Smashing it out!

OK, well in response to Dave's post today I thought I better fill you all in with my activities for the past week. Monday and Wednesday are Taekwondo sessions at our local school. I joined the club in 1987, and I must say that it keeps getting better and better. The people are 100% what keeps me going back, week after week, year after year. I had what I can only describe as one of the best nights ever on Wednesday, doing some traditional training and forms work. Then I paired up with another David which I will call "mini you"! "Mini you" has been training for 20 years or so, and cross trained in Brazilian Ju Jitsu and alike. We played around with self defence and takedown's for 45 minutes or so, and we both learned some pretty cool stuff. Very rewarding! Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays are Jazzercise. Now I know that it is typically a women's domain, but my feminine side has been making a break for it, and I have been dancing around, jumping about having a blast. These 1 hour sessions are awesome, and offer a great cardio workout, plus toning even past of your body. Yep, my whole body aches like a b@st@rd, but in a good way. The instructors are friendly and funny... which turns a "chore" into an activity! I am looking forward to next class already. Did I mention that we went out for brunch afterwards and had eggs, bacon, beans and mushrooms!! Booyah!

Not an embaressing week

Well Steve,
I finally knocked out a decent week, despite lingering man flu.

• a 'body balance' class on tuesday - sort of a tai chi, yoga, pilates inspired thing (I can't help think of 'yogalates" from the OC)
• cardio on thursday - 15 min job on treadmill, 15 mins on the bike then 10 mins in the weights room
• cardio and weights firday - 20 min jog then 3 sets on the express circuit

feeling it a bit this morning, but otherwise golden.  Bit of a lazy day today but might hit the garden tomorrow and back to the gym on monday.

10% Iron Man

Well..I have to say my efforts have been pretty crap.  On the plus side my weight hasn't really gone up either.  I've been pretty steady at 255 pounds.  There has been a bit going on at work that has prevented me from getting out of a day (I am taking over a new section at work and making some radical changes so that is taking a lot of time).  On the plus side, I have talked my 2-I-C (Dave#2) into joining the gym with me and we have been a few times though admitted not quite to our target level :-)

I've also been recently motivated by other factors in life, so I feel the need to take it all a bit more serioously.  Dave#2 was originally aiming for a half iron man (1.95km swim, 90km bike, 21km run) in december but life has gotten in his way too.  So we came up with the idea of a 10% iron man event.  That's our first stretch goal.  So that will be a 390m (rounded up to 400m) swim, an 18 km bike ride, and a 4.22km run.  We figure that is something we can aim for without demotivating ourselves.  Maybe you'd like to join us (virtually) for the 'event'.  I'm not sure what a 10% iron man trophy would look like...maybe a pair of shoes with the legs cut off at the ankles or something hehe.

Food, as you have rightly stated, is the perennial problem here for me too.  We've passed the shortest day now, so hopefully the days will start to become more encouraging.  Although to be honest there is very little encouragement to be found in your average Canberra morning.  Getting up for a pre-breakfast walk demands a little more in the will power department when it's -8 C. 

I am very glad you have reactivated us here, I want to hit the new year as fit and healthy as possible.  I'd be pleased if i could drop below 100 kilos for 2013.  thats 220 pounds or 35 pounds loss.  I've ordered the last parts i need for my "road" bike (its really an old MTB with semi slick tyres and a padded seat).  some parts were failing so I decided to replace and upgrade.  Got some nice shimano XT groupset components which should make it pretty slick indeed.

Thanks for being our conscience Steve!

Primal fear! (Of being overweight)

Hey peeps, long time no post I know. Glad to see that you were on the mend Dave, it's not so nice when people get sick. I have been doing a small amount of exercise during the weeks lately, but the major changes are still with my eating. I am hardy ever hungry. I weighed in yesterday at 234 pounds! And I attribute this to eating primal / paleo type foods for the past 5 months. Google Mark's Daily Apple to see what it is about. There have been a couple of falls from grace where we have had Indian takeaway, or a piece of fish from a restaurant but hey, I feel great. Sugar is gone... And I say that because in the past few months that I have had a sugar binge, I felt totally flat afterwards and almost sick. My pre Christmas weight you might remember was 267.2 pounds, so I am 33 pounds down now and not looking back. So Dave, how is your journey going?

In Flew End Tzar

Ok...so I am starting to feel almost normal again.  After 4 weeks I am not actually coughing ALL night and all day, though I still have to abandon the bed from time to time, just to let my wife get a bit of sleep through the constant coughing.  I had 4 courses of antibiotics, was off work for 2 1/2 weeks and have generally felt completelty crap for a month. 

