Remember the 12 week challenge? The one Darling Husband and I entered? The fitness and lifestyle change challenge? Well, last Friday night we had the 'Night of Champions' which is the night when all of the 100 entrants and their partners get together and the winner of each club are announced as well as the 'Grand Champion'. We thought that Darling Husband might be a contender for club champion as he did extremely well but when all of the club champions were announced and Darling Husbands name wasn't mentioned we weren't dissapointed as they were all such deserving winners.
But then came time to announce the Grand Champion. Now, both Darling Husband and I thought that the Grand Champion (GC) was chosen from the winning club champions so we were really interested in seeing if our club champion made the grade but weren't expecting it to be either of us so weren't paying as much attention as we probably should have been.
At the start of these challenges, as an entrant you have to write a testimony, a reason why you're doing this challenge and what you think you will gain from it. At the end of the challenge you write another testimony as to how you've changed since embarking on the challenge. Both testimonies are read out as the grand champion is revealed. This is where it gets funny.
They start reading out the testimony..
Speaker: "I am the Father of five children.."
Darling Husband:" Oh hang on, this could be me!"
Me: "Shhh...I'm listening!"
Speaker: "I have a desk job and when I come home from work I sit on the couch..."
Darling Husband: "Umm, I really think this is my testimony."
Me: "SHHHHH! I can't hear what he's saying!"
Speaker: "Reads out the rest of the testimony."
Me (to Darling Husband): "Oh my goodness! I think that's you!"
Darling Husband: "Thats what I've been trying to tell you!"
And yes it was indeed my Darling champion Husband who took out the Grand Champion prize. I am so proud of him and even a week later we are both still in shock! We've both become health fanatics which is so far from where we both were only a year ago. It does get hard and old habits die hard but all in all I think we will be following this path forever now.
If I get game enough I'll put up some of our before and after pics. They're quite astounding!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Oh so much has happened!
Forgive me blogreaders for it has been 12 weeks since my last post :P Gosh, I just re read my last post and it was at the start of the challenge. Well that challenge finished on Saturday lol.
I am so happy with my results, I worked really hard every day and it shows. All up I lost 14.5kg in the 12 weeks and 76.5cm from my body. My body fat percentage is now 26% which is really not too bad for someone my age! I want to get it a bit lower but I'm actually in the 'normal' range for body fat percentage. W00t to me!
And the most exciting part, I did the fun run and I RAN THE WHOLE WAY!! 4.2ks, ran the lot, got it in 28m 38sec, and new PB for me :)
I have been training six days a week with a PT or group and I can now say that at the ripe old age of 42 I am a fit healthy female :) I still want to lose a few more kilos but can you believe I'm now a stock standard size 14? Yep! I am. That's a bit of a drop from someone who, a year ago was boardering on a size 20-22. Yikes!
Ohh and Darling Husband did extraordinarily well. He lost 17kg and 100cm from his body. Happy dance for him! You should see how fit he is now too. We're both gym junkies LOL
I now run regularly and do at least 30min or 4ks once a week plus other training. It's so good to not be so exhausted when I run. I love it, oh I still get tired and at the end of it I've had enough but I actually enjoy it now and I can do it.
Perseverence certainly pays off. Luckily I'm so stubborn :P
OK, that's it for me for now but I will be back regularly to post again soon. My computer broke and all I had was my iPhone which is too hard to blog with. I have a new computer now so I promise I'll be more regular :P
I am so happy with my results, I worked really hard every day and it shows. All up I lost 14.5kg in the 12 weeks and 76.5cm from my body. My body fat percentage is now 26% which is really not too bad for someone my age! I want to get it a bit lower but I'm actually in the 'normal' range for body fat percentage. W00t to me!
