its cheaper to be fat and die young

for all our talk of improving our health and lifestyle, there doesnt seem to be a lot of putting the money where the mouth is. or is it that we just put our money into our mouths?

i was in the supermarket last night after going to the gym. i was looking for some fruit for the week, some meat to make a stew for dinners and a nice piece of steak to have with salad for dinner that night. apples - over $5.00 per kilo! tomatoes - over $5.00 per kilo! lamb - over $18.00 per kilo! i just about died.
and jontie, who has just gotten home from seeing his parents in australia, was so astounded at the price of fresh fruit, vegetables and meat, took a pxt and sent it to his dad. i could have gone to mcdonalds for all my meals that week and paid less than one trip to the supermarket (possibly as i dont buy bread, cheese and milk which have risen in price at even more astronomical rates).

i believe that we should be rewarded for eating healthy food, working out and taking supplements. instead it appears we are penalised by exhorbitant prices for food. surely the idea that other countries can remove the goods and services tax on fresh foods means new zealand can investigate that further? i have read commentary that suggests that a flat low tax rate hinders tax avoidance - but with only a small tax cut in sight and taxes on petrol set to increase, surely enough is enough. why not consider using gst as a luxury tax?
the government doesnt want to regulate advertising for junk food in childrens viewing times ( i dont know why) but it should be encouraging adults to eat healthier and exercise more and therefore set a good example. changing advertising rules isnt going to help but there is more than one way to trap a kiwi, and the wallet is a good start.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=206&objectid=10506604&pnum=0

Prime Minister Helen Clark has said it is unlikely GST on food will be removed, despite growing support for the tax's abolition as consumers struggle to cope with rising prices.
The cost of filling the average supermarket trolley has jumped by more than a quarter in the past year, as the effect of international food shortages hits New Zealand.
A Weekend Herald comparison showed butter, cheese and some varieties of bread had more than doubled in price. Most meat, vegetables and fish were also much more expensive.
But Helen Clark this morning told Newstalk ZB it was unlikely the Government would make any changes to GST.
"GST has been in place since the mid-1980s and that was when schemes like family support, which has now become the much bigger and more significant Working for Families, began," she said.
"Obviously there will be some tax relief announced in the budget and I think it's going to be very, very timely for families."
A petition urging abolition of GST on food is gathering support outside Auckland supermarkets.

is it possible to have a discount offered on our healthcare as we take responsibilities for our heart and lungs and liver? i appreciate that my health care insurer is a private company - but i still pay my premiums as well as my gym membership which in turn keeps my claim rate down. actually at nil.
in australia it was estimated that if each person lost 1 kilogram of body weight, they could save approximately 30% of their healthcare budget. think what that would do for new zealand - for our education, transport, world cup stadiums!!
and dont even get me started on supplements ... over 50% increase in the last 12 months.

its so much cheaper for me to be fat, eat unhealthy food, take no supplements and get the goverment to subsidise my mobility scooter to haul my lard ass around. besides, i will probably die younger too.

food - week one - planning

as i said yesterday, when little tara hubbard went to the cupboard, the cupboard was bare!
thats a good thing though. there is nothing left - so there is nothing that i shouldnt consume. the trick now, is to make sure that the next trip to the supermarket ensures that it stays that way.

i have been reading about putting my body in a catabolic state - and this can be aided by eating catabolic foods. the reason i started looking this up, is that this is the state that my trainer recommended i put my body into.

Anabolic vs Catabolic State

One way of categorizing metabolic processes, whether at the cellular, organ or organism level is as anabolic or catabolic. Catabolism is the part of metabolism that breaks down molecules into smaller units to generate energy and simultaneously takes measures to conserve energy. Stress, such as during weight loss program, can put the body into the catabolic state, in which the body can experience muscle loss, reduced metabolic rate with a corresponding reduced calorie expenditure and lower perceived energy levels, and weight gain in the form of fat. One aspect of the catabolic state is that it can be characterized as having high cortisol (a catabolic stress hormone) levels and low testosterone (an anabolic hormone) levels.

Conversely, in the anabolic state the body experiences muscle maintenance or growth, normal metabolic rates, and weight loss in the form of fat. The anabolic state can be characterized by relatively low cortisol levels and high testosterone levels.

after reading that article - i dont think i agree with him. but i looked further into it and found some information on foods. rather than putting myself into a catabolic state, i can probably satisfy his requirements by sticking to catabolic foods.
catabolic foods burn up more calories than they supply. for example :

a medium sized apple (which is catabolic), would provide an average of 85 calories, however your metabolism would require an additional 99 more calories to metabolise it.

so in writing this weeks shopping list, i will be purchasing the following :
fruit - limes, pineapple, grapes, apples, tomatoes
vegetables - celery, kumara, cucumber, brocolli, spinach and carrots
seafood and any white meat without fat.

