The email

Today I received an email. The title? “Meika, you didn’t weigh in last week”. My first thought was to delete it. I knew that I hadn’t weighed in. I had gained weight and didn’t really want to face it so I simply didn’t enter the numbers. But I didn’t delete it I decided to open it and read it. When I read it I felt like I had been kicked in the gut…

“If you've fallen behind, it happens. I wont say I'm happy about it because you made a commitment, but I'm a realist and sometimes things do get in the way.  I am going to be upfront with you and ask you, how many times have 'things' gotten in the way before? How many times have you started something with the best of intentions only to give up.”

I could almost hear the disappointment in Mish’s voice. I am not used to this, I was always a good girl at school I did well in my subjects and generally made my parents and teachers proud. Don’t get me wrong I was by no means perfect, far from it, but generally I wanted to please people.

But she is right, time for me to recommit and follow through!

A Crazy sort of week

I would love to have a household that runs smoothly all the time. You know the ones where the kids do what they are told all the time, the floor actually stays clean for more than 5 minutes and everyone is happy all the time…Oh that’s right! They don’t exist!

This week my house has been a little more crazy than normal. No reason in particular…just life I guess. Fitting in exercise has always been a challenge as it seems that something else has to suffer for me to have the time to do it. Sometimes I have to leave the dishes on the sink or leave (another) basket of washing unfolded. I was really finding it hard this week to choose to exercise when everything in my house seemed so unorganised so i will admit that Monday and Tuesday I didn’t exercise at all! Of course this left me feeling horrible! Wednesday I decided that I was going to do both…clean my house AND exercise! I didn’t know how but this is what unfolded… I put out my exercise mat and every time I walked past it I did 10 push ups. I hopped on the exercise bike while watching tv and in the ad breaks I would run around and clean making sure I kept my heart rate high. I then hopped on the treadmill of 15 mins (this is all the time my girls would stay happy for!) and then hopped off and danced like a crazy woman to a few songs with the girls…the girls thought I was hilarious! I am sure I looked it too! So 1 hour 20 mins later I had a clean house, happy kids and I had done my workout burning over 600 calories! Yay! Win Win Win!

Gearing up for the weekend!

I feel like my mind is finally in the right place. I now KNOW I can do this now where as last week I didn’t believe in myself. It all felt too hard and because of that I allowed myself to slip up all too often. I have not been perfect this week, I don’t think it is possible for me to be, especially with the kids around and the chaos that can bring. But I have been better, I have owned the mistakes and not let them get me down.

One thing I have learnt this week is that organisation in one area quickly spreads to other areas too. I finally got my head around the food and exercise and now the house is looking tidier and I am actually doing more with the kids as I am motivated! I am very proud that the last 3 days I have burnt well over 500 calories in each work out. I know this is the recommendation anyway but even in the last round I hardly ever burnt that much. As a shorter woman who is almost at goal it takes a lot of effort to get to the 500 calories but I now want to put in the effort. I am not afraid of falling anymore as I know I can just get back up and keep on going…it doesn’t matter how many times I fall along the way as long as I get back up each time and keep on going

Tomorrow is going to be a hard one. We have the school fair followed by a child's birthday party! I will have to take my own lunch with me and allow myself a latte at a time when the temptation to eat is there! Sunday is work and as long as I make my lunch that will be pretty easy. I must remember to get all the ingredients together for my husband to cook dinner though…if it is all organised he will make a 12WBT recipe…I do love my husband, he is pretty wonderful!

Ricotta Cheesecakes

These yummy little cheesecakes are only 65 calories each! I topped each one with a strawberry which is not included in the calorie count but strawberries are pretty low in calories so it wouldn’t have added much extra at all.

I found this recipe on the 12WBT Facebook page and thought I would give it a try. They are a perfect snack for when you want something sweet.

Ingredients

250g low fat ricotta

1 sachet of low joule jelly (I used lime but would love to use strawberry next time!)

1/2 cup boiling water

Method

Dissolve jelly crystals in boiling water and mix with ricotta until smooth.

Line 5 holes of a muffin tin with muffin cases

Divide mixture between cases and refrigerate until firm

Serve with strawberries or your choice of fruit

Week 2

It is good to start a new week. last week was far from perfect and I am realising more every day how far I actually have to go before I am where I want to be.

I may have lost 12kg doing WW but mentally I am still the person who allowed myself to gain that weight in the first place. That is the main area that needs to change…my mind.

I am more organised this week and it is spilling over into other areas of my life like housework and my general planning for the week. I know that if I am not totally organised in all areas that I am just setting myself up for failure as I don’t have enough time to waste any of it! My diary and calendar are being well used and the grocery shopping was done this morning so I am all ready for the week…BRING IT ON!

