Sunshine-y day!

It's a beautiful day here today. I can't wait for the weather to start warming up, especially since I'll have a whole new wardrobe by summer! I'm only buying very inexpensive items, and even then, not many things. Just to get me through until I get to my goal, and I can buy a permanent wardrobe! Luckily (is one way to look at it) I've been various sizes over the years, so I do have a few smaller sized clothes already. I'm on this program for life now, so I know that I'll never need the bigger clothes again, so as I reach a smaller size, I'm throwing out ALL the fat clothes. I've kept them in the past, but now, if my clothes start to get tight, it's not going to be as easy as reaching into the back of the cupboard for the bigger size. NO! If they get tight, I need to get off my arse and do something about it, or face the humiliation of going out and buying a bigger size.

Did another massive session in the gym today. Feels amazing. Did 10mins bike, 15 mins x-trainer, then did Body Step for an hour. Sweated up a treat in there, it was a great workout. Then, since I didn't really have anywhere to be, I jumped back on the x-trainer for another 15 mins. Look at me! I'm an exercise junkie! Who knew??

In other news, I'm very thankful for good friends. I wasn't involved in, but was supporting someone who was, some ridiculous nastiness this week. From grown women (mothers!) who should know better. Life's too short for this sort of crap. I don't know how some people sleep at night, but that's their cross to bare. I know I sleep well, especially comfortable in the knowledge that I make an effort to banish troublemakers and drama queens from my life.

Have a great day!

Yay for eating clean!

Woo Hoo! Even though I only got to the gym 2 days last week, I kept my eating squeaky clean and I lost 1.2kg this week. That brings my total to 14.5kg.

I was fitting into the occasional size 14, but now if you throw anything 14 at me it fits and even may be a bit loose! I've gone down a bra size too! Very happy to drop some poundage from the cans.

In even more exciting news, my back is almost better and I've been putting in some great gym sessions since Monday. I am very excited to report that a few weeks ago, I got on the X-trainer for the first time and only managed 2.5mins before I was done. In my defence, I had just put in 1.5hours of cardio work on the bikes and treadmill. Today, after 15 mins on the bike, I got on the X-trainer again and it was hurting, but I got into the zone and was up to 15 mins with my HR over 170, and I only got off because it was time for my class to start. Jesus. The class is another story of blood, sweat and tears. I was the only "new girl" and the instructor gave me permission to have a rest now and then, but that made me all the more determined not to. I even did ALL the jumping jacks while I saw others were taking the low impact option!! I left there, totally spent, having burnt over 900cals, feeling very proud of myself.

I read an article in the Women's Weekly today, about Michelle Bridges. I got a bit teary, actually. I can honestly credit Mish with changing my life. I have self esteem again, I feel like I'm 30 again, I am feeling so strong and fit. And I owe it all to her. Of course, I've done the hard yards and made the changes, but she's the one who has given me the tools to do this. I will sing her programs praises forever now. I am a huge advocate of the "whole shebang" approach. I've tried diet by itself, I've tried exercise by itself. The thing that appealed to me about her program was that it combined diet, exercise, and mindset sorting. I still go back and listen to her podcasts and mindset lessons if I'm feeling a bit blah. It makes so much sense and it just works.

I have to write it all here as it's sort a like a diary. I can't talk to too many people, outside the 12wbt forum, about this as it comes off all preachy and cult-like. I love the program, it's working for me, and I am so freakin' happy!

Hey, hey, I'm back so soon!

Look at me! Two posts in one week! Unfortunately I may be blogging more and exercising less for a day or so. I hurt my fricken back again, and it's spasming all the way down my legs. So, I'm bed/couch bound for a day or so. Ugh...

In brighter news, I lost another 1kg this week, so my total climbs to 13.3kg. Mish assures me that if I keep eating clean, I'll still lose weight without the exercise, so let's hope so!

Been a while!

God I'm slack at blogging! Never mind, I'm here now.

Total weight loss tally currently sits at 12.3kg, but it's weigh in day on Wednesday, so I'm hoping to bring it closer to 14kg.

I am loving this program, and loving the changes that it's bringing about. Not just the physical changes, but the mindset changes, and the self esteem changes. I definitely wanted to "lose weight" but I didn't expect to enjoy exercise as much as I am, or to be so thrilled by how fit and strong I'm becoming.

