Weigh In and Update

So I have been back on track for over a week now, and other than 1 day I have exercised when I said I was going to... I think that counts as a win!

 

I weighed in yesterday, but was a little too hormonal to actually come in and update the blog. Didn't think I would have really been posting from a positive place (was freaking out trying to fit too much into one day). Don't get me wrong, I was happy about my weigh in. It was probably better than I expected really due to the time of the month.

 

I was hoping for a loss, but would have been happy to maintain this week. While it was my first week back, I know how my body works, so I was really happy to see a 400g loss on the scales. I am still aiming for a 500g loss each week as my goal, and I do need to remind myself of this sometimes as I often find myself hoping for a much larger loss.

 

Once again, I need to get myself in the mindset of slow and steady and no pressure as well as who cares as long as the number is going down.

 

Food wise I have been doing pretty well. I have dipped into my weekly propoints a little for both weeks. I am trying not to, but it is nice to have that buffer there. I think I will be using them all this weekend when a few of my friends come over to kick off the Tour de Fleece. I have been trying to eat filling and healthy foods, but have had a few freddos to help with chocolate cravings.

 

As for exercise, I have started a 9 week challenge on the Wii (EA Sports Active 2.0), and it's so nice to have a variety.  Yesterday B and Miss 5 (yep - 5 now!!) got home not long after I had started exercising and Miss 5 joined in with me! So cute watching her do squats, lunges and running. She even pushed me along to finish!

 

I am looking forward to next weeks weigh in already.  Lets hope I have another good week :)

What to do when life gets in the way....

What a crazy couple of weeks!!!

 

We have moved house, I have a new job (new location at least) uni has finished and I have had news that my Nana has taken a turn for the worst... overall an emotionally charged time!!

 

The problem is... eating has gone out the window.  So much takeaway!!! in 2 weeks I put on 3.5kg!!! OMG!  However this week I have weighed in with a 700g loss, just by trying to be more aware of what I was eating... I was still eating some crap, but at least I was aware of it.

 

I also bought myself a Soup Simple which I am totally in love with!! I tend to make a lot of soups in winter, and this just makes my life so much easier!!! Now I don't need to blend in batches!! So far I have made my fave Curried Pumpkin Soup and today I had Potato and Leek Soup (and, for the record, the potatoes came from my garden!)

 

Might try to make the Roasted Capsicum and Tomato Soup in it next!!

 

I am really looking forward to getting my weightloss back on track, trying to stay positive about it... but I realised the other day that the weight I have gained over the last 2 years hasn't done anything for my mental health... turns out I have a lot of self loathing going on.

 

With uni done (kind of, I had to defer my exams so still a bit of studying to do) I am hoping to do some more exercise, and now with where we have moved to my fave national park is nearby, so I am hoping to get over there sometimes too :) Otherwise I am thinking of going back to the Wii until I can decide on a gym or not... but that's another post!

About time for a weight loss related post...

Seeing as my last few posts have been about my garden, sustainability or the mental implications of losing/gaining weight, I figured it's probably about time that I actually checked in with something to do with MY weight loss!

 

Since Easter I have come off the rails a bit, but I actually kind of expected this and I am happy to say that I handled it much better than I have in the past.  Last year I made myself sick by eating so much chocolate, this year I still ate a decent amount of chocolate, but it was nothing in comparison to recent years.  I really think that the Weight Watchers mentality has really stuck this time, which is a great thing!!! Yes, I overate, not only at Easter, but for the month following, but overall I was only 900g up!  Which is nothing in the grand scheme of things, especially as in the past I have been able to put that on in a week, let alone in 4 weeks. It has really helped having the graph ticker (on the right, under "The Bigger Picture"), as I could see with each little gain, in the bigger picture, it was ok!

 

The truth is, I indulged but tried so hard not to go overboard. And I have come out of it feeling even more confident in my abilities to see this through this time.  Yesterday when I did the groceries I thought I would mix it up a bit and go to the butchers first and plan my meals that way, rather than going to the supermarket, looking at meal mixes and planning that way.  I actually think that by going to the butchers first I have managed to put together a healthier meal plan for the week. 

 

Now, I have just written a bit of a tangent, so I will save that for a new post (look for that one tonight lol) and keep this one focussed on my actual weight loss.

