Day 32 : It'a a Beautiful Day for PCP

Sun is Shining, Spring has sprung in HK...we are blessed with stunning weather today and it really makes a difference - I see people are smiling and generally happier. I know I am !

We had a ROCKING PCP work out this morning. But damn it's getting tough...Lunges + floorjumps just don't gel well together ... I wanted to cry and laugh at the same time by the time I reached my 2nd set of floor jumps. I think the trick is just to do them as fast as possible and not take any breaks inbetween. So I challenged Ricky to do just that for our 3rd set and we did it - it was fast BUT with lots of pain. My legs are super fragile today, oh and arms, back, abs too...
I do however feel like i'm getting stronger and stronger by the day and it shows even when I do the Da-Vinci's i'm actually not struggling as much as I used to = which is a great sign!!!

I discovered a love for skipping again ! My weighted rope has been giving me issues lately, conistently whipping me and not getting any faster/ smoother so I decided to give my old Nike speed rope a 2nd chance this morning. This is the same rope I loathed from day 2 after a series of trips and falls with it. Much to my surprise it works a million times better now and is giving me the speed i've been working on - SCORE.

I will never let u go again !!!

I haven't had a chance to do 8min abs yet but I am pretty sure there'll be lots of it this weekend...bring it on I say !!! (Maybe I will regret saying this after the weekend?)

Got the Friday feeling and sooooo excited for the weekend. I think the work out this morning really pumped me up for the day and i'm looking forward to doing them again tomorrow. Wooooooo!

Adios and TGIF to all .... xxx

Ps. just peeled a boiled egg and it came out looking really lob-sidded and wonky. I think I must officially be the worst egg-peeler in the world...any tricks/ tips to make peeling eggs easier?

Day 30 : ONE THIRD

Can't believe we're 30 days in already...what a wild ride PCP has been! I'm amazed at the little changes I notice in myself each week. So this morning I attempted to try on a pair of bell bottom jeans (they're back in fashion!) that i've had for 2 years and love so much but have never worn them before (since it was always too tight once I botton them up). To my absolute delight they are now a perfect fit ! No more muffin top !;-)

I had a great time catching up with my sis last night. Despite eating out, my dinner was still very PCP = Grilled lamb chops with roasted pumpkins and cesar salad. It tasted quite good but I actually prefer home cooked meals way more than restaurant ones now- at least I know exactly what i'm putting into everything and not to mention it's way healthier + cost effective!

My work out this morning was a breath of fresh air - I guess this is cos it's change of scenery and I had the ocean breeze and view to skip to (it really increases skipping pleasure) ! It was great and all training on my own but that also meant I took my time and didn't get the chance to do my abs exercises. Luckily they're easy enough to do at home. The creeps are still quite awkward for me to do - I somehow always lose my balance towards the end, probably due to the deep burn in my thighs...So in Patrick's email today he said that we'll be hitting the legs big time this month and that's exactly how my legs felt this morning = fatigued and fragile. I already have quite athletic legs so hopefully they won't expand too much on that. The chest dips were also not easy for me to do since the bench heights were a little too low so I didn't get to dip right down. Anyway, i'm sure all these exercises will be fine-tuned once I get the hang of them.

My sis stays in the 1st building on the right - Ma on Shan



Not a bad view?

Just thought i'd post some pics of my precious cats from last night, the one i'm holding (Cubie) gets heavier and heavier every time I see him, if he were human i'd put him on PCP. The younger one (Bambi) loves chilling in my closet, rolling amongst my clothes ... gotta love cats!

Cubie should be on PCP!



Peek-a-boo

Wishing all a great mid-week, 2 more days til the weekend!

One Third of the way - whoooooop!!!!

Day 29 : A moment of weakness

... came over me last night after my hectic day @ work and I missed my skipping sesson. I was so pooped and drained of energy so I took the easy way out. Now I feel terrible, gulity, frustrated all in one. I really let myself down but now I know not to do it again and as the frustration kills me......Anyway no use rambling on, but I intend to do those 1300 jumps tonight as there was no time this morning which brings me to my next point = whoa those new sets are flippen HARD!!!

Floor jumps + no rest lunges = badass ! I almost cried afer 2nd set of the floor jumps as my knees felt like they were on fire - is this normal??? I tried to do them as fast as possible, but after FJ# 6, I wanted to collapse into childs pose. Ahh, still a weakling in this area and need loads of practise! But I somehow finished those sets in the end with no tears. Planks was so much tougher after the 100 sit-up's, my abs were struggling hard- but I guess that's the point???

