Freshman 20

Have you ever heard the term, 'Freshman 20'?

It refers to the fact that once kids in the USA go to university they put on a heap of weight. Could be due to not being under mum and dad's watchful eye, no home cooked meals or the partying that coincides with this time of their lives.

I am myself experiencing this phononama. Well no I haven't gained weight, but I understand why they do.

You see I have just started studying a bachelor of education. These school holidays I have been sitting at my computer writing assignments for long periods of time. Instead of moving away from my computer and having lunch I have just been grabbing whatever I can find in the pantry. Most days my lunch has consisted of a bag of potato chips and a banana. Shocking I know.

I need to set some rules in place for the days that I have a lot of work to do at my computer.

Rule 1) No food allowed at the computer
Rule 2) Take a break every hour
Rule 3) Make nutritious snacks that I can grab on my break
Rule 4) Sit down and eat a proper lunch

Luckily I have been incorporating a 30min walk into my morning routine, otherwise the scales my not like me after these holidays.

back to work next week and back to routine. It has been great being home for the past 2 weeks. Anyone want to pay me to stay at home and be a mum/wife/student?

 Vs

My 5 F's

I feel I have written this before and I am afraid I will write it again. I must stop trying new things every time I get bored with the journey I am on. 

I can not compare myself to others. I am Shelley-Amber Peers and I am unlike no other.

Every time a friend has success on a program or lifestyle plan I think I must try it. If they are getting results so will I. Wrong, Wrong and wrong. 

I have IBS, I work 4 days a week, study and run a household of 6, which makes my life different to other peoples lives. We all have certain things in our lives that we need to work through or learnt to live with to attain balance. Injury, illness, family circumstances all play a part on where you are in your journey and the limitations that you must work through.

Today I am constructing the 5 F's of my life. 

F1 - Family. They mean the world to me and I will start spending quality time with them
F2 - Food. I will follow the FODMAP guide to ensure my tummy behaves itself
F3 - Fibre. I will include a fibre supplement at each meal
F4 - Fluid. I will make sure I am drinking plenty of water and continue to be caffeine free
F5 - Friends. I will make time to nurture my soul by catching up with my dearest friends.

Doesn't sound so hard does it. These journey's we are all on are individual but they have some common factors. We are all trying to fulfil our dreams of a better life. A healthier life with rich relationships of mutual love and respect.

The human spirit is amazing and is strengthened by stories of endurance and success. I am enjoy sharing this journey with you and I hope you enjoy being along for the ride.

Week 2 - The simple life

This week has continued along much the same as last week. Same food and exercise regime and I stayed the same weight as well. But I am not worried about the number on the scale as much as I am delighted with the way I feel. Week 2 with no coffee is doing me proud. I have to remember to drink more water though.

We have also started a budget at home to manage our little family and discovered that with creche and gym fees, I am forking out $43 a week. That is not good. For this money I am getting the use their equipment and that is about it. Scheduling workouts in between pickups and extra curricular activities is a nightmare. I have not been able to join in any of the group fitness classes and that was my main enticement to go to the gym.

It's time to simplify this journey and get back to basics. Walking, running, squats, pushups, easy and basic. Limits the stress on budget and the stress on time. Time being something I never seem to have enough of. So week three will see me walking a lot more and I may even get the energy to clean out the garage and make some room for home gym. All I will need is mats for the floor and a medicine ball as I already have everything I will need.

Did someone say 15 weeks until Christmas, LET'S MOVE IT!!

Week 1 Results - The Gym is my Friend

Results are in...... 700gm loss.

The only real difference that I made this week was not drinking. Oh to think that a refreshing afternoon cider could be responsible for my gradual weight increase. 

I also made other changes which now I've come to think of it may also have an impact. This is the reason we should take baby steps and only change one variable at a time.

Okay so the other changes I made were to cut out all dairy and grains completely. I also haven't baked my 'amazing' Sweet Potato Brownies this week. I was having a couple of squares each afternoon and then again with a cup of tea at night. Oh, the secrets are being revealed. I also haven't been sharing a piece of dark chocolate with my buddy at lunch time either.

Crazy to think that all these little things can add up. I think this was a big realisation for me this week. I have been eating protein and vegies for lunch and dinner everyday for months and my weight was slowly creeping on. It's that "but I had a good lunch so I can have a little treat" mentality that is seeing my good results slowly unravelling.

