Wow, it's December!

My poor neglected blog...  I promise to get back into blogging.  I have 6 weeks annual leave from work just as soon as I finish the 3 nights I'm about to embark upon.  During that time, I'll keep you updated on my activities!

I need to fill in some space for you.  Last time I blogged, it was November!  I am at my goal weight, with a healthy BMI!!  Round 3 finished a couple of weeks ago, and last weekend we had the Group Workout and Finale party.  OMG, what a magical weekend it was!  I went to Sydney with a very special chick, who has been a part of my life for over 20 years now.  We have shared a lot of stuff, most relevant to this journey, we got fat together, and now we've lost it together too!  

In other exciting news, we both got a tattoo in Sydney!  We had initially planned on it, but then didn't think we'd have enough time.  As fate would have it, on the Friday after we landed, we wandered up the road to a wine bar (as you do!) and when we looked across the road, we saw the very Tattoo shop that we'd spoken about.  Fast forward 24 hours, after an exhilarating Group workout, we were there!

This is the end result...  I love it so much.  Mine is self explanatory, and my BFF's is the Libran symbol, which is all about balance.

I am tossing up whether to sign up for Round 1 2012.  If I do it, I'll be doing either Lean and Fit, or Lean and Strong.  I'm leaning towards L&S, as my knee is injured, and the idea of less cardio is appealing.  I'll make up my mind in the next few days, and if I commit to L&S, I'll lose another few kg over the "off season" so that my transformation into a "ripped machine" is more defined!

I'll leave you with a pic that we took with Mish.  We walked into the venue and saw Mish standing pretty much alone, so we wandered over, and I showed her my tattoo.   She said, "Holy shit, is that real?"  I assured her it was, and she touched it.  Then she let out a big breath and said, quietly, "Fuuuuuck".  Made me LOL.   And then we got this pic.  I love it!

Oooh, I forgot to add...

That my wedding and engagement rings fit me again!  I refused to get them resized, once I got too fat to wear them.   A few weeks ago, I tried them, and they fit but felt super tight.  A week ago, I put them on, and Hello!  They fit!  The Hubmeister reckons that this means that we are newlyweds again, and thus, we need to book in some newlywed action at every available opportunity!  I love that he now ogles me like he did when we were 20-somethings.  How exciting, to have found a new spark in a nearly 15 year old marriage!!

It's been a while!

Wow... my poor old blog!  I've neglected you, big time!  A lot has been happening, some good, some bad, some totally fricken awesome!

I did the 10km Fun Run!  I ran the whole way, and completed it with a very mediocre time, but it doesn't matter!  I felt 10 feet tall, and bulletproof as I crossed the finish line.  Very addictive stuff!  I have to share that, as I turned the corner and came into the home straight, with the finish line in sight, my iPod (which was on Shuffle) started playing Lady Gaga's "Edge of Glory" which has always been a very inspiring song for me.  I ran that last little bit with tears streaming down my face as I thought of everyone who had helped me to get this far.  People cheered as I crossed the line, and one sweet stranger came up and high-fived me, and I knew I'd startle her if I turned around and hugged her, but that's what I felt like doing.  At many points during the run, I thought about stopping to walk for a while.  Especially, when some moron volunteer announced that I'd just passed the halfway point (and I was soooo sure I was closer to finishing than that!).  Whenever I thought about walking, I imagined Mish was beside me, telling me that I could slow to a shuffle, but I was not to stop, under any circumstances.  I also thought of all the beautiful members of my support crew, who have encouraged me along the way.  A comment here and there, an email, my amazing hubby who has allowed me to take all the time I need to get to this point, etc.  My middle son, did the 5km run, so we bonded over the run, got to share the emotion and all the hype!  Not to mention the training that we did together.  Well, sort of together... he's pretty fast, so I chose to run around the lake with him, so that he could dash off ahead and I could still keep an eye on him!

The race was on Sunday, and on Tuesday I went to see a physio about some knee pain that had been bothering me for months.  As a nurse, I usually go in with "worst case scenario" in my head.  This time, I thought it was minor.  He informed me that he thinks it's a meniscal tear, which could require surgery, and 6 weeks of rest.  OMG!  I'm not convinced, and am waiting on an MRI to either confirm or deny.  I'm just having to be creative with my training in the meantime.

My weight loss has slowed a bit, and I'm sure that this comes from getting uber close to goal, and I've allowed a few treats to sneak in here and there.  I still have my eyes on the prize, and nothing will stop me from getting there, but I'm happy to just cruise into goal now, as I'm super happy with my weight and the way I look.

The next step is the INK.  OMG!  I hate tattoos.  As a nurse, I've seen a lot of them, and most of them are pretty fricken ridiculous.  The most freaky one was when we were wrapping up someone who had died, and he had a date tattooed on his ankle.  The date was exactly 30 years prior to the date of his death.  <insert spooky music>  However, I want and need a permanent reminder of what I did to myself to get obese, and what I did to earn it all back again.  Something permanent to remind me that I'm never going back there, and that I'm so proud of myself for regaining control.  Stay tuned!  I'll share a pic when it's done.  My BFF, who has walked many a mile in my shoes, both the heavy and the HOT, is going to share the whole inking thing with me, and I can't wait!!

The last 5kg!

