what makes me … play ‘spot the difference’

Well for those just joining, 14 weeks ago I started my fitness journey and a journey to a new me. I had just come out of a relationship where I wasn’t happy about a number of things but mainly I wasn’t happy with me. I didn’t like the person I had become. I was frustrated, angry, short-tempered ,  fat (ok so I wasn’t fat just not as fit I was use to be before said relationship) and had stopped doing and wasn’t motivated to do the things I loved .. namely gym (well at that time, more so spin).

So after that relationship ended I decided it was time to focus back on me, become selfish for a bit and to actually be happy.

Well 14 weeks later I can sit here and say I am a different person, not just physically, but mentally. I feel great, (think I look a lot better than I did), have a nice new tan,  have a new-found confidence and nothing is going to get in my way.

Its funny, some of the weeks when I did an update I would look at the pic I just took and think ‘I haven’t improved’, ’I feel like I’m not getting anywhere’ or ‘there hasn’t been much change’ and sometimes this would affect my motivation. It was only when I actually sat back and compared Week 1 to Week 14 that I had to acknowledge a massive difference. I look at Week 1 and think ‘who are you’, ‘why did you let yourself be like that’ and ‘boy he looks unhappy’ however I can’t say the same for the person in the pic for Week 14 – he is becoming a new me.

Sure I have a long way to go but with the continued help (and support and yelling) of my training partner ‘BB’, having my goals (Hawaii, Summer = beach and topless at Mardi Gras 2012 LOL!) and being more determined and  motivated than ever, I know that I will get there and there aint nothing thats gonna stop me.

So whilst this isn’t the end of my journey I thought we could play a game … can you spot the difference?

what makes me … show my progress (week 14)

So on the weekend I realised (and thanks for the reminder Sheep) that I hadn’t posted an update for a few weeks. Now, it wasn’t because I wasn’t happy with my progress but seriously the last 4 weeks have been quite manic and I just never got around to taking a pic and sitting down to write …

Plus when I did actually decide (or remembered) to do an update I realised that it would have been an odd numbered week (and you know how I am about odd numbers), so I thought I’d wait one more week to ‘even’ it out (pun intended!)

So am training hard because (as I’m writing this), I’m off to Hawaii in exactly 5 weeks 4 days 10 minutes and 42 seconds! (yes I am counting thanks to an iPhone app LOL!). So BB is pushing me extremely hard … and by hard I mean he has upped the sets, upped the weights (with each set) and upped the yelling at me .. but honestly I am not complaining cause I am feeling GREAT!

Week 14: lost count but numerous weights and loads of spin

what makes me … show my progress (week 10)

Once again I find myself not wanting to do an updated post … but as I remind myself constantly, this isn’t about the successes this is about the journey.

This fortnight saw a very restless (kleenex – yes had to rub that in again) puppy which resulted in a very restless and exhausted daddy, BB was sick again and a few spin classes had replacement instructors which completely sucked! Seriously if the normal instructor is not there then they should replace with someone of the same calibre!

They don’t …

Anyway here is an updated pic as at Week 10 – not happy with progress or hair (hence the cap!) .. tomorrow is a new day and a new fortnight and I’m determined to see a difference in week 12!

Week 10: (a few weights sessions and a few spin classes)

what makes me … a proud daddy

Why am I a proud Daddy? Well you see that little puppy in the hammock (on the home page of Kleenex Cottonelle) – well that’s my boy Parker.

Before we picked him up from the breeder, at the end of last year she took her latest litter of pups to a Kleenex photo shoot. We have been waiting since late last year to see when they would appear on the website or products.

Today I received confirmation from the breeder that the puppy in the hammock is my little boy Parker – apparently he was the only one that would sleep in the hammock.

I’m so excited! The breeder said he was a star during the shoot (well he is my boy after all) and I have been waiting to see whether he made it on the website or products – now I have confirmation I’m such a proud daddy!

Now these pics were taken at the end of last year and Parker is now 9 months old and a lot bigger and I am having problems with him sleeping through the night – he either needs to go to the toilet or wants to come into my room, and wakes me up numerous times in the night.

So it got me thinking – should I try and buy Parker a hammock? maybe he’ll remember how comfortable he was during the shoot and sleep!! hmmm

what makes me … show my progress (week 8)

With the way I’m feeling, the title to this weeks post should have really been called ‘what makes me … not really want to show my progress (week 8)’ – due to the (bloody awful) pic I’ve taken this week and how I once again feel like I’ve not improved much in the last 3 weeks since my last update.

Yes it’s been 3 weeks because I decided that I didn’t like odd-numbered posts so have gone all even … (plus I had hoped I’d have a bit more progress with an additional week before I uploaded a pic), sadly I feel that is not the case and once again I did think about not posting a pic, however I wouldn’t be true to why I started this post in the first place – it’s about my journey, the good weeks and the bad.

I guess why I’m being hard on myself is:

1) Week 8 means it’s now been 2 months since I started training and started this journey and I guess I thought I would be further along

2) My last post said I wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of my routine but as life would have it, the last few weeks have been a bit of a roller-coaster

Week 8: (numerous days of weights and 7 days spin)

what makes me … show my progress (week 5)

So 5 weeks ago I started this fitness journey and committed to hitting the gym 6 days a week (4 days weights and 2 days spin) with my training partner and friend, BB (Belgium Boy). Previous weeks have seen things impact the schedule but after my last post I was determined and still am determined not to lose focus and let things take me away from my routine.

