It finished on Sunday, and I'm pleasantly surprised with how it went. Sure, it wasn't always easy to get home and do an hour-long workout. And it wasn't always easy to eat within my calories sand make sure I followed the recipes exactly even when it involved a truly sarcastic amount of rice.
I mean, really.
But it paid off. I lost 7.5kg over the 12 weeks. My fitness score went from 25 to 75. Which probably means precisely nothing to you, but it means I've gone from being able to "run" a kilometre in just under 10 minutes to being able to RUN a kilometre in about five and a half minutes (although admittedly, doing so totally massacred my lungs and I coughed for the next three days...). I can do a wall sit for nearly a minute longer than I could before. My flexibility has improved by 7cm. I can do planks and push ups on my toes. The 12WBT recommended that I sign up for the advanced program next time around (hahaha ohgod).
A photo posted by Melbourne on my mind (@melbsonmymind) on
And for the most part, the food was totally delicious. Sure, there were times when something was ridiculously time consuming or it just wasn't my cup of tea. But on the whole? It was really tasty and really filling and a pretty big serving considering it was part of a calorie controlled menu.
I'm trying things on my own for a while, to see if I can keep up the exercise and keep eating smaller servings and healthy options as much as possible. But it will be nice not to have to push myself to burn 1000 calories every Saturday or do a full hour's workout if I'm exhausted/sick/just in need of a night off.
I'm hoping to lose another 5kg. But we'll see how it goes... Slow and steady wins the race, right?
Books read: 34. I'm kind of surprised by this, to be honest. But then again, given that my commute to work is 90 minutes each way it probably shouldn't surprise me that much! New vs rereads: 19 new books versus 15 rereads. It could be worse. Most read genre: Contemporary. Again. But crime wasn't far behind!
Favourite book: Wild Justice by Kelley Armstrong. I'd been waiting a long time to read it, and it didn't disappoint. Least favourite book: Black Iris by Leah Raeder. It was really dark and disturbing, and I had to DNF it because it was squicking me out so much. Favourite cover: Ms Marvel: No Normal. It's glorious.
Diverse Books Project: It's going pretty well at the moment! Although I do really need to branch out and read more books with male protagonists...
In May, I ended up reading 3 graphic novels, 3 non-fiction books, and 28 novels. There are links to all my Goodreads reviews below!
Yes, friends, it's that time of year again! I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights live tweeting up a storm. Live blogging on top of that was a little too much to ask, so as with last year you're getting a wrap up post instead.
Sadly, there wasn't a whole lot of crazy this year. There weren't even many songs that stand out as being particularly awful. There WERE a bunch that were just kind of...odd??...so we'll talk about those instead.
MY FAVOURITES Guy Sebastian - Tonight Again (Australia)
Okay, I'll admit: I'm a little biased here. Yes, Australia (inexplicably) competed for the first time, and I absolutely loved Guy Sebastian's song.
Bojana Stamenov - Beauty Never Lies (Serbia)
This is FREAKING AMAZING. On stage costume changes, a super sparkly Adele-esque lead singer, a catchy tune, and fabulous lyrics. A big fat A+ from me.
Mans Zelmerlow - Heroes (Sweden)
This was the favourite, and there's a good reason why it won: those visuals are STUNNING. I was a little afraid that it wouldn't stand up without the visuals behind it, but I've been pleasantly surprised by how catchy it is with just the audio.
Loic Nottet - Rhythm Inside (Belgium)
In the semi-final, all I could focus on was the over the top lighting and how it feels like it belongs on the Orphan Black soundtrack. But by the time the final rolled around, I was really excited when they turned up on stage.
Nadav Guedj - Golden Boy (Israel)
It pains me to put this on this list. Because let's face it - this song is pretty terrible. But it's a TOTAL earworm that warrants chair dancing whenever you hear it. AND HIS SHOES!!!! What even. Dammit, Israel.
