Day 33 - Been a Little Slack...

Well, I've been a little slack recently with posting. Things have just been busy, and I've been a bit disheartened with how I've been going. My exercise has mainly been on track, but my eating has been a little out of control. Time to get it back together!

This week is totally full of red flags. Team dinner last night, work Christmas party and leaving party for friends tonight and Chadmas tomorrow night. Going to do my best to come out of it unscathed. Survived through last night fairly well considering how much I drank, and surprisingly was feeling ok this morning. Didn't do my planned workout this morning (mainly as I was tired and body sore), but went for a walk / jog and it felt good to be outside in the lovely weather.

Our weekend away at The Vintage was awesome! Our golf improved so much and we're both really enjoying playing. We played at Lane Cove on Wednesday and driving range as well (it was a massive day cos I also did a workout with sprints through the gully in the morning!). I got a par on the little par 3 down the hill which felt awesome, and did the most incredible drive on #5. I also was hitting balls so well at the driving range. Can't wait to go again!

I'm looking forward to a glass of wine. Hurry up clock!

Week 5 Food & Exercise Plan

Week 4 Weigh In & Mini Milestone

Before 12WBT (July 2013): 93kgs
Starting this round: 83.9kgs
Current: 81.5kgs

Since last weigh in: -0.2kgs
This round: -2.4kgs
Total: -11.5kgs

Well, I'm pretty happy with my fitness test. Knocked another 30 seconds off my 1km! And equaled or bettered everything else.

I had a smoking week 3, nailing both eating and exercise the best yet in this round or the last, but this week hasn't been so great. Last Friday I was under 80kgs! Then climbed all the way back to 84 early this week. So stupid! Need to keep it under control and have weeks like last week. I felt so good - strong, fit and also trim. No bloated belly! At least my cms have gone down pretty much everywhere except boobs (which I'm all good with!) and arms. My arms and chest are definitely looking much more toned though. Generally speaking I'm happy and looking forward to dropping another couple kgs in the next two weeks before xmas. Need to be well under 80kgs - I can do it!

Day 26 - TGIF

Well this week has been very up and down. The weekend away was fabulous, but having that McDs on the way home totally screwed with me, and I haven't really been on track since. I've been exercising ok, but not with the same frequency or intensity as last week. I was mostly happy with my fitness results as they are definitely an improvement over the last, however my weight hasn't moved much. I have two weeks until I head home for Christmas - that's two weeks to get everything into line so I can manage over the break and not succumb to temptations. It's going to be hard, but I can do it! I know I can! I just need to make the decision, and then keep making that decision!

Played basketball last night and I was on fire! Got 22 rebounds and 12 points, and that put me at 35% efficiency! Pretty stoked with that :) It definitely helped that the other team were mainly shorties, but also I just played well. Feeling much fitter and easily lasted the majority of the game.

Seeing as we had so much fun last weekend, we're heading away again this weekend for golf. This time to The Vintage in Hunter Valley. I'm so looking forward to it! I think it will be a step above Riverside Oaks, both the course and especially the accommodation. It has a pool too so looking forward to a swim. The weather is looking good - 26 tomorrow and 30 on Sunday. Just need today to hurry up and finish so I can leave! We have a kitchen so have made a good plan food wise, and also have ingredients in the fridge for an easy dinner on Sunday night, so no excuses this time around!

Playing Golf with the Kangas last weekend at Riverside Oaks

Day 24 - Fits & Spurts

We had a great time last night with friends over. Cooked delicious beef ribs with parsnip puree / mash and an eggplant, feta, mint and rocket salad. Yum! Oh, and had some cheese to start, prawns for an entree and icecream with choc sauce for dessert. It was so delicious, but I ate WAY too much. And drank a far amount of amazing wine too. It was good fun, but not good for me! We have so much beef left over I think it will be beef for the next couple nights too. I'm thinking beef pie, and maybe a beef pizza hehe

I had a fabulous start to this morning by nailing my run which was much needed after all of that last night. 25mins jog followed by 20mins of running up and down the "gully" near our house which has loads of stairs. It was hard work, but felt great! I managed to get through 10 times. Then jogged home for the final blast. My legs were so shaky when I got home!

After this morning's start though it didn't go so well. I brought some left over salad for lunch, but didn't eat it, opting instead to buy a chicken caesar wrap, which wasn't even all that nice. I so should have eaten my salad!

Hoping to get to either Lane Cove or the driving range tonight. We booked another golf weekend away this weekend, to Hunter Valley this time and I'm so looking forward to it! Need to get some practise in before then though.

Day 23 - Getting Back Into It

Well, had a fantastic week last week, and a great weekend. I ended the week under 80kgs (79.2 to be exact) which is the first time I've been there in ages! Was feeling so good, and so proud of myself. I worked out really hard, and ate so well, no major slip ups all week. Even on the weekend away I was good. There was a buffet breakfast, and I was so restrained. No sweet pastries and no pancakes either!

Then on Sunday on the way home we were exhausted and we stopped for McDonalds. Big mistake! Somehow it completely changed my mindset, and I ate loads, then when we got home had a really big burrito for dinner too. So stupid! Then I let it continue on Monday. I didn't get up and do my workout and I just ate crap all day. I put all that weight back on :(

Enough feeling bad and sorry for myself though. I've done it, it was stupid, but I can still recover and continue. Yes it's set me back but that's no reason to keep eating crap. It's even more reason to go hard! Only 2.5 weeks until I'm back in NZ and although I'm, unlikely to hit my goal of 74, I can still lose those kgs again and get well and truly under 80 and feel so much better. I can and I will do this! It's going to be hard but I want it. Why do I want it? Because I want to be able to enjoy my holiday feeling fit and looking great, and feeling amazing about my accomplishments and how far I've come. I want to take this mindset into my holiday and ensure I come out of it still feeling good, and ready to continue 100%.

So, now I have that out of my system... more about our weekend. It was awesome! We went to Riverside Oaks to "stay and play". We got there after dark on Friday evening and pretty much crashed. On Saturday morning I opened the curtains and was greeted with a lovely view of the golf course and hundreds of kangaroos! They were everywhere, and were super cute. There were loads of baby ones too and we even saw some joeys poking their heads (or legs!) out of mummy's pouch. So amazing!

I had planned to do my SSS on Sat morning, but I started and Greg mentioned maybe I should do something a little easier as we had 18 holes of golf to play in the afternoon. Although I really wanted to do it I did end up agreeing with him and just went for a little run. It was the right choice, as I was exhausted by the end of the day. And on the run I got to be outside in the sunny weather and see even more kangaroos!

Poor little turtle on the plastic in our car

We went for a drive into Wisemans Ferry to get some golf supplies (cider and bubbles!) on Sat morning, and on the way Greg suddenly cried out and slowed down real quick. I had no idea what was going on until he said "there's a turtle on the road". Not what I was expecting him to say... Anyway we picked up the poor little guy who promptly wee'd on my leg and tried to work out what to do with him. We ended up putting him in the car and taking him with us. We finally found a cop and asked him what we should do and he said to just put him back! Apparently they are quite a common occurrence. We felt a bit stupid, but I'm glad we didn't leave him on the road to get squashed. We took him back and put him safely on the side of the road where we found him. Poor guy, but think of the story he now has to tell his kids about his adventure!

