Permesso la grassa...excuse me fatty!

So, our Italian Viaggio is drawing to a close as we are off to gay Paris this evening and I recognise that my blogging and fat investigative efforts have been somewhat hampered by our day and night tripping across Bella Italia! As previously mentioned, the little I have seen of the Italian 'Fitness Industry' is that it is virtually non existent with only a very few handful of gyms sprouting up in some really strange places...to date the only advertisements for gym type facilities have been in Sorrento (opening in November) and Venice (of all bloody places where you can't even swing a cat due to the space restrictions!!). I took a photo of the advert for your info:

What has been really evident whilst on our viaggio is the number of obese and morbidly obese travellers there are around the countryside. A lot of whom appear to be American and British if the accents are to go by...

On another note, today (Monday 27 September - our last day in Italy) we (the G-Star) and I came across (by coincydink) a set of death dealers in a farmacia...so for shits and giggles I jumped on to see what damage has been done in the past three weeks without Satan's Lair and the Washinator...well fully clothed with shoes and straight after breakfast the Italian Death Dealers indicated my current weight as being 103kg...now I realise people that this is heavier than I left the Australian shores BUT I am actually not unhappy with this as I really believe that in the scheme of things, when I return to sunny Brisvegas the death dealers may indicate that I have been able to maintain a level of homeostasis with my weight during the viaggio!!!

So as mentioned, off to Paris this evening and the hotel we are staying at for the next 5 days has a gym and a swimming pool SO...the intention is to start to get back in to some type of exercise regime prior to our departure from the continent in preparation for the 12 weeks shred with Washi when I return...oh boy wont you get some reading enjoyment out of that!!!

So, until the next entry...yours wrapped in Italian cheese, wine and gelati

F'Athlete d'Italia

22 September 2010 - Day 13 of the Italian Viaggio

OK Peeps now we're back in to the swing of things! Have been spending the day e-mailing and updating facebook pictures galour (facebook address is helen@themuse.com.au if you want to friend up and see our pictures!). Have also been getting CAPITAL pep talks from the Washinator via e-mail about walking, walking, walking and only eating 'good' Italian food...

Well let me tell you ALL ITALIAN FOOD IS GOOD AND THAT"S THE PROBLEM!!!

So, as mentioned in my earlier entry, the walking has been top notch...although not at break neck speed - no high intensity but I think it has been a strong slow long cardio burn...walking has been averaging at the very least 2 hours per day and sometimes upwards of 4 plus so for the last 12 odd days that's been a strong point. The eating, as also previously mentioned, has been a bit more of a challenge...without the diet retinas of the Washinator and the Fiery Red Head (Lauren) to be on my butt, so to speak, about a food journal and balanced meals, eating every 2 hours etc etc things have gotten a bit, well OUT OF CONTROL!!!

I was making the observation over my grilled scampi and Toscana Salad (lettuce, olives, cheese, tomatoes and basil) at lunch just a few short hours ago that eating in Italy is a very different experience... when at home, eating is a bit of an obsession (at least for me it is)...when I am 'dieting' I constantly feel cranky at the perceived deprivation I am experiencing at the hands of supposed 'others'...the G-Star, Washi, Lauren etc... over here in Italia...eating is part of life not actually life itself, as is working...life is about living, enjoying and celebrating whereas, at least from my perspective, at home life becomes a constant battle...a battle for weight loss, a battle for a better job, more money, to be happier, to be skinnier, to be prettier...you get the picture. So, getting back to the story at hand, eating has been a challenge since we arrived, not in terms of eating constantly, the Italian strategy for eating is as follows:
Breakfast: very basic, some cereal (maybe), espresso (definitely) and a sweat roll (similar to croissants but not as buttery or as big) - this is at least what is on offer at the hotels...
Lunch: this can consist of a variety of things - espresso is a staple, but can include a sit down lunch...sometimes antipasto, primi piatti (first plate), secondi piatti (second plate) and then if you're so inclined dolce (sweats/dessert)...lunch staples can include pizza, pannini with mozzarella e prosciutto, lots of water (natural or frizzante) or could be a pasta (with carne/meat or pesce (seafood/fish)...
Dinner: looks a lot like lunch but is done is a far more relaxed and enjoyable (non time sensitive) manner...dinner can take upwards of 3 hours with lots of Vino, talking and laughing...
Then they get up and do it all again the next day!!!