Nina Sublatti - Warrior (Georgia)
If anything at Eurovision screamed "girl power anthem", it's this. Fabulous.
THE ONES THAT ARE GROWING ON ME
Ann Sophie - Black Smoke (Germany)
I didn't love this in performance. But I've listened to it a few times since downloading the album, and I enjoy it more and more each time.
Electro Velvet - Still in Love With You (United Kingdom)
I think when I saw this on TV, I was so ridiculously overwhelmed by the set and the outfits and EVERYTHING LIGHTING UP that I couldn't really pay attention to the song. It's definitely better without the visuals.
Lisa Angell - N'oubliez Pas (France)
SBS added subtitles for the non-English songs, and it meant that I knew just how depressing this song really is. The beige-dressed Les Miserables wanna-bes at the end didn't help. But without the visuals and the subtitles, it's pretty good.
Maraaya - Here For You (Slovenia)
Another one that suffered from distracting visuals. I mean, her headphones and the interpretive dancer with one leg glued to the floor playing an invisible violin? What the eff. But I think I've listened to it four times today, and it grows on me more each time.
Voltaj - De La Capat (Romania)
So this song is about kids who've been left behind when their parents moved internationally for work. Essentially, it's depression central. But it's a surprisingly good song. And, you know, it helps that it's in Romanian so you have no idea what the words are...
JUST STOP
BOGGIE - Wars for Nothing (Hungary)
Every time I hear this song, it sends me to sleep. Sorry not sorry.
Edurne - Amanecer (Spain)
Look, it's not a terrible song. But the staging just made it hilarious.
Elina Born and Stig Rästa - Goodbye to Yesterday (Estonia)
They stared at each other so intently when they were singing that I can't hear the song without seeing it in my head, and...yeah. Plus, the lyrics are kind of creepy...
Elnur Huseynov - Hour of the Wolf (Azerbaijan)
Dude. No. Ditch the interpretive dancers, and stop singing about wolves, yeah?
Genealogy - Face the Shadow (Armenia)
This whole thing came across as a coven of witches trying to recruit new members.
The Makemakes - I Am Yours (Austria)
WHAT DID THAT PIANO EVER DO TO YOU??? And what the hell is your guitarist wearing ohgod my eyes.
Trijntje Ooserhuis - Walk Along (The Netherlands)
Girl. You are wearing the love child of a bin bag and an academic gown. WHY.
Did you watch Eurovision this year? Who were your favourites?
Okay, I'm going to need the year to stop going so fast. Because this is starting to get RIDICULOUS.
Books read: 29. But considering I started working full time part way through the month, it's not exactly surprising that it's less than the first three months of this year! New vs rereads: 17 new books and 12 rereads. In my defence, I reread some enormous books this month! Most read genre: Contemporary. Again. But paranormal and graphic novels weren't far behind!
Favourite book: Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. It was seriously cute, and though there were things about it that were pretty gross (namely, anything to do with Martin), it was handled so thoughtfully and so well in the end that I couldn't help but give it five stars. Least favourite book: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. I actually DNFed this one, which I've only done seven times in my life. I tried really REALLY hard to like it because I know so many people who think it's amazing. But...ugh. I didn't like the characters, the world made no sense, and I was bored. It just wasn't for me. Favourite cover: There Will Be Lies by Nick Lake. Which is funny, because one of the first things my new boss said to me when I started was "Ugh, this cover is awful. Why would you make a book cover yellow??". I, for somewhat inexplicable reasons, really like it.
Diverse Books Project: Now that I have a full time job and less reading time, I feel like I'm a little bit behind the eight ball on this. I feel like I should start the next diverse book as soon as I close the one before it, just so that I don't end up behind schedule, but then I have so many other things to read and ARGH.
Still, I haven't missed a week yet, so I guess it's still going well!
In April, I ended up reading 4 graphic novels, 2 non-fiction books, and 23 novels. There are links to all my Goodreads reviews below!
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