem.. 

Anyway, I need to catch up with all of you now so I'll sign off.  Thank you again.  It's amazing how a group of strangers can be so supportive of each other.  Hugs to all of you. x

November 27, 2011 4:44 AM HKT

Don't know what to call this one..

What would I like to tell the world???.... well, that's taken on a whole new meaning in the last 24 hours.  I'd like to shout, scream, rant and question a whole lot of stuff in this world but I don't think this is the forum for it. 

I got some really sh1t news yesterday, mid way during my workout, which hugely affects someone in my family who I love and admire so, so much.  I don't want to go into what the news was but suffice to say we are awaiting some more information but it'll be a couple of weeks and this is going to hang over him and all of us until then.  I hope and pray the news will be positive.  

Needless to say the news knocked me for six and i'm afraid the rest of my workout diminished into a whole lot of unimportantness after that.  I didnt measure out my dinner, be honest I wasn't hungry and I think I had a rough approximation of my evening snack.  I can't really remember be honest. 

I've woken today a little more positively.  It creeps up on me every now and then but good old british stiff upper lip is a stubborn trait in us brits and kept me weighing and measuring this morning, although again i was thinking whats the point and by this afternoon I was ready to get stuck into my workout.  Randomly I probably had the best workout i've had and even skipped 431 in a row! I think maybe anger and frustration helped to spur me on especially during the elevated triceps when it crept up on me again and i had to have a moment. 

Its funny i'm now in two minds.  One is the whats the point mind which thinks maybe i'm being incredibly selfish and fixated on myself with PCP especially when there is so so much more going on around us with the people we love and in the world generally.  The other part of me though knows that PCP could prevent so much happening to so many people in the future, just by teaching us how to eat properly and the importance of exercise.  I'll be honest, i think if this had happened earlier in PCP i may think F it, lifes too short to worry about a few extra kg, after all i was never obese or anything but with only 16 days let or whatever it is, i feel i'd let people down if i stopped now.  Obviously my fabulous family and myself but mostly my fellow Dracos. You've been a great support through PCP.  I will keep going with it and after PCP has finished I will buy a new stronger rope and carry on.  I can't say i'll never eat processed food but I know what is better for me, my body and my family and will do everything I can to make sure that message gets through to others.  

November 24, 2011 4:43 AM HKT

Whipping rope!

No, we're not talking about a cat o'nine tails (sorry to disappoint), we are in fact talking about my rope which decided to split at the handle mid skip and whip me quite painfully on my derriere and leg!  My rope is a plastic-y material so had real impact too.  Luckily 70 days ago when I cut my rope to length I did allow a few extra inches each side so have managed to reconstruct it to just about the right length.  Next time it goes though we wont be so lucky and a new rope will be required.  Hopefully it'll hold out for the next 20 days though.

So apart from the rope incident all is going about the same as normal other than the reps and sets being ramped up and me getting just a tad out of breath once or twice.  My shoulder is getting stronger again although still with the odd twinge.  I have kept to the minimum no. of reps listed just to give it a little rest but i think after today's rest day we hopefully will be back on track tomorrow.

I am very tired at the moment but I think with Little Miss O that's not going to change for another 6 months or so (or is that still wishful thinking) so lets write that one off.  Hopefully when hubbie gets back from Tokyo tomorrow morning i'll start getting a little more sleep and i'm secretly (and i'll admit slightly horribly) hoping he'll be quite jetlagged having gone from 3 days drinking in HK to 4 days work in Tokyo so that he'll be awake enough for the night shifts.  Every night he's been away she's woken about 1am wide awake and i've ended up bringing her into bed with me.  At least then i'm laying down and eventually we sleep rather than me leaning over her cot trying to get her to sleep for an hour or 2!  S0ds law is she'll sleep from when hubbie is back absolutely fine! Oh well, if it means sleep for me, bring it on! 

Photos

November 22, 2011 4:55 AM HKT

Christmas shopping

I did a spot of chrimbo shopping today and considering we're still in November I was shocked as to how busy it was.  5 hours later (yes, i was shocked by that too), I headed home to see I hadn't got that much.  What I am wondering about my shopping though is could I swap that 5 hours for skipping????  No??  I didn't think so.  Honestly, I should be able to though it was exhausting!  I was out over lunch today so managed to be fairly compliant (without measuring) by having a salmon fillet with veg and a bread roll.  Not bad.  Food was a little cold but tasted OK and wasn't too oily.  Maybe a little more than there should have been but it was better than the pizza or pasta in a cream sauce which were the other options. 

I've managed to get back to the prescribed workout for today and my neck/shoulder injury is holding out ok.  Still tight with some twinging but on the whole it's alright.  I couldn't do the elevated push ups as the strength just wasn't there and I could feel the extra weight increasing the twinge and for some reason i've completely backtracked on the planks which I'm also suspecting is due to the injury. I'm going into shake mode far quicker and am very aware of the tension on my shoulder when doing them.  Still I got all the sets done on everything, just not quite to the full rep/time allotment.  Hopefully it'll be stronger again tomorrow. 

I bumped into a family member today who commented that I was looking really well and that the fitness was obviously working and going well.  It was really nice to hear from someone who i've not seen for ages.  As another plus, the jeggings (for the boys, these are jeans/leggings) that i bought a few weeks ago are already too big!  Luckily they were only cheap and cheerful - i was playing it safe and a good thing too!  

Although i'm still not where I want to be with my body, i'm a lot closer than I was and i'm toying with the idea of posting my before and after shots on Facebook for all my friends and family to see come day 90.  The shots i'm talking about are the ones we sent to Patrick that didn't have to go on to our blog.  I was in a bikini and they are really not attractive forward or side profile pictures.  The question is, do I man up and do it (even if i'm still not quite there with the new body) or do I wimp out and keep my body under wraps.  Hmm, 21 days more to think about it.

By the way, how on earth do boxers do that fast skipping and cross their arms over etc etc.  I tried again today (for about the 15th time since starting PCP) and all i did was trip and whip myself.  I don't believe they really do it! ;0)

November 20, 2011 3:16 AM HKT

Having to swap workouts

I've got an old neck/shoulder injury caused by a slipped disc which throughout PCP i've been concerned about and pre PCP emailed Patrick about, a lot!  So far, i've been really impressed just how well it's held out and other than the odd twinge and having to change some exercises, i've not really had any issues with it.  Until, that was, this morning when I got out of bed and somehow managed to set it off.  I'm not sure how.  It's not gone badly, just feels like a huge aching knot and it didn't affect me at all during my skipping but after the first lot of back exercises I realised that it wasn't going to hold out at all today and as I don't want to screw it up completely for the next few days i ended up making up my own days workout program.  I've swapped in all my leg work from tomorrow's work out, did a light amount of back work and then also did tomorrow's abs (leaning back for today's bicycle wouldn't have been a good idea).  Tomorrow my plan is to do today's back, triceps and abs and maybe a little bit of shoulder to help build it up again.  I may have to take it quite slow though and reduce the reps but we'll play it by ear and see how it goes.  I'll be using lots of Biofreeze between now and then though.  

