Diary of Semi-Neurotic Ex-Secretary Soon-to-be-Sexier Sophia

Just checking in to make a note of exercise/diet today:

Exercise 30/01/09
Nell McAndrew's Ultimate Challenge (1 hr 20 mins)
This is my favourite workout, I LOVE it. This leaves me out-of-breath-exhilarated, instead of out-of-breath-want-to-curl-up-and-die.
It really improves my stamina (out of breath threshold) and strength (especially leg strength) QUICKER, than ANY of the other fitness DVDs I have done and so I come back to it again & again, after periods of inactivity as a starter point.
It is hard, yes (lots of high impact cardio), but sooooo worth it.

Food
Same as already mentioned in my previous post^^, but will add 1 piece brown bread & 1 slice of half fat cheddar & tbsp low fat mayo for Lunch.


OK so now my silly black cloud of doom has almost evaporated, yet another millionth example of proof I've had in life that a good amount of cardio work does wonders for depression/anxiety. I feel lots better & more positive generally even if to be honest the outlook of my life really sucks right now.:ack2:
 
lol im glad your cloud is evaporating... i felt awful yesterday =T but got back on my feet today and right back on track ^^ lol =D just keep pushing through!
 
Thanks Angelica - yeah we just gotta keep going ...... when I feel i am losing willpower I pretend I'm some gym bunny who's full of energy - fake it to make it, it works!:hurray:

When I do my Nell M. exercise DVD, I'll shout out at the fitness instructor, during the really difficult bits : "Yeah, EEEEEEASY, piece of cake, maaan" -for example when he makes us do jumping jacks with the arms going in the opposite direction (try it -- it bloody hurts!) - and it helps. I swear it does! :sifone:

Or I just shout to myself 'Stop being a drip!!!' when I feel myself slowing down during the easy bits.

Need to push past that comfort zone or you just end up staying a beginner forever and ever. My neighbours must think I'm nuts hahha. :) :)


Okay, just doing my summary of food eaten today:
Breakfast: 1 slice brown bread 1 slice half fat cheddar
Lunch: 1 piece brown bread & 1 slice of half fat cheddar & tbsp low fat mayo
Dinner: 140g skinless chicken breast, half a mini (10 inch) baguette, plus a salad with lettuce tomato red pepper carrot and red onion, 1 tbsp of olive and 1 tbsp low fat caesar salad dressing.
Snack: 1 jaffa mini roll

Now just need to decide what film to watch tonight ---hmmmm--- to take my mind off any potential temptations food-wise (not that I have much in my cupboards anyway to be honest - best way to stick to dieting IMO:)
 
Oh yeah, I took my measurements earlier (CRIIIIIINGGE) ...

... need to refer back to these regularly.
Cos if I don't lose weight but do lose inches that's quite cool, whereas if I'm getting zero progress with both inches and weight, then clearly I'm doing something wrong.

I think that's the only way to really stay on the right path, with this.

I don't much believe in only trusting the scales 100% anyway, there is so much fluctuation going on, with time of the month, & so on, it's easy to get discouraged.
Anyway bla bla bla bla.

Today 30/01/09 stats:
Bust: 41 inches
Waist: 36 inches
Hips: 40 inches
Butt (middle of): 41 inches
Thigh (middle of): 23 inches

Bad bad bad. But that's what I'm here for, to improve on all that, so it's all cool :coolgleamA:
 
good idea...^^ i think i may take measurements as well... i also need to spend some time this weekend trying on pants =P all my pants are either extremely snug... or dont fit at all =T

haha and im a little too mild to yell out loud in my house! but whatever floats your boat... especially if it helps you to lose fat!!!
 
^^ Lol, Angelica, you'd be surprised what totally deranged things you end up doing when you live alone. That's what I love about it. I also sing quite loudly to my music while I wash the dishes every night - very therapeutic but I sound like a squawking hen. Do I care though? :) :)

I_love_muscle said:
Sophia, I absolutely LOVE the name of your journal!

