some progress...

Weight: 88kg
Waist: 85cm
BP: 130/80

So the headline here is that I've had a normal blood pressure reading, which is brilliant.  Can't say I can particularly link it to weight loss but I think I have lost a wee bit more than the numbers suggest.   The fact that my waist measurement is down is encouraging and I have a feeling I weighed myself naked last week and this week I was wearing clothes... so all in all I am getting there.
Not that I deserve it after having a very naughty day yesterday.  I had a day "working from home" - actually it was a day in lieu.  Anyway I ate an entire cake!!!
I did do some house painting too but I rather think that the cake outweighed whatever calories I burned doing that.  Oops.

I have generally slipped a wee bit although I am still feeling very motivated.  I have found that organisation is a key to keeping on track.  If I get lazy then I don't make good lunches and run out of vital food.
Also the other day I was really light headed and simply had to eat something, so I ate tons of fruit and nut mixture.  Not the worst thing I could have eaten but I suppose I should have made myself eat a carrot.

Anyway.  That's all I have to say right now.  Going out for dinner tomorrow, so the challenge will be to restrain myself.  Something I am VERY BAD at.  This weekend we are planning to do some pathlaying in the back garden (see www.joandsteverenovate.blogspot.com ) so that should be a good weekend's exercise.  Onwards and downwards.

Of skis and casinos

Weight: 87.5kg
Waist: 87cm

A moderately successful week, all things considered, although I suppose the numbers don't lie and progress is clearly glacial.

The trip to Queenstown was a lot of fun and quite active really, two ski/board days and a third day two hour bike ride, so at least the diet of pizza and burgers was mitigated to a certain extent.  Plus I had salads for lunch, so not too bad really.  Not so sure I can say the same of the alcohol, but we really didn’t go too crazy in the end, we were so knackered after snowsports that bed was more appealing. 

Must say though that skiing in NZ is a massive let down after European super-resorts.  Gone are the days of picking a lunchtime destination two valleys away, merrily making your way there then skiing back and that taking all day.  No, here the routine is up-down-up-down-up-down.  At least the views are nice.

Sadly my salopettes did not fit me.  When I bought them they were too small (but very cheap) and I successfully dieted into them, mainly, as I recall by eating porridge.  Not to be this time so I had to wear waterproof trousers but they will be a good gauge for me going forward.  Once I'm in, I've won!

The casino in Queenstown was great fun though I’m very glad Wellington doesn’t have one or I would probably get addicted.  We put up a stake of $100 to gamble, only needed $80 and after 2.5 hours on the blackjack and roulette, we still had $65 left.  $15 – not bad for 2.5 hours’ entertainment!

Anyway, back to reality.  I am still on the wagon.  Just.  Steve had his wisdom teeth out on Tuesday which means he’s eating soup, so I joined him.  This is probably quite a good diet meal but is very very boring.  Otherwise I have had sushi for lunch one day, two work lunches (yes, true to form I am continuously confronted with buffets) and made myself a couple of cabbage based stirfries.  I really like cabbage but two cabbage stirfries in a row is a bit much.  Will need to get more creative.

Oh, and I went for a run!!! We are unfortunate/fortunate in living in a very hilly city and there’s only one flat(tish) running route – down to Oriental Bay beach and back, about 5km.  I can only do it a few times before I might have to brave some of the fiendish hills.  Anyway as we live at the top of a little hill my runs usually end with an uphill.  Sometimes it defeats me but this week I didn’t have any problems.  Netball tonight so I am being pretty active, as usual. Exercise (or lack of it) was never my problem.

I can resist anything except free food

This has been quite a trying week on a diet front.
First up the facts:

Weight: 88 kg
Height 1m69 (damn, still haven't grown)
Waist 87cm

So no real progress although I had eaten already when I weighed myself and my waist may have shrunk a tiny bit.  This is not really a surprise.  I still haven't bought myself any chocolate or treats, so maybe I've cracked that one at least, but will power is letting me down when presented with free food, and I haven't been able to step up the exercise yet.

We had guests over the weekend and although I wasn't "bad" exactly we went out for dinner with them and then had a few drinks etc.  While I am within my own sphere of influence I am doing fine, but things get out of control when other people who are not "in" on the whole diet thing are involved.  I suppose there is a lesson here - get everyone on board so they don't tempt you.

We had a shared morning tea last Friday and I diligently made myself a whole pile of carrot sticks to go with dips.  It was the only remotely healthy thing there and while I ate my carrot, there was so much baked food there I couldn't say no.  I took the stupid mental leap that it would be ok to have a selection of cakes that people had made instead of a healthy lunch.  I might have to just not go next time.
Again I have been plagued by work events: I had to work Monday evening (sandwiches provided after which I went home and had dinner), then I've had two lunches this week so far and another tomorrow... I feel I am making excuses here, but it really would be very difficult to eat healthily when food, not of your choice is provided for you.

