Happy New Year

2013 has arrived and it will be a year of many changes for me and my family. But this year I'm doing it right - I believe in the power of goal setting and yet despite knowing the statistics that written goals lead to greater success I never write my goals down! So what better time to give myself that accountability, so here goes. My goals for 2013 are as follows: 1) To lose 40kgs - with the focus being on 5kgs at a time 2) To average 10,000 steps per day using my pedometer 3) To complete a minimum of 3 Curves workouts per week 4) To complete a minimum of 3 home cardio workouts per week 5) To drink a minimum of 1.5 litres of water per day 6) To eat healthily, ridding myself of diet mentality forever 7) To eat less carbs and processed foods 8) To review my goals regularly 9) To document the reasons I want to achieve the above 10) To be true to myself in achieving my goals and not let outside influences affect me (including negative people/saboteurs) So there you have it my top 10 of 2013! It's no different to what I want to achieve every other year but this year I'm writing it and I'm reviewing it on a regular basis - particularly point 9! I've already bought myself a diary to write in regularly and can't wait to 9am Thursday when I start the official Curves Complete program. 2013 will be a year of change for me and my family - I have the ability to influence them in so many ways and I intend to make that influence positive in the year ahead!

A Warning Sign Perhaps?

Well I've had the scariest 12 hours of my life today! Michael spent most of the day in hospital after having some numbness/tingling sensations in his left arm last night. This along with some indigestion after dinner googles to look like the symptoms of a heart attack. Around 3am this morning we decided that it was best to call an ambulance - when explaining the symptoms the operator advised that they would send an ambulance for monitoring and based on the results of that they would decide whether he needs to go to emergency or not. He was given an ECG and a heart attack was ruled out quite quickly which is good news. But the doctor he saw in the hospital around 6am this morning was concerned that he may have had a mini stroke - he said he was slurring some words and his face had a slight droop to it. I didn't notice either (he recommended Michael call me to talk to me to see if I could notice a difference in his voice). Once the kids woke up we went to the hospital and he was finally given the all clear to go home around 2pm this afternoon. I have to admit I would have felt much better if we had an official diagnosis but the doctor he saw later in the day didn't think it was a stroke either as he still had a considerable amount of strength in his arm. They felt it could be a trapped nerve in his arm that was causing the problem but we're to return to the hospital if there are any further problems. I have decided to treat this as a warning sign of what our lifestyle can do to us! Enough is enough - we may not drink or smoke but we are physically inactive and have numerous food choices in our diet. Interestingly enough when googling further tonight we discovered that numbness/tingling anywhere in the body could be a sign of aspartame poisoning. Once I looked into it further I discovered some of the horror stories behind this and went checking the pantry and fridge for tell tale signs. Pepsi Max contains it and is the main soft drink we drink at home! Suffice to say we will be limiting soft drinks and taking Pepsi Max off the list altogether! So these things are all signs to gear us up for a fabulous kick start to a new (and healthier) lifestyle that starts on 1st January! I've even convinced Michael that we should exercise first thing in the morning so that we don't use the end of the day as an excuse not to do it! Enough talk - it's time for action!

A Reminder of What's Important!

Today started out well, I had a nice relaxing start to the day and then met Tina and Martine for brunch and had a great catch up with the girls. I called in to do the grocery shopping before heading home. Within minutes of turning on my computer I saw a message on Facebook that a work colleague's husband had passed away early this morning. I've only met this man once but his wife is the loveliest of ladies and has struggled through the last 6 months dealing with the knowledge that she would lose her husband and their kids would lose their father to cancer. It's such a cruel disease and brings back a lot of memories of a friend I lost to breast cancer 18 years ago. And it's a timely reminder of what's really important in life. Why is it that I have struggled for so many years with my weight and yet I know that being morbidly obese leaves me in the high risk category for so many health conditions including cancer. Enough is enough - I'm taking the bull by the horns and running with these lifestyle changes. I will no longer be a victim to the risks of such cruel diseases. The decisions that I need to make to change my life are in my control - that's a positive and something I should be excited about! Bring on 3rd January - it's a new beginning, one that will bring greater results for the future!

2013 - A Year of Change!

After all these years I find myself back here again! Why? Well that's easy - I truly believe that some of my best success in regards to weight loss happened when I was accountable - to the scales, to other people and most importantly to myself. It's been many years since I've committed to regular blogging and it's no coincidence that it's also been many years since I've achieved substantial success on the weight loss front. But I've reached a point where I just can't keep doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. 2012 has been good to me in many ways. And following my last lot of surgery in October of this year I jumped on board the bandwagon with a whole new weight loss program - I was excited about it and to some extent I still am. The program is Body Trim! It has worked wonders in helping rid me of cravings of carbs and processed foods and that is a huge plus. Up until Christmas I had lost 9.9kgs in 9 weeks of this program and then that changed. You see I realised it was time to up the ante on the exercise front and after weighing up the pros and cons I decided that Curves was the best starting point for me in regards to exercise for a number of reasons - 1) time, 2) cost, 3) doesn't focus on cardio (I have heaps of options at home for that) and 4) women only. So I made that hardest decision to make an appointment and got the toughest part (of walking in the door for the first time over and done with). That happened on the 20th December - I spoke at length to a motivator, Sue about my background and what needs to change. I walked in the with the determination that I would add Curves to Body Trim and walked out doubting that determination. I've since done a lot of reading, a lot of research and a lot of thinking. There's a part of me that is saying while Body Trim is working stick to it but every ounce of common sense is telling me that BT has given me a great start so now I should build on that with a healthier program. The biggest advantage to me with BT is the high protein levels, the biggest disadvantage is the low levels of dairy which is a huge concern to me because I have a large family history of osteoporosis. So after 10 weeks of success on BT I've decided to try the Curves Complete program for a number of reasons which include 1) I can eat more fruit, 2) I can eat dairy, 3) it doesn't segregate me from the family (i.e. not eating any protein only meals) and MOST IMPORTANTLY - I have a 15 minute appointment each week with my food coach for one on one motivation and that accountability that I know I need! There's a part of me that questions whether I'm doing the right thing or not - but it does appeal to me to have "all my eggs in one basket". The other thing that I've been concerned about with BT lately is the way carbs have made me feel. I've had a couple of meals on my "free days" over the Christmas period where I have eaten too many carbs and have struggled to sleep at night as a result. That's not a healthy habit and not really something I would like to see continue so I do intend to continue with a lot of the BT principles including reducing carbs, particularly at night. So on Thursday 3rd January I have my appointment to kick start the program - the rapport of this particular Curves I've joined is amazing. I went back the next day and did my first workout and LOVED it - and received some really supportive comments from other members. You know what it's like when you just get a good 'vibe' about something - that's how I feel about this. And the 3rd can't come fast enough for me. So yes, I will kick start the New Year once again with resolutions of getting fit and healthy but I'm ready to tackle this head on. It's going to be a year of change because I refuse to waste any more time. I have finished this year a little lighter than I started it (about 2-3kgs) but next year will be a very different story ... stay tuned!