Week 10 - Thursday

Today has been good. Have been in Melbourne all day.  Still managed to get in an hour of cardio today on the cross trainer. Was super sore today after my weight training yesterday but have been loving being sore!

Food:
- Strawberries, banana, fructose free museli bar
- Omelette
- Apple and mandarine
- White tea with xylitol
- Kanagaroo sausages and vegies
- White tea with xylitol
- Low cal choc and coconut dessert

Food was fine today. Tried to fit in some extra protein than usual.

Week 10 - Tues and Wed

Tuesday

Well yesterday was a struggle. Maybe it was fructose withdrawal, but I was exhasted and the workout was a real struggle. Mindset was awful. Wanted to quit my workout. But I got on with it and did 30 min run and 30 mins cross trainer.

Food:
- watermelon, banana, apple
- cup of tea, milk and xylitol
- omelette
- rice cakes with peanut butter
- roast chicken and roast vegies
- strawberries with cream and rice syrup
- cup of tea, milk and xylitol

Probably went over in calories today, had a birthday dinner, so did my best to be healthy. Did not eat any cake :)

Wednesday

Today was fabulous. I had so much energy! 10km run with ease, then did an hour and a half of weight training with my partner. Was great fun! Had the best day. Am still off fructose.

Food:
- apple, banana, cashews
- cup of tea, milk and xylitol
- omelette
- rice cake with peanut butter
- kangaroo sausages with steamed vegies
- strawberries and glucose powder
- cup of tea, milk and xylitol

Really enjoyed today! Looved the weight training! :)

Week 10 - Monday

Things are going great for me. I have been doing a lot of reading into my sugar cravings. I found a fantastic book which I read over the weekend called "Sweet Poison" fabulous book if you have a sweet tooth and want to lose it.

Anyway, I am off fructose, other than in whole fruits. Whole fruits are fine because of the high fibre, water, nutrients and enzyme content. Have been off it completely today, was nearly completely off it yesterday too. Already feeling way more in control. Looking foward to the craving free journey :)

Meal Plan:
- Porridge with blueberries and banana
- Museli bar (fructose free)
- Watermelon
- Chicken salad
- Pear and strawberries
- Lamb, goats cheese, avacado salad
- Cup of tea, milk, brown rice syrup

Exercise:
- 45 mins step class, 15 mins cross trainer, 15 mins bike

Week 9 - Sunday

Haven't posted for the last few days. This week has been insane with uni. Luckily next week will be better :) Way less stressful.

I will be posting each day now! I have still been getting to gym everyday and been making healthy choices for eating. So I still believe that I can get to my 51kg goal in three weeks. I am super excited about training this week with more time on my hands too.

Food diary:
- porridge with banana
- apple
- chicken, pear and feta salad
- cup of tea with milk and rapadura
- chicken, avacado, roasted onion salad
- cup of tea with milk and rapadura


Workout:
- 8 km run
- 30 mins on cross trainer

Well within my limits today :)

Special note to Nici! I am super proud of you! This week has been amazing for you! You are well on track and all the positive habits are setting in! Congratulations! I cannot wait to read all about your physical progress to a lean ripped body! :)

Week 9 - Tuesday - Thursday

Weigh in: 52.7
Goal weight: 51

Weighed in this morning at 52.7. I ate quite well yesterday (not perfect), and did an hours hard cardio. But am still down. Quite interesting to see the fluctuation in weight even just after a day. By weighing in every day I think I will be seeing my weight go up and down :)

Rest of the week

Has been a long week. Busy with uni, and travelling, which means that I have been eating a bit of take away food. It has not been perfect, but I have been conscious of my take-away decisions e.g. sushi and salads. But am still not sure how many calories I have been eating. This is not a common schedule for me.

Anyway, it is my busy day tomorrow, then I am on the proper no take away bandwagon.  Also, I have still been doing my workouts. Over an hour of cardio each day, that is something. I don't think that I am putting on weight which is a plus.

Will weigh in Saturday morning and then every day there after. As well as my food diary. Three weeks should still be long enough to get to my goal weight. :)

Week 9

Okay, so I weighed in this morning for the first time in weeks. I am 53.1kg. Have put on some weight. But as a plus have still lost 1kg.  My goal was 50kgs by the end of the 12 weeks. I would be happy with 51kg. Leaving me 2.1kg to lose in 4 weeks.

To keep myself accountable I have decided to weigh in each day. Otherwise I have this mindset that I can make it up on the days before weigh in. 

In terms of the weekend. Friday eating was not great. However, I ate well on Saturday and Sunday, no slippery slope.  I am still struggling with sweet cravings but I will continue on.

Exercise. I did my normal hour of cardio each day. Fri 40 min run and 20 mins cross trainer. Sat 60 min run (11kms). Sun 60 min cross trainer.

Anyway, 500 grams per week is my goal. I will be posting my daily weights in. :)

Week 8 - Thursday

Today has not been great. Back to my Sunday mindset. So ridiculous to think that my mindset can change so much in a day. Silly silly eating.

Pretty much, the dealio is that I have to re-write a huge piece of my work from uni. Today I have felt extremely overwhelmed and have been a bit of an emo. So of course, as predicted my eating went way downhill. At gym I got on the treddie and was ready to quit after 5 mins. However, I sucked it up and stuck to it until I had run 7kms. Then spent 25mins on the cross trainer. Was a mentally hard workout today.

My whole mindset today was that I cant cope with failure on this program and failure at uni.  Neither of which are true or even possible. Btw, I am an over-achiever at uni, have always done very well, so logically I know this attitude is incorrect. Plus, I work out everyday, so clearly not failure there. But I am consistently disappointing myself on the food front.

