Let's not mention the last couple of months. sshhhh.
Lets pretend Christmas work parties, Sampler box of bikkies, and the 'it's too hot to workout' excuse never occurred.
Christmas happens once a year....lets leave it there.
If you see the food fuehrer in the corridors of horror, tell her that you've seen my food diary, and it was fine.
Today was the day I got back on the horse. Obviously not an actual horse, although the dreadmill this morning bucked and rocked like it was a horse. Yes the first day back at the award winning M1nt!
The end of last year saw the arrival of our first child, and the departure of sleep, routine and any kind of normality.
A few months down the track and we seem to be going great guns, not like 'Guns McCauley' but we are getting there.
Plenty of walking and pushing strollers, although not high impact or sweat inducing didn't see me couch bound over the silly season, although by the way I felt this morning...it may well have.
Sweat intensive fires up again on Monday, and it's a great way to kick off the year and get back into it.
If your lacking a certain amount of motivation, or like me feeling super guilty about the last few months....then here is the perfect opportunity to get back on the horse...again...not a real horse but the stallion of fitness studios.
We might see you Monday, enjoy the new year...all the best.

Getting back into routine

Well I'm pleased to report that I ended last week well. I made it to the gym every morning Monday - Friday and my eating was back on track.

Unfortunately I didn't make it in this morning as have done something to my lower back and are moving around so slowly that I almost need a zimmer frame!

I decided last week that for me to get back into my routines, both gymming in the mornings and eating well - that I needed to establish some goals.

As I said the other day, leading up the wedding I had 18 months of focusing on nothing but the wedding, and with Mike's voice circling in my head 'wedding photos last forever' that easily gave me the motivation that I needed to maintain good habits.

In a way, since I have been home from the honeymoon, life almost seems a bit empty. There just seems to be nothing that I'm working towards, no time frames to work to, and no goals to achieve. This certainly contributed to my slow return to normality I believe.

Hubby AJ and I discussed this problem over the weekend. AJ has always been 100% supportive of anything that I do and will always help me when asked - I couldn't ask for a better hubby :-) Previously AJ and I had an agreement that once I got under 110kg that he would pay for me to get a new tattoo - it was a goal for me to strive to.

Well once again AJ has come to the party - he knows that I have always wanted to do a skydive (a few years ago I looked into it and was devastated to find out that there is a maximum weight limit of 100kg - of course I was over it!). So a new challenge has been set - get below 90kg and AJ is sending me on a sky dive :-)

I still haven't had an official weigh-in/BIA with Di since being home but I'm hovering around the 102 - 104kg mark.

I was planning on getting a BIA done this week but I have since found out about a '12 week challenge' that M1nt is running -starting next Monday, which I have subsequently signed up for so will wait for that.

M1nt will be sending out information very shortly (if not already) about this challenge. From what I know so far it is based on the idea of 'The Biggest Loser'. All participants will be split into teams - with different teams being coached by different M1nt trainers. Included in the programme is nutritional consultations and BIA's with Di, personal training sessions with your team leader, group fitness sessions and much much more. As well as AJ's goal for me I think that this is exactly what I need to get my butt back into routine! Keep an eye out for the information from M1nt - hopefully will see you there! It sounds awesome.

Will attempt to get back to M1nt tomorrow morning - even just for some cardio.

Wish me luck :-)

Post Honeymoon; 3 October – now

To sum up – not extremely terrible... but definitely not good!

I arrived home from the honeymoon still walking on cloud nine. It took me a good few weeks to get back into the normal routines of life again – whether that be sitting in front of a computer all day at work – or eating healthy (still haven’t quite conquered that one!).

Shortly after arriving home I weighed myself and was pleased to find that I had only put on a little – weighing in at 102.5kg (remembering I achieved my goal weight of under 100kg just before leaving for the wedding).

Seeing that weight on the scales actually filled me with a lot of pride and a sense of achievement – almost everyone that knows me knows how scared I was of losing all that weight, and then putting it all back on in America. So yes, I was really happy.

