Chillicat's journal

[teamfatboy]

It's far nicer doing that for 40 mins than sitting on a bike at the gym for 20 mins, which is just an ordeal and an exercise in tedium. So I've taken to walking to Cuba St and back on my non training days for a pleasant bit of low intensity cardio.

Oh yeah, I also noticed when I used my HRM snowboarding that a couple of times (mostly at the beginning of the day) my heart rate went slightly over my supposed max (220-age, right?). I didn't drop dead, so I guess that's not lethal :pfft:

Nice, it was a great day for a walk. For a while, I used to walk from Bodyworks thru Parliament, up the Terrace to the Uni, down onto Willis St and back thru town, that covered low-intensity cardio.

The 220-age is a rough-guide.... there are other, allegedly more sophisticated, formulas, but really the heart's like any other muscle, trying to come up with a rule of thumb can't cope with all the variables. Even the diurnal variation can be a random thing, as you found....

Point is, you ain't dead, you had fun, and we are all glad

[Chillicat]

The walk to uni is a good one. Actually, if I'm trying to stay away from shops that's probably a better option, rather than my current walk to Iko Iko and back :pfft:

I must admit that I've been very naughty on my eating today - I've had 2 macaroons :oops: I'd never had a proper homemade one before, and kept seeing them last year on Masterchef, and wondered what all the fuss was about. I'm told they are the new cupcake. So yesterday armed with a Whitcoulls voucher I bought the Aussie women's weekly Macaroons and Biscuits book. Probably not the wisest choice given I'm trying to drop fat right now - but I like baking and my husband likes eating, and so do my colleagues, so I normally just bake for them. But since I'd never actually tasted macaroons before I had to have a taste...or two :naughty:

So I've reached my calories for the day so no pre-bedtime sludge for me, as my punishment.

[VampireChick]

Yeah I've become a little obsessed with apple wholemeal cake (I've had to bake it a couple of times for dinners). And I'm dying to try a macaroon!

[Chillicat]

I've only made a couple of batches of coconut mararoons so far, which I have to say are bloody good. It was only after I bought the book and started reading the recipes properly that I discovered that proper ones call for ground almonds. I like almonds in their regular form, but almond flavoured stuff is vile - so I'm a wee bit concerned that I'll hate proper macaroons. But I'm going to have to try them. The ones I've made just look like cookies, so now I want to progress to the ones that are joined together and are all kinds of pastel colours. I need to know what all the fuss is about!

[Chillicat]

Bit tired today. The walk to work took me a couple of minute longer than usual and it was an effort. Sore muscles and things. Was going to do a pump. class at lunchtime but decided that it was probably just silly to kill my muscles so went for a walk instead. But I don't feel too guilty over the lack of weights sessions this week, as my total exercise for the week is 11 hours, instead of the normal approx 7, so it's not like I've been sitting on my arse doing nothing.

Will start the new programme tomorrow, one main lift per day, couple of secondaries and some fun stuff at the end when there's time. This will be a 4 day thing, ideally two days on, one day off (depending on when I can get to gym), and means that mostly it'll be a 6 day cycle, so I'll end up not doing the exact same thing every Monday etc since I'll start Day 1 on a Saturday which means that Day 1 next week will be a Friday. This is good, as some work days I just don't have time for everything, but I have plenty of time on weekends, so ultimately each exercise will get good attention paid to it, even if it's not every single week. It also means there is no such thing as 'international bench day' where a certain day of every week is bench (usually the same day as everyone else). Hate that!

It's not much different to the push pull I've been doing the last 8 weeks, just a bit of a variation really.

[Chillicat]

Well, despite a weekend away with lots of non-diet eating, plus a birthday and my macaroon frenzy, I actually lost .2kg this week. Not high, and hadn't lost anything last week, but I wasn't expecting a loss this week, if anything a gain, so am pleasantly surprised. BF is down by the smallest of margins, but a loss is a loss so I'm taking it!

Am actually feeling really good, despite virtually no workouts this week other than boarding and walking and a wee bit of weights. Will have to get round to doing photos soon, but I'm pleased with how things are shaping up just using the mirror, and given that I'm just doing it for vanity, if I'm happy when I look in the mirror then I'm doing well!

So overall, at the 6 week mark (which is a quarter of the way through) I'm 2.2kg down and BF is down 3.2 percentage points. All good. Just goes to show, you can have some carby macaroons if you allow for it in the calorie count :nod:

[VampireChick]

Wow awesome progress CC! Do you think you'll ever compete?

