Failure is not an option
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That's a GREAT progress picture! It's really inspiring how much hard work you continue to put toward your health goals. Keep up the good work. You're doing a wonderful job staying on track...and getting back on track when you slip.0
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Well this post is fantastic! And it goes to show exactly what lifting like a machine will do for you.
I am a firm believer on setting goals, and i think they should be tough goals, yet achievable with hard work. Before I let MFP dominate my free time it was personal finance and everyone that I coached, I had do the same. Immediate, short and long term goals. I view this journey in the same way. (Only difference is my financial life is much more in order than my health/weight)
First off great work on that 12.5 pounds. We have all read about some of the obstacles that you have had to face with your SO and you made it through pretty much unscathed. Also, you had/have a potentially derailing calf injury that has barely slowed you down. Something like this would destroy most peoples progress immediately. Hell, I have deleted a good 20 people off my friends list in the last month because they just gave up without having to deal with any of these life events.
As for your picture. You seriously already look younger. Your neck is noticeably slimmer, under your chin is thinning out very nicely and your cheeks are changing shape. What I see that is most impressive is how your traps look different even from the front. I imagine its because you're toning them, and in return they are strengthening up and tightening down giving you a longer thinner neck.
Think about this, you have made all this progress in a bit over two months. Imagine the kinds of pictures you are going to be able to post after 6 months, the kinds of shots we will be seeing in a year from now. I hope you are celebrating this, I know I sure am for you. I love the drive you are showing, you have jumped in with both feet and didn't just resort to taking a light walk a couple times a week like most. You are going to absolutely reinvent your body, and you have already completely redefined how you are living your life, I can't wait to see more photos like this in the coming months.0 -
Wow 50 thank you so much for those words, especially on a night where i was having a bit of a downer on how I look because the rest of me still looks fat and flabby. But yes There are changes and I am a long way from where i was at the beginning of the year when I started this journey. I'm noticing many great things such as my clothes fitting better, going down 1-2 sizes, being able to move a lot easier and without getting breathless at the slightest thing and seeing how much extra I can do at the gym each week. I know i have a massive journey ahead but i need to remember that i have also already made some great changes. This is a marathon and not a sprint. This time next year I will be half the person I am now but twice the person for the experience. Thank you my friend for helping me put that into perspective.
On a less positive note my calf is playing up again so I need to baby it a bit. I will probably go to the gym every 2nd day and maybe on the other days just do some light work and core stuff at home. I can't risk it tearing completely.
If i don't get back beforehand, Happy Easter to all of your who will be celebrating it. xxx0 -
You two are both so inspiring. You really are. I love hearing about both your journies.
Kell you really do look awesome, and what's even better is to hear how much better you feel. But please, please please please please! Please take care of your calf.
Happy Easter!!0 -
If your thought process is anything like mine you will know what i mean here. I can tell myself a thousand times that this is a long process, and sometimes I think that I even believe it when I say it. Regardless, there's always a part of me that believes with all of the time, sweat and sacrifices that I am putting in, I should see results faster. We will always be critical of our own selves, and times when you get down on how your body works are the times when we are lucky to have a group like this one. I figure I have another five months of weight loss and then a lifetime of body re-composition and maintenance so I will be here for a while if you need me.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR LEG. It will be devastating if you wreck it for a long period. Make sure its healed, don't destroy it please!
And happy easter to you too. My day will be filled up exactly the same as every other day over here. Oatmeal, eggs, chicken, rice, protein powder, 13.5 hours of work, 25 minutes T25, 3 minutes stretching, 30-40 minute bike, shower, sleep, repeat.0 -
Thanks Guys. I'm taking care of it. That's why I had a rest day today. It went totally against everything I wanted to do and I feel horrible cause i haven't exercised but I rested. Tomorrow I will be back at the gym, however if it starts playing up I will stop. Like you, I don't want/ can't afford a long term injury.
