Day 43

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After this mornings weigh-in, I was pretty happy especially after so much hydration last night… It was a good feeling. So when I knew I had a few things in town today to take care of, it was without much-a-do that I set off on another walking expedition.

I hate a specialist meeting in town and I was running late, so I caught the bus into town (otherwise I would have walked!). As can be seen from the trip, I travelled from Macquarie Street, to King Street for lunch (chicken schnitzel and gravy sandwhich – a fav of mine from a particular shop there), then onto capital square (just up from Central Railway station. They didn’t have what I was after and so I decided to go for a walk out to Moore Park and see if they had it there, but a friend of mine called me and said he was on his way to Entech…

Audio, Video and flashy LEDs, who could resist. Although there weren’t many scantily clad women there, there was enough to keep the inner child excited for the afternoon, before heading off to Broadway to do some final shopping.

I got to Broadway only to find the whole shopping centre was shut-down with police crime scene tape and fire brigade tape sealing off all the entrances and people lined up for miles… Apparently they had a power problem there, or something and had to evacuate the building… Whatever, I just walked on home.

I didn’t hit 8 km today (which has usually been the benchmark I have noted), but 7½ is just as good. Not a hard walk today, my feet are still recovering from yesterday.

FOOD for the day: Chicken Schnitzel on brown bread, no butter – but with gravy. A curry beef pie from harris Street, 200g or so of egg and bacon pie (like a quiche without the pastry) and a protein shake. And about 3 litres of water.

It’s official, 10kgs in 42 days

One of my main goals at the start was to have a dressed weight of under 80kg. My ideal weight for height is 75kg. I can’t remember when I was last under 80. It was probably 5-6 years ago… Maybe longer.

I was just talking to a mate about the weightloss, it seems that I work easier when there is an ulterior motive. For example: yesterdays squash, I wasn’t keen to go outside until I remembered there was something to do… The squash. Then I needed a way to get there and I came up with the idea of walking. And I was keen to do it. 10 minutes earlier, I did not want to leave my comfy computer chair.

Using rough figures, half way is 92kg. I should be there in another week or so. I know the first half is easier than the second half, but I do have a bottle of wild turkey riding on it. I have to be under 80kg within this financial year. Which brings me back to my last point… I have an ulterior motive (other than just weightloss and being healthy).

Day 42

Can you get arrested for abuse of your feet?

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Well, it does take a lot to get me motivated, but when I do… There’s not much stopping me. After a pretty bad weekend (alcohol Friday night, a bowl of wedges and a recovery hamburger and chips on Saturday) I really had NO inclination to do any exercise for days.

I promised myself that today I would, but it was still a challenge… I didn’t want to.

Then I was reminded of a squash game I had today in North Sydney. Immediately I pulled up the location on google maps and mapped out my walk (see right). I did my usual Ho Chi Minh shuffle most of the way to the harbour bridge (stopping twice to repack my backback and answer my phone)… Walked the majority of the bridge and finished off with walking the rest of the way to the venue, North Sydney Leagues club.

We played a solid hour and fifteen minutes of hard paced squash (this guy is far superior to me and runs me ragged). We then walked back to North Sydney railway station and I caught a train home. I didn’t do my usual weigh in this morning (due to not going to bed last night), so after a shower when i got home I jumped on the scales. I was a bit worried that the 4-5 litres of water I consumed today was going to put me over yesterdays weight, but shock horror…

I BROKE the 10KG mark!!! I weighed in at 95.0kg.. A whopping 10.5kg since I started about 42 days ago.

Today’s meals have been a bit light on, consisting of copious amounts of water, pork crackling, a chicken “puff” (chicken filled pastry with vegies), a 2 protein shakes (with a possible third before I go to bed since I am a little hungry about now).

Anyway, tomorrows weigh in should be interesting… But I have no exercise planned. (Must think of something!)

I am going to be so sore tomorrow… but, recalling an earlier adage, there is an expansion on the idea:

nothing tastes as good as being thin feels…    even if it kills you

Day 31 Pt II

Well, I never really got any sleep today, and a mate of mine dragged me back to the gym this afternoon. I am thinking I have done a little too much for one day. I kid-you-not, I honestly don’t think I am going to be able to walk tomorrow. At this very moment my legs feel like jelly. Just standing is difficult, let alone walking. I feel like a toddler learning to walk. I can’t believed how much I have sweat today both this afternoon and this morning.

