Iron Jack

A key development in the Ironjack journey was a trip to Tauranga last week to meet a sports nutritionist – Rachel Scriven from Food FX.

I’ve always battled with my weight. I’ve lost a lot several times, but always put it back on very quickly. My most famous example was where I lost 11kg over 18 months before our wedding in 2003 – only to have put so much back on during our honeymoon that I couldn’t fit my jeans to wear home on the plane!

Sadly, the Ironjack journey has been no different. I have lost 10 kg over the past 12 months or so, and don’t get me wrong, that’s a massive achievement for me. However, it’s been achieved simply because I have started exercising and training – a completely new experience for me and my body. Now that my system is used to training, I haven’t been able to lose any more, plateauing at around 91kg, give or take 500g.

So the time had come to take action. If I want to get faster on both the bike and the run – but especially the bike if I am to make the cutoff time at the NZ Ironman – I need to lose a lot more. Probably 15kg more.

I knew there wasn’t a specialist sports nutritionist in Rotorua, so Google’d “sports nutritionist Tauranga” and found Rachel. As soon as I saw that she supported many Academy of Sport carded athletes (including triathletes), as well as the Bay of Plenty Steamers rugby team (my team) I knew was onto a good thing! A very quick phone call later and I was booked for my first appointment the following week.

Armed with five days worth of food diaries I walked in her door. We had a good talk about how I felt about my eating, training, health and wellbeing. She immediately recognised that IBS is a big issue for me – and in fact it wasn’t until I was talking to her about it that I realised that it is still a big issue for me. The amount of exercise I’m doing, combined with a much less stressful job and daily medication, means that it is much more under control than it ever used to be, but it is always still in the back of my mind, never quite knowing when I’m going to have a bad episode and what will bring it on.

She did all the tests and measurements and agreed that 15kg was a realistic, achievable and appropriate target – not just for Ironman, but for my future health.

One of my biggest concerns was around whether I could eat enough to fuel my training, while still losing weight. Rachel assured me I could.

Within hours my personalised plan arrived, complete with all the current stats and guidelines for nutrition for training as well as living.

It’s been just short of a week now, and it’s going very well. Part of my brain does wonder if I can manage to lose weight when I’m eating this much food! But the other part of me has been incredibly surprised by how much more energy I have for training. My bike around Lake Rotorua on Saturday was hard work, but I felt I had the energy for it – and I had the trust that I had consumed enough to get me around. And I’ve had three fantastic spin sessions where I’ve pushed myself far more than ever before, and felt great. So that’s an immediate benefit. I’m trying very hard not to get on the scales until I see Rachel again in four weeks time – if the scales don’t go my way, I don’t want to jeopardise my commitment to the plan. Watch this space!

Initial Goals (4 weeks)

Lose 0.5 – 2kg body weight

Lose 0.5 – 1kg off body fat weight

Lose >10mm off skinfolds

Lose 1-2cm off girths

I am incredibly lucky to be supported by Reebok and Speedo - brands owned in New Zealand by a company called True Alliance. Thanks to Lee-Anne, they have been on board since early in the Ironjack campaign and I’m very grateful for their support. Their clothes are designed to fit “real” women, and their running tights are quite simply the best thing ever invented!

So it was with much excitement that a care parcel (or three) arrived from them at work last week. Some great new T-shirts and running shoes, but the absolute highlight was this incredible pair of togs. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I am a passionate New Zealander - and I’m even more passionate about NZ sport. These togs carry the Silver Fern…and…KIWI written in capital letters on the bum! They are SENSATIONAL and make me feel amazing - and very fast!

I will wear them with pride.

A massive thank you to Reebok and Speedo.