Don't Faint !

I am posting - don 't faint !!!  i am such a bad blogger but really i have made no progress weight loss wise and in fact am worse off.  My reason - not excuse - is socialising and drinking.  Being a busy mum of 3 and working nearly full time (like many women) who would want to pass up an opportunity to kick back, unwind, catch up with fab friends, have a few drinks and have some fun?????
So i find myself in the predicament of running out of time.  Its just over 4 weeks til chrissy and for us aussies that means kids are on school hols for 6 weeks, its our summer and its bikini time.  We will go away to our van down the south coast and literally live on the beach for a few weeks.  Eeeeeeeek!
So i'm going back to what works for me - Bodytrim.  An aussie personal trainer is making a bomb with his no/low carb programme and ive done it before with success.  It basically getting your body into ketosis. This is for fat loss only - not for building.  I will do a bit of weight training just to keep the muscle i have but concentrating on the fat loss.  Its also non cardio - he recommends only walking.  All the work is done in the kitchen.
Day 2 and a piece of cake (hahahaha) so far. This is what i'm eating:-
M1  6 egg white omlette with onions, zuccinis and mushrooms, coffee
M2  mini protein bar and coffee
M3  100g slice of chicken meatloaf (chicken mince, egg whites, spices and bake in loaf tin) and brocoli
M4  fat free chilli tuna and cauliflower mash
M5  beef casserole (extra lean rump steak strips, capsicum, zuccinis, spice, curry powder in croc pot til tender) with brocoli
M6  mini protein bar and tea
you can have one serve of carbs a day and i have opted for allbran cereal (to keep me regular) but i didnt have that today.  I will probably have that 1 hour before my workout to give me energy. Tomorrow i will include flaxseed oil, glucosamine tablets and super krill oil tabs and maybe a multi.
I did a 45 minute incline interval treadmill walk at 6.4kmph and a few heavy sets on the adducter machine for my inner thighs.
I feel good and confident as i have done this successfully before - its a race against the clock!

Dinner Recipe

new recipe i tried for dinner and it was yum:-
steam and mash 1 small sweet potato (yam)
mix in 1 tab of fat free plain yoghurt, 1/2 cup of fat free cottage cheese, 1/2 cup skim milk, 1 tsp dijon mustard, onion powder, pepper and mix well to get a creamy orange sauce.

saute onion, chopped carrots, chopped zuc and a few button mushrooms (as much or as little) in olive oil (optional) til soft.  add 2 cups cooked brown rice.  add this mix to the orange sauce.  add 200g drained tuna and mix well.

transfer into a baking dish and bake for 20 mins on medium.  serves 4.  original nutrients per serve were excellent but i tweaked the original recipe to make it lower in fat and more in veg so not sure exact numbers.  Its a good base - you could add herbs, curry, different veg, less rice, chicken instead of tuna etc.

This fits in with jamie's serve of protein, complex carb and veg meal.  I hope someone tries it - let me know what you think (even my 12 yo daughter loved it !!)

seeya!!!

I really dont know how people can eat junk food all the time!  I have been pretty slack lately, well ok, really bad lately and boy how i'm paying for it now.  Headaches, tired, listless, thirsty, unmotivated, sore stiff muscles, bloated stomach, yuk.  Hubby is away for a week for work so I cant go to the gym.  My plan?  Home workouts - pumped up the swiss ball that will act as my bench and incline bench so i can do any exercises for dumbbells.  I am roughly following Jamie Eason's 12 week challenge (jumping in at phase 2) so I will adapt her weights to dumbbell exercises.  The only thing I cant do is cardio (with my back/pelvis problems I can only do tready or xtrainer) so I will plonk myself in front of the telly (in between car pooling for kids sports etc) and do lots of weights.
Food will be a bit different.  I basically did Jamie's diet previously and it got so monotonous I got bored and craved something tastier (aka junk). I just did meat/chicken and steamed veg - I dont know how you comp girls do it - a big hats off to you all !!! So im trying some recipes out of Aussie oxygen mag and its basically within the parameters of her diet.  For example, orange quinoa salad - cold cooked quinoa with onion, celery, tomatoes and any other veg and the dressing of orange zest, juice, flaxseed oil, pepper - basically its complex carb and veg.  Also chicken florentine - fillets baked in a tin of crushed tomatoes, italian herbs, garlic, a few olives, baby spinach, topped with a little parmesan cheese (optional).  Add that to the orange quinoa salad and its protein, complex carb and veg!  It just doesnt seem like it! I'll post the good recipes.  I also stumbled upon the blog The Bikini Baker so i'll try some of her recipes. So, lots of prep, inspiration and motivation needed to get on track.  I didnt lose the plot totally! I still fit into my jeans, they're just a bit snug !!!! Here's some inspiration ......



 One day .........

Have a fit and fab week everyone !

Time is flying past and i feel like i'm being left behind!! I now work full time - well sort of.  I work school hours 5 days a week and with driving Brooke to dancing 3 nights a week, Daniel and Kurt at the orthodontist every fortnight, kids hair cuts this week, Kurt now having to go to the hand specialist/blood tests/x-rays, birthday parties - i'm feeling a bit out of control.  I havent been to the gym for nearly 2 weeks (suffered headaches last week), we went away on Friday arvo when the kids got home from school for the weekend to our place down the south coast (organised food, clothes, tried to leave the house tidy before we left) and then came home sunday morning for a footy luncheon and felt very rushed.  The washing still has to be done, school clothes organised, dinners to be cooked and food in the pantry for lunches and recesses.  I wish we could pop a pill for dinners and wear disposable clothes!!!
This week the parents are invited to watch Brooke's dance classes so no gym tonight.  So tomorrow night i'll go to the gym early and go and watch dancing, then off to have nails done at 9.15pm!!!
Anyway, enough rambling, "back to it" is this week's mantra!!!
Have a good productive week everyone!

