Monday, August 26, 2013

Plodding along nicely

I don't really have a great deal to report since my last blog... 

After GymStick on Wednesday I was fabulously sore - every muscle I moved hurt! I did some cardio at the gym on Thursday and then PT on Friday. Kate thoroughly kicked my arse, which I am still loving. I leg-pressed 80kgs! 

I am going to chat to her this Friday about what exercises she recommends I do during the week... I don't just want to do weights once a week with her, but I still don't know which ones to do / how to do them properly. 

On Saturday morning we did stair sprints - 400 stairs + 3km walk and I was exhausted!! 

More cardio yesterday and today - although I did plank for a whole minute this morning... very exciting considering one of my 12WBT goals was to plank for 30 seconds by the end of this month and I have gone and doubled it! 

I have found a dress for the wedding this weekend too - one of Sam's gorgeous dresses fits me perfectly! I need to get a strapless bra though... gone are the days I can go bra-free!! I am very excited about dressing up and wearing heels... it's been a long time since that has happened! I am getting a pedicure and my nails done on Thursday which I'm pumped about as well. 

I cooked the 12WBT beef and potato pie last night and it was a total win!!! Even Connor inhaled it! We had mashed potato and pumpkin, instead of plain potato and I added a bit of stout to mine and Paul's and it gave it a really nice, rich flavour. 

We are having the oven roasted fish with sweet potato wedges tonight which I"m very much looking forward to! 

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Holy GymStick!

What an amazing class! I am so pleased I did it... even though I am in a whole world of pain now! It was really well put together and very easy to learn how to use. I am definitely going to add it to my workouts from now on.

After GymStick
I am off to the gym shortly and will just do a bit of cardio... rowing machine, treadmill and cross trainer. I am falling terribly behind with my weekly challenge of 30 minutes of wall-sit by Sunday... I have done the grand total of... 1 minute. And I have PT tomorrow so I know my legs are going to be so much sorer! I will do some today at the gym before I stretch and will do some more tonight.

And now for some photos of Canberra... 

View from the National Arboretum
Connor & I, Heather & Willow :: So many layers for my little Queenslander! :: Willow, Connor & Sarge keeping an eye on the neighbourhood :: the two worst sleepers in our baby group together at last... at 5.30am!
Connor fell in love with Sarge :: looking out the plane window :: Baby selfies make me happy :: Connor getting some love from Heather
Food-wise I am feeling great and have got myself back on track. Last night for dinner, Paul & I had bacon and veggie omelets which were amazing. I think we are going to Grill'd tonight but I will just have the Chicken and Pomegranate salad - which I have to say, I'm a bit excited about! Paul got me some raw energy balls from the markets yesterday... almond and cranberry I think they are. They are delicious!!! I am learning to love my protein powder... It is SO hard to drink with water so I am having blended with berries and almond milk which is much easier to drink. 

Have a good day xo

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Getting my head back in the game

My little holiday to Canberra was amazing... I got to meet my gorgeous friend after nearly 2 years of talking online  / over the phone / on Skype. Social media is absolutely amazing sometimes.. She is a kindred spirit and I am completely blessed to have her and her gorgeous family in my life. 

The kids got on famously - except for a few little pushes and shoves here & there. Lots of hugging and sharing... Heather and I teared up more then once watching our babes play together. 

And now... I'm back. And to be honest, I am struggling to get back on track. My eating has been ok... Connor has had a horror few nights with teething and temperatures so I've slipped a bit over the past few days and got back into the 'rewarding myself with food' mentality. I find being at work easier as I can't access the 'bad' food - although it's only when I go to the shops do I slip up... I need to reclaim the willpower strength and get my head back in the game!! 

I am not overly concerned about my weight (the number) at this stage as I know I have lost weight... I can see it in myself and the way my clothes are fitting - although my size 14s are definitely NOT fitting me anymore which is nice! 

I am going to try a new gym class today - GymStick Muscle. The blurb from the website: A unique muscle conditioning class using a Gymstick giving you results in Strength, Endurance, Balance, Joint Stability, Coordination & Postural Awareness.  Sounds interesting! I was going to go tomorrow night, but I have PT with Kate on Friday morning, so I don't want to be too sore as she is totally going to kick my arse again!

