It's been a long time, since l ....

It's been a very long time since l started this blog and so many things have happened. With these changes l have put myself at the bottom of the pile (again) and the weight has crept back on. I now heavier than l was after the birth of my third son. However, l am not as heavy as l was after the birth of my 1st child.

I am now officially on summer holiday. Which means l have 6 weeks to start some new habits before l go back to work. I will also have to work hard on my food prep when l do get back to work. I was so worried about my weight l went and had an appointment with a surgeon about getting a stomach sleeve (that's when they remove 2/3 of your stomach and staple it up). Considering that l have no medical conditions l just couldn't justify the risk. The risk of surgery has to out weigh the gains, and for me the only gains would be easier weight loss.

I also spoke to a great dietitian who said that my healthy base weight way be a lot higher than what is indicated by my BMI. Speaking to her made me look at things differently. She stated that when l was feeling great physically, health wise, was when l was extremely fit.  So today l start trying to pick up my fitness regime. I have been completing my 10K steps a day and doing some basic push ups and sit ups. But l haven't really broken into a sweat.

Also, l am changing my outlook on food. I seem to have a very controlling relationship with food which isn't healthy. Instead l am going to eat what l want, but l am going to think about how it makes me feel. I know that a big massive bowl of fruit salad makes me feel great afterwards, compared to a McDonalds meal.

I have also been drinking way to much alcohol. Again l am going to stop and think before l start. Do l really want this, or can l do something else to make myself feel relaxed. It's summer here in Melbourne at present. So in the evening l have been watering my garden and my youngest normally comes out and joins me and chats to me. It's nice to have sometime outside at the end of the day, rather than sitting in front of some kind of screen.

Today l am 96 kilos and do not feel fit at all. I know l can go for a walk and not get puffed, but l don't feel like l could break into a light jog without falling into a heap. I also want to increase my strength again. These are my goals and ambitions. Next year l am 37. I know it gets harder when you hit 40 so l am really wanting to create this new habits and want them to stick.

Feeling great!!!

I am feeling great! Going back to the gym and cleaning up my diet has made the biggest difference to my energy levels. I thought walking 10K steps a day and doing some body weight exercises (push ups, tricep dips, sit ups etc) was enough. It might be enough to keep up a very base level of fitness but it isn't enough for me.

Just increasing my cardio and lifting heavier weights has made me feel more alive. The new challenge will be keeping this up when l return to work on Thursday. The only way to do that is scheduling it in. I have to stop making excuses. Life is busy, that is a fact! However l always found time for exercise. It has only been the last 3 years that l have found it hard to get around to exercising. When my exercise went down hill so did my eating.

Going back to work has been hard and l thought dropping my exercise will allow me more time. All it did was drain me of energy. Now that l have working for three years l am ready to enter exercise back in without feeling overwhelmed.

I look forward to building the new me. I am more than mum, wife or teacher, l am me and l have to make time to ensure that l am happy and healthy.

Gym

I did it! I joined the gym. That's the first easy step out of the way. Now is just getting myself their and ensuring l am doing a good workout. Felt great and weird to be back in the gym. The weird part was using a treadmill when the weather was gorgeous today outside. The good part was being able to use weights again.

The aim is to walk the kids to school if the weather is nice, then walk to the gym and then walk home. Like that l get my warm up and cool down done and can enjoy the great outdoors. But as winter progresses l will just drive.

It will be interesting to see if the exercise changes my weight loss. This is the first time in my life that my eating isn't too bad but my exercise is letting me down. So it will be interesting to now look to see how it impacts the scales and measuring tape.

I am determined to see 87 kilos on the scales. I have been the same weight now for 4 weeks and have been trying so hard to just drop one kilo but the scales have not budged. Fingers crossed this will kick start the weight loss again.

It's been a long time

It's been a while and a lot has changed. I now work five days a week and l have moved areas. The biggest change is my weight (not in a good way). I got back up to 96 kilos after Christmas. That scared me when l could round up my weight to 100 kilos. So l have gone back to tracking my food and exercise. I am now done to 88 kilos but finding it so hard to drop any further.