Diet wise i'm pretty happy about my new meal plan, actually everything stays pretty much the same but I get extra 50g protein in my breakfast which i've used tuna - it's actually really tasty but it's a sh1t load of food ... Well, not that complaining ;-)

Favourite meal of the day!!!

My packed lunch today wasn't too shabby neither, thanks to chef Ricky I had some tasty pan fried chicken with herbs, garlic brocolli, sweet potato and rice - that's some healthy goodness right there!

I'm off to stay with my sister for the night, as I miss my cats so much, and also to have a nice sisterly catch up. Will be interesting to see how I go with the exercises tomorrow morning, without my personal trainer (yes, that's Ricky) who kicks my ass when I slack off...

Happy "proper" PCP week 5 everyone !!!!! (Almost 1/3 of the way ;-)

Day 27 & 28 : Just another Manic Monday !

Have to keep this blog short and sweet as I have a million meetings and deadlines today, ah, the joys of Mondays!

The weekend was great, lots of PCP action and most of all - LOVED the indulgence!!! Thank u Patrick for allowing us this treat, I totally savoured every drop of it, as each bite came with a 'mmmmm'

Blk & Wht chocolate mousse cake + Chocolate mousse cake w/ meringue biscuit from COVA

Before

Just before

During ... mmmmmmmmmm

After!

Ok so it's already 7pm and have only just sat back down properly and noticed my unfinished blog...Where did the day go??? It was just meeting after meeting today, bleh...that was a perfect manic Monday!
And I still need to do my 1300 jumps but kinda looking forward to it as i'm sure it's gonna relieve me off all my stress- well at least i hope so.

Looking forward to new meal plans, I kind of miss my evening carbs but I have a feeling it's not coming back for a while...

Ps. Glad there's no creeps/ floor jumps/ Double katanas (it's the new Da Vinci for me = makes me miss them Da Vinci's) waiting for me, whooooop.

Here's to a fantabulous WEEK 5 - go team GO!!!

Day 24 & 25 : LOST and FOUND

Today started off on an awesome note as I found out 2 sets of very good news this morning -
1) I weighed myself and the scale told me that i'm 1kg lighter than last week!!! I know that the weight won't keep dropping once there's more muscle growth but I think every girl loves the feeling of weight loss, no matter how small!
2) Patrick told us in today's email that we get our 1st Indulgence! Yippeeeeee ! Now I need to plan this treat strategically as to maximize my sweet tooth pleasure in 1 go...I'm definitely gonna pick something awfully chocolatey so I think tomorrow should be a good day to invade Cova and indulge in one of these bad boys (sorry Ricky, Cova first then McDonalds)

Creme brulee choc mousse cake !!



Work out yesterday was very challenging, I found the planks really tough to control after the first set. It's like my lower body gives in naturally due to my weak core strength. It's not really a big surprise as i've always struggled with Chaturanga during my yoga practise so i'm happy to be practising this now so I get better at it - I see that the later group gets 90 sec planks ! Now that's intense...

At an attempt to cook something different/ fancy for dinner, I made Salmon fishcakes last night. I've done this many times before but it's a whole different story when you need to weigh up the protein/ carbs/ veg. I didn't realize it would be such a such a pain in the a$$ to get the correct portions in fishcake form and despite finishing what we needed for dinner, it was a complete failure on PCP terms. Better stick to simple meals from now on and not complicate matters for myself!

We somehow snoozed thru our 6am alarm this morning (I appreciate that extra hours lie in soooo much more!) so we'll be doing the work out tonight, which i'm actually really looking forward to. Looking forward to the challenge and the feeling of sore throbbing arms and legs. Am I going insane?

Happy Friday team and wishing u all an amazing indulgence oh, and to all the peeps going to Rugby 7's enjoy and GOOD LUCK!
Look forward to seeing all your indulgence blog posts soon.

Ps.Week 3 pics will hopefully be uploaded tonight.

Adios xx

Day 23 : Luck doesn't work with PCP

23 has always been my lucky number. So naturally since it's PCP Day 23 I woke up feeling good thinking that the arrival of my lucky day might see me starting off the day with a happy, easy, breezy workout.
Well, it didn't quite happen once i'd discovered what came next after my jump ropes (which by the way seems to have plateaued and not getting smoother nor faster) = 4 sets of lunges with NO breaks inbetween sets. OUCH! My legs were like jelly with an intense burning sensation after the 2nd set. Definitely not getting easier from here...Patrick really upped the intensity by throwing in an extra set for the strength stuff and what a difference it makes ! Today's workout turned out to be really challenging for me and left me wondering what new joys the floor jumps, creeps, V-sits, planks...will bring ??? I'm sure the PCP'ers in the later group must be grinning thinking 'you ain't seen nothing yet'...

