Welcome to my Crazy 2013

Well I have reached what is going to be one of my craziest years EVER!!

After a holiday in Adelaide to start the new year with my family it is time to buckle down.. but boy was Adelaide amazing. I got to spend time with my oldest friends and amazing family and eat all the bad and tasty things that Adelaide has to offer.

My mother finally got to meet BB2 after 6 months and The Bubble had an amazing time exploring Glenelg, Victor Harbour and spending lots of time with her cousins.

MY gorgeous Cousin Paige 

 The highlight of my Adelaide trip was my cousins engagement Party where I got to be announced of having the amazing privilege of being her Maid Of Honour, which means so much to me that we have that bond together. A second highlight was seeing my little niece and the girls play together at the aquatic centre.

Watching the sunset from our dinner table at Zucca, Glenelg

So now I am back what is happening?! It is more like what IS NOT happening. I have joined a 12 week challenge- I only had 3 kgs to lose so I decided to join the 'beach body' category and hope to get everything nice, tight and toned. Stay tuned for my updates on the challenge.

Since starting the challenge I am back to my pre-baby weight, well less than! At the end of the week I will do an updated weigh in and measurements and more about my challenge but this post is just checking in with you all right now.

MY DREAM BODY!! Challenge can you bring me this PLEASSSEEEE

So now what is in stall for me this year.. well the first half purely equals HECTIC! As well as doing the 12 week challenge, working out 6 days a week, having my normal family duties I have now taken on more than a full time study load. I am trying to complete my Diploma of Children's Services in May and then I will be returning to uni full time in July to finish my Education degree which i'm hoping to turn into a double major which will be Bachelor of Early Education and Diploma of Sports Nutrition and Education!! In order to finish my diploma though I need to finish my placement hours.. So I am now working 3 days a week to get those hours. I have taken a job within a child care centre within the Junior Kindy room. It is hectic but fun and I chose not to take a group leader position so I can go there, collect my placement hours, study and get some bonus me money in the process!!

So now that I have checked back into the blogger world watch out for some more detailed posts over the coming weeks- when I have a spare 5 minutes between everything else in my life but I wouldn't change it for the world.

I am following my dreams and I am so lucky to have a supportive partner that let's me do this.

So stay tuned and remember the holiday season is over, so focus, get fit, STAY fit!!

Andrea x 

My journey, In Pictures...

So how far have I come on this journey... I was going through my pictures and discovered the photos from the day I started going back to the gym, I was horrified!

Here is my journey in pictures....

18th August 2012

I took this the morning I returned to the gym. I weighed nearly 73 kgs, the heaviest I have ever been (besides pregnancy). My skin was suffering, my confidence was very low but I knew I wanted to get back to the old me.

October 1st 

At this point I am at 68.8 and feeling so much more energised but still feel uncomfortable as I was still not fitting into my clothes but knew that my hard work was paying off- I was more energised and my body was thanking me for it. I was being SUPER strict with my eating.

I am now down to 64 kgs and feeling great physically and mentally. I still eat well but allow myself treats and not to be strict 24/7. I have worked hard to get to this point so I think I deserve to take a step back and just enjoy food a little more, enjoy exercise and enjoy my family.

November 25th 

I am now working on toning and shaping and turning that baby stomach fat into a distant memory that is no longer to be seen in the mirror everyday.

November 25th 

I still have a lot of progress to make and a goal to get to what I was before having my BB2 but I know that is months of hard work and involves pushing myself at the gym.

Current Loss Results as of 25th November 2012:

Weight: 64 (-8.6kg)

Waist: 79 (-13cm)

Hips: 88 (9cm)

Thighs: 45 (-5.5)

When I write these results down and see the progress in photos I smile because I am so proud of myself for staying committed and not allowing myself to just feel sorry for myself and accept that I've had two babies so those extra 10kgs are 'allowed' to be there. My clothes fit again, some even starting to get loose, I am happier, healthier and enjoying more time to focus on my girls rather than worrying about every single thing that touches my mouth or how I look in the mirror. 