[bigdogbob]

Hey don't stress about the ground almond thing..it doesn't give it a flavour as such it's actually better for you than the flour. This is a recipe I got when I went to a primal/paleo eating seminar last week...sposed to be perfect for cheating eating

Primal Treats – if eating this way leads you to dream about chocolate and pizza, don’t worry, there a few ways to make feel good food with primal goodness.

Primal Macaroons

1-1/4 cups almonds

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons grated lemon peel

2 egg whites, beaten

1 tablespoon runny honey

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Grind almonds coarsely. Combine cinnamon and lemon and add. Beat egg whites very stiff, fold in honey and continue beating. Fold in lemon juice with almond mixture and blend. Drop from a teaspoon onto baking paper. Bake 30 minutes at 150. Remove from paper while still slightly warm.Makes 4

[Chillicat]

Wow awesome progress CC! Do you think you'll ever compete?

I don't think so - I don't think I'd ever have the guts to get up on stage like that. When I go to a competiton I think 'hmmm, one day I could be good enough to get up there' but then I see someone like Neralee who I think is just so awesome and I think that no, I'd never get up on stage unless I could stand alongside the likes of her and not feel completely out of place. I have a good enough self esteem, but I'd never want to be the girl that everyone is looking at and thinking 'who the hell does she think she is to be up on stage'. So at this stage there's no way I could see it happening, but who knows after 5 years I might feel like I have a place on stage.

I'm full of admiration for anyone who does though, even if I'm picky and think they're not really up to scratch - I think I'm a victim of my own high standards

Hey don't stress about the ground almond thing..it doesn't give it a flavour as such it's actually better for you than the flour. This is a recipe I got when I went to a primal/paleo eating seminar last week...sposed to be perfect for cheating eating

Oh that's good to know. I bought some today, so I'll see what I think sometime this week when the delicious coconut ones have run out. Thanks heaps for the recipe - I've got all of that stuff, so can make them next time!

[morattigirl]

I must admit that I've been very naughty on my eating today - I've had 2 macaroons :oops: :naughty:

Oh man CC if you're naughty for having macaroons (which I love too btw ) holy hell what am I? Shit the only healthy thing i've had since being away is the strawberry & kiwifruit on top of the pav i was munching out on last night :pfft: It was one of those after you been on the booze all night and now i'm hungus as what's in the fridge raids :pfft: Bad man. Hence the I HAD to do exercise this morning lol

[Chillicat]

I must admit that I've been very naughty on my eating today - I've had 2 macaroons :oops: :naughty:

Oh man CC if you're naughty for having macaroons (which I love too btw ) holy hell what am I? Shit the only healthy thing i've had since being away is the strawberry & kiwifruit on top of the pav i was munching out on last night :pfft: It was one of those after you been on the booze all night and now i'm hungus as what's in the fridge raids :pfft: Bad man. Hence the I HAD to do exercise this morning lol

Yeah but I'm meant to be dieting, so that's why it's naughty. If it was in the first 6 months of the year when I was gorging on anything and everything, then it's ok, but I'm meant to be cutting that stuff out.

Having said that, I wanted to try making proper macaroons, so made a batch of chocolate ones today with the proper ground almonds, hoping that I wouldn't like them. Well, I've had three tastes, and I'm pretty sure I do like them :oops:

[Chillicat]

Did a sneaky early weigh in today to see how things are going, and despite a couple of macaroon frenzies earlier in the week, overall I've lost another .3kg, which is brilliant. I'm only aiming for .2kg per week from now til Xmas, as that will get me comfortably into about the right weight - in fact, if I manage .2kg per week that would put me at slightly lower than last Xmas, so I'm not sure if I need to go that low. So .3kg puts me slightly ahead of things so am very pleased.

Bear in mind that I'm dieting to look great for a month, not for a day like in competition, so I'm aiming for slow and steady and working towards a relatively maintainable final outcome, at least for a month. So I'm not in extreme calorie deficit, just enough to have slow and steady weekly losses (even with macaroon frenzies!).

As for BF loss - well I'm extremely happy this week - last week was 23.6% and today is 22.8% - that is a total loss of 4 percentage points overall, as I started at 26.8%.

So maybe I might treat myself with one or two of the deliciousbirthday present Butler's chocolates that are sitting temptingly in the spare room where I can't see them on a daily basis...or maybe a glass of wine...