Food has been OK although i'm struggling with timings at the moment and ending up doubling up on various meals which is fine but does mean a big hit of fruit at certain times.  So far my stomach hasn't objected to it though.  I'm wondering if i'm actually going to shift the rest of this tyre.  Every now and then i feel quite good about my weight loss and toning and then my stomach suddenly seems to bloat and I feel quite big again.  From the side view my stomach definitely doesn't seem to be getting any smaller to me.  It's quite rounded.  Some people have suggested this is a result of having a c-section when I had Little Miss O but whether that's the case or not, who knows.  Certainly can't undo that now as much as I'd like to be able to and it did give me the best thing in the world ever!  

November 19, 2011 5:23 AM HKT

Back on line

..with the new laptop (well it's apparently a cross between a notepad and a laptop) and it makes our old one look like a breeze block.  It's great and seems to be pretty user friendly (a huge plus!)

So what do I have to tell you about the last couple of days.  Well, I may or may not have had a drink with a friend on Wednesday night and may or may not have had a glass (or 2) of wine.  I'll leave you to decide on how true or not that is.  

Yesterday and today have been a little more compliant (that statement probably gives a little more of a hint as to what happened on Wednesday).  Workouts have been tough, especially the lunges and floorjumps of yesterday.  I felt good afterwards but all day today, especially when driving or walking down stairs, my thighs have been killing me.  Today's workout was better although what's this 90second plank business? We've had gradual 10 second increases all week and then wham, lets lump on another 30 and off you go.  Well, needless to say I haven't quite managed the 90 seconds.  In fact, today's were pretty poor.  Not helped by Bovril jumping on to my back, swinging down my shoulder and nipping my elbow during the first one.  I think i averaged about 45 seconds each.  I can normally get to 60 seconds on most planks with the last one being closer to 50 so I'm blaming it on Bovril putting me off my stride.  I can't see 90 seconds happening any time soon but i'll keep trying. 

Food is going OK.  I'm being let loose a little more with my veg, although i'm pretty much sticking to similar weeks quantities.  I'm sort of testing myself by putting into the scales what i fancy to eat and then seeing what quantity it is and deciding then whether to tweak it. So far i've not been too far off each time.  I'm looking forward to dinners becoming a little more normal.  I'm just finding it so antisocial.  I don't mean in going out, I have a toddler, that is far from my life now, but I mean with my husband in the evenings. He eats a meal and I skip or workout.  This week I've got my mum staying as hubbie is away and she can't quite her head around my dinner and general evening meals.  Never mind, not long to go now.  

Speaking of my husband, he's currently in Hong Kong sleeping off a very bad hangover from two days drinking (day 3 tomorrow) for a friends wedding that i'm gutted I couldn't get to, then he's off to Tokyo for work but this will include various dinners.  Am I jealous??  Not of the hangover no, but the rest, hugely!!! 

November 17, 2011 7:14 AM HKT

Laptop has died, completely! New one on order so will be brief on iPhone for next few days. Fe

What would you like to tell the world?

November 14, 2011 5:24 AM HKT

The bigger the snowball....

So we're on day 60.  How on earth did that happen?  It's slightly scary just how quickly the time has flown by.  Workouts have been good with some extra skips done yesterday 'just for the hell of it'.  I am really having to push myself in the last set (if not earlier) of each exercise now which involves swearing and rather loud exhalations at times but it seems to help.  I was reading the mantra training message this morning whilst Little Miss O was watching some TV and the Mr Men happened to be on.  Just as I finished reading about finding your mantra I looked up to see one of the Mr Men struggling to push a huge snowball up a steep hill and chanting to himself "the bigger the snowball, the bigger the snowman".  So during my workout what should pop into my head.....??  This is now my workout mantra.  A little random I know but whilst reminding me of the goal, it made me smile, so altogether now - "the bigger the snowball, the bigger the snowman!"

Sleep has been, well rubbish the last few nights thanks to the usual culprit.  She's teething again so...   Will try to get as much as I can in the next few days as hubbie is off to Hong Kong and Tokyo again on Wednesday until Thursday of the following week.  I do have my mum coming to stay for a few days to help out so hopefully it wont be too bad but I'll still be doing all the night shifts, lets hope there aren't any to do! 

A couple of days ago we got our first organic veg box delivery.  I have to say for a grand old total of £19.50 including delivery, i'm very impressed.  There was far more in the box than I thought there would be and being organic, it is indeed yummy!  It also came with a recipe from Hugh Fernley Whittingstall's new veg cookery book which is Romanesca Cauliflower with Paprika and Lemon.  Cooked it up yesterday and had it cold for my evening snack and it was very tasty. I'll put the recipe onto the recipe forum.  If I get any more with the subsequent deliveries, i'll let you know. 

I'm rather disappointed with my photo this week.  I know it's probably (hopefully) PCP tunnel vision but I just feel my stomach is not changing at all. I feel better in myself though and i'm definitely slimmer in the flesh as it were but the picture just doesn't seem to reflect this.  Ho hum, lets try to widen the vision and focus on the positives: I am slimmer, I am fitter, I enjoy exercising (never thought i'd say that), i'm not at all hungry, I do miss some foods but not enough to do anything about it, I have muscle tone in places I never dreamt possible and I have finally, finally lost my saddlebags after, well, most of my adult life - just the love handles and tyre to go!  I'll just have to remember to see the bigger picture and remind myself about that snowball!

Photos

November 11, 2011 5:33 AM HKT

I hate computers

I've just typed out my blog and as i was about to hit save my computer shut itself down, no warning, nothing.  Therefore this will be brief - all is fine.  

Will put up a longer blog tomorrow, PC permitting!

November 10, 2011 5:19 AM HKT

Swapping days - mixed bag

So my intentions to continue the remainder of PCP totally compliant have gone a little out the window on day 1 of that though.  This was not my fault though.  Little Miss O (a more recent picture of whom is below) decided that sleeping last couple of nights was pointless so I was awake on day 55 from about 4:45 am.  She went back to sleep, on me, and every time i tried to move her she woke and cried so needless to say, i left her on me and spent the rest of the day as a zombie.  (I know have 1 arm trapped by Bovril (I'm sure Evelyn will know my discomfort trying to type with a cat on your arm!))  Anyway, yesterday evening, I get Little Miss O to bed thinking 'great, now i'll work out', 2 mins into the skipping all hell breaks loose and she spends the next hour plus screaming.  Nothing wrong, just wanted not to be asleep!  So, I used my skipping sessions for controlled crying purposes and it is amazing how quickly you can get through 3 sets of skipping whilst trying to ignore the screaming but counting down until you can go and check on the baby again.  By the time she was sorted out though, and after rocking 10kg in my arms for 20 mins - a huge workout I can highly  recommend, I decided to give up and swap day 55 and 56 workouts, I had done an extra set of skipping with this in mind.   

