Thank god for that!

Had another decent loss of 600g this week. Biggest loss I've had in a few weeks and it keeps me inching towards that 30kg mark! I need to lose 700g to make it and I'm determined to do it next week! Had an ok week, well it started off ok at least. Had a work dinner on Friday night, had a bottle of wine and a beer but the food was Lebanese and mainly grilled meat, vegies and salad so I behaved myself relatively well with that. Here's a couple of photos from the night - I'm not sure they're all that flattering, but I'll put them up for you to have a laugh at anyway! I still haven't done the full length shot, I'll try and do that soon!

Sunday into the city to watch hubby do his 9km Bridge Run. Started off ok as I had to park miles away near Oxford St and pretty much ran from there to Circular Quay so I wouldn't miss him finishing! Met up with some friends after that and wandered around the markets. All was fine until we sat down for lunch. I ordered a steak sandwich thinking I'd just eat that and leave the chips. Good plan. Until the waiter stuffed up our order and thought I'd ordered just a bowl of chips. He left them there while they made a steak sandwich for me and as it was midday by that point and I hadn't eaten as we had left home at 6am, I did have a few. Not too many, but more than I should have probably had! That should have been enough. But then I got 2 krispy kreme donuts on the way back to the car that afternoon.....woopsy!!! Monday and Tuesday I was pretty sick so my exercise regime pretty much fell by the wayside. So all in all, I'm pretty happy to have lost 600g!

On Sunday I decided that I'd had enough of just sitting back and watching my hubby do these fun runs, so next year I'll be joining him...god help me! So on Tuesday I downloaded the c25K podcasts and will be starting that this afternoon. I can run at the moment for about 15 minutes, but I need something structured and someone telling me when I can stop to keep me going. It says I should be running 5km in 9 weeks so fingers crossed. I figure since I haven't been doing any running lately, that should help me get rid of the 700g I need by next week. Here's hoping at least!

Hubby and I are going down to Bowral on Sunday for the tulip festival. Should be a good day and plenty of walking around so that should help get things moving as well. I soooo don't have a green thumb, I kill most things I ever attempt to look after in the garden, but I absolutely love looking at gardens and especially tulips.

So all in all, I'm looking forward to a really positive week, a week where nothing I don't need will pass my lips! Bring on the 30kg mark, seriously I'm soooo over chasing it!!!

Got the shits!

Sorry about the title of this post, it is a little blunt isn't it?!

Basically, I have the shits because it seems that despite all my efforts over the last couple of weeks, I am literally crawling along at snail's pace. I lost a mere 100g this week. I hate to even say the word plateau, I don't want to think that I've hit one. It seems too soon to be reaching a plateau, even though I've been at this weight loss caper for 7 months now so I guess it could well be the dreaded plateau.

My results on the scales seem to be so at odds with everything else regarding my weight loss. I know I shouldn't put too much emphasis on the number on the scale but when I'm so close to a pretty big milestone (30kg down), it's hard not to. So excuse my moment of self pity, but I think I'm entitled to one every now and then!!

Looking on the bright side, I went shopping yesterday. I bought a few things that I desperately needed such as shorts for summer (in a size 14 I might add and we're talking about tailored shorts here with a zipper and button, not elastic waist shorts!!) and a couple of shirts for work. But most exciting of all, I bought a really cute cotton dress. It's black with really nice white embroidery on the front of the skirt. It cost $30. That isn't the most exciting thing though.....it is a SIZE 12!!!!!!!!!! I can't remember the last time I was a size 12! I don't care if it's a slightly big make or anything else, the number on the dress is a 12!!! I am not really a dress or skirt wearer, so it's a big deal in itself that I bought a dress, but I seriously can't get over the size!!

So now just to get the scales cooperating and everything will be fine and dandy!!!

Phew

I know I've been telling people that I would have been happy to just stay the same this week given I had a big loss last week after being sick, but truth be told, I think I would have been disappointed. But disappointed I am not as I had a loss of 0.4kg! It seems I have finally broken the pattern of losing for a few weeks and then having a small gain (touch wood!) as I haven't had a gain in about 9 or 10 weeks now. The 30kg mark is agonisingly close - I'm going to do everything I can to get there next week. It's going to take a mammoth effort as I'll need to lose
1.4kg to get it, but I'll give it my best shot.

Did a pump class again last night - even upped the weights I was using - and I'm still not sore! I really really enjoy it, there are no difficult moves, good music...I could get used to it! I want to try and attend twice each week, Tuesday nights and Sundays most weeks and Tuesday nights and Friday mornings when I have a Friday RDO. Hopefully it'll help me tone up heaps and get my metabolism going faster. I'm going to give it a couple of weeks of doing 2 pump classes and then I might give the cycle class a try and build that into my routine if I like it. I'm way too uncoordinated for most of the other standard gym classes so I figure ones where I don't have to jump/dance around are probably the safest bets for me!

Will be going into Darling Harbour on Saturday. Apparently they are having fireworks each night until Saturday night and I LOOOOOVE fireworks, so that will be my leisure activity for the weekend - wandering around the city. My hubby walks at a good pace, so it won't be too leisurely!

So here's to another good week, hope you all have the same!!

Why do we have to work?

It is a thought I have often pondered...it is a beautiful sunny day here in Sydney and I'm stuck inside at work going crazy! Clearly I'm not actually doing much work otherwise I wouldn't be here blogging away, but it's driving me nuts that I can't be outside in the sun.

