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⭐ See key weight loss milestones here
A strong and flexible start to the week...
This week starts with an energetic spring-cleaning of the house and garden. It involves a lot of bending, stretching, reaching and lifting. Hoovering, scrubbing, washing, wiping and dusting. Normally, I'd expect to feel quite achy after such a vigorous cleaning session - especially in my lower-back. I'm pleasantly surprised though, to find that I don't ache at all afterwards.
I feel completely fine.
I guess all of this exercise really must be working to make me stronger - and it's good to see some proof of that, in practical terms.
A cancelled session and some homework
My sessions are on Monday and Thursday this week. Thursday's session is cancelled. My PT is unwell so he sends me the following homework session instead:
30 minute run working at 65% RPE (rate of perceived exertion), It’s important to keep to this level, even though you'll feel like you can do more. Then, as soon as you get back in:
Plank shoulder tap (x20)
High Knee Sprints (45 seconds)
Half Press-ups (x10)
Body weight squats (x20)
High Knee Sprints (45 seconds)
Mountain Climbers (30 seconds)
Walking Lunges (2 sets of 10 steps)
Press up shoulder tap (x10)
High knee sprints (45 seconds)
Squat pulse (3 sets of 30 seconds)
Half press narrow hands (x10)
Seconds Interval Timer
One problem I initially had with these home workouts, was how to time and keep track of what I should be doing during the workout. I had assumed there would be some sort of mobile app available for this purpose - but my initial search was not very successful.
I just wanted something that would let me create fully customisable instructions, and something that would also 'speak' the instructions back to me in a human voice. Everything seemed to be either overly-complicated, overly-expensive, or just didn't do the things I wanted it to do.
Finally, I have found an interval timer app that does all of the things I need. It's called Seconds Interval Timer.
There is a free version, which allows you to create a timer and use it just once (if you wanted to keep using the same timer more than once you'd have to keep re-creating it from scratch). The paid for version is only £4.99 though. That's just a single payment of £4.99 for lifetime access - no recurring subscription. I think that's a pretty good deal to be honest, so I jumped in and made the purchase.
Weekly food diary
This week I have been eating...
Monday
Breakfast: Muesli with oat milk. One cup of black coffee.
Snack: One banana. A bowl of homemade vegetable soup.
Lunch: Mindful Chef's preserved lemon, olive and chickpea tagine (one third of a two portion recipe).
Snack: One orange and one cup of tea with a dash of milk.
Dinner: Chicken in breadcrumbs with roasted parsnips, potatoes and broccoli.
Snack: A small bowl of muesli with oat milk.
Tuesday
Breakfast: Muesli with oat milk. Two or three cups of black coffee throughout the morning.
Snack: One banana.
Lunch: Baked beans on buttered toast with spinach stirred in (two pieces of granary brown bread).
Snack: One orange. A bowl of homemade vegetable soup.
Dinner: Chicken in breadcrumbs with roasted parsnips, potatoes and broccoli.
Snack: A small bowl of muesli with oat milk.
Wednesday
Breakfast: Muesli with oat milk. Two or three cups of black coffee throughout the morning.
Snack: One banana. One orange.
Lunch: Mindful Chef's pestorissa salmon, buckwheat and roasted veg (one third of a two portion recipe).
Snack: A bowl of homemade vegetable soup.
Dinner: Mindful Chef's Italian tomato ragu and butter bean mash.
Snack: A small bowl of muesli with oat milk.
Thursday
Breakfast: Muesli with oat milk. Two or three cups of black coffee throughout the morning.
Snack: One banana. One orange.
Lunch: Mindful Chef's pestorissa salmon, buckwheat and roasted veg (one third of a two portion recipe).
Snack: A bowl of homemade vegetable soup.
Dinner: Mindful Chef's Italian tomato ragu and butter bean mash.
Snack: A small bowl of muesli with oat milk.
Friday
Breakfast: Muesli with oat milk. Two or three cups of black coffee throughout the morning.
Snack: None today.
Lunch: Mindful Chef's pestorissa salmon, buckwheat and roasted veg (one third of a two portion recipe).
Snack: A spoonful of grain free granola mix.
Dinner: Mindful Chef's tikka chicken, red cabbage and apple slaw.
Snack: A small bowl of muesli with oat milk.
Saturday
Breakfast: Muesli with oat milk. One cup of black coffee.
Snack: Two pieces of buttered toast with marmite (on brown granary bread).
Lunch: Mindful Chef's Italian sundried tomato and beef stuffed peppers (one third of a two portion recipe).
Snack: Two spoonfuls of grain free granola mix.
Dinner: Mindful Chef's tikka chicken, red cabbage and apple slaw.
Snack: A small bowl of muesli with oat milk.
Sunday
Breakfast: Muesli with oat milk. Two or three cups of black coffee throughout the morning.
Snack: Two spoonfuls of grain free granola mix. One orange.
Lunch: Mindful Chef's Italian sundried tomato and beef stuffed peppers (one third of a two portion recipe).
Snack: Two cups of tea, each with a dash of milk. Three malteasers.
Dinner: Mindful Chef's mediterranean chicken casserole with quinoa.
Snack: A small bowl of muesli with oat milk.
1. Italian tomato ragu & butter bean mash 2. Pestorissa salmon, buckwheat & roasted veg 3. Italian sundried tomato & beef stuffed peppers 4. Tikka chicken, red cabbage & apple slaw
Up next: my weight loss journey week 12
Lisa
