Day - 90 - The END

Ladies and Gents,

its been a great adventure!!! 90 days have come and gone very fast, too fast in fact! But I almost enjoyed every moment...yes I did have a few "sense of humour failures", but all in all I loved it!

I think the most important lesson I learned with PCP is that diet is so verry important, I have also learned to use spices in a better way and eat unsalted foods...which would have been un heard of before....

Now to the numbers.....I weighed myself the day before PCP started and I was a wopping 84.6 kg....Did the same on sunday and I was 72.3 kg.....Not got a clue about body fat, nor waist size, but all I can say is that none of my clothes fit me anymore....from shirts to jeans to motorbike clothes...

well for me the PCP is ntop going to be over, but its going to get integrated into my life, in a less strict way off course......

Well done to all of you that finished the PCP!!

Day 87 - all the way to failure....

Ok, whilst the sets can be fun, the skips n creeps and jumps are a little too hard core...Also I think the new resistance bands are a tad too tough for the da vinci's so I will have to buy yet another one today....

I have read Patrick message today.....Uhmm....I might share my views on this on the last day....

Day 86 - Love the power sets...

Felt like the beginning of the flu yesterday and I ws secretly thinking of taking the day off PCP to recover....but got enough energy to do the skips....and then I though: "what the hell!!! only 4 days left"....I found the power sets very very motivating...dunno why, but probably because its closer to my gym routine....aslo gives more time between sets so I found them all easier than doing 5 sets of one then 5 sets of the other....still was shattered by the end of it....Been doing 2x8mins abs...once at 630 and once when I get home....dont see the abs getting more visible but the pain I feel when I wake up reminds of the previous day's work out....

Well, 3 days left....and then relax...but only for a few days...I have a wedding to attent to in Rome at end of next month and I want to look my best, especially because I will be seeing friends that I have not seen in many many years ....


Food wise I have found myself adding a small amount of honey to my yogurt...so much tastier....

Day 84 - the day I broke not one but two resistance bands....

I would like to think that my streangth is exponentially increasing and that sheer brutality broke my medium and hard resistance bands...the truth is probably that after a month of abuse the chinese made rubber had enough....One broke in half, other broke by the handle....this was sooooooo annoying as I was not able to complete my sets last night....I had a hard core one left but there was not way in hell that I could do any of the sets with it....its simply too hard....I tried the double Katana's but I could do 3 or 4 max before my arms turned to jelly....so today I am going to have buy some more and re do the whole work out...or at least the ones I missed totally or could not complete....

After months of no pics I finally found my tripod and took some pics last night.....Yeah I don't thik that I'll be leaving my day job to become a photo portrait asrtist.....

9 mins jumprope are ok, but if the 7 minutes were boring, 9 minutes are really boring!! especially in the rain.....

there is one issue I am noticing.....I am not shifting fat from my love handles..or at least I am not shifting it as fast as the rest of my body.....I am guessing I will have to concentrate on that area this week....but not sure exactly how as what I would do to target the area is not partof the PCP sets....Oh well, I am sure I'll find out soon enough

day - 80....1 hour is not enough!!

I had some engagements last night so I dashed home after work and I HAD to be back out the door in 1 hr....so did the skips, and pretty much all the excercises a part from abs....and it took 1 hour....so I had to do the abs at 10 once I got back home....and then cook dinner and lunch....zzzzzzz....not really what I needed, but hey only 10 days left!!!

I got told off By patrick for skipping my evening carbs, so last night I had some.....

ok from now on 8 min abs every day.......

Day 78 - 12 days to go....

Its getting closer and closer to the end.....and I am not quite ready to give this up...the no drinking yes, but the good food and excercise not quite yet.....Did 5x7mins skips last night....finding it easier and easier and more and more enjoyable......it kinda reminds me of running or hiking, it helps me relax and gather my thoughts....As its the last 12 days I have gone all gang bust (I am sure Patrick is not going to approve), so I skipped, hiked and then got home to do my excercises....Only I did more that what we had alotted and at 20.30 when I was done I was totally shattered...slept very very well thou....

