Progress Pictures from 104kg to 79kg and counting down

Here I am at my heaviest  - 104.2kg

This is just scary.....

This is me at my half way point of 85kg

This is me in Fiji at 77kg.

Here is where I want to be my wedding in September 2011 - 65Kg

But this is me NOW and I am pretty happy with what I have achieved so far.

10 months to reach my final goal I know I can do this because I have done all of the above in the last year. Positive thinking, hard work and dedication is what it is going to take!

To see your weightloss through a virtual model, visit this link.

If you thought Fiji was big...wait until you hear this!!!!!!

I am back!

Okay I have been back for a week an totally neglected to tell you my news. It's not that I havent wanted to. I have been busting to get on here and blog but between getting back into the swing of things at work, looking after an active 18mth old and catching up on the piles of washing I have failed to blog.

I promise to make up for it now with news from my trip to Fiji.

Are you ready for it?

I certainly wasn't. Well I was. But it still caught me off guard.

I'm engaged!!!!

How spectacular is that!!!

And I know what you are thinking about that cake....

I only had a few mouthfuls I swear!

I have so much more to tell you and promise to tell you all about our trip, the temptations, the endulgences

(can anyone say champagne buffet breakfast each day),

which dress I wore to the wedding, the proposal, the weigh in, the future plans, goals and lots, lots more but for now I will leave you with a couple of photos from the trip.

I promise to blog again soon and will work on catching up on everyone's blog happenings over the weekend.

Stay tuned for further updates!

Which one? Help! PLEASE! Wedding Outfit!

Do I have a post for you tonight!!
I have been so busy getting prepared for our Fiji holiday (that is now 9 days away)!

There are so many things to do but here are a few important ones that I have marked off my list this week:

1. Get passports DONE (they came today WOOHOO!)!
2. Get some smokin' hot hair to compliment my new shape DONE!!!!
3. Buy some new $20 sunglasses seeming my other $20 ones are in pieces (handbag, sat on, oops). DONE!

And here are some photos of the smokin' hot hair and the new shades!

So that is all fabulous

but....

I need your help in deciding which outfit I should wear to the wedding that we are going to while we are over there.

I originally had this dress which I had taken in from a size 16 to a size 12 (Australian).

Here is a picture of me in it tonight with my hair and makeup done

And here is another dress that is new that I bought in a shop that I never used to be able to find anything that would be my size. Now I am in a size 12 (Australian)!!!!

Arrrhhh!

Decisions!

I hate making them so I am throwing this one to all of my gorgeous blogging friends who have been so incredibly supportive to get me to where I am am today and into these gorgeous dresses!

So which one do you think I should wear?

I went shopping and bought...

Some swimmers for my holiday to Fiji !!

(which is in 4weeks and 3 days!)

I didn't go out to intentionally buy a swimming costume today. I was just up at the shops and thought I would see if there was much about. It is harder then what you think to buy a swimming costume (especially when it is the middle of Winter here) and there was not much to choose from but there was a colour that really stood out to me..

I went with

 this colour and I think it will compliment my skin really nicely and look great in amongst the vibrant blues of the sky and the waters surrounding me.

I was going to go for black but decided that black may be a little dull for a island holiday.

I chose a one piece over a two piece as I wanted the option of being able to hide my tummy if I wasn't feeling confident. I have a two piece that I may consider taking with me as well.

Might pop some photos of me in it for a sneak preview in the next couple of days. I know that you all will tell me honestly what you think of it.

Not feeling like making the effort to get into them right now to show you a photo but promise to do one soon

I won't rip the tags off until I get the approval.

:-)

Evening "snack attack" habit!

Habits are remarkable because they don't require thinking. You just "do it" for years until you find yourself changing the habit again.

One of the biggest reasons I put on weight was because I was in the habit of eating at night.

Okay, so eating at night is not that bad, but when you hardly eat anything during the day and then load up after dark on calories by consuming family sized bags of chips, a whole packet of chocolate biscuits and any high sugar, high fat foods you can get your litle hands on, well you are bound to end up with a bit a big weight problem.

I knew this was one of the biggest things that had to change if I was to start to lose weight. It wasn't as simple as saying no to these foods at night time or just not buying them on my way home from work. I had to put some strategies in place to help me break this habit.

I knew no matter what, I would still want to eat at night. Its just something that I was used to and going cold turkey would only result in some binge eating!

So I set myself up with some things I could eat in the evening.

One of my favourites still to this day is jelly!

Don't buy the high sugar one.

Weight Watchers do an awesome jelly and it is a point free snack with no sugar!

I would always make sure I had some made up in the fridge.



The next thing I did was buy a massive selection of teas.

Drinking tea would make me feel good. For a while it did wake me during the night as I was drinking quite a bit but now I am used to it.

I have found some yummy herbal teas but I am currently loving green tea. Great for your health and it would keep my hands something healthy to reach for. Awesome site on green tea if you are interested!

The next thing that helped can easily be found in any house (I hope)!

Toothpaste!

Food tastes strange after brushing teeth, so brushing my teeth when I felt the urge to eat helped get rid of any food craving I had.

I have heard that Pam Anderson uses this trick as well!

Mouthwash can have the same affect.

Chewing Gum...not so much. I find that I can still eat other foods after that.

So those 3 little things are what helped me break my evening snacking binges.

