rapunzel

thanks I feel like I'm going to have some good progress this week!

So I haven't posted in a while and have had some highs and lows. I have been taking some photos (which is really hard with my tiny mirror!) and my belly has definitely shrunk - woo hoo! I can especially see the difference around my waist. In terms of exercise, I definitely haven't been consistent, but I have been making the effort to leave work early - NOT do crazy long hours so that I am able to fit in time for exercise after work. This week so far (ok only two days so far) I am on track. The hardest thing has been keeping on track with my eating. To avoid sugar I pretty much have to avoid all processed foods. My boyfriend made some pasta last week, and it was amazing, and then he made some comment about it tasting a bit sweet. I checked the label and...sugar. He bought some mayo - sugar. Salt and vinegar flavour chips - sugar. I hate feeling manipulated - like I'm still possibly eating sugar no matter how hard I avoid "sweet" foods. My other issue is that I have been going overboard on salty foods since avoiding sugar But hopefully this will even out in time. I am noticing that fruit tastes UNBELIEVABLY sweet after not eating sugar! I'm going to try and log everything this week to make me more accountable. Yesterday I did a half hour ab workout. Tonight I'm doing half an hour of weights and going for a swim as well as my daily walk and yoga/stretch.

How is a hands in the air squat different to a 'hands down' squat...? Just curious

AshPS - I had tears in my eyes reading some of your posts. Your honesty has made me think about confronting some of my own 'baggage'. thank you for sharing.

So yesterday was a major fail for me...but hopefully I can learn from it and move on. My plan was to exercise first thing in the morning but yesterday I went in to work early to get some stuff finished which I hoped would decrease my stress levels. When I got home I was tired (of course!), and didn't feel like exercising (also of course!). I decided to at least try and be organised for the rest of the week, by making veggie soup to have for lunch. Cut my finger and then burnt the soup!! And then I slept in this morning! So I have revised my plans and have come up with the following mammoth post! Exercise walk/run for half an hour in my lunch break three times a week; the other two go to a yoga class swim three times a week (swimming really helps me unwind!) half hour weight training three times a week half hour pilates/core training four times a week I would really like to exercise more than this, but right now I just don't have the capacity. So I want to commit to this and anything I do on top is a bonus! Food Food is really something I can control more than exercise so I'm going to just try and be healthier. My main challenge is giving up sugar, which is going great, but I could eat healthier, especially on weekends. Like have a green smoothie for breakfast on Saturday and Sunday, not just weekdays, and have salmon and veggies for tea on Saturday instead of takeaway! Reducing stress *I want to practise yoga every day (time permitting). I didn't count this as exercise as I basically just do some gentle stretching base on yoga poses, but when I do it, it helps me to sleep better *Getting enough sleep and roughly the same sleeping pattern every night - no more getting up really early some mornings, and really late others *drinking a cup of cammomile tea before bed *get a massage every week. This feels really self indulgent but I have been wanting to do it for ages. I try and get my boyfriend to give me back rubs all the time but he doesn't put enough effort in *stop eating lunch at my desk *stop worrying about finding a new job, and do one job application a week and actually accept help with applications that people offer me! *try and be more efficient at work. Realise that I don't need to do heaps of overtime to be good at my job. *spend more time outside and in nature *actually SCHEDULE IN time for myself to do fun stuff *try and stay on top of household stuff Going to work up a schedule tonight, do measurements and a scoring system

Just wanted to say this is awesome! I would love to do some of this stuff but don't have the time just right now, so I'm living vicariously through you

I absolutely love everything you've written. Reducing stress is something I try (and fail) to do and is part of my challenge too. I look forward to reading your progress!

Well I have not eaten any sugar since I started this challenge and I am unexpectedly feeling great...this morning I snoozed for 15 minutes instead of the usual hour or so and got to work early to do a few things. Going without sugar has been easier than I thought it would, so far. Yes even with my boyfriend eating chocolate in front of me all weekend. I have even made up a workout plan for the week. Really interested to see if cutting out sugar changes the way my body looks. So far the extra energy has been great. I've also been amazed at the amount of processed food that has sugar in it....so effectively I'm cutting out 99% of processed foods too. Loving this challenge so far

My quest is to have a happy and healthy belly and I realise that I'm using the term belly pretty loosely! To get to the "happy and healthy" stage I will: 1. Reduce the amount of sugar I consume. I am really in denial about how much I eat. It's not just about "sweet things" but I love tomato sauce...lemonade....even when I make home made pizza, the dough has a pinch of sugar in it. I just want to see how my body reacts if I cut down. I'm not going to be too drastic - I'm still going to eat fruit and maybe a little honey. I just did a month without alcohol and if I can get through that I can get through anything right 2. Improve my "core" (for lack of a better word) strength. I'm not too sure how I'll measure this, maybe by how long I can actually hold a plank for, or something like that. I am desk bound and my belly, which feels like it is spreading more every day, is starting to affect my posture. I just want to feel like I actually have some strong muscles in there - not too concerned if they don't show through. 3. Reduce stress in my life. When I was at my healthiest, I was spending tons of time outdoors, not doing crazy hours, being proactive about things that were stressing me out. Somehow I have lost how to do that. So I want to schedule some time off work, maybe get a massage, go for some hikes, pay my bills, etc. When I'm stressed I feel bloated and gross and I shovel anything and everything in my mouth. My life quest is to empty out the spare room storage area. I want it to be perfectly emply so that I can put things in it that actually need to be stored (vacuum cleaner for instance!) and so when I move house it isn't a big whirlpool of doom. At the moment it is full of junk. I hope that completing this will help with point 3 above, and I also like that I have six weeks to do it...as I have been trying for two years so far!!