Legless Day Four

In Auckland tonight, so I had my usual obscenely early start!

After work I whipped down to the supermarket to get the makings for my dinner, then off to the gym in Newmarket.

Finally managed to get in there after what felt like about three days looking for a carpark! I really enjoy this gym - there is much more equipment than at my one. I wouldn't want to use it every day (I like my weights with the Swiss ball), but it does make an interesting change.

The $20 casual fee stings a bit though!

Had a nice salad with smoked salmon and I'm about to have a lovely fresh mango for dessert.

Home again tomorrow night, so just a quick visit this time.

Legless Day Three

Another good day. Didn't make it to the pool this morning (something to do with not being able to drag my lazy arse out of bed), so I went and did my 30 minute aqua jog after work instead.

Saw the physio today and he is pleased with my progress (would I follow his instructions so well if he didn't have such a cute Scottish accent?). The pain has become much more localised as the swelling goes down. This means he can now treat the actual injury, rather than all the other stuff it has caused. He was a bit more positive about the outlook, thinking it may be just this injury to the patellar tendon, rather than also being degeneration under the kneecap.

Fingers crossed on that one.

Had a haircut today, but I had to forgive the boys for not noticing when I got home - I had just got out of the pool, after all.

Legless Day Two

Great resistance workout in this morning. Don't know if I'll do the five minute warm-up on the bike again, as it didn't feel quite right.

Used the BFL high-point method for my exercises and did my triceps, biceps, chest, shoulders, lats and gluts. Finished with a killer set for my abs.

Spent the afternoon spring cleaning - inspired by the fact I know my mother's just done hers. Okay, the mother-in-law coming to stay next weekend may have a little something to do with it...

Absolutely poured with rain all day, so what else was I going to do on a Sunday, anyway. Apart from go and pick Jake up from the station so he could get to work - he was still dressed in a girl's school uniform from the fancy dress party the night before. Looks particularly fetching with his new No. 4 haircut!

Legless Day One

This morning I did my 30 minute aqua jog. It was actually pretty hard. Not because of my knee, but because I've done sod-all cardio for 10 days.

So, the 'doing non-loadbearing cardio in a straight line' theory works. Sweet!

Then I came home (with my trim flat white in hand) and did the ice-massage trick my physio taught me. Works like this: put a polystyrene cup of water in the freezer to, well, freeze. Rip off the top of the cup so about 2cm of ice is exposed all the way around. Rub some oil on the area to be massaged (to stop ice burn). Rub it with the iceblock, applying gentle pressure so you ice and massage at the same time, until all the exposed ice has melted (and run down your leg onto the towel you wisely placed on the chair). Put the cup back in the freezer, so tomorrow you can tear off the next 2cm of cup and do it all again.

Works a treat.

Tomorrow morning I'll try my new resistance routine.

Definitely feeling less bleak than I was on Thursday. Just as well. Mark was dreading the thought of me being at home all weekend, not allowed to exercise and with no rugby to watch on the telly.

No wonder the man rides motorbikes!

The legless exercise plan

Aww, c'mon you lot, as if I'd write an exercise plan to do when you're pissed! What on earth are you thinking?

No, this is my plan for exercise without stuffing up my knee any more.

It's an odd experience, having to write myself a plan that doesn't involve pushing myself slightly beyond my limits.

It goes like this:
Saturday 30 minutes aquajogging
Sunday Upper body and core resistance
Monday 30 minutes aquajogging
Tuesday Upper body and core resistance
Wednesday Nothing
Thursday 30 minutes aquajogging
Friday Upper body and core resistance

I'm not convinced about the aquajogging yet. I know there is no load-bearing, but I'm concerned about what that amount of flexing will do to my knee. If it does hurt, my next option will be swimming without using my legs (either with a flotation belt or one of those little float things between my legs). Those of you who know how I feel about swimming will realise that's a fairly last resort.

When I do my resistance training, I'll do five minutes of gentle warmup on the bike, then I intend to go hardout with the weights, crunches, etc, so I get some cardio benefit from the resistance work.

Egads, I sound like some sort of addict, scheming how to get my next cardio-fix...

The rules have changed

I have just been to my usual physio - a lovely Scottish chap who is also the physio for a local rugby team, so we have lots to talk about!

He thinks my knee injury is a bit more serious than I've been trying to pretend it is. Best case - torn patella tendon. Worst case - some type of degeneration going on under the kneecap that's causing all these other problems.