Also not sure I want any carbs for dinner.....I know we have some allowed but I quite frankly dont seem to need them nor seem towant them.....dinner last night was 2 egg whites and some veg...Aiming to finish this PCP in style........have a break and then carry on...

Ah, I'm thinking of an ANTI PCP BBQ for the 29th with plenty of steaks and burgers and sausages!!!

Gonna borrow a friends roof top and you are all wellcome to come along...if you live or are visiting HK that week end...

Day 77 - last 2 weeks...

Well, I have to put my hand up and admit that after a late night on sat night I failed to do my sets on sunday....so I had to od them last night instead....So I did my 7x3 skips, and for missing the work out the day before I added another 7mins...it got hard but not as hard as doing 1000 skips all those months ago....clearly I am now used to it hehe....

Its quite funny how at the beginning of this saga I was counting the days up, x days without booze and stuff like that....after 2 months instead of counting up I started counting down and as the "end" date gets closer I feel I have not done enough and that time is running out too fast.....I almost wish we had 1 month left....but I guess this is what will motivate me not to give upo the PCP lifestyle, but to adapt it to include some wine indulgence... Also because I am not sure I can go back to what I used to eat...even if I thought it was fairly healthy...

I am gpoing to go and buy a new set of harder rubber bands to make my last few weeks work out more challenging....after all its only a short while then we can chillax...

Ah..yes Pictures.....will upload some laterr today....

Day 70 - I see that crafty extra minute on the skips!!!

Another week ends and harder one starts........Finding the skips a real pleasure now, so was quite happy to have that extra minute.....and makes me think back at day one when 250 skips felt like a major work out, hahahaha....I know that day 70 is meant to be skips only, and i know from Patricks video (now i know i mean) that I should not be doing extra sets or extra work out...but I did it anyway...did some back, abs and shoulders...feel like i've been kicked in the back and chest over night....but remarcably i feel good for it...

I have noticed that I am less hungry every week....so the all you can eat veg is pretty much about 150 gr...so I know the option is there I just dont seem to need it....but i ma having all other meals/snacks and still manage to hike, run, dive, play footy.....so I would guess I am still burning that excess fat...well, I am sure Patrick will let me know or tell me off, or both hahahaha.

Today gonna hit the gym for the first time in ages and I will see if I am actually any stronger than the last time I went (about 2months ago)....I sure hope I am....

Tonight I will get some pics up I promise...and Giles, yeah i knwo about the timer...just not sure when the damn camera is after my Thai trip......it may well still be in thailand.....I sure hope not damn it!!! 

I see I get more food this week...i guess I will force feed myself...

Uh, please make the indulgence this week end!! pretty please!!!! I have a huge partay to attend....and I was not going to till I heard the magical words of indulgence.....

Day 69 - Long time no blog....

Hello All.....Back from Thailand and back in smoggy and polluted HK....

I tried to be as PCP as possible in thailand....but I did have a few days when i had a drink and i missed my work outs...I know...very very bad...but in my defense i was diving up to 3 times a day and sometimes more than thata....and all of them pretty deep....30+m....and at least 45 mins......so I was pretty sdhattered by the time I make my way back to my room...

Now, from reading otehr blogs I see not much point in typing a 5 page essay on what i did, did not do, could have, should have etc.... I think in total i missed 3 dayys of excercise, and drank 2 days...end of....

Rope skipping...I remember telling James Young a month ago that the skipping would never be part of my fitness regime as i found too boring.....we I am now a believer.....might be the fact that I am no longer counting or the fact that i have been doing it for so long now, but I seem to have soo much fun skipping now, esp trying new tricks and moves.....the otehr day I had a little audience by me...Ok they were all about 3 years old....but still....

Ok I am now 73 kg....I have never been 73 kg....in fact I am sure I was born at 74 kgs....(i was a big baby)....well, 20 days left....but really, a part from the drinking i am happy to live with the PCP regime...

Okie, might write mroe later...Ah, also sorry, need to update some pics too.....its just weird to ask a friend to come over to take some pics of you in your shorts....some might even say a bit gay....

Day 58. Koh Tao -thailand

It's not too easy to find a wifi that works And when I do find it I do not have the iPad with me. Also hard to make people understand that, yes, I Want bland food with no salt or coconut cream, and yes I want my veggies boiled not stir fried....still, I'm coping, just!!

