Sunday, May 30, 2010

DAY TWELVE


SO THIS WAS DOOM DAY!

Had I done enough? I don't know, I hope that my mishaps earlier in the week did not stop my amazing progress. Lets see!!

To my surprise I was over the moon with my results:

Date

17 May 2010

21 May 2010

28 May 2010

Weight

72.4

69.9

70.

B Fat

8%

7.5%

6.1%

Muscle in kg

63.3

61.5

62.5

V fat

1

1

1

Waist

75/29.5inch

71/27.95inch

70/27.55 inch


So Here's the breakdown:

I gained 1kg of muscles!! YAY..
Lost a cm off my waist!! YAY
and .1% away from my goal of 6% body fat!! YAY YAY YAY!!

You see this all goes to show how we all can have our bad days. Having felt like I had cheated myself was frustratingly hard to deal with. Especially when the results were so good the previous week.

With this result I have chosen to give myself the next 3 days off including today. I don't necessarily want to drop below 6% body fat, which I know will happen regardless. So why not enjoy this weekend and start again on Monday! :)

BIG PAT ON THE BACK... Here's a my latest shot for you! :D


DAY ELEVEN

Right, sorry its late!

Day 11 I was pretty much sticking to my diet and my exercise schedule! results day was only a day away and I needed to pull something out and fast! In a nutshell this was my day.

Breakfast was my usual Porridge and Tea

Exercise: Spin Class 45 minutes

Snack was Grapefruit

Exercise: Power Walk Home 45 minutes

Snack part II Protien Shake - who says I can't have it 45 minutes after my grapefruit

Exercise: Walk to work 45 minutes

Exercise: Body Pump Class

Lunch: Lean Beef Stir Fry + Can of Tuna

Exercise: Nil Siesta

Walk to Gym 40 Minutes

Exercise: Spin Class 45 minutes

Walk Home from Gym 40 minutes

Dinner: Lean Beef Stir Fry, Fish

Snack: Protein Shake

Yes I did eat a lot but I exercised my but off and I could feel my body was taking shape!

I was nervous about Friday

Thursday, May 27, 2010

DAY TEN

So after a slow start to my week and a so so Tuesday. I woke up feeling on top of the world. Armed and prepared to set in motion week 2 of the diet.

Having prepared all my meals the night before it was just a matter of eating and exercising. Cheese, Crackers and KFC! Ouch... I know I said a Monday weighing, but that would be cheating now wouldn't it. So lets just get one thing straight and stick to the plan! Friday mornings is my weighing time and results check!

I got up rested and fresh. You should all know the drill by now. Breakfast was Porridge. Tea, but the bucket load. and off I go to teach Spin and this class was gonna be a cracker of a class! Diet is one thing I struggle with, but exercise, now your playing in my arena!

A sweaty beefed up session, my poor students! but the show must go on. I meet up with a friend for breakfast, she orders, bacon, eggs, sausages, hash browns. and a cappuccino. My order was simple. Black coffee with a side of skim milk and That's it.... After all it is my morning snack :) oh btw I forgot to mention I took out my treat of a big juicy red grapefruit! Never liked grapefruit before, but its now something I look forward to.

As breakfasts wraps up, I order a glass of skim milk. I have my protein powder in a snap lock back in my back pack of tricks and have my protein shake.

Lunch was a Beef Omellette I had prepared the night before. I don't think I will ever spell omellette right.. haha

A 10km run shortly after lunch and a can of tuna for my afternoon snack!

I wasn't teaching on Wednesday night, but for dinner i had a some chicken in the fridge which I made a chicken, green bean, chilli, garlic and ginger stir fry! I have to say it's been one of my best meals to date. Eating plan or no eating plan, this lil boy is getting creative.

I know I have one more day before I have my results check so I prepare my food for tomorrow and in my head I plan my exercise.

Bonne Notte x

(26/05/2010)

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

DAY NINE

OK!! Sonia leaves... back to the routine. It's Tuesday which means I only have 3 days before my next weigh in.. I'm not looking forward to it and very disappointed! So here is how I am going to make up for it!

I had a spin class which I blitz and worked my lil ass off as punishment! Breakfast consisted of a Grapefruit and Tea.. followed by a morning nap!

