Swimming oddity, in a good way, and a watery NSV ...

First to report.. that NSV! I have been following a set progam from a web site called Swimfit (details on my exercise goals page) and last night (after thinking maybe for the last 3 sessions) I realised that I have defintely got to the point where my current program isnt challenging anymore and its time to move on to a harder one!

Its so great to have such a tangible example of the improvement in my fitness level that isn't just subjective to how I feel on a certain day (you know the kind of thing I mean, one day you can walk up a hill easily and then another for some reason its a big struggle so you dont know where you are).
This is a case of real sustained progress and it feels Grrreeeaaaaaatttttt!!!!!! :-)))))))

Overall I feel great this week, I am finding sticking to my points easy, am keen to put in the exercise minutes, and generally feeling relaxed and happy in my own skin... I think it has a lot to do with being able to just about see the chance to have reached my 4st loss goal by the time I go on holiday - 7lbs to lose and 4 more WI's ...  so close, if I dont make it then it certainly wont be for lack of effort LOL

Also in swimming news: If you have read my posts before you will know that I have been starting to get concerned that as my muscles get used to swimming all the time that it wasnt going to provide enough cardio exercise to keep me moving forward and that I was going to have to venture back to the gym more often, which I really didnt want to do.  Starting using the swimfit program partly solved this but not entirely and I was starting to get worried agian ... but over the last 4 weeks I have noticed that its becoming easier to keep my heart rate up again and i wasnt entirely sure why.. but after I bit of research I have worked it out -  and its so simple I cant believe I took this long to get it! lol  As I am dropping bodyfat I don't float so easily - result being that I have to work harder to push myself through the water, hence more effort needed and a better workout .... odd but true! lol

And, the best bit, the more fat I drop, the harder it will keep getting, so my swimming will continue to provide the challenge I need and I wont have to face the gym that often!  Now that's what I call things all going swimmingly! :-)  xx

Musical Points and Salad Days

Ok, so it's hot, probably hot where you are, and certainly hot here... hot brings round the "I should be eating more salad" mindset... and, mostly, i'm all for that,  its simple,  its heatlthy,  and best of all, most of it is ZERO points!  but its aint half a fuss to make... 

My point at the moment is due to my having just eaten a sandwich that I really didnt have the points for because I couldnt be bothered messing about with chopping and peeling - I was hungry!    I like my salad crunchy and fresh, not soggy and curled, so dont really like to have it sitting ready cut/chopped... but a lot of time its just too much effort to go to when you need food bad! lol ... if anyone has a great idea how to keep prepared salad in good nick in the fridge please past it along in the comments box :-) 

As you will know if you have read the rest of my blog, talked to me on Facebook, or a few other places, I tend to see my points as a weekly total to stick to rather than a daily one.. I can go over on bad days and cut back on the easier ones, and 17 losses in 22 weeks means that it must work for me!  but, I am all for figuring stuff out so this week I have decided to abandon the musical points game and stick to my daily points exactly each day (so far so good on day 3) to see what effect that will have on my wi result ... I will have approx 25 ap's by the end of the week and I dont plan to eat any of them (most weeks I dont).   watch this space to see how my body likes them apples ...

oh, and if you have found a decent low cal/fat Ranch dressing please let me know.. love the stuff but the points are hell  lol

Week 22 Weigh-in Result...and upped summer goal

I weighed in a day early this week due to going to what will certainly be a boozy dinner party tonight with very good desserts (Italian Chef!).   and I HAVE LOST 4LBS!!!  WOOHOO!!! 

This puts me at having lost 3.5st in 5 months :-))))))))))  So, I have reset my summer/holiday goal back to the original 56lbs (4st) ... I have 7lbs to get there and 4 more WI's ...  I see a victory mirage on the horizon if i can stick with it :-) 

Also this means that I am only 1lb away from getting to my 1/4 goal and that weekend away to the spa with some friends ...

cant be bad! x

Brotherly Love and Logic...taking your own advice is hard!

... My brother and his girlfriend are trying to lose weight as of 2 weeks ago,  he stopped smoking in February this year, and has since put on almost 4st! Ugh!

They aren't following any kind of system, just cutting back a bit and upping the amount of moving around they do. Since I have been at this weight loss lark for 5 months now they came looking to me for some advice, at which point I wasnt sure what to tell them, except for something like this:

 "you can only do your best, and you cant be good all the time, there will be lousy days when you will just want a bloomin cake, but, the good thing is that you can! its not so much about what you eat, as it is being accountable for what you eat and giving it your best shot each day. If you go over on one day you cut back on others till you get the balance back, a week where you have been good and on point for 80%-90% of the time is good enough and will get you where you want to be "

now, that little lot is good advice, So! why cant I seem to take it myself?   I want every week to work and the points to balance, and of course they don't, life just isnt that easy or simple, at least not all the time!  For the first time as I was saying this stuff to him it dawned on me that if I dont start to live by my own advice then I am going to see about 4 weeks out of 6 as a failure on my part! and they arent! in 5 months I have had only 2 gains, and 3 sts's... meaning that I have logged a loss in 17 weeks!  now that aint half bad! I have always been a type A nut lol.. but on this journey I really need to remember that being mostly good  is good enough and the best you can hope for a lot of the time...

and you know what? ...   it really is!!

Blitz, Struggle and Save! .. might be the answer :-)

I have learnt something new this week, well new in relation to eating anyway .. 

I have always been the type of person who does much better when faced with challenges and deadlines, I am one of those thrive under pressure sorts lol..   but I never really thought about how that might affect my losing weight challenge till now...

On monday night this week I had a major blowout on an epic scale - I went over by 29pts! OMG!   But, having done that I am now so much more positive about the rest of the week, it seems that by having the challenge of clawing back those points I have been able to get re-focused and back on track quicker.. I have a goal to aim for and its making all the difference ..

I know that a lot of people have a treat and go over points on wi day when they know they have the rest of the week to make it up, and I have always been against that idea as I worried that going over on what is (normally) a high motivation day for me, when its easy to stay on track, would mean that I then didn't have a cushion of spare points for later on in the week on a harder day - but, it seems that being in a postion of having to claw points back is actually good for me as it gives me a fight to play out that week, rather than just the challenge of sticking to my points, which doesnt seem to be enough for me as I get bored ...instead, when I have to save points and earn extra ap's to cover a minus points situation I actually feel more rather than less in control and feel really good each time I end a day with a few more saved points put away :-)

Still not sure if i could overeat on wi day on purpose, still seems wrong and odd to me, but i'm certainly going to give it some more thought. And, to end on a positive, after being with it yesterday I am now only 21.5pts in the red! lol