Day 91 +

So its taken me almost a whole week to reflect on the programme and what I have learnt and how I feel about it. Before I get into that..the photos. I cannot actually believe that I am about to make public my before photo. It is however, a perfect depiction of how i was feeling at the time...gross!

I weighed 65kg's and was tired lazy and in desperate need of some help. Here goes.. 



And now for the after, which were taken after a week off...I am still very impressed with myself, 8 kgs lighter.

So firstly, thank you Patrick. Your program is genius, I know for a fact there is no way I would have been able to do this without your wisdom, encouragment and insight. You are straightfoward and honest, exactly what anyone in the position I was in needed. I will have to admit to cursing you at times (I needed a target for my frustration during planks and pistol squats) but I am so grateful to you and your team and have taken it all back.

When I signed up for PCP, I was terrified. I had tried a number of diets and half hearted execrise programs and failed each time. I had almost resigned myself to the fact that I was going to be overweight for the rest of my life. I so badly wanted to change, but honestly did not believe I had it in me to do it. I was wrong. 

I worked really hard and learnt so much about myself. I knew that one had to eat healthy food and exercise to stay in shape, but it was the other little lessons and the details behind why we were doing what we were doing that helped me. I have been educated, I now have the tools to stay the way I am  now. And if I will never ever again say I don't have the time to exercise. It is biggest lie I had been telling myself for years. What a load of crap- I was just lazy!  

I have taken a week off to get my head around the process and really see how PCP has changed me. I have been eating relatively well, not because its what I think is the right thing to do, but because that it is what I want to eat. I have eaten out a couple of times and am always so disappointed by the miniscule amount of veggies that are served. I love veegies and crave them now. A meal isn't complete without them. I haven't been exercising and  I don't feel good. I can feel my mood generally shifting to a far less positive place. I have realised that I simply do not want to feel down and blue. Exercise and diet have to be prioritised if I want to live a full and happy life. These are also lessons that I am so excited to be able to teach my children and enable them to create good habits from an early age.  

I have to thank the people in my life who have been so patient and supportive. My husband John is my biggest cheerleader and has been so understanding and encouraging.

I recieved my biggest compliment a few weeks ago. After discussing my weight loss and getting into shape, a friend told me that I was an inspiration and she has subsequently started exercising every day and eating well and has already lost a fair amount of weight, if I could do it so can she. How cool!

So having finished the program I have decided to stick to it for another 5 weeks, I love the way I look and feel while doing it. I have loved every bit of the journey.

Day 88

Still haven't been sleeping well, two sick kids will do that! I think the combination of doing the hard workouts, and not sleeping is leaving exhausted. Also, I have to confess that I am 1 day behind. I cwas just too tired to workout on Monday and it was about 33 degrees at 8pm, not fun.So, I did my first Super sets workout yesterday and although I was extremely intimidated by it, I must say I was surprised that I could get through it all. Planks and V-sits is plain evil, and I generally love working the abs. I did feel great afterwards though.

So just a few more days and we are done. Its going to be wierd to wake up and not have an email from Pat in my inbox...

Day 82

I am so tired. Was going to get up and do my jumps and get them out of the way, but i can barely keep my eyes open. I worked hard during yesterday's workout and the diet is going well. I am in such a routine that i don't need to think about any of this anymore. I suppose that was the point of the last three months. :)

I haven't been to the gym yet and am quite looking forward to how I will view it post PCP because pre PCP I hated it and would avoid it at all costs. 

I haven't posted any photos for a while, this is definitely for dramatic effect at the end :). When I look at my old photo's I am so sad that I didn't reveal more so that I can make a proper comparison now.

Day 78

I can't believe how close we are to the end. I am a little anxious to not have anyone telling me what to do all the time. I won't have any excuses now, I know better. The pressure of it all....

The last couple of workouts have been hectic, and I feel more tired now than I did when we started. I am entirely over skipping, and I need to find something else to do when this is all done. My legs and feet really hurt when I skip and if we have legs on the same day, I am in trouble. They ache.

I am more than happy with the food that we are eating now, I feel normal again, but have been out for meals a couple of  times and am ALWAYS so disappointed in the size of the veggie serving! How did I ever survive on so few veggies?

