Early Morning Energy

Before I met Bianca, I looked on her website and read her blog and one thing that stuck out was the fact she was up incredibly early and off exercising before dawn. I thought she was mad. How could anyone survive on a few hours sleep and wake up with energy to burn. I have always suffered from "Just another 5 minutes" syndrome when the alarm goes off. Although I couldn't get to sleep last night until after midnight, as the room was a bit stuffy and I have a few things on my mind, I was still awake and reading at 5.20 and not feeling too tired. One of my aims at the start of this challenge was to capture this energy Bianca wrote about and I sleep better, get up earlier and have found this energy which is fantastic. Between 5.30 and 7am I can get lots done. I iron, read, write my blog (!), watch the sunrise, catch up on emails and best of all, get to see and speak to my husband while he has his breakfast before heading off to work in Brisbane just before six.


Last week was tough, Monday I struggled through the class. It was really hot and the dust from the recent storm was still hanging in the air. Both Karlie and I got quite puffed and breathless and at one point when I was running and imagining I was being chased by a tiger (the only way I can get round the circuit sometimes!), I actually thought " let the bugger eat me" I felt that knackered.


Wednesday, I missed the class as I was at the airport picking up my mother in law who is staying with us for a month. On Thursday I went to the session and met Karlie and Kirsty but Seb was nowhere to be seen. We did a warm up and some stretches and then waited a while longer. I called Bianca and left a message as we thought the session may have been changed back to Fridays. On the way home, Bianca called back and said Seb had been there waiting near the tennis courts, which were blocked by some trees from where we were waiting in the hut where we train on Mondays and Wednesdays. So I am back today and as I said last week, going back having missed two sessions in a row, is really hard. Though I did go to our local gym in Mapleton on Friday morning from 6-7am and did an hours circuit training which hurt, then stomped round Aussie Zoo for most of the day (but avoided being chased by the tigers!) before coming home and going out to work in a restaurant waitressing, so I suppose I must have exceeded the recommended 10,000 steps a day by a fair few!

Karlie, by the way, is featured in this month's 'Profile' magazine. I have only known her for 4 or 5 weeks, so to see the 'before' picture in the magazine was amazing. She was bridesmaid at a wedding this weekend and I bet she looked stunning. She had to change her dress from a size 12 to a 10. She must be very proud of the weight she has lost and how she has toned up. It will be me next and I hope I inspire people to sign up for Bianca's programme.

I have also found the last few weeks hard with having visitors, the kids off school and it being my birthday. I have still made better choices than before such as not having a cake and swapping chips for salad with my steak when I went out for my birthday meal, but have felt out of routine and have only been following the food plan about 60%.

I think this is the start of week 11, so I have the next two weeks to really pull my finger out, follow the plan, bring exercise back into my daily routine before the initial challenge comes to an end. My mother in law is supporting me and is happy to eat what I eat, so that makes it easier to prepare meals over the coming weeks and grab something healthy when we are out. We will also be active during the day, walking along beaches, doing the Glass House Mountains and visiting Kondalilla and Mapleton Falls, so fair bit of walking which should benefit both of us.

Don't know if she will be up as early though, but I like my time in the mornings, it's quiet. Any how it has reached 7am and the kids are up, that peace is broken, so off to tackle packed lunches, fill school bags, sort out uniform, do the school run and get to training on time!

Cleaning up in more ways than one!

I can't believe I haven't written for 3 weeks. We moved house and lost the internet for a few days and then I have been trying to be active rather than sit in front of the laptop and the time has just flown by. We now have visitors from the UK so I have popped my 'Tour Guide' hat back on and done Aussie Zoo, Mooloolaba spit, Hinterland Range etc only to have another visitor arrive next Wednesday and have to do it all again. We then have visitors virtually all the way through until after Christmas bar a few days to get the bedding changed and catch up with housework and friends. Then more again mid January, March and for Easter holidays in April.