So, woke up today feeling tired again and found myself, without thinking, munching half a piece of toast with jam that Little Miss was refusing to eat at lunch - oops.  It was nice though - albeit quite sweet.  I definitely have noticed a change in my taste buds from PCP.   Tonights workout was much better though and I felt quite good after it.  

I'm not looking forward to tomorrows workout.  It has my arch enemy, lunges.  What is good about tomorrow though is that hubbie is home from Japan and we have side crunches which i quite like!  I'll even try to lift the knees!

Photos

November 8, 2011 6:47 AM HKT

I've managed to get it working...

So while I have some use of the laptop i'll quickly get a post up. This thing is driving us mad.  One day it works, the next not.  Time for a trade in me thinks!  

So the last few days have been interesting.  Workouts have still been tough, obviously physically but mentally too. Sunday's was really hard coupled with a thumping headache that i'd had all day and couldn't shake.  I'd been postponing the workout until the headache lifted but by 7pm  I did the workout but only really half way through everything (except for skipping which was completed).   Today's workout was better and I felt really good and full of energy after finishing it which was doubly good as it was done before breakfast.  I took on the advice from my question on my plank back ache and lifting my butt up a little seemed to ease it, plus the stretch Patrick suggested was really good. It even meant I actually held a full 60 second plank.  Next one was 40 and the 2 after were over 30 so not too bad.  I'm hoping tomorrows workout wont be too bad but hubbie is away again, actually he's headed to the land of PCP today for a few days, so i'll probably have to split it into skips during Little Miss O's nap and the rest once she's in bed.  

Food is still going ok and I did have my indulgence on Saturday night.  There were so many things i fancied a little bit of but in the end I decided the real indulgence would be not to have to cook or weigh things out so we got a takeaway curry.  I did try to be concious in my decision of which curry and opted for a tandoori king prawns and mixed grill with okra and we did our own rice.  I think this kept it as healthy a curry as possible.  I did miss all the sauce and mopping it up with a peshwari naan but I actually really enjoyed having something different to my normal curry (which is a Lamb methi or rogan for those interested) and it also allowed me to have a glass of wine.   

A food tip for everyone.  If you're getting a little fed up with the same old flavours try some roasted garlic.  It can keep for up to 2 weeks in the fridge and is lovely spread onto bread to help liven up a carb and also is quick and easy to chuck into a pan for extra flavour in all the other veg meals.  Just need a small amount of oil on it in the pan, throw it in the oven for hour or so and you're done.  I can highly recommend a variety called Elephant Garlic which has huge cloves (funny enough) and is very mild in flavour.  Did some on Sunday with lunch and had some tonight in my veg snack - yum! Just make sure everyone around you eats it too.  

Anway, before my laptop dies again and i'm out of action for a bit I want to read some fellow Draco posts.  Signing off for now....

November 8, 2011 4:46 AM HKT

Blooming laptop has died again. All going ok, still really tough workouts but planks feeling stronger! Hope to be online properly soon!

What would you like to tell the world?

November 4, 2011 6:15 AM HKT

Getting Better

So after my rather miserable and uninspiring recent posts I'm pleased to say things are getting better.  I'm still struggling with the morning workouts and had to give up this morning and do it tonight instead.  The workouts are starting to feel more 'natural' again though and like I should be doing it. Yesterday wasn't so great - I completed it but it was tough - but that was yesterday so lets move on and focus on the positive of today.  

Happier with my photo this week than last although I can really see how wonky my shoulders are as a result of an old injury.  Losing weight seems to be making it more apparent - or maybe it's just my stance in the photo.  

Speaking of weight, this morning I tried on a pair of jeans that I used to live in.  You know the ones that are like your best friend, they cover a multitude of sins, always feel comfortable and have been so lived in they feel as soft as a baby's bum.  Those jeans.  Well, the thigh seam in mine has gone thread bare (not from my thighs thank you very much, they are just really old) and so I left them down at my folks when I last stayed there which was around early June.  Well we saw my folks this weekend and Mum gave them back to me with a bunch of other stuff (including a skirt I bought 2 Christmas's ago when I was 3 weeks pregnant and had no idea).  So anyway, I am pleased to report that both the jeans and the skirt are now about 3 inches too big for me!  The skirt in fact pulled down completely it's now so big.  This means I'm now not only shedding (dare I say shedded??) the remainder of the baby weight but have gone past my pre-pregnancy weight (which was a good 7kg too much). This in itself, as shallow and unimportant in the grand scheme seems, has completely renewed my joy of PCP!  I bought my jeans at least 7 years ago and although they've been too loose and too tight at times, I've been needing to lose that weight for a long time.   

Now to change that by thinking of my indulgence for this week.  My initial thought was steak and salad and a glass of wine but i think that it a little boring (and other than quantities is quite PCP) so will have to put my thinking cap on.  My hubbie suggested a nice piece of fish and some veggies - veggies!! really???  like I don't get enough of those at the moment!   There's lots of things I fancy but nothing that is screaming out to me plus I often find I just want one bite of something, just to get the taste more than anything else.  I did really fancy the cheese on toast I did for Little Miss O the other day, I could just have that - I'm so rock n'roll!

November 2, 2011 6:03 AM HKT

Day's 45-48 - Confessions of a PCPer

I really thought I'd hit the half way mark with some kind of elation and renewed vigour with PCP but alas all I seem to have hit is a wall.  I've really, really struggled with recent workouts (although today's was looking a little brighter) and its been building for a while.

I think everything that has been going on as listed in my previous posts plus more has finally caught up with me and coupling mental exhaustion, constant juggling of chaos, a teething 13 month old, hubby away on business for a week and the PCP all came to a head at the weekend. I was determined to do my day 45 workout - I could hardly miss THAT day could I? but it was such a battle and I was so physically exhausted come day 46, I took the executive decision to miss my workout and just give my body a chance to rest (when I say rest I mean move all the furniture around the house again ready for carpets to be fitted in most of the rooms).  I have kept up with the diet at all times (except for the spoonful of jelly Little Miss O shoved in my mouth whilst I was trying to get her to eat it yesterday) but I just had to have a day off of the exercises.  I've never exercised like this before and after 45 days straight, not missing any of it, I had to take a break.  This has also allowed me to get back into my morning workouts.  When hubbie went to Germany a couple of weeks ago I had to move the workout to evenings which although was fine it did mean I had little time to get anything else done.  I then found it really hard each morning to get out of bed and switch back to morning workouts having done one less than 12 hours before and still be feeling so tired.  (Yes, I'm also failing on the sleep side of things but trying to explain my need for unbroken sleep to Little Miss O is futile!)  I got up early on day 47 though all ready for my workout and promptly took 30 mins longer than normal, tripped constantly, in fact the worse skipping I've done, and generally finished my workout feeling really deflated. Needless to say I woke up this morning not particularly looking forward to the workout but it actually came together a little better than yesterdays.  Still not as smooth as it could have been but definitely better.  Hopefully I'm turning a corner with how I've been feeling and it will all start to get a little easier again.  As I'm confessing all, I did have to leave out the elevated tricep dips this morning but that's because the furniture I needed was piled behind other furniture and just not accessible.  Luckily all the furniture has now been moved back, the carpets are down and we are finally at the end of all the tradesman-y type stuff that's been going on.  

