I wanted to make the first Aussie Chicks post for 2008!!!

Happy New Year everyone...and may it be a good one for us all!





I would have had this done 20 minutes ago if I didn't have connection issues!

Lindor you're on the ball! I have to confess I was fast asleep when the new year rolled in. Decided to have a fresh and early start to 2008, and besides that it's going to be really hot and humid here today, and I couldn't face the thought of a hangover in this weather

Barb it's good to hear from you - glad you found your way over to our new thread.

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! Let's hope it's a positive one for all of us on our weight loss journeys.

I'm intending to take it just one day at a time, but at the same time I really want to keep my eye on the big picture.

Lindor I was thinking about your goal of a pound per fortnight, and you know what? I think I'm going to join you. It's actually a very forward-thinking and reachable goal, and allows for plateaus, bad weeks and all the other elements of life that get in the way. And it builds in a 'safeguard' for those months where we don't lose anything. And it still enables you to lose a decent amount of weight throughout the year.

With that in mind, today's goals are:

• Eat no more than 1500 calories;

• Reach at least 7,000 steps on my pedometer;

• Drink at least 2 litres of water;

• Vacuum and mop before it gets too hot; and

• Pack at least two boxes of books.


Ani

Ani I was like you and snoring when the New Year rolled in. Went to bed at 10pm after watching Vacancy on DVD. Slept till 6 then got cracking some more on my office. That was SUPPOSED to be done before 2008. I had a wonderful day today. I had a friend from work over and she's great. Her, the hubby and 4 kids. We had a BBQ lunch and I was good. I ate heaps of salad (fat free dressing) and 1 piece of lean meat and only one drink. I must confess I have only had 2 glasses of water thought. They have only just left. It's pretty cool here today. The wind is howling and I had to bring out the wooly jumper thing grrrrr. Just a bit of toast for dinner tonight and a cup of tea and early night.

Glad to see so far a great new year start for all hehee.

Vonni

Since seeing in the New Year last night, nothing particularly exciting has happened in 2008 for me yet...rather disappointing

It wasn't a particularly late night for me Ani, I posted the above post and went to bed. I just sat around reading until the delayed telecast of Melbournes fireworks display was shown on TV to mark midnight and the turn of the year! I am a tad disappointed that our regional television stations didn't display something from WA! None-the-less...Melbourne had a fantastic show!

I was up at 7am, and also did some domestics, washed the dogs and raked up the doggy-doo from the back yard!!

I have been good diet-wise so far this year too! Stuck to within 1500cals, drunk lots of water, and I managed 250 step-ups this evening, before my ankle started to hurt! I might have to take this climb slowly to start with? I'll see how I go tomorrow.

Well done on your control with lunch today Vonni!

And Gen, hang in there! I don't picture you as a quitter!

Back to reality and the regular daily grind tomorrow...I am quite happy with that!

Truly hope everyone (including me!) has a great 2008!!

I don't think chocolate is a trigger food per se, I think it's just my way of sabotaging myself. I was less than you Ani and I've not been able to stay below 90kg since then. I just keep ruining it for myself.

So my first goal is to get below 90kg. I'm not setting a time limit, I just want to break the mental barrier. Goal for the year is to reach 75kg. I think that's another 15-18kg, which is quite achievable in 52 weeks!

I had a good day today - worked this evening, which made it easier to stick to my calories! Working again at 7am, so should be good tomorrow too. Got home from work tonight and took the dogs for a (very brisk) 35-40 min walk. Plan to get to the gym after work tomorrow. Might take my stuff to work and go straight there.... but probably not hahaa!

Gen I sometimes think that momentum is the secret to beating your head battles. One of the fundamental things I did (when I got so fed up with 13 weeks of being stuck around 85kg) was to get up in the morning, write a list of food/water/moving goals - and then just do them.

It's what I do now. I have this complex little Excel spreadsheet where I write down all my calories, minus the nett calories, and add in water. Throughout the day I can track how I'm going, and tweak the plan as I go along. It might sound obsessive, but for me it's an important tool.

Today has been good in terms of meeting all my goals. I'm pretty stressed about work, money, housemates - and have some family issues happening, so this will be a good challenge for me.

Lindor you take it easy with that ankle. Don't want you having to limp up Mt Everest . Seriously though - be careful!

