Don't just dish it out...

Sometimes I catch myself leaving these smug little comments on other people's blogs, dishing out advice on all sorts of things.

What makes me such an expert - absolutely nothing, especially if I'm not even following my own advice!

So, for this last week I've been trying to put some of it into practice - starting with 'Challenge yourself'.

I'm pretty good at the exercise thing - plenty of variety, cardio, fat-burning and strength work. But I wasn't really pushing myself.

So I have now LEAPT out of my comfort zone. No more of this wimpy fast-walking on the treadmill. No more kidding myself that introducing the occasional 1 minute jog makes any difference.

I now run (well, jog fast) for 20 minutes on the treadmill. This produces an enormous amount of sweat. And my face goes bright red, which is an unfortunate contrast with my now-blonde hair. But, boy does it feel good.

In three weeks I'm going to start my 12-week build-up to the triathlon. I had two training programmes to chose from - 'Zero to Heroine in 12 weeks' or 'The Next Level'. Well, I'm not going to label myself a zero, so I'm going for the next level.

Now I just need to get up the courage to go back in the pool.

For those of you who might be interested, my training programmes come from the triathlon site www.tri.co.nz. There are some great programmes and exercise tips, even if you're not actually heading towards an event.

Odd happenings in my bedroom

If you think this is a post about kinky sex, you will be disappointed.

I had about 40 teenagers at my house yesterday. I don't think they were having kinky sex either. At least not at that stage of the evening.

They were all there about 5pm, dressed in their good suits and pretty frocks (boys in suits, girls in frocks). I was holding the pre-ball party, complete with food and (temporarily) non-alcoholic punch. They preened and flirted and tried to drink enough to get a bit of a buzz without having so much they wouldn't be allowed into the ball. It was lots of fun.

Then just before 7 the bus they'd organised came and whisked them away.

I was left with my empty house and not too much cleaning up - except I had to wash the kitchen floor three times.

So what of the bedroom happenings?

Just before everyone arrived, I brought in a load of washing. And left it in the basket on my bed. After they'd gone, I discovered my washing had been folded. And sorted into piles. My undies. Mark's undies. Mark's socks. My tops. Mark's tee-shirts. There was one seriously disturbed 16 or 17 year old in that group of kids.

Weather report

We've had lovely weather for most of the week. The evenings are getting longer and there are noticeably more people out walking and enjoying the spring.

But today is Friday. As I look out my office window, it is damp and grey, with clouds flying by as Wellington experiences one of its famous southerlies.

Why has the weather reverted to winter?

Because it's a long weekend.

To all the Kiwis out there, please take care on the roads this weekend.

Something's wrong here...

Yesterday I finally took my new bike for its first outing.

Just a quiet toodle around the waterfront for about 20 minutes. And it really didn't feel right. My knees were coming up too high, and my legs were still quite bent when the pedal was at the bottom.

So when I got home, I got my resident fitness adviser (the teenager) to help me work out what was wrong.

'It's pretty simple, Mum, you just need to put the seat up further.'

'But then my feet won't reach the ground when I stop.'

'Mother, it's not a motorbike. You don't need to keep your arse on the seat when you stop!'

'Oh, okay, so you just get off the seat before you stop, right?'

I think you can all picture him walking away, slowly shaking his head.

A plan so cunning...

One of the things I decided when I started on the weight loss thing, was that I don't want to be the heaviest in our house anymore. Fair enough, and at 35kg lost I no longer out-weigh everyone else by more than 50kg!

But with the guys both hovering around the 80/81kg mark, I'm still a good 15kg over.

So, I've come up with a two-pronged attack to counter this.
Prong 1 - I keep losing weight - obvious and easy!
Prong 2 - make one of them get heavier. How cunning is that.

I figure that at age 48 and having held the same weight for over 10 years, Mark is a lost cause.

So Jake will have to be the victim of my evil plan.

I started the attack this morning by weighing him. 80.4kg. This is going to take some work.

I then pointed out that while that was a respectable enough weight for a winger, locks need more bulk (he changed from winger to lock near the end of this rugby season). Especially because lots of our forwards are 100kg plus.

So we decided 90kg would be a good mark to aim for, and he has till March before weigh-in for next season.

Our 1st XV gets free gym membership at the local rugby club and will start summer training soon. They each get a position-specific training programme - Jake will need to build up his thighs and shoulders in particular.

So, once he starts that, I'm going to help him increase his protein intake and generally improve his nutrition so he can add bulk. Then hopefully he won't get snapped like a twig when contact training starts.