YUM!
( ** all dietary information taken with a grain of salt mind. the only rule i really follow - put less in!)

mood : hungry!

exercise - week one - planner

i've finished the last page of my latest training diary.
this is the book i write all my supplements, meals and training in which i have found helps immensely in changing my body.

instead of buying a new one, i'm going to record it all on my blog.
i used to train with angie and she would check it - this way, when i publish it online, theres a fair few people that will be looking at it. in a round about way, i think it might help. and i dont want to become completely obsessed with the last 25kg i want to get rid of, so i am mixing it up with everything else that goes on in my life, my head and on the internet.

so each sunday, i plan out the training week ahead.
this week is going to look like this :

sunday
- supposed to be cardio training (but something fun came up)
monday
- cardio training
tuesday
- 06:00 yoga at home / 16:30 geoff the trainers weights programme
wednesday
- 06:00 yoga at home /.. possibly .. 17:45 body combat
thursday
- 06:00 yoga at home / 17:30 weight session with geoff the trainer
friday
- day off!!
saturday
- cardio and stretching session

so lets see how this goes.
next planning session, the food session (as i have no food in my house and this is when it gets dangerous!)

mood : enthusiastic

i will be half the woman i was

last year, i was asked to write a little article on my effort to lose weight. it was for one of new zealands fitness magazines but i am unsure as to why it was not published in the end.
over a two year period, i lost approximately 60 kilograms.
i'm still working towards my goal - 2 months in argentina eating steak and drinking red wine didnt help - and when i reach my goal, i will be half the woman i was.

i had always accepted that i would be one of the bigger girls.

the only time i ever thought that i could – and would be slim – was when i found out that i had polycystic kidney disease and i ended up in hospital.

after i got better and learnt to manage my illness, the weight piled back on.

i have been your classic yo-yo try-all-the-fads dieter.
i went to weight watchers – lost about 10 kgs and then gained about 20.
i went to jenny craig – lost about 22 kgs and then gained about 30.

back in june 2004 - i weighed alot. the only time I remember weighing myself, i was 147kg.
i know i got bigger after this, but i didn’t get on the scales again.
then at the end of that year, dan broke off our relationship and i realised exactly what i had done to myself.

i reduced my portion sizes, but started skipping meals. i was taking a thermogenic product as well as starting to walk to work and short distances.. not having a car helped.
i quickly understood that work was in walking distance and there were other ways of getting around however it was very easy to get disheartened as any exercise was really hard work and i was the only person that could motivate me.

and then people started to notice the changes in me.
and finally i started to notice the changes in me – more energy and a much happier outlook on life.

by may 2006, i had moved out of our old house and into a flatting situation and was making the most of only having to cook for one. this was good for me and i continued trying to lose weight by myself until the beginning 2007 when i realised that i was actually starting to put it back on again. at this stage, i was around 123kg. i had lost 24 kg (that i will admit - theres an ish in here of 10kg).

nell introduced me to kickboxing at a gym in town. i started attending the class 3 times a week and increased the other exercise that I was doing. i met angie matthews through the kickboxing class – and i found the motivation, support and knowledge that i needed to continue.

one of the first lessons that i learnt from angie is that good nutrition and supplementation is 80% of what you need to continue to lose weight.
in order to get the most from your supplementation, you must take the best supplements you can get your hands on. angie asked me to start keeping a food diary to understand what I was eating and doing each day. after completing this for a week or so, angie introduced me to GNLD.
now i'm not writing this blog to sell anything.
i just wanted to say how i deal with the fact that i have always been a big girl.

one of my oldest friends had the following things to say:
I’ve known Tara for more than 12 years.
Tara is the most intellectual, generous and thoughtful person I know.
I have always known Tara to be a confident person in both her personal and professional life. It was not until Tara starting losing the weight did I really notice how much happier inside she is.
I have seen Tara put herself through a staunch series of diet and exercise. And with the positive support of Angie and all her friends, Tara is achieving her goals.
I know that this is only the beginning for Tara. Now that she has changed her lifestyle there is no looking back. She will never be a yoyo again.
Tara has worked really hard and I am so proud of her and what she has achieved.

those jeans, i have still kept them.
those jeans, i can now fit both legs in where one went before.
those jeans, i jump up and down and they fall off.

and from here?
after losing weight in peru and bolivia, i put some on in argentina. but i am not too worried about that.
you need support. its a fact. i have joined weight watchers again with emma and her sister mandy. i have talked dan into joining les mills gym with me and i'm excited about their body combat classes. i even bought an exercycle for home and i still have my yoga dvds.
and i keep a food and training diary.
other than that, the rules are simple :
1. put less in. eat about 6 times a day but dont eat more than you need.
2. exercise more than you want to. my office is on the 5th floor. i hate the stairs but theres 100 of them and now i dont notice it until the 4th floor. soon it will be the 5th.
3. i'm not on a diet. i am in control of what i eat.
4. every day i tell myself i am fabulous. if i dont believe it, it doesnt matter what i look like - no one else will either.

its ongoing. some days are easier than others.
and i have my friends to thank for a lot.