Sara will continue her blog shortly as she talks about her experience on the Break programme.
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR SUCCESS
Christmas 2010
And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom - Anais Nin
 
It was christmas eve, eve 2009. I was getting ready to go to a work mates place for some christmas drinks. I felt tired, sluggish, and un-motivated.
When I arrived, I smiled. As i do. Everyone looked really nice. I wished my clothes made me look that nice. My friend brought out her camera. Cringe. My stomach felt bloated, my face felt fat and my eyes felt like they were half open. Not feeling ideal for photos. However some were taken.
Wow, I understand that some photos can be particularly unflattering. But these photos, sigh. I knew in my heart that that was exactly how I looked, because I’d been feeling that unhappy. I felt like what I looked like in those photos. I felt a little, dead inside. I’ve always been a big girl, my weight has been a constant uphill battle. I have been up and down. But never before had I been here.
I came back to configure (willis street) on 5 Jan 2010. Nervous about entering after being absent for so long, I was greeted with a warm hello and welcoming smile. I immediately felt comfortable.
My first workout was amazing. I felt uplifted, energised, and motivated. I felt, alive. I was excited about coming back the next day.
When I had initially signed up, I never used my two free personal training sessions, and when I did come back the next day Sarah encouraged me to sign up for them. Marie took me for my first, it was great. She encouraged me to sign up for my next one asap!
I had a re-assessment next, my first of the year, with Rachel. Again, another encouraging and uplifting experience.
These may seem like fairly normal, small things, but to me they are huge. It was these moments that began this amazing, fun and exciting journey that I am still on. It was these moments that made me realise these ladies genuinely cared about my journey too, and wanted me to do well. Thank you J
Configure Express has been all it promises to me and is a monumental factor in my success. I’ve never been to a gym before where you can bowl up to a trainer, excitedly tell her you can run for 30 minutes now, and she is almost more excited than you are. I’ve never been to a gym before where a trainer says “Yes! You’ve still got a ghetto booty, love it. I’ve got one too!”. I’ve never been to a gym before where the trainer changes the goal weight the computer gives you to a bigger figure and says “I think you’ll look better and be healthier at this size”
And here I am, December 2010. I am soaking in the “silly season” with a lot more appreciation for all the small yet amazing things going on in my life.
I think my main advice for surviving this time of year while you’re still trying to stay on track with weight loss and fitness is to set smaller realistic goals for the month. There’s no physical weight loss going on for me this month, but that’s okay because I’ve set myself a goal to make all my classes and keep up a regular fitness routine. This way I can relax and enjoy the Christmas festivities because I know I’m still maintaining my fitness.
For me, the most weight I have lost has been from inside. I feel 45kg lighter in my soul. The skip in my step as I walk around town is from the lightness in my spirit.
I thought about trying to make this less cheesy, not so mushy. But MEH. I am the girl who wears her heart on her sleeve, proudly. If you are my friend, I love you. I love life. Heck, I love me. Finally.
Merry Christmas everyone,
From a very happy, healthy, new me
Sara xxx
Courage and Control
November 2010
Hello, it's me Sara again. I'm going to be writing to you for a bit longer. Cool eh? I am in my pj's, cup of rooibos tea beside me. Ready to share some more "wise" happy lady exercise inspiration...
So the fit and fab challenge ended a couple of weeks ago and I'm into a new challenge already. My friends have no need to call an intervention, I haven't gone crazy. I just love having a little competition with myself. That sounds weird, so let me explain.
I can be stubborn when I want something. I will stay determined and focused on that something until I get it. And I love having something to chase, to achieve, to accomplish. So with these challenges, I get to do this.
It's great having new exercises to try and having a new program to work on. It means I never get bored and always have something to look forward to and something to beat. I'm sounding a little competitive now huh? I am. I have to be. I know what my limits are, and what I can do, so when Kadisha says 'you know what you can do, so push yourself and just cane it' what am I going to do? Cane it!
There's no way I will leave a training session disappointed because I know I can work harder.
