How Come He Can & I Can’t?

How come we can go on holiday and Rob can eat breads, pastries, desserts, beer, mashed potato (dairyfood!), steak, bacon, omelettes and fried noodles …. And come back the same weight as he left – and I follow the plan as best I can, withstand all temptations, exercise like a demon and keep my head in the game, and come back the same weight? Not really any bigger but not really any smaller? Here’s the answer.

Just cos.

Haha – this whole scenario makes me laugh because I’ve worked with it (‘it’ being Rob’s physique) for about 16 years. And it has always been this way. Always.

When we met, all those years ago in a hazy, dingy police bar, Rob was a serious under-eater. And what he did eat was absolute crap. This was back in the bad old days where McDonalds was half-price for coppers and boy did they make the most of it! Especially my Rob! So when he did actually eat, he ate the worst form of nutrition on the market on a scarily consistent basis. If I ate this way, I would be the size of a house. Rob was more like a greyhound. And much to his disgust, he couldn’t put any weight on.

All these years later I am fully aware that good health has little to do with your body size when it comes to the Slim Jims. But at that time, I was fascinated at the cruelty of the world and it used to bug me terribly how much he could get away with. In my immaturity I would actually pack a sad and sulk for hours about it.

So fast forward to 2014 and let’s have a look at where we are at now. I don't sulk much anymore. And in all fairness to my wonderful husband, he has a brilliant diet that includes food in pretty much all shapes and forms. He isn’t a foodie at heart and can still go many hours without eating but aims to eat at least 5-6 meals per day. He has the genes that allow him to indulge in treats on a regular basis with little (no!) effect on his weight. But underpinning his choices these days is a genuine desire to be healthy inside and out and his biggest wish when it comes to health and fitness would be ability to stack on muscle easier.

And that’s where I come out smiling. I have an incredibly responsive body and I love it. I love my body. It has been there through many ups and downs even though I cursed it for so many years. It gave me 3 healthy children and nourished them for more months than I care to talk about. But what I love most about my body these days is that it’s honest. By that I mean that it responds as it should to the data I feed it. If I need to lose weight, Ingrid gives me a plan for fat loss and it melts away. If I need it to put on weight, it magically obliges in no time flat! If I want more muscle, I apply the formula of heavy weights, great nutrition, plenty of rest and sound coaching – voila, I get muscle. Not with lightening speed and nothing that would grace the cover of Muscle & Fitness, but all the same I get what I put into it. And that’s about the best body I could hope for because this spells out to me that I’m healthy. All systems functioning like they should.

How did I get there after the years and years of nutrition abuse? Easy. Years and years of good nutrition and exercise. Overnight transformations (by overnight I mean the classic 12 Weekers) might be a great start but there is simply nowhere near enough time in 12 weeks to do much other than scratch the surface. Great place to start but it's just the start. The true benefits you’ll feel will be a couple of years down the track where you suddenly realise you’re not yo-yoing anymore. You’re not struggling to lose weight even though you eat little and run lots. You’re not spending each winter with the constant colds, coughs and flu.

So I forgive Rob that he can indulge more than me. That’s the way it’s always been and I don’t feel the resentment I once did. Instead I celebrate my own good health and my body that does as it’s told and answers honestly to the questions asked.

I say this as I head to my garage to put this faithful body through a gruelling HIIT session ... and enjoy smashing Rob through it too - he absolutely HATES cardio sessions - payback is cruel. Bwahahahaha.

 

The Final Day

The final day has arrived. We have just had breakfast and now waiting for it to digest before hitting that awesome gym for a final Back and Cardio day. Then we’re going to check out at midday and head to the shopping centre to catch a movie before the airport later this evening. It’ll be another full night of travelling but I have to admit that the two of us find it a breeze in comparison with the usual scenario of dragging three tired children around the airports. Speaking of children – I cannot not find a way of articulating just how much I miss mine and seriously cannot wait to see them tomorrow.

So how has the holiday panned out considering it’s been done while fully into competition preparation? Here are the highs and not-so-highs;

-        I love finding innovative ways to stick to the program while in new countries. The harder the challenge, the bigger the reward.

-        I love new foods and feel infinitely grateful that South East Asia centres theirs mainly around vegetables as opposed to cheese or pasta etc.

-        I absolutely love finding gyms in new countries and putting them to the test.

-        I’m a little over working so hard to find clean food. There are vegies galore out here but most cooks favour covering them with lashings of fishy sauce and cannot believe I want mine dry!

-        With that in mind, I can’t wait to return to the safety of my own cooked meat and veg. Being able to omit everything, weigh it properly and know that I am sticking to my program 110%.

-        I love new gyms but will relish the safety and familiarity of my little home gym and the good old Katherine YMCA.

