Maxine's challenge officially starts

Today is the official first day of the challenge! I actually registered 2 weeks ago and have been following the program to the letter since then so today hasn't been such a big deal for me. But it is the first day for blogging so that's exciting!

The last 2 weeks have been pretty good. I've had a chance to get my nutrition sorted which was always the biggest part for me. Exclusively breastfeeding my 5 month old has made me a bit cautious about the nutrition side of things. But I am really happy with how the nutrition plan is working. 2 weeks in and no problems with my milk, have plenty to eat, don't feel hungry too often and the food is quite tasty. so all good there. Am also getting used to modifying the meals for the rest of the family (having a husband who does ironman triathlons means that there's nowhere near enough carbs in the plan for his requirements!) so that I get what I need and they are happy too.

Training has been good too - Monday, Wednesday, Friday are weights days at the gym. Tuesday is with my PT Michael. Thursday running with the girls. Saturday and Sunday running with on my own or with my lovely husband and children! Perfect!

I'm going to kill this challenge. And I am going to look like Michelle Bridges at the end of it.......only better!

Measurements just in!!

Check out these numbers!!!!! Super pumped!

                17/7        24/7        Results

Waist 72.5        69       -3.5

Hips         84        82         -2

Bust         87        82.5         -4.5

Thigh 49        46         -3

Bicep 25        24.5         -0.5

Calf         31.5        31.5         0

Weight 51.1        49.9         -1.2

Exercise definitely makes you feel better...that and coffee!

I'm feeling great.......now! Woke up feeling pretty sluggish this morning. Trent works early on Wednesdays which means he's already gone by the time the rest of us get up and I need to get things organised for kindy myself. Not a problem, just means I don't have any help with breakfast, dressing kids, feeding baby, packing bags, etc.

Also think my killer PT session yesterday contributed to my tiredness. Wasn't too sore but definitely tired and the thought of going to the gym for a weights set was not at all appealing.

But I did it and I feel much better now. Coffee has probably helped too!

So I'm feeling very smug and proud of myself for doing this whole challenge and sticking to it.

Maxine's Challenge - the beginning

So I've entered the Maxine's Challenge and have been living the life of a challenger for a week now. It really is a pretty good program they provide - nutrition plans, training plans and a forum which lots of people are using already. One week down and I'm doing pretty well. We had a wedding in Adelaide on the weekend and that was always going to be a challenge - eating out for every meal. But I managed to find meals that weren't too bad - definitely different to what I would normally order but I really enjoyed it! I probably didn't have as many protein shakes as was in the plan, but I don't see that as a huge problem. Trent and I even managed to get to the gym! I find it hilarious that we were there for less than 24 hours and we still managed to find time for exercise - bring it on!! I had planned to do a weights workout but when I got to the gym I realised that the machines were all different and it would have aken too long to work out how to use them. So I ended up doing a bit of a cardio set - treadmill, chin ups, sit ups, push-ups, squats, stairs, abs.......was great!

Today I spent quite a bit of time prepping my lunches for the coming week - chicken, sweet potato and stir fry veg. It took a long time but I now have breakfast, lunch and snacks all sorted for the week - no excuses!

Also got the Max's WPI last week. Couldn't get the Maxine's burn as it has carb blockers and fat burners which are no good for breastfeeding. Listen to me - sounding like I know what I'm talking about! Hahahaha. Thanks to Mass Nutrition Chermside for not making me feel stupid when I go in and have no idea what I'm talking about!

Got the chocolate powder but think I'll try vanilla next time. Will also get some protein bars because it will give me another option so things don't get boring.

I thought it might be a good idea to put down some of my goals for the challenge to keep me honest and reflect on in 12 weeks time...... 

1. 6 pack!!!

2. Lower body fat to 16% (currently 22%)

3. Don't miss a training day - must do SOMETHING every day 

4. No cheat meals - will be tough for my birthday/camping but need to be organised

5. Do not let the challenge effect my ability to breastfeed Matilda

That's about it! Sounds easy - we'll see!!

8 weeks into challenge

In the excitement of entering Maxine's Challenge, i forgot to put up my latest comparison photos. These are the photos from beginning, 4 weeks and 8 weeks.