Lunchtime I came home, had a tuna egg white omlette and did a mega abs session for pilates.. Sorry to my students who bore the grunt of my eating indiscretion!

I came home and had an afternoon siesta! Not feeling overly energetic... I had to have something for a snack to get through my back to back classes tonight! I had an orange.

6.30pm Circuit Class, An intense full body workout, which I participates in, followed by intense pilates at 7.30pm! I was starting to get my groove back. I went to the shop and purchased some food for tomorrow. Tomorrow I know is gonna be a great day, I'm gonna be all prepared.

Dinner was poached chicken breast and an egg white omlette which I put spinach, lean beef and chilli in... I prepared Wednesdays meal in advance and as I write this! I feel proud of myself and hopefully I can claw back what I had lost! perhaps a Monday weighing instead? :)

DAY EIGHT

A brand new week and a brand new Mark. Who was I kidding! Sonia had one more night here so I know I had to be as good as I could be. Lets see...

I taught my spin class in the morning and worked really hard, knowing that I had treated myself to 2 days by accident. Well I guess the only bad thing there was the alcohol.

For Breakfast I had my regular porridge and endless cups of tea. I brought along my grapefruit for morning snack and had it when I met sonia for breakfast, that and a cup of black coffee.

I had a Spin class, again working hard knowing my the bad 2 days I just had. For lunch
I had a grilled octopus salad and an afternoon snack of an egg white omelet.

Pilates was my evening class. For dinner afterwards, we had a similar meal, expect for it was a bottle and a half of red wine and maybe some cheese!

I do know if I stay the same or go backwards this week, I only have myself to blame. I promise I will be good from Tuesday onwards!

DAY SEVEN

So the last day of the week and I am feeling a little flat from my debortrous evening last night. If given the chance to do it over, I would have stuck to the eating plan and not splurged that last bit. I guess it all goes to show that alcohol is probably not the worst thing you can eat, it's what you eat in your drunken state that plays heavy in your stomach, pardon the pun :)

So today, my one and only day off work, I sleep in till 2pm. Which means no breaky, no snack, no lunch!! Well needed sleep and after last nights shannanigans, I am not feeling overly hungry, so perhaps the fast and the shut eye wasn't so much a bad thing.

For my afternoon snack, I managed to have a large pink grape fruit. But still wasn't feeling all that flash. I new that today, I would have to step it up and be strict from here on in. Well... That was the plan anyway!

I had my mate/client/hairdresser from Sydney over.. We normally indulge in a hearty dinner, lots of wine and cocktails when ever she comes down. I called and said I would cook dinner for her (Sonia) and Peter (husband).

True to form I fired up the BBQ and had BBQ'd chicken breast, lamb chops (only one for me ;)) and very lean tender steak. Week 2, steak had been introduced, so whats one day in the bigger picture. Lots and lots of vegetable and an amazing mushroom, onion, garlic and zuccini stir fry. Very healthy, Very good and Very Proud.

Oh and I forgot to mention the bottle of red wine :P


Sunday, May 23, 2010

DAY SIX

My day of indulgence started off well. I woke up still on a high from my results yesterday.
I was reluctant to undo all of the hard work I had put in over the last few days so I decided to be as good as I can be.

For breakfast I had porridge and tea as per usual.

Morning snack consisted of a grapefruit, x2 cups of coffee. This was all before 9am with already a class under my belt and another pilates class followed by regular Saturday breaky with my mates. Surprisingly at breakfast I had the will power to have just another coffee.. and it proved easy! very easy. I could see that today was gonna be a good day and all I would have differently was the alcohol.

Lunch consisted of a can of tuna and a grapefruit on the run.

By the time, afternoon snack had come! It was time to prepare for a night of drinking. I started with a few glasses of Vodka and a red bull and treated myself to some dips and crackers.. not to many but I could tell it wasn't the day i had started out or wanted to achieve.

I ended up with a few glasses of red wine.. almost a bottle by the end of the night and on my way home, SILLY SILLY me was a tad tipsy I stopped off at KFC and ended up having a few pieces of chicken, not in a classy way as well. I took my chicken and sat outside squatting and devouring what seemed at the time to be a great even brilliant idea! Dinner had stooped to a whole new low!

That's pretty much all I could remember.

