12WBT Week 5 - the one where I get my run on

I'm excited this week. I have started to run. I have been able to run further and for longer than I ever have before. It's hurt a little bit along the way but largely it feels amazing to be moving like this. I have entered a fun run in December - my first ever. It's a 5km run along the water in Melbourne and I am excited and nervous about doing it. This week's training, in particular the Friday session where I completed the 5km on the treadmill has shown me that I can do it. I am beginning to see that running is a lot about the mind toughness and knowing in your heart you CAN do it. Sure you have to look after your body and at 42 years of age I am going to be prone to those niggly little injuries that come with "maturity" but I am starting to see what is possible by reducing my weight and increasing my fitness.

This week has also brought a much needed family holiday here. We are staying on a lovely farm on the most gorgeous country road. It sounds cliched but peace and serenity abound. I found the gym in Bright and I have been once but with scenery like we have here, it was time to take the training regime outside. There is nothing like making it up a huge hill and being rewarded with a view that stretches for miles of lush green farm land, cows grazing and kookaburras laughing at you. I haven't weighed in this week. There was just no room in the car for a set of scales. So I don't know whether I have lost weight. What I know is that I have stayed within my calorie limits, I have exercised and been active around the farm with the boys and I feel more relaxed than I have in a long time. And that can only be a great thing.

The week's workouts:

Thursday 20th - Gym (strength session)
Friday 21st - Gym (cardio session - 5km run/walk completed in 41 minutes)
Saturday 22nd - Gym (strength, cardio and core) = 800 calories burned
Sunday 23rd - Rest day and travelling to our holiday destination
Monday 24th - Gym (fitness session) - more running and feeling good
Tuesday 25th - Outdoor run - 3km and hill sprints (ouch)
Wednesday 26th- Walk - 4km (including hills)

Weight loss from October 19th to October 26th - ?
Weight loss from April 14, 2011 - 12.4kg

I have fallen in love...

...with this place. We have been on a family holiday this past five days. A farmstay holiday. It has been one of the best holidays I have ever had. Blissfully peaceful. Food for the soul. But it's drawing to a close and we must head for home. I don't want to. I've fallen in love. There are more posts on this magical place coming in the days ahead. I have lots to share. I had better go and pack our bags. Sigh. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, autism style

The Batsman and I were very lucky to be invited to go and see Classic Kids 3: Clowning Around with Melvin Tix on this Saturday just past. The performance was part of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's "Family Classic Kids" program which aims to introduce kids to the delights of instruments and music. I was so very keen for us to go to the concert (and take along the Batsman's best friend in the whole wide world, the Curly Haired Girl) but I was nervous at the same time given the Batsman's fairly regular episodes of extreme sensitivity to sound. Our Batsman loves music and so this opportunity was way too good to pass up. Sometimes you have to travel through a bit of a storm to get to the really amazing experience of a rainbow on the other side.

Lasting about forty five minutes, the performance of the orchestra gave children an amazing, close up experience with a full orchestra in an acoustically perfect auditorium. Wow. The genius in the performance is that friendly clown "Melvin Tix" is also the conductor, a fellow musician, balloon artist and all round funny (but gentle) leader of the show. His presence gave the children a pathway down which they could travel to find out about all the components of an orchestra. Intelligent, Accessible. Child-friendly. Fun.

When the full orchestra first played, the Batsman said "Mummy, it's too loud for me". The music coming from the orchestra was beautiful but yes, intense. Out of my handbag came the trusty headphones which he wore faithfully for the duration. They don't block the sound, they just reduce it so he was still able to hear and participate fully in the performance, albeit with a little less intensity for his ears. This was the very first time we had used the headphones and they worked a treat. The audience size is small so it really worked for the Batsman from an autism point of view, he wasn't overwhelmed by a huge crowd and there was the option of sitting right up close or a little further away. He also had the Curly Haired Girl by his side like she has been since they were both six weeks old.

Here's us at the MSO, autism style.




We have headphones!



Melvin Tix and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra



Conducting the orchestra with Melvin.



Bravo! Applause all round.


 I'm just so glad we took the chance (and the headphones) and did it.

Disclosure:

1) I received tickets for 2 adults and 2 kids to attend the performance as the guests of the MSO. The Batsman and the Curly Haired Girl loved the performance so I am writing about it. I also wanted families of kids with ASD to see that this is potentially an accessible, child friendly entertainment experience.

2) My photos are a little bit dodgy because I left the camera at home. Enter smartphone.

12WBT Week 4 - The one where the bullets hit the bin

I sabotaged myself this week. At least a little.

I still trained 6 days out of 7. I am beginning to run for longer stretches without stopping. I still ate well. I measured and I have lost 11cm off my hips and 7cm off my waist since 12WBT started. I still lost weight.

