00:44am (The Next Day)

As promised, I was uber well-behaved today. Check it out:

· Special K Bliss Bar

· Mango

· 1 rye crisp-bread with the TINIEST piece of cheddar on it

· A small portion of Special K

· Muscles, chips and two slices of bread (which sounds bad, but you really can eat whatever you like in the evening as long as it’s all in moderation)

· About a mouthful of Coca-Cola and a glass of tropical juice

I have just finished my evening exercises and my thighs kill. Probably something to do with all those high-kicks Billy Blanks had me doing earlier on during the Tae Bo workout. It’s weird actually, because it’s not necessarily difficult in terms of being out of breath or speed stamina. It’s more about endurance and sticking with him until the end, which surprisingly makes me sweat almost as much as running for half an hour, or dancing or something equally as strenuous.

Dad came for my walk with me, and of course I downed my ‘mingy tea’. It’s only been five days and already I’m getting that, ‘This had better have bloody worked or else’ feeling. Really tempted to get on the scales, but I keep staying away, because I know if I haven’t lost any weight I’ll be really miffed and go back to pigging out, which would be stupid since even if I haven’t done some epic Fat Blasting I’m eating healthier than I was before. I’m really trying to wait until I’ve done the full two weeks before weighing-in so as to keep morale high.

Anyway, I’m sorry I haven’t blogged much today. I don’t even have an excuse. It’s not like I’ve been busy, or even that I couldn’t be bothered. It’s more that the diet and exercise has become more of a way of life for me now, so I almost forget that I am on it! It’s an interesting journey, and if you just stick with me until the end I’m sure I will see some good results, even if only in fitness and energy levels.

I must dash since it’s my sister’s results day tomorrow and I have been roped into taking her in for them. At 11am. Perhaps this is where the lazy lie-ins stop . . . We’re sure to find out.

23^rd August

11:28am

I cannot believe that I woke up so late again. It is bad isn’t it? It’s weird though, because I don’t have a job as such at the moment I just lie in until I wake up, but then I feel so guilty to have wasted the morning. I guess most people of my age would relish the opportunity to lie-in for so long, but not me. I feel inactive, bored and wasteful. I need to find a way of giving the last few weeks of my summer some kind of meaning. Anyone with ideas, give me a hand!

I LOVE the Special K Bliss Bars. I had the raspberry and chocolate one and it was yummyliscious. I’m going to make the most of having an empty living room and get stuck into Tae Bo once CSI: New York has finished. Plus, my dad says he’ll come with me for my walk today so I won’t be alone in the rain. Score!

Will update later, as usual.

Take care

x

22:04pm

I am so very proud of myself, and you should all know why so I’m going to tell you. I. Went. Running. Seriously! Even though I had hardly any motivation I managed somehow to force myself of my lard ass and pound those pavements for a full 34 minutes and I didn’t stop once, so there.

Albeit I was jogging slowly, but I don’t think that matters because I think it’s better to do moderate exercise for longer rather than do beastly high-impact for a short amount of time (although I was out of breath and sweating enough for it to be considered as ‘high-impact’ anyway). I’m so proud of myself.

The way I do it is just by running around the block over and over and over again. I know that sounds boring, but it really works for me, because it means that every four minutes or so I have the option to give up and go home, or push myself further. Plus it means that I don’t run until I’m knackered and then realise I have to run all the way back. Perhaps eventually I will be able to go for proper ‘runs’ but for now I’m really happy with my fitness progress as it is!

It was pretty creepy as it’s quite dark outside and we have some nutters around here; Terrifying Witch Family who put a witches broom rather than a conventional wreath on their door at Christmas-time, Confused Old Lady who walks her dog whilst pushing a pushchair with no baby in it, and Pervy Guy who lives with his mom even though he’s nearly 50 . . . and I just happened to run into them all. They are quite friendly actually (especially Pervy Guy oddly enough) and nothing really to be ‘scared of’ but you wouldn’t want to run into them in a dark alley, if you know what I’m saying. Luckily, there are no alleys on my round-the-block route.

