Fitness Challenge: Final Week

Well it is the final week of this fitness challenge and I am really pleased with myself, even though I may not have stuck to my original plan I feel that I have done pretty well. Not only with losing weight and inches but actually understanding my body more.

With the holidays been and gone I am surprised that I don't feel guilty or that I have gained a lot of weight, for a change I feel really good about myself throughout these past few weeks. I did have chocolate and ate more, which is normal as it is the holidays, but I ate sensible. I still have some chocolate left, which in the past would have been gone within a week.
I feel healthy, I am starting to understand my body much more since being on this challenge. I know when I should do some exercise and when I need to stop, I am drinking so much more and my skin feels more hydrated with doing that.
My clothes are not clinging to me anymore they are just hanging now, my family have even noticed a change in my body and are encouraging me with losing more which is giving me the extra boast to continue.

Before this challenge, all I really wanted to do was lose weight and be at a certain number, part of me thought it was gonna be easier than it has been, but my real challenge (other than losing the weight) is losing the weight and inches around my hips.

Anyways, onto the final results
Fluid intake - 5/6 cups
Chest - 50.5" (-0.15")
Waist - 50.8" (+0.5")
Hips - 59.11" (+0.13")
Weight - 19st 2lbs (+2lbs)

Before (front)

After (front)

Before (side)

After (side)

Ok so my final results show I have gained a bit in weight and inches, but I am not that upset about it. I have managed to lose 5 pounds and 9.3" through my chest and waist. Which for me is pretty awesome, plus I haven't gained another 7 pounds which is normally what happens when I lose some of my weight.
Even with my before and after photos I can see a difference, I don't look so round.

So overall I am so pleased with myself, I am glad that I joined in this challenge as well as it has helped me to understand things and actually give me more confidence to lose weight but still be healthy.
Thank you for that and I hope everyone has a lovely and healthy new year :)

Fitness Challenge: Week 11

I did it! I managed a whole week with no problems when it comes to doing any exercise..No pulled muscles, no toothaches which cause headaches which hurt more with any movements..Other than my usual joint problems.
I did forget to fill up the litre bottle and drink it during the day, although this week I drank a bit more than these past few weeks and it worked out that I did drink a litre and a bit, so that was good.

I am doing somewhat good for when it comes to snacks, I used to only want to snack on anything which had chocolate on, now I am being more healthier with not going for anything with chocolate. I make sure I tell my partner to put things like that on a higher shelf which I can not get to, because I know if I see it I will want it, so doing that does help a lot. I have swapped the chocolate for cheese, yogurt or carrot sticks or fruit.

Week 11 results
Fluid intake - 5 cups
Chest - 51.4" (no change)
Waist - 50.3" (-0.13")
Hips - 58.14 (-1.2")
Weight - 19st (-2lbs)

As week 11 mini challenge what to do some research on what it is to be healthy, I have tried to look through some sites. And from the ones I have looked at they have said pretty much the same thing. It is not just about eating the right food or doing the right amount of exercise that makes you healthy, its taking everything in life and having a balance of it all.
If you are working too hard, that may effect your sleep or your social life and you may get run down because you are wearing yourself out and not taking time to rest and get away from that sort of thing.
This is pretty much what I feel that being healthy is, its not just about being a certain size, its about making sure that your lifestyle, your mind and soul is healthy as well.

Fitness Challenge: Week 10

One of these weeks I will manage to actually  post on here that there has been no bumps in my week when it comes to this challenge!
I stupidly did some new exercise which I had found that was supposed to be good for losing inches on your hips - squats. And I didn't take it slow or easy I tried to do it the way that someone on a video had said was good for beginners, turns out it isn't that good if you haven't done these sort of exercises before.. I found that I had pulled a muscle in both of my upper legs and that I could hardly walk for most of the week.
I have defiantly learnt not to do that again!

Once my legs were back to normal I went straight back into doing a DVD workout and this time I pushed myself that tiny bit further of doing most of the DVD, about 3 different exercises - the last one I did, Rosemary Conley said this will help lose inches of your hips & thighs... Why didn't I read the info on the DVD in the first place, then I wouldn't have had that problem all week!

This week I am praying that nothing goes wrong and that I can actually get on and do more exercise. Apart from that this week has been ok.

So here are my results for Week 10
Fluid intake - 3/4 cups
Chest - 51.4" (-0.8")
Waist - 51" (-0.12")
Hips - 59" (+1.8")
Weight - 19st 2lbs (+1lbs)

Not that pleased with the results, mainly frustrated because of my hips - they will not lose many inches around there and I am going to try and focus a bit more on doing exercises for that area, also I am going to fill a litre bottle up and try to drink at least 2 of these.