So eating, although not 'bad' if there is such a thing as 'bad' eating...has not included McDonald and I can't say I have sighted at KFC at all (thank the gods some things remain sacred in Italy!!) But it has included large portions of pizza. pasta, cheese and of course gelati...I think it inevitable that there will be some weight gain whilst on this viaggio...

Currently on the train to Bologna then off to Venice...more Italian insights to come....

Your pseudo-Italian F'Athlete

Ciao....

Dove Vai???

That's right people...where the hell am I?? In Italia people...beautiful, thin person centric Italia and oh boy has fat little me been eating up a storm!! So, I know I've jumped ahead so where to begin, where to begin....

Well last Thursday/Friday (9/10September) our Italian viaggio began...this little trip has been about 10 years in the planning. Despite G-Star's heavy Italian origins she had never had the opportunity to travel to her homeland to visit the rels and see the sights. So, with our new attitude (including the Fat Crusades) we decided that this year was the year!!! So the planning and preparations were well underway when the first phase (Living Biggest Loser) commenced and in no small part the idea was to be svelte and fabulous prior to departure...well I've always had the fabulous people but the svelte, as we all well know, is still a glimmering beacon of fatless hope on the very distant shoreline.

So...on a 2.30AM flight to Dubai, the G-Star, Madster and I set our weary but excited eyes on the bright shores of Dubai (for our one day stop over). Being the exceptional parents that we are, we actually sent the Benji to the bright and exciting climes of Sydney to stay with relatives (long story...has a lot to do with not having the constitution to drag a 16 year old boy around churches etc for 4 weeks with the constant drone of I'm bored and are we done yet ringing in our ears!!).

Now as we all know my Fat Crusade blog is not about my wild and exciting experiences abroad NO...rather it is about one little fatty wagging war on fat and the fitness industry WORLDWIDE...and as such regaling people with tales from the continent about how (and better yet if) it is possible to travel, enjoy and live la dolce vita whilst still desperately trying to lose (or at least not gain) weight!!!

As you can no doubt appreciate almost a week has lapsed since I started this blog entry and much has happened in that time. Attempting to blog about my fatness and travel at the same time is more of a challenge than I originally anticipated but I have blocked out a good couple of hours to do justice to my fat studies abroad and regale you all with my tales of formaggio (cheese) and Vino (wine).

So, having landed in Rome and made our way to Sorrento (including Amalfi, Capri) up to Florence and across to Rimini the one factor that seems to have remained constant on my Italian Viaggio is my obsession with NOT PUTTING ON WEIGHT! Now I know that that may seem like a seemingly simple and straight forward concept but unfortunately not so simple in practice. I don't know how many of you have had the sheer unadulterated joy of travelling to Italy but to say it is magnificent, amazing, incredible, la dolce vita is, in truth a complete understatement. Added to this that the weight/fat loss and 'fitness' industry appears to have completely bypassed the Italian population it is suffice to say my fat loss crusade has come to a grinding halt for the past two odd weeks.

In spite of my best efforts the food has gotten the better of me over here...pizza, pasta, formaggio, vino etc etc. It's not that you are constantly eating but rather when you eat...YOU EAT!! Added to this the only exercise I have been getting is walking...walking tours of Rome, Walking tours of Florence, walking, walking, walking...which I am hoping in some way offsets the eating but psychologically this is a real mind f**k on me because in spite of my obsession with not gaining any weight I have been unable to show even a modicum of restraint when it comes to eating and drinking.

There is also a decided lack of gyms and personal trainers evident in any of the Italian cities. Individuals seem to be into cycling and jogging and I am sure (???) that at the more expensive hotels there may be gyms for guests but to date the hotels that we have stayed in (ranging from 3 to 4 star) have had non existent exercising facilities...there was a pool in Sorrento but given it was about 20*below there wasn't much slow burn cardio going on there!

