I havent fallen off the wagon!!

So it has been a few weeks, but I have an excuse!!
So some of you may be thinking that I have fallen off the wagon, havent been blogging, havent seen me at the gym, well....
Rather than fall off the wagon, I was more "thrown" off, ran over, then the wagon reversed back over me, did a burnout on my back and ran back over me....
hahaha!
No as I stated in my last blog, I had been working really hard and I kept my promise of training twice a day, so for 2 weeks there I was doing 10 sessions a week and really good training too, was feeling fantastic.... or so I thought, according to the doctor I over did it and after having a baby I need to understand I cant do the things I used to (yet!). I came down with a reeeeally bad case of tonsilitis because of running myself down and was quite sick for 2 weeks. My tonsils were so swollen and infected I had trouble breathing and up until a day or 2 ago I still wasnt 100%.

So after 2 weeks of doing nothing but rest I was devastated as I felt like all my hard work went down the drain, especially that I didnt get to weigh in for the week! I was so excited to weigh in on the wednesday because of how hard I had worked but I got sick on the sunday so never got to the gym to weigh myself!!
So after 2 weeks off I gently got back into it and now a week later Im having another week off!!

Yes you remember in my last blog I told you I was having surgery on the 29th? Well Im sitting here now with a wad of bandages around my head and I can already see that Im swollen and am starting to resemble an avatar. But pain wise Im not doing too bad, so I think in a couple of days Ill be able to go power walking.
Anyways back to my story. So in my last blog I set my goal, I was to lose 4 kg by my surgery date and finally be under the 90kg mark.
So you can imagine my devastation when I got sick and couldnt exercise and to top it off had a diet that consisted of bread as I was also vomitting and told not to eat dairy, so was stuck with toast for breakfast :(
So I knew that this last week being able to train there was only so much I could do but lose that weight didnt seem possible.....
I was too scared to weigh myself at the gym yesterday morning as I simply felt fat. I felt bloated, and just upset as I hadnt been able to train properly for a few weeks. So I didnt weigh myself.
So you can imagine my surprise when I jumped on the scales at the hospital.
After all my sickness, and fear, and very hard training I was in total shock!
The scales read 88kg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now they arent the gym scales so Im sure there will be some difference but not that much! Ive lost 5.5kg in just under a month!!!! Not only did I reach my goal but I beat it!
And guess what?! I now have only 3 kg until I reach my pre pregnancy weight and then only 8kg until i reach my first goal! I have now lost 14kg!
Part of me wants to drive to the gym now, bandages and all and weigh myself just to see what the gym scales say so I have an exact number. Dont worry nobody would recognise me, they would just think that theyre shooting the next instalment of Avatar at Viva Fitness.

So I am now sitting here planning my next weeks meals, its time to get serious again!! I have decided I may now use the Woolworths online shopping so I can just buy everything I need and not fall into any traps at the supermarket, plus it does make it a lot easier not having to go to the supermarket with a baby.

Lastly on a personal note, I am back teaching again!! I will be teaching a Tuesday and Thursday 10:15am Body Pump class at Revive fitness and hopefully in the next few weeks I will be back in the spin room where I belong teaching the Wednesday 9:15am Freestyle class at Revive! And I may be back teaching kickboxing classes at Viva soon too!!
IM BACK BABY!!!

Laryssa :)

Ot ohhhhhhh the big weekend has caught up with me :(

Yes its me! Keeping my promise of blogging weekly!

So as you know Wednesday is my weigh in day, so Ill bring you up to date on last week and this week!
Last week I managed to lose 950 grams (how annoying, maybe I should have peed before weigh in and lost that extra 50grams!!) and my weight dropped to 93.3kg (I just vomitted in my mouth having to write that).
I was really happy with that result as the weekend prior I had instead of 1 treat meal, I had 3... oops?  Well we had Thai food on the friday night, which was beef, veges and rice but its a little off my usual steamed veges and chicken or soups etc! Then the Saturday night I had a schnitzel and had bacon and eggs for breakfast on sunday!! Yep 3 treat meals.......
I must admit I worked really hard last week to make up for it.

This week however I think the 3 treat meals, how ever scrumptious they were, caught up with me as I jumped on the scales this morning and had gained 200grams. Now rather than get depressed I know why that number came up and I can safely say next week will be a much different story as my eating has been fantastic since that weekend and so far this week I have already trained 5 times and will be hitting the gym again tonight to make it 6 sessions in 3 days!!

