My Journey

Michelle Bridges Challenge

2011-07-14T06:05:00.000-07:00

I have had a good few weeks and I do not have gallstones which is good, still not 100% but better. I have been more aware of what I have been eating, but I have decided to kick it up a notch and complete Michelle bridges 4week challenge from her book " lose the last 5 kg".

I really feel I need something more at the moment to be more focussed. I have pre planned with scheduling next weeks meetings, personal commitments and outings, training and figuring out potential times that will be challenges. I have also gone through the recipes and written a list of what I need. I am 100% committed and it feels good. It does not mean I can lose control over the next few days but I have been trialling her workouts and they are tough- I have been sore, but the good type of sore. So I will do the pre fitness test to find out my base line so I can monitor my progress as well as do my measurements on Sunday.

I can not believe it is Friday tomorrow and half way through the month!

Amy
Xx

It has nearly been two years since my last post!

2011-07-04T05:32:00.000-07:00

Wow how time passes!! My last blog was in August 2009 and a lot has changed since then. I have still been following many blogs but needed a break from blogging myself. I now have the need to write again and blog my journey.

I was married earlier this year to my beautiful partner Ben. We have been together 10 years in December and he really is my better half- he truly is a wonderful person who treats me like an angel. I am so lucky to him :)

I still have good days as well as having some not so good days but I finally took the step to getting some help before the wedding. I did not want to take my body/food issues into this marriage especially pass anything to on to my future children. I want to feel confident and feel good in my own shoes. I am getting there but it will not be something that will change over night. I found it hard to completely open up but starting to make some progress in that department. The one thing that I really wanted was to feel beautiful on my wedding day and look back at the photos and love what I see and not criticise every last detail. I can successfully say I achieved this and my wedding day was an absolute dream.

Since the wedding I have been having some huge problems with my stomach, with pain after eating and lots of bloating. I am scheduled for an ultrasound later this week as well as blood tests to see if I have gall stones. I hope I do not have this but I hope they do find out what is going on. I just feel "blah" all the time. I have put on a few kgs since the wedding and the bloating is not helping so I really want to focus on losing this the right way. I am trying to not be so strict on my self and listen to what I have been told but some demons get in the way. I am only allowed to weigh myself once a week. I ask my other half to hide the scales so I can not be tempted and so far this is working. I also think that this weather is making it tough for me, because I really crave warm comforting food.

My training these days mainly consists of running. I ran the Perth city to surf half marathon last year and I am planning to do the same again this year. This year I have also convinced my two good friends to join me and we have been doing our long runs together every weekend. I then try and run 2-3 times plus this long run every week and some resistance work in between. I am also going to get some help with the resistance training so I can keep strong and possibly change my shape slightly.

So my goals for the remainder of this week are:

1. Track my food everyday (I also need to do this to see if any food triggers a strong pain)
2. Not snack before and after dinner (I tend to snack when I get home from work and after dinner so I am really going to try hard to keep myself busy to avoid this).
3. Drink 8 glasses of water a day.

So small achievable goals for the remainder of this week.

It is nice to be back :)

Amy

My week

2009-08-09T06:16:00.000-07:00

Well what a week I have had. It all started on friday night when I had very few hours sleep from my friends going away party. I had a few too many champagnes and had to be up at some ridiculous hour to get up to northam for the beginning of the avon descent. However the lack of sleep had only started!!

So I was the support crew with another one of my OH friends gf for the whole event. The first day was a 60km paddle and the sunday is a 72 km paddle or something very close to this. Well at the first stop they looked really good but from then on the my OH was looking terrible. Each stop he looked progressively worse. Poor thing had been off all week with some nasty bug and had hardly eaten much- or no where near enough for this type of endurance race. He did however manage the first day for his mate who mentally kept him going. Well he was up all night being sick and at about 4am started having chest pain and shortness of breath. We had had no sleep but I just wanted to keep him home so I packed up his things and got him home asap. Thankfully both his parents are doctors and gave him pain killers. Over the next hour or so he got no better so off to the hospital we went. So xrays and ecg and echo latter they diagnosed him with pericarditis- which is inflammation of the heart. He looked terrible but thankfully the pain was controlled once the pain killers had kicked in. I had two sleep over the two nights so I absolutely crashed on Sunday night at 6:30.

So my 100 day challenge did not get to the best start. I would say in that time I would be down about 4 bones. Today was start of phase two so I am going to put in a 100% effort. I did not eat lots in this period- If anything less but some of the not so good choices.

So recapping my goals I did eat bread once in the first phase, I definitely did not blog 4 times, I did do my cardio and missed out one weights session, I did not binge.

So today I started on a really high note and went for 11km run with one of my closest friends. This put me in the mind shape to eat well for the rest of the day.

So my aim for the next phase is to concentrating on not eating bread and getting all my training in.

Will post again soon

I will post a full update tomorrow

2009-08-04T07:43:00.000-07:00

I have had a terrible weekend and so much has happened with only 2 hours sleep over 2 nights. I am all ok but am exhausted and must get to sleep this evening. Will post my full update of events and goal trckings tomorrow sometime.

Amy

I actually started today!

2009-07-29T07:05:00.000-07:00

So the 100 day challenge started today for me! I know I said I was going to start tomorrow but I thought this morning why can't I start today. I have already written down my goals and printed out a chart to tick off on my fridge, so I really could start today. I will however take my photos and measurements as of tomorrow when I have time to take them.

So my goals for each day are:

1. No bread- bread always makes me feel heavy, bloated and just generally yuck so I am going to give it up for the 100days.
2. Minimum 2litres of water day
3. To have protein with every meal
4. To do 3x weight sessions and 4x cardios a week
5. Blog 4 times a week minimum.
6. No binge eating

So today I have achieved all of my goals. I did a 20min run this morning followed by an 1hr athletic pilates this evening. IAs I said I will weigh and do measurements tomorrow and then will not do again for another 10 days.

I am feeling great about this added motivation. I have also given myself some treats if achieve goals along the way. I will post them in the next few days.

Amy
x

100 day challenge

2009-07-28T06:30:00.001-07:00

My hundred day challenge will start on Thursday. I have Thursday afternoon off so I will set aside some time to plan, chart, write my goals ect. Feel free to follow other inspiring people by seeing Katie Posts http://thin-enough.blogspot.com/ . She is very inspirational!!

So my other challenge is still continuing this will just add to the motivation and keep me even more on track

2009-06-28T21:49:00.000-07:00

My 12 week challenge that I was doing has taken a slight turn with starting from week one again due to be lucky enough to do another challenge with Sue. So I am in a really good frame mind at the moment at at the beginning of week 2. The last week got me thinking and really focussing on my hunger signals and learning to understanding them. I felt really good all week and managed the weekend well.

So I lost 1.9kg in this first week. I know I won't lose this every week but was very impressed by this number.

On other news my finance has been all approved for my house and settlement will be in about 6 weeks. My OH and I are so pleased and we made our first big purchase of leather couches on theweekend. Since Myer was having a fab sale I cleaned up and my kitchen is pretty much set now.

I am house sitting for the next 7 weeks so we will be moving in when I leave here. I adore my parents but it is nice to be independent again. After coming home from london living at home was bliss- mum really does so much for me and takes the stress out of everything. It is about now that I am really ready to leave again though.

So that has been my little update for the last few weeks. Till next week

Amy
xx

2009-06-14T02:20:00.000-07:00

Well it has been very very busy week because ........

I have bought my first house!!

We had our offer accepted on Tuesday and now going through the processes to get finance approval. We should have no problems there as our finance brocker has been very thorough and he seems to think it will be fairly straight forward. So we have fingers and toes crossed till then. It is my ideal first home. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, double carport, nice court yard and in a location we have been looking in for the last 8 months. We are both very happy.

So besides the emotional ups and downs and stresses of putting in an offer ect ect. I have had a very good week. Training has been spot on. Food has been pretty good. One of my free meals was homemade scones with jam and the other one was homemade chocolate pudding. Besides that I have been spot on. Scales are coming down slowly. I always get to a certain point and then they decrease by a snail pace. I just need to keep being consistent and I know the results will come.

I have 5 weeks till bali so I am super focused on having a hot bod for that and being very comfortable in a bikini. I think I may need a spray tan before I go so I am not so white!

Hope you all have had a lovely weekend.

Amy
xx

I am still here

2009-06-10T05:34:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say I am still here and doing well. Some very exciting things have happened to me this week but I have been so busy so will update everything over the weekend.

xx

The Honesty Post

2009-05-26T05:30:00.000-07:00

I have spent a lot of time procrastinating with writing this post and have kept telling myself I will blog tonight. Then tonight comes and goes and I still haven't written down my feelings. I have spent the last few weeks doing some serious thinking and I have embarked on a 12 week challenge. I am currently in my second week.

This all came about because I was just plodding along away nicely and quite pleased with myself with weight loss and tone. However the last month I have hit a plateau and it is time to mix things up a bit. I became very disheartened when my weight wouldn't budge any more and this lead to a few poor choices, lack of tracking and the viscious cycle started. However I did not stop exercising but was not losing anything because of the lack of tracking and extra calories. I know the scales can do eveyone's head in but my measurements were staying the same as well. The guilt then set in because I have been hear so many times before. I know I have come a long way compared to about 3 years ago when I lost too much weight the wrong way but I know I still have a way to go to get this head in the correct space!

So with my OH sister wedding, and myself being a bridesmaid in October, a trip to Bali in July and a few trips to Melbourne as well I have decided to do this 12 week challenge. I am tracking my food and eating 5-6 small meals a day, increased my protein and commenced a new training program. I am having one free week. I am going to have weekly weigh ins and measurements and post on my blog to keep me accountable. I have been so inspired to all the girls that have competed recently. I really draw inspiration from you girls and have been following your journeys for a long time. So here to my 12 week challenge- the more confident Me!!

So in my first week weight loss was 1.2kg. I was pretty happy with that. So we will see on Thursday what my measurements ect. are.

I fly to Melbourne this weekend with 5 other girlfriends. I will have everything prepped and ready to take with me. Planning is a big thing for me and so far every meal and work out has been planned to the T. So I am very positive at the moment and I hope to stay that way. I have promised myself I will blog each week no matter what- good or bad, but main thing is being true to myself.

So I will post Thursday to up-date.

Till then

xxx

Where did April Go?

2009-04-29T22:51:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we are at the end of another month yet again. Time just flies by and especially with a few long weekends thrown in their for us Perthies. I am actually getting use to having a monday off every few weeks!

Everything has been going fairly well for me. My weight has plateau and I don't like it. I keep losing the same 500g. I have been really strict this week with food and exercise and saw a nice drop today so hopefully it keeps going down in this direction. I put on a little bit over easter but suprising not as bad as I thought. We went away over this period and I planned most of my meals and didn't indulge too much. We went to wineries down south and ate a few times- oh so bliss!

Training for my half is going great guns till I found out that the date I was supposed to be running is on the same weekend I have to be in Melbourne for my Grandma's 80th! I will not let this stop me though. I have found another one that is tougher and earlier by about a month. I am going to train hard to hopefully achieve this. We will see. I have bought new sneakers and they have felt good till two days ago when I did my long run and gave me huge blisters. I ran 10km today and the blister was killing me by the end.

Not much else to report. I am going to Melbourne in June too with 5 of my girlfriends for a weekend of footy, shopping and going out!

Can't wait!

xx

Over Due

2009-04-07T06:39:00.000-07:00

I am so bad at keeping this blog up-to-date. My intentions are always there and I always read the blogs but I need to learn to contribute more. I think I get too involved reading everyone's and then by the time I finish doing this I run out of time to update or I am too tired to do so. So from now I will type before I read.

I have been going really well. I down to my last 1.5kg to my goal weight. It doesn't sound like much but over the last 2 weeks I drop a little and then put it back on- I have really hit a plateau. I have been changing a few things this week so I hope to see a nice change.

Training has been going well. I had a half about a week and half ago with another lot of tonsilitis followed by a chest infection. Even walking had me coughing up a lung. Not a pretty sight. But since then I have been going really well. My boss knows I am a keen runner so he has challenged me to do a half marathon with him. He has done one before also but would like the challenge to do another and wants me to inspire him. I think we will be feeding off eachother. So the training has started for that. There are a few in Perth so it just is a matter of deciding on which one to do.

I have also been doing a lot of pilates and bikram and this has helped out so much. I am getting less back pain and have increased my flexibity so much. I am hoping to continue this throughout my training to keep me injury free. I don't want to be like the last time I trained for the half and tear my hip flexor about 3 weeks before the race.

Work like usual is super busy but looking forward to having four days off. I am going away with bf for some much needed relax and wind down time. I will hopefully get some scenic runs in there too.

So happy easter to all!

Love Amy

Ps. Thanks Selina and Hilary for messaging me- it made me get a move on and up-date my blog!!xxx

Morning Run

2009-03-11T18:22:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling great at the moment. I got up early this morning and went for a 30minute run along the river. I love this time of the morning. It is so peaceful, the water is like glass, no wind around- just really pleasant. Initially when the alarm goes off and it is now dark at this time I shudder but I quickly get up, put the runners on and get going. I thank myself for doing this by the end. It is a time to clear my thoughts and get prepped mentally for the day ahead. I try and do this about 4 mornings a week. I wish daylight saving finished last month because it so dark when I get up. But ten again I love the long evenings! I think if it finished at the end of Feb it would be perfect.

I am only working this morning so I will go to the gym straight from work and then I have a bit of shopping and stuff to do. It should be a good day!

On the weight front I am now down 7.5kg. I have been gettig heaps of comments and feeling good. Everything is just fitting nicely!

xxxxxx

2009-02-14T00:01:00.001-08:00

Weight- Total loss of 6.9kg

Feeling- I have been feeling great with a big loss of a kg this week. I have felt really low, tired and not into much the week before and put on 0.1kg. It was nothing but I felt bloated and yuck so to speak. This week I have changed a few thing around and feeling great again. I am really happy with how I am looking of late. I am getting definition and getting some really lovely comments. I think that in itself just gives you a nice confidence boost. So I am 2kg of my weight that I was aiming for.