So if you want something, go for it!! Only you can change what you do not like 

Andrea x 

Somebody Save Me from the Terrible 2's

What a week... The Bubble is really showing me what the Terrible 2's is 24/7. Screaming, biting, hitting, drawing on walls, yelling at me, not sleeping Gahhhhhhh someone help me!! 

My dear friend Miss. Angie has truly been a godsend over the past few weeks offering me advice and letting me know that most children go through this and if people tell you otherwise they really are full of s**t! Without her I would probably be banging my head into a wall- literally!! I hope that in turn my advice I give me in her weight loss and fitness journey are as helpful as the advice she gives me. 

It is time to try some new techniques. I am not one of those Mums who is going to sit back and think 'they'll grow out of it' or 'oh there's nothing wrong'. I like to be proactive and fix the issue at hand. She may be going through a stage (fingers crossed) but it does not mean I will not go through every single option and tecnhique that can help. If I help the situation it makes happier toddler, happier Mummy an happier Daddy. 

So in saying that I have gotten on the Supernanny bandwagon (thanks again to Miss Angie) and have invested in a naughty spot and that seems to be working more and more everyday. I have also made an appointment with The Bubbles kindy teachers so we can sit down and do an Action Plan in regards to her biting that seems to be happening on a very regular basis- this action plans aim is to use it at kindy, home and gym creche so we are all using the same techniques, language when talking through incidents with her and what we are hoping to achieve. I have also made a time to go and see Child Health clinic to get advice from a child nurse about the best ways to discipline and prevent this behaviour as much as possible. 

I know some people could read this and think all this is extreme but I think it is important to try and teach your children the right ways to behave and how they can show their frustration and anger through other ways rather than biting, hitting, screaming and all over meltdowns. 

I have a feeling a lot of The Bubbles issues come from her lack of complete language development at this stage. Her vocabulary is increasing every day but when she gets upset, frustrated even excited all her words turn into jibberish and she becomes so much more frustrated because in her mind she seems to know what she is saying. She is a very emotional little girl- always been quite intelligent and I am hoping that once her speech catches up to her mind she will calm down a lot.

In the meantime I am doing everything I can to avoid these meltdowns- today we went to Sea World and she was so well behaved. This also made me realise that some of this behaviour could be boredom. Since toilet training we have not ventured out as much as we normally would and perhaps she is getting bored so now that I have a great routine set up at home and my mother in law now lives only 25 minutes away that I will try to have one whole day a week that we do something together while the MIL watches BB2. 

So I may be frustrated, crying, yelling and hardly sleeping at the end of the day I know we will get through this and in the meantime all my friends can deal with my messages and phone calls so I can keep my sanity and the gym can continue to be my outlet for frustration.  

I am not wanting a perfect toddler- that would just be boring! I just want a toddler that does not use shrilling screams and rip apart their rooms for attention or as a way of trying to vent. Oh and if she could keep napping during the day and not be up at the crack of dawn that would be nice too. 

Andrea x 

My 21 Day Grit Challenge

Hello Readers, Sorry I have been not posting lately I have been taking some down time to relax, rethink my journey, focus on different elements of family life and spending time to bring back the old me!

So after 2 weeks of no measuring and weigh ins I feel a lot more relaxed and am no longer worrying so much about every single thing I eat and how I look. I have still been eating eating well so I am in a really positive frame of mind right now in all areas of my life. It has been a really exciting week for this household not only for myself deciding to take up a new fitness challenge and trying to decide what Les Mills module I want to instruct but in our personal lives we have had an engagement in the family where I have been asked to be the Maid of Honour (eeek Wedding Planning time!), The Boss Man will be venturing to Korea for a week for training to repair and operate what I like to call 'Robots'- I am not good with this engineering technical stuff- this is extra exciting because he will be the ONLY person in Australia that will have this training so there will be so much opportunities for him, The Bubble has entered the world of underwear and doing very well but she is now biting (I will talk more about that next post) and BB2 is just her normal well behaved self. 

So what has been happening with me...

The only recent pic I have at the moment which is a dodgy Webcam picture due to a toddler smashing my phone screen, oops. 

