Things I learned this week!

I've gotten into the 'daily grind' over the last few months so I decided to really think about weekly achievements, anything I've learned, lessons I've picked up... or just things I've realised. This is what I have learned this week:


I am addicted to body attack classes
I kind of already knew this but it was well and truly confirmed when I woke up last night in a bit of a panic after just experiencing a 'nightmare' that I turned up to Friday mornings class, rearing to go, to be told it was cancelled and moved to a lunch time spot. I remember thinking how I was going to make it work in the future with work etc but I was determined to do it. So yup..fully addicted / obsessed / crazy. Find out about this class here ..I love Les Mills and if you have one in your town and thinking of joining a gym...can't get better than LM :)

Don't over do the exercise
Because of said obsession, I decided it would be a grand idea to do a 30min attack class after my 45min boot camp on Monday. I did this the previous week, and was..bearable. While I got through both sessions.. the result was that I could hardly move and walk for three days straight.
Final bootcamp session on Wednesday was interesting to say the least!
What I learned from this is - no matter how much you love something, how much of an accomplishment it feels like to do more and to feel it in your muscles later.. there is no point over stressing your body. Do what you enjoy but also listen to your body..and when it says no, listen. In saying that - there is a huge difference between actually feeling like you shouldn't do anymore because you could injure yourself vs just can't be bothered.

The closer you are, the harder you have to work

Hi guys :)

Hope everyone is well, and whatever it is you're aspiring towards, that you're keeping on track!

I've hit another plateau unfortunately, I'm stuck at just over 25kg lost. I'm not happy about it...but I'm not too worried. I have been doing a bit of research lately and it seems it's normal that the closer you get to goal, the slower it gets. Thankfully, my measurements are also still going down slowly .. in two months I've lost a total of 8.5cm in a variety of areas.

I'm realising now how quickly your body can get used to and adapt to the same exercises, or certain ways of eating, so I really have to make sure I change up my routine slightly every month or so, and also increase the intensity, and tweak my diet. I wish there was some easy formula! Instead, it's a lot of trial and error!

If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you

Hi everyone!

Just checking in to say I am still here..still getting on with it of course. I'm pretty sure I've hit yet another plateau but I am not freaking out or worrying like last time.
I am reminding myself every day to remain patient and I know that the last few kilos will be the hardest to get rid of...technically they have been there the longest. Around 10 years even, so I can't just expect it to melt off!

In the meantime, I thought I'd give you guys an insight into the types of exercise I do.
A quote I came across very early on in this journey, but one that has stayed with me to this day and I try to remember with every training session is this:

I make every workout I do 'challenging' and give it 100%, otherwise what's the point?

Getting to know the new me

Ever since I can remember, I have always been the "chubby" kid. As a teenager I got told I had thunder thighs.. not what you want to hear at that age. I became the girl that was nice but the fat one..I always felt like I was just the fat friend and that's what I was known for.
In my early 20s I got asked multiple times if I was pregnant or when I was due, even my nieces used to say it to me all the time. You try to laugh that sort of thing off..but in reality, it cuts deep. 

Thinking about those times made me realise that so much of who I am has been defined by me being overweight, my unhealthy relationship with food/dieting and my body. Now that I am well on my way to having the body of my dreams, I am realising that I don't actually really know who I am...and I'm going through a bit of an identity crisis.

Almost there!

Hello and Happy Easter :)

Hope you have all had a nice Easter break.
I've had an amazing last few weeks. I'm well and truly into my new exercise routine and even better is that my weightloss has started again, and I've done a massive wardrobe clearout - got rid of all my big clothes..ended up getting rid of about 3/4 of my wardrobe! Now I just have to go shopping..YAY!

This weekend I reached my next 5kg milestone, and I'm down 25kg in total.
It's pretty much exactly 5 months since I was at my halfway point (read about it here), and now there is only 5kg to go till my 30kg goal!!!

Here is the difference between my face in those 5 months :)

Onwards and downwards

Finally! The scales have started moving downwards again :)
Last week I had the biggest loss I've had in about 8 weeks... 800 grams to be exact. That's the equivalent of a block and a half butter worth of fat.. when I think about it that way, it's a great amount and makes me feel better about those slower weeks as well. Any movement is progress, and that little bit closer to my goal.

Interestingly I found out over the weekend that the last time I was 75kg (my goal weight), was in 2004, exactly 10 years ago. From then on it just crept upward and upward. To think it will have taken me 10 years to come full circle is so strange. I wish someone had told me back then what I was going to have to go through to get back to that point.. silly me. Hindsight is wonderful isn't it? Maybe going through this experience will make me appreciate it more, and help me keep to my new lifestyle because I've worked so hard for it.

