plan plan plan

The saying goes "fail to plan; plan to fail".

So with that in mind, I'm going to do something I've thought out in my head but never actually written down. By writing out my "plan" for this week, I'm hoping to make myself more accountable. No it WILL make me more accountable.

For ages now my weight has hovered around 68-69kg. 5-6kg above where I want to be. 63 is my magic number. That's what I weighed prior to miss bubble but more importantly, that's the weight I was at when the majority of my wardrobe was acquired. So in my thinking, if I get to 63kg, I get a bigger wardrobe without actually spending any money on clothes. Win-win! I am aware however, that since having 3 kids, my body shape has more than likely changed. A lot. So time will tell how much more wardrobe I actually get.

I was struggling with exercise for quite some time now. The last 5 weeks to be honest. So I had the last week of September off which coincided with mum being here. We were then away for the October long weekend, so in the past fortnight I've exercised twice. And I'm ok with that because when I went back on Wednesday I could tell the "fire" was back in my belly. I had my exercise mojo back! Woop!!

So it's not the exercise which is holding me back. Any more at least. I've know what I can do there. I've got the plans from 12wbt and I'll be printing them to have in the future too.

It's my diet. It all comes down to diet.

I do not particularly enjoy cooking. I cook for the girls and then once they're in bed I cook for myself, and try and prepare the agent's meal so that it's mostly prepare for him once he's home. I'm over it! Whilst bubble is quite adventuresome with her eating bug is not. Struggle to get that kid to eat potato unless it's looking like a chip. So whilst I'd like to think I could simply put the foot down and "make" her eat what the agent and I eat I imagine that would end up with a lot of food wasted and me very stressed out because she wasn't eating and I was getting upset with her for not eating. Not an ideal situation.

So what to do with it all? With the food, the exercise, the children, the sleep (or lack of), the husband? Well, here's my plan...

*do dinner at lunch time
*do lunch at dinner time
*workout an evening routine (DONE)
*put said routine in place
*get to be earlier by following above routine
*get to the gym at 6am. Working out before the first meal of the day is proven to blast fat from ya booty! And other body places too I would hope!
*get to the gym during crèche hours (between 9 and noon) (this one I have no problem with)
*NO MORE CHOCOLATE! And to help with this, each day I go without chocolate I'm going to put $1 towards a little something for myself from tiffany & co.

It is a friend's wedding in 4 weeks 6 days.
It's the real estate awards night in 6weeks 6 days.
It's Christmas in 11 weeks 3 days. I am not going to be spending Christmas unhappy with my efforts!! We are also spending Christmas at my parents. In my home town. Be damned if I'm not at my goal weight when I go up there!

I weighed myself this morning. 69.2kg.

My plan is to get down to 66.5kg by my friend's wedding. That's a loss of 2.7kg in 4 weeks 6 days. We'll call it 5 weeks. 2.7kg in 5 weeks is totally doable.

My plan is to be at 64kg by the awards night. That's a loss of 5.2kg in 7 weeks. Again totally doable.



I will have to be focused.

I will have to rein in my inner teenager who has major tanties and likes to take control when I'm feeling frazzled by the girls.

I will have to be organized. "Suffer the pain of regret or suffer the pain of discipline." I've reminded myself of this saying often, and it's worked and been the kick in the pants I need to get up and do things.

I will have to train hard.

I will finally admit that the saying "you can not out-train a bad diet" is the truth. You can't! I've been trying to for nearly three years now! I quit! I give up! The saying "80% diet, 20% exercise" is the truth. Don't matter how hard you train. If you don't think about what you eat, your efforts are in vain.

So that's my plan. I'm hoping to have the time blog about it all more. But as its newly midnight, right now I'm off to bed. And I'm also off for a run in the morning too! A full hour or more out of the house. Longer than 5km, even tho my feet hurt after about 5k grrrr.


