I think I'm back?

You may have noticed that I have added a couple of posts over the last few days... I have been thinking about coming back and posting again... but thought I would wait for some kind of milestone... looks like I can't wait that long! lol

 

So, how about an update?

 

I have been keeping things really quiet lately as I really was sick of posting stuff up only to "fail" or at least fall behind. After 3 months or so, I finally feel as though my head is in the right space.  Things seem to be falling into place, at least weight loss and uni wise.

 

Over the last few months I have had a chance to really think things through, with no pressure, no goals and no obligations. It took a fair bit of soul searching, but I have finally come to peace with my new way of life and how I can fit things in/work things out.

 

In early January after a little holiday I signed up to Weight Watchers again, and this time, it's working!  My goals have been simple with my weightloss:

• no comparing myself to others
• taking it slowly
• not getting worked up on "the right way", just doing what works for me at the time
• aiming to lose 500g a week, but not beating myself up if I don't make it (hasn't happened yet lol)

Before uni I was exercising everyday, now that uni has gone back I'm not doing any.  While this isn't ideal, my experiences from last year proved that it's just not going to happen... and that's ok, so my focus will be on my diet.

I am breaking my weightloss down into 5kg mini goals. To me this is much more achievable, as you all know I have struggled to lose 5kg in one hit in a long time.

Rather than aiming for my healthy BMI range weight of 75kg, I have decided to aim for 85kg, as that was a weight I was able to maintain for a long time.  I am even thinking of just maintaining at that weight for 6 months or so, to let my body, brain and mindset catch up.

Anyway, onto the stats that I know that you all want to hear.  Since the 9th of January, I have lost 3.6kg, which is more than the 500g a week!  Pretty happy with that! So far I have even lost 11cm in a month.  I am due for more measurements as of this week.

So, sticking with my no pressure rule, I will stick with updating when I can, with no set routine. 

Hope to see you all soon!

Cracked it... and now it's really time to take action...

By cracked it, I don't mean that I have gone bonkers... I am actually refering to the fact that I now weigh over 100kg... yup... I weighed in yesterday at 100.5kg...

I have come to the realisation that Easter and I do not mix well together... especially in a (now) 3 person household where one is a chocoholic (that would be ME!), one non-chocoholic (B) and one who would be a chocoholic if we let her (Miss 3).  Basically, we got 3 peoples worth of chocolate and pretty much only me eating it... which is really not a good option...

So, last night I had a really good talk to myself (hmmm.... am I bonkers?!) and I have come to realise that I am honestly feeling more at peace with getting back onto the wagon and getting it going again.  I have also decided to come up with a list of healthy snacks (my downfall) and I will be continuing to use the Menu Planner app on my iPad as it has honestly made life easier for us.

This morning I measured myself for the first time in months, and I have to admit, I was more than a little astounded by the numbers that came up!

Week 1
Wednesday 18 April 2012

		Change	Total Loss
Weight:	100.5kg	n/a	n/a
Arm:	30.5cm	n/a	n/a
Bust:	116cm	n/a	n/a
Waist:	125cm	n/a	n/a
Hips:	126cm	n/a	n/a
Thigh:	73cm	n/a	n/a

I have come to the decision that it is time that I start putting myself out there 100%. Owning up to my stuff ups and celebrating the wins.  I am only human afterall!

So, I am very much a goal oriented person, and as B and I have been thinking about taking a holiday (like a cruise) for a while now (I mentioned it a few posts ago that it may be a bit of a reward) I have decided to aim towards that.  I have also come up with a few other goals/rewards to help me along.  Now, I have put away all of the remaining easter eggs, although I do know where they are, I am hoping to use them as more of a reward.  Now, I know that you shouldn't reward yourself with food, but I am hoping that having them there will help to teach me a bit of self control.

I have put together the following list of goals.  I have pinched this idea and format from Mandy over at Fearless, Fabulous, Female... and Forty!! (hope that's ok Mandy!) I may add to this list, as I go along, but at this stage, this is it:

	Heaviest Ever	100.5kg
	Goal Weight	74kg
WEIGHT	MINI GOAL DETAILS	STATUS
99.9	Back to the 90's
95.5	5kg and 5% lost
	Fit into my 'fat' pants comfortably
90.5	10kg and 10% lost
89.9	in the 80's
	Complete the C25K
89.6	Get to Overweight BMI of 29.9
	Size 14 clothes
85.5	15kg lost
	Run a 5km Fun Run
80.5	20 kg lost
79.9	Livin' in the 70's
	Size 12 clothes
75.5	25kg lost
74.6	Get to Healthy BMI of 24.9
** 74 **	GOAL
70.5	30kg lost
69.9	in the 60's

 

 

See - gym bag is packed and is in the car!

