July 11th: It is all legs, legs, legs

Weight: 10st 12lbs

Mood: A little more cheery

Outlook: Good, and a night out tonight

My weight is not budging - it is frustrating. I am trying to eat really well. I don't eat processed, I only eat fresh - I count most of my calories. I spend 2 hours a day in the gym... so god knows what is going wrong.

From Monday I am going to make further changes - I am going to 

• start taking 'Sculptress' which is billed as good at helping you burn fat
• weigh all food - and measure oil etc
• cut out alcohol

The other measures I am debating

• cutting out diet fizzy drinks - even though I love them
• making sure I eat a high protein breakfast every morning
• cutting out wheat all together - that means more jackets less pasta

But I think tackling the first three will be a start and then see what happens!

Today always was a legs day. My training partner for the day roped in one of the really serious body builders to give us some tips... In fact he worked us to the bone and then we did some more. He likes giving us combos that raise our heart rate and get us burning fat.

I know I now have a work out page but because this is a one off (for now) I thought I would add it here.

10 min warm up on cross trainer - 100kCal, 0.9m

Machine circuit *4 sets
Leg extension 20*50lbs
Leg curl 20*50lbs
Leg push (on chest press) 20*90lbs (I did an extra set of 100lbs)

I set of leg extensions 40lbs 4 fast, 4 holds = 28 in total

First combo *4sets
Deadlift 20lbs knees locked, head up 20kg
Lunge with side shoulder raises 12*3kg

Second combo *4 sets
Squats with fitness ball with side shoulder raises 14*2kg
Squats with front shoulder raises and a weight ball 14*3kg

Bench squats (lifting the bench) - fast
12*20kg
12*25kg
12*30kg
12*35kg

Leg extensions with heavy weights machine
15*40kg
15*50kg
15*60kg
15*70kg

Spin - 10 min, 107 kCal, 3.4miles

Spiderman Plank 30sec*2
Climbing Plank 30 sec*2

I liked this - I will do this one again!

July 10th: An all round kind of day

Weight: 10st 11lbs (back here again)

Mood: Frustrated

Weather: SUNSHINE!!

Busy day yesterday, but I put on a dress for the first time in ages... it felt good even if it was a sad day out.

Today I have woken feeling frustrated. I am having to remind myself why I do this so I feel a bit of a list of purposes coming on.

• The ultimate goal - to lose weight
• To feel good about me
• To get out of the house - unemployed malarkey is quite draining
• To turn heads - feeling very old 
• To increase strength and stay healthy

What have I achieved since I started this journey on 8th April

• Lost 19lbs
• Dropped 2 dress sizes
• Lost inches - I forget how many
• Lifted more weight than I ever thought I could
• Increased my fitness

That list makes me feel slightly brighter but I still, even though the sun is shining feel as if I have a large cloud over my head.

I had a good morning in the gym, helped by my training buddy and one of the lads who had us doing all sorts of stuff we never tried before... That helps - it is great to have a friendly gym where everyone chips in to help each other out and spur each other on. Thanks guys! Though we did stray off the 'arms and chest routine' we were starting with!

Now - time to update my training log... write it all down and make me feel as if I am achieving something - I think that is the problem!

July 8th: Weekend over and damage contained!

Weight: 10st 13lbs

Weekend: OK but a bit lonely at times

Weather: Glorious

'Ooops, I did it again' I was so good all week and then blew it over the weekend. My weight was consistently 10st 11lbs last week. I stuck to between 1200 and 1400 kCal a day until Friday.... Saturday I had a meeting all day and I planned for it. I stopped at Tesco's in Westminster bought a low calorie salad, some fresh fruit and my treat of Wasabi Peas. All in all a sensible healthy lunch for a long day.

After the meeting we went to the pub and I drank a couple of ciders - will power gone. Came home added wine to the cider and ordered a huge curry... With popadoms! Bugger! And I had not exercised all day!!!

Sunday was just as bad, although I went to the gym and did a Body Pump class to make up for some of the badness! But when the children got home I picked at the left over curry whilst I prepared BBQ food... Drank more Cider! And then ate huge quantities of homemade potato salad (made with homemade mayonnaise!)

Oh well - it could have been worse - my weekend rotation lately has meant going up 5lbs and I only did 2lbs.

On the upside I am just home from the gym where I did 8 rounds of squats getting increasingly heavier each time until I was squatting with 55kg on my back... That is over 8 and a half stone... 

