Project Shapety Shape

[m1469]

Get in shape girl!  haha.  Or guy! 


My project is so far three days strong!  As of today, I upped my situps to 13 in each set (3 sets), and it was 12 on Tuesday.  I was a little soar from my first-set-of-squats-in-years on Tuesday, but I also went on a brisk walk yesterday morning.  So far I've stayed with only the bar for squats, but plan to add some weight (maybe only 5 pounds total) on Saturday.

My plan is to alternate a "cardio" day (though it only means a brisk walk for now) with my weights/situps days.  I never got to the bench press but I will on Saturday.  Eventually I'd like to be doing cardio everyday, though.  And anyway, my pants already feel a bit different because I guess my buns and thighs are already getting *awesome*  .

If you want to post about your getting into better shape projects/progress, feel free!  Don't be surprised if I post again .

My main goal, though, is to just start including *something* into my day for the sake of being active and feeling good, not just for the sake of *cough*losing weight*cough*.  However, I would indeed like to feel more comfortable in my skins, you know, more myself!  Cheers!

And anyway, I do all of it in jeans.  No excuses about needing to get changed, ect.  I don't care, the most important thing is that I do it!

[thalbergmad]

What a good idea foxy. I am now doing 4 sessions at the gym per week, with cycling at weekends.

Monday - Cardio - 30 mins rowing, 20 mins walking, 20 mins stepper.
Tuesday - weights - 8x8 pec dec, 8x8 tricep press, 8x8 seated leg press, 8x8 lat pull downs, 8x8 arm curls.
Wednesday - Thal rest day.
Thursday - Cardio - 30 mins recumbant cycle, 20 mins nordic skier thingy, 20 mins arm cycling thingy.
Friday - Free Weights - 4x8 bench press, 4x8 military press, 4x8 dead lifts plus various cable work.
Saturday - sitting on my arse listening to music.
Sunday - 30 mile bike ride. Thal bike No.2 if wet and Thal bike No.1 if sunny and dry.

Thal diet:
Breakfast: gigantic bowl of museli with pint of juice
Lunch: salad stuff
Evening meal: can be anything as mummy does this
Drinks: 2 pints of guiness per week and gallons of mineral water and creatine drink.

Thal

[littletune]

Oh situps!  I'm REALLY good at situps!!  I can do 100 (or even more situps at once!)  Can anyone do more than that??  Well I usually do about 100 situps every day... and I jump while listening to music too I think that's a really good exercise too!   

[thalbergmad]

I cannot do situps.

My stomach gets in the way.

100 at once is pretty impressive.

Thal

[ted]

According to my diary I have trained on 543 days of the last 632 days; 371 aerobic sessions and 172 resistance sessions. An aerobic session is 3000 to 4000 turns of the exercycle, rapid, on medium to high resistance, usually taking about 45 minutes to an hour. This leaves me sweating and puffing profusely. There's no way I could exercise in long trousers or not have a shower immediately afterwards. My resistance training is very mild, comprising a few sets of dumbbells and various things with expanders and the bullworker.

I do a fair bit of walking rather than driving, totalling, again in the diary, 778 miles in the last year, but that's actually only a couple of miles a day, to the shops, beach or the like, and I don't count it as training. I like doing manual labour in the section and mow our kikuyu grass with a handmower at least once a week. I don't know how to operate a motor mower.

Breakfast is a big bowl of a mixture of three types of bran: AllBran, bulk natural bran and oat bran, (AllBran is too expensive) and some fruit. Lunch is usually leftovers from the night before. I am not painfully fussy over diet but for many years I have tried to reduce sugar, fat and salt generally. I do have two or three cups of coffee a day, and as "expert" evidence about coffee is contradictory, I see no reason yet to stop drinking it if I enjoy it. My alcohol intake is negligible.

I could probably push myself much more, but I had twenty-five years of competitive sport when I was younger, and at sixty-three I think what I do is probably adequate.