 

This week I focussed on tracking everything I ate, and trying to cook as many meals as possible.  It hasn't been great, but it has been better. I even had some farewell drinks as I was leaving one of my jobs and I am very happy to say that I have actually lost 500g this week! I was hoping to stay the same as I did go over on my points over the weekend, but this is a great loss to see!!

 

Uni is coming up to the exam period, so we will see how my eating goes then.  This time last year we decided to do Lite n' Easy just so we wouldn't have to cook, but  think that overall I am handling the uni side of things better... or at least I hope I am!

 

However, when uni is finished for the semester I will have 12 weeks off! I am so excited about that! I really feel that this time will be good for me to recharge my batteries, but I am also excited as I am planning on getting back into the exercise over this time, so hopefully it will also help with the weightloss, measurements and toning... as well as mental wellbeing! I will be going back to using the Wii again I think, but I am looking forward to setting myself that challenge.

 

I should also let you all know that I have made a slight change in my Weight Watchers journey.  Instead of doing the Unlimited option (online tools and meetings) I have dropped back to just the online tools.  This does save us a little money, but I also found that for me I am in a good space with it all and I have a great support group on a forum I am on. If I find that I do need that encouragement of a meeting I can always go back to the Unlimited option or even just pay meeting by meeting.

 

 

Achievement Unlocked: Lost 5kg!!

Actually... I have lost 5.9kg!!!

I am so damn excited and proud of myself! Regular readers (from when I was posting regularly lol) will remember me being so down on myself and not wanting to write anymore because I felt like I kept setting myself up for failure...

Taking the time to step back and focus on myself mentally has really helped me.  I feel like I am in control and that I can do this!!!  Which is what I really needed. My first goal of losing 5kg was a way to prove to myself that it can be done.  I had lost weight in the past, but I needed to confirm to myself that I could do it now that my lifestyle is completely different.

The best thing I could have done was to take all of the pressure out of it... for me, while I love that the 12WBT has helped so many people, I find it a little too extreme for myself, and I work much better with little pressure and keeping it all slow and steady.

In fact, "Slow and Steady" has been my motto.  It has taken me 11 weeks to lose that, which fits with my 'goal' of 500g a week. Nice and manageable :)

I have found that if I focus on filling and healthy foods I tend to lose a little more and I try not to use my 49 weekly propoints, but I always seem to dip into them a little lol.

My reward for losing 5kg is to do Ixchel's fibre club, so I will be sending her a message soon to let her know that I am in!  I only have 4.9kg to my next goal, which will mean a total of 10kg lost, I will be under 100kg and almost halfway to my goal of 85kg!

Right now I feel so freaking amazing!!!

Feeling Skinny

About time for an update... don't you think?

 

Once again the thought of posting has been on my mind for the last few days... but that might be because I have an assignment due on Friday... and I am sick of looking at it!!

 

My life is one big chaotic ball at the moment, and the honest truth of it all is that I am not sure if I am coping.  With 2 jobs (yep - 2 now!), uni and a family it's really hard, but right now I am dealing (or not really dealing (or not at all)) with the fact that my Nana has been diagnosed not only with dementia, but also with terminal cancer. I have recently come back from a week in New Zealand to spend some time with her as it is unlikely that she will be with us for much longer, in fact I doubt if she will be here in 3 months time. My Nana is my world, she is the woman who has encouraged me my entire life, who has been always there for me when I have felt so incredibly alone and who has shaped me into the woman I am today. She is the type of woman I strive to be; independent, strong and happy to be who she is. She belongs to no man, lives her life the way she has always wanted and has always helped and supported where she could. I cannot imagine a world without her and our last cuddle together has to be one of the hardest things I have had to face in recent years.

 

However, one positive side to it all was that while I was over there, I didn't put on much weight (1kg) and I have since lost that and more over the last week.  I am currently 300g off my first mini goal of 5kg, I am really looking forward to reaching that as I feel as though it will cement it in my brain that I can lose this weight again. I have also been looking at myself in the mirror over the last few days and thinking to my self that I feel skinnier!  Maybe I am just not as bloated or something, but hopefully it is something clicking in my brain and it is catching up with the weight I have lost.