So I think I might be ready to tentatively re-enter the competition.  I wont be breaking any records exercise wise but I feel up to at least showing up again.  I could do with a proper night's sleep too while I'm making lists.

Apologies to one and all for my absence.

Perhaps you could think about setting a new challenge on Friday evening Steve.  Preferably one that wont kill me.  An eating challenge would suit me best this week (been lots of sick boy comfort food lately).  Anything involving too much exertion sends me into coughing fits that has me dizzy on my feet.

I must be like 12,000 points behind by now.  I weighed in the other day at 254.4 ipad pounds.  Thats a measley 3.5 pounds below starting weight 2 months ago. I didn't even have the good grace to lose 10 pounds through illness!

Be gentle with me Steve! (But I'm still secretly proud of you for doing so well)

Dave

Crack cocaine in moderation....?

OK, so I got your attention. (Couldn't think of anything else to write.)

How are you all going?

I am bludy good, fanks for asking!

Some funny and cool things have happened over the past few weeks, including but not limited to:

1. Quite a few people noticing that I am shrinking. (Yay!)
2. Two people have even rubbed my tummy. (There is no genie in there)
3. Been back to Taekwondo, tearing muscles and getting flexible. <- Love!!
4. Eating well, had pizza, steak sandwich, some pasta, rack of lamb and baked veggies and Sushi.
5. Had some Pear Cider <- Not cool..... I'll explain shortly.

OK, so here is where I just want to put on record that introducing sugar back into my eating plan sent me on a food bender that makes Charlie Sheen look like an alter boy!

We just cannot be friends anymore Sugar! I mean it, you bring out the worst in me.

There has only been a couple of occasions in the past two weeks, but coming off the sugar high, near on makes it impossible to resist eating JUNK FOOD!

If you did not watch the Sunday Night program on Sugar Called Sweet Poison, go and check it out for yourself. http://au.news.yahoo.com/sunday-night/

The information presented comes from http://sweetpoison.com.au/

OK, so that's it for now.... Just wanted to keep you updated.

I am happier, healthier and lighter!!

The new weigh in......

243.6108 Google pounds, down from 245.15 Google pounds on the 20th Feb.
That is all. :-)

Throw him to the floor centurion!

Ouch..... OK, so it was back to Taekwondo tonight after an extended break of about 3 years due to broken feet and general laziness.

Had a very casual intro warmup, and then some self defence with Dave and Taff. After about 25 minutes of being tossed around like a rag doll, I am finally tenderised quite nicely.

Seriously, great to be back on the floor after such an extended break, and I know that I am going to feel the pain tomorrow, but it's a good pain.

I have a small problem with the weigh in.... I have been sometimes calculating the my weight in pounds as kg * 2.2, and sometimes I use Google Calc and enter 112kg in lb and it gives me the pounds..... But you see, there is a problem with that. Google Calc uses 2.20462262185 pounds per Kg.

So..... I am lighter, but a little bit mathematically heavier than last weigh in......

This morning I am 245.15 Google pounds! (Not the fake 244.64)

Dave, I say Dave.... Where are you champ???

Geek fest 2012

I am doing a training course in Melbourne for the week, and it is catered :-o

The thing is, I am in IT and the trainers seem to have ordered “geek fare”.... Pastries, cakes and biscuits and a barrage of sweet drinks. Did I mention the leaning tower of lamingtons?? No joke, there was about 200 of the things. Normally this would have bought me undone, but my craving for sugar has just gone.

Yesterday was a little bit of a challenge, but I managed to eat pretty well considering.

Home made muesli in the morning, a spinach wrap for lunch with a side of coleslaw and I totally skipped the morning and afternoon sugar assault.
It's pretty warm here at the moment, and I had about 1.5 litres of water and two coffee's (At least that's what it said on the urn anyway).

To be honest, I was starving by 6pm, but my sister is a chef and put together the most excellent chicken wrap I have ever had. Tortilla wrap, rice, Greek yoghurt, cheese, carrot, capsicum, cucumber, skinless chicken breast and a dash of home made plum sauce.

No scales to weigh myself today, but I am feeling great.

Warm apple pie! The Justification you have been waiting for!

So, this is where my best intentions would normally fall in a screaming heap. I am in Melbourne, where every 20 meters on any street there is a choice of some of the most amazing food experiences available.
"Normally" I would be bursting a the seams having gorged myself on, typically, junk food!
Something has really changed.... I am not interested in eating the bad stuff (burgers, chips, biscuits and milkshakes).

Having said that, my sister is a chef and made dinner and fresh apple pie for the wife and I on the weekend, and it was something that I really wanted, so I ate a piece of that pie, it was delicious! No guilt here!

