Katherine Races – tell me how to loose 4kg fast please!

OK, a quick post and I’ll probably get slammed by the critics but this is my current goal. 4kg down by May 11 which is 3 weeks away.

Can I have some advise please? Currently my regime is no pasta, bread, potatoes or rice, meat only twice a week, eat every three hours (no junk of course) and walk/run 6ks every second day and am up to a 12,10,8 sit up/push-up rep routine every second day AND no alcohol. I’ve lost 5kg since starting Jan 14 but really want to up the anti to fit into a little black dress for The Katherine Races!!! This awesome event attracts over 2,000 people to Katherine for THE FUNNEST DAY OF THE YEAR…. but you know it gets hot so you don’t want to wear too much AND high-heels are just too hard on turf. I’m gonna wear flats which can be so not flattering so the 4kg has to go!

So…. how do I do it?

I’m hit… by man flu.

Well…. I fucked up in every way possible (did we say we could swear on this blog when necessary? This is necessary) and am now able to say with great expertise… it is NOT WORTH IT.

What did I do? We-ell… everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. Drank, smoked, ate HJs, meat, bread, potato chips, did’t exercise for a week… Oh god I feel so ashamed… What happened?! WHAT HAPPENED?!

I let a totally worthless event distract me from my goals… I won’t go into any great detail regarding what the worthless event was… it was a man…

Uggh! I have no-one to blame but myself but you know all those memes on FB that say surround yourself with positive people that help you up, not pull you down, etc… (in the old days I’d be recalling parables or words of wisdom from favourite books or TV shows)… they are right!

I am back to eating well and no alcohol and absolutely no smoking (where was my head on that one?! Duh!) but my body is rebelling with the most horrendous, what I am sure is, man flu.

Lessons learnt… I’m too green. Too new… in lots of ways.

There is no way I can take my eye off the ball for even a second and 365 days to learn to embrace a new way of living is very realistic… it’s going to take me every second of that time to get this right I think.

I’d like to say ‘I’m ba-ack,’ with great gusto but quite frankly I am just relieved not to have been totally lost down that path… because it could have been real easy. REAL easy. So what I will say is, “Few! That was close!” And try not to beat myself up too much for being such a bloody tool.

The Silver Lily…

How do I inspire you beautiful lady, beautiful lady?

How do I change places with the moon?

You who have inspired me for such a long time now,

How can I possibly be like you?

(from the Silver Lilly, a poem inspired by you x)

Saggy Baggy… Skin?! WTF!

WTF! What the hell is this (I sound like my daughter)?!!!

It’s great loosing weight but did I stretch my skin or something?! Where did all these wrinkles come from?

I’m calling in the big guns. Best Anti Wrinkle Cream, can you give some advice? Are these wrinkles as a result of stretched skin? I’m talking about around my eyes and my neck…

Just to get you in the picture quickly this blog is written by me and my best friend and we are on the road to awesome, together, by dedicating ourselves to a healthier lifestyle and worship of our higher selves (and not the kind of higher self we were at UNI :-)) And whilst this trip is really awesome it might be inclined to be slightly deterred if I’m trading my deliciously curvaceous figure for a face full of sag!

Faithfully awaiting your guidance and miracles 🙂

What is this feeling?

Day… well I don’t know how many days it has been since my best friend Lou-lou and I started this blog with the facial aim of losing weight. The fundamental reason was to revive our wanderlust that we are interesting, creative, and sexy women.

And although the evidence of my own actions lay in total abstinence from alcohol, a mighty effort to avoid carbs, exercise for an hour each day and meat once a week the internal battle is in synchronicity. It’s about thinking those thoughts and taking those actions you know are good for you – even if they are a little tough at first, the mental mettle does improve.

So, as my body sheds weight, my muscles tone and tighten, my skin rejuvenates and the shine returns to my eyes so does a feeling of joy, happiness and peace return to my soul.

I was walking around Woollies today with my kids.. we were laughing and having a great time. I thought to myself, this is nice but why do I feel so emotional? And I realized that all this time, all the effort I had been making not to feel bad, was also masking my ability to feel good!

So 5 kilos down and a soul full of bliss up… body, mind, soul… now THAT friends and neighbors is a real measure of success!

 

Don’t eat meat pies… ever.

OK – I have the holy grail of weight loss in my hands. The answers to all your questions and the solution to all your problems… As my friend Toni Tapp Coutts would say, “It’s common sense.” Yes really, that’s the answer. Common Sense.

I had to travel to a remote Indigenous Community in the Katherine Region yesterday and although there were plenty of fresh fruit and veggies stacked up in the fridge of the local shop the only takeaway food were chicken kebabs and pies… two kinds of pies; regular and ‘a good one’. I thought it pretty safe to eat the ‘good one’ as it had the ‘heart smart’ tick. Alas it was not. And the measure of this failure? Not that the KJ count was 1,645… it was feeling crook from yesterday lunch time until lunch time today!

But you know the real killer? I’ve been Laksa… about twice a week. They’re yummy and I’ve left out noodles or meat so thought I was pretty safe there. I’ve also been using only half the portion of reduced fat coconut milk… as you can see in the attached picture, apparently this food is ALSO not so good and is a ‘sometimes’ food… being that it is absolutely CRAMMED with salt!

