Day 90-SOMETHING....Before and After

Couple of observations.....

I've lost whatever sort of tan I had pre-PCP (maybe I should have got that spray-on after all?)

My hair is longer (maybe if I chopped it off I'd lose another 1/2 kgs?)

Sports bras really do nothing for you

More seriously though, I think my posture is a million times better now looking at these shots, something a few people at home have commented on. That's gotta be good.

Since we finished PCP last Wednesday, I've continued with the food. I've been skipping 20-30 mins each morning, and done either the 8min ab workout or 10 minutes of P's ab exercises. Starting back to broader resistance work at the gym on Wednesday. 

I still can't quite believe that 3 months of PCP are over! It hasn't always been easy but I have no regrets.... perhaps only that I spent a couple of months trying to resist doing it in the first instance.

Thanks Patrick.... amazing experience!

DAY 90 - stats

PRE PCP

bmi 20.1 / weight 63.6kgs / body fat 18.91%

POST PCP

bmi 18.8 / weight 59.5kgs / body fat 15.15%

Interestingly, these last stats are the same as the my stats at the end of the second month...  um, certainly didn't feel like I slacked off but maybe I did....?

DAY 90 (well almost....)

Having just received our Day 90 email, I’m sitting here wondering where the last 90 days have gone …  along with a few misplaced kilos and inches. I have emerged slimmer and smarter. My physique and outlook have changed forever (unless I get pregnant again – but that’s another blog!)  That’s what I have come to love about PCP; it’s actually just the start of being able to make more intelligent decisions about what food to eat and how to exercise for the long game. I don’t think you can put a price on that but, if you could, it would be a hell of a lot more than I paid to do this program.

And to think I couldn’t stand to hear Nath (hubby) talk about “PCP” in the weeks and months before signing up. I thought I was in relatively good shape. I had exercised for years and, along the way, had some great personal trainers. I didn’t think I would get much more from, what sounded like, a very regimented 90-day detox. NOTHING I did before compares to this, in experience or outcome.

Patrick has a wealth of knowledge that he disseminates brilliantly. The program is stepped up perfectly so you hardly realise the demands of the exercises (until the last few weeks, which are tough.) The eating program gets a little funky in the middle but, on the whole, I felt like I was eating more than I was pre-PCP. Nath and I haven’t been massively adventurous with the food, keeping our choices very simple in a bid to stay as compliant as possible, but I suspect we’ll experiment a little more now. I’m amazed how much my palette has changed, and foods that I thought I would miss (namely cheeeeeeese and chocolate) haven’t left too much of a gapping hole. The same is true of alcohol; without wanting to sound like a boring fart, a drink is now camped very much in the indulgence category rather than the daily one (where it used to be!) and by 'drink', I mean a glass of, not a bottle! It’s reassuring to say the least, and gives me confidence that this is sustainable.

As for the workouts, NOT sustainable, not for me at least! The last two or three weeks saw a big uptick in sets and reps that demanded 70+ minutes. That said, there are elements that I will definitely maintain on a regular basis (skipping and abs) but I think I will focus my resistance work a little more on strength going forward. Whatever happens, I’ve achieved a great level of fitness that I now have the knowledge to replicate if I feel the need at any time.  PCP has been a reset, it’s my new baseline and I can’t be happier.

Patrick…. It’s been emotional, really! There were times when I thought Nath and I had lost our social charisma forever (swerving nights out in favour of some egg whites and apple in front of the TV at about 10pm after the exercises had been kicked into touch, or going out to our local Argentinean restaurant and ordering a plate of vegetables instead of their mouth-watering steaks.) The farting has been out of this world – Nath’s of course, I’m a girl therefore I do not fart! I’m so impressed with the program content and the way you managed it  - hats off to you.  I know I speak for Nath too (as I quite often do anyway) when I say we’ll be very bullish on PCP with anyone who wants to listen – god knows we’ve been chewing everyone’s ears off with it the last 90 days, WHY STOP NOW?

