So here we are, day 45 and halfway through the 'official' part of our PCP. All feels pretty good I must say, the sun is shining in Hong Kong and I feel great for a Monday morning! A few things have happened since I last blogged. Before Christmas I had gone to a clothing store and bought a couple of pairs of jeans, one smart pair (i.e. good fit, straight leg, the sort of thing you might be able to wear with a blazer at work) and another pair that are of a slightly more relaxed cut for slobbing around at the weekend. On Saturday night I was going to a birthday dinner for a friend of mine (it was her brother that put me on to PCP and it was being hosted at his house, so I knew that I would have a sympathetic audience in my hosts). I had been wearing the more relaxed pair of jeans during the day and when it came to getting ready I couldn't find the smarter pair ANYWHERE. It's always frustrating when you can't find something and this is exagerated 10-fold in HK where apartments are so small it should be physically impossible to misplace anything. Anyway, after about 30 minutes of turning the wardrobe upside down, I realised something: I had been wearing the smart pair all day and they were just that much loser that I assumed that they were the other pair - What an idiot - I fear that I'm going to have to do some clothes shopping in about 45 days time!!
Coupled with this, I also found myself having to put another hole in my belt. I'll be interested to see what the breakdown is when I have my fortnightly weigh-in tomorrow.
The dinner was great, but it was one of the first times that I've been REALLY jealous other people's food. I'd already had my egg whites so I wasn't hungry as such, but the dishes of roasted tomato and parmesan pasta, lamb shanks, tiramisu, and Italian cheeses that came out just looked and smelt delicious!
Oh, and I also broke my first resistance band - weirdly proud of that....
Everyone seems to be doing really well, keep it going!
Feb 28, 2011
Feb 24, 2011
Day 40 - a bit of a wobble
It's funny, just yesterday i was talking to Nick J about how healthy and well I was feeling. Cut to about an hour later and I was feeling rotten, achy and sore...! I guess you've got to be careful what you say sometimes. Consequently yesterday's work-out was pretty tough, but I'm delighted to say that I'm feeling 100% again today. I'm still concerned about these pistol squats though - I simply can't get the movement right and it's really doing bad things to my knees (previous marathon running perhaps??). This is frustrating as I feel like I'm missing a leg exercise and I'd really like a replacement exercise to tide me over. I'm still trying to do the pistol sqats each day but I know my joints well enough to know that I'm not a million miles away from doing some damage...!
Feb 22, 2011
Day 37
Although we're not a million miles away from the halfway point now, I feel that we've really come a long way since we started this project in January. Blogs are slowing down a bit, but I guess that's because describing what you're eating each day loses its appeal after a while (for the record, mashed avocado with cayenne pepper and Bragg's Liquid Aminos on Ezekiel 4:9 bread with a poached egg is the breakfast of kings - someone put me on to this bread the other day, it's unbelievably good!!). Consequently I imagine that over the next few days blogs are going to get more philosophical.
I have to say I agree with Molly's latest post; I find it hard to understand why people might want to quit around now when the real changes are first becoming evident. For me this is the time when it's all starting to get exciting!
For these 3 months PCP does take over your life to a greater degree and I've been blown away by the way everyone in the group has been able to balance everything so well, whether that's Andy with his hectic tennis schedule or Heather with her kids; it's seriously impressive stuff. It's made me realise that my life before PCP probably lacked some sort of control. In the past I would decide what to eat when I was hungry, exercise when (if) I had the time. Consequently it was hard to find real balance or stability. Now I have to think ahead and with that has come a new sense of responsability - my attitude has altered. No longer do dishes get left in the sink until the morning, or do I forget to leave money out for the cleaner. I don't get up to find that the milk has run out and I'm better prepared for meetings. So a side-effect of having more respect for yourself and your body is having more respect for others it seems. That can't be a bad thing at all can it?
I have to say I agree with Molly's latest post; I find it hard to understand why people might want to quit around now when the real changes are first becoming evident. For me this is the time when it's all starting to get exciting!