Dinner was surprisingly ok minus the carbs last night, I think partly because the protein I devoured was soooo delicious that I didn't even need carbs! Special mention to my favourite chef Ricky for creating the most tastiest spicy crumbed chicken ever - I never knew chicken breasts could taste this good. You can check out his blog for the recipe and i'd definitely recommend this to all the guys who wants to add some phzazzzzz to their PCP meals. Was even more flavoursome by lunch time and got my colleagues jealous by the mouth-watering aroma it gave off once I got it smoking hot..you get the point...mmm

Ricky's special spicy chicken concoction! Thank u x



Followed by the lovely dragon fruit!

 Got a day off tomorrow! Have a few errands to run but am REALLY really happy to get that extra hour or so of sleep in the morning before I attempt 3 x 30 sec planks...Eeeeek hope it's not as scary as it sounds!

Note to self : Less whinging and more focus on the end goal ---> kick ass body - 6 pack - strong - lean !!!



Let's rock week 4 team !

Day 22 : How will I cope...

without my dinner carbs ???

New week means new meal plan and this week I ain't got carbs for dinner. Which means NO beloved rice/ wraps/ noodles/ cous cous to go with my usual! What to do what to do? Hopefully it won't be as harsh as expected and it's all mind over matter. Will let you know how it goes...On the upside I score more milk!

The new exercises went well today, probably cos it wasn't a lunges day and I can handle squats pretty much ok. But 5 sets? Ok I take that back. Was struggling thru the 5th set (really makes a difference!) and felt those thighs burn. Da-Vinci's still a killer esp. after the 1st set where my arms are generally dead from exhaustion...Lord give me more strength for the rest of the PCP days please!

Just had my packed lunch of salmon sashimi, green salad and rice. Must say it tasted pretty bland without the soy and wasabi as well as balsamic vinegar for my salad. Oh well at least it was healthy and as Patrick said in his video I should think of it as taking medicine, it's not supposed to taste good anyway.

Have also been feeling a little tired and drained today. Not really sure why but also feel kind of zoned out at work, trying hard to focus but not quite there. Perhaps it had something do to with my nightmare last night, where I was in some kind of Harry Potter world and got killed by someone like Voldemort...scary and weird...

Hoping tomorrow is a brighter day!!!

Happy week 4 ! xX

'

Day 19 - 21 : Life is more colorful with PCP!

Ok so a little behind on the blogging front, but weekend came and went like a tornado.
Why is it Monday already???

So weekend was super despite the miserable and rainy weather here in HK. Had a quiet and well-behaved PCP home dinner on Fri night as I knew I had a big day on Sat. And it sure was. It started off with a powerful and emotional 1.5hr charity yoga class for Japan (woke up too late to do PCP before the class)...lots of medidation, live instrumental music, singing and 8 teachers teaching little segments in their own style - was an amazing experience to channel all our positive energies to Japan and definitely touched my heart to say the least. Had a brunch with the girls afterwards (rocket salad w/ grilled chicken and wholemeal toast) which I must say was very PCP - colors are always so much more vibrant when you eat healthy !!!
But ... I was still really tempted by the selection of choco cakes and freshly baked tiramisu on
display...weep... I wish these cravings would go away already!!!

 

Rocket salad w/ grilled chicken and fresh orange juice as my snack! Don't you love the colors??

 Sat afternoon came and I was chilling nicely at home all wrapped up reading girly mags whilst dreading the inevitable = heading out again for PCP work out...It was already 5pm and raining ! So there I was thinking of 1001 good excuses not to go such as the rain factor, achy muscles, throbbing headache... but I knew my guilt for not going would kill me later anyway so I bit my lip and ran to the park in the rain. Found a huge marquee and settled there, which was a little bit of a squeeze since there were already 3 groups of girls
picnicing there as well as a few guys practising tai-chi. Well, the more the merrier right? Was so humid that I
was dripping in sweat after 5min of skipping- Charming ! On the upside the marquee was right next to the grass area and the view was really scenic- reminded me of my garden back in South Africa- so green and spacious! When i'd finished the work out it was already getting dark but I felt a good sense of achievement and happy that I stayed commited!

My skipping view @ Vic Park

The excellent PCP day ended off with a light vegetarian meal @ a quirky little Vegetarian place called Veggie SF in Central, the whole place is decked out with antique furniture with mis-matched chairs...The food is healthy and super tasty - very innovative use of ingredients (i guess since there's no meat involved they gotta get creative) and very PCP! I recommend this place to all PCPers in HK if you want to try vegetarian with a twist!
http://www.veggiesf.com/
My veggie and wild rice meal came like this (note the vibrant colors again):

Quinoa in baked pepper, grilled carrots, wild rice with shitake mushrooms - YUM!

