Weekly Weigh-In

Lets rip this band-aid off shall we? I gained a kilo this past week. There, that wasn't so bad.

When I got on the scale and saw a gain, I won't lie, I felt disappointed. I'd done such a good job this week avoiding temptation, exercising 5 days and, hey, even drinking more water, so I did expect more. Some time has passed between weighing in and writing this post, and I'm feeling more realistic about it now, but just the feeling when you step on the scale full of hope (and maybe a little bravado) and then the little numbers flicker up and crush you, is horrible. Those numbers can be so mean!

Anyway, obviously there could be a number of reasons for a gain this week. Like the fact that I've been working out with kettlebells and could have put on some muscle. Or that I haven't quite figured out the right calorie intake for my body since switching to paleo. It could also be sleep (which I am only just starting to learn can significantly effect weight loss), considering I sleep between six and seven hours on average, but know I function best on closer to nine. Even though I've had such small losses the last couple of weeks, and a gain this week, I'm not going to stress myself over it. I know that I'm doing a lot of good for my health at the moment, and the weight will come off in it's own time.

Non-Weight Loss Stuff
This week I made the trek into Sydney to go to Costco. As sad as this is, it's probably one of my favourite places! Here in Australia we don't really have anything like it, and our options for shopping are very limited, so going to Costco is like a treat. I love seeing what random stuff they are selling and picking up some staples in bulk. A kg of smoked salmon is a staple right?

I even managed to find these two ginormous jars of coconut oil for very cheap (shown next to my regular size jar). I'm absolutely nuts for this stuff, so getting these alone made the trip worthwhile.

A Very Late Weekly Weigh-In

Apparently I've been so slack that I haven't posted or weighed-in in more than two weeks! Lately almost all of my spare time has been dedicated to wedding planning and researching, so this little blog has suffered a bit.

The good news is, I have had a little loss over the last couple of weeks. The week before last I only lost 100 grams, which is nothing. My weight that week was all over the place, so any loss was a positive. Last week I lost another 400 grams, for a total of half a kilo over the two weeks. Not a significant loss, by any means, but still a step in the right direction.

The good news is I've been sticking with eating Paleo really well. It's getting easier to say no to foods I can't eat, and I'm feeling really good on it. I haven't started counting kilojoules on it, or focusing on really limiting my carbs on it yet, which might be something to look at doing to improve the slow weight loss I've had over the past couple of weeks.

I'm not sure if maybe I'm eating too many kilojoules, or not enough. Since going Paleo, I've been finding that I'm typically not as hungry, and so eat less frequently. Some days I will eat two meals and a snack, and I'm done. Other days, however, I've been lenient and let myself indulge a little more that I should, and eat more (still Paleo friendly foods). Either way, it could be affecting what I'm seeing on the scales, so will be something that I focus on for this week.

I've also been incredibly slack with drinking water and exercising. I don't know why I struggle so much with these. I go through patches where I'm really enjoying exercise and it's no effort at all, and then others when I'm just incapable of getting my butt into gear. Water seems to be a constant struggle for me. It probably doesn't help that I haven't yet tackled cutting out Pepsi Max yet. It's the one part of going Paleo that I'm yet to tackle, because I know it's going to be so difficult for me to do.


Non-Weight Loss Stuff
I thought I might start adding some more non-weight loss updates in my weigh-ins, when there's something interesting to talk about, or the mood strikes me. Obviously, weight loss is only a small part of my life and sometimes it feels like I fail to show much more of myself on here.

As I mentioned, apart from weight loss and work, lately I've been doing a whole lot of wedding planning. We're just over 12 months away from our wedding date. We our venue booked, and are at sort of a critical time for booking a whole lot of things for the wedding. We're in the process of narrowing down our choices of photographers, caterers and celebrants, and are very close to booking them. We're also starting to look into marquee and party hire, so it's all really starting to happen. We've been engaged for so long, that the fact that we've actually got a concrete date and are actively planning and booking things is scary and exciting at the same time.

