Everything will be OK.

I can't believe what a different person I become when I'm surrounded by people I love. I'm happy, bubbly, outgoing and apparently really funny. I just spent two weeks in Melbourne with 20 of my workmates. We see each other twice a year for two weeks, and we have become really close. I had such an amazing time and have a renewed vigour for life, I hope that it lasts!
I think a lot of the problems I was feeling before I left was just too much time on my hands to think. When I was surrounded by friends 24/7, I did not worry or think about food all the time. I was more relaxed. I didn't feel depressed, except 1 day when I just felt off anyway.
I ate really well and did heaps of exercise the first week:

Saturday: rest
Sunday: Interval run session with friends:
4 x 400m
2 x 200m
8 x 100m
(Pushups & squats inbetween each rep)
& a 1.25 km swim.
Monday: arm workout with friends: heaves, pushups, leg lifts & shoulder presses.
Tuesday: 4 km run
Wednesday: 5 km run
Thursday: random gym workout - kickboxing for 30 mins, legs for 30 minutes + 0.5km in the pool.
Friday: 5 km run + 1.65 km swim
Saturday: rest

All of the workouts were awesome fun.

The next week wasn't as great as I got busier with work and injured myself on the Wednesday:
Sunday: 9km run (split into 5 & 4)
Monday: 10 minute swim
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 7.5 km hilly run

and then nothing for four days...

My injury was sustained during work, basically I was lifting a generator which weighs 73kg out of a vehicle trailer with a friend, and must have lost my grip, it landed on my foot. Luckily the shoes are pretty good (not steel cap, but tough enough!) So all I sustained was dark bruising, swelling and a black toenail. It really hurts to bend the big toe though, so I've been limping around and not running. I'm hoping it will be fine soon?? I'm very lucky to have been wearing those shoes....

I plan on spending this week mainly doing swimming and strength work so to let it heal properly, but if I'm desperate I might give a go at running tomorrow and see how I feel.

I must mention also that I'm pretty proud of how disgustingly I ate in the second week... I know that sounds crazy haha :P But I literally had like 3000+ calories in the last three days (each day) - mostly in booze and hangover food! Had some AMAZING nights, and they were seriously really fun, so it was worth everything. I even had a Hungry Jacks (Burger King) meal and enjoyed it... mind you at the time I was really, really drunk and probably seriously needed it. The best part??? I didn't feel overly guilty, because I knew it was just a couple of days of fun and then I could resume eating normally and everything would be OK. I also did not count calories for the whole two weeks.

WIAW #9 or #10... Random goodness.

I originally started WIAW for a few reasons - meet new bloggers, find new recipes & to encourage myself to try new foods - mainly vegetable related as that is my weakness (love veg - can't be bothered preparing it) But I've gotten a bit lazy with it and end up just taking pictures when I eat something interesting - and mainly only stealing recipes for sweet foods ;). Oh well, at least I'm trying! :) 

Here's some eats from the last week or so.

One of the ugliest bowls of oats - steel cut oats soaked overnight and then cooked in the microwave this morning, mixed with a banana, tbsp maple syrup, cinnamon and about a tsp of peanut flour. Great combination :D

Peanut butter protein cookie by Titan. Only seem to be able to buy these at my gym, but it was sooo good! Soft and gooey like a cookie should be. Should definitely try making my own.

These were some peanut flour pancakes that didn't really go to plan... needed waaay more liquid because they were super tiny and fat. Tasted great though! Topped with mixed berries & cottage cheese.

A packed breakfast for Sunday since I was out all day Sat up until Sunday afternoon. Chocolate Hazelnut milk + Dark Choc, Cranberry & Almond Bar.

Packed snacks for Sunday - cherry tomatoes, blueberries & medjool dates. 

Saturday's packed lunch - my attempt at a bento box!! Included: 1 PB & J sandwich (in roll-up form), chocolate animal cookies, 2 medjool dates (stuffed with chocolate cookies), blueberries & a luna bar (nutz over chocolate?)

This was a bit of a challenge... was over a friend's place one night and we had cocktails and chocolates. First time I tried Blue Caracao... wasn't a huge fan!

A peanut & choc chip banana bread from the freezer, yummooo

Gummy vitamins... cheers to whoever's blog I saw these on. Best way to get vitamins ever :D Who cares if the packet has "Kid's vitamins" on it hehehehehe.

Here's my workout for today - I missed the BodyPump class I was going to attend due to my car having a flat battery, so I devised my own home circuit. This is copied from dailymile:

Circuit sesh 00:36 mins

Missed BodyPump but made up for it with a wicked home circuit. Had 10 "stations" with bits of paper telling me what to do (something I do often) and went around in a circle in the room 3 times (no rests). All weights used 2.5 kg per hand (or bodyweight)
1st station: Biceps x 15 & 1 min wall squat.
2nd station: chest press x 15 & tricep dips x 15
3: Lunges 15 each leg & bicycle squat thing
4: Shoulder lift thing x 15 & shoulder side lift thing x 15
5: wall squat again
6: 15 x pushups
7: situps with medicine ball x 15
8: squats with medicine ball x 15 & upright row x 15
9: plank 1 min + side plank each side 30 seconds
10: deadlifts x 15 + army situps x 15

After doing that 3 times I did this mini circuit once (all the exercises I hate ;)
mountain climbers x 15
burpees x 15
turkish getups x 15
toe taps x 15
jackknifes x 15

And then lay down for five minutes catching my breath ;)

It was a pretty good circuit, might have to repeat it next time! Definitely had my heart going a lot more than in a BodyPump class.