Sunday was a blur, woke up late, hung out at home watching TV and only dragged myself down to the park
around 5pm again ! Not liking the afternoon work outs as much as the morning slots but somehow I feel like I work harder in the afternoon??? After Sat + Sun's late arvo sessions my arms were throbbing and biceps were slighly swollen ! Legs were shaky after the lunges as well...Ahhh the joys of shocking your body! No gain no pain right?

Re Patrick's email about changes in the body, I haven't had any break outs or anything but have noticed improved flexibility esp. after my Sat yoga class (i'm able to stretch further), brighter skin (+ no more eye bags!), firmer belly (2 pack is more evident!), bigger tricep muscles (well they exist now whereas I didn't think they did), very consistent bowel movements and less (almost none) lady pains - I love it !

We timed ourselves on the jump ropes this morning, I managed to do 1020 (still had some juice to push those extra 20) in 17 mins. Not really that good but getting there. I did my record 180 jumps in a row today - whoop! I find that when I get in the groove it seems that they ropes not even swinging anymore and everything is so light and easy. Just need to find that groove every morning...

Signing off with my last color pic of the day, my lovely fruit snack of the day ;-)

3 weeks in and ready to rock week 4 !!

Ps. Team, I think we should a team name together, what do you think???

Day 17 & 18 : Baby guns !

Day 17 and 18 - my, has this week has just flown by or what?

Weather here in HK has dropped considerably and I heard it's only going to get colder this weekend, may even see thunderstorms this evening...Keep warm everyone...

Work outs have been ok, still struggling with lunges (already feel the burn after 2nd set) and getting that consistency in skipping. But arms are definitely getting stronger so i'm going to throw in an extra band for more resistance tomorrow. I flexed and even saw some baby guns emerging - now that's a first !!!

Looking forward to the extra 2 hours sleep in tomorrow - woohoo. Then I have a 10.30 Charity yoga for Japan crisis til 12.00...really looking forward to some medidation for a good cause ;-)

One other thing (quite random I know) which I noticed recently and have grown fond of whilst doing leg up's and sit up's (exercises that require me looking up at the sky) is how beautiful the silhouette of the leaves and branches in the trees are. Especially in the morning when the sun starts coming up, and you see golden rays projecting thru the leaves - amazing how something so simple and natural can be so gorgeous!

Sunlight streaming through the leaves

Had a end of season team lunch today @ Osaka, a boutique and traditonal japanese restaurant in TST. Tried to stick to the correct amount of carbs, protein and veg- I ordered some sushi sashimi (so fresh!), rice, edamame beans (minus the salt) and spinach. I know it's not an ideal PCP lunch but I think I did pretty well considering my colleagues were eating all these other yummy hot pot style concoctions that smelt SO good. I also gave up my miso soup and creamy salad. I enjoyed eating something different from the norm (PCP) but I must admit I do feel slightly guilty with the non-PCPness of this meal. Rest assured I am completely dedicated and won't let it happen again unless absolutely necessary...


<>

I think it's Orange & grape season here! Sooo sweet and juicy.

 Alrighty team I wish you all a beautiful PCP weekend and warm wishes to all the guys in Japan....my thoughts are with you always...X

Ps. Heard the tai-chi ladies talking about how they were trying to buy salt at the supermarket yesterday but it's completely out of stock everywhere in HK - how bizarre that peeps here think that salt can prevent radiation??? I can't wrap my head around this one...

Day 16 : Kiwi Berry

Day 16 and not much to report except completed the exercises this morning with some difficulty. Muscles were aching and felt the burn thru most of the lunges (do they ever get easier???) and all the other sets. Just found out that it's 850 jumps tomorrow - wowza ! Hope my muscles calm down by the morning...

New discovery = Kiwi Berry ... these lovely little fellas were highly recommended by my fruit man- it's a miniature version of a kiwi but has the texture of a berry. Really flavoursome and tasty !

I love Kiwiberry!!!

My colorful afternoon snack with kiwiberry ;-)

Enjoy your evening PCP'ers, 2 more days til the weekend !

Day 15 : Endorphins rock!

Week 3, A sixth of the way in and i'm in the zone...!

