My Health and Fitness Goals- part 2

Ok, so quite a while ago I wrote a post about how I had this great big plan to change one habit at a time and get fit and healthy. I also promised to report back weekly...well obviously I haven't done that! I can report though that I have stuck to my plan although it has taken longer than I originally planned to get it kick started. About twelve weks ago I was watching the Today Show and saw a segment on a man that had given up sugar and lost heaps of weight. He was talking about sugar addiction and he could have been describing me!

A couple of days later, after googling sugar addiction I decided to go cold turkey and give it up as an experiment for two weeks to see if it made any difference. Well, the first week was hell. Massive migraines, moodyness and I was so lethargic. After a couple of days though I was surprised to find I had no cravings for anything, not even something sweet after dinner. This was a first!

I stuck at it and after a couple of weeks I had lost 2kg and was sugar free and withdrawel free and had no cravings at all. I ate what ever I felt like as long as it didn't have sugar. This includes sauces, marinades and gulp....no sugar in my many coffees! I still ate high fat food like fish and chips, nuts and lots of carbs and over eight weeks I have lost 5kg.

At the same time as this sugar free experiment I also read an article in Notebook magazine about how we as a society do not do enough exercise. It stated that the current recommendation is to do 30 minutes of exercise, three to five days a week but that this is not enough to keep our weight down. It recommended 60 minutes 7 days a week so I decided to make this my ultimate goal.

About this time I also discovered the Couch to 5k running app for my iphone which I downloaded. I set up my treadmil for the first time in years and gave the program a go. I also went back to a fitness class I had been doing once a week. It focuses on building up strength. With running three days a week and doing the fitness class that made up four days of the week. We take Chloe swimming on Saturdays so I decided I would get in the pool for a swim too, with Elyssa in her swim ring so that was another day taken up. That left two days to find a way to exercise. I had been wanting to try Zumba after seeing it on the adds, I have always loved to dance. I did a bit of google research and found a class in Warrnambool, an hour away. I decided it was worth the drive to do something I enjoyed and I could combine it with a quick stop at Spotlight on the way (hehe).

So eight weeks in I have lost 5kg on the scales but I think I have gained a fair bit of muscle as well. I have gone down about a size and a half in clothing and I have heaps of energy, I look alot better, my skin glows and overall I am finding this whole new routine pretty easy. I can't believe I am writing this but I actually look forward to the high you get from a good workout and the hot shower at the end on tired muscles! If I miss a workout I almost crave it like I used to crave sugar!

The other fascinating part of the process is how I have started to inspire others, which makes me laugh because a couple of these people are the ones who inspired me in the first place! Since moving to this little town I have made alot of friends, many are around 40. These women look amazing, they are great mums and live busy, healthy lives. When we go out for lunch they order the salad wrap while I order the pie. I recently turned 32 and I can see that unless I change something about my habits, I will still look the same and be the same when I am 40. I want to be like these ladies, not the frumpy mum in the baggy tracksuit waiting at the classroom door for the kids.

I am really happy with my progress so far. I still have about 18kg to loose to get to my ultimate goal so I am breaking it down into 5kg lots. Each time I loose 5kg Ill have a look at how I am travelling and see what other positive changes I can make. Now I have broken my sugar addiction and have managed to kick start an exercise program my aim for the next 5kg is to improve my eating habits even more. I am going to follow the CSIRO diet. I have the original book and I have copied the table in the back of the book and laminated it. Every time I eat one of the recommended foods for the day, I tick a box. It has the whole week on it so I can see at the end of the week how I have gone.  My exercise goal is to keep doing what I am doing no matter what! If Im not in the mood, do it any way! If I am hurt or too sick, rest, but as soon as I am well get back into it! Make the habit stick! Also Im going to listen to my body more and go at the pace it wants me to go at. I have had a few injuries from listening to others, not myself and by trying to hard to be the best. Yesterday I also stated a yoga class. I love yoga, always have, I am rediculously flexible so it suits my body, although I have to be careful not to over stretch and injure myslef.

Im not going to say I am going to blog about this every week because I wont. I find it hard to talk about my body image, it is such a personal thing. I will report back every time I loose 5kg though so that I will have a record of this hopefully life changing journey...