Weekly Weigh-In

Blergh. Just a quick update to say I've had another crazy up and down weight week. Today my scales said I've put on two kilograms in two days... I haven't been eating badly, or doing anything different. Even if I had that swing seems a bit extreme. I have no idea what my crazy body is up to. The only cause I can think of for all of the wacky weight changes is this very persistent cold I've been fighting.

It's been hanging around for more than two weeks now, but I'm finally feeling on the mend. Hopefully this week my weight will at least be somewhat consistent. If I'm lucky I may even be able to lose a little bit of weight!

Weekly Weigh-In

Eep, I meant to get this up on Sunday, and three days later I'm finally getting around to it! Better late than never I suppose! So, last week was ALL over the place weight wise. On Sunday, I weighed myself and had lost 0.3 kg since the Sunday before. Not bad, but strange seeing as on the Wednesday I had weighed myself and the scales seemed to think I had lost more than 2.5 kg...

I have no idea what that's all about, and I'm just going to put it down to the effects of this cold that I still cannot shake after 2 weeks, and the fact that I did treat myself more than a little for my birthday.

Regardless of weight loss, I'm pretty happy with last week. Yes, I could have done without a few dinners out and treats, but aside from the birthday celebrations, I was REALLY good. I ate very low carb pretty much all week, and kept my kilojoules down as well. Exercise wasn't quite so good, because I did none. I kept putting it off because I was worried that the freezing early morning walks might make me more sick and I couldn't risk that because of work. In the end I should have just gone, because this cold doesn't seem to want to get better regardless of what I do.

Probably the worst thing I did last week though, was visit my local San Churro Chocolateria with some friends AFTER a dinner out. We ordered a whole heap of naughty chocolaty food and drinks, and it was delicious. See the drink that looks like someone's melted a chocolate bar into a mug? That was my drink. It was so thick and rich I couldn't get through half of it (thank goodness) and while we ordered a lot, we didn't get through even a third of each dessert (which we all shared). Still doesn't make it a healthy choice, but I was surprised at the moderation I was able to use.

This week I'm focusing on eating low carb and whole foods as much as possible, and learning more about nutrition. I'm finding that knowing more about food and how foods interact with the body is really motivating me.

Weekly Weigh-In: Week... I Don't Even Know

This week has been all about taking the first steps to refocusing and eating better. It's been a good chance to reflect, but not so good for losing weight. In fact, my scales tell me that I've gained a whole kilogram since yesterday! I'm not too worried about not seeing a loss this week, as my focus was more on making mental changes, and the fact that I've had the flu since Thursday has probably had an impact too.

Regardless of the lack of a loss, I'm pretty happy with how I've been this week. I've been very mindful of my eating, making much better choices. I continued to exercise daily, until I became sick. Overall, I would count this week as a good week.

In the new week, my aim is to go a bit stricter, especially with my eating. I want to start slowly reducing the amount of carbs in my diet, planning my days food and counting kilojoules. I did my weekly planning and shopping today, and I've got some yummy and healthy meals planned, which should help. I'd also like to work on getting my water intake up, again. Without fail, it is the one thing that just slips my mind. If I can get all of these things happening, even a little bit, I should hopefully see a loss this week.

The one thing that could potentially screw up my grand plans is that it's my birthday on Thursday. This means at least two dinners out this week, and probably some going easy on myself, because, you know, it's my birthday. Damn getting older! In any case, I'm going to do my best to stick to my goals this week, because there are plenty of better ways to celebrate my 25th than with food.

I'm Stuck

In terms of my weight loss, I'm completely stuck. I haven't put on weight in months and I haven't lost it either. Instead I've just hovered within a 2 kilogram window that I can't seem to break out of. Worst of all, this isn't a dreaded plateau, it's completely self inflicted. I haven't been doing enough. Especially for the last few weeks. I haven't been bad, but I haven't been paying much attention to my food, or water intake. The only thing I have been doing is exercising.

To be honest, I am a little surprised that I haven't at least seen a slow and gradual loss, given that I have been regularly exercising and my eating hasn't been anywhere near as bad as it used to be. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't counting on this being the case, that I could just give up and still lose weight. In hindsight though, I haven't been so bad that I shouldn't have seen some loss.