I am really missing exercising too... and I am so afraid of injuring my knee further, I have been avoiding it.  My physio has given me a few exercises to do (which I really should do! lol) and overally is really happy with my progress.  I think I find it a bit hard to go to the gym and sit on the bike or the cross trainer for only about 10 mins (as much as I can take at the moment.) - mostly I think it's frustrating, but I need to start somewhere I know. In fact, today I felt so motivated that I actually packed my gym bag and put it in the car!!  Now I just need to get my sorry arse to the gym! I have been meaning to pack it and have it ready in the car... have to admit I am a little proud I did it... baby steps!

You might remember a while ago I set myself the goal of running in 3 fun runs.  Well, 2 of them have gone, but the Mother's Day Classic is coming up and I have recieved my tag and number, and I really think that it will be a good thing to do.  Now, with my knee and my fitness levels at the moment, I won't be running, but I do want to do it - even though it will be the weekend before my exams start.

I am also wanting to get the winter veggie garden up and running, so over the next week I am planning on getting the patch ready and planted. Speaking of the garden, I cooked up some of the most delicious tomato relish the other day using this recipe and tomatoes from our garden.  We have started using a lot more of the veggies we have grown and it's so wonderful to know that we are eating fresh and that we have grown it ourselves!

Task 8: Measure Up

Ok... so now we are up to the final task... what I have been putting off doing since week 11 of the last round... measurements...

So, I spose I should just get straight into it!!

Week 1
Saturday 11 February

		Change	Total Loss
Weight:	tbc	n/a	n/a
R Arm:	29.5cm	n/a	n/a
L Arm:	30.5cm	n/a	n/a
Bust:	114cm	n/a	n/a
Waist:	124cm	n/a	n/a
Hips:	125cm	n/a	n/a
R Thigh:	71cm	n/a	n/a
L Thigh:	70.5cm	n/a	n/a

So, the measurements were as expected. When I weigh in tomorrow morning I will update it and will probable also put in my body fat % as well.

I just had B take my before photo... looks about the same as last round one... so glad no one else gets to see that one!!

I am planning on doing my fitness test time trial tomorrow morning before I have to go to work... to be honest, it's probably the only time I will get to do it.

Crazy, Crazy Week!

Where has all of my time gone??  I seem to be packing as much as I possibly can into my days lately, and I am already feeling the strain!  I need to get a few things off my to-do list to be able to get things under control, at this point I feel like I have 50 things trying to get my attention, and I have to say there is only so much that I can do.

In saying all of that, I have actually made it to the gym 6 days last week, and sadly, I know I won't do it this week.  To help remove some of the strain in my life at the moment, I have decided to focus on getting my flat ready to rent.  This means moving the last of my stuff out (at this stage I am not even bothering with cleaning out as I go unless it is something really obvious) and cleaning.  Then I need to organise insurances, fire alarm testing and signing off the paperwork for the property manager.  I would really like to get all of this done this week.  Aside from just trying to get something off my to do list, it is also a bit of a necessity as I quit my job!!! 

I am going from full time work/part time study to part time work/full time study.  I can't even begin to explain how excited I am about this!!  The last year or more I have been feeling so unhappy with my life, or how my time was spent to be more exact.  I felt like I was losing myself and just couldn't seem to settle.  I felt as though I was constantly on the go and couldn't fit everything in.  Lucky for me I have a very supportive boyfriend who wants to see me succeed and to be happy.

Now, a little more on my actual 12WBT journey!

Let's see... this last week I have had my weekly weigh in, my Week 8 fitness test and my Week 8 milestone!

So, my weigh in was as follows

Week 8
Wednesday 2 November

		Change	Total Loss
Weight:	91.6kg	-1.1kg	-4.9kg
Arms: (ea)	28.5cm	-1cm	-1cm
Bust:	108.5cm	-2cm	-5.5cm
Waist:	118cm	-1cm	-5.5cm
Hips:	118.5cm	-1.5cm	-6cm
R Thigh:	54cm	-2cm	-4.5cm
L Thigh:	54cm	-2cm	-4.5cm
Totals:		-10.5cm	28cm

I didn't actually realise until now that I have only lost 1.1kg in 4 weeks.  To say I am disappointed in myself is an understatement.  It seems quite dismal.  I will confess and tell you all that I haven't been sticking to the program 100%.  We aren't very organised when it comes to grocery shopping or planning meals or getting it all sorted.  We were in the beginning, but I think since we stopped following Mish's plan exactly and since the fridge died.  All excuses, I know, but right now my mind isn't into the whole planning side of this... I just need to get a few things out of the way first.