 

The slow and steady mentality has kicked in again, and for me this is how I lose weight... this is what works for me.  No pressure, just life and trying to get the right balance. Always aiming for a 500g loss works for me, and trying to keep my food as healthy and nutritious as possible seems to be the key.

 

For example, today for lunch I had Curried Pumpkin Soup (Weight Watchers Recipe) and grain toast. So delicious!  It was a favourite of mine when I first did WW over 2 years ago now, and I still love it.  Now that the weather seems to be turning colder, I need to find some more delicious soup recipes, so if anyone has any that they would like to share, please do!

 

While I didn't take an official start photo, I am thinking of taking some for each 5kg I lose, so hopefully next week I can put up a progress pic.

 

Also, a little update on the garden front, I have potatoes in at the moment and I also bought a mandarin tree! I am a total newbie to fruit trees, so if anyone has any tips, please share those too!  I have ordered the compost bins I spoke about in my last post and I am just waiting for them to be delivered! Hope it's soon! I can't wait!!

 

I think that is all for me for now, hope everyone is going well, catch you next time!

Weigh In!!

Look! It's Wednesday and I am actually here, writing a post about my weigh in this morning!!!

(Although I should be writing up study cards for anatomy... you know, attempting to be organised and all that...)

So, weigh in...

I haven't really tracked anything this week, and I still haven't done any exercise, but I'm just taking each day as it comes and trying to do the best I can... although I seem to be having massive sugar cravings atm... no idea why though... I have wondered if maybe it was something to do with the whole 'missing out' concept...

I lost 400g this week, which I am happy with.  I have aimed for 500g a week, and considering there was no calorie counting and no exercise, this is a good place to be in!!

I think though, I will get up early tomorrow morning and get a walk in before uni... I need to get this routine going again :)  I also might go for another bushwalk this weekend... I loved getting out there... will be good to do it again!

Also, I have updated the Progress page with measurements, and I have cheated a little and put up the photo of me at the wedding a couple of weeks ago.  I know it's not this weeks one, but at least there is a pic there!

Update

Ok, so now that I have gotten that little tangent out of the way, you will have noticed that I haven't updated for a little while... this is because I have had mid semester exams on all week, so it has been heads down, bum up for a little while.

I am happy to come in and tell you all that at weigh in on Wednesday I lost 1kg!! I was pretty happy with that!!  It was good to see that tracking what I was eating and exercising each day (mostly walking) helped.

This week has been a bit of a different story, not that I have done anything outrageous or anything, but there have been a couple of days where I haven't tracked and I haven't done any exercise at all...  I am ok with this as my mind has been on uni and I am taking this as a long-term journey... and these things happen... like the Tupperware party I had yesterday where we made scones... haha!!

Making Things "Easy"

B and I are time poor... we have lots on in our lives and generally aren't that great at managing it all - at least time wise. So, we have decided to cut out "one more thing" and have decided to go on Lite n' Easy for a couple of weeks.

I have used it in the past and I quite liked the food and the convenience of it all. One of the things I loved the most about it was (when I was single and living on my own) was the variety!  I found it so hard to have a good variety in my diet and stick to a budget.

We have decided to do lunches and dinners only, as breakfasts are generally pretty easy anyway.  I will be doing 7 days worth and B will do 5 days worth as he has work lunches that he attends.  We always have a family dinner at his parents on sunday nights, which means that my extra dinner will become his 6th, so in planning, it seems that it will work.

One aspect of starting LnE that I am really looking forward to is lunches!  I have become quite slack in getting my lunch sorted, and I have been buying my lunches when I am at uni or work. I was concerned about he money aspect of it all, because, let's face it, LnE isn't exactly cheap... and does cost more than a weekly grocery shop.  But when I actually sat down and thought about it, I realised that we were buying groceries, buying lunches and then having take out on top... so I think that we might actually save a little money... who would have thought!!

I also love that it is calorie controlled.  Now, I am proud to say that I haven't had chocolate since I made the commitment a few days ago, however, I still haven't really been counting my calories.  Last night was a special night out for B and I, so we did both splurge a bit, but this morning I did make a healthy breakfast choice, so that's a good sign I think.