Now on a personal note I am really excited as I feel I am now ready to start teaching again so its only a matter of time before you all see me in the Group fitness and cycling studios again! I am haaaaaanging to teach a spin class like you wouldnt believe!!!
Maybe this is a result of the fact that Taya is now sleeping throught the night so after 5 months I finally feel human again!! Although I have only just started to sleep through myself! It took a week or so to not wake up automatically or check on her that she was still alive!!!
Anyways cant wait to see you in one of my classes and Im thinking I might even get a PUSH group together or even some one on one sessions again! Anyone need a trainer???

I will leave you with my "motivational affirmation" I am following this week....
"PAIN IS TEMPORARY, QUITTING LASTS FOREVER"

See you all hot and sweaty in the gym!!
Laryssa

Hello My Name is Laryssa.

Wow..... long time.
Firstly let me apologise for disappearing off the face of the earth for the last 2months!!!
I guess there is no excuse as I made a promise to blog as part of my journey and simply I didnt do this and this is not good enough. This may also be related to the fact that my weightloss has slowed down?? Talk about a domino effect.
Now before you get carried away, I havent fallen off the wagon and put on weight or anything, but I will tell you of my progress in a  moment.
Just want to bring you up to speed on whats happened during April and May.
Firstly it was my birthday in April and we had a little shindig at our place which then turned into a family union/reunion with our first ever family photo, well the first time ever my father has had a photo with all four of his children, so was a pretty special weekend.
Then there was easter where I spent 6 days at our shack, which was bliss (thanks bro) and then more social commitments and then work came into it. For those that dont know Im also working from home doing work for Viva and PUSH, basically doing any computer and design jobs that need doing, so there was a week that every waking moment was spent on work and gym so the last thing I wanted to do was get on the computer again and write a blog.
This pretty much leads me to mid May where I decide to up my training from 6 days a week to twice a day Mon-Thurs and then once a day Fri and Sat (10 sessions per week) where I think I may have forgotten that when i used to train twice a day I actually used to sleep at night, so what happened? I got sick.... yep horrible head cold for a week!! Then... more work! So that pretty much brings me to last week!! So Im back into training and feeling good again! (Told you lifes been hectic!)

But like I said, I made a promise and I didnt deliver. It wasnt until I was confronted by a few fantastic Viva members and blog readers about the lack of blogging that I actually realised that I have let you down and that this blog has been inspiring others which at the end of the day is something I strive to do. So now! no matter how busy life is I PROMISE that I will set aside 20 minutes a week to share my journey. Thankyou Rachel for lighting that firecracker up my butt.

Well where am I at??
So as you can see above I had quite a few social occasions that involved food and alcohol and no training! So there were a few hiccups especially easter where I was too scared to step on the scales(because I may have broken them)  but I can pretty much say I would have put on 2 kg....at least.
So 13 weeks ago I started this journey at 102kg and am now 94kg...weighin is tomorrow so hopefully that number is lower yet again.
Now this is obviously not as good as I hoped but I can only move on from here. So back to 2 training sessions a day and back to planning and preparing my weeks meals.
Now for my small goal. Today is the 31st of May. I have surgery on the 27th of June, On that day I WILL be under 90kg. Which with weigh in tomorrow, this should be a very realistic and achievable goal.
How am I going to make this happen?
As I said above, my training and food will be the focus but to add to that, when I update you each week, I will write the weeks weight, which will keep me accountable to you all and myself and I feel will drive me to make sure I see the good results on the scales as I dont want to embarass myself by telling you my weight hasnt changed for the week.

So please keep me on my toes and I love your feedback so please leave me a comment after my blogs and let me know what you think and maybe where you're at with your training? Even ask me some questions etc. How cool would it be if we ended up getting a training group together! The "Bloggers" hahaha
Anyways I have work to do and a baby to feed!
See you tonight at Viva 6pm for Push_ KNOCKOUT!!
xx

Have you Missed Me?

Boo! Yep Im still alive!
So as you read last time I was getting sick.... well boy did I get sick, massive headcold which really knocked me for 6, partially I think because I havent been sick since 2009. So I spent friday and saturday at home in bed and was still sick sunday and monday.
Tuesday was my first day back at the gym and lucky me had a session in the morning with Dion.... who was also fasting before having his wisdom teeth out that afternoon...yayyyyyy.... could you sense my sarcasm??
Anybody who knows Dion knows how pleasent he is when he's hungry...
Im over exaggerating a little, he was fine. I however, was expecting an easy session, being still a little congested and having not trained and been bed ridden for 5 days. That was until I told him I had been sick and I literally saw the words I spoke come flying out his other ear and off in to space, then he told me we were training together. This in the language of Dion means Ill train you and at the same time I get to beat you up, ok?
So we trained, I gagged on mucus, got dizzy and cried. He beat me up.
It wasnt that bad although the above line is completely true. Although that all happened in the first 15 minutes, then I came good and we had a good session.
By Thursday I was feeling back to normal and really motivated again (woo hoo!!)