So... 5 days ago I was 247.5..... Today, 242.9 pounds. 4.6 pounds <- That's crazy.
Do I now tell you about the Thai food last night and pizza for brunch today?? I don't think I need to trouble you with all that blah blah blah.....

Sugar.... who are you again????

Bless me Dave, for I have sinned......

It has been two weeks since my last confession......

OK, I have no excuse for not updating this blog. (Not that will satisfy some readers, yes you Greg Y)

The sugar week was not that bad, apart from 5 pear cider drinks which did not list the amount of sugar anyway, 2 litres of milk.... There was bugger all refined sugar. No bread.... No junk food at all. I even refused soft drink and Tim Tams that were offered. Plenty of eggs, meat, veggies and nuts. I have not eaten that much fruit, probably only 4 serves per week.

Did naff all exercise as well in the sugar week.... Bit busy with work, and wanted to relax when I did have time off. I am stil feeling on top of the world, and have plenty of energy to work right through the day.

I am going to withhold the number of hours that I have managed for this weeks challenge... The suspense is going to crush Dave, psychological warfare time!

I will say that I weighed in this morning and got a bit of a shock.... 247.5 pounds!

Beats my pre Christmas weight of 267.2 pounds, 20 pounds down, no diet and no exercise....!

A client remarked to me yesterday, "Gee you have lost some weight, what DIET are you on, or did you have a lapband"...... My response "No DIET, I have just chosen to eat REAL food" They exclaimed "Oh, so your on the low carb sugar free DIET then!" "Hmmm, NO butthead" I said, "I am just eating REAL normal food".

I truly have lost the craving for junkfood and sugar. Weird and hard to explain to sugar junkies!

I hope Dave punches out some big numbers this Week And Realises For All Real Exercise there is reward! <- Did you see what I did there?? I crack myself up....!

W3D3 - A special Kind of Hell

Hi Everyone,

First a weekend report.  I went off like a frog in a sock!  Staurday I did 3 hours fo solid gardening and then on Sunday I went bezerk out there.  Starting at about 10am, I finally came in after an hour and a half of mowing at 830 that night.  I had some breaks throughout the day, but I'm claiming a quite conservative 5 hours.  Rest assured there was lots of digging, building new raised veggie garden bed, digging, planting, digging, weeding, digging and various other garden tasks.  Including digging. 3 + 5 for 8 hours total.

Today however, after a 6 month hiatus, I went to the gym at lunch time.  I did a "hi reps" pump class and can report that it's a special kind of hell. After the initial leg work...lunges and squats...i could barely stand.  In fact throughout the biceps work that followed I was in danger of collapsing as my legs uncontrollably shook and spasmed.  Luckily I was soon distracted by other muscle burning sensations and an urge to vomit during the ab component. I obviously survived, somehow managed to navigate down the stairs afterwards despite my legs not wanting to hold me up and walked back to work.  Another hour to the total.  9 hours total "out there".

I've watched a couple of TED talks tonight including this very short one entreating us all to Try Something New for 30 Days.  Hard to argue with something as simple as that.  I will be having a little think about how I might do something along these lines over the next week or so. 

Signing off for now!

Dave

Week 3 - Just Get Out There

Ok Week 3 begins after what can only be described as an abysmal week 2 on my part.

I didn't count my sugar properly as challenged by Steve so I am conceding 3 points to Steve unless he confesses that he didn't count his sugar properly either.

Life was determined to get in the way this week.  I don't know how many calories I burned carrying my gym gear to work and home again but I'm pretty sure it would have been better had I actually made it to the gym instead of getting stuck on conference calls, dealing with a seemingly endless stream of random crises and so forth.  Just quietly, this week wont be much chop either as a whole bunch of the executive governance committees meet this week which always makes my work day busy...not to mention Senate Estimates.

I did manage to get one lunch walk in by doubling it up with a walk to the hospital and back (4km) to visit a mate who had just had a kidney whipped out in double quick time.  1 week from first diagnosis to going home minus a kidney and a bread loaf sized mass.  A bit of exercise and an encouragement to 'do something' about general health.

On the plus size I am minus size.  At week 3 start weigh in I am now 2 pounds lighter. I am claiming 1 bonus pound from week 1 for walking nearly as far as Steve.  I am conceding 3 bonus pounds to Steve for Week 2 challenge considering I didn't do it properly (unless he confesses that he didn't either in which case I'll claim1 pound back and give him 2).  I'm not sure how much weight Steve has lost since we began so I will post the score as...