And the great thing is - he thinks I'm doing all this with his best interests at heart!

Poor sod doesn't suspect a thing.

30 weeks!

30 weeks and 35.9kg gone.

Time for a bit of navel-gazing.

Here's a collection of random thoughts...

This is the longest time I've stuck to a weight-control programme. Which bears out the feeling I had when I started - that this is the right time to change my lifestyle; this time it will stick.

I feel great. I'm fit, my skin is clear, my eyes are bright. If I could find my tail, I'm sure it would be bushy!

At times I've felt a bit selfish and self-absorbed. But it's worth it. Sometimes you need to take time in your life to concentrate on yourself. In the long run, it will be good for everyone. (I haven't articulated that very well, hope you get my drift)

I love all the support, encouragement and compliments I've had from people.

But in the end, I love how I feel about myself even more.

I know I've said it before...

...but, jeez, I just love you guys!

My particular inspiration today comes from the Divine Miss M and her Puff n Stuff post.

She talks about the unexpected challenge of walking with some colleagues at lunch time and finding they exercise much harder than she is used to.

Did she give up when she realised how fast they walked? HELL NO! She kept going, while silently hoping for the lights to change so she could catch up when they waited to cross the street.

Isn't that like so many of our blog-friends? Rising to meet new challenges and constantly pushing ourselves harder.

Life keeps chucking tomatoes at us, and we keep making fat-free gazpacho!

No, thanks!

No, thanks, I don't actually need your weirdo fad diet.

Last week I bumped into someone who knew I've been losing weight, but hasn't seen me in a couple of months.

She was blown away by how much I've lost and showered me with compliments (something I'll never get tired of!).

Then, she told me all about this diet I just had to try - one of those things where you de-tox by eating nothing but raw veggies etc.

Have to say I was pretty dumbfounded by this! Sort of looked at her with my mouth open.

And managed not to say "Look, I've lost 35 kilos. I've done that by eating good food in controlled portions and by getting lots of exercise. What make you think I need this diet?"

I know she was just trying to help. But, really, I think my way is working.

Okay so far

Well, I've had a few days off tracking and still had a good loss this week. Mostly because we were so busy in Auckland I didn't get around to eating much. And one of the good things about staying in apartments is that there's nothing in the cupboards for me to 'graze' on late at night.

I have no intention of staying off counting points for long - just this weekend away at the snow and I'll be straight back into it.

Thanks everyone for your support - it gives me renewed motivation to know I've got such lovely people watching over me.

Not really looking forward to the drive to the mountain tonight - the weather forecast is pretty awful. I'll try to get away by mid-afternoon so I can do most of the journey before dark, and will just take it easy on the drive.

Lots of the family have been up ski-ing all week, so we'll have a great weekend of catching up.

Diet burnout!

I know, I know, we're not dieting, we're changing our lifestyles.

I don't care what you bloody call it - I'm bored with it!

I'm going through this real stage of being completely OVER the food I eat. Just a bit sick of it all really. And that lowers my resistance, so I eat stuff I shouldn't - and far too much of it.

I obviously haven't really found what triggers my eating, because I don't seem to be able to stop myself.

So. What to do?

I'm going to Auckland tomorrow and coming home on Thursday. Then off to Raurimu for the weekend to see if there's any snow worth ski-ing on.

I'm not going to count points at all until Monday. I will try to be good with my eating.

Then, next week, I'm going to try and bring some variety back into my food. More planning should help with this.

This isn't going to beat me. The weight loss WILL continue!

Girly treat

The very observant among you may have worked out I live in a testosterone-loaded house. In the best spirit of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em", I too love sport and many other blokey things.

I preserve my female sanity by having nice clothes and hair, indulging in lovely make-up and my great nails, and inflicting my practice of aromatherapy on whoever happens to be in the house when I burn my oils.

But still, I am always hugely grateful to my sisters when I get to borrow their girl-children for a day out.

Today I am spending the day with my two lovely 11-year-old nieces (not twins; borrowed from different sisters). One of them lives here in Wellington and the other is visiting from Adelaide for the holidays.

I had a nail appointment booked, so this morning I had my nails done and the girls each got a manicure. We are all wearing different shades of pink on our nails.

Then we went out for lunch, followed by a leisurely stroll through the mall. How nice to giggle over impossibly high heels and admire the beaded handbags. Instead of working out whether headgear is better with a velcro fastening or stretchy neck strap.

Now they're watching DVDs (Aunty Sue, your lounge is just like being at the movies!), while I potter about.

Soaking it up, before the smelly boys get home.