Raspberry keytone plus and Colon cleanse

It doesn't seem to matter how much I want to lose weight, I - along with so many others - just seem to go through a cycle of weightloss / weightgain and while I'm no heavier than I was several months ago I'm also no lighter.
I've been running lately hoping by some miracle it will be enough to drop 2 stone overnight but guess what.....it isn't! Who knew!!!
Our holiday to Mexico is now just 7 weeks away, I've put off buying nice clothes for it just in case I miraculously lose weight and need a smaller size. It sounded like a good plan at the time but summer is now over and all the shops have their winter range of clothes in store and I'm now left hoping and praying I can still get into the clothes currently sitting in my wardrobe that I haven't worn since our last holiday almost 2 years ago. Some things never change I guess.

I've never been one to buy into weightloss pills that promise extreme weightloss in less than a month and those fat binding pills available from the doctor really do not interest me either - oh, the horror stories I've read about those.
So I was a little surprised that I found myself ordering a bottle of Raspberry Keytone plus and a bottle of Colon cleanser from 'Evolution slimming'

We've all heard about Raspberry keytones right? We've heard all the rave reviews and claims that it's the supplement all the stars are using?
Well I decided nothing ventured, nothing gained, I'll give them a go and see how they work for me. Obviously they're not a miracle cure for obesity, diet and exercise also has to play a part but I figured they were a gentle enough supplement that wouldn't result in desperate dashes to the loo to eliminate all that fat that the body can't process from using some of those other weight loss pills.
Well I was sort of right and also sort of wrong:


Day 2 of the Raspberry Keytones and the Colon Cleanse (yes, I did just say day 2) and I found just how quick they are to work. The day I started them hubby and I decided we would make the 2 hour trip to Inverness the next day so I decided not to take the night time Colon Cleanse tablets 'just in case'. We got up at 5am and I took 2 Colon Cleanse tablets as instructed and took the Keytones with me to have before breakfast. Within 30 minutes of driving to Inverness my bowels weren't just moving they were making the most awful noises and 40 minutes into the drive I was feeling really uncomfortable and experiencing wave after wave of needing to use the loo. As each wave died down I would be relieved only to find it start up again a few minutes later - I never use public loos so the thought of having to go was making me feel really anxious too.
After 1.5 hours we made it to Morrisons supermarket for a loo break - damn thing was shut! I couldn't believe I would have to wait another 30 minutes and use Inverness train station loos - by this point my bum cheeks were screaming in agony from all the clenching!
At several points I honestly feared I would have to use a field and wet wipes - oh the shame!
We finally make it to Inverness and thankfully it was still early morning so there were hardly any people milling about and absolutely no one in the loos - this was a blessing not just for me but for all those that could have witnessed a mass evacuation.
Once the deed was done I hightailed it out of the station and never looked back. Instead of lingering around Inverness as we usually would do we hit 2 shops, the bank and then came straight home - just in time for the next wave of colon cleansing!
Last night was spent making trips to the loo and trying to cope with awful stomach cramps.
I'd almost decided to stop taking the colon cleanse, instead I have lowered the dose to 1 tablet twice a day just for today and then I will resume normal doseage - I just won't be able to leave the home while I'm on them.
Apparantly this bowel movement is normal behaviour at the beginning of the course so anyone thining of taking these needs to be aware of this and know how they can work around it.
As for the Raspberry keytones, well I won't know until weigh day on Monday whether they have helped with any weightloss but I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed.

Nutribullet - recipes so far have been awful.

I have finally accepted that shopping channels lie! I bet most of y'all got there some time ago but I so want to believe that products sold are exactly as described on TV and work exactly as they claim.
This brings me to the 'Nutribullet'. After my second attempt with the 'Vitamix' I watched the 'Nutribullet' commercials and after speaking to my mum who has one I decided to bite the bullet (pardon the pun) and buy one as a cheaper alternative to the Vitamix.
Now I can watch the 'Nutribullet' commercials and see them in a whole different light, there is no way that the ingredients he makes those juices with taste as good as what he and the female presenter make out - in fact the female is seen to be making Mmmmmm noises before the liquid has even touched her mouth.
I've tried a huge amount of variants with these juices and the best one has been a concoction that I could actually manage to drink as long as I held my nose and didn't taste it until I'd finished, while there have been one or two that have literally made me gag.
All those fruits and veggies that you love to eat taste absolutely foul when they're mushed up!
So I'm now left with making virgin Pina Colada and Banana ice cream which tasted amazing and totally surprised me cos it tasted foul in the 'Vitamix'.