I have received quite a few emails about being on holiday while sticking to some sort of program so I know it’s topical for people. And I can sum it up by saying it is definitely and absolutely possible, and it’s not that hard either. I think the biggest sabotage is people. Especially (unfortunately) loved ones who find it threatening, annoying or even just irritating that you are not indulging in every way possible. That’s a real hard one. In the end it’s just down to you and your ability to withstand the pressure and temptations. Test your metal and see what you can achieve. It's a real buzz to put yourself to the test. You know you can win if you choose to.

Here's my personal reality;

Do I miss having alcohol while away? You bet I do! The grog in Malaysia is dirt cheap, there are bars galore and it's pretty much a full-time party going on in the streets. Langkawi Island was even duty free. I like nothing more than a chilled Chardonnay before dinner. But I can do without it this trip.

Do I miss helping myself to eggs and toast and muesli and yoghurt for breakfast? Of course I do! It looks and smells delicious. I crave lashings of tropical fruit on top of creamy bircher muesli, quickly chased by a cheesy omelette on wholegrain toast. So I’ll put that thought ‘on ice’ and pick up on it next time around.

Have I felt hard-done-by after dinner when I’ve had to bypass the mandatory 3-tier flowing chocolate fountain surrounded by baskets of fruit, pastries, cakes, macaroons, ice creams and frozen yoghurts? Yes. Yep. Of course. Absolutely. No doubt about it. The smell alone is hard to get past. But there is nothing, nothing, on that list that I can’t have on another day so again, I’ll put it ‘on ice’ and return to it if I so desire in the future. Let’s face it – nothing too special there, just a collection of yummy sweets.

Do I resent having to do tons of workouts and cardio on hols? No. I definitely do not. I love my training and will debate to the bitter end anyone who tells me that 60mins a day is too much to spend exercising while on hols. This trip was different to any we’ve had for an awful long time and we’ve had so much downtime. We have read books, watched movies, walked along the beach, sat around the pool, along with all of the other shopping and sight-seeing activities. And even when we’ve got the kids with us we try to fit in our fair share of rest. So all I’m talking about is 60 minutes of decent exercise. One hour out of 24 devoted to working off the extra holiday food. It’s my lifestyle – my ‘normal’ – and I have no desire to change or alter that fact simply to have some sedentary person give me the thumbs-up for relaxing to their standards. Not negotiable.

And most of all, I really do love active holidays. Even when not prepping I tend to go the extra mile to find ways to make most meals healthy and include a decent exercise session. I'll choose the hotel/resort with a gym over one without. I'll pick a family bike ride over hiring a car. I'll insist we walk the 1km to the city centre and maybe the bus home. I want my kids to grow up thinking that exercise and good food is very normal. That going on holiday is not an excuse to stuff your face and sit around doing nothing all day and night. I don’t want them thinking alcohol is a mandatory daily routine and that drinking to excess is something you need to do when you are celebrating life. I’m happy to live with the consequences of my choices on this one. Actually - I'm more than happy.

Days 5 & 6 - Kuala Lumpur

It had to happen. We had to leave the Island of Relaxation, and yesterday was the day. We left the beautiful Langkawi and headed to the bright lights of Kuala Lumpur.

I sort of forgot that I had booked a Luxury getaway.. until we got to our new hotel in KL. And then I remembered. It’s very impressive indeed for this girl from the outback of nowhere. Stupid things impress me, like the bright orange juice they serve while filling out the paperwork at reception. Rob says it was yummy and cold. I chose my luke-warm water bottle, filled from the toilet tap earlier.

I also noticed that we turned up at the Reception desk in sports shorts, t-shirts and Rob wearing a pair of pluggers. You know that feeling when you first arrive and you wish you’d dressed just a teensy bit differently? Yep. I did.

Nevertheless, we made it up to our room and waited until the porter left before whooping with delight at the decadence. We then went for a ‘reccy’ (nosey) around the place to check out the gym. Ohmigod – the Gym!!! It’s a fully serviced 24/7 Fitness Centre!!! With weights, machines, aeorobics, yoga, Jacuzzi, sauna!!!! The best gym I think I’ve ever seen in a hotel!! Woohoo!!!!!

We returned to our room and noticed that someone had mysteriously been inside and left a plate of shiny apples on the desk. We also noticed that we had left some of our Langkawi spoils on the bed – 4 x sewing kits, 5 x disposable razor sets, 2 x hotel slippers and few body scrubs. How Friggin embarrassing!!!! We are now officially outed as the hotel-thieves we really are.

We then trekked down to the shopping centre and spent a couple of hours just being overwhelmed by 6 levels of pure shopping. I hate buying ‘things’ for the sake of buying ‘things’. I am a bad shopper. I get easily overwhelmed by too many options and managed to walk out of there with only 1 x tshirt. Which was one more item than Rob.

