Struggling

Woke up with a sore throat and feeling miserable. Slept during the day for a couple of hours. I guess that was why I crashed last night. So been dosing up on Durathon and Vitamin C. No training. :( If I wake up ok I will go for a 30 min run and train in the morning as well, to catch up on what I have missed.

My diet has been pretty crap. Could have been a lot worse, but I won't lose any mm's if I continue to eat more that I should. I don't feel I can control it without major sufferance, when I get like this (exhausted). I certainly can't work/concentrate when I have these blood sugar swings.

On the up side, I decided to have a break from writing programs tonight and make some salsa. And, it was pretty damn good for my first attempt, and, for not having fresh cilantro (coriander, which I only discovered AFTER I went shopping). It was great. Have dished upall my meals for tomorrow, and breakfast on Saturday, so am prepared for a great day tomorrow, even if I feel yuk. Let's hope not because I have a lot of work to do.

It was 2 weeks plus one day that I had this exhausted feeling - came on Tuesday night, and stayed till Friday morning. So on that assumption, I should be feeling better by Saturday morning. That is if this cold doesn't kick in properly.

Enough doom and gloom - but I am such a sook, I HATE not feeling 100%. I had been going really well too! Will push on and improve!

Hitting a wall :(

Yesterday I felt fine right up to evening, then I became exhausted and craving carbs again. I caught up on feedback and then turned the computer off, sat on the couch and read - but first I ate about 8 thin corn cakes (only 2 over my allowance!), a protein bar (bad) and an apple, and tried to ward off a bad food episode. I did reasonably well and made sure I was in bed before 10pm. I woke at 6am this morning with a strange feeling in my throat - feels like another sore one coming on :( That would really suck as I just had a bad cold 3 weeks ago, and I hardly ever get colds/flu's.

Had lunch with an old work friend yesterday, that was good to catch up. I mean she's not old, but we used to work together :)


Did my cardio on the free runner yesterday, never used one before - was quite weird to start with. 30 mins at around 150bpm then some sloooooooooowwwwwwww ab crunches.

Made a few udpates to my web site, Jodie's Success Story is up as is my 'staff page' - of which Jodie needs to be added.

We are training at 3.30pm today as Jode has a meeting.

I dreamed 2 days in a row about Dianna!! What is up with that!!! It was quite weird, hard to piece together.

Ok, must get going. I have a lot of work on this week and next so I must get productive today.

Shane glad to hear you are still around, I just remember reading you had big plans this Challenge and you seemed to have gone missing :)

Attached a pic from my wedding that was pusblished in the latest Ironman mag...

Another great workout done!

Increased my piddly squat weight to 25kg (including bar) - but at least I am doing it right :) Knee extensions followed and with just 5 sets of squats and 4 sets of extensions, my quads were nicely done. We also did some back work too - seated row, 5 sets, and lat pull to front, 4 sets. Biceps, standing ezy curl - 5 sets (my forearms started hurting - I hope my tendonitis is not coming back), seated DB Curl, 3 sets and 3 sets of seated calves. Done! Love training with Jode.

Trying to do some updates to my web site - including a staff page (Personal Success Mentor's), adding Jodie's success story with tips and recipe to front page, will be adding a NEW YOU Challenge page with all the details of my transformation comp including prizes and sponsors, and a couple more articles to the media page.

I will be announcing the first NEW YOU Grand Champions within the next few weeks. Jodie and I will get together as soon as I have all the Finalist Questionnaires in.

I woke at 4am this morning and did not get back to sleep. Got up at 5am, worked until 11.30, then back to bed until 2pm. I feel a bit tired now. So far have gone 8 days without any exhaustion! :) Even Damien noticed this week that I was more energetic and brighter (brighter - like happier, not smarter, ok? :) ) than usual.

Tomorrow is cardio - 30 mins and will do on the elliptical trainer I think. 150bpm for 30 mins is this weeks cardio goal. Increasing 5 mins each week.

Will also have my skin folds taken at the gym this Friday if I can. Usually I just do my own but I am having someone else take them too this time. With a different type of caliper.

Anyway, time to get to bed and do a bit of reading.

Oh, trip to Japan in October is booked! Have not had 2 seconds to even do any research on Japan and where we are going. Better do that soon! Only for 5 days. I will be taking 2 weeks off work, as I have a trip to Melbourne the week prior.

Ideal Bodies Online is crazy busy - all good though. I may need some staff soon! Any takers?