Todays mindset was that there is no way I can lose the rest of the weight in the last four weeks, especially when uni is so hard at the moment. The only way it would be possible would be to be in control of my diet. Something that I have never been good at. At the moment I do not have the time to do more than an hours exercise a day. 

Anyway, I hope that I can stay strong and get back on top of things tomorrow. I don't want to start the slippery slope for the weekend. I have a birthday dinner tomorrow night (pizza). So I have decided to stay at home until after tea and do some extra study. And have tea at home, no pizza for me :)  Other than that I have prepared a whole heap of cooked vegies and cut up raw vegies which are in the fridge for me to snack on. No more carb treats. Hopefully the weekend goes well with food and study :)

Eating today (who knows how many calories):
- muesli and strawberries
- cup of tea
- watermelon
- roasted vegies
- 2 superfood orb balls
- cup of tea
- 2 pieces of toast with banana and honey, and jam and cheese (clearly healthful choices for dinner)
- cup of tea

Looking forward to a more controlled day tomorrow. Sorry Nici.

Week 8 - Wednesday

Today has been okay.

Got up and went to gym. 1 hour of cardio, run and cross trainer.

Food:
- porridge
- tea
- banana
- Lunch out: frittata and salad.
- apple
- chicken and roasted vegies.
- tea
- dates and saltanas

- I am sure I have gone over calories today. I don't know how many I had at lunch. I must be better and really good tomorrow as my weigh in is on Friday.

- Good luck with dinner tonight Nici! You will be fine! ;)

Week 8 - Tuesday

Woke up feeling great after yesterday. Clean eating just feels so much better. Going to try and have another simple eating day. Fruit, vege, tea and some protien is the plan. Hopefully when I get on the scales tomorrow morning I am still at the 51.8 mark and haven't gained. 

Either way, things have changed significantly in the last week and a bit. I am definitely more conscious and present with my eating, so things are getting there.

Have a BBQ tonight at a friends house, plan on taking salmon and my own salad (they always end up just having potato, pasta and colslaw salad from the supermarket, not good).

Plan on keeping it clean for weigh in tomorrow.

Food for DAY:
- watermelon
- cup of tea
- vegies
- strawberries
- cup of tea
- lamb shanks and vegies
- small choc cake
Exercise Plan:
- 1.25 hours of cardio

Tonight I went out for tea, and I didn't order chips! Yay! p.s. I looove chips and I always get them when going out for tea. Instead I ordered extra vegies :)

I did however, eat a small choc cake, but I am okay with this as I saved calories for it :) Happy with the day. Am going to weigh in friday. Too many carbs at night tonight.

Hope I am 51.8kg on Friday and not any higher :)

Week 8 - Monday

Today has been going great. Eating has been well on track, been sticking to fruits, vegies and tea. And have really been enjoying it.

Food:
- watermelon
- punnet of strawberries
- cup of tea
- steamed vegies
- cup of tea
- fish, broccoli and cauliflower
- cup of tea

Have yet to have had any cravings. This is good. Am about to go to gym for step class and some cardio. Today is going well and I am feeling great. Didn't actually wake up feeling sick which was great, did feel guilty though.  Looking foward to gaining even more control as the week progresses :)

Also, we had fish and chips for tea at my house, as my partner had friends over. I ordered grilled fish, and cooked up some cauli and broccoli. I did not eat any chips or fried food! Yay! Normally I would sneak a few in, but not this time :)

Forgot to write down exercise. 6km run - 30 mins, cross-trainer - 15 mins, and a step class. :)

Breaking the SUGAR HABIT!

Yes I have had a bit of a blow out (admittedly it was not nearly as bad as it has been in the past), irrespective, I am frustrated with being addicted to sweet food after meals. This is a habit that is well formed and is ingrained in my lifestyle.  I don’t expect this to be particularly easy, but I think that it is time to overcome this addiction.

A few years ago it was chocolate and crap food that had a hold over me. So I swapped it, and moved on to natural healthy sweet food.  Turns out healthy food is just as calorific and addictive as unhealthy and I don’t like this addiction anymore. I will never overcome this unless I attempt to remove this habit from my lifestyle.

So this evening I searched the web! Based on my research these are the tools I am going to employ to stop my habit. Getting over this habit is actually more important to me than weight loss during this process. I think that the last couple of kilo’s will be very easy to lose if I can change this habit.

One other reason that I want to do this and make sure it works, is that I don’t want to have to tell Nici again that I stuffed up. I felt terrible writing it to her. When I was eating I didn’t process that there were consequences. But it felt awful disappointing myself and Nici. So time to take charge!

Steps following an after meal craving:

-          Brush teeth

-          Possibly a cup of tea, then brush teeth

-          No more sweet food at all!

Options following a general craving:

-          Cup of tea

-          Drink water

-          Get my free weights out, and HR monitor out, and start doing squats – then weigh up how much effort it would take in squats at home to work off the food I am thinking about eating

-          THAT IS ALL à Feel the craving and suck it up! Or ride that wave ;)

Steps to support my lifestyle change:

-          Remove sugars (the last of my sugars to remove that is still impacting my dietary habits is the honey – so I will now have no honey, saltanas, dates, dried fruit in my house J) I will only have rapadura sugar (but I rarely eat this, so don’t perceive it as a problem, definitely don't eat sugar by the spoonful) - but have done this with honey on occasion, this is why it is gone!

-          Add protein to each meal

-          Drink more water

-          Use cinnamon as a sweet flavouring

-          Take my multivitamin and fish oil every day (I always forget)

-          Distract myself

-          More sleep – make myself start getting ready for bed by 11pm, I am often up until 1pm or later.

-          Detox – I am going to do a detox day on Monday J

-          Be aware of reasons for eating sugar: emotional eating; boredom eating, intense cravings, happiness

-          Look at my goals. Ask myself if I eat this will I be moving forward or backward?