For these 3 months PCP does take over your life to a greater degree and I've been blown away by the way everyone in the group has been able to balance everything so well, whether that's Andy with his hectic tennis schedule or Heather with her kids; it's seriously impressive stuff. It's made me realise that my life before PCP probably lacked some sort of control. In the past I would decide what to eat when I was hungry, exercise when (if) I had the time. Consequently it was hard to find real balance or stability. Now I have to think ahead and with that has come a new sense of responsability - my attitude has altered. No longer do dishes get left in the sink until the morning, or do I forget to leave money out for the cleaner. I don't get up to find that the milk has run out and I'm better prepared for meetings. So a side-effect of having more respect for yourself and your body is having more respect for others it seems. That can't be a bad thing at all can it?
Feb 19, 2011
Day 35
I'm loving the fact that the exercises have gone up a notch and the new variety is great, but those pistol squats are close to impossible! I was completely stumped by them; hoping that I get the hang of them soon...!
Feb 17, 2011
Day 34 - Bad co-ordination
I've had mixed success over the last 24 hours. I hit the gym yesterday afternoon with the intention of pushing myself on the skipping - I have a feeling that I have been giving myself a bit of an easy ride on this front so far... Normally I manage around 250 or 300 skips with a short 30 - 30 second break before starting again. Up until now, this has really been a counting issue as much as anything else. Last night I wanted to see how many I could manage if I just kept going. You can imagine my surprise when I hit 400 without too many problems, suddenly 500, 600 and 700 sailed by as well. I finally got to 1,219 before I snagged my toe. So there you go, who'd've thought it.
This morning I had to visit the gym at 7am as I have a lunch and then the theatre to go to this evening. It was a completely different story! On reading everyone's blogs i can see that a lot of you far prefer to be working out in the morning. What I realised is that when it comes to coordination, I don't think I wake up until after breakfast! I got through it all okay, but after such a successful run last night, it was ridiculous to be tripping every 50 skips or so...
Oh well, at least work-out is out of the way for the day. Those floor jumps were pretty painful this morning!!
This morning I had to visit the gym at 7am as I have a lunch and then the theatre to go to this evening. It was a completely different story! On reading everyone's blogs i can see that a lot of you far prefer to be working out in the morning. What I realised is that when it comes to coordination, I don't think I wake up until after breakfast! I got through it all okay, but after such a successful run last night, it was ridiculous to be tripping every 50 skips or so...
Oh well, at least work-out is out of the way for the day. Those floor jumps were pretty painful this morning!!
Feb 15, 2011
Week 5 Weigh-in
Some interesting revelations in today's weigh-in. I'm doing this once every two weeks, just out of interest really:
Original Weight: 95.6kg
Weight (01/02/11): 94.7kg (-0.9kg)
Weight: (15/02/11): 90.7kg (-4.0kg)
SMM: 47.1kg
SMM*(01/02/11): 47.7kg (+0.6kg) *Skeletal Muscle Mass
SMM: (15/02/11): 46.7kg (-1.0kg)
Body Fat Mass: 13.9kg
Body Fat Mass (01/02/11): 11.9kg (-2.0kg)
Body Fat Mass: (15/02/11): 9.3kg (-2.6kg)
Body Mass Index: 25.9kg/m
Body Mass Index (01/02/11): 25.7kg/m (-0.2kg)
Body Mass Index: (15/02/11): 24.6kg/m (-1.1kg)
Percentage Body Fat: 14.6%
Percentage Body Fat (01/02/11): 12.6% (-2%)
Percentage Body Fat: (15/02/11): 10.3% (-2.3%)
Waist-Hip Ratio: 0.83
Waist-Hip Ratio (01/02/11): 0.82 (-0.01)
Waist-Hip Ratio : (15/02/11): 0.81 (-0.01)
Visceral Fat Area: 97.8
Visceral Fat Area: (01/02/11) 93.1 (-4.7)
Visceral Fat Area: (15/02/11): 82.3 (-10.8)
Original Weight: 95.6kg
Weight (01/02/11): 94.7kg (-0.9kg)
Weight: (15/02/11): 90.7kg (-4.0kg)
SMM: 47.1kg
