Thursday, September 23, 2010

Day 3 - Happy Birthday too Me!

So here it is! The day I turn 34. Now how to celebrate? All the kidlets are at school, Matilda is at daycare, hubby is at work....its just another day in my household! Have had to deal with some issues but working through it & hope it resolves soon.

So onto my day!

Had to eat mighty clean all day (which surprisingly I did!) my special treat was the yummiest piece of carrot cake from our local bakers with a skim hot choc! Oh divine!

Still cant have this without burning the cals right! So walked 3km in morning & another close to 3km in the arvo! Not sure on calorie burn as didnt have HRM on BUT I did work up a huge sweat ;)

Have exercised everyday this week & hope to keep it up! What we start we must finish!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Days 1 & 2 - This is it!

Day 1 - So I was awoken several times throughout the night with a sick bubba. She has a blocked nose & an annoying cough poor little thing! Day started at 5am when alarm went off for hubby for work. I didnt mind since real estate was coming out to do house inspection as they do every 6 months. Speaking of house inspection, I have spent the last 4 days scrubbing, wiping, cleaning & also catching up on washing since the weather has been craptacular. So glad we have some glorious weather!

So getting back to it all, day started early. Had myself a yummo bowl of porridge for breakkie & washed it down with a cup of green tea. Ready to face the day now! Anyhow got it all done & inspection went so well that it was a less than 5 min visit of walk in say yep all good & they walked out!! 4 days of scrubbing, cleaning, washing etc & they didnt even look! Ah well now I get to enjoy a VERY clean house & what better way to start of my next round of 12WBT than without mess.

I had gym class at6pm & it was the first class without our PT! It was actually quite fun & was more a group of girls out for an arvo run/workout. We did some laps of the AFL oval, some sprints then finished it all off with some ab work. All up it was a 953 cal workout sesh so I am happy with that.

Ate clean all day other than the couple of bikkies that slipped in but still under cal count so not all a disaster. Still have to stop that munching though! Have to also work on getting to bed at a decent hour!

Day 2 - Once again woken by the alarm at 5am but didnt get up this time. So glad I have older kids as they got themselves off to school & Tilly slept through until 9.30 as did I *gasp* Havent been feeling the best over the last few day & think I may be coming down with what Tilly has. Trying to soldier on though & obviously must have needed the sleep too! I even laid down on the lounge today whilst Tilly slept & had another 2hour sleep then! Once up though I had to get the brain & body in the right mood to JFDI & get out the door.

I got myself into workout gear.....half way there so thats good right! WRONG! It still took me another hour of arguing with my inner teenager of how far I would walk or how long or how many cals burnt to aim for before I looked at the time, realised how late it was & finally got out the door! I managed to do 3km pushing Tilly in the pram uphill & down & burnt 400 cals so it didnt turn out a total loss. Tilly loved it too so as long as weather holds out I think ill make that a daily thing.

Been good with food but still slack with water so have to work on that area.

Its my Birthday tomorrow so red flag day for me! No cake but will be sure to get myself a nice big bowl of strawberries, banana & yoghurt ;) Who would have thought it would take me 34 years to realise how unhealthy my life has been! Well I am just so happy that I have found that healthy & exercise is good for the mind, body & soul. Better late than never! Happy 34th to me for tomorrow :)

Cath xoxo

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Alright whats the go here? Where has my positivity gone?

Had a bit of a breakdown today when thinking about all that I hadnt achieved over the last 12 weeks. Have been listening to so many talk about doing City to surf or some other fun run or even a 7hr boot camp. It got me thinking

"WHAT DID I DO THAT MADE ME STAND OUT?"

Answer to that is nothing. I did absolutly nothing that made me stand out in the crowd. I did plenty that I am proud of myself such as being able to run my whole 1km, doing my own triathalon, getting on the cross trainer & pushing out 14km to match up with the city to surf peeps BUT it was nothing it contrast to what many other 12WBT participants did.

Why am I questioning my achievements? I should be happy with how far I have come right? Well why am I so down about not achieving higher? I missed our local fun run which is a 9km run from Lake to Lagoon as it was held on Sunday & I was travelling home from Sydney. It was a tough choice for me to make to give up as it is something my whole gym class entered.....every one of them but not me.

It is easy for people to say, just enter these runs etc next year but it all takes money! Money that we dont currently have. I could do my own run of course, but where is the fun in doing it on my own. No sense of fun nor achievement. Just boredom & no support to finish.