-          Look at my vision board! J

So I am going to support this by discussing my feelings regarding my cravings on my blog as I am going through them, while I am riding the wave. I would also like to begin writing down the food that I plan on eating the next day, and see how close to it I get. This will help me to stay on track, snack less, remove sugar and drink more water. Tomorrow I plan on doing a bit of a detox, using Gillian McKeith’s book.  Yay!

It will be interesting to track my progress and see how long it takes for the cravings to subside! Hopefully quickly. But I am not delusional, it is always harder when the cravings also have emotional connections.

Overall last week was very good. I felt really in control for the first time in ages. And only one slip up. Maybe this slip up happened for a reason, forcing me to address my issues and habits

But I want to make sure that this is for good and that I can overcome this habit during this program.  I still plan on doing my cheat meal next Saturday, but I have to work hard for it this week to get there J

Thanks Nici again for your support! I won't be slipping up this week :) However, you may be pained by my annoying constant blogs about my cravings!

Week 7 - Saturday Night and Sunday

Last night was lots of fun. I had salmon with green vegies for dinner - delicious! Then we all shared a few different desserts, and I had some and really enjoyed them. I am not sure how many calories I ate, it was a big piece of salmon, so that had a lot of calories in itself. Then I had desserts. However, it was my cheat meal and I I enjoyed them guilt free! and am back on the bandwagon today :)

I also felt great this morning when I woke up, which was fantastic! So last nights meal didn't have too bad of an impact on my body. Have already gone to gym this morning for an hours cardio on the cross trainer. Off to do a shit load of study today :) Fun for me, boring.

Food today:
- watermelon
- museli
- strawberries
- cup of tea
- roast vegie salad
- honey almond homemade treats
- 2 superfood orb balls
- cup of tea with milk and honey
- 2 dates

Have gone over the calorie limit, not sure how much. Am not excited about this since I have been doing really well all weekend. But just to analyse this so I can understand it and avoid it in the future:

I study lots for uni. One of my problem areas is bored eating.  When I am out and about and busy, I forget about food. When I am sitting at home writing up my boring method section of my thesis, all I can think about is food. Not good. Problem. While I did really well all day, by bordem eating coincided with my wanting sweet food after dinner. Today I just thought I would have one thing and leave it at that, but it ended up continuing.

I love the idea of abstaining from sweet food after dinner, but the cravings are somewhat overwhelming. Sad to think that I have such a severe food addiction at 23. 

In an attempt to counteract my over-eating tonight, I am going to go hard at the gym over the next two days. Hopefully weigh-in goes alright. Who knows, I only have myself to blame.

Hey just though of a great idea to attempt to combat my problem - when I am at home and eating - I will log in and write down my feelings before and after I eat.  That will keep me super accountable.

Nici, I am sorry for the stuff up. I hope I can make it up to you this week :)

Week 7 - Saturday

At work, writing my post :)

Gym this morning, was tired again. But managed to get in 50 mins on cross trainer and 10 minutes on the stair machines. Was very happy with this, I JFDI :)

Food:
- 1 hard boiled whole egg and 1 egg white - 95 cals
- porridge with rapadura sugar - 250 cals
- strawberries - 60 cal
- rice crackers - 40 cals

Trying to keep it light before the 30th tonight, as there are limited gluten-free options on the menu. Hopefully they will have a healhty special.  Plan on just having, stawberries, a cup of tea and some other light snack before dinner. Yay keeping on track.

Last night was a bit intense - I had a few things going on, and felt the emotions coming on. However, I was conscious of them, and did not go near food. I am really happy with this, things are changing. :) Yay!

I am looking forward to tonight, I should have a few calories to play with :) It is nice to have a cheat meal and not feel bad about it. I am looking foward to these in the future. I am looking forward to continuously feeling proud about the food choices that I am making :)

Week 7 - Friday

As predicted felt lousy this morning after my late night dinner. However, I am much more energetic today than I was yesterday. And my muscles are nice and sore from my weight training yesterday.

Popped to the gym this morning. Did a 5 minute warm up on the cross trainier, then did a 12.5km run (65 mins). Burning 650 calories. Definitely have to work harder for my calories these days.  But I am happy with this outcome. Food is on track this morning.

Food:
- porridge with banana and honey - 300 cals
- carrot juice - 100 cals
- Chicken, avo, date, carrot, beetroot salad - 300 cals

Food is going well today. Plan on having a light dinner, to make up for yesterday.  Regarding the weekend, I have a 30th birthday dinner out tomorrow night. However, I plan to eat really lightly during the day to make up for it.

Dinner was great - Just a chicken salad and a cup of tea and some strawberries. Delicious and light.
Yay! Perfect eating for once! :)

Week 7 - Thursday

Slept for 10 hours last night. Loooved it! Probably due to my huge workout yesterday. Was tough a gym today, I was so exhausted everywhere and really struggled. Still managed to pump out over 650 calories. Did 30 minutes on the cross trainer, 45 minutes of weight training, and another 20 minutes of interval training. Very tired right now :) But am happy with my efforts considering it was a struggle.

Food:
- strawberries, sultanas and cherries - 100 cals
- omelette - 200 calories
- cup of tea, milk and honey- 40 -50 cals?
- banana - 100 calories
- date - 60 cals
- handful of almonds - 120 cals

Food is on track today, sitting at around 500 calories, and don't plan on eating until dinner now.  Having rice paper rolls again for dinner, a friend is coming over.

