OK. So I know it is Wednesday. I did weigh in yesterday but did not get around to trying on old clothing over the weekend to see what archived gems I can now wear again. I will get around to it when I am not so busy exercising!

So, the weigh in. Another great week. I lost 0.6kg (1.3lb) which is above my goal of 0.5kg per week, so I am very happy. Any loss is a celebration really, be it above or below the goal loss. Flat is even ok. Gain is bad! And that’s 2 weeks in a row of 0.6! This brings me to 87.0kg or 191.4 pounds. Pretty good result!

Today is also the 11th of the month, therefore we need to measure! Tonight I will get getting out the tape measure and will report back on my centimeters lost! Yippee!

Ciao xox

One great thing that I have noticed over the course of my recent weight loss is that a few favourite garments that had been packed away are now being moved back into my general wardrobe.

It can be surprising how a garment used to feel when attempting to wear it, then changing my mind and packing it away. Out of sight, out of mind. I am digging out things that in some cases I had forgotten I had, specifically a certain colour of brown pant with pinstripes. I am wearing them today. Not only did they slide on very easily, but there is a small amount of room to move. They’re not gaping open but the moment I had them on, I had no concerns of sitting suddenly and them splitting open at the seams, nor do they look ‘ok’ when standing but strangle the mid-section when sitting. It wasn’t a case of wearing them whilst standing upright for a while so the fabric could loosen enough to attempt sitting, the way jeans loosen when worn. And it wasn’t a case of fitting around the legs but not being able to fasten them, or not fitting around the legs at all. I think that was how they last felt. I possibly wore these 18 months ago. I now love these pants again!

I am going to go through some more ‘archived’ clothing this weekend to see what other gems I can now wear again. I am greatly looking forward to expanding my wardrobe, not with new garments but with clothing I already own that I have not been able to wear, either having been shamefully, uncomfortably tight or not fitting at all.

If losing 8 kilos has brightened my life this much, I can hardly wait to hit 10, then 15 and hopefully even 20. 25 would be just divine!

Gutsy Girl out xox

OK, so I know it has been a little while since I blogged. No need to worry – I have just been so busy exercising! Not 7 days a week of course, but with my lard-busting buddy at least 3 days a week and I am seeing some great results! The days I don’t work out I like to relax and spend time with family so I had to plan this blog session!

If the weather is good, as we’re heading into Winter here in the southern hemisphere, we go for a 6km very brisk walk/jog. If the weather is not on our side, we do pilates or a cardio and weights cross training session.

So far, as of my weigh-in on Tuesday of this week, I have lost 8.1 kilograms or 17.8 pounds!

Needless to say the wedding on Sunday just gone did not stress me, seeing as though I had toned up and slimmed down some areas of my body a little. I felt more confident. I can’t wait to see some photos. I know they won’t be hugely different as 8 kilos isn’t a huge amount off my body yet. There are noticeable areas where I can tell I have lost weight (and others can too!), mostly around my cheekbones, collarbones etc. I can also tell in the fit of my clothing as many garments are looser.

I’m sure I will have lost more fat weight than just 8 kilos and I will have toned up some muscle too. But I am not trying to crash-diet or anything radical like that, so my average of just over .5kg (1.1lb) per week is fine by me. I don’t even consider what I am doing to be a ‘diet’. It is a lifestyle improvement! Something I plan to maintain!! The slower I lose by making actual permanent changes to my lifestyle, the better.

I am now not far off the nice round number of 10 kilograms. That will feel like a great achievement! I will have to celebrate that and reward myself to ensure the motivation and focus remain steadfast!

From May 11th I will also start reporting losses in terms of centimetres off my body. My lard-busting buddy mentioned that so I measured myself in various places on April 11 and I plan to remeasure monthly. The reason I picked the 11th is that my new plan for this year commenced on Jan 11 so that date was rather fitting, and it was only a day or two prior to April 11 that we were first talking about seeing body changes but not seeing a change on the scales, therefore using a tape measure to tell the story instead.

So, until May 11…

Gutsy Girl xox

So, myself and my lard-busting buddy have been walking 3 days a week on the trail for a good few weeks now. I can say that I have lost – as at last week’s weigh-in – a total of 6kg or 13.2 pounds. Not too bad! Can’t wait for this week’s weigh!

Last night’s walk (yes, Sunday, sub’d for Friday as I had a work event) even had 4 minutes of jogging in one go! We hadn’t timed or measured to date as we’ve been adding little bits of jogging along the way, but this time I thought to check the counter watch first and again when we finished. We were so pleased with ourselves!! We also tried another part of the same trail that heads north instead of south. Hoping for more light as the nights get shorter and darker as we head into Winter here.

