Random – Page 8 – My Random Ramblings

To wheat or not to wheat…..

July 2, 2013Posted in Pre-2018, Random

……that is the question.

There are lots of other questions too, such as does eating cholesterol laden foods increase your cholesterol, or is it due to another reaction? Low-fat or real fat? Carbs or no carbs? High or low protein? Sugar?! Where does it all fit in?

Well as a lifetime fatty, I can tell you that the whole diet thing isn’t as easy as you think. Calories in equals calories out, so eat less, move more and you’ll lose weight. Right? Well, not exactly, as far as I can tell.

I’ve been on loads of different diets, Weight Watchers, soup diets, cutting specific things out, adding certain things in, and to be fair, I’ve lost weight at times, but I’ve ALWAYS put it back on, with a little bit extra added for good measure too.

So this brings me back to the title, to wheat or not to wheat? This is something I’ve been toying with on and off for over a year. I saying ‘toying’ because I’ve had times when I’ve cut it out completely, times when I’ve cut it down by a lot, then other times when I’ve eaten whatever the hell i liked. (BTW you may start to see a pattern here – consistency is not my thing, especially when it comes to food. I go from eating well to bingeing on rubbish on a regular basis…..). However, I’m starting to see patterns, and notice effects wheat has on my body when I eat it. The problem is, the lack of consistency in my diet means it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what foods are causing specific effects. I’ve been reading a lot lately on various dietary issues: wheat; saturated fat; cholesterol; sugar. I’ve read some books, I’ve even managed to read some journal articles from the British Medical Journal after signing up for a free 14 day subscription. What I’ve read and learned so far has certainly given me a thirst to learn more. Of course I could ignore all that and just eat lots of fresh food, cut out the crap and do more exercise and I’d lose weight. But I almost guarantee I’d put it back on because I’ve done this before and I’m still fat. What do they say, the definition of madness is to keep repeating an action and expect a different outcome? Yep, i am the QUEEN of madness.

So this blog post is really just a holder – I’ve a lot more to read to try to make sense of all the science. I’m not a doctor or a biologist or chemist, but the engineer in me wants to understand the fundamentals of what is happening when I eat certain foods, and I want to try to discover if by adapting my diet I can finally make the weight-loss breakthrough I’ve always wanted. So I’m going to do a few different blogs on individual topics based on what I’ve read, as much for myself, as a place to record all the info., as for anyone else who might be reading this. I’ll hopefully get that started next week. So watch this space 🙂

On a more physical note, I’m running (well, staggering to be more precise…) a marathon this weekend, and I’m actually really looking forward to it. I’ll report back once it is done 🙂

Have a great week folks 😀

20 miler DONE!!!!

June 19, 2013Posted in Pre-2018, Random7 Comments

Thought i’d better just pop in to say I managed to do the run, and didn’t bottle it! I did three laps of 6.75 miles, and I have to say i lost the will to live on the 2nd lap, but rallied for the third. THANK THE RUNNING GOD ABOVE THAT IT IS OVER!!!!!! Taper time now, wooo hoooo hooooooooooo!

Thanks to everyone for your support on here and on facebook, it made a massive difference 😀

Time for a shower…..

Fall down 7 times, stand up 8…..

June 18, 2013Posted in Pre-2018, RandomTagged Failure, fear of failure, half the battle, Happiness, Learn, Sports9 Comments

Gotta get back up.... — Gotta get back up….

I had great plans for my next post. I was going to come in here (such that this is a place!) beaming with pride at having completed my longest run to date. I managed to trot out an 18 miler on the 9th of June, and unexpectedly i really enjoyed it. So on the 16th I was going to get to the magic 20 mile mark. It was going to be glorious. I had it all planned: nutrition was sorted, alarm was set, clothes were laid out, and I knew exactly what I had to do.

So what happened? Nothing. Zilch. A big, fat, ZERO. Alarm went off, I reset it, then I put it off altogether. I then decided to do the run in the afternoon, to match the conditions i’d be facing during the Outlaw marathon, since I won’t be starting that until early afternoon. But the hours just kept ticking by, and eventually it was too late. I completely bottled it. I was so sure that the 18 miler had been some sort of fluke, that it could not possibly be repeated, that I might as well just not bother. At the time these weren’t conscious thoughts, but that’s what happened. I was so paralysed by the fear of failure that I didn’t get off my fat arse and do what needed to be done. I even started panicking because I knew some friends would say “so how did the run go?!” and i’d have to admit defeat. Worse, I couldn’t even give a valid reason why.