So that brings me to now. I have to be happy with where I am now. I have to be happy that I am being the best I can be. I have to be happy that I may only have 5-6kg to lose & there is no prizes to be gained from this program other than self satisfaction. I am thinking that I should have not wasted money on doing round 3 since I will admit I am a competitive person & knowing that I am always at the low end of the scale should make me happy but in the same token I feel so disappointed when my losses are so tiny. I am feeling that I am just wasting the time of Michelle, of Amelia, of the 12WBT team/family. I has such a wonderful weekend yet now I seem to have hit rock bottom & feeling lower than ever. I am not worthy of the praise & compliments that I have gotten since I have done nothing to deserve them.

So why am I feeling like this? Why cant I just get on with it, get the job done & applaud those that do have the weight to lose? I have met some pretty amazing people over the weekend & I do hope to form lifelong friendships with them but & there is always a but isnt there....lol. But I can never achieve the highs that alot of these fabulous people have already achieved or will achieve. I have to be happy with me & I have to be happy for who I am. I need to be able to take a compliment & I need to believe the person who is giving me said compliment actually means it & is not just saying it to be nice.

Must find that positive Cath that has been around since Sydney. She has disappeared & has left the old Cath that is doubtful & always questioning herself. If you see her please send her back as I am currently feeling very worn down & tired. I also think once this house inspection is over on Monday, perhaps I will start to feel a bit better! I will be 34 on the 22nd & want to be the happy person that has been here since Friday! Even looking through pics of the weekend are upsetting as here I was thinking that I have 5kg to go when really its prolly alot more since my hips/thighs are just ginormous! I am still the frumpy person I was last round albeit in smaller sized clothes!

All the excitement of Round 2 is over & the reality of round 3 is setting in. I failed not just myself but I broke my promise I made to Michelle in the final 4 weeks. Even Mish was disappointed in me then & I felt that when the raw truth of me not putting in 100% was told. I am so worried that I am going to fail again even though I dont want it to happen!

Until tomorrow, eat clean & train hard!

Cath xoxo

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Pre Season Task 6 - Kitchen Makeover

I am proud to say that I went to clean out my cupboards but only the essentials were in there anyhow! There was no junk food, no chips, no soft drink & not even a bottle of cordial since we now have ourselves a fancy water cooler!

Looks like when going to the shop I am going to take close to exact money so that the junk food isnt got as a spur of the moment thing ever again since that is how the junk gets in here now!

My bench always has a bowl of fresh fruit on it rather than packst of bikkies etc.

I have obviously learnt something from round 2 but need to stop the shopping snack trips!

Preseason Task 5 - Say it out Loud!

“My commitment is to get through round 3 without falling off the wagon as often as I did in round 2! I plan to get there with the support of my family, my 12WBT family & also Michelle and Amelia. I promise there will be NO KFC incidents & that chocolate will NOT be my friend. I am committed to do the work to get me there”.

This is our virtual handshake. *I put my hand out now & do the virtual handshake with you*

Pre Season Task 4 - Gear Up

Well this was a soul searching one for me last round since we struggle a little with money & therefore there wasnt much left over to purchase all the fancy stuff needed to get through BUT we did manage to get me some good runners & also a HRM! All my clothes are just specials from Target or Kmart but hey they do the job! I am hoping to one day deck myself out in some decent brand label gym gear but I have found that it isnt something that should stop me from exercising! Thanx to a lovely round 2 person I now own an adidas tank top so yay loving it & just in time for summer!!

I plan to do my workout jsut like last round. 3 times a week at the gym & the rest ill go with the flow & either utilise the outdoor program or do a dvd. My PT is actually heading overseas for 5 weeks (was suppose to be 5yrs but he changed his mind and will only go for summer camps). He is leaving our class (there are 5-6 of us) a few full class routines so that we can keep up the work whilst he is gone. There cant be any slackening off since he has warned us that he will be back & we had better be prepared to be smashed….lol.

I plan to utilse everyday this round to do something. I became complacent throughout round 2 since in my circuit class I was burning over 1000 cals a class 3 times per week. I did manage a couple of weeks of 1000 cals per day but didnt stick with it for long. I am hoping to smash up this next 12 weeks!! I have to before the 45+ degree heat kicks in here.

Pre Season Task 3 - Set Your Goals

My 1 month Goals!

* I will be running at least 1.5km non stop
* I will be able to do 10 pushups on my toes!
* I will continue to keep with my healthy eating plan
* I will continue to follow Michelle's instruction
* I will continue to attend the gym 3 times a week
* I will continue to do at least 20km on the cross trainer (on off gym days!)
* I will continue to drink 2 litres of water
* I will have lost at least 1.6kg

My 3mth Goals!

