Posts Tagged ‘exercise’
Diet plan
Ben and I started a new diet yesterday. Ben has done it before and lost a lot of unwanted weight on it. I wasn’t all that committed last time and gave up after a day when I realised I couldn’t cut the cord with cheese and bread just yet. This time around though, I read up on the literature (4-hour body) and made some practise meals so I could see how easy it was to keep to the strict eating plan without compromising on taste. I bought useful ingredients and removed temptations from the pantry. Sunday morning came and I was set to succeed!
So far it has been the best decision I have ever made. I’ve only been doing it for two days, I know, but I feel a lot more positive not only about what I am eating and how I look but also my ability to cook good healthy meals. In the past I have only really eaten what was easy, usually meat and two veg!
This is what we had for dinner last night:
Three bean mix, herbed chicken strips and mixed steamed vegetables. In all it took about ten minutes preparation and about ten minutes cooking time. Not only was it easy to make and stuck to the diet but it was delicious and I enjoyed cooking it!
I am proud of what I have done in just two days.
1. I have committed myself to changing my lifestyle to make myself a happier and healthier human being.
2. I haven’t given in to stupid excuses or given up before I started. Instead I made it so it was impossible for me to fail (removing temptation and practising before committing)
3. I have learnt new skills
4. I have found long lost energy and put it to good use
In short I am really proud of my turnaround. I have made a commitment and I am sticking to it.
Well the silly season has ended and it is a new year, well it has been for over a week now but this is the first time I have had the motivation to write on here! A new year means new opportunities, new experiences and new expectations for the year. About this time last year I wrote out my expectations for the year. It was a list of things I wanted to achieve, not New Year’s resolutions more intentions. Things that I intend to do because I want to do them not because I feel on some level that I should. So the time has come to have some new expectations for myself for the year 2012.
Work on my singing and treat myself as a professional singer.
What does this mean?
It means I have to put in the effort if I want to turn out to be a successful singer of any kind. That means I will have to practice every day and practice in a meaningful way.
What will it look like?
Every day you will see me practising my singing. I will also work on my music theory and keyboard skills so I can improve as a musician. It will also mean that I will be working professionally as a singer. This year I will get my first professional contract.
Continue to work on my language studies, with a bit more focus than in the past.
What does this mean?
In the past I have gone to my French lessons and completed the bare minimum to stay up with the class. This year I want to study harder. I want to become more proficient as a speaker of French. I would also like to start Italian lessons during the year.
What will it look like?
Every day I will complete activities in French. I will also continue to attend classes at the Alliance Francais. If I have the opportunity to interact with French speakers I will speak French to them and not resort to English first.
Save money for the future, whether that be babies, moving house, travel or singing expenses.
What does this mean?
I would like to build up a small amount of money so that if we want to go travelling or I need to go to Melbourne for an audition than I don’t have to worry about it. I would also like to have some money saved to help support us in the event that we finally start having babies.
What will it look like?
I have opened a new account specifically for saving. It rewards me with extra interest each month that I don’t take money out but I do deposit money. I am going to aim to deposit $100 every Friday morning into the account.
Look after my body.
What does this mean?
I don’t always do the best things for my body. I eat junk including a lot of sugar. I would like to improve my health through watching what I eat. I would also like to lose some of my unwanted weight, some of which will be lost through change of diet the rest I hope to lose through exercising more efficiently.
What will it look like?
You will see me eating healthier food and exercising. I am going to try and follow the diet Ben went on last year. It wasn’t really a diet but more a change in the food I eat and when. It isn’t a difficult thing to follow if I truly want to look after my body.
Travel more.
What does this mean?
Without a doubt one of the best parts of 2011 was travelling with Ben to France. This year we already have a trip planned for Bali at the end of January and a trip to Japan for around April / May. I would love to travel as much as possible with Ben this year and maybe even by myself.
What will it look like?
I would love to do another big trip this year with Ben in addition to the two short trips of Bali and Japan. I will need to save money and look out for flight specials but I would hope that at the end of this year Ben and I will be experiencing our third trip of the year.
Spend meaningful time with Ben.
What does this mean?
Ben and I spend a lot of time together but I want to spend more meaningful time with Ben. I want to do things that are active and leave us both feeling better for it.