And the most exciting part, I did the fun run and I RAN THE WHOLE WAY!! 4.2ks, ran the lot, got it in 28m 38sec, and new PB for me :)
I have been training six days a week with a PT or group and I can now say that at the ripe old age of 42 I am a fit healthy female :) I still want to lose a few more kilos but can you believe I'm now a stock standard size 14? Yep! I am. That's a bit of a drop from someone who, a year ago was boardering on a size 20-22. Yikes!
Ohh and Darling Husband did extraordinarily well. He lost 17kg and 100cm from his body. Happy dance for him! You should see how fit he is now too. We're both gym junkies LOL
I now run regularly and do at least 30min or 4ks once a week plus other training. It's so good to not be so exhausted when I run. I love it, oh I still get tired and at the end of it I've had enough but I actually enjoy it now and I can do it.
Perseverence certainly pays off. Luckily I'm so stubborn :P
OK, that's it for me for now but I will be back regularly to post again soon. My computer broke and all I had was my iPhone which is too hard to blog with. I have a new computer now so I promise I'll be more regular :P
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Challenges Ahead.
On Monday I embark on another 12 week gym challenge. 12 weeks of hard training, food/alcohol depravation and lots of sweat and tears, hopefully no blood!
I have done one of these challenges before, I actually blogged about it last year. It was hard but I loved it and I got some great results. So now I am doing it all again and it starts on Monday. I will be training 6 days per week with three weight training days and three cardio training days. My PT wants me to have a rest from running and just maintain the level I am currently at. Six weeks in to the challenge we will reintroduce the running and ramp it up towards the end.
I don't think I will keep a separate blog for this challenge. I am having a hard enough time keeping up with this one and Jonah's autism blog. But I will put results in here as they come through.
Oh and I almost forgot the best part!!! Darling Husband is partaking in this event too! He has a different trainer to me but he's going to join in the challenge. It's a race between us now lol. We're both doing it for our health but we're mainly doing it for Jonah. We need to know that we can get through this, that we can rise above the pain and exhaustion and keep going. Because then we know, no matter what, we will always be able to keep going for Jonah.
Come join in the fun and cheer me on!
I have done one of these challenges before, I actually blogged about it last year. It was hard but I loved it and I got some great results. So now I am doing it all again and it starts on Monday. I will be training 6 days per week with three weight training days and three cardio training days. My PT wants me to have a rest from running and just maintain the level I am currently at. Six weeks in to the challenge we will reintroduce the running and ramp it up towards the end.
I don't think I will keep a separate blog for this challenge. I am having a hard enough time keeping up with this one and Jonah's autism blog. But I will put results in here as they come through.
Oh and I almost forgot the best part!!! Darling Husband is partaking in this event too! He has a different trainer to me but he's going to join in the challenge. It's a race between us now lol. We're both doing it for our health but we're mainly doing it for Jonah. We need to know that we can get through this, that we can rise above the pain and exhaustion and keep going. Because then we know, no matter what, we will always be able to keep going for Jonah.
Come join in the fun and cheer me on!
Me? In a fun run??
You'd better believe it! Next weekend I am participating in my first ever fun run! I started running a year ago and I sucked (still do) but I kept at it. Last year I was extremely unfit, overweight and suffering from type 2 diabetes. I had recently joined a gym and was slowly working my way back to life.
And I was doing ok. Slowly but surely I did ok. Running was hard and at first I couldn't do more than a single minute before having to stop. I have built up on that but I find it very hard as I still have no stamina. Even now, after a whole year (acutally less than but I'll explain) I can still only run for 15 minutes straight before having to stop. Yes, I'm running 15 times more than I was this time last year but most people I know who started running when I did have done their first 10k-er by now. I would just DIE!
In October last year I had a terrible case of shin splints and compartment syndrome which almost saw me in hospital having my legs sawed open to relive the pressure. I had run too much in one week with not enough rest and it was enough to see me out of running for 4 whole months. So really, I started running last year but I have only been running for 8 months, and only a trickle here and there.
