This is the time

Hi Felici, Ive seen you post quite a few times in different diaries and thought i would just say hello. I was reading what you have done for today and its very inspirational...think i dropped a pound just reading it..lol..ohhhh i wish that could be true...anyways...I just wanted to say hello.
Take care
Michelle :)
Hi! Thanks for your hello Michelle. :) Well I know that workout wouldn't be major thing for many people but I was pleased with it - partly because I'm still a bit surprised that I can and partly because I'm still a bit surprised that I do! :)

That's one hell of a workout, Felici. I'm glad you stopped using weights with your cardio -- one less orthopedic surgeon will get a check now. The HIIT is great for you, but give yourself at least a day in between sessions to let your CNS recover. Great job!
Hi, Tom. :) I did like the workout. I wondered about doing it again today. I never have repeated myself on successive days before, but I saw something yesterday that made think it might be worth it, so I already had done it two days in a row when I saw this post!

I didn't feel that I was achieving as much with the HIIT today though - actually I wondered if it was still high intensity. Maybe I just wasn't pushing myself as much. I extended the fast times to try to get a better sense of being at my maximum but it didn't work. ? Maybe because I did it twice in a row? I don't know, I honestly think I moved as fast, but I felt more controlled. I have a clock with no way of telling the seconds till the minutes are up and I hate not having any idea how long I have to go, like I did yesterday. So today I started slowly counting while I was running fast and though I extended the times I roughly knew how much further I had to go each time - maybe that amounts to pacing myself as opposed to running flat out.

Anyhow, thanks for the support, and the advice. :)
 
Frankly, I think some people worry FAR too much about the "proper definition" of HIIT. I have one of the original studies on HIIT, and this was using intervals that were 4 minutes long. If you told anyone you were doing HIIT with 4 minute intervals, they'd tell you right away, "Oh, that isn't HIIT, that's interval training."

OK, call it what you want. The real question is this -- are you getting up to maximum exertion, and keeping it there for a while? If you are, call it SCHMIT, and be happy with it. But then, give your body time to recover. The next day, do some steady state cardio, or weight training. Variety like this in cardio is a very good thing -- it keeps things interesting, and your body won't get used to doing the same exercise over and over again.
 
In general, I'm sure you're right about the too much worrying. :)

Unfortunately the reason I wasn't sure was because I didn't think I had got to maximum exertion. I know that's a bit of a weird thing to say - like surely it's under my own control to go all out or not? I guess it comes to learning the mental tricks that enable me do something that feels a little too daunting - ie use all the effort I think I have, in way that means it will be exhausted before the place where I am planning to stop.

When you said "let your CNS recover" I took it that you might mean Central Nervous System, though I didn't see how that would apply and figured you probably really meant something else. Now I'm thinking maybe you meant let my brain recover so it's not so spooked! :D That's part of the CNS, isn't it? :D
 
Breakfast 7:00 2 weetbix (107 cal), 1/3 C diced peaches (~40 cals), 1C low fat soy milk (122cal). 1 slice wholemeal toast (70 cal) with minimal margarine (18 cal) and fig jam (12 cal) . Boiled egg (71 cal). 1/2 glass tomato juice. (25 cal) 1C coffee with 40 ml Hilo milk (20 cal).

Snack: 10.30 1 small pear (80). I C coffee with Hilo milk. (20 cal)

Lunch : 12:30 1 C tinned pumpkinsoup (120 cal), 2 slices wholemeal bread ( 160) 1 grilled chicken thigh ( 80 cal), 1 cup coffee with 40 ml Hilo milk ( 20 cal)

Snack: 3:30 30 gm wholemeal bread roll (80 cal) and 12 gm low fat hard cheese (44 cal).

Dinner: 9:15 Grilled lamb, vegetables and gravy. 135 gm grilled lamb (246 cal). 135 gm microwaved potato. (~110 cal) Microwaved carrots (15cal), broccoli (20 cal), and cabbage (5 cal). Grilled zucchini (5 cal) and tomato (10 cal). 1/4 C instant gravy (25 cal).
Total: 1526 cal

Exercise: 7:15 pm 1.5 hours. 40 minutes body weight exercises. (200 cal) 50 minutes jogging ( 285 cal). Very similar to last night.
 
