Stats

Well, happy campers, it looks like a bit of hard work is called for!! I went for measurements in May and have lost a whole 1/2 a kg since then. This still does not put me back to what I was in April. And the centimeters!! Good heavens, mr evans!!! Looks like it all went to the legs and waist. Mandi gave myself and Henk (newest training partner) a goal-setting talk today. The idea is to be 100% motivated and committed.

My new goal is to lose 3kg of body fat by 28 August '08. Also to lose centimetres in the stomach, hips and legs. And to increase my fitness levels.

In order to achieve this my focus will be on self-discipine. I find that I am eating way too much in this cold weather. Who wants a salad when it is freezing? So it is time to start eating properly. Especially in light of our new project. Watch this space!! I will fill you in once it is confirmed.

PS: I had to create a new ticker cos I forgot the password to the old one!! Silly me...

Where is the motivation??

It is winter and how difficult it is to watch your eating in winter!! Did body stats again the other day and it was not as bad as I thought it might be. I picked up 0.9kg in body fat, which is less than I expected. I even picked up some muscle, which is good though it caused my total body fat to increase by more than 0.9kg. I don't recall the exact total weight so I am going to increase my ticker with 1kg.

Some good news, my dad is fine. He had a heart attack and a stroke and is recovering remarkably well. So I am back into my routine. I have been going to gym, though it is very difficult to get up and go when it is storming outside!! I have, however been eating too many things that I should not be eating. So it is time to set new goals and remotivate myself. Maybe I should aim at a percentage body fat instead of number of kgs? And by when? It is much easier to motivate yourself when you have a fixed event to aim towards. Stay tuned, I will let you know soon.

Update

Well, I was just getting back into the swing of things and going back to gym and back onto the treadmill when life throws a curveball. My dad is in hospital after a heart attack and stroke (at the same time) so I am in East London with my mom. It is very difficult to maintain a proper eating plan when under stress, I must tell you. My plan was, and still is, to try and do some running while here but I haven't had the chance to do so yet.

So, send some positive vibes this way, heaven knows we could do with them.

A competition!! Woo hoo!!

Jenny is running a competition for a new Wii Fit. Now I don't know if I am eligible, living in South Africa and all, but thought I would give it a bash. Actually I cannot compete with all the stories that have already been posted but maybe I will get some fellow GROWers to join me in my quest! I found Jenny through Crystal, her exercise story is hilarious! Go check it out.

Exercise and me have never been friendly. I did not do much sport at school and stayed quite thin, thanks I think to my mom's cooking and a tight budget. In my final year I boarded with a friend whose mother often baked. Well, that was the end of that! And the beginning of my battle with the evil exercise devil!! I have tried running on numerous occasions. I get shinsplints and cannot last 1 km. I bought an exercise bike. Hmm, it was used about 10 times over the space of a few years and then dumped in the garage. We bought a weight bench with a set of weights. Good coat rack and seat. The weights work well too for holding stuff down in the wind. I bought an Orbitrek cross-trainer. My son loves to play on it and it moves from the study to the sitting room to the bedroom and makes a good clothes rack. I even lent it to my trainer when she did not have one of her own. At least then it got used!

We have countless exercise books but I have not resorted to the videos/DVDs yet. I bought those weights which you attach to your ankles, the idea being to put them on while at home and have a workout while walking around. Yeah, right! The hubby bought me an exercise ball. Good for kids to play with but takes up way too much space and is now deflated in the cupboard. Oh, and my hubby bought that shock belt thing for himself that you put on and just sit around while it shocks your muscles into growing and becoming defined. Well, he used it diligently for about 3 weeks and it too is now in the cupboard. The punching bag would probably be used if it was ever put up. Anything else...... oh yes, skipping rope, hula hoop, sit-up bench, mat, etc.etc.

The most recent purchase was a treadmill which my hubby bought for me for our 15th anniversary. Not such a strange anniversary gift you will see if you read more of my blog. That has been the most successful to date. BUT only because I found the best exercise tool I could find - commitment. Yeah, yeah, now she's going to get all preachy on us, you might say, but I have to say that all the exercise tools in the world will not help if you do not commit yourself 100% to getting rid of the weight. I did not reach my target in April but am still very happy with where I am for now. My next target date is 30 June and I challenge all of you to join me, not for prizes but for the wonderful feeling you get when you can fit into smaller clothes and your husband can't stop touching your butt and saying how great you look!

40 reached. Target??

