I have thoroughly enjoyed the 90 day SSS cycle from Joe Wicks. However, it must be some kind of crazy coincidence - but I am now starting a new regime - yes, I am a masochist!
I am crowdfunding with Unbound, a publishing imprint of Penguin Random House. More on this here.
My book is a pacy, modern 1980s literary thriller set in Chicago and Macau. I need to crowdfund it because the voice of an ethnic minority like mine is under-represented in the world of English fiction. I am after all a post-colonial writer. I am not only writing in my second language, I am writing about immigrants.
I am well pleased with the results of the 90 day SSS and I am feeling light and agile. I feel revived and energetic and that I am able to take on something as demanding as crowdfunding.
I have no problem doing more than twenty or thirty sit-ups now. Plank - I can do 2 minutes. Push ups are more an issue. I think of the men's style one, 10 is plenty and I can do about 20 of the 'women's style'. I love the exercises which are all standard stuff, it's like being in school again. I can't stand Zumba or barre fitness or any of these crossover categories with banging music. If I am doing ballet, I am doing ballet, none of this mixed exercises.
Oh you have to ignore my puckered or wrinkly tummy. There is nothing to be done about this except tummy tuck. This is what a tummy looks like after giving birth twice! The skin is permanently stretched.
So I am in a routine now, it's been quite stable. Never had I cheated on the exercise, I always did the four times a week exercise even if it is already late at night or if I am tired.
Weight has stabilised at 47.4 kg but it would be nice to go down to 46 something. This is because once you lose weight you feel very light and energetic. You will be less tired and will have even more energy to work, play, think. I am more productive and alert than I had ever been.
Cheats
The only areas I cheated was with sugar and alcohol. I will never be able to go for three months without white carbs or sugar or alcohol. That is my heartline. I am absolutely crazy about donuts, croissants, cake, chocolates, Prosecco. Once I touch it, that's it. I have to keep going and finish it, even if I am actually cutting down on the amount. For example. I allow myself a croissant every week rather than every day. Plus there have been birthdays, celebrations. Alcohol I am allowing myself once a week.
Once you touch alcohol and sugary snacks, you feel tired and lethargic and so the cycle begins again.
Weights and multitasking
I find this section very dull but luckily there are periods of rest as long as 1.5 minutes which I use wisely in reading novels or doing household chores. So the dullness is only in short bursts. I am just putting up with it because it is part of the routine. In this cycle, the actual total time of exercise is shorter, i.e. 35 minutes in total, so one can't complain. Previously in Cycle Two it was taking up to between 45 and 55 minutes and so many resting periods that I was folding laundry. I worked out that in a 45 seconds rest period you can fold 3 items of clothing. Guys, don't join a gym. You will never be able to do what I am doing, which is multitask to the max when exercising. Thank you Joe. I will be ironing during the long periods of rest next. Don't tell me people just stare into space for 1.5 minutes. I read about three pages of a gripping novel or if it's artsy and hard to get into, I read one to two pages.
The end is the beginning
Now that I am in Cycle Three, I feel like this is the beginning, not the end. I also have become quite philosophical about food and healthy living. It is a sustainable way of living. I will be costing the NHS less as I take responsibility over my own well-being and my family's of course.
Here is the most recent photo. In two weeks the three cycles would be finished. I will be celebrating!
So despite the dullness of doing weights, I have been doing well and then came half term. We went away for a night. It was wonderful staying at the Marriott in Swindon.
During half term, I ate out for about three days. I had pizza express, burger at Five Guys, alcohol,
Krispy Kreme (it was Halloween),
the works. It was the best Krispy Kreme I ever had and I had to buy three because that is about 13p cheaper than buying singles.
Even so, I blame my children who knew my weakness and worked on it, leading me down the path of temptation of eating monster sweets. From sweat to sweets. From burpees to bloatees.
And look who's sorry now. Just over three meals I managed to put on 1.7kg. And of course the big tummy was back. It loves me and always finds the first opportunity to return.
Such hard work gone down the drain. So I am starting my spartan regime again. Low carb, low sugar, low fat, high protein meals such as cauliflower and lentil curry on a bed of spinach:
It has taken me a full five days to lose 0.3 of the 1.7 kg I gained.