Anyway, now I’ve made my point (that I’m a Fitness Queen yadah yadah yadah) I want to share with you all the benefits of a cold bath after exercising! About a million times better than a cold shower, because you can rinse yourself off with the shower-head thingy (we have one in our bath as well as shower), and then once you are nice and rinsed clean, you can stick the plug in and sit back in a haven of luscious freshness. It makes you feel so full of adrenalin and allows you to detox your mind. All you really think about is how long you can stick it, and once you realise that you could lay there all day it becomes really . . . spiritual. Weird I know, but I swear by it, and no matter what, my mom won’t be able to convince me against it.

Urgh. Just downed my ‘mingy tea’; it’s the only way to do it without vomiting I reckon.

I had my first ‘you’ve-lost-weight’ comment today, which is quite impressive since I have only been doing this Special K/Exercise/’Mingy Tea’ thing for four days. Actually, in hindsight perhaps I can’t put much hope on this comment, as it was my boyfriend Lewis who made it and I think that boyfriends are obliged to comment on such things, even if they are not true. He was hugging me and he went, ‘You feel really skinny, don’t lose too much weight’. Hmm. Quite suspect. What does he want?

I think I’m ever so slightly injured. The insides of my ankles feel bruised on both sides. Also, just out of interest, when you guys walk or run, do you ever feel it more in one leg than the other? I only ask because the muscles at the top of my leg often feel more worked when I am walking than the other, the same goes for my calves (they begin burning) and my shins, and just tonight this ‘injury’ that I’m adamant I have feels more achey on the right side than the left. Just wondering if this is normal, or if I’m perhaps taking larger steps with one leg than the other or whatever . . .

Anyways, I will do my evening exercises and then will be getting some well-earned shut eye. I am going to try and get up a little earlier tomorrow, because I keep feeling like I’ve wasted most of the day by the time I come downstairs. So, you know the deal, my food inventory for today is as follows:

· Special K chocolate chip bar

· 1 mango

· 1 tangerine

· 1 steak with creamy mushroom sauce

· Asparagus

· Macaroni cheese with 1 piece of bread

· 1 scoop Ben and Jerry’s

· Small glass white wine, 1 glass of Coca-Cola

I’ll be better tomorrow, pinky swear. Until then, sweet dreams . . .

19:50pm

Absolutely beasted out at dinner! Had creamy mushrooms, steak, asparagus, a bit of macaroni cheese AND a piece of bread for dinner . . . I also had my first glass of coke in ages, and also a glass of white wine, which embarrassingly enough went straight to my head. And then I had half a scoop of Ben and Jerry’s Phish Food and half a scoop of Caramel Chew Chew. Ooh it was lovely. But obviously exceptionally calorific . . . but all I have eaten all day is a Special K Bar, a mango and a tangerine, so I think I’m ok? Tomorrow I’m getting right back on it though and fully behaving myself.

Our walk was really nice but I was sweating like a P.I.G because the sun was shining so hard. I guess it’s better than the rain of yesterday. Meewps came with me like a good girl.

I wanted to do my Tae Bo, but I don’t think I’ll be able to because my parents are in the living room and there’s nowhere else for me to go. I might force myself to go jogging. Then I have to do my evening exercises as per. Ooooh but it’s really annoying; I REALLY want to do Tae Bo!!! I’m on Billy Blanks withdrawal.

Oh no. I haven’t had my ‘mingy tea’ yet. The evil is still to come.

Will update before sleepies, but not much else to report right now. Take care dudes!

22^nd August

11:08am

I know, I know, I know, I’m sorry for not blogging last night, I’m a real Naughty-Pants. But I’m here now right? And that’s got to count for something! So forgive and forget I say. Moving on . . .

