Banana Milk :)

I love Milo, but I can't keep drinking Milo because it's 'junk food', sigh.  But I keep craving milk (or Christian does, and I have to drink more to make more!), and not wanting to waste my treat for the week on a Milo (oh did I mention I find it hard drinking plain milk? - ew!), I asked James (who was on his way to the shops) if he could see if there was any yummy but not junk food milk.  He paid me out for a second and then he suggested I just blend a banana in some milk.  Genius.  I blended milk, a banana, a little cinnamon and a little vanilla essence (it is sugar free!) and it was delicious!!  I don't like ice cream, so it was like the yummiest version of a smoothie for me, ever!!  Loved it - weight loss win!! :)  Honestly I think it might be fattier than a Milo - but less addictive for me, because it doesn't taste at all like chocolate ;)

Fitness Challenge! Week 4

So as of today I've lost 3kgs.  It's exciting, especially considering I haven't been able to work out a great deal, since I keep injuring myself!  It's been soooo frustrating on that front! - I still feel super unfit and weak, but I'm stoked that I'm managing to lose some weight just by the eating part of the challenge, yay!

Walking, running, weights, everything else seems to be out of reach though, so I've pulled out a 'Mumalates' DVD a friend gave me a couple of years ago - it's specialised pilates for post pregnancy, so hopefully I'll have something good to report before long?!  I'm hoping that if I build up strength slowly, I'll be able to move into more active and rigorous exercise soon!  Netball is still going - I'm completely useless, cause I've hurt a ligament in my left leg and as soon as I start moving into a jog/run it pulls again or something and I can barely move! :s  But hopefully I build up a little more fitness through that once a week, since I'm not really able to treadmill :P

I am sooo tired all the time with these 4 childrens, it's hard to keep up with anything at all that means taking a great deal of time out of my day that doesn't involve them, so blogging about the challenge is at least as hard as fitting in exercise!!! lol.. But I'm still going!!

Oh and my 'treat for the week'-s have been getting less awesome, because I can't 'take my chocolate' the way I used to be able to, sigh.  It's partly good cause it means my body is used to healthy stuff and not junk anymore, but partly sad, cause I love eating chocolate!!! lol.

Anyway I'm not thinking straight so I'd better go to sleep, hopefully this made sense :p

xox

Fitness Challenge Again! Day 2

So sore.

So, soooooooooo sore!

Hardest part of my day has definitely been the process of sitting down.  So sore - !  Those squats!  That bridge!  I didn't even do that much and they're killing me today!!  And I was so much sicker with my silly cold that I didn't do much in the way of my workout today - just light cardio, I skipped the weights altogether (James said I could!), so hopefully it doesn't make it a lot longer for my body to get used to it.

Dreading my first game of netball tomorow morning - I've been walking around all day like there is a pole stuck up my back - how will I run?!!  My poor teammates!!

Also, not eating after 7pm can get boring, but also empowering.  I can almost hear my body saying "Yesss! - That's a bunch more calories we don't have to burn off!" when I turn away from treats!  It's making me want to make a cute weight loss chart so I can tick off the kg's I think I can feel myself losing ;)

Also also, aside from waking up to feed a LOT (baby Christian has been SUPER unsettled the last few days :( ), I slept in until 8:30 today, and I felt like high fiving myself for leaving out the 'get up by.....' rule I was talking about yesterday - there's that WIN I was talking about!! Bless James being on holidays and looking after the other 3!! :)

I'm not missing chocolate too much, cause I've been delightedly planning my treat for the week.  James bought me a chocolate milk cause he knows I love them, and he thought he'd tempt me into having that for my treat for the week "instead of going crazy and eating a platter of massive amounts of cakes and things" - ahh he knows me too well!  But I haven't drunk the milk yet - I think I'll hang on to my options for now ;)

Sweet dreams, fingers crossed I manage to move my limbs tomorow! ;)

xo

Fitness Challenge again! Day 1

This morning I got up before my children, which seems against nature!!  I weighed in at 13kg's more than I want to weigh in at, sigh! - so I know I've got a lot of work to do! :)  I have put on some weight again since losing it post-baby - I think the last 2 weeks being on holiday and eating an awful lot of Nutellas and hot chocolates (all of which I can comfortably blame Jonny for - he and Jessima bought me a giant jar of Nutella (YUM!  Whoever invented Nutella deserves a crown...and their very own island... which they can prooobably afford now...!) and he fixed my teeth so I can eat hot stuff again :) SUCH an awesome brother!! :) :) But I digress...) has helped me become plump and lovely.  But it's time to get it all off!!!

