Week Three Review

Week 3 - 18/1/14 - 24/1/14

Start Weight - 78.7 kg
End Weight - 77.5 kg
Loss- 1.2 kg

Thoughts on the Week
Wow!!! Another bloody great week on the weight loss front! I was feeling good Wednesday and Thursday so I am really pleased it paid off!
Rested a bit more this week as you can see, I only worked out 4 days out of 7 but worked myself really hard when I did work out to make sure I kept up the hard work of the past couple of weeks and I knew I was going home at the weekend. 
I feel I am really getting into the swing of things as well and feeling brilliant! People have commented on the change, they can see the difference in my face which is great to hear! Let's hope I can keep it up and get a lot more compliments, I am getting better at accepting them.

My parents have been a great help this weekend by being very prepared to help me continue my diet but with a few home comforts. A wonderful soup on Friday, a pasta dish on Saturday and a Sunday lunch out but all within my calories! 
I had my treat today (Sunday) which was Lemon Meringue Pie after the amazing Sunday lunch.

Thoughts for the week ahead....
next week it will be a month since I started and I am aiming for a total of 5 kgs or 10 lbs lost so I am going to focus a bit more on cardio to burn as may calories as I can but still need to keep up the good work with weights. Let's see how it manifests itself, I'm just going to go with the flow.

Tweety's Day - Wednesday

Wednesday is my favourite day of the week so I thought I would share what I do with a typical day.....

So I get out of bed at 6:50am, hop (sometimes literally) straight in the bathroom, go to the toilet, I have a shower and get dressed. (I do dry off before donning clothes otherwise as it would be a bit odd)
Next the kettle is on, I am a big tea lover! I like it strong with very little milk. Whilst the kettle is boiling and the tea brewing I get my porridge ready. Two minutes later and my breakfast is ready.

I find porridge is a great way to start the day, it keeps me full a lot longer and I don't snack as much! But you do need to make sure you have plain oats with semi skimmed or skimmed milk and not the sachets because they are just filled with sugar!!!

I watch the news, eat my porridge and savour my first cuppa of the day before cleaning my teeth and putting my make-up on and getting lunch together.

For Lunch I try to be most prepared as possible and make sure it is something I am going to enjoy because this means I will definitely eat and be satisfied for longer afterwards. It also prevents me from buying naughty things from Tesco which is only a short walk away.

With my lunch ready and in my rucksack, I get my coat on and leave the house at 8:10am.

I am currently walking to work. It is a great start to the day and it saves on petrol which isn't cheap!

I arrive at work approximately 15 minutes later, after a speedy walk I am ready for a glass of water and another cuppa so by 8:35am ish I am ready to get working.

I work in an office and sit at my computer all day, looking at spreadsheets and our website mostly but occasionally I go to some meetings which is always fun!

Mid-morning I had a Special K cereal bar which is 89 calories with a cup of tea. 

Mid-morning I have a small snack which I try to keep around 100 calories which is a cereal bar, or seeds or a piece of fruit.

I try to have lunch between 12:30pm and 1pm so I am actually hungry!

And here is my lunch for today:

A salmon potion, cous cous, mixed salad leaves and cucumber with a bit of chilli mayo.

With lunch taken care of I get back to work, looking at more web pages, tackling last minutes changes and all sorts of fun and games.

By 5pm I am ready for home, I finish what I am doing which I find is a best way to keep track of where I am up to and I love ticking things off my to-do list! I get my stuff together and headphones in ready for the walk home.

Not only is it good for my health, walking home allows me to get stop thinking about my work day so if it's been bad I can get rid of it and move on to what I have planned for the evening or what I want to do at the gym.

If I am going to the gym I go straight after work so I don't get comfy in my chair, so I get changed into suitable gear including put my heart rate monitor and grab my water bottle. I live 2 minutes from The Training Shed so I walk along the road and get started.

Tonight my workout was as follows:

1. 

Clean & Press with 20kg bar x 10 

+

Basketball Jumps x 20

2. 

Chest Flies with 7kg weight x 10

+

Ski Jumps x 40

3. 

Chest Press with 20kg x 10

+

Squat Jumps x 10

4.

Oblique Flies with 5kg ball x 30

+

Skipping without a rope x 75

Each section repeated three times.

I worked out for 55 minutes and burnt 506 calories!

The best part of a litre of water later I'm home again and ready for food.

Tonight I am had:

Half of Spinach and Ricotta Connelloni with mixed salad leaves, cucumber, yellow pepper and grated carrots with a bit of lighter than light mayo.