I'll keep trying though. All I need is one or two juice or smoothie recipes that I can tolerate and that doesn't smell or taste like something the dog threw up!

I want to be drinking something that looks like this

While in reality THIS is what everything seems to look like and yes, it tastes as disgusting as it looks

Focus T25 + Nutribullet

I'm pretty useless at keeping this blog updated. Probably because I feel that every post seems to be a negative one and I've never really been one for posting random life stuff just for some blog content - I like reading it of other people but don't really think my lifes journey makes a very interesting read for other people.

This latest weightloss attempt has been pretty pathetic to say the least. I start of brilliantly and focused on healthy eating but as soon as I start to lose weight and feel healthier I gradually start over eating again. I've used every excuse under the sun for what I do but the upshot of it is that it's me thatputs the food in my mouth, it's me that says "just one won't hurt", it's me that says "I've been good all week so....." and it's me that says "You're fine as you are" in those weak moments when I just can't resist that bar of chocolate.
'They' say that admitting it is the hardest part - bollox! That's the sodding easy part - "My name is Linda and I overeat, eat too much chocolate and can't control it" - see easy! And I mean every bit of it, I'm not just saying it. So I waited for this sudden epithany and a weakening of the want for chocolate and guess what - I'm still waiting!!

I now have just 4 months or so until we go to Mexico and I was supposed to have lost a significant amount of weight by this point. As it is I do not know what I weigh because I'm gotten all scared of the scales again.
A few days ago I decided I was going to do exactly what I am against me doing - I was going to go on some kind of meal replacement plan and lose weight fast. I don't want to lose weight fast because of the increased chance of loose skin but what the heck - desperate times and all that.
Then I came to my senses - that kind of diet is not for me and I'm not doing it. Instead I have bought myself a nutribullet. After the fiasco with the Vitamix I was hesitant to get a juice machine again but my mum has recently bought one and says they're fabulous, so that's the route I am going.
My breakfast will be a healkthy smoothie instead of cereal with milk and sometimes my lunch will be a healthy smoothie instead of either nothing or something that involves bread. Then I will simply have a healthy meal at night and eat as much fruit as I like. Sorted!

I've also started 'Focus T25' with my daughter, a Shaun T workout five days a week for only 25 minutes though don't let the amount of time fool you into thinking it's an easy workout - it really isn't.

Nutribullet + Focus T25 = weightloss (it has to).

Once I find some delicious recipes especially ones that help get me through a T25 workout I'll be posting them on here :)

Vitamix defeat

The Vitamix arrived and now the Vitamix is all wrapped up and ready to go back to whence it came!
I tried, I really did - well as much as I could within the allotted 30 day money back guarantee allowed anyway. I had such high hopes for my relationship with this machine and even now as I wait for the courier to collect it (3rd week of waiting) I'm tempted to get it back out the box and keep it regardless. But it's an expensive ornament for the kitchen!
So what went wrong? Absolutely nothing to do with the Vitamix itself, it's capable of everything they claim and more but it's limited to the users ability/perserverance/patience and unfortunately I'm lacking in all 3 areas.
I was so looking forward to making the Banana icecream from just frozen Bananas and the first attempt was foul due to my eagerness and using barely ripe Bananas (just for the record - yuk!) so I bought more Bananas and left them (guarded them) for days and days while they over ripened, at which point I chopped them up and froze them. I was literally drooling by the time it came to make the next batch of Banana ice cream - I did everything right (well as suggested by youtube users anyway) and while the ice cream was a lovely texture the taste was still awful, though nowhere near as bad as before. So I added some peanut butter (again as suggested on youtube) but the result was even more awful. That was the extent of my ice cream making.
Next I tried a lovely soup recipe, followed it to the letter (though I added some pepper) and the result was .......different. I could get past the smoothie texture but blinkin heck it burnt my mouth from the pepper.
So I tried some smoothie recipes. It's strange how all the veggies and fruit you usually like just do not taste very nice when they're blitzed. For example I could eat Cucumber whole - I love it - but blitz it in a smoothie and it really isn't so nice.
I tried various smoothies but none of us could hand on heart say that we would finish even one glass of it let alone try it again.
The final test was virgin Pina Colada. The problem here was that by the time I'd gotten the Coconut milk/Pineapple juice and ice ratio perfect I'd made so much of it that it could never all be used.
By this point my family were bemused that I was even going any further with it and I admitted defeat. I am never going to be a lover of smooth soup (I prefer chunky soup) and by the time I'd bought various products experimenting with the machine I'd spent an awful lot of money.