Got our new meal plans and work out's yesterday and was quite surprised that my diet hasn't changed much from week 2 except for slightly less carbs, more milk (which i'm quite liking) and an extra egg white for morning snack! Must mention that the boiled egg white tastes really bland and I can't stand the smell.
Are there any other ways for making egg whites tastier (or at least edible) ??

As for the exercises- apart from lunges and push-up's, I am pretty much enjoying everything else. I realized this morning that rope jumping can actually be quite fun and therapeutic at the same time. I like how calm my mind is when I skip. No more chitter chatter. I also find that by concentrating on 1 or 2 focal points really helps with the control and switching from one to the other whenever I start losing concentration helps to get it back.

On another note, we've been seeing some more interesting characters at the park over the past week. A funny one is a tall topless man walking around our work out area in circles everyday. Actually we're not really sure why he always has his top off, since we never see him doing any strenuous exercises. But he's always there when we get there in the mornings and has the most serious face ever. I attempted to smile at him this morning but he was storming around too fast to notice. Waaaay too serious for that time of the morning! I just wanna say to him :

It really is!

2nd week pics uploaded - not much changes (physically) from week 1 (0.5kgs down) but I do feel stronger esp. in my arms. Ready to Rock week 3!!!

X

Day 14 : Sunny with a dose of cravings

All is well nearing end of week 2 PCP and particularly chuffed at the fact that I killed the 800 jumps this morning!! Finally was I fighting thru the fatique and just kept it going despite still tripping up every so often...Finished my sets in good time. It's a great feeling.
Highly anticipating our new meal plans and new exercises for this week. Did a HUGE market food shop yesterday and now our fridge is stuffed with sh!t loads of healthy goodness - all this food should last us for most of the week - I like it a lot. Devoured my lunch today (also last night's supper) which is chilli beef cubes, zucchini, mushrooms and tomatoes with rice - especially loving the color combo:-

Having said that, I had a major sweets craving yesterday. Having a 24 hour 7-Eleven and a bakery right below my building must be a curse.

When will these craving stop?????

Perhaps these 2 options may help, no?

Snack Defense (SD) is a cutting-edge herbal solution that targets the body's response to cravings. Works all day and night to reduce the desire for sweets and helps prevent the urge to snack between meals.* REALLY !!???



Associate BAD feelings with sweets. Must remember this handy at all times !!!


Adios PCP Amigos !

* 13.5 down 76.5 more to go...

Day 12 + 13 : Sun is shining, the weather is sweet ...

makes you wanna move your dancing feet ... my little Bob Marley tribute this morning ;-)

It's Sunday and i'm feeling GOOD.

Loving weekends even more now as I get a little sleep in (9am workout is SO much better than 6am) and I find myself enjoying the workouts more and more. It's getting there slowly but surely ! Time is magic !!!


Body
Feeling a bit sore in my neck and back muscles today. I think it's from all the rowing (getting easier) , standing ovations (ouch!), da vincis (still a killer) and the forward shoulder raises. I can see a big improvement from Day 1 but I still struggle to get my arms all the way up on da vincis. Skipping has been better these 2 days, getting my groove back but still just need to focus more and not let my surroundings (ie. loony folk) disturb my concentration. My skin actually feels a little brighter and glowing ;-) Thank u vegetables !!!

Food
Absolutely loving the meals these days. We've started cooking our veg (tomatoes, zucchini, asparagus, mushrooms) in bigger patches so we save preparation time on our next meals. Discovered some wholemeal bread with walnut and raisins from the local bakery which is simply delicious. Can't wait to see the new meal plan for week 3 (please Patrick don't cut the carbs too much !). Thought i'd share some pics of my recent meals for y'all :-



Raisin and walnut wholemeal bread with 1 scrambled egg, lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini and mushrooms. Skimmed milk with my fav meal companion - crushed red pepper (can't live without it !)

Chilli beef rocket baguette with veggies

Ricky munching on grilled salmon, asparagus and zucchini with rice

Thoughts
Are with those affected by the tsunami and praying for those still missing.....Glad to hear all fellow PCP'ers are safe and sound.

Off to the beach now to soak up some much needed Vit D's...

Enjoy the rest of ur weekend, week 2 almost DONE !

Day 11 : Spreading the PCP Love

These few days have been pretty tough. My jump rope officially does not agree with me. Reached a set of 50 today and then it was like 15, 12, 21, 10....Not sure if it's a concentration thing, or my body is physically exhausted or perhaps my technique is wearing thin ??? Having just read Jame's blog from the previous group, I can totally relate to him talking about how his threshold for incompetence is getting lower...not that i'm gonna continue to beat myself up about it, but it's kind of discouraging to fall backwards at this stage, as PCP keeps stepping up...Nervous for the 700 jumps tomorrow but I think my strategy going foward is to just DO, don't think too much about the physics and as Patrick suggest just focus on moving the wrists instead of the arms. All fingers X'd for some smooth skipping tomorrow 9am (not 8am Ricky!)...