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thankful thursday: my mum

my mum & i. may 2009

my parents live in northern nsw, about 6 hours by car away from me and my family.

my mum is a school teacher, so she is "lucky" enough to get holidays throughout the year! i'll be honest, the thought of holidays every 10-12 weeks was almost enough to get me to sign up for a uni degree in teaching.  almost.

it's now school holidays in nsw, and my mum came down for a week. it has been awesome having her here. i do a lot of the parenting on my own. the agent's hours are long. he's at work by 8, 8:30am 6 days a week and often does not finish till after 9pm. the girls are awake around 6am these days, thank you morning sunlight! (memo to me: BUY A DAMN BLOCK OUT BLIND!) so even tho we have those couple of hours with the agent in the mornings, they are not a couple of relaxed hours. normally they are rather frantic, getting ourselves ready to leave for the gym/prep/day care/whatever.

the days can end up feeling rather long when you've been up since sparrow's fart. having my mum here breaks that up a lot for not only me, but the girls as well. she does not stay with us. she stays with her mum, whose house is only a 5 minute car ride away. she does come over and help me tho, of an evening which is usually when i need help the most. arsenic hour is rife at my place! last night she fed bub whilst supervising the other 2 as they ate. she then bathed the older 2 and got them into bed while i dealt with bub. it was nice to not only have company, but also to be able to focus on just one child at a time.  i get sick of being an octopus sometimes. i know i need 8 hands, could often do with 8 heads too!


mum also organises things for us to do. on tuesday we went for a bus ride to the city. the girls love going on the bus, as they're at the age where public transport is fun. heck, i'm in my 20's and i find public transport fun! but that's probably because there is no public transport where i grew up, except the taxi. we then caught the ferry from circular quay to manly, had some lunch and an ice cream and then came home again. mum even came back to my place to help me get dinner for the girls, helped feed them and then helped put them into bed. it is so nice not to have to do all that on your own, especially after a big day out!

my unbelievable ice cream from copenhagen 

so today i'm saying thanks to my mum, for not only being an awesome, supportive mother, but also an amazing grandmother. someone who wants to spend time with me and my 3 children, two of which are crazy kids and put the energiser bunny to shame. i hate that we live so far apart, however i believe that the distance between us and the time we spend apart means i appreciate her and her help so much more when i do see her.

my mum & my girls. may 2012

birthday wish list

it's my birthday in a couple of weeks! i don't know that i'm all that excited about. think i'm more excited about seeing my parents, who arrive a couple of days before my birthday. and i'm more excited about bug's birthday, which is the day after mine!

however, for my birthday, i'd like.....

the tiffany reversible tote

flowers. tulips, which are my favorite.

lorna jane gift card

tiffany notes round earrings

tiffany bezet hoop earrings

in case you hadn't noticed, i like tiffany's!! 

lately!

woah been a while since i posted!!

where am i up to in life? ha, don't think even i know!

i can't believe the bub is now 7 months old! where has that time gone? crikey, she's going to be one before i'm ready for it!

we've now got bubble in prep one day a week, as we are hoping/pretty much decided to send her to school next year.  some days i feel very confident in this decision, other days i'm not too sure.  the start of the school year is still 5 months away, so who knows what will happen between now and then.

bug is as mischievous as ever! little darling toilet trained ever so quickly, both for during the day and night! we still can't believe it! she's so clever, we are so happy to only have one child in nappies now and not three!

i'm not in to week 10 of the 12wbt.  this morning's weigh-in sees me to a total of 4kg lost.  that doesn't sound like much however i don't have much to lose.  i still have 5kg to go to get to my "goal" weight, and the last 5 are always the hardest.  i've followed the "advanced lean & fit" program this round and have loved it.  it got me out of the group fitness room and into the weights and cardio machines.  i'm loving it!! i've thrown the odd fitness class in here and there, to keep me interested.  by friday i don't want to think for myself, so the 9:30am step class has been very handy!

i've signed up for the next round of 12wbt.  i'm going to follow the "advanced lean & strong" workout this round.  it's focused more on weight lifting and toning and strengthening.  i'm looking forward to it.  i will be having to really focus on getting my nutrition on track. i enjoy chocolate waaaaaay too much!! my goal for round 3 is to also blog a lot more, about how i'm going, triumphs and tears as well as my responses to the preseason tasks. my other goal is to become a morning exerciser, workout out between 6 and 7am. i managed to do it this morning. it was AWESOME! i then went back to the gym around 10am, and went for a swim. that's a third goal for round 3 - to go back to swimming often!