 

We stopped for food at a foodie paradise. I have never seen anything like it. Stalls everywhere and you pick what you want, fill a container and have it weighed and paid for at a main checkout counter. There was everything you could think of – from sushi to pork belly, curry to laksa, cheese to yoghurt, squid to profiteroles – all you had to do was pack and weigh. I walked out with a large container filled to the brim with plain cooked vegies and another with steamed meat. Rob came out with salmon and veg. We found a tiny scrap of  seat, wedged ourselves between other people and scoffed. One of my pet hates is food halls – I detest food halls – and because I choose to eat healthy and often, I savour my meals greatly and resent having to sit in a corner between other people and scoff – apart from today. I was too hungry to care.

We walked back home and decided against our scheduled rest day. Too excited to hit the flash gym. Might have been a mistake in one sense as I arrived with not much in the tank. Somehow, some way, we both did PB’s throughout our chest workout. But I walked out remembering Rest Days are truly important and there’s a reason why these bods need a break. You only grow in times of rest and I know this to be true – just got carried away.

So today is a full rest day. We are going shopping and sightseeing around KL. I’m going to make darn sure I stop and eat as scheduled.

Days 4 & 5: I've Got The Best Training Partner Ever

So it’s been more of the same. Sight-seeing, relaxing, massages, swims and walks along the beach. And then yesterday arrived and I felt the true value of a Training Partner. We had loosely planned a full day out followed by a Bi’s & Tri’s workout and my second weekly HIIT session.

We had a fabulous day out and about, visiting a mausoleum –as you do, and a Malay Village/Museum. We stopped for lunch and eventually scootered back to the resort for a poolside relax. At about 5pm I started thinking about the gym and the first niggling doubts about that workout set in. I thought a little bit more about how I could structure the week so that it wouldn’t matter if I didn’t quite get around to it tonight. A little more self-convincing and I had talked myself into believing that it was actually not in my best interests to workout tonight.

I started blurting out my new plans to Rob who simply said, “No. We planned this workout and we’re going to do it. Get  your gear on and let’s go. And hurry up – it’s getting late”. He definitely had his no-nonsense voice on so I got my gym gear on and begrudgingly walked over to the gym. From there we knocked out a fairly gruelling weights session immediately followed by a flippin awful HIIT. It knocked the wind out of my sails and we didn’t make it to dinner until after 9pm.

This morning we started the day with a solid 30min walk through the soft sand, followed by my usual breakfast and another relaxing day. After lunch Rob reminded me that we had a legs workout to conquer and he, once again, gave me no room to budge from the time-table.

Now we have a scheduled rest day tomorrow and I feel wonderful for sticking to the program. And very, very grateful for my Partner. Though I don’t always show gratitude at the time.

While having a massage this afternoon I thought of a few holiday tips that have helped to keep me on track. If you don’t have any inkling about retaining your health, fitness and weight on holiday – stop reading now as these tips are bound to irritate you. However, if you’re a little stuck on how to make it work – read on;

·        Firstly, you’ll probably eat somewhere around 4-6 times a day. Surely most of us aren’t rich enough to buy out each meal time. So plan some meals that you can take with you;

o   WPI – awesome when mixed with fruit.

o   Cans of tuna are brilliant

o   Oats are always a winner

·        Here’s probably my biggest tip – and possibly the most unpopular…

o   Step AWAY from the buffet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously – get away from it!!!! It’s a nutritional killer!!!! Indulgence and a sense of greed hit even the strongest will when it comes to the spread of an ‘all you can eat’ set up.

o   The feeling of eating what you’ve paid for is a hard one to overcome. So do yourself a favour and buy a plate of something you want eg. Actually buy a plate of eggs and vegies.

o   At dinner time, if you truly have no intention of eating dessert and starters, then the a-la-carte menu is far preferable. The cuts of meat are pretty much always superior and you’ll have no option of returning to the feeding table constantly.

·        Start breakfast the way you mean to start the day. Healthy and controlled. My personal experience is that when you pig-out at breakfast, it’s really hard to pull back on track for the rest of the day. And here’s a few home truths to boot;

o   Most Asian cooks use cream in their omelettes. Fine as a ‘sometimes food’ but not too flash to start off every day of your holiday.

o   Eating donuts for breakfast is plain dumb. Deep fried sugar on bread. Why?

o   How many plates does the average person need to fill for breakfast – yeah, you got it – 1.

·        Drink water and tons of it.

·        Take your vitamins and supplements. I’ve taken them to a number of countries and never had a problem yet. Let’s face it – the worse that could happen is they’ll test you on it and find it really is protein and glutamine etc. No crime in that!

·        Don’t give a flying toss what others think. Whipping out scales at the table is something I’ve done each and every night here because I have to make sure I’m only eating a certain weight of meat. Does it look a little weird? Of course it does. But is anyone still talking about it 5 mins later? Of course they’re not.

Righto – so there are some of my thoughts on the matter – take it or leave it.

Off to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow and we’ve already found a commercial gym to go and try while we’re there. I get a bit of a buzz having a gym session in different countries so I’m really looking forward to it.

Motorbike, Miles High & Massage

 

 

 

I don’t need to go over the whole Buffet Incident. Sufficient to say that last night we ‘saw’ the fish, and 'raised' by two chocolate–chip cookies. I’m not sure why, but we did. It’s starting to get dangerous. We’re doing shit just cos we can.