* I will be running at least 5km non stop
* I will be able to do 30 pushups on my toes!
* I will continue to keep with my healthy eating plan
* I will continue to follow Michelle's instruction
* I will continue to attend the gym 3 times a week
* I will continue to do at least 25km on the cross trainer (on off gym days!)
* I will continue to drink 2 litres of water
* I will have lost at least 6kg & be at my goal weight of 65kg!

My 6mth Goals!


* I will be running at least 8km non stop
* I will be able to do 40 pushups on my toes!
* I will continue to keep with my healthy eating plan
* I will continue to follow Michelle's instruction
* I will continue to attend the gym 3 times a week
* I will continue to do at least 25km on the cross trainer (on off gym days!)
* I will continue to drink 2 litres of water
* I will have be maintaining my weight of around 65kg!

My 12mth Goals

* I will continue to attend gym 3 times a week
* I will be running at least 10km non stop
* I will be able to do 50 pushups
* I will be able to do 50 burpees in succession without stopping
* I will be able to do 50 crunches with no break
* I will be able to do 100 situps with no break
* I will continue to keep with my healthy eating plan
* I will continue to follow Michelles plan even though 12WBT is finished
* I will be able to do at least 40km on the cross trainer
* I will continue to drink 2 litres of water at least every day
* I will have been maintaining my weight and be weighing in at around 60-65kg!
* I will be fit, healthy and I WILL LOOK AMAZING!

Pre Season Task 2 - Get Real No More Excuses!

Excuses? What are they again?

Oh yes the things we try to tell ourself when we dont want to do something!

Internal Excuses
No motivation
Too tired
Dont feel like it
I cant keep up
I will fail before I even start
I just dont want to do it anymore!

External Excuses (within control)
Too busy
Its too wet and cold
Had a tough day with the toddler
PT is away so no reason to head to gym
Dont want to walk/exercise alone

External Excuses (outside my control)
Sick kidlets! Although I had my fair share of hospital visits in round two & other than one incident I was prepared for the next trip when my toddler fell ill.

The above are just Excuses. They are the BS we tell ourselves to make us feel better about why we dont want to do something. Starting tomorrow isnt good enough as you shouldnt have fell off today! This is round 3 & since I am not a newbie to the world of 12WBT I think my excuses have all but run out


wink
Cath xoxo

Pre Season Task 1 - Introduce yourself!

Well here we go again but its all good for the mind to keep on track :)

Hi all,

I am Cath from country NSW! I am a stay at home mum & housewife. For those that have done round 2 with me, they will know that my journey has not only been about weight loss but also a journey of finding myself. I also have come to realise that this is my personal journey & that just cause everyone else is losing large amounts, that does not mean that I should be depressed if my amounts are small.

During round 3 I am aiming to lose those final kilos which is somewhere around the 5kg mark! I never would have thought 12 weeks ago that I could say I only have 5kg to lose!!! WooHoo!!

For me the 12WBT has not only helped me eat better, but also my family is eating better! One of my teen daughters actually commented the other day at how much healthier she is feeling & the energy she now has!. Without this program I would still be lost in my black hole that I had been in for so long. Michelle & Amelia have both helped me realise that I am worth it BUT only I can lose this weight. This is something only I can do. No-one can lose this weight for me!

April 28th 2010 was the day I quit smoking cold turkey! Who would have thought that 5mth later I would still be a non smoker, not even craving for the nicodemon anymore & I am now running (although a little injured atm). I go to the gym 3 times a week & the rest of the time I am full time mummying/wifeing to my hubby & 4 kidlets (16,14,11,2). I am turning 34 on 22nd September & I know that this birthday will be one of many to come now I have made the healthy choice to get my life on the track it should be!

Sending Great big hugs to all those who are part of my round 2 family and are her for round 3 and sending more hugs to those new peeps starting the transformation journey & are due to become part of my family!

Mwah! xoxo

The finish line!!

Well alas all good things must come to an end and that is what has happened to round 2 of the 12WBT! After 12 weeks of smashing it up & eating well, the finish line has been crossed!

Have enjoyed the most amazing weekend in Sydney which could have only been made better should my hubby have been able to come. So here is how my whole weekend panned out!

After leaveing Junee at around 8.30 Friday morning, we finally arrived at Novotel Darling Harbour to check in at 2pm!! Was texted by Jo at 3.30 to say that the 12WBT crew were downstairs! Nerves set in  I as like hmmm do I hide in my room or do I JFDI & get out the door. One thing this program has taught me is not to be scared or nervous & to just do it. Dont think about things too much as your mind will always over think the situation. My first challenge was here & it was time to face it.......meeting people!