To everyone in our group… what a relief that last email was, after today’s assault on the old muscles?! Is anyone opting to do Day 1/Work out 1 – come on, own up? I’ve found everyone’s blogs very cathartic at times, hilarious at others, but mostly motivational. Thanks to everyone for rounding off a brilliant experience – Brennan… I’m not thinking about Kung Fu, but GOOD LUCK TO YOU MY FRIEND! Oh, and special thanks to Rob, Tracey and Clive, all of whom have made the whole thing a little more personal. Best of luck x

(PS. Final stats and pics to follow)

Day 87 - GIRL POWER

The last few days of superset PCP are proving to be a rather weighty challenge for some in the Davison household. I have to admit to using free weights rather than bands for the shoulder assault today (burn doesn't come close, dislocation might be more appropriate?) and thought I might get it in the neck from Nath as watched whilst tiptoeing his way daintily through the skipping, breaking in the middle to touch up his manicure. BUT NO....  he later huffed and puffed his way through the exercises with the same weight (3kgs), stopping to ask through pained, gritted teeth"Is this the lightest weight we have?" ENOUGH SAID... he's clearly embarrassed. He's currently on  a plane to Hong Kong - Babe... when you read this, might I suggest you get one of the boys to explain the off-side rule before footie kicks off Monday night?

For those of you coming up through the ranks... it's tough, no denying. Since the reps and sets went through the roof a week or two ago I've been concentrating on form. It's meant I've struggled hitting some of the reps but I'm not going to beat myself up. I'm taking a long-term view on the benefits I can continue to reap from living in a much more PCP-compliant world going forward. Wednesday may be Day 90 but really it's the beginning of putting everything we've learnt into real life practice. As for the results of PCP itself, my trainer is coming into the gym on Day 90 (his one day off) to go through it with me and record the ugly truth about what I've done to my body over the last 3 months. Fingers crossed.

I count myself lucky that I've not had to hold down a day job at the same time - my hat off to everyone (including the other Mrs Davison) for getting through such a grueling program. 

Day 86: super-set / super-burn / super-tart

Before she beats me to it, I really did ask my wife if we had any lighter weights than 3kg today. In mitigation I was in mid 5x da-vinci/forward raise super set agony. Insane levels of hunger seem to be a common theme with other tail end PCPers as well I see. I thought we'd kissed goodbye to that scene after week 3. Continue to amaze myself with my skipping prowess - banging out around 180-200 a minute for the 2x9 minute sessions and now only tripping a few times. Weird ups and downs of enjoying the skipping and then not but in general still enjoying the overall exercises and diet and reckon i'll be sticking broadly to a lot of it in the real world..... Its quite binary, for me at least, with one omission/stray on the diet leading to another and starting a vicious cycle of poor quality food, therefore adding a few bad things back in won't really work. Won't miss doing 1.15 of exercises every day but definitely up for 30 mins 5 times a week - await to see what the P has up his sleeve in the way of maintenance plan...

Day 79 - Hugh Jackmann pleeeeeeease

Roller coaster continues... feeling better about things today - ignore the last post. Was defo under the weather last week - boys have colds and I came down with a mysterious rash - and stressed about a talk I have to give at the Royal Society of Medicine next week. Feeling more under control, more positive -  skipping and work out OK this morning.

Just enjoyed our PCP dinner watching Jonathon Ross - can't go wrong with a bit of Hugh Jackmann guest action, how GORGEOUS is he?! Hopefully not too unlike Nath's transformation when we're done with PCP (I can hope) - just need to get a voice coach in for that all important Aussie twang and we're away! Funnily enough, he talked about his eating regime when preparing for his Wolverine roles - steamed chicken and broccoli every two hours from 8am. I wonder if he farts like Nath too........?

Random post I know, just wanted to up the atmosphere on my recently downbeat thread.

Day 75 - how many?