We went bridemaid dress shopping today. I tried on size 10 but that was often quite big so i had to get an 8. I was chuffed. I haven't been a size 8 for a little while. These dresses were quite loose and flowing on the bottom half. I felt really good looking in the mirror.

I am really enjoying my training at the moment. I have been throwing pilates and bikram yoga into the mix and I have this being a great benefit. I feel like I recover a lot better, especially after my weight sessions.

Will update again soon!!
xxxxxx

2009-01-24T04:53:00.000-08:00

A photo taken at a really good friends wedding

Feeling a bit blah today

2009-01-24T04:35:00.001-08:00

Weight: up 0.2g today (total loss 5.9kg)

Exercise- 30 min run this morning and walk around the bridges from my house (11km walk).

Feeling- I just feel exhausted today. I couldn't sleep this morning. I live near the south perth foreshore and the cockatoos start calling before the sun isn't up. They are really starting to do my head in! So I got up and got going. I went for a really good run this morning. I felt energised and ran well. I love this feeling when you could run forever. All up probably a bit over 5km. So after this I had to have a blood test. My iron levels are still low and Dr needs to find out why. I have results they are low, go on a course of iron supplements and still low- no wonder i feel tired! So they took what felt like 100's of vials from me today. Felt very light headed at one stage. I could hear the blood being expressed into the vials. Not pleasant. Did my fruit and veg shopping, did the bathrooms, vacuumed and mopped and hung out two loads of washing all before 10:30. Now its 9:30pm and i'm zonked. Not up for doing anything tonight. So I might curl up with a good mag and get some shut eye. Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone. So glad it is a long one!!
xxxxx

Starting Fresh.

2009-01-17T18:55:00.000-08:00

I have decided I am going to blog my weight loss (hopefully not many gains!) and what I have been doing every couple of days so I can record how I am feeling and see how I am going. Since October last year I have lost 5kgs and would love to lose the last 3kg to be very happy at where I am. I am not worried about the number of the scale and have learnt how my body reacts with certain foods, time of the month, stress. It really has been interesting. I am feeling great but could still see a few more improvements.

So today:

Weight- down 0.3 from yest

Exercise: 30mins on interval training and stretch and few leg exercises

Feeling- Feeling good. I am a little bit tired but all is well. I had a big day yesterday and because work is so busy had to go in yesterday to sort out a few new contracts. Going to see a movie this arvo and then catching up with some friends at a friend's going away party (she is moving to sydney)

Mondays come around too quickly!!

2008-11-16T21:29:00.000-08:00

I had such a lovely weekend. I went to down south to Gracetown with a whole heap of people from work. One of the girls goes back to the Aberdeen Office so we decided to all get away and have a weekend away. This way they could see what we were all talking about with the our wonderful wineries. The house was right on the beach and was just so peaceful. My good friend who got me my job had to drive back on Saturday afternoon to celebrate our friends engagement. We managed to fit in a really long walk along the beach and some tracks up some hills to a beautiful lookout. So I was tired on Sunday and enjoyed a nice sleep in and a lazy morning with my OH and then had coffee with the girls in the arvo. Bliss.

I have been training really hard of late but weighed myself from after the weekend and put on 0.5kg. Not to worry. I think it were the few drinks, the salt and the lack of intense exercise over the last few days. Back to controlled eating today and feeling better already. It really got me thinking to how a number on the scale can really dtermine how you feel. I know it shouldn't and it is only a number and knowing my weight I can easily flucuate depending on the time of the month, or not having enough water ect. So I just kept telling myself that today and it has just made me think to get back on the right track and not undo all the hard work of late.

As I said in my last post my boyfriends sister got engaged. She asked me last weekend to be her bridesmaid, so all very exciting. Now this is even greater incentive to look fabulous. We are going dress looking after christmas so this is one little goal to keep me going!

Hope you are all well. Take care

Amy
xxxxxx

So where have I been?

2008-11-03T20:04:00.000-08:00

Well I have been running around like a chicken with no head!!

Life has been a whirl wind for the last 6 weeks and I hope now it is starting to settle down. I can't believe that my last post was so so long ago. I will not bore you with what I have been doing but it has been a combination of many things. I have officially finished uni for the semester and now have evenings free again. Uni has taken up so much of my time. I was there 3 nights a week for classes and then the multiple hours that are required for assignments. It has been nice having no exams but the stress of finishing assignments with balancing work and a chance of a life has been hard. I don't think I will do 3 units next semester but just 2 as work is becoming more and more busy and demanding. All over now so it is nice to just be working full time. I have had other stresses in this time period and has probably been more the reason for having time away from blogging. Everything seems to be improving there so I should have less stress from now on.

I have still managed to keep training going well. It seems to be the one thing that I can do to release tension and stress and just have some quality 'me' time. It really is my saving grace. I have lost 3.6kg in this time and feeling really good again. Another couple wouldn't go astray but all in all am feeling happier with the way I am looking. All my clothes are feeling nicer. I have been doing a lot of rpm as this class is offered the most in the early morning. I feel so good after it. I can feel that I am getting fitter also. I have also joined a fitness/boot camp on saturday mornings. This is fab. It is run by an ex army guy who is super fit for his age of 70. He really pushes you. The first time I went I felt like throwing up from the intense work out he put us through. It goes for about an 1.5hrs and I am totally beat after I finish. I do it with my good friend. We lived in london together and she was doing the classes before she went over. I promised her I would join when I ghot back so I have. It mixes the routine up a bit and thoroughly enjoy the challenge.

With uni, training, work, the rest of the time has been spent with friends and family. It must be the time for weddings and engagements. I have been to two weddings in the last 4 weeks and have had 3 engagements in this time period. Something must be in the waters. My bf sister just got engaged last weekend and it was all so exciting. We found out the news while we were at his cousins wedding. She is one of these people who has everything organised to the last detail. She has an organised file with tabs on them and has already booked all the big things like church, venue etc. I couldn't believe it! She was planning it all the day after! If that was me I would definitely be enjoying it and not even thinking of this!!hahaha

Well I best go get some work done. Everyone else is out of the office for Melbourne cup. I drew the short straw and has had to stay back. I will be joining them all later.

Till next time,

Amy
xxxxxx

I am still here!

2008-08-26T05:31:00.000-07:00

I have been very absent of late and so much has happened. My life felt like a rollercoaster the last few weeks. I felt like I jumped on and couldn't get off. Too much to explain in the post but am doing much better now.

Uni is going very well and really enjoying it as well. It really helps that I am doing HR a few days a week and the people at work have been fabulous with helping out. I am already on a week off. Uni students have it great!! 4 weeks on, one week off. I don't have exams so I finish at the end of october for this semester. Very nice!

I am still going really well with food and training wise. I have managed to lose about 5kg in my challenge and I would just like to lose another 2 and I would be really happy. With all this added stress, instead of eating too much I tend to forget to eat. All on track now and eating nice healthy regular meals. I am really enjoying rpm, running in the mornings and few weight sessions as well in the week. I really see my training time as my escape and some "me time".

I will try and update more often and thanks for those who left comments. I really enjoy reading other people's blogs and I don't always leave comments but will hopefully do this more in the future.

Amy
xxxx

Due for an update...

2008-07-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

Well It definitely hasn't been the best two weeks food and training wise. I have been so ill we two lots of tonsilitis. This is the 5th lots in about 8 months or so and I am totally over it. I got to the first one early and OH parents are both specialists so they got me onto antibiotics straight away. Felt feverish and my throat like razors but after about 3 days of antibiotics got back into the training again and was starting to feel good. Two days after I finished that course of antibiotics I woke up in the middle of the night with what felt like razor blades in my throat and I was drenched in my own sweat. Felt awful again. So had anoth lot of antibiotics and this time blood tests to find out what was going on with my body.

So the outcome was that I was ridculously low in iron. Mine was 1 and it is suppossed to be around 8. So I had the choice over injections or tablets- of course I opted for tablets (I am such a wuss!!). I am feeling a bit more normal now and less tired but today was my first day back at the gym after about a week and have just been doing some light walks as I couldn't handle anything else without the feeling of fainting. I felt a bit shaky with some weights today but did take it pretty easy.

The thing is though with hardly being able to swallow and just feeling so tired I have been not eating no where near as much as I should as I just have had no appetite. I am sure now that I am getting my mojo back I hope to get to eating my planned meals. I was doing so well in my challenge that this has really taken me a few steps back from what I was. I feel I have lost strength that I gained. I still have 4 weeks left so we will see. I do weight lighter because of being sick but it is not for the right reasons.

So I am planning for a full week of training and nutrition ahead. I also start uni tonight so quite excited but anxious at the same time. I have planned all my meals around this and am prepared as I don't finish uni till 8:30 at night. I hope I can cope with it all. We will see!!

So happy it's Friday

2008-07-11T00:03:00.000-07:00

Well so much for writing every week. I have been a bit slack the last few weeks. Partly because I have been busy but also that when I get near a computer I love to read people's blogs and then too tired to update mine. Poor excuse hey!!

I am going still really good with my 12 week challenge. I have been spliting it up into 2 week intervals. It is so much easier to manage and feel a sense of achievement earlier. I am still losing gradually. On average about a half a kilo a week. I am so happy with that. I have never been able to lose huge amounts except for my first week or so of doing challenges.

I have been keeping a food diary which has been super helpful. It really keeps me 'real' but also catches out where I am going slightly astray as well. All in all I have done very well and no chocolate since my last little bit about 3 or 4 weeks ago. I know that and dried fruit are my downfalls so I am staying well clear and not even having them for my free meals till I feel really in control and know how to stop myself!

On other news I had my enrolment for uni on Tuesday and it really hit me that I was going back to study. I had a mini freak-out that I would not be able to cope with it all but thank goodness my mum is on school holidays and she talked some sensible sense into me! hahahah. So from july 28 I will be one busy busy lady. The company maersk I have been working for want me to work for them as much as possible as they are really ahppy with what I am doing and even spoke about possible full-time work after my first semester of uni if I was interested. So all very exciting.

I am finally feeling happier and more myself again with my body and work wise. I came home from overseas so unsettled but I am now finally feeling happy about all aspects of my life again.

So to the rest of these week- I hope all goes well.

xxxxxxxxxx

I can hardly walk!

2008-06-23T01:41:00.000-07:00

I am in total agony. I did my leg work out yesterday followed by intervals for cardio. I increased all my weights for legs and today I can hardly move. Walking even hurts. I dropped a pen on the floor today and I nearly cried picking it up.

So today I have done my back/shoulders training but cardio will not happen today. I think i'll be lucky if I can do it tomorrow even. hehehehe

As for the rest of my week last week it is still going well. I lost some more in both weight and centimeters but not as much as I hoped. I felt like I was retaining some fluid but I have been drinking so much water so I am hoping for a big loss this week. I will doing everything in power to make it a fantastic weight loss week like my first week. I managed to get 4 weight sessions in and the 5 cardios in as well plus one extra walk. I forgot how hard Sue's program was! I am feeling stronger and better for it every day.

I am working and getting paid this week for the mining company I have done work experience with. I went in last week and went through all there testing and they are very pleased with me, so they asked when am I free?? So I have re-arranged with my other work so I can work a few days with them this week. Very exciting!!

My aunty and uncle have been here from Auckland so I am a bit familied out with all the family do's that we have had. I have loved every bit of it though really! hehehe

Till later,

Aims
x

Day 14

2008-06-16T03:27:00.000-07:00

And going fairly strong. The first week of a challenge you are always raring to go, second week not so much. Read lots of inspirational stuff last night and very focused again!

So the past week has been fairly good. I had a few minor slip-ups but nothing serious. I still had a loss of 0.5kg this week and lost cms so happy. I just must get my mojo from week 1 again and all will be good. I love doing my cardio outdoors (I can't stand to run on a treadmill!) and the weather has been really crappy here in Perth. I just read Shar's blog about running in the rain. You very rarely have huge down pours like the weekend and I too got wet!! I have been doing more rpm classes for some of my cardio instead. I have been working really hard in my weight sessions and have been pulling up sore the next day.

I really hope my computer is all sorted again. My posts were not coming up and none of the other blogs I read were getting updated too. I think I have it fixed so I don't post a thousand times of the same one and get totally frustrated!

Other good news last week- I got accepted into uni for postgrad HR. I start on the 28th July. Very happy and excited. I also got contract work with the mining company that I have been doing work experience for. Very happy!!

have a great week and thanks for all your messages.

Amy
x

day 10

2008-06-12T04:07:00.001-07:00

Please post!

Day 10, I wrote this yesterday but it didn't work!

2008-06-12T02:28:00.001-07:00

I just wrote a post and it got deleted. Gee that is frustrating!!

I just wanted to tell you all that I am doing fairly well diet and training wise. I had a little slip up the other day. Not very bad though. I sneaked in a handful of dried fruit. I don't even know why I did it. So I am feeling a bit peckish now so I decided to come and blog.

I went for an 11km run today. I struggled though. My hamstrings were sore from training my legs the other day so it felt like I had ankle weights on the whole way. I had to stop once to catch my breath as it was all over the place. When I got home I trained shoulders. I normally always do weights first but realised if I didn't do them today they might not get done this week. So I am quite tired and sore now.

I lost a total of 2.2kg in my first week. I forgot to take measurements on my first day so I took them at week 1 so I will continue to measure from now on. I still have been checking my weight every few days and it is still going down most days. It has become a bit more gradual but I am happy with that.

I will write again in a few days. It is making me accountable, so is my food journal.

Aimsxx

Day 6

2008-06-07T23:26:00.000-07:00

Hello all!

I have been doing really well so far on this challenge, so I am hoping to continue this way. I have a sqizz at the scales this morning because I really wanted to know how the were going and so far I have lost a little over 2kgs, so I am really happy.