Last night's dinner was pretty awesome, it was the first time I ever attempted a healthy choice in a restaurant and although I won't lie and say I wasn't tempted by all the other lovely and naughty delights on the menu (Lasagne !!! Swedish Meatballs !!! Mushroom and salmon risotto!!!), I actually enjoyed having a nice light healthy dinner minus the vino and dessert (did I just say that??). 

Grilled Calamari (no salt, no oil), pumpkin soup with wholewheat pitta bread and h20!

Lunch today was really tasty thanks to Chef Ricky for his preparations last night. Chicken was so nice, spicy and tender! Yum!


Chilli Chicken pasta w/ Zuccini and tomatoes

 On another note, i'm happy that my friends and colleagues are super supportive of my new diet. Some have been following my blog and i've even inspired 3 of my colleagues to start eating healthier and get back into fitness. I'm spreading the PCP love ! I guess a good support system is really important in times like these to keep me going strong ;-)

Really REALLY looking foward to a sleep in tomorrow morning. All these 6am mornings have been exhausting to say the least. Wish you all a great start to your weekend !

TGIF X

Day 10 : 4 words ...

                                                              I suck at skipping.

Today was just not my day for jumping/ hopping/ skipping of any sorts. After my high of record 100 consecutive jumps yesterday I plummeted to only managing sets of 30 or so. At one point I kept tripping on No.24 ...Not sure why but I guess I was fighting my body - mind was strong, body weak. But having said this I won't let it get me down- tomorrow is a new day and new beginnings.
Been browsing around the net for some tips on successful rope jumping and came across these guidelines which I thought i'd share - does make a lot of sense, so I will hopefully put them into practise tomorrow morning !!!

1. Don't jump too high off the ground. One of the biggest mistakes people make is trying to soar as high as they can on every jump. This is counterproductive and will tire you out quickly. You should be on the balls of your feet, twirling the rope quickly, while only getting an inch or two off the ground.
2. Vary your rope speed. Just like with any exercise, if you jump rope for the same amount of time and with the same rope speed day after day, you're body will soon adjust and your results will plateau. To avoid this, constantly mix up the speed and duration of your jump rope workout.
3. Try some fancy footwork. Once you feel as though you have a pretty good handle on the basic two-feet-at-a-time style, try some other jump rope exercises: "boxing step" (which involves bouncing on one foot for a few passes of the rope and then swapping feet and bouncing on the other for a few more), or "double unders" (where you pass the rope two times under your feet in a single jump).
4. Work out at your own pace. If you can only jump rope for ten passes and then need to take a break, then that's what you should start off by doing. I promise you, in time you will be able to do far more than that. But, for now, don't push yourself to the point of absolute exhaustion.

So I also found out that there's this book on rope jumping but with a somewhat interesting title:-

I'm wondering whether there's a version for Girls and Women? ;-)

Meal-wise it's been going ok, apart from the afternoon/ evening sweet cravings the food has been pretty good and very similar to what Ricky and I would usually cook, maybe minus a third of the carbs that i'm allowed...

Off to meet a girlfirend for dinner tonight - I decided that I should still be sociable and make time for friends whilst on PCP. I must admist the thought did cross my mind to cancel just to stay away from all temptations but hey, I figured since i'm commited to this I should be stronger than that ! By the way, the restaurant I picked for tonight is called 'Eat Right' - totally PCP appropriate !!!

Adios PCP Amigos !

Day 8 & 9 : No space for factory food

Missed yesterday's blog post as did the 6am alarm call...Not really sure why but still managed to drag my cold sorry butt out to Vic Park straight after work around 7:30pm, drizzling and all !!! Definitely do not fancy exercising in the rain but due to massive self-guilt from missing the morning session I stuck it out - and gosh Patrick sure as hell stepped it up a notch !!! Jumps were ok despite a slight rope malfunction however I am finding that I keep losing my momentum half- 3/4 of the way. Da Vincis were a KILLER ! Struggled through my sets, pulling the saddest face ever - not sure whether to laugh or cry about how weak I am ! I can only hope it gets better and better as the days go by.

I still can't believe how much food I have to consume daily. I was literally stuffed yesterday after breakfast only to realize that I had 250ml of milk to down. Really? Usually I only feed milk to my cats or have it with cereal (which doesn't happen often) so it feels quite strange that it's my turn to be drinking all this milk. Would indeed be interesting to know the reasoning behind including milk in the diet (apart from the obvious - Calcium).