I also did my Week 8 Fitness Test and can I just say that I am gobsmacked at how much I have improved!!!  I actually did the tests a bit all over the place by doing them on different days, but I don't think it matters much.

My 1km time trial was simply amazing!  We did have to change the location as the oval we were using no longer had any lines marked, but we managed to find an even better one!  The best thing is - I did the 1km in 4 minutes 34 seconds!!!  Thats 2 mins 17secs off my time 4 weeks ago and 2 minutes 42 seconds faster since I started the 12WBT.  I even ran almost the entire time!  I didn't run for about 1/4 of a lap (so about 100m).

I also smashed my wall sit!!  Last time I lasted 26 seconds, this time I made it to  1 minute 5 seconds!!!

I managed to do 42 push ups compared to 4 weeks ago where I did 31 pushups.

My sit & reach was also smashed where I was able to reach 5cm more. 

And finally, I have made it to a Level 1  in the sit up test!!!!!  It was so excited!! I promise - there was cheering and squealing in the house that night!!

Now, my Week 8 Milestone was to go paddle boating!! and OMG!!  It is hard!!  I have had bad knees in the past and had a lower back injury as well, so maybe I didn't think this one through that well... We only did half an hour, and I am so glad that we only did that!! It wasn't long before my knees were so sore!!  I think it was

more joint sore than muscle sore - which isn't good.  However, in saying that, it was a great day out on the lake!  Even managed to take a couple of photos! Sorry mine is a little dark and you can't really see my face lol  I was worried about getting sunburned! lol The photo of my partner turned out much better!

Weigh In!

Good Morning all!!

My wishes were answered this morning when I jumped on the scales to find a 1.5kg loss!! WOOT WOOT!!! this brings me to 3.8kg loss in 4 weeks.  Not quite 4 in 4, but close enough!!!  I had set my first goal to be for me to lose 6kg in 4 weeks, so clearly I was over estimating my body's willingness to lose the weight, so later on today I will be going through my goals and readjusting them to be a little more realistic.

I also did my measurements last night, and I am happy to tell you all that in 4 weeks I have lost 17.5cm from my body!  (I forgot to measure my arms, so will update that tonight).

Week 4
Wednesday 5 October

		Change	Total Loss
Weight:	92.7kg	-3.8kg	-3.8kg
Arms:	29.5cm	0cm	0cm
Bust:	110.5cm	-3.5cm	-1.5cm
Waist:	119cm	-4.5cm	-4.5cm
Hips:	120cm	-4.5cm	-4.5cm
R Thigh:	56cm	-2.5cm	-2.5cm
L Thigh:	56cm	-2.5cm	-2.5cm
Totals:		-17.5cm	-17.5cm

 It's so great to see it all laid out like that, as I was saying to B last night, the truth is, I really don't mind what I weigh, I just want to be trimmer, which is where the measurements come in.  I wasn't sure if 17.5cm in a month was that good, but when we put it into comparison with my goal of losing 50cm, losing 17.5cm makes me at 35% of my goal, and we are only 33% of the way through the program, so I think I am doing really well so far!!

Last night I couldn't make it to pump.  And, my 'excuse' was one of my "Outside of my Control" ones - Migraines!  I can't do anything when I have a migraine, with some of the bad ones, I struggle to speak properly, so there is no way I would be coordinated enough for any form of exercise.  The only other problem is that I also have the next day as an "after affect" day (today), where my brain is still fuzzy and if I move my head slightly then it feels like my brain has slammed into the side of my head.  So without making today an additional excuse and writing it off totally, I have decided that I wont go to the gym, however I will try to walk on the treadmill tonight.  It won't be much, but it will be something.

I am really looking forward to the bush walk mini milestone this weekend, I just really hope that the weather is OK for it.  I am also curious to see how I go in my next fitness test, so that has been scheduled for Saturday morning before Stitch and Bitch.  It will be interesting to see how things have changed, as I really wasn't expecting such big numbers off my measurements, so hopefully I will get some surprising (good surprising that is!) results from the fitness test.

Weigh In!!