So, where was I yesterday? About to have an orange and some ‘mingy tea’ after my exercising and a nice refreshingly cold shower, yes that’s right. So I absolutely downed the tea, which was as usual grim, however I think I am getting more used to it now. After about half an hour of relaxing I realised we were due to go for dinner in like fifteen minutes, and since it takes me about an hour to put any nice clothes on (what with all the achey muscles) I just shoved my jeggings on, a t-shirt and my thick cardi and off we went.

Can I take this opportunity to praise the hell out of Miller and Carter. It is just delish there! I had cheddar cheese mushrooms with one slice of garlic bread to start. I love dipping my bread it the sauce at the end . . . For my mains I had Creole chicken with this yummy sweet chilli dip thing (I love this dish because it’s just the right amount of sweet and spicy). I guess some people could be a little disappointed with the portion size as you only really get like, three long chicken nugget-y type things, but for me on this diet it was perfect! I ordered a jacket potato instead of chips, because I’m a good girl. I hardly touched it though because I was already pretty full . . . I think it’s true that your stomach actually gets smaller when you are on a diet, because I could have polished all that off PLUS chips under a usual circumstance. As per, I ordered a little pot of cheese for on the side which really adds a little something as far as I am concerned.

Now, this is where it all went wrong. You have to understand that the cheesecake there is AMAZING. Baked and creamy, light and fluffy; just AMAZING. So I’m going to be honest with you. I ordered it. I ate half, and I only really ate the cheesy bit because I don’t like the crust at the bottom, so I actually don’t feel guilty. And it was SO effing worth it!

As I said, I didn’t drink at the party, although I did splash out into five peanuts. I know, woah slow down. J

So. Food inventory for yesterday:

· Special K chocolate chip bar

· Small bowl of Special K Medley

· Tangerine

· Small cheesy mushroom starter with one slice of garlic bread

· Three Creole chicken nugget-y type things with lust sweet chilli dip

· About three mouthfuls of jacket potato with a little butter

· Little pot of grated cheese

· Half the top of a cheesecake

· Five peanuts

Not bad.

Anyway, I woke Meewps up about half an hour ago and she still hasn’t dragged her sorry ass downstairs, which is just not fair because I wanted us to go for our walk at twelve, and now she’ll be all, ‘I’ve only just got up blahblahblah.’ Exceptionally annoying. So I’m going to go and wake her again. The little beastie.

See you later.

x

16:07pm

So Mother Nature cut me a break and turned the rain off, hooray! I went for my walk (BY MYSELF I might add, ahem, Meewps), absolutely powered it and did it three minutes quicker than yesterday so when I got back I marched on the spot for the remaining three minutes. Now, because of the high/low intensity dilemma I was having earlier on, I decided to run up and down the stairs ten times on top of making my low-impact walk a little more high-impact by storming it a little faster. Plus the yoga workout (YouTube has this chick who does ‘Yoga For Dummies’ and she’s a genius . . . A very happy genius . . .) which I did later lasted for almost 50 minutes, so I think my exercise intensity to time spent exercising ratio balanced out. Oh and of course I did my evening exercises, but I did 50 less squats today since I’d done all of that running up and down stairs. I might do the other 50 later on when I get in from the party . . .

Ah yes, by the way, I do 50 full bend squats, and the other hundred which I do are like gentle bounce squats. Absolutely vicious; start from a bent leg position with both knees at a 90 degree angle and then bounce ever so slightly (only about an inch) up and down for 100 counts. It doesn’t sound too tough, but it is a muscle-toning King.