As part of the 12WBT, I have to a SSS - Super Saturday Session - where you aim to burn 1000 calories... I am thinking of changing it to Sunday as I was really, really sore after PT last time with my muscles really fatigued and seizing up when I went walking on the Saturday morning. 

I am falling behind with my Weekly Challenge as well... this week it's 30 minutes of Wall-Sits and so far I've done the grand total of one minute. Boo. I really have to get my head and arse into gear!!!

Thursday, August 8, 2013

My new PT

Serious lady-crush going on here right now... I met with Kate from Goodlife Holland Park during the week and organised my first training session for this morning. Holy shit, I am going to be SO sore tomorrow! 

I did:

Warm up on the treadmill for about 10 minutes before hand.
10 x lat pulls
15 x push ups
walking lunges
10 x lat pulls
15 x push ups
walking lunges
10 x lat pulls
15 x push ups
walking lunges
10 bar pull downs
walking lunch
10 bar pull downs
10 step ups (each leg)
10 toe touches (each leg)
10 bar pull downs
10 step ups (each leg)
10 toe touches (each leg)
10 bar pull downs
10 step ups (each leg)
10 toe touches (each leg) 

I burnt close to 180 calories in about 25 minutes. 

She recommended Musashi protein powder for after my workouts, so Paul & I bought some from Woolies on the way to work - and it was on special which just worked out perfectly!!! 

Her assessment is that my back is quite weak (and considering I've done any upper body training, there's no surprises there!), my core needs a lot of work and I need to work on my cardio fitness. I'm pretty happy with all of that... no shocks in any of that! I am seeing her again next week before I go to Canberra which will be great. 

I still haven't done my measurements - I will be doing them tomorrow morning before I have breakfast as well as my before photos to put on the 12wbt website... gulp!!!

Monday, August 5, 2013

The last week...

Has been great!!! This is going to be a random catch-up post laced with photos...

*I have lost 1.7kgs since I started the pre-season at 68kg and weighed in at the gym yesterday, and I was 66.3kg

*I have SMASHED both of my 1 month goals already and one of my 3 month goals already! I am in the process of setting some new goals!!!

1 month goals:
  • to fit comfortable into my size 12 dress for the wedding on the 31/8/13. So about that size 12 dress... yeah, it's TOO BIG!!! 
  • to run / walk 1km in less then 8 mins. I did it on the 17/7 in 9.07 mins. (I DID IT!!!!!!!! I went to the gym on Sunday afternoon and ran it TWICE!!! First time was 7.44, second time was 7.32!!!!!!!!!!) I ran 1km again yesterday (Mon 5/8) and got my time down to: 
My knees were really, really sore (too much cardio I think) but I was really pleased that I didn't stop once


3 month goals:
  • plank for 30 seconds on toes DID IT!!!!!!!! I stopped right on 30 seconds, but am well pleased that I have already beaten a 3 month goal!! 


*I have submitted my Fitness Test results for the beginning of the 12WBT which was exciting.
1km run: 6.41
Plank on toes: 30 seconds
Push ups on toes: 25
Sit and reach: +8cm
Wall sit: 3.02mins (I actually did 1.02 with Connor in my arms and 2.30 without so I decided to add a bit more to my time!)
I am already excited to see how much I can beat everything by in 4 weeks times. 
 
*I made this amazing dessert last night... a healthy little apple pie
-1/4 piece of mountain bread
-1/4 green apple chopped up (will use 1/2 an apple next time)
-topped with a mixture of almond flakes, cinnamon, coconut and a little bit of brown sugar
Put mountain bread into muffin tray, place apple inside and top with mixture. Bake on 180 for about 10 minutes. Top with Greek yogurt. 


*I had an amazing weekend and definitely made the most of the fabulous Brisbane weather. I caught up with the lovely Tonina for her birthday lunch at a little place at Eagle Street Pier. The food was ok (I was good and ordered the salad - which came with fried chicken. Boo) but check out the view... 