Doesn't it look good? And there is enough for tomorrow's lunch as well! Winner!!!

And after all that I am in my lounge pants watching random telly and enjoying a green tea with lemon.

I have switched to Green Tea with Lemon in the evening as I sleep a lot better and I definitely need it at the moment as I am doing so much but it is all doing me good!

I think it's about time I went to bed! Have a great rest of the week and I will review week 3 at the weekend, I'm hoping for another great week on the weight loss front!

Week Two Review

Week 2 - 11/1/14 - 17/1/14

Start Weight - 79.5kg
End Weight - 78.7kg
Loss - 0.8kg

Thoughts on the week

This week has been a tough one! Work has been extremely busy and very frustrating which would normally lead to me eating a lot more and bad foods. But such is my resolve that I found other things to keep me from thinking of bad foods and just eating in general (meaning I got quite a bit done). Normally when I'm busy I go for the quick and easy foods, such as shop bought sandwiches, crisps but I have done very well to be prepared and had healthy lunches I want to eat so I didn't slip up which I am very pleased about. 

I did exercise 6 days out of 7 again however Wednesday was a very light session. I am very aware I can not keep this up and I don't plan to but I have been enjoying working out so I will keep going. I don't want to lose that so will be very careful to keep eye on how I am feeling and what my body is telling me so I don't over do it.

I have also decided to do a couple of events, one in May and one in July. The one in May will be a run and the other one will be an obstacle race. They are both going to be tough but they are also giving me good focus to keep going so I can do the very best I can. 

And although it has been a very tough week I lost just under a kg which it bloody brilliant! 

Tweety's Eating Plan

Okay so a big part of getting to my weight loss goal is the food I eat!

I am a real foodie and I love all the things I shouldn't as well as things I should. A lot of chocolate, bread, pasta and coated peanuts were a big part of the food I would eat every week. And they were too big a part of it for too long and I was becoming a person I didn't like, mostly when I looked in the mirror but also my clothes were starting to get too small and then I had to move up a dress size. Don't get me wrong this didn't happen overnight, it was over a couple of years.

I think it started when I went through a tough break up which took a long time to get over, I then I started a job which meant I was on the road 4 days a week away from home and eating in restaurants and shop bough lunches. I didn't check myself, I just let myself eat what I wanted and didn't do any exercise.
And finally last year I lost a someone who meant a great deal to me, he was an inspiration and a great believer in me and all those around him. Initially I took to running a great deal to keep my mind focused but it didn't last and when I stopped the extra food I was eating to fuel the running became a comfort and it started adding up.
So I decided that in the New Year I would make a change and it would be a big change! I would loss all the weight I had gained and get back to a body shape I was happy with and as a result hopefully I would be a lot fitter. Over Christmas I prepared myself mentally and I made sure I ate all the things I really enjoyed which were really bad for me so when the New Year came I would be able to cut them out and make a fresh start.

I started on Friday 3rd January because my birthday is the 2nd and I was back at work on the Friday so it seemed like a good place to start. 
In the past I have found it very hard to stick to diets and rigorous eating plans where you can only eat certain things and you cut out loads of foods. I have learnt a few things from trying them though, some of which I am putting into practice at the moment.

So first and foremost I am not on a diet, I am healthy eating! And that is all it is! No fancy plans or strict eating regimes to stick to, just HEALTHY EATING!!!
I am going back to basics and only eating a certain number of calories (no more than I need and for a start less) and exercising at least 5 times a week. This does mean counting everything I eat and adding up the calories but I beat most of you reading this have a smart phone so you can easily get an app to help you. I am using My Fitness Pal which is free and it a great tool. I am getting very into it, you can scan the packets of everything (mostly) and get the calorie count and it saves it so it's there for next time, so don't start thinking its a real hassle to count calories as it's just not any more.

I have cut out some foods both for the high number of calories in them and for health reasons.
So out are:
- Bread - all forms, sliced bread, bagels, muffins, wraps, buns and any other type of bread you can think of.
- Chocolate - again all forms, chocolate bars, desserts, yoghurts (this is an except to this one which is protein shakes of a chocolate flavour, they are fixed calories and are hardly really chocolate and don't taste and thing like it)
- Potatoes and white pasta - (only eating sweet potatoes and a bit of wholemeal pasta)
I gave up bread for lent one year and saw a great difference in my weight and body shape. 