The actual playing of golf was loads of fun. We didn't play great, but didn't play terribly either. And the course is so pretty. It was loads of fun hooning around in the golf buggy, especially once we opened the bubbles! On the Sunday we decided we should have a lesson and I'm super glad we did. The guy was awesome and gave us loads of tips. I didn't play as well after it, as I was trying all the new things, but I think my swing path has definitely improved. Also the guy said that I could be amazing! Mostly due to my body size I think - tall and lots of power! He reckons if I get into it properly I can win all the ladies competitions which would be awesome.

Last night we went to the driving range to practise what he told us. I started off terribly, but kept persevering and I'm glad I did. I ended up hitting my 7 iron pretty well, and my driver got better too. I'm really looking forward to getting back there to keep trying - wish we could go tonight but we have friends over for dinner.

View of the golf course from our room, complete with kangaroo!

Week 4 Food & Exercise Plan

Week 4 Challenge - It's Time To Step Up

This weeks challenge is step ups - a whopping 1000 of them! My legs are really going to be falling off by the end!

• Mon 2/12: -
• Tues 3/12: 120 each leg after shockwave on a tall box
• Wed 4/12: 180 each leg while watching tv on my small upside down bucket
• Thu 5/12: 100 each leg after bball
• Fri 6/12: 100 each leg after fitness test

Total: 1000

Done: 1000

Left: 0

Phew I did it!  

Day 17 - Going Hard!

Had a fabulous morning today. Greg and I got up early and played golf at Lane Cove. It was such a lovely morning - lots of sunshine, but still a little cool. We only had time to get around 5 holes, and played pretty rubbish, but it was so nice to be up so early and outdoors with Greg. I really enjoyed it and hope we do it more often!

The only problem was that I didn't to my workout this morning. I was sitting at my desk just before 12 thinking how nice it would be to go buy something crap for lunch and go sit in the sun in the park and read my book. But I didn't! I went to the gym and smashed my workout. Burnt 590 calories, which is a lot compared to some of the other workouts I've been doing. Thinking maybe I need to push a little harder in my sessions! It felt really good, and now I feel amazing! Super tired and sore, but amazing!

We're babysitting tonight. It will be great as we'll get to play with our niece before she goes to sleep, but I just want to veg on the couch!

Last night had a yummy greek lamb salad for dinner (left overs for lunch today) and then finally managed to start putting some of our wine into our new wine cabinet. It's taken us long enough! Going to be good when it's all in there and catalogued.

So, yeah - feeling pretty damn good today, but really like I need a nap now...

Day 16 - Shockwave!

Having an excellent day so far. Got up this morning (even though I didn't really want to as bed was so nice) and went to shockwave. Worked my butt off and got a personal best on the rower - 62secs for the 350 metres. I'm pretty sure my previous best was 64 secs so pretty happy to knock 2 seconds off! Did 35s for 200m and 25s for 150m. As always the fastest in the class :) and got a comment on being a good rower from one of the other people.

Was a little late for Shockwave as I did snooze once, and had to pack up my food for the day this morning. Had a yummy oats and berries breakfast on the train, and just ate my morning snack - ricotta & vegemite wrap. Was pretty tasty! Not as sweet as the ricotta andh oney ones I've had previously, but good as way less sugar.

Yesterday's Snack - celery and cottage cheese.
I never want to eat it as it seems so boring,
but every time I do I really enjoy it!

Yesterday ended up being really good after the crappy start. I did go to the gym at lunch, and did the Fitness Fat Burner and Abs session. 20mins on the treadmill at a steady rate, followed by 10 mins of incline sprints - 3mins uphill fast, 2 mins recovery. Then final blast of bball jumps and step ups and then abs. Was so glad I went, though took a while to get through all that. Not something I can probably do at lunch all the time.

Eating wise yesterday I was good as well, and the scales rewarded me for it this morning. I only ate what was on my plan, apart from a smart swap to do omelette as Greg went to T&Cs for dinner (I had to stay home for a Skype call).

So, all round feeling much better today. My body is really tired and hurting, but it's that good tired muscle pain. Just need to keep this up!

Week 3 Challenge - Stick To My Plan

So this weeks challenge is to try a new food. I don't think I need to do that as I eat pretty much everything and have no issues with trying new foods (my issue is more around not eating too much food!). I've decided that instead I am going to stick to my plan until we go away on Friday.

My plan is below. Each day I will come update what I actually ate and did and compare. If I do have to change plans, it's ok ONLY if there is a very good reason, and I have an understanding of the calories I'm changing to and they fit into the total calories for the day!

Monday
Breakfast: 8am Oats, berries, yoghurt and milk = 220cals
Snack: 11am Decaf skim Flat White = 70cals
Lunch: 12:30pm chicken salad = 300cals?? (didn't weigh anything so total guesstimate)
Snack: 3pm celery & cottage cheese = 120cals
Dinner: Spinach & 2 cheese omelette = 320cals? (different to plan as Greg went out so made just for me, also may have been a 3 cheese omelette as there was blue cheese in the fridge I couldn't pass up...)
Total Cals: 1030cals
Exercise: 1:20pm Fitness Fat Burner & Abs @ Darlinghurst Gym

Tuesday
Breakfast: 9am Oats, berries, yoghurt and milk = 199cals
Snack: 10:30am: Ricotta & vegemite wrap = 141cals
Lunch: 12:30pm Left over Spinach & 2 cheese omelette = 300cals? (didn't have the bread so maybe even less)
Snack: 2:30pm Carrots, cucumber & Feta = 119cals
Dinner: 7pm Greek Lamb Salad = 304cals
Extras: 7pm Stole some left over potato and blue cheese salad out of the fridge while I was making dinner then again when I did the dishes... = 200cals?
Total Cals: 1263cals - only just over in spite of the potato salad :)
Exercise: 7am: Shockwave

Wednesday
Breakfast: 9am Oats, berries, yoghurt and milk = 199cals
Snack: 10:30am Potato & blue cheese salad = 200cals?
Lunch: 12pm Greek Salad (1/2 serve) = 150cals
Snack: 3pm Greek Salad (1/2 serve) = 150cals
Dinner: 7:30pm Creamy Parmesan Polenta w Balsamic Roasted Veges = 287cals
Total Cals: 986cals
Exercise: 1pm: Fitness Fat Burner at Darlinghurst

So... I forgot to fill this in for the rest of the week, but I did awesomely! Was feeling so happy and proud of myself on Friday, especially when I weighed in at under 80kgs for the first time in forever! Now need to keep it up!

Day 15 - Week Three Begins

Had a pretty rubbish weekend eating wise, but feeling like I'm ready (and I need) to get stuck into this again.

On Friday I went out for lunch with my work team. It was fun, and I chose food quite sensibly, but I had two glasses of wine (and really enjoyed them). I left work early and spent the afternoon babysitting my adorable niece, and ate pretty much all afternoon. Greg came and joined me after work and we made Not So Naughty Nachos for dinner. However they were actually quite naughty as Greg got nacho chips instead of the mountain bread, and I ate way to much.

Greg also turned up with the new Xbox. Man he knows how to work me. Not only did he bring it over to babysitting still in the box for me to open (I love opening new things), the only game he bought was Zoo Tycoon which he knew I would love. The voice commands are quite cool.