Source: greatist.com via Elisaveta on Pinterest

Fitness Test Results

I finally did the fitness test and just before the deadline! It is just too hard for me to get this done during the week so it had to wait until today. I REALLY wasn’t looking forward to the run or the wall sit as I know how much they hurt! But it is all done now and I am pleased with my results. I am really looking forward to seeing how much I can improve on this.

 

1 km time trial – 4 min 45 sec (advanced)

Push Ups in 1 min – 27 (intermediate)

Wall Sit – 1 min 4 sec (intermediate)

Ab Stage – 2 (beginner)

Sit and Reach - +4cm (intermediate)

 

Now to do those dreaded before photos!

One of those days!

You know those days where you get to the end and decide you NEED chocolate or a glass of wine(or two or three!) well today was definitely one of those days but I am NOT going to go for the chocolate and wine! I will admit I did pick at the ham while putting in back in the fridge and ate a cracker off my 19 month olds plate but all things considered I am not too upset about it.

We were late for school, we (ie Miss 3) had a huge tantrum in Coles while a large audience looked on to see just how I would handle it, Miss 1 kicked Miss 3 in the mouth(accidentally) and there was blood everywhere, I waited in the rain for my friends to turn up for a walk…and they didn’t, we didn’t park on the pink level of the car park and there was another huge tantrum (Miss 3 again) oh and another when she wanted ‘a special treat’ and I didn’t produce one and to top it off Miss 1 had a huge poo explosion on the way home…the worst I have had to deal with in a while…jus one of those days

I am going to do my work out tonight instead of eating chocolate and drinking wine(which would be my usual way to wind down after a day like this). It is going to be tough but as Mish says I will start and if after 10 mins I still don’t feel like it I can stop…I don’t think i will though, I always enjoy it once I actually start!

Lazy

Even as I write this everything within me is wanting to tell you all of my excuses but I can’t pretend anymore…I am lazy.

 

I don’t want to get up early and exercise…lazy!

I spend more time on my computer than I should…lazy!

I will stay home instead of going out as it all seems too hard…lazy!

My house…well lets just say it needs a good clean! …lazy!

I have about 6 baskets of washing to fold…lazy!

Right now I should be on the treadmill but quite obviously I am not…lazy!

 

Well here is where it ends!

I am not this person!

I CAN DO IT!

 

I don’t want to post this as I have a hard time even admitting it to myself but if you are reading this you know that I got over that fear and it is out there…time for change!

Source: shetakesflight.tumblr.com via Alaine on Pinterest

I'm Back!

I didn't really want to come back. I thought maybe if I pretended that I didn't start the 12WBT then it wouldn't matter that I only did 6 weeks.

But it is time to get real and get back up and start again.

I couldn't afford to sign up for round 3 and I was kind of disappointed but a little relieved at the same time! Then I discovered the Huggies 12WBT! It started 2 weeks later...I now had money...it was for mums just like me...I had no excuses so I signed up!

We officially start on Monday and I must say that I love having lots of mums to chat with who all understand just how busy and tiring it is being a mum of 3 little ones. Elsa(4) has already started chasing me around the house yelling at me to run faster so she seems all geared up for it too!

And before I leave you just a little bit of inspiration...both the words and the body!

Source: slimsophomore.tumblr.com via Kendra on Pinterest

Finding the time

I am often asked “How do you find the time?” and I often answer “I am sure my house is messier than yours”. I guess what it comes down to is prioritizing the things that are most important to you. If you want to do it you will find the time if you don’t you will find an excuse. I am good at finding excuses too…very good! Exercising with young children is hard. Some days I am running around between section on my DVD wiping bottoms getting drinks and generally just trying to settle them so I can get my workout done. Sometimes they want to join in…this DOES NOT work! I almost trip over them numerous times and just end up getting grumpy! I would love to go to the gym and put them in the crèche and just work out for an hour or so with out having to worry about them but unfortunately that won’t work at the moment. So how do I do it? Well…I just do. If  the littlest doesn’t sleep when I need her to then maybe I leave early to pick up the eldest from school and walk around the block a few times before I pick her up. Or I workout after dinner, I never feel like it but once I am on the treadmill or the bike and I see the calories clocking up on my HR monitor I want to keep going. So if you really want to, you can…JUST DO IT!

::Confession::

The last two weeks have been bad…very bad…so bad I don’t really want to talk about it…too much food…chocolate…cake…leftovers…little exercise = No weight lost

Good news is that I have found that blasted wagon and I have climbed back on!

Chocolate ice cream

There is some in my freezer and I want some! I will resist though and get the kids in bed so I can exercise!

Has anyone seen the wagon?

You know that wagon that people fall off? Well I can’t even find mine at the moment. Maybe I just haven’t been looking hard enough…tomorrows job is to find it, jump back on and tie myself to it so I can’t fall of it again!

