So many little changes

I have been noticing so many little changes to my overall self. It is giving me the drive to keep doing well and not go for KFC for lunch, or have some chocolate from the pantry. This in itself is a change for me!

It is always nice to think of yourself as making changes for the better. I like to think I am more than the weight I have been trying to shed (mostly unsuccessfully until this fortnight!). So I try to look at the bigger picture from time to time and pick up on aspects of my life that are different, and improved!

I have been sleeping like a log! Despite the hot weather and being terribly uncomfortable, I have been sleeping so well! I am on nights at the moment and always sleep amazingly during the day, but between them I am not having any trouble. Last year I used to struggle getting my body back to night time sleeping; I used to have such broken sleep for a week! I would have a tough time even getting to sleep in the evening, then I would wake up every hour or so each night and it would be impossible to get a good night sleep. I do still toss and turn in my sleep a lot but I don't seem to wake myself up like I used to. I feel like a baby when I say this, but I am sleeping right through the night!

My face is clear! I don't have very many pimples at all. Even during the time I would normally come to expect an outbreak, it just never came! Ofcourse I have one here and there, but I don't look like a crater face anymore.

I am able to run longer distances! So far my longest non-stop distance is 3.84km. I aim to improve of this next week. I have been trying to run it on flat ground, but then when I am not running to improve distance, I mix it up with a bit of elevation so I can get my heart rate up. Unfortunately where I live, there are not many hills to speak of, but I can improvise with small mounds of dirt and a smallish hill closeby.

I am not craving takeaway and crisps! This is something I always had a problem with. I used to be fine with the typical chocolate and lollies, but my weaknesses were more of the savoury kind. I loved cheddar shapes and crisps. And I also loved takeaway food. It was terrible to think of what I used to eat in a week. But now looking back, I am embarassed to admit what I was like, but proud to say I am not anymore. Just having cut  these things out of my diet now is a massive contributing factor to my weight loss success this last little while.

I am not hungry all the time! When I was home especially, I used to get hungry all the time and just want to eat. I am not even hungry as I sit here typing my blog. I like to drink cold water and that tends to fill me up, otherwise I drink a cup of tea with no sugar or milk - my weapon of choice is Nerada branded rooibos vanilla tea. Mmmm mmm, just dip it in til you get the colour of a light orange cordial and its tasty with minimal calories!

I am getting less headaches! I have barely had any headaches recently. I used to get headaches ALL the time. It was so crippling sometimes, I would get them on the way home from work and just come home and nap it off with a panadol. Firstly, if I can avoid panadol I want to because its not great for the liver, but I just had to have something to relieve me of the pain. I haven't even noticed until this morning, that I haven't had one in weeks.

I am liking the body in the mirror more. I am feeling better in my clothes. I am more comfortable in myself. I am really excited at my weightloss of 3.9kg in the last week and a half. It has given me such a massive boost that I feel like I am going to finally do well. I can't wait to see me at the end of week 12! I will come back and read up!

A busy weekend

We had my brew's wedding on Friday! It was such an exciting night for me because it was 3 years in the making! And I knew she would look absolutely beautiful and she did not disappoint!

Food was a worry for me. I know that generally speaking receptions usually make their meals quite small because they're 3 courses. They also normally consist of proteins with vegetables or salad. I think the biggest concern was going to be saucy temptation.

I had fish on a bed of rice for my entree, and was able to push my rice to the side and eat only the fish. For my main meal I was given chicken breast with vegetables. I had my vegies first then pulled the skin off my chicken and pushed that to the side, then cut my chicken in half because it was literally a whole chicken breast! I also had a small piece of cake which I danced off!


I have been on night shifts the last week. I have been able to avoid the infamous junkfood that we all bring to the table on night shifts. I have been taking my meal overnight as "lunch" plus a snack of a punnet of strawberries and a banana, and also breakfast of apple muesli to eat on my way to the car before plonking into bed ready for desperate, much needed sleep!

On Saturday my sister, husband and I went out to the local soccer pitch to do our Super Saturday Session, or SSS workout. Our aim was 1000 calories burnt, but only made it to just over 500. Still a job well done I say! Better than sitting on the couch!

I bought a Fitbit Zip during the week and I am really excited for it to come in the mail! It will help me measure my steps, distance travelled and even my sleep! I don't know how but it will be a great way to add to the whole picture of my fitness.




Here are a couple of pictures I have taken recently of me in clothes I wore at my biggest, and you can see the difference! Speaks for itself really!

12 weeks down, 12 to go!

The finale of 12wbt was on this weekend. Amee, Laura and I packed our tiny bags and flew our smaller asses up to Brisbane for the weekend's festivities.

Amee and I flew up Friday morning and spent the day at Dreamworld on a whim. It was great to just go somewhere and not have a care in the world. It was just like we were kids again! We enjoyed buffet dinner at Sizzlers and then picked up Miss Laura from the airport that night.

Saturday morning marked the start of our 12wbt activities. We woke up nice and early for our buffet breakfast at the hotel, then drove our way to the convention centre for a massive group workout. Final count was 1617 people! It broke the world record for biggest group workout ever! We started right in the front of the stage and went out all guns blazing in the warm up, and then shifted ourselves to the back for water; also because we were embarassed that we were already so tired and had to slow it down! So I was tired and backed off for a bit, but then got my head back in the game and said "just keep moving Sam" so I did and I pushed myself as hard as I could go.

It was great to be there with so many people, pushing to their limits all for the same reason. And having Michelle Bridges in front of us, training us and pushing us was a really great experience. I felt like she was my personal trainer for an hour! Its definately something I would do next round.

Turns out we ended up on the channel 10 news! And right in the front too!!! It was hilarious!

We celebrated our 578 calories lost by having subway subs for lunch! Then bought healthy food for the weekend's meals at coles (always WAY too much!)











A quick nanna nap saw us ready for the big finale party that night. We dressed up in our beautiful dresses and made our faces before heading off. The room looked gorgeous, with the bar surrounded by fairy lights. The award ceremony was great, its fantastic to see all the massive changes the top 20 people had made.















We spent a lot of time grazing around the tables of food - Mexican, pasta and rice/sushi. We also spent a bit of time in the photo booths because our tiny group of 3 was too small for the official group photos. How photogenic are we?!

After having a great weekend in Brisvegas, full of exercise, healthy food and a little bit of naughties I am re-energised and re-focused to continue for round 1 of 2013. I feel like I am ready for a fresh start after a not-so-successful round last round.

Watch this space!