I am so glad I went down there as I ended up having a fabulous afternoon with some truely amazing people! Mind you, I did have my can of confidence which helped immensely. Next hurdle was to go to dinner & meet even more people! A big thank you to Amiee & Jess for pretty much not letting me even think of not going! Heck they even chauffeured me there. I will never forget 3 laps of the city then turn left to get to destination....haha. Dinner was great but I headed off for an early night & once again Jess & Amiee were kind enough to chauffeur me back to my motel. Much sleep was to be had now as big day coming up!

Saturday - D-Day has arrived! Got all dressed & ready to go, visited the markets for a while & met up with an amazing lady whom I hope to have as a friend for a long time! Suzanne & I walked to training & had a great chat about many things including how I have known her sister on another forum for close to 3 years!! amazing!



First up was the training sesh! After a quick warm up it was 1km time trials! I put myself into the intermediate group. I ran my time the fastest ever 5mins 15secs!! I think I have a new goal of getting in at sub 5 now ;) Training sesh was set into 3 groups, strength, running tips & cardio! All 3 trainers worked us hard! I knew that I would be sore in the days to come but I didnt care as this pain is GOOD pain!!



Finally hurdle of the weekend was going to dinner in a dress & heels! I dont wear dresses or heels so this was my final step. I had got through everything else so once again I JFDI & got out the door. The night was amazing & I got to chat with some truely inspirational people as well as made some new friends that will hopefully be for life!

The winner of 12WBT Round 2 - Bev!


No prizes were won by myself but honestly who needs a prize when you have your life back? I am living, breathing & enjoying it so much right now. I have an amazing family who love me, I have a massive group of amazing friends who all take me for who I am & most of all I have learnt so much in the last 12 weeks that is just a prize within itself.

12WBT for me changed my life & it changed my families life. I am now so ready for round 3 as well as dare I say it possibly preparing for next years City to Surf ;) Shhhh its a secret though that my hubby told me I should do but who knows!

Mwah to Mish, Amelia, all the Ambassadors & the 12WBT behind the scenes crew. You are all so wonderful & amazing. From me, I thank you so much! Mwah! xoxo

Cant believe I took such a good shot after so many champagnes! #proud


So here I am signing off from round 2 & getting ready to start posting my round 3 blog! I will keep it all on this one since Time to Lose it For Good is what I am planning to do! 20th September is the starting line & I am ready to face this challenge head on once again!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Final Week & Weigh In!

SW: 74.4kg
CW: 70.4kg
WLTW: 200g
WIW1: 73.8kg
WIW2: 73.7kg
WIW3: 73.3kg
WIW4: 72.8kg
WIW5: 72.2kg
WIW6: 72.0kg
WIW7: 71.8kg
WIW8: 71.3kg
WIW9: 70.8kg
WIW10: 71.3kg
WIW11: 70.6kg

GW1 - 73.4kg ACHIEVED 08/07/10
GW2 - 72.5kg ACHIEVED 21/07/10
GW3 - 71.5kg ACHIEVED 11/08/10

GW4 - 70kg
GW5 - 68kg
10%GW - 67kg
EGW - 65kg

Chest: W1: 88cm Wk4: 87cm Week 8: 85cm NOW: 83cm (-5cm)
Waist: W1: 88cm Wk4: 85cm Week 8: 80cm NOW: 78cm (-10cm)
Hips: W1: 95.5cm Wk4: 95cm Week 8:92cm NOW: 90 (-5.5cm)
Thigh measurement distance from knee: 33cm
(R) Thigh: W1: 57 Wk4: 54cm Week 8: 53 NOW: 52.5 (-4.5cm)
(L) Thigh: W1: 58 Wk4: 54.5cm Week 8: 54cm NOW: 52 (-6cm)

BMI is also down to 25.24 & I have lost 5.4% of my weight so far

So that is my totals for the 12 weeks. Not great on the weight loss but 25cm in total loss I am happy with 5.4kg till my goal weight of 65kg! Then ill go from there.
So there you go! Thought I would add in my fitness test results as well!
1km time trial was 6 mins 44 now its 5 mins 40!
Pushups in 1 min was 12 Now its 25!

As for my goals for at the end of 3 months, lets have a look & see how it all went for me!