The latest photos were taken at night and I'm hoping that's the reason for such little change. But considering I also had a lot of disasters over the past 4 weeks (see previous post) its not too bad. 

I'm expecting some big changes over the coming months with the challenge! Watch this space!!!

Ready to go.....I think

Just a very brief entry to let you all know that I have registered!! Aaarrrrgggghhhhhh!!! Was feeling pretty good about it until I decided to post it to Facebook. Only once I posted did I realise that the link goes directly to the pic of me in my bikini!!! Awesome! Oh well, nowhere to hide......bring it on!
Please visit my page

IN

I'm in!!! I've made the decision that I'm going to enter Maxine's Shape Up Challenge! Registrations open tomorrow so looks like I'll be strapping on my bikini for the official 'before' shot! I'll make sure I write another post tomorrow with all of the details. I'm currently feeling very nervous, excited, like I'm going to vomit!

Running!

Awesome run this morning. Ran with Halli (one of the mums from Kindy) along our regular route. It's a 7km loop and I wasn't planning on running that far..........yeah well, I did and it was great! Hard work after the 5km mark but its great to be pushing myself.

Still haven't made a decision about the 12 week challenge. These are the thoughts that keep rolling around in my head:
1. I'm pretty much doing it already so why do it
2. I'm pretty much doing it already so why not
3. Can I do it to the level I want while breastfeeding
4. If I do it, I will need to consume more calories because of breastfeeding - am I happy with this
5. Why do it this year? Why not wait.
6. I can do it
7. I really want to give it a go and see what happens
8. If everything goes pear shaped I can stop
9. It will give the extra incentive to keep going

As you can see, every 5 minutes I change my mind!

Can someone out there please just tell me what to do!!!

Decision time again

PT session today and it was hard. 20 minutes in and I had to have a break because I was close to spewing!! Lesson learnt - don't eat a banana just before a PT session!

A few weeks ago I happened to be flicking through the tv channels and came across a show called Max's muscle tv. It was showing the winners of a 12 week challenge. Basically there is a challenge for men and a separate challenge for women. I had a look at the website and discovered that registration opens on 15th July and the actual challenge starts on 29th July. There isn't a whole lot of information but basically it's a challenge to get into shape. It's free and anyone can do it. I'm really tempted to give it a go. Now that I have learnt some valuable lessons about nutrition, I think I can do it. I've got 6 days to decide.....

Miracles do happen

So I dragged myself to the gym this morning.

First stop......scales.

To my utter amazement, since my last weigh in 3 weeks ago, I have lost 2.4kg! Unbelievable! Especially considering that I have not been watching my food intake at all for the past 2 weeks. Great news!

Second stop......treadmill.

My plan was to give running a go just to see how my back was. All good there! No problems. I decided to just run easy and see how I'd go - ok, I'm lying. I wanted to see if I could run 5km. And I did! With petrol left in the tank.

Feeling much more positive about everything tonight. Running seems to be back on track which means I can get back into some kind of structured training. I have a PT session tomorrow so I'll see what Michael says and where we go from here.

Things are looking up!

Frustration levels......all time high

I haven't posted for weeks and that's because I have had nothing to report. NOTHING! Basically everything has gone down the drain. The eating plan, the exercise regime, everything. And I'm not happy about it.

To cut a long story short, the eating plan had a really bad effect on my milk supply. I discovered that I wasn't producing nearly enough milk for Matilda and she began waking through the night for feeds. As soon as this happened, the eating plan got thrown out the window. I was always cautious about the effect it would have on my milk (see Nutrition makeover) and exclusively breastfeeding Matilda is definitely my number 1 priority. So the eating plan is no longer and this has a massive effect on my 12 week challenge (12 week challenge). So I've pretty much given up on it for now.

Add to that a back strain I got during my very first PT session. Kettlebells and medicine ball throws during my first session did some real damage to my back and I haven't been able to do anything since! That's almost 3 weeks of ZERO exercise! DISASTER

And........we received an invite to a very good friends wedding in Adelaide and it just happens to be on the same weekend as the 10km Jetty to Jetty run I have entered. Decision to go was a no-brainer (wedding trumps run every time) but that goal has also disappeared before my very eyes.

So that's where I'm at. Back is all good now so I'm back at the gym tomorrow but......

.....no idea what to do from here........