This is a photo of the state of the art gym I attend. The subscription is very reasonable. It is a bit smelly because of the Fishoilene and metal primer I used on the thirty year old exercycle. But I am not exactly as sweet as a rose either after an hour's workout.

[Bob]

I was going to jog/walk .25 miles but... It's getting late now.


*Bob considers launching "Operation Lardass."*

[fleetfingers]

Looks like ted is already in shapety shape!

I cannot believe you use that mower.    I used one (well, mostly my husband did) for a while and, boy, was it HARD. No wonder your guns are so big. 

I swam laps last summer every morning for 40 minutes and can't wait for the pool to heat up pretty soon so I can get back to it. I also ride my bike for 40 minutes in the evenings about 4 times a week. None of that 50-mile stuff Thal talks about. I'm more like a little girl going for a casual bike ride around the neighborhood. I figure that swimming works out my upper body, biking works out my lower body, and I get cardio with both. I should probably add sit-ups or pilates to work my core...and I should eat better.

[birba]

You guys make me sick.  Until 2 years ago before my "illness", I used to go 3 times a week to the gym - had buns for days.  Now I'm just starting to learn to walk again without a crutch...very depressing.  

[ted]

Fleetfingers:

A handmower makes a very nice looking lawn with none of the scalping that rotary mowers produce. Admittedly, they are not built to cut kikuyu grass. However, kikuyu is only a push and shove for about two months in  early autumn when it shoots; nothing a higher blade, brute force and ignorance cannot solve. I have pretty limited mechanical skill but handmowers are good fun to take apart,  clean and sharpen. I have two or three of them. My father used a handmower until he was eighty-five, at which time he also stopped playing interclub singles tennis. So I have a good example to follow.

Birba:

Really sorry to hear that. I have had periods when I couldn't train and I missed it very much. Mind you, I'm always trying to behave like a twenty-five year old. I ran up a steep bank at the beach last year and ripped a calf muscle. I ruptured a posterior tibialis tendon at least once while overtraining, and when I was playing competitive tennis and actually was twenty-five, I seemed to get an injury every second time I was on the court.

But I loathe being inactive and have a horror of ending up like the dozens  of waddling, red-faced hippos my wife and I see whenever we visit the food court at the local mall. I'd seriously sooner go out like a light than be like that; it must feel awful.

[ahinton]

m1469, your efforts with this are little short of heroic and I'm sure that they'll have the desired effect - but what a strange thread title?! Is "shapety" meant to read "shapely", or am I missing something?...

I confess that the inside of a gym is foreign territory to me and I'm sure that I'm nowhere near as fit as I ought to be, but at least I am only very marginally overweight and needing only of a minor amount of redistribution, so I fear that I'm not about to embark upon a strenuous exercise régime (for all that I suppose I should). Good luck to you!

Best,

Alistair

[ted]

I have never been in a gym either. Unless you want to train for a special sport I consider them superfluous and too expensive. It is actually necessary to spend hardly any money and only moderate time to become very fit indeed, let alone maintain a healthy level of activity. But of course the gym people don't want you to know that truth. Admittedly, many people find  the discipline of solitary exercise too much of a grind and a gym gives them a sort of social incentive, which I suppose for them is good. However, my wife tells me that most of the women at her gym do a few token lifts, a few minutes of slow aerobics, then emerge to tuck into a heap of greasies and buns at the food court. About $700 a year with little to show for it.

[ahinton]

I have never been in a gym either. Unless you want to train for a special sport I consider them superfluous and too expensive. It is actually necessary to spend hardly any money and only moderate time to become very fit indeed, let alone maintain a healthy level of activity. But of course the gym people don't want you to know that truth. Admittedly, many people find  the discipline of solitary exercise too much of a grind and a gym gives them a sort of social incentive, which I suppose for them is good. However, my wife tells me that most of the women at her gym do a few token lifts, a few minutes of slow aerobics, then emerge to tuck into a heap of greasies and buns at the food court. About $700 a year with little to show for it.