Had a busy week last week but felt great when I weighted in on Wednesday. I meant to log on and post an update but between work work work and walk walk walk I didn’t get to it! Finally under 90kg – 89.7 to be precise (197.3 pounds), meaning a loss of exactly 6kg. So glad to be out of the 90′s – and this time it is permanent!! To ensure permanency, I am putting in place some steps to ensure I never go back – such as:

1. Getting rid of old clothing that fits comfortably at +90kg.
2. Putting up some smaller motivational garments that I will see every day to keep me focussed.
3. Continuing to eat well, exercise with my buddy and weigh in weekly.
4. Keeping a water bottle handy to ensure I drink plenty and don’t eat when I think I am hungry but am actually thirsty.
5. Keeping desk-drawer snacks to a minimum at work to ensure I don’t nibble when not actually hungry but think that I am (or am bored).
6. Pushing myself to go harder and go further – this will be hard to just “do it” as with some of the above but as we add more and more jogging to our walks, I push myself and will continue to try to go further each time.

So, there we have it. Some more plans! Will check in again later in the week to let you know how this week’s number goes! Even FLAT IS GOOD. I know we will be building/toning a little muscle as we go, so as long as I don’t go up according to the scales, then I will be happy!

Well after 2 walks on the Anniversary Trail with my lard-busting buddy, I can say that I have lost 1.4kg in the last week! And that was on top of a somewhat indulgent weekend.

The deal we made Thursday of last week was to walk three times a week after work – Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It’s a 5km walk that’s got some ups and downs to it, so it’s not dead flat. And we decided to do it at a quick pace, not just a stroll, so that we get the most out of it. I just so happened to already have Friday and Monday (yesterday) off. But still, I drove over this side of the city and walked both Fri & Mon.

It was my mother’s 50th birthday on Saturday so the hubby and I had a weekend away with a nice dinner that night and some nice breakfasts/lunches thrown in too (though I tried to be good-ish) and I still managed a good number. I can’t wait for next Tuesday when I weigh in again. After a Wednesday/Friday/Monday full series of walks plus a week of eating well, I can only hope for a good number. I am also hoping for good weather as we are in Autumn here in the southern hemisphere and Winter will soon be upon us.

I know this figure is more of a kick-start given I am re-entering my weight loss plan after a couple of weeks of losing focus then a few weeks of being sick, so I don’t expect to do this every week. It’s nice to see something this big though. Good motivation despite how much I kind of loathe the Trail.

I’ll see you next week, if not before.

Gutsy Girl out!

I’ve done it. Got myself a lard-busting buddy. We made a pact to walk 3 nights a week - Monday/Wednesday/Friday. No excuses to not make it. Other than death or serious illness/unjory of course. We start tomorrow night!

She lost 30 kilos walking a trail near where we both used to work. I want to lose a bit over 20 and she’d like to shed a few that she has recently gained. It’s a 3km part trail or 5km full trail walk. We’ll start with the 3 and move to the full 5 when we’re physically ready. Nice ups and downs with hills and some flats for good measure.

So, like her buddy did with her years ago, she’s going to trailwalk me! It will compliment the things I do at home on my rowing machine, stationary bike, cross trainer etc.

Look out trail, here I come!

Hmmm. I have a wedding coming up very soon. I thought I would have had a lot more time to “prepare” for this, but due to a major family illness on one side of the bridal party, it’s been decided that May 1st is the ‘go’ date as a parent may not live much longer than this. And they’re in my immediate/close family so I will be a definite attendee. Well I hope so at least – my husband is Best man!!

Not long engaged, sometime shortly after New Years this year,  I found out last night that I have barely just over a month to whip myself into slightly better shape that I am in now in order to feel comfortable and confident as I dress up for this special event, one that will be photographed for all to see for many years to come.

I think that is where the pressure comes from. It’s all well and good to be overweight – albeit by about 22 kilograms (48 pounds) based on my realistic goal weight, but it’s when things are photographed that I know people will remember. They can’t not remember. All they need to do is look at a photograph and there I am, larger than life and larger than I would ideally like to be.

Come on thyroid, play ball. Please. If you do that, and I do the rest, we can be a little more ship shape by May Day. If I can manage to lose 1 kilogram per week, which I have been able to do before, then there is the potential to lose 5 in total (or 11 pounds) by the wedding.

Onwards to May Day!

Some days I feel like the reason I have not achieved my goals, after years of making and starting plans, is that I am secretly undermining myself. Thyroid issues aside. Not remaining focussed, not remaining committed, not remaining motivated and enthusiastic and energetic. Deep down, I wonder if I am scared to succeed because of the hard job of upkeep once I lose weight. Perhaps I don’t want to get to my goal weight, or even near-enough to be happy, because I worry that I will slip back into bad habits and will blow out again and look weak and hopeless to those around me.