I'm looking forward to an easier exercise day tomorrow with just the skips and then hope to start week 8 with the renewed vigour and elation I hoped to have this week. 

Hope everyone else is persevering and coping a little better than I've done this week.  Sorry I've not been a very supportive fellow Draco recently!

October 29, 2011 4:28 AM HKT

Laptop is up and running...

Although the guy at PC World did tell me that it may be temporary and it would be better to buy a new one - funny that!

So this week has been tough as hubbie has been away on business so it's just been me and Little Miss O.  Trying to fit everything in has meant work outs have had to be done well into the evening.  On Tuesday night the phone didn't stop ringing either so by the time I got to do my work out, it was so late that I decided to swap Tuesday for Wednesdays and just do the skips.  At least I got it done though.  Yesterday's workout nearly killed me.  I was so tired that after the first set of lunges I nearly cried and really really had to push myself to carry on.  You'll be pleased to hear I didn't give in and although it seemed to take twice as long as normal I completed it and then collapsed in a heap on the floor.  This mornings work out attempt got 87 skips in and abandoned as I was still feeling exhausted but I started it again this evening and feeling much better now.  Hopefully the rest of week 7 will start to go a little better.  

In my rushing around this week I have discovered two things.  Neither should have been a surprise to me, or to any of you, but I'll pass on my discovery in the hope it prevents you doing the same.  When boiling up eggs for a snack and realising you're in a hurry, don't use your fingers to take the yolk out even having run the egg in cold water.  Egg yolk 'burn' is blooming painful.  If you do do this, also think before you shove the egg in your mouth as the white is also rather hot.  That was mistake number 1. Mistake no 2 also involves the egg.  This time it's beware what you are putting on it to make it taste a little better (although I am a bit of a weirdo and like plain egg whites).  I wanted a little flavour on my 3rd of the day though and grabbed (for ease) what I thought was garlic granules.  What I'd actually picked up though was garlic salt!  I hadn't put that much on but it was still like eating a teaspoon of salt.  Revolting and not particularly in keeping with PCP.   

So my photo this week - well, i'm a little disappointed with it because I look bigger than last week. I'm hoping it's just the camera angle because I don't feel I've put any weight on and clothes still feel bigger.  I haven't weighed myself for a while but I normally do it in the morning to keep it at a similar time for some slightly better comparisons.  I'll have a weigh in tomorrow just to make sure nothing untoward is going on.  I have had 2 teaspoons of  cottage cheese this week and also an extra piece of beef to taste a stew I was making for Little Miss O but I can't see that would make a difference. 

Anyway, off to do some ironing now.  I'm taking Little Miss to a swimming lesson tomorrow morning - I wonder if that would pass for a skipping substitute??!!  I'm guessing not! 

October 27, 2011 4:19 AM HKT

Laptop has died and can't post from iPhone. All going ok though!

What would you like to tell the world?

October 25, 2011 5:18 AM HKT

All about the 40 on day 40

I'm pleased to announce that I managed 4 planks at 40 seconds each today.  The last one was tough and getting very wobbly for the last 10 seconds but I managed to hold it.  All other exercises are plodding along nicely and I managed another complete set of chest dips, the rest of them are still more chest wobbles/rocks more than dips. 

Food is going well but I really really craved a bowl of cereal this morning.  I'm not even that much of a cereal person, I normally (pre-PCP of course) would have toast with tomatoes or banana or something like that but today all I wanted was a bowl of Peach and Apricot Special K.  I think it was a time thing (i'd been up since 5am with Little Miss O and hubbie is away at the moment) and the idea of cooking a breakfast first thing was not appealing but I didn't reach for the 'fast food' option and promptly cooked up toast, a soft boiled egg with mushrooms and tomato and it was lovely.  I am loving my breakfasts on PCP, definitely my favourite meal of the day.  

I have been explaining the PCP concept and diet to others over the last few weeks and it is amazing the different responses you get. I know Patrick has already spoken about this in an earlier training note but some people really try to drag you down.  Some seem genuinely supportive and are really interested (and often fascinated by the amount I'm eating during the day), whereas others already think I'm losing too much weight (I'm 5ft 3in and started this at 9.5 stone - definitely too much weight there), tell me I must stop once I hit my target weight (which I don't really have), some think the diet is wrong especially when potatoes are classed as veg etc but the strangest thing is that a lot of people have slightly scoffed at the idea of me taking protein shakes (which is always assumed) and start making jokes about me being a body builder and will I be the new Jodie Marsh.  (As a side note for all the non Brits, Jodie Marsh became famous for being a surgically enhanced drunken bimbo who never really wore any clothes when she went clubbing in Essex and London to recent a body building star, apparently.  See pics below for the befores and afters. And no, neither of these are the looks i'm aiming for!   JM really is generally the kind of 'news' the UK tabloid newspapers focus on!)

Anyway, back to my rant.  When I explain protein shakes are not on the menu and that I'm getting the protein through egg whites, I then get questioned with 'why would you not have the shakes, what on earth are you having egg whites for' kind of way.  Just can't please some people at all.  I, personally, am pleased we're not taking the protein shakes as to me they seem like a bunch of chemicals and i'd much rather go for the natural route everytime.  Anyway, I am ignoring all the negative stuff and just letting people have their fun with the comments as I head off into the changing rooms to buy new jeans down a dress size!  

All I know is that in the last 40 days i've got to the fittest, leanest and most importantly, feeling healthiest i've felt in a long long long time and I'm hugely grateful to all those who have really shown support, especially my fellow Draco's (I was going to say Draconian's then but that seems wrong) and to all those who are poo-pooing PCP, well fine, say what you want but you really should try it before you dismiss it. 

Can't wait for the next 50 days (also can't believe we're already on day 40 - how did that happen??!!) 

Oh, and for those interested, hubbie has finally read my blog!! ;0) 

Photos

October 23, 2011 4:22 AM HKT

Its a new dawn, its a new (PCP) day, its a new life, for me.....