PCP has been a real roller coaster for me and, I say this knowing Patrick has just emailed about being mindful not to move the mental goalposts but, I'm having a tough week. I'm now struggling with the number of sets/reps being set; not meeting them feels like failure, likewise having to reduce my resistance/weight to try to meet them. Of course I know I look better than when we started (fitter, healthier, smaller - whatever) but I visualize progress as a steady upward trajectory. Right now I feel knackered, run down, weaker than I've ever felt (can this be true....?) - but at least I'm not ill. Ummm.... should be punching out far more upbeat posts at this point in the program - fingers crossed for next week.

Day 67... it's been a while

Time is whizzing by - already a week since my last post.

Feeling good about most things - still feeling a little more honed and toned each week, but tired with it too. Not sure why because the workouts aren't really taking any longer.  The increase in sets has been a small psychological hurdle for me - don't know about everyone else but doing 6 sets of 20 odd reps (especially when it's an exercise that you don't particularly enjoy) is boring and tiring. I've decided I absolutely HATE pistol squats but feel they're playing a huge roll in reshaping my legs and arse so shouldn't really bite the hand that feeds me. Also a little unnerved by taking some of the exercises to failure (push up, elevated tricep dip) incase I end up flat on my face or arse - or both?! Apart from that, not too many other grumbles.

On the flip side, I'm loving the skipping with even more enthusiasm. I'm flying through the 5min sets and keeping my heart rate in the moderate zone - something I would never have been able to do at the start. I'm doubling up on the skips - three sets in the morning before the rest of the workout and the same again in the evening just before dinner... figured it wouldn't hurt, especially 12 or so hours apart. I've got the v-sits down to a fine art and I'm using my Bose for the crunches, so all good with the abs. I am LOVING having the old dinner/evening snack set up back (protein with dinner and fruits as a snack) - less about the timing and more about the protein. Nath and I were becoming totally bored with a plate of veg in the evening, there are only so many ways you can jazz it up AND stay compliant! And the other big positive to this whole process continues to develop - I went shopping for some new jeans yesterday and got into some 3 sizes smaller than before, the attendant in the store couldn't believe that the 9-month in the buggy was mine! Bliss.

As we edge through the last few weeks I'm a little anxious about maintaining what we've achieved. I know I said I felt optimistic after Ibiza, and I still am optimistic that we'll be far healthier eaters than before, but I guess I'm expecting to give back some of the physical improvements because I'm unsure whether they can be maintained without the daily workout - does anyone anticipate continuing with the daily work out after PCP???? It'll be a question for Patrick closer to the end - with good eating and a partially reduced work out schedule, what sort of change can we expect to see?

Anyway... a few days left, shouldn't get ahead. Will someone PLEASE tell me they hate the increased sets as much as me - Nath huffs and puffs his way through them and comes away saying how much he's enjoying them (b8stard.)

Good luck for the rest of this week!

Day 59 - Freddie Katana

Not too much to report. Thought we'd have a little fun with this mornings workout and this is where we ended up....

.... the Freddie Katana! Bless him, he even said "cheese" at the bottom (blood rushing to his head!)

We got through today's work out, took this weeks mugshots and I started to wonder how much change I was actually seeing, so I went through and lined up a couple of comparison shots (day 1 vs day 59.) Long and short of it - I'm pleased with the change going on around the abs/hips/bum ... wondering if there's much going on with my back/triceps however. I thought I was working quite hard at this, but perhaps I need to hit more on the back/tricep exercises... uuum thankfully (?)  I have another 31 days to FOCUS!!!

Day 54 .... definitely NOT hungover!

Conscious that I haven't blogged for a few days, although I managed to get my "homework" in from Ibiza so I guess I can't really use that as an excuse.