For the next week we will be eating what we have in the pantry and freezer to make room for our LnE delivery, so I really don't think the next week will be the healthiest week... but I am ok with that... I am just so relieved to have something easy coming up... especially with my final exams being 3 weeks away!

I have mentioned before that I am not the greatest with eating fruit... and I remember having the best eating habits with LnE in the past... so I am looking forward to having a more balanced diet and more energy... with less stress!! For myself, I will be on the 1500 calorie plan, although if I exercised 3 times a week for up to 20 minutes LnE calculated that I should be on 1800 calories... while that sounds awesome, I don't think it's really for me, so for now I will be sticking to the 1500 calories. Calorie king currently has me set to 1640 calories, so this will be fine.

Also, I know I haven't popped in here with my weekly weigh in, but I lost 100 grams.  I am ok with this as my weight jumped up by 2kg during the week, so being under is a plus.

I am finally starting to feel like myself again... and I am loving it!  i am feeling more in control of my eating and my mindset, I'm not sure if it shows to others, but I love having my confidence back!!

I went down town and bought a couple of tops for winter, so it's just nice having clothes that fit and make me feel pretty - even if they are larger clothes... it really does a lot for the mindset!

History

I just wrote this in the 12WBT Forums and thought I would also post it up here...

Well, I didn't think that I would post my story, but here I am.

Let's see, in 2007 at 22 I was told by my doctor that I was pre-diabetic, had high sugar levels, high cholesterol, was overweight and had PCOS. I still remember him telling me this and how I went to my sisters that afternoon and crying. My bestie who had recently past away at the same age as me had diabetes, so it all just hit too close to home.

I changed my diet by cutting out the processed foods and because I was too embarrassed to go outside to exercise because of my weight, I used an exercise bike 6 nights a week for half an hour while watching the biggest loser.

After 6 months I had lost 12 kilos, and needed a change, so I joined healthy inspirations. I didn't have much luck on the scales, but toned my body up to see some amazing measurement losses.

After our local one closed down, I switched from gym to gym, calorie counting along the way and over 4 years losing 23kg.

Then, the weight started creeping back on and I didn't put as much effort in... Then, earlier this year I got with my current partner and managed to put on 10kg in about 3 months! I was partying too much, eating out and not exercising... After all my work over the last 4, almost 5 years, I have still not reached goal weight... In fact, I was only 4kg shy of being back at my start weight...

I had let myself down...

Since mish started doing the 12wbt program I had debated about signing up. After chatting with a friend before last round, I decided to sign up.

My round didn't go according to plan... I was sick 3 times (as in bedridden sick), I moved house, I was in a stressful job, I moved in with my boyfriend (first time I had ever moved in with someone!!!!) and gained an instant family (we have his daughter full time), and finally I also changed jobs! Needless to say, I struggled!

In saying this though, I tried hard to stick to the program as much as I could, and it wasnt until week 11 that I really came unstuck. I didn't have the loss I was expecting, and I have since reverted to my old ways.

What upsets me the most is that I feel like I have let myself down, I feel that I could have done so much more and I am annoyed that I "allowed" myself to "fail".

However, I have learned a lot and I am back! I decided to go to the finale even though I was incredibly sick, and I have to tell you that the atmosphere is electric!! So much so that I actually cried when the workout started because I was so devastated that I was missing out!

I am currently in the process of setting myself some new goals, a couple of which are doing more with the Capital Punishment team here in Canberra, and trying not to stress so much about getting it "right" but just doing it (something I got from the interview with Run Mummy Run last round!), so I want to focus on exercising 6 days a week. Because my new job is so active, I want to become more of a morning person and start exercising in the morning before my day starts.

I have seen how well this program works, and I want it to work for me too - and no one can do it for me, but me!

I have blogged about my previous round, and it has all the highs and lows. I am going to continue writing it this round as I found that it made me more accountable, I would love to have more people reading it and commenting so that I am even MORE accountable lol.

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.

How to lose weight

I was pottering around Calorie King, avoiding work, and found this post which i totally agree with, and thought I would share:

I decided to write this after receiving a few emails asking for advice on what I did to lose weight. (Frankly I didn't want to have to keep repeating the same thing over and over :D)


In addition I’ve noticed a few things around the forums, generally people asking for help because they aren’t losing weight or feel they’ve plateaued, but generally aren’t actually following CK recommendations because they couldn’t possibly eat that much…. Sorry guys how do you think you got overweight in the first place (despite whether you think you did or didn’t eat a lot, you where eating too much).


