Okay so I’m standing in the checkout line at the grocery store today and while absentmindely scanning through the racks see this US magazine. I’m not usually one to be too interested in celeb gossip mags, but the Janet Jackson weight loss story caught my eye. So I actually bought this magazine just out of curiosity.

So what are Janet Jackson’s weight loss secrets? Diet and excercise. Oh, and a personal trainer. Brilliant … very original.

But her diet and exercise had to be really intense to lose 60 pounds in just 4 months. She worked out 6 days a week for at least an hour. Her trainer said that she does 45 minutes of cardio because you don’t start burning fat until after 20 minutes. Her diet was a balance of protein, veggies and high fiber carbs of just 1,110 to 1,450 calories a day.

That is pretty extreme and I can see why it worked, especially if she was very strict. But for four months - it would be really difficult to stay so strict for that long…well at least for a real person.

9 Comments »

Do you ever feel hungry but nothing sounds good?   Today has been a day like that though I have no idea why.  Breakfast was a glass of iced tea (unsweet) and a few chips and hot sauce.  Now I’m staring at the pantry and frig and while there’s food there (thank heavens) nothing sounds appealing.  Hmmm… maybe I’ll go to to the local deli and get a sandwich.  Of course then I’d have to get off my hiney and drive over there.  Boy I’m lazy today!

No Comments »

Saturday I went shopping and found some great new summer outfits. I even got some jean capris in a size 8! (I was in a 14 at the beginning of the year.) Of course sizes do vary a lot and there were some other pants in a 10 that I couldn’t squeeze into. But it was still a great encouragement. Now I have to stick to my body challenge so I can keep wearing those jeans!

Last week I really did well on my diet. I did have some freebies this weekend - a cheeseburger on Saturday and some desserts on Sunday. But other than that I did great. As far as that stubborn scale, it’s still saying 142 (the same as when BC2 began) but I am still feeling very encouraged.

My knee is feeling better but I probably won’t be able to exercise for another week. So I will have to be extra careful on my diet again this week!

No Comments »

I am still losing but much slower than I would like. Have stepped up the exercise and am doing Fat Burning For Dummies on DVD and also Shape Up with Weights or Dummies. My weight is 85 kg today and am aiming for 84 by next week.

No Comments »

The weight is still consistently come off, thank God

Had a freakin’ throat infection this week and felt shit so didn’t really feel like going to gym. What’s more, the weather has been shitty the whole week. Raining and miserable. I just wanted to stay in bed and sleep for 12 hours shifts…

As such I didn’t go to gym on Monday… not a good start to the week. Yesterday I was “THAT” close to convincing myself that I shouldn’t to go to gym cos my throat felt like I was swallowing razor blades, and gym would only make it worse… LOL!

I went anyway… and you know what, I felt GREAT afterwards!

Ended up doing gym 4 times this week which was a bloody miracle considering the circumstances. Hehehe, moan moan moan is all I do what I feel like a dogs ass…

12 Week Goal: 75 KGs (165 lbs)
Need to Loose: 3.5 KGs (8.36 lbs)
Week 1 (Apr 7): 78.80 KGs (173.36 lbs)
Week 2 (Apr 14): no weigh-in
Week 3 (Apr 21): no weigh-in
Week 4 (Apr 28): 78.00 KGs (171.60 lbs)
Week 5 (May 5): 78.40 KGs (172.48 lbs)
Week 6 (May 12): 78.00 KGs (171.60 lbs)
Week 7 (May 19): 77.80 KGs (171.16 lbs)
Week 7 (May 26): 77.20 KGs (169.84 lbs)

Total Weight Loss To Date: 4.2 KGs (9.24 lbs)

No Comments »

I got my knee x-rayed yesterday and it showed moderate osteoarthritis, or cartilage break down. My doctor suggested that if we x-rayed my other knee and hips we’d find the same results. At least this explains the joint pain that has been progressing over the past few years.

There may be some damage to the tendons/ligaments on this knee but we won’t know that without an MRI. I’ll be going back to the doctor in a few weeks for a follow up. Until then I have to rest the knee, put ice on it and wear a stylish knee support.