So the Vitamix is going back and I'll continue to experiment with smoothies using my hand held mixer.

Dr Phil

I've been watching Dr Phil for the first time today, I just happened across one of his shows on Youtube and I was hooked.
Obviously the weight loss ones are of most interest to me as I can relate to what people are saying in response to Dr Phils questioning. Like when he asked a guy on episode 'Fat, furious and fedup' why he was so overweight, the guy really didn't know the answer to the question but it got me asking myself the same thing.
I've often heard the idea that the key to understanding the destructive habit of overeating is to understand what started the habit in the first place and that, for me is an even harder question to answer. I've always had food issues and a negative relationship with food but also with my body so maybe that is part of the equation with me.
I was a slim child and stayed that way into young adulthood but I do remember 2 particular instances that stick in my mind and probably effected me in ways I didn't realise. One time a friend and I were walking to the shops all dressed up and feeling pretty good and a group of lads laughed and pointed at my ankles claiming they looked like "they're gonna snap", another time I was standing on tiptoe putting a poster on my bedroom wall (again dressed up ready to go out) and my sister quite innocently claimed that my calves made me look like "Rambo in a dress" (I was extremely slim and toned from exercise and having a horse). Both those statements have stayed with me to this day so I think I can assume they play a negative role in how I think now.
Anyway back to Dr Phil.
Dr Phil went on to question this guy about his reasons (excuses) he hadn't managed to lose weight yet despite claiming he'd made numerous attempts - his excuses astounded even me and included allergy to exercise, not sure footed enought to walk in the dark, the gym smelt funny and the one we've all used at some point - it's genetic!
But then Dr Phil made a statement that really hit home for me, he was referencing this guys battle with weightloss and was acknowledging that we all get to the point where we think we've gained too much now and that the journey to lose it is just too long. When the guy agreed, Dr Phil said to him "You think the journey is too long but whether you lose weight or not, you will still be here this time next year".
I've been trying to lose weight for about 22 years now though for the first 10 or so I only had pounds to lose though I believed I had stones to lose - this was a very warped view of my bodyweight on my part.
But Dr Phils statement made me realise something - I always view weightloss, diets, failures etc by looking at the past - what I was doing this time last year or where I was weightwise 5 years ago. I can see the destructive patterns of the last 22 years and I'm constantly focusing on past attempts thinking 'what's the point in trying, I've gone too far now?'. But I've never thought to look ahead of time, what I will be or could be this time next year and suddenly Dr Phils statement made so much sense - If I don't lose weight because I feel it takes too long to do it then this time next year I'll still be in this exact same situation and I'll have given up another whole year of my life to this battle.

Moodgym

I came across a particular website many years ago when I was once again fighting depression, until now I had forgotten all about it but it appeared in my recent google searches while looking for mind/thought help to combat all these negative feelings I have.
The site is called 'Moodgym'

"MoodGYM is an interactive program designed to help you:

• Identify whether you are having problems with emotions like anxiety and depression,
• Learn skills that can help you cope with these emotions.

MoodGYM is based on two programs which are successful in preventing and treating depression and anxiety. These are: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Interpersonal Therapy."

It's a free to use interactive site where you complete various assessments to assess your current state of thinking and helps you to understand the destructive impact it has on your day to day life, it then helps to teach you how to re-programme the brain into looking at situations differently and thinking differently thereby increasing positive thought while banishing the negative.
Again it's a slow process but I'm already enlightened after only a couple of exercises. I know that depression is a strong force in me and I'm usually able to recognise when the Black dog (depression) is snarling and when he's just assertively watching. To be honest I didn't think I was particularly depressed of late, that is until I started answering the interactive questions on Moodgym and now I can see that while I may not feel particularly weepy or sad right now, the feeling of nothing is another symptom of the Black dog and my interactive results really opened my eys to this.

