Au revoir gym membership, hello fitbit

Last time I sat down to write a post, I'd given up my gym membership, which was a very hard thing to do.  A different approach is necessary - small steps almost literally.

I've been working on getting to 10,000 steps every day.  It's tough in some respects because I'd prefer to be out on a track somewhere.  

My wife and I have taken our son out for his first couple of bushwalks.  These have been great - to spend time with family, introduce him to different parts of nature, and for me to take a stack of pictures.

It's not too difficult to get to 10,000 steps - except maybe for the awful weather we've had recently.  Between parking further away from work and taking a 20-30 minute detour to check my postbox, I've been getting close to or reaching 10,000.

I'm unfit though.  I've been able to do a few walks around the place.  They've been fairly short (8km - 11km) but it's been great to get out.  I've really missed it.

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Through gritted teeth, I stood on the scales and was surprised.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it was still pretty bad.  There's a tonne of work to do.

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Early in 2015, I walked the 50km version of the Canberra 100 (blog post here).  I wasn't able to do the event in 2016, due to the car accident and the new addition to my family.  I was a bit sad to see the event isn't being run in 2017 - I love a challenge and was already looking forward to training for and completing the event (I've forgotten the sore feet from 2015).  Family comes first but I'll have to find a similar event...

Found reverse gear

Shoalhaven River, Bungonia State Conservation Area

Well, I've stumbled into reverse gear.  Or, more appropriately, eaten my way into it.  I was honoured to be a groomsman at a mate's wedding a week or so ago and had to be remeasured for the suit, and not in a good way.  There's been a couple of very stressful events since my last post, with the accompanying automatic resorting to compensatory junk food.

I don't want to know how much weight I've put on, but I can't live like this.

Tuggeranong from Rob Roy Nature Reserve

I'm starting to face up to things I can't change.  I want to walk long distances and run but I can't dedicate the time to exercising.  My family is my priority.

I'm managed to get a couple of bushwalks in, walking near Canberra and in the fabulous Bungonia State Conservation Area near Goulburn, good excuses for taking pictures. 

But, with a huge amount of reluctance, I gave up my gym membership - I wasn't using it so why spend the money? 

It has to be improving my diet, which is so damn hard for me.  Not sure going cold turkey is going to cut it.  Small incremental changes - less fast food breakfasts, more fruit, more water, less chocolate. Not relying on exercise but taking opportunities for exercise whenever possible - bushwalks, the treadmill, around the lake.

Lake Ginninderra, Belconnen - need to walk this more often (where possible!)

So I'm 40...

Parliament House

Ok...so it's not mission accomplished.  There is still a lot of work to do, but it's been such an amazing year, a staggering rollercoaster of emotions.  It really showed how food for me is a bit of an emotional crutch when I'm stressed.

Definitely not mission over, though.  It's so easy to get back into bad habits and really hard to break them.  But the thing I need to break is the nexus between a bad day and bad food.

It's a challenge to juggle family, commuting, work and exercise.  Obviously I'm not Robinson Crusoe there!  I love getting home to my family, but also need to get to the gym - did my first run on the treadmill for months this week and wow...great fun but oh so sore!

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Booroomba Rocks

My 40th was amazing and a day to remember.  I'd long planned to stand on a mountain somewhere but awful weather and dose of the flu limited options.  Ended up walking one of my favourite Canberra tracks, Square Rock, taking in the fabulous view briefly (it was so cold!).

My gorgeous wife arranged a day of wonderful surprises for my birthday, including a scenic helicopter flight over Canberra and the Namadgi National Park.  Thanks darling!

Panorama from Square Rock, Namadgi National Park

The year's gone quickly

Need more water, less iced coffee!

So I'm in the last fortnight of my thirties.  This sign pretty much sums up the situation at the moment.  Most, if not all, of my bad dietary habits have returned with a vengeance.  These could usually be counterbalanced (well, partly) with exercise but finding a balance recently has been difficult.  I'd rather be with my family.