Actually typing this makes me laugh, but you know when I started this blog, I kind of thought “this is it – i’ve taken the plunge by committing to write about my fears and dreams, so i’m on the right path, and NOW all these things I want to do will be possible”. Ta da, I have arrived at the answer!! (insert photo of me sitting in Buddha pose, basking in my newly found wisdom). Hmm, clearly not…. but acknowledging weakness is half the battle, right? Well, it might well be half of it, but the other half of it is actually getting out there and doing something. Taking action. Moving. Possibly even more important than any of that, however, is not being afraid to acknowledge failure. Acknowledge it, learn from it, and then move on.

No one likes failure, do they? I mean, why would you? Failing SUCKS. I’ve never been good at dealing with it. I don’t like to fuck things up, to put it bluntly. Which is funny, because i’m far from perfect, but on the whole, i try to avoid failure. Except…..I still fail at things. A lot. The whole reason i’m writing all this is because i failed to achieve my goals, moped about it, sat on my arse, ate some more and ballooned out to where I am now. I saw failure as just that, a ‘lack of success’, which is wrong. I should view failure as a lesson – how not to do something, how to improve, what to try next.

In terms of my current goals, i can reflect back to one of my biggest failures, Ironman Regensburg. The funny thing is though, I don’t actually think of that as a failure. Okay, so I didn’t get to the end, but you know what?, i got to the start. I rocked up, swam (like a brick, to be fair…), cycled a bit (slowly), then had to stop because i missed the cut-off. One of the happiest memories I have of that day, however, is getting to the top of a hill on the bike course and thinking “wow, i only just managed to cycle that without getting off and walking, so i’ll definitely have to walk the worst hill”……except that was the worst hill, I just hadn’t realised. I got to the feed station, passed through it then started to go downhill, when it clicked, and i’ve honestly never felt happier in my life. I had achieved something major. Now some people cycled up that hill cheetah like, as if on crack and being chased by bears. Not me though, which is why I was so happy. I don’t do hills, except I just did! So clearly I can learn from failure – I can see the positives when I need to. It isn’t all bad.

So what of that 20 miler? Well, i’ve booked tomorrow afternoon off work to do it. I’m not going to let it beat me. I’m hoping it will go as well as the 18 miler, but even if it doesn’t, i’m going to get it done. It isn’t even really about the running, it is just about not giving up. For sure i’ll screw up again, and again…..and probably again, but I can’t let these times get the better of me. Last weekend I fell down, so tomorrow I need to stand right back up 🙂 I’ll report back when it is done.

Drowning doesn't look like drowning

June 7, 2013Posted in Pre-2018, RandomTagged Drowning, Instinctive Drowning Response, Mario Vittone, Swimming, Water2 Comments

Since i’ll probably be talking about swimming a lot in the future, whether in the pool or open water, I thought it wise to share this fantastic article by Mario Vittone, formerly of the US Coastguard, on what a person who is drowning really looks like. Forget the screaming, flailing arms of the movies, this is much more subtle (though if someone is screaming and flailing – get help!).

The full article can be found here: http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/ , but here is a quick excerpt from it on signs to look for:

Head low in the water, mouth at water level
Head tilted back with mouth open
Eyes glassy and empty, unable to focus
Eyes closed
Hair over forehead or eyes
Not using legs – Vertical
Hyperventilating or gasping
Trying to swim in a particular direction but not making headway
Trying to roll over on the back
Appear to be climbing an invisible ladder.

Reading this actually shocked me because it made me think how easy it could be to miss someone in real trouble. Watch the video on the Instinctive Drowning Response that is contained on the web page – scary, isn’t it?

I hope I never see anyone like this when i’m out swimming, but at least now I’ve got a better idea of what to look for.

Safe swimming everyone….

The long road ahead…..