Today is weigh in day.  As you may have read from my previous posts, I have been struggling with the program, mostly because I have been sick and wanting comfort foods.  I haven't been able to exercise because of being sick, but I am very happy to tell you all that this week I have lost 2.2kg!!!

I was so surprised this morning to see 93.9 on the scales that I actually got off, and tried again!  It's great to see that even just sticking to the food has done that much work!!!

I have decided tonight I am going to jump back on the xbox and do a cardio workout by doing the dance central game.  I did this last week, but was only able to do half an hour before I felt like I was going to pass out.  I want to give it another go now that I am feeling a little better.  As a bonus, B won't be home to watch me being so unco! lol  Because it has been a week since I exercised, I seem to have lost my exercise mojo and now CBF doing it... but I know I just need to do something to get me started. I am also considering looking into the Zumba game for the xbox.  I have it for the Wii, but I much prefer the kinect.

We are heading out to the movies tonight, so I will have a think about what we will do food wise while we are there.  Popcorn will be out, but I might have a diet coke or something.  I love popcorn and chocolate at the movies, so this will be a bit of a challenge.

Also, as it is now week 2, we had another weekly challenge, which was a nutrition quiz.  I only got 8/10. I got a question wrong about alcohol (I don't drink any of the alcohol mentioned so that didn't help) and I also got the popcorn vs choc top question wrong.  I haven't done my 20 punishment push ups yet, I should do them tonight! lol

Last night we tried the Spaghetti Bolognaise with Lentils. I quite liked it, although I have a feeling it would taste even better if the lentils weren't out of a can lol.  I am having the left overs for lunch today.  This week I rewrote the menu plan as there was actually a fair bit on there that really just didn't appeal to me (or to B) and as B is missing his meat, we are trying a few new meals, such as nachos, meatballs and Mexican meat pie.

That's all from me for now.  Really should do some work! lol

Weigh In Day!

Yes, that's right, today is weigh in day!  I have been reading a lot of posts on the forums, facebook and on blogs that people have been losing up to and over 3kg!!  How exciting!!

For me this week, I lost 400g. Now while this number does seem small, I am actually really happy with it!  The reason behind this is, since my official weigh in last Thursday, I didn't actually stop eating crap and I didn't exercise.  On top of this, on Saturday night I had my birthday party where there was alcohol, caramel tart, a bbq and I ate quite a lot!! I do know that at one stage on the weekend I weighed myself at 87.4kg!  Which, if you compare my weigh in to that, I have actually lost 1.3kg, but hey, who is counting :P hahahaha!!

Anyway, quick little update, yesterday I had the most amazing dinner!!  OMG! It is definately one of my favourites!! I have put the pic that my partner sent to me yesterday after he made it.  It's the Char-grilled Beef with Avocado and Corn Salsa.  I wasn't sure how I would like it, but it was just sooooo yummy and by far my favourite dish so far!  It was such a great mix of flavours and the capsicum and corn were so nice and sweet.  I actually ate this while watching Michelle do her first live chat.  It was great watching her, she was so funny! I did find that a lot of the questions she was asked were asked on the forums, or were things that you could google, but then I suppose some people just aren't as tech-savy (not having a go, just an observation :) lol).

Last night Carrie and I gave the boxing class a go.  We made it through half the class.  It is an amazing workout, but I am not sure if I could make it through a full class.  We stopped as Carrie has a hip injury which was aggravated last night, so we ducked out of the class and walked on the treadmills and then headed upstairs to stretch.  I love stretching my lower back.  I love the feeling of it!  Anyway, all in all I burned 506 calories in the hour.

I also have a confession for yesterday.  I wasn't sure if I should write it, but I will just to keep me accountable.   I did own up to my boyfriend almost as soon as I walked in the door last night, but yesterday I found a time out in my fridge at my old flat (currently in the process of moving) and before I knew it I had justified it to myself and it was in my mouth!  And it was only Day 2!! Anyway, it's done, it's gone and there is no more chocolate in either fridge...  On a positive note, I did go into maccas yesterday and got a coffee... no food or anything like that even though I was a little peckish.  I have to say though, my skim latte really hit the spot and I didn't really feel like snacking after that, so I might keep that in mind for another low calorie snack.