Then 9 weeks ago I started a running programme designed by my personal trainer. There are ten of us doing the 10 week programe and we each have our own personal running plan drawn up. Everyone else who is in this has been running for ages, is fit, fast and experienced. They are all pushing out 8k runs a few times a week, Good on them I say!
But, little ol me is the oldest and slowest of the bunch but I am so happy with how I have done. We started from scratch at the start of the programe with me only running 20 seconds then walking for a mintute, run 20sec walk for a minute until 20 minutes had passed. We built this up each weak so, the next time I would run 30 seconds walk a minute, then run 45 sec, walk 1 min...then the walking part got shorter and shorter until yesterday when I did a full lap of our circuit in 15 minutes non stop. Huge, and I mean huge achievement for me. It means I am getting better and stronger and more effecient so I should be able to build on that further and keep getting better.
So, next week is my first fun run! It's a 4ker and I won't be able to do it non stop but I will be able to walk/run it and finish it. I'm not nervous because I have done this track before. I just want to beat my best time. I really am looking forward to it!
Wish me luck!!
And I was doing ok. Slowly but surely I did ok. Running was hard and at first I couldn't do more than a single minute before having to stop. I have built up on that but I find it very hard as I still have no stamina. Even now, after a whole year (acutally less than but I'll explain) I can still only run for 15 minutes straight before having to stop. Yes, I'm running 15 times more than I was this time last year but most people I know who started running when I did have done their first 10k-er by now. I would just DIE!
In October last year I had a terrible case of shin splints and compartment syndrome which almost saw me in hospital having my legs sawed open to relive the pressure. I had run too much in one week with not enough rest and it was enough to see me out of running for 4 whole months. So really, I started running last year but I have only been running for 8 months, and only a trickle here and there.
Then 9 weeks ago I started a running programme designed by my personal trainer. There are ten of us doing the 10 week programe and we each have our own personal running plan drawn up. Everyone else who is in this has been running for ages, is fit, fast and experienced. They are all pushing out 8k runs a few times a week, Good on them I say!
But, little ol me is the oldest and slowest of the bunch but I am so happy with how I have done. We started from scratch at the start of the programe with me only running 20 seconds then walking for a mintute, run 20sec walk for a minute until 20 minutes had passed. We built this up each weak so, the next time I would run 30 seconds walk a minute, then run 45 sec, walk 1 min...then the walking part got shorter and shorter until yesterday when I did a full lap of our circuit in 15 minutes non stop. Huge, and I mean huge achievement for me. It means I am getting better and stronger and more effecient so I should be able to build on that further and keep getting better.
So, next week is my first fun run! It's a 4ker and I won't be able to do it non stop but I will be able to walk/run it and finish it. I'm not nervous because I have done this track before. I just want to beat my best time. I really am looking forward to it!
Wish me luck!!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Sugar Free. Easy as can be!
So, I am now about11 days sugar free and this has been a lot easier than last time. I don't think I had any real cravings or withdrawals this time. It's all been smooth sailing.
I had forgotten how much sugar affects my appetite. When I have sugar in my diet I eat so much more, I'm never really full and always find myself foraging for food lol. When I am off sugar I actually find times when I need to remind myself to eat. I eat so much less now, I can feel the food in my stomach and get full so much quicker and after much less food.
I still get cravings now and then for chocolate or cake but it's just a "Oh that would be nice," kind of craving and not a "Give it to me now or will kill you and step over your cold dead body to get to it!" kind of craving. There is a difference lol.
My darling little nephew is doing well. He has had his operation and is on the long road to recovery but he is in the best hands and is doing well. He will be in for about a month. BIL and SIL finally got to cuddle him yesterday.
Ok, just a quick post today. I went for a run this morning and I am starving!! Time to eat....sugar free of course :P
I had forgotten how much sugar affects my appetite. When I have sugar in my diet I eat so much more, I'm never really full and always find myself foraging for food lol. When I am off sugar I actually find times when I need to remind myself to eat. I eat so much less now, I can feel the food in my stomach and get full so much quicker and after much less food.
