The results I achieved during the 12 weeks far exceeded my expectations.  I’m far leaner and on my way to a fitness level that I don’t think I have ever had, not even when I was younger (well, at least since I was about 5!).  My energy levels are higher and I look forward to my training sessions.  I could never have achieved this level of results working on my own.

My results … I lost a total of 9 kg and almost 20 cm off my waist.  Its a funny thing, weight, it is often difficult to see how it changes your body, how it changes the way you feel and reduces your fitness until you make a concerted effort to reverse the effects.  When I look at the before and after photos I don’t think I was really seeing myself as I had become since the age of 35.  I slow creep of the kilos and a slow decline in fitness as life became busy and motivations changed.  It is very easy to see how we can allow the middle age spread to slow us down and send us into an early decline.  And I take my hat off to all those who go through this journey with children, as I am sure it makes life busier and more difficult to focus directly on yourself.

I would like to reiterate that while we seemed quite focused on the final number of the weight loss, that wasn’t my only motivation.  I wanted to be fitter than I had been before, and the weight change was something that came along with that.  I sincerely do not want to lose any more weight, however, I do want to increase my fitness levels even further … I would like to push myself to see what I can achieve.  Christmas is coming and it is time to set some goals to achieve for next year … that means some sporting goals, which I have never done before.

In terms of keeping the wight off, it is important to modify my previous ‘bad’ habits.  Too much sugar, too much bread and too many carbohydrates were not helpful.  Since the completion of the 12 week challenge, not a lot has changed in the food department and it has been interesting that I no longer crave the sugary, starchy foods that I once did.  It will hopefully be easier after going through this process to ‘stick’ to the changes I have made.  The mere fact that I have a lot more energy and like the food I’m eating means that I really do not want to revert back.

I am also going to put a very public display of my physical changes on facebook, so feel free to check out the attached link.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tracey-White-Neuromuscular-Therapy-Health-and-Wellbeing/72015278151

So, what happens now?  Boot camp continues three mornings a week, and in the new year I will need to find a new goal, like a new sporting challenge, to aim for.  I haven’t yet decided.  And in response to the ‘you get to go back to ‘normal’ now’ … I have to say this is now ‘normal’.  If anyone has lost any weight and gained significant fitness, there HAS to be a paradigm shift to a new normal.  There can never be ‘going back’ to the old ways.  Those ways saw my weight increase and my fitness levels decrease, heading me into the middle aged way of life.  For anyone who has wanted to change their body shape and fitness levels, you can never to back.  You simply just have to change, forever.  Forever … I think many who have struggled with their weight find this difficult to ‘digest’.  Often, I see people try to ‘stick to a diet’ for a short period of time, then go back to their old ways, often increasing their weight even higher.  If you are serious about losing weight and increasing your fitness, you will have to significantly change your habits … FOREVER.

I’m also going to share another couple of simple ideas that can help with feeling better and increasing vitality.  These are: chew your food well, and cook your own meals.  Chewing – digestion starts in the mouth – help your digestive system out by chewing.   We often ‘inhale’ our food, load our forks and get through meals much too fast.  This makes our digestive systems sluggish and can make it difficult to absorb nutrients.  Chew – your body will thank you for it.

And cook.  It’s easy, and not as expensive as it is made out to be.  Much, much better than fast food.  Why is this good??  By cooking, you are stimulating the brain and body to get ready for food, and digestion.  The smells, sights and sounds all work on our systems to get ready to eat.  When you buy food on the run, or go through a drive though, these essential systems haven’t been stimulated, which means you’re actually not ready to eat.  Your head may say so, but your body is more than likely still asleep.  And let’s not mention how much better for us fresh ingredients are rather than fast food.

Two weeks to go!  Feeling fab at 40.

My starting weight was 60.2 kg, I’m now a very good 54.9 kg (officially).  My unofficial weight, being my scales at home, is a close 53 kg.  So, almost at my target weight if I take an average between the two sets of scales.

What’s changed at this stage of the race: no tiredness, far more energy, very loose clothing!  Although I still crave certain foods, like bread, rice, snacks, etc, I feel like my body is using the food I eat better and I have more bounce and vitality when exercising.  I just feel overall … better.

The other most noticeable change, other than the obvious weight loss, is the fact that after eating or during the day, I’m not getting dips in energy or feeling really sluggish in the afternoons.  I’m not craving sugary foods to get the false energy boost.  This means that my body is using the fuel I put in, I’m not having spikes in insulin levels and I’m getting a more level state of energy rather than using sugar as I eat it and storing the excess – no storage = weight loss.

