Moving...

I have moved my blog to http://notfinishedjustyet.wordpress.com/

The Plan

After reading Brooke's blog http://bitebybite.wordpress.com/ and getting all inspired I went to Kenz's old posts http://kenzicle.blogspot.com/2006/10/week-24-day-1.html and got even more inspired to set a goal and set some firm plans to achieve that goal.

So the first goal is 7kgs down by the time we go to Mapleton which is 29th December - 7 weeks away. I have lost around 9kgs in the last 2 1/2 years and I am so pleased about that but I really want to lose some more.

Since I have Type 2 diabetes, the plan is to improve my blood sugars and the Hba1c result and to lose weight.

1. Take my medications 3 times per day.
2. Exercise on the treadmill building up to 60mins per day including grade requirements of star jumps, sit ups, squats and push ups and 5 mins skipping and each karta and routine. Martial arts classes 1hr 45mins twice a week.
3. Testing blood sugar levels fasting and then one hour and two hours after each meal and snack. Aiming for these levels: Fasting: under 6, 1hour after eating: under 7.7 and 2hours after eating: under 6.
4. Regular eating times - smaller meals and snacks six times per day. Eat fruit, vegetables and wholegrain carbs, lean proteins and cut way back on refined carbs. Treats are for being out with family and friends and in small serves.
5. Drink 2 litres of water each day.
6. Listen to hypnosis cd regularly.

On the weekend I am going to print out the steps and scrapbook a poster for my kitchen cupboard as a constant reminder. I will also save them as my desktop on my laptop too.

Just to clarify some of the finer details:

1. I don't know why but I do find it hard to remember to take my meds, I have been very much improved with this over the last few weeks
2. I plan to start with just 30mins and build up the time over several weeks, I love doing the karate so much that it is not really like exercise to me but just fun. I realized about two weeks ago that what I love the very most about the karate is that while I am doing it I forget about any worries or problems and just sort of go "ïnto the zone" and I love that!
3. I have learnt so much recently about the levels I should be achieving and how my body responds to certain foods (it reacts very badly to refined carbs - sets off cravings and makes me lose all energy and enthusiasm) and testing so often is the best way to monitor this at this stage and to keep me motivated. Aiming for these levels: Fasting: under 6, 1hour after eating: under 7.7 and two hours after eating: under 6.
4. I have found that eating smaller meals six times a day is so much easier for my body to cope with and it also keeps cravings at bay. The meal I have the most trouble with is breakfast because I find it hard to eat a cooked breakfast and I love to have a protein shake but the milk doesn't really agree with me. However I have found that for me breakfast is the most important meal of the day because if I eat a good breakfast I eliminate cravings for the whole day.
5. I always drink 2 litres of water per day without fail because I have had had lots of kidney stones and by drinking the water I seem to still make the stones but they are much smaller and much easier to cope with.
6. I highly recommend the Paul McKenna hynposis cd and book "I can make you thin". I started listening to this 2 1/2 years ago and it is only since then that I have lost and kept off any weight my whole life. I have learnt not to overeat and that used to be a big problem for me. I can now stop when I am full.

Progress...

Feeling so much better, it is quite incredible. After only three days my blood sugars are so much more stable and I am regularly achieving the goals of:


1hr after eating: Under 8
2hr after eating: Under 6.5

However the fasting goal is a long way from where it should be and is currently hovering between 7.5 and 7.8. I am aiming for Under 6 which at this point feels really hard, but after getting better after meals readings, feeling a lot more energetic, finding the plan really easy (a lot easier than feeling so rotten and just lying on the couch) I am sure it will eventually happen. Plus my meds have been increased to 3 x 500 a day (Metformin). I am trying to incorporate foods that I love but find lower spike ways to have them eg yesterday I had a caramel decaf frappe at Gloria Jeans with the guilt free caramel syrup (worked like a charm). I also had a Subway wrap for lunch which was delicious and once again perfect sugars. Oh, and I have lost a kg.

In other news:

Grading for Blue belt at karate in three weeks and then Green belt blue tag four weeks after that woohoo

Starting weapons (like a broomstick lol) on Thursdays and I am really loving that, I especially love the karta.

Go Matt Corby on Idol - he is fabulous and I can't wait to see what they all sing this week.

Back to school Monday - I will miss the boys but it will be so good to get back into an ironing routine.

Great find re diabetes info and support

I have been doing some research online about diabetes and the dawn phenomenon and came across http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/index.php and http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/ lots of info about achieving a low spike diet and a 5% a1c.