Short of liposuction, I'm not going to meet my goal.  If I stay in this situation and maintain these bad habits, I may not be with my family as long as I want.  And that scares me.

But I have to concede this battle, but not the war.   

I've put some big changes in place already (though it's challenging to start when I've got the flu) but I post about them later.


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Scenery on the walk

I've have been able to get a couple of bushwalks in though.  One of them was a walk in Adelaide from Waterfall Gully to Mount Lofty return.  I grew up in Adelaide but this was a new walk for me.  This walk itself is 8km long, but it was 12km including getting back to the nearest bus stop.

The scenery on the walk and at the summit was great.  It nearly killed me - more than 500 metres of climbing.  The walk reminded me of Mount Ainslie (lots of people) and Mount Tennent (steep climb, short distance).  

Can't wait to kick this flu and be out on a track again...even on Mount Tennent!

Adelaide from Mount Lofty

Nil Desperandum

Tidbinbilla River

I was stoked to be able to join a bushwalk with the Canberra Bushwalking Club.  The walk I joined was to an old European homestead near Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, Nil Desperandum.  It was only 12 km long, a walk I could usually do easily, but I've lost so much fitness with everything that's gone on.

The walk started from the Tidbinbilla Visitors Centre, the usual launching pad for the fabulous Gibraltar Peak walk.  The path is well marked and took us up and across the Tidbinbilla River, a very pleasant part of the reserve.  It was great that the river was flowing well after the recent heatwave broke (thank goodness!).

From there, the walk followed fire trails over a ridge to go around the Tidbinbilla Station (private property), before arriving at Nil Desperandum.  The homestead was quite badly damaged by the 2003 bushfires but a great job has been done restoring the building.

Nil Desperandum

From there, we re-traced our steps back to the cars.  We finished by 1pm, a 12.8km walk with just under 400 metres in climbing.  

Nil Desperandum just one of the pleasant walks in Tidbinbilla (guide here) and I'm sure we'll be back here with bub to do some walks and check out the kangaroos, emus and other residents there.

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Nil Desperandum apparently means 'never despair' in Latin, and I think is pretty apt.  I wasn't really sure I could handle the walk, but it wasn't a problem. 

Not sure when my next bushwalk will be, but I'm enjoying walking around town with my wife, bub, and puppies, and taking the chance to practice photography.  

And this week, I get back to the gym :)

Autumn sunset

Wow...I'm a Dad :)

It's been another five weeks since I posted anything here - really need to be a bit more regular at posting here, but so much has happened.  I seemed to have crammed more big life events in the last two months than I've done in the last five years.  

In addition to the car accident I had in early January, I changed jobs and just over a week later, became a Dad.  My wife was hospitalised the Monday before bub was born, so priorities became supporting her and getting started at my new job.  Very little else mattered since then, including diet and exercise.

My wife sent me a link (language warning) suggesting to dad's "if you're a fitness fanatic, kiss that [stuff] goodbye for at least two months.  You have neither the time, nor the energy to work out, or eat well."  


These don't seem that important compared to looking after my wife and son.  As an aside, it's so good to have my son asleep in my arms (though I imagine every parent says that!).

Family and friends have given us cooked meals to freeze, for which we are deeply grateful.  Because of this, we've eaten a lot better than we otherwise could have.

Working out is a different story.  I'd like to get back to bushwalking, even if the walk is very short.  The walks I've looked at doing since bub was born I've pulled out of because, to be blunt, I'm stuffed, and it's been more important to be home.  I'm looking forward to sharing bushwalking with my son, and have an infant carrier on order to take him bushwalking when he's old enough.

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What does this mean for 40 by 40?  On the one hand, it's gone off the rails in a big way.  On the other, it's more important than ever.  I'm not just looking after myself, but also need to set an example for my son.   

I need to focus on other things to deal with stress, tiredness or a generally hectic life - being a Dad, walking, photography (particularly of storms), footy...I might even have to learn to cook (healthy stuff, of course!).

