Measuring Up...

Ahhhhhh!  It is that time again.  Out comes the bikini and the camera, the bar stool and the newspaper, the tapemeasure, scales and then comes the sound of my delusions being shattered.  We all do it!  We all hide behind our carefully constructed fantasy world in which we really don't look that bad.  In my case, my little fantasy includes having boobs, a flatish belly, and no triple chins.  And we won't even go near hair issues (hopefully the camera wasn't close enough to either!).

So here goes.

I weigh 56.65kg (at 155cm tall I have about 5/6kg to lose)

Chest.. 88cm

Waist also.. 88cm

Hip.. a whopping 92cm

My thighs were measured 24cm up to make sure I got the fat bits..
right.. 51cm
left.. 50cm

Unfortunatly I think they are pretty much identical to my starting measurements last round.  Logging in to check now... and.....omg!  I feel better now... they are equal to my week 4 stats!
Here is a run down of my week one stats last round

weight 58.1 (down from 60+ in the preseason)

chest 90cm (-2)

wasit 92cm (-4)

Hip 96cm (-4)

right 54cm (-3)

left 52cm (-2)

Well, now I feel a little happier.  After week 4 I hit stress town - had to move house and had some major financial worries but no real reason not to do the challenge.. I just let myself down.

Okay so now for the big one... here is the photos.  Please pardon the horrid tan line on my arse.  I took swimming lessons over the summer and my one peice is much more arse friendly then these bits of fabric they call a bikini!  And a quick note to self.. don't tuck your chin in for a photo... it looks awful!

I'm thinking I am not too bad.. just a little padded!  No definition, no shape!  Well, apart from the roundness of my belly! 

Now, my scales..

I have 28.0% body fat (15.8kg in body fat!  OMG!  Ewwww!).  That needs to change!  I want to get as close to 20.0% as possible, and 51kg.  I want my photos to show a flat stomach, less flap in the arms, less thigh-thigh contact, and a WAIST!  I have never had one of those! (Though I must say, it looks like it might be coming along in that back flex photo!)

So anyways.. there I am in all my glory!  I am truely sorry if you're eyes are permanently damaged in anyway!

So I started to exercise...

I snuck back in to Round one, Week one Program and printed out the L&S program to do today.  I was a bit lazy and held off until this afternoon but I did it.  My gosh was it hard!

I did the warm-up then headed over to the mats for the core workout (wednesday is core day) and started off, 20reps of each exercise in 3 circuits. 
The first exercise was simple, and not too much work at all (alternating leg and arm raises from a hands and knees positions) and I felt like a bit of a dufus doing them - though by the third circuit I was grateful for the opportunity to stretch!  I did wobble a bit though so I certainly have room for improvement - just goes to show - you don't need to be in pain to be working out!
Next was the back extension.. alternating sides.. this was a killer and I really pushed it but boy am I feeling it in my back already!  Even with my chin tucked in I am feeling it in my neck muscles but not badly which is good! 
Then it was the twist crunches!  Now I assume as it was specified to do both left and right that all up we needed to do 40 crunches: 20 left, 20 right.  It felt great counting them out though I did have to stop and rest a few times!  I find I am stronger on the left crunches then the right too.  It felt a little lopsided!
The next exercise I struggled with, lower body twists - I really should have looked at the instructions better before hand as I wasn't sure if I needed to lift my hips off the ground or not!  Looks like you do though which is good as that is what I was doing! The 20reps seemed really huge for this one as well as it was left and right so 40 all up!
Lastly was the reverse crunch - fantastic exercise and the only one I didn't need to have breaks for.  You do need to concentrate on your movement though.. make sure you are getting the core muscles working to the max!
I found overall that the workout seemed very drawnout.. 40reps for some exercises (particularly the first one with a 5sec hold) were tedious and then going for the three rounds seemed to take forever.  But it felt really good at the end.. I was very happy that I didn't take short-cuts like lowering the reps on the left/right exercises.

The stretching felt really great afterward though!  I love taking those few minutes to really stretch it out!

My back is really feeling it tonight though.. and I pray that my stomach muscles dont' freak out tomorrow!

Food. Glorious food!

Food is a big thing for anyone trying to lose weight! Even Mish says that the results you get from the program depend more on food then exercise! 80% food: 20% exercise!

So this is what I am eating. Last night's dinner was Chicken Parma - my way! 130g of Chicken, grilled in the George Foreman, throw on a couple of tablespoons of salsa dip (yup, the kind you use for corn chips), and some Parmesan cheese. Throw it under the grill to melt the cheese and serve with some greens!! It sits around the 300cal mark depending on the size of the chicken and how much Parmesan cheese you use!


So yummy!!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Goal Setting!

Continuing on from last week.. I am really stuck on this goal setting task!  I really think this is where I fell down last rounds.. I focused on goals I thought I should.. rather then what I actually want.  My ultimate goal is to feel loved, by me, my family, and my partner.  I want to have a 'hot' body.. I want to be wanted for my sexiness! lol  I want others to look at me and say 'wow' she is looking awesome!

At the end of the challenge I want to go to the finale party and workout.  I want to look awesome. 
I have made it as a finalist in the Michelle Bridges facebook comp.. (please vote for me!  Jenifer A)
http://apps.facebook.com/train-with-mish/contests/112953/voteable_entries?ogn=facebook
so it is possible I can get there.. fingers crossed!  But I am going no matter what!  It is a huge motivation to work toward as well!

So I am going to take my 'body' goals from last week and get more specific!