I continue to be challenged in terms of trying to by clothing...apparently in Italy no one is fat and if you are you really shouldn't show your face in public...maybe a slight over exaggeration but hey...

The young and fabulous (teens/20's) all appear to be very slim and healthy (apart from the massive numbers of Italian Ragazzi who smoke) there have been sightings of rather chubby (overweight) bambini (toddlers, little people) and the older generations (after they settle down) appear not to care all that much about their weight but rather just embrace and enjoy life.

From a fitness perspective...all I can say is thank the gay gods for the Washinator and his obscene amounts of cardio and weight training prior to our departure. G-Star and Madster have gone a bit pazzo (crazy) with the shopping side of things so the upper body strength and fitness gained through my punishments with Washi have actually proven a great assistance in lugging extremely heavy bags around the countryside.

We are having a relaxing day here in Rimini (Wednesday 22 September) and have gone for a couple of really nice long walks (slow burn cardio - that is then off-set by the food!!) Tomorrow we are off to Venice for 4 days and then gay Paris! The hotel we are staying in in Paris is a bit more up market and I am hoping has some gym facilities so I can ease myself back in to some sort of regime prior to my return to Australian shores.

The more we travel around Italy the more convinced I am becoming that 'fatness' really is a global issue but if and how cultures deal with it appears to be incredibly different...

Anyhow, I am not all that confident that I will have good news for you people when I get on the death dealers back in Brisbane once we return...however, never fear because the fat crusade will continue...

Your Italian F'Athlete
Ciao!!!

As Janet Jackson so eloquently put it...I'm in CONTROL

So, after many weeks of screaming 'WHY' from the rooftops or at least from the privacy of my suburban bedroom I had (yet another) epiphany on my morning torture test with the Washinator...it really is time to take control of this (fat) situation and get informed as to the why's, wherefores and roundabouts of weight loss for a person with no functioning thyroid, who takes synthetic hormones in order to function and how (if at all) this has or has not been adversely affecting my fat loss attempts!!  We can safely say 'Houston I think we have a problem...' After 16 weeks of between 2-4 hours exercise 5-6 days per week, a low calorie diet, lots of whining, whingeing and waddling we are STILL stuck at the same place - that is fluctuating between 99.9 and 100.6kg...and to be perfectly honest...It's getting kinda boring!

So, breaking it down to the very basics...exercise is good, intensity (thanks to the Washinator) is excruciating, food (although there is some minor fluctuations) has been for the most part...good...so checking all the calorie in/calorie out boxes and what is the result? Still FAT!!

I am thinking there may be a little more to our/my FAT problem than at first meets the eye...

With the Spring/Autumn (depending what hemisphere you happen to reside in) sojourn just around the corner I have decided I really need to look at the current lack of weight loss + crap body + medication +++ in a bit of a different light.

Have been trawling the Internet (is there any other way) for information, direction, assistance etc...looked through the American Thyroid Association website (www.thyroid.org) which gave some decent background/rudimentary information but am still searching for something more...don't get me wrong, I am not looking for the magic pill or quick fix option...as an intelligent person and with the fiasco of Living Biggest Loser as my starting point I think we can all safely assume that the next 40kg is going to be neither quick nor easy but I need something that will address what is so evidently a lack of metabolic functioning in my fat little body! Anyone with suggestions out there that might be able to help???

Hi Ho, the day petered out like most of the others at the moment...did have a great dinner out with the Washinator and the Beautiful Ari (the Ho to my Mo)...and did wake up with a hangover after a single beer...PATH...ET....IC!!!!!!

Life is in somewhat of a holding pattern at the moment with everyone in the household a little excited due to the Italian sojourn that is really now, just mere days away.

That said...the Washinator is determined to extract every last bit of fat sweat out of me prior to our departure and just 'popped' in on Friday night to lock in the training times for the last four days prior to our departure....aren't I lucky???

So all in all, in spite of my ramblings, life continues along my little fat path with very little movement on the death dealers and certainly no movement in the size 18 on a good day clothing...

The crusade continues (and very soon will be continuing on another continent people!!)

Your F'Athlete