I am now at the cross roads trying to work out what l can fit into my schedule to help me lose weight. I would love to join the gym again but l am so uncertain. I know l need to bite the bullet and just do it. The hardest thing for me is justifying the time and expense on me.  I don't know if it's a women thing  mother thing that we feel guilty when we do something for ourselves.

But l guess l would feel more guilty if l was unwell and didn't live as long because l didn't take care of myself.

That's it! l am ending this entry, getting dinner started and heading to the gym to sign up. Wish me luck people.

91.9 Kilos

91.9 kilos, that is what a read on the scales this morning.

A quick update of my life. I am now working part time five days a week (mon-fri) and all three of my children are at school. I recently tore ligaments in my knee. We moved just before Christmas.

With returning back to work, moving and settling the children into a new school, l have gone back to not thinking about me. I have gone from 67 kilos to 91.9 Kilos. I have been feeling like crap. My sleep has been playing up and my fitness levels are non existent. I also hate that l cant move the same way l use to since my knee damage. Being this weight does not help with my knee recovery.

I sat down yesterday and went through my photos and saw the weight gain slowly through image after image. I don't want to be this person l am right now.

So it is going back to the hard work which is weight loss. I have started using my fitness pal again to track my food, wearing my jaw bone up to track my steps and l am using free online videos to complete work outs at home after work.

Last night l slept so well, and the only two changes l made was no alcohol and 30 mins of exercise. It is now time to start new routines and habits. I did it before l can do it again.

These are the final photos that sparked me to take action. My son took these of me without me knowing on my phone. I knew l had gained weight but l found it really hard to see how much. These photos scream it out loud how much weight l have gained. I have no neck, and my stomach is massive. It is not so much the look l am worried about but more the health ramifications. I am scared to go the doctors to get my blood tests done of fear of what will show up. So hopefully these will, no l will re phrase that. These are my before pictures as l am only going to improve from here. I want to go back to the fit and healthy Gaby. The one that had endless energy and felt good from the foods l ate. 

Why O Why

I hate this merry go round of weight. I know all the things l need to do. I know that it needs to be a lifestyle not a diet. I know, l know, l know but l don't DO!!!!!!

On the scales yesterday l hit 90 kilos again!!!!

I am trying to look over the past few weeks to try and understand what is happening.
First of all l had my hubby home for 2 and a half weeks. This mean't l didn't go the gym as often, more lunches out and he always had a cold beer waiting for me at the end of the day.

Add Easter on top of this and it add's up to about a kilo a week.

So once again l need to sit back and review my diet. I was strong last night. My husband offered me a cold beer, white wine or a red. I managed to resist all three offerings.

It is just a learned habit, it will take me six weeks to create my new habits again of limited alcohol. I also have to increase my water. I finding it extremely difficult to drink water in winter.  I will try having my T2 herbal teas hot to see if this helps the situation. Sometimes the whole ritual of making tea keeps my hands and mind busy during those hard times of temptation (3 and 7 pm).

I guess this blog allows me to show the true challenges you l face with weight. I managed to lose all my weight and regain it all as soon as l relaxed. Being fit and healthy is a constant process that you can not switch off. I am hoping with a new school term l can try and find the balance again of finding time for me. I have the house up to a pretty good standard now, if l just do a little bit each day it will stay that way, which means l can spend more time on me.

On a mission

Finally have the drive to get up and do something about my weight. I have been losing only around 200 grams a week. I am now deciding that this week l am going to kick arse. I find it easier to do one full on week and then go back to slow mode. When you have a lot of weight to lose, which in my case l do. It can be hard to keep the momentum going. Breaking it up allows you to deal with the mental challenges you face whilst trying to lose weight.

