Oooh, almost forgot! When I turned up to work on Monday, I was surprised to see disco lights everywhere (permanently fixed to the ceiling and walls) and wait for it......a disco ball! I thought to myself that Ange (the boss) must've had a party over the holidays or something but when I asked him, he said it was for disco circuit training! We will be having night circuit group sessions with funky music just like a nightclub! Cool! Don't know how popular it will be though, stay tuned!

PS. I love being sore! Yippee!

Started back at the gym on Monday - ooh my lordy! Cant even move now! I guess that's what two weeks of no weight training will do to you! Did back and triceps and supersetted everything to minimise time lost in the gym. Went as heavy as I could for less reps as well. Today I did chest, biceps and abs supersets - I love them, its so efficient! Again, as heavy as possible and I can bet I'll be sore again tomorrow. I have left legs and shoulders for friday so my back can recover a bit more but I wont be doing heavy squats - maybe just bodyweight to start off with and see how I go. For cardio I did HIIT for 20 mins - body for life style. I'll also go for a walk later. Food has been much better this week - I'm not usually a calorie counter but I find rough estimates keep me on track a bit more. So far today I've had oats with protein crunch for breakfast and after training I had a protein shake and some fresh pineapple. I'm about to have some lunch now so that will be probably tuna salad and for dinner I will make meat & veggies. Probably have some yoghurt in between too - my new favorite thing is yoghurt mixed with choc protein powder and frozen banana chopped up in it, mmmmm. Now, I'm hungry!

I'm baaaaack!
Being away from your computer for a couple weeks is definately harder than I thought! Getting through all those emails, reading blogs and visiting all my usual sites for updates has taken aaages!
My Broadbeach holiday was great, had a great time although had a few hiccups. Started out great though, was going to the gym and walking heaps for the first couple days - even conquered my fear of swimming pools! Day three woke up with terrible lower back pain and could hardly walk, spent the next few days in the spa and walking gingerly around the hotel. Dont know if it was the new sandals I bought or whether I just overdid it in the gym but it was horrible and reminded me of my old fat days when I had permanent back pain. After I recovered slightly (by wearing my specially fitted runners everywhere - I'm a severe pronator) I came down with a severe rash on my body from the sun I think because it was only in places that were exposed. The salt water of the beach and the chlorine from the pool probably made it worse and I may have had a reaction to the sunscreen I was using too - how else can I explain it was only on my abdomen, back and legs which are places that dont normally see the light of day in Melbourne. I dont know, anyway, it wasnt pleasant. I managed to put on two kilos while over there but they have already come off again probably due to all the extra carbs I was having. Back to work tomorrow-it went sooo fast that I didnt get time to appreciate the spare time. I didnt really have a break from my other work apart from the nine days. Did I mention I hate working nights?
Have to come up with a new program now for myself as the Afterburn one was really good but probably too hard on my back so until I recover fully I will have to go a bit easy on things like squats and plyometrics. Better do that tonight before I hit the sack so I'm all ready for tomorrow.
Did I mention that we have won the last two games of netball? Its a miracle of some sort! Even though I didnt play in the most recent win it was still good. Tonights game has been cancelled due to the other team pulling out. Bit disappointing as I wanted to get in a bit of extra cardio but good because I want to watch the Men's Final in the tennis. I guess its OK because we walked heaps today when we went to the shops - 50mins one way, then we window shopped for about an hour, had lunch and then walked back which took only 45 mins because there were less hills. Now I'm about to get dinner ready and catch up on some more washing (the neverending story) before heading to the couch to watch the tennis - should be good.
Also have to think about planning a party for my daughter's 4th birthday which is on the 9th. Want something with minimum fuss but still enjoyable for her, maybe at a play centre or a restaurant with something amusing for the kids, or a picnic. Hmmm, must think about that one.............

Just found this photo of me when I was bigger - oh, the horror! It looks like my head is about to explode from all the fat! Kristin would have been about a month old. Thank god I don't look like that anymore! The second picture is of the last time we went to Queensland. That's my hubby, me, Kristin and a relative from Germany on the right.

Its bloody hot again! I went for a run this morning and nearly died - I didn't think it would've been so stinking hot by then. Anyway, I got home and collapsed in a heap and had to literally pick myself up off the floor and force myself to go to the gym for my weight training (damn those single leg squats!). Food been good past few days. So far today I've had:
M1 - oats with protein crunch, plus a bit of Jarrah mixed in for the choc taste
M2 - yoghurt/berries/protein powder (after my run)
M3 - protein shake with water (after gym) plus 2 small nectarines

M4 - will probably have egg whites on toast
M5 - most likely chicken and salad

Only a few days left til Gold Coast, Yippee! Oh, and did I mention we played two games of netball back to back on Sunday? A team must have forfeited so they asked us to play twice. I was the only one happy about this and since I am the acting captain, I said yes. All I could think of was all the extra calories I would burn while the others complained and moaned throughout the whole thing. We lost both games but who cares? I had fun and nothing beats cardio that goes by so quickly that you dont even notice you're getting a workout until its over and your whole t-shirt is drenched with sweat!

A-Z of Liz

Kek tagged me so here goes...