Exercise (Running, Gym)
  I want to look hot so I think it is time to get serious and do the lean and strong program, with a little extra cardio thrown in for good measure.  I have my gym membership... I am thinking I can wake up early and get in a 3-5km run, then get dressed and ready, drop off kids to school and do 45mins at the gym before hitting uni!  I can do a couple of hours extra study at home each night to compensate!  this will also clear up my afternoons so I can concentrate on cooking healthy dinners! 
Nutrition (obvious)
  Okay, I really fall down here.. no take out, no 'treats' - I need to treat my body like a temple so it will look like a temple!

Health (doctor’s Dentist, podiatrist etc)
  Time to get my crowns done and see about getting my mouth looking like a normal persons!  I was born with no adult molars, and have lost two of my baby ones now with nothing to fill the gap - it looks awful enough having the ones I have filled with silver but the gaps are even more obvious!
Less obvious is my mental health.  I think it is time to go see about getting some help with my panic disorder/social phobia.  It is time to get over it once and for all.  Sure, I have come a long way from where I was 15 years ago, but it is not normal to be this scared of life.  The finale has a lot to do with it.. I think if I can fly down for the finale and attend, I can do anything!

General Care (haircuts, clothing, waxing etc)
  So I doubt I will ever wax my bikini line but I need to start looking after how I look.. I want to get my eyebrows shaped, my arms waxed, and my nails done.  I derserve to look hot.  I am happy growing my hair long at the moment - it means I can do it up, but I might see about getting a colour done!  And of course, I need some clothes!

Now for the how-to and breaking it down.  I will just focus on this week and week one of the challenge and then will reassess and see how it all went!

1. Exercise: I am running this afternoon, but will run again in the morning.. at 6.30am so to bed early tonight.  I will head to the gym after school drop off and do the wednesday of the week one L&S program.. I have it printed out ready to go.
2. Health: I will go through my dental quote and ring my health insurance then make the appointments!
3. I will call the wax shack after gym tomorrow and make an appointment for the eyebrow wax!

I feel better!

Delineation of goals

 

One of my major obstacles/excuses in my Michelle Bridges 12 week transformation challenge has been negotiating the priorities in my life – exercise, family, housework, university, and everything else that doesn’t fit nicely into a label!  So I think it is time to really define the areas of my life and apply some of the mindset exercises to these areas.

1. Body Goals

First up are my personal goals.  Things that are just about me and my body.  Can I divide this up even further?  Let’s see!  I will try and keep it simple!

Exercise (Running, Gym)

Nutrition (obvious)

Health (doctor’s Dentist, podiatrist etc)

General Care (haircuts, clothing, waxing etc)

Romance (dates and sex!)

2. Study/Work Goals

Written/ research (confirmation, papers)

Lab work

Employment

3. Family Goals

Health (doctors appts, etc)

General care (haircuts, clothes, etc)

School/ learning (participation, homework)

Nutrition

4. Home Goals

General cleaning and organisation

Decorating and furnishing

Outdoors

Car (cleaning and maintenance)

5. Money Goals

Everyday finance

Savings

Investments

6. Special Events

Birthday parties for the boys

Christmas

Holidays/ camping

Extended Family visits

 

Oh gosh!  The scary thing is that I am sure I will think of more!  On an everyday level, the hardest things to juggle are the exercise, uni, and finding time to do the housework and cook nutritious meals!  I have to work in 6-8hrs a day of uni time and take full advantage of that time, as well as fit in everything else!  Time to do up a schedule me thinks!

How to Jump Back on the Wagon..

Having just successfully 'jumped back on the wagon', I thought I would share what I have learnt and how I got over the mental hurdle of 'restarting'.

Firstly, you need to define the difference between being on and off the wagon.  At what point did you realise you weren't on the wagon?  And then look back to when you started getting off the wagon?  I realised around week 5, but looking back, I can see that from week 3 I had 'let go' of the reins which is what caused me to crash and burn.  What I realised was that 'falling off the wagon' was, for me, I loss of my sense of control.  I stopped flexing my willpower muscle and let the inner labrador take over.

What changes happened in my eating and exercise plan? How did I 'see' that I wasn't on the wagon anymore?  Most noticely, I had starting eating chocolate and allowing 'treat' foods.  It started off inside my calorie limits which was okay.. but it stopped being okay when that changed to chocolate, biscuits, icecream - things I wasn't controlling but were letting control me.

So how does a person get back on the wagon?  Take back your sense of control.  It doesn't have to be big.  I started by doing a 24hr ban on chocolate.  I knew that it was the chocolate and 'treat' foods that was the problem so I had to reign that in and control it.  Now I am in the 5th day of a two-week chocolate ban.  Last night was the most painful as the inner labrador came out in full force.  But I survived with only a half a peanut butter sandwich consumed after dinner!  Now in the five days, I have also started exercising again.  Not to the level I was in the first weeks of the challenge where I as going everyday, but enough to feel I have control.  That is my focus for now - control, not perfection!

And I think that will be the trick for staying on track for me... to escape my perfectionism and accept what I can do rather then focus on how I am failing.  I don't think anyone is capable of doign the program perfectly - we all have red flag days, different schedules and commitments, holidays, monthly cycles, financial issues, etc etc which will affect the program, but the success is in making the program work for you.

Super Sunday Rocks it out!!

So today I totally hit it out of the ball park!! It has now been 24hrs since my last chocolate which is pretty impressive on it's own.

I also signed up for round two before heading to the gym. At the gym, I found out that step had been replaced with Body Combat. Omg! Pain!

I followed it up with Body Balance so around 450 cals (assuming only 100 cals for balance). I will be sore for weeks!!

But to top it all off - I ran!! Five kilometers, 35mins, 300 cals!!

Add it up - 750 cals!

I would just like to state for the record that I am Awesome!!!

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