Felt really great after I woke up this morning (no food hangover), didn't feel sick going to bed full of food like I have in the past. New, beginnings! :)

The evening:
- Okay not a perfect day like I had hoped for, but still okay
- In the afternoon I had lots of cravings for sweet food. So I had 2 dates and a cup of tea, then brushed my teeth and was fine - did not over do it with eating too many sweet things.
- Evening meal - had a friend over for tea, she came late, so I was starving earlier in the night and had a healthy snack waiting for her.
- She bought over a big bag of potato chips to eat with the movie, and a specially made gluten-free dessert for us tonight (wasn't expecting this). This is a friend that I don't see often so she doesn't know that I am on Michelles plan.
- We didn't eat dinner until 9pm, rice paper rolls as said before.
- I hate to eat this late, makes me feel horrible the next day, no matter how healthy it is.
- Regarding the unhealthy food: I ate 4 chips (very unlike me, on occasion [but rarely these days] I have been known to devour at least half a bag of chips)
- And I had a spoonful of her dessert she had specially made for me, just to tell her how delicious it was.
- Then I went and brushed my teeth.  After she left, the rest of the bag of chips and the cake went to the bin! :)
- So by the time I had my afternoon sweets (dates and tea), my snack before tea, my dinner, and a few chips and bite of dessert, I think I have gone over my calorie restrictions.

However, although I have done this, I feel okay about everything. I feel like I was conscious in this process of eating. In the future I won't eat so late, I will just eat and leave food out for my friends. However, I didn't go overboard on the unhealthy food like I would have in the past. I feel excited that I didn't devour the bag of chips, and feel great that I didn't even want to!

Feeling good, not looking forward to my late night eating food hangover in the morning, however feel good about my decisions. I have a little Nici angel on my right shoulder keeping me on track :)

Week 7 - Wednesday!

Super pumped today! New attitude, I am going to kill this program with Nici!! Yay!
I am very excited about this process! I would say that I am officially beginning this process again today (had the brownie for dessert last night, which I was aware that I would do). Feel a bit yuck this morning. But have already organised my workout and eating plan for the day!

Just about to leave for an hour and a half workout session outside, and have spin class tonight! Will check in with calories burned tonight! Excited about this process and excited about getting on the scales on Friday morning!

Lets rip this program up Nici!


Food and Calories:
- watermelon and strawberries
- cup of tea with stevia and milk
- porridge with blueberries and sultanas
- carrot sticks and hommus
- rice paper rolls - fruit chutney
- small amount of sultanas
- cup of tea with honey and milk
- Exact calories not sure but not over 1200 calories - yay!


Exercise:
- Out in the rain with friends this morning, only 550 calories - so much harder outside, much harder to push yourself than at the gym, esp when it is raining and freezing, but just did it :)
- Tonight - on my way to spin class - hope I burn lots of calories there :) Looking foward to seeing how many I burn on my HR monitor! :)
- Did 30 mins on cross trainer and a spin class
- Burned over 1150 calories today!!!!!!!! YAY!!!

I hope you are going well today Nici! Can't wait to hear all about it! Btw, I haven't had any sweet treats yet, only saltanas in my porridge! Yay! Hope tonight after tea goes well! :) My plan is rice paper rolls and a cup of tea. Then brush teeth and that is it! Day 1 on my fight against my sweet tooth is going well! :)

I did have a small amount of sultanas - no where near what I normally have. I am excited and I did a huge workout. Happy with my efforts today! :)

I plan on doing weights tomorrow and cardio. Being a small weight I find it a lot harder to burn calories. I realised this after getting a HR monitor. I have to work hard for my calories. 70 minutes of intense cardio training and I can pump out 650 calories. But weights and normal training, even running doesn't give me a lot of love in terms of calories burning. I did a pump class last week and worked out really hard, and in 60 minutes only burned 150 calories. That was a bit devastating.  Tomorrow I am going to try an overall body weights session, with lots of supersets and see how I go. However, I will most certainly be doing cardio first. Hope it goes well :)

Week 7 - Tuesday

Okay, so I haven't posted for a while. Has been an interesting few days. I have had dinner events Sunday, Monday and tonight.  And it has been tough. Eating has not been on track, I have allowed myself to eat what I feel like out. Way too many treat meals. Not counting the calories.

So although my week other than these meals has been great, meals out and evening snacks have been my downfall on this program.

Last week:
- Friday - wasn't counting calories. Way too many carbs, lots of bread.  600 calorie workout.
- Saturday - wasn't happy with previous day, worked out hard - 600 calories. So did a real detox eating day. Majority of food fruit and vegies. Made me feel great for sunday.
- Sunday - was working and the gym doesn't open before work, and it was raining. So I went outside and JFDI, went for a run in the rain and burned 550 calories. Felt very in control of food, perfect eating until dinner time. Went out for dinner, ate chips with my meal, then ate a shared dessert. Felt sick that night. Reinforcement that light eating in the evening with little sweet food in the evening is important.
- Monday - Day in Melbourne, went for a 9km walk around the city. Eating was harder as I had to eat out. Fruit for breakfast, sushi for lunch. Dinner, went out and really enjoyed my food and dessert. No calorie counting, and again no control.
- Tuesday - woke up this morning not feeling well after a late tea and dessert, again reinforcing, stop eating late large meals and dessert! Huge workout 750 calories. Watermelon, strawberries, porridge, cup of tea so far. Having dinner at my house with friends, rice paper rolls and sort of healthy brownie.

I am recommitting to this process. I didn't lose any weight last week and am not game to weigh myself until Friday this week, so that I have two extra days to fix the damage I have done over the last week. I don't want to see  a weight gain on the scales.

Nici thanks for making me accountable. These are my goals and my committments.