My latest results are

hba1c: 6.7
fasting blood sugar: 8.8

so based on the theory that what we eat each day matters the next day blood sugar wise I am going to continue testing and increasing the testing to 1hr and 2hr tests after meals and see how the carbs I am eating are affecting the results.

Loving you is easy cause you're beautiful

Really working on all of this right now

So.... Since last Friday I have been religious about checking my blood sugar levels (fasting and 2hrs after each meal) and whew what a shocker! My fastings are all high (over 9.0) and the breakfast ones are all high (over 9.0) and the lunch and dinner ones are great (5 and 6). I also have been religious about diet and exercise and the only day I had a good breakfast reading was the day I had a protein shake with strawberries and fibre mix. I am going to experiment with trying different things to get the fasting and breakfast readings way down.

1. Treadmill every night for 30 mins followed by grade requirements of star jumps, sit ups, squats and push ups and 5 mins skipping and running through each karta and routine.
2. Breakfast will be the banana berry protein shake with psyllium husk and LSA.
3. Tracking bsls and food/exercise diary on this blog.

I am also seeing my dr on Monday for a complete review.

25 grams of fibre

or what I learnt from Dr Oz on Oprah.

I have actually learnt a lot since I started watching a few months ago. About things like how to have 25grams of fibre a day. So I have started back on my porridge/psyllium husks/lsa regime and already feel so much better. Morning tea is a banana blueberry protein smoothie and I am still working on lunch (thinking a multi-grain salad and cheese sandwich). Afternoon tea is an orange and a yoghurt. We always have vegies or salad at night. It is really hard to fit in all that fibre...

Karate is going fantastically - really - I did 50 star jumps without stopping last week! I am going much better with sit ups and skipping and learning how to improve my stances in my kick routine.

Did a few layouts on Tues night (have about 10 to journal still) then I am going to post some. Still having the eternal dilemna of 12x12 vs 8.5x11 lol.

One more sleep....

Only a few short hours really when you think about it....about 23 hours and 45 minutes to be precise until Harry Potter is in da house!

I am so looking forward to reading this. I have some thoughts as to how the plot will go (in particular to the location of the last horcrux) but I will wait and see if I am even close.

Only two hours of ironing to do today until I start again on Monday so I think I will mosey into the scrapbooking room and do some scrapbooking this afternoon.

In an effort to get some things done around here I have set up some routines and I find it much easier to fit everything in now.

Sat morning I always clean the bathrooms as soon as I get up.

Sat night is now scrapbooking night however I will be busy with Professor Snape tomorrow night.

On Sundays I am going to try and make an effort to de-clutter this house - room by room. You know, none of this clutter is even mine??

Eight sleeps...

til the last Harry Potter book is released. I am mostly always available to my children, husband, family and friends but next Saturday - forget it. I will be huddled in a corner reading feverishly as fast as my eyes will let me. I have already decided I will not be answering the phone or going on-line at all lest I should come across a spoiler accidentally. I cannot wait. Simply cannot wait.

In other news:

• big garage sale tomorrow - phew!! I mean big!!!!
• not much treading of the mill going on
• ironing like a woman possessed trying to catch up
• had a great time at the movies seeing HP 5 with Ben
• had a great time scrapbooking last Saturday night (if I ever get a spare minute I will scan and post some layouts here)

Scaring myself

with how well I am going with the challenges...except for the treadmill...hoping to remedy that with two new ideas to add to the challenge list:(I am also adding in the other ideas from last time so I can keep them altogether).

• get up at 5am (instead of 7.30am) and do two hours of ironing and then 30mins on the treadmill then shower at 7.30am and make lunches, breakfast and do the school run. I got up early one day last week and got so much done it was terrific, I think the secret is no interruptions.
• Saturday night is now scrapping night unless we have other plans and that is very rarely. I want to make a firm time for scrapbooking because I never get a chance to scrap and I am worried that if I don't make a plan to scrap that I may, in fact, give up altogether. I find it so hard to make time because I like to have all my ironing work and household chores done before I starting scrapbooking and there is never a time that happens. So this way I am going to just do it. And have fun.
• Karate twice per week
• Treadmill other five days for 30mins per day
• Cook dinner six nights per week (I have been doing this in an effort to save money and we are all loving the extra vegies and tasty dinners)
• Pay off some outstanding debts (I am really good at paying off debts but there seem to be so many at the moment lol)
• Protein powder every morning either in a smoothie or with porridge (the protein powder helps me to eat healthily all day and avoid sugary fatty snack foods. Unfortunately the last pack I bought was artifically sweetened and vanilla flavoured and it is just awful. So I haven't had any for a little while and it has made a huge difference not having it).