:)

Friday, May 21, 2010

DAY FIVE


We're up to date and you will now get daily updates as they happen!

Last night I had decided that instead of getting my progress tracked on the Monday, I would do them this morning, I felt great, I felt slimmer, but to what extent I have no idea! I'm giving myself the day off the eating plan tomorrow as I have farewell drinks from leaving my previous work place. One day of indulgence a week will at least keep me sane, keep me motivated and give me something to look forward to.

So as I woke up this morning at 5.30am, I did my normal breakfast routine of porridge, tea, egg whites, make my bed and as I was in the bathroom about to jump in the shower when... HELLO! where have you been hiding? I saw glimpses of my baby abs both upper and lower starting to take shape, so I got my trusty iPhone and took my 2nd shot of my mid section since I started on Monday.

This put me in good steed for my morning trip to work on the 642 (642am bus). It didn't even bother me that I had AGAIN forgotten my Apple in the fridge... I'll just treat myself to a grapefruit from the supermarket after my facial (My girl Aubrey is studying beauty and I've put my hand up to be a willing guinea pig).
Anyway lets not get lost rambling.. I danced my way, earphones in check to the gym and showed Mariya my photo, we took another one from her phone and updated my stats. Mainly good results but the one unfortunate one. Lets see and we can discuss:

Stats as of 21-05-2010

Date

17 May 2010

21 May 2010

Weight

72.4

69.9

B Fat

8%

7.5%

Muscle

63.3

61.5

V fat

1

1

Waist

75/29.5inch

71/27.95inch


Ok I've lost about 3kg and below 70 for the first time since I was at my best in Italy! Pretty much my ideal.. maybe 1 more kg.

Dropped .5% Body Fat; my goal is 6%

The bad part = I lost 1.8% muscle mass.. That could be the weight loss as muscle weights more than fat, however, I have noticed fat around my mid section gone! This maybe the result of the 1/2 Marathon on Sunday and also the fact that I have been too sore to do any form of exercise/weights since. I'll try my best to build that back next week.

Visceral Fat is still at 1 which is the lowest rating it can be.

Waist, I
lost 1.55 inches around my waist. I'm very happy about this.

Overall I couldn't wish for a better result. It actually shocked me with how much this diet had worked and how great I feel about being on it. 5 days in, who would have thought?

My morning snack was a juicy big red grapefruit as I had mentioned earlier.

Lunch time was a little later than planned, but I had the best egg white tuna omelette I've made since Monday. :) with green beans and again lots of tea.

I invited Damo over for dinner again and I was feeling a lil creative. I got him to meet me at the Village and I made a Chicken, mushroom, Broccoli and string bean stir fry with onions and garlic a hint of rosemary and lemon. Of course I added chilli to mine :)

Dinner was so tasty that I can see myself doing this for the long run. Who know's I may even experiment and add splashes of red for colour. I'll run it by Mariya!

A very happy Mark who is looking forward to his treat tomorrow night, I'll keep you updated on how that goes as well. Stay tuned till then.

**** Marky Mark is getting his groove back much quicker than expected!****

DAY FOUR

I think the hard part is over! Well almost, I'm no longer feeling like I'm missing out on anything and the day could not have gone any better. I wasn't tired nor was I hungry.. The only thing that did go wrong was again I missed out on my morning snack! I think I'm gonna have to set the alarm on my trusty iPhone as a reminder.

Breakfast was great and as per usual my porridge, egg whites and endless cups of tea before leaving the house. For those of you know don't know, I'm up at 5.30am every morning.

No morning apple :(

But lunch was an amazing Tuna salad with egg whites and spinach and cucumber, spanish onions, garlic.. It was bliss.. perhaps a few more cups of tea!

I made sure that I had my grapefruit for my afternoon snack and boy did I enjoy it. I have forgotten how good the juicy red grapefruit can be and sooooo damn filling as well.

My wonderful house mate Kat, whom I love dearly had done a big grocery shop and we were expecting a guest, Damo. We did warn him that we are having pretty bland food. I didn't think he would mind as Damo eats pretty bland anyway! (Sorry D if your reading this, but you know it's true :)

Dinner didn't end up being so bad, it was actually very very tasty! We had grilled, well pan fried cause we were all so damn hungry and Kat had been waiting for me to finish my spin class and get my shrinking, but toned :) Boot Tay!!! back home.