Today is Week 4 of my CYCLE TWO. I am finding weights very boring. I was better when it was just Cardio HIITs. So not perfect but I am still trying hard and not giving up.
A great pattern I found on Sew Craftful. I don't really remember when I found this but I must have fancied making a flapper dress. Not even sure what size it is. This is such an elegant dress. I can just imagine it in black or deep midnight blue.
In Cycle Two, you have to alternative HIIT with German Volume Training (GVT) which is the fancy name for doing weights. I know. It sounds like some Austro-Hungarian psychoanalytical experiment.
Joe Wicks is the Derren Brown of Exercise and Diet
Joe Wick's wide boy voice is very persuasive and hypnotic. Without his constant chat I would have given up long ago. I don't want to listen to any music let alone pounding music. But the chitchat actually helps me get through the gruelling sessions and before I know it, it's all over. Phew! What a relief!
I remember that my driving instructor who helped me pass after five failed tests. He was Chinese and his name was Cam but I can't remember if his surname was Chan or Wong. But he had the strong broad South London accent which I find very motivating and encouraging. Whatever a wide boy says I just believe it. I don't know why. I passed my sixth test after two lessons from Cam.
If I ever need a coach - writing, personal training, makeup, any kind of coach - I require the South London touch. It is magic. You have never experienced it until you have experienced it. Joe Wicks is the Derren Brown of Exercise and Diet. He is the new Jamie Oliver. He makes exercise possible and teaches easy meals that I can do it 20 minutes (because I am not as quick or young as him). I should be able to do it 15 minutes as per his catchphrase, but I cannot. I am a middle-aged mum. My mind is slow and my hands even slower.
How to figure out the interval timing
Because you have to do 10 minutes of the first HIIT followed by 10 minutes of the first GVT, followed by 10 minutes of the second HIIT and lastly 10 minutes of the second GVT, I could not keep track of the timing. There are also two rest periods of 2 minutes each following each HIIT. There also has to be a 45 second rest between each rep of the GVT. Confused? Me too.
What about apps?
I don't actually want or need anymore apps on my phone. I need my iPhone on the left to watch HIIT sessions on Youtube.
Vintage phone
So with great excitement I brought out my old Nokia, on the right. Young people would probably never have seen such a monstrosity. Yes it is one of the first cute little Nokias and it actually has a stopwatch. It has alarms and useful stuff like changing ring tones. But what more do you want? It can even call and text! The best thing is the battery life. I haven't charged it for three months and it's still going. Old technology.
Writing down reps
I just mark off the reps I do in the GVT like a prisoner would number his days. You have to do ten sets of ten reps so I mark off one stroke every time I finish ten reps. Each of the lines represents a set. When I mark it off, I also set the Nokia phone stopwatch to time the 45 second rest.
I have now done one session so far, as I have only just started Cycle Two.Wednesday is my day of doing legs. Each of the four training days will focus on different area of the body. But what I have done is actually plan it out so that I don't have to think about it each time.
I knew I was getting a bit chubby but only when a friend's five year old child asked me if I was growing a baby that I felt motivated to start an exercise regime. Children always say the right things. I have Stage One Hypertension and High Cholesterol which was diagnosed and tested just before summer, so in June 2016.
BP = averaging 140/90 (Stage One Hypertension)
Cholesterol = 5.3 (only slightly high. Should be 5.2 and under)
Just to put things in perspective
Legs look toned thanks to ballet
I was not that chubby all over, I just had a pot belly. I am a mum, after all. I just looked like a mum. These are the photos of me during summer, i.e. before the exercise and diet regime started.
Anybody who knows me knows that I have always been a size 8, with a big tummy. I am 5' 0". I am 49 to 50 kg. I have never exercised except for ballet and when I ran the marathon 25 years ago. Apart from that, all I do is eat and drink the best things in life. In fact I reveled in the fact that I did no exercise and mocked those who did. I could easily scoff 12 Krispy Kreme donuts at one go. I don't know how I did it, I just could do it.