I was having a senior moment

when I wrote that last post...I was thinking I had ages since it was May when I wrote it, I lose track of time a lot and thought I had a few weeks to meet those goals.....

I was just reading another blog about an eight week exercise/budget/diet challenge and was thinking maybe they are more realistic goals. Since I was sick with a cold a couple of weeks ago karate has become quite hard and my fitness feels like it is lost. So onto some new goals.

• Karate twice per week
• Treadmill other five days for 30mins per day
• Cook dinner six nights per week (I have been doing this in an effort to save money and we are all loving the extra vegies and tasty dinners)
• Pay off some outstanding debts (I am really good at paying off debts but there seem to be so many at the moment lol)
• Protein powder every morning either in a smoothie or with porridge (the protein powder helps me to eat healthily all day and avoid sugary fatty snack foods. Unfortunately the last pack I bought was artifically sweetened and vanilla flavoured and it is just awful. So I haven't had any for a little while and it has made a huge difference not having it).

I am not into winter and I am cheering myself up with thoughts of Christmas, parties and holidays away, swimming, shorts and school holidays.

by the 30th June I will.....

1. Have lost 5 more kgs - more walking on the treadmill every day and less snacking on rubbish
2. Have mastered my kick routine
3. Have my hair cut again so there are less layers (that was such a big mistake) and get some chocolate and blonde foils
4. Keep the house organized and clutter free (harder to do now that I work more hours - I am following Adele's suggestion of every time I walk from one end of the house to the other having something in my arms to put away at the same time)
5. Cook healthy delicious meals with more variety of vegies (I have been experimenting a bit more and I am lovin it mmmm fresh corn on the cob)

Off to school camp

Tomorrow Chris and I are going on school camp for two nights to Mt Cotton. Apparently we are going to be canoeing, toasting marshmallows over the campfire, discoing, bushwalking and stargazing. Can't wait!

My favourite scrappers

My two very most favourite scrappers are Sarahak http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/userprofile.asp?user_id=6674 and Tina Cockburn http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/userprofile.asp?user_id=97301. I used one of my favourite layouts by Tina to inspire this layout that is up at Simple Scrapbooks at the moment http://www.simplescrapbooksmag.com/inspiration/inspiration.ihtml?idx=131&cat_id=&_start_page_=1.

Go kart

Here is the go kart in all it's glory! The boys have been on it every morning and afternoon and loving every minute of it.

Jess is coming over this weekend to do some cooking with Andrew (and maybe David) and they will be making some apple pecan cinnamon biscuits and a cake with coconut ice icing - yummy!!

Karate is great, the boys are grading in 3 weeks and will have their green belt first brown tag which is very impressive.

Maybe some scrapbooking this weekend??

Seeya Hayley!!!

So glad she is gone from Big Brother, I have had enough of her!!!!

My iron died today (it is only 3 months old!!!) so I am off tomorrow to get another one and I am going to get some photos printed of Chris on his new go-kart. He got the "Kid of the Week" book from school this week and needs a photo to put in it.

Then on Thursday I have another outing planned to go and buy some warm winter woolies for Chris and I to take on school camp coming up in 12 sleeps. He needs track pants, a hoodie and socks and I need track pants and a hoodie.

Then on Friday I am off to High Tea with my sister and my friends - does it get any better than that??

We had a fabulous time at our School Fete on Saturday. Chris danced to Boot Scooting Baby with his class and had so much fun on the Mystery Swags and slides.

The rats Arfur and Binkie are doing well, both boys are extremely attached to them, I love seeing them fall in love.

I will leave you with a layout of Chris at Dad's work party back in November last year.

Chloe

So gorgeous and cuddly and sweet

Things I am loving

Taking even more photos of baby Chloe in the quest of the perfect photo and therefore having tons of cuddles and kisses with her.

Grading woohoo!!! I am now officially a white belt blue tag and working towards my next belt and learning kick routine and Streetfighter 2 - who would have thought it - Streetfighter me??????

Practising my push-ups (full men's push ups on my toes)

Thinking about scrapbooking this long weekend - just thinking about it at this point but that may progress to actually scrapbooking - who knows?

Favourite song at the moment: Ashes to ashes David Bowie (an oldie but a goodie)

Favourite food at the moment: mmmmm Easyway Green tea mmmmm

Favourite thing altogether at the moment: baby Chloe of course!!!