Now.... weigh in day.
After sitting on my ass for 5 days and no exercise I definitely expected to gain weight. But!
I lost 200 grams.... now I know I probably pee more than 200 grams in weight but when you're expecting to put on weight 200 grams is fantastic! And the way my week turned out Im expecting a great number this coming wednesday!!
This week was probably the first week I felt like my fitness had really improved. I am working nearly as hard in Body attack as I did pre pregnancy and Im starting to feel a lot stronger.... including push ups on my toes!! woo! To think Im still 10kg heavier than I was pre baby, imagine how hard I can train when this 10kg is gone?.....
Friday night I had an amazing sleep, felt like I was in a coma and it was the first time in a long time I woke up in the morning without an alarm, so my body was "ready" to wake up. Needless to say I jumped out of bed and began my day feeling fantastic! What better way to prepare for my Smashing Saturday Session?!!
This week Maddy had to train early so I was on my own....well kinda, I had my music ;)
So a little note to self....
Dont listen to drum n bass music when you go for a run or you'll run too fast, wear yourself out and give yourself blisters!!
I decided to make a Pendulum playlist with my favourite tracks, starting with "The island" dusk and dawn then leading into the big tracks like watercolour and voodoo people.... Was a good idea until there I was half way down valetta road running to the beat of "Watercolour" singing and fist pumping like a champion until I realised I was actually sprinting and still had around 700m to go!! But luckily "voodoo people" came on which kept me going and I finished the run in around 15 and a half minutes!!
See I told you all that you'd end up chasing me in the block run!! Hmmm could this be the week I attempt the 5km big block?? Hmmm If I get 5 people comment on this blog, Ill do it ;) Its up to you now....

Here are the recipes I promised from the last post.... just a little late, woops!
Healthy (and bloody tasty) chicken parmigiana
For 2 people...
whisk 2 egg whites for your crumbing. Crumb 2 chicken breasts by coating in a little bit of flour, dipping in the egg white and then coating with bread crumbs.
Pre heat oven to 180 degrees. Lightly spray a fry pan and cook chicken 3-4 mins each side until cooked.
Place chicken on a baking tray and spread with 'no added salt' tomato paste ( I like the "pizza" one, it has added herbs.
then spread a tablespoon of reduced fat ricotta on each piece of chicken. Bake in the oven for around 5 minutes.
Whilst its baking make a salad on each plate of spinach, basil, rocket, cherry tomatoes and cucumber.. lightly grate some parmesan on each salad (optional)... remember one tablespoon of parmesan is around 35 cal so use sparingly.
Top the salad with the chicken and then drizzle balsamic glaze over the chicken and salad.
mmmmmm yum!

Now this recipe Im making for dinner tonight this is one of my favourites to make when I am at the gym of a night as its really quick.
Beef, brocolini and bok choy stirfry.
Once again for 2 people.
Cook a rump steak approx 220-250gram, to your liking. Take off the pan and thinly slice, put aside.
In a wok, stirfry 1 red onion (cut in wedges), 1 garlic clove (thinly sliced), a 3cm piece of ginger (cut in matchsticks) and 1 red chilli (finely sliced). Stirfry for 1 minute.
Add the brocolini ( cut in 3rds and stems halved length ways) also add a splash of water. add the bok choy (approx 4, cut length ways into quarters) add another splash of water.
In a cup combine 3 tbspns soy sauce, 1 tbs worstechire, 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce. add to the stirfry and return steak to pan. stir fry for 1 minute!!
Serve with 1/2 cup basmati rice each :)
Cant wait to make this tonight, so dam tasty!!

So Im really looking forward to a good week, on a personal note, the week has started of great, Paul finally started rendering our fence and I started on the herb garden, this morning we received some very promising news regarding a medical issue with my father, my little gremlin Taya laughed for the first time today; a constant loud cackling laugh! and lastly its my birthday Thursday and we are celebrating Saturday with a barbeque at our house which is also going to be a bit of a family reunion!
Hopefully the scales will also reflect what is shaping up to be a great week!

See you in the gym and maybe even running the big block!!
xx

I ate the wagon...