My 3 month goals were and are:
- Lose 4% body fat (down 1.5%)
- Lose 4kg (half way there)
- Lose 10cm from my waist (completed)
- Lose cm's from my arms and more definition in the arms (still working on)

My committment:

My commitment to myself, my family, my friends, to Michelle, and most importantly to Nici is to:
1. Stick to the health and diet plan all the way! Even if I experience cravings I will acknowledge my emotions and feelings, and remain in control.
2. Confront maladaptive thought processes regarding food and eating, take note of them, release them and continue on the journey.
3. Accept responsibility for who I am, who I will become, what I put in my mouth and my behaviours.
4. Stay on task everyday, develop a plan, focus on and commit to the present tasks.
5. Exercise, eat, sleep, and breathe Michelle’s plan! Put my everything into it!
6. Lose 4kgs.
7. Lose 4% body fat.
8. Be strong and in control!
9. Have fun!

I commit to stick to this plan, detail every calorie I eat, every calorie I burn at the gym, detail everything.  I also haven't been completing the abs and core aspects of Michelles plan. I know that they are important and will start putting these into my workout schedules. I will also detail my struggles and successes.

Thanks for keeping me accountable Nici. Looking forward to a fabulous day tomorrow!

Week 6 - Thursday

Did my weigh in yesterday and remained the same this week. Yesterday had a funeral, only had a couple of naughty treats at the wake. Still within calorie limits. 650 calories burned at the gym.

Today, eating has been within its limits:

B: banana, strawberries, apple
L: porridge, bluberries, honey
Snack: 2 health cookies and cup of tea
D: omelette
Snack: cup of tea, health orb ball

Training: 800 calories burned. Cardio for 70 mins, and a pump class :)


My main issue again is my cravings for sweets after dinner. I just have to bite the bullet.  My new plan is to have a cup of tea after dinner, then brush my teeth and that is it for the night.  It is the first of July tomorrow, and there are only a few weeks of the process left.  I think it is time to give it a good try.  I am consistently sabotaging my efforts in the evenings. Time to make this a new habit! I will attempt to snack less, and every single piece of food I eat will be monitored on this blog, and assessed as to whether it is healthful and necessary.

Week 6 - Tuesday

Well today has been amazing, perfect eating and perfect exercise! 1000 calories eaten, 650 calories burned.

Yesterday was not great. Mum's birthday..... birthday lunch and birthday dinner = way way too many calories. Did not control my eating. Had a great time but no control again. I still went to the gym and did a 60 minute work out, with 650 calories burned.

I also felt ill earlier today and have had a headache all day, from unclean food and too much food yesterday.  Hopefully one day I will learn.

Tomorrow, I have a funeral, and I have already organised all my meals and snacks to go, so I don't eat anything unhealthy. I know that I have put weight on this week.... Have already looked  :( However, I attempting to do amazing workouts and eating well to reduce this weight gain over the next couple of days.

Week 5 - Weekend

So, haven't posted the last couple of days. Not so perfect eating, great during the day, then too many sweet things at night (healthy brownie, dates, nuts, and saltanas). So didn't count calories into the evening Friday and Saturday, probably around 1600 cals.

However, regarding the workouts, I have been limited in the time at the gym. Only having an hour each day to workout.  I put my new HR monitor on each day and worked my but off burning 650-700 cals each day.  So that is a plus, I haven't missed a workout session. 

My eating today has also been very good, well within my calorie limits.

B- carrot juice and banana
Snack - half an orb ball (100 cals)
L- apple and hommus
Snack - celery sticks
D- Egg white omelette
Snack - cup of tea and dried cranberries

I also have my Mum's roast birthday dinner tomorrow night. I know that will be a bit intense, but this is my plan.  We are having roast pork, I will not eat any roast potatoes and will only eat lean pork and salad/vegies. However, I am making the dessert for the evening, so I do plan on having some brownie.  My other plan is that I will eat minimially during the day and do a really hard workout burning around 700 calories.  Will let you know how I go later tomorrow. I plan on sticking to the 1200 calories tomorrow though! :)

Week 5 - Thursday

Well not such a great day.  Went out for lunch, so not sure how many calories exactly there. Also was a very stressful day, and I participated in emotional eating. Although the food was not unhealthy, there was too much food eaten.

Food:
- porridge
- dates
- vegie fritatta and salad
- healthy cookies
- apple and hommus
- grapes
- chicken sandwich
- dates
- cup of tea

When I realised exactly how many calories I was downing, I decided I would kill myself at the gym.  I probably ate between 1400-1600 calories I would estimate.  I was at the gym for 2 hours, running, cross training and a pump class. Around 800-900 calories burned. I did extra than I planned to do at gym today to account for my eating.

Good experience though. I know the triggers for emotional eating (I didn't realise that I did this).  And already learning new ways to combat this.  Also good that I made myself work harder at the gym due to the food choices that I made. As I have said before this is a learning process, and each day I learn something new. I will take this one and start a fresh tomorrow. No more slippery slopes.  I have learned from that and I will move on :)

Week 5 - Wednesday

Yay exciting times! I got on the scale this morning and I had lost 400 grams! I was so excited for a couple of reasons. It doesn't sound like much, but it is to me :)

First, I weighed in on Friday, so I only had 5 days to lose weight this week. Also, I had quite a naughty weekend where I was way out of control, Friday, Saturday and Sunday were not great food days. However, Monday I attempted to change my attitude and eat clean.  I am not doing this program to remain the same.  So on Monday and Tuesday I have eaten clean, only healthy food and have been completely in control of my food choices. Yay! Originally I wasn't going to get on the scales this morning as I was scared that I had put on weight after the weekend. I thought I might give myself an extra two days to lose some weight. However, I thought that I should do this process correctly and stop delaying my weigh-ins. So I got on the scale this morning thinking that I may have put weight on and YaY I had lost 400 grams. My starting weight was 54.1kgs, and I am down to 51.8 kgs, 2.3kgs lost, 4.25% weight loss, and 1.8kgs to go. 400 grams is amazing to me and I haven't seen myself in the 51's for over a year and a half. I am pumped!  Must maintain my confidence with my eating so I can get my treat meal at the end of the week :)

