Exercise and Diet

There is only one way for someone like me to move from being an overweight 55 year old couch potato to a prospective climber of Mt Kilimanjaro........that's right, lots of exercise and diet....I think that's two ways, but who's counting :)

Exercise is very new to me however diet isn't, I've tried just about every one out there and failed or lost a little and gained more afterwards. So yes, there has been a big challenge going on for the past 12 months.

I started off by joining a gym and enlisting the help of a Personal Trainer, Christina Pery at Strand Fitness.  It was a slow start and the gym was basically all I was doing and only one 30 minute session  a week.

The diet was an even slower start..... I'm sure some of you can sympathise with me here. You start off the week with all good intentions and by Tuesday you have invitations and commitments lined up for at least one mid week dinner, drinks on Friday night followed by some spur of the moment dinner and then there's the Sunday lunch that turns into a day night match....that's a week blown :0 Then I was hit with a succession of birthday's and weddings ... like you just can't ignore those. And before I knew it, the Christmas season started creeping closer. It's tough, I tell you! We have a very social life and have a duty to keeping the restaurants and pubs cash flow running smoothly, you know what I mean....

Anyway, I pulled in some discipline in the last months before Christmas and managed to loose 10 Kilo....yeeeah!! And, I have managed to keep it off for six months now. But 10 Kilo is not enough so I now have to put in some more diet effort and loose more in the next months.

As of today, I have three months until I leave for Africa. So it is now time for some serious effort and time to hit the diet again.

As far as exercise goes, well that has improved heaps since I started. My recent program has been;

Monday, Wednesday, Friday - 1 lap of Castle Hill (up the Goat Track & down the road) 4.4 Klm's
Tuesday - 1/2 hour PT at the Gym
Saturday - 2 laps of Castle Hill, 9 Klms
Sunday - 2 or 3 laps of Castle Hill, 9-13 Klms
Roughly every 5th Sunday we have been doing a lap of Mt Stuart instead of Castle Hill, 15 Klms.

Louise is doing the Sunday training with me which is a good help for added motivation and she has decided she will climb Table Mountain in Cape Town, before I meet her there.

Now that it's time to step it up a bit, I have started the following program as of last week;

Castle Hill - I have stepped down from the Goat Track to the road, which is a longer but easier route at 6.29 Klm's BUT I am wearing a 5 kilo weight vest ...for added comfort, joke!! No really I am wearing the vest, it's just not for comfort!!

Proof That I Do Wear The Weight Vest
Click To Enlarge

The vest is courtesy of my PT, Christina, who very kindly loaned it to me.  

PT - I have increased this to a 1 hour session and again wearing the vest for some exercises.

A soon as I am comfortable with the vest (it changes balance a bit) I will try the Goat Track again and MAYBE work up to Mt Stuart with the vest - not sure on that one!.

So that's the plan for the next week or two.

AND, guess what....I actually like exercise now, yes surprised me as well. In fact, I miss it and get frustrated when my physio tells me to back off or to miss a weekend of walking. Weird, who would have thought that would happen.

I was very lucky to get Christina as my trainer the day I joined the gym.  She and I are a perfect fit,  her patience and encouragement have led the way in my transformation.  Thanks heaps Christina, I really appreciate it :))

My physio left town around about the same time that I started training and Christina recommended I see Michael at Sports Med, which is in the same building as the gym.....very convenient.  

To start with I was totally out of shape, couple that with my Arthritis and Fibromyalgia and I needed fairly regular work on the body to keep it going.  Well, Michael turned out to be just the right person for me.  He has magic hands and has eased lots of my aches, pain and stiffness and treated me through recurring injuries.  So thanks Michael, you've done well :))

So the diet ....... yes it will start again tomorrow and I guess that means no alcohol as well.  

But that's for tomorrow,  tonight I will just finish this last glass of wine that has kept me company whilst I have been typing this.

Why Am I Doing This?