Exercises are going ok, hard to find a pull up bar, but i might be able to find something soon....

Diving 3 times a day should burn off any excess salt/carbs I eat by mistake as it's really odd to turn up in a restaurant with tourism scales.

Have fun this week, I'll try together online again later in the week

day 52 - Kung Fu sit ups my *ss!!!

Ok, I am either a giant or HK outdoor parks are biult for very short people....prob both....

there is no way I can do the kung fu sit ups at home....my ceiling is simply not high enough......once I stretch my arms my knees are hitting the floor......I gave it a go but the only way for it to work is a cross between a pull up and a sit up, and there is no way I could muster that after the workout yesterday...so I went to the park, and guess what??  Same problem,...so I need a solution...and I guess the gym has to be the answer....but its a pain to make my way to the gym after the excercises in the park, but I guess im gonna have to find a way....

I bought a super hard resistance band last week and starting to use for all excercises...and my arms hurt today....and my legs, and my back.....

Achievement of the week has been to be able to do tricks whilst skipping..the ol' arm crossing and uncrossing....kinda makes it more interesting...

Off to Thailand this week end......there is no way I will find yogurt there so Im hoping milk will do...

Day 51 - no indulgence to report

One wee thing i forgot to mention was that last fiday its was a friends enaggement party and I went along with the intention of not drinking...welll....that did not happen....and nor did the work outs the next day....

anyway, onwards and upwards, anotherr 39 days to go....

excercises are ok, the amount of reps is growing, but again that is ok....Struggled a bit with the push ups towards the last set....

Off to Thailand for a weeks holiday ina  few days...not sure how easy it will be to find milk let alone skimmed milk and yogurt...but ill do my best to find them hahaha

on the plus side Koh tao is soo cheap i wont have to cook, ever..i coudl probably get my own personal chef...hahhahaha...if I like green curry in my boiled eggs that is...

Day 50 - Now it gets serious

Even more excercise and even less food....sounds just like a new PCP week....

I have now a little posse of followers in the park where I do my skips...they are in the form of 2 or 3 mice that seem to like the vibrations of the rope hitting the ground because they come out of theyr little hiding place and observe as I do my skips...Yes..it s the little things that keep me amused!!!

I have started to play a bit whilst skipping and been trying to cross/uncross my hands as I skip along...its fun but a bit harder, but kinda makes me feel I am doing some progress....

The rest of the excercises are getting hard, esp 5 sets!!...the jumps, oh the bloody jumps!! I really suffered!!

A part from that I managed to host my first dinner last night, and whilst my guests ate Pasta with a fab Ragu sauce, I had my milk and apple...I wont be doing that again as I went to bed craving some pasta or anything that was not veggie...

Ah, anyone else have trouble lifting the arms after the work out???

Day 45 - The half way mark....

well, i was hoping that today would have been more signoficant as its now the half way point and we are heading into the home straight......I struggled with my skips for the first time...I think its all the extra hiking and football......7x2 minutes was damn hard, as well as the jumps...The lunges on the other hand where not as bad I was expecting, maybe because I hated them so much on tuesday that I expected it to be hell...More like purgatory....

I did nto have any issiues with any of the otherr stuff...well maybe the katana's.....humbling excercise for sure....

I think the constant lowering of my food allowance and the increase of excrcise routine is really having big effects on me, I am allways tired, shattered actually, and really have to struggle to get out of bed and to do anything.....

Day 44 - I don't walk alone in the valley

Day 44....another 46 days......the past 6 and a bit weeks have gone by quite quickly but the prospect of another 46 is daunting....but after my rant yesterday I have found my sense of humour againa dn did all my excercises last night without really suffering too much....I went to play footy afterwards and felt like a wreck by the time i hit the sack...but not before I prepared my lunch....I have re discovered Halibut...damn tasty fish!!