Some of you may be asking "What mental challenges?" For me they are never ending. I have had a life long love affair with food. It has been there and helped support me through some of the most difficulties times in my life and it has also been there to help me celebrate the happiest. I use food to show love to my friends and family, providing them with nourishment for the body and soul. When food represents all these things to you it becomes very difficult to lose weight. As soon as l am stressed or tired l look for food to help pick me up. If l am not prepared and don't have my protein shake in my bag, or a handful of nuts. I find myself very quickly at the vending machine getting myself a bar of chocolate. I know that this won't help me in the long run. But right then and there in that moment l can not think of anything else other than that bar.

So to deal with the mental challenges l acknowledge my weakness and remove as many of them as possible. I ensure that l stay away from vending machines at my times of desperation and always make sure l have healthy snacks on hand.

I believe power is knowledge. I am the biggest geek going around and love having data that l can analysis. I have been wearing my body bugg again and linked my myfitness pal app to the program. It has allowed me to see what activities allow me to burn calories during the day, track my nutrient intake. Which  l was very surprised about the results. I thought that my diet was healthy. However l have been consuming most of my calories lately from fat and salt. My protein in take has also been down. It is amazing how when l read those facts it made sense why l felt run down. When you lift heavy weights you need protein to help with recovery. I am making a concerted effort this week to up my protein and reduce my bad fats and see if this makes a difference to the way l feel.

Plus no more grog during the week. I thought that l could go back to have a couple of glasses every second or third night, but l haven't quiet worked out to only have two glasses. I always lose count and by then l think, oh well may as well keep going. So again acknowledging my weakness, grog is out during the week.

So here's to another Monday pledge, l have been moving in the right direction again, l started off at 90 kilos at the beginning of the year and l am currently at 88 kilos. So this week my aim is to be 85 kilos by this time Monday. It's only one week, and then l will go back to slow motion for a few weeks again.

Let the hard work begin

Well today was crazy, l blew my food consumption yesterday, again. Really have to work on conscious eating. I often find myself stuffing food in my mouth and l am not even aware of it. For example, making dinner l find that l chop and the cheese for the boys and instinctively pop a couple of pieces in my mouth while l do it. Those couple of pieces quickly add up to over 300 calories before l even sit down for dinner and it doesn't even register that l have eaten anything.

I am not sure if the hypnotherapy sessions are working. However l am finding that l am not as hungry. I also haven't gotten to that starving level l normally get to if l don't eat often. I am also feeling fuller sooner during eating. So they may be working. I will continue with the six week program of hypnotherapy as it doesn't require much effort and l actually think it helps me to go to sleep at night.

I am loving wearing my body bugg again. It stops me from treating myself with food after exercise. I always think l have burnt more calories than l actually have, and then think it is okay to eat more during the rest of the day. However the body bugg brings me back down to earth with the truth.

So in saying all of that, today l have managed to keep to my calorie goals and getting a session in at the gym all while working for part of the day and getting in a few quality hours with the family.

As for the body laser cavity results. Well have lost a 1 cm off my waist and half a cm of each thigh. So l will go again this Saturday and see the results of two sessions. They say the second session provides greater results. Hmmmmm, well l have to wait and see about that next Saturday.  

Slowly moving in the right direction

I am slowly moving in the right direction. My diet is slowly returning to my previous style. Trying to cut our the sugar and processed food slowly. I have to say since cleaning up my diet my energy levels have been through the roof. It wasn't easy, the first three days l felt completed drained, but on day four woke up with all the energy of a child waking up on Christmas morning.

Today l tried something a bit different, fat cavition. They use this ultrasonic laser and rub it over the area you choose, which doesn't hurt a bit, feels like a nice warm massage. However the next step hurt on my outer thighs, not on my tummy. They use this vacuum machine, they only go over the area twice but it bloody hurt. It has left some bruising but so far it looks like the results may be worth it. After the vacuum you need to stand on a vibrating table for 15 minutes and then you are done. I will keep a close eye on the measurements to see if it makes a difference. I have another session next Saturday, ouch!!!!

In the meantime the kids are returning back to school and the youngest is starting Kinda this week. I am sad that school holidays have to come to an end. However l am looking forward to getting back into a routine and starting my new healthy lifestyle habits. It will be nice to finally get into a routine that l know wont change.

