Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Areas to improve on

I've been thinking about how I feel in my skin over the last few days and have come up with some areas I want to improve on. Don't get me wrong I would like to tone up all over but I have three areas that need to be improved for flexibility and feeling good in my skin.

Firstly my lower back - I don't have an injury but it feels like everything below my waist is fused together and I would really like to feel some flexibility in there.

Secondly my butt - I know everyone wants to lose a little weight from their arse but since having kids my pelvis has noticably tilted forwards which throws my butt out and probably doesn't help my back. I'm trying to correct my posture but when I do it feels like there is too much flesh on my arse and thighs for me to easily (without tensing up) stand in a neutral spine position.

Thirdly my knees - Once again no injuries here but they are SO stiff! I can bend them and squat but because they're stiff I tend to bend from my waist (big no-no I know) to do things which again is probably not helping my lower back.

I haven't worked out an action plan or anything to target these areas yet but identifying them is a start - especially as it seems they all relate to my back.

In good news - I exercised today! I did a full 5 minutes before Mum duties pulled me away ... tomorrow i'll aim for 10 :)

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Time to set goals

I don't REALLY know what goals to set for myself. I don't know what is realistic. I know I want to lose weight and look fantastic for Christmas, but I don't know how that translates into a number to lose.

What I do know:
1) I weigh 63.5kg
2) I am 157cm tall
3) My smallest waist measurement is 81cm (6cm above my belly button)
4) My 'real' waist measurement is 96cm (taken an inch above my belly button)
5) My hip measurement is 108cm

Based on these numbers:
My BMI is 25.8 and my waist to hip ratio is 0.75 (or 0.89?)

I should be aiming for a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 and a waist to hip ratio of 0.7

So I don't have a huge amount to lose but how far into the 'normal' range should I be aiming?

I do have three kids to work around - or should I say 'three kids to use as excuses'

I also really want to get on the scales and see a number starting with 5 :)

So with that in mind I set the following goals this morning

In One Month I will Tone up my waist, Lose 2 kilos and improve my fitnes. I will do this by following the 12WBT program, make time for regular exercise and focus on improving my will power.

In Three Months I will Tone up my stomach, Lose 5 kilos and wear (not just fit into) size 10 clothes. I will do this by following the 12WBT program focusing on fat burning and ab work.

In Six Months I will maintain my weight and fitness and be feeding my family good food.  I will do this by continuing with the 12WBT program by myself and getting myself into a fitness routine. I will reward myself with experiences an not food! I will also be organised with food and my daily routine making sure I have time to make healthy food choices.

In Twelve Months I will maintain my weight and fitness and be feeding my family good food.  I will do this by continuing to eat fresh and healthy food. I will involve my children in my fitness by running with them at the park and chasing them around as they ride bikes. I will keep active.  I will also be organised with food and my daily routine making sure I have time to make healthy food choices
Now to get going and get active!

Ok so I need to work on my will power ...

I don't quite know where things went wrong over the weekend, I have a fridge full of healthy food but yet I've eaten crap twice.

On Saturday night I told myself:
"We have a nice date night ahead of us - free tickets to a 'La Premiere' movie ... it would be a shame not to indulge a little"
And sure enough I shared a bottle of red wine with my husband (30/60 split I drank less), shared a single serve vanilla white chocolate icecream and a lindt dessert tasting platter and topped it all off with a latte ... Ok so I passed on the popcorn but I could have passed on all of it and still enjoyed the movie and the ambience.

And today we were out a friends child's baptism:
"Oh those wraps and burgers look so good ... I'll have the meat, other meat, onions, cheese, barbeque sauce, token salad and lashings of sour cream ... don't forget to grab two handfuls of chips too" 
and then I went back and grabbed a burger too ... I could easily have made myself a very lean wrap with what was at hand ... but no I was pulled right in there ... Oh and the two glasses of white wine weren't needed at all!

Looking at the positives here:
1) Its good to know now that I have a will power issue when I'm out of the house
2) I didn't realise I was rewarding myself with food and wine so this is something I need to change
3) At least I ate healthy for three meals over the weekend ... I did skip dinner tonight but after my binge at lunch it was purely because I wasn't hungry!

With that off my chest I'm going to turn in for the night.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Where did all this energy come from?

Ok, so I'm on day two of eating Michelle's recipes from the Crunch Time Cookbook and I am amazed at how much more energy I have already, and how I'm not feeling snacky. I'm also not chasing 'another' cup of coffee like I was before.

Sure its nice to sit down in the morning with a cup when I've got the babies down for their sleep (also the time I tend to eat my breakfast), but i was drinking upwards of 5 cups of instant coffee a day ... I know its not good for me but managing three kids under three my milky-sugary-caffine hit was my reward - and I needed rewarding frequently!