Just plodding along! Doing lots of heavy weights to failure *yay*. Havent done cardio for 2 weeks coz i hurt my lower back then had a flemmy chest that just made me cough when i went on the cross trainer - i sounded like a 50 a day smoker!!
Back into cardio today. Did 4 x 10 (failure) each of chest, back and abs then 5 mins of cardio, then repeat the whole thing 4 times (different exercises each round). Did mountain climber (hate that machine) then crosstrainer - 5 mins including 4 x 30 seconds of hiit each time.
Eating really good except weekend treat - i know, i know - i gotta get over this weekend thing! Have been reading jamie eason's 12 week challenge on bodybuilding.com. she's giving me inspiration - its basically what i'm doing now anyway. i've just got to be more consistant on the weekends.
A lady in the shops yeterday told me there's 16 weeks til christmas - eeks !!!! Is that a 16 week challenge i hear in the background!!!!!
Have a great week everyone :)

The ball is rolling

I've been in a bit of a plateau lately. Now all of a sudden i'm losing weight. I tried on a pair of white 3/4 crop pants that now fit me (never worn before). How did i do it you ask? well, the answer is ..... I don't know!!!!! maybe taking jack3d before my workouts and training harder? (not that i feel i'm working harder). maybe splitting my 20min hiit cardio into 4 x 5 minute bursts spaced out in my weights workout? i just dont know!! but hey - thats great news for me. Diet is still good but suffers a bit on the weekend but i guess thats just my lifestyle taking over my willpower at the moment.
This weight loss has inspired and motivated me to go harder and be more disciplined and its such a good feeling. I think its time to do progress pics and stats next week. have a supercharged week everyone!

workouts

I did such a huge legs and butt workout last thursday it's taken me this long to recover !!!!! sacro joint is in AGONY (due to my lower back problems). hopefully tomorrow i can do lower again. In the meantime i'm doing huge upper w/outs and am actually getting some great shape and curves in my shoulders, bis and tris (without flexing!) This is amazing for me coz i'm mostly eating in a calorie deficit and i thought you couldn't build in that state? not complaining - just saying!!!! maybe i'm not eating in a calorie deficit and i think i am - hahahahahaha. i'm doing my maths and i'm coming in around 1200 a day and i have a physical job and doing 1 hour of weights and 20 mins hiit cardio 4 - 5 days a week so i'm confident i'm in deficit. all's good !!!

Girls, I need some advice ....

I've started researching cla and supplements and need some advice. Who is using them atm? what do you look for in a brand? what is a good brand? what else is a good supp? I've started using Jack3d to give me more energy for my workouts - pretty good - helps me lift heavier i think or is it mind over matter hehehe !! It does help me with hiit cardio at the end of a 1 hour weights workout. I do feel i need a helping hand esp. with the fat loss - i'm on a bit of a plateau. would love to hear opinions .... please !!!!

a slight deviation

Diet going pretty good - probably around 90%. Exercise going really good - happy with my performance. Sunday - a big no-no dietwise. My girlfriend and I took our girls to see the musical Hairspray. We booked it 3 months ago and were looking forward to it - a great day out in the city.
My girlfriend is on a diet as well, although not as hard-core as me at the moment. However, lunch was yum cha at Chinatown (omg barbeque pork rolls to die for) I should have taken photos! It was really good chinese food, really enjoyed it. Then off to Star City for the show. Just had to have a champers to take into the show!! Intermission - a magnum icecream and malteasers - YUM. The show was FANTASTIC!!!!! Afterwards we wandered around the city, the girls bought some clothes and we all had a Gloria Jeans. A great day but not so good for the diet. But it was a treat and i'm going to enjoy it.
Back to it on Monday. I bought some Jack3d coz i'm so tired before i even hit the gym. I was blogging to Lisa so i thought i'd give it try. does anybody else use this? i crashed and burned terribly afterwards (thank goodness i go to the gym at night so i can go to bed afterwards). Is this something I can use every day? I would love your comments.

I was at the shopping centre (shopping mall for american readers!!!) with my eldest (he turned 14 last week) for more school clothes. I didnt have lunch before we went so i was desperate for a coffee (Gloria Jeans capaccino, skim soy extra hot). Did all the shops for school clothes (in all 4 corners of the centre - we walked for miles) and came up with nothing! Anyway, we stopped for something to eat. Kurt chose McDonalds (doesnt have it often) and after much mental torment going on in my brain i chose a rice paper roll with salmon and salad in it. We sat in the food court to eat it (gosh you see some sights in those places!) and i really thought i was going to buckle and get something else. Then, I spotted a couple who sat down near us. I was trying so hard not to stare. The woman was probably early to mid 50's, average looking. Why was I staring????? She had an amazing figure and was wearing trendy, fashionable clothes without looking like "mutton dressed up as lamb". She looked awesome - nothing expensive - black tights, knee high black boots, white top and a black aviator style leather jacket (just like I have). Wow she looked fantastic. It stopped me from crumbling and buying something bad to eat. I just wanted to look like her now and she would have been 5 years older than me. I have her image burned into my brain - everytime I start to weaken I will think of this unknown lady in the shopping centre. I would have liked to tell her she was an inspiration but I thought that would have been a bit creepy!!!!! It makes me realise I just have to keep on plodding on with clean eating and the gym and one day I might be that lady in the shopping centre that someone looks at and gets inspiration from.
What was she eating? sushi and a gloria jeans coffee (skim milk I bet !!)

40 - 25 - 35

.... my macro ratio - 40% protein, 25% carb and 35% fat. I know some people think the carb is too low and the fat probably too high but it's kinda been working lately. My body responds to low carb - its been proven. The fat ??? not sure. This is normally higher than what i'm used to but research proves you need the good fats. My skin is really dry this winter and i'm struggling a bit with it so I'm sure this will help. The fats are mainly from nuts, olive oil and fish oil supps - all good. So this is typically how my diet will be this week:-
M1 - Allbran and skim milk, 3 fish oil caps
M2 - 5 egg white and tomato omlette cooked in 5ml olive oil
M3 - 13g almonds, 1/2 tub fat free yoghurt or fat free cottage cheese
M4 - tuna salad and dressing - 10ml olive oil, balsamic vinegar
M5 - protein powder pudding (mix with a little water and newk) and 1 tab fat free yougurt
M6 - 100g protein, steamed veg
Workout
M7 - protein pudding and 1tab fat free yoghurt
add a few cups of tea, skin hair and nail tonic and maybe a coffee
Total cals 1200 - 120g protein, 75g carb, 46g fat
I didn't go to the gym tonight coz my back and pelvis are aching too much so i dropped a protein pudding - i'm not at all hungry.
Cant wait to see the results of the diet !!! (fingers crossed!)

