Sunday 7 September 2014

90 Day Challenge

So for those of you that are regular visitors to this blog you will know that I have recently been under taking a bit of a challenge...a 90 day challenge in fact...a challenge that ended yesterday...or did it?!

So let me fill you in on what I'm talking about and how it all came about.

The tag line for this blog is 'blogging, jogging, podcasting and planning my way to the Magic Kingdom'.  When this blog started I had decided it was time to get myself off the couch and get fit...or at least fitter than I was!  With, at the time, an upcoming visit planned for Walt Disney World and specifically Coronado Springs Resort my aim was to be able to jog around Lago Dorado at the resort...it was a little 'carrot' to get me moving!

Well it worked, it got me off my butt and moving, although there were a few occasions over the next 12 months or so where the jogging stopped and I had to re-start.  But each time I did I was always pleasantly surprised by how easily I picked it up.  Now I am not a runner (in fact I often refer to my running as a bouncy walk!) but through using the 'Couch 2 5K' method and then later the Jeff Galloway 'run-walk-run' method I was able to get out and move!

Let's move forward to around Easter this year when Simon showed me a film called 'Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead'.  It was a documentary that followed an Australian called Joe Cross who had decided that he needed to do something about his weight and the amount of medication he was on for a skin condition.  Now his solution was to travel across America on a 60 day juice diet which for him brought about some amazing results.  Now it wasn't the method that he used to shed his weight that got to me (hubby is a real skeptic and insists that I share links on why Detox Diets aren't scientifically sound and how the science behind Juice Fasting doesn't hold up, making them an expensive and damaging waste of money) but it was the inspiration he gave to others and the effect that had on them.  In particular one lorry driver that the documentary followed for the later half of the film; this was a chap that was considerably obese but he made the decision to change and do something about it which to me was inspirational...it left me with a feeling of 'well if he can do it what the hell am I moaning about'.

So I resolved that as a family we would start eating better; we would eat healthier foods and reduce the processed foods that were just too easy to turn to...and we did, we started to make the change and you know what it was fine, it wasn't a big deal we just did it!

A few weeks into our new healthier eating I was chatting to Molly's karate instructor, Selina, who told me about a programme her husband Jason had started called 'Get Real Fat Loss'. She showed me some photos of herself before and after the challenge and I was amazed. She spoke about how easy it was to adopt a new way of eating and how it didn't leave her feeling hungry; I was intrigued.

So after speaking with Simon and then chatting with Jason I decided to sign up for a '90 Day Get Real Fat Loss Challenge'...I figured I had nothing to lose after all I just wanted to be eating healthier and getting fitter and if I managed to lose a few pounds as well along the way then I would be really happy.

On Monday 9th June I started my challenge, 90 days of a new way of eating plus exercises twice a day.  The great thing with this programme is that it is designed for each person individually it is not a 'one size fits all' approach.  You provide Jason with a food diary for a week and he tells you what you should be doing by breaking down your calories with regard to your fat, protein and carbohydrate intake. And then through a private Facebook group you share what you're eating each day and what exercises you are doing, along with weekly weight and measurement updates.  From this Jason can monitor your progress and change, if needed, your calories etc.

So I started at 10 stone 5lbs (145lbs) with the aim of getting to around 9 stone 7lbs (133lbs), well 90 days later and I have surpassed my goal and now weigh 9 stone 0.4lbs (126.4lbs) a total loss of 18.6lbs.  I have also managed to lose 6 cm from my thighs and waist, 6.5cm from my bust and 7cm from my hips.

The change is so dramatic that at times it has taken some getting used to...I also now need a completely new wardrobe as most of my clothes are literally just hanging off me! But this is a change I am very happy about (if a little unexpected!) and now my challenge continues as I learn how to keep the new me that I have created.

But I know that I can do it; I have the support of Jason and all the girls currently enrolled in the challenge as well as, and most importantly, an amazing and supportive and encouraging husband in Simon.  He has been so supportive all the way through and I know that he is proud of what I have achieved and that in itself is an added bonus in all of this - thank you Simon, love you always xx

As I now embark on the next phase of this journey I would say to anyone out there who is fed up with their weight, or the way they look or simply know they should be eating and living better you can do something about it if you want it enough. I did...and you can too!

This was taken on 1st June 2014

Taken on 7th September 2014



















At the beginning of June we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary and I was pleased to be able to get into my wedding dress...just! I hope you can see the difference when I tried the dress on today!!