Another week in my journey

Well this past week has been quite a challenge. Training and nutrition has been great but I have gone from being very happy to tears. I keep telling myself the only thing I can control is my nutrition and training and to not let let things get to me that I have no control over.

During the week I got some very upsetting news from my child's school. He was being bullied and was quite depressed about it. My heart just dropped, that a 12year old could be bullied to the point he wanted to hurt himself. Normally I would hit the food big time but not this time. I have moved to a new point where I know that the food will not help me but in fact be a huge setback in my journey, a detour I do not wish to take. Instead I focused on what steps I could take to help my son which was a positive reaction not negative.

I started this week with a painful lower leg and had to go to physiotherapy. After a week of lunges, jump squats, squats, sprints, push ups and skipping I an aching from head to toe. My leg remains painful so much so that next week there will be no skipping or jump squats. It is time to look after it so that it can heal.

Training in the studio was tough. Leg presses with the new change of seat position is just tough and I am making sounds like I never have before. Not very lady like I might add. I am determined to lift 8 clean reps x 2 sets this week. I just need to focus. I will master that incline bench press as well. I just need to focus.

Today my heart is not in it. I am tired, frustrated, fed up and wanting to scream. Scream from pure frustration over many things. Some times I feel like I am living 'Ground Hogs Day' and it can just get to you. There is no fun in my life at this point and that is very sad. I enjoy training, don't get me wrong, but that component of fun is just not there at this time. If I am not training, then I am working or breaking up fights between my boys or running errands  or going grocery shopping or trying to catch up on housework.

 Does this mean I will not eat properly today, NO! This is my new lifestyle and I wouldn't alter that for anything. After 7 weeks I have no craving for chocolate or any of my old junk food. Will I not turn up to training, NO! I really like Blitz and the boost it gives me for the day and the people at Blitz are so supportive and encouraging!

So here I am 7 weeks down and 5 more to go. I remain focused and can't wait to see the changes my body is undergoing every week. The only thing I need to look into is fun, that will be my next challenge.

Leaner
Treena

Training and Nutrition

Well another busy week is over.

Nutrition has been spot on. Each meal has contained the essential ingredients. Planning my meals and preparing them every morning for the day is becoming routine. My children think I am mad eating all those vegies but that is ok. I think they will like the results and they certainly like their new fitter mum who can keep up with them when we go to the park.

Josh decided to teach me about a whole new level of intensity and pain. Thursday was lower body weight training. Josh loaded the leg press up with my weight amount  (200kgs) and 'encouraged' me to push out 15reps. Those last few reps were hard and I may have groaned with the effort but Josh wasn't finished with me yet. He moved the leg press seat further forward, and made me start again.I could only get out another 5 1/2reps but just moving that seat that inch made a whole lot of difference and hurt like anything. My legs were trashed and there was still lunges (my pet dislike), leg curls and calf raises (one of my favourites) to come. I  left feeling fantastic and very pleased with my achievements and a not so gentle hum of throbbing legs. Skiing in the hall at Blitz the next morning was a lot of fun but the burpees and jump squats certainly reminded my legs how sore they were but I managed to push through.

Then this morning's workout in the skate bowl was not only fun but exhausting. Skipping (not good at it), sprints, squats and that heavy rope challenge  was an awesome workout. Ok the rope wasn't that heavy until you tried flicking it a few times, then your core and arms really felt it. One of the best things about today's workout was teaming up with another Blitzer and encouraging each other ( thanks Tim) as well as others providing encouragement thanks Simon, Tina and Co. I think that's what makes it so easy to get out of bed at 5am or 6am, just knowing that a great group of people will be up and training with you.




Leaner
Treena

Week 6

I have been waiting for this week to come to see my results. I have noticed my stomach has flattened quite a lot over the past few weeks and my work pants reveal  my butt is getting smaller or more toned as they are quite loose at the back. Emma who worked on my sore muscles noticed the change in my leg muscle definition so that was great. Another friend made nice comments about my receding stomach apron fat so that was positive.  All the Blitzers were making nice comments and being very supportive so that made each training day a positive experience. Thanks girls and guys!  Photos of me at the first week and this week show a reduction in back fat, yes as bad as it sounds I do have back fat, at least there is less now.

