Matron of Honour in Training

I’ve been AWOL. I had a big job interview today so I’ve been using every spare moment preparing for it as much as I can, what a geek huh?

Weighed in on Monday morning at 83.4kg FAIL!

Went shopping on Sunday and boy was that depressing! I went to Farmers first, nothing fitted right then I went to Glassons and can I just say, ladies, if you are feeling a bit self-conscious about your weight, DO NOT GO THERE! It was a mission to find anything bigger than a 10 in the first place then I tried on a size 14 shirt and the sleeves were super tight I couldn’t even get my arms in properly. I was feeling miserable and ready to give up after that I tell you! My last shot was Shanton, good old Shanton and can I say WIN! While I still tried on a few things that didn’t fit like a size 14 business shirt that was super tight I came away with a pencil skirt in a size 14 which fits really well, even slightly loose around the waist and a floaty blue semi-sheer shirt which looks awesome tucked into the skirt. It was what I wore to the interview today along with some “-” undies and heels in a deep blue/navy patent colour. I felt confident in it which was important

I also painted my nails in a Kardashian by OPI colour called Next CEO, so for a motivation boost I just had to look at my nails

So now I wait for the outcome of the interview which should be next week and in the meantime by goal this week is to get back to the 82’s and drink more water. I did awesome yesterday at my water drinking but am lacking today but if I can manage 1.5 litres before bed I’ll be happy I should be able to do it!

Ta ta for now xx

We went dress shopping yesterday. We all headed to Forever New to try on this dress

The lovely bride-to-be wore it for the engagement party and later that night she mentioned it would make a good bridal party dress with the addition of a green sash on the bodice. We all tried it on although we didn’t get to see Eva in it as they didn’t have her size, it looked great on the skinnier two ( Brie & Brooke) and I was okay with it, would have been happy to wear it if that’s what Serena wanted. We decided to check out some other shops and the only other style we tried on elsewhere was this one (please excuse the quality it was taken on my phone)…

It hung really nicely I think due to the heavier weight overlay it was in. The neckline was different, not bad and it looked really good on all of us. This was a size 14 but I reckon I could buy a 12 and fit it by this time next year if we decided to go for it.

After that we went back to Brie & Brooke’s place for cider, homemade pizza’s and cupcakes (yeah I know, not on my healthy eating list) and we watched ……

There was no tension between Eva and I either which I was kind of expecting! However she did talk a lot about what she wanted to do for her wedding and also managed to steer every conversation back to her! It seems to be her personality but it got on my nerves and I’m glad I didn’t have to deal with it the whole night as she left before dinner to go to a BBQ.

All in all it was a great girly afternoon and night, hopefully the first of many girly bridal party bonding nights

I have added a progress photos page – eek! Check them out…or not…maybe not

I hate the photos, I really do but even I can admit I can see improvements especially between July 2011 and November 2011. It was during that time that I was doing the Break programme at Configure Express. Just goes to show what wonders having PT sessions twice a week and a detailed eating plan can do, huh?

I don’t know when I will post updated photos, possibly at the end of March so there is a 4 month gap, surely there will be more noticeable differences!

I need a kick up the bum don’t I? I should be stoked that I even lost weight at all in the past month since my eating has been shocking. There I was whingeing that I *only* lost 800 grams, ungrateful much??

I should be celebrating any loss, right? Right! Yes…Hooray!

So, moving on….

I’ve been reading new magazines and re-reading old magazines such as Weight Watchers and Good Health etc and I thought I might start to share some of the more interesting information I come across.

Tonight, in a promotional mini-mag that came with the latest issue of Your Home & Garden magazine, I learnt that, according to experts at the University of Tokyo, people who did strength or resistance  training 20 minutes before cycling burned 10% more fat during the aerobic exercise that those who cycled before doing strength training. The theory is that lifting weights will generate hormones that will help release stored fat. Interesting!

I have actually seen this snippet of information mentioned on work-out sites and they said the study involved men so whether it works the same for women I’m not sure, I guess it depends on what the hormones released were?

Today I will leave you with a motivational quote;

“You don’t drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there”   Author Unknown

82.5kg.

So I’m down from 83.3kg on the 10th feb which equals a loss of 800grams in the last month. Approximately 200grams a week. Could be better and it’s down to my eating.

If I carry on losing 200 grams per week by the time of the wedding theoretically I would weigh 72.1 kg’s. That would mean I would be about 2 kg’s away from having lost 15% of my starting body weight. WOW!

I need to stay to track. I can do this. I will find my willpower to stick to my plan.

I would love to see 79 on the scales sometime soon!

So I put the battery into the scales this morning and I started my usual weighing routine which is weighing 3 times. Whatever the average or repeated weight I take that as my weight.

However this morning I weighed and the first weight to come up was 82.6kg then 82.5, 82.4kg. Because there was no consistency I kept hopping on and off and the weight keep dropping by 100grams until I got down to 80.6! At this point I was highly frustrated with the stupid scales and left it for a bit at which point I got back on and suddenly I was 83!!! Again I did the 3 weigh thing and it started going UP by 100grams each time!!!!

This has not been a good start to the day AT ALL!

I just wanted an idea of where I was sitting, weight wise, at the moment.