So you know the expression, "I fell off the wagon".... well I fell off the wagon but not only that I think I ate the wagon too.
Now when I say I fell off the wagon, dont get carried away, i didnt go binging on burgers, pizza and chocolate, I just ate too much and drank alcohol.
This last weekend was a real test, saturday was my neices 1st birthday party bbq at a playground, my best friend was down from melbourne and it was also Clipsal weekend and for those that dont know, my future sister inlaws father races in the ute division at clipsal, so Clipsal is always a big exciting weekend.
So what did I do.... I ate ..... and ate .... and ate.... oh and drank.
Now granted I enjoyed myself immensely but the horrible feeling I had on Monday of guilt wasnt worth it.
Now the food I ate wasnt junk food, but I did eat steak and "bbq salads" eg pasta salad, potato salad etc or as I like to say carbs carbs carbs....mmmm carbs... hahaha!
Whilst I have been doing well on this journey, I havent yet got it down pat. As you would all know, temptation is a killer and following a plan at home is easy, its when you go out in to the world that makes it hard and that little voice in your head telling you to have a small portion or to leave that pasta salad alone, is drowned out by the sound of race cars and drunken bogans....
So I have learnt by my mistakes and know how to improve on this for next time.

Now...
With all that eating I still managed to lose half a kilo this week, which I am happy with as honestly I thought I would gain this week not lose, but it also brings me to think, what would that number be if I had behaved myself on the weekend?? dammit.
This week started off fantasticly! I worked my ass off in Body attack on monday and I am now doing the 2nd option for tricep pushups which is exciting! My eating has been spot on, including changing my food plan to make the roast lamb I cooked for the whole family on wednesday my "treat meal", when in the past I wouldnt recognise that and I would still have a treat meal too.
Tuesday night was kickboxing, wednesday was 1 on 1 training with Dion where we did some really interesting training and I got to man handle him, got to grab him by the neck, push him round and finish him off with a knee (if only I knew those moves when we were kids, he would have been in big trouble.... yeah our little "kumate" sessions from the movie Bloodsport would have ended a whole lot differently) Then yesterday I woke up with a sore throat and "tender" glands. But after missing group training last week, I couldnt miss it again, and so off I went and lucky I did as we did a boxing session (my favourite obviously!) but as the day went on I felt worse and worse.
So when Paul rang and asked what I needed from the chemist I told him "anything that would make me feel better". Now this to me meant some echinacea tablets, but part of me was wishing he would interpret this as a big block of chocolate (hahaha what can I say, im female!) but alas he returned home with echinacea tablets.
Woke up this morning with really swollen glands, tonsils and a head that may just explode.... not cool. So it looks like a day on the couch in my pj's is in order, which means my eating needs to be spot on, so I get better quickly and can get my ass back into the gym....what am I going to do without my "Smashing Saturday Session"!!!?

To finish, a few people have been asking me what a typical days food would involve for me so here goes.
I am sticking to around 1200 calories a day + upto 500 extra calories as I am breastfeeding.
Breakfast lunch and dinner should be around 300 calories each which leaves 2 snacks at around 150 calories each- this makes up 1200 calories.
Breakfast I like to mix it up. Either cereal with soy milk and a banana. Yogurt with kiwi fruit and natural muesli, or burgen fruit toast with low fat ricotta.
Lunch normally some sort of salad or wrap. My favourite salad at the moment is roast vegetables, with chick peas and a dill yogurt dressing (with lots of garlic).
Dinner- Ive found the key is to find dressing or sauces that are low cal and tasty! so a simple small chicken breast and steamed vegetables with a mustard sauce is really tasty and good for you. (Mustard sauce = spring onion, garlic, chicken stock, water and wholegrain mustard- cook until reduced)
The window for fat burning means 3-4 hourly meals so snacks are a necessity. I loooove smoothies!!
Low fat yogurt, frozen raspberries, milk or orange juice for a nice tang and a little bit of protein powder.... amazing.

The key though people is PLAN AND PREPARE!!!!
i spend fridays and saturdays planning the following weeks meals, so I can write out my full shopping list and do the food shopping either saturday or sunday, that way everything I need for the week is there ready. I have my food plan written out so I never have to sit and wonder what to cook which leads to snacking on the wrong foods due to hunger while trying to find something to make for dinner (we all have done that, dont deny it  ;)
This also means I can prepare and make the following days lunches too, which has lead to a very satisfied and happy husband too ;)

I think thats enough for now. Look out on Saturday or Sunday Im posting 2 recipes of the week... a healthy chicken parmagiana and a very quick and tasty stirfry!

P.s thankyou all for your "motivating screams" (especially you Brett) when you see me training at the gym or running down the street, I appreciate it... keep it up!
xx

Ummmm where did the week go??