The last two weeks have seen BB sick (again) and not do 2 spin classes and my best friend (TC Mulan) from the UK come to visit me for 6 days, however neither of these stopped me from sticking to my routine.

TC Mulan is my best friend/soulmate and she knew exactly where I was and why I was doing this and she basically fitted her schedule around me and my gym which was fantastic.

So the last two weeks saw me hit the gym 12 times and I’m hoping that there is a difference in my pics from Week 1 to Week 5 (here’s hoping) but I have lost 3 kgs in the process as well : )

If you haven’t noticed I am not doing this post every week but fortnightly and I hope my 3 readers are enjoying the journey LOL!

WEEK FIVE: (8 day weights 4 days spin)

what makes me … show my progress (Week 3)

So 3 weeks ago I started this journey to become fitter (see previous post) and decided to write a regular post on my progress. Unfortunately, gym wise, it hasn’t been a very successful two weeks, but I’ve regained my focus and BB (Belgium Boy – my gym bud) and I have kicked it back up a notch!

These past two weeks saw our schedule fly out the window with BB getting sick, I had three Kylie shows (which I will separately post about shortly) and I also had an assignment due – however looking back, none of these things should have stopped us or me (when BB was sick) from actually dragging my arse (or ‘ass’ depending on where you are from) to the gym.

Whilst we did commit to hitting the gym 6 days a week (4 days weights, 2 days spin) – over the past two weeks we did do 4 days weights and 4 days spin and I think the results show (note my sarcasm)!

I actually did consider not uploading a pic,  for I do not believe there hasn’t been any progress since week 1, but this is what this post is about- tracking my journey. I’m not always going to see the results but that shouldn’t and won’t stop me from writing this post, uploading a pic or continuing the journey.

WEEK THREE:  (4 days weights 4 days spin)

what makes me … show my progress (week one)

So I am recently single (shock horror I know) but I am in a very good place. There has been many things that have lead me to this point but I wont go into them here as this isn’t a blog about the failed relationship, this is about me.

After focusing on someone else and in the end getting nothing back I’m taking back control and now it’s all about me. Some of my friends might say ‘um well when has it ever been about anyone else’ … please note their sarcasm.

So recently a guy (very cute and with a french accent) started at work and instantly we had a connection, I shall call him ‘BB’ (Belgium Boy). We both had recently broken up with our partners and we both wanted to focus on ourselves. We understand each other and have started to form a great friendship.

So we made a pact that we would go to the gym together and start training. It started with me dragging him to my addiction … spin! Even though he was sore (and said many things in french which obviously sounded beautiful but I know they weren’t!) for the first few weeks we just did spin class.

Last week we started training and at some point (it must have been his french accent and broken english) I think I committed to going to the gym 6 times a week. I thought he said 4 but apparently 4 in french means ‘we’ll go 4 nights  during the week and do weights and then on saturday and sunday we’ll do spin classes’.

So why this post?

Well I have committed to going 6 days a week (as best as we both can), and in my relationship I struggled to find any motivation, but now I’m single and I have a renewed confidence, with the help of ‘BB’ and this blog I am determined to become fitter. By doing this and posting my progress means I will be motivated to continue so I can visually see the results (and so can you LOL!).

So this post is about me and my progress and whilst it might bore you its my blog so there LOL! Feel free to comment, support, yell at me if I don’t do it or give us any fitness tips .. enjoy

WEEK ONE: (3 days weights, 1 day spin)

what makes me … say goodbye

“I’ve had to say goodbye more times than I would have liked, but everyone can say that. And no matter how many times we have to do it, even when it’s for the greater good, it still stings. And although we never forget what we have given up, we owe it to ourselves to keep moving forward. What we can’t do is live our lives always afraid of the next goodbye, cause chances are they are not going to stop. The trick is to recognise when a goodbye can be a good thing … when it’s a chance to start again” (Ugly Betty)

So there I was, walking away from the airport departure gate, thinking this wasn’t goodbye, he was only going to be gone for 8 days. But actually this was goodbye. This was goodbye to my demons, goodbye to my past, goodbye to the person I had never wanted to become, and hello to a future not chained up but free.

For it was in that moment, that I realised, the best thing I could do if I wanted to move on  from the past and look to the future with him, was to say goodbye to me.

So here I stand, open and ready. I could end up getting hurt but I’m willing to take that risk. The trust and belief that he has in me, has made me realise  that all this time I had (and have) nothing to worry about, it was only those demons. For I now believe that not everyone is the same and everyone should start with their own clean slate and not filled with the left overs of one’s past.

Tomorrow is a new day (and one day closer to his return), and although I will miss him until he returns, I know that this time apart was just what we needed, for it was exactly what I needed, to free myself of the past and realise that saying goodbye to the old me means for the new me (in the words of Betty Suarez)  ”it’s a chance to start again”

what makes me … forget the blueberries

If you have not seen this, you have to. When I first saw it I could not stop laughing!!!