When it’s healed I can start exercising again. It looks like kickboxing is out for good, though. Darn, I really liked that class! But taking care of my joints is a bit more important. My doctor suggested swimming.

1 Comment »

Yesterday my Kickboxing class was a really good workout.  It was pretty fun since the instructor mixed up the routine a bit with some new moves.   But unfortunately my knee was a bit achy before the class and when I got home it totally went out.  This is the third time in six months that this knee has been re-injured.  The last time I went to the doctor they just gave me some pain reliever.  So now I finally made an appointment with another doc who’ll hopefully take it seriously.

1 Comment »

Okay, I am going to admit that lately I haven’t been so good at watching my diet. This week we went out a lot - Mexican food, pizza and today was a steakhouse. Oh, boy. One thing that I did do right was watch my portions. Restaurants now give such huge portions! You have to take that into account when ordering. Today I ordered a chicken breast (with cheese and mushrooms) and just one side item. The portions were good, but… the side item was french fries and I had three rolls. :roll

Now the meals that were not take out or dine out I did a lot better. So this is not too much of a confessional. But the dine out meals were probably the reason that I didn’t lose any more weight this week. Oh, well tomorrow is another day!

My goal for this coming week is to eat balanced meals every day, with just one meal that’s a freebie. Even if I dine out I’ll be sticking to my guns!

2 Comments »

I hope to bust into the 77s this next week

Did it! I’ve cracked into the 77s. Did 6 sessions of gym this week — my record to date. I’ve think I’ve gone crazy now. Doing gym/exercise every day has now become MORE than just a habit… I’m craving it. Sad, I know…

Still… even with 6 crazy sessions of exercise this week, I only lost 200 grams. Talk about slow bloody progress.

Started doing weight training now, too. On weight days (twice a week) I do 20 crazy minutes of 300+ calories on the x-trainer to warm up, then do weights for 40 minutes…

Not super heavy weights, as I’m not bulk training, but rather lighters weights with high repetitions (normally to failure) and lots of sets…

For instance, parallel bar dip (for triceps). I do 8 sets of 10 reps each (using my full body weight), then do 2 sets to failure on the triceps push-down machine. That’s over 100 reps just for triceps. You then move to pecks, shoulders, back, and legs following the same strategy.

Because your aim is to maintain a high heart rate thought out the program, you shouldn’t rest for more than 30 seconds between sets. It’s hectic, but works well…

Toning, firming and ultimately weigh loss is the result as building lean muscle tissue has a higher standing metabolic rate than just fat burning. That’s why after weight training the body burns extra calories for up to 48hrs. Plain cardio/fat training will only continue to burn calories for the next 2hrs or so.

12 Week Goal: 75 KGs (165 lbs)
Need to Loose: 3.5 KGs (8.36 lbs)
Week 1 (Apr 7): 78.80 KGs (173.36 lbs)
Week 2 (Apr 14): no weigh-in
Week 3 (Apr 21): no weigh-in
Week 4 (Apr 28): 78.00 KGs (171.60 lbs)
Week 5 (May 5): 78.40 KGs (172.48 lbs)
Week 6 (May 12): 78.00 KGs (171.60 lbs)
Week 7 (May 19): 77.80 KGs (171.16 lbs)

Total Weight Loss To Date: 3.6 KGs (7.92 lbs)

2 Comments »

This weekend Troy and I went camping at Caprock Canyons State Park in the Texas panhandle.  On Friday we went for a one hour hike that was on flat land above the canyons. We probably covered at least 2 miles, maybe 3.

Saturday morning we met for a group hike that went into the actual canyons.  It was a bit rockier and had more hills than our previous hike, but not too strenuous.  It was an interpretive hike, so the park ranger was telling us all about the geology, plants, animals and Native Americans that used to live there.   It was pretty interesting to learn about the history of the area and also have someone who was very knowledgeable to answer questions.

We hiked for 1 1/2 hours but only covered about 2 miles since we stopped and talked quite a bit on the first half of the hike.  It would be a good place to go back to for a longer hike.  We’d definitely start earlier in the morning because it was already getting pretty hot by the time we finished the hike at 11:30.

No Comments »