SMM*(01/02/11): 47.7kg (+0.6kg) *Skeletal Muscle Mass
SMM: (15/02/11): 46.7kg (-1.0kg)
Body Fat Mass: 13.9kg
Body Fat Mass (01/02/11): 11.9kg (-2.0kg)
Body Fat Mass: (15/02/11): 9.3kg (-2.6kg)
Body Mass Index: 25.9kg/m
Body Mass Index (01/02/11): 25.7kg/m (-0.2kg)
Body Mass Index: (15/02/11): 24.6kg/m (-1.1kg)
Percentage Body Fat: 14.6%
Percentage Body Fat (01/02/11): 12.6% (-2%)
Percentage Body Fat: (15/02/11): 10.3% (-2.3%)
Waist-Hip Ratio: 0.83
Waist-Hip Ratio (01/02/11): 0.82 (-0.01)
Waist-Hip Ratio : (15/02/11): 0.81 (-0.01)
Visceral Fat Area: 97.8
Visceral Fat Area: (01/02/11) 93.1 (-4.7)
Visceral Fat Area: (15/02/11): 82.3 (-10.8)
Feb 14, 2011
Day 31 - Confession
It's been a few days since I've blogged so a few things to catch up on. In the interest of transparency I also have to admit to a couple of cheats since I last updated my status (actually, maybe three cheats now I come to think of it...). When I received the email on our first indulgence day, I decided that I'd save that particular treat for Saturday night when I was due to be on a date (a couple of glasses of wine appealed I must say). I had not taken into consideration that our menu was going to change, so my first cheat was that Saturday night did not mark the start of my apple, banana and egg white menu. It did however include a very good mesculin salad followed by fish in broth - all (week 4) PCP friendly, so I'm not going to beat myself up too much.
Cheat two... my date and I shared a bottle of wine so I may have had 3 glasses rather than 2 (it was nice wine though and I drank with a glass of water inbetween each glass).
We then went back into town to a cocktail place run by a friend of mine. I had a water while she had a cocktail - so far so good. I did however, then let the side down a bit. I felt bad that she was drinking and I wasn't so I did join her in a cocktail and a couple or vodka tonics before dropping her off home.
Sooooo, I definitely behaved badly, BUT, I did get up at 8am the next morning to go on an 8km hike, which was followed by a good gym session to do my PCP routine. I am of course back on track now but have been feeling guilty, so thought it best to post all the details.
Loving the new exercises though and my first foray into the new dinners went well last night. Weigh in again tomorrow so we'll see how that goes.
Oh, and I have to say, although Saturday night was fun, I really didn't feel like I've been missing out on much.
Cheat two... my date and I shared a bottle of wine so I may have had 3 glasses rather than 2 (it was nice wine though and I drank with a glass of water inbetween each glass).
We then went back into town to a cocktail place run by a friend of mine. I had a water while she had a cocktail - so far so good. I did however, then let the side down a bit. I felt bad that she was drinking and I wasn't so I did join her in a cocktail and a couple or vodka tonics before dropping her off home.
Sooooo, I definitely behaved badly, BUT, I did get up at 8am the next morning to go on an 8km hike, which was followed by a good gym session to do my PCP routine. I am of course back on track now but have been feeling guilty, so thought it best to post all the details.
Loving the new exercises though and my first foray into the new dinners went well last night. Weigh in again tomorrow so we'll see how that goes.
Oh, and I have to say, although Saturday night was fun, I really didn't feel like I've been missing out on much.
Feb 10, 2011
Life/Work Balance
I know that Juan is a fan of TED Talks already, but to those of you who aren't, I thought that the attached was interesting and relevant.
Day 27 - "Woot woot!"
Having read everyone's blogs this morning it seems that we've reached something of a tipping point. Up until now it seems that everyone has, to a greater or lesser extent, been counting off the days until we finish what I'm sure many of us think of as an ordeal. It struck me this morning that attitudes seem to have changed and everyone seems to be having fun (with no chocolate or alcohol - what is the world coming to??). To quote Molly: "We have 64 days to go. Woot woot!".