And i'm feeling good.... (i sing as well as Nina, honest!)

As you can tell from my choice of lyrics i'm feeling pretty good at the moment.  I have muscles appearing in places I never thought would appear (the main surprise are the ones above my knees) plus my weight has stayed at a steady 56kg for the last 10days or so, my jeans are getting so loose I need to but some new ones and my tshirt now does that rippling pulling flat(ish) across the stomach look rather than the ripple above and then the ripple below the spare tyre!  Don't get me wrong, there is still plenty to do, particularly the love handles and the inner thighs and there is still a tyre, albeit with a slow puncture now, but all is going in the right direction.  I'm also doing quite well with the exercises - i think!  I'm really chuffed on my planks (I never thought I would say this) but I can do 4 sets of over 30 seconds.  I'm not quite at the 40 seconds yet but i'm getting there.  I'm also getting through all my elevated tricep dips now whereas I was having to bend my legs towards the end of the sets before.  Push ups are still tough and chest dips, well i'm trying but yesterday I did manage 2 whole sets of them without either just hanging there or collapsing. I seem to be quite wobbly on the first set and swing all over the place.  Although i'm still finding alot of the exercises tough i'm really starting to see how it'll all come together and the old adage is true, practise makes perfect!  (Bicycles are a real b@stard though.)
   

October 21, 2011 5:23 AM HKT

And the chaos continues....

I've got out of habit of doing my morning workouts what with feeling rubbish, the cold, the painters and all sorts of other reasons and I really, really need to get back into them.  6am tomorrow it is.  I really prefer doing it all first thing and getting it out of the way.  I am pleased to report though that amongst all the routine changes and running around I have managed to fit in every work out.  Tonights was a little more hit and miss as I wasn't able to do any of the exercises where the band is anchored to the door.  This is for 2 reasons.  The first, Little Miss O decided to throw up everywhere whilst my hubby was putting her to bed so my workout was interrupted for a good 30 minutes to assist in calming her down and clearing up - being a mum is so much fun sometimes.  The other reason (and the main one) is that all the doors in the house were painted today and I think wedging a door jam into the tacky paint may not go down well with hubby or the painters!  Tomorrow all will be dry and if I have time I'll try to do them at some point to catch up.  

So what's this new cycling exercise business - it nearly killed me to do 30 seconds, especially 3 sets of them but i'm please to report that although i'm still not at full plank levels I did manage 4 planks over 30 seconds (well, the 4th was 29 seconds but the others were 32/33 so i'm counting that!!).  I'm really not sure if i'm doing these pistol things correctly.  Think I need to watch the video again and do it at the same time. 

Food has been good and i'm really pleased to have yoghurt added in to part of my evening snack.  I do need to find out the fat level for the yoghurt though.  I finished the last of my no-soup veg soup type dish I described a few entries ago, yesterday and tonight found myself staring blankly into the fridge as I had to think about the snack again.  Luckily courgette, mange-tout and some of my parents home grown yellow and black tomatoes formed a very nice 'ratatouille' type meal.  

So the chaos to which I elude in my title is obviously the ever continuing painting and moving furniture around (which may end up in a replaster job in one room although we're hoping not), Little Miss O being ill (i forgot to mention that she was originally ill on Tuesday and has been fine since so we're on bout two for the week) and to top it all off yesterday and today Bovril has been at the vets having a 4inch blade of grass removed from her oesophagus which had been preventing her from eating and drinking!
Oh the fun of it all. I am pleased to report Bovril is fine now and was causing mayhem in the vets by the time I went to collect her.

I have realised a lot of others keep their blogs very PCP.  I'm sorry i've turned mine into more of a diary/PCP/general verbal splurge and it'll probably stay that way.  This blogging business is quite cathartic.  Anyway, night all (or morning for those not in my hemisphere).  

PS for those interested, still no comment from my hubbie re the blog!!
PPS weight is at 56kg down from a starting weight of 60.4kg.  I've seem to have stalled at 56kg for the last week or 2 but considering the weekend wasn't great with food i'm happy nothing more has gone on and i feel better which is the main thing. 

October 18, 2011 4:15 AM HKT

Rather tired and aware i'm at a slump

I think it's the cold weather that has suddenly hit us in the UK but i'm finding getting up really hard at the moment and I just feel exhausted.  We've also got painters in at the moment so the house is chaos and all I seem to do is move the contents of one room into another and then back again.  Only another week of moving it all around to go!  Suffice to say it's all adding to my levels of tiredness and making it all much harder.  My solution over the weekend was to do later in the day work outs and then this morning, although I felt it was a bit of a cop out, I did the skipping and leg exercises first thing and then did the rest of the exercises this evening.  I don't want to get into the habit of doing it that way as I feel it's a better work out all in one but it worked well today and the extra 30 mins in bed in the morning is quite appealing.

Food is going alright.  I'm enjoying my evening veg snack more now as I've cooked up a whole load of wintery veg (potatoes, celeriac, swede, parsnips, carrots and onions) and herbs in big chunky pieces in a stock (i've used a stock especially for babies so it's really low salt) and then am reheating the required amount of that in the evening.  It's almost like a hugely chunky soup (but without any of the liquor) and is really warming and comforting, plus you get a slightly different selection of veg each time.  It's also really quick! 

October 16, 2011 3:37 AM HKT

It has been 4 days since my last confession....

apparently.  I hadn't realised it had been that long actually. 

In all honesty I'm not loving this new 'dinner' regime thing.  Don't get me wrong, bananas are good, apples are good, milk is good and egg whites are fine but not as a dinner!  If you threw in a piece of cheese, some pickled onions and a bread roll and turned it into a ploughmans then it would be great!  The first 2 days on this has seen me turn into a petulant child and sulk, alot.  However, tonight i'm not minding so much which is probably because i've just read the training notes from the last couple of days which have helped me to understand it a little more.   On the subject of food today has not been so good.  Its been my first lunch out on proper PCP and it was quite tough.  I opted for monkfish with potatoes, cherry tomatoes, a side of spinach to bulk up the veg and basket of bread for the carbs.  Perfect.  Well what they didn't say on the menu was the monkfish was covered in a cheesy buttery sauce.  I'm saying cheesy/buttery because I couldn't actually work out which it was supposed to be.  I did my best to scrape it off but inevitably some got eaten.  My basket of bread was also attacked by others so I probably didn't have the right amount of carbs but I tried my best.  I'm out for lunch tomorrow too (just a bad weekend for PCP) so will opt for a salad this time and see how well we do!   

Now, exercises.  So my lighter resistance band has arrived at long last and today I gave it a proper try out with the double katanas.  Oh My God are they tough with the band.  I could only do half of each set with the band and finished off each set without.  I know this may be a massive cop out but it was that or i'd still be doing them now!  I do have an injury which affects my trapezius muscle so maybe that has something to do with it as well but i'll try next time to do 3/4 of each set and then do my best to get to whole sets!   