At present the aim is to go to the gym Monday - Friday. I have to first wait for Cricket season to end to be able to go on Friday after work. I also have to wait till my middle child has full weeks at school to be able to do Wednesday. But by the end of February l should be able to make this happen.

I am hoping returning to the gym and moving towards my old diet will help me get back to where l was. A fit and healthy women. I am 34 in a couple of weeks and l know it becomes more difficult as you get older, so l feel so urgency to get to where l want to be, as maintenance is always easier than full transformation.

New program

I am a bit excited. I needed something to kick me out of my current diet and exercise rut. So after lots of research l have decided l am going to try the Shortcut to Shred by Jim Stoppani. It is the one program that sounds like me. Scientifically tested  and hardcore weight lifting. I guess you can say l am not the typical female. I love nothing more than lifting weights. I find great pleasure in the art form and l am looking forward to seeing my muscular physic return. It will be a full on six weeks, but well worth it.

The one thing l am using to help motivate me is my family. If l can show my husband the results l have gotten he will give it a go. Plus when l am eating clean the rest of my family is, due to the simple fact that l am the one who provides them with all of their food.

I am deeply concerned with keeping my children healthy and fit. I notice how easy it is to let my middle child sit and play the xbox all day. He is happy, he is not annoying any one and he is quiet. So each day l have to remind myself to drag all the boys out at least once a day. During the school holidays l have been trying to be a good role model on how to be physically active. Rather than kicking the children outside while l sit on the computer, l have been going out with them gardening, playing cricket, riding our bikes, walking to the shops etc.

So this year l need to be a good role model for my children which includes being a healthy weight.

2014 and l am still on the same Merry Go Round

Well last year was a full on year for me. I completed my University degree and l have begun working as a Casual Relief Teacher. During this crazy year l let go completely of my eating and my exercise. So l now begin 2014 at 88 kilos.  I now have to begin the long journey of getting back to where l was, maybe even better than where l was.

I am an emotional eater. I love food and the escapism eating gives me. I am currently trying to find a reputable weight hypnotherapist in the area, but struggling to filter the good from the rubbish. I am hoping hypnotherapy might be able to provide some insight into my emotional eating.

I am also a gym member again. I have always loved the gym and have missed not having time for exercise.   It is frustrating at present that l can not go to the gym due to school holidays, but l am trying to do as many physical activities possible with the children. Walking to the shops, go for bikes rides, using the slip n slide or playing just dance.

I have been wearing my Body Bugg again and the one thing l am noticing is how much alcohol effects me. Every time l drink (even just one glass of wine) my sleep efficiency decreases. Generally my sleep efficiency is around 94% when l drink alcohol it has dropped to as low as 70%. So l am going to work on reducing my alcohol consumption. At present l am trying to do four weeks with three alcohol free nights, and then slowly work up to my goal of just one night with alcohol. The thing l love about the body bugg is that is allows you to see what your body does. Each person is different, l am sure many people could drink 1-2 glasses of wine and find that their sleep is fine. However for me it just doesn't work.

I have also started up with My Fitnesspal again. It is a easy enough app that gives you results.

I am looking forward to 2014 and all  that it can bring. I am looking forward to starting new routines and healthy habits that l can continue so l do not constantly have to go on this Merry Go Round of weight.  

Long time no speak

Hi All,

Please excuse the lack of communication recently. I have been on a very busy journey. I can now proudly say that l have finished my bachelor of primary education degree. It was a long journey but well and truly worth it.

Now that l have finished that sector of my life, l can now go back to nourishing my body as well as my mind. I jumped on the scales this morning and l am currently 82.6 kgs. Looking back at 4/11 last year l weighed 71.4 kgs. Some people might find that depressing. Me on the other hand see it as confirmation that if l reached that goal once, l can do it again!!!

Now that l have no work commitments for term 4 my full time job is to get myself and family back on track. I am sure my weight gain has also impacted my family as well. I know my fitness has dropped as well, meaning that l do not have enough energy to give my three boys. Yesterday l had to do a lap of the school gym and high five all the students, l noticed when l got back to my spot that my heart rate was up and l was finding it hard to breath at a normal rate. That is when l realised that l needed to jump back on the band wagon.