So, these are some of the things I did, that worked for me, I can’t guarantee they’ll work for you, but if what your doing isn’t working what have you got to lose.


First and foremost, my top two recommendations are this, be honest with yourself and what you are reporting/recording and start by actually following CK recommendations. It never ceases to amaze me that people will go out of their way for weeks on end to try the latest fad diet but refuse to try CK recommendations.


So to elaborate on this, you have to find some time to be bothered to fill in your diary and for a while at least this means weighing everything, not just saying in your diary a medium carrot, what you see as a medium carrot might be very different to what others (including your CK diary) might see as a medium carrot, so you do have to be bothered to weigh things. Most people are more than a little surprised to discover just how much they get wrong especially when it comes to meet and stuff. In addition to that we all know about consumerism, and just because a packet of something says 500g doesn’t always make it so, someone posted recently about discovering that the package weight versus the actual weight was that the actual weight was significantly higher, meaning more calories in than they thought! Over the course of a week this can make or break your loss.


CK recommendations. Follow them for at least 2 weeks better to go for 4 weeks, AFTER that you can start tweaking if the weight isn’t coming off. Here’s the thing with exercise cals, my suggestion is if you don’t have a HRM and you use CK to guestimate them only eat back half your exercise cals, when you get a HRM you will have a better picture. This is what I did in the beginning before I got my HRM. Once you’ve established a routine you will see if eating all or some back works for you. But I beg of you to actually try it first before discarding it, all I see is people continuing to drop their calories lower and lower, and wondering why they aren’t losing weight…. Cause your body is probably friggen hungry.


Be prepared. The more prepared you are the better off you will find yourself in times of weakness or just generally having a bad day. Whether you pick a day of the week to do a cook up or just cook extra a few nights a week, (I do both! :D) I then freeze the extra portions and if I come home and don’t want to cook, I have something, quick, easy, portion and calorie controlled that will take 10 minutes in the microwave. Generally I actually sit down the evening before and enter what I’m going to eat the next day into my diary, this way I can see where I am calorie wise, I can quickly pack my lunch and snacks in the morning and take out anything I need for dinner. I keep a pad in the kitchen so I weigh everything out and then whilst dinner is cooking I can sit down punch it all into CK, make sure the cals are OK and I’m good to go. This way I don’t get caught with the half an hour spent wondering what I should have and then getting so hungry I cave in to the sausage roll or McDonald’s or whatever.


Educate yourself. Spend a bit of time reading up on things, there is a lot of conflicting information, you may have to tweak things to get it all working for you, but this is something you will need to maintain long term, if you simply consider it a diet you go on and off, congratulations we will see you here next year heavier again. Learn about foods, what is good fuel, what is better fuel, learn about take away foods, so that if you are out shopping and you didn’t bring anything with you and you need to eat, what are the better options for you? Subway… try a subway salad (you can even double the meat! ;D) McDonald’s… it might be a worst case scenario, but the Sweet Chilli Seared Chicken wrap, a salad and water work out to be one of your better options. Write it all down on a piece of paper if you have to, but have a string of choices up your sleeve, to help you make a better choice than chips and a burger (or whatever).


In addition to the educating yourself is understanding food better. Some people say as long as you are under cals, if you eat your cals in chocolate it doesn’t matter, but unfortunately for most it really does. If you truly are being honest in your recording (generally people think they are but aren’t – sorry if that offends, the truth often does) and you still aren’t losing weight, start looking at what you are eating, because it matter’s also, it really is a combination of how much you eat, what you eat, and how you move, that’s why when people ask me what I did to lose the weight I say “Eat better and move more”. Notice I don’t say eat less, I say Eat better. Bulking out your meals with vegetables will not only fill you up (for less calories) they are good for you in a whole host of other ways and will do much more for you than a block of chocolate.