the agent is working hard, as always.  he's aiming to take every second sunday and every second tuesday off, to spend it with us.  he had this past tuesday off, and he and the girls were outside for nearly all of the day. he was busy mowing and pruning bushes and they were simply out there with him, helping and playing.  it was lovely. i think it's the longest the girls have been outside for since easter when we were at my parents place.  the agent has this sunday off, so hopefully we'll find something to do other than be at home and the weather will be nice!!

so that's where we are up to. who knows what lies ahead, but bring it on!

Thoughts

Have realised I have become very lazy. Really really lazy. The girls have eaten maccas more times than I care to remember in the last few weeks. So have I. I do a meal plan, buy all the necessary ingredients and then don't make half the stuff on the plan.

The house is a pigsty. Granted this is my my mess wholly and solely. However I'm an adult. I can pick things up. Doing this does not make me the maid. It means I take pride in our home and want it to look respectable and presentable.

I LOVE to exercise. Love it. I have got lorna jane gear coming out my ears. I bought a Mish Bridges top today and if it works well, there's another sports clothing brand I can invest in! (just what my husband wants to hear!!) the workouts Mish is setting in the 12wbt are freaking FANTASTIC!! Love them. Love that they are challenging!

Yet it's my eating where I suffer. Lately I simply have not cared. I have noticed that since the agent left I haven't eaten cos I'm hungry. I've eaten to fill the hole left by him. and that's not very healthy at all.

I am at the stage where I don't exactly care about my children. Without going into that too much, yes I love them. Adore them. And yes I do actually care for them very well. My youngest is asleep on my shoulder as I type this.
It's more I'm worn out by them. Over them. Needing a break from them. A break for longer than a couple of hours. Yet I can't see me getting that any time soon due to Bub not taking a bottle.

And I've also realised I've had enough of living like this. Enough. Done. I'm expecting a gain on the scales tomorrow. And I'm ok with that. It will give me a pint from which I can move forward. Forward in the right direction.


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goals for the week - 11/06/2012 - 13/06/2012

Only a short week for these ones. On wednesday I'll do another post, as I want to bring my 'week' in line with the 12wbt weekly weigh-in.

So the goals for the next couple of days are:
1. to eat cleanly. No more chocolate. We bought so much food today. Fruit. Vegetables. Healthy snacks. Sticking to the meal plan I made, following the 12wbt meal plan. I changed a couple of the meals, for ones from the 12wbt database mind you.




2. Get my training sessions done, and with gusto!!! I love exercising! And even though my feet hurt, I'm pushing through the pain as I know it's only going to last for the training session!!




3. Go to bed earlier. Tonight I was upstairs ready for bed by 10:15pm. It's now 11:08pm. I had the agent plait my hair and I still have to feed the bub. Once this is written I'm off to do that and then sleep.

4. Read real books more. Mum leant me a book by my favorite author michael connelly. I also need to finish reading 'growing great girls'. Been reading it for forever!!

5. Spend time playing with the girls instead of sticking them in front of the tv. I do that all too often these days, as it allows me down time and time to get things done. However it's not good for them. And with the rain they'll need a bit of extra attention to help get rid of some energy!!

Be back on Wednesday to re-think these....

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time to get my act together...

I wrote this Saturday week ago, the night before I signed up for 12wbt round2.



...and stop waiting for it all to magically fall into place.

A while ago I wrote about my "missing gym mojo". I have realized that I have been waiting for it to magically reappear. I have been waiting to get back the feeling I used to get from exercising...the endorphin high, endorphin rush that would make me want more of a workout. I've been wanting the weight to fall off quickly and for me to see results after ONE workout.

In other words, I've been living in dream land.

None of those things are going to happen unless I get off my fat arse and MAKE THEM HAPPEN!