I don't know why is it that I'm so stuck right now. I have patches where I'm back to doing everything right, then all of a sudden it's gone. I'm only now starting to get frustrated with myself for it. I don't know if maybe my weight loss so far has sort of been enough to make me proud of myself that I'm not as highly motivated to keep going. Or maybe I've just had an off patch that I've been too lenient with and allowed to go on for too long. I can't make sense of it, and I want to know why I'm doing it. So I can kick it in the butt and keep going, and avoid it again in the future.

I'm trying not to get too down on myself, as making myself feel guilty has never helped me. All it does is make things harder. Instead, I'm working on finding positive ways to move forward and gain back the focus on my health that I had before. Things like learning about nutrition (which I REALLY enjoy, shockingly), and getting up early to do my morning walk. If I keep focusing on these things that I enjoy doing, and setting myself small goals, hopefully I will find my way back to losing weight and living a healthy lifestyle. I really want to. I'm not satisfied with going back to where I was, and it's such a slippery slope back to that. I want to keep moving forward, for my health and my future.

Has anyone else gotten stuck, be it for a short or long while? What did you do to get out of it?

(Not So) Weekly Weigh-In: Week 23

It's been a while since I've weighed in weekly (5 weeks to be exact), but I'm back and have put in the work this week to start getting myself back on track. As I said in my last post, I'd gained about 2 kgs in the past two weeks, after hovering around the same weight for the month that I stopped blogging. It wasn't nearly as much as I had expected to put on, so that was good. Even better is that it's come all straight back off in the past week. How's that for proving to myself that I can do it!

Seeing that big blue chunk after being so many weeks of being unmotivated feels amazing. It helps to know that as soon as I put a few simple steps into practice I see results.

This week I ate with moderation and consideration, exercised 4 days of the week and drank water. I didn't even count kilojoules this week, which is usually the first thing I am sure to do when I want to have a good week. Instead I tried to eat mostly whole foods, and stick to three smaller meals and two snacks. When I could, I kept a mental tally of the kilojoules, but not every day.

Moving forward, I've set myself a short term goal of losing 2 kgs in the next 2 weeks. I've been hovering just under the 20 kgs lost mark for nearly 3 months now, and I think it's about time I reached it. At the moment, I'm at 18.3 kgs lost, so losing 2 kgs will push me definitively beyond that point. If I can do it in 2 weeks, it will also mean that I will achieve it before heading off to Melbourne for a holiday on the 24th of this month.

I'm really happy with how I've done this week, getting myself back into good habits. After more than a month of my brain telling me it was just too hard, it was an incredible relief to see this week how easily I could get back into them. I just need to remember for next time it feels hard, that it really isn't. It's probably just my negativity and food addiction getting the better of me.

I'm Back!

Eek... It's been over a month since my last post. To be honest, I wasn't really doing much, weight loss wise, and really had nothing to write about. The good news is, I haven't completely fallen off the wagon, but the bad news is I haven't completely stayed on. I've mostly hovered around the same weight, with a 2 kg gain over the past 2 weeks. Nothing too major, for which I am thankful.

My eating habits over the past month have been very lax. While I've tried to keep good food habits in my mind, I haven't been very strict about what food and how much of it I am eating. In fact, it's starting to get to a point where my eating habits are getting worse the longer I'm not keeping myself in check.

Exercise has been minimal, but actually better than when I last posted. I bought some new workout a few weeks ago gear (always a good motivator), and have been trying to get outside to walk as often as I can. I usually go 3 or so times a week (up until this last week, when it has rained every single day). I'm really enjoying the walks, and am managing to stay motivated even though I have to get up at 6am to do them.

I am wanting to get back to concentrating on losing weight, and have been struggling in my attempts to find the discipline to do it over the past month. I'm finally getting back some of my resolve though, so I think this is the perfect time to get back to blogging and the added motivation and reflection that it gives me. I'm also heading to Melbourne at the end of the month, which should help to keep me motivated.

In other news, this month I'll be joining in on Fat Mum Slim's July Photo A Day Challenge. Lets see how far I get. You can follow along by following me on instagram (link to the right) or check out the action using the hashtag #FMSphotoaday. If you're joining in, be sure to let me know so I can follow you.