They say it takes 3 weeks to break a habit, To be honest I can't remeber how long it took but I can tell you that I have broken ths habit and it is part of the reason I have lost over 20 kilos. Yay!

"But I still have room in my leg!!"

Can anyone remember saying that or something like that to their parents growing up?

You would be so full from dinner and all those veges that you couldnt possibly eat all that is on your plate, but when the mention of dessert pops up, you suddenly have a bit of room that can certainly be filled somewhere in your body!

Yep.

That was me.

Still kind of is or was. Not quite sure. But I am working on making it being a well and truly "was".

I have been reading up and trying to educate myself on why in the past (and sometimes present) I have this undeniable hunger urge, even after I have eaten and you know it is about a lot more than just an empty tummy!

There are 2 types of hunger.

Physical Hunger.
This type of hunger doesnt make you fat.
Your stomach growls. It builds up slowly and occurs several hours after a meal. This is how you feel after exercise or a long periodat work when you have depleted your energy stores. Your body NEEDS food and the feelings of tiredness and the noticable departure of your brain having exited the building are all signs your body is telling you that you need nutrients and energy.

and then there is this big bad Hunger Monster...

Don't be deceived by his cute appearance. He wants you to eat, eat, eat and therefore put on lots of weight!

Hormonal Hunger (yep! Damm hormones playing tricks on us again)!
This comes on suddenly. Nothing to do with meal times and can happen straight after a meal (remember that time when you still had a spare leg to fill up)! It will cause a strong emotional craving for specific foods (especially carbs). It can cause mood swings and low energy and it creates a near continual desire to eat!

Q. So how do you avoid both?

A. To avoid physical hunger, eat before you become hungry. To avoid hormonal hunger, you have to know WHAT to eat.

Q. So WHAT do you eat?

A. Low glycemic index foods (preferrably below 50). This will stops spikes in insulin followed by the crashes that come along afterwards.

Here is a link to a glycemic index and glycemic load chart that I have found helpful. It is an international list so has international brands as well.

So over the last week, I have kept the hunger monster at bay by choosing the right foods to eat and I am hoping that it is going to make a big difference on te scales this Sunday!

Hope you dont get bitten by the hunger monster anytime soon!

Unlocking the most important tool to weightloss.

No, this post is not going to tell you to eat less and exercise more. Yes that is important but there is something that is far more important to get to wherer you want to go. Keep reading if you want to find out what that is.

I have been on the path to becoming a hot mumma since August 2009. Since that time I have lost 20kg (44pounds).

There have been times where I have become distracted on the path to my destination, times when I have been off smelling the roses just a little too much (and managed to add a little bit more junk in the trunk while I was at it), but it was never long until I found my way back to being on that path again and continued to make the load I was carrying even lighter.

So how do I stay on the path???

First of all, it took a lot of searching to find someone to guide me onto the right path. I had a lot of encouragement from lots of different sources but the one person who helped me get on the path to where I am now was me. I was staring myself in the mirror. There were so many clues along the way that it had to be me ie. photos of me I would just delete so I couldnt see myself, occasions I would avoid going to, clothes that I just wouldnt wear.

I was the key to making the decision to lose weight, get healthy and feel fantastic and since I became my biggest supporter, I am finding myself staying on the path more and more. Until you find you, the longer you will stray off the path.

I still ocasionally stop and smell the roses, treat myself, celebrate different things....and that is so important to do....but the most important thing is to remember that there are the most amazing smelling roses at the end of the very end of the path and you wil only get to smell them if you keep on travelling.

So many times I would say to people...

"I eat healthy foods, I exercise and I cant lose weight".

But reading between the lines, what was really happening was I would eat right for a little while, maybe exercise a few times and then not lose much and give up. It was teh giving up and the lack of "I am going to do this" mindset that was preventing me from losing weight. Now I see that very clearly.

So make sure you are your biggest support by unlocking your mind as that is what will make up a success. But I am always here to try and support you as well, just in case you do wonder off the path to smell those roses!

How it's time to go and blog hop. Click on the button bellow that says "Fat to Fit" and check out Diminishing Lucy's blog for the details. It's lots of fun and some great reads in the links attached.

Hoping your week is going well!

Fat to Fit

So the gorgeous Lucy at DiminishingLucy inspired me to create this blog. It would be wonderful to have some followers to help keep me on track.






I have done my first ever link up (secretly hoping that I have done it properly so that i don't get kicked out of the program) and am looking forward to visiting other bloggers on their Fat to Fit missions.

Although I am a little late in my entry and my official weigh in is on a Sunday, I thought I should share how my week has been.

It was my birthday on Wednesday. 28 yrs young/old....not sure which this year.

Normally I would take this as an opportunity to indulge...not this year though. Seriously why do we give ourselves the excuse of having to indulge in food just because of an occasion? Is it a cop out? Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that cake should never be eaten, but just trying to understand my previous state of mind at previous birthday celebrations (I sometimes like to think out loud in other words 'word dribble').

I have managed 10Km on the treadmill this week. I am thinking about starting the C25K program next week. More info on that here. Hopefully that will get my exercise up.

So I am in the 80's now..high 80's...88.5kg to be exact...
but am glad to say goodbye to the 90's.
It has been 2 and a half years since I have seen the 80's so am quite pleased with this mini goal.

Right off to check out some more inspiration..



Ali xo