Fitness Challenge: Week 9

If you read my last "My Apologies" you will know why I haven't been updating my fitness challenge.
It was difficult to stay on this challenge when I made the slightest move my whole face hurt and once the tooth was removed I wasn't allowed to do anything that would get my blood pumping in case it irritated the blood clot.

I am very pleased with myself for last week as I did so much walking, I was paying for it then and there as well as now but I am still proud of how much I tried to do.

I am eating so much more salads with my meals I can not believe that its me who is eating it. I don't give myself huge amounts because I don't want to "scare" myself or get bored of eating that amount, I am not used to eating salads and when I have done in the past, the lettuce normally chokes me so I feel that taking small steps will help me in the future with making sure I have something like a salad or something similar on my plate.

Week 9 Results
Fluid intake - 4 cups
Chest -  51.12" (+0.12")
Waist - 51.12" (no change)
Hips - 57.8" (-1.3")
Weight - 19st 1lbs (+1lbs)

I am so happy that I have finally lost something around my hips!
I never used to care what my measurements were and only cared about losing weight, but now that I am seeing that they both need taking into consideration I am trying to make sure I do some sort of exercise to help lose some inches.
This has made me very happy and I am starting to see a very small change in my body shape. :)

Fitness Challenge: Week 5

These past few weeks have started to get rocky for me, things are starting to make me not concentrate as much on this fitness challenge as much I was at the beginning. This is where the hard work really starts and I am realising this was my problem in past attempts to lose weight.
I just to get side tracked or just get bored with it and go back to the old way of eating with hardly any exercise.
I am really trying to stay focused and I am always pleased with myself for not giving in to have huge amounts on my plate or having a lot of treats. To be honest I have been nibbling on the treats all this week, sometimes I have more than one..But it was my fault considering I made some chocolate fudge, to see if I could make it and see if it would be good enough for a present for my father. Having it in the fridge and seeing it all the time my mind keeps telling me its ok, you can have one small piece it wont hurt. But that seems to be happening every single day at this moment.
Normally these sort of treats would probably be gone in 1/2 maybe 3 days, at the moment they have lasted a couple of weeks which is pretty awesome.

I haven't been doing that much exercise, the cold weather is starting to come in and there is ice covering the paths and so I am a little bit worried of leaving the house, but I have been taking the dog out most days so I have been making sure I am doing a little bit of exercise. This is where I know that the DVD workouts will come in use more often now.

I haven't been able to do the mini challenge for week 5, but I will be hopefully doing that for week 6 along with the new mini challenge...Although my fruit and veg intake has increased and I am starting to enjoy the stuff as well :)

So here are my results for Week 5:
Fluid intake - 1/2 cups
Chest - 51" (+0.06")
Waist - 51.12" (+1.01")
Hips - 58" (-0.10")
Weight - 19st 0lbs (no loss)

Really not happy with my fluid intake and really need to make sure that I start to drink more again. I am really pleased to see that I have not gained anything this week within my weight. I know it isn't all about the number of the scales but for me I really need to get that number down and safe as possible as it shows that I am way over what someone my height and age should be, and I could be in a danger zone.
This time with this challenge I will get to the goal I have aimed for or at least learn and become more healthy so I can continue on with this to lose more, so I am in better health and shape.

Fitness Challenge: Week 2

Its the end of the second week and although I have managed to keep to a good portion size, fluid intake and doing exercise everyday; I feel as if I was more lazy this week.
This is pretty normal for me and I assume for most people, their first week they are head strong they will continue to do it and the second week comes along and they just don't have it in them. Maybe it is because I used a lot of energy in the first week and now I just want to rest and catch up on myself? But I did keep going, I made sure I got out and done some exercise and pretty much forced myself to drink (I have never been keen on drinking throughout the day so this is a huge challenge for me in itself).
I did have a few treats as well, a quarter of a pork pie and two chocolate treats, not in the same day but through out the week. Part of me feels guilty because of that but the other part of me doesn't and keeps telling me that I deserve it as I haven't had a treat for 2 weeks.

Week 2 Mini-Challenge
(The mini challenge was to find out why we emotionally eat and how can we change that)

All week I have been trying to figure out why I eat, of course for survival but why do I over eat?
I believe that it all started when I was little, I wasn't big when I was little..Well ok I had a little bit extra then everyone at school but I wasn't huge. But then I started to get bullied by most of the kids at the school and sometimes by the teachers. This continued until I was 16, once I got to high school the teachers didn't bully me but there were new faces and they would laugh and me or call me names and I just got sick of it and decided I couldn't go back to school, I left school without any grades..
Through all my school years I would turn to food to help, it seemed at the time to have all the answers for me but at the same time it was the problem. So I basically ate because I was unhappy, and I was unhappy because I ate.

My mum and dad would always cook our meals, we would normally have home cooked meals with veg and a decent portion. But my parents were getting tired and hurting more so we ended up having more processed food rather than homemade, but always making sure there was some sort of veg on our plates.
After meals I would sneak back in the kitchen and take a bit more food or get a biscuit or chocolate.