At the gym, I met with the instructor I first met when I joined. Her name is (I have no idea how to spell it, but sounds like Tire/tyre with a ‘K’). Kya? I have told her from the start that I am keen to lose weight and that weight training, or muscle building exercises are an after-thought. ie, not for serious consideration at the moment. I just want to work my heart and lose this flab.

She got me into compound exercises. Which is just a fancy way of saying “let’s work a few muscle groups together”. I worked these into a set which consisted of lunges to one side, lunges to the other side, squats, and then push-ups. (I need another upper body exercise to round this out – I’ll work on that).

Set 1:
10 lunges left
10 lunges right
15 squats
15 push-ups

Set 2:
10 lunges one side
8 lunges the other*
10 squats
15 push-ups

Set 3:
6 lunges each side, then
3 lunges each side
8 squats, and
10 push-ups

Set 4:
Are you kidding! There is no set 4! I actually wanted there to be 4 sets, but I was physically whacked. So I then wrapped the session up with 6-7 minutes on the rowing machine.

I didn’t realise at first, but I forgot to set the resistence on the machine and it was set to maximum, but I thought I would give it a go. I got to the 5 minute mark ok, got out 1100 metres, but couldn’t get any further. Took a five minute break and got back into it and died about 90 seconds into it.

I think I have done enough for one day — but only just!

Max detected heart-rate (at the end of 5 mins on the rower – 154BPM, which according to charts is about 85% of my peak.

Dinner: Bacon Omelet with curry.

Day 31


View Larger Map
Repost of old map. The three markers indicate where I made it to
on each of these walks so far attempted. The further left the mark,
the further I got (after having made it around the park itself)

Today has started off with a bang.

I did my usual (like third time) Centennial Park run. I got 7 minutes into it before I had to start walking, although that 7 minutes is more like a Ho Chi Minh shuffle for me. But a work-up, none-the-less.

I set myself a goal on this run, to get as far around Centennial Park in the hour as possible. I was meeting all benchmarks with flying colours (although I felt I was a little slow to Moore Park golf course). I hit my previous 1hr point on the run, at about 51 minutes, maybe less. And I could see the park gates in sight. 6 minutes to go… Then 5…. Then 4… I was through the gates…

3½ minutes, then 3 minutes… Getting a few steps further everytime. I hit one of the roads into the scg, and still had a minute left. I got past the traffic lights and felt like collapsing.

1 HOUR!!!

I then eased the pace right back, it was more a dawdle than a walk. I wanted to be truly rested so that I could get on the rowing machine for 10 minutes. The time to beat, 9m42…

The time I got… 9m52.

10 seconds slower, but I would have to say I was more rooted today than I have been in any workout in the last 15 years! Gievn the effort with the run/jog/walk this morning, I think I can let myself off 10 seconds! LOL…

Time for a shower and some sleep.

It’s 5 o’clock in the morning…

and wtf am I doing up at this hour? To be honest… NOTHING!!!

But I now I face the quandary: Do I go to bed (and sleep most of the day away), or do I wait a little longer and go for a walk? I had planned to get up early this morning and go to the gym, but I don’t think I can hang around that long… although it is 5am and the gym does open at 6.30…

I have done nothing all night. Actually, I have done a little (synonym for a LOT) of surfing. For nothing in general, and everything on the side. I have been really good lately, I have found that with my regular exercise I am generally going to bed at a reasonable time. I am trying to make it a rule that I go to bed before the next day (ie, before midnight). And generally I do.

Right now I am toying with the idea of going for one of my Centennial Park walks and finishing off at the gym on the way home for a 10 minute row!

I don’t believe I am about to do this… But I have just got changed into some walking gear and got my gym/work pass ready… (my mother will be proud!)

Sun Poisoning

A word to the wise (because you are all wiser than I). When you go for a walk, when you go outside:

Wear a hat,
and slip, slop, slap!