Blood Pressure (BP)
has probably been triggered by a very stressful period work-wise for two years, plus poor eating habits. Fried food and alcohol were my best friends! They were my go-to in good times and bad. Now I have given up. Occasionally I still drink - once every two weeks is now fine. I drank alcohol just once in August. I went for a month without alcohol in September and it was also fine. It is caffeine that I cannot do without. I still have to have a strong double espresso latte in the morning. But alcohol I do not miss and do not mind not having any. You can see from the photo below there are more than one occasion where the readings are high.
Anyway the aim is to lower BP first, then if I lost weight or became slim, that would be a bonus.
Recording BP readings from Sept 7th
How it started:
I discovered diet and exercise by accident. I bought Joe Wick's book while waiting for a bus outside WH Smith in Putney. Joe Wick AKA the Body Coach is an expert on diet and exercise. The wait was so long that I ran into Smith's, bought the book, read an entire third before the bus came. I noticed that his recipes were very Asian oriented which appealed to me because that meant they were quick to make (15 minutes to be correct) and I had the ingredients already. On the No 39 itself, I opened my instagram and followed him. His hashtag is leanin15. From then on I started researching into Joe Wick's 90 day SSS cycle. Firstly because he is a very likeable friendly character who has already given tons of stuff away for free, his training videos, his recipes. Secondly, I liked his simple Asian style recipes. I wanted to follow his cycle but sadly I cannot give up toast in the morning so I could not follow his cycles or join his programme. But at least I cut down to one slice of toast in the morning rather than two. However, I still retained the essence of all his advice, lessons and tips, plus a few that I learnt along the way on my own. I have also bought his other book.
CYCLE ONE
I started diet and exercise on the inauspicious date of 911 (September 11th). These photos were taken on day one of the thirty days. Although they are very embarrassing and stupid, this is what a mum looks like in case no one realises the harsh reality of the real world. There ain't no photoshop here, though I am a whizz at it I am not going to waste my design or retouching skills here when you can see for yourself my life since giving birth 9 years ago.
Before - taken on Sept 11
Today I am at the end of the first thirty days. In the first 30 days, I exercised 4 times a week.
Can you 'work' it 'out'?
As an aside: I don't use the word 'workout'. It's very negative. It's work and it's out. Instead I will always use the word exercise. Apparently that was the word for exercise until the word 'workout' took over. As a musician I know that exercise means doing something repetitively until you are damn good at it. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
Each time of exercise should be a HIIT session or a high intensity interval training session lasting 20 minutes. At first I found this training extremely hard especially the first couple of sessions but it was OK very quickly. This surprised me. After 4 sessions it became totally normal to be glazed like a donut (Krispy Kreme! Wherefore art thou?), panting, drenched, staggering like a dizzy drunk. Everything appeared pleasantly glittery and clear after exercise. I had more energy than I had before I started the exercise. I thought I was going to be exhausted all day but on the contrary I was alert and awake all the time.
What about ballet?
I still carried on with ballet once a week as that does not count as cardio or resistance training. In fact it is dance, it doesn't really count as exercise for me because it is more a mental gym. You have no idea how hard your brain has to work to do ballet. Yet it is so much fun and I was not going to stop doing that just because I was exercising 4 times a week. What time did I exercise?
I found the best time to exercise is in the morning to get it out of the way. I wrote down in my diary what I was eating pre- and post-exercise. I did not want to buy any protein 'workout' stuff until I was sure I was going to stick at it. I was already taking vitamin and mineral supplements which Joe had listed.
Investments:
The things I invested in were:
- the best sports bra for my money (one that Olympic athletes bought on Amazon, ha ha). £28.00
-Vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin D, cod liver oil, Vitamin C, Osteocare, Glucosamine, multivits etc. You can do your own cocktail according to your own deficiencies. Various prices.
-Organic whey protein, chocolate flavor, 'Strippd' brand from Boots. £20.00
-Fitbit Alta activity tracker and sleep monitor £61.00 second hand from Ebay
Note: the most expensive thing on this list is my Fitbit Alta which I got from Ebay second hand and I purchased a new leather strap to go with it. This is very overrated. It is often wrong as well. When I have exercised like mad, it still records the active minutes as ZERO. Grrr. Because it can only record if the active minutes are 10 minutes in a row and not split up into intervals as per interval training. Let's not get side-tracked, to pardon the pun.
