Bucket list.

So, I was driving into Wick today and as is prone to happen on boring, lonesome journeys I started thinking about random things. Todays randomness was my bucket list. I actually do not have a bucket list but I got to thinking about what I would put on it if I did. Here's what I got

1) Visit New York, Atlanta and New Orleans.
2) .........................Erm.............

Yup, that's the extent of my bucket list, the extent of what I want to do before I die. What I can't work out is whether my lack of objectives is a good thing or a sad thing - is that I've done all I want to do or I just have no imagination!
Have you noticed anything yet?
As I continued to drive along, desperately trying to think of things to fill the list out and realising I had no inclination to throw myself out of a plane, swim with sharks nor write a novel something dawned on me "oh. wow. I didn't even think about weight loss".
I wonder what Freud would have to say about that?
To be honest although I want to lose weight I don't want to have to - does that make sense? I want to be happy with the way I look at the size I am and I want to never have to bother with losing weight ever again. But......there it is....... such a small word with so much meaning - but! The truth is I know how I look to other people and I know that it's generally accepted that I need to lose weight. I want to buy clothes and know that a size 12 will fit, I want to feel good wearing nice clothes and I want to be comfortable having my photo taken.
On the upside, today I realised something. I've been telling myself that I need to lose 5 stone to look half decent and be at an ideal weight however today I realised it's actually 3 stone I need to lose not 5 - how bloody cool is that :)

And so it begins!

I joined 'Dietbet' again and the challenge starts today - I now have 1 month to lose 8.6lbs. A very doable amount I'm thinking.
Now begins the real challenge of being aware of everything I put in my mouth and avoiding those situations where I just want to sit down and munch on chocolate. With that in mind the knitting needles have made an appearance and I've started knitting for my niece/goddaughter who is expecting her first child in June.

Insanity is still keeping me on my toes. Last week was the beginning of the second month but one thing after another kept getting in the way and we had some really bad workouts - I even stopped a workout halfway through which I have never done before - but we were both so tired and fatigued that we were in danger of causing ourselves an injury
This week we started week 6 over again - oh yeah, we're committed - and I have to say that I can feel it in every single muscle in my body, to the point where we could easily have missed todays workout. However we di press play and despite finding it ridiculously hard we loved Max Interval Plyometrics, I'm currently typing this knowing that getting up afterwards is going to be exceedingly hard and painful.

I came across an interesting link today on FB. I don't really follow any nutritionists on FB bar one lady, her story is inspirational and she keeps everything so real and true to her own beliefs. She's not into quick fixes nor fad diets nor diet drinks, it's healthy, wholesome, fresh food all the way and exercise relevant to each individual - it's not a one suit fits all attitude. So refreshing!
Anyway, I found an interesting link shared by Lucy on FB today and I wanted to share it here, it's an interesting read on fruits and vegetables by John Berardi and Ryan Andrews for 'Precision Nutrition'.
Here's the link
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/color-chart
Enjoy!

Noodles - yum yum.

It's been too long since I last posted but I really didn't know what to post.
Leanne and I are now in the second month of 'Insanity' and the workouts are really hard, kind of like being back to day 1, but we're still loving it.
This is pretty much my daily look now

Red and sweaty - not such a good look lol.

I haven't weighed myself in weeks. I haven't got a handle on eating too many treats and tbh I'm now too scared to see what the scales say. I don't think I've put anything on as my stomach is definitely smaller and less bloated but I won't have lost much either. I can control my meals, it's the sweet snacks I seem to be really struggling with.
I'm now waiting for a good 'dietbet' game to begin and I'll join in with that.

One meal I'm hooked on lately is chicken and noodles

I have no idea of the calorie content but it's certainly healthier than what I used to eat and takes just minutes to prepare.
Here's what I do.
Toss chicken pieces in Chinese 5 spice then fry them in coconut oil.
Once the chicken is cooked add stir fry veg and mushrooms and a few squirts of  Soy sauce, then throw in a handful of egg noodles.
Serve on a bed of Spinach - num num!

Isotonic sport drink

Today I had the worst Insanity workout ever despite it being one of my favourites of the set - Plyometric Cardio circuit.
The problem? A lack of Isotonic sport drink - we'd run out. I really didn't think a lack of the drink would affect a workout quite so much, I mean I discovered once during a 10k that not having it throughout the run resulted in me finishing the race and almost puking and incoherent but I thought I'd be able to get through an Insanity workout without one - I guess it shows just how hard these workouts with Shaun T actually are.
At one point during todays workout I declared I was stopping, luckily that statement disn't last and it only took a couple of seconds for me to say that I hadn't stopped a workout yet and wasn't about to start now. But throughout this workout I struggled for energy and constantly got cramp in my feet and glutes and had to keep stretching out, couple that with no energy and it made for a pretty crappy workout.
I've now restocked the Lucozade sport drink but I'm certainly going to look into alternatives so that I have something for a backup if we run out again.

Dairy milk chocolate!

So we're coming toward the end of the 4th week of 'Insanity' and I'm really excited about starting a whole new round of workouts once we complete next weeks recovery week.
So far Insanity has been insane and amazingly hard work but we've loved each and every workout and let's face it, who ever regrets working out!
Both Leanne and I saw fantastic improvements in our second fit test. I'm not sure whether the improvments are from fitness levels though or the determination to beat our last result so I'm going to do the next fit test without checking out my current results first and see what happens.
One thing I have noticed though is that all the moves I find difficult and put down to me being over weight and 40 something leanne finds difficult too and yet she's super slim and 20 years younger. I don't know what that proves other than no matter what size or age you are Insanity doesn't care!

Now if I could just get a handle on my food intake I'd be on track for super weight loss. I do fine during the day and eat perfect proportions and healthy meals but then Mr SG comes home (who happens to be super skinny and fit) and suddenly I'm craving sweet things :(  I've also discovered that night time is an issue for me as well because I tend to want to settle in front of the tv with chocolate - especially with the cold dark nights.
I came up with a plan to keep me busy at night while watching tv - I've ordered some wool and needles and I'm going to be knitting baby clothes for my niece/god daughter who's expecting her first child. It's been a while since I clicked the old needles but I'm hoping I haven't lost the skill :)

I also have a new good reason to lose weight, we're looking into booking our holidays with our dear friends back home in England. We're not sure where it's going to be just yet but we should be hitting the Caribbean this time next year. This time last year the four of us were in Jamaica and there are certain things I regret all of which have roots in my weight. Holidays are so expensive nowadays that it seems stupid to pay all that money and not do all I can to make sure that I'm not uncomfortable and self conscious.
With this in mind I'm yet again trying to be more aware of what I'm eating, I can control portions no problem but I have to conquer this sweet tooth.

This is my achilles heel *Warning food porn ***

I could easily eat one of the family size large bars each and every day. In fact I could and have given up meals just so I can eat one of the large bars, not good is it! Especially as I get a pounding, racing heart after eating it - the nurse explained it's my body over producing something or other in an attempt to battle something the chocolate secretes. She also said I need to stop eating huge quantities - I completely understand how people hit the 600lb mark even though they know the food they eat is killing them!