Yes, CNS = central nervous system. As for maximum exertion, you can pretty much feel it, even without a heart monitor. It's not like sprinting to catch a bus that's about to leave; it's like sprinting as if a mountain lion were on your tail.

But, like a say, even exertion a bit less than that does the trick as well. The study on HIIT that I referred to used intervals of 4 minutes at 90% of max HR. That's a level you can maintain for 4 minutes. 95%, however, is generally maintainable only for about 30 seconds or so. But it's not really worth quibbling, IMO, over the relative benefits of 90% vs. 95%, or over intervals of 3 minutes or 30 seconds. The important thing is that you incorporate this kind of cardio into your regular routine.
 
Cool. Thanks Tom. It's good to know that the benefits are there for the slightly lower intensity. I should try to remember again to get a resting heart rate.

I do understand about being able to feel the difference too. Aside from any metabolic or weight loss benefits, I think I like this level of effort for the buzz it gives me...afterwards. I definitely find it easier to reliably achieve it outside though - sprint-walking.
 
I remember when i first started working out... I would just be a mess after and i couldnt see that it would ever get better.... what a shock..it does..lol. Walking too, i remember when i could walk my first mile, and now that seems like nothing. Its very exciting
Michelle :)
 
Big wave!! Hope this finds you well. Been missing my friend here. You were hard to find on the 5th page!!:eek: Where you been? Missed you and hope all is going well!!:)
 
Good morning (my time), Michelle. I have had a bit too much to do this past couple of days, so I have not exercised and hardly visited here. However, I am claiming Thursday as legitimate reason and Friday as appropriate priorities. Saturday morning here and things should be back to normal now. :) My food has stayed good. Well except for me cooking something that tasted pretty terrible last night. :)
 
Nobody is perfect in the kitchen ;) Even professionals have to throw an occasional dish out, so don't beat yourself up on it.
Unless you burned the Weetabix, because THAT is just plain bad. If that's the case, you should probably quit cooking them.

It actually makes me wonder what you DID do now :D
When I worked in a VERY expensive restaurant on the coast, one of our cooks loved to play (harmless) pranks on the other staff members. One time she added a little arrowroot to some water that had been set to boil; it basically works like a thickener in minutes. When he got back, she told him his sauce had "reduced" and was gaining a nice texture.
The look was priceless :eek2:

Just to be clear, she had also set up another pot of water for him, so he could have his boiling water ready :D
 
Yeah, my friend is a professional chef with his own radio show in St. Louis. The first time he ever cooked at college he decided to make 4 alarm chilli. He had the bright idea of using stew meat. The end result was chilli with meat roughly the consistency of bubble gum. We all make a mess of it sometimes. Good job of keepying your food on track though.
 
Oh dear. Sunday evening is beginning and I am being kicked off the computer again, without even getting to my own diary. I don't know how much longer I can go without getting another computer here...

Hmm. I refused to leave instantly and now I hear the dishwasher is being unpacked in the meantime... That's a pretty good result!!

I still think I am eating well, back to good with the exercise.

I will be back on later. Thank you to those who've been checking on me despite my own skimping here. :)
 
Nobody is perfect in the kitchen ;) Even professionals have to throw an occasional dish out, so don't beat yourself up on it.
Unless you burned the Weetabix, because THAT is just plain bad. If that's the case, you should probably quit cooking them.

It actually makes me wonder what you DID do now :D
When I worked in a VERY expensive restaurant on the coast, one of our cooks loved to play (harmless) pranks on the other staff members. One time she added a little arrowroot to some water that had been set to boil; it basically works like a thickener in minutes. When he got back, she told him his sauce had "reduced" and was gaining a nice texture.
The look was priceless :eek2:

Just to be clear, she had also set up another pot of water for him, so he could have his boiling water ready :D

LOL! I bet that was a great look.

I think I may have made my chicken cacciatore taste bad because I rushed cooking the onions, and because I decided I was ready to change to chicken breasts even though I've always preferred the thighs. Then I put a little raw onion in my salad and forgot it was there and actually ate it, so I could still taste it 12 hours later and I couldn't drink my morning coffee. :)

Who couldn't love a woman with her priorities in order ?? ;)

:) Well I hope they're right. I am still trying.