50 i know exactly what you're talking about regarding the weight loss. I say to myself (and everyone else) this is a marathon not a sprint and I have got a good 18 months before I will be close to where I want to be and yes then its about keeping it off. However I do get dishearted when I think i've lost weight but then see a photo of myself and not much has changed. Especially with all the work i'm doing to get it off. My partner has lost in 4 weeks what it has taken me 12 weeks to lose. I must say I am a little jealous of that. But i do know why it's like that and that's the way it just is.
I'm thinking by the time summer comes back around for me in December things are going to be very different.0 -
Hell yeah, by the time summer comes around you will be twice the woman at a fraction of the size.0
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Wow massive session at the gym today. It was strength day today so weights all the way. When I first started this program 4 weeks ago, I pretty much had the pin on all the weight equipment set to 2kg and even then i struggled a bit. Today i had the leg extension equipment on 5kg. It worked the legs and they are weary tonight but I reckon next time i do strength i will go up to 6kg. Deadlift i'm still just doing with an empty 20kg barbell but thinking next week i might have a go at 5kg on either side. Chest Press i went to town and upped it to 6kg i got through the first set of 15 and it was tough but i did it. knowing I wouldn't get through another set i dropped back down to 5kg for the next two reps. Seated row i'm doing 5kg just a little bit too easy now so next time its 6kg. Shoulder raises im doing with 4kg hand weights and thinking maybe 5kg next time. Bicep curls i really struggle with for some reason and still back on 4kg for those and have a tough time with it. Triceps im doing with 4kg hand weights but thats going up to 5kg.
Having said all that even though i reckon I can go up weights next time, my arms and legs are really weary tonight. More so than they have been since i started at the gym 9 weeks ago. I really feel like i had a huge session and pushed things today which i'm stoked about. I think my fitness is getting to a level where I can really push myself further than what I was. I'm really noticing how much easier it is to move, how much more energy I have. The only thing is i'm having trouble getting to sleep at night. That could be my night sleeping thing though. I rarely sleep well at night. Be interesting to see how i go when I get back to work in 2 weeks.
Tomorrow is a rest day. I'm so paranoid about injury that I don't want to push things too far. I have to remember I am fat, 43 and still relatively unfit.0 -
Awesome work! Its great that you are seeing gains in your lifting already. I have read that it is usually hard to develop muscle when eating at a deficit so you are clearly doing something right being able to drop fat and pick up strength. I seen that you posted another 1/4lb loss so the scales still going in the right direction.
Good job on recognizing when your body needs a rest, I have a real hard time convincing myself to take a rest day. I am absolutely terrified that taking a day off will set me back a week even though I know it doesn't work like that. I might take a day off on Thursday. Quick question, when you take a rest day, does that mean that its a complete rest day? No weights, no cardio? Do you take a day off of eating to your plan too or does that stay on track?0 -
I supposed blessed is a good word to use here but I have been blessed with a body that gains muscle very easily. I'm one of those that can look at a weight and instantly add muscle. When I had my body comp done last month the guy that did it was amazed at my muscle mass. He pointed out one of the guys who obviously lifts regularly and said "you have bigger mass than that bloke". It's a bit weird in a female but yeah i'm lucky that way.
I know what you're saying about having a rest day. Physically i know I need a rest but mentally i feel so guilty and have these mental images of me putting on heaps of kilos but I make myself do it. My nutritionist wants me at the gym 5 days a week and on the days I don't go he wants me to do a walk or ride on my pedals. Depending on the weather tomorrow I will go for a walk. I don't stray from my eating plan though. I haven't had a cheat day in a few weeks and I'm not planning to for a while yet. In fact i'm so paranoid that on days i don't go to the gym, I tend to eat even more lean than on days when I do.0 -
I am so happy that you said that you don't have a cheat day. This is my opinion, so there's a possibility that there is no truth to it but...