Nath and I are now firmly back on track post-Ibiza. We did go off piste while we were away. The trip was booked before PCP and we took the view at the time that it was better to attempt 87 days of PCP rather than none simply because we wanted to have fun for 3 days in Ibiza. I'm pleased to say that some of the better routines we've gotten into over the course of the first 50 days had significantly greater impact that I would have thought (which gives me lots of hope for maintaining things post PCP!!) Drinking was the obvious one. We shared a bottle of wine on our first night, something I could have handled with no problem multiple times before, and had THE WORST night's sleep I can remember. So the next three nights, I had one glass with dinner and water the rest of the time. We shared some meals, especially if we were trying to up the veg intake, share starter and have own main, that sort of thing, and it worked well. Neither of us felt that the eating got away from us, which was a real plus point. On the down side, sleep was in short supply, as we knew it would be. There were just TOO MANY cool places to be and NOT ENOUGH hours to do it all in. The best night was Cream on Thursday - after 5 years of going to Ibiza, it was the most fun I've had in one night - home at 6am. Friday was MTV Ibiza at Amnesia, also unmissable, also home at 6am. I'm ashamed to say we missed two workouts over the course of our little expedition (Patrick, I FEEL TERRIBLE ABOUT THAT!) but they are the only two I've missed since the start and,  unless I get really sick, I won't be missing any more!

So.... hands up to being naughty, but it's onwards on upwards. I'm looking forward with a lot of positivity about how PCP is shaping my routines and relationship towards food/drink. I know now that it's going to be easier to manage things post PCP than I might have thought a few weeks ago. We both came back from Ibiza looking forward to another 45-odd days of saintliness....

...BUT before that, a few pics of said naughtiness attached.

Ibiza....

I LOVE Ibiza, but getting vegetables with breakfast is near on impossible. If that was my only sin it would be happy days for PCP. Damage limited to Sunday morning, when we leave. Do you think two sets of six hour dance-a-thons go some way towards my skipping bank balance? Been working on a freestyle version of the Kung Fu sit up done with glow sticks to a Jaytech set ... Surely that has to count? Who am I kidding? It's too much fun here, tonight we're at Amnesia with MTV Ibiza... Watch that space! More compliant blog next week.

Day 45

Can't tell anyone who hasn't done this how GREAT it feels to be half way - the euphoria almost removes the hunger pangs that I am still waking up with! It's not just the positive psychology of being half way that is making the process feel more bearable, but this week more people (including myself) have noticed the changes. After moaning that I hadn't received any compliments (vs. Nath who's provoked many an astonished response) quite a few close girl friends and family have commented on how 'lean' I'm looking. My body feels like it's morphing into a shape I have never been before and never really thought I could get to. It's making the boring plate of veg in the evening seem worth it.

Went for a body treatment at The Dorchester Spa with my sis-in-law yesterday (her birthday treat) - the massage made me realise how much strain the old bod has been under, but it felt so good to have some of the aches and pains worked out. Maybe I should do it  more often....?

HOWEVER this is IBIZA week for Nath and I (yeeeeeee-haaaaaaaaaaaaar) so I'm a little worried about Wednesday through Sunday, but I'm sure a boat load of dancing on top of the workouts will help out?!??! I say dancing but that's a bit of a stretch in Nath's case, cutting some random shapes off-beat is closer to the mark. Watch out for some pics next week!

So - at the half way mark I'm mega pleased. It's been tough and there have been a few cheeky mouthfuls of naughtiness along the way, not to mention the odd glass of vino, but overall effort has been good and I'm feeling very happy with the way things are going. Good luck to everyone for the next 45 days.....

Little pic of Harry as we were doing this morning's photo shoot.....

Day 41....

Just seen some amazing photos of some of the crew.... everyone's obviously working really hard - there is some great progress being made!

I have to admit that I've been finding the last meal/s difficult this week. I'm not so fussed about the apple/egg white combo, but I am missing the protein with veg combo that we were getting previously. I know it's mostly a mindset thing, but I have woken up a couple of mornings this week feeling hungry - anyone else? Nath's also away in New York this week so I don't have my partner in crime to lean on.  I have to admit to stealing a couple of Freddie's chocolate buttons from the fridge the other night - will I burn in hell? Whoever said this middle bit was more testing wasn't fibbing!