OK - off for another early night. We're expecting 40ºC and thunderstorms tomorrow… won't that be special!


Ani

I've started the year off in a wonderful way (not). I pretty much sat on my butt all day and ate. It was fruit in most of its forms, fresh dried and tinned, but I shouldn't have done it. Over the past two weeks I've managed to gain 2.3kg and I can feel every single gram!

Good on you Ani, Lindor, Vonni and Gen for sticking to your guns and making a great start to the new year. Keep up the good work. I'm starting today.

XX
Barb

I did thirty skips and holy crap my boobs hurt. The kids just stood laughing at me. Must look funny mum doing 'kids' stuff. Netx up - trampoline. BTW. Does anyone know how to figure out calories burnt on trampoline? Calorie King doesnt have that.

Ate a piece of fruit.... woohoo 1st time cept for grapes and nanas in forever

Vonni you crack me up . Can I suggest you invest in a sports bra? It's worth it! Great to see you being so motivated.

Barb how are you surviving the heatwave over there? I heard that you had three days in a row over 40ºC - hideous!

I've got another housemate moving in tonight. I can already tell that this one is a loser - but I figure that, for the sake of six weeks until I move, I desperately need the money. But what I'm NOT going to do this time around is sneak around my own house, being quiet, so that losers can sleep half their life away.

I'm a morning person, and that's just how it is. I've got a heap of boxes already packed, so the message to this one will be clear - this is very temporary (well he knows that anyway).

And I'm going to use the next six weeks to get a job, and make sure that when I move into my new house I can have my solitude back!

But - on a positive note, I am on plan with reaching my goals today.

Ani have you found a house to move into yet? I have got a sports bra but it doesnt seem to hold them tight enough to stop the bounce. Maybe I might start to strap the titties up first

I have found a house - it's just 3km from here, so I get the benefit of Freo and the river, and it's a bigger house with a much bigger yard. The owner is my current landlord's sister - apparently I am such a 'super-tenant' that the sister is kicking her current tenant out because she really wants me there looking after her house. The other good thing about it is that she is keeping the rent at $300/week for me. She was going to put $350 on it!

I saw a show recently where they demonstrated how sports bras HALVED the bounce - not kidding. Apparently there's a difference of 4 inches. I don't know about bound breasts Vonni - you might suffocate! Don't forget your lungs need MORE room to expand when you're breathing heavy (from exercise ) not less!

Hey Ani???

Ooh, a good sports bra is so important Vonni. I bought a really good one that held me in properly but I've lost enough weight in just a couple of months that it's now getting too big. Very annoying when it cost $60!!

I had such a nice surprise last night .... I looked into a different compartment of my wallet and found $60 that I didn't know I had! Wheee! That means that I now have plenty of money to stock up with lovely fruit and veggies for next week.

New Years eve I was really proud of myself. I went to a bbq at which everyone was drinking and I took a small bottle of flavoured fizzy water and I drank that and then had 1 glass of wine and stopped at that.

My friend had a big bust up with her aunt so I took her home early and I was back at my place watching a movie by 10:30pm. Very nice!

While I've enjoyed having a break from working so much, it's got me quite unsettled and really out of routine so I haven't been eating properly and I haven't done any exercise at all. I'm quite looking forward to Monday when things get back to normal!

Ani, that's great news that you've found another house already. Sounds like it'll be a good setup. How manageable will $300 a week be? It sounds like a lot to me, I hope you don't have to work too much to be able to afford it but it'll be wonderful for you to be able to get back to living by yourself and I'm sure will be worth it for you.

Righto, I'm off to write next weeks menu now. Hope everyone is having a great day!

Julia the house I'm in now is $300/week - thus the need for housemates or work. Sadly you can't get anything cheaper in Perth. My last housemate just moved into a place in one of the real trailer trash parts of the city, and she's paying more than me!

I stuck to almost all of my goals yesterday - didn't quite get the pedometer one right! I worked most of the day and then it was too hot and oppressive to walk. It's going to be 40ºC today (and it's already 28ºC at 7am, so it's definitely coming), and Western Power are warning there'll be power outages to 20% of the state! If my a/c isn't able to function I'll turn into a crazy woman!

So today I'm intending to meet all my goals - and to do it with a smile on my face! Well… no harm in trying!


Ani