I have been eating really well and tracking my food down daily. This really seems to help. I am suprised I haven't had too many cravings which is good because I do have a bit of a sweet tooth. I have had a few sugar free lollies last night when I went to Sex and the City movie. By the movie is fab!! Everyone around me had lollies, popcorn, coke and chocolate and tell you the truth I really wasn't that tempted.

I have been getting all my workout in that I have planned the night before. I have been so sore with DOMS though. I love the feeling though.

I am probably going to have my free meal tonight as I am going to my boyf parents place for dinner. If I can I will stick to just protein and vegies but I don't know what she has planned. She is a fabulous cook!!

I got up this morning and went for a long ride with lots of hills in it. The wind was so strong and cold this morning my legs were shot after it. I have spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon trying to set up a selling account for mum on ebay. The photos were so slow at uploading. She is hoping to sell some furniture that doesn't suit our new home so she can go out and put it towards new furniture.

WEll i best be off I am meeting my girlfriends for coffee (myself green tea).

Speak soon
xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Day 2 of 12 week challenge

2008-06-04T00:13:00.000-07:00

All is well here. It is my second day of my 12 week challenge and I am feeling very positive. I have been super organised and organised all my meals and my training times for the week. I have written my goals up and have also made an inspiration book, so I feel very well prepared for this coming 12 weeks. I also got all my old noted out from Sue for some extra inspiration.

So far I have followed the plan down to a 'T'. I did cardio at lunch time today for 45 minutes and my boyf is going to train me tonight for weights. He always seems to push me that bit further. He has promised me he will train with me for the next 12 weeks too. He is really so supportive and am lucky to be with someone who is so fit and healthy.

Already I feel lighter (even the scale says so in one day- I know its just fluid though!) and just feel good. I was a bit peckish last night when I got home from work but I just changed straight into my gym clothes and went and then after dinner I distracted myself by reading a book in bed so I was not near the kitchen.

I will be trying to blog every few days to keep myself focused and on track. So till then....

Amy
xxxxxxx

Yay!It's a long weekend!!

2008-05-29T22:56:00.000-07:00

I am very much looking forward to this long weekend in Western Australia. I am going down south again to my OH family's holiday house. I am looking forward to some nice relaxing days, visit some winderies, some nice long runs (hopefully) and spending time with my OH and his family.

I have now put my application in for uni to do my masters in human resources. So I will know in a few weeks if I am accepted. I am very much looking forward to going back to study. I know it will be crazy, but when is life not? I have been doing work experience in HR for a mining company and loving it. I will initially be doing the course full-time and working for this first semester and then hopefully get a job in HR management and do part-time from then on. I may be lucky enough to a get a job in the company I am doing the work experience for. We will see in the next few weeks if all that goes to plan.

Exercise and diet wise has been ok but there is definite improvement that can occur. I stepped on the scales for the first time this morning and was a little suprised by the number but it is the TOTM so I am not too concerned. I have been plodding along with food and exercise and I feel like I need a new challenge to get myself really motivated again. I am going to follow the program that Sue did for me a few years ago that worked wonders back then another go. I felt so good at the end of the 12 weeks and managed to lose weight and tone up. I will be strating off less than I did last time so I hope to see some noice changes! I will be starting when I get back from this long weekend. So I will be posting a bit more to keep myself accountable.

Amy
xx

Feeling good!

2008-05-07T00:48:00.000-07:00

I have had areally good past week. It really feels like everything has finally clicked since I have come home. It really has taken me a while to settle back into things.

My knee has finally settled down. I really have no idea what was happening with it. I really need to go and buy new runners so that may be p[art of the problem. My calves are now the ones that have been bothering me but I know if I stretch them they will feel better. I have been doing jacobs ladder a few times a week so I that is the reason my calf muscles are tight. I am really enjoying my running again, so now that my knee feels better I can hope to extend my runs a little further. Diet wise everything has clicked as well. I am really feeling positive at the moment.

I have a crazy weekend ahead and rest of the week. I have been doing some work experience as well as my normal work to see if HR is what I really want to do. My first day was last friday and absolutely loved it. They through me right in but I suppose that is the best way to learn sometimes. I am back there on Friday so I hope for another successful day. The time just flew by and it felt great to be doing something completely different to what I am used to. So I have one of my closest friends engagement party on Friday night, a friends birthday saturday day, my OH mother's b'day saturday night and then mother's day on sunday. I will be exhausted by monday!!

Have a great day on Sunday all you mothers out there!!

xxxxxx

I'm getting frusrated!!

2008-04-23T03:10:00.000-07:00

First of all we had a lovely weekend away. It was so nice to relax, watch dvds, snuggle while it was raining outside and just spend time together. He took me out for a beautiful lunch on saturday. I must admit we indulged a little bit over the weekend but exercised each morning and definately didn't go overboard.

My knee is still giving me hell. Ihave been doing a lot of riding and walking with weights as running is the one that really aggrevates it. I think I am going to have to call a collegue of mine to fit me in for some much needed physio. I just hope it is not serious and heals very quickly. I went and did jacobs ladder again today followed by a ride on my stationary bike at home. I probably shouldn't have done it as my knee is really sore now. I think it will be just a long walk for me tomorrow.

Everything else is going well. I called up for my application for uni today. So that is all very exciting. I will hopefully be allowed to start next semester.

Take care
xxxxxx

2008-04-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

Well I haven't been very consistent with writing everyday. I think I will make it weekly. I don't get near a computer everyday so to say i'll blog daily is a bit of a joke.

This week has been going well. Since I have made the decision to study again I have been a lot happier. It was playing a lot on my mind and now that I have spoken to a lot of different people and have got their opinions I am really quite excited. So I will be a working and studying girl next semester!!

Fitness wise and foodwise I have been going ok. I wouldn't say it is my best eating week but it hasn't been a blow out either. I have had some chocolate here and there and just bigger portion sizes than usual. I hate it when I feel too full and I have done this a few times this week. Exercise wise has been good. I have been doing power walking for about an hour each day with hand weights. My left knee has been playing up. I do not know if it has been because I have been doing jacobs ladder about 2-3 times a week and then running on the other days. So this week I have done walking and tried jacobs ladder today. The knee was good. I was waiting for it to start hurting but it didn't, so I kept on going. I am paying for it a bit now though. I feel good that I did it.

I am really looking forward to this weekend. My OH is taking me away for the weekend. Since I got back home we really have been so flat out to spend some quality time together. His mum has been very ill and now on her road to recovery. His new job also took a lot of his time and my constant worries have probably consumed his other time. So I am very excited about this weekend. He has a holiday house just out of margaret river so some nice wine tasting will probably be in order.

Hope you are all well and to a positive and happy week ahead

Amy
xxx

2008-04-06T22:45:00.000-07:00

Well I am now back in Perth and slowly settling in. I mean slowly too. A lot has happened since arriving home. My parents have finished building there new home so we have moved in and getting settled there. It has been quite strange to move back into home while living away for a long time. I am very lucky that I get along with mum and dad very well and am enjoying the space of our new house. It will be great to be spoilt for a bit and till I find my feet.

I have been a lot of soul searching since being away and now coming home. I am looking at changing my career and doing human resources. I have been contemplating it for quite some time now but now have been active and really looking into it. I need to make some big decisions as I will eligible to start in second semester-either at uni or tafe. I am just trying to figure out the best course to take.

Fitness wise and diet wise I have been fairly good. I have lost some weight since returing home. It is nice to get back into my regular exercise sessions and be in control of what I am eating. I am going to try and start a new program in a few weeks to keep me focussed but my number one priority is figuring out my study. It is great being at home and having the support of mum and dad. At first I was really worried about how they would react in my career change but they have been really fantastic.

I am going to start blogging everyday as this really does keep me focussed. So for today:
Exercise: Run to jacobs ladder and run up it 8 times and run back. Total of 50 minutes. (This is so hard and any perth people who have done it will understand!!)

xxxxx

I wish this week was over!

2008-01-29T10:00:00.001-08:00

WARNING!!I rant and rave a bit in this one!!

I am having a really tough week. I am firstly missing my boyfriend terribly but most of all I am really angry with my guy friends who are also my house mates. We leave for South Africa next Monday but two of the boys thought it would be a great idea to go skiing a week before we are leaving. So they knew this very well in advanced but left there rooms in a big mess and hardly anything packed. They are due to come back on Sunday when we are doing the handover of our rental house. They are not coming home till the afternoon so I have no idea when they thought they were going to pack because I will have to do the whole handover. I got a call today and it is now changed to Saturday as the person doing it does not work on Sunday. So they have there keys, so they will have to organise how to get it to them.

I was furious when I came home on Saturday evening to find every pot and pan used and plates galore with food caked on. I have been staying at my girlfriends for the last few nights before this so i was not expecting a dirty house as I cleaned before I went to hers. The boys then left early Sunday morning. Nothing got done on Saturday as it was Oz day and we went to an aussie pub to celebrate with all other aussies in england! They also had quite a few drinks and when I got home at 8 they were already in bed!!

So the last few days I have been cleaning and scrubbing and dusting and you name it, i have done. I have never meet lazier boys in my life and who live like ferrals in their rooms. My room was upstairs and had an ensuite so I never went down stairs much to their rooms. It was so gross, there was mould on the doors as well.

Anyways I have finished it all now and nearly packed all my stuff. I can't wait to one of my other housemates comes home tonight as he has been in Dublin with his gf.

Food and exercise has been spot on this week. I had a few small choccies last night but that is all. My exercise has been my saviour as it is my stress release, and I have been doing something of the best runs and weight workouts!! I have decided to stop weighing myself so much as quite often the scales would determine what day I would have depending if i lost weight or i had put on. This way I go on how I am feeling and how my clothes look and feel. So far it has been working really well.

I will probably have time to write one more post before I leave for south africa. Sorry for ranting and raving. It helps to get it all out!!

have a great rest of the week

xxxxxxxx

2008-01-20T15:02:00.000-08:00

Well I can't believe that over half of january is over and I have only written one post. Ben left over a week ago now and took his laptop with him so checking my blog has been a bit of a struggle. I have been however reading everyone's blogs as much as possible. I am missing Ben like crazy but it 5 weeks till i see him now.

I have had a great year so far. My running is going great guns and have been running about 8-10km three times a week, 2 5km runs a week with intervals and about 4 weight training sessions. So I have been really impressed with myself. I am really keen to do a half marathon in September and have been thinking about doing training for some triathons when I get home too. We will see.

Had a few low days last week when I just felt really down about myself in general. I think it was a combination of missing ben, getting a bit scared about being so white and fitting into my bikini and just the uncertainity of how i am going to feel when going back home. I have thinking heaps about how I perceive myself to others. I really think I come across as a really confident, strong young women who knows what I want but deep down I really am a bit of a shambles but am building this to be a place where i am content with myself. Every day i struggle with body issues but am really focusing on positive thinking and the right attitude this year to help me over these issues. I am not going to let the weight on scales to determine my fortune and how i am feeling. I really am getting anxious about my work when i get home as it will be crunch time to decide if this is the career i want to endevour. I am trying not to think about this too hard at the moment as I really need to wait till i get back home to sort this out. So as you can se I have been doing a bit of soul searching. One of my closest friends come back from perth this week too so she has been shedding some positive feedback to me as well, some constructive stuff and some really positive things that I needed to hear as well. She is really a great friend who gives very honest advice and has been there to help me through some tougher times.

So after all that rambling I am feeling positive. I am going to have a great eating week, great exercise week, great feeling week and enjoying only working 3 days!!!

Have fun

Love Aims
xxx

Welcome 2008

2008-01-07T05:04:00.000-08:00

One of many beautiful spots in Caribbean

Me in Chamonix

Ben and I in Paris

I know I am very late with this post but I thought better late than never. I have been reflecting over my last year and it has been one that I will remember for the rest of my life. I have achieved so many fabulous things, seen some amazing sights, meet some fabulous people who will now be friends for life and have discovered more about myself than a very long time.

The list of places that I have been too has extended from places in Australia and NZ to pretty much every continent in the world. So many people have asked where my favourite place has been and I would have to say Paris and the Caribbean. Paris is just so amazing. There is a place for everybody. There is the history, the museums, the art, the shopping and the food!!!! I have dined at some amazing restaurants when Ben's parents came over in September. The Caribbean was also incredible. It was a hard life for those 6 weeks that we just sailed from island to island watching the cricket and building a fantastic tan. My life in these six weeks was so simple and easy without a care in the world. The places traveled on Contiki will be an experience that will also never be forgotten.

As you know I was skiing over Christmas. It was fantastic. It was quite different being away from family at this time and did feel a bit homesick but in saying this I will never forget it. We had a big Christmas dinner cooked by all 9 of us that went, played in the snow in the afternoon and laughed and drank merrily. I have become more confident on the ski's since the last time (12 years ago). I did manage to do a massive fall and get some big bruises and a very sore elbow but that didn't stop me from getting back up.

As for my personal development this year I have been faced to deal with my many emotions about my body and the way I feel about it. I know I will have a continual battle but I must admit I have had fewer back steps this year than from the last few. I had times when I felt ugly and fat but I now look back at photos and think I must have been crazy. I looked good but was just in a complete denial. I am learning to love myself for me in the present time and not to critise myself so much. My boyfriend has been a saviour and he is always helping me through some tough times and is always there for me. I love him heaps and I don't think he really knows how much it means to have the continual love and support that he gives me as he is one of the few people who really knows what mental battles I go through.

So for this year I hope for it to be an impressive one. I arrive back in Perth in late February after being to South Africa. My boy starts his new job in January and I am so happy for him. I will miss him heaps for the 6 weeks we are separated but I know it won't be long before seeing him. I am going to sort out my career path and decide if podiatry is what I want to do and go into partnership or if something else is in the making. I am going to run the half marathon back home in September and become more confident in my appearance and self with little baby steps along the way.