That’s when I went bad....

Somehow, I managed to use that happiness to justify eating terribly, drinking lots of alcohol and not going back to the gym. Seems strange I know – but I had it completely justified in my head!

Overall, at a guess, I would say that I have eaten more/worse and been more careless with my consumption of alcohol (or ‘empty calories’ as Di so kindly calls it) in the month I have been home, compared to the month that I was away!

Sunday night I decided that enough was enough. I started texting a few girls that I have become close friends with through M1nt and starting broadcasting my ‘cry for help’.

A fresh leaf...

Monday morning – was up bright and early and made it to the first class of the current round of Sweat Intensive (it’s not too late to join if anyone else is interested! A brilliant class to sign up to and a really fun group of people!). Got to work, had my breakfast... 9am – purchased a bar of chocolate from the snack box ‘‘it will be my last one’’ was how I justified it! He he

Tuesday morning – alarm went.... arggghhhhh its soooo early! After a yelling at (in good nature) and a kick from AJ I made it out of bed and to M1nt for a cardio work out.

Today – back to the gym for Sweat Intensive.

As well as the 3/3 mornings at the gym (except for that sneaky little chocolate bar on Monday) I have also got back into my eating routine that I had perfected before the wedding (numerous serves of protein during the day, regular and healthy snacks, enough fluids/water etc)
So I’m going to say that I’m back on track... hopefully I stay here :-)

p.s. a HUGE congratulations to my fellow blogger and M1nt addict Richie and his wife on the birth of a beautiful wee girl.

Enjoy the sleepless nights :-)

The Honeymoon; 18 September - 3 October

‘The difference it made having lost weight first’

A little over 24hrs after we had said ‘I Do’ AJ and I were on a plane, heading from Rarotonga to the States for our honeymoon.

While in America we spent time in Las Vegas, Hollywood and Hawaii.

Leading up to the honeymoon there were various things that worried me;
- Spending multiple hours on a plane strapped into a seat – never comfortable
- From what I knew about the food in America I knew that I was potentially going to find it very difficult to eat well while I was away
- And also the temperatures (35 degrees plus) that I knew we were expecting while in the States worried me as I didn’t know how I would cope.
What I didn’t expect was the difference my weight loss would make to each of these worries.

Anyone that has flown anywhere before will have an appreciation for the tedious hours spent sitting in an airplane seat and how uncomfortable you quickly become. What only some people will appreciate is how much more uncomfortable those same seats are when you are a large person. AJ and I travelled to the States about 5 years ago (when I was considerably larger than I am now). From that trip I recalled having to man-handle my waist spare tyre to allow the arm rest to go down properly, I recall an air-hostess offering me an ‘extension seat belt’ as she thought I may be more comfortable with more ‘breathing room’ as my seat belt as at its limit and still quite firm and I also recall trying to sleep bolt upright as I simply couldn’t physically shift side-on in my seat to sleep.

Well I was astonished. When I first sat down, the first thing that came to me was that there was room on either side of my bum and the edge of the chair... that’s new! Then it was time to buckle up my seat belt – I instinctively extended it to its limit before clipping it together... hmm... might be a little loose – actually very loose! Not only that, but I could very comfortably twist side on, in my seat, with a blanket over me, and have my seat belt done up on top – and it STILL wasn’t at its limit!!! What a difference!

Then came the problems with the food – my weight loss didn’t really help here – but my prior education from Di on what makes her angry and what doesn’t did!
Our first night in Las Vegas – our first night of the honeymoon. We arrived at the hotel late at night but were both hungry. We dropped our stuff in our room and then ended up in one of the in-house restaurants. I scanned the menu and noticed that they had certain meals noted as ‘healthier options’ – that sounds like me. I picked a Turkey Wrap; now it comes with Coleslaw, French Fries or Chips. To be honest I didn’t feel like being too healthy so decided to scrap the coleslaw idea. AJ and I then discussed what the difference would be between French Fries and Chips – we decided that French Fries would be much like what you get at McDonald's here, and Chips must be more like wedges. So I ordered a Turkey Wrap and Chips.