* I will last through a whole circuit class session without stopping - DONE
* I will be running at least 3km non stop - DONE
* I will be able to do 15 pushups - DONE
* I will be able to do 25 burpees in succession without stopping - DONE (although from about 15 they get sloppy...lol)
* I will be able to do 20 crunches properly - DONE
* I will be able to do 15 situps properly - DONE
* I will continue to keep with my healthy eating plan - DONE (but have slipped off wagon a couple of times!)
* I will continue to follow Michelles instruction - DONE (although I think I will get a boot in the backside when she sees me...haha)
* I will continue to attend circuit class 3 times a week - DONE (hoping that my PT gets replaced with someone just as amazing as he is. Cant beleive he is going overseas & staying there. He has helped me so much on this journey with getting fitter!)
* I will continue to do at least 20km on the cross trainer - DONE
* I will continue to drink 2 litres of water - DONE (I do slack off sometimes!)
* I will have lost at least 6kg and be weighing in at around 68kg! - FAILED!!! This is my failure of the round. I only weigh 70.4kg I need to kick my own ass for this!

So there it all is in black & white. Here is a quote from a post I put up on the forums this evening looking back at how far I have come now!

Last October I weighed in at 83kg. I was feeling fat, frumpy & nothing fit. I even was wearing a size 16! This was the biggest I had EVER been. Normally I am 60-65kg & in a size 10-12. I tried losing weigh myself & did manage to get down to 76kg but the weightloss stalled & thats when I discovered Mishs program! It was April this year & I decided first of all I had to stop smoking…...I did….cold turkey! I then impatiently checked my email everyday up until FINALLY we could sign up for round 2!

Now round 2 is over I can look back at what I have achieved instead of dwelling on what I havent or didnt. I had a few meltdowns & even had tears today. Tears are good though & I have learnt with every breakdown there is a breakthrough.

* I am now weighing 70.4kg
* I am still a non smoker & have no intention of taking up the habit again
* I can now run as well as run on the treadie at a speed of up to 12.4!!
* I am doing full 1hour classes instead of spending half of it on the sideline huffing & puffing
* I am making healthy choices with food & drink!
* I have gone from a size 16 to a size 12 so far!
* All in all I have become a better healthier person!

BEFORE SHOT (taken October Last year. Size 16!)


AFTER SHOT (taken last week. Size 12!)


Now to look forward to a great weekend in Sydney from Friday to Sunday! Cant wait to meet all the amazing 12WBT family who have also helped me on my journey. To Mish & Meels, you girls are amazing! Even over the internet your inspiration beams to all of us! Its those little tweets that keep us going & help achieve what I have. I may not have lost the most weight but I am proud of my achievements exercise wise! It is you ladies that helped push me to get to this stage & yes I might have done the work but it was easier knowing that you were both there as well as the 12WBT family. My family too has been wonderful. Eating all this weird & wonderful food just so that I wasnt doing this alone. Mwah to you all! xoxo

Here is to Round 3 & once again I will continue this blog on another chapter of getting to my goal weight! I hope to share with you all some pics after the weekend as I will be braving it & wearing a dress & heels!! Oh god who would have thought!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Week 11 Summary!

11 weeks have gone already & who would have thought that I would be sitting here now looking forward to the 12 week weigh in, measure up & fitness test! I remember back to week 1 when scales were evil, measuring was daunting & running....oh gosh what is that word you speak of! Now I sit here wondering what the numbers will tell me both on the scales & with the measure up & running how I love it!!!

So here are the stats all up so far! Not too bad at all & only one week during the whole program so far was a gain. I am hoping to finish off with a bang and hopefully be into the 60's. It will be a task but here is crossing fingers! I have also reached a few goal weights I have set myself along the way to keep me motivated as well.

SW: 74.4kg
CW: 70.6kg
WLTW: 700g
WIW1: 73.8kg
WIW2: 73.7kg
WIW3: 73.3kg
WIW4: 72.8kg
WIW5: 72.2kg
WIW6: 72.0kg
WIW7: 71.8kg
WIW8: 71.3kg
WIW9: 70.8kg
WIW10: 71.3kg


GW1 - 73.4kg ACHIEVED 08/07/10
GW2 - 72.5kg ACHIEVED 21/07/10
GW3 - 71.5kg ACHIEVED 11/08/10

GW4 - 70kg
GW5 - 68kg
10%GW - 67kg
EGW - 65kg

BMI is also down to 25.31 & I have lost 5.1% of my weight so far

So 700g loss on the scales this week. Made me a happy little camper since week 10's weigh in wasnt so great. I must have been good since this has to be a record for me with having no tweets from Mish ;) Miss them though as its amazing how a tweet so simple as keep it up from Mish or Meels can pick you up & keep you going strong! This is one of the many reasons I am coming back for round 3 which will start shortly!

Will do up another blog shortly but for now its adios as I have a toddler who requires mummys attention.