So to all of you Happy New Year!!

Lots of love Amy
xxxxxxxx

Guess who has had tonsilitis again!!!

2007-12-18T11:29:00.000-08:00

Yep thats right. ME!!

I feel like it is one sickness after the other with me at the moment. I hope that is it! So have been on antibiotics. I didn't miss much work even though I felt dreadful for a few days and sent home early by my manager.

Feeling nearly back to normal today. Thank goodness. I totally lost my appetite and gym was a no go but back to the gym on last friday and have been every day which has been good.

It is absolutely crazy at this time of year though. I am working up till friday and then off to Chamonix on Saturday morning. I am getting excited for a week of skiing. I finished my Christmas shopping today which I am so happy about. The shops and lining up is horendous here.

I will try and post once more before the week is up but if something happens I wish you all the best for a safe and happy Christmas.

Love Amy
x

Hello......

2007-12-10T11:10:00.000-08:00

Hey all,

Sorry for being a bit slack on the blogging department. Was in Prague and Helsinki last weekend and one of my closest girlfriends headed back to Perth today so have been spending as much time with her as possible.

Prague and Helsinki were fabulous. Prague was so festive. There were christmas markets and a large tree decorated in the main square and carolers everywhere. It was stunning. Helsinki was a really cool place to go. It even snowed while we were there and I tried the traditional dish of reindeeer. All I could think about was rudolf!! It was very nice though- very lean and very flavoursome. This is coming from a girl that very rarely eats red meat!

Diet wise has not been fabulous. I have missed meals, eating some chocolate and just being overall inconsistent. For this I have felt average and down about it. But today is a new week so we will see how it goes. Exercise wise I have been good though. I just need to combine the two.

Sorry to be brief. I am knackered tonight and starting to get yet another sore throat so it is an early night for me!

Love Amy
xxxxx

A nice lazy Sunday

2007-11-25T06:59:00.000-08:00

It was so nice to sleep in this morning. I have worked six days this week so I was really tired. Work was really tough this week so I am glad it is over. Hopefully this week will be a better one.

Have had a lovely weekend. It started with ice skating in front of the natural history museum on Friday night. It was so pretty with fairy lights and christmas lights. It really reminded me of some movies I have seen with a white christmas. I then worked saturday morning but went to the gym straight after work. I did a 10km run and pushed 2km as fast as I could. I did them in 4mins 17sec and 4mins 14 sec so I was pretty happy with that. I have been doing quite a bit of running again and really enjoying it. Unfortunately I haven't done too much outside because it is so bitterly cold and wet but i'm happy to jog away on the treadmill with my ipod in. I really want to run the half marathon next year when I get home. My legs today are really quite sore and stiff so I am lucky I had a day off.

Diet has been really spot on this week but my tummy has been doing back flips. It has been really sore with cramps and haven't really been hungry at all but making sure I didn't skip any meals. I saw a nice drop on the scales too so that has kept me motivated.

Have a great week,

Amy
xxxx

Full update

2007-11-14T04:19:00.000-08:00

I had such a busy week last week after coming home from Scotland. By the time we got back in on monday night I only got 5 hours sleep before rising for work on Tuesday. It was then my friends birthday on Wednesday and we went and saw the musical Wicked- so another late night. It was absolutely fbulous though. I just love musicals. I then got asked to work saturday so by saturday night I was so tired.

Food was average last week too. I was craving chocolate something cruel! I know I get like this around the time of the month but I usually have the will power to just ignore it. Not this week. I was still eating everything else well but just couldn't resist some chocolate. I have a lot of clients that bring in chocolates and lollies so this wasn't helping! Exercise on the other hand was spot on. Thankfully I did not do any damage on the scales and have gone back to eating really well this week. I will hopefully have a loss when I weigh in on friday.

I have been lucky enough to have a few days of this week so I have been enjoying being at home, watching some DVDs and calling some family and friends back home. I have now got my ticket booked to arrive back in Perth on the 21st February (my birthday!) so I am very excited. Before that though we are going to Prague and the french alps and south africa before arriving back. So some great times ahead!!

Hope you are all having a good week.

Take care

Amy

xxxxxxx

Ps. The photo is from the 80's party we went to a few weekend ago. Looking totally tragic!!

I'm still here

2007-11-08T10:52:00.000-08:00

I have been stupidly busy with going away to Scotland last weekend and arriving home on midnight monday. I then have been working all week and gyming it in the evening. I have just been asked to work saturday which I agreed too so I will be a busy bunny for the next few days.

Food has been a little bit of because we were staying with friends but it is all back on track now.

Will write a long post on the weekend and fill in all the details.

Hope you are having a great week

Amy
xx

What a weekend!

2007-10-28T10:27:00.000-07:00

I have had such a fabulous weekend. It first started on friday morning when I weighed in 1 kg lighter (I weighed in this morning and have lost anoth kg over the weekend). Work was hectic on Friday but headed straight to my friends house on Friday night for a pink party. It was to raise money for breast cancer. It was a lot of laughs. Everything was pink- the drinks, the food, the table cloth and napkins, the prizes for the games. It was great. We then went to a club close to home to dance the night away.

Had a great sleep in on Saturday morning before heading the gym for an awesome workout. I really wasn't in the mood for going but i'm glad I did because I really worked hard. I think it helps when two of my friends went with me and they are just as dedicated and trying to lose a few kg's too. We then had an 80's night last night. We caught public transport there and boy did we get a few looks!! Lots of 80's music so another night on the dnce floor.

Slept in again this morning, called mum and dad and went to the gym. Just about to go to dinner at my friend Rach's.

So all in all a really good week food wise and I went to the gym 6 days this week. I hope this week will be the same. I have already prepared my food for tomorrow so I am being super organised. Have a fabulous week

Love Aims
xxxx

I just got my hair done

2007-10-23T08:49:00.000-07:00

Doesn't it feel great when you just have your hair cut and coloured. I haven't had mine done since February just before I left home. It feels so lovely now. I just trimmed the ends as I like my hair long now. It has grown so much. The colour is a bit lighter too but still looks natural. I will post some photos when my boys gets home from the gym to take some.

Have had a really good day. All my meals have been clean and I had an awesome session at the gym. I did 30 minutes of interval cardio and 10 minutes on this machine I have never seen before. It is like a stepper but the steps are on a gradient uphill and it is like two steps not one and then your arms are moving like a X trainer. It feels like I am skiing upwards. I really felt the heart rate go up and felt the burn in my butt and thighs. Also did upper body weights too. So felt good. I am going to start posting how much weight I lose or put on (hopefully off) from Friday and then weekly after that.

Found out today my boy leaves on the 12th of January to go home so he can start his new job. I will stay on to march/april but it will be hard. I haven't been separated from him since we left at the beginning of March. I suppose its only for 2-3 months. He went away to paris on the weekend and I missed him like crazy then. I know I will cope. Thank god for the telephone and internet!!

Hope you are all well.

Love Aims
xxxxxx

Where has the weekend gone?!?

2007-10-21T11:43:00.000-07:00

I have had such a fabulous weekend. I have spent the whole weekend with two of my really close girlfriends as my boy and his mates were in Paris for the rugby world cup grandfinal.

Friday day I cleaned the house. Living with 3 boys can be very hard at time and they are just so messy. It was nice to clean and know the house would be like this for at least till monday when they came home. I had my first gym session and it felt great. I did cardio for 40 minutes and some weights. We went out on friday night to a bar close to home to meet up with some people. I didn't drink at all as I was still on antibiotics and just didn't feel like it. It was a top night.

On saturday the sun was shining in London!! Went to the gym in the morning, spoke to my mum, and then walked through the park to the shopping strip with the girls. We did some shopping and I got a few things I needed. We went to a pub to watch the rugby and then headed out for a dance. It was really a funny night and had a blast.

It was so nice to sleep in this morning and we all just chiled at mine this morning. We went to the gym in the arvo and I did cardio and weights. It feels nice to be back into it. I have eaten really quite well this weekend. I missed a few of the meals I had planned but overall it was really good. It just feels good not to be feeling ill and over my tonsilitis.

Have a good week everyone, I'm only working three days this week so that should be lovely.

Amy
xxxx

I'm tired!

2007-10-18T14:26:00.000-07:00

Today has been a long day. I had to catch the tube, then an overland train and then walk half an hour to work and back today. It is also a 10 minute walk to the tube. I also did a walk at lunch so I did not go to the gym today. It was my first day back since I got tonsilits and it really took it out of me. I was exhausted. I still felt very average this morning but I knew I couldn't call in sick as I knew I had a full day of patients in and its too hard to re-arrange. So I battled through.

My boyfriend and some of his mates are driving to Paris tonight to watch the rugby world cup final tomorrow. He was so excited when he left. So I'm having a nice quiet weekend with my girlfriends and really looking forward to it. This is the first time that we have been apart since we left home in March!

Food wise everything was ok, not 100% clean and I really could have done better than a piece of toast for dinner but I just didn't have the energy to cook. I am going to go shopping and be organised for all my food choices next week. I have drank lots of water too today. It is so nice to swallow and it does not hurt so much!

I hope the weather was as nice as it was today. It was sunny in London- can you believe it!!hahahaa

I am going to the gym tomorrow. Can't wait to be back there. Till tomorrow.

Love aims
xxxxxxx

I'm back this time for good!

2007-10-17T03:28:00.000-07:00

I have not blogged in such a long time but my head really hasn't been in the best place of late. I have been reading people's blogs though and I really admire all these people who have worked really hard to where they are now. I have lapsed in a way that I haven't done for a very long time and now trying to dig myself out of all these negative thoughts. I have had the best year travelling but I am still so unhappy with certain things in my life.

Number one being work. I am not enjoying it, especially over here in the UK. I think it is a combination of the travel, the monotonomous of the jobs that i have been given and the lack of the challenege. I wish the days away and I hate this. At the moment it money and when I go back home next year I am going to seriously think hard about a career change.

Number two being my body image. This has been a problem for a number of years. I have played mind games with myself for as long as I can remember and they always get me down and really upset. I have decided I really need to get in control of this issue otherwise it is really going to affect me forever. I have decided to take one day at a time and blog at least every second day with my exercise, eats and general feelings for the day. This way I hope to see any patterns to how I am feeling. I am at a gym and eating relatively well. I have been really ill the last two weeks- first with a stomach bug that wiped me out for 4 days (couldn't keep any food down and my appetite was nil) and I am now on antibiotics for a bad dose of tonsilits which has had me in bed for another 4 days. I have felt so rotten. Over this time I have hardly eaten but then again I have hardly moved! I have really missed home since I have been sick but I guess this to be expected.

So from today expect to read a lot more about me and if I stop writing it probably means I have had a downward spiral and just need to be picked up again. Hopefully this will not happen.

So today:
Exercise will be a short walk just to get moving again as I am still feeling very average but just need to stretch the legs.

Food: It is only 11am here so I have eaten protein pancakes this morning so far

Till tomorrow...

Aims
xxxx

Wow!

2007-08-22T12:06:00.001-07:00

I apologise for being so absent of late. So much has been happening and my life has been crazy. Work wise everything has been ok. I have been working 3 or 4 days each week and loving this. I have also been working for the NHS. I have however been working really far away but just of late have got placements really close to home which is fab. The money is pretty good so I am happy working this amount for now. I still am up in arms if this is what I really want to do. I spoke to mum about it all on the weekend and she was so supportive. I was so worried about telling them because they paid my whole uni fees. They told me that they will be happy if I am happy with what I am doing. I am so lucky to have fantastic parents. My mum just totally gets me in every which way. With skype and emails I have been in close contact with them and my two best friends so that is always comforting to know they are there when i have a down day. For now though I am not really thinking about what I want to do, I just want to enjoy my travelling and time away.

Secondly my diet and fitness has been really spot on. I have lost a few kilos and everything is fitting really nicely again and I feel better when looking in a mirror. The gym I joined has all new equipment and I am really enjoying seeing my fitness and strength pick up. I haven't been able to go everyday because of work but have been training on average 5 days. Some days for work I have left at 7am and home about 8pm so it is quite a long day. I have been in control of all my food intake and have only slipped a few times but the damage was not big at all.

I am getting excited as my OH parents and sister are arriving in less than 3 weeks. We are off to the rugby cup then also so next month is going to be very exciting!!

Thanks so much for your comments Selina. It is so nice to always hear from you. I hope everything is looking up.

I will try to update more often

Love Amy
xx

Living and working in London

2007-08-04T05:26:00.000-07:00

Wow it has been awhile hasn’t it. Well I have just joined the gym in London and I’m so excited. I am going to start Sue’s program from scratch again and looking forward to the results. I am just about to go the gym after here and then go shopping to stock up.

I have had a tough few weeks. I was really down and quite depressed about a lot of things in my life. I know you must be thinking it should be the best time in my life as I am travelling the world. That side of things were fabulous. Work was getting me down. When I first called up enquiring what I needed to start work as a pod over here they said I had all the forms necessary. It was a different story when I got here. They said I had to fill out a criminal records form for the uk even though I have one from oz. I also have to have a blood test to prove I have had all my immunizations. So this process is still happening. I need all of this to work in hospitals. However since all this I have been working in private practice which has been ok. It is money none the less. This too was stressing me out. The Australian dollar does not get very far in London!! This lead to the drama of renting. I couldn’t rent a house if my reference for work did not come through. And because at this stage I had not worked they couldn’t say I was employed. The dramas!! I was so stressed. It has all worked out now though. I also got really down about how I looked and I just felt yuck. I have also been thinking about my career. I don’t think podiatry is what I really want to do. Since I am not close to home it is so hard to talk to mum and my two best friends. My OH has been fabulous. I know he has been really worried about me as he has been there in the tough times before when I get really down. He is fabulous. I love him to bits. Anyways, I am feeling more myself now and I will look in to my new career path soon.