I believe that people who have to have a cheat day each week while relearning their lives are destined to fail. If you HAVE to have a cheat day that means that what you are doing isn't sustainable. What it means is that they are treating this like a diet and not a lifestyle change. Once the weight comes off those people are going to go from one cheat day a week to 7 cheat days because truly all a cheat day is, is eating a SAD (standard american diet). I believe that people like you and I who can fairly easily make it through the days with a severe calorie deficit have a greater chance at making this a lifelong change. For example, if I can make it through many months of eating at 1500 calories while working out like an animal, bumping my calories up to 2100-2200 for maintenance will be a breeze.
Now I'm not saying there aren't now, and won't be days in in the future where I go out and have 15 beers along with pizza and a 1300 calorie McDonalds meal for a bedsnack. The difference between how I am looking at it, and how the people who have cheat days looks at it is that I will make an effort of burning off those calories over the coming week. The people on cheat days just forget about it and carry on like nothing happened the next day. If someones only losing 1 pound a week and then decides to have a cheat day and eats an extra 2000 calories which is very easy to do, that completely erases like 4 days of putting the work to lose in the first place.
I'll stop rambling now0 -
Monster session at the gym followed by a rest day sounds awesome. Great progress in those pics. Very inspiring!0
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I totally agree with you 50. This is a lifestyle change not a fad diet. Having said that I did get a large frozen coke today after my brisk walk around the shopping centre. It was yummy too. But I'm back at the gym tomorrow and will be working hard.
So I am in a bit of a competition with one of my workmates to see who can lose the most kg and cm for the month of March. Our first weigh and measure was 28th Feb and then we had one today.
Weight from 117.7kg down to 113.2kg
Neck 47.9cm down to 46cm
Upper Chest 113cm down to 110cm
Waist 112.5 down to 111cm
Hip 128.5cm down to 126cm
Left Arm 44cm down to 42cm
Left Thigh 67cm up to 72cm (can we say muscle gainz????)
I'm really stoked with these numbers although there is a small part of me that would have liked a bit more off the waist.
I have been doing my gym program for 4 weeks now and i'm starting to see some changes in my body. I have another body comp scan on 11th April so really looking forward to what that says. I rewarded myself today by buying myself a star wars T-shirt as well as some really funky boyleg starwars underwear (mens of course because aparently girl nerds don't wear funky star wars underwear). I also had to buy a belt because my jeans and shorts keep falling down. I wont make big clothes purchases until i've lost more weight0 -
I always find the boys get the best Star Wars stuff. Super jealous of your new Star Wars gear
The numbers are amazing! Sounds like you are really doing the right stuff and it really shows. Keep it going!!! Rooting for you!0 -
You are looking great. I'm sorry to hear about your calf. You've been doing great and I know you'll do fine. Keep up the good work, your face is thinner
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Don't be disappointed in the number Kell, all of the good ones are going down and the one that you want to go up is going up. Having those measurements is a real nice reminder that what you are doing is working.
You didn't mention, who's winning the competition?0 -
I won the competition for this month. I lost the most weight and CMs. Not sure what next Month will be.
I got a new HRM today. I got a lower end of the market Polar FT4 and H1 HRM cause i know my fitbit has been telling me porkies. And I was right. When i went to the gym today my HR was rocking I was getting up to 87% of Max HR. Fitbit certainly wasnt telling me that. I decided today (because i'm such a geeky tech head), that if I have lost 20kg between today and the end of August when I get my tax back, I am going to treat myself to a top of the range Polar watch and HRM. That's given me incentive to go hard.
Now i'm putting this picture up for everyone to see. I posted it on Facebook for my friends to see and I will post it here. As I said on FB its not to pat myself on the back, or to get congrats or anything like that. It's to keep myself accountable and to remember what im doing, why i'm doing it and when I don't think i'm making a difference I can look at it. It will be updated every 6 months. From Left to right it is me at 126+kg in March 2014, In November 2015 at about 121kg and me march 2016 at 114kg. I want to be reminded that I NEVER want to go back to these weights again.
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Kell, 22kgs since march '14 is a reason to pat yourself on the back, as is 7kg since November. We have discussed it before, this never will go as fast as we think it should. Regardless of that, we still have to give ourselves props for hitting the achievements that we have up until this point and for the progress we will continue to make along the way.
