Hitting that snooze button

How can I get up so early in the mornings to exercise? I must admit, there have been more mornings than not, in my life, that I've pushed the snooze button on my alarm and rolled back over, so why is now different? Many reasons:

1. This isn't about weight loss anymore
2. I really REALLY want this
3. It's the only time in the day I have available where I can leave the house without a child in tow
4. Did I mention I really really REALLY want this.

I'm so passionate about being a runner now, that that goal alone motivates me. Exercise used to be about losing weight, but now I know it doesn't take exercise to lose weight (I'll post on this later this week). I now exercise because I want to. I want to be healthier. I want my heart to be strong. I want my whole body to be strong.

Almost my entire adult life I've made new years resolutions to lose weight and get fit... all that ever did was waste pen ink. Sure I tried a few time to follow a diet (I've tried most of them) and they worked for a while, until I went back to old habits or the diet was too restrictive and I just binged when I couldn't take it anymore. I also exercised on and off over the years, but I was always forcing myself to go for a walk or get to the gym. I never stuck at it consistently. I did discover how much I loved lifting weights though.

At the start of 2012 I dedicated the entire year to getting my life sorted out. Just one year. Only one little year that I avoided all those bad foods. That I finally got myself sorted and lost the weight I'd been carrying for far too long. Well I don't know what the difference was, but I feel like I've finally got my head in the game. I want this. I REALLY WANT THIS. It's not about looking skinny for others. This is for me. I can be dedicated. I can change my life. I can be the best ME that I can be.

Some days I'm scared that I'll slip back into my old habits but right now I'm pretty determined to not let that happen. I feel so much happier in my body now. I feel in control of things. And I really really want to be a runner. And I really really don't want to give my kids a weight complex like I've had all my life.

I have a few extra goals for this year:

1. Finish C25k (9 weeks)
2. Get to Dukan True Weight (hopefully in the next 2 months)
3. Complete consolidation (about 5-6 months after I start)
4. Run a quarter marathon in Oct/Nov (I've run/walked a half marathon before but I think I need to take this slow. A 10k in 5 months time is ambitious enough right now.) 
5. Start weight lifting when Surgeon gives okay and shape body a bit 

I'm excited about these goals. What is your next goal? Do you have to force yourself to exercise or do you enjoy it?
ZG

Week 1, day 1 - complete!

Last night as I was going to sleep the rain kept getting heavier and heavier. When I woke for my run at 6am, the rain was torrential. Hubby wouldn't let me go as at 6am in winter it's pitch black and I wouldn't be able to see the slippery spots when the rain is that hard. I was gutted.

Anyway usually 6am is my only time I can get out of the house as I'm on child care the rest of the time or it's night and dark again. But my hubby kindly came home a bit earlier and I got to do my first c25k before dinner. I actually really liked exercising at that time of day. Shame it's not really possible to do it at that time every day.

I'm really getting into this running thing. Every time I go out I like it more and more. WWangel you're right, it is addictive.

I've decided I seriously need to wean myself off protein bars. Not only are they WAY more expensive than a normal chocolate bar (no idea why) but they are too easy to grab, meaning I'm not eating real food. I want to eat more real food and use protein bars only when I'm out and that's less possible.

List of chores to do and hubby out tonight.
Catch ya tomorrow.
ZG

Rain rain go away...

Oh dear... it's raining. My couch to 5k starts in the morning and if it's raining I'll be gutted.

1. I need my iphone for the c25k app but it isn't waterproof
2. When my hair gets wet it goes crazy frizzy
3. I'm not loving the rain or getting wet

Right now I've got all my excuses out. I'm going to force myself out the door. Rain or shine. I can always come home for a hot shower, right! And I'll just have to start my c25k without the app. I'll just run for a minute every five. Can't be that hard can it?

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to do any weight lifting before I've checked with my surgeon (in three weeks time) so in the mean time I've been doing the same moves just using my body weight (lunges, squats, pushups, abs etc...) but man... I'm shaky from doing them tonight. I guess that's a good thing, means my muscles are actually working hard. I'm doing these three times a week.

Had some quality time with my sewing machine today. YAY. Love sewing. Check out my sewing blog  if you want to see what I've been making.
Enjoy the weekend, it's almost over :-(
ZG

It's my birthday and I'll eat low carb if I want to...

Today has been lovely. I got presents in bed and a cuppa tea. Then had yummy bacon and eggs!