Yes, there's absolutely no point in exercising at the gym and then negating the possible beneficial effects of that by indulging poor dietary habits; indeed, I suspect that the principal reason why, although not especially fit, I don't really have a weight problem is that my diet excludes most of the kinds of stuff that could have adverse effects if not balanced by an exercise régime of some kind. I'm not a vegetarian, but I rarely eat desserts, always avoid fatty, sugary, artifical products and never drink beer of any kind. I agree that many gyms are wonderful cash vacuum cleaners for the unwary and gullible, but they do nevertheless have their useful purposes.

Best,

Alistair

[m1469]

m1469, your efforts with this are little short of heroic and I'm sure that they'll have the desired effect - but what a strange thread title?! Is "shapety" meant to read "shapely", or am I missing something?...

Yes, they are extremely short of heroic, which is actually the point for now.  I'm trying to get to a point where I don't feel that *everything* I do has to be done in heroic fashion or not at all.  Athletics were a huge interest of mine and very important in my life.  But, if I wanted to be an athletic hero, I'd aim at climbing Everest and become an honest to goodness tri-athlete!  The title of the thread is just for fun. 

I confess that the inside of a gym is foreign territory to me and I'm sure that I'm nowhere near as fit as I ought to be, but at least I am only very marginally overweight and needing only of a minor amount of redistribution, so I fear that I'm not about to embark upon a strenuous exercise régime (for all that I suppose I should). Good luck to you!

Best,

Alistair

Yes, I've quit my gym membership, actually, as of a few years ago.  I did enjoy it when I actually went and there are plusses to going to an actual gym vs. just staying at home.  It's similar to having a separate space than the ordinary household to be musical in.  Sometimes the focus is just better and the commitment is stronger, etc..  Anyway, I hope to increase my current endeavors to something more than they are for now, that's for sure!  But, I've got to start somewhere .

Speaking of which, though, I've not gotten my brisk walk in for the day quite yet, there's some daylight left and I think I'll hop to it!  I think I'll try to do some more weeding, too .  And, maybe ... just *maybe* ... I'll get to record another "baby piece" and post it before bedtime.

haha ... Birba ... "buns for days" ... that's a good one .

I'm happy to see so many people are interested in working out and such!  Cheers!

[oxy60]

You are all to be encouraged in whatever level of physical activity you choose. You won't regret it as the years go by.

The very nature of piano playing demands we sit still. If we want to get good at it we need to spend hours practicing. For us any sort of activity plus keeping an eye on our diet will pay big dividends.

[m1469]

Well, I did indeed get my brisk walk in yesterday evening!  And, I got my small but growing workout in today, too. 

I added weight to my squats and started in on bench press.  They are the same weight as each other ... hee hee.  The bar is normally about 45/50lbs. by itself, and I added 5lbs. total.  I can tell my arms are going to be a little sore tomorrow, even though the weight wasn't really too difficult.  I think I'll add more weight for at least my squats on Monday.  I also did three sets of 15 situps today!  Yip! 

So, today:

Squats:  50lbs (I'll say the bar is only 45lbs.)
Bench Press:  50lbs
Situps:  45 total

Now, outside for some reading in the breeze .

[goldentone]

The bar is 45 lbs?  Mine is about 20 or a little less.

I'll be your spotter.  

[thalbergmad]

Weather very nice here, so did 20 miles on bike yesterday and got up early this morning (unusual for a Sunday) and did another 20 miles.

Now, massive roast.

Thal

[thinkgreenlovepiano]

Oh situps!  I'm REALLY good at situps!!    )

I'm ONLY good at situps. (: I can do over a hundred situps, but I'm lucky if I manage 10 proper pushups 
I also love skipping rope and hula-hooping  That's how I exercise every day.
I used to have a gym membership but I kind of wasted it... I never had time to go, plus I felt a little intimidated by all the people lifting all those really heavy weights when I could hardly move them at all!
Oh well to get exercise I can just lift my backpack. It's like 30 lbs! 
I'm really excited that the weather is finally warming up after about 7 months of winter. Now I can finally get my bike out 

[ahinton]

I still don't quite get what this "shapety" is about (especially if it's not a msprnt for "shapely"), but I did spend most of this weekend gardening but have probably lost no weight at all as a consequence - ah, well...