A second chance

Bimberi Peak from our camp

Oh...oops.  It's been more than three months since I put 'pen to paper' here.  And so much has happened (again).  In early January, I was given a second chance with a monumental piece of luck.  


I walked away from an accident where I rolled my car.

Snowy Mountains near Cabramurra

I won't go into the circumstances of the accident, except to say that a number of people have seen pictures of the car and said something to the effect that people generally don't walk away from such accidents.  I was lucky not only to survive the accident, but to have relatively minor injuries necessitating a couple of days in hospital.  I can't say enough how much I appreciated the support of my gorgeous wife, family, friends and colleagues.

All this was after being checked out in hospital for a possible heart attack in mid-December.

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Panorama from Bimberi Peak over Namadgi National Park

Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra

I was getting back into bushwalking and looking forward to getting back to the gym.  I did an overnight walk to the top of the ACT's highest mountain, which was great fun.  Over New Year, we'd been down to Kosciuszko National Park and I was reminded how fabulous it is there - will need to do some more walking down there.  When the march flies have gone.

I had enjoyed a 23km walk in Canberra (surprised myself by being able to walk that!) and was looking forward to heading back to the Snowies to do a walk around Kiandra before the accident.

I'm in a neck brace for a couple more weeks.  I'm really looking forward to getting the brace off and taking this second chance with both hands.  And holding our baby when he's born.

R U Ok?

I've just realised it's over two months since I posted here and so much has happened.  It was R U Ok day recently I have to admit, I haven't been okay.  So much has gone on since I last posted - between both my wife & I hitting kangaroos, having our sheep escape three times, and some other things that I can't put here, it's been tough.

But it's about perspective, one which came up on R U Ok day; the other is my wallpaper.  The stories from R U Ok day were deeply moving.  Thinking about it now, it has got me to focus on addressing the things that have been concerning me. 

Thinking about my wallpaper and what it represents makes me happy beyond belief.  It's a ultrasound picture - seeing that picture and bub's heart beating during my wife's ultrasound is amazing.

Where does that leave the mission?  My wife and I had an agreement that if we got pregnant, I would lose my belly as she got a belly.  The stress has meant I've reverted back to old habits - food is where I go when I'm stressed.  

But I also have amazing support from my wife - love you darling :)

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The upshot from the last couple of months is that I need to get back to things I enjoy - including bushwalking and RPM classes.  I've been on a few walks recently, but my good habits have been replaced by old ones.  It's well past time to get back on that bandwagon...starting with standing on the scales at the gym tomorrow.


 

Juggling...tough it is

The hardest part of this mission has been the diet.  So. Very.  Hard.  But the next toughest thing has definitely been the time management.

It has been challenging juggling a full-time job (which I thoroughly enjoy), two hours of commuting a day, home responsibilities and, most importantly, spending time with my wonderful wife.  Not to mention posting here!



I've been trying to fit in walking early in the morning and quick visits to the gym after work.  Not sure how well I'm doing at the juggling...I'm not that coordinated :) 

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One of the things I've been missing is bushwalking with my friends from the bushwalking club.  I've done a lot of walking by myself - headphones in, head down - but doing the same walk over and over can get a little tiresome.  

I got to do a 'local' bushwalk yesterday - walking around the Bango Nature Reserve, near Yass.  It's not somewhere I've walked before and it was great to explore it with the bushwalking club. 

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.

One week fast...one week slow

This week's weigh in was a bit of a disappointment.  Only lost 400 grams, which was still a loss but would have preferred it to be more.  The diet has changed somewhat as planned.  I'm now eating some carbs, usually with lunch, along with eating fruit with the protein shake at breakfast.  Haven't quite had the burst of energy I was expecting from the extra calories.
  
I'm very much looking forward to cracking the 10 kg loss total :)

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It hasn't been hard to notice how much fitter I'm getting.  Not just with running on the treadmill, where I'm managed to run for 10 minutes without falling off the treadmill.  But out bushwalking as well.  