Gaining is so easy and losing can be so hard. It would be too easy to slowly creep up again if my new concrete philosophy about eating well and exercising hasn’t set properly by the time I get to my goal. I would notice in the clothing I wear though, and that would be a reminder to do something then and there, not go and buy something that fits which would give me the feeling of comfy clothing being all ok, not that my old ones are getting tight and I need to action that.

It’s a hard road ahead and it will be a long road. Not as long as some, when you look at people in magazines, on other blogs and weight loss sites, television weight loss programs or people around you in the street and family members. There is some reason deep down inside me as to why I don’t keep the focus to keep the momentum even though I see what great things these other people achieve. It frustrates me. Do I not feel worthy of being happy and healthy? Am I *so* lazy that it all seems just too hard? Am I scared to be what I might start to consider “good looking” or “attractively slim” and get some glances?

I’d like to not have a big bum or a big tummy or big arms or big thighs. I’d like to feel and look nice in clothing that I see and try on but don’t buy because the template didn’t translate well to a bigger size. I am about the average national dress size where I live, yet some days I feel like the biggest girl I know. Most people I know and work with and associate with are all trim or slim. Figures that I envy. Figures that I would love to snap my fingers and have in an instant.

What I want to lose might seem like the ‘first goal’ to some people who need to lose more than me. I want to lose about 22 kilograms or roughly 48 pounds. I know that I need to break this down into small goals, 5 kilos at a time, then the next 5. Looking too far ahead to see the end now can be daunting and scary and can seem impossible. If I break it down and focus from one week to the next on being under the next increment of a round number, then it shouldn’t take too long before I achieve the first 5kg loss. Then the next 5. I just can’t think of it as all 22 kilos at once. If I look at my loss as a small amount off the total, it will feel like I am never going to get there.

I want to get there.

I have to get there.

I will get there.

I know it has been a very long time since I was last on here. I realised after a very short absence that I was somewhat being slack or distracted, and that I needed to get back on here. I made myself a note regarding ‘falling off the groove’ and ensuring one gets right back on. Clearly I didn’t take my own advice.

For a little while now I have been utilising the knowledge base built by many people and communicated via a great website. It’s US based (not that I have an issue with this, given I am Australian) but I just put my thinking hat on when they refer to pounds and inches. They have a great survey style application you can use that covers many aspects of life to help you determine your, wait for it, Real Age. Hence their name! They have loads of useful tips on managing stress, eating well, exercise etc, and there are a few items that have come through in the recent weekly email bulletins that I would like to share.

As I have said once in the past that I don’t know if anyone out there will ever read this, however I write with the intention of being clear, rather than like I am talking to myself. I mean no disrespect to the authors of the Real Age info, and try to refer to author names where they are provided. All info would be copyright to Real Age I am guessing, but I am conveying their information (hopefully to others) in a positive way and not plagiarising as though my own work. I am hoping to share this with others who may in turn sign up to the great website themselves.

>Taken from realage.com tips section:

Why Diets Don’t Work 

The next time a double-fudge brownie indulgence has you racked with guilt, remember this: Guilt just guarantees that brownie will go straight to your belly. How? By causing you to ditch healthy eating completely. A recent study revealed that feeling bad for backsliding may cause people to abandon weight loss efforts altogether. So tell that self-imposed guilt trip to hit the road. Just forgive yourself and move on.

Hello, Mr. Guilt-Free
In the recent study, researchers examined differing food attitudes and their impact on body composition. And the women in the study who were “guilt-ridden dieters” had a higher body mass index (BMI) than the women who tended not to be racked by guilt over occasional slips. This led researchers to suspect that guilt-ridden people adopt an “all-or-nothing” attitude with dieting. One misstep can lead to complete abandonment of their healthy-eating plans.

Busy, Impulsive, and Overweight
The researchers also singled out two other study groups that often had higher BMIs and body fat percentages: women too busy to cook and “impulsive eaters” — people who don’t pay close attention to what and how much they eat and use food to cope with stress, boredom, or negative emotions. Bottom line: Our food attitudes can have a pretty complicated impact on our weight and health. The study group that fared best? Women who tended to be focused on nutrition. So the take-home message here: Keep your eye on high-nutrition, high-fiber meals but be more tolerant of yourself. If you give in to an occasional junk food craving, don’t beat yourself up too much.

>And another tip:

Don’t Blame Yourself 

By RealAge

Most diets aren’t about action; they’re about thoughts. You spend so much time thinking about not having food, that you develop only two sets of standards when it comes to eating. Either you follow your diet or you don’t. It’s all or nothing. And once you’ve blown it and deviated even an inch from the plan, that’s it. You head back to the locker room, game over. Diet’s dead. Pass the fondue pot.