So it feels like I only blogged yesterday but its been over a week!!
What happened week?
Well Thursday was Rena's group training followed by BodyBalance and Friday body attack of course!
Saturday I decided to step it up a notch and introduce "Superhero Saturday"!!
One of my closest friends Maddy is getting married in May and trains like a superstar so we decided to train together on saturdays, starting with the block run and then a kickboxing "superhero session"...
Let me just say that "exhausted" is an understatement.... we were absolutely knackered! But felt fantastic afterwards and ready for my treat meal which I had defenitely earnt!

So with the long weekend, on a personal note it was time I let my hair down. While Paul was away at the shack on a boys weekend, I got my ticket and my dancing shoes and headed to the Future Music Festival, while mum had Taya for her first sleepover!
I decided to be smart and had my cereal for breakfast and a chicken salad for lunch...then vodka for dinner...hahaha yep I spent the day drinking vodka...and dancing! I had an absolute ball and dont regret it at all! It just meant that I had to train even harder in the coming days and not expect a too big a number on the scales on wednesday!.
So hangover and all I trained in Dions class on tuesday night and surprisingly felt FANTASTIC afterwards!
Wednesday morning was weigh in day and I lost half a kilo....once again a little low but this brought me to nearly 5kg in my first month!! Im right on track!!
With that I trained with Dion and trained so hard that I wanted to cry?? Yep not about anything inparticular, I wasnt thinking about anything, I just had an overwhelming sensation to cry?? hmmm if anyone knows why, please tell me , that was really weird!!
Thursday would be the first day since returning to training that I have not felt up to it. I woke and really struggled to get out of bed.... maybe my lack of sleep, constant intense exercise, and a day of drinking had caught up with me!
So I did what I havent done in a long time and i lied on the couch with a blanket and skipped training :(
Maybe I needed a morning off, because Friday I was on fire!!! A day full of energy and I felt fantastic!
My food this week has been good but not great.... Im not sure why I just have this feeling.... the main problem is my portion sizes.... so that is my goal for the next week! Make sure you check up on me in the club!

Lastly I thought I would share a good recipe with you, its fast, tasty and extremely healthy!!
steam some bok choy and brocolini, cook a chicken breast on a grill then put aside.
In the pan cook 1 spring onion (finely chopped) for a few minutes, add a crushed clove of garlic, 1/4 cup chicken stock, 1/4 cup water and 3 heaped teaspoons of wholegrain mustard.... stir and let reduce then spoon this on to your chicken and veges!! mmmmm yum! and so easy!!
Enjoy!

Hello motivation where have you been???!

Well its been a week.... and what a week. Talk about an emotional rollercoaster!
So this is what Id like to call the 2-3 week blues....Im 3 weeks into my journey and I will admit that this week my mindset has been completely out of whack.... Im not entirely sure why but I have been majorly struggling with negative thoughts.... which for people who know me is strange as I am always a very postivie and optimistic person.
Part of it may have to do with my 800g weight loss last week after I felt I worked so hard and it didnt really show on the scales, but whatever the reason the feelings and thoughts I have had this past week have not been the best. :(
Last week my little bundle of joy had been a little "out of routine" waking at different hours of the night really threw me for a loop and I found myself battling with tiredness (but never gave in ;)] and to be honest I just felt fat...plain and simple I felt overweight and like I had put on weight. I had been following my food plan but constantly felt hungry.
As I have said in past posts Im super organised with my food now except my snacks so I wasnt snacking enough. So I was hungry, tired and grumpy (not a good combination!) That along with challenges during training sessions like skipping during a boxing session and literally not being able to lift my legs, shin splints probably due to the extra weight I am carrying and my poor legs not handling the impact, and a very bad case of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) although there was nothing delayed about it, after tuesdays training my legs were sore pretty  much until the following monday!!!
With the negative thoughts running through my head I started being a little leanient with portion sizes and when having dinner at my in laws rather than having a small portion I was so hungry and just gave in and ate until I was stuffed.... then went home upset.
As you can see the situation last week was at about defqon 2.....
In normal situtions I wouldnt allow these thoughts to happen and would work on overcoming these problems and thoughts and work harder.... thats what prompted me to ask...
"Hello? Motivation where are you??"
If I were truly motivated these things wouldnt be an issue. I would be able to overcome these thoughts. This means finding motivation that works for me. So when I went for my run on Saturday I said to myself enough is enough snap out of it and started thinking... what motivates me? what is going to drive me to lose the next 23kilo's?
So now I will share with you what motivates me as for those of you who are on a  journey of your own this may help you work out what motivates you. Please also check a great article written by my brother Dion about  Motivation techniques http://www.vivafitness.com.au/posts/view/16/Motivate_your_strength_or_toning_goals

But now what motivates me?