My Moodgym result for the "Depression test"  was in the "High to very high range" and my results for the "Anxiety test" were in "The middle range" (basically no different to the average person).

Like I said I was surprised at the depression result, I didn't realise that some of the things I think were depressive symptoms though I can now see how negative they are.
I'm certainly looking forward to learning to cope with these thoughts and hopefully they will eventually help me to lose weight.

Feeding the positive

It's been a whole month since I posted and I have to admit that its not because I'm enjoying life as a new super slim svelte goddess - quite the opposite actually.
I've actually been ready to give up the whole dieting malarky, convinced myself that I obviously deep down do not want to lose weight because if I did then I would just do it already - that's how it works isn't it? Yup, that is seriously where my head has been at - it's too hard to keep torturing myself over the same old weightloss issues so I'll just convince myself I'm happy as I am! We've all been there I'm guessing!

So what changed? Well, although I was telling myself those things I didn't truly believe it. I am sick and tired of this bloody vicious circle of diet, lose weight, feel great, binge, gain weight, hate myself. It really has become tedious and exhausting - 22 bloody years later.
I realised that I dwell way too much on the past and admit that maybe I use past experiences as excuses as to why I am the way I am - while I accept that my past is part of who I am it shouldn't really have such a hold on my future should it?
I cannot change the past but I can sure as hell change my future.
I've been checking out CBT self help sites on the tinterweb as I can be a very negative, cup half empty kind of person that needs constant validation from those I love. I've become very 'what's the point?' or 'it won't be good enough anyway' in my attitude toward things I used to enjoy doing such as gardening and crafting. I've now got a humongous list of things I would like to make or do or achieve but know that I will never do them because either a) I've made them totally unrealistic (but still berate myself for not being able to do them) or b) I prefer to know I could do them and leave it at that than to attempt them and get it wrong or be rubbish at it.
So I found a good CBT site that helped me to understand negative thought and learn how to turn those thoughts around to positive ones. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suddenly cured, in fact it's going to take a long time but it's already changing my way of thinking.
I also found a site called 'Healthy weight centre' which gives you questionnaires to fill in and then help you to understand your answers and see where your train of thought is going.
I am new to both those sites so I haven't made full use of them yet and I suspect it needs to be a daily drip feed of visiting them to start with but I'm now feeling hopeful and positive.
I am not going to lose weight overnight - I have to accept that, I'm not going to lose weight just by exercise alone either - I have to learn to eat mindfully, but it suddenly doesn't seem so daunting.

"Within each person there are two dogs fighting; one that is positive and one that is negative. which one wins? The one that you feed"

Vitamix

I've wanted to get into smotthie making for a while now but I only have a stick blender and the few attempts I made at pulverising fruit were really not what I expected.
I love strawberries but they tasted absolutely foul when blended and I really couldn't get a good ratio when mixed with other fruits - basically I gave up.
Since doing Insanity I've been relying on Lucozade sport to get me through a workout and as much as I love the taste of the drink I'm fully aware that its ingredients aren't exactly desireable when trying to lose weight.
So I've been looking at juicers for some time and as good as some of them look the fact that they extract juice from the skins and pulp which is then discarded has put me off buying one - most of the goodness is in the bits that are discarded.
So what to do? Well a few years ago I bought a Vitamix off QVC for a ridiculous amount of money, the presenters claimed it could make soup, smoothies, ice cream, various milks and much much more. When the machine arrived here I immediately chucked veggies in and made hot soup - flippin eck it was disgusting. It tasted like raw grass.
I was already cheesed off because the machine had taken 2 weeks to arrive and then it only got here because I travelled 100 miles to pick it up, so when the soup tasted foul I quickly wrapped it back up and made QVC come collect it. Boy have I regretted it ever since!
5 years later and I have taken the plunge again, I am now waiting for the arrival of my Vitamix from QVC, excited doesn't quite cover it (insert huge miley face here).

This machine is going to be put through its paces within the money back guarantee time, it won't be going back unless the darned thing breaks on me.
I'm now scouring the net for various recipes. As well as a pre workout smoothie, I'd like to find a recipe that would make a smoothie that would get my husband through the day - he's a builder and refuses to eat all day - so maybe something with oats!

Here's my Vitamix in all its gorgeous glory - oh Vitamix you WILL change my life.

