The story

OK - so I have decided to post some pics from the start of my training. I hate doing this but honestly its the only way I think I will remain accountable to myself and be honest with myself. If I put the pics out there its a motivation to get some better ones up. I now have a Progress Pics page that will be updated regularly with new pics, the first are the worst for more reason than one!!! Bad colour clothing, bad lighting and in a mad rush.

I started my actual weight loss journey October 2009 and by half way through 2011 I had lost a total of 35kg. I started with the dredded treadmill when my son was 6 weeks old and slowly changed and evolved from a local gym and boxercise (oh dear) to Hi-Reps outdoor fitness http://www.hireps.com.au/one-on-one-training.html . Finding Hi-Reps was a blessing, they taught me to train hard and I shed a further 10kg with Mark in 2011. I am noted on here with my success story from April 2011.

After going back to work 5 days this year in 2012, a change in work hours, a change in the kids and their needs and a change in our lifestyle it attending the sessions at particular times quite hard. Alot of reasons though not just timing, I think I was burnt out, I was tired and I needed to take some time for myself, I had started yelling at the kids, losing sight of alot of other things in life apart from losing my next 500grams and it started to effect everyone and everything around me.

 I took 4 months off stopped to cram my exericise and started to enjoy my kids, taught my daughter how to ride her bike without training wheels and some days just sit on the floor with them and play I had to re-discover what my motivation was. I decided I had lost all my weight and to try and lose anymore would in fact interfer with other things but what was I going to do next.

The weird thing was when I started to focus on other things I again started to get lazy with my eating habits and drift into the cycle of no exercise and gaining weight all over again. I knew after gaining 5kg I had to change so I have spent the good part of the last 3 months working on myself, my motivation and my education of "clean eating". I attribute my need to gain knowledge of clean eating to Amanda at  http://www.facebook.com/AmandasDailyDoseofAwesome  Since finding her blog I realised my eating wasn't as organised and controlled as what I thought it was so I have spent the last few months researching, educating myself and making right food choice not to lose any weight but to gain muscle and also feel healthy and energised.

SO - then I found TDPT http://www.tdoonanpt.com.au/  after joining Anytime Fitness (first motivation being their 24 hours opening times which meant ZERO excuses). Tim is fantastic, we do interesting traing inside and outside. I lift heavy weights but do interesting cardio and I finally find myself after close on 6 months of wondering what direction I am going in that I can see clearly through the tree's. I bounce out of bed for my training, I have met a heap of positive people, I am focused on "clean eating" for myself, hubby and my kids and I feel fantastic. Its not about losing weight now, counting all my calories or being Skinny Minny, its about building muscle and maintaining my weight, about feeling strong and being defined about feeling clean and healthy and energised. In the last month we haven't done the same workout once. I have even accomplished a 300 set workout which I never thought I would do that included 50 situps, 50 hanging leg raises, 50 chin ups, 50 burpies, 50 deadlift (45kg) and 50 shoulder press (7kg dumb bells).

 So I suppose at the moment that is where my story continues from. From here where I go is up to me. But if I succeed in teaching my children the importance of healty options in life, smiling and enjoying everything each day then my goal is complete.