1- Positive Affirmations
When I train I like to think positive thoughts. I like to have competitions against myself in my own head...yes strange I know but it works. When I run I will constantly think...."this is easy! You got this in the bag...nothing can stop you. Youre not going to stop now?" etc etc and I find myself talking back saying "yeah this IS easy and no way Ill never stop." Basically I build my ego while I run. I talk about running as this has become a favourite thing for me to do as it is hard and it allows me to be completely focused in my own thoughts.

2- People who inspire me.
As you know my family and close friends are all fit and active and live healthy lifestyles. People like my mum, brother Dion and his fiance Kristy are all hugely inspiring.
If you dont know my brother Dion is a kickboxer and started fighting at 18, and after only 2 fights was offered a state title fight and won. For those of you who know the discipline it takes to fight will appreciate what he went through in the lead up to all of his fights, how hard he trained and focused on his goal and nothing could stop him.
Then to Kristy who in 2008 won the Miss Figure Australia title and started her intense preparation 5 months before the competition. The sacrifices she made in order to achieve her goal are far beyond anything I could even dream of.... but she did it and she won.
Then my mum, who has been in the fitness industry for nearly 30 years but more importantly has overcome many hurdles in her life, being a single mother just making ends meet and the major sacrifices to support both my brother and I, to get where she is today shows a very strong, passionate and inspiring woman.
Lastly the members at Viva.... the "front row mums" (and instructors) Rena, Jade,Renee, Melina, Lidia, just to name a few... who look amazing after having children, some of them even better than before children!
The people in Dions kickboxing class who are all fitter, stronger and faster than I am, inspire me to be just as good and even better! (Give me 3 months and you'll all be chasing me in the block run)

and lastly
3- The person I want to be...The role model
I dont necessarily have an image of myself but more importantly the feeling when  I achieve this goal, the reaction from my husband and the praise I will receive.
Knowing that your husband finds you attractive or sexy is a comforting feeling, something that I dont feel at the moment, but this will drive me to make this happen.
Being a role model for my clients that I have trained who are now "gym junkies" and to my future clients who will be inspired by me achieving my goal.

So there you have it I dug deep and re focused. Went in with a fresh head on Monday, did Body attack and went for a walk in the afternoon, did group training on tuesday night and then PT with Dion on wednesday morning and another afternoon walk.
Which leads me to weigh in day and guess what? I lost 1.5kg!! Back on track and feeling fantastic!

So what did I learn this week?
The going WILL get tough, things wont always be easy and you WILL have slip ups. But that is all they are, bad "moments". Its how we get out of these "funks" and overcome these slip ups that truly make us succeed and help us along the way to being the people we want to be.

Make it Happen!!
xx

Mixed Emotions....

So before I start, I have been approached by a lot of people saying they are reading this blog and really enjoying it, so if you are I ask you please to become a "follower", I guess so I really know that people are listening and so that you may leave me comments, I would love some feedback and Im sure at times I may need some words of motivation from you! Oh and then you can ask me for any recipes you want to see! All that it asks is for your email address and it will alert you when I post a new blog post.... no spam or anything!

Anyways onto this post.... Mixed Emotions...
So as you know I have been lucky enough to be fit in to the verrry busy schedule of my brother Dion to become one of his clients..... not sure if that was a smart move as a lot of you know when it comes to training he is a sadistic bastard.....
Well maybe Im only saying this now as it is Thursday and I still cant walk properly after a group torture session, oops I mean training session, on Tuesday night.
But all that aside he is a fantastic trainer as all the Push_ Trainers are and when we train I am no longer his sister but another woman trying to be the best I can be. So I feel very lucky to be fit into his schedule, so just another person I dont want to let down.

This week started with the Body Attack class as you all saw on Monday and then my usual walk with the Yummy Mummys on Tuesday morning followed by my first session in Dions Tuesday night kickboxing class although we didnt box this week we did a "testing" session including a run and then various horrible strength/power exercises non stop as fast as we can then in 6 weeks time we will do it all again to see our improvement!
So I was booked in for some one on one kickboxing wednesday morning- I think I knew this was a bad idea when Taya woke at 3am for a feed and I sat for 5 mins hoping she would just get up, jump out of her bassinette and into bed with me to feed as I physically couldnt move my legs without wanting to cry...needless to say she didnt move so we cried together until I peeled myself out of bed to feed her.