June 6, 2013Posted in Pre-2018, RandomTagged Functional training, Goal, Health, Strength training, Weight loss, Western Australia1 Comment

Did you know that students around the world are the only people keeping the multi-coloured pen industry in business? Probably not, because I just made that up. It might as well be true though. Envisage the scenario: you’ve been coasting along, doing the minimum possible, because let’s face it, the exam is ages away, and studying is for losers. All of a sudden though, you wake up one morning to find you’ve been in a coma for two months (the ONLY explanation!) because the exam is next week and you can barely remember ever having attended the lectures. Before panic well and truly sets in, you think of the perfect solution – create a study plan!!!! So you settle down, a crisp new notepad and 40 different coloured pens in front of you, and begin the epic task. Days are divided into tiny, measurable little slots where you’re going to make up for all the lost time; phew, you were almost worried for a minute! Each task is colour coded and surrounded by lovely scribbles and notes just to cheer you along the path to success. Four hours, three pots of tea and half a packet, okay, a whole packet of Hob Nobs later, you’re finished! You sit back to admire your handiwork, a smug look of satisfaction on your face. It’s not long before the crucial mistake becomes apparent though – you’ve included today in the plan, and realise you should have started studying three hours ago. You desperately search the plan for some space to rearrange the missed cramming time, but what with the 47 tea breaks (rest is vital!) and that night out you just cannot miss, the futility of your efforts sink in, so you declare the day a write-off and head to the pub for a well earned pint.

I’d love to say that little reminiscence into my student days was all just about the past, but to be honest, this kind of misplaced effort has been dogging me for years. I’m a great one for saying what i’m going to do, but just a bit rubbish at actually doing it. Now I know i’m training for a marathon at the moment, but I was supposed to have already run one this year, and guess what – I didn’t . I did however make a MASSIVE wall chart with all my training on it – I even had spaces to record how the sessions went and what i could do better next time (eh, maybe follow the plan?). Needless to say the chart was binned, the marathon wasn’t run, and i was back to where I started.

So, why am i telling you all this? Well, i’ve been planning again, but this time it is going to be more successful. Why? Because this time I really, really want it, and further to my last post, health wise i need this. Although I don’t have the day-to-day plans buttoned down, i can give you the headliners:

Goal 1a: Lose weight. I’ve got a goal in mind, but to be honest I’m more concerned with getting rid of excess visceral fat – I don’t care what the scales say at the end of the day.

Goal 1b: Get strong. There has recently been a lot of debate in the media about the ‘strong is the new skinny’ campaign, where it is feared people will replace one obsession with another. For me though, ‘getting strong’ is about functional strength – training my body to work as it is meant to, to reduce the chances of injury (my lower back has a tendency to be a pain in the, well, back). I want to have good core strength, and by that I mean my trunk but also my glutes, hamstrings etc.

I’ve split Goal 1 into two parts because for me they are clearly interlinked – to be honest, if I get the functional training right, the weight will almost take care of itself (assuming I eat right!)

Goal 2: if I reach my interim goal weight by the end of December, i’ll sign up for an ironman next year, most likely Ironman Western Australia. The reason I want to reach the interim weight goal first is because I learned a big lesson from my first IM attempt; I thought if I signed up for an ironman, that would help me reach my goal weight. Big mistake. Long, slow cardio isn’t the path to weight loss – i put on half a stone, and DNF’d, so i’m not taking that chance again.

Goal 3: Complete the half iron-distance event at Enduroman UK in 2014. I’ve put this after Goal 2 on purpose, even though it comes first on the 2014 calendar – I’m going doing this even if I decide the IM is too big an ask based on my weight loss progress. Why? Well, I still want to have a physical challenge to aim for, and it will also give a boost to my weight loss efforts knowing i have a reason to keep trying (over and above health).

Of course there is a lot of other stuff that I need to do to reach these goals, but that’s for another post; i’ve waffled on enough for now. I have to say though, I feel really excited to finally have a purpose again health & exercise wise, which I feel i’ve been missing for a while. The road ahead will undoubtedly be long and winding, with plenty of potholes and hills to contend with, but i’m looking forward to the journey…..

As Barney would say, “it’s going to be legend- ….wait for it…….”