I am so excited to have reached less than 65kgs now and have lost a whopping 8kgs and 13.5cm off my waist (exact measurements will be back next week) in under 3 months. After all my hard work I feel great wearing all my old clothes and feeling comfortable with what I see in the mirror. I can enjoy an ice cream without freaking out that the next day I'll suddenly put the weight back on- Yes I know that cannot happen!! 

This week I have started a 21 Day Grit Strength Challenge. I am not doing this to lose weight as such but to increase my strength and start shaping and toning my body. 

So first of all WHAT IS GRIT STRENGTH? 

A 30 minute High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) class. The short, sharp, demanding workouts combine weightlifting, running and plyometrics for a full body workout that increases aerobic capacity, strength, muscular endurance, metabolism and power.

YOU WILL GET SUPERFIT, SUPERFAST! 

So the challenge started through my gym Go Health Clubs on November 10th and runs for 21 Days. The challenge only cost $21 so for $1 a day you simply cannot go wrong. The challenge required you to complete 7 Grit Classes within the 21 days. When I signed up I was given a pack (I love packs full of goodies so this made me very excited), within the pack you received:

• Challenge card to be signed off by the instructor after every class 
• A postcard that you write 3 goals on and hand it back to the club reception. At the end of the challenge they will send it to you to see if you achieved your results. 

        My 3 goals were: 

1. Increase my squat weight
2. Strengthen my core strength
3. Achieve 16 triceps push-ups on my toes

•  Grit Wristband: I love accessories so I have been wearing mine very proudly since the minute I got mine
• A 16 page eating plan: I have looked through this taken a lot on but I don't feel this eating plan suits my lifestyle, family so I think I will take some of the recipes but continue to eat a healthy, balanced diet and I have had such great results so far so I am sure this will continue. 

If you haven't done Grit or heard of it and reading this going half an hour- pfft!! I thought the same and I before Friday's class I had not worked so hard so fast and intensely in a very long time. I was sore for the first time in before I even had BB2. If you want to get fit, this class will do that. WARNING though: NOT FOR BEGINNERS! Some level of overall fitness is required! 


So stay tuned for updates on how my challenge is going and hopefully my level of fitness will be improving as well as my strength and maybe those flab parts will start to become a little tighter. This journey has now changed directions so expect more posts about me improving my strength and shaping myself inside and out rather than just weight loss. I hope everybody has a great week.

Love Andrea x

Sorry Huggies- It's time to go!

This is completely off topic to my normal posts but I thought I would share. Nappies, the never ending debate between what brand is best, should we use disposable or reusable. I was a BIG  Huggies advocate from before The Bubble was even born. I swore by them, believed they were the best quality and would never use any other nappies for my kids but of late they were not so reliable. So I was paying $30 just for The Bubbles nappies every week and they started to leak, I had to change her 2 times a night even after I cut down her water intake after dinner time. This then means more washing of sheets, daily washing of PJ's or buying more because that's how much I hate washing everyday.

I then started asking the Mum's at mothers group what nappies they used. The answered varied but the most popular were Baby Love and Aldi. I had tried Baby Love in the past and HATED them so that was not an option so I considered trying Aldi. I was then reading the Mother and Baby magazine and it had their 2012 awards and I discovered that Dymples Nappies- Big W Brand- had come in second to Huggies. So the next day I went to Big W and for an 84 box of Crawler nappies it was $16! So the same amount of nappies for half the price- How would they weigh up to Huggies though? 

BB2 had been wearing the Dymples nappies for 3 days now and they have had no leakages or explosions out of the side. I haven't bought them for The Bubble yet though because she is toilet training and is using her remaining Huggies nappies at night but I will be moving her also to Dymples for sleep time when she runs out.


My only critisim about the Dymples nappies is that they do not hold the smell of pee as well as the Huggies but that's a small sacrifice to make when the savings are huge! So Mums out there if you need to save on the money you spend on nappies think outside of the Huggies box because expensive doesn't always mean better and this is coming from someone that 6 months a go said to someone 'Sorry not to be rude but I only buy Huggies nappies, they are the best by far'. 

So why not give a cheaper nappy a go, especially if you have 2 bubbas! 