And good luck on your weight loss journey!
Click to expand...
Thanks so much, you're a star. :Angel_anim: When I first wrote it I thought OMG people will think I'm a right weirdo eejit, but it's stuck there now.
Best of luck to you too on your journey of course, and am looking forward to reading some of your journal, when I get a spare sec. So much motivating stuff to read on this site it's fantastic :willy_nilly:
 
sophia28 said:
Oh yeah, I took my measurements earlier (CRIIIIIINGGE) ...

... need to refer back to these regularly.
Cos if I don't lose weight but do lose inches that's quite cool, whereas if I'm getting zero progress with both inches and weight, then clearly I'm doing something wrong.

I think that's the only way to really stay on the right path, with this.

I don't much believe in only trusting the scales 100% anyway, there is so much fluctuation going on, with time of the month, & so on, it's easy to get discouraged.
Anyway bla bla bla bla.

Today 30/01/09 stats:
Bust: 41 inches
Waist: 36 inches
Hips: 40 inches
Butt (middle of): 41 inches
Thigh (middle of): 23 inches

Bad bad bad. But that's what I'm here for, to improve on all that, so it's all cool :coolgleamA:
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Sophia, hey you!

I know what you mean about the scale, I think we all do. My scale is toast. I need to replace it. Its off by about four pounds I think, but to make sure I get accurate readings I am going to get a new digital scale!

but measurements sounds like a good idea. I think Derek, my fiance, has what I need to measure around my body, tape measure. Yep...

I am kind of worried. Last time someone took a tape measure to me, they said my back size was 47!!! icks!!

well wish you all the luck and keep trecking

always
Natsky:coolgleamA:
 
hehe yeah i will sing when im all alone... opera style >=D lmao!
probably sounds like im making duck mating calls though =P
 
sophia28 said:
^^ Lol, Angelica, you'd be surprised what totally deranged things you end up doing when you live alone. That's what I love about it. I also sing quite loudly to my music while I wash the dishes every night - very therapeutic but I sound like a squawking hen. Do I care though? :) :)


Thanks so much, you're a star. :Angel_anim: When I first wrote it I thought OMG people will think I'm a right weirdo eejit, but it's stuck there now.
Best of luck to you too on your journey of course, and am looking forward to reading some of your journal, when I get a spare sec. So much motivating stuff to read on this site it's fantastic :willy_nilly:
Click to expand...

I think you'll fit in just fine here :)
 
Aww thanks I_Love_Muscle :) :)
Angelica you crack me up girl , as ever.

Well here's my daily check in.

Food:
Breakfast: 2 slices brown bread 1 slice half fat cheddar
Lunch: 1 slice brown bread & 1 slice half fat cheddar, 1 tbsp low fat mayo, plus a mcVities Go Ahead Fruit Bake Bar
Dinner is going to be: 140g skinless chicken breast, half of a small 10" baguette, salad with lettuce carrots red onion, low fat caesar sal dressing, 1 tbsp olive oil

God my diet is so boring but I can't be bothered to be creative. I know it's bad not to have variety but this works best for me when I diet for some bizarre reason.

Exercise:
Was supposed to have a rest day but I fricking HATE rest days, so I snuck in a session of Turbo Jam Learn and Burn (30 mins) (OK I learnt the moves but I was still flailing around a bit stupidly in some parts) and Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred level One (20 mins) (hate that workout, I'm finally packing it in. I don't know why it got such rave reviews. It makes me feel vile. Sorry to any JM fans out there btw)

It is freezing here, they're predicting snow over the weekend (hope so, as we never get any here & it makes everything so pretty) -- only prob is the cold makes dieting so much more difficult. Ah well.

Best way not to avoid eating is: 1) Distraction and 2) Have NO fattening food in the house. Never fails. Well that's the idea, but of course there's always the local takeaway pizza round the corner... :) Naahhh I'm not even gonna go there..... Be strong, woman!!:smash:

Just wanted to note that am pleased with how much better I am feeling with working out almost every day so far, I am actually feeling like I have 'bits missing' on my sides, butt and stomach when I am towelling myself dry after my shower. That feels good. :) :) Also I don't feel like some 100 year old woman when I move.