Best,

Alistair

[m1469]

I still don't quite get what this "shapety" is about (especially if it's not a msprnt for "shapely"), but I did spend most of this weekend gardening but have probably lost no weight at all as a consequence - ah, well...

Best,

Alistair

"Shapety" is just for fun!  

*whispers* Plus, it's a little spin off the SDC (is that the right way to say that?).

[m1469]

The bar is 45 lbs?  Mine is about 20 or a little less.

Yeah!  Well, that's what a normal "Olympic" bar is supposed to weigh, approximately.  But, the collars I use are just these little squeezy things vs. these big metal things I used to put on them in high school.  With those big metal latch things, it used to make the bar about 50, supposedly.  But then, there are these really skinny bars, too, which I'm guessing is what yours is like if it's seriously 20 pounds or less.

I'll be your spotter.  

Thanks!  I used to have fabulous workouts in high school when I had a particular "workout buddy" (we were encouraged to have a regular person we would workout with and spot and such), and we really supported each other a lot and worked really well together.  It was some of the most fun I've had in athletics, actually, because I improved so much during that time!  But she got sick for like a month and I hardly knew what to do with myself when she was gone!  That was a long time ago, though .  Now I can cope .  But, if I'm ever doing something immense or otherwise heroic, I'll call you right up  .

[fleetfingers]

I still don't quite get what this "shapety" is about (especially if it's not a msprnt for "shapely"), but I did spend most of this weekend gardening but have probably lost no weight at all as a consequence - ah, well...

Best,

Alistair

Maybe it's only in my area (or the U.S.), but it's a common thing to add "-ety" to the end of words when you're being light-hearted and silly about something (i.e. skippety-skip, clickety-click, lickety-lick).

"I want a scoopety-scoop of ice cream!"

"Let's get into shapety-shape!"

Not sure if that's how it's spelled...it's really just something you say.

Now, you have me wondering about the origin of such a thing. It is strange when I think about it.

[ongaku_oniko]

I still don't quite get what this "shapety" is about (especially if it's not a msprnt for "shapely"), but I did spend most of this weekend gardening but have probably lost no weight at all as a consequence - ah, well...

I laughed.

Even after I finished laughing, I still don't quite get what this "msprnt" is.

[ahinton]

I laughed.

Even after I finished laughing, I still don't quite get what this "msprnt" is.

Then you clearly cannot perceive a deliberate extraction of vowels from the word "misprint" in order to make it look like one. Ah, well - never mind...

Best,

Alistair

[m1469]

Weather very nice here, so did 20 miles on bike yesterday and got up early this morning (unusual for a Sunday) and did another 20 miles.

20 miles is great!  I'm not sure when the next time will be that I ride 20 miles, but maybe in a couple of months or so.  Though, I did sell my road bike  .  I'll have to put some roady tires on my mountain bike and look like a bit of an idiot, but oh well!

Today, I upped my squat/bench weight to 55lbs.  It is still quite easy but getting slightly as though I'm actually starting to workout more for real now.  I may up it again on Wednesday, now that I'm past the initial days of potential soreness.  

So, workout:

Situps:  45 (still)
Squats:  55
Bench:  55

Food:  

Breaky:  Oatmeal/brown sugar/berries/yogurt (about 300 calories)
Lunch:  Potato/1 egg/some mozza cheese/salad (about 400 calories)
Snack:  Some chocolate (about 200 calories)
Other snack:  Small apple (about 70 calories)
Dinner:  I really stunk it up here.  I ate chips and cereal ... probably about 700 calories (but I want to stay to about 500 for dinner)


Tomorrow I'm going to make my walk a little longer and try running (in my jeans  ) for like 30 seconds ... hee hee.