No day off..

But I did get a lot done, and I am still feeling great! Had a good 30 minute jog today, increasing by 5 mins duration each week. Lost 8.7mm by my counts in the last 2 weeks, so that is good news. So, $200 goes into my "Trip to Perth" fund :) And will buy a new Tess Gerritsen book (love crime novels - not that I have a lot of spare time to read!).

Got my new program last night - 5 day program. 2 days of squats. Will do 2 days on 2 days off - any more than that seems to bring on the exhaustion. My calves are so sore today, can't believe it, must have gone hard on the seated calves yesterday.

Still eating sea salt by the bucketload, but that is one of the symptoms of AE - due to my levels of the hormone aldosterone, I believe. Causes salt cravings as my body is dehydrated.

Been taking Vital Greens - have heard from a couple of people it's pretty fantastic - it tastes like sh*t but so far so good, it seems to be doing me no harm. So, I've made it 7 days without a bout of exhaustion. I've trained and cardioed and dieted according to plan. It's going well thus far.

Just finished writing my Q&A column for Women's Fitness & Health mag, yep, get my own little column every month now which is pretty cool.

Tomorrow we are training in the evening.

Oh I had the funniest thing happen a couple of weeks ago - received an email from a casting studio who wanted me to 'audition' for a Lipton Tea commercial! I was like "umm, what are you doing emailing me regarding a tea commercial??" and so she explained - they were after a strong, bodybuilder type woman who looked strong enough to shovel elephant crap :) Hmm, typical, that would be my one shot at fame.. Anyway, she's like "I found your email on the net and would love you to audition - but we need you to be in Melbourne tomorrow". It paid alright, but under the circumstances it was a bit short notice. Besides, shovelling elephant poo? :) Damien thought it was hilarious!

Ok, must go, getting late once again. I am cutting and pasting this into my bodyblog too. Hi to Rachel, great to see you have hooked up with Dianna for the comp. You go girl!

Michelle, I keep forgetting, you asked about salsa recipes - did you get any response? I would love a good salsa recipe. When in Cozumel we had the best (really spicy and hot) salsa I've ever had and I want the recipe! What is the green stuff they put in it? Don't think they were chili's, looked like some herb.

Emma thank you for the encouraging words. I do think my strength will improve dramatically, at least I sure hope so. Slowing down the reps and concentrating on form as per Coach A's advice is really working me hard even though the weights aren't as heavy.

Great day!

I have been feeling great this whole week. When I have woken early (like 4 or 5am) instead of getting up, I've been trying to go back to sleep - it's worked. So the sleep has obviously been helping me. I have not had to have any arvo naps this week! Also, my adrenal medicine arrived so I am all set. It's like a vitamin shop at my place. Pills and potions everywhere.

More good news is that I woke up lighter this morning, after a high carb day! Was pleasantly surprised.

Jodie and I trained tonight, excellent workout - mostly shoulders. Drop sets are killer. I also managed a 25 min run at 145-150bpm this morning. It was beautiful outside today, t-shirt weather. Tomorrow we are training legs - back to the baby weights.

Got 3 programs done today, 3 yesterday, so only 4 to do for the weekend - I am on track to perhaps even have a day off!!! What's that??? :)

Ok time to go and watch some footy and cricket in bed.

Interesting....
I've been avoiding all the things I should be - all grains except corn, milk/dairy (except about 1tbsp in 1-2 coffees per day), protein powders, eggs, soy, and a few other things, but they are the main ones. Today is my 4th day and I have allowed myself a protein frappe - love 'em, and it's like a treat. So, just had one, and within 15 minutes of drinking it, I had a gut ache and ended up in the bathroom :( So, when I have another one, in another 4 days, I will see how I react! In my Frappe is 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 Myoplex Lite (which is whey protein), another heaped tbsp of moccha whey protein and lots of ice and a shot of decaf espresso.

Did my ultra huge 25 mins of cardio this morning, on the bike at 145-150bpm. 25 mins non stop on a bike (stationery), is good for me! I hate bikes - but I am learning to love them - ie choose your attitude! Followed with some abs.

Feeling good, been getting a bit of work done, then will be out for dinner a bit later :)

Well I worked until 10.30pm tonight. Had to, otherwise I would never get on top of it! Tomorrow night am having a night off, and going out for dinner.