And to my dear friend who tried to justify my actions by saying that pensioners do it all the time…..I’ll be watching you. When you’re at an age where perming is back in fashion, and ‘tena’ means more to you than just having ten dollars..I’ll be there watching you to make damn sure you don’t start thieving from ‘all you can eat’ buffets. You know who you are.

Motorbikes

After two days of doing pretty much nothing more than resting, we got up a little earlier than usual. 8.45am was definitely earlier than the previous morning to be fair – whilst retaining that ‘I’m on holiday’ feeling. Breakfast is a happy ritual of oats, WPI and fruit – not sure I’ll ever get sick of it in this lifetime. Following that and a quick ocean swim, we knocked out a chest workout that I thought would be easier. Not sure why I thought that – maybe I was preparing myself psychologically. It didn’t work and it really hurt. But at least it wasn’t cardio!

Next we hired a motorbike and roared around the place channelling a bit of Steppenwolf’s “Born To Be Wild”. It was actually only a little scooter, but on the downhills and with a little tailwind we got some speed up. We decided to only hire one for these reasons; a) it cost the princely sum of $20 for a mere 24 hours, b) it cost a whopping $2.20 to fill up with petrol, and c) I sort of like the whole helmet-clunking thing..though I wonder how this happens with an automatic. Nevertheless we had great fun.

 

 

Miles High (note I did NOT say Mile High)

We stumbled across a little eating place and I ordered vegies and salad without sauce. Little less convincing than previous days however they still arrived with some sort of stock covering – but lovely hot vegies all the same. I pulled up my stolen fish and added it to the mix for a good meal. Bagged up the left over salad for later and we were off. Oh yeah - I had to use the bathroom first. And there was my second workout for the day. Quads working overtime to manoeuvre the hover - it simply wasn't safe to land.

We went up the steepest cable car I’ve ever seen and got the most spectacular view imagineable of Langkawi and the surrounding islands. I’m not on any retainer but I have to give this place a plug. It is stunningly beautiful, about as relaxing as you’d ever get and it is seriously the cleanest and  politest (is that a word?) place I’ve been in Asia. No one harasses you for anything. I’d come back in a heartbeat.

Massage

Home for a quick hit of tuna (I brought with me all the way from little ol Katherine) mixed with salad. I also packed mustard, salt and pepper and flaxseed oil so I add a little of these for flavour and it’s pretty darn edible. Just enough time to digest before my full body Indonesian massage at the Spa.

When I say Full Body, I really mean it. Bar three little spots, it was a Full Body massage!! Not sure I’ve ever had my abdominals massaged before and I patted myself on the back for making the wise decision not to down my 1.5l bottle of water just prior. I sometimes do dumb things like that so a bit of self-congratulations for not being a dick is in order.

I can honestly say that it was the best massage I’ve ever had and we’ve booked in for another on Saturday … with an added aromatherapy bath.

And that’s how today has played out so far. I had a sudden thought during the afternoon that food only needs to make up a small part of your day and it really doesn’t need to be such a big deal. Too many other things to focus on.

Back tomorrow.

Day 2: I Have Something To Confess

Yesterday had some really interesting and funny points;

·        First job of the day, after breakfast, was to find a supplier for my Meal 3 & Meal 4. The resort restaurant is a bit on the officious side and insisted that we call Room Service to organise a simple container of vegies and another of salad each morning. My mind boggles at the cost of that so I decided we should look further afield.

 Stop #1 was an Asian café. Very traditional, very ‘homely’ (hehe). I checked out the silver ‘cloches’ and found a few of them containing some nice big fat vegies. Swimming in gravy, oyster sauce, chilli sauce and some other unidentified sauces. I considered this may be a backup option whereupon I could wipe off the sauce if need be. Then I saw a big fat fly crawl out of one dish and decided we would keep walking. I knew we could do better.

Finally found a Chinese restaurant. Still homely but very clean. We looked at the menu and excitedly spotted ‘Stir Fried Vegetables’, ‘Steamed Rice’, and ‘Dry Chilli Chicken’. I called the waiter over and we had a discussion on these items to check for suitability. He informed me that the chicken is previously deep fried then dried – unsuitable. We had a discussion on the vegies as follows (can you tell I take notes for living?!):

I said: “I really want all of those beautiful vegies but really want them steamed – can you do it?”

He said: “No!”

I said: “I’m sure you can. Pretty please? Just the vegies steamed?”

He said” No! Our chefs don’t know how to do all of that fancy stuff (chortle chortle). They cook it a certain way otherwise you come back and say it’s horrible and want your money back. No!”

I said: “Ok – how about stir fry with no oil?”

He said: “No sauce?”

I said: “That’s right – no sauce, no oil, no nothing (double negative – I know!). Just vegies”

He said: “You don’t want MSG????”