Back to my health kick. I plan to look fabulous in 12 weeks time. I really want to go back to Australia in March and have people go wow! I am looking forward to it. I am planning to blog every few days so I can keep on track. Today at the gym I plan to do back, shoulders and abs and interval training for cardio. Well I better be off.

Take care,

Amy
xx

I'm in Germany

2007-07-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken at a restaurant in corfu. (I can't believe how tanned I look here!)

Wow, so much has happened since last post. I am currently in Germany and staying with friends and their family. There are 17 of us at one house at the moment. It has been a lot of fun and we have been doing lots. Two of the girls are national gymnasts so we have been to the gym and played on the equipment there. We have been rock climbing, go karting and have done a high ropes course. This was so scary as you have to do all these obstcles in the air between platfroms on trees. I will post pictures soon. I felt such a sense of achievement after I had completed it. I was so scared and even cried from fear. We are staying about 200m from the black forrest so I have been running everyday. Today I went for a run and one section was 2 km all on a steep uphill. I was buggered when I finished running after 45 minutes.

Since leaving chewtin Mendip we went back to london for 3 days before flying out to Germany. In this time we managed to find an awesome house that is so big, close to our friends, shops and underground. It is so exciting. I'll post pictures of that soon too. They other advantage is its close proximity to the gym! I can't wait to start my 12 week program when I get back to London.. I am 100% focused and determined to feel the best ever. I really want people to notice a difference when the travel to see me in 3 months.

I must be off to bed as I have an early start in the morning as we are going to a fun park tomorrow.

Love aims
xxx

We went Hashing last night

2007-06-26T07:34:00.000-07:00

Ben and I waiting in line at the Eiffel Tower

Some of you may know what i'm talking about but others may say what the hell are you talking about. Hash running is a group of people that get together and go for a run. However there is a twist. You have to find your path that has been laid out with by flour. So some people end up for awhile running in the wrong direction till someone calls out to say they have found it. We ended up running through paddocks with cows and sheep, through long grass, rivers, forrest and lots of mud. All up we ran about 7km. We end up back at the pub. They have a saying they are a runners group with a drinking problem. It was lots of fun. I have never heard of this back home but when I checked the net last night there were lots of groups around. It is worldwide and the next interhash is in Perth itself.

We went running today also in the national park and gorges and there were some really tough parts. There were steep hills with a bit of rock climbing in there. The views were spectacular though. It was well worth it.

So the fitness side is definately going a lot better and the eating part is going quite well. It is so nice to be eating home cooked food and having the control of what is available. Our friends even have home weights that Ben pulled out today so I even got some weights in.

Love Amy
xx

From a small English Village

2007-06-21T07:49:00.000-07:00

I am currently in Chewton Mendup which is a small village between Bath and Bristol in England. We are staying with my boyfriend's family friends and enjoying doing very little. We arrived in London on monday night and stayed the night with a friend in their small flat. We then caught the coach to bristol where they picked us up. The underground system is so efficient that we got everywhere so quickly.

I have been pretty sick with my asthma the last few days and been up the last few nights with huge coughing fits. Thankfully I am feelig slightly better today. It is nice to stay in doors and watch DVDs and read a good book after the hustle and bustle of the contiki tour. It really was so much fun but it did tire me out. We will be staying here till next sunday before heading back to London for a few days to look at houses before flying to Germany. We will be in Germany for 10 days and then have to come back to London and set up a house and work. This will definately not be the end of travelling tho.

Ben and I caught the bus into Wells which is a bigger town today. It is so pretty here. I just love all the old buildings and the cobble stone streets. We ate lunch at the cosiest vegetarian cafe and the food was so good. We then just wandered the streets.

The surroundings here are perfect for walks and runs. There are dirt tracks, paddocks, forrest areas and open areas that you could run for miles. I did one on the first day I arrived but not since as I cough with just sitting at the moment. The guy we are staying with is part of a running club and has different runs through the week. He has just done a half marathon but has run heaps before this and a marathon too.So as soon as I am well enough I will be out running with him.

Till next time.....

Amy
xxx

Ps. It is ment to be summer here and i'm freezing- the weather is terrible!

2007-06-17T02:07:00.000-07:00

I'm in mykonos!!

2007-06-14T07:04:00.000-07:00

hello everyone from greece,

Well we have just finished our 23 day contiki tour. It has been such a fabulous experience and have so many amazing places in such a short period of time. Italy was so fabulous and one of the places I would definately have to go back to. There is still so much more to see and just not possible to see it all in the amount of time we had there. Venice was so pretty and we took a gondola ride. Florence had so much history and so much to see. The uffizi gallery and the academia had waiting lines of 3 hours so unfortunately could not go in these but would have loved too. We waled up the duomo and the views of florence here were spectacular. I indulged in buying a genuine leather jacket which I love. We had dinners organised by the tour in each country and went out every night. Rome by far some of the most spectacular sights. You could be walking down some street and then all of a sudden it would open out into some ruins. The vatican and st peters was so breath-taking and the art work was so incredible. Ben and I were speechless. We saw the coloseum, the trevie fountain and pantheon as well as the roman forum. We left about 20 people in rome from the tour and then the rest of the tour headed to corfu.
We caught a ferry to corfu and spent 3 glorious days relaxing. It was a gorgeous little island. We had one day on a boat doing water sports and swimming. We were lucky enough to ctch up with bens dad in corfu and spent one full day with him. We have dined in some greek restaurants and experienced greek culture and dancing. Yesterday we came to athens and spent our last night here. We saw a few sights yesterday morning and now in mykonos.I am in absolute paradise. Our accomodatin was so cheap nd it is like we are in a resort. We have a pool, bar lounge chairs and sun beds overlooking the ocean. We hired scooters today and went around the island. This place is so amazing. So after the very full on tour I am enjoying doing very little for a few days and working on my tan. So I have now brought you up to loop on what I have been doing.

So we now have a few days in the mykonos before we come back to athens and then fly back to london. We then have to start organising work and living arrangements before we go to germany. I am looking forward to settling somewhere for awhile instead of living out of a suitcase. Ben has already been offered jobs so now I can start organising to meet with agencies. Ben and I are looking to set up just out of london but we will take it as it comes.

Hope you are all well. I hear perth is pretty cool at the moment so i'll think of you while i'm having a cocktail by the pool!!hehehehe

I am looking forward to getting back to london so I can get into routine again with my exercise and eating. I have gone a quite a few runs but these greek drivers are so crazy that i'm scared of getting hit. I weighed myself the other day and I have put any weight on and even lost a bit but I feel different. I need to tone up again. All in good time!!

love to you all
amy
xxxxxx

2007-05-30T07:46:00.000-07:00

Hello from barcelona!!
Hope everyone is well. I am currently in Spain at the moment. We only have the one stop here barcelona. It is notorious for pick pocketing so I have been so careful and have lopcks on everything and everything on me at all times. I am petrified of things being stolen. Besides that it is a very pretty place. We spent today touring the city and seeing the sights. It is beautiful weather too.
We met up with the rest of the group in Paris. I am in love. The architecture and gardenms are unbelievable. I went to the louvre, notre dame, sacre coure, arc de triomphe, musee dórsay and moulin rouge. This was all in one and a half days. It was very full on. There is still so much to see as well. We went to a cabaret show. It was so good. Lots of dancing and acrobats and it was a good 2 hours of pure entertainment. It was fabulous. I will definately be coming back here.
From here we went to the wine area in france and stayed at a chateau. We sampled a few of the wines and went for a long hike and ended up having a picnic at the top. It was really pretty. We then drove to barcelona.
Our next stop is the french riveria, then to italy, greece and greek islands. The tour is so much fun and the people on it are a great bunch of people. We have been out everynight and getting along great.
We have made plans to go to germany when we get back to london for about a week. We got flights for 10 pence and have accomodation with jan family. So that should be could. Then I think I may need to start working!!hehehehe
I better be off but that is a quick update of my last week. Take care
Love Amyxxx

Ps. I have been doing so much walking eachday and trying to eat really well. It so hard though while you are on holidays. I feel average for not having time for exercise and I miss the gym. Once I settle in london one of the first things I do is join a gym and get back into it!
hehehehehe

I am back home and i'm starting blogging again!

2007-05-19T00:25:00.000-07:00

hello to all bloggers. I have just read everyones blog and caught up on what everyone has been doing for the last 3 months. I have been in America and went to the cricket world cup in the Caribbean and saw the Aussies win. I have had to come back to perth for a weeks for a funeral and I have decided to start my blog again. I have missed what everyone has been doing and I want to write my blog as I travel. I fly out of Australia again on Tuesday and now that my boyfriend has bought a mac in america I have no excuses.

I have been having the best time away. Even though my boyfriend and I had all credit cards, purse, ipods, cameras,psp, mobiles and money stolen in miami and we had to fly to washington to get passports replaced everything has been fabulous. I was sailing for 34 days in the Caribbean sea and went to all of the islands. Some of the things I saw you just could not see from land. It was spectacular. I'll post photos in next post. After the caribbean we went to New York. It was the most amazing place I have been to. I loved it. I kept saying it was so 'sex in the city'! From here we flew to Minnesota where we stayed in a college with some friends who came and studied in Perth. They have $8 all you can drink nights. We had some very big nights. Unfortunately ben's pop passed away and he was very close to him that he just wanted to come home for the funeral. The funeral was very sad but he was so glad he made the decision to come home. We fly to meet up with the rest of our friends in paris. We then have a 3 week contiki before we settle in england for about 8 months.

I have learnt a lot about myself while being away. I have become less harsh on the way I look at myself. I use to be so critical about my appearance and about every piece of food that went into my mouth. I have learnt to relax and enjoy a bit more. I am still very health conscious and have been running at least 3-4 times a week. I really miss the gym. I have been doing sit-ups and push-ups but it is not the same. Eating wise I have been careful but I haven't deprived myself of anything. I weighed myself when I came home and I have not put on any wight but I lost a little. So I am so happy. I left to go on this trip at my goal weight and I am still there.

I will post some photos and I promise to keep my blog going.

Take care,

amy
xxxx

where to start....

2007-01-17T21:16:00.001-08:00

Now I know it has been a long time and thanks selina for finally getting me into gear. So much has happened since last post with Christmas and New year. I was so totally spoiled and loved every minute of it. It is now only six weeks till I leave for my amazing trip. I have just finished paying the last installment to the 55 foot yacht I will be staying on in the Carribean. I am starting to get excited. I have already started dreaming about packing and already tears have started to flow about saying my goodbyes.

One of my best friends left on Jan 5th for south america and she gets back only a few days before I leave. I miss her so much already. My mum and dad have been in Melbourne for only a week and half and I miss them too. How am I going to cope. My boyfriend is already worried!! There is also so much to do. I have started writing a list so I don't forget to do things. Work is super busy and have been working extra long hours to get as much money as possible.

Exercise and food wise went really well. I lost 3.5kg in december and am already at my goal weight but you know when you would like to see if you could go that extra bit further. I have lost 9kg and i'm trying now to get to 11kg before I go. I have been really strict with my diet and exercising everyday (combination of weights and cardio) I have been stair climbs and hill runs as well as rpm. I am feeling really good this week. I felt really flat last week because I put on 400g but as my boyfriend said I have not put weight on for about 2 months and it is so minimal that it will be gone again in no time. I know I can do it!!

So that is a quick sum up of where I am at and I hope everyone is well. Even though I have not been writing blogs, I have been following everyone else's. I apologise again

Love always

Amy

Phew!!

2006-11-27T04:41:00.000-08:00

Well i have survived my busy social week and had a great time and even better lost 1.1kg this week!! I am so so happy. This was after drinking way way too much at my best friends 21st on Saturday night and feeling so very average yesterday. I will credit myself though the rest of the week i was in total control and I knew that saturday was going to be a big night. However I probably should have eaten something at the party or before because I was one very drunk girl!! But a very happy one at that!! I would have burned so many calories from all the dancing though. I stumbled in at about 4.30am sunday morning!! I will post some photos in the next few days as my friend has my digital camera at the moment (she looked after me!).

All my other social outings were really good too but I didn't drink at any of them and ate before I went or when i came home. I really feel at this stage of my journey that I am in total control of everything. I am feeling really good about myself, my exercise and eating and so proud of everything I have achieved. So go me!! hehehehe

This week social wise is a lot quieter thank goodness. Work wise will probably be flat out. I recieved some really bad news today from my receptionist that my bosses sister (he is only 25 and his sister 22 or 23) had died so he will not be in for work for awhile. I called him and told him i'll take care of the practice but i was totally shocked. I have only met his sister once but I really feel for him and his family. It just really made me think that things can change so suddenly. It really made me appreciate all the people in my life and what is really important to me. Everything just seemed to be put into perspective.

Have a fabulous week everybody. Less than 4 weeks to christmas!! i'm so excited

Love Amy
xxx

This week is crazy

2006-11-21T22:24:00.000-08:00

I can't blieve it is wednesay already and I haven't posted since last monday. Time just flys by. I have such a busy rest of the week. I am going out to dinner tonight with one of my bosses to discuss what is going to happen when I go away and discuss future practice plans. Tomorrow night i'm going out with my uni friends for a catch up- for some I haven't seen them since last year when we finished. Friday I have a sporting dinner presentation night that I have to go to for my boyfriend as he is the captain for the WA rugby team. Saturday is my best friends 21st and sunday i have another 21st and a baby shower. So as you can see I have a very busy social calender ahead. In between that I have work, a conference and maybe some sleep!! hehehe

Food and exercise is great. Ire-read Sharleens blog today and what she wrote in the last post is how I feel completely. I am feeling so good at the moment that I don\t know why I waited so long to get into this frame of mind and just do it. I lost another 500g this week and things are really feeling loose on me and i'm loving all my food and exercise and just don't feel tempted by anything lately. I have another 1.5kg to go!! By Christmas I should be at goal and maybe a little bit less would be nice.