Before I started on this journey, I seriously looked at myself and decided "who am I kidding, there's no way I can do this".

Not only am I a 55 year old overweight couch potato, but I also suffer from Rheumatoid Arthritis in most joints of my body and Fibromyalgia which causes me chronic widespread pain in my muscles and joints.   These illnesses could be considered reasons not to try this .......and that's not taking into consideration the Meniere's Disease that causes me dizziness and vertigo with constant ringing in my ears.

Oh, and did I mention that I'm afraid of heights......just a small issue really :0

So at this point, I decided to see my doctor for a medical check before committing myself to booking my climb.....and yes, I was secretly hoping he would say I was mad and couldn't do it!  But no, good to his very positive form, he told me to go for it. 

We discussed the option of sleeping in the Crater,  his opinion was that as I would be taking the long route and it is night seven when I get to the Crater, this is sufficient time to acclimatise for a camp at that height.  He agreed with my choice of route and my logic that the midnight climb would be much harder on the mind and body because it was the usual sleep time.  So his best advice was get a Personal Trainer and start working hard!!!

When I tell people what I am doing, they look at me in a variety of ways and I have to admit that most times it is with total shock.....closely followed by the question "WHY!".  Of course there are some, who have responded in a much more excited and positive way...... closely followed by the question, "what inspired you to do this?"....which is much more positive than WHY?  And then there have been the ones who have just outright laughed at me and mentioned my funeral..... well guess what? they have made me even more determined to succeed and JUST DO IT!

I would love to have some profound explanation to offer those who ask me why or what inspired me....but truth to tell I don't.  I just know that I have to do it!  So here I am,

Living The Dream.......To Climb Mt Kilimanjaro and Stand On The Roof of Africa.  

My friends and family know that I love Africa and I have been going there every three years with my friend Louise, since 1997.  Each time we go to a different country to experience something new and this will be our fifth trip to Africa.  It was on our last trip that I first got just a spark of inspiration to do this.

We had climbed the hills in Rwanda to see the Gorillas...totally awesome and a must do for any of you thinking of it...then we were going on to Tanzania for safaris in their amazing parks.  We were "in transit" and sitting in the Arusha airport where I watched a group of people who were on such an amazing natural high following their climb of Mt Kilimanjaro.  I knew our experience with the Gorillas was just as special but that group of travellers put the idea of climbing Kili in my head.  It lay dormant for about 6 months, until I started thinking of where to go next and.....whoosh, it was front and centre in the brain.  

So the Google searches began.  I searched tour companies and blogs from those who had already completed the climb.   I soon couldn't get the idea out of my mind.  I was literally obsessed by it and spent all my free time reading about it, before I knew it, I was hooked and booked!

Now please keep in mind that our climb to the Gorillas was a first for me as far as hikes or climbs go.  I had to train for it and once over I thought that was it for me....so no more exercise when I got home.

• Usually I don't hike or climb, in fact up until this idea, I didn't even exercise regularly.
• I don't camp in basic tents - only 5 star tents for this puppy, thanks.
• I don't like cold weather.

So, this is going to take me right outside my comfort zone .....in a very BIG WAY!

Now I have mentioned my very dear friend Louise who is my trusty travelling companion and, up until now, she has fairly much left all the planning of our trips up to me.  We briefly discuss which countries in Africa we want to go to and any highlights and then I start researching and planning it.

To date, we have always agreed on what to do....that is until Kilimanjaro came up.  Louise is being very supportive of my dream to do this BUT has made it clear it's my dream and I can do it on my own! Theres no way she's going to climb Kili with me.  Silly girl, doesn't know what she's missing....or maybe she does and it's me who's the silly one.... whatever!

So, Louise and I will meet up in Cape Town after I do the climb and from there we will continue with our more normal Africa type holiday.  And, can you believe this....while I'm climbing Kili, she will be touring the wineries.  She had better have a few drinks for me!