Trained with Jodie tonight, trained by myself last night as Jode was sick. I am sore in my chest already from yesterday. Did some smith squats with baby weights tonight :) I am sure I will improve quickly. I hope so anyway, it's embarrassing with those tiny plates :)

Forgot to mention, I met another of my clients, Dawn, from Sydney, at the All Female show on the weekend. She gave me a great card and a great workout top as a thank you gift :)) I am getting to meet a lot of my clients lately, it's great!

I have been on 3 days of low carbs, and tomorrow is my high day, yippee!! Looking forward to my protein frappe the most!! One every 4 days is a huge effort for me! But, I'm doing it, sticking to my 'food list' and I am keen to start getting some good results with my new trainer/training regime. Cardio tomorrow. Am only doing 3 x 25mins this week, then building up slowly. Coach A doesn't want me going too hard too soon and burning myself out. Speaking of, hoping to hear from him soon with yet another new program. Now that he knows my weaknesses.

My house is a mess. It's way too small for us now. We have no room at all. So it's just in a constant mess. Can't have visitor's it's too embarrassing. Cannot wait until we start building!! Couple more months and we should be right to go.

Please everyone, vote for my NEW YOU Challenge winner - www.idealbodiesonline.com

Ok, time to sleep. Been sleeping in until 9am every morning since getting back from Melbourne. This is a good thing. Though it takes a big chunk out of my work day!

Dianna I do not have an obsession with you know what :) You were the one that couldn't stop talking about them. I will get back to you as soon as I get a moment!

I am a newbie to this Blog, so bear with me. Reason for this new blog is like my titles says - I have to learn how to squat! Well, re-learn should I say. I have not been squatting correctly and this obviously has impacted on my ability to build some decent quads.

So, I have a bit of a 12 month plan. First up will be to learn the proper technique of all exercises according to Coach A. I will call him Coach A coz I don't want to give away his identity. I met him for the first time on the weekend and I was utterly impressed. I always ask lots of questions, I am a pain in the bum for that. Just ask my previous trainers. But, Coach A loves questions :) He is a stickler for proper technique. I am just spewing I can't train with him weekly. He lives too far away for that. But, I plan to catch up with him whenever I can. Next time will be back in Melbourne, in 2 months time.

While learning proper technique, I will be using baby weights. :( How humbling. Was told my strength is basically pretty poor, but it should improve quickly once I have the technique down. My goal over the next few weeks is to perfect the technique and slowly add weight to my lifts. Over the course of the 12 months, I will be aiming to increase my strength big time. My ultimate goal is to compete in 12 months time at the INBA All Female Muscle & Fitness show, in the best condition I have been in. Proudly sporting at least 2kg of new muscle. Actually I will talk to Coach A and see what he reckons is a good goal numbers wise. He already told me I will need to get my quad skin fold in single figures, of which I have not yet managed to do.

I'm very excited.

The other purpose of this blog, is to track my health. I have been having major problems with chronic fatigue/exhaustion. I have had many tests done just recently and they have shown a number of things.

1. I have Stage 3 Adrenal Exhaustion. Supposedly that is one stage away from total adrenal burnout and Addison's disease? Correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, it's not good. It causes all sorts of problems, not just the fatigue/burnout. But I won't go into that.

In a 'normal' person (well, I AM normal, but you know what i mean) the adrenals respond to stress by producing cortisol. Over time your adrenals can become exhausted from stress overload and will then not be able to produce enough cortisol. That is where I am at.

I need to get a lot of sleep and rest, eat good food, and take some supplements.

2. My antioxidant levels are below the reference range.

3. I am waiting for my thyroid function test to come back - I predict it will show low thyroid function, but will see :)

So, I have a few issues I am wanting to get under control. Training and dieting for a contest will put even more stress upon my burned out body. So, I have a plan in place. It includes taking on less work, and shutting down my computer at night times. It includes a carb cycle diet, and includes flax seed oil on low carb days.

I will be taking:

Creatine
Glutamine
Arginine
Antioxidants
Vital Greens
Durathon
Vitamin C
BCAA's

That's it for now. That list will probably increase.

No training today, and perfect diet. One meal less as I got up late. This will be a good thing as the weekend was less than flash. Tomorrow Jodie and I will be training chest (and other bits and pieces) at 6.30pm.

I don't really know all the features of this blog yet, so will endeavour to find out over time. Am pretty busy with work at the moment, new enquiries galore. The advertising is working!

Sue
www.idealbodiesonline.com