Wow - a reality check

I havent done a food diary in weeks. got cockey - thought i knew my stuff - thought i could visualise. Well, i was WRONG !!!!!! i didnt eat much last Friday - too busy trying to squeeze in work, organising kids for movies, pick ups, etc and some shopping. So i got to the afternoon and thought i havent eaten much, not sure what to have and really - how many cals have i eaten??? so i sat on the computer and pulled up my food log document did a quick calculation and amazed myself that i only had 200 cals left to eat dinner and a post workout meal. eeeeekkkk!
Back to basics girl. It was good food though - i added 1/2 banana to bran cereal for breakkie, had 2 serves of nuts instead of one, had other 1/2 banana with tub yoghurt, extra tin of tuna and an egg yolk with my egg white omlette. But calories add up. So a bit more research on the net, decided to do macros 40, 40, 20 for weight loss and plan out and document daily food.
I just need to lean down enough to be able to start eating more and building muscle - that's when the fun starts!. im really working out hard with heavy weights to failure (well hard and heavy in a calorie deficit) so i've refocussed, reassessed and got back to basics.
BTW I didnt wear the skinnies i had planned for my dinner I had but was very happy with the measurements i got down to. (will post piccies when my girlfriends send them to me - my camera battery died)
New Goal - 2.5cm or 1 inch off widest part of bum in 14 days !!!!

just thought i'd share with anyone that is interested .............
I LOST ANOTHER CENTIMETRE FROM MY BUM !!!!
wooohoooo !! 4cm. Doing lots of weighted floor exercises and romanian deadlifts. Now, if my diet was 100% instead of 85-90% who knows what could happen. My kids are on school term holidays and there's just more snacking food floating around. Temptation = loss of willpower .... bring on school term!!

Its amazing reading all the blogs i follow how many girls are in prep and its coming up or it is peak week for them. I dont know how these girls do it - 12 weeks of strict diet and workouts - i cant even do 12 days straight let alone 12 weeks. AND some of these girls have jobs and families to look after - they really are suuperwomen. Its kinda peak week for me atm - i had a reprieve with my mini challenge - it was supposed to end 4th July but the barby got moved a couple of weeks so it will end this weekend. Diet has been good except for yesterday but i knew it would happen. It was my eldest's 14th birthday and we had the fam over for nibbles and cake (and champers - oh how i love my champers!!). Its all good - I'm not beating myself up, i'll treat it as a cheat meal. Back on it today. I measured the widest part of my bum last night - you know, the bit under the cheeks that have the saddlebags at the sides!!!!! well I lost 3cm !!!! whether it was the weighted floor exercises or just a coincidence in timing - who knows? I'm not even going to get on the scales - its not important how much I weigh just the measurements. I'm just going to plod along, heavy workouts and cardio hiit, 1200 clean cals with low carbs and CONSISTENCY!! Might change the diet after around 4 weeks coz i might end up in a plateau, have to research that one.
Have a good week everyone :)

Its the same ol', same ol' going on around here. Weekdays on track 100% diet and gym, struggling on the weekends. I'm not posting daily diet coz most days are the same, just different protein and different veg - low carb veg! I'm lifting a bit heavier this week - db chest press 4 x 8 x 10kg instead of 9kg each hand, shoulder press db each arm up 1kg to 8kg, still cant really get past 5kg single lat raises without losing form after a few reps. Anyone suggest some good exercises for saddlebgags? squats, deadlifts, lunges hit my glutes and quads but miss the side bits. I do ad/abductor machine but you can only do so much on that, do cable with ankle cuff. Who believes in floor exercises with ankle weights?
Kinda gone off cardio a bit this week. Read somewhere that you get more bang for your buck lifting heavy weights than cardio (I already know this but it prompted me to do it) and i'm a bit time deficient this week and can spend no more than an hour in the gym per night. Dont have time to do both so i'm opting for weights only (my favourite) - am i taking the easy way out? thoughts anyone? (goal is still leaning down whilst keeping muscle - in caloric deficiency atm).
Anyway, love to hear some opinions!!
cheers, Amanda

I kow this is not fitness related but i've been having facial treatments for anti-aging. ive had IPL 2 weeks ago, backing up with CIT needling next week, then 2 weeks after that another IPL treatment and then a multi vitamin infusion 2 weeks after that. I've always looked after my skin coz its quite problematic !!! and i feel i'm struggling lately. nearing 50 my skin is changing, doesnt respond as quickly or effectively as say 5 years ago. The mind is early 30's, however the body is alway telling me otherwise!!!!! I have before photos so when ive finished in 4 weeks i'll take more and post them. Does anyone else spend alot of time and money on their skin??? I'd love to hear some tips on anti-aging. I know diet and exercise are number one and two on the list. Supplements??? any thoughts appreciated.

Its amazing how quick your body responds to clean eating. When I started this 3 week mini challenge I had gone off the rails a bit and my jeans where feelin a bit tight. My skinnies are such a good guide for me, i dont believe in scales anymore - i only weigh myself out of curiosity - and the tape measure only measures key areas and not the bits in between. Skinnies, however, tell me what's going on from my muffin top all the way down to my calves. I have no fat on my calves so if my jeans get tight there it can only mean muscle - yay (although this is the only place on my body that is naturally muscley and I rarely do specific calve exercises).
After 4 days of clean eating and gym workouts I've lost all bloating and my butt is already starting to firm up.
Now if I can only stay on this path and get over that hump from good results to spectacular results i will be a happy chappy !!!!

Tuesday

Warning: the following post may cause drowsiness ...
Meals:
M1: Allbran cereal and skim milk (only coz i have to), protein pudding
M2: 13 almonds, 100g chicken, veges
M3: skim soy capaccino, protein bar
M4: 100g rump steak, veges
M5: 1/2 small tub fat free yoghurt

Dont think i ate enough today - must do the sums ...
Couldnt go to the gym due to brooke's dancing commitments but i managed to do a light w/o at home for chest and tris - better than nothing i suppose.
Sorry about the boring post everyone. will try and make it a bit more interesting soon - maybe some photos !!

Monday

Meals as follows
M1: AllBran cereal and skim milk
M2: 13 almonds, skim soy capaccino
M3: protein bar and tea
M4: pre workout meal : 1 egg and 2 whites scramble in 1 tab olive oil and 1 cup veg
M5: post workout meal : 100g chicken and 1/2 cup sauted mushrooms
M6: protein pudding

Gym
50 mins hiit cardio (made up of xtrainer, rower, mountain climber and tready
shoulders, glutes and bis

sorry, boring post - just entering data !!!!