Is it just me or are all the exercises starting to get off the ground a little bit and therefore are nearly impossible!  My chest dips could be filmed and sent to You've Been Framed for their comedy value.  I think I managed about 3 proper ones in total but I did try, honest!  Even Bovril got bored watching and walked off.  

Elevated triceps dips aren't too bad at the moment but I did have to bend my knees a little towards the end just so I could finish the sets. 

I see tomorrow we have lunges again.  I HATE lunges with a passion that is really growing to be quite strong.  I'd almost (notice I say almost) rather do the entire work out twice over than do the lunges.  I think it's because they take such a long time and I really have to concentrate on them and most of all, they hurt!  I've noticed work outs with lunges take me an extra 10 - 15 minutes so I have to get up 15 minutes earlier too - thats probably the real reason why I dislike of them.  Is there anyway I can petition Patrick to ban them from PCP do you think?   Anyone have any other exercises they want to add to my petition?? !!

Just a final little note on the bottom of this to my husband who claims to be reading my blog but I suspect he hasn't for a while. We'll find out just how long it is between reads when he makes comment about this!! ;0)

October 12, 2011 2:44 AM HKT

Are we nearly a third of the way already??

Is it just me or is this going quite fast?  I'm sure i'll regret saying that soon and in about a week will be saying 'are we really only on day 35' or something to that effect.  

I've just eaten a really tasty dinner and feeling quietly satisfied and smug that such a simple diet can be tasty.  For those interested i stir fried onion, mini sweetcorn, beef, tomato and spinach with a splash of lea & perrins and some piri piri type seasoning. And, as hubbie is out for the evening i get the left over yummy beef for my lunch tomorrow!  

So Day 26 exercises weren't quite so good.  I couldn't seem to get past 875 skips.  The last couple of hundred of them i tripped literally every 5 or 6 and after a fair amount of time swearing and trying (and being very aware that i was on a tight time frame yesterday morning) I decided to leave the skips there and just concentrate on the rest of the exercises.  I think it was a good decision.  As I ended the skips I was in a foul mood and ready to give up entirely but 'looking to the next tree' by the end of the creeps I was enjoying myself again and pleased i'd carried on.  I did try to go back to the skips at the end but it wasn't happening!  Today went much better though and i got my skips plus a few extra done in 18 minutes.  

Creeps, I love.  They absolutely kill and are really hard work, don't get me wrong on that, but I love the exercise and it really bought a smile to my face thinking how ridiculous I must look creeping along the hallway.  My thighs have been aching ever since so they've obviously done something.  

One arm presses - hmm well my hands aren't quite big enough to hold both ends of the band so by the end of it my hands were ready to spasm.  Not a side effect I was expecting.  

My lighter band still hasn't arrived so again I had to work through the shoulder presses without a band and again I still got the burn.  I'm dreading doing them with the band.  I obviously had the same problem with today's double katanas so did the same.  Apparently the band will be here by the end of the week. 

Oh, attached is a picture of Bovril (the kitten) 'helping' me with V Sits.  She certainly makes you get your feet in the air!

Photos

October 10, 2011 2:26 AM HKT

179 skips...

...in one hit and they are staying around the 100-150 mark.  I feel like i'm finally getting somewhere with it.  Now, we come to the rest of the exercises.

Day 24 - Planks, i didn't manage 3 lots of 30 seconds however my first one lasted for 21 seconds, second was only 11 seconds but the third was back up to 15 seconds. Shoulder presses, well these didn't quite go to plan as my resistance band was too tough and wouldn't stretch far enough for me to do them.  Instead, i still went through the motion of the exercise just without the band and I have to say, that was tough enough, there was definite muscle aching!  I am in the process of getting a lighter band though which will hopefully be here before the next set.  

Day 25 - floorjumps.  Well these are interesting and sneaky little buggers aren't they!!  The first few and I was thinking 'these seem quite easy, maybe i'm not doing them right' then about the 6th one in a burn went shooting through my muscles and mid way through the second set I could hardly move.  My daughter thought it was hilarious watching Mummy jumping up and down like a frog, especially when I fell on my butt, twice!  Chicken wings are aptly described and I really had to concentrate towards the end that I was keeping my elbows up, much tougher than they look.  And that brings me on to the V-sits.  I had to get my hubbie to show me how to do them as my first attempts were pathetic.  However, they weren't as bad as I thought.  They were tough and certainly hurt but the technique in doing them seemed to come towards the end of the third set.  I could only manage 8 per set and there wasn't anything graceful about them, a real thump down of the legs which i'm guessing should be a more controlled lowering of the legs, but for a first attempt, not too bad. 

Food has been alright except for last night where we were having dinner with others and I ended up having plums from a plum crumble as my evening fruit snack (the rest of the day was very PCP though).  Not too horrendous but i'm sure they had soaked up some of the sugar and butter from the crumble.  It did make me think about doing more hot fruit options, especially as we go into winter.  It made a really nice change.   Then today we were over at my in-laws for lunch and there was no carb with the lunch so i'm substituting a smaller carb portion into my dinner tonight to sort of counteract. I'm not sure if this is right but hopefully it's a one off and wont happen again so i'm not thinking about it too much.  

So, we can have an indulgence.  How nice.  I may have a small glass of wine with my dinner and then keep another little one for tomorrow too.  How exciting!  

Sorry there are no photos our laptop is playing up and I can't upload photos on to this from my iphone at the moment.  They'll be up soon though. 

October 5, 2011 3:57 AM HKT

Is Patrick reading my mind....

Every time I notice something, start to feel something, good or bad, Patrick seems to mention it in his training message and it helps to keep me on track.  Either he's really good at picking up how people feel at certain stages or he is psychic!  I have today noticed that a pair of jeans are slightly loser around the thighs and just feel a bit more comfortable.  I have also been craving a piece of chocolate for the last few days, it started with wanting a chocolate hob nob with my cup of tea (which i never would normally have anyway), then seeing a Wispa bar wrapper when out for a walk and then remembering the Milky Way still in the cupboard.  But all I want is a bite, not a whole bar.  I have just about managed to resist though and kept telling myself it was just the need for something sweet, so a grape was sacrificed instead to take away the craving.

Skipping is starting to get a little better again although i'm still getting frustrated with not being able to do more than 100 or so in a row but hopefully this will pick up.  My legs were like lead this morning though and the lunges nearly killed me.  I am pleased to report that I did all of the maximum sets of reps for all exercises except for the leg raises where I was 2 reps off.  Not bad.  

