Wednesday, August 30, 2006

CALORIE BURN OUT

So yesterday I put the EPOC theory to the test.

First I got on the StairMaster machine. It's like walking up stairs. After about 5 minutes my heart rate was in the 150 beats per minute. I wanted to stop (jelly legs, short of breath) but carried on for 20 minutes. My heart rate rose to the late 150s-165 range. It was really hard. I burned 330 calories in 20 minutes.

Then I did 20 minutes walking on the treadmill. Not uphill. Just flat. 6 kilometres per hour - quite a good steady pace. My heart rate levelled out at around 125. I could sing and carry on a conversation but breathed a bit heavier and could feel my heart elevated a bit. It was pretty easy. I burned 130 calories in 20 minutes.

So therein lies the crux of the EPOC theory. Work hard. Burn more calories. Raise your metabolism for longer.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

THE EPOC THEORY

Nearly half way through the 2006 MidWinterMakeover challenge at my local gym. I won this challenge last year by losing 12.5 kgs in 10 weeks of intensive exercise and a new eating programme. I have no illusions this time. I won't lose 12.5 kgs again. I won't win again. I will lose weight. I will be fitter.

I've been concentrating this time on increasing my cardio work. I still do weights training twice a week but also do cardio work for 30-45 minutes 5 days a week. Last year I learned about the EPOC theory. At a seminar last week they taught us again. Can I explain it?

So many people who go to the gym to lose weight get on the cycle/treadmill/crosstrainer and see a program called "FAT BURN". 'That's me!" they think and set to aiming to raise their heart rate to around 65% of capacity. Basically it's a pretty comfortable workout. You get a bit fitter - you burn a few calories. Best way to lose weight? Wrong!

Lesson One:
Set your machine to CARDIO. Make yourself work harder (work it out - 220 beats per minute less your age x 85%) is your target heartbeat. For me my target is 152 beats per minute (though I can usually work out in the 160s for about 10-15 minutes. A factor can also be your resting heartrate but that can complicate things). Working at this level I can answer questions with two or three words but I can't really carry on a conversation. If you do this you will not only burn more calories but raise your metabolism/oxygen consumption etc so that after you finish exercising your metabolism will be raised for about 12 hours (instead of one or two after a FAT BURN session).

Lesson 2 - So if you can read a magazine while you are working out then you are not working hard enough.

Here's a link to the technical stuff.

OK so that's the theory - putting it into practice is my aim these next 6 weeks. Watch this space.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

TWO OF US


Tidying away my loot from Crafting Coonection last night I decided to take a photo of the layout I made in Nic Howard's 'Two of Us" class. The title on the page was meant to be 'Two of Us" but I never can keep to the rules - I must frustrate tutors as I always zoom off and do my own thing (and often muck things up as a result!). I'm definitely a 'rip, sh*t and bust' person when it comes to anything arty - no measuring or taking hours to complete something. It's gotta be done in the minimal time. However, I always say, there are no wrongs when it comes to scrapping - my way is the right way for me.

Janine will recognise the quote ( it's the Emily Bronte quote I used in your wedding quotes album). "Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same".

Monday, August 21, 2006

THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN KIDS

ELLIOT -age 6

Mumma" said Elliot in the car "why do people have to get old?"

What would you say?

Now before you answer a question like this you have to understand a child's motivation for asking it. No, Elliot was not worried about his parents getting old and dying. He wasn't worried about his grandparents slowing down as they age. He was thinking that he didn't want to be a 'middle' (year 3) at school next year. He hates school and the necessity to sit and be obedient and do what you're told all day. And he knows that next year it'll be harder. And at age 6 he quite often tells me that he wishes he was still at kindy - where he could play all morning and life was just fun.



Caitlin - age 11

Caitlin entered her second karate tournament yesterday - a tri-angular tournament between dojos in Lower Hutt, Wellington and Palmerston North. She was delighted that her all-girl team took a silver medal in the team kata event (a team of three who perform a synchronised kata (set moves). Caitlin was the leader which meant she had to call the moves. Some kids do this in English but she did it in Japanese - because she can!

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

THREE PHOTOS...

Three photos...




1. Our new kitchen! Can't see a lot from this one but just wait. The RED splashback is
being installed tomorrow. The end is in sight!

After I put the kids to bed last night I walked into the kitchen. "Why are you smiling?" asked D. I was smiling because the kitchen is gorgeous. Simple things!



2. Our new dining table and (best of all) 8 leather chairs! I have wanted these for ages. Got them at Stacks - lovely guy there.




3. An altered coke tin. By Mr 6. He did this before I got out of bed one morning. I'm trying to tidy all the junk. But how can I throw this out?

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

I DIDN'T KNOW...


