How Do You Beat Your Cravings?

Well, I am finally back into the rhythm of working out and exercising almost daily. The only obstacle I have now is FOOD!

My eating habits leave a lot to be desired. They were pretty good until I fell ill. During my illness I basically ate anything I could tolerate, and most of the time it was comfort food, not clean eating as I had been doing. Needless to say, the other week whilst being weighed at the Blood Bank I discovered I had put on 5 KILO'S!!! Not happy!

Now I have the problem where I am constantly craving bad foods. My fella and I do like to go out for dinner a couple of times a week, that's our time for us (Date night so to speak) so I try to be somewhat sensible on those days. But the remainder of the week is so hard!

I'm a shift worker, so eating at regular intervals when on night shift is not something I usually think too hard about. I am in the habit of taking healthy meals and snacks to work, but they often get left in the lunch box in favour of all the naughty snacks my workmates bring in! And, let me tell you, at 4 am I am NOT craving healthy foods!

So, what do you do to beat cravings? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Sandbag Workouts

I've recently discovered Sandbag workouts. To be honest, these workouts are the kind of thing I was doing when still living with my parents. I was busily lugging around bags of chaff and hay bales (my folks own a horse farm) and damn, let me tell you, that is a great workout all on its own. Sandbags are a similar concept......... They have a very uneven distribution of weight.....

My nearest beach is Port Melbourne, but I plan to head down to Sandringham/Black Rock where the sand is a tad cleaner than Port Melbourne/St Kilda. I will take a sieve and get me some sand, package it up in some plastic zip lock bags (double bagged of course) duck/duct tape the bags and use them in a bag bought from Aussie Disposals. That's the plan at least!

I'll use these bags for my workouts, a combination of stair running (I live in a rather tall apartment building, I plan to use the emergency stairwell) , squats, lunges etc......

I'll let you know how it all goes!

:)

How Much Water Is Enough?

I'm a big water drinker. I don't drink soda's (Coke, Sprite etc) unless it's as a mixer with Vodka (which I probably drink too much of as it is..... call me crazy, but I love to have my vodka on hand at the end of a hard working week). Generally I drink Water, Coffee and Peppermint Tea and that's about it!

But how much water is enough? Some report 2 litres, some say 3 litres. I know that it is possible to drink too much water. Drinking too much water can cause a condition known as Hyponatremia. This is an extremely dangerous condition. Basically, too much water can alter your Salt balances.

If water is accumulated in the body at a higher instance than it can be excreted, Hyponatremia can occur. Generally you will find athletes who consume too much fluids during an event can be affected by this. (ie marathon runners)

Symptoms include nausea, vomiting and headaches. Also fatigue, muscle weakness, cramps and most seriously, coma.

So how much water is too much? The medical field recommends 2 - 2.5 litres per day. I used to drink 3 - 3.5 litres per day until my doctor suggested I ease off! I now aim for 2 - 2.5 litres per day.

And another thing. There is really no need to buy bottled water. Australia has the cleanest water in the world. Fill a reusable bottle straight from the tap! And don't use a plastic bottle you've used in the past. Buy a reusable bottle that can be washed properly with hot water.

I remember as a kid, we used to drink water straight from the garden taps! Do people even do that anymore or have we become paranoid of poisoning etc? Personally, I probably wouldn't help myself to a neighbours tap water anymore, I would rather carry my own bottle or look for a drinking fountain. But sometimes it's a necessity when on a long run etc. Nobody wants to carry a bottle of water out on a long run.

Water is also what I reach for before a snack. Often I find when I feel hungry, I am actually thirsty! A glass of the clean stuff can curb the nasty junk food cravings!

So, I say, go the H2O. It has to be better than that other "Crap" out there!

Learning To Improvise When Injured

There is nothing worse that injury to put a spanner in the works of your workout regime. I've been suffering with a dodgy wrist for months now, so I have had to learn to improvise quite a few exercises.