Last weekend was walking out in the Tinderry Nature Reserve near Canberra.  The walk was a mixture of everything - fire trail, steep ascents and descents, bashing through the bush, and rock scrambling.  There was also quite a bit of ice and even a bit of snow to be negotiated.  Made for a beautiful walk with a nice degree of diversity and a fabulous view at lunchtime. 

 

2.6? What the...??

I was going to just write a general post about the week or so just passed but I got a shock standing on the scales this evening.  I usually aim for a kilogram but the scales showed I lost 2.6kg in the last week.  Seriously?  I stood on the scales three times in disbelief.  

The result has inspired me to keep up the hard work.

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It's been a busy week.  I took my favourite fitness test on Sunday walking up Mount Tennent near Canberra.  It's a great challenge but I tend to spend most of the walk - it's a 700 metre climb in the 7km to the summit - muttering.  I managed to finish the walk in under four and a half hours, which is probably the quickest I've done the walk.

I had to stop at the supermarket on the way back home and who should I bump into?  The trainer from the Men with Guts programme.  He inspected the contents of my shopping basket and thankfully all was okay, except for having reduced fat milk instead of skim milk (I didn't know there was a difference).  I'm relieved I didn't have any contraband - chocolate or iced coffee - in the basket!

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The walk up Mount Tennent followed a bushwalk I took while I was in Adelaide.  It had been a while since I'd done an organised bushwalk - this walk was in and around Mount Lofty with Friends of the Heysen Trail.  Despite growing up in Adelaide, I've never really walked around Cleland Conservation Park and the Mount Lofty Botantic Gardens.  

Growing up in Adelaide, I thought the Mount Lofty Ranges were impressive but, after years in Canberra looking at the Brindabellas, the Mount Lofty's aren't as impressive.  I was made to pay for my lack of faith - in the 15km we walked, we climbed over 800 metres.  There was some fabulous scenery on the walk, a number of animal sightings, and the company was great too.

Next stop...

Okay...time to get serious.  I've been messing about since my last post, doing some exercise here or there, but eating a whole lot of rubbish.  

But I've also just turned 39.  If I'm going lose 40 kilos by 40, I really need to get my backside out of confectionary aisle and into the fruit and veg section. 

With the support of my wonderful wife, I've started the Men with Guts programme at the YMCA (http://www.canberra.ymca.org.au/healthfitness/weight%20loss/Pages/Men%20with%20Guts.aspx).

Wow it's a tough programme. Twice a week, a whole bunch of us get flogged at the gym - boxing, cross fit, PT...all the things that I usually manage to avoid.  It's great having a bunch of blokes in the same room going through the same journey and trying to achieve the same thing.

The most challenging part is the diet.  For the first four weeks, protein shakes for breakfast and lunch (and they're not too bad), protein and veggies for dinner, and fruit/veggies as snacks.  I've got from 2000 calories a day to around a 1000.  Think I sleep walked most of the first day due to a lack of energy.  

Now, the hardest part is not the lack of calories, it's hanging out in places where I wouldn't typically eat healthy.  Like at the food court where my wife and friends are eating Maccas...just cruel.  Or at the football.  Occasionally I stray from the path...mmmm, kitchener buns...then realise how many calories I've consumed and workout the walk needed to burn them off!

But I'm loving the exercise, including the gym sessions.  Dusted off the Fitbit and doing my best to meet the goal of the programme of 10,000 steps per day, and one extra solid workout a week.  Spin classes, running on the treadmill, discovering different walking routes around my town.  It's amazing how much fitter I've got in the last three weeks...

Those 40 kilos are going to be history!

CBR100 Challenge - walking 50km in one day

I'm writing this blog to write down my experiences of losing 40kg by the time I turn 40.  Truth be told, not doing so well at this point, but I'm stoked to have set myself another challenge and succeeded - walking the 50km walk of the CBR100 Challenge.