Bliss

Taking some pictures of our neighbour Rachel's beautiful new baby Chloe

Trying three new flavours of Easy Way Green Tea - pineapple, blueberry and plum

Big Brother big reveal on tonight

Caught up on adding some journalling on layouts I did over Easter

Great night out with Helen and Leanne last night at Hogs Breath and a delicious steak with avocado

Only 2 sleeps until grading woohoo!!!

And a layout of Chris canoeing at Mapleton in December.

What's been happening

We have had a fabulous weekend, it was Andrew's 13th birthday and he had been begging for months for us to give him pet rats for his present. So he is now kitted out with a huge cage, hammock, water bottle, food bowl and food, wheel and two gorgeous little pet rats, both boys, Arfur and Binkie (Chris's rat is Binkie).

We went ice skating for his party and it was so much fun, I did five laps of the rink before I collapsed in exhaustion lol. Chris was a skating superstar, it was his first go and he was so good at it. So was Ben, it was his first time too and he lapped me about six times over! He could do a lap in 34 seconds!!!!

In other news:

• we are loving Big Brother
• looking forward to the Biggest Loser finale (GO MARTY!!!!)
• karate tonight (grading has been put off til next Tuesday), I can do ten full sit-ups in a row if someone is holding my feet and that is a huge improvement.
• had a hair cut yesterday - much shorter and layered (shouldn't have gotten the layers but oh well I always do and always regret it)
• went to a new Scrapbooking store in Blackwood Road, Manly West called Scrapbookers Realm, it is fantastic and excellent prices and great range and I stocked up on 25 sheets each of Bazzill Cottonwood, Ki White and Kraft. The sticky tabs I use are only $4 there, such a bargain and the Bazzill is $1.00 per sheet or 11 sheets for $10! Plus 15% off this week.
• I have been watching Series 2 of Love my Way. I have been looking forward to it for ages and I have Series 3 ready to watch next.

Off to do some ironing now.

Easy way tea

Have you tried an http://www.easyways.com.au/ Easyway Green Tea? mmmm so good. My favourite (and I can say that with some certainty because I have tried many of the flavours) so far is Grape Iced Green Tea with Rainbow jellies. I still have eight different flavours to try and the next will be blueberry I think.

I had a fabulous time scrapbooking over Easter and got at least 10 layouts done, I just have to do some strip journalling to at least half of them.

I love the bird paper and green American Crafts lettering on this one. Love the photo too, of course. My favourite product is lettering stickers and it has been ever since I started scrapbooking about seven years ago.

Truly heaven on earth

This is where we went for five days - Amity Point at Stradbroke Island. The fish were biting, there were reef fish, wobbegongs, kookaburras, cool crisp nights and warm sunny days, big surf waves, creamy gelati - so wonderful. The boys fished from early morning (approx 5am) to late at night - 10pm. We had a jetty in our back yard with a table and chairs and it was perfect. My nephew David (13) came with us and it was wonderful spending time with him too. He also fished til he dropped.

And now home for four days (Easter) to scrapbook (woohoo!!!!) the zillions of photos that we took, also having a family picnic with my sister Linda and her family and of course a bit more fishing squeezed in somewhere.

Another 0.5kg down

Woohoo, it is starting to get exciting now!

I saw Bob Greene on Oprah the other day saying there are two rules to weight loss and they are:

1. What you consume must be less than what you expend

2. What you do to make the first rule work eg not get boring, easy to follow for life.

So on that note I have thought about what makes it easier to eat less and excercise more - for me it is remembering to eat early in the day, the protein banana/berry smoothie is easy to make and easy to drink and stops me obsessing about food all day. Followed by an apple and then for lunch a healthy protein and salad sandwich on multigrain bread. Afternoon tea is a yoghurt or an orange and dinner is usually some sort of meat and lots of vegies or salad.

I always drink 2litres or more of water every day (have to for kidney stones) and I take a berocca every day too.

To help me excercise more I just need to be doing more on the treadmill. I do 2 x 90 mins at karate each week and need to be on the treadmill 30mins four times a week. I usually do this while watching Biggest Loser.

Happy 40th Birthday to Linda!

I hope you enjoyed your surprise party last night, it was lovely to see all of your friends and family who love you so much get together to celebrate your party. You looked so beautiful, I always think you look like a princess when you are happy!

So in other news - Four and a half weeks until karate grading - woohoo I am really looking forward to that, a huge milestone for me in my quest for fitness and weight loss.

About six hundred of baskets of ironing to get through so that is where I will be for the next few days...oh and working on the 50th wedding album for my aunty.

Then hopefully some real scrapbooking to follow in the next couple of weeks.