Saturday morning I smashed my SSS. I worked really hard and huffed and puffed, but I only burnt around 450cals. I debated doing more, but was so exhausted. Perhaps next time instead of trying to beat my time I should let it take a little longer and see if that increases it. I did manage to finish the last 50 pushups for my 300 pushups challenge this week and I am pretty chuffed with myself for completing all of those on my toes. Far better than last round when they were all done on my knees, and where I did a mix of normal and tricep pushups. This week's challenge is to try a new food. As I eat pretty much everything I think I will change the challenge to something else. Not sure quite what yet. Was thinking something physical, but the physical is what I can quite easily do, so maybe should make it food related. I know - my challenge is to stick as close to my plan as possible until we go away on Friday, and if I deviate I need a very good reason, and need to make good choices. Sounds like a good challenge to me!

Saturday we also went and finally got a new couch. I'm pretty excited about it which is funny as it's pretty much exactly the same as the one we are replacing which is disintegrating. We decided to just go cheap as we'll be moving sooner or later, and it's pretty practical.

Greg went out and played pinny on Saturday afternoon and I was supposed to work. I did some, but mostly just was a zoo keeper! Stupid distracting fun xbox! Ate all afternoon too, and then made pizza for Greg and his mate when they got home (around midnight!) and ate some of that too. Not very good...

Sunday was a little better. Had left over pizza for breakfast and got my work done. We went to a Bourbon and BBQ afternoon at a pub in Redfern. Was super yummy but again not good. I drove at least so didn't drink much. Went to the supermarket on the way home and Greg convinced me we needed more food for dinner so got a roast chicken and made burgers. Way too much food! At least I only ate a half one.

I had such a rubbish sleep last night. We both woke up around 3 and there was a stupid mosquito in the room so we both had some itchy bites and couldn't go back to sleep. It meant I was so tired when my alarm went off at 6 that I rolled over and went back to sleep until 8! I think I really needed it, but it meant I didn't do my workout. I have my gear though and am going to go to the gym at lunch and get it done!

My stats from the Tribute to my 20s SSS. I don't think that spike up to 200 at the beginning is accurate...

Week 3 Food & Exercise Plan

Day 11 - Keep At It - I Can Do This!

Feeling a little better and back on it today. Spent the last few days feeling pretty grumpy mostly. Not sure why but maybe just because I was exhausted! I had a really good sleep last night and no workout this morning (plan is Body Balance at lunch) and I'm feeling better.

Tuesday after work we played 9 holes at Lane Cove. It's been a while since we played, and I played the first few holes really well. Then I don't know what happened as I just lost got and got worse and worse. I got really frustrated and angry at myself and wasn't enjoying it, then when I thought about it I realised I was being way too hard on myself as even though I wasn't playing as well as the first few holes, I was still playing a LOT better than I was a couple of months back. Hopefully we'll get out this weekend and get some more practise as the weekend after we're away for a golf weekend!

Delicious whisky!

Yesterday was pretty much a write off food wise. I woke up so grumpy, then forgot to bring my lunch to work. I didn't eat breakfast at home either so it was a wrap on my way in again. So stupid. After work Greg came and joined me for ramen (which was super yummy and not too bad), then we went to an awesome whisky tasting at The Oak Barrel. The whiskys were amazing! I couldn't drink it all though. After Greg convinced me to go to Frankies Pizza which is an awesome bar / pizza place with loads of pinball machines. I wasn't that keen on going as I was so tired and ready for bed even though it was early, but I'm glad we did as the pinnys were really fun, the music was great, and the pizza awesome - though we shouldn't really have had any as we'd already had dinner! At least we only had 2 slices between us.

Was also grumpy yesterday as I didn't manage to finish my run. I wore the new shoes I won, and they gave me massive blisters. They were so sore I had to stop running and limp home. When I got home I did the abs and my pushups at least.

Still managed to get to bed fairly early, and finally feel like I had a good sleep, which I so needed! This morning had a little sleep in (6:30 instead of 6), then got up and did my pushups. I've done 200 of the 300 which is this weeks challenge, and I'm pretty stoked I've done them all on my toes!

Was planning on making us a omlette for breakfast this morning, but Greg is staying home sick today and didn't want breakfast. Nearly didn't make myself anything, but then thought I should, so had a very yummy poached egg on toast spread with ricotta. Was really good and so glad I did! I've got all my food packed too, so no excuses today! Looking forward to body balance at lunch as my body is pretty tight and sore. Especially my hips. It's not very comfortable sitting at my desk!

Week 2 challenge - 300 pushups

So, this week's challenge is 300 pushups, which is great as after the SSS I decided that pushups is definitely an exercise I want to improve. I'm going to attemtp to do them all on my toes. Will see how I go as last round I did all the pushups on my knees...

• Mon 11pm: 50 on my toes, mostly in sets of 10 (phew, almost forgot to do them!)
• Tues 7:45am: 50 after Shockwave, again in sets of 10 - exhausted
• Wed 7:30am: 50 after my run, first set 15, then 10s
• Thurs 7am: 50
• Fri 7:30am: 50 after toning workout
• Sat 11am: 50 after SSS

Total: 300

Done: 300

Left: 000

Yay! I did it and all on my toes too. Pretty happy I got it done. Arms were a bit sore but mostly just felt good and strong. Was a challenge to do the last 50 after SSS!

Day 9 - Sticking To It

Made it to the supermarket last night though so did not want to go. Greg cooked us steak with mushroom sauce and beans and it was really yummy. I realised I haven't had steak in so long! I got a bit of work done then we headed for the driving range. It was pretty late already and I was so tired, I almost said let's not go. But I'm glad we went! I had some great shots, and also some terrible shots. But I enjoyed it once I got going.

Ended up being quite late to bed as had loads to organise after we got home from the driving range. I was about to turn out the lights when I remembered that I hadn't done my pushups towards the weekly challenge, so I jumped out of bed and did 50. Greg thought I was pretty weird and quite amusing doing pushups naked next to the bed at 11pm! I got them done though!

Started off this morning great with Shockwave - I so love that class! Felt really good and worked hard! Then did today's 50 pushups. My arms are pretty tired now! Actually my whole body is feeling pretty tired, as is my mind. Definitely in need of an early night tonight...

Packed my lunch and snacks this morning, had pear, cottage cheese & sultanas for morning snack, and it was ok. Don't think I'll do it again, which means I'm still struggling to find a good morning snack... Tuna, Cannelloni Bean salad for lunch which again was ok, but not amazing. And I have cut up carrot, cucumber and feta for afternoon snack. To be honest I'm not really looking forward to it. I will eat it though, as I'm sticking to this!

Day 8 - Hmmmmm.....

Healthy Saturday morning breakfast
Oats, strawberries & yoghurt

Cabernet Frenzy Wines

I've been really up and down and all over the place this weekend. After a good day on Friday, the evening was a bit flat. We made a yummy lamb salad for dinner, and then made the duck rillettes for Cabernet Frenzy on Saturday night. They were actually really easy to make (we cheated and started with bought duck confit instead of making our own), and we served them on crostini with orange marmalade. They turned out really well!

On Saturday morning I got up and smashed the Tribute to my 20s SSS. I worked hard and it felt really good. I was a little surprised at how quickly I did it (~35mins) and would have done something else on top normally but didn't want to be too sore for my trail run on Sunday.