Well, good people (assuming that anyone actually reads this), April 26, which was the BIG PARTY, and May 5th, the BIG FOUR OH, have been and gone and total silence on this blog. What gives, you may ask. She clearly did not reach her target or she would be shouting it from the rooftops. Well, you would be correct in that I did not get to where I wanted to be BUT I am supremely happy with what I have achieved. Since I really knuckled down to this whole challenge in November I have lost 7.9kg in total body weight and 6.8 kg of body fat. And check those centimeters, 37 down in total! I am thrilled!!! I have however been so busy the last few weeks I just have not had a chance to update.

I feel so much better and I am fitting into clothes which have been buried in the cupboards for years, what's more some of them are even too loose for me! AND we had a splendiforous party as well. Ok, I have been running out of words for it but it was truly AWESOME!! I am still trying to sort out the photos as a certain amount of censoring is required, but as soon as I can I will be putting some pics up on our blog. Yes we created a blog for the party, aren't we in with the times!!

So, what is next?? Should I shut down this blog now that I have turned 40? Or should I set a new target and make sure I reach and maybe even exceed my original goal?? I think a little bit of motivation is required for my fellow GROWers who have been extremely quiet of late. Liz, Blondy, are you keen to set a new target date and do this thing seriously?? You can do it, I have proven that, all it takes is commitment. A colleague of mine recently started a new exercise and eating program and he has already lost 5kg. Ok, he has more than me to lose in total but 5kg is pretty great!

SO! I think my next target date should be the end of June. I am thinking of going to visit my mom for a week during the school holidays so I think that is a good date to aim for. 30 June - my new target.

It will be difficult since we are going into colder weather and it is really difficult to watch your food intake when it is cold. Hot chocolate!!! Hot pasta!!! Coffee and rusks!!!

Something to think about, I stopped exercising on 25 April and started again yesterday. 2 weeks of hardly any exercise (I did walk a little but not that much) and indiscriminate eating and drinking have taken their toll. I gave myself permission to not worry about it for this period so I am not beating myself up about it but I can definitely feel what happens if you let yourself go again. I have been feeling really yucky and have picked up 2 kilos again!! So in reality the figures above are not a true reflection of where I am right now but I am not doing stats again till end of May! And by then I plan to be well on track again. It just goes to show that this is truly a lifestyle change and I cannot ever stop. I can of course relax the rules a little once I have reached my target but will have to always be aware of going overboard.

SO WHO IS GOING TO JOIN ME FOR END JUNE???? IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE??? WHO WANTS TO GET RID OF THEIR WEIGHT????

Counting down...

Well, the party is on Saturday! Can you believe it! I have not been too good at keeping this blog updated, life has just been too hectic. But you'll be glad to know that I have been persevering and even though it is slower than I had hoped, the weight is coming off.

I have to say, when people ask me how I have lost weight, the secret is commitment. If you are not 100% committed then you will not get rid of the weight. You have to decide to start being good with your eating and stick to it. No more "I'll start on Monday" nonsense. You have to start now. Else you will keep putting it off.

On the exercise front, I realised that exercising twice a week was not enough. Most weeks I have been doing some form of cardio exercise at least 4 - 6 times a week. And by cardio I don't mean Pilates or yoga. Your heartrate must go up and stay up for at least half an hour. It is good to strengthen your muscles and tone your body as muscles use up more energy than fat so the more muscle you have the quicker you will burn off the fat. But you still need that cardio for fat-burning.

Then eating. I reduced my carb/starch intake a lot. I did not cut it out completely as your body needs some carbs to produce energy, just not a huge amount at a time. And preferably not after 6pm in the evening. Which was quite difficult to do when my FIL who has been staying with us decides to make supper as his supper is almost always a stew with plenty potatoes and rice! And I hardly ever eat bread anymore. And I cut out dessert. Not to say I did not occasionally sneak in a choccie esp. over Easter! But in general no dessert. Oh, and cut out the beers, ciders and fattening drinks! Very hard I know, but I switched to a light white wine instead of the sweet (and fattening and sugar-laden) rose's I had been drinking. And no sodas, including coke, Sprite etc. If I really had to have one then it would be Coke Light or Sprite Zero.

So that is how I have done it. I have not reached my goal yet so will keep going until I reach it and then after that I will still always be careful what I eat and make sure I get plenty of exercise in so that I can maintain that weight and not pick up again.

Body stats again on Friday, party on Saturday!! Here's hoping I have dropped a bit since last week!

April Update

Going down.........