My mum and sisters would try and help me with losing weight, but it would pile on, even when I was eating the right foods and doing the right exercise and not cheating I would just put more and more weight on. And in the end I couldn't understand why.


I don't want to blame this on my health problems, but I do think that they do have some sort of role in this. Some of the problems I have and the medication that I have been on in the past and current say that one of the side effects are gaining weight, so this is something that is going to make losing weight even more tricky.

I am also not smoking as much as I was (used to smoke 40-60 a day) and so I am eating more because of that, I don't know why that it is but I think that happens with everyone.

My partner did have some influence for me gaining weight, as he would buy me chocolate treats and add extra to my plate, we would be playing more on the computer than going out walking the dog or just going for a walk. So he was adding to my problem, but after talking to him about this he helping me so much through this, he is even taking part in this without blogging about this and with these two weeks he has lost 4lbs, so we are now working together to be more healthy.

I guess the whole reason why I eat is for comfort, I haven't been able to get over the whole school problem fully and I still comfort eat because of that reason, or I think I am hungry so I will eat.
To stop this from happening I am going to try and switch this to drinking, if I think I am hungry get a drink or get some fruit, or even take the dog for a walk. Which I am starting to do.

Week 2 Results:
Fluid Intake - 4 cups per day
Chest - 52" (+1.8")
Waist - 51" (-1.6)
Hips - 58.8" (+0.2")
Weight - 19st 2lbs (-1lbs)

I am pleased I have lost some weight I thought I would have gained it with those treats I had.
I am slightly surprised with gaining a few inches on my chest and hips considering they look smaller, but my partner seems to be happy with me gaining an inch or so around the chest area, lol!

Fitness Challenge: Week 1

Well, it has been the first week of this fitness challenge, it has been a good week, I have managed to cut down on my food portion. I haven't went back for seconds plus I have said "no" to any extra food on my plate which is I am extremely proud of.
For snacks I have cut up some carrots and put them in the fridge so I can eat them whenever I feel like I need to eat something, plus I have some natural yogurt (fat free) and add some spice to it and have that as my dip for the carrots. Also eating a lot more fruit, well whatever I can get in the shops which is mainly kiwi fruit, pears and apples.
My fluid intake has been really good as well, I am now drinking about 4/5 cups a day which is pretty good.

It has been a bit challenging for my first week, the time of month. So I am normally craving all pasta and cheeses, funnily enough I go off chocolate slightly when it comes to this time, but I have managed to keep my cravings under control by mainly eating the carrots.

I have managed to do half an hour of exercise a day, whether that is a DVD workout or just walking the dog. It has been painful on my knees and so I may walk the dog more during the week and only do the DVD workout for 2 days a week, so it is a bit more gentle on my joints.

And here on my results for Week One:

Chest - 50.8" (-4")
Waist - 52.6"(-3.12")
Hips - 58.6"(-0.4")
Weight - 19st 3lbs(-4lbs)

I am very, very pleased and hope that I can continue to keep it off and not put it back on.

Fitness Challenge: The Plan

Each week of the Fitness Challenge the host will be giving us all a mini challenge to do, and as it is the first week she has done just that.
Basically there were 3 things to do in this mini challenge, the first to take a before photo (which I will post at the end of the 3 months), the second was to weigh and measure ourselves and lastly was to make a plan for our self for the 3 months.

Which I have done and it is:

• Eat more fruit and veg
  I hardly eat any veg or fruit at all, I have always found it boring and I am not too sure why. There is one veg that I will always eat and that is carrots, we always have some in the kitchen, always. But when it comes to fruit, I hardly have it in.
  
  
• Try to do an half an hour - hour exercise a day
  Whether that is half an hour walk and then do some exercise on the Wii. I do have to be careful with myself because of my conditions as well the size of myself and I don't want to rush things, so I am taking this steady with no running or anything similar to that which could really hurt my knees.
  If I cant get on the Wii I will try and make sure that I can do one of the exercise DVDs that I have.
  
  
• Drink more fluids
  Now this is something I really, really need to do. I am lucky if I have about 3 cups/pints of fluid a day, some days I can go with only 1 cup of fluid. I don't want to force the drinks down me so I will be taking this steady, but at the end of these 3 months I do want to be able to drink a lot more than 1 cup.
  
• Eat smaller portionsAlso if I feel as if I am hungry have a drink or get some fruit. I also need to learn to say "no" when it comes to extra added to my plate. I love food and I feel like I have a close bond with food after always going to it when I was younger when I was upset. I need to learn to distance myself from it, but at the same time enjoy what I eat without feeling guilty.