Cabernet Frenzy was awesome on Saturday night. The gang all got together and blind tasted some amazing Cabernet varieties. I'm so stoked that our wine won! Go Takatu! It was from a vineyard Greg and I stayed at when we were first going out, and we enjoyed it so much then that we bought a case. We hadn't tasted it for quite some time, so was exciting to have it still be so good, and be liked by so many. I ended up drinking quite a bit, but was fairly good with the eating, and didn't even taste the dessert.

Sunday morning I was hung over, but made myself get up for my run. It was such a miserable day too, but I'd committed and there was no way I was staying in bed. I'm super glad I did go too, as I beat my time from the last one, ending up 4th female in the 6.5km and won a pair of running shoes! I started out a little slow, but felt so strong for the last bit. I'm looking forward to the next one, but it's a bit longer - 10km.

The rest of Sunday was pretty much a write-off. I got home and showered then made eggs and baked beans for breakfast, then pretty much didn't move off the couch for the whole day. Greg was super hung over too, and it was so miserable outside. We watched 3 or 4 movies, ordered pizza for lunch, and then also ordered Vietnamese for dinner. So useless! I ate way too much and felt so gross last night and this morning. So stupid. We so should have gone to the supermarket and got set up for the week, and cooked dinner last night. Or we probably didn't even need to eat after so much pizza. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb!!

I was so tired this morning, and it was really hard to get out of bed. Was feeling so gloomy. It definitely didn't help that the weather outside is so gloomy too! Feeling a little better now after writing this, and also going through some of the forums. Always feels better to get back on track and start being good. Supermarket this afternoon, then cook dinner, then hopefully driving range. I'm looking forward to eating healthy for the rest of the week, and getting back into my exercise with Shockwave tomorrow.

Cabernet Frenzy Results: Takatu is the clear winner!

Week 2 Food & Exercise Plan

Week 1 Challenge - Inspiration Board

I love this challenge. It got me really motivated last round, and so this round I went and found all new images and made a new one and sure enough felt ready for anything! It's on both my home and work computer desktop backgrounds, on my phone lock screen and printed on the fridge.

Day 5 - Woo hoo!

After starting yesterday so flat it actually ended up really good. I went to my Body Balance class which was awesome. Lots of stretching, but also quite hard and my legs were really tired after. I had yummy rice paper rolls for lunch in the park in the sunshine with my book, then had a fun night last night with the basketball girls over. We watched some NBA, ate home made pizzas and drank lots of wine. Well, Greg and I drank wine. The others didn't really drink much. The good thing is, I can't have actually drank that much as wasn't hung over at all this morning, and even though we didn't get to bed until after midnight I still got up at 6 this morning and did my workout. Go me!

Scrambled Eggs with Feta - Yum!

The workout was really good - did the Total Body Toning and Abs session. It was quite easy to begin with but definitely got harder! Took me just over an hour and by the end I was definitely feeling it. I discovered there are some areas of my body that need more work than others - for example, my quads are really strong, but I found the pushups, and especially the tricep pushups very hard! I think I might try incorporating a quick pushup session at the end of some other workouts. Just maybe 2 sets of 15 or something to try and get it up.

I really didn't feel like oats this morning so made us yummy scrambled eggs. So tasty! Then also had an awesome morning tea. Strawberries with ricotta and basil. Really yummy, and still pretty good I think. I've got left over pizza for lunch, and for dinner tonight we're going to make the lamb we were supposed to make on Wednesday when we went out instead!

Feeling so much better today than yesterday. I'm in a really good mood and am looking forward to the weekend.

Was hoping we could go play golf this afternoon, but it looks like the weather is going to pack in. We might not have time anyway as we need to sort out some canapes for the Cabernet Frenzy tomorrow. Should be fun, but it's yet another red flag day in this week.

Week 1 Weigh In

Before 12WBT (July 2013): 93kgs
Starting this round: 83.9kgs
Current: 81.7kgs

Since last weigh in: -2.2kgs
This round: -2.2kgs
Total: -11.3kgs

Yay! After a pretty dismal week off, I'm back to my lowest from last round exactly. Didn't quite make my goal of under 80, but I'm happy I'm now back on track. Going to need to work really hard as my goal is <74 before Christmas, and that's 8kgs in only 5 weeks! No more excuses. I want this!

Day 4 - Disappointed in Me

So I'm a little disappointed in myself today. I got home last night and Greg was on a high as he'd completed stuff at work and he wanted to celebrate. I ended up giving in and we went out for dinner. It was actually really lovely, and I had a great time. I even managed to mostly control myself and didn't overeat or drink too badly. However, I slept really badly after eating and drinking, and got up so tired and groggy this morning. Not to mention late. And because we didn't cook last night there were no left overs to bring to work, so I will have to buy lunch, and then I made a stupid excuse to myself about not feeling like oats and having to buy lunch, so why not get breakfast too and so I did. At least it wasn't as bad as normal - just a scrambled egg wrap.

Even though we had a great time I do wish we'd stayed home and made dinner and stuck to the plan. We my basketball team coming over tonight so will be drinking again, and then we will likely have a massive night on Saturday too. I guess I will just have to try my hardest to control what I'm eating and drinking and not undo all the hard work from this week. At least this morning I somehow still went down and am back to the lightest I've been so far, so I've managed to recover from my week off already.

Anyway, time to pick myself back up again, focus on the good things, and keep going! We did have a lovely night, with awesome food and wine, and Greg got his celebration which I am happy about. I had a lot more self control than usual both at dinner and this morning buying breakfast. Luckily I wasn't planning on exercising this morning anyway as I have my body balance class at lunch time. I will give that my full effort and find something yummy and healthy for lunch, then go home and have a fun night with the basketball girls, but be sensible. I can do this!

Day 3 - Feeling Good!

Salmon, Tomato & Rocket on Toast
Perfect way to start the day!

Had a great day so far today and am feeling on top of the world! Got up early and went for a 30min run with my new HRM. It was great to see my heart rate and it really made me push myself. Ended the run with 10mins of Outdoor Intervals (30s on 30s off) - phew that was hard! Then did the final blast - 30 basketball jumps + 30 step ups on each leg. It was hard but I felt good the whole way. Strong and fit! Can definitely do better and go faster, but still felt amazing! I'm sure that it definitely helps that it is a beautiful sunny day after 2 misery guts days of rain!

We had Salmon & Tomatoes on toast this morning for breakfast sitting outside on our balcony. So nice! But made us a little late for work - oops!

Had yummy pizza again last night for dinner. This time smoked chicken with olives, ricotta and rocket. So tasty! Made on pita bread bases so super easy and really healthy too. We wanted to go to the driving range last night but I had too much work to do. Felt good getting it done though.

My stats from his morning's run

This is how I am feeling today :) Whenever I hear or think of this
song it reminds me of our wedding as my little sister sang it. Love it!

Day 2 - Great Start!

Noodles
It was way yummier than this photo makes it look!

So day 2 and I'm feeling really good. Had a pretty good eating day yesterday, even though I met some friends from the States for lunch, after I had already had my lunch! Oops - little miscommunication there! We went to a pizza place, but I only had 2 small slices (couldn't tell them I had already eaten) and a small glass of wine. And then I skipped my afternoon snack. It definitely put me over in my calories, but not too bad.