I had a protien shake later just to get me by till the morning and you know what it worked!

Advanced weighing tomorrow, Can't wait! - you'll be surprised just as I was with the result.. and I have photographic proof!

(20-05-2010)


DAY THREE

Feeling pretty damn tired from the events of the last few days my little sleep in ended up being a marathon in itself. I missed out on Breakfast, my morning snack and lunch. I had the whole day off and there was no way that I was going to leave my warmth and snugness of my bed.

I got up at 2.30pm and had my Orange for my afternoon snack. It was so tasty, but I was still hungry so I chowed down on 6 hard boiled egg whites and 6 or 7 cups of tea! I felt content and relaxed for the first time in days. This is a good thing as I know that tomorrow is gonna be a brand new day and that i have already started feeling considerable results for my efforts. Just how good these results are... you're just gonna have to wait until Friday as I decided to take an early weigh in. You will be pleasantly surprised! :)

For dinner I ended up having poached chicken breast with brussel sprouts, green beans, bok choy, an egg white omelette and more brussel sprouts! I'm all brussel sprouted out and I'm looking forward to exploring a new green vegetable.

I made sure I had an early night so that I don't undo all the rest I had today. This entry is short and sweet!

(19-05-2010)

Thursday, May 20, 2010

DAY TWO

I woke up feeling on top of the world and my stomach appeared considerably thinner! YAY :)
Although it is only the second day and I guess I'm gonna have to wait till next week when I do my measurements. I sure hope this is all worth it.

For Breakfast I had the plain oats with skim milk. I forgot how great they tasted. I haven't had oats in years and being cold first thing in the morning in good ol' Melbourne town, I'm thinking its the best thing ever invented. This coupled with my 2 cups of tea and 2 hard boiled egg whites, I'm hating the fact that I am throwing away the best part of the Egg! But... Mariya know's best so I gotta stick with it if I ever wanna get in to Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition! (I'm kidding)

My legs are hurting more than ever and my knee's feel as if they are about to explode. I have 4 classes to teach today and I'm praying that I get through it ok.

I don't know how, but I ended up missing out on my Apple this morning as a snack, I'm not too fussed as apples aren't really my favourite fruit.

With a spin class down, looking forward to Lunch I hurried home to make myself and Egg White Tuna Omelette with heaps of garlic and chilli and silverbeet! I had a side of brussel sprouts and still felt amazing! A pretty good effort considering by now I would have had 3 sushi rolls and 2 cups of coffee and a few snacks just because I can or I thought I could.

Pilates Class complete and just busy at home with phone calls and trying to score more classes I again forgot to have my orange. Not happy!!! I love oranges and but this stage I was really craving sugar and that surprises me because I never crave sugar, I have more of a savoury tooth.

It's about 530pm and Im sitting down on Chapel street having coffee with my mate Ana waiting to teach circuit and pilates. I'm hoping this coffee does me a load of good as I'm falling asleep. Not sure whether or not its the Diet, the early start or the Exhaustion kicking in from the run on Sunday, what ever it was I was feeling I had been hit by a bus which reversed back and forth 50 times before taking off again.

It was time to call it a night, my work day had come to an end and I was looking forward to catching up with Zani for dinner. I promised I'd come around and cook, especially because I was on a strict eating plan and also had brought with me one of my all time favourite shaniqua DVD's "A low down dirty shame". Our meal consisted of marinara mix, and egg whites. A mixed bean salad. I was still craving sugar!!

The night ended on a good note... watching the DVD and trying my best to ignore the open packet of Tim Tam's that was sitting on the coffee table! Have the day off tomorrow so looking forward to bed and a lil sleep in :)

(18-05-2010)


Wednesday, May 19, 2010

DAY ONE


Sorry if I seem a lil vague here, I pretty much have to back track the last 3 days as I only started this yesterday. So you will be getting 2 posts a day for the next 2 days to catch up. You're gonna have to bear with me here as I'll be rushing through these and to catch up and they may seem a lil, lets say boring :S
Here are my Stats as of 17-05-2010
Weight 72.4kg
Body fat 8%
Muscle mass 63.3kg
Waist 75cm
V fat 1%

After an exhausting weekend, you know a 1/2 Marathon and all.. - but who's bragging! ;)

I took out the Eating plan Mariya Dimova an ex body sculptor/Fitness Model and amazing workmate had written out for me. I was ready and determined as ever for success in pursuit of the body I once had... I must admit, I wasn't impressed with the food limitations I was about to dedicate the next 21 days of my life towards. It looked very bland, not too filling, not very appetizing and definitely not very Melbourne!