He's going to work on the acute injury for two weeks, then we'll decide if I need to go to a specialist and go through the whole routine with scans, etc. I'm will see him three times a week, do ice massage twice a day and take anti-inflammatories as much as my body can handle them. He might strap my knee next week to take some of the load off the tendon.

Exercise? No load-bearing cardio at all, not even walking, beyond the bare minimum I need to do to get around. I can try some 'gentle' cycling on low resistance - like that's going to do anything to my heart rate! Or maybe aqua-jogging but not too fast. Basically, if my knee hurts when I do something, I'm not allowed to do it. Resistance-wise, I can do upper body and core, but nothing below the quads.

Crap.

This will NOT beat me. I have conquered much bigger obstacles than this. I have lost 57kg. I will not let a stupid knee injury stuff this up.

Clearly the whole BFL thing and the related challenge at the gym is completely out the window now. I just need to re-think my goals for the next little while.

So, here they are:

Weight Stay under 77kg until this is solved. Weight loss is not a priority. Maintenance is.

Exercise Do what I can, within my limits, regularly.

Food Strict adherence to the NoCount plan. I can't afford to sneak now, because I can't count on exercise to work it off.

Onward.

Selected at random

My baby turns 18 in eight days. What does he want for his birthday? Well, among other things, a keg of beer and some snakeskin boots!

I have done no exercise this week - but it is time to stop letting my knee get me down. I am going to give myself the rest of the week off, then start back with a modified resistance programme on Saturday. For cardio, I will just stick to walking and aim for four times a week. If the weather continues to be absolutely crap so walking isn't an option, I may have to force myself to swim! And I am going back to physio tomorrow.

Mark's Mum is coming up from Dunedin for a visit next week. I'm really looking forward to it, as I haven't seen her for almost three years. I hope she can cope with all the stairs in our three storey house!

I didn't get to post about it during my busy week last week, but the Auckland bloggers' dinner was F A B U L O U S ! What a privilege to meet all these lovely women - and how very brave of Jonny to join us at the end.

Current ipod favourites - the new Justin Timberlake album, and the greatest hits albums from Fat Boy Slim and Missy Elliot.

Due to my drop in exercise (or should that be complete stop), I have had to modify my BFL eating. I have taken out the protein snacks and replaced them with fruit and vegetables - so I'm basically back to doing NoCount. And I actually feel better for it - all that protein was making feel like I was full of cement. I am making sure I have good serves of protein at breakfast, lunch and dinner, though - it certainly stops me from getting hungry between meals.

It is exactly two months until Christmas. It will be low key for us this year. We are staying in Wellington and any family who are around are coming to our place for the day. I think there will only be about 15 of us - very quiet by our standards. Mark has the perfect escape clause. He is racing the Cemetery Circuit* on Boxing Day, so will have to leave for Wanganui on Christmas morning to be there for registration and practice. That's if his entry gets accepted.

*Yes, I have always considered this a particularly inappropriate name for a motorbike race!

Tired, pretty damn grumpy, but still standing

Well, it's been a long week. I was very glad to get home last night after 10 days in Auckland.

I take my hat off to the people who work in our warehouses all the time. This a a really hard-working bunch of people. I may be 'exercise fit', but that is nothing like the type of fitness needed to work on your feet all day, lifting, carrying, counting, packing, stacking - all the stuff that goes into the logistics end of our operation - and not collapse into an incoherent, exhausted heap at the end of the day.

The bursitis in my knee made it impossible for me to keep up that sort of activity 12 hours a day for days on end, so I ended up doing lots of the computer work. But I still spent too much time on my feet - and lots of time putting ice on my knee in the evenings.

I basically can't do any cardio work except walking at the moment and the resistance work on my legs I'm doing at much lower weights. I'll just ease back into things as I start to feel better.

My grumpiness isn't helped by the fact Waikato took a well-deserved win over Wellington in the final on Saturday night. Our scrum was a mess, we had no possession and spent stuff-all time in their 22. You can't expect a win on those stats. Nuff said. And the Kiwi league boys losing the plot against the Kangaroos in the Tri-Nations game contributed nothing to my mood. Don't even start me on the cricket!

I might have to stop being a sports nut!

Anyway, sorry for being such a grump! Better go now before this turns into a whinge-fest.