Weekly Weigh-In: Week 17

Last week I posted my first gain since I started losing weight back at the end of November. I knew gains were inevitable, but it was definitely a chance to reflect. It made me realise how important it was to me that I didn't go backwards. That's why this week it was time to get back to eating right and being good. I wasn't nearly as good as I should have been, but I must have done something right because I lost 2 kilos!

I was pretty amazed when I stepped on the scales this morning. I've done much more and lost less, so I wasn't expecting quite as big a loss. As you can see, I've still got a little chunk of last weeks gain to make back, but I can't believe I've lost nearly all of it in one week.

In terms of my short term goals to get myself back on the right track, I did ok. I recorded my kilojoules all but one day, and stayed under my kilojoule limit every day. I didn't do so well on my goal to eat no takeaway. Actually, I had it two nights in a row. I tried to make the healthiest decision I could, and avoided the types of (naughty) takeaway that are usually my weakness, so this one's a bit of a wash.

This week, I want to keep going with counting my kilojoules, and avoid takeaway all together. I would also like to start drinking at least 2 litres of water a day, and get back to reading my favourite weight loss blogs more consistently. I will report back of my progress next week!

Trigger Foods

The further I get into my weight loss, the more self-control I'm developing, but there are still some foods that I have to avoid overdoing. I like to call them trigger foods. The foods that I still have a lot of difficulty with. When I'm presented with the opportunity to eat these foods, I have a very hard time saying no, and when I do eat them, I have an even harder time stopping once I'm good and full. I've also found that the more I have them, the more I crave them, and it becomes harder to listen to the rational part of my brain that tells me I don't need it.

When I've been successful with staying away from my trigger foods, keeping to my meal plans and daily kilojoule intake is significantly easier. But, if they're around, it's almost like I revert straight back to the eating habits I had 5 months ago. Over the past couple of weeks while I wasn't really watching my eating as much, I indulged in some of these trigger foods, and I found it really hard to give them up again. It reinforced to me that this is a long and slow process, and that weight loss isn't the only measure of how far I've come. If I want to reach a place where I'm truly healthy and happy, I need to focus on changing my mind, as well as my shape. I may always have compulsive feelings towards food, but I want to work towards breaking that down as much as I can, while building on my ability to counteract it.

Here are some of my biggest triggers:

Chinese food. I love chinese food. Specifically Chow Mein and fried Dim Sims, but almost any will do.

Chocolate. The darker the better. A little chocolate is ok, but I just cannot have any in the house. It never lasts more than a day or two between the fiance and I.

Pizza. It's just too easy to eat WAY too many slices of pizza. Doesn't help that it's usually covered in delicious cheese.

Right now my plan of attack is to abstain from my trigger foods for a while. Let myself dry out a little. I have no doubt that I will eat them again, and I really do believe that it's fine to have them in moderation. I'm not at the point where moderation with these foods is easy, but I'm working on it.

Do you have any trigger foods? If so, what are they and how do you stop them from becoming a problem?

Weekly Weigh-In: Week 16 (AKA my first gain)

So it turns out that for the past few weeks I haven't just been slack about posting on this here blog, I've also been slack on my weight loss. As a result, I've had my first gain of 2.5 kg over the past two weeks. Yikes!

Gains happen, and this one is probably overdue, but it's still not a nice feeling to slide so quickly backwards. Probably worse than knowing that I've gained weight, however, is knowing that I've made some really bad decisions and indulged in terrible habits that I was fighting so hard to break. It was getting easier to say no to the bad habits, and I still let them creep back in during a time of weakness. Now, I have to go back to the beginning and almost start again. But, if that's what I have to do, then that's what I will do.

I've seen versions of this quote posted on many blogs and pinterest boards over the last few months, and it couldn't be more relevant to me right now. I have a choice to make, and at the end of the day, neither option is easy. But there is one option that will make me happy, and I have to keep reminding myself of this.