Patrick, U were so right, after the first few pull ups, its seems to get easier to get just one more rep in.......and when  say "easier" I really mean not as damn hard as it was, but still hard....

got some fresh pics for today....

ah, I have reached a mile stone in my weight...75.90 kg this morning....I have not seen the 75 mark in...uhmmm....18 years? the fact that I did not own scales for more than a decade might have something to do with it......but still, 75.9, lets call it 76 for now....still a number i seem to recall seeing on my parents scales when I was at college.....

Day 43 - the day I lost my sense of humour...

The novelty has worn off, the whole 90 day project feel like an unstoppable torture....never a day off, never any rest and certanly never any respite....I f*cking hate it!!!! 20 lunges??? 50 second planks?? Seriously!!!!! WTF!!!!! I want my life back!!!!

This is the spirit I did my work out yesterday.....my hatred for anythign PCP kept me going....I think its the fact that I hardly get time to adapt to a new regime of excercises and they are changed, so I can never feed my need for positive re inforcent by knowing I can master an excercise without a problem...,,,with PCP I feel I am allways struggling and never achieving any target...I know that this si all in my mind, but i am a creature of habit, i know how to motivate myself and this PCP is not ticking the boxes I need....I am sure Patrick will tell me blog more, or talk more to the group but this might work for some, but not for me....the motivation has to come within....not from peer pressure......another 46 days ahead......

Ok the rant is over and I am feeling a bit better.......but still not a PCP fan this week.....

day 38 - the day I managed 3 pull ups...

and on the 38th day, Robbi managed 3 little pull ups....and there was much rejoycing!!! ...I thoguth I had a nice work out, although I kept thinking how it was odd that the exercises where veyr similar to the day before....but I thought we might be hitting thos muscles hard for 2 days then move on to the next set of muscles for 2 days...I realised, after chatting with Yeeman, that I went from day 37 to day 39, missing day 38...I managed to print and file them inthe wrong order...what a muppet!!!  anyway, so tonight I have the sky jumps, I guess hahahaha....

Anyway, I feel good but a bit sore......1400 skips are easy...15 mins max....managed 1000 without a break...

I can feel the work outs inthe morning when I wake up.....which is awsome....but at the same time I am allways shattered...my legs hurt all the time.......and my body aches all over....

Day 37 - Giles u are sooo right!!

Another week, another set of exercises...and damn this time they are tough....especially today...

Giles gave me a quick preview today during work and told me it was getting harder and today was gonna be hard on the chest....Giles, u were 100% right....so tough to finish the push ups but also the ovations were hard....

I am going to give the skipping a miss today, as I am playing football in half hour and don't have the time....i think the running for the footy should make up for it...I might jump  on the spot if i am in goal hahaha....

I miss the mighty banana.....without it my milk shake is kinda dull....apple is not the most exiting fruit to play with....I mean what can one rustle up with an apple, some egg whites and milk?I cannot think of anything....

new set of pics uploaded today.....

Day 36 - The double 8 minute abs..

Sorry I ahve not blogged in a while.....

Today was  HK holiday....so i rested my 10 hours and was eager to get cracking with the PCP....Yeeman and I went for a hike/PCP Mix....So we skipped the skipping (pardon the pun), and headed up to battery pine walk....I decided to do my floor jumps up the steps to make it a tad harder and try to make my legs faiol by the end of the hike...I was not far off after set n2......We both also did 8 minute abs in the morning....and after the hike we finished off the PCP  and rested...

I am a bit gutted about the banana, or lack of, as I have just bought a whole bunch....Also, I think my green grocer thinks I have issues as I am buying a ton of eggs....

Dinner has now become an apple milk shake...with a strawberry here n there....not very exiting actually...

Day 30 - Sold!!! To the man with the gold jacket from Kowloon

Today has been the hardest day ever....not soi much couse I was tired or de motivated...but because I was meant to be out, with an amazing glass of white wine in one hand and the best buttered lobster tail int he the other....to celebrate the selling of my flat in Happy Valley for an eye watering amount of money.....but all I had was a few miserable eggs and some fruit.....

The work outs are ok, but a little long these days.....Also I realised I do not have 2 chairs at the same hight...so I either need to buy some, go to Yeemans for my chest presses or hike to the peak where they have a little excercise area.....

