WI 13: STS

Didn't lose anything this week. Or gain. Guess I should be happy about that.

I skipped two workouts at the start of the week, but definitely put extra effort in to the rest. Going back to Phase 1 sounded so lame but I've just made it a lot harder for myself by adding extra weight and doing the more difficult versions of all the exercises. When I originally did Phase 1 I pretty much only used my 1kg weights, this go round I'm not even touching them and going with the 3kg ones instead. I am so sore. :D

1k views!

Thank you! :)

I've only been writing this blog since the start of January so I feel so happy that I've hit a thousand views already. So far my blog has had readers from Finland, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Canada, Netherlands, Australia, Spain and Ireland!

I'd love to know a bit more about the people who visit my blog. It's always nice to see the view count go up but I'd like to know what people actually think of the stuff I post and what you'd like to read about. 

<3

Back to Phase 1

I was meant to start Phase 3 yesterday. I managed to go through one circuit, although I was just sitting down for half of it because the exercises are too demanding on my back. I'm not going to risk it, I'm just going to start over instead. I want to get my core stronger before I do something that advanced.

Yes, I'm very annoyed about it. I want to progress, not go back to the beginning. But I always knew it might happen so I can't really complain, BR is designed for people with no physical disabilities after all. Guess I should be happy that I managed to get this far.

On a happier note, I've gone back to a redhead again. :D My poor hair is going to fall off soon. In less than a week I've gone from ginger to blonde, from blonde to bright red and from bright red to this absolutely gorgeous pinkish red. And I love it. Pics below!

WI 12: +0.3kg (rest week)

Not worried at all. :) I ended up taking this week off from BR because I haven't been feeling well, only gone for a few walks this week. Not bothered about a tiny gain, it'll vanish during next week when I start exercising properly again.

Small victories make it all worth it

I've had this shirt in my wardrobe I haven't been able to wear for months because it was way too small. We were going out tonight and realised that "Hey, I've lost weight. I wonder if the shirt fits?". Well, it fit perfectly. I am so happy!

It's the little things that make it all worth it.

Pics, finally!

I was going to post my progress pics yesterday but two things happened.

There's one flaw with living with the in laws. We only have full body mirrors in the master bedroom and when the in laws are home, I find it pretty rude to just march in there to take pictures of myself. :D

And I'm OCD about certain things. I noticed I wore the same slacks in the previous progress pics and wanted to keep that going. Well, when I was cooking lunch yesterday I managed to get beetroot all over them. Just don't ask.. :D

So, to break the nice thing I've got going on here, pink slacks!

1st January 2013 - 17th February 2013 - 19th March 2013

Under the weather

I've struggled with sleep for a few nights in a row now. I find it hard to fall asleep and then end up waking up several times over the night. Last night I was accompanied by a massive headache when I was trying to fall asleep. I've also been feeling quite odd today, my body just seemed to... crash? Was just minding my own business when this wave of tiredness just hit me. Ended up napping for 1,5 hours and after I woke up I just felt absolutely awful, light headed and I was unpleasantly aware of my stomach. Three reasons come to mind:

1) I'm coming down with something. My boyfriend's mum has been feeling ill for nearly a week now so wouldn't be surprised if I've caught the same bug she's got.
2) I'm overdoing it with exercise. Wouldn't be surprised considering how intense my workouts are (even if they are only 30mins a day!).
3) I'm not eating enough. Might up my calories slightly for the rest of the week and see what happens.

Just going to vegetate today and see how I feel in the morning, if I'm still feeling crap I might postpone starting Phase 3 til next week.

WI 11: -1.6kg + Phase 2 progress

So. 100 grams away from the weight I was two weeks ago. Well balls. :D I just keep hovering around the 80kg mark which really annoys me, I've only lost 4 kilos in total so far. And measurements! Numbers in brackets is the measurement at the start of Phase 2.