Day 5

Diet pretty much the same as yesterday. Gym as follows:
4 x 8 db press s/s with
4 x 8 seated cable row
4 x 8 incline db press s/s with
4 x 8 reverse pec dec
4 x 20 leg press - feet low and close s/s with
4 x 20 calf raises on leg press
4 x 8 lat pulldown
a few extra sets of quads
Cardio - 35 mins hiit - xtrainer, rower, bike, mountain climber
did i mention i HATE cardio !!!
slept well last night so i must be training good!

Day 4 / 21

Better day today, must count the cals but i'm sure it would come in no more than 1200

M1: 5 egg white omlette with tomato and spinach cooked with a bit of olive oil, tea
M2: 15 almonds, 1 apple
M3: 100g chicken, 1 cup veg, protein pudding (1 serve protein powder, 1 tsp cocoa powder and water) - was feeling VERY hungry
M4: tea, protein bar
M5: steamed fish and veges, 10 almonds
Couldnt go to the gym, took 3 kids to dentist then worked in "mums taxi" driving around for kids sports. not too bad, sciatica was playing up today and it was leg day so just as well i suppose.
Cheers

Day 3 Tuesday

I dont think i ate enough today. I didnt prep, didnt have enough good food in the house yesterday to set up a good day today.
M1: AllBran cereal and skim milk, tea (have to have this for the plumbing, dont want to, though, but ive got to.
M2: 15 almonds, protein pudding (protein powder, 1tsp cocoa powder, water and nuke) top with 1 tab fat free yoghurt, tea
M3: apple
M4: plunger coffee (gloria jeans) and skim milk, protein bar
Workout
M5: 100g beef steak, 1 cup veg

Workout:
I havent been in nearly 2 weeks - kids sick, hubs sick then me sick! so the weights were only 1kg lighter than norm - not too bad!
All done with dumbbells:-
4 x 8 bench press s/s with
4 x 10 seated cable rows
4 x 8 delt circles s/s with
4 x 8 lat pulldowns
4 x 8 skull crushers s/s with
4 x 8 pec dec
4 x 8 dumbbell curls s/s with
4 x 20 weighted ab crunches on ball
3 x 8 shoulder press
cross trainer 15mins hiit
tready 15mins max incline (15%) 7kph
Feels good to get back into it. Havent done measurements yet will do that later tonight.
Have prepped heaps of goodies so food will be more on track tomorrow
:)

Mini Challenge

I have a day out soon that i want look hot, hot, hot !!! I'm meeting up with some friends I havent seen for a while so i want to rock my skinny jeans that have got a bit tight over the last few weeks. So i'm setting myself up for a mini challenge - 3 weeks to be exact. I'm geting my son to take a close up photo of my bum before and after - not sure if i'll post the before now or with the after !!!!
I know you can't spot reduce but this is the area i need to work on for the skinnies - between the waist and thighs.
Plan of attack? eat 100% clean, 9 hours sleep a night and 110% effort in the gym 4-5 days a week. 2-3 litres of water a day - that's getting a bit hard coz its winter over here, and to take my supplements - something i don't do coz i hate swallowing capsules. Just for 3 weeks to start with - TOTALLY ACHEIVABLE !!! My friend Charlotte is going to do it with me (thanks Charlotte! always good to do it with someone). I'm going to diarise food and exercise on my blog daily so i hope it doesnt get too boring! So, today is day 1, Sunday 12th June - finish date Saturday 2nd July. Ready, set, GO !!!

MIA but I'm back

I havent been blogging for a few weeks - well d'oh !! My life has been crazy - lots of ups, downs, in-betweens, worries, anxieties, frustrations, disappointments and unfortunately lots of sadness. And none of those feeling are in relation to my fitness journey.
As a result I have had nearly a week off the gym and 5 days off my diet. I'm feeling tired and flat. I'm not forcing myself to do anything at the moment. But, enough is enough. Tomorrow (Thursday) I'm back into the swing of it. Drag myself out of this dark funk and Nike (just do it !!!).
On a fun note i went away for a 3 day weekend with my husband and 2 other close couples without our kids !!!! After such a horrible couple of weeks it was a welcomed break. We went to our nation's capital - Canberra (very cold at the moment). We did some sites, drank, ate in lovely restaurants and laughed and laughed the whole weekend - just what the doctor ordered !!!


So I will be blogging my dailies and watching my calories. I'm going in hard this time. I was excited to fit into my skinny jeans and they weren't tight. They are an Aussie size 10 which is prob 6-8 USA size? (don't forget i'm 5ft 11in) You cant really see in the photos coz we had our jackets on and the photo of me in the group shot shows my belt sticking out under my jumper looking like a fat belly !!!!
Anyway, this gal is digging deep and rockin' on :)

Mothers Day

Had a lovely day with lovely prezzies - an animal print faux fur throw electric blanket and jackie collins new book. We went out to the golf club for a few champers and dinner with the kids and friends and had a great laugh and a great time. Broke the diet a bit but hey, its mothers day! Hope all you lovely mums out there had a lovely day :)
cheers!

Progress Pics / Measurements

I did my measurements this morning. I was rushing off to the kids sports so i didnt get to look at the comparison. So here it is. The comparison is from 7th Feb to 7th May but the first 4 weeks I lost very little til I dropped the carbs so really its only 2 months.
Height 180cm 180cm
Weight 68kg / 62.5 -5.5kg
Chest 94/ 90 -4cm
Waist 88/ 70 -18cm
Hips 99 / 89 -10cm
Saddlebags 104 / 95 -9cm
Abdomen 94/ 89 -5cm
Left Thigh 56/ 53 -3cm
Right Thigh 57/ 53 -4cm
Left Arm 29 / 27 -2cm
Right Arm 29 / 27 -2cm
Left Calf 37/ 34 -3cm
Right Calf 38/ 34.5 -3.5cm
I guess I should be pretty excited about the results but looking at the photos below I cant see any difference! I cant seem to be able to do a side by side before and after, i'll have to play around with the software so this is as good as it gets for the moment.