Food today going well thus far:

- porridge
- banana
- rice paper rolls
- apple
- 2 healthy oatmeal cookies (100 cals total) --> 700 cals so far leaving me lots for dinner :)
- rice paper rolls
- 3 fresh dates
- healthy hot choc

Probably slightly too much sweet stuff today but still in the calorie restrictions :)

Exercise: 30 mins on cross trainer (300 cal), 55 min spin calss (550 cals) - 850 cals today!! Woo hoo!! :)

Week 5 - Tuesday

Food for the day so far:

- Watermelon
- Porridge
- Strawberries
- Chicken and avacado on rice cakes
- Dates
- Cup of tea
- Rice paper rolls

1200 calories for the day eaten. All healthy food yay! Workout: 30 minute walk, 10 minute very fast run, 30 minutes on cross trainer, 10 minute on bike, 45 minute boxing class - over 700 cals burned yay :)

Great day

Week 5 - Monday

Well what a weekend. Everything started off well but by the end of Saturday and end of Sunday I had stopped counting my calories and had eaten too much. Not the best idea.

Today is a new day. I want to feel like I am in control of what I am putting in my mouth and not feel like it is in control of me.

Food:
- carrot juice
- porridge with banana
- apple
- roast vegie salad
- rice cakes and salad
- mandarine
- chicken salad

Today my eating has been perfect - would love to keep it that way for the rest of the week. Have been right on with calories - between 1100 and 1200 cals. Yay. And am not feeling full before bed. Also another good feeling, not one that I am used to. Got to push through the unnatural feelings and attempt to change the maladaptive thoughts that lead me to uncontrolled eating.

In an effort to eat well for the week I have organised my treat meal for Saturday night with my partner. If I am good during the week with my eating then I am free to have my lovely dinner away with my partner. Yay I am looking forward to it!

Training: 30 mins cross trainer, 20 min walk with friend, 10 minutes bike, 50 minute step class - over 700 calories burned - yay

One day at a time, it has been good :)

Week 4 - Saturday

Today I woke up and went to gym. Completed a pump class and 40 mintutes of cardio.

Food:
- carrot juice
- omelette
- dates and saltanas
- low cal hot choc
- punnet of strawberries

In this process I am finding that I have a few differing thoughts that I am competing with.

1: I always have my sweet cravings after a savoury meal
2: I find it really difficult to eat so much protein.  I love the idea of getting ripped eventually, but I think my focus needs to be on losing these last couple of kgs. What I am finding that I am currently doing is attempting to eat protein at each main meal, but then wanting sweets after it.  My best results so far have come from losing weight with low protein meals.
3:  Snacking - it is an issue for me, esp with sweet food. I am not necessarily hungry at all, but the sweet cravings are in my mind most of the time, so it is really difficult.
4. I am normally a big fruit eater (and vegies too), but fruit doesn’t really come into this plan.  I feel like my body misses it. In the past my diet has mainly consisted of fruit and vegies, with something else at meal times. I am really wondering if I should start properly incorporating fruit back into my calorie counts.

My current thinking in combating these issues is as follows:

-          Back to lean and fit until I lose my last 2.2kg – I am not eating enough protein to gain muscle – Maybe do lean and strong next round

-          Start eating 3 pieces of fruit in the morning again – but take it into daily calorie count – and eat low cal fruits

-          Attempt to reduce the snacking – just eat three main meals a day unless actually hungry for a snack

-          Still not sure what to do about the sweet craving after savoury meals – they are very intense and I loooooove eating sweet food. And I try to eat healthy sweet food e.g. majool dates J

-          Drink more water

Oh well – today I have eaten too many sweet things. But have rice paper rolls, and Nici’s brownie planned for tea tonight. Onward and upward, lets see how I go with my new plan tomorrow. I figure that I have to work with what I know about myself, because currently all I am doing is self-sabotage.

Week 4 - Friday

Okay so an overview on this weeks efforts.

Wednesday: 1hour workout cross trainer/tredmill- 600 cals
Food: fruit, porridge, meat salad - around 1200 cals (did manage to each a treat for dessert)

Thursday: 1 hour run - 11kms - 650 cals
Food: fruit, porridge, dips and vegies, cheese and crackers - still around 1200 cals

Friday: 40 min run - 7.5km, 40 mins other cardio - stairmaster, intervals, rowing machine, bikes, burpies, sprinting, etc. - 800 cals
Food so far: omelette, cup of tea, date

Weighed in today. 200 gram loss from last week! I was so so excited when I looked on the scale this morning. After my huge weekend I thought that I had put on weight for sure. Lucky I have been eating super well the last couple of days and have been doing lots of exercise. A great learning experience for me. :)

Also doing my measurements, I have lost 10cm from my waist, 3cm from my hips, and 4cm from each thigh. Wooo hooo :) Things are a changing :)

Did my fitness tests today too:
1km run: 4 mins (down 19 seconds)
Leaning against wall: 2 min 21 sec (better by 18 seconds)
Reaching over toes: +16 cms (same)
Abs: Level 3 (same)
Push ups in 60 secs: 20 on toes, 30 on knees

I am very happy with my progress, esp since I was sick for over a week during it :)

Long Weekend

Okay, so my weekend was not good at all............. Great intentions, bad results.

Friday: really healthy and low on calories until dinner with the wedding party. Pad Thai, didn't eat it all.... not too bad. 1 hour of cross trainer - 600 cals.