Bucket list.

So, I was driving into Wick today and as is prone to happen on boring, lonesome journeys I started thinking about random things. Todays randomness was my bucket list. I actually do not have a bucket list but I got to thinking about what I would put on it if I did. Here's what I got

1) Visit New York, Atlanta and New Orleans.
2) .........................Erm.............

Yup, that's the extent of my bucket list, the extent of what I want to do before I die. What I can't work out is whether my lack of objectives is a good thing or a sad thing - is that I've done all I want to do or I just have no imagination!
Have you noticed anything yet?
As I continued to drive along, desperately trying to think of things to fill the list out and realising I had no inclination to throw myself out of a plane, swim with sharks nor write a novel something dawned on me "oh. wow. I didn't even think about weight loss".
I wonder what Freud would have to say about that?
To be honest although I want to lose weight I don't want to have to - does that make sense? I want to be happy with the way I look at the size I am and I want to never have to bother with losing weight ever again. But......there it is....... such a small word with so much meaning - but! The truth is I know how I look to other people and I know that it's generally accepted that I need to lose weight. I want to buy clothes and know that a size 12 will fit, I want to feel good wearing nice clothes and I want to be comfortable having my photo taken.
On the upside, today I realised something. I've been telling myself that I need to lose 5 stone to look half decent and be at an ideal weight however today I realised it's actually 3 stone I need to lose not 5 - how bloody cool is that :)

And so it begins!

I joined 'Dietbet' again and the challenge starts today - I now have 1 month to lose 8.6lbs. A very doable amount I'm thinking.
Now begins the real challenge of being aware of everything I put in my mouth and avoiding those situations where I just want to sit down and munch on chocolate. With that in mind the knitting needles have made an appearance and I've started knitting for my niece/goddaughter who is expecting her first child in June.

Insanity is still keeping me on my toes. Last week was the beginning of the second month but one thing after another kept getting in the way and we had some really bad workouts - I even stopped a workout halfway through which I have never done before - but we were both so tired and fatigued that we were in danger of causing ourselves an injury
This week we started week 6 over again - oh yeah, we're committed - and I have to say that I can feel it in every single muscle in my body, to the point where we could easily have missed todays workout. However we di press play and despite finding it ridiculously hard we loved Max Interval Plyometrics, I'm currently typing this knowing that getting up afterwards is going to be exceedingly hard and painful.

I came across an interesting link today on FB. I don't really follow any nutritionists on FB bar one lady, her story is inspirational and she keeps everything so real and true to her own beliefs. She's not into quick fixes nor fad diets nor diet drinks, it's healthy, wholesome, fresh food all the way and exercise relevant to each individual - it's not a one suit fits all attitude. So refreshing!
Anyway, I found an interesting link shared by Lucy on FB today and I wanted to share it here, it's an interesting read on fruits and vegetables by John Berardi and Ryan Andrews for 'Precision Nutrition'.
Here's the link
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/color-chart
Enjoy!

Noodles - yum yum.

It's been too long since I last posted but I really didn't know what to post.
Leanne and I are now in the second month of 'Insanity' and the workouts are really hard, kind of like being back to day 1, but we're still loving it.
This is pretty much my daily look now

Red and sweaty - not such a good look lol.

I haven't weighed myself in weeks. I haven't got a handle on eating too many treats and tbh I'm now too scared to see what the scales say. I don't think I've put anything on as my stomach is definitely smaller and less bloated but I won't have lost much either. I can control my meals, it's the sweet snacks I seem to be really struggling with.
I'm now waiting for a good 'dietbet' game to begin and I'll join in with that.

One meal I'm hooked on lately is chicken and noodles

I have no idea of the calorie content but it's certainly healthier than what I used to eat and takes just minutes to prepare.
Here's what I do.
Toss chicken pieces in Chinese 5 spice then fry them in coconut oil.
Once the chicken is cooked add stir fry veg and mushrooms and a few squirts of  Soy sauce, then throw in a handful of egg noodles.
Serve on a bed of Spinach - num num!

