Monday, June 9, 2014

Milestones and Fitcamp

Today's weigh-in made me very very happy. So did last week's as I lost 1 kg, but this week I kept it up and lost 2,5 kg! I'm amazed at how well my body keeps responding to the programme and the only regret would be to not having starting earlier... 

I am however seeing major improvements in my fitness level, both when it comes to our walks (work has been busy so I've mainly been walking on weekends) - yesterday we improved our time per km by over 30 seconds compared to our first walks - and my ability to take part in the Fitcamp exercises. Fitcamp is a Tabata class held by Herbalife. Since I've already been eating the way Herbalife recommends I have chosen not to purchase their products, but the Tabata classes are free nonetheless so I've been going twice a week now and have also "recruited" a few new participants (stepdaughter and bestie). At first I was cautious about the warm-up routine since it includes a lot of jumping around, something I am careful with as to not getting injured (lots of kilos = lots of impact), but last Thursday I felt like I has really able to participate fully and boy did it feel good! 

One concern I have been having is that I might be eating too little on weekends... We have breakfast after our walk, so around 11 a.m. Then it's a late lunch/dinner at 5 or even 6 p.m. followed by some fruit salad. I try to have a snack in between breakfast and the large afternoon meal but I might be getting too few calories after all. Must keep an eye on this I think.

Let's see what the new week brings! A full week of work followed by a short week next week including Midsommer's Eve and my birthday. 

Monday, May 5, 2014

2,5 - or 3,2. Ahem - a confession.

I don't know why I keep on doing it. I mean, I write this blog to get your guys' support (please, do comment some more!). And still, I can't be 100% honest. 

I didn't update the blog last week. Why? Because I gained 0,7 kg. Only 0,7 kg, but a gain nonetheless. And despite the fact that I know that it was probably because my increased exercise level I felt bad about it. Yes, my pants felt looser, but I am a "number on the scale" girl. 

So I didn't tell anyone but my husband. My biggest supporter, my rock. He continued to go on walks with me and encouraged me to keep going. Not that I'm easily defeated, I can be pretty stubborn when I've set my mind to something. ;-)

Well, I can happily report that this stubbornness paid out. This week, compared to last week, I've lost 3,2 kg! Compared to two weeks ago that's 2,5 kg. In total I have now lost 16,1 kg. While last Monday I felt "huge" all day long due to the gain today I felt soooo much better!!!

This week hubby is in Atlanta with work and despite that I was out on my morning walk at 6 o'clock this morning. I plan on doing so all week long! Runkeeper and Fitbit are my best friends :-)

Time to watch Biggest Loser Sweden and get some extra inspiration!

Monday, April 21, 2014

My body is crazy...

Whoopsie daisy. No blog entry for 3 weeks. But - it's now Easter Monday and I have another blissful day off work. Time to recharge the batteries and get some work done around the house. I wish I could say I'd been super productive AND taken hourlong walks all weekend, but none of that would be true... I've slept in, spent time with the family and have just been plain lazy :-) Well, I DID try on all the trousers in my bottom drawer (those which have been too small before), and what can I say - that bottom drawer is now empty and I have no less than 6 "new" pairs of trousers to wear!

About that crazy body: Since today is Monday, it was time to step on the scales. For the last few weeks the weightloss has been pretty mediocre with just about 0,8-0,9 kg lost per week. Turns out my body seems to have been holding out, because this week I've lost 3,7 kg!!! I have no idea what I've done differently this week, other than eating Easter breakfast with work on Wednesday (I even had some bread!). Super happy that my colleague J. seems to be right - she hadn't been in for a week or so and remarked on me looking "much skinnier". Well, I still weigh 126 kg, but with 13,6 kg lost there should be a difference, right?

The next few weeks hold some fun adventures - my parents coming today to stay at the summer house for 1,5 weeks, a two day trip with work, my dad's birthday and another 4 days off work. I shall, uhm, try to get some more exercise in - I really feel like I have to start toning my body more.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

4 weeks, 7,9 kg!

So yeah. That thing about blogging every couple of days? Didn't really happen. But - I can happily report that I'm doing great! I passed the 4 week mark yesterday and my weigh-in showed a loss of 7,9 kg. Almost 2 kg per week! Could I be anything but pleased? 

I have been getting on very well I think. The first few days on the tough diet were pretty hard, but I went to my inner strength and pulled through. Now I'm on a less tough yet effective plan that works out perfectly for my lifestyle and I have taken up lunch walking as well (thankfully the weather is looking pretty good here in Jönköping). I now have a shake for breakfast, some fruit as a mid-morning snack, a healthy meal for lunch (low carb, high in vegetables, lean meat), some fruit in the afternoon and then a shake for dinner. Alternatively, I can have a shake for lunch and then have a proper dinner - I like how flexible I can be with this!

I try to stay clear of putting up too many goals this time around - I know I would be bitterly disappointed if I failed to meet them. However I can already feel some clothes fitting better and will soon be able to try on things in a smaller size. Great feeling I tell you!