Fitness... & Alcohol

I'm debating taking a blogging break, even though I only started a couple of months ago. I'm just in a funk a lot and negativity is no fun. But before that, I'm going to blog a bit of a fitness survey and then rant about alcohol. 

Five Fitness Things I can’t Live Without:

• My Nike Lunarglide +2, they are the comfiest running shoes I've ever had, they have great support and fit my feet so well, plus they are pretty haha.
• My iPhone - so I can use Runkeeper and log my runs and see where I'm struggling, where I'm doing well, etc... gives pacing, km's, calories, speed, etc.
• Decent running shorts. I've got two pairs of Nike tempo and a couple of Running Bare shorts that are fantastic. Definitely a good pair is underestimated, as if you're not wearing them... shorts ride up, get sweaty, all that kind of thing... a worthy investment methinks.
• I'm actually struggling to think of five. OK, hair ties. I can't stand my hair flying all over the place.
• Good sports bra for support, even though I don't need much ;P

Most Embarrassing Song I Listen to While Working Out:

• Hm, Pitbull - Shut it Down... lol... it played a lot in BodyPump for a while I think and I started to like it. Same with "Ravers in the UK". 

Favorite Pre-Workout Snack or Meal:

• It changes, I don't have a go-to... sometimes I'll have a banana, sometimes jam on bread, it depends on what I'm doing. Most of the time I'll go before breakfast though or a couple of hours after breakfast, so it's not an issue.

On My Fitness Bucket List:

• Run a half-marathon
• Run a full marathon
• Join a running club (There's a huge lack where I live, though, so will be a 30 min + drive...)
• Do well in the kickboxing tournament
• Try all the classes at the gym I haven't tried yet
• (There is LOADS more on my fitness bucket list...)

Must-Have Tech Tools:

• See above, the iPhone! or if I didn't have that, I'd probably get a Garmin.

Top Exercise Gear:

• This is pretty much the same as my gear I can't live without...

Motivational Mantras:

• I don't have any - maybe I should get some!!

Next Big Exercise Goal:

• At the moment just increasing my mileage up to the point where I can run 30+ km a week, but doing it as slowly as possible without making myself crazy ;)

Favorite Cardio Exercise:

• running, kickboxing... they kinda tie.

Favorite Strength Move:

• pushups, funnily enough.

ALCOHOL

I so had all these ideas to say about alcohol this morning while sitting on the train, and should have blogged then. OK, so basically I used to drink when I was 20-21 ish. Not a lot, but whenever I would go to parties it would ease my anxiety, and I was able to interact with people in a way I definitely couldn't before. Instead of being the shy girl that never talked, I turned into a crazy, fun, hyperactive person who would talk to ANYBODY and everyone thought I was funny and entertaining. That could have been something which turned into an addiction for me as I have an addictive personality, but it ended up just being left like that... something I did at the occasional party.

As my social anxiety started to get better and I started to talk to people on my own without alcohol, I started to dislike alcohol more and more, and wonder why people even drink, especially if they don't have social anxiety issues? I tried to quit, but gave into peer pressure most of the time, and ended up acting stupid a lot and regretting it.

Then the eating disorder came, and all of a sudden I had so many great excuses not to drink, not to go to parties, not to see my friends... so I stopped.

Anyway fast forward to now... I drink probably 1 or 2 times a year, feel intense guilt each time and tend to restrict the next day. I also get disgustingly, intensely ill from even the smallest amount of alcohol. You could say that's just what happens when you get older, but I mean it's ridiculous. So I went to see my friends on Saturday night, and it was like impossible not to drink. It's so ingrained in Australian culture, and all the things I do - skydivers are pretty much alcoholics, and they've known me to be a drinker in the past. So how could I not accept their "gifts" of beers, which they paid for, as a "welcome back" sort of gift? Wow I'm good at getting off drift... I'll come back to that though.

Anyway so Saturday night I had a grand total of three beers. I had a meal of roast beef with potatoes, peas, beans and pumpkin. I drank water before my first beer, after my first beer, and after my second beer. I then took a 600mL bottle to bed with me and sculled it. I did ALL THE RIGHT THINGS. I was not drunk, was barely even tipsy.

Sunday night I wake up with a horrendous headache, throbbing like a heartbeat. I feel sick to the stomach as if I've been up all night downing vodka or something deadly, and I spend the entire day lying on the couch with an icepack on my head groaning. It was ridiculous! All that from three beers. So henceforth I am completely and utterly off the booze. If it can make your body react like that from only three drinks, how can one drink supposedly be good for you?

So back to the culture thing. I hate that Australian culture is so, so, so RUN around the culture of drinking. Every weekend... have a barbecue - with drinks. Go to the beach - with drinks. Have a party - with drinks. Catch up with mates - over a drink. Go to a mate's house for the night - have drinks. Watch the footy - have drinks. Australia Day - let's get drunk. Christmas - drinks at the beach. You get the idea. Every event quickly turns into an excuse to drink. It's not healthy and something needs to be done about it.

Skydiving is similar - you do something for the first time, you owe a "carton" of beer to your friends. It's good in a way, in that it encourages you to get to know people and celebrates something new, all that kind of thing. But why with booze? Why does everything centre around booze?

This is one of the reasons why I am studying Health Promotion. There needs to be more done to reduce the prevalence of it, or perhaps encourage more activity without alcohol - like ads on TV or something, "Go for a jog with a friend" instead of "catch up for drinks" on the weekend. That kind of thing...

WOW, seriously gone on a rant now... and there's more I could say too... in fact I could probably go on for ages ;P

In other news - today I had my first exam and am confident of passing. One down, two to go...