Have a good rest of the week

Love Amy
xx

I feel tired

2006-11-13T22:42:00.000-08:00

I feel really tired today. I have been waking up ridiculously early lately then can not go back to sleep. I woke up at 4.30 this morning but i didn't get up then. I was going to go for a walk this morning but i'm going to the gym for weights tonight and then going and doing jacobs ladder with my dad after that. I have a funny feeling my iron is down because i get like this when it is low.

Exercise and food wise has been ok but i didn't lose anything this week. I know in myself that i ate fairly well most of the time but i knew more portions were bigger than usual. So this week i am going to be extra good and try really hard for another big loss. Exercise wise tho i had a really good week last week. On monday i went for a 40 min walk, and then an hour ride, tues i did weights and a body attack. On wednesday i went for two walks for a total of 2hrs walking!! Thursday i went for another walk and weights. Friday i did weights, saturday i did 1hr cardio and sunday i did another body attack and weights. So i did quite a bit this week but I think i may up the intensity and throw a few runs in instead of walks (if i'm feeling up to it!)

I had a fairly quite weekend gone as all my friends are doing exams at the moment and all studying hard. I took my boy out to see boytown on sat night and it was so funny. I really enjoyed it. Caught up with two girlfriends on sunday arvo for coffee and a good catch up. So all in all it was very mellow!!

Have a great rest of the week everyone.

Love amy
xx

Another loss

2006-11-06T04:35:00.000-08:00

I lost 400g this week. All up i have lost 6.0kg. I was a little disappointed with this because i have tried so hard this week. But it is TTOM so i might be retaining fluid. This week I did 4 weight trainings, 2 long walks, step class, 5 cardio sessions lasting over an hour. So all up i was happy with that. This week i want to loss a bit more than that so i'm really motivated>
have a good week everyone.

Love me
xx

My Trip itinerary

2006-11-05T03:28:00.000-08:00

Well I have payed all of my flights and contiki now so I thought it was time to give you a run down on what i'll be doing. So here goes:

2/3/07- Depart perth and fly to Sydney. Here we are going to see our beloved western force play as I don't know how long it will be before I see them play again (ps. my boyfriend is a complete rugby nut!)

6/3/06- Depart Sydney for Los Angeles
Same day depart LA for Miami (This is our first stint of spring break)

TBC- Depart Miami for Acapulco (second stint of spring break- i'll probably need a new liver by here!!)

TBC- Acapulco to Miami

23/3/06- Depart Miami to St Kitts
26/3/06- Depart St Kitts arrive in Antigua (Start of the cricket world cup)
10/4/06- Deaprt Antigua arrive Grenada
23/4/06 Depart Grenada arrive barbados.
3/5/06- Barbados to New york (my fantasies of New York being like Sex in the city come true!!)
9/5/06- New york to Chicago. Same day Chicago to Minneapolis. Here we are staying with some of my boyfirneds friends.
16/506 Fly to Las Vegas
22/5/05 Fly to Sanfransico and the London.
Arrive in London and start contiki tour where we will be seeing: London, Paris, Beaujolais,Barcelona, French riveria, Venice, Florence, Rome,Corfu, athens and then back to london.
The contiki lasts for 3 weeks
I will then need to start working. On the way home i'll then be visiting africa

So there we go guys that is my trip so far in the planning. It makes me so exctied talking about it. I'll post tomorrow night re my exercise and weight loss stuff after my weigh in. I have a feeling it should be ok tomorrow. I have had a really good week.

Love amy
xx

2006-10-30T04:27:00.000-08:00

Here is a photo as promised. Here is my new hair cut and my beautiful boy. Hope you all had a great day. I lost another half kilo this week. Yay- i have no time to write but i'll write again tomorrow!!

The weekend goes so quickly

2006-10-29T04:26:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how fast the weekend goes. I suppose it is because I technically only get one full day off with work but still! I have a busy end the week with one of my best friends 21st last night. It was really good. We drank too much and danced lots and didn't embarass her too much in her speech. She told me this morning that she was glad i wrote it out for her because she couldn't really remember us saying it!! She was soo gone.

Exercise wise the rest of this week has been really good. I did body attack and weights on tues, went for an hour power walk on wed, did weights on thursday plus an hour of cardio, did cardio friday and sat and did weights and cardio today. So all in all i am very happy with myself. Food has been pretty good too but i feel like i'm retaining fluid this week. Can blame that prob on TOTM. Anyways i weigh in tomorrow so i'll let you all know.

I'm off to bed now. Sweet dreams and have a great week.
Ps. I have forgotten how to download photos from my camera so when my boyfriend comes tomorrow i'll get him to show me again. hahahaha

Have a great week

Amy

I am still alive!!

2006-10-24T01:08:00.000-07:00

I am sorry for not blogging but i have been reading reading everyone's post still. I am going to make a promise to myself to blog at least twice a week. This way this will will keep me honest with my challenge as well and I can write about everything that has been happening. Work has been so chaotic the last couple of weeks. My poor boss had chicken pox and that left me to run everything patient wise. Money wise it has been nice for my trip account. It is now only 4 months away till i go. I am starting to get exctied. I did all my passport stuff today and should be here in 2 weeks!! The photo looks terrible though. You can't smile in the photo so it looks like a mug shot.

Food and exercise wise has been pretty good. I had a plateau for about 2-3 weeks where i only lost about 300g but I lost a 1 kg this week so I hope i'm over that. Only a few kg to goal. I am really noticing a difference and everything is feeling more comfortable and less tight!
I did an 18km walk for Princess Margaret hospital on sunday (from perth to Freo for all perth readers) and did it in 2 hours 39mins. I did it with a friend and we talked the whole way at a fairly fast pace. Yesterday i did an hour of cardio and tonight i plan to do cardio (bodyattack) and weights.

I'll send some more photos as I had a ball on friday night at the perth convention centre and i'll have to send them as i have a new hair do. I have gone back to brown hair as I wanted to take all the blonde out of it before i go away (one less thing to worry about!). I also have a fringe. I haven't had a fringe since i was a little girl. I look so different. So many people have not recognised me.

I have to be off to make my class at the gym. But i promise i'll be back this week to post again!!

2006-10-01T03:58:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of my beautiful mum (to the left of me), my aunty (to the left of my mum), my grandma (it was her birthday) and my great aunt (not looking at the camera). All these women are such an inspiration to me and we are all very close.

I have had such a great day today. It all started with a sleep in this morning. I picked up my bf from the airport yesterday morning and we were ment to be going out but the poor thing was so tired we stayed in last night. I woke up this morning and then he made me toast and a cup of tea in bed (I haven't had breakfast in bed for ages!!- it is so good). I was planning to go to the gym this morning but I was enjoying just spending time with him. I then came home mid morning and took my mum shopping. She has to go to the eagles awards night on friday for dads work and she wanted to buy a new dress. 3 and half hours later we came home with a dress, shoes, bag, jewellry and underwear and my feet were so sore from all the walking. I was also soo hungry by the time I got home. She is going to look so hot if I say so myself. She looks so good for her age. I'll post photos after the event!! I then came home made a slad sandwich and watched foxtel for a bit. I then went for a long run and ran really well. And now i'm here writing this!!!

Foodwise and exercise wise has been pretty good. I have lost a total of 4.9kg in 7 weeks so i'm pretty happy with this. I was pretty sick last week with a nasty virus which left me in bed for 3 whole days. All i could do was sleep, sleep and sleep. I think I was so drugged by all the pain medication the doctors gave me. Thank goodness that is all over. So this week I have eased myself into exercise and eating properly again. All I could eat when I was sick was toast and soup.

I am so looking forward to my day off tomorrow. I haven't had three days off in such a long time. I have now finished all my extra work. It is such a huge weight of my shoulders. I was getting all upset last week. Everything just seemed to hard. I was really missing my bf, i had so much work andi was still recovering from my virus. I'm really starting to relax now and i'm really looking forward to a nice sunny day in Perth tomorrow.

So that is a quick update on everything. I know I have been very slack with posting and i will promise now that I have a bit of time to do so more often.

Love Amy
xx

Second try

2006-09-21T02:51:00.000-07:00

I hope this works this time!

I am the girl on the right and this at my 21st birthday. Nici is on the left and she is my best bud and have known eachother since we were born. She is coming away with me next year. Now that I know I can do this i'll post photos all the time!!

Yay.

I hope this works

2006-09-21T02:50:00.000-07:00

I have attempted to post photos up. Fingers crossed that it has worked!

I need help..

2006-09-17T05:14:00.000-07:00

I now have photos on my computer to put up on my blog but do not know how to do it. If anyone can please give me simple instructions to do so my photos will be up in no time. I will keep trying. My post for this week is coming.

Love Amy
xx

Another great week

2006-09-06T02:07:00.000-07:00

I have had such a good week. I have lost another 1.5kg so a total of 4.4 kg in 6 weeks. I am really noticing the difference now. My clothes are starting to fall down and i'm getting compliments (which always makes you feel good) and I have noticed a big difference with my running. Now I don't know if it is because my fitness has improved with steady running for a couple of weeks or because I have lost some weight. Anyways I am a happy camper.

I have been doing rpm classes as well and i think this has improved my fitness levels. I have been doing 2 a week plus running and then of course weight training. I ran 6km this morning and I have had so much energy all day. Of late I have been doing all my training after work because it has been too cold and dark before work ( I know I am a wuss) but now that summer is coming I think i may start doing my exercise in the morning again. I have not neglected the exercise though. If I don't do exercise I can be very irritable and get down and just feel average.

My eating has been pretty good too but I allow myself a few treats a week and this really keeps me sane. I am a chocoholic and in the past I know that if i deny myself of it, i then binge feel guilty and the either go to extremes with exercise or not eating or worse still making myself sick (this was the old me- few years ago!!). So having it a few times a week in small quantities (but good quality- the darker the choc the better) I don't feel deprived and really enjoy it. So far it seems to be working really well. I also think I have been eating a larger variety of food and i think this had made a difference. I try and have a different breakfast and lunch everyday so i don't get tired of the same thing and break my healthy habits.

I bought a dress yesterday for my bf birthday and the lady had to go get the next size down because it was too big- i feel so good. I am really happy at the moment and want to loss another 3.5 kg to be at my optimum weight. I know I can do it!! hahahaha

Also my dad did the half marathon on the weekend- the one that i was meant to do and encouraged him to do. He did it in 1 hour and 48 minutes. I was so proud of him and cheered him on when he came in.

Have a great week
Love Amy
xxx

Ps: I haven't forgot about the photos selina. My bf scanner broke on the weekend while trying to scan photos and I don't have one. He bought a new one yesterday so photos will be up anytime.
xx

sorry...

2006-08-29T20:58:00.000-07:00

It has been so long since last post. I did the city surf on Sunday and ran it in 1 hour and four minutes. I was really hoping for under an hour but with my injury and lack of training was pretty happy. My brother did it in 51 minutes and my dad did it in 60 minutes. The hills killed me. It felt so good to be running again and leg now is fairly symptom free. I pulled up so sore in the calves and quads but it was the good type of sore.

I have had so many birthdayslately and my bf is in two weeks. I bought him some rugby memrobilia and sending balloons to his work to embarass him.

Food wise I have been doing ok. Last week I slipped a little bit and put on 300gm so this week i am all determined again. So all in all for four weeks I have lost 3.3kg. I want to try and lose as much as possible before boyfriends birthday so i'm being really strict on myself. It has really helped me to set mini goals. It makes everything more manageable. Exercise has been great too and strating to feel the difference. Two people have also commented which is fab!!

Work is so busy at the moment. I am still doing extra work for a lady who is overseas and my boss is on hols so some days have worked 10-12 hour days. I don't like it and can't wait for my normal routine.

I promise I won't leave it so long and have still been reading other posts.

Love Amy
xx

I've had a loss......

2006-08-15T23:49:00.000-07:00

of weight that is! I have lost another 1.5kg this week. This means I have dropped 3 kg in 2 weeks. I am so happy with myself and have been sticking to plan. I have overcome temptations at my girlfriends 21st and the other night I was at my boyfriends for dinner and she had made chocolate mousse but I politely said no thanks. She kept trying but I kept declining. I am starting to feel really good about myself again. Exercise has also been going well. I have only done a few light runs but my leg has been holding up. I am planning to run to BF house on saturday (around 9km) and then just do another one or two light runs before my 12km race next weekend. I really don't want to over do it and not run it. I know I wont run a great time but I am happy to be running at all!!

I will have another testing weekend with food. I have another birthday and a christening but I am determined to stay on track. When you start seeing results I feel i am in more control of everything. I have also been super organised with food as work has been flat chat. Mum has had surgery today and wont be able to lift anything for a least 6 weeks, so i'll have to be helping a lot more at home. So i'll be extra busy.

Thats all I have to report so far this week.

Take care,

Amy
xx

I can't believe it has been that long.

2006-08-07T23:51:00.000-07:00

Hi all. I can't believe I have left writing a blog for so long. So much has happened since I last wrote. I have started a challenge and I lost 1.5kg in the first week. I am feeling great!! I also have entered the Perth city to surf on the 27th August. It is a 12km run. I have however recondsidered my half marathon at the beginning of September due to my injury but am looking to do one in the near future. On that note my leg is still improving but am taking it as it comes. I have not been running really long distances and would rather wait till i'm at my peak to run in a half marathon. I have started to take on some more work and even though my week was full as, the extra money is going straight into my holiday fund. We are booking our round the world tickets in a few weeks and we all got together to discuss accomadation for a few of destinations and organise our contiki tour. I am getting so excited!! I know we leave in march but it it is getting closer. So this new challenge is to get my hot body to go away to Spring break in Acapuco and Miami and enjoy summer in the caribeen (cricket world cup). I want to wear all my bikinis and feel good about myself. I am really motivated at the moment.

Hope everyone else is going well. I have still been reading blogs and sorry for lack of replying to them.

Love amy
xx

I just wanted to tell you......