What will it look like?
We will continue to do the things we already do together like eating our meals together and watching silly shows on iView but we will also spend time out of the house, spending time with friends and family. Being kind to each other and enjoying each other’s company.
Okay so that’s not entirely true. I have never had trouble eating, if I was to be perfectly honest I enjoy eating a little too much. On my Year Four school camp I won the award for being “The camp garbage disposal” it was even captioned with a little smiling garbage can with the speech bubble “Excuse me, can I finish what’s on your plate?” Yes I did ask people that and I continue to do so but at least my mother taught me two things 1. to use my manners and 2. to not waste food.
The real trouble I am having at the moment is this diet that Ben is advocating. It is a great diet, I can see huge changes in him already, when I stick to it I too am amazed at the weight loss that is happening along with the increased energy levels. The problem though is that I was brought up on an Irish man’s diet of potato, bread, gravy and meat. In this list I am not allowed to eat the first three items if I were to stick to the diet’s “rules”. As a consequence I often find myself cheating some what.
Last week it was bread and dip before dinner at the pub with some friends, Valentine’s day we had love heart pizza (see the picture, it was awesome), orientation day at university I had a sausage sizzle lunch (it was free and yes I could have just eaten the sausage but I didn’t want to look like the dancers who were just smelling the sausages and not actually eating them). It seems that bread and wheat is incredibly ingrained in everyday life for me. The ability for me to say “no” is still developing.
So I am trying the diet. It is proving to be difficult. I have cheated on multiple times. I haven’t cheated today so far so I’m going to make today “DAY ONE” and start again from scratch. In addition to the diet I am also exercising more, hopefully every day if I can stick to it. In four weeks I want to look like the dance girls at university; happy, healthy and flexible. I can do it.
I don’t know if it is the change in the weather, the near completeness of knowing what I am going to be doing next year in regards to study or the realisation that I am only seven weeks, three days and one period away from having completed the school year, but I feel great and have felt great for the past few days. Add to that a new diet which Ben and I are experimenting with and all together it is adding up to make a much more stable me.
So what exactly has changed?
1. I had my audition on Sunday morning for entry into WAAPA’s classical music course. They said I had a “very pretty” voice and could see a lot of potential. They suggested that I start with the certificate course and then go on to the post-graduate course depending on how my voice progresses. Another footnote is that I should start learning German, Italian and French next year to help with when I get to the post-graduate studies. I have been wanting to learn a language for a while and have been on and off for some time. Hopefully with the motivation of university I will stick with it a little more and push myself. It is very exciting.
2. The change in the weather is great. I am finding it easier to get out of bed in the morning and go to sleep at night. I’m not nearly as tired as I once was and am finding that I want to be out exercising, which is helping me achieve my goal of losing some weight and getting my flexibility and strength back.
3. School is nearly over. I no longer have my year 12 class which has given me five extra periods a week to get things done. While the last week has been mostly spent on getting organised for the term, I am finding that I have more time for marking and doing things for myself like writing and practicing singing. I am going to feel such a sense of relief when I leave here.
4. The new diet. Ben and I are trying a no wheat diet. I was dead set keen when he suggested it but after a couple of days I was whinging about not being able to eat my favorite foods like pasta or bread. Now though I am finding that I am losing weight much easier than I was before, I have more energy and I am getting more creative with what I eat instead of relying on staples of pasta for dinner and eggs on toast for breakfast. It is hard but I am enjoying the results.
I am excited about the future again. This is about the same time last year when I found out I was pregnant. I didn’t think I would feel this positive again after we lost the baby, but I am surprised to find that I am. I have a good future to look forward to again. Eating well, exercising and enjoying exercising, singing everyday and learning new things. And all of this with Ben by my side.
I’m excited!
Image by Rammorrison (Flickr)
We haven’t gone running in a while now. My knees feel much better.
Now we walk (briskly) of ride somewhere. Yep, low impact exercise is keeping us sane, almost.
I think it’s more about finding something to do together that involves a little bit of excitement (exploring the local area) that has a low entry price (basically free). I’m actually starting to get to know my fiancé a lot better. I’m also feeling more like a “local” too, which is funny because I have been living here (on and off) for over 8 years. 12 if I count the next suburb over.