I'm finally there!  I have less than 5kg to go until my goal weight.  4.8kg to be exact.  It's so close now!!   I lost 2.4kg this week, but a good deal of that is probably due to the gastro that I had yesterday.  Ugh, it wasn't fun.  Two of my kids have had it this week, so I should have expected it.  I don't usually pick up gastro though, and I reckon I've only had two bouts of it as an adult.  Yesterday's was a ripper.  The kind where you lie motionless because as soon as you move, the room spins, your bowel cramps and your stomach starts to heave.  I had a few hours around dinner time where I thought I was on the mend, but as I lay on the couch to watch Rafters, it all came rushing back.  Vomiting violently whilst sitting on the loo is NO fun!  Anyway, it meant that the scales were very kind to me today.  I'll just have to work hard this week to make sure that next weigh in isn't disappointing.  LOL

I had a huge milestone achievement this week.  I bought some gorgeous bathers online, which is always risky.  When they got here, I tried them on and not only did they fit perfectly, they are very flattering and I would actually feel very confident wearing them in public, with no need for board shorts or any "disguises"!  I bought a cute little "cover up" thingy to wear over them to and from the pool/beach, and all in all, I'm thrilled with them.  Usually wearing bathers is an exercise in self-loathing.  Not anymore!

PB!

Tonight i ran for 8km on the treadmill!  I never thought I could run 200 metres, let alone 8km!  I just love it, and my body is adapting, the clever thing!  I used to be really sore after a long run, but this past week?  Nothing!  I think my body is expecting it.  I've asked a lot from it in the past few months.  I'm like, "Yeah, I know I've sat you on the couch for the past 12 years, and I've fed you whatever we felt like, and never got above a slow walk, but, hey, how about we NOW get moving again and I'm gonna deny you anything that you're craving".  My body has risen to the challenge, and I'm so proud of it!

I'm going to slowly up the distance, as I head into my Fun Run season.  I have the Bendigo Bank 10km at  the end of Oct, the City to Sea in Nov, and I'm doing a 6km run in January.  I can't describe the way I feel when I run.  I think it's just that I've always aspired to be a "runner".  I love the lean, fit physique that runners have, as well as the awesome feeling that it must be to know that your body is capable of covering such distance.

I'm keen to weigh in on Wednesday.  I've lost 5kg thus far into my second round of 12wbt.  I'd lost more at this point last round, but I realise that it gets harder to lose it, as you get fitter and closer to your goal.  My goal is at the upper end of my healthy BMI.  I could probably lose more past this point, but if it happens, it happens.  I'm not gonna get stupid about it.  I already feel amazing, but don't want to use that as an excuse.

I'm gonna do 50 laps of the pool tomorrow.  My hubby told me tonight that his PB was 60 laps.  Of course, I aim to beat that, in a few weeks!  I used to swim all the time before I had kids, and I loved it.  My gorgeous daughter has been churning up the laps with me, over the school holidays.  I hope that, when she's old enough, we'll be going to the gym together.

Yay!

I mentioned a plateau-buster in my last post.  Woo Hoo.  2.1kg gone this week.  I knew it!  I was feeling very trim, very bony etc.  I am loving my time at the gym, and when people mention that it's not "sustainable" I have to question why they say that.  Some days I'm only there for an hour, other days I'm there for 4 hours.   I only work two days per week, and my kids are all at school.  I have time on my hands, so what else would I be doing.  Housework?  Overrated!  Making cards?  Haven't done that since May, don't miss it.  I find that if I put the effort in when I have the time, I'm a much nicer, happier, fitter person when I'm  not there!

I need to vent about my MIL.  She seems to be my biggest saboteur.  I know she'd be horrified to hear that, but it's true.  When I'd lost 8kg, with 27kg+ to go, she was telling me to stop!  A few days ago, she was coming around to pick up my kids for an sleepover.  She's wonderful to me, in so many ways, and yet....  I answered the door in my gym gear, as I was going there as soon as the kids were picked up.  Her reaction.  She laughed hysterically.  And laughed and laughed and laughed.  She said, "Sorry, but you're looking too 'sporty'".  I didn't respond (as I was pissed off) and she admitted that it made her feel bad to see me looking so fit, she felt bad that she wasn't.  Finally!  She admitted what I suspected all along.  Don't bother to project you issues onto me, I'm finally dealing with my own issues, and I'm doing quite nicely, thank you!

Summer is looming...

...bring it! I used to hate summer. Combine baring rolls of flab with horrid chafing = nightmare for the fat girl. This year, I'm craving some warm weather. I now feel the cold, I have a body that I'm happy to bare, and I hope that my chafing thighs are a thing of the past. I have yet to test this theory, so stay tuned! I had a very small loss last week, and was feeling crap. However, this week I have fitted into previously too tight clothing, and have had a lot of "have you lost more weight?" comments. I'm hoping that my mega exercise regime has finally smashed this plateau in the arse. I soo love my hubby. He told me that it's like he's having an affair, with a hot new chick. However, his "smokin ' new date" is his wife of nearly 15 years! Last night I was cutting some moves on the dance floor, while he watched. Later, he told me that I have "awesome back muscles". I never thought to look there! Last time I looked, I had back fat, so I'm very pleased. I love my new life. Honestly, nothing tastes as good as "fit" feels. Stuff skinny, I just wanna be lean and fit.