I really want to work, have time for my family and have time to be fit and healthy. It is now my challenge to get my fitness back and then work out how l can sustain this while working next year.

What ever the future holds for me with work, the one thing l can control and l am certain about is getting my fitness and health back. I am looking forward to having a summer full of fun! Were l have enough energy to play all day with the boys and still have some left over for hubby by the evening.

Speak again with you soon. If l find my measuring tape l will put up my measurements so we can all track my progress together.

Blast from the past

Got an unusual message today from a person l use to know 14 year ago. The message was unusual because it reminded me of what my body use to be like 14 years ago. I remember how l never really had to worry about what l wore. Unlike now worrying about, finding garments to hide a tummy, disguise wide hips and control breasts. Bathers shopping is a nightmare, trying to find garments that can construct and sculpt, compared to the bathers l use to wear, which l don't even think you could call bathers, just a couple pieces of Lycra positioned to stop me from being charged with indecent exposure.

It sparked in me a longing which l haven't felt for a long time. To lose weight takes dedication and you need to be motivated to want to change. At present l find it hard to motivate myself, but that memory of how life was much easier, comfortable and confident has sparked a new passion in me. So my aim's have been set high, Too lose this weight again by summer next year, get my dream job, then l can afford to get my tummy tuck and to finally be back into a two piece bathing suit next summer. I know l will never wear such a skimpy suit ever again, and nor do l want to. Albeit l want to wear a suit that l don't have to worry about my body. To feel that confidence l use to instill, that would make a man remember me 14 years later. I know my husband feels that way about me, but it doesn't matter how other people think or feel about you, it's about how you feel about yourself.

For some women it is a dress or an event that sparks the motivation for me it is pure confidence in  my own skin.

Body

I noticed last night that my body was starting to ache during my sleep and suddenly remembered this use to occur before l lost weight, and 10 kilo's later the aches are starting to slowly come back. If that is not a push enough to make me start to shift the weight nothing is. When l was larger l never noticed the aches or pains, the lack of energy, the slightly oil skin and hair which also led to pimples and migraines plus l am sure there is more but l can't recall them at this present moment . All these symptoms l never realized were weight related until l lost weight and they disappeared. Finally l put two and two together and realized how much my body was suffering due to my weight.

Yesterday l started off the day well, and nearly ended it well until l thought l would try one piece of the children's new cereal 'Krave'. Well they don't call it 'Krave' because it sounds good, suddenly l found myself scooping large handful after large handful each time l walked past the pantry door. All my good efforts all unraveled within a 30 minute blind splurge on cereal. Today l am practicing the art of self restraint, try to be totally focused whenever l eat. The biggest issue for me is deliberating distracting myself while l eat so l don't acknowledge what l am doing. Just because l don't mentally acknowledge doesn't mean, unfortunately, my physical body follows suit.

So today is about mindfulness  try to be aware and present when l eat and acknowledge what l am doing.  

Hello 2013

As we enter a new year, l can not help but have that feeling of disappoint on how l have let my weight go. I spent energy both emotional and psychical to lose the weight and within a blink of an eye and a moment of lost focus it all started to come back.

2013 is the year that l will try to find a way that my diet isn't all consuming of my time and focus, that some how l'll learn to be aware of my eating without it taking a large hold on my life. With reflection l can see that anything that takes up that much time is not a sustainable practice.  Like one, somehow you need to be aware of it's presence with out it distracting you.

This is my new weight loss goal, to somehow learn to be aware of my eating, but for it not to consume me. Some people who read this will totally understand what l mean about the consumption that diet can play on your life. It's such a hard practice, like walking on a tight rope, their is only a small margin to get it right, and the rest is a huge scary fall. When you fall off a tightrope it is hard to get back on and work out what to do right to keep yourself on, your pride has been broken and worst still with weight everyone who is around you know's you have lost control. You can't hide it, you just have to own up to it.