Isotonic sport drink

Today I had the worst Insanity workout ever despite it being one of my favourites of the set - Plyometric Cardio circuit.
The problem? A lack of Isotonic sport drink - we'd run out. I really didn't think a lack of the drink would affect a workout quite so much, I mean I discovered once during a 10k that not having it throughout the run resulted in me finishing the race and almost puking and incoherent but I thought I'd be able to get through an Insanity workout without one - I guess it shows just how hard these workouts with Shaun T actually are.
At one point during todays workout I declared I was stopping, luckily that statement disn't last and it only took a couple of seconds for me to say that I hadn't stopped a workout yet and wasn't about to start now. But throughout this workout I struggled for energy and constantly got cramp in my feet and glutes and had to keep stretching out, couple that with no energy and it made for a pretty crappy workout.
I've now restocked the Lucozade sport drink but I'm certainly going to look into alternatives so that I have something for a backup if we run out again.

Dairy milk chocolate!

So we're coming toward the end of the 4th week of 'Insanity' and I'm really excited about starting a whole new round of workouts once we complete next weeks recovery week.
So far Insanity has been insane and amazingly hard work but we've loved each and every workout and let's face it, who ever regrets working out!
Both Leanne and I saw fantastic improvements in our second fit test. I'm not sure whether the improvments are from fitness levels though or the determination to beat our last result so I'm going to do the next fit test without checking out my current results first and see what happens.
One thing I have noticed though is that all the moves I find difficult and put down to me being over weight and 40 something leanne finds difficult too and yet she's super slim and 20 years younger. I don't know what that proves other than no matter what size or age you are Insanity doesn't care!

Now if I could just get a handle on my food intake I'd be on track for super weight loss. I do fine during the day and eat perfect proportions and healthy meals but then Mr SG comes home (who happens to be super skinny and fit) and suddenly I'm craving sweet things :(  I've also discovered that night time is an issue for me as well because I tend to want to settle in front of the tv with chocolate - especially with the cold dark nights.
I came up with a plan to keep me busy at night while watching tv - I've ordered some wool and needles and I'm going to be knitting baby clothes for my niece/god daughter who's expecting her first child. It's been a while since I clicked the old needles but I'm hoping I haven't lost the skill :)

I also have a new good reason to lose weight, we're looking into booking our holidays with our dear friends back home in England. We're not sure where it's going to be just yet but we should be hitting the Caribbean this time next year. This time last year the four of us were in Jamaica and there are certain things I regret all of which have roots in my weight. Holidays are so expensive nowadays that it seems stupid to pay all that money and not do all I can to make sure that I'm not uncomfortable and self conscious.
With this in mind I'm yet again trying to be more aware of what I'm eating, I can control portions no problem but I have to conquer this sweet tooth.

This is my achilles heel *Warning food porn ***

I could easily eat one of the family size large bars each and every day. In fact I could and have given up meals just so I can eat one of the large bars, not good is it! Especially as I get a pounding, racing heart after eating it - the nurse explained it's my body over producing something or other in an attempt to battle something the chocolate secretes. She also said I need to stop eating huge quantities - I completely understand how people hit the 600lb mark even though they know the food they eat is killing them!

Insanity workout - so addictive

Don't let this passive relaxing image fool you into thinking Insanity'Cardio recovery' is easy.

This is what you'll look like by the end

Insanity is insane y'all!
Nearing the end of week 2 and we're still loving it. There's been a couple of times where we've had to double up the workout because we missed the day befores workout and I so do not recommend it! One Insanity workout is hard enough but two is almost impossible, we figured we would double up on the Thursday (yesterday) due to it being 'Cardio Recovery' day but don't let the name fool you into thinking Shaun T goes easy on you for one day - he doesn't! While 'Cardio Recovery' may not be the usual jumping in the air, gasping for breath routine the rest of the week entails it certainly isn't my definition of recovery either - it's hard!
The message here is that Insanity needs to be done on a daily basis, try not to miss a workout but if something happens to prevent a workout do not double up unless you are super fit in the first place - it got to the point where Leanne and I could not even lift our legs and although we finished evey single workout I don't for one minute think we did those double ups to the best of our ability simply because we were doubling up.
You may think this is sounding all too tiring to try, Insanity sounds waaaaaay to difficult to even bother pressing play but I guarantee you, if you try it you will love it and a couple of weeks in you will find a sick sense of satisfaction watching that sweat puddle appear on the floor. Pressing play is always difficult - especially when you know how hard the workout is (Yup, I ain't gonna lie it's hard) but you will never regret it I promise you that.