Well I turned up for my measurements and as usual Josh did them without me seeing them. He took photos, I was wearing my new size 14 crop top which 6 weeks ago didn't fit due to the size of my breasts and I was also wearing a size 14 athletic t-shirt. Anyway the photos were done with me in the crop top. I haven't seen them but I know I look better. Josh then asked me what I would be happy with in the centimetres department. I had not a clue of what number to choose as I hadn't thought about it, so I randomly chose 20cm, a nice round number. Well I got rid of  13.5cm of fat and I am very happy with that as I have worked hard and was hoping for a good number. Just between you and me I was just so relieved to get it over and done with as I was very nervous about what the numbers would be like.

So I am focused and determined for even greater results in the next 6weeks.

Leaner
Treena

Back from the Dark Path

Well after a low start to the week I can say things have been interesting. I chose to not let work and home stresses lead me down the dark path to poor food choices and no exercise. Every morning I was up early preparing my meals for the day, and organising my shakes for training. I had Friday off Blitz as per my training plan so I went for a walk. Some prophetic words from Josh at the start of this program became my mantra for the week which helped me to remain focused on my end goal and not let other strersses interfere in reaching my goals. These words were 'the only thing you can control each day is your nutrition and exercise' and 'every rep counts'. So no matter what else was happening this week I made sure I got my training in and that I ate 6 metabolically precise meals each day.

The cold weather has added a new element to training and eating. It would be so easy to stay in bed at 5am and not go to training but then what would that achieve, nothing. I have never been so cold and I think losing my insulation might have something to do with it. Salads are not as appealing when your freezing (cause you cant put the heater on because the hubby hasn't covered the swampy). I am enjoying salmon with vegetables at the moment. Admittedly the vegies are frozen and zapped in the microwave but that suits my shift worker lifestyle. I usually eat most meals alone and cutting up a bunch of vegetables just seems like a waste of time to me.

A quick thank you to everyone who has been supporting and encouraging me. It really helps when you hear from others that they can see changes either in your  body shape or your  fitness levels as sometimes I can't see it. When you can't see it then your mind starts to sing some negative tunes and that just adds to the stress and can send you back down the dark path. I got a comment from a friend I have not seen for 2 months 'look at you, your stomach apron fat doesn't sit on your legs anymore'. Now as I am quite apple shaped that was a huge compliment.

Week 6 begins tomorrow and that means body composition measurements for the half way point. Always nervous when it comes to being measured.

Leaner
Treena

The Highs and Lows

Today has been a very low day for me, probably the lowest I have been in a long time. I have to admit that at the beginning of my training session today I almost started crying. Could you just imagine Josh's face if I had? The cause of my low are many little things combining to push me over the edge. I will say that turning up to training and pushing myself did help my mood.

Some of the things I realised today were:

• running away from home is probably not an option
• i need to stop letting negative people upset me
• i need to focus on myself and put me first
• Nutrition and training are the only two things that I can really control on a day to day basis.
• I have worked too hard on improving my health to ruin all my effort by making unhealthy food choices.
• i need a holiday from work

So there you have it. From the high of running 5kms to the low of people trying to bring you down.

I must say a big thank you to Pam for putting up with me this morning and encouraging me.
Leaner
Treena

On track

Well I have had a great week with fitting into size 12 jeans with a muffin top, almost vomiting at Blitz on Wednesday, and had my legs smashed during lower body weight training with Josh on Thursday. I had a light intensity activity day on Friday so I went for a walk.

Saturday was very interesting. Started with a great lower body circuit with the Blitz team at 7am, dash home to eat and organise my meals for the day as I had to go to work in the afternoon and then head back to Wodonga for push ups for charity challenge. I set myself a target of 50 push ups a feat I had not managed, ever. In the middle of my 90seconds I developed a pounding headache due to a sinus infection but I continued on and surprised myself with 52 push ups. I was happy to hear that everyone who participated beat their set targets. A great effort to everyone involved. I skipped the BBQ and rushed home to get ready for work and eat an MP meal. When I got to work and sat down to listen to handover I realised I was just a bit tired and that I was in for a long night.