Greg cooked me dinner last night while I did some work. We had the Teriyaki Chicken & Vegetable Stirfry with Soba Noodles and it was super yummy! Was a bit of a miserable day (and is again today) so was nice to have something warming. I'm really looking forward to the left overs for lunch today!

After dinner we went to the driving range and smashed some balls. I was hitting so well with my 7 iron, but rubbish with my driver. I can either hit it super far with a horrible slice, or hit it straight (sometimes) but not very far. Annoying! I think we're going to go again today, and then hopefully the weather will get better and we can go play 9 holes one morning this week or on Friday night.

This morning I was up early again and got some stuff done before heading to Shockwave. I worked bloody hard and was disappointed in how little calories I had burnt (had my new heart rate monitor on) - only about 300 for 45mins! So I hopped on the bike for 10mins after and bumped it up to just over 400. Bit better, but I have no idea how other people manage to burn so many calories in such a short time! Was also a little annoyed as I was a little slower today. Still the fastest girl, but slower than I have been the last few weeks. Maybe my week off destroyed some, or maybe I'm just a bit body tired from the SSS followed by a big workout yesterday morning. In the past my Mondays have been pretty lax. I'm pretty proud of myself though for getting on the bike afterwards!

Had yummy oats, grapes, milk and a tiny dollop of yoghurt for breakfast, and just now had my first snack for today - ricotta with kiwifruit. It was actually delicious! So glad, as I'm been searching a bit for a yummy morning snack that's a little sweet and feels like it should be eaten in the morning, but doesn't have too much sugar. I think I'm on to a winner! Though the secret is definitely getting a good ricotta. This one is from Thomas Dux deli. I've had others that are completely tasteless and gross. This one is yummy.

I forgot all about it, but last Thursday we had our wine cabinet delivered (yay!) and so we worked from home. In the late afternoon we went and played 9 holes at Wakehurst golf club. What an awesome course! We saw so many little ducklings, a gorgeous tiny black bunny, lots of other normal brown bunnies and heaps of water dragons! It was loads of fun (even though I played parts of it horribly!) and I can't wait to go back. Afterwards we had a drink (soda and lime for me) at the club house which has an awesome view over the Manly Dam.

The gorgeous view from Wakehurst Golf Clubhouse

Week 1 Exercise & Meal Plan

Day 1 - And We're Off!

Ok, so today is the first day of my second round, and I've started the way I mean to continue. I got up this morning at 6 when my alarm went off (no snoozing for me today!) and got straight into my workout. I did the cardio Fitness Fat Burner & Abs session at home inside as per my plan. Luckily I had planned to be inside, as it is a misery gus day outside - raining for the first time in ages and quite windy too. The workout was hard but good. Ended up very sweaty, but stoked I did it all!

As I got up so early, and got straight into it without mucking around I had a bit of time so I sat at my desk and got some work done. It felt really good to do, so think I am going to try do that every morning. Feeling a little tired now, but once I get into the swing of things and start going to bed earlier (and actually being able to sleep as I won't be so full of food and alcohol!) I'm sure it will get easier.

Strawberry Bruschetta

We had the strawberry Bruschetta this morning for breakfast and it was really yummy! I also had a couple kiwifruit to use up, so put a little less strawberries and a little kiwifruit on it. It was so much food, I ended up only having 1.5 slices of toast instead of the 2 and was more than full enough. Starting to get a little hungry now though - must be almost time for my home made frozen yoghurt (which I think might be still too frozen to eat!).

Had a lovely weekend, though not very good eating wise. Got up Saturday morning and went to the Michelle Bridges finale workout which I really enjoyed. There were so many people there. It felt like the world's biggest attack class. I worked so hard and was so drained after! However, I wanted to do something with Greg to celebrate so we went to Movida for a long boozy lunch (which I'm sure destroyed my workout efforts but too bad!). It was so good! Didn't eat too much, but had lots of wine. Then after we went and met friends at a pub to play some pinny and drank more and had a burger for dinner. It was lots of fun, but definitely not good for me!

Sunday I did some boring work, then we headed to the supermarket. On the way we noticed the new bar was open so decided to go there for dinner instead! Had the best cocktail, but the food was just average. I think just drinks there next time. Made ourselves go to the supermarket afterwards which I am very glad about as we are now set up for the week. And I am determined it is going to be a good week! I really fell off the wagon last week between rounds and have managed to put on a couple of kgs. Time to take that off again and more!

Final Weigh In & Major Milestone

Starting: 90.4kgs (pre-season: 93kgs)
Current: 81.7kgs

Since last weigh in: -0.6kgs
Since start: -8.7kgs (including pre-season: -11.3kgs)

Pretty happy with my results! Could have been better, but I'm so much better than I was 12 weeks ago. Go me!!

Round 3, 2013 Report Card

Before: 8 August 2013

After: 3 November 2013

My 12 Weeks Are Done!

Well, my first round is over! It seems like such a long time ago that I signed up, but it's actually gone by so fast. I'm pretty pleased with what I have accomplished. Sure I could have done better, but I did mostly stick to it, and I lost almost 12 kgs! I'm fitting back into lots of my clothes, and I'm feeling so much better. I've still got a long way to go, but I'm making progress!

Last weekend ended up being pretty full on. Saturday evening was a BBQ at T&Cs. I was so tired after my night out and then doing the SSS in the morning that I don't think I was very good company! I drove so at least I didn't drink much, though I definitely over ate. We had the best ribs. So tasty!

Monday's Dinner, one of my favourites
Chicken with Herbed Yoghurt & Salad

Sunday morning I got up and did my final fitness test. I did pretty well, and beat everything! I also did my final measurements and took my after photo before we went to play golf. I played some awesome shots and am hitting the ball a lot further and a lot straighter which is good. I also hit some terrible shots too. Sunday afternoon we went to the Hunter Uncorked Wine Festival down at Balmoral Beach. It was so stinking hot!

I've been a bit slack this week. Sunday night we had take out. Monday was ok - we went to the supermarket and cooked and I even did some work. Yesterday however was Melbourne Cup. I wasn't going to drink much and was planning on going home early, but somehow once the first drink touched my lips, all self control left. I got pretty boozed at work and then went to meet Greg in Balmain. It was a fun night, but I'm paying for it today! I felt so terrible this morning, and I've eaten crap all day. I can't wait to get home and chill on the couch. Definitely need an early night!

I've been better with exercise this week than eating. Did a great run on Monday with loads of sprints, then worked so hard at shockwave yesterday. I think I will be arranging my schedule to make today my rest day this week though as there's no way I can cope with a workout!

Week Between Exercise & Meal Plan

Even though I've finished round 3, and not yet started round 4, I thought I better stick with it, so here's my plan:

Day 83 - SSS Nailed!

What a great morning! Was a little hung over from a friends leaving do last night but was quite proud of myself as I didn't get too drunk. I also did well on the eating front. There was loads of chips and other snacks around and I hardly touched them. I had a big drink bottle and got it filled a couple times so had loads of water too. I failed a bit at the end of the night after karoake when I had kfc on my way home. It was so good! But not good for me! Still it was my only dinner, even if it was at midnight.