Today Carrie and I are going to do a Power (pump) class. I am so excited!!  For a few reasons:

1. This is my favourite class
2. It's fun
3. It's on at 4.30pm which means I can be home earlier
4. I love doing weights
5. I love clean & presses lol

Well, I think that's about it for me for today :) Today I had porridge for breakfast, will have the curried egg sandwich for lunch (have curry this time!) and we will be trying "Jen's Lasagne" for dinner tonight (which I will actually cook and give my boyfriend a break lol)

Task 8: Measure Up

Well, here we go! It's the first official weigh in of the 12WBT!  Sadly, the weight has crept up over the preseason, but I don't want to focus on this, I want to focus on how much my body is going to transform over the next 12 weeks from all of the hard work I will be putting into it from exercise and eating right!

I have taken my before photo (very confronting and all kinds of rolls that I didn't know that I had)  I think it will be awesome to see how much my body can (and will!) change over the next 12 weeks.  I have also done up my measurements (below) so I can track how much this changes too.

Week 1
Thursday 8 September

		Change	Total Loss
Weight:	96.5kg	n/a	n/a
Arms:	29.5cm	n/a	n/a
Bust:	114cm	n/a	n/a
Waist:	123.5cm	n/a	n/a
Hips:	124.5cm	n/a	n/a
R Thigh:	58.5cm	n/a	n/a
L Thigh:	58.5cm	n/a	n/a

We got our shopping list and meal plans for the upcoming week.  Brian and I sat down tonight and placed our grocery order.  It was really reasonably priced overall.  We had a few extra things on the list, but it came to about $175, which I think is pretty good considering it's the initial shop and there would be a few things that we didn't have in the cupboard.  The recipes looked really good! There wasn't really anything that I turned my nose up at, although there were a couple of interesting dishes.  I think because I have gone into it open minded, I am more willing and likely to try new things.  I have noticed a few people on the forums seem to be turning their noses up at the food before they had seen it.  I used to be a really fussy eater, and I know how hard it was for me then when I didn't eat what was on offer, however I think that the only way I got over that was to retrain my taste buds and to keep trying new things. I really hope that they can get as much out of the program as possible.

There is also a fitness test that needs to be done.  I had planned on doing it at the gym, but Mish wants us to do it unaided (ie that we are running on our own, not having a machine set at a certain speed to aid us).  There are also some push ups, sit ups (if you remember from my PT session, I struggled with both!) theses weird sitting reach things, wall sits... i think thats it... as well as the 1km run (omg!!)  I am so nervous about the run!  1km is quite a lot!  We worked out that if I ran around the local football field (about a 5 min walk away from our house) I would need to run around it one and a half times... thats a lot!!  I don't think I will be able to run the whole thing, but as Mish said, I just need to do it, it doesn't matter if I run, walk or crawl it, I just need to finish it.

Tomorrow night, the grocery shop will arrive so I will try to remember to take some pics of our healthy foods and I would also like to do the fitness test so that it is done and out of the way.

Kicking Off

I have come here to start a blog where I can get my thoughts, frustrations and triumphs out in regards to my weight loss. I have recently put on a lot of the weight that I have lost due to lifestyle changes with no routines or structure. The next few weeks are also going to be quite similar, although things are starting to settle down a little now. At the moment I have a sinus infection, so to be quite honest, I feel like crap! I started back on trying to eat healthier on Monday, however being sick has lowered my self control and to be fair, I haven't done so well, but this comes with it and I know that as long as I keep trying I will get there.

Anyway, after putting on over 10kg in a few months and nudging closer and closer to my ultimate starting weight of 99kg.  While I knew at the time that my eating was way off the mark with all of the takeaway foods I was eating, somehow I didn't think it would do this much damage - but it really does.

People who know me in RL know that I am studying to be a dietician.  Does it make me a bit of a fraud putting on weight like this?  I'd like to think that it makes me human - I know what needs to be done, its just finding a way to make it work in my lifestyle.

I am hoping that on this blog I will also be able to share any recipes I use so that I can easily find them again as well as so that if anyone reads this blog that they will be able to use them too.

I hope that I will be feeling better next week so that I can start going to the gym, which should hopefully help me stay on track with my eating.  At the moment though, I am happy to be eating home cooked meals and not take away as I was before, now I just need to eat more fruit and veges and life will be great!

I also need to put up my current stats (as of yesterday morning)

Wednesday 10 August

		Change	Total Loss
Weight:	93.8kg	n/a	n/a
Arms:	29.5cm	n/a	n/a
Bust:	109.5cm	n/a	n/a
Waist:	120.5cm	n/a	n/a
Hips:	118cm	n/a	n/a
Thigh:	63.5cm	n/a	n/a