Happiness and all her friends…

Well last night was a good Zumba session, 640 calories burned! However I ate half a roast chicken and felt so freakin bloated by the end of the night that I was in pain! Will not be eating before zumba ever again!

I had to skip zumba on Saturday as it was Sydney’s Mardi Gras parade and I was out shopping most of the day for a fab costume - ended up with a very bright red wig which just looked amazing.  I also wore a dress! I haven’t worn one in ages and this one I have never worn as I was always conscious of my legs looking fat.. well I felt thin and looked fabulous in the dress. Zumba is really helping shape my legs!

I’m rambling a bit here but last night I was disappointed to hear that the Wednesday Zumba instructor is leaving to pursue a cabaret in London… and the owner of the zumba is thinking of replacing Wednesday’s class with a pilates class.  I’ll give it a try but am bummed as the Wednesday class really kicked my ass. 

I’ve not been super strict on the calorie monitoring these last few days… I haven’t been eating crap but i did have 3 ice cream bars over the last 6 days… I need to keep focused on the food. 

I came onto the site today not expecting to blog and just wanted to read other people’s posts.  But after reading 5 different blogs, it dawned on me how depressing they all are… mainly because the majority of things people have blogged about is their struggle with medical problems and depression.  I never realised how lucky I am not to be facing down a disease or condition that would prevent me from losing weight.  Also makes me realise that I’ve got it easy compared to others and need to take advantage of this and stop procrastinating.

I haven’t weighed myself yet during this 3rd challenge… will do so on Saturday morning.  I’ve got a friend’s wedding to attend on Saturday and I’m excited to wear a Size 6 strapless dress and some gold strappy heels! Just need to bust a gut this week to ensure I feel confident in my own skin on Saturday.

My 3rd 30 day challenge is here!  This month the motto is “leave it on the gym floor”, as in break a sweat, work it out and leave it all on the gym floor!

I’ve just received my mio watch last night, just in time for my next challenge!  I need to boost my workouts, increase the intensity and get a steady routine of weight lifting in the mix, especially as I’m getting smaller, I know its going to get tougher to lose the next 15 pounds and achieve my goal of 130 this year.

My mini goal is another 5 pounds for this month, anything more and I’ll be over the moon.  My mio will definitely help keep me focused as it has a 3500 calorie countdown feature which will let me know how many more calories I need to burn in the week to drop that 1 pound of weight!

I’m focused on 3 zumba classes a week, and will add weight lifting twice a week and 1 day of sweat session cardio at the gym, and 1 day of rest. 

It will be challenging to squeeze it all in as this month I’ve got some travel commitments for work… I’m focused on getting into a gym at these hotels and being prepared to do the work!

My nutrition will stay the same, complex carbs in the morning with lean protein, veggies and salad for lunch and dinner and of course fruit for my sweet tooth.

I’m so pumped that 60 days has flown by and I’m seeing real results.  Join me for 30 days and see what you can achieve!

Today marks 60 days since I started my new years resolution of 30 day challenges for a happier and healthier life!

After 60 days, I’m thrilled with the results so far.

Today’s results:

Weight: 146.6 pounds!!!  I started 60 days ago at 156.8 pounds!! Down 10.2 pounds!

Bust: 34 inches , I started at 36 inches, so 2 inches lost!

Waist: 27 inches, I started at 30 inches, so 3 inches lost!

Hips: 38 inches, I started at 40 inches, so 2 inches lost!!

Very pleased with the results, I feel better, my clothes are looser and I’m obviously happier than I was on Day 1!

At the grocery store this morning the aisles and checkout were completely decked out in Easter chocolate and candy. For the love of weight loss why is it that chocolate easter eggs look so goood and have to be displayed while I’m on my period! I resisted the urges and settled on a cup of peppermint tea at work.

Tomorrow is 60 days and while I’m not feeling very motivated today, I do recognise that I am wearing a top that I haven’t worn in 2 years — it finally looks good on me! small wins welcome.

Tonight is another fun zumba class, need my booty toned so bring on that crazy samba routine.

Struggling a bit with the food today, haven’t been bad or cheated but am not really loving the lunch… kinda over tuna at this point. Need some healthy lunch options for work… suggestions are welcome!

Anyone else getting these crazy spanish spam messages in your comments? Uhg, just deleted 17!

Looking forward to tomorrow’s weigh in… 60 days, what a milestone. I can’t believe I’ve stuck it out for this long! woohoo

2 days left on this second challenge.  Day 3 of my period… while the symptoms of bloating are subsiding, i’m wondering if the number on the scale this morning may go down a bit after my period ends.

I couldn’t resist weighing myself because I had such a fantastic zumba toning and cardio class last night, even though I was on my period!  The scale this morning was 147.2 lbs. That is where I was before my period started…. will have to wait and see what happens on Thursday.

As I come near the finish line of 60 days, I’m realising its time to revisit my old friends — my free weights.  Tonight is a rest day between my zumba classes and I’m going to pop in my old faithful Abs Diet 2 DVD and lift some weights and do some lunges.  I know for the next 30 day challenge I will need to increase my exercising and include lifting weights.. so why not start early!