Andrea x

Time to reshape my journey

I am writing this post to explain a few things and tell you why I will not be doing full reports on my weekly progress and programs for a few weeks. I am EXHAUSTED!! I have gotten to the point where I am tired of thinking about weight loss, thinking about every calorie and meal I eat and tired of pushing myself to the point where I am too tired to spend time with The Boss Man by the evening.

I am no where near giving up so don't think it is about that because I love the gym, love eating healthy- it's not a diet it's a lifestyle. I feel great and energised afterwards and it gives me some time on my own to release some frustration and push myself. I will just be making some changes for a few weeks until I can find a happy medium between me enjoying eating well and exercising without being OBSESSED about it. A few changes I will be making are:

1. Stop wearing my heart rate monitor to count the calories I burnt 
2. Limit my time at the gym to 3 times a week- the other times can be spent at the park or pool with my girls. 
3. Stop using an app that counts calories and just eat healthy without worrying if I will go over my 'needed' calories for the day. 
4. Focus on getting fitter, shaping, toning and fun challenges ahead.
5. I will not be taking photos of myself in my underwear to see changes 
6. No more measuring or weigh ins for 2 weeks!
7. Be fit and healthy because it feels good- not to lose weight! I am back to my weight of 65 now so anything that comes off now is a bonus! 
8. Stop focusing on every little stretch mark, flabby part on my body and realise that when the Boss Man is saying he thinks I look sexy, take the compliment!
9. Be proud of how far I have come, I lost all the weight I wanted to to feel myself again, enjoy it!
10. This is the most important one- keep inspiring other women. Just because I have needed to take a step back and not take all this so seriously doesn't mean this journey hasn't been an amazing one and that I don't want to help other women to achieve the same goals.

Before my weight loss journey started

9 weeks later and nearly 8kgs lighter

I will still be posting, trying new recipes and exercise programs but I am turning this journey into one that will make me fitter, leaner and not so hung up on my imperfections- we are all beautiful and I need to start telling myself that.

Andrea x 

Can I sleep now...

Loss Results as of October 21st 

Weight: 66.1 (-6.5kg)

Waist: 83 (-11cm)

Hips: 91 (6cm)

Thighs: 48 (-3.5)

October 21st

• Monday: Normally my day off but since I didn't get to workout Friday The Boss Man watched BB2 while The Bubble was at kindy, even though he was crippled (bless him). I couldn't do a class as I went in the middle of the day but I did my own cardio workout that consisted of:

1. 5 minute warm up on treadmill- brisk walking on incline
2. 20 minutes interval training. 2 minutes at a running pace and 90 seconds brisk walking. 
3. 10km on the cycle bike that included up hill and down hill training. 
4. 5x 30 second blocks of skipping

This workout only took just under an hour and I burnt 647kcal. 

• Tuesday: Well today I WAS having a great workout until The Bubble decided she was going to bite one of the other children in the gym creche- needless to say I was ropeable. I went through the biting stage less than a year a go and she seemed to have grown out of it- until the next week! Anyways.....I did back to back circuit classes. One is done in the group fitness room using free weights and cardio. In half an hour I could not believe I burnt nearly 400kcal, I will be doing this class every week for sure. Afterwards I did my usual machine circuit class, well I only got about 10 minutes into that due to the 'incident'. It was one of those moments where you feel like your child is one of the (hate this word but) naughtiest children around even though you know biting is not unusual at this age. But don't worry her behaviour was far from ignored!! So today was quite difficult for me but I soothed the sole with making some approved desserts and delicious dinner!

• Wednesday- Today I planned on doing Boxing and then Foxy (circuit) but I didn't make the boxing because The Bubble slept in this morning because she was up half the night with nightmares, poor little girl! I was also up half the night because she doesn't just have nightmares but sleep walks. It is kind of funny- until it is my bed time! Today's circuit was super sets- this is tiring, even for a half an hour class. You partner off, one person is on a machine, the other is given an exercise using their own body weight. You then complete 4 rounds of each exercise (machine/body resistance)- each rep is 20 seconds on, 10 second rest, swap, repeat. You do not have to have a partner or do a class to try this yourself. Here is an example of a typical super set class.