On the positive side, I still feel the workouts are going well - I did 2000 skips this morning, because I felt so bad about the buttons, and felt energised, I could have kept going. I've dropped through 60kgs - it's been a floor for me for much of the last decade, I know it's not about numbers BUT STILL! I'm getting back into pre-baby clothes that never fitted that well in the first place and they're now feeling very appropriate, no pinching anywhere. Wedding rings went on the other day and felt noticeably looser. AND I got my first compliment today.... it's taken a while (Nath's already had a few.)

I'm dreading the new diet ... t-24 hours and counting!

Day 35 - Did I say feeling good....

Jeeeeeez my energy levels seem to be yo-yoing this week. Sick kids probably explains a lot of it but, whatever the reason, I just feel totally cream crackered this evening. Fortunately I'm on top of the exercising - did my 1400 today in 14.30 with breaks every 200. I wasn't thinking about the skip off - is that really happening? I also don't do any tricks... not with the rope at least.

What's the consensus on the 8min ab work out - are people trying to do it everyday, every other, or just when they can? (Assume no one is doing it twice a day? - yet? - apart from Patrick of course!)

Like the look of the new moves this week - lawnmower me up! Bit gutted to be losing the evening banana but I'm still convinced we're going to have a week overloading on broccoli so I guess I can't grumble at that.

We're trying to decide on a holiday to Mauritius in November - have to admit to trying on a bikini earlier and it was fitting much better .... at last, some movement!

Day 32 - Poser....

It's been a good day - time constraints meant that I had to split skipping and resistance for the first time. I kinda like doing it in one hit, but it was fine. I then had a go at the 8min ab workout this evening as Nath sweated his way through the 4x planks after work. It's amazing how little you focus on the funky music and porn-like instruction when trying to concentrate on your abs and take the strain out of your neck. Felt good though.

And today's revelation came after Nath's bath, when he strutted downstairs and admitted to checking himself out in the mirror on almost a daily basis.... well, one of us has to check him out!

Roll on day 33!

Day 31 - KNACKERED!

Just read Dominic's post and feel his pain. Everyone else feeling tired?

Freddie's temperature developed into a proper illness yesterday and through today, we'll need to make another trip to the Dr tomorrow, I'm just praying he sees some improvement soon. It has meant very little sleep for us this weekend.... not a great combo with the tapering diet and workouts - but no one said this would be easy.

On the positive side, I'm starting to feel that the visual changes are kicking in now... especially around the upper body and abs. Nath and I have just watched the 8 minute ab work out on YouTube - LOVED the music, we sat there giggling like school kids imagining how it might be interpreted if it was just audio (!!!!)

Off to bed for some much needed shut eye... fingers crossed we get it.

Broken record...

Just watching Patrick's (timely) week four video... OKAY OKAY I won't watch the stats, great timing Sarah D!

Day 30: Stats

As a reference point, I had some body fat calculations done when we arrived back in London from Hong Kong, at the start of PCP and then yesterday - plan to do it every four weeks.  These were derived from a set of four calliper measurements (stomach, thigh, arm and lovehandles.) On paper things are moving in the right direction:

April BF 22.02%, weight 64.8kgs
June BF 18.9%, weight 63.4kgs
July BF 15.4%, weight 62.2kgs

Between April and June the only influencing factor was exercise (running and weights in the gym), I didn't change my diet or stop drinking, and I was probably only exercising 4-5 times a week. It serves to highlight the benefits of the PCP routine, having had almost the same drop in BF in half the time. I'm still left feeling that the visual isn't quite as successful at this stage - Nath's just taken some pics and they look almost identical to previous pics (to me anyway), so I'm going to weight (hah!) until I see a little more change.