Anyway I have NOT given up.  Far from it.  I just need to be more creative.  My work commitments look to be lightening a little bit so hopefully I can regain some control and also, vitally, be able to get home early enough to go for a run or to one of the exercise classes I've found at the local leisure centre. 
First I need to get through this weekend.  We are going to Queenstown skiing for three days.  I anticipate it will not be good on the diet front.   There are some heavy drinkers in the party and I can't see being able to avoid a few sessions plus we'll be eating out the whole time.  On the plus side I should have some good photos from skiing next week...!

Diet? Day 7

My friend Nic http://nic46.blogspot.co.nz/ has inspired me - sort of - to reinvent the diet

The thing which really pushed me over the edge, though, was the health professional telling me to go to the doctor - now - after a scary blood pressure reading.  There are six main risk factors with blood pressure: age, smoking, excess alcohol, being sedentary, genetics and weight.  Of these only weight and maybe genetics apply to me and it would be really nice to eliminate weight from the equation.  If I can only do that, then I will resign myself to going on meds.
But first I need to get into the "normal" weight range.

Here are the brutal facts:
height: 1m69
weight: (last week: 88.3kg) This week 87.8kg
BP:(last week:) 170/110
Waist  (today) 88cm

I don't even know what that makes my BMI but as the health guy pointed out, all of the All Blacks are obese on the BMI scale, so best not to worry about it.  I am pretty active: cycling to work almost every day, netball football and sometimes tennis.  But you don't get to weigh nearly 90kg by being super active and eating lettuce....

There is a whole other level of sport I can go to and I guess I'm going to have to go there at some point.  But at the moment my goal is simple - just getting control over the eating is my first goal.

Since last week I have possibly lost half a kilo, but it's difficult to tell as weight can fluctuate a lot across the day. Hence the waist measurement.

I have been pretty good in the past week, I haven't bought a single chocolate bar (yay!) despite there being a guy selling charity chocolate bars two desks away from me. I even carefully weighed out 50g portions of nuts and raisins for snacks and have carrot sticks for lunch.

My big problem which I haven't found a solution to is work food.  On average I would say that I have one work lunch a week as part of a meeting or something and I find it really difficult to control myself when presented with free food.

Today, for example, I had carefully prepared my lunch but got called into a meeting literally at the last minute at 9am which went on over lunch - we had sandwiches, asparagus rolls, bacon and egg pie, fruit and slices provided.  Luckily for me I don't like bacon so could say no to the pie, but couldn't resist the rest.  At least I didn't go back and eat my sandwiches as well.
But then, this evening I had a client function with canapes and drinks.  I had been warned to avoid alcohol by the health guy - not cos I'm drinking too much alcohol really but because of the calories in them.  So I drank diet coke and ginger beer.  But again I can't resist a canape if it comes floating past me... then I went home and had stir fry for tea.  So not a very good day, even though I didn't fall down on my usual thing - chocolate.

Anyway.  Cross fingers I'm going in the right direction...
Will try to check in once a week.

The one they left behind

When you get to a certain age, and I am at it, your friends start deserting you and having kids.  I'm not going to beat around the bush on this one.  I am lonely as a result of the inevitable urge to procreate.

Yes, I know my friends are still my friends.  But when they are unavailable for any social events ever again, unless it's afternoon tea round their house on a Saturday afternoon, realistically I have been abandoned.

It reminds me of a friend I lost many years ago.  I didn't change, but she found religion, in a big way.  That in itself would have been ok, but she was so into the religion thing that she was actually incapable of holding a conversation without steering it to that topic.  I held out for a while, but eventually the relationship had nowhere to go.  I found the topic of religion boring, she found it irresistibly fascinating to the point where she would send me religious propaganda.  The friendship had to end - and while I regret it to this day, I do maintain that it was not my fault - I didn't change, she did.

The same is true of the friends having babies.  Now I don't mind a conversation about nappy changing, but I am just not very interested in it.  What I am interested in is going to the cinema, spontaneous drinking sessions, weekend ski trips, whole days out walking, the things I have been building my friendships around.  I have tried to involve friends with kids in these events, and yes, with effort and plenty of forward planning you can bring them along with you.  But somehow it feels that you are causing them enormous inconvenience in their life by forcing them out of their childhood routine, which I know is so important to little kids, and I am not sure that they thank you for it.  So unless I am willing to mould around their lifestyle of running around after small children, I don't have a social life.  Let's face it - I just don't have much in common with them any more.

I don't have many options from here on out.  I could continue to gradually atrophy friends.  I could move to a whole new set of friends.  I could join them and produce my own rugrat.
But whatever option I choose, staying still is not an option.  I guess I've just reached that point in my life where making no decision at all is not going to cut it.  Could this be the point where I grow up?

