29 days to Japan: Hangovers are bad!

After posting last weekend on how I should get up and moving when I’m hungover, I did the exact opposite this weekend!

Friday night we had our Japanese lesson break up party.  Yesterday I spent most of the day in bed.  I woke up to go to the TAB and put a bet on the grand final and grabbed a cup of coffee at a local cafe.  They only had big meals though so I didn’t get any food.  Then I went straight back to bed. 

Woke up this morning weak as a kitten from not eating for over 24 hours.  Yikes – what a stupid thing to do.  I ended up drinking a meal replacement shake – not something I normally buy but a chemist in the city was giving away free samples the other day so I grabbed them.  Very handy for getting something in the belly.

Anyway, I had a fab time on Friday night and don’t think I made too much of an idiot of myself.  Oh yeah, except I tried to tell some guy I really liked his shoes in my drunken Japanese.  Why did no one ever tell me the word for shoes is VERY SIMILAR to the word for butt in Japanese?  Oh my god, and it was in front of a huge group of people too.  Oops!

31 days to Japan

I said in my last post I’d start giving myself a % rating for my efforts.  Well at the moment, I reckon I’m hitting around 35-40% – not good at all. 

No excuses, just strategies.  Since I don’t have a car and have to spend 3 hours or more travelling to work on the lousy train, I’ve not been exercising.  When I don’t exercise, I overeat.  Today I thought out ways I can still get some exercise into my day.

Firstly, I need to stop thinking of exercise as being a huge block of time.  By the time I get back into the city after work, the thought of spending over an hour at the gym is mighty unappealing.  Instead I’ve been thinking of doing even 10-15 mins of exercise each morning.  That’s got to be better than nothing – either heading out for a short run or even doing a basic circuit of pushups, squats etc.  Add in a 10 min or so brisk walk each way between the station and work then whatever I can do at night.  It’s only for a week so I’m going to get my exercise where I can.

The other issue is NOT eating at home.  Got to stop.  I think the biggest problem is that my sister doesn’t eat all day then wants to go get food at night.  The simple answer is to just say NO.  Not only is it awful fattening, it’s spending money I should be saving (and so should she). 

At least I got in some exercise today – I worked from home but had an appointment with the beautican at the gym for a free pedicure.  Got to the gym early and did some intervals on the treadie then had 15 mins to kill so headed down to the boxing room.  I always intend to use the boxing room when it’s empty but have been a bit tentative.  I don’t know why – maybe worried that someone might see me in there looking like an idiot.  Anyway it was heaps of fun and an awesome way to workout.

Now I have pretty blue toenails.  I got shown around the beauty area.  The City Baths really is a baths – they have private rooms with the big old clawfoot baths in them.  You can go in for a soak.  Awesome.  I never have baths cos my piggy housemates use our bath and that puts me off soaking in it.

5 weeks: weigh in

Weighed in at 84.8 kgs today.  That’s a 1.5 kg gain.  I’m not too fussed cos I think I’m carrying lots of poo and water weight atm (tasty, aren’t I?)

My thing for last week was to think positive.  I don’t think that was so successful, mostly because I forgot.  This week I’m going to be most positive about myself.  I also want to put in 100% every day.  I might even give myself a daily % rating.

35 and a bit days to Japan

Man what a miserable day.  I had one of those days at work where everything that could go wrong did.  Finally got to leave, walked out the front door and it was pissing down with rain.  Now in case you’ve forgotten, I have to catch the train to work since my car tyres got slashed.  Not just a sprint down the street either – since I’m working in the outer, outer East, it’s a hike of over a km with not even a footpath to walk on.  Not a bad walk in decent weather.

I got to the train station soaked to the skin.  Luckily I had my gym gear so put on my trackies and used my tee-shirt to dry myself off.  Still it was freezing and my leather jacket was too damp to put back on.  So, of course the folk at Connex cancelled the next train.  Then the next one was very late. 

I left work at 5.00 and got on the train at 5.55.  What a crock!  By the time I got to the city, I’d lost any desire to get to the gym.  As it was, I didn’t get home until after 7.00 and was still frozen to the bone.

That makes 3 days without exercise – I had a very slack weekend. 

I’ve got tomorrow off work so I think a long run is in order.  Then two days work to finish off.  I’ve got mixed feelings about that.  It’s a total pain travelling to the outer East without a car but I’ve got nothing on.  If nothing turns up, that makes 7 weeks of no work!  Yikes! 

Not looking forward to my weigh in tomorrow – after a weekend of boozing and bad eating then some more bad eating tonight to combat the cold, it’s not going to be pretty.  Luckily I have 5 weeks to get into shape.  That’s 35 days – I think I can manage 35 days of consistent effort.

Plus

I forgot to mention the other really cool thing I did yesterday.  As a birthday pressie to myself, I went to the local beauty place and had a makeup lesson.