I finally got around to weighing myself one week late. I was supposed to do it the day I started Insanity but kept forgetting so finally remembered on Tuesday. I never used to post my weight on this blog, just the amount I had to lose but I've decided I need to face it head on and to do that I need to be accountable for my weight. So with that in mind on 21/01/2014 I weighed 213.2lb. It seems like such a huge number when I write it down, especially as I was under 200lb before christmas but I'm looking forward to watching the number drop again and I'll be adding some kind of weight charts to this blog once I manage to find what I'm looking for.

Day 2

Day 2 of Insanity and I'm amazed by my lack of coordination, strength and overall fitness! Why I would be so shocked is beyond me but there you have it. I literally struggled through todays routine - Plyometric Cardio Circuit - and literally had nothing left by the end BUT "I'm smiling cos I love it".
On the plus side, there can only be room for improvement - Shaun T you rock!

To anyone that is considering 'Insanity' but feel they won't be able to do it or that they're too overweight to do it I recommend giving it a go. Realistically I am 5 stone overweight (70lbs) and yes it is hard especially with asthma thrown in the mix, but I cannot tell you the sense of achievement you feel after each workout. Even when you have a rubbish workout and feel that you could have done better it doesn't put you off, in fact it makes you more determined to nail it the next time. I'm struggling with the workout at the moment but so is my daughter who is 20 years younger than me and extremely slim so it's not ageist, sexist nor weightist, you get out of it what you put into it and as you get fitter you'll be amazed by what you can achieve - moves that seemed impossible when you first started are suddenly much easier.
And if you're one of those people that hate home workouts because they're boring (as am I) then prepared to be addicted to this one.
Go for it!

You know you need to lose weight when

1) Despite only filling the bath tub 1/4 deep it still spills and sloshes over the side when you lie down in it.
2) You find yourself reaching for a night gown at night because the elastic in your huge PJ's just will not stretch any further.
3) You find yourself reaching for a night gown at night because you are suddenly very aware that your PJ top appears to go no lower than your boobs.
4) Walking past a full length mirror you notice the 10 second time lapse between your stomach appearing and the rest of you.
5) Attempting chin to chest exercises is pointless because your chin is permanently sitting on your chest.
6) When attempting any dance that involves a twisting action you notice that your stomach takes 10 seconds to catch up with the direction you're currently going.
7) It really isn't the double thickness trousers causing your legs to rub.
8) Doing up shoelaces means you literally have to hold your breath for 10 seconds due to the bulk preventing you from breathing properly.
9) Your side of the bed looks decidedly lower than the side of the 'lighter' person.
10) You find yourself scrutinising the stability and rigidity of every chair before you dare to sit down.
11) You stand wherever possible.


All things that I have been having to consider of late and ask myself whether I want things to get worse or want things to get better.
I'm opting for better as always and as as such I have once again stepped foot onto that carousel that calls itself 'weightloss'.
Healthy eating is the plan - Day1 today - NO dieting! I am hoping to track all my food on this blog but we all know how that usually ends up - either I don't log stuff or I only log the good stuff. I'm going to be 100% realistic on this journey though, I am not expecting that slim svelte 8st girl that i once was, I'm a realist i can handle 8.5st!!! just kidding!!! I'd be happy to just get to a weight where I'm comfortable and where I don't mind having my photo taken.
I began Insanity with my daughter today but haven't taken a weight check so I will have to do that tomorrow morning but I'm definitely going to be sharing it on here this time - no more hiding behind numbers.

working on that date!

Well the time is nearly nigh!
I promised myself that after the past few months of piggin out on pretty much whatever I wanted and NOT exercising, I would set myself a date in January where I would start back on a clean eating programme alongside some kind of exercise.
I'm eager to start running again and now that my foot is pretty much heeled I think I would be able to cope with it however my heart is set on Insanity again.
I suffer with awful back problems every day and have done ever since I first prolapsed a disc when I was about 17 but the one exercise programme that I have found to work and alleviate that pain is 'Insanity' - which is strange considering it's an intense workout programme. I'm guessing it must be the daily yoga style stretches that Shaun T incorporates into the programme that is doing most of the help but I think all the core work also helps to protect my back.
The date isn't set yet as I have something to get out of the way first but this month will definitely be the start - though it's NOT one of those dreaded resolutions!