I am sitting here feeling horrible after eating fish and chips for dinner and i know I don’t want to feel like this again. I didn’t do the groceries online this week…I wasn’t organised and missed the cut off. I won’t make that mistake again! I need to have the right food in the house if I want to succeed at this!

First thing tomorrow I am going to get the kids in the car and drive to the local shop and get a few things so I can actually make a good dinner for tomorrow night and when the kids are sleeping I AM going to exercise.

So please check on me tomorrow and give me a kick up the backside…I might just need it to get back up onto that wagon!

So Tired…

My girls did not sleep well last night. I think they were cold. I ended up with about 4 hours broken sleep with a 3 year old in my bed and my back is sore. Oh I know I sound like a sook and I acted a bit like one today too. Too much “I’m tired, I’ll just have a bit of this (insert food I shouldn’t have here)” or “I’m tired, I can’t exercise”

I am kind of dreading stepping on the scales tomorrow…I wonder how much damage can be done in a day?

Oh well, tomorrow is a new day! (Thank goodness!) My lunch is made and my workout gear is already set out. I am off to the Botanical Gardens for walk with a group of mums. My two older girls will have to run as I plan on walking fast! Time to get back on track!

A little more on heart rates

Well after my quick post about my resting heart rate(RHR) I became curious as to what was considered good and not so good for a RHR. I discovered this chart and found it interesting and thought I would share. It will be interesting to see how much more my RHR changes over rest of the program.

Resting Heart Rate

Wow! I can’t believe that my resting heart rate has improved so much in just 3 weeks! When I first started it was in the 70’s…the high 70’s. Today when I put my heart rate monitor on it was 61! I thought there was something wrong with the monitor so I took it manually and it was right!

Bad Day

Sigh…I should have gone to bed when I started feeling hungry…I didn’t though…I snacked…a little too much

Tomorrow is a new day though. Time to go get some sleep and start again tomorrow!

Week 1 in review

This is a little late but I still wanted to take the time to reflect on my first week. Most of the food was great but I did struggle some evenings as that is my usual picking time! Some nights I caved and had a little something…mostly healthy that didn’t blow out the calories too much and other nights I was strong and had a glass of water and went to bed. I need to get more of the latter happening though.

I am SORE! but I feel great if that makes any sense. I can feel that I am getting stronger and fitter already and although a lot of the time I want to sit on the couch and knit once the girls are in bed I really love how I feel when I jump on the treadmill or turn on my exercise DVD. I am discovering that I love to run on the treadmill and it burns a lot of calories too which is great.

I sold some of my yarn stash (I can hear all the knitters gasping!) to buy a Polar Heart Rate monitor and I am SO glad that I did. It really pushes me to go a bit harder and burn more calories. I am a numbers person and having them in front of me really pushes me! I am writing down my daily calories burnt too as it is encouraging to look back on the week and see all my work!

Week 2 Weigh in

Down another 500g this week! With the amount of exercise I have done this week I will be honest and say that it would have been nice to see more of a loss but I am pretty close to my goal weight now and it is harder to get that last bit off! Oh and I do have the tendency to pick…I pick at the girls leftovers, I pick as I cook, I pick as I pack away the leftovers into the freezer, I pick after dinner while watching TV…yes it is a VERY bad habit of mine and I really need to kick it if I am going to succeed in this long term.

My Personal Trainer

She definitely makes me work hard! She runs behind me yelling “GO FASTER”, she doesn’t let me slow down or give up, she asks me “how many calowies” I have burnt…and she is 4! Elsa is loving all the training I have been doing and takes great pleasure in yelling at me from the comfort of the pram “Run faster mummy FASTER!”

I love that my girls are seeing me do this and enjoy running along side me (or sitting in the pram!). I feel great that I am making everyday exercise normal and they love it too.

Super Strong Soup!

In our house broccoli is often eaten by the littlest family members as it “makes you grow big and strong like daddy” but it is not a favourite.

Today we made broccoli soup. I had 3 little helpers so it became quite an event but we got it made and the girls have renamed it “Super Strong Soup”. The best part? Between the 3 of them they ate 6 bowls for lunch…6 bowls of broccoli!

Fitness Test Results

Today I finally did the run part of the fitness test. I couldn’t believe how nervous I was as I did my power walk around the cul-de-sac to warm up. It was silly really but I really wanted to be able to run the whole way and I wanted to get into the intermediate group(5min 30sec – 8min). We measured out 1km in the car using the odometer (I do hope it was accurate enough!) and my husband and kids dropped me at one end and off I went.

The result? 1km in 4min 54sec! That puts me into ADVANCED by 36 seconds! I am still shocked! I just kept on running…just to the next letterbox, just to the next power pole, just to that car…and before I knew it I could see my husband and girls cheering me on at the finish!

The rest of the fitness test is not so exciting but I should share anyway.