It seems that my bathroom scales are not willing to play with me anymore, I have changed the batteries twice in the last week and it seems that every time I step on them they battery level is low...so not sure if its the scales that need upgrading or my cats sleeping on them during the day and thus keeping them on and flattening the battery...I will never really know...

One more day then it the week end!!!

Day 29 - Getting serious...seriously tired I mean....

A new week, a new regime.....more agressive and more focused excercise3s and less food for dinner....No food for dinner alsmot.......1 apple, 1 banana, 250ml of milk and 2 egg whites....now that is a culinary challenge if I have ever seen one.....I guess a apple n banana omlette was out of the question....so that left me with an apple n banana milk shake....Tasty, yes, filling maybe, gonna suggest Zuma serves for dinner, maybe not...

As I feel I have cheated ove rthe week end I have decided that week 5 is gonna be punishment week for yours truly....so as well as doing all the excercises I am planning to hike and/or run every night thsi week pre skipping and PCP....this will hopefully make up for the excess calories that I took....

After work went for a wee hike to teh peak, and a lap round Lugard Road....I really am suprised how few people do this hike/run....its like being in the country side, with great views and piece n quiet!!!  Kinda got a bit of an injury so slowed down for the walk down Hatton Rd.  The skipping was HARD....pretty much tripped every 20 skips or so....it was very embarassing as I had a crowd of 9 year olds checking out my moves....and laughing...I felt liek saying "you hike n run then do this, damn it!!"....but then I thought that being so young they probably could do it and still out skip me, so I kept quiet!!  Lunges, ok la, seem to be gettign easier, the jumps also were ok, which has made me wonder if I am doing them right, but how hard can it be to jump ??  Rest went ok, but its getting harder...I added some pull ups....managed to do 2 of the out right ones...need to get these nailed!!! i also did some more stuff like push ups......I want to reach muscle failure on all every day...but just for this week hahahaha

got some pics to post later....

25-26-27 The week end of the 7's...

Now, i would love to say that it was a great week end of sport, no booze and plenty of PCP.....but it wasn't....I am surry Patrick but the indulgence really really messed me up...Now, it would been quite easy to have a no nonsense policy over this week end......no booze what so ever and keep up the PCP...then we got our indulgence....ever since taht mail on friday i have been calculatiing/planning how much wine translates in calories and if Vodka is better than wine in terms of how much I can drink vs calories intake....see for 27 days I did not think booze at all....this week end its the only thing i can think of....Managed not to drink friday with the mission to keep my saturday drinking option open.....Did  not go to teh games so I would not be tempted to drink too soon...Anyway, to cut a long story short....i did drink......I had about 3 glasses of wine and then went out and had 1  or maybe 2 vodka's.....So I CHEATED!!! I am not proud of it.....but that is what happened....]

As per the PCP on sunday.....that did not happen....amazing how a little booze can produce the mother of all headaches....spent all day lazying in bed feeling sorry for myself and quite frankly dissapointed I did not hold up for longer....

Oh well....Gonna do bouble the work out on monday!!!

Day 24 - I am starting to feel a bit worn down....

I think I am heading towards the first wall....I felt pretty good all day yesterday till it came to 6 pm and i was feelign pretty weak, I shrugged the feeling to the side to go and do my skips...I was aiming to do 1100 in 10 minutes or so, in batches of 200 to 400 with just a quick rest inbetween...now that did not happen....in fact I struggled from the first lot of 100 jumps and pushed to make it 200 and thought I will rest when I trip....funny enough I tripped at 202 hahaha....I pushed and pushed but to no avail, 200 in one go was the most i could muster and felt pretty tired and down after.....next I moved on the squats..again a struggle...and I kinda lost count of how many sets I did so I did one more for good measure....

I hgave tried to do the pull ups with a bar attached to the top of the door, but there is no way in hell i can pull myself up...I can with my arm facing me and using the biceps but no way with my hands facing away...i think i'm doing the excercises the wrong way...Will ask Patric about it later....

New Dish last night...Chicken (surprise surprise!!!!) with garlic and Thai Basil....bloddy good when warm a rtad dry once cold....Also new carb...Whole wheat cous cous with added ginger, garlic, onoin and tumeric....makes a fairly bland thing taste some what exhotic, hahahaha

HK rugby 7's this week end, god have mercy on my and keep me from drinking!!!