I've got such a long way to go :( Even though I hide a lot in skinny jeans (they suck you in a bit!) and being 5ft 11 inches but in a bikini - sheesh!! maybe i wont have the body for a bikini????? the bikini i have on is at least one size too small but thats the size i want to fit into. anyway, i'm going by my measurements and by my clothes. IM NOT GIVING UP - after all its only been 2 months. I'll give myself another 3 months and do a progress pic and hopefully there will be a BIG difference.
I will get my inspiration from all you gals out there doing great!
Cheers

I'm thinking progress pictures ......

i feel leaner, i feel firmer, i feel tighter and boy, do i feel sore!! I think I will take some progress pics on the weekend and do my measurements. I will post them (gasp, shock, horror! - Roxie yes I will post pics of me in a bikini !!!).
It has been 3 months since i started with my trainer (which i might add did not work for me). I did not lose weight til I dropped the carbs - not at his recommendation and i added cardio - also not at his recommendation. However, I did not fit into his "cookie cutter" programme he uses for most people. Not slagging him, just saying he wasnt for me.
Anyhow, watch this space and fingers crossed that there has been progress lol !!!

Day 29

i love reading people's blogs and the comments that are made. I love how you can find new and interesting blogs to hook into and they are generally likeminded people, a passion for fitness, and most you can learn from and draw inspiration and motivation.
I stumbled upon a website of Darla's. I love the food videos and her fitness videos. She blogs everyday (unlike mwah !!) and she is superfit, gorgeous and an oldie like me!! Her enthusiasm is infectious and I always get something out of it. She keeps everything simple, you should check her out.
In saying that, there are soooo many fitness gals out there that i follow daily and i never fail to get something from their blogs. Its amazing how helpful people can be and you don't even know them, everyone wants you to succeed!
So, back to my challenge - Roxie had to pull out due to health problems (wish you a speedy recovery) but i'm going to finish it anyway. Due to Easter I had a couple of hiccups but overall not too bad. My points as of today is 24 and it ends tomorrow. Can I make up the 6 points to get the score I was aiming for??? lets wait and see ......

Day 19

Back on track - yay! However, coz its school hols i'm getting to sleep (or rather lie) in. I'm only working half days. I'm finding it hard to fit all my meals in so my cals are down. Have been eating impeccably since the leftovers disaster, but does the lower cals help or harm? I'm obviously not doing as much during the day, still going to the gym at night so i'm a bit confused. I'm not hungry - still confused!! I'll be happy when the kids go back to school - back to my routine and back to pump classes (just cant get to them in the hols).
Its easter this weekend and i've only got one more chance of a gym session - Wednesday night - as we go away thurday arvo. It's upper turn so i think i'll go real heavy and do 4 x 6 sets - just to mix it up and keep the muscles guessing. I'm thinking of getting calipers. I've seen cheap ones $20 and expensive ones $200 whats the difference? can i get by with the cheap ones? are they accurate? would love some help on this one please !!!!!
goodnight for now!

The Dreaded Kids Leftovers

Day 17 sunday - i thought i survived the weekend but alas, i was watching biggest loser on sunday night and felt a bit restless. the kids were mucking up a bit and generally being annoying. then i heard this noise - it was my name being called out. "Amanda - come get me." So i tracked it down and it was coming from the fridge. "You know you want me, you don't need me but you WANT me!!!!!"
And then *poof* - i was sitting on the lounge eating a jam donut watching biggest loser - *STUUUUUUUUUUUPID, STUUUUUUUUUUUUPID ME*
It was the leftovers from the afternoon tea I had with my girlfriend on Saturday. The donuts were for the kids and stupid me did not throw out the leftovers. So now my challenge points are 26 - NOT HAPPY JAN (Aussie joke).
aarrgghh - i'm soooo disappointed in myself. Why cant i eat to live, not live to eat?? I think this will be a life long struggle for me :(.
Back to the gym tonight......

Dinner

Day 16 - i survived 2 socials - the first being an afternoon tea with one of my best girlfriends and her girls (Brooke's best friends also) at my house. now when i go to her house its a full on spread on the table - and i mean real yummy food. So I had to recipricate. So, nothing as elaborate as her treats but i wanted to make it reasonably healthy. I had jam donuts (for kids), spring onion dip and wholemeal crackers, grapes, fat free salsa and a huge plate of carrot, cucumber, celery strips (should have taken a photo of the veg it was pretty impressive). My friend brought a custard tart. So i made the tea and coffee, we sat down and of course talked a million miles an hour - inccluding diets! I gotta say, all i had was coffee on skim milk and veg stick and a bit of salsa - yay me!
They go and i get ready for a girlfriend's birthday dinner at her brother's restaurant. I drank 1.5 litres of water, no horderves (spelling???)scraped the sauce off the prawns, took the crispy skin off the chicken, left the potatoes and ate lots of veg. The meal was absolutely delicious. I did, however, eat a piece of cake - a beautiful classy icecream cake - gorgeous! I enjoyed it, thought it was worth it and didn't pig out - totally civilised. I will have to take a point off for my challenge - bugger! Came home and had a cuppa. I'm quite proud of myself and it wasn't a struggle.
Here's a pic of me and hubbs. Have a great weekend everyone!

Day 15

This is all i do on my blog now is to drone on about "the challenge" - how boring for you! sorry, but i'm just obsessed about it at the moment and i guess this is like my diary.
In saying that, day 15 was FAB diet wise, however, did not make it to the gym that night. I had to work in the morning, then come home and do things with the kids (being school holidays), we met up with friends and the kids went and saw Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2, did some clothes shopping for them, they went to eb games to spend a voucher they had, drove 1/2 hour home, Brooke packed her bag and i dropped her off to a sleepover, folded 3 loads of washing, put 2 on, cooked dinner and prepped a few more meals for me, went out to the shops to get my girlfriends 50th present (for Saturday night dinner) got home by 7.30 (to watch Biggest Loser) gave up any hopes of the gym as it closes 7pm on fridays (not happy about that) so prepared to watch telly when my son tells me his head is itchy and has nits !!!!!!!!!!! geez, how did that happen?????? so i "listened" to biggest loser while doing the nit thing!!!!
Had a cuppa, watched a couple more shows and went to bed.
Lets see how tonight goes at dinner - wish me luck!

Day 14

Going great guns - managed to get a few more calories in today !!! Heres what today looked like:-

seeya tomorrow!
Amanda

Day 12 and 13

Day 12 - all on track - simple as that!!!!!
Day 13 - started using my journal like Roxie great idea - everything there - hope you can enlarge it enough to see.