Aren't I special any more?

When you're a child you're repeatedly told how special you are.  Parents tell you constantly that you're Mummy's special girl or boy.  You emblazon a piece of craft paper with a multicoloured handprint and you are showered with praise.  You learn to ride a bike and you earn a hug.  You advance beyond your reading years and you are abnormally gifted.  You write a mediocre rip off story based on an Aesop's fable and you win a prize.  You win a swimming race and you are specially talented.  You enter a school competition and win and you are special.  You excel at your qualifications and you are tipped for great things.  You qualify for university with top marks and you know you are destined for greatness.  At university you write a good paper and you believe you will have a splendid career.  And then, you emerge into the big wide world as an adult and you are just one of the crowd.

Your dreams of being a world class athlete are shattered by the reality that you are not even top half of your local sports club.  At work you do well, but somehow all those kids who struggled to spell when you were streets ahead have all caught up with you.  Your natural talent may haul you ahead for a while, but age becomes irrelevant once you are no longer a graduate.  Ability is all that counts and when you are competing with a workforce of ages spanning 40 years your best shot at the big time is to leave your employer and climb a different ladder.  The best chance you have of being special is winning the weekly pub quiz.  It is a hard fact of adulthood that 99% of us are not special.  Despite all those years of praise, adulation and endless reminders of just how talented you are, you are destined to just be another office worker.  If you're lucky you'll be a manager by the time you're 40.

Somewhere along the line the reality of your own mediocrity hits home.  Maybe, just maybe, you'll hit it big by writing a novel in your spare time or inventing an app that takes off.  Far more likely you'll just plod on day to day, doing pretty well but nothing special.  It is a bitter pill to swallow when it was reinforced in you for so many years that you will be something.  Good job you can have your own kids and make believe that you are special for having produced them.  Maybe they'll achieve the greatness you never did.

To the pedestrians, to make much of time

In the UK and much of Europe, pedestrians get exclusive "green man" phases. That means, if you can see a green man, no cars are allowed to drive over the crossing and you can (in theory at least) walk fearlessly across.

In NZ and Australia the rule is different. At traffic signals, pedestrians get an exclusive green man for a few seconds, then turning traffic is able to drive across the crossing, as long as there are no pedestrians on it.

The NZ road code says:

"A green signal means you can go, provided it is safe, and:

...you give way to pedestrians crossing. This includes riders of mobility devices and wheeled recreational devices."

Sort of like this:

What this means is that when the light changes to green for the turning vehicle, both the pedestrians and the turning vehicle are shown a green light. This arrangement means greater efficiency at lights as cars don't have to wait if there's no-one on the crossing. However, it does create potential for conflict as there is an added layer of complexity for pedestrians and drivers who have to decide if it's safe to proceed.

As we all know, pedestrians are more vulnerable than drivers, who have a metal box to protect them, so the onus is always going to be on the pedestrian to make sure they're safe.

What I have observed as I've been driving, cycling and walking around Wellington is that pedestrians are very cautious of crossing, even on a green man (and probably with good reason). I have been stopped on my bike waiting for pedestrians to clear the crossing, and the pedestrians stop for me to go on. Obviously the vast numbers of cyclists who flout the rules have created some caution in the minds of pedestrians, but I also think pedestrians don't actually know the rules of the road. It is even more obvious at zebra crossings (white stripes and belisha beacons). The rules state:

"When coming up to pedestrian crossings:
slow down and be ready to stop for any pedestrians stepping onto, or on the crossing. This also includes people obviously waiting to use the crossing. "

In my experience, pedestrians won't try to cross unless there are no cars approaching, or unless they see a car stop. I am the apparently crazy one who steps out when cars are coming. I do it on behalf of pedestrians everywhere to remind drivers of the road rules.

The road code is written for drivers, not for pedestrians. I would like to see pedestrians be more assertive. Until we do so, drivers will take advantage of our indecision. For someone travelling at slow speed, like a pedestrian, a delay at traffic signals can add a significant proportion of time to a journey, so it's important to take advantage of the rights you are allowed.

This said, the NZ rule at traffic signals is an outdated method of control which adds ambiguity into the process. The whole point of traffic signals is to avoid conflict, and by running two green phases simultaneously the object is defeated. Too much of our evaluation is based upon journey time efficiency, but we should remember that particularly in somewhere compact like Wellington, pedestrians are often on working time because they are walking to meetings. Those few seconds saved are of much greater value to a slow speed traveller like a pedestrian, than a fast speed traveller, like a car driver. In addition, by separating out the green phases, the risk of conflict is greatly reduced.

Changing the phasing for traffic signals is not a difficult act in itself - it is the legislation that is the challenge. But it is a challenge for transport professionals to take up.