[Chillicat]

Grunty McGrunster entered the mancave this morning just after I'd finished my squats and SLDLs (low weights for squats atm - wlrking on perfect form and not going a single kg higher than I can do perfect form on, so weights are only up to 55kg :oops: ). So I was doing a few bicep curls and hadn't actually realised the grunter was there until I heard an almight grunt - looked around and all he was actually doing was getting a weight off the weight holder thingy to put onto the bar - not actually lifting anything of any significance. And he thought that warranted a grunt. What a dufus. Then he started doing some overhead presses. Decent weight, but he felt the need to grunt as he unracked, then loudly call out each number as he pressed. Seriously, the world could do without people like him. I could certainly do without him in my mancave.

Yesterday was funny too - there was a guy there who was very young, about 18-20. Obviously not used to working out, and he was with a PT who was taking him through bent over rows. He was lifting a total of 40kg and was in utter pain after about 8 reps. I did a sneaky look to see if I was miscounting - they were only 10kg plates on the oly bar and I thought maybe, just maybe he had 2 on each side - but nope, just the one. :pfft: I shouldn't laugh really, because I know that if he keeps it up, he'll be doing way higher than me in about 2 weeks flat, but it was funny to see a young lad who should be full of energy just about dying on my warm up weight

Nothing else to report. Good thing I had good weight losses this week, as I'm now about to get into a cupcake baking frenzy for SPCA cupcake day, and suspect that today's eats will mostly consist of cupcake batter and icing :pfft: :oops:

[morattigirl]

The Grunter aye, god how annoying! funny i saw a boy in our gym the other day too he was maybe 18 or 19, i think he had just finished doing seated row? anyway he got up off the seat and pulls his singlet up in front of mirror lol im guessing he was checking out his abs? Lol :roll: wouldn't you just wait till you got home if you wanted to look at yourself :pfft:

Some people huh :pfft:

[Chillicat]

funny i saw a boy in our gym the other day too he was maybe 18 or 19, i think he had just finished doing seated row? anyway he got up off the seat and pulls his singlet up in front of mirror lol im guessing he was checking out his abs? Lol :roll: wouldn't you just wait till you got home if you wanted to look at yourself :pfft:

Some people huh :pfft:

Brilliant! Yeah, I try to wait til I'm at home to check myself out (or at least til I think no one's looking!).

[Phedder]

Try training at a Uni gym, 90% are young guys that think they're the shit. My favourite is a guy who's maybe 5'10 65kg, quite toned but not at all big. He always wears a tight black singlet, and is constantly tensed up. After every set he does, he walks around with his fists balled up and tensing as hard as he can, holding his arms out wide like his non-existent massive lats force them out :pfft: Doesn't do a single exercise he can't do in front of the mirrors either.

Oh yeah, I also noticed when I used my HRM snowboarding that a couple of times (mostly at the beginning of the day) my heart rate went slightly over my supposed max (220-age, right?). I didn't drop dead, so I guess that's not lethal :pfft:

As with most things that's just a generalised formula, I think most people fit into that + or - 5-10%, but there's always exceptions to the rule.

Great work on the steady weight loss, you know you're doing well when it's consistent. Keep it up :nod:

[Chillicat]

Try training at a Uni gym, 90% are young guys that think they're the shit. My favourite is a guy who's maybe 5'10 65kg, quite toned but not at all big. He always wears a tight black singlet, and is constantly tensed up. After every set he does, he walks around with his fists balled up and tensing as hard as he can, holding his arms out wide like his non-existent massive lats force them out :pfft: Doesn't do a single exercise he can't do in front of the mirrors either.

Invisible Lat Syndrome! Classic

Great work on the steady weight loss, you know you're doing well when it's consistent. Keep it up :nod:

Thanks!

[Peachy]

As for BF loss - well I'm extremely happy this week - last week was 23.6% and today is 22.8% - that is a total loss of 4 percentage points overall, as I started at 26.8%.

Onya Chillicat!! :wink:

Whats your diet like atm coz you seem to have it nailed?

[Chillicat]

As for BF loss - well I'm extremely happy this week - last week was 23.6% and today is 22.8% - that is a total loss of 4 percentage points overall, as I started at 26.8%.

Onya Chillicat!! :wink:

Whats your diet like atm coz you seem to have it nailed?