Yes my carbs are down - thats on purpose. Cals down a bit but i didnt calculate the 2 cups of veges that i had - a bit hard to do when its a mixed cup of fresh veg. i also didnt calculate my skim milk in tea - should start doing that but i would only have around 100ml in total which is only 35 cals and 5g carbs. Does anyone factor in fish oil caps calories in their fats? there is nothing on the bottle telling me cals so how do you count them?
Great workout at the gym. Feeling good !!!
Now for a good night sleep,
Amanda

Day 11 - back on track

After the pizza incident i'm happy to say i'm back on track! i've taken the kids and a friend of brooke's away to our place down the south coast. Just for 2 days. Hubby back home working. So the gym is out of the question so i did a huge soft sand beach walk instead so i'll count that as my exercise for today. we tend to walk around more when we are down here so i'll count that into my gym allocation.
Proof below

This is me with my eldest - Kurt, aged 13
I've found a journal i used last year and thought i'd start using it again. Roxie uses one for the challenge - great idea, i think i'll do the same, it makes it so much easier and accurate.
Hope you dont mind that i'm copying you Roxie :) I'll take a photo of it and post it on tomorrows blog.
seeya later.
Amanda

Bugger .....Day 10

Bugger, bugger, bugger and bugger!!!!! I cooked not stop for the kids and their mates all day - all they do is eat and i never weakened. Did groceries with my elder 2 (12 and 13) and told them i was on kitchen strike and they had to organise dinner (dear hubby was busy on the lounge *roll eyes* ). So they chose supermarket pizza - it was fresh not frozen - 3 pizzas for $10 - bargain. So we bring it home, they put it in the oven and when they cut it up it looked really good. so i had a piece - surprisingly nice - not oily or heavy.
And then i had another and another (they were only small pieces prob 2" at the wide end. it wasnt a gorge - it was just really nice. So i'm down to 29 points ... bugger!!!!!
I saw a gorgeous girl with a fantastic figure and her boyfriend shopping when i was in the supermarket and she was putting healthy things into their trolley and i thought to myself "i bet you dont have kids at home and have to deal with kids junk and not so healthy food. i bet you dont have to cook for them and try and resist their leftovers and have crap in the pantry". It would be much easier if my kitchen was a 100% clean for when i get the munchies.
Anyway, lets turn this number to the right direction.
Have a good Monday.

Day 9

Wow - what a difference a competition makes!!! I have had so many opportunities to eat crap and earn a penalty point but have stopped and thought "no, i'm in a contest and i'm NOT going to spoil/lose it". It's worked! I even walked into McDonalds and got something for Brooke after cheerleading tonight and I DIDN'T GET ANYTHING!!!! OMG Maccas is my fav takeaway. Sorry to say Roxie, but this is rockin' for me at the moment!!
Plus I did my fortnightly measurements and things are slowing down. I don't know what more I can do. I'm going to be a bag of bones upper half with jiggly thighs and bum downstairs!! *scream*
I put on my last year skinny jeans to wear tonight and they were a bit tight in the wrong places so i'm fatter than what i was last year :(
Ayway, gotta seriously think about this 60 day challenge thing, tweak my workouts - not sure.
Oh, BTW Charlotte - Panadol is Aussie paracetamol (pain killer) you buy at the supermarket!! i keep forgetting the o/s readers lol!
My pillow is calling me!
seeya ...

Day 8

I've been battling a headache all day. Huge day's work as usual. Didn't get around to taking Panadol, just soldiered on. Iv'e come home, done 3 loads of washing, prepped dinner for the fam, carpooled Brooke and her girlfriends to cheerleading practice (they are cheering at Sharks/Manly game this Saturday night at Shark Park!!) and I have 1/2 before I go to pump class at the gym. Still have a headache. Is it wrong to take Panadol to go to the gym? I s'pose I'd take it anyway! I'm doing it - better make it a Panadol Rapid gotta go in 15 minutes.
Cheers!

Day 7 of challenge - even though I only told you about it yesterday

Day 7 and all's well !!!

This is the link to my friend roxie so you can read her side of the story!
I'm taking photos of my meals and will post tomorrow. Pump was awesome last night - can't believe i've never done it before. Off to the gym after Brooke's netball, will do lower and 45 minutes on the tready - hiit.
I'm toying about doing this 60 day challenge that Genie is doing. Cant do the pull ups at home but I was thinking of doing exercises for my trouble spots (a few of my many) and was considering weighted crunches and obliques on the swiss ball, then weighted kickbacks for the glutes and maybe donkey kicks for the saddlebags. Probably start off with 10 for the first day and then 1 extra each day as per challenge. This would not be included in my April challenge - this would be extra. I imagine it would have the same effect as the original 60 day challenge - whatdyathink?
Anyway, housework is screaming at me,
Amanda

30 day challenge

I'm taking up a challenge with my friend Roxie (will figure out how to link her blog - i've forgotten how - d'uh) when she blogged that she was doing a 30 day challenge and of course, just had to join her (can't pass up a challenge).
So here's the deal. You have to set your eating goals and exercise schedules up and for the month of April you can't deviate at all. Not sure yet on the point penalty system yet, Roxie will have that on her blog. She has done the same, as you will see on her blog. So, this is my plan.
Eating:
Meal 1 30g oats, 75g blueberries, 4 eggwhite and tomato omlette, 100ml fat free yoghurt mixed with 25g protein powder
Meal 2 50g protein, 1 cup fibrous veg or salad
Meal 3 100g protein, 1 cup fibrous veg or salad
Meal 4 50g protein, 1 cup fibrous veg or salad
Meal 5 100g protein, 1 cup fibrous veg or salad
Post Workout Meal chocolate protein pancakes (1 serv choc protein powder, 1 egg white, 50g fat free cottage cheese dash of water - blitz and cook in non stick frypan
Throw in an apple and if hungry 13 raw almonds.
Healthy fats - olive or flaxseed oil in salad dressing with balsamic vinegar
Supplements: 6 fish oil caps, 2 multi vitamins, 1 CoQ10
3 litres of water
Green tea during day with spoon of benefibre
Will work out calories and macros in post tomorrow.
Exercise
Monday Wednesday and Friday: pump class at gym
Tuesday: upper body and 45 mins cardio
Thursday: lower body and 45 mins cardio
Saturday and Sunday: off
So thats the basics, we will both detail daily whats been happening. We have pledged to be honest and really, if one of us cheats, we are only cheating ourselves.
Wish me luck - next week we have 2 weeks school hols, easter, and ANZAC day - oh good grief - why did Roxie pick April (she must have known!!!)
Cheers and clean eating everyone!
Amanda

But there's more .......