Day 29 - Heating up ... in more ways than one

Wow... the new workout format made an immediate impact with me, two sets of exercises focused on the same body region. I enjoyed it though (mad?) I did it in the gym with my trainer, who is relentlessly interested in the development of the project, to the point where he throws in little challenges to make it harder (holding a weight with the sit ups was not what I needed before the plank finale!)  I still struggle with the pull ups and 6 sets is a real challenge for me. However, he took some calliper measurements and thankfully they've all come in respectably since the start of PCP - will pop them up when I've got the body fat comparisons to go with.

Miss the protein (ex-whites) for dinner, but I'm sure that will improve. Nath mixed his egg white in with his stir-fried veg for dinner - looked like someone had vomited on his plate - but food is becoming increasingly functional so it wasn't too much of a distraction whilst I tucked into my salad with whites 'on the side'. How things are changing!!!!

On the downside, Freddie (the elder) has also now come down with a racing temperature so my day is finishing on a small downer - hate it when the kids are ill.

Hope everyone else managing ok with the new workouts/diets.

Classroom drop out AGAIN

Jeeeeeez I've been hungry today... no idea why, have been fine with the diet all week. Quite possibly watching my best mate devour some chocolate goodies this afternoon didn't help. Comically, she did ask my permission beforehand - this PCP mallarcky is having far-reaching consequences Patrick I hope you realise!

Was quite pleased I could work my way through the creep in the privacy of our garden yesterday - might have looked a little unusual in the gym! In fact I'm now wondering if it's on Friday's sheet, which we've yet to see, I'm doing that one with the trainer.... please say no Patrick!!!??? Mind you, I did the squat jump in the gym on Monday and noticed some rather concerned looking people move out the way rather quickly as I bounced my way down one of the main walkways. Is any of this going to end up on YouTube?

Nothing really new to report... skipping still going well, endurance improving and recovering faster. Unfortunately weight not shifting but do feel firmer. Grappling with the Vs a little - have suddenly become very aware of the small gap in my stomach muscles post childbirth, sure it wasn't quite so noticeable a few months back so going to get it checked by the GP on Friday.

CUE NATH -  just come up stairs and said "that creeps a bit weird' (he's a day behind) .....  it actually doesn't look too different to his desperate moments before visiting the loo after one too many to be fair!

And on that note, I shall depart.... not a thought you'd want to linger on.

Feeling a little deflated. Lost 2kgs steadily the first 2-3 weeks but have stagnated around 61kgs - which is the lowest I've been pretty much since I can remember (58 actually, but I was ill at the time so it didn't count.) I KNOW it's less about the weight and more about the shape, but my initial obvious improvements seem to have slowed/stagnated also.  SO I'm either not exercising thoroughly enough, not being strict enough with the food, or both - or possibly expecting too much too soon? Sounds silly saying all of this after a blog describing a non-compliant wedding (what should I expect?) but, aside from yesterday, I've been exceedingly good (honest gov!)  My trainer here in London will be checking my body fat this Friday - we agreed to do it at the end of each month - I'm hoping the changes are going on internally and my body fat has improved. We'll see. Anyone else comment on the rate of change/improvement they're noticing?

On the positive side, the skipping is going really well.... I break it down into blocks of 200 skips in an effort to moderate my heart rate and keep it south of 148bpm, and kick back in when it drops to the 125bpm mark. I'm feeling stronger and my heart is recovering much faster - when we started I couldn't go much beyond 70 skips without needing to slow it down. I've also noticed some of the strength exercises getting easier, although I do struggle with the pull ups. I've graduated onto straight leg "proper" push ups (as per the diagrams) but do need to drop to knees in the 3-4th set.... although today I raised my arms onto a shallow step up box and did all 4 sets straight legged (figured this was easier than the proper posture but still harder than dropping to knees.)

On the "odd" side, the old boobs seem to be disappearing.... a boob job might be in order once we finish this!!

time to CELEBRATE!

OK... so Rome wasn't built in a day and, if they were handing round drinks like they were at the wedding yesterday, I can totally see why.