The good thing is, I never feel hungry anymore. This is coming from a person who would always be 'starving' came afternoon as I would eat very little lunch so i'd have an excuse to snack on sweet stuff. I don't even think of them as I have no space in my belly to consume all that factory food as Patrick calls them.

 Now that's a first!

At this point I do wish we had more hours in the day. Just an extra 3 hours would be perfect!! Dinner preparation time has doubled because of all the weighing, cleaning, prepping for the next day and packing. On Monday night our kitchen counter looked like an earthquake had stuck. I guess my time management and organising skills definitely need improving but i'm sure we'll all get there - the path to the peak Preparation project !!!!!

Had  to do the work out in the rain this morning. It was freezing, wet and gloomy. I pushed extra hard as I wanted to finish everything asap and actually managed to do my record 100 consecutive jumps- whoop! Struggled big time with the shoulder lift - tried so hard to make it all the way but only managed to get it half way up. Lunges was not my friend today as well...Came 4th set and I was feeling the burn...The rest of the exercises were fine - I must say I have grown to love Leg-up's - am finding them easier to do as day goes by...such a HUGE difference compared to Day 1- I now even sneak in extra sets between breaks (on a good day).

Oh, we were also totally entertained this morning at the park- an old Chinese man came and joined us whilst we were lunging, decided to start lunging with us and then jogged around us (and letting out gas!!! So not cool) and so it turns out that he took a particular interest in becoming Ricky's friend ... He even repeated about 40 times that he will be there every morning from 6- 7am and look forward to seeing him tomorrow...I guess you had to be there. But that was some hilarious morning entertainment right there for us ... ;-)))

Good Night and Stay Strong !!!

Week 2 almost halfway done ....

Day 7 : Au Revoir to...

- End of Week 1 PCP + half portion meals of choice

Quite sad to be parting with my comfort food (chocolates............) but also happy at the same time for new beginnings, new diet and new lifestyle ! It's been a while since i've been discplined in terms of my eating habits so i'm ready to rock on !!!

Had a great lunch today consisting of all the bits and bobs that I love to eat - you see, i've been eating buffet lunches everyday for 4 weeks straight now (work serves them since it's our seasonal selling campaign and we need to eat with our clients) and I am SO glad it stops tomorrow. There's only so much Thai/ Vietnamese/ Chinese/ Shanghainese/ Italian one can take daily without being put off food. Bring on PCP meals. Having said that I did enjoy my last half serving of MSG today and it looked a little something like this...



Au Revoir MSG!!!

 Wowza, just looked @ our Day 8 meal plan and exercise routine- damn, I think i'll need to wake up at 6am to do my exercise and prep for lunch !!! As for the the Pull-up's - hmmm, not sure how that's gonna go down with my weak arms and 600 jumps???? I barely survived through my 500 this morning and already broke out in a sweat after 200 jumps.........Some interesting times ahead indeed...........but i'm looking forward to the challenge!

Enjoy your last suppers everyone !!!

Day 6 : Whipped !

Did I just get up at 8am on a Sunday morning to exercise??? Whhhhhhat?
Kind of boggles my mind how PCP is motivating me to be obedient and not be my usual lazy self. I'm learning more and more about myself on this crazy and exciting journey.

Rope jumps are getting better, but i'm still finding it tough to get consecutive jumps. I've been plateauing at around 60 jumps and trying hard for a breakthrough! I'm happy to be jumping really low (1-2") and finding more speed but usually after my 3rd set or so when i start losing concentration (as well as losing count) that's when I start tripping up bad- and being whipped by a speedy weighted rope is sure as hell not pleasant! I get it now how the girls in the previous groups keep mentioning about their 'battle scars'. Girls i'm starting to feel your pain ...

Lunges and leg-up's were surprisingly easy until I realized we had to do '4' sets of push-up's which sent me into a slight state of frenzy. I think I did a good attempt (still got my knees down but I feel more poweful after learning to breathe through it and going deeper) however, i'm pretty sure I had SAS (shaky arm syndrome) and whimpering thru my last set, much to the joggers and oldie's amusement...

Glad to know that the toughest part of my Sunday is over - time for relaxation !

Signing out with my inspirational pic of the day:-

Day 5 : Wine, what's that?

1st PCP weekend - woke up this morning feeling fresh, well-rested and revitalised after a chillaxing (+boozeless !!!) Friday night. Had a good laugh watching 'The kids are Alright' and the term 'wine' didn't even cross my mind which tells me that I am well and truly set in PCP mode.