I went to a debate last night ("The world needs less democracy, not more democracy" - fascinating stuff; the outcome was that the world needs more democracy but the votes were surprisingly close) and while I was waiting to go in I bumped into a guy I know. We got chatting and he asked me what I'd been up to. I told him that I was doing PCP (we have a mutual friend who's an ex-pcper) and his reaction was surprising. His response was that doing a detox/diet was a ridiculous idea because it was ultimately unsustainable and consequently any progress made was ultimately undone in the months after completion when we return to our old habits. I understand where he was coming from, especially when you see the amount of fad 'diets' out there - from Atkins to lemon juice, pepper and maple syrup - but I felt that he'd severely missed the point.
The reason that I'm partaking in PCP is not just the immediate rewards that present themselves 90 days after we first pick up a skipping rope (although of course looking and feeling great are a bonus), it's actually a long-term plan and the program itself is really just the trailer to the movie. By working hard for 3 months I'm hoping that I'll learn lessons that will stand me in good stead for the next 60 years.
The exercises are getting tougher (waddles and jumps are a killer) but rather than feeling hard done by, everyone seems to be embracing the challenge and enjoying themselves. It's great to see everyone feeling so positive.
I went to a debate last night ("The world needs less democracy, not more democracy" - fascinating stuff; the outcome was that the world needs more democracy but the votes were surprisingly close) and while I was waiting to go in I bumped into a guy I know. We got chatting and he asked me what I'd been up to. I told him that I was doing PCP (we have a mutual friend who's an ex-pcper) and his reaction was surprising. His response was that doing a detox/diet was a ridiculous idea because it was ultimately unsustainable and consequently any progress made was ultimately undone in the months after completion when we return to our old habits. I understand where he was coming from, especially when you see the amount of fad 'diets' out there - from Atkins to lemon juice, pepper and maple syrup - but I felt that he'd severely missed the point.
The reason that I'm partaking in PCP is not just the immediate rewards that present themselves 90 days after we first pick up a skipping rope (although of course looking and feeling great are a bonus), it's actually a long-term plan and the program itself is really just the trailer to the movie. By working hard for 3 months I'm hoping that I'll learn lessons that will stand me in good stead for the next 60 years.
The exercises are getting tougher (waddles and jumps are a killer) but rather than feeling hard done by, everyone seems to be embracing the challenge and enjoying themselves. It's great to see everyone feeling so positive.
Feb 7, 2011
Kung Hei Fat Choy
I've been rather relaxed on the blog front as it's been Chinese New Year here in HK. This means fireworks, parades, Lai See (red envelopes containing money) and LOTS of food. I've had friends in town as well so it's been pretty action-packed. Through-out the festivities I've stuck to the exercise and the diet though. It can be a little dull sitting in a restaurant while others are scoffing food around you, but I'm actually really enjoying all the PCP-friendly meals that I'm making myself so I don't feel too left out. The exercise routine looks great this week - tough, but interesting, and great to have some variety. Have included some pictures below of some of the delicious things that I've been eating (and some that I've sadly been avoiding!)
An organic farm that I found on Lamma, one of Hong Kong's outlying islands
Great vegetables and noodles, but rather oily unfortunately
Steamed greens. Delicious.
View of the beach on Lamma, including the rather ominous 'Monty Burns' style power station in the background...
A great lunch in a small fishing village called Lei Yue Mun. Not much I could eat there but smelt amazing!
A good walk before lunch.
Lei Yue Mun
The bird market in Mong Kok
Bird Market
Live crabs at Lei Yue Mun
Fishermen at Lei Yue Mun
Definitely not PCP friendly, much to my disappointment...
Fresh steamed prawns, fantastic!
Again, not for me...
Scallops with garlic, spring onions and noodles
Feb 4, 2011
Kraft Foods Distribution Center Springfield Underground Springfield, Missouri
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/01/ff_caverns_safeguard/3/
I came across this article this morning and it made me refect on what's happening in our own fridges at the moment. I'm delighted that my fridge is now filled with fresh produce rather than processed food:
"Nearly every ounce of Kraft cheese product—from Velveeta to Kraft Singles—spends part of its life in a 680-pound container inside this 400,000-square-foot subterranean fridge. It’s not about aging, it’s about cheap storage: Moving refrigeration underground saves massive amounts of energy, since the temperature 100 feet down is a constant 58 degrees Fahrenheit. An aboveground pump sends 13,000 gallons of chilled brine through the system every day, keeping the warehouse at a cool 36 degrees. The Kraft facility is actually part of a massive complex that started as a limestone mine in 1946. (The mine is still operational, but a substantial earthen buffer shields the employees of Kraft and other companies from regular explosions.)"