Day 23 - Let the wight loss begin...

I was getting a tad frustrated by the lack of meaningfull weight loss...Yeeman was suggesting I am not doing the excercises slow enough or that I am somehow not doing things right.Uhmmm iwas thinking she might have been right so I stepped up the skips, faster and with only 1 rest over the 1100 jumps, and i started doing the excercise slower, which I may add bloody hurts a lot more.....Anyway, it seems I lost weight over night...and I am sure its got nothing to do with the extra drive but all to do with sticking to the diet n plans...

Excercise n diet all on track...I did my excercises then went to play a game of 5 a side footy....I have noticed I can run longer and generally I am not as out of breath as I used to be...I put it down to the skipping every day.....I think I am becomming a tandoori chicken addict......its just so damn tasty and flavoursome!!! I think tonight I will experiment with some new styles...

The cravings for sweet stuff has kinda stopped, I think its because during the week i am in a routine that does not involve going into shops or bakeries and hence I do not see the targets of my cravings, and hence no cravings...

Day 21- Hike + 1000 skips....

well, well...3 weeks....well done everyone!! But I have the feeling that its gonna get harder and harder...In a way I am hoping thatis the case as i have not yet noticed a weight reduction...i am sure i am getting firmer and less flabby but I am still keen to break the 80kg mark on my scales...

Went hiking for 1.5 hours last night, the peak was simply fab, seems all the toxic air made its way to Kowloon leaving the peak in pristine air conditions...see pics below.  A special thanks to Martin Haigh for keeping me on my toes and not cutting me any slack as we hiked up!! would not have done it so fast without u, man!!!
After that did my 1000 skips....10.38 minutes...I am quite pleased with that time, now I want to start gettign creative and swapping feet n stuff......will keep you posted...

Food wise, I was starving last night and I had a gut feeling that carbs might vanish for my dinner menu...I made corn tortilla wraps with chicken, tomatoes, chalots, red n yellow pepper n yogurt...damn tasty!! wanted to eat more and more...but Alas I had to stop at just 2 little wraps...    :(

Day 20 - Damn I really miss chocolate, and sweets and Pizza!! and bread....and.....the list can go on and on...

Damn week ends!!! I manage not to miss anythign during the week, I guess its couse I am too busy with work and PCP to actually wonder to my local shop and ogle at all the things I would want but cannot have....I was in a health shop yesterday looking for Quinoa...and the had some liquorice....and I LOVE liquorice....I picked it upa nd was 90% gonna buy it till I saw that fof 34 gr of product there are 14gr of sugar..WTF!! its mostly sugar then...ok back on the shelf it went...but Temptation was there..its allways there..I kinda think that I can eat a chocolate vabr and then burn it off hiking...but then again i think why dont i just go hiking so I get slimmer faster? Anyway...

20 days fo no wine...Its ok now, but week ends are a killer with all  my friends out n about.....I will soldier on!!

Excercises...Lunges are getting better, but I still HATE them....but the skipping is becoming easier and easier and I managed to do over 360 skips without tripping up....I normally stop coz i tripped rather than coz my legs are sore.....but the reason I trip is my legs are tired...so not sure what my point  is...

The rest of the 6 (which i call the PCP ex skipping) were ok, push ups are much more manageble at 8 x3 - can do these every day....

Now onto the food....Yeeman and I are now great Spice fans....went to citysuper yesterday (if anyone can tell me where to buy spices other than the most wexpensive place on earth - I would be greatfull) and got Cumin, ginger, coriander, some un known spice, tumeric, paprika and Cheyenne.....all these came togerthen ina  yogurt marinade for some cod....and I must say, its was flucking good.....even if I say so myself......So we haev decided we are going to be spicing our dinner n lunches up a bit more......Also, sweet potato is now part of the menu....

Today its the 1000 skips.....should be ok...Planning to hike the peak after work and then do my skips with Yeeman afer she finishes work....

Now to the question that keeps coming back every day: whats fpor dinner tongiht,a dn brekki and then lunch again? damn!!!