Weight: 80kg (81,5kg)
Arms: 32,5cm (31,5cm) - the amount of muscle I've gained over here is mad, not surprised at all
Bust: 102,5cm (105cm)
Waist: 77,5cm (78cm)
Belly: 98cm (100cm)
Thighs: 61,5cm (61,5cm) - most disappointing measurement here, I want to get rid of my huge thighs!

And progress pics inc in a separate post as usual. :) Gonna go through the first workouts for Phase 3 today, see what kind of torture I've signed up for.

Bye Phase 2!

Last workout for Phase 2! :) I keep saying this over and over again but it just goes so fast it's unreal. Been doing this for two months now, only one to go.

Maybe a bit disappointed with the results so far after seeing all the adverts with these highly overweight people turn into athletes pretty much. Then again you really don't know how much airbrushing has been done there. Don't get me wrong I can definitely tell I've made progress, my legs and arms are getting quite muscular. It's just my biggest problem area - tummy. I want it to be gone. It's awful. I'm not looking to be stick thin, but curvy.

Curvy, not skinny!

Going out with the other half tonight, quite looking forward to it. :) We are in the process of saving money for a house so going out is more of a treat than something we do every week. I've been looking into some menus already and if we go to the restaurant I think we will, I'm all covered food wise. ^^ ~900 calories for starter, main and dessert, not bad eh!

And as usual, measurements tomorrow + pictures either tomorrow or Monday. :)

Another ache day

My back's been an absolute bitch all day. I kept getting really random muscle cramps earlier today, the entire right half of my back would just spaz out and ache like mad. It calmed down during the afternoon but then I went for a walk and now my lower back is on fire. This is not fun. At all. I feel like exercise isn't having any positive effect on my back problem. Starting to lean towards the back op more and more. But it just scares me so much, I just don't like the idea of being knocked out for a few hours while I'm having screws and metal plates put around my spine.

Goes without saying that today's workout is out of the question. Today would've been back of the body and my back isn't brilliant with them during my better days. I'm just not even going to try. I'd be absolutely stupid to risk making it worse.

Water weight

So, Sunday's result was just purely water weight. I had a depressed rant to my friend about my WI and he just calmed me down by saying its just water weight because my diet was madly heavy on sodium over the weekend. He told me to drink extra water and it definitely helped. Been drinking like a race horse and its dropped my weight back down to what it should be. Hooray!

Thank you Simon. :)

WI 10: +1.7kg

Upset. Frustrated. Feel like giving up. Shit week. Two birthdays, no exercise on Friday because of feeling ill and back pain and had no chance to make up for it. I feel like I'm going in circles.

End of Phase 2 next week, those results will look awful.... Again.

New clothes yay!

So my order from Sports Direct arrived today! ^_^ Very happy with the stuff I got, everything fits nicely and so on. I took a risk by ordering size 10 trousers as I've been a 12-14 til now but I'm quite happy I did, I think 12's would've been way too loose. Going for the smaller bra size was a good choice too, go me. :D

And I got a "small" freebie with the order. When I opened the parcel all I saw was a cardboard box with 'fragile' labels all over it. I kept thinking that what the hell have I ordered, but it turned out to be a freebie mug from them. And it's huge!! Seriously look at it. I mean sure I love my coffee but I don't think I could drink THAT much.

I'm really enjoying the new workouts as well. They don't feel too physically demanding (as in I'm not out of breath half the time) but when I've done it for 15-20 minutes it really shows in sweat. :D My back still annoys me though, I had to modify a few things again today. And skipped one exercise completely because it felt too uncomfortable for my back.

I also took some progress pictures today. I took some at the start of BR and realised I haven't taken similar pictures since so thought that why not. Sure I'm standing a bit differently but you get the idea. Where on earth has my waist gone?! And yeah ignore my face in the second picture, I took so many pictures I got bored in the end.

Of music and friendship

Felt like it's a good time to ramble on about something non weight loss related for a change! :D As probably for a lot of people, music is such a huge part of my life. I like to sing, I listen to certain songs when I'm feeling down, I LOVE screaming my lungs out to some of my favourite songs when sitting in the car.