I’m going to have to try again tomorrow

Our scales haven’t had a battery in it for a few weeks but I found the one I had bought (and lost) today so it will go in either tomorrow morning and I’ll weigh-in then or definitely for a weigh in Friday morning.

The weigh in at the gym was very disheartening, I really, really hope I see some kind of downwards movement on the scale even if it’s just a few hundred grams.

I’ve only been to the gym once this week, on Tuesday night for a Power Plate session, I worked pretty hard during it. Perhaps a little too hard as I seem to have hurt a muscle in my left thigh that runs up to my hip. Ouch! I may give the gym a miss tomorrow and just go for a walk and then try out the gym on Friday. I am determined to keep to my minimum 2 gym visits a week so I will have to go again sometime in the next 2 days.

Achievement for this week is that I haven’t had a blue “V”! I’m very proud of this as drinking them was just wasted kilojoules. I’m not 100% sure, it could be just from not drinking enough water, but I have a lingering headache that even a trip to the chiropractor hasn’t remedied so I’m thinking it *may* be withdrawal of some kind? I don’t drink coffee, I rarely have tea but I was drinking those blue V’s a couple of times a week in the last month so I’m thinking my body may have started to be addicted to the caffeine. BAD!

Anyway, stay tuned for a weigh-in post with (fingers crossed) good news!

So, seeing as I’m in update mode I should tell you about a bit of drama that occurred during and after the engagement party.

There are 4 of us in the wedding party;

Me – Matron of Honour

“Eva” – Maid of Honour

“Brie” – Bridesmaid

“Brooke” – Bridesmaid

The idea behind asking Eva to be the Maid of Honour was so the 2 people helping Serena out the most would have 2 different points of view. Family – from me and Friend – from Eva.

However since asking her Serena seems to regret it and wishes she had stuck to having just family in the wedding party. Eva hasn’t been interested at all in any of the planning so far and when Serena has caught up with her and has tried discussing the wedding Eva manages to bring the conversation back to what she wants to do for her wedding (she’s not engaged yet). Eva didn’t offer to come early and help set up, in fact Serena had to ask her to come early to help set up which she did, arrive early that is. When she arrived she didn’t start to do anything until the groom’s sister-in-law asked if she could help with anything, and there was a room full of balloons that needed to be put up which was eventually done. After that Eva sat down and pretty much kept to herself until later.

About a week or so before the party during on of the site visits I think I had asked, jokingly, who I was going to be paired with, and I was told “Sam” the best man. I didn’t care who I was paired with, I was just curious and I didn’t think any more of it.

At one point during the night I mentioned to Sam that we were going to be partners and we played around walking down the “aisle” and that was it. Not more than 10 minutes later I was standing in the bathroom with Serena and Brooke and down the hallway came Sam and he joined the conversation, then came Eva and said to Sam “hey you’re going to be my partner, i hope you can dance” or something to that effect. We were all stunned to say the least and had a little giggle, thought it was weird that she had that idea but didn’t think much more of it apart from the fact that Serena thought she should let Eva know that she wouldn’t be partnered with Sam but that I would. Not a major right?

Well, the next morning Serena got a text from Eva telling her that she basically needed to set my husband and I right about “the order” and make sure I knew I was “just a bridesmaid”….yep. She needed to be set straight alright, but what got me was that she was telling Serena what was what, and what she “needed” to do!

Serena sent her a text telling her the “order” and why she wanted it that way and Eva apparently replied saying she was embarrassed because she had told everyone the “order” and didn’t realise it had been changed without her being told and that she didn’t think she could be in the wedding party anymore. It seems she misunderstood that the order hadn’t been changed, I guess she didn’t realise that I was matron of honour? Or perhaps that because I was only a sister-in-law and she was an old friend that meant she came “first”? I don’t know but Serena sent her another text and things have been all smoothed out but I think that when it comes to Serena’s wedding party she is going to be able to rely on 2 of us for help and the other one is just going to show up on the hen’s night and the wedding day!

Watch this space

C xx

I weighed in at the gym last week, I shouldn’t have!

It slumped me down into a very unhappy place. the weight on the scales was 83.7kg, yes it was about 5pm in the evening and I had always weighed heavier on those scales compared to my ones at home (weighing first thing in the morning), but it made me feel TERRIBLE!

I don’t seem to have lost any more weight, I don’t think I would be on a plateau yet as I haven’t exactly had steady losses and it really does feel like I’m still on the starting block

I maybe gaining muscle, I think I can feel some difference in my upper chest area. My collar-bone feels more bony and the muscles just under that seem more toned, it’s not an area that’s very noticeable unfortunately but I guess it’s a start.

Looking at my arms they seem to be starting to tone up on the top but I can’t see any difference in the bit underneath.

Sometimes when I’m looking down at my legs and ankles I think I can see a difference but then when I see a reflection in the mirror or in a window they still look short, fat and stumpy *sigh*

If I could just break out of the 80’s it would re-inspire me to keep going but at the moment I feel like I’m a weight loss treadmill, not going anywhere!

Green, white and more green! With dashes of blue and pink

Taken the morning after sorry!

Green tablecloths and green & white lanterns (again taken after everyone had left!)