A reminder to myself

After a week of working out 5 solid times, not deviating from my eating plan, not even last weekend, the scale shifted with only 300 grams.  That's pretty lousy, but that being said I know by now that if I work out hard I change my body and that change does not necessarily reflect on the scale, but I'm giving the fat a good nudge nonetheless and I'm sure when I'm going to measure I'm going to see the difference there.

I just need to remind myself of a couple of things and I need to put it in writing, so I can come back and read it again.

1. This personal challenge is for 3 months, I'm only in Week 2 now, so plenty more weeks to go.
2. Even if the scale shows little or no difference and I have worked out hard and have eaten well, it is a WIN. I'm working towards a healthy body. And it is guaranteed I'm getting leaner, and that's the most important.
3. What I weigh is NOT important.  My good friend Jess once told me nobody is going to pick me up and place me on a scale to see what I weigh - it is NOT important.  Being healthy is what's important to me - looking healthy and getting rid of the fat.
4. I am not fat, I have fat, and I'm working hard to change it.
5. I must not focus on the now, but on the end of this specific challenge.  The change I can make in 3 whole months is going to be incredible!  So I must just focus on 31 August.
6. I am a Winter Warrior!  Persistence is key.
7. Summer bodies are made in the winter!
8. I can do this, I will do this, I am busy doing this

3-Month Personal Challenge

It's been 7 months since I last wrote on this blog...7  roller coaster  months.  I have been quiet on this blog, not because I have not been continuing on my mission, life is just hectic being a full time working mom of two (three if you count my hubby) with no domestic help at home. So this blog was a little bit left behind.

Last time I wrote I said "She believed she could so she did" and I actually did - I did very well getting my weight down to about 83'ish.  But then December holidays came and I can't even remember how much I rapidly gained due to way too many indulgences.  Of course I went into the new year all guns blazing and I started Kayla Itsines programme with my dear friend Jess.  We did so well.  We finished the first 4 weeks pre training and then we went on to the intense programme and we got to week 5.  I did not lose a lot of weight, but I lost cm like it was nobody's business and my body got toned and I was so proud.  Then flucking life happened again and I got bronchitis as well as developed asthma.  I could barely breath for 2 months and I had to stop my workouts.  Eating went well throughout the week - I kept mostly to Paleo, but weekends were my downfall, and in between stressful work situations and sick kiddies and lack of sleep due to a teething baby I fell off the wagon for short periods of time here and there... mostly weekends, or for a day or so at a time.  My weight I must say kept steady at around 87'ish kg.

I feel as though I am wasting this year, so I decided as of 1 June I have to super charge my weightloss mission.  I learned about the IIFYM (If it fits your macros) lifestyle and I decided I can do this along with 90% clean eating and it would be easier to maintain and give me a little bit more freedom over weekends.  So I approached http://www.lauramelaniemuscle.co.za/ to work out my macros for me so that I could be sure it's done correctly.  Laura surprised me by allocating me 2200 calories to eat every single day according to my workout schedules and stats, but IIFYM is more about counting macros, so focusing on getting in 289g (gasp) protein, 114g carbs and 65g fat.  This is totally new to me and I am not near to reaching those macros yet.  My average calorie intake is about 1400 usually and protein rarely reached 100g per day.  But so far I am feeling good and strong, so giving this lifestyle a month to see if it suits me and more importantly if it helps me to shift the extra weight!

I also restarted Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide along with Jess and we already almost have Week 1 under the belt.  I'm sitting here with sore tummy muscles!

Hoping and wishing and praying to stay strong this three months.  I want to emerge from this winter and feel like a butterfly that just came out of her cocoon after being a fat caterpillar for far too long.

I have not set myself many goals - just to keep to it and keep going as hard as I can.  I don't know how regularly I'm going to weigh, if it is going to be weekly or monthly.  At this stage I'm just focusing on staying strong and be a warrior!  I will hopefully post soon with some awesome results :)

She believed she could so she did!

Going strong on this side, but hectic time restraints so blogging is a huge luxury at this moment. Will update soon on all the happenings since September!

A setback is a setup for a comeback!

Okay, so with birthdays, party planning, sleep deprivation and taking care of hubby, house, 1 baby, 1 very active boy, cat and dog I lost focus during July and forgot to take care of ME, the one that needs to keep everything together.