I do think that any weight loss program should be undertaken in a controlled and educated manner.  If need be, check in with your health practitioner.  Even during the process, it is important to stay in touch with how you are feeling and get checked if you think something isn’t right.  When losing weight, or changing your diet, your body can still register sugar levels, which then get pushed into the blood stream.  This encourages the pancreas to increase insulin to reduce sugar levels which puts you into a vicious cycle.  This means that weight loss will also be slow, and frustrating.  There are health practitioners out there that can deal with these issues – it is important to remember that weight loss and fitness is not simply a shrinking of body size.  It is also imperative to look inside out as well as outside in, ie: what your body’s chemistry is doing to you physically and how that may be impeding your results.

Good luck to anyone out there thinking about, trying to, or in the process of weight loss and fitness.  I know first hand how hard it can be, how important it is to stay on task.  Keep the goal in mind.  Stay focused, the results will be worth it in the end.

What I keep coming back to this week is how hard this really is – it is so easy to get unfit and gain weight, and so hard to reverse the damage.  I can see why so many people struggle with both aspects.  Life is, for most people, busy.  It’s easy to grab meals on the go, snack between meals, eat the kids leftovers while you’re cooking, get no time for exercise, work longer hours, etc etc.  This scenario may sound familiar to many of you, however, this does not help any of us get to a healthy, fit older age.  Extra weight and losing fitness often happens during late 30′s and early 40′s and the decline just keeps maximising as we move into our 50′s.  I can’t implore enough how important it is not to let this happen in order to have a fit, healthy life when we get older.

I’m finding social aspects of life while on the challenge to be a big part of the challenge.  There are lots of bbq’s at the moment, which means social drinks, nibbles, extra food etc.  It takes A LOT of determination and commitment to stick to my plan, stay on task, keep to the goal.  What I keep coming back to time and time again is the goal I have set myself and I am often thinking about the time frame I have to do it.  This has brought me to a vital point in what I see as many people struggling to lose weight … it is imperative to set GOALS.

What I hear about a lot is people ‘trying’ to lose weight.  That’s it.  I think this is floored thinking.  Like anything in life that we want to achieve, I think losing weight needs to come into the same category, which is: we need to set clear, measurable and achievable goals.  This often doesn’t happen with weight loss.  To have success in both gaining fitness and losing weight, I think it is important to take the word ‘trying’ out of the sentence and introduce a good set of goals, for example, the weight you want to achieve, the time frame that you want to achieve it and how you are going to get there.  That way, along the course of your journey, you have clear markers as to whether or not you are on target … and if not, you can then modify your behavior in order to reach the target goal.

If you’re on your challenge, starting your journey into weight loss and fitness, or thinking about doing it, remember: IT WILL BE HARD.  But once you reach your goal, it will all be worth the effort and energy that you put into it.

At this stage, I’ve lost approximately 3 kg, possibly a bit more.  I feel a lot better physically and I’m noticing my strength and fitness really gaining.  I’ve had some challenges with tiredness and fatigue, however, this is apparently a good sign.  A good sign in that my body has worked through the starchy carb residue, I’m burning fat and my body will have to start looking for a new way to get energy, ie: NOT from starchy carbs.

My diet has changed in that for the 12 weeks I’ve eliminated starchy carbs, potatoes, rice, pasta, etc – my main meals contain a protein source and LOTS of fibrous carbohydrates (veges/fruit etc).  Protein rich foods will stave off hunger for longer, making it easier to avoid binges, and fibrous carbs should give my body the energy it needs.  This plan of eating is creating a higher metobolic state, so that my body is burning fat easier, rather than simply burning the starchy carbs that I normally eat.  It’s easy to do, organisation is the key, along with little and often.  5-6 meals per day … I’m NEVER hungry.  Eating as ‘cleanly’ as possible is also an essential part, no coffee, alcohol, chips, dips, crackers, cheese etc.  Green tea has become my new best friend.

Metabolic nutrition should definitely increase our ability to burn fat stores.  Coupled with that is the right type of exercise – this should include some type of interval training … Interval training is a type of physical training that involves bursts of high-intensity work, interspersed with periods of recovery.  It can be great fun, but hard work.  I fully recommend finding a group to join to do this … personally I go to a boot camp three mornings a week with a group of women all committed to the same goal … improving our fitness levels.  We work hard for an hour, then at 7 am I’m on the couch with a green tea.  A great way to start the day.

I think the other thing to remember when trying to lose weight in particular, is the fact that you and only you are responsible for what you eat.  I am having to take personal responsiblity for the fact that I have been eating too much at each meal, along with (sometimes) the wrong kinds of foods.  5pm snacks should not (for me) be an every day occurance – much as I love them.

Week 5 … let’s go!

Oh … if you’re interested in losing weight and gaining fitness, it should all depend on your current health levels.  If you’re concerned or have any health issues, please check with your health provider before taking on any changes to your diet or fitness regime.

About the numbers: 3 weeks down, 3 kilos down.  Happy with progress so far, and feeling a lot fitter and a lot stronger.  BUT, I got a little over confident with my progress and gave myself an injury at boot camp on Monday.  The last couple of days have been a lot slower while I repair.  A timely reminder that I’m only 3 weeks in.