Got home and greg had friends over. I hung for a bit but ended up falling asleep so went to bed. This morning I woke up and read for a while then got up and read some more on the couch. Then I decided to do my workout! So glad I did. It was the mini Olympics SSS. so hard!

Here's what I did:

Warm Up x5min Jog or fast low steps

Basketball Jumps x30, x40, x50 (60s rest between)

Circuit x10 of:
  High knee runs x150
  Burpees x6
  Squat Jumps x4
  Turkish Get-Ups x2 each side

Squat Press x3 AMRAP in 60s

Plyometric Lunges (i.e. Jumping lunges) x30, x40, x60 (60s reset between)

Moroccan Breakfast Eggs - Yum!!

Circuit x3 of:
  Burpees x12
  Fancy Planks x6 each side
  Scissor Crossovers x12
  Turkish Get-Ups x6 each side
  Ice Skaters x12
  Mountain Climbers x12
  Side Plank x45s
  Mishy Makers x6 each side (push up with hand pull back to waist)

Stretch

It took me about an hour and a half. So full on and I was absolutely dripping afterwards. Feeling tired but good now.

Just made Moroccan Breakfast Eggs for brunch. Basically mince with eggs cooked on top. So tasty!

Greg is trying to talk me into going to the driving range but I am so exhausted. I think I would play so bad. Feel like sitting on the couch!

Day 82 - Reset and (Mostly) Feeling Good

So on Wednesday I reset myself by watching all the videos I could find, amping myself up and doing some of the pre-season tasks. I felt pretty good and had a really good day. We played golf after work with Greg's dad, and while they had a beer after I just had soda water with lime. Unfortunately I forgot to say fresh lime so it had lime cordial in it. But instead of just drinking it anyway as I normally would have, I only had a few sips and left the rest on the table. Yay me!

We were so tempted to go out for dinner after, especially when we realised I'd taken out the chicken in the morning to defrost and it had been left on the bench all day and all evening! Oops! We ended up throwing the chicken out, but thanks to my shopping for the whole week we had enough to make pizza. We didn't make pizza like we normally would have with loads of tomato sauce and cheese. Instead we used ricotta on the base and just had prosciutto, tomatoes, feta and olives. And it was so yummy! Also instead of eating it all, I cut my pieces quite small so I still had four pieces, but it wasn't that much at all. Yay me!

Yesterday I got up and went to yoga at the gym. I'm glad I got up and went, but it was such a crap class. The lady is far to into her alternate stuff and spent the entire class talking about energies, and the left side of the body being feminine and watery, and the right side being masculine, and working on the energy in the spleen. Bleurgh! I just wanted to get on with the yoga! I don't think I will bother going back to that class again! Better to just do my own thing at home. Still - at least I went and did something. Yay me!

I didn't go to work yesterday after the gym. I was planning to, but Greg's family were all going to Manly for lunch and I really wanted to join them, so I decided to work from home. Greg and I played golf at Cammeray in the morning which was loads of fun (more walking too!) although I played terribly. As I felt so good about myself though I was able to stay in a good happy mood and not get all shitty like I did last time. I know Greg appreciated it. Yay me!

We went to lunch at The Pantry in Manly. It's a lovely spot right on the beach, but the food was quite average I thought. I might the right choice though and got a salad, and even had the dressing on the side! I ate a few fries and some of the pate entree, but much better than normal. I also only had a little wine instead of loads. Pretty happy with that. Yay me!

Afterwards we went for a drive to North Head and checked out the amazing views. So spectacular! And then for a swim at Little Manly. What a great spot. It was cold but not too bad. I felt pretty big in my bikini against Gregs sis who is in amazing shape, but no where near as bad as I would have 3 months ago. Something to be proud of. Yay me!

Then last night we made dinner for Greg's family. We had quite a lot of nibbles (which I ate too much of), and then yummy lamb, sausages, roast potatoes (in duck fat! mmmm!) and a salad. I only had a little lamb, half a sausage, some salad, and probably a couple too many potatoes, but again no where near as bad as I normally would have been. I also only had a small amount of wine. Yay me!

Top Rebounder - Yay Me!!

And finally, to end an awesome day, I played basketball at 10pm, and we won a super close game. It was loads of fun, and I played ok. Our team rules and once we gel with the new player properly and if we are all on form we will be unstoppable. Here we come grand finals! Also I got given a certificate for being the top rebounder in the league for last season! Pretty exciting. Yay me!

And this morning when I got up and weighed in, even after the lunch out and indulgent dinner, I was in the 81s for the second day in a row. Yay me!

Today so far has been a bit of a different story however. When I got home last night the in-laws were still over, which was lovely as they were all having a great time, but they didn't leave until after midnight, and I couldn't shower until they left as the baby was asleep in our room. When I finally got to bed I was so tired and it was so late, and this morning I ignored my alarm for a sleep in. I think it was the right choice as I would have otherwise been exhausted, but it meant I won't have a chance for any exercise today as I'm out after work for a work friend's leaving party. I also didn't have breakfast at home, as my head was telling me that I'm going to blow it tonight anyway, so why not start now. Stupid stupid stupid! I had an egg wrap from downstairs for breakfast (not too bad), with 2 hashbrowns (bad), and then cos I forgot my cardi and was freezing, and feeling sorry for myself I went for a walk to get a new cardi and had banana bread, lemon slice and berry yoghurt. More stupid! Not much I can do about it now though. I am refusing to throw it up like I normally would have as it is so bad for me and doing that also just strengthens the justification that it is ok to binge it when it quite clearly is not! So, how to move on from here? I had thought we were all going out for lunch today too, so hadn't brought anything to eat with me. But we're not now. My tummy is feeling pretty full and uncomfortable from that binging so I am not going to eat lunch at all. I will see how I got this afternoon, and if I get hungry will make the right decision. I have a tin of tuna in my drawer, so if I need to I will eat that, and that's it! Then tonight when I'm out I'm going to be as sensible as I can and not drink too much wine, and make sure I intersperse it with lots water.

Actually I think water is a key for me. Whenever I am being "good" I always have a bottle of water on hand, and make sure I drink from it and it's filled up often. Looking back on my behaviour over the last couple of days, whenever I've stuffed up I haven't had water on hand. When I ate too many nibbles, I didn't have water. Once I got a glass of water to sip from instead I managed to stop eating. And this morning I didn't have water to drink on my way in, and my big water bottle on my desk was empty when I arrived. Need to ensure I buy a water bottle to fit in my hand bag between now and tonight.

So, quite a drastic shift in the last couple days between being amazing and being not so good. Need to keep being amazing so I can have more of the "yay me" comments.

Pre-Season Task: Set Your Goals

New round = new goals...

Weight Goals

	TIME	DATE	WEIGHT	INCREMENTAL	TOTAL	REWARD
Current Weight		1 Nov 2013	81.7
First Weigh In	1.5 Weeks	11 Nov 2013	<80	-2	-2	Heart rate monitor
Week 6 Weigh In (Before Xmas)	6 Weeks	18 Dec 2013	<74	-6	-8	New clothes for xmas
Week 9 Weigh In (After Xmas)	3 Weeks	8 Jan 2014	<76	+2	-6	Book awesome anniversary trip
End of Round	3 Weeks	2 Feb 2014	<72	-4	-10	New wardrobe for anniversary trip

And here's how I am going to achieve these goals:

• Plan my food and exercise weekly, then stick to my plan
• Limit my red flag days where possible, and where not possible - be sensible!
• Stick to exercise plan over xmas and don't indulge too often - be sensible!
• Control the voice in my head which justifies diversions from the plan - don't let it control me!
• JFDI!