Breakfast: 2 slices of toast with blackberry jam

Lunch: 1 large can tuna in olive oil (drained), 1 chopped roma tomato, 1/2 cup chopped cucumber, 1 cup baby spinach leaves, 1/2 fresh squeezed lemon

Dinner: Salmon & Broccoli

Snacks: small pear, red plum, 1 special k snack bar and 1 small skim cappucino

Well with 3 days left, won’t you know my annoying visitor shows up… yup my period. UGH

I knew something was up because I was amazing last week with my eating and exercise and then Friday night i totally  pigged out on pizza, crackers and dip.  Saturday I tried to restart my healthy eating and for dinner ended up eating an entire bag of potato chips, and oh man did I feel ILL. I wanted to throw up I felt so gross. 

And just like clockwork, Sunday my period arrived…. explains it all.

Well today is Monday, 3 days left in my second challenge and i’m starting clean again on the food.

Breakfast: 2 slices toast with blackberry jam

Lunch: Tuna with spinach leaves, tomato and cucumber, lemon juice

Dinner: Chobani Yogurt, bowl of Special K Cereal w/ 1% milk

Snacks: small pear, red plum, special k snack bar

Activity: ZUMBA toning class and Zumba Cardio class!

I will weight in on 1 March which i cann’t believe is around the corner, where did these 60 days go!! I’m so proud of myself for seeing things through for 60 days.. i definitely feel slimmer, healthier and even my fiance has been giving me major compliments on my toned up body.  For the first time I’ve actually stuck to my new years resolution! 30 days at a time, healthier happier me!

So last night I had to meet an old friend out for dinner and drinks in the city.  I was very nervous because I didn’t want to go off the eating plan that I’ve maintained all week and it has really been paying off!  I was surprised how my eyes immediatly skipped over the entire menu searching for protein and veggies.  I settled on a porerhouse steak with steamed veggies with a little mushroom sauce.  I trimmed the steak, ate the broccoli and green beans, and a bit of the sauce as the steak was pretty dry.  It hit me when I left the restaurant that I didn’t even bother to read what the other items on the menu were or even look through the desserts! NOPE! I just knew what I needed to find and once I found it I shut the menu and put it out of my mind.. before I probably would’ve stared at the dessert menu and read every delicious sounding dish to myself in torture.

So proud of myself, and its paying off.  Weight today is 147.2! woohoo

Today’s menu:

Breakfast: 1 cup muesli, 1/2 cup 1% milk, instant coffee with splash of milk

Lunch: 1 large can tuna in oil (I drain it), 1/2 cup chopped cucumbers, 6 baby tomatos and 2 pickles, mixed together for little tuna salad

Snacks: 1 small pear, 1 strawberry special k snack bar

Dinner: Grilled Salmon with 1 cup steamed broccoli and fresh squeezed lemon juice

Thankfully it is Friday today… which means zumba class tomorrow morning yay!

Today the scale rewarded me again with 147.6! That’s 9.2 pounds lost since 1 January 2012!! 

I can’t help myself… because I know how clean I’ve been eating each day I just can’t help weighing myself in the morning when I wake up. 

Last night I wasn’t able to eat the standard chicken/salad dinner,  as I needed to buy a new hair dryer at the mall and we decided to have dinner at the food court.  I wouldn’t allow myself to falter on my eating so I ordered chicken tenderloins from Nando’s and a side salad and it all came under 300 calories for dinner!

Today’s menu:

Breakfast: 2 slices toast with blackberry jam

Lunch: 2 hard boiled eggs, 6 baby tomatos and 1 cup carrot sticks

Dinner: chicken breast sliced over salad with cucumber and tomato

Snacks: 1 cup grapes, 1 special K bar

Zumba class tonight! yay!

Couldn’t resist the scale this morning after doing a full day of clean tracy anderson style eating…. down 1.8 pounds now 148! woohoo!

Another fantastic zumba session last night.  Today’s menu:

Breakfast: 1 cup muesli w/ 1/2 cup 1% milk

Lunch: 1 cup salad mix, 1 small can tomato & onion tuna, 1/2 cup chopped cucumbers, 1 chopped tomato, fresh squeezed lemon

Snacks: 1 cup seedless green grapes, 1 cup mixed berries

Dinner: 4 ounces baked chicken breast, 1/2 cup chopped tomato, 1 chopped tomato

I’m about 1.2 pounds away from a 10 pound weight loss for this year! With 8 more days to go in February, I can see the finish line and I might even surpass it!

Well I haven’t felt like I’ve achieved much weight loss wise this month so far.. although I haven’t gained and my fitness is definitely improving with all the Zumba I’ve been doing.  The culprit is most likely the diet as I haven’t been as strict as I need to in order to see significant results.  Last night I decided to kick things up a notch and this morning I’ve started my first day back on the old faithful Tracy Anderson diet… not the baby food diet but the original low carb high protein version.

This morning I had 1 cup muesli with 1/2 cup 1% milk.  Lunch was 4.5oz baked cajun seasoned chicken breast with 1/2 cup chopped tomato and 1/2 cup chopped cucumber.  Snacks included 1 cup mixed berries and 1 Special K snack bar.  Dinner is baked salmon with 1 cup steamed broccoli. I weighed in at 149.8 this morning… so let the good times roll and lets see what tomorrow brings.

I decided to kick it up a notch because I’ve only got about 9 days left for this 30 day challenge and within 3 weeks I’m attending a friend’s wedding.  Being summertime in Sydney, I’ll be forced to wear a dress.  I tried a dress in my closet on last night and it fits but is snug… 3 weeks, I think I can achieve not so snug. 

Zumba toning and cardio tonight! YAY