Saturday - The Wedding: Not so good. Healthy breakie and lunch (omelette and rice paper rolls). Dinner: entree, main, dessert and alcoholic beverages. Calories = no idea. Had a fabulous time though. 1 hour cross trainer - 600 cals.

Sunday - Event after event. Out for breakie, BBQ lunch with friends, BBQ dinner with other friends. Calories = no idea, not good though. 10km run - 600 cals.

Monday - Breakfast: baked beans on toast. Lunch: Salad.  Dinner: fish and chips (Grilled fish and salad), and chocolate cake. Gym closed :( 1 hour walk with friend.

Killer weekend. Probably have put on all the weight that I have lost. Shocking exercising of my will power muscle. However, I almost never have weekends like this one with so many things on over four consecutive days.  And I still have 8 weeks to get my shit together. Exercise is still going fine.  And am back on track today with the food.  Not really being to hard on myself since even prior to the program I don't ever eat this bad. 

Off to the gym soon to burn 1000 calories.  Hope I don't put on too much weight this week... eeeeak :)

Went to the gym this evening, 2 hour workout, over 1000 calories burned! And perfect eating today! Yay!

Day 18

Well I lost 200 grams this week. I am happy with this considering how sick I have been. I am disappointed in the sense that I have still had large calorie deficits each day and it isn't apparent on the scales. However, when looking at my body I could feel that I hadn't lost anything.  Also, it was worthwhile keeping up the training during my illness because the scary reality is that I could have put on weight. Since the journey began I have lost a total of 1.7kg. I am really happy with this, in the past it has taken me a lot longer to lose this. This journey is forcing me to reassess my eating habits and take responsibility for them. Already learning a lot, at least I still have another 9 weeks to lose the last 2.4kgs and put on some muscle. It is a journey of sustained weight loss :)

Food:
Started the day off great, all the way until dinner and then after dinner went - dates, choc biscotti and hot choc (all made with low cals but crapola all the same! ESP since I am trying to look great for the freaking wedding!)
- Breakfast - porridge, protien powder and honey
- Snack - 2 mandarines
- Lunch - chickpea salad
- Dinner - chicken rice paper rolls
- Dessert - crappy crappy crap crap

- Low calories prior to dessert and after prob around 1200-1400 cals :)

Exercise - 35 mins cross trainer, 15 mins 3km run, 40 min weights workout

Day 17

Not too bad today, feeling much better! Still tired during workout, generally feeling well! Yay! Work out was 50 mins on the cross trainer then work.

Food:
- Banana
- 2 mandarines
- Omelette
- Apple
- Rice crackers and beetroot dip
- Omelette
- Date and saltanas

Food was around 1000-1100 calories for the day.  Will weigh in tomorrow, I know I haven't lost much. But I don't feel that I have gained either, so that is a positive. Have a spray tan tomorrow (my first one ever) it should be interesting, so I must get in a workout before it. Hopefully I don't look orange!

I have a big weekend, so will be a good test for me.

Plan
Saturday: Wedding - will attempt to do a really big workout Saturday morning, and not eat too much before the wedding so as to save my calories.
Sunday: Post wedding BBQ lunch and another BBQ dinner - will also attempt a good workout (if I feel okay after the wedding that is) then try not to eat too much at the BBQs.  Scary times!

Day 16

Day was fine. One day will get better :) I do think I am on the road to recovery though.

Food:
- porridge with protien powder
- 2 mandarines
- honey joy treats
- hommus and apple/carrot
- salmon and colslaw
- dates

Would have eaten 1300 calories today. Whoops... However, I did do a stellar workout! I did 50 mins on the cross trainer, boxing class (high intensive cardio session) and michelles legs weights workout. Burned over 1000 calories.

So still a pretty good day.  Am in denial about weigh in tomorrow, looking at my body, I don't think that I have lost any weight. If anything I have put weight on. So I won't be weighing in until Thursday morning, in the hope that tomorrow I have a perfect eating day :) Lets see how I go!

Day 15

Still feel like crap but was definitely a better day. Went to they gym, 50 mins on cross trainer - 500 calories, could actually work harder today. Also did weights, a 40 mins weight session. Burned at least 750 calories in total.

Food:
- Breakfast: banana on toast
- Snack: 2 mandarines
- Lunch:  omelette
- Snack: Date
- Dinner: omelette
- Snack: date and cornflake treat (150 cals)

Total calories for the day 800-900 calories.

I feel like I did well today, even with a treat :)

Day 14

Still sick. Hopefully feel better this week.

Exercise - 55 mins on cross trainer - 500 cals

Food - not so great
Breakfast - Banana and honey on toast
Snack - 3 mandarines
Lunch - hommus and crackers
Dinner - Vegie Slice
Dessert - honey joys (homemade with natural ingredents) - all the same not great for me

Still not over 1200 calories but not good choices. This will not facilitate change, my addiction to sweets after dinner currently still stands.

Day 13

Today was far from perfect. Woke up feeling much better than yesterday. I went to gym, still couldn't do much, slow cross trainer for 45 mins - 400 calories.

Breakfast - 2 mandarines and pineapple
Snack - Apple
Lunch - porridge, banana, date, honey
Snack - 2 dates
Dinner - Vegie slice and roasted vegetable
Dessert - Pavlova, yogurt and blueberries

I haven't officially counted calories for today, counted up to before dinner which was 550, I would say that my dinner and dessert would officially boost me up to at least 1200 calories.

Ohhh.... well... not so great today. Hopefully will be a bit more dedicated tomorrow, I will get my meals planned and ready! Turns out Saturdays are not my strong point. 

Day 12

Not much to say about today. I have been super unwell. Haven't been hungry at all. Fever, headache, stomach ache, etc, etc. Have not done any exercise today, couldn't do it. Have only eaten 4 mandarines and an apple.