Also my legs are becoming so much stronger and I swear am getting buns of steel with all the bum exercises in Nell McAndrew's workouts. It's probably lifted about 6 inches since the last time I looked !! :D yeah so I gotta keep going :party:
 
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Sophia, my diet is pretty boring, too. And it works for me, too. It's quite basic, and outside of a few variations on the same theme, it's pretty much same shit, different pile :)

Good work on the butt!!! You can never do enough glute exercises ;)

As for rest days, I don't know how old you are, but everybody needs a rest day. Even I took rest days in my 20s ;)
 
^^ Hiya I Love Muscle, thanks for stopping by! :)

You're perfectly right to tell me off (haha), but to be honest I am very very very very dissatisfied with my life right now :smash:--- and I have periods in my life when the old tricks/distractions don't work anymore, and the only thing that stops the horrible noise in my head is working out.

So when I need to do it I cut myself some slack about that; or else I'll just constantly ruminate about my problems like some old cow chewing cud. Nice image that conjures up, eh!!

Also since I wasn't doing much weight/strength training, but mainly cardio, I wasn't too worried about overworking any muscles too much. Err that's my excuse anyway....:blush5:


Well tomorrow's another day, as they say. I'll knock back a sleeping pill and hope I collapse like Juliet for a few hours and forget all the sh*t going on. :chillpill:

I won't bore you or anyone else with the details of the sh*t going on because I might fall sleep typing it out from utter tedium since these worries go round & round in my head 24/7. Blah Blah.

Haven't had time to read your or anyone's diaries today but hope you are doing absolutely fab and making great progress as always :Angel_anim: --- Take care of yourself !! :hug2:

Quick final addition to food diary for today before I forget:
Bedtime snack: Jaffa mini roll, tea with 1 sugar.
 
Hey, it's my pleasure to come here and read your journal!!! :)

I agree with you in that working out does tend to help you think about other stuff, especially when things in your life aren't going according to Hoyle.

BTW, feel free to dump on us if you ever feel the need to get it all out. I think we've all done that here. I try to make a point of letting everybody know just how shitty my life is, and also how great it is :D

It helps keep things in perspective for me ;)
 
sophia28 said:
^^ Hiya I Love Muscle, thanks for stopping by! :)

You're perfectly right to tell me off (haha), but to be honest I am very very very very dissatisfied with my life right now :smash:--- and I have periods in my life when the old tricks/distractions don't work anymore, and the only thing that stops the horrible noise in my head is working out.

So when I need to do it I cut myself some slack about that; or else I'll just constantly ruminate about my problems like some old cow chewing cud. Nice image that conjures up, eh!!

Also since I wasn't doing much weight/strength training, but mainly cardio, I wasn't too worried about overworking any muscles too much. Err that's my excuse anyway....:blush5:


Well tomorrow's another day, as they say. I'll knock back a sleeping pill and hope I collapse like Juliet for a few hours and forget all the sh*t going on. :chillpill:

I won't bore you or anyone else with the details of the sh*t going on because I might fall sleep typing it out from utter tedium since these worries go round & round in my head 24/7. Blah Blah.

Haven't had time to read your or anyone's diaries today but hope you are doing absolutely fab and making great progress as always :Angel_anim: --- Take care of yourself !! :hug2:

Quick final addition to food diary for today before I forget:
Bedtime snack: Jaffa mini roll, tea with 1 sugar.
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Hey Sophia!

Well I think its great what you are doing! You keep trecking girl. I know what you mean when you say you feel your pieces of flab coming off. I rememeber how that felt. I used to be 320 pounds, I lost fifty and went down to 270 as of last May, but now back up to 280! Not going up further, now how, no way! Going to take charge, but I know the feeling and isnt it incredible. Feeling your body as you wash and saying, wait, that curve wasnt there before. There is no fat sticking out there anymore. I always loved that feeling and am sure I will get that soon as well. Well in four weeks. They say it doesnt come off right away, it might take a few months for me to see progress. I know when I first started here, back in June 2007, that I didnt see any movement until September, I was really saddened. I weighed 300 than and complained to everyone.

