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Week ten – April’s Ieremia weight loss diary

Catch up with all of April Ieremia’s diary entries and accompanying exercise regimes

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Prepared for the onslaught of food and lack of time to exercise, I headed to Alaska armed with an iron-clad will, running shoes and a busy programme of wilderness hiking. But within 24 hours my plans went up in smoke.

Hosting a tour through Canada and Alaska sounds like a dream. The first leg of the journey – Alaska – is spent on a cruise liner with an all-you-can-eat buffet, gym and a 500m running track on the outside deck.

I weighed 87.6kg when I left home, so I wanted to return weighing the same – at the very least.

I used to argue with Scotty about food vs exercise when losing weight. I would say I could lose as much weight by just eating well. However, today I am convinced the key for me is exercise. I can feel the improvements of running quicker than all other forms of exercise, and I love the way it suppresses my appetite – it makes me view food as fuel, rather than pleasure.

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So here I am. Not even 24 hours have passed and I have wrecked my ankle again.

I sprained it just walking, but I still went down in a heap like the first time.

So, while I’m down and out, I need to get my heart rate up because the food is amazing. How am I supposed to say no to cuisine from every nationality, including Italian (my favourite) and good old-fashioned US food like burgers, hotdogs and fries, which are all free?

I can just see Scotty’s face beaming in neon lights like something out of Las Vegas, with “self discipline” tattooed on his forehead.

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Exercising on the ship is possible. There are numerous exercise classes, as well as a gym that offers Pilates, yoga, boot camp, bikes, plus an enthusiastic South African instructor who goes on constantly about how the All Blacks will choke at the Rugby World Cup (he’s an annoying little man).

However, my sprained ankle can’t take the pressure just yet, so I’m struggling to get my heart rate up on a regular basis. I cancelled my activity-fuelled shore excursions of glacier walks and bush hikes, and replaced them with what looks to be a culinary tour of Alaska. I’m eating salmon bake, Bering Sea crabs and savouring a five-course wild bounty at an Alaskan chef’s table.

Taku Lodge – nestled at the foot of a glacier – was priceless. Flying in by float plane, we enjoyed wild Alaskan King Salmon and two big bears came within 10 metres of us to polish off the remains of our dinner.

This is going to be a long, hard week. But in the end, my lack of self-discipline will only harm one person – me.

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A note from Scott Cottier

We’re another week into the new programme and it seems the increase in intensity is dampening some people’s spirits. This and the nasty weather outside is starting to put barriers in front of our determination to achieve a healthy lifestyle. To assist with this mind-set, a psychologist has written an article on the website (ali.specforce.co.nz/traininglog) to get us through these tough times.

one aspect she talks about is asking yourself who you are doing this for. Are you measuring your success by the positive changes in your own body, or against the image of another? oeasure your success through your own experience as this is all about you. April is losing weight fast, however you shouldn’t compare yourself to her.

Everyone is different. This week, training consists of four cardio sessions a week, alternating between three minutes of walking and five minutes of running for 50 minutes. Exercises in total for the week are: 100 step-ups, 100 lunges, 100 bent-over rows and 300 trunk twists with feet off the ground. Happy training.

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Scott Cottier

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