My usual style of makeup is pretty slapdash – chuck on some foundation then black eyeliner.  Smudge some black eyeshadow around the eyes to cover the wonky eyeliner line then a bit of colour over the top.  If I want to be really fancy, I put on some mascara and lip gloss.  For job interviews, I wear lipstick.  That is basically it.

I learnt heaps at the lesson.  She did up one side of my face with a daytime look and the other for night.  The colours she used were ones I’d never pick for myself ever – warm colours like pinks and coppers for day and brighter blues for night.  Apparently I shouldn’t wear black eyeliner – that’s going to be a hard habit to break – but should use a midnight blue.

I took all my makeup with me so we looked at ways of using what I have as well as her suggestions.  I had a ball – I’ve had makeovers done at department stores but they are trying to flog their products.  Mostly what I need to buy now are some good makeup brushes and a few cheap colours.  Oh and I got $50 off any of their products so I’m getting a really good quality mineral foundation for next to nothing!  Woohoo – I’d been planning to buy one anyway.

36 days to Japan

What great weather today – I love spring.  I haven’t been able to fully go out and enjoy it on account of being slightly hungover from drinking and karaoking last night.  Much rocking was done at the Karaoke bar.

I’ve been fully convinced over the past few years that when I drink I get so badly hungover that I can’t get out of bed for at least a day, sometimes 2 day.  I think that was the case when I had insanely high blood sugar because alcohol does crazy things to your blood sugar levels (and I think being on diabetes medication makes it worse). 

I’m starting to realise now though, it’s not the hangover that wipes me out.  I think that I can’t get out of bed so I stay in bed all day — not eating or drinking water or doing anything other than sleeping some more.  It’s the excess sleep, dehydration and lack of food that causes the problems.  Well that and the “I’m too sick to get out of bed” mindset. 

Today some friends came over and I got up and went out for coffee and lunch.  I’ve spent the afternoon cleaning up and getting organised for the week ahead.  I feel a million times better than I would have sleeping all afternoon.

Anyway, tomorrow I’ve got to do something about my poor car.  Apparently I can’t leave it parked on the street with slashed tyres because it’s illegal to leave it in an unroadworthy condition.  I’ll ring the police and discuss it with them.  If I do get the tyres fixed (and I’m not really sure how to do that since I can’t actually drive the car with 3 bung tyres) then I’m going to park it at my son’s place until I get back from Japan.  Then I’m going to look for a new place to live – with off street parking.

37 days to Japan

Yesterday I went out to my car to drive to work and 3 of my tyres had been slashed.  My car was the only one on the street that had been touched so it was definitely malicious and targetted at me.  I’m pretty sure it was my psycho neighbour. 

I have no idea what to do about her – her behaviour keeps getting worse and worse.  I rang the police and they really can’t do anything.  They said they could come around and talk to her but I think that won’t help.  The woman is insane and spends most of her life sitting on her balcony, sucking on a bottle of bourbon (even early of a morning). 

I don’t even know if it’s worth getting my tyres replaced – while I have to park my car on the street, there is nothing to stop it happening again.

38 Days to Japan: Why?

When I first organised to go to Japan, a few months back, I checked the exchange rate.  The $AUD was worth around 100 Yen.  Nice and simple for working out exchange rates etc.  I never thought about it again until the other day – at the gym, I noticed the financial crap on the telly screen.  The freaken $AUD is now only worth 80 Yen.  It’s like someone has gone to my bank account and stolen 20% of my savings!

You know, after studying business and all that economics crud at uni, I should understand this stuff but really I don’t.  How come our money is now so worthless?  And, more importantly, is it going to go up again?  I need to know.

Is it because Kevin Rudd kept gallivanting over to Japan earlier in the year and needed lots of yen but now he doesn’t care?  Just because K-Rudd has all his Hello Kitty merchandise, doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t need to buy it.  Speaking of Kevin Rudd and Hello Kitty – don’t you think if he put a bow in his hair, the resemblance would be uncanny?  Yikes, maybe he’s been replaced by Hello Kitty and no one’s noticed!  It’s all an evil plot, I tell ya!

6 weeks to Japan: 0 days to my birthday!

Weigh in today – 83.3 kgs.  A while back I said I wanted to be under 80 kgs for my birthday but that didn’t happen.  I’m surprised I even lost this week – I went a bit crazy after my last weigh in. 

I had a big DER moment this week: I’ve realised if I eat at home and cook myself, I lose weight.  If I go out for meals, I don’t.  Plain and simple.  I don’t even have to make an effort to cook low calorie meals because if I cook, I cook healthy.  If I go out, I can make healthy choices but who knows what they do to that food in the kitchen.  Chefs love oil!

Having said that, I will be going out for a birthday lunch today and I will be going out Saturday night and cocktails will be consumed!  I just have to be extra careful for the rest of the week.

I’ve already been for birthday run and did the 5 km loop around my block in 29 mins.  That’s my fastest time ever.  I used my nike+ but I think it’s out by about 5% so I actually run 5.25 kms on it to compensate.  Go me with the speedy running…lolz.