Lets just say when it arrived it wasn’t exactly what I imagined.
A Turkey Wrap (yum) with Salt n Vinegar flavoured crisps on the side.... crisps?!? Really?!?!? This was a trend we noticed at all restaurants we visited, it is very normal to get crisps with a meal rather than veges, salad or fries. Didn’t make that mistake again!

Overall though I found the food in America to be extremely greasy and with enormous portion sizes! AJ and I both struggled with the food – as did our stomachs/digestive systems.

But I soon found some tricks to help me get around the major problems – I often would order an appetiser, instead of a main as it would be sufficient. In some places you could ask what was made onsite, for example which salads – this would allow me to order a salad with dressing on the side – although to be honest I couldn’t do this much as the normal response was that they brought the salads premade with the dressing already mixed though. Our other trick was to eat at buffets wherever possible so that I could fill up on protein and it didn’t matter as much if you only ate parts of a dish and left the rest (pastry etc).

To give you an idea of some portion sizes – this day we decided we had to try some American Pizza – we ordered a ‘snack size’ piece each. And yes... they are normal sized dinner plates.

The last thing that I had been worried about was the temperature and how I would cope. Traditionally, on visits to such places as Brisbane, when I’m in the heat I have got very grumpy and uncomfortable, very quickly! I know that I am not good in heat. Well we ended up at theme parks, outside walking all day in temperatures that topped 45 degrees! And while I acknowledge it was HOT, as did everyone, I coped soooo much better than history would suggest. I also noticed that I sweated much less (I don’t know, maybe less body surface, less sweat?).

Another major difference I noted while away was the difference my weight loss made at theme parks. AJ and I are both roller coaster/adrenaline junkies and will go on any and every extreme ride we can find. Last time in the States we spent a day at a Roller Coaster Theme Park and lets just say safety was a little dodgy on some rides if AJ and I sat together. The rides were you have one lap belt/bar that you pull down onto your laps and it clicks into place – well when I was Extra Large and he was Medium, he was often left to hold on tight to the bar for safety! Again... not a problem that we struck at all!

Overall though AJ and I had a fantastic holiday, one we will never forget. The experiences I encountered that were so different to that of last time when I was a large person really made it that much more special for me – it just kept reminding me how much I had achieved, and how far I had come.

Lets break it down... 26 August – 17 September

Wow – what an amazing couple of months I have had since my last blog (26 August). So much has happened that I have decided that the only way to catch you all up (and not write 6 pages worth) is to break it down – so for this blog I will simply cover since my last entry until 17th September.

So back to the 26th August – this was a little over two weeks before I left on a plane overseas for my wedding. I was full steam ahead with eating as best I could and working out as hard as I could.

Even though I have never put it on here, I had set myself a goal weight that I wanted to be for my wedding – and I tell you what, in those last two weeks before the wedding I didn’t think I was actually going to make it!

On the 4th of September, as I’m sure you will all know, Christchurch was hit by a rather large earthquake – this really disrupted life as we knew it and I certainly struggled to keep any sense of normality. This of course included eating and exercise. With my workplace off limits and much of the city cordoned off, even the short journey from my home to the gym became a difficult one. I did my best to be good though, as did everyone else.

Friday 10th September – my final BIA before leaving Christchurch early Sunday morning for the wedding – this was it – what all the work of the past year and a bit had been working up to.

I showered in the morning at home and when I got out I couldn’t help myself – I had to weigh myself - after all, I had resigned myself to the fact that I wasn’t going to make my goal weight, so let’s just see how close I got and then I can deal with the disappointment in the privacy of my own home and not at M1nt when I do the official weigh-in for the BIA.

On I step.....

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!

I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Right from the outset of this blog I have declined to put my actual weight on here – after all, what girl advertises her weight?!?! (honestly anyway). But I did make a pledge – once I made it under 100kg (which incidentally was my goal weight for the wedding) then I would broadcast it. WELL I DID IT!!!!! 99.8kg – and yes that DOES count as under 100kg!!!!!!

