BMI in the normal range!

It's been two weeks since I wrote on here. Been a lot of umming and ahhhing about whether I should continue to blogg. Why am I actually doing it? For whose benefit? Until I know the answers here is what's been going on:

Healthwise a lot has happened in the last two weeks. I have been to the gym 5 times a week both weeks and am loving it! Have increased the weights on all but one of my weight training exercises. Tough but the sense of achievement once I complete the repetitions at the new weight is just amazing.

Icing on the cake yesterday was weighing myself at the gym and finding out that my BMI is now just within the normal range at 25.8. Back in January my BMI was 28.8. A huge improvement  - don't think my BMI has been in the normal range since before I was pregnant with our youngest (and he turned 5 in January!)

I have a trip back to UK in a couple of weeks to spend time with my parents and will see my sister and her family too. Hope they will be impressed with my hard work!

I am working out a training plan for my week away which will include the fitness band that I bought specifically for the trip. It was cheap and weighs almost nothing and more importantly,  it takes up no space in my case!

So far on my list of training ideas are:
Plank
Situps
Squats
Burpees
Range of things with fitness band
Intervals

Think I want to write a proper plan and run it past Eliisa,  the PT.  Really don't want to lose momentum!

Off now for day out with our 5 year old
:-)

Eating habits have changed

The old me loved caffe latte or even better chai latte. I would buy one or the other at any opportunity and invariably something sweet and chocolatey to munch on to go with it. ..regardless of the time of day.

The new me isn't even interested. I had the day out with our youngest today and had decided that I should have one if I wanted one when we were out. I read somewhere recently allt men inte alltid. Which basically means: everything, but not all the time. I am not on a diet so NOTHING is excluded. Nothing is out of bounds. But the plain fact is, I simply did not fancy a latte and  cake. Tea it was.  My son had the cake :-)

So why have my cravings for sweet things all but disappeared?   Maybe it's as simple as this. I am more in tune with what my body needs. I am eating much less fat and much fewer carbs.  The protein I am eating is almost 100% from eggs, kvark, cottage cheese, fish, other seafood and chicken. I read somewhere that increased protein in your diet fills you up. And I would agree. Although I would add that the full feeling I get these days is much different to the bloated, sluggish full feeling the old me had.

Time to Google more recipes.....

Forward planning is the key. ..

I work shifts (daytime or late afternoon and the whole evening) and alternate weekends. This means that I often have a day or two off mid-week. I usually have our youngest home from nursery when I am off one day mid-week.  He's 5 and here in Sweden kids start school the year they turn 6. As you can imagine it takes a great deal of planning to fit in my training around family and work.

This means that planning ahead is absolutely vital for me. It also means once something is written on the calendar it has to be done!

How does this week look? Later on this morning I am trying afro-circle with two friends (no idea what this means by the way - will report back later!). Wed is box night.  Thurs I am doing the first new strength session with the second on Friday. I finish early on Saturday so will do a short interval session on the way home. Sunday and Monday will be total rest days - just work and life!

Phew! What a week! :-)

Progress update

It was the second session with the personal trainer Eliisa today with my good friend Sara up at the gym, at 8am on a Sunday morning!

Since 10th Jan this year I have reduced my belly by 14cm and my waist by 14cm too. I have also lost 7.9kg. Feeling pretty pleased with myself and the progress so far. And so I should be!

Here's the photo proof....I see the change really clearly.  Hope you can too....?

Both Sara and I got an updated training plan from Eliisa which includes two strength sessions a week, one interval session plus one other session such as box, circle-step or a longer run. Feeling very motivated right now.

Changing

It really feels like I am changing. I feel healthier, happier, more energetic. I have started wanting to cook new things after losing all imagination. ..and the kids and my other half are appreciating it (I think! ).

Last week I got a shock when I measured my waist and tummy. I had lost 10cm off each! Take a tape measure around your tummy, by your tummy button and then let it out 10cm. I couldn't really quite believe it. Talk about feeling inspired to carry on!

On Sunday I will be taking my one month photos. If I decide not to put the photos up yet then I will write more detail on what has improved and how. The machine that the personal trainer has even gives you a body age - I was not happy.  Am keeping everything crossed that I have improved this number with all my efforts.

Motivation is great right now. Why wouldn't it be if I am feeling so much better and seeing results already?  Need to have a look at my goals again.  They may need updating... 

Back on track!

Yes, I am officially back on track with my training after my cold.  Did box session on Wednesday, strength on Friday,  intervals and tummy on Sunday and went to a circle step session today.

If I am not beach-ready this summer then there is something really wrong with the world!

But it isn't just exercise that I am doing,  I have adjusted what I am eating and drinking.  Drastic reduction in intake of carbs and am eating low-fat products too. I can't get my head around how LCHF can be good for you even though I know a few people who swear by it. It just goes against everything I know!

So moderation and not 100% exclusion is the way I am handling my food and drink.  I am definitely NOT on a diet. Diets are temporary.  I have changed my eating habits, permanently this time. And this is why I am not excluding anything.  If I want that wine at the weekend then I will have it.

The truth right now though is I am not even feeling tempted to eat treats or drink alcohol. With my increased efforts with my fitness I am thinking much more about how to properly fuel this body I live in and am trying to change.

Actual weight loss isn't my actual target after a certain degree. I am much more interested in centimetres lost, how I look and how I feel. This being said, finding I'd lost 2.5kg in the first two weeks of my new lifestyle is very motivating!

First of March is the next official measuring and photo taking.  I wonder if there will be any visual changes by then. Or is that adking too much? 

Power walking and colds

Well I can confirm that I have a cough and cold. Not a bad one, but bad enough to make me go easy on the training. Will have to make up for it later in the week!

Power walk it was yesterday and same again tomorrow I think. 

But why exactly is it called a power walk? Is it because you use lots of energy i.e. power when on one? Or is it because it's an empowering way of saying going for a walk? Why did we start calling it a power walk in the first place? Maybe it's because a brisk walk sounds more like something your granny would do than something a wannabe fitness addict would do.