The second most expensive thing on this list, apart from the total cost of the vitamin supplements, is the Shock Absorber Olympic-standard sports bra model number S4490 but it is worth every penny. It is the best thing you can have apart from having no breasts. It is proper structural engineering with upholstery.
What you are allowed to eat:
On training days, which is four days a week, you are allowed carbs with your meal post-workout. The rest of the meals must be low carbs. There are three meals and two snacks a day to be consumed. All bad things like donuts (Krispy Kreme! Krispy Kreme! Hello?), sugary snacks, cereals, white pasta, white noodles, white rice, white bread, and of course not to mention cakes, chocolates and desserts are banned. Buzz words helped me to define what I am supposed to be eating. Since I am not a nutritionist, I was only looking crudely at food categories in the Orwellian sense. High protein good. Low Carb good. High fibre good. Low GI good. Low calorie good. Low sodium good. Everything else bad.
However, as I have Stage One Hypertension and High Cholesterol, I have to give these up anyway! Can you imagine a life without wine, cheese, ham, alcohol and chips? "These are a few of my favorite things!" I sang at the top of my lungs.
What about eating out?
Well technically you can't. Who is going to cook you a high protein, low carb, low calorie, low GI, low sodium, high fibre meal? You.
Eat and drink and be merry for tomorrow we shall diet.
If you do have to eat out, like I did for my anniversary, or if you have a birthday to attend to, like my son had a birthday in the middle of my cycle one, then there is nothing to be done, "have your cake and eat it too". So I did get back on track the next day quite loyally despite myself.
Additional purchases
After 20 days of this cycle, I bought iBCAA powder that Joe recommended, from the myprotein online shop. I also bought some protein strawberry snacks. Since I cannot have my usual junk food snacks, I need healthy snacks when I am on the go. I leave one packet in my bag. Then I won't be tempted to buy junk when I am out. Sure you can always have a piece of fruit. Not just any fruit but something like apple or pear or celery only. Something that is crunchy and chewy and dire and not even that sweet, that makes you crunch and chew like mad for a long time, to fool the salivary glands, jaws and tummy into being full.
Results:
I am very pleased with the results. Check out the photos. See latest BP readings too.
At end of 30 days' training
Middle of training
After - taken on Oct 11
Although I only lost a miserable, measly 1.0 kg from 11 September to 11 October, it is from my tummy area! So it is working. The best thing is the high BP has dropped to 131/79 in the day and a wonderfully normal 117/72 at night. This is such an improvement, I can't believe it happened over such a short time and WITHOUT drugs or medication. And here below I am wearing my ballet leotard. I am so glad that I have ballet because without it how ever am I going to show off my flat tummy?! It's winter, right?
After today, I have a rest day, and then I move onto Cycle Two. More updates coming. I really love exercise and I cannot wait to carry on. I didn't know its power.
I just found these photos on a key and was feeling quite excited as at that time I did not do any sewcial media but must have thought of it, as seen by the recently uncovered photographic and videographic evidence. Here is a project I actually did four years ago. We had just moved back into this house and this was to be my son's bedroom. This project would suit a single window about 1 m wide. If the window is very wide, you will need two duvet covers.
Why duvet cover?
I did not want to waste money on new fabric. I bought an old duvet cover from Ebay. Old because he liked dinosaurs and I could not actually find any new fabric with dinosaurs on it. You probably could now, but this was the old days. People have forgotten that five years ago there were much fewer things you could buy online.
You will need:
A duvet or quilt cover (single)
Pencil pleat heading tape
Black out lining, 0.9m wide and around 20cm shorter than the duvet length.
Optional - contrast fabric to extend the length of the curtain to full length at the top and bottom. The height from the pole to the floor is 2.65m and the duvet is only 2m long therefore it needs extending by at least 0.6m. So I bought any cheap furnishing fabric from a shop with the same colour range but different pattern from the dinosaur duvet. You can choose totally contrasting bands which I think would have looked smart in retrospect.
Pins, thread, sewing machine, all the usual stuff. Constructing the 'tube' of curtain and black out
First, lay the duvet or quilt cover flat and cut it open by cutting down both entire seam lines of the long sides and the top seam. You will end up with two pieces. The bottom seam where the strip of buttons are, as shown below, can be left.
You can leave the button side.