I came across this article this morning and it made me refect on what's happening in our own fridges at the moment. I'm delighted that my fridge is now filled with fresh produce rather than processed food:
"Nearly every ounce of Kraft cheese product—from Velveeta to Kraft Singles—spends part of its life in a 680-pound container inside this 400,000-square-foot subterranean fridge. It’s not about aging, it’s about cheap storage: Moving refrigeration underground saves massive amounts of energy, since the temperature 100 feet down is a constant 58 degrees Fahrenheit. An aboveground pump sends 13,000 gallons of chilled brine through the system every day, keeping the warehouse at a cool 36 degrees. The Kraft facility is actually part of a massive complex that started as a limestone mine in 1946. (The mine is still operational, but a substantial earthen buffer shields the employees of Kraft and other companies from regular explosions.)"
Feb 2, 2011
Dixie
After seeing Chris's beautiful dog Cliff, I thought that I might pop a picture of mine up as well. Dixie lives in the UK now (HK not great for pets). She's a beautiful Staffordshire terrier and has a very good pcp attitude. Good food, lots of exercise and lust for life!
Feb 1, 2011
Day 18: Stats Update
I got weighed and measured at the gym today and was actually pleasantly surprised by the results. The first time I did this was on Day 5, so after almost 2 weeks (Day 5 in RED):
Weight: 95.6kg
Weight: 94.7kg (-0.9kg)
SMM: 47.1kg
SMM*: 47.7kg (+0.6kg) *Skeletal Muscle Mass
Body Fat Mass: 13.9kg
Body Fat Mass: 11.9kg (-2.0kg)
Body Mass Index: 25.9kg/m
Body Mass Index: 25.7kg/m (-0.2kg)
Percentage Body Fat: 14.6%
Percentage Body Fat: 12.6% (-2%)
Waist-Hip Ratio: 0.83
Waist-Hip Ratio: 0.82 (-0.01)
Visceral Fat Area: 97.8
Visceral Fat Area: 93.1 (-4.7)
So... if I'd just been going by a normal set of scales I would have just seen that my weight had dropped a little which would have been fine, but somewhat misleading. Good to see that stuff seems to be happening on the inside, even if it's not entirely apparent on the outside...
Weight: 95.6kg
Weight: 94.7kg (-0.9kg)
SMM: 47.1kg
SMM*: 47.7kg (+0.6kg) *Skeletal Muscle Mass
Body Fat Mass: 13.9kg
Body Fat Mass: 11.9kg (-2.0kg)
Body Mass Index: 25.9kg/m
Body Mass Index: 25.7kg/m (-0.2kg)
Percentage Body Fat: 14.6%
Percentage Body Fat: 12.6% (-2%)
Waist-Hip Ratio: 0.83
Waist-Hip Ratio: 0.82 (-0.01)
Visceral Fat Area: 97.8
Visceral Fat Area: 93.1 (-4.7)
So... if I'd just been going by a normal set of scales I would have just seen that my weight had dropped a little which would have been fine, but somewhat misleading. Good to see that stuff seems to be happening on the inside, even if it's not entirely apparent on the outside...
Day 17 - Liu Yuan Pavilion
I went out to a great Shanhainese restaurant last night in Wanchai called Liu Yuan Pavilion. My fellow diners included a friend who's the editor of a well-known food guide and his wife, a friend who's about to embark on a butchery course at a top restaurant and two friends who own the best cocktail bar in HK. Needless to say, food was the topic on everyone's lips! Everyone was very receptive to the PCP plan, and although I was certainly envious of the delicious dishes on the table, (Gai wui mein, smoked egg, Ma lan tao (a chopped green veggie), sticky crab rice... the list goes on) I was quite happy snacking on healthier fare. I had some smoked egg, some steam bun and then we got the kitchen to make me some chiken noodle soup (without using salt) - just the sort of thing that you need if you've got a cold. We're about the head into Chinese New Year here, so looking forward to a couple of days off for some hiking and fresh air!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)