Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation and other things

Today I decided to sign up for the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation – I first heard of Michelle when a friend liked her page on Facebook, after visiting her site I was totally inspired! I am really looking forward to starting the journey and this is blog will be an outlet for me to measure my progress and discuss the program as well. To sign up I had to spend money we don’t really have at the moment, but this is something I think it will really help me with my weight loss, fitness etc. so it is really worth it.  I am pumped, I really am excited about it  – watch this space!

As I have mentioned before, I have started running, for the first time in my life. I have been doing it for about ten days straight and I am really starting to feel that it is getting a little bit easier. I have a good friend who does it with me, and she has been great, really pushing me in the right direction. I don’t want to let her down when she asks me is I am running tonight, so even if I don’t feel like it, I always end up going and feeling really happy I did it.

I also have been watching what I eat and staying under my calories – according to My Fitness Pal. I was quite disappointed this morning to hop on the scales and see the same number I did this time last week. This is so frustrating, especially because I have been working so hard in the last ten days. I know I shouldn’t really pay attention to what the scales says, it is just a number but it would be fantastic to see numbers going down. I have been running, eating better and generally feeling pretty good. I am going to buy myself a tape measure and measure myself, I am also hiding the scales so they are not staring at me in the bathroom, tempting me to weigh myself - I actually would love to hear from anyone in similar situations?

I have also involved people in my life who are really healthy and cheering for me on my journey, I feel like I can’t let them down and I don’t want to!

I have two goals: Be able to run 3Ks on November 10

And

Lose about 10kgs until the 17^th December – the day I am travelling to New Zealand to visit family and friends who have not seen me in over two years. I already lost 10kgs since leaving, losing another 10 would make it 20kgs! (44lbs)

Can I do it? I think I can.

Eventful Morning

Ahhhhhh fridays! I {heart} you a lot

It's a rainy day here in Perth, well more like very stormy. It's 2pm and I am proud to say today I was very impressed with myself, not in a boasting 'look I am so good' way, but today I did something for the very first time: I got up at 5am and I decided to run

It was completely unplanned, impulsive and slow - but I did it and I am so proud of myself

My son woke up crying at 4.30am, with a sore head and he was very hot. My poor baby gets really hot temperatures when he gets sick, so I got up, took care of him (medicine, water, cuddles and kisses), went back to bed and my brain would not switch off, so I tried to go back to sleep again before my alarm went off at 6am and after ten minutes I decided I was just gonna get up and go for a run. So I did it, I got up, changed, went outside and started running. The weather was perfect for it, not raining and the sun even came out. I did 20 minutes of interval running because I am still not able to run the whole time without walking in between. But I am happy with my progress as I can now run double the distance I could when I first started.

I got home around 6am, got ready for work, had to walk 15 minutes to meet up with my boss because she is being so kind to drive me to work while my car is broken. I see every opportunity to move as a great thing, so I embraced the walk with arms wide open and off I went

When I was about five metres from my boss' car, it started to rain - but I was happy, my work for the day was done already and it was only 7.30am

Now, this is a HUGE thing for me. Never in a million years I would have thought that firstly, I would decide to start running. Before this, the last time I walked was April. I have been going steady for 10 days now, going out everyday, running and walking as much as I can. Secondly, run at 5.30am? I would probably have laughed at you if you told me that I would voluntarily do this. It's a victory, a big one. The first step is always the hardest, and I have taken them. I am proud of myself for that.

I have downloaded the C25K app for my phone and I have decided that I can start to follow that program, it gives me some sort of structure instead of me just running without keeping track. I think that, menatally, I am in a good place to start.

I don't know why but I feel this time is different. For the first time I BELIEVE that I can do it - I am not trying to convince myself that I can.

Hello world

Hello world

 I have created this blog because I need a place to record my journey. A journey to a place to be fit and healthy – because I am so sick of being out of shape and awkward.

 As I take the first steps towards my happy place, the voice inside my head still tells me I can’t do it.

To be honest, I have a million excuses to justify the lack of exercise and healthy eating, like:

•  I get up too early
• I am a busy mum of three kids
• I work full time
• I get home after work and after cooking dinner, sorting the kids out, laundry etc. – I am too tired to move
• It’s too dark outside and I don’t want to go by myself
• Buying take-aways are much quicker than cooking

 The list goes on

 But the thing is, I KNOW they are excuses and I have to do something about it – If I don’t, I won’t be the only one suffering the consequences of my own lack of motivation – I see a lot of myself in my 10 year old daughter, her eating habits, sweet tooth etc. I need to change my life so I can benefit not only myself, but my kids as well. I want to set a good example for them.

 I grew up in a culture that is revolved around food – hot cooked meals for lunch and dinner. It was always about what we are going to eat for lunch or dinner, when we had guests, it was all about making sure they were well fed. I remember the first time I went overseas to the UK, how shocked I was to find out the English people didn’t cook extra food in case guests popped in! But that was just how I grew up, we never talked about healthy eating or exercising. I was always kind of chubby but I guess because I walked a lot the weight never really was that big of an issue. My mum was a big lady (who recently lost 60kgs when she had a gastric bypass) and she showed love by feeding us well.

 

So I learned those behaviours and took them into my own marriage. Three kids later and also thyroid cancer at 26, my weight went right up to 107kgs at my heaviest. That was not a good time in my life, I hated myself and the way I looked, I always felt tired. My body adjusted to not having a thyroid (I take replacement hormones every day for the rest of my life) and my weight settled around 97kgs. Still way too big for my small frame – I am only 1.63m tall (not sure what that is in inches).

I have lost weight before, never enough though, 5kgs here, 2kgs there… it always comes back, I have never had enough consistency or discipline to carry on for more than a few weeks at a time

 Anyways, back to today – or last week to be more precise

 I joined My Fitness Pal sometime in May but never really was active in it. Last week I was at breaking point and  I posted in the message boards asking advice from people – I wanted so bad to take the first step in my journey. But not just a first step again, but the first step for the last time. That also coincided with us having lunch with some good friends of ours, she is a runner. She was telling me when she started, she could not run more than a few hundred meters at a time. I was quite impressed with her determination. She then invited me to take part of a mini triathlon at her mum’s church in 7 weeks time. She said if I work hard, I can race the 3K run. At first I thought she was crazy but you know what? That thought soon went away, I saw it in a whole different light: THIS is my chance! I have something to work towards so for the first time in my life I thought that I could do it.

So I put my cheap running shoes on and went for a run. I ran as far as I could without dying and obviously, there is no miracle here, it just confirmed what I already knew: I am unfit and have a long way to go. I ran the length of our road – about 150 meters and I had to walk. So I walked back and run again. I was able to do it for four times. Not much, but definitely a start.

Then the next day when I felt tired, I put my running shoes on again. I ran again, the length of our road, but instead of four times, I did five. My ten year old daughter goes with me to help me and be my ‘coach’ (so she calls herself!). So the next day came again, and again, I ran. I was quietly surprised that I could almost run double the length I did that very first run! That got me pretty excited! So yesterday I ran again – note that for me, this is already victory! I went running for a whole week, everyday!

I stop sometimes and think to myself: Me? Running? Bahahaha!  - That little voice inside my head is still trying to convince me that I can’t do it. And I am working so hard to prove it is wrong. That yes, I CAN do it and I WILL do it.

This is a promise I made to myself

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