I had a re-assessment with Rach this morning. Scales have gone down. Measurements have gone down. Success. How? Everything I said above.
Rach asked me how I was feeling, how do I feel I've done lately. I said "I feel amazing! Basically." I feel stronger, fitter, healthier and have more and more energy to burn everyday.
I highly recommend signing up for group challenges and programs at the gym. You make great friends and are working along side ladies who are trying to achieve the same things. Your trainers are always there encouraging you and making sure you get the most you can get out of each session. Everyone there wants you to reach your goals and they're there to help. Use them!
This is how I've stayed on track and done so well. I've developed a real love for exercise because of it, and it's just the best thing in the world. For me, nothing beats that feeling I get after a really really good work out.
So bring on the rest of the new 30 day summer challenge I'm doing at Willis St. So far, so good. Last week was cardio interval training. Kills me but I love it. I don't think I've ever worked as hard as I did in the sessions with Kadisha. She really makes the most of the 30minutes we have! It's great! This week is endurance. Wish me luck! The listed tasks are a little daunting. What's that Sara? Doubt? HA! No. Way.
All my friends know that I'm big on quotes and love songs that say what you're feeling and are...timely.
This is from a song by Brandon Boyd, called Courage and Control. I won't babble about what I think it means or even what it says to me. I think it says enough on it's own.
"It's time to let your hair down. And give yourself permission. It takes courage and control. But you start by letting go..."
Anyway, I'll report back to you soon. Until then, be good.
Sara x
Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You!
(Dr Seuss!)
Week One
27 September 2010
 I love chicken so much I can easily eat half of one for dinner and be totally satisfied. Nothing else with it. Just chicken. I’m not sure, is there such thing as too much chicken? Probably.
But for me, a delicious salad with chicken is my favourite healthy meal. For me it tastes so good sometimes I think “this must be bad for me".
When I first embarked on my change for the better I cut out a lot of things. My problem wasn’t the size of the portions I was eating, but the type of food I chose. For the first few months I gave up a lot. White bread, pasta, junk food and alcohol were all off the shopping list. It’s amazing how quickly I started to feel the weight come off. Combined with the exercise, I lost old cravings for junk food and heavy meals. Doing this allowed me to finally listen to my body and understand what was making me feel so blugh and tired. The next time I ate something I’d given up, I either felt fine or instantly sick.
Everyone knows that when you deprive yourself of something completely and say “I CAN’T have that chocolate bar” it never works. You end up craving it so bad, you eat more than you would have if you’d just let yourself have the dang chocolate bar in the first place.
So I saved my ‘treat’ days for special occasions. My friend’s birthday, going to see a play, someone’s leaving party. Not once have I felt like I’ve been missing out on anything. Finding that good balance between good healthy eating during the week and those special treats has worked wonders for me. There’s no big trick or secret, just wise choices and planning ahead.
My favourite snack “treat” food? Rice wafers and corn thins. No kidding, I probably buy 2 packets of them a week. The rice wafers with sour cream and chives flavouring – oh my god. With hummus, heaven.
And bananas. During the last 5km of the marathon I did in June I was thinking about bananas.
It can be hard to stay on track with food sometimes though. Especially when I’m tired and have just finished a work out. What keeps me on track is reminding myself how awful I KNOW I feel after eating something unhealthy. Of course it takes a lot of willpower to walk past the bread rolls and pick up salad and some wholemeal burrito wraps instead. It’s hard, but I do it because I know I won’t feel sick afterwards. I feel satisfied and snug J
There really is no right or wrong when it comes to food choices. It really is just finding out what makes you feel good and what makes you feel bad. You can read a hundred different books and hear different ideas and opinions on what this food does and what that food doesn’t do but at the end of the day what works for one person might have the opposite effect on another.
Keep focusing on the good and you won’t fail.
Looking forward to group training this evening. Can't wait to meet all the ladies in my group. And then for dinner, you know it, chicken :-)
Sara x |