Getting the house move done was physically exhausting but I saw the positives in it and worked.
lifting boxes - squatting and lifting
carrying - using my biceps
unpacking and putting away - doing squats as I unpacked and crouched down to put stuff in the kitchen cupboards.
Back at the old place n the Monday, I met with the cleaning company to do some cleaning myself and keep the cost down. Again I saw it as good exercise as I wiped windows, walls, mirrors, tiles, stretching up and down into the baths and deep into kitchen cupboards. Must have looked good as the cleaners asked me if I wanted a job! Was really pleased to get my full bond back but it did mean I missed the sessions with Bianca on Friday and Monday when we moved and cleaned. Boy did I feel it on the following Wednesday as it is hard to do a session when you have missed two.

When people miss a couple of sessions of any physical activity it can be a simple decision not to go back, but that is the worst thing to do. You should find the strength to go to a session again, get back into that routine, otherwise you may find you are on that slippery slope back down to inactivity and weight gain.

I had my measurements done last week and I lost a few cm's. Not nearly as many as the first time, but combined (as I lost heaps the first 4 weeks) I am on track. Although the cm's loss was smaller, I feel so much fitter, can run further and can do more in a day than I could do. I am also getting up in the mornings earlier and going to bed and sleeping well. All my sports pants are loose now. I had to hold a pair up a week ago as I was running as they were falling down! Quite difficult doing squat jumps too, especially as I was holding them up wearing boxing gloves!! I also have stopped weighing myself on a daily basis, but am pleased to have lost a stone and a half, (21lbs / around 9.5 kilos) which means I have achieved over a third of the way of my overall goal (to lose 25kg) by week 8. Roll on Christmas as I am going to be gorgeous!!

We have the Beep Test today, so this is a good measure of how my fitness levels have improved since last time. 4 weeks ago, I managed a 3.2 in the Beep Test, which was probably a bit low, but I didn't understand the instructions, so stopped when I made a mistake, when I should have kept going and only gone out after two mistakes in a row.

Wish me luck!!

Nuts About Food Diaries

Just a quick update on my end of week 5.

It's 20 to 7am and I am up and just about to start getting the kids ready for school and then go to my Monday Morning session at Glass House.

Last week Wednesday and Friday sessions were hard but fun. The team games on Friday especially. Being on the 12 week challenge, Bianca asks you to do a food diary and a daily summary, where you mark yourself out of 10 for how hard you exercised, if you stuck to healthy eating and how much water you had. I don't know why, but I completely forget to fill it out. I go for days and then remember, even when it is on the fridge. So this week my challenge is to make sure I do it.

The eating plan is now routine. I have changed my habits and my head must be in the right place as it doesn't interfere and send me messages and try to jeopardize my aim. I seem to be content with sitting down and having a bowl of cereal in the morning and then a protein shake, rather than three or four pieces of toast with butter on, eating while making packed lunches or dashing out the door.

I grab a handful of nuts mid morning and then enjoy a chicken or tuna wrap crammed with salad for lunch. Mid afternoon, some cold meat and then tea is chicken, fish or beef with plenty of veg. I had a icy pole the other day and some wine at the weekend but I managed to enjoy a healthy BBQ on Saturday by having a little steak and plenty of salad.


I know I have been sticking to a healthy plan, but going back to the weight obsession, I am still the same weight as I was last Monday. I have to tell myself that my body is changing, the weight will come off, but sometimes it's hard to get it into my stupid head. You want that steady weight loss. Used to being weighed once a week and getting a slow clap from other people in the circle. I am sure I am not alone. So maybe this week is the week where you are really good and nothing comes off, which can be a trigger for saying those classic words 'bugger it'.

Maybe I am having too many nuts, as they are easy to put in a container for when you are out and about. They are also moorish so I might be having too many and that is not good. I will cut down on my nut intake this week and see if this makes a difference.

It is tough and no matter what you tell yourself, when you work hard and those scales don't move, you are disappointed. What I am being positive about, is that I am moving house in 11 days and so for the rest of the week and next, I will be packing up the house, packing and moving boxes, stacking them downstairs in the garage and this means I am going to be more active than a normal week and hopefully next week, the scales may move just a smidge!

Off to do packed lunches and enjoy sitting eating my breakfast!

Endurance Training - It's Not Just About Running

For someone who has never run, I have watched myself learn to move faster than a walk over the last 4 weeks. I still don't consider that the action I do with my feet moving in a forward motion whilst huffing and puffing is actually running, but I know as I continue to practice each day, I will in fact be able to turn this funny jog thing into a proper run.