I broke my wrist quite severely when I was a teen and I've had problems with it off and on over the years. Sadly, my job means I am on a computer and joystick much of my 12 hour shift. I have re-learned how to use a mouse with my left hand, but after a 12 hour shift, my wrist still feels so achy and sore, it's frustrating!

Push Ups are absolute agony at times. Putting my wrist in the Push Up position and then putting weight on it really HURTS. I had to buy Push Up handles. But they do the trick.

Basically anything that involves bending my wrist is agonising. Any other exercise seems fine! Kettlebells, weights etc are fine, thankfully. But, damn I miss doing real Push Ups :(

Eventually I will get around to having my wrist looked at, meanwhile I will persevere!

My Workouts This Week

So, I managed 7 days straight of workouts, not bad for someone as unfit as I am.










Todays workout was as follows:

100 x Skips
5 x Step Ups with 20kg Weight (Left Leg)
100 x Skips
5 x Step Ups with 20kg Weight (Right Leg)
100 x Skips
5 x Pull Ups (Assisted)
100 x Skips
5 x Pull Ups (Assisted)
100 x Skips
10 x Lunges with Kick Up (Left Leg)
100 x Skips
10 Lunges with Kick Up (Right Leg)
100 x Skips
5 x Chin Ups
100 x Skips
5 x Chin Ups
100 x Skips
10 x Crunches
100 x Skips

Total of 1000 Skips (exhausted)
15 - 20 minutes of Weights/Body Weight routine

This is just an example of my workout routine for seven days straight. I had one day off and today is day two of my second week. Skipping is my cardio and I like to skip between sets to keep my heart rate up. This is also why I don't do heavy weights as I would be too exhausted! Needless to say, the Skipping Rope does slap me hard when I get fatigued!

I've still got a long way to go to rid myself of the ugly belly fat I accumulated when ill.

:)

Taking Time Out For Me!

How often do any of us enjoy complete time out for ourselves? I mean, with jobs, career, family, friends, where do we find the time for those little moments that help us to rejuvenate or relax?

I shouldn't talk, I've had plenty of time off recently when I was ill. But what I really needed was sunshine and a chance to really relax. Maybe a couple of cocktails, work on my tan....

Luxury means many things to many people. What does it mean to me? A relaxing massage. Sun, sand, surf. Being able to sleep in without the guilt. Eating my favourite meal (Seafood, Japanese, Mexican, depending on my mood that day) Catching a movie (with popcorn) Enjoying a bottle of wine. Great company, I could go on and on .......

I haven't had a real, relaxing vacation for almost 2 years! To be honest, every winter, all I want to do is run away to the tropics for a few days to rejuvenate. Sadly, finances make it next to impossible to do that.

But, we have booked ourselves a holiday at the end of the year. The weather should have improved by then, I will be by the beach and with my loved one! Some nice, relaxing lunches, dinners out, catching up with friends, sun, sand, no surf though! Sadly, Hawaii (see pic) is currently out of our price range, but I would LOVE to get back there some day!

The countdown has begun! But the question is...... can I wait that long?

Perfecting the Pistol

One exercise I honestly thought I would be able to do without too much trouble is the Pistol, more commonly described as a One-Legged or Single Leg Squat. When I've seen others do it, they make it look so easy. Just stand on one leg with the other in front of you and parallel to the floor, and squat down! Too easy!

At least I thought it would be easy until I tried it myself! I could only get half way down before my leg would give way and I'd end up on my arse!

The Pistol is an awesome way to test your strength and balance.

I became determined to master the Pistol so began looking for ways to improve. Keeping my leg out in front seemed to make it so much harder ........

Until I realised, keeping my other leg at a lower angle seemed to make it a touch easier to perform this movement and to perfect it.

I began by standing on a weights bench at a Smith Machine. I had the bar at waist level so that I could use it for balance and also if I need assistance standing back up. Then with my leg hanging naturally beside me I attempted the Pistol.

Yay, I managed it! Five on each leg. And yeah, my butt hurt for days! After a couple of weeks I find I am able to get lower in the squat and hopefully will soon be able to attempt it on the ground without help.

I can certainly feel it in my butt!