2006-07-25T22:13:00.000-07:00

That i'm sore. I went and did a 7km run last night and was feeling ok during the run, besides a little bit of a niggle in the quad and stepping in a puddle! but when i sat down and iced my leg and did my stretches I was limping again. It has down this previously but I thought I was over this stage. I am sore again this morning. I don't think going to the gym and doing 30 mins on the cross trainer and doing a pump class yesterday really helped it either. So no running today but hopeing to run tomorrow morning as I have it off. My eating has been really clean this week as well.

There we go I have had my whinge. Feel better now

Have a great day

Love amy

I am still here

2006-07-25T00:10:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted for awhile but I am still here. I was house sitting last week and had to travel further to work and work has been really busy. I went running daily when I was house sitting as the friend I was doing it for lives near the beach and has a dog. I would run for about 40-50mins. My leg is still playing up a bit and my muscles, especially my hamstrings have been getting really tight. I am still easing into the running thing again and still doing cross training with the x-trainer and the bike. I am off for another run tonight. I was also able to use her gym membership (my gym to far away) and my boyfriend was staying with me so we went to the gym together. It was great because he is really into weight training and he really pushed me. I wish he could be there all the time. I have also been eating pretty clean.

I had a massage on saturday and it felt soo good. My work has a massage therapist in the complex and because I know her quite well i was chatting to her the whole time. When she was doing my quads and hammies I would have to bite on the towel because it hurt so much. It does feel better now though. I think i'm going to have one every few weeks.

It didn't take long to get back into reality after my long weekend away. I did not want to wake up on tuesday morning. I hate alarms!!

Hope your all having a great week.

I didn't want to come home!!

2006-07-17T04:10:00.001-07:00

I have just had the best weekend with two really close girlfriends. We have been down south and my abs have had the best workout (from laughing that is!) We went to wineries, went out to restaurants went to the cheese and chocolate factories. It was so much fun. I really didn't want to come home. I even went running everyday while i was away. I was so impressed!! My leg was quite sore the second day from running so I half walked, half run the next day. But I was out for about 50 minutes each day. I have got all my motivation back and I really just hope I am ready for the half marathon. I feel average now though because of some of the over indulgences. I can't handle to eat a lot of wheat and dairy so i'm feeling very average now. We didn't eat too many crappy foods but just too big a portion sizes. I am so looking forward to eating well again this week and really getting stuck into my running.

I'll report back later in the week

Love Amy
xx

Ps. Well done to sue for her comp!!

I love Sundays!

2006-07-08T21:56:00.000-07:00

Sunday is the only day that I get to have a sleep in and not wake up with an alarm. I woke up at about 8:15 this morning, ate an orange and grapefruit, tided my room and got ready to go to the gym. I had an awesome workout today. My leg is still improving. I went for a 9km walk yesterday as well as a ride. I did the cross trainer at the gym. I haven't been able to do this since I did my injury so I was so happy when I could today. I'm going for a very light run early in the week and then slowly build this up. My dad ran 18km this morning so I am so eager to be back running with him.

I have felt pretty flat this week and having a few 'fat days'. So I have been eating really well the last few days. I this I was just retaining water and this has gone now. Hopefully this week will be better. I have been too scared to weigh myself because scales can be nasty things!! I thought with the way I have been feeling i'll just miss my weigh in and weigh in next week.

I'm going away next weekend for a girly weekend with my two best friends. It was be so good to catch up and chat all weekend. We are going down to Molloy island (between Margaret River and Augusta) at my boyfirends holiday house. It should be nice. I am going to try and stay eating right and just indulge in a few wines. The wineries in Margaret river are so good!!

Well i'm off to go have coffee with these two friends to sort out what we need to take away. I think it is just a nice way to catch up!

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Love Amy
xx

One of those moments

2006-07-05T06:45:00.000-07:00

I had one of those moments yesterday when I just look in the mirror and absolutely critise everything about myself that I wish I could change about my body. After that I felt down in the dumps so to speak and just felt miserable. Why do we do this?? Thank goodness today is a new day and don't feel so bad about myself today. The best thing is to take each day at a time. We all have good days and bad days.

Well my leg has still been very sore and i'm starting to get anxious as the half marathon is only 9 weeks away and I have not run for 3 weeks tomorrow. I really just want to get out there and run. I have been riding (this doesn't hurt my muscle) and have started walking everyday. It is when I stride out that I get my pain so by walking fast I am building up the muscle I tore without putting too much strain on it. My physio (and collegue) has told me not to push it and I am trying so hard to take his advice coz I don't want to make it worse. I tried to run yesterday during my walk but I was nearly in tears after about 30 seconds. That is when I pulled the plug as if I continued I knew I would do more damage. I went for an hours walk tonight and going walking with a girlfriend tomorrow morning and a ride and upper body weights tomorrow. I do know it is improving but too slowly for my liking. I feel like all my leg muscles are sooo tight, like Ineed to put them on a stretching machine for a few days. I think I am going to start pilates again to help regain some flexibility. I always feel more 'stretched' after doing a class.

I can't believe it is already wednesday night- this week is flying by. Hope you are all having a great rest of the week and i'll write again over the weekend

Love Amy
xx

half way through the week

2006-06-28T00:38:00.000-07:00

Well i have had the flu the last two days but am feeling so much better today. I have really had a string of bad luck this winter- two lots of tonsolitis and now the flu, hopefully thats it!! I think i'm making up for last winter when I wasn't sick at all.

I went to the gym last night and did weights as well as 20 minutes on the bike!! Yes I have started cardio again- so happy. I am a bit sore today but as I said to my girlfriend at the gym last night it is a good muscle sore. I'm still doing lots of stretching. I am not going to run till the weekend though and when I do i'll only do an easy 5km to start with.

I really haven't been hungry this week- have lost my appetite completely. My mum was force feeding me on Monday- she says you need to eat to keep strong. I know she is only being a mum and wanted me to get better. so hopefully see another loss on the scales. I have been doing really well lately. At this rate i'll be at my goal weight in no time.

Not much else to say- thanks for all the positive comments, it really helps
Enjoy the rest of the week and i\ll report back soon.

Love Amy
xx

Feeling tired!

2006-06-25T02:40:00.000-07:00

I am soooo tired today. I woke up at 11 went back to bed a 2 and woke up again at 4 and feel like going back to bed again. My glands are up and I feel I have no energy what so ever. I think my iron levels are low as I have felt like this before. I think a few crappy night sleeps have not helped either. I have eaten half of meals- just have not felt hungry at all so that is why I am probably feeling weak today too. I weighed myself yesterday and have lost 1.2kg so I was happy with that. I have tried to eat really well all week because of the little cardio I was doing because of my injury. Anyways I will be off to have an early night and wake up fresh for a good week. Having a deep tissue massage tomorrow and plan to go for a light run on Tuesday if things continue to improve. Went for a walk with dad over the weekend and things are definately getting better. I'm still taking anti-inflammatories and doing heaps of stretching so hope all continues to move forward. I'll let you all know how i go.
Have a great week

Love Amy
xx

Four things about me!

2006-06-22T23:32:00.000-07:00

Here is my reply to Selinas blog:

Four Things about meThings you may not have known about me.....A)
Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Worked at Head girl (hair and jewellry shop)
2. Restaurant
3. Podiatrist
4. Thats all!!

Four movies I would watch over and over
1. Grease
2. Love Actually
3. Bridget jones diary
4. The castle

Four places I have lived
1. Perth, WA
That's it till next year when I go travelling for a year!!D)

Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. The OC
2. Desperate Housewives
3. House
4. Sex and the city (foxtel):)

Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Melbourne
2. New Zealand
3. Queensland
4. Next year my list will include: Mexico, Carabian, Bahamas, New York, Las Vegas, LA, London, Paris, Switzland to name a few!!

F) Websites visited daily:
1. Hotmail - personal
2. Womens health and fitness bulletin board
3. Blogs (almost daily)4.

G) Four of my favourite foods:
1. Chocolate
2. Protein pancakes
3. sushi
4. pumpkin soup

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. On my trip next year!!
2. Having a relaxing massage
3. Having cocktails near a pool
4. At the movies

Four people I think will respond1. Hmmm I'm not sure... surprise me!

Now, here's what you're supposed to do... copy the above, enter your answers and either post it on your blog or email it to your friends!!

Feeling Positive

2006-06-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

I am feeling a lot better today. It has been one week today that I injured myself running and although it is still quite sore it is slowly improving, I wish it would all happen a little bit faster. Have had another session of physio and off for a sports deeps tissue massage early next week. I am still limping around but it is definately not as painful and I have been able to start stretching. I have been a good girl with eating except for a few squares of dark chocolate the other night. I have also been going to the gym to work my upper body so at least I feel like i'm doing something. I have also lost a bit of weight this week so it just shows how important diet is. I can't wait to go for a run and as hilary said to me in a message it will just make me so determined and motivated when I do get back into it- you are so right!! I have promised myself not go into training too early because I don't want to cause another injury.
Sorry again for my last few blogs- I know they were a bit down but i'm all happy today.

I better be off to do some work- have a great thursday!!

Love Amy
xx

Getting very frustrated and GRUMPY!!

2006-06-18T23:19:00.000-07:00

Well it has been four days now since my last run and still in quite a bit of pain. I had physio on Saturday and I have torn a muscle. Because of where in the muscle it is it will take a little while to heal- so i've been told with very strict instructions that i'm not allowed to do any running for a couple of weeks. I was like a couple of weeks. That is soooooooooooo long. However I don't want to go back to early and tear it again and even worse. I am going to the gym tonight to do an upper body workout. I will be able to slowly start walking but I can't even do that at the moment because I am limping. I am just so upset coz my times were good, i have been running longer distances and my weight has been dropping. To make it worse dad went running yesterday and ran 15km in 73 minutes. I was so annoyed but happy for him. My physio said I will be fine to run my half marathon in sept- it is 12 weeks away so I suppose I do have some time up my sleeve thank goodness.
Sorry for my depressing blog- I know time heals. One good thing is I haven't been as hungry!!
heheheh

Have a fab week

Amy
xx

I'm in pain!!

2006-06-15T23:55:00.000-07:00

Well i finally thought all my troubles were over now that my shins have basically been pain free since I got my new orthotics made. The last week or so I have had very tight quad muscles and have been stretching them heaps. Yesterday I had planned for my long run. I started from home and headed towards the narrows bridge (freeway) and this whole way I didn't feel comfortable. It was quite sore and couldn't push as hard as I usually would. By the time I got to the narrows I had to stop running, the pain was soo bad. I decided I would stretch and boy did this hurt. I then couldn't run anymore it was killing me. I am so angry that this is happened. I was starting to run really well and my times were definately showing this. So I had my little cry and limped all the way home. It was the longest 5km ever! By them time I got home I could hardly walk. I came in and iced my quad and took anti-inflammatories. The pain now is radiating down to my knee. Anyways I had to go to work that arvo and spoke to my collegue who is a physio. I am lucky enough that he is going to work on it tom!! I hope it gets better really soon. My dad was trying to joke with me last night and saying it should be him that is cracking up with the training for the half marathon. At the time I didn't think it was funny!!haha

I also got to meet the reps for Adidas last night through work. We had a meeting with them to discuss latest technologies especially for running shoes. I have able to score myself so very very cheaps shoes and clothes too. I love this about my job!! All the little perks. Also got some world cup freebie stuff too.

Sorry for sounding very negative in this blog. I'm sure it will be good in no time. I hate taking time off from training. I just want to get out there now but unfortunately my leg is definately telling me NO!!

Have a great weekend. I m off to see my beloved Geelong play at Subi tom- hope they get up!

Love Amy
xx

Has it been a week already!

2006-06-12T04:09:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how time just flies. Have been really busy and got another bout of tonsolitis last week. I went to the doctors early to get antibiotics and thank goodness I was feeling better within 24 hours. I was lucky enough to not have any work off but I was so run down and tired. Went to bed very early every night. Anyways all better now. I just missed out on one workout so was happy with that.
I have started another 12 week challenge today by myself. So i'll keep you posted on how I am going. I want to lose another 3 to 5 kg to be at goal goal weight. I feel really positive to do it and have some great goals to achieve.
My running has been going pretty well. I have been doing 2-3 weight sessions a week, 2 cross training and about 4 runs a week. I missed out on my long run last week so I really need to do one early this week so I can do another one on Sunday.
Besides that not much else to say. Hope everyone is well!

Love Amy
xx

Yay- Long Weekend!!

2006-06-02T23:24:00.000-07:00

You have to love them don't you!! I had to work this morning but I had my last patient at 10:30 so finished by 11. It was great!! I went out to dinner with 2 girlfriends last night and then went and saw the davinci code. I absolutely loved it. I am reading the book at the moment but loved the movie. I had such a funny night. We decided to go away for a girlie weekend in mid july so really looking forward to that!! I have a 21st tonight and am allowing myself to have a couple of wines because I have been good all week. No plans as such tomorrow, might have a chillout day and get a few dvds. Then heading out on my boyfriends dad's boat on Monday. Probably go up the swan river and have lunch in the swan valley at Sandalford wines (no drinking though!!). hehehehe.
I have been eating pretty well this week but I have only done 2 runs as I went running with my new orthotics last weekend and ended up with killer blisters!! Besides this I have been feeling really good and positive all week. I went for a 10km run around the bridges in Perth but started having problems half way round. I couldn't turn back as there was water in between so I had to battle the last 5km out. I don't listen to the advice that I give my patients at work!! Anyways I have been riding lots- nearly 30km everyday just so all my hard work didn't go down the drain. I'm going for a run this arvo so i'll let you know how I go!