So August is get-your-shit-together month for me. I restarted my tally as you can see on the right hand side. I restarted on 89.9.... Yeah I know...big gain in one short month of not focussing...not fair but what is done is done.  After two weeks of hard work I'm down 1.9 kg again and I'm on my way again, this time with a much stronger sense of determination and I have asked for some extra support from people I know I can count on. This helps me a lot.

Before pictures and measurements taken, so watch this space!  September is a brand new challenge, I will blog about it later when I know more, but I signed up for a 30-day summer challenge.

So yes ---} A setback is a setup for a comeback!{---

On my way again!

So I had my weigh-in this morning...I'm happy with the result and I think it proofs that I carried some water weight at my previous weigh-in. At least I'm getting somewhere and I'm on my way to breaking the 80's!

Pre-Preggy weight: 85.3 kg.
End of pregnancy weight: approx 94 kg.
Last weigh-in: 88.3 kg.
Weight this morning: 85.8 kg.
Loss for this weigh-in: 2.5 kg.

I still haven't done any other exercise besides walking. My little one is giving me all my days with crying bouts because of reflux and cramping, so not a lot of free time at this stage, but I'll get there.

500 Grams to go to reach my pre-preggy weight at the beginning of September!

Operation "Break the 80's" starts today!

On the 27th of May I gave birth to the most beautiful baby girl. I'm so blessed and I am so chuffed that my dream of having a VBAC came true... Good thing because I worked very hard at it! My goal for my pregnancy was to limit my weight gain and thanks to my fear of having another c-section I managed to succeed and picked up about 9 kg in total. Last week I came within a kilogram from my pre-preggy weight, but thanks to constipation (tmi, sorry), bloatedness and almost a week of binge-eating (especially over the long weekend) when I weighed in this morning I am now 3 kg away from it... I can kick my bum!

So now my first goal is to get back to 85.3 kg ASAP... Am now 88.3 kg. Then my next goal is to break the 80's and get as far away from it as I can.  This next leg of my weightloss journey starts today and not a day later!

How? I am going to gradually go back to the Paleo way of eating. For convenience-sake with a newborn I say gradually... For the next few weeks I'll eat mainly Paleo, but will include: oats, full cream milk, full cream yogurt, potatoes, peas and a tiny bit of peanut butter.  

I am not sure about exercising yet as I have not had my check up yet, only on six weeks post partum. But I think I will continue to do some walks and maybe start playing around with my kettlebell. I am dying to start with Kettleworx, but think I should get the all clear from my gynae first. That and the fact that I spend most of my days in pajamas still... Life with a newborn and breastfeeding is hectic! No excuses though!

I am ready for it, bring it on!

Proud!

Right at the end of my pregnancy, so I thought it's about time for a bit of an update on this blog wrt my weight and health while I wait for my girly to be born.

Pre-pregnancy weight was 85.3 kg.  And did a Reboot at the beginning of my pregnancy, and that together with the nausea from my morning sickness helped me to get down to 83 odd kilograms, can't remember the exact figure.  Yesterday weighed in at 93.8 kg.  So I'm up about 8.5 kilograms from my pre-pregnancy weight.

I can't help but feel proud of that!

I did get worried at a certain point when I gained more with this baby than what I've gained at the same point with my little boy, but some or other way I got the strength since beginning April to be really strict with myself - and I have not gained any weight since then.  I only gained a bit while sick, but managed to lose it again quickly, so I think it was just my weight fluctuating due to medications and not feeling well, and also not drinking enough water.

Must admit, it was hard... have not had any chocolate for a very long time... but I focus on the fact that I want to desperately have a Vbac and have to keep my weight and baby's weight in check.  So I tried my hardest to keep my eye on that goal.

I am sure with the help of Paleo, maybe lacto-Paleo, breastfeeding and a strong will I'll lose my pregnancy weight quickly.  I just hope I find the energy while taking care of my newborn and juggle the rest of my family...

Next goal after losing pre-pregnancy weight is to try to get as close to breaking the 80's possible - hopefully in time for my sister's wedding in October!

Fingers crossed, really need to bounce back from this pregnancy quickly so that I can continue my weightloss journey.  It's really important for me to reach a healthy weight range, I have been working on it for so long. I need it for me, I need it for hubby, and I need it for my children.  I'm way past it being for the sake of looking good - it's for the way I want to feel from the inside. I want health, yes!  I want fitness, yes! I want to feel energized!