In terms of the changes I've made, the biggest apart from the increase in food (which I am enjoying), is adding weights to my exercise routine, and consciously getting 1 or 2 rest days per week. I am trying to listen to my body, I trust it enough to know it will tell me when it's enough or not enough.

Doing weights has been amazing.. I am only doing basic exercises, and I haven't physically noticed much difference so far, but its a great change of pace, while still working hard. It also makes me feel powerful and amazed at what my body is capable of. My fave exercise so far is the leg press..and I can manage 50kgs! Go legs! In general, I just loooove working out. I love that I can get through anything. So awesome.

Recently I've also been going out for some larger walks. Over the weekend we did a 4hr walk which included ups and downs and some slightly more challenging tracks at Rimutaka Forrest Park. It was a great experience and I'm really enjoying getting out there, seeing more of beautiful New Zealand, and doing something a little different.

We will be doing Tongariro Crossing later this year, hopefully in October. The fact that I WANT to do it, is a huge step for me, because the last time I did it was when I was 17, back in high school and it was an awful experience I vowed to never repeat again and just wanted to wipe from my memory. I was unfit, at the back of the slow group, no breaks because I was in the slow group..it was 8hrs of torture basically. I don't even remember the nice things up there!
Now is the time to make new and positive memories, which is why I so badly want to do it again. I can't wait!!

This week I am also getting back into more serious running. I managed 6.5kms at round the bays.. that was 6 weeks ago. Since then I've done some treadmill running at the gym, and sprints, but nothing long distance..and not outside. It should be very interesting, and no doubt I would have lost some of my fitness... but I am really looking forward to building the distance week by week! I want to enter the half marathon run at round the bays next year, and I'm confident I can achieve it.

Hope to have a couple more progress photos in the coming weeks :)

Keep going everyone! Stay positive!
If anyone ever has questions for me about anything ... hit me up! :)

A quarter through 2014 & keeping on track

Hi guys

I've been pretty excited about my new approach for the latest step in my weight loss journey. 
I have gotten into a different routine at the gym, have tried out a lot of new things, started my weights training, gave kettlebells a go (and will continue) and also have been eating more.
I also feel a lot less pressured now, even though the pressure was coming from myself, I've been working hard to keep a positive frame of mind and give myself a break.

I hopped on those scales on the weekend and surprisingly, had a loss! Down to 82.8 kgs, after being stuck on a plateau of 83.3 kgs for almost a month. Progress is progress right!

Obstacles happen... overcome them

Hi guys :)

Sorry I've been a bit quiet for the past few weeks, I have been doing some major soul searching and re-evaluating. 

Two weeks ago I experienced something I haven't gone through before in my weight loss / get fit journey. All my positivity slipped away and yes, I had a melt down. When I realised that I was well and truly in the dreaded 'plateau' stage I freaked out. Hoping for some good news, I re-took my body measurements, which showed no results, and because I was stupid enough to do it at the end of the day rather than the morning, some measurements even showed as going up.
It pushed me to breaking point and yeah, I had a bit of a cry. 
The frustration and disappointment in myself at that moment was so overwhelming. Just knowing that I am so close to reaching my goal, and I'm working so so hard, it felt like a cruel joke that my body would give up on me now. 
Throughout this journey I have made it my mission to remain positive at all times, and not sure what exactly it was that pushed me over the edge, but I guess everyone has their time.

It's not always easy

I have been majorly struggling for the past two weeks or so, having constant internal battles and I am not actually sure what is up with me.
I haven't lost motivation or my commitment to myself and my goals, but I've just generally been feeling very down about everything.

Maybe it's because I've reached a couple of big goals and achievements with my 6.5km run and the end of boot camp so now its a bit of a low afterwards, kind of like a "well what do I do now?" feeling, could be stress, tiredness?

The problem is not getting myself to the gym or doing a workout, the biggest problem I think is that I've been experiencing extreme feelings of guilt.  I workout 6 days a week, and push myself hard each time, so why I even feel guilty, I don't really know, but I do constantly feel like I haven't done enough exercise on a particular day or week, haven't burnt as many calories as I wanted to, having had a higher calorie intake a couple of times a week, even if its only by a small amount, and just generally feeling guilty because I don't think I've done enough.

The results are in...

Bootcamp Round 3 - done and dusted. 
I could only do once a week this round, rather than twice a week for the previous rounds and I was terrified that I'd not be able to improve without the motivating environment that is boot camp and my awesome PT (Courtney). Instead I've been going hard at the gym, and with my running.
Tonight however, was the fitness test. I was super pumped and excited to see how far I'd come since Christmas.

Running, not going to  use it for comparison purposes as it was slightly different, but lets face it, I've gone from being able to run for 1 minute at a time...to completing 5 kms :) so I am stoked with that.

Here are the rest of my results and will note down the progress along the way. My first session was in October (4 months ago).