Intentions

I have three daughters ages 15, 13, and 10 and a business owner which  keeps life extremely busy and fitness priorities tough to fit in.

I first started at flex fitness in June 2014.  I remember walking in and feeling daunted seeing all the machines but was keen to give anything a go.  We had a treadmill at home in which I used daily but felt it was not enough. It was too easy to say “ I will go for a run or walk soon”  which would turn into to “I will go tomorrow” and so on. You know the drill. Plans are only good intentions until we carry them out.

Off to a good start

After joining Flex, I received my half hour session with a personal trainer which was fantastic but couldn’t move my legs or arms for the next week.  I progressed to a program of weights which I did 3 days a week.

Setbacks

As I was off to a good start, I also had bunions which held me back. The pain stopped me from pushing myself. I kept at it but not to my full potential.   Six months later in Nov 2014, I finally had these bunions removed. After recovery, I went back to the gym in Feb 2015.

Triumph!

I could only walk on the treadmill at first and then progressed to running.  To stay motivated, I booked a half hour session with a personal trainer every two weeks .

In the 18 months I have persevered and lost 18 kilos (39.6 pounds)!!  I am so very proud of my achievements.

How I took got it off and kept it off

I know you are all thinking “how did she do that?” Well here it is – I started feeling great with exercise.  I could see my bodys’ shape changing and my clothes felt looser. After my fitness routine was set I knew I needed to take it a step further, I had to look at my diet.

I was eating a lot of convenient foods. The quick and easy snack foods that a busy life requires if you don’t plan ahead. It is the easy to grab chips/muesli bars and other items which my body didn’t need.

And so the journey into healthy living started.  Porridge for breakfast, salads for lunch and nuts for snacks in between.  My dinner meals stayed the same.  I didn’t want to push my family into a health kick faze if they were not into it so I had to change my portion sizes for dinners.

From here was a learning process.  I read a lot on how to lose weight and maintain my progress.  I soon came to realise that my goals could be reached with hard work and sheer determination.  I monitored my weight by weighing myself every Friday morning and keeping a log.  Some weeks were good,  others not so good.  I had to keep positive and focussed.  I once heard a comment which stuck with me; “Diets are a short term fix. Lifestyle change is a long term fix.”

How I maintain

By learning a lot about my body and what it needs to get me through the day, I have learned that the sugar free/no carbs/fat free diets don’t work.  I needed carbs for energy, protein to help my body repair cells and make new ones, healthy fats which contain essential nutrients to help store energy and small amounts of sugar to keep life real.

I eat well Monday to Friday and have what we call cheat days on Saturday and Sundays.  I didn’t want to feel like healthy living was a chore as one day I may wake up and think “forget this” and go back to eating crappie food.

It has been amazing to see the transformation I have made.  In April of last year, I completed my second half marathon and took 50 minutes off my previous time.  With training hard I have managed to reach my goals and lose weight.

I am now in the process of doing body sculpting.  I recently had my photos taken at the gym and was amazed at what I have accomplish in the last 3 years. I am unsure of what my body fat percentage was when I first walked into the gym but I am now between 13 to 14% and hope to get down to 11 to 12%.   I lift weights 5 days a week and have two days of rest.

I enjoy going to the gym and training as when I am at the gym, I am me.  I am not a Mom or work colleague or wife, I am me.  Everyone needs time out for themselves and this is my way of having time.

Exercise and diet does not have to be a burden, make it fun, make it normal, and make it real.  It can be done and we are all good at making excuses like “I don’t have the time for that” or “life is too busy.”

Life is what we make of it and if it is exercise or weight loss you want you need to make time for it.  You will have days where going to the gym or exercising seems hard mentally and physically but push through this and fight for the results you want…

Anything is possible!!!