Meanwhile in Sydney...

After living through the dark of power blackouts, searing temperatures and flooding (all of which I have inscribed in blog form on pen and paper which I will upload in the near future) I jumped on a plane and flew down to Sydney. I had to fly down to drop some suits and clothes off for Dad who had been stranded down here and also due to the inundation of the Milton office, to get some work done. I arrived to sun, blue water and white beaches.What, surely this can't be in Australia, where is the brown murky water, the torrential rain, the mud encrusted streets the flood ravaged CBD. I guess I've been stuck in a Brisbane mindset.

In many ways the flood and subsequent power and other issues have not been that bad for me. After cleaning up the damage I would return to a dark house with no power. This forced me to read. I got stuck into my Triathlete's Training Bible which has inspired me to plan out many aspects of my life starting with plotting my return to triathlons. Looking back now while doing triathlons was one of my most fun, happy, confident and successful times. I am looking to recapture this in 2011. Coming back better, stronger, faster. Alpha and Out!

Revamped

After the christmas- new years hangover period I have finally organised myself for another tilt on my weight-loss journey. I have revamped my training diary based on how I used my previous one. This meant having a section in the diet to write down any changes to my diet plan if I don’t have the correct food stuffs and a time based exercise bar in comparison to a planned exercise schedule. This will allow me to focus more on time spent exercising which is what I need at the moment in opposition to the type of exercising. I have also narrowed it down to a 4 week period. This will allow me to focus more on the blocks of time towards my goal in March rather then trying to keep focus on the whole 9-10 weeks.

This 4 week block will focus purely on fat loss and weight reduction. This means lots and lots of cardio while downsizing the time spent on weights.

Briefly I want to elaborate on my confidence, another crucial armament as Alpha. Last night I was out with my mates and we started to try and work on approaching people to start conversations. We managed to strike up one mainly due to the help from my mate. I felt no fear, nothing bad at all however for the rest of the night I just couldn’t approach anyone at all. This is all to do with confidence. While my confidence is returning it is still a small slice of what it was two years ago. Your confidence will always fluctuate on a day to day basis but at the end of the day it is a choice whether you pull it up or put it down. It’s all on You! I have got to work on pumping it up and removing the negativity that has sunk in over the past two years. Here we go again, Alpha and Out!

Wind Through My Hair

Well through my helmet at least. Finally jumped on the bike and rode to work leaving the gas guzzler at home. I have been making excuses, sleeping in, needed to drive, rain, anything really to sub-consciously avoid riding to work. But a decent hiking pack for all my gear and repairs done after my crash left me no more excuses and as soon as I got on the bike and started down the hill the exhilaration was great. I know sometimes you put off doing things because you think negatively about it but as soon as you start the activity etc you love it. Despite struggling up the hills, hampered by lack of time on the bike and also the tailings of a cold swirling around my lungs (significant amounts now lying in the grass surrounding the bike path), I still enjoyed my first ride in months.

Yesterday after a positive start to the day, the usual happened. Put off going to the gym because I had to "work". Failed that test. Went to the shops and didn't buy any extra crap I didn't need. Passed that test. Got home earlyish and after some initial positive discipline I dived into biscuits, cashews and lollies. Failed that test. Another long night infront of the TV despite my initial plan for the night led to a late night soft drink and a sleep in. Several other tests failed.

After seeing this pattern once again I realise that my weakness for everything is low in the afternoon. To reset this pattern I therefore need to limit my exposure to the trigger items and events. Things such as returning home early, not eating my afternoon snack before digging into the bad foods, poor stress management etc. So my plan is to try and not be at home between the hours of 1pm and 5:30pm, even on weekends as this is the trouble area. Better day today, got to finish it well. Alpha and Out!

Happy New Year : 2011

"2011: Rise of the Alpha"

Two Up and Down years have passed away it is finally time for a better Alpha to rise from the ashes of Awkward. This week when I find the time I am going to put some thought into mapping out the Rise to Alpha - dreams then to goals then to action plans. I will post them up by the end of the week.

Luckily going by weight and body fat percentage the christmas and new years period have left my largely unscathed. This is a massive plus and some positive feedback for me to motivate myself. Now that the silly season is over I can focus on approaching each scenario as "Tests" again. Over the holidays my big problem as always is afternoon snacking, failing to exercise and TV snacking. I am going to start with small commitments in terms of exercising, aiming to do just 1 hour of exercise a day and then ramping it up over the next couple of weeks, just need to get some consistency in my training. I am also aiming to restrict any deviations from my diet to be centred around dinner which I will eventually cut out in future weeks and finally I am going to aim to decrease my TV watching to bedtime only when I need to sleep. Hopefully I will report back tomorrow with a successful first day of the Alpha Journey. Alpha and Out!