Super Set Circuit. Each round- 20 seconds on, rest for 10 seconds, swap. 20 seconds on, rest for 10 seconds. Repeat another 3 times. 

1. Chest press/ Squat Jumps
2. Triceps dip/ lunges 
3. Leg press/ Push Ups (knees or toes- 'girly' push ups achieve nothing!!)
4. Shoulder press/ Sit ups on fit ball
5. Leg extensions/ Bicep curls 
6. Lat Press/ Sumo Squats 

Each round is focusing on both the upper and lower body. This increases the blood flow through the body and in turn helps the body burn fat and build muscle. After the class I ran for 2km and then did a cool down on the bike for 5 minutes. This workout was 50 minutes and I burnt a HUGE 822 kcal!!! I made sure I refuelled the body with some Chickpea Protein Cookies and a protein filled lunch off scrambled egg whites. 

• Thursday: I am exhausted and getting a sore throat.. wahhhhhh!! Today was a cardio day, I had a lazy workout though because I was VERY exhausted from a long night again with The Bubble and her sleep walking nightmares and leaking nappies. I am so exhausted so this is all I have to report for today's effort.

          My new smoothie creation this week is: Mango Bliss! It is so refreshing and dairy free, perfect for 

          the warmer weather:

         

2 fresh mangoes

1 banana

2 tbs lime juice (i used bottled lime juice as limes in QLD are very expensive and small right now) 

2 tbs Vanilla Healthy Mummy Smoothie Mix or protein powder

3 green tea ice cubes (could just use water ice cubes)

Blend and enjoy

Also could add a shot of vodka on a weekend and is a perfect cocktail (trialed and tested)

• Friday: Boxing is normally my favourite workout of the week but today it was just not happening for me. My energy levels are extremely low and I just am not feeling myself. I still pushed myself as far as I could and burnt 564 kcal in 52 minutes but think this Mumma is definitely in need of some rest time over the next week so get back some motivation and energy. My cousin flies in late tonight so I need to enjoy my weekend with her before I admit defeat and give in to my body demanding some r'n'r. 

• The Weekend: WET N WILD!!!!! Amazing day with my cousin Miss. Paige, Sam, The Boss Man and The Bubble. We enjoyed the whole day in the pools and relaxing all together- nearly everyone got extremely sunburn, myself only slightly because I was SUN SMART! I even braved wearing a bikini which was so hard for me because I have stretch marks and scars on my tummy- but the Boss Man convinced me to wear it by threatening flashing me to the entire water park, ummm ok!! The Bubble was so confident in the water and loved diving in and showing her swimming skills. I got quite a workout playing in the pool with her, my legs are hurting right now and as I am writing this it is 9:14 pm on a Saturday night and I am VERY ready for bed- but let me finish my cocktail and then a glass of much deserved wine first. 

My beautiful cousin Miss. Paige

The Bubble- my water baby

Max Brenner Chocolate Fondue- It has fruit so it has some good foods!! ha ha

Well my Sunday was a very naughty one food wise but thoroughly enjoyed spending another day with my favourite cousin and although I was ready to strangle him by the end I guess I kind of did enjoy spending time with her boyfriend Sam too (Shhhhh Paige don't tell him!!) We spend the day at Southbank wandering around the markets and along the river before enjoying a over indulgent and delicious Chocolate Fondue at Max Brenner... Oh it was SO SO good yet evil! I now just want to roll into bed after my amazing, indulgent, fun weekend and get some much needed rest but first I think another glass of wine will complete this weekend perfectly, if you going to treat yourself may as well go all the way right?!

The Beach at Southbank, Brisbane


Now, time for weigh in and measurements for this week! This weeks results are...

Weight: 65.5- lose of 600 grams

Waist: 83cm - No lose 

Hips: 90cm- lose of 1cm

Thighs: 48cm- no lose

So a good weight lose week but not much off the measurements but at least there was some sort of lose. I am expecting things to slow down now as I am only 500 grams away from my first target weight of 65 kgs and now it is all about the shaping and toning.. Also trying to firm all that stretchy skin. 

I hope everyone has a great week and thank you so much for all your love and support.
Enjoy your journey
Andrea x