Other Goals

By the end of the round:

• 30 pushups on my toes
• 4min plank on my toes
• Sub 4m 30s 1km run
• Complete the Manly Dam 10.2 km trail run in Dec, Jan and Feb, and beat my time each time
• Be feeling like I gave it 100% and I am happy with what I have achieved - not just good enough but amazing!

Pre-Season Task: Get Real

Time to do the pre-season tasks for the next round. I think I did ok last round, but I definitely need to work on the mindset stuff, so here we go...

The first task is to write down all my excuses and my solutions. This is pretty common sense, the trick is remembering all this stuff "in the heat of the moment" and making the right choices. Think I might need to put this somewhere more easily accessible so I can keep referring back to it!

Internal Excuses I've worked out today so I can eat whatever I want If I eat too much I can throw it up I just can't be bothered sticking to my plan (eating or exercising) I'll start over again tomorrow		Solutions Change my thinking to: "I've worked out today so I'm on my way towards my goals and the scales will say I am lighter in the morning if I don't succumb to my cravings" Drink some water and wait a while to make sure I am actually hungry and not just wanting something Throwing up is SO bad for me, it makes me feel depressed and down about myself and is not something I want to continue doing Eating only gives me shot term momentary pleasure, but in the longer term I feel fat and gross and like I've let myself down Practise mindful eating - don't do anything else while I am eating, focus on the food and taste of it, and learn to recognise when I am getting full - sit at the table and ensure the TV is off and discuss the food or other things with Greg - need to work out how to do this at lunch time too. Tomorrow never comes - start now or risk never getting to my goals Pull out my plan for the week and stick to it! Get out my goal clothes, or look at a photo of me being fat or being thin and think about what I want Read through my goals and these excuses and solutions If all else fails, stop being useless, suck it up and JFDI! I will be so happy that I did!
External Excuses - In My Control I've got other things I could/should be doing which are more important (even though they are not) I'm too tired It's an event so I should eat and drink whatever I want otherwise I won't have fun and other people will think I'm a party pooper		Solutions Those other things can wait - I've planned for this and I do have time to do it if I get off my butt right now and JFDI I might be tired, but I will be even more so if I don't exercise and eat the right food Doing the right thing gives me a boost, and I'm going to be tired anyway, so may as well be tired and feel good about myself at the same time! Who cares what others think? Remember that I can have fun without drinking and I can say no Remember my goals, and that each thing I don't eat or drink now helps me get those goals and the rewards that go with them

Day 80 - Wow 80 days!

It's nearing the end, and I'm feeling a little flat. I've done pretty well, but have been sabotaging myself a little recently. I'm not sure why I do it, but every time I get a good result I go a bit backwards. Well, I think this time I've caught myself in the act, and I'm not going to give up! I need to celebrate my wins, and keep telling myself that it's not over - this is a lifestyle thing, and I've realised that I've got a bit more to go yet before this is my lifestyle.

I've lost 8kgs (11 if you count pre-season) and while it's not as much as I wanted to lose, I still feel pretty good! I feel so much better in my clothes, my fitness is coming back and I feel much more confident. Just need to keep at it, and imagine how good I will feel!

So this morning, I was debating going for my run. I dragged myself out of bed, and set about doing anything to procrastinate. I sorted out some papers, printed tonight's recipe, got the chicken out of the freezer, basically did a whole lot of stuff that needed to be done, but didn't need to be done right at that moment. Then I thought to myself "this is stupid" so I grabbed my headphones and set out. I only walked, but while I was out I listened to a whole heap of Michelle Bridge's videos and they hit home. There's plenty more left here for me. I can do this! Just need to stop making excuses in my head and JFDI!

One video in particular definitely gave me tips to keep in mind:

1. Get support
   For this one I do have an amazing family and friend network, but I think next round I should get more involved in the forums. I do lurk and read the forums, but I've hardly posted. there are groups in there and surely I can find one to join but I'm not quite sure how to go about it. Guess I need to spend some more time looking into it.
2. Become my own biggest fan
   I'm pretty good at doing this, but one issue I have is that I talk myself up too much in my head and think I am doing better than I am which then in turn some how lets me justify sabotaging myselg. I need to keep this realistic - definitely celebrate my wins, but then instead of giving in to temptation, think about my win again, and realise that it could be negated. Think about turning my being strong into yet another win!
3. Set SMART goals
   I have goals mostly, but need to keep them more in the front of my mind. Maybe stick them somewhere more obvious, like on my phone lock screen. The rewards should be healthy ones with emotion involved - the more emotion invested, the more it will mean to me. Mish suggested a holiday to climb a mountain. While that sounds like fun to me, its not realistic as it's not something Greg would do, and I only have so many holidays and would rather spend them with him. Perhaps I can investigate a girly heath retreat for a weekend or something. I'm actually looking forward to resetting my goals again in the next round preseason tasks (which I need to get on to).
4. Get organised!
   I can do the planning, it's just the follow through on the planning that I'm not so good at. I've been shopping for the first few days of the week recently, and figuring that I will shop again on Wed or Thu. The problem is it's gets to then and I can't be bothered, and then on Fri, Sat or Sun when we've run out of food and we're feeling tired or hung over we've been getting takeaways. Not good! This week I've shopped for the whole week. Hopefully it works and we don't end up throwing away food! The other issue is that I've been taking my lunch to work but not eating it. Instead I've been buying crap. Such waste on so many levels! Well, it's stopping today! I've got yummy left overs from yesterday, and I've also brought only enough cash for my coffee so I can't buy anything else
   .
5. Create supportive habits
   I need to get more into my rituals again. I was doing so well for a while, but then I crash a bit. If I stick to my plan, I will get back into the habit and then it will become easier.
6. JFDI!!!
   Seriously. Get shut up and get on with it! Sometimes, yes it hurts, and yes it's boring, and yes I can't be bothered, but just get on with it! I won't regret it, but I will regret not doing it!

So the action points from this:

1. Get into the forums
2. Don't listen to the justifications in my head
3. Find a reward I really want (and can't have or won't enjoy unless I do this)
4. Follow my plans - no excuses
5. JFDI!!!

Day 78 - First Day of the Last Week

Wow! We're down to the wire. It's the last week! Seems like the past 12 weeks have gone really fast, though it also feels like the day I signed up was a long time ago... I'm happy so far with my results, but want to give it my all over the next 7 days, and get rid of another couple of kgs before the end of the week. I can do this!

We had a lovely weekend. Greg's parents are here, and it was my niece's 1st birthday party. She is so super cute! Ate a bit much, and drank way too much! And no time for a workout as we had to be over there early to help get things organised, and had to go pick up our new golf clubs on the way. I must admit though I felt pretty good in myself at the party. Still overweight and a long way to go, but so much better than I was.

I'm so stoked with our new clubs. We got such a great deal on them, and they feel really good in your hands. We went and played with Greg's dad at Long View on Sunday. I started off amazingly, but then just got worse and worse! I think just a bit tired, hungover and too hot! I'm going to go buy a cooler shirt I think as my red one is too hot and heavy.