I said: “You are absolutely correct. I don’t want MSG”

He said: “No. We can’t do it. You have to have sauce. Water sauce. The vegies have their own water that just comes out and we can’t get rid of that”.

I said: “Perfect! We just want the vegie ‘sauce’ – the water ‘sauce’ – that’s perfect but nothing else”.

He said (somewhat unsure of himself): “Ok - I’ll try for that one”

 We had a further discussion about the meat and the absolute best he could do was a sizzling beef. It arrived coated in glistening sauce and Rob tells me it was delicious. But can’t complain as I was served a very large platter of beautiful vegies with not a drop of sauce or oil in sight. Also a big bowl of plain salad and I mixed that with some tuna that I had brought with me. Bit of flaxseed oil, mustard and salt & pepper – voila!! 2 Meals all sorted for the day.

 

·        Then dinner came. I’m ashamed to admit something. I have to tell you in the name of honesty. But I don’t’ want to. It hurts my spirit to admit it. It went like this;

I had a bbq meat dish with some gorgeous vegies from the buffet. All good and very satisfying in a meat and veg sort of way. Again, scales whipped out meant I got the right amount of meat and Rob polished off whatever was over quota.

And then it happened. I had a brainwave. It was an ‘all you can eat’ buffet meal that we had included in the cost of the resort package. I calculated that I had probably eaten around $5 worth of food. I made a hasty decision. “Hey Rob – we should nick a piece of meat for my meals tomorrow!! You go and get it from the bbq, I’ll wrap it in something and put it in my bag”. Didn’t take any convincing and Rob was in it up to his eyeballs. He visited the bbq cookers and came back with fish hidden under a piece of decoy steak. But we didn’t have anything to wrap it in. “Toilet paper” was Rob’s idea, so off he went to the gents (explanation: cloth serviettes only – not cool to steal them..but apparantely ok to steal meat). He came back a short time later explaining that a ninja-lady (Muslim in black from head to foot) was in the gents photographing her husband doing something – not sure what. So he had to pretend to ‘go’ and walk out with a wad of paper. Then he had a brainwave and took some hand towels instead – less sticky when connecting with meat oils. 

Rob came back and assumedly placed the paper on the table. He then went to peruse the dessert stand. Meanwhile my eyes darted back and forth. Wait staff everywhere. Watching me. Trying to catch me out. But I’m too quick. Someone dropped a plate, all heads turned and I seized the moment to grab my fish and, with lightning fast speed, wrap in toilet room handy towels, and drop it cleanly into my bag. Sweat beads broke out on my forehead. I felt like I had just committed a crime. I technically had. 

We finished up dinner and headed back to our room without speaking a word. On locking our room door I felt a rush of adrenalin. Elation at what we had just pulled off!! The Great Fish Heist was complete – WOOT WOOT!!! Man - that sort of rocked!! Over 40 and still a rebel!! Took a while to come back down. Finally settled with a green tea and casein goop.

Today we hired bikes and did a nice ride around the place. And then returned to a fish, vegie and salad feast!! Haha!! I took the system on and won!! This could get dangerous – it’s almost time to head for dinner again! 

Another great day. Another day on the plan. A nice big back workout followed by some good core work and we came out of the gym dripping. Quick relax and it’s time to hit the buffet. Back tomorrow.

PS: It gets quite addictive to feel the power of not giving in. I'm on comp prep so it's a bit extreme, but if you're planning a holiday and don't want to come back bigger than when you left, you'll probably have to make a bit of a plan. Plan 60mins a day for exercise and make a decision before you leave about what you will and won't eat and maybe when. Those that say this is over the top or ridiculous are those that generally have no food or weight issues  - bully for them. In the end, who cares what others think?

Day 1: Langkawi Holiday while on Comp Prep - Will it work.....

Sometime in 2013 it was planned that I would compete in May/June 2014. I aimed for the stars with an overseas competition in my sights. To accommodate this, we organised Rob’s parents to come and be with our children while we were away. In short, this didn’t happen so we took the opportunity instead to have a child-free holiday. I randomly picked Langkawi because; a) I knew nothing about it and prefer holidays in new places, b) it’s hot weather – I simply don’t do cold holidays, and c) why not? So here we are, pretty much sitting in my version of paradise, having a child free holiday for the first time in nearly 13 years.

Here’s the catch. I’m full swing into comp prep. The question has to be asked;

·        Is  it wise to book a holiday while on comp prep? Well, I didn’t technically book it while on comp prep of course. I booked it while I was thinking about how easy it would be to holiday while on comp prep. Funny how the mind works isn’t it?

 

However, I’m glad I booked it, extremely happy to be here and feel like it’s come at the perfect time for Rob and I to simply rest. Something I seriously don’t do well. I admit to struggling with stopping and smelling the roses. While I haven’t seen any roses here in Langkawi yet, there are plenty of tropical flowers and I’m going to be sure to sniff them as much as I can.