A - Available or single? Neither, I’m married.
B- Best Friend? Hubby.
C- Cake or Pie? Cake – but none of that continental crap. Definitely mud cake or banana cake.
D- Drink of Choice? Water.
E- Essential Item? Mobile phone.
F- Favorite Color? Pink or Sapphire Blue.
G- Gummi Bears or Worms? Neither, I like strawberry creams or choc buds.
H- Hometown? Melbourne.
I- Indulgence? Chocolate or Ice-Cream.
J- January or February? January.
K- Kids and names? Just the one so far. A girl, Kristin.
L- Life is incomplete without? My daughter and shopping.
M- Marriage Date? January 2^nd 2000
N- Number of Siblings? One brother and one sister – both older.
O- Oranges or apples? Apples and all fruit really.
P- Phobias/Fears? Spiders! Ugh!
Q- Favorite Quote? Those who cannot find time for bodily exercise will soon enough have to find time for illness.
R- Reason to Smile? My daughter and my health. Oh, and my holiday next week!
S- Season? Summer coz of all the holidays.
T - Tag three people! Sharon, Amaranthe and Michelle
U- Unknown fact about me? I have never touched a cigarette in my life.
V- Vegetable you hate? Raw onions – cooked are OK.
W- Worst habit? Being lazy with housework – does anyone actually love doing it??
X- X-rays you've had? Back, chest, ankle and teeth (do they count?)
Y- Your favorite food? Savoury – anything in pastry. Sweet – chocolate and any dessert.
Z- Zodiac? Aries.

I have been working out like a demon the past few days! I have read the book I bought - Alwyn Cosgrove's "Afterburn" and its fantastic - no crap and just straight to the point. I am trying out his method of training and I've gotta say its bloody hard. Afterwards I just lay in a pool of sweat and try to recover and get my breath back - its not for the faint hearted that's for sure. I am sore all over but I feel great - and alive again. I'm pretty sure I will get to my goal in no time if I stick to this program. But that's my problem - sticking to a program. I've started many times before only to fall in a heap a few weeks in. Diet is the main problem. Well, no point going on about it, just move forward and think of the goals I've set. Even though I am going on holiday in a week I will still do the training as set out and I wont have my own food but I'll stay as close as possible to the plan in the book. Did I mention that my mum was coming too for a few days? Did I also mention that she has the worlds worst diet? Her daily intake consists of coffee for breakfast, and dinner around 5pm in which she gorges on whatever she can find. If her food's not drenched in oil and salt its not edible to her. Great, isnt it? (Now I know why I ended up a heifer by the time I was 16) But I warned her, if she tries to sabotage me or tempt me she's straight back on a plane to Melbourne. She assured me she will try and eat whatever I'm eating coz she wants to lose weight too but I'm not so sure. We'll see...

I'm back! Took a couple weeks off from the gym but managed to do something every day (even Xmas & New Years Day) in the form of jogging, walking or just staying active during the day. SO I feel as if I've had a break but not really if you know what I mean. If I didnt do anyhting I would feel like a total slob by now. Even though I indulged in dessert a few times I feel as if I restrained myself enough that I havent gone backwards. I have heaps of short-term goals for this year - the first one is 29th January (the day I start work) I have to be three kilos lighter by then. The other goal dates are all in April and May, I have a wedding I want to be trim for and I told myself I wouldnt go to Phat Camp this year unless I was thinner than last years camp. Unfortunately I am about 4 kilos heavier than last year so I'd better get cracking. Also, I want to go to the Fitness Expo in Sydney and I think my brother is thinking of a May wedding so I have to be absolutely hot by then! So, they are all my vain body related goals but I have others which are important too. I want to learn how to swim (bad experience when I was a child - dont ask), I want to be home more with my family rather than working at nights (probably not gonna happen), I want to keep my house clean, tidy & organised (definately not gonna happen) and I better start looking into having another child partly because my mother has been on my back but also because I am getting a bit clucky lately - I see babies and crave to have another one of my own. My daughter would love it too - she adores playing mum to her own baby dolls, she's so cute. What else? Cant think of the other ones now but I have written them all down.
We are off to queensland in a couple weeks and I have a lot planned in the way of exercise - I love going there because the gym is great, the beach is fantastic and the shopping is brilliant! Everyone thinks I'm crazy "you should be relaxing on your holiday" - no, not me, its just go, go, go. I get so motivated by going there, last year I hit the gym every morning at 6am, walked in the sand and was really active - it was so much fun. I've already had my two weeks off the gym so I plan to be right into it by then. I refuse to hire a car or get in a cab - everything is within 30mins walk so its just lazy to drive. I have to think of my goals and not let anything or anyone get in my way. At a recent barbecue, my sister made a smart comment about my plate being only rabbit food - in reality it was meat and other stuff underneath and heaps of salad piled on top. I tried to tell her but she wasnt listening. My mum also told me what she said about me being on the road to anorexia - what the?!?!?!??? Anyone who's seen me knows I'm a looooong looong way from being anorexic - I'm at least 10kilos overweight but I guess next to all my family I look small because they are all obese. I try not to talk about diet or exercise near her coz she will just say I'm obsessed but I guess she's probably a tad jealous because she was always the skinny one.
Anyway, I dont care about other people - I should be focusing on myself now. I had a good workout today and I plan to eat well - oh, I almost forgot! Its my anniversary today - seven years of marriage - its gone soooo fast! Dont know if we'll go out somewhere, usually we dont buy each other gifts, we just go shopping (our favorite hobby) and buy whatever we want. Did I mention my husband is like women when it comes to shopping - he loves it more than me!
Oh, well, that was a long post but better get back to work now. Will post again soon!