After psyching myself up all morning at home I ventured to the gym for our session but more importantly it was weigh in day!! Now last week I lost 1.5kg so was expecting around the same especially as my eating had been close to perfect bar that on icecream, that delicious creamy delightful icecream.... sorry got a little sidetracked, so yes I was expecting a good number....
The whole drive there I was saying in my head, "98..98..98"  just hoping it would be 98kg.... but unfortunately I only lost 800g so was quite disappointed for a moment then a lightbulb went off.... 800g is nearly a kilo and I have lost nearly 2 and a half kilos in 2 weeks thats not bad at all and Im now under 3 digits (thank bloody god for that!!)
So went into my training session with mixed feelings of looking at the positives and still mildly disappointed.
We started our session with our usual corrective exercises for my weak glute medius...yes just because I have a big butt doesnt mean its strong (but it will be ;)] Then we started with a skipping round. 3 mins of continous skipping consisting of 20 secs fast as you can with knees up, then 10 secs easy skipping then a break and repeat the 3 min round 2 times. Now in case you didnt realise, skipping is a lot harder when you're used to skipping when you're 13kg lighter!! That along with the fact my legs felt like i was wearing cement shoes meant this exercise was extremely hard so as i stared at the wall trying my hardest, I tried to motivate myself by picturing myself when I reach my goal but that didnt work for me, then all I could think was "25..25..25" my goal 25kg...eyes on the prize.... and I felt a fire, a drive, a challenge and it worked.
Then onto the kickboxing and I kept that thought in my mind.... I think Ive found my motivation!
Felt fantastic after my session .... that was until I got home and collapsed in a heap, I cant believe I used to miss training like this!
Then onto today and just when I thought it couldnt get any worse it even hurts to sit now, as when I sit especially on a hard surface I can feel my bones digging into my muscles... like knives..... oh the joys.

I finally made it to Rena's group training class this morning  after Taya was a little gremlin and kept me up pretty much from 3:30am until my alarm went off, I felt like a zombie but I knew id feel better in the end and within minutes I had forgotten I was sleep deprived and on with the workout I went and as always it was a good one!

So what did I learn....
- Find a motivation technique that works for you
- When you are tired and dont want to train, you always feel better after a good hard workout
- and skipping with cement shoes is FRIGGEN hard!!

Whats on the agenda tomorrow... Body Attack thats what! Whos game enough to do it with me??

Its a new week!

Well well well what a weekend!
To start, Saturday was treat meal day and honestly I couldnt get it off my mind!! Sad I know, but having that treat meal really makes it worth being strict during the week and helps me stay on track.
Ive been battling a little with tiredness lately, normally when I get up in the morning I jump out of bed ready to tackle they day but lately Ive been having arguments with myself (no im not crazy at all ha!) lying in bed "trying" to get up.
Saturday was the worst, I actually fell asleep again, then eneded up jumping out of bed..... not because of excitement to tackle the day, more because I scared myself shitless and was disorientated as to why I was asleep again!?
But I did end up getting up and went straight to the gym, did a 3km run followed by a personal training session with Stav (who is amazing by the way) and felt Fantastic afterwards!
So the treat meal......all day I was dreaming about a hamburger from a fish n chip shop.... I think I even dribbled a bit, and boy did I enjoy it! I think if Paul wanted to "try" mine (as he says when he wants some of mine-like he's never had a hamburger before?) and have a bite I think I actually would have bitten him .... Come to think of it I think I may have hissed at him a few times like a feral cat just for looking at my burger.... needless to say, I enjoyed it.

So yesterday was time to start the new week. My food plan was set and the shopping list was done so while Paul stayed at home with Taya I headed off to do the shopping (tip: always do food shopping after a meal..... never go in there hungry or you'll end up coming out with cheesymite scrolls, packets of chips and chocolate going WTF?)
$200 later I was home preparing todays food.
BTW yesterdays dinner I ended up making for lunch as I had a birthday dinner at Stellas. It was eggplant parmigiana or more like a lasagna so lets call it "Eggplant Parmasagna".
Extremely tasty and very low calorie, let me know if you would like the recipe!

On the topic of the birthday dinner..... I slipped :(
Whilst having a healthy steak with veges for dinner, I had and ice cream for desert..... yep told you Id be honest...
Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed it there was a little voice inside my head yelling and screaming at me (the voice sounded a lot like my brother ;) ....hmmm funny that)

With that I jumped out of bed this morning and went on my mission to Body Attack and boy did I "attack"... thankyou Rena ;)
Honestly I dont think I listened to a word Rena said.... the only thing going through my head was icecream! icecream! icecream!! and I think i kicked so high I nearly flipped myself over backwards!
I feel better now and had a beautiful healthy lunch - rare roast beef sandwich with beetroot, rocket, cucumber and horseradish).... now as the little gremlin is sleeping Im about to prepare tonights dinner- grilled chicken breast with a herbed yogurt sauce with salad mmmm yum! once again feel free to ask for recipes!
On the agenda tomorrow, a morning walk with my "yummy mummys" and then hopefully Dions Kickboxing class tomorrow night.... Im just going to rock up and hope that he lets me do it...yep that'll work.

anways thankyou for keep me on my toes and ssshhhh about the ice cream ;)

Everything Hurts!!!

