Day 1 (Before Photos and My History)

So firstly… a little bit of background info is required. Yesterday – Monday 6/04/09 I received a phone call from a stranger named “George”  on a phone number i did not recognise – which at first sound I thought was something to do with making a donation to a foundation or perhaps a member from my bank calling to see if i had received some bank information. Little did i know that this phone call was something much bigger and far more exciting than applying or another needless credit card. As my conversation with “George” continued i learned that my husband had entered a competion called ”Turn Off Your TV” promoted by mysunshinecoast.com.au .  The prize for the big end of month draw was “5kg of Fat Loss” courtesy of the very generous George at “Fitness Evolution Aust Pty Ltd”. Being the wonderful person that my husband Rhys is, he chose to pass his prize onto me. In previous weeks we had been talking about my body and how I felt about my size/shape. Needless to say my my confidence in regards to my body image is nowhere where I would like it to be, or where I know it can be. I had also been toying with quitting smoking for the past couple of months (i have smoked on and off for the past 10 years) and over the last 3 days had cut my cigarette consumption down to just 2 cigarettes a day with the intention to quit completely on Monday. So this phone call could not have come at a better time! 

I am not a heavily overweight person. I would consider myself a good size 12 weighing 67kg (as i found out today). I have had 3 children (Lilliahna – aged 7, Isabella – aged 2 1/2, and Olivia – aged 9 months), and there are bits of my body which no longer sit where God intended and the middle section (and bum section as well i guess) are a bit, shall we say, soft.

Emma Fox August 2007, after personal training program weighing 59kg

Around 18 months ago (just proir to falling pregnant with my Olivia) I was a size 8-10, a very healthy 59kg, I was toned, strong, fit and healthy. This was largely due to working in conjunction with a personal trainer (Miss Kieran McKennna) and monitoring the foods that i chose to eat. I was in the best shape i had ever been in in my life. I know from my past experience that personal training works for me – so I was extremely excited to win this fantastic prize!

 

OK… the background has been set… so today was DAY 1 of my  new journey which I will be taking with George and the other staff members at  “Fitness Evolution” as well as my family and friends who will help me to achieve my goals and keep me motivated along the way.

Today I had my initial consultation with George. We spoke about my goals and just how we intend to reach them. The biggest part of this actually being successful is going to be my diet. It is fine to think “If I just had a personal trainer it would make everything so much easier” and in many ways this is true, but the personal trainer is not the person who will have to do the hard work and make the tough decisions! A personal trainer will not make you loose weight – as much as they can want it for you. They can only educate & teach you and motivate you to do what you need and what it will take to get results (as well as give you the odd flogging in a work out session – which I am yet to experience with George). The only person who can really make this work for me , is ME. I have to make the decision to exercise today. I have to make the decision to eat the right foods to fuel my body. I have to make the decision to eat just the amount of food that my body needs and NOT just as much as I like because it tastes sooooo good! Every time I eat or waste time instead of exercising it is a decision of “is this going to help me to reach my end goal?”

What having a personal trainer does do, is it holds you accountable for your decisions. 

George spent a good 2 hrs with me today getting a bit of my history and setting my goals. But largely we spoke about the action I will need to take to reach the goals – THE FOOD. Buy the end of the meeting with George, I walked out of the studio with a food diary to keep track of what exactly I am eating, and a program for the week with the exercise I should be doing to get things rolling. This all comes down to accountability again. The food diary is not so George can kick my butt next week when he sees that i ate a bit of chocolate one day, but rather to see how exactly he can help me. And I have to say… it is hard to eat something that you know you shouldn’t, when you know you are going to have to write down for your trainer to see. It makes making the right decision easier. It makes me accountable for what I chose to eat. George also gave me some great alternatives for meal options to help keep my calories low while still receiving great nutrition. So I will eat a meal or snack every 2.5 – 3 hrs to help get my metabolism running as it should be and eating smaller well balanced meals/snacks which are low in fats and carbs. I have 5 exercise sessions planned for this week consisting of good walks and using my gorgeous cousin’s (Selena’s) x-trainer all at a good intensity. Which brings me back to the accountability factor. Every time that I exercise, I send George a quick sms to tell him what type of exercise, for how long and the intensity that I worked. I must add that any dietary and exercise options that I post on this blog are for the purpose of tracking my progress only. It is a food and exercise plan that has been designed specifically for me with my body/weight/fitness level/end goals in mind.  At the end if our meeting George took some measurements, weighed me and took a couple of “before” photos. So i left there feeling very motivated and excited about my journey ahead of me, knowing that i had the support of a fantastic trainer who is prepared to help me in any way to reach my goals.

Before photo - 7th April 2009 front view

 

 

 

 

 

Before picture 7th April 2009 Side On

When I got home I also took some “before” shots. It didnt help that i am a size 12 and i squeezed into an itzy-bitzy teeny-tiny size 8 bikini from pre Olivia – which meant that there were bits bulging out and over and up and down. I almost cried when I looked at the photos. Perhaps at the end of all this I will be brave enough to share them with you in comparison to the “after” photos, but for now they will stay safely locked up inside our iMac!!  I also took some in regular clothes which i choose to to share with you so you also can track my progress.

 

I must add that I also have the support of many wonderful family members who I know will be exercising right along side of me. Selena – I know that you will not only exercise with me but help me to make delicious low fat snack options like homus and inject new recipes in my life to stop things getting boring. And Mum… I know the we will be doing some great night walks again!! And of course Rhys who will often be watching the children so I can exercise without distraction and have that bit of “me” time! And a big thankyou in advance to everyone else who is supporting me on this and good luck to you all if you are taking a similar journey!

I have to say – I believe that I will gain much more from this experience than just becoming lighter! Not only will I be lighter, smaller, fitter and stronger but I can see that this is going to build my confidence back up, I am going to feel gorgeous and sexy again which will not only allow me to love myself, but it will allow me to let my husband love me the way that he wants to.

Todays exercise – 10 mins on Selena’s x-trainer ( 10 mins doesnt sound like much but if you have ever been on a x-trainer you will know that it is not the easiest thing) I have to admit,  I think I could have gone a good bit longer so will be increasing the length of time i spend on there next visit. Felt good afterwards though!  

 

Dinner on Day 1

Todays food – Breckie (7:00) was a piece of left over crumbed chicken breast from last nights dinner (George has told me “no more crumbed foods!”)

                        - Morning Tea (9:30) was about a dozen carrot and celery sticks (thanks Selena!)

                        - Lunch (12:45) was a bowl of homemade potato, mushroom and leek soup with 2 corn thins – YUM!! (thanks again  Selena!)

                        - Afternoon Tea (3:15) was 1/2 an avocado

                        - Dinner (6:30) was 1/4 chicken breast seasoned and fried in a very small amount of olive oil, with 1/3 cup of  mashed potato, brocoli, and salad (lettuce, 1/2 tomato, 2 sticks carrot and 1/4 avocado)

So thats it for Day 1.

See you tomorrow!!!

E.