Not feeling as bad tonight, so hopefully I will be up for gym tomorrow :)

Day 11

Today was okay, still not feeling great.

Had a birthday lunch today at a chinese restaurant, asked for steamed vegies and they gave me stir-fried in some yucky salty sauce. So I wiped all the vegies clean before eating them. Next time I will be definitely sending the food back, should have today.

Breakfast - carrot juice, museli bar
Snack - 2 mandarines
Lunch - Vegies and chicken
Snack - fruit strap and dates
Dinner - pumpkin soup

I have estimated right on 1200 calories for today. I also went to the gym and did a pump class and 30 mins cardio.  Still on track enough. Looking forward to having more energy and putting more into my workouts. Cardio is still hard, but I really enjoyed pump. Weights are going really well while I am sick, still able to work just as hard. 

I have work tomorrow, this is often where I come undone. So I am preparing myself, my lunch and my work out tonight. I am going to change these bad habits.  My sister is super skinny, and often leaves crappy food out at work.  I will make sure any food that is a risk to me will be removed as soon as I get to work.  I will have each meal prepared in containers in the fridge ready for meal time.  I will eat nothing else. 

I found Michelle's video this week very interesting.  Esp when she discussed the issue of changing old addictions with new addictions, I currently like to have sweet food after savoury food. This has been one of my major problems, I used to eat chocolate and cake. But last year I changed this habit to dried fruit and healthy homemade treats with all natural ingredients. 

I think it is time to kick this "addiction" and attempt to stop the food being in control of me. Lets see how I go??

- I have removed all dried fruit from my house
- I can only add fresh dates to meals e.g. salads and porridge
- I will not eat anything sweet after meals

I like that this program forces you to face your issues :)

Day 10

Today I had to travel to Melbourne. Still unwell, but went to gym before I left and did 55 mins on the cross trainer, burning 500 calories.

Food:
- Breakfast - oats, banana, rapadura sugar
- Snack - 2 majool dates
- Lunch - 2 take away tuna sushi rolls (I removed 3/4 of the white rice)
- Snack - 2 small apples and some saltanas
- Dinner - pumpkin soup

Not 100% on the calories, but have estimated bewteen 1000 and 1200 calories.

Looking forward to pump class tomorrow! and hopefully am feeling better ;)

P.s. Lost another 700 grams today, super pumped that I have lost 1.5kgs since beginning the challenge! Yay!

Day 9

Was super pumped after yesterdays effors and then woke up this morning sick :( I have not been sick for over a year.

Oh well, I still made it to gym this morning. Only did a 3km run, and 10 minutes on the cross trainer.  Then did the weights routine.  The weights were actually really good while I was sick, enjoyed them and wasn't hard on the sick body like cardio was.  Plan on going to boxing class tonight also.

Breakfast - oats and majool date
Snack - small banana
Lunch - fresh carrot juice, rice cake with ricotta
Snack - majool date, cup of peppermint tea
Dinner - pumpkin soup, roasted carrots & zucchini

Food was around 1000 calories today, not feeling particularly well. Still went to boxing class tonight, that was fun. But looking forward to bed tonight :)

Day 8

Morning:

• Exercise
• 7.25km run = 425 calories
• 25 mins bike = 200 calories
• 45 min step class = 400 calories
• Total = 1025 calories
• Food
• Breakfast
• 40 grams oats = 150 calories
• 2 teaspoons rapadura sugar = 30 calories
• 30 grams blueberries = 18 calories
• 1 organic aldi date = 30 calories
• Tea - white with honey = 45 cals
• Lunch
• Rice cakes with riccota and salad = 250 cals
• Snack
• Tea - white with stevia = 45 cals
• 2 Majool dates = 140 cals
• Apple = 70 cals
• Dinner
• Chicken salad with sundried tomato, carrot, olives and vinegar = 300 cal
• Total = 1078 calories

Great day, super pumped with the program! Did heaps of exercise today and loooved it! Looking forward to getting into the weights tomorrow! Feel like I have my head in the game! :)

Day 7

Well, today was fantasic!

I went and saw Shannon and Michelle speak today! Was great! They are fantastic! Just the boost that I needed!

Workout - 9km run

Breakfast - two bananas and an orange
Lunch - omelette - one whole egg, two egg whites, grated zucchini
Snack - cup of white tea, teaspoon of honey and 5 fresh dates
Dinner - zucchinni slice
Snack - apple sauce and yoghurt

Hope that tomorrow is more consistent with my eating :)

Day 5

Well at Day 5 I decided that it was time to start a blog. It is time to be properly accountable for everything that I am doing on this plan!

I have been very excited about the Michelle Bridges Plan! I love to exercise, my main problem is the eating plan.  The first three days went great I stuck to the 1200 calories or less. And I even lost 800 grams from when I first started.

Then, I went to my parents house for a roast dinner. Had roast pork and vegies. I wasn't ready for this. Although I ate less than I normally would, I did not count my calories. I felt very disappointed. A good lesson though. I have to be prepared for everything in the future.

Today hasn't been great either, limited access to food. Only premade rice porridge with honey that I have been eating all day. Feeling a bit sick now actually.  Have also eaten dates and an apple today.

I have started this blog to make myself more accountable to this process! I didn't start this challenge to remain the same, and it is a good lesson to have learned by day 5. I will spend the rest of the week attempting to make up for these downfalls.

In order to remain true to myself, and this process, in the future I will be writing down everything that I eat on this blog! I will be accountable for every calorie! :)  I will also be posting my stats in my next post. As well as all the exercise that I do each day!

I have committed to the exercise part, the only thing that I have not completed this week is all the ab work. I plan to catch up on that on the weekend.

I commit to this process! xox