It's more or less 40% protein, 40% fat (good fat where possible!) and 20% carbs on most days, with a few higher carb days as well (like when I go snowboarding or when hubby decides he wants to make pizza - just whenever it fits in really).

Calorie wise, it's not overly low, just a couple of hundred under maintenance, so it's not drastic and I'm not climbing the walls with hunger every day. I have cheats sometimes and don't sweat it, just maybe cut 100 cals the next day to make up for it.

General weekday's eating is:

1. Homemade oaty bar (about 300 cals) 6am

2. 4 salmon muffins around 8.30am (about 200 cals)

3. Maybe a protein shake around 10.30am as I go to gym at 11.30 and don't want to have another big meal before then, but need a little something to carry me through til I eat lunch at 12.30.

4. Tuna (I currently have a mix of a big tin of tuna in water and a big tin of tuna in water, mix up and divide into 5 meals, around 170 calories each serving) and either a protein shake or a tortilla (if I didn't have a shake at 10.30) at 12.30

5. Tuna or some salmon muffins

6. Dinner - whatever, something yum with meat, spinach and some green beans or other veges. Usually around 500-600 calories

7. Sludge (about 200 calories)

Comes to around 1700-1800 a day, give or take (depending on how much of everything I have, which depends on how I feel and whether I pigged out big time the day before!!).

[teamfatboy]

I'm nowhere near in the running to hit 140kg right now (and cutting til end of year, so definitely won't be making any improvements) - but will follow the womenfolk with great interest (and muchos respect!).

Doh, didn't read properly - 2011, not this year. Hmmm.

Yeah right, I'll never catch up the likes of Barbelle, Nessie, Vee and Morattigirl - but you never know :pfft:

As far as the deadlift progress Don't be so sure... look what twelve months can do

(I was gonna cut-n-paste from your journal, but hell, you know how far you've come!)

You've made tremendous progress, and like I've said before you've got great form. I reckon there's a hundred in there by Easter!

[Chillicat]

Thanks TFB! Yep, I'm definitely going to work towards the 100, and Easter is a good goal to work towards (I am imagining chocolaty rewards =P~ )

[teamfatboy]

Just remember, twelve months ago you were doing four sets f eight deads at 20kg, and twelve months later you're nailing a pair of reps at 80kg, and looking hard at 85s !

[Ain't a journal a dangerous thing!]

But seriously, after the trip, and the lean-down, I reckon you could surprise yourself with what you can do.

[Chillicat]

Yeah true - I'll come back after 4 weeks of solid eating and will have a huge amount of energy to burn and a ton of PBs to hit! :nod:

[Chillicat]

Deadlift day today. I've been taking it fairly easy the last few weeks, just working within a range of 50kg (start point) to 60-70kg, doing sets of 3. Today I started at 50kg then 60kg and 70kg all for 3 reps, then decided I had plenty of juice in the tank so would try a bit harder, so did 75kg x 1, 80x1 then tried my previous PB of 85 for 1. I managed it - but it was pretty iffy - but I was pleased that in week 8 of (small) calorie deficit I can still hit it - gives me hope for the hundy in the new year :nod:

Sneaky jump on the scales showed the most pleasing BF figure I've seen for ages: 21.3% (down 5.5 from original 26.8% almost 8 weeks ago).

Not expecting great things weight wise this week - all that cupcake baking (and bowl licking, though didn't actually eat an actual finished product) alongside drinks on Friday and rugby on Saturday (drinks!) has pushed me up a wee bit - but only half a kg, which may easily disappear by official weigh in day on Saturday. Next week too, since we're going away this weekend (attempting to snowboard, but weather looking wee bit windy for Sun and Mon ).

[morattigirl]

Deadlift day today. I've been taking it fairly easy the last few weeks, just working within a range of 50kg (start point) to 60-70kg, doing sets of 3. Today I started at 50kg then 60kg and 70kg all for 3 reps, then decided I had plenty of juice in the tank so would try a bit harder, so did 75kg x 1, 80x1 then tried my previous PB of 85 for 1. I managed it - but it was pretty iffy - but I was pleased that in week 8 of (small) calorie deficit I can still hit it - gives me hope for the hundy in the new year :nod:

Sneaky jump on the scales showed the most pleasing BF figure I've seen for ages: 21.3% (down 5.5 from original 26.8% almost 8 weeks ago).

Good stuff CC and hell yes!! :nod: