Fighting Phat

I'm Back

2007-03-15T21:53:00.000+11:00

Hi All, I am back after a long absence. Just got home from my first rugby training in a while and I am sporting a few bruises. It was good, some contact training tonight, and apparently the first trial game is on this weekend. I am actually looking forward to it, however I wont be playing at 100% first off. I'm not quite there yet, but am ready for a hit out. It should be good and I'll let you all know how it goes. They seem to be a good bunch of guys at training.

My partner and I have moved, and our stolen bikes have been replaced. It feels great to be out of the old place, and our new pad is located in a much more interesting part of town, and there is a park right next door that is ideal for cycling and running in. My partner and I have just started to take advantage of that, and are really enjoying our new place.

So, it is good to be back - had the usual performance with Telstra getting our internet connected. They are useless, so if anyone out there is thinking of going to Bigpond, don't. They are the worst service provider that I have ever come across and as soon as we can get off contract we will be going to someone else..almost anyone else. Keep well, and check back soon for more substantial postings from me - there will be at least one on Saturday so check back then at least!

A Terrible Few Days

2007-02-17T15:36:00.000+11:00

Sorry all for the absence of posts of late. I have been having a really tough time lately and the toll of it all has been that I haven't had any time to post to my blog, and not much time to exercise either. Okay, so what's been going on?

Well, first of all we were robbed the other day which was really bad. It was good luck that they didn't take too much that can't be replaced, but it was very unsettling for both myself and my partner. Most people have been really good about it, but we have decided that we need to move.

In Sydney at the moment there is a 'rental property crisis' so moving and looking at properties has been a real strain for the two of us. This weekend was much better and for the first time in three weeks of looking we have found at least 3 places that we can imagine living in so hopefully we will get one of those three - fingers crossed.

When we do get one of them, move, and get settled elsewhere, I'll be right back into the rugby training and so on. Until then, I really do have bigger fish to fry and the effort will have to be placed elsewhere. I have kept on the straight and narrow diet wise, but I can tell that I need the exercise to come back as well. In any event, most of the places we have been looking at are more ideally located for exercise (nearer gyms and parks and what have you). I'm looking forward to it, and I'm looking forward to returning to posting more often as well.

The Night Before

2007-01-31T21:23:00.000+11:00

Well, it is back to Rugby training tomorrow evening, and I am looking forward to the session tomorrow night. I managed to get out for a run yesterday evenng after work, and I am nowhere near as sore as I was after my training session with the rugby team last time. I also managed to do an enormous walk on Saturday, and that helped a lot with the residual soreness from the training. The training tomorrow night will be different to running on my own, but I am picking that it will be a good session for me, and the soreness should return but be a lot less intense than it was last time.

I plan to take Friday night off from training and will be heading out after work to watch the first game of the local rugby competition on television. I'm really looking forward to the start of the rugby season, it will be a real cracker, and it is made that much more exciting by actually playing the game. This weekend I will also return to the gym and insist that time is put aside for that this weekend. This is a really important part of training as it helps with the impact training that will be part of the Rugby sessions for me in the near future. I still have no intention of doing any contact training in the meantime.

I will let you all know how it goes tomorrow night. I am sure that it will be fun, and my short term goal is to emerge from the training sessions injury free...easier said than done apparently. This time I may do some warm up on my own and make sure that I stay at my own pace. I should be able to handle it better this time, and hopefully I will be able to set the standard for training sessions to come. Good luck to you all, check back soon for more on my fight against fat.

And So It Begins

2007-01-26T09:33:00.000+11:00

Last night was the first night of rugby training, and to be fair it was quite tough. Fortunately for me it wasn't too hot yesterday, so that made running around that much easier. However, it has been some time since I did any sprinting or the rest of the training that comes with rugby.

I was pleasantly surprised with my perforance though. I was running at the end of the pack most of the time, but apart from one running section of the training I completed it all. I was not impressed with the structure of the training. We went right into it, and there wasn't much stretching at all. Consequently, I took it a bit easy as the body simply isn't as young as it used to be...I wasn't at all surprised when three of my colleagues fell out of training with torn calves and dodgy hamstrings.

However, the worst surprise came when they bought out the tackle pads and expected us to begin carshing into each other. Now, I know this was going to happen, but not at the first training when I haven't run fulls team into another bloke for a few years. To me, that is just asking for trouble, and sure enough there were a few more injuries sustained by those who did take part. I felt that by that stage I had done enough for the first session and so I sat that part out with my mate from work. He was not inclined to tackle this early on. I mean there are still two months to go until the first pre-season game so it isn't like we haven't got time to get a bit of fitness together first.

I enjoyed having a run around and meeting some new people. I think that I will keep going for as long as I can, and one thing that struck me about the training is that having other people around does make you go harder than you do on your own. I expended quite a lot of effort in the sprints to make sure that I kept up with the others, and I reckon that I did pretty well. Bring it on, I love the training and I even managed to avoid the pub afterwards! Maybe next time!

I am sore this morning however. My legs hurt, my groin is really tight, my back hurts (thanks to a wayward pass that I had to scoop up off the ground while running at full speed - good to know that skill is still there, even if the body found it tough first time up). It feels good however, as I know this means that I put in a good effort and will be rewarded. I am going to up my running time during the week so that next time when I go back I can do even better. I'd like to get into one of the teams for the season, but wont be disappointed if I don't. I was definitely at the upper end of the age range for the training session! Check back soon for more on my training.

Decisions, Decisions

2007-01-23T21:02:00.000+11:00

Well folks, having made the transition to Blogger Beta, although it is no longer beta, I have a few decisions to make. If I change my template and update it to the new blogger formats, I will lose all of the HTML goodies that I have added to the blog - such as my stats...

I'm not sure if it is worth doing this, and perhaps starting again from the new weight, or if I should remain with my old template and leave it just the way it is. It would be nice, I guess, to have a record of the entire journey to my new goal weight...If anyone out there has any thoughts, leave some comments on what you think I would be best to do.

Making Progress, But Still Really Busy

2007-01-20T15:27:00.000+11:00

I have been making progress, but am finding it hard with all the work I have on to report to you all aobut it, sorry, but I will be more regular with my posting as of next week. Promise!

My rugby training starts next Thursday. I have decided to do the training and see how I pull up, I may decide not to play, I can't really afford any injuries at this stage of my life, and the older I get the more likely those injuries are to ocurr, and any injury is also likely to be more serious. Anyway, I will see what the action is after a few training sessions, once I am able to gague the level of skill that my fellow players have and if I feel up to it. A great way to meet people, and it should be fun, as well as healthy and it should also save me some money if I can use this training, and my own to keep fit and not spend money with the trainer.

Tomorrow my partner and I plan to go for a walk, but we will have to wait and see what the weather does. It is enormously hot here today, and that is not conducive to exercise at all. I'll keep you all posted on how things are going for me.

Decision Made

2007-01-15T18:37:00.000+11:00

Hi All, it has been a busy return to work, and a busy opening to this year. I have not yet had time to contact the trainer, and I am considering not doing that for a wee while yet. The reason? I have met someone at work that plays rugby like I used to, and training for the pre-season starts soon. I would like to start saving some money, so if I cut back on a personal trainer, and have some regular training sessions with some other people to go to (now that I can run again properly) I think that this would be a great way to fill the gap.

My first training session is next Thursday and I am about to get out and start preparing for it now. There will be no contact to begin with, just running around and general fitness training once a week. I am actually looking forward to this and it should be good fun, plus a great way to meet some people. I will keep you all posted on the training when it starts, but for now I am a tad under the weather - I have a sore throat and a bit of a fever so I am taking it easy until that passes by. Look out for some more posts soon.

Back Into the Swing of It

2007-01-07T14:13:00.000+11:00

I have had a great holiday, and I hope that you all have as well. I mean, I had a fantastic break with my parents, and caught up with a lot of old friends over the two weeks that I have had off. I made the most of my time off, and had a really well deserved break over the festive season. I have put on some weight I believe, but I am not at all worried about it. There is plenty of time to get into the fitness thing now that we are in 2007, and I am back home now and get back into my routine.

It is good being home, while I had a good holiday and really enjoyed my time away, it did feel like coming home when we returned to our little home in Sydney. It is home now, but I still have a great time when I go back to visit where I used to live. I have made a decision that I have been thinking about for some time. I have decided that it is time for me to get back to the morning workouts, and this means doing a 30/30 spolit run from home for at least 45 minutes in the morning. This will necessitate a 5:00a.m start each day, and I hope to be able to do this, initially anyway, every second day. I will progress to running every day, and possibly doing another 45 minute session in the afternoon. I will keep all of you up to speed on how I do.

I will be posting on this blog with more regularity again than I have in recent times. I hope that you all will come and post comments on the blog and help me get back into the swing of things for my next long term goal session. I want to be at my 100kg overall goal mark by June this year. 6 months and I should be able to do it as I will be about 1/2 way there I reckon. Hope to hear from you all, positive comments really help.

Christmas Day, and Day After

2006-12-26T06:40:00.000+11:00

Well, this was one of the best christmas days on record ever. I had a wonderful time with the family. I was the deisgnated driver for the day, and this meant that I wasn't drinking any alcohol for most of the day. I collected my partner and my grandmother and we spent the day with my parents at the family home before I dropped my partner and grandmother off at their respective houses.

Christmas day is not christmas day without really nice food. My mother outdid herself this year, preparing a fillet of beef wrapped in bacon as the main dish. This was served with a superb greek salad, and with a bean and marinated mushroom salad as well. My grandmother had grown her own potatoes, so we had those boiled with some fresh mint to give them a bit of go. It was a superb meal. Dessert was christmas pudding, or plum duff, with cream, ice cream, and custard (I avoided the custard, the cream etc... was enough for me). It was worth waiting for, and for the first time in a very long time I had a great meal and did not feel in the least bit guilty or over weight, or as if people were watching me and thinking that I needed to pull myself in! It did feel great. I know there is more work to be done, but I still feel good about having come this far. I am looking forward to 2007 when I will start again in earnest, probably around the 6th of January (there has to be a lead in time!).

On the present front I did very well. I got some really nice soap that was named after various wines. The smells were terrific and I think that they will be something that I can use on special occaisions, as opposed to every day use. It was a great gift. I also got a fair swag of cash, although I gave a fair chunk of it to my partner so that she can get herself some nice things while she is over here. We have a bit more money now that I am working full time, and as we are on holiday at the moment, we need to make the most of it as we wont be on holiday again for quite some time. We have started a new savings scheme so that when we are next on holiday, we should have a fair bit of cash to ensure that we have a good one.

My grandmother seemed to like the candleabra that we got for her. It was in the shape of a palm tree so it should be pretty nice. My mother got a peshmina from us that was very beautiful. She had been saying that she wanted more things that she could wear that would go around her neck, and now she has another thing at least! She can add it to her jewellery collection! My father got the two books that he was after, well at least one of the ones he has been looking for. I think that he will enjoy the book that I got for him, it did very well in Australia and I know that he is interested in that sort of thing.

I got a yoga mat for my partner, and she was embarrassed as we had said that we weren't going to get presents for each other. I assumed this meant that I still had to get something for her, but apparently this is one of those times where one should not do the opposite of what one's partner says! Never mind, she will get a lot of use out of it, has been wanting one for ages, never got around to getting it, and it is only a small gift so a good result in the end.

Well, that is about it for now. Hope that you are all having equally good times. I look forward to resuming normal posting in the not too distant future.

Contact Remade

2006-12-22T17:51:00.000+11:00

I made contact with the trainer again today. I had a bit of time on my hands at work today, as we wound down to the end of year break. I need to sort out a routine that will work for me in terms of exercise, and I have been wanting to go back to her now that I can afford to again. I think that it will work well if I can get into a training routine around work with her in the New Year.

The job is going well, I like it there and it is well situated. The people are really friendly and there is a great atmosphere there. One of the great parks in Sydney is just up the road and I am hoping that I may be able to work out in the park during the day - I have just managed to locate the showers in our office building. That is a necessary thing when working out at work!

Aside from that, I wish you all a happy holiday if you are taking them at the moment. Remember, this is a time for celebration, there is plenty of time to get back into things in the New Year. At least that is my plan. There have been plenty of functions at work for me to go, and they may have taken a toll. I am going to start with the figures etc again in the New Year and make losing 15 kilos my first long term goal I think. All the best for your holidays, be safe and have fun.

Feeling Good This Morning

2006-12-18T06:21:00.000+11:00

I had to take an extra 10 minutes sleep this morning when the alarm peeled out at 5:00am. I toyed with the idea of getting some more sleep, but eventually dragged myself out of bed and got ready for day one of the new routine. When I took off it was about 25 past 5, and it was quite chilly outside. I went for 5 minutes of walking to warm up, and then got into my 30/30 split walk run.

It was good, my knees were a bit dodgy from time to time, however I kept at it and by the end they were going okay. I think there will be a bit of lead in time while my body gets used to road running, as opposed to running on the treadmill. I went for 35 minutes all up. I had hoped to do 45 minutes, but it felt right to finish after 35 as I was near home, the traffic was picking up, and I was starting to feel it by that stage. So, that will do me for the first day on the new routine.

Right now I am chowing down on my sanitarium weetbixs. They are bran boosted for extra goodness. I have showered, and will be fed soon. It feels good to take some time to cool down before I get into my work clobber and get ready to face the day.

I've been on my own all weekend as my partner is already away. I miss her a lot, not having her here at the weekend was very hard. Now that I am working for the rest of the time until I see her again I will be right. I have even made my lunches for the entire week - sandwhiches that I have frozen and will take each day. Be interesting to see how that goes. I have also got stuff in for morning tea so that I can get used to not going out for lunch every day. Now that I am more settled in at work I feel that this is the right thing to do.

Well, best of luck to you all in your own fight against fat, and especially good luck to you over the silly season!

Big Week

2006-12-16T21:40:00.000+11:00

I've had a big week this week. Work wise it has been flat out, but good. I have been home alone, my partner has left for a week or so until I can join her on holiday. Today I spent my whole day running around doing chores for her! Typical I guess, but at least they are done now. The rest of the day I spent doing some work on the internet. I think that I better take some time tomorrow to slow down and maybe have a bit of a sleep in.

I haven't been doing much in the way of exercise and have started to feel it. Tomorrow I am going to get up and get out and get into it. I have decided that until I settle in at work and get used to going to the gym, I am going to exercise in the morning's before it gets hot, and before I head out to work. It gets light here at about 5 in the morning so I am going to get up then and hit the road. I will be doing an old routine that I used to do a few years ago and it worked well. I will walk for thirty seconds and then run for thirty seconds. I alternate like this for at least 45 minutes. I used to do this twice a day, but to begin with I will do this in the mornings and see how I go. It will be interesting to see how the body copes with it all.

I am also going to put in a bit more effort with the blog. I ought to be able to post more often than I have been, so I will continue to keep trying to get on line and post a few more entries - at least twice a week to let you all know how I am getting on. I will let you know how day one of the new routine goes - I wont be going at 5 in the morning though!

No Loss This Week, But No Gain Either

2006-12-10T12:56:00.000+11:00

Well folks, it is official, no loss this week, but no gain either which is an achievement in itself given that I haven't been training at all this week. I have kept a very close eye on what I have been eating and I think that has been the different between putting on weight, and maintaining this week. Each day I have been having salads for lunch, making sure that my evening meals are good for me as well. Not the best result I have had since I started, but to be expected given the drop off in activity.

I have identified the gym and structure that my workouts will follow in my new routine now. I am really looking forward to getting into the gym in the centre of Sydney to see just how busy it is, and find out how I am going to go trying to workout there after I have finished work. My partner and I are starting to workout together after work tomorrow evening. She is going on holiday soon and I will be left on my own, so I intend to make the most of that time by keeping up with the exercise and looking my best for when I go on holidy myself in a couple of weeks time.

Given all of the upheaval that my routine has gone through recently, and the time of year I think maintaining is a good goal to have for right now. I can get back into the loss cycle in the New Year and continue to develop a routine that will work for me on a daily basis in conjunction with my lifestyle. One thing that I have learned is that what you do must suit your lifestyle and be something that you can maintain. If it is always a superhuman effort to do what you intend to do, eventually you will fail.

Well, that is about it for the weekend, my household chores are calling. Apologies for the lack of psots, this will be a regular thing as I no longer have the time to post everyday. Thanks for the comments that are coming in and for those of you that still top by to read what's been going on for me, I apologise for not stopping by your blogs as I used to. Undoubtedly I will be returning to your blogs to leave comments in due course, but for now I have to make sure that I get myself sorted and into the new working lifestyle. At least now I will be able to go back to the trainer in the new year when I can afford it again! Looking forward to that, she's tough and good.

Busy Busy Busy

2006-12-07T19:24:00.000+11:00

Hi All, I have been flat out this week and this accounts for the lack of posts over the last few days. Really busy with work, so much so that I aint been near the gym all week, not good, but can't be helped. Once things settle down a bit, I will able to start in a new routine and build in the exercise again, but at the moment it is just too much all at once.

I have been most gratified by my appearance in the old suits and shirts that I used to wear. They fit so much better now, better than they have since I got them a couple of years ago. It feels great to be in clothes that aren't bursting at the seams or causing me difficulty when it gets hot. I have no desire to go back to the way things used to be, but I realise that to try and do the exercise right now will make the transition that much more difficult than it needs to be.

It is a dangerous time of year of course, Xmas with all the parties and goodies on every street corner. So far I have managed to aboid most temptation, but this wont last, and nor should it. There is no reason why I shouldn't enjoy christmas like everyone else is, to deny having a good time in this season is pointless in my opinion. There is plenty of time for denial during the rest of the year! So, I'm doing okay at the moment, but am looking forward to the weekend when I will be getting into the gym and doing a few decent workouts. I think that I should be ready to get into the routine of regular exercise as well as the new work next week. We'll see how things go. Should be back for an update at the weekend, or maybe tomorrow evening.

Another Loss - Only Just!

2006-12-01T16:33:00.000+11:00

Well, it aint the biggest loss ever, in fact it might even be the smallest, but after a great holiday and a serious break in the normal routine I'll take it! 100 grams is the loss this week, nothing to be proud of but again it is still on the downward track. I think that having to eat out and not being able to go to a gym have taken toll on me, and of course there is the fact that I was unable to make time to get to the gym today which definitely affected the normal routine for me on weigh in day.

Today I had to go into town and return the car, and then do some stuff for my partner and myself while I was in the city. The drive into town in the car was a real adventure, the first time I have done this in Sydney. I got to see a lot of the city on the way in and my understanding of the geography of Sydney is much better than it used to be. By the time I had finished it was too late to get to the gym, and I will have to make do with a start there tomorrow instead. This must be my longest break from they gym since I started my fight against fat, but I don't feel like it is starting a trend or anything. I am still looking forward to getting in there, and pump class on Sunday should be good. The main thing is to get back into the routine which I will be able to do this weekend.

Overall I am pleased with my progress although of course I wish it was easier - who wouldn't? I guess, it is important to make lifestyle changes that can stick. I think I have achieved this as the fast food we had while on the road at the weekend really did nothing for me at all. That is really saying something as I used to love the stuff, just couldn't get enough of it into me all the time and after, of course, it would leave me feeling greasy and yuck. Now I felt greasy and yuck while I was eating it, and I could eat much less of it than I used to. I am glad that I have put that behind me.

Well, that is about all the news that is fit to print today. More work beckons and I must get started on preparing the dinner for tonight. It needs some marinating to get the flavours into it. My partner has been on some course at work all day and will probably be having a few champagnes after work so it will be a lateish dinner tonight. Be nice to have something decent ready to go when she gets home after a long week. Good luck to you all for the weekend.

Chores Day

2006-11-30T18:29:00.000+11:00

Hi all, what a day I have had. When we arrived home last night I remarked to my partner how great it was that we had cleaned the house before we left for our holiday. I foolishly thought that meant that there wasn't that much that I would have to do today. How wrong I was!

Today has been spent washing, drying, folding, wiping, vacumming, storing...you name it I have had to do it today. No time even for the gym today. I have been out making the most of our time with the car, which I have to return tomorrow. I have been to shopping malls taking clothes in that need dry cleaning and repair. It has been full on, and later my partner and I are heading out for some late night shopping that needs to be done. We are making the most of the vehicle, and it will be sad to see it go. It wont be sad to have to fill the tank with gas however!

I'll be back into it tomorrow after I have taken the car back. I think I will head to the gym after that, the drive and delivery of the car is likely to take some time. It might also take a wee while to get back home, but an afternoon cardio session will go well. The weekend will be spent working out both days as well of course. So, hopefully there will be some progress to report tomorrow for the weigh in! Might be expecting a bit much after a holiday, but you never know!

Last Day In Dubbo

2006-11-29T10:56:00.000+11:00

The mercury is about to shatter the thermometer here in Dubbo on our last day in central New South Wales. It was 40 the day before yesterday, 38 yesterday, and I reckon it is going to be even hotter today. I started the day well with 3 espressos in the best cafe I have been able to find in town, and even got some take home beans for the coming week. Looking forward to trying them at home as even though they sold a lot of different kinds of beans, in the cafe you had to have the house blend in all drinks. Anyroad, I got mostly organic coffee and am looking forward to tasting some of them in Sydney.

My partner is out at the zoo on the last morning of her course. I have to pick her up in about half an hour so I am killing time in the thriving cosmopolitan metropolis that is Dubbo. Home of Australia's best meat pie (2003 and 2005). I tried one yesterday for the novelty and it was the best pie I have had in Australia. This was mostly because it tasted like real meat had been used, and the gravy was a bit thicker than the others I had tried so it didn't run all over the plate. It was nice, but it is too hot for that sort of thing and there is no way I am going to go back for seconds.

Not much else to report, a long drive back to Sydney - should take about 6 hours or so. The Blue Mountain stretch will be interesting as there are fires there at the moment. The central city was on the news this morning, covered in a haze of smoke from the bush fires so it could be fairly slow going. Also, when we arrive in Sydney it will be rush hour so we will probably stop somewhere along the way to time our run into Sydney after the rush hour traffic has gone. We're hoping to stop at our favourite Lebanese restaurant on the way too for some great felafels, hommus, and of course their famous chilli chicken and lamb. Delicious. Then back to the grindstone again as of tomorrow! It has been a great holiday so far, the zoo was a highlight as were some of the vinyards. Check back tomorrow for my return to Sydney post!

Still on the Road

2006-11-28T12:59:00.000+11:00

Hi All, we're still in Dubbo and I went back to the zoo today. When you buy a ticket, it gets you entry to teh zoo for two days as it is pretty large, and the hot weather and flies make it difficult to do the entire thing in one day. Today instead of driving around the zoo I decided to walk, setting off from the car park at just after 9:00 a.m. It was great to be there nice and early, the animals that were a bit hot yesterday were out and in the open, I think I have managed to get some nice shots on the camera and will be looking to post those at the end of this week.

Walking around the zoo does get a bit tiring, mostly due to the heat and the constant presence of annoying flies. It is an upper body workout as you have to spend most of the time you are walking shooing flies off your face and body. This was especially the case at the hippo pen, the flies must come out at feeding time just like the hippos. It is worth it though, the zoo is special. I walked all told about 6km around the zoo and did get a sweat on. I think that will do for the workout today, although I may take a swim at the hotel later on. Tomorrow is our last day in Dubbo, we head back to Sydney in the afternoon and expect to arrive home about 8 tomorrow night. It'll be nice to get home, it has been a great trip but I miss my hard bed at home, the soft one in the motel room has been giving my back a bit of a hard time but a good night last night has put paid to that.

Well, that is about it for today, I am off to the shelter of the air conditioned room to enjoy some cable tv before I venture out again this afternoon for a bit more of a look around this part of the world. Check back on Thursday for my next update.

Post From On the Road

2006-11-27T13:28:00.000+11:00

Well, as the ashes test match (cricket) finished early due to England slumping to a 277 odd run defeat earlier today, I have ventured out into the heat, and into a dodgy internet cafe in Dubbo, to make this post on the run. We've been having a great time away so far, our trip to Mudgee was a bit of a highlight and we've taken lots of photos to put up on the blog when we do get back home. No way to upload them on the road so you will all have to wait until Thursday or Friday of next week when I get back home and can post the photos for you to have a look at.

As I was saying, Mudgee was the highlight of the trip so far. It is an old gold mining town and has some magnificent old buildings in it, most dating back to the early 1800's, which is pretty impressive for this part of the world. The old colonial style houses are still around, and the area seems to be going through a bit of resurgence as it becomes a weekend destination for sity dwellers like ourselves - bringing with them the city dollars. We stayed above a pub in Mudgee and that was both cheap and nice. It had air conditioning and we were very glad for that - it got up to at least 40 degrees the day that we were there.

There is a lot of wine being made in Mudgee now and we toured about five vinyards. My partner did the tasting as I was driving, although I did manage to sample a nice semillion and a couple of decent reds. We did buy some wine to bring back with us, a case and about four other mixed bottles, so the cellar at home will be in good shape for the summer. I even had a couple of beers on Saturday as it was so hot that I needed some liquid, and given that the cricket was on tv, and we were staying in a pub, it just felt right to have beer! It was nice, hit the spot.

Mudgee is also a foodie town, there are at least a dozen places of interest to stop in. After the first couple of places we decided that was enough, it was all just a bit too tempting. Butterscotch sauce, wicked chocolate sauce, belgian chocolate and all sorts of sweet stuff was on offer, and studioualy avoided - bar the occaisional small tasting sample of things. There were also some fine cheeses to try, the pesto infused feta was the highlight and we have some of that to bring home.

Dubbo is not quite as impresive as Mudgee. It is bigger, but there is less of the historical side to this town. We are staying in a hotel and it isn't really up to the standard that we were expecting. The best thing about it is that it has cable tv. We did get out for a few hits at tennis, but after about 15 minutes max we were completely shagged as it was 35 degrees, there was a hot wind, and there were about a million flies trying to join in our game! No good, and once you inhale some of those little buggers it really puts you off. We got in the pool after that and I did a few laps to get a bit of a work out. Today we have been to the zoo, and we've got some good shots of that which I will write about next week. It is an impressive zoo, they had a lot more animals than I was expecting as well having a great space for it. We saw the usual local animals - koalas, kangaroos, wallabies (all sorts), camels, emu - as well as tigers, lions, buffalo, zebras, giraffe, ostrich, elephants...and the list goes on. We've got some nice shots of some of them which I hope will look good once I upload them to the net.

All in all this is a good holiday, feels nice to be out of the city and somewhere different. We're here for another couple of days and then it is back to sin city. I'm looking forward to getting back to the gym, I just aint used to training in heat like this. I am a city boy, I need my air conditioned gym to work out properly - no bush background for me as they say! Check back in a couple of days for the next update.

Loss Achieved, but Smallest To Date

2006-11-24T09:51:00.000+11:00

Well, it is great to see the "to go" section of the above tracker progressively getting smaller than the "lost" side of the tracker. However, it is a mixed result this week - good to still be going down, but not so good that it was only 200 grams. I guess the weekend away made a difference, I was eating the same food as everyone else and not really watching what I was doing, and I guess looking at it from that point of view it is good to still be losing weight. We are off to Dubbo for another few days away from home and I am hoping this time to use the break as an opportunity to do some quality training away from the usual gym. Might be nice to get a break from there too. Just a bit of a change, however I think the few days away from the gym at the weekend have lead to the downturn in result this week. Most important thing for me though is to keep going down, and just keep at it. Negative thoughts and feelings about not having lost enough wont help me at all.

My totals for today were 62 minutes, 8.35km and 1051 calories. Not a bad effort, took a bit longer than usual to reach the calorie goal, but I got there, and the goal was attained. The progress chart on the web site has been updated so check it out if you'd like to.

Not much else to report at this stage. I had the usual workout this morning at the gym and am back at home, about to head out to get our rental car for the weekend. My partner has a half day today so she and I are off to do some shopping before we take off, and make full use of having some wheels. We take off tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to it. Have a great weekend all, and all the best for your own fight against fat if you have joined me.

Daily Grind Ground Out!

2006-11-23T09:17:00.000+11:00

Back into the gym this morning, and again it is a very hot day. Yesterday afternoon was particularly bad, we had the hot air coming from the desert so when you were outside it was like being in a fan forced over. About 38 degrees at worst I think, not pleasant at all and it looks like we are in for another sweltering day today. At least I have been out now and may not have to go out again for the rest of the day with any luck.

I stuck with the usual two 25 minute sessions on the treadmill, and then moved to the calorie goal session on the cross trainer. I went hard and managed to knock off the 200 calorie goal in a record 10 minutes. I was pretty stoked by that. My totals for the day were 60 minutes, 8.36 kms, and 1050 calories in all. A good day at the office.

Not much else to report. I am cooking dinner tonight so will get something nice together featuring chicken. Our trip to Dubbo is on this weekend - I will be driving for the first time in a while on Friday - right in the heart of Sydney! That should be entertaining, out of practise so I want to pick up the car and get back here as quickly as possible. We have a party to go to on Friday night that is being thrown for the people who work in the same position as my partner. It should be fun, apparently if everyone turns up the house wont be large enough and we'll have to move to the bar next door! Sounds promising, but obviously I will be staying away from the demon drink - I have to drive the following day but my partner will be able to tear into it! I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Difficult Cardio Workout Today

2006-11-22T10:22:00.000+11:00

I made it through my usual routine today, however I found it a bit harder than usual for some reason. I am not sure if it was the day off yesterday or if it is the hot and humid weather, but whatever the reason is, I wasn't as into the cardio today as usual. My totals for the day were 65.1 minutes, 8.5km, and 1,051.1 calories. Not a bad effort, but it took me longer on the cross trainer to reach my 200 calorie goal than it usually does. Never mind, there is always tomorrow to put in a big effort, and I am sure that I will return to my normal enthusiastic self. Maybe I need to jazz up the workouts a bit, try different equipment to inject a bit of variety into things.

I watched a pretty good film the other day called "Touching the Void". It was about a couple of mountain climbers who embark on a climb of a previously unclimbed mountain face in the Andes. It is a tale of disaster and difficulties that at times defy all belief, but is based on a true story. It was interesting to listen to the characters as they went through such a terrible ordeal, and I was always thinking "I am really glad that didn't happen to me"! I'd reccomend watching it if you are at all interested in what the human body can withstand and what people are capable of doing.

Aside from that, not much to report. It is hot and sticky here today. It is supposed to get up to 38 degrees here today. To top that off there are bushfires burning out in the Blue Mountains and they are starting to threaten homes in the area, a real shame. The hot desert wind is not helping the efforts to put out the fires at all. I feel for the people out there.

In other news Thorpe, Aussie mega star swimmer anounced his retirement. This is getting a lot of press right now as you would expect. The Ashes (a series of cricket test matches between Australia and England) start tomorrow morning and the country is practically on a war footing to win those back after losing them last year for the first time in 17 or 18 years or something. It should be a good series. Well, check back tomorrow when hopefully I will have a report emphasising how mucyh more intense my morning workout was than today!

Apologies For Lack of Post

2006-11-21T17:43:00.000+11:00

Hi all, apologies for the lack of a post today. I have been flat out all day, jetting into town and taking care of some urgent business that we needed done. So, no gym for me today but at least all the work is done and I can hit it hard tomorrow morning. I am quite looking forward to it, I actually missed the gym today, but can't be helped.

We're organising ourselves for our trip to Dubbo this weekend. We are renting a car and we pick it up on Friday night. We're taking off the following morning and return to Sydney on Wednesday. We're spending one night in Mudgee on the way there, and will take our time on the way back so we avoid hitting Sydney at rush hour on Wednesday. I'm looking forward to some time away, it'll be nice for my partner and I as last weekend wasn't that restful - there were too many other people there all wanting to debate every little thing that we were going to do. This time we will be in charge of ourselves and can organise to do things we want to do.

Not much else to report, very hot in Sydney today. I have been sweating all day and seem to have managed to get dehydrated. The eating has been going well, no dropping off in that regard since the trainer and I parted ways. I am hopeful that I will be able to return to see her, but I think it is most likely this will happen in the New Year, as opposed to a return in the near future. Again, apologies for the delay in posting, and for the still as yet to be posted holiday snaps! I will post these tomorrow.

What A Weekend

2006-11-20T16:30:00.000+11:00

Wow, that was a full on weekend away at a beach called Bendalong. It was very nice, near to a better known area called Jarvis Bay where they claim to have the whitest sand in the world. I am not a worl expert, so I can't really say yay or nay on that one, but it was white, that is for sure, and it made a very interesting squeaking sound when you walked on it that most people seemed to enjoy. Yes, I did get some pictures and I will post them, along with tales of my weekend probably tomorrow afternoon, a bit pressed for time today. What I can say is that I have a bit of sunburn lingering today that I really ought to have avoided, and when you go on holiday with nine people, there is a fair bit of frustration that goes with it. It was good to get away and see a bit more of the state, and I am looking forward to our next holiday this weekend at Dubbo in central New South Wales.

I did get to the gym this morning, there was a bit of exercise required to address the holiday atmosphere and it was good to get back into it. I went on the treadmill for two 25 minute sessions, and I then did 200 calories on the treadmill. Having a calorie goal is good as it encourages you to work harder to reach the goal faster. With time and effort already set out under the program I usually work to, it doesn't matter - everything is set down for you. But if you have a calorie goal only, you can work harder to reach it faster. I quite enjoyed that aspect of the final stage of the workout this morning. I also did three sets of 20 situps on the Swiss Ball, as well as three set of 20 leg raises on the floor. It was a good workout, I know because my workout shirt was absolutely soaking wet by the time I headed home.

My totals for today were 62.5 minutes, 8.36km, and 1,046.3 calories. I felt great on the initial phase of the treadmill and went quite hard. I think that some of the sand dune walking and swimming of the weekend took a bit of a toll on my feet as they were a bit painful during some of the running. However, I pushed on and did well. I'm looking forward to getting back in there tomorrow. My apologies for the brief post today, there will be more tomorrow afternoon I am sure. I hope that you all had the same great weekend that I did.

Half Way Point Reached!

2006-11-17T11:29:00.000+11:00

Great news, I have finally gotten past the half way point in my quest to lose 45kg (99lbs) of fat. I feel great having finally reached it, and it has been getting progressively more difficult to maintain high levels of weight loss each week. My rate of weight loss has come down, but I feel good about this because it isn't such a struggle and I know that I wont be going to back to the old ways anytime soon. Obviously if it would fall off that would be great, but I have to make changes to the way that I eat, and they have to be changes that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Slowly but surely is definitely the best way to go here. I am stoked, only 22kg to go to my overall long term goal! 2kg to go to reach my next short term goal.

I hit the gym hard this morning. I had a slightly larger than usual serving of dinner last night, I must have needed it as this morning I felt a bit sore and tired, but once I got moving I felt good. I think I did the walk to the gym in record time this morning, and once I got on the treadmill I couldn't help but go faster than usual. As this doesn't happen too often I made the most of it. My totals for today were 61.47 minutes, 8.49km, and 1072.6 calories. So, much faster than usual, and about the same distance and calories as the other workouts this week. Not too shabby for me.

We're heading off to the beach this weekend. I am being collected in the not too distant future and have been put in charge of packing up for the trip so I will have to get stuck into that. The achievement of this morning has made a bit of difference to my mood, I am really looking forward to spending a couple of days away from it all, near and in the water. My partner and I are planning a few marathon walks for our time away so that we get to see a huge amount of the the area that we will be in. I'll be taking photos, so look out for those on Monday. Have a great weekend all, and keep it up for your fight against fat.