I really admire your strength and you just keep going. The cold is nice sometimes, but I dont particularly like it all that much.

but you go girl! Keep rocking, youll see those pounds keep coming off, or shedding off! Rock it on down!

always
your friend
Natsky:seeya::seeya:
 
^^^ Thanks for the support guys, you rock !!

I_Love_Muscle said:
BTW, feel free to dump on us if you ever feel the need to get it all out. I think we've all done that here. I try to make a point of letting everybody know just how shitty my life is, and also how great it is

It helps keep things in perspective for me
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Aww thanks for that. :) Mind you I'm sure that once I'm more used to this place, I'll soon be moaning like there's no tomorrow. It's quite easy for me to find things to moan about generally. Ask my ex, he sure knows something about it (he's still my best friend, though -- bless his heart) :)

Natsky said:
I really admire your strength and you just keep going. The cold is nice sometimes, but I dont particularly like it all that much.

but you go girl! Keep rocking, youll see those pounds keep coming off, or shedding off! Rock it on down!
Click to expand...

That's so nice of you to say that, really it means a lot!! :hug2:You know, I really hope that this time I really DO keep going and persevere -- I'm such a chronic on/off dieter, and have been all my life, I'm hoping to put an end to all that. One can only hope eh!!!

...... just off to have dinner, whoopee. :):coolgleamA:
 
OK, just making daily food/exercise check-in ..........

Food 01/02/09
Breakfast: 2 slices brown bread 1 slice half fat cheddar
Lunch: 1 McVitie Fruit bake bar (cos I was out)
Snack: 1 slice brown bread, 1 tbsp lo-fat mayo, 1 slice half fat cheddar
Dinner: 140g skinless chicken breast, half small baguette, salad with lettuce, tomato, red onion; 1 tbsp low fat caesar salad dressing, 1 tbsp olive oil
Tomorrow I'll have grilled salmon cos otherwise it's just getting silly now. :smash: I'll turn into a chicken at this rate

Bedtime snack: 1 cadbury's mini roll & tea with 1 sugar

Exercise 01/02/09
Turbo Jam Learn & Firm (30 mins)
(Good stuff, this - second time and still learning the moves to ensure I'm using proper form, posture etc) then Turbo Jam Cardio Party Mix 2 (43 mins)
(I had such fun doing this, I can see that it wil be a fantastic work out once I get the routine down pat.
I was still floudering around like a crazy person, going right when they were going left, etc. , because it's soooo fast, but once I get the hang of the whole routine, I am going to love it; such fun and will get me fit too, so will deffo incorporate it into my DVD rotation.)

So, exercise routine will be : Continue with Nell McAndrew (the best), Ellen Barrett Crunch Burn & Firm Pilates, Ellen Barrett Crunch Superslimdown Pilates Yoga blend, and Turbo Jam. I'm dumping Jillian Michaels (hated it) and Leslie Sansone (loved it but am bored with it now and need to go up a level, I reck. :coolgleamA:)

All in all not too bad. Need to keep on trudging on.

We're having 'extreme' weather warnings here, but of course in London everyone is excited at the idea of even getting 2 snowflakes since it never snows here. Soooo it is absolutely freezing. I hope that does not increase my appetite as cold weather tends to do. I shall fight, fight ,fight it, if that happens.!! :boxing:
Honestly, typical me, I don't worry about weather conditions like normal people but worry that I'll feel more hungry. Completely insane. Now for a nice warming cup of tea:)
 
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Urrgggh, godawful morning.

OK, overnight we had major snowfall like 6 or more inches - unheard of, in London for years - and more is on the way. We are prob going to get about 10" or more (again, unheard of here), so it all looked beautiful & pretty outside when I got up, I have a sort of garden outside my window, and everything looked gorgeous, a winter wonderland :)

However I'd forgotten London cannot cope with even a millimetre of snow -- everything comes to a standstill.