[m1469]

I did extend my walk today and I did run, but for an entire minute instead of just 30 seconds   .  That felt easy, so I'll make it longer on Thursday.  I'm really looking forward to working out tomorrow and I do plan to add more weight.  I am finding that it's becoming a wonderful part of my day and I'm having more energy during the day and sleeping a bit better.  I'm looking forward to getting better, too .

Workout today:

Bigger walk, brisker walk, ran for 1 minute.

Food:

Breakfast:  Normal (oatmeal, etc.)  300
Lunch:  a Potato and Salad  about 350
Snack:  Some chocolate  about 200
More snack:  Banana  about 100
Another snack:  Zone Bar  210
Dinner:  Chicken breast sandwhich w/pepperjack cheese on a super thin bun -- 350

Water:  about 120 OZ. straight
W/tea:  about 30 OZ.

Total Calories:  1,510

[goldentone]

Dinner:  I really stunk it up here.  I ate chips and cereal ... probably about 700 calories (but I want to stay to about 500 for dinner)

Chips and cereal--that's a new one.  I like chips, and I like cereal, but not together!

I am finding that it's becoming a wonderful part of my day and I'm having more energy during the day and sleeping a bit better.

That's great!

Dinner:  Chicken breast sandwhich w/pepperjack cheese on a super thin bun -- 350

You made up for dinner yesterday.

I have been working out with weights for eight years, but I haven't exercised or played any sports for a long time.  I think my mere exposure to Project Shapety Shape may spur some change there.

By the way, I bought a new spotter outfit. . . I think you'll like it. 

[m1469]

Chips and cereal--that's a new one.  I like chips, and I like cereal, but not together!

Well, chips came first in the mode of "oh, gee, I'm starvin'!  I didn't plan any dinner and there's nothing to eat ... I'm starving.  Gee, I think I'll eat these potatoe chips!" ... then came, "that wasn't dinner!  But, there's still nothing to eat!  I think I'll eat a nice bowl of mixed cereals (that's so fun and yummy!)"

That is one thing I am learning, that part of the key to success in eating right is being prepared and planning ahead!  But, by last night there was grilled chicken .  

You made up for dinner yesterday.

Yes, sort of!  I taught until 8pm yesterday and that basically meant that I had to spread my "dinner" out over the course of a few hours (yep, I ate a banana and a bar while teaching).  So, the real thing with my dinner was that it needed to balance out the snacking within the day!  But, that's possible when I plan ahead .  I am trying to get to a point, though (and doing fairly well) where I don't let the day before dictate the day ahead.  So, if I messed up the day before, I'm not going to try to balance that out by depriving myself the next day (because that almost always messes me up, too!), but instead just stick to the "plan" and aim to be more consistent.

I have been working out with weights for eight years, but I haven't exercised or played any sports for a long time.  I think my mere exposure to Project Shapety Shape may spur some change there.

Well, maybe that is fantastic news!  I actually took some photos a week ago and then today of my stomach.  Today my stomach started its own project called "Project 6pack".  I don't know that I'll ever have a bonified 6pack, but I do see some progress in my photos even over a week of not so stellar living.  Since I started posting what I'm eating, though, and since I saw progress in my photos and feel it in my pants, I'm feeling multiple times more motivated!  

By the way, I bought a new spotter outfit. . . I think you'll like it.  

Well, this is automatically humorous to me, for no apparent reason!  You haven't indicated what it looks like, but somehow it's got to be slightly funny, I think!  I guess I ought to start wearing actual workout clothes, one of these days!  Pretty soon I'll dig those goodies out and slap 'em on ... hee hee.