I'm aiming to get down to a more comfortable weight within 12 weeks - in time for my birthday, yay!! :)

Until then I'll be...
Working out 5 days a week
Not eating after 7pm each day (except for special occassions/outings - I mean everyday eating)
Drinking at least 2.5L per day
Eating only 1 dessert/treat (I'll miss chocolate, sigh..) per week
Trying to reduce my portion sizes a little and not replacing chocolate with bread as I have a tendancy to do... mmmmm... bread... ;)

I'm trying to remember if there's anything else I'm doing, but at the moment I can't think of anything?!  I want this to be a lifestyle thing for forever though, so I don't want to be so rigid I can't wait "till it's over".  Also I want to get strong and healthy so I'm not scared to have another bub, cause at the moment I feel like a bit of a wreck!

Usually when I'm doing a fitness challenge I have a 'get up by...' time, but at the moment if I ever manage to sleep in I'm going to call it a WIN lol :)

But anyway, I got up and worked out.  It was miserable, as it always is at first!! My left knee was 'clicking' when I was doing squats and stuff and ended up really hurting so I focused on my arms for a bit, and then I did my 40mins on the treadmill, which I don't have enough endorphines to enjoy yet!! ;)  All day I've been eating sultana biscuits instead of the pack of Tim Tams in the cupboard.  I'm exhausted and can't wait to drop into bed later!!  But I'm kind of enjoying how much it all sucks cause I know it'll be awesome soon, and it'll only get easier as I keep going!! :)   And I'll be able to fit into all the cute clothes in a box in my wardrobe.  YAY! :)

Bub wants me so I'd better go, but I wanted to write about this so I don't let myself drop the ball on it (also, sometimes Claire gets bored at work - 'shout out' for Claire! ;))!  On Wednesday I have my first netball game of the new season (I think I'll finally get to play a whole season this time between babies, fun! :)) and I'm confident I'll be awful and unfit, but I'm looking forward to improving on that front too!!

Wish me luck!!! :)

xo

PS:  I just read back on this and I realise I didn't complain nearly enough!!!  I didn't mention the head cold I have and that I was coughing along the treadmill like a sad but determined unwell, unfit little blob!!  (Don't worry - at the time I enjoyed a good whimper and felt appropriately sorry for myself.) Also, I weighed like, 4kg's less last time I weighed myself a couple of weeks ago!  How much does that suck?!!!  Sigh...

(I think that was better, yeah? :))

Lately I've Been Wondering.......

Lol.  So, so tired! :)

I just started walking again last week, and started working out properly this week.  Last night I was sobbing and wobbling through my training last night while James barked things like "Come on you're not even trying!" and "Breathe!!!", (to which I wanted to yell "I AM TRYING!", and "I AM BREATHING!!!!!" but lacked the energy...sigh...lol).  I was reflecting on the fitness challenge I did and wrote about on here back in July-Sep 2011, and how impossible I thought all the tasks James was giving me then were, and how by the end of it I could do them all!  And lost all my 'Ana' weight! :)

It's hard to focus this time though, because James has developed - through obviously coaching and training people way too much lately - a crazy 'coach' persona, and it makes me want to giggle SO BAD!! He's like some crazy sergeant off a bad army barracks comedy movie, and it sets me off every time he tells me what to do.  Maybe because he's so authoritarian about it and I'm like "James I'm your wife, not some random army cadet you have to bark orders at!" but it was really disrupting my workout, because when you're a body of jelly instead of muscles, and you're desperately trying with all of your might to perform some grossly out-of-your-ability-level-right-now squat or lunge or lift with weights, and somebody makes you giggle, you almost collapse, and nearly die by hitting yourself over the head with your own weights.  And I was tired and James did not think it was funny, so I was a jelly laughing crying determined little mess.  I'm sure I'd laugh about it now if my stomach wouldn't explode with the pain!  I'm meant to be out the door with the girls to the park in 10 minutes, but oh my it's so hard to move, and my fingers are some of the only muscles in my body which can comfortably move right now lol.  Okay, okay - I'll go!  I'd better start losing weight and growing muscles soon, and get FIT - which is the whole point, isn't it?  So I can have some ENERGY to make this lovely family dinner every single night, and fit into some clothes that don't have belly bands in them! :)  Ah, good times!!  Getting up now, eeeeek!! :) xox

PS:  It's really, really hard, but LOVING having 3 babies!!! :)

Yumm-o!!

I just published that last post about my Days of Health, then I went to the news, and saw this in an article about pizza hut:

I know why we're all obese.  It's because no matter how much we look at that and grimace at each other and say 'Ew!!!' it honestly looks awesome to me.  Along with all the 14 year old boys ... lol :)  I'd totally try it!! :)  Focus, Abby!  Focus!!! I'd better go and eat some crackers and cheese.

