A quarter of the way there!

I'm finding sometimes with this mission that sometimes it's taking the message (or reality slap)
you're sent and the opportunity you're given.  

The message:  in this case, it was standing on the scales two Mondays ago and discovering I'd put on 1.5kg since returning from New Zealand, including 1.2 kg in one week.  I figured there'd be some bad weeks along the way - food tends to be a coping mechanism, but that was appalling.  Thankfully, there was no interrogation or extra work at class that night.

The opportunity:  my wonderful wife was away for a week.  Rather than living the life of a bachelor on the couch, I pretty much wrecked myself walking or at the gym.  One hundred km in six days, just over 50 walking and just under 50 in RPM classes.  It meant walking around my town every day for at least an hour, usually in the dark.  Damn it was cold too...beanie, gloves, torch, iPod and fast walking. Other than the exercise, largely stuck to diet too (shock, horror!).

I'm really happy that it paid off - lost 1.7kg in a week, meaning I've lost 10kg since May.  Nice to be in double figures and aiming for a 11, rather than a 12, in my weight next week.

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Of course, there's still a way to go...need to find a way to resist the sneaky snacks - to paraphrase Homer Simpson "That Kit Kat was so good.  I wish I was eating it right now."  It probably isn't a good idea that I'm typing this while cooking chocolate brownies.  For a work afternoon tea...really!

Hitting the Wall

Well it just ain't right

That it's something I can't fight

I can't stop going out and having fun

Well I tried to be good

But I knew I never could

Billy Fields "Bad Habits"

There's not other way to put it...I hit the wall this week.  I was surprised at weigh in on Monday that I'd lost half a kilo during the previous fortnight, but by Thursday night, I was gone.  I skipped my usual Thursday night spin class - I was heading towards a migraine - and despite waking up for a 6am walk on Friday, I couldn't face it.  

Not just the exercise...some old habits have come back - the diet's gone out the window, including my love of hash browns.  

I'm not entirely sure what to do other than to knuckle down and get back on track.  I expect to have put on some weight when I weigh in on Monday, and get flogged at training as a result - it will be deserved!

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It's been a bit of a rollercoaster month or so - makes it harder to stay on track when food is a response mechanism for me. But it has shown the importance of getting out in the bush - either with the bushwalking club or by myself (with iPod).  

Last weekend I went walking down in the mountains south of Canberra - several hours of off-track walkng with some great views. 

Mount Karioi

We've just come back from a few days in sunny and warm (compared to Canberra) New Zealand.  I was looking forward to the chance to get a day's worth of bushwalking while my gorgeous wife was enjoying some horseriding with a friend of ours, Sig.  

I was keen to do some walking, not only because I love bushwalking in New Zealand, but also to keep up the exercise regime as part of the mission, and was joined on the walk by Sig's partner, Phil.

The walk we picked was the track to the summit of Mount Karioi, near Raglan.  The 756m high mountain is an extinct volcano that has two tracks to the summit - the Mount Karioi Track from the northside, and the Wairake Track from the southside.  According to the description on the NZ Department of Conservation website, the Wairake Track is the shorter and easier track - Wairake it was.

The first 40 minutes or so was walking through private farmland (with permission) to the forest edge, before going uphill through the forest to the summit.  There was no view on the way up - the path was very muddy, lots of tree roots, but easy to follow.  On the way up I only slipped once, discovering what's it's like to get a shock from an electric fence :(

Despite the cloudy day, the view from the summit was impressive.  It was blowing a gale at the top so didn't stay up there long.  Only managed to fall over once more, though it took several handwashes to clean the mud off my trousers and boots. 

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A note of thanks:  I posted a link to this blog on my Facebook page and got wonderful responses and encouragement from my friends there, especially Tim.  Thanks everyone - really appreciate it.