Did my usual Saturday 10.30am 90min Baptiste Vinyasa hot yoga class and boy was it challenging. Not sure if it had anything to do with the 4 consecutive days of PCP exercise routines but it seems more vigorous than usual - I walked out thinking how on earth am I going to do my PCP workout later???
The pre-PCP Shirley would definately skip any kind of exercise and spend the rest of the weekend indulging in chocolates and custard puddings. But came afternoon and I was actually excited to go and do the workout (much to Ricky's surprise)!!! So not like me but something inside me is saying that quitting is not an option so i'm hoping this 'drive' will help me thru the next 85 days.

Lunges and push-up's were a killer today. Also attempted a pull up and failed miserably...My weakness is my lack of strength in my upper arms and chest so i've always struggled with planks and push-up's. From what I see in the previous group's blogs about the '60 sec plank' routine makes me feel that I better step up my game and start getting these arms stronger...! Goodbye to Bye Bye arms !

Happy weekend to all and enjoy the skipping tomorrow as well as last day of half indulgences ;-)
I know I will be treasuring every moment.

Day 4 : new discovery

Woke up at 6:30am this morning and the first thought that crossed my mind was 'wow this is early, I can snooze for another hour !!!' I totally blanked out the exercise routine for a second until Ricky turned on the lights
and off to Victoria Park we go......

I must say i've really taken a fancy to my new Altus adjustable weighted jump rope. It's so much firmer than my last Nike rubber one and in my opinion it's much easier ... I recommend this Albus to everyone who wants to try something new. I took out the weights as I wanted to get my technique right before attemping anything strenous and I have a feeling that Altus and I could be great buddies for the next 86 days.
I managed to crack 60 consecutive jumps and even attempted the one-legger for about 40 jumps!

Lunges was hard but it seems as though my muscles have stretched out a bit and not so painful anymore. Push-up's are getting better although i've still got knees on the ground, but it's already a big improvement from Day 1. I'm still finding leg-up's a real challenge - do they ever get easier???

I know it's only Day 4 but I really feel motivated and in high spirits everyday knowing that i've embarked on a life changing experience which is exciting but challenging at the same time !
Also appreciating the group interactions to and love reading people's honest blogs - nice to know we're in this all together and staying strong !!!

Look forward to the next 86 days with you all...

But first thing's first = TGIF and i'm ooooof for our favourite * half * sushi date

Day 3 - My legs don't lie

All I can say is 'OUCH' !

Woke up this morning to stiff legs and sore butt - haven't felt this way since my last 90 min hot yoga class but this pain seems more intense...Had to do my morning session indoors today and had my cat Cubie starring down at me as if I was doing some crazy stunt :-

Lunges was the toughest to do since my legs kept shaking through each lunge but I was thankful I made it through my last set without giving up. Let's hope this pain subsides before my skipping session tonight...
Fingers crossed I get to my 1st 50 consecutive jumps!!!

Half meals are going ok but I am definitely looking forward to following a set meal plan next week. Eating half a piece of cake is more torturous than having none at all...!

Happy Thurday to all ;-)

Day 2 - Jelly legs and Snack attack

It's Day 2 into PCP and I am relatively proud of myself for surviving the after work & early morning exercise routines with minimal pain (my fiance + fellow PCPer Ricky would probably disagree). Having said that, my legs already feel like jelly from the 2 days of lunges and i'm constantly reminded of them everytime I walk.

I also couldn't believe how incredibly tough jumprope is, despite looking soooooooo easy! It seems like i'm lacking some serious coordination and technique in this area but I know practise makes perfect so I will keep trying to hop away blissfully amongst the tai chi-ing oldies at Victoria Park ...
Will also try a weighted skipping rope tonight to see how I go. I'm determined to make it work !!!

Food : my biggest challenge will be cutting down on chocolates as I am a huge chocoholic and somehow there are just chocolates, Tim Tams, biscuits and cakes everywhere in the office screaming 'EAT ME ' !!!
My sweet indulgences since Day 1 has been half a Tim Tam and a small piece of chocolate after dinner last night - so far so good but I won't be so sure once weekend hits !

My meals have been controlled and eating half portion actually isn't all that bad but I usually start feeling massive hunger pains around this this hour (4- 5pm) so i will go and have the quarter pomelo from

yesterday which I am hoping will last me until dinner time. My lunch today looked like this:-

I look forward to my half Sushi tonight and will get ready to master the art of Skipping !
Bring on 60 X 5 tomorrow !!!

* Good Luck to All  and ENJOY the ride *