To help me get back to it, I've broken down all of the little things that I need to do to help me stay on track:

1. Count kilojoules - I haven't recorded kilojoules or even kept track in my head for weeks. I've spoken before about how invaluable recording my intake has been, and it's a fundamental part of getting back on track.
2. Drinking water - I was abysmal at this before I lost the plot, but it really is important in helping me to lose weight and keep my body running well.
3. Exercising - I have not exercised in nearly a month (eep!), and I really need to just kick myself up the butt and do it. The cold weather and end of Daylight Savings has meant that my walks on the beach have stopped, so I need to decide on a new way to get moving that will keep me motivated.
4. Blogging more - blogging keeps me focused. Putting my thoughts down in writing helps me to better understand myself and my struggles, which in turn makes it easier to push on. Writing and talking about losing weight on a regular basis also motivates me no end, and keeps it at the forefront of my mind. Not to mention, I'm incredibly motivated and cheered on by the amazing people who stop by this space every now and then and even leave comments. We may be strangers but you've already done so much to help me along my way, so thank you.
5. Reading weight loss blogs - I've found some amazing weight loss blogs over the past few months, whose writers inspire and delight me. Unfortunately, I've been neglecting them too over the past month, and it's high time to get back to reading them regularly.
6. Organising my weekly meals - this is something that I was pretty fantastic at until very recently (if I to say so myself) and it helped to keep me on track. This week I will get back into the habit of creating a weekly meal plan and doing my regular once a week shop.
7. Say no to takeaway - I will not eat takeaway this week. I will not eat takeaway this week. I will not eat takeaway this week. I will not eat takeaway this week. Takeaway food is a big downfall for me. It's rarely healthy and is one of those trigger foods that I tend to lose control over. I am more likely to binge on takeaway food that anything I make at home. Unfortunately we've recently found a new Chinese restaurant that does a yummy chow mein with the most delicious crunchy noodles. I could eat those crunchy noodles by the kilo. But I will not, no matter how delicious those crunchy little bastards are.
8. Set time aside for me - I need time to be selfish. Work has been really picking up lately, which is amazing, but it's left me a little time poor. Taking even a little chunk of time and only doing something I feel like doing will help me to feel less busy and out of control.

There are a lot of steps to take, and I could probably even add some more, but I will take my time and do what I can. I would love to jump straight back to doing all of these things simultaneously, but it's definitely more realistic to look at it as a gradual thing. If nothing else, this week I would like to count my kilojoules and not eat takeaway. These two things are pretty achievable, yet important. I will let you know how I go!

Have you ever had a gain and/or fallen off track? If so, what helped you to get back on track?

Weekly Weigh-In: Week 14

I'm back! I apologise for my lack of posts over the past two weeks, I've been so very slack. Because I didn't weigh in last week, this weeks post is a bit of a two-for-one. I'm happy to report a loss of 0.7 kg over the last two weeks.

I was pretty happy when I finally stepped back on the scales today and saw a loss. The last two weeks haven't been my best. Some bad news has made it a stressful time, and I've let myself slide. I've been mindful not to gorge myself like I would have pre-fresh start, but I have had more naughty meals than I should have.

To be completely honest, I'm feeling frustrated at the moment. I feel like I'm constantly trying to get back on the wagon, and every time I do something goes wrong to knock me off. Though I'm proud of myself for not going back to old habits when this happens, I'm frustrated that I haven't been able to keep up any sort of momentum. I'm hoping that the ability to maintain focus and good habits even through bad times is something that comes with time, and at the end of the day all that matters is that I'm still here willing to do what it takes to get back to it. Here's hoping that I get back to a place where I feel more consistent.

This week, it's time for my 3 months progress photos, so be sure to check back for those soon! I'm anxious but excited to see if there's a noticible difference.

Weekly Weigh-In: Week 12

Time to welcome back the pie chart this week, because I had a loss! I'm absolutely stoked to report losing 0.8 kgs.

I haven't been anywhere near perfect this week. The only thing I've REALLY done is eat right, so I was really pleasantly surprised by how much I'd shed for the week.

There is definitely something to be said for being organised. In my mind I was expecting to have a lot of difficulty this week and only a small loss, knowing how busy I was expecting to be, coupled with how unfocused I was the week before. Instead, eating well was fairly easy, as I'd organised my meals well before hand. In the end, I've had a couple of nights where I didn't make my planned meals, because the boy wasn't going to be home for dinner. But, having fresh food there ready to go meant I didn't fall into the trap of buying or making something bad.