The third week is definitely getting easier in terms of organisation, food understanding, what I can do and what I can’t.  It is not easier, however, in terms of longing for starchy carbohydrates, sugar and icecream!  I have coined the phrase ‘carbohydrate envy’ as I drool over the sound of a bread roll being buttered and eaten.

My key to these cravings is an ever increasing repertoire of tasty food options, like salads with olives, tinned peas, hummus, salt, pepper, cajun spices, lemon, dijon mustard and yoghurt dressing etc.  Anything to make it different.  Also, the odd ‘nibble’ on a chocolate and mint protein bar can go a long way a taking away the need for a chocolate biscuit.

A great recipe is lettuce cups (kids will love it): chicken mince, lettuce cups, carrot, garlic, small amount of chilli (optional), soy sauce, fish sauce (optional), spring onion, cashew nuts, salt, pepper, onion.  Stir fry onion, garlic and chilli, add in the chicken mince and brown.  Add grated carrot, spring onion, cashew nuts, soy sauce, fish sauce (to taste).  Cook for a couple of minutes.  Serve with a salad and eat the chicken in the lettuce cups.  Brilliant!

On to week 4: treating my own injury and looking to re-ignite the exercise, essential to the overall fitness and weight loss.  More on this next week!  I’ll also take a look at chemistry, stress, the importance of sleep and how it all impacts on excess weight, particularly tums and bums and interval training.

It’s important to know that I’m making these changes for good.  This is a timely reminder that ‘bad habits’ cannot stay all of the time.  And, what is interesting to note, is that I KNOW all of this, how to eat better, what’s not good and what is, and also the implications of the ‘not good’ on the body long term – then why wasn’t I doing what I was preaching?!  This is how I used to eat – why did I change and when?  Is this what other people do?

A closer, quick, look at what’s happening – a huge thanks to Elite Trainers for reinforcing my understanding of metabolic nutrition, my metabolism and the implications of insulin.  So, what am I doing?  Exercise, obviously, a minimum of three times per week, however, I’m TRYING to incorporate at least five hours of exercise per week.  Also, I’m following a food plan that is high in protein, high in fibrous carbohydrates and low in starchy carbs (bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, sweets etc) – and by low, I mean NONE (at the moment).  Why? Starchy carbs elevate our blood sugar levels very quickly, if there is too much present, my body will start to store fat and will find it difficult to release and burn fat.  This is a very simple overview, but in essence my body has been having too much starchy carbs and the exercise that I have been doing in the past wasn’t cutting it to burn the fat in an environment that was somewhat ‘toxic’ with too much glucose (sugar).

So, weight training and interval training for me – putting my body in a better metabolic place to burn fat.  This means healthier cells and better body weight with less fat on the stomach and hips – this way I’m less likely to get any pathology like adult onset diabetes, which is directly related to higher insulin levels.  On to week 3.

Next week: I’ll share one of the BEST recipes I’ve tried, really quick and the kids will love it.

Highs: excellent new, low fat, very tasty recipes.  Clothing fitting just that much better.

Lows: extreme tiredness the first few days. Detox, definitely detox. Watching my partner shed weight like melting butter.

An interesting week.  Official start weight re-set to 60.2 kg (this might not sound that big to many, but to me it seems extreme – I’m used to sitting at 52/53 kg).  Unofficial weight one week in, 59 kg – hopefully that means a little success during the week.  A week which also included a mini-break incorporating a Scallop Festival – definitely a mixed bag of highs and lows.

Reminding myself regularly on the reason that I am doing this, ie: being fit for 40 and beyond, kept me focused.  It also helped to keep me motivated to exercise above and beyond my 3 days a week at boot camp, even while away on holiday!

Why do I think it’s important to be fit for 40?  So many of us accept creeping kilos as we get older and many experience adult on-set diseases, like diabetes.  My goal is to get myself fit and have a positive impact on slowing this ‘aging’ process.  It is simply not acceptable.

Week two coming: looking forward to more energy and more new recipe ideas.

Where am I today?  40 years old, 5 foot 2 inches tall, weighing 59 kg (the heaviest in my life).  My goal weight has been set to 53 kg.  I am generally fit and healthy, but with ‘midlife’ on my door step my metabolism has slowed, and my output of energy is not enough anymore to keep up – therefore I have to step it up to keep on top of the creeping kilos.

My passion is health, energy, vitality and the ability for the body to stave off disease as long as it can.  This is where fitness comes in … the fitter we are, the healthier we will be in our older years.

My challenge starts tomorrow – Monday 12th September 2011.  My shopping list for food has been done, the before photos taken.  I’m excited, nervous and wondering how life will be for the next 12 weeks without the odd coffee or glass of red wine.