Some of the things I experienced at work on Saturday night and how I  reacted to them have totally changed since I first began training with Physique Essentials. 12months ago I would have run away from conflict, not stood up for myself and not feel confident in dealing with senior doctors, other nurses and difficult relatives. Not last night and the one reason that I know is true: with my increased fitness and body composition changes I feel more confident and feel that people listen to me more now than they did when I was fatter. Along with my physical changes there has been many mental changes. I think I am mentally stronger now and as I push my body to do things I have never done before it flows over into other areas of my life. A very positive side effect of training.

This morning was the 5km Mothers Day Classic Run in Wodonga. Me, my husband, 3 children and my mother all entered this event. I have never run for more than 2km straight without stopping to walk and the same can be said for my daughter. My mum, hubby and two boys walked the course whilst Lauren and I set out with the runners. Somehow it all clicked into place during the first part of the run and Lauren and I got into a rhythm and did not walk except at the drink stations whilst we were drinking water. We were both so happy  and even with dodging around the walkers it was a fantastic moment to cross the line after the last lap and know that we had done our very best run. A very happy moment for me and I was ever so proud of my daughter. After having my post workout shake Lauren  and I found the rest of the family and we walked the last of their race with them. My mum had very painful feet but she persisted and finished that race. I am so proud of her! The boys and hubby still had energy to spare but they did it and that is what was important.

Leaner
Treena

Braving Public Change Rooms

What a morning. Started with a very intense Metabolic Blitz session. Sprinting and skipping and if you mucked up the skipping then you had to do a burpee. Lets just say I did a fair few burpees, skipping is not my strong point. Halfway through the session I had visions of me vomiting so went outside during my skipping time. I just kept pushing hard whilst picturing me in size 10 jeans. I cannot remember ever wearing size 10 clothing so this is not only a challenging goal but also a dream of mine.

Having survived Blitz with stomach contents intact I met up with a friend after doing the school run for coffee. She has the coffee and I have the bottle of water. I decided that even though I had some size 12 pants at home that I could do up, with a muffin top showing, that I should try on some of the latest jeans to check my progress. I personally hate changing in those change rooms especially when the 'thin' people come in and put on a real small size and complain how fat they have got. It makes me want to give them a reality slap 'hello size 8 is not fat'. I am sure others have met these people in the change rooms. Anyway I took the size 12 jeans in, a bit anxious that they wouldn't even do up, oh okay I was extremely anxious after all my goal is size 10 in 8 more weeks! Well they did up, my friend used my camera to take a photo to prove it! Yes I have a funny looking muffin top but they still did up without me having to grab a coat hanger and lay on the floor whilst taking deep breaths and sucking in my guts for all they are worth. Don't laugh, desperate people have done that, at home, not in public but I suppose it depends how desperate you are. Not me though just my sister who is younger than me, was thinner than me,  and she did this all the time. I don't think I could have been bothered with the pain from wearing such tight clothing but she did.

Yesterday was my upper body training day and Josh pushed me to my limits. As I sit here typing I can feel the ache from working those muscles hard. Change is happening, yippee :-)

Leaner
Treena

After Nail Can Hill

So I have completed the Nail Can Hill Race with The Physique Essential Team. After the initial setback of my daughter hurting her ankle and feeling sick (she retired from the race) I forged ahead and kept telling myself I could do this and set a better time than last year. I spent more time running this year due to my increased fitness courtesy of Josh and Metabolic Blitz. Previous to working with Josh and his team I was a weight watcher and my old leader and I have a rivalry with this race. She has only ever beaten me once and that was last year and boy did I hear about it for weeks afterwards. As I was dealing with my daughter she patted me on the butt and overtook me. With pushing hard I caught her and passed her at the last drink station. By this stage I was very tired but nothing like a bit of rivalry to add life to the old legs. So not only did I beat her but I beat my previous time by 9mins. Both of these made me very happy.

Rocking up to Blitz training this morning I had hope that Josh would take it a bit easy due to residual soreness in my butt and hamstrings/hip. No such mercy was shown and the next 20mins were one of the hardest workouts I have ever done. At least I was not the only Nail Can Hill runner feeling it.  I have to admit that halfway through the workout I wanted to tell Josh where to go and stop. The old me would have definitely quit when the going got tough but the new me just thought 'suck it up' and 'size 10 jeans'.
Leaner
Treena