After having a lull in energy levels earlier today, for some reason I have just become really hyper and really keen on the idea of doing some kind of physical activity outside. So very unlike me!!! Since I've lost weight, I keep having these crazy ideas of wanting to go for a walk, or a swim, or a bike ride....what has become of me lol?!?! I am feeling really impatient to get the next 3kgs off which takes me to my next big milestone, I am feeling really energised and ready to put in a massive exercise session....and here I am stuck inside at work! I remember reading somewhere a few years back that in France they have 4 day working weeks and 3 day weekends - I don't care how arrogant people think the French are, they have the damn right idea with that one!!

I am off to my 3rd pump class tonight. I wouldn't have thought I'd be able to do one just 2 days after the last one, not considering how I felt 2 days after my first pump class, but obviously my muscles are adapting and I am ready and rearing to go! I need to get rid of some of this energy otherwise my husband just may want to kill me when we get home! I am a really bad fidget at the best of times which drives him mad (to the point that when we go to Europe next year he's told me I have to knock myself out so I don't fidget for 24 hours!!) so I'd better go hard or go home when I get to the gym.

Weigh in tomorrow - I had a sneaky look at the scales this morning and they are showing a 200g gain from last week. Considering they were showing a 1.3kg gain earlier in the week, I'm ok with that. I'm quite prepared to gain this week - last week I barely ate a thing whereas this week I'm pretty much back to normal with my meals so it's probably inevitable. I'll be doing my best to expend a few calories tonight though in an effort to minimise the damage.

Back in the swing of things

I am FINALLY feeling better after 2 weeks of the nastiest flu/infection I think I've ever had. I'm still not 100%, but compared to how I was, I feel great!

With that in mind, I took myself back to the gym on Friday morning. I took it relatively easy, 10 minutes on the treadmill and then 40 on the bike, both at a reasonable pace. Went to the gym Saturday and stepped things up a bit as I was feeling a bit better again, and then yesterday I completed my second Pump class! The second class was definitely easier - not so much during the class, but the after effects of it! The day after my first class I was in agony, and the day after that was even worse, but I feel completely fine today. My muscles definitely know they did some work yesterday, but I can at least walk without pain!!!

Have done some shopping over the last few days. Bought some new pants for work in a size 16 from Target, I can't remember the last time that size would have fit. And then yesterday I went to Rebel to laybuy a whole heap of stuff for my week away in November. I ended up with 5 t shirts, 4 pairs of 3/4 gym pants and a light jacket, all in really nice co-ordinating colours. Most of the stuff is a size 14!! I seriously could have cried! I don't know that in my adult life I've ever been able to wear anything at all in a ladies size from Adidas, Nike, Reebok etc but here I was in size 14's!!! Some of the tops I bought are quite fitted, I figured I've worked hard and will continue to work hard, so why am I hiding my new body underneath t shirts that not only aren't fitted, but are also now way too big?!

So I'm well and truly back into the swing of things after being sick, and yesterday was a serious motivator for me. Although my credit card is probably going to suffer some serious damage, I can't wait to do even more shopping!!!

Another kilo closer

Weigh in yesterday and a great result. I lost 1.3kg. So despite hardly exercising at all this week, I'm that much closer to my goal. I'm thinking that after last week's efforts, which were a little out of the ordinary, I just needed a week to perhaps rest up and let my body catch up. I couldn't have done much else anyway as I've been sick as a dog. The medication seems to be trying its best to kick in today, so hopefully I won't be spending another weekend moping around looking and feeling miserable!

Unfortunately as expected, my aunt didn't recover and passed away on Monday night. My mum is coping a lot better today than she has been throughout the week. The funeral is on Saturday which is my my uncle's birthday (my mum's brother), so it'll be tough to bury your sister on your birthday. I think everyone has come to terms with it now, sure it will take a long time to 'get over it' if you ever truly do, but I think everyone is looking forward to the funeral being over so they can try and move on.

Not a lot else is happening at the moment, which is good. I don't think I could cope with a lot more at the moment.

I've decided to put this stupid picture up - my hubby took it of me without me realising he was about to take it, but I thought I'd put it up here as I think it shows how much slimmer my face is these days. Who knew I had a semblance of a jaw line?!?! Never mind the fact I'm in my pj's and my hair is a mess, I think this photo was the first time I really believed I wasn't looking too bad anymore.



I'll try and get some full length photos in the coming weeks - even just for my own benefit, I think it's hard to see how far we've come just looking in the mirror and as much as I've grown to hate photos of myself over the last few years, I think it's time I made the camera my friend again!

Feeling down

Sometimes, life just sucks. This is one of those times. I have been laid low with the flu for nearly a week now, ear and throat infection, blocked nose, aching body, bad cough, throwing up. The works. I haven't been to the gym for nearly a week, I've barely eaten a thing in the last 4 days apart from pineapple ice blocks and I am feeling decidedly shit.

But enough about me. Sadly, over the last few hours, my aunt (my mum's sister) has gone into a coma and isn't likely to recover. She was diagnosed with cancer a couple of months ago and has deteriorated so quickly. I haven't seen my aunt in a long time and have never been that close to her, so I am more upset for my mum as she is not handling it very well at all and I'm pretty worried about her. I've been fortunate in my life that death hasn't touched it very often. Both my nan's have passed away and one of my hubby's grandfathers has passed away, but apart from that I have thankfully been really lucky. I don't think anyone ever becomes 'good' at handling death, but I think the fact that I've been relatively untouched by it has made me especially bad at it. I don't know what to say to my mum, I don't know how to handle how she is at the moment, nothing I say seems to help and I know that's not my fault and I know mum isn't angry at me, she's just trying to deal with things in her own way, but I just find it so bloody hard. I don't think I've ever been very good at being honest about my emotions, or talking to people about theirs, so I guess that's why I'm finding it so hard to try and make my mum feel better.

Seriously, life does really suck sometimes.