As u can see one of my cats is keen to join the PCP, buyt the fattest is happy to sit n laze on the sofa...

Day 15 - I have not blogged ina while

Sorry All, been a bit lazy and a bit too shattered after cooking to actually blog...but here goes...

Friday was my company's annual dinner.....and I went and managed not to drink one drop...i was suprised by the fact that I was not as bored as I thought it would be...that said I left at 10.30 and headed home just as the gang was getting nicely oiled up.

The week end was a muted affair, did all my excercises and skips and have not much to report in terms of difficulty a aprt from the fact that those elastic thingy's don't really make my muscle burn...I am gonna try and find some harder ones so I actually feel I am working out...Foodwas easy as I (we) had all the time in the world to make the dishes...ah, I managed to prep about 10 meals of veggies that are not residing happily in the fridge.

Yesterday I decided to go for a hike after work instead of doing the skips, I will do an extra 200 or 300 tonight to make upfor it and keep myself light on my feet ahahaha..

Afte rrthe hike I coul not be arsed to do the skips nor the excercises as it was almost dinnerr time allready...i mustered the will power and did all my excercises and made sure that no more than 20 seconds went by before I did the bnext set...Push ups and sit ups where the hardest....i actually think I am gettign weaker at doing push ups now that iIU am not using weights in the gym...I am sure its all psycological...

Now as per food, I have started to marinate chicken in spices, lemon, garlic and ginger..and so far the results are awsome...still need to perrfect the formula but once I have it, I can wave bye bye to Bombay Dreams's lamb chops (not that I have had any for 16 days now)...

Last night Yeeman bought enought Tuna stweks to feed a small army, so dinneer last night, lunch today and dinner tonight is gonna feature tuna as our main resident protein......I think Ill marinate some chicken for Fajitas at lunch tomorrow.

I have my boiled egg and tonatoes and no whent bread for brekki.....I must say, I hardly miss salt and sugar...but the wine...ah...the wine....

Will try and not be as long between blogs...

Ah, and to all people in Japan: my thoughts are with you!!

Day 9 - No salt, no oil, no butter - No flavour

Well, to say that food is a tad bland is teh understatement of the year........day 8 was the first day of preper diet and I quickly realised taht this PCP is going to take over our lives...between the excercises and all that cooking i find myself switchign off at 23.00....and that is quite late!!!  Between myself and Yeeman we have managed to come up with some interesting recipes but i think it will be some time before I am used to the no salt situation....that said, bland rice has its appeal now...

Excercises are still ok...day 8 was fairly easy, the skips are getting easier too but also increasing....so kinda making them harder at the same time....

Now on day 9 I struggled....those damn lunges....16x4 x2 legs!!! soo damn hard towards the end....I also went to play footy after, and for all my efforts i picked up a little injury on my right leg just under my cheek...making it hard to walk, bend and generally be the gazelle I normally am (not!)...I hope this will not impact my squats today, but i can tell u now, if i feel like this at 6 pm I ain't doing many squats at all...sorry...

I am told of this company that makes no flour bread, gonna try them for next weeks brekki...

http://foodforlife.com/

Day - 7 The 500 that were 150 too many!!

Well, if I said that the 500 skips was easy I woudl be lying.....they were far from easy....I made a big mistake in underestimating the skips and heading to the peak  for a hike after work, in my arrogance I even did a lap of the peak, gently, I told myself, so that i still had legs/ancles and knees for the skips.....when I got to the trusty park on Caine Rd I found I could not do more than 4 or 5 skips in a row....I thought that at that pace it would take me all night hahaha...it gradually got better but i did suffer the last 150-100 and 50...the last 50 were so damn hard....i think i wont be hiking the peak in the next few days.......or 80 or so....

Food has been ok, the constant hunger is becoming like a very annnoying travelling companion that has the only map....U want to get rid of him but u cant if you want to stay on the right path...So me and my buddy "hunger" and progressing well....

Last "proper" half dinner tonight, Yeeman and I are going to hit a Yakitori place for dinner....I will make sure i will saviour ever little morsel.....

Day - 6 a whole week end of no wine...

Well, I guess the hardest part is over for this week at least.......Only the 500 skips left......