[m1469]

Today's summary:

Food:

Breaky:  Normal (300)
Lunch:  1-egg and cheese, English Muffin sandwhich and salad (400)
Snack:  Some semi-sweet choco (same stuff as the others)  (200)
More snack:  small apple (80)
Another snack:  Zone Bar (210)
Dinner:  Chicken sandwhich and salad  (400)

Total:  1590

Workout:

Squats:  60 lbs.
Bench:   60 lbs.
Situps:   60 total

I may add another lift and more weight to my existing lifts, soon.  Man, the situps were quite a bit harder for me, doing another 5 in each set.  But, Project 6pack isn't such without 'em!

[thalbergmad]

Yesterday report:

nil return

Thal

[ted]

I'll do one or two daily summaries just for fun, but I fear it will be supremely uninteresting.

Breakfast was a large bowl of mixed All Bran, natural bran and oat bran, softened with hot water and a little milk (low fat). One banana.

Two cups of instant coffee of moderate strength.

Lunch was leftovers, being two small folded pieces of pork schnitzel with stuffing inside. One large cup of ordinary tea with milk.

Afternoon tea comprised three slices of Vogel bread and marmite and five feijoas straight off the tree. Another cup of tea.

Half an hour resistance training with dumbbells and the expander.

Two thousand turns rapid/sprint stationary cycling on high resistance - about forty minutes including a break in the middle.

Two glasses of water.

Another cup of tea.

Dinner comprised a Filipino dish similar to small Cornish pasties, of which I ate four with steak sauce and a large bowl of mesclun greens.

Evening cup of tea with one shortbread biscuit and about ten roasted brazil nuts.

No walking or labouring today, which is unusual.

Bags of piano playing.

[ahinton]

I think it sensible to point out to anyone who might be insufficiently aware of it that too much exercise without the right kinds of food and drink to balance this exercise can be at least as potentially dangerous as bad diet, lack of sufficient physical exercise or both.

Best,

Alistair

[m1469]

Yesterday report:

nil return

Thal

What does that mean?

Hurray, Ted!  And thanks for the heads up, Alistair  .  You are the coach, I guess!  Would you like to be my chef?  From what you've posted about before, I'd love it if you were ... hee hee.

[thalbergmad]

I think it sensible to point out to anyone who might be insufficiently aware of it that too much exercise without the right kinds of food and drink to balance this exercise can be at least as potentially dangerous as bad diet, lack of sufficient physical exercise or both.

Thanks sooo much Dr Hinty.

I am sure we are all enlightened by these words of wisdom.

Thal

[ahinton]

And thanks for the heads up, Alistair

You're welcome!

You are the coach, I guess!

I'm sure that I'd be a lousy coach, actually; sorry!

Would you like to be my chef?  From what you've posted about before, I'd love it if you were...

It's very kind of you to ask, but I don't think I'd make a much better chef than I would a coach, really - and, given your whereabouts, that would in any case involve either some seriously unhealthy food miles or the relocation of one of us to the other's vicinity!

Best,

Alistair

[ahinton]

Thanks sooo much Dr Hinty.

I am sure we are all enlightened by these words of wisdom.

I'm not so sure of that; you surely accept, however (do you not?) that there are those out there who make errors and misjudgements as to how best to go about establishing and maintaining these kinds of régime? Just because you might be sensible about it doesn't mean that everyone else would be.

Best,

Alistair

[m1469]

So, you are adding wisdom for the sake of potential readers who may not be posting?  How wise of you .


Now, I must say!  I'm feeling pretty stoked right now.  This is the first time in my life that I've gone about this all in such a balanced fashion.  AND, it's actually working!!!

Suddenly I'm having more wardrobe, which is pretty fun.  I'm actually really starting to feel differently in my skins!

AND, I ran for 2 minutes this morning ... which is basically nothing but it felt like quite a bit more than my 1 minute from the day before.  There are maybe a couple of factors involved in that, but one of the main ones being that I'm outta shape and getting back into shape.

I'm staying far away from the scale for now because it almost always messes me up in one way or another, completely.  And, even though I would like to continue to feel differently in my body, and the sense of healthfulness that it brings is part of the main point, losing weight in and of itself is not the actual point.  I just want a natural sense of eating habits, a natural sense of movement and physical activity in my life, and better clothing .  Just a more "normal" lifestyle.  It's about time, really.