Yeah, my friend is a professional chef with his own radio show in St. Louis. The first time he ever cooked at college he decided to make 4 alarm chilli. He had the bright idea of using stew meat. The end result was chilli with meat roughly the consistency of bubble gum. We all make a mess of it sometimes. Good job of keepying your food on track though.

Thanks Cannon. I am not especially renowned for great cooking and tend to rely on simple foods - lucky I like them - and the tried and true. However, I have tried to be a bit more positive about my time in the kitchen since I started trying to eat in a more healthy way and lose weight. I do trust the food I've prepared a great deal more than anyone else's.

So Saturday I ate much as usual except I had a teaspoonful of my daughter's caramel slice when we stopped for a cappucino. I don't feel guilty because it was such a small amount, but that I bothered to do it says something about this being a time for caution I guess. I think being too busy and getting a bit stressed, plus two days without exercise probably made me a little more vulnerable. I did eat a bit weirdly at dinner because my husband cooked. It was nice but then I didn't take much of it so I was looking for extra food. I ended up having a bowl of weetbix with lots of peaches, then I went to a little shopping centre that stays open late and bought some more. I found that kind of interesting because of course I have done that many times in the past and have a very good idea of how many different types of chocolate I could find there. Saturday I bought a bunch of sugar snap peas and fresh bean shoots. I came home and ate all the bean shoots and 200 gm of sugar snap peas (82 cal I think) :)

I managed to finally get back to my tae bo tape Saturday evening, and though I was interrupted after 15 minutes, later another space fortunately turned up during the evening and I started it again and got finished. That made me feel really good. I am still cautious about some of the more bouncy moves but it's nice having the instructor on the tape really helping push through the strenuous sections. I do still get interested in the way those people hook me in despite just being a recording.

Today was a pretty good day. I made myself a toasted wholemeal roll with cheese, tomato, mushrooms, and olives for lunch. That was really yummy and deliberately designed by me to fit in with what I felt like instead of just being easy to grab.

I went for a walk in some nearby bush with my husband this afternoon. It was raining lightly but in a way that made it more pleasant rather than awkward. We were looking out for orchids so not walking too fast. The orchids there are small and the ones that bloom at this time are not too special looking, but it was interesting. A few other pretty flowers are starting to bloom. Not a good walk for exercise but good for the spirit. Then this evening I was short of time, so I combined watching/listening to Big Brother with the bodyweight exercises and ran for short, fast bursts on the trampoline in between each type of exercise. I don't know if that is especially useful but I thought it was just as likely an improvement on doing one thing then the other. Years ago when I was going regularly to a gym we did circuit training like that - with trampolines between each machine. Anyway it certainly kept me feeling sweaty tonight. Or was that because everyone else was just watching TV so the heater was on full bore? At least with just the family there I didn't have to wear much.

I also did a weekly weigh in yesterday. I weigh the same as last Saturday. I figured that was right because the scales and I have come to a sort of agreement. I have been weighing myself first thing every morning and that figure didn't really drop during the week either. Nicely it was down 0.5 kg this morning though, and I'm sure I've been eating less calories than I'm expending, so I'm comfortable that things are progressing all right.

I'm not posting my food and calories right now as I'm still short of time. I still think it has value for me though and hopefully I'll start again soon. I was noticing that the diary still has the power to influence my own behaviour in a positive way. I don't really think it's because I think other people will tut tut if I get off track. It's more that if I am thinking about trying to weasel out of doing what I think I should, I'm then also thinking about how inadequate I would think those thoughts would look if I typed them up, and how I just wouldn't want to post them. :)
 
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Yes, we are a VERY judgmental bunch. ;)
Well, maybe just mental? At least on my end. :D

Onions are a very touchy food to cook with, I have noticed. Sadly I tend to rush the things I cook, so I try not to cook onions. :p
See you soon!
 