Also I have polycystic ovaries syndrome(PCOS) so ideally I should eat a low G.I.diet. (I will go into more detail about this another time)

So this is where I am starting and as you will see in the Week One Review it has worked so far and I didn't find it hard to stick to or feel hungry or feel cheated out of anything. (okay well by Thursday I did want some chocolate but I didn't give in and it was Day 7 which I always find hard) This is going to take time, I am under no illusion that is going to happen overnight ( I didn't get to where I am overnight) and I know it is going to take hard work and a lot of it but I can't wait to see the final results!!

Tweety's Circuit 2

Wednesday 8th January 

Workout Time: 6:00pm for 55 minutes
Workout Type: Tabata Circuit
Timings: 30 secs on/ 20 secs off x 4

Exercises:
1. Basketball Jumps
2. Oblique Twists
3. Squats with Kettle Bell (12kg)
4. Mountain Climbers
5. Bicep Curls (7kg)
6. Lunges
7. Burpies
8. Dead Lifts 
Stretches

Thoughts:
Well it was a tough circuit again! Four rounds was very hard going but I didn't give up, I did slow down a bit but I kept going. I am feeling a lot better the day following a workout, my muscles are getting used to things already which is a lot quicker than I was expecting so I will have to increase things and get harder on myself next week. More pushing through the burn!! It is so hard but I know it will give me the results I am looking for!

Week One Review

Week 1 - 4/1/14 to 10/1/14

Start Weight - 81kg
End Weight - 79.5kg
Loss - 1.5kg

Calorie Intake and Exercise 

Saturday 4th - Food: 1382 kcal / Exercise: 300 kcal (Tweety's Circuit 1)
Sunday 5th - Food: 1395 kcal / Exercise: 200 kcal (swimming)
Monday 6th - Food: 1460 kcal / Exercise: 300 kcal (quick circuit)
Tuesday 7th - Food: 1006 kcal / Exercise: 0
Wednesday 8th - Food: 1172 kcal / Exercise: 532 kcal (Tweety's Circuit 2)
Thursday 9th - Food: 1477 kcal / Exercise: 735 kcal (Work Circuits Class by Lydia)
Friday 10th - Food: 1799 kcal / Exercise: 668kcal (Weights session)

Thoughts in the week:
I am extremely pleased with the first week to be honest. I am targeting 0.5kg a week so had an amazing week by losing 1.5kg! 8 days without chocolate, bread and alcohol and a very good diet overall. I exercised 6 days out of the 7, which I know won't always be possible because I was quite tired by Friday but I will be giving it a good go!
Friday Nights are my treat nights so this was the only day I went over my calorie target of 1400 kcal but a considerable amount. I really earned my treat this week and I had a Lemon Meringue Pie which tasted extremely good!
The exercise I did was mostly in a circuit format however it was different exercises each time and a weights programme created by Lydia at The Training Shed. I also walked to work 4 our of 5 days, at good pace so I raise my heart rate.
My heart rate monitor has sparked a great excitement in me to see what I burn during workout sessions. I also wore the monitor for a whole day on Friday to see what my resting heart rate currently is and how many calories are burnt. Which was quite interesting and I will add as a separate post.


Below are a set of photos which show my body from all sides so in a few weeks hopefully there will be a clear change for the better! And next week I'll be adding my body fat into the mix once it has been done at The Shed.

Photos, all round view:

Tweety's New Heart Rate Monitor

Well... I thought if I was going to be serious about this then I need the right equipment which not only includes trainers, clothing and a sports bra but something to track the improvement in my fitness and accurately count the calories I'm burning during workouts.

So I set out in my quest to find a heart rate monitor which fitted what I was looking for. I did some research online into what are the features any decent heart rate monitor should have, look at various brands and the prices (as you might guess they're not cheap) to see what I could get for my money and where to buy from. I also talked to a few people who I know use them and asked what they'd recommend.

I was looking for 4 things:
- a product priced between £50-£70
- a nice looking watch as I wanted to wear it day to day as well
- easy to set up and use (anything too complicated and I wouldn't use it)
- a strap and watch combination (you can get some which are just a watch unit)

Kate and Emma at work are both very into their fitness, Kate is marathon training and Emma is training for a least two events whether it be triathlons or some crazy obstacle event. They both said straight off get a Garmin Forerunner 110 https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/sports/running/forerunner-110/prod63511.html which as you can see if a nice looking watch, has a good display and has GPS all ready to go. 
Now if I was a runner I think I would have jumped at this, the spec is good, it looks easy to set up and use and you get a lot of features online however I'm not! In fact I rather dislike it as I'm not very good at it! Also it was is out of the price range I was looking to spend even when I was looking on Amazon, my fail save for all purchases.