[ted]

Breakfast: Usual three bran mixture and one banana. Two cups of medium strength coffee.

Walk of around two miles to shops.

Lunch: One leftover pastie. Cup of tea.

Afternoon tea: One small piece of chicken at mall. Three slices of Vogel bread and marmite with a cup of tea on arrival home.

Training: 2000 turns of exercycle on high resistance, rapid/sprint.

Two glasses of water and five feijoas off the tree. These luscious fruit are dropping in hundreds from our two trees just now. I limit myself to a dozen or so a day or else processes become streamlined, to use a euphemistic turn of phrase. We give most of them to friends and neighbours as they cost a ridiculous $6.00/kg in the shops.




Dinner: Roast chicken, broccoli, carrots, onions, basmati rice with a little gravy. Glass of water.

Evening cup of tea and two shortbread biscuits.

An apple for supper

[thalbergmad]

4 pints of guiness - 16 reps

Bad day.

Thal

[goldentone]

Well, chips came first in the mode of "oh, gee, I'm starvin'!  I didn't plan any dinner and there's nothing to eat ... I'm starving.  Gee, I think I'll eat these potatoe chips!" ... then came, "that wasn't dinner!  But, there's still nothing to eat!  I think I'll eat a nice bowl of mixed cereals (that's so fun and yummy!)"

I understand perfectly, then.  I always have chips with a sandwich or pizza.  Rarely do I snack on them alone.

I am trying to get to a point, though (and doing fairly well) where I don't let the day before dictate the day ahead.  So, if I messed up the day before, I'm not going to try to balance that out by depriving myself the next day (because that almost always messes me up, too!), but instead just stick to the "plan" and aim to be more consistent.

Yes, I think that's the right approach.

Well, this is automatically humorous to me, for no apparent reason!  You haven't indicated what it looks like, but somehow it's got to be slightly funny, I think!  I guess I ought to start wearing actual workout clothes, one of these days!  Pretty soon I'll dig those goodies out and slap 'em on ... hee hee.

My spotter outfit. . . it's a surprise.  

[goldentone]

Another cup of tea.

 
 

What do Feijoas taste like, Ted?  They look like a hybrid of a cucumber and a watermelon.

[ted]

It's hard to describe a taste accurately in words. They are like rather sweet guavas with a taste of their own. And they are, in fact, a type of large guava. According to the internet, New Zealand grows and eats many times more of them than any other country. I can believe that, as every second garden seems to have a couple of feijoa trees. I think two trees are usually necessary to enable insects and birds to pollinate them, but I'm not an expert so don't quote me. Many people eat them by biting the end off, tearing them lengthwise and scraping the pulp out with their teeth. This wastes less of the fruit than scooping out the halves with a spoon. The smaller varieties of the trees make nice hedges, from which passersby can help themselves to the fruit. 

Unlike the kiwifruit, the feijoa is difficult to keep in good condition and has a very brief optimum eating stage. So no huge industry similar to that of the kiwifruit has emerged.

[ted]

Breakfast: Usual three bran mixture. One banana. Two cups of medium strength instant coffee.

Lunch: Leftover pork mince dish from two days ago. Large cup of tea.

Afternoon: Large cup of tea.

20 minutes resistance with dumbbells and expander.

Stationary cycling, 2000 turns on high resistance, rapid/sprint

Eight feijoas, two glasses of water.

Dinner: Thick soup using leftover chicken. Feijoa crumble and yoghurt icecream.

Large cup of tea. One apple. One biscuit.

No supper because the bread had gone mouldy.

No walking. Raining heavily much of the day.

As I say, my habits are very regular and singularly unexciting. As to weight control, I've always found it dead easy; eat less and exercise more, weight decreases; eat more and exercise less, weight increases. Just a balanced diet either way, nothing drastic or special. I don't know why so many people make such a big thing of it.