I’m not ashamed to admit that I cried either – actually to be more accurate I bawled my eyes out. I’m not sure why, excitement, astonishment, disbelief, and also probably the over-tiredness due to the constant aftershocks may have had an impact. But I cried! Double digits – that’s the first time I’ve weighed double digits since I was about 20!

The heaviest I have ever been is when I joined M1nt in August 2009 - I weighed 117.8kg, so I certainly believe that getting less than 100kg was an achievement!

Anyway... back to the story.

I arrived at M1nt nice and early for my BIA (me, early somewhere!?!? Wow!!!) Di came upstairs and I told her the good news. It was sooo heart-warming to see the genuine excitement on her face, and also later on Mike, Vanessa and Brian’s faces. That genuine interest and excitement that everyone at M1nt has shared with me in my weight loss has been so valuable to me. They honestly do care, and honestly do get excited with you when you achieve. It really helps.

Needless to say I walked out of M1nt for the last time before my wedding, feeling like I was walking on air :-)

So off to Rarotonga I headed the happiest girl around. After spending a wonderful few days on the island AJ and I were married on the beach on 17th September surrounded by special friends and family. I look at the pictures now and I always look first at my face and love how genuinely happy I look, and secondly at my waist – I actually have a waist that goes in!!!!! AMAZING!!!

Anyway girls... below are some wedding snaps for ya – it was honestly the most beautiful and perfect day that I could have ever imagined. And I owe soooo much of that to M1nt. I was honestly a different person at my wedding because of them.

I am so lucky :-)

Run Fat Boy Run

I've signed up for a Jacqui Restieaux running class at M1nt in an effort to get the body moving.
Sweat Intensive is a great set of classes, but the early morning starts have had to go on hold till the new year.
At the end of last year I tried a bit of running, and being a big fella, it took it's toll on my calfs (claves ?) so had to give plan b a go.
But I'm keen to give the 5k series in January another crack.
So to get some advice and support from someone with fancy coloured shoes is great, it'll be a good start to my illustrious running career.

The diet has been good of late, with a detox the week before last giving the system a good 'flush' although my nemesis the scales haven't moved much over the last little while, maybe the running might give it a kick start.

Noticed Christmas decorations at the shops the other day....the first thing I thought of was food.
Yep, everywhere you go shortly, some skinny person will offer me a cuppa tea and a mince pie.
The candy canes will torment me from the plastic pine in the corner, and marshmallow Santa's will call my name.

I'll let you know how the running/jogging/walking/panting/crawling goes tomorrow night.

Bring on Summer.

Fear Factor

Welcome back to the blog, it's been a tough time for all, hope you and yours are well.

The food fuehrer is helping me detox this week, a good kick start as we get back into routine post quake. I've done other detox's that consist of potions and syrups that leave me feeling 'empty' and 'tired'. This detox is food based, which makes it seem less mental, and eating apparently keeps you alive.

So breakfast is 4 carrots, 2 apples, 1 orange, half a pineapple and a teaspoon of Metamucil. Chuck all of that in the juicer let the juicer whir away, spend an hour cleaning said juicer and then consume. It's not bad to be fair, lunch and dinner if soup/broth and salad based. Hummus, corrot sticks and almonds make up the balance of the day. I'll let you know how the next BIA and trip to the scales go. I won't tell you however about the trip to the loo. We now have shares in Carter Holt Harvey.

I've changed from doing the sweat intensive classes in the morning (still recommend these!) to doing lunchtime classes with Brian. Sleep is good, and felt that maybe I wasn't getting enough sleep into the system. So far so good, feeling more awake during the day....although that will all change in 3 weeks with the arrival our first born...ahh sleep...goodbye.

I'm looking forward to next weeks massage, as a bit of a de-stress and pick me up. So all things considered it's back to normal, although we just had a 4.5 while writing this (9:39 Thursday) so hopefully back into routine, back to the gym, back to sweating, back to the loo.