Yesterday we worked on our endurance. It was a hard session and we had a new lady Peta and a couple of ladies who have joined at level 2, which means they already have some sort of fitness level unlike me who started on level 1, coming from a very sedentary inactive life.

We ran, did some stretches, ran, did some lunges, ran, did more lunges, ran, did sit ups, ran, did squats, ran, ran again, ran some more, did core work, ran again and did I mention.... we ran! All this running, as I explained, is more like a steady jog for me, but at least I was able to keep going until the end. Something I never could have done four weeks ago.

Yesterday morning I weighed myself and was extremely surprised to have lost around 8 kgs. This was short lived as I realised this morning, the needle on my scales were not set to zero (possibly having been played with by a child!) so once I had adjusted it, I could measure properly. I have lost a stone or 6kgs, which is still fantastic coupled with my new measurements from Friday.

I have a very busy few weeks ahead of me. We are moving house in just over two weeks and I have yet to put anything in a box in preparation. We have visitors staying this weekend and the following weekend it is the schools fair and my husband and my anniversary. So there is very little time for packing either weekend really and I refuse to celebrate our anniversary by packing up our house again. We moved here from the UK in December and this will be our 4th rental house. So you can image how tired I am of moving.

I know my weight gain is stress related and all that moving house several times, has meant my mental state has been a catalyst for weight gain. With Bianca's help and training, I know I am going to be less tempted to disappear into the pantry to make myself feel and cope better.

Endurance is the ability or strength to continue or last, especially despite fatigue, stress, or other adverse conditions. After enduring all that running, when weeks ago I couldn't have done it, proves to me that with a positive mental attitude I can cope with this next move and not gain weight, no matter what life throws at me.

Carrying a Spare Tyre!

Wednesday's session was hard. We warmed up by playing mini netball and then did a little circuit of weights & lunges. We did more agility courses such as crab walking to a marker, running to the next, weaving in and out of markers, running to the next marker and then side stepping again and running back home to do it all again.

Bianca and Sasha had to be somewhere after the class so I couldn't be measured, but Bianca said me plus two others would be measured today, Friday, after the workout.

Today I found really hard. There were 4 of us, Bec, Amanda, Christie and me. When I saw the tyres on the ground, I really didn't know what to expect. I went with Bec and we had to pick up the tyre between us and run to a corner of the three netball courts. We then had to do step touches up onto the tyre for 30 seconds, then pick up the tyre and run to the next corner and do press ups. Then, you got it... run to the next corner and I think we did the steps again, before the final corner and the press ups again. We then did some stretches and I thought "Thank god that's over" but it wasn't. Those tyres featured heavily (pardon the pun!) in today's session.

We lifted them, used them as hurdles, picked them up again and ran round the cricket field, stopping every now and then, not for a rest, but to do push ups again. We came to a hill and had to squat down and lift up the tyre and turn it over and gradually it worked it's way up the hill. We called on our partners to help us carry it back down, then it was their turn. While we were waiting we assumed the plank position then brought each leg up in succession tapping on the ground before going back and carrying on until our partner had made the top of the hill and we were needed to help carry the tyre down.

I was exhausted but we still had to run and carry the tyre all the way back to the starting point, where our drink bottles and shade were waiting for us to recover.

A minute or so later, we had another circuit of hurdles, lunges, weights and more hurdles until we were absolutely pooped and collapsed on our towels in the shade to do our stretches, sit ups and core muscle toning.

So who would have thought that using a spare tyre could get rid of your 'spare tyre'. I hope this is not a recurring theme here as next week we could be using Muffin Tops, Saddlebags and an overweight donkey... work that one out!

After the session, Bianca measured me again. I was measured 4 weeks ago and so this was the bit I knew would give me the boost I needed after being worried about my weight.

Four weeks ago, Bianca measured my bust, arm, waist, belly button, hips, then thighs and legs in 5 places, twice with legs together and 3 measurements on one leg. So a total of 10 measurements.

By working hard over the last four weeks and eating healthily, I have lost a total of 36.5cm over these 10 measurements including:

Bust 3cm
Arm 1.5cm
Waist 10cm
Hips 6 cm
Upper thighs 10cm (measured round both)
and I have gained a cm just above my knees, where I have gained muscle

I am going to celebrate tonight, not sure how. A glass or two of wine perhaps and my free choice meal of the week? Funny, but I think I would be happier not rewarding myself with food and drink. Perhaps I will go to the shops and treat myself to something else, like a dvd or a pair of earrings or window shop for smaller clothes. If I can achieve that in 4 weeks, I am looking forward to seeing what shape and size will I be after 12!!