So why am I bothering to write a blog while here? Because I want to and because I think it will help me to stay absolutely on track. I’m not going to lie – it takes some serious dedication and commitment to the cause not to fall off track while in a country where indulgence is rampant. And I thank god for Rob just about every hour of every day because he looks after me like I’m a princess.

DAY 1 & 2

I  love Katherine – I surely do – but I detest the 3hr trip just to get to the airport. After being up all day, ending in a snappy legs workout at 9pm, we finished packing and set off at midnight. I started the trip with my delicious Choc Peanut Butter Casein and then tried to have a little snooze. Rob kept opening the window to keep himself awake but managed to keep me awake as well. We stopped for a couple of black coffees along the way and pulled into Darwin at around 4am.

From there we got to the airport and checked in. Brought the laptop for the first time ever, and watched a movie in the departure lounge. At about 6.30am I filled my container of prepacked oats/fWPI/berry with cold water and let them marinate for a while before savouring every delicious mouthful. 7.30am – boarding time and a 4hr flight to Singapore. I was so tired that I actually managed to sleep. I dribbled just a little bit so I know I was in full mouth-open sleep mode.

On arrival we walked about 19km to the transit lounge – seriously, Changi airport is too huge! – whereupon I whipped out my prepacked chicken, broccoli and cauli concoction and devoured it straight from the plastic container…much to the amusement of fellow travellers. Black coffee and the world is complete.

Another hour wait and we board to Kuala Lumpur. 1hr til touchdown into one of the most frantic airports I have been in for a while. Boarded some weird ‘inside train’ which took us quite a long way away to the baggage claim terminal. All I could think about was food. All Rob could think about was getting us to the right terminal (another inside train job) for our connecting flight to Langkawi. He was so focused on getting us there that he drove the baggage trolley into my ankle. Pain coupled with intense hunger is not cool. It was time to whip out yet another plastic container with my meat and veg. I ate this while walking from one terminal and got a little pissed when a lady in the elevator stood too close to me and almost nearly dropped one of her hair follicles into my food. I gave her a filthy look and she pretended not to notice me. I'm sure she was pretending. Luckily I'm beyond caring what the general public think about a mad woman with broccoli florets peeking out of the corner of her mouth because that's what I caught sight of in the elevator mirror.

Finally made it to yet another terminal and boarded filght #3 to Langkawi. By this time it was about 8pm Australian time so we had been travelling for 18hrs non-stop. The sight of our resort made it all worthwhile and job #1 was to rip into my afternoon meal along with a black coffee and some much needed water. I loaded up on water  all the way to Darwin but don’t drink much on flights unless I need to as Jetstar’s generous seating arrangements make me reluctant to leave my nest (hmmff – the truth is manouvering in and out of those teensy seats is a veritable nightmare!!).

First dinner in the restaurant and I’m supposed to have chicken and veg but there is none to be seen. Too tired to stress so I order a grilled lean steak and grilled vegies, sans sauce. The steak arrives on top of a glistening bed of mashed spud with virtually no vegetables to be seen. We raise this point with the wait staff who promise to get the stated grilled vegies to me. At this point I whip out my portable scales and trim my steak to the desired amount. Rob ‘s lucky day as he gains a nice hunk of sirloin and a pile of dairy-food-potato to his dinner.

Vegies arrive and while they might have been grilled at one point, they have also been smothered in oil. I let them drain for a while and then tuck in to eggplant, capsicum, tomato, mushroom and steak. Can’t complain because they taste delicious.

Too tired to stand upright so it’s back to our beautiful chalet, bedtime tv and off to sleep. Bit gutted because I missed my night-time casein due to falling asleep. That is an extremely rare occurrence in my world. I usually wake up like clockwork at about 10pm to eat.

Day 2

The standard breakfast buffet is on the menu. Rob is going to enjoy every mouthful I would imagine. As for me, I have prepacked a breakfast bag for each day, consisting of oats and WPI. I arrive at the most beautiful buffet I’ve been to for a while and everything is on the menu. I bypass it all and head to the fruit stand where I can’t find any berries other than those soaking in a nice sugary juice. Instead I opt for apple and paw-paw. I ask for a bowl bigger than the ridiculous ones on offer, empty my bag of goodies, pour over boiling water and let them marinate. Meanwhile it’s time for 2 black coffees before I savour my fruity, oaty breakfast. Would I like donuts and cake for breakfast like all those around me? No. But I wouldn’t mind cheesy eggs and croissants. I’m a little amazed at just how much people do eat while on holiday. And I can understand how a holiday is the undoing of a lot of resolves, resolutions and early attempts at weight control – eating to excess is pretty uncool even on holiday. I don’t care if that’s unpopular to say.

Breakfast over and we’ve scoped out the gym. It’s got everything I need and more to keep me entertained and challenged while here. The only thing lacking is the barbells however a very adequate dumbbell rack will certainly do the trick for the week. Pretty excited to see squash courts too.