Dave  3  -  5+?  Steve

Week 3 Challenge - Just Get Out There
Do some exercise.  Anything.  Walking, swimming, gardening, cycling, cardio, tai chi, taikwaendo, whatever.  If it's off the lounge and doing something that burns calories at a rate above what your normal work day would burn, then it counts for this challenge.  This is about converting idle time to healthy time. 

"Hours Out There" is the measurement.  Apologies for not posting this yesterday Steve, I thought this was ok because you can claim anything you did yesterday no problems.

Week 1 - The Score

So when I weighed in this morning (weigh yourself Steve if you haven't) I was 257.9 lb down to 256.2 lb, but given I decided when I started this that we should score only the complete pounds rounded down, I score ZERO pounds (despite losing 1.7 pounds).  I have to hope for some sympathy from the viewers to grab a bonus pound from the voting.

We'll update this one post for scoring purposes. 

Dave 0 + ?      ? + ? Steve

Week 2 challenge - Substance abuse.

OK, Mr Dave..... Time to fess up about your substance abuse.

I have been abusing the white powder for WAY too long, and it's time that I admitted to myself and other just how bad this addiction is.

This week, we are tracking SUGAR consumption! Aaarrrggghhh the horror!

The winner of this weeks challenge with be the person who consumes the least amount of sugar. This will be calculated by the using the Carbohydrates - Sugars value on packaged food and drinks, or a Google search!

A teaspoon of sugar will count as 6 grams of sugar for the purpose of this test.
One slice of any bread will be 8 grams of sugar.

OK, my breakfast today was coffee with 3g, Baked beans 6g and a slice of bread 8g which is a total of 17grams of sugar.

The end is nigh! Oh, actually it's here! Week one done.

OK, so I have been a bit slack and not updated for a couple of days, but...... I did some more walking. Another 2.5km on the 27th.
Australia Day was a lazy day inside...... Guests for dinner... (An excuse not to go walking, at least I am honest.)

The cardio work that Tash has me doing is pretty cool, I have added hand weights now to a few routines. She has modelled her training style to resemble Navy Seal training. There is a lot of swearing and throwing things, and the occasional kick in the ribs.
I asked to be whipped, but she isn't into that sorta thing ;-)

I was totally inspired by Dave's Forrest Gump walk... Top effort that! Obviously I am going to have to watch out for him, he is not the crinkly old man that I thought he was!

Now, what heinous task can I dream up for next weeks instalment of 508Pounds????? Bwahahahahahaa!

Anybody, anybody??? Bueller? Bueller?

W1D6 - River Ramblings

Well, last day of the Week 1 challenge...no score.

But yesterday was a whole different matter.  a 12km bushwalk along the picturesque Murrumbidgee River.  Not fast going by any means, I'd have done a lot more than 12km in 3.5 hours if I was walking on paths around the lake (for example).  Nevertheless a lovely way to spend the day, though I was pretty buggered by the end.

That puts my total score for the week at 21.83km.  What say the hare?  I count 26.62km from Steve from his posts.  Any more hidden walks up your sleeve there buddy?

New week starts tomorrow with weigh in and the voting starts to allocate the points!  have your say how they should be distributed.  Also Steven will be posting next week's challenge (I made up this week's to get the ball rolling).

In training for Australia Day!!

Ello ello ello, what do we have ere then?
Australia Day eve...

"She" dragged my screaming carcass out of bed this morning at 6:30am, I REALLY wanted to sleep in..... Did the short walk, 2.5km.

Poached egg on a slice of bread, and half a can of phart pellets had me satisfied till lunchtime, where I then enjoyed a Chicken Pesto Ceasar salad and OJ with my great friend and all round nice guy, Mr David Waldon (Never lend this man your car).

I even rejected the offer of Tim Tam's from a client.... Something is happening here... Woohoo!

Another 20 minutes of cardio and hand weights before dinner, my calves and quads are pumped.

Dinner, half a skinless chicken boob with dukkah, 3 veg and quinoa <- Yeah, you want it!!!

Another 5km down to the school and back, and that is the day... Today, I think I owned it!

Thanks to Tash for the encouragement. I need a lot more people, send it to me!!!

W1D5 - Not quite habit

Yes, i have very sneakily claimed underdog status by...err...being the underdog. It is incredibly cunning of me I know. I draw the panel's attention to Steve's "usual 4.5 km walk" and invite them to compare with my "usual sitting around on the couch eating crap", asking only that they draw an appropriate conclusion.