Getting Closer to 2013

As l get closer to 2013, l feel like l am moving further away from my goals. I was always told that my thirties would be the busiest time of my life, but that is a large understatement. Weeks feel like days, semesters feel like weeks. I blink and time has passed me by. I am torn in so many directions, work, study, children, family, and then there is me. Trying to find time for me, without feeling like l am missing out on time better spent else where.

I have managed to keep up my fitness by squeezing in 5 min workouts in the morning and evening, and have just recently purchased myself a bike so love riding my bike with my boys, talking and playing with them. It's my food that continues to hold me back. I eat for the sake of eating, which drives me crazy. I avoid mirrors and certain clothing because l know they will give me the honest truth l am trying to avoid, which is l have let the food win again.

So today is another change to get it right. I need to get my eating back on track and stop avoiding the truth that l have gained far too much weight back, and it is not healthy. So l am going to try to find the time, along with everything else that l do, to make myself aware of what l am putting in my mouth. Writing this blog helps keep me aware and present, as l can not hide from the mirror any longer, if l do l will end up back where l was in 2005 by the end of 2013, which was over 100 kilos, unfit and unhappy. Now to unlock the energy l know l feel when l kick up the exercise and clean up the diet and use this to help me complete my crazy schedule  so when l do hit my forties and get to slow things down, l will have a body that is healthy and can enjoy this time.

Gone but not out

Well l thought l was balancing my diet well. My weight has been consistent and l have kept up the exercise. However l have felt my energy levels slowly reducing since Halloween. Yesterday l went to bed at 7 pm and didn't wake up till 8 am. After that amount of sleep l finally feel better, but it begs the question what has caused me to feel so tired. The only link l have is the food l have been eating since Halloween, which has been more sugar based. So today l start to clean up my act all over again. Let's see if this energy slump is because of my diet or my schedule  l guess l will find out in five days time.

Although it is hard to do, l find myself automatically placing my hand in the lolly jar. I am currently craving a hot donut. Instead l am having a glass of water and a yogurt. So l will keep you up to date with my energy levels to see if their is a link between the lolly jar and this tired feeling.

on the path

Okay l am slowly accepting the a ugly, awful, terrible (l could use more adjectives however you get the gist) truth that l will always have to watch what l eat. It is very hard for me to accept that l can't just eat with out having to think about it. However when l make the comparison to other addicts it does make sense. A recovering alcoholic has to come to terms with the fact that they can't go to a party and just have one or two drinks, because they can't stop themselves. That is how l am with food, once l start to stop thinking about it l slip into bad habits. I am lucky though compared to the alcoholic who could probably never take another sip of alcohol, l can have food l just have to monitor how much l have.

So l am hoping now that monitoring food will become more automatic. When l first learnt to drive a manual car l bunny hopped down the road as l was busy concentrating, clutch in, shift gear, clutch out, accelerator,steer, etc etc. I can now drive my manual car with very little thought of gear changes and in a very smooth fashion (if l do say so myself). This is how l hope to be with food eventually, right now l am bunny hoping down the road, but while l am doing this l am learning. I am making mistakes but l am learning from them. I never thought that losing weight would be such a hard challenge that deals with so much more than food.

To date l am now back to 72kilos yay!!! only three more kilos to be back to where l was this time last year. I now l can do it, even if l have to hop the whole way there.

Rip the bandaid

If you haven't noticed, l have (gulp, rip the bandaid Gaby) gained weight. Yes, not just a little bit either l have gained 6 kilos. I had to laugh at the doctor yesterday, l went in for a routine check up and she asked me how long it took me to gain the weight back and she didn't believe me when l said three weeks. Yes, there is only black and white in my life when it comes to food. I can compare myself to any other addict who goes on a bender. The doctor asked me why l had gained the weight, what's changed. My response is nothing, l just go through moods and every so often l get feed up with having to monitor my food.

