"I enjoyed the gym for the first time ever!'
Wednesday 20 June 2012
Working mum-of-two from Northumberland
Height: 5ft 8
Start weight: 14st 7lbs
Current weight: 13st 1.5lbs
Weight loss this week: 3.5lbs
"Well, I’ve had another good weight-loss week, dropping 3.5lbs, so hopefully next week I’ll be under the 13st mark!
Now I have a confession for you! I am 33 (and 3/4) and I’ve never set foot in a gym! Well this was the case until my trip to Fitness First last week. Closer kindly organised me a gym pass for the remainder of the plan, which included a few personal trainer sessions!
Me and my personal trainer, Jim.
I was excited but very nervous on Thursday morning when I was getting ready. I definitely had the perception it would be full of Lycra-clad girls and musclemen pumping iron and didn’t know how I’d fit in. But my personal trainer Jim was very welcoming and there was a really good mix of people there, which I felt reassured by.
Jim talked me through my goals (apparently I’m typical of most women when I said I’d like to move the excess weight from my stomach up to my boobs!) and lose all of the other lumps and bumps. Jim and I spent the time doing toning exercises and I was happy he didn’t stand next to me on a treadmill and shout!!
My warm-up consisted of press-ups, sit-ups and squats, and after increasing from 1–5 reps of each in cycles, I was certainly warm! We spent the rest of the hour doing toning exercise, all of which I could do at home as no equipment was needed. This included squats, lunges, crunches, full push ups and leg lifting excercises (I have made Eastenders my regular time at home to do these exercise – 4 times a week with nothing else required)
Finally, after stretching down we made a plan of what I hope to achieve over the next 4 weeks as well as booking in my next personal session. I came out on a high! The goals we set were to attend 2/3 exercise classes a week as well as carrying out the toning exercises mentioned above at home. I have my initial measurements from the beginning of the plan and I can’t wait to measure the inches I have dropped in week 10!
I am still running and most weeks I am managing 3-4 runs. I am still covering the same course which is approx 1.7 miles and although I have not yet completed it in full, my stamina is definitely building up (and my ability to talk a little bit more while running is getting better – the grunts start a little bit later!) My friend (trainer!) who I run with has signed up to the Great North Run later this year so I tend to head back home while she is building up her training plan – maybe next year I will join her!!
Wow! I felt parts of my body that I didn’t even know existed in the days after my gym session, but in an odd way I actually quite liked the pain! (My daughter Isla was concerned when she heard me sit down at the table on Friday morning accompanied by lots of ooohhs and aaaahs). I am still not sure if I am an absolute ‘gym’ convert as I did feel a bit self-conscious but will keep you informed of my progress.
I have eaten some lovely meals this week and have become a huge fan of sweet potatoes! I really enjoy Turkey and Fish and have replaced all normal potato accompaniments with sweet potatoes - including low fat oven baked chips. (Chopped sweet potatoes par boiled then squirted with one calorie olive oil spray and oven baked for approx 15 minutes). Graham actually turned this into a ‘healthy kebab’ on Saturday night. Grilled Turkey pieces, sweet potato chips, chopped onion and white cabbage and the ultimate home made chilli sauce. Best bit was I didn’t wake up with that greasy taste on Sunday morning!!
This week, I was also lucky enough to have a phone conversation with Marisa Peer, the Closer therapist. I laughed when I introduced myself and said that I felt I had a ‘fat’ personality! I think my family and friends would agree that I portray my ‘bubbly’ side and I know I often laugh at myself so as not to give others the chance to do it first.
Marisa gave me some brilliant techniques to try and banish some of my ‘dieting demons’ forever. I explained to Marissa that I can’t ‘leave’ a packet of biscuits open, when I know they are there I have to finish them. She talked to me about looking thinking about how long in my life I still have to eat biscuits (we’re aiming another 60 years!) and that it’s not all about now!
She also suggested that I try and abstain from sugar for approximately 3 months so that in the future when I do start eating it again (in the form of chocolate etc) it will have the same sort of impact on me as non-diet drinks do. My body should become accustomed to not eating it so that it doesn’t crave the excessive amounts I’ve eaten in the past. All that said, we also discussed the 80/20 rule that had been suggested to me in the gym (you eat healthily for 80% of the time and relax for the remaining 20%) and what I found most interesting was that Marissa said some people are unable to actually do this – in that you wouldn’t suggest to an alcoholic to only drink for 20% of the time or similarly to a smoker to only smoke for a small proportion of time. So, for me personally it is about very clear objectives over the coming months and years about how I want to feel and look and what I need to do to achieve/ retain it.
Taking stock, I realise that when I am dieting I am very strong and focused, it’s usually when I’ve reached my goal that I go wrong (hence the yo-yoing over the last 10 years). I am intending to keep what Marisa told me in my mind over the coming months as I really want this to be the last ‘diet’ that I do and just it would be great to just maintain a healthy lifestyle! It was a really enjoyable chat and did give me the chance to think about my approach to life and food, which I’ve never done before. It’s really important to me to be a good role model for both my girls too!
Closer also very kindly provided me with a ‘perfect sit up’ machine which I love!! It is relatively compact, which is hugely important when space is an issue like it is for me. There are various exercises you can do (you get a poster which shows you a whole plan to build up to) but the most important one is the ‘perfect’ crunch! The best part about this item is that it ‘clicks’ to let you know you’ve done it correctly which I thought was brilliant. I could definitely feel that I’d worked my stomach while I was doing it as well as the following day.
It is comfortable to use and was easy to build (I think my husband was quite impressed when he came home and I had done it!) and I’d definitely recommend this. It is £59.95 and available from http://www.highstreettv.com which I think is great value for money for something that is compact, easy to use and most importantly works!! Isla, my youngest, has taken on the personal trainer role counting as I go (she can get to 30 now) and telling me if it doesn’t click!!
Isla loves training mummy!
So the week has gone really well and I am feeling incredibly positive! Almost on a daily basis I am fitting into something else that I haven’t worn this year, which is brilliant! I’m so happy with the direction that I’m going in – the challenges ahead are huge (I’ve got bootcamp this weekend) but I can’t wait to take them on!! Wish me luck!!!
If you fancy joining Rebecca on her weight loss journey, then why not head over to Closer Diets where you can join in on their exact ten week plan for just £25! Drop a stone and a half in time for summer and be bikini-confident this year! Go to www.closerdiets.com now to find out more!
READ WEEK SEVEN HERE!
FOLLOW KAMALA HERE!
FOLLOW STACEY HERE!