I knew it was coming, i knew i was going to binge a bit, i expected it, i did it, now i'm making up for it!!!!!!
Saturday night - we had a group of friends around for dinner, i cooked greek salad, garlic rosemary roast potatoes, barby rump steak - all not too bad. But there's more - my girlfriend brought over a cheese plate, another girlfriend bought over lemon cream cupcakes to have with coffee. But there's more - a box of favourites chocolates and a packet of rum'n'raisin dark tim tams!!! But there's more - quite a few bottles of champers!!!!! OMG it was nice, i was full and now i'm accountable for it.
Sunday wasnt too good as we ate the leftovers but i enjoyed it.
This week I will get rid of it and then some!!
Monday night I did my first ever pump class and loved it (1 hour of cardio done with barbells and dumbbells - unbelievable. Tonight I did a 45 min hill climb interval walk on the tready -15% incline 7kph speed - blasted over 500 cals. Eating back on track - damage control is in effect!!
Lets see how the progress stats are at the end of the week hehehe
Enjoy the rest of the week everyone :)

Nearly the weekend !!!!

Very tired today. Work gets harder by the end of the week and energy levels drop. BUT i AM going to the gym tonight. Brooke's netball season has started (she's in u/13 this year - how did that happen? wasnt she 8 yo the last time I thought about it ?????). First training session is tonight - 6-7.30pm then i'm off to the gym. The boys have footy training - hubby's organising that as he is the coach. So dinner for the rest of the fam is in the oven and on the stove - home made lasagne *the smell is killing me its soo good* and steamed veges.
I've just cooked some fresh salmon fillet and broc for dinner.
After dropping a seving of carb and doing hill climbs on the tready the weight is coming off - yay!! My o-l trainer said that even though i'm lifting weights to muscle fatigue i wont build muscle (being on a caloric deficient diet) but i really feel that my delts are starting to define a bit and bi's and tri's are too!!! I dont think its coz i'm leaning down a bit either. Last year i lost more weight than i have so far now and i didnt see any definition pop through at all.
So there you go - things are lookin' good !!!!! That will inspire me to work harder at the gym tonight. They have a new stepper type cross trainer that i tried last night - sheesh - it was like climbing the stairs 3 at a time while doing the cross trainer. My goal is tonight is 550 cals between that machine and the tready. I'll do my last lower workout for the week tomorrow night.
Then home at 9pm to watch the biggest loser (Australia) and off to bed.

this week

Its been a good week. no falling off the wagon, eating really good, going to the gym (although i was so buggered by friday arvo i just couldnt go to the gym - i was so tired i was starting to feel sick. i have a very physical job, running around after kids sports etc and fighting a massive mouth infection (wtf where did that come from?). my dentist said it was probably a blocked gland in the gum from any number of reasons but it took alot of antibiotics to get rid of it. not to mention squeezing in sinus and head scans the dentist wanted me to have just to be on the safe side coz it got so bad my ears started hurting !!!!
anyway i had to do a biweekly report to the o-l trainer and was very dismayed - a cm here maybe another one there. nothing to reflect the amount of effort ive put in. so i took things into my own hands and tweaked my diet a bit (sshhh, dont tell him). i have cut out one carb portion a day, did some hill climb interval walking on the treadmill after i do his weights workout programme and by today - sunday - my muffin top is going away - yeeeeeehaaaaaaa!
I know my body stores carbs like there is a world shortage coming on!!!. after reading one of my favourite blogs (cant remember which one!!!) she said different things work for different bodies and even though my o-l trainer says to eat these carbs i knew i was eating too many carbs for me to lose the weight. after i have leaned down and when i start building muscle i will eat as many carbs as he wants me to but this is working now so i'm gonna stick with it.
anyway, just a quick catch up, hope everyone has a slimming, energised week ahead!

Hangin' in .....

Its been a while since i've posted - been extremely busy with kids - sports - fooyt and netball, we are going through the grading process at the moment. Brooke has had some doosies of assignments so I've been helping her with that.

Progress so far. HHmmmmmm, let me see. Diet has been good. At the end of the day i've eaten what the online trainer has said but maybe not in the exact sequence he has outlined. Does that matter? I'm afraid to ask coz when he responded to my biweekly report and meal tracker he was disappointed that i had deviated a couple of times in the 3 weeks of dieting. And those deviations were mostly that I didnt eat all the food!!!!!! He is quite obsessed about the food - you know, commitment and all that which is great, i am commited, but he doesnt understand that with kids, things pop up and stop you from doing what you had planned. Im not saying I wolfed down a bucket of hot chips or anything like that, i was very good with my food but when you are at somebodies house you cant ask the host to weigh the steak that he has just bar-b-qued for you and then whip out your protein shake and drink that in front of everyone now can you? !!! So i just guessed the steak size of 115gms and had a salad with it - maybe more than a cup of the green stuff as required - who knows!!!!!! I think thats good enough in the circumstances and I'm happy with that.
We went to an engagement party Saturday night - we had dinner at home beforehand and I drank water all night and one coke zero - yay me. I offered to drive so i knew i couldnt drink. And the worst part ?? - an open bar with free champagne !!! OMG that was testing my commitment, i can tell you!

Training was been good - doing everything that i've been told to do plus some treadmill hill HIIT. Not supposed to do it but I had to make sure i fitted into the little black dress for the engagement party. I did fit into it but a few little lumps more than when i wore it 6 months ago - still looked good though. why do i worry? some of the things women wear ASTOUND me. dont these people have mirrors?

Anyway, another week ahead, I might post some progress stats if worthy enough. Not ready to share piccies yet !!!!

Have a great week everyone :)

Note to self ......