... But I was on a mission: Operation - Trim, toned and Fabulously 30!

(BTW.. You're meant to do this 21 days straight, but I've given myself a day of indulgence.. Where I can have what ever I wan't for a meal, but not go too silly and be able to socialise with a few sneaky sips with my lovely, but bad influence partners in crime! You know who you are)

For breakfast I had a quick oats sachet with water and skim milk and some hard boiled eggs less the yolk. (Yuck)

Then it was off to the Village (Toorak) with my shopping list to purchase my food for the week, which to my surprise came to a total of $67.00, normally I would be spending something closer to $150 - $180 a week on food:

THE SHOPPING LIST

Brussel Sprouts
Green Beens
Silver Beet
Broccoli
Green Apples
Oranges
Grapefruit
BIG Pack of Eggs
Skim Milk
8 Cans of Tuna
Quick Oat Sachets (Plain)
English Breakfast Tea
2 Chicken Breast

For my morning snack I had a Green Apple, this stopped my sugar cravings, unfortunately for me it didn't stop my the pain in my legs from the run. I wasn't able to walk very fast and had to find a way of getting to work and teach a spin class at the same time.

For lunch I ended up making myself an Egg White Omelette with Tuna, Chilli flakes, and silverbeet, surprisingly it was very tasty! Must make this again soon :)

I didn't feel like having an afternoon snack but I persisted and had an orange. I'm glad I did because I still had one more class to teach (Pilates) before dinner and by the time I would have hobbled home from Armadale to Toorak, it would have been 8.30pm.

Dinner was interesting, Poached Chicken with Brussel Sprouts, Green Beens and bok Choy. What I wouldn't give to have a roast chicken WITH the skin right now. But in the name of Vanity and my mission, which I have clearly accepted. I'm gonna persevere.









Tuesday, May 18, 2010

21 Day Eating Challenge





-The woman responsible for the 21 day transformation - I'll post up her details soon, this diet is part of her ebook




It's been 273 days since my 30th Birthday and 180 Days since moving to Melbourne. The combination of these two significant numbers, I believe have slowly but surely contributed to a not so bad, but definitely slightly obvious spread around my mid section.

Here's the break down...

Turning 30, I've noticed my metabolism has slowed down a lil and I can't really afford to eat as much as I use to. For those of you who know me or have the pleasure :) of having a meal or two with me know I eat enough to be able to feed a family of 6 in one sitting.

I was able to justify this with an active work life (teaching classes and personal training) and a lot of nervous energy (I always like to be on the move and would run frequently).

Melbourne, Melbourne, Melbourne!! Everyone who has been to or lived in Melbourne would be able to vouch for me when I say that your social life revolves around, funky bars tempting you with amazing cocktails, wine and champaign. This is all coupled with...

Restaurants that will leave your taste buds dancing from one place to another, Lets go for a nice breaky, how about yum cha for lunch, a nice lite (yeah right) Italian/Greek/Moroccan/Indian/Japanese/Thai (well maybe not the last one, if anyone know's of a good cheap thai place here do let me know) for dinner or have you tried these amazing South Melbourne Dim Sims, one bite and you'll get addicted.

Amazing Friends and friendly people to make sure that your social calender involves these things pretty much 5 or 6 days a week. Not to forget the cute guys in their early 20's who have youth on their side that make me feel like the SHORT, FAT, UGLY, OLDER sister!

Now are you getting picture? Enough is Enough, and now that I'm settled, I've decided to make few changes..

Only a few days ago, I completed my first 1/2 Marathon at the Great Ocean Road with my little mate Matty. To celebrate, we had fish and chips and a beer! The perfect pat on the back for a job well done and my decision to embark on a 21 Day Eating Challenge! I want my baby abs back and it all starts now!! Well 2 and a bit days ago (Monday 17/05/2010)...