For now I’m downing a gazillion litres of water and sitting on the beach. I'm still seriously tired. More tired than I've been for a long time. I think the past year might have just caught up on me and I'm planning on doing as little as possible on this holiday. I'm not big on tourist attractions and generally only do them for the sake of the kids. This time around I don't have to succumb to the whole over-priced garden tour package, or the pricey boat trip to nowhere. I have a fabulous book, a lounger overlooking a beautiful stretch of ocean (pics to come) and the best company I could ever ask for.

As for comp prep. It's never far from my mind. I have a gym session including cardio booked for tonight with my training partner. For now I'm going to gather a few zzzz's and drench these muscles in peace and quiet.

 

Holiday Training And Obersvations From The Judging Table

Wow – what a huge few weeks!! Lots of work followed by a 7 day holiday at the Gold Coast … that turned into 9 days due to the volcanic ash situation. While seemingly ideal being stuck in Brissy for an extra few days, finding new accommodation, extending rental cars, organising new flights and existing in a hotel room was quite trying.  By gosh it was great to finally get home!

Things I’ve learned while on holiday;

·        It is definitely possible to stay on track with nutrition and training while away from home. Anyone who says differently has convinced themselves of their own excuses.

·        There are a lot of gyms that charge a fortune for casual visits and don’t deliver.  Specifically:

o   Trying to find a reception person who will actually remove their bottom from the chair and show you through the gym is non-existent. I assume they have worked out so long and so hard that their DOMS prevents them from moving. Luckily their fingers are still able to flick through Facebook pages though.

o   Empty and used water bottles scattered around the gym. These are presumably there for those times that you reach into your gym bag and quickly realise you’ve left your beautiful, clean water bottle on the bench. You may now use one of the conveniently placed used ones. The attached cold sore or halitosis is for free.

o   Dirty equipment. I have nothing.

·        The Goodlife Gym in Montpelier Road, Brisbane, is an exception. Lovely staff. Clean equipment and plenty of it. Spacious and inviting. Still costs a fortune for a casual though.

·        It’s ok to be the Mum that insists on buying her family decent food for lunch while at Dreamworld. So we had to get a leave-pass and eat outside the doors. And the ibis birds got a little too close for comfort which made us feel a little bit like we were eating at the rubbish dump. And the kids could still just see the people inside eating their chips, nachos, fried crumby things and other unidentified plates of crap – but that’s just tough. We ate beautiful fresh sandwiches and later topped it off with a yummy ice-cream. NB: By ‘we’.. I’m sure you realise this is ‘them’ and not ‘me’. I carry my own stash of food.

·        Steak Houses are definitely the easiest place to stay on track while going out for dinner. I needed 120g so ordered a 250g and halved it…minus an extra crumb or two….and voila – dinner to the plan.

·        25m HIITs can be achieved anywhere. ANYWHERE. Hotel stairs, apartment lounge rooms, scrap of footpath, beach, bathroom (yes!!! bathroom!!!). No excuses register on this one.

·        Food prep is just something you do. You have to organise some sort of food to eat so it’s simply a choice to choose food from the plan. Why o why do people make such a big deal about food prep?

So this has me thinking about competitions and the commitment to them. Because the above would surely make some people think that the whole holiday revolved around the needs for my competition. And in my head, I admit to a large portion of my mindset being focused on my training and all it entails. But most of the above comes naturally to both me and my family these days. My children don’t blink an eyelid when I start steaming bowls full of vegies. We use the time to chat in the kitchen. They don’t even notice when I start doing burpees on the floor for 25mins. At worst they have to move so they can see the tv better. And when my family offers to take the kids to the park or beach or whatever for an hour, it’s second nature to grab that time and race down to a local gym to smack out a workout. At this stage I wouldn’t dream of using that time to shop, sleep or relax. It’s just the way I roll.

So the comp preparation phase is starting to get really intense and I’m more focused than ever. If I think about the comp I get nervous, totally excited, competitive and glad that it’s still some 16 weeks away.  

I stayed on my last food micro for 3 weeks rather than the usual 10 days. This resulted in a plateau and a gain of 500g. I can live with that and have today started my new carb cycling plan. It’s glorious!!! Plenty of food; chicken, roo, fish, vegies, fruit, nuts and a choice of rice/sweet potato/oats post workout. Along with all of my beautiful supps. I’m still very happy and satisfied. Some days will now have less carbs (remember – vegies and fruit are carbs too, not just the processed stuff), and some will have a few less. Can’t wait to see the results.