We have booked a few days away at Straddie just before Easter and the house has it's own private jetty so I am looking forward to fishing galore and lots of holiday photos to scrap.

A busy week...

I thought last week was busy doing a First Aid Course and my first stint as a relief Family Day Carer for my sister but this week has been manic.

Goodness knows what happened to Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday - Thursday I worked on my aunty's 50th wedding album gift with my Mum and then went to karate and had a fabulous class. I am getting better at sparring and had a go at rib kicks (roundhouse). I have been faithfully doing 30mins on my treadmill all week (except the days I have karate) and I am feeling fantastic. So much more energetic, my pants keep slipping down because they are getting too loose, eating well - I definitely find it easier to make better food choices when I am regularly exercising.

Re the Biggest Loser - this week I think Laura will go if the Blue Team is up or Munnalita or Courtney for the Red Team. I do remember reading that Marty is there for a while longer yet.

On weight loss...

I have a hormonal disorder (pcos) that can be the cause of so many health problems including infertility, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure - just to name a few. After going through infertility treatment for two years each for both of the boys and then a few years later being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, I have now been diagnosed with high blood pressure and am now on medication for this. I read an article in the paper yesterday about type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure causing Chronic Kidney Disease. Since I have both of those things and my latest urine test showed protein I am even more determined than ever to get well and healthy. PCOS is an insidious disease. The insulin resistance makes weight loss so much harder and the symptoms of lethargy and sugar cravings make it hard to even try.

So what changed for me this time? How did I make that connection? It was simply starting karate lessons with the boys in January that changed everything. I had been feeling so stiff and sore after ironing six hours per day and then running around cooking meals, cleaning house, washing clothes, grocery shopping - I felt out of control and out of shape to deal with any of this.

I saw the boys at their karate lessons late last year doing leg circles and arm circles and it just clicked - even if I just did the stretching with them I would be more flexible and getting around would be easier. Little did I expect that it would snowball so much further from there. I loved it, I loved every single second of it. I practice at home and never miss a lesson. From there I bought a treadmill and started eating more fruits, vegetables and salads and less chocolates and biscuits and chips.

I am trying really hard to not get into the diet mindset of "all or nothing". The thinking that I have to be perfect or not bother at all. Instead I recognize that I am not perfect, never will be. But that I am happy and excited to try and eat better quality foods and exercise. I am starting to see results. My body shape is changing. I cope better with my work (ironing) and cope much better with household chores.

So my next things to look forward are:

Going for my first grading (karate belt) in six weeks - woohoo

Having more and more energy - start going for walks on weekends with the boys, more fishing, more camping, more picnics, more outings in general. (I usually dread camping).

Fitting into two pairs of shorts that are in my cupboad - they have never fit, always been two tight but now the button nearly does up

Buying some more new clothes (I never every buy new clothes - it is something I really dread, nothing ever fits or looks nice)

Making a really nice home-made sauce for our Thai stir-fry (I am not liking the bottled or packet sauces we have tried so far)

Having lower blood sugars and lower blood pressure.

Another kg down

woohoo, bringing the total to 3.5kg. It has been relatively easy so far, mainly cutting down on sat fat and sugar (well trying to anyway), eating more often during the day and exercising with karate x 2 per week and treadmill. On the treadmill I use a program that goes one minute fast (5.2 km/hr) and one minute slower (4.6 km/hr) for 10 minutes and repeat it 3 times for a total of 30 minutes. I did hear recently that interval training burns more fat so maybe it might be true? Anyway it gives me a chance to catch my breath before the fast cycle starts again.

A layout of Andrew and David canoeing at Mapleton.

What came before he shot her

Is a novel by Elizabeth George. Has anyone read this book? I was left feeling really confused about it and would love another perspective about the ending....was it always intended that Helen would be shot in particular, or was it totally random that it was her??

On a happier note, here is another layout from last weekend. Chris and Andrew making mud nests for blue banded native bees. Unfortunately it seems so far we have only attracted wasps.

My predictions for who will go on Monday night on The Biggest Loser (depending on which team wins the weigh-in of course) are from the Blue Team - Laura and from the Red Team - Mel. I would like to see go though - from the Blue Team - Michael and from the Read Team - Munnalita (she is absolutely rude and annoying).

2.5kg down

Since I started karate and lifestyle changes on 9th January, 2007. Slow and steady will hopefully win the race.

I had a chance on the weekend to do some scrapbooking at last and had a fabulous time. Here is one that I had fun with. I love the American Crafts flourish rub-ons, they rub-on so nicely and have such excellent flourishes.