Finally, Kada tagged me for this ages ago and I’ve had problems with remembering stuff but I thought I’d do it today.

What is something you’d love to say to your younger selves of 2, 5, 10 and 15 years ago? (Doesn’t necessarily have to be the same thing each time.)

Two years ago: I was at my goal weight, woohoo!  My advice – don’t put on weight.  I could get all down about how I’ve porked up over the past 2 years and regret every thing I’ve eaten since but what’s the point of that?  Much better to remember that I got there once and I can again.  Check me out here - those are the black jeans I want to get back into.

Five years ago:  Not dieting but going to the park every night to walk the dogs and get some exercise, listening to the White Stripes and Strokes on my walkman (the olden days before ipods).  My advice – keep going with the walking.  And the swimming.  You’re on the right track

Ten years ago:  when the doctor says to improve your diet and exercise – LISTEN!   If you really can’t follow that advice, then don’t buy tickets to see Nick Cave cos you’ll be in hospital having your gallstones removed and your sister will sell your ticket to some dude who never gives you the money for it.

Fiften years ago:  when you think it might be a BAD idea to go to $2 pot night every Monday and that it might interfere with work, drop the guilty and do it.  In the future, you’ll remember how much fun you had and it’s only a job.  Oh yeah, and Japanese class at uni — pay more attention, you’ll be glad you did in the future.

43 days to Japan

Ì seriously should have a content block on my internet to stop me from looking at plastic surgery sites!  Once I start looking, I want everything done.  I got on one site that did trips to Thailand with breast augmentation included for $AUD5000.  That’s a total bargain… except I ‘don’t even need breast augmentation. 

It’s amazing how the promise of instant results can override your common sense.  The other day I was in Borders and found myself in the diet section.  All those ‘lose 50 kilos in 2 days’ books kept finding their way into my hands.  Luckily I have a finely tuned bullshit detector plus I know that I’d never stick to their plans.  Yesterday I started looking at South Beach, then I remembered somedays carbs are the only thing that keep me from killing.

So this week I’ve been focusing on my core and discovered something amazing: your mum and nan are right.  Sucking your guts in works.  If you want INSTANT RESULTS, forget the snake oil.  Good posture makes you look thinner for free.  Not only that, you can’t walk down the street with the stomach in and shoulders back while feeling blah.  You have to strut.

This week I’m going to focus on positive thoughts.  I have issues with positive thinking – I mean, I’m all cynical and hard.  I don’t fall for that hippy BS.  But, at different times, it’s worked for me. 

• When I first started losing weight, I’d have all those ‘I don’t want to go to the gym… I’m too tired… I’ll just skip it for today… ‘ You know the thoughts I mean.  Every time one of those thoughts came into my head, I’d mentally scream ‘I love the gym’ over the top of it.  Now I love the gym. In the past 2-3 years (however long it’s been), I’ve rarely skipped a workout unless I’ve been sick.  I love the gym.
• The other day when I was doing hill intervals, I really didn’t want to do them.  It was hard.  Dead hard.  Half way though I changed my thinking to say ‘this hill is easy and every time I run up it, I get stronger’.  After that, the hill did get much easier.

Woah, spooky.

Even spookier, and I’m almost loathe to write this, a while back I read through The Secret while waiting for my appointment at the hairdressers.  I’m pretty much opposed to anything that relies on The Universe to deliver.  To my thinking, if The Universe is actually listening and looking after the comfortably off, disenchanted white, middle class while kids in third world countries are dying of starvation then The Universe should get it’s freaken priorities in order.

Anyway, after I read The Secret, I mocked it to my sister saying, since The Secret says to live as though your dreams were reality, we should go to the airport and tell them that The Universe has provided us with tickets to Japan.  Ha, ha… except now — oogie, boogie — we are going to Japan!  Although I don’t think the universe has provided so much as Jetst*r and our own efforts.

So this week: positive thoughts.  Like I’M HOT (is that too shallow?)  and I’M A TOTAL GUN AT WEIGHT LOSS. 

When I was at the top of my weight losing mojo, I bought myself a shiny, red notebook and this is what I wrote on the first page:

This journal is to commemorate me losing 20 kilograms.  I did it.   It wasn’t always easy but I kept going and didn’t give up.  I’ve worked hard to get to where I am today and I’m proud of me – I’m far healthier and stronger than I was 12 months ago and I will continue to get stronger and healthier.

It is my choice how I deal with things and if I let life get to me.  If I respond like an angry child it doesn’t ”show” anyone – it just hurts me.  The best way to show people is by being the healthiest, strongest, best me possible.

This journal is to celebrate me and my beauty.  I can do it.  The only thing holding me back is me.  The only thing taking me forward is me.  It’s all about ME!

I was in that place once and I can be again.  They are my words and they must be true: I wrote them in sparkly silver pen.