We were so tired when we got home after golf yesterday. I wanted to eat well, but there was no food at home and we just couldn't be bothered so we ordered Indian, and once again I proceeded to eat too much. However, getting on the scales today I was pleasantly surprised as I'm still in the low 83s. Maybe dehydrated, or maybe all that walking for golf yesterday. Either way it's given me even more motivation to keep at it!

I've done my planning for the week, and we have some yummy meals coming up, and plenty of exercise. I'm feeling determined today!

Week 12 Exercise & Meal Plan

Day 74 - Stay Strong

Watched the Surviving in the real world video by Michelle today and some of it rung true - especially about justifying the wrong decisions. I do that all the time! I think through little things like maybe I can have one little something cos I worked so hard today, or maybe I can exercise harder tomorrow if I don't today. I really need to change that around and think I worked so hard today so I don't want / need a little something as I already feel so good. And if I exercise today and tomorrow imagine how amazing I will feel.

I didn't much like the advice to not use food as fun. We love sharing meals out with friends, and the food is definitely part of the fun. I guess need to switch the focus somewhat, and make it more about the occasion and hanging out with friends than about the food. Although there will definitely be times where the focus will be 100% on the food. I'm not willing to let that go. It's too enjoyable to have an amazing meal and discuss all the different parts and which were the best. I just need to make the right choices around when and how often I do that, and even when I do, I can realise I don't need to eat it all, and I can even choose something healthier should I want to and that is just fine!

I need to stay strong!

I also watched the Taking Stock video and made myself an Action Plan, and also wrote a letter to myself to open in 6 months. Got me feeling quite motivated and organised. I've got my diary sorted and am looking forward to following through.

We picked up Greg's parents from the airport last night and had a lovely dinner at T&Cs with them. This morning we were planning on playing golf, but we've been sleeping so badly - I think cos it's been so hot - that we couldn't get up. The exact same thing happened yesterday.

Day 73 - Loo La Loo Rah!

Feeling pretty happy today as I'm down in the 82's. I've been here very briefly twice in the last month, but I feel like today I'm really here! I've been hovering around the 83 mark and slowly heading down. It feels really good, and sustainable. My BMI is coming down too. When I started it was over 28 which is near the top of the overweight range. It's dropped now to 26 - only a couple more to go before I'm in the healthy range. I can do this!

Had a good morning snack today - half a large wholemeal pita with hummus. Possibly a little high on the calorie side, but tasty, and hopefully it stops the afternoon cravings - we'll see!

Last night we made Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup. It was really yummy, mainly cos I think Greg spiced up the broth a bit with some chilli and other goodness. I've got the leftovers for lunch. It seems even when we make the Michelle Bridges portions we nearly always have some left over for lunch!

After dinner we went to the driving range and I was so much better than at Mona Vale. Really looking forward now to getting out there and playing again!

Also today we just committed to going to Canada with Grandpa next year. Pretty exciting! So much for last year being the last trip for him. Going to be so awesome to be able to share it with him and the rest of the family. We were planning on going to Japan early next year, but will now be Canada instead. Part of me is a little disappointed as we so wanted to do Japan, but this is our only chance to go with Grandpa, and it will be really good to take Greg to some of the places I so enjoyed going to before we met. It's awesome that we're going to Sun Peaks and Silver Star which are the two we went to last time I went over with the family. Will be great to see if it's like I remember it. I'm starting to look forward to it!

Week 11 Weigh In

Starting: 90.4kgs (pre-season: 93kgs)
Current: 82.3kgs

Since last weigh in: -0.8kgs
Since start: -8.1kgs (including pre-season: -10.7kgs)

I'm still heading down - Yay! Got a bit to go though if I want to be under 80 at the end. Just over a week to go - I can do this!

Day 72 - Feeling Fit & Strong on Tighten Up Tuesday

Really enjoyed Shockwave this morning. Can't believe I almost didn't get out of bed - so glad I did! I was fastest again on the rower, and also felt so strong for the rest of the workout, especially the abs which is awesome as that's always been my weakest. Still a long way to go, but feeling pretty chuffed with myself today!

We babysat for T&C last night and cooked there. We made the Garlic Prawns with Rice, Lentil & Green Bean Salad. It was pretty yummy, but needed a bit more flavour. Not sure what else you could add though. I enjoyed it regardless, and am looking forward to the left overs for lunch.

I think I need to sort out my morning snacks a bit better. I always do afternoons well, but struggle a bit on what to have in the morning. I sometimes do a coffee, but it's a bit unsatisfying, and also sometimes a mission to go get when I am busy and it's not nice outside. Might need to have a look through the recipes and see if there are any that jump out at me. It's a bit strange as there are loads in there, but some I just don't like the idea of in the morning.

I think we're heading to the driving range tonight after work. Looking forward to hitting some balls again and hopefully being better than I was at Mona Vale!

Week 11 Exercise & Meal Plan

Day 71 - 2 Weeks to Go!

Bring it on! Only two weeks to go. Was mostly pretty happy with my choices over the weekend. I didn't drink Friday or Saturday, and didn't overeat too much either. It was the Crows Nest Festival on Sunday, so had quite a bit of wine at the wine tasting stalls, but didn't have any extra when we got home, and also made the really yummy Chickpea, Ricotta and Tomato salad for dinner.

Ended up being a really fun weekend in the end. Friday we left work early and went to play at North Bridge. I played fairly well. Did some awesome shots, including getting on the green from my tee shot on #5. Stoked with that! Was so tired after we just chilled at home and Greg made us a pizza out of whatever he could find - it ended up being super yummy! It had mince, zucchini, feta, olives and other things.

Greg putting on #3 at Northbridge.
Check out the little ducklings on the right. So cute!

From the tee on #5 at Northbridge

Fuzzy fuzzy ducklings! All I can think of now is
"all the ducks are swimming in the water. La la la la la la..."

On the green (just) for one.
That little pink dot at the back of the green is my ball :)

On Saturday I got up early, did a tiny workout then got some work done. We then went to the driving range and then to Mona Vale for 18 holes. So much golf! I played terribly. I think I just freaked myself out. By the 15th hole I was so over it and just gave up. I said to myself I'm going to make myself finish this hole then go sit in the car and wait for Greg. I then hit my best drive of the day and continued to actually play quite well from then on. I'm pretty sure I was just over thinking it and trying too hard to begin with. I was topping almost every ball and miss hitting a lot. It was so frustrating. I also had a little tanty and threw my club! Not the best behaviour. Luckily Greg was super patient with me and was so nice. When we got home it was pretty late and we were exhausted so ordered take out. Was super average and didn't really enjoy it. At least that meant I didn't eat too much of it!

Mum stayed again last night after her conference and we got up and went for a lovely walk this morning. Was so peaceful and nice being out with her and chatting. I'm so glad I got up and did it! Wasn't the full workout it should have been, but we walked for an hour.

I said at the beginning of the weekend I still wanted to be in the 83's at the end of the weekend, and this morning I was! Very happy with that. Now to power through these next 2 weeks, and lost at least another 3 so I can finish under 80. I can do it!

Freaky red sun and eerie feeling due to all the bush fire smoke