I still get cravings now and then for chocolate or cake but it's just a "Oh that would be nice," kind of craving and not a "Give it to me now or will kill you and step over your cold dead body to get to it!" kind of craving. There is a difference lol.
My darling little nephew is doing well. He has had his operation and is on the long road to recovery but he is in the best hands and is doing well. He will be in for about a month. BIL and SIL finally got to cuddle him yesterday.
Ok, just a quick post today. I went for a run this morning and I am starving!! Time to eat....sugar free of course :P
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
A week or so ago...
I was waiting to see if my baby has Autism. There has been an update on that here....
http://kickingthewolf.blogspot.com/
This is Jonah's blog which I want to keep separate from this one so please feel free to head on over there and have a look around :)
OK so, when I last posted I was also awating the birth of a brand new nephew, he was due in for days time. I am proud to say that baby Otis arrived yesterday and he is just gorgeous. Unforuntately Otis was born with a hole is his diaphragm and some of his internal organs have moved into his chest cavity. This was not picked up in the scan and was totally unexpected.
He's doing well, has been transfered to the childrens hospital and will have surgery tomorrow or the next day. He looks a lot like his cousin Luke when he was born and I can't help but want to pick up that boy and squish him good!!
Luke is loving school and is doing so much better than we expected! He has mastered all of his 100 magic words and is now well into the next set! They get 100 words divided up onto coloured sheets and learn each set before moving on to the next. It starts with the Golden words and he learned those two days after he got them. That was the pattern, every time he would get a new set of words he would know them all two days after. He's just hooting along!
Sam is not coping as well without Luke home but he's doing ok. Sam, the child whom I said God gave me because He couldn't handle him, has turned into the most quiet, placid, Angelic little boy. I cannot believe he is the same child lol. He is so quiet, sentitive and just so loving. He doesn't destroy the house any more, thankfully, and he is such a joy to be around.
I think God knew that there would be no Mummy left if he gave me Sam as he was and Jonah together! :P
Now, that sugar thing. I am thrilled to say I am still off the sugar and hope to be for a very long time. I just cannot cannot cannot eat it. It goes straight to my mid section and I can't shift it! Plus, it makes me feel downright awful. I sleep poorly, I can't concentrate, my skin goes terrible and I generaly feel lethargic and foggy headed when I am on sugar.
I am so happy to be off it again. I have also told people that I will not be joining them for dessert when we are out. My birthday was the last hoorah and that's it!
I am starting another 12 week challenge at my gym and have been doing a running programme for the past 7 weeks. I have made some great gains but I still need to shift some kilos so I don't feel like I'm running with a weight vest on when all I am wearing is a T shirt lol. I shall keep you all updated on that one!
OK, nuff from me.
http://kickingthewolf.blogspot.com/
This is Jonah's blog which I want to keep separate from this one so please feel free to head on over there and have a look around :)
OK so, when I last posted I was also awating the birth of a brand new nephew, he was due in for days time. I am proud to say that baby Otis arrived yesterday and he is just gorgeous. Unforuntately Otis was born with a hole is his diaphragm and some of his internal organs have moved into his chest cavity. This was not picked up in the scan and was totally unexpected.
He's doing well, has been transfered to the childrens hospital and will have surgery tomorrow or the next day. He looks a lot like his cousin Luke when he was born and I can't help but want to pick up that boy and squish him good!!
Luke is loving school and is doing so much better than we expected! He has mastered all of his 100 magic words and is now well into the next set! They get 100 words divided up onto coloured sheets and learn each set before moving on to the next. It starts with the Golden words and he learned those two days after he got them. That was the pattern, every time he would get a new set of words he would know them all two days after. He's just hooting along!