Tuesday's efforts....non existent. No lunch time walk due to a farewell lunch for a couple of my troops. But I did take a lead from Steve and stocked up on vitamins and so forth, including some vitamin b. Steve was advocating the use of b3 as a real help to boosting energy, but the tablets I have are 100 mg whereas he was talking about 1500, so will be interesting to see how different I feel in a day or so. technically I am not supposed to exercise on immunology day but I think a gentle walk will be ok as I am now several years into treatment.

No excuses for tomorrow obviously as its a public holiday, but I don't think a big one is on the cards. I'm feeling quite stiff following the efforts so far. I might mix it up a little by heading off the beaten track and walking one of Canberra's nearby trails. The 'Bush Capital' has some very convenient locations even in the suburbs for getting some bush air. Just snakes to worry about there seem to have been a lot of them this year.

Evening Update

Ack! foiled again, lunch with the boss stopped the lunchtime walk and now that I am home there are looming thunderstorms!  The only positive to speak of was that I consumed a snack box full of celery and carrot sticks (after having eaten a grilled chicken and bacon burger for lunch....with fries).

The happy wanderers.....

I can see what Dave is doing, and he is very very sneaky. Making you all "think" that he is a poor old man (which he is)... And painting me as some urban freedom fighter that is going to join the French Foreign Legion to use it as a bootcamp training exercise. (They rejected my application because "I am not of sound mind or some shite").

Monday saw our usual walk to Clarence and return, notching up another 4.5km. Followed by 20 minutes of cardio.

Tuesday's walk of shame was a mere 2.5km and some upper body hand weight work, what can I say....It's better than nothing!

Tomorrow is another day..... Lets see what Dave can punch out on Wednesday. (He lives in Canberra, maybe a member of parliament??)

Week 1 Day 3 - Tortoise paces himself

Well given that rather than exercise tonight I gorged myself at one of Canberra's fancier restaurants for our anniversary I thought I had better get out and pound the pavement at lunch. So I shot down a fruit cup (two fruits) and headed out for a lunchtime wander. Feeling a little stiff from last evening's walk I was even more stately in my perambulations today. A spookily exact 4 km over 54 minutes brings my challenge total to 9.83 km. Still well short of Steve's Paris to Dakar looking numbers. God only knows what he'll manage today.

Week 1 Day 2 - Tortoise starts his Race

Well after a very slow start to the race (and after watching the hare tear off into the distance) the lumbering tortoise has finally made a move. A walk this evening netted 5.83 km at a very sedate 1 hour 13 minutes. Not exactly a blistering pace but then again the cunning hare neglected to mention he was already 6 weeks into some GI Joe Navy Seal Commando Killer Training Programme. But some kms on the scoreboard may at least score me a bit of the sympathy vote!

All guns blazing..... Jan 22nd 2012

January 22nd 2012

Hey peeps, Steve here. I fueled up on 3 poached eggs, some bacon and a heap of mushrooms for breaky, followed by a 5km morning walk.
I am popping some pills! A multivitamin, krill, 1000mg Vit C, RDI of D and 1500mg of B3.
So far today I have also had a coffee and 1.5L of water.
Did 20 minutes of cario work with Tash, now having a break before the night session.

Game on - January 21st 2012

I have thrown down the gauntlet Dave. (I didn't like the colour of it anyway)

Fueled up on 3 egg omelette for breaky with mushroom and tomato followed by a 9.62km morning walk.
Tash has got some great cardio routines for me, which I have started slowly on.
About 15 minutes.

For those out in Cyberspace that are interested, I have weened myself off sugar over the past 3 weeks. I have only had about 4 soft drinks since Christmas, and practically NO junk food.
I have been through a drive thru 4 times, and each time ONLY purchased a sugar free drink. (If that is not willpower, what is?)

Over to you big boy!

508 Pounds

It's a blog right? It's a collaborative effort by two friends tackling the challenge of living healthy lives in a stressful and complicated world. It's a supportive environment of like minded folks helping each other in the day to day challenges of life. It's a way to share ideas, tips and plans. It's a hippy collective, back-slapping, buddy system bromance. Right?

Nope. It's war.

It's a "pounds off face-off"

And it starts today, Saturday 21 January 2012.

Dave
257 pounds

Steve
251 pounds

Week 1 Challenge
Most distance walked.

Not just wandering around the office, but deliberately walked as exercise and tracked by satellite using our trusty iPhones.

Viewer Participation
Every week 3 bonus pounds will be awarded for the challenge based on the 'cheers of the crowd'.  That's you dear reader.  Yes, you will all get to vote on how the 3 bonus pounds will be allocated. Will you give all 3 to one contender because the other has been slack? Or was it a close contest, so the winner gets 2 and the loser 1?  We stand in judgement before you all.

Let the Games commence!

Dave 0 - Steve 0