LOL. I don't actually think people will tut tut. Probably I'm naive, and they just don't do it in print! :D I just meant that it isn't necessarily the idea of someone else reading it and telling me off, that helps keep me in line, it's the idea of me reading it. Well, actually now that I explain all that out there is certainly an element of me reading it and thinking about how idiotic it would sound to someone else. Those written words did get me again. View attachment 3578:D

To be frank I need a bit of help staying in line right now. I just seem to have a ton less time than I did a little while ago, (additional whinge deleted here). I am really getting tired again. Maybe more sleep will help but it's not exactly that, it's just that I would like to see a big chunk of time coming that I could just waste without any disaster. That won't happen too soon. Maybe that then makes me think I'd like a nice big chunk of food that I could eat instead? Or it's cold and I want more hot food inside me? Aah. I don't know. Maybe it's just because I'm running out of time and exercising later in the day so I don't have that calming, appetite subduing effect of the exercise earlier on.

As I have no intention of staying at home when I could be working I guess I will just have to say, "Bugger!" and "It's a bit harder now. It won't always be. It's worth it."

It is worth it.

I keep eyeing up skinny little spaces around the classroom to work out whether I can fit through them or not and deciding (correctly!), that I can.

This weekend, without thinking I wrapped an ordinary bath towel around myself - and it went all the way around! :D

I bought a frivolous little top for $5:00! (Instead of a gigantic boring one for heaps more).

I will be able to walk when we go on a family trek next weekend. :D Maybe even keep up! :D

Geez. Really now I've eaten, exercised, and written this I don't even have any more interest in eating tonight. It isn't that hard right now. I probably could delete this, but maybe I will post it anyway to be my calorie free indulgence. :)
 

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I noticed the same thing. whenever i have the urge to eat and i know that i don't really need to, i come here and vent away. this is why i think these diaries are an excellent idea. it keeps me focused i guess.
you probably feel the way you do because of the weather changing. maybe your body wants to preserve for winter lol. i always feel that change very hard...i have much less energy, i wanna sleep more. the day just seems too short. and then i come alive again in spring hehe.
 
Hey you - sorry it has been awhile...we all go through phases you are going through now and even if your eating is a bit off at least you are still exercising and such which is key as well...you will get through this we will make sure you do :):):) and none of us with judge you and your food - do you judge any of us ???

Im sorry you've been busy - I get liek that too and then I fight for the comp with a 12 yr old so I usually loose - lol!!!

I hope you find some spare time for the thigns you wanna do :):):)
 
I noticed the same thing. whenever i have the urge to eat and i know that i don't really need to, i come here and vent away. this is why i think these diaries are an excellent idea. it keeps me focused i guess.
you probably feel the way you do because of the weather changing. maybe your body wants to preserve for winter lol. i always feel that change very hard...i have much less energy, i wanna sleep more. the day just seems too short. and then i come alive again in spring hehe.
I certainly have felt some of that lately. I'm not sure if it's a bit more grey sky, or just that the cold makes the regular teachers sick and gives me a heap more work to do. At least I know where I am working tomorrow and I know that they have a sandwich press/toaster thing. I definitely am looking for hotter food in colder days and of course hotter takes more thought and effort.

I'm glad you're enjoying your Spring! :)

Hey you - sorry it has been awhile...we all go through phases you are going through now and even if your eating is a bit off at least you are still exercising and such which is key as well...you will get through this we will make sure you do :):):) and none of us with judge you and your food - do you judge any of us ???

Im sorry you've been busy - I get liek that too and then I fight for the comp with a 12 yr old so I usually loose - lol!!!

I hope you find some spare time for the thigns you wanna do :):):)

Nah I am not fussing about other people judging. That is kind of what I was saying in the beginning, that somehow the diary helps keep me in line despite the lack of judgement. :) It does help to know that other people read it though. Thanks for the support. :)

So far the eating is basically ok. It's just that I have so many more moments where I'm thinking that the wrong food is looking attractive and that it would be very easy to just say, "What does it matter..." In my case - after many years yo-yoing, that's really something I have to get past.

I do get it about fighting for the computer. Well we don't fight much but there are moments.... I think that is part of my issue right now. One more thing to juggle. I time on the computer but not necessarily just when I'd like it. :)
 
Since coming here only a month ago I have lost 9.5 lbs. I know that I would not have done it without the encourgement of the people on this forum.


MARK
"I am ready for this challenge, success remember " reminder for me

Hi. I am getting a very weird sense of deja vu here. I swear I saw this exact post earlier today, but by the time I was posting it had gone, and now it is back, but in a new place!?

I am very glad to hear that you are losing weight and finding support here. I hope I am not losing my marbles!! :D
 
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