82 Days of Fitness: Day 38

So it was 84 Days of Health, minus 1 day for Christmas, and then another for our Anniversary Max Brenner and box of chocolates!! (By the way, I only ate 1 of the 3 James bought me - and the other 2 are stashed away... for... some other day... ;)).

James thinks I should scrap the 'days' thing, and just be a healthy person all the time, and I'm seriously contemplating it!  Have I mentioned how much clearer my skin as been?  I've always refused to pay any attention to the 'chocolate isn't good for your skin' thing, but I gotta admit my skin's been great since I started this!!

My health days were getting super, SUPER easy, but since our Anniversary it's been a lot harder to stick to!!  Ah Max Brenner!!!  I made chocolate brownies for family dinner on Sunday night, and I really, really wanted some. I acted cool though (of course) and was all good, but the fact that the 3 leftovers were still sitting in our fridge untouched by yesterday (after 2 full days of opportunity for James to eat them!), started killing me and I asked him to eat those 'awesomely delicious' brownies asap so I could stop thinking how ridiculous it was that he had such amazing brownies to his name and they were going untouched!!! I must admit it's not exactly points to my cooking skills that I can so confidently proclaim them 'delicious' and 'amazing' - Betty Crocker had a lot to do with it!! ;)  (Her triple choc fudge brownies mix, I can't get past it... mmmm.....).

But the benefits still outweigh my wishing I could eat chocolate.  So again, glad I'm sticking to this thing!!  And I really think I'll keep a lot of it up after baby comes, because I'll be wanting to lose the baby weight, and keep feeling healthy and strong for the recovery.  By the way, I should mention my weight gain all but stopped about 38 days ago - BIG benefit!!  With Maggie I was out of control weight gaining, and with Ana I was a little better, but not this good.  So yes.  Still here.  Still healthy.  I just (along with every other woman in the world) wish chocolate could be that awesome and be amazingly good for you!!!

Oh wait, before I go - one non-benefit:  I'm pretty low in calcium - not getting that glass of milk in every block that I was before, and it's affecting me.  There was the broken toe thing, and my nails are chipping and breaking like crazy.  I told James it was because of no chocolate, but he thinks it's because I'm pregnant.. scoff...sigh...

83 Days of Health: Day 16

I'm so used to saying 'no' to junk food now, it's like second nature.  And I'm not always wishing I could grab a chocolate bar as a snack when I'm walking past them.  Chocolate milk is the only thing I'm still craving, and BOY do I crave chocolate milk sometimes!!!  Maybe I'll have one sometime... like on Christmas Day lol...   I eat fruit like it's going out of fashion.  Last night a lovely friend made us dinner to save me a night of kitchen-hobbling (thankyou thankyou!) and she even gave us Mangoes and yoghurt for dessert, and it was like heaven!!  I predict getting a LOT out of mango season this year! :)  Mmmm.... :)  I'm really glad I'm doing this!!  It hasn't even been that hard once I decided to go for it, so I'm convinced my body was wanting the change, even if my taste buds weren't..... and don't you think how easy it's been is just proof that I wasn't addicted?!  Must point that out to James... :)                    Healthy Day!! ;) xo

For Everyone Out There Who Has Been Exercising Lately...

This made me laugh.  Except that, it doesn't really apply to me - given that I'm pregnant AND crippled at the moment (seriously having issues with these crutches!!).  But one day :)

...and it's usually actually me crying, because the workout is so hard...  But hopefully I get past that stage too... :)

PS:  Still feeling great, and loving this junk food detox... is this really me talking??  Obviously I really needed to back off the chocolate a little! :P

83 Days of Health: Day 2

1.  Don't expect an update every single day!  I think once a week says 'consider yourself posted'! :)

But I was Google searching yesterday like crazy for some healthy, fun, Halloween party food ideas!  I know most people are rolling their eyes and saying 'Duh - it's Halloween!  It's all about the treats!' and I'm well aware, but we had to take a plate of scary food to a Halloween Mums n Bubs party this morning, and I was keen to find something I could eat when faced with plates and plates of delicious looking goodies!! :)

Anyway, it was amazing how many sites called banana caramel pie 'healthy' when they substituted an ingredient or two for 'lower fat' versions.  I was surprised at how hard it was to find actually healthy, scary ideas! :)  I think the party we did for Tammy for Halloween last year involved more fun, healthy foods than I was finding elsewhere online, but I did find one cute website with some cute ideas! It seems to be some kind of Disney site. But the food isn't Disney - just healthy and fun!  You can find it here :)  I was particularly impressed with idea #6 - brain anyone?!!! :)