It is stupid to think I will see results after ONE bleeding workout. I saw a picture on Pinterest which I cannot find at the moment. It said:
In 4 weeks you'll see the changes in your body.
In 8 weeks family and friends will see the changes.
In 12 weeks everyone else will see the changes.
KEEP AT IT.

i signed up for round 1 of the 12wbt and hardly followed it at all. I did however make sure I had copies of all the workouts for the 12 weeks for both the intermediate program and the lean and strong program. I still have my folder of printed recipes however I need to type them all up a bit neater.

I have everything i need to be successful in my weightless.




So now I need to get out of my way.

But why? Why do I want to do this?
* to fit into my new lorna jane clothes I bought whilst pregnant
* to fit into all my jeans
* to be able to wear my jeans thru winter!
* to not have to wear the agents clothes
* to not have to hold my tummy in
* to not have a muffin top!

So my goals are:
* to increase my muscle %
* to decrease my body fat %
* to lift heavy weights
* to learn how to run
* to run long distances
* to compete in triathlons

For ages I have been wanting to get up and exercise at 6am. My gym has a 6am class on Mondays and Wednesdays, fit box and pump respectively. The other mornings I could go running.

The cold weather does not do me any favors in dragging my ass outta bed that early. I guess that will just come down to mind over matter!! The hardest part of a run is the first step. Or in this case, throwing back the covers to get up!

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12wbt week 1 - it's a wrap!!

It's Sunday!

Week 1 of round 2 of 12wbt is DONE!

This program I'm following the advanced lean & fit exercise plan.

IT'S GOOD. It's working me hard. Monday was great, a cardio session. Over 800 (over 900 I think?) calories gone. Tuesdaywas weights and then cardio again on Wednesday. Wednesday I struggled. My legs felt so heavy during the 20minute treadmill run. But by the time I got to the interval sprints my legs felt a bit better! I think the knew the end was in sight!!

Thursday was weights again and then Friday was supposed to be core and stretching. Saturday's is the big session where you aim to burn over 1000calories. I did this session on Friday as I don't go the the gym on Saturdays as we go to church. So Saturday is my rest day. Friday I smashed out a big 1.5hour workout. Didn't quite get to 1000calories. I think I was only 48 calories short tho! I officially HATE burpees and mountain climbers!!

We haven't really followed the menu plan at all. Simply due to only signing up at 11pm last Sunday night, the day before the program started. We already had food in the house so instead of buying more I used what we had and did pretty well.

So tomorrow is the start of week 2. It's a public holiday tomorrow which means my gym is closed. *insert sad face here* however I'm going to modify the outdoor program to suit my lounge room and do my training at home. Where there's a will there's a way!!

The agent and I did our grocery shopping this afternoon so we are all set for food for the following week. It's scrambled eggs with spinach and avocado for breakfast in the morning - yum!! Looking forward to that after my workout!!

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#marchphotoaday challenge

1. Up




2. Fruit




3. Your neighbourhood




4. Bedside




5. A smile




6. 5pm




7. Something you wore




8. Window




9. Red




10. Loud




11. Someone you talked to today




12. Fork




13. A sign




14. Clouds




15. Car




16. Sunglasses




17. Green




18. A corner of your home




19. Funny




20. Before/after




21. Delicious




22. Kitchen sink




23. Moon




24. Animal




25. Breakfast




26. Key




27. Your name




28. Trash




29. Feet




30. Toy




31. Where you relax



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Mojo. Missing.

It's gone.

My gym mojo.

Missing. AWOL. Bye-bye without warning.

Ugh. All I want to do is eat. Which when you're trying to lose weight is not actually a good thing.

And of course all I want to eat is biscuits paired with a cup of tea. No cup of tea is complete without some biscuits to dunk in it!!

I'd been wanting to do 1000 + calories in each workout this week. Only just made it to 500 in this mornings.

Ugh. Ugh ugh ugh.

Hope this blasted mojo returns soon.