What’s worse, you point the finger squarely at yourself. Deep down in your gut, you blame yourself. Not the fast-food industry, not the unrealistic body images of magazine covers, not the 60-hour workweeks at a desk or the cloud-soft recliner and reality TV programs that keep you glued to the set — and sitting down — all night. You blame yourself. And you start to play the “if only” game.

If only you had the willpower to step away from the mayonnaise. If only you could stop after four Pringles. If only you had the power, the strength, the discipline, the chutzpah, the energy, the drive, the motivation to control your waist, then you’d finally have the body you want.

Ultimately, you blame your mind for not being strong enough to win over your waist. You’ve placed all the responsibility for dietary success or failure on your little 3-pound brain, and you’re ashamed that it wasn’t strong enough to go head-to-head with such formidable foes as deep-fried taco shells and fettuccine Alfredo.

But you can’t outwit nature. The truth is, your body is built for eating. It’s full of hormones and neurotransmitters whose jobs roughly translate into “pass the pound cake.” Here are just a few examples:

• Overeating works a bit like drug addiction. Studies show that obese people have reward centers in their brain similar to the reward centers of drug addicts.
• Stress eating is cyclical. When you eat to reduce stress, you activate the reward centers of your brain. When the feel-good effects wear off, you reach again for the thing that made you feel relaxed: food.
• Heavy people respond differently to certain foods. For example, in heavy people, the parietal region of the brain — the control center for the tongue, lips, and mouth — is activated by sugar. In skinny people, it isn’t.
• Some cravings are hardwired. When people on a rigid diet crave certain foods, the hippocampus lights up — triggering a willpower-busting memory of the food.

To expect that your will or your fortitude can override chemical messages like these is the equivalent of trying to stop a train with your pinkie.

To get on the road to waist management and stay there, you have to first strip away the guilt that comes with eating, the guilt that comes with diets, and the guilt that comes with occasionally enjoying foods that aren’t at the platinum level on healthy-eating charts.

And you have to start listening to your body and responding intelligently to your cravings and your emotions. You have to train your brain to stop obsessing about eating right — and stop punishing yourself for slipups.

Over time, you’ll learn what your body is saying and why, and you’ll learn how to eat right to manage those cravings. Because the unrecognized truth about dieting is that when you stop overthinking, you’ll stop overeating.

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Again, with insight from Realage.com, I plan to take their advice on another topic (below). I will make a plan to set aside half an hour every day. I will make sure I walk at home, either on the treadmill, cross (eliptical) trainer or with the dogs around the block. I will make sure I follow the advice below as closely as possible on as many days of the week as I possibly can – my aim is seven days for the next seven days, but major catastrophes or prior engagements that cannot be avoided will be justified, I promise! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Burn Fat More Easily

By Mehmet C. Oz, MD, and Michael F. Roizen, MD

Adding lean muscle to your body — through strength training and cardiovascular activity — and limbering up your body with stretching can help burn fat, reduce stress, improve health, and decrease waist size, all without bulking you up to the size of a Miami condo.

And trust us, it doesn’t take that long to accomplish. Here’s what you need to do:

Every day

Walk. For 30 minutes. No matter what. No excuses. It doesn’t matter if you do this all at once or break it up into as many as three shorter sessions.

Stretch. Once your body is warm (after walking, for instance), stretch for 5 minutes to help elongate your muscles.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I heard once that it takes 6 weeks to develop half a habit (and that most people confuse this with “it takes 6 weeks to develop a habit”). A habit that you are trying to develop, rather than kick, is something that is apparently almost near impossible to fully develop.

So, 6 weeks to half a habit. Another 6 weeks to develop half of the remainder (half of the remaining half). Another 6 weeks to develop half of the remainder (half of the remaining half of a half – or quarter). So you see, that after blocks of 6 weeks, you develop half a habit, then another quarter of it, then an eighth of it, then a 16th, continually breaking down that small portion remaining until you get really close to 100% of a habit. But you never quite get there. Only addiction is a real habit.

I wanna get addicted!

Gutsy Girl Out.

I know, it’s just mid-afternoon on Monday 7th June… I can’t even say I was busy over the weekend, because I really wasn’t…

Well, Saturday wasn’t a totally unexpected figure. It went up. 92.8. But given the non focussed week I had, and I think a little fluid retention in there too, I can’t act surprised by an increase. I am disappointed. But I do believe that there is some fluid in there. I am going to look into this.

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Fluid_retention?OpenDocument 

The above web page was very insightful. I give credit to its creators and mean no disrespect or copyright infringement if I quote from it.