I have already taken the step of removing the sugar from my coffee which has lessened the appeal, and now I'm cutting back on the number of cups I drink in a day. So i guess my goal by the start of the season is to cut out the daily coffee and replace it with something caffine free. I'm hopeful that with all this extra energy I have from just eating well that I won't even notice its gone ... or is that wishful thinking? ... I know I can expect withdrawl headaches but I'm hoping to avoid the energy slump.

Another thing that has really given me a boost is I have been sharing the food i've prepared with my husband and he is really appreciating it. He is always supportive of things I do, but I was expecting him to complain about serving sizes or just have a gentle dig at being put on a diet by me. Instead he's finding the breakfast a little too much of a serving for him and he's actively thanking me for making him lunch! It will be interesting to see whether he continues to appreciate the food or if he finds he needs more calories. It would be great if he's happy to keep taking the food I prepare in with him because he works in the city and buying his lunch every day is an expensive option.

As I found today, the fruit and veg shopping is now a lot more expensive than it was. I have been buying a lot of fruit and vegetables to feed to the twins, but adding all the fresh produce for my husband and myself has more than doubled my bill. Overall I don't think I'm actually spending any more money than i used to, I'm just spending much more of it at the fruit and veg shop rather than in Coles. Given my increased energy levels I'm thinking it's money well spent!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

No more excuses Missy!

I found time this morning to do my pre-season home work and I was amazed at how many of my excuses are the same sort of thing. I don't have time, It won't work, It's too hard ... you know the same ones everyone has. What I was amazed about is how easy it was to form a rebuttal to each and every one. I really feel Michelle's program is helping to inspire me and helping me to complete the preseason work. I was so impressed with how well it came together I have it printed up so i can read it now. I'm loving the use of colour and bold i put on it so I can catch the main points in an instant.

I have also found myself doubting my decision to join the 12WBT team a few times because I don't have huge amounts of weight to lose. My first three excuses in my preseason home work are based on the fact I only want to lose around 5kg and I wonder whether I really needed to sign up or whether I could go it alone. It was during this doubt that I found the SkinnyFat Club in the forum and saw a group of women in the same boat as me. I realise now that I have no real excuses.

I'm also having a really positive day, I am aware of diving into exercise and diet changes too quickly but I wanted to start eating better so i picked up a copy of the Crunch Time Cookbook. Today I have made myself breakfast and lunch out of the book and I am happily full and simply amazed at how good it tastes. This is the program I want to be on - eating good tasting food that is good for you!

Now i better get started on making dinner ...

Where am I going with this

I don't know where I am going with this ... I don't know where to start ... I don't know where i'll end up ... I do know that I am here now ...

My name is Jane and I wasn't going to start a blog ... well it seems i've changed my mind :) .

I currently live in Sydney with my husband and three beautiful daughters. Our eldest will be turning three soon and our babies (fraternal twins) are turning one in November. I often hear that i have my "hands full" but while i'm busy my girls have largely become an excuse i've tried on and accepted as truth. Both my husband and I are from Adelaide so we manage most of the time without any family supports.

In a few months I will be turning 30 which has brought up the expected life questions which i am trying to sort out in my head but getting nowhere fast. I gave up work when we moved to Sydney in 2007 and now i find myself with 7 years of study but nothing more than a BA to show for it and no real career to speak of. I set myself the goal at the beginning of 2010 to decide on a career path and start working towards it ... I think I know what that is but thats a whole different post ... It doesn't help that my chosen career path requires another 3 years of study and my husband is dubious about whether i can study well of an evening (ie after the kids go to bed).

My lack of career has left me feeling like a failure. Yes I have beautiful children but all the women I went to school with have careers and travel plans and house plans and I have no career, no travel plans, and a crummy rental to live in. I am also unhappily unfit and carrying "a few extra kilos". I keep trying to change my habits but at the end of the day when my last girl is in bed all i want to do is sit down with a glass of red wine, some dark chocolate and veg in front of the TV. I make excuses why I can't exercise, can't eat right, and can't be bothered but I really want to change.

I have never been happy with my body but every year i'm slipping a little further from where i would like to be. I considered a few different diet options before i stumbled across the 12WBT by Michelle Bridges. I talked myself out of it several times and then talked myself into it and now i'm loving it. I've only been in pre season for three days now and i'm loving my choice. I realise now that i was putting everyone else first and that if I really want to be happy that needs to change. I deserve to be my first priority and I am going to stick with this plan. It also helps that I have been eating meals from her cookbook today and LOVING IT!

I have a friends wedding in December - just after i turn 30, and I want to look fantastic. This is a friend I have had ups and downs with, and who chose to attend a rave party rather than my wedding and who tried to talk my husband our of marrying me ... so you can see why five years on I want to rock up to her wedding looking my absolute best!