I told her when l was a child l never had to watch what l ate, why now do l have to spend the rest of my life doing this for. She asked me one question which has made me change my mind "Your boys, don't you monitor and control what they eat?", if so when you were a child you didn't have to monitor you food because someone else did it for you. Food is something you will have to monitor for the rest of your life, just like you have to monitor your health and exercise, you will have to do the same with food.

She is right, it is not easy being healthy. Not when there is so much temptation and devices that make life easy for you. But in the end of the day all the gadgets and other things which are designed to make your life easier actually make it harder, harder to shift the weight. We spend less time moving, l know my activity levels have dropped this last couple of weeks due to being under the weather. So today l started using my fitness pal again and now bringing myself back to the consciousnesses of what l am eating. The food l am eating is healthy but my portion sizes are huge.

So back on the band wagon again. And now l know the band wagon has to stay. I have to watch what l eat and how much otherwise when l bury my head in the sand when l pull it out l appear to have gained 6 kilos.

2 mins of fame

Well l got my 2 mins of fame last night on Chanel two news. They wanted to interview me about my view on the rising obesity epidemic. My view is that we need to stop focusing on body images and move towards looking at this as a health issue. I personally know that is why l wanted to lose weight in the first place. It wasn't because l wanted to be a skinny girl. It was because l hated feeling sick and l knew what l was eating and doing was making me feel this way. Being overweight is a form of illness. You do feel sick, if you are currently overweight l want you to really think hard about this questions and answer honestly.
1. At night do you have to wake up to go to the bathroom?
2. Do you have to change posititions during the night because your body aches?
3. Do you suffer from headaches?
4. Are you Lethargic?
5. After eating do you feel even more lethargic?
6. Are you bowel movements irregular?
7. Do you have body aches, such as sore lower back, sore knees, that cause you pain and discomfort?
8. Is your skin blotchy, dry, prone to eczema and psoriasis?
9. Do you sweat alot??
10. Do you suffer with depression?
11. Do you have mood swings?

All these questions above l could answer yes to when l was over 100kgs, l also know that if l gain a few kilos back l can begin to answer yes to these questions again. Once you begin to treat your body well you start to question why you were treating yourself like this in the first place.

The other amazing thing l noticed yesterday was that my husband's weight has also dropped along with me. Although my husband never gained a huge amount of weight he still was overweight. With me changing my lifestyle and eating habits he was forced to do the same. As in many households there is normally one person who is the main cook. As the head cook in my house l do control the other house members food without even realising it my health choices have made an impact on my entire family.

So if you are the head cook in your household remember your choices impacts your entire family. You are your children first teacher of life and you lead by example as a role model. Regardless if you give them the healthy food and you eat poorly you are still there role model. Do as l say not as l do, does not work with children. So as we currently sit at home in this very cold winter, remeber there is always a healthier better option and think about what you are putting into your mouth impacts your life span, your health. It won't be long till we will be seeing hard hitting ads about this on tv. Just like TAC and the quit smoking campaigns have ran hard hitting ad's soon the government will have to do the same about obesity.

Why is obesity on the rise?? why is it such an issue??? I have my theories. My biggest one is the fact that people are so disassociated with our food. I'll put on my old grandma voice here "back in the day" people grew some of their own food, and bought basic staple ingredients like, butter, milk, flour, sugar. So people weren't buying processed items. The biggest key to losing weight is going back to basics, get rid of the processed foods, eat natural foods and move more. It is cheaper and healthier and better for the environment. I am not going to get started on the carbon tax, however if you look at where our food comes from there should be a tax on those products. Do you know the milo cereal bars come from Singapore? Yes they are made there and then shipped to Australia? How does this make sense, when we have all the ingredients and production facilites to do this here however it gets sent all the way to Singapore. Not to mention the amount of food we waste and throw out. However a carbon tax makes sense?? Hmmm maybe there is a way of killing two birds with one stone, maybe we should be looking at a way of taxing processed products which are bad for the environment as well as for people instead, allowing essentials like heating, cooling and facilites for people to cook at home to be cheaper.

Well that is my rant for the day. I'll now step down from my soap box and resume back to normal blog posts. Until then try to spread the word.