I set a goal of 40 km walking for the next 30 days - my regular lunch walk is 2,7 km so this shouldn't be un-achievable at all! I will not be able to walk every single day because of meetings but I always have the possibility of walking home instead (same distance). 

I'll try to keep you updated on a more regular basis from now on!

Monday, March 3, 2014

Back where I started, but determined to succeed!

Motivation and support is the key to my weight loss. I have always known that, but from now on I will not falter but ask for help instead. Who knows where I would be today had I asked for help a year and a half ago when I started to slip. Yes, I did go to the VSS in Latvia looking not too shabby and I received many compliments (although the one that really stuck was one girl saying "oh, you've had your baby, is it a boy or a girl?" She thought I was pregnant the year before...). After the summer things started to go the wrong way and now, 18 months on, the weight is back on. All of it. And a couple of kilos extra.

So how am I going to go about it this time around? xtravaganza closed their Jönköping branch some time ago so that isn't an option anymore. I do however need an easy programme that will fit my life and not put too many choices and options in front of me - I tried and I always ended up making the wrong ones...

Forever Living to the rescue! I recently became a FLP distributor and I'm loving it! Forever Scandinavia is about to release a detox programme which I might try in the future. However, right now I'm on the tougher "Detox9" programme which isn't supported by Forever Scandinavia but widely popular in GB. See the programme here. I felt like I needed to kick start the whole weight loss process and like I really needed the detox.

So far so good! Day 1 is almost over, and I'm doing just fine. Having posted my weight on Facebook this morning I have received nothing but positive comments from all my friends and I feel so privileged to have them. I know that this time around I will succeed!

I plan to update the blog every couple of days or as often as my job(s) allow time wise. Are you with me?

Friday, February 1, 2013

Oh well...

Just shoot me now, will you? No, seriously...

I've fallen off the wagon. Big time. Stupidly I didn't do anything about me falling off the wagon on time. Meaning I am basically back where I started. Well, not fully, I'm actually 10 kg (or 10,8 kg to be exact) short of that, but it could as well be the same.

So, what happened? Well, since I haven't updated the blog in forever and a day I should start from the beginning:

I stopped updating the blog somewhere in November/December of 2011. I was still going strong with the weight loss back then and continued to do so until mid March of 2012. My last weigh-in (as of March 14th) was at 79,4 kg, meaning I had lost almost 60 kg. Still doing the "shakes only" diet. By then my body started showing signs of "resignation" if we can call it that, so I decided to go off the shakes a couple of weeks early (original intention was beginning of April 2011). My body seemed to adjust well and I was finally able to excercise, something my body didn't allow on the lower than low calorie intake before. I went to the gym at least 3 times a week and was training towards the yearly 5k in May. So much easier to run with 60 kg less pressing on your feet, joints etc.

I completed the 5k on May 14th and was really pleased with myself. I didn't manage to run the full 5k and did some walking intervalls in between, but I finished and managed to do so in 35 minutes. Not too bad! I was feeling so good about myself!

One week later disaster struck. Big time. I was starting to feel uncomfortable on Monday night (May 21st) but since we were supposed to go away on a small trip with work I went to the office, bag in hand, on Tuesday morning but had to realise that I just wouldn't be able to go. I had the most excrutiating stomach pains so I ended up going home right about when my colleagues went away for the trip. I called the doctor's office to ask their advice and as they couldn't give me an appointment that day they referred me to the emergency room right away. I had to drive myself there since my husband was out of town for the day. After a few exams I was quickly admitted and had to stay in hospital until Sunday. I had a severe case of pancreatitis and was given morphine to help me deal with the pain. Unfortunately they never found out the reason for the pancreatitis which is a real bummer, but I guess that deep down I know it was my body's way of saying "enough is enough".

After my stay in hospital a few other things happened that made it really hard for me to focus on my continued weight loss, so during and after the summer the weight started to pile back on. One of those evil circles of unhappiness, food as a comforting mechanism and then of course more unhappiness followed.

I am now in a much better place mentally thanks to a few great people around me. It's time to do good things for myself again and to put my health first.

I'm therefor, as of today, back on the weight loss train, this time with a new programme I will write more about in a later post but with the same weight goal. This time I have about 63 kg to lose to reach my ultimate goal weight, starting at 127,8 kg. I want to use this blog as an incentive to keep going, hoping some of you will follow my journey and cheer me on. Let me know! I'd love to hear from you in the comment section below!

Friday, April 20, 2012

Yes. I know.

Indeed. I know:
  • It's been way too long.
  • There are probably not a lot of people who have missed me/this blog (feel free to proof me wrong!).
  • I don't really have time to blog now either.
  • This blog entry is seemingly meaningless.
  • This blog entry is "spam" and will be published on all 3 blogs.
  • I really should cut to the chase and start blogging instead of babbling.
Dear reader, I will be back (threat or promise, your choice!). This weekend. Because I actually have missed the blog(s) AND do have lots to write about.

So - are you ready for some blogging? Coming your way shortly!