The day started well - exercises done, PCP breakfast and lunch consumed, and off we trotted to our friends wedding believing that the wheels might come off, but not in a big way. And they didn't in a BIG way (the food wasn't too bad), but they wobbled at the first invite of a drink and became increasingly unreliable as the afternoon wore on. I'm glad to say they stayed put long enough for us to make it home without embarrassing ourselves, but that's as good as it got. Some pics attached.

We knew this wedding was coming and suspected it might present some unavoidable temptations (cakes, shelves of booze..... ) We have another coming up next month - a long, adult only weekend to Ibiza, waaaaaaaaaaay to much temptation there but I'll save the excuses until we've been. Right now, I'm glad to be firmly back on PCP soil and not at all envious of Nath's two day golf expedition.

Say CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE

Just a quick post: time for the weekly photo shoot and the boys couldn't help but get involved! Here we have Freddie demonstrating his best PCP poses and Harry laughing at us all.

Our pics are on Flickr... not sure we're seeing too many obvious changes yet, but definitely feeling a bit firmer in certain places.

This weeks been good: Harry's had a throat infection from which he's now recovering fortunately. More than this, it didn't spread to any of us which has been a godsend, not sure I could face the workouts with an illness

I'm enjoying the 'diets' (Nath grumbles about the carb portion!) but I do seem to be spending most of my waking day in the kitchen cooking. I've been good too, no foodie indiscretions yet (I'll let Nath explain himself.) Found some great recipes that don't involve much, if any non-compliant bits and pieces - will post these later today when I have more time.

We ordered some free weights this week - think both of us will prefer doing the upper body work with these. Off to do todays workout..... I hate proper pull ups!

Day 11 - Stomach and Stir Fry

Met up with my personal trainer today to run through the exercises. I'm seeing him once a week just to make sure I'm doing the exercises correctly and exploiting the full potential of Patrick's workouts. My stomach is killing me after all those leg raises (and sit ups from yesterday) - roll on the 8 minute ab workouts! Still, I think the old tummy is feeling flatter so I can't grumble, it's slowly being beaten into submission. Following on from the shoulder comment yesterday, I've definitely decided to buy some free weights.

Not really sure I've got much to add for the group's benefit  ...  although we did start stir frying our veg with water today (rather than olive oil) and have to report that it's just as tasty, especially if you load up on the chili. We binned all the nuts and dried fruit in our cupboards and reloaded with a truck load of fresh fruit and veg (I struggled to get the trolley to the car in the car park - hopefully by the end of this PCP I'll be running back to the car with our boat-load of shopping strapped to my back without even breaking a sweat.) Totally appreciate Mike D's comment about splitting time between the supermarket and kitchen, I'm amazed by the food we're getting through. Definitely recommend bulk cooking though Mike - it DOES reduce time in the kitchen in the long run.

Nath's just told me to stop boring everyone with my blog and come to bed..... he said something else, but I had better not blog that!

Night night all.....

Day 10

Enjoying the new 'diet'. Previously I was weighting my food towards the end of the day mainly due to time (kids during the day take up so much time) so I'm not grumbling about the larger breakfast/lunches. I'm thinking ahead when I cook and make sure there is a surplus of things to 'grab' in the fridge in case I'm short on time. I'm guessing the diet will change over the remaining 80 days - heard some weird and wonderful things about fruit and yoghurt at dinner time, followed by green salads at 10pm... interesting.

I'm also not minding the absence of sauces / condiments too much. I've always been a big fan of rice vinegar and that's pretty cool at giving things a kick, but I think the natural flavours are way more apparent now we've eliminated salty/processed foods. Also using lemon, pepper and chilli a lot for flavouring.

Like Nath, I've been dipping into a nut/dried fruit stash - saw Patrick's email and will be binning the rest.

Enjoying the workouts but might invest in some free weights - I find the shoulder raises with resistance bands a little tricky and did each arm singularly today give myself a little more slack (shoulders have always been a weak point for me.) Push ups are easier and I'm definitely noticing some toning to my chest, likewise my stomach with the sit ups and leg raises (but it's not that evident on the pics as yet.)