I bought new boots today as well as a new jacket. They are so hot. I bought two dresses yesterday as well. I am now staying away from the shops till I reach my next goal weight.
Have a fabulous weekend

Love Amy
xx

Anyways

2006-05-27T02:25:00.001-07:00

I ran the same run I did with my brother and dad on thursday but this time I measured it because they said it was 8km but with a time like 37minutes I was not convinced (even though I pushed myself so hard). So I measured it and it was 7.4km. So 37 minutes was still a really good time and still really happy with that. Even more so because when I ran by myself I only ran 10 seconds slower. Today I ran 10km and I went running with my new orthotics. They felt terrible. I really should not have run with them for such a long run. Especially where I run because I run around the bridges from South Perth (home) to the causeway around to the city and back across the Narrows bridge then back home. I could not cut across due to water!! So I had to stop twice (once to stretch and another to take the orthotics out). My shins are sore and have big blisters on each foot. I should have known better since I am a podiatrist. However with two stops my time was not too bad (53 and half minutes).
I have added some cross training into my training, a) to give me some variety in training, b) not so much strain on my legs. So yesterday I did a 30km bike ride.
I have been eating really well but craving lots of foods lately and getting very hungry. I think it is because of all the long distance stuff I am doing. All in all a pretty good week. Will weigh myself monday so I hope all is good on the scales.

Well I better be off. Have a great weekend all.
Love Amy
xx

2006-05-27T02:25:00.000-07:00

The hardest run ever!!

2006-05-23T04:27:00.000-07:00

I decided to wait for my dad to go running with him tonight. We were getting ready for a run when my brother said he will join us. It was good to start with as he pushed me. There were 3 tough hills in there tonight and I was buggered after each one. I don't think it helps when you have something to eat one hour before a run. I just wanted to bring it all up but I was starving and couldn't wait till dinner. Anyway after the last hill there was about 2.5km to go and I swear I sprinted the whole way to keep up with Andrew (he is soooo fit). All in all I did 8km in 37 minutes so i'm pretty happy with that! Felt terrible when I finished but feel really good now. As dad said I only have to run that 2 more times for the half marathon! hahaha But I definately won't be running it at that pace. I have been eating pretty well and had a drop in the scales which is promising! Trained well yesterday as well. Looking forward to rest day tomorrow and then 12km on thursday.
Hope everyone is is going well.

Love Amy
xx

On the mend

2006-05-20T04:40:00.000-07:00

I just read yesterdays post and i'm sorry about all my whingeing. I am feeling so much better today. I had our state conference yesterday and today and even though I didn't make it yesterday I did today. It all went really well. I got another pair of shoes (free!). I even think i'm going to go for a light run tomorrow. I won't push it but I really want to get back into it. 4 days with no training! I am getting very aggitated and need to do something. I'm not planning for record distances or times but just to ease back into it for next week. Having a quiet night in by myself I might add. My parents are out, my boyfriend has a mates birthday (he did offer to stay in with me, which I thought was sweet but would have felt too guilty) and my brother is never home. So i am going to bed really early tonight. Probably earlier than I thought coz geelong is getting done at the moment! Not much else to report. Hope your having a great weekend.

Love Amy
xx

Tonsolitis!!

2006-05-19T05:28:00.000-07:00

I have been really sick the last few days but am feeling more like myself tonight. I started to get an itchy throat on tuesday at work but didn't feel bad in myself. I had a nap after work and then went and did an 11km run and felt awesome (did it in 53.45)- I have had some pain in my shins lately but I had nothing. I have even had running orthotics made for my feet (one of the perks of being a podiatrist, that and free running shoes!!) so I will now have a pair for normal walking and a pair for running. After the run I started to go downhill. Mum had cooked dinner but I could hardly eat any- just felt like throwing up. Then during the night I woke up with the worst sore throat and aching neck and shoulders. I still went to work wednesday but by the time I was leaving my glands were like tennis balls, i could hardly swallow and my body ached all over. That night I woke up drentched in sweat and my sheats were wet too- so gross!! I had a huge fever. It was awful. Anyway off to the doctors who said I looked absolutely terrible and couldn't believe the size of my glands. She said I was lucky the infection had not spread to my kidneys or i didn't have rheumatic fever. I was pretty glad too!! Anyways given strong antibiotics and slowly starting to feel better. I have hardly eaten as it hurts to swallow and been drinking heaps to make sure nothing happens to my kidneys!! I am starting to miss my running, so i hope all my hard work has not gone down the drain with my really good times the last few weeks. Anyways enough of my whineging. Hope everyone is going really well. I have been reading everyones blogs.

Love Amy
xx

Ps. I promise to blog more frequently so please keep reading!!
xxxxx

Sorry it's been soooooooo long!

2006-05-08T03:10:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

I can't believe how long its been since my last post. Work has been flat out and time has just got away from me. I have been keeping up with everyone else post. Well i'm into my last week of my program. I don't think i'll make it to my goal weight (but very close) but I have already set my new goals. I have entered myself into the half marathon in perth in Sept and have already started training. I have completed the city to surf before and have always enjoyed running so i'm now going to take it the next step further. I am so excited. I did a 10.5km run yesterday in 52 minutes so was pretty happy with that. I have decided I am not going to have professional photos taken just yet as I want to be at my goal weight before I have them (3 more kilos to go!). I have learnt so much about myself in the last 12 weeks and want to thank Sue and Sharleen for everything. You are both inspirational and will continue to take in all that you have taught me. Thanks heaps. I will still continue to blog. When I do have photos taken I will post them.

Love Amy
xx

Sorry it's been soooooooo long!

2006-05-08T03:10:00.000-07:00

Anzac Day

2006-04-25T05:12:00.000-07:00

I had such a great day today. I woke up without my alarm which is always a good start to the day. I went and did jacobs ladder this morning before the rain came belting down. I got my heart rate up to 189bpm. Sharleen- did you end up finding it?? This took about 50mins and felt really good after it. My legs were burning but I think this was because they were still recovering from the other day from leg weight training. Then went out to lunch with my boyfriend, his parents and some of their family friends. I ate grilled fish and veges without any oil!! Then watched a dvd and fell asleep. Mum and dad went out for fish and chips but I stayed home and made a chicken salad. So proud of myself.

I caught up with a uni friend last night and had such a good time. We ate out but I didn't go off my plan. It was the restaurant I use to work at so I got everything how I asked for it. My old boss told me I was looking fantastic. This made me so soooo good. Because I haven't seen him for awhile I believe he was truly genuine. My boyfriend tells me i look great all the time but you tend to believe someone more if they haven't seen you for awhile.

Not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. I'm up early to do my cardio as I don't know what time my last patient will be. So best to play it safe and go to the gym in the morning and then if I finish early I can go back to do extra.

Hope everyone else has had a great day.

Love Amy
xx

Can hardly move!

2006-04-23T04:57:00.000-07:00

I can hardly move today. My butt, my quads, my hamstrings are all so sore. I woke up this morning and could hardly move. My boyfriend lightly touched my leg and I would be in agony. But I love it. It is the good sore! The sore that shows you have worked really hard. Sue's change in training is killing me! Even walking to my room (two storey house) is killing me today. I am proud to say that even with being sick I completed all my workouts for the week. I went for an hour powerwalk with my dad and incorporated lots of hills and stairs. We had a good chat. My dad is a very keen runner and am proud to say we both cvompleted the city to surf in Perth (12km) in an hour last year so really want to step this up this year. We were chatting and saying how we both wanted to do a half marathon. My uncle in new zealand completed one and this has really got my dad thinking. After my program is finished I will have to get training for the city to surf again and then think seriously about doing a half marathon. This is my new future goal. I am finally eating properly again and I have not been tempted by any 'off limits' food this weekend. I even went to the movies and just bought a diet coke and a bottle of water. So happy!! Well i'm off to do some work and get an early night.
I weigh myself tomorrow. I get so nervous....

Night all,
Amy
xx

So Sore!

2006-04-21T05:42:00.000-07:00

I really should be doing other work but I just wanted to say a big thank-you for all your lovely comments. I am feeling so much better the last few days. I have still been off food and have missed a few meals but I have been forcing myself to eat. The best thing about this is I am not tempted by any junk food or chocolate!! I did my cardio and chest/calf workout yesterday and I am sooooo sore today. Sue has changed my program and i am sure feeling it but I love it. I got up nice and early this morning and did my interval+moderate intesity this morning and then back to the gym for shoulders/biceps this arvo plus more cardio. I had to do double cardio today and my weight days together so i can fit them all in with being sick. I will now have legs and cardio in the morning and then just cardio on sunday and I will have fitted in all my workouts!! I am so motivated lately and so proud to know i'll get them all in. I'm looking forward to a fairly quiet weekend but after the week i have had at work i'm glad!!
Have a good one everyone!!

Love Amyxx

I hate being SICK!!!!

2006-04-19T05:44:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone has recovered from the easter break. I am proud to say I ate so very well and stuck to my eating plan except one small easter egg. I was really looking forward to going to the movies and chilling out with my boyfriend on monday but I woke up feeling very ill. I lazed around for a bit, mangaged to make it to the gym but felt as weak as anything. I then ended up being in bed all day and could hardly eat or drink anything. I am just started feeling better today. I ate next to nothing yesterday and managed to keep a piece of toast and half a sandwhich in today. As you would expect I have nothing for the last few days as i've been in bed feeling like being sick everywhere but I am on the mend. Tomorrow i'll be back in to training and hopefully eating all my meals. I just feel sick thinking about food (this is probably a good thing as i might lose some kg!!- I know it will probably come back on when I start eating again!!). So i will have to have days with double cardio to ensure I get all my workouts in this week. I hate to miss a training session. I don't know if it was somethig that i ate or it is just stress (work- i won't go there!!). I think i have already whinged enough. So this is another slight set back but I will keep strong. Mentally I am but energy wise I feel terrible. Hopefully with a good nights sleep and proper eating and exercise i'll be back on track!!

Hope you have all had a better start to the week!!

Love Amy
xx

Don't go shopping HUNGRY!!

2006-04-15T02:44:00.000-07:00

I went shopping today to get my dad new runners ( I could get discount at athletes foot for him as im a pod) and then ben (boyfriend) wanted to get something for his ipod and then we got detoured by clothes. By the time we got to food shopping I was starving!! I was rushing through it because I didn't want to be tempted by all the naughty foods!! So many chocolates and hot cross buns around. arghhhhhhh. But I bought none of it and touched none of it. I had my steaded chicken, veges and rice waiting for me when I got home. Thank goodness I was prepared!! I felt so good after I had finished my meal that i had not eaten anything else. I'm feeling a bit tired this arvo but besides that I feel great. Looking forward to catching up with girlfriends as my boy is going out with mates for a poker and drinking night. Did an awesome workout today. I am already feeling sore. Well i better be off and prepare my dinner so i'm not tempted to what my girlfriends are eating.
Have a great night everyone.

Love Amy
xx

Good Friday

2006-04-14T07:09:00.000-07:00

Happy easter to all!!
I am feeling really good today and am so proud of myself. I have been eating so well and feel so motivated, especially after reading everyone's blog. I also got an update of my training program from Sue which looks even more challenging but can't wait. I'm expecting huge results if I stick to my diet! I enjoyed my free meal before easter because I know my weaknesses. If I enjoyed my free meal actually on sunday when I was with family and all the naughty food around I would go overboard so I enjoyed it last night where I could control it. I have planned this whole weekend so I don't go off track. I also tried to sleep in this morning but I woke up at 5:30 and finally got up just after 7 after many tries of getting back to sleep. I hate it when you can sleep in but can't and on other days you would die to have a few more hours sleep. I did jacobs ladder again this morning but my legs were so sore. I did it for 40 minutes and my max heart rate got up to 190 bpm so very happy. Was so glad when it was over. So i now have completed all my cardio for the week and have one more weights session to go and then a complete rest day on Sunday. I'm housing sitting with my boyfriend at the moment and they have the most adorable little puppy (pure breed Staffy). I have never had a dog before so i'm loving every minute of it. Will take her for a big walk in the morning before brekky. Then off to the gym to the gym to do weights just before lunch. Looking forward to tomorrow night as i'm catching up with some old school friends for a big catch up. I will be eating different to them of course!! Enjoy your weekend everybody.

Love Amy
xx

Good Day

2006-04-10T05:26:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Had a really good day of eating and i'm very proud of myself. My low last week has changed course and now feeling really good and motivated again. I got up early this morning and did my 40 mins moderate cardio at jacobs ladder (all Perth people will know!). Jacobs ladder is a flight of stairs- approx 220-250 stairs. I run there, do it about 10 times then run back to my car. Since starting this I have noticed my fitness improving and i really think it helps with the toning of my legs. I then came home had brekky and off to work. I then did my back/shoulder workout this evening and I really felt the burn tonight. I increased my weights on a few exercises am i'm sure i'll feel it tomorrow. I even washed my car today- I have been putting it off for a few weeks so i'm very happy I have finally done it.

I'm off to bed now so i can wake up at 5.00 tom morning for cardio before work.

Amy
x

Rest Day

2006-04-09T05:57:00.000-07:00

Today was my rest day and by this afternoon I began to have itchy feet. I had to do something!! So i went for a 40 minute walk in the fresh air just before dinner. I have had a relaxing day today and had a 2 hour sleep in the middle of the day, have cleaned out my wardrobe and threw away 2 garbage bags of old clothes and watched a DVD with my boyfriend. I also have a terrible eye infection and i'm off to see the eye specialist tomorrow. It has been so sore and because of it had hardly any sleep last night.
I have eaten pretty well this weekend, as I often find it hard to eat completely clean on the weekend. Had my oats for brekky this morning, some almonds at morning tea with a coffee, protein pikelets for lunch, pepsi max and chicken and vegies for dinner. After writing that I probably ate a little bit less than I should have but tomorrow is all planned out so completely back on track then.

I'm not looking forward to tomorrow as I have to speak to a guy i'm working for about a few issues that i'm not happy with. For me this is a big step as I will be standing up for myself which I often just let things happen and get taken for the ride and get treated unfairly. But not this time!! This is the new me. I will be confident and stand up for myself and be treated fairly and not be ripped off. So wish me luck!!

Have a great week everyone and I hope mine is better than last week!!

Amy
xxx