[m1469]

Well, I think it's interesting for me to see how others go about their lifestyle in this way.  Developing habits in these ways are either learned since childhood or very decided.

Yesterday was a great day as far as Shapety goes (the day before was going really well until the evening, then it went really badly).  Yesterday I did the same workout as I did on Wednesday:

Bench:  60lbs (3 sets of 7 reps)
Squats:  diddo
Situps:  Total 60 (3 sets of 20 reps)

This morning I went for a hike instead of my regular walk around the neighborhood.  I even ran for a portion of the uphill, which is pretty darn steep!  I would love to eventually get back into the kind of trail running I used to do (and I'm sure my dog would love it if I did, too), but that will not be able to be an everyday occurance like I had made it at one time in my life.  That will need to be for the weekends.

Anyhoo, I'm going to list my foods for today (so far) and for yesterday because my mess up on Thursday is trying to convince me to hide and such.  Instead of hiding, I will instead do the opposite:

Yesterday's food:

Breakfast:  Regular oatmeal (300)
Lunch:  Salad with grilled chicken and half a small avocado (400)
Snack:  some chocolate (200)
Dinner:  2-egg, half avocado, English muffin sandwhich and simple salad.  (500)

Total for Friday:  1400


Today's food so far:

Breakfast:  Regular (300)
Lunch:  1-egg, quarter avocado, English Muffin sandwhich and salad (about 340)
Snack:  some chocolate (170)
Snack:  1 serving of chips w/salsa  (140)
Dinner:  2 cups of pasta and salad (500ish)

Total so far:  1450


hmmm ... Unfortunately, I've not been sleeping well at all and it's creating a cycle.  I'll try to break it (probably just need to finally do the dang taxes  ).

[thalbergmad]

Been a good boy today.

Breakfast - 1 bowl of mini shreddies
Lunch - blueberry spread roll

Then got the ferry over to Tilbury and did a nice 40 mile circular route on Thal bike No.1.

Evening meal - nice pile of ravioli with a litre of mineral water.

Tomorrow I think i will go for a walk. My "buns" are sore after the cycling.

Thal

[m1469]

My "buns" are sore after the cycling.

Thal

Those are your Thalybuns, Thaly.

Been a good boy today.

Breakfast - 1 bowl of mini shreddies
Lunch - blueberry spread roll

Then got the ferry over to Tilbury and did a nice 40 mile circular route on Thal bike No.1.

Evening meal - nice pile of ravioli with a litre of mineral water.


Thal

That is not enough food!  

[thalbergmad]

You should have seen the size of the pile of ravioli

I wish I had taken a photo.

Thal

[m1469]

You should have seen the size of the pile of ravioli

I wish I had taken a photo.

Thal

Well, I wish you had taken a photo, too!  Because it would have needed to be like 1800 calories to have been enough!  

My spotter outfit. . . it's a surprise.  

hmm .... is it a tuxedo?  

[ted]

Rest day from training. Rest days are important and usually amount to about one day in five or six.

Usual breakfast. Bran and banana. Two coffees.

Lunch: Remainder of chicken soup with five slices of Vogel bread. Large cup of tea.

Afternoon: Large cup of tea. Five feijoas.

Walk of about two miles to shops.

Dinner: Mixed grill. Bacon, black pudding, sausages, chicken legs, basmati rice (fat extracted from sausages by boiling and by Foreman grill)

Large cup of tea and biscuit.

Two slices of toast, one with plum jam.

Plenty of piano. Mostly fiddling with and recording Chopin studies and realising my peculiar technique does not suit Chopin. Nonetheless, I shall persist.

[Bob]

*Bob weighs in.*

Hi.  My name's Bob.  And I've gained two pounds this week.  Or three.  I can't quite read the scale.  And the scale could be off too... That's possible... And my pants could have shrunk too... 

On the plus side I did .2 miles on the treadmill today.