I started getting into rock and metal when I was about 13. Green Day's American Idiot had just been released and to me it was the best thing ever. It was kinda the album that started forming my identity a bit. I mean sure, I went through the emo phase but even though my appearance has changed to a more neutral look I'm still a complete rocker at heart. :D This kind of music fits my personality well.

I've seen a few bands live as well. I was probably 15 when I went to see Bullet for my Valentine back in Helsinki. Can't remember much of the gig to be fair, all I know is that it was good. :D Over here in England I've seen KoRn and Volbeat. The Volbeat gig was such an emotional thing for me, this band is by far the best thing I've ever come across. Hearing them play my favourite songs made me eyes water and everything! Such a soppy git. And the official tour shirt I have is probably my favourite bit of clothing as well (and when I bought it it was a bit tight, now it fits like a glove :D).

Tour shirt! I love it how pale I am, my feet are blending into the carpet :'D

And like the title says, something else I want to write about too. I've been trying to figure out a good way of writing this post for a good few days now but I've just kinda been lost for words. Lately I've been spending more and more time speaking to someone who's definitely been such an inspiration to me weight loss wise. He's gone through the process already so he's been able to give me good tips (and tons of motivation) and it's just been so nice to talk to someone who can relate to what I'm dealing with. I mean of course I talk to my other half about this too but he's never seen fat on his body in his life. :D

And to finish this post, one of my favourite songs from Volbeat. :3

Cake!

So yeah, like I mentioned in the previous post we had a little gathering today. It was to celebrate a close family friend's 50th birthday, and you know, there was cake. It was a very cool 2CV cake with all the detailing, on top of looking very cool it was really nice. All the icing was rather sickly though and it hit me about halfway through eating the slice on my plate. :D

My other half decided to take pictures of me as well. Was just happily leaning on the kitchen counter, listening to his family talk about something, and I noticed him grabbing my camera. I was actually pretty happy with what I looked like in em, so here you go! :D My face looks a bit derp but you know, can't win em all.

And that's my only pair of tights as well. And I ruined them about 30 minutes after taking this picture. :D We were getting ready to have dinner, I sat down at the dinner table and scratched my knee on this bit of metal under the table. So now I need to go shopping for more stuff. Curses.

And the rest of the day will be spent just doing absolutely nothing. :D

WI 9: -0.2kg

Well, was definitely hoping for a bit more. But then again, a loss is a loss.

Family gathering today, a bit nervous because I know there will be a lot of treats everywhere and I need to have some serious self control so I won't eat everything. :D

Halfway through Phase 2

Time goes so quick it's unbelievable. Swapping dvds again on Monday. I quite like only having one cardio workout per month, it's such an easy way to track progress stamina wise. Apart from stopping halfway through to get more water, I didn't need to stop to catch my breath at all. Two weeks ago this workout was pure agony and I pretty much half assed some of it.

I haven't really taken any pictures during workouts, mainly because I'd rather not look like a retard when I'm focusing on getting my form right (because you know, if you're just posing for the sake of looking pretty in pictures, you're an idiot). I thought that I'd post some cooldown ones today. :D There's a quick cooldown after each workout, pretty basic ones everyone knows. And you know, I'm flexible so wanted to show off. :D

I've also realised that my yoga pants are incredibly loose. I've had these for years and years, so obviously the fabric is starting to be a bit frail (my other half actually told me they're slightly seethrough from behind.... :D) and obviously me losing weight is making them madly saggy. Same goes for my sports bras, they're starting to be too big and won't give enough support. So, Sports Direct is £52 richer after me going a bit mad. Yoga pants, two pairs of knee length exercise trousers and three lots of sports bras. That'll keep me going for a bit. Going for a smaller size in bras was a bit of a QQ moment though, I don't wanna lose my boobs! :D