Had my indulgence on Friday night, pizza! And even though it was pizza, the one that appealed to me most did not have any cheese (bar some shavings of Parmesan) and was loaded with rocket and gorgeous veggies. I did indulge in a chocolate brownie and it made me feel sick...again, it wouldn't be an indulgence without wanting to be sick afterwards.

Good luck for the last two weeks! Work hard all.

Day 70

Everything is going well, workouts are great, hard work but great. Diet is going well and I am feeling good. My weight has not gone down any more up I can definitely feel my clothes still getting looser and looser.

Going to write a long blog tomorrow.

Day 64

Haven't blogged in a couple of days. Had a wonderful couple of days off last week and spoilt myself. Spent a day in a spa and another day shopping! It is wonderful to have clothes that fit properly and shop for smaller sizes, it really makes the change a reality. I haven't worn the size I am now since my first year at university, 10 years ago.

Yay for "as much as you want" veggies! It is amazing what a difference it makes psychologically. Todays's workout was hard, shoulders were particularly hard. Excited about working hard over the final stretch, can't believe the end is in sight. Am trying to skip twice a day for the last couple of weeks to lose as much weight as possible.

25 days to go!

Day 58

Been plodding along slowly, everything feeling a little stagnant at the moment. Been working hard and sticking to the diet, but think because we aren't working our legs everyday (legs are by far the most strenuous for me) it feels like I could be working harder. Also not find the time to skip morning and night so it feels like I am slacking a bit.

The diet is fine, don't feel too much of a difference, feeling satisfied, and not very hungry often. I am getting a bit anxious (porbably without reason) about ramping up the diet, I haven't lost all the fat I would like to and hope it doesn't slow down too much.

Taking a few days off at the end of the week. Hoping to the break from work will help revitalise me for the last stretch.

Day 52

Determined to work hard this week. Woke up early this morning to get my workout out of the way and found it very difficult. My triceps just wouldn't work and failed in the middle of almost every set. Maybe it has something to do with not eating before. Going to try again tomorrow. Quite nice to know that when I get home in the afternoon I don't have the workout looming, but I am certainly not a morning person and getting out of bed is hard!

My legs still hurt after skipping, so not looking forward to tomorrow's leg work. Its been great to have a bit of a break.

Diet okay, but I am over egg whites. Bleh!

Still haven't decided what my indulgence will be, and I am a little anxious. Every time I have broken the diet I have either felt terribly nauseous or had stomach cramps. Will have to wait and see.

Day 50

Haven't been feeling well the last couple of days. Did my workout on Saturday and felt so bad afterwards I had to get into bed, so didn't skip yesterday and not really feeling up to it this morning. Sticking to the diet, but still feel like I am cheating skipping the workouts. Hopefully by this afternoon I will be feeling better.

Day 45 - Half way!

I had a great day today! I was wearing clothes that are alot more fitted that what I would usually wear and I received compliments on how much weight I had lost all day. It really does make all this worth while!
I am hungry and my legs hurt most of the time, but I am feeling good and can't wait to see what happens to my body over the next 45 days! :)

Day 43

Yesterday was my birthday and although I was asked to break my eating plan so that the family could go out for a celebratory lunch, I decided that it wasn't something I wanted to do. The regret and guilt aren't worth it. So, my Mom being the saint that she is, put together a beautiful and completely PCP compliant lunch for the family, which everyone enjoyed much to their surprise! You've just got to give it a bit of thought.

So its the last year of my twenties and I realised that the last time my body looked kinda like what it does now was when I had just entered my twenties, probably even younger. ??

The diet is fine, but I have realised that if I workout in the morning, snacking in the afternoon is more tempting as I am hungrier as the day goes on. If I exercise when I get home from work, although I am still hungry, I am definitely more motivated to eat properly and stick to the "rules".

My calves hurt! (just on the sides though?) Kneeling is killer and wearing heels is near impossible. I really hope these are new muscles that are getting stronger and will stop hurting in the near future cos its making skipping, floor jumps and creeps very hard. Suppose one must just perservere.