Friends came up to visit (who are moving to China in a few months) so that was precious time together. Then a lovely dinner of Pizza and Raspberry Tart. Now before you all think I'll fallen off the wagon... it was pizza made with completely low-carb food: thin egg omelette base with meat, vege and cheese topping.
Dessert was a raspberry tart, also low carb (see Lynda's recipes), made with almond meal mostly in the base and sugar-free jelly, yoghurt and cream on the top. It was soooo delicious I had two pieces and feel quite nicely full now.

My next problem is... I have half the tart left... Lynda, if you're reading this, does it freeze to have some another day?

Water = 3litres today!

Can't wait to get started on my C25k.
ZG

I'm ready!

This is a photo, from my phone, of the view I've had this week while I've been out walking in the mornings. I feel like I'm ready to get into my C25k again. Starting Monday I'll keep my blog up to date with my progress. In fact I might even give my blog a facelift to celebrate :-)

I know I've said it over and over again but I really want to be a runner. So my blog facelift might emphasis that a bit more, now I'm nearly at the end of Dukan. Don't want to give up the blog so have to have a new project :-) and goal.

@SOS: water yesterday = BAD, water today = GREAT!! Thank's for checking on me and encouraging me!

It's my birthday tomorrow (26th NZ time) so I've made myself a treat. A raspberry tart thing made with all low-carb products (no wheat or sugar). I can't wait!
Have a great weekend
ZG

Water

My challenge to drink more water is HARD.... I'm forcing it down but it's not very enjoyable. Normally I love to drink water, but yesterday and today it's been a real challenge (takes a large gulp).

My little one year old is almost walking. It's so cute. She toddles between couches and coffee tables while I sit diligently counting her steps (I counted 16 in a row today). When she forgets what she's doing she usually takes more steps or when she's holding a teddy bear as she thinks someone is holding her hand. I love watching her develop but I'll miss the crawling.

I've been extra hungry the past few days. I've been eating a bit more as obviously my body needs it but my head starts worrying that I'll gain weight. And this morning I did gain but I think it's probably excess water (which will hopefully drop off again soon).

My mini goal at the moment is to get up before the kids wake and walk (fast fitness walk) three times a week (my husband takes the other three days). I know Dukan says to walk every day but I haven't been able to with kids and weather but I've still managed to lose. Anyway now I'm feeling a bit better I'll be walking three mornings a week and the other three days I'm doing some exercises to strengthen my core. When my Dr says it's okay I'll get back onto my Couch 2 5k programme, which I'm really excited about.

Well I better turn out the light or I won't get up in the morning (I'm very good at thinking up excuses).
ZG

Water Challenge

Anyone feel like joining me in a water challenge? I haven't been drinking enough (I just forget) so I thought this week I'm going to drink loads of water, sort of as an experiment to see if it really does make a difference to weight loss.

I think I'll set an alarm on my laptop or phone to remind me to drink a large glass every hour or something. Of course I'll need to be close to the bathroom all day (heh heh).

As predicted my weight has bounced up and down a bit in the past few days. Tomorrow I'm setting the alarm for 6am so I can get up and pound the pavement. Only walking at this stage til I feel healed enough from my op to start my 'couch to 5k' again.

Then as soon as the Doc gives me the okay I also want to add in some weight lifting. I just read the New Rules of Weight Lifting for Woman and I'm keen to give it a go. I've always loved weight lifting in the past but probably didn't use my whole body enough. I've got all winter to get into it so I look fit and strong for summer!

For those of you struggling with Dukan at the moment. Be encouraged. It does work. It hasn't been a straight or easy path for me. I've definitely fallen off, twice where I gained back quite a bit of weight. But I've clambered back up and started again, each time more and more determined and now I'm nearly at the end I'm even more motivated than when I started.

Have a great week everyone and drink lots of water!
ZG

A sneak peek...

I thought I'd give you a sneak peek at my weight loss photos. I know I'm still a kg (or 700g as of this morning) away from my true weight, but I took some photos this morning to compare and I was quite horrified at how bad I looked when I started.

I'm embarrassed to show you these photos. I know I wasn't super overweight but I had really let myself go. I look pregnant and I definitely wasn't. But I'm feeling very proud of where I am right now.

I'll do a full reveal when I'm at my goal :-)
Have a lovely weekend everyone!
ZG

Another goal bites the dust

Goal 4 met! I'm 1kg (2.2 lbs) away from my TRUE WEIGHT and my last goal (for now). It's very exciting!

I've noticed a definite pattern to my weight loss and my monthly cycle. It seems the middle of my cycle is WHOOSH week but the rest of the time I just bounce around neither losing or gaining much (so long as I'm careful). So I'm making the most of the whooshes this week before I start bouncing again. I'm hoping that by this time next month I'll be at my goal and true weight and can start on consolidation.

