January 23, 2013

Weight Loss: Holiday Hangover

When someone says 'hangover' most people immediately assume that this particular someone has imbibed too much alcohol. I'm talking about a different and perhaps more dangerous hangover, of the holiday variety.

I'm not talking about how hard it (still) is to get up in the morning and trudge to work rather than languishing in bed till the heat drives me out. No, I'm talking about a habit hangover. We give ourselves plenty of leeway over the holiday period. "Oh! it's Christmas / New Years / summer I'll eat whatever I want. I'll fix it with my New Years resolution / when I get back to work / later." The problem is that habits are, well, habit forming.

The thin people in my life have good habits; they order skim milk / without cream / entree size / with veges instead of fries. This self sacrifice is the 'life change' we are all meant to be making for long term health and weight loss. I trick myself into thinking I'll just have one / a taste and the next thing I know it's all gone.

How am I doing on my resolutions? Middling.


1. Write these posts - I'm doing that right now!

2. Weigh myself - at the bottom of the post (-0.2 from my New Years weight).I may need to weigh myself more regularly to help remind me what I'm meant to be doing.

3. Keep going to pole dancing - I've missed one class of pole dancing when I was notably tired, stressed and had to work late but probably needed it the most.

4. Eat breakfast every day - I've eaten a good healthy breakfast all bar one day when I had white toast (horrors!) with peanut butter)

5. Don't give up - I often feel like it but so far I haven't completely fallen off the wagon

6. Celebrate my successes - I don't feel like there have been many which probably means that I'm not celebrating the ones I do have. This is something to work on.

How are you doing with your resolutions? Do you have any holiday hangovers?


Keep reading and you'll see less of me next time


Weight: 93.4kg (-0.5)

Special thanks to: Ian Tilley PhotographyJenny CraigKiwi Pole Fitness

January 21, 2013

Kings of the Gym: PE vs PC

I was a little apprehensive that Kings of the Gym would be a play for the boys. I do think that they would enjoy it but I defy anyone not to. Laurie (Paul McLaughlin) and Pat (Richard Dey) are two genuine kiwi blokes; into sport, gambling, drinking and putting in as little effort as possible to get by. The other half of the cast is balanced out by the great Ginette McDonald as Viv "Cleavage" Cleaver, Hautapu High School principal and boss to our two heroes, and Acushla-Tara Sutton (who needs a simpler name) as uptight, happy-clappy born again student teacher Annie Tupua.

The first thing I should really say is that this play is hilarious. Within the first five minutes the whole audience were in fits. A swear word thrown in unexpectedly, one characters naivety compared to anther's world weary view

Paul McLaughlin manages to look exactly like my PE teacher at high school. His character is a blend of charm and jokey bigotry. The best performances are from him and Ginette (of course), despite her wig. They play off each other well, firing dialogue in a quick volley. I'm not sure if Acushla-Tara is always cast in an annoying role or whether there is just something I don't like about her. Annie is such an irritating creature to start with that had I met her in real life I would be hard pressed not to slap her. This student teacher (who is at the school for an inordinately long time) with her dedication to the "right thing" helps to highlight the ridiculousness of the new curriculum and teacher college training as well as their application in real life. Thankfully she develops more human aspects as the story progresses. Pat is possibly the weakest character but he is in Laurie's shadow and does progress to individuality.

Another hugely detailed set (how do they do it?) makes it feel as if a wall is missing from the gym and we are really just listening to the usual goings on. The actors move around the space naturally, making tea, watching TV and passing balls across the room.

Playwright Dave Armstrong explores narrow mindedness in all of his characters and reveals that perhaps the most obviously bigoted is in actuality the most inclusive. This is a real kiwi play, it looks at the way we live our lives - how laid back we tend to be - and all the things important to us: sport, gambling, drinking, education, family, religion and our cultural heritage. The major theme for me was about real inclusion, not the superficial "mandated" kind but the kind that comes from real team work.


Showing: 19 January – 16 February (Tues/Weds 6.30pm, Thurs-Sat 8pm, Sunday 4pm)
Tickets: $25 - $46
Location: Circa Theatre
For more info and tickets go here

January 7, 2013

Weight Loss: Body Wraps

I'd heard about the wonders of Body Wraps in the past but I wasn't sure whether I should believe them. I decided to give it a go. And where better to go than the woman who trains NZ in body wraps? So, I visited Karen at Isis in Whitby.

Karen is one of the friendliest people you will meet and she will talk your ear off given half a chance. Throughout the whole process, despite my body issues, she made me feel comfortable. Though perhaps comfortable isn't the right word to describe being covered in clay.

The whole process takes about two hours. It starts with you taking all your clothes off then Karen measures each part of your body (for comparison later). The next bit is pretty messy - clay to cover your body then wrapped in bandages, on top of that goes what I like to think of as a space suit to keep it all in. For an hour you stew in the bandages. I was lucky enough to try out PorterVision, a meditation/hypnosis system with a wide range of programs, while I waited out my time.

However messy the first part was the end is more so (and cold!). The clay is wiped off and Karen measures me again. The program guarantees you'll lose 15cm and I managed to lose 34! I don't know how it works, whether it's the compression of the bandages, sweating out excess water or something else - it must be something else as the program also says you can keep it off if you follow their after care.

You can visit Isis in Whitby to try a Body Wrap and/or the PorterVision. You can also find Body Wraps in salons around the country.

Have you ever had a Body Wrap or a similar treatment? How did it go for you?

Keep reading and you'll see less of me next time.


Weight: 93.9 (+0.3)

Special thanks to: Ian Tilley PhotographyJenny CraigKiwi Pole Fitness