All or nothing. I used to have this attitude, I had to get it all perfect from the get go and if I did one thing wrong I packed it in and went back to my KFC and chocolate. The biggest change I made when I started this final time round, was to do what I could. Instead of overwhelming myself with being perfect, I just did one thing for a week, I drank a 750ml bottle of water every day for a week. The next week I took a flight of stairs instead of the lift and drank my bottle of water, every day for a week. Start with one thing, or one meal at a time and you will be surprised to suddenly finding yourself, several weeks down the track, with new habits, and more than likely weight and cm loss. This also helped so that if I did find myself knee deep in a tub of ice-cream, that was OK, rather than killing myself for it and making the choice to eat crap for the rest of the week, I would just get back up, dust myself off and move forward again, one step at a time.


Which brings me to measurement. You can’t live and die by the scales, they are only one measurement, one guide of what is going on in your body (I’m talking scales for body weight you should live and die by your kitchen scales as previously pointed out ;D). I personally don’t believe in daily weighing it does my head in, if you choose to do it, you must be fully comprehensive of the fact that daily fluctuations occur for a mirad of reasons, otherwise, stick to weekly. In fact in my first few months I had someone else weigh and measure me once a month and tell me my results. This meant I couldn’t obsess over the scales. Measuring yourself is just as important if not more. There are likely to be times when the scales may not move, but your clothes are getting looser and you are losing cm’s this is what you want really! So this applies to all things, BMI, waist hip ratio, they are guides, and they don’t work for everyone, so don’t kill yourself trying to fit them, if you aren’t sure and can get to one, a Dexa scan (Body composition scan) is really your best option, especially if you are not sure what the right weight is for you. They are worthwhile in my opinion, but generally on any measurement you use, you are looking for a downward trend to keep you going.


Are you bored yet? Next is support and accountability. People generally say I’m not telling anyone what I’m doing in case I fail… way to set yourself up there! Firstly if you can get your family and friends on board working with you, it will make it sooooo much easier, but in addition to that, it will also weed out people who might try to sabotage you. You need to figure out who these people are (they might not realise they are doing it, they might!) because you will need to employ strategies in dealing with this people, whether it be being fully prepared when you see them, asking them to stop (if they are a spouse or someone you live with) through to the extreme of not being involved with them anymore (are they really a good friend worthy of your time and energy). If you can’t find support in your family and friends, then look online, and find what you need, only you can find it, so don’t use it as an excuse to quit. Best of all is that shoulder and ear to lean on when you are having a hard day, having a whinge is always preferable to eating a bucket of ice-cream or a block of chocolate! :D


Get over yourself. Yep harsh hey…. The biggest obstacle you will have is yourself. Really listen to some of the things you tell yourself, I’m so busy, I’m so lazy, I can’t do this, I can’t do that, it hurts, it’s uncomfortable, blah blah blah. We tell ourselves a lot of sh*t! Change only comes when you step outside your comfort zone. Start changing the negative self talk around. One of mine was this, I used to tell it to myself but I also used to say it out loud to people!!! “I’m fundamentally lazy”. And guess what boy I believed it. One day I heard myself and thought what am I doing? So I stopped saying it, and guess what happened, I stopped believing it. And I have to say within a few weeks I really managed to crank up my exercise routine, because I wanted to do more, because I didn’t feel lazy anymore. Everyone has them a million and one excuses and how everyone else is in there way. Nope, only one person in your way and that’s you, what you say to yourself, how you react to what’s going on around you. Get out of your own way and I promise an amazing new world will open up to you.


Finally, well there’s probably loads more to say, but I don’t think that anyone can digest much more, and that’s this it won’t all be smooth sailing and that’s OK. You may fall down, but what’s most important is to get up again and continuing to move forward, that’s where your ear friend or even this forum is a good place to come. Be willing to get a butt kicking and some support at the same time, as far as I’m concerned if you are serious that’s what you are really looking for to get you going again.


As always with anything that’s posted here on the forums, I highly suggest, you take what resonates for you and discard the rest, I hope this gives newbies a starting point and anyone struggling some food for thought… so to speak! :D

 I love this post because it gets straight to the point, and it is totally true - the only way to lose weight is to do it healthily, honestly and ask for help if you need it!  How do you know if this person is telling the truth?  Well the fact that she has dropped from 130kg to 75kg should say it all really!