Attach the contrasting fabric bands to both sides, front side to front side, top only. The top can be extended by about 7.5cm as I have shown, however the bottom banding should be bigger, and you can make this as long you want it plus hem allowance of 5 to 10 cm depending on how high you would like the hem. In general err on the bigger hem size as you will be hemming this after you have checked the fall and have hung up the curtains. You can make a hem shorter but there is no way to make it longer. If you are happy to not have an extension, you can keep the curtains short of full length but I think it is better full length. But we will come to this later. You will actually make the entire curtain first without the bottom banding.
Sew the blackout fabric to both long sides of the duvet, this view is of the top of the curtain, where the extension banding is just 8 cm.
Pinning first, then attach the black out fabric to both long sides of the fabric Make sure that the width of the fabric is smaller than the width of the black out, as you do NOT want to see the black out lining when the curtain is up. When you sew both sides, you will form a 'tube' structure. Repeat to the other curtain.
Overturn it just to check - that the tube structure does not allow any black out lining to be visible from the front side.
This is what I mean. No underwear must be showing.
Sewing the tape to the header
Fold and pin first.
Now fold back and pin the top of the curtain to form a small hem, about maximum 1.5cm deep only. You do not need to sew this if you would like to shortcut one step. You can go straight onto pinning the curtain tape on, but take off the pins to the hem first. Make sure the strings/cords are sticking out. Fold the end of the tape and pin. Now sew the top edge of the curtain tape first.
Check other side to make sure in line and straight.
But take off the pins when you position the tape and re-pin. Pull out the cords so that they are not trapped in the tape.
Now sew the tape on, and remove the pins and you go.
Do the same for the other curtain.
Always flip over and check the stitching on the front side.
As you get to the end, make sure the cords are free and the end of the tape tucked in, about 3mm from edge of curtain.
Again this is to make sure no tape is visible from the front side of the curtain.
Tucking in the fold of the tape, and simultaneously pulling on the cord is a way of ensuring that the fabric is completely flat. i.e. without any puckering or buckling.
Now that it is flat, you can stitch the edge down, still always pulling the cords away so that they are not sewn and trapped in the stitches.
Continue stitching the bottom of the tape. This is the easy bit, since the top and sides are done.You don't even need to pin if you are lazy like me.
Lastly, sew the fourth side of the tape, or the second of the two ends.
Pleats Please
Now comes the fun part. Pull the three cords from one end and tie them as shown. Pull the three cords from the other end to start pleating.
The curtains will automatically pleat. Measure. This pleated width should be half the width of the curtain pole. Then stop pleating and tie the other end.
Tie the other three ends.
Get the right hooks for the pencil pleat curtains.
Insert them as shown, upside down and rotating.
Space them out evenly.
After you have done all the hooks for this curtain you should get your step ladder out and hang the curtain to see what length is required for the contrast banding at the hem. Measure this length and add for seam allowance and hem allowance.
But first. A quick refill at the bar.
Now stitch the contrast banding to the button side of the duvet which you had cut open.
The black out fabric is a lot shorter when I laid it out flat. This is because I would like a big hem, therefore there is no need for blacking out the hem.
Fold the side hem in...
And the bottom hem up.
Turn the raw edge in.
Pin. Make sure the hem has an 'angle' in the fold as I have shown. Remember the rule that no underwear must be showing from the front side. We don't want to see a sandwich of fabric stuck to the edge of the hem.
Check the height is correct.
Press or iron this hem.
Continue to pin the hem all the way.
Hemming this by hand.
A bit painstaking but I enjoy hemming by hand so that from the front you don't see a machine stitched line. This is a very professional touch. I do this for all skirts and dresses too for the same reason. If you don't want to, you can machine it.
Hand stitch the angled fold that you made.
I'm using invisible stitching so that there are minimal stitches even on the back side.
Done.
Repeat the entire process with the second curtain. Now that you have done it once the second time should be quicker. Hang both up to make sure the banding is equal! Nothing more disheartening than having to re-do this step.
Finished
Finished
Checking banding is equal before taking it down and hemming by hand.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the 90 day SSS cycle from Joe Wicks. However, it must be some kind of crazy coincidence - but I am now starting a new regime - yes, I am a masochist!