Pushups – 22 (Intermediate)

Wall Sit – 1min 5 sec (intermediate)

Sit Ups – level 1 (beginner)

Sit and Reach - +2cm (intermediate)

 

So for this month I think I will do the Intermediate exercise plan but will try the advanced running program and see how I go.

Week 1 Weigh In

1.4kg down! Yay! That is about half of what I gained in the last few months…good to get it back off!

::Confession::

I picked at the girls leftovers tonight…next time I will just throw them out!

Sore Knee

Sigh…my knee is sore, I couldn’t do my workout DVD properly today. I originally hurt my knee when I was 14 and it has never been the same. It left like it was going to go out from under my today which is not a very nice feeling. I might need a trip to the Dr but in the meantime I will pick up a knee brace, they used to help when I was dancing so hopefully they will do the job now. It is SO frustrating when I am really enjoying my workouts and just want to get into them and I can’t! I probably need to look into exercises I can do to strengthen the knee so I don’t have to put up with this forever. At one stage, like 10 years ago, my gym instructor set me up with some exercises for my knee but I didn’t stick to it…now I really wish I had.

{Playlist}

Just a few from today’s playlist…

The Power – Vanessa Amorosi

I will survive – Gloria Gaynor

Fighter – Christina Aguilera

Break my stride – Unique II

Absolutely Everybody – Vanessa Amorosi (I used to dance to this one and it made me want to jump off the treadmill and dance! I am sure my lovely friends Beck, Danielle, Felicity and Lize would understand!)

Goals

If you don’t know where you are going how can you work out how to get there?

1 month

• Run 3km without stopping
• Loose 2kg (the two I have gained over the last 2 months!)

3 months – I turn 30! What a way to see i my 30’s!

• Run 10km without stopping
• Do 10 push-ups on my toes
• Loose 5kg
• Look FAB for my 30th!

Source: None via Meika on Pinterest

The Beginning…

Here I am, at the beginning, feeling a little scared of failure, excited to see myself succeed and fighting with myself as I think of more excuses. I am glad to realise that what has been standing in my way is me as I know I have control over that but I now know that I have NO ONE to blame but myself…and that scares me a little!

So here I go! Wish me luck!

A change of plans…

Well it looks like the gym won’t be happening. It is just not a good idea for us financially to be adding this cost at the moment. I won’t go into it all but this is the way it has to be for the moment. SO I will be doing it all at home and outside. I am pretty lucky to have an exercise bike and treadmill at home as well as a stack of workout DVD's so I really have no excuse. I am still motivated and excited for tomorrow but I will admit I had a 10 minute freak out when I realised I had to change all my plans!

Tomorrows workout – Michelle Bridges Super Shredder Circuit and a short walk before picking up Elsa from school.

Gym Crèche…

So do any of you use the crèche at your local gym? I tried to join a gym a few months ago and Eve (who was 12 months at the time) was going through terrible separation anxiety. I mean at home I couldn’t walk to the other side of the room without tears! So needless to say the gym crèche didn’t work out and I didn’t end up joining as it would have just been a waste as I couldn’t leave the littlest in the crèche.

But now the separation anxiety seems to be over so we are trying again! Next week after dropping my eldest at school I will head to the gym and hopefully it will all go perfectly…that is the plan anyway!

My three ratbags!

{Excuse of the day #1}

“I haven’t officially started so I don’t need to do a proper workout today”

 

The new me starts TODAY! It is not just for 12 weeks…this is for life!

What this is all about

This is all about me finally getting off my butt and exercising! I want to loose those last few kilos and tone up. Really I am pretty happy with my weight but I am still a little squishy around the edges if you know what I mean! With 12kg lost over the last 6 months I know that healthy eating is something I can do, In fact I find it pretty easy. I thank my mum for filling me up with healthy foods growing up as these foods are normal to me…and delicious too! I do need a reminder to keep my portions in check..oh and the chocolate (mmm chocolate!) …my downfall :( I think it may need to stay out of my house for the next 12 weeks!

So how am I going to do this? I am doing Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation! I am going from no exercise (except for running around after my kids and the occasional 15 minute guilt run on the treadmill after overindulging!) to exercise 6 days a week! It will be tough but I can do it!

Why Mum Fit? Well I chose this name for my blog as it addresses my excuse for NOT exercising! I use it all the time. “ I have 3 little ones, I can’t find the time” “ My kids didn’t sleep well last night and I am too tired” “I have had 3 kids, I can’t expect my body to be the same as before” (ok this is true to some extent but in getting back to my wedding weight I know it is not all true!)

I am hoping that I can inspire some other mums out there to do this for themselves and their kids. I hope to share how I overcome all the hurdles that life with kids throws at you everyday and some healthy recipes that kids will eat too. I am sure there will be dramas…there always are…but with some determination and a good sense of humour I WILL DO IT!