This week I'm hoping to find a bit more motivation and time to get out and get some exercise. If I can do that, and keep up my good food habits then I should be in for another good week. Fingers crossed!

Weekly Weigh-In: Week 11

Where has this week gone? I apologise for being so MIA here on the blog and on twitter this week. Life has been so unexpectedly hectic and it's meant that I've let this space slide a little. Unfortunately it's also meant that I've let my good weight loss habits slide, and as a result I've lost a big fat nothing.

I'm not surprised by my lack of a loss at all this week. I have had the most atrocious week, where my focus was nowhere to be found. I'm a little surprised I didn't see my first gain, actually. In terms of food, I've been all over the shop. Some days I've eaten almost nothing and been far, far to low on kilojoules. Others, I've just sort of eaten what I wanted without keeping track of kilojoules and ended up way over what I budgeted for. Either way, I haven't given enough attention to my food and eating, and my body probably doesn't know which way is up at the moment.

This week will probably be a bit crazy again, but my aim is to be more organised and remember to prioritise my food habits. The week just gone had kind of caught me by surprise, and if I can plan to be busy, then hopefully I'll be more successful and be able to get myself back on track.

If you have any tips or advice for maintaining good habits while busy, please leave let me know in the comments. I'll take any help I can get!

Weekly Weigh-In: Week 10

Only another itty bitty loss of 0.5 kg this week. I say itty bitty, but really it's a decent loss and I'm not unhappy with it at all.

This week I've had a lot of trouble with my appetite. I've had none. It's meant that a lot of days this week I've struggled to eat enough to get to my absolute minimum necessary energy intake, and when that happens my weight loss slows down significantly. I'm not exactly sure why this happens, but it's definitely a sign that eating that little is not good. The problem is, I've never really had this problem before, so I don't know what to do. I really don't want to resort to eating junk foods loaded with sugars and fats, just to bulk up my intake. Hopefully my appetite will right itself soon, because I'm keen for a really good week.

In more exciting news, the fiancé and I booked a trip to Melbourne for the end of July to see the Liverpool game while they're here. I've never been to Melbourne before and am so, so excited. It's also a bit of extra motivation to keep going strong with my weight loss. Especially considering it will mean a little bit of shopping beforehand to ensure I don't freeze my butt of while I'm there.

Cracker Youtube Exercise and Fitness Channels

Confession time. I'm a bit of a Youtube junkie. I watch Youtube daily and am absolutely addicted to watching beauty, comedy and nutrition videos. My latest obsession, on the 'tube, however, has been exercise videos, and I thought I'd share some of my favourite channels and workouts today.

Youtube has done a lot of growing up in the last few years, and now has a lot of really decent and professionally presented content. While you'll still find a whole host of dodgy iPhone shot amateur workouts or illegally uploaded rips of copyrighted material, there are also a great deal of high quality fitness and exercise channels by fitness professionals and enthusiasts. The best thing about it to, is that it's free!

The first channel that I've been loving is Yoga Vidya. It's videos are mostly yoga and meditation related, and they have an awesome range of beginners videos. Probably not surprisingly my favourite at the moment is their 20 minute class for complete beginners.

My next favourites are the Lean Machine boys. The fellas have a heap of home workout videos, tips, tricks and useful information. They are also phenomenal eye candy.

Finally, for their whole host of different aerobic style videos I've been using Fitness Blender. Their videos are really easy to follow and each movement is well explained. They also have a range of intensities, target areas and workout lengths. The one I've really been liking is their Beginner Boot Camp Workout.

The ability to access free and good quality exercise videos on Youtube makes working out so easy. If the channels and workouts in the post aren't up your street, then with a bit of a look around I'm almost certain you will be able to find something that you will enjoy too.

Let me know in the comments if you've used workout videos from Youtube before, and definitely leave any recommendations from channels or videos I should take a look at!