... that Donna (or maybe Heather?) took this photo of Mum and Shani and I at our very first class in the weekend (Freeze Frame album). Loved this class - desperate to get some more Heidi Swapp frames to make another (pink) one. KS don't have them. Any suggestions?

Sunday, August 13, 2006

ONE WORD


Photo lifted from Donna Downey's blog (taken by Heather!) - can you see me?

One word to describe the weekend - INSPIRING!

CC2006 is over for another year and wow. It was INSPIRING!

Most inspiring class: Cathy Zielske - A simple life - WOW!

Most laughs in a class: Donna Downey- Imagine the Possibilities and Freeze Frame (those Fiskars drills will never be the same again)

Best accent: Ali Edwards ("Yes, Ma,am)

Best Bag: Mine (the Donna Downey one - sooo many people commented on it. Thanks, Heather)

Best food: Friday night at Chameleon with Fay, Shani and Rach

Best laugh: Janine's garden. You had to be there but thanks to the lovely Janine for inviting me to her hen's party. Not only some great laughs but a wonderful opportunity to catch up with fellow scrappers . Will friends like these, Janine....

Best photographer: The gorgeous Karen (you know her as Girl Friday). The scrapbooker with the best blog in NZ who actually carried her camera (a Canon Rebel, no less) with her at all times and got the shots (don't forget to send me a pile!). How cool to meet Karen and her have stay on Saturday night. That was awesome.

Best experience: Meeting up with so many of my 'imaginery' friends. The people I chat with via their blogs or various online forums we belong to. Without exception they were wonderful, kind, sweet, generous people. What a pleasure to call you friends. You know who you are girls - you are great!

Friday, August 11, 2006

DREAMS

No more sleeps! In half an hour I am off to CC2006.

Last night I dreamed about it. In my dream the classes were held in a mountainous bush valley. Each class was held in a hut and you had to trek for miles (in 30 minutes!) to get there. My first class was with Donna Downey (as it is today!) and when we got there she made us make stuffed turtles out of revolting fabric. And she was about 80 and laughed when we told her she didn't look like the bubbly, young thing on her blog. "Hah - " she said. "Do you think you would have all come if you knew I really looked like this?".

It was bizarre!

But today won't be!

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

TWO MORE SLEEPS!


Two more sleeps til CC2006 - very exciting.

Especially excited to be able to meet some of you whose blogs I lurk around. So I thought Janine's idea of posting a picture of her name tag was a great one. There are a few Mel's about so you might not find me. So here's my name tag nestled amongst some swap pins and (surprise) it has my whole name. Yep, I'm really a "Melissa" - but interestingly most of my scrapping friends call me Mel (I think because I use that as my signon on various forums). My sisters and my oldest friend also call me Mel but EVERYONE else calls me Melissa. I don't mind what you call me (so long as it's not 'fat'!)

Roll on Friday!

Sunday, August 06, 2006

I'M LAUGHING



I'm laughing quietly at the lovely comments everyone has been leaving on my 21 Day Challenge work. Because I am sticking to my rules of only 10 minutes (ok maybe 15-max) per day. And none of these pages are great works of art. And every single one of them I would ordinarily have ripped out and re-done (over an hour or two) but that would be breaking my rules. I'm posting them just to prove I've done them - not because I expect anyone to think they are good (because, let's face it, most of them aren't!). So thank you, kind people, for being kind!

Friday, August 04, 2006

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

DAY TWO - NO ONE KNOWS


"No one knows what he can do until he tries" Publilius Syrus

21 DAY CHALLENGE




They say it takes 21 days to break a habit. So I've decided to do Rhonna Farrer's 21 Day Challenge.

If you haven't heard about it check out her blog which will explain all.

Day 1 quote:

"Forget past mistakes
Forget failures
Forget everything except what you're going to do now and do it!" William Durant

My habit is "Eat well".

My journal rules are:
it must take less than 10 minutes to complete each page
I can't rip it out if I don't like it (complete it and move on) and
I will do it every day.

Nothing I create will be worthy of publication (except on my blog!) but it's for me, not the world, so that's cool.



Tuesday, August 01, 2006

FRONT ROW!















We were gutted when we missed out on tickets for the Eric Clapton concert at the Mission Estate vineyard in January. Online sales sold out in 1 hour and we couldn't get through. However one of Darryn's colleagues deperately wanted to go, too and she organised a corporate group. And today we found out that she got 8 tickets and we have two of them! And, best of all, front row seats!

Now our problem is trying to find accommodation for 27 January. EVERTHING in the Hawke's Bay is booked out. Does anyone have a house they'd like to vacate for the night?





PS You scrapbooking girls are good! Less than 12 hours after posting this message the lovely Lynda Manning (KS consultant from Napier) had offered us her (yet to be completed) brand new home for the weekend. The 'scrapbooking network' (as Darryn calls it) has come through yet again. I am gobsmacked.