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challenge: 12 hours without technology

i often hear of people wanting to go 'a whole day without technology'. a whole 24hours without using social media, their phone, whatever.

me? i think about it, every now and then. i reckon i could quite easily go 24hours without using facebook, pinterest, twitter, my phone, the tv. my husband tho? he'd have a heart attack if he was unable to reach my due to my phone being turned off!

i have decided that tomorrow, i will be switching my phone off from 7am/7:30am which is around the time we get up in the morning, till 7pm/7:30pm which is the time i put the girls to bed.

i'm going the spend the whole day focused on my girls. more importantly, i'm going to do things they want to do - 'they' being my bigger two girls. we'll be at home for most of the day, apart from going to the gym in the morning. i won't even need my phone there, as i'm going to charge my ipod over night to use for music while on the rower.

we won't be watching tv. i won't be using the computer. my phone will come with us if we go any where, in case there is an emergency and i need it to make a phone call.
i'm actually excited about this! wonder what the girls will want to do...? reading? colouring? dressing up? who knows!

the only down side to this is i won't be able to take photos, as i use the camera in my phone to takes pics thru out the day!

this week's mantra...

i see a lot of pictures with quotes on them on pinterest which i want to put in this post.

however i'm going with just one. 

one mantra per week is enough me thinks.

here it is...

Huggies 12wbt | task 4 - gear up!

This task is about where I will be training and as such, what equipment I will need.

I will be training at the gym in the mornings. My gym has classes at 9:30 every week day morning and these suit me perfectly. The crèche is also open then for the munchkins! The gym is closed on public holidays however that when I resort to one of the other solutions outlined below.

I want to start running outdoors more often, however this depends on when the agent is home to be able to mind the girls. I enjoy running in the rain so the weather doesn't exactly factor in in this option. Unless of course the weather is ridiculously unsuitable, I won't be running at all.

I do have Michelle's DVDs so they are an option if I'm stuck at home one day. Also have the treadmill at home.

So really I have no excuses when it comes to my training.


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I ran

Been feeling horrible lately. In my head. The foods I'm eating aren't making me feel horrible. Quite the opposite actually. Can anyone say 'tim tams'??!!

But those foods have made me fat. The only tips that fit me are my breastfeeding tops. Which are also maternity tops. And the only shorts that fit me are huge size 14 ones I bought to wear whilst preggers.

So because of my eating habits, my weight has crept up and today it got to me.

Finally.

This phrase from commando steve also spoke to me.



My eating was great till we went to a birthday party this arvo. The birthday kids grandmother is a lovely cook. So I ate foods I hadn't planned on eating. But I didn't over do it. Too busy dealing with a screaming baby actually.

My excuse as to why I pulsing exercise lately was my boobs. They are a whole lot bigger than normal and bloody painful when I do body attack. So on Friday I bought a proper sports bra. One that reduces bounce by 50%, 60% when the straps are crossed.

I tried it out tonight. With my bright pink lorna jane sports crop over the top. And then I went outside, in the RAIN for a run.

It felt GREAT. my boobs and I coped. My feet are hurting but boy oh boy it is worth it. And the rain kept me cool. The air, fresh air was so good for my head and lungs. I'd deliberately run under low branches to have the water go on my face. Instant refreshment!

I love endorphins. I no longer feel like killing my husband thanks to these feel-good puppies hahaha!

Oh I feel so good. Can't wait for far burner in the morning. New instructor too. One that used to do attack. She's what we call a pocket rocket. Full of energy and bloody tiny height and wright wise. Nothing to her!

Off for a well-deserved shower. And a drink of cool water.


I finally feel happy.


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#febphotoaday challenge

1. Your view today




2. Words




3. Hands




4. A stranger




5. 10am




6. Dinner




7. Button




8. Sun




9. Front door




10. Self portrait




11. Makes you happy




12. Inside your closet




13. Blue




14. Heart




15. Phone




16. Something new




17. Time




18. Drink




19. Something you hate to do




20. Handwriting




21. A fave photo of you




22. Where you work




23. Your shoes




24. Inside your bathroom cabinet




25. Green




26. Night




27. Something you ate




28. Money




29. Something you're listening to



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