Great job so far, I am excited to continue watching you progress as you lose your body mass and increase your strength.
Great job on winning March too, follow it up my winning April as well!0 -
WOW WOW WOW!!!! Look at you go! This is fantastic!
Also I LOVE your star wars... pants? shorts? Whatever they are, I want some!0 -
Way to go!0
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Wow you really can see the differences. Great job!!!0
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Quzz they are star wars Pj's. To go with my underwear and T-shirt. Did I mention I'm a star wars fan?????
Had one of "those" days today. I was so tired and just didn't want to eat and couldn't be bothered eating correctly. The morning started out relatively ok but by mid morning I was exhausted and could barely stay upright. I came home from taking my partner to a Drs appointment and went to bed. I got interrupted by someone at the door and once they left i went back to bed and stayed there until 5pm. I skipped lunch (totally naughty and hankering back to old habits). At dinner time i was hungry but didn't want food so had a red cordial. I did end up having some dinner and then ate some tic tacs. Not as many as I put in the diary though. I am still tired now and I know that is partially because of my poor food choices today. Tomorrow I will get back on the horse and get to it. Today was just a blip on the radar0 -
Star Wars is awesome - totally approve.
*hug* Sometimes you have those days. Good to recognize it, accept it, and try for improvement tomorrow. You got this!
Also, yesterday when I was gaming with my sisters we came across a fellow from Australia and it made me think of you. Hope you're smiling when you wake up 0 -
So I jumped on the scales today to do an end of month weigh. I was stoked to see them stop at 112.7kg. That means for the month of March I have lost 5.5kg (11lb). I am so happy to see validation of all the work I'm putting in. I have noticed a lot of change in my body, specifically added muscle definition. Am also starting to notice to notice some obliques around the abs. I saw a photo on Facebook today and I'm posting it here. It fires me up
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My friend, that is just ****ing fantastic. 11 Pounds, in one month. Its too bad that these motivation journals don't get more traffic to them because there are a lot of people on these boards that need to follow the steps that you have taken so that they can start to better their own lives.
Think about the rollercoaster this journey is. Two days ago, you were not happy with where you had come, and now you can look back over a one month period and say, Yeah I lost 11 pounds last month!!!!
I am in complete awe and envy of the progress you are making. As you seen my my other post, I am working towards bringing in some of your drive and techniques into my own workout program.
Great Job, don't ever stop posting on here, you are one of the main reasons I am able to stay on track and focused and I can only hope that in a couple days at my weigh in I can celebrate the kind of success that you just posted here today!
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Amazing. I can't agree with @50extra enough about how much of an inspiration you are. Wow.
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Wow thanks for the kudos guys. I never see myself as an inspiration to others but hey if i can get one person up and moving and making things healthier for themselves then i'll take that mantle
I had some (like half a block) of chocolate last night. I have been craving something and I didn't know what it was. Apparently it wasnt chocolate but it tasted nice anyway. I jumped on the scales this morning to do a start of the month weight and i was down another 500g. So I am at 112.2kg and poised to reach my goal of 110kg by Sunday next week. I will be working my (_|_) off this week to get there. Oh and I found out what I had been craving. Fizzy drink. I had a fanta today and it was like nectar from the Gods. It has always been my downfall. But i only had a can and that will be all I have. I am going to be in a lot of photos next weekend (10th April) and I want to look the best i can be for them.
A Friend recommended to me that I make a vision board of what I want to achieve So i have been collecting photos and inspirational quote and am about to go and sit on my back deck and put it all together.
Hope you're all having a good one.
Here's another of my little quotes
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Not only is your weight loss inspirational, but your dedication and your well considered goals are great too. Lots of people (myself included sometimes) set unrealistic goals and then quit when they can't reach them, but it sounds like you're right on target.
Love the quote! Can't wait to see your inspiration board. 0 -
Tomorrow is weights. Have been psyching myself up all night so I can go hard. I plan on crawling out of the gym tomorrow0
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You are doing an amazing job!0
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