Really interested by some of the questions coming through on the question thread - ignore Nath on his sleep Qs though, always been a little precious in that regard, doubt it has anything to do with PCP! He's up there now no doubt priming his wax earplugs ....

Heart Rate Training

Hungry - mainly late morning - but doing ok on the food front. Snack on fruit and nuts if I need something. Coffee is a massive safety net for me, on both the eating and drinking front!

Great emails coming through from Patrick on the benefits of consistent, steady training - have agreed with all of this for some time and been training to that effect but, once I get going on the work outs as they are at the moment, I feel like I need/want to do more. I know this will change as the work outs get harder (can't imagine I'll be adding to the 75m work outs we've been warned to expect), but is there really any harm in doing a few extra sets of skipping provided I keep my heart rate lowish (zones 1/2) - Patrick?

Day 3 - Raspberries and FOUR Apples?

We both felt the hunger a little more today so, what did we do...... we took the boys raspberry picking at a local pick your own farm. There's nothing quite like throwing yourself in the midst of food and foodies when you're on a diet. Still, at least it was fruit and the basket was almost as full at the till as it had been in the field.

The work out went well. The skipping is flowing a little better and I'm looking forward to upping the pace a little, but perhaps when our food intake changes. We've just finished dinner and shared an apple ... a few minutes later Nath suggested another (I pointed out that we never used to share four apples.... slap on wrist!)

Roll on DAY FOUR.

DAY 2 - Greasy Spoon Envy

So we woke up to four or so emails from Patrick - all welcome! I went outside to do the workout 'le matin' as promised and it did set me up well for the day. It helped that the sun was shining.

Nath and I walked past our local greasy spoon ('Mags Cafe') en route to the station this morning, the al fresco tables were full of punters tucking into Full English.... the collective rumble was deafening - I think Nath started to cry actually, but don't tell him I told you! Trying to be creative with what I'm eating is helping deflect the hunger, and I'm trying to make as much of it homemade as possible - found a great little recipe for some rather hot guacamole if anyone is interested, was v. tasty with a small open chicken/tomato sandwich at lunchtime.

The day ended on a high as I watched Freddie copying Nath's workout, complete with questionable skipping..... hopefully by day 90 he'll have mastered it.

Patrick - shopping list complete.

Go on David Haye!

Skipping

Day One completed - sigh of relief!

Halving the portion sizes wasn't too big a deal not, I stress, because I usually eat gigantic sizes, but because the boys have kept me busy so the hunger pangs have fallen on deaf (toddler-abused) ears! I concede I may not be so deaf to it by day 3-4-5. It will be more interesting (harder) when I have to think about the food going into my mouth, rather than just the amount.

Just done the work out - all good. Can't imagine any mum would enjoy skipping quite as much as she did before she had kids, but it was still good to do. Note to self - will aim to do work outs in the morning rather than the evening (psychological high?) That said, having just done the work out in the evening with Nath, it was immensely enjoyable hearing him fight ferociously with the skipping rope whilst I did the squats/push & sit ups.... apparently the skipping rope is rubbish?! Ummmm.

Weighed in this morning at 63.6kg (for reference) and have a number of caliper measurements that I might not inflict on my blog until I have some comparisons.

All in all, a good start, relieved the kick off is gentle, slightly uneasy about ramp up later but no pain no gain right... especially with a rubbish skipping rope  (Nath!)

It seems everyone in the Davison family is getting ready for 1st July PCP ...  Freddie couldn't wait to get hold of the push up bars! Ever so slightly impressed by his form ...

A little nervous if truth be told, mostly about the food rather than the exercise, although I've heard it's the exercise that gets to most people. Good luck to everyone starting tomorrow!

T-2 and counting....

Two more days before the challenge begins; partly concerned, partly excited. Just want to get cracking now and see what the hype is about - Patrick, no pressure!