Hmmmmm..... Nobody said returning to high intense exercise would be easy!!

Its Saturday night the 26th of Feb and its treat meal night!! (Ive been thinking about this meal all week!!)

I started this challenge one week ago and have gotten off to a flying start!
The food plan is going really well and I am still highly motivated.
This week:
Monday: Body Attack
Tuesday: PT weight session with Trainer Kyle
Wednesday: 3km run (walked for 2 mins approx 100m)
Thursday: Body Balance
Friday: Body Attack
Saturday: 3km run (walked for 30 secs approx 20m) followed by PT weight session

Weighed in on Wednesday morning, after breakfast...... 100.2kg!! I lost 1.6kg since last Thursday!!
Am right on track!!

I only started this blog today so thats why there isnt more detail....
Stay tuned this week for more info on training and diet.... I may even share some recipes!!
Cant wait to weigh in on Wednesday!!

The Journey Begins!

GOALS:
- Lose 25kg
- Run the 12km City to Bay Fun Run in September
- Compete in my first Triathlon (300m swim, 17km cycle, 3km run)

TIME: 6 months (besides the City to Bay!)

HOW:
- Follow a strict eating plan consisting of 1200 calories a day, plus an extra 500 calories a day   whilst I am still breast feeding. I have lots of new and interesting recipes with lots of fresh healthy food, no "shake diets or pills!!"
- Training 6 days per week including 2 weights sessions 4 cardio and a stretch/yoga session
- Complete honesty starting with me telling you my "stats"... cant believe Im going to divulge this information but I have to do it, Its time to "man up!"

STATS:
- Starting Weight: 101.8kg
- 1km Timed run: 6 mins 3 secs
- # of Pushups in 1 min: 36 (on knees)
-"Ab level"- 1 (meaning i can manage a crunch with hands on thighs until fingertips reach knees)

WOW.... So now you know and now you can keep me accountable [Especially you Dora ;) ]

Who am I and Why am I Here?

So....
I am 25 years old and work as an Exercise Specialist; which basically means I am a Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Instructor and I manage the frontline at my family owned fitness club.
Just over 2 years ago I married the love of my life, Paul and last year we decided to start a family.....
On December the 27th I gave birth to a beautiful 8 pound 9 baby girl which we named Taya, by caesarean section.
Immediately I fell in love (as all mothers do!) and as I sat in the hospital room each day I started to think of the future.....
Being pregnant you tend to only think of up to the point of birth, you cant make any plans, or decisions for after that point so everything is focusing on "that day" because you never know what will happen or how life will change, so being able to think of the future, in particular this next year started to excite me.

Before I was pregnant I thrived on "hardcore" training. I ran 4-5 days a week, trained muay thai 2-3 times a week, taught a kickboxing class and a Body Combat class, and was known as the "Spin Bitch" as my spin classes were notoriously hard [they dont call it the "Hour of Power" for nothing ;) ] I also used a personal trainer for weight sessions where we worked on the "Train to Failure" approach. Then I fell pregnant....
Immediately I had to stop everything I was doing except my Body Combat class and focus on just maintaining my strength and preparing my body for a baby.
I experienced horrible nausea during the first 3 months and found it hard to exercise, after that I stuck to walking, light weights and riding the spin bike, so a lot less intense. Naturally the weight crept on.
After finishing work at 34 weeks I decided to "enjoy" my time.... Gym in the morning for a Body pump, Body Balance or low impact Body Attack class, followed by lunch with mum and numerous trips to Bunnings!
I ate reasonably well, but still splurged and ate too many carbs, and trained all the way up to labour (did a body attack class the day after my due date!!)
I was a size 14 and still fit into a lot of my clothes although things were a little tight or I bought clothes in a size 16.... so I wasnt too worried to only go up 1 dress size.
So as I sat in the hospital room I started to get excited about going running, kickboxing and doing such a hard weight session that I go home and collapse in a heap!!
I retured to the gym when Taya was 6 weeks old and was absolutely shocked to learn I had put on 15 kilos.....YES, 15 KILOS!!!!
I went home, cried for a while and then a little lightbulb went off.... I was going to become a "Hot Mama"! Not only would I lose the weight I put on but I would lose a further 10 kilos to be the fittest and leanest I had ever been!

I will share my goals, plan and progress until I become "that woman"...

Here goes nothing!!