The road to Bussleton?

May 28, 2013Posted in Pre-2018, RandomTagged Barney Stinson, Carcassonne, Ironman Triathlon, Kate Mosse, new life, Regensburg6 Comments

So i was on holiday last week, spending a few days in the lovely city of Carcassonne, in the south of France. I had always wanted to visit after reading the book ‘Labyrinth’ by Kate Mosse, and having watched the recent TV adaptation, i was online and buying a cheap flight before you could say “that stick insect model wrote a book?! Never….”. Then I completely forgot i’d booked it until someone else at work mentioned they were on leave at the end of the week. Luckily the holiday talk jogged my memory, and before long I was jetting off to the sun. Well, sun and rain and howling winds. Anyway, I digress. Being what feels like an eternal singleton at the mo, I was on my own, and just spent my days wandering around the old and new parts of the city, stopping along the way for coffees, little glasses of red wine and meals of the local cuisine. I spent the first couple of days trying to find a little notebook to write in, as in my haste to pack I forgot to bring one. When I finally found one though, I just couldn’t be bothered to write in it. I started, and immediately got writers block. When you’re trying to write a journal and you get writer’s block, you know you’re in a bad way – who can’t even write about their own real life?! So that got me thinking.

I’ve toyed with the idea of writing a blog for a while, but then I wasn’t sure what to write about, and even whether anyone would be the slightest bit interested in what I have to say. It was while I was on holiday that it started to dawn on me – write what you know, and who cares if no-one reads this.

So what do I know? Well, I know that i’ve ALWAYS been overweight, and it has always bothered me. I know I’ve spent most of my life doing no sport, although I started running a few years ago, and began taking part (I can’t say ‘racing’ without guffawing!) in triathlons too. I even got as far as the start line of an Ironman race in Regensburg, Germany, in 2011. However, I missed the bike cut-off time, so didn’t make it to the finish. I do know that I loved that day soooo much though, and i’ve never felt so great being part of something so amazing. I know that after that race, and having done months of hard training (even if it wasn’t quite enough!) that I wanted a break from it for a while. But that break turned into well over a year of doing nothing except sitting on the sofa, eating and thinking to myself ‘yep, next week i’m going to start a new life and get back to healthy eating and training’. Even I can’t help but roll my eyes as I type that. I must have started a million new lives over the years….

So where am I now? Well, it’s not all bad. I’m lucky enough to have started a great new job this year, which i love, and i’m settled into my new life, even though it took me away from a city I loved and the great friends I have that live there. So that’s all great, but the downside is i’m still sitting on the sofa most nights, not doing much and certainly not getting any slimmer. Now I should point out that i’m training for a marathon, but i’ve lost my mojo in the past couple of weeks, and i’m struggling with the running. When I was on holiday, i’d been eating out every night, because I had nowhere to cook for myself. After day 4, I was feeling sluggish and bloated, and caught a reflection of myself in the hotel mirror. That was the tipping point, and I just thought ‘No. More‘. How did I let myself get back to being the heaviest i’ve ever been?! I’m sick of being overweight, devoid of energy and lazy. I want to shift the weight i’ve put on, get fit again (in fact fitter than i’ve ever been), and I want to get to the end of an Ironman race. Life is too short, and frankly I don’t want to waste more time ‘doing nothing’. I want to get my mojo back. I’ll be 40 in 2 years, 5 months and 16 days (but who is counting…), and I don’t want to get there with diabetes or some lingering weight-related disease that I could have easily prevented. Okay, so we never know which number will come up, but I don’t want to load the dice.

So…….to make what could have been a fairly short story even longer, I’m writing this blog to be accountable. Maybe no-one will read it, but that’s okay, because to me, writing this is my way of setting myself a challenge. Once and for all. I’ve been mulling over the short and long term goals, but that is for another post, when i’ve sussed out the details. I just need to say i’m going to do something…..and do it.

In the immortal words of Barney Stinson, “Challenge accepted”.

Coming soon……

May 27, 2013Posted in Pre-2018, Random

So this blogging thing is new to me. I’m not usually one for ‘putting myself out there’ (so to speak!), so bare with me while I cobble together my first proper post.