I've started attending classes at the gym, and I am fast becoming addicted to them. My good friend, Neroli, and I were both hesitant to do a class, as we were too intimidated. Once we admitted that to each other, we declared that we'd do them together. So, we're currently working our way through the class timetable, trying them all. She's a skinny little thing, so is only interested in a couple of classes each week, whereas, I'm at the gym 6 days of the week! I love the fact that tonight, we took on a Step class aimed at "intermediate to advanced" and we rocked it. Around us, people were stopping, having a rest, doing the low impact options, and we just powered through it! I used to be the one having a rest!! Massive milestone for me!

I also didn't realise how much I'd love weight training. I love feeling strong, feeling my my muscles get more defined, and gradually increasing the weights at the gym.

And finally, I signed up for a 10km Fun Run. OMFG! I used to declare, loudly, that the words "fun" and "run" shouldn't be used in the same sentence! However, I know that running is one of the best forms of exercise. You get the most bang for your buck, so to speak. So, I'm trying to get better at it. I felt that I needed a goal to work towards. Perhaps 5km may have been a safer bet, but I caved in the face of peer pressure and JFDI. I'm so excited. I don't care about finishing times etc, I just want to finish. If I have to walk some of the way, I don't care. I have 15 weeks to get my shit together, so it's absolutely do-able.

Oh, and I should mention that I had to dress up to go to the theatre on Sat night. Before 12wbt, the thought of getting dressed up sent me into meltdown, as I was confronted with how big I was, and how few clothing choices I had. On Sat night, I had few choices again, but for a different reason. I've been purging all my fat clothes, and I don't want to buy too much until I reach my goal. However, I bought a size 14 tight black skirt a couple of years ago, when I was doing Bootcamp. It didn't quite fit me at the time, but it was on sale, and I aimed to get into it. I never did... On Sat night, I grabbed it out of the wardrobe, and hello, it fit like a glove! Love, love, love this program!

WTF!

I now sound like I've joined a cult, and my mantra is "Mish says...x", "Michelle reckons...x". I need to shut my mouth and zip it. Sure, I have a new mindset that makes perfect sense, and I know I'll never go back to where I was, but, Jesus, I sound like a freak...

If I am coming on, all over the top, please feel free to tell me to STFU!

OMG!

I did it! I was trying to lose 2.1kg this week to take me to the magical 10kg loss. Those hard yards at the gym, and my discipline have paid off. 2.4kg lost this week!! That brings my total to 10.3kg gone for good!

I am ridiculously proud of myself, and feel amazing knowing that I now have the tools, the knowledge, and the drive to keep this weight off forever.

I don't exercise when I do night shifts, as I just know that I'm not going to feel like it. There's no point expecting that I will, because I just know that when I wake up I feel like I've been hit by a truck, and why set myself up for disappointment? I just make sure that I do the hard yards in the gym on the 5 days per week that I do get there. I'm planning to alternate a weekend of night shifts with a weekend of late shifts, so the impact of nights on my life is reduced. I find myself craving my gym time, and wonder who the hell is this girl??!!

I don't know if I posted this here, so excuse me if I did, I think I posted in the 12 wbt forum... Last week, I wandered through Target and on a whim, I picked out an entire outfit (jeans, shirt and jacket) in a size 14. I'd been a size 16, with the occasional need for an 18 (cringe) prior to starting this. I thought that I'd just buy this ensemble, and aim to fit into it in a few weeks time. When I got home, I couldn't help but try it on. OMG! It fit like a glove. I had thought that I'd buy a size 14 dress to wear to the finale party in Brisbane, but at this rate, I'll be fitting into a 12! Way better than sex, chocolate, fries or wine!! On the same note, the scrubs that I've been wearing to work were an XL. They got way too baggy, so I dragged out the L that fit me way back when I was doing Bootcamp regularly. Now these are too baggy, so I've ordered a Medium set. How cool is that???

Another Wednesday...

...another 1.6kg gone. Yay for me! The only thing that annoys me is that this takes my tally to 7.9kg (since May 23rd), and 8kg would have been such a nice round number!! Never mind. My goal is to lose 2.1kg next week, to get to the magical 10kg. To do this, I'm going to make sure that my gym sessions eat up 700cal +, and I'll cut out snacks.

I am loving this. I am ever so much looking forward to the finale party and training session in Brisbane.

I want to acknowledge the love and support I've been getting from my family, (not to mention my lone blog reader!!). It'd be a tough gig to be trying to do this without any support or encouragement. Steve has been amazing. He just keeps on surprising me!