 *We went to the Sunshine Coast for lunch with Paul's sister on Sunday. We went for a walk along the Maroochy River which was just amazing. 

*This kid? Seriously... he is just incredible. I love being with him... best age ever! 


I have spoken with a PT at the gym and have booked in a session with her on Thursday morning... this woman is a competitive boxer and is going to absolutely kick my arse. Which is good. That is exactly what I need to keep me motivated and accountable. 



I am off to Canberra next Wednesday so have printed out all of my exercises to do while I'm there... this will test my willpower like nothing has before!!! On one hand, this is my first real holiday just for me so I kind of think 'who cares' when it comes to the food. On the other hand, I know I will pay for it and will probably undo all of my good work so am reasoning with myself to be strong.

My final challenge for the pre-season is to 'Measure Up' so I will be back with measurements on Thursday! 

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Two steps forward, one step back

I have had a few slip ups this week in regards to food... Paul has been away so I have rewarded myself with chocolate for doing it all myself - I know, I know... I need to stop! I don't really know what it is in my head that makes me want the food - the voice that tells me to stop and think is getting stronger but my willpower is still not as strong as it needs to be obviously. 

Just keep trying! Just keep trying! Just keep trying! 

I have had a pretty good week exercise-wise. 

Cardio on Friday, Saturday and Sunday...

Friday:: Easy walk / jog with Paul ~~ cuddles out the front with Sam & Connor to finish up
Saturday gym session:: treadmill - 25mins, 2.6km | rowing machine - 12mins, 2000m | bike - 10mins, 3.13km
Sunday walk:: decided to head up the hills behind my house for a look. Nice view of the city and no pram to push!
I've emailed the gym about organising some PT sessions so I can start using the machines and building some strength instead of doing cardio all the time.

I also took some more progress pictures to compare to the ones I took during week 1 of pre-season. I can't see a huge difference, but I have definitely lost some size. It does give me motivation to work harder in the next fortnight so I can see a bigger difference the next time around. 

Onwards and upwards baby!

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Finshing the week with a BANG!

I didn't get the chance to come back and update my last blog entry with my results of the fitness test, so here they are again...

So...

1km: 7.32 minutes
Pushups in 1min: 25 (on knees)
Wall sit: 1.30min
Sit ups: 1 (gah - must keep practicing!)
Sit & Reach: -10 (reached to the end of the ruler!)

The latest challenge was to 'Say It Outloud' and to make a commitment to complete the 12WBT. 

I have already announced it on Facebook that I'm completing the challenge and have told pretty much anyone who will listen that I've signed up so I'm pretty well covered on that one! 

On the 12WBT website, I created a post in the forums so I could put it there a bit more. Here's a picture of my post...



I have gone back to edit it and changed it to: is to be the best wife and mother I can. It's not about changing for anyone else, but I have to be selfish in order to change which will benefit my family.


I spoke with my parents who bought me an early birthday present - a pretty pink Polar HRM! I am a little bit in love with it! We went for a walk / run yesterday. It's so light and easy to use... I would recommend it to anyone!


I was supposed to hit the gym for a boxing class last night, but C has been diagnosed with asthma and was far too fragile for me to leave the house. I am looking forward to the day I can leave him at night, I have to say! 



I have tried a few more 12WBT recipes this week too. I made the not-so-naughty nachos on Tuesday night (just added extra lean mince and some taco seasoning) and everyone inhaled it!!! Even C was munching on the mountain bread chips! We made the spinach and feta parcels on Wednesday night (added 1 chicken breast, cooked & shredded) and served them with oven roasted chips... they were a big hit too! Although I completely forgot you have to take the pastry out of the freezer the day before, so it all broke when I opened it! Such a dick!! I ended up doing little sausage roll types parcels... just as delicious!!

Paul and I are going on another walk / run this afternoon and hopefully another tomorrow morning. I will go to the gym tomorrow afternoon as Sunday is looking like a tough day to get there. Fingers crossed I can squeeze in a few workouts this weekend before Weigh-In Wednesday!

Happy weekending xo