October 2, 2011 3:59 AM HKT

Hot hot hot

So the last few days here in Blighty have been hot, a mere 29 degrees today.  Not bad for the 1st October.  This weather has meant that all the summer clothes I packed away have come out again and I feel so much more confident wearing them than a few weeks ago, especially my shorts.  My body is just feeling more toned and I just feel.... better.  I don't know how long the weather will last but I hope this feeling continues.  

So the last couple of days.  Yesterday's skipping was awful and I wanted to throw the rope away.  I've had a few days where my ability to skip has suddenly become non existent.  This morning however, was better.  Not great and not as good as it had been but better.  The training message today couldn't have been more apt for me really.  My right knee is also feeling a little battered.  Not sure if this is the skipping or the lunges.  It really aches during them.  I'm going to invest in a knee support tomorrow and see if that helps.  I'm sure as Patrick has said its early days aches and pains but the support can well, only support it really! 

Food.  I am so fed up weighing out the food.  I think what doesn't help is that Little Miss O is being a nightmare with weaning so I feel my whole life at the moment is weighing out, preparing, cooking and throwing away (in the case of O's) food.  I'm hoping this is a slump and will pass, for both me and the weaning.  I'm sticking to the 'rules' though and plodding along.  I seem to be using a lot of lime,chilli and ginger for flavourings and as much as I love it I need some other flavour suggestions if anyone can oblige.

Hmm what else to report... probably nothing for now so I will say goodnight and sign off.      

September 30, 2011 5:19 AM HKT

Maggots, biscuits and a lot in between

So the maggots, well yesterday evening when I was eating my snack of fruit, homegrown blackberries and mango, I suddenly noticed a little wriggling maggot on the berry I was about to put in my mouth.  Now I'm generally good with all creepy crawlies but maggots (and mosquitoes but thats a whole other story) are my real issues. However, rather than shuddering, shrieking and throwing the bowl across the room, I was able to put the berry to one side without freaking out and eat the rest.  I know this may sound really pathetic to most people but this was a big change for me and i'm putting it down to PCP.  I think the determination to do this is filtering through into other aspects of my life, not just the physical.  I could also have been that I really couldn't be @rs£d to go and weigh out more fruit!

Exercising this morning was much more of a work out and I think it's because I took the advice of others and did the skips first. Really felt it in my muscles everywhere.  My skipping ability however was shameful.  Even next doors cat walked away in disgust after watching me for 10 minutes.  I think I stumbled every 15 skips or so which I've not done before.  I also then misread the counter on my skipping rope and did an extra 117 skips - better more than less.  

I am noticing real changes in my body already. My thighs, particularly the top outer parts have hugely toned up and there is far less 'wobble' (that's a technical/medical term by the way ;0) ) if I stamp my foot down.  I didn't take body measurements at the start but i've now done them and will keep track.  I've lost a couple of kg and my stomach is less bloated looking and feels so much more toned.  My legs generally just feel stronger which I'm loving.  Can't wait for further changes.  

Today has been rather chaotic as my little one seems to have been determined to do herself an injury by various means resulting in a new change of clothes for us both by 10am due to a split lip and a lot of blood (she is absolutely fine though), the cat has been hurling herself up my legs demanding to be played with, the whole house has been cleaned from top to bottom, including the removal of a ladybird invasion (about 12 of them) in one room, no idea where they've come from and we've been to Gymboree for singing and playing with all Little Miss O's friends.   

My breakfasts are still revolving around poached or scrambled egg with toast and then normally tomatoes and mushrooms but this morning I added courgettes (zucchini's for all you Americans) which were quite nice at breakfast, definitely better than the spinach.  Lunch was last nights leftovers but dinner tonight was really tasty.  I had mackerel cooked with tomatoes, mini sweetcorn, garlic, broccoli and fresh basil served with pasta.  I recommend it to you all.  The rest of this evening i've been frantically making biscuits for a charity coffee morning tomorrow.  I will confess to eating the head off of one of the teddy bear biscuits but you can hardly serve them up to others without checking them first can you?!?! and as they took 15 mins longer than they should have done I needed to make sure they weren't dried out.  I can confirm they are OK and the headless bear will remain that way until my husband comes home and finishes him off.   

September 28, 2011 3:49 AM HKT

Is it Day 12 or 13??

....I've lost track slightly.  Anyway, all going to plan so far - i think. Question for you - should the exercises be done in the order they are listed?  I've been doing the skips last but i'm now wondering whether they should be done first for some muscle burning reason.  Hmm, any thoughts?, let me know.  

How's everyone else going now we're near the end of week 2?  Reading today's training message from Patrick was a bit spooky as I've had a couple of moments in the last couple of days where I've thought 'if i have just a little bit of this' or 'staying in bed is so much more appealing than working out' and although i've resisted all temptations so far I've been wondering how long I can hold out.  BUT I do want to do this, I don't want to regret failing myself with this so I WILL STAY STRONG!!  
 

September 26, 2011 3:44 AM HKT

Tired

Had a shocking nights sleep with the little one and woke up feeling ready foggy headed and generally rubbish.  Took ages to get going and even my PCP breakfast didn't get me feeling ready for the day.  I eventually got around to my work out late afternoon and it wasn't until after then that my headache shifted and I started to feel better again.  I never thought exercise would make me feel better.  Next time I wake up feeling that way I'll do my work out anyway and see if it works again. 

Excuse the week 2 photo, again not a flattering look! 

September 25, 2011 4:10 AM HKT

Minor slip but....

It was my daughters 1st birthday party today and after spending 3 nights decorating her birthday cake I did feel I deserved a little piece of cake (i'm talking an inch square) and a small glass of celebratory champagne.  The rest of my day was totally PCP though.  I did have to explain to a number of people why my plate was on a set of scales and what I was doing. This was generally met with, "wow, that's still quite a lot of food for a diet" and "you did how many skips this morning??!!".  My hubbie and brother have both said I'm losing weight and looking better for it and I've noticed that the tops of my thighs are already feeling and looking a little more toned.  Long may this last. 

Anyway, today's'slip' is going to be the only one I allow myself.  From now on, i'm aiming to be 100% PCP. 

Photos

September 23, 2011 4:05 AM HKT

Special Day

Today is Little Miss O's 1st birthday.  More of a special occasion for us I think but she certainly seemed to enjoy herself and LOVED her new trike.  She thinks she's quite the biker chick now!  

Anyway, I was slightly surprised this morning to find the new exercises.  I'm not quite sure why I was surprised, but there you go.  All seemed to go OK though, except for the pull ups but that's a different issue.  I really enjoyed doing the skips.  Something seems to be happening to me and so far, i'm enjoying exercising - this is a new phenomenon!  Long may it last.  