Weekly Weigh-In: Week 9

Firstly, I apologise for being so MIA here on the blog this week. To tell the truth I just didn't have anything to write about. I've had a pretty solid week, but nothing special has happened and so I've not had a lot to share.

I do today, though, due to having had such a good week I've lost one full kg! Just look at that gorgeous big chunk of blue pie chart!

This weeks loss also means that I've pushed past the quarter mark on my way to my major weight loss goal, which is incredibly exciting. At times the thought of how far I have to go can be overwhelming, but it only took four short months to hit this quarter mark. In my mind I'm still only just starting out, and I keep thinking of myself as if I'm still at my starting weight.

This week coming I want to continue my good food and exercise habits. The only thing I want/need to work on is my water intake. I had a few good days at the beginning of the week, but by the end have kinda lost it. In general my water intake is slowly getting better, though, and with a bit of work I'm sure it will turn into a habit soon enough.

Lastly, Happy Easter! I'm celebrating by eating no chocolate and doing my weekly shopping as usual. How exciting my life is! How are you celebrating?

Weekly Weigh-In: Week 8

Another week, another weigh-in. Only a little one of half a kilo this week. Check out the teeny tiny blue slice below (you may need a magnifying glass).

I would have liked a bigger loss this week, but can only blame myself. I had an amazing week up until Friday, when I was much too naughty on a night out with my fabulous girlfriends and our men. It also didn't help that I've been incapacitated after a bit of a fall on Tuesday at work, when I took some big chunks out of my foot. As a result, I've been unable to walk, let alone exercise. The good news is my foot is healing nicely and I've been able to get back to regular exercising. I'm also back to being focused and am ready for the week ahead.

One great thing that happened this week (today in fact), is that I HAD to go shopping for some new clothes. I've gotten to the point that most of my clothes are too big! I've gone down a full clothing size, which was a really amazing feeling. Maybe even more impressive, I had nothing but positive thoughts when I was in the change rooms trying them on. Definitely a weight loss highlight of the week!

The World's Fattest Cat and Other Things That Weigh As Much As I've Lost

The week before last I wrote about struggling to see changes despite having lost quite a lot of weight. I've lost a shade over 15 kg so far, which I feel is quite a significant amount. I've also worked incredibly hard to lose every fraction of those 15 kgs (roughly 34 pounds), and was growing impatient to be rewarded with changes I could notice.

To give myself some perspective, I decided to do a bit of research. What I found was pretty mind boggling! Check out my list of things that weigh as much as I've lost:

• An average 4 year old
• A cinder block
• A slightly above average beagle (or 3 to 4 dachshunds)
• The leg of an average adult
• The world's fattest cat
• Adele's dress at this years Oscars

I think that list accurately demonstrates just how much I've achieved over the last 3 and a half months. In my mind, I know that I need to be a little bit more patient. The changes that I'm looking for will come with time, and I'm quite a sizeable chunk of the way towards getting there. I just can't believe I've lost a chubby beagle!

For fun, I challenge all of you reading this to find something that weighs what you've lost so far, and tell me in the comments below!

My BIG Weight Loss Motivation

For me, there are a million and one reasons to lose weight. They range from the trivial to the serious, but none were enough to get me to lose weight and stick to it. Not until I got engaged. Not until I began thinking about and planning my wedding to my amazing fiancé.

Every bride wants to look beautiful on their wedding day. I'm no different, of course, but it goes so much deeper than that. I want to be able to stand in front of all my family and friends, and celebrate our love without a second thought about my weight. I want to look back on photos and see nothing but happiness and love. If I get married, feeling the way that I feel about myself now, I will always have my weight and the way I look in the back of my head. I owe my fiancé and myself more than that.

Big milestones also have a way of making you think about your life and the future. I started to ask myself what I wanted for my future, for our future together. What did I want it to look like? One definite answer was that I didn't want to keep living like I was. I didn't want to hide because I was ashamed of my weight. I wanted to be able to have fun and enjoy life with Sean. We have have been gifted with an amazing life and relationship, and I realised that I hadn't been making the most of it.

Each day I work towards losing weight I'm working towards our future. We're going to have a beautiful wedding in which I am able to celebrate, no holds barred, the love that Sean and I share.