Thought for the day: 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger'

July 5th: TGIF! Though the weekend will be long!

Weight: 10st 11lbs

Weather: Glorious - though I can only sit at my desk until the sun hits it!

Inch loss: Let's find out together!

I decided last night after my successful branch into a more Mediterranean style salad to try another themed evening meal (though I suspect I will be on left overs of it for at least today and tomorrow). Last night the style was Spanish - Gazpacho followed by Tortilla and Salad.

The Gazpacho was much higher in calories than I was expecting - nearly 900kCal for half the recipe! That is always a problem - you see what essentially is a chilled tomato soup - you think you cannot go wrong and then you look up the calories!!! It was the 100g of bread and 50mls of Olive Oil that made it so calorific! I think next time I will half the bread - it was quite thick and cut out the Olive Oil altogether.

I did manage to save calories with the tortilla though by using only 100g of potato and two eggs and two egg whites to make it rather than four eggs - that really would have been silly!

It was perfect for this unusually glorious sunshine we are experiencing and I took a photo for you! You can also see my little luxury of the night - some yummy Rioja!

This week has been remarkably easy compared to some of the other weeks I have had - especially in the last few weeks - life has been a little stressful. However with doing so much in the gym and being so good with eating I have been a little irked that those scales have not moved. That however is why I measured all sorts of bits of me so that I could see progression. I wish I had measured them when I was 12st 2 but... Anyway... here goes:

Bust: 36"  -2.5"
Waist: 28" -4"
Hips: 36" -1.25"
Thighs: 21.5" -1.5"

That is 9.25" lost since the third of may - I am really chuffed with the waist inch loss and I am now the defined hour glass figure! Though I am not sure I will ever make it to the 36" 24" 36" that is considered classic!

PS I have started a couple of new pages - one that lists my work out and one that tells you a little about me - you will find them in the right hand menu!

July 4th: Great meal last night...

Weight: 10st 11lbs (getting predictable now)

Mood: Content

Weather: Cloudy (AGAIN!)

This blog started out being a blog about my food intake with a bit of exercise.. It is now a lot of exercise with very little food! So today I am, redressing the balance and will post the exercise bits later/tomorrow!

Last nights dinner was the most successful yet! It was really yum and just over 500 kCals it also IMHO looked fantastic!

It was also very simple to make:

1 med jacket potato - cooked in oven or microwaved

15-20 cherry tomatoes halved
2 inches cucumber diced
one red onion halved and sliced
1/2 bag corriander - chopped
1/2 bag parsley - chopped
1.5 lemons - juced
1 tsp olive oil

Put in bowl, mix and leave for 15 min

12 raw king prawns
1 clove of garlic - chopped
1 red chilli - sliced (optional and heat of your choice)
Spray olive oil in decent frying pan (I recommend the new offer from Tesco! - yes, I know but needs must)
Squeeze of lemon juice

Heat pan and spray with oil.
Add chilli and garlic and fry until softened not burnt!
Add prawns and cook until pink then add squeeze of lemon juice and add to the top of salad

Add jacket potato to plate and fill with 1/2 of Tzaziki.

Add black pepper to taste (and salt if you are a bad girl like me!)

You can reduce calories by halving the Tzaziki but this makes the potato dry I think and cutting out the Olive oil on the salad but some fat is good for you.

I hope you enjoy!

PS I have been to the gym today and worked out my legs - wow 55kg leg extensions pushing UP!!

July 3rd: What happened to yesterday afternoon?

Weight: 10st 11lbs

Mood: Headachey

Weather: Cloudy (again - I need the sun)

I am not sure where yesterday afternoon went, I had planned 20 min with my computer to scribe the final bits on exercise and why I do all this and the day ran away from me.

Let's start on what I did yesterday in the gym as part of my new 'three day plan' to get fit and loose weight, quickly followed by Wednesday's work out.

To explain my recording style. It is EXERCISE SETS*REPS WEIGHT (I will try to stick to this, remind me if I don't!!)