I really enjoyed my meals today and compared to the last week I feel quite full and almost that I've eaten too much.  So my breakfast was tomatoes on toast with a poached egg and glass of milk.  Lunch was a wrap (is that a carb or processed? - i wasn't sure but decided not to over analyse) with a lot of lettuce and spinach and some left over chicken from last night.  Dinner tonight was potentially questionably PCP, lasagne and runner beans.  I hope combining the protein and carb like that in lasagne is OK, bit late now if it wasn't!  Anyway signing off for the evening.  Looking forward to tomorrow. 

September 22, 2011 12:25 AM HKT

Week 1 completed

I'm going to lump the last 3 days into one blog, naughty I know but be honest, it may be a little boring to write about them separately!  So our sea freight turned up from Japan and we now have a garage full of boxes, 2 sofas, 2 beds and all sorts of  other random things.  Anyone know of any takers in London for the furniture??  Let me know!  Anyway, I've been really quite impressed with my levels of self restraint on the food front.  I was out for lunch yesterday (furst meal out on PCP) and had one of those meals where you finish it and think "i could eat that again it was so good", and I left half of it!  I nearly cried, it was so tasty (as you may be able to tell I'm a bit of a foodie) I really wanted to finish it.  About 10 minutes later though i realised i'd eaten enough, was nicely full and pleased I hadn't eaten the rest.  Something strange is obviously going on. I do find come the evenings I am quite hungry but I often eat lunch early with Little Miss O but then don't have dinner until 8pm so it's a good 8 hours then between meals.  

The exercises are going well and I really enjoyed the 500 skips this morning, even though it was raining.  At least I didn't have to contend with a typhoon though.  I'm impressed to read some people did their work outs through it!  I seem to have an extra incentive to get through my work outs - Bovril.  No, not the food but our 6 month old kitten who has taken to hanging off of my legs when doing press ups or laying on my chest when i'm doing the leg raises.  It certainly makes the work out more interesting.  

So, it all really kicks off tomorrow.  I do feel we've been lulled into a false sense of security but it has been nice to break into PCP slowly.  I am looking forward to the full program, as it were, starting tomorrow though.  Bring on the next 83 days!  

September 19, 2011 4:39 AM HKT

Day 3 and 4, Busy Busy Busy

It's Little Miss O's 1st birthday on the 22nd so we had a little pre-birthday party with friends plus 'welcome back to the UK' party for us at our place on Day 3.  As such I was running around preparing all sorts of food for the party wondering just how I was going to cope with the temptation of a BBQ (I know, shocking, a BBQ in September in London!) and ice-cream birthday cake.  I was quite surprised at how restrained I was!  I only had a couple of glasses of wine (in a small wine glass), half a burger (no bun) and then topped up the rest with salad followed by a small slice of ice-cream birthday cake - well, I couldn't not could I!!  I'd done my workout in the morning so was feeling pretty good.  I also took the chance to tell all of my friends what I was doing and that I'd put the blog link out onto Facebook so they can all help keep me going.  One friend has also offered to be a daily 'text' support should I need it. She's also been great at helping me with my lunges and showed me that I've been doing them completely wrong.  When I tried them her way, they made a whole load more sense !  

Sunday
I had a lie in until 8:30am which was lovely but I did then feel very late in doing my workout.  I also got a really bad stitch under my left ribs during my jump ropes - any ideas as to why and how to prevent them?  I had to break the skips up a bit and come back to the last set after the rest of my lunges.  Rest of the day was pretty manic, juggling the little one with clearing out the garage and shed ready for our sea freight from Japan which is arriving tomorrow morning, making a birthday cake, sanding down the kitchen work tops (we're having work done on the house too).  All in all pretty busy.  Luckily there were plenty of leftovers so I didn't have to think about cooking today.  It's quite hard to make up a 'half plate' of food, it looks so small!  I have found today though that the last mouthful or 2 of my half plate was actually not wanted - maybe my body is getting used to the smaller portions.   

September 19, 2011 4:39 AM HKT

Day 3 and 4, Busy Busy Busy

It's Little Miss O's 1st birthday on the 22nd so we had a little pre-birthday party with friends plus 'welcome back to the UK' party for us at our place on Day 3.  As such I was running around preparing all sorts of food for the party wondering just how I was going to cope with the temptation of a BBQ (I know, shocking, a BBQ in September in London!) and ice-cream birthday cake.  I was quite surprised at how restrained I was!  I only had a couple of glasses of wine (in a small wine glass), half a burger (no bun) and then topped up the rest with salad followed by a small slice of ice-cream birthday cake - well, I couldn't not could I!!  I'd done my workout in the morning so was feeling pretty good.  I also took the chance to tell all of my friends what I was doing and that I'd put the blog link out onto Facebook so they can all help keep me going.  One friend has also offered to be a daily 'text' support should I need it. She's also been great at helping me with my lunges and showed me that I've been doing them completely wrong.  When I tried them her way, they made a whole load more sense !  

Sunday
I had a lie in until 8:30am which was lovely but I did then feel very late in doing my workout.  I also got a really bad stitch under my left ribs during my jump ropes - any ideas as to why and how to prevent them?  I had to break the skips up a bit and come back to the last set after the rest of my lunges.  Rest of the day was pretty manic, juggling the little one with clearing out the garage and shed ready for our sea freight from Japan which is arriving tomorrow morning, making a birthday cake, sanding down the kitchen work tops (we're having work done on the house too).  All in all pretty busy.  Luckily there were plenty of leftovers so I didn't have to think about cooking today.  It's quite hard to make up a 'half plate' of food, it looks so small!  I have found today though that the last mouthful or 2 of my half plate was actually not wanted - maybe my body is getting used to the smaller portions.   

September 17, 2011 3:55 AM HKT

Day 2 ...

...started rather early as my little one is teething at the mo but after doing my workout (I'm doing it early morning), I actually felt pretty good.  I am rubbish at lunges though.  They look like the most simple exercise but I really seem to suck at them - practise makes perfect I suppose.  Food portions have been a little hit and miss today.  I think I went less than half at lunch and was therefore starving come 7pm so probably had a 3/4 size portion for dinner but I've assumed they kind of cancel each other out.  I am still a little hungry and can hear a Milky Way calling to me from the cupboard, but I will resist!   

September 16, 2011 2:40 AM HKT

And so it begins...

I've been a little apprehensive about PCP, not really knowing what to expect, so I'm glad Day 1 has come (and nearly gone) and we're under way.  This is also my first blog so you may have to bear with me....

'Reasons for PCP?' I hear you ask, well, i'm 31, have a nearly 1 year old daughter (Little Miss O) and want to get back some of the pre-baby me.  When I say pre-baby, ideally it would be the 21 year old me but I think that may be a little optimistic but we'll see how we go.  It's also for me to have a bit of time to myself with the workouts and mainly because for the last 5 years i've been saying i'll get in shape so it's about time I did it really.  

Have been pretty good on the food halving today so lets see how the rest of the week goes...

September 12, 2011 8:03 AM HKT

Welcome to Your New Blog!