So i guess it’s not only common sense that need apply – but also remembering everything in moderation,.. AND that if it doesn’t rot on the shelf it’s probably not too good for you 🙂

We need to talk…

My friend Irena, who I love talking to, has been reading this blog and sat me down for a wee chat. “We have to talk Meg,” she said, “you seem to be so hungry for the destination, but what about the journey?” Actually her words weren’t like that but that is the message I got. And I am just so grateful for these words that give me pause to reflect and refocus.Because the point to this journey was to ‘return to hotness’ and to revive the ol’ mojo. And whilst ONE measure is indeed a reduction in weight I think there is a fundamental problem with this statement… actually a couple of problems.

The first is the want to ‘return’ to a particular state… I can see now that I got it all wrong. I don’t want to return, I want to move forward, to grow, improve, become more enriched, to mature into the best version of myself I possibly can be at THIS time. I certainly don’t want to go back there – it was great, don’t get me wrong, but I like NEW experiences and in the history of the universe, through time immemorial, there is never going to be another chance to live this life and have these experiences. SO, Irena, you are right – AGAIN! And you know this journey is really enjoyable. Every day every little hurdle I conquer, and even every mistake I forgive myself for, and every time I dust myself off and get back up again is a pleasure. It’s the pleasure of being alive! AND THAT, friends and neighbors, is e-zactly where you’ll find your mojo.

Now the second problem is how I have been measuring my success – and again, because of the infinite wisdom of my cherished friend Irena, I am able to see it’s my WORDS that undermine me… they ARE MY WORDS, MY THOUGHTS, and as the wonderful movie ‘Eat, Love, Pray’ says, “choose your thoughts as carefully as you would choose the clothes you wear each day.” I have been measuring my success in terms of weight… and although helpful it is just one many measures.

I’ve forgotten to talk about the little thrill that lit up my face when I realized I could run a couple a ks, the ‘sillies’ I now get in the morning (pretending to blow a trumpet to wake up my daughter for school or singing the old Mickey Mouse wake-up tune… drives her crazy) instead of the zoned out hangovers, and coping oh-so-differently with workplace stress! Before this kind of stress would have floored me – now I am able to stand back and look at it, analyze it and put it where it belongs…. in perspective! I feel GREAT! I feel healthy and beautiful – a soul deep, well earned, peaceful kind of beautiful.

So I’m going to call what I’m doing what it is – looking after myself because I deserve it, because I want to suck the life out of this vessel I borrow. And I’m going to call the outcome of what I’m doing what it is – feeling great. Feelin… funk-eh… yeh!

Oh and I dedicate this blog to another very, very, very inspirational friend – remember the one I said I was sure they positively must YELL the affirmations into the mirror each morning? Well that’s my friend Craig from 365 days of getting it done – yep, and I’d like to thank him :-)… and to suggest it’s time he started listening to Eminem!

I would like to introduce you to my nemesis

Innocently known amongst the masses as the hot cross bun. They were lurking in supermarkets, baker’s delight and other such outlets from the first or was it second week into the new year. Seductively whispering sweet nothings into my ear each time I passed. So terrified of the inevitable I stopped visiting the bread aisle, then the b@st*!ds were moved within arms length of the checkout. I am powerless, sigh….

Well done my Meg on 5 kilo’s, I too have lost 5 but I will put up some stats tomorrow.

I have an addiction….

I haven’t posted in a week… I’m addicted to Candy Crush Saga on Facebook.

I’m sorry.

But I have lost 5 kilos :-)!

A Sister and a Friend…

Words of encouragement are so very powerful, no matter the situation… I’ve had three people who are close to me take the time out of their day to offer such support this week – two I’ll share ;-).

Why share these words? I’m hoping in reading this blog you’ll relate and for a moment be taken back to a special time and smile… that’s all.

And I’ll simply quote the trail of comments that came into my Facebook

From my fellow blogger and dear long term friend… about 11 years now I think (!) (see her awesome blog Happy Headspace)
“Stop focussing on the numbers… Cutting back on sugar is good… Skim milk or try no milk… Takes a bit of getting used to but it’s not that bad… Not coffee club coffee tho it’s too strong to start with! I actually prefer maccona now when it’s minus milk… And was addicted to T/A coffee be kind to yourself and find some new treats for Pick me ups that aren’t food (and congratulate yourself for kicking your previous coping mechanisms… Just gotta find some new ones… Ha ha keep reading my blog for more ideas ha ha ha!!! I’ll brainstorm for you xx you are doing an awesome job with running and yoga and it will all fall together soon enough… Also try googling weight loss plateau … ?? Xx”

From my beautiful sister for whom my love is precious and rare like a dewy fern in cool a mountain rainforest…
“When people move on they choose their direction. Yours has true value and meaning and will create new and better pathways, what a massive effort you are putting in I am so proud of you. Look into the bodies need for essential vitamins and minerals and how you get these naturally and what to do if living in extreme climates. But always remember to make time to listen to your body as it will tell you what it needs. Luv u xxoo”

…how lucky am I! Ahhh, this is a BRILLIANT start to the week 🙂