Sam is not coping as well without Luke home but he's doing ok. Sam, the child whom I said God gave me because He couldn't handle him, has turned into the most quiet, placid, Angelic little boy. I cannot believe he is the same child lol. He is so quiet, sentitive and just so loving. He doesn't destroy the house any more, thankfully, and he is such a joy to be around.
I think God knew that there would be no Mummy left if he gave me Sam as he was and Jonah together! :P
Now, that sugar thing. I am thrilled to say I am still off the sugar and hope to be for a very long time. I just cannot cannot cannot eat it. It goes straight to my mid section and I can't shift it! Plus, it makes me feel downright awful. I sleep poorly, I can't concentrate, my skin goes terrible and I generaly feel lethargic and foggy headed when I am on sugar.
I am so happy to be off it again. I have also told people that I will not be joining them for dessert when we are out. My birthday was the last hoorah and that's it!
I am starting another 12 week challenge at my gym and have been doing a running programme for the past 7 weeks. I have made some great gains but I still need to shift some kilos so I don't feel like I'm running with a weight vest on when all I am wearing is a T shirt lol. I shall keep you all updated on that one!
OK, nuff from me.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Hectic
Everything is just so hectic. I've pretty much fallen apart but I'm busily putting the pieces back together again. Looking back on the past month I'm quite suprised I got through it. I'm tired, fed up, worried, stressed, busy, uncertain and nothing will change in the near future. That in iteself is quite daunting.
Darling Husband and I have decided that we will do nothing, absolutely nothing that will cause any added stress to our family. We've been quite ruthless about accepting and declinging invitations to places and events that might cause added stress, even though they're meant to 'give us a break.'. People just don't understand that even dropping by for a catch up quick coffee or a catch up can be a stressful event these days. My home is my sanctuary right now and it's all I can do just to keep things running smoothly here. Having to entertain and accomodate visitors is just a bit beyond me at the moment. I know people thing 'but it's only us' and that they'll help themselvs to coffee etc but I'm just not comfortable plodding around in my pyjamas in front of guests and there are some days where I don't actually want to get out of my pyjamas!
I fell well and truly off the sugar free bandwagon, skinning my knees and my pride in the process. I've made a concious decision to get back on that wagon and that started today. I am much better when I am sugar free. Going back on it at least had the benefit of proving to me that I just can't eat it. I felt dreadful, my skin again turned horrid, the weight I lost came back on and my energy levels fell through the floor.
But I can't stay and wallow in self pity, it's too lonely here. I think I've had my sook and my scream and shout and now it's time to pick up, dust off and get moving. Thanks to anyone out there who is still following along this blog. I heart you muchly xxx
Giving up Sugar (again)
Day 1: Going well so far!!
Darling Husband and I have decided that we will do nothing, absolutely nothing that will cause any added stress to our family. We've been quite ruthless about accepting and declinging invitations to places and events that might cause added stress, even though they're meant to 'give us a break.'. People just don't understand that even dropping by for a catch up quick coffee or a catch up can be a stressful event these days. My home is my sanctuary right now and it's all I can do just to keep things running smoothly here. Having to entertain and accomodate visitors is just a bit beyond me at the moment. I know people thing 'but it's only us' and that they'll help themselvs to coffee etc but I'm just not comfortable plodding around in my pyjamas in front of guests and there are some days where I don't actually want to get out of my pyjamas!
I fell well and truly off the sugar free bandwagon, skinning my knees and my pride in the process. I've made a concious decision to get back on that wagon and that started today. I am much better when I am sugar free. Going back on it at least had the benefit of proving to me that I just can't eat it. I felt dreadful, my skin again turned horrid, the weight I lost came back on and my energy levels fell through the floor.
But I can't stay and wallow in self pity, it's too lonely here. I think I've had my sook and my scream and shout and now it's time to pick up, dust off and get moving. Thanks to anyone out there who is still following along this blog. I heart you muchly xxx
Giving up Sugar (again)
Day 1: Going well so far!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