With the bulk of Season A competitions done and dusted, I have been thinking about a few things that are quite interesting and unique to this lifestyle. As always, my opinions only;

·        There simply must be an end to the competition preparation. It is not healthy or normal to want to remain in a world of weighing food, limiting food groups and forcing workouts as you do immediately prior to competing.  In fact this sort of behaviour may help to;

o   Limit your ability to gain any decent muscle due to the absence of calories needed to gain.

o   Reinforce any lurking compulsive and/or controlling behaviours. Very common to those attracted to competing.

o   Ruin relationships because, let’s face it, it’s seriously not fun to spend 12 months a year with someone who analyses every morsel of food, cries when they miss a workout, walks about in some sort of carb-reduced ‘fug’, struggles to go out to dinner/attend a social occasion/grab a coffee at a shop and talks incessantly about their leanness/lack of leanness/goals to get or stay lean…yawn yawn. I dare you to find someone that truly enjoys being with someone for an extended time that does this. Remember children too – it’s important for them to see their parents enjoy all aspects of life. Girls in particular will learn their food habits from their Mum.

o   And probably most importantly for me, remaining on a prep phase lifestyle simply robs you of the enjoyment of a spontaneous and full life. It influences your ability to plan holidays, enjoy changes in plan, commit to work and embrace the strange and beautiful turns that life can take.

o   When you start using competitions as a weight control method, you’ve lost the plot. Seek some advice. It’ll ultimately fail at both missions. You will eventually lose the ability to gain muscle as you manipulate your diet to continue losing weight. Be honest with yourself and you’ll be able to answer this question.

·        The journey must make the end worthwhile. Picture this….you start your training, you doggedly work towards a competition with a single focused approach. 12 weeks out and you find yourself weighing every morsel, ticking the workout book, posing, buying over-priced, under-whelming items (eg. Less than a metre of bikini material for around $500!!), and poring over pictures, YouTube clips, magazines. It gets increasingly intense until this is the only thing you think about day in and day out for the last few weeks. There are tears, tantrums, manic laughter and strange moods that everyone around you notices. You travel at huge expense, pay a stranger too much for a slap of make-up and a fancy hairdo, and finally step on stage. Some 2-4 minutes later your lime-light is switched off and you didn’t even get a callout for a second look. That’s it. It’s finished. All that work and the moment passed without much fanfare.

If you don’t truly and utterly love the process that got you to that stage, the end must surely be one of the most disappointing events ever. Make sure the process is enjoyable. For goodness sake make sure it is.

Oh yes – I promised to share some of the things that I learned while on the judging panel a few weeks ago. Agree or disagree, this what I gleaned from the other judges. Take what you like from them;

·        Bikini girls need to diet too. Oh yes you do!

·        Fitness girls – choose the right shorts for the fitness round. Nothing long and baggy. Nothing light coloured – you seriously need to turn on some bright lights and have someone check the transparency of light coloured material…..you will be amazed at what’s on show. Choose well fitted shorts that show off your muscly legs. Otherwise what’s the point?

·        Fitness men – you get it pretty easy with your outfits in comparison to girls. Choose some decent shorts that have a shred of style to them. Not something that looks like it was a $5 special at Lowe’s.

·        Figure and Physique – posing. Learn. How. To. Pose. Admittedly there are few choices in the NT for good quality posing. But the minute you get to a national stage your posing will figure greatly in the final decisions. If you are unsure whether your posing is considered good, ask the judge after the show. They will happily tell you their thoughts. Here’s a couple of mine;

o   You can under pose. Especially in the bikini/fitness rounds where you are not supposed to throw yourself into a huge muscular pose. So it’s important that the graceful poses you use still do have a ‘bang’ to them. Make the judges notice you.

o   Why o why do bikini and fitness girls pull their shoulder blades together? Surely the golden rule is; wide shoulders, small waist, proportionate legs??? Craziness.

o   Over posing is a huge turn off. Winking, pointing and doing other weird things to the judges table is simply awful!!! Just makes the judges uncomfortable and unable to focus on your physique due to the amateur dramatics. If everyone in the audience is talking about it, surely the competitor could find an honest friend/coach who would let you know that you’re over-doing it. In these cases, any attention is definitely not good attention.

·        Here’s a controversial one. Being lean means you’ll see a person’s muscle. Muscle -  big or small - exists in every physique. Don’t mistake being lean and seeing muscle with actually having decent muscles. The bigger the competition, the more the size of your muscle will be judged. The Biggest Loser show surely must have convinced the world that just about anyone can jump onto a calorie controlled diet and lose copious amounts of weight. That is not what a body building show is about. It’s about body building. Your training must have existed long before your decision to eat less and run more. Uninformed non-bodybuilding friends will not know the difference so don’t rely on them for advice.

Ok. It’s time to get on with it for another week. Hoping to see a slow decrease in weight while maintaining precious muscle and a feeling of strength. My new training program is crippling me physically and psychologically. It involves high reps, heaviest weights I can manage and a 1mn break between sets. I’m still gasping for breath between sets and that sorta sucks. I’m on round #2 and was very much dreading week 1 as I now know how much it will hurt. But got some pretty significant gains this week and feel very spurred on by that.

Cardio has its place. I blast for 25mins per week and have a second much milder session each week too. 50min is extremely achievable so no complaints. Well….not out loud to any of you. Can’t say I don’t grumble at the time…

Here’s to another great week.