What undoubtedly kicked in this week was some complacency. I have, over many years, been very good at "mindless" eating. You know what I am talking about. Mindless eating is where I put food in my mouth without thinking, without measuring, without working out if I am really hungry or just bored/emotional/sugar addicted or whatever. The more I have thought about this the more I can see that it is almost like a reflex, it's automatic and this week, I told myself that I was doing so well and I let it creep in again. A piece of the kid's toast here, a swipe or two of the dip the kids are eating, a handful of chocolate bullets there. I have often used that kind of eating to "treat" myself to help me get through the crazy days we often have over here at "autism central". Does it make me happy? No. Does it help me stick to the program? No. Does it help me achieve the results I ultimately want? No.

So here I am, outing myself and my sneaky eating and declaring that it will stop.

And here are the chocolate bullets hitting the bin.

Oh and in the interests of my record keeping, here is what I did this week.

Thursday 13th - Gym (fitness session)
Friday 14th - Gym (aerobic circuit workout class. Trust me it hurt. Lots of running.)
Saturday 15th - Gym (strength, cardio and core) = 800 calories burned
Sunday 16th - Walked around Albert Park Lake for SIDS and Kids
Monday 17th - Gym (fitness session) at 6am and circuit class at 9am = 900 calories burned
Tuesday 18th - Gym (strength session)
Wednesday 19th- Gym circuit class and run (500 calories burned) and an evening pilates class.

Weight loss from October 12th to October 19th - 0.8kg
Weight loss from April 14, 2011 - 12.4kg


Go well this week one and all.

12WBT Week 3 - Keep calm and Zumba

I have loved the 12WBT program this week. Something shifted in my brain and I am finding that as each day passes I am becoming more addicted to exercise and being active than I previously thought possible. I even gave Zumba a crack, you know, just to see what it was like. It was fun but I found that even in doing all of the moves at a pretty intense pace I couldn't get my heart rate above 130 and subsequently I got nowhere near the bang for my buck that I had expected of Zumba. I think for now I am going to stick with my tried and tested gym workouts and circuit classes. My body shape is changing noticeably now which feels amazing. Oh yes, I really am starting to sound like one of those exercise junkies!


The other big thing I have decided this week is that I am going to enter my first fun run in December. I'm terrified about this but determined in equal measure so I reckon that might get me through it. That and a little bit of training.

And for my records, this is what I did this week:

Thursday 6th - Gym (strength session) & Zumba class
Friday 7th - Gym (fitness session)
Saturday 8th - Gym circuit class (strength, cardio and core) plus huge walk = 1000 calories burned
Sunday 9th - Rest day (had a massage which was much needed)
Monday 10th - Gym (fitness session) at 6am and circuit class at 9am = 900 calories burned
Tuesday 11th - Gym (strength)
Wednesday 12th- Gym circuit class and an evening pilates class.

Diet: I have begun using a calorie counting app and that has helped me so much with keeping track of what goes in my mouth. Every time I think of something I would like to eat, I look up the calories and think it through. No cheating!

Weight loss from October 5th to October 12th - 0.9kg
Weight loss from April 14, 2011 - 11.6kg


PS: When I can stay awake past 8pm I promise I will write a post about something else.

Image from We Heart It

12WBT Week 2 - things that make you go hmmmmm

I haven't blogged about anything else here on Segovia since my last 12WBT post. My exercise regime of getting up at 5:30am to hit the gym has meant that I am falling asleep on the couch before I have a chance to think about writing any other late night blog posts. Still, I feel good. I feel energised for much of my day and the high I experience when I arrive home from the gym post workout at 7am is slowly but surely becoming addictive.

The scales don't really tell the story I would like them to tell this week. I hopped on this morning and would you believe my weight has stayed exactly the same this week? Yes, that's right, no gain, no loss. Hmmmmmmmm.

This is what I did this week:
Thursday 29th - Gym (fitness session)
Friday 30th - Gym (fitness and strength session)
Saturday 1st - Gym circuit class (strength, cardio and core)
Sunday 2nd - Rest day (although I did do a big walk with the boys and the pram)
Monday 3rd - Gym cross trainer and treadmill (fitness)
Tuesday 4th - Gym cross trainer and weight work (fitness and strength); 2 hour walk pushing the pram
Wednesday 5th- Gym (fitness session)


Diet: I stuck to the 1200 calories per day every day except one. Saturday was Grand Final day here in Melbourne and I did have a glass of champagne and some potato chips. But that has been my only slip this week.
Weight loss from September 28th to October 5th - 0kg
Weight loss from April 14, 2011 - 10.7kg


I'm not disappointed with the no loss/no gain scenario, oh hell, maybe I am, but more than anything I am puzzled. I know that some weeks are better than others and I know this can happen but I just thought with all the hard work I would get a little better weight reward than this. Sigh.


Not having the result this week does make me more determined to get a good one at the next weigh in though. Wish me luck and if you have any theories on the no loss/no gain then I am all ears.