What a weight off my shoulders to admit to that! Good luck this week ladies.

Reprogramming

When I set out on this journey to health I gave myself 5 years to get from 110kg to 80kg. May sound like a lot of time allocated to 30kgs, but there is a lot of work to be done. 

The biggest part of my weight loss is not the scales but the psychological patterns I have with my diet. 3 years in and 25kgs have been lost (5kg regained recently) but I am still fighting bad cycles of thought.

I am writing this blog as I have been thinking these unhealthy thoughts lately and it needs to stop. First one was a couple of weeks ago when I bought a new dress for an upcoming wedding. The dress fits well but I decided it would look better if I wasn't so soft around the edges. Day one came of this new routine and I binged and caved in again. That thrown out the door I have now decided I need to lose 10kgs before going home for Christmas. WHY??

Baby steps is what has gotten me this far so why start with this do or die nonsense now? Do you set yourself up for failure too? The buck stops here, no more yo yo diet thinking allowed.

With this said, do you think we put too much pressure on ourselves to be 'perfect'? Do we spend to much time comparing ourselves to others? I have to answer yes and yes. This  is another thing that has to stop.

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Paleo Project

If you have read my blogs and been following me over the past year+ you will know the journey I have been on.

A quick recap;

Mother of 4 (all born within 6 years)

IBS sufferer

Yoyo Dieter

Underwent corrective surgery (new boobs and lipo on saddle bags)

My journey continues and at this point I am working on a cure/management plan for my IBS. It seems to be overtaking my life at the moment with most days seeing me with symptoms ranging from mild or severe. The severe symptoms seem to be with me more lately which is a worry.

I happened upon a 30 day paleo meal plan for digestive health and have decided that seeing September has 30 days, why not marry the two!

So stay tuned as I remove grains, nuts, fruits and dairy from my diet for the next 30days.

It's life Jim but not as we know it :)

My Little Secret

You may not know it to look at me, but I can be vile, evil and down right nasty.

What causes me to turn into this terrible person? This the list is exhausting. You see I have IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and food sensitivities. So many foods trigger my digestive system to spasm and cause me bloating, pain and mood swings.

With a small attack I am yelling at the kids, irrational and sad. This happens weekly.

A major attack only happens every couple of months. During this time you will see me crippled over the toilet, crying, wishing the pain to stop, wanting to push away the invisible hands that have my intestines in their vice like grip, hating myself for being over indulgent. If only I'd said no to that bacon, chocolate, white bread, lolly, etc.

Eating clean for me is more about health than weight loss. I want our kids to remember the healthy me and not the vile creature I become.

The Next Step

So when you have dedicated a year to getting fit and healthy, how do you keep going once you get close to your goal? How do you keep going when the pressure of compliments starts to get on top of you?

What is the next logical step for me to keep momentum and not get caught up in the usual weight loss/gain cycle. The time has almost come for my focus to shift from weight loss to strength and fitness. It is almost time to rid myself of weigh in's and move on to PB's.

I have now registered for Tough Mudder.

What better way to train towards peak fitness than joining one of the most gruelling fitness events on the planet.

For those of you who have not heard of the event, it is an 18km course with 16+ obstacles devised by the English SAS. It includes electric shocks, ice baths, climbing walls and lots of mud.

So as I celebrate Easter and move into training mode, in the back of my mind I will be developing the mental toughness to get through this next stage!

A year gone by

This time last year Dave and I were getting ready to embark on the trip of a lifetime. Yes a year has gone by already and what an amazing year it has been.

In this year I have shed 24kilo's, run a 5km fun run, learnt to love myself, repaired my relationship with food, can do 20 push ups and started a full time (4 days a week) job. All this whilst still being the best wife and mother I can be.

This weekend Dave and I are heading to Geelong for my 20 year high school reunion. Not only will it be great to see my class mates but the best thing is spending quality time with my amazing husband. With all that happens in a day, week, month and year it is easy to disconnect from each other. Conversations that you take for granted are missed when you are organising a household of 6. I am looking forward to just sitting back and chatting, uninterrupted.

So I guess I will need to take some after photo's to see what a year looks like. I had better break out the fake tan to hide the cross training singlet mark I have acquired.