Hope the week goes well for everyone!

Day 40 - getting by with a little help from my friends

So the pity party is over and I am back on track. Thanks to the encouraging comments from Steveo, Adam and Sam! You guys were right and you really did make me feel alot better - thank you! I completely understand why we do this as a group now, the support is so amazing.

I have been working super hard the last couple of days and despite my lapse earlier in the week I have reached what I hoped would be my half way mark. I am 5kgs down with a couple of days to spare until half way. At the start of the programme I promised myself that the number of kgs lost didn't matter, it was more about how my clothes were fitting and what I looked like. This is still true, but it is still pretty awesome to see the numbers come down.

Diet: going well. Had a delicious breakfast yesterday : Egg, cottage cheese, avocado and a tomato relish (tomotoes, onion, peppers and corn) on a slice of wholewheat toast.

Workouts: Skipping has been more difficult this week. After being sick energy levels have not been great and this affects skipping most. I suppose skipping morning and evening has also made me more tired, but I now that I have lost a noticable amount of weight I am more determined than ever to lose more. The rest of the workout is difficult, but I have been pushing hard. I get into bed and my calves (only the outer part) ache. Not an excrutiating pain but quite uncomfortable.

To all the rugby supporters out there, good luck to your teams unless they are playing the Springboks :)

Day 38 - Oh dear!

So the last couple of days have not been good. It all started with a wedding on Saturday afternoon where I fell off the wagon and had a couple, okay maybe more than a couple of glasses of red wine. On the food front I was a good as I could have been. It was not the right setting to whip out a hard boiled egg and an apple for dinner so a small portion of Chicken and non PCP veg (salty and I'm sure lots of oil). Breakfast was no better, and so with a decidedly sore head, I decided to take a break from PCP for Sunday.

Monday I woke up with a stomach bug that has been making the rounds at work. Dying, I was unable to eat or exercise. This carried on until Tuesday afternoon, when after feeling a bit better I decided to try out the new workout. WOW! it was TOUGH! I was feeling very sorry for myself and didn't stick to my egg white dinner, I was just too hungry.

Now I am feeling terrible. I feel guilty, demotivated and irritated with myself. I really was doing so well, and I knew that if I crumbled just once it would be that much harder to get back on track. Yet, I did to anyway. I hate being my own worst enemy and this is why I have failed at every other attempt to get in shape and control what I eat. PISSED OFF!

Right with the confessional rant over, I have decided to get right back on programme and try and be more dedicated than ever to the PCP. Surely I must have some will power? I gave up smoking for God's sake!

Day 31

Just posted some photos, and its confirmed, any weight that I have lost has come right off my chest! Probably THE ONLY part of my body I wasn't too keen to lose too much weight.

Day 31

One third of the way there!

I certainly hope that I won't have to eat an egg for two meals a day for the next 59 days, it really is a bit much. Other than that the diet is going well, I'm not as hungry as I thought I would be. I am sure that will come though.

The new workout is crazy, is one supposed to be able to chest dips from the get go? My upper body strength is still abit of a joke, so chest dips are near impossible.

Day 28

I was right...WTF! Floorjumps were brutal, I was a quivering wreck afterwards. Creeps, better but no picnic. Can't do the katana's, had to each arm separately and pull-ups are more like jump-up-and-hold-ons.
I am still loving the workouts and skipping and I have become mates. I did an extra 200 just because I was enjoying it and had got into a serious rhythm. I have lost 4 kgs and can see definite changes in my body, but I feel like I am getting bigger, especially my legs. I hope I start to lose weight in the places I need to, and stop in the places I don't. Chest = much smaller; bum = no change - bloody typical!

As for the indulgence, I am cured of my red wine craving forever. I had a disgusting day at work on friday and was so looking forward to a glass of wine. I enjoyed while I was drinking it, but felt horrendous for hours afterwards. Also I didn't sleep very well at all. Oh well, when the next indulgence comes along, I won't be wasting it on wine. Although I do have a sneaking suspicion that everything that I will want to indulge in (all those exceptionally non PCP goodies) will make me feel equally as crappy.