Just before Christmas I did a session with Lydia at The Training Shed and she lent me her heart rate monitor to see how many calories I burnt and what my heart rate looked like during what I have to say was a very tough session. Her heart rate monitor is a Polar FT2 I believe which is very simple to use and when I spoke again to her about what to get, it is the brand they, at The Training Shed are partnered with and would recommend. So I started to look at these specifically, on their website and where I could purchase them from.

Finally I got it down to two different Polar Monitors:

- FT4 http://www.polar.com/uk-en/products/get_active/fitness_crosstraining/FT4
and 
-FT7http://www.polar.com/uk-en/products/get_active/fitness_crosstraining/FT7

And drum roll.........

I decided on the Polar FT4! For a number of reasons, I didn't want anything over complicated, I only wanted to spend so much which this fitted into nicely, I wanted a good brand and something good looking. I did buy from amazon as I was given a voucher for my birthday along with some other money.

It arrived yesterday! I was so excited! I had it open in minutes, reading the instructions, getting it set up and ff to the gym I went to test it out. And so far I love it! 
It's so easy to use, set up took about 5 minutes in total and I took great pleasure in tracking my progress last night ( I burnt 532 calories) and that of the whole work circuits class tonight who all found it very interesting that it tracking me burning 530 calories in 55 minutes. I'm pretty sure its going to be a weekly feature! Next time we are aiming for 600.

Anyway I hope this is helpful but please remember there are loads of brands out there and you need to find the right one for you.

Tweety's Circuit 1

Saturday 4th January 

Workout time: 12:35pm for a approx 40 mins

Workout Type: Tabata Circuit
Timings: 30 seconds on / 20 seconds on x 4

Exercises:
1. Burpees
2. Clean and Press (15kg bag)
3. Plank Builders
4. Kettle Bell Swings (12kg)
5. Squat Jumps
6. Lunges (5kg weights)
7. Press ups
8. Oblique twists (4kg ball)
And Stretches!!!!

Calories Burnt: 300


Thoughts:
After a weight training session yesterday my muscles complained a little bit but I went to the gym all the same. I prepared what I was going to do (writing it down and taking it with me) before I arrived so I could get set up and get going quickly which really helped because I got the equipment together without a second thought and off to a flying start. I planned to do 3 or 4 reps of the circuit and for a start I would do just 3 but I pushed myself that little bit more and did 4. I did change squat jumps for just squats on the last round and slow down on a couple of others but I did as much as I could in the time!

And after well I feel tired and my muscles will complain a bit more tomorrow but its good pain even though it doesn't feel like it right now!

I think swimming might be the order of the day tomorrow!

Welcome to Tweety's Fitness Blog

Welcome to Tweety's Fitness Blog!

It has taken me a while but I have finally had enough of being unhappy with my body, my eating habits and fitness level. 2014 is the year it's all going to change and this blog is to track my progress, share how I'm feeling whether it be good, bad or ugly, pass on tips I find and learn along the way, review the equipment I use and the exercises and workouts I do, everything from trainers to watches to squat-jumps to chest presses.

I have tried in the past to get fit but never had the proper motivation so I've given up but this year is different, I have been mentally preparing myself for two weeks which lucky was over Christmas and I have eaten all the things I really love and won't be eating again for a long time!!

I'm not alone ranger though I have the help of Lydia at The Training Shed in Market Harborough, look them up at http://trainingshed.com/market-harborough/ who provide everything you would need from expert knowledge, support and friendly faces to help you in your quest for fitness and the body you want.
I'll be doing a combination of circuit classes, weight training and jogging with some other bits thrown in along the way.

To track my progress I have measured all the key areas I'm working on, weighted myself and taken a photo (which isn't very pretty but then that is why I am here)

So here are my measurements as of 4/1/14:

Right Arm - 34.5cm
Left Arm - 36cm
Bust - 102cm
Under bust - 94cm
Waist - 95cm / 78cm
Hips - 98cm
Bum - 108cm
Right Thigh - 66cm
Left Thigh - 64cm
Right Calf - 44cm
Left Calf - 45cm

Weight: 81kg / 12st 11lbs

And here is my photo:

So my goal..... well the main goal is to lose weight and tone my body but I also want to improve my fitness and eating habits. By June 2014 I want to have lost at least 15kgs which is less than 0.5kg a week so I think it is achievable. 



Okay so I think that gives you a good idea of why I am here and hopefully you will find it interesting to hear how things are going and the stories that come along with it.

Right let's go!