So I got ready at my usual time for my biweekly appointment at the much-loathed jobcentre, intending to get the bus, which takes me straight there - so I reckon I don't need like heavy mountain boots, hat and five layers, etc, etc. if it's just a bus ride there... Right? Wrong!! I get to the bus stop and discover ALL buses in London have been cancelled. Jeez.

So I realised I'd have to walk all the way. Grrrrr.
If I had KNOWN that, I would have set off earlier, but no I had no idea.

I was SOOOO worried I'd be late, they practically kill you if you're late, that I was having 60 major panic attacks right there.

Well I slid and skidded all the way, took me 40 mins walking as fast as possible at risk of breaking my neck - feet were soaked cos road full of horrible grey sludge and ice everywhere, I was wearing my Ugg-style boots which I only just discovered today are NOT waterproof. :mad:

Well after I got there (the place was closed hahaha due to the weather - after all that!!!) I go to my hairdresser as I was booked in- and had to wait in there with soaked socks and boots and freezing cold as he was late getting in due to road conditions.

OK so haircut done (I hate haircuts, avoiding my big fat moon face in the mirror)
my intention then is just get the tube back home - it's only one stop from there - but NOOOO even all the underground has been cancelled/suspended.
Ridiculous. :banghead:

So ---- I thought SOD THIS, found a cab and got in.

URRGHHH.

OK rant over.:rant:

Anyway, got home freezing, STARVING HUNGRY and felt like I could eat an entire Chinese take-away - infact daydreaming about it - but NO !! I will not break!! I'll have my usual lunch and just FORGET about it. I will NOT weaken just cos it's a bit cold and I've had a tense morning.

As a treat for having a crap day I will treat myself later to a nice cathartic strenuous workout followed by a relaxing pilates/yoga blend session. And that's that.

So anyway,food so far:
Breakfast: 1 slice bread, 1 slice half fat cheddar
Lunch: 2 slices bread, 1 slice half fat cheddar 1 tbs low-fat mayo.

Anyway apologies for boring outburst ^^ I do tend to over-react and need to vent. I'm OK now :)
 
Hmmm. Sticking to your diet in minus zero temperatures is so much more difficult. :ack2: Grrrrr. I am having visions of chicken satay and bloomin' special fried rice, here. That's not allowed !!!
Bad Bad Bad!! :reddevil:

When I get the devilish urges, some tricks that work are:

1. Play beautiful music, it really helps for some reason. I just blare it out and relax & my mind soon drifts away from food thoughts.

2. Find a film, but a good film that will really suck me in and keep me gripped, otherwise no point. A good horror normally does the job.

3. Spray some nice perfume and/or apply scented body lotion. No idea why this works.

4. Exercise - that's the ultimate appetite suppressant in my case.

5. If all fails..... go to bed and hope for the best. :).

Exercise today was my fave, Nell McAndrew Ultimate Challenge (1 hr 20 mins) - a perfect balance of high impact cardio, strength training, ab exercises and some fabulous butt/hip exercises that are reshaping my body from fat saggy blob to something much more firm and juicy (haha).

I didn't have time to do any yoga/pilates blend, so will do further on in the week.

Food today:
Breakfast & Lunch: as mentioned in previous post

Dinner: 125g grilled salmon fillet, 90g boiled potato (just a bit of salt on it), 1 tbsp olive oil, mixed salad with tomato & red onion, 1 tbsp low-fat caesar salad dressing.

Snack later will be usual Jaffa mini roll and cup of tea with 1 sugar.

And so the journey continues................. Hope everyone's having a lovely Monday :)
 
Good work in eating healthy under stress ;) I've heard that's the toughest thing for most people to do.

As for the weather, that sounds miserably dreadful ... and when it's cold in England, it's f'ing cold because of the humidity. It chills right to your bones.

Sophia, do you never eat red meat? That's always nice for a change, too.
 
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