Yesterday was great! - Not craving a thing :)  I mean, Milo would be great with breakfast, but you know, I can live without it! (sigh).  I stocked up on nuts, crackers and hommus.  Deep breaths.. :)

83 Days of Health: Day 1

I don't get pregnant in a 'hot, skinny with an adorable tiny little bump' kind of way.  I start 'showing' ridiculously early.  Like, before the first 12 weeks is up, people are asking me how far along I am! - It's not even considered 'safe' to tell people yet!!  Most of this is due to the fact that with the particular brand of morning sickness I get, if I don't have food in my mouth I am siiiiiiiiiiick.  So I'm constantly eating, and eating totally random cravings food, like chicken drumsticks and milkshakes.  I've never craved an apple.  And I feel like I'm going to die if I don't get it right then, so as much as my head is saying 'You're crazy!  You're going to put on 30+ kilos again!' (like I did with Maggie.  I know, ridiculous!), my body is saying "I DON'T CARE IF I PUT ON 50!!! - HAND OVER THE DRUMSTICKS!!!".  My head also tells me that if I don't get my cravings and go through the sickness, I probably WILL be one of those 'skinny with an adorable tiny little bump' people - the ones who lose weight through their constant sickness, but when I'm feeling that sick (like death) and I know that there's a way to feel even a tiny bit better, there's no way I'm not cramming whatever my body seems to be wanting into my mouth!  Sounds awesome, hey?  :)  (the baby you get at the end of it, indescribably so! :))

Anyway, after the first trimester and a bit of 'death to the world' sick, I've been lying down almost constantly, and all my pre-pregnancy dreams of 'This time I'll stay fitter and less humongous' have gone out the window.  You're generally safe, according to doctors, to continue whatever fitness regime you were doing before you got pregnant, just be careful, and don't jump up and down at all, or do crazy stuff.  Sadly, if you stop for the first three months, it's not a great idea to try to pick it back up again, so my dreams of playing netball through to the end of trimester 2 went down the drain at about week 3.  I get exhausted after doing.... almost nothing, and in this pregnancy, my tummy has been spasm-ing a lot, hurting like crazy and stopping me in my tracks.  It feels like my tummy muscles don't exist in the slightest anymore, and if I try to do anything that involves a little bit of tummy tension (you'll find that walking, requires this), it goes berserk, and I'm lying down again for the rest of the day.  It's dumb, and annoying.

Last night I was eating a piece of leftover chocolate cake from my birthday, and thinking of one of my maternity outfits, and hoping that it would fit until the end of this pregnancy.  I suddenly wondered exactly how long I have to go, and added up the weeks, realising that as of yesterday, I was due in exactly 12 weeks!!  Hello 3rd Trimester!! And almost BABY!!! YIPEE! :)  But 12 weeks is plenty of time to get even larger, and so I made what James laughed and described as a 'rash' decision (but a good one - you know he's a health nut!), and immediately put the cake down and decided to go off junk food until the baby comes.

Upsides:

1. Hopefully I'll still fit into a lot of my maternity clothes at the end of this thing!  
2. Hopefully less weight to lose when this baby comes out to join us.
3. Hopefully I'll feel better and fitter, and more able to do everything without being as exhausted.  Although I know this may be offset by the whole '3rd trimester' thing!
4. This may even save money!

Downsides:

1. Halloween/Tammy's birthday this week
2. Being able to eat whatever I want when I have a bad 'throwback to morning sickness' day
3. James annoyingly calling this an 'addiction detox' for the next 12 weeks. - Doesn't me being able to go without it just prove it's not an addiction?!!!
4. Christmas - HOLD THE PHONE!!!!

There's no way I'm not eating all the good, traditional stuff on Christmas Day!!!!  Hence, '83 Days of Health', rather than the 84 days that 12 weeks denotes.  I get that day OFF! :)  Sadly I know from past experience that when you're out of the habit of eating junk food, you don't get those skills back in one day, so Christmas may not be all it usually is in terms of me eating a LOT of yummy food, but a taste'll probably do me by then (sigh).

If baby comes early, so does my junk food hiatus.  Not that I plan on gorging myself as soon as he arrives, but I need jelly beans during labour (is that just me?!), and I'll give myself a tiny break before heading into another one of these Fitness Challenges!!  (It totally worked!  I lost everything I'd put on with Ana AND the weight I'd never lost with Maggie!!! : ) And stopped sobbing through each workout (James is a tough PT!) And then I got pregnant again...).  I guess I'll decide what to do when baby comes when baby comes, but there you have it.  So welcome Day 1, of my addiction detox 83days of health!!!! :)  

I'll keep you posted ;)