Fighting the Scales

On Friday we did a fitness test just to gain an idea of what levels we were at and to set goals for the forthcoming weeks. Christie and Bec were the other two being put through our paces by Bianca. We did as many sit ups and push ups in a minute as we could so that when we are tested again in 4 weeks, we can measure our improvement. I only managed 45 seconds of sit ups before I had to stop, so my immediate aim is to make sure I complete the minute next time!!

We also did a agility test and the 'beep test' where a CD is played with timed beeps and you have to run continuously between two markers 20 metres apart reaching the line of each marker on the beep and turning and running back again. The beeps get gradually faster so not only do you have to keep running, but be able to pick up the pace. Bec and I only made it to level 3.2 I think, so in another 4 weeks I hope to be able to reach 5 or 6. Christie did really well and got to level 7.

When I came home and told my son we did the beep test, he laughed at my 3.2 as he made it up to 11 when he did it at school. Nothing like a bit of moral support eh?

We also worked on our 'core' and did a lot of muscle work to strengthen (or in my case, just find!) the muscles across our abdomen, which are rather weak after having kids.

The weekend was good. On Friday night me, my husband and kids walked down to the fish and chip shop and bought our tea. I had grilled fish and a garden salad and we took our takeaway and a bottle of wine down to a patch of grass over looking the coast. We live in Mapleton so the view down to Maroochydore is spectacular at night with all the lights on. At 6.30 precisely, sitting on our picnic rug and sipping a glass, we watched a huge orange moon come up out of the ocean and it was beautiful.

Saturday I made chocolate brownies with my daughter. She licked the bowl, wooden spoon and cleared up the crumbs in the baking tin and I didn't want to eat anything. On Sunday we went to Caloundra and went rock pooling. I found a handful of cowries and after lunch (chicken salad!) at a lovely café we explored a little more then headed home having caught some sun and chilled a bit! I even fed brownie crumbs to some ants and delighted in watching them struggle to carry huge bits back to their nests rather than eating it myself.

Monday was back to class and this time it was only me who turned up. Sasha, Bianca's sister put me through my hour of training, ending up with her helping me to stretch my calves and thigh muscles and realising they are not very supple. So I am to work on them this week, doing stretches for example, while watching tv or in the mornings. Although I have felt a lot more energised most of the times, but still have fat and blobby depressed moments. After training on Monday, even though I had a really good session, I felt bloated and saw myself in a mirror and was surprised by my shape. My 6 year old daughter then told me I looked like I was going to have a baby. Thanks a bunch. I am also disheartened when I stand on the scales. After three weeks of working hard and eating healthily, cutting out carbs and upping the protein, I thought I would have lost more weight.

So this morning I found on a website, this encouraging text

"The number one reason most people exercise is to lose weight. People think that exercise will automatically make them lose pounds on the scale as well as inches on the measuring tape. However, as fat cells get smaller from all the calories being burned in exercise, muscle cells respond by getting stronger and heavier. That's how a flabby body turns into a firm one. If you don't realize that this change in body composition is taking place, it can be very discouraging to see the scale hardly budge or even climb a few pounds. There are people who are so obsessed with the scales because this is the only way they know how to evaluate their weight loss progress that losing inches or even a clothes size or two is not enough to convince them that they are successful. This is too bad because no one walks around with a sign on their forehead announcing to the entire world what they weigh. If you are one of these people, please try and change this attitude because you will only get depressed over nothing. In fact, you should celebrate your new body composition!"

So after reading that, I will try to get out of the habit of standing on the scales each morning, then again after I have done a wee, and again after a poo and embrace the fact that I am doing something to change my body shape and fitness levels and it isn't solely about what the scales say. I was 82 kgs when I started and I will weigh myself at the end. Perhaps I should put my scales away until then......

I am being measured tomorrow too so these measurements should be different to my first day after 4 weeks. This I am sure will give me the encouragement and results which I am looking for. I will post my results when I know! Wish me luck!!