The other day when I went for a walk to Bondi Beach, admittedly I had only planned to be in the sun for a little more than an hour. And if things had of gone to plan, that might have been ok. But in the end I spent many hours in the sun… Too many hours. Too many hours without a hat, too many hours without a long sleeved shirt, and too many hours without some sunscreen.

You guessed it, it was a Sydney bright, hot, cloudless, sunny summer day. I got burnt to a cinder! I wore a singlet, and my shoulders got burnt beyond belief. The pain over the last week has been intense. Not being able to sleep on either side (as I normally do) has made sleep restless. Laying still on my back is uncomforting at best, but just the slightest roll in any direction made me soon realise how bad my shoulders were. Luckily the backs of the shoulders were bearable otherwise I would have been in real trouble.

Naturally enough the shoulders blistered up. They were tiny blisters and hundreds of them. The other night I was walking out the balcony door while on the phone and was not concentrating… I fell to one side and scrapped my left shoulder on the door. Imagine a hard metal object running along the side of a thousand blisters.

Some of them popped, but most of them formed about 7-8 larger ones. Very large blisters that now were putting pressure on my skin. Over the next few days most of these popped and now I am back to a few low lying blisters that seem to be ok. My skin is almost back to a touchable stage.

I have been pumping Aloe Vera and a local anesthetic onto my shoulders, which has seemed to help. But I have learned my lesson, next time:

SLIP, SLOP, SLAP!

Day 22


View Bondi Beach Bash in a larger map

Today was going to be a walk to, around and back from Centennial Park. Then probably something like a walk into the city, catch a ferry to manly and have lunch. Half way around Centennial park, I decided that Bondi was a better choice for today.

So I kept walking… and walking…

It just so happened that I ran into one of my brothers. I don’t see him very often and I recognised one of his company trucks in the area. I gave him a call, and sure enough it was him. We met up and had lunch on the beach. A beautiful day and lots of nice things to look at.

At the end I decided to walk back (punishment actually). I was having a good lunch, and he was having a bad one. I had grilled fish and he was having chips with chicken salt. I pinched a very small handful. So my punishment was to walk home again (I had intended to catch a bus!)

All told (as per the map), the walk was 19km. The route to and from took 1h40 and 1hr45 respectively. I spent about 2 hours there.

100 kg’s

Wow! Friday (gone) marks the (almost) breaking of a milestone. I hit the scales for 100kg NEAT! Which means that in the next couple of days I’m going to OFFICIALLY be UNDER 100kg’s!!!

For me, that is VERY exciting!

It’s been MANY months since I was in double figures, probably closer to a year, but I can’t be sure. I know I’m losing the weight a little quick at the moment, but here’s to a whole new lifestyle. As I’ve said before, although I am on a diet, I plan to make my eating habits based around what I am doing now. I have really started to enjoy my salad and so I feel that this time everything is on track.

I have tried diets before, but this is the only time I have really been motivated enough to do some real work (ie, exercise included). I have found that I (eventually) enjoy getting outside. It’s just a struggle to get out there :^)

I have been lacking a bit lately on the workout side (and I know it’s a bad excuse, but I do blame work). Hopefully it will be evident next week when I spend most days really getting into it.

Talk is cheap… Result scream at you… Stay tuned!

Day 16

Mum rang me on the weekend. She lives in a country town about 6-7 hours from Sydney (it all depends how you drive).

She is coming to visit. Needs to get to the big smoke for some sanity.

So we are going to catch a movie and go for a walk (she recently found out about my fitness kick – and also found out that I’ve done Centennial Park a few times). So I walked to Broadway (via the other side of Central since I wanted to get my haircut first). We then caught “the movie” and then (unfortunately) drove over to Centennial Park and did a power walking lap there-of.

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After the walk we made our way back to my place and then caught a meal at the Woolpack Hotel (Redfern). The chef mucked up my meal and gave me battered fish instead of grilled, but I ate it anyway. Although I am finding I am starting to NOT enjoy some of the bad things so much anymore. To be honest, it wasn’t ‘his bad’, I wasn’t clear in my ordering. I just expected him to know what I wanted since he serves me every other day and he knows about my diet. So, two pieces of fish, and a heap (and I mean a HEAP) of salad.

Can someone die from eating too much salad?

Total distance today: a little more than 6km