Consolidation: I'm not going to follow this in true Dukan style as I don't want to add wheat back into my life so I'll probably be adding things like nuts, and more fats. Although to be brutally honest, I have been having way more fat than Dukan allows already.

I'm also keen to start weight training again to build up my muscles and tone my still flabby areas.

I mentioned above that my True Weight is my last goal 'for now' because even though most people will think that 52kg (114 lbs) is almost underweight, for me (being petite and very small boned) it's slim but not skinny. I'm hoping with exercise and weight training I'll be able to gain a little muscle weight but lose a bit more fat. That's the theory anyway. I'm reading "the new rules of weight lifting for women" and it's really interesting.

Lots for me to think about and play around with when I reach my next goal. All in all I'm so happy eating this way. I'm liking myself again, I'm happy and it's not a hard eating lifestyle to follow as you don't have to record calories etc...
Happy dukaning everyone!
ZG

Long day

Bit of a hard day. My wound was pretty tender today and not looking as healthy as I'd like so I made a Dr's appointment. I knew if I waited til tomorrow I'd have to travel all the way to Auckland as we don't have Drs open on Sundays in my country town.

After waiting two LONG hours the Dr finally saw me and I probably have a little infection (awesome) so had to get some anti-biotics. Now I've read on other posts that some people gain wait while on this medication. Any truth in this? I guess if I expect to see a rise on the scales I won't freak out too much when it happens.

My sister-in-law told me I was looking quite skinny tonight. I'm so useless at taking compliments but today I actually managed a 'thank you'. I also managed to avoid eating cake and all sorts of other goodies. Go me!!!!

I FINALLY worked out how to subscribe to podcasts from my itunes account... for some reason I had 'don't allow podcasts' ticked in my preferences. Glad I've got that sorted now. Lots of listen to. YAY. After following a low-carb way of eating for over 8 months now and having amazing success with it, I'm really keen to help others as well. I don't want to shove it down people's throats though so I'll wait to be asked :-)

Nothing on TV tonight, might listen to some podcasts :-)
Have a good one
ZG

Hungry

Girls: do you find yourself hungry and eating more during your TOTM? I've been SOOO hungry this week. So hungry that I have not entirely stayed within the Dukan diet... but I have stuck to low-carb. I've eaten some nuts and seeds (made my own muesli - thanks Lynda at A change of life) with greek yoghurt.

Today I ventured out to the supermarket (with hubby to do my heavy lifting) and walking around the store wore me out a bit. Must rest this afternoon.

It's funny that when I'm not allowed to exercise I crave it. I keep looking at my dumbbells longingly and really want to get my running shoes out. I won't, but I want to :-)

Once I start my 'couch to 5k' again I'm going to be looking for a 5k race or 10k to run. I really want to be a runner again. And I'm looking forward to running in winter. There's nothing like running to get warm on a frosty morning.

Any new Dukan dieters out there?
ZG

Where is the pain?

How long do drugs work? For some amazing reason I still haven't had any pain. I'm hobbling around but I'm not really feeling very sore or anything. WOW.

I'm not allowed to lift for 6 weeks so that's the hardest thing. Little Miss One doesn't understand that.

I can't wait to be all healed now... my feet just want to get into running again, but I'm going to be patient. I don't want to have any set backs.

The scales have been bouncing up a bit the last few days but I haven't been moving around as much and I've probably been eating a little more. Although it's all been dukan friendly. I'm not too worried about that just yet though.

My hubby is amazing. He is being mummy AND daddy this week. Thanks to our generous church family he hasn't had to cook dinners yet. Dinner arrives each night for us and so far I've been able to eat just the meat/veg part, so that's worked out well for me too.

Hope you are all well. It's FREEZING here in NZ. Very early for such cold weather.
ZG (typing from my warm bed - heh heh)

Home and happy

Just a quick note. I'm home from my surgery and it all went well. Tomorrow when my anaesthetic wears off I'll know the full damage but I'm pretty happy to be home and finally fixed up. I even took my own food to hospital to eat. Go me!!!!

I'll keep reading your blogs and update as I'm able!
ZG

Chicken meatballs - YUM!

Tomorrow is my surgery... feeling a tad nervous. Not allowed to eat after midnight tonight. Last time I didn't eat for a day my weight dropped a KG and amazingly I didn't put it back on when I started eating again. That would be a nice by-product of my surgery ;-)

Oh and I made some delicious Chicken Meatballs for dinner tonight with an onion/tomato sauce. YUM YUM YUM.

Keep on eating well my friends and I'll see you on the other side.
ZG