The challenge went around central Canberra, taking in some of the great sights of the city.  I've worked 50km a couple of times before but I was still nervous.  Training had been a lot of fun and taken in many parts of the walk but hadn't cracked the magical 50km.

One of my fellow bushwalkers, John, kindly lent me his spare room rather than getting up at 4am.  I'd patched up my feet to try and prevent blisters - and decided to walk in sneakers rather than hiking boots.

Apparently, there were 1000 people registered to participate in the inaugural event - a fantastic turnout.  We got there early enough to see John and his team, plus a couple of others from the bushwalking club, start their 100km walk.

Our walk started at 6:30, under the first rays of the morning sun, and headed straight for Mount Ainslie - the jumper came straight off and was carried for the next 40-odd kilometres. In hindsight, it would have been a good idea to use the transition points along the way.

The walk took in the very well used track up Mount Ainslie, where there was the first water and toilet stop. It was a great morning to be out walking, but no time to dilly dally and take in the view.

We got to bypass the climb of Mount Majura and stopped at the first transition point after 12km.  The organisers kindly provided some fruit, lollies and fruit buns.  As per my standard dietary habits, I enjoyed the fruit but skipped the fruit buns (really don't like fruit in bread).

The next 12 km or so wasn't that interesting, walking across from Mount Majura to Black Mountain.  It was necessary but other than the flypast of an RAAF Hercules and a couple of Army helicopters, it was just head down and walk.

Next stop was Black Mountain and it nearly killed me.  The route taken was one I haven't walked before and normally, I suspect it would be quite gentle, but not today.  Took a while for me to reach the hat band track just below the summit.  Not sure why the track followed the hat band track before heading to the summit, but we found a nice place for lunch at 28km.  Black Mountain was the only place I stacked it during the day.

Lunch spot on Black Mountain

We took the long way out of the Black Mountain reserve before finding one of the hidden gems in Canberra, the Cork Plantation.  From there, we went through the Himalayan Pines and the new planting in the National Arboretum, which will be an amazing place in 10 or 20 years.  

The route followed the zig zag track down towards the Tuggeranong Parkway and the next transition station near Scrivener Dam.  I'm going to hazard a guess that everyone cut out the zig zags ;)  

The transition point at Scrivener Dam, at 40km in, was the best equipped of the lot.  Other than stacks of toilets, there was quite a bit of food and a podiatry table for walkers.  I was going to sorely regret not taking advantage of the opportunity for someone to look at my feet.

The volunteers there (who did a great job) said there was at least another 12 km left, not to mention climbing Red Hill. 

It was 9 km to the summit of Red Hill and it nearly did me in.  I was gutted to see my GPS saying 49.7km at the top of Red Hill...I was wrecked.  I wasn't going to let the walk beat me no matter how much my feet hurt or how disappointed I was at still having 5 km to walk.

Love the view from Red Hill

By the time we got to the finish of the walk at Regatta Point, we'd walked 55 km in just under 13 hours, the longest I'd ever walked in one day (longer than the 4 day Milford Track).  We got to finish the walk under one of the best Canberra sunsets I've ever seen, and seeing my gorgeous wife at the end of the walk was great.

I'm still chuffed at having trained for and successfully finished the walk, along with my wonderful team mates Chris and Cynthia.  I'm also still in awe of the people that walked and run the 100 km.  I'd love to try and do that next year...but until then, time for another challenge.

On Black Mountain...and no, it wasn't!

Thoughts on the event:  it's a great event, well sign-posted and organised.  It was disappointing the event was ten per cent longer (GST?).  To cut down the distance, I would suggest going directly to the summit of Black Mountain (rather than the hat band track) and cutting out the zig zag part of the arboretum.  My feet would have loved to have seen a podiatry table at the end of the walk also.


PS:  my feet were badly blistered afterwards - worse than anything I've ever encountered before.  After a visit to my GP, antibiotics and nurofen did wonders!