I felt quite lazy all day, and hungry....but that goes without saying at this stage hahaha....towards the latetr part of the day I hit Hatton Rd and made my merry way to the peak.....after 10 days of not doing it and the pollution I found it harder than ususal.....I had my skipping rope with me to do some skips at he peak but there were too many people around and i decided to do them in the park near my house instead...

Skips - Ok, not too hard at all
Lunges - Damn they are getting harder - I guess the hike n run before did not help...still mind over body.....
Push ups - not getting easier but not getting harder...4 sets done, last 3 on my knees again...
leg ups - not issues what so ever...

I am now not looking forwards to next week.....difefrent food and harder excercises for sure...

Ah, yeah the Coq au vin....bloody good....but my guess is that its also not part of the week 2 diet...will be polishing it off tonight...or half i guess..

Day - 5 the wolfpack of one is now a wolf pack of two...

So as you will all know my girlfriend Yeeman has joined the group...after days of trepidation and indecision she finally took the plunge and got in touch with patrick and hey pronto so was not only in the program but really into it too...she's hell bent  into doing it by the book...which for someone like me that has been brought up in Italy and was allways told that rules were there to be broken, is scray and refreshing at the same time....i am sure she will keep me honest...but the funny thing is she does not quite realise at at almost twise her size and weight i cannot live on the same portions she lives of, or tries to live of......

Back to the program....Friday night without a drink was not as bad as i thought it would be, we went to the cinema to watch the kings speech (that contrary to my expectation was excellent) and the we headed home to eat half a staek and salad each........now i am guessing that we are allowed to eat as much salad as we want? its good for you right?? at that point i was ready for a few glasses, perhaps a nice bottle of chablis...Ummmmmm...but no...it was not meant to be...

This morning was the first saturday in a long time that I did not accuse the excesses of the night before...felt pretty great....and was a lot more productive.....but still had a nostalgic thought at the fun I had missed....oh well...

As per the excercises, i was fine with the skipping till yesterday but today i kinda suffered a bit, the 70 x 5 got quite messy towards the end with the last set being scrappy......sit ups, ok, no issue, squats also cool, but not so cool with the push ups...last set was HARD...did the last 3 on my knees...

Yeeman and I have been on a mission to get the remainind itams we needed, like bathroom and kitchen scales for her (I would have thought eveyone has one of each at home), the push up bars for her and the elastic thingymagig......ah anyonet hinking of buying this stuff at princes Building dont do it...its like stupid expensive compared to causeway bay.......

Now on to dinner.....I am making Cok Au Vin.....as its prob one of the last meals we can actually choose....so its will be half a portion of that and some red organic rice....uuhhh soo healthy allready...well half...

And now, I could kill a cold beer, a glass of wine, a Martini or even a gin & tonic....but, again, no....its not to be.....

Day 3 - Muesli is bad for you?

Damn, in a quest to have a healthier brekki i went out and bought a load of muesli...that was just before i read Patrick's note on the ideal brekki...so it seems that veggies are the winners.....uhmmmm....the idea of eating roasted veggies on toast for brekki does not appeal to me at all.......so after much consideration i have decided to make some mutli veggie omlette or "ommtaluille" a cross between adn omlette and a ratatuille (not sure of the spelling) to take care of breakfast for the next few days and see how we go...

the half portion eating has not been too great an issue thus far, but its probably because I have not yet got to terms with the idea of simply taking half the food off my plate.....i tend to assume what i have on the plate is half of what I normally eat....that has to change from tomorrow......

As for the excercises, I am not struggling much a part from the old push ups with the push up handels...its kinda harder than a normal push up.....or is it? I don't know but it sure feels harder...and my muscles are getting a tad sore....not that this is a bad thing mind you, but unexpected...as per the skipping, so far its fun...but i am sure this will change very soon...

and on  that note, I am going to check on my ommtatuille and start making some portions for the next few days....oh joy...on a thursday night......sober!!!!!

ciao ciao

Day 1 - what have I got myself into?

So I guess this is the first step towards a healthier lifestyle.....Its gonna be hard to change a habit of 20 years....

I have a feeling that giving up the booze is going to be the hardest thing...