Hi Combat Queen. Well I have basically just been watching my diet and upped my exercise since just before Xmas so about 4-5 weeks. I had lost 4.5kg and have put 0.5kg back on I think (don't have great scales). I haven't been counting calories but have given up junk food at work which accounted for at least 2 packs of choc biscuits a week (I know -OMG right?). And I have just been trying to eat pretty normally apart from that. I usually have cereal in the morning with soy milk but might have an egg or something instead, I have salad or a sandwich for lunch and for dinner whatever DH cooks but usually pretty healthy like tomato pasta, curry etc. Rarely creamy things but sometimes a lot of starchy vegies. We dont eat meat but I do eat other proteins like soy, nuts etc. I have two cups of coffee a day with soy milk (low fat) and 1 sugar and might snack on vegies or fruit during the day but no more than MT and AT (not a whole watermelon or anything!). or sometimes some rice crackers. I admit to some chocolate at night but strictly limited to 2 squares. For exercise I play indoor soccer (approx 30 mins of stop and start sprinting), cycle to work 2xwk (40 mins return trip) and have added one jog to my schedule from last week. I currently weigh 80kg.
Having resisted hot chips 3 times in the last 1.5 weeks when others have been eating them in front of me I feel a bit ripped off I have put on weight this week. Maybe I need to have a closer look at what I am eating.
I did put my 12 week challenge into 3 week goals and this coming week I am supposed to increase my exercise and meet another diet goal (takeaway only once a week but I am already meeting that anyway and my takeaway was pretty healthy).
What do you think?
Chuck out those scales!!! Ok, don't chuck them but don't weigh yourself every day!! 0.5 is nothing to fluctuate by. Some people fluctuate anything up to 2KG depending on the time of day, exercise, food and drink etc. The best way to see how you're travelling is to get your measurements done. You can do it yourself but it;s a lot more accurate if someone else does them for you! Also judge it by your clothes and how loose they feel. But please, do not stress over 0.5KG!
Your food sounds great, make sure you do have the nuts and fruit at MT and AT though and don't skip them. Nuts should be around 30g so it might not be as much as you think it is! I great snack that I love is semi-dried tom and onion tuna mixed wih a little bit of light Phillie, sandwhiched between cornthins Mmmmmm!
With the veggies you only need to limit ones high in Carbs like beetroot, carrot, corn, potatoes, pumpkin, sweet potato. Here are some free veggies that you can have unlimited amouns of and snack on to your hearts content! Alfalfa, asparagus, brocoli, brussel sprouts (bleugh!), cabbage, capsicum, cauliflower, celery, cucmber, eggplant, garlic, ginger, green beans, leek, lettuce, mung beans, mushrooms, onions, radish, rocket, snowpeas, spinach, tomato, watercress, yellow squash and zucchini.
I think thats why stir frys are so good - you can fill up on heaps of those veggies!
Where do you think you could increase your exercise? It's great to squeeze more in but it has to be sensible and sustainable so that you can incorporate it into your daily life. They say 30mins + of exercise everyday of the week. Another good thing to remember is "some is good, more is better" thats a great motto to have.
Maybe with your jog you could incorporate interval training into it. For example instead of jogging for 10/20 mins, jog for 5 then pick two landmarks and sprint between them. It doesn't have to be far, even just 30 seconds just to get your heart rate up. Even jog then stop and do 10 pushups on the ground then jog again then sprint. The idea is to mix it up as much as possible (actually called Fartlak training!!) to keep it interesting. It doesn't hae to be set or routine. Interval training is one of the best ways to lose fat and improve your cardiovascular fitness. You can also incorporate it into your bike rides, go at a steady pace, then sprint when it's flat or anywhere you are able to. Do you have a heart rate monitor?
Another thing you can do is add stairs or hills to your jogs, are you able to do that?
Lastly it would be good to introduce some resistance training (weights) to your workout. Muscle has a higher metabolic rate than fat so the more muscle you have the more KJ's your body is burning at rest. If you don't have any weights you can so exercises just using your own body weight eg squats, lunges, pushups, dips. Otherwise weights are quite cheap to buy.
Let me know how you go and if you have any questions
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