I was evil in a former life

I must have been! Only, instead of coming back as a cockroach, my punishment is being meted out in more subtle ways.

Like having a big project hit the fan, resulting in me having to stay in Auckland. Until Monday night. Which is the end of the first long weekend we've had since June. And we will be working all weekend. Which also means I will have been in Auckland for 10 days. And on Tuesday Mark goes to New Plymouth for four days. And this weekend is our 15th anniversary.

Told you I was evil.

And the pic

Bit of an update

I've had a very blog-slack week. Shit happens, we don't always get everything done.

Stuff that did get done:

WELLINGTON TORE AUCKLAND A NEW ONE AND MADE THE AIR NEW ZEALAND CUP FINAL.

Had a very nice weekend. Mark and I flew to Auckland on Saturday morning (all very kindly paid for by the business). We did a spot of shopping, checked in at the Quest and then had a late, lazy lunch at Iguacu. Because this is Parnell, darling, and one must be seen in the right places.

Mooched about for the rest of the afternoon and then went off to the ball. Mark always looks very dashing in black tie.

Yes, I did get a new frock and, no, it wasn't black. Actually it was orange. Will post a photo when I get them - the only one taken was by the official photographer at the ball, so I have to wait for them to go up on the website.

The ball was very pleasant - I know that sounds a bit boring, but it was a work thing and we only knew 2 other people there!

Lazy Sunday - I walked to the Rose Gardens while Mark had a sleep-in, then we had brunch at Mink. Dropped him at the airport in the afternoon - he ended up flying to Wellington twice after the flight got turned back with mechanical difficulties.

It was lovely to have a weekend of just us - no teenagers, no motorbikes, no cooking, no housework.

DID I MENTION WELLINGTON WON THE RUGBY?

I'm still in Auckland till Wednesday - with the bloggers' dinner to look forward to tonight. It will be such fun to meet everyone - and catch up with the two I've already met.

I will take my camera to this one, but won't be able to load photos till I get home to Wellington.

WELLINGTON RUGBY ROCKS!

The knee really isn't doing so well. Still quite swollen. When I wake up in the morning I can't even bend it. I started on Voltaren yesterday, which is already making a difference. I went to the gym last night, but only did upper body resistance work. I then iced my knee several times last night, and then again this morning after my walk.

I have an appointment with the physio in Wellington on Wednesday, so no need to nag me about that!

And if anyone wonders what I'm doing on Saturday night? Watching Wellington play Waikato in the provincial rugby final, of course!

Oh yeah, this is a weight loss blog...

Just realised I haven't told you how the new programme has been going!

The first week on BFL I lost 900 grams, one of the biggest losses I've had for a while. That put me smack on 76kg - which according to WW is the top of my weight range.

This week hasn't been as successful - mainly due to the fact I've had to stop ignoring the swelling in my left knee and actually not exercise for most of the week. This has also brought about a couple of 'my life is shit, may as well eat chocolate' moments. But I have managed to maintain this week so the number still sits at 76kg.

Long explanation following, not intending to be an ad for BFL!

How do I feel about the programme? Most days I really can't fit in 6 meals, so I'm sticking to 5. Struggled a bit with eating protein at every meal and (TMI) so has my digestive tract, so I've had to make a conscious effort to up my fibre intake and use some of my carb allowance on fruit. I do really like the basic concept of making sure you leave two and a half to three hours between meals. That's a habit I'll certainly continue after the 12 weeks.

Exercise is another matter. I like the idea behind the training - short, intensive sessions - but I just don't feel like I'm doing enough exercise. In fact I feel quite sluggish. Three 20 minute cardio session a week doesn't work for me. So this week I'm going to increase the amount of cardio to 5 days and split up the weight training to spread that out a bit more. Basically, it will go like this:
Saturday, full resistance workout (all the muscle groups listed below)
Sunday, 20 mins cardio, leg workout (calves, quads, hamstrings, butt)
Monday, 30 mins cardio
Tuesday, 20 mins cardio, arm workout (triceps, biceps, shoulders)
Wednesday, 30 minutes cardio
Thursday, 20 mins cardio, centre body workout (abs, back, chest)
Friday, rest

The resistance training will still follow the BFL method of doing four sets of reps with increasing weights but decreasing reps and then a fifth set with high reps again, followed by another set of reps using a different exercise for the same muscle group. That doesn't make much sense! Here's an example for chest muscles:
12 dumbbell flyes with 3kg, 1 minute rest (intensity level 5)
10 dumbbell flyes with 4kg, 1 minute rest (intensity level 6)
8 dumbbell flyes with 5kg, 1 minute rest (intensity level 7)
6 dumbbell flyes with 6kg, 1 minute rest (intensity level 8)
12 dumbbell flyes with 5kg, no rest (intensity level 9)
12 barbell bench press with 30kg (intensity level 10)
2 minute rest before going on to the next muscle group.
This way you can work out your own weights to get the intensity level right - those last two sets can be pretty darn hard!