My measurements and weight:

Chest - 54.8"
Waist - 54"
Hips - 59"

Weight - 19st 7lbs
Goal weight - 18st
It may be only a small amount that I am wanting to lose, but I feel that it would be safer and easier for me to make sure that I am going at a steady weight loss. I don't just want to lose weight and be able to fit in smaller size clothes, I want to feel and be healthy.

Fitness Challenge

A blog I follow has started a fitness challenge which I am taking part in, so I hope that will be some success from this.
Trying to lose weight and get healthy on my own has been a challenge in it self and to be honest I haven't been that successful with it. I did manage to lose a few pounds but that I would gain over a stone. This is very common for me and I am not sure why this happens, I make sure I keep doing the same exercises and even try to up my exercise amount and make sure the food amount is the same as I had done from the start. It just seems to always happen that I lose a bit and gain a lot.

But with this fitness challenge which a lot of people have signed up to (so far 93 people) I am hoping it will encourage me to keep going forward with this weight loss journey.






Please do not comment on here or on that persons blog saying anything negative about paganism or witchcraft, this is my personal choice and I am not trying to force it into peoples faces. I have a separate blog for that all together, this blog is mainly for my weight loss, makeup etc. The reason I am putting this here is to tell you what challenge I am going to be taking part in.
And if any of you would like to take part in this as well then please just click on the picture and then sign yourself up for it.

Weight loss week 32

Through these few months I have been struggling a lot with my weight, I gained half a stone then lost it again and then started to gain weight again. This is the problem I have most of the time, I can lose weight but I always seem to gain it again.
It could have been due to the stress of finding somewhere to live or it could have been due to me not disciplining myself enough, learning to bake and starting with recipes that have chocolate in isn't really a good thing for me.
Me and my partner managed to get our selves a wii from my brother and it came with a wii fit, so now I can try even more to get this weight off, and it has helped - I managed to lose 3 pounds within the first week of having it.
Hopefully it will continue to help me.

I think I say that about most things that I find which could help me with losing weight, but I am hoping that this could actually help me..

Rosemary Conley - Fitness Triple Pack

Just this morning I received a parcel from amazon which was the Rosemary Conley - Fitness Triple Pack.
I decided to go with her for my DVD workouts because everyone said she was a little bit more gentle for people who have mobility problems (she isn't jumping about all the time, or giving you difficult moves to do). Plus everyone seems to rave about how good she is, since she has been doing this for a very long time I think it was best I went with her.

In the box set you have:
Ultimate whole body workout - which has a 35 minute aerobic workout, a 20 minute body conditioning exercises. Plus this DVD has a chair workout for those who have difficulties moving about.
Five-Day fat burner - which has five 10 minute workouts, or you can put them all together if you wish, there is also a 20 minute section on how to lose weight and cook the low fat way. This DVD comes with a little booklet which has 6 recipes and a 7 day menu planner.
Fat attack - which has a 20 minute high energy aerobic workout, two 10 minute sections one working on the hips and thighs and the other working on the abdominal, upper body and back strengthening. The DVD also has a Fitness Circuit which has been designed for men, but women can do it as well. So you and your partner could workout together if you wish to do so.

I have already done one of the workouts today, I managed to do the ultimate whole body workout, 35 minutes. Which was a mistake sort of, as I should have gone with the 10 minute ones, why? Well I haven't done any exercise in a while or anything like this in a very long time and I soon realised that I was hurting very much as my body had not had time to gear it self up. So if you are new to exercising, I would advise to start off slow and then work on that, don't just jump into the deep end and expect wonders because you are gonna hurt yourself.
Apart from doing that silly mistake I actually felt good about the whole thing, and afterwards I felt like I had a bit more energy.


So I think I have chosen a good choice by choosing this triple pack - plus it was a bargain, only £4.49 for all three :)

Weight loss progress part 2

Near the beginning of December I checked to see how much I weighed and apparently I put on half a stone, which wasn't good at all. I was starting to give up on the whole weight loss as it seemed like it wasn't working, whatever I lost I seemed to put it back on.
Now that Christmas and New year are over with I checked again, thinking that I have put more weight on as you do over the holiday period, but apparently I have managed to lose that half a stone. :)
I don't understand how I lost it as I didn't even watch what I was eating, but I guess it was because I was walking around more and drinking more fluids, so that is what I am trying to do again - drink more and do more exercise.
I have already been out for a walk today with the dog, even though part of me was thinking I shouldn't as I am still recovering from another cold and it was a little bit icy still, but I followed what my dog did and when she started to slide we went back home.
I didn't walk that far but if I keep to it, it should help me with my weight loss.
Also thinking about buying an actual work out DVD to go with the belly dancing and tai chi work outs, but finding the right DVD is a bit difficult at the moment as there is hardly any that are gentle exercises.
I wouldn't be able to handle some of the work outs that are out today because of my condition and I would just get bored of it, hopefully though I will find one. :)