I’m just about to tuck into my ‘mingy tea’ and a juicy orange. But firstly, on a slightly different note, I have to confess to some ridiculousness today. I can’t speak for every girl, but personally I always want people to see me at my best, and my boyfriend’s friends are no exception to that rule. Actually, I want them to see me at my best more than most people because my philosophy is that if a boy’s friend thinks you look good, he will want you more. My nightmare would be for one of Lew’s friends to see me out in a bad condition and think ‘What does he see in her; she’s a beast’ . . . so imagine my mortification this morning during my walk, when I was sweaty, out of breath, with no make-up on, not having washed my hair and in my joggers with my hood up like a paedophile and who should I run into but Good-Ol’-Ethan. Perhaps the worst part was that I didn’t notice it was him as he was walking towards me, so in my starving state I was thinking about what to eat tonight, and was probably slobbering over the idea of a 100% beef burger, so not only did I feel like an ugly, sweaty pig, but I also felt like I was totally monging off during my food-fantasy. I realised it was him when he was like seconds away, and in my ridiculousness did not stop, and make polite small talk. Oh no. That would be too simple. I vaguely recall screaming ‘I DON’T HAVE MAKE-UP ON! DON’T LOOK AT ME. KEEP WALKING.’ So we can definitely add ‘shrill’ to my list of unattractive attributes you never want your boyfriend or his friends to know you possess.

So this is a formal apology to Ethan. I’m not a complete dog. You just caught me at a bad moment.

Wow talk about emotional rollercoaster, this diet is sending my hormones haywire! Fun times!

‘Mingy tea’ here I come.

21^st August

12:39pm

As if it is afternoon already! I must be honest that I reckon today is going to be a difficult day. I’ve had my chocolate chip Special K bar for breakfast, but then I went and found some finely chopped chocolate in the cupboard and couldn’t resist having a teaspoon of it. I FAILED. Only joking, I’m not too bothered about it, and I know it won’t kill me, I’ll just have to skip my afternoon snack; no big deal. However, I’m going out for dinner AGAIN to Miller and Carter and also going to a party tonight. I will just have to choose something healthy at the restaurant, and not drink at the party. That’s no great sacrifice though as I am driving tonight anyway, so maybe it won’t be so difficult. Hopefully.

Just as I went to put my joggers and trainers on for my 30 minute walk it began hammering it down with rain. Fan-bloody-tastic. Not to mention that I already wasn’t feeling very motivated because Meewps says she won’t come with me, and neither will my dad. Plus, when I say I can hardly stand up from muscle ache, I mean it. I planned on doing my 30 minute walk, then Yoga For Dummies on YouTube, followed by my evening exercises (but doing them in the afternoon as by the time I get back from the party tonight I’ll be super-tired.) But now with the rain coming down I don’t know what to do. I know that yoga isn’t very high-intensity so really I should be doing a more strenuous 30 minute exercise than just going for a walk, but since I’ve done so well the past two days I thought I deserved a break . . . I’m just really reluctant to ease off on it, because if I do then I won’t be able to get back into it tomorrow. Arghh the dilemma!

Perhaps I could just do something simple like marching vigorously on the spot, or going up and down the stairs, it’s just not very exciting. Booo. I really do not need another reason not to exercise. I might just go out in the rain. I’ll get wet though. Obviously.

Anyway, I’d better decide what to do and get out and do it or else I’ll become a fat loser. ‘Become’ being the operative word. Haha, only joking.

Actually that reminds me. There has been a lot of controversy as to why I am doing this diet. People are saying ‘You don’t need a diet’, ‘You aren’t fat’ and ‘Diets are for fat people’ etc, and I want all those people to know that I kind of agree. I know that I don’t NEED a diet since I’m not clinically obese or anything. However, I WANT to diet because I don’t want to get fat, and I would like to be leaner. I’m using the Special K diet to kick-start this healthier way of living, get me used to not snacking and eating what’s good for me and force me into the habit of exercising. I know I’m not ‘fat’ although honestly, becoming fat is one of my biggest fears. I guess that’s because I grew up (and currently live in) a society which constantly plagues us with celebrity culture, shoves ‘healthy living’ down our throats, and uses scare tactics to discourage us from pigging out. Basically, all I want is to be ‘healthy’, and what with the Special K diet being what I would refer to as a ‘balanced diet’ which includes cereals, fruit, veg and the other major food groups in moderation, I would say that this is a diet for everyone, not just ‘fat’ people.

Now that I have cleared those bits up, I’m still looking at the rain coming down in sheets, and getting progressively more and more annoyed about my exercise plan for the day being sabotaged by she which we call ‘Mother Nature’. Bitch.