Day 16

I am not feeling well today and I have no appetite.  I have managed to eat a few little bits here and there.
I am worrying that this is going to screw up all my hard work.
I know its only been 16 days but I am seeing results and I am so aware now of the need to keep my metabolism going.
I hope I will feel better tomorrow and get back to eating all my food.

Hope team blue is doing well!

Day 15 Best PCP meal yet

I saw a magazine on the weekend and on the cover was a picture of a scrumptious looking pasta dish.
It was linguine with shrimp and spinach in an alfredo sauce.  I decided to get the magazine,  read the recipe and adapt it.
So I used whole grain linguine noodles sauteed some garlic in a nonstick pan with a small amount of olive oil.  Next I added a huge amount of spinach and let it wilt. While I was doing this I had the linguine boiling and I roasted the shrimp in the oven.  I weighed each thing when it was cooked and portioned it out.
It was so delicious it felt like I was cheating.
Afterwards I thought it would have been to much smothered in alfredo sauce even if I could have it.
Carbs are out for me in the evenings as of last night but it will still make a great lunch.

Team Name - Team Blue

Okay its been two weeks and nothing has been said about our name until Jack's comment today.
I agree with Jack, we need a better name.  Any ideas? Anyone? Hello?

How about the 'DIVINE NINE' or  team bleu?

Day 14 FOOD

I am surprised to say that eating the PCP food is going quite well for me.
Yes, every now and then I crave a treat but I am noticing more and more that its a mood or a feeling I want not the treat.
This weekend for example I was going to my Mums house and it was cold and rainy and I thought oh I'll have tea and a tea biscuit when I get there.  Really what I wanted was to feel cozy and warm, so I had the tea but skipped the tea biscuit.
On the weekend we usually have some kind of take-away food fro dinner one evening and maybe go out for lunch or breakfast with the kids.  We didn't do either of these things this weekend and I found myself in the kitchen all the time preparing food for everyone.  I didn't miss the food just the break from cooking and cleaning.  This weekend I am going to precook a couple of meals and just reheat them to give myself some time off.
So all in all it wasn't the actual foods I was looking for but the supposed comfort or freedom that they allow.

Day 13

I found the last few days quite difficult - between computer problems, getting my kids into their school routine, food prep, workouts, homework and so on I have felt overwhelmed to say the least.

I have to be very honest and say that I do not enjoy working out. I don't know if I ever will.
For those of you who do like it please share with me what your secret is or what you like about it.
I am serious please help me love it. For me exercise is like medicine a necessary evil.
Don't get me wrong I am not a couch potato. Most days I get up at 7 am and I don't sit down again until 7 pm . But when it comes to an actual workout it takes every fibre of my being to get up and do it.
This morning my son was having difficulty getting his shoes on and I was telling him to use two hands and he said 'but thats uncomfortable.' To which I replied 'It may be uncomfortable but just do it and get it over with.'
I will take my own advice.

Day 8 PCP food

I can't remember a day when I ate so much.  But I have to say, I never once felt bloated or sluggish despite having consumed huge amounts of food.
My energy level and mood were consistently good all day. Nice for a change.

The workouts are getting harder, I find this the most difficult part of the program so far.
I need to put some extra effort in and get comfortable with the exercises.
I am not athletically inclined and I tend to get frustrated when I feel awkward or like I don't know what I am doing.

My husband is eating the same food as me so this makes it much easier. He completed the PCP just over a year ago so he knows exactly what I am going through.  I can't say what a benefit and support that is.

This evening we went to a school BBQ for our kids and the food was hot dogs, hamburgers, juice, and cotton candy - a bit of a baptism by fire on the first day of PCP food!
I really wasn't tempted because none of these are my favourites, I was full from my PCP food and my husband wasn't indulging either.
So I made it through my first social engagement untempted and junk food free.

Day 6 PCP

The weekend went well and I managed to stick to the rule of half.

My legs and feet are really sore.
After reading what Patrick said about the muscles in our thighs being the biggest muscle group, I get why the brutal squats are necessary.
I think I am finding my groove with the jump rope and I really enjoy the rhythm of it.
I have never been a fan of running but the jump rope I could grow to love.

I know the food is going to get a lot more restrictive this week so I am mentally preparing for that.

When I put my kids to bed at night and they are finally asleep I often find myself looking for a treat and feeling like I deserve a treat.
So I am replacing this ritual with a cup of tea.
I started this evening tea ritual with my husband and my cousin Jack this past summer.
Every evening once the kids were in bed we would sit and have tea and chat.  So the tradition continues despite the fact that Jack has returned to Ireland and his studies. By the way this is the same Jack that is currently doing the PCP in our group.
Making the tea and drinking it quietly without interruption is as much a treat for me as something sweet.

And now its time for tea .....

Rise & Shine

Today I did my workout in the morning and I loved it.

A few times during the day I thought 'oh I still have to workout AND eat half portions and then I remembered I had already done the workout.
I felt great all day because I had completed the hardest part of and it was over and off my mind.

I also found that it gave me extra motivation to eat well because I did not want to ruin my mornings work.

Heading into the weekend I think there will be a few more temptations to eat 'full' portions so I will have to be extra cautious.

My legs are still sore - even my feet are hurting! But the skipping was a bit better today, I didn't trip as much.


Hope everyone else is doing well.

cupcake

I am in shock.  I just ate half of a mini cupcake and I am just as satisfied as if I had eaten the entire thing.

The food is going well in so far as I am learning something from this.  If I can only have half of what I would normally eat I want to make sure I get bang for my buck.  If I am eating something with low nutritional content, but only half, I am hungry much faster than when I eat half of something nutritious.

I am very, very tired today and my legs are hurting.

I think I will do my workout first thing in the morning, then its done and I won't be worrying about when I can squeeze it in.

Well I'm off to bed so I can get up extra early for my workout in peace and quiet without interruption.

Day one PCP

The first day was exciting.  I feel like I have turned a new leaf.

I know for some people the exercises were easy but I am extremely out of shape and I found the skipping part difficult and more tiring than I expected.  When I finished my jump rope I came upstairs and I was all red and sweaty and my 6 year old casually looked at me and said  'high five mama, high five'.
That made me feel proud and motivated.

The food was interesting. I ate exactly half of what I would normally eat and in the morning I was very hungry but in the afternoon and evening I was not.  Which leads me to think that I don't eat enough in the mornings and I eat too much the rest of the day.  I get up at 7am and sometimes I don't eat until 10:30am and then not again until 1pm.

lets see what tomorrow brings.

Mmm Bop!

Nicole is swooping down from the frozen north and BRINGING THE HEAT!