Tuesday - Shoulders and Back

Rowing - Distance 3985m in 20 min burning 217 kCal
3 min warm up followed by 7 40 second high speed 80 second's gentle row

One arm dumb bell row 3*15 5kg 1*15 6kg
Lat pull down 4*12 22.5kg
Cable row 3*12 50kg 1*8 55kg

Shoulder press 4*12 6kg
Front raise rotation 4*12 3kg
Deltoid raise 3*12 7kg 1*12 8kg
Total gravity gym overhead pull down 10 reps

Climbing.plank 30 sec 2* opposite knee to elbow 2* knee to outer elbow 

Sit-ups 4*12 7kg

Wednesday - Triceps, Biceps and Chest

Spinning 11.1 miles in 30 min burning 269 kCal

5min warm up on gear 8 followed by a pyramid (now this gets complicated)

Gear 12 standing 40 seconds RPM 75+

Gear 9 80 seconds

Gear 13 standing 40 seconds RPM 70+

Gear 10 80 seconds

Gear 14 standing 40 seconds RPM 65+

Gear 11 80 seconds

Gear 15 standing 40 seconds RPM 60+

Gear 12 80 seconds

Gear 16 standing 40 seconds RPM 55+

Gear 13 80 seconds

Gear 17 standing 40 seconds RPM 50+

Gear 14 80 seconds

Gear 18 standing 40 seconds RPM 45+

Gear 15 80 seconds

Gear 19 standing 40 seconds RPM 40+

Gear 16 80 seconds

Gear 20 standing 40 seconds RPM 40+

Gear 17 80 seconds

Gear 21 standing 40 seconds RPM 40+

Gear 18 80 seconds

Followed by 1 min gentle cycling then 20 second sprints on gear 8 four times and a cool down. If you followed any of that I will be amazed but it is a good record for me! (sorry if boring!)

Chest fly 3*12 11.5kg 1*12 13.5kg
Reverse chest fly 1*12 11.5kg 1*12 13.5kg 2*12 16kg
Cross chest pull 3*12 7kg (I am not very strong in that chest muscle!)
Biceps on cable machine 3*12 13.5kg 1*12 16kg
Triceps straight bar on cable machine  4*12 27kg
Trucep V bar on cable machine 4*12 27kg
Reverse biceps 4*12 3kg
Full extension crunch 4*12 5kg
Russian twist 4*20 5kg

Stretches

If you have got this far you deserve a medal!!

Why do I do this?

Yesterday reminded me of why I do all this exercise. As I get older it is getting more and more difficult to lose weight and stay trim (and fit in my clothes) but in the past 48 hours I have been reminded me that I am successful and I am not old!

In the gym yesterday a fellow weight lifter commented 'Oh my you are strong' as I lifted 55kg, as I walked to the water machine one of my cardio buddy's said 'You are getting fitter than me, how much have you lost now' when answered they responded 'It looks like a lot more'. And then to top it off today one of the personal trainers said 'Wow, you are looking really good! You have worked hard'.

So, on top of the natural stress busting endorphins I got some head enlarging compliments and that is why I do it!

July 2nd: PPPPP is working out

Weight: 10st 11bs

Mood: Cheery

Weather: Frightful

There is a lot to fit in this post today.. I will try to keep it brief! (I am sure I will fail and bore you all!!)

First up - Trainers 

Now I am a skint single mum with three children - I economise on everything. When it came to replacing my trainers last year I decided to invest in 'rockers'. These are designed to keep you thinking about your core and should tone your calves and bottom. Well in my opinion they do very little apart from destabalise you! Yesterday I went out and bought a pair of Nike training shoes. The difference in the gym was immense. I felt my calves working more, I was stable when pulling weights - something that I had begun to feel very uncomfortable about the heavier my weights got. Note to self: cheap is often a false economy!

And in second place - Food

I had a good day yesterday - apart from mass intake of very high calorie foods etc over the last month I have not made my stomach grow. My calorie intake yesterday came in just under 200 kCals - an amount I like to try and save up for the weekend - you can't be virtuous all the time!!!

So my diet yesterday was ok - I should really try to get breakfast into it but it is a start... And yes the two treats at the end of the day were not needed and should have been breakfast!

Lunch

Cup a soup

Bread

Dinner

2 eggs

Jacket potato

Half avocado

Olive oil

Sour cream and chive dip

Huge salad

Pringles

Cidre

Coming in third - Exercise

This is where the PPPPP really comes in. I have (on advice from one of the lovely girls in the gym) split my workouts into muscle groups. The plan is 

Mon - Legs

Tue - Back and Shoulders

Wed - Biceps and Triceps

Thurs - Legs

Fri - Back and Shoulders

Sat/Sun - Biceps and Triceps

To do this I have started buying books, listening to trainers in the gym and reading magazines to make sure I work every bit of every muscle.

Because no one will have got to the bottom of this post I will write up later what I did and what the weights were! As well as post the fourth topic - why I do this!