On the days when I'm doing 20 minutes cardio I'll use the BFL intensity level system as well. That works by changing your intensity level every minute, with four peaks, the last one being the highest. Like this:
Intensity level 5/5/6/7/8/9/6/7/8/9/6/7/8/9/6/7/8/9/10/5
Again, it means you can tailor it to your own fitness level. On the treadmill I start at 6.5 and my highest peak is 11. I try to vary my cardio sessions between the treadmill, the bike and the cross trainer.

That leaves me two other days to do something different for my 30 minutes of cardio, like aqua jogging.

Of course, I also need to walk the dog, and then there are the times when the Auckland boys drag me off to boxing...

Off to the ball in Auckland on Saturday night, then on Tuesday is the highlight of my October social calendar - the Auckland bloggers' dinner! Yeehaa!

Christmas picnic

Hello Wellington bloggers - and those who might be in Wellington at the time.

I'm keen to organise a Christmas picnic for everyone - families included of course.

So, how about you mark Sunday, December 3, in your diaries for a picnic lunch and we sort out the details later?

Let me know if you're interested - and maybe a venue suggestion. I was thinking Avalon Park or Days Bay. (Notice I've suggested Hutt Valley locations, being the only one from the real city!)

My glamorous life

Thursday: another 6.30am flight to Auckland.

My 5am face just doesn't bear talking about.













But by 5.30 it's looking a bit better, despite the wet hair. I can't bring myself to use the blowdryer at that time of the morning.











My darling still insists on getting up an hour early to drive me to the airport. This is 5.40am just before I wake him. The airport is 4 minutes drive away.










My 6am life-saver at the airport.

Inspiration

Feeling like you're making no progress or don't know where to start with weight loss?

Nothing I can say will be as inspirational as this post from Dietgirl.

Packaging snafu?

Same pantyhose as always, same size as always, so why is the crutch halfway down my thighs?

Good times

What a lovely treat it was on Saturday, to finally have a bloggers' lunch. I've met a few of you individually, but en masse was quite different.

I've got to say (quite modestly, of course) that we really are a lovely bunch of women. Everyone was so happy and welcoming and it was great to meet the kids too.

I was struck again by what an odd sort of situation this is. We think know so much about each other, but it's only the words we read on the screen - there is so much more behind that. One thing I particularly noticed is how kind and caring you all are - and how much you all love to smile and laugh. Those great big smiles, that light up your whole face.

I'm feeling my way through my first week of this new programme. My first upper body resistance workout on Saturday was great and I felt it for a couple of days afterward. Cardio is fine too, pushing myself harder than usual. Made a bit of a hash of my first lower body workout. I set most of my weights too low and didn't really have to work hard enough, but I'll just learn from that and make it harder next time.

Food-wise I'm finding it quite a change. It's back to the six small meals a day concept - and I struggle to fit those in when you're supposed to wait two and a half to three hours between meals. Eating protein at every meal is a big change too. Yesterday I stuffed it all up by letting myself get too hungry before dinner and eating too much. So I made that my free day for the week and had a bowl of ice cream as well!

I am feeling tired, but it's hard to tell if that's caused by the change to the eating/exercising routine. Daylight saving started on Sunday and that always takes me a week or so to get used to. So that could be causing the tiredness - or could just be the fact I've been working quite hard!

My fully fledged geekdom is enjoying filling in spreadsheets every day (made easy by the fact my laptop is my constant companion) and I have been writing comments about how each day has gone - a step closer to the dreaded self-analysis I always shy away from.

So, going quite well for now. Let's see how it goes when the euphoria of something new wears off.
Oh, and I've decided to have a completely alcohol-free month for October.

There were eight women at the lunch. Between us we have lost 285kg. We rock!