New diet seems ok. Being very busy at work, my planning has suffered a bit. I have been able to get by, but am going to fix it for the coming week. Going to cooking in bulk this evening, more time in the kitchen. I seem to be spending an inordinate amount in there at the moment.

Here's to a good week.

Day 24

Skipping was alot easier today, I found my ipod which had been missing for the last month, what a great distraction. Set yourself the goal of skipping through and entire song, and you're half way there! Not looking forward to tomorrow and "floorjumps" - they look like they are going to hurt...alot.

As the mother of two small children, sleep is sacred and hard to come by. I am astonished at how well I am sleeping at the moment. My head hits the pillow and I am gone. I don't even dream! Luckily the kids seem to have gotten the memo and are also sleeping like a dream, long may it last. If this is the only thing I get out of PCP I will be a happy person.

Work is about to get very hectic, this is the busiest time of year for us, so I am already starting to plan my time to ensure that PCP isn't neglected. If i can get through the next month, all will be good.

Day 23

Diet is going well, but after reading Patrick's blog re salt its really got me thinking and far more aware of what I was eating previously. What was I doing to my  body? The great side effecty of the PCP is the way my family is eating has started to change as well. I would love my children to learn, from an early age, the proper way to eat. I am a little annoyed that my usband seeems to be losing more weight than me and he isn't even doing PCP. Men!

I have started to get comments on how my body is changing which is very encouraging. I haven't lost a huge amount of weight but I can see subtle changes. This really does inspire one to work that little bit harder and keep going.

Day 18

Skipping the last few days has been very difficult, but today was better! Really felt amazing after today's workout, but I have been so hungry all day. Starting to see changes in my body, albeit small changes. its very motivating to see that all the hard work is starting to pay off, I can't wait to see what 90 days will do... but beforeIi get ahead of myself, its still one day at a time. 

Need a bit of inspiration

Day 16

Terrible headache...head might explode if I jump. I am going to medicate and see how I feel later, maybe then I can attempt some jumps. I will be so disappointed if I don't do it. Have managed to eat everything I need to so don't suppose its been such a bad day.

Day 15

Breakfast is the hardest meal at the moment, it feels like three separate mini meals, I am struggling to combine my egg, veggies and carbs into a meal that I can wrap my head around. Patricks video did help a bit, I am going to start treating it as lunch or dinner. I am looking forward to cutting out carbs at dinner, I am always too full to eat my evening snack.

I am enjoying the exercises, although my legs felt like lead today while jumping. It may have been the 2 degree C weather and gale force winds, it did make me feel ultra dedicated to be braving the weather to stick to the program.

I have started sleeping really well, which I haven't done since my first child was born two and half years ago. Lets just hope it rubs off on the kids :)

Day 9

I feel like I have never eaten so much! soooo full. Exercise going well, although I really had to work hard today. Its a public holiday today in SA, so had a couple of the girls come round and I watched as they drank wine wine. Funnily enough I wasn't terribly envious, probably because I was too full to want to put anything else in my mouth. 

So far so good

It feel like it was monday 5 minutes ago, what happened to the week, where did it go? I am feeling a little guilty that this is my first real post and week one is up. Oops.

The half portions were very hard at the beginning of the week, but it got easier and easier. This was a good way to start, because I am a textbook case of "the comfort eater". The diet part of this is going to be the hardest part for me, but I am so determined to make this work and I was very excited to get Patrick's email this morning with all the "rules". I am going to have to follow the rules to the T, if I breakdown just once, it will be easier for me to do it again and again! Every day of sticking to the rules is going to a little victory for me, and thats how I am going to take, just one day and one hurdle at a time. To be perfectly honest, it makes me quite nervous.

I am enjoying exercising but that skipping rope, its my number one enemy and I as absolutely determined not to let it beat me. I WILL CONQUER YOU! The other problem is my upper body strength or lack thereof. The push-ups are my least favourite part of every day's workout, I would rather do twenty sit-ups than just on push-up. I had forgotten just how good exercise make you feel and I can't wait to be fitter and stronger and able to do more.

Here we go!

 Been needing to make major changes in my life for some time now, very excited to get going now!