Note to self ......
DO NOT GO SHOPPING WITHOUT TAKING MY NEXT MEAL WITH ME IN MY HANDBAG
OMG - i was nearly dilerious half way through (it wasnt grocery shopping - just bits and pieces at Westfields). I wasnt having any luck getting what was on my list and my head was spinning and I started to feel desperate. I had to walk through the food court a few times *aarrgghh*. I kept it together and got home as quickly as I could. I'm NEVER going to do that again !! I hope :)

Daily food blog

This is what my food looked like today!
Meal 1
oats (made on water only) and blueberries

Meal 2
1 scoop protein powder, apple, almonds and multi vitamin

Meal 3
sweet potato, tuna steak and 3 fish oil caps

Snack
This is not on my meal plan from the online trainer but sometimes I just need the pick up it gives. Its a recipe from Gloria Jeans - 1 cup ice, 2 shots of GJ expresso coffee (I have a home capaccino machine!) and 100ml skim milk. Blitz and it turns into a thickshake all for 35 cals !

Meal 4
Barby rump, avacado, salad, multi vitamin

Meal 5 - Post workout
carbs and protein

Gym - weights session delts, shoulders, chest, back, tris, bis
Cardio - busted 500 cals on interval hill climb on treadmill at 6.4kmph - 43 minutes
Time for a shower and bed!
All in all a good day!!!!

the good and the bad !!

the bad first ..... kids friends over for sleepovers both Friday and Saturday = icecream and not so good food and i finally caved in Saturday and had twisties, a couple of nuggets and hot chips topped off with a bit of icecream (sheesh)
the good ..... went to the gym this morning and did 500 calories in 35 minutes on the treadmill - hill climb.
Not that it took off wht I ate but hey - it was better than nothing. I hope my online trainer doesnt find out about this blog hehehe
Food back on track today.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend :)

How this on-line trainer thing is going .....

Well its been ages since i've blogged so bear with me while I recap. After FINALLY getting my programme I started with new enthusiasm and hope to lose this weight (with the extra Christmas and summer holiday fat that has decided to live with me). Seem to have enough food but holy hell - i'm missing my little something with a cup of tea or the humble piece of toast with vegemite or jam (even diet jam would be nice!). Its basically lean protein, green only veg and brown rice OR sweet potato once a day oh, and a bit of porridge thrown in as well and a few almonds and vitamin supplements. No milk *ugh* 5 meals of this !!!!!!! Everything is weighed to the EXACT gram (had to buy digital scales - oh my lord - didnt realise how heavy food is !) Exercise is 4 days a week, moderate weights only at this stage - no cardio yet (yay - I HATE cardio).
Submitted before photos, measurements etc. (yuk) I have to submit on line meal tracker and redo stats every 2 weeks and submit those as well.
Well, its been 3 weeks now. Progress you ask? Not as much as i'd hoped :( 2kgs, a cm or 2 here and there - all upper - nothing off my big fat arse or huge gut. NOT HAPPY JAN !! (I guess only Aussies will get this saying - it was from a tv add years ago and people still quote that saying!) I'm supposing ths is a long term thing but this is one impatient gal! Eating that kind of food has to get there quicker right?????? I befriended a woman on facebook that i read about on this on line trainer's website testimonials and she thoroughly recommended him. Her after photo is exactly how I want to look and she said it took her nearly 6 months (oh good grief) but i'm prepared to do that so at this stage i'll have to be patient (hahahaha).
I'm worried because i have to fit into my little black coctail dress next Saturday night for an engagement party (fingers crossed). Let alone being able to eat anything whilst I'm there !!! And have a champers or 2 and relax and have fun (HA! like that's going to happen).
Anyway, i'm paying for this programme so I will do it. I just have to remember - FOOD IS NOT FOR TASTE OR PLEASURE - I have to think of something else as a treat (whats that noise you ask? oh thats just me sniffing and wiping the tears away pretending it doesnt matter !)
No pain - no gain ! yeah, yeah, yeah - heard it all before !!!!!
Anyway, i'm going to start taking piccies of meals and bits and pieces to make it a bit more motivating and meanwhile scour the blogs I follow for inspiration.
Check in later, have a good weekend !!!

New Year - New Way

After doing a lot of research i've decided to use an on line trainer. I'm having problems fine tuning my clean eating diet, my workouts are stale and i'm not inclined to work outside my comfort zone.
This guy tells me exactly what to eat, when and exactly what weights to do and when. I've just filled in the paperwork so i havent got my programme yet - hopefully in the next few days. He is based in the US so there is always a 12-24 hour turnover with emails. It is a 12 week programme to start with then re-assess the need to keep going with him. He trains women for bodybuilding comps so I know he is focussed on muscles and definition - not just being slim.
I'm hoping to start on 31st January - the day the kids go back to school - with their school term being 10 weeks. Hopefully by next school hols i can get into my bikini coz we can normally squeeze one last beach swim in if the weaher is fine - after that the water gets too cold.
I dont think I'll go off track with this guy - you have to check in with him and be accountable and also its just a waste of money if i dont do it.
I'm excited - keep you posted !!!!

Prepping IS the Answer

Tuesday I shopped for fresh fruit and veg, went to the supermarket so I was well stocked. Wednesday I felt so nauseas and tired so after work I prepped and cooked my meals for the next 2 days. IT WORKS !! I can go to the fridge for a meal or just a nibble and its there ready - no diving into the biscuit barrel coz I can't be bothered making something.
I dug out my old issues of Oxygen magazines and will start re-reading them - some of the recipes sound unreal ! Things are feeling POSITIVE !!!!!!!!

Back on the Wagon (again !!!)

Well, Christmas, New Years Eve, summer school holidays here in Australia = lots of champagne !!! not good. We have a place down the south coast on the beach that we go to most holidays and it is very social with lots of cheese plates and drinkies at the end of the day. Compared to other years I think I did OK. However, i'm back home and things have to get back to normal - even if kids don't go back for another 2 1/2 weeks.
I shopped yesterday and today I'll start cooking and prepping food for the next few days. I think i'll do the cook twice a week plan as i have to cook for my 3 kids and hubby. I know that the kids should be eating the majority of what i'm eating but in the real world that just does NOT happen. I read some articles in the Australian Oxygen mag written by John Davies and he documented the diet in great detail of a girl prepping for a bobybuilding contest. Very enlightening !!!! I'm going to have a crack at doing this diet for around 4 weeks just to strip some fat off my body (if anyone understands this term you could call me skinny fat) just to see the muscles a bit underneath - i know they are there somewhere !!!!!
Anyway I'm off to work today *blah* so I'll have to cook when I get home.